ST. STEPHEN SCROLL A PRIL. Check out the website! Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ. Pastor Kerri. St. Stephen Lutheran Church

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1 ST. STEPHEN LUTHERAN CHURCH NEWSLETTER ST. STEPHEN SCROLL St. Stephen Lutheran Church is a community of believers, saved by the grace of God, who are called to: share his love through words and actions; welcome others into the family of Christ. Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As I prepare for my sabbatical I have been working with the members of the sabbatical committee (Glenn Eisenbrey, Brenda Firquin, Rod Firquin, Steven Sarson, Tammy Utley, and Peggy Zimmerman) and the church council to insure that Saint Stephen will be in good hands and will continue to run smoothly in my absence. You will be in excellent hands! Glenn Eisenbrey has graciously agreed to provide pastoral care to his sisters and brothers in Christ at Saint Stephen while I am on sabbatical. Glenn will visit with our shut-in members while I am away and will take them Holy Communion. Glenn will also provide pastoral care to any of our brothers and sisters in Christ who experience an emergency like a serious illness or a death in the family while I am on sabbatical. Glenn will be compensated financially from the sabbatical fund for his time. Talented, dynamic guest preachers like Bishop William Gafkjen (Bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod), Rev. Ron Loughry (Director of the Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries), and Pastor Nancy Nyland (daughter of former Saint Stephen Pastor, Rev. Albert Nyland) will preach and officiate at our 10:00 am and 5:00 pm worship services each Sunday. The members of Saint Stephen can also help. I have been compiling a list of jobs and tasks that Jack and I do around Saint Stephen that I am asking my sisters and brothers in Christ to adopt while I am on sabbatical. These jobs don t take seminary or theological training, and I know that you are more than up to the task. I will post a comprehensive list on a poster in the narthex. These jobs include things like: filling the children s sermon candy basket, stocking the church kitchen with lemonade and coffee, filling the baptismal font with water, greeting our guest preachers and presiders, and unlocking the doors of Sunday mornings. Please consider pitching in and helping out. In the weeks to come, the sabbatical committee and I will be sharing more about our plans. If you have any questions, I encourage you to ask them. I will be happy to answer your questions and to address any concerns you may have. And please know, I love being your pastor, and I will be back to stay so we can continue to minister together in Christ s name. In Christ Pastor Kerri A PRIL 2018 St. Stephen Lutheran Church 5903 Bardstown Rd. Fern Creek, KY Pastor Kerri M. McFarland Pastor Emeritus, Thomas D. Swasko St. Stephen Lutheran Church is a member of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Council Members Rod Firquin, President Paul Kiser, Vice President Elaine Peterson, Council Secretary Glenn Eisenbrey Larry Faue Sean Morris Marcia Peterson Duane Steines Buddy Zimmerman Reagan Morris, (youth rep, non-voting) Bill Wise, Financial Secretary Buddy Zimmerman, Treasurer Open, Musician Kim Thonen, Custodian Cheryl Markley, Office Secretary Check out the website! ststephen-louisville.com

