APRIL 2015

Christ Lutheran Church • Highlands Ranch, CO • Gathering † Gifting † Sending

CHARTER MEMBER RECOGNITION – Sunday, May 10. We begin our 30th Anniversary with this special reception from 8:45-9:45am (In between services) in the Fellowship Hall. Please join us!

Commemorative Oktoberversary T-shirt sales begin in May.

30TH ANNIVERSARY TALENT SHOW – Friday, July 24 at 7pm. Details to come soon!

CHURCH PICNIC – Sunday, August 23rd at 10am in Civic Green Park, Highlands Ranch.

SEPTEMBER SUPER SUNDAYS – RALLY DAY – Sunday September 7th

MINISTRY FAIR – Saturday-Sunday, September 19-20

YOUTH WORSHIP WEEKEND – September 26-27

30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION – OKTOBERVERSARY!!!! Saturday, October 3 from 6:30-9:30pm at the Wildcat Auditorium in Southridge Recreation Center. 6:30pm-9:30pm. We’ve combined Oktoberfest and our 30th Anniversary into one big celebration for the entire family, complete with food, music, and fellowship! Tickets will be sold beginning in August and early September.

30th ANNIVERSARY WORSHIP CELEBRATIONS! Saturday-Sunday, October 10-11, All Worship Services.

Harrington is an inner-city Denver school that Christ Lutheran has adopted. Each year, CLC hosts a carnival at the school (located at 36th and York) to celebrate the end of a successful school year. The carnival features games and a bounce castle. The carnival is free to all students and their families. There is also a food booth serving brats and hot dogs, soda, chips, candy and pickles that is free to everyone in the school. Donations of these food items are welcome as well as donations for booth prizes. If you are interested in giving a cash donation to o�-set the $2000 we spend on the event, it would be greatly appreciated. Volun-teers to help run the carnival may sign-up on the response sheet. Working this event makes a great service project for individu-als, families, small groups, and con�-rmation groups. If you are going to work please arrive no later than 10:00 am. Look for our “clip boards” to sign up for food donations and volunteer times beginning April 11. Please join the fun and THANK YOU!

30th

Join us for

CLC’s 30th ANNIVERSARYEvents and Activities

HarringtonCarnivalSaturday, May 2 • 11am-1pm

May-October2015!

STAFF:Rev. Steve Berke, Interim Senior Pastor

pastorsteve@clchr.orgRev. DJ Dent, Associate Pastor

pastordent@clchr.orgDianne Yoss

Interim Director Outreach & Equippingoutreach@clchr.org

Debbie FreemanInterim Office Staff for Outreach & Equipping

dfreeman@clchr.orgGary Knutson

Director of Youth & Familygknutson@clchr.org

Deb MorgansDirector of Preschooldmorgans@clchr.org

Mary BehnkeAdministrative Manager

mbehnke@clchr.orgSallie Burns

Financial Secretarysburns@clchr.orgLinda HolcombeDirector of Music

lindaholcombe64@gmail.comNicholas Koltay

Administrative Assistantnkoltay@clchr.org

Carrie MalleryPrincipal Pianist

Larry ScalfariPianist

Barbara PiersonDirector Nursery Ministry

Barbara.Pierson@comcast.netMeliha & Predrag Vajzovic

Custodians

CHURCH COUNCIL:Adrian Hafner

backyardkids@hotmail.comBret Sumner

bretsumner@hotmail.comJohn Ringkob

jer@dascoinc.comJohn Riley

johnriley05@comcast.netLesley Cantrell

we4cantrells@mac.comErika Alpern

eajteach@yahoo.comKaren Rucker

kkosty@excite.comSteve Schaeberle

Schaeberle1@comcast.netBob Weber

B14169k@comcast.netAll articles, photos and notices for the next issueof CrossWord are due by the 15th of the month.

Send to mbehnke@clchr.org. Editor reserves theright to edit for content and space.

Pastor Steve’s Message

“On the Lookout”for a Transition Team

The �rst three months of 2015 at Christ Lutheran Church have been full ones, to say the least. In short order we have seen the conclusion of Pastor Tom’s ministry here; my interview and call as your intentional interim pastor; Epiphany and Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent; and even lambs and baby goats making their annual appearance for the ELCA’s program, God’s Global Barnyard!

Thank you for the gracious welcome for Lori and me. For those of you who haven’t met her yet, she is an RN (BSN) who works part-time for Boulder Commu-nity Health, and who also does health care advocacy and foot care as her own business ventures. We are transitioning from eleven excellent years of living and working in the Longmont area (although Lori also was employed for several years in Denver).

