BEACON OF HOPE. Hope Lutheran Church An ELCA Congregation

Transcription

1 BEACON OF HOPE Hope Lutheran Church An ELCA Congregation 2017 "Helping Jesus Build" If Jesus Christ came to you personally and asked you to help Him build His Kingdom, could you refuse? Most of us could not. However like Peter on the night of Jesus' trial when he denied the Lord three times, we probably expect the challenge to build the Kingdom to be some grand scheme, almost other worldly. But such work is often far more mundane and ordinary, at least to us. The work may, however, involve changing peoples' lives and providing a witness to our communities that Christ is still Risen in this world. We have gathered for the past two years in a joint Mission Festival at the Hamler SummerFest grounds for worship, food, and fellowship. We have between those times seen small groups of volunteers work on a few badly needed construction projects locally. That work has helped lives. But we could do so much more! In an effort to better organize and manage such work, retired local builder Roger Schwiebert has agreed to become the volunteer Project Manager of the construction/ renovation efforts of Jesus Builds. Roger will use his expertise to help evaluate what work we can do and help plan and supervise the actual labor. Roger accepted this invitation to lend his considerable talents to the work because he sees this as a call form Jesus to help Him build. If you have possible projects we could consider or wish to be part of a skilled or unskilled labor team please let your church office know. Pastor Keith

2 Members present: Sue Hunsinger, Wanda Norden, Kathy Bishop, Larry Rohrs, Pastor Keith Hunsinger, John Schwiebert, Caroline Grim, Rob Bostelman and Deb Glore. The council meeting was called to order by Caroline Grim, President. The council meeting opened with devotions by Pastor Keith. A motion to accept the secretary s report was made by John Schwiebert and seconded by Rob Bostelman. Motion carried. A motion to accept the treasurer s report was made by Kathy Bishop and seconded by Sue Hunsinger. Motion carried. Pastor s Report In the absence of an interim minister at Trinity Lutheran (Malinta), Pastors Wenger, Olsen and Hunsinger will be visiting their shut-ins. Ministry Reports Christian Life/Outreach Sue reported that their ministry provided snacks for the inter-church meeting on March 21 and the meeting with the Bishop on March 23. Deb will provide the water. Hope assisted at the Shalom Food Pantry on March 20 serving 48 families. Cleaning of the kitchen in the educational building was completed on April 1. Christian Education It was reported the events for the Good Friday service are set. Bible presentation will take place on April 23. VBS will be June 5 to 9. There will be six students attending confirmation camp (one 7 th grader, four 6 th graders and one sibling). Management/Stewardship Larry reported that the April benevolence is for the Voice of Hope with the collection on April 23. The members of the AV Task Team who edit the church service will be reimbursed on a quarterly basis. A motion was made by Larry Rohrs to have Tony Koppenhofer serve on the Management/ Stewardship ministry. It was seconded by John Schwiebert. Motion passed. The Thrivent account currently stands at $171, 380; Matt Crandall from Thrivent reported to the group how he is now handling this investment. Property Rob reported that their ministry will serve soup on April 5. The exterior of the church needs to be finished since the completion of the drainage work, i.e. sidewalk, air conditioning units charged, etc. The basement project continues. Worship Wanda reported that their committee discussed adding new songs to the worship service. Pastor would like to do foot washing at the Maundy Thursday service. The church cleaning will be completed on April 8. The ministry will encourage communion assistants to stand an arm s length from pastor when they distribute the wine; this will help keep space between people receiving communion. Continued on next page

