The Gethsemane Witness - Gethsemane Lutheran Church

What’s Inside?
 August Calendar and Ministry Schedule
 August Birthdays
 Service Possibilities!
The Gethsemane Witness
GETHSEMANE LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Pastor Ponders...
August 2015
www.gethsemanesd.org
[email protected]
2696 Melbourne Dr., San Diego, CA 92123
Church Office: 858-277-6572
FAX : 858-277-6511
I’m shocked. It’s August! Where did
the summer go? I know that June was
complicated by one week in North Dakota
and another at Luther Glen near Yucaipa for
Confirmation Camp. Well, complicated only
Pastor Gloria
by time away… both were rich experiences
that energized me. (Did you notice??)
July was “complicated” with an additional 1/4 time for
pastoral ministry and by having our kitchen cabinets and
flooring redone. Packing my books and loose things and then
having almost every piece of furniture in the back yard for a
week took some effort. Yet, here too, July was complicated
only by the choices for ministry an additional day created
and by the disruption of our routine. The final product is
great! (Have you noticed my “serene side” from renewed
living space, a Curio Cabinet for my teapot collection, and my
own room for an office, i.e. “woman cave”, after 20 years?)
So now it’s August. Wonderfully complicated by new
possibilities and new ministries from more time, new energy
from others, and new members bringing us their gifts for
mission and ministry. A key change is that the Monday
Morning Text Study will have an additional hour and a new
format. The first hour, 9:30-10:20am, is “Reading the Bible
For All It’s Worth.” Here, the focus is on the historical and
literary dimensions of the Sunday texts and the Bible as a
whole. After a break so that you may easily choose part or
all of the morning, we will do what we have been doing for
years…studying the texts for the next Sunday. In this time
(10:30am to noon), I am adding reflecting on the liturgy for
Sunday. If this intrigues you, come and try it. If there is a
group who would gather once or twice a month in the evening
to explore Bible texts and Sunday’s liturgy, just ask!
What else? Renewed Christ Bearers Ministry to share
bread and wine from the Sunday Table with those who
cannot assembly for worship regularly. Pacifica Synod’s
Youth Ministry Training to which Jenny Mendoza and I will
go so we may deepen what we do in the Middle School years.
Have a final Gospel Music Concert for the summer and ask,
“What’s next?” Have a final time for “Spirituality and Disability” and ask, “What’s next?” Deepen the relationships
which have already begun with our newest members. This
and more. Alleluia. We are growing in our capacity to
answer God’s call to be God’s people in this time and place.
Meet Our New Staff
...Peggy Watkins has joined us
as the Administrative Assistant.
Peggy most recently served in
that capacity at College Lutheran
until they closed. She comes
highly recommended by the
Pastors there and has a resume
filled with office management.
Peggy had planned several trips
in 2015 since she expected to be
out of work for a while. We
found a way to work around her
plans and have already begun a
wonderful relationship. Peggy
works on Tuesday, Wednesday,
and Thursday from 9am to 2pm.
Stop in and meet her some day…
welcome, Peggy!
...Ellen Wagner was available to
pitch in when our Janitor Mindy
Arneson Garcia welcomed some
time off for visits by their
grandchildren. Mindy is still
keeping us in supplies and will
help Ellen as needed. You’ll see
Ellen on Monday and Friday
mornings. She also has been
available for some catchup jobs
and helping with the Friendship
Lunch on Wednesdays. Welcome,
Ellen.
*****
Choir is coming soon!
...Wednesday, September 2,
from 6:30-8pm
...no experience required
because there are great leads in
each section
...special gifts of music at
Christmas and Easter
...if you have questions, talk
with Ken Baker
Page 2
...A Word from our Neighbor…
Kit Mickleson, President of Ascension Lutheran Church,
wrote an article of joyous discovery of what it means to
be a missional church for their August newsletter and
graciously allowed us to quote from it.
(This set of statements is the key insight that Kit came to...)
