Worshiping God, Growing in Faith, Serving Neighbors--near and far. Join us June a.m. at Arcanum Ivester Park

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1 June/July 2018 St. Matthew Lutheran Ithaca, OH Worshiping God, Growing in Faith, Serving Neighbors--near and far This year s picnic will be a joint venture with Gordon and Grace Join us June a.m. at Arcanum Ivester Park Shelter #2 (near the playground) NO 9 a.m. service at St. Matthew Joseph Helfrich is our musical guest. A free-will offering will be accepted for Joseph s benefit. Bring your lawn chair (there is no available seating at the park) Bring a covered dish! Check your bulletins in the coming weeks! Some items may be provided. Our rain-out location will be at Grace. We will provide a one call if it looks as though we will need to worship inside that day.

2 From the Pastor Over the last several years, the Christian church has been involved in a series of discussions, disagreements, and actions surrounding human sexuality. This topic of our generation has captivated every major denomination of the Church and has led to policy changes and division. In 2009, the ELCA adopted its current policy on human sexuality which resulted in 23 churches from the Southern Ohio Synod governance leaving the denomination altogether. As some of you may have heard, the United Methodist Church is currently in the midst of its own discussions and proposals surrounding this issue and are in the final stages of dealing with this seemingly divisive issue. At General Conference in 2016, the Commission on a Way Forward was tasked with coming up with a recommendation to present to a special called General Conference in February of This work has now come to a close and the Council of Bishops have submitted their recommendation of a One Church Model to be published and voted on in February This report will be available at the latest on July 8, 2018, but preliminary information is coming out from various Bishops detailing what their proposal may include. The pending decision stands to have resounding effects both on the United Methodist Church as a whole, but also could have an impact on our local church bodies as well. For that reason, we are going to engage in some open forum discussions over the next several months so that everyone has an opportunity to understand, discuss, and ask questions so that we can all make the best decisions as to how our local churches and partnership moves forward. Our first meeting will be on June 10 th at 6:30 PM at Grace UMC in the fellowship hall. This is open to all members and regular attendees from all three congregations and we will be focusing solely on the work of the Commission and the special called general conference. I invite you all to come and be a part of this discussion as we open ourselves to allow God to guide our churches through this moment of stress in one of our denominations. Grace and Peace, Travis 2

3 Sermon series Culture vs. Christ The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings life and power to all of those who believe it, receive it, and follow it. The message delivered in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus brings about freedom and new life with the strength to be unique in our identity and courageous in the face of cultural norms. In this sermon series, we will dive into Jesus s call to the church to become His disciples by pressing into his ways rather than the ways of the culture around us. June 3 June 10 June 17 Ability vs. Call Consumer vs. Relationship Results vs. Faithfulness June 24 July 1 July 8 Self Promotion vs. Mutuality Scarcity vs. Abundance Personal Desire vs. Mission Meals for the Qualls family! As Jessica continues to heal from her foot surgery, Gordon, Grace and St. Matthew will be providing meals for them. Thanks to all who have signed up to give so far! We are scheduled to give on June We ask that you sign up alone, or team up with someone to provide a main meal and dessert, delivered to them at 310 S. High St., Arcanum sometime after 4 p.m. on the day of your meal. Work Day!! On Saturday, June 2, we invite you to put on your work gloves and meet us at the church for a work day. We will begin at 8 a.m. and work at activities to beautify the church grounds. 3

4 Castello Retirement Pastor James Castello will be retiring after 35 years in the Ordained Ministry. All are invited to join him on June 10 at Emanuel Lutheran Church, Napoleon, Ohio (810 Scott Street) for a retirement service at 9 a.m. followed by a reception/meal afterwards. Or, please send a card to: Pastor Jim & Carol Castello Q317 County Rd. 15 Napoleon, OH St. Matthew council has voted to send a monetary gift to Pastor Castello, as he was with us for so many years. If you would like to donate towards this gift, there will be a basket on the back table May 27 through June 3. Out of the Office Our secretary will be taking some time off from June and will not be checking her s or phone calls during this time. If you need assistance, please contact President Donna Miller or Pastor Travis. Bulletins for Sunday, June 24 will be printed on June 14. Men s Brotherhood meetings continue to be the 3rd Saturday of the month. We meet at Huston s Restaurant in Arcanum at 9 a.m. All men are welcome to join us. 4

5 ONE Ministry Castine Food Bank item of the month: June flour July Peanut Butter During the month of June, we continue to collect bath size bars of soap for Lutheran World Relief. In July, we shift to the collection of school kits (which runs through September) See the list of needs below. Monetary donations can be given to: Sherry, Anita, Jane, Rhonda or Mary Lou. We continue our collection of Mother s Day-Father s Day monetary gifts for Wernle Home Because our outdoor picnic is being held on Father s Day, the last day for donations will be June 10. Please look for the Wernle house to make your donation. NEEDED FOR EACH LWR SCHOOL KIT: 4-70-sheet 8 X 10 1/2 notebooks 30-centimeter ruler pair blunt safety scissors (with embedded steel blades) pencil sharpener 5 - unsharpened #2 pencils with erasers box of 24 crayons 5 - black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink) 2½ eraser Vacation Bible School Gordon UMC, will be hosting Barnyard Roundup VBS this year during the week of July from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for children preschool 5th grade. Volunteers are needed! Please sign up on the sheet on the back table if you can help, whether it be only a few evenings or the entire week. 5

