MESSENGER THE. Zion Lutheran Church - Sunbury, Pa Called by faith to share Christ s Love with all people MARCH 2019 ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH

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1 ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH 15 S. 5th St. P.O. Box 605 Sunbury, PA Sunday Ministries 8:00am Worship in the Chapel 9:05am Children s Music Program 9:15am Christian Education 10:30am Worship in the Nave Midweek Ministries 4:30pm Bible Study/ Supper 6:30pm Worship in the Chapel THE Address Service Requested MESSENGER NON-PROFIT.ORG. U. S. POSTAGE PAID Sunbury, PA. PERMIT No 167 MARCH 2019 Zion Lutheran Church - Sunbury, Pa Called by faith to share Christ s Love with all people Inside this Issue Our Lenten Journey Begins page 4 Council Reorganizes page

2 Sunday, March 3 Transfiguration of Our Lord Ash Wednesday, March 6th Imposition of Ashes/ Holy Communion 12:05pm and 6:30pm Sunday, March 10 1st Sunday in Lent Wednesdays: Morning Meditations and Breakfasts- Afternoon Bible Study, Meal & Services- see p. 4 Sunday, March 17 2nd Sunday in Lent Sunday, March 24 3rd Sunday in Lent Sunday, March 31 4th Sunday in Lent Elijah s Bowl in March Saturday, the 16th Zion s turn is the 3rd Saturday of every other month First Presbyterian Church, Market Street, Sunbury. Help is always needed and appreciated. Setup and prep begins at 9am. Helping the hungry both physically or spiritually 2 Book Club Luncheon March 13th at 12 noon. Paulie s in Sunbury We are reading Broken Girls by Simone St James. Audrey Brosius will be this month s discussion leader. For April 10th, we have chosen the book Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan. Read along with the club! March 1 Siri Dock David Laudenslager March 2 Amber Pincoskie Rachel Reitmeyer March 3 Harry Roberts, Jr. March 4 Margaret Warns March 5 Jack Mellinger Lisa Mertz March 6 Lester Ranck March 7 Steven Lundquist March 9 Russ Broscious, Jr. Jada Gunn March 10 Teresa Reitmeyer March 12 Walter Conrad March 13 Peggy Gheen Emily Hunt March 14 Travis Dorman March 15 Todd Hunt March 16 Boyd Mertz March 17 Chris Dock Lois Minnich Paul Shamp March 18 Marc Varano Linda Whary March 19 Ellen Mull Charles Walter March 20 Devan Eichner Haylee Nava Kerry Lenker March 21 Pauline Burgess March 23 Jared Pincoskie March 26 Clyde Daubert Bill Ruch March 27 Charmaine Siegfried March 30 Kathy Pyers Dennis Shaffer March 31 Timothy Williams If you are a member of the congregation, have a birthday in this month, but are not listed, please or call the church office. 11 Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church 15 South 5th Street PO BOX 605 Sunbury, Pennsylvania zionsunbury@ptd.net com OFFICE HOURS- Monday to Friday 9am- 4pm STAFF Rev. Richard Fangmann, Pastor Amy Graham Music Director David Reier, Choir Director Donna Deppen, Administrative Assistant Keith Kurtz Joey Smith, Sextons CONGREGATION COUNCIL Ben Heim President Sam Deitrick Vice President Kim Crissinger Secretary Cheryl Beeler Treasurer

