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Volume 65, Number 2 February 2013 Internet Web Site: www.stmattspringfield.org From Our Pastor Who am I? Who is God? Does it matter?

On NPR the week I am writing this, there is an ongoing conversation about why religion is in decline in the U.S., and what that may mean for our society and our congregations.

Many of the conversations mirror conversations of other generations: If there is a God, why does so much evil happen? I tried prayer, and it didn t do anything.

1 Volume 65, Number 2 February 2013 Internet Web Site: From Our Pastor Who am I? Who is God? Does it matter? There are many thoughts and questions these days about the role of faith in society, and perhaps they come from questions about the value of faith in one s own life. On NPR the week I am writing this, there is an ongoing conversation about why religion is in decline in the U.S., and what that may mean for our society and our congregations. One of the segments has dealt with concerns younger (those under 30) Americans are saying about faith, and why it doesn t work for them. Many of the conversations mirror conversations of other generations: If there is a God, why does so much evil happen? I tried prayer, and it didn t do anything. How can a good God threaten anyone with hell? If God makes us, and some of us are gay, how can God call homosexuality an abominable sin? As anyone of faith knows, questions like these do not have easy answers, and sometimes there is no answer at all. One way I would like the conversation to advance is by having a fuller discussion about the nature of God than that which we usually have. So often the view of God is limited to bumper sticker theology that does not allow God to be God, but rather places God in manageable phrases to silence our critics. Some such sound bite phrases include: The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it! What does the Bible say to many of today s issues? Often it depends on whether one is willing to engage the whole witness of Scripture, or if one wants to grab a headline-making quote that confirms one s already existing perspective. Jesus is coming soon, and boy is he ticked! (some grammatical reconfiguration on my part.) We give the impression that God is a god of wrath, fury, and vengeance, ready, even anxious, to strike down evil doers at will, and with delight. Yet the story of Jesus is a story of God s grace and mercy, not of God s anger and punishment. Certainly there are stories of God s anger in scripture, but what is God s primary nature? Even in the stories of God s anger, what is really being said? We may find that even in such stories the point is God s care for people, rather than God s capriciousness. Even the concept of Hell has grown over the years beyond what much of the scripture says about the afterlife, becoming better fodder for movie scripts than for learning about the nature of God. We are approaching the season of Lent, which in the church year is the time when we reflect on deep and disturbing concepts like sin, alienation, brokenness, and whether redemption is possible. I encourage you to engage in these questions this Lent, and not to give up easily. I encourage you to allow the conversation to become broader than many of our brothers and sisters in the TV community wish to make the conversation. I encourage you to listen and explore a fuller understanding of scripture, and recognize that in a relationship with anyone, including God, answers are not always simple, and results are not always instantaneous, nor do they come in the way we expect them. In our midweek Lenten worship we will explore the nature of God, and the concepts of sin, forgiveness and restoration. We will do this through Biblical stories, and through Biblical themes. I will be using concepts from Les Miserables as one of the ways to engage the conversation in a different way. I hope you will join in the exploration, and see how faith is still vital for our lives today - and perhaps, find language to share with those around you who question the nature of God. Why Go To Church? With you in this time of questioning, Pastor Karl M. Richard Why go to church? If you re spiritually alive, you re going to love this. If you re spiritually dead, you won t want to read it. If you re spiritually curious, there is still hope! A church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. I ve gone for 30 years now, he wrote, and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons, but for the life of me, I can t remember a single one of them. So, I think I m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.

