January To all the Saints at Messiah:

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1 Our Mission Statement Saved by the redeeming grace of God, we proclaim Christ crucified through worship, service and love of neighbor Our Vision Statement We have been saved by the grace of God, redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and moved by the Holy Spirit to respond to God s love. We will proclaim to all God s saving Gospel of Christ crucified. We will worship God through Word and Sacrament, serve all in need in our communities and nurture fellow members in Christ. Our Guiding Principles Everything we do should incorporate at least three of the following Guiding Principles in support of the Mission and Vision of this Church: Pray Study Invite Encourage Serve Give Inside this Issue: Pastor s Message From the Council President Thank You Christmas Shopping 2015 January Calendar January Birthdays 2015 Christmas Play Good Samaritan Reception Important Dates to Remember To all the Saints at Messiah: Happy new year to you all. I pray God will continue to bless you richly with our Lord s grace this year. I also pray this year we will continue to be a blessing to Montgomery. We do a good deal here in Montgomery to assist those who have unmet needs; we are partnered with E.D. Nixon elementary school, we provide food to the residents of Jeff Davis apartments, and we support Lunches for Learning. The question Pastor Randy Jones for me is this, What more can we do? The first thing, I think, we can do this year is to vote to become a Reconciled in Christ (RIC) congregation. We have been talking about this for the past month in Sunday School and our president, Doris, has written about it in last month s newsletter. In my opinion, we are already living out being an RIC congregation. We accept all people regardless of race, creed, color, social status, or sexuality. We include everyone fully and completely in the life of our congregation. We make no distinctions. For that I am truly thankful. So, it seems to me we need now to make a public statement saying this. When we decide to do this we will be registered on the Reconciling Works website as one of over 600 congregations here in the US that is welcoming to all people. We will also be the first congregation in Alabama to become an RIC congregation. The second thing we can do this year is to allow same sex unions to be consecrated here at Messiah. This is the last step in my view toward being truly welcoming to all people. The congregation council will make this decision since this is a policy decision. During our Sunday School sessions over the past month the discussions have been very good. The general sentiment in my view has been that we should have already done both of these things. As you all know, I agree completely. I know that these things can cause consternation for some folks. I hope that we will all remember that we are all God s children saved by grace. Grace is not conditional, it is given to all. For that I am truly thankful because I don t deserve it. However, despite my short comings I am a conduit for God s grace as are all of us here at Messiah. I am proud of Messiah Lutheran Church s attitude toward the gay community. I am proud to be the pastor of such a warm, welcoming, and diverse community of baptized believers. I pray God will continue to bless us in this new year. Shalom Pr. Randy January Vaughn Road - Montgomery, Alabama PH: Page

2 From the Council President My Dear Brothers and Sisters, It seems that I just wished you a Happy New Year a few days ago. Actually, it was about a month ago. That was a wish for a happy liturgical New Year. This one is the more traditional wish for a happy secular New Year and that all you wish for in this New Year will come into being. Did you make any New Year s resolutions? I gave that up quite some time ago; however, as President of the Church Council, I keep a list of things that I want to see happen before this fiscal year ends. Here, in random order, are the top ten things I am hoping for this year: 1. That we will make budget and finish the year in the black. 2. That we will bring our average attendance back to 100 or more per Sunday. 3. That some Sunday, in the not too distant future, Suzanne Brookhart will walk through the doors of the sanctuary wearing one of her cute hats. 4. That our Every Member visits will be a success and that members will come to think of stewardship in terms of things other than money. 5. That we will have the courage to publicly state what we privately live out that Messiah is a church that welcomes everyone. We can do this by voting to become a Reconciling in Christ Congregation at our annual meeting in May. 6. That I will win the Chili Cook-Off this year. 7. That our involvement with ED Nixon School will continue to grow and flourish. 8. That someday I will be able to redress the altar after communion as flawlessly as Pastor. 9. That we can find a way to continue our Wonderful Wednesdays (there is an issue here, you know, attendance is so low on some Wednesdays that teams do not break even.) 10. That God will show us His will for Messiah in this community and that we will have the courage to embrace it and carry it out. I have learned a few things about wish lists. You can do as I did when I made my wish list for Santa, years ago make the list and just wish and see what happens or as I grew into adulthood I learned that I have some responsibility for ensuring that some of the things I want come into fruition. As I review this list, right away I know that the only way I will win the Chili Cook-off is to keep the Glendennings out of it but there are other things I can do to turn some of my wishes into reality. I can be here on Sundays. I can be faithful to my pledge. I will vote to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation. I can be open to God s will for Messiah. What about you, brothers and sisters? What do you wish for Messiah in the coming year and what are you willing to do to turn wishes into reality? Wishing you Peace, Doris P The staff of Messiah Lutheran Church would like to thank all of you for your support throughout the year and your gracious and generous staff gifts presented at Christmas. We appreciate the opportunity we have to serve you and greatly appreciate your recognition of our efforts. We look forward to working together for a great 2016! Pastor Randy & MLC Staff Messiah Lutheran & Contact Information SUNDAYS - Sunday School Adults - 9:15 am Children - 9:15 am WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS Meal - 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Pastor: Rev. Randy Jones Pastor s messiahlutheran@aol.com Office Staff: Elizabeth Strickland Office mlcmontg@knology.net Website: EUCHARIST EVERY SUNDAY & WEDNESDAY WORSHIP Page 2

