ADVENT 2020
A PUBLICATION OF ST. JOHN’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
LUTHERAN LIFE
LUTHERAN LIFE in·car·nate adjective /inˈkärnət,inˈkärˌnāt/ (especially of a deity or spirit) embodied in flesh; in human form
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f there was ever a time we could appreciate love incarnate, December 2020 seems to be it. From health concerns to emotional weariness, from social distancing to questions that don’t seem to have timely answers, the world needs love incarnate, in the flesh, in human form.
I wonder how different our silent night this year will be from that first silent night. What concerns dominated those awaiting a Savior? Where were the emotional fault lines in relationship, familial or community? How were relationships at a distance? Where were the answers?
Public theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber offers this poignant observation: “God did not enter the world of our nostalgic silent-night, snowblanketed, peace-on-earth, sugar cookie suspended-reality of Christmas. God slipped into the vulnerability of skin and entered a world as violent and disturbing as our own.” St. John’s family, let us lean into the Gift of limited, yet unlimited, embodiment … God loving humankind enough to “move into the neighborhood.” May our bodies be strengthened, our hearts calmed, our spirits soothed. And then, after a time of anticipation and celebration, let us turn our attention to all that Incarnation can mean: Love alive in world, through the people of God. Together let us consider the thrill of hope, and with a weary world, let us rejoice.
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Sunday Morning Worship in Advent Sunday mornings in Advent (November 29, December 6, 13, and 20), at 9am, we will livestream worship from the sanctuary, with a focus on the certainty of God’s Advent promises. With Isaiah, we look to the time when “the glory of the Lord will be revealed.” With Mark, we see troubles as signs of new life, like bark breaking open as a branch “becomes tender and puts forth new leaves.” We stand with John the Baptist at the Jordan, as he calls us to see the kingdom of God is at hand. With Mary, we give thanks that she will bear God’s child, who will bring all these things to pass. Holden Evening Prayer by Candlelight, with a Tyson House Twist Wednesday evenings in Advent (December 2, 9, and 16), at 6:30pm, from our candlelit sanctuary, we will livestream Holden Evening Prayer, a service of songs that calm the heart and soul. Each week will have a reflection by someone with ties to both St. John’s and Tyson House, our campus ministry at the University of Tennessee. December 2 — Jordan Baker, on Psalm 80. Jordan was Head Resident of Tyson House, is a Lecturer in Philosophy at UT, led St. John’s Theology Pub, and serves on St. John’s Mutual Ministry Team. December 9 — Jessi Grieser, on Psalm 85. Jessi is a Professor of English at UT, a member of Tyson House council, Vice President of St. John’s Council, and leads music at St. John’s on flute and harp. December 16 — Caitlynne Fox, on Psalm 126. Caitlynne was Head Resident of Tyson House, a Tyson House Intern post-graduation, worships regularly at St. John’s, and is Administrator of Tyson House and Director of Operations for Smokey’s Pantry. Christmas Eve Worship, Sanctuary Livestream and Outdoor In Person Christmas Eve (December 24), at 5:30pm, we will gather outdoors at St. John’s, for a service of Carols and Communion. The service will be short enough that we can stand the cold, but full of prayer, proclamation, carols, and Communion. Christmas Eve (December 24), at 6:30pm, we will livestream Festival Worship from the sanctuary. As with all livestreams, the video will remain online afterward, so if you’ve been longing for a midnight service, here’s your chance! We’ve purchased 300 electric votive candles, so for both services, as we sing “Silent Night,” whether outdoors and in person or at home and online, any household that wants a candle will have one available to raise. Logistics of Indoor and Outdoor Worship For indoor services, we continue at a maximum of ten people in the sanctuary, with the rest of us joining by livestream. Those present will be masked and distanced, with temperature checks and health questions at the door, and a sign-up sent each week by email. Outdoor services will be masked and distanced as well, with more able to attend, as we have room to spread out. Details may change as our COVID Task Force responds to changing conditions, and we will communicate these in as timely a fashion as possible. Much of what we do is, as Pastor Amy has said, “living on a pivot,” but it’s not all turning on a dime. God’s promise and presence are the solid ground on which we stand, so we pivot with stability and grace.