3 Old Business A committee to create a new photo directory will hopefully be created. Information will be placed in the bulletin and newsletter with the expectation of establishing a committee to head this up. A motion was made by Wanda Norden to approve the Wedding Booklet. This was seconded by Sue Hunsinger. Motion passed. New Business No new business A motion to adjourn was made by Wanda Norden and seconded by Sue Hunsinger. Motion passed. The meeting closed with the Lord s Prayer. Next meeting is May 2, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. Kathy Bishop, Secretary Worship Assistants for May Readers 5/7 Sue Prigge 5/14 Dave Grim 5/21 (Confirmation) Confirmands 5/25 (Ascension) Jim Witte 5/28 (Graduation) Graduates Acolytes 5/7 Maggie Rohrs, Makayla Updike 5/14 Josh Tyson 5/21(Confirmation) 5/25(Ascension) Ella Badenhop, Alex Updike Alex Updike 5/28 (Graduation) Mason Schwiebert Altar Guild Wilma Wolf Margaret Bishop Communion Assistants 5/7 Liz Kuhbander, Jim Witte, Scott Schwiebert 5/21 (Confirmation) Carol Perkins, Diane Dietsch, Roger Schwiebert 5/25 (Ascension) Dave Grim, Judy Damman, Tom Mangas

4 March Attendance 3/1 (Ash Wed.) 101 3/ /8 75 3/ / / / / /29 73 March Donations - $272 March Offerings General Fund $ 18, Building Fund $ Filling Home $ 1, Sufficient Grace Ministries $ Noisy Collection $ Synod Extra $ Shalom $ Soup Supper $ Balances as of 3/31/2017 Hope Lutheran $20, Building & Capital Imp. (Major) $ 34, Emergency Funds $ 4, Student Funds $ 2, Jesus Builds $ 13, National Youth Gathering $ 2, VBS-Christian Life $ Project: We Care $ Confirmation Camp $ 2, Memorials 2015 $ Memorials 2016 $ 2, Total $ 83, Just a reminder, that as graduation season approaches, the white tables were donated for congregational use in the Education Building only. They are not to be removed. Confirmation Sunday, May 21, 2017 This year s confirmands are: Maggie Lynne Rohrs Makayla Joann Updike

5 MEETING DATE: April 12, 2017 MANAGEMENT/STEWARDSHIP MINISTRY ATTENDING: Tom Zgela, Larry Rohrs, Leo Zimmer, Brad VanDeBussche, Tony Koppenhofer Deb Glore (Treasurer), Pastor Hunsinger ABSENT: Pat Woods Meeting opened at 6:03 P.M. with a prayer from Pastor Hunsinger. Minutes of previous session were read and approved. Financial reports were reviewed, and approved. OLD BUSINESS: *The Benevolence for the Voice of Hope is on April 23. Tom Z. and Pastor will do the Mission Moment. *Further discussion on paying the editors for the Voice of Hope broadcasts once we hit the summer months was held. Thanks to Leo for being involved in these discussions. *It was decided to stay with the same Thrivent plan that we are currently utilizing. This plan has netted us over $25, in just under 5 years. NEW BUSINESS: *Larry Rohrs gave us a report from the Church Council meeting. *May Benevolence is Together We Can Make A Difference. Collection date will be May 7th. Tom Z. will arrange for a speaker that day. *June Benevolence is World Blanket Fund. Collection date will be June 25 th. Tom Z. will set up the speaker for that day. *The Thrivent account is not available. NEXT MEETING: May 10, 2017 at 6:00 P.M. CLOSED: 6:43 P.M. with the Lord s Prayer. Submitted by Tom Zgela (Secretary) Together We Can Make a Difference May 7 Items for May Ketchup, Mustard, Salt, Pepper

6 The Christian Life/Outreach Ministry held their meeting for March on March 8, All members were present: Deb Jones, Barbara Kruse, Shirley Schroeder, Geralyn Badenhop, Sue Hunsinger, and Carol Gerken-Lones. On March 20 th, Inter-church conversations will be held at Hope Church in the basement. Members of our committee are encouraged to attend as able. It begins at 6:30pm. Sue, Barb, and Carol will provide snacks and drinks for the people who attend. Deb will have water in the basement refrigerator. March 23 at 6:30, the area pastors will meet with the Bishop in our church basement. Geralyn, Deb, and Shirley will provide cookies and water for the people expected. April 2 nd Deb will pick up water (only) for those expected at church. She will have 8 cases available for use in the church basement (kitchen) ahead of time as she will not be there that day. We will speak with council concerning cleaning the kitchen in the education building, if needed we will do so on April 1 st at 9:00. Steve said he would clean the windows. In the past, our committee was in charge of this area before Easter services. We will meet again on April 23 rd following worship. Respectfully submitted, Geralyn Badenhop Upcoming Luther League Recycling Day: May :30 am Hamler SummerFest Grounds. Please remember we do not accept glass of any kind.

