OCTOBER 2014
Christ Lutheran Church • Highlands Ranch, CO • Gathering † Gifting † Sending
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS
As autumn arrives, people in various places may notice something odd... a procession of animals, everything from dogs and cats to hamsters and even horses, are led to churches for a special ceremony called the Blessing of Pets. This custom is conducted in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures. Today there are over 62 million pets in the U.S. which attests to the continuing affection we have for our furry, feathered or finned friends. Pets are true companions. The bond between people and their pets is like no other relationship because the communication between fellow creatures is at its most basic with humans and animals. No wonder people enjoy the opportunity to take their animal companions to church for a special blessing once a year. Church is the place where the bond of creation is celebrated. Christ Lutheran will celebrate the Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, October 12th at 12:30 p.m. in the grassy area near the main doors. Bring all of your pets for a blessing and a treat. All are encouraged and welcome! Please join us. Please sign the response sheet to let us know you are coming!
News From the Preschool Hello and welcome to the fall season at the preschool! We have such a busy month planned with two Chapel visits; “Jesus Heals” and “The Good Samaritan.” Our Storyteller will visit and we will start Music time with Ms. Linda, CLC’s Music Director. Dads can come and play one Saturday on our Superdad Saturday! Also, our yearly and exciting Butterbraid fundraiser begins on the 9th and ends on the 22nd. We will have order forms upstairs for the congregation to order and we so appreciate the support we have received over the years. They are good to have on hand for the holiday season! The children will have a Halloween parade and party at the end of the month. They look so adorable in their costumes!
We wish everyone a colorful fall season! Ms. Deb and Ms. Blair
Sunday School at CLC This year’s Sunday school began on September 7 with a celebration of learning and fun for 96 children ages 3-6th grade and 17 teachers/helpers. Our new Sunday school director is Allyson Evans. Allyson is in charge of ordering learning materials, preparing the weekly lessons with the craft team, leading Sunday school service/ volunteer opportunities and gathering volunteers to teach and help in classes. We hope you have heard it is “easy” to teach Sunday school at CLC. The lessons and crafts are prepared for you. You can read the lesson during the week on-line to famil-iarize yourself with the Bible story. The BEST part of teaching Sunday school is spend-ing time with children! Sharing your faith as you build relationships is one of the best reasons to volunteer. Welcome Allyson! We look forward to seeing many of you involved in Sunday school this year! Erika Alpern, Council Member
SCRIP UPDATE
We have reloadable King Soopers Scrip cards in stock, and would like to order more! If you do your grocery shopping at King Soopers, please consider purchasing one of these $25 cards and reloading it when you shop. CLC receives $250+ every month when we have $5,000 in reloads. We have received a check every month for the last 2 years, and would like to see this trend continue! You may either reload your card at the Customer Service Center, or simply hand it to the cashier prior to checking out with your groceries. You may put as much, or as little, on the card as you wish, and then swipe the card to pay for the groceries. This is an easy way to support CLC and our many programs. Thanks for your support!
STAFF: Rev. Tom Shelly, Sr. Pastor pstrfstr@clchr.org Rev. DJ Dent, Associate Pastor pastordent@clchr.org Dianne Yoss Interim Director Outreach & Equipping outreach@clchr.org Debbie Freeman Interim Office Staff for Outreach & Equipping dfreeman@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: Adrian Hafner backyardkids@hotmail.com Bret Sumner bretsumner@hotmail.com John Ringkob jer@dascoinc.com John Riley johnriley05@comcast.net Lesley Cantrell we4cantrells@mac.com Erika Alpern eajteach@yahoo.com Karen Rucker kkosty@excite.com
Pastor Tom’s Message
October! Oktoberfest! October is the month of the seasons beginning to change. A lot of people love fall and all its colors, celebrations and decorations. Oktoberfest is meant to be a fun time of friendship and food not because it is about harvest but rather originally was a community celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. Oktoberfest is a 16 day festival in Germany sometimes starting in September. Around CLC October and Oktoberfest have been a wonderful time of fun and family. Recently while on vacation in Arizona I visited one of my “family” members, a High School “brother.” Since then, in a short amount of time this “brother” has died. I am privileged to have been asked to lead his Memorial Service the weekend of Oktoberfest which means I will miss the party here but I am hoping everyone understands the reason for my absence. (First time in 8 years!) I will miss my CLC Oktoberfest family celebration. I know the spirit of togetherness will still be present and reaching out to everyone in attendance and even far away. One could easily get the impression from the Gospels that Jesus celebrated similar events, the Wedding of Cana being the most obvious. The Gospels convince us that Jesus spoke to both the celebrations of life as well as the hardships. One does not preclude the other. October for me is a more spiritual one than others seem to be. I think that might be because of its changes, opportunities and reflections of what has been and what is coming and yet still be. How about you? What does October conjure up for you? Memories or Anticipations?
