In case you haven't yet heard, I announced last Sunday (October 9, 2022) my plan to retire as Senior Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church and School on June 14, 2023.
Why June 14, 2023? I choose that particular date as it happens to be the anniversary of my ordination 42 years ago, June 14, 1981. Announcing my retirement now allows us time to start working toward calling the next Senior Pastor, all under the guidance and blessing of our new Florida-Georgia District President, James Rockey, and Rev. Jeff Jordan. It is also my prayer that before June 14, 2023, Faith will have secured a new principal for the next school year.
What will change between now and the time I retire? Regarding my role as senior pastor, nothing will change. I will continue preaching, teaching, leading, ministering, and serving. In terms of our church, we will immediately start essential steps leading to our calling the next senior pastor. (See Russell Couch's newsletter article for greater detail).
So, what are our plans upon retirement? That's a great question! Patti and I have just started talking about it. Since two of our adult children live here and worship at Faith, our plan today is to have a home base here in Marietta. But at this point, the Lord of the Church is the only One who knows where we will live and how we will be involved in His Church following my retirement. I know that these next eight months will go fast, and while Patti and I are excited about our retirement together, we are also a bit nervous about all the changes that it will bring.
When I was putting together the message for last Sunday, I did not plan that it would align with my retirement announcement. It just happened that way. But these words of Jeremiah and Paul are an anchor for us in times of transition and change: Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. We may not know what lies ahead for us, personally and as a church family, but our LORD does, and,And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV) Trusting in His Hand to guide, His grace to guard, His love to keep us,
Pastor Carl
Pastor’s retirement announcement
This past Sunday Pastor announced his plan to retire on at the end of this school year, on June 14, 2023, after 42 years of ministry, and nearly 13 years here at Faith.
We have been blessed by Pastor’s leadership and commitment to our spiritual welfare through his inspiring sermons, insightful teachings, and his tireless committed work ethic.
On behalf of the Board and of the Board of Elders, we wish to thank Pastor again for his willingness to assist our Faith family as we move to our next pastor, by giving us nine months to identify and onboard a new Senior Pastor.
It is our goal to keep the congregation abreast of the progress we make in our search, and with that in mind let me briefly recap the process that we will be undertaking.
With Pastor’s participation, the Elders and the Transition Team together have begun the initial task of collaborating with the FL/GA District on the transition and the process that we need to undertake to fully prepare for our search.
Our process includes the following:
Transition team planning:
Initially begins with a battery of assessments of the congregational demographics, history over time, including profiling the staff, and the congregation changes over time.
Initial screening of Pastoral characteristics to identify key major characteristics relative to Faith and our Church and School profile.
Gather District feedback and guidance as we go through this process.
After the results of our congregational self-study have been collected, our next step will be to establish the Call Committee. It will include:
Four Elders, selected by the Director of Elders
Three members of the congregation, appointed by the President.
The Board of Directors then approves Call Committee members.
Upon the formation of this Call Committee, the following process will be followed:
Establish a list of key Pastoral qualifications required for the work of the Lord at Faith Lutheran Church and School.This will be based on the congregational self-study.
Solicit names from the congregation
Receive a list of Candidates for Pastoral candidates from the FL/GA district.
Obtain personal data information on each congregational candidate.
Obtain personal data on open candidates from the district.
Evaluate the candidates’ qualifications in harmony with Faith’s priorities from the congregational self-study.This is to determine who best fits Faith’s requirements and needs.This, then, will be presented to the congregation.
At a regularly scheduled voters’ meeting, THE VOTERS WILL ADOPT a list of candidates as presented by the Call Committee
At a subsequent voters’ meeting, the congregation shall cast ballots to decide which proposed candidate to call.
The Candidate receiving a majority of the ballots cast shall be issued a call.
It shall be the duty of the president to notify promptly the congregation’s choice from the election and to execute the appropriate call documents.
PLEASE NOTE - We have been informed by the FL/GA District that there are currently 518 pastor vacancies in the US, and that doesn’t include small churches that are too small to receive a pastor.
ALSO keep in mind is that most pastors will have kids in school and may not take a call until May, 2023.
We are striving for and praying, that by mid-February, we can present our final candidates list to the congregation. However, recognize that this schedule is aggressive and subject to change.
