The Messenger – August 2013

Click here for a PDF version of the August Messenger (easy to download and/or print): August 2013 Messenger

MUSINGS from Pastor Mike [to muse (myooz), v. to think, gaze, or say wonderingly]

“My peace is my gift to you, and I do not give it as the world gives it.” John 14:27

Who can be against peace?

As we concluded our four-week preaching series “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” on July 14, our community of Gettysburg was recuperating from two weeks of remembering the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg battle. Both within our community and within our congregation, this time was a golden opportunity to go deeper in our reflections on peace and what it means to be peace-makers on so many levels and in so many situations.

Jesus’ peace is a gift that has to do with salvation, with our relationship with God now and into eternity. What it means to me in a most practical way is that God is dwelling within us, that God is alive in all of us! To truly believe this makes all the difference!

Our voice as Christians advocating for peace in the world is seriously compromised by our inability to communicate, forgive and love each other related to many different issues. Maybe this four-week series, maybe these weeks of the 150th, hopefully our desire for “a peace the world cannot give” will deepen our understanding of why religion is a major contributor to the voices of hate and how we together might better speak of peace in the midst of hostility, animosity, and differing opinion .

From my musings point of view, who can be against peace? I hope I am not. How about you?

St. James Church Directory – Last Chance for Photos, Etc.!

Last Chance Photo Opportunity – If you not yet had your photo taken for our Church Directory you have a “Last Chance” on Thursday, August 8. Photos will be taken from 2:00-8:40 pm. Everyone who has their photo taken will receive a free 8 x 10 photo and a copy of the new directory! Please visit St. James Website at www.stjamesgettysburg.org to schedule your appointment or contact Ruth Topper at 717-337-0788 or [email protected] to set up your time. If we fill up Thursday – we will open Friday, August 9! Don’t miss out on having your family’s photo included in the 2013 St. James Directory!

Photos Available for Pick Up in the Church Office – If you had your picture taken in June and did not order any additional photos – your free 8 x 10 photo is in the church office for you to pick up. July photos will be here soon!

Photos Needed for the Directory Activity Pages – Once again we are looking for your photos of events related to St. James to be part of the church directory and/or website. Share your pictures of weddings, baptisms, and other celebrations. (We will take your submission as permission for their use in the directory and/or website.) Please submit your photographs via email to [email protected] or in person to the office no later than next Wednesday, July 31.

WORSHIP PREVIEWS

Pentecost 11 — August 3 & 4

Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8:15 am, 9:30 am (New Day Worship)

and 10:45 am; Blessing of the Quilts at all worship services this weekend.

Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12–14; 2:18–23, Psalm 49:1–12, Colossians 3:1–11, Luke 12:13–21

First Sunday Fellowship at 9:15 am; hosted by Social Ministry and Worship & Music Committees.

Items collected at all services benefit local food pantries; under the auspices of Social Ministry.

Sunday School for adults from 9:30-10:30 am.

FOOD DONATIONS (canned & non-perishable) can be left outside the worship area by the benches–next to the brick wall–the first weekend of each month. Checks written to SJLC – memo line: Food Pantries can be placed in the offering envelopes which are available in the pew racks. This program is under the auspices of our Social Ministry Committee.

Pentecost 12 — August 10 & 11

Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8:15 am,

9:30 am (New Day Worship) and 10:45 am

Readings: Genesis 15:1–6, Psalm 33:12–22,

Hebrews 11:1–3, 8–16, Luke 12:32–40

Sunday School for adults from 9:30-10:30 am.

Pentecost 13 — August 17 & 18

Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8:15 am,

9:30 am (LAST SUMMER New Day Worship) and 10:45 am

Readings: Jeremiah 23:23–29, Psalm 82, Hebrews 11:29—12:2, Luke 12:49–56

Prayers for Healing will be offered at the conclusion of all four worship services.

Sunday School for adults from 9:30-10:30 am.

Pentecost 14 — August 24 & 25

Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and

Sunday at 8:15 am and 10:45 am

Readings: Isaiah 58:9b–14, Psalm 103:1–8,

Hebrews 12:18–29, Luke 13:10–17

CAMPING SUNDAY from 9:30-10:30 am – Youth who attended Workcamps and Church Camps will share their experiences in the worship area. We’ll also have a BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC at noon in the Youth House yard, next to the church. ALL are welcome to join us! Please bring a salad, side dish or dessert to share. Hot dogs, drinks and ice cream will be provided.

VBS 2013 – “Everywhere Fun Fair”

Thank you to all the volunteers and parents who helped make this year’s Vacation Bible School experience an amazing one for all of the children—especially those who donated snacks, craft materials, props and items for making these props, as well as items and money donated to Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S.! We had close to 140 children registered and 70 volunteers!! We could not have done this without your help!!! Thank you for spreading God’s word and touching the lives of so many children! (We also thank Li’s Buffet in Gettysburg for donating all the chopsticks for our Fun Fair!)

