The Nicholas News - Amazon S3...Hall under the direction of conductor Andre Previn. Saint Martin’s in Annapolis became my Lutheran home after college. I continued in choir there

The Nicholas News September 2016

Enjoying God through Worshipping Joyfully, Engaging Youth, and Experiencing Community.

The Happenings of Saint Nicholas Lutheran Church Phone: 410-257-5683 Fax: 410-414-9283 email: [email protected] www.saintnicholaslutheran.org

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PASTOR SHANNON ANDERSON

(Continued on page 3)

Dear People of God,

It has been such a pleasure serving among you these last 6 months. Thank you so much for sharing your lives and your minis-try with me as you made these final steps in your transition process. I have appreciated the welcome, the sharing and the great spirit that is present in this place. After my time with you, I am hopeful and excited for the work of the gospel in Calvert County. I can see that you have the potential to make an impact in your community and to be a voice of grace and good news to the people around you who so desperately need to find community, hope and joy.

This is an exciting time in your life. It is evident that the Spirit has been at work in the call process and that work is already bearing fruit in renewed energy for ministry. However, as exciting as things are right now, I also know that in the days and years ahead there will be times that are less exciting, times where the work of the Spirit will seem less evident. There may even be times when you ques-tion the decisions that you’ve made and the ministry partnership that you’ve entered into. Pastor Ken may have those times as well. This is the life of ministry and the challenge of community. We are broken imperfect people. But God does not abandon us because of our imperfections, instead, they are often opportunities for God’s

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grace to shine. And so as you move into this new partnership, I invite you to remember just a few things. 1. The Spirits work among us is not always immediately visible, that does not mean that God is not at work. 2. Ministry is a partnership and as you each stay focused on what your role in that partnership is and how you can best be faithful to that role, you will all together bring strength to the community. 3. God’s best work is often done among the weak and the vulnerable and as you continue to bring your struggle to God, you will continue to find that God can use that struggle to do more than you can imagine.

In the days and months ahead, know that you and your ministry will continue to be in my heart and in my prayers. I look forward to seeing what God will do with you and through you in this place. God’s blessings to you all.

Pastor Shannon

CONTACT: [email protected]

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Rally Day/First Day of Sunday School

Please join us on September 11 in the North Wing @ 10:45 AM to meet your teachers & participate in a God's Work Our Hands ser-

vice project and Rally Day activities.

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Sunday School Teachers

Toddlers/Pre-K/Kindergarten - Sherry Owens, Volunteer Needed

Grades 1 & 2 - Elizabeth Taby, Mary Jo Gebhardt,

Michael Williams

Grades 3, 4 & 5 - Erin McClelland, Liz Starks,

Middle School/Confirmation - Vicki Williams

High School - Andre Dangin, Colleen Hyland

Substitute Teachers

Heidi Bishop, Carol Blatt, Karen Phelps

Time for Children Teachers

Debbie Bang, Kathy Dangin ,Erika Demme

Barbara Harris, Donna Neri, Vicki Soto, Vicki Williams

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Join the Team and Teach Sunday School!

We are faithfully praying for one more Sun-day School teacher, AND two additional Time for Children teachers. This will allow for each class to have a team of teachers. It is a great way to participate in your church, to show your kids how to give back and to grow your own faith. Please contact Sherry Owens at [email protected] or Liz Starks at

[email protected] know if you'd like to be a part of this vital ministry.

SUNDAY SCHOOL

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WORSHIPPING JOYFULLY

After a well-deserved break, the Saint Nicholas Chancel Choir will begin leading Sunday worship music again on August 28th with rehearsals every Wednesday night from 6:30 – 8:30 PM. We are always looking for new voices to join our group, so if you are interested in singing, please speak to Tanya! Rehearsal recordings are always provided so that everyone is able to learn the music.

This December, the Chancel Choir will be presenting our second annual Advent Concert. Last year, we raised over $700 to benefit Project Echo and enjoyed a beautiful evening of music and fellowship. We would like to present a potluck dinner for the audience again. If you would like to help plan or contribute to this event, please let Tanya know.

