The Witness. Men s Prayer Breakfast Saturday August 1 at 8:00 am The men of the church meet at Three Brothers Restaurant for food and fellowship.

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1 The Witness The Newsletter of Redeemer Lutheran Church August 2015 Men s Prayer Breakfast Saturday August 1 at 8:00 am The men of the church meet at Three Brothers Restaurant for food and fellowship. Pets Are Welcome Service (PAWS) Sunday August 11:30 am Get a blessing for your pet and support this new ministry. RINGS Mission Trip Recap Sunday August 10:00 am Our High School Youth Group will report on their trip to the ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit. All Church Brunch at Big Foot Inn Sunday August 12:00 pm Get together with your church family for Sunday Dinner. Rotary Food Distribution Friday August 1:00 pm Make a difference in the lives of those in need. Open Grill Night & Campfire Night Every 6:00 pm Bring something to grill or just come for the campfire.

2 Fundraising Car Show & Hot Dog Festival Saturday September 19 at 10:00 am Our car show is only a few weeks away!! The next meeting will be on Sunday August 9 at 9:10 am between the services. We are getting close and there is much to be done! Please consider attending and find out how you can help. Please see Anne Johnson with any questions. We are looking forward to a fun-filled day! Rich Johnson is coordinating the live music, and John and Susan Hudson will be wearing their hot dog costumes. John Van Fleet has secured trophies, and Anne Johnson has made arrangement for the gift bags. Be sure and save the date and invite your friends and neighbors. Please note that the rain date is September 26, so keep this date open on your calendar. Crandall s Dinner Monday October 26 Tickets are being prepared for our 2nd annual Crandall s All-You-Can-Eat Chicken Dinner Fundraiser. We will need help with publicity and ticket sales. On the night of the dinner we will volunteers to help serve the food. If you have any questions please see Debbie Dechant. Snow Angels Craft Fair Saturday December Applications for the 2015 Snow Angels Craft Fair are available in the church office. Pick up your copy for yourself or a crafty friend! Spaces start at $40. This year s Craft Fair will once again be coordinated by Arne Olsen, but Arne wants to retire and is looking for someone to take over in Please consider volunteering to coordinate next year s event. Fellowship Brunch at Big Foot Inn Sunday August 16 at 12:00 pm On Sunday August 16 at 12:00 pm there will be an All Church Brunch at Big Foot Inn, located north of Harvard on Rt. 14 at the Wisconsin state line. The cost for this all-you-can-eat buffet brunch is $15.95 for adults and $9.95 for children 10 and under. Please sign up at the Welcome Table if you plan to attend. For more information please see Susan Hudson. RINGS HS Youth Group Youth Gathering Recap Sunday August 9 at 10:00 am RINGS had 12 youth and 4 chaperones attend the ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit, MI on July We traveled by bux with 36 others from 3 other McHenry Cty ELCA churches. Pictures from the trip are on p. 3. RINGS will report on their experiences at the Youth Gathering on Sunday August 9 at the 10:00 am service. The next RINGS meeting will be on Sunday August 9 at Grace, Richmond at 5:00 pm..

3 ELCA Youth Gathering More than 30,000 youth came to the Youth Gathering. Every evening worship services were held at Ford Field. The young people went out into the city to participate in various mission activities. Pastor Tom led this group that helped clean up vacant lots. Getting ready to board the bus for Detroit. Pastor Tom and his wife Pastor Sarah are on the far left.

