Join us for Spirited Conversations brought to you by. Sunday mornings at 9:00am in the Fellowship Hall

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1 June 2016 Join us for Spirited Conversations brought to you by Our conversa1ons will be sparked by short videos featuring emerging church leaders posing ques1ons like: What does it mean to commit ourselves to a church family for becer or for worse? What role does organized religion play in helping or hindering spiritual growth? Who exactly is the God we worship? What if our churches became places where we prac1ced being like Jesus? Here is the schedule of topics: Sunday mornings at 9:00am in the Fellowship Hall June 5: Bruce Reyes-Chow, Church An Imperfect Family June 12: Lillian Daniel, Religion Spirituality is Not Enough June 19: Brian McLaren, God Faith is a Quest June 26: Mark ScandreCe, Jesus The Revolu1on of Love On Sunday, June 26, we will be receiving new members by affirma1on of faith. This is a wonderful opportunity for prospec1ve, new, and long-1me members to get to know each other, to build rela1onships, and to share their faith stories. Blessings, Pastor Ritva

2 Growing Our Mission: Strategic Working Groups Progress Report Youth Ministry The Youth Ministry working group is morphing into a Youth Leadership Support Team under the direc1on of our Youth and Young Adult Minister, Mark Howland. Members: David Hebrink, DeeAnn Hebrink, John Hebrink, Emma Israel (Council), Amy Kuhn, Karen Vander Sanden, Olivia Vander Sanden (Council Youth Rep). Small Group Ministries This group has suggested using a small group discussion format for helping established, new, and prospec1ve members get to know each other that will be piloted in June as Animate Spirited Conversa1ons. Members: Norm Barnes, Jonathan Chambers, Barbara Kusler, Terri Petersen, Tim Sagers, Jeanne Towell (Council) Invi6ng Others to Join Our Story This working group is organizing our presence at Cedar Rapids PrideFest on Saturday, June 4 (noon-6pm). In addi1on to telling the story of St. Stephen s, we will handing out brochures, and providing children s ac1vi1es, e.g. tacoos, bubbles, and cookies. Members: Paul Below (Secretary), Mark Howland (Chair), Emily Robins (Council), Jonathan Chambers, Bob Streeper, Terri Petersen, Kenn Nye Neighborhood Ministry Members of this group have reached out to Waypoint, Calvin Sinclair Presbyterian Church, and All Saints, and are working on seeng up mee1ngs to assess neighborhood needs and explore possible joint ventures. Members: Jonathan Chambers, Bob Streeper, Melanie Ostmo (Council), John Williams, Mark Howland Space Study Members of this group have met twice with architect Brad Lang to explore possible renova1ons that would improve our main floor restrooms, kitchens, offices, and fellowship space. The group is now working on geeng rough es1mates of what such renova1ons would cost. Members: Vicki Hyland, Emma Israel (Secretary/Council), Kathy Nathan, Ken Nathan (Council), Ev Petersen, Vicar Luci Sesvold, Aaron Tank (Council), MaR Weber. NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 7:00PM Page 2

3 Give Differently Lee Paulsen, Chair, Stewardship Ministry Team Changes are coming to Stewardship at St. Stephen s. Using the ELCA resource, Stewards of God s Love, as a guide to how we think and talk about stewardship. Our long term goals include expanding stewardship to include service, providing financial training opportuni1es, improving revenue stability, and increasing revenue from external resources. Our immediate (short-term) goal is encourage folks to think about how we give rather than how much we give (though giving more is okay too). Why should you consider giving differently? take care of your dona1ons, even when you are not here. EFT forms are available from Jackie Lee or jalpanther@hotmail.com or at where you can also access On-Line Giving. Prayerfully consider giving differently! Budget $5k EFT Missed Budget 7 Months Folks at St. Stephen s currently give in one of three ways: Offering Plate Sunday offering of checks, cash, and coins Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) automa1c withdrawal from checking or savings account On-Line Giving at one 1me or recurring gils using credit card The graphs at the right show us the pacern of giving over the last three years. What we see is that although we have managed each year to meet our overall budget, monthly giving is inconsistent. Some months we meet our needed budget, other months we don t. We also see that as EFT giving has increased, we miss our budget less open. EFT and recurring on-line gils form a solid founda1on, making finances and budge1ng more predictable. EFT and recurring on-line gils Page 3 Budget Budget $6.4k EFT Missed Budget 6 Months $6.9k EFT Missed Budget 5 Months

