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February 2005 Newsletter
    
Deadline for Newsletter Articles for next month is the 15th of the month.
Email the Church Office or fax the office at 330-836-8872
Use Newsletter submission form here on the website or place in church office newsletter mail box.
Lent
Lent Begins On February 9 With Ash Wednesday Worship
Ash Wednesday, a day of repentance that marks the beginning of Lent, is on Wednesday, February 9. Services will be held at 12:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. Holy Communion will be celebrated and there will be imposition of ashes.
Forums Scheduled
Concerning Change In Worship Schedule
Congregation members are encouraged to attend one of these forums: Monday, February 7, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall; Sunday, February 13, Noon-1 p.m., Fellowship Hall; Saturday, February 19. 9:30-10:30 a.m., Fellowship Hall; Thursday, February 24, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall (south side)
Please come to gain information and seek clarification concerning the worship schedule change (detailed in the letter mailed the week on January 24). Church Council members will be present, listening carefully to our faith family, and constantly seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance. Child care will be provided.
Scout Sunday
10:45 a.m. Worship, February 6
During 10:45 a.m. worship on February 6 we will welcome the members of Boy Scout Troop 390 which the congregation sponsors. They will be participating in the service that day.
All others members of Boy or Girl Scouting programs are invited to attend worship that day and to be recognized.
First Communion Class
Sunday, February 27 - 4-6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall
All children in third grade or older who have not yet participated in First Communion Class are invited to attend WITH AT LEAST ONE PARENT.
Parents of children younger than third grade may request that their children be allowed to participate in the class by contacting Pastor Jean. The congregation's policy is that the Pastor will determine whether or not a child younger than third grade is to be accepted to the Lord's Table.
FIRST COMMUNION will be celebrated during 10:45 a.m. worship on Sunday, March 6 for all those who have participated in the class.
Lent
Mid-Week Gatherings - Offer Meal and Dramatic Readings Lent is a time when Christians focus on spiritual growth and renewal. In order to make that emphasis more of a reality in people's lives, midweek soup suppers and worship are held on Wednesday evenings during this important time.
Wednesdays, February 16, 23 and March 2, 9 and 15 Soup suppers - 6-6:50 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall - Menu: soup, bread and dessert
Worship - 7-7:45 p.m. in the Sanctuary - Featuring "Watchers on the Hill" dramatic readings
FIRST COMMUNION will be celebrated during 10:45 a.m. worship on Sunday, March 6 for all those who have participated in the class.
Child care will be provided for children age 5 and under during worship. Parents are encouraged to bring older children to the services.
Best Year Ever
How can YOU have your best year ever?
We discussed that at our recent women's retreat and it occurs to me that all of us might be looking for that. Lent is a perfect time to deepen your spiritual walk and also work on relationships with others. Two of the ideas we offered to our retreat women were to pray daily on your knees (really, try it, you'll be amazed at the difference) and to make a habit of praying for and/or with others. These two disciplines alone will greatly change your journey.
On a personal note, I'd like to thank all of you who prayed, sent cards or notes, and called during my recovery from surgery. I am still amazed that after only a year I have connected with so many of you, and you make me feel very much "at home."
One other thing, for those of you who don't know, Christmas Eve was extra special this year because I became engaged! I was super surprised and extremely delighted. Not only do I believe this is God's plan, but also His timing. Kurt and I have not set a date yet, but we will do that soon. Stay tuned!
Junior Choir Considered
Several months ago, about 15 people met to talk about how to really help our children come to love God and learn more about Him. The suggestion which met with the greatest excitement was to start a junior choir. During December, children from ages 4 - 12 gathered to have some fun with music, and they will be singing in worship on January 30. Faith member Michelle Borodkin who helped on Wednesday nights and has a back ground in elementary music has answered God's call to build these budding vocalists into a junior choir. We need to hear from you if you have a child grades K - 6 who might be interested. We'd like to do kid's musicals and drama if we get a good enough group. Please call Michelle at 330-864-3550 or call me at church and let us know!
Wonderful Wednesdays
Wonderful Wednesdays in Delightful December
Our mid-week Advent nights were a great success! Nearly 100 individuals from "families" of one to families of many joined our larger Family at Faith for food, fun, learning and worship. It was a great way to show God that even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season, we were taking time to put Him first! Plan now to join us on Wednesday nights during Lent. You'll be glad you did!
Special thanks to Sally Hauth who organized the food and kitchen crew and Gabe Hyter who provided piano music during the devotion time.
Women's Retreat
We Had Power this Time!
