• Presiders: Pastor Sean Avery
• Assisting Minister: Jim H.
• Children's Message: 
• Readers: Sarah D. & Philip W.
• Pianist: Nancy W.
• Communion Assistant: Jim H.
• Altar Care: Nancy W. 
• Acolyte: Arden P.
• Cross-bearer: Peter W.
• Gifts-bearer: [open]
• Ushers: Karen J. & Jeff J.

Thank you for serving in worship. Your faithfulness and heart for God help create a space where His presence is felt. Our Sundays are truly blessed with servants like you.

We would love to show the teachers at JCDC some love and appreciation. We invite you to sign the poster board in the Narthex this Sunday and share some encouraging words.

Thank you

We are excited to wrap up our food competition and greatly appreciate all of the donations that we have collected over the past month. Please be sure to have all frozen goods here by Sunday as we will be delivering them to the Food Bank and will no longer be able to store frozen goods. 

For this month’s food collection we are trying something new… a friendly competition! 

If your last name is A-J, please bring in any red meat products. 

If your last name is K-Z, please bring any hygiene products. 

Please be sure all frozen products remain completely frozen during transport so that it meets proper safety requirements for distribution to the recipients.

Last but not least anything is always appreciated for donation to the food pantry!  Please feel free to contact Eris with any further questions you may have. (907)691-5065

Thank you!

We are on SUMMER BREAK!!!

While Sunday School is on break, we encourage you to continue growing in faith through personal study, fellowship, and joining us for our regular worship services each Sunday. We look forward to welcoming everyone back for another meaningful and engaging Sunday School season this fall!

Open on the first Sunday of each month 1-3pm.

Thank you so much for your help stocking our size 5 clothes.

We are currently in need of boys and girls size 7/8 (pants and shirts)  Thank you all for your donations and help serving our community in this way, you are a huge part of the success of our ministry. 

Join us as we crochet projects for a good cause. We are now meeting on the First Sunday of the month right after Worship. Projects include prayer shawls for those in the hospital or extended care settings, hats for the Jump for Joy Kid's Closet, or other projects for our community. For Questions reach out to Hazel S.

We are excited to celebrate the achievements of our graduates this year! If you or someone in your family is graduating (high school, college, or beyond), we would love to recognize them. Please submit the graduate’s name, school, degree (if applicable), and a photo to the church office.

For questions, contact Pastor Sean.

The Strategic Planning team has completed the listening phase of our work. This has included the congregational survey last fall, the focus group meetings this winter, and most recently a series of meetings with community organizations to hear about our neighbors and our neighborhood. Jessica Noonan, our LEAD consultant, met with us and the congregation the weekend of April 17-19.

To recap what we have heard so far:

• Our congregation cares deeply about the message of God’s grace
• Hearing God’s word with one another is sustaining and affirming for all of us
• We love to share food, to be welcoming, to include children and youth, and to find opportunities to serve our community
• There are many needs in our community, from practical needs such as food and clothing, to more intangible needs such as a sense of community and belonging, to spiritual needs such as an awareness of God’s boundless love

Those next phases are to focus what we have heard into our shared values and purpose. Then we will set our direction to act on what have heard and learned. This will not be a new and improved to-do list, but a way of helping us stay true to ourselves and our mission.

Our team will keep working with Jessica and with the church council to develop specific ideas for us to consider as a congregation. Stay tuned!

The first quarter of 2026 is behind us. How do our finances look?  Click to READ MORE.....

Sue Weimer

Actual Income vs. Expenses

Comparison of Actuals to 2026 Spending Plan

Balance Sheet

We will be having our electronics recycling event Saturday, May 9 th , 2026 10am – 2pm. This recycling is for household electronics and batteries and our partner is Total Reclaim. The cost is FREE / carload to the individual.

Monitors or large screen TVs will have a small cost.

Appliances (refrigerator, dryer, washer) and smoke detectors are not allowed because appliances take up too much room and smoke detectors contain radioactive materials.

If you’d like to help, they will set up at 9:30. Volunteers usually just help direct traffic, answer questions, etc. No real manual labor because Total Reclaim brings a bunch of guys to disassemble the materials into their component parts. Let your neighbors and co-workers know. Let’s keep these things out of the dump!

Registration is now open for Joyful Women [team name] to participate in this year’s Run for Women. With virtual and IRL 1-mile and 5-mile timed and untimed events beginning and ending on the UAA campus, women will celebrate and honor those among us who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

I’m excited that this year’s logo - a pair of Xtratufs lined with pink blossoms - was designed by a friend of mine, Marcella Dent. Since 1993, $6.2 million in cash and donated mammograms has been generated by the event –all of which has been distributed to organizations associated with breast cancer. The Alaska Run for Women unites thousands of women from all over Alaska and beyond in one of the largest all-women runs in the country.
Visit akrfw.org to register and to find out more, or contact Nancy Hemsath at nancyhemsath@gmail.com. I’ll share more team details as we get closer to the date.

Our youth and young adults are preparing for a service-learning trip to South Texas this summer where they will partner with Border Perspective to learn, serve, and grow in faith. Experiences like this can shape a young person’s faith for a lifetime!

Would you consider donating to this opportunity for our young people?

