St.
October, November, December
John/St. Paul Lutheran Church
2074
Messenger
Rev. Richard R. Gordon, Pastor Ann Streharsky, Office Sectetary
FROM THE PASTOR My Dear Friends in Christ, We are again entering into the seasons of Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas. I always look forward to this time of year. I really enjoy our beautiful Northeast Ohio fall weather and its sudden splash of autumn color. I look forward to Halloween with the grandkids, Thanksgiving with the family, Advent preparation and excitement and the remarkable JOY of Christmas.
Everythingthat is going on at SJSP in these days looms larger, perhaps, as we enter into these seasons. How should we deal with all of "these things" spiritually and faithfully? What should be our attitude and demeanor in these times? What do we need to be and share with each other?
Well, how about the words of St. Paul in II Thessalonians 5: 16-19! "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit." Jesus saw everything in terms of God's love. He was constantly aware of God's moving and acting with love and care in all the events of daily life. Jesus experienced God as the one who feeds the birds, adorns the flowers, provides the needed rain for the fields and looks after each human being. This is why Jesus constantly appreciated God as his abba (his loving daddy). In practice, this meant that Jesus was conscious of everything in life as a gift from God, a blessing. Jesus took nothing for granted. He was deeply grateful for every-
thing. His life was filled with prayers of thanksgiving. Jesus'response to God's love in his life was one of gratitude. Jesus was in life
Mission Staternent St. John/St. Paul Lutheran Church is a community of Christians bound together in joy and thanksgiving by God's saving grace in Jesus Christ. Our mission is to grorv in faith, love, and obedience to God as we are empolvered through the Wold and Sacraments by the Holy Spirit. To carry out
.
this mission, lve:
Nurture one another in
the
Faith,
.
Evangelize all people,
.
Worship God, and
.
Serwe those in need.
lnside this issue:
Pastor's Report
1,-2
ADVENT FOCUS
3
News to the Pews
4-5
CHRISTMAS
6
Birthdays
7
Anniversaries
7
Calendars
8-10
Schedules
t!
always so very grateful to God.
In like manner, one of the things Jesus really appreciated in the people
he met was their gratefulness. This was powerfully revealed in Luke's story of the who "washed" Jesus'feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50). She had come to anoint Jesus,feet with fragrant ointment as a sign of her gratitude for the good news that all her sins were forgiven. It was out of gratitude that her flood of tears fell on Jesus'feet. It was out of gratitude that she then tried to dry those tears with her hair. She knew how deeply indebted shJwas to God and to Jesus. She was "grateful without ceasing" and totally focused on her appreciation.
-o*
We know and are told that Jesus fully appreciated and praised this woman for her gestures of grateful love. Here was someone with a truly grateful heart. In fact, Jesus said that her gratitude would be remembered as long as the Gospel was proclaimed.
On the other hand, few things made Jesus angry as did atotallack of gratitude and appreciation. This we see clearly in his parable of "The unforgiving Servant" (Matth ew Ig:23-34). Here a man is forgiven a colossal debt and then flatly i"fures to forgive a small debt owed to him by another man. This "Unforgiving-Forgiven Servant's" extraoidinary lack of gratitude and appreciation for what the Lord had given to him is reprehensible. For Jesus knew that such a refusal could only demonstrate atotal lack of sratitude.
Now, the person with a truly "grateful hearl" appreciates the gratuitousness of every.thing in life. Your very existence is a gift. You did not create yourseli. There is just ,ro *uy you or I could merit or earn our existence. Everything we have and are is a gift. This n'.un, ihat gratefulness is a necessary and appropriate response to life. Gratefulness enables us to see the world, each other, our families and our Church right side up! "To be a saint," says the spiritual teacher Ronald Rolheiser, "is to be fuelled by gratitude, noihing more and nothing less.,, So, in this time, what WE need is not an occasional prayer of thanks when we think something good has happened for us or in a way we have wanted it to happen. What we need is the continuous daily (hourly, minute by minute) prayer and thoughts ;ireal thanksgiving. We need to be grateful not just for the past nor just the gifts in the present, but even more grateful for what God is doing and giving to us in the future. These times need our gratitude. your brothers and sisters in Christ ALL need your gratitude. SJSP now and into the futur" needs your gratitude.
