Resilience - St. John's United Methodist Church
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JANUARY 2021
Resilience
Our January preaching theme will explore ways in which
faith helps to nurture this key trait. The term refers to
one’s commitment to recovery… endurance… toughness…
being able to grow in challenging circumstances… these
flowers are demonstrating resilience. Will your life in
2021 be an example of resilience? Will our shared expe-
rience as a people of faith nurture this trait? I hope so!
Page 1 ~Pastor Jeff
Christmas Eve Worship Services (in-person and online):
1:00 PM Traditional Service
7:00 PM Contemporary Service
10:00 PM Traditional service
All are candlelight services and will be simulcast online
Christmas Eve worship—something many look forward to each year. It will be different this year. We are
taking reservations to know how to plan for each time. We are offering an extra time at 1:00pm to help
Pastor’s Perspective
spread out the attendance. We will be using the electric/battery candles so that there isn’t a big rush of
breath as all present blow out their candle at the close. AND, the late service has moved to 10:00pm
(spread the word to guests that you may bring).
The one dynamic that I think most of us are wrestling with is that sinking feeling that all the stuff of 2020
might actually steal Christmas or keep it from coming. And the limitations of COVID might very well keep
your relatives from coming. In spite of all the challenging circumstances this year I want to report that
God is not going to skip Christmas. God will still send His gift of love and grace, if you will receive it. God will
still send His gift of mercy and forgiveness, if you will receive it. God will still send His healing and compas-
sion, if you will receive it.
Every year has it’s challenges that threaten to stop our ability to enjoy Christmas. This year it’s just more
widespread. We’re all wrestling with extra stuff and stress and uncertainty and anxiety. But Christmas is
coming. Christmas will come. I think that’s the essence of the name Emmanuel—God is with us in all the
uncertainty about the future. And God’s presence can make our hearts be at peace even when there’s
chaos all around.
I hope you can join us for one of our Christmas Eve services, either in-person or online. The good thing
about the online services, is that you can still come to worship even if you miss. The online services re-
main up on our website and Facebook page for worshippers at any time of day or night. (no more excus-
es for missing worship).
To assist us in planning, please let us know when you intend to worship on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve/Blue Christmas Worship Reservation [click here to reserve your spot]
January Sermon Theme—RESILIENCE: In simple terms, this term refers to a person’s ability to bounce
back from difficult circumstances. To be a resilient person means to be able to withstand and adapt to
hardships. In our current season, the stresses of life have increased. Prolonged exposure to stress reduc-
es resiliency. The January preaching theme will explore ways that faith helps to nurture this key trait. Re-
covery…. endurance… rebounding… toughness… we love the stories of sports team coming from behind to
win. Resilience involves getting up after each experience of being knocked down or pushed down or
trampled under foot. Will your life in 2021 be an example of resilience? Will our shared experience as a
people of faith nurture this trait? I hope so!
Merry Christmas from all the
staff here at St. John’s United
Methodist Church!
Rev. Jeff Dadisman Khloe Smart’s baptism on December 13, 2020
Page 2
Be the change and pass it on!
St. John’s Christian Education and Youth Programs January 2021
A Christmas to Remember!
With all that has taken place in 2020, let’s celebrate some
of the things we still got to do...creatively. Our church fam-
ily and friends rock! We stretched our imaginations and
created new memories by staying “connected” even while
we are apart. Drive-By Nativity Set Gifting
Improv Christmas
Story—Family Skits
Advent Boxes– Daily Gifts and activities for our families to
open as we prepare to celebrate Christmas. Pictured are the
volunteers that assembled and distributed and some of the
kids/youth with some of the favorites they opened.
OUTREACH: The youth
setting up the TP Christ-
mas Tree for our “White
Christmas”
ATTENTION: H.S. SENIORS Class of 2021
Two scholarships are being offered to Class of 2021 gradu-
Wednesdays for Youth
ates who have been active members. The application is Dinner 5:30pm-6:00pm
available on our website and in the church office.
