April 2013 CLC CrossWord

APRIL 2013

Christ Lutheran Church • Highlands Ranch, CO • Gathering † Gifting † Sending

2013 ELCA Global Barnyard Did you know… we have completed our annual ELCA Global Barnyard support program. We will be sending $1,775 to the ELCA, reflecting the very generous contributions of this congregation. These funds will allow the purchase of 20 goats, 9 pigs, 2 ducks, 22 chicks and 2 sheep! Additionally, we have already sent $700 in 2013 to the ELCA World Hunger program. Thank you for your continued support of these vital programs. You are truly making a difference.

MISSION QUILTERS Mission Quilters meet the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 9-12 (or anytime between those times). We would love to have you join us. Lutheran World Relief is requesting only large quilts (60"x80") and we have an objective of making at least 60 this year!

We are currently in need of slightly used sheets for backings... even a twin size (or a fitted sheet) can provide the backing we need. In your Spring Cleaning, if you find you would like to get rid of some pieces of material or old sheets, please keep the Mission Quilters in mind. You can bring the items in and leave them in the office with a "Mission Quilters" note on it... OR you could join us at our next meeting, we would LOVE to have you!!

It’s That Time Again!

MOPS NEW TO YOU Spring & Summer Childrens Consignment Sale at Christ Lutheran Church Friday, April 5th from 8am-4pm Half-price sale Saturday, April 6th from 8am-12pm (select items) Pre-sale for new/expectant moms Thursday, April 4th from 6:30-8:30pm

Come shop for everything related to babies, children and pregnant moms - gently used clothing (newborn to size 12), shoes, toys, books and videos, maternity clothing, nursery items, strollers, car seats, furniture, outdoor toys, costumes, holiday wear and much, much more!

Shop early for the best selection! Visit www.newtoyousale.org for more information, and please let friends, family, neighbors and co-workers know! This is a phenomenal sale that benefits our MOPS group, as well as providing an incredible service to the community at large.

STAFF: Rev. Tom Shelly, Sr. Pastor pstrfstr@clchr.org

Pastor Tom’s Message

Rev. DJ Dent, Associate Pastor pastordent@clchr.org

Continued Easter Blessings!

Debby Kinsella Dir. Outreach/Equipping dkinsella@clchr.org

Easter day came early this year, March 31st but ahh how nice is the post Easter season with the preparations of the big day behind us! Now just enjoy spring to come on full force!

Gary Knutson Dir. of Youth & Family gknutson@clchr.org Deb Morgans Preschool Director dmorgans@clchr.org Mary Behnke Administrative Manager mbehnke@clchr.org Sallie Burns Financial Secretary sburns@clchr.org Judi Best Dir. Traditional Music jbest@clchr.org Linda Holcombe Dir. Contemporary Music lindaholcombe64@gmail.com Nicholas Koltay Administrative Assistant nkoltay@clchr.org Carrie Mallery Principal Pianist Larry Scalfari Pianist Barbara Pierson Dir. Nursery Ministry Barbara.Pierson@comcast.net Meliha & Predrag Vajzovic Custodians CHURCH COUNCIL: Mark Yoss m.yoss@comcast.net Crista Larsen cristalarsen@yahoo.com Ken Kroneberger kenk@jcmh.org Rick Boyer safetyguy74@yahoo.com Julie Waggoner waggoners5@gmail.com Jody Alexander home4jody@comcast.net Alan Buckel afbjjb@aol.com Norm Beulke nbeulke@gmail.com Gary Rasel raselg@msn.com Nancy Bauer nancybauer@q.com All articles, photos and notices for the next issue of CrossWord are due by the 15th of the month.

Send to mbehnke@clchr.org. Editor reserves the right to edit for content and space.

There is one drawback though, at least in my opinion and that is April 15th tax day! I hope you find time if you haven’t done them already! Also, if you get a refund, I would encourage you to be generous and charitable in some way, say with 10% of it.

