May 2016 - St. Timothy`s Lutheran Church

NEWSLETTER
May 2016
470 WINTER STREET EXTENSION NORTH GREENBUSH,NY
A Note From the Pastor
Today is my son's 38th birthday as I sit to write this, and I think back to an earlier birthday, 25 years ago. He turned 13,
and the more I'd say "Wow! You're a teenager; you're growing up!" the more morose he'd become. When I asked him
what was troubling him, he explained: "Dad, I've had a great childhood. I loved being a kid. Now that's all over; it's
gone forever."
As a guy whose own dad frequently complained that I was "trying to grow up too fast," I was stunned. Doesn't everyone
look forward to the future with anticipation? I guess not. I give my son credit for appreciating what has been good in his
life. I also give him credit for recognizing that, as much as he wished it were otherwise, he could not remain a 12 year
old forever. Good on him; I know adults who never got that.
Change quite often carries pain with it. I think back to Jesus' farewell talk with his disciples:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwellingplaces. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to
the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the
way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John
14:1-6)
Now if I had been one of Jesus' disciples I probably would have thought "Isn't it great having Jesus around teaching us
things and explaining things to us he doesn't explain to anyone else? Being a disciple; it's a gas!" I'll bet most of them
felt that way. But Jesus was going away and not coming back as he had been. The thing is, Jesus didn't need 12 disciples
anymore; he needed 12 apostles, spreading the Word.
Had they just remained 12 disciples they would have become a club of nostalgic old men (eventually) who'd die off and
leave no trace of what had been. And you and I (especially of Nordic and Teutonic roots) may well be saying "Thank
Thor" when good things happen and "Odin's goat!" when we hit our thumbs with a hammer. But disciples became apostles. In Jesus' name, thank God!
Change is neither good nor bad. It just is. May God guide us through all the changes together. As the apostle Paul reminds us. "We know that all things work together for good* for those who love God, who are called according to his
purpose." (Romans 8:28)
Pastor Dan
WELCA NEWS
Ladies,
I apologize for the lateness in our quarterly meeting. However, the Steering Committee will be meeting some time during the week of May 18th to determine a tentative date. In the meantime, I hope that you will all be able to attend one
or many of the upcoming events. There is also a 60’s party being planned as we speak, so please keep your eyes and
ears open! Here are some other upcoming events:
UPCOMING EVENTS
St. Timothy’s:
 June 19th: Annual Congregational Picnic
 Spring Quarterly Meeting: TBA
Upstate NY Women of the ELCA Fall Retreats:
 Niagara Frontier: The Master’s Table
September 17th
The Master’s Table, Fredonia, NY
 Central Crossroads & Genesee Finger Lakes Conference: Sensible Shoes
October 28th & 29th
Christ the King Retreat Center, Syracuse, NY
 Hudson Mohawk & Foothills Conference: “Called to Be…One in Child”
October 8th
Kateri Tekawitha Shrine, Fonda, NY
Although we are considered part of the Hudson Mohawk Conference, you are more than welcome to attend any of
these events you would like. If you would like more information regarding the details of the events, please feel free to
contact [email protected] and I will send you the flyers for them.
Be Bold!!
Emily Purtell
FOOD FOR FRIENDS- SUMMER 2016
This summer, STIMS will be embarking on a new program to provide lunches to
community kids within Gardner Dickinson School and Bell Top Elementary. Well
over 100 children receive free or reduced lunches through these schools during
the school year. FOOD FOR FRIENDS WILL provide ingredients for lunches to
children while they are on summer vacation (July 11 through August 29).
St. Timothy’s would work with the administrations of the two schools which would each send out a cover letter
announcing the program to eligible families; those interested would respond via email or phone to STIMS.
We would purchase and distribute the following on a weekly basis: a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, macaroni and cheese, bag of carrots and drink. This food would be ordered through Shoprite Online and delivered
to the church. A team would be assembled on a weekly basis and create bags for each participating family.
Families would pick up the food on Monday between 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. and make lunches for that week.
Funds in the Paul Trust Account would cover the cost.
Greg Whitney and Athena Batsios will be coordinating this new effort and they will be reaching out to the congregation for volunteers to make this a success. I don’t think one could find a local mission that puts so much
benefit in the hands of those in need for so little cost…and if that’s not a Christian mission, I don’t know what
is !!
THE RELATIONSHIP OF PREVENTION TO WHOLISTIC HEALTH CARE
I was unaware that Rev. Dr. Granger Westberg, Lutheran Pastor in the ELCA*, was the first to change the
spelling of holistic health by adding a W. He was corrected by his editor at the Harper and Row. Granger
wrote to him: “Please let me spell it with a w. It will make it easier for people to understand the concept of
wholeness.” [*taken from FCN Friend; Perspectives Vol 15, No.1 Spring 2016]
And the editor agreed.
