Saint Luke at Sixty Anniversary Celebration N ,
Transcription
Saint Luke at Sixty Anniversary Celebration N ,
A NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF ST. LUKE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN DEVON PA NOVEMBER, 2014 Saint Luke at Sixty Anniversary Celebration Remembering Our History Building God’s Future Sunday, November 9 Forum with The Rev. Dr. David Lose, LTSP President at 9:00 a.m. Worship at 10:00 + Dr. Lose preaching 1 FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? page ## Welcoming All Saint Luke at 60 Connecting with Others Equipping Everyone Education for All Ages Youth Serving Others Global Mission News Telling Our Story Around the ELCA New Members August Birthdays 3 pages ## page ## page ## pages ## page ## page ## page ## CHURCH OFFICES: 610 688 0122 LOOK LINE (PRAYER REQUESTS) 610 688 LOOK (5665) ONLINE AT WWW.SAINTLUKEDEVON.ORG Lead Pastor, The Rev. Susan Ericsson 610-644-3835 [email protected] Pastor for Youth, Family & Service, The Rev. Matt Staniz [email protected] Director of Church Music, Jack Charles, AIM 610-287-9366 [email protected] 2 ~ WELCOME EVERYONE ~ Lucia Fest 2014 Lucia, the Festival of Lights, stems from the fourthcentury martyrdom of an Italian saint and an incident that followed. According to Swedish legend, a ship carrying a maiden "clothed in white and crowned with light" appeared on the shore in Värmland during a great famine. The maiden, widely believed to be Lucia, distributed food and clothing to the needy, thus endearing herself to the Swedish people. This year’s Lucia Fest will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 5:00 p.m. All children older than 3 are welcome and encouraged to participate in a variety of ways. Those who would like to sing and are between the ages of 4 and 12 (up to and including 6th grade) should come to practice on Sunday mornings at 9:00 in the choir room beginning on 11/2. Girls in grades 7 - 12 are invited to participate in the Lucia Court. Practices will be held before youth band (2CC) rehearsals at 5:30 on Sunday evenings, and Sunday mornings during the Sunday school hour. All other children and teens are encouraged to volunteer to be acolytes or ushers at the Lucia service, to help serve and replenish food during the reception, or help clean up Schlack Hall and the kitchen following the reception. Along with the children, all interested adults are invited to help make this year’s Lucia Fest a success by offering to bring food for the reception, volunteering to help clean up after the reception, or simply by planning to attend the service on December 14th. For your convenience, we ask that you sign up on the green connection cards in the bulletin during the month of November. Please contact Marcia Skoglund by phone: 610-6472504 or email: [email protected] for more information. 3 ~ WELCOME EVERYONE ~ Community Thanksgiving Service The Upper Main Line Ministerium, an interfaith group of religious communities in the area, holds a Thanksgiving Service Sunday, November 23 at the Daylesford Abbey in Paoli. Watch the weekly bulletins and SaintLukeDevon.org for details in the next few weeks. ~ EQUIPPING EVERYONE ~ Forum with Sunday, December 7 In the Sanctuary between Services On December 7, the St Luke Endowment committee will present Kelly Davis, executive director of the Lutheran Settlement House for an Adult Forum during the education hour. The Lutheran Settlement house is located on Frankford Ave in lower North Philadelphia. LSH provides free, high-quality program and services to individuals and families in Philadelphia in areas like adult literacy, GED preparation, ESL, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and senior services. Lutheran Settlement House is the recipient of the 2014 outreach allocation from our Endowment funds. Our Endowment contribution of $3,000 to LSH was the third allocation made from 4 our Endowment. Our Endowment now manages over $200,000 that has come in from our member’s contributions and testamentary bequests. We make annual distributions based on 3 criteria: • External Benevolence for Mission and Outreach • Internal innovative programs and capital improvements • Special operating needs. Our 2014 outreach allocation to LSH was specifically spent on two programs: • • Teens4Good - Intergenerational Urban Farming Program STAR (Students Talking About Relationships) Teens4Good Intergenerational Urban Faming program involved four disadvantaged young people drawn from LSH’s shelter program and local neighborhoods. Their job was to create garden beds, plant and care for them. Older adults in LSH’s Senior Center harvested the produce, and manage a small farm stand business at the settlement house. The Students Talking about Relationships Summer Service Learning Program gave 25 young people to the opportunity to learn about causes, and dynamics of dating and family violence and resources to help victims. The teens learned 21st learning skills – project management, research, peer counseling, communication and presentation skills, as they develop domestic violence-focused community and peer service projects and earn a summer income. LSH’s overall work is based on the most fundamental concept of service to the most vulnerable in their community, viewing them as neighbors worthy of help, friendship and respectful caring. 