Imposition of Ashes - Ash Wednesday

On Sunday, January 25, the St. John’s congregation gathered for our Annual Meeting! Chaired by Andrew Ford, the Council President, the congregation heard an update from the Call Committee and received reports from Directors.

The leadership of St. John’s Lutheran Church is delighted to announce that Bella Manley will serve as the 2025 Santa Lucia. A lifetime member at St. John’s, Bella was baptized here at six months old, sang in the music class in elementary school, completed Confirmation online during COVID, volunteered for countless Thanksgiving Meals, regularly serves as a Lector, and is now approaching her final months as a high school senior. Amidst it all, Bella has led with her heart and carries our mission of living God’s love in the world with her in all that she does. A senior at St. Francis High School, Bella is active in the school’s Tech Club – leading behind-the-scenes stage production, building sets, managing sound, and helping bring different shows to life, Into the Woods being her favorite. She has also been shaped by her religious experiences at St. Francis, most notably, in her junior-year Moral Ethics and Catholic Social Teachings class, where she explored the connection of theology to moral principles and how she might carry these teachings into her own life experiences. Outside of school, Bella is a devoted Girl Scout, having recently completed her Gold Award Project right here at St. John’s. This spring, after volunteering with Tuesday’s Midtown HART Respite, she saw a need for clothing and toiletries for unhoused men and organized a drive to collect these items. Her nearly decade-long involvement in Girl Scouts has given her a wide and meaningful group of friends, broadened her hands-on life skills, and provided ample opportunities to make an impact on her community. Bella has also served throughout high school as a member of the Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee (SPSYC), leading retreats for elementary through high school aged youth at Mt. Cross multiple times a year. Initially drawn to this leadership position after attending retreats growing up, Bella has developed deep friendships with fellow Lutheran youth across Northern California and gained valuable hands-on leadership experience with kids – something she loves deeply. To Bella, SPSYC is an extension of church. Being named this year’s Santa Lucia is a tremendous honor to Bella, especially after watching her cousin and close friends receive this recognition in recent years. She looks forward to sharing her light with all who attend this year’s festivities. The annual Santa Lucia Service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 14th in the Sanctuary at St. John’s Lutheran Church, followed by a Festival at 5:00 p.m. in The Gathering Place. Come celebrate Bella and the Santa Lucia court!

St. John’s is delighted to welcome Organist Dan Nguyen to worship over the next couple of months! Dan will serve as the “Bridge Organist”, allowing us space to conduct a national search for a permanent Organist. Dan Nguyen was born in Sacramento. As a child, he studied piano under several local teachers—most especially Dakin Chamberlain, a student of Richard Cionco. His formal organ studies began with an American Guild of Organists (AGO) scholarship through which he studied under local harpsichordist, organist, and music professor Nancy Metzger; during this same period, he served a tenure as Organ Scholar at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Houston where he studied organ and harpsichord under Robert Bates and Matthew Dirst. He recalls with great gratitude all of his teachers, especially the late Norma McIntyre (1925-2023) who offered him elementary organ lessons before entrusting him to the tutelage of Nancy Metzger. Dan has over ten years experience working in various professional capacities related to liturgical music. He has concertized in California, Oregon, Texas, New York, and Vietnam; he has an abiding passion for mediaeval and early music as well as twentieth-century and contemporary liturgical music. His liturgical compositions include several choral settings of mediaeval Latin hymns as well as four neo-Gregorian settings of the Vietnamese translation of the Roman Catholic mass. He is currently studying Carpatho-Rusyn chant (prostopinije) through the Metropolitan Cantor Institute of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. After several years based in New York City and Hanoi, Dan has returned to Sacramento where he is joined by his wife, Leonie, and his son, Placidus, as well his immediate family. Dan is a Ph.D. Candidate at Columbia University where he is jointly affiliated with the Departments of History and East Asian Languages and Cultures; he currently teaches Chinese history at Sacramento State. Welcome to St. John’s, Dan!

