Learn more about Feeding America

Tonight, Wednesday, November 17, at 7:00 pm via Zoom, we’ll welcome Shay Kovacs, program manager with Feeding America West Michigan, to tell us more about Feeding America’s programs and how we can support them. Shay will give us more insight behind the scenes into what it takes to make our mobile food pantry happen, including the sources of the food we receive.

Be sure to join us and invite a friend!

To join with any digital device, simply click this link:

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

If you would prefer to call in, simply dial 312.626.6799 and when prompted for a Meeting ID enter 845 5133 4188 and when prompted for a passcode enter 947736.

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

Join us tonight, Wednesday, November 17, 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/1xAnQ0PeAddpoBaqsccCgEEJKu-TiPD7t/view?usp=sharing

The special presentation from Feeding America 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.

This Sunday, November 14, 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!

While we are deeply grateful for the four months of wonderful outdoor worship we enjoyed this summer and fall, the weather has now turned too cold to gather in person outdoors for worship on Sundays and our positivity rates and hospitalizations remain far above the guidelines adopted by our pandemic task force for a return to in-person worship in the sanctuary.  Therefore, we have returned to virtual worship services.  A small team of worship leaders (pastor, music director, liturgist, cantor, and tech) will broadcast the service from the sanctuary via our website, Facebook, and YouTube.  Please plan to participate from the comfort and warmth of home and know that as soon as it’s truly safe to do so, we’ll return to in-person worship together in the sanctuary.

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 via our website at https://stjohnsuccgr.org/ .

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.

We will resume after worship fellowship by Zoom immediately following the worship service.  You can join from any digital device by clicking this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/192123229?pwd=Z203SlNXWmRmdnFFWDg4RlltZlVqdz09

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

 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/618e7e8930242f1a052fab68/1636728457797/Sunday+Bible+study+11142021.pdf

Youth Bible Study

https://blogs.elca.org/faithlens/

Children's Activity Sheet

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/618e7ebec777b7472062c4f5/1636728511208/Children%27s+bulletins+11142021.pdf

Weekly Journal

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/618ea3ce4c8c1647e913f553/1636738000055/Journal+11142021.pdf

Order of Service

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/618e7f46e2549d0915d47c56/1636728648322/order+of+Service+11142021.pdf

Weekly Devotional

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/618e800f83e6fc75816d8d1b/1636728847832/weekly+devotion+11142021.pdf

Confronting Racism Class TONIGHT at 7 pm

Please join us TONIGHT, Wednesday, November 10, at 7:00 pm for our Confronting Racism class.
The class will meet for about an hour and focus on Chapter Nine of Jemar Tisby's book How to Fight Racism:  Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice.

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

The between session journal pages are posted here:

https://stjohnsuccgr.org/s/JP-Session-9.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 6:30!

Join us tonight, Wednesday, November 10, 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/1tJ7wWc7Vj1GqyRvFWyQN9T6mE3KVZH2Z/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.

Christmas "Pageant"

Plans are underway for the Christmas "Pageant" this year. Miss. Becky will be recording the Christmas story (from a very unique perspective) and we will be intermixing the story with recordings of songs from families. So, what do we need from you?

1. Sign up for a song below. If you have a favorite, grab it now by signing up today.

2. I will send you the music played by Joel Gary

3. You can be dressed up in your Sunday best or in costume as angels, shepherds, Mary and Joseph, Wisemen, etc. Remember we had lots of costume ideas last year that you could make at home. Reach out to the education team if you need some ideas.

4. Take a video of your kiddos and/or your family singing the song (while listening to Joel's recording of the music). Make sure the recording is landscape.

5. Send the video recording to Tarah Tiedt no later than December 12.

6. The "pageant" will be shown during the service on December 19.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to education@stjohnsuccgr.org with any questions.

We can't wait to see this all come together this year.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090449A9A82AA02-christmas

This Sunday, November 7, 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!

While we are deeply grateful for the four months of wonderful outdoor worship we enjoyed this summer and fall, the weather has now turned too cold to gather in person outdoors for worship on Sundays and our positivity rates and hospitalizations remain far above the guidelines adopted by our pandemic task force for a return to in-person worship in the sanctuary.  Therefore, starting this Sunday, November 7, we will return to virtual worship services.  A small team of worship leaders (pastor, music director, liturgist, cantor, and tech) will broadcast the service from the sanctuary via our website, Facebook, and YouTube.  Please plan to participate from the comfort and warmth of home and know that as soon as it’s truly safe to do so, we’ll return to in-person worship together in the sanctuary.

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 via our website at https://stjohnsuccgr.org/ .

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.

We will resume after worship fellowship by Zoom immediately following the worship service.  You can join from any digital device by clicking this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/192123229?pwd=Z203SlNXWmRmdnFFWDg4RlltZlVqdz09

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

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/6185379f167c7323ffac5d9e/1636120479162/Sunday+Bible+Study+11072021.pdf

Youth Bible Study

https://blogs.elca.org/faithlens/

Children's Activity Sheet

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/618537d57695212749a9b97e/1636120533925/Children%27s+bulletin+11072021.pdf

Weekly Journal

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/6185380d2ae7d330b41e58da/1636120592036/Journal+11072021.pdf

Order of Service

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/6185383cbdbd315ac1f094c0/1636120637497/Order+of+Service+11072021.pdf

Weekly Devotional

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51294ee7e4b03f854ee99725/t/6185387498a32923b4352aec/1636120692310/Weekly+devotion+11072021.pdf

Confronting Racism Class TONIGHT at 8 pm

Please join us TONIGHT, Wednesday, November 3, at 8:00 pm for our Confronting Racism class.
The class will meet for about an hour and focus on Chapter Eight of Jemar Tisby's book How to Fight Racism:  Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice.

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

The between session journal pages are posted here:

https://stjohnsuccgr.org/s/JP-Session-8.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, November 3, 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/1XEBe6Aur5kUOnfYo0pTy0WS-5dW7WePN/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.

Help with our Mobile Food Pantry Today

St. John's UCC will join with the Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church TODAY (Wednesday, November 3, 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.