St. Paul Partners A PUBLICATION OF ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Transcription

1 July 2017 VOL30 #12 St. Paul Partners A PUBLICATION OF ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH S P O N S O R E D BY W I L L I E H U F F M A N I N H O N O R PA S T O R R A L P H & M A R Y K R A F T FROM THE PASTOR: Camps and Retreats Dear St. Paul Family, As we heed the call and the challenge to see ourselves as the Church the hands and feet of Christ serving the world I am reminded that this month here at St. Paul we will be doing that through our camping ministries. Here in North Carolina we are blessed to have four Lutheran camps; Lutheridge in Arden just South of Asheville, Lutherock in Banner Elk just West of Boone, Agape at Fuquay-Varina just South of Raleigh and Kure Beach at Kure Beach, NC. These camps are ministries and extensions of the ELCA and exist to serve as a place apart, not just for youth but people of all ages. This month, July 9th 16th I will be traveling to Lutherock to represent our cluster and helping to teach Confirmation students about VISIT US ONLINE JULY 2017 the seasons of the church year. From our church Karina Coulter will be taking part in the Middle Adventure program. When campers are not being taught by us Pastors, they will be with their counselors taking part in devotions, singing, bible study, group interaction courses, hiking, creek walking, rafting and rope climbing all while growing in their faith in the beautiful North Carolina mountains. Also, on July 17th 21st we will again be hosting Agape Day Camp at our mission property where counselors from Camp Agape will come to us and provide a week of camp activities for rising 1st 8th graders. Middle school aged youth will also participate in various service projects in the community in addition to the normal camp activities. I will ask in advance that you please be in prayer for these young people who will be taking part in these camping INSIDE this issue INSIDE this issue Pastor s Article... 1 World Hunger Update... 2 #WheresMartin... 3 Christmas in July... 4 Council Highlights... 4 July Worship Assistants... 5 July Calendar... 6 Living Lutheran... 7 Agape Day Camp... 8 StPaulStartown.org VOLUME 30 NUMBER 12 PAGE 1

2 ministries as well as for the counselors and organizers. Pray for a fun-filled time, for safety, for good fellowship, for learning more about God and that they will grow in their faith and appreciation for nature and this wonderful world the Lord has created. Then on July 27th 30th members and friends of the congregation of all ages will attend Kure Beach for three days of devotions, worship, fellowship, eating fresh seafood and RELAXING at the Kure Beach Retreat Center right on the Atlantic Ocean. There is no agenda for this retreat and everyone is free to follow their own schedule. Through these camping opportunities we experience how we Dear St. Paul Family, are the church through new experiences, adventures, friendships, mutual support and taking time to just be in a place apart which is so important for our spiritual development. Remember we call ourselves human beings not human doings. Thank you for your prayers, support and participation in church camps and retreats as we provide opportunities to be the church and put our mission into practice to Witness, Welcome, Worship and Work in the name of our Lord. Yours in Christ, Pastor Ralph Thank you so much for your cards, gifts, calls and good wishes expressed to me for my 52nd birthday June 15th. The Java with crew as well as the Handbell Choir honored me by singing the Happy Birthday song. It is so wonderful to be remembered and appreciated. I am truly blessed to be your Pastor! As always Mary and I appreciate your love, prayers and support. Love, Pastor Ralph July 8 July 11 July 12 July 16 July 17 July 19 July 22 July 25 July 28 July 29 Ann Hass Eric Scronce Mary Grace Urcinola Charles Coulter Ann Walker Aidyn Herman Eleanor Lane Deborah Guthrie Greg Scott Brandon Tellado Tyler Tellado Corbin House Connor McNeil Libby Wells Caden House Cooper House Thelma Lutz UPDATE TO THE BISHOP SMITH S WORLD HUNGER CHALLENGE St. Paul collected a total of $ toward the World Hunger Appeal. This offering was presented during Saturday morning worship at the Synod Assembly last month. Over $21,000 has been collected from the synod so far to reach the $50,000 goal by year s end. July 31 Jerry & Myrtle Urcinola (59) Our Christian sympathy and hope in the resurrection is extended to the family of Cleva Mae Fulbright who passed away June 15 th. Service of burial was held at Sardis Lutheran in Hickory. Cleva was the sister-in-law of Frankie Fulbright. Please Note: If we have missed your birthday or anniversary, please let the church office know so we can update our records. office@stpaulstartown.org or (828) ext. 301 PAGE 2

