Saint Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church

Transcription

1 CHURCH COUNCIL: Carolyn Olson, President (575) Saint Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church LaVelta Jenkins, Vice President (575) Chris McCraw, Secretary (575) Susan Knight, Treasurer (575) April, Volume 55 #4 Dianna Hutchison, Financial Secretary (575) Kate Hanson (575) Brad Harper (575) MINISTRY TEAMS: * = Council Liaison Bold = Chairperson Christian Education Cindy Anderson Laura Dhenin Diana Hutchison Chris McCraw * Jean Vinka Finance & Stewardship Dianna Hutchison LaVelta Jenkins Susan Knight* Paul Thompson Property David Hanson Kate Hanson* Brad Harper Carolyn Olson Paul Thompson Service, Unity & Witness Dianna Hutchison* Susan Howard Gib Tafoya Valda Tafoya Jean Vinka Worship & Music Kay Gunning Dawn Hanson Carolyn Olson* Linda Servold Toni Thompson STAFF: Choir Director: Organist and Keyboard: Assistant Musicians: Office Secretary Website Editor The CONTACT Linda Servold Linda Servold Carolyn Olson Jill Thompson Laura Dhenin Laura Dhenin Laura Dhenin First Communion celebration on Palm Sunday, March 20, 2016 Pictured L-R: Mason, Alyssa, Kensley, Sariah and Rebecca BIRTHDAYS: Susan Knight 4-3 Jenny Grinstead 4-4 Nicholas Thompson 4-17 John Winters 4-17 William Hutchison 4-20 Cynthia Anderson 4-21 Laura Dhenin 4-26 Jessica Johnston 4-27 Nora Harper 4-28 Pam Coor 4-30 ANNIVERSAIES: Carl & Jean Vinka Denis & Laura Dhenin If we have inadvertently omitted anyone, please contact Laura Dhenin in the church office. Thank you!

2 Page 2 Sunday, April 3: Mark Your Calendars! Dates to Remember: Seuss Sunday! Food Drive for Jonah s House April Birthdays Cake Reception You are Invited... Sunday, April 3 Join us as we pay tribute to Theodore Seuss Geisel (aka. Dr. Seuss) famed children s book author and life-long Lutheran. Our celebration will begin at 9:00 am with Seuss-themed activities. A lighthearted and sincere worship will be observed at 10:30 am. Refreshments and other treats will be served following our worship service. What? Bible Study About? Discipleship & Faith Practices Where? HERE! When? Every Sunday at 9:00 am Who? ALL are welcome! Join us THIS Sunday! Site Hours: OPEN through April 18 Monday: 6:00-9:00 pm Thursday: 6:00-9:00 pm Saturday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Pack for Hunger Collection On-Going: Join us as we pray for people here and there, and as we pray for people everywhere! Food Drive for Jonah s House Sunday April 3 Jonah's House in in need of canned and other non-perishable food items. PLEASE Remember to bring your items to church the first Sunday of each month. April Birthday Reception: April 3 - After Worship Join us after worship as we honor all those celebrating birthdays this month. St. Peter has a collection box in the Narthex for non-perishable food items (that children can easily prepare for themselves). Lists of suggested items are available on the Welcome Table in the Narthex.

3 Page 3 Hello St. Peter Lutheran My temporary job in Carlsbad ended while I was visiting my wife in Thailand during the Christmas-New Year's holiday. My work in Carlsbad at TKS (Tessenderlo KERLEY Services) lasted much longer than expected. I was scheduled to be laid off after 8 months, but my job (chemical process engineer) ended up lasting over 4.5 years. Two important characteristics of St. Peter are the singing and the church's support for the less fortunate. St. Peter can out-sing many larger congregations. New Mexico was a great location for my favorite hobbies of backpacking, camping and hiking. That is why I decided to go there over a better paying temporary job in Ohio. I have moved back to my home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the 51st state - Superior) near Nisula. My great grandparents homesteaded a farm several miles from here when they came from Finland. My home and 40 acre farm were homesteaded by my cousin's wife's grandparents, probably before They were also Finnish. I can easily walk to a trout stream on state land about a 0.5 mile away. When home, I attend Mission United Lutheran Church in Pelkie. Similar to St. Peter's support of Iglesia Lutheran Cristo Rey in El Paso, this church helps support a Lutheran Church in Aunus, the Russian Federation. I haven't been home much for the last 5 years, so I plan to take some time off in order to catch up on work chores at home, and also to spend more time with my wife in Thailand. I might start considering another temporary job in May if something comes up. I wish St. Peter and you all the best of everything in the future. Bob Swanson

