November 2003 - St. John`s Lutheran Church Dover

Monthly Newsletter
November 2003
WHEAT RIDGE
CHRISTMAS SEALS
In this mailing you received your
Wheat Ridge Christmas Seals.
Inside this issue:
Fall Fest
2
Letter from Elders
3
ELC News
6
Home Visits
9
School & Family Life
10
Calendar
12
Sunday School
14
Meet a Member
15
Social Concerns
17
Bulletin Board
18
Recipients and Custodians
20
From Wesley UMC
21
Church Directory
22
PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHECK
PAYABLE TO “WHEAT RIDGE”
AND MAIL IT DIRECTLY TO THEM.
ATTENTION ALL YOUTH
AGES 10 AND OLDER!
Youth Groups will be on the first and third
Fridays of the month.
We will begin by meeting 5:30 in the
Church Basement.
Come hungry and ready to share in some fun as we find
new ways to study God’s word and
apply that Word in our lives today!
( we will feed you real food too)
All adults interested in helping are encouraged to join us
at any time. We will need your help!!
We hope to get two groups going–
Confirmation and
Junior / Senior High
Plan on staying right on through
Prayer and Praise!
If anyone is in need of a ride please call
Sharon and Don Petersen @ 674-3738 (leave a message)
Page 2
Saturday, November 8th
Dinner at 6pm
Please come for an evening of delicious
food, fun games and
great fellowship!
Cameras will be available to have your
new directory pictures taken.
From the Chairman, of the Elders
Page 3
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday I invite all of you to include thanks to God
for the work He is doing at St John’s and for the opportunity we have to join Him in that
work. I cannot emphasize enough how awesome it is to see God’s love radiate from the staff
and children involved in our daycare and school. At the same time I see other areas of ministry gaining momentum at St. John’s. Our social ministry staff has been actively working and
praying to help needy members both within our congregation and our local community.
Many of you have already filled out the Spiritual Gifts’ Surveys that are available in the
back of the Church. We thank Will Bartz for the fine presentation on Spiritual gifts the Sunday Pastor Art was away. In the next few weeks Will is spearheading a drive to recruit members to join areas of ministry @ St Johns where their spiritual gifts might best be utilized for
the glory of God. Please be in prayer during these next few weeks about where you might
best be able to serve God. If you have not yet taken the spiritual gifts survey please do so, it
can be quite interesting, and may surprise you.
At the October 5 congregational meeting it was decided to pursue a new capital campaign, with the assistance of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund. The current campaign is
due to end the beginning of December. Yes, it has been three years already since we embarked on this adventure with God. The general thrust of the new campaign would be more
directed at providing financial support for all of the areas of ministry for St John’s. The
committee to be formed for the campaign, with the assistance of the LCEF advisor, will finalize the full range and specifics of the campaign goals. The new campaign will take several months to come to fruition. I can’t speak for everyone, so I will only speak for myself in
saying that Karen and I have become accustomed to contributing to both the churches current expenses and the capital campaign. Over these last three years our budget has been adjusted to include both. While we could definitely find some uses for that extra money, we
also now know that we can survive without it. God is meeting our needs. As St John’s ends
one campaign and awaits the startup of a new campaign there will be a huge void in financial resources if we all stop contributing. We are currently paying $3,600.00 per month of
the church mortgage payments from monies donated through the capital campaign. If that
revenue source dries up we will be hard pressed to continue this ministry. Karen and I have
committed to continuing our current capital campaign contribution toward these new goals
and I would ask each of you to prayerfully consider continuing your capital campaign contributions toward a fund, which would be used to offset the mortgage cost of the property at
Walker Road and support our additional ministries at St John’s during this interim period.
When the new campaign is rolled out we will once again be asked to review in prayer and
with God’s help how we can support all of our ministries. I thank you for your most gracious consideration of this request.
Page 4
From the Chairman, of the Elders, cont.
