May - Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church

Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church
Messiah Messenger
Volume 2016, Issue 5
May
Notice: Pastors Lisa and Matthew will be on vacation
from April 25th to May 14th. During this time Pastor Nathan Baker-Trinity will be on-call to care for pastoral
needs. Pr. Baker-Trinity can be reached at: (570) 6582001 [Beaver Lutheran] or (218) 280-8210 [cell].
Inside this issue:
Changing Flags at the cemetery
Worship Leaders 2
Schedule
Flags will be changed on Sunday, May 22nd during the
Sunday School hour. Everyone is welcome to come help!
Prayer List
3
Council meeting - May 19
Pastor’s Article
4
Council will have its monthly meeting on Thursday, May
19th at 7:00pm.
News and Notes
6
Birthdays and
Anniversaries
8
VBS - June 6th - 10th
Youth page
13
You will find the registration form in the back of the newsletter, page 14.
Calendar
16
Newsletter Deadline - May 24th
The Deadline for June’s Newsletter is Tuesday, May 24th.
Messiah Messenger
From the Pastor
Pastor’s Office Hours: Tues & Thurs: 9 am - 2 p.m.; Wed: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Fri: OFF
Please call the office before coming to the church to be sure that I am available. If you
have an emergency please contact me immediately via my cell phone: 717-357-3475.
Worship Leader Schedule for May
Altar Guild - Kathy Bingman and
29 Lisa Mitchell
Donna Zechman
Assisting Minister - Shana Klingler
Communion Leaders
01 Ken Kreamer
Greeters
08 Ken Kreamer
01 Alma & Myron Mitchell
15 Josh Weiser
08 Elgarda & Charles Mitchell
22 Steve & Katrina Erb
15 Shana & Corey Klingler
29 Elgarda Mitchell
22 Lisa & Dan Mitchell
29 Cailey & Morgan Klinepeter
Offering Leaders
01 Elgarda & Charles Mitchell
Acolytes
08 Scott & Wendy Rager
01 Morgan Klinepeter and Jarrett Erb
15 Bob & Sandy Bickhart
08 Carlie and Haley Lepley
22 Shana & Corey Klingler
15 Trevor, Michael, Carlie, Dylan and Haley
29 Wendy Romig
22 Carlie, Haley, Morgan, Dylan and Jarrett
29 Trevor Harris
Counting Helper
01 Carla Kreamer
Lector
08 Trina Klinepeter
01 Rodney Master
15 Trina Klinepeter
08 Lisa Mitchell
22 Dan Mitchell
15 Brittany Folk
29 Wendy Romig
22 Kathy Bingman
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Volume 2016, Issue 5
A Note from the Secretary
My office hours are going to be varied for the next few months. Deadlines will be
the same. Make sure to have any information for the bulletins turned into me by Monday.
The deadline for May’s newsletter is Tuesday, May 24, 2016. You can reach me via my
cell or at [email protected].
Do not leave things on the desk for me, as I am not guaranteed to get them; put all
items for me in my mailbox.
People enjoy seeing what is happening at Messiah! If you are at an event please
take some pictures or write up a little something about the event that I can then share in
the next newsletter.
Thanks, and God Bless!
