September 2015 Newsletter

Wednesday, September 9th - 5:30pm - Lord’s Ta-ble at Mt. Pleasant

Sunday, September 20th - 10:00am - CN Ministerium Community Service at Albion Harvest Fest:

St. Mark’s will attend the Community Ser-vice. There will be No Sunday School at St. Mark’s

Mt. Pleasant will have worship and Sunday School as usual.

Sunday, September 20th - 4:30pm Confirmation at Pizza Forum in Ken-dallville

Wednesday, September 23rd - 5:30pm - Communi-ty Supper at St. Mark’s

Bishop Gafkjen 2

Pastor Phyllis 3-4

Worship 5

Stewardship 5

Christian Ed 6

Church Ministries 6-8

Meetings 8

Fellowship & Com-munity

8-10

Local & Area 11

Calendar 12

UNITED IN CHRIST’S LOVE

The Pleasant Marks News Mt. Pleasant’s Website is www.mountplesasantlutheranchurch.com

St. Mark’s Website is www.stmlc.weebly.com

Parish E-mail: [email protected]

Pastor: Phyllis Smoot

Parish Office Phone: 260-636-2777

Cell Phone: 260-564-5915

Parish Secretary Joella Shultz

Mt. Pleasant Lutheran Church

2520 North 600 East Kendallville, IN 46755

260-897-2678

Mt .Pleasant‘s Council

Tony Feichter - President Ryan Barker - Vice President Tricia McAllister - Secretary Judy Myers - Treasurer Josh Norris Janis Sproat Julie Ferguson

St. Marks Lutheran Church 210 North Orange Street Albion, Indiana 46701

260-636-2777

St. Mark’s Council

Garry Hill - President Phil Gibson - Vice President Julia Tipton- Secretary Marc Fisher - Treasurer Rhonda Johnson David Truelove Jeff Kurtz

OUR MISSION

United in Christ’s Love, We Tell the Story of Jesus and Share God’s Love with All People.

OUR VISION

Called by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit, every one of us will worship and witness-together, learn and grow-together, give and serve-together to the glory of God and for the good of all people.

SIX MARKS OF DISCIPLESHIP

To help us fulfill our mission and vision we seek to practice the Six Marks Of Discipleship, which en-courage the practice of faith in everyday life: Pray Daily, Worship Weekly, Read the Bible Regularly, Serve Others, Encourage Spiritual Growth in Oth-ers and Give Freely.

WORSHIP TIMES

MT. PLEASANT

Worship: 9:00 a.m. Sunday Sunday School for all ages at 10:15 a.m.

Holy Communion is offered every Sunday.

ST. MARKS

Worship: 10:30 a.m. Sunday Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 a.m. Holy Communion is offered every Sunday

September 2015 Indiana - Kentucky Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America God’s work. Our hands.

Inside this Issue:

Upcoming Events

2

I-K

WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER Thanks to you, God’s people across the Indiana-Kentucky mission territory, I was able to give five weeks of this summer to a mini-sabbatical leave. This was the second half of a three-month sabbatical begun last summer. Sabbatical is intended to be a time away from daily ministry responsibilities for renewal, refreshment, and refocusing. This is, indeed, what I experienced.

Time with family was complemented by a good bit of time on our backyard deck or at one of our local librar-ies reading and reflecting. I read a few novels. I also read a pile of books and articles about organizational theory, theology, and mission. The last book I read was Derek Nelson’s and the late Timothy Lull’s fine, accessible and commendable new theological biography of Martin Luther, Resilient Reformer. This is an excellent book to read as we approach the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation in 2017.

Among the other books I read was Structured for Mission: Renewing the Culture of the Church by Alan Roxburgh. I found this book to be so helpful that I am inviting the members of Synod Council, Conference Deans, and synod staff members to read and discuss this book together over the coming months. This will be a follow-up to the book that we read and discussed last year, Journey in the Wilderness: New Life for Mainline Churches by Gil Rendle.