During late summer and early fall, the St. John’s Call Committee interviewed the slate of candidates initially provided by the Sierra Pacific Synod Office of the Bishop. The Call Committee followed up with the references that the candidates provided. Guided by the input that you, the people of St. John’s, provided throughout the series of listening sessions earlier this year, the committee engaged in deep discussion, discernment, and prayer. As a result, no candidate from this first slate was called. The committee knows it has to be a good fit for St. John’s and for the next Senior Pastor who will be called to guide St. John’s to be the church God has in mind for us. Following this first phase of interviews, the Call Committee is now momentarily paused as the Office of the Bishop prepares a second slate of candidates. Following the retirement of Pastor Frank Espegren, and grateful for the strength and vitality of our congregation, St. John's has welcomed Pastor Paul Baglyos as our bridge pastor. Pastor Paul’s enthusiasm to lean into his role and thoroughly engage in the community of St. John’s is an indicator of why we can walk into the future with full confidence in God’s love for St. John’s! The committee is appreciative of Pastor Jon and the entire St. John’s staff for their support to help Pastor Paul and his wife Sharon as they become fully immersed in the life of St. John’s. As the St. John's community prepares for the busy season of Advent and the traditions of our church, the Call Committee has full confidence in the careful transition plan that was developed by our Church Council and in the leadership the Council is providing to St. John’s in this interim period. The committee is also filled with gratitude for the implementation of the vision for more lay leadership in all aspects of worship, faith formation and service. We are blessed with a strong congregation. Our pews are full on Sundays; education programs and opportunities for volunteers in direct services are expanding; and, we are in good financial standing – all positive signs for St. John’s during this phase in the call process. If you have any further questions or would like to connect with the Call Committee, you can email them at callcommittee@stjohnslc.org .

Beloved people of St. John’s, My name is Paul Baglyos and I am delighted to begin serving as your bridge pastor on October 1, 2025. My journey to St. John’s has been a bit serendipitous – more of that later in this letter – but today I write to share a little about my wife and myself as we prepare for our cross-country move to Sacramento next week. I was born on August 10, 1958, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and was baptized and confirmed at Christ Lutheran Church in Schoenersville – now home to the offices of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA. In 1980, I graduated with my bachelors degree in philosophy from Muhlenberg College, and in 1984, earned my Masters of Divinity in Old Testament from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (now part of United Lutheran Seminary). My wife Sharon and I were married on September 6, 1980 in southeastern Nebraska, where she grew up as the third of four children in a dairy farming family. Our daughter Gretchen was born in 1983 and now lives in Oakland, and our son Nathan, born in 1988, now lives in Los Angeles. I was ordained in 1984 and began ministry as associate pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 1988, we moved to Chicago, where I began Ph.D. studies at the University of Chicago. While serving Zion Lutheran Church of Penbrook in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I completed my doctorate in the History of Christianity in 1997. My later calls included campus pastor at Thiel College from 2001–2007 and director of the Center for Theology and Land at Wartburg Theological Seminary from 2007–2009. Following a financial retrenchment at Wartburg Seminary, I worked as deployed staff for the ELCA until 2021, when I became pastor at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Maryland. About two years ago, Sharon and I began wondering about retirement and how we might move closer to our children in California – close enough for regular visits, but with enough space for everyone to breathe. During a holiday visit to Oakland with our daughter and son-in-law nearly two years ago, we decided to take a day-trip to Sacramento to explore possibilities. My wife and I researched the local ELCA congregations and were immediately drawn to St. John’s, thanks to your robust online presence. From that first New Year's Day visit, Sharon and I fell in love with the city of Sacramento and have made an effort to visit the city every time we’ve visited family in the bay area. Sharon and Gretchen even attended a service here and brought me back your 2024 Annual Report! Our original plan upon retiring to Sacramento was simply to join St. John’s and be active members. We looked forward to joining your vibrant and varied worship, diving into the life of a city church, and sharing in your expansive mission. After informing Bishop Jeff Johnson about our impending move to Sacramento and my willingness to serve in an interim or bridge capacity, I received a query from the bishop’s office about whether I might serve as a bridge pastor at St. John’s. This felt like a biblical miracle. I was already drawn to the congregation and eager to join the community – serving as your bridge pastor in this season of transition was icing on the cake! St. John’s is a vital, thriving congregation with strong forward momentum, faithfully living out Christ’s call in Sacramento and beyond. I understand it has been some time since St. John’s has had a bridge or interim pastor, so I want to be clear about my role. A bridge pastor is not to spin new dreams and visions, but rather to help ensure that the current dreams and visions do not diminish in energy or enthusiasm as we live in this period of interim. The interim period is important – when transitions occur in the life of a church, the congregation needs an opportunity to gather as companions of grief. People need to accompany one another in this grief and experience their continued walk together as a community of faith, now with the absence of their beloved former pastor. Over the interim period, the spirit of God will begin to move hearts and minds to turn to what is coming, rather than what has been. My role as your bridge pastor is to provide pastoral leadership and care as the spirit is helping this congregation make shifts to prepare for new leadership. Beyond ministry, I’m an enthusiastic, if modestly skilled, guitarist – composing and recording original instrumental music in my home studio and posting to SoundCloud. I love nearly all genres, especially Beethoven, the Rolling Stones, Motown, soul, funk, jazz, and blues. I also enjoy chess, reading history, theology, literature, and forensic investigation, and I aspire to improve both my chess and harmonica skills. Sharon and I look forward to meeting you this fall. My first Sunday with you will be October 5, and I am eager to worship together, share in fellowship, and join you in the mission we hold in common.Thank you for your warm welcome, generous hospitality, and commitment to this mission we share. Yours in Christ, Pastor Paul Baglyos