Mary Ellen
Prayer List
Neil Bilger, Dale Bingaman, Tony Bowersox, Dolores Bressler, Lori Ciccolini, Gary Cutler,
Sr., Lori Davis, Betty Drumheller, Donald Ellis, Jean Ewig, Rod Ewig, Ronnie Ewig, Dave
Folk, Dana Hauck, Dennis Herbster, Arlene Keister, Isabel Kline, Tonya Kline, Amy Kratzer,
Mildred Krick, Mildred Landis, Mary Lauver, Denny Manhart, Peg Mattern, Cindy McCarrick, Jeanne McGlauglin, Jess Morris, Phyllis Moyer, Bill Reynolds, Kim Rigel, Raymond
Stumpf, Karen Swab, Rose Marie Swanger, Melissa Swartzlander, Elwood Trutt, Robert
Walter, Marvin & Judy Wagner, Joe White, Donnie Wilhour, Dale Wright, Joshua Wright
Our Servicemen
Brent Burdge, Kogan Mitchell, Aaron Moyer, Zach Moyer, Cory Troxell
First Responders
Lucas Bingman, Katrina Erb, George Hohman, Ross Mitchell, Brandt Zimmerman
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Messiah Messenger
Coming of Age
Sunday, May 15, is the Festival of Pentecost. On this Day the Church commemorates and
celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom God poured out upon Jesus’ disciples fifty days
after He was raised from the dead, thereby establishing the Church of Jesus Christ and
enabling the disciples to witness to the crucified and risen Lord. Sunday, May 15, is also
the day on which Haley Lepley and Morgan Klinepeter, Messiah’s current Confirmation
students, will undergo the Rite of Confirmation and be confirmed in the Christian faith.
The Day of Pentecost is a particularly appropriate day for Confirmation to take place because on this Day when we thank God for the gift of His Spirit, we also ask for His same
Spirit to fill anew the Confirmands, as exemplified in this prayer from the Rite:
Father in heaven, for Jesus’ sake, stir up in ________ the gift of Your Holy Spirit;
confirm
her faith, guide her life, empower her in her serving, give her patience in suffering, and bring her to everlasting life. Amen.
Why this emphasis on the Spirit within the Rite of Confirmation? Lutheran Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit is bestowed upon a person through the Sacrament of Baptism.
We believe that the Spirit comes to dwell with every baptized person, and that the Spirit is
the One who is responsible for creating faith within that person…no matter that person’s
age. This is why Lutherans practice infant Baptism. Yet we also believe that, since infants
and other very young children do not possess the cognitive capability to grasp the basic
tenets of the Christian faith and consequently to consciously live as disciples of Jesus in
the world, parents and other responsible adults must, in a very real sense, live the faith
for them. At the time of Baptism parents and sponsors promise to ‘faithfully bring the child
to the services of God’s house, and teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creeds, and the Ten
Commandments,’ and, ‘as they grow in years […] to place in their hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for their instruction in the Christian faith, that, living in the covenant of
their Baptism and in communion with the Church, they may lead godly lives until the day
of Jesus Christ.’ By doing so, parents and guardians and Baptismal sponsors allow the Holy Spirit, working through His chosen means of God’s Word and Sacraments, to produce
faith within the baptized child.
It is at the time of Confirmation, however, that our young Christians take on the responsibility for nurturing their faith relationship with God. This is why the Rite of Confirmation—also known as Affirmation of Baptism—begins with these words:
Congregational President: These young people— Morgan Klinepeter and Haley
Lepley—
have been instructed in the Christian faith and desire to make public affirmation of their Baptism.
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Volume 2016, Issue 5
Page 5
Messiah Messenger
News and Notes

The Choir is no longer meeting due to lack of singers. If you are interested in serving in
this vital ministry, please contact Michelle Bixler.

The Women of the ELCA are looking for new members. If you are interested in joining
contact Elgarda Mitchell.

The container in the Narthex is to collect soda can tabs which are donated to the
Ronald McDonald House.

Members, please make sure you are filling out your Communion record cards!
To the Members of Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church,
Thank you so much for your prayers and also the beautiful planter of pansies. Also thank
you for the monetary gift. Both were greatly appreciated.
Cathy Dippery,
Dover, PA
Good Stewards of the Month
Morgan Klinepeter and Haley Lepley have been nominated to be the “Good Stewards
of the Month” for May. The girls were selected because of the outstanding job they
did in producing and directing the children’s program for Easter this year at Messiah.
The idea for this project came up in catechism class, as a possible way for them to
demonstrate leadership as well as stewardship and to accommodate the number
and ages of our children. They even came up with some unique ideas for the music
that was presented, changing the words from a song to suit the program, all of which
was very well done and very much enjoyed by all who attended. Thank you Haley and
Morgan for your willingness to serve in this capacity and maybe this is just the beginning of your directing careers!