5 Kelly has appeared on shows like Comcast’s Newsmakers to talk about these programs. We will be privileged to have her here on December 7, to talk about how their programs went this summer and share what else is going on at LSH. Thursday Bible Studies Bible Study at Saint Luke is for everyone. No experience, training or special knowledge required! A new Bible Study begins Thursday evenings at St Luke. The Thursday Evening Bible Study starts with the book of Acts, the story of the early church, sometimes called "the gospel of the Holy Spirit.” Each lesson is self-contained, so it’s an opportunity for anyone to try it out as their schedule allows. Class meets at 7:00 in the conference room. Contact David York or Steve Ross for more information or to check on the lessons coming up for a particular Thursday. The Thursday Morning Bible Study meets at 11:00 in the conference room. The morning class is looking at the lessons from the Hebrew Scriptures for the season of Advent. 6 Bill Mallonee Concert Bill Mallonee returns to the Philadelphia area with the 2014 Winnowing Tour featuring Muriah Rose. With over 50 albums worth of excellent material, Bill Mallonee (Vigilantes of Love) is heading to the road bringing an evening of excellent stories and songs. His troubadour show is made complete by the piano and vocal accompaniment of his wife, Muriah Rose. Saturday, November 15 - Doors at 7 p.m., Show begins 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15 ($18 at the door.) See the article at SaintLukeDevon.org to purchase tickets. Food and beverages will be provided. All donations will benefit 2015 youth service trips to Appalachia and Detroit. Thank you for your support! ASP 2015 Attention St. Luke Youth – those 14 years or older by June 1, 2015. Next summer is closer than you think! Commit now for our Appalachian Service Project trip June 28- July 4, 2015. 7 Please email John & Elizabeth Muir ~ [email protected] with a commitment or questions. In case you haven’t heard, which is hard to believe, this is an extremely rewarding experience. Spaces are limited, we are trying to form teams by November 1 participate if you can, in making homes warmer, safer, drier this year! ~ SERVING OTHERS ~ Fall Hunger challenge Radical Generosity---- is running rampant through the St Luke community. Representatives from PhilAbundance, a food collection and distribution charity, were at St Luke on October 5, discussing hunger and especially hunger in Chester County. After that presentation, a family from the St Luke congregation was moved to offer the Social Ministry Team a challenge. The challenge is to raise $2500 for the Great Valley Food Cupboard that would be matched by the family donor. Wow! This is an outstanding opportunity to help the Great Valley Food Cupboard, which does not receive donations from PhilAbundance. The Food Cupboard will greatly appreciate a monetary gift of this magnitude. Although St Luke provides plenteous bags of food staples to the Food Cupboard throughout the year, a monetary gift will enable the Food Cupboard to augment the food it can offer to its recipients specifically fresh produce and meats and frozen turkeys during the holidays. As the Social Ministry team learned from St Luke’s “God’s 8 ~ SERVING OTHERS ~ Work. Our Hands” Sunday, the fresh produce and vegetables are a blessed and healthy change to the recipients’ usual diet. The Social Ministry Team wants to get everybody involved in this opportunity --- Sunday School classes, youth, and adults. Be on the lookout for globe offerings on November 9 and December 16. Since these are the months in which Thanksgiving and Christmas are celebrated, the Social Ministry Team suggests that donations be made in an amount up to 10% of the costs of your Thanksgiving meal and in December up to the costs of gifts purchased for the Holidays. If not a monetary gift, then please place any food staples in the bin in Schlack Hallway. The value of these food donations will be counted towards the challenge. Harvest Food Drive for the Great Valley Food Cupboard: During the month of November, we will collect non-perishable food and cleaning items for our local food pantry. Laundry Soap, Dish soap, Mayonnaise, Honey, Cereal, Oatmeal, Granola bars are the kinds of items in short supply right now. If you’re able to provide these for one of the 200 individuals served each month by the Food Cupboard, please drop them off in the box outside Schlack Hall. The GVFC is based in the Baptist Church of the Great Valley, just up the road. 9 ~ TELLING OUR STORY ~ GLOBAL MISSION NEWS THANKSGIVING FOR HUNGER AWARENESS SUNDAY Many thanks to members of St. Luke for attending the Hunger Awareness adult forum on Sunday, Oct. 5 and for giving generously to alleviate hunger. Thank you to Meredith Moore for arranging the forum. St. Luke presented a check for $500 to Philabundance at the forum where we hosted two guests from Philabundance. In addition, St. Lukans gave $600 in our globe collection that day. Combined with Social Ministry funds and gifts from our Sunday School children, we were able to send over $1,300 to support the work of ELCA World Hunger. MACPHERSONS’ HOMECOMING SEPA Lay Missionaries Susan and Tom MacPherson are back in the US after serving nearly 3 years at the Irente Children’s Home in Tanzania. Their home congregation provided a welcome home potluck for them. They can connect you to sponsorship opportunities if you would like to support schooling for an orphaned child or training for the young women who work at the Irente Children’s Home and hope to enter medical school in Tanzania. Any questions about the Global Mission team or being in touch with the MacPhersons, please contact Nancy Shaw, [email protected], or 610-331-3994. 