St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church & Christian Preschool

200 S Main St

Charles City, Iowa 50616

641-228-3397

www.stjohncharlescity.org

Rev. Russ Leeper, Pastor

Melanie Johanningmeier, Director of Music

October 25, 2020: Reformation Sunday

John 8:31-36

Daylight savings time

ends NOVEMBER 1st!

Prelude: “How Can I Keep from Singing?”

Welcome

Announcements

The flowers on the Altar & the radio broadcast are sponsored by Gary & Sandie Quade in honor of their

anniversary & in memory of loved ones

Gathering Hymn: “A Mighty Fortress” Hymnal #504

Blessing for 1st & 4th Grade Students Receiving Bibles

Hymn of Praise “Jesus Name Above All Names”

Jesus, name above all names, beautiful Savior, glorious Lord,

Emmanuel, God is with us, Blessed Redeemer, living Word.

Jesus, loving Shepherd, vine of the branches, Son of God

Prince of Peace, wonderful counselor Lord of the universe, Light of the World.

Jesus, Way of salvation, King of kings, Lord of Lords, The way the truth, and the Life,

Mighty creator, my Savior and friend.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, gracious Lord, we thank you that your Holy Spirit renews the church in every age.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in your word, protect and

comfort them in times of trial, defend them against all enemies of the gospel, and bestow on the

church your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Read by Linda Hughes 31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel

and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took

them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their

husband, says the Lord. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those

days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their

God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know

the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will

forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Gospel Acclamation:

P: The Holy Gospel according to John 8:31-36

31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my

disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We

are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You

will be made free’?” 34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave

to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there

forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

P: The Gospel of the Lord…

Sermon Pastor Russ Leeper

Hymn of the Day “Amazing Grace” Hymnal #779

The Creed The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the

Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

The Prayers (P): Lord in your mercy,

Response: hear our prayer

Special Music: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” Reformation Suite

Carter Johanningmeier, trumpet, Melanie Johanningmeier, organ

The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory forever and ever. Amen

The Benediction

P: Let’s hold each other in prayer & stay safe!

Please pray for all serving in the Armed

Forces & their families: Alex Buenger, Kim

Hall, Dalton Schutjer, Robson Shankland,

Elliott Sinnwell

The Prayer List: Names will be kept on the list for 3 weeks. Family members can request a name be left on longer. The office number is 228-3397.

Please Keep the following in prayer:

Sue Baron Ellen Hobb Bonnie Nelson

Norm Bauer Sandra Link Tom Platte

Bob Brede Tilleen Litterer Bill Wohlers Jr.

Dan Carey Christina Mannetter Donn Schafer

Alan Farmer Al Manning

Family of Edwin Le Mont Benedict

Chris & Jessica Hoeft on the birth of their son

Liam Wayne Hoeft, October 19, 2020

Closing Hymn “How Firm a Foundation” Hymnal #796

Postlude “Foundation”

Members and Friends of St. John Lutheran,

The Church Council has made the decision to begin offering a weekly in-person worship option in addition

to our weekly online and radio services. We will have one, in-person service on Sundays at 9 AM.

Pastor Russ has put a video on the St. John YouTube channel to inform you of the In-Person

Worship Safety Procedures. Go to the St. John website – www.stjohncharlescity.org, click on the

Worship & Sermon tab, then choose YouTube.

The following instructions were taken from the in-person worship plan and are intended to help make the

in-person worship experience meaningful and safe:

• There will be a limit of 50 people for each worship service to maintain social distancing.

• All worshippers will need to register by 4 PM on Thursday before the Sunday service

EACH WEEK by calling the church office. Only registered worshipers will be admitted.

• Entry and exit will be through the main doors which will open at 8:45 AM Sundays. Worshipers will

need to check-in with a greeter as they enter the building.

• Face masks will be required for those five years and older. We will provide a face mask for anybody who

needs one.

• All worshipers will be ushered to their seats to maintain physical distancing between family groups.

• Communion will be offered at every service so that it’s available whenever worshipers are able to attend.

• We will not be singing or speaking in unison, any singing and responsive readings will be pre-recorded.

• Please read the full plan for additional information. The full plan is available on the St. John website:

www.stjohncharlescity.org.

• The nursery will not be available during the service.

Your offering can be mailed to St. John Lutheran, 200 S Main St, Charles City, IA 50616

OR…

If you would like to sign up for Simply Giving, the program that allows you to give to the church through

electronic transfer, call Linda at 228-3397 if you would like her to help you set up Simply Giving.

