2014 apr sjsp newsletter

Aprll, May, & June 20L4

St. John/St. Paul Lutheran Church

Messenger

Rev. Rlchard R. Gordon, Pastor Ann Streharcky, Office Secretary

FROM THE PASIOR My Dear

friends in Christ,

time ago my daughter, Aly, sent me the following by way of the internet. I really enjoyed it and and found it really thought provoking on several levels.

At the time I made a mental note to share this with all my SISP friends. I hope you enjoy it too and g'ive

Mission Statement

Some

it

some thought.

Thanki ng Cod

for

you, . .

WHAT HAPPENS

Pr.

IN

Ri ck

.

I

dreamt that I went to Heaven and an ange'l was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a l arge workroom f i I I ed wi th angel s . My ange-l gui de stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiv'ing Section. Here, all petitions to God

said in prayer are received."

I

looked around in this area, and it was terrib'ly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

a -long corridor until we reached

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and De-l i ve ry Secti on . He re , the g races and b1 essi ngs the people asked for are processed and delivered to the 'living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many ange'ls working

hard

at that station, since so many blessings

been requested and were bei ng packaged delivery to Earth.

God's saving grace in Jesus Christ.

Our mission is to grolv in faith, Iove, and obedience to God as we are empowered through the Word and Sacraments by the HoIy Spirit.

To carry out this mission, we:

HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY?

This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true:

Then we moved on down the second section.

St. John/St. PauI Lutheran Church is a community of Christians bound together in joy and thanksgiving by

had

for

Nurture one another in

the

Faith,

.

Evangelize all people,

.

Worship God, and

.

Serve those in need.

lnside this issue:

Report

1-3

Pastor G.P.S.

4

EASTER SCHEDULE

5

News to the Pews

6-7

Thank You

7

Easter Flower

8

100th Year

9-10

An niversa ries

tt tI

Calendars

L2-1.4

Schedules

15

Birthdays

Page2

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, on-ly one ange'l was seated there, idly doing nothing.. "This is the Acknowledgment Sectiofl," my angel f riend quietly adm'itted to me. He seemed embarrassed.

"How

is it that there is

no work going on here?

"I

asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After peop-le receive the blessings asked for, very few send back acknowledgments."

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings?

"I

that

they

asked.

"Simp1e," the angel answered. Just s?Y, "Thank You, Lord." "tdhat blessings should they acknowledge?"

I

asked.

"If

you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a p-lace to s-leep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, 'in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy"' you get this on your own computer, you are part world who has that opportunity."

"And

if

of the t% tn the

you woke up this morning with more health than illness, You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day."

"If

you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... You are ahead of 700 mi I I i on peop-le i n the worl d. "

"If

you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, drrest, torture or death, you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion

"If

peop-le i

n the worl

d. "

"If your parents are still alive and still married....you are very rare."

"If you can hold your head up and smi1e, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair...'..."

0k, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessiflgs, and if you care tOn pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

Page 3

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.

for g'iving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it."

If you have read thi s far, and are thankful for al I that you have been blessed with, how can you not send it on??? I thank God for everyth'ing, "Thank you, Lord,

especi a'l1y a1-l my fami 1y and f

To the Members

of

of St. lohn,/St.

ri

ends

Paul

.

,

Christ had her rnost remarkable growth and spiritual the first 50 years of her existence. My favorite description "early of this Church" is written in Acts 2: 44-47 which reads:

The Church success in

Jesus

"All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.Day by day, ds they spent much tinre together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the peop1e."

This still holds true for the modern church and for our St. JohnlSt. Paul congregation. 0ur life and mission together depends on our willingness (each of us) to be together as often as we can for worship, fellowship and mutual support. h/e need to see each other in worship, study, fellowsh'ip and ministry opportunities. If we want our church to live we need to provide the life.

We also need to be generous and steadfast in providing the resources we need to not only pay the bills, but to reach out beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed Stewardship of our talents and treasure is an ever increasing need as we have shared at the annual nreeting on March 2 when passed

a

20L4 Budget

with a potential $50,000 deficit.

we

have said so many times and in so many ways, the people of SISP are some of the finest people and Christians I have had the blessing of knowing in life. This alone is reason to do all we can to keep our wonderful congregation vital and moving forward. We cannot control the future but we can all do what we can to embrace the reality of the present "with glad and generous hearts meeting together."

As

I

So, see you each and every Sunday morning and make it a point "find favor" with others by inviting them to come as well. Tell people about our Traditional and GPS /JAZZ worship services, our extraordinary choirs, our beautiful worship area and introduce them to our wonder people. tr/e are

"in

God's hands" and we are God's hands.