God’s church doesn’t have a mission in the world.
God’s mission in the world has a church!
The church is not an end in itself.
It is the means to God’s Mission.
Dear Members and Friends of Ascension,
The idea of “Thinking Outside the Box” is, for all practical
purposes, new to me, and it’s quite possible that I have been one
of those people who didn’t quite know that there was a box to
think outside of. In other words, I’ve been slow to get the idea,
and slower still to figure out how to change my thinking.
With that said, I want to tell you about my journey (this week)
and my foray into discovering the difference between Mission
and Missional…people and church leadership all over-the-map
are not only talking about this but are putting these concepts of
change into practice by collaborating with other leaders within
their own communities, cities, and churches. I was struck by how
much I had to learn, and how much I had to learn to really listen
to the words of scholars who are already working through these
issues.
We face new challenges and opportunities both in embracing our past and engaging our present. To do so, 21st
century leaders must develop a missional mindset....
Developing a missional mindset involves understanding the
tension and resulting church conflict between maintaining
traditional systems and adapting emerging strategies for
missional outreach. …
We must not define missional thinking to either/or. Instead it
recognizes the importance of alternative models, styles and
methods, creatively birthed by the Holy Spirit, and targeted
for …ministry and outreach in the community....
A church with a mission program usually sees mission as
one activity alongside many activities of the church—
Christian education, worship, acts of service, hospitality, and
other programs.
A missional church focuses...its activities around its participation in God’s mission in the world....
I cannot give you a complete review of the articles and book
mentioned above but I can tell you that they opened a new door
for me and, through them, my anxieties about change and
direction for Ascension have been quelled. I’d love to have each
of you read these articles and watch the videos, and then let me
know what you think about them.
In His Service,
Kit Mickelson
August
Mindy Garcia 1st
Dianne Finnecy 4th
Pam Howard 5th
Sheila Peterson 11th
Ann Larion 15th
Scott Miller 24th
Jeffrey Jenkins 24th
Take me out to the ballgame...
The Padres fundraiser for the Serra
Mesa Food Pantry will be Saturday,
August 8, with the Padres vs. Phillies
at Petco Park. This game has a Padres
throwback jersey for the giveaway.
Tickets are $38 with half going to the
Food Pantry. Jerry Albert is
again leading this
effort…tickets are
available now and
going fast. Get yours soon!
Table Talk
”Spirituality and Disability”
Under the leadership of Cyndi Jones
with help from Jon Peterson and Bill
Stothers, we’ve had a “mission probe”
around “Spirituality and Disability”
since March. We met first on Saturday
mornings and then this summer at
3:30pm before the Gospel Concerts in a
format called “Table Talk”.
The conversations in June and July
were rich and deep. Many shared how
their bodies both evoke and shape their
spiritual questions. There are different
questions and different answers as one
would expect in an “eclectic” group.
Where is God in my life? How does
God call us to serve? How does God
call us to see and be with one another?
This Table Talk will happen one
more time on August 22 at 3:30pm. All
are invited to come. One question is,
“What’s next?” We invite you to be in
prayerful reflection about this.
Page 3
Around the property and grounds…
Maintenance Coordinator Chuck Cheek continues
to tackle the small projects that if left would be
major. The rains showed us that we have an issue
with the drainage off the brow ditch behind the
Preschool which will take some major research and
addressing.
The “Odd Job Club” and “Gethsemane Gardeners”
will meet on Saturday, August 15. We plan touch
up painting in the Chapel and Narthex. We set the
time at 7am for the early risers but we’ll take you
any time!
The shrubs look good because our Gardener
Troung and his crew are taking care of them.
Waterwise, we continue to reduce our use. Do
you have ideas for renewing the shrub area along
the driveway? It is looking tired but whatever we
would plan would need to be drought tolerant.
Alan Nations and Jeffrey Jenkins are drawing
plans for the area around the front sign. This is an
exciting next step for this long awaited project.
