Joy Lutheran Church 302 North Goliad, Rockwall, Texas 75087 Tel. 214-716-7539 www.joylutheranchurch.org Joyfully sharing Jesus and ourselves with our neighbors I Love Spring A NOTE FROM MINISTER TOM 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true. 6 Then he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. ~ Revelations 21:3-6 See, I am making all things new. I m reminded of these words from the book of Revelation as we enter spring. Honestly, this is my favorite time of year. We ve gotten through the chilly temperatures (we don t really have cold in Texas) and we have yet to experience the blistering heat of summer. We are seeing color all around us with the planting of flowers and budding of trees and plants. People are doing their spring cleaning and spending time on the lakes and at the parks. It s fun to see. It seems that people seem to have a bit more energy and a little more positive outlook. I went to the garden center the other day and it was packed with people who were very excited to get going on sprucing up the yard with new sod or plants. I noticed the how almost overly friendly the guy at the checkout was even in spite of the long lines. Well I don t have a green thumb but I am looking forward to getting the fishing rods out or firing up the grill a lot more. But I know this mood is not the case for many. While so many experience good feelings in spring, there are still many in our midst who are lonely, sick, depressed or searching for connection. I encourage all of you, including myself to take moments to stop in the midst of your spring activities to notice. Notice what is happening in people s lives. Listen to their stories. Take the opportunity to encourage when someone needs it. Sit with someone whom is sick. May 2018 Page 1
Accompany someone in their sadness. As we are reminded in the scripture, God himself will be with them, he will wipe every tear from their eyes. God sees you today, and calls you to be God s presence wherever you go. In our presence with one another it is possible for God to make all things new. Enjoy each day this spring. Tom SAWL Minister JOY LUTHERAN CHURCH CELEBRATES EASTER SUNDAY!! April 1 st was Easter Sunday and Joy Lutheran celebrated with the Youth fixing their Tombstone Rolls along with fruit, juice and coffee for the congregation before church. The annual Easter Egg Hunt was held on the front lawn prior to the church service, and all the youth ended up with overflowing baskets of eggs. May 2018 Page 2
Joy Celebrates 22 nd Anniversary with luncheon on April 8 th A potluck luncheon was held after church on April 8 th to celebrate Joy s 22 nd Anniversary and to celebrate our new members that recently joined our congregation. Good food and fellowship was enjoyed by all. JOY IS NOW ON TWITTER!!! Follow Joy on Twitter Yes, we have entered the Twitter world. Because we want more people to hear about the Good News. We hope you will follow, like and share our Tweets so the community can hear about the wonderful community of Joy. If you don't have a Twitter account, not to worry. It is very easy to set up and very simple to use. Just go to twitter.com. Even better, find a teenager to help you set up your account. Let's share the Joy of God's love throughout the community. Whenever you tweet use the hashtag #joyiscontageous May 2018 Page 3
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT NEEDS "On occasion members of Joy have had a temporary need to borrow a piece of medical equipment. Equipment such as wheelchair, walker, shower chair, crutches, soft boot etc. If you have any medical equipment at home that you are not currently using, would you be willing to lend it to our members? If you would lend equipment, please e-mail Linda Manak, llmanak10@hotmail.com or Connie Eliasson, barefootcajun@hotmail.com. Please include the type of equipment, your name, e-mail address and phone number. We will compile a master list and match people in need with the person who has what they need. Since we don't have room at church to store any equipment, the seems a viable alternative. JOY PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS PLANNING TASK FORCE MEETING The Joy Physical Improvement Planning Task Force held their first meeting on Tuesday evening, April 10 th and participation by all attendees was very good and they generated good enthusiasm for developing short-term and long-term physical improvement plans for Joy to mesh with God s Their next meeting is May 9 th. YOUTH FUNDRAISING OFF TO GREAT START The 1 st fundraiser that the youth held on March 18 th which was a soup luncheon and a free will donation raised over $500.00. Thank you to all who attended. On April 8 th the Jewelry fundraiser kickoff and Premier Designs Jewelry was on display in the Fellowship Hall after church. The youth sold jewelry for a few weeks and the final results will be posted in next