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Wings & Feathers Newsletter for
March/April 2017
Important information about what's going on around
Holy Counselor Lutheran Church
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Merciful God, accompany our journey through these forty days. Renew us in the gift of baptism, that we may provide for those who are poor, pray for those in need, fast from self-indulgence, and above all that we may find our treasure in the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.*
Lent is often looked at as a season of renewal. It is a time when we as individuals and as the church can focus on renewing our faith, our relationships, ourselves, and our congregations.
In a recent Lenten resource published by the Women of the ELCA they asked the following questions:
What Lenten practices have you heard of, and have you tried any of them? How did that go? What did it mean or represent to you? Was it a physical, mental, spiritual, social, financial, ecological or global practice? Did you find it spiritually renewing in some way? How? Have you always observed Lent the same way? What would you think about trying something different? Why or why not?
Then the resource goes on to look at each of those areas individually and ask questions that might lead us into renewal.
Physically: How is my relationship with my body? Do I treat my body and other people’s bodies as the beloved creation of God that they are?
Mentally: How is my relationship with my mind and other people’s minds? How do I feel about taking in new ideas? If my congregation offers adult forums to learn more about our faith, have I participated? Might I? Do I respect my mind and other people’s minds as the beloved creation of God that they are?
Spiritually: How is my prayer life? Do I prepare for Sunday worship by reading and pondering the appointed Scripture passages ahead of time? When was the last time I received Holy Communion? Do I respect my soul and other people’s souls as the beloved creation of God that they are?
Socially: Are my friendships and family relationships respectful and rewarding for everyone concerned? Do I take part in social activities or events at my congregation or with people I know from church? Do I respect my family, friends, neighbors and congregation as the beloved creation of God that they are?
Financially: How is my relationship to money? Do I worry about money, try not to think about it or plan and act prudently? Do I respect money as the useful tool (but no more than that) that our loving God has given us?
Ecologically: How is my relationship to the earth? Do I treat the earth and natural resources as the beloved creation of God that they are?
Globally: How is my relationship to the human race? Do I respect all humanity, far and near, as the beloved creation of God that we all are?
There is little doubt that churches everywhere are seeking renewal, to be made new, as gathering places for the people of God, as places where the people of God are fed, forgiven and sent out to participate in the great mission of God in the world. If churches and congregations need to be renewed then so do their people. Let us work faithfully and deliberately this Lent to begin this process together.
-Pastor Chris
*(Concluding prayer from the service for Ash Wednesday in Evangelical Lutheran Worship © 2006.)
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CHURCH COUNCIL
Pastor Rev. Christopher Bruesehoff
President Matthew Moller
Vice President Denise Urbaniak
Secretary Dawn McCormick
Treasurer Mark Rossi
Financial Secretary Sandra Wardell
Outreach Group (Parish Activities Team, Membership &
Social Ministry Teams) Liz Walker
Nurture Group (Worship Team,Education Team,
Youth Team) Leslie Deutch
Administration Group (Property Team, Information &
Technology Team) Roy Wherry
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COUNCIL PRESIDENT REPORT
Submitted by Matthew Moller,
Council President
Dear fellow members of the HCLC family, I'm honored to serve as President of the Congregational Council for the next year. You can expect me to work hard to lead the Council and I look forward to your support and feedback as we celebrate our ministry and face new (and old) challenges. I plan to facilitate a more frequent dialog between the Council and Congregation, seek ways to grow the size of our membership, and hope to modernize some of our operations and facilities.
I would also like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our outgoing President Pam Kucks for her service to HCLC, as well as the tremendous support and kindness she has shown me personally. I have learned a lot serving on the Council under Pam this year and hope that I can live up to the standard that she has set. The Council and Congregation owe a great deal to her leadership.
