St. John Norrona News
Scripture Lessons
October 6, 2024:
Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16
October 13, 2024:
Joel 2:21-27 Psalm 126
1 Timothy 2:1-7 Matthew 6:25-33
October 20, 2024:
Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16
Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45
October 27, 2024:
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28 John 8:31-36
Worship Service at the Last Mountain Pioneer Home
Pastor Rick will be leading worship at the Last Mountain Pioneer Home on the following Wednesday Mornings from 10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
– October 16th
– November 13th
– December 11th
Lamp
If anyone would like to donate to LAMP (LAMP is a cross-cultural ministry sharing Jesus Christ with God’s people in remote areas of Canada), this can be done by mailing cheques payable to LAMP to 4966-92 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T6B 2V4 or visit www.lampministry.org.
Worship Committee Report
Thank you to our worship leaders Brenda Small for leading the evening service at Norrona on July 27th, Marvin Kelln for leading on August 11th, Jan Schulz on August 25 and James Hoffman on September 8th. Well done and greatly appreciated!
Service Leaders for September/October:
*All services are at 9:30 am unless noted otherwise.
September 22 – Brenda Small lay service
September 29 – 5th Sunday at Norrona, 10:00 am. led by Pastor Rick.
October 6 – Pastor Rick – communion service
October 13 – Pastor Rick – Thanksgiving Sunday communion service
October 20 – Pastor Rick – communion service
October 27 – Orva Kelln – lay service 10:00 am Reformation Sunday followed by potluck. German themed food is suggested, but you can still bring whatever you want! People are encouraged to wear red and white.
October 16 is World Food Day. Plans are to collect canned or dry food hamper items on Sunday, October 20, which will then be given to the Strasbourg Co-op for local hampers.
Thank you to Anne Switzer for making a new funeral banner.
The next Worship Workshop will be held November 2 at 10:00 am. Names are still being added to the list for lay service leaders, as well as those willing to do other things such as being a greeter, helping with communion, reading the lessons, making coffee, altar preparation, running the powerpoint, providing special music, etc. If you are interested, or would like more information, please speak to Pastor Rick, Orva Kelln or myself, or email
The Worship Committee generally meets the first Wednesday of the month, however, the next meeting will be October 16 due to Shared Ministry meeting already scheduled for October 2. Please feel free to submit comments and suggestions or attend one of the meetings anytime.
Submitted by Rhonda de Hoop
“A LIVING FAITH”
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
(Micah 6: 8 NRSV)
I like the fall season! It is the time of year when the temperature hovers around what I call comfortable. It is the time when regular schedules arrange my life and everything seems to have its place. It is the time of harvest and reaping the rewards of a growing season and giving thanks to God for all that we have been blessed to receive.
October is a particularly beautiful time of the year in my opinion. Some days offer the heat of summer while others can give us a blast of what we can expect from winter. The colours that surround us also show us in a brilliant way all the varied plants and trees and just how unique each one is. It is a time that signals change but which gently moves us into a new direction. October is a great time of wonder and promise.
As I thought about this fall season, I could not help but think of all the parallels there are to our life together here at St. John – Norrona Lutheran Parish. We have much to give thanks for as the people of God. We have an incredibly wide range of gifts and talents in our midst. We have many people who serve the church diligently, often doing things that could perhaps go unnoticed. We are blessed to have an incredible Church Council who take their roles very seriously. At the same time, we are gently being called to move forward in our ministry together and to be a people with a living faith.
All of this is why I decided to accept your Call to serve you as your half-time Pastor. I am not interested in simply doing pulpit supply and leading worship on Sunday morning. I want to be your Pastor and find ways to build our ministry together. When many have lamented that the church is dying, I strongly believe that St. John – Norrona Parish has much to offer our communities. Since beginning the Call on April 1st, we seem to have now settled into a routine for our Worship life together and I am encouraged by the strong participation of all our Lay Leaders. I believe we now need to focus on ways to build our ministry together. Do we want to continue our monthly breakfast and have different speakers share their story with us? What about Bible Study, Adult Enquirer’s Class, Confirmation, finding ways to welcome young children into our midst? How do we improve our Communication not only with those who attend Church regularly but those who might feel like they are on the fringe or who have felt they have been hurt by the church? Are there some new programs or activities that we can be trying that might serve the needs of some people in our community? I have a strong desire to explore all these questions in the coming months but I will need your help. I need you to respond to myself or members of Council with your ideas or simply that you have read this article and are intrigued by where this discussion might take us. I look forward to hearing who has read this article and who wants to have that conversation.
This time of year is not simply about giving thanks. It is a time for us to take inventory of our lives and then respond to God’s grace by living our faith. Micah reminds us what this kind of living faith is all about. God does not ask the impossible. God calls us to be a people who do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. Giving thanks is not a passive thing, something we quickly do and then get on with life. Rather, it is a way of arranging our lives so that God is at the centre of all that we do. It is a way of surrounding ourselves with all the brilliant and varied gifts that God has granted to those who are a part of our life and help to make us whole. It is being engaged by the change around us that gently moves us in new directions. It is a willingness to be open to all the wonder and promise that exists in our midst and to simply follow where God is leading.
There is little doubt that we have much to give thanks for in our lives. But even more importantly we are called to have ‘a living faith’. “A living faith” that continually challenges us to be moving forward. “A living faith” that calls us to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with our God.