See You

In

Church.

Pr.

Rick

Page 4

OUR SISP LENTEN SERIES

will be offered

at our GPS Sunday Service in the season of Lent (M ar. 9 , 1,6, 23,3 0, Apr. 6 and 13). We will follow the GPS format featuring the wonderful talents of The Acid Cats but will offer interactive discussions on Lenten Themes. So, we encourage YOU to plan to focus on Lent at our GPS service at L l, AM during the 201.4 Season of Lent.

G,P.S.

Lenten Topics

March 23 - What is right about RIGHTEOUSNESS? March 3 0 - If |esus saves, what is salvation?

April 6 - How tempting is Temptation?

April 13 - Can we talk about the "Theology of the Cross?"

The Church grows and the gospel is spread primarily by word of mouth. As Christians we all share the responsibility to invite and encourage others to join us in worship, service, learning and faith formation. GPS is a unique and presently evolving experience of Christian worship and fellowship. PLEASE help SISP reach out to those who need to receive the Gospel and a sense of God's guidance in their lives.

Page 5

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SCHEDULE

Thursday. 7:30 17 ffi April s servi ce I featu re a Tri ty " y

PM @ Holy

Maundy

,ffi

ni

lnlashi ng

wi I Thi ceremony and Hol

"

.

Foot

Pastor preacher.

Communi on

of Bethany wi I I be the Apri I 18 - Good Fri day. 7 : 30 PM @ Hol y Tri ni ty.

Thi s i s planned as a very simple Cood Friday with Pastor Gordon of St. John/St. Paul Good Friday _ _ r,_ Wi

ssner

=r-ulrorsnrp as the _

preacher.

April 19 - Saturday Easter Vigil. 7:30 PM Holy Trinity. This is planned as a traditional n'Easter Vi g-i I " worshi p Servi ce that begi ns outside at a bonfi re and then proceeds through Mu^A,ilthe prepari ng of the worshi p area and al tar for the Easte r cel eb rati on . Pasto r Neve rgal I of Tri n'i ty wi I I be the preacher. Thi s servi ce wi I I be Ho-ly -J app roxi matel y two hou rs i n I ength @

.

Easter Sunday

EA;TEP at 9t, Johh/1t. Paul 9 AM - EaS{er Break{aqt 10 AM - Traal;{iona[ Eas{er NorShip and Holl Cov.vnunion wi{h |JCP Choir

Let us al I prepare to procl ai m ou r

Lord ' s resu rrecti on ! i nvi te fami'l y, f ri ends , j oi n wi th us i n the cel e-

to encou rage al I to col I eagues and nei ghbors to brati on of Easter. [n/e are not to be chu rch members ; we are cal I ed by Chri st to be di sci p1 es ! So, p'l ease i nvi te and encourage folks to join us on Easter for breakfast

[n/e

want

and worshi p.

NEWS TO THE PEWS

for lunch and program on Friday, March 28 at L2 noon. The program will be offered by Sue Harman and i s enti tl ed, "Do you bel i eve that angel s exi st?" Pl ease join in for this special

THE RETIREE'S GROUP

presentati

on

will

meet

.

BIBLE BRUNCH HAS EVOLVED INTO BIBLE BREAKFAST. At thc SAMC tiMC thc women's Circle Bible study is evolving into the Men's and Women's Bible study. Tuesday mornings will be SISP BIBLE STUDY for ALL at 9:30 AM at

Pillitiere's

on Waterloo

The group has decided that the monthly fun AND AMEN!! So all are invited to jo-in in for

Rd.

S0 BE IT breakfast and bi bl e on Tuesdays.

should be

weekly.

at our Continental Breakfast each Sunday Morning at 10:30am in the Firestone Park Lounge. Thanks to all who he-lp serve and cleanup. If you wou'ld like to volunteer to host a Sunday, the signup sheet is in the kitchen off the Lounge. This event is funded by donations of generous volunteers and the Endowment Fund. We look forward to seeing Enjoy coffee and pastries

you next

SundaY!

be a qreat evanqe'list? Before you start getting sweaty pa'lms and rubber knees, consider this: when you "like" sjspakron on Facebook you witness to your Facebook friends that St. lohn St. Paul is an important part of your life. And when you click the "share" button at the bottom of an SISP post, whether it is for the coming Sunday's GPS theme, a song by the Acid Cats, or the coming Sunday's scripture lessons, You share a message of faith and invitation to all who see it on your timeline. Becoming a great, faithful evangelist just got a l'ittle easier.

