JANUARY 2014
Christ Lutheran Church • Highlands Ranch, CO • Gathering † Gifting † Sending
FOOD DRIVE for
Hello and Happy New Year From the Preschool! This January we will be hosting our first, “Supermom” Saturday, which was a great deal of fun for the dad’s a few months ago. Moms will get to come to school and play in their child’s classroom with them. We will also have our yearly Western Day in honor of the Stock show. This has always been a blast with our entertainer, dancing and cooking up some dogs like the cow folk used to do on the trail.
It is also open enrollment time for Fall, 2014!
We encourage anyone, who would like to tour the school or knows of a neighbor or family member who would like visit, to pass the news along about our wonderful program. Please have them call Deb or Blair at 303-471-9290 for a personal tour or check us out on our website at www.myclcpreschool.org. We are excited that we will be offering a Kindergarten class this fall as well. Please let friends know we serve children ages 2 ½ through Kindergarten and offer 16 different classroom options including before and after kids klub. We continue to learn more about Jesus and keep him close in our hearts every day helping us to grow in his love. We wish the same for you in keeping him close. Many blessings, Deb and Blair
Interfaith Community Services
We will be collecting food for InterFaith starting January 1st and ending on Souper Bowl Sunday February 9th. Please bring your donations to the church and place them in the blue bins in the foyer at the south entrance.
Thank You
from CLC Scrip! Thank you to all the CLC members who supported our Scrip program during 2013. Orders were placed totaling over $26,000 – this gave CLC a profit of approximately $2,000! Additionally, we received more than $3,800 in rebates from King Soopers reloads. These funds have been used to offset some of our budgeted expenses. We’re looking for even more success with this program in 2014!
STAFF: Rev. Tom Shelly, Sr. Pastor pstrfstr@clchr.org Rev. DJ Dent, Associate Pastor pastordent@clchr.org Debby Kinsella Director Outreach/Equipping dkinsella@clchr.org Gary Knutson Director of Youth & Family gknutson@clchr.org Deb Morgans Director of Preschool dmorgans@clchr.org Mary Behnke Administrative Manager mbehnke@clchr.org Sallie Burns Financial Secretary sburns@clchr.org Linda Holcombe Director of Music lindaholcombe64@gmail.com Nicholas Koltay Administrative Assistant nkoltay@clchr.org Carrie Mallery Principal Pianist Larry Scalfari Pianist Barbara Pierson Director Nursery Ministry Barbara.Pierson@comcast.net Meliha & Predrag Vajzovic Custodians CHURCH COUNCIL: Ken Kroneberger kenk@jcmh.org Lee Bergstrom lee_berg@yahoo.com Nancy Bauer nancybauer@q.com Rick Boyer safetyguy74@yahoo.com Julie Waggoner waggoners5@gmail.com Norm Beulke nbeulke@gmail.com Adrian Hafner backyardkids@hotmail.com Bret Sumner bretsumner@hotmail.com John Ringkob jer@dascoinc.com John Riley johnriley05@comcast.net 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.
Pastor Tom’s Message Epiphany Again? Or for the Very First Time? Monday, January 6, 2014 the news reported that it was the most depressing day of the year! Why? The holidays were over, everyone (almost) was back at work, in debt and, on this day more filings for divorce occur than any other day of the year! Wow! If that is the news, that is pretty depressing alright! But also on January 6th, like a January 6th some two thousand years ago, the day also stands/stood for something much better, greater and more hopeful than observed by most people. I am talking about the Day of Epiphany, the traditional day of the visitation by the wise men (and women) from the east to the Christ Child. I love this story don’t you? That in the midst of the deep darkness (depression) there is born almost unnoticed a light, albeit small, full of promise, still powerful. Like other unnoticed events at first that eventually grow and bring about transformation of lives, life and the world, although it is and can be dark in the heart after the celebration of Christmas, wisdom teaches us there are still more surprises to come, that begin insignificantly but then grow unexpectedly into greater things. This seems to be God’s way. The church season that follows Christmas, is one of growth marked by the color green even though the greens of spring lie seemingly dormant below the ground the buds on branches begin to grow and swell in anticipation of the right time to break out. The church season that follows Christmas is called Epiphany (from now to March 2nd) which literally means “manifestation” also “appearance, expression and demonstration” according to the thesaurus. Epiphany is the season of this light growing through the revelation of who Jesus is in your life, in the life of others and in the world. Even more, Epiphany is the season where this light once again can come to us, each of us to be the manifestation, appearance, expression and demonstration of God in our lives. To ponder the magnitude of what this can mean especially on and after January 6th the day of Epiphany can give you hope, set your life in a new direction, change who you are, who you have been, and set a new course for your journey of faith. Wow! Doesn’t that sound better than the news we are bombarded with daily and not just on January 6th? I think so, and I hope these written words can help you on that course. Still wishing you a Happy New Year but also a Blessed Epiphany! + See you in Worship + Many Blessings + Pastor Shelly +
