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June 2022 Mustard Seed A Word from the Pastor

6/8/2022

 
​ “Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:24-28
After we celebrate the birthday of the church on the Day of Pentecost, June 5 and the unique name of the Holy Trinity we are given from our baptism to call on God on June 12, this coming month we’ll begin the long season after Pentecost and Trinity. Some churches call this Ordinary Time because the Sundays that follow are numbered after these festivals. But there is nothing ordinary about this time. This month begins the growing season of the church, when the hangings in the sanctuary turn green like the grass and trees outside and our color of the day will stay green into November. A welcome relief for altar guilds everywhere.  
    This is a time of the year when we can see that healthy churches flourish and grow like healthy crops and plants. The church of Jesus Christ grows like all living things, from its roots. To help our church grow we can begin this growing season by growing in our own faith, by tending to our roots, returning to the roots of our faith in words of the Bible.
    During the pandemic I had time to read through the whole Bible again. Spending just 20 minutes a day, I managed to read the whole Bible in less than a year. I found God’s Word as inspiring, moving and timely as it ever has been for me.
    There are many suggested reading plans available online and for your phone. But let me suggest you start where we’ll be reading together on Sundays later this month, as we continue reading through the gospel according to St. Luke and jump into Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Luke continues to tell the story of Jesus’ earthly ministry of Jesus with particular attention to the response of his followers, so we can picture ourselves among the crowds of listeners. In Galatians we hear Paul trying to unite a divided church, where some question his authority and want to rely on the old laws. Paul encourages them to work together to share the good news of God’s grace that makes us “one in Christ Jesus.”  
    Let’s listen to and live God’s good news to grow together in Faith this June. 
Pastor Bruce +
Bridge Pastor Bruce T. Davis    

June 2022 Mustard Seed Announcements

6/8/2022

 

Annual Church Family Picnic

11am to 2 pm
Sunday, June 5 - Rain or Shine!
 
On Sunday, June 5th right after the 9:30am worship service we are planning on having the Annual Church Picnic at Spring Valley Park. We’ll have designated cooks barbecuing hot dogs and burgers.  We will also be providing all the sides and desserts funded by a Thrivent Action Team card.  All you need to bring is a lawn chair.  Please sign up on the Foyer desk or call the church office if you will be coming so we know how many to plan for.


 Christian Education
The in-person Sunday School program during the 10:30 a.m. service as well as the Wednesday Bible School program on Wednesdays at 4:30pm via zoom is on hiatus for the months of June, July and August!  Look for the September Mustard Seed to see when things will be starting up again. 
 
A special thank you to our teachers Gail Achilles, Anita Halpern, Anna Friedrich and Nancy Gansner.
 

Monday Night Bible Study will be taking a break for the summer and will reconvene in the fall.


Faith will be offering “Monumental” Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday, August 8-12, 2022 from 9am to 12noon. 
    Gail Achilles is diligently praying and working on filling the station and crew leader positions still vacant for Vacation Bible School.  Also, a tech support person would be most appreciated for the week of VBS.  Thanks to all who have stepped up to help with VBS thus far.
    Please contact Melissa Prunkel, Gail Achilles or the church office with your questions or to volunteer to help.      Thank you, Church Family! 


Social Ministry Project for June

Father’s Day Support of the Keystone Opportunity Center
 Honor your father and other special men in your lives this year! Your Social Ministry Team is offering the opportunity to support men and fathers who are struggling daily to provide housing, food, and support for their families. We know that these fathers and men would appreciate your donations of personal hygiene items! We can show the wonderful fathers and men in our lives how much we appreciate them by helping others. Donations will go to the Keystone Opportunity Center in Souderton.
    Suggestions are soap, shampoo, hand lotion, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, combs, handwipes and hand sanitizers.
     Place your donations in the “Barney” bin under the coat rack during the month of June.
                             Questions:  See Debbie Hollenbach


Fundraising

Amazon Smiles on Faith Lutheran Church!
 
Another great fund-raiser for Faith Lutheran Church that will cost you nothing (and help us a whole lot, we hope).  Many of you have already heard of Amazon Smile.  Whenever you purchase something from Amazon Smile, be sure to have Faith Lutheran Church set up as your charity of choice.  The church will then receive a portion of the value of your order at no cost to you.  (Since we began this fundraiser in October of 2020, we’ve made $20.20 in 2020 and $44.44 in 2021.   Thank you!)  Here is a direct link so that the charitable proceeds come to Faith:  https://smile.amazon.com/ch/23-1675520

June 2022 Mustard Seed Council Notes

6/8/2022

 
​Council Notes                                                                                                                                                                               May 4, 2022
 
Council was called to order by President Rich Hollenbach.  Vincent Hill lead devotions.  Minutes of the April regular council meeting was approved as written.
 
Treasurer’s Report: Council reviewed the April 2022 treasurer’s report.  With year-to-date income at $37,459.95 (34%) and operating expenses at $34,118.18 (22%) we have a $3,341.77 surplus.  Vince noted that Grass cutting expense went up from $90 a week to $100 a week, and Rich noted that we will see a decrease in heating costs with warmer months ahead.  All members voted to approve the corrected Treasurer’s Report.
 