Want

to

(Pastoral Counseling Services) the SISP Church Council resolved at its March 11 meeting to conduct an ongoing collection of peanut butter and je1'ly and school supplies for the needy children of Akron. A spec'ial collection area well marked by signs will receive these offerings and also show our commun'ity and PCS our shared concerns for the children of Akron.

AS

OF

OUR

WITH

Altar Flower Coordinator WANTED: The church office is looking for a person or group of peop'le willing to coordinate flowers ordered for Sunday service. Duties included but are not limited to, making sure flower chart is up to date, making sure

a call at

servi ce.

If

330-253-6835

you are i nterested p'lease g-ive the church

offi

ce

?age 7

Easter Offerinqs: During the Easter season, it is encouraging to see both new and familiar faces at our worship services. Throughout the year, many of you already support the congregation with your time, talent and financial contributions but greater participation is always welcome. We encourage you to look into our electronic giving program. It takes just a few minutes to set up a recurring giving pIan. Contact Carol Whidden for more details or p-ick up an authorization form in the upper narthex.

,tffipbK3* all for your emotional support during this difficult tinre with the passing of our mother .She often told us she loved gett'ing visits from Pastor and the congregation as well as your cards! The Norma Nagy

THANK YOU

fami 1 y.

Thanks

to all

who purchased fudge from church to he'lp with the heating

the kids'class. $126. was given

bill.

THANK YOU: many thanks to rxy church family for your telephone ca11s, get well cards, visits and food items.One of the campers loaned us a deluxe air mattress so our daughter could stay over a few days. Special thanks to Pastor Rick for his visits and prayers at the hospita-l and at home.

Everything was great'ly appreciated by me & Darrell. Eli Cooper Sincerest Thanks from The family of Dorothv Kopnickv We so appreciate your kind words and support for our family during this time of loss. We treasure the memories that you shared with us and know that Dorothy's rxemory will live on in all of our hearts. As we remember her, we thanl< the Lord for the blessing that she was in all of our lives.

I^/ith Love & Thanks Annn Terri, Vinnie & Vincent to the

Page 8

to help decorate the sanctuary and alter this Easter. Fill out this form and place it in the offering p1ate, bring it to the church office, or mail it to the church office. Checks should be made out to St. lohnlSt. Paul Lutheran Church and mark "EASTER" on the memo line. All orders must be placed by Monday. April 14th. You will be able to pick up your flowers after 10:00am service on April 20, 20L4.

Lilies @ 8.00 each. woul d like to order Tul-ips @ $7.00 each ' woul d like to order

0rder a 1i1y, tu1ip, hyacinth or daffodils

woul d

like to order

Hyacinths

@

$7.00 each.

woul d

like to order

Daffodils

@.

$7.00 each

Please check one of the follow-ing and print c1ear1y.

(Please keep text to a- minimum as space is limited thank you) i

n memory of

i

n honor of the Glory of

-to Given b Telephone #

God

Env

Amount encl osed

Page 9

HELP MAKE THE IOOTH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BUILDING A BANNER CELEBRATION . The anni ve rsary commi ttee i s i nte rested i n

creati ng a commi ttee of those i nterested i n creati ng some new banners to hang in our worship area for the celebration on June L, 20L4. A committee is also hard at work pl ann-i ng and prepari ng. f n Apri'l we wi I I send RSVP i nvi tati ons to p resent , past and hopeful I y futu re members of SISP. There i s amp-l e opportuni ty for you to he1p. We have p1 ans for Church build'i ng clean up and repa'i rs, landscaping work, building set uP, and all sorts of tasl<s and preparati ons. If you are i nterested p1 ease contact Sue Harman at 330-882-9352,

Page 10

1OO Year

Gelebration

VOLUNTEER CHECKLIST

WE NEED YOU to help make our building celebration successful! lf you have some time, and want to share your talent, please check one or more boxes below to volunteer. You may place this form in the collection plate or give it to a committee member listed below. THANK YOU.

I CAN HELP WITH:

Food: Set-up Food: Serving Food: Glean-up Building (lnterior): Gleaning Building(lnterior): Minor repairs Building (Exterior): Lawn & Garden Decorations: Sanctuary Decorations: Gymnasium Thank you very much for your interest and your support for the 100 Year Gelebration of our building.

Please Print:

Name Address Phone E-mail ff you would like to make a donation to this event, please mark your check/cash donation as "1O0 Years" and place it in the collection plate.

