Category: 2022 09 September

September 2022 Mustard Seed - Announcements

8/31/2022

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

At Monumental VBS, which was held August 8 – 12, 2022, we learned that God loves us no matter what; God is with us wherever we go; God is in charge; God is stronger than anything and that God’s love is surprising! We have nothing to fear!

This year we had 26 children, 13 youth volunteers and 16 adult volunteers.
We thank you all for blessing us with your presence this week!

We especially thank Gail Achilles for her enthusiasm, her tenacity in recruiting volunteers and for sharing her love of God with us all. We would not have had a Vacation Bible School this year with Gail.
Thank you!

Monday Night Bible Study will be starting up on Monday, September 19, 2022 at 7pm. This first night they will be meeting at a local restaurant to decide on a topic to study. In the future weeks they will continue to meet on zoom. For more information, please see Gail Achilles. All are welcome!

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church Christian Education Program
Rally Day

You are invited to Rally Day
at Faith Lutheran Church

We will kickstart our Christian education Program at
10:30 am Worship service on Sunday, September 11
Followed by Waffles and an Ice Cream Bar in the
Fellowship Hall
Our Christian Education program for ages 3 to 11 will begin the following Sunday, September 18, 2022
Our teachers are Nancy Gansner, Anna Friedrich, and Gail Achilles
Classes are held during Worship Service in the Church’s Sunday School Room
The children will leave worship service after the Pastor-led children’s sermon and return to worship service before the rite of Holy Communion, and after reflection the teachers will lead the children back to Sunday School until service is over and at that time the children will meet their parents at Fellowship Hall.
Please call the Church office 215-368-0240 or email [email protected] to register your child for Sunday School.
Any questions or comments, contact Gail Achilles, Christian Education Co-Chair by text 267-664-3328 or by email [email protected].
We are looking forward in sharing Jesus’ love and word with your Child(ren).

Proverbs 22:6 ESV Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

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The Lunch Bunch group is starting up again with a new name and new facilitator. The group will now be called the “Golden Girls of Faith” (Golden Men are welcome too!) They will be meeting once a month for lunch, fellowship and prayer at a local restaurant.

They will meet the first Wednesday of the month and will be starting on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

For more information or if you need a ride, please talk to Anna Friedrich. All are welcome!

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Announcement! Announcement!
THE CHOIR IS BACK!
I am so pleased to announce that starting in September, we will be reconvening the choir!!! Unfortunately, in our two-year lapse, we have lost a lot of members. We are looking for fresh faces and happy voices to lift their praise to the Lord on Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings. Practices will begin Tuesday, September 13th at 7PM in the choir room (next to the kitchen.) If you have any questions, please drop me an email at [email protected] or a call at 267-421-9351 and I will be more than happy to convince you why you should join the choir.

Love in Christ, Laura
Laura Cooper, Music Director

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SOCIAL MINISTRY
Lord, when did we see you...?

Here’s the 2022 Social Ministry Calendar. Please be encouraged to participate in those projects which touch your heart! Please contact Sharon Hood or Debbie Hollenbach if you’d like to join this ministry!

September After School Snacks for Manna
   October     Code Blue - Socks, Mittens, Gloves, Scarfs
   November Thanksgiving Food Items for Manna
   December Angel Tree Grocery Cards
                     Martin Luther School under Gemma Services

SHARING “AFTER SCHOOL” SNACKS - MANNA, LANSDALE During the month of September, your Social Ministry Team is asking for your donations of “After School” snacks for these less fortunate children.

Manna has suggested healthy granola bars. These might include Nature Valley, Bel Vita, etc. These need to be individually wrapped.

Please place them in the Barney bin under the coat rack.

Your continued support of our on-going projects is greatly appreciated.
                   In Christ, Sharon Hood, (215) 822-2579

1 Timothy: 6:18 (Paul’s Final Instructions) Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need; always be ready to share with others.

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WAWA Food is back! After over 8 months we are again receiving donations of Wawa food through the Food Donation Connection. We may receive anything from sizzlies, to breakfast burritos, to lunch sandwiches, to muffins, to sweet treats, to hot dogs...anything they didn’t sell the day before and have now frozen. If you are in need of some supplemental food or know of someone who is, please let either Janet Hill in the church office or Dale Foster know and we will make sure you receive some Wawa food.

