DECEMBER 2014 volume 7 number 3 What s INSIDE Welcoming, Inclusive, Joyful, Serving the Community. Thanksgiving Lutheran 1 Leadership Update 2 Who s Who 3 Group News 4 Financial News and Leadership Panel Update Well, thanks to all of you, we made it through our first month without Pastor Jean whew! We ve continued to offer uplifting weekly worship and have been inspired and encouraged by Supply Pastors Dave Miller and Tim Kellgren, and we had a productive Congregational Meeting on January 19: Worship Schedule 4 Stewards We appointed Karen Lehman to be our voting representative to the Synod Assembly, taking place in Sacramento in March. We elected an Audit Committee: Cindy Heiler, Lisa Bartlett, and Mary Thompson affered to serve in this capacity. We agreed to have Kathy Alexander, Sandy Koppen, Jan Thomas, and Jordan Eberly (whose Leadership Panel terms will be ending after 2018) ) be the nominating team which will identify and invite candidates for the 2019-2020 Leadership Panel for congregational vote at the November 2019 congregational meeting. Birthday Blessings This Month To: Michelle Higgs, Jim Lehman, Cindy Heiler, and Jan Loewen stepped forward to form a Communications Task Force to work on updating our website and bringing some coordination to our communication efforts. Katherine Zuest Sandy Koppen Deb Feronnato Georgia Nichols Mark Koppen George Land Verda Burr offered to assist Lisa Bartlett, Paul and Ingrid Feiertag, Jordan Eberly, and Dennis Higgs with Altar Guild duties Ten (10) members offered to help with refreshments and serve as attendants/greeters for the Gratitude Art Show happening February 10 and 11, 2018. The congregation gave the Leadership Panel a vote of confidence by approving the following motion: The Leadership Panel of TLC shall have full authority to negotiate sale and/or lease terms with the City of Santa Rosa or other entities. 2/3 2/3 2/6 2/7 2/11 2/16 The Leadership Panel continues to explore our next steps with our property. As shared at the Congregational Meeting, we are in the process of negotiating a possible sale of the property to the City of Santa Rosa, along with the possibility of being able lease back the building. We will also be meeting this month with our synod connections, Pastor Kathryn Gulbranson and Pastor Ron (Continued on page 5) February 2018 1 www.thanksgivinglutheran.org
volume 15 number 2 The next TLC Trumpet deadline will be Monday, February 22nd. All future deadlines will be the 22nd. Editor requests articles be no longer that 500 words. Please email submissions to: tlcsantarosa@sbcglobal.net Who s Who at TLC Officers President Sandy Koppen Vice President Jordan Eberly Secretary Mary Thompson Minister of Spiritual Formation and Expression Jan Thomas Minister of Welcome and Connections Jordan Eberly Minister of Campus Use and Maintenance Keith Becker Minister of Talents and Treasures Kathy Alexander Treasurer Jean Harrison Financial Secretary Astrid Anderson Coordinators Website Jim Lehman Sound Jim Lehman Community Garden Karen Lehman Women s Retreat Karen Lehman Men s Breakfast Hank Cornelssen Worship Music Jan Loewen and Sandy Koppen TLC Facebook Page Mary Weber Panel Member of the Week Feb 4 - Feb 10: Jan Loewen Feb 11 - Feb 17: Keith Becker Feb 18 - Feb 24: Jordan Eberly Feb 25 - March 3: Sandy Koppen Change in Office Hours: Due to Dorothy becoming a substitute teacher, her office hours will now be Monday or Tuesday and Friday or Saturday, from 9-3. The office will be closed until January 5th. Sunday morning worship at 9:30 with Holy Communion Thanksgiving Lutheran Church 1225 Fulton Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Email: tlcsantarosa@sbcglobal.net On the web: www.thanksgivinglutheran.org Facebook: Thanksgiving Lutheran Church in Santa Rosa Please think of us before you shop online it s free to you and valuable to us. For Amazon Smile: 1. Sign into smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone 2. Go to Your Account and select Thanksgiving Lutheran as your charitable organization. For escrip: 1. Enroll with www.escrip.com 2. Click on the Online Mall logo 3. Shop at your favorite brand name stores and automatically donate to TLC! Make your shopping count for TLC. And don t forget every time you use Good Search as your search engine you earn money for TLC. Every little bit helps! Reconciling in Christ TLC is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, which means we believe that God celebrates diversity in all of creation, loves us all unconditionally, and intends that all persons be valued. We welcome and accept all people regardless of their cultural or ethnic background, physical or mental abilities, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, marital status, gender, or age. God loves us exactly as we are. www.thanksgivinglutheran.org 2 February 2018
