YouTube -- 19th Sunday after Pentecost (October 4, 2026)

Here is the service from Sunday, October 4, 2026.

Sermon -- 19th Sunday after Pentecost (October 4, 2026)

FAITH SUBMITS TO DIVINE AUTHORITY.

MATTHEW 21:23-32 

In the name + of Jesus.

     “When Jesus went into the temple courts, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him while he was teaching and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ and ‘Who gave you this authority’” (Matthew 21:23)?  You might consider the question they posed to Jesus to be highly insulting.  It might benefit you to learn more about who the Pharisees were and how they originated.

     About 200 years prior to this Gospel reading, the Jews faced intense persecution from Greek officials.  They were trying to get everyone to adopt Greek customs and worship.  The Jews were commanded to abandon the covenant.  Those who abandoned the covenant for Greek ways were rewarded handsomely.  Those who remained faithful were punished, forced into hiding, or killed.  After this persecution had subsided, a group of people took the lead in seeing to it that the Jews remained faithful to the covenant.  These ended up being the Pharisees.

     The intention of the Pharisees was noble.  But eventually, they began to add to God’s commands.  This was supposed to ensure that people would keep the Law.  For example, the Lord had decreed, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished” (Exodus 20:7).  To ensure that no one would ever misuse the name of the Lord, they stopped using it altogether.  The tradition ended up violating God’s word, because the Lord does want us to call upon his name.  These are the kinds of traditions the Pharisees enforced, but those traditions went beyond God’s word.  Jesus did not go beyond God’s word, but he did violate their invented traditions.  This is one of the reasons they despised Jesus so much.

     The priests and Pharisees demanded of Jesus: “‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ and ‘Who gave you this authority’” (Matthew 21:23)?  As the religious leaders of Israel, they had a legitimate interest in defending the truth and exposing error.  So, their questions were valid.  Unfortunately, they were not interested in honest answers; and Jesus knew it.  He had hoped to enlighten them to see that the authority that rules men’s lives is not man-made traditions, even if they are well-intentioned.  The only true authority over us is God’s word.  So, in hopes to see the priests and the Pharisees submit to divine authority, Jesus reframed the conversation.

     Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question.  If you answer it, I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  The baptism of John, where was it from?  From heaven or from men” (Matthew 21:24-25)?  Jesus wanted them to recognize divine authority so that they would repent and submit to it.  So, Jesus asked them if John was a voice of divine authority.  Was John’s baptism from God, or was John a fraud who deserved the execution he had received?  If these men truly cared about the covenant, they should either approve of John’s baptism or condemn it.

     I imagine the scene was almost comical.  Jesus addressed them with a simple either/or question.  Either John acted with divine authority—meaning that Jesus also acted and spoke with divine authority—or he did not.  Matthew noted, “They discussed it among themselves” (Matthew 21:25).  I wonder how long they kicked this around.  The priests and Pharisees huddled together, whispering how they might answer.  They weighed their options.  “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’  But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, since they all regard John as a prophet” (Matthew 21:25-26).  Jesus and the crowd in the temple were watching them, waiting for their answer.  In the end, all they cared about was how they looked before the people.  Since neither answer made them look good, “they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know’” (Matthew 21:27). 

     Their answer was cowardly and worthy of scorn.  They were asked to make a confession, and they would not.  They revealed the stubbornness of their own hearts and would not submit to divine authority.  The reason?  They insisted that they were the ones who possessed authority.  They called the shots.  They decided between true and false.  They were the judges of all others.  They took pride in their own morality and looked down on anyone who failed to measure up to their traditions.  They refused to bend to any other authority—not to the prophet whom God sent nor to God himself in the flesh.

     This is typical of the sinful heart.  St. Paul wrote, “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot” (Romans 8:7).  We, too, find divine authority offensive when God’s word makes our lives inconvenient.  God tells us the right thing to do, but the right thing to do is usually the hard thing to do.  If a young man were to get his girlfriend pregnant, they both find that their lives are going to be much harder.  What would be easiest?  For the young man, it would be to leave the girl.  Then he could avoid taking any responsibility for his actions.  This is easier, but it is reprehensible.  For the young girl, she may decide to kill her unborn child at an abortion clinic.  Then she would not have to endure questions, shame, or what pregnancy would do to her body.  That, too, would be reprehensible.  And for many, in the end, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually it is not easier.  For each to bear responsibility for their actions would be a hard thing, but it would certainly be the right thing.