4 Page 4 Lutheran Youth Choir International invites auditions for summer program Based in the Chicago, Illinois, area at Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, the choir has formed eight times for days in the summertime: four times for a North American tour or festival, and four times for a tour or festival in Germany. The general age of our students ranges from 14 to 19 years old (entering grade 9 through graduating grade 12), and we usually have a choir of singers, counting both Americans and Germans. Some are returning students but many are new each year. Participants do not need to be Lutheran or able to speak German, nor do they need to be members of a choir at church or at school. Everyone selected receives scholarship assistance. More information at or philipspencer@sbcglobal.net. Pastor Ron Roschke to retire on June 1 Dear sisters and brothers in Christ-- Last week, on March 1, I submitted a letter to the Synod Council Executive Committee announcing my plan to retire effective June 1, I have been in discernment about this for many months now. This decision is really the result of two separate streams of reflection coming together. First, approaching my 68th birthday recently intensified thoughts I have had over the past year--that now is the appropriate time for me to close one chapter and start a new one in my life. Second, as plans have unfolded for our synod's strategic planning effort, I saw that my retirement could open up new and creative options for the Synod Council and the Office of the Bishop to consider a variety of approaches for staffing; it would be much more difficult to envision this if all the pieces of the "staffing puzzle" remain in place. I want you all to know how deeply I have appreciated these past three-and-a-half years and the opportunities to serve Christ in such a different way so late in my pastoral career. I have valued working with our Bishop and my colleagues on staff, as well as the dedication of the Synod Council and standing committees which work sacrificially for carrying out our synodical ministry. My prayer is that the work we have done together will be a strong foundation for continuing to build our common witness to God's good news in Christ for the sake of the world. Our baptismal vocation calls us to ongoing transformation; this is the way we participate in God's plans. I am excited to see where this unfolding project will go, and I pray that God may continue to use all our gifts as the embodiment of God's projects for this planet and all its people--objects and recipients of deep, divine love. Blessings on the journey! Your brother and servant in Christ, Ron Roschke

5 Page 5 The Great Transition ~ Luther House (Lutheran Campus Ministry) Many of you know that Pastor Anne Morawski will turn 65 in the summer of 2017, and that she plans to leave Lutheran Campus Ministry at UNM and CNM at that time. The ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod is in the process of equalizing the grants to each of the full-time campus ministry sites (UNM/CNM, CSU, UNC, and UC-Boulder) to 21% of the Synod s campus ministry budget, which means that our annual grant will be reduced by more than $20,000. They have kindly agreed not to do this until Pastor Anne reaches 65. This will also enable the Synod to give greater support to congregations that do campus ministry, including Peace in Las Cruces; Laramie, Wyoming; and Logan, Utah. They also hope to start new congregationbased campus ministries in several locations, possibly including Denver, Salt Lake City, and El Paso. In the last 10 years, Lutheran Campus Ministry funding from the ELCA and from Synods has been dramatically reduced, and our national campus ministry staff has also been reduced from 9 full-time people to one half-time staff person. On a positive note, the Rocky Mountain Synod remains one of the strongest in synod support for campus ministry, more than $243,000 this year. The future of our ministry in Albuquerque is largely dependent on the commitment of individuals and the congregations in the Northern New Mexico Conference of the Rocky Mountain Synod ELCA. This year we will need to raise $48, in contributions from congregations and individuals. In 2015 we raised $13, from congregations and $31, from individual donations. Thank you for your ongoing support! The Luther House Board has several important tasks in The overall goal is to strengthen the Board to provide continuity and support as Lutheran Campus Ministry at UNM and CNM calls a new campus pastor next year. We have recruited new Board Members, and hope to have every congregation in the Northern New Mexico Conference represented on the Board or in some other way as we plan the for the future. Orman Paananen and Robert Evers serve on a Nominating Committee to help select new officers for the Luther House Board. Laura Berndt, Chris Heller, and Mary Beth Jordan, are working on fundraising ideas for next fall. Bruce Molde, John Adolphi, and Robert Evers are working on updating the Luther House constitution, and several others have volunteered in other ways. There has been a lot of discussion about which Call Process should be followed by campus ministries. There have been many changes in ELCA campus ministry staffing and our relationship with the Rocky Mountain Synod since Pastor Anne Morawski was called to serve in this position in At this point we are waiting to hear from the Synod Campus Ministry Committee about the timetable we will be using for our transition. We will let you know as soon as we know more. Several people have already volunteered for the Transition Team. For now we ask for your prayers for students, faculty, and staff at UNM and CNM; for the Luther House Board, Synod, and Churchwide staff as they guide the transition; and for Pastor Anne as she plans for her future. This has always been a partnership ministry. Your partnership during the transition will be essential to the future of campus ministry in New Mexico. Ways to Support Campus Ministry Pray for our ministry and for the students, faculty and staff at colleges and universities in our area Sponsor a student for a service-learning trip Serve as a Luther House Board Member Volunteer to help as one of our Congregational Contact people who will help with communication during the transition Serve as a local contact with Thrivent to help us raise matching funds If you have any questions, or would like to give through the Simply Giving Program or other regular monthly withdrawals, please contact the Luther House Treasurer, Robert Evers at or revers1954@gmail.com.

