News & Notes
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​​Friendly Rider:
Anyone desiring to use Friendly Rider on Sunday morning to attend worship services, just call and tell them your destination. There will be no charge to you.
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Financial Secretary:
We are still looking for someone to fill one of the Financial Secretary positions. This is not a huge time commitment. See Carol S. or Pastor for details.
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Audio Tech:
(This is a fancy name for the person who runs the Power Point on Sunday morning.) We are in DESPERATE NEED of people to help in this area if we're going to be able to continue to have Divine Service on screens. See Josh S. or Pastor for more details.
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Stitch & Chatter Quilters
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The Stitch & Chatter quilters have quilts for sale. These quilts are located in the fellowship hall and are tagged with prices and the approximate sizes. Checks can be made out to Stitch & Chatter and left in the church office or mailed to the church.
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Most of the quilts made by Stitch & Chatter are donated to missions, the Empty Stocking Fund, fire victims, and members who might be in need of them.
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Lutheran Island Camp Registration
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Our congregation pays the registration fee for any youth from St. John who wishes to attend Lutheran Island Camp.
For a positive change in your life, plan to attend
Lutheran Island Camp this summer!
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​​​​Our next meeting will be Monday, January 19, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
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The Spring Rally Planning Meeting will be Friday, January 9, 2026 at St. John's Ottertail at 1:30 p.m.
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The Wadena Zone Fall Rally was held on Saturday, October 25, at Trinity Lutheran in New York Mills. Our speaker was the director of the Christian based Perry Center for pregnant girls and women aged 12--30+.
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The LWML-sponsored Women's Christmas Luncheon wasl Saturday, December 5, at 10:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. All women and girls of St. John were invited. This years devotion centered around "A Christmas Story: The Geese."
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Board of Elders:
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A New Beginning in Christ
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As the new year begins, many people make resolutions to quit bad habits or improve themselves. While discipline has its place, resolutions often rely on our own strength--and frequently fade within weeks. As Christians, however, we are given something far greater than self-improvement: renewal in Christ.
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Scripture reminds us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV). The new does not require us to reinvent ourselves, but to return daily to the grace already given to us through Jesus' death and resurrection.
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Instead of focusing on what to quit, this year we might begin something new: a renewed life of prayer and time in God's Word. Luther taught that the Christian life is one of daily repentance--daily dying to sin and rising again in Christ. That daily renewal is nourished as God speaks to us through Scripture.
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The Psalmist writes, "Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm1:1-2, NKJV). Reading the Gospel is not merely a habit, but a place where Christ meets us with forgiveness, comfort, and hope.
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Prayer, too, is simply speaking to our gracious Father. St. Paul encourages us, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6, NKJV).
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As we hear God's Word and receive His gifts, the Holy Spirit is at work shaping our lives. "We all...are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV).
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This year, may we live not by resolutions that fade, but by faith rooted in Christ, who invites us: "Abide in Me and I in you" (John 15:4, NKJV).
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Josh S.
On behalf of the Board of Elders ​
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Board of Evangelism:
There are several instances during the ministry of Jesus that he charged his disciples to tell no one about what they had seen or heard. For example, Jesus asked his disciples in Mark 8: 27-30 how people identified him as well as how the disciples identified him, Peter replied (v. 29) "You are the Christ." Jesus told them to tell no one about Him. Jesus also told Peter, James, and John to tell no one what they had witnessed when he healed a twelve-year-old girl (Mark 5:41-43) or the spectacular scene on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:3-9). The time was not right for "telling" until Jesus' ministry was complete and He had risen from the dead.
Because we live in the post-resurrection era, the time IS right for telling. Jesus' last command to his disciples before He ascended into heaven was "Go tell." We read in Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
With His help, let us winsomely and boldly share with others the gospel of Christ. Our neighbors, as well as all people across the world, need to hear the good news more than ever before!
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Greeting Card Ministry
Be sure and check out the new selection of various Greeting Cards available for sale in the library. Napkins are available as well.
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