St. John Lutheran Church October 2017________________________________________________________________________

Church Office: 563-242-5588Pastor Dan Pool: 321-6757, home

e-mail: dpool@stjohn-clinton-ia.orgWeb Site: www.stjohn-clinton-ia.org

________________________________________________________________________

Pastor Pool’s Sunday Bible StudyEcclesiastes:

Finding the True Purpose of Life

We continue our study in October on the Old Testament wisdom of King Solomon found in Ecclesiastes. Join us for a journey into the meaning of life as we look at the successes and failures of the wisest man who has ever lived. Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Bring your Bible. Everyone is welcome!

October 1: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11: Vanity of Self-IndulgenceOctober 8: Ecclesiastes 2:12-26: Bursting the BubbleOctober 15: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15: Doing TimeOctober 22: Ecclesiastes 3:16-22: Dust in the Wind

October 29: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16: Less Aware of Me

500 Years and Still Reforming

There is much to celebrate this year as recognize the 500 th

Anniversary of the Reformation. We have an Oktoberfest potluck. We have new pocket size Small Catechism available. We are introducing a processional cross into our worship. Our choir is singing a Luther Hymn. And most importantly, we are gathering to hear God’s Word and receive the Sacrament.

The Church still needs the same kind of help it needed 500 years ago when Luther started asking doctrinal questions about indulgences, purgatory, and, most importantly, how we can stand before God in true righteousness.

The key emphasis of the Reformation was the doctrine of justification. We need to know this word and what it means. Let me encourage you to add it to your vocabulary because God’s work of justification is the only thing that can free us from the wrath of God come judgment day. Justification is a salvation word and we need God’s rescue. We need to be freed from the curse and consequences of original sin and actual sin. Justification is that word of God by which God declares us to be righteous before Him. As the hymn says, “Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; bright with thine own holiness.”

Because we are sinners, God must punish our sin on the cross, and Christ must apply His own righteousness to us. This is courtroom language. In Christ, though we deserve to be pronounced guilty, we hear the not guilty verdict, but only because of Jesus and only through faith in Jesus. Justification is

all about God saving us by grace, through faith and His Word, with all of this in Christ.

The sermons of October will focus in on the Lutheran doctrine of justification. Often this gets summarized in the Solas (Latin for alone or only): Grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, and Christ alone—all to the glory of God alone. This is the central word of genuine Lutheranism and of genuine Christianity. It is the good news that this Church preaches!

Blessed Reformation! And may we keep learning and reforming! - Pastor

Sunday Services in October

October 1: LWML SundayOctober 8: Mission Festival SundayOctober 15: 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

October 22: 24th Sunday after PentecostOctober 29: Reformation Sunday

Mission Festival

Mission Festival is Sunday, October 8. This year our special missions’ offerings are staying local. Your financial gifts will support the outreach efforts and everyday expenses of our own St. John Preschool. In this ministry of our church, we reach out into our community with quality Christian education for 3-4 year-old students. Throughout the whole school day, our students hear the Gospel and the ways in which God shapes and provides for our world. Our students will sing for us at Late Service. This year we are also doing a food drive for the

Victory Center. Please bring your Mission Festival offering as well as a couple of non-perishable items to share.  

Fellowship Club Potluck

St. John Fellowship Club will meet on Tuesday, October 3, at 6:00 p.m. for a potluck supper at the church. Please bring food to share. The beverages and table service will be furnished. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Revelation Bible Study with Pastor

Join us for this ongoing small group Bible Study on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at either 9:30 a.m.

(Classroom 1) or 7:00 p.m. (Fellowship Hall). This study is for men, women, and teens. There is no cost. No previous Bible study experience is necessary. Bring your Bible.

Oct. 3: Ephesus and Smyrna: Revelation 2:1-11Oct. 17: Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis: Revelation 2:12-3:6

Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed the World

The Board of Evangelism hosted a movie night for the new Luther Movie at the Clinton 8 Theater in September. We were so pleased that so many of you attended.

If you missed out, the movie is available to stream for free on PBS at www.pbs.org/video/martin-luther-the-idea-that-changed-the-world-iyaelb/.

Ladies Aid

Ladies Aid will meet in the fellowship hall on Friday, October 6 at 1:30 p.m. Pastor Pool will be leading the Bible study. Hostesses are Joan Bennett and Barbara Tietjens. All ladies of the congregation are invited to attend!

