Wednesday Evenings: March 4, 11, 18, 25 Soup Supper at 6:00 PM Worship at 6:45 PM

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1 Agnus Dei Lutheran Church Gather in grace Grow in faith Go in service Wednesday Evenings: March 4, 11, 18, 25 Soup Supper at 6:00 PM Worship at 6:45 PM During our Wednesday evening Lenten worship each week, you will have the opportunity to come forward with food or check donaons for our Food Backpacks 4 Kids program. Suggested foods that we use are: hearty soup, canned chicken, tuna, 16oz pasta, pasta sauce, chili, instant oatmeal, granola bars, mac'n cheese, instant hot chocolate packets. We currently are serving 60 students each week that school is in session. Your donaons keep our cupboard stocked! Soup Supper Providers:March 4: Council, March 11: Men s Groups, March 18: Youth and Others, March 25: Prayer Shawl Ministry and Quilters Calendar...p.12 Celebraons...p.10 Council Message...p.4 Human Concerns...p.9 Faith Community Nurse.p.5,6 Pastors Message...p.2,3 Stewardship..p.6,7 Worship Schedule..p.13 Palm Sunday March 29 Palm Sunday, March 29th 8:30 and 11:00 Worship with Holy Communion Maundy Thursday, April 2 7:00 PM Worship with Holy Communion, Stripping of the Altar Good Friday, April 3 7:00 PM Worship Easter Vigil, April 4 7:00 PM Worship, Welcome New Members, Holy Communion Easter Sunday, April 5 Fesval Service of the Resurrecon of our Lord 8:30 and 11:00 Worship with Holy Communion

2 From Our Pastors Learning from the Lile Ones We have been so enjoying our me with the preschool children from Lile Lambs. Their joyful noises and presence in the building is incredibly upliing and brings a smiles to many people. We also have the privilege to share in chapel me with them each week. We teach, but we learn too. We share in stories and songs, prayers and offerings. It is a truly a holy me. We also have been so enjoying Story Time on Sunday mornings during worship. Stories are a core part of our lives together as Chrisan community. It is good to tell stories in worship that are parcularly accessible to the youngest among us. During Lent, we are all encouraged to deepen our faith. Oen, this is lived out in prayer or trying something new. So during Story Time during lent we will focus on telling two stories. The first is the story of pung away our alleluias. Why do they disappear during Lent? How can we prepare to celebrate their return? The second story, is the story of the Lord s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and teaches us. During Lile Lambs chapel me, we have been learning moons for the Lord s Prayer. Movement is an important way we all learn, but it is especially helpful for young children. As we grow, we connue to pray this prayer, and the words take on new meaning as we come to understand what they mean. So, for small children, the moons help them learn the words, even if they are sll growing into what they mean! So as we journey through Lent, we will reflect in Story Time on the Lord s Prayer and learn some moons to go with them. We encourage all to learn with us, and for children (and adults too!) to feel free to express those moons when we pray the Lord s Prayer during worship. Peace and Joy, Pastor Stephanie and Pastor Seth Lutheran 101 Whether you are thinking about joining Agnus Dei or are a long me member. Whether you are a lifelong Lutheran, or have only recently hear the word Lutheran, this class is for you! Wednesday evenings during Lent, we will explore what it means to be Lutheran: the basics of our confession, the impact of the Lutheran church on the world and much more! We will meet in the Sanctuary from 7:30 8:30. Classes will be led by the pastors. Feb 25 th Grace and the Sacraments March 4 th Marn Luther and the Reformaon March 11 th - Lutherans at work in the world March 18 th Lutheranism compared to other denominaons March 25 th Wrap Up/Q&A 2

