TRINITY TOGETHER. Trinity Lutheran Church 357 West Main Street Kutztown, Pennsylvania October 2017

Transcription

1 TRINITY TOGETHER Trinity Lutheran Church 357 West Main Street Kutztown, Pennsylvania October 2017 Interim Pastor: The Rev. David Strobel Director of Youth & Family Ministry: Seth Noggle Editor/Administrative Assistant: Lisa Finke Church Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 AM 2:00 PM Website: Our Mission Statement Telling others of God s unconditional love through worship; Empowering discipleship through education; Leading others to this family of Faith as baptized believers; Calling all to follow Jesus example of servanthood. Scrapings and Parings How do you get to know what makes a pastor tick? Through sermons, lessons taught, pastoral visits, ordinary conversation, and pieces in the newsletter like this. My interim at Trinity is designed to be part-time and it is also to be interim, that is to say, until you call your next full-time pastor. Those interactions through which you would get to know what makes me tick will be somewhat limited. So I ll use this column to give you head-start. There was dancing in the streets when I was born. No, not because I was born, but because it was VJ Day, August 14, I am a Texan, born in Fort Worth on that joyous day. But I was a Texan only for a month as my family moved back to their homestead in Baltimore, my father being mustered out of the army air corps at the end of World War II. My first seven years were in Baltimore, but then my Dad was transferred by Western Electric to Berks County to inaugurate their brand new plant in Reading, the first one to manufacture transistors. My school years were spent in the Wilson School District. I graduated in Back then, Wilson believe it or not was the athletic doormat of Berks County schools. In several sports, the only thing we won was the sportsmanship award, the prize for the most gracious losers. I was a swimming and track athlete. I won my share of various individual championships, but it was only after I graduated that Wilson began to spend generously on athletics. A swimming pool, high- class coaches Ah well, it was fun, and learning to be a gracious loser taught valuable life lessons. (continued) 1

2 From Wilson, I went to Johns Hopkins as an undergraduate; then to the Philadelphia Seminary to become a pastor. My first call was in western Pennsylvania, 30 miles up the Allegheny River, to two small congregations in US Steel mill towns. After that there was graduate work at the University of Chicago, and, from there, back to Bowers, PA, and Zion Church in Maxatawny. Since then, I ve served St. Timothy s in Allentown, Trinity in Reading and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod as bishop. I retired in 2008 and have been doodling in a pastoral sense since then. Now my doodling brings me to Trinity, Kutztown, for, hopefully, a normal interim. So, what really makes me tick? Here are some relevant scrapings and parings. My wife, Doris, is now retired after 36 years at the Lehigh Valley Hospital as a critical care cardiology nurse. My son, Kurt, is a mechanical engineer who lives with his family in Fort Collins, CO. He works for a German firm whose business is shock absorbers. No, not the kind on your car, but in large structures, like some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, that sway in the wind. His wife was an Ice Capades skater with Dorothy Hamill. Our grandchildren out there are 19 and 17 years old. My daughter, Erika, is the pastor of Little Zion Lutheran Church in Telford, PA. She lives with her husband, Guenter, an accountant and financial advisor, and her three children (ages 6, 5 and 20 months). It goes without saying that these latter three are the lights of our lives. Finally, the important stuff: I have been an ardent Pittsburgh Steelers fan for half a century now. I m a fan, too, of Formula One auto racing. Classical music is a passion of mine, especially Bach, Haydn, Brahms, Bruckner, Vaughn-Williams, Messaien, Duruflé and William Matthias. Theologically, I have a particular fondness for St. Augustine, Martin Luther, and Karl Rahner. And I am still fascinated, after all these many years, with the quest for the historical Jesus. Cooking, too, is a passion of mine; no particular cuisine, but I am always on the lookout for an interesting new recipe. I am a Whovian (as in Dr. Who) and a Trekkie, (as in Star Trek), but for the more historical versions of these wonderful series. Finally, I really enjoy British and Australian detective dramas on PBS, from Father Brown through Morse to Miss Fisher well written, splendidly acted, and endlessly fascinating (even the reruns!). My particular favorite? Foyle s War. Now you know (probably more than you ever wanted to!) what makes me tick. What about Scrapings and Parings, the title I ve used for my newsletter column for 35 years? It comes from the heading Soren Kierkegaard placed at the beginning of his Concluding Unscientific Postscript: quoting from Plato s Hippias Major, But really, Socrates, what do you think this all amounts to? It is really scrapings and parings of systematic thought divided into bits. How appropriate a title for my modest musings! Plato and Kierkegaard: that tells you a lot about what makes me tick as well. Pastor David Strobel 2