We will initiate some new plans at our upcoming Council meeting on 3/6. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me at mkmoller@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or questions that you would like to discuss. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
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FINANCIAL SECRETARY REPORT
Submitted by Sandra Wardell, Financial Secretary
Holy Counselor Lutheran Church makes an impact on the lives of people in the congregation and in the community. We are committed to a mission of serving our members through worship, prayer, communion, fellowship and other activities. We are also committed to serving our community through a food pantry, music, family promise and many other programs. Most of the mission is through volunteerism but funds are also required. The stormy weather has limited some members from attending church this winter. We are already behind in funds. We need to catch up our pledges as soon as possible.
I wish to thank our Thrivent Financial members for designating our church for “Choice Dollars” last year. In 2015 the church received $796.00 in “Choice Dollars,” but in 2016 the amount increased to $2312.00. Thank you for your past support. The deadline for designating any remaining 2016 funds is March 31, 2017. I hope you will continue to view us as a worthy recipient.
The general fund income is already behind by approximately 2.5% of projected income. We need to be better prepared for bad weather, holiday weekends and vacation days. If we all gave just a little bit more each week, we would avoid having problems paying our bills. Please consider giving “the cost of a cup of coffee” extra each week. We also have “Vanco electronic payment” at the church. Please consider using this form of payment when you are unable to come to church. Feel free to talk with any council member about this form of payment.
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TREASURER REPORT
Submitted by Mark Rossi, Treasurer
Simply put, our total income at this time is $6,300 short of the giving rate needed for 2017's planned expenses. Please see me if you need further details.
Please consider from the daily prayer book for this Sunday these words from Matthew 5 verse 42, "Give to everyone who begs from you".
Also from Sunday is the prayer call. Please pray with me "Giving God, help me to share what you have given me, especially his gift of your Son, Jesus. Amen!"
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NURTURE GROUP REPORT
Submitted by Lelsie Deutch,
Nurture Group Coordinator and Church office
Youth Group
The weekend of February 10-12, Diane Rossi, Renea Rossi and Andy Wiik attended the Winter Youth Assembly at Harvey Cedars.
On February 17-19, Jamie and Rebekah Bruesehoff and Megan Emmerich attended the Elementary Retreat at Crossroads.
Upcoming Events:
February 28 - Help with Shrove Dinner
March 24 - Help with St. Patrick's Day Dinner & Lock-in
April 9 - Help with Easter Egg Hunt
April 21-23 - Middle School Retreat at Crossroads
Sunday School
Sunday school is looking for helpers to complete service projects. If anyone has any ideas or projects that are near and dear to your hearts, the Sunday school kids would love to be involved.
Confirmation
Sunday, January 8th was the date for our confirmands reunion. We invited all of our confirmation alumni to come and share their confirmation memories. A good time was had by all. Thank you Pam Kucks for gathering all our confirmands!
2018 Youth Gathering
Pastor Chris will be holding meetings on March 19th at 9:45am and 5pm to highlight the Youth Gathering in Houston, TX June 27-July 1, 2018. Come and hear more about the trip, know what to expect at a youth gathering, costs, travel, housing, food, fundraising and team building. Youth in grades 8-11 are all invited to attend with their parents.
Check out the gathering website at: www.elca.org/YouthGathering .
Easter Egg Hunt
Our Easter egg hunt will be held on Palm Sunday, April 9th at 1 pm for Pre-K - 6th grade. Plastic eggs, non-candy items and Easter candy donations are greatly appreciated! Donation cards will be handed out on March 12th for needed supplies. Please put all donated items in the basket located in the narthex. All donations are due by April 2nd. Confirmation kids, please speak to Christine Ahrendt to see how you can help. Your helping will count toward your hours! Two adult volunteers are needed for the day of the event. If anybody would like to help please contact Christine.
Easter flower forms
Now is the time to place your orders for Easter flowers to beautify the altar for our Easter services. Forms are now available in your bulletins for ordering. April 2nd is the deadline for ordering the flowers.
Worship
Sister’s in Prayer
March 4 – April 15, 9am. Join us for 7 Saturdays during Lent as we focus our attention on seven verses associated with walking in the light of the Lord. This would be a great discipline to sign-up for during the Lenten period. Contact Liz Walker if you would like to participate. Meetings are in the church council room.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is March 1st with services at 10am or 8pm for imposition of ashes. Bible Study will be held only at 10am for the remainder of Lent.
Lenten Ecumenical Service Schedule
Please attend the Lenten Ecumenical services at the various churches throughout the Vernon area during Lent. All services are held on Wednesdays at 8pm. If you are attending the March 15th service at HCLC, please bring a dessert to share after the service.
March 08 St. Francis de Sales
March 15 Holy Counselor Lutheran Church
March 22 Vernon United Methodist Church
March 29 Glenwood Baptist Church
April 05 McAfee Bible Church
April 12 St. Francis de Sales
April 14 Good Friday service 12 noon St. Thomas Chapel
April 16 Cemetery Field 6:30am Sunrise Service
Holy Week Schedule
April 09 -Palm Sunday with the Gospel reading of the Passion at 8:30am & 10:30am. Our Easter Egg Hunt begins at 1pm.
April 13 -Maundy Thursday service with soup and rolls beginning at 6:30pm.
April 14 -Good Friday Tenebrae service at 8pm.
April 15 -Easter Prayer Vigil begins at 8pm and ends at 6am on the 16th.
April 16 - Easter Sunday services at 8:30am & 10:30am.
Easter Prayer Vigil
Our annual Easter Vigil will take place on Easter Saturday, April 15th beginning at 8pm through 6am on Easter, April 16th. You can sign up for one hour or more, on your own, or with a friend. There will be a sign up in the narthex in March. If you have any questions, please contact Leslie Deutch.
Altar Guild
The altar guild truly needs additional volunteers to help setting up and taking down the altar each Sunday. The training is easy and if more people would volunteer, the same people wouldn’t need to be doing it every week. Please seriously consider helping us and give your name to Nancy Knecht.
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OUTREACH GROUP REPORT
Submitted by: Liz Walker, Outreach Group Coordinator & the Church office
I would like to give thanks to our outgoing president for the past 4 years. Pam Kucks gave her all. She worked closely with council and pastor in guiding planning and in making the hard decisions. She attended all the meetings, including those required for Synod. She was a wonderful role model and leader; she did the serious work, was organized, and always had a sense of humor. She was supportive of me in my outreach role, and no matter how busy she was with her own family, and fulltime work, she responded timely and with a full heart. She prayed deeply for those in need. Her own spiritual journey grew as a result of her work serving the church. I know she will continue to be inspired by God’s light and serve. Give Pam thanks for her good work, as we need to encourage those that take on this demanding role, and in turn welcome Matt Moller, as our new president. He will need our support as he leads us into the New Year!
Progressive Dinner
Aileen Donovan organized this fun progressive potluck dinner with a pre-Super Bowl theme. There were about 20 people who participated. Appetizers were at Aileen’s house; main course at Kathy Baumann’s and dessert and white elephant exchange at Denise Urbaniak’s house. There was a lot of great homemade food but this photo depicts the most original theme food prepared by the Polagyes. Group shot from top left to right, Sandy, John, Mark, Bob, Diane, Emilie, Debbie, Larry, Donna, Liz, Aileen, Nancy, Dawn, Steve and Kathy.
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Shrove Tuesday
Join us on February 28 at 6pm. Fellowship, prayer, a delicious pancake dinner and a chance to learn about ways to make the most of Lent. Breakfast pancakes and potato pancakes and other good things will be prepared to satisfy the hungriest appetite. The cost for the meal is a free will donation. The origin of Shrove Tuesday comes from the idea that on the night before Lent begins - consuming everything in the household from which one planned to abstain during Lent. We serve pancakes to connect us to the customs of a time when flour, eggs, milk, butter and other food items were all on the Lenten abstinence list. These days we celebrate the evening before Ash Wednesday more as a foretaste of the feast to come at Easter. So come and savor with us the beginnings of anticipation to be heightened during our Lenten time of preparation. Enjoy the meal, learn more about the tradition of Shrove Tuesday and take home some ideas to help make Lent meaningful in your home. We thank Christine Ahrendt and her two children Max and Lilly for organizing this event.