month s newsletter. On May 20 th there will be a Taco Lunch Fundraiser following the church service in the Fellowship Hall. So everyone come hungry and it will be a Free Will offering. All proceeds will go to the youth for their ELCA Youth Gathering trip to Houston. Thank you to Jim and Nelda Haynes for putting this together for them!!!! The Silent Auction has been moved to June 24 th and anyone that would like to donate either baked goods, gift certificates, etc, please get with Melissa Hickman, Dawn Mahoney, Mary Oltmanns or Rhonda White. The youth are raising money for their trip to Houston at the end of June to attend the ELCA Youth Gathering. Those attending this year are Madlynne, Catherine, Abby, Lon Jr., Pastor Tom, Elaina, and Melissa. May 2018 Page 4
JOY LUTHERAN CHURCH WILL HOST VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Joy Lutheran Church will be hosting VBS this summer June 11 th thru June 14 th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for ages 4 years thru 6 th grade. We are looking for volunteers to help with the classes. Spread the word to your friends and neighbors to have their children attend. The theme will be Rolling River Rampage. Committee Activities Joy Properties Both the Joy Church roof and Joy Properties roofs have been inspected following the April 6 th hail storm. No damage was found to either of the roofs, but some minor dents on the gutters. Bob, Richard and Paul will continue to do grass cutting and yardwork biweekly as required. New cooling and heating for the church offices will be performed the 1 st week of May. The Prayer Garden has almost been completed and there will be dedication ceremony once it is ready. Stewardship The 2018 Stewardship Projects are underway and are listed as to what they will be collecting for this year. During Lent we collected 92 belts and 61 caps for the homeless shelter associated with Cornerstone Baptist Church Homeless Shelter/Clothes Closet of Dallas. March thru October will be the Mosaic money banks. Please put your lose change in the banks and you will turn it in the end of October. April: will be for Royse City Animal Shelter and they will be collecting linens, towels, bath mats, rugs, etc. and Purina One Pet Food. May 2018 Page 5
May: is the StewPot in Dallas and will be collecting foot powder, insect repellent, (spray, wipes, bracelets). June: Will be for the StewPot in Dallas and will be collecting reading glasses. 3 bags of linens were delivered to Royse City Animal Shelter in March. In April we collected for Helping Hands 102 pounds of food and $50.00 and year to date 503 pounds has been collected and $230.00. Outreach & Fellowship The new directories are in so if you haven t received yours yet please see Brandy Trygstad or Eleanor Barringer and they will get you one. Also, we now have name tags to wear on Sunday s. They are in the back overflow and the ushers will assist in getting them for you and just drop them back in the cubbyhole after service. Education Last day of Sunday School will be May 20 th. VBS is actively underway and we are looking for volunteers to teach one of the class segments. Please contact Melisa Hickman if you are interested in helping. VBS training will be Saturday May 12 th from 11:30 to 2:30 at the church. Financial Update For a treasurer s report please ask Bob Maxwell. May 2018 Page 6
Greeters May 6 th May 12 th Serving in MAY Betty Shaver/Rhonda White Lea Castricone/Gail Crawford Ushers May 6th May 12 th May 20 th Dawn/Madlynne Mahoney May 20 th Rick/Lea Castricone Bruce/Kathy Kraft Karen McClenon/Bob Maxwell May 27 th Paul/Linda Manak May 27 th Ron/Brandy Trygstad Assisting Flowers Abby Lesage reader/elena Judy Pettett -in May 6 th May 6 th Lesage Comm Asst. memory of loved ones Rhonda White May 12 th Walter Barringer May 12 th honoring all Mother s Betty Shaver in honor Vince Nelson of Rhonda s birthday May 20 th reader/rhonda White May 20 th AND Tom & Melanie Comm. Asst. Schwolert May 27 th Bob Maxwell May 27 th OPEN Refreshments Counters May 6 th Sue Shannon May 6 th Eleanor Barringer/Don Caldwell May 12 th OPEN May 12 th Rhonda White/Kathy Kraft May 20 th TACO FUNDRAISER LUNCH May 20 th Sandra LaCroix/OPEN May 27 th OPEN May 27 th Judy Randolph/OPEN Altar for May Elaina Lesage Young at Heart Luncheon Hosted by Haynes May 8th 11:45 at Arboledas Mexican Restaurant in Rockwall May 2018 Page 7
May 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 6 th Sunday of Easter Ascension of Our Lord 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 7 th Sunday of Easter MOTHER S DAY Vigil of Pentecost 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Day of Pentecost TACO LUNCH 27 28 29 30 31 The Holy Trinity 1 st Sunday after Pentecost Memorial Day Ladies Bunco 7:00 p.m. Joy Lutheran Church Sunday School 9:15 a.m. CHURCH SERVICES 10:30 A.M. JOYFULLY SHARING JESUS AND OURSELVES WITH OUR NEIGHBORS