April 2017 Newsletter

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Mary McGee
5 years ago
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1 You are Who God Says You Are Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old has passed away; see; everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17) There s a game I ve played at parties maybe you ve played it, too. Each person has the name of a famous (or infamous) person taped to his/her back. Then everyone walks around asking yes/no questions trying to find out their new identity. Am I living/dead? Am I a man/woman? Am I an entertainer? A politician? An author? An athlete? A serial killer? Am I on TV? You get the idea. A variation of the game is that others will tell you something about your new self to help you guess who you are. You always put off worrying until tomorrow. (Scarlett O Hara) You had so many children you didn t know what to do. (The woman who lived in a shoe) You are the first person to set foot on the moon. (Neil Armstrong) The point of the game is to figure out your identity. When you guess correctly, you sit down. The first time I played this game, I was struck with its similarity to real life. Many times we determine our identity, by what others tell us about ourselves. You are so smart. You are a loser. You are so pretty. You can do anything you set your mind to. You are so clumsy. You are so fat. You ll never amount to anything. After a while, those messages influence how we see ourselves whether those messages are true or false. It is only a mature person who realizes that just because someone else says that you are this or that, doesn t make it true. One of the greatest blessings of a life of faith is the receiving of a brand new identity. In the Bible, when God touched and changed a person s life, many times He changed his or her name. He said, You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow (Isaiah 62:2). Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Jacob became Israel. Simon became Peter. Saul became Paul. In the same way, God makes us his child in baptism. That gives you a brand new identity. If you want to know who you really are, then you need to look in the Bible and see who God says you are. It may be different from what you ve heard others say about you, but which do you think is more accurate? Who do you think has a better perception of who you are, your Creator, or other broken, sinful people just like yourself? People of faith have a brand new identity and that is how God sees us. My Identity in Christ John 1:12 I am a child of God. John 15:15 I am part of the true vine, a channel (branch) of Christ's life. John 15:15 I am Christ's friend. John 15:16 I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. Romans 8:14,15 I am a joint-heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him. I Corinthians 3:16 I am a temple of God. His Spirit dwells in me. I Corinthians 12:27 I am a member (part) of Christ's body 2 Corinthians 5:17 I am a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:18,19 I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation Ephesians 1:1 I am a saint. Ephesians 1:3 I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Ephesians 1:11 I am sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit who has been given as a pledge of my inheritance. Ephesians 4:24 I am righteous and holy. That is a lot to put on a nametag, but that is your new identity. That is how God sees you. How about you? Are you ready to start seeing yourself as God sees you today? After all, it is the truth! In Christ's service, Pastor Kimberly April 2017 Newsletter Interim Pastor Kimberly Jordan Shannon Stoker, Parish Administrator Beki Tetzlaff & Dawn Zirtzlaff, kjordan4978@gmail.com shannon@livinghopesaukville.org Here We Grow Directors herewegrow@livinghopesaukville.org

THIS SUNDAY (April 2nd) at 11:30am Bring your Easter basket and a non-perishable food item to donate to The Food Pantry invite a friend!

That headline shouldn t surprise you you re all disciples of Jesus, and you re always needed to do God s work and will in the world.

Following our Maundy Thursday potluck meal, our worship time will center around The Living Last Supper, a drama in which each of the disciples wonders aloud about Jesus statement that

2 THIS SUNDAY (April 2nd) at 11:30am Bring your Easter basket and a non-perishable food item to donate to The Food Pantry invite a friend! Easter Egg Hunt will take place rain, snow or shine DISCIPLES STILL NEEDED! That headline shouldn t surprise you you re all disciples of Jesus, and you re always needed to do God s work and will in the world. In this case, though, I m looking for 13 Living Hope members to portray the original twelve disciples PLUS Jesus himself. Following our Maundy Thursday potluck meal, our worship time will center around The Living Last Supper, a drama in which each of the disciples wonders aloud about Jesus statement that someone at the table will betray him. It will not be necessary to memorize your parts. Rehearsal time will be minimal. If you re interested, please sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board in the narthex. Actors of all ages and genders are welcome. GOOD FRIDAY COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVE Good Friday, April 14 from 1-6pm at Living Hope Hosted jointly by Christ the King and Living Hope Contact Marge Burke at or marjorie.burke@sbcglobal.net with questions 2

Holy Week Worship Schedule April 9 April 13 April 14 April 16 9:00 a.m. Palm/Passion Sunday 6:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Meal and Worship: The Living Last Supper 6:30 p.m. Good Friday Worship 8:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast 9:00 a.