There will be a meeting on August 28th after church to discuss Sunday school, and Tanya will be there to discuss the children’s music time and Christmas Pageant. Children’s music will resume this fall with Sunday school, taking place in the first 15 minutes (10:45 – 11:00 AM) every week. This time will be spent learning songs together that we hope to present in worship and at our Christmas Pageant in December. Regular participation and attendance are strongly encouraged if your child would like to be a part of these events! Volunteers to help sing and


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teach the songs in Sunday school are always welcome, and adult participation requires no prep time. We only ask that adults either participate or wait outside during music time so as to not distract the children from the lesson.

We have had a great time this summer incorporating contemporary worship music into our summer services! We would love to expand contemporary worship with a band. If you play an instrument (guitar, bass, percussion, etc.) and would like to participate in contemporary worship in the future, please talk to Tanya. Email [email protected] with any questions.

(Continued from page 6)


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Date Number of Joyful Worshippers

June 5 79

June 12 60

June 19 55

June 26 59

July 10 62

July 3 70

July 17 64

July 24 56

July 31 52

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OUR STEWARDSHIP

July Year to Date

Mortgage Receipts $7,092 $43,927

Mortgage Payments $8,000 $57,800

Total Income $29,141 $190,552

Less Operating Expenses $24,060 $197,304

Difference $5,081 -$6,753

Total Restricted Receipts $3,851 $9,717


ONLINE GIVING

We now have the ability to receive donations electronically through our website. You can visit www.saintnicholaslutheran.org and click on the Donate button on the stewardship page or scan the QR code (on the right) to be taken to our secure online donation page.

On this page you can make a one-time gift or set up a recurring gift. Gifts can be made via Electronic Funds Transfer from your bank account or via credit card (MasterCard or Visa).

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Assisting Minister

4 Andre Dangin

11 Barbara Harris

18 Bryan Mullins

25 Deanna Kekesi

Lector

4 Bryan Mullins

11 Carol Blatt

18 Christy Mullins

25 Ann Wolfgang

Presenters

4 Kris and Jerry Wood

11 Amare Merz and Lauren Wawroski

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25 Debbie Bang

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Altar Care

4 Pam Werner and Wanda Moser

11 Barbara Harris and Ann Wolfgang

18 Carol Blatt and Anna Kitzmiller

25 Kathy Dangin and Vicki Williams

Ushers

4 Wanda & Doug Moser

11 John & Dawn Hogenson

18 Sean & Erika Demme

25 Debbie Bang and Jackie Stein

Offering Counters

4 Tom Blatt and Walt Merz

11 Ed Aronhalt and Kris Wood

18 Colleen Hyland and Christy Mullins

25 Vicki Williams and Ann Wolfgang

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Sunday Hospitality

4 Sara Bowen

11 Kacie Bandelow and Dawn Hogenson

18 Heidi Bishop and Erika Demme

25 Karen Phelps

Coffee Set-up

4 Bryan Mullins

11 Erika Demme

18 Anna Kitzmiller

25 Ann Wolfgang

Coffee Clean-up

4 Mille Sullivan

11 Williams Family

18 Bandelow Family

25 Debbie Bang

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Bread

4 Sara Bowen

11 Ann Wolfgang

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Nursery

4 Mary Jo Gephardt

11 Sherry Owens

18 Barbara Harris

25 Lauren Wawroski

Time for Children

4 No class this day

11 Leader: Vicki Williams Assistant: Kathy Dangin

18 Leader: Erika Demme Assistant:: Donna Neri

25 Leader: Barbara Harris Assistant: Liz Starks

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CONFIRMATION INFORMATION Confirmation classes are being held for 6th through 8th graders during the Sunday school hour, every Sunday morning from 10:45 to 11:30. If your child is interested, please let Vicki Williams or Pastor Shannon know. The curriculum includes classroom studies, church activities and stewardship, serving others, and fellowship and youth retreats. If you have any questions, please call Vicki at 443-624-8215 or email her at [email protected].