We have found the Lutheran Church Extension Fund to be extremely cooperative to us in the area of loan origination and adjustments. They recently allowed us to
adjust our monthly payment to take advantage of the lower interest rates now available, thereby improving our cash flow. All this was accomplished at no cost. As we
gave thanks for what they were able to do for us in the area of loans we also realized
that we had very little investments in the LCEF. The LCEF mission is “to provide opportunity to make funds and services available in support of the Great Commission
through the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.” They accomplish this by utilizing
investment funds from LCMS members to provide LCMS churches, schools, and
other ministries with the funds necessary to establish and/or grow their missions. We
thought that as we capitalized on the benefits the LCEF offered us in capital resources we should give thought to moving our resources from secular investments to
an area where they could have a greater impact on God’s kingdom. On exploring
their offerings we learned that not only could we support other LCMS congregations
by moving our capital investments to LCEF, but also we could earn 2.25% interest on
our money instead of the .54% we were earning in a similar secular account. God
once again blesses us for being obedient and mindful of his leading. As I reviewed
this information I realized that the LCEF Steward Account is available to all LCMS
members, individuals as well as congregations. It occurred to me that many of us
may currently have money sitting in low paying savings accounts that would better
serve both us and God were it earning 2.25% or more in an LCEF steward account.
As an added bonus, if our aggregate congregational investment in the LCEF steward
Account program equals our indebtedness to LCEF we can receive a rebate on a portion of our loan interest. These accounts are very liquid and offer such tools as debit
cards, check writing, and electronic transfers. Information on the accounts can be
found in the back of the church.
We are still doing some fine-tuning to our budget and financial statements to
improve their readability and understandability, but the most recent draft I have seen
clearly demonstrate the work that Ken Richter and others have put in to this project.
Thank you for the investment of time in reading this letter, and I hope we are succeeding in some small way in improving the overall communications within our
church body.
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the lord will do amazing things among
you!” Joshua 3:5
Rick Murphy
Chairman, of the Elders
Page 5
Dear Friends in Christ,
I want to thank everyone who filled out and returned the Spiritual Gifts survey and if
you have not completed your survey, please fill it out and return it to Pastor Art as
soon as possible. I'm sure several of you were surprised at the results, but make sure
that you discuss your results with other Christians that know you. Please don't just
rely on just the survey, but try to get several opinions to get a more accurate finding.
Now that you are aware of your Spiritual Gift, its now time to put it into action. For
the next several Sundays we will have a Ministry sign up sheet at the entrance to the
church. We have many ministries at St. Johns that need help or assistance.
Several ministries are:
Youth & Adult education, Finance Ministry, Evangelism, Stewardship ministry, Music Ministry which includes Choir, Bells and Praise Band, Multi-media ministry
which includes video and audio and printed material. These are just a few , so please
take some time to look these over on Sunday morning. If you can't sign up on Sunday, don't worry, we will have someone call you in several weeks.
There are many new and exiting things that are happening at St. Johns, and I would
like for everyone to share the Joy of doing Gods work.
Will
Page 6
Early Learning Center
We now have 120 children with room for one more afternoon, four-year-old,
two more full-time threes and one more part-time three-year-old. Two children
just enrolled this past week. Thank God that He keeps sending us additional
children even after the school year has started. We have many children on our
toddler waiting list. Perhaps next year we should consider having two
classrooms for two-year-olds. Two weeks ago a little, three-year-old Chinese girl
started with us who speaks no English. It has been a difficult adjustment for
her, but she's making progress. Pray that she will quickly learn to feel
comfortable and loved even though she doesn't speak our language.
November Activities:
In November we focus on being grateful for God's bountiful providence.
During this time of fall harvest we plan activities around nutrition, harmony
between cultures the settlement of America and sharing our blessings. Each week
this month the children bring canned foods and staples to chapel, which will be
shared with a school family and the local food pantry at Holy Cross. If you
know of someone who has a special need, please let us know.
One of our families is a set of grandparents who are raising their five
grandchildren. The youngest two are a set of two-year-old twins. The grandparents
have recently experienced serious health problems. It is likely that the
grandfather will no longer be able to work. They are in need of food and clothes.
We sent a note to one of our 4-year-old classes and lavish support was
immediate! God truly moves in the hearts of His people! It is heart-warming to
work with and for people who are so generous!
All of our classes will again be participating in Operation Christmas
Child. They will be bringing in small gifts which children need and sending
them in shoe boxes to the world's most remote regions. Included in each box
will be a Gospel story book and a St. John's T-shirt.