Easter Food Baskets
Leslie Deutch will be preparing donation cards to be handed out in church on March 26. All food donations should be turned in by April 9, Palm Sunday. Food distribution is done the day before Easter, April 15 and serves local families in need. Thank you, Leslie. We are proud of this local ministry.
Food Pantry
Aimee Nielsen reports that in January we had a full pantry but we also gave out a lot of food. So now we are depleted and need everything except green beans, and soup. We especially need protein options like canned tuna fish, and chili. Or bring canned sweet corn, a classic favorite. For Girl Scout Sunday, our local Vernon girl scouts are bringing toiletries for our pantry. Thank You Girls! During the months of January and February 25 bags were given out.
Soup Fundraiser
Kathy Baumann and Sara Bosland organized a super fellowship soup kitchen. Twelve of our HCLC ladies, came together to prepare and cook fresh soup on Friday Feb. 3. As you can see from the picture they had a lot of fun. They made six different varieties of soup to sell between services the following Sunday. Also some people made soup at home and brought it to sell. The $540 they raised will go to ELCA World Hunger. Thanks to all who made soup! We Lutherans love soup! And we are proud of this mission work.
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Corned Beef Sandwich & Slaw Dinner Fundraiser
Friday March 24, 6pm
This annual dinner and entertaining evening, will be a bistro style this year! Normally held on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, the dinner is scheduled for the Friday after St. Patrick’s Day. Entertainment organized by Kathy Baumann will include Kid Lutheran and other special musical and dramatic offerings! If you would like to perform, please see Kathy. There will be hot corned beef on rye bread sandwiches with pickles and slaw, with a wonderful assortment of desserts.
WELCA
WELCA meets March 21st and April 18th at 10am. If you are interesting in joining, please contact Marlene Clements. They will be sewing pillows or doing some other activities for charity.
Flower chart
The new 2017 flower chart is now available on the bulletin board in the hallway. Arrangements are $13 each. Please consider placing an arrangement on our altar in memory of a loved one or in honor of a special occasion.
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ADMINISTRATION GROUP REPORT
Submitted by the Church office
Property
- So far this year we had to plow the parking lot 3 times.
- A new programmable thermostat was donated to the church and was installed in the fellowship room to keep our heating costs down and run the heat more effectively.
- A spring clean-up day is tentatively scheduled for April 1. Tasks of what needs to be done will be posted in the March announcements.
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Family Promise of Sussex County
PO Box 154
Newton, NJ 07860
Dear Members of Holy Counselor,
On behalf of Family Promise of Sussex County, I would like to thank you for your donation of $228.00. You commitment to helping homeless families in our community is so kind and sincerely appreciated.
The goal of Family Promise is to continue to make a difference in the lives of homeless families. With the help of donations from supporters such as you we will continue to see improvements in eliminating homelessness.
Best wishes,
Chris Butto, LSW,LMSW
Executive Director
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We would like to thank, Pam Kucks for serving as our Council President for the last 4 years! You did an outstanding job, always being there for others, prays always extended and keeping our church council running smoothly. Thank you and God bless you!
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We’re excited to share that in 2016 over 335,000 Thrivent members chose to direct Choice Dollars® to more than 32,000 churches, schools and other nonprofits, including Holy Counselor Lutheran Church, through Thrivent Choice®. Based on member recommendations, Holy Counselor Lutheran Church received $2,312 in charitable outreach funding in 2016. The Thrivent Choice program helps members of Thrivent Financial make a positive impact in their communities.
Don’t let your Choice Dollars expire. Eligible Thrivent Financial members, please designate your 2017 Choice Dollars to the support of Holy Counselor Lutheran Church. Also you have until March 31, 2017, to direct any remaining 2016 Choice Dollars. Go to thrivent.com/thriventchoice to learn more. Or call 800-847-4836 and say “Thrivent Choice” after the prompt.
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