3 Youth Group Youth Group happens every 1 st and 3 rd Wednesday of the month, from 5pm 7pm. Youth Group in March meets on the 4 th and 18th. All high school students are welcome. During Lent, we will share have Bible Study/ Fellowship and then join with the congregaon for Soup Supper and worship. Naonal Youth Gathering Meeng Aenon Detroit travelers this month s meeng will be on Tuesday, March 10 th from 5:30pm 6:30pm in the youth room. See you there! Naonal Youth Gathering Fundraisers Mark your calendars for the 2015 Chili Cook-Off/Talent Show! On April 25 th, we will gather for a favorite ADLC acvity with a twist. There will be a silent aucon and dessert aucon to support the NYG trip. Have an item or idea for the silent aucon? You can drop it off at the church office or contact Alynne Gootkin at or alynnegootkin@comcast.net We also have firewood for sale, delivered to and unloaded at your home! Price is $100 for a pickup-load full! Contact Pastor Stephanie to schedule a delivery date! Luther labor is back! Need some help around the house or in your yard? On March 14 th and 28 th there are friendly faces and able bodies to help out. Contact Pastor Stephanie to get on the schedule! Pastor s Visits We are thoroughly enjoying geng to know you all beer! We connue to work through the directory, seng up mes to meet with each household, either in your home or here at church. So, if your last name starts with A - F, know that we will be contacng you soon to set something up. The sole purpose of the visits is to get to know you beer! What are the greatest joys in your lives? What are your greatest challenges? What do you love about Agnus Dei? What are your dreams for the church? We look forward to vising, Pastor Seth and Pastor Stephanie Join our pastors for a weekly bible study based on the leconary on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 AM in the youth room. It will be led by either Pastor Seth or Pastor Stephanie depending on which of them will be preaching that Sunday. All are welcome! Please let Pastor Seth and/or Pastor Stephanie know if you are in need of pastoral care. If you would like to be contacted by one of our pastors please call the office at or them at pastorstephanie@agnusdeilutheran.org or pastorseth@agnusdeilutheran.org. In an emergency, you can reach Pastor or Pastor

4 Greengs from your Church Council, It seems like spring is right around the corner! We hope this update finds you and your family well. The council met on February 12 and discussed some upcoming decisions. The pastors reported that the Youth Group meengs are successful and wellaended, which we were very excited to hear. We are in the very early stages of exploring our opons for expanding the worship area in our sanctuary to accommodate more worshipers during full services. Aer exploring our relaonship with Tacoma Lutheran Rerement Community this past month, we approved a moon to increase our giving to $500 a year. We are looking for some delegates to send to the Synod Assembly. We hope to finalize our delegate volunteers this month. We will next meet on March 12 th. Please contact any one of us with any concerns you would like us to consider at our meeng. Your Church Council Peace and Blessings, Your Church Council Jeanette and Loren Carlander Audrey Clinton Judy and Dick Latimer Jerry Moore Dave Roberts Myra Snider Jack Stier Rose VanderKlomp Alene Wilkes Serving Our Country: Jason Barelli, U.S. Navy Matt Fistler, U.S.A.F.(Carlander s Grandson) Staton West, U.S. Army Don and Sharon Krump and family as they mourn the death of their brother-in-law, Jim Greenlee 7 4 SERVE IN WORSHIP Your help is needed! There are many opportunies to serve in worship at Agnus Dei, perhaps there is an area in which you are called to serve? Lectors and Assisng Ministers assist during worship; Altar Guild helps with set up for communion; Ushers provide hospitality to our congregaon and to visitors; Greeters and Communion servers welcome people at the door and help worship leaders distribute communion; sound volunteers ensure that all can hear. There are many roles both in leading worship and supporng those who lead. Training is readily available. Please let one of the following people know how you can help. Assisng Ministers Shari Shull Communion Servers/Greeters-Marilyn Hermstad Ushers Marilyn Hermstad Offering Counters Linda Ribary Altar Guild-Dianna Carlson Lectors Marilyn Colyar Sound System Team Leader Needed Altar Flowers Dianna Carlson