School Closings:
All schools closed for November 27 & 28 for Thanksgiving
Walker Rd is closed November 5,6,7 for teacher’s conference( Walker only)
and November 10 for Parent Conferences (Walker only)
The Mast November 2003
Page 7
Early Learning Center cont.
Thanksgiving Feasts:
Each class will have a Thanksgiving Feast the week before Thanksgiving. The school
will provide the turkey, gravy and apple juice and each class will make one entree.
Parents bring in the side dishes. If anyone is able to get an extra free turkey or a turkey at a reduced
price, which you won't need, please consider donating it to the children! We need at least 5 turkeys.
We also need a few volunteers on Monday and Tuesday morning of that week to help with the food
warm up, serving and clean up. Also if anyone would be willing to bake a turkey the day before a
feast and carve it for us, that would really be a
big help! Call Dottie if you can help in any way.
Fund-raisers-Fund-raisers! Why so many Fund-raisers?
It might be helpful to look at it this way. When you go to a department store to purchase one item,
there are many other options available in other departments in which you may have no interest at the
present time, but the shopper next to you does. Especially as the Christmas season approaches we
know most people purchase seasonal items, ie. Christmas cards, candles and assorted gifts, wreaths,
fruit baskets, etc. We would like to provide an assortment of opportunities for people to be able to
meet their varied needs and also support the mission of our schools.
People eat cookies and pizza all year long! We had fabulous support for our Scholarship Fund-raiser.
We made a profit of $ 2,700.00! One member of our church family called the day after the pizzas
went home just to tell us that the Cheezy bread and molasses cookies were delicious! On behalf of the
children who would otherwise not be able to attend St. John's, we thank you for your support and for
your words of encouragement! We have promised $7000.00 worth of scholarship support for this year,
so God expects us to work hard to raise money and so we do!
A special word of thanks to Nancy Hazzard who organized this fund-raiser as well as the
Christmas Card orders! She worked very hard and did an excellent job. Thanks also to the
We do raise tuitions every year, but there is a fine line we must walk so that parents can still afford to
send their children. It's important that we have full classrooms! The financial challenge of our schools
will always be great; however it should ease up a bit when we are able to fill up our elementary
school classrooms. We're only into our third year of elementary grades and we're still building our
reputation and becoming known in the community for a school that's truly Christ-centered. The real
purpose for all of this is to get the Gospel into the hearts and lives of the children and the families we
serve in our school community! That puts everything we do on a higher plain. It consecrates even the
oranges we buy for His Service. It's important that we remember that whatever we do, "we do unto the
Lord!"
Page 8
Early Learning Center cont.
LEMEL CAKE CANDLES-see insert for samples- If you would like to purchase candles, you
may pick up a white order sheet from the table in back of the church or you can pick one up from
one of the school offices. You total your order on the white sheet and turn it in with a check made
out to St. John's Lutheran School, no later than Sunday, November 23. The candles as well as the
glass holders are $14.00 each. You can receive one free candle for every 20 that you sell, in case
you want to sell them at work. Colored flyers will be in the bulletins on Nov. 16 and 23.
EVERGREEN WREATHS, GARLANDS, AND HOLIDAY SWAGS-all orders
must be turned in to the school offices no later than Tuesday,
November 4, so we have them for you the first week of December. There are more order blanks and flyers in back of the church or you can pick some up from the school
offices.
The Mast November 2003
Page 9
Support for our Schools.
FLORIDA ORANGES AND GRAPEFRUIT-sale will begin on November 10 and orders will need to be turned in by
Tues., Nov. 25!
ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS-we still have 3 books available.
RECYCLING INK JET AND LASER JET CARTRIDGES-put your old cartridges in the box a new cartridge comes
in or in a zip lock bag and put them in the box in back of the church or bring them to one of the school offices.
IF YOU SHOP AT FOOD LION-go to www.foodlion.com and sign up under St. John's Lutheran Early Learning Center or call 1-800-210-9569.
THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUAL SUPPORT!
Visitation Planning Meeting
We’d like to develop a plan for visitations within our church family and in our
extended school family. If you have any interest or insight in this area, please call
Dottie Kringel at 734-1211 and join us for pizza in the church basement on Sunday, November 23 at 6;00. We’ve already developed a plan for visiting school
families who are looking for a church or are unchurched. We’d also like to visit
Sunday morning visitors on a regular basis as well as people within our church
family who haven’t worshiped with us for a long time but might appreciate a
visit.