President’s Report: Rich reported that Pastor Bruce T. Davis will be our Bridge Pastor through June 2022 and we will review following this term.  He also touched base with our new dean, Pastor Sarah Aasheim from Grace Lutheran Church in Wyndmoor.  They are hopeful that we may get a pastor candidate this month.  The SEPA Synod assembly was this past Saturday.  Finally Rich had lunch with Pastor Mary Konopka who thanked us for the gift we gave her at Christmas.
 
Pastor’s Report:
Pastor Bruce reported in addition to Sunday worship service, he was present at the April Council Meeting, wrote a newsletter for the May Mustard Seed, and led Holy Week Services, and for the first time ever conducted two baptism services via zoom.  It was a productive and fruitful month, and council thanked Pastor Bruce for all his services and sermons.
Ministry Team Reports:
 
*  Call Committee: We are anticipating the possibility of having a new pastoral candidate to interview this upcoming month.
  • Christian Education: Melissa Prunkel proposed sending a letter to the congregation regarding the startup of catechetic classes to see who would like to become a mentor for a student and, in turn, ask the students if they had a particular mentor in mind as they prepare for confirmation.  Rich recommended that we partner with a nearby church for catechetic classes.  He stated that this was on his list to work on.  Gail Achilles noted that our last Sunday school will be May 29, 2022, and our last Whirl Bible Wednesday school will be May 25.  Gail reported that she is diligently praying and working on filling the station and crew leader positions still vacant for Vacation Bible School.  Also, a tech support person would be most appreciated for the week of VBS.  Thanks to all who have stepped up to help with VBS thus far.
  • Communications: Jack Walls reported that he would be working on putting a message on our front sign by May 8.  He said that we still need to update website per Lauren Allegrezza Krupp’s notes, and to advertise 9:30 am (instead of 10:30 am) Sunday Worship Service hours for June, July, and August.
  • Finance: Rich noted that Sharon Hood is reaching out to folks to do an audit. 
  • Fundraising: Scrap Booking in Fellowship Hall – May 13-14. 
  • Health: Tina Hutnyk is available to offer her services one Sunday per month. 
  • Hospitality/Fellowship: Church Picnic, Sunday June 5th following worship service at Spring Valley Park.  (Thrivent will help cover the cost up to $250.)  Council discussed restarting outdoor movies for the congregation and the community.  Movies will restart as soon as the weather permits.
  • Property Team:  Vince informed us that spring cleanup went very well even with a small group of volunteers.  They accomplished a lot.  Lawn cutting will be weekly.  Cost increases to $100 per week - up from $90 per week.
  • Shepherding: Sharon sent a report noting the following:  Easter Cards were sent to our members, college/young adults, and “friends of Faith,” Mother’s Day cards were sent to all mothers, and Father’s Day cards will be sent in June.
  • Social Ministry:  Sharon sent this report:  Our March project to support Lutheran World Relief (LWR) was towels with toiletries wrapped in them.  We ended up with 18 sets to be donated.   Our April project for 141 Impact was to donate money to buy books for their future library. Our total collection was $260.  Fantastic response by our congregation.
  • Stewardship: On Sunday, May 15, Jack will make an announcement to update past giving and offer words of thanks and speak about plans for upcoming months.
  • Worship & Music: Communion will have wine and grape juice on the 1st Sunday of each month.  The worship service moves to 9:30am June 5th through August 28th.  Rich noted that organist, Laura Cooper will be away on May 15th, so the hymns will be on video during that Sunday worship service. 
 
OLD BUSINESS Gail attended the SEPA Synod assembly via zoom on April 30th and updated council on some key issues.  Assembly information for those interested may be found on the following: https://ministrylink.org and https://www.swpasynod.org and the ELCA SEPA synod facebook page.
 
Next Meeting:  Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Will be a hybrid meeting.  Devotions will be led by Sharon.

June 2022 Mustard Seed Notes from the Council Secretary

6/8/2022

 
Hello Church Family,
Pentecost is considered to be a major event among Christians right up there with Christmas and Easter.  The first Pentecost written in the New Testament of the Bible occurred 50 days after Easter.  God’s presence in the form of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus (who was God in human form) foretold the Apostles, came to them and they were given the wisdom to spread God’s good news as they were baptized in the light of all God’s truth.  The Holy Spirit always moving is God’s presence working within us to keep us on His righteous path.  Throughout our life, we are never alone.  We need only reach out for the wisdom and guidance of God’s Spirit to help us talk the talk, walk the walk, and act in His light.  When we do this, our days on earth are joyful and bright. 
    Holy Spirit work through us and thank you for all of God’s promises that cause our hearts to overflow with trust and love for You, our almighty Lord.  We praise God for the many blessings He has given us, and for His unconditional love, grace, and mercy He bestows upon us.  We are humbled and grateful for God’s divine sacrifice of His Son, our Savior, who has redeemed our sins, and His Holy Spirit always moving within us to bring peace to us and to the world.  Thank you Lord in the Name of Jesus.  Amen.
 
Happy Father’s Day to the Dads!   Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the “Dads” in our lives that use Your gift of Fatherhood according to Your will and purpose and to honor You Lord.  Thank you and God Bless them all.  In addition God, we pray to move Your Holy Spirit in the hearts of “lost Dads” in the world to come back to Your path of righteousness and use Your gift of Fatherhood to glorify You Lord.  In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray.  Amen.  
“14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [a]instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NKJV)
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                                                                                                                                                              Your Sister in Christ, Gail Achilles

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