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ADVENT HYMNS
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dult Faith Formation for Advent will feature conversation and music. Join us Sunday mornings at 10:10am (following livestream worship) to listen to the music of your favorite Advent hymns, hum or sing along, and discuss the origins of these classics with Dick Krogmann, Deb Sousa and Pastor John. Our dates are: November 29th December 6th December 13th Check the St John’s website for ZOOM info at www.sjlcknox.org.
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dvent is here...
Sign up for a fun and meaningful activity for your children to help them celebrate this Advent season! If you would like a Jesse tree Ornament Kit, email Lauren Kimzey at lauren.kimzey@gmail.com. Jesse Trees help tell the story of the Bible from creation to the birth of Jesus Christ. The kit will include 24 paper ornaments to color and cut out. The corresponding Bible stories will be available to listen to via YouTube and the SJLC website. Sign up for a Jesse Tree kit today!!!
ORNAMENT KIT
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LUTHERAN LIFE LIFE LUTHERAN
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tay calm … trust God. Stay connected … celebrate unity through the Holy Spirit. Stay centered … lean into God’s vision for ministry.
Drawing on the work the St. John’s family did during our interim period, including A Look Back and a Look Forward, neighborhood meetings, and creation of the St. John’s Ministry Site Profile, we will continue Visioning process. Please note these dates so you can fully participate! January 10 January 31 February March April May June 6
Virtual Ministry Fair featuring pastor and singer-songwriter Kyle Matthews Congregational Meeting featuring Vision Team Kick-Off Vision Team Organization Vision Team Promotion Vision Team Small Group Discussion Vision Team Finalization Congregational Meeting featuring Vision Team Report
More details in the Epiphany Lutheran Life, on SJLC’s website, and via social media and e-mail!
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he St. John’s Lutheran Knoxville Youtube channel streams our worship services live and archives them -- so you can re-visit a worship experience that moved you.. YOU’RE INVITED TO WORSHIP WITH US!
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W
e continue to find different ways to connect and experience community together here at St. John’s. Here is a snapshot of the ways we are providing ministry opportunities and creating connection for ALL AGES!
NoonDay Prayer Weekly prayer at 12noon will be broadcast via FACEBOOK LIVE every Wednesday. Access by going to the St. John's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sjlcknox
NoonTime Bible Study Tuesday 12Noon Bible Study is on HIATUS until Januay 5th. The virtual meeting is easily accessed by logging on to ZOOM.com, then entering a Zoom Meeting ID number which we share on the home page of our website at https:// www.sjlcknox.org and our Facebook page.
Compline / Evening Prayer Thursday at 8:30pm. Pastor John Tirro leads us for a time of song and prayer on Thursday evenings beginning at 8:30pm. Join him on his Facebook page or the St John’s Facebook Page.
Sung Morning Prayer Weekly prayertime on Tuesday with music led by Pastor John at 11:35am broadcast live via our FACEBOOK page and Pastor John’s personal Facebook page every Tuesday.
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Sunday Worship Online Sunday at 9am. We provide a LIVE worship experience led by our Pastors at 9am on Sunday mornings on our YouTube Channel and our Facebook page. The service is archived & can be viewed at any time after the service. Log onto Youtube.com and search for St. John’s Lutheran Knoxville.
Sunday Faith Formation Sunday at 10:10. Join us for Faith Formation via Zoom on Sunday mornings. During Advent we are studying and learning more about the origins and history of our favorite Advent hymns. The Meeting IDs are shared on our website and Facbook page.
