FEBRUARY 2017 STAFF COUNCIL. Rev. Andrea Windsor-Peterson Pastors. Ann Simon Ken Voss

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1 FEBRUARY 2017 STAFF COUNCIL Rev. Jason Peterson Rev. Andrea Windsor-Peterson Pastors Melinda East Director of Music/Organist Tara Spray Secretary Brandi Pate Nursery Attendant Mary Filpus-Luyckx President Heather Herrmann Vice President Jared Fischer Secretary Debbie Merzlak Treasurer Ann Simon Ken Voss

2 BISHOP S ARTICLE I WAS A STRANGER October 31, 2016 by Bishop Elizabeth Eaton I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matthew 25:35). Today there are more than 60 million displaced people in the world, more than at any time since World War II. From Syria, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Somalia, Afghanistan and Colombia, people are fleeing for their lives from war, famine, gang violence, crushing poverty, drought and floods. Parents make the wrenching choice to send their children away with the hope that the possibility of a better life in a new country outweighs the violence of their home countries and the perils of the journey. It seems the whole world is on the move. Migration has been part of the story of the people of God from the beginning. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, and God sent Abram and Sarai from their homeland to a new land. Joseph s brothers and father were refugees in Egypt. Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years after God liberated them from oppression and infanticide. The people of God suffered bitter exile in Babylon after they were forced from Judah by war and ethnic cleansing. The memory of migration, forced exile, of being the stranger stayed with the people of God through the centuries and became part of their confession of faith: you shall make this response before the Lord your God: A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien (Deuteronomy 26:5). The experience of God s people compelled Israel to give special care to the stranger. When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:33-34). Jesus also experienced forced migration. We read in Matthew 2:13-15 that the holy family fled for their lives from Israel into Egypt. And during the years of his earthly ministry Jesus had no permanent home. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). Our Lord not only commended us to welcome the stranger, Jesus made it clear that when we welcome the stranger we welcome him. Lately in our country there is a lot of anxiety about migrants and strangers. They are too often portrayed as a threat. They are the others. They need to be monitored. They don t belong here. This is our home. This is our country. We belong here. When we look at the world in this way it isn t possible to see that we, too, are on a journey; we, too, were once no people; we, too, are only passing through. The author of Hebrews recounting the history of salvation makes this clear when speaking about our ancestors in faith: All these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:13-16).

3 PASTORS ARTICLE He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Micah 6:8 was the Old Testament lesson from the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. The season of Epiphany is a season of revelations or epiphanies revealing who Jesus is. The season began with the Wiseman bringing gifts to the new born king and paying homage to the Christ child. The next Sunday we heard the declaration that Jesus is God s beloved and through Jesus we are also called beloved and we are encouraged to listen to Jesus. Then we heard about Jesus call to his disciples to follow him. The last Sunday in January, Jesus gave his inaugural address of his ministry, the beatitudes, where we learned about the blessed. In the weeks to come throughout February, in this season of Epiphany, we will continue in Matthew 5 where we will hear about how we are salt of the earth and are told to let our light shine. We will hear how we are to forgive others and Jesus even lays out a way to do this. Jesus will challenge us the following week to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The season of Epiphany will end with Jesus transfiguration on a mountain where when coming down from the mountain, Jesus prepares for his road to Jerusalem and the cross. Epiphany leads us into the season of Lent. However, as we close out the season of Epiphany, Jesus will first continue to teach us many ways from the Gospel of Matthew, what it means to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. These ways that Jesus declares are not always easy to follow and many times they are counter intuitive to the way we view the world. The justice Jesus preaches is to help those who are the meek, mourning, lost, and the least. It is these he calls blessed. Jesus continues to teach us and then ultimately shows us what true forgiveness and true love looks like and tells us to do likewise. It is within this season of Epiphany that we have been hearing a lot from our new Advocacy Ministry at Advent. This group is gathering together to grow in their discipleship of living out what Micah 6:8 declares and Jesus proclaims. How do we do justice together and for others? How do we love kindness and live it out in this world? How do we continue to walk humbly with our God? Through this new ministry at Advent, we explore these themes of justice, kindness, and humility as we seek to fulfil our call to be the voice for those in need. Each month, we gather together with a meal, we hear from a local speaker on how we can advocate for those in need, and we have open conversations on how we can as Christians, be advocates for justice in this world. If you have never been a part of this group, we encourage you to come to the meeting on February 28 th at noon. If you cannot attend these meetings in person, we encourage you to join us on Facebook. You can contact Mary Filpus-Luyckz or Amy Smith on how you can join the Facebook group, they would love to talk to you more about the Advocacy ministry. If you just are not sure if this ministry is for you, we encourage you to pray the following prayer from our Lutheran Book of Worship (Green Hymnal) as we struggle together in this world to be the hands and feet of Christ. Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may move every human heart, that the barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease, and that, with our divisions healed, we might live in justice and peace; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen In Christ s Love, Pastor Jason and Pastor Andrea

