2

Christ Lutheran Church 300 East Monroe StreetAustin, Texas 78704-2427Telephone: 512.442.5844email: office@christaustin.org

address service requested

1

PASTOR JOHNDear Friends,

Happy New Year! I say that not so much as a descriptive wish for you but as a prescriptive wish for you. My hope and prayer for each of you is that 2016 will be a won-derful year for you, not simply because you are the unwitting recipient of a lot of good fortune, but because you are the conscious and thoughtful director of your attitude and your actions.

In Philippians 4, St. Paul said that he had learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. And that secret was that he could do everything through Jesus who gave him strength.

And so, too, with us. Regardless of what good fortune or ill fortune may come our way in 2016, we can make it a happy new year because of Christ Jesus who loves us, who comforts us, and who gives us strength.

To God be the Glory,Pastor John

R & R GROuP On Thursday, January 14th

R & R will be gathering to plan the 2016 activities in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring a sack lunch and ideas for the new year.

SAVE THE DATE -- Feb-ruary R&R will be “Mardi Gras” party on February 4 - Check your February newsletter for more info!

EuNicE Guild

The Prophet Jeremiah said, “Your Words were found, and I ate them, and Your Words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.” Jer. 15:16. On Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, all women are invited to gather and explore ways to better feed upon and receive nourishment for our souls from God’s Word, in our personal Bible study. We will gather in Rms 7/8 at noon for an hour or two. Come and be with us for whatever time you have available. Be sure to bring

along your favorite Bible and a hunger for the Feast Christ prepared for us in His Holy Word!

Quilting Group - All are welcome; no experience is needed. Join us on Thurs-day, January 14th & 28th following Rev. Ziehr’s Bible study class. All types of materials and trims can be reused for our quilting. The group is also considering going out to a late lunch fol-lowing the meeting, details TBD. Please call Katherine Richter at (512) 442-7724 with questions.

PRAYER REQuESTS iN WORSHiP

Beginning in January we will only name our member and worshipping friends by name during the “Prayers of the Congregation” portion of our worship service. We

PastOr JOHN steNNFeLdPastor, christ Lutheran church

ByWay

the January 2016 ISSuE 01 Pastor John02 Around the Church04 Christ’s Community & Connections 05 Birthdays/Anniversaries 06 Just for Kids 07 Serving Schedule

2

ByWay

the

will still list, in the an-nouncement sheet, all of the other prayer requests that we receive in the office so that worshippers may continue to offer prayers for these individuals on their own during the week or during the silent time in worship.

NEWSlETTER Pick-uP Beginning in January the monthly newsletter, ‘By the Way’, will no longer be mailed as a hard copy through the mail. Those desiring a hard copy can still pick one up each month in the narthex. In an effort to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us the council voted to enact this cost saving mea-sure. We thank you for your understanding and

cooperation.

THuRSdAY MORNiNG BiBlE STudY Classes have been paused for the Christ-mas holiday season.

Thursday morning Bible study will resume on Janu-ary 7th.

2016 FlOWER cHART Be sure to sign up early! Arrangements are $35 and are paid using the desig-nated ‘flower’ envelopes; please be sure to include any dedication informa-tion (to appear in the bulletins). There are new

labels below each month labeled with each date, please be sure to circle ‘Pick-Up’ if you intend to pick up your arrange-ment or ‘Donate’ if you wish to donate your flower arrangement on the cor-responding label.

THANk YOu Thank you to everyone for your work and service and creativity and time and treasures and such throughout 2015 here at Christ Lutheran Church. We have once again had a great year of blessing, both from God and to others.

May we continue to be the vessels that God uses to pour out His grace into our community, this city, and His world.

FEEd MY lAMBS uPdATE The sack lunch program handed out 31 lunches during the month of De-cember. We continue to make fresh sandwiches on the last Thursday of each month (this month’s date will be January 28th .)

Our program can always use supplies, so please con-sider donating non-per-

(Below) “Waiting to see Jesus” Program

churchAROUND ARO

UND AROUND AROUND ARO

UND AROUND the

3

ByWay

the

ishable sack lunch items (chips, fruit cups,and bottled water), personal hygiene items (like razors and wet wipes), and any cold weather clothing (such as old jackets, sweat-shirts, blankets, or new socks). Please contact the

The LLI office at 7703 Lamar Rd, Ste 131, phone number 512-206-4232, will be open and staffed daily on weekdays between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM by volunteers beginning Monday, January 18, 2016. Registrations will be ac-cepted through the second week of classes.

2016 OFFERiNG

ENvElOPES New offering envelopes for 2016 are available (in alpha-betical order by last name) in the narthex for pick-up. If you have requested enve-lopes, please be sure to check for your name; if you wish to still get 2016 envelopes in

your name, please contact Alana in the church office.

church office with ques-tions about this ministry.

THANkS Thank you to the congre-gation for the Christmas bonus! It is a blessing to serve our Lord and our family in Christ through the work we do around

the church properties. -Bill and Nathan

liFETiME lEARNiNG iNSTiTuTE Our spring 2016 semes-ter classes start the week of February 15, 2016 and proceed through the week ending April 8, 2016. The LLI spring 2016 Course Catalog and Schedule is currently being completed and will be distributed in early January 2016. Course in-formation and registration information will also be available at www.lliaustin.org o/a January 8, 2016.

(above)Marbridge House

serving event

(Below)christmas at christ

4

Christmas Program“Waiting to See Jesus”

was two years in the mak-ing among our Church Family. A special thanks to the Craig Family and to Mark Ziehr for their distinguished contribu-tions once again to help write an original script, build a home-made set, and produce a small-town like pageant in the heart of the city. Thanks also to Duannah Ashmore and the Eunice Guild for encouraging everyone in the congregation to bring in Christmas cards for

Souper-Bowl-of-Chili Cook-Off PartyOn Sunday, February 7,

at 5:15 pm plan to join us for our annual chili cook-off and football fellowship. More details to follow.

Men’s Discipleship Class

Men of Christ, we’ll be continuing our disciple-ship study on “How God Makes Men” on Tuesday, January 5 in the Christ’s Workshop by looking at the stories of David and Solomon. This month’s tour of Bible characters will be a review in some ways of material we talked about for our “Battle Ready” theme in 2014-2015.

Men & Boys RetreatThe 2016 Men and Boys

Retreat will be Friday & Saturday, January 15 & 16 at Camp Lone Star in La Grange. Our theme for our time together as brothers in Christ is “Seize the Day,” and those who attend this get-away weekend year after year would attest that we enjoy great fellowship and grow in the faith. We’ll have a cookout and a campfire on Friday, and spend Saturday with a schedule of break-fast, Bible time, archery and tomahawks, rumble pit, lunch, and challenge course. The cost is $47 for adults and $27 for children 12 and under, and includes lodging

(con’t on Page 5)

Kingdom Quest & The Story

We’ll resume disciple-ship classes at Christ of Kingdom Quest for Kids (Large Group and Shep-herd Groups) and The Story for Teens (Studying the Book of Romans in the Youth Room) at 9:30 am on Sunday, January 3. Pastor’s Discipleship Class meets in the Fellowship Hall, with the Nursery available. Worship and grow with us on Sunday mornings this winter and spring and be a part of the exciting things we have in store at Christ to start 2016. Let’s share our lives together as we wait to see Jesus on His throne when He returns and takes us to heaven to live with Him there.

‘Souper’ Bowl of Caring

On Sundays, January 17 & 24 & 31, and February 7, over “four quarters” leading up to the big pro football game, the children will be bringing in and collecting cans and cups of soup for Souper Bowl of Caring. These donations will be earmarked for the Bread

for All Food Pantry.

our collaborative photo-mosaic art display. A final thanks to our children and youth, and to our shep-herds and teachers, and to our musicians, for present-ing our 2015 pageant.

JORDAN BOESSLING Minister of Creative Communica-tions & Community Connections

ByWay

the

(Below)Happy Birthday cards for Jesus

5

ByWay

the

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31JANUARY biRthdAYs ANd ANNiveRsARies

Lauren Chapman 1/1aSamuel Chapman 1/1a Bill Martin 1/1a Tommie Craig 1/3a Sandra Sisbarro 1/3aJohn Dunn 1/4a Felix & Louise Alexander 1/6/19630 Avatar & Maria Boardman 1/6/20070 Phyllis Trautner 1/6a Doreen Bohrer 1/8a Phyllis Mitchell 1/8a Brody Richter 1/9a Chloe Calvo 1/13a Cory & Alysa Rabitoy 1/16/20090 Nathan Ziehr 1/16a

LeeRoy & Susan Anderson 1/17/19700 Emily Richter 1/17aBarbara Wilson 1/18aHank Cunningham 1/20aDonald Kirby 1/20aHelen Pillack 1/21aAaron Woolverton 1/21aTommy Nanyes 1/23aConnor Mitchell 1/24aDorothy Richter 1/26aJohn & Linda Mitchell 1/27/20020 Geneva Mensing 1/29aThomas Craig 1/30aLouise Alexander 1/31a

(Men & Boys Retreat con’t from Page 4)

in the cabins on Friday and two meals on Satur-day in the dining hall at CLS.

Visual Arts CampWe are getting ready

for another summer of art camps - drawing, sculpt-ing, painting, and col-laborating - at Christ. Stay tuned for more informa-tion.

Travis Heights Art Trail

We are thinking about an initial foray as a Church into the Travis Heights Art Trail. Going on its fourteenth year, art-ists in our neighborhood

give the public an oppor-tunity to visit their homes and studios and view and buy their artwork. Admis-sion is free. In 2016, the art trail will be on Saturday & Sunday, November 5 & 6. If you would like to know more information about the art trail or are inter-ested in being involved in some way, please contact Donn Trautner or Jordan.

MediaJust a reminder that we

often take photos, and at times, video, of ministry events to put up around Church on the screen on Sundays and to post to the web that publicizes the worship, service, fellow-ship, and education life of Christ Lutheran.

GeneralPlease contact Jordan

with questions about any of these announcements. Be sure to check out the Sunday Mornings Chris-

tian Education as well as Community Connections bulletin boards for more information on what’s happening in these min-istries.

6

Serving in January 2016 8:15 10:45Elders Roy Pietsch Tim RistowUsher Capt. Freddie Richter TBD

January 3rdFlowers: Given by Harold & Shirley Hoes.

Tellers: C. Kanetzky / V. KanetzkyCommunion Guild: Alexander Family

8:15 am Acolyte: Lector: Charles Kanetzky 10:45 am Acolyte: Samuel Chapman Lector: Fred Frieling

January 10thFlowers: Given by Kavin, Barbara, and Thomas

Craig in memory of Gail Craig‘s Birthday.Tellers: A. Werchan / P. Mitchell

Communion Guild: Harrison Family 8:15 am Acolyte: Lector: Clayton Pillack 10:45 am Acolyte: Jeremy Faulkner Lector: Alana Rock

January 17thFlowers: Given by __________Tellers: A. Werchan / P. Mitchell

Communion Guild: Stivers Family 8:15 am Acolyte: Ben Schaare Lector: Alex Stivers 10:45 am Acolyte: Aaron McInvale Lector: Phil Etter

January 24th Flowers: Given by _________

Tellers: P. Hamil / J. WileyCommunion Guild: J. & B. Juszczak

8:15 am Acolyte: Lector: Lucille Herrera 10:45 am Acolyte: Ben Ristow Lector: Norma Nanyes

January 31st Flowers: Given by ___________

Tellers: P. Hamil / J. WileyCommunion Guild: 8:15 am Galbreath

10:45 am Doug & Deborah Bynum 8:15 am Acolyte: Katy Herber Lector: Mark Herber 10:45 am Acolyte: Seth Werchan Lector: Alan Werchan

If you cannot serve as scheduled, it is YOUR responsibility to find a replacement. If you know a schedule change before 9:00 am on Thursday of the week you’re scheduled, please contact the church office (442-5844) to inform the secretary of the change for the Sunday bulletin. If a problem arises on Sunday morning, please call the office and leave a message.