I’m frequently updating the website and posting to our Facebook page, so I suggest you make regular checks to both places for updates or changes to scheduled events/ connections. As Communications Director of St. John’s, I’m happy to assist in getting you connected with any and all these options. Reach out via email at chris@sjlcknox.org or you can call or text me at 404-246-2795 and I’m happy to troubleshoot any problems or simply help you GET CONNECTED! Communications Director
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hank you to the loving hands who prepared the soup & cookies: Mari Brooks, Rhonda Campbell Clay, Dani Warren, Sue Fischer, Kaye Bultemeier, Alice Garrison, Jim Friendrich, Monica Krogmann , Ron Rimer and Nancy Maland. Warm thanks to these delivery people: Jim & Nancy Friedrich, Neil & Sue Fischer, Lynn Wilson & Susan Dowling, Ron & Mary Rimer, David Maples & Judy McCarter, Lee & Jim Ley, Alice Garrison, Mary Eikenberry, Deb Haines and Kaye Bultemeier. We couldn’t do this wonderful projects without the help of these organizers: > Mary Cole who called our seniors and for her generous donation to help with expenses > Thea Peterson for arranging drivers > Ruth Crowley for creating the greeting card insert and helping package the lunch boxes. Our next 1st Saturday event will be Saturday, December 5th. We will be delivering a yummy box of homemade Christmas cookies. This 1st Saturday Christmas Cookies and Porch Chat will be a joyful occasion. If you would like a December porch visit, contact Nancy Maland (964-0851) or Mary Cole (584-3153). If you would be willing to make some Christmas cookies for the event, contact Nancy Maland at nkmaland@hotmail.com or at 964-0851. We will need TONS of yummy cookies.
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ooking for a twist on the Advent Calendar? Consider a “Reverse” Advent Calendar.”
The concept is simple: rather than the usual advent calendar where you open a window a day to see a picture, get a chocolate or some other goodie, you add a non-perishable food item or hygiene product to a box which you will then donate to your local food bank. Here are suggested contributions: November December
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Box of cereal Can of tomato soup Box of spaghetti Box of rice Can of tomatoes Can of green beans Can of tuna Can of corn Instant coffee Can of peaches Fruit juice Jerky Toothpaste Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat Can of chicken noodle soup Box of penne pasta Pasta sauce Can of black beans Can of chicken Can of baked beans Tea bags Can of pears Tomato juice Toilet paper Peanut butter Jelly
We will collect food baskets—contact-free at St. John’s or at your home—in early 2021 and deliver to our food ministry partners.
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LUTHERAN LIFE
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oin us for an intimate evening of stories and songs with Nashville Songwriters: John Tirro, Sam Gay, Templeton Thompson, and Sally Barris on Friday, December 11th beginning at 7pm. Together they have written for Rascal Flats, LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack,Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, and many more. Hear the songs as they were originally written, along with stories of how they came to be. Sign up at this link: https://forms.gle/utFMdyeEPRTJRBKv7 and we will send you a link to the Zoom café the day before the event. Admission is free, but please put something in the virtual tip jar for the musicians, all of whom have lost livelihood since Corona. As John is a campus pastor at Tyson House (UT-Knoxville), not making his living on concerts, his share will go to support Tyson House.
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hristmas at Emory Place returns — and it’s VIRUAL! Join us on Friday, December 18th at 7pm for a delightful evening of Christmas music to celebrate the season. Chris Clay will host and the event will be broadcast via St. John’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Guests include local singer songwriter LAUREN ARP, singer extraordinaire JEANINE FULLER and country/folk duo THE YOUNG FABLES featuring former American Idol Top 24 contestant Laurel Wright and guitarist Wesley Lundsford. Also, after the concert, join Chris and all the performing artists for a ZOOM fellowship to chat about music and Christmas traditions with the whole St. John’s family.
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LUTHERSN LIFE Tyson House Campus Ministry: Feeding Students Physically, Relationally, and Spiritually
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he following is an excerpt from a grant, written recently by Caitlynne Fox, an alumna and former intern of Tyson House, now Administrator of Tyson House and Director of Operations for Smokey’s Pantry.
