I am so excited for the months to come as the new Council guides all of us in different opportunities to serve and share the Good News!

Transcription

1 SPIRIT OF JOY LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1159 N. GREENFIELD RD., GILBERT It is amazing how one small change can have such a dramatic effect. I remember when we took our van in for service, at which time our transmission oil pan was removed and replaced to service the transmission. Upon replacing the pan a standard gasket (rubber thing) was put back on the pan. The result: leaking on the garage floor and everywhere else! After further investigation, it was discovered that the mechanic didn t use the correct gasket. The manufacturer called for specific rubber gasket to be used. The wrong part got us around for a couple of days but that was it and ultimately would have led to catastrophic failure. It is important to get the order correct in our lives! When we don t, we find all too often that while we can get along for a while, eventually it just doesn t work. God lays it out for us and did so from the beginning. God provides boundaries for us; limits; direction, insights and the reward of joy in the name of the Lord when we glorify God. Our response to God s grace is always gratitude and humility. Together as God s church we express our gratitude through ministries of love. As we serve, love and pray reflectively we are better equipped to follow Jesus. When we follow, and serve Jesus first (a life of discipleship) in our lives everything else in life seems to make more sense and God s peace which surpasses all understanding guards our hearts and minds. I am sure that it pains God when we stray away from worship, prayer, bible reading, or choose other activities over our spiritual life. Recently I was reminded of the book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulgham. Part of this is simple order. To live in God s will is to live in the order that God has set in motion for us. Simply put, God first! Our mission for living is to glorify God, proclaim the good news and make disciples (invite people to come along). Like the oil pan gasket, don t be candidates for a surprise catastrophic failure! Getting the order correct is important! God first! That starts with worship and ends in heartfelt gratitude expressed in a bit of service to your Lord. I am so excited for the months to come as the new Council guides all of us in different opportunities to serve and share the Good News! Thanks for your partnership in the Gospel! See you in worship! Peace in Christ Pastor Brian Gathered by God, Fed by the Word, Sent to Serve. 1

2 SOJ Summer Fun Pool Party! Saturday, July 1st, 2-5pm Join us for swimming from 2-4 PM and a light supper from 4-5 PM, Lots of summer fun! Kids AND adults of all ages welcome! Lifeguards will be on duty. Please see sign up sheet in the Ministry Mall to bring a side dish or dessert to share. Please contact Liz Rivera with questions or to volunteer to help: (928) (call/text) or kmfdm86@gmail.com WATER AEROBICS Wednesday's 6:00-7:00 PM at the Spirit of Joy Swimming Pool. Instructor: Ina Kay Devers, APAI Certified. Both Men and Women are Welcome. Bring Aqua Gloves, Belts and/or noodle if you have them (not required) and Water Shoes are recommended. Your head does not go under water! There is no charge for the class. For more information contact Ina Kay at CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS UPDATE SOJ has received donations of 34 cell phones for our soldiers so far. Thank you for continuing to support this important ongoing ministry! For our winter visitors, don t forget to bring your used cell phones with you when you return in the Fall! CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS is part of what you can do for your country. Bring in your old cell phones, smart phones or tablets. Ask your neighbors/relatives/colleagues at work to donate also. The equipment you send will be cleaned and/or repaired and made available to our servicemen all over the world. In the Ministry Mall there is a box for drop-off of phones, etc. as well as an information sheet that tells you what will happen when you give us your phone. The giving of a cell/ smart phone or tablet is also Tax Deductible. Take this opportunity to GIVE BACK to those serving in the military to keep our country safe. Contact Connie Sahadi at with questions. "ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU. INSTEAD ASK WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY." President John F. Kennedy 2

3 CHILDREN ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED We welcome and encourage children to be in worship! We know, based on years of study, that it is vitally important to faith development that families are in worship together. This includes children. As needed, parents may accompany their children into our unattended Nursery to "regroup" so they can return to worship. Every S a t u r da y morning fro m 7:30-8 : 30a m there is a M e n s Breakfa s t at Spirit o f Joy in the Fellowship Hall. We will have time for food (of course), fellowship, and Bible Study. Please come and bring a friend. C o n tact Brad V e n H u izen if you have q u e s t io n s ( ). ATTENTION OWLS AND QUILTERS! We will not be meeting in the months of July or August for a summer break. See you again in September! ELCA CAMPAIGN ALWAYS BEING MADE NEW THANKS YOU for your generosity. Spirit of Joy has raised $ for world wide missions. We will meet on Saturday, July 8th at 9 AM in the Fellowship Hall for our regular monthly meeting. Please come and join us for Bible Study and fellowship. This is a good way to meet other women in the congregation! 3

