ST. JOHN’S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 910 ALLENTOWN ROAD SELLERSVILLE PA 18960

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St. John’s evangelical Lutheran Church, 910 Allentown Road, Sellersville, PA Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM Office Phone: 215-257-9643 Email: stjohnsridgevalley@verizon.net Web: www.stjohnsridgevalley.com www.facebook.com/stjohnsridgevalley Worship Schedule: 8:30AM – Traditional Service 10:15AM Praise Service

9:30AM - Sunday School 9:40AM - Adult Sunday School

The Reverend Amy Hotter, Pastor (267)218-2378 Ministers: The People of St. John’s Krista Graham, Office Manager. (215)257-9643 Karen Quinn, Publications (215)257-9643 Mark Gottesfeld, Organist & Music Director Christine Nyce, Laurie Hopkins - Sextons

St. John’s Council Members: Don Graham – Council President Phyllis Kogel – Council Vice President Michele Walter – Financial Secretary Barb Klinger – Treasurer Cornell Hopkins – Council/Council Secretary Nancy Esposito Doug Kemp Shirley Nase Chris Wall

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Leah Woehr Grande is getting ordained!!!! So what does it mean to be ordained? The simple definition states: “the act of granting pastoral authority or sacerdotal power.” However, a greater understanding comes from Acts 6:1-4. Paul shares with us, “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said ‘”It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, chose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’ We are so excited to celebrate with Leah Woehr Grande on her Ordination. Leah grew up in St. John’s Lutheran church, she was baptized, communed, confirmed and married. She is a natural born leader with a heart filled of faith, along with an amazing compassion and creativity. Through the support of our family, church family, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, she found her call. As she completed all the seminary and Synod work, her family has multiplied. As far as I am aware, Leah will be the first woman/person to be ordained from our church family at St. John’s. On July 1st, Leah will be sharing her faith, be surrounded by hands-on prayer of her fellow clergy, sharing of her vows, and receiving the gift of the stole. She is an awesome servant, humble and authentic. When people approach her, you can see that she was born in the love of God, supported by brothers and sisters of Christ, and has a desire to proclaim God’s Word.” Pastor Amy

The ordination will be held July 1st at 10AM with a luncheon to follow at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1244 St. Paul’s Church Road, Pennsburg PA.

This Month’s Sign: Jesus password to a better life

Scriptures for July 2nd Jer 28:5-9 PS 89:1-4, 15-18 Rom 6:12-23 Matt10:40-42 9th Zech 9:9-12 PS 145:8-14 Rom 7:15-25a Matt 11:16-19, 25-30 16th Isa 66:10-13 PS 65:[1-8] 9-13 Rom 8:1-11 Matt 13:1-9, 18-23 23rd Isa 44:5-3 or Wis 12:13. 16-19 Ps 86:11-17 Rom 8:12-25 Matt 13:24-30, 36-43 30th 1 Kings 3:5-12 Ps 119:129-136 Rom 8:26-39 Matt 13:31-33, 44-52

Please Pray for healing of our loved ones: Doris Clayton, Ellen Croissette, Carolyn Hafler, Glen Herd, Laurie Hopkins, Arlene Kulp, Margie Kulp, Jeff Markley, Marvin Leister, Fred Shirk, Shirley Shirk, Owen Spangenberg, Linda Trauger, Harriet Woehr

Friends of St. John's: Ruth Barnaby, Joe Esposito Eddie Galgon, Mary King, Jay Moyer, Elizabeth Schmitt, Pastor William Vanderslice, and Bill Wilds. Please keep our homebound in your prayers: Francis Allem, Claude Barndt, Edna Barndt, Pauline Berndt, Lucille Caruso, Doris Clayton, Richard Croissette, Ed Geiger, James Gotthardt, Willis & Lorraine Heacock, Bob Kulp, Margie Kulp, Charles Marx, Mark Trauger, Elaine Turner, and Dean Souder. Prayers of our Military - Pvt. Cody Hotter We remember in prayer - the family and friends of Dorothy Troxel who went to her eternal rest in June.

Upcoming Events & Activities: July 9 - Blessing of the Animals (10:15AM) July 10-13 – Bible School July 21-24 – Scranton PA Mission Trip Aug, 19 – Annual Carillon concert Sept 16 – Progressive dinner Sept. 23 – Harvest set-up Sept. 24 – Harvest home Sunday Oct. 14 – Bingo Oct. TBA – 2nd annual flea market Dec. 3 - Hanging of greens Dec. 9 Christmas tree Dec. 10 – Christmas caroling Dec. 17 – Decorate the tree Dec. 24 - (Sunday) Christmas Eve Dec. 25 - (Monday) Christmas February 4, 2018 - Annual Meeting

OUR ANNUAL BLESSING OF THE

ANIMALS WILL BE HELD JULY 9TH

AT 10:15AM

Be sure to bring your animal

family members to join us.

Scriptures for August 6th Isa 55:1-5 Ps 145:8-9, 14-21 Rom 9:1-5 Matt 14:13-21 13th 1 Kings 19:9-18 Ps 85:8-13 Rom 10:5-15 Matt 14:22-33 20th Isa 56:1, 6-8 Ps 67 Rom 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matt 15:[10-20] 21-28 27th Isa 51:1-6 Ps 138 Rom 12:1-8 Matt 16:13-20

Thank you to all who attended our June 10th Bon Fire. The evening could not have been more beautiful! We also had new guests with us who saw the information in our local papers. Thank you again to our friends Darrell Corrall and Susan Tough part of our Brotherhood of Lutheran’s from Jordan Lutheran in Orefield, Pa. for joining with us again.

Our guest for the evening was Eric Rapp. He has a strong voice and is an accomplished guitarist. Eric related that he was not a Christian in earlier years and converted. The question he posed in thought was, “What as a Christian am I suppose to do?” Interesting isn’t it. Maybe we here at St. John’s do not think about it ourselves. Is there a written protocol that is hung somewhere for our reference? Or, do we do what just comes naturally on a daily basis? Really? This topic just might be an interesting question during our Adult Sunday Forums, Wed. Bible Study or even a sermon. How many people have sought out a book or literature with a complete summary with regard to the question: “As a Christian what am I supposed to do?” Eric addresses his love for God through the words of his songs for his listening audience.

Our very own John Mood and Brenda Landt are always are a delight with their music and voices of joy! There are always bon fire goodies too.

Join with us for our next Bon Fire on Sat. July 8th for Yvonne Hartman. Many thanks to John Mood, our producer, for her return engagement with us.

Pat Traynor, CGOC

Remembering God During the Summer

Do you remember God during the summer? If you are reading this newsletter, chances are you do. But did you know that many Christians do not- church attendance tends to wane in summer months, and offerings as well? This is true of many churches, across denominations. I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised, as many of us are vacationing, visiting friends and family who live at a distance, and the like. Also, we have just completed the church seasons of Easter and Pentecost, and now we are in “ordinary time”. However, we all know there is nothing ordinary about God, though, especially in the summer. We see God the creator in lush green vegetation, beautiful flowers, and majestic mountains and seascapes. We are thankful for the long days and warm evenings. If you are a young person, you are happy to get a break from school. If you are vacationing or “stay-cationing” this summer, remember God’s blessings bestowed on you. Remember to worship God, praise God, and support your church. Our church has bills during the summer, just like we do. If you can’t make a service or two because of travel, perhaps you can mail an offering in, or give a little bit more than usual upon your return. As far as praising God when traveling, perhaps you can attend worship at the town you are visiting. If there is no local church, and you have an electronic device (or a bible), maybe you could look up the church readings for the day, share them with loved ones, and discuss what they mean to you in your life. Or maybe you can just gaze at beauty God has created around you, and give thanks with a grateful heart.

Praise God from who all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below, praise him above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! [The Doxology, composed by Bishop Thomas Ken]. May you have a joyous and restful summer. Yours in Christ,

Don Graham

Birthday list is removed for the purposes of web posting.

