Issue 8 ~ SEPTEMBER 2016

We are passionate followers of JESUS, making disciples by eagerly connecting the community with the faith, hope, and love that transforms.

At our June 26th Voters’ Meeting the congre-gation voted to extend the Divine Call for Associate Pastor to Rev. Andy Ritchie who is currently serving the Lutheran Church in Anchorage, Alaska. On July 26th we received his acceptance letter (below). Please keep the Ritchie family in your prayers as they go through this major transition and move to Florida. We anticipate that they will be here the end of September and have scheduled Pastor Andy’s Installation on October 2nd.

To the people and staff of St. Paul Lutheran Church, July 26th 2016

God’s peace and blessings to all of you gathered, walking and living with Jesus! I have been issued a Call to come to be your Associate Pastor. I have struggled back and forth with this decision. St. Paul is a vibrant church looking at reaching out to help others come to know Jesus. It is a church that appears to want to dig deeper for their own growth and trust in God. You have a long rich history and have been blessed by God with many leaders over the years. You appear to wish to reach out beyond the doors of the building and the school and engage in the community.

It is an honor to be asked to be a part of the ministry being done there. I see your history and where God has stationed you now to move into the future and follow along where Jesus is already opening doors. Am I nervous about this call? Am I a little scared, looking ahead but not being able to see what is there for the ministry of St. Paul? Yes, is the answer to both of those feelings. A new place, a new culture, a new city, a new environment, a new set of people. A great change for my family and in the ministry I’m currently called to serve, it is no wonder I have struggled with this Call. But in the end, God leads and asks us to have faith to follow Him into things that are sometimes very different and new.

So after prayer, speaking to many, talking with my family and praying with them, we feel called to enter into something new with all of you. We will be joining you in God’s kingdom work soon. Much work has to be done to make the move happen. Please keep us in prayer. Things have to be sold, moving companies contacted, a place to live, a job for Michelle, a school for David, goodbyes said, many emotions to deal with...many, many decisions to make. We will be in touch with staff as to needs and time frame. God bless and thanks in advance for your prayers!

—God’s blessings to you all, Pastor Andy

—A note from Pastor Andy, August 17— Hi everyone,

Allow me to introduce myself again (or maybe for the 1st time), I am Andy Ritchie and the new guy to your staff. I am looking forward to joining you all in Lakeland soon. You may wonder how to refer to me, and so, please feel free to call me Andy, Pastor or Pastor Andy, BUT NOT Pastor Ritchie. That is way too formal for this guy and in all my years of ministry no one, NO ONE calls me Pastor Ritchie, even when I served in schools in the past. My family and I are in the midst of rental house hunting, saying good-byes, wrapping up ministry here, trying to get movers to see if they want to make some $ moving us, selling off snow tires, ice fishing equipment, ice skates, snow skis...you know all that useful stuff for the Florida beach!

I have a really cool job with all of you. I get to come and talk about Jesus, pray with you and others, sit with you and others to hear your stories be they joyful or painful and yes, I get paid to do it, but that is not the reason I do it! One of the reasons I do it is we get to remind each other that we have a God who cared so much for you and me that he became flesh and lived with us so he could understand and shares our joys and pains. We look forward to meeting you, learning your names and working together to love others as Jesus loves us.

www.stpaullakeland.org

FROM ALASKA TO FLORIDA

Faith (11), Michelle (wife), Grace (13), David (15), & Pastor Andy

September 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecting at St. Paul