4 Sunday, Feb. 5th Fifth Sunday After The Epiphany Worship & Holy Communion 9:30am Sunday School & Confirmation Class 10:45am Sunday, Feb. 12th Sixth Sunday After The Epiphany Worship & Holy Communion 9:30am Sunday School & Confirmation Class 10:45am Sunday, Feb. 19th Seventh Sunday After The Epiphany Contemporary Worship & Holy Communion 9:30am Men s Breakfast Sunday School & Confirmation Class 10:45am Sunday, Feb. 26th Transfiguration of our Lord Last Sunday After The Epiphany Worship & Holy Communion 9:30am Sunday School & Confirmation The Lenten Schedule will be Coming out in the March Newsletter

5 Tag It or Bag It We are in the process of doing a church inventory. Our goal is to clean out and reorganize/redistribute storage areas and church property to make life easier for everyone. We re asking church organizations and organizations using the church, during the month of February, please tag or bag your material stored within the building. If you have something stored anywhere please tag it with: Organization name and contact person. If you have something in storage you don t want to keep please bag it and leave by the back door with a label to trash it and we ll see it gets in the dumpster. In March we will begin cleaning out and reorganizing all church property and storage areas. As this process happens things not tagged/identified as necessary for a church related activity will be thrown away. When finished we will take pictures of all church areas/property and include a written descriptions of what goes where. The inventory will be stored in the church office and be available as necessary. Thanks for your help. Fellowship Ministry

6 Advent s Youth Ministry Souper Bowl of Caring- February 5, 2017 A simple prayer: "Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat." Souper Bowl of Caring is a national movement of young people working to fight hunger and poverty in their own communities. Advent youth are collecting can foods and money to benefit GAP Ministries. Place your can goods or spare change in the bowl for your favorite team. Will it be the Falcons or will it be the Patriots? Either way, our community wins with your donation! Prayer Ministry Pray for Healing & Provision: Dee Alderson, Marge Rahn, Edgar Bollinger, Ruth Neumann, Tania Hayes, Art Suprek, Al Trappe, Irmgard Crowder, Diana Perry, Maggie Heaney, Ann Furlong, Virginia Reedstrom, Jackie Voss, Daisy Morgan, Randy Lester, Lura Howard, Henny & Wouter Klaassen, Jean Harrell, Ed Merzlak, Eric Stirewalt, Marijo Bower, Doug Bower, Pat Hubble, Judy (Debbie Merzlak's sister), All those who serve as Chaplains. Pray for Our Deployed Military: Dale Tupper, Peggy Martin, Aaron Hanes-Dodd, Rob Gulbrandson, Rayland Dawood, Steven Johnson.

7 Advent Children s Service Project All children 13 years old and younger are invited to attend the Advent Children s Service Project. We will be making Valentine s for the shut-ins. When: Where: February 11th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Advent Lutheran Church Sponsored by: Service Ministry of Advent Lutheran Church We will make Valentines, have snacks and a good time. Please see Jackie Voss if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

8 SERVICE MINISTRY Food Pantry Item of the Month This month we are collecting instant oatmeal for the GAP Food Pantry. It only requires water and makes a quick and hot breakfast. It can also be easily carried by the homeless. Thanks you for all your support to GAP Ministries. We are showing the love that Jesus has for us to all. If you wish to make a donation for GAP, please see Jackie Voss or the Pastors. For the next three weeks, we at Advent will learn more about the ministry called icare, and hopefully pledge $1.00 for each person to support their mission to rescue and restore survivors of trafficking. We are so fortunate to have Karen Corry, and representatives of icare, to join us in our first introduction during the Sunday School hour. Please join us in the Adult Sunday School room February 12th, following worship.

9 Flowers, Candles & Missionary Support New Flower Chart for 2017 has been posted. Each arrangement follows the liturgical seasons of the Church year and are arranged by Martina s Flowers and Gifts. The cost of the arrangements are $30 weekly. The eternal light burning above the lectern (where lessons are read) is given in memory or in honor of a loved one. The cost is $30 for the entire month for Eternal Candles. ADVENT BOOK CLUB Once again, Thanks to all my Advent Family for making this last season so wonderful! Thanks to the Choir for their beautiful contribution to our worship! Now it is time to get ready for all that the Lenten and Easter season will bring. We have plenty of room for more singers in the Choir. We practice Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. Also, if you enjoy singing, but steep stairs are not your thing, we now have a brand new, very safe and comfortable chair lift. A GREAT BIG THANKS to those who made this possible and especially to the WONDERFUL anonymous ANGEL who made it possible for this to happen so soon! This month s book is As Long as the Rivers Run by Barbara Seaborne. Ulrike Beck has generously arranged for Ms. Seaborne to be the Discussion Leader at this meeting. Many thanks to Ulrike and Ms. Seaborne! Jackie Voss & Donna Meisner will be our gracious hostess. Join us Monday, February 27nd at 7:30pm for fun & fellowship! Blessings, Melinda

