Congratulation to all of our youth, who were confirmed on the last Sunday in April. They were Max Bensman, Nate Post, Jack Roth, Alicia Samaniego, and Jeremy Tribolet. May God continue to bless you, as you enter a new part of your Christian journey through life.

Congratulations also to Allie Post, who will graduate this year from Celina High School. We wish you God's blessing in all of your future endeavors.

Pastor Deb will be on vacation from May 25th through June 8th.

In case of emergency, please call Pastor Randy Swanson at St. Paul/Zion, Rockford.

Pastor Randy's contact information is:
419-942-2591 (home phone)
419-305-3648

The Junior Lutherans will be meeting on Wednesday, May 20th, beginning at 7:15 pm. All children ages preschool through the 6th grade are invited to come for bible stories, crafts, games, and snacks.

This is a reminder that the St. John Lutheran Men in Mission will not be meeting during he months of May, June, Jully, and August. Monthly meetings are scheduled for the remainder of the year beginning is September.

You are invited to join us to hear a special guest preacher, Pastor Marc Miller, during our worship service on sunday, May 17th at 10:00 a.m. Pastor Miller is the Director for Evangelical Mission for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ameerica in Northwestern Ohio. His call is to work with congregations to evaluate their ministry, and to help them discover what God might be calling them to do.

Pastor Miller says: "Right now, the Christian church is changing more rapidly than it has in 500 years. It is very important for every congregation, and for evey Christian, to figure out what we can do to tell the story of God's love in new ways. Eventhough the chruch will continue to be a "safe place" for long-time members, it also needs to be ready to welcome new people and to be connected with its community more than ever!"

Lunch will be served following the worship service. Please put this special Sunday on your calendars and plan on joing us.

Doyt Crouch
Deborah Ehler
John Gilbert
Dick Hesse
The family of Mag Hutchinson
Hugh Setterfield
Gracen Temple
Jack Tribolet

The annual Mother-Daughter Banquet will be held on Sunday, May 3rd, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the church parish hall. All mothers, daughters, aunts, etc.. are welcome to attend. A covered dish is all you need to bring. The hostesses for the banquet are Kathy Cesar, Holly Smith, Kate Eichler, Mary Ann Fisher, and Romilda Linton. The program will be presented by Sheryl Frahm and Jennifer Barrett.

Although there will be no meeting or Bible study in May, our Project of the Month is the Aya School Scholarship Fund. If you want ot contribute to our Project of the Month, please place your donation in the envelopes found in our pews or in the tract at the back of the sanctuary. Thank you.

Mother's Day is coming. Some of us dont have a mom to spend the day with. Possibly your mom has passed away or lives far away. I suggest adoping a mom for Mother's Day. This could possibly be a neighbor woman that lives alone and has no children or her children live far away. Possibly take your neighbor to lunch or just bring a flower to the door. You might want to consider dropping by a local nursing home to drop off some flowers to the elderly women. Two hours out of your day can brighten someone's day who is lonely. On this special day you could ask an elderly woman to attend church with you. It is possible that she wouldn't be able to go to church on her own; possibly she isn't able to drive anymore. God may use you to make this day special for someone.

One sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Randy stnding the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. the six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Randy."

"Good morning Pastor," He replied, still focused on the pllaque. "Pastor, what is this?"

The pastor said, "Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Finally, little Randy's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, "Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:45?"

(Received in an email from Deb Harner - Thanks, Deb!)
+++++++++++++++++++++

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

Don't put a question mark where God put a period.

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

A lot of church members who are singing "Standing on the Promises" are just sitting on the premises.

(received from Betty Sites - Thanks, Betty!)

Here are the websites of the ELCA and the Nouthwestern Ohio Synod:

A little girl was busily drawing a picture. when her mother asked what she was drawing, the girl stated, "I'm drawing a picture of God."

But, honey, no one knows what God looks like," said the mother.