JULY 26 ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 JULY 2016 ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH NEWSLETTER A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 4600 N. 9 th Avenue, Pensacola, FL Mission Statement Living together in God s grace, we worship, learn, and reach out as a caring community to rejoice in, and share the love of Jesus Christ. WORSHIP SERVICE SCHEDULE HOLY COMMUNION CELEBRATED EACH SUNDAY 9:30 WORSHIP SERVICE 10:30 HOSPITALITY Nursery available for children preschool age and younger JULY 3 JULY 10 JULY 17 JULY 26 JULY 31 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Mission Sunday/ Care kit collection begins NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

2 JULY 2016 Newsletter July 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 PASTOR S DAY OFF OFFICE CLOSED 2 3 HOLY COMMUNION SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 9:30a.m. Worship Service 10:30a.m. Hospitality 4 FOURTH OF JULY OFFICE CLOSED 5 File of Life Distribution begins 9:00a.m. Quilters 6 2:30-5:00p.m. Music Minister Office Hours 5-6:00p.m. Financial Cluster meeting 6:30p.m.-7:30p.m Bible Study with Lee 7 9:30-10:30a.m. Financial Cluster meeting (if necessary) 8 PASTOR S DAY OFF OFFICE CLOSED 9 7:30-9:00 a.m. Men s Breakfast and Bible Study 10 HOLY COMMUNION EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST/MISSION SUNDAY Care Kit Collection begins 9:30a.m. Worship Service 10:30a.m. Hospitality 10:45-11:45a.m. Today s Dream, Anti-Racism discussion with Pastor Al File of Life Distribution ends 9:00a.m. Quilters 6-7:00 pm. Financial Cluster meeting(if necessary) 6:15p.m. Girl Scouts 13 2:30-5:00 p.m. Music Minister Office Hours 6:00-Social Ministry Mtg. 6:30p.m.-7:30p.m Bible Study with Lee 14 Council reports due by Noon 15 PASTOR S DAY OFF OFFICE CLOSED HOLY COMMUNION NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 9:30a.m. Worship Service 10:30a.m. Hospitality 18 9a.m.-12p.m. Preschool Summer Camp 19 9a.m.-12p.m. Preschool Summer Camp 9:00a.m. Quilters 7:00 p.m. Council 20 9a.m.-12p.m. Preschool Summer Camp 6:30p.m.-7:30p.m Bible Study with Lee 21 9a.m.-12p.m. Preschool Summer Camp Newsletter Articles due 22 PASTOR S DAY OFF OFFICE CLOSED 9a.m.-12p.m. Preschool Summer Camp 23 Fill the van for Waterfront Rescue Mission 24 HOLY COMMUNION TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 9:30a.m. Worship Service 10:30a.m. Hospitality 31 HOLY COMMUNION ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 9:30a.m. Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Hospitality 25 6p.m. AA Board meeting 26 9:00a.m. Quilters 27 6:30-7:30p.m Bible Study with Lee PASTOR S DAY OFF OFFICE CLOSED 30 10a.m.-noon Open Books packing 2

3 Pastor s Corner, July But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. Exodus 14:13-14 In the passage above, God s word through Moses tells them to continue moving forward. Do not be afraid for The LORD will fight for you. So often we get hung up on how we re going to fix things or how are we going to make this work? Trusting in the Lord is a key to understanding our relationship with God and each other. So Moses tells the people to keep moving move on The Israelites saw the Red Sea ahead of them and heard the Egyptian soldiers pounding the ground behind them. This would be the death of them. They had nowhere to go and Moses tells them that the Lord will fight for them and you have only to keep still? This is madness! What they didn t know was that God was already making a path for them. He was reaching to the bottom of the water and his breath from heaven separated the waters right before their eyes. God was working for them. Do not be afraid for The Lord will fight for you. The people of Israel were now getting a true dose of God s promise. The promise to deliver them from the bondage of Egypt was now real and they were in uncharted territory. The fear in the large caravan was growing and now they saw another act of God working and fighting on their behalf. With this story in mind, our community need not fear but trust in God and in each other. You may be feeling the pressure of the churches life and death situation. Like Moses, I hear our God saying, Go forward and Do not be afraid. God s church has a serious financial issue but I am here to tell you that together with God s help, it can be fixed. When others cry out that it is madness or how can you not be worried? I say, I stand firm because I see the deliverance that the Lord has promised. I trust in the Lord. You can help God s church by standing firm in your financial support. How? Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord and trust the Lord Ps. 4:5. We can t fix the financial problems by creating more problems. We know that we can t get out of this mess by making another mess. So we will do what is pleasing to God and do what is right for his church. We cannot go wrong when we do what is right for God and the church. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still. As we approach the uncomfortable issue of financial support, I hope that the Lord will bring you peace as well as comfort. Let your mind be still but let your heart be filled with God s love as we continue to serve him in mission and ministry. Tell the people to go forward and we are! Faithfully Serving, Pastor Frank For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) Excerpt from You ll Get Through This by Max Lucado