3 As summer is upon us and different ones within the church family are out and about the prayers of St. Paul are with you to be safe and have fun. Also, as the 500 th year of the Reformation continues, perhaps you might consider taking a picture of Martin Luther with you. Lutheran churches across the country are participating and it will be fun to see where Martin shows up in people s travels world over. Wherever you go on vacation, etc. take a picture with you and Martin in it and share it on social media with the hashtag #WheresMartin. Also, send to Morgan for us to share on St. Paul s website and Facebook page. If you are not on social media, take a picture and bring it to share with your church family. Pictures of Martin Luther for you to take and enjoy are in the narthex and the table in the hallway below the bulletin board. Open Invitation to St. Paul Members Anyone interested in singing in a Christmas Cantata with orchestra is invited to attend rehearsals beginning Monday, July 31st at 6:45pm at Bethel Lutheran Church in Claremont. The performance of the cantata will not interfere with any planned St. Paul activities. See Morgan Lane for more information or simply show up on Monday, July 31st! Kure Beach Retreat We still have spaces left for our Kure Beach Retreat from Thursday July 27 th Sunday July 30 th. Cost is $ per person, not including meals. If you are attending please be sure to sign up on the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the hallway outside the Pastor s Study. Checks can be made out to St. Paul and earmarked Kure Beach Retreat. See Pastor Ralph for more details. Don t Let Your Giving Take a Vacation! Summer is almost here and that means family vacations! St. Paul relies on you, the members of St. Paul to do ministry and when your tithing takes a vacation, certain projects have to take a back seat. So, we want to remind you that we offer electronic giving as a way to automate your regular offering. Electronic giving offers convenience for individual congregation members and provides muchneeded donation consistency for our congregation. Direct Debit Giving is used to automatically transfer funds from your checking or savings account to the church s bank account. Credit & Debit Card Giving lets you make offerings automatically on a pre-determined schedule using a credit or debit card. Online Giving lets you go to at any time to set up an automatic donation plan, change your donation plan, make a one-time donation or view your online donation history. Congratulations to Savanna Herman who has recently graduated from Catawba Valley Community College with a specialization in Respiratory Therapy. She will soon begin employment at CaroMont Regional Medical Center of Gastonia. Congratulations also to Tayler Lail who graduated from Maiden High on June 10 th. While in high school she was part of the Promise Program where she was able to earn a number of college credits. She plans to attend CVCC this fall to finish her Associates Degree. Both women were honored during worship on June 18 th and presented with their own copies of the Lutheran Handbook. Summer Youth Opportunities THANK YOU to Zoey Lail, Connor McNeil, Everly McNeil, Natalie Lail, Savannah Lail, Dylan Lail, Karina Coulter and Cierra Lail, who participated in the Gospel Processional for Pentecost Sunday on June 4 th. WET N WILD WATER PARK: 19 youth and adults attended. A good time was had by all. Future Dates Mark Your Calendar Camp Lutherock Sunday July 9 th Saturday July 15 th. Agape Day Camp Monday July 17 th Friday July 21 st. Kure Beach Retreat Thursday July 27 th Sunday July 30 th NATIONAL YOUTH GATHERING JUNE 2018: Watch for upcoming information in the near future. Registration is open in September. PAGE 3