Page 10
What’s Happening?!
From the Office of the Principal & Director of Family Life Ministry
November 2003
“O give thanks to the Lord for He is good…”
November already!?!?!?! WOW. November is the month for so
many things… clearer skies, crisp air, fall colors, pumpkins and
gourds, Veterans’ Day, All Saints Day, pilgrims, apple pie, pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving… at St. John’s we are finding ourselves with
so many reasons to give thanks to God. He has truly been good
to us. Besides all the every day, ordinary things like waking us
up each day and enabling us to breathe in and out all day and allowing our heart
to beat, He has also blessed us with a terrific start to the school year, a vision
and a mission, and an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of many people. He has called us together as a church and school community to praise His
name and proclaim His truth. He has been a light to our darkness and has called
us – you and me – to carry that light into the world. And we are thankful!!!
As I work each day with the little ones that He’s brought us and with the
staff that He’s provided, I am astounded by the potential that I see. We have a
unique opportunity here in Dover to provide a place of learning and growth for
God’s people – all done in the context of how much He loves us! Amazing!
“O give thanks to the Lord for He is Good – and His mercy endures FOREVER!” ☺
Now for all the latest…
1. The week of Oct. 6 – 10 was Fire Prevention week – this brought some excitement to
Walker Road. Smokey the Bear visited the 1st grade, the Fire Truck came for the whole
school, and we had a fire drill! Whew! Anyone in the building can easily tell you at least
two things that they learned: “Don’t play with matches!” and “Stop! Drop! & Roll!”
2. The whole school took a field trip on Friday, Oct. 3, to the Wicked R Western Production Ranch. It was really a blast! Everyone had a terrific time learning about life on a
ranch, all about the animals, and how to win at TUG of War. It was a wonderful experience.
From the Office of the Principal & Director of Family Life Ministry, cont.
Page 11
3. Enrollment Update: Pre K: 21
K: 17
1: 10 2: 6 3: 6
Total: 60
We actually just accepted a new student who will be starting in Kindergarten on Monday, Oct.
13. You’ll notice that the count will stay the same… because I miscounted Kindergarteners on
the last report… sorry!
4. I attended my second session with the Leadership of Central Delaware class on Thursday, October 9th. It was a very interesting, informative, and exciting day! We left the Chamber office at 7:15 am aboard a tour bus and didn’t return until 5 pm. Our day was filled with visits to
place all over Kent County. Our trip included Smyrna (Kent County’s oldest town), Bombay
Hook, The John Dickinson Plantation, the Air Force Museum, the Waste Water Management
plant, Barrett’s Chapel, Mr. Yoder’s furniture shop in Amish country, and the Green in downtown Dover. We saw a lot and learned a lot… I hope I remember at least some of it! The tour
was guided by a historian who works for the Delaware State Museum system and by Tom
Worley, head of Comcast. There’s definitely a lot of history here in Central Delaware! Our
next meeting is the third Thursday of November and the topic will be “Government & Politics.”
5. The Walker Road Staff was involved in an In Service day on Friday, October 17th. We hosted
some very interesting and informative speakers. Martha Brooks from the Delaware Dept. of
Ed. was supposed to be with us to start our day. She, however, had to cancel but sent another
representative of the DOE to be with us early in the morning to discuss the kinds of special
services that are available to our students through the state even though they don’t attend
public school (testings, therapy, paraprofessional helpers, etc.). Dorothy Carey of the Chamber of Commerce talked about the benefits of being the employees of a chamber member and
about how our membership will assist us in partnering with the community. Alice Moore
(principal of Bethlehem School in Balto. and one of the District’s experts on Accreditation)
came and spoke about why accreditation is a valuable process and what is involved in becoming
an accredited school. It was an informative and very worthwhile day of training for all of us.
6. Our teachers will be attending the East Coast Lutheran Educators’ Conference in Hershey, PA,
on November 5, 6, & 7. There will be other educators from Lutheran Schools all up and down
the East coast at this conference and many wonderful workshops, speakers, and worship opportunities. We are looking forward to a great time!