4 Practice Discipleship in Daily Life Join us as we explore the seven faith practices that are the foundation for following Jesus in daily life: Worship, Prayer, Encourage, Study, Give, Invite, Serve. WORSHIP Animate Spirited Conversa6ons Four Sundays in June, 9:00-9:50am. Small group discussion over morning coffee about Chris1an faith and prac1ce featuring video presenta1ons by emerging church leaders. An excellent opportunity to get to know established, new, and prospec1ve members. (See page 1 for schedule details.) PRAY the life of this congrega1on. The Prayer Team meets every Monday at 12:30pm to pray for concerns iden1fied by members, and for A new summer worship schedule for Sunday mornings began on May 29. We con1nue to offer two services, 8:00 and 10:00am. Please note that it is the second service that will be offered half an hour earlier. The hour in between services will provide opportuni1es for extended fellowship and guided conversa1on. Wednesday worship during the summer will be at 6:30pm according to the following schedule: 1st Wednesday... Taize-style Worship 2nd Wednesday... Interac1ve 3rd Wednesday... Healing Service 4th Wednesday... Interac1ve GIVE Sanctuary Lamp Oil Sponsor Opportunity! If you wish to sponsor a week of oil for our Eternal Lamp, please put $10 in the offering. Be sure to designate in the memo line or on your envelope that this is your intent. Or you can sign up online through Sign Up Genius (hcp:// 2da57-fellowship1) and pay through our online giving op1on. Altar Flowers Sign Up Opportunity! Select a date and indicate if it is a special commemora1on. Place your gil of $25 (marked FLOWERS) in the offering plate or pay through our website s online giving link. Page 4

5 SERVE Our Quil6ng Ministry delivered nine quits to Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI). There are eight more in the works. This ministry welcomes gils of yarn, thread and fabric. The group meets at Barbara Kusler's home (no specific day or 1me), 3849 SouCer Ave. St. SE. Give her a call at (home) or (cell). Lawn Moving Opportuni6es! Each year volunteers like you help the church save thousands of dollars by taking a week or two to mow and trim our grounds. We thank you! Dave Coates has a sign-up sheet with this year s dates. Please take a look at your calendar and sign up. If you have any ques1ons, you can contact Dave at: (home), (cell), dcoates10@gmail.com. Summer Grill Outs Wednesday, June 8 & 22 at 5:45pm, and will be repeated on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month during the summer. Invite your friends and neighbors for food, fellowship, worship around the table, and end the evening with s'mores around the campfire. We hope to see you there; becer yet sign up to help make this a great summer for all! (hcp:// 2da57-wednesdays) Camp EWALU Payments Sign up for camp is star1ng. The preferred payment method for acendees is for parents to make payment to Camp EWALU directly. The alterna1ve payment method which is acceptable as well is to make payment to the church. If you have ques1ons, please contact Ken Nathan (kenkathynathan@gmail.com or ). To say thank you doesn t quite cut it. As a community, you have con]nued to support and pray for Dan and I. For that we give thanks to God. Thank you for the opportunity to preach, teach, hug, talk, and laugh together. It was a blessing to gather with a community that has formed me as I look forward. I con]nue to pray for you, and for the ministry of St. Stephen s. Thank you for helping me to know, live, and share Christ! Peace, Aleese Baldwin Thank you so much for your kindness and willingness to go the extra mile. You are loved and appreciated. BeRy Daniels, Waypoint (for the personal hygiene kits) Page 5

6 Through the Week at St. Stephen s What s usually happening on a given day Sundays 8:00am 1st Worship Service 8:00am Farewell & Godspeed to Sherrie & Joe Avila (6/19) 9:00am Animate Spirited Conversa1ons 10:00am 2nd Worship Service 10:00am Bap1sm of Luke Lemke (6/12) 10:00am New Member Affirmation of Faith (6/26) Mondays 9 to 2:00 Church office open 8:00am Men s Group at Mr. Beans in Marion 12:00pm enews deadline 12:30pm Prayer Team 6:30pm Stephen Ministry (6/6, 20) 6:30pm Ordina1on of Aleese Baldwin, Rothschild, WI (6/20) 7:00pm Boy Scouts (6/13) 7:30pm Men s PuC PuC Golf at Airport Na1onal Waterfall Mini Course (6/6) Tuesdays 9 to 2:00 Church office open 5:30pm Worship & Music Team Mtg (6/14) 6:30pm Ministry Teams Mee1ngs (6/14) 7:00pm Strategic Working Groups (6/14) Wednesdays 9 to 2:00 Church office open 10:30am Staff Mee1ng 5:45pm Summer Grill Out (6/8, 22) 6:30pm Worship (Taize Worship 6/1) 7:15pm Campfire, S Mores, & Fun (6/8, 22) 7:15pm Vocalists Rehearsal 8:30pm Instrumentalists Rehearsal Thursdays 9 to 2:00 Church office open 6:00pm Farmer s Daughter s Market, Hiawatha (6/2) Fridays Pastor s Sabbath Saturdays 11:00am Set up at Basix for PrideFest (6/4, open from 12-6pm) We welcome: Joseph Charles Ilten, born May 17 in Minneapolis to Peter and Ka1e Ilten, weighing 10 lb. 13 oz. He joins sister Haee and is the fourth grandson of Ellen and Dave Dennis. We pray for the families and friends of: Craig and Vicki Shadle on the death of their daughter Jill (friends of Amy Kuhn). Members Steve Thomas Mick Butz Lee Tramutolo Pete Hansen Ken Kaiser Joan Petersen Elaine Peters Toni Lee Judy Nye Suzanne Schmidt Ann Kleman Arlene Ortgies Reta Westercamp Melanie Munro Sally Beltz On the Prayer List Jackson Smith Harriet Hemphill Rela]ves Terry Swalve Trent Rosberg Shirley Coates Rev. Richard Hermstad LaRue Hagen Dave Goepfert Cathy Goepfert Friends Ann Nordby Glenn Kelley Serving in the military and/or overseas Kate Munro (Malawi) Nick Wheeler, Army Na1onal Guard (grandson of Gail & Dan Husmann) Please contact the office or use a Prayer Request card (in your pew rack) to place your loved one s name on this list for two weeks and/or request prayer of the Monday Prayer Team. If your loved one desires a pastoral visit, please contact Pastor Ritva. Page 6

