March 2016
The Pastor’s Ponderings Pastor David’s cell phone—348-330-4170 and email address—fleeneda@gmail.com Not too long ago, while visiting someone at Ball Hospital, I met a fellow pastor in the parking lot. I had retrieved my communion set from the car and was preparing to go inside when he stopped me. He said, “That’s a nice communion set you’ve got there. Where can I get one like it?” Much to his disappointment, I told him that he couldn’t get a communion set like mine. Each part of my communion set is unique, and come from different places to make up a whole set. I didn’t deliberately set out to make a set like this; it just happened over time as I went about my work. Some of the pieces are more interesting than others. The case it-
self is (no kidding) an old cigar case, a gift from my ex-mother-inlaw. The cigars inside were pretty bad, some off-brand. I ended up giving most of them to my little brother. But I kept the case, and a number of years later, realized that it made a quite serviceable communion case. The paten (plate) has a sad story behind it. There was a gentleman at my internship parish who was one of the gentlest human beings you could hope to meet. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with tongue cancer (he never used tobacco), suffered greatly in the span of a few months, and died. After copresiding at his funeral, I received his communion kit which he had used as a member of a visitation team. To his set, he had added a pewter paten with an intricate de-
Zion’s 2016 Council Members Elder & President ...................................................................... Jody Stanley Elder & Vice-President ................................................................. Larry Hile Secretary ............................................................................... Barb Hardwick Deacons ................................................................................... Scott Clamme Drew Walker Allen Stallsmith Trustees .................................................................................... Chris Stroble Tom Armstrong Mark Prout Treasurer ................................................................................. Max Langdon Financial Secretaries .................................................................... Tiann Coy Kathy Sharp
sign. With the family’s permission, I took that paten and use it to this day in his memory. It’s a tangible reminder to me that when we commune, we never commune alone, but are united with the saints in the heavenly realm.
The chalice comes from another communion set I purchased my final year of seminary on EBay. I took the set to a priest friend at an Episcopal church in Rogers Park, Chicago, and he blessed and dedicated it to the glory of God. While I only use the chalice from the set now, that piece reminds me of that ecumenical bond I had during my time in Chicago. Like this communion set made of many disparate pieces, we in the body of Christ come from different places and have our own stories. But we are all held together by Christ and are used by Christ for his mission in the world – to embody the good news of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; the good news that saves us from sin, death, and ourselves. From the beginning of the church, Jesus has united different people for that one purpose. We pray that he would strengthen that bond of unity and that sense of purpose, driven forward in love. Love to you all, Pr. David
March 2016
Holy Week Schedule
March Lectionary Readings Lent 4 - March 6 1st Reading - Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2nd Reading - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Gospel - Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Wednesday in Holy Week - March 23 1st Reading - Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 70 2nd Reading - Hebrews 12:1-3 Gospel - John 13:21-32
Lent 5 - March 13 1st Reading - Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 2nd Reading - Philippians 3:4b-14 Gospel - John 12:1-8
Maundy Thursday - March 24 1st Reading - Exodus 12:1-14 Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Gospel - John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Maundy Thursday: Holy Communion at 7 PM in the main worship space.
Passion/Palm Sunday - March 20 1st Reading - Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 2nd Reading - Philippians 2:5-11 Gospel - Luke 22:14—23:56
Good Friday - March 25 1st Reading - Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Psalm 22 2nd Reading - Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Gospel - John 18:1—19:42
Good Friday: Wor ship at 3 PM in the main worship space. Community service at 6 PM at St. John's Catholic Church, 209 S. Spring St., Hartford City.
Monday in Holy Week - March 21 1st Reading - Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 36:5-11 2nd Reading - Hebrews 9:11-15 Gospel - John 12:1-11
Easter Vigil - March 26 Gospel - John 20:1-18
Holy Saturday: The Gr eat Vigil of Easter at 8 PM, beginning outside the main doors (weather permitting).
Tuesday in Holy Week - March 22 1st Reading - Isaiah 49:1-7 Psalm 71:1-14 2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Gospel - John 12:20-36
Come follow Jesus' footsteps to the cross this Holy Week with prayer and worship every day. Monday: Evening Pr ayer at 7 PM in the Fellowship Hall Tuesday: Evening Pr ayer at 7 PM in the Fellowship Hall Wednesday: Soup supper at 6 PM in the Fellowship Hall, followed by Holy Communion at 7.
