Vistas Midweek Update for February 23

This week at Mt. Carmel...

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Link to the Mt. Carmel Summit Newsletter for February 2021

We are here!!
The church is closed to walk-in traffic, but you can still reach us by phone and email.

Phone: 805-544-2133
Email info@mtcarmelslo.org
on Facebook at facebook.com/mtcarmelslo

Prayer requests may be sent to the church office by email or phone

OUR MISSION
Celebrating God’s grace through worship, learning and service.

Give Online

For our Lenten midweek worship this year, we will be using some very simple but beautiful music from a Lenten Vespers service by Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan. An opening chant “Open Unto Me” begins the service.

Open unto me light for my darkness
Light for my darkness open unto me.
Open unto me light for my darkness,
Open unto me, O God.

A second song “O Tender God Have Mercy,” echoes the “Lord have mercy” of a “Kyrie Eleison” and will serve as a refrain accompanying our time of prayer:

          O tender God have mercy, for you are for us;
          O living Christ have mercy, for you will heal us;
          O tender God have mercy, for you are for us.
          For you are for us.

We close our Evening Prayer with an adaptation of the ancient song known as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate:”

          God be the love to search and keep me,
          God be the prayer to move my voice,
          God be the strength to now uphold me,
          O Christ, surround me.
          O Christ surround me.

May these words and melodies help us to center ourselves and open us to God.

Peace,
Pr. Richard

The Friday Morning Bible Study has a new meeting link. Please click on the picture above to join the lively discussions. Everyone is welcome! Stop by once in a while, or make it a habit and join in every week.

Worship at Mt. Carmel

Click the picture for the Order of Worship

We'll continue our annual tradition on Wednesdays during Lent of sharing a simple meal followed by a service of quiet reflection. The diffence this year is that we will share our meal and fellowship online via Zoom. Bring you soup (or whatever you're having for dinner that night), and share some fellowship time beginning at 6:30pm. Pastor Richard will lead us in a quiet worship service beginning at 7:00pm.

Link to Soup Supper and Midweek service

Got Soup?

The Mount Carmel Youth group prepared a batch of soup mix as a service project for the congregation.

If you would like a jar of 5 Bean Soup Mix for our Wednesday Night Soup Suppers, please email Ingrid and she will coordinate delivery with you. ingrid.frokjer@gmail.com

Church New and Notes

Monday Evening Book Discussion Group

Mondays at 6:30pm on Zoom

The Compassionate Life: Walking the Path of Kindness

by Marc Ian Barasch

The award-winning bestseller that helped launch an international movement (and inspired the film "I Am"). Acclaimed author Marc Barasch brilliantly explores the nature and practice of compassion: What can we learn from exceptionally empathic people? Can we increase our compassion quotient? How do we open our hearts to those who do us harm? What if the great driving force of our evolution were actually survival of the kindest? Drawing on science and spirituality, history and popular culture, bottom-line business and a high-sense of fun, here is a startling, provocative argument that a simple shift in consciousness "can change pretty much everything."

Books are available for purchase at:
amazon.com -- $4.99

Link to Zoom Book Discussion Group
Meeting ID: 862 7971 6007
Passcode: 419787

Join by phone: 1 669 900 9128

Residents 65+ Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccine appointments are currently available in SLO County for the following groups:

Health care and community health workers who currently provide direct, in-person care in SLO County.
Adults age 65 and older. We have very limited vaccine supply currently. If you are at lower risk of COVID-19 exposure or serious health outcomes, please wait to get vaccinated so that those who are at higher risk can get their vaccine first.

Community Outreach

Chili Feed for The Front Porch

In case you haven’t heard, the Presbyterian church has a free coffee house, The Front Porch, located at the end of Foothill literally on the property line with Cal Poly. The Front Porch, through the support of community groups, offers a free “to go” dinner on Wednesdays.

Our next service opportunity is on Wednesday, March 3. We make chili, coleslaw and muffins, package it up in quantities to serve 4, and deliver 20 bags to FP. This will be our third time and we’re getting more efficient.

We’ll meet at church at 10 a.m., and we’ll be done by 2 p.m. Some of the tasks can be done at home. We mask, we distance, we keep the window cracked for cross ventilation, and we have a good time gabbing.

To help out, call or text Patti Frey at 805-235-1938. Thanks.

Matching Gifts Challenge Benefitting the SLO County Food Bank

The new donation site is up and running. Please click the link below for more information.

Link to Mt. Carmel matching funds page

If you prefer to donate to the matching funds challenge by check, make your check out to the SLO County Food Bank. Write Mt. Carmel Matching Funds Drive on the memo line so that your donation will be properly credited. Mail to:

Food Bank Coalition of SLO County
1180 Kendall Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Please do not route your food bank donations through Mount Carmel. Doing so will delay your donation and make tracking the matching funds challenge donations difficult for the food bank.

Thank you to Mount Carmel for your always generous spirit!

Call for Nominations
SWCA Synod Council & Committees
Deadline April 9, 2021

The Call for Nominations has been updated to include the position of Conference Representative from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Conference.

The Nominating Committee of the Southwest California Synod invites members of synod congregations to prayerfully consider if God is calling them to serve on Synod Council or on a Synod Committee. Elections to fill these positions will take place at the 2021 Synod Assembly, which will take place June 4 - 6. Descriptions of the duties of each open position are linked below. If you are considering serving on the Synod Council, please read the Synod Council Conflict of Interest Policy here.

We are looking for candidates who have a desire to share their experience, knowledge and passion as leaders in the synod. We need good listeners, critical thinkers, folks with an openness to the Spirit, and a willingness to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

The Constitution of the Southwest California Synod states that "no more than four members of the Synod Council, with the exception of the Bishop, may be from the same conference." The nominating committee will take this into account when configuring the ballot and encourages nominees from all the conferences that make up the synod.

Any congregational member in good standing may be nominated and, if elected, serve on the Endowment, Consultation, and Discipline Committees, regardless of their home Conference.

Candidates can self-nominate for open positions by completing the online nomination form, linked here and below. The online form can also be used to nominate candidates.

Please note that nomination forms for all positions must be submitted no later than Friday April 9, 2021. Those who wish to be considered for open positions who have not submitted their form by that date must be nominated from the Synod Assembly floor.

The following committee positions are open:

Endowment Committee Member-at-Large
Description

Consultation Committee
Description

Discipline Committee
Description

The following council positions are open:

Synod Council Vice-President
This position must be filled by a layperson
Description

Synod Council Member-at-Large (ten open positions)
These positions are open to both clergy and laypeople.
Description

Synod Council Youth Representative
This two-year position must be filled by a member of a SWCA Synod congregation in the 10th or 11th grade by the time of the Synod Assembly.
Description

The position of Conference Representative for the Twin Valleys, Tehachapi, Central Coast, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles Metropolitan, and South Bay Conferences are open. If you are interested in a Conference Representative position, please contact your Conference Dean. Conference Representatives are elected at Spring Conference Assemblies and affirmed at Synod Assembly.

Conference Representatives
(Twin Valleys, Tehachapi, Central Coast, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles Metropolitan, and South Bay Conferences)
Description

ONLINE NOMINATION FORM

Copyright © 2016 MT. CARMEL, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
1701 FREDERICKS ST., SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93405

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Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church · 1701 Fredericks St. · San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 · USA