THE BEACON. Peace. Jamie

Transcription

1 THE BEACON About two years ago I was driving to Church when my car just stopped working. I drifted it over to the side of the road and tried to restart it, but it was clear the car was not going to start. I called the church and Donna was able to come pick me up, meanwhile Olivia had the car towed and picked me up after service. When we got news from our mechanic it was what we thought, the car had made its last ride. After 10 years and 250,000 miles we had to say goodbye. I'm not a car person and not particularly sentimental but it still was a surprisingly heart tugging moment. It had been my first car, I had used public transportation through college and so never actually bought a car until Olivia and I got to seminary. We had traveled to a lot of places, seen a lot of things, and made many journeys in that car. When we cleared it out we reminisced about all the adventures that car had taken us on, we took our time, every object in the car seemed to tell a story and we remembered them all. It isn't easy saying goodbye to a faithful friend, even if that friend is an inanimate object. As we get ready to say goodbye to the St. John's building I'm sure many of you are experiencing similar feelings. The worship, fellowship, faith development and fun that building has seen is immeasurable. No it's not easy to say goodbye to an old friend. For the past few Sundays the Gospel has talked about the Holy Spirit, the gift, if you will, that Jesus leaves behind for his followers. The Spirit is that piece of God within all of us that calls us beyond ourselves to do God's work in this world. The Spirit is what draws us to reach out in love to one another. Before this the centers of faith in the world were buildings. The Jewish folks had The Temple in Jerusalem, seen as God's home on Earth. Those who worshiped many Gods like the Romans had temples for each one, a physical location where their god could be celebrated. But our faith is quite different we don't see the center of our beliefs as residing in a physical place, we see the location of our faith to be the other people we are on this journey with. Nowhere is that more clear than the fact that the definition of Church is God's people not a building not a place but the people. It is this understanding that gives us courage and hope; it is this understanding that makes these kind of good byes easier. Jesus first followers left everything behind, homes, families, and jobs. They wouldn't have those things to support them but they would have each other. They had the people they converted and they had the people the ministered with to support them. We of course have that too. This reality helps us in two different ways. First we are able to put things into context, we have to say good bye to a beloved space, but we take what made that place so special with us. The fellowship, fun, faith formation and worship are all in our hearts and memories. The second way it helps is that we are not alone we have each other. We have the rest of our church to support us and help us to say goodbye with our heads held high. The time seems to be quickly coming when we say goodbye to that grand building on Main street. It will be bitter sweet. But we know that the church we loved travels with us and we know that the people, who are the Church, will be there to support us. As I walked away from my car that last time, I gave it a pat and said You've served us well soon it will be time to say that again. Fortunately we never have to say that to the people who are the Church and of course we never have to say that to God, with God there are no goodbyes. Peace Jamie

2 First Annual because Event at the Windsore Pastor Jamie Pastoral Intern Miranda Sunday, May 1 st myself, Pastoral Intern Miranda & other Pastors took over The Tavern at Windsor for the first annual because event for Lutheran Charities of WNY. It was a fun event with good food, drink, fellowship that raised $ Thank you to all that came and supported this new event and hope to see you next year! ~Pastor Jamie Congregation Council Members and Officers Trinity: Pastor: Jamie Retallack President: Mike Kropelin Vice President : Dale Kruschke Secretary: Erik Polkowski, Treasurer: Lisa Kaminski Irv Easton, Glen Hersee, Ronda Lauridsen, Jane Dorr St. John s: President, Harold Finger Recording Secretary, Mary Lou Groff Treasurer, Daric Brege Assisting Treasurer, Carolyn Finger Trustees, Craig Blake, Robert Finger Members at Large: Paula Jendrowski, Diane Hurne, Pat Morgan

