THE MESSENGER St. John

Wood River, Illinois

2017

No matter who you are…

or where you are on life’s journey,

YOU are welcome here.

May 14 Mother’s Day

& Confirmation Sunday

Please join us in worship and celebration on May 14. The women in the church will each receive a packet of

seeds for their gardens.

And 4 of our youth will confirm the promises made for them at their baptisms and join the church

in covenant membership.

Messy Church May 21 4-6pm

The story of Elijah listening for

God’s voice. Do you hear God’s voice?

What do yo do to listen to the small voice of God?

What makes it harder or easier to listen? Have you ever asked God to speak to you? What happened?

Explore these and other questions at Messy Church. We will enjoy a simple dinner of homemade soups

And a variety of home baked breads. And we will celebrate Holy Communion, the Messy Church way!

What’s Inside

Kids Klips

Birthdays

Manna Money

Remember in Prayer

May Calendar

May 28 Worship in the Park

& Church picnic

Save the dates: VBS is coming!

July 24-27

Week of Mission Opportunity in June

Ad Team report

Throughout Eastertide we have these

wonderful stories of the disciples encountering the

risen Christ. Through

John and Luke,

especially, we get to

be the “fly on the

wall” watching them

react to their

encounter with Jesus.

Do you think

Thomas actually put

his hands into the

wounds on Jesus’

side? Or did he

simply exclaim, “My Lord and my God.” Did he

kneel? Did he clasp Jesus’ hands? Perhaps he backed

away, still wondering at the miracle before him.

And what of the disciples in that week

between encounters? Jesus appeared to them and then

waited eight days to appear again, this time with

Thomas present.

What were the conversations like during that

week? Were they combing through the suffering

servant passages from Isaiah and debating with each

other if these prophetic writings had anything to say

about Jesus and their experiences with him? Maybe

they were recalling with each other the things Jesus

said during what we call his “farewell discourse” in

John’s gospel.

In Luke’s version of events, what of Cleopas

and his companion at that table in Emmaus? After

Jesus broke the bread at the table and their eyes were

opened and they recognized the stranger as the risen

Christ, Luke tells us they got up and rushed back to

tell the others about the experience.

It was the end of the day when they sat down

to the table. They must have rushed back in the dark,

too excited to worry about bandits or wild animals.

What did the disciples—or the neighbors—say

when they pounded on the door in the middle of the

night shouting, or maybe whispering, “We have seen

him. He opened the scriptures to us and we

recognized him in the broken bread.”

Then when Jesus appeared among them in that

conversation, “They were terrified and afraid.” So

again, Jesus ate with all of them, assuring them he

was not a ghost and opened their minds to understand

the scriptures. (Luke 24: 36ff)

And what about the women? Unaccustomed

to having their opinions matter, how did they feel

with being the witnesses to the moments after the

resurrection?

Did the disciples, male and female, ask them

over and over again, “Tell us what the angel said.

Tell us again what you saw—where were the cloths?

Are you sure they didn’t just steal the body? What

did the guards say when they could talk again?”

What questions would you have had for the

women? Or for the two disciples rushed back from

Emmaus?

What would have been going through your

mind when you saw Jesus walking with Peter on the

beach after that huge catch and breakfast on the

shore? We have such an advantage—call it a

blessing—that we know the conversation they had.

“Feed my sheep, tend my lambs, feed my sheep.”

Seeing it, however, must have filled their

minds with questions. “What are they talking about?

Why just Peter? We all denied him, we all abandoned

him. Is he going to take each one of us and question

us? What will I say?”

Thinking about these questions, recalling

those times we ignored Jesus, pondering the meaning

of it all could fill a year or a lifetime of

contemplation. Neither Jesus nor the gospel writers,

however, give us that luxury. Before we even have a

chance to process it all, Jesus says, “Follow me.”

We have work to do. Healing, teaching,

comforting, reconciling, peacemaking and all the

ministries into which our diverse gifts can take us.

