From Life Together, The Classis Exploration of Christian Community Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In This Issue

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1 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 1706 Slide Lubbock, Texas September 2018 God s Abundant Grace Christian community is like the Christian s sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases. Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ along, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it. From Life Together, The Classis Exploration of Christian Community Dietrich Bonhoeffer In This Issue Back to School Blessing 5 King David seminar 6 Student Center 6 Birthdays and Readings 7 Liturgy 5 Sunday School 4 Bread Essay 8 Pet Blessing 4 Thank You 5 ELCA Cooperative 3 Pot Luck 4 Vacation 3 Generosity Project 2 Prayer Ministry 4 Volunteer 2

2 Page 2 God s Work Our Hands September 2018 September 29 St. John in Wilson CREATING CENTERS FOR THE FAITH PRACTICE OF GENEROSITY Congregations from across the NT-NL are invited to participate in this lively, intergenerational workshop, modeling a congregation s potential to connect and equip all ages and generations as steward leaders in the congregation and at home. Multigenerational participation is highly encouraged, so please bring along any kids/teens that you can because the presentation is for ALL AGES!! Please RSVP to Tonda Freitag by Sept. 20 at dtgreitag@windstream.net or text The Generosity Project is presented by Linda Staats, the Project Coordinator for the ELCA. We will begin gathering at 9:30 AM and move to worship at 10:00 AM FREE GENEROSITY T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE IN THE FELLOWSHIP HALL Sign up in the fellowship hall to: Help with lawn care Assist in worship Acolyte for worship Read the scripture during worship Volunteer to serve on Altar Guild. The duties include preparing communion, changing the paraments and banners, and preparing for special services such as Lent. Please contact Carol Mitchell or Susan Little if you can serve on this committee essential to worship.

3 Page 3 God s Work Our Hands September 2018 The Lubbock ELCA Cooperative Parish Ministry met at Gloria Dei on 8/28/18 with eight persons attending, five from Shepherd King and three from Gloria Dei. The decision was made to meet on a quarterly basis with the next meeting on November 13th at Shepherd King at 7 pm. The meetings are open to all interested members, including the pastors. The theme of the Cooperative meetings continues to be concentrated on looking for ways to work together in church ministries as well as finding mutual interests and opportunities to socialize. We started with an ice cream social at Shepherd King on August 12th and had good attendance from both churches. On September 16th there will be a joint pot luck at Gloria Dei at noon. A St. Francis Day pet blessing will be Saturday, October 6th at 11 am on the grounds of Gloria Dei. The Fall Festival will be October 27th at 5 pm at Shepherd King. Shepherd King will join with us in a clothing drive for Paul s Project (formerly Tent City) during the months of October and November. More details on these joint activities will be provided later. We had a great meeting last night at Gloria Dei, and I am excited to share more about what is happening at the two congregations. One way I would like to share more information is by using an app called GroupMe. GroupMe is a free chat service, used often by schools to communicate with parents. I like the platform since it allows people to quickly and easily get updates on events, and features the option of messages coming across as text messages ( and other options exist). This way, I can easily guarantee people who have interest receive information in a timely manner. If interested, you can join the link below. Additionally, you can allow me to add your cell phone number for ease of use. You're invited to my new group 'ELCA Cooperative Ministry' on GroupMe. Go to groupme.com/join_group/ /lkefgg to join Thank you! Pastor Jeremy Ullrich

4 Page 4 Love God Love Neighbor September 2018 Pot Luck Lunch With Shepherd King September 16 following worship Sign up in the fellowship hall 9 am Fellowship Hall Led by Dr. Travis Casler Blessing of the Pets Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Saturday, October 6th at 11 am Prayer Ministry Special requests may be submitted to the church office, Travis Casler, or Minerva Alaniz. Join our Prayer Ministry group through our facebook page, GDLClubbock. Posts that you make will only be seen by other members of the Prayer Ministry group.