3 Trinity s Sunday School It doesn t seem possible but the month of June is almost here ant that means Trinity s Sunday School gatherings will soon come to a close until September. The studentswill continue to gather each Sunday morning at 8:30 am for a brief time spent with Pastor Jamie, then go to their class for Bible story/study time and a snack, followed by craft time. A special time is planned for the students on last day of Sunday school,sunday, June 19 th (Fathers Day), as they join together for a time of fun and games. A number of outdoor games have been planned (weather permitting), or infoor activities, along with some good ies. The staff does ask that the stundents be dressed for outdoors, in other words not their Easter outfit so they can share in this time. A heartfelt thank you goes to Pastor Jamie service as Confirmation Teacher, Mike Kropelin teaching the morning lession to the 4 th 6 th graders, Jane Dorr for working with the 1 st 3 rd grade students, Paula Kropelin serving the stundents their snacks with a brief devotion, Laura Kripelin & Rachel Neyman for filling in whenever and whereever they were needed, and Lisa Kaminski for making sure the teachers all had the lessions printed out for the students. We cannot work alone it is team work, and I think Trinity has been blessed with a great team willing to give of their time to prepaire the lessions and time to theach the students God s message to us all. A Sunday School lession from the mouths of babes A teacher trying to teach young stundents about Noah s Ark thought it would be fun for the students to identify the animals that might have been on the ark. She began, I am furry with a bushy tail and I clumb trees, what kind of animal am I? Receiving no response she went on, I like to eat nuts, especially acorns. Still nothing. She finished with, I can be gray, brown, or sometimes black. Finally a hand went up. Yes, Michelle, said the teacher. Michelle responded, I know the answer is probably God, but it sounds more like a squirrel to me.

4 MISSION MOMENT The Upstate New York Synod Assembly will be held June 5-7 in Rochester. The theme this year is Racial Justice. The speakers, workshops, and mission expo will all reflect that theme. The assembly presents many ways for you to do God s mission work. First, and foremost, you can pray. Pray for safety for all the attendees travelling from the far ends of the state, pray for wisdom and discernment in the votes and decisions. You can save can tabs from your beverage and other food containers. You may think the few you save won t make a difference, but they will be brought in everything from sandwich bags to 5 gallon buckets! They will be weighed as metal scrap and the proceeds will benefit Rochester area food banks. The World Hunger collection this year has a theme of God s peace, your piece. You can donate through our congregation and your piece will be part of the (hopefully) $45,OOO collected. If you re attending the assembly, wear crazy socks on Tuesday morning and Bishop Macholz will make an extra donation for every pair counted. SERRV is a display of fair-traded goods from all over the world. Any purchase you make will directly benefit the person who made it. Attend any of the 15 workshops and hear about racial justice from various perspectives. Lastly, everyone can practice racial justice in their everyday lives: have conversations with your office or school companions, point out how the joke someone is telling is actually hurtful, pursue equality of opportunity for all God s children. Inaction and silence are not options We are church together for the sake of the world. God s work, our hands! Creativity Blossoms Without Technology Buffalo News Article, April 26, 2016 Dear young parent: You did not ask for my advice. And you are not obligated to read it or heed it. However, because I am an older parent who has been given excellent advice along my parenting journey, I feel a duty to share what I have learned about parenting in this technological age. And it is with great love for all children that I offer these few thoughts. Your baby/toddler/first-grader/middle schooler/high schooler wants you to look at him rather than at your cellphone. I know this because I am a writing teacher, and many students have shared this fact with me, writing speeches and essays about how they long for your complete attention. Your young child does not need a personal tablet or phone or laptop. You need not purchase an ipad so that your 2-year-old will be prepared for kindergarten. Trust me: Your child is better off listening to stories, finger painting, building with blocks, and cooking and hiking with you. These activities are rich and will develop your child s brain more deeply than any screen-based activity ever will. Without an addiction to screens at a young age, your child can learn to draw, read, think, explore, enjoy the park and have many adventures in our beautiful 3-D world. And it is, after all, quite simple to play games on an ipad. Babies can do it. Frighteningly, they often do. Sometimes they even swipe pages of paper books, disappointed when these do not sing and dance and entertain. You can say no. You are the parent, and this is both your right and your responsibility. Mothers of firstgraders have told me they have purchased ipads for their children so that their child will not be the only one at a birthday party without an ipad. Tip: birthday parties are better without ipads. If you throw a party for your child, ask children to keep their tablets at home. Play Pin the Tail on the Donkey or get a piñata. Children are still children. They like piñatas. And parents need other parents to be strong. Sometimes it takes only one parent saying no to give others the courage to do so. And children, too, like strong parents. They will not tell you this, but it is true. Embrace the boredom that comes from video-game-free time. Creativity grows from your child s boredom soil. No boredom soil means no blanket forts, no explosions with baking soda and vinegar, no colored pencil portraits of your dog or cat, no rainy days rereading Charlotte s Web. Remember, boredom is your child s friend. Children with greatly limited screen time learn to develop fascinating hobbies, and learn to become interested and interesting people. If your child plays video games, do not allow it during a sibling s game, car trip or cultural event. Is your thirdgrader naturally interested in the middle school orchestra concert? Perhaps not. But I promise that she will never learn to appreciate classical music if you allow her to play Call of Duty during the show. Same goes for restaurants. Conversation is healthier.

