Spirit of Life Lutheran Church Jacksonville, FL 2636 New Berlin Rd. Jacksonville, FL

Transcription

1 November 2017 Spirit of Life Lutheran Church Jacksonville, FL 2636 New Berlin Rd. Jacksonville, FL We spread the gospel through love, acceptance, and giving of ourselves for Jesus. In This Issue From the Pastor Worship and Music Leadership Team President s Corner Property Team Financial Corner Fellowship & Outreach Teams 2018 Youth Gathering Education / Youth Bible Study What s New in the Nursery Emergency Food Pantry Ruth Circle Prayer List Celebrations & Calendar Working Out Thanksgiving: Marking The Meal The church I served in Dallas wasn t always particularly thankful on Thanksgiving or any other time. I hate to say that, but it was true. They had a history of being critical of worship. Leadership, programs, and other congregations. Nothing was good enough. Then, all that changed during a crisis period in the life of the congregation. We took a look at what God was doing in our midst and learned to express some deep gratitude toward God for things God had done for us, both large and small. We wanted to express that by having a community Thanksgiving dinner in the church building. We decided to forego the holiday meal in our own homes, cook up the best meal we knew how in large quantities, and serve it to whoever would come. We advertised our free dinner, prepared turkey and more, then waited. To our surprise, an extended family of Kurdish immigrants came, among others. They were about 20 strong, and hungry. We had been working with them to resettle them and all was going well. This was a celebration! Two unusual things happened to mark the meal. 1

2 First, we noticed that no one was eating. The elders, especially the family matriarchs, would not eat! This was a new kind of food and not of their making. Their pride had been offended, or they were simply confused. Perhaps we should have asked us to help us put our feast together. After all, this is what God does when offering blessings. God involves us in the planting, and the harvest, so that we will understand and cherish what is on our thanksgiving table. You have been involved in planting and harvest here at Spirit of Life and in many other ways. Thank you. Second, when the Kurdish family left they began to shiver in the November cold as they walked to the cars and minivans that would take them home. The children had no coats. At this point, there was a sense among kitchen helpers and servers that we had done all we could. They wouldn t eat our food! But we weren t done. I saw several of our members take off their coats and offer them to the Kurdish women and children, then, when more coats were offered, to the men. Finally this way, we made meaningful contact with those we wanted to serve. Yes, it sounds like something Jesus said about sharing your coat. And, yes, all of us had other apparel at home to keep us warm. So, the point has to be that Jesus wants us to keep our spirit of thanksgiving in action, operating full speed, even when we think we are done or there is no point in trying harder. This Thanksgiving, gather at your tables, in your homes, and take a moment in remembrance. There have been ways that you have gone the extra mile to mark the meal with your generosity and love. You have been partners with Jesus in loving ministry. You have persisted when it would have been reasonable to say you were done with obligations to others. Thank you for these ways that you have marked the meal with your genuine Christian love. Pastor Dow Worship and Music Leadership Team Member: Dan Nichols - nichdc@comcast.net Leadership Team President s Corner Property Team 2

3 Financial Corner Stewardship drive Fiscal Year 2018: Received 32 pledges totaling $54,424 annually As of 10/21/2017 our Year to date offerings are $92, Attendance 9am 1030 am Nursery Total 10/ / / / / / /2 58 FINANCIAL CORNER OCTOBER 2017 Envelope Offering $ /29 offerings $ Sams Club $ /25/17 carryover $ Fall Festival $ OCT interest income $ TOTAL $ 8, Expenses $12, Food Pantry Donation $ Food Pantry Expense $ Food Pantry Balance $ 4, Our agreement with the Pumpkin Patch is as follows: If we sale 0-$7000, we keep 25%. If we sale $7000-$9000, we keep 30%. If we sale $ ,000, we keep 33%. As of 10/24/2017 sales are at $

