Annual Meeting Jan. 20 Faith Lutheran Church will hold its

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January 2013 Volume 7, Issue 2 Faith Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran

2 Faith votes to sell stained glass windows, p.2 Council actions, p.

5 Women s convention impresses trio, p.6 Annual Meeting Jan.

Snow date is Jan. 27. We ll hold only one service that day, at 10 a.m.

Our Sunday school Christmas pageant was an important part of our Christmas

1 January 2013 Volume 7, Issue 2 Faith Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Inside Transitions, p. 2 Faith votes to sell stained glass windows, p.2 Council actions, p.4 Church fair success thanks to many, p.5 Women s convention impresses trio, p.6 Annual Meeting Jan. 20 Faith Lutheran Church will hold its Annual Meeting Sunday, Jan. 20. Snow date is Jan. 27. We ll hold only one service that day, at 10 a.m., and the meeting will begin at 11:15 a.m. Your attendance is important. Our Sunday school Christmas pageant was an important part of our Christmas celebration. Well done! Photo by Evelyn Anderson. Chaplain Joanna Norris Grimshaw leads Christmas Eve worship for our troops in Afghanistan. Please continue to pray for our troops. New Year Blessings!

2 Birthdays February Birthdays 2 Jean Brodeur 7 Celia Letendre (87) 7 Kendal Marinelli 7 Vincent Marinelli 15 Ottmar Rau (81) 16 Sharon Dorval 17 Stephen Rau 19 Allison Lehoux 21 Richard Anderson (82) 24 Whitney Ashmore 25 Marie Johnson 29 Martha Johnson (89 / 22) March Birthdays 1 Jeremy Bourque 5 Joshua Liddy 7 Mark Sawyer 8 Christine Belitsky 13 Larry S. McClurken 13 William Virta (91) 17 Max Rocheleau 19 Jean Henrie 25 Wayne Hobby 28 Marliese Rau 31 Jennifer Liddy Congregation votes to sell windows at Lawrence Street In a special congregational meeting 10/29/2012, members of Faith Lutheran Church voted to sell the majority of stained glass windows at the 209 Lawrence Street property (formerly First Lutheran Church). Faith will keep the triptych over the altar showing the crucifixion of Christ and the five small windows in the narthex, organ chamber and tower. Continues next page Transitions, Optimism and Ideas By Jena Hardy It goes without saying that we re in the midst of change at Faith! During this time, it s especially important to remember what we should be doing Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God s varied grace (1 Peter 4:8-10) What a great verse! The most important thing we can be doing right now is to keep on loving one another, knowing that we re all sinners, serving without complaining while using our unique gifts (which also means that we understand that God has given other people their own unique gifts that are different than our own). Pastor (Richard) Olson s sermon Nov. 18 was a great reminder that we should be encouraging and yelling Hooray! to those who are busy doing what needs to be done at Faith and not booing them from the sidelines. Yes, it s true, none of us are perfect and because of that, The Church, any church, our church will never be perfect. It s also true that there are always going to be things that could be done differently or in more efficient ways. Instead of pointing out what s wrong, let s focus on what s right and good the people, our church family! Tons of people are using their time and energy to do the things we may not even notice. Examples of those things are updating the sign on the hill every week, plugging in the coffee pot early Sunday morning to ensure that there is hot water for our coffee, changing light bulbs, teaching Sunday School, ringing the bell, plugging the weekly readings into the computer, counting money, practicing and rehearsing music and singing, organizing schedules for greeters and worship assistants and so much more. Let s applaud the people who are busy making things happen at Faith! The Congregation Council was reminded of how blessed we are when they met with Knute Ogren, Camp Calumet s director of development on Nov. 12. Knute helped us to see that we do, in fact, have A LOT to be thankful for at Faith. We have an awesome church family, fantastic space to use and lots of other assets within our congregation. It was an optimistic meeting! Knute has offered to help the council facilitate an Every Member Visit program, a great step in the right direction. After Christmas, dates will be set to kick this program off so pay attention to the announcements every week! And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country! Continues next page

TRANSITIONS, continued from p.2 I think we re all guilty at one time at one time or another of complaining about the state of things at home, at church or in the world.

