V I S T A S OCTOBER EVENTS

Transcription

1 V I S T A S The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church Our Mission: We are a welcoming family in Christ who serves by celebrating and sharing our many gifts. FROM THE PASTOR S DESK: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND YOUR CHURCH SUDDENLY DECIDED Your church is somewhere they can build solid friendships Your church is a safe place for their kids to talk about important stuff Your church actually helps when something goes wrong in your community Your church can help their family win at being a family Your church answers the questions they are really asking Your church gives them hope and a reason to believe What would happen if those of us who are in the church simply decide WE ARE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS I read this on a brochure about a conference. The ques7on stuck with me. What would happen? How would the neighborhood be changed if the church had this kind of posi7ve impact on people? What s more, another ques7on bubbled to the surface. What is keeping us from being that kind of a posi7ve influence on our neighborhood now? Do they know we exist? Probably. Do they know what we have to offer? Probably not. Do we have what they need? That is a good ques7on. What do we know about our neighborhood? What would we have to change to be a resource for our neighbors? Have we even had this kind of impact on our own members? Have we adequately been there for each other? In a previous congrega7on, I dropped by the church to re-fill my communion OCTOBER EVENTS kit. It was late alernoon and as I drove up, there was a young woman standing outside the Fellowship Hall. As I got closer, I could see she had two liole boys with her. One was riding a tricycle and one was riding the smallest bicycle I had ever seen. They were riding around and around, looking like they were having a great 7me. I approached the woman and introduced myself. She said she lives across the street. She asked if it was OK that they were riding here. I said, It is totally fine with me. as I secretly said to myself, I hope it is fine with the members/council. We visited a liole more. She said it is too dangerous to let her liole ones ride in the street and she is so glad we have this large parking lot, and even beoer, while her boys are small, the flat contained courtyard. She said she loves bringing her boys to ride here. It is safe. They can get some exercise and work off some of their energy. As we wound down the conversa7on, she said to me, I am so relieved you said it was OK. When you drove up I was just sure we were going to get in trouble for being here. That nearly broke my heart. All too olen people have the impression that they will be in trouble if they come to the church. We have our work cut out for us to change that percep7on because Jesus taught that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Paul wrote that as we walk by the Spirit we will discover the fruits of the Spirit growing in our lives: love, joy, peace, pa7ence, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gala7ans 5:22-23) and we will express the divine kind of love that is pa7ent and kind, not envious, boas^ul, arrogant or rude. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5) The church exists for the good of the world, not the other way around, but Chris7ans don t olen act like it. All too olen Chris7ans act as if the church exists for our own benefit. That isn t Jesus s way. Jesus gave his life for the benefit of all, not just those who followed him. It is our calling and task to give ourselves for the good of the world, to live for the good of our neighbor, to love God in the form of the stranger. When we do that, good news happens. blessings to you, Pastor Karla Oct. 1-6:00pm Bible Study at SVLC Oct. 2-6:00pm ABC Barn Staff Mee7ng Oct Men s Retreat at Luther Glen Oct. 7 - Blessing of LWR Quilts Oct. 8 - SVLC at T.A.C.O. - carpool at 3pm Oct Installa7on of Call CommiOee Oct. 15-6:00pm Bible Study /Dolores Buller s Oct Gather Bible Study, 10am at SVLC Oct O.W.L.S. at the Jordan s (see p. 2) Oct Work Party at SVLC, 9am - Quil7ng at SVLC / 10am-3pm Oct Pledge Sunday Oct ABC Barn Halloween Carnival, 6:30pm Oct Youth Group at SVLC, 5-7pm Oct SVLC Book Worms, Durham s, 5:30pm Upcoming Nov. 2/3 - WELCA conven7on in Menefee, CA Nov. 3- Turn your clocks back Daylight Savings Ends Nov Budget Forum, 9:30am Nov Budget Forum, 9:30am Nov Annual Congrega7onal Mee7ng, 12pm