So contemplate and wonder, ponder and

ruminate. Imagine what you would have said or how

you would have stood silently in awe. The answers,

however, are not to be merely discussed. The

answers are to be lived.

Christ is risen, indeed! And he brought us a

“to do” list. Happy and joyful Eastertide!

Before you were born, I had a purpose for you.

May Birthdays 1 - Lucille Aubin, Vanessa Hart, Jonah Woelfel 2 - Cee Cee Wiegand 4 - James Gholson 5 - Jake Twichell, Alex Noble 6 - Jeff Burk, Jennifer Stimac 7 - Katie Richards, Terri Twichell 11 - Myah Gebelein 13 - Jordan Hartwick 17 - Rebecca Pavish 18 - Catherine Pulaski 19 - Roger Ringering, Kathy Gholson 20 - George Tyler 21 - Scott Pulaski 23 - Betty Hanfelder 26 - J.J. Hartwick, Jennifer Smith, Elias Hill 28 - Melissa Shewmake, Lincoln Hill 30 - Derek Howard 31 - Chris Tomkinson

Friends and family hospitalized or with ongoing health concerns Beth Davis, Paxton Huff, Dale Noble, Roger Ringering, Tamara Wiegand

Child Sponsored by St. John: Vimbai Dziya, Mt. Selinda Mission, Zimbabwe

Staying Close to Home/Ongoing Health Concerns Rachel Abert Margaret Rowden Lucille Aubin Beryl Shoemaker Don Schueler Lin Cox Jim Sutton Mary Goforth Overseas Teacher/Diplomatic Leigh-Ellen Kichline In Nursing Homes Amy Tohill Ed Hamlin Margaret Hinkle, Hitz Home Jim Jones, Rosewood Ginny Mitchell, Morningside Bob Hall, Bethalto Care Center Cindi Pulaski, Eunice Smith Serving in the Military

Dustin & Ashley Richards, Blake Sabolo and Brandon Southcombe

Upcoming Special Events

Worship in the Park! & Annual Picnic Sunday, May 28

On Sunday May 28 we will enjoy an outdoor worship service at the

Optimist Picnic Shelter at Belk Park and then enjoy a picnic. The playground is near the shelter and the new walking track lets you stroll around the beautiful lake and park. Bring your own meat to grill and a side dish to pass—the picnic is pot luck. WMT will supply the charcoal for the grills, paper plates, tableware, water and lemonade.

All You Can Eat!

Thursday, May 18

4-7pm

Manna Money Remember graduations, weddings and other Spring

events coming up. A little planning ahead and you

can really help St. John UCC by purchasing gift cards

for those special events!

The retailers know this is a big time of year for our

Gift Card sales and some of them offer special

bonuses where we make a few extra dollars. You get

the same great benefits—ease of use, sticking to your

budget, secure on line shopping without risking your

personal account numbers or information and

supporting your church while stocking up on

essentials or buying or ordering that special gift.

Gift cards make great gifts for Showers, Weddings, Birthdays and Graduations!

VBS is coming!

July 24-27 6pm-8pm

LIVING THE QUESTIONS 2.0 People know that at its core, Christianity has something good to offer the human race. At the same time, many have a sense that they are alone in being a "thinking" Christian and that "salvaging" Christianity is a hopeless task. What is needed is a safe environment where people have permission to ask the questions they've always wanted to ask but have been afraid to voice for fear of being thought a heretic. Living the Questions is a 21-week DVD and web-based small group study exploring beyond the traditions and rote theologies in which so many people and local churches seem to be stuck. Ideal for Christian invitation, initiation and spiritual formation, Living the Questions will help seekers and "church alumni/ae" alike in discovering the significance of Christianity in the 21st Century and what a meaningful faith can look

