THE TOWER St. Luke s Lutheran Church Growing in Grace September 2018 Volume 11 ISSUE 9 OUR MISSION To worship, learn and grow together in the knowledge of God and His Word. We are then sent into the world to share God s love, teach His Word, and serve those in need. Pg. 1 Rally Day, 5th Sunday Bash, 11:15 Worship Pg. 2 Pastor Robyn s Page Pg. 3 Calendar of Events, Altar Flowers Pg. 4 Children s Ministries, Young Adult, Sunday Scholl Teachers, Tour of the Bible Pg. 5 High School, Middle School Pg. 6 Siggi s Lunch Bunch, Health Ministry, Thank You Pg. 7 Getting Involved, Library, Ministry Teams, Mailboxes Pg. 8 Birthday/ Anniversary Pg. 9 Summer at a Glance Pg. 10 What I did over the summer Pg. 11 Worship Stewards RALLY DAY! TEACHER & BACKPACK BLESSINGS SEPTEMBER 9TH! SUNDAY SCHOOL STARTS AT 9:45 Bring your backpacks to our GiG worship service at 10:00 and kick start a great new school year! Be sure to register your children for Sunday school. For details, reach out to Abby Holmblad. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL! From Kindergarten through 12th Grade, and beyond, we wish you well and pray for a great school year! 5TH SUNDAY BASH TAILGATE PARTY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH WORSHIP AT 10:00 FELLOWSHIP MEAL FOLLOWS IMMEDIATELY AFTER WORSHIP. BRING YOUR FAVORITE TAILGATING DISH AND WEAR YOUR FAVORITE TEAM! (College or professional teams are both welcome) Sign up sheets available starting September 2nd. 11:15 WORSHIP RETURNS AUGUST 26TH! Join us! We re Saving a Seat For YOU! St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 1
Greetings friends in Christ! As the school year gets ready to start up again I ve noticed a lot being shared about how to encourage kids to be welcoming to others in the classroom and how to make sure all kids get included. We want to encourage our youth to make sure that they are welcoming and kind to those who they meet, whether or not they look like them, whether or not they act like them, we encourage kids to be open to the other students. I think that this is an important message that extends beyond the classroom to the church. Romans 15:7 reads: Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. How do we welcome one another as the body of Christ? When you see we have a guest with us on a Sunday morning how do you greet them? It doesn t even have to be a guest, it can just be someone you haven t met yet. Part of being church means to offer extravagant and warm welcome, not just to our friends, but to guests who may or may not look or act like us. If we are honest it takes a lot of courage to attend a church for the first time. You are walking into a building where a majority of the people gathered are familiar with the layout, the routines, the location of important areas, and who know each other. That can be an incredibly intimidating setting to enter into and so when we see someone who is possibly attending for the first time, we have a Christian duty to go out of our way to make sure they know that they are welcome and to offer them a potential guide through all of the unique habits of our congregation. It can help visitors to have a veteran of the church sit with them during the service to help them navigate the bulletin, hymnals, or routine of that service. Inviting them to sit with you at our coffee hour or to any of our upcoming events will let them know that they are welcome to be with us outside of Sunday morning worship. Remember, I can t always make it to greet every visitor who comes into the building. Guests need to know they are cared about by the entire body of the congregation, not just the paid staff. What if you have noticed a repeat guest and haven t said hi to them yet? Go over and introduce yourself and offer to sit with them or just get to know them. Please don t assume someone else has already greeted them or made them feel welcome, that might not be the case. Always err on the side of grace and hospitality and introduce yourself. If they ve met others in the congregation they simply have the pleasure of knowing one more person. But if they haven t met anyone yet, your kindness could be the way they recognize that there is a place for them here. I know one of the favorite reasons people give for not introducing themselves is that you are afraid they have been a long time member of the church and you just don t know them and you don t want to offend them. Do not be afraid of introducing yourself to someone who has been here. You don t have to start a conversation off with Welcome to St. Luke s. You could simply say: I don t believe we ve met and then ask about them. There is no harm in meeting a new brother or sister in Christ whether or not they are a guest or a long time attendee. There s also a nice rule of thumb called The rule of three. Simply it is asking that you do not talk to other members for the first three minutes after the service has concluded. Talk only to those you don t know or people you know are guests. It takes guests about three minutes to exit the church after worship and we want to make sure someone has made contact with them before they leave. Finally, above all, remember that welcoming is not about getting new members. Welcoming is about making sure the people who visit St. Luke s understand the welcome that we have from Christ through the welcome they receive from us. Blessings, St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 2
