A HOLY EXPERIMENT: Update for February 2019

Transcription

1 INSIDE p. 1 From Interim Pastor... Dates at a glance Office/Pastoral hours Worship times p. 2 About Homebound members Office notes p. 3 Important dates Upcoming events p. 4 Council Minutes p. 5 Council Minutes (Cont.) p.6 From the President From the Treasurer Special Dates February 2, 2019 Groundhog Day February 14, 2019, Valentines Day February 18, 2019 President s Day Office hours for Faith Lutheran Church: Monday through Friday 9AM 1PM Pastor s Hours: Pastor Matt Lamb will be on call for Pastoral emergencies and can be reached at (717) Sunday school 9:30 a.m. Sunday 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. A HOLY EXPERIMENT: Update for February 2019 As announced in January s newsletter, the six congregations* in the far eastern end of our synod are considering a Holy Experiment to try a new form of congregational leadership. This holy experiment would answer the question: What is a way to organize the leadership and resources of our congregations so that ministry can continue and (maybe) even flourish across the Eastern UP? Over the season of Epiphany the months of January and February the congregations have been invited to put forth ideas related to replacing, reforming or transforming the current leadership model. So far, several people from different congregations have offered new ideas and asked many questions. These ideas and questions are being collected for discussion at our March 12 meeting. This meeting will include lay leaders, pastors, and the bishop. At this meeting, after considering and discussing the collected ideas and questions we will decide whether to: Move forward with and develop a new idea further for a Holy Experiment, or Scuttle the whole thing and proceed as we always have. Jesus calls us to seek first the kingdom of God. How should we do that? Please let us know what you think. Pastors Matt Lamb, Dave Tielbar, and Joe Daiker *Note: The EUP congregations include: Faith, Soo St. James, Rudyard Bethel, Cedarville Zion, Allenville Zion, St. Ignace Trinity, Brevort From Interim Pastor Lamb: FAITHFUL INNOVATION LEARNING COMMUNITIES Recently I attended training for a new way of being church called Faithful Innovation Learning Community. When I agreed to attend this training, I was not optimistic that it would actually be new. I expected that I would find mostly repackaged ideas that had been tried in the past. I was wrong. Faithful Innovation Learning Community (FILC) is, in my view, something new. What makes it new is its foundational premise that God is at work both in the church and beyond the church. I have been generally operating with the idea that we, the church, serve the world by taking God into the world through our stories and service. FILC extends that idea by looking at the world as a place where God is already at work, with or without the aid of the church. That perspective puts the church in the role of a learner, also known as a disciple. In this role we the church move into our neighborhoods and communities looking for the people through whom God is already working, and then seeing how we can learn from them and partner with them to do God s work. Rather than finding a need and marshalling resources and methods to address it, the church seeks to find people already doing God s work and then joins them in it. Instead of being in the role of provider of goods and services we take the role of partner. FILC bases its approach on the understanding that God created every person we know. God is at work in them and through them. So what are those people doing that might be God s work? Is there a way for us to work with them? Could we find others to join us? Does the FILC approach do away with our programs that currently serve people in need? No. Rather it adds to them a way to be church that can increase and deepen our relationships with our neighbors. Relationships are at the core of Jesus life and work. More and deeper relationships allow us more opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and, just as importantly, grow us as disciples of Christ. What do you think about this idea? Pastor Lamb Page 1