10 SING, DANCE, PERFORM, SPEAK, WHAT EVER TALENT YOU HAVE, JOIN ADVENT ON TUESDAY FEB. 28TH FOR: Mardi Gras,, also known as Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday is the day before our Lenten journey begins. It is customary that on Shrove Tuesday, that believers get rid of, or use up, all their fat in preparation for the Lenten fast. This year for our Mardi Gras Celebration we will be having Food, Music, and Fun. We will begin the evening with a Pizza Dinner, then dessert. Please feel free to bring a dessert (fatty) item to share in keeping with our Fat Tuesday tradition. A new addition to the night is Live Music. We invite those who would like to share their musical talent to sign up in the narthex of the church. Rhett Bickley has so generously volunteered to start and close out the night with live music. We of course will still conclude this event with the burying of the Alleluia and Rhett has a special treat planned musically. Dinner and Entertainment begins at 6:30pm Don t forget to Sign Up for your talent. Also, please let us know how many will be attending. (For the purpose of ordering pizza) Sign Up Sheet is on the Sign-Up Central in the narthex.

11 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 Staff Meeting 10:00am 2 Bible Study 6:30pm 3 4 AA Group 8:00am - 9:15am Choir 6:30pm Property Meeting 9:00am Chinese Christian Fellowship 6:00pm 9:30pm 5 Worship 9:30am Sunday School & Confirmation 10:45am 6 Hand Bells 6:00pm 7 Bible Study 10:00am 8 Choir 6:30pm 9 Stephen Ministry 6:30pm Children s Service Project 1:00pm SOUPER BOWL OF CARING SES Advocacy Meeting At St. John s In Atlanta 12 Worship 9:30am Sunday School 10:45am No Confirmation Class Youth Group Meeting 12:00pm 13 Hand bells 6:00pm 14 Service Ministry 2:30pm Ministry Night 6:30pm 15 Choir 6:60pm 16 Bible Study 6:30pm AA Group 8:00am - 9:15am Praise Band Rehearsal 11am Advocacy Min. 12:00pm- 1:30pm 19 Contemporary Worship 9:30am Sunday School & Confirmation 10:45am 20 Hand bells 6:00pm 21 Bible Study 10:00am 22 Choir 6:30pm 23 Stephen Ministry 6:30pm 24 All Georgia Youth Gathering Feb. 24th - 26th 25 Lydia Project 9:00am Men s Breakfast Hand bells 6:00pm Book Club 7:30pm 28 Open Mic Night Dinner 6:30pm & Entertainment

12 2/5/17 2/12/17 2/19/17 2/26/17 Assisting Ministers Ingrid Zamecnik Mary Filpus-Luyckx Heather Herrmann Pamela Tipler Lectors Diana Perry Gayle Ricklefs Erin Taylor Bob Holm Communion Assistants Patty Williams Lynn Reed Carol Billings Carole Hope Acolytes /Crucifiers Timmy Peterson/ Stormi Hubble Lily Summers/ Brian Sadenwasser Zach Hubble/ Max Van Bladel Timmy Peterson/ Sophie Van Bladel Ushers Dieter & Ulrike Beck Jim Williams/ Linda Lawrence Diana & Bob Perry Art Rahn/ Steve Merzlak Greeters Peter Kohler/ Vicki Smith Renee Blanchette/ Shirley Chipman Nancy Tokarska/ Donna Meisner Dieter & Ulrike Beck Missionary Support Given by *Sign Up in Narthex* *Sign Up in Narthex* *Sign Up in Narthex* *Sign Up in Narthex* Flowers Given By *Sign Up in Narthex* Ted & Jenny Odeen by Kenny Odeen In Honor of Jan Reedstrom In Memory of Matt Pollich By Hilda & Sean Sullivan Hospital/Shut In Ministers Gayle Ricklefs Patty Williams Jackie Voss Alice Glisson Visitor of Visitors Martha Ostendorff Linda Lawrence Patty Williams Jackie Voss Fellowship Coffee Hour Coffee Only Coffee Only Men s Breakfast Coffee Only Altar Guild Saturday: Altar Guild Late:

13 2/1 Noah Smith 2/1 Pam Tipler 2/2 Danny Moran 2/3 Samantha Jimenez 2/4 Alice Glisson 2/6 Billy Smith 2/6 Christopher Hoops 2/7 Bryce Boeke 2/8 Daisy Morgan 2/9 Chris Rasmusson 2/10 Mable Plueger 2/10 Francesca Furlong 2/12 Sheree Cartee 2/16 Sister Barbara Lee 2/17 Jackie Voss 2/18 Bob Holm 2/19 Paul Filpus-Luyckx 2/24 Gayle Ricklefs 2/28 Sue Barnett 2/23 Al & Irene Trappe 2/28 Gary & Linda Lawrence 3232 Washington Road Augusta, GA Phone: Web: DATED MATERIAL ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Deadline for March Newsletter Articles: Sunday, February 20th