DISCOVER GOD S LOVE April 2015 ATONEMENT LUTHERAN CHURCH. April 2015 DISCOVER GOD S LOVE LENT FEBRUARY 2015 ATONEMENT LUTHERAN CHURCH.

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1 ATONEMENT LUTHERAN CHURCH April 2015 DISCOVER GOD S LOVE LENT FEBRUARY 2015 ATONEMENT LUTHERAN CHURCH Easter 1

to editor by 25th of each month. Email to dicklambert056@gmail.

2 Discover God s Love Is the monthly newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church SR54, Wesley Chapel FL office@be-at-1.org Website: Atonementlutheran.net Sunday Worship 8:30 & 10am Pastor Scott Lindner Newsletter Staff Editors: Dick Lambert Lola Lambert Scott Lindner Photographers: Dick Lambert Su Lindner Scott Giesking Newsletter articles are due to editor by 25th of each month. to dicklambert056@gmail.com 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 Outreach: Detlev Aeppel Prayer: Carol Reams Property: Bill Anderson Senior Ministry: Marcia Weil Social Concerns: Jean Jakes Stewardship: Fitzroy Williams Technology: Scott Giesking Worship / Music: Suzi Morgan WELCA: Salli Conover Youth: Brenda Lenz 2

3 A chat with Pastor And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. -- Mark 16:2 The green palm branches wave in the air; the bitter taste of wine lingers on our tongues. From a raucous procession through the gates of Jerusalem to a hushed and darkened upper room, from the passionate prayers of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to the courtyard of the religious and governing officials from crowds hailing him as King to crowds crying, Crucify him! we begin April with the conclusion of Holy Week and the textures, symbols, tastes and smells that bring us into that story. On Good Friday, the dry stiff wood of the cross reminds us of the hard truths of sin, and the penetrating nails recall the pain of Jesus sacrifice. Good Friday will be April 3 this year, and at noon that day we will be adding a new service to our worship experiences at Atonement. The Way of the Cross is based on the traditional Stations of the Cross, signposts of the path Jesus took to and through the crucifixion. Around the sanctuary we will place pictures representing each of the key moments in the story of Christ s passion. These stations depict Christ s suffering from when he was condemned to death to when he was laid in the tomb. We will travel from one to another, following the way that Jesus took, stopping for prayer and Scripture reading at each. You are welcome to join us Good Friday for this special service, along with our usual Good Friday service at 7pm. Our evening services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday will continue the series we have experienced all through Lent centered on the parables of Jesus. Each of these little tales that Jesus tells reveals something new about who he is and what he has done for us. Jesus tells the story of a great banquet where all the guests skip out. With the intended guests absent, the host has the servants go out into the streets and invite whoever they find the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. This broken banquet becomes the celebration of God s kingdom a parody of a fancy, 4-star, a- list extravaganza. This is who we are when we come to God broken ones who have been invited into something we were never fit for ourselves, but because of the hospitality of the host, we find ourselves welcomed and given a place. The parable for our Good Friday service will be the story of a landowner who leases his land out to tenants. He had a beautiful vineyard on that land, which gave sweet and luscious fruit. There was a fine fence and a tall watchtower, and a press for the grapes. Things were all set up for the tenants to harvest those grapes and make fine wine all the landowner wanted was his share of what they produced. So the day came for the owner to collect his share, and he sent a slave to receive it. Instead of welcoming this servant of their benefactor, instead of treating him as an ambassador of an ally or as the messenger of a friend, they beat the slave, sending him back to his master with nothing but bumps on his head and a bruised ego. The master sent another slave, and the same thing happened then another, and another each and every servant was beaten and sent away, or else killed. Finally the master makes a risky decision: I ll send my son! They will respect him, I m sure. But the master has made a horrible miscalculation, and the evil that his tenants began gets capped off with the murder of the landlord s beloved son. While Jesus tells these tales, he is telling his own story and ours as well. Before he went to the cross, he let us know about a God who was so in love he sent a son, who in love opened his banquet hall to all, and who in love gives life beyond life. At our 8am service on Easter, we will hear a final parable. This one is about a pair of men who both build houses. They both work hard putting up their houses. They both use the best materials they can find. They both follow the best plans available. Only, one man s house is built on a rock while the other is build on sand. Continued page 4 3

4 Continued Their passion and commitment and investment are identical the only difference is where they started. A storm came like a Florida hurricane -- with unrelenting rain beating down on the roof from above, and fierce winds battering the walls from the sides. When morning came, the house on the rock was standing strong, but the house built on sand As Jesus said, Great was its fall! Death did its worst to defeat Jesus, to wash him away in its flood of destruction and sweep him out to sea. But in the morning, Easter morning, it was death whose house came crashing down. God has a place for us in this Easter story. Around the table Maundy Thursday, receiving bread and wine that are more than bread and wine at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, mourning our beloved Lord and leader, our God and friend at the garden tomb with Mary Easter morning, gaping through the opening at the emptiness inside, wondering at what has just happened and what that means for my life from this moment on. This is your story as you face the awesome reality of resurrection, a story of the amazing possibilities that exist for all who trust in the God who created and redeemed all things. The green palm branches wave in the air; the bitter taste of wine lingers on our tongues; the raw wood of the cross reminds us of the hard truths of sin, and the penetrating nails recall the pain of Jesus sacrifice. The symbols of Lent reach a minor key climax in Holy Week, only to transpose into the major crescendo of Easter. Suddenly, everything changes. Life is restored. Hope returns. The life we thought we were living all along, the one where death is the end of it all, wasn t the true life after all. Here is something new, and our world can never be the same. All this time we ve been travelling through a long dark tunnel, but now we ve reached the tunnel s end and have burst out into the light. Come along for the ride. Jesus is risen: Hallelujah! Peace, Pastor Scott Holy Week Reminder Maundy Thursday Service; 7pm Good Friday Stations of the Cross noon Service 7pm Easter Sunday Service 8am (note change) Youth Breakfast 9-10am Easter Egg Hunt 9-10am Service 10am Prayer Team We are starting a new prayer list on April 12. When making prayer list requests, please leave recipients name, your name, contact information and duration of request. Prayer requests without this above named information will be removed after 30 days. If you want to extend your request, please call the office. Carol Reams Fellowship Team We are looking to establish a team that would be willing to help with funeral meals when the need arises. If anyone is interested, please call me at Thanks Iris Aeppel 4

Happy Birthday to You! April Calendar Happy Birthday to You!

Sandy Scott Happy Anniversary! 4/1 April Fools Day!

10am Miller/Ungerer Wedding 4/12 Services 8:30 & 10am WELCA Sunday Deacons Meet 7pm 4/15 Tax Day 4/17 Prayer Team 10am 4/18 Youth Walk 4 Water 8am Bartell Pasta Dinner 5pm 4/19 Services 8:30 & 10am

5 Happy Birthday to You! April Calendar Happy Birthday to You! April 4/4 Mark Gambel 4/5 Jane Gambel 4/7 Elizabeth Rowe 4/10 Victoria Skinner 4/14 Marilyn Howell 4/15 Nicholas Lenz 4/16 Heather Patten 4/17 Jaen Lyle 4/20 Traci Skinner 4/21 James Hendry 4/26 Sandy Scott Happy Anniversary! 4/1 April Fools Day! 4/2 Maundy Thursday Service 7pm 4/3 Good Friday Services Stations of the Cross noon Service 7pm 4/5 Easter Services 8am Youth Breakfast 9-10am Easter Egg Hunt 9-10am Easter Service 10am 4/11 WELCA 10am Miller/Ungerer Wedding 4/12 Services 8:30 & 10am WELCA Sunday Deacons Meet 7pm 4/15 Tax Day 4/17 Prayer Team 10am 4/18 Youth Walk 4 Water 8am Bartell Pasta Dinner 5pm 4/19 Services 8:30 & 10am Glows and Grows noon 4/21 Council Meet 7pm 4/22 Earth Day 4/24 Caring Team 1pm 4/26 Services 8:30 & 10am Happy Anniversary! 4/5 Terry & Cindy Martin 4/9 Maynard & Beverly Pearsall 4/13 Reuben & Chris Rymer 4/16 Wilfredo & Morayma Matos 4/18 Shad and Sally Latson 4/21 Earl & Cheryl Jefts 4/22 John & Maureen Guthke 4/25 Phil & Cherie Hatlem 4/28 Fred & Ruby Agnir CAPITAL CAMPAIGN $15,000 CHALLENGE Our congregation is being offered a challenge! One of our members (who wishes to remain anonymous) will match donations given to the capital campaign from February 1 through Easter Sunday (April 5). Over this 10 week period, our anonymous donor will match up to $15,000. Last year, we successfully matched (and exceeded) a $25,000 challenge -- let's do it again, and bring the campaign total to over $200,000! 5