5 Faith Community Nurses Zoe Holmes, Teresa McDonald, and Gwen Daugs And, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 NIV Bible What do you have planned for Lent this year? Are you giving up a favorite dessert or coffee, perhaps? The earliest Church Lenten fasts severely restricted all foods, but this pracce gradually eased. Pope Gregory the Great ( ) wrote that "We abstain from flesh meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs." This version of the fast was the standard of the Roman Catholic Church throughout most of the Middle Ages. It is not expected that you would give up the foods that were restricted during the Middle Ages. However, I did come across an interesng from Porco Benefits Services earlier this year. Porco Benefits Services is a ministry of ECLA, which provides health and financial services to pastors and their families, along with thoughul wellness informaon (if interested, see Porco s 2015 featured wellness acvity invites you to strengthen your emoonal well-being through daily prayer. Intenonal, daily prayer can help us calm our minds, clarify our relaonship with God, and restore our sense of self. Less encumbered by fear and anxiety, we re more resilient people, beer able to shape healthy, resilient communies. If this whole idea of taking on the task of daily prayer sounds too difficult, listen to what is expected before you skip to another arcle in this newsleer. The name of the acvity is called Be Sll: Strive to pracce 5 10 minutes a day. (Be gentle with yourself if you need to skip a day or shorten your pracce.) Be paent. Let yourself discover a rhythm for your best me of the day to be sll. When you find a me that works, stay with it. If you struggle with that me, make an adjustment. Explore how your pracce of being sll feels at different mes of the day: upon rising, at mid-day, at dusk, before going to bed. Remember, your goal isn t to cram one more thing onto your plate. It s to establish a regular prayer pracce that helps you live a more centered life. Be Sll has three components. The first is gratude. Here are four ways to think about gratude. What am I most grateful for? How is God present in that? What am I troubled by? How is God present in that? One way to think about how you might answer each of the four above quesons is to simply sit and reflect on these quesons in quiet mediaon. Another way might be to share your answers with others, and listen to their answers, in a group seng. Journaling is another way of pondering these quesons for those who believe that when we write with our hands, our words are closer to our hearts. And even another way to answer these quesons might be to take these quesons with us on a daily walk, or jog, to contemplate with our footsteps. Our bodies oen register emoons before our minds do. In answering these quesons through movement, you may noce a sense of mental calmness come over as you quiet your mind. There are ancient roots in this gratude exercise. Daily Examen was developed in the 16 th century by Ignaus Loyola as a thoughul process to look at our day s events to detect God s presence and direcon in our lives. The second part of Be Sll is called strength and vulnerability. With our Lutheran assigned scriptures for each day of the week, this prayer pracce suggests that you read the scripture three mes. First listen for a word or phrase that touches your heart. Upon reading the scripture again, reflect on how this scripture relates to you on that day. Upon your third reading, open yourself to what you can see or do or become as a result of this reading. There are ancient roots for this kind of pracce as well. Leco Divina, or divine reading, started in early monastery communies and invites slow, prayerful readings of scripture. 5

6 (parish nurses connued) The third part of Be Sll has to do with a prayer labyrinth, which also has ancient roots. For centuries, labyrinths have been found in religious tradions. It is suggested that you download a wholeness wheel labyrinth for this exercise. The labyrinth, downloaded, is a replica of the 13 th century French Chartres Cathedral. You can pray the wellness labyrinth daily by tracing your finger from entrance and following the path to the center. Each me you use the labyrinth, carry one of these quesons: In what areas of my life am I strong? In what areas of my life am I vulnerable? In what areas of my life might God be nudging me toward? Using the six weeks of Lent to parcipate in Be Sll can lead to establishing a new habit of daily prayer. Be creave and establish your own way of developing daily prayer in your life. If daily prayer becomes a part of your life, you will noce, in me, a sense of well being, a strengthening of emoonal health. However, well being is made up of interconnecng dimensions. If you tend to one area, like emoonal health, it can lead to improving other areas in your life. As your parish nurses, our hope is that you will find something meaningful to aend to during Lent. Please contact one of the three of us if you have quesons about wellness or any other health related issues. Stewardship You hear a lot of strange things about thing. Some say it is a church tax, and they expect me to pay it and that is the end of it. Others say that when I give to God one-tenth of my income, He blesses the nine-tenths that is le to that the nine-tenths now goes as far as the whole thing used to go. This isn t really true, is it? Suppose a farmer had 100 bushels of corn in a barn and he decides to plant 10 bushels in the ground. What mulplies? Is it the 90 bushels that he has le in the barn? Oh, no. All of us farmers know it is the 10 bushels you put in the ground that mulplies. Similarly, it is the 10 per cent that you give to God that mulplies. Stanley Tam (1915- ), American business and philanthropist. For those of you who do not know who Stanley Tam is (which included me unl I looked him up), he is the founder of US Plasc Corp, and has made millions of dollars. I don t know how much money Mr. Tam made before 1955, but in 1955 he gave his enre business to God (it is now owned completely by a non-profit organizaon) and more than $140 has been made for the Lord s work. Please think prayerfully about your giving to God s work. Mike Snowden, Stewardship Commiee Sharing our Gifts Stewardship Update Thank you to all, good and faithful stewards. February Attendance February February February Ash Wednesday 54 February General Fund Giving Report General Fund: Goal Actual % of Goal Annual $384,000 February $32,000 $28,764 90% Year to Date $64,000 $55,054 86% 2015 Designated Giving Report February Year to Date Building Fund $530 $1060 FISH (local food bank) $305 $745 World Hunger $1090 $2345 Organ Lease $370 $765 Building Fund Balance $89,