In the book, Roxburgh encourages a spirit of experimentation in our life together as the people of God. As we try to figure out how to engage faithful ministry in this new day, he suggests that “What a group needs is not primarily a restructuring proposal but time and ways in which they can learn to name and test new hab-its and practices in the new space.” ( Alan Roxburgh, Structured for Mission: Renewing the Culture of the Church ‘Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015’, 51. )

One would think that if there were people on earth who would feel free to try new things, explore different ways of being together, entrust themselves to forgiveness, and give themselves to the promise of new life, it would be people who are marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit forever.

Yet, we are so often rigid, rule-oriented, and deeply wedded (or is it welded?) to doing things the way we have always done them, even when those ways appear to no longer work, or no longer offer life, or are no longer appropriate for a changing context. Sometimes it appears that we trust the structures, rules, and habits we have established more than we trust the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and now claims, calls, and empowers us to live new, abundant, and lasting life.

The practices and habits we’ve established might be comfortable, even good, but we need to continually ask whether they are still faithful. “For freedom Christ has set us free,” proclaims the apostle Paul. “Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

( Galatians 5:1 ‘NRSV’)

Our Holy Conversations initiative is one way we are working together to live into the freedom Christ has given us and to “name and test new habits and practices” in this new day. If your congregation or other faith community has not yet engaged this process, it’s not too late to do so. Resources can be found at http://www.iksynod.org/newday.html. Members of the Holy Conversations Guiding Team also stand ready to assist your community in engaging this process. You may contact the synod office in order to request this assistance at (317) 253-3522.

I also wonder how else your community of faith might create safe space and time in your life together to experiment with new (or renewed) ways of being church. What tried and once true practices or habits have become tired and lifeless and how would you do them differently if you trusted without reserve that God’s life-giving Spirit will be with you throughout and will meet you on the other side with forgiveness, hope, and new life?

+Bishop Bill Gafkjen

Lutheran Where God is doing new things

September 2015

3

Just reading those words can conjure up memories of church years past. After even just typing those words I can remember at least one memory of a church Rally Day. It was always a Sunday in September after Labor Day weekend, at least in my memory. Children’s Sunday School started back up again, church was packed, and a potluck was served afterwards. After enjoying the signs of summer, it was time to get serious again with faith. I remember having a stellar Sunday School and then after worship, everyone received a balloon, which was filled with helium. Attached to the string of the balloon was a postcard that had the church’s information and an invitation to the church. We all stood outside the church, the pastor said a prayer and a blessing and the balloons were released up into the air. I remember trying to keep an eye on my balloon and where it was going. I remember watching it fly up into the sky till I pretty much couldn’t see it anymore. Where would the balloon land? Would it get so high in the sky that it would pop? Would it get in the way of a flying bird and fall? What about getting whisked away by the wind and end up being caught in a tree? Where would the card land? Who would see it? Would the person who saw it come to church? Who would I meet?

It seemed like we trusted the Holy Spirit to be with those balloons, the cards, and the people whom these cards would meet and send to us. It seemed that we trusted the Holy Spirit to bring us to church that day, to celebrate, reinvigorate the faith of the people at that church on the September Sunday morning.

I’m not quite sure if new people came to church because of the cards, but I do know that worship, Sunday school, and all of the other typical activities for the church continued in the arms of the Holy spirit. We actually put a lot of trust in the Holy Spirit a lot in the lives of the church. We trust in the Holy Spirit to breath new life into us when we confess our sins and receive the gentle new breath of forgiveness from God. We trust that the Holy Spirit is with us during our prayers and reading of the Bible during our worship. We trust that Holy Spirit is present in the bread and the wine, through the word and the Holy Spirit it becomes Christ’s own body and blood for our intake, to be made whole once again.

There are a good number of churches that don’t celebrate a Rally Day anymore. I’m not quite sure why our parish doesn’t celebrate this. Recently I was looking for someone’s baptism date and came across the old scrap and record books of the parish. I always found it awesome to come across the Sunday School Sylvan Lake Picnic picture. I believe this happened on a Rally Sunday and the fellowship after worship and Sunday School ended at the Lake.