College is a time when students are discerning their future and growing into their gifts for ministry. We support students with a mixture of in person and online events, with some events to help students build a community at college, others to feed their spiritual needs, and many that are a combination of both. For many students, there also is a need for one-onone pastoral care over coffee or a meal. Our chaplains [Pastor John and Father RJ] spend a lot of time in one-on-one pastoral care meetings and helping students through the turbulence of college. There is an increased level of stress, anxiety, and feeling overworked in our students since the beginning of the coronavirus, requiring a higher level of pastoral care. We also help feed the community with Smokey’s Pantry, as around 30% of students at the University of Tennessee are food insecure (see more below about Smokey’s Pantry).
Sunset walk and Cruze Farms ice cream in downtown Knoxville
Our programming is centered around supporting our students, faculty, and staff to be the church on campus. We host worship (Sunday evening worship and Morning/Evening Prayer throughout the week), faith formation (weekly Bible study), community service opportunities, and social events (online game nights, bonfires and smore’s, and sunset walks) to connect students with each other for support during the college years. We also provide opportunities to empower students in leadership roles as they explore their gifts for ministry through leading Bible Studies, chairing our event and worship planning councils, grant planning/writing, and planning/leading events or worship with support from staff members to build skills in those areas. Smokey’s Pantry operates every Tuesday during the Fall and Spring semester, feeding 40+ families every week, providing 200+ volunteer opportunities every year, and education to the community on what food insecurity looks like for college students. An additional note from Pastor John: A colleague at another campus ministry noted that campus ministry in this time is “intensive, rather than extensive.” We can’t do all we usually do, especially large group things like retreats and pilgrimages, so it’s a lot more one-on-one. Father RJ, Alexander (our intern), and I take turns keeping daily outdoor office hours out front of the ministry, with seating spaced for safety (and a fire pit for heat). Worship is Student home prayer station a strange but beautiful indoor-outdoor-online hybrid, with residents in the setup at the beginning of the Corona Virus pandemic after back of the chapel (one ‘covid unit’), chaplains in the front of the chapel worship was moved online. and 20 feet apart to either side, all masked, with twelve windows wide open on each side wall (so it’s more of a breezeway than a room), with nonresident students outside and socially distanced (with a fire going), and more students from across the state, in quarantine, or simply preferring online joining through Zoom, all at once. Special thanks to St. John’s member Dr. Karen Wells, for medical advice on how to maintain health and minimize risk in this time!
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LUTHERAN LIFE
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ear members and friends of St. John’s, Are you craving a “normal” Christmas this year? I think we all are!
One piece that will be normal is that we will have the Dove Tree with 40 (!!!) children from Christenberry who are in need of a special Christmas. We will do all of our sign-up virtually and ask that you deliver your gifts, wrapped and in a large bag to Church on Monday, December 14th. We will deliver to the school on the 15th and parents will pick them up that afternoon. Each child on the “tree” is asking for a couple of pieces of clothing, shoes and one toy. There are a few older children on the tree who are siblings of Christenberry students. To sign up virtually we are using Perfect Potluck!!! Yes, this seemed to be the easiest way to have folks sign up virtually. If you would like assistance in signing up, please give me a call at (865)591-4803. I will be more than happy to help. Please find the link to “The Perfect Potluck”. Click here to open the link and View Group Meal. This will take you to the list of students. There is space for one person to sign up for each child, right below the child’s name. I hope you will plan to support this sweet effort that celebrates its fortieth year! Thank you so much for helping make Christmas special for children in our neighborhood. I pray that your Christmas will be blessed! Thea Peterson
HOMELESS MEMORIAL SERVICE
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lease stay tuned for information regarding the 12th Annual Homeless Memorial Service. We remember those neighbors and friends who passed away during the
year.
COVID has brought changes to pretty much EVERYTHING— including when and more importantly HOW this service will take place. As soon as plans can be made, taking into consideration health and safety mandates regarding gathering together, etc.—we will let you know what’s happening via ALL St. John’s communication platforms including email, Facebook and our website.
