October 2018 Vol. 11 Ed. 9 MESSAGES FROM PARADISE. Paradise Lutheran Church

Transcription

1 October 2018 Vol. 11 Ed. 9 MESSAGES FROM PARADISE Paradise Lutheran Church Paradise Blvd. Treasure Island, FL Rev. Thomas Michael Mitchell paradiseluth102@gmail.com Website: paradiselutheran.com MISSION STATEMENT Worship God Walk with Jesus Welcome all to Paradise

2 Vision Statement To be recognized by God and the community as the premier anchorage for those on the Gulf Beaches and St. Petersburg who seek to praise and serve God.

3 FROM THE PASTOR For the past couple of years, Paradise Lutheran Church has offered a 4 p.m. Saturday service from the beginning of January until two Sundays before Easter. And while the services allowed us to offer worship on another day besides Sunday, they also took a toll on my family. As a result of Saturday services, I would miss spending time with my family on Saturdays. But this church still needs another worship service to help accommodate the increase in attendance that we experience in January so that we can continue to receive our snowbirds and receive new people into our community. So, after conversation with the Council and the Worship and Music Committee, the decision has been made to move the 4 p.m. Saturday service to Sunday at 12 p.m. I do believe the moving of the Saturday service will provide us with a benefit. It will help this church be one community, even with multiple services. Last year, I noticed that often people who attended the Sunday service did not know the people who attended the Saturday. Since the fellowship hour will not change, it will fall between the two services. I believe this will give people at one service a chance to meet people at the other service. Thank you for your continued discernment as we move forward as a congregation. Sincerely, Pastor Tom. Update on the altar Thank you for your responses about communion at the railing. There does seem to be an interest in the congregation about the possibility. And many who expressed an indifference also said that they have "bad" knees. So, what are the next steps for this process? Based on the response, we should go ahead and explore our options for a communion railing. This means that we will need some people to help in exploring our options, so that a suggestion can be presented to the congregation by the annual meeting in February. If you are interested in helping explore our options, please let Pastor Tom know. God Bless, Pastor Tom

4 FROM THE PRESIDENT The sun crossed the equator this past September 22nd and day and night everywhere was of equal length. As we all know, this celestial happenstance in the northern hemisphere marks the beginning of Autumn. Summer, alas, is "officially" over. I know, I know, it doesn't feel so. It's still hot outside with temperatures in the high 80's and low 90's. But change in the weather is a'coming. Speaking of change, here in St. Petersburg and Treasure Island, the beginning of Autumn is a reminder (to those of us who live here year 'round) that our winter members will be returning. So, in a sense, we are in a "preparing-for-a-change" mode. We are preparing for their return or, to many of you should I say your return?. And, upon your return, you will find some changes have been made, some small and some not so small. Plus, you will discover there are some changes being proposed - where we will need your help and input. The first change you will come upon you will notice immediately - you will encounter it in the parking lot. We have temporarily removed a handicapped parking spot near the front door of the church and we are using it as a "walkway". Not only does this walkway make it easier to access the church (from the parking lot), this walkway also provides more room between two marked handicapped parking places so that those using the two adjacent handicapped parking spaces can actually open their car doors wide, thus making it easier to get into and out of their vehicles. The second change you will come upon is in the Sunday bulletin we hand you when you arrive. In an attempt to have, in hand, a single booklet that has everything in it (and not require everyone to go to a second or third hymnal) we have created a mini-document, where everything is bundled together, including the hymns. What is notable about this effort is that some of the "Green Book" passages we have come to memorize changed a little bit in the updated "Cranberry Book". The changes are most pronounced in the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer - two prayers we pray every Sunday. Other changes are in the works. Again, some small, some not so small. As our congregation grows in size and as we attend to updating, repairing and renovating our building and grounds, change becomes necessary. In some instances, the change is actually a city building code requirement. Since we are a place where people congregate, building fire and other "safety" codes will need to be adhered to. Hence, if we, for example, replace the sliding glass doors (behind and left of the altar) that have been a fixture in our church worship space since it was first constructed and replace them with non-sliding glass windows, we will be required to provide another entrance/ exit door to our worship space. Many of us believe this can easily be done by installing an emergency entrance/exit door near where we Sunday hymnal sign is posted (slightly in front of and to the right of the altar). Such a location would be a much better location for emergency egress/ingress as it will be on the parking lot side of the church building and not the water side of the church

5 In the coming weeks, and months, we, your Congregation Council, will be presenting to the congregation some proposed changes to our building and grounds. We have employed an architect and engineering firm to come up with some plans that will allow us to incrementally grow, physically in size and shape. Additionally, we are attempting to do so in such a way that many of the incremental changes and upgrades will not have to be completely redone. Therefore, soon we will have some sketches and renderings on display that we will use to present to the congregation some concepts that will better accommodate our growth as a congregation. We would like to hear from all our members, both full time and part time, and have input from everyone as we tackle these proposed changes. Peace be with you... Steve Yost WORSHIP AND MUSIC COMMITTEE REPORT With September came a change in liturgy (including the more contemporary version of the Lord s Prayer) and a slight bump in attendance. September 2 54 September 9 63 September September September Thanks to Jaci Mitchell and Gail Clark for their duet on September 2. The Adult Choir began their fall season on September 9 and sang again on the 16th and 30th. The Chime Choir and Bell Choir played on September 23. All choirs are under the direction of our capable music director Gail Clark. Want to share your musical talents? Contact Gail or Pastor. Rehearsals are generally Thursday evenings. Linda Macy provided violin accompaniment on the 30th. Thanks also to cantors Linda Macy, Brittany Leonard, and Debbie Yost; worship assistant Debbie Yost; and ushers George Clark, Betty Keith, Justin Leslie, and Debbie Reiter. On September 2 we recognized Liz Webster s service to the church as church administrator and wished her God Speed in her retirement. We commissioned six members of the Nokumbaya medical mission team at the September 9 service. Heading to Belize from PLC early in October are Gail Clark, Nancy Farrington, and Debbie Reiter who will join Danell DeBerg who gets there early to make preparations

