News

Hello, St. John’s family! My name is Kay, and I am the Office Manager. I have been extremely blessed to share the months since coming aboard with all of you!

In Spring, Lisa Delp, my predecessor, celebrated her retirement on the last day of March. Thanks to the dedication and work of our Council and staff, I was brought on the first day of April, with no gaps in office coverage! While I’ve been hard at work keeping the ship afloat, I’ve also been spending time reading old publications, and speaking with Council, staff, and all of you to learn as much as I can about St. John’s as possible. By the end of April we welcomed aboard Grace Marchione, our Communications Coordinator, and she has spent the time since working alongside the Communications Task Force on how we communicate with the world outside St. John’s.

In May, we had our New Member Sunday, welcoming in 5 new members. Later that month, we celebrated Rev. Dale’s retirement after years in ministry and at St. John’s! We welcomed Pastor Tom Adil aboard, who immediately began visiting, giving communion, and getting to know our wonderful congregation.

During the summer months, we began to have a presence in Lansdale First Fridays, an initiative headed by our innovative Council President, Mark Bruen. Soon after, Grace Marchione & I got approval from the Elders to start using the sandwich board donated by Sally & Steve Jarinko! Ever since, St. John’s has been able to communicate constantly about our upcoming events, with folks calling in inquiring about announcements they’ve seen when driving by. The St. John’s Reach Out Team used post cards designed by Grace Marchione to send handwritten messages to parishioners we haven’t seen in a while. We raised over $2,400 with our annual basket raffle and had our church picnic! Meanwhile, the heads of different ministries and I began to revitalize our bulletin board hallway, bringing the announcements and information there up to date! Since then, the different St. John’s ministries have kept their bulletin boards current, informative, and fun!

As summer wound down, the ramp closed briefly as work began on repointing the church courtyard. Thanks to the Trustees, Leroy, Disciple Masonry, and a generous donation from Bill & Judy Lederach, the walls look crisp and professional and will stand for decades to come.

As fall began, the ministerial staff began a new series “Tough Love from a Loving God”, and Wednesday Night Live began anew! Now, we have a service at 7pm, Holden Evening Prayer with Holy Communion, which Andrew introduced as a welcome constant in our ever-changing lives. With the community meal, Adult Education Class, Holden Prayer, and our music ensemble rehearsals, Wednesday nights at St. John’s are a great place to be. On the Sunday Morning side of things, the Educators came together with Abbie Lampe and brought Connect3 back in a way that pays homage to Junior Church. Now, directly after the Children’s Message on Sunday mornings, the children are taken downstairs for their own service and activities!

In August, the Trustees spearheaded an initiative to make our building compliant for a Fire Marshal inspection. Thanks to the hard work of our congregation, every closet in the building was found, claimed, cleaned, and accounted for.

In September, we celebrated Leroy Horst’s 10+ years as the Building & Grounds Supervisor as he retired! Leroy’s dependability and focus on keeping St. John’s presentable and working is something we deeply appreciate. As Personnel and the Trustees work together to find a new Facilities Manager, the Trustees, Bill Bergey, and I work together to make sure the needs of the building are met.

On October 6th, World Communion Sunday, we celebrated the decade long ministry of Rev. Addie Stong as she turned a new page in her calling. She gave a beautiful final sermon at St. John’s, reminding us that there are “No Worries!” if we give everything to God in prayer. As October continued, The Educators collected donations for the College Kid Goodie Boxes and hosted a Trunk or Treat Family Game Night, while the Soup Sale raised money for our Exterior Restoration fund, bringing their yearly total to over $2400 so far! Stewardship worked hard on our “Giving Our All” covenant campaign, giving us heart shaped keepsakes and asking for our prayerful consideration. Sarah Hogan, our Librarian, has been taking stock of all the books in the St. John’s Library and together with the Educators launched a new way to borrow books through lebib, an app and website now equipped with our library inventory! As fall wound down, we welcomed Rev. Dr. Hilary Barrett aboard as our Bridge Support Pastor!

Then, after months of diligent, prayerful, and discerning work, The Search & Call Team brought in the final, staff and Council approved Senior Pastor candidate for a full weekend. On Saturday, November 16th, Rev. Linda Noonan had coffee and a meet and greet with the congregation in the library, and on Sunday, November 17th, she led worship. Her sermon, “String Too Short To Be Saved” reminded us that holding onto things and people that the world deems unimportant is exactly what Jesus taught. She gave us each a reminder and keepsake in the form of a piece of yarn on our bulletins. After the service, a congregational vote was held, and Rev. Linda Noonan was approved by the congregation as our settled Senior Pastor 143 to 1!

As it began to get colder, Pastor Tom and Rev. Hilary started this year’s confirmation class. Our Charitable Gift Market was energetic with new charities mixed in, raising over $7k for 17 worthy nonprofits, and the Council graciously voted to add support to agencies who did not receive quite as much support as last year. We then hosted our annual Thanksgiving Meal with Manna on Mainstreet, with enough for everyone to take home leftovers! On the last day of November, St. John’s came together for the annual Hanging of the Greens, decorating the church for the holidays.