In closing, Pastor, thank you again for being so generous with your time in working with us through this transition. God Bless you and your family and we ask the congregation to continue to pray for wisdom as we get ready to select a new pastor to lead us forward in Faith.
Blessings, Russell Couch
Board President
High School Bible Study Starts Sunday, October 9 9:10-10:50 am Youth Room
The doors to the Youth Room will be open for 7th–12th graders for a time of fun and food every Sunday from 9:10am – 9:30am & 10:30am – 10:50 am. At 9:30am, the 7th & 8th graders will head over to the music room for confirmation while the High School youth 9th–12th will stay in the Youth Room for Bible study lead by Gerald Brenner. It all starts on Sunday, October 9. If you have any questions email Gerald Brennergeraldbrenner28@gmail.comor Gary Schleichergaryandkim23@outlook.com.
See you Sunday, October 9!!!
On Sunday, October 16, after the 12:15pm Voters' Meeting, we will be having a parents of the youth in the cafeteria to review with you our plans and ideas and to get your input and help.
Disaster Response Camps– Sign up to serve at one of two camps in Southwest Florida by going to the Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT) webpage. Onsite LERT training will be available.
Disaster Response Donations– Your vital donations to the FLGA District Disaster Response efforts are dedicated to assisting affected congregations, workers/staff, and members. Thank you for being Christ’s hands to those in great need!
LWML SUNDAY
Celebrating 80 years of Lutheran Women's Missionary League and still going strong! Our mission is to help people in our church, community, state, nation, and worldwide. Thousands of women all over the world unite to take care of people and we couldn't do it without your support. Every time you participate in one of our fund raisers and donate to our mites you are helping us to fulfill our mission.
Pamela Cole
Adelle Bowen
Lindsey Gardner
Joan Olson, and
Sue Garner
We are your current LWML officers. We are honored to serve in this most important mission. Please keep us in your prayers, so we may continue doing the Lord's Work!
International Night Celebration!
Are you passionate about your family’s heritage or culture? We all want to learn from you as we celebrate our family's diversity! Please consider hosting a table at our first International Night on Thursday, November 3rd (6-7 PM)! To do so, please fill out the Google Form using this link:https://forms.gle/nvEG3ejAtp98Nv9S8
If you're not interested in hosting a table, please come join us and learn about some of the many cultures represented among our Faith family!
Christian Perspectives of Major News Items of the Day
EverySunday morning at 9:30 AMin the church boardroom, there is an adult Sunday Bible school class where the participants discuss and enlighten each other with a Christian perspective and response to major news items of the day.
The Bible study group has purchased materials from a weekly subscription service called the “TheWiredWorld”. This class is designed for people who prefer a new subject every week. In the provided material, there are five questions to help an individual reach a position on the topic at hand. There are scriptural references from the New and Old Testament. Politics are usually kept out of the discussion except when politics appears to limit our freedom to take action based on our religious convictions.
The class atmosphere is warm, open, and friendly. Recent subjects include: Webb Telescope Images show Big Bang is a Bust, Missionary Mother Laments Her Children’s Departure from the Faith, Gallup Poll Says Fewer Americans View the Bible as the Literal Word of God.
All adults are invited and welcome to attend the class. Just comeSunday morningafter coffee hour and say hello. If you would like to learn more about the class or have questions please see George Weers or email him atweersgd@mindspring.com.
October’s Mission of the Month
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received.
Social Ministry is sponsoring this project and it’s our goal to fill 150 boxes between school and church families. Last year we packed a little over 100 boxes! You can take a box home and fill it, or donate items we can pack in November, and we’ve been given a $250 grant from Thrivent to help purchase items for the boxes.
In October and November, the children’s Chapel Offerings will be helping offset the cost of postage. You can also donate $10.00 to help with the postage of a box. How ever you would like to help is up to you!
On November 6th, from 12:15 – 2:00pm, we will meet in the cafeteria to assemble and pack our boxes. Lunch will be provided by Jersey Mike’s and when we finish packing will we pray for the children who will be receiving these boxes.
We hope you will prayerfully consider being a part of helping us to reach our goal of 150 shoeboxes to send on a journey to touch the lives of children less fortunate than ours around the world. If you have any questions please contact Debbie Schellman 770-896-2331 or Jessica Shea 618-780-0266 and we would be happy to assist!