2 The Pathfinder is the monthly newsletter of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America community at : Faith Lutheran Church, 1600 Park Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. (906) The deadline for the Pathfinder is the 15th of each month. Please send articles, comments, news items c/o Pathfinder Editor, 1600 Park St. Sault Ste. Marie, MI or to faithlc1966@att.net Interim Pastor: Rev. Matthew Lamb Church Office Administrator/Editor: Sean Uhrig Congregation Council: Jack Armstrong, Dennis Brindley, Dan Kinnear, Sandy Lawson, Vicki Luoma, Wayne Olsen, Keith Nortch, and Cathy Tibbett Faith Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Synod website: nglsynod.org Denomination website: elca.org Office Notes We are in need of scripture readers and assisting ministers for Sundays. Please, if you are interested, see Sean in the office for more details. Contribution reports are now available for pick-up in the lobby. If there appear to be any issues, please contact Sean in the church office. Our homebound and nursing home members are often so isolated that your phone call, visit, even a card can mean the difference between lonely existence and continued life in our faith community. What can you do? Please reach out to those who have been such a vital part of our congregation and give back. At Home: Beverly Tankersley Lake Blvd. SSM, MI (906) Alice Isaacson- Avery Center, Apt. 302 SSM, MI (906) Copper Garrett W. Five Mile Rd. SSM, MI (906) Linda Doran- 590 Three 1/2 Mile Rd. SSM, MI (906) John Nobliski 1316 Park street SSM, MI (906) Eva Mohr E 5040 State Highway M35 Escanaba (906) At Freighterview: 605 W. Portage Ave. SSM, MI Ruth RonquistWalter PellGladys Baxter- (906) (906) (need phone number) At McKinley Manor: 2023 W 4th Ave. SSM, MI Diane Borrousch- (906) Page 2

3 FEBRUARY 2ND 2nd Kevin Weber 3rd Dennis Aho 4th Katelyn Mills 4th Russell White 5th Gregory Oja 6th Bonnie White 7th Pamela Taylor 8th Eunice Kinnear 9th John McDonald 10th William Skidmore 10th Emily Weber 11th Matt Brindley 11th Julia Gervasio 11th Jamie Sanderson 12th Carey Mills 13th Steve Sanderson 15th Zoe Fiechtner 17th John Leach 19th Marc Carr 21st Jacey Cook 21st Willard Kocsovsky 21st Beverly Tankersley 26th Kiahna Sanderson 28th Melissa Bricco Ken & Joy Lake 57 years 2/3/62 Patricia & Wayne Olsen 50 years 2/15/69 Nancy & Paul Brewster 31 years 2/13/88 February 14th Will be held immediately following worship on Sunday, February 10, There will be 5 seats to be filled on the council this year. If you are interested please get your information in to the office or to Cathy Tibbett. February 17th Dessert and Silent Auction after worship in the fellowship hall! Page 3

4 Faith Lutheran Church Council Meeting November 13, 2018 The meeting was called to order by President Jack Armstrong at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Jack Armstrong, Sandy Lawson, Cathy Tibbett, Keith Nortch, Dennis Brindley, Vicki Luoma, Wayne Olsen (by phone). Member absent: Dan Kinnear Devotions: Keith Nortch gave the devotions. Minutes - A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett to accept the minutes of October 16, Seconded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried. A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett to accept the minutes of October 23, 2018 special budget meeting. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion carried. A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett to accept the minutes of October 24, 2018 Exit Interview for Pastor Bre Kinnunen and Call Committee meeting with Bishop Finegan. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion carried. A motion was made by Sandy Lawson to accept the minutes of November 11, 2018 annual budget meeting. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion carried. Future Meetings December 18 Church Council at 6:00 p.m. Applebee s. January 15 at 7:00 p.m. Old Business A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett to give the remaining $ from the Endowment disbursements from 2018 to Faith Lutheran Youth Group. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion Carried. Church Heat John McDonald reported that all 3 boilers may need to be replaced. Sandy Lawson made a motion for John to get a tech from Albert to come in and get an estimate to replace 3 boilers. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion carried. New Business Supply Pastor Salary Jack will call Pastor Matt Lamb and discuss the salary for the Wednesday night service. Christmas Eve The Christmas Eve service will be at 4:00 p.m. The American Red Cross has cancelled the November 28 blood drive. They will no longer hold blood drives in our area. The UP- Blood Bank may want to hold blood drives at Faith Lutheran. Jack will get more information on this from Sean. Pastors Report This is the list of the supply pastors: November 18 - Mike Herman November 25 George Kaiser December 2 Paul Raappana December 9 Mike Herman December 16 Paul Raappana December 23 George Kaiser December 26 No service January 2 Paul Raappana November 11 Paul Raappana November 21 Mike Herman November 28 George Kaiser December 5 Paul Raappana December 12 Mike Herman December 19 Paul Raappana December 24 Paul Raappana December 30 Paul Raappana End of the Year Reports: All end of the year reports from each committee and group must be to Sean by January 31, The annual congregational meeting will be February 10, Committee Reports Education Sunday School numbers are fluctuating each week. Youth group 4 are attending. November 29 is the last day of confirmation. Stephanie Miller and Sandy sent letters to all the children in the congregation inviting them to Youth group on Thursday evenings from 6:00 8:00. Endowment No Report Fellowship - Over 90 people attended the Veteran s Day Turkey dinner. The food was good. Sean did an excellent job managing the kitchen. There will be cookies after the Christmas Eve service. Finance November receipts were up. $30,000 was put in the investment account at Edward Jones. $1300 was collected for the organ fund. The bill from Roy Electric has not been received yet for the outlets in the kitchen and Fellowship Hall. Membership Pastor Bre Kinnunen updated all the records before she left. Memorial No report. (Continued on the next page.) Page 4

