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Hutto Lutheran Times
JANUARY-MARCH 2016
Vol. 2, Issue 1
“We are one body in Christ, sent in faith to
share God’s love, through worship, service, fellowship, and witness.”
By Pastor Marcus Bigott
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Inside this issue:
Cover Article and Notes from Pastor Marcus.……………………………………………….3-4
Service Events………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Worship & Community Events.………………………………………………………………………..6
Fellowship & Witness Events……………………………………………………………………………7
Children & Youth Ministries……………………………………………………………………………..8
Family & Adult Ministries………………………………………………………………………………...9
Church Celebrations………………………………………………………………………………….10-11
Committee Updates, Invitations, & Reminders……………………………………………….12
Celebrations & Prayers…………………………………………………………………………………...13
Giving Ideas……………………………………………………………………………………………………15
Monthly Calendars…………………………………………………………………………………...14-16
Financial Giving Charts.………………………………………………………………………………….17
Church Contact Information & Council……………………………………………..Back Cover
Our online presence continues to grow! If you missed a Sunday and would enjoy
listening to the sermon, they may be found in one of two places. You can check out
our revitalized website, huttolutheranchurch.org, or you can check out our
YouTube Channel, youtube.com, by searching for Hutto Lutheran Church.
Information is also available, all the time and in various ways, on our Facebook
page, facebook.com/HuttoLutheranChurch, on our Twitter page, @lutheranhippos,
and through our brand new social media platform Instagram, HuttoLutheranChurch.
Please help us share all the wonderful things God is up to in this place by following
us, liking us, and tweeting us!
Growing on Social Media!
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Becoming Meaningless, by Pastor Marcus
Just the utterance of that word makes my stomach feel odd. To declare
something meaningless places whatever the object may be in a category that is
synonymous with trash. Where do you hear this word or its synonyms? Perhaps
in your mail or the piles of papers on your desk, in your backpack, or filed away in
an old cabinet? What about the technology you own? What about relationships?
What about your faith? Where one person finds great relief in throwing things
away and cleaning a desk, another finds the lack of stacks to be a marker of not
working hard enough and therefore self-worth is questioned. Another sees the
declaring of a relationship as meaningless and therefore not worth saving, while
another sees it as “running away” and not “facing reality.” Every question elicits a
very different, and sometimes, quite troubling perspective on life while at the
same time reminding us that there are always two sides to a coin. Without
seeking to answer every question under the sun, I want to invite you into a
conversation about what we declare meaningless with a specific focus on our
faith.
I don’t think there are very many people who sit in our pews every Sunday
that would declare their faith today meaningless. Your weekly participation and
ongoing engagement with the world of faith, whether through worship, Bible
study, or prayer, proves that you find some sort of importance with it, however
routine. There are probably points in time throughout your life where your faith
seemed to be worth about as much as that used gum wrapper. These encounters
with doubt, worry, fear or disbelief, brought about by various life experiences, can
be truly life changing. I wish I could say there was a fix-all for fear and doubt in
our lives. I wish I could offer you a recipe of faith management that allowed
successful healing of the heart, mind, and soul, but, unfortunately it doesn’t exist;
or at least not in the way of a diet or prescription. The challenge of being disciples
of Jesus Christ is that we have to come at these road bumps with the only thing
we have capable of reasserting the presence of Christ in our lives, faith. “But,”
you ask, “If it is our faith that we have deemed meaningless, how are we
supposed to overcome and move forward using it?”, by not measuring faith’s
statistical activity or success in our lives by prayers answered, blessings received,
people brought to church, or monetary bottom lines.
Drawing conclusions such as these renders God’s activity in the lives of the
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faithful as something that mimics the larger societal story, bigger, better, higher,
faster, and stronger all equating to greater blessings and faith. Instead, reflect on
God’s activity in your life as a means through which we come face-to-face with our
Savior and Redeemer. When we allow the hustle and bustle of life to fall to the
wayside, to not allow the so called “successes” of our society to define and
describe us, then we can become people “…free to absorb the pain and suffering
of [our] neighborhood, allowing it to be transformed into a resurrection-life,
involving others in a new story of human flourishing, and loving community.” So
what becomes meaningless is not our faith, not our journey in life, and not our
identity in Christ, but how we are defined by society and culture. No longer are
we to be defined as successful Christians because of the blessings we have seen in
our lives or what God has done through and with us; that is a meaningless rubric
for ministry. Instead we are found as worthy and meaningful followers of Christ,
faithful to the Gospel, and empowered to be children of God! Find meaning in
your faith, find purpose in your life, and trash those things that would tell you
otherwise. Blessings in this time of new beginnings and may your 2016 be the
best yet!
