SAINT JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH The agle E VOLUME LVII NOVEMBER 2017 ISSUE N o 10 Available online @ www.stjohnnorfolk.org FROM THE PASTOR Songs of Thankfulness and Praise Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices; Who, from our mother s arms, has blest us on our way With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today. Now Thank We All Our God ELW Hymn #839 Text Martin Rinkhart, 1586-1649; translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1827-1878 Hymn Tune Nun Danket Alle Gott by Johann Crüger, 1598-1662 SUNDAY SCHEDULE 8:45 am Adult Bible Study 9:00 am Sunday School 10:30 am Worship Service November is the month in which we recognize a national day of thanks. But do we need a designated day to give thanks? Q: Is Saint Valentine s the only day on which we express our love for those who are special in our lives? I pray not!!! Thankfulness and praise are lived out daily, hourly, in every heartbeat and breath, through an attitude of gratitude: being grateful for all that we have in our lives, created and given by God as gifts by grace. I will take this opportunity to remind you that Christine and I give thanks for you all every day. We thank you for generosity expressed in words and deeds for us, and lived out for one another. OUR MISSION We are a family of Christ, committed to serving, teaching, welcoming and loving all God s people. Over the year, we have received well wishes, prayers, gifts and cards that speak to our place in your life. We rejoice that we are a part of your family and this Church Family we call Saint John Lutheran. In particular, I wish to thank you for the truly thoughtful gift of a stole emblazoned with the Luther Rose commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, presented on Pastor Appreciation Sunday. I was, and am still, speechless. I know, I know hard to imagine. We also thank you for the monetary generosity and Thank You cards. As we look at our lives and our days, may we ever give thanks for all the blessings and rejoice in opportunities to love one another as we have first been loved in our creation, redemption and sanctification. With an ever grateful heart,
THE EAGLE PAGE 2 NOVEMBER 2017 Council Minutes August 14, 2017 ROLL CALL Present: Roxiee Dollar, Jim Dollar, Stephanie Chivers, Regina Starling, Gail Davidson, Ellen Wilson, Ellen Greene, Deborah McLaughlin, Sheila Sanchez, Mike Gawron, Susan Bové. OLD BUSINESS A. Food choice made for the congregational meeting, August 20, 2017. NEW BUSINESS A. Ushers: plans to standardize participation. B. Worship is the center of our lives, new plans to be instituted by the Pastor. RECOMMENDATIONS A. Property recommends use of Saint Matthias Hall on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 from 7 pm until 9 pm by Honor Flight Historic Triangle Virginia for Mission 18 Guardian training. POC Pastor Olivier Approved 1 st Sheila Sanchez, 2 nd Ellen Greene. B. Property recommends use of Saint Matthias Hall on Sunday, November 19, 2017 from 2pm until 4 pm by Honor Flight Historic Triangle Virginia for Mission 18 Ice Cream Social. POC Pastor Olivier Approved 1 st Stephanie Chivers, 2 nd Deborah McLaughlin C. Recommend use of multipurpose room to start and Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS Support Group to be held monthly on the 3 rd Thursday of each month at 1 pm for approximately one hour. Use of the room from 12:30 to 2:30 pm, starting October 19, 2017. POC Ellen Greene and/or Ellen Rawson Approved 1 st Gail Davidson, 2 nd Ellen Greene (tentative regarding charges) Veterans Day is November 11th Love your freedom? Thank a Veteran! Worship Attendance for September 2017 Date Congregation Choir/Assistants Nursery Total September 3, 2017 39 15 4 58 September 10, 2017 59 12 12 83 September 17, 2017 48 13 1 62 September 24, 2017 40 13-53
THE EAGLE PAGE 3 NOVEMBER 2017 We begin November with All Saints Day and end the month and Church Year with Christ the King Sunday. Temperatures are cooler; the squirrels and birds prepare for the cold winter months. As you complete your own preparations, remember your church needs your support each and every month. What gifts and graces can you share? For those serving during the Worship Service, a training is planned for this month. Watch your weekly bulletin for details. Acolyte and Confirmation Classes are being held. Mark your calendars for upcoming Worship opportunities: Soup and Bread with Mid-Week Services beginning Wednesday, December 6th continuing for three weeks. German Service will be held Thursday, December 14th. Christmas Eve services Sunday, December 24th. Respectfully, Gail Davidson, Chair Saint John s Wish List $75 Donation for Bee s Wax Candles used as Prayer Candles School needs wipes for the children Dozens of home baked sturdy cookies to be brought to Church on Sunday, December 10 th for the Lutheran Women of Tidewater (LWT) to