Celebration of ATONEMENT Newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church, Rev. Tina Koenig Ray, BCC, Pastor June 2015 Called by God to serve and witness to all in response to God s grace. Inside: From Your Pastor 2 Attendance, Giving 4 & Financial Update Missionary at Midvale 5 Fund for Leaders 6 Flower & Fellowship 8 Schedule Gods s Work, 9 our Hands Men in Mission 9 Important Dates & 10 People News Church Picnic 11 News 1
From the Pastor Have you seen the new DQ commercial? An employee stands before a huge red theatre curtain and gets the audience gathered psyched up for an awesome announcement. What could be worthy of such a grand affair? Is the president of the united states going to speak, perhaps it s Celine Dion who is going to perform? Or maybe we ll hear from the foremost doctor who has found a cure for ALL types of cancer? What s that about the weather? Oh, there s going to be a blizzard, well forewarned is forearmed. No, that s not it? It s about a an ice cream drink? THAT blizzard. Whoo Hoo! And the crowd goes wild!! The commercial then shows people cheering and jumping for joy and in anticipation. Shouting YES! and high fiving, etc., etc., you get the idea. I m pretty sure there are folks watching the commercial at home who say, Yeah, man! I have to go get me one of those blizzards right now! That s the beauty of commercials. They give you great visuals, a catchy line and they invade your mind. So when you least expect it, after you ve already had a good lunch, you drive by DQ and think, Hmm, maybe I ll have some desert I know.. a blizzard! Churches don t do commercials or billboards, although you will see an ad campaign come through now and then. Generally we rely on good old word of mouth, which used to work pretty well, that and people having large families. Nowadays, folks are having smaller families, moving 2
away from where they grew up and moving away from traditions like memberships in church and civic groups. Chat groups and twitter and Facebook are the new way to connect. I have also heard through conversation with fellow clergy that people today are more concerned with filling stomachs than filling pews. They want to make a difference in some way and because we are so interconnected globally they find ways to do that outside of the four walls of a church building. Personally, I find strength and meaning in both the pew and the computer. The internet allows me to keep in touch with people from college and seminary that live across the country. I ll also occasionally send them a card through the snail mail. I am a very tactile person. I have to touch someone s arm or give and receive a hug to keep my even keel, some of which I receive from my church family. My commercial would be that same scenario: a person standing on a stage before a huge red theatre curtain. They would announce, God loves you just as you are! Live in the light of Christ! Whoo Hoo! The commercial then shows people cheering and jumping for joy and in anticipation. Shouting YES! and high fiving. And the crowd goes wild! COUNCIL MEMBERS NEEDED We are in need of two people to serve on the council. Please prayerfully consider joining with us to serve Atonement Lutheran. We are desperately trying to make a positive change here and we need your help to do it. If interested please contact Bruce Johnson or any other council member. We hope to see you soon. 3
April/May Worship Date Attendance General Fund Maint. Cans April adults/youth 26 20/3 $1045.00 $12.00 $13.82 May 3 27/4 $1005.00 $12.00 $29.50 10 32/4 $1166.00 $62.00 $14.67 17 21/2 $1530.00 $ 5.00 $ 8.00 * can collections in March dedicated to Meals on Wheels Financial update as of 3/31/15 Total income Jan-Mar 2015 $22,898.97 Total expenses Jan-Mar 2015 - $25,789.34 Net income Jan-Mar 2015 $-2,890.37 We have received $372.00 from Thrivent Choice Dollars in 2015. Thank you to Thrivent Financial and all of you who have directed your Choice Dollars to the church. If you have questions on how you can get Choice Dollars call Karl Miller at 314-3084 Due to the new privacy laws regarding health information, the hospital will not release the names of patients. So if you are going into the hospital, or know someone who is hospitalized, please call the church office or let Pastor Tina know. The Secretary s usual hours have changed: Office hours are now 2 PM-4:30/5:00 PM 4