3 Holy Week Worship Schedule April 9 April 13 April 14 April 16 9:00 a.m. Palm/Passion Sunday 6:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Meal and Worship: The Living Last Supper 6:30 p.m. Good Friday Worship 8:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast 9:00 a.m. Easter Worship (No Sunday School) HOLY HUMOR SUNDAY On April 23, members and friends of Living Hope will be participating in a centuries old tradition of Bright Sunday. As early as the third century, Greek Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ Jesus with festivities which lasted an entire week, known as Bright Week. During these post-easter days, the feasts continued, dances were held and general merriment ensued, with pranks played and jokes told. The reason for Bright Week was simple: in the resurrection of Jesus, God had the last laugh. Death had been defeated. The devil had been done in. What s NOT to celebrate?! Easter joy, if it is true joy, recognizes that the sin and brokenness of the world is not a permanent condition. Christ s victory over sin, death and the grave means that sin and death no longer have a permanent hold on us. We have much about which to rejoice and on our version of Bright Week, which we call HOLY HUMOR SUNDAY, we will celebrate with: Joyful liturgy Joyful music Holy humor breaks (aka joke-telling) Joyful (aka wacky) attire Great and joyful good news Plan ahead for this fun worship experience. Prepare to share a joke or two (remembering that it s family hour in God s house ) Wear something silly or outrageous. Arrive prepared to laugh and sing and celebrate. God is the creator of joy and laughter. He longs to hear it expressed by his people in loving, joyous response to the Easter surprise of the empty tomb. Don t miss Living Hope s first HOLY HUMOR SUNDAY it just wouldn t be the same without you. After all the more, the MERRIER! Pastor Kimberly 3

4 A BRIEF PASTORAL CALL UPDATE Not much to report but I thought you would be interested in the progress we have made so far. We met with a candidate on Sunday. On Monday I took her on a tour of Living Hope actually Beki and Dawn did most of the tour and then drove her around the northern area of Ozaukee County including Cedarburg, Grafton, Port Washington, Harrington State Park. She met with Christ the King s council on Monday. That is what I know at this point. The next step is for Living Hope and Christ the King to decide, independently, whether they and we are in favor of further exploration with this candidate about a call. What happens next depends on that decision. It is important that both congregations have the time for discernment and prayer in this process, so please be patient with us. The synod is involved along the way, assisting us with our decisions and contacts with the candidate. This is as much of an update as I can offer at this time. We ask that you continue to keep us in prayer for wisdom and insight during this process. We will share more information with you as we are able. I want to thank the call committee members. I think we represent Living Hope s mission well. They are Gary Myrah, Abby Haydin, Tera Rogers, Andrew Krueger, Kristin Nisiewicz and myself, Joseph Georgeson. A MISSION OF LIVING HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH herewegrow@livinghopesaukville.org Phone (262) Lutheran schools week was a big success with a lot of fun activities shared by all the children. Thank you Trinny and Deb for organizing the children singing at service, it was so heart warming to see many families participating in this fun event. During the month of April children will experience the Easter story through JAM time and classroom activities. We are promoting the Easter Egg Hunt on April 2nd and hope to see many Here We Grow families sharing this fun day with Living Hope members. Here We Grow will be celebrating Week of the Young Child, April 24 th -28th, the themes this year are Music Monday-Tasty Tuesday-Work together Wednesday-Artsy Thursday and Family Friday. Activities include: morning coffee and donuts for parents, fun dress up days, and a well deserved appreciation day for teachers. Our Spring fundraiser will coincide with Week of the Young Child. Please buy some cookie dough to support the fundraiser. God s Blessings Beki & Dawn 4