For the past few years, the ELCA has started a God’s Work Our Hands Sunday. It is a day that is encouraged for churches in the ELCA to think outside the box, do some community service activity, and see where God is guiding the church and community, with the help of the Holy spir-it. It is scheduled this year on September 13th. One year, we did a prayer walk throughout the communities we live as part of this day. I know that St. Mark’s will be coming up with a project, so keep on paying attention to see what we will be doing. Mt. Pleasant will also have a project as well. On this day, during worship, we will be asking the Holy Spirit to come speak to us and breathe new life in us. I will be having somewhat of a Rally Day postcard for everyone to fill out and address for a friend, so bring your address book with you! We will be praying over them and we will be sending them off, with the help of the Holy Spirit. We will be lifting up and praying for the ministries and the work that you do in the church this day as well. My hope is that we as a church dig deeper and connect deeper to God, the gifts that God has given us, the surprise of the Holy Spirit, and the good news of Jesus by coming around to God’s Work Our Hands Sunday and creating it as a new Rally Day.

Are the days of Rally Days done? It may be done in the way that was done in the past, but this year, this day, even this minute, is a new one. For us, the new day is Sunday, September 13th. Come and be prepared to rally. Peace.

RALLY DAY

4

Pastor’s Calendar

Pastor’s Calendar in September

Sept.1st (Tues) ELCA, I-K Synod Northeast, Confer-ence Ministerium Meeting and Text Study. Out all day.

Sept. 2nd (Wed) 9:00am - Central Noble Ministerium Meeting

Office

Sept. 3rd (Thurs) Office

10:30am - Morning Bible Study at St. Mark’s

Sept. 6th (Sun) Worship

Sept. 7th (Mon) Labor Day

Sept. 8th (Tues) Office

Text Study in the afternoon.

Sept. 9th (Wed) Office

5:30pm - Lord’s Table at Mt. Pleas-ant

Sept. 10th (Thurs) Office


Sept. 13th (Sun) Worship - God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday

2:00pm - Northridge Service

ABOUT PASTOR’S CALENDAR

Hi everyone! The calendar dates and events that are listed in the Newsletter are what I have written down at the time of putting the newsletter together. From past experience, my schedule may change with things happening at church, illness in the family, etc. If you would like to meet with me, please call me (Church Office-260-636-2777; Cell Phone - 260-564-5915 from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and in emergen-cies) and we can meet. Per the Indiana- Kentucky Synod Guidelines, pastors get two days off a week (Friday and Saturday are my days off.) Sometimes this works for me and sometimes I write my sermons, or prepare for worship on Saturdays. So time off may be adjusted during the week in order to refresh my entire being for the work God has called me. Pastoral Days, Mondays, are my flex days. Intentionally that way so that I can be in prayer for you all, catch up on items that need attention, visits, meetings, these are days that help me catch up where I need to in minis-try. Thank you all for your ministry with me. in the parish!

Sept. 14th (Mon) Pastoral Day

6:00pm - Worship Team Meeting

Sept. 15th (Tues) Office

1:00pm - Pastor attending the EN Ministerial Association Meeting


5:30pm -Kid’s Klub at Mt. Pleas-ant

7:15pm - 15 minute Worship at Mt. Pleasant



7:00pm - Mt. Pleasant’s Council

Sept. 20th (Sun) 10:00am - Community Worship at Albion Harvest Fest with the Cen-tral Noble Ministerium.

Sept. 21st (Mon) Pastoral Day

Sept. 22nd (Tues) Office

Text Study in the afternoon.

Sept. 23rd (Wed) Office

5:30pm - Community Supper at St. Mark’s

5:30pm - Kid’s Klub




7:00pm - St. Mark’s Council

Sept. 27th (Sun) Worship

Attending the I-K Synod Profes-sional Leadership Conference at Clifty Falls in the Evening.

Sept. 28th (Mon) and

Sept. 29th (Tues)

Attending the I-K Synod Profes-sional Leadership Conference at Clifty Falls


5:30pm - Kid’s Klub


5

The Noisy Bucket for September will con-tinue to go to Teen Mission for Jason

Schrock and Family’s ministry.

