The Epiphany Star May 2015 Newsletter of Epiphany Lutheran Church Fort Wayne, Indiana Dear Epiphany Lutheran Church, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen. On May 17, we will have our Annual Congregational Meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. There will be the usual breakfast food to draw us in and gather us around the table with family and friends. There will also be the usual reports from the Secretary of the Church Council, the Treasurer, and our various committees. There will be opportunities for everyone to voice their opinion on a variety of subjects. Each year, your church council presents a budget for the coming year that supports the mission and ministry of our faith community. For some of the members of our congregation, it really doesn t matter what kind of budget is presented as they attend weekly worship and attend the congregational meetings. For others, the budget reflects a real desire to support the mission and ministry of our congregation. As a faith community, Epiphany Lutheran Church has a very rich tradition of reaching out beyond the four walls of our church facility into the community of Fort Wayne and beyond. I, for one, am very thankful for the mission and ministry we do collectively. While we may not be one of the largest congregations in the Fort Wayne area, we certainly share of our Time, Talents, and Treasures with a number of people. There are some changes that will be coming to our faith community over the next several months. If you have been attending the quarterly congregational meetings, then you know that we are in the process of making some amendments to the Epiphany Lutheran Church constitution and adding to our outreach with a daycare called Bullfrogs and Butterflies Daycare Ministries. Periodically, as a congregation, we need to make amendments and changes in our constitution to better reflect our faith community and to make changes to the constitution that are required by the ELCA and the Indiana/Kentucky Synod governing bodies. It is a long process, as there are procedures that need to be followed to make those changes. The first one is that the changes have to be written, read at a regularly called 1
congregational meeting, voted on, read and voted on again at a congregational meeting, then submitted to the Indiana/Kentucky Synod for its approval, and then read again to the congregation at a called congregational meeting. It is after all of these procedures that the changes then become part of our constitution. Why is it so difficult to make constitutional changes? It is to help prevent changes that may cause us problems in the long term. The checks and balances system is to be a help and to allow us to make changes for the better in our life together. Over the past several months and at least two quarterly congregational meetings, there has been discussion about starting a new daycare for infants through school age here at Epiphany. Megan and Steven Behm will be the directors of the new ministry. They have been busy working on all of the required paperwork to be licensed by the State of Indiana to be a licensed daycare facility. It is a very detailed process that has a number of checks and balances in making sure that the childcare providers meet certain standards and the facility meets certain standards. It is an opportunity for young families to come into our building and be provided with a wholesome and healthy daycare program. It will also mean that we will have to undergo some changes in the use of our facilities. We will have to work together. It also means that our facilities will be being used at least six days a week all year long. So what does all of this mean for Epiphany Lutheran Church? It means that we are trying some new ministries. It means that we doing some things that may cause us to feel uncomfortable for a while because it will be strange and different which isn t always a negative. It means that all of us should be praying to God for guidance and discernment as we venture into new ministries. God can use each of us to shape these new ministries and make a difference in the lives of others as well as in our own. I look forward to the mission and ministry that God is calling each of us to be a part of here at Epiphany Lutheran Church. I am thankful that we have this new opportunity to make a difference in people s lives. Together, we can reflect that we are the Body of Christ located at 6606 Maplecrest Road, Fort Wayne, IN. Let us go into our community showing God s love in all that we do. In Christ, Pastor Richard Hartman 2