3 Schedule & Volunteers LAY READERS: Oct 1 8:00 AM Carl Ziegler 10:15 AM Karise Mace Oct 8 8:00 AM Joe Piscitelli 10:15 AM Andrea Orwig Oct 15 8:00 AM Tom Kulp 10:15 AM Emily Jones Oct 22 8:00 AM Melanie Wessner 10:15 AM Linda Losch Oct 29 8:00 AM Kevin Stump 10:15 AM Carolyn Miller ACOLYTES: Oct 1 8:00 AM Will DeVall & Colin Pape 10:15 AM Rachel Hoffman & Alyssa Heffelfinger Oct 8 8:00 AM Kendall DeVall & Colin Pape 10:15 AM Elena Graff Oct 15 8:00 AM to be determined 10:15 AM to be determined Oct 22 8:00 AM to be determined 10:15 AM Alyssa Heffelfinger Oct 29 8:00 AM Elena Graff 10:15 AM to be determined USHERS (Volunteers at the 8:00 AM service): Oct 1 10:15 AM Kurt & Pauline Rohrbach Oct 8 10:15 AM David & Joyce Esser Oct 15 10:15 AM Jean Ziegler & Michele Dugan Oct 22 10:15 AM Becki Prevoznik & Kathy Hertzog Oct 29 10:15 AM to be determined COMMUNION USHERS: Oct 1 8:00 AM Richard Miller & Marsha Hoyer 10:15 AM Tina Billig & Kurt Rohrbach Oct 8 No Communion Oct 15 8:00 AM Marsha Hoyer & Catherine Holm 10:15 AM Karen Raudenbush Oct 22 No Communion Oct 29 8:00 AM Richard Miller & Marsha Hoyer 10:15 AM Liz Shrawder ALTAR COMMITTEE: Susan Ritter & Debbie Ziegler FLOWER CHAIRPERSON: Darlene Dietrich BIBLE STUDY: Every Wednesday at 10:00 AM IMPORTANT DATES: Oct 1 World Communion Sunday Oct 29 Reformation Sunday Holy Conversation Everyone is invited to an evening with the bishop where you can ask questions and hear from him about the transition. This conversation will take place on Tuesday, October 17 th, and we will start at 6:30 in the Fellowship Hall with coffee and desserts and the conversation with the bishop will go from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Please mark this date on your calendar. Also, the Parish Study Report, a book put together by the Synod about our congregation, is available in the church office for you to borrow and read before this meeting. Fall Attic Outlet Sale Setup for the fall Attic Outlet Sale began on Sunday, September 24 th. Items needed are clean gently used clothing (adult and children), books, shoes, handbags and small household items. (We will not accept computers or TVs). Children s clothing is especially needed! Dates for the sale are Friday, September 29 th (6-8 PM); Saturday, September 30 th (9 AM Noon); Friday, October 6 th (6-8 PM) and Saturday, October 7 th (9 AM Noon). Proceeds benefit the Helping Hand Fund. 3

4 Bulletin Sponsors Bulletin sponsors are needed for most Sundays in November and December. If you are interested in sponsoring bulletins please sign up for the week or weeks you are interested in. Cost for the bulletins is $20 per week. Hope s Table Trinity will be organizing several meals at Hope Lutheran Church in Reading. The dates for these meals are October 24 th and November 28 th, and we would like your help to serve food at this meal. The time involved would be approximately 4:30 PM to 7 PM that night. If you would like to help out please speak with the church office. CONCERN CHRISTMAS GIFTS If you would like to provide a Christmas gift for one of the children in Concern s care please return the form below to Naomi Owen or the church office. Concern gifts are primarily toys and I have names of 20 children ranging in age from birth to 21 years of age. Gifts must be in the church office by Sunday, November 26 th so they can be delivered to Concern by December 3 rd. Please provide your address if you would like me to send the information to you by e- mail. Name: Phone number: Reformation Train Ride There will be a train ride on October 27, 2017 departing at 7:00 p.m. from the Kutztown Railroad Station. It will be held rain or shine and will include a vesper service with communion, a campfire, music en route and dessert. Ticket prices: Ages 12+ are $15.00 with $3.00 of every ticket benefitting the United Lutheran Seminary Student Scholarship Fund. Ages 3-11 are $7.00 Ages 2 and under are free. Tickets are available in the Church Office and should be purchased no later than Wednesday, October 18 th. 4 Number of children you would like to sponsor: address: Save the Date Wednesday, October 4 th at 10 AM Join us for a slide tour of the sites in Germany and Switzerland where the Protestant Reformation took place 500 years ago. Pastor Randall Grossman will tell us the story of Martin Luther s own spiritual quest and recovery of the gospel. This event will be held in the parlor.