A Message from Steven Johnson, Director of Worship & Music: Ryan has truly been a gift to the St. John’s community for over a decade - a mastermind organist elevating our worship experience and a trustworthy colleague and friend, he will be missed dearly. We look forward to these final months of sharing music together and hearing his powerful playing, and look forward to welcoming him back to California for kayaking, hiking, and music anytime. We will keep everyone informed as the search begins for an eager and gifted successor. Steven Johnson

Written by Gregory Favre Doctor or Pastor? What will it be? A young Scot Sorensen tangled with that decision for several years. His father Vern served on church councils and call committees and his mother Patsy headed the altar guild for 20 years. The family, including Scot and his older brother Marc, was in church every Sunday (read more about Scot's family here) . And the Lutheran pastor was a close family friend. But so was the family’s doctor. One way to decide was to have a small, but effective, experience of both professions. Scot as a high school junior joined an occupational program where after school you could work in a hospital. His assignment was in the emergency room where he could see up close and personal the relationships between doctors and nurses, and patients in need of immediate care. Then he spent the summer in a Lutheran camp in Idaho and spent time with pastors. Doctor or Pastor? What would it be? Help heal the body or help heal the soul? He had completed his personal homework, and he felt “my skillset was a right fit to be a pastor.” And then later on, “I felt the call.” After graduating high school, he enrolled in California Lutheran University, majoring in history, graduating cum laude. He also played varsity volleyball and served as student body vice president. He kept his desire to be a pastor to himself during his four years there because he didn’t want people “to put me in a box, as they often tend to do.” But those years at Cal Lutheran helped spark his passion about wanting to help congregations move from an inward focus to an outward one where members would live God’s love in actions outside of the sanctuary. That was the beginning of a journey starting 45 years ago that took him to the Lutheran Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota and then on to an internship at a church in Davenport, Washington. “It was farm community,” he recalls. “There was one flashing red light in the county and five or six churches, each a different denomination. Just about everyone in town attended one or the other. I really liked the Northwest. I learned many things during that internship, which lasted an extra two months, 14 in all. “One thing I learned was to carry work clothes at all times. Often, you would have to go out with the farmer to help him, such as feeding the cows in the winter.” He was ready for his first call, and it came from a church in a location as different from the farmlands of Washington as possible, to Mount Carmel Church in San Luis Obispo, California. He was brought on as an associate pastor assigned to the youth of the church and to the campus ministry at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. “It was a great first call that lasted from 1984 to 1989,” he recalls with a smile. “I learned a ton, especially from all of the mistakes I made.” But there was also another reason why that call was so memorable. In 1988, Scot went to the Lutheran Youth Gathering in San Antonio. There, he met a woman named Kathy Hassell. “Scot and I were both working the 1988 Gathering in San Antonio as staff. He was a hotel pastor at the Travelodge on the River and I was a Youth Coordinator at the Hyatt,” Kathy recalls. “At the training for the hotel staff, we sat across from each other and I thought he was pretty cute. My hotel pastor knew him, and when I asked about Scot, he said, ‘Scot Sorensen is a flaming heterosexual.’ It took me a moment, then I realized, hey that totally works for me! We had our first date at a restaurant on the river as well as our first kiss.” Scot and Kathy became engaged and Scot moved to Dallas without a call. “I don’t advise that,” he says now. But it worked out just fine. He and Kathy were married in Dallas in 1990 and Scot was called to be a pastor on the staff of King of Glory Church as Director of Family Ministries. “It was a message from God,” he labels it now. Three years later, he joined the staff of Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes in San Antonio, and Kathy continued her work toward a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dear St. John’s Members and Friends, As my time as your Senior Pastor draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the many seeds we’ve planted together in this community of faith. Before I go, I’d like to plant one more— an invitation to consider making a Legacy Gift to St. John’s . A Legacy Gift is a one-time current or future gift offered in addition to your annual pledge - the “life-blood” giving to the General Fund that sustains our ministry yearly. While a Legacy Gift can be made right now, many choose to include a gift in their Estate Plan. Rhonda and I did this last month, revising our Trust to benefit St. John’s when we pass away. It was simple to do, and it gave us joy knowing we could continue to support this church we love, even after we’re gone. Legacy Giving to St. John’s can take many forms. Rhonda and I chose to make our gift unrestricted, entrusting the leadership of St. John’s in any era to utilize our gift in the most impactful way. It was quite easy to revise our estate documents, and I hope that is true for you too. If you feel called to direct your gift toward a specific area, please know that the St. John’s Church Council has approved (or blessed continuance of) several restricted funds to target your Legacy Gift. These allow you to support particular aspects of our ministry and mission, and are:

This past Sunday, June 15, the St. John’s Church Council and St. John’s Senior Pastor Call Committee held a Congregation Matters meeting. The meeting began with Associate Pastor Jon Haug reading the letter announcing his departure from St. John’s and new call to Chaplaincy , coupled with responding to clarifying questions from the congregation. If you continue to have questions regarding Pastor Jon’s departure, please reach out to Pastor Jon directly at jon.haug@stjohnslc.org - he would love to talk with you! Andrew Ford, Council President, discussed the timing of the pastoral transitions and confirmed the Council’s desire for Pastor Jon to remain in his current position until a new Senior Pastor starts. After a new Senior Pastor begins, a new Call Committee will be formed to seek a new Associate Pastor. From there, St. John’s Senior Pastor Call Committee Chair, Chris Dawson, shared an update on behalf of the Call Committee. After Listening Sessions with the Congregation and interviews of staff, the Call Committee collaboratively drafted the Ministry Site Profile (MSP), which describes our Congregation and the candidates we seek. The MSP was reviewed and approved by the Congregation Council at its May meeting. The MSP is now live on the ELCA Mobility Database and visible to rostered ELCA ministers who are seeking a Call. Now that the MSP is live, our Synod Liaison (Pastor Charlane Lines, Assistant to the Bishop) will receive inquiries from interested pastors, do an initial vetting, and provide a slate of candidates to the Call Committee after the July 4 holiday. The Call Committee expects to conduct interviews over the summer months, with possible site visits later in the summer or fall. The Call Committee feels like they are still on track to have a candidate to present to the St. John’s Church Council in the fall, around the time of Pastor Frank's retirement. They have put St. John’s in the best position to do so, but remind everyone that we need to have the grace and patience to understand that our next Senior Pastor may not be revealed in the first group of candidates. Upon Pastor Frank’s Retirement on September 7, a Bridge Pastor will walk with the St. John’s congregation from September through Advent, and into 2026 until we welcome our newly-called Senior Pastor. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to the St. John’s Church Council or St. John’s Senior Pastor Call Committee. If you would like to connect with the Church Council, you can email Andrew Ford, Council President, at thecouncil@stjohnslc.org. If you would like to connect with the Call Committee, you can email them at callcommittee@stjohnslc.org.