ENGAGING YOUTH

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We pray that our Lord will bless those listed, as well as those in your heart, with a sense of peace and assurance through the abiding presence of God's Spirit.

Bereavement: Family and Friends of Janis Walker

Health: Dave Banholzer, Karlin Anderson,

Long term concerns: Diane Culp, Heidi Gault, Avay Jaynes, The

Smith/Biello Families, Joseph Sheffer, Austin Smith, Beth Dell

Saint Nicholas Lutheran Church has a special Prayer Team committed to intercessory prayer. Your request will always be treated with immediacy, care, and confidentiality. Contact Carol Blatt at [email protected] with prayer requests.

EXPERIENCING COMMUNITY

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I was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 56 years ago and I have a twin brother and two sisters. I lived in Chambersburg working at various jobs including pie maker, paperboy, laundromat cleaner and burger flipper until I finished my Electrical Engineering degree at Penn State. After college, I moved to Annapolis, working 10 years at IIT Research Institute and 4 years at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. I entered the ground floor of the Internet in 1996 as Webmaster at the Federal Communications Commission and expect to stay there until I retire in 6 years or so.

I couldn’t imagine being anything other than Lutheran. Whether it was with the youth group adventuring to southern Mexico to help our missionary build bamboo churches and distribute indigenous-language bibles, or rock’n flashy silk shirts and bell bottoms singing with “The Sinners” youth choir, or just hanging out at the 60’s era youth room



Dave Kitzmiller

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called “Cloud Nine” – those years shaped my life.

Although I’m no expert and I’ve never focused on it, music has always been one of the threads running though my life. I was in “Glee Club” in high school and played trumpet in concert and marching band. Following underclassman-year performances at Redskins games and the Cotton Bowl in Texas, my brother and I were the band’s first dual Drum Majors our senior year for our trip to the Rose Bowl and parade in California. I spent Sundays at Penn State with the Chapel Choir, and had the thrill of singing with the PSU Concert Choir at Pittsburg’s Heinz Hall under the direction of conductor Andre Previn .

Saint Martin’s in Annapolis became my Lutheran home after college. I continued in choir there and started a long stint with the Annapolis Chorale conducted by Music Director J. Ernest Green. SNLC’s Chancel Choir was my next singing opportunity 12 years ago, and the rest is musical history.

One of my other long-time passions is running. Starting with track and cross country in high school, I’ve been actively training and competing in races for the past 38 years. The past few years have been mostly 10Ks, 10-milers and half marathons. No, I don’t win any (why do people even ask that?) but I enjoy running races with my daughter and brother and now with some great runners at Saint Nicholas.

Anna and I just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and we are happy empty-nesters with a 26-year-old son in Alaska and a 23-year-



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old daughter in Baltimore. We’ve been Saint Nicholas members for 12 years, serving in a variety of roles including Office Administrator, Secretary and Christian Ed positions for Anna and Assistant Minister, Choir Member and Webmaster (9 years) for me.

We’ve been so incredibly fortunate in our journey so far and Saint Nicholas continues to be a warm refuge and familiar place where we constantly recharge our faith and commitment to share our blessings with others.



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ELCA DAY OF SERVICE

Mark your calendars for the "God's Work, Our Hands" ELCA Day of Service. We'll be using two days, September 10th and 11th. Select one or more of the projects below and join thousands of other Lutherans in service to our neighbor!

1. On Saturday, we will be creating a vegetable garden at Safe Harbor in Prince Frederick.

2. On Saturday, we will be harvesting produce at Serenity Farm through www.farming4hunger.com

3. On Sunday, we will be preparing dinner to show appreciation for our first responders, Huntingtown Fire Department. This is the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

4. On Sunday, we will be collecting donations for Lutheran Disaster Response, to aid those suffering from the West Virginia floods. http://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/Lutheran-Disaster-Response/Our-Impact/West-Virginia-Flooding?

