Friday, October 23, 2026-----

Reformation Day is celebrated on the Sunday on or before October 31 in remembrance of the onset of the Reformation. October 31, 1517 was the day Martin Luther is said to have nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg. 
Want to read all ninety-five? Find them here.

This Sunday's Sermon: "The Space Between Knowing and Doing"

Sunday @ 10:00 am

Our gospel lesson will be from Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus gives us two great commandments: love God and love your neighbor. We all know it, but do we do it? Pastor Mark gives us a preview here.

Join us in the pews, in the Zoom or streamed on facebook. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Zoom Meeting ID: 753 4674 0584 or Zoom in here.​ Preview the service here.

Welcome, Jerusha Taylor!

Guest Musician this Sunday

Jerusha Taylor just graduated with her master’s degree in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan. She will perform in our Angels and All Saints concert on November 8.

Read all about Jerusha here.

All Saints Day

Sunday, November 1

It has been our tradition at St. John to remember loved ones who have passed away in the past 12 months. Please use this form to send names of family members or friends whom you wish to remember to Marie in the church office by Monday, October 26.

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It also has been our practice to light a candle in memory of our loved ones during the service. If you are worshipping online, you may wish to have a candle available at home to light at the appropriate time.

Angels and All Saints

Sunday, November 8 @ 4:00 pm

All are welcome to enjoy this special concert in honor of All Saints Day, featuring ethereal music for violin, viola and keyboard. Come and be uplifted by heavenly masterpieces of the repertoire by Bach, Mozart, Debussy and others.

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Music is presented by Jerusha Taylor, violin; Jeffrey Wilkinson, viola; and Sean Michael Jackman, piano and organ.

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A reception follows the concert, hosted by Rebecca Parker, Julie Cyrus and friends. This event is FREE and open to everyone!


Invite your friends! Here's a flyer to share.

Fun with St. John House!

Thursday, November 12 @ 5:00 pm

Please join our neighbors from St. John House and our team for Thanksgiving Bingo in the MPR. We will have pizza, prizes and grateful fun together. Wear your fall colors! Let Karol Niskanen know if you will attend so we have a count for pizza. Text 248 470 5023. 

Where do you volunteer?

Pastor Mark and the Board would like to assess the impact of St. John on our local community, beyond what we do as a congregation. Do you volunteer for Neighborhood House? CARES? Your local school? Other organizations?

If you do, please send an email to Carole Pavolich and tell her what the organization is and what you do!

Could You be a Tutor?

School has started! Some children have not quite mastered the basic skills of the last grade before they are moved up to the next. As they get older, they will get farther and farther behind.

YOU CAN HELP! Join our tutoring program! Once a week for one hour, meet with a student after school to help them with their reading or math. They will reap huge benefits, and so will you! Contact Shirley George at 678-478-8642.

Church Directory App

Have you got the app? Go to Google Play or the App Store and download Instant Church Directory app. Follow the setup instructions and you will have an up-to-date directory at your fingertips!

Do we have your picture? If not, please send to Gilda Bingham.

THANK YOU!

Thank You to everyone who made our Trunk or Treat a huge success! We had well over 200 kids. Including adults, it was quite a party!

• THANK YOU to those who brought cars and candy: Gilda Bingham; Julie McCale and her friend Andrea; Marie Cook; Tom Ging & Leslie Tausch; Beth and Kara Fisher; Sue & Rasputin Haapaniemi; Evan Monaghan; St. John House;
• THANK YOU to those who helped with setup, tear down and during the event: Doug, Allie and Melanie McDowell; Beth Fisher; Phyllis & Glenn Ming; Elaine Pearson, Dave Elias; Karen Boczkaja; Fred Ternes; Peter Haapaniemi; Dave Androvich; Oakland County Historical Society for the loan of some decorations; Pam Flores for candy and her last-minute post on facebook (which may have brought in much of the traffic); and Pastor Mark and Kathy Reed for the mid-event emergency candy run!
• a Special THANK YOU to Halloween Mastermind Chris Fischer who created a gator-infested laser swamp, a dancing bat, an alien invasion and a giant dragon, among other things, for sharing his creativity and skill;
• and a Special THANK YOU to Ashleigh Altemann, who organized the whole event and led decoration in the church building, the garden, several of the cars and even some of the people, in addition to setting up the play area for the kids in the gym.

A giant THANK YOU to everyone!

The First Thursday

Thursday, November 5
@ 6:00 pm

We gather on the first Thursday of each month for fellowship, food and conversation. Please bring:

• a dish to share
• a beverage
• friends! 

Support Our Neighbors in Need!

Thank you for your food/personal care/cleaning product contributions for our neighbors in need. Please continue to buy a couple of items each week and bring them to the shelf by the coffee area. If you are a Meijer shopper, they have gone to a pricing policy where you need to buy two (or 3) of an item to get a good sale price. Why not bring the extra? Thank you for your participation in this important ministry.

Your gifts are distributed through both CARES and Neighborhood House.

Men's Breakfast

Thursdays @ 7:00 am

All men are welcome! We gather every Thursday morning at 7:00 am for fellowship. We order breakfast at 8:00 and begin Bible study shortly after. Please join us at:

L. George's Restaurant

24250 Sinacola

Farmington 48335 map

Commemorations This Week

Monday, October 26, 2026

Philipp Nicolai, died 1608; Johann Heermann, died 1647; Paul Gerhardt, died 1676; hymnwriters

These great hymnwriters all worked in seventeenth-century Germany in times of war and plague. Nicolai, a pastor, lost 1,300 parishioners to plague, 170 in one week. He wrote "O Morning Star, how fair and bright" and "Wake, awake, for night is flying." Heermann's hymns, including "Ah, holy Jesus," often express the emotions of faith. Gerhardt, perhaps the greatest Lutheran hymnwriter, was a pastor in Berlin.

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Simon and Jude, Apostles

We know little about these apostles. Simon is listed as "the zealot" or Cananean in New Testament lists. Jude, also called Thaddeus, asked Jesus at the last supper why he had revealed himself to the disciples but not to the world.

Saturday, October 31, 2026

Reformation Day

By the end of the seventeenth century, many Lutheran churches celebrated a festival commemorating Martin Luther's posting of the Ninety-five Theses, a summary of abuses in the church of his time. At the heart of the reform movement was the gospel, the good news that it is by grace through faith that we are justified and set free.

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