4 WELCA Summer Hiatus Your St. Paul WELCA members will not be formally meeting in July but will remain busy nonetheless. Your WELCA team will be assisting with the Agape Day Camp Meet-n-Greet on July 16 th and many members have already volunteered to assist the counselors during the week. From setting up the tree to dividing and delivering the donations, the Christmas in July school tools project is managed by our WELCA members. We are also considering sponsoring special 3 P s for the 3 R s programs this Fall including a selfdefense class, CPR training, identity theft awareness and a program presented by a local author. These potential programs will be offered to all who are interested. Please let a WELCA participant know if you would like to see any of these offerings. The Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at St. Paul are, indeed, involved in our church, community and the world. Summer Camp Be sure to wish our Lutherock campers well. Several of our young people will attend a week filled with faith and fun beginning on July 9 th. If you remember your church camp experiences, you know what terrific opportunities are awaiting them. And we will look forward to hearing their highs and lows when they return! Next month our area students will be returning to the classroom. In addition to learning geography, spelling, grammar, science (both computer and physical science), respect and cooperation, they will also learn the 3 basic R s: reading, writing and rithmetic. Let s help these young people start the scholastic year fully equipped to be successful. They will need the 3 P s: pencils, pens and paper. Crayons, book bags, binders, notebooks and even earbuds will be needed by the students. St. Paul has the wonderful opportunity to support our area youth attending Startown, Blackburn and Maiden Elementary s by selecting an ornament from our Christmas in July tree located in the Sanctuary and purchasing the item described on the back of the ornament. Through the month of July we will be collecting school supplies to benefit the students at the three schools. And to make it really easy to donate to this effort, the house located nearby is ready to accept your check or cash contribution. All supplies and money collected will be evenly split between the three schools and delivered just prior to the first day of school. Help us help these students! The St. Paul Lutheran Church Congregation Council met on June 11th, 2017 beginning at 11:30am. Motions Approved: Attendance Report May 2017 Congregation Council Meeting Minutes Treasurers Report to be filed for audit Pastors Report Ministry Team Reports Pastor Yount membership transfer to Shepherd of the Sea Lutheran Church in Atlantic Beach, NC Anna Schneider to unite in membership with St. Paul Lutheran by affirmation of faith Transfer $200 annual sponsorship donations to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops asap Have the mildew on the handicap ramp and surrounding concrete and brick professionally cleaned by HydroClean Pressure Washing Co of Hickory as soon as can be scheduled for cost of $360 Items of Interest: Bat issue at mission property in process of remedy Church Office is now setup to accept debit/credit cards for mission property rentals and other incidental donations Murals from St. Paul's 100th Anniversary Observance have been returned. Display location TBD. Meeting was adjourned at 1:03pm with the Lord's Prayer. PAGE 4

5 MONTHLY DUTIES JULY WORSHIP ASSISTANTS Liturgy The Work of the People Offered Unto God USHERS Dick Walker Ann Walker ALTAR GUILD Keith Frye Kathy Frye MONEY COUNTER (TELLER) SUNDAY SCHOOL TELLER Marty Coulter Richard Blackburn COMMUNION (1ST, 3RD, 5TH) Richard Helton Wanda Helton COMMUNION (2ND, 4TH) Dewey Jones Betsy Lindler WEEKLY DUTIES July 2 July 9 July 16 July 23 July 30 GREETER Myrtle Urcinola Donna Pero Harvey Frye Barbara Reed Gail Bowman LAY READER Wanda Helton Libby Wells Ann Walker Kathy Frye Barbara Sloop PRAYER LEADER Wanda Helton Keith Frye Keith Frye Gail Bowman Richard Helton ACOLYTE Donna Miller Wanda Helton Zoey Lail Keith Frye Karina Coulter CRUCIFER Keith Frye Mary Kraft Tom Lail Wanda Helton Donna Miller CHILDREN S MESSAGE Gail Bowman Barbara Sloop Wanda Helton Keith Frye Mary Kraft PAGE 5

6 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 9am - Set up for Christmas in July Independence Day Council Reports 8pm - A.A. Office Closed Due Pastor Ralph & Mary Kraft on vacation pm - A.A. 11am - Return from Camp Lutherrock 11:30am - Church Council 3pm - Depart for Camp Lutherrock August 6pm - Agape Day 8pm - A.A. Newsletter Camp Cookout Deadline 6pm - Meet & Greet at Mission Property pm - A.A. Middle Youth at Camp Lutherrock Agape Day Camp at Mission Property, 9am-3pm each day Kure Beach Retreat Kure Beach PAGE 6