Committee Members: Art Kaufman Sue Harman, Chair Martha Keeler Beth Haas Frank & Margaret Gruccio Pastor Rick

Page 11

Bi rthdays

& An n iversaries MAY

APRIL

Melkey, Dan Cook, Wilbur

Gubeno, Eileen Fanz, Josef

Trunko, Courtney Woods, Frederick Fitt, Bobbie

Wright, Kelsey Trunko, Aimee Gordon, Richard

4/2 4/s 4/s 4/6 4/6 4/7 4/s 4/e

JUNE

s/4 s/4 s/s s/6 s/6 s/6 s/7 s/7 s/8

Caslow, Phillip

Woods, Christopher Hoover, Brenda Nagy, Patricia Szentes, Linusz

Whitacre, Hazel Kreitler, Lori Reyes, John

4/1.1,

Manning, Donna

4/12 4/13

Gordon, Andrea

s/1.1.

Six, David

s/1.1.

Brett, Brandon

4/1_4

Dwenger, Jennie

sl12

Bell, Robert

Fitt, Traci

s/3.3

Gordon, Joshua

4/ts 4/rs

s/14

Mowen, Phyllis

4/1.6

Trunko, Rachel Hutchison, Riley

Fanz, David

4/18 4/20 4/20 4/2L 4/23 4/24 4/24 4/2s 4/27

Morton, Edna Hilbert, Kelsey

s/ts sh8

Streharsky, Charmaine

Clark, Jill

s/20 s/23 5/2s s/2s s/27 s/27 s/2s s/2e

Mullen, William

s/31.

Lehman, Catherine

Mowen, Emily Streharsky, Robert Streharsky, Robert Boyer, Denise Demuth, Jenny Magnus, Dustin

Demuth, Curtis Ambrose, Dorothy Schoolcraft, Michael 4127 4128 Gorman, Tommie

s/fi

Caslow, Patricia

Arledge,

Lisa

Reyes, Linda

Eiler, Cheryl

Popowitch, Pauline Allen, Gerald

Robert Bracey, Lori

6/2 6/3 Herchenroeder, Kenneth 6/3 Keeler, Amanda 6/3 Rinehart, Melinda 6/3 Bracey,

.*

IEAFF$ ,r

6i&T[IeA$r

6/9 Lydia Dwenger, Kevin 6/9 Dwenger, Jacob 6/9 Phelps, Stewart 6/9 Cooper, Elinor 6/1'0 Demuth, Thomas 6/tO Szentes, Melissa 6/LO Batis, Michael 6/L2 6/1,2 Dietz, Muriel 6/1,2 Orban, Anna Sams, Cynthia 6/12 Barzal, Richard 6/14 6/1,4 Gardner, Joe 6/1,4 Russo, Kerry 6/1.4 Williams, Mark Sommer, Donna 6h5 Trunko, Ethan 6/15 6/15 Wake, Jeffrey 6/16 Guy, Amy 6/19 Gardner, Verle Beth 6/23 Haas, Bennett, Matthew 6/25 Coch, Jeanette 6/25 Bell,

Czerwony,Jonathan 6/26 Milenkovich, Margaret 6/29

Hoover Edna & Thomas Wake William & Kelley Mullen Al & Audie Dascoli Brenda & Dale

4/7/t989

Kevin & Jennie Dwenger

s/20/2006

Coch 6/LL/I949 6/t2/I96O Rev David & Beverly Craig Mike & Sherri Herchenroeder 6/L4/L99I Donald & Pam Coy 6/15/7980

ceoffrey & Susan Whidden

5/2u200s

Dafe&JenniferRedington 6/t9/I999

Robert M & Ann Streharsky

s/24/2003

Sue & Dave Harman

q

la l1gaa

4122/r96L

Scott & Darla Herchenroeder

s/L4/1994

4/25/L998

Patrick & Heidie Czerwony

s/L6/t998

4/30/1955

Jeff & Debra Reed

s/26/t99O

Verle & Jeanne Gardner

s/27/t961

Alfred & Lillian Hunsicker

s/27/r9s6

John & Jeanette

Kenneth & Susan

Herchenroeder 6/23/L998

David & Adrienne

Six

6/24/t978

H,uppy

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Page 15

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

9:30 AM .....Traditional Worship 10:0O AM .....Bible Study 10:30 AM ....Continental Breakfast 11:O0 AM ....G.P.S. Wotship

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Geoff Whidden Judv Harrison Jennv Demuth Beth Haas Art Kaufman Tim Lewis Jenny Demuth Tim Lewis

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Communion Set-Up Beth Haas Tim Lewis Jennv Demuth Pete Peterson Judv Harrison Beth Haas Art Kaufman Linda Reves