volume 15 number 2 Bible Art Journaling led by Michelle Higgs C ome and experience God s word in a creative, fun, expressive, no rules kind of way. Bible art journaling is where you read the assigned scripture and express in your journaling bible, art journal, or just a piece of paper what it means to you. If you would like to participate in bible art journaling, please bring any art supplies you would like. Please also bring something to draw in. This could be an art journal or just loose paper. If you don t want to take the time to do some page prep (explanation during event), make sure your journal or paper is thicker/heavier paper. This could be journals made for mixed media or acrylics. Watercolor paper would work but it is a little thick. If you would like to use a bible for journaling, I would suggest a bible journaling bible. Our sessions this month are February 8th and 22nd at 7pm. Come and check it out! T he TLC Book Group will be meeting on Monday, February 26th, 7:00 PM at Jean Flak s house. If date, time, or place changes are needed, an email will be sent out. Please join us for our discussion. We will also bring along ideas for books to read in 2018. Bunco Day! Bunco, which is a monthly fundraiser for our Capital Fundraiser Drive, will be held on the 3 rd Saturday of each month. The doors open at 1:30, and the fun begins at 2 p.m. $10 per person, including light refreshments. Invite your friends, neighbors and relatives to join in the more the merrier and the greater the prizes and the sum for the Fund! If you can, please bring cookies and an item to raffle. The next game will be February 17. We will meet at 9am at the village Café in the Raley s Shopping Center at Fulton/Guerneville on February 24th. If you don t regularly attend, let Hank Cornelssen know ahead as he calls the Café to let them know how many to set up for. (707) 528-6535. Come join the wild conversations! February 2018 3 www.thanksgivinglutheran.org
volume 15 number 2 Gifts to Others As of the end of the year TLCers gave a grand total of $4,119.19 to the following worthy causes: ELCA Disaster Relief $110 ELCA Good Gifts T. Elsie the cow $323.19 that s nearly two -thirds of her! ELCA Good Gifts numerous other items $1,177.00 ELCA Immigration $60 FISH $480 Homeless with Pets $444.09 Local Fire Assistance $280.00 Lutheran Social Services of Northern CA $150 Reconciling Works $90 Rwanda School Project $970 Susan Stephens headstone $225 Finance Update We finished the year with another deficit month. That means we had a deficit every month in 2017. In December expenses were $15,876.85 while income was only $12,072.88. That's a $3,802.97 deficit. Total income for 2017 was $122,873.37 while expenses ran $163,882.73. The deficit was $41,009.36 which on average is $3,417.45 per month or $854.36 per week. The total mortgage payments in 2017 were $60,252. Capital Campaign funds covered some of the deficit but only the portion of mortgage payment that went towards principal. The situation should improve some in 2018. Please keep this in your thoughts and prayers. Worship in February February 4 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Capital Fund This designated fund can only be used to pay mortgage principal. As of 1/20/17 there is $44,708.02 in it. Donations continue to arrive for this fund, including the proceeds from Bunco. If you wish to give to this fund please be sure to make a note on your check or envelope. If you have any ideas for fundraisers please speak with one of the Leadership Panel. Scriptures: Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalm 147:1-11, 20c, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, Mark 1:29-39 Preaching and Presiding: Rev. Dave Miller Music Leader: Classic Band February 11 Transfiguration Co- Scriptures: 2 Kings 2:1-12, Psalm 50:1-6, 2 rinthians 4:3-6, Mark 9:2-9 Preaching and Presiding: Rev. Dave Miller Music Leader: The Band February 14 Ash Wednesday Scriptures: Isiah 58:9-12, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 February 18 First Sunday in Lent Scriptures: Genesis 9:8-17, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15 Preaching and Presiding: Rev. Dave Miller Music Leader: Leilani Wicklund February 25 Second Sunday in Lent Scriptures: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Psalm 22:23-31, Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38 Preaching and Presiding: Lay-led service; Paul Feiertag presiding at Communion. Music Leader: The Band www.thanksgivinglutheran.org 4 February 2018
