DISCOVER GOD S LOVE. The newsletter of ATONEMENT CHURCH Wesley Chapel, Florida. DISCOVER GOD S LOVE January 2015

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1 DISCOVER GOD S LOVE The newsletter of ATONEMENT CHURCH Wesley Chapel, Florida January

2 Discover God s Love Is a monthly newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church SR54, Wesley Chapel FL office@be-at-1.org Website: Atonementlutheran.net Sunday Worship 8:30 & 10am Discover God s Love Newsletter Staff Pastor: Scott Lindner Editors: Dick Lambert Lola Lambert Carol Reams Photographers: Dick Lambert Su Lindner Scott Giesking Doris Yancofski 2

3 ALC Team Leaders Pastor: Scott Lindner Council President: Scott Giesking Council VP: Laurie Chiaramonte Council Treasurer: Carol Rothgeb Council Secretary: Hannah Ungerer Council Members: Robin Frank Kay Edwards Shad Latson Jan Gerle Caitlyn Ungerer Doug Ungerer Office Admin: Kay Edwards Alter Guild: Barb Craig Capital: Jean Zabel Caring: Karen Erickson Christian Ed: Jan Gerle Counters: Jamie Bartell Fellowship: Iris Aepple Finance: Carol Rothgeb Food Pantry: Carla Haberland/ Yvette Williams Outreach: Detlev Aeppel Prayer: Carol Reams Property: Bill Anderson Senior Ministry: Marcia Weil Social Concerns: Jean Jakes/ Ann Davis Stewardship: Fitzroy Williams Technology: Scott Giesking Worship and Music: Suzi Morgan WELCA: Salli Conover Youth: Brenda Lenz January Calendar 1/1 Happy New Year! 1/4 Services 8:30 & 10am 1/6 Epiphany 1/10 WELCA 10am 1/11 Services 8:30 & 10am 1/12 Capital Mtg 7pm 1/16 Prayer Group 10am 1/16 Supper Club Mtg 6:30pm 1/17 New Member Mtg 10am 1/18 Services 8:30 & 10am 1/20 Council Mtg 7pm 1/25 Services 8:30 & 10am 3

4 a chat with the pastor So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Don t know about you, but in 2015 I intend to eat better, get more exercise, spend more time in prayer and studying my Bible; I mean to work more, play more, stop laying around the house so much, and get more sleep. I mean to spend more time in silent meditation and more time socializing with friends. I mean to organize my desk at work, keep my bed made at home, work in the garden, work in the neighbor s garden, plant a garden (note to self: do this before working in the garden), plant a tree, send cards to everyone not just at Christmas and birthdays, but other holidays as well. I will get the car fixed up and start riding my bicycle everywhere. I will decrease my carbon footprint while simultaneously upgrading all my appliances. I will stop and smell every flower while taking every phone call and posting a selfie a day. I will finally get that book read, that bush cut back, and that lamp fixed. Don t know about you, but in 2015 I intend to be perfect. There was a day when I thought that these kinds of promises had something to do with being a Christian. I had heard that having Christ in your heart brought a kind of perfection, a kind of fulfillment, a new creation. Everything old passed away, and we are given a fresh start, a clean slate. Here was my chance, I thought, to become the person I imagined I could be, the person I thought I wanted to be the amazing guy who had it all together. 4

5 a chat with the pastor continued Well, so far it hasn t panned out. I still find myself failing to achieve the goals I set for myself, breaking New Year s resolutions, and generally falling short of the perfection I expected God to hand me on a platter. If I have grown in any way over the years, it is in the awe and gratitude I have toward other Christians who show God s love in remarkable ways. Sometimes that love is shown through enormous amounts of effort and time spent for others sometimes it s just a word fitly spoken or a gesture or a hug. Sometimes it is the simple trust of one who says, thank God... or Lord, have mercy Faith does not have to be extreme to be awesome. Our treasure is held in earthen vessels, Paul said (2 Cor. 4:7). We are imperfect and breakable. Imperfect and breakable, but loved. In truth, I am expecting 2015 to be a lot like last year. In other words, I will have some successes and a few failures. Things will get better, but there will still be a few disappointments and some painful losses. We ll all grow a little older some of us wiser, others just more forgetful. The days will be decorated with the beauties of life and God will throw in countless unforeseen surprises. I will make a few unrealistic promises, attempt some uncompletable tasks, strive to be someone I m not and be forced to face the predictable results. But whatever I do will be done in Christ, the one who makes us all a new creation who perfects our imperfections and completes what we fail to attain. Maybe I ll just spend 2015 concentrating on being more loving to God, my neighbors, my family and myself whatever all that might mean. Then I ll leave being amazing to God. Peace, Pastor Scott a chat with the pastor is online at: 5