Connecting is published monthly by

St. Paul Lutheran Church 4450 Harden Blvd. Lakeland, FL 33813

stpaul@stpaullakeland.org 863-644-7710

♦ SENIOR PASTOR

Ron Pennekamp

♦ ASSOCIATE PASTOR

Andy Ritchie ♦

HMONG PASTOR Zong Yang

♦ MINISTER OF MUSIC Gloria Klockziem

♦ DIRECTOR OF

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Nick Moss

♦ DIRECTOR OF VISITATION

Peter Herbert

♦ PRINCIPAL

Robert Boyd

♦ EARLY CHILDHOOD

Cynthia McBride-Tillman ♦

SERVICES Sunday Morning 8:30am Worship 9:45-10:45am—

Children’s Ministries & Adult Community Groups

ten47am Contemporary Worship & Children’s Church

Communion Weekends 1st, 3rd, 5th

Mid-week Service 6:30pm Wednesdays

♦ HMONG SERVICES Sunday Morning

9am Choir & Bible Study 10:45am Worship

“CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY

TO CHRIST”

scan for website

Giving Twice Provides Double Impact

Ever wondered how someone could give all their wealth to the family they love, while

at the same �me giving all of it to ministries that are special to them?

Such planning is not only possible but affordable! It’s o en more beneficial than you

might realize.

Giving twice can be arranged in several ways. One method is to take out an insurance

policy that would pay a death benefit to family members on the life of a donor, or in the

case of a couple, on the life of the survivor. The insurance premiums could come from

discre�onary assets that are o en not used by people during earthly life. At death, estate

assets are given to ministry while the insurance proceeds replace that en�re amount of the

estate and goes to family beneficiaries. They are le with cash, free of tax and probate costs.

Another way to experience the impact of “giving twice” is to set up a charitable trust

that pays income to family for a period of up to 20 years and then distributes any remainder

in a lump sum to ministry. The corpus is invested over that twenty-year period in order to

replace the income payments. For example, a five percent income distribu�on over 20 years

will distribute the total amount set aside in a charitable trust and, assuming an annual five

percent earnings rate, will preserve the en�re original amount for distribu�on to ministry.

As an addi�onal benefit, the “life income” arrangement detailed above offers a

repea�ng income stream for beneficiaries who may be disposed to spend everything right

away. Providing an income flow for certain beneficiaries may bless them rather than

bringing the “curse” that their own management could produce.

Whether with created lump sums or structured income over �me, charitably minded

people have op�ons that result in an opportunity to give twice, doubling the impact of love

to family and support for the Gospel. For more informa�on, contact Jim Pennington, SPLC

Gi Planning Counselor, at 863-370-0305 or james.pennington@lfnd.org.

STUDENTS FROM CHINA VISIT U.S.A. In July, a group of students from

China with the Education First

(EF) Homestay Program used our

Athletic Center as a base for their

visit here in the U.S.A. Below is a

thank you letter from the EF

Program Leader.

Thank you for opening St. Paul

Lutheran to my EF Homestay

Program this year! My students and

staff loved the Youth Room and

the Café for classes and lunch. I

enjoyed Pastor Ron’s visit and talk with my students. Tracy was such a joy to work with,

answering all my questions and being so flexible with us. I look forward to partnering again

for summer 2017 and connecting with your church and school families to find host families

for next year’s EF Homestay students from China. I appreciate you all!

—Terri Cullins, EF Program Leader

Baptism Class Sunday, September 11

th from 10:00-10:45am

This is for anyone interested in Bap�sm for themselves or

their child. Parents are encouraged to bring their children.

We will meet in the Soul Surfer Room which is off of the

lobby of the Worship Center. By a?ending the class you are

not obligated in any way, but offered an explana�on on

what we as Lutherans believe and teach concerning the

great gi of Bap�sm.

AN EVENING IN TUSCANY—This year's

PTO Lights, Camera, Auc�on will be held

OCTOBER 14, at the Club at Eaglebrook.

Price is $50 each un�l September 2nd

, when

they are $75 each (unless we sell out

again)! Please get payment turned in to the church/school

office with form (at Welcome Center) if you're interested in

�ckets. Sponsors and silent and live auc�on items are also

s�ll needed. Please contact pto@stpaullakeland.org or call

Kelly Southmayd (989-573-2999) for more informa�on.

Hmong Egg Roll Sale Saturday, Sept. 17

$1.25 each or $13 a dozen.

Pick up an order form at the Welcome Center.

Orders are due by September 14.

Proceeds will benefit our Hmong Ministry.

