Regular Church Office hours are 10:00am - 3:00pm Mondays thru Thursdays, closed on Fridays.
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As always, for any pastoral concerns, feel free to call Pastor Meyer on his cell @ 712-261-1774.
Members Only Sections of Website
Most of this website is available to the general public, but there are some pages which are for Zion members only. The private pages include an online Membership Directory,Prayer Requests, and a copy of the current week's MESSENGER, all of which are updated regularly. In order to view those pages, you need to request an email invitation from the Church Office. That only needs to be done once and from there you can set your own secure login and password information. To request an invitation, please send an email to zionsec@tcaexpress.net and be sure to include your name in the request.
Christian Education
Adult Bible Class begins at 10:45am, following Fellowship time each Sunday. Junior High and High School Youth are welcome at our Adult Bible Class as well.
Take advantage of this opportunity to grow in your faith!
Caring & Sharing
Christian Life Committee's "Caring & Sharing" monthly meal delivery program is an incredible blessing to so many people in our church and our community. The recipients express so much appreciation - not just for the meal, but also for the phone call, the personal connection, and the time spent visiting together while delivering the food. This ministry continues to provide caring service to others in Christian love. If you would like to make a financial donation toward this effort, please designate your offering "Christian Life Meals". Thank you for your continued support of this growing ministry!
Choir Notes
Zion Church Choir practices will be held once or twice each month at 8:45a, before the worship service. We will sing during the worship service on the same mornings that practice is held. All voices are welcome to join us and make a joyful noise! Contact Susan for more information.
Vacation Bible School
The Parish Education Committees of Zion and St John are working together in planning for VBS this summer. Tentative dates for VBS are Monday, July 8 thru Thursday July 11. Look for more information soon!
Prayer Chain
Periodically we receive a prayer request to be sent out to Zion's Prayer Chain. Currently there is a member list which our secretary, June, sends a text to with these prayer concerns. That way, the saints of Zion can take those petitions before God on behalf of their fellow members. If you would like to be added to that list, all you need to do is pass your cell number on to June or Pastor and we'll take care of it!
Please see the June Calendar for other events and activities.
Church Offerings Through 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!
Alternatively, there is a tab at the top of this page labeled "E-Giving". When you click the link on that page, a new page will open - a secure page at myvanco.com. Click on the blue button under the picture of our church that says, "Start Giving". Follow the instructions from there.
This is very much like any online shopping that you've done. You'll add your giving amount into your "basket" and then "check-out" using your credit/debit card, OR you may input your bank account information. You can choose to set up a recurring offering (monthly or weekly), or a one-time gift.
Of course if you have questions, 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.