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8 Sundays at 9:40 The pervasive emoon in our culture today, some would argue, is FEAR. And it is easy to see why. We are bombarded daily with events and condions which cause us to be fearful: destrucon of the environment, global warming. exncon of many species, diseases like ebola and even measles, terrorism and ISIS, immigraon, crime, racism, police brutality, deterioraon of the family and tradional values.... and the list goes on and on. During this Lenten season, Forum will explore some of the fears we face in contemporary life, thinking about how we can react and respond to the litany of fears which seem to be a part of the human condion. As a prelude to the series, helping us understand the psychology of fear were Jill and David Moore, Agnus Dei members, who teach at the University of Puget Sound as well as pracce privately. Jill and David introduced the topic of fear on February 22 by exploring how fear affects us and how fear of the unknown or the other can cause us to act irresponsibly. Speakers for March include the following: March 1: Michael Rupert, Lieutenant with the Washington State Patrol, will discuss the police perspecve of some of the recent confrontaons which have occurred recently. Michael is the son-in-law of Phyllis Brandt, and his African-American background brings an interesng and unique perspecve to the table. March 8: Kelly Bussey is the current Police Chief of Gig Harbor. His presentaon will be directed to personal security and safety, exploring home security, cyber security, personal security in public spaces and other concerns which we all face on a day-to-day basis. March 15: Mary Beth Lepper. Mary Beth, an aorney and pro bono chair for the Washington State Chapter of American Immigraon Lawyers Associaon, helps immigrants connect with an aorney. She will offer her perspecve on how fear drives the polical discussion on current immigraon law and reform, and will suggest how we as a congregaon or as individuals might help advocate for immigraon freeform that is fair, reasonable, workable, and healthy. March 22: Talia Mills. Talia is the current program coordinator for Refugee Recepon and Placement for Lutheran Community Services Northwest. She has worked in Namibia in development, and has also worked with vicms of human trafficking and refugees with the Internaonal Rescue Commiee. Talia will discuss the reselement of refugees in the U.S. and how fear impacts this process. March 29: Robert Holczer. Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated in April (April this year), and helping us to understand and remember these horrific events of the last century is Robert Holezer, a friend of Ghita Lorenz and a survivor of the holocaust. This series of Forum Presentaons/Discussions will be of wide interest to members of our congrega- on, and everyone is encouraged to come at 9:40 on Sunday mornings to parcipate, learn, and reflect and perhaps even change our thinking. The Forum Commiee: Tom Bradford, Marilyn Colyar, Peter Liljengren, Ghita Lorenz, Pastor Seth Novak, Randy Spitzer. 8

9 Human Concerns A picture really is worth 1000 words. Your January TP donaons were gratefully received by Peninsula FISH in early February. Personal care items are always needed as well as food items and cash. Items can be le at the Donaon Staon any me. The enlarged space at FISH is very efficient and welcoming for clients. Our Rose V. gives personal tours on Monday, Thursday and Friday. Just give her a call to schedule and show up at the back side of the Eagles (next to the Hi-Iu-Hee- Hee on Burnham Drive). Sadness! January Toilet Paper Drive for FISH Our Souper Bowl needs your help. We are struggling to reach 500 Labels/Boxtops for for Educaon. So, please look into the depths and crannies of your kitchens to find those coupons you ve been meaning to toss in the Souper Bowl. We can do it! Food Backpacks for Kids Lenten Stock-up During Lenten Wednesday services offerings of food and cash will be collected for Food Backpacks for Kids. The goal is to fill the FB4K cupboards before Easter. Right now we are filling 60 backpacks every week, so food doesn t stay in the cupboard very long. Restocking the FB4K cupboards Coming on April 9 th Another of our fabulous lasagna dinners will be served at Peace Lutheran. So, if you see a sale of frozen lasagnas or juice, you can get a jump on that event. Dinner at Peace Lutheran, October 2014 Thank you, Ronnie Kulman Human Concerns Commiee Also, coming in April a collecon of women s professional clothing and accessories for WWE, a group in Tacoma that trains women to return to the workforce. So, if you are cleaning closets, and are ready to donate clothes, shoes, scarves, etc., set those items aside for a repurposed life at WEE. 9

