April 2016

April 2016
Enumclaw, Washington
Hope Lutheran Church
The Messenger of Hope
“Member of the Plateau Ministerial Association”
In this issue…
Alleluia! He is Risen! Having journeyed through Lent and Holy
Week, we now enter into the Easter Season in which we remember that
because Jesus lives, we also live!
About a month ago 25 - 30 people gathered for our Congregational Vitality Study. It was an evening spent reflecting on our church, God’s activity here, and what God is calling Hope to do in the future. Time was
spent listening and sharing. One of the primary emphases of the evening
was hearing each other’s perceptions of our congregation. It was a rewarding and enlightening experience!
From that evening of listening and sharing, I identified two significant
outcomes. The first was that we do a tremendous job of welcoming and
inviting people to the church. No one would deny that we are a friendly
and warm congregation. However, there is a gap in easily incorporating
new people into the life of the congregation. In response to this feedback,
at a recent Inviting and Welcoming Team meeting we reflected on this
fact.
We discussed why that gap exists and what can be done to close that
gap. A few options discussed where making information easily accessible, offering educational opportunities to learn about the life of the
church, intentional ‘hosts’ inviting visitors to sit with them at coffee hour,
and providing a questionnaire for people who have been coming for
awhile but aren’t yet members to discover their interests and gifts. Be
looking for some of these ideas to take shape over the next few weeks
and months!
The second outcome is the calling to “feed my sheep” as Jesus tells Peter in John 21. As a church, we have responded to this calling by literally
feeding, clothing, and caring for those in need. We are out in our community and world sharing the love of Christ. The conviction I had regarding Jesus’ call to “feed my sheep” is centered on our need to be fed
through the Word, Prayer, and Discipleship.
For myself, as your Pastor, this is going to be my area of focus. I have
been in prayer and discernment regarding the ways we need to be fed as a
Church.
Cont on page 2
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
1
2
Pastor Keith’s Corner
3
Garage Sale
Fellowship
Community Garden
4
Council Meeting
Financial Report
5
6
Greetings, Bleatings
7
Faith and Everyday Life
Easter Egg Hunt
8
Stewardship
Worship Schedule
9
Featherhaven
10
Choir Schedule
God in Creation
Sin
Pastor’s corner cont
Upcoming Events
Sunday forum
Relay for Life
Church Musician
Calendar
April 2016
Page 2 of 10
“A Sin That Does Not Lead to Death”
“If anyone sees his brother
commit a sin that does not lead
to death, he should pray and
God will give him life. I refer to
those whose sin does not lead to
death. There is a sin that leads to
death. I am not saying that he
should pray about that. All
wrongdoing is sin, and there is
sin that does not lead to death”
(I John 5:16-17).
The Apostle’s comment above
is enigmatic at best. How does
this mesh with “the wages of sin
is death”, found in Romans
6:23? I’ve thought about John’s
writing for years and have come
to the following opinion:
There is an unpardonable sin
referred to in Hebrews 6, and II
Peter 2 and by Jesus as a warning to the Pharisees. That is the
sin noted above by John, where
a person willfully and knowingly turns his back on God without
the pressure of temptation and
weakness, but out of clarity of
mind and purpose.
This is not the kind of sin that
John is referring to when he
notes the “sin [that] does not
lead to death.” We are all prone
to wrong thoughts. As it Jeremiah 10:23-24 states: “It is not
for man to direct his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice—not in your anger, lest you
reduce me to nothing.”
There is virtually an infinite
number of ways we can wander
off the path to righteousness.
We do it easily. To understand
this, listen to someone for a few
minutes and you can tell which
crazy tangent someone is emphasizing. Some of those tangents
are sinful, others are just fuzzy
thinking.
These tangents come from life
experiences that we interpret in
differing ways, some good, and
some pure error. We tend as humans to jump to conclusions. We
make decisions based more upon
feelings rather than careful
thought and analysis. Once we
come to those decisions, it is difficult for us to see how those erroneous thoughts can lead us on a
destructive trajectory that we may
not comprehend for years and
even decades.
It is these attitudes I believe the
Apostle John is referring to. We
need to pray for others in the faith
to help them see the error of their
thinking, and God will reveal it to
them. We also need to pray Jeremiah’s prayer to keep ourselves
from the same kind of sins and
wrong thinking that beset others.
Our freedom from these kinds of
sins comes from doing what God
tells us in Micah 6:8: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk
humbly with your God.”
Thoughtfully, in Christ,
Richard Elfers
Pastor’s Corner cont
It is my hope to hear from you
and find out what you need.
Maybe you don’t know what
you need, but you sense something is lacking in your spiritual life. I want to hear that,
too. On Sunday, April 10th in
your bulletin will be an idea
card. My hope is to listen to
the Spirit by listening to you!
As always, I look forward to
continuing the journey together through our shared faith in
our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ!
Blessings,
Pastor Keith
April Events
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“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
April – Thursdays: Rotary
April 2 – Fourth Wise Man &
Special Olympics
April 7 – Shed Building Kickoff
April 9 – God in Creation
April 11 – Garden Meeting
April 12 – Council Meeting
April 16 – Fourth Wise Man
April 25 –Messenger Articles
Due & Garden Meeting
April 26 – XYZ Potluck
April 28 – Bibles & Brews @
Cole Street Brewery
Page 3 of 10
April 2016
Upcoming Garage Sale!
Hope Lutheran
Church
1316 Garfield St.
Enumclaw, WA 98022
Phone (360-825-2420)
Church E-mail:
[email protected]
Website:
www.hopelutheranchurch.org
Worship Hours:
Morning Spirit: 8:15am
Celebration Worship: 10:00am
Its spring cleaning time, so get those closets and garages cleaned
out and donate your items to the annual garage sale to support the
Halloween Carnival! The garage sale will be held Saturday, May
7th. Donations can be brought to the church the week before the
sale. A sign-up sheet for helping before, during and cleaning up
after the garage sale is located in Berg Hall. Last year over 225
children attended the Carnival on Halloween, along with their accompanying parents. Also, the Carnival is open on October 30th to
the special-needs children in our community and approximately
35-40 enjoyed the opportunity to play games in a safe environment.
As a reminder, due to a reduced budget line item, the Carnival is
moving towards being self-funded. This means that almost all the
money needed to put it on will be coming from the proceeds of the
garage sale and “Special Giving” opportunities. March was a
“Special Giving” opportunity for the Carnival and May also
will be. So please be mindful of how you can support this amazing
outreach: by giving financially, helping out during the garage sale,
assisting during the Carnival, or even all three!
Education Ministries:
Sunday School and Sunday Forum are
offered at 9:00 am each Sunday,
September through May.
(Except during holidays).
Our Purpose:
“Making Christ known in our community
by reaching out through worship service
and fellowship”
Hope Lutheran Church is a
member of the Southwestern
Washington Synod of the ELCA
Their mission:
“Spreading the Good News of Jesus
Christ by empowering congregations and
church leaders to grow in
worship, education, outreach, stewardship and other missions”
Their website:
www.lutheranssw.org
Fellowship April 2016
Thanks to everyone who answered the email to provide food for
Hank Johnson's funeral reception. The family appreciated the time
to visit with family and friends of Hank. We didn't have to make
any phone calls and many of you set up and cleaned up. Our next
scheduled event will be graduation breakfast. Please let us know if
you need help for a function your group is planning.
New Hope Community Garden
Do you like to build things? Do you like to paint? Do you like
to Landscape? Or do you have questions about the Garden and
what’s happening? If so, please attend the kick-off meeting. We
will be covering items: the design of the structure, timeline for
completing it, looking for volunteers to complete the tasks and answering questions about the garden and the building.
What: Garden Shed Building Kickoff
When: April 7th, at 7 pm
Where: Berg Hall
Who: Anyone
The Garden Ministry team,
Ramsey Graham, Nancy Berg, and Jan Schumacher
Soli Deo Gloria
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
Page 4 of 10
April 2016
Council Meeting
March 15, 2016
Facilitator President: Pam Christensen.
Agenda item: Corrected Minutes accepted.
Agenda item: The Treasurer’s report accepted.