The Edge Youth Group
Along with the application, please write a 250-500 word es- 6:00pm-7:00pm
say on how St. John’s has helped you develop a belief in
God and what suggestions do you have to make the church
more relevant to youth. Also required is two letters of rec-
ommendation. All pieces of the application are due in the NO PROGRAMS DECEMBER 23 and 30…
church office by Sunday, March 28, 2021. The awardees will Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
be announced and introduced on Mother’s Day weekend.
Page 3
Christmas Offering
Many families are looking for a way to give to a need beyond their own reach at Christmas. They have given
faithfully to the ministry of the Church during the year and now want to do something extra. Each Christmas I
intend to stretch us to consider a local mission project and a project outside the U.S.
a. The Center extends housing assistance to the local neighborhood
b. Fisher’s of Men—Pastor Joshua (one of our partners at The Center) is working in Kenya
Any donation in the Christmas Envelope this month will be divided between these 2 mission projects.
Housing Assistance (Local) The Center receives multiple requests for financial assistance each day.
Families, couples, elderly folks, individuals; the requests come from people who are renting and
those in their own home but experiencing financial stress. The Center assists those in our neighbor-
hood with rent, utilities, medical bills, etc. Any one category of a family budget, when hit with a crisis,
can cause someone to lose their housing. Your gifts will allow Pennie Kellenberger to help people
stay in their present housing and thus avoid adding to the number of homeless in our city.
Clean Water - Kenya (Africa) Lack of clean drinking water is one of the greatest causes of poverty. In Kenya, wom-
en and children walk an average of four to six hours per day to collect water. This is precious time that could be
spent on education or other pursuits. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee the water source is clean or free of chol-
era, dysentery, typhoid or parasites. Clean water changes everything; improving health, giving hope and empower-
ing communities.
Here’s how the well project to which we are contributing is progressing:
• One-third of our Christmas offering last year ($3,393.43) helped towards the $8,000 cost to bore a well.
• The rest of the needed funds were raised and a new well was set up for a village in Kenya in September.
• Drilling down 200 feet produced a gush of fresh, clean water!
• It was allowed to run for 24 hours and villagers all came to celebrate and fill their water containers.
• the new well was “capped” and now waits for funds to complete the work.
• This year’s offering will help to finish the project. An estimated $10,000 is needed to do the following:
• purchase the water pump,
• solar panels to power the pump,
• and a storage tank to hold water for the village
Page 4
2020 was a unique and different year, in the world and at St. John’s
United Methodist Church. We discovered new ways to “do” church, to
come together safely, and to support our beloved community. Thank
you for joining us in these different ways.
We took advantage of God’s gift of the great outdoors...
Page 5
We acquired, learned and used new technologies...
Page 6
And we shared God’s love; together, apart.
Page 7
FINANCIAL UPDATE
As 2020 comes to an end, we want to let you know
where we project the year will close for the church re-
ceipts. At this time, we are projecting that donations
will be about $60,000 short for the year. We don't yet
have the November financial summary and of course
December is not yet over. So, this number is an esti-
mate based on the giving trends this year (pledge re-
ceipts have been running about 7% behind for the year).
This has been a very unusual year. We are grateful for
everyone who has continued to give to support our
church. If you haven't completed your 2020 financial
commitments, you can still do so here in December.
140 giving commitment cards have been received for 2021. THANK YOU! In addition, we have not received word as to whether or
Together, we will get through this coming year!! Please reply and be a part of not our SBA Loan has been forgiven. “Forgiveness”
our “together” if you haven’t yet. would change the money we received from a loan to a
Together in mission, Together in purpose, Together in Christ! grant. When this word is received, we will then be able
to use this money for ministry expenses.
If you have not yet submitted your pledge card for 2021, there is still time to turn it in. If you need a
pledge card, contact the church office at (563) 324-5278 and ask that one be mailed to you. With the
pledges received thus far, our budgeted estimate for 2021 is at a shortfall of about $31,000.
~Karen Weimer, Treasurer
Thank you to all of you for supporting the
music program during this Christmas Sea-
son and the New Year.
Bells AND Choir worked over-time, preparing
the Christmas program and music for the
worship services.