Social Ministry
Mission of the Month
This month we will be collecting our chapel offering to support the Lutheran Braille Workers. This organization does so much here are just a few highlights:
Christian materials and Bibles in Braille are freely provided in English, Spanish, and 14 other languages to people who are Blind or Visually Impaired throughout the world.
Christian materials in English are provided via DTB cartridges free of charge to recipients in the United States (no orders accepted in other countries).
Christian materials and Bibles in Specialized Large Print are freely provided in English, Spanish, and 11 other languages to people who are Visually Impaired.
On Wednesday, September 21st during both chapel services, Daniel Jemkins will be here to share about this ministry as it connects with Making Disciples for Life. One of our sister churches, Rivercliff Lutheran, in Sandy Springs, helps print materials for this organization. Thank you for your chapel offerings as they help support the sharing of God’s love to those here at home and around the world.
The food pantry has officially moved to the little house next door to the church, since we have outgrown our space in the Administration Building. Your continued support has helped this ministry grow from the "Just One Thing" a month collection to being able to deliver upwards to 200 bags of food almost monthly. We have moved the blue collection bin that was outside of the pantry in the Administration Building to under the mailboxes. Please continue to put your donations there and in the narthex. We hope you will come by and visit as soon as we are settled. Your continued support has helped us to serve more in our community. Thank you!
Faith's Food Pantry
Thank you so much Faith Family. With your contributions and help from our community of Pantry Friends including our friends at Porch, we were able to deliver 190 food bags to Brumby the end of September. The families were so appreciative to see the bags as this week is Fall break and with the kids out of school they were not receiving breakfast and lunch!
Thanks to everyone for your support of the pantry. The weekly community distribution at Brumby has climbed to over 200 families weekly with two new families this week.
The below are advertised grocery prices for Kroger, Publix, and Walmart. The sales ads run from October 5th through October 11th.
The pantry needs peanut butter, jelly, corn bread mix (Jiffy, etc), Tuna Helper, canned vegetables (corn, peas, black beans, and baked beans), pasta, pasta sauce and canned soups as our shelves need to be restocked to make more bags.
PUBLIX
Idahoan Mashed Potatoes 4 to 4.1 oz pouch - BOGO
Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna 4 pk of 5 oz cans - $3.29
Kellogg's Cereals - check signage for flavors and sizes - BOGO - There is also a $5.00 off three Kellogg's products if you use the Publix Digital coupons
Jiffy Cornbread - not listed in ad but has been running 64¢ a box
KROGER - Must have Kroger Card - specials vary using digital coupons which you add to your card, or buying 5 or more specials, (this can be a combination of buy 5 or more items as marked in the store) etc. Please see flyer at store. Kroger is running their ads now for basically two weeks with a few changes - so if you used the digital coupon the first week you cannot use it again.
Kelloggs Large Size Cereal 14.6 to 24 oz box - $2.49 with Kroger card when you buy three or more
Kroger White Rice 1 lb bags - have been running 10 for $10.00
Lidl
Pancake Syrup - Check signage for size - BOGO
Cinnamon Crunchie or Honey Nut Oak Hoops Cereal - Check signage for size - BOGO
WALMART - the below is normal pricing Walmart brand Pasta - 82¢ box
White rice - 1 lb bag - 72¢
Small 4 roll pack of Toilet Paper - 84¢ a pack Hunts Pasta Sauce can - $1.16
Walmart brand Pasta Sauce, 24 oz jar - 88¢ Grape Jelly - $1.68 Jiffy Cornbread - 52¢
Sweets/treats and canned fruit are always appreciated,
if you run into any deals on these items.
Have a great day and thanks for your support!
Oct 7 - Roman Mumford (E2)
Oct 8 - Edgar Paul
Oct 8 - Joseph Doyle (G1)
Oct 9 - Stephen Wareham
Oct 9 - Hudson Knapp (G3)
Oct 10 - Waverly Andrews (E2)
Oct 11 - Elsie Guenther
Oct 12 - Judith Goyer
Oct 12 - Shivani Nagaswaran (E3)
Oct 14 - Donnie Raulerson (E2)
Oct 16 - Ann Greinke
On Sunday, October 16, after the 12:15pm Voters' Meeting, we will be having a parents of the youth in the cafeteria to review with you our plans and ideas and to get your input and help.
October’s Mission of the Month 
