Zion Notes & News

Church Office Hours

Regular Church Office hours are 10:00a - 3:00p Mondays thru Thursdays, closed on Fridays.

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All exterior doors to the building are locked while school is in session. Please call the Church Office at 949-3910 to be let in for Church business.  Or call 949-3915 for the School Office.

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As always, for any pastoral concerns, feel free to call Pastor Meyer on his cell @ 712-261-1774.

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Upcoming Meetings

Please note the earlier date for Elders & Council Meetings.

Tuesday    December 2nd     7:00p    Women’s Bible Study
Thursday    December 4th     7:00p    Men’s B & B
Monday    December 8th     7:00p    Elders
Monday    December 8th     7:00p    Council
Tuesday    December 9th     7:30p    Women’s Bible Study
Tuesday    December 9th     7:00p    ZSJ School Board
Thursday    December 11th     7:00p    Christian Life
Thursday    December 18th    7:00p    Men’s B & B
 

See the December calendar for other events and activities!

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Sunday School Christmas Program

Our Sunday School children will present “Not So Silent Night” for the Children’s Christmas Worship on Sunday, December 14th during the 9:30a Worship Service.

Christmas Poinsettias

We have beautiful poinsettias decorating our Church for Christmas! If you would like to dedicate one in memory of a loved one or in honor of a special blessing, please sign the sheet in the narthex or call the Church Office.  The cost of each poinsettia is $18 and the ordering deadline is December 8th. Your flower(s) may be taken home with you after the Christmas Day Worship.

Advent Worship

Our Wednesday evening Advent Services will be held on December 3rd, 10th, and 17th beginning at 7:00p.

The Advent season is the opportunity to spend time preparing your heart and mind to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.  It reminds us that the Son of God came into the world for the crucial purpose of saving us from our sins.  Take the time to not only worship the Lord, but also to reflect on our sinful condition and repent for it.  That way, we’ll be ready to truly rejoice in all our Christmas services and celebrations.

     Church Services on Local Cable and Online

     You can now watch Zion worship services on TCA Local Channel #498.  Each Sunday’s service will be rebroadcast multiple times throughout the following week.  The current schedule is daily at 3:00a, 9:00a, 3:00p, and 9:00p.   Please share this info with anyone who may be unable to attend our services in person.

      You can also view the videos here at Zion’s website:

      Choose the “Worship Resources” tab above, and then select “Sermons & Services” from the dropdown menu.  You’ll find clickable links to the Sermon text, the bulletin, and the video (when available) for each week.  

Christian Education for All Ages

Sunday School for children ages pre-K thru 5th grade meets each Sunday beginning at 10:30a. 

Adult Bible Class meets at 10:45am each Sunday. Junior High and High School students are welcome at our Adult Bible Class as well.  

Men’s B & B Study group continues to meet twice each month on Thursday evenings.

Women’s Bible Study is currently focusing on Psalms.  We meet on Tuesday evenings at 7:00p in the ZSJ cafeteria. 

Cookie Walk

Our annual Cookie Walk fundraiser will be held on Sunday, December 14th from 10:30 – noon, following the worship service.  Purchase your Christmas cookies and candy!  If you are unable to attend, you may make a monetary donation by placing your cash or check into the offering plate labeled “Cookie Walk.” The proceeds collected form this annual event go to Mission Central for yearly support of our missionary in Taiwan, Barb Rebentisch.

Preparing for Worship

As we prepare our hearts and minds for worship, it's a good practice to spend the time prior to the service in prayer and meditation.  Please be mindful and respectful of other members around you who may be doing this.  If you do need to visit with somone, please use a soft voice so as not to disturb others who are quietly preparing.

Regarding Communion

If you choose to take the individual cup for Holy Communion, when you are finished drinking, please hold the empty cup out where it is visible for Pastor to see. That way he knows who still needs the common cup. 

Also, if you have a medical condition that requires you to refrain from alcohol, we have non-alcoholic wine available. Please let Pastor or an Elder know before the service so we can have it ready for you when you come up to the altar.

Text Messaging * UPDATE

If you are not yet signed up for text messaging, please let the church office know.  Especially as we enter the winter months, texting is the most efficient and reliable way to contact everyone in the event of severe weather or other calendar changes. 

Please Opt-In:  If you haven’t completed the opt-in yet, please request an email invite from the church office.  Open that email from Zion and follow the instructions.  Your opt-in is not complete until YOU have entered your own cell phone number. 

Organ Repair Fund

As you may have heard, our pipe organ needs some expensive repairs. The estimate is $40-50,000 and work would begin sometime after the first of the year. In light of that, we’ve established an organ repair fund so that we can start collecting donations.  Please consider making a contribution to the fund, or if you have memorial money that you’d like to give in honor of a loved one, this would be a wonderful project to put it towards.  When you do, place the funds in an envelope labeled “organ repair fund” and put it in the offering basket or drop it off at the church office.

You may also click on 'e-Giving' above (members only) to make a contribution to the Organ Repair Fund.

Did You Know?