Prayers of intercession are important, but in this time real prayers of gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness become the foundation of hope and real transformation. This is why St. paul ..PRAY SayS,
WITHOUT CEASING; GIVE THANKS To GoD IN ALL CIRCLMSTANCES." In simple truth, you cannot be totally sad or mad while you are giving thanks with a grateful hear1.
May we ALL give thanks to god for the good people of SJSP and for all the blessings God has given,. . . is giving and will continue to give not only to us. . . BUT THROUGH US. In Gratitude to God! Pr.
Rick
ADVENT FOCUS: ..PRINCE OF PEACE PANTRY,, The advent season is meant to be a time of preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only should we be about preparing ourselves for the Lord's arrival, but also helping others prepare or at least become aware that the Lord is coming to them personally as well. With this in mind SJSP's Worship and Music Committee has begun planning for a 2014 Advent and Community Service opportunity we are calling "Prince of Peace Pantry."
help! First we need at least 10-12 volunteers to offer their time on three Saturday mornings in December (Dec.6, 13 and20). Obviously ALL are So we need your
welcome. Secondly, we are using our relationship with the Akron Food Bank to procure food for distribution in our immediate SJSP community. Ann Streharsky ir our liaison person with the food bank and will be arranging for us to pick up food for this pu{pose. This will be no expense to SJSP and will offer us an opportunity to reach out to the more needy folks in our atea (i.e., Belcher Tower and others who often show up on Sunday). Our group will prepare bags filled with the food on either Friday evenings or Saturday mornings to distribute to whoever show up from the community. We will make notice of this program on our outside sign, deliver fliers to Belcher Towers and maybe use the Beacon Journal. We also will offer a brief Advent prayer and devotion worship before the Saturday distribution for those who graciously are here to help. (We cannot insistthat those to whom we distribute the food come to the worship for that is not in line with the Food Bank rules) So, the Advent Saturday "Prince of Peace Pantry Schedule 10 AM - Gathering and PreParation 10:30 AM - Advent Devotional Worship Il-12 noon - Distribution 12 PM - Clean Up and home
will
be:
We really need some help to make this happen. PLEASE volunteer for one, two orALL of these mornings. We believe that this offers a wonderful opportunity for experiencing the joy and hope of Advent and for us to make a witness in our SJSP neighborhood. So, "Come Lord Jesus!"
Page 4
CHOIR EXCHANGE COMING TO SJSP Our outstanding SJSP Choi r joined up with the choi r from zton Lutheran chu rch, val I ey Ci ty (presentl y se rved by Pasto r Di c l< Wi I I i ams) to p rovi de i nspi rati onal musi c for the occasi on of Bi shop Abrahanr Al I ende ' s i nstal I ati ons se rvi ce on Septembe r
L3, 2074. The choirs had so much fun together that they have planned encore performances at SISP on Sunday November 9 and at Zion on Sunday November 16. lrVe look forward to thi s shari ng and speci al fel I owshi p wi th
Zton.
OPEN-M FOOD COLLECTION ln/e SJSP have assi gned
at 20 oz cans of Baskets frui t for thi s year's "food basket col I ecti on . " We al I need to thank Cary for OPEN M Nagy fo r FINALLY comi ng up wi th somethi ng easi e r than 5 I b bags of fl ou r to collect. Soon we will make a place for the canned frui t col I ecti on and wi I I appreci ate you r support. Christmas
A
CONGRECATTONAL MEETTNG }ITLL BE HELD ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 0n Sunday, September 28 we shared i n an i nformati onal meeti ng
)t
,v llg/ ElN 'l\atr) ,\+ A li 4['
rll
{t>\ d #ffr X2\ \ !