2 SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Welcome to the World Ella Grace Landon and Sophia Baca see their new baby sister, born Sept. 20. Congrats and blessings to the whole family SVLC Book Worms The next mee7ng will be October 28 at 5:30 pm, at the home of Ann Durham, and dinner is potluck. We will be reviewing A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny. Hope to see you there Please contact April Froelich ( or afroelich7@gmail.com) to find out more. SVLC Youth Group The next SVLC Youth event is scheduled for Saturday, October 27 at SVLC. Join us from 5-7pm as we play games and enjoy one another s company. Contact Mr. Ron Blake at or rdkx3@yahoo.com Council Officers and Liaisons President: Shaunda Jacobson Vice Pres. / Inreach/Fellowship Liaison: Stephanie Jordan Secretary /Finance Liaison: Lori Schweighauser Treasurer / Stewardship & Memorials: Brent Lokensgard Evangelism Liaison: Vacant Music & Worship Arts Liaison: Lyle Swanson Educa7on Liaison: Joseph Schnurr Outreach Liaison: April Froelich Property Liaison: Mike Kaine Our Welcoming Family in Christ O.W.L.S. The Old, Wise Lutheran Seniors met in early April for the first 7me to discuss if there was any interest in forming a 55-and-over group for fellowship and service. Over twenty SVLC members aoended the Wine, Beer and Dessert gettogether Several service ideas and a wide range of fellowship/entertainment sugges7ons were discussed. Since SVLC was beginning the 7me of transi7on, it was agreed that we would wait un7l October to launch the group. One service idea discussed was hos7ng a Thanksgiving Feast for SVLC members who don t have plans to join family or friends. An entertainment sugges7on was to aoend a performance of the Lamb s Players during the Christmas holidays. The 7me to plan and get organized is upon us so the OWLS will be mee7ng at Larry and Stephanie Jordan s (3115 Stoney Oak Drive, Spring Valley) on Friday, October 19th at 7:00PM. Please bring wine OR beer OR dessert for four. Come on over ABC Barn Halloween Carnival / Thursday, October 25, 6:30pm The highlight of the ABC Barn year for the children is hands down, the Halloween Carnival. Mr. Ron and his Staff go all out to decorate, set up games, make treats, and plan costumes. The Holycrosses and the Swansons run a 7ght ship in the kitchen to prepare hot dogs and nachos for our hungry guests. The fun begins at 630PM sharp. There is nothing in the world quite like the sound of happy, excited liole people. Come see the ministry of our ABC Barn in ac7on for yourself. Your helping hands would be welcome in the kitchen beginning at 5:00PM. We would also like to have some SVLC members come at 6:15PM to greet the children and their parents when the gate opens at 6:30PM. A sign up sheet will be in the narthex. Any op7onal dona7ons received will be donated to Common Ground. The ABC Barn Halloween Carnival Crew from 2009

3 SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Celebrating Our Many Gifts SVLC Transi\on Update The Council, Transi7on Team, and Call CommiOee met with the Bishop s Assistant, Pastor Terry Tuvey Allen, on September 24th to review SVLC s Ministry Site Profile (MSP). In a nutshell, the MSP is a descrip7on of SVLC which will be sent to prospec7ve candidates who ask for more informa7on. It includes demographics of our congrega7on and the surrounding community, what is important to us, what we want to do in the future, our ministries, and what talents and strengths we would like our pastor to possess. Since being installed in July, the Transi7on Team has been working hard with Pastor Karla dis7lling the informa7on gleaned from our congrega7onal surveys into an informa7ve, readable document. When the Council had their first mee7ng with Pastor Terry back in June, she cau7oned us that this future mee7ng might be disheartening because she usually has had to send the Transi7on Teams back to the drawing board to make their MSPs more invi7ng to poten7al candidates. By the 7me the group had reached the middle of the document, a Council member asked Pastor Terry why she hadn t suggested any changes. She replied that the MSP was posi7ve, concise, and excep7onally well wrioen. Kudos and great thanks to our Transi7on Team Rebecca Carson, Pat Milliken, Bruce Potocki, Quen7n Baca, Judy Ellingson, Kevin Gannon, and Mike Kaine and Pastor Karla for doing such an extraordinary job for SVLC Thanks to your dedica7on and hard work, we are s7ll on the fast track to finding a new pastor Our MSP now awaits Bishop Andy s approval. Once approved, the Call CommiOee should receive their first list of candidates in a few weeks. Carol Andersen will chair the Call CommiOee. Please keep her in your prayers along with Rebbeca Carson, Rich Durham, Nancy Harrelson, Brad Monroe, Rich Papike, Leslie Atkins, and Heather McMillan that they may be open to the Spirit and to each other during this journey. Mannskor Call for Singers The San Diego Mannskor (Norwegian Men s Chorus) would like to invite any male singers to come and sing You don t have to be Norwegian - all men are welcome. We sing sacred and folk music, in both English and Norwegian, which we will teach you We prac7ce on Tuesdays, beginning October 9th, 7 PM at the House of Norway in Balboa Park. Please contact Jon Holmerud at holmerud@cox.net or 619/ if you have ques7ons. Photo below: Balboa Park, 2017 A lovely cross sculpture was created from found objects by ar7st and SVLC member Susan Osborn (see photo above). Soon this will be hung on the outside wall of our storeroom so that all who drive into our parking lot will be able to see it.

