March 2019 Shepherd s Staff Newsletter Shepherd of the Desert Evangelical Lutheran Church Issue 3 Your Church Council: David Christensen (President) 623-340-8232, Dclurch519@aol.com Christine Barbour 623-393-0909 Christineb@ability360.org Karen Ganglehoff 763-221-3073, kardensr@yahoo.com Ceil Heatherly: (Secretary) 623-444-4726, Cheatherly1@cox.net Chuck Hyland 623-583-1488, Charles.hyland@hotmail.com Rob Thirkell, Vice President: 623-974-8885, Rctthirk@cox.net Mission: "Created, Redeemed and Called by God, we reach out to all, by sharing our gifts and the unconditional love of Jesus Vision: "To be an intergenerational congregation that puts the Love of Christ into action from one generation to another and from our community to our world". Your Church Staff Members: Daniel Defassio, Senior Pastor pastordaniel@qwestoffice.net 623-933-1359 or 623-215-4312 Lorraine Miller, Organist Kristen Wood, Admin. Secretary sodsecretary@qwestoffice.net 623-933-1359 Sue Jordan, Administrative Assistant shepherdofthedes@qwestoffice.net 623-933-1359 Victor Lozano, Custodian 623-933-1359 Peace Be With You, My Sisters and my Brothers who are beginning their Lenten Pilgrimage. May the Grace and Mercy of God sustain you on your journey, that we may at last emerge as God s Easter people! Our forty (40) day pilgrimage begins on Ash Wednesday A reflection of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert prior to His temptation (Matthew 4:1-11) A reminder of the 40 years the children of Israel spent in the wilderness (Numbers 14:34) A time for Christians to prepare our hearts, minds and very beings through repentance, prayer, fasting and works of mercy and love. To repent is to come to your senses. It is not simply a time look at the past and confess by saying, I m sorry for to confess to God is not to tell God anything that God does not already know. The confession becomes a bridge over the abyss created by our sin, between us and God and between, us and one another. For through repentance, we are then able to reconcile and to look to the future and say WOW! to the redemption we have received in and through the Love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, who so loved you that He, gave His life for the salvation of the world that God so loved. Come and journey in the way of Love for love is patient, kind, humble, sincere and never ends. Blessings in the Pilgrimage. Blessings in the Love of Christ. Pastor Daniel
CHURCH COUNCIL NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS Hello Church! Another month has entered into the record books! Our fantastic winter climate has me thanking God that I m not back in Lombard, Illinois anymore! With the whirlwind of activities we have going on at Shepherd these days, I m hoping we all are trying to treat our bodies as the temples they are (yep, pushing the Healthy Living class) and empowering our Spirits with our Bible Studies and other activities throughout the week (yep, another commercial aimed at your benefit!). Peace be with you all and hope to see you at Church! Council Highlights February 12, 2019 Appointed Renee Darling to Council to fulfill one-year term of Christine Barbour Appointed Judy Yates to Endowment Committee to replace Bob Harbour who resigned. Assigned Mission of the Month for the next year. Approved A/C Contract with Clear Choice Mechanical Discussed plans for the next 3, 5 and 7-10 years. Treasurer s Report net income deficit for January - $2,799.54 Tuesday s 6:00 pm Founder s Room (does not meet when Council Meets) Discussion from 6:30-7:00 p.m. Non-T.J. Tuesdays: Healthy Living continues with a Cooking Class on March 19th and Massage Therapy on March 26th. Are you a Sunday Worshipper? A Saturday Worshipper? Need a night off from cooking or washing dishes? The first Saturday of every month at Shepherd of the Desert we enjoy a tasty meal made by one of our wonderful cook teams. Everyone is invited to join in. This is a great opportunity to meet newcomers to the church, catch-up with those you haven t spoke to in a while, or that you may not know because you attend church on the opposite day. So don t be shy. The next opportunity will be Saturday, March 2 at 5:30 pm. Give us this day, our daily THREAD! Calling all quilters (Knitter s and those who Crochet too). ALL LADIES ARE WELCOME and ENCOURAGED TO JOIN! Every Tuesday Questions please contact Marge Hyland. 623-583-1488
Pan de Vida is our recipient this month for our special offerings. This small community church specializes in tending to the spiritual needs of our Hispanic neighbors. Pan de Vida is located on Greasewood St in Surprise and is led by Pastor Mitch Eichmann. Please keep them in your prayers and offerings in the month of March. Wednesday, March 6 Wednesday, March 13 Wednesday, March 20 Wednesday, March 27 Wednesday, April 3 Wednesday, April 10 Wednesday, April 17 Wednesday, April 24 Wednesday, May 1 Wednesday, May 8 Ash Wed. Service 6:30 worship for adults & children Distribution of ashes 6:30 pm Midweek Lenten/ Evening Prayer 6:30 pm Midweek Lenten/Evening Prayer 6:30 pm Midweek Lenten/Evening Prayer 6:30 pm Midweek Lenten/ Evening Prayer 6:30 pm Midweek Lenten/Evening Prayer NO WOW / NO CLASSES NO WOW / NO CLASSES 5:30 pm Supper 6:30 pm Table talk - Ministry 5:30 pm Supper 6:30 pm Table talk - Mission Wednesday, May 15 5:30pm Supper 6:30 Table talk - Worship The WOW s for the summer will be held on June 12th, July 17th, and August 14th Thursday s Word Class offered at 10:30 am and 6:30pm Thursday, March 7 The Book of Revelation 9:6-21 Thursday, March 14 The Book of Revelation Ch. 20 Thursday, March 21 NO CLASS Thursday, March 28 The Book of Revelation Ch. 21 Thursday, April 4 The Book of Revelation Ch. 22 Thursday, April 11 The Book of Revelation review Thursday, April 18 NO CLASS Thursday, April 25 NO CLASS Thursday, May 2 Church History Thursday, May 9 Church History Thursday, May 16 Church History Thursday, May 23 Church History Thursday, May 30 The Ascension of Our Lord Eucharist Celebration
