First English Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1603 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23220-2906 Office (804)355-9185 Fax (804)358-6113 Email: info@felcrichmond.org Web pages: www.felcrichmond.org Rev. Dr. John T. Schweitzer, Pastor: pastor@felcrichmond.org Mr. Linwood D. Lunde, Director of Music: llunde@felcrichmond.org Mr. Brian Wingfield, Parish Administrator: bwingfield@felcrichmond.org
well in whatever area of RVA we live in by taking seriously the second part of our Mission Statement (the entire statement is on the cover of every worship bulletin), striving toward faithful living in God s world. From the Pastor: the Spirit of Pentecost Due to the fact that Easter was so early this year, we are going into the month of May only two weeks away from Pentecost, the birthday of the church. It falls on May 15, right smack in the middle of May, so to speak. Since we don t have confirmation on Pentecost this year, we can t count on the relatives and friends of our confirmands to fill the church on that day and thus remind us in at least a small way of the situation on the first Pentecost, when, according to the account in Acts 2, those who welcomed the message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. 3,000 new members would strain the resources of the congregation to absorb so many new people at once. But wouldn t it be nice to have 300 present at 10:30 on a Sunday which, along with Christmas and Easter, is one of the three great festivals in our liturgical calendar? In the European Lutheran tradition Pentecost is still a festival equal in importance to Christmas and Easter. In the United States it often passes unnoticed, certainly by the secular culture. But no matter what the number, God wants our church go grow! I m sure we do too. And each member must do his or her part in order to always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15). That s known as witnessing, and that is what will make our church grow. What better witness than a welcoming spirit towards visitors to our church? I think we re really doing a good job in this area lately. And in addition, once outside these walls we can certainly witness But sometimes churches tend to get discouraged by the amount of work that there is to be done to effect growth. Where do we start? Well, since God is guiding us, we need not despair. As I said, the Lord wants our church to grow and even now is giving us the necessary resources and motivation to witness and evangelize. In this connection I m reminded about a story of an old mule: A farmer owned an old mule that fell into an old, dried-up well. After assessing the situation, the farmer decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving. Instead, he had his farm hands help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well, thus putting the animal out of its misery and filling in the well at the same time. But the old mule was stubborn and resourceful. Every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up! He did this, even though the shovelfuls of dirt hurt when they hit his back. No matter how painful the blows or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up! It wasn t long before the beast of burden, battered and exhausted though he was, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed likely to bury him actually helped him, all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. So if we face our growing pains as a congregation with the realization that God wills that we grow as a church, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or the discouragement that comes with the occasional weakly-attended Sunday or the number of tasks before us, the problems that look like they will bury us usually have within them the very real potential to make us stronger. Let s grow. Let s witness. And let s not sweat the minor setbacks. God has willed his truth to triumph through us. That s the spirit of Pentecost! ~ Pastor John Schweitzer
The Women of the ELCA will meet at 12:00 pm on May 13 th. We look forward to hearing from our speaker, Betty Cochran. Lunch will be served; the price is $5.00. Please call Gloria Jones, Libby Riggle or Peggy Davis to make your reservation. There will be a short business meeting following the program. You are invited to join The Leisure Group on our trips for 2016. Future Leisure Group trips include: May 17 -- Occoquan - riding tour, lunch, boat ride, and time for shopping. October 5 & 6 -- Overnight trip to Lancaster, Pa. to the performance of SAMSON at the Sight and Sound Theater. On October 6 we shall travel to Wilmington, Del. to visit the Hagley Museum before returning to Richmond. Soul Stitchers will meet on the 2 nd floor of the Scherer building, in their new meeting room, on Sunday, May 15 th, after the second service. We are working on projects for the homebound, newborns in the congregation, and items for a sale in the fall. We are willing to take orders for specific items if you have requests. If you have suggestions or ideas for items you might like to purchase, please let us know. October 22 -- Tour of historic Lynchburg City Cemetery and Poplar Forest, the home Thomas Jefferson built in Bedford to get away from the hustle and bustle at Monticello. Space is still available on the trips to Occoquan, Samson, and Lynchburg and Poplar Forest. For more details on these trips please contact Libby Riggle or Grace Gulick(338-8783). The group is self-supporting and donates all proceeds to mission projects of the congregation. We also want to thank some of our generous donors who have left anonymous gifts for the group to use. If you would like to learn from one of the members of the group, drop by while we are working Sunday. We generally stay until 2 pm.
A New Richmond Meal Ministry? A steering committee of representatives from Stuart Circle churches and other Richmond churches, as well as the Salvation Army, has been making progress toward establishing an evening meal ministry for those in need. The current focus is to secure commitments from churches to serve as meal sites. So far, four churches have committed to serving four days a week. Best guess estimates are that about 100 persons will partake in the meals each evening. At this point, the recommendation is that each church on the evening the meal is served will have prepared food and volunteers to serve it as well as the clean-up of the kitchen and dining area. The committee, which includes members of the Stuart Circle Parish Council, will continue to work on the various details of the meal ministry. It is time once again to update the church directory. If any of your information has changed in the past year - address, home phone number, cell phone number, email address - please call or email the correct information to the church office. Thank you. This is a clear opportunity for First English to serve those in our community. It is also very much a volunteer driven effort. While First English is probably not able to do meals on a weekly basis, a monthly basis or other less frequent basis is a possibility by coordinating with other churches. At this point, we need to get a better a sense of those at First English willing to volunteer. For those who remember when First English served meals at the Conrad Center, we have good experience with what it takes to serve 100 plus hungry persons. Funds will be needed for some of the meal supplies. Please contact Jeff Nelson (jeff289@comcast.net) with questions and if interested in volunteering. Save the Date! The annual church picnic will be at 12:00 noon on Sunday, June 5 th at Forest Hill Park.
staff in our Scherer Education Building right here at First English Lutheran Church. Circle Center Adult Day Services Forty years ago, First English Lutheran Church, along with other Stuart Circle Parish Churches (The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, St. John s United Church of Christ, Grace Covenant Presbyterian, and St. James s Episcopal), began to look at the needs of the elderly in their respective churches, their surrounding neighborhoods and the broader Richmond Metropolitan community. They noticed their elder members were no longer able to attend church, or if they did attend, they learned there were other issues that concerned those elderly: isolation, no family nearby, health, safety, and meals. The men and women of these churches did not just talk about the issues, they formed an alliance and came up with a plan to help Richmond s elderly population. Stuart Circle Center opened in 1976 with six participants and two Today, Circle Center Adult Day Services supports between 80 and 90 elders each day, providing care six days per week. Having out-grown First English accommodations as well as another interim facility, it is now located at 4900 West Marshall Street, across from Willow Lawn in a modern, handicapaccessible building. At this location, programs are designed to help with cognitive, physical, social and medical issues of the elderly, as well as support for their caregivers. In commemoration of this special anniversary, and as a way to reconnect with its founding churches, the Center is reaching out to us to seek special gifts through a campaign called Forty Dollars for Forty Years. Any gifts made to the Center can help programs in many ways, in particular the funding of scholarships to support needy participants that are financially challenged to attend a pay for services not for profit facility such as Circle Center Adult Day Services. More information on the campaign will be forthcoming. Circle Center is always seeking volunteer support to help with participant care, programs or other needs. It is also open for tours and all are invited to visit and see the Center that you helped build. You may contact the Center at 804-355-5717, or speak with Emmett Heltzel, at your convenience. Summer Choir rehearsals begin on Sunday, June 5 th at 9:30 am in the Sanctuary. Join in for one Sunday or all Sundays!
