June 2016 Vol. 61 No. 6 Blessed Beyond Compare

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1 June 2016 Vol. 61 No. 6 Blessed Beyond Compare I believe we live in the most blessed country in the world from sea to shining sea. Katherine Bates was so right. She wrote, O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee. From sea to shining sea! God truly has blessed us from sea to shining sea. God has graced this land with the beauty and abundance of amber waves of grain as the bread basket of the world. God has blessed our country with purple mountains majesties above the [beautiful] fruited plain. God has blessed our land with men and women for pilgrims feet, whose stem impassioned stress, a thoroughfare for freedom beat. liberating strife, When once and twice, for man's avail, Men lavished precious life! Men and women have unselfishly given up their children, their spouses, and their own lives so that we could have the freedoms of the pursuit of liberty and life. We have the freedom of press, speech, religion, and the pursuit of happiness. On Memorial Day we celebrate, and give thanks, for the sacrifices of limbs and even life. The United States of America has had, and have, the most wonderful Armed Forces in the world. All serving are willing to give their lives also for countries around the world so they too can have the blessings of freedoms like ours. Katherine Bates ends America, America with: O beautiful for patriot dream, That sees beyond the years, Thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee, Till nobler men keep once again, Thy whiter jubilee! Many tears have been shed in the sacrifices made. We thank God for all. Pray that God will continue to bless us with those who are, and who will continue, to keep our freedoms as they have been. With all this being said there was another war fought. We have a Lord Who fought the greatest war/battle and made the greatest sacrifice. St. Paul wrote, 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die 8 but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6 11, ESV) Our Lord, Jesus, gave His life for ALL people, none of which were righteous and all who were His enemies. He has given us freedom from sin, death, and the devil. Jesus has truly provided the pursuit of happiness which last forever. Praise God for our great country for shedding His grace on thee. Praise God for the men and women who suffered greatly, even life, that we might have freedoms unlike any other country. Pray for these blessings to continue. And, most importantly, praise God for an eternal freedom and life through His Son. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow! We are blessed beyond compare! Let it be so! Your brother in Christ, Pastor

2 Help build houses and hope A goal of Habitat for Humanity is to create community by building relationships and providing support systems for families in need of quality housing. Habitat for Humanity strives to create community by providing families with reasonably priced housing. We partner with families who would not be able to afford quality housing without our assistance and guidance. Families selected to participate in our program undergo careful evaluation to be sure they meet strict criteria to insure the continued success of our program. Building quality shelter for each family is I important. But, more important is to develop a caring community where young lives are nurtured and supported as they strive to grow and develop in an increasingly complex and competitive world. Volunteering with Henderson County Habitat for Humanity Henderson County Habitat for Humanity has many volunteer opportunities available. Opportunities include: Building with our New Construction program, available year round, Monday through Saturday Joining our new Home Repair team, which will work 3 days per week, on an as needed basis Assisting our ReStore by working as a cashier, helping to stock shelves, assisting customers and many other opportunities Joining one of our Committees which includes a Fundraising Committee, Family Selection Committee, Advisory Committee or a Community Outreach Committee Helping with Office Support which includes data entry, translation support or social media support If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer: Attend one of our upcoming Volunteer Orientations. Orientations are held each month on the Third Thursday at 6:00 pm and the Third Saturday at 10:00 am. Volunteers should call or mailiff@habitat-hvl.org to sign up.

