Six High School youth from St. John’s participated in Leadership Lab this past July 23-28 at Augustana College in Rock Island.

Currently a white collar sits in my dresser drawer, waiting for September 2. That is the day I begin nine months of Ministry in Context (MIC) at St. John’s, spending seven hours a week learning about how to be a pastor.

Ask disciples Bill and Carolyn Isham why they so generously give of their time, talents, and treasures to St. John’s and their quick answer is, “Habit!” Probe a little further and you’ll find that their motivation for giving actually goes much deeper.

That is all it took to put a smile on the face of one of God’s children. You might be wondering what exactly can fifty cents do to make someone smile? With that fifty cents, a box of crayons was purchased to be given to a child in our community who was preparing to head back for another year of school. 

This past June 26-July 2, 15 youth and 4 adults from St. John’s joined over 30,000 other Lutheran youth from across the country as they participated in the ELCA’s Triennial Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas.

For 147 years, the disciples at St. John’s have brought the Word of God to the mission field known as Springfield, Illinois. Through our partnerships with service organizations in the community, we have taken the call to become the hands and feet of Christ to heart and have followed the command to care for one another.

At Vacation Bible School, 

we spend the week getting a huge dose of God’s love. There are so many things we could teach the kids about our Creator, and it is our hope that they leave with spiritual growth in a few areas: growing closer to God, growing closer to one another, and growing closer in community.

Legal ways to immigrate to the United States are through marriage and family connections, work visas, or political asylum.  Another option, though a long shot, is the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery. Although called a lottery, it does not award recipients money. Instead, each year it allows 55,000 foreigners an opportunity to obtain Green Cards and legally immigrate to the U.S.  Over nine million people enter the DV Lottery per year.  The odds of holding a randomly drawn number are extremely small. 

Even those of us who are strong in faith may begin to doubt God’s presence much less God’s omnipotent control over the difficult times we face. In a blink of an eye life can change, as it did for me that late summer afternoon.

The idea for Get Up and Go Granola came when MacKenzie Steen saw a recipe in a cooking magazine.  Realizing that this would be a perfect match for St. John’s, the idea to make it for the whole congregation was born

Last Spring Pastor Greg gave his 8th grade confirmation class an assignment about baptism. Our daughter Elinor (with help from mom and dad) was to create a display board explaining what her baptism means.

Each summer St. John’s is well-represented at The Muni, the Legacy Theater, and New Salem’s Theatre in the Park as a variety of disciples share their musical and theatrical gifts. This summer is no exception.

Wherever you go this summer, remember, GOD GOES WITH YOU! In fact, GOD IS ALREADY THERE! Make time to worship wherever you are and experience true rest, refreshment, and renewal this summer!

Where in the world is St. John’s? St. John’s is at Concordia Village, a Lutheran Senior Services Retirement Community here in Springfield.

1. You could be the one Jesus uses to transform a child’s life forever.   No pressure.

2. You will make life-long memories with children and other volunteers.

3. You will learn and teach that God’s love is incredible, faithful, invincible, unconditional, and very real.

For the past 10 years, the Annual Mission Trip to Marion, Virginia has been one of the many ways we have taken our Mission Statement to heart. St. John’s Disciples have loaded up vans, trucks, and trailers, and made the trip to Marion, Virginia to become the Hands and Feet of Christ, completing home repair projects through Project Crossroads.

 It was Kay, in the parlor, with a hug.  The Grief Support Group was ready to begin, and Kay’s hug found one of the newer participants.  “I prayed for you all week,” Kay said.  And she wasn’t the only one praying.  Members of the group have listened and prayed and shared stories, growing closer as they talked about what grief has been like for them. 

Just this past week, National Public Radio (NPR) reported that British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed a Minister of Loneliness for the United Kingdom. Apparently, loneliness in the United Kingdom has reached a critical level with more than 9 million people in a recent study claiming that they “always or often feel lonely.” It seems somewhat ridiculous that in today’s global society in which we are more connected than ever through social media and the internet, the experience of loneliness has reached such critical levels.