The Men s Bible Discussion Group will resume meeting on April 19th at 6:00pm Spring Time Property Committee Meeting Our Spring Property Meeting will be on Sunday, April 23rd, at 10:30 AM in the HWG

5 The Men s Bible Discussion Group will resume meeting on April 19th at 6:00pm Spring Time Property Committee Meeting Our Spring Property Meeting will be on Sunday, April 23rd, at 10:30 AM in the HWG entry area, as in the past. Relay for Life June 16, 2017 Team: Living Hope Lutheran Church Where: Feith Family YMCA- Saukville Time: 6:00 PM to 11 PM Friday Night Only!! Please consider joining our fun team this year! Sign up for this year s Relay for Life of Ozaukee Lakeside online at Unable to participate in this year s actual event? No problem please consider still raising money for this worthy cause, and we will try to find a walker to pair up with you. See Julie Irish for more details or any questions you may have jirish@wi.rr.com or

April 2017 Please note the following dates: Thursdays April 6 & 20 Thursdays May 4 & 18 Thursdays June 1 & 15 We continue with The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by

Do you find yourself spending a lot of time figuring out when to say yes and when to say no, thinking about how to manage your time, reduce stress, do your best for your family and still find a

6 April 2017 Please note the following dates: Thursdays April 6 & 20 Thursdays May 4 & 18 Thursdays June 1 & 15 We continue with The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa TerKeurst. Do you find yourself spending a lot of time figuring out when to say yes and when to say no, thinking about how to manage your time, reduce stress, do your best for your family and still find a little time for yourself? Lysa TerKeurst found herself in that same situation until she learned the power of the best yes, the choice that shapes all of our other choices. Lysa will help us: Cure the disease to please with a biblical understanding of the command to love. Escape the guilt of disappointing others by learning the secret of the small no. Overcome the agony of hard choices by embracing a wisdom-based decision-making process. Rise above the rush of endless demands and discover your Best Yes today. Lysa TerKeurst is a New York Times best-selling author of Made to Crave and Unglued. She is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries. She loves having honest conversations about connecting our struggles with God s truth. Please join us!! Knewsy Knotes In the past few years, some of us from Hearts to Hands have had a great time attending the annual Fiber Frolic and the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. If you knit, crochet or loom knit, you might be interested in attending these events. If you would like to join us, contact Cathy Higgins ( ) or Julie Irish ( ). Check out the following websites for more details: Rites of Spring: Fiber Frolic Eastern Central Wisconsin May 5 & 6, a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7, a.m. to 2 p.m. Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival September 7-10, 2017 (Registration opens June 1, 2017) Jefferson Fair Park, Jefferson, WI Remembering His words, Love one another, Hearts to Hands regularly meets to knit and crochet for others while sharing fellowship and devotional time. We continue to meet at church on the 1 st & 3 rd Thursday of each month. We will share fellowship time at 6:30 PM and begin our study about 7:15 PM followed by prayers, concluding about 8:30 PM. Join us! All are welcome, even if you don t knit or crochet. We encourage you to come, participate in the fellowship and Bible/ devotional/study. Please feel welcome to come, share in fellowship and grow in faith. If you are in need of child care in order to attend, please let us know. If you have any other questions, please call Cathy at or Julie at We look forward to having you join us! Hearts to Hands uses the Living Hope mailbox, #166. 6

7 Living Hope Calendar COMMUNION SUNDAY Prayer Chain If you would like to request prayer or receive prayer requests through the Prayer Chain, please contact coordinator, Chris Koss, at or call

8 Please visit us on Facebook or on our church website for more information on upcoming events: The Impact Shopping Program is being discontinued as of March 25, 2017 Thank you for your past support 8

Advocacy for the sake of Christ

February 2017 Newsletter Advocacy for the sake of Christ In a recent sermon, I mentioned that I attended an advocacy workshop hosted by SOJOURNERS, a Washington D.C. based non-partisan Christian organization