Serving the Lord with

Teen Missions in South Africa

ST. MARKS

Septembers Noisy Bucket will go to the Noble House, A shelter for Women and children, Noble House provides women (and their children) who have struggle with homelessness, addiction, or do-mestic violence. Our hope is to provide a chance to

(Continued)

MT. PLEASANT

Pentecost continues and we will use Setting 6 from the Evangelical Lutheran Worship Hymnal (ELW - red) in September.

Stewardship

Worship

Noisy Bucket

At the Albion Harvest Festival, St. Mark’s will be wor-shiping with churches from the Central Noble Minis-terial Association at the Albion Harvest Festival on Sunday, September 20th at 10:00 a.m. We will be meeting in the big tent. Come ready for a fun wor-ship and a great time at the festival afterwards.

There will not be a Service or Sunday School at St. Mark’s that day. Mt. Pleasant will have their Service and Sunday School as usual.

start anew; to accomplish a dream that an abusive partner and/or circumstances prevented. We pro-vide the encouragement and supportive services necessary for developing self-sufficiency. We also provide the time and "safe place" needed to begin healing and move toward a life of independence.

"The Antidote" by Connie Griner

A Stewardship Parable (Sort of...) - While vacation-ing one summer, my husband was taking time to organize his fishing "stuff" into neatly labeled draw-ers in a plastic bin. My pre-teenaged nephew, Brian, watched the process with interest, particularly the nifty little label maker that Gene was using. "I'd love to have one of those label makers," he said. "It would only have to print one thing...MINE... MINE... MINE... MINE!"

Although it was said (mostly) in jest, Brian's com-ment has stayed with me over the years as a re-minder of how easy it is to slide down the slippery

slope of materialism. I view the pro-cess of stewardship as the antidote to my materialistic tendencies. A good steward can enjoy the "things" offered to us by our consumer-driven economy, but with a sense of gratitude for one's good fortune, and with the moderation that acknowl-edges (either explicitly or implicit-ly) that the needs of others matter too. Or in the words of Mary Pop-pins, "Enough is as good as a feast!"

http://www.teenmissions.org/worldwide/south-africa/

6

Sunday School

We Would Love to Have You Join Us!

MT. PLEASANT

Sunday School for Adults and Children follows the service at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday mornings.

ST. MARKS

Sunday School for Adults and Children at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday Mornings. Youth Sunday School at St. Mark’s will resume on Sunday, September 13th, 2015.

Christian Education

.

Morning Bible Study Everyone is Welcome!

We continue our pericope study on Thursday’s at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s. We would love to have you join us!

Confirmation

Confirmation is open to youth starting in 6th grade. I will also be having an adult group for those who would like to attend as well. Parents are encour-

aged to attend with your youth. Our first Sunday is September 20th at 4:30 p.m. at Pizza Forum in Kendallville and it will go till 6:00 p.m. We will be discussing Luther’s Small Catechism. Bring a Bi-ble! Here are the rest of the dates for this year: October 4 and 18; November 1 and 15; De-cember 6 and attending Valparaiso University Ad-vent Vespers on Friday, December 11 at 7pm. The first meeting for 2016 is January 17. Please con-tact Pastor Phyllis Smoot via e-mail [email protected] or cell phone 260-564-5915. I do text as well. See you then!

Youth Ministries

“Sonshine Preschool”

IT'S RE-ENROLLMENT AND NEW ENROLLMENT TIME AT SONSHINE

PRESCHOOL.

Mt. Pleasant’s “Sonshine” Preschool meets Monday through Thursday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at Mt. Pleasant. Ages 3-6 accepted. If you have any questions or concerns, Contact Debbie Norris at home (260-239-1751) or at Mt. Pleasant Church (260-897-2678).

Kid’s Klub and the Youth Group

Kid’s Klub and the Youth Group (“SAINT PLEAS-ANT YOUTH 22:5”) meet on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant. If you would like to volunteer to help with this ministry, please contact Debbie at 260-242-1631.