3 TRANSITIONS, continued from p.2 I think we re all guilty at one time at one time or another of complaining about the state of things at home, at church or in the world. But JFK s famous words are an awesome reminder that we are all responsible for changing the things around us if we re unhappy. Do you see something that needs to be done at Faith? Do you have an idea for a new ministry or project? Let this be your encouragement to DO IT! You don t need to form a committee to do something and it isn t the responsibility of the Congregational Council or any other committee or individual in the church to make your ideas happen! Those people are volunteers and are busy doing the work that is already on their plates! Remember, God created us each with unique gifts and abilities. Your interests may not be the same as the person sitting in the pew behind you. If God has given you a desire, passion or awareness for something, then be obedient to Him and put your ideas into action! And so, my fellow Christians: ask not what Faith Lutheran can do for you ask what you can do for Faith and for God! People and Prayer We pray for the families of those who have entered life eternal: Maurice E.M. Teir, 99, of Gardner, who served faithfully as a choir member of Faith Lutheran Church, as well as at the former Immanuel and Covenant Lutheran Churches, died Dec. 11 he would have turned 100 in May 2013; Milton Jorgensen, 87, of Leominster, father of Keith Jorgensen, died Dec. 17; Dorothy E. Dottie (Peterson) Coppola, 71, of Fitchburg, mother of Maria Pfeifle, died Dec. 20; Mary Elizabeth Betty (Carlson) Johnson, 86, of Gardner, who served as church treasurer, a Sunday school teacher and a member of the congregation council of the former First Lutheran Church, died Dec. 22; Lori L. (Jorgensen) Auger, 54, of Leominster, sister of Keith Jorgensen, died Jan. 1. WINDOWS, continued from p.2 Members of Faith may purchase any of the windows which will be sold. Keith Jorgensen, congregational president, gave an update on the sale of the property at 209 Lawrence St. He noted that the price recently was lowered to $124,900, which has generated a lot of activity on showings. Ray Pfeifle III, property chair, gave a background on the windows, noting that the original agreement at the time of the consolidation of First and Covenant Lutheran Churches was to keep all of the windows and replace them with standard windows at the time the building was sold. This always has been made known to potential buyers of the property. The reduced price of the building has meant that it has become less cost effective to remove and replace the windows; the replacement cost will take a larger portion of the final price. Because of this, it was proposed that the congregation keep only a few of the windows. Ray noted that there is a much better market for stained glass windows in Europe than in the U.S. The value of the windows, the cost of their removal and replacement were discussed. The congregation unanimously voted to form a committee to manage the removal/sale of the windows, with its charter to negotiate with buyers and report their recommendations to the Congregation Council. Members volunteering to serve on the committee included Paul Carlberg, Ann Erickson, Ottmar Rau, Stan Thompson, Ray Pfeifle IV, Al Anderson, Jen Chagnon and Marie Johnson. Ray will be council representative.

Narthex windows at Lawrence St. Congregation Council Highlights Here are highlights of the Dec. 10 meeting of the Congregation Council of Faith Lutheran Church.

Property: Snowblower from parsonage is repaired and ready to use, but needs to be transported to church; elevator inspection Dec.

We need to submit current, valid Food Service license to City of Gardner; otherwise, we will be unable to use kitchen even for coffee hours.

4 Narthex windows at Lawrence St. Congregation Council Highlights Here are highlights of the Dec. 10 meeting of the Congregation Council of Faith Lutheran Church. Present: Karen Anderson, Scott Anderson, Marv Bernstein, Bob Clark, Susan Conner-Hobby, Jena Hardy, Keith Jorgensen, Dot LaRoche, Pastor Richard Olson, Karen Payne, Ray Pfeifle and Dave Thompson. Property: Snowblower from parsonage is repaired and ready to use, but needs to be transported to church; elevator inspection Dec. 27; heater in narthex is running too often Nils Anderson may know how to fix. We need to submit current, valid Food Service license to City of Gardner; otherwise, we will be unable to use kitchen even for coffee hours. Treasurer s Report: $20,000 transferred from TD investments; Church Fair Nov. 17 made $3,100. Distribution $1,500 for plowing/sanding; $2,000 for Camp Calumet scholarships (eight scholarships of $250); $600 for CAC s in Gardner, Winchendon, Templeton ($200 per CAC). Old Business: Lawrence Street Property Buyer scheduled to sign the P&S in mid-december and then go to Zoning Board within 90 days to get approval for two or four units. We have two weeks after closing to get stained glass windows out of the building. Stained Glass Windows Special Committee Sotheby s looked at windows in Lawrence Street property Dec. 10. Estimated cost of removing and packing windows is $14,000-$15,000. Committee is looking into options to display the windows we are keeping. It may be easier to put windows in the nave wall rather than to display them in other ways. New Business: Parsonage Marv Berstein did a walk-through of parsonage and noted that there is lots of trash that needs to be removed from that property. Bob Clark has offered to do rubbish at parsonage on Thursdays. We may need to get a dumpster. Plowing John Duke will be charging last year s prices for plowing. He will be on-call for sanding. Every Member Visit Council voted to move forward with Every Member Visit Plan that Knute Ogren proposed at November council meeting. Next meeting: Jan. 14. NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS Knute Ogren, director of development for Calumet Lutheran Ministries, showed a video about Calumet and discussed Calumet s Campaign for Today. Each congregation in the New England Synod is being invited to participate. Treasurer s Report: John Liddy agreed to stay on as treasurer. $15,000 in negative. National Grid bill is unusually high for church property. Financial Secretary: Old envelopes will be used for next year; Ogren discussed implementing an Every Member Visit Program and offered to help us get the program going in the new year. Program would involve coming up with three ministry areas on which to focus. Worship and Music Pr. Richard Olson started hosting Wednesday night prayer / discussion times, which are going well. Organ chamber at Lawrence Street