In attendance were council members President Pam Christensen, Debbie Ekstrom, Sandy Carey, Jerry
Globe, Dan Idso, Treasurer Kathie Thompson and Pastor Keith Marshall. Excused Gary Hahn. Guests:
Cathy Dormaier, Board member of Plateau Outreach Ministries. Cathy shared that the POM Board has
formed sub-committees to focus on soliciting input from the community regarding the work that POM does.
Using a prepared questionnaire Cathy gathered input from all the Board members.
Agenda item: Old Business Presenter: Pam Christensen
Discussion:
Nursery Attendant Update – Pastor Keith and Debbie Ekstrom will be interviewing a candidate on Thursday, March 17.
Agenda item: New Business Presenter: Pam Christensen
Discussion:
Employee Handbook – A draft copy of the handbook was submitted to council by Debbie Ekstrom. After
the review process Debbie will add the table of contents and cover, and number pages. Council Vacancies
– There will be three vacancies on the Council at the end of this term. Church Musician Vacancy – So far
there has not been any applicants. Agenda item: Ministry Team Reports: Inviting & Welcoming – Met
on March 8 to discuss the results of the survey taken for the Vitality Study evening dinner. They will be focusing on; a visitor’s questionnaire; making Service informational cards; training greeters; and designed a
class for informational purposes. Project managers were assigned. Property – Dan Idso gave an update on
the shed project. They are looking at a small group of individuals from church that would be able to build a
shed in a weekend. Pastor to discuss with Ramsey Graham. Fellowship – Kathie Thompson reported that
the Fellowship Team continues to help with the Wednesday evening Lent soup suppers. The team is also
planning a luncheon for Hank Johnson’s Memorial Service on March 19.
Agenda item deadline
April 5
Next Council Meeting
April 12 at 6:00 pm
A detailed copy of the Council
minutes can be seen on the
roundabout in the Narthex.
Monthly Financial Report
February 2016
At our annual meeting it was requested that we give information regarding our financial standing
each month. As articles are due before the end of the month, the information will be reported for the
previous month. There is a full copy of the profit and loss report on the roundabout in the Narthex.
February
Actual Giving
$13,629.00
Actual Expenses
$15,359.39
Budgeted Giving
$15,210.10
Budgeted Expenses
$15,210.10
YTD Total Giving
-$615.93 (under budget)
YTD Total Expenses
-$819.29 (under budget)
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
April 2016
Page 5 of 10
Greetings, Bleatings, from the Sheep Pen
Plans, Part 2
Reaffirmation
Last month I wrote on the loss of my job from a company that I had worked for over 35 years.
It was
unexpected news. It was crushing news.
I was on the road in Eastern Washington when I learned my fate and the next day when I got home, my
wife shared her daily devotion reading from the day before. It was based upon the reading of Jeremiah 29:
11. “I know the plans I have for you, and they are good.” After reading and reflecting on this with a little
time and prayer, I accepted the news and moved on to planning an early retirement, just a couple of years
earlier than I had expected.
It was only a couple days after I wrote that article that I received an interesting call from Baltimore. A
former upper level manager of my past company called to tell me he had just heard of my unemployment,
and asked me to strongly consider coming and working for his compressor company. He noted he had long
term plans to hire someone as a Sales Manager for Western US and Western Canada early next year, but
my news made him decide to pursue me for immediate employment. That, and subsequent conversations,
had quite the opposite effect of being crushed.
Long story short, I accepted his offer, have visited his company in Baltimore (along with Marti) and have
met the key employees, who all have enthusiastically welcomed me. For me, I felt that God had a big say
in all that transpired. Jeremiah spoke truly and beautifully.
Now I don’t think that I have some special “in” with God, other that sharing with all of us believers the
“in” we all have. Often hardships or losses don’t end so positively, or so quickly. But as Easter Sunday
shows all of us, our God overcame the crushing news felt by all his disciples of his death, to rise and conquer this greatest enemy. And the greatest story is even bigger. Loss jobs, major illnesses, crumbled relationships, persecutions, and deaths will all be overcome in the end. No more fears. No more tears. Joy
eternal. For God has plans for you, and they are good.