Not only did our retreat location have electricity, but God's power was evident as 19 women met for 24 hours to deepen their spiritual walk and strengthen bonds with each other. We always have such a good time, but the next day at church I was sad to realize that there are literally hundreds of other women in our congregation who did not go…. I'll be conducting a survey soon to see how we can improve the Women's Ministries here at Faith. Be on the look out!
New Year's Resolution?
Did You Make A New Year's Resolution? How about resolving to improve upon your spiritual life? Eighteen women of Faith Lutheran Church chose to do just that when they gathered at Loyola of the Lakes in Clinton for a retreat January 7-8.
Carolyn Wagar, not quite in full voice because she's recovering from thyroid surgery, designed a 24-hour women's retreat full of ideas to make this "Your Best Year Ever." She centered the retreat around Psalm 51:10-12, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me…." She made sure there was laughter, fun and games, door prizes, a comfortable setting, great food and fellowship.
The main sessions of the retreat were led by Pam Schuck, our guest speaker. She shared stories from her book, Living with Mt. Vesuvius, and encouraged us to reflect on the challenges of life in a new way. Inspired by her own journey toward reconciliation, she recommended six key points to help others develop their own personal vision:Finding God in the face of adversityFinding life lessons in your life experiencesSelf awareness: doing the best you can with what you haveStepping up - values, vision, passion and giftsUltimate lesson - relationshipsGiving back - responding to God's call
Dineen Dowling gave suggestions for adopting a new morning spiritual practice to invite God into each new day. A "Circle of Love" wake-up ritual and Martin Luther's morning prayer were among the recommendations. Special thanks to Pastor Jean for joining us to celebrate Holy Communion, and to Sheila Knops and Melissa Johnson for "stepping up" with their gift of singing to help lead us in our praise and worship songs.
Our sisterhood in Christ was enriched by our time together. Our eating, chatting, praying and worshiping renewed our hearts to walk more closely with God day by day this year. Already, as you might have guessed, plans are in the works for another women's retreat. All women of Faith are invited to consider taking 24 hours to renew your spirit and return to the world
Youth News
Middle SchoolWednesday, Feb. 2, Confirmation ClassSunday, Feb. 6, "Jack Frost" Class #3 and Hand Bell Practice Wednesday, Feb. 9, Class and Ash Wednesday Service Sunday, Feb. 13, Hand Bell performance during 10:45 a.m. serviceWednesday, Feb. 16, No ClassSunday, Feb. 20, Truman Show Class #1Wednesday, Feb. 23, Service Project, 6:45-8:00 p.m. at Church (This is a required event for Confirmation!)
High School Wednesday, Feb. 2, "First Wednesday Series" -Topic: Health Plus more "team building activities" with Leo :) Sunday, Feb. 6, 20, & 27, Panera Meetings 10:30-11:45 a.m. (Leo & Wendy to attend the late service on Feb. 13 due to the Middle School hand bell performance. No Panera on this day.) Wednesday, Feb 9, Ash Wednesday Service (Join Us!) Saturday, Feb. 19 Service Project, please meet at the Church at 4:00 p.m. We'll have dinner, complete a special mailing project for Hospice on Ridgewood Rd. and attend DETOUR.
Any questions??? Please contact Leo #330-414-3737 or Wendy #330-414-0300. Thanks!
Confirmation Class
Will Meet On Ash Wednesday
The Confirmation Class will gather at its usual time on Ash Wednesday, February 9, at 6:45 p.m. for a brief class session and then will attend the Ash Wednesday service together at 7:30 p.m.; the service will end at approximately 8:30 p.m.
There will be no Wednesday evening classes during Lent; youth and their families are encouraged to attend mid-week worship. The Sunday morning class will continue to meet. Also, the class will gather at 6:45 p.m. on February 23 for a group service project.
7:17 DETOUR
FEBRUARY 19 - Invite Someone To Attend!
Go to www.717detour.com for more information and call Melissa Johnson if you are willing to make the DETOUR happen!
Easter Flowers
This year, in addition to the traditional lilies decorating the altar area on Easter Sunday, there will be a choice of tulips, hyacinths, and small daffodils. The price of the flowers is $7.00 each.
Look for order inserts in the Weekly Beacon or stop by the church office. The deadline is March 13. In order to get the selection your want, please order early. Any questions? Please contact Sally Hauth 330-825-847
Cookbook Recipes
Deadline: Sunday, March 6. For all team members involved in this process, there will be a meeting on Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Any questions? Call Sheila Knops at 330-835-4505 or e-mail her at john.sheila @ juno.com.