As promised I want to share with you some more detailed information from our treasurer about our Special Congregational Meeting called for April 7th at 9:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. (Some have asked why we need a congregational meeting for this, why can’t the pastor and council do it? Because it is a 2 million dollar business item and the constitution states that the council can only enter into contracts of up to 10% of the budget, plus when the congregation decides it also gives us ownership of the agreement, it is necessary to have a congregational meeting.

The Church Council has recommended that we refinance our mortgage with Thrivent Financial and has called for a special meeting to be held on Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 9:00 am for the congregation to consider adopting this recommendation.

So that you are better informed prior to this meeting... our current loan and terms went into effect on April 1, 2010. The principal amount at that time was $2,135,876 and the interest rate was 5.75%. The interest rate is subject to possible adjustment every five years and the loan ultimately matures on April 1, 2035. More significantly, and based upon our monthly payment obligation of $12,465, our current loan will require us to pay a significant final “balloon” payment of approximately $500,000 at maturity.

In order to avoid the likelihood of a balloon payment obligation, and given that interest rates have decreased since April of 2010, we approached Thrivent Financial about refinancing our loan. They have offered us, and the church council recommends to the congregation that we accept a revised loan. The new loan would take effect on May 1, 2013 and would have an initial principal balance of $2,054,769. The maturity would remain at April 1, 2035. It would begin with an interest rate of 4.875% and would have a slightly higher monthly payment obligation of $12,731. Although the interest rate would not be fixed for the full term of the loan, it would be fixed for ten years at a time. With this new loan, we would have less risk of a rate increase and, primarily as a result of the lower interest rate, we would not expect to have a balloon payment due at maturity – we would expect it to be fully paid at that time.

If you have any questions or concerns, you may raise them prior to the April 7th meeting or there will be a limited opportunity for questions and discussion at the meeting.

Many Blessings + See you in Worship + Pastor Tom +

CHICKS WITH STICKS Dynamite: Exploding for Christ!

Chicks with Sticks had a Super, Inspirational Meeting in March!!

Carol Davis (Outreach Uganda), Deb Davis (Tanzania Surgical Mission) and Susan McKee (Women4Women-Knitting4Peace) presented on their trips to Africa and their organizations. Both Carol and Deb took items made by members of Chicks with Sticks to Africa last year and had great stories to share about their experiences. It inspired us all to go home and make Peace Pals, shawls, baby washcloths, and baby hats!

On Sunday, March 10, five of our members met with the Dyamite Group (4th-6th graders) and put together Peace Pals to send to Uganda with Carol Davis this summer. What a great job the kids did!

In March the Dynamite kids and several members of Chicks with Sticks prepared 30 Peace Pal dolls. The youth sewed, stuffed, and painted faces on the dolls. We prayed for the creators of the dolls, the children who will receive the dolls, and the God who connects us to each other. This was a wonderful event that joined two groups at CLC in an outreach to others.

Our next meeting will be April 14 from 5-7pm. We plan to be outside playing games so be ready to move! Questions: please contact Gary Knutson or Erika Alpern at eajteach@yahoo.com.

In April, we will be meeting in the Choir Room in the lower level of the church because the "New to You Sale" will be going on that weekend. We would love to have you join us and to make someone in the world very happy! Contact Darlene Danyo dedanyo@aol.com or Linda Cook lcook77@msn.com for details.