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Unfortunately our HELPSY bin was removed! The representative from the company tells us that they are expanding into the Mid-West and needed to free up 300 bins. Apparently even though we filled the bin it wasn’t as much as other locations, so Faith’s bin was one of the 300 removed. We are sad to see it go as it not only provided $600 a year for the church but it was good for the environment in that they accepted clothing and shoes in any condition.

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Hatfield Flowers and Gifts ((215) 822-1530) provides Faith with two lovely flower arrangements to adorn our sanctuary.
          You can sign up to sponsor flowers, bulletins or a food basket. The flowers are $35, the bulletins are $10 and the food basket is $25.
          You can dedicate any one of these things to someone special, to celebrate a birthday or in memory of a loved one. You may take the flowers home or they will be given to an ill or homebound member. The $10 for the bulletins is to help cover the cost of making the bulletins and the $25 for the food basket is money donated to “Manna on Main Street” to help feed those in the North Penn area.
          To sign up for a particular Sunday either sign up on the chart on the Foyer bulletin board or call Janet in the church office (215) 368-0240.

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Faith’s Transportation Initiative
If you need a ride to church on Sunday or you are interested in providing a ride to church to someone, please contact Dale Foster.

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Do you shop at Giant?
If you do, you can buy Giant gift cards from the church. A $50 card costs you $50. How does the church make money? Well, when Faith purchases $1,000 worth of cards from Giant, they only charge us $950 (a 5% discount.) So, when we sell those cards to you, the church makes $50. It adds up…

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We are in need of Lectors (reading the lessons and psalm) and Worship Assistants (reading the prayers and few other passages) for our Zoom and in-person worship. If you would like to volunteer or would like more information, please call Anna Friedrich.

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Coffee Hour after Worship on Sundays at Faith
9/4 Congregation Labor Day Coffee Hour
9/11 Rally Day – Waffles and Ice Cream
9/18 Congregation Coffee Hour
9/25 Christian Education – Melissa Prunkel

    Thank you to all those that pitch in to set up and clean up the kitchen on Sundays!

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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

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If you shop at Redner’s, please save your receipts. Anna Friedrich turns them in and the church receives a monetary donation from Redner’s. All you need to do is either bring your receipts to church or call Janet at the church office and someone will come and pick them up. Thank you to those who bring in their receipts and to Anna who does the paperwork to receive this donation!

September 2022 Mustard Seed - Council Notes

8/31/2022

Council Notes August 3,2022

Council was called to order by President Rich Hollenbach. Anne Hutnyk led devotions. Minutes of the June regular council meeting were approved as written.

Treasurer’s Report: Council reviewed the June and July 2022 treasurer’s reports. With year-to-date income at $66,160.11 (61%) and operating expenses at $57,530.04 (37%) we have a $8,630.07 surplus at the end of July 2022. Denise Bailey, Treasurer, reported that net revenue for June was a deficit of $1,200 and some change (Rich remarked that Property insurance of $1,785 was paid out in June adding impacting the deficit) but that we were back in the black for July’s net revenue. All members voted to approve the June 2022 and July 2022 Treasurer’s Reports.

President’s Report: Rich reported that Pastor Bruce’s contract as our Supply Pastor has been extended through September 2022. Rich also reported that he and Gail had a meeting with our Dean, Pastor Sarah on Tuesday, August 2, to discuss the compensation packages for Vicar Ethan Doan, our Pastoral Candidate.

Pastor’s Report: Pastor Bruce Davis said that he was grateful to have had this time with Faith Lutheran Church and was happy for the extension through September 2022. He also remarked that he would be presiding over a dedication for VBS this Sunday, August 7. He stated that he was happy to have had the time off last weekend to have family time to celebrate his 70th birthday.