Julie Keyser & Valerie Andrews, VBS Directors

GREETINGS FROM YOUR COUNCIL PRESIDENT:

First I want to give all my thanks and praise to the Lord, the Council members, and the members of St. James Lutheran Church for giving me the opportunity to serve as Council President. I do truly understand the importance of this position and will strive to fulfill it. With that being said, I wish to discuss some important business matters before us here at St. James.

We have a five-year Mission Plan which we need to move forward with. Under this plan is the Worship Renewal Plan, that is presently, or rather I should say has been, in the making for the past five years.

Before I go any further on that I want to speak a little about St. James Lutheran Church. I’m sure not all new members know the history of this Church. I will try to give a brief story of this church which truly is the Lord’s church, and the members have been charged by the Lord to take care of it. All of you members that were here when the terrible fire occurred back in the sixties know what this congregation faced. After facing a tremendous amount of ideas and thoughts, the members of this church came together, and made a very important decision to rebuild St. James Church. I applaud this most courageous and wonderful result. I believe the decision which was made at that time showed the love, belief, and faith of this congregation. WOW! What a great faith story.

Fast forward to where we are now. We are approaching a decision concerning the renewal plan for this church. I would like to ask all members of this wonderful church to take the time and search their hearts, believe and have the faith, that is required by us to continue to make changes to the inside of this church. By September everyone will hear the final presentation.

We truly need to put aside all our differences and come to together as a Christian congregation, with positive ideas and thoughts.

There seems to be a lot of fear concerning being able to do this renewal project. The only fear we have to fear, is fear itself. I would like to ask everyone to truly believe and have a strong faith in our Lord and everything will truly work out, because this is his church and we are the caretakers.

One final item that is very dear to me is the attendance of the members here at St. James. It appears to have dropped quite low and we need to address this issue. I hope everyone will help with this matter. I will speak about this in another Messenger.

Please contact me if you have any concerns or questions regarding St. James Church at 717-634-8465.

In Christian Love, Welby Snyder, Council President

Special Congregation Meeting – Sunday, September 15. Details follow in the July Council Report printed below.

JULY COUNCIL REPORT

Claire Anderson, Council Corresponding Secretary

Congregation Council held their regular meeting on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 7:00 pm.

UPDATES:

Council President Welby Snyder welcomed current and new members to Council. He praised the commitment and cooperation of the 2012-2013 Council and thanked new members for their willingness to serve. Pastor Mike installed new members who were not installed during June services: Linda Griffin, Suze Prichard, William Shoemaker, and Kenneth Unger.

Worship Area Renewal – Members of the Task Force will present their final recommendations to Council at the August Council meeting. In the last month, the Finance Committee has thoroughly reviewed the contributions from the Congregation and funds that have been allocated for this project. They have prepared a budget proposal that relies on these funds. The important news is that St. James will be able to independently pay for our Worship Are Renewal; we will not need to borrow money from any outside source. The next step in the process then, is to present the Worship Area Renewal Budget to the Congregation for a vote. Council set the date for a Special Congregation Meeting for Sunday, September 15.

Pastor Mike asked the Council to “embrace” our Five-year Transformational Mission Plan. Staff and Council are making plans to present this to the Congregation in early fall.

Pastor Mike gave Council an update on the Slentz house. The Property Committee has completed several jobs on their list for scheduled renovations. He discussed the changes needed for Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S.: a handicap accessible bathroom on the first floor and an outside handicap ramp. Pastor Mike shared some of the ideas Gettysburg CA.R.E.S. has for the Homeless Resource Center for the 2013-2014 year. He announced the good news that five new churches have joined the Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S. initiative. Pastor Mike invited Council for a tour of the Slentz House following the meeting.

Welby Snyder has appointed a Columbarium Committee. Pastor Richard Englund will chair the committee; Beth Becker, Linda Griffin, Roy Keefer and Richard Unger have agreed to serve. Welby then encouraged new Council members to serve where needed on standing committees.

Come to the Movies….St. James Film Festival….

Ice Cream and discussion follow each film.

Sunday, August 11 at 7:00 pm

Lars and the Real Girl (107 min. PG-13) Worship Area

A Lutheran church in a small Midwest town is the catalyst for an amazing outpouring of love and care by its entire community for a hurting person who needs help. Family and friends are unsure how to react when a lonely young man (Ryan Gosling) forms an emotional attachment to a life-size plastic woman and treats it like a real person. This unlikely tale asks if it takes a community to raise a child, mightn’t it take a community to heal one? An individual agonizing through some life difficulties makes an unusual choice as a solution, but instead of ostracizing him as any society normally would, the community embraces him.