March Newsletter Article: The Endowment Team Update: The Wednesday evening WOW meal & speaker presentations from New Years to the beginning in Lent has featured beneficiaries of the SOD Mission Endowment Fund grant program. We have experienced some tremendous education from these various not-for-profit agencies so far. Sadly, only 10 to 15 people have attended and benefitted from these educational presentations so far in this series. We will attempt to profile one of these fine organizations in this column each month for the remainder of 2019 with the goal of better educating the congregation how Mission Endowment funds are benefitting those agencies that apply for grants. This month we will profile Sun City Meals on Wheels. Sun City Meals on Wheels is able to provide two nutritious meals each day, even holidays, to qualified residents of Sun City and Youngtown. The program is able to accommodate most special diets. Clients cost is $7.50 per day for two meals (financial assistance may be available for those who are struggling. Contact information: www.suncitymealsonwheels.org, Phone 623-974-9430, Fax 623-933-8304. Sun City Meals on Wheels received an Endowment grant of $750.00 in the most recent grant cycle. We encourage members to remember the SOD Mission Endowment Fund in your estate planning and contribution budgeting to support this wonderful grant program. Matthew 25 verse 35 & 36 states for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me We excited to announce that we are going to have food trucks here at SOD every Wednesday for lunch!! Trucks will be in the southwest parking lot. Right now it will be alternating Wednesdays between cheese steaks and hot dogs. Best Pancakes in Sun City Our Men s Ministry Team rises early and makes dozens and dozens of Pancakes and Sausage along with a fresh pot of Coffee and juice. No reservation needed and the price is right. FREE!!!!! Come enjoy breakfast the last Saturday of each month from 8am-10am. Saturday, March 30 All are welcome Want to get in on some of the action? Call the office, let them know you would like to help. 623-933-1359. Are you looking Job? Jobs will start in June and could be up to a year of work counting the people in the United States of America There is more information in the Narthex
Sonoran Sounds Concert! The Sonoran Sounds will be having a concert in Walton Hall on Saturday March 16, 2019 at 5:30 there will be light refreshments provided. Come and have a great time with some great music! If you would like more info you can go to sonoransounds.org HELP! We could use your help - We need one or two Acolytes and one or two ushers. Thank you so much! Cathleen Campaigne at angelsong777@yahoo.com Saturday Worship Assistant Help Needed: We have an URGENT need for folks to get trained for all worship assistant positions, particularly Assisting Ministers and Communion Ministers. The goal is to have enough trained assistants so that each person would work only once per month. Please contact Cliff Wagner to schedule a 30 minute Flowers! We will not have flower orders for services during lent. We will have envelopes for lilies if you would like to purchase them for the Easter Service. You can find in your pews during service starting March 22&23 Did you know??? - the first full weekend of every month you can bring unopened/ non-perishable/in date food items to church and donate them to the West Valley Food Bank? Please be sure and fill out your attendance Card each week. Just your name is necessary if you are a member. This will aid the office in their Annual Reporting to the Synod. Thanking you in advance. This will be appreciated. Sat Sun Visitors February 2&3 65 64 6 February 9&10 56 77 6 February16&17 60 78 5 February 23&24 44 65
Ash Wednesday March 6th Morning service is at 10:30am Evening service is 6:30pm (No Wow) Wednesday 13th light supper at 5:30 Holden Prayer 6:30 Wednesday 20th Light supper at 5:30 Holden Prayer 6:30 Wednesday 27th light supper at 5:30 Holden Prayer 6:30 Celebrating a March Anniversary 3/6 John &Christine Barbour 27 years 3/6 Lloyd & Roberta Hilton 65 years 3/8 Wally & Bev Gulbrandson 1 year 3/30 Kevin & Glenda Cornelius 34 years Celebrating a March Birthday: 3/2 Lynda Ingraham 3/3 Willa Bennett 3/5 Elijah Defassio 3/6 Marissa Montoya 3/7 Loyola Hertzog 3/7 Gail Mcllveen 3/9 Dean Kruegal 3/10 Ryan Fullmer 3/14 Kyle Harbour 3/16 Charlotte Shanks 3/17 Cliff Wagner 3/18 Nancy LeVander 3/18 Bart Stehle 3/25 Judy Fossum 3/27 Shirley Citrowske
Saturday 6 April 2019, 6 PM Light Refreshments 5 to 6 PM Free Will Offering to Support Youth Summer Camp Scholarships Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church 11025 N 111th Avenue Sun City, Arizona 85351-4020 Phone: (623) 933-1359 Fax: (623) 933-1008 WEEKLY WORSHIP Saturday at 4:00 PM Sunday at 9:30 AM Holy Communion at every service