Page 6
Volume 2016, Issue 5
Marriage Encounter Weekends 2016
Attention Married Couples: So you’ve done maintenance for your car—how about your marriage? Make 2016 the year you decide to attend a Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekend
to learn how to make your marriage a more intimate, loving, Christian union.
Lutheran Marriage Encounter Weekends run from Friday night at 8 PM to Sunday around 4
PM and have been enriching marriages of couples of all ages for 40 years! In addition to
the $100 per couple registration fee, you will be given an opportunity near the end of the
weekend to make a confidential contribution of whatever amount you wish toward the continuation of the program. Two nights lodging, 5 meals for each of you, and all supplies are
included.
The 2016 Pennsylvania Weekends are:
 September 16-18, 2016 at Spruce Lake Retreat Center, Canadensis, PA, a new, hotelstyle facility on Spruce Lake in the heart of the Pocono Mountains – an hour north of
Allentown
 October 21-23, 2016 at Olmsted Retreat Center, Ludlow, PA, a stunning, hotel-style retreat center adjacent to the Olmsted Mansion situated on a hillside in the Allegheny National Forest, an hour north of DuBois
Registrations are limited, so act today to ensure that you can attend the Weekend of your
choice. To sign up online, go to: www.GodLovesMarriage.org and pay the registration fee
using your credit card, or mark the option to mail in a check. For questions, or if you would
like a brochure mailed to you, contact Pennsylvania Directors of Lutheran Marriage Encounter, Fred & Julie Schamber, at 724-325-3166 or email: [email protected].
Page 7
Messiah Messenger
May Birthdays
02 Michelle Krick
Pastor Matthew
05 Lauryn Everly
14 Ben Moyer
15 Gayle Bowersox
17 Kina Lepley
May Anniversaries
02 Wendy & James Romig
24 Judy & Dennis Snook
11 Frona & Myron Mitchell (69)
28 Elgarda & Charles Mitchell (50)
Trina & Mike Klinepeter
14 Lisa & Dan Mitchell
15 Shana & Corey Klingler
20 Donna Zechman
20 Lisa & Matthew Schuster (10)
28 Gary Cutler, Jr
21 Crystal & Steven Kuhns
31 Michael Harris
Coming of Age
Pastor: Dear sisters in Christ, we rejoice that you now desire to make public profession of
your faith and assume greater responsibility in the life of our Christian community and its
ministry in the world.
Or, in other words, when our students are confirmed, they have ‘grown up.’ They are
adults in the Church, and now take on their own shoulders the promises which their parents made in their stead on the long-ago day of their Baptism into Christ. I feel reasonably
confident that Morgan and Haley will make good on their affirmation of their baptismal
promises, and will continue to cultivate their relationship with God through private devotion, acts of service, and regular participation in our corporate worship. If nothing else,
these two fine young people have over the two years of Confirmation instruction shown
themselves to be eager to share Jesus with others; Confirmation ministry for them, therefore, has in large part entailed gaining a deeper understanding of a long-held faith, heretofore dimly grasped, for the sake of sharing that faith.
This is well and good for our Confirmands, and I thank God for them, as I do for all of
our young people. Yet, I must ask: what of our adults? Sadly, we have a number of members who, while adults chronologically, are by no means grown-ups in the faith. By and
large I am not thinking here of our active membership. Instead, I refer to those who have
let things that really are of little or no consequence interfere with their primary calling in
this world, which is to witness to God’s goodness as He has revealed Himself in Jesus
Christ. Many make all manner of excuses for not following in the way of our Lord and Savior which—after all—is the way of the Cross. They come to church only infrequently, if at all,
and when they do come they limit their participation in our shared life in Christ to time
spent in corporate worship. And so for those largely inactive-by-choice members, I wonder
if perhaps it is high time for them to take a page from our Confirmation students’ faith
lives, and grow up.