2 St. Stephen Scroll Page 2 Easter Reminders & Activities Easter Sunday Worship, Easter Breakfast, Easter Egg Hunt April 1 st at 8 am & 10 am April 1 st at 9:00 am April 1 st at 11:15 am No worship service at 5:00pm on April 1 st. No Sunday school classes on April 1 st or 8 th. You are invited to have breakfast with your fellow St. Stephen members and enjoy a little fellowship at 9:00am on Easter in the fellowship hall between the morning worship services. Those who donated lilies may take them home after the 10am Easter worship service. The lilies are $15.50 per pot. You may put your donation in the offering plate and mark lily or lilies on the envelope or on the memo line of your check. All children in grade school and younger are invited to participate in the annual Easter egg hunt following the 10:00am Easter worship service. Please meet in the fellowship hall. Thank you to all who donated candy and special thanks to the senior youth and confirmation class for stuffing all of the plastic eggs! Golden Sneakers Will Go to Cattleman s The Golden Sneakers will meet for lunch at 11:30 am at Cattleman s Roadhouse at 2901 S Hurstbourne Parkway on Wednesday, April 18th. After lunch, we may or may not enjoy an additional activity together. Watch your bulletins for more information. If you plan to attend, please sign up in the narthex so that we will know you are coming. Bill and Meg Thompson, , are hosting this event. Ronald McDonald House Project Ronald McDonald House in Louisville is expanding into the building adjoining their current location so that they can serve more families. The current location has 36 guestrooms, and the addition will add 20 guestrooms. Later this year, we will take a one-time collection at St. Stephen at the worship services to help fund this two-year project. However, if you wish to do more, or your company has a matching gift program, you may make your checks out to Ronald McDonald House Charities and mail them to Ronald McDonald House, 550 S. First Street, Louisville KY If you want more information about the expansion project, there is a letter on the bulletin board in the narthex. Fern Creek Highview United Ministries Annual Pennies from Heaven Gala This annual gala, which is FCHUM s largest fundraising event, is on May 12th, 6:00 pm at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 5503 Bardstown Rd. Mark your calendars now. Tickets will be available soon. Please consider attending and donating as Pastor Kerri defends her 2-year halo award for raising the most money for her dessert. Thank you in advance for your consideration and support for the ministries. Yard Sale Opportunity St. Stephen will have a yard sale on May 12 th to raise money for the church and for the youth attending the ELCA Houston trip. Start saving your items now! Youth who want to benefit from this sale must work at the yard sale. Each person who is going to Houston who also works at the yard sale can raise up to 10% of the yard sale profits for their trip. The yard sale needs a coordinator. We will start collecting yard sale items on April 15 th in the courtyard room. There will be more discussions regarding selling of food or bake sale items during the yard sale. Duane Steines will handle the money. In addition to yard sale items, we will accept children s clothing but not adult clothing for the sale. Use this opportunity to do a lot of spring cleaning of your closets, and please consider helping with the sale. Tell all of your friends! Nursery Volunteers Needed Recently, everyone had a chance to fill out a Time and Talent sheet for jobs that they would be willing to do for the church. We would really appreciate a few more volunteers to work in the nursery during the 10:00am Sunday worship services. If you can help, please call the church office at or send an to secretary.ststephen@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your service! Creative Hands Sew Group News and Thanks The Creative Hands Sew Group at St. Stephen recently donated 83 T-shirt dresses for Easter or spring along with other things from the Sew What! Community Sew Group (Jeffersontown Ladies Textile Club) to the Fern Creek Highview United Ministries, FCHUM. The additional items from Sew What! included 30 stuffed animals, 96 pillowcases, and 7 fabric bags containing a toothbrush and toothpaste. Thanks to all of the fine, talented people who contributed to these sewing projects for local needy people!

