CHRIST CALLING (June, July & August) Summer 2018

Transcription

1 CHRIST CALLING (June, July & August) Summer 2018 CHRIST EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 445 Anndale Road, Waterloo, ON N2K 2E3 Phone: (519) Website: Christ Lutheran Church is a Christian community worshipping together and working with others, locally and globally, to serve those in need, to care for the earth, and to work for justice. From Pastor David From the oral tradition of the Hodinohso:ni culture on the Grand River territory comes this story about a turtle, named Bob. He s trying to learn to swim. But he just can t do it. After all his animal friends try desperately to give him advice frog telling him to do a frog stroke, beaver urging him to flap his tail, eel saying he should wiggle his whole body all to no avail, Grandma Turtle comes for a visit. Bob is sad. He s tried everything his animal friends do when swimming, but nothing worked. Bob is ready to give up. Have you tried spinning your feet? That s always worked for me, chimes in Grandma Turtle. And it is when Bob tries doing what turtles do when swimming, that he eventually learns. I like this story because it reminds me that God calls us to be nothing more, and nothing less, than who we are. God calls us to be the best version of ourselves as possible. We don t have to be another Mother Teresa, or Martin Luther King Jr. We don t have to be another Tommy Douglas, Thomas Merton, or Malala Yousafzai. All God wants is for us to be fully who we are. I take my cue from Acts 2, the Pentecost story, when God s Spirit falls on the group of Jesus followers. In the Spirit, each begins to speak their original, native language. Each of them, depending on their cultural heritage and ethnic background, returns to their truest most original selves, expressing themselves in their original language. And then Peter stands up and quotes the prophet Joel who describes what happens when the Spirit arrives: sons and daughters shall prophesy, young men shall see visions, and old men shall dream dreams. Each does something different, depending on age, gender, or place in the family. Let your truest self shine! The Spirit falls on all people, even the weirdest, strangest, and most uniquely gifted among us! God s love embraces all. The Holy One has gifted all with unique talents and abilities to share. It s in you to give!

2 As we take a slower pace this summer, let it be a time for us to take stock of our unique gifts personally and as a church community to be grateful for them, to acknowledge Creator God in praise and thanksgiving, and then to share them generously, for the good of the world around us! Pastor David Malina 2 OMAS' CAR TRUNK SALE Saturday June 2nd 8 a.m. to noon Christ Lutheran Church Parking Lot 445 Anndale Rd, Waterloo Corner of Davenport & Lexington ALL WELCOME! Like a Garage Sale but better!!!! Baking Table and Refreshments available Proceeds to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. 6 th Annual Christ Lutheran BBQ Submitted by Alicia Becker As the summer begins and BBQs fire up all across the city we want to remind you to SAVE the DATE for the 6th Annual Christ Lutheran Community BBQ! Thursday, September 13th 5:00pm - 8:00pm Location: RIGHT HERE! Lots of opportunities to help out - volunteer and committee spaces are still available! For more information please contact Alicia at: abecker2@rogers.com

3 3 BOOK SIGNING AT WORDSWORTH BOOK STORE Submitted by Carol Schmidt This book is about Carol Schmidt s mother (17 at the time) and her parents escape from Nazi Germany and her subsequent adventures that finally brought her to Canada. Carol Schmidt s cousin, Ann Griffin, author of Another Ocean to Cross, will be at Wordsworth Book store in Waterloo for a book signing on Tuesday, June 19 th from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Anyone who has purchased the book is invited to bring it so Ann can sign it. For those who wish to purchase the book that evening there will be copies for sale. Let s Go Blue Jays! Submitted by Karen McRae Do you want to go to the Blue Jays game? Although payment is not due until June 17 we need to know if you are thinking about going on the trip. Please contact Karen McRae or Alina at the church office to reserve your seat. Monday, July 23-7:07 p.m. Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins Cost for ticket and bus: $57. Cheques payable to Christ Lutheran Church or cash to Alina during office hours (Monday Friday 9 a.m. to noon). Tickets will be in the 200 Level Outfield. Ayr Coach Lines would provide the transportation to the game. Pick up would be in the church parking lot and you would be disembark at the Rogers Centre. Last year the bus left the parking lot at 4 p.m. for a 7:07 p.m. game. Please note there is not a bathroom on the bus. Everyone is welcome to get on the bus. Please invite your family and friends. There will be 36 seats available. To book your seat please call or me. Payment is due June by June 17. Karen McRae or kmmcrae49@gmail.com Alina Wagner On behalf of your 50 th Anniversary Committee

4 The Persian Rug in Christ Church Submitted by Paul Bosch 4 I think I owe you a few words about the Persian Rug in our chancel. First, it s a gift from me to Christ Church in memory of my dear wife, Kathy. I hope you will allow that of me. The rug will be in our chancel when we have this traditional nave-and-chancel arrangement, and it will be on the nave level, in your midst, when we have the Word-and-Meal arrangement at Christ Church, as we will through the five Sundays in July this year. Joe Wilk points out its colour recalls the cover of our hymnal! Incidentally, the rug is not the costliest gift I ve given Christ Church. That would be the stained glass window over Alicia s shoulder. But I have given other gifts as well to Christ Church. With Bonnie Cole-Arnal, I ve given copies of the coil bound Inshallah hymnal at your seats. Bonnie sings in the Inshallah choir. And I ve given two albs to Christ Church, one of which Henriette is wearing today. The alb is the garment of Baptism, so any Christian can wear one in a role of leadership in worship. Second, it s a fair trade masterpiece. David and I went shopping on Tuesday, and we saw beautiful rugs that were less expensive. But they might have been woven by sweat-shop labour, or even child labour. This rug was purchased at Ten Thousand Villages in Uptown Waterloo, which features a sale of such rugs once or twice a year, and guarantees they re fair-traded: Hand woven by adults only, where they receive a living wage. Such rugs are more expensive, but we felt that the fair-trade aspect was important. Third, lest you find yourself mumbling Could not this money have been given to the poor? (Recall that it is Judas Iscariot who raises this question with Jesus in the Gospel story in John 12:1-8.) I believe I am prudent with the discipleship of my retirement income. At least ten percent of my retirement Income every year goes to charitable deductions, of which Christ Church is the largest benefactor, but which includes also local and regional charities that directly serve the poor, including House of Friendship, where our own Michael Hackbusch is Chaplain. SUMMER CAMP at Lutherlyn! Have your child(ren) enjoy a week of camp on Golden Lake in the beautiful Ottawa valley. Summer programs available for different ages. Check it out at

5 5 Food Bank Submitted by Karen McRae and Alina Wagner You are invited to make a difference in the lives of many K/W residents by contributing to Christ Lutheran s monthly food collection for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. ITEMS NEEDED: Pasta - Canned or dry & pasta sauce Canned meats & fish Peanut butter Canned beans, soup or stews Powdered milk However, any donation is welcome. Our goal this year at Christ Church is to raise 1,200 lbs. of food for the Food Bank and be a blessing to others. To date we have raised 358 lbs. of food. Thank you for making a difference in our community. September Newsletter Issue Submissions deadline is August 20 th (3rd Monday of the month). Please submit your items as a Word Document, Times New Roman, size 12 to Pastor David at pastordavid@christwaterloo.ca

6 6

7 7

8 8

9 9