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tephen Ministry Lunch and Service of Remembrance Sunday, December 13, 2020 11:00am. Livestream Worship via YouTube and Facebook
Nicholas Wolterstorff writes: “God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers….It is said of God that no one can behold his face and live. I always thought this meant that no one could see his splendor and live. A friend said perhaps it meant that no one could see his sorrow and live….Instead of explaining our suffering, God shares it.” Grief is a living reality, even during the holidays. And sharing that grief—with God and with others—can be a gift you extend to yourself. Imagine the mix of emotions during this holiday season: joy of family gatherings tempered by the aching loss of one who is not sitting at his or her place at the table, hope for the new year dashed by the end of significant relationship, gifts wrapped in bright paper dimmed by the gray shades of depression, the anticipation of gifts given drastically minimized by a job loss and the subsequent financial strain. Your Stephen Ministers understand and invite you to the 20 th Annual Service of Remembrance. Together, we can remember the completed lives of so many cherished family members and friends. Sometimes through tears and other times with a gentle smile, we can think of those who filled our lives with such precious memories. Via St. John’s YouTube channel and FaceBook Live, he St. John’s family will remember those who completed life during the past year, celebrating the promise of resurrection in worship. We will light a candle in memory of those who enriched our lives by being present and who now remind us of a hope-filled eternity: parents, children, siblings, extended family members, and friends. Please plan to join us for a gentle time of reflection.
We will meet virtually at 7 PM on Tuesday, December 8th. Each person is asked to share their favorite Christmas tradition. Everyone is welcome. Nancy Naland will be the host of the meeting for setting up the zoom.
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hank you all SO MUCH for your prompt response to our ALL MEMBER UPDATE. We have significantly updated our database with the member information you have provided. We still need to update a few more of our members information. If you haven’t contacted Toni in the church office, please give her a call at 865-523-3330 and she can help make the process EASY PEASY!
BIRTHDAYS
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Al Gill Nicki Nye Shirley Fogarty Shelley Rogers Christine Jessel Lee Sinnott Chase Leatherwood Rose Perkinson
Changsheng Lu Sally Robinette Jada Parman Amanda Adams David Bocangel Dayne Cook Alice Garrison Tom Godden Patrick McWilliams David Wayland Rick Metelka Samantha Murphy Will McCarthy Don Ray Mitchell Rieger Emily Stapf
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Tanner Jessel Jo Anne Roning Landry Bernard Dresden Ley Debby Jones Keith Solt Lindsay Cook Chris Mallette Sue Fischer Sam Hancock John Tirro Nancy Friedrich Jennifer James Hair-
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Neil Fischer Todd Sharp Michael Westphal Paul Anderson Judy Hunley Joseph Ray Chris Throckmorton Mary Elizabeth Peterson Richard Love Benny Smith Owen Peterson
Pat Hunsicker
Suzanne Brown Ian Daughety Mary Cole Kelly Hudson Ann Langendorfer Terry Burkhalter Elliott Schwahn Rachel Bast Charlsie Counts Steve Misenheimer Andrew Perkinson Russell Lay Kyle Metelka Ashley Hopkins Judy McCarter Danielle Sweany Grace Doyle Enlow Frank Wilson
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Susan Dowling Max Giesecke Dick Krogmann Josh Ley Griffin Hamstead Patsy Reeves Russell Kuhlman Lily Hancock Jessica Sousa-Lewis Tom McGalliard Rita Schwartz David Martin Alison Throckmorton
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ST. JOHN’S LUTHERAN CHURCH 544 Broadway, NW Knoxville, TN 37917
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
CHURCH LEADERSHIP & STAFF Amy Figg Ley Senior Pastor amy@sjlcknox.org
John Tirro Pastor of Worship & Campus Ministry John@sjlcknox.org
Christopher Clay Director of Communications chris@sjlcknox.org
Deborah Dunne-Sousa Minister of Music sousa@esknoxville.org
Darrell Murrell Facility Staff facility@sjlcknox.org
Thea Peterson Kids Hope USA Director Thea@sjlcknox.org
Phone:: 865.523.3330
Toni Denton Administrative Assistant toni@sjlcknox.org Mary Elizabeth Peterson, Lisa Minton & Bailey Morgan Nursery Assistants
Fax: 865.524.7895 Email: INFO@sjlcknox.org Website: www.sjlcknox.org