Sunday Connections - October 18, 2026 | | In our Gospel reading, Simon Peter comes to Jesus with a question I’m sure many of us have asked before: “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” Forgiveness is easy in theory, but much harder to live out in practice. As sinful people we think there should be a limit to what we should have to put up with; however, Jesus has not only a reality check for us, but also a set list of instructions that He expects us to follow. | |
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| | Click above for this week’s announcement video. | | Click above to view the Built on the Rock Construction Update Video | | |
Faith Haven Three Crosses Glen Update
Most of the work at Three Crosses Glen has been completed. Only a little trail work leading to the area needs to be finished. The area has been seeded and covered with straw. The new grass has already begun to grow, so caution is still recommended if you visit the area. (Please keep to the sides as you approach the Crosses). Many thanks to those who helped make this project an overwhelming success, both workers and benefactors alike.
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Sign Up to Hand Out Candy at Trunk ‘N’ Treat
Join us for Trunk ‘N’ Treat on Friday, October 30 in the St. John's Parking Lot. Whether you’re coming as a family to show off your costumes and your kids, or simply want to pass out candy to the children and catch up with others, this event is for you.
• If you are bringing a decorated car, please arrive between 5:30-6:00 to be led to your parking spot. Judging ends at 6:15!
• If you’re not passing out candy, please park outside of the parking lot along the streets and walk over to join us!
• At 6:30 PM, we’ll start with a short prayer and devotion by one of our pastors, at the grassy area near the SW end of the church building. From there, we’ll get the night underway.
There will be prizes for “Best costume – adult", “Best costume – child,” "Best costume - family", and (my favorite!), “Best costume – vehicle!” So don’t be afraid to go all out and get creative! Remember, judging ends at 6:15!
Not ready to dress up your car, or is your Halloween costume on back order for 2026? Come anyway, and help our children be blessed through the simple act of sharing your presence and a sweet treat! Invite your family and friends to come out and enjoy!
IF YOU WANT TO HAND OUT CANDY, PLEASE SIGN UP HERE.
Questions? Email Desiree at dtitus@stjohnswestbend.org.
| | Day 35 of 60 Days Through the New Testament | | |
Join Us for Discipleship Hour
Sundays • 9:25 AM • Lower Level
We encourage you to join us for Discipleship Hour this fall where we will dig into just what it means to put God’s Word into practice. The Word of Christ is for all, and it is up to those who have already heard to share with those who have not.
Discipleship Hour for All Ages:
• Child care for children ages infant through 2 years old in the ECC 2 year old classroom.
• Kids' Discipleship Hour for Children ages 3 through 4th grade will learn through age appropriate lessons with fantastic teachers! Drop-off for them will be in the ECC K3/K4 AM Classroom, last classroom upstairs.
• Youth Bible Study for youth in Grades 5-8 in the 8th Grade Classroom.
• Sunday Promises of Grace Classes in Room 215 located on the second floor of our Elementary-Middle School building. Wednesday's Promises of Grace class meets at 6:30 PM in the church lower level.
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Kids’ Discipleship Hour
Kids’ Discipleship Hour is every Sunday, at 9:25 am. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the kids to connect, care, and share in Christ together with old and new friends! There is child care for children ages infant through 2 years old in the ECC 2 year old classroom. Children ages 3 through 4th grade will learn age appropriate lessons with fantastic teachers! Drop-off for them will be in the ECC K3/K4 AM Classroom, last classroom upstairs. Sign up with the link below for your children to attend!
Sign Up Your Child(ren) for Kids' DH
We are also looking for volunteers, adults and youth age 5th grade and older! If you enjoy sharing God’s word with children, then come join us for Kids’ Discipleship Hour. Your commitment can be every week, twice a month, or even at least once a month. We provide child care for children ages infant through 2 years old in the ECC 2 year old classroom. We teach age appropriate lessons for children ages 3 through 4th grade in the ECC K3/K4 AM Classroom/Activity Room! If interested in volunteering, please sign up with this link:
Sign Up to Volunteer for Kids’ DH
If you have any questions, please contact Desiree Titus at dtitus@stjohnswestbend.org.
