Learn About Refugee Resettlement Program TONIGHT at 7 pm!

A representative from Bethany Christian Services will join us by Zoom tonight, Wednesday, September 8, at 7 pm to discuss options for helping with resettling in our area those who are refugees from other countries. The program will last for about an hour and include a time for questions and answers.

With more than 100,000 Afghan refugees soon to settle in our country, this is an excellent opportunity to learn about how to practice extravagant hospitality.

To join the conversation, use this Zoom link:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72619387289?pwd=WGtQQ1hrU1ByeXVERWo1RnEwR3NRQT09.

The meeting ID is 726 1938 7289 and the passcode is 6Hgqt2.

For more information contact Barb Huitema or Pastor Wes.

Join us for Evening Prayer and Fellowship tonight at 6:30!

Join us tonight, Wednesday, September 8, via Zoom at 6:30 pm for a brief Service of Evening Prayer.
It's an opportunity to see each other’s faces, hear each other’s voices, and catch up with each other and it's a great time to pause and reconnect during the middle of the week.

You can join from any digital device by clicking this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84551334188?pwd=VDhxY3BsdC8yVmdtMVd3NUsyREg3UT09

If you'd prefer to call in, you may do so by dialing (312) 626 6799, entering 845 5133 4188 when prompted for a meeting ID, and 947736 when prompted for a passcode.

The liturgy for evening prayer can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kU53pHRj-oNRnF0Ays7gBdjbxO5Yzrrf/view?usp=sharing

The information session about Refugee Resettlement will follow Evening Prayer at 7 pm, but will use a different Zoom link provided below:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72619387289?pwd=WGtQQ1hrU1ByeXVERWo1RnEwR3NRQT09

Evening Prayer and Fellowship normally happens at 6:30 pm each Wednesday but moves to 7:30 pm on the first Wednesday of the month due to our mobile Food Pantry.

Fall Kick Off for Kids

Our annual Fall Kick Off is this Sunday, September 12. We will be having Blessing of the Backpacks and Kiddo Zoom Fellowship time. See details below:

1. During the service, Pastor Wes will be giving the Blessing of the Backpacks so if you are attending in person, bring your back pack to be blessed. If you are attending online, have your backpack with you or be in your school/study space at home.

2. Kiddo Zoom Fellowship-Right after the service we will have some time to fellowship online together. Whether you are joining the service in-person or online, grab a device and join Zoom Fellowship athttps://stjohnsuccgr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a3fb0974422cf25b4640e5d56&id=8ddc6a3002&e=46c9dd59bc . We will then have a break out room for the kids to have some fun. Make sure you have a blank piece of paper and some coloring materials with you.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Education team at education@stjohnsuccgr.org with any questions any time. 

We can’t wait to see you and celebrate Fall. 

Tarah Tiedt

St. John’s UCC Education Team Leader

Education@stjohnsuccgr.org

This Sunday, September 5, 2021

Dear St. John's Family,

Welcome to Sunday morning!  This is the day that God has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it!

We are so grateful to be able to gather for worship in-person outdoors at the church this morning at 10 am!  Please plan to join us!

Masks will be required for those who attend in-person, regardless of vaccination status, as a way of keeping the most vulnerable among us safe.  (Remember, those under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated yet and are increasingly more vulnerable to the disease, as are those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons and those who have certain preexisting conditions.)

Participants are asked to bring their favorite folding chair, sunscreen, and an umbrella (to provide shade from the sun and in case of inclement weather).

Holy Communion will be offered using prepackaged elements.

We will continue livestreaming the service for those unable to attend in-person services.  To celebrate Holy Communion, please have some bread or a cracker and some juice or wine (whatever you have will work and God will be OK with it). To participate, you may watch via our Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/stjohnsuccgr/,

via our YouTube channel at

http://alturl.com/etrte,

or watch on our website at

https://stjohnsuccgr.org/.

We'll gather after worship for a time of fellowship in person at the church and by Zoom conference.  To join with any digital device, simply click here

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/192123229?pwd=Z203SlNXWmRmdnFFWDg4RlltZlVqdz09

If you would rather just call in by phone, dial (253) 215-8782 and enter 192 123 229 when prompted for a meeting ID and 730577 when prompted for a passcode.

There are links below this message to the order of service, the weekly Journal, a children's bulletin for the week's lectionary readings, a youth Bible Study, an Adult Bible Study, and a devotional guide for the week. Please share these resources with your family and friends and know that we are joined together across any distances or difficulties that might separate us.