Come to the fair? Use your own money for supplies? Make phone calls? Pay for advertising or put up signs? Organize and be in charge of a table or area? Arrange to get tables for the Coffee House?

5 Come to the fair? Use your own money for supplies? Make phone calls? Pay for advertising or put up signs? Organize and be in charge of a table or area? Arrange to get tables for the Coffee House? Set up tables? Carry things from cars into the building and/or up and down the stairs? Help to decorate? Make something or donate items to the Coffee House? Serve cheese, sandwiches and desserts at the Coffee House? Bake for the Cookie Table or Baked Goods Table? Work in the kitchen? Organize a meatball making day? Roll the meatballs? Donate items for the Toys or Christmas tables? Create a craft? Price things for the tables? Come up with new ideas for the Country Kitchen/Store? Donate your treats for the Country Store? Donate a Raffle Basket? Sell tickets? Work at a table? Church Fair DID YOU... Paint faces? Operate the elevator? Greet people at the door? Keep track of and count money? Spend your money at the fair? Take down and clean up? Help bring EVERYTHING back upstairs at the end of the fair? Have fun at the fair? to every person who did Thanks ANYTHING to help make the fair a success. We raised more than $3,000 and it seemed like there were more shoppers right up until 2 o clock! No one can do this alone. There are several of you who could honestly say YES, I DID! to many of the questions on the list. We have some generous multi-taskers at Faith! Through trial and error, we had lots of new things this year. Thank you, Ray, for encouraging us to use our NEW space in the basement! There was lots of positive feedback from the community. People enjoyed the NEW elevator and operators. Thank you Heinly Family for our awesome, NEW way of advertising and for the NEW free face-painting! It was NEW that people could see what the Coffee House was about before entering! Also NEW this year was our Official Doorman, Larry, who handed out promotional material about the fair! Again, the Demolition Crew that was NEW last year, returned with more people at the end of the day to restore order to the basement and the fellowship hall. Special thanks to Dot, the NEW church fair accountant, who diligently kept track of every penny! There are so many of you who work for the fair every year! Thanks to all of you! Although there are probably many things that could be done better next year, our wise Pastor Olson told us the best thing to do is say, HOORAY! Dill pickles and authentic Hungarian goulash. Yum! See more photos from the church fair by Paul Carlberg at: com/other/flc-fair-2012/ _ hghl9r#!i= &k=gjqrqpv Hooray!

Women s Convention Impresses Faith Trio Group advocates understanding By Linda Olson, Delegate When I represented Faith as a delegate to the 8th Biennial Convention of the New England Women of the

I was pleased to see that the group was continuing to care for others through their support of the Seafarer s House, ELCA Malaria Campaign, helping women in Tanzania with an occupation, and disaster