In God’s grip,
Pastor Marcus
Becoming Meaningless, continued.
Jumpstart schedule for 2016!
You are all so crazy busy that when the surveys were tallied, it was perfectly spilt down the middle! So here is my proposal, using the suggestion of one of you, we will meet for a couple of event in the spring, go to camp in the summer, and then a couple of events in the fall. These will be spaced out so that you can get them on your calendars as soon as possible. These events will include but are not limited to bowling, laser tag, movies, and theme parks. I am super excited to be a part of all you are up to in your school and extracurricular lives so please make sure you are sharing with me your event calendars. I will make every effort to be a part of your lives. Here are our first two events, dates,
and times. I sure hope you will join me!
3rd Annual Chili Bowl Supper, Friday, January 29th, 5-7:00pm
Family and Youth Bowling Night, Friday, February 19th, Mel’s Lone Star Lanes, 7-9:00pm
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Service Events
Food Pantry, Every 1st
Saturday, 8:30am.
Come serve with us!
Sunday Morning Volunteer
Opportunities
Munch-n-Mingle
Greeter
Usher
Lector
Altar Guild
Children’s Sermon
Children’s Church
Communion Assistant
Sign-ups are available weekly in
the E-link, in the Narthex on the
Volunteer Opportunities Board,
or by contacting the church
office.
Please sign-up to serve!
Cemetery
Cleanup day
March 12
beginning at
8am
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Worship & Community Events
Adults are $10, children un-der 10 years of age are $6, and any uniformed persons are $6. Please see the folks at the table in the Narthex after worship or email the church office. All proceeds help to send our youth to
camp, provide scholarships for our day camp program, and support the mission and
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Fellowship Events
Table for You Ministry
kicks off with the meals
on February 21st & 28th
in the Fellowship Hall.
More information on
page 9!
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Children, Middle School, & High School Youth Education:
Pre-k to 1st Grade: Classroom #2, Sparkhouse - Holy Moly Holy Moly is a “..combination of animated videos, creative activities, and age-appropriate Bibles…[that]...brings the Bible to life. Every Holy Moly lesson fol-lows a four-part sequence: Discover, Relate, Connect, and Create. Each week, kids watch an animated Bible story video, talk about the story, read their Bible Storybook or Bible, and try a creative leaflet activity.”
2nd to 4th Grade: Classroom #1, Sparkhouse - Classroom Study “Spark Classroom walks through key Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories each year, in a two-year cycle.”
5th to 8th Grade: Classroom #3, Sparkhouse - Lectionary Study “Spark Lectionary follows stories in the Revised Common Lectionary. Throughout the three-year cycle, each lesson comes from a Bible story in the Old Testament, the Gospels, or Acts.”
9th to 12th Grade: Pastor’s Office, Group Publishers - 13 Important Bible Lessons, Top 13 Questions About God, & Believe it or Not: Studies for Youth Ministry Each series of lessons encourages our youth to struggle with tough questions of faith, living faithfully, and encountering God in our ever-changing world. For more information, please search each title at www.group.com.
Children & Youth Ministries
Pre-school to 4th Grade students
welcome! Begins Sun., Jan. 10th
and continues every other
Sunday.
Youth will be led from the
Sanctuary during the “Gathering
Hymn” and return during the “
Sharing of the Peace.”
Journey with us as we grow
together in faith through this
special worship program!
Brand new rhythm for 2016!
Surveys have shown you all are crazy busy! Look back at page 4
for details!
2016 Summer Camp Registration
Camp registration is open! Costs and dates are
posted in Narthex. Camp is open for ALL youth
1st to 12th grade. See Pastor Marcus for your
forms! We go June 5-10th!
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Family & Adult Ministries
Every 3rd Wed., 7pm,
Hall of Fame, Hutto
All men welcome!
Every 3rd Wed., 11:30am, Classroom #1
Bring your lunch and gather for great
fellowship!
Everyone 55 and better welcome!
Women’s Bible Study, Every 3rd Wed.,
9:30am,
Classroom #1, All women welcome!
Table For You Ministries is an opportunity to gather with other congregation
members for three meals over the course of three months. This opportunity
for fellowship, conversation, and just all around fun seeks familiarize faces,
create relationships, and further strengthen our church family network. A
letter and invitation will be mailed out at the end of this month with more
details about our kick-off meal and the gatherings that follow.
