The Epiphany Star January 2013 Newsletter of Epiphany Lutheran Church Fort Wayne, Indiana Dear Epiphany Lutheran Church, What are you most thankful for? As we begin a New Year, (2013!) what are you most thankful for? As a congregation, we have many reasons to be thankful. This past year, several of our members found themselves unemployed and now have found employment. We had six people attend the E.L.C.A. National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA. We found 17 of our Ash trees to have the Emerald Ash Bore. Several people came out to help us cut them down, chop them up and thanks to Concordia Gardens Cemetery folks we have them mulched up to use on our playground. We saw the entry ways to our facilities changed with new doors and side walls added to make them more energy protective. Most importantly, we had many opportunities to give God thanks and praise for all of the many blessings we have received in worship together. Jesus said, For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. (NRSV- Matthew 18:20). 2012 certainly had its fair share of times that caused many of us a great deal of sorrow. There were natural disasters like the tornadoes in southern Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. There was Super Storm Sandy/ Hurricane Sandy that struck the east coast. If that wasn t heart wrenching enough then the shootings in Aurora, CO and recently in Newtown, CT. Each event caused us to pause individually and as a congregation to ask for God s help in trying to figure out how we were to respond or help in the recovery. As we begin a New Year, many of us will have New Year s Resolutions which may include things like; loose weight, get more exercise, or eat healthier foods. I would encourage you to consider a couple of New Year s Resolutions of; read the entire Bible - break it up into segments that you read each day as a devotion, and secondly increase your prayer time with God on a daily basis. We may not be able to solve the problems of the world individually, but we can certainly work on them together. Trainers will tell us that if we want to make a change in our lives, we need to make a conscience decision to make those changes at least three times each week for six weeks before they become a normal part of our routine. Consider making these changes the entire months of January and February. 1
May God bless you and keep you as you prepare for the coming New Year 2013! In Christ, Pastor Richard Hartman P.S. Thank you for all of the beautiful Christmas cards, gifts, and prayers for my family and the staff of Epiphany Lutheran Church. We truly are blessed to have you in our lives. Epiphany is blessed to welcome the Musselman s! Jeff & Terra were both born in Fort Wayne. Jeff has lived in Fort Wayne, Monroeville, Woodburn and now in New Haven. Terra lived in Ossian until she was 12 years old, moved to New Haven and lives there still. Jeff & Terra were married in 2000. Jeff currently works at Steel Dynamics. Terra received her GED in 1996 and her Associates Degree from DeVry University for HIT 2012. She just began working at Brooklyn Medical Group. After 11 years, Jeff & Terra were blessed with Christopher Jeffery Musselman on Valentine s Day of 2012! Terra likes to camp, fish, read & spend time with her family. Jeff enjoys camping, fishing, watching football & baseball, and spending time with his family. The Musselman s joined Epiphany because they have been looking for a church they both liked. Terra s dad, Richard Lee has been here for years and they wanted Christopher to grow up with a church family and know who our Lord and Savior is. Welcome Jeff, Terra, & Christopher! 2
Pastor s office..pastor@epiphanyfw.com Jodi s office.. jodi@epiphanyfw.com Pastor s home rlhart49@frontier.com WEB SITE: Epiphany Lutheran Church www.epiphanyfw.com Please feel free to stop in or call for any of your Pastoral needs. Our office hours are as follows: Pastor: Sunday - Thursday 8:00am-2:30 pm and some Saturdays as well as Mondays and Wednesday evenings. Jodi: Mondays 11:30 am - 3:00 pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:15 am - 3:00 pm. * Due to unusual circumstances, these hours may be subject to change. The Women s Bible Study group will meet Thursday, January 10 th at 7:00 pm here at Epiphany. We re studying the book Luke For Everyone written by Tom Wright. Bring your Bible and a friend! Church Decorations Christmas decorations will be put away Saturday, January 12 th at 9:00 am. There is a sign up sheet on the board outside Jodi s office in the narthex here at Epiphany if you would like to come help. Thank you in advance for your generosity! 3
Men s Bible Study! The Saturday morning Men s Bible Study will continue their study out of the book Jesus Creed. We will meet Saturday, January 12 th at 7:00 am. Please join us. See you then! SnoGo Alerts! WBCL s church closing system continues their feature that will make it easy for you to get up-to-date information. When Epiphany posts a closing on the WBCL system, you can get a text message, e-mail or both. Signing up is simple. Just visit the WBCL website (wbcl.org), click on Delays/ Cancellations (right column), and then register for the SnoGo Alerts. Check it out! We also post closings on Channels 15, 21, & 33. Let s stay safe during this winter season! We are Christians, called by God, committed to: Sharing the Gospel, Serving others as Christ taught us, and Creating disciples for witness. Epiphany Lutheran Church s Vision Statement: A Christian family of God committed to sharing the Gospel and serving others, through joyful worship, education and fellowship. 4
January 6 th : Epiphany of Our Lord Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12 Join us for Worship this month! Every Sunday at 8:00 am and 10:15 am Every Monday at 7:00 pm Sunday School classes for all ages Sundays at 9:00 am! Please join us! January 13 th : Baptism of Our Lord Isaiah 43:1-7 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 January 20 th : 2 nd Sunday after Epiphany Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11 January 27 th : 3 rd Sunday after Epiphany Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Luke 4:14-21 5
A Big Thank You! A big Thank You to the Epiphany family for allowing use of the fellowship hall for our annual benefit gaming event. Around 20 of us were able to raise $543 for Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana while enjoying our hobby of miniature soldier painting and gaming. This is the third year in a row the event has been held, and Epiphany has always helped us with a place to play and raise money for our charity. Though it has been several years since I have been a member at Epiphany, I still feel the love from all of you, and I am thankful for your help with this event again this year. Written by Alan Bengs Adult Sunday School Becky Begle teaches Adult Sunday School at 9:00 am. We continue with our study of The Letters to the Corinthians written by William Barclay. Study Guides are provided. Please join us and bring a friend! Carpet Campaign! We are 1/3 of the way to our goal! We continue to sell squares of carpet in the amounts of $5, $10, $20, $50, & $100. We also have Cook Books available for sale in the narthex here at Epiphany in the amount of $5 each. All the proceeds will be going toward our carpet fund. When we receive enough to reach our goal, which is $10,000 we will have the carpet installed. Please prayerfully consider purchasing a square of carpet today. Thank you in advance for your generosity! 6
C o m f o r t Y e M y P e o p le O u r q u ilt in g g ro u p w ill b e m eet in g S u n d ay, J an u ary 2 0 th at 9 :0 0 am. T h ere is s o m et h in g f o r ev ery o n e o f all ag es t o h elp. P leas e jo in u s an d h elp u s t o b e a b les s in g t o o t h ers! Angels Among Us! Did you know that we have Secret Angels here at Epiphany? We do! We have members of our congregation who often times do many things behind the scenes and we want to take this time to recognize just a few in this month s issue! These Angels don t necessarily want to be identified. However, here are some of the gifts they have received from Him they share with all of us here! Angels, you know who you are! Hanging of the Greens decorated our church to celebrate Jesus birth Cookies were baked & purchased to help out Come2 Go Ministries Our Choir went Christmas Caroling at Arbor Glen The Youth rang bells at Kroger for the Salvation Army Kettle Drive Special Music was played at the Christmas Eve Service Scripture Readers helped out for the Lessons & Carols Service 7
MISSION MOMENT January 2013 Written by Jane Dawkins Paper Gator! We now have our 2 nd Paper Gator bin! Our first bin was full before they emptied it in December. As a result, we now qualify for a 2 nd bin! The contest has been calculated through November. We continue to be ahead of 13 other organizations and tied with 3 other organizations. In addition to the contest, every ton of paper we collect brings Epiphany $20. We now have space for twice as much paper! Thank you for helping us keep our environment clean, the way God intended! 8
January Baptismal Birthdays: Krista Rumfield Ed Cunningham Jake Richardson Terry Goodspeed Rosemary Werling Deanna Wilber Alicia Davis Adam Auman Melanie Salyer Dawn Osheskie Happy birthday to those who celebrate their second birthday during the month of January! Martin Luther said, When you wash your face remember your baptism. Take time to remember and celebrate with your family by using the special booklet Celebrating Your Baptismal Birthday (found in the narthex tract rack). Ink Cartridge Collection! Epiphany is now collecting ink cartridges. We have a box here in the office next to our used battery collection. These cartridges will be taken to Office Depot. We will earn points and these points will be used to help pay for paper, office supplies, etc for Epiphany. Thank you for being mindful of our environment as well helping Epiphany serve our community! January Youth Group News! Sunday, January 6 th following the 10:15 am service, the Youth, Confirmation through High School ages will have a study meeting. Please have chapters 7-9 read in your book Not a Fan. Please join us and bring a friend! Also, on Sunday, January 27 th, we will be having a social meeting. More details to come! 9
January 6 th January 13 th January 20 th January 27 th WOV Setting 5 WOV Setting 5 LBW Setting 2 WOV Setting 5 Organist / Pianist Amanda Pickett Sara Davis Sara Davis Sara Davis Assisting Minister Jane Dawkins Rebecca Hartman Melissa Hartman Alicia Davis Lector 8:00 am Deb Crawford Sue Johnson Cheryl Ralston Jared Meunier Lector 10:15 am Steve Haag Nina Haag Rebecca Hartman Karen Payne Acolyte Michael McKenna Amber Logan Minda Hartman Jonathan Hartman Communion Assistant 8:00 am Deb Crawford Rhonda Everhart Renee Meunier Jared Meunier Communion Assistant 10:15 am Ron Roemer Richard Lee Becky Begle Vicki Khouli Altar Guild Jodi McKenna Need Need Need Greeter (s) Merle Altstiel Havers Hartman s Rosie Werling Capt. Merle Altstiel Allan Longroy Richard Lee Bob Havers 10