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St John Evangelical Lutheran Church

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Tamaqua, PA
St John Evangelical Lutheran Church

St. John’s is a vibrant multigenerational congregation of the ELCA. We welcome questions. We embrace community. We place emphasis on belonging. Join us! At St.

As a community of faith, we strive to follow the example of Jesus to love and serve ALL people. This FB page is intended to respect the worth and dignity of all people. We reserve the right to remove or report comments that are hateful, abusive, discriminatory, or otherwise inconsistent with the values of our Christian faith and the teachings of the Evangelical Lutheran in America (ELCA). John's g

athers for worship on Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. Holy Communion is celebrated weekly and on special holy days throughout the church year. Sunday School and Confirmation classes are held between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on a Sunday mornings (September—May). John's is a vibrant multigenerational congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). As a congregation of the ELCA—St. Johns upholds the worship of the Triune God and centers its communal life on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as seen in, with, and through the power of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of word and sacrament. John's we welcome ALL people as we say: "This is Christ's church. No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. There is a place for you." Fun facts about the ELCA...

The ELCA is a mainline Protestant denomination which is in full communion partnership (agreement) with six other mainline Protestant denominations: United Church of Christ (UCC), Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, The Episcopal Church, The Moravian Church, and the United Methodist Church. In partnership together these seven denominations strive to live out the message of Jesus together by bringing more and more heaven to earth through actions of love, mercy, peace and justice. The ELCA is rooted in the biblical tradition and upholds and affirms the Bible (Old and New Testament). The ELCA takes the biblical tradition very seriously but does not believe that every single passage in the Bible is meant to be taken literally or should be prescribed for modern-day living. The ELCA sees the Bible as a living-breathing collection of books, in which the Holy Spirit continues to speak to us today through these ancient stories—stories that have been given to us by our ancestors in the faith which we cherish. The ELCA is rooted in upholding the Reformation teachings of the German Protestant reformer Martin Luther as outlined in his Small Catechism which includes: The Ten Commandments, Apostle's Creed, Lord's Prayer, and the two Sacraments of the Church (Baptism and Communion). Yet, the ELCA believes God is still speaking through the Holy Spirit and so along with the Bible, our Lutheran Confessions and the Small Catechism our denomination continues to remain active in producing materials, which reflect how God through the Holy Spirit continues to speak in our modern-day through word and sacrament, as well as through reason and human experience. The ELCA is a Christian denomination rooted in the Protestant tradition. Yet the ELCA honors and respects those who express different religious persuasions -- whether they be other Christian denominations, other world religions, or those who consider themselves seekers or unbelieving. The ELCA doesn't believe they have all the answers but welcomes all questions believing God's love and grace transcend the fullness of intellect. The ELCA encourages the harmony between faith-and-science, seeing the two as not enemies but as working alongside each other. The ELCA is made up of theological liberals, theological moderates, and theological conservatives. The ELCA is made up of Democrats, Republicans, independents, and those of other political persuasions. The ELCA is made up of diverse persons: people of many different races, cultures, ethnicities, languages, and socio-economic statuses. The ELCA ordains woman, men, and those who are LGBTQ+ to the offices of bishop, pastor, and deacon. The ELCA affirms marriage equality for all people and blesses marriages for those who are straight and LGBTQ+. Fun facts about St. John’s…

Our name: St. John's is named after one of the twelve apostles, St. John -- who was both an apostle and an evangelist which makes St. John our community's patron saint. John’s festival day is on December 27th. Our history: St. John's is proud of our Germanic roots, and we give thanks to God for our German ancestors who brought with them their Lutheran faith and their love of intellect. Our worship: St. John's is faithful in honoring our Lutheran traditions emphasis on liturgical worship, as we follow the Revised Common Lectionary’s three-year cycle of Sunday biblical readings and the liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas/Epiphany, Time after Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter/Pentecost, and Time after Pentecost. Our love of music: St. Johner’s love to sing. We love good music, and we give thanks to God for the great hymns of the Church. Our love of food: St. Johner's love to eat and prepare good food together. We love our potlucks. Our dedication to hospitality and community action: St. John's is focused on being a 'community church' in the Lutheran tradition -- centered on sharing the love of God in Jesus Christ through radical hospitality and robust community action. Come join us. We’d love to meet you. ALL are welcome!!