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Church Celebrations
The Knot Perfect Quilters, in partnership
with Thrivent’s Action Team program,
sent 51 quilts to Haiti.
Hutto Lutheran Church received a grant
from the ASCO store in Manor, Texas to
support the “Feeding the 5000” Ministry.
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Church Celebrations, cont.
St. Lucia
Celebration
Haiti Quilt
Blessing
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Committee Updates, Invitations, and Reminders
Committee Meeting Schedule:
(1st Monday of every month)
Worship & Music: 6pm, Pastor’s Office
Outreach & PR: 6:30pm, Kitchen
Property & Cemetery: 7pm, Class. #3
Christian Ed./ Fellowship: 7:30pm, FH
Reminders from Worship & Music-
The Bell Choir will be practicing according to the following schedule: 1st Sun., 9:30am, 3rd Sun., 11:30am, and the 2nd and 4th Mondays, at 5:30pm. Please contact Glynda Vanecek at [email protected] for more information or with questions.
The adult vocal choir practice schedule will be as follows: 2nd and 4th Sunday, at 11:30am in the Sanctuary. Please contact Donna Slocum, [email protected], for more information, music, or with any additional questions.
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Birthdays
January: 03 Charly Morrison 05 Trent Morrison 10 Emory Stern 11 Daniel Lidell 16 Toni Morrison 17 Donna Fowler 19 Maria Davis 19 Holley Morrison 25 Peyton Johnson 27 Lauren Stern 28 Samuel Lyons 29 Kaylynn Garza 29 Carol Stromberg 30 Allan Johnson 30 Autumn O’Neal 31 Darlene Rydell February: 03 Luke Fowler 08 Sue Holmstrom 09 Rode Duewer 15 Catharena Rydell 23 Claudia Cook March: 03 Barbie Johnson 08 Karin Stern 10 Brayden Garza 10 Carolyn Merkord 11 Joe Cook 11 Rob David Jr. 14 William Stern 15 Paula Martin 15 Kurt Mersiovsky 16 Matilda Rydell 20 Allicia Jumonville 21 Connie Seigmund 23 Lois Haag
Baptisms January: Kristy Armstrong Rob David Jr Suzanne Erickson Bradley Graham Sharon Holman Nadine Johnson Clarence Merkord Don Shephard Mike Fowler Erika Badola Brenda Graham Jen David Alison Rydell Dianne Overby Chris Graham Doreen Holmstrom David Lidell Brandt Rydell Sarah Johnson Carol Stromberg Toni Morrison Catharena Rydell February: Megan Lorfing Eddie Hayden Violet Duewer Kristi Salih Donna Slocum Lance Rydell Alexis Armstrong Tristan Almquist Jack Dismukes Trent Morrison March: Matthew Cook Darlene Rydell
Raelynn Johnson Irene Hackbarth Aubrie Stromberg Allan Johnson Rose Duewer
Anniversaries January: 18 Kurt & Jannah Mersiovsky, 3rd February: 09 James & Lois Haag, 52nd 14 Bruce & Heather Duewer, 7th March: 10 Daniel & Leslie Doty, 9th 19 Donald & Amber Maul, 5th 31 Bobby & Karin Stern, 37th
Celebrations and Prayers
Church Wish List
Are you looking for ways to
help out and provide for our
growing ministries? Here
are some projects and items
we would love to see
happen or put to use!
Projector (FH), flat screen
TV’s for classrooms,
sheetrock repair in the
Narthex, paint the
classrooms, strip & wax the
tile floors, & remove 502
M.C. shed.
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January 2016
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February 2016
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March 2016
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Financial Weekly and Cumulative Giving Reports
October to December 2015
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2015 Church Council Chris Graham, Pres. Dennis Pompa, VP.
Debbie Cummins, Treas. Irene Hackbarth, Sec. & Fin. Sec.
Christian Ed. Pat Hayden
Fellowship &
Jackie McGary
Stewardship Jennifer David
Outreach & P.R. Shelly Engelke
Property & Cemetery
Mark Lidell
Worship & Music Rey Segura, Sr.
Church Staff
Pastor Marcus Bigott
Cell: 830-377-8643
Michelle Luck, Office Administrator
Office Hours: Monday to Thursday, 9:00am—1:00pm
Office Phone: 512-759-2064
Website: www.huttolutheranchurch.org
Address: 402 Church Street, Hutto, Texas 78634
