Mission Moments. Celebrating Sixty-eight Years of God s Amazing Grace

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1 F I R S T E V A N G E L I C A L L U T H E R A N C H U R C H Celebrating Sixty-eight Years of God s Amazing Grace Mission Moments F e b r u a r y Volume 12 Issue 2 In Response to the Good News of Jesus Christ: Our Purpose Gathered to worship! Sent to witness and serve! Our Vision To become more diverse, creative, nurturing, and welcoming within our congregation and in the wider community. Our Guiding Principles... We will follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We will read, teach, and preach God s Word faithfully. We commit to prayer and worship as a way of life. We invite people to know Jesus Christ. Reconciling in Christ Welcoming Statement First Evangelical Lutheran Church/La Primera is committed to being a radically loving and welcoming community of faith, centered in the Good News of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in faithfulness to the Gospel and our Lutheran heritage, and to the best of our ability, we promise to provide programs, ministries, and pastoral care to all who seek God in this place. All are welcome here, including persons of every race, ethnicity, creed, class, age, gender, marital status, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. This is going to be a phase one and two article, sort of an Epiphalent article. Phase One: God showing up where you live. Here we are in a brand new year.on January 6th we marked the day of Epiphany The handy dandy online dictionary defines Epiphany this way: 1.A Christian festival, observed on January 6,commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day. 2. an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity. 3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.... a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight. Have you made any resolutions for this year? Are they the same ones as last year? Mine are the same every year. This year though I ve put in a new one. The resolution is about the second and third definition of Epiphany I am resolved that this year I m going to live in Epiphany. Every day I m going to be on the lookout for the appearance or a manifestation of God in my life. I m going to be on the lookout for God showing up especially in my simple, homely or commonplace occurrences and experiences. Maybe I ll be stopped at a traffic light and when I look over at a fence I ll see the fence differently and discover a whole row of crosses. Maybe I ll hear a baby cry and remember what God said at the baptism of Jesus. This is my Son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased. Maybe I ll see a child fall down and another child come over and help them up, full of compassion and I ll see Jesus healing the paralytic. Maybe a thousand things that I hear or see will be a sudden moment of Epiphany when I have insight into the reality and essential meaning of what God has done for me through Jesus the Christ. Be on the lookout with me and tell me about your sudden Epiphanies of Christ in the everyday things of your life. Phase Two: Give it Up! Lent begins before the next (March) newsletter comes out and we have a plan for something that starts a little before Lent and goes for a few weeks into Lent. Many times as a discipline for Lent people resolve to give something up. This year we d like to give out Lenten trash bags Trash bags! Yep trash bags. We want the congregation to take a look at the stuff around the house.and give some of it up to help somebody else. The stuff I need to give up won t even fit in 1 trash bag..in fact I doubt it would fit in two trucks. It s a good time to give up the stuff that clutters your house and your life so that with less to clean and take care of there will be more time to take up reading scripture, worshipping Jesus, or praying. I have to admit; I really would have more time if I didn t have to dust all that stuff I haven t even looked at in years. So let s everybody Give it up for Jesus because He loved us so much He gave it all up for us. That s Putting First Things First Pastor Melissa

2 2 Staff Melissa Harr, Interim Pastor Lynda Maraby, Licensed Lay Minister Joy Petroff, Admin. Secretary Congregational Officers Evan Rogers, President Sarah Shaw, Vice President Kathleen Rogers, Treasurer Kay Mortensen, Financial Secretary Congregational Council Carmen Guerrero Diane Johnson Mary Kilber Lynda Maraby Laura O Connell Evan Rogers Kathleen Rogers Rhonda Schmidt Sarah Shaw Sunday, February 12, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Lasagna lunch for you and your valentine(s) prepared and served by the youth of First/La Primera to benefit the youth group and the community youth outreach program. $5/plate suggested donation Tickets available in advance or at the door. Senior Vicars Marilyn Bloom, RN Foster Cornett Roger Hughes Dave Jeffery Mary Kilber Lynda Maraby Laura O Connell Ellen Riske Evan Rogers Kathleen Rogers Vicki Wilcox Wayne Wilcox The Messenger is a monthly publication of First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mesa, Arizona. Please submit information by to felc@firstevlutheran.com or in written form to the church office by the 15th of the month prior to publication. Hear one of the nation's finest college choirs perform. Tickets available online at ConcordiaTickets.com or at the door if still available. Rene Clausen conducts the 72-voice a cappella choir in several spirituals and hymns plus a folk-inspired section titled, How Can I Keep From Singing? Call for tickets:

3 First Evangelical Lutheran Church/La Primera Council Minutes January 8, Present: Pastor Melissa Harr, Diane Johnson, Sarah Shaw, Rhonda Schmidt, Laura O Connell, Kathleen Rogers, Evan Rogers, Carmen Guerrero, Lynda Maraby The meeting was opened with prayer by Evan Rogers. Minutes of the December 11 meeting were approved. Reports: Treasurer s Report: Our income less expenses for Fiscal Year 2016 were $13,667, year to date actual was $4, We have not yet received payment from our mission partner, Desert Cross. Pastor Melissa s Report: The pastoral team has been catching up on visitations. There are more to do, so the effort is ongoing. We are taking prayer shawls to our shut-ins. Lynda Maraby s Report: Lynda and Ellen Riske travelled to Yuma over the New Year s weekend. Lynda preached at four services, letting the Gloria de Cristo congregation know what we at First/La Primera are doing and thanking them for their support. The quilting group at Gloria de Cristo sent two bags of beautiful quilts to share with our Lutheran Social Service partners and others. Lynda has been invited to speak at the Jan. 9 Mesa City Council meeting in favor of Mesa s decision to sign on to the One Community Unity Pledge. La Primera The Las Posadas event was a huge success. A total of 86 people participated. Next year, we plan to use head lamps for the pastors and musicians. We plan to encourage children to participate in a Christmas pageant at the service. Council approved the plan to offer monthly convivios (fellowship times) to engage with our community. These events will involve music, food, and activities for children. The first one will be held January 22. These events will be funded by a grant from the synod. All reports were approved as submitted. Old Business: Because of time constraints, this item was postponed until the next meeting. New Business: Council studied a proposed budget for The figures were based on member contributions from last year, on funds received from our mission partners, and on grant funding. Our program ministry reflects actual spending from last year. Property maintenance was budgeted on current amounts from Council also approved a plan to apply for a bilingual intern from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. The congregation will share the cost with the synod. Our share of the cost includes housing, the application fee, and a travel fund. A proposed budget, including our share of the cost for the intern, will be presented to the congregation for approval at the annual meeting on January 29. Preparations for the Annual Meeting were discussed. There will be a joint worship service at 10 AM and a potluck prior to the meeting. Set-up will take place on the morning of Jan. 29. DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE RECEIVING THE NEWSLETTER IN YOUR MAILBOX? Our ability to use bulk mail to mail the newsletter has been affected by our declining membership rolls. The minimum number of pieces to constitute a bulk mailing is 200. We are short of this amount. The current plan is to have the March newsletter available to pick up in the Great Room & church office unless you opt-in to have it continued to be mailed to you at a cost to the church of $ To opt-in, please return this form NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 15. Name: Address: Phone: If you wish to make a monetary donation to offset the cost of mailing your newsletter, please include that with this form. Thank you!