4 Council Report The monthly Council Report was given on June The Congregational Council met Tuesday night, July 14, opening with prayer and song to the accompaniment of Dave Byers in the Sanctuary. Contributions were down significantly for June. The council asks that members maintain their pledge commitments while on vacation in the summer months. It makes a big difference in the bottom line. The first Pets Are Welcome Service PAWS was held June 7, and Susan Hudson and Michelle Schindler did a lot of work to make sure it was a success. Among the people attending the 11:30 a.m. service was one person who was new to the church! Pastor Tom, and council members Debbie Dechant and John VanFleet attended the synod assembly June at Augustana College in Rock Island, coming back with new ideas for the church. We congratulate Pastor Tom on being installed June 26 as president of the Woodstock Noon Rotary Club, whose Northern Illinois Food Bank distribution is hosted on a monthly basis at Redemeer. Plans continue for the Second Annual Car Show and Hot Dog Festival on Sept. 19, and church members and friends are encouraged to attend the planning meetings, which are held between services on Sunday. Anne Johnson is leading the event. Debbie Dechant has ordered tickets for the Oct. 26 Crandall s chicken dinner fundraiser. Both of these are major fundraisers for Redeemer to support church ministries. Price quotes for new flooring in Fellowship Hall came in high $12,000 to $20,000 and more research is being done to reduce the cost. Discussion is continuing Into the feasibility of installing a shower in the building to be used by PADS guests. Both projects are being paid for with funds from last year s capital appeal, highlighted by the Car Show and Hotdog Festival and the Crandall s dinner, including a matching grant from Thrivent. The council approved a three-month lease for a budding new congregation that has started meeting here on Sunday afternoons for five hours. About 20 to 30 people attend worship service. Rent is to be determined. The council also approved allowing the Town Square Players to use Fellowship Hall on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings Aug. 30 through Sept. 27. They are rehearsing White Christmas, which will be performed Nov at the Woodstock Opera House. Finally, the council is searching for a new member to replace Curt Bruce, who resigned for health reasons. Anyone who has an inkling of interest in serving on the council is asked to contact council President Bruce Friedman or any council member. The council meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m., and meetings usually last about two hours. The next council meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, and the congregation is invited to attend. Dick Peterson

5 Pastor s Message Detroit. Saying its name scared people. You know the story. Bankruptcy. Diminished city services. Highest per capita murder rate in the US. 1.1 million people left Detroit in the last 60 years. In 2013, CNN travel personality Anthony Bourdain spoke these words about Detroit for his series Part Unknown: It's hard to look away from the ruin. To not find beauty in the decay. Comparisons to Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, ancient Rome are inevitable. Magnificent structures representing the boundless greens of the dead, left to rot. Yet unlike Angkor and Leptis Magna, people still live here. We forget that. It is easy to dismiss a city based on statistics. Yet if one takes the chance and visits, the experience could be positive. Does this sound familiar? People are dismissed because of the color of their skin, economic situation or sexual orientation, only to find that once a conversation is struck up, they might not be so different after all. It might even lead to a good conversation or even friendship! This is what happened with our trip to Detroit. I wondered how bad it might be. Not how good could it be, how bad it might be. Silly thinking really. The saying don t judge a book by its cover is so true. A major theme of the gathering was that God calls all creation good, that God calls us good. Although we might be different from each other in so many ways, humans are created in God s image and we must love and respect each other. Many Ford Field speakers gave testimonies to various and sometimes haunting struggles. They made and make it through life with support from others, the church and their faith in God. As they make their way, they share their love and God s love with others, helping them as they were helped. We all need to hear this message and it is especially important for teenagers to hear it. The changes, challenges and expectations thrust upon them moving toward adulthood can be dizzying. To have someone stand up and share their struggle and say it will be ok is reassuring. To know that someone is walking with you, and perhaps even carrying you sometimes, is powerful. These speeches directly related to a Bible study from Mark 2:1-12. This is where the paralytic is lowered to Jesus through a roof for healing by his four friends. This story illustrates the power of people walking with someone with needs. Without his friends, the paralytic would have never made it to Jesus, and would have missed his chance to be healed. So we went to Detroit, because people still live there. God s people live there. I m glad we did and didn t miss this chance. Come join us Sunday August 10:00am and hear more stories about God s presence on our trip.

6 Birthdays and Anniversaries We try to create an accurate listing of members birthdays and anniversaries. If your important date isn t listed, please the church office at info@rlcw.org and we will make sure that we get it right next time. We hope you enjoy this feature and appreciate your patience with any (unintentional) errors or omissions! Birthdays August 5 Phyllis Ule August 6 Maggie Griffin August 8 Owen Wilson August 15 Joey Cubert August 18 Deb Story Anniversaries August 8, 1982 Al & Liz Henniges August 10, 1968 Brian & Britt Lee August 14, 1982 Arne & Marie Olsen August 15, 1998 Tom Rogers & Sarah Wilson August 21, 1993 Jim & Linda Podgorski August 22, 1964 Louis & Carolyn Jurisch August 28, 1976 Joe & Charlotte Scholpp Worship & Music Many thinks to Gloria Peetz, John Hudson, and Dick Peterson for leading worship during Pastor Tom s time off during July. They all did an excellent job keeping things going. During July Pastor Tom attended an orientation for his daughter s upcoming trip to Chile as a Rotary Exchange Student, the ELCA Youth Gathering, and Sarah s family reunion. It s great to have him back! Music Notes I recently saw an interesting article in Worship Leader magazine called The Mysterious Impact of Music and Song. After recounting several Biblical references to music and singing, the article goes on to create a brief list and description of different types of music that play a role in the life of the church: Comfort Music Unity Music Educational Music Experiential Music Celebration Music Music of Lament Remembrance Music As I reflected on this list I gave thanks for the richness of various musical traditions we enjoy in today s churches. Many of the hymns in the ELW fall into the category of Unity, Educational, and Remembrance. Much of the newer music in the Worship & Praise book and the songs that we sing on 4 th Sundays are in the Comfort, Experiential, and Celebration categories. One of the main reason that churches adopt new music is that worship planners