By supporting this trip, you help create opportunities for students to encounter new communities, hear powerful stories, and reflect on God’s call to love our neighbors. Your donations will help lower the cost for participants and pay for transportation. Your generosity helps make this experience possible for every student and young adult who feels called to go. Thank you!

We wanted to share a quick update—both Ericka and Pastor Sean have new email addresses!

Pastor Sean: pastorsean@joy-lutheran.com.

Ericka Stoltenberg (Church office): admin@joy-lutheran.com.

Thank you for staying connected and being part of the Joy community!

Blessings,
Pastor Sean & Ericka 

Grades 6-12th

Every summer the Alaska Synod hosts a summer trip for youth across Alaska! It's a week-long retreat filled with fun, fellowship, and building faith! We'll spend time canoeing, playing games, doing a service project, and other outdoor activities.

Join us by registering below. Bring a friend with you! 

Each month, Joy will pray for another ELCA congregation, as part of the Synod Prayer Partner mission. 

It’s simple, and it’s powerful. We lift up their joys, their challenges, their ministries. In this way, we remember that God’s work doesn’t stop at our doors. We are part of something bigger: a church that stretches across towns, states, even countries, united in prayer and love.

We invite each of you to join in. Let’s be faithful in holding our partner congregation before God, trusting that God is holding us in return. This is our prayer for one another, and for the world God loves.

Did you know that Joy has an attic? The 'upper room' is used to store seasonal decorations, building supplies, and educational and craft materials. It is filled to capacity! We invite all of you Marie Kondos to help us clean and organize that space in May, and plan for future storage needs. 

The coffee will be on beginning at 9am and we'll call it quites by noon (after all, that's Mother's Day Saturday). Contact Nancy Hemsath if you have questions or need more information. 

Join us for a potluck-style brunch! We gather for brunch immediately after worship. All are welcome to join us for delicious food and fellowship. This is one of the ways we build community with each other. There is no Sunday School or Confirmation class - this way everyone can join! 

Holy Grounds is a weekly gathering of high school youth at Jitters Café with Pastor Sean and other adult youth leaders. It’s an opportunity for fellowship, peer support, and faith formation before school hours over beverages at no cost to youth. Please consider supporting this ministry with prayer and donations to cover the cost of beverages. You can donate online via our webpage. 

Holy Grounds follows the ASD calendar, if there is no school on Monday, Holy Grounds does not meet. Please see the EVENTS page for up to date meetings. 

 Visit our website for information about our book club, including book titles, a full list of dates and locations.

Please join us!

Please contact the office on 907-694-9601 if you would like any more information.

Ages toddlers through 5th grade are invited to Sunday School after worship in Brause Hall. We use Godly Play - a montessori based curriculum that involves engaging kids in storytelling and lots of "I wonder..." questions that help them explore the mystery of God's presence, listen for God, and authentically respond to God's call in our lives.

*Reminder that Sunday School does not meet on Brunch Sundays (2nd Sunday of each month)*

Confirmation Class for youth in grades 6 and up begins on Sunday, September 7th! Please register using the link below. If you have any questions, reach out to Pastor Sean.

*Reminder that Confirmation Class does not meet on Brunch Sundays (2nd Sunday of each month)*

Community Meetings that take place here at Joy Lutheran Church. For more information please visit our website.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) CLICK FOR PRINTABLE FLIER

Narcotics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous 

• For those struggling with mental health and anxiety.
• For Brevig Memorial Lutheran  (Brevig Mission, Alaska), our April Prayer Partner.
• The Otterstedt’s (Wayne and Judy’s granddaughter, Olivia, her husband Matt, and their children, Holden and Ella. Matt, a US Army Ranger, is deployed)
• Pastor Rich Mauer (ELCA pastor in Delta Junction, hospitalized in need of prayers)
• Derek (Corrine’s granddaughter’s husband) has stage 3 colon cancer.
• Swain-Kotlarchuk family as they mourn the loss of Donald, Kristi's father.
• Corrine F.  (for strength)
• Judy (Christy Dailey's mom for strength and healing)
• Clarke H. (prayers for continued healing)
• The Hegna Family (as the mourn the passing of Marsha’s brother, Mark)
• Kaela W. (strength and courage for on-going treatment)
• Layli (Trudi's granddaughter, for good decision making)
• Dave Mitton (for strength)
• Kent & Victoria Rush, Wayne’s brother and sister-in-law (Kent is fighting cancer again.)
• Diana Flaherty (for pain and healing)
• Stella Scamman (Kristi Swain’s aunt)
• For all those who continue to grieve the loss of loved ones.
• For all military members and their families, especially those serving in Alaska and our veterans

Online: To sign up visit joy-lutheran.com/give

Cash/Check: You can place cash or check into the offering plate or send by mail.

Text-to-Give: Text "Give" to: (833) 685-5023

Joy Lutheran App: Coming Soon

Fred Meyer Community Rewards: Fred Meyer Community Rewards - Non Profit Organization BV101 Joy is enrolled in Fred Meyer's Community Rewards Program. You can link your Rewards Card to donate to Joy at www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards. Link your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Joy Lutheran Church to earn a donation from Fred Meyer. If you do not have a Rewards Card, you can sign up for one at the Customer Service Desk of any Fred Meyer store.