4 We have begun our project of Convivios (fellowship gatherings), designed to conduct outreach in our neighborhood. The first one was delightful, and people said they really enjoyed it. Our next one, La Pastorela, is part of a tradition of music and drama based on rustic stories. In Mexico, this tradition is older than the coming of the Spanish. There were regular performances that combined song, theater and dance in the plazas and open spaces. Later, the Franciscan monks took advantage of this tradition to lay a bridge between the two cultures. They used the existing practices to teach about the most important passages of Christ s life. The popular tradition exists to this day. The Pastorela convivio at First/La Primera is scheduled for Sunday, February 19 from 4 to 5 PM. There will be food and entertainment, as well as activities for children. Please plan to come and meet our neighbors. The success of this effort depends on you! Scandinavian (with a little German sprinkled in) Pancake Brunch 10 AM on February 27: Every heard of Mardi Gras? That s French for Fat Tuesday. This is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Back in the old days people prepared their homes for Lenten fasting by cleaning out anything that was made with fat, meat or sweet. In other words, anything that tasted good or made things taste good like eggs, cream, sour or sweet, butter, cheese, meat, sugar everything needed to be cleaned out of the house. That s also when the house was scrubbed down within an inch of its life.spring cleaning. All of that work to be ready for Lenten fasting. Scandinavians and Germans often cleaned out the Lenten forbidden foods by eating lots of sausage and various pancakes. It certainly got rid of all the good stuff that wasn t supposed to be part of Lent. We couldn t do actual Fat Tuesday because of the Food Pantry that day so decided to do Fat Monday instead. I m making Aebleskiver, Lynda s making Swedish Pancakes; there will be some Finnish pancakes and German Apfel pancakes. It starts at 10 AM; we d love to see you. If you d like bring some of your own favorite pancakes. We don t have any from Norway or Iceland.. for that matter nothing from the good old USA either. It s interesting how they re all the same but different. Join us for Fat Monday, February 27,

5 5 Food Pantry Shopping List: Macaroni & cheese Spaghetti Spaghetti sauce Canned vegetables Canned fruit Canned meat Canned tuna Canned soup Canned beans Peanut butter Jelly Cereal Bagged rice (1#) Bagged pinto beans (1# or 2#) Ramen noodles Thank you to all who sent cards and gifts in memory of my mother, Margarite Lifgren. Mom lived 100 years, 8 months and 19 days and saw many changes in her world. Some changes were appreciated and others hated. She had strong opinions till the end, but her physical strength had slowly deteriorated. Though she hadn t attended church for the past 18 months she remained faithful in her giving and reading her daily devotions as church had always been an important part of her life. With God s blessing, Lynn McQueen If you know of anyone who would benefit by receiving a shawl, you can call Vicki Wilcox at or call the church office and leave a message. A shawl will be provided with a card with this message: Prayer Shawl Ministry First Evangelical Lutheran Church May God comfort and console you as the Lord holds you in the Spirit s presence. May this shawl be a sign of God s love and grace. May it bring you warmth when you are weary. May it surround you and cover you with love. May God s strong touch reach out to you. As you wrap this shawl around you, imagine being wrapped in the arms of Jesus and remember that many are praying for you.

6 6 MOVEMENT February 7 10:45 AM Olson Conference Room MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT As of 12/31/16 Actual 2016 Budget 2016 Actual 2015 Budget 2015 Offerings $150,879 $192,000 $164,668 $199,000 Other Income $110,575 $101,400 $112,767 $93,000 Total Income $261,453 $293,400 $277,435 $292,000 Expenses $258,424 $293,100 $276,246 $292,000 Inc. Less Exp. $3,029 $300 $1,189 $0 Vicars Meetings Mondays, Feb. 6, 20, 27 10:30-noon Office Join Choir! New voices welcome! Choir restarts February 15 February 12, 12:30 PM Olson Conference Room February Change for Change Offering to be received on February 26 will support Jr/Sr High Class Sundays, 10:30 AM Hahn Fireside Lounge Sundays, 10:30 AM January in Review Baptisms: Kaylee Allana Shaw in the Learning Center