You have access to the full Membership Directory, church calendar (including birthday and wedding anniversaries), current prayer concerns, and the current week's Messenger.  All of this is available right here on our website!  However, you need to set up a member login in order to view these "member only" features.  To get a login, please send an email to zionsec@tcaexpress.net (be sure to include your name in the email), then just follow the instructions from there to set your own username and password.  

The rest of the website is visible to the public (no login required).

Meals Ministry

Christian Life’s “Meals Ministry” is an incredible blessing to so many people in our church & community. The recipients express so much appreciation – not just for the food, but also the phone call, the personal connection, and the time spent visiting together while delivering the meals – all in Christian love. If you would like to make a financial donation, please designate your gift “Christian Life Meals”.  Please note that the schedule for meal delivery has recently changed.  Meals will be prepped and delivered on the third Thursday of each month. 

Automatic Offering with e-Giving

Look for the "Joyful Response - Electronic Offering Program" forms located in the narthex.  Please fill this out and return it to the church office in order to set up a new e-giving schedule for yourself!                               You can sign up at any time!

You can also set up e-giving for yourself right here!  Giving options have been updated to include Christian Life Meals, Sunday School / Parish Education,  and Organ Repair, in addition to regular Sunday offerings.  You can choose a one-time gift or a recurring gift.

Of course if you have questions or would like help in setting up e-giving, please feel free to contact June in the church office.

Printed Sermons and Regular Mailings

Pastor Meyer continues to make printed copies of his sermons available each week.  These copies are available for you in the narthex each Sunday.  In addition, the printed sermon along with a copy of the worship bulletin and Messenger are being mailed out each week to a fair number of our members who are homebound or residing in care centers.  If you know of any members who would enjoy receiving these weekly mailings, please let the Church Office know.

You can find copies of Pastor Meyer's typed sermons on this website.  Click the "Sermons and Services" link under the "Worship Resources" tab at the top of this page.  Clicking each date will then open a new tab with the Sermon text for that Sunday.  

Monthly Newsletters are being distributed at church, usually on the last Sunday of the month.  If you are unable to attend Church on that Sunday, your Newsletter can be mailed to you if you’d like.  Just give a call to the Church Office to let us know. 

Memorial Guides

Not many people think ahead to write down their personal information and wishes to help plan for their visitation and funeral when God calls them home to heaven.  In order to help with that, we've put together a folder that allows you to record this vital info.  They are in the rack at the back of church and you're welcome to take one home.  Once you've filled it out, please tell your family where the booklet is kept so that they can easily access it when the time comes.

Zion St John RaiseRight

RaiseRight (formerly Scrip) is a great way to raise money for Zion Church's ongoing commitment to Zion St John School.  The dicsount/rebate earned is designated to the fund(s) of your choice: tution for your family, tuition assistance for another family, general school improvements, or any combination of these funds.  It's your choice!  You do not need to have a student enrolled at ZSJ to participate in the program - extended family and friends are welcome to participate, too. 

RaiseRight can be used for just about any purchase including groceries, clothing, gasoline, entertainment, dining out and travel, etc.  Any sales or coupons offered by the businesses can be used at the same time - RaiseRight is just your form of payment.

Example:  You purchase a Prairie Market RaiseRight gift card at face value, and spend it at face value.  Prairie Market donates the 5% rebate to ZSJ, saved in the fund(s) of your choice.  Prairie Market RaiseRight cards can be applied as payment on your account there, if any.  If you prefer, payments on account of $500 or more can be handled for you.

Joe's TV & Appliance in Orange City and Greenworld in Sioux Center and Orange City will send a rebate check if you mention ZSJ RaiseRight at the time of purchase, and pay for your item(s) in cash or check before you leave the store.

More info can be found on the School website: https://zsjpaullina.org/scrip.php   If you have any other questions, please contact Paul & Janet Miller, or Kari Kent - RaiseRight Coordinator.

NLSA Accreditation for ZSJ

On March 21-23 (2021) Zion St John Lutheran School hosted six members from the National Lutheran Schools Association (NLSA) site accreditation team.  The members represented Lutheran schools from Iowa and South Dakota along with representatives of Iowa District West and East.  The purpose of their visit was to review the school's self-study report and evaluate the school on seven key standards related to NLSA accreditation.

The standards in which the school was evaluated on were: 1) Purpose, 2) Relationships, 3) Leadership, 4) Professional Personnel, 5) Teaching and Learning, 6) Student Services, and 7) Facilities.

These standards were evaluated via interviews with staff, parents, pastors, principal, and constituents of the school.  Outcomes related to Christian perspective and student learning were also evaluated through many classroom observations.

Principal Schouten is happy to report that after a thorough evaluation process Zion St John Lutheran School has been accredited by the NLSA, which is also recognized by the state of Iowa.  We received an overall score of 2.63 which is comparable to the national average of 2.67 for accredited Lutheran schools.  As a school we were able to reaffirm the positive things we are currently doing and also plan to improve in certain areas moving forward so that we can continue, in partnership with parents and congregations, to provide a Christ-centered educational program that educates the whole child.