St John's Lutheran Church of Spinnerstown
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Notes

Mask Policy
In order to keep our members and guests safe,
​masking is strongly encouraged when you come to worship,
regardless of vaccination status.


Confirmation Schedule
The Confirmation Class meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 – 7:30.​
  • 2/9         What is the Liturgy?
  • 2/16       What are the Church Seasons?

Each student should come with a copy of the Luther Study Bible and Luther’s Small Catechism. We’ll provide those things, but the order might take a little time. You can find a free edition of Luther’s Small Catechism as a smartphone app right here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.augsburgfortress.smallcatechism&hl=en_US&gl=US

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/luthers-small-catechism/id1114077769
2022 Offering Envelopes are available in the multi-purpose room. Please pick up envelopes EVEN IF you donate through Vanco so you know what your new envelope number is for 2022! Thank you!

​Home Visits
A reminder that if you have not received Holy Communion, wish to receive it, but have been unable to attend Worship - you are welcome to call the Church Office and schedule a visitation with Pastor Kaegler - who is glad to bring the Lord's Supper to anyone who hungers for it.

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  • ​Willing Workers Corner



Willing Workers Group marked their 7th anniversary on January 23, 2022. This group consists of 34 women who gather together on the first Wednesday of each month at 10:00 am at the church. We have social time, plan for fun activities, work together on projects, and look for ways we can help our church and the community. Our next project will be making our famous Easter Eggs as the season approaches. We are always happy to welcome new members, so if you are interested, please join us at our Wednesday meeting.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Since February is the month we think about love and kindness, think about someone you know who may be having a difficult time, struggling with illness or life’s challenges.  A prayer shawl might be just the thing to lift that person up and remind him or her that God is present at these times and so are you as a friend.  Please ask any Willing Worker for help in selecting one for your friend.
​
Our next business meeting will be Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 10:00.

                                                               Recipe of the Month – Doughnuts or Fastnachts

Thank you to Noel Brooke for sharing this recipe just in time for Fastnacht Day on March 1!

Noel is well-known at St. John’s and beyond for her skills of baking and cooking. This recipe comes from her kitchen’s collection.
Fasnacht is a fried doughnut of German origin served traditionally on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent starts. Fasnachts were made as a way to empty the pantry of lard, sugar, fat, and butter, which were traditionally fasted from during Lent.
 
Ingredients:
  •  4 C. potato water
  • 2 C. granulated sugar
  • 2 C. butter
  • 4 eggs beaten
  •  2 t. salt
  • 3 pkgs. yeast softened in 1 C. lukewarm water
  • Flour approximately 18 C.
 
 
Directions:
  • Melt butter in heated potato water. Then add sugar, salt & eggs.
  • When cooled to lukewarm, add 9 C. flour and yeast. Beat batter thoroughly.
  • Cover & set in a warm place. Let rise until double in bulk.
  • Stir down & add enough flour to handle. Let rise again till double in bulk.
  • Punch down. On floured board roll ¾” thick. Cut with doughnut cutter.
  • For fastnachts cut in squares. Place on floured cloth. Let rise again until doubled in bulk.
  • Fry in deep fat at 350o. Turn when golden brown.
  • Remove from fat & place on brown paper to absorb fat until cool.

Yield: 6 dozen large doughnuts

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​Winter Storm Policy
In general, during any winter storm activity, the church should not be considered open until (4) four hours after the winter storm ceases. On week days, if there is a delayed school start, sidewalks will not be cleared before 10 a.m. If schools are closed or there is an early dismissal, the sidewalks will not be cleared until (4) four hours after the winter storm ceases or 10 a.m. the following morning. On Saturdays, the sidewalks will not be cleared until (4) four hours after the winter storm ceases. The church should be considered closed unless other arrangements are made. If the winter storm involves more than (2) two inches of snow and/or freezing rain, the coordinator for any event should contact the church to determine accessibility.


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                                                                         St. John’s Prayer List and Prayer Circle

Our Prayer List – Each week in our bulletin there appears a list of people for whom congregation members are asked to pray. The names are read during the “Prayers of Intercession.” The names are listed for four weeks and then removed, but they can be re-added every four weeks for as long as necessary. To add a name to the prayer list - or to renew a listing - please contact Church Secretary Jen Bara at 215-536-0734, Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or send her an e-mail at stjohnsspinnerstown@ gmail.com. To assure a name will be included in the next bulletin, please contact her by 10 a.m. Thursday.
​

St. John’s Prayer Circle is ready and waiting for your requests. If you know someone in need of prayer – or if you would like to join the circle and expand our collective voice – please call Loretta Thorsen at 215-679-2356 or Joan Seiger at 215-257-7478.


E-mailing Prayer Concerns: For any confidential prayer concerns to give to the Pastor - reach out to: spinnerstownprayerline@gmail.com or go to the Prayer Request page.


Small Groups in the Building - Based on the available data, our Church Council has decided that our congregational building can begin hosting small group meetings once again. All of St. John's ministry groups are welcome to begin using the building for meetings and activities based on their own comfort level. We thank you for your patience and faithfulness over this past year.

​Leading Worship: Are you looking for a way to serve God and deepen your faith among the congregation? Consider helping out with our weekly worship services. We’re hoping to add more Communion Assistants, Lectors, Ushers, and Greeters to our rotation. Every member can help - young and old. Ask the pastor or a member of the Worship and Music Committee to learn more.
Redner’s Save-a-Tape Receipts can be mailed to St. John's Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 120, Spinnerstown, PA  18968.

Save-a-Tape not only saves you money, but also benefits St. John’s in the form of cash rewards! If you are not already signed up, please consider doing so! 
Please note that if you forget to bring your card, you can give the cashier your phone number to receive credit! Thank you!

2022 Church Council
Stephen Spry - President
Kathie Afflerbach - Vice President
Maureen Potsko - Secretary
Richard Krauss - Treasurer

Jerry Bassett
​Colton Landes
​Jill McComsey



Nursery update:
Unfortunately at this time, we are not able to offer Nursery care during worship.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, and hope to be able to offer it again in the future.

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​Priority Parking: In response to the need for easier parking for some of our members, we've set up a few Priority Parking spaces (marked with yellow lines) to help people with limited mobility get into and out of their cars, and a shorter walk into the church.

Narcotics Anonymous:  St. John's hosts an NA home group for the benefit of the community on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. All who struggle with addiction are welcome.

021 Stewards of the Month

The Steward of the Month for December
is Winnie Peterson
after serving two years as  VP of Congregation Council,
as well as her years of service on council prior to becoming VP. 
Thank you, Winnie, for all your hard work and commitment to the ministry of St. John's.

The Stewards of the Month for November
are the Property Committee
who have done a monumental job getting the estimates in from
the insurance carrier and assessing what needs to be done for the basement repairs.

The Stewards of the Month for October
are Brad & Becky Hinderliter
for leading Sunday School during this challenging year!

The Stewards of the Month for September
are everyone in the “Work Party”
who came to church to help move everything out of the basement after the flood.
Thank you!

The Stewards of the Month for May
are Megan & Jacob Felten
for a fantastic job sorting out the food for the Backpack for Pumas program at Pfaff Elementary.
They carried heavy bags across the street and were a real help completing this task.

April's Steward of the Month
is the Worship & Music Committee for the wonderful job they did to pull together the outside Easter Service, 
including the set-up and physical layout for the parking lot, music, and a whole lot of work behind the scenes!

March’s Stewards of the Month
are Steve & Betty Sinisko for their strong commitment to serve as volunteers
to prepare the meals and help in any way they can for
our Food for Friends and Loaves & Fishes social ministries.

The Steward of the Month for February
is Darcy McConahy for the extra effort
to make sure that ashes along with the soup packets
​were put together for distribution to the congregation.

January's Steward of the Month
is Randy Felten in appreciation for all the work
he has done & continues to do for St. John's.



2020 Stewards of the Month

December’s Stewards of the Month
are Dick Helm and Wayne McConahy for maintaining the grove.
There are a lot of leaves & branches out there!
Thank you both!

The Steward of the Month for November

is Ron Lausch for heading up our food donation program,
as well as his willingness to always pitch in
​(even when no one asks him to!)