Dynamite Youth Group 4th-6th graders
We will be meeting on January 12th for a nacho/taco bar. We will start at 5 p.m. for dinner and finish up the night of fun fellowship at 7 p.m. Please call if any questions: Beth Ott 303-993-6400
Pastor DJ’s Message I recently read an article about New Year’s resolutions from the British Broadcasting Corporation. The reported on a mental health charity called MIND warning people that forming these resolutions was damaging to your mental health. The reason this is damaging is the impact of the failure to live up to unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves based on guilt from the year before. Typically the resolutions, which probably have a failure rate between 92 and 97%, are based on a negative image of self and a desire to improve that, whether it is a focus on losing weight or bettering a job. People have learned their lesson and approximately half of the people surveyed are making New Year’s resolutions this year when compared to only a decade ago. The appeal instead is to be happy with where we are today. Dare I say that is a scary assertion to make but certainly a logical one following years of failure. Being a lifelong Lutheran, I know a thing or two about guilt. Heck, we even feel guilty about not feeling guilty on occasion. Self-deprecation has been weaved throughout our history, not as famously as perhaps in the Roman Catholic church, but we have experienced it nonetheless. All of this built on what we ought to be: healthier, wiser, more like Jesus. Why? Certainly there is strong biblical backing for calling ourselves hypocrites. We know the human story of being selfish, overly ambitious, and power hungry. But beating ourselves up will only get us so far. I think that is a big motivating factor towards abandoning New Year’s resolutions. I think that was a reason for Jesus coming as well. While it may be not entirely a fair treatment of the prophetic tradition, beating people up didn’t always achieve the desired results, even if it was commanded by God to do so. The part that was always missed by the people is the desire of God to save God’s people. But instead, people rolled this into guilt, which might be effective in the short term, but is disastrous in the long term. Only getting people freed into hope is life-giving. Jesus offers a way that obliterates guilt and instead puts focus on the mission of God and the desire for the benefit of all creation. Does that mean that we have no concern for whether we are perfect or imperfect persons? Absolutely not! Anyone who has been through trials of faith (everyone) has learned that life with God can burn you even worse than life without God, but the faithfulness of God is what sustains us through the ugliness. God’s desire for wellness is stronger than anyone or anything’s desire for destruction. Resolutions ought to be removed from the realm of guilt and placed in the realm of hope. The transition should be made from losing 10 pounds to gaining more energy by exercising, from killing bad habits to spending time with others whom God has placed around us (which might as a side effect kill said habit). And most of all, as Christians, we should not be caught up in the failures of the past, but the promise of the future. We will bring our pasts with us but will let hope be what interprets guilt, not the other way around. God’s grace and peace, Pastor DJ Dent
Urban Peak 2014 This is the time of year to start thinking about which month your family or small group would like to take a meal to Urban Peak in 2014.
Join other women for the bible study, “Here and Now ... There and Then: A Lecture Series on Revelation� Christian speaker and author Beth Moore. This lecture series on the book of Revelation presents many points of view, allowing women to decide for themselves when the interpretation varies among scholars. We will meet on Mondays from 9:30am to 11:30am in the Sonrise Room, starting January 27, 2014. This is an 11 session, videodriven bible study. The cost is $25. Childcare will be available. Please sign up no later than January 13, 2014. If you would like more information, or have specific questions, please feel free to contact Chris Schaeberle at 303-794-3673 or schaeberle1@comcast.net.
Please check the response sheet for the months that are still available. CLC takes meals to the shelter on the fourth Friday of every month, all year long. This is a wonderful opportunity, and we greatly encourage your participation. The teens at Urban Peak really appreciate a good meal. Please indicate your interest on the response sheet or contact Debby with any questions.