Carpet Shortcomings! It is hard NOT to notice the wearing out of our carpet in the Sonrise Room, Youth Room and especially hallway to the bathrooms and Office Complex! The carpet in the office Complex unfortunately is heading the same direction! Someone else noticed and made a generous donation to purchase the new carpet (approximately $10,000!). To install of this carpet we are using some previous contributions but may be short as much as $7,000! (The new carpet will be the same as the preschool downstairs just installed.) So we are looking for more donors! Any amount will help and be greatly appreciated. We will keep you posted on funds received and expended, and date(s) of installation.
Steve Schaeberle Schaeberle1@comcast.net
Thank you in advance!
Bob Weber B14169k@comcast.net
See YOU in Worship + Many Blessings + Pastor Tom +
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.
OKTOBERFEST Saturday, October 4th, 6:00pm
Pastor DJ’s Message This month’s question is:
“Prost mein Bruder” or in English: “Cheers my Brother!” Oktoberfest is Saturday, Oct 4 from 6 – 9 pm…ish. And what exactly is it? Well, history tells us it originated as a festival to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Germany’s Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. But what does it mean to us here at CLC? It means FELLOWSHIP, FUN, and FUNDRAISING. The more we have, the more we can give. More importantly, it is an important part of our CLC culture for many reasons which are why your participation is encouraged and greatly appreciated. You can participate in a variety of ways including:
Donate a Theme Basket
Some of the baskets last year and/or possibilities include: children’s books, chocolate, a football party, wine, movies, sports, car supplies, date night, spa day, winter warmth, dinner and a movie and many more. If you are interested in donating a basket or just a portion of one, please sign the response sheet at Church. If you can, please bring all of the materials to the Church Office as soon as possible.
NEW THIS YEAR
We are selling 2 types of raffle tickets. “Red” tickets are $1 each or 12 for $10. ”Pink” tickets are $2 each or 6 for $10. “Pink” tickets are for baskets that have a greater value.
Donate Food
We are in need of the following: brats, pork tenderloin, potato salad, beans and all the fixings. Please invite all your friends to this great evening! Please sign the response sheet or event clipboard.
Sign up to work the event
We need help with set up, clean up, serving food and beverages, helping with the basket drawing, etc.! Please sign the response sheet or event clipboard.
ATTEND and invite Friends!
Food, dancing, beer & wine, and fun for all!! Advanced admission tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children. At the door tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for children. NOTE: Each admission includes: 1 white meal ticket, 2 yellow drink tickets and 2 “red” raffle tickets. Please contact Dianne Yoss at outreach@clchr.org or Debbie Freeman at dfreeman@clchr.org with any questions about donating or volunteering. Thank you! Participate, Celebrate, Appreciate!
SUPPLIES FOR THE KITCHEN Oktoberfest is coming and we are in great need of forks, napkins, paper towels, big sturdy paper plates, little plates, little cups for lemonade, big red (solo) cups for drinks, zip lock bags all sizes, large trash bags 33 gallon, napkins, stem less plastic wine glasses and aluminum foil. Please leave any donations in the kitchen on the counter.
