Alive in Christ
with the Pocono Mission District
Submitted By Marie Jucknik, Council President of St. John, Pen Argyl
In 2019, the congregation of St. John Lutheran in Pen Argyl, PA was feeling cast adrift. Our pastor was wonderful but we were looking for more of a connection to our synod. As the council president and with council approval, I sent an email to the Bishop asking for some attention. I told him the following story:
My father, Herman Schleifer, was a pastor. Too many years ago, before my father passed away, I attended Sunday worship at his church in Wilkes-Barre, PA. During worship, he did what he called “brown bag sermons” for the children. On that particular Sunday a child brought in a brown paper bag which contained one of those Mickey Mouse hats with the little beanie and huge plastic ears. As he pulled that hat out of the bag, I thought to myself, what kind of children’s sermon would my father be able to come up with by using that hat? I watched as he thought for what seemed like only a moment and then he quickly created a message that not only held the attention of every child in attendance but also delivered a lesson about the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ to each of us in attendance.
I ended that email to the Bishop with; I tell you this story about my fathers’ brown bag sermon because to me, St. John Lutheran Church in Pen Argyl, PA is like that Mickey Mouse hat in that brown paper bag. When you look inside you might see an older congregation with only 20 regular attendees, but what we see is a small congregation, which is mighty in faith and dedicated to outreach in our community. You will also see a congregation who believes in you and our synod. Please take our congregation out of the brown paper bag and assist us in finding the lesson that will help move us forward on the path of righteousness. St. John does not expect the synod to solve our problems or the problems of so many churches in the area. Rather, we are hopeful that there is a team or perhaps a committee that can share ideas with us.
Now, I hit send on that email and the bishop responded within a day or two. Then, within a month, our pastor and church council had met with the bishop and Pr. Niels Nielsen, Associate of the Bishop for the Pocono Mission District. We left that meeting ready to re-dedicate ourselves through a spirit of humility and a passion to obey. Before 2019 was over, Pr. Nielsen scheduled a one-day retreat in January of 2020 where we shared our faith stories and changed our vision.
No longer were we going to moan about the lack of people filling our pews, we would instead be grateful for those who came and we would reach out to those in need. No longer would we think of our church as dying, we would instead become a church that was Alive in Christ.
At that time, we were ready to face 2020 with renewed strength but Covid-19 had other plans. Our in person worship stopped, and our Palm Sunday service was held in our parking lot before we stopped meeting altogether. Not being a tech savvy bunch, by July of 2020 we all felt isolated and needed to re-connect so we opened our doors, kept our distance, sang as little as possible, kept our masks in place and plenty of hand sanitizer available. For a time we felt safe and we were together each week worshipping our Lord and weathering the storm.
You would think this would be enough of a challenge for our little congregation but there were more challenges ahead for us. During the first week of Advent that same year, we lost our much-loved Pr. Don Billeck.
To quote Philippians 4:13, “We are able to do all things through him who strengthens us.”
In the midst of that adversity, as we worked together as a congregation to continue our services without a pastor, I received an email requesting my presence on a zoom call with all the council presidents in the Pocono Mission District. That call which began for me as another thing on my “to do” list, has turned into a community of shared faith, shared ideas, and meaningful interaction with fellow council presidents.
For the last 5 years, we have met on a semi-regular virtual call where Pr. Nielsen brings us all together for an hour or so of prayer, fellowship, and discussion. Each president shares what is going on in their congregation, events that they have planned, worship news, praise reports, and prayer requests. On occasion, we even have guest speakers sit in on the call to provide information on programs available throughout the synod, new initiatives the synod is undertaking and how we can keep our congregations involved and connected.
Personally, these calls have given our congregation even more opportunities to stay Alive in Christ.
One shared idea that St. John put in place from our zoom call was an idea to have “Ashes to Go” on Ash Wednesday. Our congregation saw the need in our area as well, so we began doing a drive-through imposition of ashes in our church parking lot. In 2022, between 4pm and 6pm we had five people show up. All five were so grateful for this small gesture that we decided we would continue this practice as long as there was a need. Ash Wednesday in 2024 we had 18 people drive through, many from a nearby Episcopal Church who missed having an Ash Wednesday service and who are currently without a priest. Through our grief came an outlet for joy. Through our pain came more opportunities to reach out to our community.
In truth, St. John has received many blessings in our losses including Pr. Chris Druckenmiller from St. Peters who stepped in to be our pastoral care provider and who is a source of constant support and encouragement. Additionally, Pr. Billecks’ wife Joyce became a member of our congregation. She has since joined our church council and is a great source of love and wisdom to all congregants. In our outreach, our rummage sales have had so many increased donations we have been able to support many charities in the Slate Belt and the Lehigh Valley for their various needs. Finally, when the Salvation Army had to close the doors to their food bank, we were able to provide them with enough space to continue to serve our local community.
I know it sounds unlikely that those quarterly zoom calls so dramatically changed the life of the congregation of St. John. But they have. When we were at our lowest, the Holy Spirit whispered in the ear of Pr. Nielsen and he heard the call. Through that shared fellowship, I was able to take that sense of community and connection with our synod back to my congregation. Suddenly with renewed hope, St. John is doing even more than we had ever imagined in reaching out to the surrounding community.
I had a lot on my plate when I received that first email invitation to join the call with all the council presidents. I work full time, I lead worship some Sundays, and just normal day-to-day living keeps me busy. I’m sure if you are reading this you probably have a lot on your plate as well. I’d like to suggest though, that if you receive an invitation for a zoom call asking you to join fellow Lutherans in your district for some conversation, click the yes button when you respond. It might be just what you need to help you and your congregation be Alive in Christ once more!
Thank you, St John, for your story
St. John, Pen Argyl
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