3 On March 17th & 31st, we will be meeting in the Youth Center, 6:00 p.m. for discussion, activities, and food. Plan on taking part and watch for more information to come. Altar Set Up Linda Everitt Communion Set Up/Clean Up- 8am-Julie & Lester Ranck 10:30am Ben & Angie Heim Greeters- 8am Sue Phillips 10:30 am- John Apple, Tom Fetter, Judy Hoover 8am March 3 Kim Crissinger, Diane Fasold Communion Assistants March 10 JoEllen Freida, Chloe Dvorshak March 17 Cheryl Beeler, Linda Everitt March 24 Barry and Joyce Keefer Thank You to everyone who donated food items or money, displayed, counted, and packed up the food. Everything donated will go to Elijah's Bowl, Haven Ministry, and other local food programs! 10 10:30am Firman Abdil, Mike Dock Kim Bussey, Angie Heim Sarah Everitt, Bob Zimmerman Amy and Chris Minnich March 31-Sandy and Ron Holub Kristina Blessing, Debbie Dagle Tellers for March Audrey Brosius, Siri Dock A few weeks ago, on one of those snowy/icy days on which school was cancelled, Eileen and I found ourselves at home together. The weather was bad enough to prevent either of us from venturing out, and while we both had other things we could have done, we focused on a newly begun renovation project: the bathroom. For the next 9 hours, we removed lighting fixtures and shelves from the walls, tore up the tile flooring, patched holes; primed and painted the walls, medicine cabinet, and shelves. It was a long day but we accomplished a lot because we focused on one thing: remodeling the bathroom. Most days, however, are quite different. It seems like life today is spent running from one activity to another. We all have responsibilities to family and friends, to church, community, and organizations in which we are involved. We are employees, but also have interests/hobbies to pursue, and children in school activities to support. We make time to fulfill our tasks at home, our roles as citizens, and to care for our bodies. On an average day, we work hard to balance all of these parts of our lives and to get things done. While we all handle schedules a little differently, I think we ve all felt overwhelmed at one time or another by the demands of life today. With the Lenten season approaching, what if we looked at life differently? Instead of feeling the pressure of competing priorities within our lives, we begin to see our roles and responsibilities as opportunities to live out our who we are as a child of God. Faith in Jesus Christ is not meant to take it s place among all the other things in life. Faith is meant to transcend our schedules and inform all we do. It is a gift from God for all of life. It turns out that living each day as a beloved child of God frees us to be more loving spouses and parents, more conscientious employees, better teammates, and more engaged community members. Did our faith make Eileen and I better painters or tile removers? Maybe not, but it did help us be more patient and helpful to each other during a full day of working together in a very small room. That time together turned out just as important as what we accomplished, if not more. This Lenten season, we have a lot of things going on in the church. There are daily devotionals available, Lenten Breakfasts, Wednesday night Lenten Services with our Conference, Worship, Bible Studies. Yet these are not meant to be more demands for your time, but opportunities to reflect on who we are as children of God. By the grace of God, it may just help put the rest of our lives into perspective! Peace, 3 -Pastor Rich

4 Lenten Faith Journey Wednesdays in Lent Morning Meditations and Breakfasts- 7:30am - Service in the Chapel 7:55 am - Breakfast in the Social Hall These times of meditation and fellowship are open to all within our community with meditations led by area clergy. March 13th Rev. Richard Fangmann, Zion Lutheran Church March 20th Rev. Scott Kershner, Chaplain, Susquehanna Univ. March 27th - Capt. Jessica Duperree, Salvation Army, Sunbury April 3rd Dr. Dilip Abayasekara, Catawissa Ave. United Methodist, Snby. April 10th Rev. Lynn Schmoyer, First Reformed UCC, Sunbury Afternoon Bible Study, Supper and Services- 4:30pm-Bible Study/Discussion 5:30pm- Light Supper 6:30pm Tulpehocken Conference Joint Lenten Services Chad Hershberger, Director of Camp Mt. Luther, will be leading the Meditations/Discussions. Zion will be providing transportation or you may travel to each location independently. March 13th: Grace Lutheran, Shamokin (10 South Seventh Street) 20th: Zion Lutheran, Sunbury 27th: St. Mark s, Elysburg (225 Market St. ) April 3rd: United Lutheran, Sunbury (167 Seven Points Rd. ) 10th: St. John s Lutheran, Northumberland (300 Queen St.) 4 Sam Deitrick, Linda Everitt, and Diane Fasold were elected to three year terms on Church Council at the Annual Meeting held February 17th. Abby Higley was elected Youth member for a one year term. Council Officers for 2019 are: President Ben Heim Vice President Sam Deitrick Secretary Kim Crissinger Treasurer Cheryl Beeler Other members are; Steve Dagle, Larry Herrold, Georgena Smith, and Ned Swank. Thank you to these faithful members who serve in guiding Zion and to those who completed their terms; Kristina Blessing, Sue Phillips, Marianne Menapace and Bob Zimmerman. Would you like to learn to play handbells? The Bell Choir is in need of several ringers for the fall. If that s too scary, learn with the children. The children practice 9:05 to 9:20 each Sunday morning. Learn some ringing techniques in a very short time. Learn how easy it is. Join us. 9 Send your children and grandchildren to Camp Mount Luther this summer. There are many and varied programs for ALL ages. Dave Reier is your camp-person. Talk to him. There are brochures on the radiator covers in the back of the nave. Or go online, It is your camp! Use it! Embark on a journey to the Holy Land for a life changing experience; July 14,-25, 2020-Oberammergau & Israel- $3, pp. Tour Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Capernaum, Magdala, Mt. of Beatitudes, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Sea of Galilee Boat Ride, Dead Sea Scrolls, Abraham s Tent, then on to Oberammergau to experience the Passion Play. October 1-6, Sights of Germany; $2, pp. Munich, Passion Play Performance; Augsburg & Rothenberg, Heidelberg, Worms, & Mainz; Frankfort. If interested or for questions, call Judy Hoover or An informational meeting to be held/announced soon.