3 St. Stephen Scroll Page 3 Lutheran Summer Camp Brochures Available We now have summer camp brochures from the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Camps in Indiana-Kentucky. The brochures are on the bulletin board in the narthex. There are 3 different camp locations in Indiana, but the camp closest to Louisville is Lutheran Hills in Morgantown. This summer, one of our Saint Stephen youth, Kaitlyn Kiser, will be working on the Lutheran Hills support staff. Congratulations, Kaitlyn! Most available camps are $345 or less. You can find out more information at the website, See Pastor Kerri if you are interested. St. Stephen/American Red Cross Blood Drive Results A blood drive was held at St. Stephen on February 27th. Nine people successfully donated blood, which can help to save up to 27 lives. Thank you to all who donated! Congratulations! Philip Bennett Sprowl, son of Emily Vernizzi and Philip Michael Sprowl and grandson of Cindy and Gene Sprowl, was baptized on Sunday, March 11th at the 10:00am worship service. His sponsors were Elizabeth Seifert and Joseph Vernizzi. We welcome him into our Christian family! Grayson Michael Craig, grandson of Linda and Michael Craig, was born on the morning of March 8th around 4:40 am. He weighed 6 1/2 pounds and is 19 long. He was two weeks early but doing fine. Welcome to the world, Grayson! First Qtr Special Ministries Collection Results For two Sundays in February, collections were taken at the worship services for our first quarter social ministry needs. We collected a total of $ Half will be sent to the Fern Creek Highview United Ministries, FCHUM, and half will be kept at the church for other social ministry needs. Thank you to all who contributed! ELCA World Hunger & Disaster Response Campaign There is still time to support the ELCA World Hunger and ELCA Disaster Response Campaign at St. Stephen through Easter Sunday. Please remember to bring your coin-filled pig-shaped collection boxes to church on Easter, or you can donate using the ELCA World Hunger envelopes in the pew racks by placing your donation in those envelopes and then placing them in the offering plates. Also, while you are enjoying your Easter breakfast at church, you can color pages filled with chicks or pigs for $1 each toward the campaign. For a needy family, $1 can buy a chick, and $30 can buy a pig. Thanks for your help! St. Stephen Lutheran Church Congregation Council Meeting Minutes March 11th, 2018 The regular meeting of the council was called to order by council president, Rod Firquin, after the 10:00 am worship service. A quorum was established. Members present: Rod Firquin, Glenn Eisenbrey, Larry Faue, Paul Kiser, Sean Morris, Elaine Peterson, Marcia Peterson, Duane Steines, Pastor Kerri, and Cheryl Markley (non-voting). Member absent: Buddy Zimmerman Member Requested Project: Mikayla Curtis Good Clothes, Good People is an organization that Mikayla Curtis is working on with her school, DuPont Manual High School. She proposed putting a new Rumpke trash bin, artfully decorated by the Manual High School visual arts department, inside our church building to collect clothes for needy people at Wayside Christian Mission. Mikayla will send pictures of possible bins to Rod Firquin for selection. M/S R. Firquin/G. Eisenbrey to support this project at St. Stephen. Carried. Secretary s Report: The minutes of the February 11 th, 2018 council meeting were printed in the March 2018 newsletter. M/S- D. Steines/L. Faue to accept the minutes as printed. Carried. President s Report: R. Firquin 1. The Sunday worship attendance for March 4 th was 84 total, and for March 11 th, it was 87 for the 10:00 am worship service. continued...