7 The Worship Ministry met on Sunday, Mar. 19, 2017 after the service. In attendance were Wanda Norden, Shirley Bostelman, Sandy Burgel, Toni Lanzer, and Ashley Klein. We started the meeting with a discussion of how to work new songs into the service. Pastor would like to do foot washing at the Maundy Thursday service. We discussed which students he could use for it. He will talk to them to decide. We went through the list of ushers for the Wednesday night Lenten Ushers to make sure every service was covered. We discussed the Soup Supper we are in charge of and signed up for what each person will bring. Communion Assistants: We decided that the assistants distributing the wine should stand an arm s length from Pastor. This will help keep some space so it doesn t seemed rushed as people moved through the line. We discussed the next three months projection and Pastor gave us his upcoming vacation dates. Wanda gave her report of the church council meeting. We will be meeting at the church at 9:00AM on April 8 for church cleaning. Our next meeting will be moved to April 23 after the service. Respectfully Submitted, Ashley Klein Dear Hope Congregation: Thank you for allowing us to use your church and education building to practice and perform our Easter Cantata. Sincerely, Luminary Seven

8 Hope last had a photo directory in We are long past where our traditional schedule would have us produce another. We have received multiple offers from companies which would like to produce one. Is there interest? In order to have a directory we would need a committee of 8-12 people to make calls, schedule times, act as hosts/hostess, help arrange the candid and group pictures, consult on layout, and a variety of other tasks. The work would be short term, but could entail a lot of time. Would you be willing to work on such a task? If so, please let Pastor Keith or the church office know of your willingness and we will progress further. Vacation Bible School will be in session June 5-9 for grades Pre-school through 6th grade from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Kickoff on Sunday June 4th during Sunday School. We are looking forward to another exciting year of learning about Jesus during our "Mighty Fortress". Children are encouraged to bring a paint shirt to keep clothes clean during craft time. Children may also bring other supplies such as pencils, crayons, scissors, washable markers and glue. Please label all supplies and shirts with your child's name or initials. Thanks to everyone who will be donating snacks and drinks this year! Please drop off your snacks or drinks on Sunday, June 4th in the education building kitchen. Thanks, in advance, to this year s teachers and helpers. Without you, we could not have a successful and exciting VBS! Your time and dedication is very much appreciated! Summer School will be in session from 12:30 3:00 for upcoming 7th and 8th graders. Please remember to pack a lunch! A sign-up poster is in the church entryway for: Students/Teachers/Helpers/Snack Providers. All are welcome, our students, friends and extended family.