5 As my mother-in-law says, You are not raising a child; you are raising an adult. Your decisions are shaping this future adult now. Nurture the qualities you admire. I once read an article that stated, A child s toy should do 10 percent of the work, and the child should do 90 percent of the work. I could not agree more. Childhood is precious. Stick together. Best of luck. ~Amy Ludwig VanDerwater Announcements MONTHLY CONGRECATION FOOD PANTRY DONATION: JUNE: PEANUTBUTTER/JELLY (REGULAR & SUGAR FREE) Friendly request for volunteers: We are in need of Worship & Communion Assistants, as well as, Scripture Readers and Greeters. The signup sheet is on the table in the narthex area. Thank you! Free Fishing Days! June 25 & 26 Anyone can fish the fresh or marine waters of NYS and NO fishing license or recreational marine finishing registry required! Remember the joy of catching a fish again for free! html Many thanks to all who adopted Trinity flowerbeds! All of the flowerbeds have been adopted. Akron Sidewalk Sale June 18, 2016; 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. As you know, Trinity/St. John s is participating in the Akron Sidewalk Sale with our Buck-A-Box sale! Thank you for your donations so far! Please keep em comin! The more boxes we can sell, the greater the profit for the church! In the vestibule, there is a sign-up sheet for help at the stand! We are usually located on the corner of Main Street and Clinton Street, right in front of Mike Ranzenhofer s offices. Please plan on donating an hour of your time. It is a fun way to get to see some of your fellow Akronites and socialize with some of the congregation members. There will be a wrapping time; here at the church on Friday, June 17 th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The more hands, the faster it will go. Another great time to socialize! Please bring scissors, tape, and newspapers if you have them. We will supply some as well. If you have any questions, feel free to speak with Donna Kumpf or Sue Campbell-Kidder. Thank you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Confirmation Class Candle Sale Fundraiser to help pay for Summer Camp at LCLC is now closed. A big thank you to all that helped support our youth attending LCLC Summer Camp by making a purchase!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 UPDATE - Memorial Fund One Call System: The One Call System has been sponsored by the Tanya & Robbie Johannes Memorial Fund for the next entire year of service. Thank you all for your consideration. Please Pray For Bobbie Lobur, brain bleed, in ICU at Buffalo General. Birth of baby boy, Brody, parents Robbie & Nichole Templer. Healing for Carol Scott, Pastor Wilman, and Alvina Kumpf Patience and understanding for Any Leqalt Safe travels for everyone this season. Family and friends of Bill Airey, Don Geddes, Tom Smith and Carolyn Kron June Birthdays: 5 th - Shirley Smith 7 th - Troy Kaminski 8 th - Marit Jendrowski 15 th - Stephanie Yaeger 19 th - Jennifer Eckerson Roberta Lobur 20 th - Jan Miller 21 st - Amanda Kaczmarek If you know of someone s Birthday, please share and we will publish it in the monthly Beacon. It's time to register for SUMMER CAMP 2016 It's not too late to register for one of our many exciting programs this summer. Please don't forget that camperships are available to help any child who wants to experience a week at camp. LCLC continues its pledge to never turn a child away due to financial need. We want to help! For more information or to register online, please visit our website via this link. Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center 5013 Rt. 430 Bemus Point, NY contact@lclcenter.org Join us on Father s Day for ice cream as we honor our fathers. All are invited and welcome!