4 St. Stephen Scroll Page 4 Pastor s Report: Pr. Kerri 1. Jimmy Kleitz would like to offer his HVAC services to the church. 2. Phillip Bennett Sprowl, son of Mike Sprowl and Emily Vernizzi and grandson of Cindy and Gene Sprowl, was baptized today at the 10:00am worship service. 3. First Communion classes will be held this spring for Evy Seifert and Bennett Sprowl with First Communion in early May. 4. Time & Talent sheets were distributed last week for members to consider and again this week during worship to fill out. Hopefully, many are returned. 5. Pledge cards with a letter will be mailed to our members on Monday, March 19 th. Pledge Sunday will be on Palm Sunday, March 25 th. Members will be encouraged to prayerfully bring their sealed pledge cards to the altar during the offering on Palm Sunday. 6. Holy Week Schedule (March 25 th April 1 st ): Palm Sunday Parade before the 10am worship service from the fellowship hall into the sanctuary with ribbon wands and palms; Maundy Thursday light meal in the fellowship hall at 6:15pm followed by worship with Holy Communion at 7:00 pm in the sanctuary; Good Friday worship at 7:00 pm; Easter worship services at 8:00 am and 10:00am, Easter breakfast at 9:00 am, Easter Egg Hunt at 11:15 am, no 5:00 pm Easter worship service. 7. Sabbatical update: Glenn Eisenbrey will provide pastoral care for St. Stephen during Pastor Kerri s sabbatical. He will visit shutins and those admitted to the hospital. He will also provide pastoral care to those who experience an emergency like a serious illness or a death in the family. Glenn will be compensated financially from the sabbatical fund for his time. The committee is progressing on getting people to lead worship services during the sabbatical. 8. On Sunday, May 20 th, Pastor Kerri s last Sunday before the sabbatical, there will be a special sending/celebration meal at St. Stephen for the congregation. That day is also Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Sunday and Confirmation Sunday. 9. Pastor Kerri and the sabbatical committee are working on ideas to keep St. Stephen members active and involved over the summer like zones of friendly accountability. Pastor Kerri is also compiling a list of jobs that she does around the church that our members will be asked to adopt for the summer. Some of these jobs include activities like filling the children s sermon candy basket, making sure that the baptismal font has water in it, turning on the a/c on Sunday mornings, etc. Financial Reports: (P. Markley, B. Zimmerman) 1. The treasurer s reports for January & February 2018 were presented. M/S-S. Morris/E. Peterson to accept the treasurer s reports as printed. Carried. See the report at the end of the minutes. Old Business: 1. Carolyn Graham s step-grandson, Joey Grom, is working with Youth Ministry International to raise money for a 2-year mission trip to train others in Indonesia to become youth pastors or youth leaders. Rod Firquin recommended that Mr. Grom provide information about this endeavor and how to donate to support this mission for 2 years. The council would then make this information available to St. Stephen members so that they can choose how to donate. Those who want to know more can visit the websites youthminforthewin.com and ymitraining.com. New Business: 1. St. Stephen will have a yard sale May 12 th to raise money for the church and for the youth attending the ELCA Houston trip. Youth who want to benefit from this sale must work at the yard sale. Each person who is going to Houston who also works at the yard sale can raise up to 10% of the yard sale profits for their trip. The yard sale needs a coordinator. We will start collecting yard sale items on April 15 th in the courtyard room. There will be more discussions regarding selling of food or bake sale items during the yard sale. Duane Steines will handle the money. In addition to yard sale items, we will accept children s clothing. We will not accept adult clothing for the sale, although adult clothing may be donated to the Good Clothes, Good People project. 2. Ronald McDonald House is expanding into the building next to their current location. They are having a fundraiser for this project. Our church will have a one-time collection for this project and will provide info in the newsletter for anyone who wants to do more. Church Committee Reports Finance: B. Zimmerman See the treasurer s reports at the end of the minutes. Outreach: 1. The Fern Creek Highview United Ministries, FCHUM, Gala is on May 12 th, at 6:00 pm at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. Pastor Kerri has been the reigning dessert champion for the last 2 years. Please plan to attend to help FCHUM in their biggest fundraiser of the year and to see if Pastor Kerri can make 3 times a charm! Michelle Malone is our FCHUM rep and will let us know when tickets are available.

