Worship Time
Communion is served every 1st and 3rd Sunday
All are welcome to communion
Education Hour is Sundays 10:15-11:15 AM (from October-April)
Who will be leading worship this Sunday?
Interim Pastor Kris Ferkin
The Rev. Kris D. H. Ferkin is a pastor, leader-builder, and lifelong partner in ministry whose guiding purpose is to make Christ known in the world by equipping others to serve. Kris grew-up in Bozeman, MT, where his parents continue to live serving the community by working with Meals-on-Wheels, Love INC., and Bozeman Senior Center. Kris is a graduate of Luther College and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, PA, and has spent more than 25 years in parish ministry, interim ministry, and the wider church, serving congregations in South Dakota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois, and Minnesota.
Kris's roots also run deep in A Christian Ministry in the National Parks, where he began 1988 in Yellowstone as a student minister and worked full-time at the national office in New York City as a recruiter, trainer and administrative coordinator in the winter. In the summer he directed park programs, trained staff and helped turn struggling programs around. He met his wife, Krista, in the program in Grand Teton National Park in 1988. He continues to serve today on the National Advisory Council, as a trainer and recruiter.
Kris has had a lifelong love and hate relationship with golf, helps coach the high school golf team and teaches skiing lessons in the wintertime. Kris currently lives in Plainview, MN.
A Brief History of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church
In 1872 a group of German immigrants extended a call to a Lutheran pastor and made plans for building a church. The church was built near the present spot in 1873. Services were in German (which continued until around 1938). It was a small 28 by 50 foot structure and was dedicated in September of 1873.
In June of 1879, the Reverand E.H. Caselmann was called to be the pastor and served for 38 years until 1917. During those years, more lots were purchased including the corner lot where St. John stands today. A school was built in 1884 and a larger cross shaped church was built on this spot and dedicated in 1893.
When Rev. Caselmann died in 1918, he left his estate to the church which was later dismantled and rebuilt in 1924, as the main body of the present church. It was dedicated as the Caselmann Memorial Church. Many outstanding pastors have served during the years overseeing more additions and improvements to the church and church property.
St. John has always been recognized as a compassionate leader in the Charles City community. Our doors are always open in times of emergency and we serve with many outreach ministries. We pride ourselves in being a very active church family.
We thank our ancestors for their foresight as we continue to live our mission : God's Love In Action.
