Groundhog Day – Jesus Day 02-02-25
Groundhog Day – Jesus Day
There is a tremendous irony about to transpire on February 2: On the same day, folks in Pennsylvania will be looking for a shadow (a groundhog’s shadow) while we are searching for the light (The light of Christ). Our religious festival, on February 2, is “The Presentation of Our Lord”… which happens to coincide with the presentation of the beloved Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog in northwest PA who will be on his annual search for a shadow! Join Pastor Jack this Sunday as he takes a lighthearted look at the contrast… yet offering a serious reflection(pun intended) of our Lord and Savior, who is known as the “Light of the World”. Don’t miss this thought-provoking message.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU – The Membership Team will be launching a campaign in 2025 to help our members get to know each other better. The first initiative will be the creation of a new member directory (hard and soft copy). Please update your household information for our database. A letter with your current information will be handed out on Sunday or mailed to your home. There is a box to collect updates in the Narthex. We will collect the updates until Feb. 2. Thanks!
WORSHIP SERVANTS FOR SPECIAL SERVICES are needed for Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Please see sign up sheets on table in narthex. Thank you!
SAVE THE DATES:
DATE CHANGE MOVIE NIGHT – Saturday, February 22th 5:00pm – Heaven is for Real. Hot dogs, popcorn and more. Sign up in Narthex.
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION INSTRUCTION will be offered for all students in grades 3 and above. Classes will be Thursday nights, March 27 & April 3 at 6:00pm. Actual first communion date will be April 6. Contact Pastor Jack for details.
COFFEE HOUR – DiCola’s will be away for a little over a month and help is needed to set up and clean up along with help during. Please sign up in the parish hall on the Coffee Hour bulletin board. You will need to arrive by 8:00 AM and be prepared to leave by 11:30. The dates are January 26th, February 2nd, February 9th and February 16th. Please consider signing up for one Sunday or we won’t have coffee hour.
HAMS NEEDED – for soup kitchen meal preparation. Please see Phyllis F. for further information.
FISH N CHIPS DINNER – Sun., April 6, 2025. Please mark your calendars. Tickets will go on sale on February 1
PLANET NETWORKS – is now our Internet and telephone provider. If you decide to choose them for your Internet service, visit
https://planet.net/ or telephone them at 833-3Planet and use the referral code P8RC9 to earn a free month of service for SOTH!
MIONDAY ADULT BIBLE STUDY – Beginning Feb. 3, if you cannot attend (in person) our Bible studies on the first and third Mondays at 6:00pm, you can join us live via ZOOM video conferencing.
Please use this link:
Topic: SOTH Adult Bible Study
Time: Feb 3, 2025 05:45 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84201500057
Meeting ID: 842 0150 0057
BROWN BAG BIBLE STUDY
Continues in person at Holy Trinity Church or via Zoom, the first and third Wednesdays from noon-12:45. Join Pastor Jack for a lively discussion of the Bible. No prior experience necessary! Click here to join us via Zoom.
JOIN US WITH GENEROUS GIVING TO OUR MISSION: with these gifts, we continue to welcome folks to our community, to equip them with faith tools – learning the word, prayers for one another, and communal support – and then to send us into the world to welcome others. Your donations to SOTH can be accomplished in the following ways:
- On Sunday, place your donation in the offering plate.
- Mail your offering to: SOTH 246 Woodport Rd., Sparta, NJ 07871
- Go online to setup your e-giving from your checking, savings, credit card or debit card http://secure.myvanco.com/L-YXCY
- Download Vanco Mobile (Faith) on your smartphone, search for Shepherd of the Hills (Sparta)
- Text Giving to 973-832-0226 You can make a one-time gift or setup recurring offerings.
PLEASE CONTACT Barbara Osborne FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITH ELECTRONIC GIVING at bjo1216@gmail.
Supplemental Opportunities For Giving – In addition to financial offerings mentioned above, there are additional ways to support our congregation that are mentioned on our website: https://www.sothnj.org/giving.
Many thanks to all of the donors who support our mission!
WORSHIP INFO For February 02, 2025
Worship Service Bulletin
New Link for Zoom Bible Study, Wed. at noon
Meeting ID: 829 4727 4304
Passcode: 002314
SOTH CONGREGATIONAL COUNCIL AND TEAM LEADERS
Janine Shugan – Council President (shugan@optonline.net)
Don Wolff – Vice President (wolffd33@gmail.com)
Brett Maynard – Treasurer (bwmay2021@gmail.com)
Solveig Schunk – Recording Secretary (solveig2012@gmail.com)
Barbara Osborne – Financial Secretary (bjo1216@gmail.com)
Deb Nadel – Worship and Music (nadeldeb@yahoo.com)
Nancy Wood – Christian Education (nawood64@gmail.com)
Arden Krych – Giving (ardenkrych@gmail.com)
Judi Wolff – Activities (wolffjudi@gmail.com)
Patrick Wood – Property (phwood67@gmail.com)
Rick Erck – Membership (heighwood@outlook.com)
STREAMING IS HERE!: We are excited to announce that you can now view our service live at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday. Click on this link to see the service and subscribe to our SOTH channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@shepherdofthehillslutheran8820/streams Don’t worry if you missed the live broadcast. All services are archived on our channel. You can also search for us on Facebook and like our page. https://www.facebook.com/SOTHNJ/.