5 Outreach There will be 30 tags on the Angel Tree this year. The gifts are not to be wrapped and will be given to the Salvation Army to distribute. Property The overhead door was installed on the shed. One panel was broken and a replacement has been ordered. New outlets were put in the kitchen and Fellowship Hall. A LED light will be purchased for the plaque and Bill Markstrom will be asked to install it next spring. Staff Support Evaluations need to be done beginning in January. Stewardship 23 families have turned in pledges totaling $65,880. WELCA The December 5 meeting will be at 12:00 p.m. at the Antler s. All women and guests are invited to attend. Sometime in December WELCA will prepare bags with baked goods and fruit, etc. and deliver them to the shut-ins. Worship and Music Hymns have been picked through December 30. The next meeting will be December 5. Campus Ministry The Veterans Day Turkey Dinner was funded through grant money from the Synod. There were around 6 college students attending. Ken Randall will meet with the Bishop. Come to the Table Organize the committee to get started next year. Safety Committee Cody Mayer from the state police met with the safety committee on October 25. There needs to be a practice fire drill. Thanks to Josh Sanner for building steps for the exit in the hall close by the kitchen. A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett to accept all committee reports. Seconded by Wayne Olsen. Motion carried. Facility requests: None Timeline December and January The nominating committee needs to meet as there will be 4 openings on the Council. Count teams December Wayne Olsen and Dan Kinnear January Keith Nortch and Dan Kinnear February Sandy Lawson and Vicki Luoma A motion to adjourn was made by Dennis Brindley. Seconded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried. The meeting closed with the Lord s Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Vicki Luoma, Secretary Faith Lutheran Church Council Meeting December 6, 2018 The meeting was called to order by President Jack Armstrong (by phone) at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Jack Armstrong (by phone), Sandy Lawson, Cathy Tibbett, Keith Nortch, Vicki Luoma, and Dan Kinnear Member absent: Dennis Brindley and Wayne Olsen Devotions: Jack Armstrong gave the opening prayer. Salary for Pulpit Supply Pastors: A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett that as of November 4, we pay the supply pastor that does the Sunday and Wednesday service the same amount of money each day and give back pay to the supply pastors for November and December. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion carried. Salary for Church Organist and Pianist: A motion was made by Cathy Tibbett to pay the church organist or pianist $60 for the Wednesday service and give back pay to the church organist or pianist for November and December. Seconded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried. Future Meetings: December 18 at 6:00 p.m. Church Council at Applebee s. January 15 at 7:00 p.m. Old Business: Staff Support evaluations will be done in January. The motion to adjourn was made by Sandy Lawson. Seconded by Keith Nortch. Motion carried. The meeting closed with the Lord s Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Vicki Luoma, Secretary Page 5

