The Messenger – Jan 2014
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Come and Celebrate the 5 ½ years of Pastor Jeanette’s Ministry!
On Sunday, January 19, immediately follow the 10:45 am worship service, we will have lunch of various soups and breads and desserts as we say “thank you!” to Pastor Jeanette for her years of dedicated ministry here at St. James. Join us in the dining room for a time of telling stories, remembering, and wishing her “God Speed” to a new congregation!
To Bless Who We Are and Who We Can Yet Become!
- Each New Year provides exciting invitations, and with each New Year our lives become visible in new and stimulating ways! This is true for us individually, as well as for a congregation.
- As we move from 2013 to 2014, my gratitude is deep and sincere for so many rich blessings bestowed upon this faith community of St. James, so many that have come because of the generosity of YOU, our members and friends.
- I thank you who give so generously of your time–with committees, with worship, on Council, and by helping with special work that comes out of our office. Daily I hear so many words of appreciation from persons throughout the community of our involvement in the community. Please know that all this comes back to you! Thank you!
- To our staff who works so much harder than anyone knows! Thank you!
- To Pastor Jeanette as you prepare to move to a new congregation, I will miss your creative energy, your organizational skills, your sense of humor and so much more. Thank you!
- At the beginning of a New Year we anticipate our God to do new things through us. I look forward to working together with you to accomplish God’s dreams through us as we discern them in the year to come! Together we move forward, trusting in the grace of God’s love!
~Pastor Mike
Some members of the World Outreach Committee were very pleased to deliver 50 quilts and 286 personal care kits to the Lutheran World Relief warehouse in New Windsor, Maryland. In addition, members of the congregation contributed $534 to LWR to help to cover the cost of delivering the supplies to those in need. Thank you to all who participated in this world mission project as we did God’s work with our hands.
Worship Previews
January 11 & 12 – Baptism of Our Lord
Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8:15 am and 10:45 am
Readings: Isaiah 42:1–9, Psalm 29, Acts 10:34–43, Matthew 3:13–17
Sunday School for all ages from 9:30-10:30 am.
Baptism of Our Lord – On January 11 & 12 we will acknowledge those baptized since Baptism of Our Lord 2013, including these families in prayer as they continue to grow in their faith. “We welcome you into the body of Christ and the mission we share. Join us as we give praise to God and bear God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.”
Alivia Jane Patterson Greg M. Steiniger
Brady Travis Martin Abby Nichole Neibert
Linda Rae (Eberhart) Hall Anden Kasen Dutrow
Brett Eugene Miller
January 18 & 19 – Epiphany 2
Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8:15 am and 10:45 am
Readings: Isaiah 49:1–7, Psalm 40:1–11, 1 Corinthians 1:1–9, John 1:29–42
New Day Worship and Sunday School for adults from 9:30-10:30 am.
Come and Celebrate the 5 ½ years of Pastor Jeanette’s Ministry at 12 noon in the dining room.
January 25 & 26 – Epiphany 3
Worship Services: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8:15 am and 10:45 am
Prayers for Healing will be offered at the conclusion of all worship services.
Readings: Isaiah 9:1–4, Psalm 27:1, 4–9, 1 Corinthians 1:10–18, Matthew 4:12–23
Sunday School for all ages from 9:30-10:30 am.
There will be a Red Cross Blood Drive at St. James on Friday, JAN. 24, from 12:30-6:00 pm in the dining room. Please mark your calendars! If you’ve donated on or before November 29, 2013, you will be eligible to donate at our drive! There is a sign-up sheet in the gathering area.
PARISH RECORDS
FIRST COMMUNION
December 15, 2013 Owen Forsythe
DEATHS
November 24, 2013 Charles W. Haberstroh, Jr.
