From the Desk of Pastor Travis

Transcription

1 From the Desk of Pastor Travis Greetings Fellow Missionaries in Jesus, in the name of our Risen and Living Savior! Can you believe it? Wow! It has been six months that I have had the honor of being your pastor. Six months! For some of you it may seem like a year already. And for yet others you re thinking that has flown by! For me, I cannot believe how fast time is flying, and that is good. You know, time flies when you re having fun. And I must say that I sure am enjoying my time with you and I have a lot of fun along the way too! You need to know something very important. Really important! Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Worth, is different than any other congregation I have served. Let me show you how: Most congregations I ve served thus far, the first year is spent working on helping them be more friendly, outreach oriented, and trying to bring some more modern aspects (like screens and praise music) into the worship service. I ll be honest with you, it usually is a pretty rough beginning. Most churches will say, Yes, we want you to be our pastor and help us try new things. But in reality they really don t mean it. But here, you are already light years ahead. You ve stepped forward in trying new things in worship. You re already outreach oriented. And my golly, there is no way anyone could ever say that Christ is not friendly. No way! I will be bold in saying this, Christ Lutheran Church is the most wonderful congregation I ve been to. In fact, when I visited here for my interview I left saying that this congregation has Church Newsletter Issue #5 May 2016 it. They have passion. They have desire. They have love- real love to offer. They truly want a pastor to help them go and grow (both personally and as a congregation). It wasn t just lip service. It was a real, genuine desire that I could feel in the air. And, I still do! Here is the reality of where we are. First, as I already said, together we are light years ahead of where most congregations are at this point with a new ministry. Second, you know how to love and you love very well. What do I mean by that? This is the most genuine, caring, kind, compassionate people of God that I have ever been blessed to be around. You may not see it. You may think this is how all churches are. But I am here to tell you, you are a very special and wonderful Christian family. Don t ever doubt that. Don t ever lose it! So back to where we are We are poised, equipped, and ready to grow. We are on the cusp of changing our community in Christ! We are on the verge of seeing the Kingdom of God exponentially multiply right under our noses! Sound exciting? I sure hope it does. Here at Christ, everything is in place! So, here is the next step. Simple. True. Real. Are you ready? The next step is to start making friends. Get to know people you live near, work with, go to school with. Get to know their lives, their joys, and their burdens. Get to know just one person (that s all it takes)- really get to know them and show them Jesus! That s it! No fancy words. No spectacular speech or right thing to say. Show them the love that I know is already overflowing in you that I see here at Christ! Let them experience you, your love, Jesus love! And I promise, I guarantee, Christ will grow! We will grow in our faith lives. We will grow in mission and ministry. We will grow in new family members! We will grow! All along the way, don t worry, I am here with you supporting you, loving you, cheering you on. Crying with you when times get hard. Laughing with you when things are silly and fun. Holding and carrying you when you need some rest! Running into the trenches of life with you to fight the good fight and win people for Jesus! I am here building you up and helping you to grow in the Word and celebrating the Sacraments with you! I am here to be the presence of Jesus to you! I am here. For you! I will never judge you or think bad of you. I will never turn away from you. I promise to share tough love when its needed and gentle, grace-filled love too! But together, as we go and as we grow, beautiful things are in store for us here at Christ Lutheran, Fort Worth. Oh, and by the way, Jesus is with you always! That is the most important thing in all the world. Jesus loves you and so do I! In the shadow of the cross, Pastor Travis