Will resume meeting on Wednesday, September 16th at 6:00 p.m.

.

Mt. Pleasant’s Children’s Choir at Justin’s Installation

mailto:[email protected]

7

Primetimer’s

Primetimers will meet Wednesday, September 2nd at Mt. Pleasant for a picnic catered by Twin Six Restaurant for $7.00. Eat at 11:30 a.m. All are in-vited.

Pastor Selling Olive Oil

“Mobilizing women to act boldly on their

faith in Jesus Christ”

ST. MARKS

St. Mark's Women of the ELCA will meet Tuesday, September 1st at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Penny Blackwood (505 Granada Drive, Kendallville). We will carpool from St. Mark’s at 6:30 p.m. Judi Car-penter will lead the Bible Study from the September Issue of “Gather”. Bring your quarterly Thankoffer-ing. We will be planning for the Conference Cluster meeting to be held at St. Mark’s on Saturday, Octo-ber 3rd. All women are welcome.

MT. PLEASANT

Guardian Angels next meeting is Sunday, Septem-ber 20th following Fellowship. All lades are invited to join in.

Senior Ministry

Every loving stitch contains a special prayer - that God will send His peace to you and keep you in His care.

“Wrapped in Love” will resume knitting and crochet-ing together on Tuesday, September 8th at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s. Old and new knitters and cro-cheters are welcome as we continue our prayer shawl ministry.

Parish Prayer Shawl Ministry

From the women's retreat that was held Saturday, August 22nd, Pastor Phyllis is selling bottles of olive oil. When you purchase one your money goes directly to the Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem cam-pus. The cost with shipping is: $35.00 for the 750ml bottle and

$15.00 for the 250ml bottle. Orders need to be in by September 20th. Write a check to St Mark's and please let Pastor Phyllis know to put you down for an order. All orders will be in before Christmas. Peace!

Women’s Ministry

Pictures from Primetimer’s Outing in August - They took a ride on Dixie, the stern-

wheeler on Lake Webster.

8

Meetings

Church Councils

Mt. Pleasant’s Council will meet on Thursday, September 17th at 7:00 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant. St. Mark’s Council will meet on Thursday, Sep-tember 24th at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s.

Worship Team

The Worship Team will meet on Monday, Sep-tember 14th at 6:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s.

Senior Ministry Continued

Fellowship & Community

Apple Tree Center

Mt. Pleasant has exciting news: Apple Tree Center.

We have a signed purchase agreement for an old church building in Kendallville (On the Corner of Mitchell and Riley Streets) and will soon open it as a Community Center. This ministry has three main branches:

Sonshine Pre-school and Learning Center,

Faith on Fire Youth Ministry, and

Restoration Mission (which includes services for adults).

There is so much more to say about this outreach ministry. Please look for future announcements about our open house and also feel free to stop by for a visit. Praise God!

9


Northridge Service

The Northridge Service will be on Sunday, Septem-ber 13th at 2:00 p.m. Volunteers are always wel-come!

Food Pantry Sunday

Sunday, September 20th is Food Pantry Sunday at St. Mark’s and Mt. Pleasant.

Wellness -Tai Chi

Tai Chi continues to meet at 12:00 p.m. on Thurs-days at St. Mark’s under the instruction of Cur-ryanne Hostetler. Join us anytime.

My grandfather started walking five miles a day when he was 60.........................Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is.

At Mt. Pleasant

“5:45 on Wednesday’s”

A group is meeting for 15 minutes each Wednesday to pray for God’s guidance, direction and blessing of our exciting mission opportunity. Without God’s help, we can do nothing, but Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27 promise that “All things are possible with God.” Meet with us if you can before Kid’s Klub. If you can’t join us in person, take a few moments where ever you are at 5:45 each Wednesday and pray for wisdom and the courage to move forward.

Fellowship Sunday

Sunday, September 20th is Fellowship Sunday.