6 Page 6 RENDER UNTO CAESAR Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear? They said, The emperor s. He said to them, Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor s, and to God the things that are God s. Luke 20:22-25 The tax-filing deadline is right around the corner: Do you have your denarius ready? For many of us, tax time is not our favorite time of the year. We probably don t think too much about whether we should pay taxes, but rather whether we have filled out the correct forms, claimed the appropriate deductions and gotten everything in on time. In contrast, in biblical times, paying taxes was a topic of concern as people wondered whether paying taxes called into question their allegiance to God. There was also not much love for tax collectors, who were known to cheat the people. It s within this environment that the Gospels tell us about an encounter Jesus had on the topic of taxes. His enemies were trying to trick him by asking a question that would make him look bad. No matter how he responded, his answer would anger one group or another. In the end, he confounded them by posing a question of his own: Whose likeness, or image, is on the coin? It s a great question to ask about the coin; and it s an even better question to ask ourselves. In whose likeness, or image, are we made? In Genesis chapter 1 we read that we are made in the image and likeness of God. Whatever we do as upstanding American citizens pay taxes, become a public servant, contribute to our communities as concerned neighbors we do as people made in the image of God. And so we give ourselves to the One in whose image we are made, and from that foundation we live out our lives. Provided by: Joann Rodriguez, FIC joann.rodriguez@thrivent.com 28451NA R1-16

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10 Saint Peter Evangelical Lutheran Churc h 1302 West Pierce Street Carlsbad NM stpeterlutheran@pvtnetworks.net S u n M o n T u e W e d T h u F r i S a t April ~ 2016 ~ 10:00-12:00 pm: 5:30-7:30 pm: Girl Scouts :00 am-3:00 pm: Seuss 3 Sunday 9:00 am: Sunday School 9:00 am: Bible Study 10:30 am: Worship & Holy Communion 11:45 am: April Birthday Cake Reception 6:00-9:00 pm: 4 5 5:00 pm: Service & Unity Mtg. 5:30 pm: Christian Education Mtg. 6 6:00-9:00 pm: 7 6:30 pm: Finance & Stewardship Mtg. 9:00-10:00 am: 5:30-7:30 pm: Girl Scouts 8 9 9:00 am-3:00 pm: *Food Drive for Jonah s House 10 9:00 am: Sunday School 9:00 am: Bible Study 10:30 am: Worship & Holy Communion 10:30 am: Toddler Church 12:00 pm: Cong. Council Mtg. 5:00 pm: CTHHS Board Mtg. 6:00-9:00 pm: :30 pm: Worship & Music Mtg. 14 6:00-9:00 pm: 15 9:00-10:00 am: 5:30-7:30 pm: Girl Scouts 16 9:00 am-3:00 pm: RMS Border Servants Corps. Retreat 17 9:00 am: Sunday School 9:00 am: Bible Study 10:30 am: Worship & Holy Communion 10:30 am: Toddler Church 6:00-9:00 pm: :00-10:00 am: 5:30-7:30 pm: Girl Scouts 23 RMS-BSC Retreat 24 9:00 am: Sunday School 9:00 am: Bible Study 10:30 am: Worship & Holy Communion 10:30 am: Toddler Church :00-10:00 am: 5:30-7:30 pm: Girl Scouts 30

11 The Contact St. Peter Lutheran Church 1302 West Pierce Street Carlsbad NM Sunday Schedule ~ Spring ~ 9:00 am: Sunday School 9:00 am: Bible Study 10:30 am: Worship with Holy Communion 10:30 am: Toddler Church