Sept 1 Sept 2 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 8:30 & 11:15 Traditional Worship W/ Communion 9:30 Coffee Fellowship 10:00 GiG Praise Worship (No Cardio Drumming) Sept 3 HAPPY LABOR DAY!!! (No God Works Today) (No Comforters) Sept 4 Sept 5 9:30 Play & Learn Orientation 11:30 Play & Learn Orientation Sept 6 9:30 Play & Learn Orientation 1:30 Fierce Bible Study 7:30 AA/Al Anon Sept 7 Sept 8 Sept 9 8:30 & 11:15 Service of the Word 9:30 Coffee Fellowship 9:45 SUNDAY SCHOOL! WELCOME BACK STUDENTS! 10:00 GiG Praise Worship w/ communion Sept 10 (Play & Learn Back in Session) 10:00 Comforters 6:00 God Works! Meal Sept 11 7:00 HAM Radio Group 7:00 Ministry Teams 8:00 Executive Committee Meeting Sept 12 10:00 Luther Haus Bible Study Sept 13 7:30 AA/ Al Anon Sept 14 Sept 15 Sept 16 8:30 & 11:15 Traditional Worship W/ communion 9:30 Coffee Fellowship 9:45 Sunday School 10:00 GiG Praise Worship 12:30 LYO Kick Off Meeting Sept 17 10:00 Comforters 6:00 God Works! Meal Sept 18 6:30 Church Council 7:00 Play & Learn Board Meeting Sept 19 Sept 20 7:30 AA/Al Anon Sept 21 Sept 22 2:00 CPR CLASS Sept 23 8:30 & 11:15 Traditional Worship W/ Communion 9:30 Coffee Hour/Blood Pressure Schreiber 50th Cake Reception 9:45 Sunday School 10:00 GiG Praise Worship 12:30 LYO Fun Event Sept 24 10:00 Comforters 6:00 God Works! Sept 25 Sept 26 10:00 Luther Haus Bible Study 11:00 Luther Haus Communion Sept 27 7:30 AA/Al Anon Sept 28 Sept 29 Sept 30 10:00 5TH SUNDAY BASH! 11:30 5TH SU NDAY BASH MEAL ******************************* ALTAR FLOWERS September 2nd In honor of Bob Cook s Birthday September 9th In celebration of: Chuck & Cindy Jackson s 38th Wedding Anniversary, Jim & Cathy Bell s 40th Anniversary, Gary & Marcia Folger s 55th Anniversary. September 16th In celebration of: Jake & Ann Myer s 68 Wedding Anniversary, Chet & Sharon Tipping s 58th Anniversary September 23rd In Celebration of: Chuck & Judy Schreiber s 50th Anniversary, Erin & Jamie Beard s 15th Anniversary. September 30th In Honor of: David Hively s Birthday, Cindy Jackson s birthday, Mark & Laura Bourn s 12th Anniversary St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 3
CHILDRENS MINISTRIES YOUNG ADULT MINISTRIES SUNDAY SCHOOL RALLY DAY starts September 9 at 9:45 am with Rally Day! You can register your child(ren) online at https://goo.gl/ forms/zct9s6axdottqmpl2 or go to the link on our Facebook page. BLESSING OF BACKPACKS AND TEACHERS Students should bring their backpacks to worship on September 9 for a blessing. We will bless backpacks at all three services. Sunday school teachers will also receive a blessing that day at GiG. 5th SUNDAY BASH SUNDAY SCHOOL We will have Sunday school during our 5th Sunday bash on September 30. BIBLE SUNDAY On Sunday, September 30 we will have our Bible Presentation Sunday at our 5th Sunday bash service. When students enter third grade we dedicate a time during the worship to recognize the promise parents made during their child s baptism to place the Scriptures in the hands of their child. On this Sunday, parents will be given a Bible (with your child s name on the inside) for you to place into your child s hands. There will be Sunday school during the 5th Sunday bash. FIRST COMMUNION We will be holding our first communion classes for our students who are entering into fifth grade. The dates scheduled for this series of five classes are: Sunday, October 14, October 21, October 28, November 4, November 11 all from 6:00 7:00 p.m. TRUNK OR TREAT Our Sunday School will host a Trunk-or-Treat event open to the community on Sunday, October 21 at 6:00 p.m. We will need many volunteers to make this event a success. Bring your car and decorate your trunk and pass out candy to the children in attendance. If you would like to donate candy to be handed out please bring it to the office. We will have activities inside as well. In the event of inclement weather, we will have our trunk -or-treat inside. ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS (and parents): Please make sure you turn in your year in school and mailing address for the coming school year to the church office, Pastor Robyn, or the Shepherding Team so that we can be in touch and send care packages during the year. If you could include any relevant dates that would be appreciated (start of classes, end of terms, etc). WELCOME BACK PLAY AND LEARN PRESCHOOL STUDENTS!!!! Ms. Carol and her great team of teachers are looking forward to the new school year and all of the happy kids returning, and the new children arriving! Lots to prepare! Can t wait to get started! SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS STILL NEEDED Is still in need of 2 kindergarten teachers. Please reach out to Abby Holmblad for details. COMING SOON: A TOUR OF THE BIBLE Be on the lookout for information about Pastor Robyn s new Bible study. It will be a tour of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. There will be a video portion as well as discussion portion of this study. More information to come! St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 4
HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRIES LYO (Lutheran Youth Organization) KICK-OFF: LYO is open to any youth grades 9-12. You are invited to attend and bring friends! We will have our LYO kick-off on Sunday, September 16 at 12:30 p.m. om the youth room at church. We will order pizza and play games and get to know each other and get excited about the year! Let s kick off a good year! If you have any questions please don t hesitate to reach out to Pastor Robyn or Mary Lingle. LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS: If you are willing to help out with LYO we would love to have you join us! You do not have to have a student in the program. Our needs are: Being a 2nd adult in the room with Pastor Robyn and the youth. Helping organize/chaperone the fun events for the group. Driving to events for the youth. Leading the group during our life skills Sundays. We need people willing to teach the youth different skills such as: simple sewing (i.e. buttons, etc); basic home maintenance; what is involved with voting; etc. If you can help in any (or all) of these ways, please let Pastor Robyn know. 5th SUNDAY BASH Our high school students typically help Pastor Robyn lead worship during our 5th Sunday bash services. We need greeters, ushers and communion assistants. Please let Pastor Robyn know if you are available September 30 at 10:00 am. TRUNK OR TREAT HELPERS The youth group participates in the annual Sunday School Trunk or Treat event by providing help. They set up, work stations, have trunks decorated, and clean up from the event. Please mark Sunday, October 21 from 4:30 7:30 pm on your calendars to help with this event. (We will not have our typical meeting at 12:30 on this day). BLESSING OF BACKPACKS Students should bring their backpacks to worship on September 9 for a blessing. We will bless backpacks at all three services. MIDDLE SCHOOL MINISTRIES Confirmation Kick-off Our confirmation students and their parents/guardians are invited to a meeting to start off our 2018-2019 year. This is for students in all stages of the program. The meeting will be held on Sunday, September 9 at 1:00 p.m. in the Leppein room. TRUNK OR TREAT HELP As part of the confirmation program the youth participate in the annual Sunday School Trunk or Treat event. They help set up, work stations, and clean up from the event. Please mark Sunday, October 21 from 4:30 7:30 pm on your calendars to help with this event. CONFIRMATION UPDATE Our Confirmation program for our 7th 9th grade students is looking a little different. Our students have incredibly busy evenings during the school year and so we have moved to a self-directed model for confirmation. It is called: Choose Your Own Adventure and it calls for our students to study with provided materials, participate in different ministries in the church, learn more about the wider church-body, and meet more of our congregation members. They are given a packet with requirements in each category that match up with one of the promises they will make at the Confirmation. There will still be a third year component including a required retreat. If you would like to know more, please speak with Pastor Robyn. ACOLYTE TRAINING Any youth 5th grade and older who would like to participate in worship as an acolyte is invited to attend a training session on September 9th at 2 pm following the Confirmation Kick-off. Pastor Robyn requests that all acolytes, new and old, come to the training. If you are unable to make this date please make arrangements with Pastor Robyn for a make-up date. Please sign-up in the back of the sanctuary or by contacting Pastor Robyn. BLESSING OF BACKPACKS Students should bring their backpacks to worship on September 9 for a blessing. We will bless backpacks at all three services. St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 5