     Usually, our choices are not that extreme.  But we will still choose what is easier over what is right.  We tell a biased account of the story because the truth would make us look bad.  We avoid responsibilities at home or at work because we would rather scroll on our phone.  We fantasize about made-up relationships rather than work on the ones we actually have.  We would rather do nothing than the hard thing, even if we know it’s the right thing.  We have it on God’s authority what we should do.  But the sinful heart denies God’s authority.  We prefer our own.  Repent. 

     Jesus told a parable.  “What do you think?  A man had two sons.  He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’  He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went.  He came to the second and said the same thing.  The second son answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”  They said to him, “The first” (Matthew 21:28-31). 

     The second son said all the right words.  He was commanded to go, and he said he would.  He appeared to be the polite, dutiful son.  But he proved that just saying the right words does not make someone obedient.  The second son dishonored his father when his actions denied his words.  The first son seemed utterly disrespectful to his father.  His blunt refusal should have earned him punishment.  But there was a change of heart.  He repented of his disobedience and did what he was commanded to do.  He submitted to the authority of his father.

     Jesus told this parable to warn the Pharisees and us that we are not saved by pretty words.  A wicked heart knows how to lie—saying what sounds good with no intention of doing it.  The heart which submits to divine authority will not only say the right thing, it will strive to do it.  Jesus warned the Pharisees: “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, but you did not believe him.  However, the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him.  Even when you saw this, you did not change your mind and believe him” (Matthew 21:31-32).  Unbelief will not submit to divine authority.  No matter how nice they seem, people who do not believe will be condemned.  But faith submits to divine authority.

     When John the Baptist called the crowds to repent, many heard the divine invitation to flee from sin and to be received back into God’s care.  Through John, the Holy Spirit stirred up faith, and that faith submitted to divine authority.  Even those with warped morals—tax collectors and prostitutes—turned from their wicked ways.  They were baptized by John and committed themselves to the paths of righteousness. 

     It is no different for you.  Faith submits to divine authority.  We submit ourselves to the knowledge that we have pitted our agendas against God’s, that we have judged ourselves according to our egos rather than God’s word.  We submit ourselves to the admission that we have earned God’s righteous judgment against us.  We submit ourselves to the understanding that if we are to be found righteous, that righteousness will not come from within us.  It must come from outside of us.

     The Lord Jesus Christ proved himself the perfectly obedient Son of the Father.  When God the Father sent his Son to make himself a sin offering, the Son told his Father, “I will, sir.”  The Son submitted to the authority of his Father, taking up our sin and laying down his life as the sacrifice that atones for us all.  As Jesus was laying down his life—dying under God’s curse so that sinners could live under God’s blessing—he submitted himself to the will of his Father, saying, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)!  And because the Father was pleased with his Son’s perfect obedience and willing sacrifice, he raised him from the dead and gave him glory and authority over all things.

     Now, Jesus lives and reigns over all things.  He is the judge who pardons you from all your guilt and punishment.  Faith submits to divine authority and receives Jesus’ pardon.   Jesus has crushed the devil and silences all his accusations against you.  Faith submits to this divine authority and heeds the comforting words of Jesus over the taunting of Satan.  Jesus has overcome the grave and promises “Everyone who … believes in [me] may have eternal life.  And I will raise him up on the Last Day” (John 6:40).  Faith trusts this divine authority so that we shall not fear death and the grave.  Jesus will come and raise us to an eternal and glorious life. 

     Faith submits to divine authority.  We submit to the divine words which save us.  We submit to the divine words which guide us on the paths of righteousness.  Just as Jesus supplies the righteousness we need to be saved, so also he works in us the desire to do the right things.  Faith submits to this, benefits from it, and rejoices in it.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- Funeral for Marlene Kackmann (October 2, 2026)

For the Christian Funeral of

Marlene (nee: Zimmerman) Margaret Kackmann

November 28, 1942 - September 27, 2026

MARLENE GETS A BEAUTIFUL, NEW HOME.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-10

In the name + of Jesus.

      Marlene Kackmann wanted to go home.  She wanted to be free from the ICU in Rochester.  A regular room at Mayo was a better option than ICU, but not the preferred option.  She wanted to go home.  She ended up at Lake City Care Center—closer to home, but not home.  Marlene and Bob had moved into a new place recently.  They were barely settled when all this happened.  Marlene had hoped that she could be discharged so that she could enjoy her new home.  God had other plans for her.  And eventually, Marlene welcomed the idea that God’s plan was to bring her home.  Marlene gets a beautiful, new home—a perfect and permanent home in Paradise.