* reminder Pastor Greg Tennermann met Dr. Westberg and interned in one of his clinics in Chicago
Long ago when I spelled the word with a W, Momma Mare did the same as Granger’s editor. My explanation
was: that when the spiritual component was added to physical-emotional-intellectual (mind) as needing care
and balance for health, Parish Nurses are addressing the Whole Person = all of one’s needs for maintaining
or improving their health. “The correct descriptor for the work of faith community nurses is wholistic.” PG. 8
PERSPECTIVESS Spring 2016
Rev. Granger’s daughter, Jane, in her book: Gentle Rebel: The Life and Work of Granger Westberg (2015),
describes his work embracing personalized care which included the following: self-responsibility and emphasized prevention (medicine). Throughout my 55 years of nursing I have learned this from so many leaders
and great teachers of our time.
Most recently, attending a lecture of Depok Chopra at Proctors, this was again stressed. But in addition: I
again heard and saw evidence from major studies done with scientists that our genetics Do Not have to
determine our health. Chopra also taught (as does Leonard Pearlmutter of the Meditation Center in Averill
Park) ‘we are not our bodies nor our minds’; but we are a spirit having a human experience. As Jesus taught
“I am in you and you in me.” Our body is a temple of God.
Each human being has Choices for Prevention of Diseases making us responsible and there is so much in
our control-if we are willing to accept this responsibility. God has given each of us ability to make decisions
which actually can change our DNA. This is now evident in scientific studies. Chopra’s new book is titled
“Super Gene” which can be purchased thru Amazon.
We have had many educational programs addressing healthy choices but they only help the few who choose
to take advantage of them. Prevention is so much easier, pain free, and less costly than surgery or treatment
of illness.
The following is taken from the International Parish Nurse Resource Center Position Paper “…………….The
principles of wholistic health arose from the understanding that humans strive for wholeness in their relationship to their God or higher power, their families, the society, and the environment in which they live…………”
*pg.8 Perspectives Spring 2016
I ask you to consider--are you striving for Wholistic Health and learning all you can about changing your DNA
to live healthier and longer?
COMING EVENTS
June 25 Red Cross Blood Drive 8AM to 1PM
October 13th (time TBD) title “BULLYING: Through the Eyes of a By-stander” speaker Mike F. Fonda, professional educator for SACVAP through Samaritan Hospital (his mission is prevention- through education- of
Bullying, and Sexual Assault)
MUSIC IN WORSHIP
Hi there. I'm writing to all of you as the chairperson of the Worship and Music committee. As you know, we
have been fruitlessly searching for a new organist to allow Joyce to retire. Because we have had no luck
finding a proper replacement, it has been proposed that we as a congregation consider buying a programmable music system to replace most of the live organ music in church. Greg Whitney has researched this
program and has visited other churches that use it, and it seems to be a very flexible program that may serve
St. Timothy's needs temporarily or more permanently.
Before this proposal can move forward, I am charged with recruiting more participants into the Worship and
Music Committee to discuss the pros and cons of the system and form a recommendation to the Council. If
you choose to join the committee, plan on meeting about 3 times a month for the next two months or so. The
main function of the committee will be to:
 discuss our music needs at St. Timothys and create a list identifying them
 determine if this proposed system would meet those needs, we will generate questions about the system
that will need to be answered by the vendor or through our own research
 discuss the pros and cons of the system and form a recommendation to the Council
 find at least 4-5 volunteers who would be willing to learn the system and run it during Sunday morningworship services if we choose to purchase it
I encourage any person who has an interest in the music at St. Timothy's to consider making a two month
commitment to the Worship and Music committee. Music is and has always been an important part of our
service at St. Timothy's. Let's come together and make a joyful noise!
Rebecca Gaudino
LUTHERAN RENSCO PARISH UPDATE - MAY 2016
Jon G., Greg W. and I attended the April 26 meeting where Pastor Norma Malfatti made a very informative presentation that greatly clarified the process we would pursue to combine with Gilead and Trinity
(WSL) to form a new Lutheran Parish. But, first I want to make sure we all understand the process
STIMS is actually currently pursuing.
We are currently pursuing our own call for a halftime Pastor to serve STIMS. A lot of work continues to
go into this effort: congregational surveys were completed; our Transition Team has almost finalized our
MSP (Ministry Site Profile) which will be forwarded to the Synod as part of our Call Process; and the
STIMS Council has begun discussions on seeking members of the congregation to serve on the Call
Committee. We understand we can afford only a half-time Pastor, and that the availability of Pastors to
respond to such a Call is very limited, nevertheless, we all need to understand our own Call is the main
process we are pursuing. Although we hear a lot about the “Parish”, it is really an alternative to our current Call Process and that it has not replaced or superseded that approach. That being said, here is a
brief outline of the highlights of the April 26 meeting:
The large group meetings will be replaced by three working teams and each church will be asked on
select members to serve on these teams.
