Ministries

Volunteer Opportunities

All of the Mission Teams and Ministries at St. John's require volunteers in order to be successful. Please consider joining one our ministries and sharing your Time and Talents with the congregation. Below is a link to our Time & Talent Sheet which lists all of the volunteer opportunities, as well as a link to a list of volunteer positions and their descriptions.

Time & Talent Sheet

Volunteer Positions and Descriptions

 

Worship

Worship & Music Mission Team shall have responsibility for the conduct of the on going worship services of the congregation.  They shall provide for regular worship experiences appropriate for a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Music   Chris Cutler- Mission Team Chair

Worship is the central part of our life together at St. John's Lutheran Church. The ministry of music supports and enriches our worship by focusing on the spoken word as well as providing the congregation with a voice of praise. Each week, approximately two hundred singers, handbell ringers and instrumentalists from our congregation, with various levels of ability and experience, attend rehearsals to prepare for leading God’s people in worship.

Adult    Bill Triebel - Mission Team Chair

Adult Ministry Mission Team shall have responsibility for the development and support of education, fellowship and spiritual growth opportunities for adults and their families. The integration of music and worship and social ministry shall be coordinated with the appropriate mission teams. Opportunities include: 20-30 Somethings - Abby Triebel coordinator, Archives and Library Resources - Ron Patkus coordinator, Audio / Visual Operators - Glenn  Marchi coordinator, Education - Trudy Grundon coordinator,  Golf Ministry - Ray Siegart coordinator, Men's Ministry - Bill Copeland, George Proto & Steve Jones coordinators,  Oral History - Mary Anne Deik coordinator, Reading Group - Amy Huber coordinator, Library - Donna DeSousa and Beth Patkus coordinator, Crafters - Gerrie Triebel  coordinator

Children  Amy Huber - Mission Team Chair

Children’s Ministry Mission Team (birth – 5^th Grade) shall have responsibility for the development and support of education, fellowship and spiritual growth opportunities for children and their families.  The integration of music and worship and social ministry shall be coordinated with the appropriate mission teams.  The team’s purpose is to work with the children and their parents of our congregation and community directing them to connect with the life and teachings of Jesus.  This involves instructing them in Faith related activities, encouraging regular participation in family worship services, providing Christian fellowship participation activities and service opportunities. 

 

Check out the following links to find out what St. John’s children are involved in. 

• Sunday Church School

• Holy Communion Education

• Vacation Bible School

• Pre-School Program (CJK)  

Hospitality Patti Donahue & Holly Harvey - co-Chairs

The Hospitality Mission Team shall have the responsibility for supporting both regular and special fellowship events of the congregation. describe the program. 

Parish Care Linda Upright - Mission Team Chair

The Coordinator, with committee members and speakers provide information to the members of the congregation regarding specific issues in the realm of personal health and care giving.

MISSIONARY SUPPORT- We send support and do special projects to support our Missioaries , Dr. Kristopher and Mrs. Rebecca Hartwig, who are serving in Tanzania. They are working to set up a Hospice Network in the hospitals there. we are doing another project in conjunction with the CHIPS group  to make AIDES/HOSPICE KITS to support their work. These will be sent through GLOBAL HEALTH MISSIONS to Tanzania.

Evangelism Mission Team - Diane Betz Chairperson
        The focus of this team’s work is to ”grow our current ministry by attracting and supporting new members to our congregation, providing support and leadership in growing our congregation’s spiritual and physical resources to do God’s work, and spreading the good news of the Gospel throughout the congregation and the community.”
        This work is done in a variety of ways, such as:
        (1)   The Evangelism Mission Team develops plans to share the Gospel message with the unchurched.
        (2)   Adopt-a-Highway meets 4 times a year in support of a clean environment by picking up litter in our designated area along Route 44.
        (3)   Bring a friend to Church/Sunday School held in the Fall and Spring
        (4)   The Greeters Action Group provides a warm greeting and assistance to everyone who enters the building for worship.
        (5)   New Member Support is provided by follow up calls to newcomers, encouraging Church participation and new member classes and providing a luncheon and ministry presentations prior to becoming members of St Johns.
        (6) Maintain the membership rolls

Property William Cox  - Mission Team Chair

The Property Mission Team is responsible for the maintenance and security of all congregation property.