Happy Birthday Ben Coleman - Apr 1 David Dumler - Apr 1 Kory Sandon - Apr 1 Esther Trautmann - Apr 1 Kathryn Van Dewerker - Apr 1 Hannah Archuleta - Apr 2 Jake Beauchamp - Apr 2 Gary Butler - Apr 2 Sheldon Hafner - Apr 2 Madison Hegre - Apr 2 Dan Johnson - Apr 2 Janet Kracht - Apr 2 Shelby Mulverhill - Apr 2 Abby Porterfield - Apr 2 Laura Agustin - Apr 3 Erving Anderson - Apr 3 Jordan Faessler - Apr 3 Dwight Roinestad - Apr 3 Angela Smith - Apr 3 Anne Buderus - Apr 4 Quinn Hunchar - Apr 4 Evan Lambert - Apr 4 Ray Christensen - Apr 5 Kevin Henningsen - Apr 5 Ethan McGraw - Apr 5 Jackson Mundell - Apr 5

Lara Oleson - Apr 5 Stephanie Radtke - Apr 5 Steve Schaeberle - Apr 5 Jim Schleuder - Apr 5 Andy Stevens - Apr 5 Jameson Switzer - Apr 5 Tom Bielefeldt - Apr 6 Danica Rowe - Apr 6 Elizabeth Zorn - Apr 6 Dan Abraham - Apr 7 Linda Cook - Apr 7 Russ Hunchar - Apr 7 Elise Schauer - Apr 7 Helen Beulke - Apr 8 Judy Siel - Apr 8 Dru Boggs - Apr 9 Amelie Heiner - Apr 9 Brianne Mavis - Apr 9 Donna Riley - Apr 9 Ken Kroneberger - Apr 10 Angela McCrosky - Apr 10 Andrea Peters - Apr 10 Haley Radochonski - Apr 10 Olivia Johnson - Apr 11 Lara Marxhausen - Apr 11 Preston Dumler - Apr 12

Zooey Hill - Apr 12 John DeBoer - Apr 13 Forrest Green - Apr 13 Guy Haller - Apr 13 Brian Morgans - Apr 13 Austin Alexander - Apr 14 Sandy Buechler - Apr 14 Russell Hunchar - Apr 14 James Rand - Apr 14 Pastor Tom Shelly - Apr 14 Hunter Snauwaert - Apr 14 Jen Henningsen - Apr 15 Oliver Knauff - Apr 15 Carlos Castro - Apr 16 Ryan Lindemann - Apr 16 Brandon Morken - Apr 16 Lisa Shimonkevitz - Apr 16 Pam Jewett - Apr 17 Camryn Kramer - Apr 17 Carl Saur - Apr 17 Rick Versen - Apr 17 John Wilson - Apr 17 Ashley Evens - Apr 18 Ian Heiner - Apr 18 Katie Pinon - Apr 18 Juanita Buckel - Apr 19

Ryan Cummings - Apr 19 Roger Green - Apr 19 Mike Schuman - Apr 19 Ashley Flynn - Apr 21 Sawyer Gall - Apr 21 Chris Poltl - Apr 21 Paul Pontius - Apr 21 Lexi Bauer - Apr 22 Courtney Belin - Apr 22 Jeff Bergstrom - Apr 22 Fred Parsa - Apr 22 Charlotte Wilson - Apr 22 Charles Morse - Apr 23 Richard Oleson - Apr 23 Sharon Stovall - Apr 23 Brady Subart - Apr 23 Kyle Henningsen - Apr 24 Linda Holcombe - Apr 24 Joanne Hollowell - Apr 24 Harriette Shelly - Apr 24 Leslie Ashley - Apr 25 Chrissy Beukelman- Apr 25 Chery Koury- Apr 25 Sydney Anne Cantrell - Apr 26 Lynette Kramer - Apr 26 Kaleigh Kreimeyer - Apr 26

Dennis Gereaux - Apr 27 Ryan Knauff - Apr 27 Aaron Newman - Apr 27 Jason Radtke - Apr 27 Tara Vogler - Apr 27 Steven Almer - Apr 28 Kelly Bergstrom - Apr 28 Karlton Lauer - Apr 28 David McCrosky - Apr 28 Benjamin O'Brien - Apr 28 Laura Reeves - Apr 28 Alexandria Reeves - Apr 28 Shalean Rowe - Apr 28 Evan Rowell - Apr 28 Kaila Scarlett - Apr 28 Michelle Sinclair - Apr 28 Kyle Versen - Apr 28 Cameron Radtke - Apr 29 Garren Richard Saewert - Apr 29 Brownie Smook - Apr 29 Andrew Holcombe - Apr 30 Nancy Hubbard - Apr 30 Roger Koltay - Apr 30 Kelly Melcher - Apr 30 Jake Stein - Apr 30 Susan Thoennes - Apr 30

Preschool News!