4 Our Alphabet Groups host our Sunday Morning Coffee Fellowship from 9:30-10:20 each Sunday morning. Our Alphabet Groups are members of the congregation who help with fellowship two weeks out of each year based on the first letter of their last name. Thank you for helping! This is how it works: 1) Each letter of the alphabet is assigned 2 weeks. This letter is announced in the weekly Joynotes. All people attending church with the current letter are asked to bring in a treat or bottle of juice, if they are able. If you bring in a treat after the coffee hour is finished, please put your treat in the freezer for the following week. 2) An is sent to those assigned to assist in the kitchen a couple of weeks before the assigned Sundays. This gives all the instructions necessary for a successful coffee fellowship. If you do not receive an and your last name is the current letter, please feel free to just show up; the more help the better & also the merrier! All of T, U, & V is hosting June 25 & July 2 All of W through Z is hosting July 9 & 16 A through B is hosting July 23 & 30th Bring your donations to church on Sunday mornings and near the altar prior to worship or in/ near the Save the Family container found at the back of the Fellowship Hall near the Peter Classroom during the week. The new address for the Save the Family Donation Center is 1933 E. University Dr., Suite #8, Mesa, AZ Thanks so much for your caring! Corinne Charlesworth, Save the Family Coordinator or c.charlesworth@juno.com FRED KILPELA DALE BENSON SANDY EDWARDS ELLI MAAS SALLY EDGAR DENNY O ROURKE TOM HANSEN MARY REISER HEATHER MARKEL Please lift up these individuals in prayer this week... BETTY S FAMILY & FRIENDS ON HER PASSING BARBARA WILLIAMS FAMILY ON HER PASSING CONNIE LaFRANCE LINDA LaVANNE SHARI HEILIG SIMONE PARKER HARRISON BECKY STEWART I-HELP WOMEN PARTICIPANTS: Patti, Carol, Christina, Carol, Julie, Veronica, Cheryl Participants of the Support Group Ministries at SOJ: AA, NA, OA & Healing Waters Maricopa Lutheran Church Mission Partner In order to stay current, incoming Prayer Requests will be published for two-week time periods. Please update us on how you are doing and how we can be praying for you. Requests can also be renewed by calling the office or submitting another prayer request at 4

5 BIRTHDAYS Rev. Mel Soderberg Christine Springfield Carol Pearson Lorraine Resmer Maximus Pauls Ryan Mack Jill Reiman Rev. Dr. Del Resmer Elli Maas Gene Peterson Brian Jones Matthew Duty Ethelyn Uttke Erica Moriarty Mark Doty Dick Toyra William Benson-Soranson ANNIVERSARIES Darin & Tara Pauls Darrell Duty Denny & Margo O Rourke Mike & Sue Tucker Spirit Of Joy Lutheran Church is a Stephen Ministry Congregation What are Stephen Ministers? Stephen Ministers are laypeople who receive 50 hours of Christian caregiving training for their congregation and then provide one-to-one Christ centered care to hurting people. Each Stephen Minister typically has one care receiver at a time and meets with that person once a week for about an hour. They also meet with their Stephen Leaders twice a month for ongoing support and continuing education. If you would like more information in regard to Stephens Ministry or know anyone that might be in need of this Christian caregiving, please contact Pastor Brian, Margo O Rourke at dmoro85210@cox.net or Don Teply at birdsofaz@yahoo.com We are also looking at the possibility of joining other churches in the area for a fall class to train additional Stephen Ministers. If you or anyone you know would be interested in attending this training class, please contact Don or Margo. S t e w a r d s h i p WEEKLY ATTENDEES YTD AVERAGE THROUGH MAY: 149 PER WEEK INCOME & EXPENSES (YTD THROUGH APRIL) Budgeted Income = $163, Actual Income = $153,

6 ALTAR GUILD SCHEDULE FOR JULY DATE: COMMUNION SET-UP COMMUNION CLEAN-UP July /2/2017 Sunday Karen and Warren Solveig 7/9/2017 Sunday Nancy Stephi 7/16/2017 Sunday Rosemary Jennifer 7/23/2017 Sunday Lynn Brent & Heather 7/30/2017 Sunday Ina Kay Stephi EARLY SERVICE JULY 2017 VOLUNTEERS LATE SERVICE READERS 7/2/17 Gerry Davis Ina Kay Devers 7/9/17 Connie Sahadi Brent Strickland 7/16/17 Chuck Newton Jason Gougen 7/23/17 Chip Stoecker Kenda Barenburg 7/30/17 Mary Virden Dave Teply COMMUNION ASSISTANTS 7/2/17 Brad VenHuizen Ina Kay Devers Judy Conway Isabelle Geyer James Elmore Alyssa Haidle Holly Elmore Grace Hannan Suzanne Morehead Ted Swanson 7/9/17 Terry Williams Jennifer Haidle Marilyn Williams Bill Nestmann Chip Stoecker Alex Nestmann Diane Stoecker Nancy Hannigan Greg Edwards Matt Edwards 7/16/17 Warren Williams Kenda Barenburg Karen Williams Josh Geyer Cheryl Winklbauer Alyssa Haidle Sandy Edwards Joel Anderson Helen Anderson Tina Bakalis 7/23/17 Connie Sahadi Brent Strickland Margo O Rourke Heather Markel Lynne Prahl Melissa Haidle Viviane Piaget Chip Stoecker Diane Stoecker Grace Hannan 6

7 7/30/17 James Elmore Jean Geyer Holly Elmore Les Jones Judy Conway Alyssa Haidle Suzanne Morehead Tara Pauls Maximus Pauls Maia Pauls USHERS 7/2/17 Terry Williams Kim Burton Marilyn Williams Josh Geyer 7/9/17 Keith Mahn Troy Haidle Brad VenHuizen Les Jones 7/16/17 Connie Sahadi Paul Bakalis Karen Sletten Tina Bakalis 7/23/17 Keith Mahn Josh Geyer Darrell Duty Troy Haidle 7/30/17 Terry Williams Brent Strickland Marilyn Williams Les Jones GREETERS 7/2/17 Connie Sahadi Kenda Barenburg 7/9/17 Diane Stoecker Paul Bakalis 7/16/17 Lynne Prahl Corinne Charlesworth 7/23/17 Connie Sahadi Brent Strickland 7/30/17 Diane Stoecker Les Jones 7

8 J O Y N O T E S : H O M E E D I T I ON PLEASE PLACE STAMP HELP US GO GREEN! IF YOU DO NOT CURRENTLY RECEIVE YOUR JOYNOTES VIA AND ARE WILLING TO DO SO, PLEASE CAROLYN AT SOJ@SPIRITOFJOYGILBERT.ORG. THANK YOU! 8