4 SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Worship in the Center From That Music Lady aka Gina Seashore, SVLC Minister of Music SVLC Choir always welcomes new voices. We are not looking for "perfect" voices - but, rather, those with a heart for spreading God's word through music. If God has given you a musical gil, please consider this ministry. We meet on Thursdays from 6:45-8:30 PM and sing approximately twice a month during church services. Re\rement Home Recommenda\ons? SVLC's choir mission is to "share God's message of love, forgiveness and salva7on and to bring comfort to God's people through music." We have decided to spend some 7me taking music on the road this year. We are looking for recommenda7ons for re7rement homes, nursing homes, or other places that might enjoy some music. Please talk to Gina between services or g.seashore@earthlink.net. LWR Quilt Blessing The sanctuary will become more colorful on Sunday, October 7, as we lay out several Lutheran World Relief quilts for blessing before they re sent out to bless others world-wide. These quilts become a source of comfort, warmth, shelter, and much more for our neighbors in need. We thank our SVLC quilters for all their hard work making them Bible Study at SVLC Want to get more out of the sermons? Come to the Monday evening Bible Study. Star;ng October 1, the lessons for the following Sunday will be read and pondered. The first 10 minutes will be a reflec;on on the sermon from the day before. The last 50 minutes will be reflec;on on the texts that will be featured in the sermon the following Sunday. We meet in the sanctuary on October 1 and 8, but beginning October 15, we will meet at the home of Dolores Buller who lives right down the street from SVLC at 3901 Dorsie Lane. Flower Help Wanted Beginning October 14, we will need someone to purchase and arrange altar flowers each week. This involves purchasing flowers from a local store or market and arranging them in the holders on Saturday evening or first-thing Sunday morning. All expenses are reimbursed and a small s;pend is provided. Contact the church office if you're SVLC Drama Team Our fall season is in full swing and we have already had our first performance Thanks Lyle, James, Leslie and Ed for their last minute willingness to perform in our latest skit. Keep an eye out for future opportuni;es to share your talents as we share the word. Blessings, Lori SVLC Drama

5 SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 News From The Closet on 54th Gree;ngs, Everyone - For August, we handed out 1,378 items of clothing, accessories and shoes to 152 people Sorry, but we are changing the October/ November schedule that was previously published updated below. I have been presented with an opportunity to go on a 3-week mostly already paid-for (subs;tu;ng for someone who can't go) trip to Spain and Italy that I just can't pass up. I will be gone October 17 through November 6. So...we are going to change the schedule a bit. Hours for September and October are as follows: Tue Oct 2, Thur Oct 11, Tue Oct 16 Fri Nov 9, Thur Nov 15, Tue Nov 20 Hours for all days are 11am-2pm. See the sign up sheet at SVLC to volunteer or contact Leslie Atkins. (la.atkins23@gmail.com) We will need to sort and restock on Friday October 12 and Thursday November 8. We will not have any sor;ng days while I'm gone, but with the ten folks who turned out for God's Work, Our Hands we were able to get all the winter coats yellow-tagged and ready for November, so we will be hanging them when we sort on November 8 as well as removing any Halloween costume lejovers. (Halloween items will be put out on the racks we when sort September 25.) Again we will be limi;ng folks to 1 yellow-tagged winter coat per person for the season. Thank you to everyone who donates ;me and clothing to keep this ministry going. Couldn't do it without all