Youth News By Brenda Lenz Our winners from the Chili Cook off on March 1 were: First place Chris Rymer for her Texas Chili and Second place went to Vito

Is a Christian movie with a theme about if you believe in the cross of Jesus, what are you going to do about it? The youth attended screening on March 22.

In April the youth will be cooking up Easter Breakfast. It will be served from 9-10 am on Easter morning. Wolf s Den has donated the pancake batter.

Walkers will be taking your pledges or donations before this event. We will walk 3.5 miles to fill our water jugs then walk 3.

This is the amount needed to drill a well for a small village. We will take our money raised to the ELCA Nation Youth Gathering in July.

There is a donor who has agreed to match the Gatherings up to $500,000 to make a grand total of $1,000,000 for ELCA s Walk 4 Water campaign for fresh water

Money raised will also go to the Walk 4 Water campaign.

6 Youth News By Brenda Lenz Our winners from the Chili Cook off on March 1 were: First place Chris Rymer for her Texas Chili and Second place went to Vito Chiaramonte. Thank you all for your fabulous entries. The youth raised $175 from this event. Do You Believe? Is a Christian movie with a theme about if you believe in the cross of Jesus, what are you going to do about it? The youth attended screening on March 22. It was wonderful and I would recommend you see it and tell your friends about it too, Better yet take them to the movie! In April the youth will be cooking up Easter Breakfast. It will be served from 9-10 am on Easter morning. Wolf s Den has donated the pancake batter. Your free will donation will benefit upcoming youth events. On April 18 there will be the Walk 4 Water Walk-a-thon. Walkers will be taking your pledges or donations before this event. We will walk 3.5 miles to fill our water jugs then walk 3.5 miles back with our filled jug just as many do every day just to have water, most of which is not even drinkable. Our goal for the walk-a-thon is $2500. This is the amount needed to drill a well for a small village. We will take our money raised to the ELCA Nation Youth Gathering in July. The ELCA youth have been challenged to raise $500,000 and bring it to Detroit. There is a donor who has agreed to match the Gatherings up to $500,000 to make a grand total of $1,000,000 for ELCA s Walk 4 Water campaign for fresh water around the word and here in the US as well. We will be having a noisy offering the last Sunday in April, May and June. Money raised will also go to the Walk 4 Water campaign. Special thanks to our Adult leaders Patti Santoro and Shad Latson who will be taking our youth to Detroit this summer. Please pray for them and our youth as they begin to prepare for this special and exciting journey! We have five from our church who received the good news that they were accepted to be volunteers at the ELCA Nation Youth Gathering in July. They are Cotta, Hannah and Caitlyn Ungerer, and Brenda and Cassandra Lenz. Please check out the youth board in the narthex for updates on these projects and more! Brenda Lenz, Youth leader 6

Music Corner By Ruby Agnir In April, we get into the culmination of Lent and start with Holy Week and Easter. Holy Week, i.e. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, reminds us of the suffering that our Lord underwent to take our place in the sentence our sins have earned us.

On Maundy Thursday, the song Love One Another echoes the parting words that Jesus gave to his disciples in the Upper Room. On Good Friday, the choir sings an old hymn, Beneath the Cross of Jesus.

