Welcome to St. John’s in Jim Thorpe

Sunday Church School 9:15 AM † Sunday Church Service 10:30 AM

Please See Below for Worship Services and Special Events
319 South Avenue,
Jim Thorpe
570-325-4255

stjohnheights@ptd.net

Our Mission

To share God’s love in Christ in word and deed to a world in need.

Every Sunday

Worship and Holy Eucharist
10:30 AM on Sundays

Listen on AM radio station WLSH 1410 or listen LIVE at WMGH 105.5 FM

New Sunday School Year

Begins Sunday, September 27 at 9:15 AM in the lower level of the church (Fellowship Hall).

The children will be promoted to their new grades and will receive a Bible signifying the completion of 3rd grade curriculum. The students will also receive their World Hunger banks to be returned with their offering on World Hunger Sunday, November 1. All children are welcome – you need not be a member of St. John’s to bring your children to our Sunday School.

From the Pastor’s Study

September 1, 2026

A recent Peanuts comic strip depicted Charlie Brown and Linus placing their elbows on a low brick wall. Charlie says,”I can’t believe it…summer is almost over…where did it go?” Linus answers, “Summers always fly…winters walk!” When I was younger, I didn’t exactly agree with that. Summers seemed to drag on(B.A.C., ie., before air conditioning). Besides, I liked school. Fall meant a new school year, new books, new pencils, new tablets, and new teachers. Now, some sixty years later, and living in the Poconos, summers are way too short and go way too fast; as the old Latin phrase puts it, tempus fugit, time flies. As for winter, it doesn’t just “walk,” it crawls, at least for some, though I still like winter, even if it seems to crawl near the end.

Fall isn’t officially here yet, according to the calendar, but there are signs of it everywhere: kids and teachers are back to school, those big yellow buses are everywhere, the days are getting shorter, the acorns are dropping, the deer coats are going brown, the temperatures are dropping(some days)with cooler early mornings, and the calendar is filling up.

As to what’s new this fall, there’s a new festival day, the first one in centuries, called “Creation in Christ.” It’s so new, we don’t even have a Celebrate for it yet. It will be observed this Sunday, September 6 at our 10:30 am service. Then, there’s a new Bible study based on The Gospel of John, which will begin on Wednesday, September 9th, at 7:00 pm in the Good Shepherd Room. Please sign up if you would like to be a part of it. Our picnic with our sister church, St. John’s East, will be held on Sunday, September 13th, beginning with morning worship at 10:30 am at Memorial Park. Yes, it will also be broadcast on WLSH, 1410 AM from the park. Pastor John Hassler will bring the message. Please sign up for the picnic also. On Sunday, September 27th we will hold our 55th Annual Switchback Scamper. We also have a new bishop, Bishop Jennifer Dee, our first female bishop in the North East Synod. She will be installed on Reformation Day, Saturday, October 31st, by our presiding ELCA Bishop Yehiel Curry.. A new year for the Sunday School also begins this month, along with some new furniture(check out the new padded folding chairs).

There are also some other exciting events to come later with our own Bishop Sam as our speaker for our Thanksgiving Service in November, another BQE Strings concert also in November, and the return this year of our famous Nativity Display in December. Check our website for details on these and other upcoming events.

Have a blessed fall season,

Pastor Bill

P.S. If anyone is interested in becoming a member of St. John’s, please let me know by mid-September. I already have a couple of people who desire to join and will be scheduling a new members orientation session soon.

Also, we will be returning to Setting Two in the ELW Worship Book on September 20th.