THE GUIDING TEAM: two members from each church will develop budgets for ministry and discern
which buildings will continue in the new Parish. The GUIDING TEAM will be accountable to the
Councils of the congregations.
THE MISSION TEAM: one or two members from each church will work to create opportunities for all
to pray together and develop a mission plan
THE FELLOWSHIP TEAM: one or two members from each church will create opportunities for the
congregations to “get to know each other”.
The proposed timeline is a follows:
MAY: congregations name members to the three teams.
JUNE-AUGUST: Teams work to create plans .
SEPTEMBER: Teams make presentations to the congregations and gather feedback.
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER: Synod finalizes Developer/Pastoral candidate and Co-op student.
NOVEMBER: Congregations meet and vote on parish proposal; Synod votes on candidates.
DECEMBER-JANUARY: Parish is officially created; Mission Developer staff begins ministry.
So, there is a very abbreviated outline of the highlights of the process that we could follow to develop a
proposal which could be presented to the three congregations that could lead to the development of a
combined Lutheran Parish. That is a lot of “could”s.
But there are also some “shoulds”.
We all should each…. prayerfully consider where the Spirit is leading each of us each in this matter…
try and become as informed as possible while
recognizing much remains to be worked
out…try to attend one of the weekly informal
communication meetings (after worship) we
are trying to hold and …..try to not be too
anxious as these uncharted waters are explored.
TRANSITION TEAM NEWS!
As we prayerfully try to discern our future pathway for St Timothy’s, I would like to refer back to Pr Chuck’s message last Sunday. The setting for the Gospel lesson from John was again in the upper room during the last supper.
Towards the end of the evening’s significant and life changing events, Jesus, fully knowing that he is about to be
betrayed, arrested, flogged, tried, convicted, and hanged on a tree for our sins, still takes the time to PRAY FOR
HIS DISCIPLES AND US! He is not asking that God the Father take care of him, but that we are being entrusted
to God’s care and love! How can we fathom this depth of love becomes somewhat evident this Sunday as we celebrate Pentecost. We and the disciples are (were) blessed with the presence of the Holy Spirit even as we try to
be God’s presence in a very difficult world.
So as the transition team completes its mission in preparing a traditional MSP (Mission Site Profile) document, we
will then present it to the Congregational Council for its revision/approval and then have it forwarded onto the Synod for perusal by potential pastoral candidates. Please understand that because of our financial status, this MSP
document represents a call for a half time pastor and not a full time pastor. As we follow Jesus’ prayer advice, we
also should be “praying without ceasing” for guidance and discernment as we try to answer God’s call for this
group of believers as to how we can best serve our mission in this community. What mission? Being God’s hands
and feet and eyes and ears as we live out our faith and bring the “Good News” to whomever we run into or spend
time with during our daily jobs and activities. Pray for all of us as we look to the Holy Spirit for guidance and grace
that is freely and generously provided us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May we also think of
others before ourselves, as did Jesus, as we go deliberately in asking God for guidance, then prayers for growth as
we study scripture knowing that God is with us, and finally go
out into the world with prayer and a strength and conviction
which “…passes all understanding” knowing that the Advocate
is with us always as we share God’s amazing love and grace.
Jon Getbehead
COUNCIL MEETING NOTES
To keep everyone apprised of matters discussed at our monthly Congregational Council meetings, here
are some of the highlights of the April 20, 2016 meeting:
Our Pastoral Leader in Transition, Dan Hahn, began the meeting with devotions and reported on his activities.
Discussed the use of Memorial funds (and other separate funds) for STIMS purposes. Brian will resign as
Treasurer at the end of 2016. (“Interested candidates are urged to apply” !!)
Jon G. reported the MSP is almost complete; Council discussed selection of members for the Call Committee
Food for Friends summer lunch program was discussed and endorsed. Greg W. will lead this effort.
Greg W. reported on research he has done about acquiring a system to provide our music electronically in
the event an organist is not found. Rebecca G. will head a Committee to investigate the viability of this
idea.
Discussions continue regarding the Rensselaer County Parish and we will plan on holding a series of
meetings AFTER SUNDAY WORSHIP with the congregation to discuss developments in this process.
The next Council Meeting is at 6:00 on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 in the rear classroom and on the third
Wednesday of each month in the future. These meetings are open and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
The members of the Congregation Council are: Bob Crowley, President; Jon Getbehead, Vice President;
Athena Batsios, Secretary, Bonny Mounteer, Financial Secretary, Donna Littlejohn, Sharon Demartini, Lisa
Hansen and Greg Whitney. Brian Frasier is our Treasurer.