ELCA Task Force
Releases Study on Human Sexuality
A Task Force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has released a six-part report that addresses questions on homosexuality. The first part listed three recommendations, that the ELCA:
Concentrate on finding ways to live together faithfully in the midst of disagreements. Continue to respect the pastoral guidance of the 1993 statement of the Conference of Bishops regarding the blessing of homosexual relationships. (That statement does not approve the establishment of an official ceremony by this church for the blessing of homosexual relationships, but affirms providing pastoral care for gay and lesbian persons.)
Continue under the standard regarding sexual conduct for rostered leaders as set forth in "Vision and Expectations" and "Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline". (Current ELCA policy expects ministers to refrain from all sexual relations outside marriage, which it defines as a lifelong covenant of faithfulness between a man and a woman.) However, the report recommends that as a pastoral response this church may choose to refrain from disciplining those who in good conscious or for the sake of outreach ministry call or approve partnered gay or lesbian candidates whom they believe to be otherwise in compliance with the expectations.
There are a number of steps to be taken - including further definition of the third bullet point listed above - before this report is taken to the Churchwide Assembly this summer. These steps are detailed in a news release at www.elca.org/news. The entire 36-page report is at www.elca.org/faithful.journey.
THANK YOU
To our Friends of Faith,
We want to express our deepest gratitude for the beautiful prayer shawl that was so lovingly made for my Mom, Juliette Ferris, during her illness. It brought so much comfort and love to her while she was in the hospital. She was very touched by it and so are we. It now brings comfort and love to me as I pray and remember her. It makes me feel close to her and to God. Thank you to my friends at the Women's Retreat who added more prayers to the shawl. And, for years to come, the shawl will be a wonderful remembrance of her grandmother for Alea, and reminder of her family at Faith.
In addition, we want to thank those of you who made contributions to the Preschool in memory of Juliette. We are formulating plans for something special for the children and will share the plans with you when they are more defined.
Your prayers, calls, cards, meals, friendship and support have sustained us in this time of deep grief. I know how much my Mom enjoyed being a small part of this congregation as a guest, and we are truly grateful to call this our home and you our friends.
Thank you for everything. God Bless. Anita, Chris and Alea Sears
Big Thank You
A Big Thank You for the Winter Learning Experience
Thanks to the parents, students, and volunteers who gave of their time to make another great winter learning experience exciting and special for the kids. We really appreciated the help we received from our special guests, Fred Ardillo, Joanne Caton and Jamtastic Music, Leo Boes, and Panyard, who entertained and taught us about God's wonderful gifts of light and sound.
Special thanks to the folks that helped plan this event, Dineen Dowling, Lorna Schnell, Joanne Caton, Barb Hinderegger, and Dana Singer! We could not have done it without everyone's help and enthusiasm!
Flo Mackall
Thanks
Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers for Katherine during her recent surgery and recovery. She has now returned to school.
The Bukowski Family
Come . . .
Join other Faith Lutheran Church Fellowship callers at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, February 3. The gathering begins with a prayer, pizza, then each volunteer calls 10 other members of our church to say hello and then give a brief description of some of the upcoming Faith events. No more than two hours is required. This is an excellent opportunity to share the love of Christ with other members of the congregation. For more information call Bill Pope at 330-867-4946.
WELCA
February 9 - 10:30 a.m. Short Business Meeting
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Everyone - Come and enjoy a hot bowl of soup!
12:15 p.m. Ash Wednesday Service
Boy Scout # 390
11th Annual Spaghetti Dinner - Saturday, March 5 - 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm; Cost: $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for children Senior Citizens, children under 3 free, Tickets sold at the door
Easter Egg Invites
Last year 10 intrepid Lutherans braved a gorgeous sunny day and went across the road to pass out plastic Easter eggs filled with candy and an invitation to our Easter services. It was a wonderful experience for us and the people we met and we enjoyed lots of positive comments. We want to expand this ministry this year, so please join us! We want to send two crews out this year. So mark your calendar for Saturday, March 19. We will meet as a group at 9:30 at church, have some basic instruction, collect our eggs and disperse! We will go again at 11:30. This is a great activity that anyone can enjoy - singles, families, whoever!
In Our Prayers:
Health Concerns: Faith member Chuck Baltes; Faith member Katherine Bukowski; Faith member Joanne Caton; For Scott Dunning, father of Faith members; Jasmine and Carly Dunning; Faith member Cherli Gsellman; Faith member Kim Kennedy; Faith member John Warner; Faith member Blanch Werrbach
Special Prayers: For all those who have suffered loss of loved ones, homes, possessions and livelihood as a result of the earthquake and tidal wave in Asia.
For all military personnel who have been deployed to Irag and surrounding areas, and for their families, with special prayers for those who have endured injury or loss.
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