4 ELCA presiding bishop issues letter in response to Orlando shooting CHICAGO (ELCA) The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued a letter in response to the June 12 shooting that claimed the lives of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla. This is the deadliest mass shooting in U. S. history. In the letter Eaton states, We must speak peace and reconciliation into the cacophony of hatred and division. We must live the truth that all people are created in God s image. Eaton s letter follows: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them. Genesis 1:27 We are killing ourselves. We believe that all people are created in God s image. All of humanity bears a family resemblance. Those murdered in Orlando were not abstract others, they are us. But somehow, in the mind of a deeply disturbed gunman, the LGBTQ community was severed from our common humanity. This separation led to the death of 49 and the wounding of 54 of us. We live in an increasingly divided and polarized society. Too often we sort ourselves into like-minded groups and sort others out. It is a short distance from division to demonization. Yesterday, we witnessed the tragic consequences of this. There is another way. In Christ God has reconciled the world to God s self. Jesus lived among us sharing our humanity. Jesus died for us to restore our humanity. God invites us into this reconciling work. This must be our witness as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The perpetrator of this hate crime did not come out of nowhere. He was shaped by our culture of division, which itself has been misshapen by the manipulation of our fears. That is not who we are. St. Paul wrote, So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ (II Corinthians 5:17-20). Our work begins now. We need to examine ourselves, individually and as a church, to acknowledge the ways we have divided and have been divided. We must stand with people who have been othered. We must speak peace and reconciliation into the cacophony of hatred and division. We must live the truth that all people are created in God s image. This morning your churchwide staff came together to mourn and to pray. We prayed for those killed in Orlando and remembered the Charleston Nine killed only a year ago. We prayed for the family of the shooter, for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters and for our Muslim brothers and sisters who now face the threat of retaliation. And we prayed that the Prince of Peace will bring us to the day when we stop killing ourselves. Your sister in Christ, Elizabeth A. Eaton Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 4

5 Assisting Ministers Lector(s) Bearers Ushers Alter Guild Communion Assistants July Worship Assistants July 3 July 10 July 17 July 24 July 31 Susan Suzanne Paul Ann Housh John Carroll Anderson Morgan Marchant Pete Lauren Regina Jenny Dan Zeigler Morgan Cummings Gibbons Michael Brian & Marjorie Audrey Kathie Vanessa Kellams, XX Tinsley Norem Pascoe Tina Nielsen Harland & Betty Bross Wanda Gore & Cheryl Poister XX Eric & Shelly Johnson Betty Bross & Carleen Bragan Sidney Glassmire, Rita Dye Brad & Alice Fludgate and John & Brenda Ekstrom Brenda Ekstrom & Rita Dye Kim McCormick, Betty Bross David Oelerich, Caleb Leviege, John Carroll, and, Art Kimmel Sherry Schaeffer & Suzanne Morgan Pete & Suzanne Morgan Norm & Linda Beal and Pat & Jeanne Clark Wanda & Kelly Gore Kelly Gore, Jennifer Michael Hospital Visitation and Home Communion Contact Deacon Glenn Schaeffer is serving as lead contact when there are hospital visitations or home communion needs in our St. Paul family. Contact Deacon Glenn at June Attendance June June June June 26 TBD Hearing aid devices available for worship. If you would like to use one, please see an usher before service. July 3 July 10 July 17 July 24 July 31 July Flower Guild Barb Lenn Audrey Tinsley Carleen Bragan Cheryl Poister Harland Bross Activity bags for children are available during worship. Please see an usher for an activity bag before service. We should remember Christ s words, Let nothing be wasted, when we look in our refrigerators and garbage cans and garages. - Randy Alcorn 5

6 Social Ministry News Lutheran World Relief Silent Auction and Dinner We are so thankful for all of the support we received during our June 4, 2016, fundraiser for Lutheran World Relief (LWR)! Thanks to all of you, we were able to raise $1, After our tithe to the General Fund, $1, is available for us to donate to LWR on behalf of new members and the newly baptized! What a blessing to be able to start this ongoing project out with such amazing success. Thank you all so much. Camp Happy Sands Contributions Also, a big thank you to those who contributed to the Camp Happy Sands drive! We had so many items in the pool to donate, and the recipients appreciated everything we delivered. Have you noticed the Noisy Offering in church? How could you miss it?! The Noisy Offering collection will also be going to Camp Happy Sands in July. We will continue with the offering to collect money for upcoming Social Ministry missions. File of Life Distribution We will offer a File of Life to our members on July 5 th through 12 th. Each file has an information card to record your medical history, list of medications, existing conditions, and allergies. Having this information readily available can make a difference when faced with a medical emergency. A table will be set up in the Fellowship Hall where we will distribute the Files and have a basket to collect a FREE WILL donation to offset our cost. If you are senior citizen, or anyone with a chronic health condition, including children, you need a File of Life. The Files include a small set for your billfold, and a larger, magnetized set for your refrigerator. You will also receive a decal for your door to alert First Responders that a File of Life is inside your home. Open Books Packing We will be packing books at Open Books, July 30, 2016, from 10am to noon. Open Books is located at 1040 N Guillemard Street, Pensacola, Florida, Open Books is now a 501c3 charitable organization. We are so blessed as a committee, and we continue to count all of you among our blessings! From ongoing missions to special events and community outreach, your support has been unwavering. Sarah Leviege 6

7 Fellowship News Patriotic Bake Sale We want to THANK everyone for their support of our Patriotic Bake Sale fundraiser. We raised $ thus far, and our goal was $ To help us reach our goal, let the committee know if you would like something special baked for you (while we are still in the baking mode. LOL!). We trust you all enjoyed your goodies, and we look forward to next year. Thanks to the Fellowship Committee for their tireless efforts in baking, decorating, and continued hard work. You re the BEST! We still have some beautiful bread basket liners available. If you are interested in getting one, please see Brenda. A SPECIAL thanks to Audrey Tinsley and my granddaughter, Elizabeth Wright, for sewing the basket liners for us. You both did a great job and we thank you from our hearts. Thanks to Coffee Hosts We thank Hannelore and Sam Miller for serving as coffee hosts in May. Thanks to Melissa and Orri Henkle and their lovely sons, Eric and Ginger Givens, Faye Robinson, and Kim McCormick for serving in June. We thank you all for your willingness to serve. Please check the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board to see when you can serve. You will receive JOY when you do. Your sponsors for this month are Tina Nielsen and Brenda Ekstrom. Upcoming Events Our next event will be our annual Ice Cream Social on August 21, 2016 after worship. We will be serving hot dogs, ice cream, and all the trimmings. Please plan to stay and have lunch with us. It is always a fun time! Our Committee has been very busy helping with the Anniversary Celebration, assisting the Member Care Committee, welcoming our New Members, and preparing the Graduation Celebration. We are JOYFUL to have our New Members join us in the Body of Christ. We wish our Graduates the best and GOD S BLESSINGS! As always it is a JOY and HONOR to serve in GOD S HOUSE! God s Peace, Brenda 7

8 Women of the ELCA (WELCA) News Care Kit Drive WELCA will be kicking off our CARE KIT Drive beginning July 10 th through August 14 th. We will be packaging kits on August 18 and delivering them to Daphne, Alabama, on August 27. We usually have enough drivers if you need a ride. Of course, we have to have lunch at Ivey s on our return. There will be a display of what is needed for these kits on the bulletin board right outside Fellowship Hall. Last year, we provided 142 kits to Lutheran World Relief. We trust and pray the women of St. Paul s will be able to exceed last year s efforts! This is a wonderful experience. If you have not been involved, we invite you to board this Train! It not only gives JOY to those whom receive these kits, it gives us the JOY of CHRIST to share with others. We hope you all will join us in this effort to give back what has first been given to us! Serving in Christ, Brenda Preschool News July Summer Camp and Preschool Class We are excited to offer our July Summer Camp as well as preschool classes for children 12 through 24 months of age. The July Super Science Camp, available for children ages three through kindergarten, runs from July 18 through July 22, from 9a.m. until noon. Cost is $100. Children will enjoy a kangaroo visit to kick off the very first day of camp! A preschool half-day class is available. Parents are able to choose the days they would like their 12 through 24 month aged child(ren) to attend. To register for July Summer Camp or the half-day preschool class, contact Monica Moore at Children who are attending the Super Science Camp in July will be excited to meet a kangaroo on the first day of camp! 8