As I sat in church Easter morning, this message came beautifully and powerfully to me again as we sang
the first song, “My Savior, My God” by Aaron Shust. As verse 1 boldly declares;
I am not skilled to understand,
What God has willed, what God has planned.
I only know at his right hand,
Stands one who is my savior.
Greetings, bleatings, from the sheep pen.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. (Psalm 23: 1)
Jim Niehoff
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
April 2016
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April
Birthdays
4/1
4/6
4/6
4/8
4/9
4/9
4/10
4/14
4/14
4/16
4/17
4/24
4/26
4/29
4/30
Sunday Forum
Kevin Carey
Tim Hazen
Mike Christenson
Linda Ingham
Cordia Hinderer
Alan Haywood
Eric Bearden
Shirley Lewis
Hogan Olafson
Kristie Axelson
Dave Voss
Lynn Thayer
Ann Kuhlman
Jorunn Ruff
Bonnie Seehorn
We have a wonderful Sunday Forum program planned for April in
the Fellowship Hall. Please join us at 9:00 a.m. the following Sundays.
April Schedule:
April 3 - 17 – Pastor Keith - The Gospel of John.
Relay for Life
Hope's Relay team is looking for people who would like to walk
with us. If you would like to help at our campsite on July 9th, please let
us know.
If you are a cancer survivor, please let me know. I would like to encourage you to come and join other survivors for a luncheon about 1:00
pm on July 9th.
Our Enumclaw relay committee starts meeting in the fall to begin planning for the 2016 walk. The theme is "Paint your World Purple."
We appreciate the support from so many. We are hoping this will be
another good day for a walk around the track at JJ Smith School. This
year we will walk from noon to midnight.
April
Anniversaries
Kathie Thompson
4/5 Don & Ann
Bettencourt
4/14 Rob & Pam
Christensen
Church Musician
W
Our April schedule for
POM: Pasta & Sauce
Place all donated items in
the basket in the
Narthex. Thank you!
e are seeking to hire a Church Musician for our 10:00 am Celebration Worship service. As the Church, we are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to pass on the faith to future generations. Music
is one of the significant ways in which this has been done throughout the
Church’s history. As the Church is ever changing, so too does the music
and worship of the Christian faith. However, the traditions of the past
must remain to keep us rooted in our identity and understanding of the
Gospel. We hope to hire a person for this position who can honor this
balance with their skills and passion for all forms of church music. Proficiency with the piano is a requirement for this position. In addition,
gifts of singing, guitar, and other musical abilities are also highly desirable. If you are interested in this position, please send a cover letter and
resume to Pastor Keith.
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
April 2016
Page 7 of 10
Faith and Everyday Life
April 2016
Playmates
No, not the kind with the bunny ears, the kind you had as a kid. Remember when you could just show up at
your friend’s door and ask if he or she could play? Pretty simple!
God created people for connection, with God, and with each other. Little people are free to connect with others repeatedly. This sets neural patterns in their brains for the rest of their lives that will allow them to form
strong bonds with others later in life.
You have these pathways embedded in you. Maybe they are open and flowing. Maybe they are a bit calcified
or at have been out of use.
Who are your playmates today? Who can you call and say, “Do you want to play with me?” Why don’t you
count them up? Yes, right now! If there are lots, sit back, smile, and feel warm. Give thanks to God. If there
are few, you might be more isolated than you want to be.
God does not want you to be alone. God wants you to have playmates. Take a chance. Call someone and ask
if they want to come out and play. They just might say yes.
Lutheran Counseling Network
The mission statement of Lutheran Counseling Network: "LCN's professional therapists are instruments of God's grace bringing
hope and healing to individuals, couples and families in church congregations and in the broader community." LCN is an endorsed
ministry of the ELCA. Donations from ELCA congregations make subsidization of fees possible. For assistance, call 253-839-1697
for Federal Way/Enumclaw/Tacoma.
Easter Egg Hunt
A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated candy & prizes for the annual Easter Egg Hunt, it was an
amazing success! The lawn was covered in eggs along with some in the bushes; it was a great site for the 16
kids to see as they walked outside to prepare for the hunt. We started with kids age 5 and under with the older
kids (10-14) cheering them on, meanwhile kids ages 6-9 counted to 100 before they could start their hunt.