7. I led a retreat for the women of Concordia Lutheran Church, Wilmington, on the weekend of
Oct. 10th. About 35 women attended the event and had a terrific time of growth and fun! The
retreat was held at Drayton Manor in Worton, Maryland. The topic was “Grace Alone.”
8. I will be leading the music for an LWML retreat this weekend in Natural Bridge, VA. Carol
Stano is the retreat leader for this event and we will be working together.
9. Prayer Requests: thanks for all of our blessings, continued prayers for the safety of our
teachers who travel a long way every day, prayers that we will continue to find ways to impact
the Dover community with the Gospel of Jesus, prayers for one of our Pre K students whose
Daddy has been deployed to Afghanistan for 4 months, prayers for one of our Kindergarteners
whose parents are going through a difficult time, thanks for being called together to be part
of this incredible mission called “school.”
EACH SUNDAY
8:00 a.m.—Worship Service
9:15 a.m.— Early Service Choir
9:15-10:15 a.m.— Sunday School
10:30 a.m.—Worship Service
Sun
Mon
November 2003
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
Every Wed.
Evening 7—9
2
Small Group
Hartz
3
Small Group
Goriup
9
10
4
Bells
5:30 & 6:15
Late Service
Choir
7:30
11
Bells
5:30 & 6:15
Late Service
Choir
7:30
16
Small Group
Hartz
17
Small Group
Goriup
School Board
Meeting
7:00
23
Early Learning
Center
Children
Sing @ 10:30
Visitation
Committee
6:00 pm and pizza
30
24
18
Bells
5:30 & 6:15
Late Service
Choir
7:30
Early Learning
Center Staff
Meeting 7:00
25
Bells
5:30 & 6:15
Late Service
Choir
7:30
Page 12
5
Small Group
Murphy
Women’s
Group
4—5
12
Small Group
Murphy
Women’s
Group
4—5
19
Small Group
Murphy
Women’s
Group
4—5
26
Women’s
Group
4—5
6
Mid-Week
School
5:30 in the
fellowship hall
13
Social Concerns
7
8
14
15
21
22
28
29
Youth
Gathering
5:30—7:00
(basement)
Prayer &
Praise
7:00
3:30/basement
Mid-Week
School
5:30 in the
fellowship hall
20
Mid-Week
School
5:30 in the
fellowship hall
27
Youth
Gathering
5:30—7:00
(basement)
Prayer &
Praise
7:00
DAY
21st SUNDAY
after
Pentecost
22nd SUNDAY
after
Pentecost
23rd SUNDAY
after
Pentecost
24th SUNDAY
after
Pentecost
25th Sunday
After
Pentecost
DATE
Nov. 2
Nov. 9
Nov. 16
Nov. 23
Nov. 30
FIRST
LESSON
Amos
5:6-7,10-15
Isaiah
53:10-12
Jeremiah
31:7-9
Deuteronomy
6:1-9
1 Kings
17:8-16
SECOND
LESSON
Hebrews
3:1-6
Hebrews
4:9-16
Hebrews
5:1-10
Hebrews
7:23-28
Hebrews
9:24-28
GOSPEL
Mark
10:17-27
(28-30)
Mark
10:35-45
Mark
10:46-52
Mark
12:28-34
(35-37)
Mark
12:41-44
EARLY
USHERS
Chris Moore
Mervin Richard
Lois Driftmyer
Richard Driftmyer
Linda Barlow
Richard Barlow
Charles Hadley
Ray Richter
LATE
USHERS
Donn Paulin
Betty Paulin
Don Petersen
Sharon Petersen
Emil Tetzner
Shaun Tetzner
Eric Stephens
Rob Hannum
Donn Paulin
Betty Paulin
Don Petersen
Sharon Petersen
ACOLYTES
Early service
Rebekah Gossman
Samantha Weiss
Rebekah Gossman
Samantha Weiss
Rebekah Gossman
ACOLYTES
Late service
Daniel Bartz
Cody or Morgan
Brown
Kayleigh Stephens
Chelsea Stephens
Samantha Mild
Andrew Mild
Laura Phillips
Deanne Bray
Kayleigh Stephens
Chelsea Stephens
R. Hazzard *
Joyce Gossman *
D. Paulin
B. Paulin
R. Hazzard *
Jn. Gossman *
J. Hartz
D. Vendetti
J. McKee*
R. Goriup*
K. Richter
R. Welch
LECTORS
COMMUNON Jn. Gossman *
ASSISTANTS J. McKee *
S. Petersen
D. Petersen
Children’s
Sermon
Date
Early Service
Late Service
Nov. 2
Tim Krone
same
Nov. 9
Will Bartz
same
Nov. 16
Raymond Richter
Dee Dee Brown
Nov. 23
Joyce Gossman
Jerri Lynn Patriquin
Nov. 30
Dina Vendetti
Dina Vendetti
Page 14
Sunday School News!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are soon going to begin our third month of Sunday School. Approximately 40
children have enrolled for Sunday School. I know the kids are out there, however we are
only seeing about 10—15 children each week. I don’t know what causes so many to miss. I
would like you all to know that I am praying that we become passionate about the Christian
education of our youth.
