Advent Festival

The St. John’s community kicks-off the Advent season with the annual Advent Festival! Hosted by the Director of Youth and Family Ministries and a plethora of volunteers, the congregation gathers at the 10:15am hour in The Gathering Place to make beloved yule log advent wreaths, fun Christmas-y crafts, shop a Fair Trade Marketplace, and welcome the Christmas season.

Community Brunches

About every three months, the Community Engagement Committee hosts a Community Brunch in The Gathering Place! These brunches typically help launch a new season or semester and offer unique themes as the entire congregation gathers in-between worship services at the 10:15am hour.

Community Oktoberfest

Launching in full robustness in 2024, the Community Oktoberfest partners with neighboring businesses to celebrate Oktoberfest! We welcome breweries, wineries, restaurants, and musical groups for an outdoor festival in late October.

Holy Week Day Camp

As many children and youth at St. John’s are on Spring Break during Holy Week, we offer a Holy Week day camp - similar to Vacation Bible School! A three-day camp, Holy Week day camp incorporates a mix of Holy Week themed bible stories and activities, fun outings around Midtown, unique games and crafts, and uniquely fun time with St. John’s staff. Holy Week day camp is run by the Director of Youth and Family Ministries and a plethora of volunteers.

Santa Lucia Worship

Service & Festival

Held mid-December, the Santa Lucia worship service and festival celebrates St. Lucy of Scandinavia and the light she brought to her community. A female high school youth applies each year to be the Santa Lucia, and a committee selects one individual who exemplifies the St. John’s mission of “Living God’s Love in the World” to serve in this role. Other female high schoolers join the Santa Lucia and serve in her court, and younger youth of all genders dress-up as Cookie Elves to help during the festival.

The worship service is predominately youth led, and the Santa Lucia typically preaches the sermon. As the congregation follows the Santa Lucia outside, lit with a crown of candles, they travel to The Gathering Place for an hour-long festival centered around FUN! Santa Lucia, her court, and the young cookie elves deliver plates of homemade cookies to a beautifully decorated hall, we sing Christmas carols and hear Scandinavian-themed jokes, and we conclude with everyone’s favorite tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree. This event is hosted by a sub-group of the Community Engagement Committee.

Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee (SPSYC)

The Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee (SPSYC) is a synod-wide youth committee that many St. John’s youth have served with throughout the past 15 years. SPSYC is a committee for high school aged youth who plan and lead retreats for Elementary-High School youth at Mt. Cross, serve as voting members at every Synod Assembly, and serve in other leadership roles throughout the synod. This year, four St. John’s youth serve on SPSYC and youth have attended each Mt. Cross retreat they’ve hosted!

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School happens every summer at St. John’s and is a 5-day, full-day summer camp for youth in Kindergarten-High School. The Middle and High School youth step into various leadership roles and are given opportunities to earn service hours and help lead some of the programming, but we often also welcome the staff of Mt. Cross Ministries to lead programming! Vacation Bible School is run by Mt. Cross staff, the Director of Youth and Family Ministries and a plethora of volunteers.

Volunteer Thank You Dinner

A new tradition first launched in 2024, the St. John’s Staff hosts a Volunteer Thank You Dinner towards the end of the year for all who volunteered in any ministry of St. John’s that year. It’s a wonderful celebration where the staff get to graciously thank and celebrate the faithful volunteers!

Volunteer Trainings

As St. John’s grows and continues the strong lay leadership, the Associate Director of Volunteer Management leads Volunteer Trainings for different ministry areas. These Trainings happen twice a year and serve as entry points for new volunteers hoping to get involved, or reminders/touchpoints for long-time volunteers. First launched in early 2025, we currently offer Trainings for volunteers in:

• Children & Youth Ministry
• Direct Services 
• Worship Leaders