4 Fellowship and Outreach Teams Angel Tree The Angel Tree, our annual project to Brighten the Season, will be set out on November 12. There are 2 Angels per child, one for clothing and one for an age appropriate toy. Size, age and favorites are on the back of the Angels. The suggested limit is up to $ 25 per gift. A sign-up sheet and more info will be in the Narthex. All gifts need to be at the Church by December 11 so that pickup and delivery can begin by December 18. Can Vegetable Sunday The team is also involving the congregation in food pantry participation by making the first Sunday of every month a bring an item to church event. November 5th.is CAN VEGETABLE SUNDAY. 4

5 2018 Youth Gathering Casey Carlson Congratulations to Samantha G. for being the winner of the Amazon FIre Tablet and Julie Roziers for winning the Candy Count. The 50/50 Raffle was won by a youth parent that donated the proceeds back to the youth for the Gathering. 5

6 Education / Youth Leadership Team Member: Anita anitalvance@gmail.com Thank You! First and foremost, thank you Tristin for all your hard work with our Youth! Your love and dedication have been a wonderful gift to the SOL children. Sunday School Help As we work on a more inclusively religious Sunday School experience for our little ones, we are in need of additional models for our children. If you can help explain a Gospel Story, follow guided outlines for activities and love working with children, you are an ideal candidate. We are hoping for volunteers for 3 weeks at a time, to encourage the building of family ties within our church and offer our little ones differing perspectives of Jesus within us. If you feel the Spirit calling, and would like additional details, let me know by texting , or ing anitalvance@gmail.com. Anita L. Vance Bible Study "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them..." (Matthew 18:20) We have been using the small catechism and started with Lord s Prayer by doing a line by line explanation with lots of discussion. We will be doing the same for the Apostle s creed. The next in line will be sacraments. We are looking at things we normally do in church every Sunday and giving the explanations about them, sometimes we just recite these not thinking about what they mean not only as group but also as an individual. Bible classes are 10am and 6:30 pm. 6

7 What s New In The Nursery: Our New Nursery Attendant Who is Our Newest Staff Member? Laura Feenstra has been serving as our new nursery attendant since late summer. Most of the congregation has met and welcomed her warmly. If you haven t gotten a chance to know Laura, the following will acquaint you more thoroughly with our newest employee and member of our ministry team. Laura s dad is our interim pastor. She was recruited and hired independently of her dad s work here, and is in a position to continue on after the interim period concludes. She is married to Kevin Feenstra and resides in West Jacksonville with Kevin and their son Warren, who also attends Sunday School and worships here with his mom. Get to Know Her and Her Experience in Child Care Laura has had six years experience as a child care professional. So far, she has taken 10 classes in early childhood education for the daycare setting in which she works full time. That means that she has attained her Child Development Association certification (the most widely known certification of its kind) and is lead teacher of her center s 2 year old class. As well, she is working toward her college degree in early childhood education (grades K-5) and is certified in CPR for adults, children, and infants. Her coursework and on the job background has helped her in guiding the intellectual and emotional development of children, a dynamic that she was recruited to add to our nursery environment. For the rare times when Laura is unavailable on Sunday mornings, fellow nursery applicant Rebecca Walsh has agreed to serve as substitute. She has already done so once, and both adults and children have found her to be delightful. How Does Laura See Her Calling At Spirit of Life? You ll see Laura working with members Anita Vance and leadership team members Tristin Ochoa (Christian Education) and Debby Speicher (Church Property). So far, Debby and Laura have refurbished and redecorated the nursery to make it more comfortable and stimulating as children spend time there on Sunday mornings while learning about the Bible and Jesus our Lord. Laura has begun to plan for our nursery experience as a part of the Sunday Church School, working with Anita and Tristan. Each have excellent and varied backgrounds in education and a 7