like in today's world. We will cover the first 7 during Eastertide, then pick up with 8-21 in the fall. THEMES for the next 7 weeks Invitation to Journey 1. An Invitation to Journey 2. Taking the Bible Seriously 3. Thinking Theologically 4. Stories of Creation 5. Lives of Jesus 6. A Passion for Christ: Paul 7. Out into the World: After these, we’ll break for the summer and pick up in the Fall with more lively, engaging conversation drawing us ever deeper into a relationship with God through Christ. FORMAT The format of each session includes a video, guided discussion, spiritual exercises and Bible study. The 20 minute videos for each session include conversation, sermon clips, lecture excerpts, and spiritual exercises for practical applications (including different forms of prayer and meditation, movement, walking the labyrinth, etc). Since the overall theme is that of faith as a journey, not a destination, the livingthequestions.com web site will offer resources for continued exploration, including downloadable expanded study guides, extra video resources, and links.

Blanket the Church & the World with God’s Love

Mother’s Day, May 14 A seed pack for all the women in the church

&

Comfort and Care for Mothers and Children in Distress

Through our Blankets+ offering for CWS

This year we are combining our Blankets and Tools

Offerings for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to our

Blankets+ offering.

Church World Service provides blankets at shelters after fires,

floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters. They provide

blankets and tents at refugee camps around the world and those thick, grey blankets at warming centers

for the homeless in our own cities during frigid winters.

$10 supplies one of those blankets.

This year, let’s cover the windows into the Sanctuary with love notes to our mothers and

all the important women in our lives.

Tape a picture of your mom on the glass and write a note with the dry erase markers.

(If you would like to make a “disposable” picture, we can scan your picture and print a

copy on regular printer paper.)

Please honor or remember someone you love by donating $10 and covering our

Narthex/Sanctuary windows with love notes!!

Would you like to be able to give to the church using your smartphone? Now you can! Just download

our app. When you download the Vanco Give+ Mobile app, select Saint John United Church in Wood

River and finish the account set up. Here are the general instructions

Strengthen the Church All Church Offering

On Pentecost, June 4

Building new churches, revitalizing declining churches, Continuing education and leadership development for clergy

and lay leadership. This all church offering does just what it says:

Strengthens the Church

Ad Team Report: At our March meeting the Ad Team took the following actions: Accepted the bid from Shane Harris for the additional charge of $600 to refinish/renew the wood surfaces in the sanctuary, this was in addition to the bid accepted the previous month for painting the Lobby, stairwell and upper landing. Voted to establish a task force to look at church finances and visioning process. Moderator Jim Still will approach members to build the team. Established fees for copies on the church copier to be b&w 5¢, color 10¢. Double sided copies double the price. Finance Report –Memorial Fund – Total funds in Memorial Fund is $127,699.69 less the restricted funds of $18,476.55, leaving a balance of $109,253.14. We have transferred $4,000.00 so far for the month of March. Total transfers this year total $14,500.00. Motion made by Dale and 2nd by Marilyn to accept the financial report. Motion passed.

Coming in June

A Place of Grace and St. John UCC team up for a week of Mission

The Messenger is a monthly publication of St. John United Church of Christ, 228 N. Sixth St., Wood River, IL 62095; phone 618 254-6682. E-mail @sjucc@sbcglobal.net Access our home page at www.stjohnucc.net. Worship is at 9:30 a.m. Messy Church is the 2nd Sunday of most months, 4-6pm. (3rd Sunday in May) Our Pastor is Rev. Mike Southcombe, cell phone (618) 558-5014 The Messenger editorial staff includes, Evalena O’dell and Marlene O’dell.

All guests are welcome.

“always caring, always sharing”

St. John United Church of Christ 228 N. Sixth St. Wood River, IL 62095 Return Service Requested

Mission Statement for St. John UCC

St. John United Church of Christ, Wood River, Illinois is a Christian Community:

Worshiping the Triune God

Claiming the historic faith of the church

Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ

Nurturing for Christian discipleship

Ministering to one another through fellowship and caring

Serving our community and the world

Connecting with other Christians for witness and service