As one theologian says: The HISTORICAL fact of the resurrection is the very basis for the truth of Christianity.

It briefly recaps the events of that wonderful day and reminds us of its meaning. Electronic Giving Make your church contributions easier.

7 Music Corner By Ruby Agnir In April, we get into the culmination of Lent and start with Holy Week and Easter. Holy Week, i.e. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, reminds us of the suffering that our Lord underwent to take our place in the sentence our sins have earned us. The wages of sin is death. The choir musically expresses the issues we can t forget. On Maundy Thursday, the song Love One Another echoes the parting words that Jesus gave to his disciples in the Upper Room. On Good Friday, the choir sings an old hymn, Beneath the Cross of Jesus. Easter Sunday focuses on Christ's resurrection as a historical fact. Many scholars have studied it, traveled to the site of it, reasoned it, analyzed it, and then concluded that it truly happened. As one theologian says: The HISTORICAL fact of the resurrection is the very basis for the truth of Christianity. To put it simply, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together. One cannot be true without the other." The Resurrection and the Life is the Easter anthem this year. It briefly recaps the events of that wonderful day and reminds us of its meaning. Electronic Giving Make 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. Alternatively, did you know you can set up automatic bill pay options through your bank? Bills can be paid at fixed intervals; weekly or monthly; for the same amount; and mailed to the church address free of charge. Just visit your bank website and look for 'Bill Pay'. or call your bank for assistance. On a personal note, April 28 commemorates my/our 54 th wedding anniversary. A quotation from an unknown author goes this way: There is nothing that can prove the tolerance of two partners as a golden wedding anniversary. While this could be taken with humor, it can be shared with those couples who have been blessed with long married lives. This can also be shared with those who are in any form of lengthy relationship: family members, friends, pastor and congregation, teacher and students, choir director and choir members, and, more importantly, parties that find themselves in disagreement whether about trivial or essential issues. Antonyms for tolerance include bigotry and narrow-mindedness. Columbarium Niches available Call Office Let us all strive to be more like Jesus and obey His commandments. Ruby 7

Thanks to all who helped make our annual Spring Bazaar a great success.

All are invited. May 2 - WELCA annual Tea.

Congratulations to the March winner of Where s Waldo! Rebecca Parker!

She won a lovely stainless crucifix shown here.

We have ended the personal care item collection.

8 Thanks to all who helped make our annual Spring Bazaar a great success. Calendar of events: WELCA By Salli Conover April 11 - WELCA meeting at the church, 10am, all are women invited. April 12 - WELCA Sunday Fellowship with birthday cake after 10am service. All are invited. May 2 - WELCA annual Tea. This year we will have Derby Day as the theme. Waldo Winner! Congratulations to the March winner of Where s Waldo! Rebecca Parker! Rebecca found Waldo just 40 minutes after the newsletter was posted. She won a lovely stainless crucifix shown here. Pop tops will be collected all year for Shriners. Box in Narthex. We have ended the personal care item collection. Thanks to all we collected a great amount to be used by the women at Sunrise abused women shelter. We will be starting a new collection for April. Rebecca Parker Congrats again to the three winners in the Where s Waldo contests: Detlev Aeppel Barb Turner Rebecca Parker Salli 8

Sunday School Building Committee By Jan Gerle By Terry Martin The Sunday school is doing well.

around. We hope to see our tree project blossom into a memory garden for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to Shad Latson for adding some perennials and mulch.

Randy Watson (our draftsman) submitted to the committee his preliminary draft of the new floor plan, the steel column location plan, and a left side view cut section of the new building.

The interior drop ceiling is at a present planned height of 12 feet. The building will have a sloped roof of 3 feet. Slope will be from 19' down to 16' in height.

The position of these steel columns is extremely important to keep the rest of the building "square" during the rest of the construction process.