3 Christmas Shopping 2015 This year s Christmas Shopping event at E.D. Nixon school was a huge success. At last count we had about 1,000 items. Each student got two items and there were many left. We decided to let the teachers and other employees select an item for themselves or someone they wanted to remember. The students were orderly, thoughtful and all smiles as they selected the presents. They proudly showed each other and us the gifts after they were wrapped. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all who donated items and money for this occasion and to the following gracious volunteers: Keri Broughton and girls for sorting and counting items as received; Jim Willoughby for storing, hauling and delivering the items to the school; Doris Underwood, Gary and Diane Davis, Duane and Suzanne Brookhart, Deloris Fralich and others who donated money for others to shop; Alice McMullan, Patt and Cindy Riggins for shopping for gifts; Karen Brow, Kathryn Willoughby, Jacquie Privett, Kay Owens, Alice McMullan, LuAnn Marz, Patt and Jya Riggins, Elizabeth Strickland, Kathy Bartley, and Jeannie Graetz for beautifully wrapping the gifts while patiently honoring special requests for certain paper or ribbons. Thank you, thank you! Gudrun Hanson Page 3

4 On the Schedule for... SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED Pinks & Pearls :30 am Mary s & Marthas 8 Pinks & Pearls 9 Art Club January Birthdays Celebration No Children s SS Adult Stewardship Class #3-9:15 am 11:30 am Loose Ladies Lunch at Urban Take Down Christmas Decorations 1:00 pm Girl Scouts Council Meeting :30 am Dominoes and Potluck Lunch OFFICE CLOSED 19 Messiah Messenger Submission Deadline Art Club Drop In 23 1:00 pm Girl Scouts Sisters of Mary Magdalene Bell Gospel Sunday Single Service 10:00 am Potluck Lunch 11:00 am January BIRTHDAYS 3 Willie Tutt, II 22 Leesa Petrey 8 Tina Ruffa 23 Debbie Stevenson 9 David Marz 24 Craig Miller 15 Debbie Wagstaff 18 David Causey 22 Joyce Coluburn 25 Michael Escaravage 26 Sandra Bivins-Tutt 29 Mark O Connor Page 4

5 Three Important February Dates to Remember: While you may wonder why is this in the January edition, we want you to plan to participate in these activities. Good Samaritan Reception Good Samaritan Ministries board and council members have decided that this is our last year to serve the Montgomery community. We would like to thank all who have participated and provided food and financial assistance for the citizens of Montgomery throughout the last thirty plus years. The food closet at Freewill Baptist opened its doors for the last time the Friday before Thanksgiving. Good Samaritan had its final Thanksgiving food drive and distribution from Whitfield United Methodist this year. This year we distributed 451 boxes and served 1,727 people. Please come join us as we come to the end of this ministry. Good Samaritan will host a Thank You January 17th at Capitol Heights United Methodist from 2-4 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. If you plan to attend, please respond by January 10th to rdkuffy@knology.net or (503) Please share this invitation with any former members or participating churches. The first is the Chile Cook Off on Saturday, February 6th at 5:30 with some fun and games. Prizes awarded for Best All Around Chili; Hottest Chili and Most Unusual. The next date is Tuesday, February 9th Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday. This will be a pancake and bacon meal to raise money for the Friendship Mission Women's shelter. The Marys and Marthas will host the activity, with a Thrivent Action Team support of $ seed money to supplement your generous contributions. The next day is February 10th, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent so you can repent. We will have a worship service at noon and 6 pm. We pray that doors will open for other ways to help the less fortunate in the area. God bless. Don t Forget the Other Stuff Various groups/individuals at Messiah collect the following items that benefit the local community. Drop-off stations for these items are located by the church office. Magazines - taken to area hospitals (please make sure all addresses are removed) Catalogs - also taken to area hospitals (please make sure all addresses are removed) Food baskets - items gathered and taken to Good Samaritan Soup labels - taken to Morningview Elementary School Greeting card fronts Old and new calendars - taken to Morningview Elementary School Box Tops for Education - collected by Jeannie Graetz for E.D. Nixon Elementary School Soda pop tabs donated to the Ronald McDonald House charities Page 5