September 2015 - St Paul Lutheran Church

ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF SARASOTA
& Early Childhood Learning Center
WhatsInside
 Thoughts from Pastor Lyle — Page 2
 Spotlight on Ministry - Technology — Page 3
 God’s Work. Our Hands Sunday — Page 4
 Family Promise Giving Challenge — Page 7
 SPARK Sunday school — Page 8
SEPTEMBER
2015
HARVEST
CELEBRATION
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Witnessing • Sharing • Encouraging • Serving
T e M ss ng r
Plan on joining us on the St. Paul grounds
following a combined worship service which will
begin at 10:30 am.
We will be providing fun for the whole family! Friendly
faces, food and games are on the agenda for the afternoon.
Our fellowship team will be serving hot dogs and hamburgers.
We only ask that you bring a side dish or dessert to share
with everyone.
Please sign up ahead of the event in the Fellowship
Hall or on the back of the Sunday Worship Info
sheet so we are sure to have enough food
on hand for everyone.
Let’s share God’s bounty and goodness with
each other!
Back to School Project
Thank You!
Thanks to your generous donations, the St.
Paul Lutheran Church family was able to supply the teachers at Alta Vista Elementary with
much needed school supplies for the upcoming school year. Dr. Barbara Shirley and her
staff are always so appreciative of the outpouring of help from our congregation. What
a wonderful way to help our community and
our church neighbors! Thank you for all your Dehea Smith, Assistant Principal Alta Vista; Pastor Lyle; Dr.
shopping and your monetary donations,
Barbara Shirley, Principal Alta Vista; Cindy Paxton, St. Paul
which totaled over $700.00!
Social Ministry; and Jackie Ekstrom, Social Worker Alta Vista
Page 2
THE MESSENGER
THOUGHTS FROM P ASTOR LYLE
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” --- Colossians 3: 12
Greetings dear ones!
When it came time for me to sit
down and reflect upon the subject of
this newsletter article, my mind and my
heart continued to draw me back to the
subject of friendship. A friend is someone who thinks you’re a good egg,
even though you’re a little cracked. A
friend is one who multiplies joys, and
divides grief; one who understands our
silence.
My mind and my heart are still dwelling upon the recent loss of a dear
friend named Bruce, my brother in
Christ, a gentleman, a gentle friend.
Gentleness allows us to be caring and
nurturing to others.
It helps us to stay
calm and not escalate problems or
push people’s buttons. It helps us to
be an encourager
and to build others
up. My brother, my
friend Bruce, truly
exhibited gentleness… a gentleness that was always framed with
compassion and
kindness and with
humility and patience. I miss him!
Jesus said, “I am
the vine and you
are the branches.” Indeed, as the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran, and as a
member of our church, Jesus is the
vine, He is the very trunk of the vine
and we all branch off of Him. As Christians, Jesus is that main connecting
piece, which connects us to one another. Jesus says that the bond that holds
us is love, and connecting in Christ’s
love moves us from servants to
friends. A great example for us to build
strong connections to friends is the
redwood trees which grow in California. These trees can be 18-20 feet in
diameter on their trunk. And to support
a tree like that you would think that the
roots would need to be just as big if
not bigger. However, the redwood’s
roots only go down ten feet or so; they
spread horizontally up to hundreds of
feet. So what begins to happen is that
the roots of the other trees around that
tree begin to interlock with each other.
They are holding hands underground.
They grab on to each other for support, so when the strong winds and
storms come they hold each other up.
They need each other for survival.
When we connect
to Christ through our
faith, we are then
connected with one
another.
This week, this
month, I encourage
you to think about
who YOUR friends
are, and how you
can bless them. Find
ways in which you
can intentionally
bless them as your
friend. I want to invite you to make the
decision to have
healthy and whole
Christian relationships with others.
Like those redwood trees, become
interlocked with others as friends; as
sisters and brothers in Christ. You will
be blessed and you will be a blessing
to others as you walk together in faith.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The
only way to have a friend is to be one.”
See you around town!
The Messenger is the newsletter of St. Paul Lutheran
Church.
Mailing address:
2256 Bahia Vista St.,
Sarasota FL 34239-2499
Telephone: 941-955-6479 Fax: 941-955-8600
ECLC Preschool 941-955-6480
Email: [email protected]
Preschool email: [email protected]
Council email: [email protected]
Pastor email: [email protected]
Web site: www.StPaulSarasota.org
Editor: Debi Rado
St. Paul Lutheran Church is a member of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and
the Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA.
Pastor: Reverend Lyle W. Truitt
Executive Committee
Michelle Moreno, president
Clint Shantz, vice president
Sue Scherr, secretary
George Hutfilz, treasurer
Congregation Council
Judy Alberts, Judy Carnal, Pam Collis, Marilyn
Hutfilz, Pam Jorno, Debra L'Heureux, Michelle
Moreno, Nancy Neff, Jeff Page, Cindy Paxton,
Clint Shantz, Sue Scherr, Pastor Lyle Truitt,
Calvin Summerall, youth representative
Ministry Team leaders
Sharing & Caring – Betty Smowton
Christian Education – Sue Scherr
Communications – Sharon Wittren
Early Childhood Learning Center – TBA
Evangelism – Pam Collis
Fellowship – Judy Alberts, Nancy Neff
Finance – Jeff Page
Food Pantry – George Hutfilz
Outreach Ministry
Fund – Curtis Swenson, Jeff Page
Property – Dave Spitler
Social Ministry – Cindy Paxton
Stewardship – Debra L’Heureux
Worship and Music – Marilyn Hutfilz
Parish administrator – Arleen Austin
The Messenger is published monthly and
distributed without charge to St. Paul Lutheran
congregation members and friends.
Copyright ©2015 St. Paul Lutheran Church,
Sarasota FL. Permission granted for reproduction of individual articles with credit to source.
P. Lyle
ST. PAUL MISSION STATEMENT As a Holy Spirit-led family of God, we are called through Baptism to proclaim and bear witness to
God’s reconciling grace in Jesus Christ to all; so that by joyfully sharing God’s Word and encouraging each other to service for the sake of
others, our lives together make a difference for Christ and His kingdom.
Page 3
S E P T E M BE R 2 0 1 5
Spotlight on Ministry
UpDate
Technology Ministry
St. Paul’s Technology Ministry was created by the
Congregation Council in August, 2013, to support
the operation and maintenance of all technologies in
use on the campus. These include the projection
system, the sound systems, computer hardware and
software, networks and routers, copiers, the telephone system, and miscellaneous A/V equipment.
Musical instruments remain the responsibility of the
Worship and Music Committee.
We function similarly to the Altar Guild with our
membership actively involved in the use of the various technologies. We meet periodically as necessary to discuss issues and plan for future technology
enhancements. We report to the Congregation
Council through the Finance Committee and are part
of the Administration budget.
Since our creation we have overseen a major upgrade to our sound system (but there is more to be
done) and led the recovery efforts from the lightning
strike this past June that damaged several thousand
dollars of equipment and saw us without working
projection screens for a few weeks.
Currently we are evaluating enhanced church
software that would enhance our record keeping and
upgrade our presence on the Internet. We are also
exploring phone system upgrades.
We are always looking for additional volunteers,
especially as screen operators on Sunday mornings.
If you are interested in learning more about this ministry, please contact George Hutfilz,
[email protected] or (941) 266-1905 to get started.