“Who is a person in the Bible most people don’t know (like Jason)?” Last year after the Bible Bowl, the youth of the church stumped me with the question, “Who welcomed St. Paul to Thessalonica?” Now I will always know the answer is Jason, who actually is a venerated saint in the Roman Catholic Church but amazingly had not made it onto my radar. So in that spirit, this month I will lift up another who has given much but does not get much recognition. One that is near and dear to my heart is actually the namesake of my son, Caleb. While a popular name today, most probably don’t know of Caleb’s story in scripture because he is overshadowed by a much more popular character, Joshua. When the Israelites prepared to enter into Canaan to take possession of it they sent twelve spies, one from each tribe, to take stock of the land and the people in it. Caleb was the spy sent from the tribe of Issachar. All twelve were in agreement that the land flowed with milk and honey. The down side, the spies reported, was that the people of the land were of great size and they were like grasshoppers in comparison. Caleb quieted all the people and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30, NRSV). Joshua and Caleb were the only two who offered the opinion that God wouldn’t tell them to take the land unless he would bless them to do so. Caleb would later be gifted great land because of his faithfulness to God. The reason Caleb is an important character to me is because of his vision of what could be. As Friederich Nietzsche quipped, “He who has a why can endure any how.” Once you are dedicated to a cause, you can overcome any speed bump associated with it. Thus, Caleb, though little known, is an incredibly important character in the Bible for sharing a vision and following through in spite of what looks like a shaky road ahead. Thanks for the question, next month we’ll discuss “What is the correct translation?” Peace, Pastor DJ
CLC KidsRock! Christmas Musical: “Breaking News! Baby Born In Bethlehem” All kids in Kindergarten through 6th grade are invited to participate in our annual CLC KidsRock! Children’s Christmas Musical! All middle and high school students are also welcome to be Assistant Directors/ Actors, Stage Crew, and Tech Crew. Our musical this year is called “Breaking News: Baby Born In Bethlehem,” and has lots of great songs and speaking parts of all sizes. If you plan to be involved in the musical, you can sign up on the clipboard located at the Sunday School Sign-In Table, or email Linda Holcombe, CLC Director of Music, at lholcombe@clchr.org. Scripts and CD’s will be available for you to pick up on or after Sunday, October 12th in the CLC Office or from Linda. It is recommended that if you plan to try out for the Main Roles you should plan to pick up a script and CD in advance. No tryouts are necessary for any other roles other than Main Characters. Please contact Linda Holcombe, Director of Music, if you have questions or need information: lholcombe@clchr.org or call 303-791-0803 ext. 104. We hope you can join us for a fantastically fun CLC KidsRock! Christmas Musical!
Tryouts for Main Roles (Sanctuary): Please pick ONE day to tryout, either 10/19 or 10/22 Sunday, October 19th from 12:15-1:30pm Wednesday, October 22nd from 4:15-5pm Christmas Musical Rehearsals Sunday Option (Sanctuary): Sundays October 26; November 2, 9, 16, 23 @ 12:15-1pm Sunday, December 7 @ 12:15-2pm (Required Extended Rehearsal) Saturday, December 13 @ 8:30-11am (Required Final Dress Rehearsal) Christmas Musical Rehearsals Wednesday Option (Sanctuary): Wednesdays November 5, 12, 19; December 3 @ 4:30-5pm Sunday, December 7 @ 12:15-2pm (Required Extended Rehearsal) Saturday, December 13 @ 8:30-11am (Required Final Dress Rehearsal) You may come to all Sunday and Wednesday rehearsals if you’d like to do that... you’ll just get lots of practice and make the musical even better! Performances: Sunday, December 14th @ 9:30 and 11am Worship
