The Season of Pentecost
The church is in the season of Pentecost. This word, Pentecost, comes from a Greek word meaning fiftieth. Jesus had finished his redemptive work through his death and resurrection winning for us the victory over sin, death and the devil.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples met and prayed together as they waited for the Holy Spirit to come. As stated in John 14:16, the disciples remembered that Jesus said an “advocate or helper” would come and be with them. Fifty days after Easter, Jerusalem was packed as the Jewish people came together to celebrate one of their festivals. On that day the Holy Spirit came to the disciples. They described it as the sound of a rushing wind that swept down from heaven leaving little tongues of flames on their heads. That gave them a feeling of great confidence and enthusiasm to share the teachings of Jesus with the festive crowd.
Peter told the crowd that Jesus was the Son of God who died on the cross to pay for penalty for not only their sins, but the sins of the world. And the best news was that Jesus was alive and offered them the forgiveness for all of their sins. Jesus did this because he loves all people and wants to have a relationship with them both now and in the life to come.
The crowd understood Peter’s message and believed it even though they were of different nationalities and languages. This event marks the beginning of the mission of the Church or the “Birthday of the Church”. From this day forward, and throughout the centuries, the Holy Spirit has inspired people to proclaim the message of Jesus throughout the world and even has communicated it to us today.
The 2026 Season is underway.
The St. John Community Garden first opened in Spring of 2011. This garden area was a gift from St. John Lutheran Church to the neighborhood.
The garden is located at 7422 Washington Street, Forest Park, Illinois. The 2026 season will run April 15 - November 1.
If you are interested in applying for a plot, you may contact the church office at 708-366-3226.
Work Day Success!
Many hands made light work on our recent work day!
CUC Students Build-a-Bag Event
Here at St John, our Concordia University Chicago students are always welcomed. After our church service, on April 26, they participated in a Build-a-Bag event. Our congregation donated lots of various treats to help them survive Finals Week, and the kids got to fill up their bags. What a blessing for all! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this event.
The students were very grateful, and they even wrote Thank you cards! Here's a sample, "THANK YOU to the St John Forest Park members for putting together the ‘Build-A-Bag’! What a blessing it is to be so loved and supported by this congregation."
SewWhat! makes quilts that become donations to those in need.
Through Lutheran World Relief (https://lwr.org/quilts) the large (60”x80”) quilts are distributed in areas of need around the world. The quilts may be used as bedding, shelter, flooring, and for carrying possessions in bundles.
Members of SewWhat! assemble the quilt tops, then add a layer of polyester batting and a backing fabric. These three layers are then tied together (easy - down, up, down, up, cut the thread and tie a knot). The final step is finishing the edges with a binding. Sewing skills are not needed to help us finish off these quilt tops. If you can tie a knot you can help us. We also make smaller quilts which are given to Phil’s Friends, an organization that serves people who are fighting cancer. Phil’s Friends include these lap quilts in the care packages they send to those undergoing cancer treatments.
SewWhat! meets year-round on Tuesday mornings from 9:00 - 11:00, with a chocolate break at 10:00. While we work, we socialize and enjoy each other’s company.
Dartball League
Dartball meets select Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in Room 102 from September to April. Confirmed male members of St. John and fellow Lutheran LCMS congregations are welcome to join.
St. John was one of the founding churches that formed the league in the 1930's.
For more information contact Pete Schoedel at: 1petros113@gmail.com
What is Dartball?
Dartball is a game of darts that is scored like baseball. It bears no resemblance to "pub darts" whatsoever. The darts are thrown underhand at a board that is 20 feet away.
THE DARTS
The darts are about six inches long, wooden with a steel tip and three or four feathers. The Lutheran Dart League uses Apex #2 darts made by Apex Manufacturing.
THE BOARD
The dartboard is four-foot square, elevated so the bottom edge of the board is 2 feet above the ground. The board is laid out like a baseball diamond, with first, second and third bases, as well as a Home Run where Home Plate would be. There are strikes, balls, fouls, outs and double-plays on the board as well.
PLAYING THE GAME
As stated above, dartball is scored like baseball. A game consists of 9 innings, with each team batting in an inning until they make three outs. The visiting team always bats first. A dart that lands in the First Base is scored as a single; a dart landing in the Second Base is a double; a dart landing in the Third Base is a triple; and a dart landing in the Home Run is scored as a Home Run.
A batter whose dart lands in the First Base is said to "be on first." The next batters then try to hit the Third Base. If they succeed, they are awarded a triple, which "forces" the runner on first around the bases to score a run.
Like baseball, the idea is to score more runs than your opponent in nine innings.
For more extensive information about the Lutheran Dartball League go to the following website from Concordia Lutheran Church, Berwyn, IL.
Food Pantry
St. John participates in a food collection every third Sunday of the month to help support the Food Pantry
located at the Howard Mohr Community Center in Forest Park, Illinois
Mission Opportunities Short Term
MOST Ministries (Mission Opportunities Short Term) is a mission partner with our church body serving people with poor vision. It is estimated that 153 million people worldwide suffer from uncorrected vision. Currently, in many countries of the world eye glasses are still needed as well as non-prescription sunglasses.
As part of our mission outreach here at St. John, we have an opportunity to help MOST. If you have any type of eyeglasses or sunglasses that you are no longer using please consider donating them to this cause. Bring them to church and place them in the box in the narthex which is across from the church mailboxes. Thank you to all those members who donated their old glasses to this ministry, So far this year, St. John has sent 53 pairs of glasses to MOST.
If you have an interest in helping with this action team, call the church office 708-366-3226.
