Non-Profit Org. 109 West Third Avenue U.S. POSTAGE P A I D. Warren, PA Permit No. 17 Return Service Requested

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1 First Lutheran Church Non-Profit Org. 109 West Third Avenue U.S. POSTAGE Warren, PA P A I D Warren, PA Permit No. 17 Return Service Requested MARCH 2015

2 Dear Members and Friends: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Every Lenten season, the first Sunday s Gospel reading is the story of Jesus experience in the wilderness. A barren place, devoid of human contact, and the necessities of life, Jesus faces down the temptations that would lead him away from his father and the path to the cross. Following those forty days, Jesus then begins the call for God s people to turn towards God and know that the Kingdom is near. Lent is a time for renewal and rebirth, a time for us to journey where the wild things are - to do battle against the monsters in our lives that would lead us away from God - things like selfdoubt, conceit, greed, anger and hate. We too can turn away from these things that cause us harm and turn towards God. Taking this Lenten journey is a messy business. One gets their hands dirty and confronts the devil in all his configurations. From within God gives us the ability to hold strong and not relinquish the gift of faith. We are given a rebirth (Lent is an old word for springtime) as we once again journey with Christ to the cross and ultimately to the garden tomb where he was laid but is now risen. We are given tools to use and lead us to this rebirth and a deeper understanding of the God who loves us unconditionally. They are called the Disciplines of Lent: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Join with me in this walk of faith. Where God opens the eyes of the blind, and makes the lame walk. Where new understandings of the rich blessings God has given us blossom from within and move us to share with others. Turn around, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Leave the wild things behind and come home to the awesome love of God in Jesus the Christ who suffered and died for all. Blessed Lent! Your Servant in Christ, Pastor Dave The March 2015 Lantern Reaching Upward and Reaching Outward First Lutheran Church 109 West Third Avenue firstlutheran@westpa.net

3 LUTHERAN S TOGETHER MARCH 2015 (Informing the families of Bethany, First, and St. John s Lutheran Churches of the worship, service and fellowship opportunities) Sunday Morning Worship: First: 8:00am & 11:00am St. John s: 9:30am Bethany: 11:15am SUNDAY SCHEDULE Date First St. John s & Bethany March 1 2 nd Sunday in Lent Pastor Jeff Pastor Dave March 8 3 rd Sunday in Lent Pastor Dave Pastor Jeff March 15 4 th Sunday in Lent Pastor Jeff Pastor Dave March 22 5 th Sunday in Lent Pastor Dave Pastor Jeff March 29 Palm Sunday/Passion of Our Lord Pastor Jeff Pastor Dave Members of Bethany, First and St. John s have two opportunities to attend mid-week services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:00pm. The services on Tuesday will be in Warren and will be Holden Evening Prayer followed by a time of fellowship and discussion. The Wednesday services will be held in Sheffield and surrounding area followed by a time of fellowship. Tues. Place Preaching Wed. Place Preaching 3/3 St. Joseph s Pr. Jeff Ott 3/4 Clarendon UM Pr. Jan Reynolds 3/10 St. Paul Lutheran Pr. Jake Jacobson 3/11 Bethany Pr. Marty Reynolds 3/17 Trinity Episcopal Pr. Jeff Ewing 3/18 St. Anthony s Pr. Dennis Johnson 3/24 First Presbyterian Fr. Rich Toohey 3/25 Tiona UMC Fr. John Neff Bethany Members - remember the second Sunday of the month is Food Pantry Sunday. Please bring your non-perishable food items to church and give so others may live! First Members may bring their non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army on any Sunday. A collection box is located in the narthex. BETHANY S ANNUAL MEETING RESCHEDULED The Annual Meeting slated for Sunday, February 15 was cancelled due to the extremely cold weather. The meeting will be rescheduled to Sunday, March 1 after the 11:15am service. BETHANY MARCH BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES 3/1 Clarice Pierson 3/13 Terry Cochran 3/8 Florence Anderson Kira Scalise Johnson Emily Grove 3/22 Lyndsey Goldthwaite