your blessings Blessings, Leslie Atkins, The Closet on 54th The Closet on 54th, th Street, San Diego Serving and Sharing in Response Shepherd of the Valley QuilCng Ministry Sunday ajer Sunday we see a beau;ful array of handmade quilts, blessed and prayed over leave our sanctuary for a variety of places. Prayers and Squares quilts go to the homes of our friends and families to cover the recipients in prayer and love. Project Linus quilts go to ill and trauma;zed children in San Diego County, and Lutheran World Relief quilts go all over the world; primarily to Third World countries and to provide comfort and warmth to people displaced by natural disasters in any part of the world. Have you ever wondered how this vital ministry got started at SVLC? It began (we re not sure what year) to provide Bap;smal quilts for SVLC s newest members. Around the turn of the century it evolved into making Prayers and Squares quilts. Margaret Johnson became involved with making these in Margaret believes the church women began making these 2 or 3 years before she became ac;ve. In 2007 and 2008 they began making prayer squares (one quilt block) for the chaplains at Grossmont Hospital to distribute to pa;ents. Some;me around 2010 the dedicated women of Shepherd of the Valley began making quilts for Lutheran World Relief. Prayers and Squares, Project Linus and LWR quilts remain the primary focus of the quil;ng Shepherdesses, as well as providing bap;smal quilts and high school gradua;on quilts. Our recent quil;ng gatherings have been apended by between 8 and 12 quilters. We need more You don t even have to have quil;ng skills. Can you use a pair of scissors? Tie your shoes? Sew on a bupon? Then we have need of your services. The primary requirement is a giving heart The quilters can teach you the rest The Quil;ng Ministry folks will meet next on Saturday, October 20 at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary. Men and women, boys and girls are welcome. RequesCng a quilt SVLC Prayers and Squares Quilt Request form (in the wall pocket located in the room next to the church office) must be completed with required informa;on. Fill out the form and give it to Pastor Karla, the church office, Camelia Gower or Martha Unger. Choose from quilts on the shelf and place it in the pink box on the bopom shelf. You must also inform SVLC Quil;ng Ministry member Sue Connors ( ); s.connors1@gmail.com; and the church office ( ); svlc.lamesa@gmail.com

6 SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Learning and Growing The Bishop s Gathering 2018 The East and West San Diego Conferences were invited to meet with Bishop Andy on September 23rd. The mee;ng was held at Calvary so it was also a great opportunity to see where our own Leslie Atkins operates her Closet on 54th ministry. Bishop Andy is a master of mee;ng management. His mee;ngs start and end on ;me and are filled with useful informa;on. At this mee;ng each of the twelve congrega;ons shared what ministries they are involved in and also shared what they needed. The usual needs a million dollars, new members, etc. are on every congrega;on s wish list, but our Council has plans to have an audit done early next year and there were a couple of other congrega;ons we could network with. Bishop Andy also talked about stewardship and other areas of concern, i.e., the shortage of rostered clergy, which greatly interested our con;ngent. I started apending the Bishop s Gathering four years ago, mostly out of curiosity to learn how things work in the ELCA. What impressed me most and con;nues to impress me, is how accessible our clergy is, including our Bishops and Presiding Bishop. For those of you who are cradle Lutherans I imagine that you re wondering why this accessibility is so unusual. Coming from a Catholic background, I can t recall ever seeing a Bishop, let alone being invited to meet or