7 As you leave this place, know that God goes with you; God goes behind you to encourage you, beside you to befriend you, above you to watch over you, beneath you to lift you from your sorrows, within you, and always before you to show you the way. As I watch gradua1on announcements roll in, I hear of all the family summer plans, and the excitement of the season starts to buzz, I think of this blessing: a sending out into the world. Summer is an exci1ng 1me for many people. As things wrap up, or things prepare to begin, it s easy to get caught up in the transi1ons, the fun and the warm weather, and the hustle and bustle of the change. I pray that no macer what your summer brings, be it a chapter ending, a chapter beginning, or a con1nua1on of reoccurring events, remember that God is with you in and through it all. Blessings to you for a safe and enjoyable summer. Vicar Luci Sesvold Hello everyone! So it is 1me for me to write my first official Messenger ar1cle from the seat of Youth and Young Adult Minister. What an absolutely awesome view I have from that seat because all that I can see is great possibility and unending opportuni1es. Some of you may have been surprised when you heard my official 1tle was Youth and Young Adult Minister. You may have noted that this is a change from the 1tle under which the posi1on was adver1sed. The reason for this change was due to the conversa1ons in the interview process, conversa1ons with Pastor Ritva and the personnel commicee, and the gils/passion that I have for ministry. This month I will give a synopsis of my responsibili1es and over the next few months I will share more details and my ministry philosophy. Here are those responsibili1es: Being present with middle school and high school youth Teaching Reaching out to the youth of our neighborhood and our community Working with the young adults of our congrega1on and the community Some administra1ve du1es I hope this gives you at least a thumbnail sketch of how I will be spending my 1me as your new Youth and Young Adult Minister. I encourage you to have conversa1on with me regarding any of my responsibili1es or vision for this ministry. I look forward to hearing from you regarding how you would like to be a part of this ministry. God s blessings, Mark Howland Page 7

8 Our confirma6on students visited the Cedar Rapids Islamic Center April 27. May 1 fellowship 6me was spent packing 98 personal hygiene kits plus extra supplies to donate to Waypoint. We had a great volunteer turnout, represen6ng all genera6ons! $ was raised for the purchase of these items during our Lenten Fast. WomenWineWisdom met at Pei s on May 3. Junior high youth share a lighthearted moment with Pastor Ritva Williams, Youth and Young Adult Minister Mark Howland, and Vicar Luci Sesvold on May 4. Page 8

9 Pentecost Sunday (May 15) was also Confirma6on Sunday. Nicklaus Mueller and Aryn Marner gave their witness during the educa6on hour, followed by making their Affirma6ons of Faith at the 10:30am service. Sunday, May 22, we recognized our graduates (Kaelan Abernathey, Shania Christensen, Katharine Goodwin, Amanda Halvorson, Ashley Hart, Aus6n Hebrink, Karen Middleswarth, Kyle Miller, and Barb Schneider. Pictured above are Barb and Aus6n. We had a lot to offer at our Rummage Sale on Saturday, May 21. A huge thank you goes to Molly Chambers who spearheaded this event and all her volunteers! Proceeds from the sale are earmarked for kitchen renova6on at the vicarage. Sunday, May 22, Worship Leaders Mark Howland, John Williams, and Leah Howard appeared to have color matched their ounits! Page 9

10 St. Stephen s Lutheran Church, ELCA st St. S.E. Cedar Rapids, IA ELECTRONIC SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Cedar Rapids, Iowa Permit No. 140 Staff Directory Pastor Rev. Dr. Ritva Williams pastorritva@gmail.com Youth & Young Adult Minister Mark Howland mhowland1983@gmail.com Pastoral Intern Luci Sesvold iverson.luci@gmail.com Office Manager Susan Hallock office@ssluth.com Music Director David Haas music@ssluth.com Piano Accompanist Leslie Hyland lesliehyland@gmail.com Premises Keeper Debbie Polk (319) Council President Jeanne Towell thetowells@msn.com enews Editor Marilyn Loan marilyn.loan@me.com Sunday Morning Schedule (Summer Hours) 8:00am Worship 9:05am Coffee & Fellowship 10:00am Worship Please join us Wednesdays: 6:30pm Worship St. Stephen s Lutheran Church, ELCA To Know, Live, and Share Christ. ssluth.com St. Stephen s Lutheran Church (ELCA) is a Reconciling in Christ congrega1on that welcomes diversity, which enriches, nurtures, and challenges our life and ministry. Come and join us as we know, live, and share Christ together in love.