2 2 This started a real controversy in the Letters to the Editor column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: I ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. For the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menus for a single one of those meals, but I do know this - they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today! When you are down to nothing... God is up to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical and our spiritual nourishment! All right, now that you re done reading this, pass it on! I think everyone should read this! When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say Jesus, could you get that for me? Important Notes from the Worship and Music Committee Saint Matthew will observe Ash Wednesday on February 13 with 2 services at 12:30 and 7 p.m., both to include the Imposition of Ashes. For those who desire it, ashes (made from the burning of the palms from last Palm Sunday) are placed in the form of a cross upon the forehead. They are a symbol of cleansing and repentance. This begins the season of Lent. The liturgical color is purple, signifying royalty and penitence. Lent lasts 40 days and does not include Sundays, as they are considered Little Easters. The following Wednesday evening, February 20, a supper featuring homemade soups, salad, and bread will be served at 6 p.m. We will host the traveling Lutherans from 4-5 area Lutheran churches as well. Following the supper, at 7 p.m. our first Midweek Lenten service of the season will be held. Pastor Richard will present an exciting series of meditations entitled Jairus, Javert, and Valjean - Themes of Forgiveness and Restoration. based on the music of Les Miserables! Though you may be quite familiar with the story of Les Miserables and the music from the Broadway show, you are probably not aware of the underlying themes of forgiveness and restoration that drive the characters in the story. Try to attend all 5 Midweek Lenten Services, held February 20, 27 and March 6, 13, 20. Knowing Pastor Richard s great storytelling abilities, the series of meditations promises to hold your attention and feed your soul! Please note that the offering from this February 20 service will go to the ELCA Malaria Project. You may use your Saint Matthew Lenten envelopes; however, all monies received will go to Lutheran Disaster Relief - they will not separate out the Saint Matthew envelopes. You may hold your usual Lenten offering for Saint Matthew until the following week. The Thursday evening services, led by the Faith, Alive! Band, will continue uninterrupted. May Saint Matthew be a place of blessing for you all this Lenten season. See you in the pews! Jeff Wesley Christian Education Committee Souper Bowl of Caring is just around the corner. Sunday School youth are encouraged to put coins in their soup containers and bring them to church on February 3. In addition, the Loaves and Fishes food bank is in need of packages of spaghetti, fruit juice (50% or more real juice), canned meats like stew, tuna, and chicken, chunky soups, peanut butter in plastic containers, and cans of peas. Those donations can be brought to church on February 2 or 3. Let s make this another great year! Fellowship Ministry - Carol Penjuke The Fellowship Committee met on January 9, and we have lots of events planned for the New Year! The first big event of 2013 is a luncheon to celebrate Mardi Gras on February 10 after the 10 a.m. service. Please join us in the Parish Education Wing for delicious New Orleans inspired food prepared by our very own Bill Trimble. Enjoy jambalaya, red beans and rice, music, dessert, and more! Please sign up in the church hallway. We had so much fun playing Bingo last year that we decided to host another Pizza & Bingo night on April 12 at 6 p.m. in the Parish Education Wing! We ll provide Bingo and pizza! Please bring a dessert to share. We ll have prizes too! If you would like to donate a prize, please contact Helen DeMott at helendemott@gmail.com. Of course, we have more coffee hours planned after the 10 a.m. service on March 10 and April 14. More fun events are in the works! Are you interested in helping out? The Fellowship Committee is always looking for new members. Please contact Helen DeMott if you are interested in joining the committee. Children s Corner