5 St. Stephen Scroll Page 5 Fellowship: 1. The fellowship committee has been preparing for Easter breakfast at 9:00 am on Easter, April 1 st. 2. The April fellowship committee meeting will be moved to Sunday, April 15 th, because Easter is on April 1 st and the council meeting is on April 8 th. Worship & Music: reported by Rod Firquin 1. See Pastor Kerri s report. The Holy Week schedule is shown there. Property & Grounds: R. Firquin 1. There will be a church property work day on March 31 st at 9am to get the flower beds and the rest of the grounds ready for Easter. Christian Education: G. Eisenbrey 1. A vacation Bible school, VBS, package has been ordered from Group. The theme is Daniel and the Lion s Den. VBS will be held at St. Stephen from Jul 8 th through the 12 th, and Pastor Kerri has re-worked the VBS daily schedule so that it will take place from 5:30 to 7:40pm each evening. The light meal is at 5:30-5:55pm, and VBS instruction is from 6:00-7:40pm. There is no closing session each night, but there will be a group presentation on Thursday, the final night. Volunteers are needed to make the church look like Babylon, and additional volunteers are needed to provide meals each night. 2. The April Christian education committee meeting will be moved to Sunday, April 15 th, because Easter is on April 1 st and the council meeting is on April 8 th. Youth: P. Kiser 1. 4 youth & one adult from St. Stephen, (Kaitlyn Kiser, Kayleigh Kiser, Ellerie Seifert, Emma Morris, and Paul Kiser) are going to the ELCA Youth Convention in Houston. As mentioned in New Business above, there was a proposal for each person going on the Houston trip to be able to earn up to 10% of the yard sale profits if he/she works at least 5 hours each to help set up for yard sale. M/S R. Firquin/L. Faue to accept this proposal. Carried. 2. The youth will host a basket auction on March 25 th, Palm Sunday, after the 10:00 am worship service during coffee hour. 3. St. Stephen youth will lead four 5:00pm Sunday worship services during Pastor Kerri s sabbatical this summer. Local Lutheran News: P. Kiser Third Lutheran Church on Frankfort Avenue is selling their building. The congregation will stay together for now. They are looking for an alternative place to worship.. Treasurer s Reports: January 2018 February 2018 * Property annex online statement was not available for either month. M/S- P. Kiser/S. Morris to adjourn. Carried. Republic Checking memorial social min mortgage Republic M Market property annex Beginning Balance 1,094,53 3, , , , Deposits 17, , Disbursements 15, , Interest Income 0.24 Ending Balance 3, , , , ,912.85* Republic Checking memorial social min mortgage Republic M Market property annex Beginning Balance 3, , , , , Deposits 10, Disbursements 10, , Interest Income 0.21 Ending Balance 3, , , , ,912.85* The next meeting is on Sunday, April 8 th after the morning worship service.

6 St. Stephen Scroll Page 6 April 2018 Servants of the Church Sunday - 10 a.m. 4/1/18 4/8/18 4/15/18 4/22/18 4/29/18 Lector See below Marilyn Mills Nicole Legg Marcia Peterson Connie Miller Ushers See below Tom Curtis Marcus Utley Barry Mills Steven Sarson See below Jacob Curtis Elaine Peterson Marilyn Mills Rita Sarson Acolyte See sign-up Peace Kahn Lilly Morris Mallory Allen Lucy Zimmerman Communion Table See sign-up Steven Sarson Adolphus Kahn Michelle Hicks Deb Steines See sign-up Rita Sarson Teta Thompson Jack McFarland Marilyn Mills Commun. Deacon See below Jack McFarland Bob Meyer Rod Firquin Fred McBride Nursery See sign-up Cheryl Markley Jennifer Kiser Connie Miller Elizabeth Seifert Cantor See sign-up Bob Meyer Susan Johnston Paul Kiser Karen Eisenbrey Worship Coord. See sign-up Paul Kiser Jack McFarland Rita Sarson Rod Firquin Greeter(s) See sign-up Marilyn Mills Jack McFarland Bob & Cathy Meyer Darlene Clark Coffee Hr Host(s) Easter Egg Hunt J. Davis Needed Needed Needed Easter, April 1 st 8:00 am and 10:00 am Worship Servers: 8:00 am 10:00 am Lector Marilyn Mills Lector Julia Davis Ushers Barry Mills/Jack McFarland Ushers Fred McBride/Bill Wise Acolyte Everett Seifert Acolyte(s) Needed/Needed Communion Table Needed/Needed Communion Table Teta Thompson/Peace Kahn Deacon Steven Sarson Deacon Rod Firquin Nursery Needed Nursery Needed Cantor Susan Johnston Cantor Needed Worship Coordinator Needed Worship Coordinator Needed Greeter(s) Needed/Needed Greeters Jack McFarland/Glenn Eisenbrey Please note that some of the openings may have been filled after printing. See sign-up sheet in narthex. Madelyn Giles 5 Aaron Davis 6 Connie Miller 8 Carol Ochs 10 Amanda Thonen 11 God s Blessings to these April birthdays: Hailey Thompson 12 Jon Bunner 14 Lucy Zimmerman 26 Brian Malone 29 We celebrate with these couples having April anniversaries: Michael & Tracy Fajardo Greg & Jessica Allen Bill & Meg Thompson Gene & Cindy Sprowl (13th/1996) (16th/1994) (19th/1969) (24th/1971) March Sanctuary Flower and Candle Donors March Sanctuary Flower Donors No flowers for Lent. March Sanctuary Candle Donors 4th - Sarson family in honor of Steven Sarson s birthday 11th - Elaine Peterson in honor of Stephen Summers birthday 25th - Matt & Lori Young in memory of their granddaughter Kaylin *The cost to provide the sanctuary candle is $4.00.