November 24, 2013 Charles R. Moser
November 25, 2013 Alan V. Gillespie
December 13, 2013 James S. Reaver
December 20, 2013 Michael A. Seiler
Adult Discussion Class meets Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:30 in Room 200, at the end of the main hallway. Judy Leslie is the contact. Join us as when you are able:
Jan. 12 “The Circles Initiative” led by Tonya Mincey from SCCAP
Jan. 19 “Music of Liberation, Peace and Friendship” led by Tom Jolin
Jan. 26 “Druid Sacrifice at Lindlow Moss – Lecture 10” led by Prof. John R. Hale
Members of the Columbarium Committeewill be available to meet with those who would like further information about the Columbarium and/or who would be requesting a niche reservation. The dates for these meetings will be four different Saturdays: January 18 & 25 and February 1 & 8 from 9:00 am – 12 noon. Please call the church office (334-2012) to set up an appointment.
MISSION FUND IN ACTION
This month we are recognizing Source of Life Ministries, which has received money from the 2013 Mission Fund made possible by the generosity of members and families of St. James.
The vision of Source of Life Ministries is to rescue the most impoverished children of Haiti, by educating, training, and equipping them and their families with the life skills necessary to build hope and a better future. Their mission is to provide a safe and loving environment in their school and their newly established safe house, giving the children a Christ-centered spiritual foundation, a good education, and life-sustaining food, medical, and emotional support with the goal of providing the life skills necessary to enact positive future intergenerational change in a “self-sustaining” manner.
The special need project is completing the construction of the Safe Haven Children’s Village in Gressier, Haiti. The project’s founder, Jacques Merine, has spoken with our Adult Discussion Class. See the website http://www.source-of-life-ministries.org for more information.
People often ask, “What exactly is a Stephen Minister?” One way to put it is that Stephen Ministers are the After People. Stephen Ministers are there…
. . . after the phone call you hoped you’d never get.
. . . after the divorce papers are served and the bottom falls out of your life.
. . . after the funeral, when everyone has left and the emotions you’ve held at bay come crashing in on you.
. . . after the doctor says, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more we can do.”
. . . after the nursing home director shakes your hand and says, “Welcome to your new home.”
. . . after the last child honks the horn, waves, and drives away—and the house suddenly seems empty.
. . . after the gavel goes down, the handcuffs go on, and your loved one is led away.
. . . after the baby arrives, demanding more of you than you ever dreamed possible.
. . . after you find a pink slip with your final paycheck.
. . . after your family and friends have heard your story one too many times, but you still need to talk it out.
Stephen Ministers are the “After People.” They are ready to come alongside you—or your friends, neighbors, coworkers, or relatives—and provide comfort and support for as long after as needed. (If you are in need of a Stephen Minister or want more information feel free to call Pr. Mike Allwein at 334-2012 ext. 205 or Susan Hill at 334-1273.)
www.stephenministries.org Copyright © 2009 by Stephen Ministries St. Louis, Missouri. All rights reserved. Representatives of a congregation have permission to photocopy this document for use within their congregation to build support for Stephen Ministry.
The Messenger Update
Our website is up and running and looks fabulous. Go to www.stjamesgettysburg.org. The Messenger is being posted on our new website every month. In an effort to “go green” and eliminate time and costs, as of JULY 2014 we will no longer be bulk mailing The Messenger. If you would like to continue to receive The Messenger by regular mail, please sign-up in the gathering area. If you would like to receive The Messenger by e-mail, you can also sign-up in the gathering area OR you can subscribe by going to the website. (At present, 640 members receive The Messenger via e-mail.) Each month we will place extra copies of The Messenger in the gathering area. Also–we will continue to mail The Messenger to all shut-ins.
As I write this letter it is the middle of Advent; a season of anticipation and preparation. At St. James we are in a time of great anticipation of renewal, preparation for a new year of ministry, and some anxiety and sadness as we say goodbye to our friend, Pastor Jeanette. Any church that is alive and well will go through many seasons.
At the Annual Congregation Meeting in November, we passed the 2014 Church Budget. There was and continues to be, some disappointment and frustration with some aspects of the budget. I promised at the meeting to review the budget planning process this past year.
Many of you voiced frustration that you had little or no involvement in the budget planning. I know many of you didn’t realize there were major changes from previous years until just before the meeting or even during the meeting when it was presented. This is a problem and will be addressed this year. A preliminary budget for 2015 will be presented to the congregation for review in August. This will allow time for everyone to see what is proposed, offer input and comments, and then the Finance Committee can use that input to better prepare a budget that the congregation fully supports.