Sign up sheets and details can be found in the narthex or by contacting Kathy Dangin ([email protected]).


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SOFTBALL TEAM UPDATE The softball team accomplished a great deal during the 2016 season. The team played quite well and had a chance to win most of the games it lost during the year. It was a lot of fun to watch the continued improvement of a number of our players. We also greatly benefited from the addition of a couple new players. As good as the regular season was, the team's run in the tournament was a joy to behold. The team played very, very well during the tournament and had legitimate chances to defeat both the top two teams in the league. See the tournament write-up on the softball page on the church website for more details on that. Every players on the time made a significant contribution to the team during the season. It truly was a team effort!! First and foremost, I want to congratulate the players on the team for a very good 2016 softball season and thank all of them for their efforts during the year. I also want to thank all the fans who came out to watch us play during the year. I hope you enjoyed watching the team despite the heat, humidity, and having to dodge foul balls and wayward throws!! 2016 was a fun year. I hope to see everybody (both players and fans) back at the field in 2017!!


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RECENT SOFTBALL RESULTS

July 17 vs First Baptist Game 1: W 12 - 5 Game 2: T 11 - 11 July 17 vs Calvert County Baptist Game 1: W 10 - 4 Game 2: W 11 - 0 July 23 vs Grace Brethren Game 1: L 1 - 11 Game 2: W 6 - 4 July 24 vs Jesus the Divine Word # 2 Game 1: L 12 - 20 Game 2: L 3 - 12

FINAL 2016 REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 13 - 9 - 2 5th place out of 13 teams

POST-SEASON DOUBLE-ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT RESULTS

July 30 vs #12 seed Jesus the Divine Word # 1 W 7 - 6 July 31 vs #4 seed Grace Chapel Ministries W 13 - 2 July 31 vs #1 seed Dunkirk Baptist L 2 - 10 July 31 vs #7 seed First Lutheran W 10 - 7 July 31 vs #3 seed Grace Brethren W 5 - 2 July 31 vs #2 seed Jesus the Divine Word # 2 L 5 - 6

TOURNAMENT RECORD: 4 - 2 3rd place


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OUR COMMON CALVERT IS COMING TO SNLC

Our Common Calvert is a community organization that bridges gaps with conversation, challenges stereotypes, builds lasting relationships, and develops youth leaders. The group is comprised of members of local religious organizations and community members who want to get

real about tough issues.

The next monthly gathering will take place at Saint Nicolas Lutheran Church in the Great Room of the North Wing. The conversation takes place on Wednesday, September 21 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. All are welcome to listen, learn, discuss, and experience community.

While Our Common Calvert aims to discuss a variety of tough issues, the next discussion will focus on sexuality and issues facing the LGBTQ community.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please see Pastor Shannon or Bryan Mullins.

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TASTE BUDS The Taste Buds will enjoy the beauty of Running Hare Vineyard on Saturday, September 17 at 12:00 PM. There will be live music for our listening pleasure. Bring a snack to share if you are so inclined. We look forward to enjoying fellowship with the people of Saint Nicholas.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Bryan Mullins at 724-967-5579 or [email protected].

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9/3 Kendrick, MacDonald

9/6 Zachary Forschen

9/7 Jacob Bishop

9/7 Dave Kitzmiller

9/9 Cassie Hickin

9/10 Theo Tolzmann

9/12 Jodie Hyland

9/12 Jackie Soto

9/13 Erika Demme

9/13 Trevor Flynn

9/13 Bryan Mullins

9/15 Carys Kekesi

9/17 Lisa Smith

9/17 Julie Fowler

9/19 Cynthia MacDonald

9/22 Edith Crane

9/23 Pam Werner

9/24 Katelyn Montana

9/25 Edwin Aronhalt

9/28 Jacob Camilletti

9/28 Gabe Duff


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PROJECT ECHO MEAL Thanks to Ann Wolfgang, Carol Blatt, Kris Wood, Donna Neri, Sheila Poole, Christy Mullins, and Vicki Soto for contributing to the July meal for Project Echo. If you would like to serve your neighbor in September, please sign up to prepare a portion of the meal to be offered on September 25. The sign up sheet is on the bulletin board or contact Kathy Dangin ([email protected]).