Happy Birthday Jeremiah Fellows 1-Jan Nicole Jewett 1-Jan Michelle Jewett 1-Jan Monica Martin 1-Jan Karisa McCulloch 1-Jan Ryan Abraham 2-Jan Joe Gullia 2-Jan Carson Bergman 3-Jan Karin Harlan 3-Jan Kirsten Lee 3-Jan Mike Rucker 3-Jan Michelle Stein 3-Jan Luke Woodring 3-Jan W.K 'Kirk' Kirk 5-Jan Shane Pickrell 5-Jan Tyler Pinon 5-Jan Jeremy Radtke 5-Jan Kip Schauer 5-Jan Casadee Subart 5-Jan Karen Patz 6-Jan Keith LaShier 7-Jan Ryan Fix 8-Jan Adam Smith 8-Jan
Andrea Tonelli 8-Jan Diana Kirk 9-Jan Tyler Macko 9-Jan Nick Rockwell 9-Jan Dwight Buderus 10-Jan Pete Koury 10-Jan Steve Talus 10-Jan Sam Thompson 10-Jan Melody Zorgdrager 10-Jan Carmen Abraham 11-Jan Lana Morris 11-Jan Adam Schultz 11-Jan Thomas Pontius 12-Jan Zach Benner 13-Jan Maria Farrier 13-Jan Sena Porter 13-Jan Matt Schulte 13-Jan Bob Bremer 14-Jan Jacob Ringkob 14-Jan Angela Rohr 14-Jan Susan Schleuder 14-Jan Zachariah Waggoner 14-Jan Hannah Anderson 16-Jan
Josh Childs 16-Jan Craig Johnson 16-Jan Kristie Nedved 16-Jan Brian Swenson 16-Jan James Etten 17-Jan Scott Sorenson 17-Jan John Flynn 18-Jan Andrea Hardegree 18-Jan Conner Kramer 18-Jan Cassandra Chavez 19-Jan Nathan Henkes 19-Jan Christopher Hinz 19-Jan Mackenzie Mavis 19-Jan John Tiedgen 19-Jan Jason Curry 20-Jan August Graham 20-Jan Martha Hanson 20-Jan Glenda Kravitz 20-Jan Mark Schultz 20-Jan Halee Belcher 21-Jan Jason Fleming 21-Jan Kealy Reed 21-Jan Anthony Ruggeri 21-Jan
Larry Tew 21-Jan Kaitlyn Arellano 22-Jan Jake Doernbrack 22-Jan Scott Lasater 22-Jan Kylie McKissack 22-Jan Beth Ott 22-Jan Nicholas Purchase 22-Jan Preston Schnoor 22-Jan Elaine Woodring 22-Jan Steve Burns 23-Jan Adam Gray 23-Jan Kendra Reiter 23-Jan Suzanne Wischer 23-Jan Heidi Erickson 24-Jan Jessie Gutsch 24-Jan Mikaela Mitchell 24-Jan Megan Rucker 24-Jan Katherine Witkind 24-Jan Chris Porter 25-Jan Tim Cook 26-Jan Kenna Macky 26-Jan Dan McCullor 26-Jan Melanie Schultz 26-Jan
Kingston Aaberg 27-Jan Ryan Butler 27-Jan Courtney Folkerts 27-Jan Breana Kaiser 27-Jan Tina Kron 27-Jan Janet Bielefeldt 28-Jan Amy DeBoer 28-Jan Chris Harant 28-Jan Karen Knauff 28-Jan Jack Adams 29-Jan Dorothy Logan 29-Jan Sharon Perko 29-Jan Matt Schulte 29-Jan Zach Peterson 30-Jan Hailey Walsh 30-Jan Keith Burt 31-Jan Alexander Harlan 31-Jan Kelly Ingebritson 31-Jan Carl Larsen 31-Jan Tony Meyer 31-Jan Samantha Oberg 31-Jan Annette Pickrell 31-Jan
OWLS
ELCA World Hunger Hunger is a year-round problem for many across the globe. You can do your part to alleviate world hunger by signing up to donate $10.00 per month during 2013 through the ELCA World Hunger Campaign. All you have to do is drop a check into the offering plate made out to CLC with “ELCA World Hunger” written in the memo portion. If you prefer, you may pay a lump sum rather than every month. Our goal is to get 20 families to sign up and participate in this ministry. Please see Debby if you are interested or sign the response sheet.
Altar Guild
Barnyard Project
At our December luncheon, the OWL’s (Older, Wiser Lutherans) contributed $280.00 to “The Barnyard Project” our annual fundraiser which enabled us to purchase 5 goats and some chickens. Our next luncheon will be January 10, 2014. If you would like to join us, call Martha Miller at 303-771-1078.