If you missed our virtual online Christmas pro- We are in need of volunteers to learn and run the Power-
Point, video system and sound board. Please contact Pas-
gram: "The Light Comes to Bring us Peace" is tor Jae if you are interested in volunteering these vital
still available on YouTube, through our Face- services, jaeseonglee@stjohnsumcdav.org
book page or our website. If you did not
watch it, I encourage you to "re-connect" with
St. John's by finding the link and checking it
out! AND if you have not clicked "subscribe"
to St. John's YouTube channel, please take
one second to click that button to show your
presence and support.
God Bless,
Mitzi
Page 8
Missions Update
Kids Against Hunger Offering, January 2-3 Kids Against Hunger is a wonderful project to support because there are a lot
of hungry people locally and worldwide. Our goal is $1,400, and every dollar we give provides 4 meals. What can you buy
for a quarter? Not much! But $1,400 will provide 5,600 meals. 20% of the meals we provide stay in the Quad Cit-
ies. Recently many of the meals have been sent to Haiti along with Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and East Afri-
ca. Let’s start 2021 with a generous offering to help people who are hungry. $1400 is reachable. Thank you all very much.
Christian Unity Offering/Human Relations Day, January 16-17 Our offering goal is $250. This offering helps communi-
ties with issues needing support to bring about better community relations. It also provides scholarships for community
workers. Both of these needs are very important. Thank you!!
You should know... The Mission programs at St John’s provide thousands of dollars each year to various organizations
and individual people. Along with our regular contributions to our supported missionaries, we provide help right here in
the Quad Cities. I want to thank the team members who oversaw each of the following missions during 2020:
Change the World – Don Buser / CROP Walk (and lifetime chair of the whole team) – Willie Trusheim
In-gathering kits – Michelle Buser/ Churches United (formerly Salvation Army) meals – Jennifer Jones
Food Pantry – Sharon Imming / P.U.N.C.H. – Melanie and Pat Mahoney / Thrift Center – Katie Manley-Buser
ECO Ministries – Mel Lower / Volunteers in Mission – Linda Ringdahl / Café on Vine meals – Billie Terrill
I also give thanks to all the volunteers who supported the ministries above. St. John’s Mission Team is looking for people
who can take care of Volunteers in Mission and Café on Vine meals. If you are willing to serve in these ministries, please
contact Pastor Jae (jaeseonglee@stjohnsumcdav.org)
--Thank you all for your generous mission giving in 2020. ~Pastor Jae
Winter Kits for the Homeless
I completed 50 kits with hats, two pairs of gloves, two pairs of socks, 2 pack of
masks, hand sanitizer, lip balm, Band-Aids, hand lotion, a comb, and 5 pairs of
hand warmers! The total value of the kits is $750. Thanks to those who supported
financially and who helped with packing the items.
Blessings,
Don Buser
Christmas Worship Opportunities
December 20 at 5PM – A Blue Christmas service Often scheduled on or around December 21
to correspond with the shortest day of the year; which also produces the "Longest Night" of the
year, Blue Christ-mas services offer a gentle respite from cultural and perhaps even religious
expectations of a "Merry Christmas." Blue Christmas services offer comfort and hope, especially
for those who have experienced significant loss dealing with difficult situations in their lives. If
you or someone you know is struggling with the holidays this year, please consider coming.
There will be communion as well as symbolic ways of remembering those we miss at this time.
This night is open to anyone in our community
December 24—Christmas Eve services—all will be held in-person and online.
(1:00) Traditional service
(7:00) Contemporary Service
(10:00) Traditional Service
We have added additional gathering times to spread out the attendance on this special night.
Reservations will be necessary as we prepare for this night. Visit our website to make your res-
ervations, http://www.stjohnsumcdav.org/
Page 9
Page 10
The United Methodist Women wish to thank you
for your support of our alternative fundraisers
this year. We pray that our beloved events, such
as the Children’s Christmas Bazaar, Jazz and Just
Desserts, and Swing and Sway, and Cool Yule
will return in the new year.
Circles, please continue to take your donations for DVAP and the Pregnancy center to the church and put
them in the closet in the parlor. Both organizations still have great need.
December 9 was a beautiful day for our Drive-by/Drop-off for the
Food Pantry and The Center. We collected 401 items for the Food
Pantry. One of the items we were asking for was toilet paper for our
toilet paper tree. 116 rolls were given to get us started on the tree.