Easter Sunday: Holy Communion at 10:30 AM.
Easter Day - March 27 1st Reading - Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Gospel - Luke 24:1-12
Lent & Easter
Easter Flowers
Offering
If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily to be placed in the sanctuary on Easter morning please talk to Isola Banter. The orders are due by March 20th, Palm Sunday, and the cost is $10.
Lent and Easter offering will be divided as follows: $200 will be given to Helping Hands and the remainder will be equally divided between our local Food Pantry and Grace Village at Ball State.
March 2016
January Council Minutes CONGREGATION COUNCIL MEETING Congregation Council met on January 14, 2016. Present: Tom Armstrong, Scott Clamme, Tiann Coy, Pastor David Fleener, Barb Hardwick, Larry Hile, Max Langdon, Mark Prout, Kathy Sharp, Chris Stroble, Allen Stallsmith, Jody Stanley and Drew Walker The meeting was called to order by Jody Stanley. Devotions were given by Jody Stanley. Chris Stroble made a motion to accept the minutes of the December meeting. Kathy Sharp seconded. Correspondence: Synod Assembly will be from June 9-11 in South Bend. The Hartford City Fire Department is asking for a donation to the National Fire Safety Council, Inc. We will donate $25 this year. Added agenda items: The Annual Meeting will be held on January 31. The Treasurer’s Report will be moved up on the agenda. Church Council Handbook Pastor’s report: Pastoral Care— Pastor visited 3 shut-ins, 4 sick/ hospital, 2 funerals (Mabel McCowan, a Lutheran who lived in Arizona and was from Dunkirk, and Les Love). Soul care visited 1 shut-in and did 2 home communions. Christian Education—The young adult class served as a “Joe and Jesus” type group in discussing the Wednesday night passages from
Revelation last month. I will do something similar with them during Lent. Children’s Sunday school seems to run smoothly. I come upstairs around 10 on Sunday morning and sing songs with them and talk about the liturgical season, or the Commandments/Creed/Lord’s Prayer. Some are getting old enough to learn how to acolyte – I may explore that with them and their parents in the next few months. My class at CTS will begin on January 25th and continue every Monday night through May 9th. Lenten services and soup suppers—Lent begins very early this year – Ash Wednesday is on February 10th. That means plans need to be made now. The theme for the Wednesday night services is, tentatively, “Faith Training”, and will feature Scriptures that have some kind of athletic metaphor, usually from the letters of Paul. Since many people here are big fans of sports, I thought this might resonate with the congregation. Do we want to have soup suppers again during Lent? If so, how should we go about asking for help? Should certain teams and groups be responsible, as we’ve done in the past? The big disadvantage with that is that many people like you become responsible multiple times for the suppers. How might we ask others who aren’t so involved in church life to help? Dates for Wednesday night service and soup suppers would be:
Feb. 17, Feb. 24, Mar. 2, Mar. 9, Mar. 16 and Mar. 23 (maybe, as this falls during Holy Week) Constitution committee and 150th anniversary team—The size and structure of the council has not changed substantially since the 1940s. The congregation has obviously changed dramatically since then, so I believe a rethinking of the size and structure of the council is long overdue. To this end, I have reformed a Constitution committee consisting of Fred Walker, Shay Clamme, and Sandy Langdon. I could use a council rep on this committee as well. Our primary task, I think, will be amendment of the bylaws that address the size, structure, and terms of the council as they relate to God’s mission and our purpose as a congregation. Since our 150th anniversary is this year, shouldn’t we have a celebration? I propose we form a team that would be responsible for assisting the pastor in choosing a date for the celebration, locating sons and daughters of the congregation to invite back for it, and updating the history of the congregation. This wouldn’t be a standing committee, obviously – it would function this year and dissolve at the end of 2016. Pastor is planning to take another class at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis on Monday nights starting late January. The class is call “Atheism: Old and New”. (continued on following page)
March 2016