GETTING TO KNOW
YOU….US…AND THEM
Among other matters, at the parish
development meeting on April 23, we discussed
the need for the three churches to simply 'get to
know one another". Dave Anthony (the Council
President of Gilead), Maureen Hoffman (President
of Trinity WSL) and I got together and hit on the
idea of sharing one service each month this summer….. all three congregations would worship together at one church for one Sunday each month
this summer. I’ll wager many of us aren’t even
sure where Gilead and Trinity WSL are located…let
alone having visited them. And I’d also wager,
most people from the other churches aren’t familiar
with STTIMS.
Now that Spring is finally upon us, we need
to conduct our annual Spring clean-up day
at St. Timothy as we must clean our little
church (inside and out) and weed/trim the
grounds. The date for our “Spring Cleanup Day” has been scheduled for Saturday,
May 21, 2016 at 9:00 AM (rain or shine).
Neither skill nor tools required and all volunteers are welcome… remember, no job is
too small and any small amount of your
time can help. Please help us keep our
church beautiful. Thanks in advance.
Note: the window cleaning requirements
have been reduced by 80% since last year.
So, we came up with the following schedule to at
least and make a start at becoming a bit more familiar with each other. The schedule we set for the
three congregations to worship together is:
June 12, worship will be a Gilead at 11:00
July 10, worship will be at St Timothy's at 10:30
August 14, worship will be at Trinity WSL at 9:00.
We're hoping this will be one of several efforts for
the members of the congregations to get to know
one another as we explore the possible workings
of a United Rensselaer County Parish.
Bob C.
FREE MOVIE NIGHT
Place: St. Timothy’s Church
When: Friday, May 20 @ 6:30 pm
FREE POPCORN AND BOTTLED WATER
Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic
Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from
the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First
Order. When a defector named Finn crashlands on a desert planet, he meets Rey
(Daisy Ridley), a tough scavenger whose
droid contains a top-secret map. Together,
the young duo joins forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Resistance receives the
intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi
Knights.
August 1st-5th
PETS UN-LEASHED –
WHERE JESUS CARES “FUR” YOU!
St. Timothy's has been holding a Community Vacation Bible School for over 30 years! Each summer
kids come to learn about the abundant love of God in Jesus. They have fun and learn they are beloved children of God.
This year's theme teaches that Jesus sheds light on how to live and that we can give all our cares
to God because God cares about us! These lessons will be carried throughout our crafts, science
projects, songs, skits, and snacks!!! Your kids will come home singing, sharing all that we have
done together!
Cost is $20 per child. If three or more children attend from one family, we ask for a donation of
$40 to cover them all. We don't want finances to ever be a reason why kids can't come.
We can accommodate gluten free campers. We have a nurse on staff. Children ages 4 and up are
welcome. Three year olds can attend if an adult can stay with them for the morning.
Questions? Please call 326-5276 (Marilyn). Online registration at [email protected]. Hope your kids will join us for another wonderful week of
VBS at St. Timothy's!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Adult Bible Study at 9:00am every Sunday
Sunday School 9:30am (last day is June 5)
Tai Chi Classes (in the sanctuary) Tuesdays 7pm-8pm and Wednesday 3pm-4pm
05/16 St. Tim’s Quilting Group (First and Third Monday of each month)
05/18 Council Meeting 6:00pm (third Wednesday of each month)
5/20 Free Movie Night 6:30pm Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Third Friday of each month)
5/21 Spring Clean-up Day EVERYONE IS NEEDED
5/30 Men of St. Timothy’s (MOST) meeting (Last Monday of each month)
06/03 Sixties Dance party for World Hunger 6:30pm
06/04 Regional Food Bank Packing 9:30am (First Saturday of each month)
06/12 Worship will be at Gilead at 11am
06/12 Hawthorne Visit (Second Sunday of each month)
06/19 Annual Congregational Picnic (please sign up to bring a
dish)
06/25 Red Cross Blood Drive 8am-1pm
07/10 three church worship at St Timothy's
08/1-5 Vacation Bible School 8:30am-12:30pm
10/13 Parish Nurse Program on Bullying
08/14 Worship will be at Trinity WSL at 9:00.
A kindergarten teacher was walking around observing her classroom of children while they were drawing
pictures. As she got to one girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."
Without looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."
St. Timothy’s
Evangelical Lutheran Church
470 Winter Street Extension, North Greenbush, NY
Pastor Dan Hahn: 281-8127 Email: [email protected]
Bob Crowley, Council President: 283-7364 Email: [email protected]
Liz Macris, Parish Nurse: 687-0310 Email: [email protected]
Rebecca Gaudino, Newsletter Editor and Secretary 545-6777
Joyce Zwiebel, Organist 283-0086
Church Office: 283-1372
Email: [email protected]
Like us on
Facebook
Website: sttlc.org