I would like to thank all the people that have agreed to teach and have been faithful in their
commitments to be here every week.
Total Family Sunday School will be November 23 at 9:15. This is a time for both adults
and youth to come together for fun and fellowship- to share in the word of our Lord. If you
have never tried this we strongly suggest you don’t miss this one! Dina will be leading this
special morning!
From November 30—December 21 the children will prepare for a special Christmas
Pageant. All those interested in possible parts in the presentation should plan on attending
Sunday School during these weeks. Joyce Gossman has graciously agreed to be our pageant
leader. Many of our children worked with her with the Ultimate Gift!
Joyce also leads St. John’s mid-week school program every Thursday night at 5:30.
• Costumes will probably be needed for what ever is selected as our Christmas program.
If you like to sew and would like to share that gift– please contact Joyce Gossman.
In Service to Christ,
Sharon Petersen
I've noticed on many occasions that lights are being left on in all the buildings.
Lights are on in rooms in the Church, and the other two buildings when no one
is even there.
Utility costs are "Very high" In the interest of saving the Church and School
(Us) money; Please do just one simple thing :
Turn off all lights when you are done, or if no one is using that area. Many of
these light fixtures use 300 watt bulbs, so multiply that by all the lights in the
Sanctuary, rows of florescent lights( each fixture has 4 bulbs! ) and you'll see
the savings will be "Very" significant..
Thanks for helping,
Barry (the maintenance guy)
P
Pa
ag
ge
e 1
15
5
Meet A Member Page
Meet Amanda and Rob Hawkins
Bobby and Becca
What a wonderful family!
Amanda and Rob were both born and raised in the Dover area. They graduated from Lake Forest High School and continue to live in the Lake Forest District in a lovely cape cod home on 3 acres near Felton. They have been blessed with
two wonderful children, Bobby age 5 and Becca age 3. Bobby attends the Saint John’s Kindergarten.
Rob loves the outdoors and nature. He especially likes hunting white tail deer on the 800-acre tree farm near Delmar,
which he owns and manages with his father and brother. It is called the Kettle Creek Club and is know for its BIG
deer. In his spare time Rob sells John Deer farm equipment. You should see his garage, it is full of brand new John
Deer tractors and mowers and on the wall you will see displayed many trophy bucks.
Amanda is not into hunting. She graduated from Wesley College with a degree in Management and from Del Tech
with a degree in Accounting. Presently Amanda has chosen to take a break in her career to be at home with her children. She loves to cook and putter around the house. Currently she is redoing the computer room. This means stripping off the wallpaper, painting, etc. Her little helper is her daughter Becca. Amanda’s love of cooking includes preparing meals on “special occasions” for their extended family. Like Thanksgiving in July! These meals are usually
topped off with some of her famous desserts. She also mows those three acres of grass with, guess what? A big shiny
new “green machine”.
The Hawkins family attended the Life with God Class in 2002 and 03 and joined St John’s in the spring of 2003. They
joined Saint John’s because of our friendly congregation and the fact that we have a school. Amanda is a ringer in the
bell choir and Rob is a member of the late service choir. Since both groups practice on Tuesday evenings they have
devised what they call the “Tuesday night swap”. (You can ask them how they do this). Rob also mows the grass on
our church grounds.