4 PASTORAL ACTS Funerals A funeral was held for Violet Thomas on Monday, February 2 at McKinney Funeral Home.. Violet joined the Church Triumphant on January 29, Rest eternal, grant her, O Lord. And let light perpetual shine upon her. Baptisms Received into God s family through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, Raegan Ann Moore, daughter of Andrew and Kimberly Moore on Sunday, February 15 at First Lutheran Church. Received into God s family through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, Lani Jo DeVault, daughter of Lucas and Cylee DeVault on Sunday, February 22 at First Lutheran Church. Welcome Raegan and Lani! BETHANY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS Bethany s Church Council met Monday, February 2 at 6:30pm. The council held their reorganization meeting and elected Gordon Lubold Vice-President, Jenelle Johnson secretary with Debbie Koza as assistant secretary. and Becky Petruney, treasurer with Denice Pierson assist treasurer. The social ministry committee will be selling candies throughout February. Funds received will be given towards the painting of the church s interior. Council received two bids for the cleaning of the parsonage. Decision was made to contact Gatesway to update their bid and clarify some items. A motion was made to approve Gatesway s bid if it did not exceed $2, Council established a parsonage committee with Tom Dunn, Kevin Bell and Jenelle Johnson volunteering to serve. An appeal will be made to the congregation for two more volunteers. Annual meeting is scheduled for February 15 following worship. The 2015 Council members are: Kevin Bell, Lee Goldthwaite, Michele Grubbs, Jenelle Johnson, Debbie Koza, Melissa Lemay, Gordon Lubold, and Sherry McMillen. SHRECK, THE MUSICAL SET FOR MARCH Come and see our community high schoolers in a very fun musical and keep your eye out for First Lutheran members both on and off the stage. Shows will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday (19-20) and on Saturday at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. Call the theater ( ) for your tickets and get ready for a great night of entertainment. Thank you! Those attending the National Youth Gathering would like to thank all those involved with the Swedish Smorgasbord. Whether you donated food or your time to help, bought silent auction items or just came and enjoyed dinner we thank you for your support. We would like to especially thank Randy Swanson and Ian Hinsdale for all their time and skill to prepare such a fabulous meal and Kate Reed for the silent auction. We cleared over $1000! Our pancake supper raised $494 which will be sent to Gettysburg Seminary. St. Johns raised $262 which is being given to the Pleasant Fire Dept

5 FIRST LUTHERAN MARCH BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES 3/1 Alan Royek Sarah Stewart 3/2 Eunice Herrington Tim Huber Justin Justice Lyndsey Royek 3/4 Kyle Labowski 3/6 Kris Campbell 3/7 Caitlin Flannery 3/8 Connor Hecei Kaitlin Heffner Jen Koebley Nancy Parker 3/9 Aidan Flannery Allison Koebley 3/11 Zack Ballard 3/12 Madelyn Rodgers Carol Shaffer Mike Wachter 3/14 Barb Olsen 3/15 Keith & Cathy Bertch (29) 3/16 Stacey Simpson Cont. 3/17 Sarah Southwell 3/18 Charlie Stanton Kris Whitaker 3/19 Bonnie Abplanalp Brooke Andersen Jeff Eaton 3/20 Ayden Klanchar Karen Schumacher Gary & Sue Candreia (22) 3/21 Lori Howard Liam Stevenson 3/22 Branden Rowland Krystal Rowland 3/23 Eric Smith 3/27 Jordan Baughman Adrianne Hunt Elizabeth Koebley Jim & Amy Justice (16) 3/28 Bonnie Gray FIRST LUTHERAN COUNCIL 3/29 HIGHTLIGHTS Tom Schultz 3/31 Annie Royek First Lutheran Church Council met February 16, 2015 and welcomed new council member Hallie Rigg. Council members are Andy Beardsley, Pastor David Blank, Denny Crandall, Kevin Downey, Pastor Jeff Ewing, Barbara Kersey, Amy Kuppetz, Nancy Lindblad, Meredith McIntosh, Don Reed, Hallie Rigg, Shawn Ristau, Ken Rowland, Mike Wachter, and Colleen Witmer. Members of the congregation are encouraged to talk to any council member if they have questions or concerns about the activities of the church. In addition to representing members of the church at council, each of the council members sits on at least one church committee. Members of the congregation are also encouraged to become part of these committees. Committee and meeting times are: Christian Education Meets the 3 rd Monday of the month at 6:00. Witness committee meets the 2 nd Monday of the month at 6:30, Finance committee meets at the convenience of its members contact and Pastor Dave if interested. Property committee meets Saturday Mornings, you don t have to be a member to come and join the fun. Social Ministry committee meets the 2 nd Tuesday of the month at 5:30. Stewardship meets the 2 nd Thursday of the month at 6:30. Worship and Music meets the 4 th Monday of the month at 7:00. The Personnel committee meets at the convenience of its members and contact Pastor Dave if interested. NATIONAL YOUTH GATHERING MEETING SUNDAY, MARCH 15 Our next meeting will be on Sunday, March 15 from 12:15 2:00. We ll be talking about housing, roommates, transportation, leave times and more. Parents do not need to be at this meeting, but all students do! We ll even provide lunch! Hopefully we will have the Easter Candy at that point, too, so we can get it passed out.