October's Steward of the Month
is Rob McConahy
for his exceptional work on recording, editing,
and posting the online services to make worship
accessible to people at home every week.

The Stewards of the Month for September
are Steve & Maureen Potsko
for all of their work in getting the grove ready for worship,
stepping up with Altar Guild and SO much more.

February’s Stewards of the Month
are Bill & Mary Slotter
for their willingness to defray
the cost of a person hired to
tend to the nursery.

The Steward of the Month for January
is Kathie Sensinger
​for her years of service as Council Secretary.
2019 Stewards of the Month

Steward of the Month for December
is Brenda Lausch
in appreciation of her taking responsibility for coffee hour,
her leadership within Willing Workers,
and caring for church property

November’s Stewards of the Month
Russell & Denise Martin
for multiple activities for the good of the Church

October's Stewards of the Month 
are the members of the Handbell Choir
for providing inspiring music during worship.
​
The Steward of the Month for September
is Marilyn Weikel
for her years of dedicated service on the Altar Guild.

The Stewards of the Month for April are the
Willing Workers
for all they do to help support the church,
including making and selling over 7,000 chocolate covered coconut and peanut butter eggs!

The Steward of the Month for March is
Lillian Hinderliter.
Instead of asking for gifts for her 9th birthday,
Lillian asked for donations to the Peaceable Kingdom for the care of Bo the donkey.

February’s Stewards of the Month are
Becky Hinderliter, Tina Felten, and Jenna Everitt
for their Facebook posts that led to hundreds of pounds of food
for Pfaff Elementary's call for needed food for the Backpack for Pumas program.

Dick Helm is January’s Steward of the Month
for his years of dedication to maintaining the grounds
and his management of the cemetery.

2018 Stewards of the Month

November’s Stewards of the Month
are all the members who provided activities for
Cameron Wakely, the 7 year old Pfaff student dealing with a serious illness.

Steward of the Month for October
For being the face of St. John’s at the Via clothing drive, Harvest Home and the church plant sales,
​we recognize Earl White as Steward of the month.


Stewards of the Month for September
We recognize and thank those members who contributed
to the two requests for school supplies for under privileged children earlier in September.
Thank you for sharing your treasures with those in need.


The Steward of the Month for June
is Ron Lausch for the amazing amount of work & commitment to feeding the less fortunate through the "Backpacks for Pumas" program at Pfaff Elementary and coordinating our giving to the Quakertown Food Bank.

May’s Steward of the Month
is Noel Brooke for her more than 5 decades of dedicated participation in our choir.
​
The Steward of the Month for April
is Giacinta Barndt for the outstanding fund raising event on behalf of Gary Small.
We are saluting all of the time and effort this project demanded.


March's Steward of the Month 
is Doug Thorsen for all his contributions to the church.

The Stewards of the Month for February 
are all the Blood Drive volunteers and participants.


​January's Steward of the Month 
is Becky Hinderliter 
for her leadership as Council President, her dedication to Christian Education, and the coordination of Backpacks for Pumas.
2017 Stewards of the Month

The Steward of the Month for December is Jen Burns,
​for her beautiful work on the bulletin and Spire covers.

The nursery volunteers are
November’s Stewards of the Month
​for answering a very important call which is essential to the growth of the church.

Bob & Myrtle Boardman were elected as
October's Stewards of the Month
for their many years of service and dedication.

Earl White was elected as
Steward of the Month for September.
Earl embodies everything a Christian and good Steward should strive to be.

The Adult Choir, Bell Choir and Church Musicians were elected
as May's Stewards of the Month
for their talent and dedication.

Joan Seiger was elected April’s Steward of the Month
for all her "behind the scenes" contributions
​to the life of St. John's.

The acolytes are elected March’s Stewards of the Month.
The congregation thanks them for their dedicated work as acolytes and as good stewards.
Ivyanna Barndt
Anderson Everitt
Lochlan Everitt
Josh Felten
Blake Hinderliter
Brady Massinger
​
Patti Sigmans was elected February’s Steward of the Month
​ for her years of dedication as Church Treasurer.

Darcy McConahy was elected
​January’s Steward of the Month
for turning her job into a personal ministry that always enhances our services.


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