6 2015 Resolutions Make promises sparingly and if you choose to make them, keep them faithfully. Never miss an opportunity to say a kind and encouraging thing to or about somebody. Have concerns and be interested in others their pursuits, welfare, homes and families. Be cheerful and always have a reason to smile. If you find someone without a smile, give them one of yours. Keep an open mind on all debatable questions. Discuss but don't argue. Let your virtues speak for themselves. You always have a choice to refuse to talk of another's vices. Be sensitive to other's feelings. Humor and wit at the cost of hurting someone is rarely of any worth. Donate regularly to a charity. There is nothing more joyful than being the reason for someone's smile. Be more honest with yourself, with others. Pay absolutely no attention to illnatured and upsetting remarks about you. George, Pastor Scott, Su, Brian The Lindner family would like to say "Thank you" and Merry Christmas to all of our friends and church family members at Atonement. Your cards and gifts, prayers and expressions of support have meant so much to us. Our love and best wishes go out to all of you for a great Christmas and tremendous 2015! Peace, Pastor Scott, Susan, George and Brian Lindner Volunteers Needed I am looking for couples to volunteer in the office from the hours of 3 6pm daily. There will be no particular work to do, except to be there to answer the phone and the door. We are trying to be open later to help the community and our congregation people who work. I am hoping to get this started after the first of the year. 6

7 WELCA By Salli Conover WOW 2015 is Here! The women of Atonement have to be proud of their accomplishments for We are only going to get stronger and be able to do more for our church family and the community. Please come to our 1st meeting of 2015 at10am on Sat Jan 10 in the fellowship hall. Projects will be discussed and voted on. Ideas for the spring shopping fair, Help to Sunrise Home, Yoga, Knitting lessons and projects. Quilt project, can tabs for Shriners, and more. Anyone interested we can go to lunch after and support Wolf's Den. Thank you again for all the support my 1st year at the helm. Salli Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! January 1/4 Iris Aeppel 1/5 Gus Alexakos 1/7 Fred Agnir 1/7 Doug Luehmann 1/8 Marlys Luehmann 1/9 Barbara Sneddon 1/11 Noah Zabel 1/14 Joseph Frasier 1/15 William Morris 1/19 Carolyn Newman 1/19 Dylan Latson 1/23 Gary Newman 1/24 Tyler Guthke 1/25 Pauline Byers 1/29 Mark Santoro Happy Anniversary! January 1/15 Howard and Petra Gayheart 1/16 Brian and Alesha Prescott 1/26 Tom and Donna Goldthwaite 7

8 Atonement Supper Club By Connie Meade Creating New Friendships Nourishing Old Friendships Supper Club is a means to create new friendships and s t r e n g t h e n t h e relationships of veteran members of Atonement. This club is open to singles and couples. Each supper group may choose to have a short Bible study, but the major focus of the group is social. Participants will be assigned to a group of six to eight persons for supper club gatherings in February, March and April. These gatherings can take place in someone s home or at a restaurant at the discretion of each group. The emphasis is on building friendships not on culinary pursuits, so meals need not be lavish affairs. Each Supper Club group determines the date and times of its meetings. Typical gatherings run about 3 hours and start around 6pm on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but the place, dates, times, and durations will be chosen by each group. An informational pot luck dinner is scheduled for 6:30pm Friday, January 16 at the church. Interested individuals or couples should signup on the Supper Club sheet in the Narthex or see Connie Meade. Christmas Poem By Lola Lambert I said a Christmas Prayer for you because the season s here. I didn t ask for riches but for gifts so much more dear. I asked for joyful gatherings with your family all around, and for carols to inspire you with their old familiar sound. I asked for quiet moments in your heart on Christmas morn, for a special time to celebrate the Savior who was born. I asked for friends to send their best that you might know they care; I asked for peace and love and hope And I know God heard my prayer. Columbarium Niches available Call Office 8