pack for the Virginia Beach Prison Ministry Cookie Pack on Monday, December 11 th. See Emily Kircheval if you have any questions. Diakonia is participating in the school Halloween Parade on October 31st. We will hand out treats to all the little goblins. Our next activity is the Annual Advent Celebration. We are asking all members of the church to bring a finger food to share and come with singing voices. We have a really good time listening to all the children sing and this year everyone will participate. Plans are being discussed about what activities we are going to have next year. Some things are going to change and we hope everyone will participate in the activities We like to have feedback on what you like and dislike about each of our events. If you would like to join us it would be great. Our meetings are the last Tuesday of each month at 11:00 am. The restaurant where we meet will be announced. God Bless, Sue Bové Service Wednesday Nights WOMEN S BIBLE STUDIES We will be continuing our study of the Women of the Bible, and continuing with the book of Romans, moving chapter to chapter with the Sunday Epistle readings, during the time of Pentecost. During Advent and Christmas, we will be breaking from December 6 th to January 3 rd. Saint John s First Monday Night Dinner November 6th, at 6:00 pm! Please come and join in the good food and fun. You don t have to bring anything except yourself and you can stay if you like for the all committee meeting and hear what is going on in the church.
THE EAGLE PAGE 4 NOVEMBER 2017 STEWARDSHIP Just a reminder: Based on quarterly Congregational Meeting, encourage each member to give a dollar more each week to help with the Church s deficit. Our Stewardship Program this Fall will look at Keys to Planning Financial Health for Home and Church. Using the idea of having help planning a simple home budget, which will connect your faith and finances. The idea is to see money as a tool serving God, your family and your community even on a limited fixed income. As a part of this program, we are hoping to set up a Family Financial Planner and an Elder Care Attorney for a Saturday Breakfast Meeting. Program would be from 9:30 to 11:00 am. Watch the weekly announcements for the dates. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR PLEDGES IN ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19 TH! The WELCA regular meeting will be held on November 19th. The Unit will host the congregational coffee on November 12th. On November 4th, the WELCA groups in the Tidewater Conference will have their Annual Fall Gathering at Saint Timothy Lutheran Church. The event which begins at 9:00 am will include worship, workshops and lunch. Reservations to be made by October 29th with Emily Kircheval. The luncheon cost is $8.00. Our WELCA is providing center pieces and favors for the event. All women are encouraged to attend and have fellowship with WELCA members in the local Lutheran congregations. Crafty Creators are Really Joyful Creators In November we will meet on Saturday, November 18 th from 9 am to noon to finish up any Chrismon work for Advent and Christmas Church decorating. December we will not be meeting and the New Year activities will be up to the Church members. If there is a special activity that they would like to do, we will provide the activity on the third Saturday of the month. THANK YOU to all who helped to make our Reformation Maker s Market a success! Whether you volunteered, baked, crafted, cooked or came out to enjoy the day, we are really grateful you participated! Our next meeting will be Wednesday, November 15th 11:15 am Saint Matthias Hall
THE EAGLE PAGE 5 NOVEMBER 2017 Mutual Ministry Committee Affirming and strengthening the mission of the congregation and the ministry of the staff of Saint John Lutheran Church is the primary purpose of the Mutual Ministry Committee (MMC). This is accomplished by listening and clarifying, sharing and communicating and reviewing and reflecting. The MMC is made up of six members of the congregation and the pastor. Each member will serve two years and would then be eligible for reappointment by Council or new members could be added to the rotation. Our current MMC members are Deborah Midgett - chair, Regina Starling - secretary, Roxiee Dollar, Don Greene, Margie Gish, Joe Dudley and Pastor Olivier. All members are available to staff and congregation to bring their concerns, ideas and questions concerning Saint John s ministries and mission and have these issues brought before the MMC Committee. The concept of Mutual Ministry has existed and been encouraged by ELCA for over 20 years and congregations have benefited from developing open lines of communication about expectations, attitudes ad concerns with the congregation, community and staff. MMC members can sometimes identify warning signs of misunderstanding by becoming a listening post for pastor, staff and congregation. We