Ministry Team Reports:

* Call Committee: On June 2, 2022, the Call Committee received the Rostered Minister Profile (RMP) for Vicar Ethan Doan from Pastor Sarah Aasheim, Dean, Lower Montgomery Conference, Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA. Since that date and after reviewing Vicar Ethan Doan’s RMP, the call committee had two (three-hour) interviews one on June 7 and then one on June 22 with Vicar Ethan. After much prayer and discernment, the Call Committee unanimously voted on July 12 to move Pastor Candidate, Vicar Ethan Doan, forward to meet with Church Council. Some of the reasons included that during the time spent with Vicar Ethan, we found his candor and his openness to share and his ability to listen and respond with heartfelt, Jesus-inspired answers and comments very appealing and informative of the kind of Pastor he could and would be. We were also impressed that he asked us some very good questions and, in our back, and forth conversations we could tell that he took the time to get to know us and had read our Ministry Site Profile (MSP) previously. We also enjoyed his sermons and were spiritually fed. Vicar Ethan’s willingness to meet all members of our congregation where we are at with Jesus’ love and understanding, and with respect and dignity, made a big impression on making this decision. He accepted that same day to continue in the process with Faith Lutheran Church. Vicar Ethan Doan met with Church Council on July 27, 2022, and after questions were asked and answered and much conversation, Council voted 8 to 1 to move forward with Vicar Ethan Doan. Vicar Ethan Doan accepted to take the next steps forward to hopefully become Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church. Gail Achilles, Call Committee Chair.

Christian Education: Vacation Bible School 2022 Monumental: Celebrating God’s Greatness (Aug 8 through 12; 9 am to 12 noon). On Sunday, August 7, at the beginning of Worship Service (9:30 am), Pastor Davis will preside over a dedication for our upcoming VBS by joining forces under God of our Volunteers, our Congregation, and the children of our church and in the community, and the service that Jesus, our most Holy Teacher and Servant, calls us to do. We have approximately 30 children enrolled and about 27 volunteers. Thank you for your support!!!

Rally Day will be Sunday, September 11, 2022.  Before September, Missy and Gail will send an email to parents of children ages 3 to 11 to inform them of Rally Day and registering for Sunday School.

Sunday Bible School will start the following Sunday, September 18 during 10:30 worship service after “Children’s Sermon.”  Sunday School Teachers include Anna Friedrich, Nancy Gansner, Anita Halpern when needed, and Gail Achilles.
We have decided to end Wednesday Whirl Bible School on zoom.  Since we have a staff of teachers on board in person for Sunday Bible School, there is no longer a need to offer Wednesday Whirl Bible School on zoom.  We praise God that we could offer these virtual lessons for the past two years.
Monday Night Small Group will reconvene on September 19 to discuss what we would like to study.  New members are always welcome!

Catechetics:  Missy and Gail will be forming a letter to email out to all members of our congregation with children to get the names of those who need instruction for communion and confirmation.  We would like to get catechetics started this fall.

Communications: Jack Walls reported that there have been no updates to our website. He proposed that Rich Hollenbach, Council President, and himself make a video statement before Rally Day to reach out to non-attending members and update them on church happenings. Jack plans to make direct calls to congregational members as well. He will also communicate in all church media that Faith Lutheran Church will be returning to a 10:30 am Worship Service starting on September 4.

Sign – quotations: Jack will have the sign updated by this September, and then change it periodically.

Finance: The Finance Team did not meet this month, but these are the updates. In June of 2022, Giant stopped accepting checks to pay for the Giant Gift Cards that we sell for Fundraising. They will only accept on-line orders that are paid for via credit card. The Fundraising Team has a dedicated account and it is desirable to keep an easy and clean audit trail. Janet Hill applied for and received a debit card from Univest for the Fundraising Account. This will be used to purchase the Giant Gift cards. It will be kept in the safe. Reminder that the Audit Team needs to review our 2021 books. Sharon Hood will be overseeing the 2022 audit this September.

Fundraising: Besides scrapbooking, people need to plan and run with the ideas for fundraising. Vince Hill reported that Dale Foster texted about having an ice cream social on a Saturday afternoon. If we did this some members suggested having a donation jar available. Also, God willing, if we make it to the meet and greet stage for our pastor candidate Vicar Ethan Doan, Missy suggested we have a congregational hoagie sale and take orders prior to the meet and greet and delivery date of hoagies would be the date of the meet and greet. Rich, once he gets a date confirmed will communicate it so the events can be planned.
Hospitality/Fellowship: Anne Hutnyk suggested that during announcements before Sunday worship service, we should announce who is on the list for providing the food for the next Sunday’s fellowship. Anne to coordinate with Janet on this addition to announcements. (Note: food donors for the present week as well as the following week are already listed in the bulletin. Perhaps we should all read the bulletin.)
Mutual Ministry: Will meet with staff in September.
Property Team: Vince Hill reported that they sold 13 SRECs from solar panels for a total of $525.00 which was put in the General Fund.
Social Ministry: Sharon Hood reported that June’s social ministry was collecting Men’s personal items; July was our Sabbath month and August’s social ministry is this year’s VBS Monumental fundraiser “Operation Kid to Kid” to collect funds for Native American children to purchase school supplies. Missy will make an announcement about August social ministry this Sunday, August 7.
Transportation: Linda Kratz reported that Wawa food deliveries have resumed.
Worship & Music: Pastor Bruce agreement through September 2022; Choir will resume in September; Worship Service will move back to 10:30am starting September 4th.

