The mission of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church is to celebrate and proclaim to all the saving grace of Jesus Christ through word and deed. JULY 2010 THE LUTHERAN VISITOR it is now officially summer, heat and all, the time for vacations and family reunions, halfway through 2010. It is also the month of The 4th, Independence Day, 13 Colonies vs. the British, liberty, freedom ah, that s what the day is about FREEDOM! The 4th of July is about freedom: from foreign rule, from taxation without representation. It is mostly remembered as freedom from. But if we are freed from by the events surrounding July 4, 1776, what are we freed for 234 years later? Scripture tells us that whatever our politics, you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. (Galatians 5:13). In Christ, we are freed from sin, death, and the power of the devil, and we are freed for loving service. Opportunities may still abound to complain and gripe, but in Christ we are released from the need to do so. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. (Galatians 5:14-15) Inside this issue: Farewell to Interim Pastor 2 A Festival Of Faith 3 Thank You from Courtney Cross 4 Volunteers 5 Calendar 6 As we look forward to celebrating July 4th and our political freedoms, may God also give us vision to see opportunities for living the spiritual freedom which is God s gift to us through Jesus Christ. May we build one another up so God s kingdom may come and His will be done even among us. As we celebrate our political freedoms with parades, fireworks, and the like, let us also celebrate our spiritual freedom by worship in the living presence of God as He comes to us in Word and Sacrament. Pastor Brian
A great big thank you goes out to all who helped make the " Meet and Greet" for Pastor Obermueller a big success. A special thank you for those who made phone calls, set the tables, prepared the food and pitched in to clean up. It certainly showed the combined spirit of our congregation. God bless you, Bernadette Wellman With the pending arrival of Pastor Jen Obermueller, the Rev. Brian Nunnally will be resigning his position as Interim Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church. However, he is not only leaving us but Pastor Brian and Merrie will also be leaving Christ the King Lutheran Church and Huntington. On June 27 Pastor Brian received and accepted a Letter of Call to serve as pastor of Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, West Alexandria, Ohio. Salem Church is of a size similar to St. Paul Church with similar programs. His last Sunday at Christ the King Church will be July 11. That will most likely also be the last Sunday he will lead worship at St. Paul Church. Arrangements are pending for a possible reception/luncheon on July 18 to bid farewell to the Rev. Brian and Merrie Nunnally while welcoming Pastor Jen and Andy Obermueller. After moving at the end of July, the Nunnally s new address will be: The Rev. Brian and Merrie Nunnally 40 South Main Street West Alexandria, OH 45381 E-mail: bkn179@yahoo.com or merrienunnally@yahoo.com The Sanctuary Lamp for July is placed to the Glory of God and in honor of Pastor Brian Nunnally and his wife, Merrie by Ernest and Helen Golder The Southside Neighborhood Organization extends a very special thanks to St. Paul Lutheran Church for letting us use the parking area for our cleanup Saturday, June 5. Thanks also the Leader of Girl Scout Troop #3822 for their help in cleaning up areas around the church; members: Doug, Susan, Kathleen and Emma Korstanje and Isabelle for supplying bottled water. Our sincere thanks to all who volunteered with a special thanks to Susan Kelz and Creig Moore for their extra help. Carolyn Becker You can never do a kindness to soon because you never know how soon it will be too late. WHY GO LUTHERAN? Are you, or someone you know, searching for a college or university to attend? If so, check out the new video Why Go Lutheran? and its Web site www.whygolutheran.com. The three minute video is not your typical recruiting film. It s a clever animation that lays out all the reasons why a student should go Lutheran. Page 2