3 3 Dear Children, Can you give me a hand? Hand-iwork Here is a hand out. All hands on deck! Did you notice that the above sentences have the word hand in them? Well, the other morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee; and, as I sat down to read the paper, I looked outside (and we have big wide windows) and was awestruck by the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen - layers of mauve, deep purple, orange, and yellow were spread across the sky. My father would often say at such a sight - Honey, that s God s handiwork that He made especially for you! God s handiwork surrounds us at every season of the year - yellow jonquils in the spring, pristine lakes and deep blue sky in the summer, bright orange pumpkins peeking out from hay bales in the fall, and luxurious snowflakes settling on pine branches in the winter. God gave us hands too, and we can thank and serve Him by using our hands. Lift both of your hands up to your face, turn them backwards and forwards, wiggle your fingers, interlock your fingers. As you gaze at these wonderful things God has given you, can you think of ways to help people that you love - actually, more important, can you use your hands to help people that may be difficult to love? Folding your hands in prayer to ask God to help you love someone that may have treated you badly, calling a sick friend on the phone, helping Mom bake cookies to share with a neighbor, making room at your table at school for someone who needs a friend, showing a new person where things are in your classroom, making your bed, removing the trash - and I bet you can think of many more ways to use your hands in a loving way. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Psalms. It has a lot of wisdom, poetry, history, and God s love for his people. I found a verse about hands - Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands. (Psalm 90, verse 17.) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a logo containing this phrase - God s Work, Our Hands. Dear Parents, Since this is the month of February and children will be sending Valentines, this might be a good time to share stories of people in our church who love God and work hard to continue God s work - those who make meals, those who organize Sunday School, teachers, altar guild, those who prepare bulletins and newsletters, clean the chandeliers, choir members who offer musical praises to God, and many others. Sam Levinson (a humorist) once wrote - As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. - Sylvia Yost Library February 13 is Ash Wednesday. This is the beginning of our Lenten season. Do you know the meaning of Lent why ashes are placed on our foreheads, and how many days are there for Lent? Find the answers in this month s book review of The Days Before Easter written by W. A. Poovey, Shelf #263POO. The Days Before Easter:! tells how Lent developed from earliest times to the present.! suggests Lenten preparations, activities and celebrations, and examines customs - such as fasting, ashes, and self-discipline.! provides 47 short daily devotions centered on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, for the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Find out why the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday. I didn t know why. We just always had doughnuts that day. Get the facts. Read the book. Social Ministry - Barbara Kinsey Social Ministry would like to remind everyone about the Souper Bowl of Caring Food Drive that will be Saturday, February 2, this year. Hopefully all of our members have lawn signs on their lawns to help remind the community of the date! If you need a sign, contact Bruce Allen, Rick Link, or also Don Cadge at A sign will be delivered to your home. Please remember to bring the signs back to the church on Sunday, February 3. If you cannot do that, please call Don Cadge at the above number, and he will pick them up,. We still need drivers and walkers to pick up the food on Saturday, February 2, as well as volunteers that day to help count and pack the food once it is brought to the church. There are sign-up sheets in the hallway. Please consider helping us make this event a success, even if you can only help for 2 or 3 hours. Every set of hands makes the work go faster. Lastly, please pray for all of the volunteers as they work to help make the lives better for those who have so little. We also want to extend a big thank you to Stan and Pansy Stolar who hosted a party during the Christmas holidays and requested that their guests bring canned food donations to their party. They had several huge bags loaded with food to donate to Loaves and Fishes. What a terrific way to remember those who are