     Everyone’s residence in this world is temporary.  At some point, we will all depart.  Marlene knew that death was coming, but death takes us whether we know it is coming or not.  Death is cruel.  It does not care about your feelings or your plans.  St. Paul alerts us to what will come after death: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he did while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

     Marlene was loved by many.  It is no wonder that you would have fond memories of her.  You might even think that her heavenly home is a sure thing because what a wonderful woman she was.  She was a devoted wife of 64 years.  Bob, you cannot help but give thanks for that.  She was a loving mother.  Dale & Renae, John and Diane, you won’t ever forget that.  She loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  She was faithful at church, even singing in the choir.  She had a full, lively life.

     God’s assessment of us all rests on the same standard: “Be holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).  Of course, none of us lives up to that.  Marlene did not pretend to.  When we visited, she did not want me to tell her how good she was.  She wanted to hear how loving and gracious her Savior is.  God commands, “Be holy,” and Jesus has supplied the holiness Marlene needs to stand without fear before the judgment throne.  Jesus’ holy life was wrapped around her in her baptism.  This is what allows her to enter the heavenly home where only holiness may dwell.  Marlene gets a beautiful, new home.

     While it is true that Marlene wanted to glorify Jesus with her life, it is more important to recognize that Jesus lived and died to win glory for Marlene.  Jesus’ holy life was lived for her.  Jesus’ innocent death was died for her.  He lived and died for us all.  And then Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection guarantees that Marlene will have a resurrection to eternal life as well.

     Jesus’ resurrection supplies us with endless comfort in the difficulties of life and especially in the face of death.  Marlene’s life was not without its difficulties, especially in the past few months.  Her health declined.  Her body weakened.  Finally, it gave out.  Marlene identified with St. Paul’s words: “To be sure, while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4).  Marlene yearned for what is better.  God creates us with bodies that are agile and strong, but bodies eventually wear out because they have been corrupted by sin.  Nor can these sin-stained bodies enter heaven.  That is why our bodies are temporary, like a tent that eventually gets tattered and torn.  But that is not the end.

     St. Paul wrote, “Now we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home in heaven, which is not made by human hands.  In fact, the reason we groan is that we long to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.  …Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as the down payment” (2 Corinthians 5:1-2,5).  When Marlene was baptized, she received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit dwelt in her as a down payment of the glory that will come to all who believe and are baptized.  In baptism, we are made children of God.  In this world, it may not look like it.  We believe that we are children of God because God says so.  We hold to the promise by faith.  Marlene has now been granted her place in God’s mansion.  She enjoys the glory which was promised—no longer by faith, but by sight.  Marlene gets a beautiful, new home.

     The tent of Marlene’s body has failed, but God’s promises do not.  Marlene will get a beautiful, new home—a resurrected body.  This is because our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to secure for us all a resurrection from the dead.  St. John tells us how Jesus united himself to us.  He wrote, “The Word became flesh and dwelled—literally, ‘tented’—among us” (John 1:14).  Jesus put on the tent of human flesh in order to rescue our flesh from mortality and restore it to immortality, from weakness to glory, from frail and failing to incorruptibility.  At the resurrection of all flesh, Marlene will be raised up.  She will not merely trust that she is a child of God by faith, but we will all see it by sight.  She will shine in glory.  Jesus will transform her body so that it will be like Jesus’ risen body.  The temporary, earthly tent will be converted to a permanent home—a glorious, incorruptible, immortal body.  And in that perfect, glorious state, Marlene and all the saints will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

     Marlene’s confirmation verse is from Psalm 26.  “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8).  Marlene regularly came to God’s house because she was eager to receive his blessings and his mercy.  She heard the word preached.  She received a pardon for all her sins.  She feasted on Jesus’ living body and blood to strengthen and keep her in the one, true faith until life everlasting.

     “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8).  Marlene’s soul now dwells in the heavenly house where the Lord dwells in glory.  She not only gazes at his glory, she participates in it.  The Lord has glorified her.  He has given her a place at the eternal feast of the Lamb.  Meanwhile, her body awaits the resurrection, where body and soul will be reunited.  Then, Marlene will live as God has always intended us to live—in a glorious body and in a perfect Paradise, forever with the Lord.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Reformation Rally at St. John's -- Sunday, October 25

 Reformation Festival

Sunday, October 25

 

5:00 PM   Vespers

5:30 PM    Bratwurst Dinner

6:30 PM   Luther Lecture

 

 

Our Luther Lecture will be:

The 95 Theses:

What are they, and do they matter anymore?

    

“In my opinion indulgences are the most worthless of all possessions of the church….  Furthermore, they are neither meritorious nor useful but, what is worse, extremely harmful if they who receive them have no sense of fear. Therefore I feel that such teaching deserves to be cursed and is contrary to the commands of God.”   