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Sunday Youth Bible Study
Calling all 5th-8th graders!
Join Nik Mueller, Director of Youth Ministry, for Bible study every Sunday from 9:30-10:30 AM in the 8th Grade Classroom.
Donuts will be provided and friends are welcome!
Questions? Email Nik Mueller, Director of Youth Ministry, at nmueller@stjohnswestbend.org
| | Volunteer to Help Us Save on Construction Costs | |
Construction has finally started on the school expansion and there are opportunities to share God given gifts and talents in volunteer roles right here on the St. John’s campus. Our general contractor, Catalyst Construction, works with both skilled and unskilled labor to help organizations reduce cost and community members to use their God given gifts in projects such as ours.
If you are able and willing to help in some way, please FILL OUT THIS FORM so that we can coordinate with you in the months ahead. We do not know dates and times as of yet, but want to be ready to put these God given gifts to work when the time is right. As a reminder, this could be anything from site clean up (the only thing you want me doing on a construction site) to painting or plumbing or anything else.
If there are further questions, please feel free to contact me: sreynolds@stjohnswestbend.org.
Sign Up to Volunteer for the School Construction
| | Connect at Upcoming St. John's Events | | |
Baptism Class
• Monday, October 19
• 6:30 PM
• Church Nursery
This course is for anyone looking to be baptized themselves or for any parent who would like his or her child baptized at St. John’s. The class introduces what we believe and confess about the amazing gift that baptism is for individuals and families. The class is led by a St. John’s staff member.
Please RSVP to the church office if you plan to attend by emailing stjohns@stjohnswestbend.org or calling (262) 334-4901.
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Women’s Book Club
• Tuesday, October 20
• 6:30 - 8:00 PM
• Hosted By: Kathleen Demien (2701 Esker Dr, West Bend)
Book for October: My Ántonia (1918) by Willa Cather is a classic American frontier novel framed as a memoir. It follows Jim Burden, an orphaned boy from Virginia who moves to Nebraska. There, he forms a profound bond with Ántonia Shimerda, the fiercely resilient daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family
• Book for November 17
• Hosted by: Penny Van Dellen (940 Schloemer Dr, WB
A Marrriage Made at Sea by Sophie Elmhurst. The electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival, and partnership stretched to its limits.
Maurice and Maralyn make an odd couple. He's a loner, awkward and obsessive; she's charismatic and ambitious. But they share a horror of wasting their lives. And they dream - as we all dream - of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away?
Most of us begin and end with the daydream. But Maurice began to study nautical navigation. Maralyn made detailed lists of provisions. And in June 1972, they set sail. For nearly a year all went well, until deep in the Pacific, a breaching whale knocked a hole in their boat and it sank beneath the waves.
What ensues is a jaw-dropping fight to survive in the wild ocean, with little hope of rescue. Alone together for months in a tiny rubber raft, starving and exhausted, Maurice and Maralyn have to find not only ways to stay alive but ways to get along, as their inner demons emerge and their marriage is put to the greatest of tests. Although they could run away from the world, they can't run away from themselves.
Please join us for fellowship each month as we have the opportunity to share and talk about the books we read and love! Book Club typically meets the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:00 pm. Come to all or just the ones that fit into your schedule. We do not have a regular meeting location, but enjoy the hospitality of hosting each other. Please watch for the locations of each get together as they become available.
If you have questions, please reach out to Cheryl Wipperfurth at cwipperfurth71@gmail.com
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Fall BASH Youth Event
• Saturday, October 24
• Cedarburg Creek Farm
• 1:00-3:00 PM
• Grades 4-8
• Cost is $14 per person
Ready for some fun, fall festivities? Meet at Cedarburg Creek Farm at 1:00 pm for a hayride, corn maze, petting zoo and more! Cost is $14 per person. Adults are needed to chaperone. Sign up using the link below.