9 Sunday School Building Committee By Jan Gerle By Terry Martin The Sunday school is doing well. The kids have been super busy raising money for their Action Team project, which is planting a tree in memory of Sean Bartell. A jewelry sale has already been held by the time this newsletter goes into print, a report on that in the next issue will be forthcoming. They named their team "Seanie Memory Tree Team". Thrivent Financial gave us $250 toward our project, which will be an ongoing event with more fund raisers that the kids want to do, like a lemonade stand, bake sale and several ideas they are tossing around. We hope to see our tree project blossom into a memory garden for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to Shad Latson for adding some perennials and mulch. We are going to dedicate the tree after service on April 26, so please come and help in this celebration of life and memories. Greetings from the Building Committee! Randy Watson (our draftsman) submitted to the committee his preliminary draft of the new floor plan, the steel column location plan, and a left side view cut section of the new building. The side view cut sections mainly shows us the height of portions of the building. The parapet, or top of roof sides, is at a present planned height of 19 feet. The interior drop ceiling is at a present planned height of 12 feet. The building will have a sloped roof of 3 feet. Slope will be from 19' down to 16' in height. The finished floor will have a height of several inches. The column location plan shows us the positioning of the steel columns into the foundation. The position of these steel columns is extremely important to keep the rest of the building "square" during the rest of the construction process. The preliminary floor plan draft is very interesting to view. This plan shows the wall, doorway, and equipment layout of the pantry, layout of the kitchen, bathrooms, storage areas, and the general function space. The building committee is presently reviewing this floor plan. Several changes need to be made to the floor plan to maximize the usage of the space and make flow of the space more efficient. Once the committee has completed the revision and review of these preliminary plans we will send them back to the draftsman. Then the draftsman and engineers can draw up an engineered elevation plan and continue the drafting process. We wish you all a blessed and happy Easter celebration! Bill, Ted. Joe, Fred, Jean and Terry 9

Caring Team By Karen Erickson Pantry News By Carla Haberland On March 13 we reviewed and updated our information sheet on Caring Ministries.

We have assembled Easter baskets for approximately 15 members of our congregation who are homebound.

We have already received a request for home visitation and look forward to additional opportunities to provide assistance to our congregation.

Pastor Scott said it best in his March chat. Even without miraculous powers, ordinary people like you and me can release the power of God s love by standing by people who are sick and in distress.

10 Caring Team By Karen Erickson Pantry News By Carla Haberland On March 13 we reviewed and updated our information sheet on Caring Ministries. On Sunday, March 15, we handed out the overview of the services available. We are excited that Caring Ministries is officially up and running! We have assembled Easter baskets for approximately 15 members of our congregation who are homebound. Delivery of the baskets filled with goodies were made by the transportation team of Caring Ministries at the end of March. We have already received a request for home visitation and look forward to additional opportunities to provide assistance to our congregation. Along that line, we are compiling information on area services. This information will be available in the church office as another resource for the members of our church. Pastor Scott said it best in his March chat. Even without miraculous powers, ordinary people like you and me can release the power of God s love by standing by people who are sick and in distress. Simply by supporting them, spending time with them, helping them with little chores and tasks, we can make a big difference. And what price can you put on making a new friend? That is what we envision for Caring Ministries at Atonement. If you know of anyone who needs our services or if you are interested in becoming a part of these worthwhile ministries, contact Karen Erickson or Pastor. Our next meeting is Friday, April 24 at 1:00 pm at the Church. Please join us. Wishing you a blessed Easter.... He Is Risen! The Pantry Volunteers have been providing assistance to local families in need since In 2013 we distributed over 341,000 lbs of food to almost 11,000 families! In 2014 we assisted 11,600 families and over 40,000 individuals with over 339,000 pounds of food! A very big thank you to the new and old volunteers that work on Tuesdays and Weds! More are always needed! Keep May 9 open for the postal carrier food drive! Karen 10

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

DISCOVER GOD S LOVE. The newsletter of ATONEMENT CHURCH Wesley Chapel, Florida. DISCOVER GOD S LOVE January 2015 DISCOVER GOD S LOVE The newsletter of ATONEMENT CHURCH Wesley Chapel, Florida January 2015 1 Discover God s Love Is a monthly newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church 29617 SR54, Wesley Chapel FL 33543