4 4 less fortunate during the holidays. February 9 LWR Quilting - 10:30 a.m. Rick Link still continues to lead a group to the pantry the rd 3 Thursday evening of every month to pack food in boxes that will be distributed to the families. Try it once to learn more how the pantry operates! We will not be meeting in February; however, our new st meeting date is the 1 Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. We would love to have new members, so please come out and join us. The work is not hard, and the rewards are many! - Social Ministry Committee.. February 13 Board Meeting - 3:30 p.m February 20 Ronald McDonald Quilting - 10:00 a.m. February 26 February 27 Sarah Circle - 7:30 p.m Esther Circle - 10:00 a.m. - Dee Bratz and the Executive Board Men s Breakfast The attendance at our monthly Men s Breakfast continues to grow! The February breakfast will be held on Saturday, February 16, at 7:30 a.m. at Andy s Diner, 204 Baltimore Pike, Springfield.. As is our tradition, we will return to Saint Matthew for our March Men s Breakfast with our wonderful buffet. The March Men s Breakfast will be held on Saturday, March 16, at 7:30 a.m. Women of the ELCA News Greetings, Sisters in Christ! We have a busy few months coming up within the church and our circle meetings. We look forward to these special times where we all pitch in to make them enjoyable. The first on the agenda is the luncheon before the Congregational Meeting on January 27, This is something that Women of the ELCA does every year. We need volunteers to help in setting up, serving, and cleaning up after the event. We hope you can assist on that day. Please let the Women of the ELCA Board know if you wish to help out. For further information, we will be planning our Women s Sunday service (April 7, 2013) at our next Board meetings in February and March. More information will be forthcoming; however, we hope many of you will consider being a part of the service as an usher, greeter, lector, or communion assistant when called upon. The third event will be April 20, 2013, when we will host the Women of the ELCA Delaware Conference. This will be a Saturday morning brunch with a guest speaker. Here again, more info will be coming to you as the date gets closer. Just wanted to give you a heads up as to the different gatherings to be held at Saint Matthew Church within the next few months. Mark your calendars: The schedule for the month of February is as follows: Monthly Mailbag Dear Sisters and Brothers of Saint Matthew, I am continually amazed by the generosity and kindness of our congregation. While showing such strong support for our congregational ministry and the ongoing Restoration project, you showed such overwhelming kindness to me at the anniversary of my ordination, and now, at Christmas time, you shared so much with me, my family, and our entire staff with your generous Christmas gift. I do not know how to thank you enough for these signs of support and affection. Nonetheless, thank you, and know how grateful I am for your partnership and your friendship. Dear Saint Matthew Family, In Christ, Pastor Karl Thank you so much for the thoughtful Christmas gift. I sincerely appreciate the generosity of the congregation! Dear Saint Matthew Family, Blessings, Ginger I want to extend a giant thank you to my friends and Saint Matthew family. Your kindness overwhelms me, as I received a very generous monetary Christmas gift from the congregation, and also a very lovely jewelry gift and thoughtful card from the choir members. Thank you so much. Then, I received an outpouring of comfort and prayers when my mother passed away unexpectedly a few days later. It has been a tough time made easier by the loving thoughts that have come my way. Thank you for being there for me.

5 5 Dear Friends at Saint Matthew, With love, Pat McHugh Thank you all so much for your very generous Christmas gift. It is very much appreciated. I will be going to Seattle in February to see our son and his family, and your gift will help me make that trip. It is a blessing to be a member of the congregation and staff at Saint Matthew. You make it a pleasure to be here. Thank you for your warmth, caring, thoughtfulness and generosity. May 2013 be a year filled with blessings for each of you. Dear Friends, Love, Janice Gardner I would like to thank our Saint Matthew family for their generous Christmas gift. Thank you also for your cards and prayers. Vital Statistics Death: James Kerchner Died January 10, 2013 Funeral January 14, 2013 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. - Psalm 116: 15 The Good Newsletter, a congregational newsletter, is published monthly, September through June by Saint Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church, 400 Lynbrooke Road, Springfield, Pennsylvania Please direct all correspondence pertaining to this publication to the Editor, Dr. Carl E. Aronson, at the above address. The deadline for submitting copy is 12 noon on the 15th of each month. Gld bless you all, Bob Toomey Dear Members of Saint Matthew, Thank you very much for your generous Christmas gift, your kindness and your consideration. God bless you. Dear members of Saint Matthew, Sincerely, Randy Crippen I want to extend a genuine and heartfelt thank you to all for the flowers, cards, prayers and thoughts following my surgery in January. All of your gestures boosted my spirits and helped to speed up my recovery. When it comes to connecting people and changing lives, the members of our Saint Matthew family truly practice what they preach! Yours in Christ, Chris DiSanto

Jeff Wesley, our long-time committee member and secretary,

Jeff Wesley, our long-time committee member and secretary, Volume 66, Number 8 October 2014 Internet Web Site: www.stmattspringfield.org From Our Pastor I lift up my eyes to e hills - from where will my help come? My help comes from e LORD, who made heaven and