For many, the main point of disappointment is the Mission Support contribution to the Synod. St. James is budgeted to give $37,500.00 to the Synod in 2014. This amount is less than half of our contribution in 2013, and is only 5% of our anticipated 2014 giving. This contribution amount does not reflect any frustration with the ELCA or the LSS. St. James openly and joyfully supports the greater church. In March of 2013, St. James was able to give an additional gift of $34,000.00 to the Synod. This was above our budgeted contribution of $81,640.00, putting our total 2013 Synod contribution over $115,000.00. This was a wonderful opportunity for St. James to give more. I do not support counting gifts twice; however, in a very tight budget process, knowing we were able to give so much in 2013, eased the pain of such a reduction in 2014. I fully support increasing our Synod contribution in 2015.
St. James has asked a lot of its members this year. Not only do we continue to have an active ministry to our community and beyond, we have committed to renewing our worship space to the glory of our Lord and Savior. Through worship and sacrament we are renewed and nourished to go forth to do God’s work. This renewal is a major financial commitment and you have responded. You have contributed or pledged almost $200,000.00 to the renewal project in addition to over $650,000.00 in regular giving. What a wonderful response to God’s church.
Our church building and worship space is used every day do reach out to our community: to the poor, the addicted, and those poor in spirit. Many voiced a desire to help and support our local neighbors. We continue to support our local community through contributions to C.A.R.E.S., Mission of Mercy, The Soup Kitchen, and others totaling over $33,000.00. We have a very active World Outreach ministry and contribute almost $20,000.00 to support missions and projects around the world.
We are very fortunate to have a dedicated and committed staff. Our congregation is active in so many ways and our staff responds with support and guidance. This year, changes to health care insurance increased the cost of providing benefits to the staff by over $10,000.00. Additionally, the budget includes the addition of a part-time visitation minister at a cost of $15,000.00. The need for this position this year has been debated; however, over and over our members have defended keeping this position because of the need of our faithful members.
We are a very diverse congregation. We all have talents and interests that we use to do God’s work in our own way. Although we may have disagreements from time to time, we must never lose focus on what we have in common; what brings us together as St. James Lutheran Church, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we can do wonderful things together.
With God’s Peace, Tom Young, Council Vice President & Finance Committee Chair
Dear Friends,
What a blessing it is to be in partnership with St. James to do the work God has given us to do in ministering to the homeless of Gettysburg and Adams County. Your witness to the Gospel imperatives; your overwhelming generosity and spirit of giving, in so many ways, have been experienced by all of us. Pr. Mike’s and the Council’s vision for the Slentz House has created a warm, caring environment for our shelter guests during the day. The renovations are great and very much appreciated. A plaque will be hung in the Slentz House to recognize all those who participated in the renovations and the cleaning up afterwards. They are: Pastor Michael Allwein, Tom Bender, Glenn Blocher, Ken Boyer, Ray Hopkins, Joe MacDowell, Gary Shaffer, Brad Smith, Ron Sollenberger and Ken Unger.
For all the many donations of supplies, food, children’s books, toys, gift cards, financial support and prayers, we thank you. For being a shelter site several times and especially during Christmas week this year, we thank you. For those who comprise a significant portion of our 225 volunteers, we thank you.
The C.A.R.E.S. program’s success is a result of your involvement and the participation of other area churches. Through you, God has blessed us many times over.
On behalf of the C.A.R.E.S. Board, the Resource Center staff, and our guests, I wish you a New Year filled with God’s grace and blessings.
Mary Stevenson, Chair, Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S. Board of Directors
December Council Report
Submitted by Claire Anderson, Corresponding Secretary
Congregation Council held its monthly meeting on December 18, 2013 following the Advent service.
Updates:
Interim Process: Pastor Steven Herr, Dean of the Gettysburg Conference, visited Council and explained the steps of the Interim Process and the Call Process. Council will hold a Special Council Meeting on January 8, 2014 to begin the process of defining the most important Interim Pastoral needs of the Congregation.
Columbarium Report: Council unanimously approved corrections made to the language of the Columbarium Report. Council approved the recommendation made by the Columbarium Committee to build a single arch Columbarium. Funds for the single arch have been included in the Worship Area Renewal Budget.