5 Page 5 God s Work Our Hands September 2018 To those who assisted with worship, including Donna Perry, Carol Mitchell, Jennifer Ervin, Will Ervin, Avery Stangl, Paul Bjerk, Susan Little, Mark Gillen, Lynda Pierce, Bruce Callender, and Kathy Sridaromont To those who shared food for fellowship, prepared for fellowship, and cleaned up after fellowship To those who participated in the Back-to-School blessing To Carol Mitchell for serving as our bookkeeper To Minerva Alaniz and Elayne Patridge for our card ministry To Carol Mitchell and Bruce and Joan Callender For serving communion to those who cannot at tend worship. To Gerald Crenwelge, Travis Casler, and Mark Gillen for tending to our building and grounds. Thank you to Shepherd King for inviting us to the Mix and Mingle ice cream social. The food and fellowship was great! With grateful hearts Thank you for donating school supplies for our foster children. We are grateful to have such support from your congregation. Monica Casey, Upbring Area Director Mary Lee Franklin Setting Six We are using Setting Six liturgy. Because we have not used this liturgy in a while, CD s are available in the narthex. Blessing for Teachers and Students Pastor Vayda will be on vacation September 16 through 23. Pastor Mike will be covering for him. Please call the church office for emergencies.

6 Page 6 God s Work Our Hands September 2018 News from the Lutheran Student Center Students are back in town. Classes are back in session. And the series of Supper-On- Sunday s has officially begun. On August 26 th, the Board of Directors fired up the grille and cooked hotdogs and hamburgers for about 15 students. We had four freshmen join us for dinner and a devotional. We look forward to seeing even more newcomers along with other familiar faces in the coming weeks. Beginning on September 9 th, we will start our Fall Bible Study series on the book of Exodus. Following the life of Moses, we will look at how God s deliverance of the nation of Israel foreshadowed His plan for redeeming all of creation through His Son Jesus. The Lutheran Student Center hosts Super-On-Sunday s each week during the semester, beginning with a bible study at 5:00 p.m. and followed by a meal at 6:00 p.m. As always, the food is free, and all area college students are welcome to join us. Supper-On-Sunday meals are provided by local volunteers, including area congregations and various small groups. Currently, we have sponsors through October 7 th. We are still in need of sponsors for the remaining Sundays this Fall. Featuring Professor Yasef Garfinkel Head of the Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Thursday, September 13, pm Collier Auditorium Margaret Talkington Nursing Center 1919 Frankford Ave Lecture is free but reservations are necessary. RSVP here If you can help provide a meal for the students, please contact your church secretary to sign up for available dates. The Student Center is located at th Street, Lubbock, TX The address is lsclubbock@gmail.com. The phone number is Vicar Jeff

7 Page 7 Love God Love Neighbors September 2018 Birthdays Baptism Anniversary 6 Jaeyong Lee 23 Minerva Alaniz 7 Nathan Wallendorf 26 Avery Stangl 9 Joan Callender Church Events 11 Elayne Patridge 2 Exec. Committee 13 Clara Neary 9 Council 16 Anna Vayda 16 Cooperative Ministry Pot Luck 25 John Paul Perry 26 Melissa Hostick Bless your pet-october 6 Date Readings Flowers Song of Solomon 2: 8-13 Psalm 45: 1-2, 6-9 James 1:17-27 Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, Psalm 125 Elayne Patridge In honor of Joan s James 2: 1-17 Mark 7:24-37 birthday Proverbs 1: Psalm 19 James 3: 1-12 Mark 8: Proverbs 31:10-31 Psalm 1 Donna Perry In honor of John James 3:13 4:3, 7,8 John 6: Paul s birthday Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22 Psalm 124 James 5:13-20 Mark 9: During the summer months, we will use the semi-continuous readings. During September, we will hear the wise sayings of Proverbs and the story of Queen Esther.

8 Page 8 God s Work Our Hands September 2018 Dear friends in Christ, Have you had enough of bread? "I am the Bread of life. You who come to me shall not hunger, and who believe in me shall not thirst. No one can come to me unless the Father beckons." "And I will raise you up, and I will raise you up, and I will raise you up on the last day." (ELW 485) It s that time of the liturgical year when the Sundays of are filled to the brim with bread. A natural reaction to all these sermon, hymns and prayers about bread might be to think that one has had one s fill of bread. It could be a recipe for boredom and apathy. But, can we ever, really have too much bread? I love the vision, goal, dream and tag line that all may be fed. The picture you see is of a loaf of bread I recently baked. It has in it seven flours. I like the pattern of the circles that extend around the loaf. To get that imprint, one puts the dough in a banneton. The other day, a friend of mine asked me what that wicker bowl was called. I said, It s called a banneton, and it is just like an offering basket. So, there you have it. We are shaped and formed by our giving. And our giving shapes and forms us. As I like to say, It s that simple, and it s that complex. May the vision, the goal, the dream and the hope of Jesus the Bread of Life be imprinted on our hearts, souls and minds. May we in turn be bread of a world that is hungry and craving soul food. Come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Sincerely, Pastor Ron Glusenkamp Director, The Campaign for the ELCA