hope our MMC will become a group where our pastor, congregation and staff can test new ideas and seek help with concerns about their ministry at Saint John. Each year we would like to be able to assess working conditions, compensations and expectations for pastor and staff. As a committee of Council, MMC will report regularly to the congregation Council. The Committee does not set policy, salary, etc., but recommendations can be made by MMC to Council for their consideration. The MMC s members are accountable to one another for maintaining discretion and confidentiality when personal information is shared during a meeting. This commitment of confidentiality is extended to anyone who wishes to bring an issue, idea, question or concern to the Mutual Ministry Committee. While we cannot address anonymous issues, we can assure confidentiality in our discussions and reports. It is the committee s hope that through mutual ministry we can imagine what God s particular plan is for Saint John and what might happen if leaders and members were to make a renewed commitment to a shared vision. Deborah K. Midgett OUTREACH October 16 th was the ELCA Feed the Hungry Day. In response to that we have been collecting Thanksgiving/Christmas non-perishable food items for the Ocean View Food Bank housed at the Episcopal Church of the Advent. We will be collecting until Sunday, November 4 th. As a part of the Reformation Celebration, we want to thank you for helping us collect Toy Prizes to use in the Children s Area of the Maker s Market. Our left-over prizes will be put in the Shoeboxes for Samaritan s Purse for Christmas, as we have boxes left over from last year that we can fill. If you would like to take a Shoebox and fill it, please pick it up off the table across from Saint Mathias Hall. They need to be returned by Sunday, November 19th. We are still getting an overwhelming response to sending empty Medicine Bottles to Matthew 25 Ministries. It has been brought to our attention that the SPCA is looking for empty medicine bottles locally, so we will be supplying them as well. We can still use empty 8 ½ x 11 paper boxes, it is the most cost effective and efficient way to send the empty bottles. We have made 649 Blessing Bags up to the end of October. We will be going back to supplying Fall/Winter Bags, which include oatmeal, hot chocolate, fruit snacks, chapstick, hand sanitizer, gloves, hats and of course white socks. We are very blessed with the continued support from the Congregation, which we can never thank enough.
THE EAGLE PAGE 6 NOVEMBER 2017 Good Work Lawn Teams! Our lawn teams are doing an incredible job keeping our church yard looking beautiful. We have four lawn teams made up of four people each. We are lacking five workers to fill these vacant positions. We need YOUR help. Think about it? One person would work 1-2 hours every 8 weeks. Keep your aluminum coming. All recycled aluminum is used to pay for all lawn needs. If we needed to hire someone or a company it would cost the church approximately $3,000 a year. Thank you for taking care of the lawn and bringing in aluminum and large items. If you have any questions, please call Bill Krumm.
THE EAGLE PAGE 7 NOVEMBER 2017 November Anniversaries November Birthdays 18 ~ Judy Steve Swedburg 39 years 05 ~ Adam Krumm 11 ~ Tara Taffee 14 ~ Ashtyn Page 15 ~ Cindy Graham 17 ~ Sylvia Kay 19 ~ Stephen Smith 22 ~ Rebecca Panner 24 ~ Louanne Titus 24 ~ Ellen Greene 25 ~ Mary Anne Whiddon 25 ~ Ronan Shaffer 26 ~ Mary Walter 26 ~ Leanna Truax 29 ~ Mona Dennis 29 ~ Wendy Gulley 29 ~ Paul Mona Dennis 37 years Ocean View Community Thanksgiving Service Episcopal Church of the Advent 9629 Norfolk Avenue, Norfolk Wednesday, November 22, 2017 Community Worship Service 7PM Please bring canned goods to be shared with local food banks. Don t forget to turn your clock back! Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, November 5th at 2:00 AM Remember to turn your clocks back one hour on Saturday night, November 4th, when you go to bed.
SAINT JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL 8918 Tidewater Drive Norfolk VA 23503 757/ 588-7381 Church 757/ 588-8227 School Email: churchoffice@stjohnnorfolk.org Website: www.stjohnnorfolk.org CHURCH LEADERSHIP Pastor: Revd. Keith A. Olivier President: Roxiee Dollar Vice President: Gail Davidson Secretary: Sheila Sanchez Treasurer: Ellen Wilson Financial Secretary: Stephanie Chivers Director of Music: W. Lee Hendricks School Director: Stephanie Chivers Parish Bookkeeper: Nancy Fuller Parish Secretary: Anne Combes If your mailing information has changed, please notify the Church Office. Thank you! CONSECRATION SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2017 Come one come all! Please bring your Stewardship Pledge Cards. If you have not received your packet, please pick up one in the hallway. Prayerfully consider your gift to help sustain your Church Ministry.