God only Knows

Jesus knows because He went through it, too.

When we experience trials in life, it is a normal to seek companionship and counsel from trusted

friends and family. Despite having listening ears loved, ones can lack the empathy and knowledge

of how to convey the comfort we are needing. How often have we confided in others just to receive

the well-meaning phrases of, “This too shall pass”, “God doesn’t give you more than you can han-

dle”, or “Just remember there’s always someone that has it worse.” These statements fail to

acknowledge the depth of our struggles, leaving us to wonder: Does anyone truly understand what

we are facing mentally, emotionally, or spiritually?

John Prine, the late great country/folk singer and song writer, wrote a song on his album “The Tree

of Forgiveness” that addresses this feeling of not being understood in tough times. The song titled

“God Only Knows” states in the first verse:

“God only knows the price that you pay, For the ones you hurt along the way If I should betray myself today,

Then God only knows the price I pay.”

In these verses, he hits a bullseye on the feelings of not being understood regarding feeling down

and depressed about the way of the world or the way our personal life is going because of human

sin.

Though Jesus Christ experienced exceptional sin and suffering, it was not due to his own personal

sin. Because of the sin of the world, Jesus experienced times of severe temptation of the devil. He

was driven to anger due to the lack of faith from his disciples, corruption in the temple, and at the

mistreatment of the children/the innocent. Saint Luke gives examples of this in the nineteenth

chapter of his gospel starting in verse forty-one. Luke records how waywardness of the world

brought tears to Jesus over the depth of corruption in Jerusalem that represented the state of bro-

kenness throughout the world. Luke provides a vivid description of how Jesus responded to the

sinfulness in the temple by flipping over tables and chasing out the leaders with whips. Jesus,

knowing of the sinful nature of His people, would soon be led to His death. He knew His death

would lead to the atonement of the worlds sin.

God knew the price it was to pay for this sin and what it was going to take to fix our brokenness. In

the Gospel of John, the third chapter starting in the sixteenth verse, we are given the good news that

Jesus came to save all from their sin and the sin of the world out of God’s divine fatherly love.

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Serving the Lord for 116 Years January 2021

When the weight of our personal struggles and the brokenness of the world leave us with feelings

no one understands, we can remember that Jesus knew your feelings and felt the same way. In the

second verse of John Prine’s song, he makes the point that God knows what you are feeling. He

says:” God only knows the way that I feel, is only a part of the way that I feel If I can't reveal that

way that I feel, Then God only knows the way that I feel”

What the Holy Bible tells us is that we have a God that does know our pain, that Christ Jesus who is

truly God and truly Man felt the emotional woes that life gives us. Saint Matthew shows us that

Jesus felt the deep stresses that we do. In chapter twenty-six, Matthew writes that before Jesus went

to the cross, He pleaded for the cup of suffering be taken from Him. In His time of prayer, He was

filled with fear, sadness, and anxiety to the point He sweat blood.

When you are in a place where you feel alone that no one cares or understands the storms you are

going through, remember that God does know. You can be assured that the almighty God who cre-

ated you and all that is in this world has experienced exactly what you have felt and gone through.

Knowing the trials Jesus has gone through, Jesus makes known to us that by the Holy Spirit we will

be mercifully lead through the over whelming feelings and emotions that mighty storms of life

bring us.

In the final verse of the song “God Only Knows”, John Prine ends the song with the old childhood

bedtime prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I

pray the Lord my soul to take.” What I love about this song is that it reminds us that if at the end of

each day we can trust God to take proper care of our soul in death, we can trust that God knows

what to do with our emotions, pain, and sorrow.

As we enter 2021, I pray that we remember that even if “God Only Knows” what lays ahead with

the pandemic, troubles our nation will face, challenges our congregation will experience, or our in-

dividual storms we will face, know that as Saint Paul wrote in Romans six, that we will experience

the crosses and death as Christ Jesus did. We, who are bound to Him in Holy Baptism, will surely

gloriously rise just as He did.

On days when it seems that God is the only one who can understand, I pray you will not be left

with worry and are filled with comfort and peace, knowing that Jesus has been in your shoes and is

leading you each step by the Holy Spirit.

Happy New Year and Peace to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pastor Ben Hollingead

Page 2 - Pastor Article January Voice 2021

Page 3 - Council Minutes January Voice 2021

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – LCMC

Church Council Minutes

Date: 11/16/2020

Present: Sue Lein, Linda Dilts, Bethany Hardy, Derek Fitcher, Barb Peterson, Nicole Anderson, Pastor Ben, Linnea Kment,

Jim Johnson, Roxann Berg, Lisa Loso, Kim Schmidt

Absent: Hal Satter

Meeting called to order at 7:06 PM by Derek Fitcher.

