Faith Lutheran Church 6142 State Rt. 31 Cicero, NY Faith Chronicle September 2018

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1 Faith Lutheran Church 6142 State Rt. 31 Cicero, NY Faith Chronicle September 2018

2 Worship Times. 10:00am Worship Sept 2-9:30am Service of Holy Communion Sept 9 - Rally Day 10am Worship begins Service of the Word Sept 16 Service of Holy Communion Sept 23- Service of the Word Sept 30- Service of the Word **************************** WORSHIP PARTICIPANTS September :30am WA- Monthie A- Luke Bullock, Jacob Dietter G- Debbie Rowe, Antonio Scheuer R- Bill Stevenson 9 10am Service WA- Apgar A- Hannah Forsyth G- Kathy Newcomb, Brett Helmer R- Kelly Forsyth 16 - WA-Martino A- Abby& John Engler G- Lauri Hoover, Catherine Krukowski R- Alex Freytag 23- WA- Bronner A- Alex Holmes G- Rose McCarthy, Andrew Krukowski R- Lorrie Monthie 30- WA- MacCammon A- Clara MacCammon G- Beth Longo, Maddie Helmer R- Kim Apgar ALTAR GUILD Diane Monthie, Ann Monthie USHERS: Head: Ralph Richmond; Lorrie Monthie TELLERS: Week 1- Linda Keller, Rose McCarthy Week 2 Michelle Martino, John Snyder Week 3- Ralph Richmond, Cassie Richmond, Lynn Anderson Week 4 Patti VanTassel, Allison Powers Week 5- Ralph Richmond, Cassie Richmond, Lynn Anderson 2

3 A Word From Pastor Living in the World, While Not Being of the World If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you. --John 15:19 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. --John 17:14-16 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. --1 John 2:15 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world. --1 Corinthians 5:9-10 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect. --Romans 12:2 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. --James 1:27 The above lines of scripture from Jesus, Paul, and the authors of 1 John and James speak with truth, practicality, and an air of empathetic understanding about what I believe to be the most difficult challenge facing us daily as Christians, striving to live a Christ-centered life in a society that expects us to live, think, and act one way when Jesus expects us to live, think, and act in an entirely different way. Being Christ-centered, more often than not, places us in conflict with the opinions held by friends, family, co-workers, and others holding opposite views, as well as with ourselves. When we choose to follow Jesus by taking a stance, which is in conflict with popular opinion, the result can be divisive and cause damage to our relationships with others and with God, when we choose to not follow Jesus and take the easier and more popular route. Following Jesus is hard! Jesus knows full well the challenges presented by his message and the expectations connected to it that he places upon us as his followers; yet, that said, he knows what is right and good and necessary to accomplish the mission, and he unapologetically shares with us his thoughts on the subject and his intentions in the gospel according to Matthew: Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household. Matthew 10:34-36 Wow, Jesus is tough, isn t he! Con t next page 3

4 Come on Jesus, where s the compassion and the grace? Where are the loopholes? Isn t there another way? Well, according to Paul there is one way. Remove yourself from the world; but, how realistic or helpful is that? First of all, removing yourself would require your death and secondly, Jesus needs us, struggles and all, to be sources of love and Christ-centered change in a world filled with hate, hostility, and pain. Yes, we can choose not to serve God or to serve God on our terms, rather than on the terms Jesus expects us to accept. However, if we do it our way we are not following Jesus and the outcome of what we are doing will end up being far less than it could have been and needs to be. Yes, I know it s hard and at times it can be downright painful, and yes, it can appear unfair when we observe it through our selfish worldview. But amid the joy of being saved by grace there is also the calling to serve in and as part of the often difficult mission field called discipleship. Jesus calls us because there is difficult work to be done, he knows we are up for the task, and he will walk through it with us shoulder to shoulder in the struggle. However, each of us must ask ourselves some serious questions and be honest with ourselves about the commitment required: Are we going to follow Jesus and do the work on his terms or are we going to try and navigate the mission field guided by our own terms? And, are we willing to risk our relationships with others and place ourselves in uncomfortable circumstances by living in the world and adhering to Jesus expectations or do we choose the easier path of being of the world that is contrary to Jesus path but allows us to live comfortably and safely. We would love to have it both ways, wouldn t we. But in Christian discipleship there is one way and one way only, Jesus way. Jesus never tells us it will be easy and he offers us only a few certainties he will be with us throughout the journey to guide us when we get lost, he will be there to pick us up when we fall, and when we want to give up and need encouragement to continue, he will give it. While our way offers us nothing that can compare. In the end, it is your choice. Choose wisely. But know that if the choice you make does not work out so well it leaves you empty, lost, and without purpose Jesus is always there waiting for you to help you make the right choice. He has always been with you and always will be no matter your choice, no matter your place in the world. Faithfully struggling in the world, Pastor Mark 4