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Volume 2016, Issue 5
Council Meeting Minutes for March
March 17, 2016
Present: Craig Bingman; Mary Ellen Bingman; Michelle Bixler; Barb Bowersox
Brittany Folk; Barb Fultz; Shana Klingler; Karen Lauver; Josh Mosteller; Ben Moyer; Josh
Weiser; Pastor Matthew
Absent: Tara Rau
Devotions: Shana Klingler, focused on St. Patrick, followed by a prayer
President Michelle Bixler opened the meeting
OFFICERS REPORTS:
Secretary – passed as given
Treasurer – passed as given
Pastor – (2/19/16-3/17/16) passed as given
Christian Education:
02/21, 28; 03/13 Confirmation instruction
03/13 Led adult Sunday school
02/24; 03/02, 09, 16 Led Lenten DVD study
Meetings:
03/03 Middlecreek Valley Ministerium
03/13 Worship and Music
Other Ministry:
03/09 Presided at funeral and committal of Pauline Margaret Narehood
03/02 Mitchell-Hohman premarital preparation
Ongoing: Support of local married couples
Visits Made:
In Care Facilities: 13
In Homes:
5
In Hospitals:
4
Visits Received:
1
Total:
23
Mileage 494 / Amount to reimburse: $247
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Messiah Messenger
Council Meeting Minutes continued
MINISTRY REPORTS:
Property: Josh Weiser, Chairperson
●Women’s restroom sink to be done.
●Light in basement nearly completed.
●Josh W. and Josh M. looked at outside basement doors and determined they will need to
be overhauled, but are not totally useless as of yet.
●Josh W and Ben will service the mowers.
●Changed light bulbs in sanctuary.
Worship and Music: Mary Ellen Bingman, Chairperson
●The palms are here.
●There will be no organ playing during Palm Sunday procession due to difficulty hearing
and trying to keep up with the music playing.
●Communion ware is done except common cup which needs redone due to shape.
●Michelle will now be working every fifth Sunday and needs someone to play piano to
lead music during service.
Christian Education: Barb Bowersox, Chairperson
The Easter egg hunt will take place again at the Mosteller’s farm.
Sexton: Barb Bowersox
The painting in the narthex is done.
Social: Barb Fultz, Chairperson
Ham / dandelion dinner: Flyers are out. The newspaper announcement is done. Sign up
sheets are posted. The dinner is 4/2.
Stewardship: Karen Lauver, Chairperson
No report.
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Volume 2016, Issue 5
Council Minutes
Finance: Craig Bingman, Chairperson
On 3/13/16 Lucas Bingman, Kina Lepley, Marcus Klingler, along with Josh Mosteller and
Craig Bingman present, conducted the audit.
Inreach/Outreach: Brittany Folk, Chairperson
●Held meeting 3/6/16.
●Carla, Kina and Brittany will deliver Easter flowers to shut-ins.
●Will be matching the funds raised through red sack collection.
●One thank you card sent.
Youth Group: Shana Klingler, Reporter
No report.
Middlecreek Council of Churches: Barb Bowersox and Pastor Matthew
●Good Friday service to be held at old St. Peters church.
●Palm walk will be in McClure on Palm Sunday.
●Lenten breakfast served 80+ people.
●Benefit dinner upcoming 4/28 for Glenn Camp, Jr.
●MACC dinner show to be held 4/23 with Recreation performing.
●The balance for MCVCC is low ($200.55).
Ben Moyer made a motion to accept all ministry reports. Mary Ellen Bingman seconded.
Motion carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
●Carpet update:
Pastor Matthew will check with Bill Harris about using his uncle’s storage trailer for
the pews. Estimate includes moving all sanctuary items, including piano and organ, as
this will cover any possible damages.
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Messiah Messenger
Council Minutes continued
●New computer:
Mary Ellen reported the cost of a new back up system is $60. Two prospective desktops included a HP for $349 and a Dell for $299. The HP is faster and has more memory.
Josh Weiser moved to buy the HP for $349. Barb Fultz seconded the motion.