OR… On the St. John Website is a Digital Simply Giving tab which will allow you to manage your

electronic giving from home! You can decide how much you would like to give, the frequency and

which fund you would like your donation to go to.

Though the St. John building is closed to the public, you can call the office with any questions or

concerns. Kathy is in the office from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. You can also reach

her by emailing khoeft@stjohncharlescity.com.

The St. John Council has decided that boards can meet in person in the church building. It will be limited

to one board per day. Confirmation was also discussed and agreed that they may begin meeting at church.

Pastor Russ & Laurie Heidebrink will work together on a plan for Sunday School to return.

We will be blessing the First and Fourth Grade St. John Sunday School students who

received their Bibles during the month of October at the online and in-person worship

services on Reformation Sunday, October 25, 2020. Those receiving Bibles were…

ANGEL TREE

We will soon be doing our Angel Tree tags. Due to Covid 19, we have made

some adjustments to our normal process.

1. I will have tags available for those of you that wish to do your own shopping. If

you would like a specific tag, we can do that over the phone, and I will mail the

tag to you. (Shirley Holm 641-330-8336) These gifts will need to be returned by

December 6th. They can be dropped off at our table during the drive thru

communion on December 6th.

2. If you would prefer that we do the shopping and wrapping, you can

make a donation and we will be happy to provide that service for you.

3. To make a donation for a tag, religious material, or a family food voucher we do

have options available. We will have a donation table at the drive thru

communion in November and December. You may donate by cash or check.

Checks can be made out to St. John with Angel Tree written on the memo line.

Donations may also be dropped off or mailed to St. John.

These are trying times and we would like to thank each of you in advance for

remembering these children by putting “God’s Love in Action” through the

Angel Tree ministry.

It has been an honor to work with Jean Rima on Angel Tree for the past 13

years. Jean has decided to step down from her position as Co-Chair. We thank

her for all the work she has done to build this ministry over the years!

Jessie Holm will be the new Co-Chair of Angel Tree.

In Christ,

Shirley Holm

First Grade: Fourth Grade:

Nathalia Esther Dean Graham James Hansen

Nathan Michael Korbel Sierra Lynn Hinz

Laker James Kubik Ajay Ryan Johnson

Abigail Jo Lacour Tyler James Parish

Melia Jocey Lantz Owen William Prichard

Cameron William Lessin Riley Jean Quade

Anna Maye Mehmen Benjamin Henry Tracey

Addison Grace Merrifield Isaiah Keaton Watkins

Olive Kate Tracey

“Drive Through Communion”

On November 1st between 10:00 a.m. & 12:00 p.m. we will have “Drive Through Communion. We

also plan to offer this communion on the 1st Sunday of each month. We will ask that you enter the

parking lot at the top. You will proceed down to the canopy where you will be handed a disposable

communion cup with wafer. Next you will proceed to the pastor to partake of communion. Gluten

free cups will be available.

Offering from the week of

October 18, 2020

General Receipts $ 7,895.66

Designated offering 220.00

General receipts of $9,757.00 are needed

weekly to meet the approved budget

October 18th Attendance: 12

“We extend our gratitude and appreciation to Kay Tjaden for the recent memorial she gave to St.

John in memory of Mary Tjaden. Thank you!”

“We extend our gratitude and appreciation to Leona Howe for the recent memorial she gave to

St. John in memory of Robert Hughes. Thank you!”

“We extend our gratitude and appreciation to Dennis & Carol Brahn for the recent memorial they

gave to St. John in memory of Robert Hughes, Thelma Kack, William Winkleman, Carol Chestek,

& Glenda Link. Thank you!”

Stewardship Board: Confirmation has started and we have welcomed 13 7th graders, 12 8th graders, 6 9th

graders and 12 10th graders (that’s 43 young people, folks!) to this year’s journey in their religious

education with Subway meal coupons. Sunday school and St John Christian Preschool students started their

year this way, too. In addition, Christmas is coming and so is our congregation’s support to the Christmas

Shoe Box and Angel Tree ministries in our church. $100.00 will be given to the Angel Tree committee and

$100.00 to the Christmas Shoe Box committee to be used where they feel the need is the greatest for this to

be a successful year in our church’s support to these wonderful programs.

Kans for Kids has been generously and continuously supported. Give yourselves a big ‘High Five’ as this is

one way everyone in our congregation can easily show God’s Love in Action to the youth in our church, in

our community, and many other areas of our world! God bless all of you.