Kirsten Fryer, ELCA Missionary Serving in Cairo, Egypt to speak June 4 th at Midvale Community Church Midvale Community Lutheran Church, 4329 Tokay Blvd., Madison, WI 53711 Lunch: 11:45 am; Presentation 12:30 pm Please RSVP by June 1 to info@midvalelutheran.org or 608-238- 7119 The Rev. Kirsten Fryer is an ELCA Missionary, currently serving as pastor of St. Andrew's United Church of Cairo in Cairo, Egypt. In addition to working with the English congregation and the eleven other congregations and worshiping communities at St. Andrew's, she works with StARS (St. Andrew's Refugee Services), which provides educational opportunities to children and adults, psychosocial support, and refugee legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers from many countries, including South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Syria, and Iraq. During her time at Midvale, Kirsten will share stories about refugee realities in Cairo, including the place of the church (and sound clips from Easter worship in Dinka and Nuer), as well as the work StARS is doing to address the needs of children, adults, and unaccompanied youth in Cairo. She will also talk about the ELCA's role in supporting the work of St. Andrew's and StARS. All are welcome to attend! Please RSVP by June 1. 5
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June Flower & Fellowship Schedule Eternal Candle: The Eternal Candle for June has no sponsor Altar Guild: David & Diana Schneider June 7 Flowers: Bob Kristianson in honor of Pastor Tina s birthday Bread of Heaven: no sponsor Fellowship: no sponsor June 14 Outdoor Service & Church Picnic Flowers: no sponsor Bread of Heaven: no sponsor Fellowship: church picnic June 21 Flowers: no sponsor Bread of Heaven: Diana Schneider Fellowship: no sponsor June 28 Flowers: no sponsor Bread of Heaven: no sponsor Fellowship: no sponsor 8
God s Work. Our Hands. Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 Many of our congregations are starting to prepare for this day. Since 2013, thousands of ELCA members have participated in the dedicated day of service. View this video from ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and see examples of how ELCA congregations share God s love. To guide your planning for 2015, visit www.elca.org/ dayofservice. You ll find a study guide, the 2015 version of the toolkit and more. A new worship resource will be available later this spring. Also, we ask that you register your congregation. This will help us share and tell stories about the good work that we do together. If it s not possible for your congregation to participate on Sept. 13, please consider another day before or after. LUTHERAN MEN IN MISSION HIGH, DEEP AND WIDE RETREAT July 10 11, 2015 Crossways Camps Waypost Camp - Hatley, WI Men s Getaway and a time of meaning, inspiration and fun! Featured Speaker: Bishop Gerald Mansholt, East Central Synod WI ELCA Bishop Gerald Mansholt will be sharing inspiring messages to help men be strengthened and encouraged in their faith, through conversation, community & action. During these times together we will explore with one another what it means to be changed by the love of God. We ll talk about challenges to our 9
spiritual lives today and how silence, creation, and praying the Bible can shape our faith. For a brochure with all the details and registration information: www.lutheranmen.org or directly to brochure: http://lutheranmeninmission.org/docs/events/hdw% 20Getaway%20Brochure%20WI%20July%202015.pdf Pray for our companion synod, the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church in India Gracious God, We give you thanks for the relationships we have built with our brothers and sisters around the globe, and the lessons we are able to learn from one another about how you are working in our world. Bless our companions in the NELC and prosper their ministries of education and health care in Northern India, for the sake of Jesus, our teacher and healer. Amen June Birthdays 6/6 Cason Janke 6/10 Vi Pankonien 6/6 Jackie Holmbeck 6/29 Nate Anderson 6/8 Pastor Tina 6/30 Dick Adney 6/9 Arlene Ruegger June Baptism Anniversaries 6/5 Les Nystrom 6/23 Pat Sauser 6/19 Dylan Van Fleet 6/25 Cole Rowald 6/13 Arlene Ruegger 6/25 Sam Rowald 6/27 Phyllis Steele 6/28 Donna Luety 10
IT S CHURCH PICNIC TIME AGAIN! The annual Church Picnic will be held June 14 at the Jones Pavilion, Riverside Park following the outdoor service at 10 AM. The sign up sheet for dishes to pass will be in the Klingberg Chapel shortly. - 11
Celebration is published by Atonement Lutheran Church 901 Harrison Avenue, Beloit, WI 53511 (608) 362-8216 Office hours: Mon & Tues 9 AM -noon, Wed, Thurs & Fri 9 AM-1 PM Email: atonement@atonementbeloit.org Website:atonementbeloit.org Rev. Tina Koenig Ray, BCC, Pastor 368-1041 (608) 449-6759 cell Bruce Johnson, Council President 362-6805 (608) 289-3458 cell Pattye Gilmour, Church Secretary 362-3488 Alonzo Young, Custodian 12