3 Mt. Pisgah welcomes new members to our church family! Jen Stickney I was born and raised in Michigan but spent most of my adult life in the Chicago area. After attending Taylor University and Ferris State University Pharmacy School, I began my career as a Pharmacist. Mike and I met and married in Chicago and have recently retired to this beautiful area in Western North Carolina. We are excited to become part of the church family at Mt Pisgah Lutheran Church. Mike Ebanks Mike was born in New York and then raised in the Chicago suburbs from a young age. He attended University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduation he became a licensed Architect and working in the field for almost 30 years. After building our new home in the Hendersonville area we are excited to begin exploring the area and enjoying retirement. We look forward to being a member of this church community and this new chapter of our lives. (Pastor James Stoltenberg is out of town for 8 weeks, we will publish his photo when he returns.) Homero was born in Linares NL Mexico and moved to Texas at age 20. He has a son and daughter and 6 grandkids. Sylvia was born in CA raised in Indiana. Moved to Houston TX after college. We met training for a marathon. Married in Moved to Hendersonville and built a log cabin in the woods. Homero has been an auto body technician forever currently working at Stallings auto repair. Sylvia works for Linamar in the office. Don Steen I m from Los Angeles, was born, attended school and began to work there. I became a main-frame computer programmer in I married my wife Rose in I took a position with GTE in 1979 and Rose joined me there in We both retired from GTE, now Verizon, in May By that time my position and hers had been moved to Sacramento, CA and then Tampa, FL. I could not wait to leave Florida and its flat, hot and humid weather behind. The only thing I ever liked about Florida was watching it disappear in my rear view mirror. We moved to our present home in Hendersonville March 1, My hobbies are photography and photographing railroads both prototype and model. I ve had many photos published in numerous books. I have a library of about 45,000 color slides and negatives plus several thousand black & white negatives that I ve taken. Our basement is full of model trains and I have a group of a dozen or so guys who come over once a month to operate my model railroad. I have CMT nerve disease in my legs and now am no longer allowed to drive after I drove for 62.5 years and never put a scratch on a vehicle. My wife & I have 6 children, 14 grandchildren and 6 great-grand children between us. None of them live in NC. Rose Steen I m a coal miner s daughter born about 40 miles outside of Pittsburg, PA. My mother & father, my four brothers and sister and I moved to the San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles, CA area in This was the first time we had indoor plumbing in our home. I went to work for the LA City School System in I married my husband Don in I took a position with GTE in 1981 and moved with GTE to a new location each time my husband was relocated. I liked Florida but since my husband could not handle it, we looked at property in Colorado near the Air Force Academy and also in Flagstaff, AZ but finally we both agreed on Hendersonville, NC. We have children living in Castaic, CA, Grants Pass, OR and in the Russellville, AR area and two brothers and a sister living in CA, a brother in OR and another brother that splits his time between GA and MN. I try to fly to California and Oregon once a year to visit with family. I enjoy gardening and I ve been quilting here at Mt. Pisgah Lutheran twice a month with a great and enjoyable group of women. I wish some of our family lived closer, but I do love the area.

4 CHECK OUT OUR CHICKS! Look at all the wonderful things the three & four year old class is doing this spring in our school. They hatched three baby chicks from eggs using an incubator in their classroom. The children were able to watch the eggs and listen to the baby chicks peeping before they cracked through their shells. Then the chicks were moved to the large aquarium in the hall so all the children in school could watch them grow. In addition to hatching chicks the three & four year old class are planting a garden with tomatoes. The class, led in the mornings by Mrs. Andrea Connor, enjoys studying God creations. Mrs. Connor joined the preschool staff this winter after she and her family moved to Hendersonville a year ago. Many days the class enjoys walking on the Nature Trial located beside the rear parking lot. This Nature Trial was created by Alan Clancy as his Eagle Scout Project many years ago. Growing on the trial are beautiful pink Lady s Slipper Orchids blooming in early May. Thank you, Alan, for a gift that is enjoyed by so many little people every day.

5 The Quilter s Ministry sends quilts, book bags & floor mats to Orphan Grain Train in May Two years ago Mt. Pisgah participated in a fund drive to build a facility for the S.E. District Orphan Grain Train. The building has been erected and dedication was on May 21st. Thank you. Mt. Pisgah for helping to make this possible. This is truly a blessing for those who work so diligently sorting, packing and shipping to those in need. The beautiful items made by the Quilter s Ministry were delivered to the Orphan Grain Train Indiana Division facility in Indianapolis. ORGAN REPLACEMENT FUND There has been a separate dedicated account set up for donations for the organ. If you would care to donate, just mark Organ Fund on your check or envelope. Thank you to the following members who recently directed Choice Dollars to MPLC through Thrivent: Maureen Duemig, Don & Leah Ryel. JULY-SEPTEMBER PORTALS OF PRAYER ARE AVAILIBLE IN THE NARTHEX REMINDER The JUNE Council Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 2nd at 7:00PM in the Church Library.

6 Ladies Guild Luncheon All ladies of the church are invited to attend a luncheon at Lake Pointe Landing on Monday, June 13th at 12:00 pm. Please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the hall. (Ladies Guild does not meet in July or August) ROOF UPDATE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE The shingles for the roof will be delivered by the end of May and the installation will take about two months. The shingles will be delivered in two semi s and will be placed at the rear of our parking lot, near the storage sheds. When the installation begins there will be three dumpsters on site. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We are in need of a few volunteers to help serve lunch at the Hendersonville Rescue Mission on the 4th Thursday of the months of June, July and August. The dates are June 23, July 28 and August 25. You may sign up for any or all of these dates. The hours are from 11:15 to 1:00. Contact Lydia Cassidy at if you are interested If you are interested in helping to prepare the altar for Sunday worship, we would love to have you as part of the Altar Guild team. Please contact Adell Keeney for more information (828) SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES AT MT. PISGAH Greeters and Ushers Serve on Sundays at 7:45 a.m. Contact Tony Selius at or anth5489@bellsouth.net Serve on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Contact Chuck Ginter Memorial Garden A person or committee to oversee the management of the Memorial Garden; maintenance of the Garden, facilitate advance purchase contracts, arrange for inurnments and handle finances. Contact Jim Volk or jvvolkmd@ioa.com Quilting Group Meets on 1 st and 3 rd Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. Contact Jan Tharp at or hvilletharps@bellsouth.net Prayer Shawl Ministry Meets on 1 st Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Contact Jean Siebold at or jsiebold@bellsouth.net

7 SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT 1 Women s Bible Study 10:00 AM Prayer Shawl Ministry 1PM 2 Quilter s Ministry 9AM Church Council 7:00PM 3 Men s Bible Study 8 AM 4 5 Communion 8AM Call Voting 9:15AM Communion 10:45AM Choir rehearsal 6 Haiti Mission Meeting 9:00AM 7 8 Women s Bible Study 10:00 AM 9 10 Men s Bible Study 8 AM Worship 8AM Bible Classes 9:15AM Worship 10:45AM Choir rehearsal 13 Ladies Guild Luncheon at Lake Pointe Landing 12PM Women s Bible Study 10:00 AM 16 Quilter s Ministry 9AM Pastor s Circuit 9:30AM 17 Men s Bible Study 8 AM Communion 8AM Bible Classes 9:15AM Communion 10:45AM Choir rehearsal Women s Bible Study 10:00 AM Men s Bible Study 8 AM Worship 8AM Bible Classes 9:15AM Worship 10:45AM Choir rehearsal Women s Bible Study 10:00 AM 30 VBS 9AM TO NOON June Birthday Blessings! 3 Christie Bower 4 Bill Gaston 6 Arianna Maloney 6 Caruso Marino 8 Evie Bower 10 Sue Glossop 13 Mike Ebanks 18 Jenny Emerson 19 Diane Sanborn 23 Jen Stickney 25 Dan Kirchoefer 26 Betty Ude 30 Millie Freese Weekly Bible Studies Women s Bible Study: led by Pastor McLain in the church library at 10:00AM on Wednesdays 8:00 a.m. Men s Bible Study at Denny s Restaurant (with breakfast). 9:15 a.m. Adult Bible Study Pastor McLain

8 Bring your grandkids to VBS at Mt Pisgah Lutheran Church VBS at Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church Tuesday, June 28th Thursday, June 30th from 9AM to noon See Wendy White for details. Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church & Preschool 2606 Chimney Rock Road Hendersonville, NC PH FAX Rev. Philip McLain Vacancy Pastor