Worship will be live streamed on Facebook at 10:00 AM Sunday morning. If you want to connect, become a Friend to the St. John Facebook Page and live streaming should begin at 10:00 AM. Please go to the St. John Website to see announcements and changes, www.stjohnabingdon.org. We now have the capability of receiving donations by Credit Card. You will find the button above, just click.
June 23, 2020
Greetings in the name of the Risen Lord!
It is hard to believe that it is June 23 and we have not been able to worship in person since March. We continue to discuss and discern safety issues as we try to decide when it will be safe to return to in person worship. The Congregation Council met last Thursday evening and following is a statement concerning worship:
Council discussed the current worship platform and when to return to in-person worship. The Pastors of the Highlands Conference have committed to continue the conference virtual worship services through the end of July.
Both the Virginia Synod Guidelines and the Governor’s Recommendations for Religious Services were used as a basis for discussion and planning. Synod Guidelines do not recommend returning to in-person worship until Phase 2 ends. The Governor’s Guidelines, whereas slightly less strict, indicate in-person worship can resume during Phase 2 with proper social distancing, pre and post cleaning, separate ingress/egress, signage, and without components of singing, a choir, no greeting/handshaking, and no communion unless there are no shared elements. The Governor’s Guidelines also indicate staying at home is ultimately the safest option. Input was also solicited from the Washington County Health Department.
Given the demographic profile of the St. John membership, and out of an abundance of caution, Council decided to continue the virtual worship platform via Facebook Live and the Highlands Conference YouTube Channel through July, with the caveat that this date could be moved up if there is significant improvement in risk.
Looking forward, the worship schedule is as follows:
Sunday June 21, Outdoor Communion Service, 5:00 p.m.
Sunday July 5, Outdoor Communion Service at St. John, 5:00 p.m.
Sunday July 19, Outdoor Communion Service at St. John , 5:00 p.m.
Sunday July 26, Outdoor worship at Hungry Mother Lutheran Retreat Center, with the Mt. Rogers Parish. 11:00 AM Worship with lunch following
Sunday August 2, Worship in-person at St. John 10:00 AM
As we move forward we will continue to provide some type Social Media Worship, so folks can still participate at home.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Scott and the Congregation Council
Important Reminders:
Please check the website frequently for continuing updates
Monday- Tuesday-Friday July 13th-17th--St. John serves @Food Pantry--please let the church office know if (and what day/time) you can serve--Mon./Fri. 9AM-1PM, Tues. 4-7PM
Sundays: Worship will be live-streamed @10AM on Facebook
(also available on YouTube later in the day)
Sunday July 19th--5PM--Outdoor Communion Service--Please bring your own Communion elements (wine/grape juice and bread), a chair, and wear a mask. We will assemble outside the Sanctuary on the lawn.
Tuesday Bible Study will resume in August. Thank you to all who participated in our Zoom Bible study.
Save the Date: Next Book Group Meeting is July 19th @3PM. We are reading Waking up White, by Debby Irving, and So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo.
Outdoor Worship and Picnic--Sunday July 26th @11AM--Hungry Mother Lutheran Retreat Center, Marion. We will be joined by Mt. Rogers Parish. Bishop Bob Humphrey and his wife Barbra will be there, with Bishop Humphrey preaching. There will be a boxed lunch (to sign up--see form in email from July 2nd).
Pastor Scott will be on vacation July 10 through 18th. Pastor Jim Bangle will be on call for pastoral emergencies--his cell phone # is 276-759-3241
Prayer chain:
David Mullins, nephew of Jim and Sharon Meacham, dealing with health issues related to diabetes.
Helen Findley, having issues with her leg.
Holly Salmon, Joan Shaver's daughter, having health issues.
Danny Bailey, friend of the Meachams, undergoing chemo.
Marty Dunn, now at home.
Lisa Roberts, who will return to UVA on July 22nd for more surgery.
Carla and Herb Proffitt, prayers of Christian Sympathy on the loss of Carla's Mother Jean Greer.
James "Randy" Sheets, Lisa Depew's brother, in need of a kidney transplant.
We pray for all on the front lines: doctors, nurses, medical personnel. We especially pray for:
Kelly Read, who is with Mt. Rogers District Health Department;
Alex Depew, who works at a hospital in Richmond;
Kayla Nobles Abrego, Sue Croghan's granddaughter, who is a nurse in Littleton, Colorado.
Continuing prayers for: Jerry French, Sara Kluttz, Vicky French, Elaine Counts, John Norman, Gabe Cross, Kyler Milligan
Homebound: Vickianne Dotten, Frances Grim, Ann Godsey, Barbara Wright, Nancy King
If you have names to add (or ones to be taken off) the prayer chain, please email Joan at the church office.
Announcements:
During this time of in-person worship being cancelled, we will be making contact by email and online, with Worship on St. John's Facebook page and also on You Tube, and meetings on Zoom.
St. John has a subscription to Zoom. If anyone in the congregation has a need to get in touch with family, please contact Pastor Scott if you would like to set up a meeting through this option.
We thank you for your continuing financial support of the ministries of St. John. You may use the "donate using credit card" button above to contribute online, or mail your contributions to the church.
St. John is following guidelines set by the ELCA, the VA Synod of the ELCA, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Washington County Health Department to determine when we may worship in person again. At this time we encourage people to continue to worship with us on St. John's Facebook page and on YouTube. Please be assured that as soon as it is safe to return to in-person worship we will do so.
St. John Lutheran Church
807 East Main Street
Abingdon, Virginia 24210
Telephone: 276-628-6215
Welcome to St. John Lutheran Church in Abingdon, VA!
St. John Lutheran Church, Abingdon is a community of faithful believers of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the highlands of southwest Virginia. St. John is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Virginia Synod. Take a few minutes to browse the pages of this Website for more information about the ministries of this place. If you have any questions or would like more information please contact Pastor G. Scott Homesley at pastorscott@stjohnabingdon.comcastbiz.net.
"The stone cross on the hill" photo © 2008 "Tambako the Jaguar," used under a Creative Commons license from flickr.com.