10 This Month at Agnus Dei--(all meetings at church unless noted.) Wednesdays, 9:45 am--back Packs 4 Kids in the community room. Donations always welcome. For information Contact Phyllis Brandt or Pat Borgen Wednesdays, 10:30 am Lectionary Study with our pastors in the Youth Room, Wednesdays, 1:30-3:00--Prayer Shawl Ministry meets in the ADLC Youth Room. All knitters and crochet enthusiasts are welcome! Contact Gwen Daugs Wednesdays during Lent, 6:00 Soup Supper, 6:45 Worship details on front page Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Adult Choir, Contact Shari Shull, (will follow Lenten Weds worship through Lent) Thursdays, 10:00 AM Church Staff Meeting Fridays, 10:00 am--augsburg Bible Study in the community room. Contact Rose VanderKlomp March 7, Saturday, 8:30 am--men s Square at the Sunset Grille, Breakfast and Bible Study. Contact Steve Carlson March 7, Saturday, 8:30 am--women s Circle at the Sunset Grille, Breakfast and Bible study. Kayaking or walking for those who wish. Contact Sonja Miller March 12, 7:00 PM Council Meeting in the Community Room March 17, 1:30 pm--gather Bible Study in the community room. Social time begins at 1:00 pm followed by the study found in the March Gather Magazine, for more information contact either Marge Olmsted or Barb Deák March 19, Thursday, 5:30 pm-- Theology on Tap at The Marketplace Grille. Contact Doug McDonnell Continued... March 2015 S M T W T F S March 20, Friday, 7:00 pm--agnus Dei Book Group in the community room. Contact Neal VanDerVoorn March 24, 1:00 Quilting for Lutheran World Relief in the Community Room March 26, 12:00 Dining for Women Gig Harbor Chapter meets in the Parish Hall diningforwomen.org MARCH BIRTHDAYS 1 Selma Sloth 2 Zoe Holmes 3 Alicia Carter 5 Ryan Page 6 Yvee Harshman Celebrations: 7 Gail Campbell, John Barelli 8 Kathy Chakerian, Chuck Anderson 9 Tracy Clark 10 Rick Harshman 11 Ghita Lorenz 12 Joseph Duncan 14 Ehren Gossler 13 Ryan Leacy, Jerry Moore 15 Christopher Frazier, Kimberly Morgan, Martha Johnson 17 Aidan Meacham 19 David Schinkel 23 Doug McCraw, Marian Borg 25 Dave Horton 26 Jim Adair 27 Cathy Adair, Don Heinz 28 John Spadoni 30 Pat Humlie MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 3/78 Doug McDonnell and Kathy Fox 25/95 Mark and Leah Frazier 10

11 We are thankful to Denny Sapp for his work on the video surveillance system. Steve Carlson for organizing the many repair and maintenance projects in and around the building Elmer Wagner for his help with the kitchen range. Everyone who serves in worship in so many ways! Pat Damron for sharing her photography skills. Don and Sharon Krump would like to thank everyone who kept our brotherin-law, Jim Greenlee, in their prayers. Sadly he lost his battle with multiple myeloma on 12 February 2015 Thank you from the Women s Retreat Committee: The Women s Retreat Committee wishes to thank everyone for supporting the homemade candy sale in February. The proceeds will reduce the cost of the annual retreat for everyone and help to provide scholarships. Organ Benefit Concert Save the Date Sunday, April 3 PM Organ Plus Strings Shari Shull, organ; John Scanlon, viola; Richard Treat, cello Little Lambs Preschool Registration for the school year is now open. If you or someone you know is looking for a quality preschool education, please tell them about Little Lambs. Word of mouth is our best advertising! Agnus Dei is now on facebook! We will post news, photos and events. Add us to your favorites as another way to keep in touch with what is happening at Agnus Dei. Like and Share posts so other will see them too! 11

12 Agnus Dei Lutheran Church Calendar Daylight Savings Time Spring Forward One Hour 12 MARCH 2015 For more information see event details on page 10

13 Serving in Worship March 2015 Serve in Worship Schedule Coordinators: Altar Guild: Dianna Carlson Altar Flowers: Dianna Carlson Assisting Ministers: Shari Shull Communion Servers and Greeters: Marilyn Hermstad Lectors: Marilyn Colyar Offering Counters: Linda Ribary Ushers: Marilyn Hermstad Sound System: Position Open 13

14 The monthly newsletter of Agnus Dei Lutheran Church Peacock Hill Ave NW Gig Harbor, WA Submit newsletter items, subscription requests and address changes to Editor/Administrative Assistant: Cindy Beals Church Staff Pastor: Rev. Stephanie McCarthy , Pastor: Rev. Seth Novak , Minister of Music, Shari Shull, A.I.M , Pianist, Susan Luebeck Administrative Assistant, Cindy Beals , Council President Carol Dana Treasurer, Lance Colyar Financial Secretary, Pat Humlie Asst. Fin.Secretary, Rose VanderKlomp Zoe Holmes, Parish Nurse Gwen Daugs, Parish Nurse Teresa McDonald, Parish Nurse Jack Stier, Parish Sexton Council John Barelli, Marlene Bridgforth, Steve Carlson, Lance Colyar, Carol Dana, Ehren Gossler, Don Krump, Linda Olson, Tim Wilson Little Lambs Preschool Director/Teacher Shannon Moore Board President Debbie Snowden Financial Secretary Kimberly Morgan Secretary Kristin Page 14