May Worship Assistants May 2016 May 8 7 th Sunday of Easter May 15 Day of Pentecost May 22 The Holy Trinity May 29 2 nd Sunday after Pentecost Altar Guild Jenna Hoke Jeff Hike Linda Wallace Billy Duke Jim Byerly Libby Riggle Peggy Davis Acolyte Cassidy Hoke Ellie Fenerty Gracie Hamilton Nate Fenerty Crucifer Caroline Heltzel Kirk Fenerty Jake Hamilton Molly McCue Reader 8:15 Kevin Murphy Maggie Southwell Marlene James Pat McAfee Reader 10:30 Deborah Hubbs Nicole Krause Chris Hamilton Debbie Lane Presentation of Julie Goodman Linda Smith Carol McCue Jim Byerly Gifts Counters Rob Comet Jennifer Gentry Carol McCue Rob Comet Ushers Betty Davidson Sheryl Finucane Jeff Nelson Joe Smith Linda Smith Hospitality Rebecca Stuart Lydia English Readings Acts 16:16-34 Rev 22:12-14,16-17,20-21 John 17:20-26 Kathy Massie Rob Comet Bill Fenerty Reni Gower Jim Byerly The Manzer Family Acts 2:1-21 Rom 8:14-17 John 14:8-17 Stuart Myer Bob Lane Debbie Lane Jim Byerly Mark Crumpton Gwen Newman Prov 8:1-4,22-31 Rom 5:1-5 John 16:12-15 Bill Fenerty Bill Davidson Roger Riggle Kirk Fenerty Stuart Myer 1 Kings 8:22-23,41-43;18:20-21 Gal 1:1-12 Luke 7:1-10 ** Please find a replacement when you cannot serve and notify the church office at 355-9185 as soon as possible. Thank you for your time and service to the Church.
First English Evangelical Lutheran Church May 2016 Let s Celebrate May with the Following Members of our Congregation Congratulations to Molly McCue who was recently elected State Chaplain for the Virginia Society, Children of the American Revolution. Molly is a member of the William Byrd Society. Happy Birthday to everyone celebrating a birthday in the month of May! If you are graduating from high school or college or know someone from our congregation who is, please let us know as soon as possible so that the names can be included in the June newsletter! Congratulations to all celebrating a Wedding Anniversary in May!
Sunday May 1 Sixth Sunday of Easter 8:15 am: Service of Holy Communion 9:15 am: Sunday School 9:30 am: Choir Rehearsal 10:30 am: Service of Holy Communion 11:30 am: Hospitality Congregational Life Wednesday May 4 Wednesdays Together 5:30 pm: Handbell Choir Rehearsal 6:00 pm: Dinner 6:45 pm: Choir Rehearsal Sunday May 8 Seventh Sunday of Easter Mother s Day 8:15 am: Service of Holy Communion 9:15 am: Sunday School 9:30 am: Choir Rehearsal 10:30 am: Service of Holy Communion 11:30 am: Hospitality Rebecca Stuart, Lydia English 12:00 pm: Congregational Life Committee Meeting Wednesday May 11 Wednesdays Together 5:30 pm: Handbell Choir Rehearsal 6:00 pm: Dinner 6:45 pm: Choir Rehearsal Friday May 13 12:00 pm: Women of the ELCA Sunday May 15 Day of Pentecost 8:15 am: Service of Holy Communion 9:15 am: Sunday School 9:30 am: Choir Rehearsal 9:45 am: Pentecost Celebration 10:30 am: Service of Holy Communion 11:30 am: Hospitality The Manzer Family 12:00 pm: Outreach Committee Meeting 12:00 pm: Soul Stitchers Tuesday May 17 Leisure Group Trip 7:00 pm: Congregational Council Meeting Wednesday May 18 Wednesdays Together 5:30 pm: Handbell Choir Rehearsal 6:00 pm: Dinner 6:45 pm: Choir Rehearsal Saturday May 21 9:00 am: Hike Humpback Rock Sunday May 22 The Holy Trinity 8:15 am: Service of Holy Communion 9:15 am: Sunday School 9:30 am: Choir Rehearsal 10:30 am: Service of Holy Communion 11:30 am: Hospitality Gwen Newman 12:00 pm: Worship & Music Committee Meeting Wednesday May 25 Wednesdays Together Last Wednesdays Together of the Season 5:30 pm: Handbell Choir Rehearsal 6:00 pm: Dinner 6:45 pm: Choir Rehearsal Sunday May 29 2 nd Sunday after Pentecost 8:15 am: Service of Holy Communion 9:15 am: Adult Sunday School 9:30 am: Choir Rehearsal 10:30 am: Service of Holy Communion 11:30 am: Hospitality Monday May 30 Memorial Day Church Office Closed
KID S PAGE