6 Well church, this is my final newsletter article. I want to thank you all for the support and love you have shown to me and this wonderful youth group. I would encourage you all to continue to pour into the youth, as they begin to take the reigns and lead the church into the future. The final youth meeting will be May 27. Please come join us and hang out! Jesse Graduate Blessing On Sunday, June 3, during our worship service we will honor our graduates by asking that God bestow his blessings upon them. The regularly attending youth being honored are: Brendin Gillem, Joel Hoke and Julia McCullough. Grant Brown, great-grandson of Earlene Morris, grandson of Jane Brown, great-nephew of Judy Molitor and nephew of Rhonda Kress graduated May 6 from Ohio State University School of Agriculture. Tiffany Burkett, daughter of Pam Yeomans, received her Associate s degree from Sinclair Health Information Management Program. Jada Edmonson, grand-daughter of Mark Mills graduated from Springboro High School on May 26, Jada will continue you her education studying Criminology and Data Analytics at Miami University. Continued on next page 6

7 Devon Eley, graduated from Ball State University this spring. He began his career on May 21, working for Next College Student Athlete in Chicago, IL. He will be helping high school athletes reach their drams of playing college athletics. Brendin Gillem will graduate sixth in his class from Arcanum High School on June 3. He will be attending Wright State University this fall majoring in music education. All are invited to Brendin s Grad Party at 23 Greenmoor, Arcanum on June 3 from 4-7:30 p.m. Joel Hoke graduated May 25 from National Trail High School. He is currently working to acquire his CDL license to purchase a dump truck. He will be attending IU East in the fall to study nursing. Brandon Knick, grandson of Tom & Joyce Knick graduated from Fairborn High School on May 25, and will attend Wright State University this fall. Julia McCullough will graduate fifth in her class from Arcanum High School on June 3. Julia is excited to continue her education at Indiana University East, majoring in Psychology. All are invited to attend Julia s open house on Saturday, June 9 from 2-5 p.m. at the enclosed shelter in Arcanum s Ivester Park. Tamir Rastetter, step-grandson of Tom and Joyce Knick graduated from the Miami Valley School. He was named as this year s recipient of the Heuman Scholarship. He will attend THE Ohio State University in the fall, and major in Business Administration, specializing in International Business. 7

8 June Birthdays 7th Josie McCullough Wayne Lindemuth 26th Diane Richard 28th Tucker Qualls 29th Barb Shoemaker 19th 27th 7th 8th 9th 11th 12th 16th 19th 31st June Anniversaries Don & Anita Schneider Tom & Joyce Knick Kevin & Shannon McCullough July Birthdays Bob Brown Neva Birt Dwight Ressler Rhonda Kress Alysson Pahl Duane Ehlers Cory Miller Judy Wilson Mark Mills Pastor Jesse Teal Bob Mendenhall LaJeanne Stump Ralph Stutz Graham Don Applegate Sonnie Abbott Virginia Phillips Dustin Hoover Debbie Miller Ava Jessica Qualls Carol & Ed Jollis Donna Miller Kevin Judy Lisa Fisher Joyceann Richard Janey Michaels Barbara Bruner Olivia In our Prayers Nick Craycraft Gerald Richard Sue Wolfe Pat Spicer Phyllis Fisher Dorothy Hunt Don Schneider Sandy Thompson Gloria Scheiding Dave Shoemaker Barb Shoemaker Jared Edmonson Justin Bruner Seth Richard Andrea Carrie Steele Everett Hart Becky Fitzpatrick Prayers of sympathy and healing for the families of: Debbie Hemmerich July Anniversaries 26th Frank & Judy Molitor Prayers of celebration for Austin Brown and Leah Allread for their wedding on June 23. Austin is the grandson to Jane Brown, great grandson to Earlene Morris, and Nephew to Rhonda Kress. To reach us for the prayer chain, please call Rhonda Kress at or Thank you to Ron Fasick for his work on the elevette. It is getting old and needing much repair. Thanks Ron for doing what you can to prevent us from having to call in the repairmen! 8

9 JUNE Greeter: Rhonda Kress Bread Baker: Rhonda Kress 2 8 a.m. Work day at SMLC 3 9 a.m. worship with Holy Communion Lector: Mickie Ary Acolyte: Josie McCullough p.m. McCullough Grad Open House at Ivester Park. All are invited 10 9 a.m. Worship Lector: Rhonda Kress Acolyte: Karr Stump 9-?? - Castello Retirement in Napoleon 6:30 pm UMC HumanSexuality Form Held at Grace UMC, all are welcome Secretary on vacation 16 Men s Brotherhood at Huston s a.m. Joint Outdoor Picnic at Ivester Park 24 9 a.m. worship Lector: Donna Miller Acolyte: Alysson Pahl JULY Greeter: Mark Mills Bread Baker: Jessica Pahl 1 9 a.m. worship with Holy Communion Lector: Anita Schneider Acolyte: Anna Stump 8 9 a.m. Worship Lector: Ron Fasick Acolyte: Josie McCullough 9 7 p.m. Council Meeting 15 9 a.m. Worship Lector: Sherry Marten Acolyte: Carter Qualls 18 GRCC Soup kitchen 21 Men s Brotherhood at Huston s 22 9 a.m. Worship Lector: Jessica Pahl Acolyte: Hailey Pahl VBS at Gordon UMC 29 9 a.m. worship Lector: Karr Stump Acolyte: Karr Stump 9

10 St. Matthew Lutheran Church Ithaca 7820 State Route 722 Arcanum, Ohio Dated Material Church Address 6825 St. Route 722 Ithaca, OH Office Address: 7820 State Route 722, Arcanum Office Phone/Fax: Pastor: Travis Qualls Phone: Director of Family Life: Jesse Teal Phone: Associate Pastor: Christopher Stump Phone: Wheelchair accessible + Elevator on premises + Holy Communion celebrated - 1st Sunday of every month- major church festivals Sunday Worship services: 9 am Traditional worship 10 am Coffee Break (food & fellowship) 10:30 am Sunday School for all ages 10