Soon our church council at CLC will be putting together another transitional initiative: the formation of a Transition Team. I have heard that that there has already been tremendous interest in being part of the Call Committee, but before “getting ahead of ourselves,” we plan to set up a process so that the Transition Team (in partnership with the whole congregation) can lead a process of assess-ment, self-discovery, and goal setting. The Transition Team will then submit a report to the church council before the formation of the Call Committee. Just to be clear, I am not the chairperson of the Transition Team, but will serve more as a coach and consultant to work with the representative lay members of that team.

What are some of the key guidelines for the process? The council will appoint a team of approximately seven to ten people (exact number still to be deter-mined). Usually, one or two members of the council are included on the team. The team will elect its own chairperson and recording secretary, and reports will be regularly made at council meetings. Various tools will be utilized to lead the congregation in self-study and discernment with regard to Christ Lutheran’s ministry, past, present, and future.

The team will soon be appointed and begin to get organized. Watch for opportu-nities to indicate your interest in leading the congregation in a time of corporate learning and re�ection.

Thank you!

Steve Berke, Interim Pastor

Pastor DJ’s Message

Resurrectionand Easter

I’m taking a break from angels this month to speak about resurrection. I’ve read through a lot of online arguments lately about what resurrection is; questions like when does it happen, how does it happen, to whom does it happen, etc. I wanted to take a moment and just say a very clear message about resurrection and Easter.

There’s no doubt that a lot of our heritage in this tradition comes from pagan worship and celebration of Springtime (Easter is like Christmas in this way) and rather than make some argument about how we should purify those items from our Easter celebrations, I’d like to propose an idea of how those traditions can serve what we really believe about resurrection.

First, we believe not just in a resurrection at the end of all things, but in every day. When we celebrate together on Sundays (and Saturdays), each of those gatherings is a mini-Easter. Just as we don’t have to wait until the end of a season to celebrate Easter, we don’t need to wait until the end of our life to celebrate resurrection. We can point to signs of new life in all we are connected to.

Second, what those Easter traditions (rabbits, eggs, etc.) teach us about resurrec-tion is that we experience resurrection in very common things. Just like our tradition that a�rms only two sacraments because of an earthly element (something common: bread & wine, water) we believe that the act of life giving comes through common and ordinary things in our life. These include family, friends, love, singing, crying, gardening among many, many others. There is resurrection all around us.

Third, we learn that the old must pass away to put on the new. I’ve heard this related to Spring Cleaning before which is not too unkind a simile. The perishable must put on the imperishable scripture says. That which is dying puts on that which will not die. This transformation is used over and over again in scripture and is a good model for how we face challenges and movement.

It’s a good time to have a festival which makes us remember these things. With all the transition CLC has experienced in the last few years, it is a great time to proclaim resurrection – new life – God’s continued interaction and pouring of the breath of life into us. Not just something to be happy about when change ceases but something to be aware of in the midst of transience.

Happy Easter,

Pastor DJ

FIRSTIMPRESSIONSCLC Landscape

AdoptionThe First Impressions Team is a group of individuals and families in the congregation, who adopt a plot or more to help beautify Christ Lutheran Church’s land-scape. Duties include planting, weeding, watering and dead heading. This ministry is important to CLC, because it really does leave a “�rst impression” with �rst-time visitors and people who make be looking for a new Church home.

There is a diagram of all the plots that you can adopt, as well as a sign-up sheet located inthe Narthex. Some have already been adopted, so please check the sign-up sheet to make sure that the one you may want has not already been adopted.

If you have any questions or need more information,

please contactDebbie Freeman at

dfreeman@clchr.orgor (303) 791-0803 X110

A season of new things and beautiful wonders outside. During the month of April we will

be busy celebrating Easter with egg hunts,

butter�ies, Spring, and the greatest gift Jesus has given to us! We will also be talking about careers with our older children and inviting parents in to share their jobs with our little ones. If you have a job you would like to share with the children, please give us a call in the preschool at 303-471-9290 and we can schedule you to visit on Career Day which is on the 21st and 22nd. Conferences will take place later in the month giving the teachers and parents time to re�ect on the wonderful progress their child has made over this past school year. And, we will begin to plan for our Graduation ceremonies in May and all the fun activities that come with the close of a school year.

We will host a Family Art Show and Spaghetti dinner night on Friday, April 17th. The children will display art they have created for their families and be the stars of the evening. If you have an item you would like to contribute to our auction (a way to advertise a business as well), we would welcome the donation.

