Hope Lutheran Church July 2015

Celebrate Your Dependence on God!

Americans have always been proud of their independence.

Our American West was discovered, explored and settled

based on this principle – I can and will do it on my own.

However, as believers in the one true God of the Bible, we

believe that God created us to be dependent, not just upon

Him, but upon one another as well. We are not clones of

one another, but uniquely formed and shaped with different skills, gifts and passions. And we are

different so we can rely on one another. And when we do, that is work together for the common

good – great things can and do happen.

But we must never forget our dependence upon God as well. Adam and Eve in their sin were

declaring their independence from God. God confronted their foolishness, but also provided a

source of salvation. With Genesis 3:15, God was declaring His great sacrifice in which man would

once again be dependent upon God. Not just for physical life, but now for spiritual and eternal

life.

As we celebrate our country’s independence this month, don’t forget to celebrate and thank God

for your dependence upon Him. For it is because of that dependence that eternal life is yours.

In the Lord’s Service,

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American History 101

The colonization of North America by the

British began in the 17 century. By the mid

18th century there were 13 colonies each

with a varying relationship with the King of

England. Most were crown colonies. (MA,

NY, NH, NJ, VA, NC, SC, GA) The governor

of these colonies was appointed by the King

and all laws had to be submitted to England

for approval. There were also proprietary

colonies. (PA, DE, MD) In these colonies,

the proprietors appointed the governors.

And then there were charter colonies.

(Conn, RI) These colonies elected their

governors and were not required to submit

their laws for approval to the homeland.

Strained relations between the colonies and

Great Britain began as early as 1763 at the

end of the French and Indian War. Great

Britain won, but the Crown was heavily in

debt. To further control the colonies and to

keep them from expanding their territory,

which would incur more administrative costs

for the Crown, The King issued a

proclamation declaring no further

settlements would be allowed west of the

Appalachian Mountains up to the St.

Lawrence seaway.

In addition a variety of taxes

were imposed on the colonies

in order to raise revenue for

the Crown. This angered the

colonists who felt they had

already paid enough in

money, men and housing to

help the Crown during the

fighting of the French and

Indian War.

Between 1763 and 1775

tensions continued to increase

with the Crown imposi8ng

taxes and authority on the

colonists and the colonists

finding increasingly violent and destructive

means to make their voice heard when they

felt the Crown was not listening to their

legislative methods. One such destructive

event was the Boston Tea Party on

December 16, 1773.

The first “fight” between colonists and the

Crown occurred at Lexington and Concord

in April 1775. It was after this “skirmish” that

patriots from each of the 13 colonies formed

a Provincial Congress that usurped power

from the old colonial governments and

suppressed loyalists to the Crown.

On July 2, 1776, representatives of the 2nd

Continental Congress voted to approve a

resolution of independence declaring the

colonies free from Great Britain. After voting

for independence, the congress turned its

attention to crafting a statement explaining

its decision. This was prepared by the

“Committee of 5” with Thomas Jefferson as

the principle author. We know this

statement as the Declaration of

Independence.

However, from the outset, patriots would

celebrate the day the declaration was

signed rather than July 2, the day the

resolution was approved.

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John Adams

and Thomas Jef-

ferson, both

presidents of the

United States

and both signers

of the Declara-

tion of Independence, died on the same

day – July 4, 1826 – the 50th anniversary of

the Declaration of Independence.

Another founding father, also a president

of the United States, James Monroe, died

on July 4, 1831.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the

United States, was born July 4, 1872.

The American Revolution did not officially

end until the signing of a peace treaty,

known as the Treaty of Paris, on September

3, 1783.

America’s rich history of

patriotic music owes its

existence to six main wars: the

American Revolution, the

American Indian Wars, the War

of 1812, the Mexican-American

War, the American Civil War,

and the Spanish American War.

"Yankee Doodle", long a tune

and lyric addressed to the

unique American population,

descended from the British and

became widely popular after

the American Revolution, and in

1814 Washington lawyer Francis

Scott Key wrote a poem,

"Defence of Fort McHenry," after

witnessing the bombardment of

Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

Owing to the origin of America

from British nationals, the lyrics

were later set to music common

to British and American sailors,

but eventually became world

famous as the "The Star-

Spangled Banner," and was

designated as the United States'

official national anthem in 1931.

After centuries of struggling and

fighting "hostile" Indians,

diseases, and nature,

Americans had breached the

Appalachian mountain chain

and pushed into the wide open

areas of the far west. Thus,

songs such as "My Country, 'Tis

of Thee," composed in 1831,

have themes of natural wonder

combined with freedom and

liberty. Indeed others, such as

"America the Beautiful," express

appreciation for the natural

beauty of the United States and

the hope for a better nation.

However, in contrast to "My

Country, 'Tis of Thee" and the

"Star Spangled Banner",

"America the Beautiful" does not

have the triumphalism found in

many patriotic American songs.

It was originally a poem

composed by Katharine Lee

Bates after she had

experienced the view from Pikes

Peak of fertile ground as far as

the eye could see, and was

sung to a variety of tunes until

the present one, written as a

hymn tune in 1882 by Samuel

Ward, became associated with

it. World War I produced

patriotic American songs such

as "Over There" by popular

songwriter George M. Cohan,

who composed the song April 6,

1917, when he saw headlines

announcing the U.S. had

entered World War I. Cohan

also is famous for penning

"Yankee Doodle Dandy," an

over-the-top parody of patriotic

music. "God Bless America", a

1918 Irving Berlin composition, is

sometimes considered an

unofficial national anthem of

the United States and is often

performed at sporting events

alongside "The Star-Spangled

Banner." So as you celebrate

our nation’s independence this

year and hear all the music with

which it is associated, take a

moment to stop and consider

what these songs really mean,

reflect upon our nation’s

struggles and history; you may

just find it’s more than

background music for a

fireworks display!

God Bless America!

By: Charlie Harnish

Director of Music

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SPECIAL PROJECTS FUND

Thank you to all those that

contributed to the special

projects fund. Your

generosity in replenishing

this raised $6,273.00.

Thrivent Day with the Rays! Tampa Bay Rays

vs. Houston Astros

$25.00/per ticket Only 10 Tickets Left

Join Us On July 11th at 4:10pm!

Please contact: Ping McLauchlin at 941.650.3558

by July 7 to purchase tickets.

Rev. Theodore A. Zeile passed away on

June 17, 2015 in Livonia, MI. He was a

winter pastor here at Hope in the late

seventies and early eighties.

The Ice Cream Social for the kick-off of

WOW was held on June 7th. Discovered

some “wow” moments in each others

lives , lots of laughter, talking, learned

more about each other and how to

watch more of God’s “WOW” moments.

Of course we also enjoyed the ice-

cream sundaes! Patti and Linda are

teaching a Bible Class on Sunday,

“Sweeter than Chocolate”, that women

are encouraged to attend … and yes,

there will be chocolate! Plans are being

made to have another WOW event in

September. Watch for more information

to come in the Words of Hope and

Anchor.

The Blind Ministry is in need of a

van driver for the for the month

of August. Please call Lisa

Dagley at 941-758-8301 if you

can help with this ministry.

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Update

Since January we have been leasing out the 2 classroom school

building and playground behind the parsonage to Sun Academy (a

local preschool using our building as a satellite campus). This has proven to be a successful partnership between Hope Lutheran Church

and the Sun Academy. They are not having a summer program on our

campus but will return when school resumes in August.

Our Preschool Yard Sale in early March was very successful. We sold

most of the furniture and materials we had consolidated after we

closed our school program last fall. What was not sold was donated to

Angels Attic. The charity came and took it all, leaving our big double

classroom in the education building empty for the first time in many

years. About that time we were approached by Kids Academy, another

preschool looking for a satellite campus. They were interested in

renting the big double room and bathroom for their summer camp program. The timing couldn't have been better! The lease was signed

and the director of Kids Academy was thrilled to have found our

facility. A big THANK YOU to HLC members Steve and Pat Boop who

volunteered to repaint the entire space and have it all refreshed and

looking beautiful before the new tenants moved in the first weekend

in June. Kids Academy is thrilled with the space and is considering

continuing to lease the rooms through the upcoming school year as a

site for part of their after school program.

God has truly blessed us by bringing these two preschools to

us. It’s wonderful to have children on our campus and hear their

laughter once again.

Respectfully submitted by,

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www.hopelutheranfl.org Check it out! Sermons are posted on the church’s website!

Follow HLC on Facebook! Go to: Hope Lutheran Church LCMS

Friday, July 10, 2015

There will be a light, simple meal at 6:00 pm Followed by two movies at 6:30 pm

There will be a drawing for a gift basket!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days

OR

Maleficent

Meal: Hot Dogs, Chips, Watermelon, Pickles, Cupcakes

Please call ahead to allow for meal count.

August—Backpack full of School Supplies

Please bring any school supplies,

backpack, or a monetary donation, and

leave them by the Info desk. If you would

like to help with this project or would like more

information, please contact Eunice Mathews (call

or 758-4863 or email: read2tim@gmail.com).

Needs for Movie Night: Food preparation and

serving Host/Hostess Making Popcorn Showing the Movie This is a great way to reach out to our community. Come serve and get to know some new folks!

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Sunday Sermon Themes for July Since Easter, our sermon themes have been focusing on the life of the

apostles and disciples of Jesus as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles

chapters 1 through 10. In July and part of August, our sermon themes will

be focusing on the footsteps of Paul as he carries on

the ministry God called him to do by taking the

message of God’s love and salvation in Asia Minor,

Greece and even to Rome itself.

July 5 Footsteps of Paul: That’s Just Who God Is

July 12 To Be Announced

July 19 Footsteps of Paul: Rome—The Gospel

Comes to Law and Order People

July 26 Footsteps of Paul: Athens—The Gospel

Comes to the Center of Learning

Community School Supplies

We would like to help the children in our community

with school supplies to get them started for the new

school year. Please bring your donation of school

supplies to the bin located by the Information Center.

If you would prefer, you may give a donation and

we’ll shop for you! These items will be distributed to

the local schools. Suggested items: Crayons, Kid Scissors, Glue sticks and bot-

tles, #2 sharpened pencils, washable markers, reams of white copy paper, pri-

mary writing pater, loose leaf notebook paper, Kleenex tissues, zip lock bags

(gallon and sandwich size), clear scotch tape, sticky notes.

Paul’s

Foot Steps

9:00 am Bible Study

10:00 am Fellowship

10:30 am Worship

No Saturday service during the summer.

Will resume Sept. 12.

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The Leadership Team for 24toDouble (Hope-

FULL Future) continues its work on laying the

foundation for a vibrant, exciting and

growing future for Hope Lutheran Church.

The team is beginning this process by zeroing

in on those principles we consider valuable

that will serve as the foundation for a ministry

that will challenge us to grow and strengthen

our faith as disciples and at the same time

challenge us to use our strengthened spiritual

bodies (faith) to actively find ways to share

God’s love in order to grow His Kingdom.

As the team continues to gather information,

study, evaluate and discuss what our values

are to serve as the foundation of our ministry,

the team will also begin working on other

aspects including:

1. Determining it’s gift mix,

2. Implementation of a guest follow-up

ministry called The Pastor’s Meal, as well

as what we can do as a congregation in

order to

3. Make good first impressions.

As the Leadership Team begins and

continues with this task, other resources will

be used to support and give

encouragement for the process that we

have selected to implement. One resource

is called Simple Church by Thom Rainer.

Another resource is called: Why Nobody

Wants to Go to Church Anymore

By: Thom and Joani Schultz.

For this article, I want to focus on some

aspects and learnings from the book by

Thom and Joani Schultz.

When one begins to read this book about

the statistics being reported by churches of

all denominations across America, one

realizes that what we are experiencing here

at Hope Lutheran is consistent with the

majority of churches across America. We are

not alone:

1. The percentage of congregations

characterized by “high spiritual vitality”

dropped from 43% in 2005 to 28% in 2010.

2. In 2001, 31% of congregations exhibited

“excellent” financial health. By 2010 that

number plummeted to 14%

3. Half of all churches in the US did not add

any new members in 2010 and 2012.

4. Every year, more than 4,000 churches

close their doors compared to only 1,000

new churches that start.

5. The Methodist Church only two blocks

south of us, closed its doors last year only

now to be a satellite of Harvest Methodist

Church of Lakewood Ranch.

How can this be when the following is

reported?

1. 90% of Americans say they believe in

God, yet most avoid church.

2. 88% of adults say their faith is important to

them, yet the majority of them choose

not to grow their faith in church.

3. 65% are open to pursuing their faith in an

environment that is different from a

typical church.

Below is a chart of what most non-church

attenders are saying about the 21st Century

Church. Next to that is what Jesus would

say and/or do and finally the last column is

what the Church should be practicing if it is

indeed made up of disciples of Jesus.

Hope-FULL Future

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When they say Imagine Jesus saying The Church practices

I feel judged You are welcome just as Radical Hospitality

you are.

I don’t want to be lectured. Your thoughts are welcome Fearless Conversation

You don’t care what I think Your doubts are welcome

Church people are a bunch We are all in this together Genuine Humility

of hypocrites

Your God is irrelevant to God is here, ready to Divine Anticipation

my life. connect with you in a

fresh way.

For the rest of this piece, I want to reflect on

this aspect of feeling judged. Did Jesus

judge or did He welcome people? The

answer is obvious. He showed radical

hospitality. As humans, we would prefer

people would clean up their acts before we

connect with them. Thankfully, God doesn’t

think like that.

So how do we recognize radical hospitality? Radical Hospitality is . . .

1. Authentically welcoming others and

being glad to be with them.

2. It is not being repulsed by someone with

a different point of view, but relishing

spending time with them so they can see

Christians in a loving, non-judgmental

way.

3. Caring curiosity.

4. To show this aspect, make sure the

conversation revolves around them and

not you.

5. Being a friend, even though it’s not your

“job”

6. It is not just the job of the greeters or

ushers to be friendly or engaging others.

It’s everyone’s job.

7. Accepting, no matter what

8. This is hard to do and even scary when

someone looks odd, smells funny or is

angry or disagreeable. But instead of

moving away, radical love says we move

toward them.

9. Profoundly relational

10. Remember, people begin to know what

the love of God is truly about through us.

It doesn’t come from the reading of the

Bible. It starts there, but to truly feel

God’s love, one needs to be hugged, to

be comforted, to experience the slap on

the back.

11. Something that takes time.

12. It is not just being friendly. It is getting to

know them and to do that takes time.

13. Unnerving, surprising and messy

14. There will be ups and downs; highs and

lows, but we need to be consistently

there through it all.

Finally to practice Radical Hospitality, we

need 1. to invite friends, 2. be prepared to

tell your story and 3. eat together. This last

point will be further developed as we put

together the Pastor’s Meal.

God is challenging Hope Lutheran to rethink

how church is being done as well as

challenging us to think about for whom the

church exists. Is it for us so we can be

comfortable and cozy; to feel safe and

secure? Or is it a place where we gather to

praise God and strengthen our faith so we

can go out to bring others in so that they too

can experience God’s love, grow in

relationship with Him and join us on our

mission of outreach?

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If we’ve missed your birthday or anniversary, it’s only because we DON’T have that

information in our data base, please call the office @941-755-3256 and let us know. We

want to be sure and include your special day!

Don & Ardene Bowron July 6

Frank & Margaret Prah July 20

Pastor Craig & Eunice Mathews July 22

Sunday 9:00 am Christian Ed 10:00 am Fellowship Time 10:30 am Worship Monday 9:30 am Bible Study Tuesday 7:00 pm Bible Study Wednesday 2:00 pm Bible Study

July 6 Church Office Closed July 8 10:30 am Angels of Hope July 8 7:00 pm Church Council July 9 5:00 pm Feed the Firemen July 10 7:00 pm Movie Night July 11 9:30 am Our Daily Bread July 15 6:00 pm Elders Meeting July 17 6:00 pm Blind Ministry

7/1 John Johnson

7/2 Ruth Rettke

7/3 Ed Reinke

7/3 Lily McLauchlin

7/7 Charles Snyder

7/7 Grace Fox

7/9 Jim Carnahan

7/9 Kayla Kerns

7/11 Deanna Marner

7/15 Ken Crayton

7/15 Ken Phelps

7/15 Jozelin English

7/17 Jim Stokes

7/17 Richard Staab

7/19 Linda Anderson

7/19 Debbie Wagener

7/20 Dan Wagener

7/21 Arlene Bishop

7/22 Joanne Bischoff

7/23 Austin Childers

7/25 Chuck Anderson

7/27 Paula Jefferson

7/29 T. Fisher

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Weekly Bible Study Opportunities at Hope

Sunday 9:00 am – Fellowship Hall July 5 Lutheran Hour Ministries: State of the Church July 12 The Journey: Buried with Buddha July 19 The Journey: Xbox Atheist July 26 Lutheran Hour Ministries: State of the Church Connection, Culture, Community Women of Wisdom: Sweeter Than Chocolate Monday 9:30 am – Fellowship Hall A study of the weekly Bible readings Tuesday 7:00 pm – Fellowship Hall July 7 No Bible study July 14 Footsteps of Paul: That’s Just Who God Is July 21 Footsteps of Paul: Rome July 28 Footsteps of Paul: Athens

We continue to collect aluminum can pop tops. We are using the money collected to purchase a DVR for Movie Night! Please bring them to the Narthex! We appreciate your help with this project! It’s amazing what a difference a bag of pop tops can make.

Birth to age 3

Sunday’s 10:00-11:45 am

SPECIAL PROJECTS

FUND

Thank you for all those that

contributed to the special

projects fund. Your generosity

in replenishing this raised

$6,273.00.

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HOPE Lutheran Church

4635 26th Street West Bradenton FL 34207

(941) 755-3256

office@hopelutheranfl.com www.hopelutheranfl.org

Worship:

Sunday 10:30 am

Christian Ed:

Sunday 9:00 am

Bible Study:

Monday 9:30 am Tuesday 7:00 pm Wednesday 2:00 pm

Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 – 4:00 pm

Our Staff: Craig Mathews, Senior Pastor Rob Hinz, Visitation Pastor Charlie Harnish, Music Director Jon Oosterling, Music Director Cindy Stewart, Office Manager Sebrina Allison, Office Assistant Don Kiner, Maintenance

T ITHES & OFFERINGS Go to: www.hopelutheranfl.org

Byron Bartlett Barbara Bassett Larry & Karen Bowman Roxanne Butler Mary Carson George Clark Michael Cervenak Robert Crider

Tom Crouthamel Audrey Delieul Katherine Eubanks Mary Flagg Susan Freedman Katherine Harter Gia Haldiman Donval Hornburg Roger Johnson Miriam Kessler

Tamara Labuda Tim Lewis Bob & Lily Oliver Terry Murphy Jan Myers Mike Obois Sue Schwier Barbara Snow Neil Senechal Judith Spates

Joey Walden Dawn Welch Shannon West Karon White Linda Vitens

Matthew J. Green Nathan J. Green

Amanda Henkel Rusty Howe

Ryan Ludwig Ryan Schifflet

Margery Abraham

Gerri Brode

Loretta Chacey

Janet Czerwinski

Nancy Crayton

Ida Davis

Frank Delong

Carolyn Grunewald

Marg Hinz

Dorothy Hoekwater

Stan Kuhl

Marcella Lemler

Elaine Mischler

John Morrison

Charlotte Morrison

Shirley Petzold

Mavis Ponto

Shirley Sallee

Jim & Marge Stokes

Blanche Weixelbaum

Grace Wildermuth

Lillian Chadwick

General

Living Abroad / Missionaries / Military

Homebound Members

For the Homeless Those living in Group Homes People participating in 12 Step Programs

If you are hospitalized and wish to receive a visit by our Pastoral Care Team, please call the church office. Because of changes in health care laws, hospitals no longer notify us when you are

admitted. Also, if you would like to be listed for prayer support call the office at 755-3256 or email office@hopelutheranlf.com. Thank You!