6 Message from the Council President On Sunday February the 10 th 2019, our congregation will have the opportunity to cast ballots for the purpose of filling the five vacant council seats. A special thank you is offered to- Cathy Tibbett, Keith Nortch, Wayne Olsen, and Vicki Luoma as they complete their council terms. Each one of you has served God and the Congregation with Valor, Long hours, and dedication. Thank you for your service. I also leave council as my term expires. I offer a thank you, congregation, for your confidence in me as council president and especially for your support of council s business. Much of which involved prayerful thought. I also want to thank our supply pastors for keeping the word of God alive in our church during this time of transition. The future of Faith Lutheran Church as we know it is squarely in our hands. God has a plan for us. He has a direction for us. Let us continue to stay the course at Faith Lutheran and pray for our savior s answer Yours in Christ Jack Armstrong, Council President FROM THE TREASURY DECEMBER 31, 2018 YEAR TO DATE PROJECTED CASH RECEIPTS $ 131, DECEMBER 31, 2018 YEAR TO DATE ACTUAL RECEIPTS $ 116, ACTUAL RECEIPTS UNDERS BUDGET PROJECTIONS $ (14,730.10) DECEMBER 31,2018 YEAR TO DATE PROJECTED EXPENSES $ 153, DECEMBER 31, 2018 YEAR TO DATE ACTUAL EXPENSES $ 135, ACTUAL EXPENSES UNDER PROJECTED EXPENSES $ 18, TOTAL CASH RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES UNDER BUDGET FOR 2018 $ 3, Feb ASSISTING MINISTERS Dennis Brindley Keith Nortch Lori Strickland Keith Nortch LECTORS Volunteers Volunteers Volunteers Volunteers CHOIR DIRECTOR R.A. Brindley R.A. Brindley R.A. Brindley R.A. Brindley ORGANIST Lisa Justin Dave Erfourth Lisa Justin Dave Erfourth ALTAR WORKERS Lilly Randall Lori and Kathy S. Lilly Randall Lori and Kathy S. Lilly Randall Lori and Kathy S. Lilly Randall Lori and Kathy S. USHERS Volunteers Volunteers Volunteers Volunteers OFFERING COUNTERS Sandy Lawson Vicki Luoma Sandy Lawson Vicki Luoma Sandy Lawson Vicki Luoma Sandy Lawson Vicki Luoma NURSERY Flickingers Flickingers Flickingers Flickingers

7 February :30am Sunday school 10:30am Worship Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 10 9:30am Sunday school 10:30am Worship Annual Meeting Part 1 After worship 17 9:30am Sunday School 10:30am Worship after worship Dessert and Silent Auction 24 9:30am Sunday School 10:30am Worship 4 1pm Monday Quilters 1:30pm Tai Chi 5:15pm Yoga 11 1pm Monday Quilters 1:30pm Tai Chi 18 1pm Monday Quilters 1:30pm Tai Chi 5:15pm Yoga Presidents Day 25 1pm Monday Quilters 1:30pm Tai Chi 5:15pm Yoga :30am WELCA Bible Study 1pm Hand Quilters 6pm Worship Choir after worship pm Hand Quilters 11:30pm WELCA Potluck 12:30pm WELCA Mtg. 6pm Worship 19 7:00pm Council Meeting 5-9pm KTP 20 1pm Hand Quilters 6pm Worship Choir after worship pm Hand Quilters 6pm Worship Choir after worship 7 6-8pm Youth Group pm Youth Group Valentines Day pm Youth Group 6:30pm Car Club pm Youth Group Groundhog Day

8 FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH 1600 PARK STREET SAULT STE. MARIE, MI 49783