volume 15 number 2 The Relationship Between a Congregation and Their Departing Pastor The ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod Call Process Manual lays out a number of guidelines for the relationship between a departing Pastor and the congregation. As part of the transition process, the Leadership Panel and Pastor Jean even had to sign a Letter of Agreement clarifying Pastor Jean s role in relationship to the congregation. Some of these guidelines may strike you as rather harsh! However, like many policies that are put in place in other arenas of life, these guidelines have grown out of past Synod experience. Because we want everyone to be aware of some important issues related to the transition between pastors, we ask you to read this carefully. The Leadership Panel and Pastor Jean have agreed to the following, and seek your cooperation, regarding the positive future relationships among us: We will do everything possible to uphold the mission of the Church and the positive quality of life in this congregation. We will recognize the need for time to adjust to the new relationships, and will reach out in care and compassion to one another. We will honor Pastor Jean s departure, allowing her to relinquish her duties fully; we will honor the arrival of our next pastor by seeking their counsel and ministry. We are aware that conducting pastoral acts (such as baptism, weddings, funerals, confirmations, communions) and defining ministry programs and leadership styles are no longer the prerogative of the departing pastor, but belong to the arriving pastor along with the Leadership Panel and congregation. While we recognize that we will continue to care about Pastor Jean, we will not expect nor invite her to participate in congregational life, with the possible exception of special congregational anniversaries or observations. The nature of the relationship between pastor and people often gets translated as the pastor being a friend. The reality is that while the pastor may indeed have been very friendly, the professional pastoral relationship is not one of friendship. Experience across the Church has shown that continuing relationships with former pastors is very positive when the above things are kept in mind. While the Leadership Panel certainly doesn t expect any problems in these areas, we thought it important to share these expectations. We love Pastor Jean we ll keep her in our prayers, and TLC undoubtedly remains in her heart as well but we also want to respect her new retired status and be ready to embrace the leadership of our next pastor. Thank you for your cooperation! Leadership Panel Update, continued Zoesch, to discuss next steps with regard to the Call Process and the possibilities for an Interim Pastor. At press time, we have no further news in these areas but we will certainly keep you posted as we move forward! In closing, we hope you will join us in offering the following prayer frequently!: Loving God, be with us and guide us during this time of discernment. Fill our leaders with your wisdom. Keep us mindful of the work you would have us do. Lead us and guide us, O God, to be about the work of establishing your reign here on earth as the search for a new pastor continues. Bless all who have taken on extra responsibilities, and fill them with a sense of your love and presence. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Thanking All Stewards Feb. 4 5th Sunday After Epiphany Assisting: Cindy Heiller Bread: Dennis Higgs Greeter: Verda Burr Reader: Astrid Anderson Dog Treats: Dennis Higgs Ushers: Cindy Heiller Refreshments: Cindy Heiller Trash Cans: Randy Easterling Flowers: Jan Loewen Tellers: Sandy Koppen & Gloria Feiertag Feb. 11 Transfiguration Assisting: Cindy Heiller Bread: Dennis Higgs Greeter: Lisa Bartlett Reader: Gloria Feiertag Ushers: Vera Burr Refreshments: Michelle Higgs Trash Cans: Randy Easterling Flowers: Tellers: Astrid Anderson & Cindy Heiller Feb. 13 Ash Wednesday Feb. 18 1st Sunday of Lent Assisting: Ingrid Feiertag Bread: Verda Burr Greeter: Gloria Feiertag Reader: Paul Feiertag Dog Treats: Cindy Heiller Ushers: Cathy Estes & Lynn Cornelssen Refreshments: Bruce and Kathy Alexander Trash Cans: Jan Loewen & Sandy Koppen Flowers: Marilyn Schuler Tellers: Lisa Bartlett & Paul Feiertag Feb. 25 2nd Sunday of Lent Assisting: Bread: Dennis Higgs Greeter: Reader: Verda Burr Dog Treats: Dennis Higgs Ushers: Marilyn Schuler Refreshments: Lynn Cornelssen Trash Cans: Jan Loewen & Sandy Koppen Flowers: Verda Burr Tellers: Keith Becker & Lynn Cornelssen February 2018 5 www.thanksgivinglutheran.org
volume 15 number 2 Thanksgiving Lutheran Church 1225 Fulton Rd. Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Www.thanksgivinglutheran.org First Std U.S. Postage PAID City, ST Permit # 000 volume 14 number 12 Headline text to go here www.thanksgivinglutheran.org 6 February 2018