Josh Mosteller moved to amend the motion to add the back up system for $60. Ben
Moyer seconded the motion.
Josh Mosteller discussed the lack of finances for the church and the low balance of
the checking account. He suggested utilizing “item specific” fundraising for purchases
needed for the church. He also stated that the current computer works, and therefore we
could just purchase an updated version of Windows 7 for $50 and the back up system for
$60.
Josh Mosteller amended the motion to buy the back up system only for now at $60
and no new computer. Barb Fultz seconded.
Discussion: Craig Bingman pointed out that the computer was already agreed upon
to be purchased, but maybe do item-specific fundraising in the future. Pastor Matthew
stated that he thinks a new computer is needed.
NEW BUSINESS:
●Josh Mosteller will give a temple talk on 5/15/16 regarding the church’s financial status.
Moving forward, some suggestions made by Josh are:
1) E-payment and how this works for a more consistent income than the envelopes.
2) Item-specific fundraising.
3) Cut budget expenses (as of now Christmas bonuses, and look into cutting our benevolence to the Synod).
●Need voting members for the June 16-17, 2016, Synod Assembly at SU.
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Volume 2016, Issue 5
Council meeting minutes continued
Barb Bowersox made a motion to adjourn. Karen Lauver seconded. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted by Shana Klingler, Council Secretary
Next Meeting April 21,2016. Devotions: Michelle
Youth
Page 13
MESSIAH’S VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REGISTRATION
(One form per child, please)
*Student First Name: _________________________________________________________
*Student Last Name: _________________________________________________________
Nick Name: _________________________________
Age: ______________________________________
Gender: Male Female
Grade entering: _____________________________
T-Shirt Size (youth): ___________________________
Home Church (if applicable): ___________________________________________________
Allergies: __________________________________________________________________
Medical Issues or Special Needs: ________________________________________________
It would be nice if my child is placed in same group as (child's name): __________________
*Parent Name: ______________________________________________________________
*Address: ________________________________________________________________________
*City: _____________________________________________________________________
*State:__________________________________________________________________________
*Zip: ______________________________________________________________________
*Email: ____________________________________________________________________
*Home Phone Number:_______________________________________________________
Cell Phone Number:__________________________________________________________
Other Phone Number: _______________________________________________________
Emergency Contact: _________________________________________________________
Emergency Phone: __________________________________________________________
Alternate Pickup Name: ______________________________________________________
Alternate Pickup Phone: ______________________________________________________
General Information: ________________________________________________________
Medical Release: I give my permission for the VBS staff to administer basic first aid to my child (named above) in the event of an injury. I understand that the VBS staff will contact emergency services in the event of a significant injury and all expenses for such emergency services will be paid by me.
Photo Release: I hereby grant the above named church permission to copyright and use photographs/videos taken at VBS of the minor designated above in any manner or form for any purpose lawful at any time. I waive any right that I may have to inspect or approve the finished product or written copy, that may be used in conjunction therewith, or the use to which it may be applied.
Permission to Attend: I give permission for my child (named above) to attend the Vacation Bible School (VBS) listed above. I understand that the information I give for this registration will only be used by the VBS hosting church, and that all registration information
will be removed from the hosting site by December 31 of this year.
________________________________________________________
Parent Signature
Date
May 2016
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
6:30pm
Social Committee
meeting
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Pastors Matthew
and Lisa return
from vacation
15
16
17
18
19
7:00pm
Council meeting
20
21
22
Changing of Flags
at cemetery during
SS
23
24
Deadline for
newsletter
25
26
27
28
29
30
11:00am
Memorial Day
Service at
Troxelville
Cemetery
31
Messiah Evangelical
Lutheran Church
8994 Rte. 235
Beavertown, PA 17813
Phone: 570-658-9175
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he
will guide you into all the truth.
John 16:13
Worship with us Sundays at 8:45 am, Sunday School 10:15am
We are back on the Web! Check us out at www.messiahbythemountain.org