09/13/2026

God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday & Rally Day
September 13th 2026
Does God Change God’s Mind?
Rev. Dillon J. Epler, Pastor
St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tamaqua PA
__________________________________________________
I have a question for us to ponder this morning:

“Does God change God’s mind?”

That is the question I have been thinking about all week as I reread the story of Jonah—one of the most famous Sunday School stories of all time.

For some, the answer is simple: No! God does not change. For some, God is unchanging. God is faithful. God keeps God’s promises. And all of those things are indeed true. And yet, if we are going to be biblical about it, the answer is a little more complicated. Because in the story of Jonah, the Bible actually tells us that God changes God’s mind.

God sends Jonah to Nineveh with a message of warning. The people have turned away from God, and Jonah is called to tell them that they must change their wicked ways. But Jonah does not want to go.

He runs away from God. He ends up in the belly of a great sea creature, surrounded by darkness. Eventually, Jonah listens. He comes out of that darkness and goes to Nineveh to proclaim God’s word. And then something remarkable happens. The people of Nineveh listen, too.

They hear Jonah’s message. They recognize that they have gone down the wrong path. They repent. They turn toward God.
And God responds. God sees their repentance and chooses not to bring about the destruction that had been proclaimed. God changes God’s mind.

That is an important part of the story because it tells us something about the heart of God. God desires life, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. And notice that the heroes of this story are not only Jonah.

The people of Nineveh deserve our attention, too, and we see this highlighted in our gospel reading from St. Matthew, in which Jesus uplifts the actions of the Ninevites, who turned towards God.

The Ninevites could have ignored Jonah. They could have rejected his message. They could have continued doing what they had always done. Instead, they listened. They changed.
They turned toward God. And because they listened, their future changed. That is a powerful message for us too, today.

Sometimes we think that faith is simply about knowing the right answers. But Jonah reminds us that faith is also about being willing to listen, change, and act to both honor God and to love our neighbors much more.

This week, I found myself thinking about Jonah while remembering a whale-watching trip my wife, Samantha, our two daughters, and I took a few years ago in Rhode Island.

We went out to sea on a boat, and I had one of our daughters secured in a baby harness while I held her. A mile or two from shore, I started getting seasick. We saw whales, and they were magnificent. They were powerful, beautiful, and an incredible gift of God’s creation. But I was also incredibly sick!

I remember praying, “God, please turn us around. Get us back to shore—to the beautiful coast of Rhode Island!” I had cold sweats, a pounding headache and stomachache, and I was drenched in seawater. Let’s just say it was nothing like an all-inclusive cruise with good music, good food, and the perfect martini. It was horrible! And in that moment, I understood just a little bit of what it might have felt like to be Jonah.

Sometimes life puts us in the belly of our own sea monster. Sometimes we find ourselves in places of darkness where we cannot see the way forward. But sometimes we have to enter the darkness before we are able to recognize the light.

Jonah entered the darkness and came out listening. The people of Nineveh heard God’s word and turned toward the light. And Jesus, as St. Matthew’s gospel reminds us, entered the darkness of death and emerged into the light of resurrection and new life.

The darkness is not the end of the story. God brings light out of darkness. God brings life out of death. And God brings change out of repentance. And that brings us to today: God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday and Rally Day. Today we are reminded that listening to God is not the end of our work. It is the beginning.

God calls us to listen—to God, to the Holy Spirit, and to our neighbors. And then God calls us to act. That is what Jonah was called to do in Nineveh. That is what Jesus did throughout his ministry. And that is what the Church is called to do here and now.

We are called to love God and serve our neighbors, just like our sending hymn, God’s Work, Our Hands signings of:

“God’s work, our hands, working together, building a future, repairing the world, raising up homes, planting new gardens, feeding the hungry and sheltering the cold…”

We do not do this simply because we are trying to earn a place in heaven, or to be better people for others to praise us. We do it because God’s kingdom is already breaking into this world.

Every time we feed someone who is hungry, comfort someone who is hurting, teach a child about Jesus, or serve our neighbor, we are helping make God’s love visible right here on earth. And we are bringing a little more of heaven into the world when we live like Jesus. And so, today we begin another year of Sunday School and Confirmation.

One of the greatest gifts we can give the next generation is to teach them how to listen for God’s voice. We teach them the stories of the Bible. Stories like Jonah and others. We teach them the words of Jesus, like the Beatitudes. We teach them to love their neighbors, by collecting food, coats, and offering kind words that uplift.