As a result of the congregation members vote at
the special meeting on July 19, the approved updates to the two air conditioner units are underway. It’s hoped to save money by doing away
with the band-aid approach.

There will be lots of exciting events
and opportunities to share Gods love with each
other and our community on God’s Work. Our
Hands Sunday coming up in September. More
on this elsewhere in the newsletter. We hope
everyone will get involved!

The annual Harvest Celebration is scheduled for
September 27 (page 1).

The 1st Sunday Pancake Breakfast in October
proceeds will benefit the ELCA Global Missions.
Enjoy good food and help others too. Win -Win!

Save the dates are:
October 18 - Bishop Schaefer will visit
St. Paul
October 24 - Conversation with Council,
Noon preceded by lunch at 11:30 am
Do you have what
it takes?
A search is underway for a
fearless leader (or two) to head
up the Fall Capital Campaign
at St. Paul. More on the details
later, but if you are interested
and have the necessary skill
and fortitude, please contact
Michelle Moreno at [email protected].
Do you have the right stuff to
be Our superhero?
Page 4
THE MESSENGER
SUNDAY • SEPTEMBER 13
It’s time again to join all our sister churches
across the United States in this annual initiative of
giving of our time and talents to the community!
Reaching across generations to let God’s light
shine, we would like to have our youth come together with a few adults and share some of the
songs the youth learned at this year’s VBS with the
residents at the Bahia Oaks Assisted Living facility
on this special Sunday.
We will also be doing another Water Distribution
activity in our local parks on this Sunday.
For Saturday, September 12, we are making
plans for a Sunday School in the Park event to
reach out to children in our community and extend
some of the VBS fun! We will sing songs, share a
Bible story and a small craft project. We hope to be
setting a new table in the community where we can
share God’s love and joy!
Sign-up sheets will be posted in the Fellowship
Hall with times and more details regarding these
exciting upcoming events. You can also check with
Debra L’Heureux or Pam Collis to find out more
information. So please Save the Date, watch for
more details being posted, and prayerfully consider
taking part in at least one of these events.
Have you noticed the latest St. Paul Education Building
beautification project? Yep… it’s our own Joan and Conrad
Hellwege adorning the windows. Rumor has it, they
thought the tarps covering that same window were “ugly.”
So, be careful what you comment on around here! I must
say, they’re looking mighty fine!
God of all creation, may those who faithfully believed in
You on earth praise You forever in the joy of heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rest in Peace ~ Good & Faithful Servants
Bruce E. Hamilton
July 23, 2015
Don Cedergren
August 23, 2015
S E P T E M BE R 2 0 1 5
Page 5
Page 6
THE MESSENGER
Messenger Bulletin Board
A place for St. Paul ministry teams and members to post brief church-related notices.
To submit items, call or drop off written information at the office, including how to contact you, or email to [email protected].
The deadline is the 15th of each month.
HELP WANTED ~ FOOD
PANTRY
Your food pantry ministry is in
need of some additional
volunteers on Saturday mornings
between 8:00 am and 11:00 am.
We need ten people each week to
manage the distribution of food to
our clients. While we have a
corps of regular volunteers, its
ranks have thinned with recent
moves, and there are always
conflicts when regulars are
unavailable. If you would like to
serve in this ministry, please
contact George Hutfilz,
‘Twas the day after Bible School
