OUR WORSHIP

Our Worship

We gather each Sunday and now Saturday evenings (September thru May) to give thanks for God for all the gifts we have received! We are a liturgical church which means we follow an ancient service pattern but with much active participation including hymn singing. We are very traditional yet we hear the Word of God new every week. We pray that our worship services provide you with an experience of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. After each worship service, our mission is to send you out with hope and peace to meet the week ahead!

Sunday: Traditional Service with Holy Communion 10:30 am 

LENTEN WORSHIP EXPERIENCES:

Lenten Taize Services: 7:00 PM on Saturdays, February 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17, & 24

Ash Wedensday: February 14 at 7:00 pm  with other Mercersburg Area Churches at The Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague in Mercersburg (34 W. Seminary St.)

Maundy Thursday: March 29 at 7:00 pm with other Mercersburg Area Churches here at St John's Lutheran Church (8 Linden Ave, Mercersburg)

Good Friday: March 30 at 7:00 pm with other Mercersburg Area Churches at Trinity United Church of Christ in Mercersburg (129 E Seminary St., Mercersburg)

Easter Vigil: March 31 at 7:00 pm with St Thomas and Mercersburg Area Churches at St Thomas Lutheran Church (7061 Lincoln Way W, St Thomas PA)

LIFE LONG SPIRITUAL GROWTH

No matter what your age, there is always something new to learn about God and ways to grow deeper in your relationship to Jesus the Christ. So we encourage our members to continue to read scripture and grow in faith.

We have Sunday School for all ages from September through May at 9:15 am

We also offer First Holy Communion Classes for 4 or 5th graders preparing for their first Holy Communion

Confirmation classes for 7th and 8th graders or anyone order who has not made public Affirmation of Baptism

New Member conferences are available through our pastor.

KIDS AND YOUTH

We are committed to journeying in faith with our youth and their families. We believe that youth of all ages should be actively involved in the life of the Church and our congregation’s ministry. We strive to build close relationships with each of our young members so that they can experience the joy and support of being part of the Body of Christ.

We have weekly Sunday School from September through May

We have service and fellowship opportunities for youth and young adults.

We are hosting a FREE Day Camp this summer for Kindergarten through 6th from July 24 -28 right here at our church. Contact Pastor Marleen at revmarleen@comcast.net for more information and registration.

We support our youth in attending Lutheran Camps annually. Campershipers are now avialable.

EVENTS

Community Dinner – Free meal for the community. The fourth Thursday of every month (3rd Thur in November to avoid Thanksgiving). Time to connect with people in our area. Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

OUR BELIEFS

Our Beliefs

We believe that you have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is a free gift for all people. Our mission is to share this good news with the world. Your salvation does not depend on your works, it is a gift from God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

After knowing that you have been saved from sin and death, we trust that you will be moved to live as Christ has taught us to live. So as the Body of Christ, we strive to live as people filled with grace and ready to forgive one another. When we fall short (as we always do), we know that Christ forgives us. Each week after hearing the words of forgiveness and hope, we leave worship renewed and ready to serve our neighbors.

We continue in the tradition of Martin Luther and boldly share God’s love with the world.

MEET THE TEAM

We are part of the Body of Christ, gifted in various ways by the Holy Spirit.

Marleen Griffith-Stull

Pastor revmarleen@comcast.net

I am a baptized Christian called to share Jesus’ forgiveness with the world! When I was just a baby, Christ called me by name and made me his child forever. I was marked with the cross of Christ and given the gift of eternal life that same day. On that day, my parents made a promise to share this gift of God’s amazing love with me. They did! They brought me to church, they talked about faith at home and read Bible stories to me. They prayed with and for me and still do today. Now, I am living out my calling to be a child of God, as an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. That means, I am called to share the sacraments and preach God’s Word. I baptize babies, children and adults so that they too can be included in God’s forever family. I preside at Holy Communion so that followers of Christ might be strengthened by the very body and blood of Christ weekly. I preach God’s Word so that those who hear it may come to see God at work in their own lives. After knowing that they are part of God’s incredible kingdom, they might go out and invite others to experience the love of Christ as well. I am a child of God who has been blessed with a loving husband and two beautiful and delightful young daughters. My mission is to reveal God’s kingdom to you. To be sure that you know that you can be part of God’s growing family and can experience the love of Christ daily! Contact us and begin your journey of faith today.

I graduated from Thiel College in December 1995 and was ordained in June of 1999 after graduating with a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. 

Tim Wertime

Church Organist

Tim Wertime has been organist of Saint John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania for over twenty years. He received the Master of Sacred Music degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. His mentors in organ were James M. Smith (Mercersburg Academy), Jan Bender and Dr. Fredrick Jackisch (both of Wittenberg University). Primary study for the Master of Sacred Music degree was done with the organists of four English cathedrals. Tim is a member of the American Guild of Organists and the Royal School of Church Music in America.

Susan Harley

Church Secretary

I have been the church secretary at St. John’s for about ten years. I believe I began working for Pastor Seaks the same year I married by husband, Rob Harley. Although Harley is my official last name, a lot of you still know me as Sue Schofield, which is fine as I still bank with that name. Besides my secretarial duties at church, I enjoy participating in Secret Sisters, Altar Guild and teaching Sunday School. I am looking forward to being involved with Busy Hands once we get that group up and knitting again. When I am not at church, I do have a full time job working for a hospitality consulting group out of Florida. I have been fortunate enough to work for them for the past 18 years and was glad to work from home when my kids were still in school. Now that they are in college, I still like being at home with my four cats, dog, fish, chickens, goat and lizard. My husband, Rob, makes me laugh every day and is a very hard and dedicated work for Jerr-Da n as a Welder. We both love to read and watch sports. Being from New England, I have been a life-long fan of the Patriots, the Red Sox and the Celtics.

Elizabeth Oakman

Treasurer and Custodian

Elizabeth Oakman has been our church treasurer/bookkeeper at St. John’s Lutheran Church Mercersburg since 2009. Recently she took over as custodian as well.

Church Council

Wallace Whitworth, Council President
Karl Reisner, Council Vice President
Shirley Zeger, Secretary
Elizabeth Oakman, Treasurer
Cynthia Rockwell, Financial Secretary

Harriet Gilbert
Jack Keen
Lori Jo McCullough
Diane Nair
Leah Rockwell
Thomas Steiger
Matthew Stine