9 Pantry News By Yvette Williams We were closed the week of Thanksgiving, however in the week before Thanksgiving we passed out 310 turkeys with the help of our usual volunteers, plus Rotary of New Tampa and the Giraffe Club at The Academy at the Lakes School. Thanks to Walmart we were able to purchase the turkeys $0.68 per pound. Donations were so generous from food drives with over 3,600 pounds of food received. Some of the larger food drives were, Kids R Kids on Collier, Double Branch Elementary School, the Garden Montessori School, and the Academy at the Lakes. Cash donations came in from Parks Ford, the New Tampa Rotary, Centennial Bank and a very generous cash donation from a couple who live in the Wesley Chapel area. Our SOS Annual Breakfast netted $8,199 which includes a donation from our WELCA ladies. This figure does not include the donation from Thrivent. We are thanking all who took part in our only fundraiser. We especially want to thank Roger at Wolf s Den for his donation of food to help make the breakfast a great success. Every year it s getting larger and larger! Good food and fellowship was had by all! And as always we are thanking our wonderful congregation. We really don t know what we would do without you guys. THANK YOU! WE ARE TRULY BLESSED! (See stats on next page) Youth News By Brenda Lenz The youth enjoyed a f u n f i l l e d Christmas party December 12th at church. We had games of stack the cups, roll the ornament, blow the cards and ginger bread man cookie eating. The highlight was decorate the humans. We had 2 teams decorate their human with toilet paper and garland. The result was fabulous! Delicious snacks and drinks were also shared. Our next event will be Winter Jam on January 10 at the arena in Tampa. We will be purchasing early entry tickets. If you did not sign up, there is always $10 general admission available as long as there are seats. This has proven itself to be a great event year after year so plan to attend. This is open to all who enjoy Christian music. The next youth meeting will be held on January 11 after the second service. Electronic Giving Start the New Year by making your church contributions easier. Electronic giving makes life simpler by automatically deducting your church offering weekly or monthly from your personal checking or savings account. Just fill out a 'Simply Giving' Thrivent authorization form available in the office. (ed) 9

10 Social Concerns By Jean Jakes The next Baby Shower up in Rez Park will be on February 21. We host Baby Showers three times a year on Lock Street in Dade City, a very low income area. Most of the mothers-to-be are of Latina origin; often farm workers or one generation removed. Farm Workers Self-Help find the mothers for us [they walk into their office door], and we provide a little fun with a party and assistance with baby goods and other items. At the February Baby Shower we generally get more traveling/working mothers-to-be, as they are following the vegetable and citrus harvests. Presently, we are in very short supply of gently used, clean baby clothes. We are OK with 'big brother and big sister clothes [18 mo and up]. There are plenty of NEW baby items for girls but there is a desperate need for NEW BABY BOY clothes. As always, clean usable play pens, bouncies, cribs, infant car seats, and boppies are gratefully received. DIAPERS are always in need, newborn, 1's and 2's are best. Plus other baby items; baby powder, baby formula, baby lotion, bottles, creams, pacifers, socks. After Epiphany starts I'll put up the clothing racks for those who crochet/knit/ sew or even buy blankets to hang their items, and for hanging new clothes. As the mothers-to-be always say to us at the end of the shower 'Thank You'! picasaweb.google.com/ /BabyShowerOctober182014? authkey=gv1srgckpwie3sw8qi7qe 10 Pantry News By Yvette Williams HELPING HANDS FOOD PANTRY NOVEMBER, 2014 FEEDING AMERICA RECEIVED) POUNDS RECEIVED USDA ESTIMATED DONATED 5,301 lbs 5,621 lbs 10,376 lbs FAMILIES SERVED 852 CONSISTING OF INDIVIDUALS 2,999 FOOD DISTRIBUTED 27,241 lbs VOLUNTEER HOURS 576 Golf Outing By Carol Reams There were 24 golfers that met at Silverado for a scramble on Nov st place -- Jim Turner, Andy Martin, Terry Martin and Lyle Johnson; Andy Martin was closest to the pin and also had the longest drive for the men; Barb Turner had the longest drive for the women; The 4 ladies came in last for the booby prize (pun intended). We all had such good fun and fellowship. You don t have to be a wonderful golfer to join us. It is for the fellowship! Mark your calendars for the 1 st Saturday in December of We will meet at Silverado for another good time. Come join us!

11 Music Corner By Ruby Agnir As I write for the New Year s newsletter, I find myself still on Cloud Nine for receiving the best Christmas gift I have in years the performance of Atonement s Christmas Choir (Celebration Choir and Friends) of the 2014 cantata, The Reason for the Season, by David Clydesdale. The beginning of my receiving this gift came from the coming of new singers, swelling the ranks by 15%. Among these new members were solo voices and sightsingers. The fullness of the membership contributed highly to the beautiful choral sound ( powerful, to quote our Pastor) which I always try to develop in any chorus that I direct. Thank God for granting me this. The one negative aspect of this has been my illness. For 15 years or so, Mr. Winter Flu had bypassed me, but this time, it felt as though for all the years I have been free, Mr. Flu decided to punish me by accumulating all the possible problems I escaped from the last 15 years. Only my commitment to Atonement and to God gave me enough strength to continue preparing the choir for this yearly tradition. With the members of the choir that I had at this time, it was no problem, not only in the music portion, but also in the emotional and mental support which they gave me unhesitatingly. The other and, perhaps, more universal reason is the healing power of music. I would like to quote the chapter titled Music Has Charms to Soothe the Savage Breast, a very familiar quote from William Congreve, found in my book, In Our Music, God, published by XLibris in Because music has a tremendous effect on a listener, it has become an important form of therapy for disturbed and emotionally traumatized people, children especially. Ayurveda, the 5000 year holistic natural healing medical system, which is the primary medical system of India, has long had healing music as part of it. It works on the premise that music promotes the balance of health, happiness, and beauty. Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak," wrote William Congreve in his play, The Mourning Bride,. What a beautiful thought! A few years back, the Internet published interesting news titled Mozart Effect Helps Premature Babies Get Stronger. A researcher-lecturer at Tel Aviv University admits that it s not exactly clear how the music is affecting the babies, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated. It is not clear, either, to say definitely that it is Mozart s music that has this effect, or whether music as a whole does. We musicians must realize what great power we have in this gift that God chose to give us. Let us determine to use it in the best ways: to glorify Him and to help His children find pleasure, even healing, in our music. Whenever we make music, we need always to be aware of the powerful effects it can have not only on the listener but also on ourselves, the music makers. Therefore, let us make sure that we perform to get the best results: to inspire our listeners to think holy thoughts and give praise to God, and to soothe and heal. In this way we can acknowledge that we are God s instruments. Amen. 11