5 News and Notes RALLY DAY! Sunday September 9th is Rally Day. Please remember that Sunday school resumes at 9am, and Worship starts at 10am. BUDGET VOTE - Join us Sunday September 30th after worship for the annual budget vote. The Altar Guild will meet on Sunday, Sept. 16th, in the Oak Room, following the worship service. We will discuss the schedule for October through January and pass the sign-up sheet for 2019! We invite anyone interested in joining the Altar Guild to come to this meeting. Flower Chart - A reminder to all that the Flower Chart is on the bulletin board in the Narthex for you to sign up to provide live flowers on the altar for a Sunday morning worship. Please consider providing flowers for a memorial or special occasion. You may bring an arrangement to the Church on Saturday morning or before worship on Sunday. Call Linda Keller at for additional information or special arrangements. God s Work, Our Hands event will be held on September 9, 2018 this year. We are excited to say so far we have volunteer opportunities at Main Street School in North Syracuse and Syracuse Home. More details will follow regarding other volunteer opportunities for outreach into the community. The additional sites will be posted as soon as the information becomes available and posted in the weekly bulletin and announcements. Faith Adult Choir continues to meet on Tuesday evenings at 7 pm. We have begun practice for the Christmas Cantata. Join us if you are interested on September 4, If you can carry a tune you are welcome to join us. Reading music is not a requirement. Willingness to practice and learn is important, however. We look forward to new members! FOLLOW US ONLINE! Instagram: flc_cicero PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE at when: You or someone else you know needs prayer. You are planning a meeting or scheduling an event, so it can be placed on the church calendar. Your telephone number or address changes. 5

6 Food Pantry It has been a blessing to provide fresh produce to the Pantry Clients from the William Farm Stand all summer through our Food Bank Seed Grant. Please pray that our grant application, which was recently submitted, will be renewed for next summer. Back -to-school Back-to-School time brings the need for School Supplies! Please consider bringing in extra supplies for our Food Pantry families. This is a huge help every year. Also, lunch-box-ready healthy snacks are also greatly appreciated. Thank you! ********************************************* Nursery School Notes While the staff at Faith Lutheran Nursery School is still enjoying their summer vacation, our enrollment for the Fall is growing. We begin our school year with a planning/set-up day on September 6. The children begin coming to school on September 10 with our traditional Meet the Teacher day. We all look forward to a school year filled with fun and educational activities, helping the children of our community start their educational process in a secure and loving Christian environment. 6

7 Sunday School News We are once again starting another exciting year of Sunday School with our Rally Day on September 9th. We look forward to seeing all of you at 9:00 am on September 9th. Our Confirmation class will be shaking things up a bit this year - so make sure you re all up to date on the expectations for our new curriculum. Don t forget, even though we have traded in the points system for a better, more interactive program that will help students become more engaged in their Faith commitment and learning...that doesn t mean that attendance isn t vital to the success of our planning. Please do whatever you can to help your child be in attendance and on time for Sunday School hour and any other meetings/outings we schedule. Please remember, if you have any questions or conflicts, do NOT hesitate to contact myself (kelly) or Pastor Mark, or Mr. Stevenson so that we can plan accordingly and help your child still take an active role. Don t forget to notify me of anything special or worthy of note that your child is doing/ involved in! We would love to share tidbits and interests in our newsletter each month about the youth in our congregation, as they are an important voice in our faith community and we all would love to know them better! Here is my contact information, in case you still need it: Kelly Forsyth kellmarieforsyth@hotmail.com Thank you all and here s to a year of embracing God s love in new ways! 7