A FESTIVAL OF FAITH is a unique opportunity for members and friends of the West Virginia Western Maryland Synod- ELCA to gather for a day of fellowship, worship and learning. September 25, we will begin the day at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Clarksburg, WV, with Opening Devotions and a powerful keynote by Pastor Stephen Bouman, Executive Director, Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit-ELCA. Workshops on a variety of topics will be offered to help us grow in our discipleship. In between, we will enjoy a delicious lunch. At 2:00, we will join together for an inspirational worship service led by Bishop Dunkin. Plan now to join us for a day of fellowship, inspiration, and growth in discipleship. Registrations will open July 1, 2010. The $10 registration fee includes lunch. Checks may be made payable to WV- WMD Synod-ELCA. To register, send your name, mailing address, phone number, and email address to: Festival of Faith c/o Helen Harms 2 Laurel Avenue Wheeling, WV 26003 Friends in Christ, On behalf of all my family, I would like to thank all of you who expressed their sympathy for us by their words of encouragement, cards, flowers and food prepared during our time of grieving. It certainly made this all a little easier to accept. God Bless you, Bernadette Wellman The Lamp for the Muhlenberg Chapel for July is placed to the Glory of God by the Quilters A Loss in Our Church Family Our Christian Love and Sympathy to Al Hess and family on the death of his wife, Lois on June 6, 2010. The committal service for Lois was held June18 at First Presbyterian Church Columbarium. Look with Love on Your people who mourn. Linda Adams, Clark Andrews, Andrew Barham, LaDonna Hay Beckett, Olivia Burge, Susan Clark, Kris Maeland, Joseph Williams, Hope Wooten, Ryan and her family, all victims of natural disasters, those involved in disaster relief, military and civilians overseas, our church council, call committee and the congregations of our Synod. Please notify the church office if a name needs to be added or removed from this list. Page 3
SONlight Cinema July 28 and 29, 2010 6:00 8:30 pm First United Methodist Church Preschool 5th Grade Sheets for information, registering, and volunteering are in the narthex Contact Jeannie Riley for additional information July 30-August 1, 2010 St. Mark s Lutheran Church Clarksburg, WV Registration Forms: www.wv-wmdlyo.com Cost: $25 before July 10 $40 after July 11 Who s Eligible: Youth who have just completed grades 7 through 12 What s Happening: Service projects on Saturday morning; lunch at Veterans Park with swimming, games, etc. Election of LYO Officers for 2010-2011 Concert by Hip Hop performer AGAPE at 7:00 pm Saturday evening Youth-printed worship Sunday morning Dear St. Paul Members, I am writing on behalf of the entire student body, faculty and staff of Southside E.S. to offer our thanks and sincere appreciation for allowing our library to be housed in your beautiful church for the past 3 years. Every nook was filled at Miller, so it was only because of your cooperation that we were able to have a library at all while we were housed in the Miller building. My class enjoyed our little field trip to the library each week. I will miss our trek to the library, but the walk from my room to our new library is nearly as long and that is no exaggeration! I loved Miller, but the new school is wonderful too. It s new and very clean and bright. Thanks again for allowing us to use such a nice space. It worked very well for our school. Please come by if you d like to see the new school. Sincerely, Courtney Cross JULY 2010 4 Independence Day Synod Office Closed 10 Synod Council meets at synod office 30 Aug 1 LYO Convention Page 4
Our Thanks and Praise to the July Volunteers July 4 July 11 July 18 July 25 Acolyte Jon Anderson- Cain Ethan Arneson Trey Bell Zakare Garnett Sacristan Jon Anderson- Cain Ryan Vickers Jon Anderson- Cain Emily Conzett Assisting Steve Golder Ron Pease Mary Lou Fricke Rick Wilson Communion Deacon Bill Korstanje Wilma Anderson Ron Pease Gene Pofahl Altar Flowers Linda Pleasants Kathy Rea Tom and Sally Pettit Susan Kelz Nursery Doug and Susan Terri White Debbie and Sally Pettit Korstanje Elizabeth Arentz Ushers: Keith Wellman, Bernadette Wellman, Andrew Wellman and David Stuart Altar Guild: Creigh Pemberton and Linda Hay Cridlin Food Pantry 48 cans chicken noodle soup Page 5
July 2010 Celebrating Birthdays Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9:30 am Worship Service with Holy Communion 1 2 3 Ambler, Pa Youth Group Visit 4 Fourth Holiday 5 Mark Riley Church Office Closed 6 Kathleen Korstanje Owen Murray 7 Allison Miller 8 Sid Clark 7:00 pm 9 William Jones Health Wade 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Kristina Price Alexavier Barham Bobbie Chambers Stephanie Garnett Katy Pettit 18 Wilma Anderson 19 Deadline for newsletter information 20 21 Stephen Golder 22 Emma Korstanje 23 24 Robert Winterhoff 25 David Korstanje 26 27 Anders Lindberg 28 V.B.S. 6:00-8:30 pm Elinor Aurand Trey Bell William Korstanje 29 V.B.S. 30 31 Ethan Arneson St. Paul Lutheran Church 721-12th Avenue Huntington, WV 25701 Phone: 304-525-9630 Fax:304-781-2274 E-mail: stpchurch@verizon.net Website: stpaulhuntington.org