have a conversa;on with one The input from members was not considered or welcomed. All decisions came from the top down. Recently, I was talking with cousins who are Catholic, about our transi;on and how involved our Bishop and his staff are in the process. They were so envious that our congrega;on actually has a voice in choosing our next Pastor. As I looked around the room, I no;ced that although twelve congrega;ons were represented the apendance was sparse, maybe 70 including Synod staff and Pastors. Everyone is invited to the Bishop s Gathering so I convinced my husband to come with me. He hasn t stopped talking about how glad he is that he went and how much he learned about what is going on in other congrega;ons. I feel it is an honor that our Bishop wants to talk with and listen to us so I invite each of you to consider taking two hours out of your Saturday or Sunday to apend next year s Bishop s Gathering. Voter InformaCon On Sunday, October 14, at 9:30am Anita Reith (represen;ng the League of Women Voters) will be presen;ng non-par;san informa;on regarding the 12 Ballot Proposi;ons for our upcoming elec;on. And FYI, The Lutheran Office of Public Policy has excellent informa;on, regarding poli;cal and social issues, as well as several resources available at You may also want to check out ELCA Advocacy (advocacy.elca.org) to find out how you can get involved in social policy issues/changes. Suicide Awareness and PrevenCon Talk Sunday, October 21, between services Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the second leading cause of death for people age Suicide is a preventable tragedy. Preven;on may be a maper of a caring person with the right knowledge being available in the right place at the right ;me. Diane Louise will be sharing her personal story of losing her brother Scop to suicide, and speaking about the awareness and preven;on of this major public health problem. It s Stewardship Season at SVLC Isn t that exci;ng? Maybe exci;ng isn t the word you d choose to describe stewardship, but if you are in a posi;on to consider the ways in which your household is able to share with others; consider the tremendous blessings God has bestowed on your life, perhaps you ARE excited Perhaps you will be able to make a commitment to par;cipate in the missions and vision of Shepherd of the Valley by sharing your financial gijs. Sounds like a rather joyful thing to do Here s a bit from the ELCA s Stewardship 101 Stewardship is about more than money. Your use of money and all your other possessions is an important part of being a follower of Jesus. The word Steward comes from the Anglo-Saxon term sty warden, the person who took care of the pig sty The term evolved to describe anyone who is the keeper of another person s possessions. Steward describes your rela;onship with God, the creator. It helps you to see that God has Created me and all that exists (Luther s Small Catechism, Apostle s Creed, explana;on of the First Ar;cle.) And all that we are and all that we have, come from God as blessings. As a follower of Jesus Christ, it is your responsibility to care for and use these blessings wisely. This includes your ;me, rela;onships, talents, passions, energy, lifestyle, the environment and money. The money part includes the sharing of your financial resources to support God s work through the church. Day ajer day, dozens of families bring their children to Shepherd of the Valley s ABC Barn for care. Week ajer week dozens of people come to worship here. Month ajer month Shepherd of the Valley sends volunteers, quilts, food, clothing, and financial support to many places beyond our property. Your pledge helps the church council plan that work, and your contribu;ons make you an important part of that work Look for your pledge card in your church mailbox (in snail mail ajer October 7) and bring to worship on October 21.