8 strong commitment to teaching the faith. Laura coordinates her lessons with Anita and Tristan each week so that they pertain to the children s sermon and the gospel lesson in worship. Learning is connected with multiple activities in two classroom settings at Spirit of Life each week. Laura teaches 2-5 year olds in the nursery while Anita teaches 6-10 year olds in the administration office. When asked about her goals for this program, Laura stated that she is looking for more growth in the Sunday School. That means adding more children and completing remodeling plans in the nursery. Her main goal is, in Laura s own words, to teach our children the Word of God so that they can take it home and use it. Laura commented, I m excited to see where the future takes us! So are we! Welcome, Laura Feenstra! Nursery Renovated Have you checked out the updated Nursery? Before After 8

9 Emergency Food Pantry Steve Carlson (904) Matthew 25:35. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" Hello Everyone! The Food Pantry is very excited to announce that they will be partnering with Lutheran Social Services for a mobile food distribution. This event will be held on November 11 from 9 am until noon, or when we run out of food. We plan to have enough food to assist 300 families. This is another opportunity to show our community that Spirit of Life is committed to our friends and neighbors in their times of need. We will feed their bodies and feed their souls in our own unique way. If you would like to help on that day, please feel free to come to the event. There will be a lot to do. Please spread the word with neighbors and friends. Any children helping will receive volunteer hours for that day. We are also partnering with Jason Clark (LSS) to give away turkeys this fall. Jason is looking to purchase 150 turkeys to donate to us, that we may bless our clients with them. Thanks Jason! Future plans include a Christmas surprise for our clients... more to come later! May love and inclusion be in your hearts and minds always. In Christ, Steve Carlson Ruth Circle Women of the ELCA (WELCA) Dawn Martin (904) A gift of four hand quilted quilts was gifted to the Circle at the Spring Fling. The lady who donated them was downsizing and moving from her home. Her children did not want them and she did not want them to go to Goodwill. She wanted the quilts to continue having the love they should. The Ruth circle is honored to have these quilts and the funds raised will go towards a Ruth Circle project. The first quilt was raffled off last month and Edith Brisson was the winner. Edith gave the quilt to Beverly s great young granddaughter, Mary. Mary mentioned before the raffle how much she loved the quilt and hoped to win it. Mary has been using the quilt to make a tent and to cuddle up with. Be sure to stop watching your waist on December 17 th because that is when Grandma Ruth s Sweet Shop will be open for business with all types of goodies for you to eat. 9

10 Call To Care (Prayer List) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. James 5:13 Want to join us in giving prayers for those in need? Need a special prayer? Contact Vonda at the church office or send an to chur5900@bellsouth.net There are also forms in the Narthex to add names in the Pink News Bulletin for prayers during the Services. Our Members: Michele Hoyle Our Loved Ones: Linda Hill, Our Military members: Jeff, & Trey Chronic Prayers: Frances Bock (Claudia Moreash s mother), Jackie Corderio (Maggie Spruill s sister), Elaine Ditlovson (Brenda Higginbotham s mother & Lauren s mother-in-law), Dan Fisher (Michele Hoyle s father & Bob s father-in-law), Larry and Alan Joiner, Barbara Kirkwood, Kelly Matthews (Jessica & Brittany s mother (Vonda Miller s nieces)), Carolyn Rademacher, Mary Ellen Sanders (Brenda Murray s mother & the Hood family s grandmother & great grandmother) and Edna Smith (Bob Hoyle s mother & Michele s mother-in-law) Our Shut ins: Robin Blackburn and Gene Robertson Continued prayers for our Call Committee. BIRTHDAY LIST Kristie Kemp 11/03 John Messick 11/09 Richard Dow 11/09 Ben Forrest 11/12 Terry Haugen 11/14 Vicki Haugen 11/16 William Heinrich 11/16 Jo Ellen Ballinger 11/17 E.J. Roehrig 11/20 Anita Vance 11/26 Ronnie Barnes 11/27 Richard Crawley 11/27 Edward Roehrig 11/29 Madison Hicken 11/29 Matthew Messick 11/29 ANNIVERSARY LIST 11/03 Richard & Diane Crawley 11/22 Lauren & Brenda Higginbotham 11/29 Pete & Claudia Moreash 10

11 Advent Suppers and Services Start November 29 th! 11

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