October 1 is LWML Sunday. We will have a mite box in the fellowship hall for donations to assist in funding the LWML Mission Grants for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Your mites are mighty when added to those of the national group. Thank you! All ladies of our congregation are considered members of the LWML!

Mary Martha

The Mary Martha meeting will be Tuesday, October 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Marianne Wenzel will lead the “Women of the Bible” study. The 2018 altar duties sign-up sheets will be available. Jan Peters and Janice Wheelock will serve as hostesses. All ladies are invited to attend.

Quilts for Lutheran World Relief

The Quilting Bee will meet on Thursday, October 19 at 9:00 a.m. in the fellowship hall to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief. Anyone interested in helping is welcome to join us!

Confirmation Retreat

Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca is hosting a Confirmation Retreat Oct. 6-7. Registration and information are available at www.campiodiseca.org and on our Facebook page. Our youth currently in Catechesis are encouraged to attend.

Hospitalization

Please be sure to mention St. John Lutheran Church if you are admitted at Mercy Medical Center, Clinton. Your pastor wants to visit you when you’re hospitalized, but the only sure way for him to know is for you or a family member to call the church office, 242-5588. If you would like pastor to visit, but not have your name announced on Sunday, your request will be honored.

Do you shop at Amazon.com?

AmazonSmile will make a donation to St. John each time you make a purchase. Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/42-6005460 to register your account. After registering your Amazon account, start each purchase at smile.amazon.com.

Higher Things

Our annual Higher Things youth conference will take

place in Northfield, Minnesota on July 3-6, 2018. Registration forms are now available in the fellowship hall. Please sign-up there if you plan to attend! Registration is just $100. The deadline is October 29. The church will help raise funds for the rest of the cost of the conference! Confirmed youth and college students are welcome to attend.

On Reformation Sunday, October 29 after the late service, we will host a special Oktoberfest in true Reformation fashion. We will be serving brats and root beer, with a German style potluck. Consider bringing one of the dishes below to help us make this an Oktoberfest to remember.

Sides:Bavarian Cucumber Salad (or regular)Apple SaucePotato PancakesColeslawSauerkrautPotato Salad Bread DumplingsPotato Dumplings

Red CabbagePotato SoupMashed PotatoesCranberriesSpatzleRye bread & butterPretzelsCheese dip (for pretzels, bread, etc.)

Desserts:Apple StrudelBlack Forest CakeCream Puff Carrot CakeCheesecake

Altar Flowers

The new 2018 altar flower sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the narthex. Flowers may be placed on the altar on any Sunday except during Lent. This may be done in memory of someone, commemorating a birthday or anniversary, or as a service of love.

Hy-Vee, Clinton Floral, and Flowers on 5th all have keys to St. John so if you are ordering flowers from them they should be able to pick up the vase liners and deliver the flowers when it is convenient for them. If you would like to use a different florist, you may stop by the church office the week before you are signed up for flowers and pick up a church key and the vase liners for the florist. Please ask the florist to leave the church key in the sacristy when they deliver the flowers.

Please contact the church office, 242-5588, by Thursday at Noon with your altar flower bulletin announcement, the florist who will be delivering the flowers, and whether or not you would like to keep the altar flowers after service or have them delivered to the sick or shut-in members of the congregation.

Facebook

Did you know the Church has a Facebook page? You can like us on Facebook at St. John Lutheran Church, Clinton.

From the desk of KURT FLATHERS, Director of the Board of Elders:

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation.

I remember back to my youth and Action Comics starring Superman was the first comic book to hit issue number 500. Then other comic books did the same thing over the years. But you always remember the first one. It was a big deal. I held that book in my hands, and looked at it and thought, WOW! 500 issues had been printed between 1938 and 1979. It was a very big deal to me.

As we think back and remember what happened 500 years ago to the church on earth, Martin Luther took hammer and nail and posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Church in Wittenberg, Germany. He wanted to discuss and challenge what was being done and taught in the church. He wanted to get back to the faith by grace alone, in faith alone, by scripture alone, in Christ alone. It was a big deal to Luther. He saw too much that was not in scripture being done. He saw the common people not knowing what or who the Word was. He saw too many people being told they had to do things to be saved from sin, not by the grace of God. He wanted to get back to the basics…..to remember another hammer and nails that were pounded into the hands and feet of our Savior Jesus Christ. He wanted to tell people the Good News that God’s grace saves us, by the body and blood of our Savior, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. It was not by what we do, but by what has been done for us. This 500 th Anniversary of the Reformation is a milestone, in remembering, that though we are sinners, Christ died for us. We have His testament in the Scriptures alone. We have this in faith, and do our good works for our neighbors as thanks to God for all He has done for us. This is most certainly true.

