ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 1 October 2010

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1 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 1 October 2010 Atonement Update October 2010 The newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church Wesley Chapel s Community Church Sharing the love of Jesus by glorifying God and extending His kingdom Office #: (813) Fax #: (813) office@be-at-1.org a chat with the pastor "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?" Matthew 7:27 Feeling stressed out? If not, you may be in the minority these days. With construction all around us, the economy as unsure as ever and a new report that lists the Tampa Bay area as the fourth most stressful place to live in the nation, we shouldn t be surprised that muscles are tight and blood pressure is rising. If you have stress in your life, you re invited to take advantage of some special offerings we have this October. Wednesday nights at 7pm we will be holding Nights of Reflection with prayers, readings and reflective activities to help center us is Christ s love. The 10am service on October 17 will focus on healing, with individual prayer and laying on of hands available. Now is the time people really need to turn back to their faith to find a clear and comforting answer. Our gracious God never leaves our side. He constantly calls us back to a relationship with Him, one where we re able to let go of concerns that overwhelm us, and find peace once again. Jesus reminds us how God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers. When we come back to God, He feeds our souls and clothes our hearts with much-needed calm and simplicity. Peace, Pastor Scott Left: Here she is! Contestants of the Little Miss Wesley Chapel contest shine in the sanctuary after worship on August 8.; Above: students and teachers receive a back-to-school blessing on August 15

2 ATONEMENT UPDATE Scenes from Rock the Universe, September at Universal Studios theme park in Orlando. 19 people from Atonement spent the weekend having fun, riding rides and listening to great Christian bands like Jars of Clay, Skillet, Reliant K and the Newsboys. Worship included a candlelight service Saturday night and an inspiring Sunday message from a 7th grade teacher. Thanks to Brenda Lenz for organizing a great family trip. Page 2 October 2010

3 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 3 October 2010 Free, Stress Relief Program Offered to Local Residents Are You Stressed Out over Family or Finances? Atonement Church in Wesley Chapel announced a free, six week series of gatherings entitled Nights of Reflections. Participants are not committed to attending all sessions and may attend as many sessions as they desire, free of charge. Su Lindner, notes that a national publication recently named the Tampa area as the fourth most stressful place to live in the U.S.A and that the congregation wanted to help local residents who may be suffering from stress. Lindner will be leading the series which will feature biblical and other spiritual readings and quiet reflection time aimed at helping people unwind from their daily routines. The gatherings will be in a calm-inducing setting of candles and will feature a variety of seating options such as floor pillows, a prayer kneeler, chairs or your own yoga mat. Soothing and reflective music will be provided by Pastor Scott Lindner. The minute sessions are open to all and will start on Wednesday October 6 th at 7 P.M. at Atonement Church. The church is located on the north side of Hwy 54 between Saddlebrook Resort and Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel. An optional, freewill offering will be available. Additional information is available from Su Lindner at (813) SOCIAL CONCERNS MEETING There will be a meeting of the Social Concerns Committee right after the service on Sunday October 10th. We will meet up by the Baby Shower display. Anyone is welcome to attend. Topics include, but not restricted to : Holiday Food Baskets, Little Angels [Christmas presents], and the Baby Shower. NOTE : We take clothing and household donations up to Resurrection House's Thrift store or to Christian Social Services Thrift store. Call me, Jean Ann Jakes if you need me to pick it up, otherwise we will just put it in my car on Sunday. BUT -- don't forget the Youth are having a YARD SALE so donate to them first. THRIVENT Pasco County chapter of Thrivent is planning a three church fund raiser (Sheppard of the Hills, Grace, and Atonement) to gather food and Thrivent dollars for Helping Hands Food Pantry for Thanksgiving food baskets. In addition a pancake breakfast is in the planning stages with pancake batter and meat provided by one of the local restaurants here in Wesley Chapel and funds from this will also go to Helping Hands Food Pantry.