Hello and Happy Spring from the staff and children at CLCP. We are very excited for April. This month the preschool children will join our congregation for a Preschool Appreciation Sunday to be held at the 9:30 a.m. service on April 14th. Our children will sing a song for everyone, enjoy children’s church and some refreshments after service. Please join us on this special day. We will be busy this month beginning to prepare for our programs at the end of the school year as well. It is hard to believe that soon some of our children will be moving on to bigger adventures in May. Time seems to move very quickly. We will also begin Summer camp registration and information will be available on our website. If you are interested in attending, please take a look. We wish everyone in our church and preschool family a very warm Springtime filled with the wonders of new things! - Ms. Deb

Cookies for Preschool Appreciation Sunday CLC will be showing our appreciation to their wonderful preschool on Sunday April 14th during the 9:30 service.

There will be a reception to follow in the fellowship hall. Come and meet the staff and many of the little ones who attend the school and their families. We would like to have cookies so if you can help please drop them in the kitchen.

Pastor DJ’s Message The Wrath of God Maybe you’ve been following along with the History Channel’s retelling of the bible stories as they have been airing this spring. Unfortunately I don’t have the History Channel at home so I will have to catch up with the series at a later date sometime, but nonetheless I was curious so I decided to peruse their website to learn as much as I can about the show without ever actually watching it. And I came across a surprising intro to one of the episodes which said, “Noah survives God’s wrath.” This made me tilt my head to the side in curiosity as an extremely bizarre interpretation on the story. The reason being that I don’t ever recall God saying, “I am so mad I’m going to drown everything.” Rather Genesis 6:6 says that God moves out of sorrow and almost an act of repentance (actually the King James Version uses the word repent). Where is the wrath of God? Humans here are more of a failed experiment that needed cleaning rather than something that God is insidiously planning to smash out of anger.

Without dabbling too much into what is and isn’t in the story, I’d rather take a paragraph or two to talk about perspective. The reason I actually became interested in this version of the retelling of the Bible was because I heard somewhere it was going to be an accurate retelling without much interpretation. And thus the point of this article: there is no such thing as not interpreting something. I think maybe for some of the stories, it would’ve been better to say, “We are going to interpret this story as if the Bible were a history textbook and add some drama in there for appeal or to fit into the timeslot.” To label something as the “best” or the “only” interpretation is a bit deceitful if not labeled as one’s personal opinion.

There is a strong tendency to think we are objective thinkers, that is, that we have examined all of the facts and come to the most responsible conclusion apart from any interpretation we bring. Far more likely, however is that we gravitate towards research and opinions that support our already formed conclusions1. This is called confirmation bias. It gets stronger the more personal or controversial the topic and grows to the point where anyone who differs is ignorant, blind, or a fool. The good news: we’re in good company for this. The bad news: we’re also in good company for not knowing about it.

Without going into a scientific study about The Bible on the History Channel, I just polled people around the office for their opinion.

Since I didn’t get them to sign a waiver to use their opinions, I will simply say that they were different – and not just mildly. I have a particular perspective about Bible and God things and look forward to catching up on the things I have missed and maybe opening a dialogue in an adult education forum about the series. In the meantime, I will simply say it’s difficult to spend time with ideas that challenge your interpretation but if you can, it’s a great way to explore the depth of perspective with which God views things.