A blessed celebration all of October, as we remember the Solas! To God alone be the glory. A Mighty Fortress is our God!

Clinton Lutheran HourRadio Broadcast

The Clinton Lutheran Hour has been coming into people’s homes, through KROS Radio broadcasts, since 1950.

For those who are shut-ins or are unable to come to church, this is a wonderful way to hear God’s word, through Pastor Pool, and be a part of the worship service.

The Radio Mission League sponsors these broadcasts each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. on KROS 1340 AM or 105.9 FM. Donations made from St. John congregation make this possible.

Would you like to assure the continuance of these broadcasts with a donation in your name or in memory of a loved one? A broadcast may be sponsored for a specific Sunday for $35.00 by contacting Janice Wheelock, 321-4536.

Darlene Paysen and Paul Wenzel record our services each week, Jeff Niebuhr is our announcer, Janice Wheelock schedules the broadcasts, and Sharon Brown is the treasurer.

Check It OutIn Our Church Library

Reformation 500Luther was a professor, theologian, former monk, scholar, author, Bible translator, and defender of the faith. Be he was also a pastor, husband, father, and a good friend to many. His students and followers took careful notes of his university lectures, sermons, and later in life, even his dinner conversations.

Our church library is very fortunate to have a whole set of “Luther’s Works”. These books are a delight to read, and no one expects you to read them in two weeks. Check them out for as long as you need them, or just read a chapter or two.

Devotional Writings 11 vol. 43 [Yellow Cover]The contents of this volume cover the years between 1522 (the year of the Diet of Worms) and 1545 (the year before Luther’s death). This volume includes A Simple Way to Pray, page 187-193; Personal Prayer Book, page 11; and Sayings in Which Luther Found Comfort, page 17. The foot notes alone are worth reading.

Luther’s Works [Red Cover vol. 1-35]Word and Sacrament

Throughout his career, Luther contended that Word and Sacrament belong together. This book provides an early view of the Sacrament. A Treatise on the New Testament, page 79; Luther Rebels Against Saying Mass in Latin, page 90; and Translating an Open Letter, page 186, an interesting read with some colorful language.

Table TalkA delight to read.

Coming Soon:

DVD – Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed The World

October Birthdays & Anniversaries

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !

Happy Birthday to: Howard Vogel, who will be 85 on October 2. Ronald McGauvran, who will be 84 on October 4.Kathleen Lorenzen, who will be 81 on October 24.

Happy Anniversary to:Pete & Tara Sirna, 20th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 4. Andrew & Jenna Pladna, 1st Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 8.Eric & Maisie Sikkema, 5th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 12. Mark & Patti Schroeder, 25th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 17. Duane & Ruth Gray, 20th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 25. Tom & Linda Judd, 50th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 28.

We list birthdays 80 and above and anniversaries for year one and every five years thereafter unless we receive a request not to do so.

Private Communion Calls

Pastor Pool makes his visits to those in nursing homes throughout the month. Those at home who would like to receive a communion visit are asked to call Pastor at the church office, 242- 5588, to schedule a convenient time.

THOSE WHO SERVE IN OCTOBER

Early

Elders: Kurt Flathers Bill Ross

Ushers: Daniel Stewart Matthew Stewart Donivan Sirna Parker Sirna

Nursery Attendants (Late)1 – Natalie & Molly Jackson8 – Jennifer Kammerer15 – Sheryl Jindrich22 – Kristi LaShelle29 – Tara Sirna

Recording 1 – Darlene Paysen8 – Paul Wenzel15 – Darlene Paysen22 – Paul Wenzel29 – Darlene Paysen

Late

Elders: Troy Bialas James McHugh

Ushers: Pete Sirna Dale Schroeder Stephen VanVuren

Acolyte Schedule1-Early – William Schemers1-Late – Elder

8-Early – Ben Poland8-Late – Kaleb Bovis

15-Early – Sam Reynolds15-Late – Aaron Becker

22-Early – Zachary Poland22-Late – David Graham

29-Early – Maya Murtha29-Late – Elder

NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: OCTOBER 20If you would like to put any information in the newsletter, contact Angie Stewart, and get her the information by October 20.