T.P. for P.E. Our 2nd quarter drive came to a close on June 26th and we collected 485 rolls of toilet paper and 12 rolls of paper towels which were donated to Project Echo on June 28th. We collected 546 rolls in the 1st quarter drive bringing our toilet paper total for the year to 1031 rolls. It is never too late to donate! Our next drive will conclude September 25th, so keep the generosity rolling!

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OKTOBERFEST Oktoberfest is October 8, 12:00—5:00. A dedicated planning committee is hard at work planning seasonal libations, yummy food including Stachowski Brand Charcuterie, live music by Run Catch Rain, decorations, and fun for the young and the young at heart!

Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbors, tell your complete strangers, Saint Nicholas is celebrating and all are welcome!

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Bryan Mullins at 724-967-5579 or [email protected].

SILENT AUCTION HELP NEEDED Our Octoberfest festivities will include a Silent Auction. Your donations will make this Silent Auction a success! Thanks to your help, our last Silent Auction was very successful. We had a variety of donations including baskets filled with goodies for “Movie night”, “Garden Enthusiast” “Picnicking” and many more. A couple of our members offered of a weekend at their beach house and an afternoon of sailing on the Chesapeake. It’s not too early to be thinking of your contribution. No donation is too small. For more information, contact Debbie Bang,[email protected], (301) 908-7869.

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The council had a full agenda at its August meeting. We spent the first half of the meeting looking at an early draft of the 2017 spending plan and talking about the decisions that need to be made before it is presented to the congregation in November.

After the budget discussion we had a discussion of the upcoming Congregational Meeting on August 21, 2016 to consider our call candidate. Sean reported that there was a document that needs to be signed by the secretary. Since our secretary, Liz Starks, would not be able to be at the meeting, the council appointed council member Lauren Wawroski to sign on


ADMINISTRATION

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behalf of the secretary.

Council also discussed the Nomination Committee kick off for council members for 2017. Lauren will make a report next month about council vacancies that need to be filled.

A decision was made to hold our annual congregation meeting on November 20, 2016.

Lauren reported that Adopt a Room is going well. The nursery and library are in progress, and the pastor’s office is complete.

Bryan reported things are going well for Octoberfest. He also reported that last Wednesday he and Pastor Shannon went to Common Calvert and they had a conversation about gender. Bryan reported that he invited them to have their next meeting here in the North Wing on September 21, 2016.


ADMINISTRATION

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Council Members

Ken Clark

Colleen Hyland

Bryan Mullins

Lauren Wawroski

Kris Wood

Walter Merz (youth)

Executive Committee

President - Sean Demme

Vice Pres. - Pam Werner

Secretary - Liz Starks

Treasurer - Howard Hogan

ADMINISTRATION

2016 Church Council

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NOMINATING COMMITTEE Harris Cooper

Bryan Mullins

Pam Werner

FACILITIES & PROPERTY

Jim Felbinger, Custodian

Harris Cooper

Sean Demme

Stephen Groff

Tim Schwartz

Keith Williams

FINANCE

Howard Hogan, Treasurer

Tom Blatt, Financial Secretary

Ed Aronhalt

Colleen Hyland

Amare Merz

Kris Wood

ADMINISTRATION

If you have an article to be included in the monthly newsletter, send it to Bryan Mullins at [email protected]. Please be kind to everyone who volunteers to get the newsletter out each month by respecting the monthly deadline of the 15th.

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Saint Nicholas Lutheran Church 1450 Plum Point Road Huntingtown, MD 20639 Sunday Worship—9:30am Sunday School—10:45am RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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Dated Material

Documents

The Nicholas News - Amazon S3...Hall under the direction of conductor Andre Previn. Saint Martin’s in Annapolis became my Lutheran home after college. I continued in choir there