To this you all are witnesses” ~ Jesus, to his disciples

C H R I S T L U T H E R A N C H U R C H

May, 2019

3612 Old Oakwood Road, Oakwood, GA 30566 Phone: 770-535-9938 Office E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.clcga.org Office Hours : 9 am—1PM Monday thru Thursday

CLC STAFF

Pastor: Rev. Andrew Seibert

770-403-1194

[email protected]

Office Administrator: Dawn Johnson

770-535-9938

[email protected]

Director of Music: Diane Mulkey

770-718-1582

[email protected]

Youth Director: Sarah Caruso

678-865-7911

[email protected]

Custodian: Scottye Sisk

770-617-2276

2019 Church Council

Alan Clark (President)…….…770-778-6423

[email protected]

Jan Clark (Administration)….. 770-965-1573

[email protected]

Cheryl Neller (Scribe)……..678-517-4750

[email protected]

Ken Hayden (V.P./Finance) 770-503-0673

[email protected]

John Travis (Treasurer)…..….770-967-4178

[email protected]

Karin Bowman (Nurture)....….770-614-0967

[email protected]

Toni Zavadil (Outreach)….....770-519-3346

[email protected]

To this you all are witnesses” ~ Jesus, to his disciples.

So after the first Easter day, Jesus rolls around town showing up and interacting with the disciples who at one point followed him intimately. Their reactions are so inter-esting to me:

Doubt, Confusion, Misunderstanding, Proof-searching.

He walks on the road with them, they don’t recognize him. He opens up Scripture to them, they don’t understand it. He has a meal with them, and they don’t get that it’s him until he disappears.

But he keeps showing himself to them anyways. Even when they don’t get it, are confused and misunderstand.

So needed then. So needed now.

We’re 10 warm spring days past the celebration of this Easter. How are you doing? Everything coming together for you? No confusion? No doubts? No misunderstandings? Did your Easter worship experience nail it all down for you? (See what I did there? Nail it all down!!) Of course not. We’re still on the road. Filled with twists and turns and bumps and bruises and hurts and questions.

And he keeps showing up. And telling us, “You are witnesses to all these things”

Where did you see Jesus show up in your life recently? Where in your con-fusion, hurt, prayer, loss, grief and wondering did you sense a presence bigger than the present saying, “Here I am…Witness this!”?

Continued on page 2

Page #2 Christ Lutheran Church, Oakwood, GA Newsletter The Vine May, 2019

Calling all men! Another men’s group is being formed at CLC! This group seeks to share ways that we, as men, can live out our faith through service in mission to others. We will meet on May 16 @ 12 noon. Participants are asked to bring their own brown bag lunch...hence the name, “Brown Bag Bunch!” Interested? Contact Ken Hayden (770-871-5595) or Pastor Andy (770-403-1194) for further information or to sign up.

Lutheran Men in Mission - “Brown Bag Bunch”

HANDS will meet May 6th and May 20th.

Drop in between 4pm and 7pm.

Learn to crochet or knit!

All are welcome.

HANDS (Hooks And Needles Doing Service)

A friend of mine, a pastor from in the Buffalo, NY area, is also a chaplain for local fire fighters. He sent this to me last week and it probably sums up what I’m trying to say better than I can myself, so I figured I’d share it with you……. “I responded to a fire yesterday with several crews around the my area. As I watched them pull a victim out of a burning apartment, put a fire out, deal gracefully with displaced residents and neighbors and care for one another in the process, I was witness to Jesus showing up. One of the Chiefs got married at my church. One comes to church but also takes care of the parking lot plowing. One comes to the church to find a listening ear while his spouse struggles with health issues. And many are men and women whose faith in God looks like active service in their community. In and through them, I witnessed Jesus show up in doubts, confu-sion and pain and say ‘Peace be with you.’ ”

Easter Day isn’t a fix-all. It wasn’t then. It isn’t now. It’s process of continually seeing Jesus and being witness to God continuing to show up…alive…in all our crazy-life-stuff

To that, we all are witnesses.

Lord, thanks for showing up and then showing up some more. Amen

Soli Geo Gloria, Pastor Andy


I want to thank everyone that brought food for Wednesday night Lenten dinners. We had a

great turnout this year. We averaged around 65 people for each service. The soups, sandwiches,

breads, and deserts were wonderful. We have some amazing cooks in this church. Thank you

all.

On Palm Sunday we had our ground breaking blessing. Thanks to some brave members who

forged through rain and mud to be a part of the beginning of this huge undertaking. No one ev-

er said that being a Christian wasn’t just a little messy. So, save those some of those old clothes

you wanted to give away so you can continue getting a little messier in the days to come. All

hands will be needed from the youngest to the oldest.

Nurture


We are very excited seeing the construction actually underway on the building expansion. Last month’s “Yellow Flag” article highlighted our concern regarding meeting our 2019 Ministry Plan giving to keep up with new ex-penses related primarily to the building addition. That concern continues.

In essence, the Congregation voted on February 17 to increase the Ministry Plan by $200 per month. This re-flects the difference between the $4000 / month mortgage payment in the approved plan and the $4200 / month projected mortgage payment with the Option of added rest rooms and storage.

The Finance Committee is proceeding on a revised Weekly Giving target of $6275 in place of the $6229 in the Ministry Plan approved in December. While this may not seem as much of an increase, it builds as the weeks move forward.

Actual numbers through April 21 show we are 2.1% year to date behind the Ministry Plan in giving to the Gen-eral Fund. That little increase of $200 / month puts us 2.9% behind the revised target. So the “Yellow Flag” is still raised.

It is great to see contributions coming in to both the Building Fund and Mortgage Reduction Funds. Money ear-marked for the Building Fund means it will be used instead of drawing from the new loan and therefore no in-terest ever paid. So, for now, it is more advantageous to donate to the Building Fund rather than Mortgage Re-duction.

A focused Mortgage Reduction program will begin as soon as the construction is completed and the new loan rolls from construction to mortgage. At that time I will provide examples of how much time and money we can save by making extra principle payments each month. It can be substantial. Stay tuned!

Ken Hayden

For the Finance Committee

Finance Committee


Building Expansion Update

Our loan was closed on April 9th without any problems. We are using the money in our building fund to pay our first project invoices and, when the fund is empty, we will begin drawing on our Thrivent loan. While the project is underway we will make interest payments on the mon-ey we have borrowed. When the project is complete, we will begin regular principal and inter-est payments based on the total amount we borrowed. The necessary permits to begin construction have been granted, erosion control work is com-plete, the sewer line for the new addition has been installed, and the site has been graded. The building footings and base slab are scheduled to be poured early in the week of April 29th, weather permitting. Here is a recent picture of the site.

As a reminder, to ensure everyone’s safety, please do not enter the construction area at any time without prior authorization. If you would like a group or individual tour, please contact me one day before and I will request permission from the site superintendent. Project Scope The project scope has not changed. Project Schedule The project is on schedule with completion expected in September. Project Cost There has been no change in the project cost. The budget remains at $1,003,064. The request for donations for the kitchen equipment, led by Joe Vinson on Palm Sunday, was a wonderful success. Donations were pledged for all equipment listed on the board. In the near future, we will ask for your consideration to help purchase equipment for our nursery and youth areas. If you have any thoughts or comments on this project, please contact Alan Overcash at [email protected] , 770.757.9356. Thank you, Alan

mailto:[email protected]


Adult Forum 9:45 Sunday in Classroom #1

BEGINNING A NEW AND EXCITING PROJECT………………

From ideas from Hank Lewis we are developing a new updated CHURCH BROCHURE for VISITORS and distribution to area neighborhoods. What do you think should be included about CLC? Please join us to share your thoughts and ideas.

SOON TO FOLLOW ADULT FORUM CLASS FORMAT………………

Current Headline News Stories Discussion & Con-versation. Connecting todays Christian Living with supporting Scripture Readings

Special Guest Leaders…….Adding their experience and knowledge to our topic Military Care Boxes……packed with special items for overseas men and women in our services Contributing to our Cow Fund…..Supporting the needs of our World, ELCA World Hunger, Cows & Goats, Disaster Relief, Special Needs

Stop by for 45 minutes of sharing and fellowship. Looking forward to seeing you……Sharon and Bill


Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Association WELCA wishes all mothers a very happy Mother's Day as we honor and celebrate the won-derful women in our lives. Please continue the celebration by joining with your WELCA sis-ters at our monthly meeting on May 13th at 9:45. Brunch will be hosted by Dixie Wigbels and Diane Mulkey. Our devotional study, led by Edna Jackson, looks at how different gen-erations shared experiences in the Bible and in our personal lives. We will close the morn-ing with a brief business meeting. Please join us!

LWR Towel Drive Begins

Lutheran World Relief Quilts and Kits are sent all over the world to help people who are struggling to access basic essentials. In 2018, LWR Quilt & Kit Ministry benefited a total of 601,144 recipients in 25 countries. It's amazing what we can do when we all coordinate efforts and participate in this amazing ministry!

In May and June you will have the opportunity to help WELCA by donating some components of the health kits we assemble in August. We are asking members of CLC to bring bath towels in May and soap in June. Bath towels should be approximately 20"x40", light or medium weight (for ease in washing and drying), and dark in color. We will accept them any time in the month of May, but why not plan to have them in on Mother's Day, May 12th?

As always, your support is appreciated!

Retreat, Relaxation, Recreation, Reverence in the Mountains

Sound good? All women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church have the opportuni-

ty to convene with other women of the Southeastern Synod in their annual con-

vention held in Pigeon Forge, TN on Sept. 20-21, 2019. The activities will include

workshops, Bible studies, music, WELCA business, worship services, and a gala

banquet all held at the beautiful Music Road Resort. Registration of approxi-

mately $195 includes meals for the week-end and all convention events. Rooms

at the hotel start at $139. Find more information on the clipboards. See Phyllis

Solgere or Diane Mulkey.


Expansion Begins on a High Note!!!

With the land for our new Social Hall now cleared, pouring the floor & foundation is about to begin. You

notice the difference as you drive into the parking lot as some spots are now behind the construction fence

and we may need to temporarily park on the grass.

And people stepped forward in a big way to purchase Kitchen Appliances for this new space. Joe Vinson

prepared a list of items needed and about everything was taken. This includes the new 30” Oven, 6 Burner

Range, Ice Machine, Refrigerator, 2 Dishwashers, a Food Warmer and many Miscellaneous Fixtures. These

appliances are commercial grade totaling over $11,000 in donations.

The reason these were not included in our expansion details is we can buy them much cheaper than going

thru a contractor--we avoid his markup and can look for sales prices. It’s another way we get our expansion

and save money.

We are running a little behind on our Ministry Plan for the year. Last December we agreed to a budget in-

crease of almost 9%. Hopefully you will review your giving and help us make up the difference.

You have several opportunities to make your donation count:

Most of us use the collection plate to support the church. We give to the General Ministry

which supports our day-to-day operation or to one of our many FUNDS in support of special

interests. Both are important. During the past year, 80% of our General Ministry donations

were made with the collection plate. But that is slowly changing.

Many of us now use Online Giving. The idea here is to make your donation from your checking account or your credit/debit card. Most of us do a recurring donation either weekly or monthly. The other option is to do a one-time donation. Online Giving is important to our church so your donation is made even if you can't attend the ser-vice. Over 20% of our donations are made with Online Giving. Go to www.clcga.org.

Our newest option is to use your cell phone. Yes, it really is like Online Giving, but it’s also different. You can use the Give+ Mobile app in 2 different ways. The first is to belong to Online Giving and just use your phone to make or change your donation. The other way is to make a donation using just

your cell phone app – no need to register with Online Giving.

Faithfully Yours, John Travis, Treasurer


5/3 Noah Johnson

5/6 Bill Wonnacott

5/8 Carolyn Wierson

5/13 Robert Seeke

5/16 Phil Wierson

5/20 Beth Marien

5/22 Emma Seibert

5/15 Mike & Beth Marien

5/18 Dane & Jan Clark

5/22 Derek & Dawn Johnson

5/24 Arnie & Sue McCleese

5/22 Kat Hartman

5/26 Signy Uyl

5/27 Dawn Johnson

5/27 Sondra Lightfoot

5/28 Betsy Pierson

5/29 Tina Crews


Change of Date

VBS ALL VOLUNTEER TRAINING

Saturday May 18th 10 am- 12 pm

End of School Luau

Saturday May 18th 6pm

Bring a towel your gonna get wet!

Vacation Bible School

June 3rd-7th, 2019

6:00-8:30 pm

Ages 3 – 12

Youth News

May 2019


June 3rd-7th 2019

6-8:30 pm

Register at

https://vbspro.events/p/clcroar


Join us in congratulating the following graduates:

Nolan Kangas Buford High School

Kasey Smith Cherokee Bluff High School

Bobby Falcey Flowery Branch School

Kids Worship Volunteers:

5/5- Denise Simpson

5/12- Ava Rubin

5/19-Ruth Goodwin

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

6:45 am Men’s Prayer Breakfast

10 am Bible Study

12 noon Good News

6 pm Youth Group

7:30 pm College Bible Study

2

10 am—12 noon

CLC staffs South Hall Food Pantry

3

8 pm AA

4

5

8:30am Worship service

9:45 am Adult Forum

Confirmation w/ Pastor

11am Worship service w/ Kid’s worship

1PM Spanish speaking Worship

6

2-4 pm QUILTERS for the World

4-6 pm SHCFP

4-7 pm HANDS

8 pm AA

7

8


10 am Bible Study

12 noon Good News

6 pm Youth Group


6:45 pm Adult Choir

9

10 am—12 noon


10

8pm AA

11

10 am-noon

SHCFP

12

8:30am Worship

9:45 am Adult forum

Confirmation w/Pastor

11am Worship w/ kid’s

worship


13

9:45 am WELCA

6:30 pm Church Council

8pm AA

14

15


10 am Bible Study

6 pm Youth Group


6:45 pm Adult Choir

16

10 am—12 noon


12 noon LMM Brown Bag Lunch

17

8 pm AA

18

10 am-noon

All VBS volunteer training

6pm End of Year Youth Luau

19

Hunger Relief Sunday 8:30am Worship

9:45 am Adult Forum

11am Worship w/ kid’s worship


20

4-7 pm HANDS

8pm AA

21

22

10 am Bible Study

6:45 pm Adult Choir

23

10 am—12 noon


24

8pm AA

25

26

8:30am Worship

9:45 am Adult Forum

11am Worship w/ kid’s worship


27

8pm AA

28

29

10 am Bible Study

No choir practice

30

10 am—12 noon


31

Pastor to Synod--

8pm AA

——————————-}

Christ Lutheran Church May 2019

May, 2019 Page #14 Christ Lutheran Church, Oakwood, GA Newsletter The Vine

READERS 5/5 - Judy Kaczorowski

5/12 - Edna Jackson

5/19 - Kay Knight

5/26 - Toni Zavadil

ALTAR GUILD

5/5 Beth Marien 5/12 Sue & Jim Joninas 5/19 Edna Jackson 5/26 Gerry & John Travis

COMMUNION BREAD

5/5 Kay Knight 5/12 Diane Bohn 5/19 Melinda Parmer 5/26 Gerry Travis COFFEE FELLOWSHIP 5/5 Doreen Krumenacker 5/12 Jim Joninas & Bob Falcey

ASSISTING MINISTERS

5/5 Jim Trimboli

5/12 Alan Clark

5/19 Kay Knight

5/26 Ann McDivitt

USHERS

5/5 Jan & Alan Clark5/5 Jan & Alan Clark

5/12 5/12 Dale Osterloh & Jim Joninas

5/19 Gerry Travis & Ginny Huseby

5/26 Jim Ellis & Don Finfrock

Go in Peace, Serve the Lord Serving at Worship for May

8:30 am Worship Service

READERS

5/5 - Karen Legg

5/12 - Jeff Winiesdorffer

5/19 - Pat Freeman

5/26 - Pastor Freeman

Kid’s Worship 5/5 Denise Simpson 5/12 Ava Rubin 5/19 Ruth Goodwin 5/26 no Kid’s worship

ASSISTING MINISTERS

5/5 Don Woosley 5/12 Karin Bowman

5/19 Cindy Grastat

5/26 Alan Clark USHERS

5/5 Phyllis Solgere & Susan Cordial 5/12 David Tate & Bill Kangas 5/19 Richard Morhard & Ken Uyl 5/26 Eric Bowman & Alan Overcash

COUNTERS

5/5 Betty & Scott McKevitt 5/12 Jeff Winiesdorffer & Jeanne Lewis 5/19 Melinda Parmer & Marilyn Johnson 5/26 Paul Egan & Denise Simpson

ALTAR GUILD

5/5 Diane Morhard 5/12 Denise Simpson 5/19 Karen Legg 5/26 Marie Umberger COFFEE FELLOWSHIP

5/5 Lynn Whitener & Janet Seibert 5/12 “Take Your Mom Out” 5/19 Sony & Gladys Marcelin 5/26 Diane Morhard & Marilyn Johnson 6/2Janet Seibert & Dixie Bryson 6/9 Karen Vinson & Kathie Wilson 6/16 Karin Bowman & Nancy Garland 6/23 Lynn Thomas & Marie Umberger 6/30 Jeanne Lewis, Denise Simpson & Paul Egan

11:00 am Worship Service

Documents

To this you all are witnesses” ~ Jesus, to his disciples