6 Women s Convention Impresses Faith Trio Group advocates understanding By Linda Olson, Delegate When I represented Faith as a delegate to the 8th Biennial Convention of the New England Women of the ELCA in late October at Calumet, I didn t know what to expect. It had been two decades since I last attended. I was pleased to see that the group was continuing to care for others through their support of the Seafarer s House, ELCA Malaria Campaign, helping women in Tanzania with an occupation, and disaster relief. Linda Olson (left), Marie Johnson and Dot LaRoche in front of a special anniversary quilt at the 8th Biennial Convention of the New England Women of the ELCA in late October at Calumet. Read more about the anniversary quilt in next newsletter. I was especially impressed that they are involved in eliminating the trafficking of children and women, advocating for racial justice, slowing climate change and its effect on human beings, and hunger issues. I was most impressed with this goal: Tear down the walls that separate and divide us by praying for peace and understanding on difficult issues that face us. My wish is that more Faith women will attend so that some day, we will have more resources to expand our work and faith beyond our church and community. God works in amazing ways By Dot LaRoche During a workshop, Dot LaRoche joins in the fun as two teams compete to see how far they can stretch and still remain connected. The 8th Biennial Convention of the New England Women of the ELCAwas a great experience. The speakers, including our new synod bishop, were very interesting. Two speakers,in particular, stand out for me. First, was the speaker representing Seafarers. She explained what this mission field is about. Imagine, men leaving their families to spend nine to 12 months on a ship, sailing all over the world. This is lonely and dangerous work, done out of necessity to provide for their families. She told of one man, having recently learned of his brother s death, crying. He wanted to return home to be with his family, but his wife said no, stay on ship, they needed the money. This is one example of what they encounter in this ministry. The second was not a speaker to the group, but a pastor at our lunch table just talking about how God Continues next page

7 WOMEN, continued from p.6 was working in her life. She is pastor at a church in Berlin, N.H., but previously served a church in WestVirginia. She felt called to leave that church because she thought the miners would be better served by a male pastor. Also, because she had a dream Jesus was holding the keys to another church, in New England, for her. At first, when she contacted our synod, she was told there were no openings. But, there was one in New Hampshire, in a remote location. When she went to see it, it was THE church. One way she knew this was THE church, was because there was a man outside blowing leaves, just as in her dream. This was in March, a year or two ago, and by that July she was working at her new church. On the day she announced in her old church that she was leaving, she also mentioned that she was selling her house and if you know anyone. Well, someone did and within a couple of days she sold her house and furnishings, to a buyer paying cash. And she had to be out in one week. Amazing how God works! Just think, even now, God is in the process of preparing a new pastor for us! Outreach at work Thank you, members and friends of Faith Lutheran Church, for your food donations and cash donations during our coffee hours. We truly appreciate all the help we can get to serve others. This coming month we plan to send $300, if possible, to the ELCA Disaster Relief Fund to help the people in so much need in New York City and elsewhere. Our Outreach Committee now consists of only six members, meets the second Monday of each month at 10:30 a.m. at Faith Lutheran and would like to welcome new members to help us visit our shut-ins at home and in nursing homes. We distributed gifts to them in December. With God s help all things are possible. Ellie Roder. Martha Johnson, a Leap Year Baby, may say she turns 89 on Feb. 29 this year, but she s actually 22 years old (since Leap Year rolls around only every four years)! Birthday blessings to Martha, Celia Letendre, 87 on Feb. 7, and Richard Anderson, 82 on Feb. 21. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED If you are willing to serve as a worship assistant, lector, usher or greeter at the traditional service, please contact Karen Payne at or payneslk@comcast.net. Your help is appreciated! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: ATTENTION PLEASE are in need of more counters. There We are currently seven of us and we need additional helpers. Time involved is approximately one hour, after the traditional service. You will be fully trained and will be working with someone, as two counters are required to count the offerings. If you are willing to serve, please see or call Dot LaRoche ( ). Thank you. Stained glass window in tower room at the Lawrence Street property, which will come to Faith. See story p. 2, other windows p. 4 and 8. Contact information Faith Lutheran Church 627 Green Street (1/4 north of MWCC) Gardner, MA Offi ce: faithlutherangardner@verizon.net

Faith Lutheran Church 627 Green Street (1/4 mile north of MWCC) Gardner, MA 01440 978.632.2271 faithlutherangardner@verizon.net www.faithlutherangardner.org Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Gardner, MA 01440 Permit No.

8 Faith Lutheran Church 627 Green Street (1/4 mile north of MWCC) Gardner, MA Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Gardner, MA Permit No. 101 Or Current Resident We re on Facebook! Live Christ, Love Christ, Share Christ, Be Christ. All these things, do today. All these things, along the way. Celia Whitler Triptych over altar at Lawrence Street property, which will come to Faith

As your transitional pastor, I greet

As your transitional pastor, I greet March 2013 Volume 7, Issue 3 Faith Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Inside Learn more about Pr. John Nieman, p.2 Birthdays, p. 2 Healthy Church, p.2 What s up? p.3 Scholarships, p.4