From the Pastor’s Desk

The summer months are usually the quietest ones in the church’s year. But this year, at least they’ve started off filled with activities.

• On the second Sunday of the month we worked on cleaning out the church of years of accumulated things as our act of worship. We ended up with 4 pickup trucks of broken, no longer needed and/or outdated items. Thank you to all who helped. A special thank you to Miller Scrap and Disposal of Winona who took our 3 loads of trash and only charged us for disposing of two TVs. The rest was gladly accepted by Goodwill in Winona.

• The prior week, members of the congregation represented the church at the annual Rhubarb Festival, selling delicious rhubarb baked goods from our expert bakers.

• The Trustees and President of the congregation met contractors and solicited bids in order to recommend to the congregation the best course of action to address the safety issues of the bulging containing wall on the parking lot on the south end of the building. On Sunday, June 30th the congregation voted to replace the retaining wall with blocks and expand the parking lot and add 3-4 additional parking spaces. Thanks to a generous donation, the cost of up to $50,000.00 of the work by Bob Baures Construction of Bluff Siding will be covered. (The name of the person making the donation has been announced and is public information. Just ask. It is not included here because the newsletter is posted on the website, where the information might be used by solicitors or scammers to contact the party.) Construction is projected to start on July 15 and conclude by August 1. Thank you to the Trustees and President for the time and effort they provided to fix this urgent situation.

• June 30 was also fifth Sunday service with Hope UCC. After the service here the Women’s Guild put on a “Tea” for fellowship time, complete with finger foods, teacups and saucers, a “parade” to show off our best tea finery, and hats for anyone who wanted to wear one. Thank you to the Women’s Guild for a wonderful time together, and to Ruth Ehmcke who provided music, many of the hats and a special presentation with Ron Novak, as well as the original suggestion to hold the tea.

• The Consistory has started a review of the current church by-laws and constitution and will recommend any proposed changes for the congregation’s approval. A small task group has begun reviewing the Mission Statemen. They will bring their recommendation to the Consistory for their input and approval. Once that is completed, another task force will review both documents, focusing on membership requirements and the governing structure of this congregation in light of the realities that many congregations are facing post-pandemic. Any recommended changes will be brought to the congregation for approval at the 2025 Annual Meeting or a special meeting in the spring of 2025 if they are not ready by the Annual Meeting. Please watch here and bulletins for opportunities for input, questions, and where we are in the process.


And now that we are in July, we switch our worship times with Hope UCC. Starting Sunday, July 7 St. John’s weekly worship service will be at 8:30am. This will last through the final Sunday of June 2025.

While many of these might not seem “churchy” (is that even a word?) or about worship they are. They are some of the necessary pieces of providing a safe and welcoming space for others to experience the embrace of God’s love and grace, and to free up energy for members to share the light of that love both inside and outside these churches walls.

God’s grace and peace.
Pastor Deb Kunkel

Let us know if you have any questions or comments. We are happy to provide more details. Please email us 24/7 or call us to learn more.