We are Christians, called by God, committed to: Sharing the Gospel, Serving others as Christ taught us, and Creating disciples for witness. Epiphany Lutheran Church s Vision Statement: A Christian family of God committed to sharing the Gospel and serving others, through joyful worship, education and fellowship. Please feel free to stop in or call for any of your Pastoral needs. Our office hours are as follows: Pastor: Sunday - Thursday 8:00 am - 2:30 pm Monday and Wednesday evenings Some Saturdays Amanda: Tuesday & Thursday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Wednesday 12:00-6:00 pm Other times as needed* Due to unexpected circumstances, these hours may be subject to change. *Hours through May 8 th ; summer hours will be different, so please watch for more information coming soon! E-mail Us: Pastor s office... pastor@epiphanyfw.com Pastor s home... rlhart49@frontier.com Amanda s office... amanda@epiphanyfw.com WEB SITE: Epiphany Lutheran Church www.epiphanyfw.com 3
Annual Congregational Breakfast Meeting We will be having our annual congregational meeting on Sunday, May 17 th, at 9:00 am. There are a number of things on the agenda, including some constitutional issues, so please plan to attend and be a part of the decisions made here at Epiphany! Breakfast will be served menu information will be coming soon. If you plan to attend, please sign up on the sheet outside Amanda s office. Hope to see you there! Epiphany recently signed up with Kroger s Community Rewards program, and we just received our first quarterly earnings statement. So far, this program has brought in $425 for our church! If you have a Kroger Plus card, you can enroll in the program, and a portion of your purchases will come back to Epiphany! Just go to krogercommunityrewards.com, create an account and register your card, and assign Epiphany as your organization (you ll need our ID number, which is 10348). See Amanda if you have questions. Thank you for taking this easy step to help our church! We have several changes to our church directory. Please note these in your directory at home. Dan & Wyatt Mueller (rejoined) Marceile Teeple (moved) (260) 209-2112 Auguste s Cottage Room 115 danielmueller8102@comcast.net Coventry Meadows Address coming soon! 7843 W. Jefferson Blvd Fort Wayne, IN 46804 The Behms (moved) 4439 Trierwood Dr Fort Wayne, IN 46815 (260) 755-2030 Lois Markoff (moved) 2002 Heritage Park Dr Apt. #1 Fort Wayne, IN 46805 4
Join us for Worship this month! Every Sunday at 8:00 am and 10:15 am Every Monday at 7:00 pm Sunday School & Confirmation Classes at 9:00 am on Sunday (September-April) Please join us! May 3 rd 5 th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:26-40 1 John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 May 10 th 6 th Sunday of Easter Acts 10:44-48 1 John 5:1-6 John 15:9-17 May 17 th Ascension Sunday Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53 The Saturday morning Men s Bible Study will continue their study out of the book The Man In The Mirror. We will meet Saturday, May 9 th at 7:00 am for breakfast and the Word. Please join us - all are welcome! May 24 th Day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-21 Romans 8:22-27 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 May 31 st The Holy Trinity Isaiah 6:1-8 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17 5
Mission Moment May 2015 This month, we are continuing our collection of items for the Baby Layettes and the Health Kits. There are lists of the items needed on the following page and on the table in the narthex. Some of these items may be found at garage sales or during your spring cleaning. These kits are a blessing to the families that receive them. The donation of t-shirts, which will be used to make diapers, is going well. The Layettes include baby blankets and sweaters. If any of you are interested in either knitting or crocheting any of these items, we have yarn in the Mission Room. Please see me and I will take you back there to pick some out to use. This month is the city-wide food drive by our postal workers, and while 100 s of pounds of food will be collected, this will only last for a few months. We have the blue barrel out in the gathering area for a continuing collection of food items which will be delivered to Associated Churches. Your donations to the troops have been picked up and are on the way to bring a little bit of home to our soldiers overseas. We are now working with the group HOOSIERS FOR HEROES; they will update us on changes in needs, and they will make monthly pickups when contacted. There is a brochure about them as well as an updated list on the table by the red bin. Thank you for your generosity you have been a blessing to so many people. Written by Sandi Swanson 6
