Jim and Pastor at altar singing The Lord s Prayer before communion. First Communion of Reese Balavage and the Udo brothers, Ronel and Javin

Transcription

1 Caring Ministry Easter gift bags Youth cooking pancakes for Easter Breakfast Jim and Pastor at altar singing The Lord s Prayer before communion First Communion of Reese Balavage and the Udo brothers, Ronel and Javin Fred singing I ll Walk with God Choir singing I Have Not Seen, Yet I Believe

2 DISCOVER GOD S LOVE Newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church of Wesley Chapel State Road 54 Wesley Chapel, FL Telephone: (813) office@discoveralc.com Volume 2, Issue 7 May 2017 Ruby L. Agnir, Editor Love at Home Issue Staff : Photographs Brenda Lenz, Karen Erickson, Scott Giesking, Su Lindner, Fred Agnir Webpage Scott Giesking Circulation Kay Edwards There is nothing more amazing than being a mother. Its mixture of varied, even opposing, emotions is truly a smaller picture of God's love for His children in spite of.... Sweetness, aggravation, curiosity, at one time genius and then the next second idiocy, uniqueness, anger, forgiveness, moping, smiling etc. But a mother's unconditional love comes from Him whose love is the essence of such a love. - author unknown a chat with Pastor But there are also many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. -- John 21:25 Every day I write the book Elvis Costello At the end of the Gospel of John, we have this surprising statement. John says that this gospel he wrote was only the very tip of the iceberg in telling the full and complete story of Jesus. So what we have, as beautiful and amazing as it is, is more like the Cliff Notes to the life of Jesus than the full Director s Cut. He does his best to hit the highlights because he wants us to know this man whose story he tells. But he picks and chooses, and he does so with a clear purpose: these are written so that you come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name (John 20:31). So we re informed that he s given us the stripped-down version of a story that, if it were fully told, would require an earth-sized library to hold it all (or at least buildings crammed full of terabyte hard drives). Atonement will turn 30 this year, just one week after the Lutheran movement turns 500 on Reformation Sunday. We have lived through interesting times as a congregation we ve gone from being a mission church in the boonies to finding ourselves right in the heart of a booming suburb. We ve weathered storms of conflict, low attendance, and insufficient income. We carried on through years when the church almost closed and we witnessed years when we ve made great strides in our mission and ministry. We ve gone from being a barely seen church sitting a ways back from the main road to one that is up front and known in the community as a place where people find help. But think of all the things the community doesn t know about us. Sure, they know we care about the community, but do they know that we have an active youth program and Sunday school? They surely know about our food pantry and drivethrough prayer, but do they know we have a worship service where all are welcome and where young and old together sing new and old songs to the praise of God? Do they know we believe in God s radical grace that empowers us all to be ministers, priests, and witnesses to God s love? As our council came together for our annual retreat last month, we tried to identify the core values that flow from our identity as Lutherans and

3 from our mission to share the love of Jesus, glorify God and extend His kingdom. These values are the important principles that we are passionate about things we hope to communicate clearly to our community, and to always keep before us as we move forward. Here s what we came up with: At Atonement, we give praise and glory to God by sharing the love of Jesus in Word and Sacrament helping others in need, whether they are members or not growing enriching relationships with God and our neighbors creating a safe haven where faith is nurtured and people experience Jesus seeing and treating all people as Christ in our midst reaching out to our community to bring people closer to God having fun [OK, I admit it. I put that last one in there. But I do feel that following Christ brings with it an undeniable and irrepressible spirit of joy, which I see over and over at Atonement!] John wanted people to know that there s much more to knowing Jesus than they can get from reading his book. Still, he wrote to change hearts and share the story of our Risen Lord. It is this Jesus himself who brings us new life. By knowing him we gain a new life perspective. By following him we develop a new life-style. Just so, we hope to be an open book like John s gospel. We hope that when they read us, they find out about our Risen Lord. Can they see his face in ours? Will they sense his heart in our actions and hear his grace in our words? Will our events and hospitality at Atonement -- will our outreach and work in the community communicate that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that believing in him brings life? Do they see that life in us? May God continue writing his Easter story in each of our hearts, and may we always be ready to be read! Peace, Pastor Scott Atonement Worship Services: 8:30 a.m. Rise & Shine Service 10:00 a.m. Traditional Service office@discoveralc.com Caring Ministry Karen Erickson, chair Officially, we had 34 people who actually signed up to participate in 40 Days of Kindness. This translates to at least 1,360 acts of kindness done during Lent. However, we know that many others participated who did not officially sign up. We also had at least five people who were visiting our church and asked for some Kindness cards and our list of suggested acts of kindness so they could do this with their own churches. Kindness is truly contagious! We hope that all of you continue to bless others and in turn are yourselves being blessed by spreading God s love.. Easter gift bags were provided to our members that we visit with on a regular basis. They enjoyed the Easter card, the candy and surprises that were in the bags. The small flashlight seemed to be a big hit. The Caring Ministry Team continues to provide visitations, caregiver assistance, help with meals, transportation, and communion to those who, because of physical or health reasons, are not able to attend church. Our goal is to help our Atonement Family members through unexpected, difficult times. If you know a member who could use our help, please contact Karen Erickson or Pastor Scott. We continue to offer Drive-Thru Prayer on Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. under the portico. Please share this information with your neighbors, friends, relatives and anyone you think might benefit. We are blessed that people are coming for our Friday Drive-Thru prayer time. We continue to believe that there is a need for this ministry and we have very dedicated Caring Ministry

4 prayer members who want to share their time and their prayers with those in need of God s love. The prayer team, aka The God Squad is also available to pray with you after both church services. If you would like to be prayed for or prayed with, please come to the front of the church at the end of the service as others are exiting. A reminder that our church members will be receiving a brief telephone call from either Connie Meade, Lola Lambert, Alice Bowers, or Karen Erickson. We would like your input on the activities we currently have at Atonement and to receive your suggestions. We will use these conversations to improve on existing programs, develop new services where there is a need and to make sure everyone feels included in the Atonement Lutheran Church family. We encourage you to take a look at the CareNotes that are available in the Narthex every Sunday before and after service. There may be a booklet that speaks directly to you or to someone you know. These small booklets may be able to provide some hope, help and healing. Please take one. We welcome additional volunteers. Our team to know them and to learn about the Caring Ministry at Atonement. We meet one Friday a members are all great people and you will enjoy getting month at 1:30 pm. If you are not able to make the meeting because of other obligations, but would still like to be a part of the Caring Ministry Team, please contact Pastor Scott or Karen Erickson to find out how you can still be an important member of the Caring Ministry team. We hope to see you at our next meeting on Friday, May 19th at 1:30pm in the Fellowship Hall. Christ) responds directly to this statement, to serve the educational, social, and spiritual needs of the community. Consequently, The SAWC s long term goal is to have one church, two expressions: service will be offered in English and one in Spanish. A significant step towards reaching this goal involves all of us, the whole congregation. We strive every day to truly know Jesus and to follow his example; thus, we welcome all the community to share His love. Therefore, the Steering committee is scheduling a monthly Hispanic expression during the Sunday service. What better way to know our neighbors than through music. Thanks to Esthel s leadership, Ruby s and Walter s musical knowledge, and the exquisite performance of our choir (no easy task in another language) we have enjoyed a few hymns in Spanish. As for the educational aspect, the tutors continue to offer English classes to our Hispanic students every Thursday. Classes will end the last week of May. God bless and continue to inspire all of us in order complete this mission. Alice Hispanic Outreach Ministry Esthel Kane, Leader Hispanic Outreach Steering Committee Alice Deyne, Chair The Hispanic Outreach Ministry steering committee continues to dedicate time and effort to program activities that will, in the long run, contribute to the fulfillment of Atonement Lutheran s mission. Sharing the love of Jesus by glorifying God and extending His Kingdom. In tune with this mission, the purpose of the Hispanic Outreach ministry: Todos unidos en Cristo (All united in After a year in operation, things are coming together little by little. Finally, we have a logo -- one that symbolizes what this ministry is about. The logo represents our beliefs and what we want to encourage in others. You will see the center of the logo is the cross. This is because everything we do is centered around God. What we aim to do is to extend His work, word, and grace. You will also see that there are people dancing and praising around the cross. This is representing us, His people of all nations and cultures, praising Him and doing His work together. Even our name, which translates to

5 All United in Christ, reflects our belief of being united as one in His name. So when you see us and this logo, remember Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. MUSIC CORNER, A VIEW FROM THE EDITOR S DESK Ruby Agnir Choir Director and Newsletter Editor An unknown writer said, May is Mother Nature s way of apologizing for February. Never is this truth more accepted than by those who live in places that know winter. Snow and ice and heavy clothes, mittens and boots, snow-plow trucks and ice scrapers were common things to us for 30 years when we lived in Massachusetts. While winter did not start always in the same month, sometimes we had white Thanksgiving but not white Christmas, sometimes we had white New Year s Eve instead, February was almost always the coldest time of the year. We light-heartedly referred to it as Russian winter. Even here in the land of endless summer, February oftentimes seems to be the month when the thermometer dips down to the 40s or even 30s. At last came the golden month of the wild folk-- honey-sweet May, when the birds come back, and the flowers come out, and the air is full of the sunrise scents and songs of the dawning year, so cheered Samuel Scoville Jr. in his book Wild Folk. And Lady Gregory, in her own book, Finn, Son of Cumhal, declares that the month of May is the pleasant time; its face is beautiful; the blackbird sings his full song, the living wood is his holding, the cuckoos are singing and ever singing; there is a welcome before the brightness of the summer. Note that May to these authors is the month for singing. The month has two important days to celebrate: Mother s Day and Memorial Day. Mother s Day, also known as Festival of the Christian Home, falls on May 14 this year. Men in the choir expressed their desire to pay a musical tribute to the mothers in their families. An Angel to Watch Over Me, by Sally DeFord, is their song and has the following lines of praise to mothers: She taught me to serve with a spirit that sings, she taught me to seek after heavenly things, And because of her love and her kindness and care, because of the place that I held in her prayers, And because of her goodness, I still believe that God sent an angel to watch over me. Point of interest: My mother told me that her lullaby for me when I was a baby was a song that I had very recently found out to be Florida s State Song Swanee River. I was thrilled to learn this, having been led by God to spend my retirement days in this state. On May 28, Memorial Day Sunday, the Praise and Worship Team and the choir will once again sing together Ken Watts arrangement of Battle Hymn of the Republic. What an exciting to do, as we thank God for those who sacrifice their lives to help bring His peace to the world. As Rabindranath Tagore, 1913 Nobel Prize Awardee for Literature, wrote: God respects me when I work, but He loves me when I sing. PRAYER MINISTRY Lol a Lambert, Chair Prayer works, even across great distances. Seeking guidance through prayer can be more valuable then asking for something specific. Prayers are always answered though the answer may not be yes. Hope heals. Prayer is Good Medicine by Larry Dossey, M.D. Being a part of the Prayer Ministry and Caring Ministry teams has increased my awareness and understanding of how powerful prayer is in our lives if only we would use it. I have been a part of Stephen Ministries and now, as a member of the God Squad, I have seen first-hand what prayer can do. I rely on many varied resources to strengthen my prayer life and books are my first step, the book quoted above being one of many. The Prayer Ministry Team will continue to meet during the summer as we continue with the Caring Ministry Team on the Drive-Through Prayer - Come As You Are - Stay in Your Car and as part

6 of the God Squad, the new after-sunday-services prayer outreach. Please come for private prayer in either location. Our private prayer team list is updated each month for individual prayer time each day. If you would like prayers included on this list and not on the church prayer list, please contact me. let me know if you will be available this summer to greet, usher, read, or serve communion. Hugs, Lola Women of Atonement We are in our final month of activities until our summer hiatus. Only three events remain to complete our year.. Spring Tea - Sat., May 6 - Trudy's Garden Party A special thank you to all ladies of Atonement. The location of the Tea has been changed to the Tamp Bay Golf and Country Club in San Antonio because of construction on our church addition. Cheryl Jeffs and Marina Buff have been hard at work planning this event and making decorations. Join us for a special day of wonderful food, games, prizes and fellowship. This is your chance to fellowship and get to know your sisters in Christ. Please let us know if you will be there. (Editor s note: Wear Trudy s hat, if you have one. Bring your own teacup and a baby or toddler picture of yourself for the assembly to guess. Write your name on the back so it can be returned to you.) Al and 'Bea Bidwell Scholarship will be awarded in May. Final plans completed at May meeting. May Meeting and Postal Workers Food Drive Sat., May 13. Meeting at 12 noon and Food Drive from 1 p.m. Please join us for this busy day. All help is needed. To promote increased church member awareness in the Helping Hands Food Pantry donations, Women of Atonement have designated the 2nd Sunday of each month as Donation Sunday. We will inform members of items needed each month with a collection table in the narthex. The 2nd Sunday will also continue to be WELCA Sunday with our ladies helping as worship assistants. During the summer we will need your help. Please SOCIAL CONCERNS Jean Jakes, chair BABY SHOWER -- The next Baby Shower is on June 17th in Rez Park. Always need diapers, baby powder, lotion, wipes, etc. Gently-used strollers, infant car seats, cribs and playpens also. HURRICANE SEASON! The last weekend of May is a tax-free weekend for hurricane supplies! Generators [if you want to go that route], batteries [you use them all year, so stock up], flashlights [check your old ones, consider buying ones that also crank], weather radios [useful all year and you can often find crank/solar ones too]. And other stuff. PREPARE! You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of your family and help others. MEDICATIONS -- ask for a 90-day supply. Fill prescriptions early if a storm is coming. Check your over-the-counter supplies/first aid kits. Don't forget pet medications. WATER -- In Florida's hot environment without electricity, or being outside cleaning up, you will need lots of fluids. Bottled water, sport drinks, supplemental drinks, and bottled juices [sorry, alcohol doesn't count] can be bought ahead of time on sales. You can also fill pitchers, all those hydration/coffee containers, pots, etc. with tap water. Not all the water you use will be for drinking. Why use bottled water for washing your hands? You will need more than you might think. Don't forget your pets need clean water, too. FOOD -- You will eat out of your fridge for a few days, but you need to stock up on stuff that is easy to eat and needs little preparation. Fruit cups [mostly water so a double benefit], breakfast bars, etc. Remember the special dietary needs of your family and double stock up on those. Pet food as that is often some of the last things brought in. Very important if your pet is on a special diet or is finicky.

7 Note the different 'at least 3 days', '3 to 7 days' and 'two weeks' worth of supplies. I feel the 2 week is best, because frankly everyone 'raids' their supply. Going to the beach tomorrow morning. Let's take that Gatorade 10-pack, some water, and the picnic stuff [paper plates, etc.]. Need snacks for the kids -- oh, yes, got some apple sauce in the hurricane supplies.' If you have special dietary needs [baby, diabetic, food allergy] definitely have 2-weeks worth. Trucked in supplies can be lacking and when stores open there will be a run on those needed items. Jean Stephen Ministry Our congregation is now in the midst of exciting happenings in the area of lay caring ministry. Pastor Scott Linder, Jan Buland and I recently attended a weeklong training course in Orlando, where we learned to implement the Stephen Series, a program of lay caring ministry for the congregation. Our instruction included both how to train and supervise lay people in caring ministry. Now we need to find men and women of our congregation who are willing to answer Jesus' call to serve as Stephen Ministers, beginning with 50 hours of stimulation and useful training in Christian caring skills. This training will be led by Stephen Leaders and will include a variety of topics such as listening, Christian assertiveness, maintaining boundaries in care-giving, and grief. The training is distinctively Christian and focuses on God as the one who cures as we care. When the Stephen Ministers have completed their training, they will be commissioned and ready to begin their ministry. Working under the supervision, these Stephen Ministers will be available to meet weekly with people experiencing such problems as these, and many more. Bereavement Terminal illness Job loss Single parenting Natural disasters Long-term hospitalization Stephen Ministers commit to at least two years for training, service, and regular supervision. Many Stephen Ministers enjoy their ministry so much that they choose to serve beyond the two years. While being a Stephen Minister requites commitment of time and effort, it also brings joy and fulfillment. It may be one of the most rewarding challenges you will ever embrace. In addition, you will use the skills you learn not only in your caring ministry, but also in your everyday relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Think and pray about this opportunity. If you decide you would like to be a Stephen Minister, please contact Pastor Scott, Jan or me right away and we can talk about how you can get started. If we agree that you would be well-suited to be a Stephen Minister, you will then begin training for this exciting ministry in Sept We are excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of those who undertake this ministry and in the lives of those who will receive care from our Stephen Ministers. You will also grow spiritually when you serve as a Stephen Minister. When God calls you to service, He also gives you the faith and the gifts you need to do His will. Yours in Christ, Chris Rymer YOUTH Brenda Lenz Youth Leader MINISTRY In April Youth had a meeting to plan for the Easter breakfast and to talk about the Bazaar that had just happened. Youth had received a Thrivent action plan for supplies for the bazaar and had enough money left over to purchase supplies for the pancake breakfast. Easter we had a good turnout for breakfast. This year we even made to-go boxes with the leftovers. The youth did a great job cooking and serving the pancakes. Special thanks to the parents for helping set up, overseeing the cooking and helping with the clean up as well. May 6 we will be going for a fun outing at Tree Hoppers in Dade City. This is open to all. The youth group admission will be paid for, friends and family

8 may come for the discounted price of $30 per person. We will have approximately 3 hours of zip line fun. We will meet there 12:15 for lunch first. Youth see your . There is a signup sheet on the youth board.. May 19 there will be a joint Youth and Confirmation Class overnight at church. More info on this will be on youth board and in your . Any questions about the above, please see me. Brenda Your Team Ministry Pastor: Rev. Scott Lindner Choir Director: Ruby Agnir Keyboardist: Ken Hanks Praise Team Leader: Ken Watts Volunteer Office Staff Office Manager: Kay Edwards Mondays: Kay Edwards Tuesdays: Alice Bowers (Oct-May) Deedee Schlichting Wednesdays: Kay Edwards Thursdays: Cherie Hatlem Vanessa Frost Fridays: Carol Rothgeb Council President: Laurie Chiaramonte Vice President: Julie Kaufmann Secretary: Nicholas Trejo Treasurer: Carol Rothgeb Financial Sec. Howard Gayheart Members: Bill Morris Ian Frost John Kostialik Ken Patten Pastor Scott (cp) Paul Bartell Young Adults: Hannah Ungerer Youth: Nicholas Trejo Church Ministry Time/Talent: Cherie Hatlem WELCA: Lola Lambert Salli Conover Technology: Scott Giesking Fellowship: Outreach: Detlev Aeppel Property: Bill Anderson Stewardship: Fitzroy Williams Worship & Music: Suzi Morgan Acolytes: Marcia Weil Social Concerns: Jean Jakes Building Team: Terry Martin Detlev Aeppel Caring Ministry: Karen Erickson Helping Hands Food Pantry: Carla Haberland Yvette Williams Newsletter: Ruby Agnir Prayer Ministry: Lola Lambert Youth Ministry: Brenda Lenz Hispanic Outreach: Alice Deyne Esthel Marie Kane Christian Education: Jan Gerle Columbarium: Detlev Aeppel Tree of Life: Barbara Turner Altar Guild: Pat Weil Senior Ministry: Marcia Weil Stephen Ministry: Jan Buland MAY BIRTHDAYS 05/01 Tedra Kostialik 05/02 Z Leah Liburd 05/03 Kathy Alvare 05/08 Laurie Chiaramonte 05/08 Marissa Turney 05/11 Fernando Alvare 05/11 Gregory Reynolds 05/15 Pastor Scott Lindner 05/15 Patti Santoro 05/15 MFon(Mimi) Udo 05/16 Arlene Fernandez 05/16 Shealin Williams 05/17 Sheila Taylor 05/18 Beverly Pearsall 05/20 Devlin Frost 05/22 Jordy Daly 05/22 Marguerite Favorito 05/25 Geoff Linder 05/26 Jackie Lassiter 05/27 Elyse Guthke 05/28 Thomas Garvin 05/29 Paul Weil 05/30 Ricardo Rivera-Matos

9 MAY ANNIVERSARIES 05/03/1986 Ricky & Lynda Demsher 05/15/1993 Pastor Scott & Su Lindner 05/15/1994 Bill & Jan Buland 05/27/1967 Paul & Karen Erickson 05/28/1983 Charles & Laurie Chiaramonte 05/28/1984 Robert & Carol Rothgeb 05/31/1947 Earl & Ruth Uecke May 28th will be the next Eat My Crock Atonement Monthly Lutheran Potluck following the 10 AM Service in the Fellowship Hall. Did you have something special planned as your gift from your kitchen for the April potluck? Since it was canceled due to the congregational meeting, bring it on May 28 th. Or, maybe you have another idea that might be special for Memorial Weekend or, just maybe, in anticipation of summer. Be creative! Speaking of summer and the projected construction, there will NOT be a Eat My Crock potluck in June or July. We are looking at the next potluck coinciding with Rally Day. Details will be forthcoming, closer to the event. So, in anticipation of a summer without Eat My Crock potluck, let s gather as our church family and fill the hall on May 28th! Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. for the YUMMY breakfast. You re the best! WANTED: Food Pantry needs sorters for food we will be receiving from the Letter Carrier Drive, on Saturday, May 13. Please be at church around 1 p.m. Thanks for your help and support. WANTED: Food Pantry is low on plastic bags. Please bring some weekly. WANTED: A/V HELP Do you feel comfortable using computers? Have you ever done any video editing? Do you have time to help us process the videos of the service and the sermons? If so, please help us! These videos end up on our website and on YouTube, but they take time to prepare. We receive regular requests to have video from recent services available, but we need help to do this consistently. If you can help with this ministry, please the office at (office@discoveralc.com) or Scott Giesking at (harthek@verizon.net). WANTED: We need two or more adults to assist with the Youth Group. You do not need to be a Youth Group parent, but parents and grandparents are welcome to apply. Please contact Brenda Lenz or e- mail her at blblenz@hotmail.com WANTED: Our Fellowship Ministry is without a leader. Please help us fill this vacancy. Iris Aeppel has resigned this position, but she will still assist anyone who will take this wonderful ministry over for the church. Please Iris Aeppel at ihop04@yahoo.com or call her at WANTED: VBS DAY CAMP SPONSORS The camp will be held July and will be led by Luther Outdoor Ministries of Florida. Your $75 sponsorship will help give our campers, ages 5 to 12, a wonderful experience as they grow closer to God. Please see Julie Kaufmann for more information or contact her at or via julielynne333@yahoo.com WANTED: A CHOIR LIBRARIAN The choir director has mobility and RA problems that prevent her from lifting stuff. Needs someone to kindly put choir music together in file drawers once a month. Please see Ruby Agnir after church or contact her at rubyagnir@gmail.com.

10