4 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 4 October 2010 Name The Band As you know, Atonement Lutheran has a Heritage service that will be starting up again in January and run through May. The " Praise band" has worked hard on playing and little time trying to come up with a name for our group - other than "the Praise band'. This is where you all come in. We need your help coming up with a name for the band. Give it some thought and write down your suggestions and put it in the box in the narthex or e mail it to Su Lindner at sslindner@verizon.net. The band will choose the winning name and there will be a prize for the band name selected. The name the band contest will run from October thru November. The winning name will be announced in December. Attendance Offering Sept Sept Sept Sept Baby Shower October 16th! The next Baby Shower is at 10 am, October 10th at Rez Park in Dade City [maps will be handed out]. We generally car pool from the Sun Trust Bank at the corner of 54 and Eiland [near Home Depot] but some drive there on their own. The Baby Shower is a party for Mothers-To-Be from the Dade City area farm worker population. There are refreshments, games and we all have fun. It isn't long and we are generally packing up by 11:30. Children are welcome to attend as there is a playground at the park. We have lots of good used clothes for babies and toddlers. As always we can use some new clothes, socks and bibs [we have fewer boy's than girl's items]. DIAPERS!!!!!! and all other items that babies use up, like powders, lotions, and wipes are appreciated. Also, baby bottles, pacifiers, soft baby toys would be great. Various ladies of the Church have been making afghans and blankets; if you think you might also like make some don't worry if you don't have time right now. The Baby Showers are every four months. We also accept clean used items in good shape, like cribs, strollers, playpens, baby play sets, toys, and so on. If you need someone to pick them up for you please call Jean at [p.s. ideas for games for the Mothers-to-be to play are also desired; remember these ladies are mostly expecting, though some have recently had their babies.] OFFERING YTD ATTENDANCE YTD 2009 $110, $128,

5 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 5 October 2010 Life Together Luther Springs, Hawthorne Youth and families celebrated a weekend of Christian music and fun at Rock the Universe. The weather was hot and the bands were even hotter!!! This year we had 20 attend the sold out weekend show. There are pictures on our church web site and our Facebook site. Youth will be having a Yard Sale October 2 nd from 8am to noon. We will take donations on September 24 th, and 26 th and October 1 st. Youth Bake Sale will be on October 24 th. We will have a great selection of baked goods! Yum! October Youth meeting date will be announced in church. Brenda Lenz Youth Leader October 15-17, 2010 $80 per Adult ( 13+ ) $50 per Child ( 2-12 ) Are you passing on your faith? Grandparents, bring yourselves and your grandchildren for a weekend of faith sharing and relationship building. Your grandchildren need you to pass on the history and traditions of faithful families. Be a mentor for your grandchildren and enliven relationships so that Life Together can be more meaningful. Registration online at lomfla.org

6 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 6 October 2010 Atonement WELCA Upcoming Activities: Oct. 9 th : WELCA Meeting 10 AM at the church. Reformation dinner planning and Sew-a-Thon plans. We need LOTS of help for these endeavors. The dinner s profits are designated for the Al & Bea Bidwell Scholarship fund for our graduating seniors. The Sew-a-thon is a major service project undertaking for us. We hope that many of you ladies will be able to help. See you at the meeting! Nov. 13 th : Sew Much Comfort Sew-a-thon at the church. Sew Much Comfort provides adaptive clothing at no cost to support the unique needs of our injured service members from all branches of the military and national guard. The need for our adaptive clothing continues to grow as American military members continue to be injured serving in our current conflicts. Each week, many wounded military members arrive in the States from Germany for extensive medical treatment for bullet wounds, burns, head and limb injuries and amputations. We also support many previously injured and their needs as they change during the recovery process. These injuries require large fixator, prosthetics and casts that are too bulky to fit under ordinary clothing or underwear. Without adaptive clothing the only option for them is a hospital gown. Sew Much Comfort is the only organization providing adaptive clothing at no cost to our wounded service members. All our adaptive clothing was designed with input from the wounded and medical personnel. Our wardrobe options continue to evolve as we strive to meet the needs of our injured service members. Our clothing gives the service member and medical personnel the ability to have ready access to their injuries utilizing the adaptive openings in our clothing. The adapted clothing allows injured service members to have their clothing appear the same as normal civilian attire; an attribute which helps facilitate a more natural and comfortable recovery. The clothing is adapted from either store bought garments or sewn with our custom designed patterns. Bonnie Wine, our Sew Much Comfort coordinator, will be here to help us with this project. More details will be forthcoming. But mark your calendars for November 13th to participate in this worthwhile project. If you have any questions, contact Barb Turner at turnerfcrv@yahoo.com or

