VOLUME 29 September 2018 ISSUE 9 A Community of Hope Making Christ Known. Join us for Worship! 8:00 Adult Education 9:00 a.m. Traditional Service 10:30 a.m. Contemporary Service Inside this issue: COME CELEBRATE THE MINISTRY OF PASTOR STEPHEN KELLY WHEN Sunday, September 30th Join us to celebrate Pastor Kelly and his wife, Theresa! We will worship at 10:30 a.m. and follow with a potluck meal to say thank you for their ministry and time here at Advent. From the Pastor 2 POTLUCK MEAL Board Meetings 3 Calendar 4 Worship Calendar 5 Game Night 6 The Board of Outreach and Brotherhood is providing chickens from chicken. Cake is being provided by Board of Organizations. Members with the last names beginning with A-M are asked to bring a meat casserole (lasagna, enchiladas, etc.) and members with last names beginning with N-Z are asked to bring a side dish or salad. Stewardship Spotlight Birthdays & Anniversaries 6 7 WEAR GREEN! Everybody join in on the celebration and wear green! Advent Lutheran Church www.adventhouston.org
Dream Wishes Dear Members and Friends of Advent Lutheran For my last article for the newsletter, I have chosen this excellent article that I believe every church should read. The author is a Pastor of a mega church in Southern California and a very good thinker. He quotes Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Germany who stood up to Hitler and was executed a few weeks before the end of the war. It is about our Dream Wishes that we all have for the church and how they destroy community. It is my fervent prayer that Advent remain a strong community of faith. This article addresses that very thing. Blessings, Pastor Kelly By Chris Sonksen South Hills Church Corona, California According to Pew Research 80 percent of Americans believe in God. They may not agree on theology, or church practices, but they believe in a higher power. At the same time many stats point to how church attendance is decreasing. It seems Americans are leaving the church, but not God. The question I m wrestling with is why? Why are believers leaving church but not faith? I m sure there are many reasons, but I can t help but wonder if it s an age old problem. As humans we often put unrealistic and unhealthy expectations on things or people. When an expectation is unmet it leads to hurt. As humans we are built to avoid pain and seek comfort. When the church doesn t meet a person s expectations it can be easy to give up on the church. The thought is, I can just do this at home. Many treat church the same way as rental car insurance it s optional. With the rise of podcasts, and online sermons the pull to attend a service is shrinking. The thought is, Why go on Sunday when I can have instant access to content any time I want? Not only that we have access to the Bible ourselves. At one point in history a person had to attend church to learn about the Bible. Today you can pull up a Bible on your phone, and then Google any questions you have about it. Famed theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer elegantly called these unrealistic expectations, the Wish Dream. In his book Life Together, Bonhoeffer says, Every human wish dream that is injected into (Continued on page 3) 2
(Continued from page 2) the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial. His point is that unrealistic expectations destroy genuine community. When we expect a pastor to be at our beck and call, it is a wish dream. When we expect for church people to be perfect, it is a wish dream. When we expect to agree with everyone it is a wish dream. The wish dream destroys true community because we complain about what we don t like instead of plugging into what is right. I fear many have unhealthy expectations about the church. It s not perfect. There are issues in every church. There are annoying people. There are people who think differently. There are people in every church that you will not agree with. Instead of having true community many have left it because it s easier to worship God at home. The problem is that God did not wire us to be alone. We are truly better together. It s in community that we grow, are challenged, stretched, and inspired to truly live for Jesus. It s messy, difficult, and at times frustrating but it s so worth it. September 2018 Board Meetings Board of Property Saturday, September 1st Board of Deacons Wednesday, September 5th Board of Stewardship Wednesday, August 8th Board of Outreach Tuesday, September 11th Board of Organizations Tuesday, September 11th Board of Education Thursday, September 13th Newsletter Deadline Sunday, September 16th Executive Board Tuesday, September 18th Church Council Tuesday, September 18th God works within community. Sure you can believe in God and not go to church. You can also play sports by yourself, talk to yourself, and high five yourself. Just because it s possible doesn t mean it s better. Life is meant to live with others in community. If you have given up on church, but not on God take a moment to revisit your wish dream. We all have one or have had one. Then ask God He wants you to do next. My guess is He ll point you back to the church. 3