Blessings and Happy Easter from the Preschool!

Thank You!The Sr. high youth would like to thank our congregation for their support during our Lenten meals fundraising for their summer mission trip July 2-12 to Compton, Ca. The youth will be hosted by our Lutheran sister congregation Pueblo De Dios, where we will be conducting a VBS for the week, and doing repairs to their church.

We also will be handing out food to the community that we collected money for during Lenten services this year. Our congregation collected almost $3,500.00, that's 35 weeks of food for the community. The food distribution consist of healthy food, veggies, rice, beans and other main staples of Hispanic origin. God's Peace and awesome dedication to our CLC congregation for making this happen.

Summer camp is available to all children 3 years through 6 yrs. 11 months old. Registration is available at any time. There will be nine weeks of camp this summer held from Monday through Thursday either 9am-1pm or 9am-4pm. And, you can sign up for as little as one day or as many as you want. Please jump on our website for camp informa-tion at www.myclcpreschool.org or we can email you information. Please let us know if you would like us to at dmorgans@clchr.org. There is a $25, one time supply fee per each child regardless of how many sessions you attend. This fee is all you need to reserve your space and payment is due when your camp session begins. We can let you know what other paperwork might be required if you are not currently attending the preschool. The themes are Beach/Ocean, Art, Zoo Animals, All things outdoors, Sports. We will have a funtastic time!

**Camp does not meet over Vacation Bible School week which is the week of July 27th** Registration for VBS will come from church. Thank you!

“Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!” A blessed month to everyone!

Deb and Blair

VOLUNTEERAPPRECIATION BREAKFAST

Sunday, April 19 • 9am-11amIf you have volunteered for anything at CLC, then we want to show you our appreciation. Please join us for a continental breakfast and co�ee cart. Stay as long or little as you like and come before, during or after services – it truly is all about you!

Happy BirthdayBen Coleman - April 1Esther Trautmann - April 1Kathryn Van Dewerker- April 1Hannah Archuleta - April 2Jake Beauchamp - April 2Gary Butler - April 2Sheldon Hafner - April 2Madison Hegre - April 2Dan Johnson - April 2Janet Kracht - April 2Shelby Mulverhill - April 2Abby Porter�eld - April 2Erving Anderson - April 3Jordan Faessler - April 3Laura Meyer - April 3Dwight Roinestad - April 3Audra Roosen - April 3Julie Skelton - April 3Angela Smith - April 3Anne Buderus - April 4Quinn Hunchar - April 4Evan Lambert - April 4Ray Christensen - April 5Kevin Henningsen - April 5Bev Johnson - April 5Ethan McGraw - April 5Jackson Mundell - April 5Lara Oleson - April 5Stephanie Radtke - April 5Steve Schaeberle - April 5Jim Schleuder - April 5Andy Stevens - April 5Jameson Switzer - April 5Tom Bielefeldt - April 6

Danica Rowe - April 6Amanda Wilson - April 6Elizabeth Zorn - April 6Dan Abraham - April 7Linda Cook - April 7Grant Hansen - April 7Russ Hunchar - April 7Elise Schauer - April 7Helen Beulke - April 8Judy Siel - April 8Cooper Whitehurst - April 8Dru Boggs - April 9Peyton Friend - April 9Brianne Mavis - April 9Donna Riley - April 9Ken Kroneberger - April 10Angela McCrosky - April 10Justin Pellett - April 10Andrea Peters - April 10Haley Radochonski - April 10Linda Bailey - April 11Olivia Johnson - April 11Lara Marxhausen - April 11Sarah Sievers - April 11Zooey Hill - April 12John DeBoer - April 13Forrest Green - April 13Guy Haller - April 13Brian Morgans - April 13Austin Alexander - April 14Russell Hunchar - April 14James Rand - April 14Pastor Tom Shelly - April 14Hunter Snauwaert - April 14

Jen Henningsen - April 15Sherree Mitchum - April 16Brandon Morken - April 16Lisa Shimonkevitz - April 16Camryn Kramer - April 17Carl Saur - April 17Rick Versen - April 17John Wilson - April 17Ashley Evens - April 18Katie Pinon - April 18Juanita Buckel - April 19Ryan Cummings - April 19Roger Green - April 19Peyton Smith - April 19Thomas Beal - April 20Ashley Flynn - April 21Chris Poltl - April 21Paul Pontius - April 21Marcia Strom - April 21Lexi Bauer - April 22Courtney Belin - April 22Je� Bergstrom - April 22Colin Leibbrandt - April 22Fred Parsa - April 22Charlotte Wilson - April 22Charles Morse - April 23Richard Oleson - April 23Brady Subart - April 23Kyle Henningsen - April 24Linda Holcombe - April 24Joanne Hollowell - April 24Harriette Shelly - April 24Chrissy Beukelman - April 25Chery Koury - April 25