NYG Thank You Over the Summer our High School Youth were blessed to attend the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. They could not have made this trip without the support of our congregation. So we THANK YOU! In fact, your support overflowed to youth from Cincinnati, OH, who would have missed this amazing opportunity to be with over 22,000 participants. Here is a thank you note from Prince of Peace Lutheran. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Thank you for your most generous donation of $2,200 in support of Prince of Peace youth attending this year’s Youth Gathering. We were happy to be able to take some of our inner city kids to experience this event, to broaden their minds, give them an oppor-tunity to be with young folks their age to get excited about their faith. I think this was a great experience for them and we thank you for helping make this possible. May our Lord Jesus Christ, keep you always in His grace and continue to bless you!

Rev. John Suguitan

SUMMER INTERN This summer I had the privilege of serving as the summer intern at St. Paul, a place that I call home. This was a huge opportunity as it prepared me in ways that a classroom could not. I was challenged and forced to step out of my comfort zone to see what I was capable of doing. Through all of the things accomplished this summer, a favorite was spending time with the VBS high school volunteers, equipping them and being a resource for them as they led and impacted their VBS kids throughout such an incredible week. My other favorite was Breaking Bread Cafe. I absolutely fell head-over-heels for the unique and powerful ministry that they have. From what I have experienced this summer, I encourage you to go and step out of your comfort zone. The minute that you do, God will show you incredible things. —Tais Perez-Brekke

ADOPT A GRANDPARENT PROGRAM Our St. Paul Lutheran Early Childhood department will begin a program this month to promote valuable relationships between St. Paul students and older members of the congregation. Adopt a Grandparent program can facilitate healthy childhood development while helping them through the challenges of school, peer group acceptance and self-esteem building. Grandparent volunteers pray for their adopted grandchild; they are a listening ear; they can visit the classroom; read a book to the class or participate in special projects and events like our Grandparent’s Day on February 17; sit together at Worship on Sundays, and more. Our Early Childhood Director, Cynthia Tillman will give a presentation at both services on September 11. If you are interested in participating, sign-up forms will be available at the Welcome Center on the 11th.

TALKS WITH LUTHER Vol. 3

This morning I asked Luther (the wiener dog not

Martin Luther) what he thought we should write about this month and once again, he offered up the same answer he usually gives. He wags his tail, his eyes light up and nothing comes out but a kind of a mumble. But then, the topic comes to mind as I am praying! Thank you Jesus for your guidance and inspiration! Thank you Luther for the tail wag and the mumble! So what shall we write about this month? Prayer!

Last month I touched on what endures in our lives and we all know that it is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! How do we draw closer to God the Father? That’s easy…Prayer! Just simply talking to Jesus, by sitting down and earnestly pouring our hearts out to the One who saved us from sin and death by dying on the cross! That sounds just amazingly simple, right? I can almost hear some of you saying, “yeah, but I have a hard time praying…I don’t think God listens to me…I am not sure what to say.” Sound like you? Of course, it sounds like all of us.

We being the mortal humans that we are, we many times in prayer do the same thing we do when we try to share the message of Jesus. We worry about what to say and how to say it. As with sharing the gospel message of Grace, Forgiveness and Eternal Life, we overthink things to the point where we don’t know if we got the message across or not! It’s the same with prayer. We worry whether we said the right thing. We worry that we didn’t get through to God the Father or that He is not listening. We even worry that our words were not eloquent enough to warrant a response from God. None of this is needed. Don’t worry. Like sharing the Gospel, there is no set formula, no cute acronyms or special training required when you pray. God in all things wants your heart. He doesn’t care if you don’t have eloquent words. All he cares about is your heart. That’s all! God wants your heart!

When you are in a predicament, when troubles and worries are haunting and plaguing you, when you need help and comfort that only God can give you, just simply ask. God the Father knows you better than you know yourself! Don’t worry that you didn’t say things just right…God knows your heart! He already has this problem or concern and He is on it even as you ask him in prayer.

If you feel you must have some kind of self-help book or guide, keep in mind you already do. You have the Word of God, the Holy Bible. It teaches you everything you need to know about prayer and how to pray. Jesus gives you everything you need! But if you need more, Luther (not the wiener dog!) gives you a breakdown on how to pray and what to pray in the book What Luther Says.

Here are some of Martin Luther’s points for a more comforting and compelling prayer life:

1. Luther recommends that you spend time in prayer alone so you have no distractions. The location is not important.

2. Do not delay prayer. Let prayer be the first order of business every morning and the last order every night. When situations

arise and you feel drawn to pray by the Holy Spirit, pray then and there. Take the time to talk to God while everything is fresh in your mind. And when you are talking and sharing life situations with others, don’t say, ”I will keep it in prayer for you.” Tell that person you and he or she need to pray right now! There is truly no time like the present!

3. Pray in the Name of Christ. Asking in the name of Christ really means relying on Him in such a way that we are accepted and heard for His sake, not for our own sake.

4. Long prayers are not necessary. According to Luther, “the way to pray is to use few words but give them a great and deep meaning or intention. The fewer the words, the better the prayer; the more the words, the poorer the prayer.” Luther refers to long prayers as “twaddle”!

5. Prayer must rise from the heart! Like sharing the Gospel message, prayer must also come from the heart! God the Father wants your heart in all things!

6. God’s answer to your prayer. Luther says, “The Word of God teaches that the time, the place, and the manner of the disposition of a matter should be entrusted to God and that we should simply ask for the matter as such, confident that our request will be granted in His time and place.” Just remember Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”. He will answer in His time!

I used to tell my inmates, when I was the Chaplain at the correctional institution, to listen for the answer. So many times inmates would come to see me, frustrated and agitated, saying God has not answered their prayers. I would ask them if they were sure. Then I would ask if they listened for the answer. Did you listen? Are you listening now? This is vitally important. God the Father is not going to text you, email you or call you on the phone. Pray and then listen. And be patient! You have given your concerns, your troubles to God and He will act according to His will for your situation.

We serve an awesome God! Our Father wants us to come to him in all things. This life is not easy and we are so often left with choices that are hard to make. Prayer, speaking to Our Father, is what God desires of us. He wants a personal relationship with you. Do it! It really isn’t hard!

Okay Luther, let’s get this day started! Fold your paws and pray with me Luther’s Morning Prayer. “I thank you my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.”

Okay Luther, we have a great day in Christ ahead of us! Let’s do it!!

In Christ, Peter Herbert

Connecting at St. Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2016

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 7:15am Men's Group 9:15 CHAPEL PK 9:45 CHAPEL ECEC 6pm Church Properties

6pm CancerCare

2 8am Bulletins 8:30 SPL Room

Parent Breakfast

3 6pm The Gathering

4 8:30 WORSHIP -C

9:30 VOTERS’ MTG. 9:30 Hmong Bible Study

9:45-10:45 CG 10:45 Hmong Worship

ten47 WORSHIP -C

7pm Adult Volleyball

5 CLOSED

LABOR DAY

6:30 Knitting Ministry

6 5:30 Signing Class 6:30 Trustees

7 8:25 CHAPEL K-8 9:15 CHAPEL PK 9:45 CHAPEL ECEC 6:30 Choir 6:30 ALA-NON 6:30 WORSHIP-C

8 7:15am Men's Group 6:30 New Member Cls 6:30 Katie’s Ladies 7pm Marty’s Men

9 8am Bulletins 8:15 PTO Meeting 6-9pm MS Youth

10 8:30 HR & Finance 6pm The Gathering

11 8:30 WORSHIP 9:30 Hmong Bible Study

9:45-10:45 CG & CM 10am Baptism Class 10:45 Hmong Worship

ten47 WORSHIP 7pm Adult Volleyball

12 6:15 SIS

13 11:30 Lunch Bunch

@ Too Jay’s 5:30 Signing Class 6:30 Lay Ministers

14 8:25 CHAPEL K-8 6:30 Choir 6:30 ALA-NON 6:30 WORSHIP

15 7:15am Men's Group 9:15 CHAPEL PK 9:45 CHAPEL ECEC 5pm HR & Finance 6pm VB w/Lynn 6:30 New Member Cls

16 8am Bulletins 7pm MS Dance

17 2-4pm Eggroll Sale 6pm The Gathering

18 8:30 WORSHIP-C 9:30 Hmong Bible Study

9:45-10:45 CM & CM 10:45 Hmong Worship ten47 WORSHIP-C

12pm Hmong Potluck 7pm Adult Volleyball

19 6-7:30 FPU 6pm Parenting L&L 6:15 SIS

6:30 Knitting Ministry

20 5:30 Signing Class 6:30 School Board

21 8:25 CHAPEL K-8 9:15 CHAPEL PK 9:45 CHAPEL ECEC 6:30 Choir 6:30 ALA-NON 6:30 WORSHIP-C

22 7:15am Men's Group 6:30 New Member Cls

23 8am Bulletins

6-9pm MS Youth

24 6pm The Gathering

25 8:30 WORSHIP 9:30 Hmong Bible Study

9:45-10:45 CM & CM 10:45 Hmong Worship ten47 WORSHIP 7pm Adult Volleyball

26 12pm Esther Circle 6-7:30 FPU 6pm Parenting L&L 6:15 SIS

27 9am Heritage 5:30 Signing Class 6:30 Endowment

28 8:25 CHAPEL K-8 11:30 SPLS Dismissal Teacher In-Service

6:30 ALA-NON 6:30 WORSHIP NO CHOIR

29 7:15am Men's Group NO SPL SCHOOL

ECEC & KID’S CLUB OPEN

Teacher In-Service 6:30 New Member Cls

30 8am Bulletins NO SPL SCHOOL

ECEC & KID’S CLUB OPEN

Teacher In-Service

OCTOBER Newsletter articles due.

C= Communion CG = Community Group CM = Children’s Ministry FPU = Financial Peace U HS = High School MS = Middle School SIS = Sisters In Study VB = Volleyball

NEW SATURDAY GATHERING Tim & April Turner are hosting a very informal time together in our Worship Center called “The Gathering.” This weekly gathering on Saturdays at 6:00pm, will be centered on Praise, Prayer, and Testimonies of encouragement to be shared by anyone willing to do so. Please feel free to come as you are. Our intention is to gather together and to be open to whatever God would like us to do, hear, or see. We are very excited to share what God is actively doing in our daily lives as encouragement to build our faith and to glorify God.

FPU Are you ready to be debt free? Sign up for the Financial Peace University (FPU) class and learn how to elimi-nate all of your debt, have a readily available emergency fund, put money into your Roth IRA, save for your kid’s college education, get your mortgage paid off early. Our next class begins Monday, September 19 @ 6:00pm. The FPU kit is on sale for just $99. It’s a lifetime membership. Order your FPU kit now by going to www.daveramsey.com. Let Debby know you intend to come to this 9-week class. Childcare will be available. derdmann@stpaullakeland.org.

THE HERITAGE GROUP will begin a

study of “Mar�n Luther and the Reforma�on” on

Tuesday morning at 9:00am star�ng September 27.

This weekly mee�ng will be in prepara�on for the

500th

Anniversary of the Reforma�on in 2017

NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION

US POSTAGE

PAID

LAKELAND, FL

PERMIT NO. 85 4450 Harden Boulevard, Lakeland, FL 33813

On September 11 we will kick off another year of

Sunday morning CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

PK-K Sunday School & KidZone (grades 1-5) &

Middle School will be offered 9:45-10:45am.

Children’s Church takes place during the sermons at both

services. Children will be divided into 2 age groups with

activities that will correspond with the week’s message.

We are excited about our new adventures.

ADULT BIBLE STUDY If you are not connected to a Sunday Bible study group, you

are missing out on a closer relationship with Jesus through His Word as well as getting to

know some of your fellow St. Paul family. Some groups are

doing a study using the book “The Story.”

Stop by the Welcome Center for a list of Bible Study opportunities

through Community Groups.