We thank God for sending the Hawkins family to us. We ask that by the grace of God his Holy Spirit will
work through our church family to provide for the enrichment of their lives.
Page 16
The Mast November
Page 17
Social Concerns...
The Social Concerns Group met on Tuesday, October 21. The
purpose of the meeting was to discuss future outreach projects both within and outside the congregation. Plans are being made for our Holiday giving, food drive, and much,
much more. In light of all this we have discovered that if just
a few women could do such great work for the Lord imagine
what could happen if we expanded our numbers!
So we are looking for anyone who would like to help bless
those that are less fortunate than themselves.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 13 at 3:30
p.m. in the church basement. Please plan on joining us. If
you have any question or know of a social
concern– please call Nancy Hazzard or Marcy Catalino.
( Call the church office for phone #’s 734-7078)
2nd Annual Food Drive!!
Social Concerns will be leading a food drive beginning
the first week of November and ending Wednesday
before Thanksgiving.
Canned goods and non-perishable items may be put in the
box in the narthex of the church.
Items collected will benefit either a needy church family
and/or a local food pantry.
Page 18
The Mast November
SMALL GROUPS
If you would like more information
and are interested in joining a small
group please call Dick Goriup at
674-0145.
Acolytes and Ushers
If you are interested in serving in either capacity please
contact Betty or Donn Paulin
678-2340 You have the right
number if you hear “Home
Handy Man”
SOCIAL
CONCERNS
MEETING
TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 13
3:30
Sunday School
Adult and Youth classes
9:15
in the fellowship hall.
Walk to Emmaus
Gathering every second
Friday of the month at
Asbury United Methodist Church
in Smyrna. 7:30 p.m.
For directions call Sharon or Don
Petersen
Youth Gathering
1st and 3rd Friday’s
Beginning this month.
November 7 and 21.
1 small ( less than half will do ) pickup truck size load
of clean topsoil to repair holes and low spots on the
Church/School property....If someone could drop it off
in the corner of the parking lot; I will see it gets to
where it is needed.
The Mast November 2003
Page 19
Page 20
Recipients and Custodians
There is not a thing that we can give to God that He has not first given to us.
We only are recipients and custodians, but the Father seem s to wart us to manifest how
much we trust Him and how truly grateful we are for His blessings. Having received from His
timid freely and bountifully, 'how will we give? The, cup He presents us is always running
over. He does not give just a calf; it is the fatted calf. The robe He puts on us is the best robe.
The joy is unspeakable and full of glory; the peace is that which passeth understanding: the
love passeth knowledge; His grace superabounds. Now all the Father wants from us is a heart
overflows in gratitude and does for others as it has received itself. Someone has well said:
"Giving is not just a way of raising money; it is a way of raising men.
The late R C. LeTourneau wrote: “I kept saying to myself, Next year I will have a lot of
money for the Lord. I will be true to Him later.' I did not know that NOW is the Lord's time. So
the question is not, ‘How much of my money do I give to God' but 'How much of His money
do I keep for myself?’”
“It’s not what I'd do with a million.
If riches e’er fell to my lot,
But it's what I will do at the present
With the ten dollar bill that I’ve got.”
"Now, you will find that generous people are happy people, and get more enjoyment out
of what they have than miserly folks. Misers never rest till they are dead: they often get so
wretched that they would hang themselves only grudge the expense of a rope. Generous souls
are happy by the happiness of others. The money they give to the poor buys them more pleasure than any other that they spend.
When Charles I. Spurgeon wrote, he used the pen name of John Ploughman. I want to
conclude this study with a shortened version of his work entitled, Scatter and Increase which
emphasized this truth vividly.
"People will not believe it, and yet it is true as the gospel, that giving leads to thriving.
John Bunyan said,
There was a man, and some did count him mad,
The more he gave away, the more he had.
He had an old saying to back him, one which is as old as the hills, as good as gold—
Give and spend
And God will send
The Mast November 2003
Page 21
Wesley United Methodist
Church
209 South State Street
Dove, Delaware 19901
September 15, 2003
Dear Christian colleagues and co-workers:
I am writing this letter now that fall is here. Soon, the temperatures will be falling and
autumn will turn into the winter of 2004. I would like for you and your congregation to join me
and Wesley United Methodist Church in being "proactive" as we anticipate the need for emergency shelter in the Greater Dover area this coming winter season.
