Our Church Family News

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1 St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church 264 New Market Road, Dunellen, NJ (732) Newsletter Editor: Maggie Drouaillet Vol. MMXVIII, No. 11 November 2018 After a hard year and lots of prayer, we can all finally move forward. At the Special Congregational Meeting on October 28, the vote was 32 to 10 to keep St. Luke s open and keep our Christian mission going in this location and within this community. We are grateful for this opportunity, but everyone must understand that things will not be the same. Some people have already decided to move on, and we will miss them but respect their choice. For those who stay, changes will be coming to our service, to our events, and to life at St. Luke s. It s actually a very exciting time as we work toward adapting to the times and our growing and changing community. No matter which way the vote went, your Church Council knew we would have a lot more work ahead of us, and we want you to know that we have already started, but that, as always, we encourage all of our members to share their thoughts and ideas with us as we keep moving forward. At this time of Thanksgiving, let us all remember to be thankful for all the gifts that God gives us our family, our friends, and our opportunities to serve the Lord and our community. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Yours in Christ, Your St. Luke s Church Council Our Church Family News Prayers of the Church: Gabe Petrucelli Margaret Dahlberg Victoria Castagnetti Karene Tripodi Victoria Richard Dunn Jim Vokral Dan Aronson Phylene Day Gladys Mary Gary Takata Helen Dunn Amy Jessica Marie Carole Anne Donna DeMarias Helen Bernie Lindemann Salwa Bawarshi Catharine Jessup Richard Jessup Lieselotte Kugis Louise Sue Mozgai Doris Welsh Andy Lefin Margaret Hill Hazel Yarrington Jessica Grace Sue Vokral Joshua Maynard Kevin Kwasnick Muriel Mason Patrick Rupp Carol Ann Robert Charles Nancy Jane Thomas Albert Vera Georgina Ayala Margaret Ginger Pam Wiseman Jack Harrington Richard DeAndrea Grace Kerr John Carfield In Sympathy Family and friends of Don Aikens Family and friends of Peter Tulley Family and friends of Holly Creager-Porch Family and friends of Yuma Family and friends of Erin November 2018

2 Upcoming Events November Sun 11/4 Go on Daylight Savings Time All Saints Sunday/Confirmation Holy Communion 10:00 am Pastor John Elstad Property, Finance & Stewardship Meeting 11:15 am Tue 11/6 Election Day! Sun 11/11 Veterans Day Harvest Home Sunday Service of the Word 10:00 am Peter Edwardsen Footprints Board Meeting 11:15 am Tue 11/13 Church Council Meeting 7:00 PM Sun 11/18 Service of the Word 10:00 am Peter Edwardsen Fellowship Potluck Luncheon 11:15 am Redevelopment Committee Meeting 11:15 am Thu 11/22 Happy Thanksgiving! Sun 11/25 Service of the Word 10:00 am Craig Busch Fri 11/30 Wreath Making Party 7:00 pm Please remember that Sunday November 11 th, is Harvest Home Sunday, when we collect food to donate to Fish for our neighbors in need. This food drive helps to provide food for their families so that they may enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, as well as to stock Fish pantries for the future. Some items they are looking for include: frozen turkeys, pancake mix, instant mashed potatoes, canned beans, bottled or canned juice, peanut butter, jelly, spaghetti sauce, pasta, canned vegetables, canned tuna, and hot and cold cereals, among others. If you prefer to make a donation, please make checks payable to FISH. Thank you for your continued support of this wonderful organization and your efforts to help those in need in our community.

3 The Vote from the Special Congregational Meeting So, the vote was to keep St. Luke s open, but it was also that certain redevelopment efforts would take place. Here are the details of the A option that won the vote A continue the mission of St. Luke s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dunellen, NJ, to work with synod to review our mission here in our community and explore a call for new Pastor. This proposal recommends that St. Luke s remain open so that we can undertake several initiatives in order to strengthen our St. Luke s faith community. Initiatives should include, but are not limited to: 1) Contact Rev. Maristela Frieberg, Director of Evangelical Mission at the NJ Synod to see how the church redevelopment program she oversees is relevant to us. If so, we need to meet with her to get involved. 2) Create a redevelopment committee to involve as many people as possible in the redevelopment efforts. 3) Examine our mission and determine a method for measuring the success of our redevelopment efforts. 4) Contact all members of St. Luke s to determine what talents they would be willing to share in the redevelopment efforts. 5) Include articles in the Apostle to keep the church family informed of the redevelopment efforts. 6) Evaluate all aspects of what we do at St Luke s to determine what we should keep and what things we can change. 7) Investigate ways in which St. Luke s can become more involved with the local community. 8) Reach out to the Dunellen authorities to see if there are things we can do to help the community. 9) Reach out to our shut-ins and reactivate the home communion ministry. 10) Hold a rededication Sunday as a kick-off for our efforts. 11) Have a community prayer Sunday. Reach out to the community and ask if there are people they would like us to pray for. 12) October 27, 2019 hold a congregational meeting to determine whether our efforts toward redevelopment have had positive results.