6 Buck a Duck drive for ELCA Good Gifts! In March, folks can once again take advantage of buying a duck or a chick for a farming family in a developing country. Our Sunday school classes will be hosting a table in the narthex after the worship services and we hope to cover the giant bulletin board with ducks and chicks! Remember a donation of just ONE DOLLAR will make a huge difference! Thanks for your generosity to this Sunday s Cool project! SENIOR FELLOWSHIP MARCH 10 th PROGRAM is Days Gone By with Sharon Gage. Where will our trip down memory lane take us this year? No idea, but you can be it will be a fun ride! Senior Fellowship meets at 11:00 a.m. for a Eucharist Worship service and hymn sing, followed by a wonderful luncheon at noon! We hope you will be able to join us! If your name is not on our call list (we need to have an accurate count for the kitchen staff), please call the church office at and we ll be sure you get a reminder phone call each month! Drum Circle Friday night at our Synodical Women s organization (SWO) convention 2015! Diane Scarella of Warren will lead delegates and participants in a drum circle. If you have never been to a drum circle expect something exhilarating, liberating, adventurous, relaxing or at the very least FUN! Our convention committee has put together a convention to help attendees rejuvenate, relax and rekindle their faith journeys while meditating on the wondrous majesty of God. We have planned three workshop time slots for participants. Delegates will be able to attend one workshop and complete the business of NWPA (northwest Pennsylvania). All will have opportunities to walk the labyrinth, shop for Fair Trade merchandise and pamper themselves. Rev. Jake Jacobson will be present to bring greetings from the synod office. Rev. Deborah Jacobson will be our Chaplin for the weekend. Church wide women will be sending a delegate. First Lutheran is encouraged to send a delegate and an alternative to convention May 8-9 th at Olmstead Manor in Ludlow. The registration forms will be available in church lobby and are due by March 31. Please feel free to make copies. Mark your calendar and ask a friend from church to join you. In an effort to encourage participation there will be no registration fee for Friday evening and no registration fee for all for teen girls throughout convention. The entire cost of the weekend will be $90.00 which includes all workshops (at least 3), meals, lodging, and speakers. You can attend both Friday and Saturday or just Friday or Saturday. Fees will be adjusted for your registration choice. You are encouraged to bring In- Kind Gifts for the residents of The Lutheran Kane at Home (bingo and other game prizes). Ladies on planning committee from First Lutheran are Diane Stenstrom, Lori Nowacki, Sandy Wachter, Sandy Britton, and Joyce Kelley. Either of these will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Produce Express served 113 families! Thanks to all the volunteers who help bag veggies, register folks, bring food to the cars, load the cars, direct traffic, and more!! Word about the Produce Express is getting out, too! Our next distribution is on Thursday, March 19th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. You can volunteer anytime between 12:30-4:30, though! We need about 20 folks to make this a smooth operation and an effective ministry and outreach. Want to help? Simply call pastor Jeff or sign up in the narthex!

7 MARCH SERVING SCHEDULE Ushers: (8AM) John Hyde, Andy Beardsley, Bob Buerkle, Craig Whitaker (11AM) Jim Rapp, Phil Howard, Mark Simpson, Joe Whipp, Mike Wachter, Tim Huber Altar Guild: (8AM) Kris Whitaker & Jane Beardsley (11AM) Lynne Rich, Amy Downey, Sandy Wachter Greeters 8:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 3/1 Doris Sadler Sue Reinke 3/8 Marjie Stevenson Karen Schumacher 3/15 Barry & Irene Keller Cathy Southwell 3/22 Craig & Kris Whitaker Romaine Stanton/Elsa Redding 3/29 Andy Beardsley Diane Stenstrom Visitor Greeters 3/1 Doris Sadler Phil Howard 3/8 Randy & Sandy Britton Jim & Alice Rapp 3/15 Andy & Jane Beardsley Jim & Velma Zock 3/22 Joan Loree Rita Hawk 3/29 Doris Sadler Dale & Nancy Clark Acolytes 3/1 Erika Stevenson Aidan Colosimo/Aidan Flannery 3/8 Liam Stevenson Jack Holland/Devin Colosimo 3/15 Megan Koerselman Elyse Hedges/Elizabeth Koebley 3/22 Jackson Knupp Jared Labowski/Hunter Feeney 3/29 Kaelah Knupp Emily Koebley/Stephanie Rowland Assisting Ministers 3/1 Don Reed Colleen Witmer 3/8 Kris Whitaker Randy Baughman 3/15 Elizabeth Beardsley Heidi Colosimo 3/22 Randy Britton Joan Griesbach 3/29 Barb Kersey Denny Crandall Cantors 3/1 John Beard Donna Trubic 3/8 John Beard Bob Engstrom 3/15 John Beard Roz Hupp 3/22 Brenda Hunter 3/29 John Beard Randy Baughman Nursery (11:00) 3/1 Sherrie & Shane Flannery 3/8 Diane Stenstrom/Rachal Rowland 3/15 Joyce & Stephanie Rowland 3/22 Amy & Kevin Downey 3/29 Denise & Joe Whipp Contribution reports Please pick up your contribution report from the narthex. They will not be mailed. Forgive yourself If the Lord Jesus Christ has washed you in his own blood and forgiven you all your sins, how dare you refuse to forgive yourself?

8 SALVATION ARMY FOOD PANTRY! The Social Ministry Committee continues to collect your donations to help keep the pantry at the Salvation Army stocked so that no one in our community will go hungry. The collection box is in the narthex at all times. However, we know that many of us get to church without remembering to bring items for this collection. If this has happened to you, we would like to offer you another way to become a participant in this valuable ministry. We are now going to place a smaller box on top of the collection box that you can put monetary donations into. Members of the Social Ministry Committee will use this money to make purchases of grocery items to be taken to the Salvation Army along with the grocery items that are in the collection box. Thanks so much for helping the Salvation Army Food Pantry!

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