THANK YOU to those who donated toilet paper. We received a vari-
ety of food items and again, THANK YOU. The toilet paper will be
donated to both the Food Pantry and The Center. The tree will be
located at the Perry Street entrance across from the men's restroom.
We also were collecting winter clothing for The Center to give to by Sharon Imming
those who are in need. Items received: 2 women's coats, 5 men's
coats, 40 hand warmers, 30 feet warmers, 3 hats, 3 sweaters, 17 pairs of underwear, 2 shirts, 21
pairs of socks. 2 sweatshirts, 2 pairs of men's gloves, 2 pairs of men's boots and a sleeping bag.
Toiletry items collected: 7 deodorant, 3 shampoo, 3 conditioner, 3 lotion, and 11 individual pack-
ages of plastic silverware. There were a few other clothing items given directly to The Cen-
ter. Again, THANK YOU for your generosity. PLEASE NOTE: Our January Food/Center Drive
By will be held on Wednesday, January 27, 2021. Times: 9:00-10:00 and 4:00-5:00. Any items
will be greatly appreciated for both places.
Wishing each and everyone a safe New Year's and hoping we can get back to some normalcy
in 2021.
Page 11ST. JOHN’S UNITED WORSHIP SCHEDULE
METHODIST CHURCH
109 E. 14th Street 5:30PM Saturday Jesus Country in Fellowship Hall
Davenport, Iowa 52803 9:00AM Sunday on WOC 1420 AM radio
Church office phone: (previous week’s sermon)
(563) 324-5278 9:00AM Sunday Classic Worship in the Sanctuary
Face coverings are required up- (will be simulcast online on Facebook, YouTube,
on entering the church building website)
for any reason.
11:00 AM Sunday Contemporary Worship
Rev. Jeff Dadisman (online only, on Facebook, YouTube, website)
Senior Pastor, ext. 203
revjeffdadisman@stjohnsumcdav.org
The St. John's Foundation wishes to thank the following members
Rev. Jaeseong Lee for their contributions to the St. John's Foundation Birthday Fund:
Associate Pastor, ext. 204 Ardis Babcock, Carol Baldry, Martha Border, Don Buser, Mark
jaeseonglee@stjohnsumcdav.org Cliingman, Barb Groenenboom, Alison Henry, Christine Ittenbach,
Steven Ernst Gary and Linda Jantz, Marjorie O’Dell, Bev Poppe, Bill and Betty
Director of Jesus Country Stone, and Joan Waggoner.
stjohnsmusic@hotmail.com
Linda Hoppe
Contemporary Worship Leader
lindam0617@gmail.com
Megan Keller
BLESSING BOX DRIVE
Director of Christian Education, ext. 201 January 18, 2020
megank@stjohnsumcdav.org KWQC TV 6
Mitzi Harris 805 Brady Street Davenport Iowa
Organist/Chancel Bells Director, ext. 214 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Pastor Jeff will be there at 11AM)
(We will also offer a donation box at the church through January 18)
mitzijoh@aol.com
Chris Dorr
Contemporary Worship Leader
“A Box Full of Blessings”
Be a blessing to others by donating
crdorr@live.com
Lynda Notter ITEMS NEEDED
Communications Director, ext. 202 Cleaning Products Personal Products
officemanager@stjohnsumcdav.org Laundry detergent Toothpaste/toothbrushes
Carolyn Rancier
Fabric softener Mouthwash
Receptionist, ext. 200 Bathroom cleaners Deodorant
carolyn@stjohnsumcdav.org Household cleaners Soap/Body wash
Paper towels Lotion/Vaseline
Don Sprosty
Financial Secretary, ext. 205
Toilet bowl brush/caddy Feminine hygiene items
dons@stjohnsumcdav.org Hand sanitizers Bathroom tissue, Kleenex
Glass cleaner Socks, gloves, hats
Glenn Wilkerson
Building Superintendent, ext. 208 Monetary Donations also welcomed
On the web: www.stjohnsumcdav.org Sponsored by People Uniting Neighbors and Churches
E-mail: (PUNCH) and Friends of Martin Luther King (FoMLK)
officemanager@stjohnsumcdav.org
Facebook: St. John’s United Methodist
Davenport Iowa
Twitter: @sjumcdav
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