and all over town,
With a sigh of relief, we all settled
down.
Out to the golf course goes Pa in
his cap,
And back in the bedroom, Ma takes
a nap.
Gone Linda, gone Brenda, gone
David and Johnny,
Gone Margie, and Mary and
Ronnie and Donnie.
Gone stories, and puppets, and
songs in the air,
Gone paint under fingernails and
paste in the hair.
Rest sweetly, dear workers and
wake with good cheer,
For Bible School won’t come again
for a year.
As they drifted off, I heard them
exclaim:
“It was worth all the work and we’d
do it again!”
— Westmont Bapt. Church
[email protected] or (941) 2661905. If you would like to check
us out first, feel free to drop by on
a Saturday morning, and we'll
show you the ropes.
Florida Women of the ELCA
Fall Gathering
the Lake Yale Baptist Retreat
Center, Leesburg, FL, on
November 13 – 15, 2015.
For more information, grant
application, and registration
forms, go online to:
www.flwelca.com.
1st Sunday Breakfast
If you gals are up for a
weekend of workshops,
fellowship, worship, and
friends, then this is for you. The
Fall Gathering will be held at
Don’t forget on Sunday,
September 6, fellowship will be
serving breakfast from 9:15 to
10:30 am. As always, a freewill
offering is accepted.
Over 30 volunteers provided fun and learning and love to 50 to 60
children daily, Monday thru Friday. A big shout out to the station
leaders: Barb Torrance - Base Camp, Barry Smith and Bob Fong Games, Jamie Furno and Jenna Furno - Imagination Station, Ann
Olsen, Gail Seyfarth and Phyllis Shantz - Mountain Top Treats, Clint
Schantz - KidVid Cinema, and John Beyer - Bible Expeditions. More
thanks goes to Tara Eshenbach - music director, Rick & Sue Barry,
John Beyer and Ron Torrance - awesome set decoration.
We absolutely could not have been prouder of our youth volunteer
group leaders (too numerous to mention by name—you know who
you are!) who helped with the kids and kept them under control.
Climbing Everest was an awesome adventure with God’s power to
provide, heal, comfort, forgive and love!
FROM YOUR FINANCE COMMITTEE
Report for Year-to-Date July 2015
Income received:
Expenses:
Net (Loss)
$ 195,158
$ 234,532
($ 39,373)
ECLC Net Income
$ 16,991
SEPTEMBER 2015
September
Celebrations!
St. Paul members celebrating are:
Sept 1 - Rhonda Holliday
Sept 3 - Sue Fisher
Sept 4 - John McAuliffe
Sept 6 - Emilee Miller
Sept 6 - Tamara Paolucci
Sept 7 - Charles Kistner
Sept 7 - Mary Marshall
Sept 8 - Tonia Miller
Sept 8 - Sharon Wittren
Sept 9 - Jeffrey L’Heureux
Sept 10 - Richard Olson
Sept 14 - Mel Schwartz
Sept 17 - Christine Danielewicz
Sept 17 - James Luce
Sept 20 - JoAnn Flanigan
Sept 20 - Christina Paul
Sept 21 - Cody Torrance
Sept 22 - Lorraine Hughes
Sept 22 - Nicole Riley
Sept 22 - Barry Smith
Sept 23 - Adelaide Coffin
Sept 23 - David Holliday
Sept 23 - Tess Vaessen
Sept 26 - Mark Weber
Sept 27 - Mary Innes
Sept 28 - Marcia Eckhardt
Sept 29 - Fern Leimkuehler
Sept 29 - Eleanor Olson
Sept 24 - Thad & Carolyn Masters
Page 7
St. Paul Lutheran Church
& Early Childhood Learning Center
2256 Bahia Vista Street, Sarasota FL 34239
Phone 941-955-6479 Fax 941-955-8600
Preschool 941-955-6480
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.StPaulSarasota.org
Rev. Lyle W. Truitt, Pastor
Sunday Schedule
8:30 am Traditional Worship
9:35am Spark Sunday School (age 9-12)
10:00 am Children’s Bible Class
10:30 am Contemporary Blended Worship
Sunday school
Begins September 13!
Who: ages 9 - 12
Where: st. paul library
When: 9:35 - 10:25 am
Why: to learn about jesus
How: with a great new age appropriate curriculum
No experience necessary. Will train. Contact
Sue Scherr by either
email or phone if you are
interested. By email @
[email protected]
or phone 262-818-0499.