— Martin Luther, Explanation of the 95 Theses, 1518

page 207, Luther’s Works: American Edition, Vol. 31

          We hope that all guests of our Reformation celebration will gain a greater appreciation for the confessors and the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

          There is no cost for the Reformation Festival, but we will have a free-will offering to offset our costs.  In order to be sure that we will have enough food for all who attend, please RSVP before October 19 (651-345-3523 or office@stjohnslakecity.com) and include how many will be in your party.  

YouTube -- 18th Sunday after Pentecost (September 27, 2026)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, September 27, 2026.

Sermon -- 18th Sunday after Pentecost (September 27, 2026)

THE PROMISED REWARD IS RECEIVED BY GRACE ALONE.

MATTHEW 20:1-16

In the name + of Jesus.

     An Old Testament parable which would have been well-known to the Jews came from the prophet Isaiah.  He wrote, “Let me sing for my loved one a song about my loved one’s vineyard.  My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile ridge.  He dug it up and gathered the stones out of it.  He planted it with the best vines.  He built a tower in the middle of it.  He also cut a winepress into it.  He expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes...” (Isaiah 5:1-2).  The vineyard is the kingdom of God.  It is the Lord’s kingdom.  No one deserves a place in it because everyone is a sinner.  Sinners cannot stand on holy ground.  If anyone would have a place in this vineyard, the Lord has to intervene out and bring people into it.

     This brings us to Jesus’ parable.  “Indeed the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  After agreeing to pay the workers a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-2).  In order to have people in his vineyard, the landowner went out to seek them.  The people he found were idle.  They had no purpose, and they were not engaged in any good works.  Therefore, the landowner called them for a higher purpose and promised them a rich reward.

     This is true for all people who enter the kingdom of God.  No one enters on his own initiative.  We are, by nature, dead in sin.  That means we cannot fix our sinful condition.  The dead cannot take steps to come to God.  If God had not intervened, every person’s life would be a meaningless march to the grave.  We get up.  We go to work.  We eat.  We go to sleep.  And we do it again for decades.  For many, that is all life is; and they wonder: “What is the point?  Is life really that meaningless?”  If you do not have an eternal reward awaiting you, and if there is no God to summon you to a higher purpose, you will become discouraged and depressed. 

     The Lord, however, has intervened.  The Lord summons sinners to receive hope and a future.  The Lord gathers people to enjoy his vineyard and to find satisfaction in their labors.  The work God gives you to do may not be flashy or get you famous, but it is good and serves your loved ones and your neighbors. 

     Besides the work he gives you to do in this world, the Lord also sets you apart for a kingdom of glory and endless peace.  Again, we do not work our way into that kingdom.  God brings us in.  As Jesus said in the parable, the landowner summoned the workers and pledged to give them a denarius.  The promise of the denarius came before any of them did a lick of work.  And when the landowner went out again to gather more laborers into his vineyard, “he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right’” (Matthew 20:4).  The reward was promised first, then then work began. 

     At this point in the parable, everything seems reasonable.  The workers were promised a denarius—a day’s wage for a day’s work.  They knew what they were getting when they went to work in the vineyard.  But this is where the story takes a turn.  And here, we learn that our Lord Jesus Christ is a bad businessman.  The workers recognized it, too.

     The landowner continued to find people standing around doing nothing.  The first workers began the day at the first hour.  More were sent at the third hour.  And then again at the sixth and the ninth hour.  Finally, with only one hour left in the workday, he sent in the last group.  At the day’s end, each came to receive his reward.  “When those who were hired around the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.  When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more.  But they each received a denarius too.  After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: ‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat’” (Matthew 20:9-12)!  Those workers seemed to have a legitimate gripe.  How can the landowner treat equally those who did not labor equally?  How could he give a full day’s wage to someone who labored for only one hour?  That’s not fair!

     It is a common complaint: “Why isn’t God fair?”  Most people are able-bodied, but some are disabled.  Most people have decent vision, but some are blind.  Most people do not have food allergies, but for some, consuming certain foods is life-threatening.  Most people are relatively clear-headed; some endure crippling mental illness.  Most people seem to get through life with minor struggles; some seem to get hit by one crisis after another.  If you are on the wrong end of these scenarios, you may cry out, “All I want is for God to treat me fairly!”

     If we were to judge the landowner on his business practices, we would find a lot of faults with him.  But the kingdom of God is not a business.  The Lord does not cut deals with people.  And we are in no position to negotiate for a better reward. 