OLD BUSINESS New Copier – Rich reported that the new copier is coming and will be delivered when it comes into the vendor.

NEW BUSINESS

Parking Request: Council had much discussion on a recent request from the Pinetree Ridge Condominium Association to have parking spaces for commercial vehicles. Pinetree already has a standing agreement with Faith Lutheran Church to register resident’s vehicles to assigned parking spots in the back of our parking lot. Council could not agree to commercial vehicles citing that it may take up too many spaces and open to other community requests to park RVs and such. Vince proposed that he will make an amended copy of our current agreement and send it to council for our approval.
Position descriptions: Council voted on the updated position descriptions for the Music Director and Sexton. All council members voted in favor of the updated position descriptions for Music Director and Sexton.
Proposal for Holiday Bazaar: Beth Schoening requested to have the holiday bazaar this year. She has some volunteers lined up. After much discussion, Council felt that our priority is with calling a new pastor and the associated events is enough for the fall and made a counter proposal of a tentative approval for a one-day Spring Fling event in April or May of 2023. Before final approval is given, a complete plan from start to finish and who will be running it must be presented to council by January 2023.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Will be a hybrid meeting. Devotions will be led by Linda.

September Mustard Seed 2022 - A Word from our Pastor

8/31/2022

St. Paul writes: “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:12-17

This September we return from vacations and our Sunday worship returns to 10:30 am to begin a new school year and a new program year together at Faith Church. You also continue your search for a new pastor to lead you in your lives in faith. This is a good time to ask yourself a question posed every morning when you look in the mirror, “who are you?” and more importantly, “whose are you?”

This is the question St. Paul asks in writing the first of two letters to Timothy, his younger partner in ministry. Paul poses the question to Timothy by remembering who he was before the voice of the Risen Jesus stopped him and spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Paul recalls he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence” who had “had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” Paul once thought he was doing God’s will by persecuting Christians. While Paul thought he could save himself by persecuting others he had no need for Jesus. When he finally saw himself as a sinner too, he realized    “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” just like him. Until we see ourselves as sinners, who have separated ourselves from God and from others, we have no need for Jesus to save us.

When Pope Francis was elected in 2013 a reporter asked him who he was and his first response was, “I am a sinner.” We face ourselves as sinners every Sunday when we begin our worship with the confession and forgiveness of our sins. Jesus offers himself to us in Holy Communion saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.” On our own we are lost and lonely sinners but thanks to the grace, mercy, and patient love of Jesus Christ, like Paul and Timothy before us, we are made part of a new creation and members of his living body, the church. So, Paul can begin this portion of his letter to Timothy writing, “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service.” in spite of his past sins. So, we can be grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ who strengthens us, judges us faithful and calls us to his service. We are not just sinners, but beloved children of God called to serve others.

While I was learning to preach at seminary in Philadelphia, I also learned to pray on retreats to Mount Saviour Monastery outside of Elmira NY. It became my spiritual home where I still retreat to pray. They are a small Benedictine community that welcomes everyone, even Lutherans, to share in their work as shepherds and in their discipline of praying the Psalms seven times each day. One of their brothers, David Steindl-Rast has a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell. He delivered a Ted Talk that got millions of views online and created a website: gratefulness.org, based on his simple observation. People are not grateful because they are happy but are happy because they are grateful. People who are grateful for all that God has given them are more likely to be happy even in difficult circumstances.

I am grateful to continue serving as your Bridge Pastor & this September, I encourage you to be grateful like St. Paul, for sharing in the grace, mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ who calls us into the service of God and our neighbors.

Hoping to see you every Sunday.

                                Pastor Bruce +

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September 2022 Mustard Seed - Announcements

September 2022 Mustard Seed - Council Notes

September Mustard Seed 2022 - A Word from our Pastor

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