Happy Birthday Cindy Chavez 1-Oct Jack Mahalik 1-Oct Chuck McGavern 1-Oct Rylie Mundell 1-Oct Paul Betthauser 2-Oct Nathan Marxhausen 2-Oct Lynn Prescott 2-Oct Kenny Jensen 3-Oct Greg Kleen 3-Oct Linda Pace 3-Oct Barbara Pierson 3-Oct Annie Roth 3-Oct Priscilla Raddatz 4-Oct Tim Stohs 4-Oct McKenzie Subart 4-Oct Chris Dull 5-Oct Delilah June Fisbeck 5-Oct Brittany Harner 5-Oct Alex Hinz 5-Oct Julia Hegele 6-Oct Scott Lichty 6-Oct Maddy McCullor 6-Oct Steve Mitchell 6-Oct Bryan Warren 6-Oct
Richard Dethlefs 7-Oct Al Kravitz 7-Oct Tessa Polodna 7-Oct Gavin Rocha 7-Oct Brodie Dilges 8-Oct Nicholas Koltay 8-Oct Courtney Wilson 8-Oct Donald Perko 9-Oct Jenny Radtke 9-Oct Michelle Schultz 9-Oct Chad Freitag 10-Oct Gary Knutson 10-Oct Marilyn Kolseth 10-Oct Amy Pierce 10-Oct Dick Swanson 10-Oct Chase Bigelow 11-Oct Hailey Johnson 11-Oct Thomas Kinsella 11-Oct Dan Kramer 11-Oct Mike Lee 11-Oct Travis Saxton 11-Oct Barb Bremer 12-Oct Sharon Burbank 12-Oct Rusty Porterfield 12-Oct Megan Silverman 12-Oct
Mike Morton 13-Oct Kati Polodna 13-Oct Curt Rowe 13-Oct Darin Weitzel 13-Oct Joanne Edmunds 14-Oct Cyndi Perry 14-Oct Barbara Voelker 14-Oct Don Alpern 15-Oct Cheryl Beck 15-Oct Steven Gutsch 15-Oct Jessica Lytle 15-Oct Kelly O'Hearn 15-Oct Michael Porter 15-Oct Tressa Stohs 15-Oct Mario Flores 16-Oct Michael Hansen 16-Oct Jack Connolly 17-Oct Joseph DiGrappa 17-Oct Reece Evans 17-Oct Bruce Klein 17-Oct Lindsay Ross 17-Oct Mikayla Devin 18-Oct Jon Hegre 18-Oct Gail Lasater 18-Oct Joyce Woody 18-Oct
Lillianna Flores 19-Oct Dan Menck 19-Oct Mark Bauer 20-Oct Chad Liley 20-Oct Jackson Lindemann 20-Oct Barb Sande 20-Oct Warren Arnold 21-Oct Audrey Larsen 21-Oct Steve Heutmaker 22-Oct Dean Macko 23-Oct Leah Ringkob 23-Oct Jeff Snauwaert 23-Oct Colin Brown 24-Oct Taylor Holter 24-Oct Carlos Martinez 24-Oct Madison Riley 24-Oct McKenna Riley 24-Oct Kathy Bigelow 25-Oct Josh Garcia 25-Oct John Heiner 25-Oct Erik Johnson 25-Oct Reilly McGavern 25-Oct Nicole Moses 25-Oct Bob Mulverhill 25-Oct Carter Parks 25-Oct
Madison Bachelder 26-Oct Sallie Burns 26-Oct Sarah Fisbeck 26-Oct Eric Hemenway 26-Oct Linda Nix 26-Oct Zach Sorenson 26-Oct Lesley Cantrell 27-Oct Nadia Carroll 27-Oct Sam Hughes 27-Oct Lara Rockwell 27-Oct Darrell Woody 27-Oct Anthony Dimercurio 28-Oct Conrad Freeman 28-Oct Charlie Larsen 28-Oct Jason Gray 29-Oct Katie Lyneis 29-Oct Zachary Tiedgen 29-Oct Susan Carroll 30-Oct Brooke Libner 30-Oct Sergio Mena Casa 31-Oct Carol O'Hearn 31-Oct Kyoko Okada 31-Oct
CLC is in need of Assisting Ministers, Readers and Greeters
Save the Date/Save Your Books!
for various 5:00pm, 8:00am, 9:30am and 11:00am services. Please sign the Response Sheet, if are able to serve the Church and become one of these very important Leaders in our Worship Services. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Debbie Freeman at dfreeman@clchr.org.
ANNUAL CLC USED BOOK SALE
October 11/12 and 18/19 This is a great time to clean out your great summer reads and replace them with some fantastic fall and winter finds. This is the perfect time to pick up that special gift for Christmas, locate that English class read or add to your collection of a favorite author. If you have books to donate please contact Susan Carroll 303-791-4323 or deliver them to CLC BEFORE our set up date of Friday October 10th. We need volunteers for Saturday Services as well as Sundays.
RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBERS CLC will be receiving New Members during next week services, October 4th & 5th. Please take the opportunity to introduce yourselves and welcome them to our shared ministry!
OCTOBER SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY 8:15a Preschool 9a MOPS Mtg 11a Preschool Chapel 2p Preschool Chapel 5:30p Carillon Ringers
New Member's Rec'd 8a Worship/CC 9:30a Worship/SS 11a Worship/CC 12:30p Pet Blessing 7p AA Meeting
5 6:30a Men's Breakfast
FRIDAY 2 8:15a Preschool
5:30p Preschool Parent's 12p Sports Club Preschool Night Out 1p Preschool PAT Meeting 4:30p Douglas County Singers 6:30p Cub Scout Den Mtg. 7p Celebration Choir
SATURDAY 3 New Member's Rec'd OKTOBERFEST 9a Preschool Superdad Saturday 5p Worship/CC
8 8:15a Preschool
14 8:15a No Preschool
15 8:15a No Preschool
16 8:15a No Preschool
17 Book Sale
18
25
10a MOPS Steering 11a Preschool Storyteller 2p Preschool Storyteller 5:30p Carillon Ringers 6p Brownie Troop Mtg.
11a Preschool Storyteller 11:15a Staff Mtg. 1p Christmas Planning Mtg. 6:15p Praise Team
9 9a No Preschool - Inservice 10 4:30p Douglas County Singers 12p OWLS Luncheon 7p Celebration Choir 7p Cub Scout Leader Mtg
Book Sale 11 Mission Moment -Military Min. 9a Chicks w/Sticks 5p Worship/CC
Book Sale 12 Mission Moment -Military Min. 8a Worship/CC 9:30a Worship/SS 11a Worship/CC 12:15p 1st Bible Class 7p AA Meeting
6:30a Men's Breakfast 13 8:15a No Preschool Fall Group Break 8:15a No Preschool Fall Break 11:15a Staff Mtg. 9:30a Mission Quilters 6:15p Praise Team 6p Boy Scouts Venture Crew 7p Boy Scouts
Book Sale 19 8a Worship/CC 9:30a 9:30 Worship/SS 11a Worship/CC 12:15p 1st Bible Class 12:15p CLC KidsRock! Christmas Musical Tryouts 7p AA Meeting
6:30a Men's Breakfast Group 8:15a Preschool 7p Boy Scouts
20 8:15a Preschool
21 8:15a Preschool
22 8:15a Preschool
23 8:15a Preschool
24 5p Worship/CC
26 6:30a Men's Breakfast
27 8:15a Preschool
28 8:15a Preschool
29 8:15a Preschool
30 8:15a Preschool
31
Reformation Sunday 8a Worship/CC 9:30a Worship/SS 11a Worship/CC 12:15p Baptism Class 12:15p CLC KidsRock! 7p AA Meeting
Fall Break 5:30p Carillon Ringers
11a Preschool Chapel 11:15a Staff Mtg. 1p Visiting Nurse Assoc. 6:15p Praise Team 8p mops set-up
Group 8:15a Preschool 9:30a Mission Quilters 6p Boy Scouts Venture Crew 7p Boy Scouts
4
7 8:15a Preschool
6 8:15a Preschool
Group 8:15a Preschool 7p Boy Scouts
THURSDAY 1 8:15a Preschool
Fall Break 7p Celebration Choir
9a MOPS Mtg 11a Preschool Chapel 2p Preschool Chapel 4:15p CLC KidsRock! Christmas Musical TryOuts 5:30p Carillon Ringers
9:15a Preschool Music Time with Linda 11:15a Staff Mtg. 6:15p Praise Team
9:15a Preschool music time with Linda 2p Preschool music time with Linda 5:30p Carillon Ringers
Fall Break
4:30p Douglas County Singers 6p Cub Scout Mtg. 7p Celebration Choir
4:30p Douglas County Singers 7p Celebration Choir
5:30p Preschool Parents Night Out
5p Worship/CC
6p Halloween Party
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