Let me express appreciation to those of you who contributed financially and/or
“physically" (helped to assist at the shelter) during this past winter. The shelter was open 53
nights and many different volunteers assisted Preston, our paid supervisor, during the hours
of 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. I paid the Salvation Army $5,991.76 from the donations received
from both individuals and congregations who responded to this ministry. As we approach this
coming winter, I have a balance of $ 768.24. We need to begin to contribute to the fund to be
prepared for this winter's program.
Please pray about your contributions and your participation in this Local ministry. I am
committed to helping to coordinate this joint ministry with The Salvation Army. Remember to
seek funds now for this Emergency Shelter Project in your 2004 church budgets, as well as
solicit contributions through your bulletin announcements and newsletters. Housing persons
in this way during the winter is good stewardship of the limited financial resources that most
of our congregations have for this type of ministry— $100 a night can shelter and feed 5, 10,
20 persons in the Salvation Army gym. (Motel rates would be $39 a night for each person.)
Remember that each right that the shelter is open we need 'human" resources to assist Preston, our paid supervisor. If you have any questions about this ministry, call Jack
Willis (736-7724) or me (676-9626).
We began this cooperative ministry with the Salvation Army on December St 1997.
Persons in need have been housed and fed during the coldest winter nights because of your
faithfulness (See enclosed statistics). Last year's weather necessitated opening the shelter
on December 3, 2002 and the last night of our winter 2003 season was March 14, 2003.
Let us hear from you row rather than in the midst of the winter. Remember to bake
your cheeks payable to Wesley UMC Special Fund and note on the check Homeless MinistryWinter 2004.
I hope to hear from you soon.
William M Fitzhugh, Pastor
Page 22
From the Desk of Donn Paulin
840 Wilson Drive
Dover, DE 19904
678-2340
The Mast November 2003
I am currently working on a new church phone directory that will have the ability to be updated as
the need arises. This directory will be in a 5 ½ by 8 ½ 3 ring binder that can have pages added or
removed as needed. Each family will have one page with a photo and all the information as shown
on the sample. Your picture can be a new one that you have at home, the same one that is now in
the directory, or we can take a new picture for you and your family. Other members of St. Johns are
helping me with this project (especially those with digital cameras).
If you would like to be in this directory, please fill out the sample form with all the information
you wish to share and return it to me. You can e-mail it to me at [email protected], or mail
it to me at my current address, or leave it in the narthex at church with a note addressed to me. If
you would rather call me, that would be fine also.
In Christ
Donn Paulin
Donn & Betty Paulin
840 Wilson Drive
Dover, DE 19904
302-678-2340
E-Mail [email protected]
Lorie Paulin
123 Some Street
Your Town , DE 19999
123-456-7890
Nancy Paulin
456 Home Run
Atown, DE 18888
456-789-1230
Anniversary: Donn & Betty – Octomber 41, 1873
Birthdays:
Donn – Danuary 30
Betty – Sanuary 11
Lorie – Artuary 41
Nancy – Nay 14
Notes:
The Mast November 2003
Page 23
Name:
Address:
Your photo
will go here
Phone #:
E-Mail:
Children's Name:
Address if different from above:
Phone # if different from above:
E-Mail if different from above:
Anniversary:
Names - Month / Day / Year
Birthdays:
Name – Month & day
Notes:
THE MAST
St. John’s Lutheran Church
The ship is the symbol of St. John’s Lutheran Church. The symbol of the
ship with a cross on the sail represents the church. The word “nave” is
derived from the Latin word meaning ship. As all in the ark of Noah
were saved from the flood, so the ship of the church carries men to
salvation in Christ (1 Peter 3: 18-21).
The eagle on the bow of the ship is symbolic of St. John the Evangelist
St. John’s Lutheran Church
113 Lotus St.
Dover DE 19902
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
We’re on the web
www.stjohnsdover.com
Arthur D. Kringel, Pastor
Office Phone: (302) 734-7078
Parsonage Phone: (302) 736-0744
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
DOVER, DELAWARE
PERMIT NO. 150