Once they reached the magic number of 100 they were off and running to gather as many as they could before
the older kids finished their counting to 100 to begin their start in the hunt. When they were all finished with
finding the eggs the fun continued with opening the eggs to see what was in them and finding out which prize
they won with their Golden Egg. It was another Hope Easter Egg Hunt that the kids have added to their memories.
Blessings and Thanks,
Jan Schumacher & Christel Baskaron
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
Page 8 of 10
April 2016
Stewardship
April 2016
I Pledge to Grow my
Commitment
Worship Schedule
Happy Easter, Spring is here and so is daylight savings
time. April is the beginning of our second quarter. We give
thanks to each of you, the stewards of Hope.
There is much to be thankful for - those who help with
worship every Sunday morning, the children who come to
Sunday School, the people who clean the church, the flower
beds are being cleaned out, people have signed up every
month to be helping hands leaders (they will be asking others to help during the month), the weekly flower chart is
full, the garden plot is being prepared for planting and a cement slab has been poured for a shed, the quilters for making so many beautiful quilts,- yes, many things to be thankful for.
The budget committee and stewardship ministry team will
be reviewing our 2016 budget.
We thank you for not only saying "I will grow my commitment" but also for being more committed. Being more
involved daily, weekly and financially.
Thank you to each of you who make Hope a welcoming
church to all who enter.
God's Peace to each of you
Kathie Thompson
April 3 – Second Sunday of Easter:
First reading; Acts 5:27-32;
Second reading; Revelation 1:4-8
Gospel; John 20:19-31;
April 10 – Third Sunday of Easter:
First reading; Acts 9:1-20;
Second reading; Revelation 5:11-14;
Gospel; John 21:1-19;
April 17 – Fourth Sunday of Easter:
First reading; Acts 9:36-43;
Second reading; Revelation 7:9-17;
Gospel; John 10:22-30;
April 24 – Fifth Sunday of Easter:
First reading; Acts 11:1-18;
Second reading; Revelation 21:1–6;
Gospel; John 13:31-35;
Stewardship ministry team
Each Month We Designate a
Special Giving opportunity for
the Congregation. For
April it is Nicaragua Trip.
Please help if you can.
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
April 2016
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“Making Christ Known in Our Community”
April 2016
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Hope
Lutheran
Church Staff
Pastor:
Pastor Keith Marshall
253-970-9973
[email protected]
Choir Schedule for April
Choir practices weekly on Wednesday evenings at 7:00
pm. As always new voices are welcome. The tentative
Choir performance schedule is;
April 24: Easter Season
May 15: Pentecost
June 5: Last performance before summer!
If you have any questions, please contact our Choir Director,
Ardell Razor at [email protected].
Office Administrator:
Lorie Ritzdorf
360-825-2420
[email protected]
Music Director:
Open
Choir Director:
Ardell Razor
[email protected]
Lutheran Counseling Network:
Pearle Hintz, LMHC
253-839-1697
Church Council
President:
Pam Christensen
Vice President:
Jerry Globe
Secretary:
Debbie Ekstrom
Treasurer:
Kathie Thompson
Sandy Carey, Gary Hahn, Dan Idso
Financial Secretary:
Dianna Olafson
Soli Deo Gloria
God in Creation
Two views of the Snoqualmie River. This month we are
going to do a little driving and then a little hiking through a
Riparian Forrest besides the Snoqualmie River. We plan on
leaving the church around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday April 9.
We will drive up to Highway 18 in Maple Valley, then up
to Tiger Mountain and then on to I-90 heading west towards
Seattle and taking the first exit north towards Fall City then
on to Carnation. There is a King County Park there named
Macdonald Tolt and it has a beautiful hike in the woodlands
around the Snoqualmie River where it intersects with the
Tolt River. It is also dog friendly. We will have lunch at this
park, and for any that would like to see the new Snoqualmie
Falls park area developed at the bottom of the falls, we will
stop in on the way home.
This lower short hike and view is off of the Fall City
Snoqualmie road at 372 Ave SE. Neither of these parks
require any kind of pass. Bring a picnic lunch and join us
down on the river.
Jim Niehoff
“Making Christ Known in Our Community”