7 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 7 5 5th Sunday in Epiphany 12 6th Sunday in Epiphany 19 7th Sunday in Epiphany 26 Transfiguration of Our Lord 1 2 OFFICE CLOSED 8 9 OFFICE CLOSED 16 OFFICE CLOSED 23 OFFICE CLOSED 10 OFFICE CLOSED 24 OFFICE CLOSED :30 AM Little Rembrandts (Family SPOT) - 9:15 FELC Worship S 10:30 Fellowship/Gift Shop GR 10:45 AM Sunday School LC 10:45 AM Jr/Sr High Sunday School HFL 11 AM La Primera Worship S 9:15 FELC Worship S 10:30 Fellowship/Gift Shop GR 10:45 AM Sunday School LC 10:45 AM Jr/Sr High Sunday School HFL 11 AM La Primera Worship S 11:30 AM - 1:30 That s Amore - GR 12:30 PM Church Council - OCR 9:15 FELC Worship S 10:30 Fellowship/Gift Shop GR 10:45 AM Sunday School LC 10:45 AM Jr/Sr High Sunday School HFL 11 AM La Primera Worship S 4 PM Convivios 9:15 FELC Worship S 10:30 Fellowship/Gift Shop GR 10:45 AM Sunday School LC 10:45 AM Jr/Sr High Sunday School HFL 11 AM La Primera Worship S 6 DEADLINE: BULLETIN 10:30 Vicars: Great Room 12-2 PM Refuge English Class 13 DEADLINE: BULLETIN 10:30 Vicars: Great Room 12-2 PM Refuge English Class 20 President s Day OFFICE CLOSED 27 DEADLINE: BULLETIN 10 AM Shrove Monday Pancake Brunch - GR 12-2 PM Refuge English Class AM Christian Movement -OCR 12-2 PM Refuge English Class - RFFS/ OCR/GR 6 PM CCS Family Night - Close, GR 14 NO LSSS-SW 12-2 PM Refuge English Class - RFFS/ OCR/GR 21 DEADLINE: BULLETIN 12-2 PM Refuge English Class - RFFS/ OCR/GR 6:30-8:30 PM PLAG - OCR PM Refuge English Class - RFFS/ OCR/GR 15 DEADLINE: NEWSLETTER AM Kids in the Kitchen - GR 4-5:30 PM Choir Rehearsal HFL :30 PM Choir Rehearsal HFL GR Great Room S Sanctuary OCR Olson Conference Room 9:30-11:30 AM PM Refuge English Class 9:30-11:30 AM PM Refuge English Class 9:30-11:30 AM PM Refuge English Class 9:30-11:30 AM PM Refuge English Class 6:30 PM Palm Fountains Mtg - GR HFL Hahn Fireside Lounge RFFS - Refuge Focus/ FamilySPOT (formerly the Library) LC Learning Center FH Fellowship Hall * - Off-Campus OFFICE CLOSED 7 PM FELC Worship OCR 7 PM FELC Worship OCR 17 OFFICE CLOSED 10:30-11:30 AM PlaySPOT - Great Room 7 PM FELC Worship OCR 7 PM FELC Worship OCR AM-3 PM Cursillo Team Mtg- FH,S Great Room 25 Teen Outreach Pregnancy Services (480) Monday: 9 AM-7 PM Tuesday: 9 AM-6:30 PM Wednesday: 9 AM-6 PM Thursday: 9 AM-5 PM Friday: 9 AM-5 PM Saturday/Sunday: Closed

8 8 First Evangelical Lutheran Church 142 N. Date Street Immediate Mesa, Arizona Delivery Requested NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. Postage PAID Mesa, Arizona Permit No. 72 Return Service Requested February 2017 Please join us. All are welcome in this place. Friday Communion Worship: 7:00 PM Sunday Communion Worship: 9:15 AM Christian Education: 10:30 AM La Primera Communion Worship: 11:00 AM OFFICE HOURS Mondays through Wednesdays: 8:30AM-2:30PM First Evangelical Lutheran Church 142 North Date Street Mesa, Arizona Contact Us Phone: (480) Fax: (480) Web: