Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Evangel St . S tep hen Lut h eran Ch ur c h
Faith and works are like the
light and heat of a candle;
they cannot be separated.
—Joseph Beaumont
Inside this issue:
Sunday School Info;
Sunday Adult Class; Pub
Theology Group
2
Second (Noisy) Offering;
Birthdays & Anniver-
saries; Sunday Scrip-
ture Readings
3
NCD Information 4
Book Life Group; Com-
munity Garden Info
5
Daily Narrative Lection-
ary Readings
6
Lay Minister Schedule 7
Fall Festival & God’s
Work, Our Hands
8
Volume , Issue September 2016
From the Pastor...
Justified by grace, we are a
Community of Servants who
follow Jesus’ example by living
lives of service to others.
I’ve always liked September. I like it because generally the heat and humidity is over and the temperatures
are more to my liking. I like it because fall is my favorite season of the year. But I especially like it for the
sense of newness that happens in September. School is beginning. Football season is starting. Orchestras and
theatres are beginning new seasons. New things are starting at church. There’s just a wonderful sense of new-
ness in September and I have that sense of newness and excitement especially this fall as we begin a new
program year at church.
What’s new? Lots!
Our Life Groups are starting up again..... Women’s Bible Study, Men’s Bible Study, and the Book Group. There’s
an update included elsewhere in the Evangel. And we’re also starting a new Life Group called Pub Theology
that I’ll be leading. We’ll be meeting at Eagle Monk Brewery on Mt. Hope on the second and fourth Thursday of
each month beginning September 22. Each evening we’ll have three or four questions to focus our discussion. I
think it will be a fun group..... and very Martin Luther like!
I’m also excited about our new Sunday morning schedule that will begin on Sunday, September 11..... 9:00 a.m.
Sunday School/Adult Class and 10:00 a.m. worship. I know not everyone is excited about the changes. Change
always involves compromise, adjustment, and effort. Change isn’t easy. But I’m very grateful for your willing-
ness to go along with this change and trust that you will continue to worship as you have in the past. The Coun-
cil and I believe that this will be a very positive change for the congregation..... an opportunity for us to wor-
ship together as one congregation instead of being divided into two..... an opportunity to get to know all the
people in our community of faith..... a more joyful feel to worship because more people are present..... a better
use of our resources..... a better atmosphere for worship guests. I think that once we make the adjustment,
we’ll be glad we made this change. Thank you for being willing to put your own personal wants and desires
aside for the good of the whole congregation and ministry.
To kick off our new program year and worship schedule on September 11, we’re going to celebrate with our
Annual Fall Festival and God’s Work Our Hands Sunday. Sunday School and Adult Class will start at 9:00 a.m.
Then during worship at 10:00 a.m. we’ll begin a new cycle of the Narrative Lectionary, and present Bibles to
our Sunday School Children. Following worship we’ll continue the celebration in the Fellowship Hall with a meal.
Brian Holmes will be cooking his wonderful pulled pork for us and you are asked to bring a dish to pass.
For God’s Work Our Hands we will be partnering with the local ministry EVE’s Shelter (End Violent Encounters)
all month long. EVE's Shelter provides emergency shelter for women, and women with children who have been
victims of domestic violence. Meals and personal care items are also provided. We will be using the Second
Offering money to buy clothes, shoes, and items needed in the shelter. We are also asking that you give more
generously than usual so that we can provide Meijer gift cards to women and children in the shelter as they
often have to leave home without any clothes or personal things.
So..... there’s a lot to be excited about as we begin September. I hope you’ll be part of it all.
Blessings,
Pastor
Page 2 Volume , Issue
Sunday School will begin on Sept. 11 at 9am! There will be 3 classes: Grades K-4 will be taught by Julie Dartt on the mid
level in the First Classroom to the left, Grades 5-8 will be taught by Brian Yusten on the mid level in the Lounge and Grades
9-12 will be taught by Mike Borta in Pastor Gary's Office. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Sunday School Information Miriam Bunge, Coordinator
PUB THEOLOGY Beer, Conversation and God!
Second and fourth Thursdays of the month beginning September 22
Eagle Monk Brewery
4906 W. Mt Hope Hwy (just East of Snow Rd.)
7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Come and discuss theological issues while enjoying a pint of craft beer.
What is Pub Theology?
“In a nutshell, it’s people sitting around a table, talking about issues of faith and philosophy, ethics and ideas over a beverage. It is a safe space, where people can be honest and open about topics of faith, ask any questions, and at the end of the night, know that it’s perfectly fine if we disagree with one another. In other words, this isn’t church, and no one is going to make any-one pray, sign a faith statement, or tithe (though be sure to tip the bartender!)..... In its simplest form: Pub Theology is open conversation about stuff that matters over a beverage. Or as I like to say: beer, conversation, and God.” Bryan Berghoef, Pub Theology 101
SUNDAY ADULT CLASS Half Truths
God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
and Other Things the Bible Doesn’t Say
SUNDAY MORNINGS 9:00 – 9:50 AM
They are simple phrases. They sound Christian – like something you might find in the Bible. We hear them all the time..... may-
be even say them ourselves. They capture some element of truth. Yet they miss the point in important ways. In this class we’ll
look at these common “Christian” sayings and compare them with the wisdom found in Scripture.
Session 1 Everything Happens for a Reason
Session 2 God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
Session 3 God Won’t Give You More Than You Can Handle
Session 4 God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It
Session 5 Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin
The Evangel Page 3
8 Jack & Nancy Beyerhelm
24 Joe & Rachel Sturdevant
SEPTEMBER Anniversaries
3 Naida Schelter
Kali Montgomery
Alex Holly
4 Jared Nicolay
5 June Hansen
Jordan Dixon
7 Jackie Williams-Armstrong
11 Chris Miller
12 Mike Borta
13 Judy Higgins
17 Quenten Carpenter
Virginia David
Elijah Yusten
SEPTEMBER Birthdays 18 Sandy Bara
Craig Satterlee
19 John Cox
21 Kristine Ranger
25 Carlos Vallin
Eric David
26 Brandon Stevens
27 Linda Stiffler
Donna Milnes
28 Joyce Rohrer
28 Andrew Roman
29 Nancy Storm
July’s Second (Noisy) Offering was used to support the St. Stephen Food Bank. A total of $429.78 was col-
lected Thank you for your generous support of this important ministry.
Second (Noisy) Offering
September 4: Luke 11:2-4, Forgive Us Our Sins
September 11: Creation and Fall, Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8
September 18: Abraham’s Descendants, Genesis 15:1-6
September 25: Joseph’s Dream, Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-22, 26-34; 50:15-21
Sunday Narrative Lectionary Readings
The Evangel Page 4
Natural Church Development Team Life Group Update
August 19, 2016
This is an update from the Natural Church Development (NCD) Team regarding the status and progress of our St. Stephen Life Groups that launched in February. The NCD Team met with the facilitators of the Life groups most recently on August 17th to plan for Fall. The current groups are: Men’s Bible Study (Heath Buckley, facilitator), Women’s Bible Study (Margie Bauer/Miriam Bunge, facilitators), and Book Study Group (Margaret Sheffer, facilitator). Ultimately, we would like two facilitators for each group. The groups have between six and ten members and have been meeting since March. One important aspect of small groups is that people are getting to know each other on a different level than they do at or after Sunday worship, and that has been extremely positive. Here is an update from each group since we last met in April: Book Study Group—Cindy (on behalf of Margaret) reported that they met throughout the Summer. They met at the home of Julie Dartt on August 25th to watch The Red Tent, a book that they studied. Their service project will be to make blankets for Hospice on September 15th and September 29th at the Church (5:15 p.m.). Everyone is welcome! They will resume their regular meetings in October with a new book to study titled “The Robe” by Lloyd C. Douglas. Margaret is still seeking a co-facilitator. Women’s Bible Study Group—Miriam and Margie reported that they did not meet over the summer. Before their Summer break, they did a Bible study at the home of a shut-in, and it was great. They will join the Book Study group for the service project at the Church in September. They will meet beginning September 13th at Margie's Bauer's home from 7 p.m-.8:30 p.m. Starting in October, they will meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. Men’s Bible Study Group—The Men’s group will begin meeting on every other Wednesday beginning Sep-tember 14th (to be verified—may go back to Tuesdays). The first meeting will be at the Family Tree Restau-rant in DeWitt; future meeting locations will be vary. The group will begin a Bible discussion on the Gospel of Luke, then on to Acts. Heath is still seeking a co-facilitator. These groups are going great, but we really need co-facilitators for the Book Study group and the Men’s group. If you feel led to step up, please let Margaret and Heath know. Here is what we plan to do beginning this Fall: We will continue with our current groups, which are going extremely well. We thank the facilitators for all of their work and enthusiasm in this ministry. (cont’d. on next page)
Page 5 Volume , Issue
On September 15 and September 29, the book club will be meeting at 5:15pm in the Fellowship Hall at church to cut and tie fleece blankets for Hos-
pice patients. Everyone is invited to join us—just bring a sharp pair of scissors (rotary are best) and a quilt mat if you have one.
Our next book will be The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas. I will have the dates for that posted in the next Evan-
gel. Please feel free to call Margaret Sheffer (231-215-8988) if you have any questions, we always welcome new
members.
Book Life Group Margaret Sheffer, Coordinator
For current gardeners and others wanting to volunteer in the garden, we will be cleaning out the beds on
Wednesday, September 28 at 6:00 pm.
Community Garden Info Kristine Ranger, Co-Coordinator
(cont’d. from page 4) We will begin a Pub Theology group. There is a lot of great material regarding this type of group. It will meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays beginning on September 22nd (7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) at EagleMonk Pub and Brewery on Mt. Hope Rd., just east of Snow Rd. Pastor Gary will be the facilitator. We will convene a meeting at Church with people who have previously expressed an interest in a Grief Support group. We will talk to people about a group for Seniors. We will talk about additional women’s groups that may be needed—the current ones are about at capaci-ty—great problem! Finally, in addition to seeking additional facilitators to support the Book Study and Men’s groups, we will need facilitators for the new groups that are in the works.
The Narrative Lectionary readings will also be listed in each Sunday’s announcements, posted on the St. Stephen website (www.StStepheonOnline.org), and found in the online version of The Evangel.
Page 6 Volume , Issue
Thursday, Sept. 1, Matthew 4:1-11, The Temptation of Jesus
Friday, Sept. 2, Matthew 14:13-21, Feeding the Five Thousand
Saturday, Sept. 3, Luke 24:13-25, The Walk of Emmaus
Sunday, Sept. 4, Luke 11:2-4, Forgive Us Our Sins
Monday, Sept. 5, Exodus 34:1-9, Moses Makes New Tablets
Tuesday, Sept. 6, Psalm 32, The Joy of Forgiveness
Wednesday, Sept. 7, Mark 2:1-12, Jesus Heals a Paralytic
Thursday, Sept. 8, Matthew 18:23-35, The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Friday, Sept. 9, Acts 2:37-42, The First Converts
Saturday, Sept. 10, Colossians 2:6-19, Fullness of Life in Christ
Sunday, Sept. 11, Creation and Fall, Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8
Monday, Sept. 12, Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:1-16
Tuesday, Sept. 13, Noah, Genesis 6:11-22
Wednesday, Sept. 14, The Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:1-9
Thursday, Sept. 15, God Calls Abram, Genesis 12:1-9
Friday, Sept. 16, Abram Lies to Pharaoh about Sarai, Genesis 12:10-13:1
Saturday, Sept. 17, Abram and Lot Part Ways, Genesis 13:2-18
Sunday, Sept. 18, Abraham’s Descendants, Genesis 15:1-6
Monday, Sept. 19, Abraham’s Sacrifice, Genesis 22:1-19
Tuesday, Sept. 20, Isaac and Rebekah, Genesis 24:1-67
Wednesday, Sept. 21, Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing, Genesis 27:1-29
Thursday, Sept. 22, Jacob Marries Leah, then Rachel, Genesis 29:9-30
Friday, Sept. 23, Jacob Wrestles an Angel, Genesis 32:22-32
Saturday, Sept. 24, The Rape of Dinah, Genesis 34:1-31
Sunday, Sept. 25, Joseph’s Dream, Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-22, 26-34; 50:15-21
Monday, Sept. 26, Egyptian Midwives Save Hebrew Babies, Exodus 1:1-22
Tuesday, Sept. 27, Birth and Youth of Moses, Exodus 2:1-25
Wednesday, Sept. 28, God Calls Moses, Exodus 3:1-15
Thursday, Sept. 29, Plagues 1-3, Exodus 7:1-8:19
Friday, Sept. 30, Plagues 4-6, Exodus 7:20-9:12
DAILY NARRATIVE LECTIONARY READINGS for September
LAY MINISTER SCHEDULE FOR SEPTEMBER
Staff Members
Gary A. Bunge, Pastor [email protected]
Renee Dixon, Office Manager [email protected]
Rebecca Bossenbroek, Director of Worship [email protected]
Council Members
Jay Bennett, President [email protected]
Renee Dixon, Recording Secretary [email protected]
Luke Bunge, Treasurer [email protected]
Don Sheffer, Facility Development Team Leader [email protected]
Rebecca Bossenbroek, Financial Development [email protected]
Margie Bauer, Leadership Development Team Leader [email protected]
Cindy Jenks, WELCOME Ministry Development [email protected]
Julie Dartt, NOURISH Ministry Development [email protected]
Claudia Cameron, SERVE Ministry Development [email protected]
Council Meeting
Tuesday, September 20
7:00 pm
SEPT 4 SEPT 11 SEPT 18 SEPT 25
ALTAR FLOWERS Robert & Naida Jan & Jerry Becker Community Garden Lorri Wells
Schelter
ASSISTING MINISTERS 9:30am Diane Singletary Paulette Margaret Sheffer Cindy Jenks
(Paulette Piirainen Piirainen
256-9740)
USHERS 9:30am Kristine Ranger Ken & Margie Paulette Piirainen & Mike Borta
(Terry Greiner, 694-5358) Bauer Kristine Ranger
(Ken Bauer, 669-2301)
ALTAR CARE
(Claudia Cameron Char Seifert (Sept. 4 & 11).
323-8258)
COFFEE HOUR Faith Care Group (Margie Bauer) for entire month. C
St. Stephen Lutheran Church 2900 North Waverly Road, Lansing, MI 48906
Phone: 517-321-2244 Fax: 517-321-2632
Email: [email protected] | Website: StStephenOnline.org Traditional Worship: Sundays at 8:30 am
Sunday School Class: Sundays at 9:45 am (Sept – May)
Contemporary Worship: Sundays at 11:00 am
Church Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
The Evangel Page 7
2900 N. Waverly Rd.
Lansing, MI 48906
St . S tep hen Lut her an Chur ch
Phone: 517-321-2244
Fax: 517-321-2632
Email: [email protected]
Website: StStephenOnline.org
OR CURRENT OCCUPANT
FALL FESTIVAL and GOD’S WORK OUR HANDS Sunday, September 11, 2016
Fall Festival A celebration meal following worship.
Brian Holmes will be providing his marvelous pulled pork. Please bring a dish to pass.
God’s Work Our Hands will be the whole month of September.
The Second Offering will go to support EVE’s Shelter, a shelter for women, and women with children who have been victims of domestic violence. The offering will be used to buy clothing, shoes and items needed in the shel-ter as women often have to leave home quickly with nothing. Please give generously to this offering so that we
can also supply Meijer gift cards to residents of the shelter.