7 St. Stephen Scroll Page 7 April 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Easter 9:00 Easter Breakfast, No Sunday School 8:00 Holy Communion 11:20 Egg Hunt 2 6:00 Creative Hands Sew Group 3 12:30 Prayer Shawl Group Church secretary out of the office :00 Weight Watchers 8 No Sunday School 11:15 Coffee Hr 11:30 Council 5:00 Holy Communion :30 Worship & Music Committee 13 6:00-8:00 Girl Scout Troop :00 Weight Watchers 15 Ronald McDonald House Collection 9:00 Education Hr 11:15 Coffee Hr 11:30 Fellowship Committee Meeting 11:30 Christian Education Committee 5:00 Holy Communion :00 Finance Committee 18 11:30 Golden Sneakers Cattleman s Roadhouse :00 Weight Watchers 22 9:00 Education Hr 11:15 Coffee Hr 5:00 Holy Communion :30 Ronald McDonald House Visit :00-8:00 Girl Scout Troop :00 Weight Watchers 29 9:00 Education Hr 11:15 Coffee Hr 5:00 Holy Communion 30 Upcoming Events: May 6th First Communion May 12th St. Stephen Yard Sale May 12th FCHUM Pennies From Heaven Gala May 20th Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Breakfast, Confirmation, Sabbatical Send-off Celebration

8 St. Stephen Lutheran Church 5903 Bardstown Road Fern Creek, Kentucky April 2018 St. Stephen Scroll Worship Services: Education Hr (during school yr) 9:00 AM Sunday 10:00 AM, Sunday 5:00 PM Due date for next month s newsletter articles is always the 17th of the month before. Send to: secretary.ststephen@gmail.com May 2018 Servants of the Church Sunday - 10 a.m. 5/6/18 5/13/18 5/20/18 5/27/18 6/3/18 Lector Cheryl Markley Pat Markley Steven Sarson Ellen Ullom Rod Firquin Ushers Pat Markley Glenn Eisenbrey Bill Wise Phyllis Boston Ruth Kleitz James Clark Fred McBride Vivian Wise Rod Firquin Adolphus Kahn Acolyte Jack McFarland Everett Seifert Ella Markley Kayleigh Kiser Peace Kahn Communion Table Paul Kiser Phyllis Boston Maddie Allen Brennan Summers Emma Morris Kayleigh Kiser Buddy Zimmerman Peggy Zimmerman Jennifer Summers Sean Morris Commun. Deacon Cheryl Markley Jack McFarland Tammy Utley Steven Sarson Bob Meyer Nursery Teta Thompson Jessica Allen Connie Miller Jennifer Kiser Cheryl Markley Cantor Fred McBride Bill Wise Bob Meyer Susan Johnston Paul Kiser Worship Coord. Pat Markley Paul Kiser Pat Markley Rod Firquin Rita Sarson Greeter(s) Bill & Vivian Wise Teta Thompson Marcia Peterson Paul Kiser Ellen & Chuck Ullom Coffee Hr Host(s) Needed Needed McFarlands - -