As there was no Council meeting in July, Council Notes will return in September.
Council Notes
As there was no Council meeting in July, Council Notes will return in September. Christian Radio keeps the faith going
560 AM WFIL -- Christian teaching all day long 88.9 FM WORD -- Contemporary Christian Rock Music 91.7 FM -- A mixture of Bible teaching, traditional music 107.5 FM -- Praise/Gospel Music & Bible teaching 106.9 FM -- KLOVE -- Contemporary Christian Rock Check out bibleproject.com They provide videos, podcasts, Bible study, online classes and more, all for free. They are “helping people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.” Check out their website! Please keep the stamps coming! It’s a continuing need! Thank you for all your contributions. It really helps! 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. 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. Faith will be offering in-person “Monumental” Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday, August 8-12, 2022 from 9am to 12noon. Call the Church Office at 215-368-0240 if you’d like more information. 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. Monday Night Bible Study will be taking a break for the summer and will reconvene in the fall. 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… 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! August VBS Project 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 VBS Project: Operation Kid to Kid: Helping Close to Home There are about 326 Native American reservations in North America. Approximately a million people call these stunning landscapes home. Countless factors have turned many reservations—which often cover vast, remote parts of the continent— into islands of need. For Native Americans living in hardship, even purchasing school supplies for their children can be a struggle. As part of Monumental VBS and for the month of August, our church will take part in Operation Kid-to-Kid™, a mission project that gives us the opportunity to share God’s love in a practical way. We are asking for monetary donations that will be used to purchase items like notebooks, pencils, backpacks, and paper for kids on Native American reservations. With this project, $1 will help supply a child with the school tools needed for a whole school year! Operation Kid-to-Kid is possible through a partnership between Group Publishing VBS programs and World Vision (a Christian international relief organization). All donations will be sent directly to World Vision, who will purchase and then distribute the school supplies to select reservations. Update on our Social Ministry Project for June Thank you very much for your generous contributions of Men’s Hygiene products for Keystone Opportunity Center in honor of Father’s Day! When I dropped them off at the donation center, they were excited because they said that they could use everything! In total we collected 25 bars of soap, 7 deodorants, 11 items related to shaving needs, 2 shampoos, 2 body washes, 20 tubes of toothpaste, 6 toothbrushes, 3 packs of combs, lots of dental floss and 8 miscellaneous products. Thank you to the people of Faith Lutheran Church and a generous neighbor at Little Farms Estates. Debbie Hollenbach 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. 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. If you have any questions, please drop me an email at lacoop2002@yahoo.com 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 Coffee Hour after Worship on Sundays at Faith 8/5 Congregation Coffee Hour 8/12 VBS Leftovers 8/19 Finance Team/Stewardship – Debbie Hollenbach & Jack Walls 8/26 Congregation Coffee Hour Thank you to all those that pitch in to set up and clean up the kitchen on Sundays! Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” Luke 12:22-7031
As temperatures rise through these long days of summer other things are rising if we pause to notice them, the bright orange day lilies that spring up everywhere and the beautiful yellow, black eyed Susans that fill the roadsides and median strips. Too often we drive by too fast to notice. We planted some black eyed Susans by our garage and they’ve spread to cover the whole flower bed. All we had to do was put a few in the ground and now they blossom in all their glory just in time for my birthday on July 31. Preparing to celebrate my 70th birthday with our extended family, I sadly realize how much of those 70 years I’ve spent looking back on the past with regret for things I’ve done or failed to do and looking forward to the future with anxiety about what might happen next. The truth is that I can do nothing about the past and have very little influence on the future. When I retired from full-time ministry seven years ago, the hardest question the financial advisor asked me was, “how long to you plan to live?” We all hope to live as long as we can. But the more important question is how do we fully live all the days God gives us? We can’t deny that we live in anxious times, dealing with political divisions, rising prices, violent crime, the threat of world war, climate change and a still deadly pandemic. But Jesus reminds his first disciples and us today that all of our worry about the future cannot add a single hour to our lives. Our worry and anxiety only keep us from fully living our lives with grateful joy for all the gifts God gives us every new day. The greatest gift of all is knowing how much God loves us. Jesus reminds us, as God clothes the flowers and grass of the field and feeds the birds of the air, of how much more value are you than the birds! God values you more than all the flowers of the field and birds of the air that so delight us. Jesus assures us that God forgives our past sin to free us from regret and promises us an eternal future that frees us from worry, for us to enjoy the gift of this present moment, here and now. So, in the long, hot days of August, I encourage you to begin each morning by opening the gifts God has given you; your eyes, your ears, your hands and hearts to appreciate and to share all that God gives you today. Hoping to see you every Sunday. Summer Blessings! Pastor Bruce + Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” Luke 10:25-28
This has been called Jesus’ creed, two parts of the great commandment that Jesus’ taught and lived; Love God and Love your neighbor. “Do this,” Jesus says, “and you will live.” It sounds so simple, but we can only love God and our neighbors because God first loved us by sending Jesus to live, teach, die, and rise again for us. We experience and understand God’s love more fully in the life of the church in three important steps we take in our journey of faith; Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. Many of us received baptism as infants before we could remember it or have anything to say about it. We baptize infants because we believe that God loves us and welcomes us into the church family from the very beginning before we can do anything for God to love us. In Baptism God also forgives our sins before we know what we are doing wrong. Parents and godparents or sponsors reject sin and confess their faith in God who comes to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, when a baby is baptized. But people can be baptized at any age and confess this faith for themselves. We believe we only need to be baptized once to be forgiven all our sins. But baptism begins a daily, lifelong process of dying to our sins to live new lives as children of God. After Baptism the next step we take is receiving our first Holy Communion, when Jesus welcomes us to the table he shared with his disciples at their last supper. This meal is also a promise of the feast we will share with all God’s saints in heaven. We believe that Jesus is really present for us in holy communion in the earthly elements of bread and wine or juice. We never fully understand the mystery of how Jesus can be present at every communion service, every Sunday all around the world. But we prepare to receive our first holy communion by learning more about how Jesus shares his body and blood with us to make us more fully a part of his living body the church. I didn’t receive communion for the first time until I finished 3 years of confirmation classes. Now we welcome people to share communion at an earlier age when they begin to ask for it. The next but not the last step in our journey of faith is called Confirmation. We usually take this step as teenagers when we prepare to confirm or affirm the faith of our baptism for ourselves. Confirmation allows us to participate more fully in the life of the church by voting at annual meetings and taking on leadership roles. Teenagers usually prepare for confirmation by learning more about the 5 parts of the Small Catechism that Martin Luther wrote for parents to teach their older children by answering their questions about faith. The Catechism teaches us more about the meaning of Baptism, Holy Communion, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and The Apostles’ Creed and how important they are to remember as we continue our journey of faith in the church. While Faith Church has been searching for a new pastor there haven’t been regular classes for students to prepare for First Holy Communion and Confirmation, but the Congregational Council is planning to resume those classes as soon as you call your next pastor. In the meantime, while I’m your Bridge Pastor through this summer, I’ll be glad to talk with you about Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation or any other questions you may have about our life together, in Faith. Enjoy a blessed, restful and refreshing July, Pastor Bruce + Faith will be offering in-person “Monumental” Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday, August 8-12, 2022 from 9am to 12noon. Parents and caregivers can sign their children up by going to our website www.faithmontgomeryville.org and clicking on the Vacation Bible School tab. Christian Radio keeps the faith going 560 AM WFIL -- Christian teaching all day long 88.9 FM WORD -- Contemporary Christian Rock Music 91.7 FM -- A mixture of Bible teaching, traditional music 107.5 FM -- Praise/Gospel Music & Bible teaching 106.9 FM -- KLOVE -- Contemporary Christian Rock Check out bibleproject.com They provide videos, podcasts, Bible study, online classes and more, all for free. They are “helping people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.” Check out their website! Please continue to fill the HELPSY bin! When cleaning out your closets please fill the blue Helpsy bin at the end of our parking lot with used clothing and shoes (IN ANY CONDITION.) Faith receives $600 annually from this community outreach. Please keep the stamps coming! It’s a continuing need! Thank you for all your contributions. It really helps! 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. 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… 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. 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. We have flyers to pass out if you know of children that might be interested in attending. Parents and caregivers can sign their children up by going to our website www.faithmontgomeryville.org and clicking on the Vacation Bible School tab. If you’d like to help, please contact Gail Achilles. Lord, when did we see you...? July is our Sabbath Month. Look for a new Social Ministry project in August. Council Notes June 1, 2022
Council was called to order by President Rich Hollenbach. Sharon Hood lead devotions. Minutes of the May regular council meeting was approved as written. Treasurer’s Report: Council reviewed the May 2022 treasurer’s report. With year-to-date income at $46,717.27 (43%) and operating expenses at $41,249.14 (26%) we have a $5,468.13 surplus. There was a previous plan of action that if general funds hit $20,000 that we would put $10,000 in a moderate consolidation, but Rich pointed out that because of the current market situation that it would not be wise to take that action at this time. All members voted to approve the May Treasurer’s Report. President’s Report: Rich reported that Pastor Bruce Davis will be our Bridge Pastor through June 2022 and we will review in Old Business. Rich has sent a few emails to our new Dean but have not had a response yet on a few questions from last meeting. Over the next few council meetings, we will be reviewing and approving several documents including our Computer Acceptable Use Policy, staff job descriptions and our updated constitution. Rich will be in Peru from June 10th through the 19th, Jack will be in charge. Coffee hour on June 19th is hosted by council (Father’s Day Communion Breakfast), Anne will help coordinate. Pastor’s Report: Pastor Bruce put in his time for Worship, Council meeting, and Mustard Seed Message. Pastor Bruce announced that he would be more than willing to continue as Bridge Pastor after the month of June (except he needs July 31st off.) Note: this is discussed further in “Old Business” of this month’s minutes. Pastor Bruce also brought up having Communion/Confirmation information (reading material, videos, Pastor Bruce even volunteered his involvement via zoom of course) for instruction for the children who are of age for communion/confirmation. Missy asked Pastor if he could outline this information and steps of instruction, and Pastor Bruce responded “Yes” and that he will add this to his next Mustard Seed newsletter. When Pastor Davis asked at what age the children of Faith generally receive their first communion, Missy replied that Pastor G (former bridge pastor) pushed for a child receiving Holy Communion when they were asking to receive. Pastor and Rich pointed out that steps should be taken to prepare a child ahead of time with instruction and their parents should play a part in helping with that instruction and join their child in taking their Fist Holy Communion as a family. Ministry Team Reports: * Call Committee: Sadly, Carol Taylor as of June 1, 2022, has resigned from the call committee for personal reasons. Adam Feldman is replacing David Bonthu on the committee making a total of 6 members presently. They are Nancy Allegrezza, Adam Feldman, Anita Halpern, Rich Hollenbach, Jack Walls, and Gail Achilles. Sent an email May 31, 2022, to Pastor Sarah Aasheim asking if there were any candidates for pastor coming our way to interview; I told her we are praying fervently for a pastor according to God’s will and timing. No response as of this date. Rich informed us that he reported to Pastor Sarah that Adam will replace David on the Call Committee.
OLD BUSINESS New Copier – still waiting for new copier (first one came in damaged); new copier company will buy out old copier contract. Bridge Pastor Agreement – Pastor Bruce agreed to sign a new contract for the months of July (needs supply pastor for July 31st), August, and September 2022. Council members told Pastor Bruce that they were grateful for his service. Rich will work on paperwork and attain required signatures. NEW BUSINESS
Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Will be a hybrid meeting. Devotions will be led by Anne. Hello Church Family, This month we all come together as one in America to celebrate the birth of our Nation. Happy Fourth of July! We will enjoy the family and friend festivities and watching the fireworks light up the night sky in colorful brilliance. Many will fly the American flag proudly and have fun listening and singing patriotic songs. We will also remember with heartfelt gratitude our veterans who fought bravely and the current day soldiers who still fight to keep our land safe, peaceful, and free.
As Christians we know we are so blessed by the One, the I Am, our Creator, for the freedom that we have in America. All the glory goes to God! God who gave all humankind His love, His peace and freedom to live on His earth, and one day we will stand before our Maker hopefully to live eternally in Heaven made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection. Therefore, we must, as our ancestors before us spread God’s truth so that we may bring love, peace, and freedom to all in the World! God tells us how to do this through His Word. Is it easy? NO! Was it easy for Christians of our past and is it easy for Christians today? NO! Matthew 5:10-12 (NIV) tells us--“10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We Believers of course do not want to be persecuted spreading God’s love to all humankind including our enemies (“44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Matthew 5:44, NIV), but we are commissioned (read the Great Commission in Matthew 28: 16-20) to put on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), fight evil, and spread His Word with love. We are not alone in this mission. God, Immanuel, is with us always! As Americans, one Nation under God, we realize we would not be enjoying the freedoms that we enjoy today if no one had fought so bravely for those rights. Let us as Christian soldiers stand up and fight for One World under God, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen! Your Sister in Christ, Gail Achilles, Call Committee Chair and Council Secretary “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 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 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.
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. |
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