7 Notecard sets featuring original art by program par;cipants at Doors of Change - are now available in the narthex for purchase (5 cards, each a different design, for $10) Put cash or checks (payable to SVLC) in the envelope provided or in the offering plate. Proceeds benefit Doors of Change. SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Many thanks to the apendees of TACO s No Show Gala. Current numbers for the event are close to $40,000 for this incredibly important ministry based at First Lutheran Church, providing two weekly meals and a variety of resources and services for homeless people and working poor in downtown San Diego. Shepherd of the Valley con;nues our regular schedule of serving the second Monday of every month this fall; this month on October 8 (then November 12.) Sign up in the narthex for the 3:00pm carpool from SVLC or just show up at First Lutheran. LSS Walk to Fight Poverty LSS San Diego Walk for Seniors, San Diego County This year s event will be a tour and wine tascng Date: Saturday, October 6th LocaCon: Clairemont Friendship Center 4425 Bannock Ave San Diego (Located adjacent to the North County Rec Center) Schedule: 9:00 am Registra;on 9:30 am Sign Dedica;on 9:45 am Walk-through the park 10:00 am Wine Tas;ng, Inside Senior Center Cost: $25.00 per person, includes 4 wine tas;ngs Light appe;zers will be served Proceeds Benefit the Cathy Hopper Friendship Senior Center For further informa;on contact the Senior Center: Connecting With Others in Mission for Christ Crisis House in El Cajon Receives High Ranking The HUD Con;nuum of Care (COC) is the regional planning body that coordinates housing and services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. CoCs develop a community plan that includes ac;on steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness. Each COC is required to rate and rank the projects in their region and submit a single applica;on for funding to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CoCs collect informa;on about homelessness in their region, for example, they organize the annual counts. These counts provide an overview of the state of homelessness in a CoC, and offer the informa;on necessary to redirect services, funding, and resources as necessary. The San Diego COC is made up of representa;ves from the County of San Diego, ci;es, private founda;ons, law enforcement, non-profit service providers, faith-based organiza;ons, and other interested par;es. Crisis house has received funding through the regional CoC for over 20 years. This year they applied for renewal funding from the CoC for two domes;c violence housing projects. Crisis House s projects were ranked and rated the highest performing projects in the en;re CoC That was out of 50 projects In addi;on, this year the CoC offered a domes;c violence bonus project. Among domes;c violence bonus projects submiped, Crisis House was rated again as the top project. This project, called Journey Forward, will offer both transi;onal housing and rapid re-housing. Journey Forward will be funded a year from now. This is a huge honor for the agency and great recogni;on of the work done at Crisis House. Shepherd of the Valley par;cipates in the Adopt-a- Family for Christmas program what more might we do in partnership with Crisis House? Common Ground is in full swing this fall and thanks Dolores Buller for a large stock of underwear for school children. We also thank James Weigelt for transpor;ng books and supplies. We are s;ll looking for someone to serve as a liaison for Casa de Oro elementary helping them stay connected with Common Grounds programs and services. This requires only about an hour each week and apendance at a one-hour monthly mee;ng. Volunteers for classroom help, food sor;ng (November) and bike building (December) are also desired. Interested? Contact the church office or Shaunda Jacobson.

8 Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church Fury Lane La Mesa, CA Phone: (619) web: SVLC Vistas The Green Season (Time After Pentecost) October 2018 Did You Know??? You can now make your offering online Go to SVLC.org at any ;me and click Online Giving to make a one-;me dona;on, set up an automa;c dona;on plan, change your dona;on plan, or view your online dona;on history. Thrivent sponsors this completely secure and confiden;al process through Vanco. Contact the church office if you need assistance or have any ques;ons. Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church Our vision: Extending God s welcome to all we meet along the way. SVLC Office: / ABC Barn Office: / svlc.lamesa@gmail.com Interim Pastor Karla Seyb-Stockton / karla.seyb.stockton@me.com / Ms. Gina Seashore, Minister of Music / g.seashore@earthlink.net Mr. Ron Blake, ABC Barn Director / rdk3@yahoo.com Ms. Tanya Quintero Campillo, ABC Barn Assistant Director / sweepwin@hotmail.com Ms. Jennifer Fenner, Parish Administrator / jenny.svlc@gmail.com Sunday Worship Schedule: 8:15am and 10:30am. Sunday School and nursery available at the 10:30 service Tuesday, October 2 Wednesday, October 10 Tuesday, October 16 Wednesday, October 24 Tuesday, October 30 SEPTEMBER PRESCHOOL CHAPEL DAYS Everyone welcome not just preschool kids Chapel is at 10am. PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS... - Our congrega;on and its staff and leaders, transi;oning to new pastoral leadership - People who are discriminated against because of the color of their skin, their na;onality, their sexual orienta;on, or the capabili;es of their body and mind - Communi;es affected by fire and other natural disasters - Local, Na;onal and World Leaders STEWARDSHIP NOTES: "THE MORE THAT PEOPLE GIVE THEMSELVES TO CHRIST, THE MORE CAPACITY FOR GIVING GOD IS GOING TO GIVE THEM." ---UNKNOWN Please send photos and ar;cles for Vistas by the 15th of the month prior to svlc.lamesa@gmail.com