January Council Minutes continued Council Handbooks—For your review I have printed out council handbooks for this year. Please look them over and let me know if you have thoughts or suggestions. You can also think of suggestions for the Constitution committee regarding duties, offices, or term length. Pastor’s other events in December: Dec. 1 – Finance team meeting Dec. 1, 8, 12 – Community choir rehearsal Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 – Advent Evening Prayer and soup suppers Dec. 7, 21 – Volunteered at Food Pantry Dec. 7, 14, 21 – Joe and Jesus at Common Grounds Dec. 8 – ECIC Ministerial meeting at Holy Trinity, New Castle Dec. 10 – BCMA Ministerial meeting at John XXIII Center Dec. 10 – John XXIII Center board meeting Dec. 21 – Christmas caroling at Common Grounds Pastor will make an announcement to the congregation for donations of soup for the Soup Suppers during Lent. Committee reports—Worship/ Music/Memorial: The committee will meet in a few weeks to choose hymns for the rest of Lent and Easter. A new Advent Wreath was ordered and paid for from the memorial fund. Land use: Have not met with Jim Barry yet regarding memorial stone. Council reports—Deacons: Deacon’s Fund usage. Helped with gas for one individual - $22
Pizza and pop for Budget Meeting - $32.81 Helped another individual with gas - $16.94 Hartford City utilities - $50 Subway for Hanging of the Greens - $61 Mark Prout raised a concern about two uses of the deacon’s fund for our own congregations use. Pastor David promised to investigate these and reimburse the deacon’s fund from his discretionary fund if necessary. Attendance Report: Dec. 2 (Advent) – 20 attended; Dec. 6 – 75 attended, 73 communed; Dec. 9 (Advent) – 18 attended; Dec. 13 – 93 attended, 87 communed; Dec. 16 ( Advent) – 19 attended; Dec. 20 – 78 attended, 75 communed; Dec. 23 (Advent) – no report; Dec. 24 – 101 attended, 94 communed; Dec. 27 – 76 attended, 67 communed Trustees: Carpets cleaned by building entrances. Water softener at the parsonage was repaired. It is 35 years old. We can purchase a new water softener for $1, 085. We could look into it. Tabled until February. Radiators are being worked on. We have a bill from Dean Wilson for working on the boiler. Treasurer: Balance as of Dec. 31, 2015 was $9,853.11 Larry Hile made a motion to approve the committee reports. Seconded by Drew Walker. Old Business: 2016 Budget discussion IRS rate going down to $.54/
mile from $57.5/mile. Salaries received 2% increase, cost - of - living. Pastor David proposed Jody get $12 to conduct the choir every Sunday morning. Tiann Coy made a motion to pay Jody for Sunday morning performances. Seconded by Kathy Sharp. Passed. Drew Walker will read the budget at the Annual Meeting. AED training will by on Feb. 9th. Tiann Coy made a motion to pay Jody for Sunday morning performances. Seconded by Kathy Sharp. New Business: Council representatives for committees: Parish Ed. - Drew Walker; Worship/Music/ Memorial - Jody Stanley; Land Use Max Langdon; Mission and Ministry - Scott Clamme; Constitution - Mark Prout; 150th Anniversary - Larry Hile, and Jody Stanley Pastor David raised a concern with the number of keys in circulation. He asked the council to consider changing church locks. After discussion, the council decided to take no action at this time. The upcoming audit by Connie Miller was discussed. Max Langdon agreed to make sure Connie has what she needs to complete the audit. The meeting closed with all praying the Lord’s Prayer. The next meeting will be on February 11, 2016. Pastor David will have the devotions. Respectfully submitted, Barb Hardwick Recording Secretary
The Zion Herald March 2016 “Happy are those whose strength is in God, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” (Psalm 84:5)
Zion Lutheran Church 308 S. Monroe Street Hartford City, IN 47348
Serving the Lord in Gladness David Fleener, Pastor Church Office: 348-3157 Zionluth.hc@gmail.com www.zionhc.org
Sunday School at 9:15 AM with Worship at 10:30 AM
March 2016 Lay Ministry Servers Greeters
March 6 March 13 March 20 March 27
Max Hile—Louise Clamme Owen and Mary Ehlers—Don and Carolyn Goetz Barb Hardwick—Roger and Judy Willmann Gene Banter—Edi Tarter Lectors
March 6 March 13 March 20 March 27
Max Hile Carolyn Goetz Kathy Sharp Nolan Willman
Assisting Ministers
March 6 March 13 March 20 March 27
Mark Prout Sarah Fleener Denise Hile Jody Stanley
March Birthdays Chris Stroble Chris Coy Joyce Willmann Imogene Schmidt Betty Rinker Susan Cook Scott Clamme Isola Banter Betty Walker Helen Stroble
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