ADDISON S DISEASE Included in one of the auto-immune diseases, is a condition called Addison s Disease. It is very rare affecting about one out of 100,000 people, both men and women at any age. President John F. Kennedy had this disease. With Addison s disease the adrenal glands, located just above the kidneys, do not produce enough hormones, called cortisol and aldosterone. With this condition, the cortisol production is decreased which regulates the body s reaction to stress and regulation of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Cortisol also helps regulate blood pressure, heart function, and controls inflammation. The hormone called aldosterone, regulates the balance of salt, potassium, and water in your body. Weak muscles, decreased heart rate, low blood pressure, fainting, fatigue, body hair loss, blotchy skin with darkening, diarrhea, and vomiting are some of the symptoms. Eighty per cent of the time the cause is an auto immune disorder, where your own body destroys cells in the adrenal glands. Infections and medications can also cause this disease. Blood, urine tests, and an ultrasound of the adrenal glands can diagnose this condition. This disease is easily treatable with hormone replacement. Hydrocortisone and prednisone is given as a lifelong treatment. Individuals can enjoy a healthy and thriving life when they are regulated with treatment. Many Blessings, Judy Diener R.N. THANK YOU On behalf of the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare system patients and staff, we would like to extend our appreciation to you for your donation of 22 polo shirts, 20 pairs of khaki pants and assorted comfort items donated in memory of Siggi Deckman. Thank you for your continued support. Beverly Conatser, CAVS SIGGI S LUNCH BUNCH This August we are celebrating our fourth anniversary. On August 6th, 2014 we went to our first luncheon at Black Forest Café. I don t recall how many came but I remember we had a very nice time. Our August luncheon this year we went to Judy Nieman s cottage on Wampler s Lake. This is the third or fourth time we went there and we always have a really great time. We take a dish to pass and play games. This year we had 9 in attendance: Linda Olrich, Judy Gephart, Marilyn Bexten Doris Przelawski, Mary Jean Bell, Judy Nieman, Dory Noble, Sally Georgeson and Nancy Brushaber. We played cards, bingo and won some beautiful prizes. This month we collected for school supplies and $30 was collected. We changed a few of our restaurant choices for the rest of the year. Sept 5, we are going to Nick & Jimmy s on Lewis. October 3rd will be at church for the Style Show and potluck. If you are interested in being a model, please give me a call. November 7th, we are going to Pete s Garage in Monroe. They are located at 93 N. Telegraph. December 5th is our Mancy s Steak House on Phillips. We hope you can attend one or all of our luncheons. We always have a very good time and a lot of fun.. St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 6 Nan THANK YOU FROM NORM SNYDER! To My St. Luke s Family, I want to say how much I enjoyed the encouraging cards, emails, phone calls and visits during my recovery from my neck injury. I have about two more weeks until my doctor appointment. If all is okay, I m back to normal life. If not, two more weeks with support collar. Can t rule out surgery. Your thoughts and prayers are needed for my recovery. - Yours in Christ, Norm Snyder.
GET INVOLVED Looking for ways to be involved at St. Luke s? Here are some one time commitment events coming up where we could use your help with! Adopt-A-Road pick-up. Saturday, September 29 9:00 11:00 am. Start at church. 5th Sunday Bash. Sunday, September 30. 10:00 am. Set up with fellowship, tear down following meal. Trunk or Treat. Sunday, October 21. 4:30 7:30 pm. Set-up, have a trunk, help with games, help in the kitchen, clean-up. People willing to model for our high school youth different skills such as: simple sewing (i.e. buttons, etc); basic home maintenance; what is involved with voting; etc. Send notes to our college students or help with care packages. SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES ADOPT-A-ROAD The last Adopt A Road pick up will be on September 29 at 9:00, to beautify our community before the winter comes. Please say you will join us! There will be a sign up out in the Welcome Center. CHANGES TO THE FELLOWSHIP REGISTRY. We are trying a new format for the fellowship registry pages. Please be patient as we try a few new things. Please note that 11:15 has been added back to the registry as of August 26th. MAILBOXES IN THE HALLWAY Please do not place anything of value in the mailboxes in the side hallway. We have had some incidents and we cannot guarantee the safety of any items that are left there. WE RE CLEANING THE LIBRARY Anything stored in the Library needs to be moved or it will likely be thrown away. If you have materials there, please find another place to store them while we take care of