February 2021 Newsletter
We love, serve, and gather in Christ.
Pastor Doug’s “Peace”
February is a weird month! First of all, just look at the spelling. The first “r” is silent, so why even put it in the word? Secondly, how many days are in the month? Do you know anyone who has a birthday on Feb. 29? I would be so bummed not to celebrate on the actual date every other year!
Thirdly, what in the world do we do with Groundhog day?? Seriously, these guys in Philadelphia pull a groundhog up to the sun and look at it’s shadow?? Can you imagine someone from another country and trying to explain this one??
What about Valentine’s Day? Obviously, a day to share love with those we care about and florists triple the price of roses! President’s Day is the third Monday in February as a day set aside to honor President’s.
For my family, my daughter Emily has her birthday Feb. 17th! This year she will be 30! (see below). My niece and nephew also have birthdays in February. Lastly, there is an 80-90% chance Ash Wednesday will fall in February! And, if that weren’t enough, I personally see February as the gateway to spring, officially beginning on March 21!!
No matter how you look at it, February is here and we will move through it by the grace of God. Let’s not let the “distractions” you and I have with the month itself get in the way of our sharing the love and grace of God with the world!
Amen,
Pastor Doug
Council President’s Thoughts
I’m framing the month of February as a planning month. Planning for Lent; what to sacrifice this year and what purpose to focus on, planning on what to do to bring our 2021 Faith goals to life and help all of us to have a role in serving God, even if it is remotely. Although we are apart, we can work on ways to involve our entire congregation in our mission and ministry through Family Promise, helping with virtual worship, joining our Sunday Faith & Fellowship or volunteering to help at one of our Food Pantry events. Want to get involved, but not sure how; please contact one of the Ministry Team Coordinators, a Council member or Pastor Doug. They will help you connect in an area where you can share your passion.
Many Blessings to you and your family,
Julie Muncy
Council President
Council Meeting Highlights
Discussed how to notify participants of the Fellowship zoom.
Discussed employee annual reviews, will be postponed until later this year.
Discussed shared Equipment / Food Pantry shed use, and formation of Food Pantry Team.
Reviewed the return to in-person worship – determined that we would go with the synod recommendation to stay virtual until February 28. In mid-February, we will review for a return in early March.
The Annual Meeting will be held on February 14 via zoom. The installation of the council will be held at the meeting.
Pastor’s installation will be held sometime after our return to in-person worship.
Discussed the annual audit, which will be done virtually.
Faith’s Annual Congregational Meeting
Faith’s Annual Congregational Meeting will be held via Zoom on Sunday, February 14th at 11:00am. The installation of your 2021 Church Council will be held during this meeting. Watch your email for the zoom invite and plan to attend! Your Pastor, Council, and members need your continued prayers and support.
Fellowship
We made it to the new year! While we won’t be meeting in person in February, we still have a wonderful service that is being broadcast live on Facebook and emailed out every week. We are also finding other ways to stay connected. Any additional ideas are appreciated, and are welcome to be sent to the church email address at: flc.avon@att.net. Please feel free to reach out if you need anything.
Sincerely,
Nikki Lee
Faith Fellowship Coordinator
Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent
Ash Wednesday, the 17th, begins our season of Lent. Special this year is both churches using a daily devotional called “A Story to Tell!” This little devotional booklet is from Augsburg Publishing and was written by several different pastors. It offers a Bible verse from the Gospel of Mark, a short story and prayer. There is a devotional for each day from Ash Wednesday until the Easter Vigil (the night before Easter!). I pray these booklets bless you and your family for Lent. (They are smaller pages and print than we thought, so pick up a magnifying glass!).
Faith Formation
Every Sunday Evening
at 7:00pm via Zoom
Our study from the “Book of Romans” series will continue in February. Each Sunday we will gather together with our sister congregation, St. Andrew’s, and spend an hour in God’s word. Join St. Andrew’s member, Jim Patton, as he leads us in a discussion on a wide range of Biblical/Christian issues including “rabbit holes!”
