17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
Voters’ Recap and Leaders for 2021
Now that the elections over, we welcome with joy our Faith Lutheran Board of Directors. With the trial structure in place, here are our leaders for the 2021 year:
President – Russell Couch
Vice President – Peter Amelingmeier
Treasurer – Bob Angrisani
Head Elder – Paul Arndt
Discipleship –David Hughes
School Ministry Board – Andy Doyle
Social Ministry – Colleen Umphrey
Church Properties – Bill Schellman
Our thanks to all our past officers for their service and leadership.
Steve Buchtrup - Vice President
Ron Shultheiss - Youth Director
Ward Irvin - Evangelism
Debbie Schellman – Family life
Thank you again for your service to our Faith Family.
We will be installing our newly elected leaders on Sunday, February 7, at the end of the 9:30am worship service.
Gracious God our Father, we thank You for sitting on Your throne on high and for Your governance over all things, temporal and eternal. Thank You for those who have led us in the past, and we pray for Your blessing and guidance to rest upon our newly elected leaders as we strive together in one mission forward in faith. Bless this year ahead with Your abiding presence, mercy, and grace. Grant wisdom, strength, and faith to our leaders and all who serve beside them that they may lead us in the power of the Holy Spirit, that they will lead us to fulfill the mission You have given us, as we serve one another in love, and bring glory to Your name. For the sake of the Lord of the Church, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Note: Beginning July 29, all adults entering the school buildings will be required to wear a face mask and have a temperature check.
2020 Giving Statements
2020 Giving Statements are in church mailboxes. Please remember to pick up yours and review it.
LWML Quarterly Subscription
It's time for the Ladies Guild to renew our LWML Quarterly subscription. Please help us manage our budget and be good stewards of our funds. If you would like to receive a Quarterly, sign up in the narthex or contact Louise Cox, 770.675.3749 or grammylou.cox@gmail.com. Deadline is February 7, 2021. Thank you!
Red Letter Challenge is coming
Sunday, February 21st!
What is it? “Red Letter” refers to all the words of Jesus found in the Bible. If you have a red letter edition Bible, all of the words of Jesus are in RED.
What is “The Red Letter Challenge”? Here is the big idea: what if we take Jesus's words, the ones that were written in red in our Bibles, and put them into practice? Simple. Right? It is probably not original, yet it is a very revolutionary idea that could change not just the followers of Jesus, but the world in which we His followers live! AND, what if, as a whole church, we read His words together, and lived out His commands and promises for 40 days, literally to practice what Jesus preached? Is it possible that taking the Red Letter Challenge just might change us individually, as a church, and as a community?
The Red Letter Challenge is designed to get God’s people into the Word in three ways:
Worship (live and online)
Daily Bible study and prayer on your own, and
Connection groups where we share the word and live it out together in community.
If you are not in a connection group today, this is a great opportunity to join one. Be watching for more information each week leading up the "The Red Letter Challenge.”
It is starting on the first Sunday in Lent, and it culminates on Palm Sunday, but, prayerfully, the impact of these 40 days will have an ongoing impact in each of our lives, our Faith Family, and our community.
I hope you will find great blessings as you participate in "The Red Letter Challenge.”
Pastor Carl
Hope's Happenings
Events in January:
Participated in the following events so far:
My team and I provided snacks for Faith’s teachers during their parent-teacher conferences.
I was invited on 1/19 to comfort the congregation of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church on the passing of Pastor Brighton. Here is an excerpt of my Top Dog, Peter Amelingmeier’s communication to that congregation, “Thank you for asking us to be part of your celebration of Pastor Brighton's life. We pray that our loving Lord, the God of all comfort, will draw especially close to each of you at this time.”
Team Hope (Faith, Marietta, GA) was honored to be invited to Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Warner Robins, GA, to the congregational viewing for their senior pastor, Richard Brighton, who passed away January 10th. As members came to pay their respects, they signed a Mercy Heart with their notes of love and prayers until the heart was completely full. On the fish was Pastor Brighton's confirmation verse which was one of his favorites since childhood - Psalm 27:1 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation...The Lord is the stronghold of my life..." The Mercy Heart was given to Assistant Pastor Andrew Howe by Hope Comfort Dog Ministry Partner Louise Cox and Hope to be passed on to Reverend Brighton's family.
Sent notes of caring and prayer to comfort those in need.
Update on planned activities:
Nursing home: Manor Lake is closed to visitors at this time.
Exploring activities for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Group activities can be done throughout the year and we will review for any in-person or virtual activities in the upcoming months.
Continue to reach out to people with notes of Caring and Prayer with my Team.
Will be doing a virtual visit soon via Zoom with one of our church members. Please continue to submit your requests for a Zoom visit via the following methods:
When a request is submitted, the information is sent directly to my organizer’s phone.
Call the church office at (770) 973-8877 to set up a visit. Janice Schaag and Susie Glass are excellent sources for getting this information to my group.
Due to the Covid-19 occurrences at the school, I request folks be extra careful again. Please wear a mask to protect yourself and others.
We hope to reach out to the public by sharing the "JellyBean Prayer", a way to witness and share the love of Christ during the Easter season.
Woof...Hope
JUST ONE THING
JUST ONE THINGfor January and February will look a little different. Ask yourself 'what is the JUST ONE THINGthat you absolutely cannot live without?' Is it peanut butter on your toast? Could it be that favorite granola or protein bar, maybe your favorite canned soup to warm you up on a chilly winter day? I am asking you to share your favorite JUST ONE THING for the next couple of months. Watch theBOGO’s at the local grocery stores. Maybe your favorite thing is buy one get one free so you can share a few. You can drop off your favorite food donations in the basket in the Narthex or in the barrel in the school lobby.
Starting Sunday January 17th there will be a flyer in the Narthex we are naming “Food For Thought.” In this flyer will be ads for BOGO’s at the local grocery stores. It will also show key items on sale. If any of these happen to be your favorite thing, your JUST ONE THING could be on sale! If you are interested in having this emailed to you weekly please just respond with an email address you would like it sent!
Hearts for Jesus
The focus of the 2020/2021 World Mission/Hearts for Jesus chapel program will be Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” During the program, students “travel” to four remote areas of the world where many people have never heard of Jesus live! With the help of small radios these countries will hear about Jesus in their languages. They will learn about people who are sharing the love of Jesus in their own areas, in order to follow Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19.
As many of you know school’s chapel offerings and Sunday school donations went to what we have always referred to as our “Mission of the Month.” Since there has been no Sunday school, our contributions are down. If you would like to donate to this campaign just put “Hearts for Jesus” under the Social Ministry line on your envelopes!
Habitat for Humanity
It’s that time of the year again! With social distancing there will be fewer volunteer slots but we still need you!!! Here is a list of dates available for you to sign up. Everyone needs to bring a sack lunch as no food is provided due to COVID policy. I will not be at the first two dates but should be at the rest! If you have any questions, please call or email me! umphrey.colleen@gmail.com.
February 20th
March 6th
March 27th
April 24th
May 15th
What is it? “
Team Hope (Faith, Marietta, GA) was honored to be invited to Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Warner Robins, GA, to the congregational viewing for their senior pastor, Richard Brighton, who passed away January 10th. As members came to pay their respects, they signed a Mercy Heart with their notes of love and prayers until the heart was completely full. On the fish was Pastor Brighton's confirmation verse which was one of his favorites since childhood - Psalm 27:1 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation...The Lord is the stronghold of my life..." The Mercy Heart was given to Assistant Pastor Andrew Howe by Hope Comfort Dog Ministry Partner Louise Cox and Hope to be passed on to Reverend Brighton's family. 