Advent started our newest theme “Prepare the Way”, and prepare we have! On the first day of December we celebrated Love Gift Sunday. The tables on the Chancel were stacked tall with gifts as we took communion during service. The 16th Annual Women’s Tea was held the following weekend, raising money for Liz’s Birthday nonprofit, and was a spectacular show of community, love, singing carols, and of course, tea! Finally, after months of hard work, Grace Marchione unveiled the new St. John’s website! Now, when you go to st-johns-ucc.org, you will find an easy to navigate and welcoming webpage for all things St. John’s.

We have 5 confirmands, baptized 8 babies, and welcomed 5 new members and countless visitors. We mourned the passing of 9 members and 23 friends. Now, having turned up our thermostats and bundled up for sweater weather, we ready ourselves for the new year to come. As expressed by one of our Council members: “There have been many changes at St. John’s, including in our worship with Pastor Hilary and Pastor Tom. They each have a different way of preaching, but even with those differences, it still feels like St. John’s.”

Be Blessed,

Kay Peebles

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In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah foresees it. In the New Testament, John the Baptist proclaims it. This Advent season at St. John’s, we will live it. This season’s theme, Prepare the Way, reminds us of the importance of preparing. Preparing for a hectic holiday season, preparing for new leadership at St. John’s, and most importantly, preparing for God’s only Son to enter into our broken world.

Join us as we Prepare the Way in Advent and celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve and beyond by attending our upcoming events this holiday season.

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Dear Friends and Family at St. John’s,

Featured in this edition of The Enlightener is Rev. Addie’s note in which she shares her bittersweet thoughts on her time at St. John’s and her parting. A ministry of 10 years that saw so much change is impossible to convey in one letter, but we are all grateful for her time here. I am most grateful for Rev. Addie’s love of God, the Church of Christ and the people of St. John’s.

Right now is a time to feel our feelings rather than to ignore or even fear them. We acknowledge our fears about the future, but do not give in to them. Instead, let us recognize that God does not send fear into the hearts of God’s people. When we receive messages of fear and hopelessness they are generally from what I like to call: “the other spirit.” Sure, at times we can see some truth in a message of doom, but ironically it is sometimes harder for us to see the promise that is near or even just around the corner.

We will always have challenges in our future, for nothing will change unless we actively invite that change and work within and among us to realize the change that is God’s future. St. John’s is about to embark on a future with a Settled Lead Pastor that will provide the opportunity to work towards a shared vision of divine servanthood.

For now, I encourage you to think about the ways in which God and St. John’s have been a positive support to you in the past. The promises that God has fulfilled in the past are our best guide to a hopefulness about our future – a future that is unknown and unknowable, but already held in God’s hand before we can “see” it. I cherish the opportunity to walk together with you as your “new” Lead Bridge Pastor as we journey towards St. John’s future – a future of promise and joy!

Peace,

Pastor Tom

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Giving Our All And The Widow’s Mite (Mark 12: 38-44)

When the widow in this well-known story of scripture (Mark: 38-44) hits our ear, one is tempted to compare what the poor woman gives to what the rich give. We are trained early on to consider wealth to be a virtue – as the old saying by Ella Fitzgerald goes, “I’ve been rich and I have been poor…and believe me baby, rich is better!”

As our Stewardship Campaign at St. John’s begins to mount up, though, we urge you to consider a deeper interpretation of this story:

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So, He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

What if…instead of considering this as a story just about money (which, of course it is always about money to a degree), it is also – at a deeper level – a story about the riches within? I think Jesus may well be implying that the widow’s gift was so rich because she lived her life with God as the Center, and through her vision of God’s Kin-dom, in return she gained a gift of inestimable value. The widow may well have known that her two mites were an insignificant token to give for the glory of the Kin-dom in the face of God’s riches. Yet, what apparently made the widows’ contribution so powerful – in Jesus’ estimation – is the widow’s ability to see God in all God’s glory. When we see Jesus in the way that the widow viewed him – as the source of our own worth and our identity, then we, too, may realize the source of our own inner true riches.

So, what does all this have to do with giving to St. John’s? Everything! If we are growing in our faith, we will know the blessings we have received. Knowing how blessed we really are, we cannot but give our all to Jesus – that is, to give him our acknowledgment that we are his and he is our Savior…that Christ is the source of all we have and will have. Apprehending this moves us towards giving our all.

I hope that you will join this year’s campaign with new eyes of faith, knowing that our rich heritage in Jesus compels us to see the reasons we have what we have – as well as how this knowledge moves us to share of our rich blessings to further expand God’s realm in the world.
After prayerful thought, please complete the attached Covenant Card. You may put it in the basket on the Communion Table or in the offering plate. All of the cards will be dedicated during worship on Stewardship Sunday, November 10. Giving Our All is the key to keep St. John’s strong.

Grace and Peace,
The Stewardship Committee

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