Each Sunday night class “stands alone” meaning you don’t have to attend the one before. Just read the current week’s corresponding chapters. If you feel led, make a note of what speaks to you or what verses/themes have meaning to you! This isn’t a “class”, we will simply be discussing what has energy and what speaks to us in an overview format!
Next Classes:
February 7th Romans 13 & 14
February 14th Romans 15 & 16, Conclusion
Our next “study” is TBD - watch your email!!!!
All are welcome! It’s a neat time of sharing, learning about God and God’s Word, and getting to know each other. If you have any questions please contact Pastor Doug or Jim at 317.319.3523.
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
Food Pantry Corner
I hope everyone is safe and well. The month of January 2021 was a slow month since our first pantry was on New Year's Day. We served 57 families or 289 individuals. I want to send a "Thank You" to all of the volunteers. I need the support from the church, as well as, the congregation to serve the community the way we have been.
We served 952 families or 4,031 individuals in 2020. We were able to give out milk from May until September due to Covid-19. Prairie Farms gave the pantries the milk rather than dumping the milk. This was such a huge blessing.
Thank you to all that support this ministry; you should be proud to be helping so many people.
Please stay safe and well. God Bless all of you.
Debbie Mohr
Hymn History with Douglas featuring “The Love of God” (1917)
This hymn was written in a citrus packing house in Pasadena, California, by a German-born Christian named Frederick M. Lehman. At the age of four, Frederick and his family had immigrated to America, settling in Iowa. Converted to Christ at the age of eleven while walking through a crabapple orchard, Frederick eventually entered the ministry and pastored churches in the Midwest. However, his greatest love was gospel music; he compiled five songbooks and published hundreds of songs.
In 1917, he found himself in financial shambles and working in a packing factory in Pasadena, moving thirty tons of lemons and oranges each day. One morning as he arrived at work, a song began forming in his mind. He had been thinking about the limitlessness of God’s love, and during breaks, he sat on an empty lemon crate and jotted down words with a stubby pencil. Arriving home later that day, he went to his old upright piano and began putting music to his words. He finally had a melody and two stanzas, but almost all gospel songs of that era had at least three stanzas. He thought of some lines he had recently heard in a sermon:
Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.
That verse perfectly formed the third stanza, but who had originally written it? As Lehman heard the story, it was composed on the wall of an insane asylum by an unknown inmate. Perhaps someone did find it there, but we now know the words originally came from the pen of an eleventh-century Jewish poet in German named Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai.
Frederick lived the rest of his life in California, writing a number of hymns before his death in 1953. One of his most popular gospel songs, now outdated and forgotten, was based on the wonder of a new-fangled invention that was sweeping over America. It was called “The Royal Telephone.”
Central’s never “busy,” always on the line;
You may hear from heaven almost any time…
Telephone to glory, O what joy divine!
I can feel the current moving on the line…
“Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
for his mercy endureth forever.”
Psalm 106:1
Faith’s
Prayer
Wall
It is written in Philippians 4:6, that we are not to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving we are to present our requests to God. You don’t have to be a “Prayer Warrior” to pray.
Will you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Our Homebound Members: Muncy Family for Chuck’s continued Covid-19 recovery, the loss of Chuck’s brother, Joan (Julie’s mom) ongoing struggles with Covid including Covid Pneumonia. Christina Burgan (daughter of Joyce and Gil Sams), Lou Ann Funk, Carolyn Moench, Jodi Draper, Vince Draper, Sara Curry, Sam Muncy, Tim Schults (brother of Karen Anderson), Dan Weaver (father of DeeDee Kochersperger), Dave Lee’s Mother, Jackie, and his brother and sister-in-law for health concerns, unknown needs for all wo are troubled in mind, body, and spirit.
Students: Amy Westwick (Paramedic School), Douglas Perez, Maddie Anderson, Matthew Benning, Lauren Basicker, All students navigating their “new normals”
Military Service Members: Corporal (JJ) James, All Service Men and Women fighting for our freedoms
Current Events: Continued struggles with Covid-19, Peace for our troubled world, Those affected by Hurricanes. (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 Bishop 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.