Eragon (99 min. PG) Youth House

When Eragon (Edward Speleers) goes hunting in the forest, he discovers a glowing blue stone. Little does he know that it’s a dragon egg, and that the beast about to hatch has selected him (and only him) to be her rider. He meets a wise former rider named Brom (Jeremy Irons) and helps regain the kingdom of Alagaesia from the gnarly, paranoid, seldom-seen King Galbatorix (John Malkovich). (This movie may be a bit scary for children younger than 7 or 8.)

ST. JAMES HIKING GROUP

Our next excursion will be Saturday, August 17. We will meet at St. James at 8:00 am and head to Pine Grove. We will hike from Fuller Lake to Laurel Lake, climb up to Pole’s Steeple and return via the Appalachian Trail to Fuller Lake. Hike is 7-8 miles and mostly flat. Bring water and snack. Return around 1:00 pm. Please contact Jim Wright (717-398-2795) with questions.

Quilt Update

There were 53 quilts made at our recent LWR QUILTING BEE for Lutheran World Relief, under the auspices of our World Outreach Committee! Our thanks to these quilting volunteers: Mary Bringman, Sally Crist, Nina Dolly, Greta England, Marian Gastley, Connie Gulden, Sue Hill, Roberta Hughes, Jackie Krebs, Sonda Newby, Barbara Nicks, Elaine Swanson, Joan Wise, and Gladys Woerner. We have now made 793 quilts since 2003! These quilts will be blessed at worship services the weekend of August 3 & 4. We’ll be quilting again in November, and would welcome anyone who wants to join the group. Details will be printed in the November 2013 copy of The Messenger.

Thank You’s

The History and Archives Committee would like to thank everyone who donated apple pies to the “apple pie and ice cream social” held after Tom Vossler’s lecture on July 7. Your contributions were delicious, and greatly appreciated. You helped to make the entire event a grand success! Thank you!

The Social Ministry Committee wishes to thank the congregation of St. James for their continued support. It would not be possible for the committee to reach out into the community without the help and assistance of this congregation. It is greatly appreciated and we do thank you!

Sunday School News

GOOD SAMARITAN BIBLE STUDY CLASS meets on Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:30 in Room 303 (upper floor; an elevator is available at the end of the main hallway). Nina Dolly is the contact. All are welcome to join these teachers as your schedule allows:

Aug. 4 – Fred Anderson Aug. 25 – Marty Stevens

Aug. 11 – Nina Dolly Sept. 1 – Pr. Mike Allwein

Aug. 18 – Marty Stevens

ADULT DISCUSSION CLASS meets on Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:30 in Room 200 (end of the main hallway). Judy Leslie is the contact. Join us on:

Aug. 4 – “A Reconciling Church in Christ” led by Shirley Armstrong & Sarah Tipson

Aug. 11 – “Seminary Ridge Museum Tour”: Introduction and Questions led by Jerry Christianson

& Museum Docent; ALL can join us at the museum at 9:30 am. Cost $7.70 if we have at

least 15 people. Please RSVP Judy Leslie at 334-9347 and/or if you need more information.

Aug. 18 – “How the Lutheran Church Reacts to Crises Around the World” led by Praise Jorgensen

Aug. 25 – “Pilgrimage to the High Desert: A Visit to Ghost Ranch” led by Pastor Mike Allwein

STRESSED? DISCOURAGED? LONELY? SAD? DON’T SUFFER ALONE. HELP IS AVAILABLE.

Sometimes we fall into a trap where we think it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help. So when we’re stressed, discouraged, lonely, or sad, we try to keep our struggles hidden and are reluctant to ask for help. However, that’s not God’s plan. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” God wants us to care for others – and allow others to care for us in our time of need.

PARISH RECORDS

BAPTISM 

July 6, 2013 Brett Eugene Miller

DEATHS

June 30, 2013 George R. Bender

June 30, 2013 Russell C. Lemaster

July 6, 2013 Elby M. Boring

July 10, 2013 Leo “Pete” Kuhn

July 11, 2013 Doris J. Codori

WEDDINGS

July 5, 2013 Julie St. John & C. Clifford Bream III

July 6, 2013 Jesica Smith & Lincoln Skvarka

If your child is three years or older and would like to receive first communion instruction, please contact one of our pastors.

August 9, 1946 Wilbur A., Jr. & Jean E. Rudisill 67 years

August 15, 1942 Hurshel W., Sr. & Treva O. Shank 71 years

August 18, 1939 Richard B. & L. Virginia Godman 74 years

August 22, 1948 Edward H. & T. Ruth Carbaugh 65 years

August 22, 1953 Frederick J. & H. Elizabeth Krause 60 years

August 26, 1951 Martin L. & Catherine S. Crabill 62 years