Our weekly Bible Study class that normally meets on Sunday mornings at 9 am is on hiatus for the summer and will resume in the fall.

We are able to provide all of these wonderful services because of your continuing generosity and support.  If you are able to give to support our ministries, please so do.  You can make a donation or set up regular giving by clicking here:  http://www.stjohnsuccgr.org/give.  You can also simply mail your check to the church.

St. John’s UCC
1934 Bridge ST NW
Grand Rapids, MI  49504

Thank you for your continued faithfulness in supporting St. John's.

Let us continue to hold each other and the entire world close to our hearts and to the heart of God in prayer.

With love and hope,

Pastor Wes

Sunday Bible Study
daily discipleship (squarespace.com)

Youth Bible Study
https://blogs.elca.org/faithlens/

Children's Activity Sheet
Children's+Bulletin+09052021.pdf (squarespace.com)

Weekly Journal
Journal+09052021.pdf (squarespace.com)

Order of Service
Leader's Guide to the Liturgy for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B, September 5, 2021 (squarespace.com)

Weekly Devotional

48 Time After Pentecost Lec 23 Year B.pub (squarespace.com)

Help with our Mobile Food Pantry Today

St. John's UCC will join with the Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church TODAY (Wednesday, September 1, 2021) to distribute food through our mobile food pantry. Volunteers are needed at 5:00 pm at 1550 Oswego St NW to unload groceries, pack boxes, direct traffic, register clients, distribute groceries, set up and teardown work stations, and to deliver surplus groceries to local charities. Drive thru distribution begins at 6:00 PM. Feel free to contact Teresa Markoski at (616) 690-4566 or email her at tmarkoski2004@yahoo.com for more details. Donations to our mobile food pantry are welcome by selecting Food Truck on the Church App Give tab or by mailing a check to St. John's UCC, 1934 Bridge Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. Thank you for your efforts in supporting our community.

Confronting Racism Class TONIGHT at 8 pm

Please join us TONIGHT, Wednesday, September 1, at 8:00 pm
for our Confronting Racism class.
The class will meet for about an hour and focus on Chapter One of Jemar Tisby's book How to Fight Racism:  Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice.

Please read Chapter One in preparation for tonight's session.

The between session journal pages are posted here: https://stjohnsuccgr.org/s/JP-Session-1.pdf

To join the discussion with any digital device, simply click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84551334188?pwd=VDhxY3BsdC8yVmdtMVd3NUsyREg3UT09.

If you would rather just call in by phone, dial (312) 626-6799 and enter 845 5133 4188 when prompted for a meeting ID and then 947736 when prompted for a passcode.

Additional resources for the class are posted on our website under the "Confronting Racism Resources" section at the bottom of the front page of our website at www.stjohnsuccgr.org.

The class will normally meet at 7 pm, but moves to 8 pm on the first Wednesday of the month due to our mobile food pantry.

Join us for Evening Prayer and Fellowship tonight at 7:30!

Join us tonight, Wednesday, September 1, via Zoom at 7:30 pm for a brief Service of Evening Prayer.
It's an opportunity to see each other’s faces, hear each other’s voices, and catch up with each other and it's a great time to pause and reconnect during the middle of the week.

You can join from any digital device by clicking this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84551334188?pwd=VDhxY3BsdC8yVmdtMVd3NUsyREg3UT09

If you'd prefer to call in, you may do so by dialing (312) 626 6799, entering 845 5133 4188 when prompted for a meeting ID, and 947736 when prompted for a passcode.

The liturgy for evening prayer can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mRVfPXso4Amd7aAv6XUeeADzLhpjC6My/view?usp=sharing

The Confronting Racism class will follow Evening Prayer at 8 pm and utilize the same Zoom link and meeting information.

Evening Prayer and Fellowship normally happens at 6:30 pm each Wednesday but moves to 7:30 pm on the first Wednesday of the month due to our mobile Food Pantry.

This Sunday, August 29, 2021

Dear St. John's Family,

Welcome to Sunday morning! This is the day that God has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it!
We are so excited to return to in-person worship outdoors at the church this morning at 10 am! Please plain to join us!

Masks will be required for those who attend in-person, regardless of vaccination status, as a way of keeping the most vulnerable among us safe. (Remember, those under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated yet and are increasingly more vulnerable to the disease, as are those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons and those who have certain preexisting conditions.)