Social Ministry Susan Lamberton and Marland Berghorn - Mission Team Co-Chairs

The Social Ministry Mission Team decides which charities and organizations get a donation from our Social Ministry budget. This includes  local , national and international charities.We also have ongoing and special projects to help our community.Some of these are listed below.We would welcome more people to our committee.St. John's Lutheran is a very giving, and socially responsible church.

 

EGGS- A group from St. John's prepares egg sandwiches for the LUNCHBOX in Poughkeepsie  once a month. This takes place on the 4th Tuesday from  7pm-8om  in the kitchen. It is fun! The next morning a volunteer delivers the egg sandwiches to the Family Partnership Center building.More volunteers always welcome.

 

Homeless Shelter Meals- once a month on the first Thursday, a volunteer, or group of volunteers make a dinner for 15 people , and delivers it to the church by 5pm, where another set of volunteers picks it up and delivers it to the Homeless Shelter on the grounds of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center (Hillcrest House building). The cooks can choose to also deliver and serve the meal , which is heated and served from 9pm to 11pm. Volunteers may call the church office or Greg Johnson  to schedule times to cook or deliver.

 

Clothing Collection- St. John's maintains an ongoing clothing collection at the church(rear door).Anyone can drop off used, clean  clothing which several organizations then pick up and distribute.

 

Habitat for Humanity- volunteers needed for Building days Wednesdays or Saturdays, 8am to 1pm for the Habitat  building sites in  Newburgh.  Thrivent  Financial For Lutherans is sponsoring several houses, and volunteers can be used whether talented with carpentry skills or not. Volunteers can call Habitat in Newburgh, or get in touch with Jan Viola to find out days we will go as a group.

 

FOOD PANTRY- We maintain on ongoing Food Pantry. If a person is in need of food, and come to the church, they will receive  a bag of food. We also provide Holiday Meal Baskets to needy families in the area.

We collect and deliver food items to Dutchess outreach periodically as well.

 

Special Bingo Nights  at the Lutheran Care Center, and Castle Court at Concord Village.  Dates and times available from  the office. Volunteers welcome , come and  have fun with us .

 

Special projects. -we have done many special projects to benefit Dutchess Outreach, Grace Smith House,

The Lutheran Care Center, The Pearlington Katrina Foundation,  the YWCA, Interfaith Towers,School supplies for Lutheran Refugee Service ,and many others.We often apply for grants from Thrivent Financial For Lutherans for help with these projects, and need at least six Thrivent families to be involved to qualify.

Youth   Patti Thompson - Mission Team Chair

The Youth Ministry team is responsible for providing educational and fellowship opportunities for students in grades 6-12 as well as their families.  It is the goal that these opportunities provide the youth with the tools they need to grow spiritually and be involved with the life of the congregation. 

Small Groups

There are several relationship-building opportunities at St. John’s. Individuals may interact with others who have similar interests.
Click to see a list of the small groups ministries.

Council

The Congregation Council is the board of directors of this congregation and shall be responsible for maintaining and protecting its property and the management of its business and fiscal affairs.

 

Parish Nurse Mission Team

The Parish Nurse Mission team holds Blood Pressure screenings each month on the Second Sunday of the month. after the 8:15 Service in the Fellowship Hall, and between the after the 9:30 Service(before the 11:00 service) in the pastor's office . The public is welcome to come for a free Blood Pressure check .We hold health educational offerings periodically, on different topics. Two of our Parish nurses visit the hospitals each week to check on Parishioners who are admitted, and to see if they have any discharge needs we can help with. We offer a visit from our Casserole club, with a hot meal if needed for people who are discharged from the hospital. Please call Linda Upright if you need this service at 691-7139.

 

Medical Supplies and medicines (discontinued for a particular person) are still being collected and sent to the Muriel Gordon Foundation for distribution to people in Third World Countries. We take medicines and supplies.

Special equipment needed locally can be borrowed from the Reformed Church Loan Closet. See Maryanne Deik or one of the Parish Nurses for details. The Parish Care MT will be happy to pick up and deliver if needed. Call Jan Viola for this service at 485-4756.

CPR/AED classes are offered  periodically at minimal cost for volunteers in the congregation. The church has an Automatic External Defibrillator.  Call Jan Viola to enroll in a class.

Any health -care professionals are welcome to join our committee. We are all volunteers, and are part of the Dutchess County Parish Nurse Network, which meets several times a year. Call Jan Viola to join.We meet bimonthly as part of the Parish care Mission Team.