• Lenten services will be at 7:00 p.m. as follows: March 19 at St. Paul’s; Wheeler; March 26 at St. John’s; April 2 at St. Paul’s; April 9 at St. John’s.
  • Holy Week Services will be at 7:00 p.m.: Maundy Thursday at St. John’s, Good Friday at St. Paul’s.
  • There is an Easter planning meeting on March 23 at 3:00 p.m. at St. John. This is for Pastors, Head Elders, Head Trustees, Church Chairmans, Head Ushers, Ladies Aid Presidents, Church musicians, and LYF leaders from all four churches.
  • The next distribution for St. John’s Effingham Food Pantry is Tuesday, March 25 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. 
  • The Zone LWML is having an ingathering at its May 6 JOY Shop to collect items for St. John’s Effingham Food Pantry. If you would like to donate, please have items to Grace by Saturday, May 3. The Food Pantry also appreciates and can use monetary donations to purchase items not donated. Checks should be made payable to “St. John’s Food Pantry.” Items being collected for the ingathering are: canned pasta, canned soup, Hamburger Helper, instant potatoes, pancake mix, peanut butter, bar soap/shower gel, facial tissue, shampoo, toothpaste (no glass containers please).
  • The Spring JOY Shop for all ladies and pastors of the Effingham/Shelby Zone will be held on Tuesday, May 6 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Dieterich hosted by Grace and St. John’s Ladies Aids. The evening will begin with a light meal at 6:00 p.m. followed by an evening of fun with devotions, Bible study, singing, a skit, and a program presented by Nicki Suckow, who is a Physician Assistant at Effingham OB/GYN. She will share about women’s health and wellness issues. There will be a free will donation to help defray the cost of the meal. The theme for the evening is “Glorify God in Body and Spirit” based on 1 Corinthians 6:20 KJV, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Please let Elaine Probst know by April 22 if you plan to attend.
  • Faith Lutheran Church, Shumway is hosting the 2025 Congregational Service for Lutheran Care Center. This year’s service will take place on Sunday, April 6. In addition, a pastoral bake off will take place again this year during the refreshment time. Faith will be welcoming Rev. Jordan Peiser, Please join us in welcoming him as well.
  • LWML CID Mission Grant Spotlight – Servants of the Gospel Through Dots – $16,000: Lutheran Braille Workers (LBW) uses funds to produce at least 1,500 volumes of the Braille Bible, large print Bibles, prison Bibles, and other Christian materials, such as scripture calendars. These funds will be used to do just that. How Can I Help? Pray that God provides the opportunity for those people with visual impairments or incarceration to come to know or continue belief in God through the materials produced by LBW. Support this grant by donating to your church’s LWML group mite fund.
  • MITES for MISSIONS – Loose change in the offering plate will be used to support LWML mite projects.
  • Lutheran Hour Radio broadcasts can be heard on WCRA 1090 AM Sundays at 9:30 a.m., WCRC 96.3 AM Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and WPMB 104.7 FM Sundays at 12:30 p.m. The broadcast is also available at www.LHM.org.