FACTS OF FAITH Faith Lutheran Church 8265 Winton Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45231 May 2016 Phone 513.931.6100 Fax 513.931.6101 Email secretary@faithcinci.org Pastor Schultz fasterpastor48@gmail.com www.faithcinci.org The deadline for Facts of Faith is the 3 rd Monday of each month. Articles for next month are due to the church office on Monday, May 16 th, 2016. Faith Lutheran Church is committed to nurturing and protecting our youngest members by providing a safe environment for children. Dear Sisters and Brothers, Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free; Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness; Wind, wind on the sea. As we approach the close of the Easter Season, we look towards Pentecost and rejoice in the gift of the Holy Spirit on the church of Christ. As we do, we celebrate the fact that the Holy Spirit still rests upon the church today, thanks be to God! The Old Testament Hebrew word for Spirit is Ruah. The New Testament Greek word for Spirit is Pneuma. Both of these words mean wind. In both languages, they also are understood to be breath moving air. Breath is, of course, a sign of life. In Genesis 1:2, we read that God s Spirit (ruah) hovered over the face of the waters. The Spirit is present at the very beginning of creation. In the next chapter, we read that then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. The Spirit is present at the creation of humankind. Throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit continues to teach and instruct the people, as in Nehemiah 9:20, Job 32:8 and Psalm 143:10. The Ruah of God was a vital part of the lives of the Hebrews, and especially for King David who wrote, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51).
In the opening chapter of Luke s gospel, the angel Gabriel said to Mary, The Holy Spirit (pneuma) will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is present at the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and at his dedication in chapter two, we hear of Simeon, for whom it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. All four Gospels report that the Holy Spirit descended like a dove when Jesus was baptized by John. Before his Passion, he says to the disciples, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. (John 14). At the close of John s gospel, we read that, Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, May 15 th, we will gather together in one worship service at 10:15 AM to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church. We will hear again how God s Spirit came as a rushing wind and tongues of flame upon the believers - of how they could hear in their own languages! And of course, so many were coming to faith in Christ! Throughout the life of the church, the Holy Spirit has guided and directed our steps. Fifteen hundred years later, it was by the Holy Spirit that Luther and the Reformers sought the Word of God. Friends, the Holy Spirit has been moving and active in the lives of God s children from the very beginning, and remains so even to this very day. As we take stock of the ministry and mission being done in and around our congregation, it is so evident that this same Spirit is moving and acting in and through us, our congregation and our community. It is a particular joy to serve among people of Faith who believe and trust in the Holy Spirit. I pray that we will continue to be open to all the rushing wind and revitalizing breath of the Holy Spirit in all we do - for the glory of God. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. -John 3:8 To the following members who are celebrating birthdays in May: 7 JoAnn Kerl 21 William Vidonish 8 Peggy Hubbard 22 Amanda Feller 19 LaVerne Jensen 23 Jan McDermott 20 Bailey Scott 27 Ernie Nordquist Please take a moment to congratulate the following members who are celebrating wedding anniversaries in May: 5-7-94 Edward & Tina Hammond 5-14-83 Ted & Anita Burgess 5-16-97 Chris & Beth Fluegeman 5-19-84 John & Grace Nelsen
Take a Sentimental Journey with Doris and Rosemary with us! You are invited to an evening of food and entertainment that everyone is sure to enjoy! Please bring your friends and family. Dinner includes chicken breast with a creamy sauce, wild rice, green beans, strawberry spinach salad, roll with butter and an ice cream sundae bar for dessert. The program includes a slide show about Doris Day & Rosemary Clooney with a live performance of 10 songs they made famous. Save Monday May 23 rd for this Sentimental Journey. The Parish Hall doors open at 6 pm; Dinner will be served at 6:15 pm with the Program to follow from 7-8:30 pm. Cost: $8.00 for 11 yrs. & older; $4.00 for 3-10 yrs., under 3 free. Payment is requested by May 22 nd. Make your reservations by May 15 th by calling the church office (931-6100), sign up in the Narthex between services, or call Roxanne (851-0972). Questions or more information: Roxanne @ 851-0972 SAVE THE DATES: Everyone that was able to go and see the Florence Freedom last summer had such a good time so Congregational Life has decided to set up 2 dates for members to go and enjoy the fun this summer. The dates that we chose are June 25 th and July 23 rd. Both games are at 7:05 PM and we would like as many people as possible to join us for either or both games. We will again be getting VIP tickets which are $15 each and those seats will be behind home plate and orders for any concessions will be taken at our seats and delivered to us in our seats. Mark your calendars now for these dates and we will let everyone know when the signup sheets will be available. MAY FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT is Friday, May 6 th. Join us for the presentation of "The Good Dinosaur", brought to you by our friends at Thrivent. The doors open at 5:50 PM and the food ready at 6:00 PM. As always bring your family, blankets and friends for a free dinner (pizza, hotdogs, and fruit) and then the movie. Dinner and the short feature starts at 6 PM. Our main feature starts at 6:30 PM. Concessions of popcorn & candy sold to benefit Faith Lutheran Church Youth Programs. The Parish Education Committee believes that summer camp is important, and is a great experience for children and families. If your child is interested in going to summer camp at one of the LOMO camps, we will pay $50 toward the cost. Also, if your family attends Family Camp, we will pay $50 toward your cost. Please see Tina Wuorinen for more details.
The next FLCW Book Club is Saturday, May 21 st, 10:30 AM in the church lounge. This month s book is The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. THE ALTAR FLOWER CHART for 2016 is posted on the bulletin board in the narthex. Sign up for the Sunday or Sundays of your choice. Please indicate whether you want to keep the flowers or have them delivered to one of our members who are sick or shut-in. FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH WOMEN MAY MEETINGS May 10-7:00 PM May 12-10:00 AM May 17-7:30 PM May 18-12:00 PM May 19-9:00 AM May 21-10:30 AM May 23-6:00 PM UNITY PRAYER & STUDY GROUP GRACE CIRCLE Hostess............... Andi Stewart Bible Study............ Andi Stewart JOY CIRCLE Hostess...............Evelyn Nelsen Bible Study............Tina Wuorinen FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE Hostess................ Janet Broge SEW & SUCH BOOK CLUB FLCW DINNER
Dear Families and Friends of Faith Lutheran Church, Get ready for an exciting, free adventure at Vacation Bible School Cave Quest Following Jesus the Light of the World. All children ages 3 years through completion of 5th grade are invited to join the excitement from 9:30 am till 12:00 noon, June 20th through June 24th. Please take advantage soon if you are planning to have your child(ren) attend. Registration opens Monday, May 8th. You may register for this wonderful and challenging week of free fun by turning in this paper form, registering online at www.faithcinci.org or calling 931-6100 between 9 am and 4 pm weekdays. For more information, please call 931-6100 between 9 am and 3 pm weekdays. You may also contact Roxanne Johnson (851-0972) for information or if you wish to donate your time or talents. Please share this information with a friend! Vacation Bible School Registration Form Child s Name: Age: Grade Completed: Parent s Name: Address: Email address Home phone Number: Work Number: Cell phone: Known Medical Concerns: Emergency Contact: Emergency phone numbers: Home Church: Does your child attend Sunday School regularly? Release: I understand that every effort will be made to contact me if my child needs emergency medical-surgical treatment. But if it is important to do so, I hereby give my permission to the physician selected by the VBS Staff to secure proper treatment, to hospitalize, to order injection, anesthesia, x-ray or surgery for my child as named above. I also consent to the use of any photograph or video recordings of my child or family in future Faith Lutheran Church publications. Signature of Parent or Legal Guardian: Date:
The Endowment Committee would like to share the following thank you letter Faith Lutheran Church received for the donation made to Ministry of Hope. Faith Lutheran Church Faith Lutheran Mission Endowment Fund 8265 Winton Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45231 My dear family of God: MINISTRY OF HOPE 190 Mountain highland Road # 4 South Charleston, WV 25309 joshualives@aol.com (304) 400-4254 January 5, 2016 Thank you so much for your generous gift of $2000 for furthering the work of Ministry Hope. These gifts make it possible for us to keep our search marketing going so we reach more people with the gospel. It is always a joy to hear from individuals like I did this morning asking to be put on our study group list. We add their names to the list of those who receive a weekly study on God s word if they ask for this. Most people just want to thank us for the many lessons we offer them in our web site so they can understand God s word more clearly. As of last December, we have reached over 1,500,000 people all over the world. We hear primarily from Africa and Asia and the United States, but we did receive some responses from South America. I was particularly thrilled the day I received the responses from China and Formosa. Marlene and I love Faith because we have always felt so warmly received by all of you. We thank you for the privilege of being part of your fellowship even though we live so far away. It would be a wonderful opportunity to worship with you someday. We pledge to all of you to use each investment carefully so we can reach more people. Our goal is to counter permissiveness of so many Christians who create their own religion with just a few barren ideas of Christianity because they are not studying God s word the way they should. We thank God for the wonderful Christians we do meet, but the majority of those we interview have no grasp of what it means to be saved by grace so we can now serve God faithfully according to his word by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Christian church in our day needs another Reformation to return to the teachings of the reformers. Many of the people we talk to are shocked at the thought that the reformers stated that once a person is saved by grace through faith in Jesus works must follow if there is a genuine salvation. Marlene and I thank God that we have a congregation like Faith to call home because we know you take God s word seriously. You can help us further our goal by informing your friends and contacts of our website to help spread the word. Our site is www.saltyservants.com. With much love, James Hanson