2 Greetings and Blessings to You All, CLC Safety Ministry Update Many of you may be following the story of Terri Missy Bevers, the 45-year-old fitness instructor and mother of three who was murdered at Creekside Church of Christ in Midlothian two weeks ago. A suspect dressed in full police tactical gear was captured on surveillance cameras wandering the halls prior to and after the homicide. This case has garnered national attention and continues to be a true whodunit for authorities as they shift through evidence and tips at a feverish pace. Certainly, police are holding many of the details close to their vests, but there are some known facts that paint a picture and provide the rest of us with a few lessons to consider. To be clear, I am not blaming the victim. There is nothing worse than a Monday morning quarterback casting blame and pointing fingers not having actually been in her shoes nor knowing what and how things transpired. We can, however, always use incidents like these to consider and discuss possible lessons that may increase our own level of safety consciousness. The first thing to consider is the time of the day. Statistically, most crime occurs at night. Criminals prefer not to be detected or noticed, so they will often times venture out after dark. Bevers arrived at 4am to the church to prepare for a 5am fitness class. According to reports, the suspect had already arrived at the church prior to Bevers arrival. The suspect s intent will not be known until caught, but one of two scenarios most likely occurred. Either the suspect was breaking into the church and Bevers interrupted him/her, or Bevers was specifically targeted and the rest of the scene was staged to look like a burglary. Either way, when we have reason to be out after dark, our level of awareness should be higher and extra precautions should be taken travel in groups (or at least in pairs), consider carrying some sort of personal protection, take extra time to scan the environment and limit distractions (more on this in a minute). The second thing to consider is the use of surveillance cameras and monitored alarm systems. If you do not think that cameras or an alarm monitoring service are important, then this incident should provide a second thought. Though cameras do provide a small level of deterrent effect, they are not used to prevent crimes. Cameras are a tool typically used after a crime is committed to assist in an investigation. Without the images captured at Creekside Church in Midlothian, police would be in a much tougher spot in regard to solving this crime. Video cameras (including placement and quality) and an effective recording system can be a powerful tool in the protection and monitoring of our property. More importantly, it can be a useful tool should law enforcement require it for an investigation. Additionally, monitored alarm systems will summon the police when motion and/or glass-breakage is detected. It is also possible that live-stream video over the internet could provide a company or church personnel a look into the church when an alarm is tripped. A third thing to consider is the location. Often times people consider church properties as untouchable a sanctuary from evil and a place that will always provide safety. It is important that we are not blinded by this misconception. The church is the people not the building. A building is simply another potential target for criminal intent. Some may argue that a church building is actually an easier target, because it is soft (lower security features, etc.). Many people following the Bevers story have made comments to suggest of course she was targeted, why else would someone break into a church to steal bulletins? As a matter of fact, church burglaries are very popular because criminals know there is computer equipment, electronics, musical equipment, etc. that are easy targets (and easy to sell/pawn), as well as the potential for cash to be on property because of charitable giving/tithing. Finally, we should consider the concepts of situational awareness and establishing or understanding baselines. A person in a church wearing full tactical gear by him/herself and without a police presence in the parking lot is not normal. Broken glass at an exterior building door (though we don t know if this occurred before or after the homicide) is not normal. Being distracted and not careful of our surroundings (in this case preparing for a class without more people [eyes] present) IS normal, but should not be. What we must do is limit the distractions in our lives and live in condition yellow so that we place ourselves in the best position to recognize and prevent harm. If situational awareness, establishing baselines and color codes are foreign to you don t worry, a training is coming (teaser!). As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the safety and security of our church, or feel free to drop a suggestion in the box in the Narthex. In His Service, Matt Pedersen Board Chair

3 MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Worship Every Sunday 9:30 am Sunday School & Every Sunday 10:45 am Adult Bible Class Men s Breakfast Every Wednesday 7:00 am at Rise and Shine Women s Bible Study Every Wednesday 9:30 am Choir Rehearsal Every Wednesday 6:00 pm Barnabas House Every Mon, Wed, Fri 11:30 am Braille Workers Tuesday, May 3 8:30 am at St. Paul s Men s Network Saturday, May 7 7:30 am Men s Network Bowling Tuesday, May 10 7:45 pm Elders Meeting Tuesday, May 17 7:00 pm Youth Car Wash Saturday, May 21 All Day MMB Meeting Tuesday, May 24 7:00 pm Senior Luncheon Tuesday, May 24 11:30 am Restorative Exercise Tuesday, May 24 9:00 am Luann Gehlhausen 01 Bob Houchin 01 Jessie Parks 05 Brian Fibiger 09 Nathan Baggs 11 Penne Schulz 14 Ronald Lindquist 15 Maurine Murphy 16 Gary Markgraf 17 Phyllis Dexter 21 Logan Brauer 28 Austin Adrian 29 Adrienne Auger 29 Lanelle Harris 31

4 To all my CLC family: Thank you so much for the beautiful cards, prayers and Special Treats. God is teaching me patience and keeping me out of the malls! Gods blessings to all of you, Jean Markgraf Safety Tip of the Month: Have you heard the old adage April showers bring May frauders? Me neither, but it is true. Texas does not require residential contractors to be licensed (though some cities require companies to have permits), which provides sketchy workers an open door for potential repair fraud. If your house is damaged by a spring storm, be aware of a worker who shows up on your doorstep announcing that your home is unsafe, is willing to fix your house with extra materials at a bargain rate, refuses to provide a contract or receipts, etc. Be sure to be diligent when shopping for home repair contractors should you need one. Work through your insurance company, consult the Better Business Bureau and research customer reviews. Does this newsletter seem a little light? Help us make the next one bigger and better! Contact the church office at any time throughout the month to submit information, pictures, and more! CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to our graduating high schoolers! We are so proud of you and look forward to seeing all that you will do in the future for the world and for Jesus! Trevor Baker Patrick Ferguson Krista Gehlhausen Isaac Montez How to get the word out All newsletter submissions for June need to be in to Stephanie Pittock (stephaniep@christfortworth.com) by Sunday, May 29. Announcements on the screens are put together by Stephanie as well. Info must be in by noon each Thursday to be included in Sunday s slides. For announcements that are printed in the bulletin, please submit to Chris Larkin (office@christfortworth.com) by noon on Wednesdays to ensure time for printing.

5 8 In This Issue Birthdays page 3 Calendar events page 3 Letter from Pastor page 1 Misc. announcements page 4 Safety Ministry Update page 2 Church Newsletter Issue #5 May 2016 Mark Your Calendars for VBS!!! This year s Vacation Bible School will be held Sunday, June 26 th through Thursday, June 30 th in the evenings. Volunteer sign-up will be posted soon, and we will be looking for loans/donations of decorations and supplies.