7 499 Years and Counting by Timothy J. Wengert Wengert, an ELCA pastor, is professor emeritus of Reformation history at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Author and editor of more than 20 books, including Martin Luther's Catechisms: Forming the Faith (Fortress, 2009), his translation of the Small Catechism is used extensively throughout the ELCA. In 2017, Lutherans, other Protestants and even Roman Catholics will mark the 500th anniversary of the German Reformation, when Martin Luther, a relatively unknown theology professor in Wittenberg, penned 95 short statements, or theses, on the practice of indulgence sales for debate at his university. On Oct. 31, 1517, Luther sent a copy of the theses to Albrecht, the archbishop of Mainz. Ten years later, on Nov. 1, 1527, he remembered the day for the trampling under foot of indulgences and promised an old friend that he would toast its memory. People are still remembering 499 years later. The 95 Theses made two main points. First, they argued from history that the pope, like other pastors, only had authority over ecclesiastical penalties imposed upon flagrant sinners but no authority to reduce God s punishment or chastisement for sin. Most of the ensuing debate focused on this. Second, they harshly criticized preachers of indulgences for misleading people into thinking they could ever purchase their way around God s discipline and penalties for sin by buying the church s indulgence. This second point directs us to the heart of the Christian message for all people. When gathering on Reformation Sunday, we best remember this second point and shape our preaching, teaching and worship accordingly. Three theses summarize this. Thesis 1: Our Lord and Master Christ, in saying Do penance (Matthew 4:17) wanted the entire life of the faithful to be one of penitence. In the standard Latin Bible of Luther s day, Matthew 4:17 was sometimes taken as a command to go to the Sacrament of Penance. In 1516, however, the first Greek New Testament appeared in print, and Luther learned that the Greek word translated into Latin as penance meant change one s mind. Thus, Luther argued that words extended far beyond private confession to a priest, and he insisted that there was no before and after in the Christian life. This thought not only ran against the teaching of Luther s day, but it also challenges Christian practice today, when many people think they once were sinners but now are at least on the way to becoming saints. Luther s first thesis proclaimed that when we stand before God, we are always and only sinners in need of God s amazing grace. Moreover, when we hear the unconditional promise You are forgiven, that word justifies us in God s sight, clothing us with Christ s righteousness. Thus, as Luther often repeated, we are at the same time righteous and sinner (simul iustus et peccator) and must daily return to God s baptismal promises to us. Theses 92 and 93: And thus, away with all those prophets who say to Christ s people, Peace, peace (Jeremiah 6:14), and there is no peace. May it go well for all of those prophets who say to Christ s people, Cross, cross, and there is no cross! These statements summarize the entire 95 Theses. Luther accuses indulgence preachers of offering false peace to people by proclaiming escape from God s chastisement by obtaining letters of indulgence. Christians can no more avoid the consequences of sin than they can buy their way out of death. Many secular and ecclesiastical preachers in our day lure people into the same trap offering all kinds of peace (emotional, financial, familial or societal) and ignoring the truth of the human condition. A letter from 1516 that Luther wrote to a fellow Augustinian, who had just lost his position as prior, clarifies his point: That person whom no one disturbs does not have peace on the contrary, this is the peace of the world. Instead, that person whom everyone and everything disturbs has peace and bears all of these things with quiet joy. You are saying with Israel, Peace, peace, and there is no peace ; instead say with Christ, Cross, cross, and there is no cross. For as quickly as the cross ceases to be cross, so quickly you would say joyfully (with the hymn), Blessed cross, among the trees there is none such [as you]. It s tempting to proclaim and believe in worldly peace. The Christian life, however, moves daily from cross to resurrection, from terror to peace, from death to life, and as in our daily baptism from drowning to rising. This movement properly distinguishes law (which shows sin and puts to death) from gospel (which proclaims forgiveness and brings to life). It also demonstrates what Luther called the theology of the cross, that is, the revelation of God in the last place we would reasonably look (namely in the midst of sin, suffering and death). Thus, our proclamation on Reformation Sunday, and every Sunday in between, is simply: You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). In later writings, Luther associates this saint and sinner, dying and rising and hidden life of faith with baptism. Perhaps the best way to commemorate the Reformation may be simply to return to our baptisms, where we were marked with the cross of Christ forever. PAGE 7

8 St. Paul Lutheran Church STAMP HERE 3761 Startown Rd Newton, NC Phone: (828) <<Address Here>> Agape Day Camp Water of Life How often do we take water for granted each day? Turn the tap, the shower faucet, the sink handle we expect to see fresh, clean water. But how often do we think of the importance of water in our spiritual life? Do we think of the water in our baptism or recite the 23rd Psalm as often as we turn on the faucet? The 2017 Agape Day Campers will be learning about the Water of Life during their week-long experience at our Pavilion. Music, crafts and lots of fun will also be shared. Join us to welcome the trained counselors and the campers and their families on July 16th at 6:00 PM. And it s not too late to volunteer - see Pastor Ralph or Barbara Sloop. PAGE 8