5 Student Food Pantry at KU Thank you to everyone who has contributed time, groceries, and cash donations to this ministry. This pantry which is a satellite of Friend, Inc. started up for the new school year on August 30 th and it has been a busy year so far. If you would like to contribute food items please see the list below Peanut Butter Miscellaneous Snacks Knorr Side Dish Packets Instant Potato Packets Toiletries Soup Canned Fruits & Veggies Juice Crackers Cereal Breakfast Bars Mac n Cheese Tuna Pasta There is a box outside of the Parlor to put the items in. If you have any questions please contact the church office. This program provides clothing gifts to children throughout the area. Very soon there will be a tree outside the church office with ornaments that have a child s name on each one along with their gender, clothing sizes, and any general interests. If you would like to take a name or two please indicate on the list of names next to the tree which child you will be buying gifts for. After purchasing the gift, bring it to the church office unwrapped but please provide wrapping paper for the elves at Friend, Inc. to wrap the gift. The gift with paper must be returned to the church office by Sunday, November 26 th so they can be delivered to Friend, Inc. before the holiday season gets underway. Thank you in advance for helping a child during the holidays. Friend, Inc. Holiday Boxes Once again we will be participating in the Holiday Box Project that Friend, Inc. has every Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Below is a list of items that can be purchased for each box but this is a general guideline so if there is something you would like to substitute or add please feel free. Each family will receive a turkey along with the box. Also, if you would like to decorate the box or add the name of the organization that prepared the box you are encouraged to do so. Items that can be included are as follows: 2 CANS OF SWEET POTATOES 2 CANS OF CRANBERRY SAUCE 2 CANS OF DIFFERENT VEGETABLES LARGE CAN OF FRUIT JUICE BOX OR BAG OF STUFFING MIX BAG OF APPLES (may substitute applesauce) BAG OF POTATOES (may substitute canned potatoes or mashed potatoes) CAN OF FRUIT COCKTAIL COOKIES 1 CAN OF COFFEE OR COCOA HOLIDAY NAPKINS Thanksgiving boxes need to be delivered to Trinity by November 12th Christmas boxes need to be delivered to Trinity by December 10th Volunteers will take the boxes to Friend, Inc. for distribution. 5

6 Altar Committee Volunteers Needed We are still looking for additional altar committee volunteers who would be willing to set up and clean up for communion services. Please contact Debbie Ziegler ( ) or Lisa at the church office ( ). October Youth Group Schedule October 1 st Elementary Youth Group (3 rd -5 th grade) 4:00-5:30PM Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 6:00-8:00PM October 8 th No Scheduled Youth Group October 15 th No Scheduled Youth Group October 22 nd Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 5:00-8:00PM Tonight we ll be decorating for our Annual Haunted House! Bring decorations, and dinner will be served! October 25 th (Wednesday) Merchant s Night 5:30-9:00PM You aspire to great things? Begin with little ones. St. Augustine 6 Tonight is the night of the actual Haunted House. Try and get to the Church by 5:30 as we ll open our doors to the public at 6PM. Then stay after to help clean up. In order to participate you need to be able to stay and help clean. October 29 th Elementary Youth Group (3 rd -5 th grade) 4:00-5:30PM Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 6:00-8:00PM

7 Interested in making onetime or ongoing contributions from your own home? You can now do this online! Just go to the church s website ( and look in the sidebar on the left the link is near the bottom. If you have any questions please call the church office at Special Offerings for the month of October Harvest Home Sunday We will be celebrating Harvest Home Sunday on October 15 th at both the 8:00 AM and 10:15 AM services. We will be highlighting the Lutheran Centre Student Food Pantry, which is a satellite of Friend, Inc. In celebration of this ministry we will be collecting canned goods during the services. (For food suggestions please see page 5 of this newsletter.) Cash donations are always welcome as well. Or perhaps, purchase a Weis or Giant card from the church to donate and you will benefit both Trinity and the food pantry. Lutheran Disaster Relief To help those in need after the terrible hurricanes and other disasters we have had recently you can make contributions to Lutheran Disaster Relief through the church. Envelopes are available at the back of the church for this. All funds collected will be sent directly to them to help those in need get back on their feet. If you have any questions about either of these special offerings please see Lisa in the church office. 7

8 Fundraiser for Oasis After School Program Hello...My name is Joanna Herrlin. I am an 8th Grade student for the Kutztown Middle School. I am working on a community service project. I am knitting items including hats, scarves, socks, bunnies, and sport backpack key chains. I will be selling these items to fundraise for a nonprofit organization, Oasis. Oasis is an after school program that invites students from grades 6-10 to come and enjoy themselves in a safe, wholesome environment. They provide games, snacks, Wii, computers, and social interaction. I am in need of supplies such as yarn and knitting needles for this project. If you have any items that you would be willing to donate to my efforts, I would greatly appreciate them. 8

9 9

10 10

11 11

12 12