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Time Asst. Minister Lectors Comm. Asst. Greeters Ushers 2 10:30 Ellie Tyson Scott Wieding Ellie Tyson Travis and Lavina Oevermann Cassens Family 9 9:00 Keith Tyson Wanda Robinson Keith Tyson James & Connie Cassens Mark & Connie Bathe, Larry & Sally Dresch 16 9:00 Lavina Oevermann Barbara Jopplin Lavina Oevermann Larry & Sally Dresch Terry & Pam Rodgers, Zack & Nita Arriola 23 9:00 Keith Tyson Michele Smith Keith Tyson Patti McCann, Nita Arriola Travis & Lavina Oevermann, Mike & Becky Schultz 30 9:00 Rod Leonhardt Rodney Leonhardt, Jr. Rod Leonhardt, Curtis & Yvonne Wendler James & Cathy Tiemann, Bobie & Nina Pieper Sunday, September 16th Prices are: chickens @ $8.00/each sausage @ $5.00/link and turkey legs @ $5.00/each. Thank you for supporting us in the past and we look forward to your support. All of our proceeds go towards our Love Projects such as Boys and Girls Country, Luther Hill, etc. 5
Book Drive WELCA is hosting a book drive for the young children at STAR OF HOPE. We will cater to the ages of 2 to 4 year old's. These are books that these children may take with them upon leaving the mission to a newly established home. Join us for our monthly Game Night on Friday, September 14th at 6:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Bring a snack and invite your friends and neighbors to join us as we gather for food, fellowship and fun. Please help with a donation of money or a book to this cause. Envelopes are available to put in the offering plate or hand them to Marilyn Marek or Connie Cassens. You may wish to make your own choices of books. Do follow the guidelines in making your own choices. Thank you! Delores Muske and Memorial Greater Heights Hospital wish to thank you for continued outreach by supplying us with magazines. The patients that are here for weeks really enjoy getting something to read. We are in need of Spanish magazines, if you know of someone or know where I might get some, let me know at 713-861-8710. Many thanks for your good works. Invest in Advent General Fund: $ 3,600 ROC Fund: $ 1,581 Endowment (AA) $ 25 Join us for our monthly quilting ministry on Monday, September 17th beginning at 9:00 a.m. Remember to bring a sack lunch. If you have any questions about how to join us in this important ministry, please contact Angie Cassens. Total: $ 5,206 Stewardship Spotlight Month of July Year to-date Total Income $ 25, 197.00 $ 144,763.50 Total Expenses $ 20,307.79 $ 142,122.73 Total Net Income $ 4,889.21 $ 2,640.77 6
Trunk or Treat! - October 28th! What is Trunk or Treat you ask? Trunk-or-treating is a version of trick-or-treating, but instead of children going door-to-door to collect candy, they go from trunk-to- trunk. Trunk-or-treating typically takes place in church or school parking lots. What is the best part of this fun tradition? Decorating your car's trunk to match a specific theme you choose! Some people keep it simple, and others go all out. The "trick" to it seems to be finding something you're passionate about--or have a lot of stuff for--and displaying it in your trunk as creatively as possible. If you've got Christmas lights, sports gear, cardboard, or fake cobwebs, you can have a creepy or cool trunk in a flash. Or you can just come bring your lawn chairs and candy to pass out at the back of your car. Let's fill up the front parking lot!!! If you can t come pass out candy yourself there is always the option to buy candy and bring it to church ahead of time or donate $ for candy to be bought. Again this year, we will have a bouncy house for the kids donated by the ABC Learning Center and who knows what else. Please contact Connie Bathe at 713-819-3748 or conniebathe@sbcglobal.net to let her know that you will be participating or with any questions. 9/3 Curtis & Yvonne Wendler (57) 9/21 Don & Debbie Solice (23) 9/3 Jessica Grimes 9/4 Ellie Tyson 9/6 Harold Wisher 9/10 Donna Klare 9/11 Alex Norden 9/12 Matthew Johnson 9/15 Jack Grimes John Grimes 9/16 Mark Shiery 9/19 Ashlyn Pieper 9/20 Rebecca Leonhardt 9/21 Nina Pieper 9/23 Quinn Held 9/27 Jacob Leonhardt Hilmer Potcinske 9/28 Nick Zander 9/29 Connor Hatch- Southerland Sean Phillips Debbie Scott 7
ADVENT LUTHERAN CHURCH 5820 PINEMONT HOUSTON, TX 77092 713/686-8201 WWW.ADVENTHOUSTON.ORG SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:00 a.m. Adult Education 9:00 a.m. Traditional Service 10:30 a.m. Contemporary Service THE ADVENTURE SEPTEMBER 2018 Advent Ministers...All Advent Members! Deadline for October Adventure: September 16th Advent Staff Interim Pastor Pastor Stephen Kelly ABC Learning School Director Tarita Smith Admin. Assistant Chris Ray Chancel Choir Director Scott McAdow Are you Moving? Please notify the Church office of your address change. Phone: 713/686-8201 Fax: 713/686-9144 office@adventhouston.org www.adventhouston.org Church Council President... Bobby Leonhardt... 281/213-9494 Vice-President... Carsten Alsguth... 713/849-8594 Treasurer... Judy Hohne... 713/682-8934 Deacons... George Johnson... 281/999-6528 Education... Nathaniel Johnson... 281/999-6528 Organizations... Josh Leonhardt... 281/795-9626 Outreach... Cathy Tiemann... 713/681-1883 Property... Tyler Cassens... 713/204-4554 Stewardship... Pam Rodgers... 713/306-1810 Council Secretary... Melanie Hatch... 713/822-2209 A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 8