An Unexpected Hero

By Susan Shinn Turner This spring, Steven Page was contacted about being a potential match for a peripheral blood stem cell donation. He’d had a cheek swab as part of signing up for Be The Match register. He was asked to get another cheek swab, but didn’t hear anything back until this summer, when he…

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Greeting Cards and Positive Purchasing Power

By Angel Owens Last year, I read a lot of books, and by that I mean listened to a lot of books on Audible. A few of my favorites were from Shane Claiborne and the late Rachel Held Evans. A recurring message that I couldn’t seem to shake was from Matthew 6:21, “For where your…

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Welcome Ricky Howsare, Contemporary Worship Leader

By Susan Shinn Turner St. John’s has welcomed Ricky Howsare as its new contemporary worship leader. He started work on July 6 and his first Sunday in worship was July 11. Ricky and his wife, Kimberly, are in the process of moving to Salisbury from Pennsylvania. Kimberly, a childcare provider, is taking care of selling…

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A sense of family: Grace Faller finds her place at St. John’s and beyond

By Susan Shinn Turner Grace Faller, a rising junior at East Carolina University, has recently begun a summer internship in Chicago. She’ll be working as a food and beverage intern at a country club. “I’ll be getting a ton of experience with this paid internship, as well as free living accommodations,” says Grace, the daughter…

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The Power of Words: Jeanie Moore publishes memoirs during quarantine

By Susan Shinn Turner During the great pandemic of 2020, Jeanie Moore realized she needed to do something both for her mental health and her spiritual health. So she wrote a book. “When I was recovering from knee surgery in mid-February, I realized I wasn’t going to get out,” Jeanie says, “and I decided to…

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Still Going Strong

For Over 50 Years, Yvonne Yost, Carole Parrott’s Mother, Has Served Cross of Christ Lutheran as Volunteer Organist By Susan Shinn Turner Rand and Yvonne Yost were married in June 1962 and started going to church at his home congregation, Cross of Christ in the Rimer community near Concord. Two months later, Yvonne became volunteer…

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St. John’s Members Volunteer in the Community

By Susan Shinn Turner While some volunteer groups connected to St. John’s are on pause, others are finding different ways to participate. The Rainbow Makers, which serves the Child Development Center, is idle for the moment, according to Amy Ritchie. “Until we can physically be back in the building, we’re not participating nearly like we…

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Congratulations to Amber Lawson: North Carolina’s Outstanding Biology Teacher Award

By Susan Shinn Turner Congratulations to Amber Lawson, who recently received the National Association of Biology Teachers’ Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for the state of North Carolina. Lawson is in her 20th year of teaching at Salisbury High School, where she has taught biology for 17 years. She has a degree in biology from Meredith…

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Luke Brown Accepts Position as Principal at Moorseville High

By Susan Shinn Turner As principal of Salisbury High School since 2014, Luke Brown wasn’t looking for a new position. But then a friend told him that the principalship of Mooresville High School had come open, and, after talking with his wife, Elissa, he decided to apply. Now, Brown is principal of Mooresville High School,…

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Remembering Pastor Doug Fritz

1927-2020 The Rev. Douglas Fritz, D.D., of Savannah, Ga., died July 28, 2020, at the age of 93. Pastor Fritz served St. John’s from Dec. 1, 1963 to Oct. 13, 1974, a tumultuous time in the life of the country. “Dad began at St. John’s the Sunday after Kennedy was assassinated,” remembers Robert, the oldest…

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