St John’s Lutheran Church is increasing activity after COVID
By PASTOR MICHAEL NEU
As we begin a return to post-Covid normalcy, life at St. John’s Lutheran Church has begun to resume a more normal pace. We completed the Lenten season, which included Wednesday night soup and salad meals followed by an evening worship service.
St. John’s held our annual SonRise Easter Service, celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, on the shores of O’Neill Forebay. The tradition of this service dates back to the 1960s, originally held at Pacheco Park. An offering of $300 was collected, all of which was donated to the Feed the Need program run here in Los Banos.
In order to make the SonRise service more of a community event, pastors from other churches were invited to participate. This year we were joined by Rev. Michael Neverson of First Baptist, Rev. Nathan Ogan of Calvary Baptist, Rev. Jordan Harris of Cornerstone Church, as well as our own Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dean Nelson.
During the last two years, Los Banos and St. John’s lost both our Congregational President, Larry Goodger, and his wife and our accompanist, Dorlie Goodger. Both are greatly missed by our church family, but we have moved forward. Our new President is Jerry Scoles. We also accepted a new member, who blessedly, plays keyboards, Jason McElroy.
St. John’s Christian Preschool is wrapping up its school year with a closing program scheduled for Friday night, May 27. The 2021-22 school year saw the school reach full enrollment for the first time. We look forward to resuming classes in August.
We invite all who are searching for a church home to visit us. Service is every Sunday and 9 AM, followed by a coffee social time and both adult and children’s Sunday School.
St. John’s Lutheran Church is located at 250 W. Adams Ave, between Nevada Ave and Paradise Lane. Our website is www.st-johnsLB.org.