Pastor Ben opened with devotion and prayer.

• Minutes Approved

Barb Peterson motioned to approve the minutes from 10/19/20, Linda Dilts seconded the motion. Motion carried.

• Financial Report

October 2020 Financial Report was reviewed and discussed.

• Pastor’s Report

One death this month, Foster Mooney.

All Saints Sunday was well received with approximately 22 Saints recognized.

4 Confirmands were here for Reformation Sunday.

Little Angel Preschool came and sang last Sunday.

Heading into the Advent season there will be 11 am and 7 pm services for the three Wednesdays leading up to

Christmas.

Doing a lot of one on one meetings.

Committee Updates

• New Business

Properties

Both gutters have been put up.

59,000 gallons were used in October according to the meter, typical usage is 1,100 gallons. The meter is being moni-

tored by church staff to see if there are any red flags.

Furnace Fundraiser is currently at $1,500

Reach Out to Members

Council will receive a list of members to contact to check in on and see how they are doing if we have not seen them

in a while. Lay Shepherds will also be a part of this.

Page 4 - Council Minutes Continued January Voice 2020

• Little Angel Preschool

Door Update

Checked with DHS licensing, fire department, and police department to ensure that the proposed door

plan is approved by all. Would like to use the doors that we have already on hand in the garage that

have windows that LAP would like to use.

Nikki motioned to approve LAP to install the doors with windows from the garage, Linda Dilts seconded.

Motion approved.

Approved for 16 school-aged children ages 5-12 years old.

Received a $17,000 grant covering COVID expenses March 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

This grant helped to cover tuition that was lost and refunded during the shut down in the spring due to

COVID, staffing changes, increased materials, or items to remain compliant with COVID DHS proce-

dures.

There is currently $3,000 to use and they are planning on utilizing the funds to start up the SAC program.

Little Angels School Age Care

• Constitution & By-Laws Review

Chapter 2: Confession of Faith

Discussion about proposed changes.

Sue Lein motion to accept the changes to Chapter 2 and to present the proposed changes at the annual

congregational meeting, Roxann Berg seconded. Motion carried.

Chapter 11: Officers

Nikki Anderson motion to accept the changes to Chapter 11 and to present the proposed changes at the

annual congregational meeting, Jim Johnson seconded. Motion carried.

• 2021 Budget Planning

Discussion regarding the spending plan for 2021.

Bethany Hardy motioned to adjourn at 9:47 pm, Sue Lein seconded, motion carried.

Sue Lein motioned to extend the meeting by 15 minutes, Nikki Anderson seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Nikki Anderson motioned to extend the meeting until the budget is completed, Sue Lein seconded the motion. Motion carried.

The meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Respectfully submitted by,

Bethany Hardy, Council Secretary

Page 5 - Financial Report January Voice 2021

St John's Lutheran Church Financial Report November 2020

Budget Offerings ( 5 Sundays) $17,589.70

Actual Offerings Received $9,152.94 Offering Budget Shortage ($8,436.76)

Postage $0.00

Phone $81.80 Advertising/Evangelism $160.00

Worship Supplies $0.00 Confirmation $0.00

Building Liability Insurance $0.00 Pastor's Discretion Exp. Acct. $421.11

Computer Operations $125.00 Office Expense $322.82

Vanco Payment $20.85 Payroll Service Fees $24.64

Worship and Music Flowers $0.00 Worship & Music $477.00

Sunday School $0.00 Administrative Expenses $1,633.22

Excel Electric $387.84 Gas $103.84

City Water & Trash $1,081.77 Water-$952.06 Custodial Supplies-Misc. $212.00 Building Repair & Maint. $223.33

Building Expenses $2,008.78

Employee Salaries $9,578.93 LAP Salaries & Tax ($941.00) Sept. Payroll Paid

Payroll Tax $150.83 Actual $222.81 Visiting Pastors $0.00

Work comp. Ins. $0.00 Total Salaries $8,788.76

Christian Outreach $0.00

Total Expenses $12,430.76

End of Month Total ($3,277.82)

(offerings minus expenses)

Check Book Balance $79,520.93

Liabilities $14,150.00 Actual Cash Balance $65,370.93

Dedicated accounts balance: $102,829.84 Church Account Balance: ($37,458.91)

General Offering Balance: Year to Date: ($20,339.76)

If you have any question regarding this report please see the church council.

Page 6 - Announcements January Voice 2021

ST. JOHN’S ANNUAL MEETING:

The Congregation Annual Meeting will be Sunday,

January 24th right after the 9:00 AM service. All

members are asked to please attend. We will be

voting on the 2021 budget, the changes in the

constitution and by-laws, and discussing many

upcoming things in the year to come. The budget is included in this

month’s Voice for you to preview before the meeting.