I hope that you do find ways to engage the story whether it be in worship, on TV Sunday evenings, in dialogue with others, or even your own personal reading time – and that you find meaning and significance for your life, whatever the interpretation.

God’s Peace, Pastor DJ 1 – If you are interested in some studies on the topic, I recommend a simple google search on confirmation bias and looking for some scholarly writings.

Here’s one from Ohio State: http://crx.sagepub.com/content/36/3/426.abstract

Volunteer of the Month This month’s volunteer hero is Roger May. Roger has worked countless hours over the last 8+ years evolving the computer system that supports the Christ Lutheran Church (CLC) Staff and the communication needs of the congregation. His technical knowledge, expertise and dedicated support to CLC IT and Communication have been invaluable to CLC. If not for his unselfish service, costs to hire out that effort would have been the equivalent of another full-time staff member.

Over the past few years the scope has expanded considerably as a result of the increased application and complexity of technology solutions in conducting CLC business. Examples of this expansion include: • Increased use of e-mail, internet, and electronic media to significantly reduce mailing of hardcopy media.

• Implementation of electronic newsletters and Moments with the Pastor.

• Projecting the electronic bulletin/service folder on the wall in selected services.

• Implementing/maintaining the electronic message board in the narthex.

• Networking CLC staff member computers; implementing wireless within the church building; remote access for the pastors to the CLC network.

• Implementation and refinement of the CLC Community Church Builder (CCB web-site).

• Screening, selecting, negotiating a computer maintenance contract.

• Planning and coordinating refresh of computers, servers, and networks and associated software.

Roger’s day job is IT Engineer for Applied Control.

APRIL SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

OFFICE CLOSED 1 6:30am Men's Breakfast Group 8:30am Preschool 9:30am MOPS mtg.

7:00pm Boy Scouts 7:00pm Personnel Committee Mtg.

8:30am Preschool 2 10:00am Clean-up of FH 11:00am Chapel 11:15am Staff Mtg. 2:00pm Chapel 5:00pm Crossroads Band 6:15pm Praise Team Rehearsal 7:00pm BLAZE 8:00pm Storage pull down in SRR

8:30am Preschool 3 11:00am Chapel 1:00pm MOPS set-up 2:00pm Chapel 5:30pm Carillon Choir 7:00pm Confirmation Small Group 7:00pm Celebration Choir

8:30am Consignment Sale 4 8:30am Preschool

7:00am Consignment Sale 5 8:30am Preschool 9:00am Rejoice Circle

8:00am Consignment Sale 6 9:00am Chicks w/Sticks 5:00pm Worship/CC

NAME TAG SUNDAY 7 8:00am Worship/CC 9:00am Special Congregational Mtg. 9:30am Worship/SS 9:30am Adult Education Class 11:00am Worship/CC 11:00am Jubilation Choir 11:00am Joy Choir Rehearsal 7:00pm AA Meeting

6:30am Men's Breakfast 8 Group 8:30am Preschool 9:30am Mission Quilters 6:00pm Boy Scouts Venture 6:15pm Thrivent Chapter Mtg. 7:00pm Boy Scouts 7:00pm Legacy & Endowment Mtg.

8:00 am Staff Mtg. 9 8:30am Preschool 10:15am Storyteller 11:15am Staff Mtg. 2:00pm Storyteller 4:45pm Daisy Troop Mtg. 5:00pm Crossroads Band 6:15pm Praise Team Rehearsal 7:00pm BLAZE 7:00pm Council Mtg. 8:00pm MOPS set up

8:30am Preschool 10 9:00am MOPS Mtg 10:15am Storyteller 1:15am PAT Mtg. 2:00pm Storyteller 5:30pm Carillon Choir 7:00pm Celebration Choir 7:00pm Confirmation Learning Event

8:30am Preschool 11 9:00am Adult University Class

8:30am Preschool 12 12:00pm OWLS Luncheon

5:00pm Worship/CC 13 5:00pm Parent's Night Out

8:00am Worship/CC 14 9:30 Worship/SS 9:30am Adult Education Class 9:30am Preschool Appreciation Sunday 11:00am Worship/CC 11:00am Jubilation Choir 11:00am Joy Choir Rehearsal 5:00pm Dynamite 7:00pm AA Meeting

6:30am Men's Breakfast Group 8:30am Preschool 7:00pm Boy Scouts 7:00pm Card Making

18 8:30am Preschool 19 9:00am Adult University Class 9:00am Rejoice Circle 11:00am Preschool Directors Mtg.