NEWS FLASH:
the “Visitation of the Pink Flamingos” at
Gethsemane is coming August 10-31
In May and June, we heard that Pink Flamingos
were showing up in the front yards of members of
Tierrasanta Lutheran Church. Turns out that, for a
donation to the Youth Fund for the ELCA Youth
Gathering in Detroit in July, the flamingos only
stayed 3 days. (Info alert: Jenny Mendoza went to
Detroit with the Youth Group from Tierrasanta, and
Sydney & Jordan Cummings and Pastor Gloria went
to Confirmation Camp in June.)
Now we hear these same flamingos are on their
way to Gethsemane. Be advised
that a donation to the GLC Youth
Fund gets you an insurance policy
to keep the lovely pink flamingos
out of your yard. Rumor also has it
that, for a donation, you may have
them delivered to someone “to tell
them you love them!” (Caveat: not
delivered if homeowner has “pink
flamingo insurance”.) Turns out the
flamingoes got bored hiding out
among their friends at the San Diego
Zoo!
News from The Serra Mesa Village…
“a neighborly network of seniors for seniors”
The Serra Mesa Village is creating opportunities
for community among Serra Mesa seniors. The
Village concept is built upon the reality that most
neighborhoods become “unplanned retirement
communities” for the people who want to stay in
their own homes as long as they can. Each Village
develops according to the needs in their neighborhood to provide a network of activities and resources for life to be full and supported. Santee is
the latest to explore this concept, and Gethsemane
member Judy Dykins who has lived in Santee for
many years is in on the ground floor.
The General Membership meetings are held
from 3-5pm on the third Thursday of each month
at the Library on Aero and are open to all. On
August 20 the focus is “Wellness” with guests Leslie
Johnson who teaches Tai Chi, Tom Leech who
walks all over San Diego (and has a book to prove
it!), and our latest addition to the community,
Crunch Fitness, which has a program for the variety
of seniors there are. We also will have information
on a proposed “low impact exercise” program that
is being proposed for Serra Mesa seniors.
To “jump start” the Care and Health Committee,
Gethsemane received a $4,000 Edgar Grant from
Lutheran Social Services. The Village Board and
Membership are grateful to us! The Care/Health
Committee is now forming. Interested?
On the second and fourth Tuesdays, there is a
“Drop In” time in our own Garden Room from
1-4pm for games, crafts, or good old fashioned
visiting while meeting new friends.
Local trips are planned for the 1st Thursday of
each month. August 6 will be a visit to the Visitors
Center at Mission Trails Regional Park. September
brings an outing to the Natural History Museum.
All who want to go meet at the Library on Aero at
11am to carpool or just meet at the destination.
RSVP to [email protected] or call 858-5652473 to leave a message.
For more about the concept of the Village and
how it is going in Serra Mesa, talk with Pastor
Gloria or simply come to a meeting or outing.
Membership dues are only $25 per year per person
and we have some scholarships available.
This is our 55th year as a Christian community in
this place. “Gethsemane” is a garden on the
Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. When someone planted the three olive trees at the front
entrance over 50 years ago, they set in motion
what has been evolving over the past 14 years as
we have been exploring “Mission and Ministry”.
Ge ths e m a ne L ut he r a n Chur ch
2696 M e l bour ne Dr ive
S a n Die g o, C A 9 2123
Phone: (858) 277-6572 - Fax: (858) 277-6511
Preschool: (858) 277-7710
Check out our Website
at
www.gethsemanesd.org
Gethsemane Lutheran Church...
grounded in the gospel, anchored in Word
and Sacrament, traditional yet creative,
seeking to be God’s people in this time
and place.
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Gospel Concert Series
with
Andy and Debbie Attwood
August 22
3:30pm — Table Talk
“Spirituality and Disability”
5:00pm — Gospel Concert
6:00pm — Salad Bar Supper
Invite someone to join you!