8th Annual St John’s Ridge

Valley Carillon Concert Saturday August 19th at 6:00PM

Our theme this year: Horror Films

July/August 2017 Social Ministry News

During the months of July and August we will be collecting school supplies for both Pennridge FISH and Lutheran World Relief. These school supplies are a valuable tool for children to have a successful learning experience. FISH will take any new backpacks, pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, paper and any other supplies used by children from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Please support these local children have a great school year. We will collect these school supplies until Sunday, August 6th. Local stores will have many of these items on sale during the month of July. There are also suggested lists of needs at these stores.

The Comfort Crafters have made backpacks for the Lutheran World Relief school supplies. They are very specific with what items go into these backpacks. If you wish to contribute to the LWR School Kit Project the following is a list of needed items:

• 4 – 70 sheet notebooks, college-ruled or wide-ruled. No loose-leaf paper

• 1 – box of 16 or 24 crayons • 1 – 30-centimeter ruler, or a ruler with

centimeters on one side and inches on the other

• 1 – pencil sharpener • 1 – pair of blunt scissors • 5 – unsharpened #2 pencils • 5 – black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink) • 1 – 2-1/2” ruler

ALL ITEMS FOR LWR AND FISH MUST BE NEW!

Come join us for Adult Sunday School Do you sometimes have trouble making Pastor Amy’s Wednesday evening bible study? Or maybe you just can’t get enough bible study during the week? Then come join us for our Sunday Adult bible study! We meet in the all-purpose room across from Pastor Amy’s office, at 9:40 a.m. on Sundays. The lessons only last ~30 minutes, because some of our regulars attend the 10:15 service. We discuss lessons to be learned from the scripture readings that day, or sometimes we do a topical study that pertains to current events. We have open discussions, where our faith stories and viewpoints are shared. Below are some examples of our recent class discussions….

What does Easter, and Jesus’ resurrection, mean to you? Some answers were eternal life with departed loved ones; and forgiveness of our sins (Jesus took them on for us).

Another Sunday we focused on Psalm 116 and 1 Peter chapter 1. In the Psalm, we discussed how we cry out to God in times of trouble, and God provides for us. We talked about being obedient to God (following His commands), and how problems in our lives can occur if we are separated from God. In 1 Peter, we talked about being children of God, and should try to live as such. We discussed the great sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross, and how we should not forget what that means for us. We should try to live our lives fully as Jesus would want us to.

On May 7, we studied scripture from John 10: 11-21, additional verses from the day’s Gospel focusing on Jesus as the good shepherd. In one verse, Jesus says that he has sheep that are not of his flock that he must bring into the fold (10:16). A question was posed as to what this means. The class was in agreement that Jesus comes for all people of all backgrounds; that all have a chance for salvation through Him.

If you haven’t attended the class yet, come out and give it a try. People are friendly, open, and non-judgmental. Maybe you have a topic that you would like to discuss. We would love to hear your thoughts on the ancient words of the bible, and how they are still applicable today!

Sincerely,

Don Graham

Dear St. John’s Family, I would like to thank everyone who participated in our Annual Picnic. It was a great success. The weather was a bit warm, but the inside was nice and cool with our air conditioner.

Special thanks go out to Phyliss Kogel for her help in making the tables look pretty with her decorations and also for helping with the picnic.

Our cooks Mark Bruder and Dennis M. for cooking the hot dogs & hamburgers and to all the other people who helped on Sunday. Ms. Yeakle’s famous cake walk went over big. Having it inside was a good idea. Thank you all who provided food or cakes for the event

The kids all had a great time on the water slide and with the balloon toss. A great day for water fun. Thank you and God Bless you all ~ Parish Life Nancy Esposito

St. John’s Mission trip to

Scranton Pennsylvania will take place July 21st

through 24th We will be conducting

home repairs for those in need.

There will be 3 adults and 6 youth and we are asking the congregation to please donate cases of Gatorade if

you can. They can be delivered to

the Church Office.