The peace of Christ be with you all,
Pastor Rick
Christmas Craft
and Bazaar
Christmas Craft and Bazaar at St. John Lutheran Church on Saturday, November 23rd from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Raffle tickets on a Quilt will be 3 for $10.00. Cabbage rolls and bake tables; coffee and refreshments available.
Special Events
On July 27 we held a hamburger and hot dog sale at the Lions Park. What a great turnout, we served 140 people, 40 were the bikers from Regina and surrounding Strasbourg area. After expenses we netted approximately $1000.
The group is again busy making cabbage rolls, the first batch was completely sold out, with a waiting list. On September 30 we are making another batch so get your orders in as they will sell fast ($15.00 for six). Plans are under way for the third annual craft sale to be held on November 23. Table rental is $25.00, and all have been spoken for, if interested we have started a wait list in case of cancellations. The church is doing the bake table, all baking will be gladly appreciated, quilt raffle again this year, tickets are in the process of being printed and will be available soon.
Many, many thanks to all the volunteers who have helped out at these various events. without you they would not be the great success that they are.
Anne Switzer
Chair
Confirmation Class
If anyone is interested in Confirmation, please contact Pastor Rick at (306) 725-1401.
St. John-Norrona Parish Council Report
It is that time of year when we hold onto the last bits of summer and begin to move into the fall. The first few comments of hearing farmers finishing harvest are being heard but the majority still move in that direction. The recesses of summer are over, school is back in, and the activity of Fall see the groups, organizations, and committees resume.
Over the Summer it was quite gratifying that our attendance really didn’t falter as we historically experience. Financially, we have had a few months of negative results, but the latest financial report shows that year to date we are in the black. Thank you for your ongoing love and support.
Items or projects completed or on the go are vent cleaning at the Parsonage, painting the Parsonage garage, painting the grey(blue) base of the church, tree trimming, carpet repair, some freezer/refrigerator replacement, parsonage front step repair, and the regular functioning of the church.
Council remains quite busy with ongoing regular business but we also continue to review committee functioning and looking at what committees and committee functions are necessary to support our new Parish ministry. We are already planning another Worship support workshop and also our Saturday breakfasts should be resuming, and discussion is underway about Bible Study, so watch for announcements on those. Lots to keep us busy.
See you Sunday if not sooner. God Bless.
Norrona Lutheran Church
Financial Report – July 2024
Norrona Revenue
General Account Opening Balance $ 137.62
*Regular Sunday Offering (envelopes,
loose) $1,085.00
benevolence/missions (including CLWR) $ 95.00
Total Revenue $1,317.62
Norrona Expenses
Paid to St. John
Offering donation $ 603.10
*Norrona Congregational Expenses (e.g.
maintenance, insurance, utilities, worship
& office supplies) $ 524.52
*Missions of the Church (e.g. Sask. Synod,
CLWR, and other Norrona specific mission
projects) $ 190.00
Total Expenses $1,317.62
Balance $ 0.00
St. John Lutheran Church
Monthly Financial Summary
July 2024
Revenue
Total regular offering (includes for our
Church, CLWR, Benevolence, Kinasao
and pre-authorized monthly giving) 5,800.00
Total other revenue (e.g. rental property,
donations, interest, etc.) 3,169.51
Total revenue 8,969.51
Expenses
Pastor Payroll (e.g. salary, benefits, EI,
mileage, etc.) 4,428.13
Missions (e.g. Benevolence, Sask. Synod,
etc.) Fundraising 903.78
Worship and services (e.g. Pulpit Supply,
travel time, mileage, worship and office
supplies, Organist, Secretary, Treasurer,
Envelope, Secretary, etc.) 1,413.16
Church properties (e.g. power, telephone,
natural gas, bank service charges, line of
credit, insurance, church maintenance,
etc.) 2,303.54
Total expenses 9,048.61
Net Loss (-$ 79.10)
NOTE: On line donations for this month $330.00
Norrona Lutheran Church
Financial Report – August 2024
Norrona Revenue
*Regular Sunday Offering (envelopes,
loose) $ 621.00
benevolence/missions (including CLWR) $ 95.00
Total Revenue $ 716.00
Norrona Expenses
Paid to St. John
Offering donation $ 380.37
*Norrona Congregational Expenses (e.g.
maintenance, insurance, utilities, worship
& office supplies) $ 240.63
*Missions of the Church (e.g. Sask. Synod,
CLWR, and other Norrona specific mission
projects) $ 95.00
Total Expenses $ 716.00
Balance $ 0.00
St. John Lutheran Church
Monthly Financial Summary
August 2024
Revenue
Total regular offering (includes for our
Church, CLWR, Benevolence, Kinasao
and pre-authorized monthly giving) 6,440.25
Total other revenue (e.g. rental property,
donations, interest, etc.) 1,691.99
Total revenue 8,132.24
Expenses
Pastor Payroll (e.g. salary, benefits, EI,
mileage, etc.) 4,834.13
Missions (e.g. Benevolence, Sask. Synod,
etc.) Fundraising 1,336.55
Worship and services (e.g. Pulpit Supply,
travel time, mileage, worship and office
supplies, Organist, Secretary, Treasurer,
Envelope, Secretary, etc.) 1,637.53
Church properties (e.g. power, telephone,
natural gas, bank service charges, line of
credit, insurance, church maintenance,
etc.) 1,413.76
Total expenses 9,221.97
Net Loss (-$1,089.73)
NOTE: On line donations for this month $460.00