9 Youth News Children s Toy Drive for Century Tornado Victims In the months of February, March, and April, the youth of St. Paul collected new and used toys for the children of Century, Florida, that were affected by the recent tornados that destroyed their town. In the days after the tornado, the Red Cross, United Way, and many other organizations moved in to quickly help the citizens of Century. Basic needs were met, but children s items, such as toys, games, and books, were not on the necessity list. The youth group of St. Paul ran a toy, game, and book drive for the children, and we were able to load a Tahoe and car full of toys, games, books, clothes, and school supplies to distribute. On Saturday June 11, 2016, the youth (Mara Given, Cason Forst, Marie Zube, Max Tyms, and Adena Tyms) travelled with Erik and Ginger Given, Theresa McDonald, and Connor McDonald to Century. The youth met two members of Abundant Life Center in Century, along with some of their youth, and a pastor from another church. Together, we travelled around Century delivering the items that were donated for the children. The youth were able to bring smiles and joy to these children that St. Paul youth making donations to those children affected by tornadoes in Century, Florida. did not have much before the storm and are still being affected today. The damage from the tornadoes is still very evident as we travelled around the town. Some places are unlivable. The youth are coming up with more ways to help the people and children of Century, as this is a long term endeavor to help our brothers and sisters in need just north of us. Abundant Life has made it clear of the relationship between our two cities and congregations and welcomes any and all assistance we and the other congregations of Pensacola can muster up during this time of need. Left: St. Paul youth living out the ELCA mission, God s Work, Our Hands. 9

10 General Fund News Cash Balance as of May 31, 2016 (checking account only) $1, Dear Fellow Members and Supporters of St. Paul, At our annual meeting last fall we talked about the state of our finances. We decided to review our finances around the end of May to determine if we were in a better position. I am sad to say that we are not. Our congregation came together in 2015 and dealt with multiple financial obstacles that were thrown in our path. We met those challenges head on and prevailed. In planning our 2016 budget, we carefully considered all the expenses necessary to run the church from both a ministry and operational side. We considered the increase to insurance as a result of our claims; we planned a realistic amount for utilities, office expenses, worship, fellowship, Christian education, and property maintenance. We added a new line item to the budget to begin planning for upcoming repairs and maintenance. We budgeted $407, for the year. After considering other income, we need $7, received into the General Fund each week. At 23 weeks into the year, we are averaging $6, This amount INCLUDES special services for Lent and Easter. Without the special services contributions, we are averaging $6,240 per week. Our current level of giving does not support St Paul s operational and ministry expenses. We have cut operational expenses. We are now looking to reduce worship and mission expenses. Please look into your heart. Is St. Paul a place that you cherish and enjoy coming to worship? Would you miss St. Paul if it closed? If you answer yes to either of those questions, please prayfully consider whether you can provide more financial support than you are currently do. We have approximately 180 families. If each one gave $10 more per week, we would cover our shortfall. I know that not everyone can increase their giving by that amount; but, I also believe there are those that can do more. Please do what you can. Vanessa L Pascoe Treasurer 10

11 Meet the St. Paul Staff Pastor Rev. Franklin J. Gore Minister of Music Charles Tucker Director of Preschool Monica Moore Admin. Asst. Kim McCormick Deacon Glenn Schaeffer Sunday School Allison Forst Directors Julie Saykiewicz Webmasters Jerod & Monika Durbin Newsletter Coordinator Rachel Geisler Youth Group Denny & Betsy Lyons Volunteers Amy & Jason Slusser Council News Letter to the Congregation Members of St. Paul, Congregation Council Position Changes and Appointments Last night at the Congregation Council meeting , we learned that several members of council needed to step down from their positions on council. Mara Given (Youth/Congregation Council Secretary) has begun a new job and is attending a local college. Her job is in the evening after class and she could not continue on council. Alice Fludgate resigned from co-treasurer so that she could spend more time serving the church through the Fellowship Committee and Social Ministry Committee. Lastly, Randy Sides, (Congregation Council President) resigned due to the increased hours on his job. Each of these members of council will be missed. We give thanks for their willingness to serve. Randy has been the Congregation Council President for the past 2 years and we appreciate his time and energy. Filling remaining appointments for the 2016 Congregation Council Linda Beal wrote a letter of interest for the position of Fellowship Liaison- accepted and appointed. Replacing Dianne Williams (Fellowship) Brad Fludgate wrote a letter of interest with employment history for the position of co-treasurer. He will meet with Vanessa Pascoe to review the position of co-treasurer prior to appointment. A member of the congregation has been asked to serve the remaining 2016 term as Congregation Council President. Executive Committee will take the name to council for approval and if approval is given, the appointment by Council will be made for the remaining year of We still are in need of a Youth Liaison for Church Council. Any of the young adults interested in serving please contact the office. 11

12 Fill the Van July As part of our mission partnership, joins Waterfront Rescue Mission in Fill the Van week. Bring any new or slightly used items (must be in saleable condition) to the church July during the day. Waterfront Mission is looking for clothes, shoes, furniture, knick-knacks, anything they can sell in their bargain centers. 12