Sign Up for Fall BASH
Parents: Click Here to Connect to St. John’s Youth Ministry with the WhatsApp!
Questions? Email Nik Mueller, Director of Youth Ministry, at nmueller@stjohnswestbend.org
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Ladies Aid
• Thursday, November 5
• Noon
• Lower Level
Lunch at noon. Devotions by Pastor Dhuse and a meeting to follow.
Questions? Call Joanne Johnson at (262) 707-0899.
Ladies Aid actively serves by providing meals for families following funeral services. They monthly meet in the Lower Level Fellowship Hall for a time of food, fellowship, devotional time, and a variety of activities. Ladies can join at any time.
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2026-2027 Youth Ministry Events
• October 24 - BASH at Cedarburg Creek Farm
• November 6-8 Youth Retreat at Great Oaks Camp
• December 11 - BASH
• January 8 - BASH
• January - Camp Luther Retreat
• February 5 - BASH
• March 12 - BASH
• April 2 - BASH
• May 7 - BASH
• June 4 - BASH
Have a fun idea for BASH? Email Nik Mueller, Director of Youth Ministry, at nmueller@stjohnswestbend.org.
Photo: St. John’s youth helped sort and pack shoes at Soles for Jesus in Milwaukee.
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Sign Up for All Pro Dad
• Wednesday, November 11
• Starts at 7:00 AM
• Lower Level
• Please RSVP!
All Pro Dad Chapters provide an opportunity for dads to spend quality time with their children that will strengthen their relationship. For one hour each month you'll get to join other dads and kids for a fun, memory-making event. Enjoy a FREE breakfast with your kids while connecting through conversation around a specific monthly topic! Our topic for this month is THANKFULNESS. Sign up by scanning the QR Code or click link below.
Click Here to Learn More and RSVP
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Sister to Sister Bible Studies
• Every Wednesday
• 9:00-10:30 AM
• Church Nursery
• Book: Ruth – More Than a Love Story by Elizabeth Ahlman (Books will be available at the first session for purchase)
• 2nd & 4th Mondays of the Month
• 6:30-8:00 PM
• Penny Van Dellen’s Home
• Book: Forgiveness by Donna Pyle (Purchase book on your own)
If you have questions, please contact Becky Fleischmann. Call her at 262-388-6048 or email deanbeckyf@gmail.com
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Quilters Are Looking for Bed Sheet Donations
• Meet on Mondays
• Starts at 9:30 AM
• Lower Level
• Join Any Time
St. John’s quilters are in low supply of bed sheets. Full, queen and king sizes are needed. Flat sheets are preferred and can be new or gently used. The sheets are used for the backing of the quilts. Donated sheets can be dropped off in the designated box in the church gathering space.
Our team of quilters meet each Monday at 9:30 AM in the Lower Level Fellowship Hall to make quilts that are sent out to people in need locally and around the world.
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Prayers of thanks for the 24th Wedding Anniversary of Bob and Barb Laubenstein on October 19 and for the 54th Anniversary of Jim & Faye Maersch on October 21.
Praise God for guiding Baby Cecilia Bauter's newborn development and allowing her to finally come home from the hospital.
Prayers for peace and encouragement for Barb Laubenstein who has been sick.
Prayers for continued recovery for Rev. Jim Van Dellen, Sr. (the father of our principal) as he was hospitalized last week.
Prayers for the Construction on the School Expansion.
Members in Treatment, at Home, or Recovering: Nancy Polivka, Rev. Jim Van Dellen, Sr., Joanne Johnson, Joel Hausmann, Dan Peterson, Bruce Biendarra, Deb Graf, Paul Otto, Mary Biegler, Monica Wunder.
| | Reach in Prayer • St. John's App • Daily Devotions | | | | |
Saturday Worship
• 6:00 PM - Traditional
Sunday Worship
• 8:00 AM (Traditional)
• 9:30 AM - Blended (In-Person and Livestream)
• 11:00 AM - Contemporary
Wednesdays
• 8:40 AM - School Chapel
| | Church Office: 262-334-4901 | | | | | |