Altar Guild is looking for more people to help set up for communion at our 5:00pm and 8:00am services
JANUARY SUNDAY
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
7 8:30 AM Preschool
8:00 AM Worship/CC 9:30 AM Worship/SS 11:00 AM Worship/CC 5:00 PM Dynamite Youth 7:00 PM AA Meeting
12 6:30 AM Men's Breakfast 13 8:30 AM Preschool
14 8:30 AM Preschool
RM Synod MS Youth Gathering 8:00 AM Worship/CC 9:30 AM Worship/SS 11:00 AM Worship/CC 7:00 PM AA Meeting
19 MLK Jr. Day
20 8:30 AM Preschool
21 8:30 AM Preschool
6:30 AM Men's Breakfast 27 8:30 AM Preschool 11:15 AM Staff Mtg. Group 7:00 PM BLAZE 8:30 AM Preschool 9:30 AM Mission Quilters 9:30 AM Beth Moore Bible Study 6:00 PM Boy Scouts Venture Crew 7:00 PM Boy Scouts
28 8:30 AM Preschool
Group 8:30 AM No School Preschool 7:00 PM Boy Scouts 7:00 PM Personnel Mtg.
Group 8:30 AM Preschool 9:30 AM Mission Quilters 4:30 PM Brownie Troop 6:00 PM Boy Scouts Venture Crew 7:00 PM Boy Scouts 7:00 PM Legacy & Endowment Mtg.
8:00 AM Worship/CC 26 9:30 AM Worship/SS 9:30 AM BAPTISM - Arnold 11:00 AM Worship/CC 7:00 PM AA Meeting
OFFICE CLOSED 6:30 AM Men's Breakfast Group 8:30 AM No PreschoolMartin Luther King Jr. 7:00 PM Boy Scouts
11:00 AM Chapel 11:15 AM Staff Mtg. 2:00 PM Chapel 4:30 PM Girl Scout Mtg. 7:00 PM BLAZE 8:00 PM mops set-up
THURSDAY
NEW YEARS DAY 1 8:30 AM Preschool OFFICE CLOSED Christmas Break 8:30 AM Preschool Christmas 9:00 AM Carpet cleaning Break
6 8:30 AM Preschool
8:00 AM Worship/CC 9:30 AM Worship/SS 11:00 AM Worship/CC 7:00 PM AA Meeting
5 6:30 AM Men's Breakfast
TUESDAY
9:00 AM MOPS Mtg 11:00 AM Chapel 2:00 PM Chapel 7:00 PM Confirmation Small Group
10:15 AM Storyteller 11:15 AM Staff Mtg. 1:00 PM Ministry Planning Mtg. 2:00 PM Storyteller 7:00 PM BLAZE 7:00 PM Council Mtg.
11:00 AM Chapel 11:15 AM Staff Mtg. 1:00 PM Visiting Nurse Assoc. 2:00 PM Chapel 6:00 PM Cub Scout Mtg. 7:00 PM BLAZE 8:00 PM mops set-up
FRIDAY 2 8:30 AM Preschool
SATURDAY 3 FOOD DRIVE BEGINS
Christmas Break 9:00 AM Rejoice Circle 5:00 PM Eagle Court of Honor
8 8:30 AM Preschool
9 8:30 AM Preschool 10 9:00 AM Supermom 12:00 PM OWLS Luncheon Saturday 6:00 PM Cub Scout Den Mtg. 5:00 PM Worship/CC 7:00 PM Cub Scout Leader Mtg. 5:30 PM Parents Night Out
15 8:30 AM Preschool 16 7:00 PM CLC Military Ministry 10:00 AM MOPS Steering 10:15 AM Storyteller 2:00 PM Storyteller 6:30 PM Confirmation Music 7:00 PM Confirmation Learning Event
22 8:30 AM Preschool
9:00 AM MOPS Mtg 11:00 AM Chapel 2:00 PM Chapel 6:30 PM Confirmation Music 7:00 PM Confirmation Learning Event
29 8:30 AM Preschool 10:00 AM Western Day 10:00 AM Western Day 6:00 PM Confirmation Guide Huddle 6:30 PM Confirmation Music 7:00 PM Confirmation Learning Event
4
8:30 AM Preschool Christmas Break 9:00 AM Chicks w/Sticks 5:00 PM Worship/CC
11
17 RM Synod MS Youth
18
23 8:30 AM Preschool
24 7:00 AM General
25
30 8:30 AM Preschool
31
RM Synod MS Youth Gathering 8:30 AM Preschool 9:00 AM Rejoice Circle
Gathering 5:00 PM Worship/CC 5:00 PM Parents Night Out
6:00 PM Eagle Court of Honor
Maintenance 5:00 PM Worship/CC
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