7 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 7 October 2010

8 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 8 October 2010 HAPPENINGS AT TRINITY CHURCH

9 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 9 October 2010 MINISTRY CONTACTS Pastor Scott Lindner Music: Choir Director Ken Hanks Assist. Choir Director Keyboardist Ken Hanks Council: President Fitzroy Williams Vice President Suzi Morgan Secretary Caitlyn Ungerer Treasurer Joe Zummo Member Bill Anderson Member Cara Chiaramonte Member Frank Reams Member Fred Lyle Member Detlev Aeppel Member Carolyn McKinney Financial Secretary: Donna Averill Time & talent coordinator: Donna Averill Women s Group Barbara Turner Ministry Teams: Christian Education Patti Santoro Sunday School Julie Kaufmann Youth Brenda Lenz Fellowship Mary Bleakney IT Suzi Morgan Outreach Detlev Aeppel Property Bill Anderson Stewardship Dennis Loomis Worship and Music Acolyte coordinator Marcia Weil Nursery coordinator Land-taking task force Carla Haberland Social Concerns Ann Davis & Jean Jakes Caring Team Jean DeNardo Parish Nurse Fran Loomis

10 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 10 October Young At Hearts Resurrection House Marguerite Romo Christian Social Services Jacquie Petet Boy Scouts Troup 148 Steve Kubasek Cub Scout Pack 148 Desire Payne Bears (Den 2) Tigers (Den 12) Boy Scout Troop 2 Dennis Weston Junior Troop 159 Lona Mazzoo Primicias de Cristo David & Anna Medina Helping Hands Food Pantry Carolyn McKinney Animals to Nursing Home Renee Kimray Michelle Barbow Overeaters Beth Mazzei Alcoholics Dave Fraley Vince Toporek But When? Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your hear. Psalm 27:14 We have often smiled knowingly at that kitchen-magnet quip, Lord, give me patience, and give it to me now! And why not? Our society expects immediate accomplishment in almost everything we do from microwave meals in minutes to global communication in seconds. It seems, whatever the problem, there should be a button, switch, or pill to deliver fast results. Which makes it all the more difficult to accept that, like it or not, spiritual growth takes time. In a garden, all seedlings have average schedules of development. But as human beings with unique histories and needs, we can t rely on averages to determine when we might take that next step in our walk with God. It s tempting, when faced with a flaw of the spirit or other growth issue, to pray for and expect immediate change. Sometimes it happens. But how lost and confused we feel if our prayers don t bring the instant relief we seek. During such times, it s good to remember that all facets of our nature whether traits we love about ourselves or those we want to improve are part of our Godcreated being. Even our less-than-desirable parts are there for a reason and contain His lessons for us. When change seems to come slowly, don t give up hope. Consider that the timetable for your growth is in the Lord s hands. Continue your daily communion with God and trust your spirit to be healed in His time.

11 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 11 October If you have some pictures that you would like to share with the congregation, please send them in and we will share them.