7 can t find a traditional song that expresses a particular sentiment. That was the case for John Wimber s popular Spirit Song, for example. He wanted a song for Holy Communion that was more personal and intimate than any of the existing music he could find. Musical traditions in our churches continue to evolve as we seek new ways to express our faith. At one time, every well known song was a new, unfamiliar song. Over time the best of the best endure and wind up in our hymnals. I wonder what other kinds of music might be added to this list over time? Only the Holy Spirit knows! We are grateful for the new grill that was donated to the church for Grill Night by one of our generous members! Susan Hudson Social Justice Rotary Food Distribution Friday August 21 at 1:00 pm The next Food Distribution will be on Friday August 21 beginning about 1:00 pm at usual. We always need help sorting and distributing the food. The need is great and the people who receive the food are always very grateful for this assistance. Please consider volunteering. Paige, Jillian, and Ben having fun at Grill Night. Woodstock Food Pantry The Woodstock Food Pantry needs your help. Please fill our food wagon with cereals, canned meats, macaroni and cheese, and canned protein items. Deb Story s beautiful dogs Bogie and Ginger received a blessing at July s PAWS service.

8 Community Events Turning Point Fundraiser August The Take a Stand for Turning Point Radiothon, broadcast on Star will be on broadcase on Friday and Saturday August from Sam s Club in Crystal Lake. The Radiothon helps Turning Point raise funding in kind support in their efforts to meet their mission and vision of ending domestic violence and abuse. This year s event will feature a vintage and antique car show, local entertainment, and a host of other activities. A number of local dignitaries will be guest speakers throughout the event and will be communicating the need for domestic violence services in McHenry County. For more information please contact Greg Hoaglin at x265. Capital Appeal Don t mind our dust!! The Capital Appeal team would like to warn you that they will be ripping out the old carpet in Fellowship Hall during August. The goal is to have the new flooring installed by the end of the month. They apologize for any inconvenience this might cause, but we all look forward to seeing the results!

9 August 2015 Sunday Servants 8:00 AM 2-Aug 10:00 AM Phyllis Ule Communion Bruce Friedman John Hudson Reader Carolyn Jurisch Nick & Jamielynn Wedoff Usher Anne Johnson & Jerry Sanato John & Susan Hudson Greeter Dick & Pat Peterson Altar Care: Anne Johnson 8:00 AM 9-Aug 10:00 AM n/a Communion Kathie Schultz & Kelly Van Fleet Susan Hudson Reader Gloria Peetz Curt Bruce Usher Joe & Charlotte Scholpp Don & Irene Range Greeter Steve Ujka & Betty Frank Altar Care: Mary Laidig 8:00 AM 16-Aug 10:00 AM John Hudson Communion Joe Scholpp & Rich Taylor Kimberly Zinke Reader Anne Johnson Brian & Britt Lee Usher Rich & Ginger Johnson Jim & Phyllis Ule Greeter Bruce Friedman Altar Care: 8:00 AM 23-Aug 10:00 AM n/a Communion Ginger Johnson & Mary Laidig Irene Berger Reader John Van Fleet Ray & Ami Lucich Usher Bill & Carol Schultz LeRoy & Carol Knudsen Greeter Robert Jablonski Jr./Sr. Altar Care: Mary Laidig 8:00 AM 30-Aug 10:00 AM n/a Communion Dick & Pat Peterson Jamielynn Wedoff Reader Charlotte Scholpp Marie Nikitovich Usher Maggie & Molly Griffin Liz Henniges Greeter John & Kelly Van Fleet Altar Care: Mary Laidig