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13 Council Notes By Robin Frank Your Church Council: Cliffs Notes December Your newly elected church council members include: Scott Giesking: President, Laurie Chiaramonte: Vice-president, Hannah Ungerer: Council Secretary, Carol Rothgeb: Treasurer, Kay Edwards, Robin Frank, Jan Gerle, Shad Latson, Caitlyn Ungerer, and Doug Ungerer. Please see below the latest updated activities from your Church Council. Please be aware that all Church Council and Congregational meeting minutes are available to the congregation and are filed in the church office. Recent actions taken by your Council in November and December include the following: improvements that are needed to make Atonement Lutheran more accessible to those with disabilities. This is an ongoing effort to ensure that the current building and the proposed new building will meet the necessary building requirements and codes for those with disabilities. More importantly, Atonement Lutheran wants to be welcoming to all who come to worship by demonstrating our commitment to make our building as user-friendly as possible. -polishing of the fellowship hall floors. These were cleaned in early October. In addition, Council approved the decision to lay tile in the nursery and youth room floors. This project is in progress. outside parties using the church would be required to sign. This is an ongoing discussion within Council recognizing that the church needs to clearly delineate what is expected and required of non-members using this space. Council will be forming a committee to develop a usage agreement document. Council voted to install Jamie Bartell as the new Financial Secretary. Donna has met with Jamie to train her for the skills she will need to assume the job. plement fund-raising for the new building. the Vision Team and their recommendations. Council agreed to actively liaise with the separate ministry teams to ensure the goals identified by the Vision process are understood by each ministry team. Council member assignments to each ministry team include the following: o Building --- Shad Latson o Capital Campaign --- Pastor Scott o Caring Team --- Caitlyn Ungerer o Christian Ed. --- Jan Gerle o Columbarium --- Doug Ungerer o Fellowship --- Laurie Chiaramonte o Food Pantry --- Kay Edwards o IT --- Scott Giesking o Music & Worship --- Robin Frank o Outreach --- Doug Ungerer 13

14 Council Notes Continued o Prayer --- Caitlyn Ungerer o Property --- Shad Latson o Social Concerns --- Carol Rothgeb o Stewardship --- Pastor Scott Lindner o WELCA --- Laurie Chiaramonte o Youth --- Hannah Ungerer son from each of the Ministries, meet with the Council Representative listed, to address any issues or concerns you may have. Hopefully, this will facilitate the Ministries in being able to achieve what they have in mind. Please give your Liaison a call to schedule an appointment and keep the Council member assigned to your ministry updated on a monthly basis. Please feel free to bring questions or concerns to any of your Church Council members. We look forward to hearing from you as we work together to forward the mission of Atonement Lutheran. Respectfully submitted Robin Frank Medicare Update You still have time to sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan! Many plans cover 100% of your costs and you can keep your own doctor! Enrollment ends Feb 15. Where s Waldo? By Dick Lambert Congrats Folks! You read the entire newsletter! Then surely you saw Waldo lurking behind one of the articles?? No? well go back and look for him! Then call or text me with your name and the page number you found him on. The first correct Waldo text I receive will receive a special gift! Call or text Dick Lambert at ! Good luck! Sorry, but the Office and Publishing staff are not eligible! Senior Outing By Marcia Weil The Gaither Vocal Band along with the Isaacs, Nelons, Gene McDonald, Charlotte Richie, Kevin Williams, Mathew Holt, and Greg Richie will be in Tampa for one show only on Sat Jan 24. The concert will be at the Idlewild Baptist Church and starts at 6pm.Ticket prices vary from seniors at $23 to $36. If interested sign-up in the Narthex by Jan 18. We will look into hiring a bus if enough are interested. 14