26.
concern'i ng the future of SJSP. At that ti me i t was deci ded to convene a meeti ng on OCTOBER 26 to conduct a cong regati onal
vote on retaining a realtor for the potenti al sal e of ou r bui I di ng. In/e al I know that thi s is a difficult decision that needs prayer and a will-i ngness to search our hearts for God's will for us in ou r futu re and ou r futu re nri ni st ry . Thi s vote wi I I be tal<en by way of wri tten bal I ots.
Page 5
\ SIX PART SERIES ENTtrTLED "SUPPORT U" is coming to SlSP's Elder -are Support Group. l(ristie Woods, Di rector of Development and -ommun-ity Rel at'ions of the St . Luke Foundati on (St . Luke's Home , ,lorth Canton) will present "SUPPORT U" a program developed by
to offer information =or elderly relatives or friends. fhe sessi ons are ti tl ed : -utheran Services
and help
to those car-i ng
Ahead SEPT 24th Self-Care for the Caregiver OCT 8th Fami 1 y Dynami cs and Communi cati ons OCT 22nd Dementia, Chronic Illness and the Family NOV 5th
Pl anni
ng
Fi nanci F-indi ng
al Wel I -Bei ng TBD , Creati ng and Usi ng Resou rces
TBD
(ristie will offer the next session on October 22"d @ 6:30p. The 'emai ni ng sessi ons (Wednesday's @ 6: 30pm) wi I I be schedul ed I ater rccording to her availability. We thinl< this will offer a great leal of information and the opportunity to be of support to each >ther concerning these matters. All are invited to these 35-45 ninute presentations and following question and answer time. tef reshments wi I I be se rved .
S. INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS )ctober 5 ln/hat is "soul"? )ctober 72 What is the meaning of "spiritual vs. religion"? IHEMES FOR UPCOMINC G. P.
)ctobe r
1-9 )ctober 26 rlovember 2
What does i t mean to be "bl essed " ? What is "grace"? What is "original sin"?
-d*
Page 6
o i sv
t%
THE S]SP HANGING OF THE GREENS Decorati ng our worsh-i p area for Ch ri stmas wi I I be hel d on Satu rd dY , December 6, i n concert wi th the
"Prince of Peace Panlry" during the morning activities. A larger group of volunteers can be very helpful for both acti vi ti es . You r support i s NEEDED to mal<e these -i mportant events happen. We need volunteers of the Decembe r Satu rdays befo re Ch ri stmas !
THE 2014 SJSP CONGREGATIONAL CHRISTMAS DINNER i
for after our 9:30 AM Worship Se rvi Ce , Decembe r 7th. Thi s i s p1 anned as a pot-l uck and detai I s wi I I be forthcomi ng at chu rch and i n the Sunday bul I eti ns . We also hope to have some entertainment by the ACID CATS (since the GPS service will p-l
Christmas Program
S
anned
not be hel d)
.
CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 7 :00 pm... . 7 :30 PM... .