MONTHLY MEETINGS/EVENTS:

• Christian Outreach

Next meeting February 8th, 2021

• Little Angel Preschool Board

January 12th, 6:30 PM

• Preschool Signing/“DIY’ Bake Sale

January 17th, 9:00 AM Service

• Church Council

January 18th, 7:00 PM

• Annual Congregational Meeting

January 24th, after 9AM service

• Worship & Music

January 25th, 10:00 AM

• Property/Work Crew

Meets every

Wednesday at 9:00 AM

January Greeters

January 3rd – Anna Christians and Teddy Abress January 10

th –

Dave & Kim Schmidt January 17 – Duane & Nancy Nelson January 24

th –

Jim and Grace Johnson Would you like to be a greeter? We are looking for volunteers to greet at the 9:00 AM service, greet-ers will need to be at church by 8:30 AM. Please call the church of-fice or sign up at the “What’s Hap-pening” table if you are interested. 651-462-5115

Page 7 - Announcements January Voice 2021

January 17, 2020 during the 9:00 AM service, Little Angel Preschool will be singing for the congrega-tion. We are also inviting you to come and visit the classrooms and the new school age room, see some of the students’ art work and how we have been doing things to keep our students and

families safe during covid-19. If you have any questions please, contact Lisa Loso—651-462-5115.

Are you a Thrivent member? Here is

an easy way to make a donation to

the church, you can apply for Thrivent

funds to be used for the furnace,

supplies, or fundraisers at the church.

Please contact your Thrivent Repre-

sentative with any questions. If you

receive any funds for the church,

please let contact

Lisa Loso—651-462-5115.

Old Mother Hubbard Went to the cupboard,

To see what she could share, When she came there,

The cupboard was bare, And so the congregation was

called…

This is just a reminder that St. John's has a food pantry that we use to help the community during these times of

need. Unfortunately, our pantry is bare like old mother Hubbard’s. If you

would like to bring in donations for the pantry, we will

make sure that it gets to those in

need.

If you have any questions, please contact Christian

Outreach.

Furnace Fund Update

Garage Sale $264.25

Imaginary Bake Sale $440.60

Giving Tree $1205.00

Spare Change $160.09

Foster Mooney Memorial $1100.00

Offerings $3530.00

Apple Sale $157.15

Grand Total $6857.09

WOW….Thank you for all that have

helped us get this far!!!!

Page 8 - Announcements January Voice 2021

Are you an AMAZON Shopper? Did you

know that you can shop Amazon Smile and

choose a Non-Profit that will get a per-

centage of your total sales? All you need

to do is go to Amazon Smile (just like Ama-

zon) and do your shopping. Just make sure

that you choose St.

John's as the non-

profit company and the

church will get the per-

centage automatically

each month.

Hymnal Check Out

We have Green Hymnals

available for check out for

those times when you are

viewing Sunday services

online. If you would like to

check out a green hymnal, please contact the

church or you can pick one up at the church.

There is a sign out sheet for each hymnal.

If you have any questions please contact the

office. 651-462-5115

Estimate of Giving and Willing Workers

Attached in the Voice is the estimate of giving and willing workers forms. Please fill them out with any time and talents that you are interested in giving to help keep our church moving forward! A special thank you to all of you for what you are or have been doing already. Our church can not do what it does without you! Please mail the completed forms back to the church in the enclosed envelope.

Stewardship Committee

2021 Offering

Envelopes are here!

The 2021 offering envelopes have ar-

rived and are available to pick up in

the Narthex next to the “What’s

Happening” information booth.

If you have any questions, please con-

tact the office.

“DIY” Bake Sale

The Property Committee and LAP School will be

hosting a “DIY” Bake Sale on January 17th, 2021 be-

fore and after 9:00 AM Service. Baking packages will

be available to purchase that will

be Covid-19 safe to bring home

to bake YUMMY treats for you

and your loved ones. Prices will

vary depending on the items in

the packages.

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St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church will be holding Sunday service

at 9:00 AM. Education Hour on each Sunday

is at 10:30 AM.

Please remember to wear a mask and

practice social distancing.

Inside This Issue:

Pastor’s Article

Council Minutes

Financial Report

Announcements

Church Office: 651-462-5115

Pastor Ben Hollingsead

Cell: 651-323-3293

Office Secretary: Lisa Loso

Non-Profit Organization

Postage Paid, Permit #3

Stacy, MN 55079

The Voice of St. John’s

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

PO Box 308

1075 Genesis Ave.

Stacy, MN 55079

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WATCH YOUR STEP:

Now that winter is here - please walk carefully on the sidewalk/

parking lot.

Be careful out there!!