Quilts Comfort Ye My People Our quilting group will meet on Sunday, May 10 th, at 9 am. We have been making great progress so far this year! Please consider joining us this month, and help us to be a blessing to others around the world! Thank you so much for contributing to our Lutheran World Relief missions! Here is a list of items that we are most in need of at this time if you happen upon a sale or are doing spring cleaning! Items in italics are most desperately needed. Please help us meet our ambitious goal for this year! Bath towels Combs Nail clippers Gentle bath-size bar soap Toothbrushes Diaper pins Cloth diapers (medium/large) Flannel baby blankets* Footless sleepers/gowns* Hand towels Baby hats* Socks Sweaters* (up to 2T) T-shirts* (up to 2T) Large baby blankets or afghans* Adult t-shirts* (size large and up) to be made into diapers Blankets* (full or queen) Mattress Pads* Flat Sheets* (full or queen) *Items can be new or gently used. 7
Angels Among Us! We have members of our congregation who do many things behind the scenes, and we want to take the time to recognize just a few of them in this month s newsletter. Thank you, Angels! Seder Meal was prepared to enhance Holy Week worship Easter Breakfast was cooked and enjoyed by many Worship Assistants made Holy Week services meaningful Heifer International received over $500 from the congregation Emergency Lights were installed where needed Donations were sent to members of the armed services College Care Packages helped our students during finals Meals on Wheels received $170, bringing donations to $4,800 Faithful for Fifty continued to improve the line of credit Summer Camp Information Summer camp information will be going home soon to youth and their parents. The dates for confirmation camp this year are June 14 th -19 th at Lake Luther. If you are interested, please see Pastor or Amanda for more information, as we will register as a group. You can also check out www.lomik.org if you are interested in other summer camping opportunities. Please plan to join us for a fun-filled week! Epiphany Softball 2015 Anyone who is interested in playing softball for Epiphany this summer should see Jim as soon as possible. Our first game is fast approaching, and we would love to have you join us as a player or a fan! Due to changes in the league, games will now be on Monday evenings at Kreager Park. We will be playing May 4 th at 8 pm, May 11 th at 9 pm, and May 18 th at 7 pm. Please come out and join us we have lots of fun! 8
May Baptismal Birthdays Corey Sean Rumfield Samantha Williams Cheryl Ralston Awa Behm Samuel Behm Rachael Pickett Jim Robert Lohman Happy birthday to those who celebrate their second birthday during the month of May! Martin Luther said, When you wash your face remember your baptism. Take time to remember and celebrate this month! The Youth are scheduled to meet on Sunday, May 10 th, after the 10:15 am worship service. We also hope to do a service project during the month of May watch for more information coming soon. All youth are always welcome to join us! Help Stamp Out Hunger Saturday, May 9 th, is the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and benefitting the Associated Churches Food Banks. Volunteers are needed at the Northwood Plaza Post Office in the afternoon that day to help unload and sort items as they are brought in. If you would like to be involved, just meet behind the post office anytime between 12:00 and 4:00 pm that day, and someone will put you to work! Youth group members may be going as group watch for more information coming soon. Even if you can t volunteer that day, be sure to leave your non-perishable food donations near your mailbox in the bag provided by your mail carrier, and help our local food banks stock their shelves for the summer months! Thanks! 9
May 3 rd May 10 th May 17 th May 24 th May 31 st WOV Setting 5 HS 1991 Now the Feast LBW Setting II Feast of Life (Janzow) LBW Setting II Organist/ Pianist Sara Amanda Pickett Sara Amanda Pickett Sara Assisting Minister Rebecca Hartman Alicia Dia Herb Jim Jane Dawkins Lector 8:00 am Cheryl Ralston Anne Lohman Kurt Unrue Deb Crawford Sue Johnson Lector 10:15 am Alicia David Dawkins Karen Payne Mike Rumfield Sue Acolyte Robert Lohman Mason McKenna Jacob Flennery Kristen / Rachael Pickett Zoey Osheskie Communion Assistant 8:00 am Devin Meunier Tammy Aschliman Richard Lee Connie York Kurt Unrue Communion Assistant 10:15 am Dave Black Molly Cathy Rumfield Becky Roemer David Dawkins Altar Guild need need need Jane Dawkins need Greeter(s) Dawkins Family Kay Evans The Khoulis Pickett Family The Roemers Capt. Bill Williams Ron Roemer Marisa Williams Mike Rumfield 10