Ch Ch Commu n i on Se
Christmqs Eve CANDLELIGHT SERVICE
ri stmas Con ce rt ri stmas Eve Candl el i ght rvi ce
PageT
Birthdays & Anniversaries Coch, John Lyle, Lawrence James, Zaden
Claar, Leslie Hunsicker, Alfred
Mullen, Jared Bennett, Gina Bennett, KimberlY Leon, Andrea Russo, AnthonY
Gellner, Jamie Stickel, Earl Porter, Abigale Rininger, SallY ThomPson, Linda
lolt
Soum, Chheang
10/t
Yutzy, Alma
to/6
Cook, Leslie
to/7
Lehman, Julie
to/8
Mullen, KelleY
t0/8
Kaufman, Sarah
tol!s
Barnett, KYler
t0/Is
Clark, James
tol!5
Dawson, Donna
lolts
Herchenroeder, AlYssa
t0l!8
CzerwonY, Heidie
t0lt8
Craig, David
to/24
Gorman, BeverlY
L0/24
Phelps, ShirleY
to/28
Lehman, Thomas Leon, KaYla
Cooper, Darrell Keeler, Martha StreharskY, Karla
Walker, Kelvin Gardner, Ardith Coy, Jillian Sams, Austin
John & Linda ReYes Ray & Andrea Leon Deborah & Michael Hartline
Arthur & Sarah Kaufman Darrell & Eli CooPer Gary & Patti NagY
DECEMBER
NOVEMBER
OCTOBER
1'1'/2 tL/2 tt/3 1"t/3 tU3
Bracey, Celissa
Gordon, Alice McAdory, Jr., cedric Bracey, Brea Hunsicker, Thomas
tll4
Bennett, Joseph
tus
whitesides, cynthia
1.t16
Reed, Jeffrey
t1.lt0
Reed, Debra
ttllO
Cooper, David
1.tlt3 LUt7 LU19 tt/20 tU22 1U22 tt/24 tU24 rU25 !L127
Brett,Mackenzie Mazak, Martha
wiese, Donald Barzal, ReAnne
1) l')
12/7
!2/8 t2/12
t2lt3 lzl r+ 116
tzlt7 t2/20 t2121,
rzl zL IZI z5 1)
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Snyder, Elizabeth Russo, William
Herchenroeder,Mike Soum, Sothea Lauer, Robert
Lintner, Carole
t2/27 12129
t2l2s t2/30 1)
12,1
tLl2s
tLl30 11./30
Frederick & Diane Woods
L0l4/2003
Tommie & BeverlY Gorman
Lolto/2oto
Robert & Charmaine StreharskY
70/t7 /1ss8
Josef & Katharina Fanz
!ol27lt9e0
t2/2
1)
10/tl2ott
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t2/2/tees 12l1.rlts6s 12/241t988
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PageLL
WORSHIP SCHEDULE
9:30 AM.....Traditional Worship 1O:O0 AM.....Bible Study 10:30 AM....Gontinental Breakfast 1100 AM....G.P.S. Worship t
ItnenoeR ScHEDULE
MINGLER SCHEDULE DATE 10t05114
Mingler Art Kaufman
DATE
Reader
10t05114
Charmaine Streha
10t12114
T"t L"h",*
10119114
Sonia Bay
10126114
Beth Haas Jeanne Gardner Audie Dascoli
10126114
Chris Allen
11t02114
Art Kaufman
11t02t14
Sue Harman
11t09t14
Beth Haas Jeanne Gardner
11109114
Martha Keeler
11t23t14
Carole Lintner
11t30t14
Tim Lewis
12t07t14
David Lehman
12t14t14
Heather Parr
12t21t14
Linda Reyes
12124114
Gerald Allen
12128114
David Six
10t12t14 10t19t14
11t16t14 11t23t14 11t30t14 12t07t14 12t14114
12t21t14 12t24t14 12128114
Audie Dascoli Gary Nagy Art Kaufman Beth Haas Jeanne Gardner
Art Kaufman Audie Dascoli
SACRAM ENTAL SERVER SCHEDU LE DATE
Communion
Communion
Communion
Server
Set-Up Geoff Whidden
10t05114
Geoff Whidden
Server Tim Lewis
10t19t14
Linda Reyes
Beth Haas
Linda Reves
10t26114
OPEN
11102114
Art Kaufman Tim Lewis
Jennv Demuth
Art Kaufman Tim Lewis
11t16114
Art Kaufman
Beth Haas
Art Kaufman
12t07t14
OPEN
Linda Reyes
OPEN
12121114
Judy Harrison
Jennv Demuth
Judy Harrison
12t24t14
Geoff Whidden
Tim Lewis
Geoff Whidden
HAUGEN SCHEDULE DATE 10t05t14 11t02t14 12107114
Hauqen David Lehman OPEN Karl Demuth