8 VBS news... Our ministry to bring as much of God s love to children in our community as we can was another success this summer. For those of you who haven t checked out a VBS yet, this is a little of what happens there... This year s theme was Shipwrecked! We all need rescuing for many reasons - when we re lonely, when we are afraid, when we do things we know we shouldn t, and when we feel weak... in all these situations and more, JESUS RESCUES! That shout is heard many times throughout the morning as crews of children travel from the morning opening with music and the day s summary......to their stations. Like Crafts/ Imagination Station: 8

9 We all learned a great deal about how Jesus rescues us when we need him to, and how he rescues others by having US help them! We also had so much fun and we are so THANKFUL to all volunteers and people who donated resources or gave of their time and love for this wonderful ministry. Till next year! A BIG Thank you to our VBS angels who contributed: Tanya Rutter: Games Station Leader and VBS Planning Team member Lorrie Monthie: Cinema Station Leader and VBS Planning Team member Kelly Forsyth: Opening/Closing/Music Station Leader and VBS Planning Team member Patricia Fosdick: Drama Station Leader Pastor Mark: Snacks Station Leader Maida Freytag: Crafts/Imagination Station Leader Travis Rutter: A/V Spotlight Station Leader Jennifer Dietter: T-shirt s Station Leader Assistants: Taylor Rutter - Games Jewels Ghezzi- Games Jillian Mueller - Crafts/Imagination Abby Sweeney - Crafts/imagination Jacob Dietter - Drama/Bible Exp. Crew Leaders: Ben Stevenson,Alexis McCammon,Clara McCammon, Robbie (Clara/Alexis cousin) Hannah Forsyth, Madolyn Murray, Antonio Sheuer, Jamielynn Kelley, Madelyn Kelley Debbie Rowe, Kaden, Betty Gay, Diane Monthie (also a VBS Planning Team member!) Inspiration and Decorating: Alex Freytag: Artist of the beautiful mural/backdrop and Craft Station prep Jeanne Bronner: Tiki hut creator and decorator. With us in spirit all week! Fred Freytag: Assembly assistance et. al And thank you to all who gave us materials or prayers!! 9

10 Cinema/Video: Drama/Bible Expeditions: Snacks: Games: Then all crews and crew leaders come back to the site of the shipwreck for closing/summary with music. 10

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12 I can't believe fall is coming so fast. We have some great plans coming up!!! Sept 14th- Family Movie Night 7pm Movie to be determined Sept 23rd- Best Wishes Gathering for the Anderson's after worship Tentative date for the Fall Festival October 7th Hope you all had a great summer!!! Peace! Kim ******************************************************************** SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY S 12

13 September 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2pm AA Al-Anon 2 9:30am Worship Service of Holy Communion 3 7pm Elders noon Bible Study 6:30pm Council 6 8pm AA 7 8 2pm AA Al-Anon 9 Rally Day 9am Sunday school begins 10 am Worship Service of the Word pm Choir 12 12noon Bible Study 13 8pm AA 14 7pm Movie Night 15 2pm AA Al-Anon 12-2pm Food Pantry 16 9am Sunday school 10am Worship service of Holy Communion Altar Guild meeting after worship pm Food Pantry 18 7pm Choir 19 12noon Bible Study 20 8pm AA pm AA Al-Anon 23 9am Sunday school 10am Worship service of The Word noon Bible Study 27 8pm AA pm AA Al-Anon Special coffee hour for the Anderson s after worship 7pm Choir 30 9am Sunday school 10am Worship service of The Word Congregational meeting after worship 13

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