9:00am Safeguarding 20 God's Children Training 5:00pm Worship/CC

8:00am Worship/CC 21 9:30am Worship/SS/Joy Musical 9:30am Adult Education Class 11:00am Worship/CC 11:00am Jubilation Choir 11:00am Joy Choir Rehearsal 12:15pm Baptism Class 7:00pm AA Meeting

8:30am Preschool 25 9:00am Adult University Class

1:00am-12:00am 27 8th Grade Spring Lock-in 7:00am General Maintenance 5:00pm Worship/CC

8:00am Worship/CC 28 9:30 Worship/SS 9:30am Adult Education Class 11:00am Worship/CC 11:00am Jubilation Choir 11:00am Joy Choir Rehearsal 7:00pm AA Meeting

15 8:30am Preschool

16 8:30am Preschool

17 8:30am Preschool

11:00am Chapel 11:15am Staff Mtg. 1:00pm Visiting Nurse Assoc.

2:00pm Chapel 5:00pm Crossroads Band 6:15pm Praise Team Rehearsal 7:00pm BLAZE

10:00am MOPS Steering 11:00am Chapel 2:00pm Chapel 5:30pm Carillon Choir 7:00pm Celebration Choir 7:00pm Confirmation Learning Event

6:30am Men's Breakfast 22 Group 8:30am Preschool 9:30am Mission Quilters 6:00pm Boy Scouts Venture 7:00pm Boy Scouts

8:30am Preschool 23 11:15am Staff Mtg. 5:00pm Crossroads Band 6:15pm Praise Team Rehearsal 7:00pm BLAZE 8:00pm MOPS set up

8:30am Preschool 24 9:00am MOPS Mtg 5:30pm Carillon Choir 7:00pm Celebration Choir 7:00pm Confirmation Learning Event

6:30am Men's Breakfast 29 Group 8:30am Preschool 9:30am Class Pictures 4:00pm Confirm. Pastoral Interviews 7:00pm Boy Scouts

8:30am Preschool 30 9:30am Class Pictures 11:15am Staff Mtg. 4:00pm Confirm. Pastoral Interviews 5:00pm Crossroads Band 6:15pm Praise Team Rehearsal 7:00pm BLAZE

8:30am No Preschool 26 8:30pm 8th Grade Spring Lock-in

Followers of Jesus Christ

8997 S. Broadway Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 Change Service Requested

There’s a place for you!

Outreach Ministries

Fair Trade Coffee Project ELCA World Hunger The Gathering Place Grant Avenue Street Reach Habitat for Humanity Harrington Elementary Lutheran Family Services Adult Mission Trips Outreach Uganda Urban Peak (MOPS) Mothers of Preschoolers

Music

Celebration Choir Crossroads Worship Band Confirmation Choir Jubilation Choir Joy Choir Carillon Ringers

Preschool

Caring Connection

Individual Care Team Confidential Prayer Tree Card Ministry New-Mother Ministry Prayer Shawl Knitters Chefs for Christ Pastoral Care and Counseling Chicks with Sticks Mission Quilters

Youth & Family Ministries

Sunday School Dynamite Youth Group (4th, 5th, 6th graders) Blaze (High School Youth) Sr. High Mission Trip Confirmation (7th & 8th graders) First Communion classes First Bible classes Baptism classes Family Nights