And we teach them to remain open to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Because we never know what God might do when people listen. Jonah listened. The people of Nineveh listened. And when they did, God responded with mercy.

”So, does God change God’s mind?” The story of Jonah tells us, yes. Yes, God absolutely changes God’s mind. And perhaps that is good news for us.

Because if God is willing to respond when people turn toward God, then we can trust that God’s heart is always moving toward mercy, forgiveness, and life.

So let us listen. Let us step out of the darkness. Let us turn toward the light. And with God’s work and our hands, let us carry the light of Christ into the world.

Let us teach that light to the next generation. Let us share that light with our neighbors. And let us remember the people of Nineveh—not simply as wicked sinners, who needed to repent, but as people who listened, changed, and turned toward God.

May we, you and I be willing to do the same.

In the name of our triune God, who is one: Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

09/11/2026

Blessing of the Animals!
Join us for our annual Blessing of the Animals service on Saturday, October 3rd at 10:00 a.m. All pets are welcome—big or small, furry or feathered! The service will be a short, joyful celebration lasting approximately 20 minutes and will be held outside in the church garden, weather permitting. In the event of rain, we will move the service indoors. At the conclusion of the service, Pastor Dillon will offer individual blessings for each pet.

If you have lost a beloved pet—you are welcome, too! Bring a favorite photograph or other remembrance of your pet, and we will include them in the blessing. We hope you and your beloved companions will join us! This service is open to the public. 🐾

09/11/2026

Harvest Home Food Drive! (Our goal: 1,500 nonperishable items)
Join us on Sunday, October 4th at 9:15 a.m. as we celebrate Harvest Home Sunday and give thanks to God for the harvest and the yield that will help feed those in need.

As part of our Harvest Home celebration, we will be collecting canned goods and nonperishable food items to support our local food pantries in Tamaqua. Our goal is to collect 1,500 nonperishable items and we need your help to reach it!

Donations began Sunday, September 6th and will run through Sunday, October 18. Every can, box, and item makes a difference for our neighbors who need a little extra help. Thanks in advance!

09/10/2026

Congratulations to Josh Hadesty—one of our high school youth and confirmed members on earning his Eagle Scout Badge. Congratulations, Josh! St. John’s is proud of you.

09/08/2026

Rally Day and the First Day of Sunday School!
Join us this Sunday, September 13th for Rally Day from 10:30–11:15 a.m.

09/08/2026

God’s Work. Our Hands Sunday & Rally Day! (9:15 a.m.)
Join us for worship this coming Sunday with the celebration of Holy Communion, as we hear from the Book of Jonah and revisit the famous Sunday school story of Jonah and the big fish.

Sunday School Rally Day: 10:30–11:15 a.m.
Confirmation: 10:45–11:30 a.m.

09/06/2026

Creation in Christ Sunday
September 6th 2026
Being Faithful Towards God’s Creation
Rev. Dillon J. Epler, Pastor
St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Tamaqua, PA
______________________________________________________
“God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.”

Those are the words from our first scripture reading from the Book of Genesis this morning, which speaks of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth.

Today, we celebrate the newest festival day in the Church’s liturgical calendar. This new festival day is titled “Creation in Christ Sunday”. This new day was approved by the Church in April of 2026, and will now be celebrated each year on the first Sunday in September.

For most of us, the idea of having a special festival day to celebrate creation is something new, and yet, it is also a very ancient custom.

Since the 7th century, the first day of September has held a special place in the Byzantine Christian tradition of the East. September 1st is known as the Feast of the Indiction, marking the beginning of a new year.

The word Indiction originally referred to a fifteen-year cycle used in the Roman Empire for taxation and administration. Over time, however, the first week of September, particularly September 1st, became an important time in the life of the Byzantine Christian Church of the East.

The beginning of a new year naturally became connected with the beginning of creation itself. The Church used this day to give thanks to God for the world God had made and to pray for God’s continued blessing upon creation, the land, the seasons, and the people who depend upon them.

In this way, the beginning of September became a time to remember that creation itself is a gift from God and that every new beginning invites us to give thanks to God, who is the Creator.

This tradition also parallels, in some ways, the Jewish celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which is also celebrated in September.

Rosh Hashanah proclaims the beginning of something new and calls people to reflect upon their relationship with God and with one another.