2013 Budget: Council unanimously accepted the monthly reports submitted by Office & Finance Manager, Mella DeNoma. Mella reported a current deficit of (-$14,000) in the operating budget for the year. St. James made the November benevolence commitments to local organizations and to the Synod. We need $26,000 in December to cover the budget and meet the August, September, and December Synod commitments. December’s attendance and giving have been low so far due to the weather. Mella also reminded Council that monies will be reported in one giving account as of January 1, 2014.
Child Care Reports: Council approved the motion sent by the Child Governance Committee, requesting approval of the Keystone Stars application.
Council Retreat: Council will meet on Saturday, February 15th for a day-long retreat.
Audit Committee: The Executive Committee will ask the firm of Sturgill & Trostle to review our books. St. James has not had an audit review since 2009. Fees for these services have been included in the budget. Council will continue to discuss how to create an Audit Committee for annual internal reviews.
Pastor Leisk: Council thanked Pastor Jeanette in a standing ovation for her productive years with St. James. Council will host a luncheon to celebrate the 5 ½ years of Pastor Jeanette’s leadership following her last service on Sunday, January 19th. Council encourages all members of the congregation to join us for fellowship, thanksgiving, and congratulations in honor of Pastor Jeanette Leisk.
January 2014 Children & Youth Ministry – We Are The Church!
Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I will be with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
During January and February, our youth groups will focus on the “THE” part of We Are The Church. Jesus said, very clearly, “Go share the Good News!” So, how do we do that? At school, at soccer practice, at play practice, in the band, at home, how do we do that?
REACH Workcamps!!! Workcamp is a life changing week of service that challenges us to examine our relationship with God and our commitment to faith-filled living. Youth entering 9th through 12th grade and current seniors are invited to serve at workcamp June 15 to 21 in Oliver Springs, TN! Youth entering 7th and 8th grade and Senior High youth not available in June are invited to attend workcamp July 20 to 26 in Cairo, NY! Registration forms are available in the Youth House and the youth bulletin board and are due to Sally Hoh by Sunday, January 19.
Our expectation is that youth attending workcamp are actively involved in Youth Group and/or Sunday School as well as service projects and fundraisers. If you have questions about the trips, please contact Sally.
High School Reading Group with Pastor and Mrs. Foltz will meet at 5:30 pm on Wednesdays: January 22, February 12, and March 19!
Thank you to everyone who supported the Cookie Walk! Thank you especially to Beth Becker for her leadership. We raised $600 for youth attending Workcamp next summer!
Sunday Evening Youth Groups!
Due to a multitude of activities and retreats in January, our schedule for the month is:
Senior High Winterfest Retreat Jan. 3-5 (No MS or SH Youth Group Jan. 5 or 12)
Middle School Harrisburg Quake Jan. 17-19 (No Middle School Youth Group Jan. 19)
Senior High Youth Group will meet Jan. 19 from 7:30 to 9 pm at the Youth House!
Middle School and Senior High Youth Group will meet at the Youth House after 10:45 am worship on Sunday, January 26 for lunch. We’ll head to the YWCA from 1 to 3 pm for wallyball and basketball! (Parents, please pick up youth at the YWCA at 3 pm.)
There will be no Koinonia Choir in January.
All Middle School and Senior High youth are invited to Wednesday Breakfasts at 6:45 am at the Youth House! (Remember that if school is delayed, breakfast is also delayed.)
Elementary Youth Group
The Elementary Youth Groups & Choirs will not meet in January until Wednesday, January 22!
3:30 – 4:15 pm K-2nd grade in the Youth House (3rd-5th grade Jubilant Choir in the Choir Room)
4:15 – 5 pm 3rd-5th grade in the Youth House (K-2nd grade Alleluia Choir in the Choir Room)
Please pray for the High School youth who will be attending our synod’s Winterfest retreat January 3 to 5 and for our Middle School youth who will be attending Youth Encounter’s Harrisburg Quake retreat January 17 to 19. We pray that the trips will encourage each of our youth on their faith journey.
The Messenger will next be mailed Wednesday, January 29th. All church-related articles must be e-mailed to [email protected] before Wednesday, January 15th.