12 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 12 October MINNEAPOLIS (July 20, 2010) Thrivent Financial for Lutherans today launched Choice Dollars SM, a new component of its Thrivent Choice SM charitable grant program. Choice Dollars enables eligible Thrivent Financial members to help direct a portion of Thrivent Financial charitable funds to Lutheran organizations and congregations. Eligible members can choose to help direct funds to more than 18,000 separate organizations enrolled in the program by recommending how an amount of funds should be spent. Eligibility for the program is based on a member s annual insurance premiums from qualifying products, contract values in qualifying products and/or volunteer leadership in various Thrivent Financial roles. Most eligible benefit members will be able to help direct between $25 and $100 annually, and some may be able to help direct as much as $500, based on their financial and volunteer involvement in the organization. Choice Dollars, which will annually deliver tens-of-millions of dollars to worthy Lutheran organizations and congregations, is designed to increase the percentage of Thrivent members involved in helping to direct a portion of charitable funds. Thrivent Financial members can help direct Choice Dollars designated to them at Thrivent.com/thriventchoice or by calling and saying Thrivent Choice. Our research indicated that many of our members are interested in the opportunity to serve their communities by helping decide how charitable funds are distributed, said Brad Hewitt, Thrivent Financial president and CEO. Choice Dollars SM is designed to be a fast, fair and efficient means for our members to do this. A separate component of Thrivent Choice, called Voting Events, offers all Thrivent members age 16 and older the opportunity to vote for a short list of up to 10 national Lutheran and non-lutheran organizations to which they would like a portion of charitable grant funds distributed. Voting Events are held once or twice each year and funds are then distributed on the basis of the percentage of votes received by each organization during the voting period. Earlier this spring, Thrivent members voted in how to distribute $1 million among 10 national charities. In 2009, Thrivent Financial provided $113 million to help congregations, communities and nonprofit organizations. Thrivent Choice SM is one of many ways that Thrivent Financial gives back. Thrivent benefit members of Florida will direct approximately 1.3 million dollars in the choice program.

13 ATONEMENT UPDATE Page 13 October OCTOBER 2010 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 3rd S.S. children Adam & Eve 10th Noah s Ark 17th Moses 24th Daniel & Lion s Den 31st David & NIGHT OF REFLECTION STARTS ON WED. EVE. 7 PM 1 Praise Team 7:00-8:30 2 Youth Yard Sale 8-12 First Unity Hispanic 6 PM 3 Sunday School 9:00 Am Worship 10:00 Am 4 Alcoholics 7:30 PM Den 2 7:00 PM 5 FP setup 9AM Council Planning 7PM G scouts 7PM Villages 7PM Hispanic 7PM 6Food Pantry Access 10-2 Den 17 7 PM Boy Scouts Troop 2 7 PM Night of Reflection 7 PM 7 Overeaters 7:15 Pack PM 8 Praise Team 7:00-8:30 Deacon Retreat 9 WELCA 10 AM First Unity Hispanic 6 PM Deacon Retreat 10 Sunday School 9:00 Am Worship 10:00 Am Confirmation 11 Alcoholics 7:30 PM 12 FP setup 9AM Outreach 7PM Hispanic 7PM 13 Food Pantry 10-2 Access 10-2 Boy Scout Troop 2 7PM Night of Reflection 7PM 14 Overeaters 7:15 Pack PM 15 Praise Team 7:00-8:30 16 First Unity Hispanic 6 PM Baby Shower Dade City Cleaning 10 am 17 Sunday School 9:00 Am Worship 10:00 Am Potluck 11:30 18 Alcoholics 7:30 PM 19 FP setup 9AM Council Meeting 7PM G scouts 7PM Hispanic 7PM 20 Food Pantry 10-2 Access 10-2 Boy Scout Troop 2 7PM Den 17 7PM Night of Reflection 21 Overeaters 7:15 Pack PM 22 Praise Team 7:00-8:30 23 First Unity Hispanic 6 PM Bridgewater Fall Festival Sunday School 9:00 Worship 10:00 Am Youth Bake Sale 25 Alcoholics 7:30 PM 26 FP setup 9AM Hispanic 7PM 27 Food Pantry 10-2 Access 10-2 Boy Scout Troop 2 7PM Night of Reflection 7PM 28 Overeaters 7:15 Pack PM 29 Praise Team 7:00-8:30 30 First Unity Hispanic 6 PM Cleaning 10 am 31 Sunday School 9:00 Am Worship 10:00 Am Confirmation NEWSLETTER DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 20TH