Special services at St. John Lutheran Church
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A number of special services are scheduled at St. John Lutheran Church in Chester in observance of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday, March 28, through Easter Monday, April 5.
At 10 a.m. on Palm Sunday the Rite of Confirmation will be held, welcoming twelve young people into membership. The class is made up of Hunter Cushman, Nicholas Gross, Jared Johnson, Jacob Lochhead, Joseph Marks, Justin Marks, Averi Mueller, Lacey Reynolds, Amber Watkins, and Kacy Westerman. At 9 a.m. will be a question and answer period as the confirmands tell of their faith.
On Maundy Thursday, April 1, at 7 p.m., the Confirmands will take part in their first Holy Communion. The theme of the service will be a study of what Jesus did on the night He was betrayed. It ends with the stripping of the altar in preparation for Good Friday.
A Tenebrae Service will start at 7 p.m. on Good Friday and the emphasis will be Jesus' Seven Words from the Cross. Earlier in the day the church will be open for prayer and meditation. The prayer time is sponsored by St. John Lutheran Women's Missionary League.
On Easter Sunday there will be three Holy Communion Services at 6 a.m.; 7:45 a.m., and 10 a.m. Between the service the Youth Group will serve an Easter Breakfast in the parish hall.
Easter Monday, April 5, at 11:30 a.m., the Golden Agers will meet in the parish hall and a luncheon will be served.
St. John's Pastor Mark Willig and Vicar Gail Heimgartner, in behalf of the congregation, extend an invitation to attend all services.
A number of guests are expected to attend the midday services which are a long-standing tradition at the church. Years ago the services were started so that people who work could attend during their lunch hour.
This year the services will have as a central theme, "That the Scriptures Might Be Fulfilled". They will be held Monday through Friday of Holy Week from 12:20 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.
The speakers will be Rev. Fred Campbell, retired pastor of St. John, and guest pastors from area congregations of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The schedule of speakers and their topics are as follows: Monday - "He Who Ate My Bread" - Rev. Mark Nebel, St. John, Red Bud; Tuesday - "I Will Strike the Shepherd" - Rev. David Kern, St. Paul, West Frankfort; Wednesday - "Like a Sheep Before It's Shepherd is Silent" - Rev. Fred Campbell; Thursday - "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabacthani" - Rev. Bruce Cameron, St. John, Sparta; and Friday - "They Shall Look on Him Whom They Have Pierced" - Rev. John Taggart, St. John, Baldwin.