Midweek Moment with Pastor Doug
Each Wednesday you are invited to join Pastor Doug for a Midweek Moment. It is a moment to pause and take a breath and listen. Check your inbox or our Facebook page on Wednesdays, you never know when or how God is going to speak to you - Pastor Doug’s message might be just what you need in the middle of your week!
If you have a topic you’d like him to reflect on drop him an email at douggivan@yahoo.com
Birthdays
Masako Knight 2/17
Julie Thomas 2/19
Anniversaries
Brian and DeeDee Kochersperger 2/21
February
Celebrations
We’d like to honor and celebrate with you!
Please contact Sheilah to make sure we have
your birthday and anniversary on file.
Daily Readings & Devotions
Monday, February 1 Psalm 35:1-3
Tuesday, February 2 Luke 2:22-40
Wednesday, February 3 Psalm 35:1-10
Thursday, February 4 Galatians 5:2-15
Friday, February 5 Hebrews 2:1-4
Saturday, February 6 Matthew 12:9-14
Sunday, February 7 Mark 1:29-39
Monday, February 8 Acts 14:1-7
Tuesday, February 9 Psalm 102:12-28
Wednesday, February 10 Mark 3:7-12
Thursday, February 11 2 Corinthians 2:12-17
Friday, February 12 1 Timothy 1:12-20
Saturday, February 13 Psalm 50:1-6
Sunday, February 14 Mark 9:2-9
Monday, February 15 Hebrews 2:1-4
Tuesday, February 16 Job 19:23-27
Wednesday, February 17 Psalm 51:1-17
Thursday, February 18 1 John 1:3-10
Friday, February 19 Psalm 25:1-10
Saturday, February 20 Matthew 9:2-13
Sunday, February 21 Mark 1:9-15
Monday, February 22 Ephesians 2:1-10
Tuesday, February 23 Psalm 77
Wednesday, February 24 Matthew 4:1-11
Thursday, February 25 Romans 3:21-31
Friday, February 26 Psalm 22:23-31
Saturday, February 27 Mark 8:27-30
Sunday, February 28 Mark 8:31-38
Faith Financials
December 2020 Offerings
Account Name
Advent
Budget Giving
Building Fund
Christmas
Christmas Eve
Food Pantry
Garden of Faith
Memorial
Misc
St. Andrew’s
December Total
Amount
$250.00
$10,353.76
$50.00
$40.00
$50.00
$425.42
$48.00
$100.00
$50.00
$5,022.66
$16,389.84
In the spirit of giving, we thank you for your generosity!
Operating Budget
Budget
St. Andrew’s Pastor Comp
Budget Reserve
Capital Improvements
Building Fund
Special Accounts
Food Pantry
Memorial Fund
Funeral Expenses
Flower Fund
Sunday School
Pass Thru
SonRise Bible Study
Lent
Advent
Youth Gathering
Undesignated Funds
Youth Designated
Computer Fund
AV Grant
Property Accounts
Trail Construction
Butterfly Garden
Garden of Faith
Garden Shed
Investment Accounts
Endowment Fund
Total of All Accounts
Beginning Balance 11/1/2020
$59,208.01
-$547.71
$28,343.25
$8,273.65
$9,580.90
$1,954.13
$80.69
$115.80
$1,360.00
$100.00
$10.00
$250.00
$180.00
$1,002.25
$275.00
$80.00
$ -
$122.50
$138.91
$349.47
-$129.74
$377.09
$12,247.08
$123,371.28
Deposits November 2020
$20,424.09
$7,754.50
$2.15
$60.98
$803.43
$100.08
$450.00
$ -
$175.00
$50.00
$ -
$ -
$250.00
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$86.40
$ -
$17.96
$30,174.59
Disbursements November 2020
$24,043.53
$7,788.18
$ -
$ -
$192.54
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ 250.00
$180.00
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$32,454.25
Ending Balance 11/1/2020
$55,588.57
-$581.39
$28,345.40
$8,334.63
$10,191.79
$2,054.21
$530.69
$115.80
$1,535.00
$150.00
$10.00
$ -
$250.00
$1,002.25
$275.00
$80.00
$ -
$122.50
$138.91
$349.47
-$43.34
$377.09
$12,265.04
$121,091.62
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.