     Do you want God to be fair?  Do you want your reward to be something you earned?  Be careful about such prayers, and take to heart what we say when we confess our sins.  After we acknowledge our sinful nature and our sinful deeds, we confess what they have earned us: “I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity.”  It is not God’s fault that this is a sinful world in which bad things happen.  It is not God’s fault that we are sinful beings who do not live up to his commandments.  If we insist that God treat us fairly, then God must banish all people to eternal, hellish torment.  If we insist that God give us what we deserve, then he should let us languish in the evils that occur because mankind brought sin into this world and we continue to add sin to it.

     Our Lord is not a good businessman.  And God be praised for that!  He squanders his grace and mercy upon sinners.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve.  It was Jesus who was treated as our sins deserve.  Jesus’ sufferings and death were incredibly unfair.  Jesus assumed the guilt for sins he did not commit.  Jesus paid the price for a debt he did not owe.  Jesus was sentenced to a death he did not deserve and died under a curse that he did not earn.  It was terribly unfair, but it is also mercy and grace beyond measure.  Jesus Christ has taken away all your sins.  And his mercy does not run out.  When you come back to God’s house confessing your sins again, Jesus continues to pour out his mercy and grace.  A good businessman would recognize that this continual forgiveness is like throwing good money after bad.  A good businessman would cut his losses.  But a faithful Savior shows compassion for the people he has created and redeemed.  He gives his reward freely, and that promised reward is received by grace alone.

     Nevertheless, the sinful nature still demands credit.  When the landowner brought the laborers in for their reward, some were outraged.  “When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more.  But they each received a denarius too.  After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: ‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’  But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you.  Can’t I do what I want with my own money?  Or are you envious because I am generous’” (Matthew 20:10-15)?   

     When we hear the parable, we recognize the goodness of the landowner.  When we see it in real life, we take the side of the bitter laborers.  If someone has dedicated his whole life to fornicating, drugs and booze, lying, stealing, and fighting only to repent shortly before his death, he will have eternal life.  You might feel ripped off.  After decades of faithful church attendance and clean living, you might think that you should receive more.  Beware.  This shows that you don’t want your reward based on God’s grace but upon your own merits.  If you will not receive God’s promised reward by grace, you will not receive it at all.

     The promised reward is received by grace alone.  Even if the Lord brings someone into his vineyard at the eleventh hour, it has cost you nothing.  When you hear a story about firefighters rescuing a family from a housefire, you are grateful for the firefighters and for the rescued family.  Don’t you have all the more reason to rejoice when our Lord snatches someone from the fires of hell, regardless of who or what that person has been?  Our Lord delights in rescuing sinners, bringing them into his vineyard, and giving each one a denarius.  This promised reward is received by grace alone.

     Perhaps your problem is that you envy the wicked.  You wish you could live a debauched life and then repent on your death bed.  Be aware that deathbed conversions are rare.  People die like they live.  Besides, why would you envy the wicked?  Do you not recognize the blessings in God’s vineyard?  You are always covered by God’s mercy and grace.  You know what your final judgment will be thanks to Jesus.  You can be confident that your future is everlasting peace and glory.  You know that God is with you and that God is for you in every stage of life.  God continues to pour out his forgiveness upon you for all sins—even sins like calling God unfair or envying the wicked.  You have the hope of the resurrection—a hope that cannot be destroyed by sickness or death.  And these are not rewards you will receive one day.  Already now you have received the Lord’s grace, mercy, hope, peace, comfort, confidence, and joy. 

     Our Lord not only speaks to his laborers, he also feeds them.  And here, from this altar, the Lord provides you with his living body and blood to sustain you through this life until you receive your promised, eternal reward.  The Lord strengthens your faith and cleanses you of sin.  Week after week, the Lord nourishes you so that you may continue in your godly labors.

     The Lord Jesus is not fair in how he treats the laborers in his vineyard.  He is not a good businessman.  Rather, he is a gracious Redeemer, and he treats all the laborers well.  He promises each and every one the same glorious reward—a joyful resurrection to life everlasting.  His reward is promised because he is gracious.  It will be given because he is faithful.  We receive it by grace alone. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Boil water advisory and church service on September 27

Dear members of St. John’s,

Lake City is under a boil water advisory, and it seems that it will be in effect into next week.

Even with the boil water advisory, WE WILL HAVE CHURCH tomorrow as well as Sunday School and Bible Class.

According to the boil water advisory, the water at church is not to be used for drinking and cooking.  It can be used for washing hands.  The drinking fountains will be turned off, but the bathrooms will be fully functional.

We have decided to not brew coffee, but we will have juice and cider for Sunday School and Bible Class.

Any decisions regarding the school will be announced in a later email.

God bless and keep you.

In Christ,

Pastor Schroeder