Pastor:  The Rev. Mark  Ruzicka

Director of Music: Mr. Ferree Le Fevre

Contemporary Worship Leaders: Dr. Doug Martzluf  and Mr. Gary Rebok

Pastors Emeriti: Revs. Glenn E. Schultz and Stephen W. Hoffman

Welcome to St. John's United Church of Christ. We believe our purpose to be: Believing that the Christian Church, in all its many forms and manifestations, is the embodiment of the on-going life of Jesus Christ in every place and time, we acknowledge the Church to be of divine origin and, thereby, holy. As members of the Body of Christ gathered together as St. John's United Church of Christ, we acknowledge our responsibility to:

• Receive the historic Christian faith as expressed in Word and Sacrament.

• Make this faith our own.

• Share this faith with others.

Pastor’s column from Pastor Mark…

As I write this, I am remembering this past weekend in the life of St. John’s UCC.  We had two really meaningful events: first, was Melissa St. Clair’s ordination; and second, a consistory retreat.  To me, both of those events were about spiritual leadership.  Because the things of the spirit are often intangible, it is hard for some of us to know what spiritual leadership is.  How do we know it when we see it (even in ourselves)?  Some of us may not consider ourselves spiritual leaders…but we really are!  So I thought I’d share with you a list of qualities that spiritually mature people demonstrate (this comes from work by George Gallup, Jr. and Timothy Jones entitled “The Saints Among Us”). 

Spiritually mature people:

*Are more likely to have a daily time of prayer and devotion.

*Feel a genuine sense of the presence of God in their lives.

*Tend to have a greater sense of inner peace—to feel more joyful and happy—less likely to feel depressed—much more positive.

*Are more humble; less likely to exhibit an inflated sense of self-importance.

*Are far more often engaged in compassionate helping acts with and for others.

*Are far more capable of forgiving people who wrong them…and of having a constructive, reconciling attitude.

*Are more favorable to church involvement in social and political activity in order to right the wrongs in society.