5 The Organ s Place in Congregational Worship What makes the organ so good at leading congregational singing? I think the primary benefit of using an organ in worship is the dynamic range and color that one can get out of the instrument. From the softest whispers to the grandest fortes, the organ is the only instrument that is capable of producing the sheer scale of volume that is needed to not only lead a congregation in singing, but also to provide accompaniment to a choir or soloist, and then to stand alone and perform its own solo repertoire. And the organ does this without amplification. A piano must be amplified unless the setting is small. A guitar cannot carry the weight of the congregation in singing unless it is projected through a sound system. The color is achieved by the different sounds at the organist s disposal. The range of pitches available are larger than a piano s range, even on a small instrument. Whereas a piano is one type of sound a struck wire string the organ can change sounds, pitch, volume all by selecting a handful of stops. From fiery trumpets to lush strings, to bright flutes and broad diapasons, the organ is a virtual orchestra unto itself. This is very useful when singing hymns and liturgy, as the combination of stops chosen can reflect the tone or text of the verses being sung, further aiding the congregation to understand and experience the words of the text. Another benefit is the organ s sustaining ability. Rather than constantly having to re-strike a key to sustain long notes or phrases, the organ can provide a long tone or pitch. With proper phrasing, the organist can mimic the breathing of vocal singing to help the congregation sing the text with more musicality and better interpretation. Yes, in our 21st-century world we have electronic guitar, pianos, and electric drums sets. These definitely have their place in contemporary worship styles. Yes, we can power up the amplifiers to fill the church with sound. Yes, we can simulate an organ on a keyboard. But the organ during a hymn only asks one thing of the congregation: Sing with me! 8 -Amy Graham Box Tops Updat e We have just donated 400 box tops to help our local schools!!! Not many more are needed to make it to 500 and I'm looking forward to making that goal by early March. Thank you to all who have been faithfully clipping and donating box tops! Your efforts are appreciated. -Pam Barni exercise involving movements performed in a slow, focused manner and accompanied by deep breathing. 1pm every Friday in the Youth Center Fellowship Group will meet at the welcome area after the 10:30 AM service on March 10 to go to Masser's Restaurant in Paxinos for lunch. The fellowship group will NOT meet in April due to Palm Sunday nor in May due to Mothers' Day! The group will meet again in June. Time and place to be announced! 5 Lent is time to contemplate Christ s ultimate sacrifice and the road to the cross. Many faithfully undertake personal sacrifice, be it financial, personal or physical during these 40 days. You will find the 2019 Lenten envelope in the center of The Messenger for this discipline. Alternative Lenten collection folders will also be available in the Nave Welcome Area along with Lenten devotionals. May your Lenten journey be one of reflection and renewal as we are again reminded of His sacrifice and the glory and triumph of the resurrection.

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