This weekend (September 20/21) is the kick off to "A Church Alive!" campaign. Please make every effort to join us for worship! Each member and regular visitor of St. John's has a personalized packet of materials waiting to be picked up. Simply go to the balcony area of the church and some excellent volunteers, who are part of the campaign, will help you find your packet. This weekend there will even be brief tours hosted by members of the "A Church Alive!" team to show, firsthand, the areas of our building that are being updated and remodeled as well as the new space being created for ministry.

This is also the third week of our sermon series based on the small group discussion book, Giving to God, by Mark Allan Powell. This weekend Pastor Elyse Nelson Winger will be preaching at all services on the subject, "Giving as an Expression of Faith." The Bible says that we are all stewards, because we understand that everything we are and everything we have belongs ultimately to God. We are simply caretakers of these gifts. In Martin Luther's Small Catechism, describing the meaning of the Apostle's Creed, Luther suggests that our stewardship puts into practice our faith in God as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. As stewards our goal is to live out our offertory prayer as we bring forward our gifts to the altar . . . "with joy and thanksgiving, for what God has first given us . . . ourselves, our time and our possessions."

Let me quote from Powell's book, "Being a faithful steward does not necessarily mean being a person who is a major donor to churches or charities, or being a person who is reluctant to spend money on his or her own pleasures or concerns. Rather, a faithful steward is a person who (a) views this world as God's good creation and is grateful to be a part of it; (b) knows that God cares for those whom God has made and is ready and willing to rule their lives; and (c) trusts God to provide him or her with whatever is needed to be content. Faithful stewardship is a matter of becoming such a person and acting accordingly. Indeed, when faithful stewards do become people who are extraordinarily generous or thrifty, it is because they are living the way that we WANT to live, acting on a faith that tells them they belong to God. The good news of biblical stewardship is that those who live as people who belong to God, experience life at its absolute best. Milo Kauffman says in his book, Stewards of God, 'Joyful people will be generous people, and generous people will be joyful people -- it is difficult to say which is cause and which is effect, for either appears to produce the other.' (p. 67). It certainly works both ways in the Bible: generosity leads to rejoicing (I Chronicles 29:9), and joy leads people to give generously (II Corinthians 8:2). It could become a wondrous cycle, a carousel of cheer and altruism. Who would not want to take a few turns on so marvelous a ride?" (Giving to God - p. 44)

St. John's

PRAYER: God of abundance, you have poured out a large measure of earthly blessings: our table is richly furnished, our cup overflows, and we live in safety and security. Teach us to set our hearts on you and not these material blessings. Keep us from becoming captivated by prosperity, and grant us wisdom to use your blessings to your glory and to the service of humankind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship p. 80)

Alive in Christ,

The Rev. Knight Wells, Senior Pastor
pastorkwells@stjohnsbloomington.org

P.S. For the women of St. John's . . . there are a few spaces available for the St. John's Women's Breathe Retreat on Saturday, September 27, 2008 - e-mail Wendy Wise at dw.wiseguy@comcast.net, indicating you want to register.

Pastoral Letter from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson (ELCA)

(Pastor Wells would like to share the following pastoral letter with the congregation.)

September 12, 2008

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel; Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you….because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you." (Isaiah 43:1-2,4a) As I write, yet another hurricane is threatening the Gulf Coast. This one is only the latest in a seemingly endless series of storms that have brought hardship, destruction, fear and even death to brothers and sisters in the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean, especially Haiti. The relentless destruction reminds us that the rebuilding of lives continues in other areas that have been affected by floods, tornadoes, fires, and other disasters. I call on you to respond in the midst of danger and loss. While some are preparing for storms yet to come, others are fleeing from storms, and still others are rebuilding in the aftermath of disasters. I ask you to respond with your prayers, your generous gifts of time and money, your volunteer hours and skills, the open doors of your homes and churches, and your commitment to a sustaining presence for the long haul. Visit www.elca.org/disaster for ELCA Disaster Response updates, for downloadable bulletin inserts, and for ways to make contributions online. These expressions of our faith remind us that we are called by name and are bound together by our baptisms into community with those who suffer. Thank you for your generous and sustaining response in the midst of the disasters.

God’s work. Our hands.

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop