September Newsletter
We love, serve, and gather in Christ.
A note from Pastor Doug
Dear Family of Faith:
September arrives hopefully packed with something new, fresh and invigorating as we so desperately need something in our lives. We need, and deserve, more than the national and international news. We need each other and we can’t hardly do that in masked, restricted worship.
We cannot have fellowship events, activities, in person meetings, or all of the other things we love. At least we cannot have them now. We tend to forget that “this too shall pass!” We will overcome as one congregation with two locations! We can make it through this, we can do it. This will be a matter of perspective and insight and thoughts and attitudes.
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying: “An Easter monarch charged his wise men to invent a sentence for him, to be ever in view, which would hold true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How consoling in the depth of affliction!” (In an address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural society, Milwaukee, Sept. 30, 1859).
Remember friends, this too shall pass! We will not always feel this way, and we will not always have the same world in which we live. Cheer up, God loves September!!
God be with you until we meet again,
Pastor Doug
Council Meeting Highlights
FLC Council has continued to meet regularly via Zoom to keep projects moving forward and provide for ongoing communication.
Continue to review our Return to Worship process, discuss input received, adjusting set up, Sunday morning worshiper flow and monitor information format, entrance/exit pathway, signage, along with the video taping and posting of the service.
Agreed to change Adult Forum meeting time to 9:30am to better align with our 11:00am Service time.
Reviewed and agreed to a refresh of our FLC logo and our website.
Jointly with St. Andrew’s will purchase a new laptop for Pastor Doug. Funds from the Center for Congregations technology grant will be used for the FLC portion of this expense.
Refocused on our 2020 To-Do list.
Discussed our Food Pantry, how best to support this mission and the Food Pantry team and address safety concerns.
We want to thank everyone for their continued support and please contact us if you have any concerns or questions!
Don, Rick, Julie, Jim, Debbie, Ron, and Pastor
Council President’s Thoughts
Hi Everyone,
Wow! Can you believe it? Another month has past, and we are entering September. I would say: Where has the year gone but we all have that fresh in our minds and that is not all a pleasant memory. Yes, it has been a challenging year so far. If we pause and take a minute, step back, and look at the positive accomplishments achieved so far this year things do look considerably better. We have completed the call process. Pastor Doug accepted the call and is with us now. This was accomplished using means never applied to the call process before. We did not wait for the pandemic to end, we found ways to continue moving forward with the process. We learned to use virtual meetings in place of in-person meetings to complete the interviews. Presenting the candidate to the congregation and the voting process also utilized the Zoom virtual meeting process. We also need to put in perspective that we did this together with our brothers and sisters at St. Andrews. Together we completed the first shared ministry call that was completed this way. This was a big accomplishment for both congregations.
Our congregation faced having to close the church due to the worsening pandemic in early March and remained closed for four months. The family of Faith Lutheran Church did not let this stop us from being who we are and established online Sunday worship, another first for the church. Having to adapt to the COVID requirements helped us grow as a congregation and pushed us to think outside the box.
Today August 23, we celebrated our ninth Sunday of worship in the church since reopening. We now record the service to provide online worship to those that may not be able to attend service or those who prefer to worship at home during this time. Equipment has been purchased and work is being completed to provide the service “LIVE” on Faith’s Facebook page. Plans are to accomplish this within the next couple of weeks. We have been blessed with the direction God has given us to help handle the adversity the pandemic has thrown at us. As individuals and a congregation, we continue growing day by day.
Our world has changed, we are taking a new approach to who we are, how we do things, and with Pastor Doug leading us, this is a fresh start for Faith Lutheran. What do we see in our future? Looking forward the council felt that freshening up the appearance of who Faith Lutheran Church is, and how we present ourselves to the community is important. To help us address our image to the community the council has been working with Haley Kochersperger to develop a new website and a new church logo. There have been some exciting results that will be shared with the congregation soon. The designs are being tweaked and should be ready by early to mid-September. The council has also been discussing holding service outdoors on a Sunday in the near future. The logistics of how to do that are under consideration. One of the reasons for the outdoor service is with proper distancing it would be possible for us to sing. Singing during service has been missed and our members would like a way to do that. Suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Just to recap, we have experienced a challenging year so far, however we have also experienced some exceptional accomplishments. Sometimes you need to pause and look at the positives happening around you, this give you a different perspective and helps to cheer you up. I know, I do not do this enough.
May God keep us safe and continue to guide us on our continuing “Journey of Faith.”
Don
Faith Formation
Every Sunday Evening
at 7:00pm via Zoom
Faith Formation is a Bible study held each Sunday
evening at 7:00pm via Zoom. We will dive deeper into the second reading from the morning worship service. The study materials (and link to the zoom meeting) will be emailed each Friday so that you can review them before the study if you’d like.
Join us beginning Sunday, September 13th at 9:30am for our Adult Forum. We will be using the ELCA Faith Lens Program. We will social distance and wear masks. We might even go outside on the patio if the weather is nice! We encourage you to join us — no age requirements!
Faith Lens is a weekly Bible study that engages youth and young adults in connecting world events with the Bible, faith, and everyday life. We will use this study to see and relate to current events in the way the younger generation is doing and see how current events and Christ effect us all.
Adult Forum is BACK
with Faith Lens 9:30am Sunday Mornings
Faith’s Food Pantry
The month of July we served 64 families/256 individuals. For the month of August we served 64 families/268 individuals. Looks like our numbers are staying steady for a while.
We passed out backpacks (with school supplies) to our clients, the backpacks and school supplies we had left over went to the Mooresville school system. I decided they needed help. The town was hit by a tornado, Covid-19, most of the food pantries were closed, and people out of work. The school system was very appreciative. It is by your wonderful giving we are able to reach so many people.
We gave 76 stocked backpacks and another 10 string bags, and the supplies to so many students. We picked up a school tote that had so many office supplies to give to the teachers. I estimated we helped over 106 students this year!
Many Thank You's to Ron Graff and the others for your time to make a wonderful food pantry room for the freezers. We still have one more to move when it’s empty. We filled up all three freezers this week for the next pantry. I am needing a commercial freezer/cooler for the pantry. So if anyone knows of an auction or someone that wants to get rid of one please let me know. I can use it to store the eggs and milk we pick up for the pantries.
Thank you's to Mona and Christine for the vegetables they picked for the pantry. There are so many pretty peppers, okra and green beans coming out of the garden!
Thank you for all of your support to the pantry. We would not be able to do the work for the pantry without your support.
God Bless and stay safe.
Debbie Mohr
On September 21, Faith Lutheran Church will be providing dinner, along with breakfast and lunch for the following day, for the families currently residing with Family Promise. If you can provide food, deliver, and serve dinner on the 21st, or just come and spend some time with the families that evening, please contact Debbie Hacker.
Family
Promise
Prayer is Powerful
We, as Christian brothers and sisters, are called to pray for each other on all occasions. Ephesians chapter 6 says we are to keep this in mind, be alert, and always keep praying for all the saints. That means YOU!
Do you have a prayer request for ANY OCCASION? Health, Temporary Situation, Travel, Worry, Doubt, Moving etc.
Do you have a joy to share? Answered Prayer, Birth, New Job, Milestone Celebration, etc.?
Do you know someone that needs continued prayers? Homebound, Chronic Illness, Student, Military Service Member, etc.
As a family of Faith, we want to pray and celebrate WITH you.
Please submit your requests to Sheilah at the office by phone (317) 272-1022 or by email at flc.avon@att.net. The church phone and email are monitored daily.
If you would like to add details to your petitions you are welcome to do so but you do NOT have to.
All Saints Day - November 1
For Lutherans, All Saints resonates with the conviction that in Christ every saint is a sinner and every sinner a saint, simul justus et peccator. Lutherans especially remember on this feast that it is God’s grace, apart from our works, that makes us saints. We find lasting rest only in the mercy of God.
All includes those beloved by others. All Saints creates a space that embraces with honor the multitudes of individuals among the beloved dead. We see their faces, say their names, and recognize in the worshipers around us others who carry their own memories and litanies of saints. All Saints sets out a place for all of them—an assembly the book of Revelation describes as “a number no one could count” with saints “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (7:9). All Saints brings into focus our own beloved dead while also stretching our imagination toward the whole company of saints, more diverse and populous than we can fully comprehend. - Living Lutheran
All Saints Day is Sunday, November 1, 2020 and we will be honoring the saints that have gone before us. If you would like to honor a saint in your life, please submit their name to Sheilah by phone at (317) 272-1022 or by email at flc.avon@att.net.
Birthdays
Maggie Snyder 9/12
Sarah Westwick 9/12
Lauren Basicker 9/22
Daniel Blakely 9/22
Darlene Olson 9/26
Janice Damrow 9/27
Lori Becker 9/29
Anniversaries
Jim & Kim Orebaugh 9/8
Chuck & Julie Munch 9/17
September
Celebrations
We’d like to honor and celebrate with you!
Please contact Sheilah to make sure we have
your birthday and anniversary on file.
September Worship Assistants
We thank all of our Worship Assistants for their continued willingness to serve during worship.
September 6th
Altar Guild
Lori Becker
Assisting Minister
Jay Anderson
Lector
Lori Becker
Ushers
Ron Graff
Jacob Benning
Greeter
Janice Lee
Money Counter
Debbie Hacker
Cleaning Ministry
Albaugh (8/31 - 9/6)
September 13th
Altar Guild
Lori Becker
Assisting Minister
Samuel Muncy
Lector
Karen Anderson
Ushers
Jay Anderson
Rick Westwick
Greeter
Julie Muncy
Money Counter
Julie Muncy
Cleaning Ministry
Lee (9/7 - 9/13)
September 20th
Altar Guild
Lori Becker
Assisting Minister
Karen Anderson
Lector
Debbie Hacker
Ushers
Janice Lee
Lori Becker
Greeter
Becky Albaugh
Money Counter
Don Damrow
Cleaning Ministry
Etter (9/14 - 9/20)
September 27th
Altar Guild
Lori Becker
Assisting Minister
Don Damrow
Lector
Kim Orebaugh
Ushers
Kevin Westwick
Phil Zillinger
Greeter
Mona Etter
Money Counter
Becky Albaugh
Cleaning Ministry
Hacker (9/21 - 9/27)
Daily Readings & Devotions
Tuesday, September 1
2 Samuel 11:27b-12:15a
Wednesday, September 2
Matthew 12:22-32
Thursday, September 3
Psalm 119:33-40
Friday, September 4
Romans 10:15b-21
Saturday, September 5
Ezekiel 33:1-6
Sunday, September 6
Matthew 18:15-20
Monday, September 7
1 Peter 2:11-17
Tuesday, September 8
Psalm 119:65-72
Wednesday, September 9
Matthew 21:18-22
Thursday, September 10
1 John 3:11-16
Friday, September 11
Psalm 103:1-13
Saturday, September 12
Matthew 6:7-15
Sunday, September 13
Matthew 18:21-35
Monday, September 14
1 Corinthians 1:18-24
Tuesday, September 15
Psalm 133
Wednesday, September 16
Mark 11:20-25
Thursday, September 17
Nahum 1:1, 14-2:2
Friday, September 18
2 Corinthians 13:5-10
Saturday, September 19
Psalm 145:1-8
Sunday, September 20
Matthew 20:1-16
Monday, September 21
Matthew 9:9-13
Tuesday, September 22
Genesis 28:10-17
Wednesday, September 23
Isaiah 41:1-13
Thursday, September 24
Psalm 25:1-9
Friday, September 25
Ezekiel 18:5-18
Saturday, September 26
Ezekiel 18:19-24
Sunday, September 27
Matthew 21:23-32
Monday, September 28
Psalm 28 July
Tuesday, September 29
Psalm 103:1-5, 20-22
Wednesday, September
30 Matthew 9:2-8
July 2020 Finances
Prayer Wall
We, as Christian brothers and sisters, are called to pray for each other on all occasions. God’s word says in Ephesians 6 (18) we are to keep this in mind, be alert, and always keep praying for all the saints.
That means YOU!
Our Homebound Members:
Flora Christiansen and Martha Siemers
Continued Prayers:
Lou Ann Funk, Carolyn Moench, Jodi Draper, Vince Draper, Sara Curry, Sam Muncy, Tim Schults (brother of Karen Anderson), Dan Weaver (father of Dee Dee Kochersperger), Unknown needs to all who are troubled in mind, body, and spirit.
Students:
Michelle Becker, Maddie Anderson, Matthew Benning, Lauren Basicker, All students navigating their “new normals”
Military Service Members:
Lance Corporal (JJ James), All Service Men and Women fighting for our freedoms
Current Events:
Continued Covid-19 struggles California Wildfires
Peace for our troubled world Those affected by Hurricane Laura
Pastor invites us all to consider a donation to Lutheran World Relief at www.lwr.org
Leadership and Local Organizations:
ELCA Bishop: Elizabeth Eaton
I-K Synod: Bill Gafkjen
Lutheran Child and Family Services Family Promise
Sheltering Wings Faith’s Food Pantry
As a family of Faith, we want to pray and celebrate WITH you. Please submit your requests to Sheilah at the office by phone 317.272.1022 or by email at flc.avon@att.net.
If you would like to add details to your petitions you are welcome to do so but you do NOT have to.