4 Footprints News Happy Thanksgiving! The children will be learning about the first Thanksgiving and the feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and their new friends, the Native American Indians. We will enjoy a chapel service and party just before the holiday. The children are all excited as the holidays are quickly approaching. Get ready for a lot of holiday fun and happenings! God bless, Michelle Bennett - Director The Apostle After 17 years, our Apostle editor, Sue Vokral, is taking a much deserved rest. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work and really establishing this wonderful newsletter. Thank you so much, Sue! St. Luke s parish administrator, Maggie Drouaillet, will be taking over and trying her best to live up to the standard we ve all become accustomed to. Articles can be sent to maggiedemenna@gmail.com or left in the office mailbox or on her desk. From your Operations Committee Property Among our voting this past Sunday, two other property-related votes passed 1) to buy a new boiler and 2) to sell the parsonage. Our Mission House family has moved on, so we will be looking to sell the parsonage soon. As for the boiler, the plumbers have successfully patched the leak for now, but we now have the approval to buy a new one in case anything happens. More importantly, did everyone see those beautiful mums that our sexton Rob Bennett planted alongside the office? Maggie Drouaillet on behalf of the Property Committee Finance We are still running at a deficit again in October, but it was one of our smallest at $891. One note is that had we not lost the Parsonage revenue, it would have been a positive month. Please remember to keep up your giving as we move forward together. Craig Busch on behalf of the Finance Committee Stewardship As part of our continuing on as a Church, we all must reevaluate what we can, and may I say, cannot contribute. Traditionally, our normal time & talent effort just asks what else you can do for the church. But, this year, we must also ask: what do you need to bow out of? As noted in our congregational meeting, some members cannot continue in all or any of the roles that they have had in the past, and this must be respected. Others may want to step up and fill those roles or other ones. We all must evaluate our own strengths and weaknesses. During the next few months, you may be asked what you would be able to do to help the church. Think about it and be honest with yourself, and you will know where you want to be. Craig Busch on behalf of the Stewardship Committee

5 Parish Life We are so happy that our St. Luke s family will be continuing on in our church. Among other things, that means we can eat more food together! We will be holding a Fellowship Luncheon on November 18 right after the service. Please plan on joining your church family to kickoff this holiday season together, and remember to sign up to bring a dish to share! Looking forward to seeing you all there! Michelle Bennett Parish Life WELCA Wreath-Making Party Save the Date: Friday, November 30th For WELCA s Wreath Making Party! WELCA is hosting its 7th annual Wreath Making Party on November 30th at 7 PM in Fellowship Hall. Come one, come all to make your own Christmas Wreath or Swag here at St. Luke s. We will have wreath frames, fresh greens, fellowship, food, and fun! A donation of $10 per wreath/swag is requested to cover the cost of materials. Let us know by November 25th if you will be attending so we can plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing everyone at this exciting event! Jane Busch on behalf of the Women of ELCA Church Council 2018 Diana Vacca (732) President Christian Education Ellen Lindemann (908) Vice President Rep. of Social Ministry Maggie Drouaillet (732) Council Secretary Craig Busch (732) Treasurer Rep. of Stewardship Colleen Stitt (732) Diane Szabo (908) Rep. of Parish Life Mary Mauriello (732) Rep. of Evangelism Eleanore Lukacs (732) Rep. of Worship & Music Angie Seaboldt (732) Ginny Dahlberg (732) Fred Vokral (908) Jan Dunn (732) Church Staff Maggie Drouaillet (732) Parish Administrator Mary Beth Bawarshi (908) Organist Michelle Bennett (732) Director Footprints Parish Life Rob Bennett (732) Sexton Church office hours for our Parish Administrator will vary. Please call the Office before stopping in. Please call the Church Office for prayer requests or emergency pastoral needs. The St. Luke s church phone number is Our church website is

6 St. Luke s Fellowship Luncheon JOIN US FOR THE ST. LUKE'S FELLOWSHIP POTLUCK LUNCHEON ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2018 IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CHURCH SERVICE ******************************************** NAME PHONE NO. NO. OF ADULTS NO. OF CHILDREN I will bring: Tossed Salad Pasta Salad Cole Slaw Dessert Hot Vegetable (in crock pot) Potato Salad Meat Dish Other Please prepare a dish to serve 10 people. I (We) can help: Set up, during 10:00 AM Service Serve/help in kitchen Clean up