(215) 855-5489 | Worship Sundays @ 8 am & 10:15 am
(215) 855-5489 | Worship Sundays @ 8 am & 10:15 am
Read the latest news for our church.
Oct 22, 2025
October 26
Open & Affirming Anniversary
8 am – Morning Worship
9 am – Living Our Faith Together
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
November 5
All Saints Sunday
8 am – Morning Worship
9 am – Praying Hands Stitchers
– Living Our Faith Together
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
4:00 pm – The Artist Series at St. John’s Presents
Philadelphia Brass
Oct 08, 2025
October 12
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
8 am – Morning Worship
9 am – Living Our Faith Together
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
– Youth Group
– Anniversary Committee
October 19
Congregational Dinner
8 am – Morning Worship
9 am – Living Our Faith Together
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
12:00 pm – Congregational Spaghetti Dinner
Sep 29, 2025
What does it mean to be a person of faith in this time? Where do we go with our questions, our doubts, our hunches, our wisdom, and our longings? How can we try on new ideas and new practices to grow our Christian faith and deepen our capacity to live in a moment such as this? What traditions can we lean on to become more grounded and resilient and faithful? Are there places where we can receive support while supporting others?
Living Our Faith Together (aka The LOFT) is a new space to live into the questions and deepen our spiritual practices. It builds on the St. John’s tradition of Adult Sunday School and Adult Bible Study, and offers opportunities for adult faith formation and occasional intergenerational engagement.
Beginning in October, at 9:00 on Sunday mornings (between the early and late services), we will gather each week to explore and reflect on a wide range of topics connected to our faith. This is a space where theological reflection and personal storytelling enrich each other, and where expanding religious experience can also mean expanding our understanding of the human spirit and the Christian tradition which grounds us. There will be other opportunities beyond 9:00 Sunday mornings as well.
We will begin with a LOFTy breakfast open to all on Sunday, October 5, which is also World Communion Sunday. As we gather at table and break bread (or muffins or donuts!), there will be time to build new connections and share ideas we have for topics we might explore together in the new year.
The current schedule for the fall:
October 5: LOFT Kick-off Potluck Breakfast
October 12 – November 2: Care for the Caregiver
This four-week segment offers support for anyone who is currently or has recently been in the role of caring for a loved one, family member, or friend.
November 9 and 16: Living Our Faith Together in a Broken World
How do we name and notice the despair, fatigue, or overwhelm we may be feeling while leaning on spiritual practices that can sustain us in a painful time?
November 23 – December 7: Engaging Advent Across Generations
As we prepare for and enter Advent, this three-week segment includes scripture, reflection, and participatory experiences for people of all ages. Projects such as make-your-own Advent wreath will weave together ancient traditions and invite us to try on spiritual practices that deepen our experience of Emmanuel – God-with-us, and God-among-us.
December 14 and 21: Re-Membering Christmas
This is a set-apart time to reflect on our own experiences of the Christmas season – whether that includes loss, joy, grief, isolation, connection, or more. We’ll consider questions such as, “How do we resist the cultural pressures to consume and over-function?” There will be space to share stories, memories, photographs, meaningful objects, and more.
We hope you can join us for any or all of these opportunities.
With gratitude and anticipation,
The St. John’s LOFT Team
Deb Ahrens, Pat Rieker, and Pastor Linda
Sep 24, 2025
September 28
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
8:00 am – Morning Worship
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
– Book Rummage Sale
2:00 pm – Blessing of the Animals
October 5
World Communion Sunday
8:00 am – Morning Worship
9:00 am – LOFTy Potluck Breakfast
– Praying Hands Stitchers
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
Sep 09, 2025
September 14
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
8:00 am – Morning Worship
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
– BOOK RUMMAGE SALE
September 21
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
8:00 am – Morning Worship
10:15 am – Morning Worship
10:45 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
3:00 pm – Rev. Dr. Linda’s Installation
Aug 29, 2025
August 31
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
September 7
Water & Celebration Sunday
9:00 am – Praying Hands Stitchers
10:15 am – Sunday Morning Worship
10:30 am – Connect3
11:30 am – Fellowship
Aug 20, 2025
Ephesians 2:10.
What an honor to witness the handiwork and good works happening at St. John’s! In September, we begin our 8:00 am worship service. Over the course of the month, we will be blessing everything from water (Sept. 7), to backpacks, students, and educators (Sept. 14), to canines, cats, and creepy-crawlies! (Blessings of the Animals at 2 pm on Sept. 28). On Tuesday, Sept. 9, we’re flinging open the doors to share the music and message of Bobby Jo Valentine with the community on Sept. 9 as a prelude to our 10th Anniversary of being an Open and Affirming community.
We have created a corner of the sanctuary for our “soft worship space” where both kids and adults can engage their bodies in ways that allow them to be more present in worship. Our Boards and committees and volunteers and staff are doing what they do best, and are doing it well.
On Sunday, September 21 at 3:00 pm, we will be holding an “installation.” An installation takes place after a church has called a settled pastor. After five months, I am starting to feel a little more “settled” and our North Penn Association and the Penn Southeast Conference of the UCC have said it is time for me to be installed at St. John’s.
Even though all ministry is temporary and transitional (as Pastor Tom is now, sadly, reminding us), an installation is a way of marking a moment in which a congregation and pastor have chosen one another for their next chapter of ministry together. It is a way of affirming the movement of the Spirit that has called a particular leader and a congregation to be the best version of themselves possible for this time, in this place, trusting God’s grace along the way.
I’m thrilled that someone who is a close friend, holy troublemaker, fierce prophet, and national faith leader, Bishop Dwayne Royster, will be the preacher on this day. Bishop Royster is an ordained UCC minister and the Executive Director of Faith in Action. A native Philadelphian with family in the area, he knows St. John’s well and is eager to be with us. We will also receive greetings from a number of community and faith partners.
The installation is an opportunity for us to celebrate the rich history and the pastoral lineage of St. John’s UCC as we stand on the cusp of our 150th anniversary. We are rooted and rising in love! It is an invitation to let our gifts shine, call our friends and colleagues to celebrate and encourage us, and give thanks for God’s continued faithfulness on this journey.
In Christ,
Pastor Linda
Aug 12, 2025
August 17
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
August 24
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
Jul 30, 2025
August 3
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
8:30 am – Praying Hands Stitchers
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
– VBS Committee Meeting
August 10
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
10:45 am – Elders Meeting
Jul 16, 2025
July 20
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
– VBS Committee Meeting
July 27
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 am – Sunday Morning Worship
9:45 am – Connect3
10:30 am – Fellowship
Sign up to receive emails from St. John's.