Lord’s Table

The Lord’s Table will be on Wednesday, September 9th from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant. Please come and bring guests. The Lord’s Table is a com-munity service project and is free to all.

Kids at August’s Fish Fry

At St. Marks

Fellowship

There is coffee and sometimes snacks every Sun-day at 9:00 a.m. before Sunday School and Church.

Community Supper

The Community Supper will be on Wednesday, Sep-tember 23rd from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s. There will be a sign-up sheet for those who would like to help.

St. Mark’s Free Library

Could still use some children’s books, however all types are welcome. The Library continues to be well used, including by church members. All are wel-come to use the library!

10


St. Mark’s participated in Albion- opoly July 31st. Vickie Truelove and Pastor Phyllis deco-

rated our property this year. The People of Passion group also designed a new game piece.

Thank You to all who participated.

11

Bring A New Culture Into Your Home! By hosting an International Student, your family will be rewarded with a life changing experience. You will learn more about different cultures and how they impact our life in the U. s. by exchanging ideas with your exchange student. An exposure to different cultures will provide a deeper appreciation for what our family has and for the tremendous challenges facing other nations. Your exchange student will be attending your local high school. They will be able to add new dimen-sions to the activities or your schools’ international clubs and organizations. Your student will also participate in community service.

Bring worlds together by hosting an exchange student.

Our international students are thrilled for the chance to live in the United States. They want to learn our culture, study in our schools and extend their friendships across the globe. All students are:

High School Age (15-18)

Have Medical Insurance

Have a Strong Academic Record

Speak English

Have their own Spending Money

All you need to do is provide a nice warm loving home, 3 meals a day and a comfortable bed to sleep in.

International Student Exchange Students in the Program

Girls who will stay 10 months from Germany, China, Mexico, and Belgium. Boy that will stay 5 months from the Czech Republic Boys that will stay 10 months from Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Venezuela, Taiwan, China, and South Korea.

You can find out more about each student if you are interested in participating in the program.

International Student Exchange.

12

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Pastor Attending Northeast Confer-ence Ministerium-Out All Day

7:00pm WELCA at Penny Blackwood’s

2 9:00am Pastor Attending CN Min-isterial Meeting

11:30am Prime-timer’s at MP

5:45pm Prayer at MP

3

10:30am Morning Bible Study at SM

12:00pm - Tai Chi at SM

4

8:00pm AA & Alanon at SM

5

6 Pentecost 15 7

7:00pm CMA at SM

8 Pastor Going to Text Study in the afternoon

7:00pm “Wrapped in Love” at SM

9 5:30pm Lord’s Table at MP

5:45pm Prayer at MP

10 10:30am Morning Bible Study at SM


11


12

13 Pentecost 16

God’s Work. Our Hands Sunday at MP/SM

Youth Sunday School Resumes at SM

2:00pm Northridge Service

14

6:00pm Worship Team at SM

7:00pm CMA at SM

15 1:00pm Pastor Attending the EN Ministerium Meet-ing

16

5:45pm Prayer at MP

6:00pm Kid’s Klub & Youth Group at MP

7:15pm -15 min Worship at MP



7:00pm MP Council at MP

18


19

20 Pentecost 17

10:00am CN Ministerium Communi-ty Worship at Albion Harvest Festi-val

St. Mark’s will attend and

there will be No Sunday School at SM

Mt. Pleasant will have Service

and Sunday School as usual.

Food Pantry Sunday at MP/SM

Fellowship Sunday at MP

Guardian Angels

4:30pm Confirmation Begins at the Pizza Forum in Kendallville

NEWLSETTER ITEMS DUE

21

7:00pm CMA at SM

22 Pastor Going to Text Study in the afternoon

23

5:30pm Community Supper at SM

5:45pm Prayer at MP





7:00pm SM Council at SM

25


26

27 Pentecost 18 28

7:00pm CMA at SM

29

30

5:45pm Prayer at MP



Pastor Attending I-K Synod Professional Leadership Conference - The evening of Sunday, September 27th - Tuesday, September 29th

12.

Documents

September 2015 Newsletter