So, while Creation in Christ Sunday may be new to many of us, the Church in the East has been reflecting on the goodness of creation at the beginning of September for many centuries.

And this is where our gospel reading this morning from St. John helps us to see creation in a new way.

The Book of Genesis tells us that God created all things. And St. John’s gospel takes us one step further and tells us that creation is connected not only to God, the Creator, but also to Christ—the Word of God who was present from the very beginning.

St. John writes:

“All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being, in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”

Creation, then, is not simply something that happened long ago and was finished. Creation continues to be sustained by God through the risen Christ. The risen Christ is present within the world God has made, giving life and light to all creation.

Today, our Scripture readings point us toward the God who created the sun and moon, the shining stars, the sea monsters, creeping things on the earth, and flying birds—and, yes, even human beings. God continues to care for all that has been created and invites us, you and me, to do the same.

And if we think about the earth in this way, then when we pollute its waters—the rivers, streams, oceans, brooks, and ponds—we are doing more than simply harming the environment. We are failing to respect something that God has called good and entrusted to our care.

Water is one of the most essential gifts of creation. Nothing can live without it. We need water, plants need water, animals need water, and our entire ecosystem depends upon it.

One person who understood the connections between God, humanity, and creation was St. Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century German Christian mystic and theologian.

St. Hildegard spent much of her life studying the natural world—the plants, animals, waters, and medicines that surrounded her. She saw creation not as something separate from faith, but as something that could teach us about God and about our responsibility to care for the world around us.

This week, I was thinking a lot about the work of St. Hildegard and a word she used in her writings.

That word is “viriditas,” which can be understood as the “greening,” or life-giving power, found throughout creation. She saw the green growth of plants, the nourishment of the earth, and the health of living things as reminders of the life and vitality that God gives to creation.

St. Hildegard wrote:

“The earth which sustains humanity must not be injured. It must not be destroyed.”

Those words are just as important for us today as they were centuries ago.

I think about that especially when I am outdoors. My family and I love to hike and spend time in the woods. We enjoy walking along old rail trails. And I love fishing and being near the water.

There is something about standing beside a river or sitting quietly on the edge of a pond—or perhaps not so quietly if I am fishing with my four- and five-year-old daughters, both of whom I love so very much—that reminds me of the beauty of God’s creation.

For those of us who love the rivers where we fish, we should want those rivers to remain clean.

If we love the forests where we hike, then we should want those forests to remain healthy.

And if we depend upon clean water for our own lives, then we should want clean water for our children, our grandchildren, the animals, and the generations that will come after us.

St. Hildegard reminds us that creation is not simply something we use or abuse. It is something to which we are connected, something that gives us life, and something God has entrusted to our care so that we might live alongside it and care for it.

So today, as we celebrate Creation in Christ Sunday, perhaps we can learn something from St. Hildegard.

We can slow down and appreciate the beauty of what God has made.

We can give thanks for the water that gives us life.

And we can ask ourselves what we can do to protect the world that God has placed before us.

Because when God looked upon creation, God did not say, “This is useful.”
God said, “This is good.”

And if God calls creation good, then perhaps we should treat it that way.

Take a walk outside. Go fishing. Water a garden. Plant a tree. Rescue or adopt a new pet.

Choose to use cleaner, greener, renewable energy sources in your home, in your workplace, and yes, even in the church building—the place where you and I come each week to worship God, who indeed is the Creator of all.

These may seem like small things, but caring for creation begins with the small things we choose to do every day.

And perhaps that is one of the lessons we can take with us from Genesis, from St. John, and from St. Hildegard: God has given us a good creation, and God calls us to care for it.

In the name of triune God, who is one: the Father, + the Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

09/05/2026

Book Talk with Our Very Own, Dr. Samantha Bise!
Join us on Sunday, September 20th from 2:00–3:30 p.m., as we host Dr. Samantha Bise for a presentation addressing her new book, Tongue In Church--A Liberating Primer on Christian Vocabulary. A light reception will follow the presentation. Details below. Please register, or signup. All are welcome!

Address

200 East Mauch Chunk Street
Tamaqua, PA
18252

Opening Hours

Tuesday	9am - 12pm
Wednesday	9am - 12pm
Sunday	9am - 12pm

Website

https://www.stjohnslctam.org/, https://nepasynod.org/, https://www.elca.org/, https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/

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