6 Beginning on September 30, we provided a large print bulletin. This is on 8 ½ x 11 paper, unfolded. If you prefer this size bulletin, please get one from an usher when you arrive for the service. Robin Hurst, church administrator, obtained a new computer program which allows her to set up the bulletin as a booklet, thus eliminating all the cutting and pasting she had had to do initially. Our next meeting will be at the church on October 17 at 11:30 a.m. (one week later than usual). Although we ve set dates for special services between now and the end of the year, we ll be working on details for Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, as well as the December 16 Christmas Program. Anyone wishing to provide their input is welcome to attend! Sharon Koelsch, Member Corrections to Pictorial Directory for Richard and Carole Lyons for Steven and Debbie Yost rdlions586062@gmail.com sly_yost@yahoo.com That is an underline between sly and yost).

7 PARADISE LUTHERAN MEN S BREAKFAST The men s breakfast will continue on Wednesdays at 7:45 a.m. The location will be at Foxy s, th Ave, Treasure Island. Come and enjoy a good breakfast and good company as well. PARADISE LUTHERAN HELPING TRINTY LUTHERAN HELP THE HOMELESS The homeless program at Trinity Lutheran Church needs clothing and new underwear for men and women. Also, clothes shoes, bath towels and wash cloths are needed. Please put your donations in the bin located in the fellowship hall to the right of the entrance. Thank you for your donations. They are very much appreciated by the people that this program serves. Also, if you would like to volunteer and spend some time with grateful people there are openings available. Please check the bulletin board in the fellowship hall.

8 BEACH CLEAN-UP` This year, Paradise Lutheran Church's event will be the beach clean-up on Saturday, October 13 (9:00 a.m. till noon) at the pavilion at the south end of Sunset Beach. For those who can get up a little earlier, Caddy's on the Beach serves us a free breakfast from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. You don't have to stay for the entire time, just as long as you want to. Parking passes are available after 9:00 a.m. at the pavilion.

9 READINGS: October 2018 Sunday, October 7, 2018 Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Gospel: Mark 10:2-16 Sunday, October 14, 2018 Amos 5:6-7, Psalm 90:12-17 Hebrews 4:12-16 Gospel: Mark 7:24-37 Sunday, October 21, 2018 Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16 Hebrews 5:1-10 Gospel: Mark 10:35-45 Sunday, October 28, 2018 Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm 126 Hebrews 7:23-28 Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

10 Income and Expense September 2018 Ordinary Income/Expense Income $ 9, Gross Profit $ 9, Expense $ 7, Net Ordinary Income $ 1, Net Income $ 1,334.17

11 OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS Carol Steinke 10 Carol Matthews 12 Gail Clark 15 Steven Yost 17 Joan Kirschner 19 Nancy Gallen 29 OCTOBER WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES George & Kathy Rabey 35 years 15 Dale & Donna Salin 31 years 17 Congratulations to all our October celebrants

12 October 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Adult Choir 6:30pm Men s Breakfast 7:45 am Bible Study 1:00pm Christian Education Meeting 5:30pm Steppers 5:30-6:30 pm & 7:30-9:00 pm Adult Sunday School Class 8:30 am Worship Service 10:00 am Men s Breakfast 7:45 am Bible Study 1:00pm Steppers 5:30-6:30 pm & 7:30-9:00 pm Beach Clean-Up 9:00 am Global Mission Sunday Karen Benjey Pianist 10:00 am Adult Sunday School Class 8:30 am Worship Service 10:00 am Supply Pastor 10:00 am Karen Benjey Pianist 10:00 am Pastor on Vacation Council Meeting 1:15pm Men s Breakfast 7:45 am Bible Study 1:00pm Outreach Committee 2:00pm Worship & Music 3:00pm Bell Practice 6:00pm Choir Practice 6:30pm Choir Practice 6:30pm Steppers 5:30-6:30 pm & 7:30-9:00 pm Blessing of the Animals 10:00am Adult Sunday School Class 8:30 am Worship Service 10:00 am Men s Breakfast 7:45 am Bible Study 1:00pm Bell Practice 6:00pm Choir Practice 6:30pm Steppers 5:30-6:30 pm & 7:30-9:00 pm Crafters 10:00 am Trinity Presentation 10:00am Adult Sunday School Class 8:30 am Worship Service 10:00 am Men s Breakfast 7:45 am Bible Study 1:00pm Reformation Sunday Please wear red 10:00am Movie Night showing of Luther Popcorn will be provided.