Participants are asked to bring their favorite folding chair, sunscreen, and an umbrella (to provide shade from the sun and in case of inclement weather).

Holy Communion will be offered using prepackaged elements.

We will not immediately resume offering refreshments after service, but plan to do so as we become more comfortable.

If all goes well, we will continue with outdoor services through July and August and hope to return to in-person worship in the sanctuary around September 12. These plans are tentative and we ask for your patience and flexibility as we move forward with our regathering process.

We will continue livestreaming the service for those not yet ready to return to in-person services. To celebrate Holy Communion, please have some bread or a cracker and some juice (whatever you have will work and God will be OK with it). To participate, you can watch via our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnsuccgr/, via our YouTube channel at http://alturl.com/etrte,
or watch on our website at https://stjohnsuccgr.org/.

We'll gather after worship for a time of fellowship in person at the church and by Zoom conference. To join with any digital device, simply click here https://us02web.zoom.us/j/192123229?pwd=Z203SlNXWmRmdnFFWDg4RlltZlVqdz09

If you would rather just call in by phone, dial (253) 215-8782 and enter 192 123 229 when prompted for a meeting ID and 730577 when prompted for a passcode.

There are links below this message to the order of service, the weekly Journal, a children's
bulletin for the week's lectionary readings, a youth Bible Study, an Adult Bible Study, and
a devotional guide for the week. Please share these resources with your family and friends
and know that we are joined together across any distances or difficulties that might
separate us.

Our weekly Bible Study class that normally meets on Sunday mornings at 9 am will take a
break during the month of July and return on Sunday, August 1, at 8:45 am in-person at
church. There will be an option to participate by Zoom for those who aren’t ready to
return to in-person.

We are able to provide all of these wonderful services because of your continuing
generosity and support. This is a difficult time for many, but if you are able to give to
support our ministries, please so do. You can make a donation or set up regular giving by
clicking here: http://www.stjohnsuccgr.org/give. You can also simply mail your check to
the church.

St. John’s UCC
1934 Bridge ST NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Thank you for your continued faithfulness in supporting St. John's. Let us continue to hold each other and the entire world close to our hearts and to the heart of God in prayer.

With love and hope,

Pastor Wes

Sunday Bible Study

Youth Bible Study

Children's Bulletin

Journal

Order of Service

Weekly Devotion

Confronting Racism Class TONIGHT at 7 pm

Please join us TONIGHT, Wednesday, August 25, at 7:00 pm for our Confronting Racism class.
The class will meet for about an hour and focus on an orientation to Jemar Tisby's book How to Fight Racism:  Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice.

If you have not already purchased or borrowed the book, there's still time do so. We'll begin with Chapter One next week. You can order the book from Amazon or any bookseller.

There is no assigned reading for this week.

To join the discussion with any digital device, simply click here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84551334188?pwd=VDhxY3BsdC8yVmdtMVd3NUsyREg3UT09.

If you would rather just call in by phone, dial (312) 626-6799 and enter 845 5133 4188 when prompted for a meeting ID and then 947736 when prompted for a passcode.

Additional resources for the class are posted on our website under the "Confronting Racism Resources" section at the bottom of the front page of our website at www.stjohnsuccgr.org.

The class will normally meet at 7 pm, but moves to 8 pm on the first Wednesday of the month due to our mobile food pantry.

Join us for Evening Prayer and Fellowship tonight at 6:30!

Join us tonight, Wednesday, August 25, via Zoom at 6:30 pm for a brief Service of Evening Prayer.
It's an opportunity to see each other’s faces, hear each other’s voices, and catch up with each other and it's a great time to pause and reconnect during the middle of the week.

You can join from any digital device by clicking this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84551334188?pwd=VDhxY3BsdC8yVmdtMVd3NUsyREg3UT09

If you'd prefer to call in, you may do so by dialing (312) 626 6799, entering 845 5133 4188 when prompted for a meeting ID, and 947736 when prompted for a passcode.

The liturgy for evening prayer can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1seQYmwZVa0PDM3LkIghjsch52L3vcpXE/view?usp=sharing

The Confronting Racism class will follow Evening Prayer at 7 pm and utilize the same Zoom link and meeting information.

Evening Prayer and Fellowship normally happens at 6:30 pm each Wednesday but moves to 7:30 pm on the first Wednesday of the month due to our mobile Food Pantry.