10 Global Connections On Sunday, November 16, St. Luke will be honored to host Bishop Claire Burkat, of our Southeastern PA Synod and The Rev. Dr. Stephen Munga, Bishop of the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Bishop Munga will preach at both services that Sunday. The North Eastern Diocese includes Mikanjuni Lutheran parish, our sister congregation. Bishop Munga earned a Doctor of Theology (PhD) in Systematic Theology/Political Ethics from Lund University in Sweden. In his role as bishop he also serves as Chancellor of Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University, a diocesan institution of higher education. Both within Tanzania and in global arenas, Bishop Munga is an outspoken advocate for economic and social justice. As such, he has been asked to give input to various international entities, including the European Parliament and the G-8, being recognized as a spokesperson for the concerns of sub-Saharan Africa. ~ THANK-YOUS ~ An Appreciation from Bob and Pastor Rinda Rogers Our warmest thank you and blessings to the many in our St. Luke family who have sustained us during this long year. Your encouraging cards and messages, as well as offers of help, mean more than we can put into words. Most importantly, you kept us 11 feeling connected to the St.Luke community. Truly, St. Luke is the local chapter of the Body of Christ! Sustained by prayer, Rinda is growing accustomed to a new way of living. Bob continues to do a marvelous job of facilitating her days. Pray that his strength continues. The Great Valley Food Cupboard wrote after the first collection of the fall. Dear Friends: This will acknowledge, with many, many thanks, all of the generous donations you collected for us during the months of August and September for your Rally Day Event. The cleaning supplies, paper goods, toothpaste, dish soaps, etc. are wonderful! These are items that our clients always need. It is wonderful that you deliver the items to us, too. Thanks to Paige Skelly, Susan Saxer, Thelma Jacks and others for their dedication and hard work in bringing these items to us. A special thank you, too, for the apples and oranges you collected for us on Rally Day. What a treat that was for our families! Everyone was thrilled to see the fresh produce on our distribution table. I want you all to know how very much your support means to us. We greatly appreciate everything St. Luke’s Church has done in working with the Food Cupboard. The Great Valley Food Cupboard would not exist without you. Your Congregation is such a kind and caring group of individuals. We thank God for all of you. 12 At the present time, we are serving over 200 individuals every month. What a wonderful feeling to help these families through their trying times and to give them hope that there are brighter days ahead. St. Luke’s generous gifts have assisted all of these families and together, we are helping to change lives! Throughout the year, may we continue to provide encouragement, friendship, compassion, respect and nourishment to all of our families. With God’s help, may it be so. Blessings to you all. Most sincerely, Carol Lynn Claypoole Great Valley Food Cupboard Coordinator ~ AROUND THE ELCA ~ The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia will celebrate the inauguration of the Rev. Dr. David J. Lose as president at a service of installation on Sunday, December 7, 2014. The Inauguration of President David J. Lose Date: Sunday, December 7, 2014 Time: 4:00 pm Location: The Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion 2110 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19103 A reception for all will be held at the church immediately following the service. 13 November Birthdays 1 Brooke Skelly, Caleb Reed 3 Evelyn Goodchild 4 Jane Hagerty, Grace Lewis 5 Terry Jenkins, Christine McClay 6 Bryce DiPrinzio, Francesca Green, Heather Wilson 7 Laura Kostenbauder, Meredith Webb, Katherine Moir, Jeb Keiper 8 Paul Seaton, Samantha Menapace, Hailey Rittenhouse 9 Sara Williams, Elaine Loose, Lillian Guy 10 James Arvan, Caitlin Kupp, Chris Kupp 11 James Connors, Tracy Burns 12 Diane DiGiovanni, John Hammerschmidt, Robert Squitieri, Jillian Stevens 13 Allison Troutman, Asa Hartman 15 Jessica Cunningham, Bill Milby, Suzanne Lalle, Ronald Harmon 16 Joni King, Scott Scheirer, Jennifer Roessler 17 Mary Jane Verrei, Peter Roithmayr 18 Sean Moir, Bo Bergqvist 19 Jennie Warren, Keely McClay, Jenna McClay, Erin McClay 20 Nicole Dillon, Ted Dorsz, Nicholas Marziani, Anna Huebner, Kate Forester, Lydon MacClay 21 Andrew Loose, Jeannie Bowman 24 Robert Pogyor 26 Lyn Ann Mueller, Liam McLaughlin 27 Jessica Long, Conor Whitehead 28 Sally Clifton, Nancy Worst, Keira Maloskey 30 Jayne Dillon, Edward Ezekian 14 CHRISTMAS FLOWER FUND After expenses, funds received for Christmas Flowers this year will be donated to Lutheran Disaster Response to assist in its work with communities and people affected by the Ebola outbreak in western Africa. Because our benevolent giving to the ELCA supports the administration of ministries like LDR, ALL of the funds we send go straight to relief. Please return this form, with your check attached, made payable to St. Luke and marked for the Christmas Flower Fund. All information must be in the church office by Wednesday, December 15, in order to be included in the bulletins for the Christmas Eve Services. ____I/We would like to give ________ poinsettia(s) at $15 each, with the understanding that all money received beyond that desired to decorate the church will be used for this year’s project. I/We would like to provide _______ poinsettia(s) and will be taking ________ home following the Christmas Day service. Name(s) of Donor(s) ________________________________________________ Given in Honor of ________________________________________________ Given in Memory of ________________________________________________ Amount enclosed __________________________________ Please detach this form and return it, along with your payment, to the Church Office by Monday, December 16. 15