9 Healthy Hope Notes He is risen, He is risen Indeed Alleluia. How I love these words. Our lent wellness group finished on a high note with line dancing thanks to the talents of Ashley, Andrea and Kara Klein and Abby Johnson. We learned several dances to get you off your seats and onto the dance floor at the next wedding! We even had Pastor Keith join in on a couple. Everyone had a sweaty good time. Thanks to everyone that participated. We hope to have a Lenten Wellness group again next year and will feature more line dancing and Tai Chi and Cardio Drumming. A later time will be set for 7:00 PM to get more attendance. Thanks to everyone for sharing healthy ideas, tips, recipes and sharing the best places to shop for healthy foods and produce. In the past 2 months we covered nurturing the body and soul and this month we will focus on nourishing the mind. Noise, stimulation, computers, cell phones, the news, billboards, signs, TV and radio are all daily distractions we encounter at work, home and play. Have you ever awoken during sleep to notice the power has gone off? Your ears strain to hear a noise, any noise. There is no hum from the fridge, no ceiling fan whir, no music or TV. Your brain is so used to noise that it strains for constant input of information. Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 NIV. God knows that our minds need rest and a break from stimulation. In our night of Tai Chi, we learned how to focus on our breath. Taking a few minutes each day to break free from the noise of the world is important to our mental health. It allows us to focus on just being present. It takes practice and you need to be patient. We are not taught this in school and like anything new, it takes time. To begin, find a quiet place, either inside or outside in nature. Find a comfortable position and just be still. Close your eyes and take a slow deep breath in and then let it out slowly. Focus on breathing from the diaphragm. To do this place your palm over your upper abdomen, just under your rib cage. Relax your shoulders down and back. Hold your head in an upright, neutral position. Take a slow deep breath and feel your hand rise as you take in the breath. As you let out the breath, your hand should fall. If is it too hard you can try to lie on your back and practice the slow deep breathing while lying down. This is also the breathing you learned in band or chorus. Just concentrate on your breathing, inhale and exhale slowly. Notice how your body feels. Do you have pain anywhere, is there tension anywhere. Try to relax those particular areas of the body. As little as five minutes a day can help center yourself and Be Still. These little breaks to be still help you to reduce stress, improve concentration, increase happiness, slows aging and benefits the cardiovascular system and strengthens your immune system. If you have trouble relaxing and Being Still, there are guided meditations that you can access online and as an app. Two apps that I particularly like (and are free) are Calm and Relax Melodies. They each have seven days of guided meditation to assist you learn the art of meditation. Relax Melodies offers different sounds you can chose to help you relax and can be placed on a timer if you like. Give it a try for a week and see how you feel afterwards. For questions feel free to rjnj_cline@yahoo.com. God is good, He is good always, Janelle

10 F L O S T & U N D CONCERT Saturday, May 6 3:00 4:00 pm Under the pavilion at the Hamler Community Park Concert goers should bring lawn chairs. Food will be available after the concert. $10 in advance $12 at the gate Tickets can be purchased from the church office. Sponsored by Jesus Builds Attention Graduates! We d like to spotlight you in our June Newsletter. Please supply a photo, where you graduated from (high school or college), school activities you were involved in, major, and your plans for the future. Please make sure this information gets turned into the church office no later than May 9th.

11 Health concerns from last month and on-going Prayer Requests: Bernadine Meyer, Ed Michaelis, Paul Schwiebert, Vic and Fran Sonnenberg, Jeanne Gebers, Elizabeth Russell, Morris Witte, Pat Woods, Ken Freytag, Eulene Keeton, Henry Seedorf, Larry Smith, Autumn Sprunger. In the Military: Noah Schwiebert (currently stationed at Ft. Riley, KS.) Homebound and in nursing homes: Lorna Fuhrhop 9668 Co. Rd. J, Malinta, OH Margaret Gerken Vancrest Health Care Center, 600 E. Joe E. Brown Ave., Holgate, OH Bernadine Meyer Vancrest Health Care Center, 600 E. Joe E. Brown Ave., Holgate, OH Ed Michaelis Vancrest Health Care Center, 600 E. Joe E, Brown Ave., Holgate, OH Wally & Elizabeth Russell Sunrise of Worthington, 6525 N. High Street, Apt. 218, Worthington, OH Burdell & Jo Schwiebert Vancrest Health Care Center, 600 E. Joe E, Brown Ave., Holgate, OH Paul Schwiebert The Lutheran Home, 1036 S. Perry St., Napoleon, OH Victor & Fran Sonnenberg Alpine Village, Apt. 416, 1032 Perry St., Napoleon, OH TELEPHONE PRAYER CHAIN --- Anne Witte EPRAYER --- We extend our sympathy to Pastor Keith and family on the death of his fatherin-law Morton Johnson, and his mother-in-law Ruth Johnson. We extend our sympathy to Kirk & Lori Schwiebert and family on the death of Kirk s mother, Juleen Bischoff.

12 HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH State Route 18 HAMLER OH Happy Mother s Day to: SUNDAY SCHEDULE 9:00 am Sunday School 10:15 am Worship 7:00 pm Wed. Worship Office Hours Pastor: Tuesday-Thursday Secretary: Tuesday - Friday mornings 8 am-1 Voice of Hope Our worship services can be heard on WDFM-FM 98.1, Defiance. The previous week s service is broadcast each Sunday morning at 8 am