re-organizing this space and retuning it to its original useful state. Thanks, Denzil Bell Property Team. FROM OUR PROPERTY TEAM The Property Ministry Team wants to provide opportunities for others to join in the work of the church. Many tasks needing to be done can be done by one or two people. Many of these tasks are one time tasks and do not require a long term commitment. If you would like to be part of this helping team, send your name and e-mail address to Denzil Bell by e-mail to denzilmbell@gmail.com, or leave your name and e-mail address with Erin in the office. Come and be part of our Property Team, get involved, and help your church maintain its facilities to serve God's people. REMINDER If you go into the hospital or are desiring a pastoral visit please contact the office or Pastor Robyn. The hospitals often don t call or it can take a few days for the hospitals to contact us. Also, Pastor Robyn will be out of the office through September 4th. Please reach out to Erin or Andy Nieman in case of emergency. MINISTRY TEAMS TRUNK OR TREAT CHALLENGE The Sunday school education team challenges each of the ministry teams to come up with a fun trunk decoration for our Trunk or Treat event on Sunday, October 21 at 6:00 pm. St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 7
Sept 1 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS! Dwayne McKinney Sept 2 Troy Giesige, Savannah Hickey, Bob Cook, John Diver Sept 3 Zayne Abitua, Doug Manore, Sept 5 Linda Leichty, Bob Burkett, Jennifer Aponte Sept 6 Ann Myers, Peggy Greeley Sept 9 Brooklyn Yeager, Karon Bristol, Harrison Nieman Sept 10 Jerry Merickel, Sharon Tipping, Bill Alexander Sept 12 Kris Murzynski Sept 13 Nicholas Hallstrom, Serena Baker, Sept 14 Marcia Folger, Aaron Yockey Sept 17 Thomas Murzynski, Harold Heiden, Matthew Bolander Sept 18 Mckenna McNutt, Rex Benz, Nancy Patton, Nancy Kujda, Joshua Lykowski Sept 21 Ava Sayles Sept 22 Natalya DiCiacca Sept 24 Sharon Althaus, Ginny Peterson, Phyllis Snyder, SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS CONT... Sept 25 Sharon Harasta Sept 26 Rose Mary Schroeder, Madison Weiss Sept 28 Rob Barthle Sept 29 Gage Whalen Sept 30 Rebecca Webber Sept 2 SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES Mike & Jonie Braithwaite Sept 5 Frank & Diane Paine Sept 8 Mark & Dawn Durivage Sept 13 Chuck & Cindy Jackson Sept 14 Gary & Marcia Folger Sept 15 Jacob & Ann Myers Sept 20 Jamie & Erin Beard, Robert & Bonnie Guy Sept 21 Tim & Rita Barton, Chuck & Judy Schreiber Sept 30 Mark & Laura Bourn, David & Elizabeth Ingall St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 8
ST. LUKE S SUMMER AT A GLANCE VBS ICE CREAM SOCIAL WORSHIP FUNDRAISERS FELLOWSHIP AND FUN St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 9
WHAT I DID OVER THE SUMMER... Draw us a picture of some of your favorite things you did over the summer. Send them back to us in the office and we will scan them and add them to our next Tower! St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 10
DATE/TIME GREETER USHER SACRAMENT LECTOR COUNTER COFFEE ACOLYTE Sept 2nd J Schmidt S Fye/A Stahl J Warren S. Tipping Georgesons 8:30 N Bowlin Folgers S Tipping P Yockey Dawn Wright 10:00 Mayo Family Mayo Family *********** Weiss Kathleen Ressler 11:15 E Beard, YOU? E Beard, YOU? K Crammond, G Crammond R Gephart J Mayo Sept 9th J Waidelich 8:30 Halters K Ressler S Tipping ************ B Skiver Cooks Comforters 10:00 Hallstroms Hallstroms K Johnson YOU D Chase 11:15 YOU? YOU? YOU? YOU? ************ J Herr Schreiber's Sept 16th J Waidelich C Bell G Heigel 8:30 Erdmanns K Ressler C Halter S Tipping John & 10:00 YOU? YOU? S Trevethan YOU? YOU? S Emerson ************ D Chase Carolyn Moody 11:15 J Sengstock, J Sengstock K Crammond, J Schoch L Bourn N Bowlin N Bowlin K Bristol, YOU? Sept 23rd 8:30 Merickels Fraley/Warren J Bock, YOU, YOU? P Yockey Georgesons YOU? YOU? 10:00 Barthle Bunch Barthle Bunch K Johnson, Bob Cook C Barthle 11:15 E Beard, YOU? E Beard, YOU? YOU? YOU? YOU? J Sengstock R Gephart Sept 30th 10:00 5TH SUNDAY BASH! 1 SERVICE!! YOU? YOU? YOU? YOU? YOU? You? S Ressler & L Hafemeister Weiss No Coffee St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 11
St. Luke s Lutheran Church 1690 Sterns Road Temperance, MI 48182 Robyn Kistemaker, Pastor robyn.kistemaker@stlukeschurch.net *Or Email* pastor@stlukeschurch.net www.stlukeschurch.net office@stlukeschurch.net Phone 734.847.8275 Fax 734.847.1454 Worship Schedule 8:30 am Regular Traditional Service The Majesty of liturgy, pipe organ, and choral music 9:30-10:30 am Coffee Fellowship 9:45 am Children s Sunday School 9:45 am Adult Bible Study 10:00 am GiG Praise Service Contemporary praise, worship, and children s time. 11:15 am Regular Traditional Service The Majesty of liturgy, pipe organ, and choral music St. Luke s Lutheran Church THE TOWER 12