Book Club Meeting Cancelled

Sorry, but the December 10 meeting of the St. John's Book Club is cancelled. Will re-schedule ASAP.

Question of the Week 10/24/10: Results

247 people attended church on 10/24/10, 30 people chose to respond to the question of the week. The question was “What do you think is the best way for the church to receive input from its members about their opinions and thoughts about the future of our congregation?” More than one answer was allowed so all answers are represented below. Some of the possible answers included a suggestion box, survey, a specific meeting time once a month, small group meetings held at homes of members, email, and our blog.

6 All of the above ways are important
8 Suggestion box
6 Survey
12 Email
1 Website
3 Monthly meeting
2 Blog
3 Handouts at church services
3 Small groups at homes
2 Congregational Meeting
1 Mailings (but only for very important topics)
1 Short survey at the coffee hour
2 Periodic surveys to gauge mood and desire and reactions of members about a certain topic.

Some people included comments about various topics on this question. They are all included here.

It is important to provide timely feedback from a survey.

One person would appreciate more opportunities to speak with the pastor, suggested setting aside one day a month for a couple of hours where people could attend a “Meet the Pastor” style meeting.

One person didn’t like not having a seat at the 9am service due to the Sunday School taking up so many seats.

A member commented that even though we have meetings it is difficult to express feelings that may be met with opposition. This person believes the issue of our future-the property purchase, possible building, changes at 48 Greene Avenue, have created distinct, separate groups.

Question of the Week 10/17/10: Results

Of the 247 people who attended church on 10/17/10, we received 48 responses (2 through email) for the Question of the Week: “What brought you to Saint John’s and what keeps you here?”

Most people had more than one answer for each part of the question. All reasons to both parts of the question are accounted for in the responses below. The response to “What brought you to Saint John’s?”

9 Proximity to my home
7 Sunday School/VBS/Youth Group program
6 Desire for children to learn about God
4 The pastor
3 Preaching
3 Children married here/Family members came here
3 Felt comfortable or at home when I first came to this church
3 Friends’ recommendation
3 Brought as a child
3 It is a LCMS church
2 Married a Lutheran
2 Pre-School
2 The music
1 To renew one’s faith
1 To give thanks to God

The response to “What keeps you here (at Saint John’s)?”:

22 The people/friendships developed/fellowship
15 The preaching
10 Feel comfortable or at home in this church/”It’s my home”
9 Sunday School/Youth Group/Children’s Activities
9 The pastor
8 The music program
7 Church activities for members as well as community
3 Formality of services
2 Want children to have friends in church or to have a connection to the church
1 Pre-School
1 Church starts on time
1 Christ centered church
1 Worshipful atmosphere on Sundays

Question of the Week for 10/10/10: Results

Here are the responses for the Question of the Week for 10/10/10:

Of the 263 people who attended church the weekend of 10/10/10, 23 people responded to the Question of the Week, 19 in church and two through email.

Results:

According to the 23 who responded, our church’s role in the community is seen as preserving and communicating God’s word (8); as a safe haven (4); bringing people together (2); a child centered church (2); an example to the community of our Christian, Lutheran, and moral faith (3); an open door church (2); to help those in need; and offers space to outside groups (3). Several people mentioned more than one of the above roles in their answer, for the compilation process, we included the first role written. All roles are accounted for as mentioned.

It was also written that we should be warm and welcoming; less formal; be more about the Word of God; be an integral part of the our community and be able to respond to local needs as they arise; be known as the church of compassion; and there should be a connection between the outside groups (AA, Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, Basketball, Nursery programs) that come through our doors and what we are about as a church body. Three people wrote specifically that we could and should expand our food pantry ministry.

To Comment on the Blog

FYI/Reminder: To comment on a posting, you only need to click on "Comments." Type in what you want to say, and then click the pull down menu and use whatever item applies to you. You only need to sign in this way if you are leaving a comment. Enjoy and let's hear from you!

Bible Study Ideas

The Board of Church Life at St. John's is considering Bible study topics. Please let us know if you have any ideas.

St. John's Book Club

The St. John's Book Club will be meeting on Friday night, October 1, at 7:30 to discuss Pontius Pilate: A Novel by Paul Maier.

Please join us.

Also, do you have suggested titles for upcoming book gatherings?

On Being Lutherans

How many of us think about what it means to specifically be a Lutheran?

There are some wonderful resources from Concordia Publishing House that can help to more deeply explore Lutheranism. Two great recent publications are The Lutheran Study Bible and Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord.

Any thoughts, comments or questions?

What do you love the best?

There are many activities and opportunities at St. John's. What are some of your favorite things about our church?

The Land Purchase

Recently, the membership of St. John's voted to purchase 3.8 acres of land in Sayville. While some options were presented in regards to what we should do with the land, nothing has been decided as of yet. What do you think we should do with the land?

Coming Soon

The St. John's Virtual Coffee Hour will be up and running soon!