A Place of Grace. All are Welcome. · ta by young Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. His “Sunrise Mass” will be present-ed in 4 movements by the sanctuary choir, accompanied by strings

February/March 2015

Lent and Holy Week

WWW . A P L C . O R G

ABIDING PRESENCE LUTHERAN CHURCHABIDING PRESENCE LUTHERAN CHURCHABIDING PRESENCE LUTHERAN CHURCHABIDING PRESENCE LUTHERAN CHURCH

A P l a c e o f G r a c e . A l l a r e W e l c o m e .

Mission Partner–

St. PJ’s Children’s Home Feb 1

New Member

Orientation begins Feb 1

Legacy Journey—

Dave Ramsey class begins Feb 8

First Communion

Instruction Feb 11

Shrove Tuesday

Pancake Supper Feb 17

ASH WEDNESDAY Feb 18

Women’s Retreat Feb

20-22

Midweek Lenten

Worship and Meals begin Feb 25

Mission Partner—Lutheran World Relief

Mar 1

Family Lenten Retreat Mar

20-22

Palm Sunday Mar 29

M a r k Y o u r C a l e n d a r s

Tree of Life and awesome myst’ry, in your death we are reborn;

Though you die in all of hist’ry, still you rise with every morn, Still you rise with every morn!

Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery-A Lenten hymn; a Season’s theme. Each tree is an every day miracle! With leaves that use the energy of light to change water & car-

bon dioxide into sugar & deliciously breathable oxygen and with branches that gracefully lift

tons, and with roots that gently split rock -- a tree is a fact of strength and life.

No wonder that a tree serves as symbol in so many ways in scripture.

The tree of life in Genesis is a symbol of God’s command. The tree of life in Proverbs is a symbol

of true worth and wisdom. The tree in Ezekiel is a symbol of God’s power to surprise. The tree in

the Gospel according to Mark is really just a bush and a symbol of hidden grace. The tree in

Paul’s letters is the awesome mystery of the Cross that gives life to the world.

One evening last spring as we were eating a very late supper, Jim and I heard a strange sound. It

wasn’t a crash. It was more of a soft crunch. We looked around outside but it was dark and we

couldn’t find the source of the sound. But in the morning sunlight, we saw. A tree that stood next

to the house had let go of the ground and leaned gently into the wall. Almost no damage to the

wall but a loss for us. The tree had to be cut down, taking its shade and its lovely leaves and inter-

esting branches with it. How we miss it.

The Tree of Life that is the Cross of Christ with healing in its leaves will never let go. It is planted

in the ground of God’s grace! This TREE is for life, for new life, for always.

The tree will be a symbol for us during Lent 2015. Our midweek worship will focus on texts that

use the symbol of a tree to express the depths and challenges of the life of faith. We will become

mindful of the strength that is in the trees that surround us. In weekend worship we will be

opened to the power of the Gospel’s invitation to repent. We will be readied for the Gospel’s

awesome mystery in the promise of new life.

Peace

Pastor Dawn

Light of life beyond conceiving, mighty Spirit of our Lord;

Give new strength to our believing, give us faith to live your word.

Give us faith to live your word.

(ELW #334, Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery)

Come and worship in this Season of Lent. Read more in this newslet-

ter about the many opportunities, both Sundays and midweek,

to hear the good news in God’s Word.

Responding to God’s gift

of grace in Jesus Christ

and energized by the

Holy Spirit we

Invite,

Serve,

Worship,

Give, and

Grow in Faith.

Page 2 A B I D I N G P R E S E N C E

December 1973, in Friendswood, Texas, my mother and father

walked up the aisle of a small Lutheran church and presented me,

only 5 weeks old at the time, for the sacrament of Baptism. My God-parents, Clark and Judy, were there and they would show up

time and again throughout my life. I wasn’t able to understand

what was going on, and the crazy thing is my parents didn’t either.

They knew that you were supposed to baptize your child; it was

the right thing to do. They had no clue that something mysterious

was going on in the water and the Word.

October 1988, in Alvin, Texas, Pastor Kling handed me a certifi-

cate that said, “In the rite of Confirmation, Steven Cox has borne witness to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” I was pretty sure I had not

borne witness to anything. Pastor Kling told me this was the time

when I “confirmed” the promises made by Mom, Dad, Clark and

Judy at my baptism. I had memorized long creeds, prayers, and

what some old fella named Luther thought about them, but in all

honesty, I was pre-occupied with sports, music, and girls. I had no

idea that something mysterious was going on in the water and the

Word.

May 2006 in Austin, Texas and again January 2010 in Burton,

Texas, Becca and I brought our children forward to the font. We

watched as Grandpa poured water over the head of Elisia. We

stood there with her sponsors and made the same promises that

Mom and Dad made 33 years earlier. I was blessed to baptize

Sam. We made the same promises and I began to feel that some-

thing mysterious was going on in the water and the Word.

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus

also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was

opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily

form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are

my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. Luke 3:21-22

Emerging from the waters of the Jordan, Jesus experiences an all

embracing oneness with God and is called beloved. The love be-

tween Jesus and God is the driving force of his life, and is made

known through his self-giving ministry of reconciliation. His bap-

tism set his ministry in motion, opened his heart to the world

around him and compelled him to move, drawing others towards

God. In the end this passionate desire to bring all things together, breaking down walls that divide, leads him to the cross.

January 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, a child who portrayed Jesus

in the Family Christmas Eve worship service comes to the font.

This child is bound together with me, with my children, with you,

with Christ, the risen Lord who lives his life of reconciling love in

and through us. God’s love becomes embodied in us. Baptism is

God’s act before it is ever our own. God draws us in regardless of

our differences, into the similarity that is a new relationship unit-ing us beyond time and space. Something mys-

terious happens in the water and the Word; in

Christ we have all been made one. Living this

way…well that is difficult because it leads to a

cross.

Celebrating the awesome mystery of baptism

with you,

Pastor Steve

BAPTISM – AN AWESOME MYSTERY

Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery,

In your death we are reborn;

Though you die in all of hist’ry,

Still you rise with ev’ry morn,

Still you rise with ev’ry morn.

“Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery”

Our theme for Lent is expressed in beauti-

ful music and poetry by Marty Haugen in

hymn 334 in the ELW. Each Sunday in

Lent we will sing a different stanza of this

hymn as we journey closer to the cross. On

Wednesday evenings, we will sing Marty

Haugen’s Holden Evening Prayer, as we

reflect on Jesus, our “Tree of Life.”

Our Holy Week observance will start off

with Palm Sunday festival worship, featur-

ing our Cherubs and Children’s Chorus,

leading us joyfully into the sanctuary as we

greet Jesus on his way to the cross. Allen

Pote’s festive anthem, “Hosanna in the

Highest” will be offered by children and

adults combined. After the Passion reading

from the Gospel of Mark, the service will

close with congregation and choirs joining

in a setting of Gerald Patrick Coleman’s

hymn, The Lamb.

Maundy Thursday foot washing service

will feature the Youth Choir singing “Come

to Jesus,” by Chris Rice and Patti Drenan,

as we remember Jesus’ love and service to

his disciples, symbolized through the

washing of feet.

Good Friday worship will be a traditional

Tenebrae service with a special new canta-

ta by young Norwegian composer Ola

Gjeilo. His “Sunrise Mass” will be present-

ed in 4 movements by the sanctuary choir,

accompanied by strings. As the lights are

dimmed, we sink deeper into the reality of

the cross, knowing that we can be at peace,

because Christ sacrificed himself for us.

Easter Festival worship will feature San

Antonio Brass, Sanctuary Choir, and Bells

of Praise, leading us in hymn favorites,

including Now the Green Blade Rises,

Thine is the Glory, and Jesus Christ is Ris-

en Today.

As we begin our Lenten journey together, I

give you as a blessing another verse from

Marty Haugen’s hymn,

In our call to be a blessing,

May we be a blessing true;

May we live and die confessing

Christ as Lord of all we do.

Christ as Lord of all we do.

Shelbie Simmons, Minister of Music

CELEBRATING LENT AND HOLY WEEK IN MUS IC


WE SERVE …

February Mission Partner—

St. PJ’s Children’s Home

St. Peter - St. Joseph Children's Home, affec-

tionately known as St. PJ's, serves the needs

of children and families by providing a safe,

nurturing community to heal body, mind and

spirit, shape successful adults, and break the cycle of abuse and neglect.

St PJ's offers emergency shelter services, foster and adoption

care, transitional living support, and community counseling and

outreach to help children and families in crisis. Up to 140 chil-dren live at the main campus South of downtown San Antonio,

with dozens more in foster care.

St. PJ's 14-Day Model of Healing treats children's mental and

physical health with equal urgency and provides a customized treatment plan to help each child heal from the abuse or neglect.

Goals are identified for each child focusing on sensory integra-

tion, self-regulation, and cognition. These goals form the basis of

each child's daily care and activities whether the child remains

with the biological family, lives on campus, or is in foster care.

Come and learn more about how you can help change the pattern

for even one young person caught in the cycle by volunteering

your time or making a financial gift. Curtis Ruder, CFO of St.

PJ’s will share more information during worship on the weekend

of February 1st.

March Mission Partner—

Lutheran World Relief

Each year we look forward to the

weekend when the APLC Quilters

group displays all the work they’ve accomplished. This year that

will be March 1st. Come and see all the beautiful quilts and par-

ticipate in the prayers of dedication for these gifts of love to reach a person in need.

Financial gifts received that weekend for LWR will help with re-

plenishment of quilting supplies such as thread and batting AND

the LWR Shipping Fund.

Each year the group also hosts a “Packing Party” inviting all who

can to come sort and pack all the donations that go into each

School Kit and Personal Care Kit, then pack all the completed

kits and quilts into shipping boxes to send off to Lutheran World Relief. Mark your calendars and plan to come help on Tuesday,

March 17 from 10:00—noon.

The Theology of the Name Tag

When you look at the heart of the church you see a relation-

ship. It is a relationship with God made manifest by being in

relationships with each other. One way Abiding Presence

seeks to nurture this relationship is through a tiny white label

with your name pre-printed on it. This means that on any

given weekend the people who gather to worship and praise

God’s name, will know each other’s names as well.

But there is so much more a simple name tag can do. When

you take your name tag from the kiosk outside of worship we

are able to see who is here and greet each other by name. This

is important ministry. Even more important ministry is being

able to see who is not here. We can then reach out to those

who may be sick or hospitalized, may need the relationship re-

established, or may have moved on to nurture their relation-

ship elsewhere.

We are all in a relationship with God who calls us to be in rela-

tionships with each other. Each relationship can grow deeper

just by knowing each other’s names. Each relationship can

experience forgiveness, grace, and mercy just by taking a sim-

ple white label with your pre-printed name on it. Each rela-

tionship matters and it begins with a name…Child of God.

Thanks for wearing your name tag.

Steve Cox

Texas Impact—People of faith working for justice

Do you wonder why our Texas legislators sometimes don’t understand issues of importance to Lutherans? Would you like to help them understand those issues? Here is an oppor-tunity to learn more and help impact the legislative process. Mark your calendars for a program to be held at

Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Austin, TX

February 15-17

Sponsored by Poverty & Justice Task Force of ELCA SWT Synod

The three day program planned by Texas Impact will include discussion on current legislative issues such as: education, water, criminal justice, immigration, health care, and payday lending. The complete agenda is available on flyers in the nar-thex. For more information on how you can be involved with the Poverty & Justice Task Force, contact APLC member Jim Sorensen by email at [email protected].


WE GROW IN FAITH

ADULT FAITH FORMATION

Wednesday Night Coed Bible Study The group is studying the Gospel of Mark… and John and Luke and seeing how the Gospels work together proclaiming Jesus as the fulfillment of scriptural promises. 7:00 pm in room 206. Come early for pizza and salad dinner and fellowship in the gym. Reading and Discussion Group Interesting and lively conversation and fellowship is enjoyed on the fourth Tuesday evening as this group explores a variety of topics and reading materials. February 24

& March 24 7:00 pm in room 206. Contact Pastor Dawn for monthly reading assign-ment. Adults in the Corner Sunday School Each Sunday morning at 10:00 in room 6B discussion of scripture for the week and other topics. Women’s Monthly Bible Studies Two groups of ladies meet on a monthly schedule for Bible study and fellowship. Both groups use the study materials from the Lutheran women’s magazine, Gather. We have several extra copies of the maga-

zine in the church office. Come and pick up a copy from the information kiosk by the receptionist’s desk. Grace Circle—First Thursday morning of each month at 10 a.m. in room 206. Mark your calendars for February 5 and March 5. Contact Judy Kibler with any questions 830-336-3718. Joy Bible Study—Third Tuesday evening of each month at 7:00 p.m. in room 206. Mark your calendars for Febuary 17 & March 17. Contact Barb Fitzgerald with any questions 210-490-4639.

Sunday School Offerings by Becca Cox

Our Sunday School students have been working since Rally Day in September to raise money for a donation to God’s Global Barnyard, a part of the ELCA’s Good Gifts program. Donations to God’s Global Barnyard are used to purchase farm animals for people around the world who are living in poverty.

I am pleased to announce that through the end of December we have raised enough money to buy a goat! Goats are some of the most resilient of the domesticated animals which makes them great to raise in difficult climates. They provide milk for hun-gry families and when they reproduce their offspring can be shared with family or friends. This goat will be an amazing gift for a family somewhere in the world and it was paid for mostly in pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Thank you God for our beautiful children who have so much to teach us.

Students are encouraged to continue collecting through the end of this school year. If any child of the congregation would like a special barn shaped bank to collect money for this cause please see Becca Cox. When you are ready to turn in your donation, bring it to Sunday School and find Becca Cox.

What will we give someone next? A pig for $30? A sheep for $125? It will be exciting to see what our children will be able to do during the rest of the Sunday School year.

3rd – 5th Grade Youth Fellowship Group This group gathers monthly for times of fun, fellowship and

community service. From Mini-golf to memorizing a prayer to

making sandwiches – each event is designed to give children

an opportunity to grow in their relationship with Christ and in

their friendships with one another. Family and friends are

encouraged and invited to attend. What better way for a young

person to share their faith than show their friends why church

is such an important part of his or her life. Come have fun.

Next Up—Miniature Golf, Feb 8, 2-4pm Embassy Golf

WATER! River of Life

Lenten Family Retreat

March 20-22, 2015

As we gather beside the Frio River, the peace of this tranquil wa-

ter will refresh our spirits. We’ll hear God’s word granting the gift

of water and guiding us in its use. We’ll learn surprising things

about the amazing system of caverns, plateaus, canyons and creek

beds that yields water to the Frio.

We will be beside the water for our meals and in the river to play.

Each family will make a rain gauge to take home. There will be

games and quiet times, hikes and shared devotions, and plenty of

free time to fish (bring your pole), read (bring your book), hike

(bring your compass) and enjoy.

We will come away with a renewed reverence for the water we

depend on and with a deeper understanding of what our steward-

ship of water means for today and for the future.

Water is the element that combines with God’s promise in the

once-in-a-lifetime sacrament of baptism. But water is part of eve-

ry day, too. We drink it, wash with it, play in it and talk about it.

We pray about water, conserve water, use water to grow our food

and we legislate its use. Come, share this weekend appreciating

God’s gift of water with your APLC faith family!

The retreat site is Linnet’s Wings, a bunk-house style camp site at

HEB Foundation Camp. Our stay for the weekend is free of

charge and, this year, meals and snacks will be provided.

(You are welcome to bring extra food for your family if you have

allergies or specific food needs.)

REGISTER ON THE CHURCH WEBSITE By March 5

Come to the River!

Mark your calendars

Vacation Bible School June 22-26


Tuesday, February 17

6:00—7:30 pm

The APLC’s middle and high school youth host this event every year as a fundraiser to help offset costs of confirmation summer camp at Camp Chrysa-lis. We are planning to send twenty of our middle school youth to camp in June. It is a week full of faith building experiences. The cost of camp this year is $375 per person, so please come and give generously. Each donation helps reduce that per person cost. The high school youth will cook the meal while our middle school youth will serve everyone that attends. The dinner menu includes pan-cakes, sausage, drinks and cookies. Please come and support our young people and splurge one last time on some delicious foods before the season of Lent begins.

Read on about turning palm branches into ashes—Pastor Dawn and several youth will lead prayers as we prepare ashes to be used the following day for Ash Wednesday worship.

APLC YOUTH MINISTRY

Lent begins with the words, “Remember

that you are dust, and to dust you shall

return.” With a cross made of ashes and a

dirty forehead we begin our 40 day journey

to the empty tomb. We do it every year,

but do you know why and where these ash-

es come from?

Ashes were used in ancient days to express

grief, sorrow, and repentance for sins and

faults. People would place ashes on them-

selves as an act of preparation for praise,

worship, and even war. Ashes have been a

part of our faith tradition from the days of

the Old Testament.

On the day of Jesus’ triumphant entrance

into Jerusalem the people rejoiced and

celebrated by waving palm fronds with no

idea he was riding into town to die for their

sins. This day came to be known as Palm

Sunday and we wave palm branches to help

us remember.

Around the 8th century Christians began

burning palm branches from the previous

Palm Sunday to make ashes for people to

wear in preparation for the Lenten journey.

Making ashes from the palms is a reminder

that we not only rejoice in Jesus’ coming,

but also in why he came.

We will return to the dust. What we do

until then is live our lives as a reflection of

the hope that is the Good News of Jesus.

There is an empty tomb. Christ will come

again.

WOMEN OF APLC—SIGN UP NOW

February 20-22 Spring Retreat at Camp Chrysalis

What will we do? We’ll have FREE time to walk, read, or rest. We’ll listen, think, talk and share with other sisters in Christ of all ag-es. We’ll spend time with friends we already know, and with friends-to-be. We will worship together, pray for one another and return to our homes with new connections: to God and to each other. What will we not do? We will not have a too full agenda. We will not cook or do dishes. We will not make beds, clean houses or children. (Isn’t that reason enough to attend?) We will not have workbooks to study or homework to leave with. What will it cost? $115.00 covers lodging and meals for the weekend. Pick up a brochure and SIGN UP by February 9. Or Register on the church website.

relax

refresh

renew

aplc

women’s

retreat

DID YOU KNOW—From Pa lm Branches to Ashes

Making Ashes Come and join in prayer as we practice

an ancient tradition of turning palm

branches into ashes for

Ash Wednesday worship.

6:30 pm—Tuesday, February 17

In the Outdoor Chapel area


CHECK IT OUT—APLC LIBRARY by Pat Bjornson

Lent begins this month. We often give up

– or try to – something during the Lenten

season. This year, why not give up a bit of

your time each day and read a chapter or

two in one of our library’s books about

Lent or Holy Week?

Reliving the Passion by Walter

Wangerin, Jr. is a wonderful book of medi-

tations based on the Gospel Mark. Marilyn

Oden’s Wilderness Wanderings is

about self-examination and spiritual re-

newal. Another good book of meditations

is Death on a Friday Afternoon by

Richard Neuhaus. Each chapter is a medi-

tation on one of the last words of Jesus

from the cross.

Max Lucado’s books are always good to

read; try And the Angels Were Silent,

The Final Week of Jesus, No Wonder

They Call Him Savior, or He Chose

the Nails. We have large print copies of

some of these. He Chose You is an adap-

tation for teens of He Chose the Nails.

Young children might enjoy Brian

Wildsmith’s Easter Story, Walter

Wangerin’s Peter’s First Easter and

Paul Maier’s Very First Easter.

These books and several other similar

books, along with children’s Easter DVDs,

are on the APLC book cart, located near

the church offices, during Lent and Easter.

Still others can be found in our library.

We hope you will keep one of our teachers, Cookie Lee, Assistant

Teacher for the PreK-2’s class in your prayers! Cookie fell and

fractured her skull over the holidays. We are not sure when Cook-

ie can return to work – but with all of our prayers – we hope it

will be soon! Cookie is a HUGE Spurs fan; so the children of the

Day School honored both her and the Spurs by wearing Spurs

colors and shirts!

Our Annual Silent Auction and Family Night is fast approaching!

Come and support the school and have a delicious catered meal

and a chance at some great silent auction items! It is heartwarm-

ing to see all the fun and fellowship among families of the Day

School and APLC church members! Tickets will be on sale the

weekends of February 21 & 22, 28 & 29.

PreK-2’s News

December was a busy time in the PreK-2 classroom. The

children felt the holiday spirit as they made surprise gifts

for their families, painted and decorated trees for the

classroom, and painted with real pine needles.

We will focus on a few new topics this month. We will be

turning our Dramatic Play Center into a PreK-2 Hair Salon

for January with smocks, a hair dryer, pretend scissors,

and empty shampoo bottles. We will also be exploring

and experimenting with balls and things that roll. We will

make sand balls with ice cream scoops and kinetic sand

and melon balls with melon ballers; roll different size and

weight balls down wooden ramps and in paint on paper;

use multi-wheeled vehicles and cylindrical blocks; wash

balls, weigh balls, count balls and sort balls; explore dif-

ferent ways to make balls move and read and sing about

balls. We will also have a visit from the Zoo Man and en-

joy a Trail Riders’ Breakfast.

PreK-4’s News

Welcome Back! We will spend some time this first week

back, discussing the “New Year” in relation to time and

create some classroom resolutions. The children will ex-

plore the season of winter in typical areas, with snow and

ice. We will learn which animals like snow and compare

mittens and gloves. Nursery rhymes and folk tales will be

the focus for the second half of January. Using hand mo-

tions will help us retell and reenact the rhymes and sto-

ries. Our class will begin joining the other 4’s class for a

Spanish circle time with Ms. Kleinert on Fridays. A shared

bilingual bulletin board between the 2s and 3s class fur-

ther down the hallway will be coming to share what we

are learning.

APLC DAY SCHOOL NEWS


APLC Staff

Steven J. Cox

Pastor

Dawn Silvius

Pastor

Dr. Shelbie Simmons

Minister of Music

Sandy Musk

Music Associate

Mike Ceyanes

Minister of Youth

Sue Evans

Business Manager

Gaye Hank

Communications Manager

Frances Harrelson

Day School Director

Executive Council

Michael Guerrero

Executive Director

Curtis Ruder

Assistant Executive Director

Cori Rodriguez

Secretary

Roger Schievelbein

Treasurer

Ministry Action Teams

INVITE

Sandy Liwang

Evangelism

SERVE

Linda Janszen

Care and Nurture

WORSHIP

Jordan & Sigrid Stern

Worship, Arts, & Music

GIVE

Steven Hart

Stewardship

GROW IN FAITH

Becca Cox

Faith Formation

CH

UR

CH

L

EA

DE

RS

HI

P “Finish strong” is a phrase often heard when coaching a runner, a college student prior to

finals, even singers and speech givers. But that’s what faithful givers of Abiding Presence did in December. After many months of not only being well under budgeted giving but also in the hole with actual giving versus expenses, donations received in the last days of the month lifted us out of the hole and even resulted in a small surplus based on actual numbers. WOW! It was a strong finish.

While 2014 monthly financial statements caused much anxiety for most of those who serve on the executive council and as staff, there were also several signs of growth. Dur-ing the September Stewardship drive more households pledged (148 out of 416) giving amount totals greater than in our three previous years. Pledges designated to the build-ing fund will cover the mortgage payments and allow us to replenish the major repairs account so we’ll be ready when it’s 100 degrees but the AC units are not. The percentage of giving received from regular online donations is at an all time high of nearly 40%. In July we celebrated having paid off over $1 million of the mortgage debt incurred back in 2004 leaving APLC with debt of less than $700,000. ($673,414 as of 12-31-14)

We also recorded higher average worship attendance numbers in 2014 than in the previ-ous two years. Small groups are growing from Bible studies to dinner groups, music en-sembles, ramp builders, even our men’s softball is looking at the potential of two teams. The Abiding Presence campus is busy every day of the week from Sunday morning break-fast to Wednesday pizza dinner to Friday volunteers. People are gathering in many ways , new relationships are being formed in faith and fellowship.

Grateful for God’s grace evident here, your Executive Council and church staff prayerfully made plans for 2015. Each Ministry Action Team was asked to consider all the ministries of this place—current and hoped for. Each Ministry Action Team, the property board, and Business Manager were asked to look at historical actual expenses and provide realis-tic budgets to continue and grow those ministries in 2015. While the Personnel Commit-tee encouraged salary increases for staff, the leadership agreed there was not room in a 2015 budget for the increase. At least not initially.

The 2015 budget proposed and approved at the Annual Congregational Meeting on Janu-ary 25 is the result of many hours of faithful attention to where we are as a faith commu-nity and the ministries we will provide through the commitments of our membership. This budget and actual results will be reviewed by those in leadership who love spread-sheets and numbers and the congregation will hear updates at the Business Quarterly meetings in April, July and October. Each month there will be updated information post-ed in the weekly take home announcements. There will be a congregational meeting in May for the purpose of electing new Executive Council leadership and reviewing possible staff salary increases.

The 2015 budget, while grounded in faithfully pledged giving, remains a faith based work-ing plan. As our treasurer, Roger Schievelbein, said in the annual report, “Challenges await us in meeting that budget. So again, we have the opportunity to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.”

Your Executive Council and your church staff look forward to another year of growth in faithful discipleship in this place of grace where all are welcome. Welcome to live and grow in relationship with God and with one another as we invite, serve, worship, give, and grow in faith in this community called Abiding Presence.

May blessings abound in this new year. Gaye Hank, Communications Manager

2015 NEW YEAR NOTES

End of Year Tax Statements End of year giving statements are available on the church website: www.aplc.org.

Login to MyAPLC. On your overview screen, select My Giving History. Your giving for

the current year displays. In the date drop down, select 2014 to display last year’s giving.

Click on the PDF Tax Statement button to print your giving statement.

If you do not have access to the church website, please call the office. A printed state-

ment will be made available to you.

Nonprofit Org. U.S.

Postage PAID

San Antonio, Texas

Permit No. 653

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

14700 San Pedro Avenue

San Antonio, Texas 78232

210-494-8884 www.aplc.org Feb/Mar 2015

Worship Times

Sunday 8:30 & 11:00 am Breakfast 8:00—10:30 Saturday 5:30 pm

New Worship Opportunities Coming in Lent

This time of year folks start talking about giving up something for Lent. How about

adding something to your faith life. This year Abiding Presence is offering two new

worship opportunities to broaden your Lenten Discipline.

New this year is Wednesday noon worship followed by a 12:30 Bible study.

Bring your brown bag lunch & a Bible and join in meditation on the mid-week scrip-

ture texts that describe God’s mighty grace by comparing it to the gifts of growth

and shelter provided by the seeds and the trees of the earth. We’ll also still have

Wednesday evening worship and meal.

“Three In One” - The sun sets and rises three times during the event that sends

Jesus from the supper table, to the prayer garden, to trial, to execution on the cross,

to the tomb. Christians mark this event in a single worship service that begins on

Maundy Thursday, continues on Good Friday and culminates at Easter Vigil on Sat-

urday evening.

On Maundy Thursday, we are invited to share in foot washing and Holy Commun-

ion. We leave the communion Table in silence and darkness this night. We return

on Good Friday to meditate on Christ’s Passion in word and music. Again, we depart

in silence.

New this year, we gather the third time to ‘keep watch’ at the Easter Vigil service.

During the Vigil we hear the ancient and never-ending story of God’s mighty grace,

sustaining God’s people throughout history until the crowning moment: the angel

proclaims “Christ is Risen!” The one worship service that continues over 3 days

culminates with complete joy!

Along with ‘giving up’ something this Lenten season, ‘add in’ to your faith practices,

too! Plan to take part in The Three Days of worship.

The Season of Lent

Worship and Fellowship

Shrove Tuesday

Pancake Supper — February 17 6:00—7:30 pm in the gym.

Ash Wednesday — February 18

Two worship opportunities

12:15 and 7:00 pm

Both worship times include imposition of

ashes and Holy Communion.

Midweek Lenten Worship and Meals

Wednesdays, beginning February 25.

12:00 noon Worship

12:30 Brown bag Bible study.

7:00 pm Worship.

Soup and sandwich suppers served prior

to worship from 5:30—7:00.

The Three Days

Maundy Thursday, April 2—7:00 pm

Good Friday, April 3—7:00 pm

Easter Vigil, April 4—5:30 pm

Documents

A Place of Grace. All are Welcome. · ta by young Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. His “Sunrise Mass” will be present-ed in 4 movements by the sanctuary choir, accompanied by strings