Leslie Sanner - April 25Sydney Anne Cantrell - April 26Lynette Kramer - April 26Kaleigh Kreimeyer - April 26Dennis Gereaux - April 27Aaron Newman - April 27Jason Radtke - April 27Tara Vogler - April 27Gretchen Whitehurst - April 27Steven Almer - April 28Kelly Bergstrom - April 28Karlton Lauer - April 28David McCrosky - April 28Benjamin O'Brien - April 28Alexandria Reeves - April 28Laura Reeves - April 28Shalean Rowe - April 28Evan Rowell - April 28Kaila Scarlett - April 28Michelle Sinclair - April 28Kyle Versen - April 28Treyton Whitehurst - April 28Cameron Radtke - April 29Garren Saewert - April 29Brownie Smook - April 29John Friend - April 30Jennifer Gunther - April 30Andrew Holcombe - April 30Nancy Hubbard - April 30Kelly Melcher - April 30Kelli Schandel - April 30Jake Stein - April 30Susan Thoennes - April 30

One of our Legacy & Endowment Committee's missions is to support the reduction of the mortgage debt on our Church building. The Tree of Life was created to do just that while giving donors an opportunity to visually recognize or honor someone or a special event in their lives (consider graduation, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.).

Our L & E Committee has set a Tree of Life goal of $24,000 in 2015 to further our debt reduction mission. Through the �rst two months of this new year, we have received two donations totaling $3,250 vs our two month goal of $4,000, so we are close, but just behind goal.

We encourage CLC members to consider our easy payment plan. You can make regular monthly payments by check towards a Tree of Life leaf or footstone and when you reach the �nal total your leaf will be added to the T.O.L. display in the Narthex. For example, you could make a $50.00 per month payment towards a bronze leaf and in 5 months you would have completed the $250.00 total donation.

Please contact Sallie Burns at the CLC O�ce to establish a �exible payment plan. We THANK all our previous donors for their support of the Tree of Life and it's debt reduction mission and encourage our congregation to think generously and help us reach or exceed our 2015 goal.

L & E + Tree = A win for “WE”

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAYGOOD FRIDAY8:15a Preschool No School9a Rejoice Circle10a Stations of the Cross - self guided12p Noon Service1p Stations of the Cross - self guided7p Good Friday Cantata

8:15a Preschool9a MOPS Mtg11a Preschool Chapel2p Preschool Chapel5p Carillon RIngers7p Celebration Choir

MAUNDY THURSDAY8:15a Preschool4:30p Douglas County Singers7p Worship Service/1st Communiong.

1 2 3 4

EASTER7:30a Easter Service8:30a Easter Service10a Easter Service11:30a Easter Services7p AA Meeting

OFFICE CLOSED6:30a Men's Breakfast Group8:15a Preschool9:15a Beth Moore Study9:30a Mops Mtg12p Preschool Sports7p Boy Scouts7p Personnel Mtg.

8:15a Preschool11a Preschool Storyteller11:15a Staff Mtg.12p Preschool Sports1:15p Preschool PAT Meeting4:30p Douglas County Singers6:30p 30th Anniversary Team Meeting7p Blaze-Sr. High7:30p Mops set-up

8:15a Preschool9a Mops Consign.10a Clean-up10a MOPS Steering6p Brownie Troop Mtg.7p Confirmation Small Group

8a Mops Consign.8:15a Preschool4:30p Douglas County Singers7p Beth Moore Study

8:15a Preschool11a Preschool Chapel11:15a Staff Mtg.12p Preschool Sports5p Crossroads Band6:30p Praise Team7p Blaze-Sr. High7p Council Mtg.8p mops set-up

8:15a Preschool9a MOPS Mtg11a Preschool Chapel2p Preschool Chapel7p Confirmation Learning Event

8a Preschool Dinner and Art Show8:15a Preschool9a Rejoice Circle1p Preschool Art Show

8:15a Preschool4:30p Douglas County Singers6p Cub Scout Mtg.

7a Mops Consign.8:15a Preschool

5

Mission Moment8a Worship/CC9:30a Worship/SS11a Worship/CC3:30p Dynamite youth group7p AA Meeting

12 6:30a Men's Breakfast Group8:15a Preschool9:15a Beth Moore Study9:30a Mission Quilters12p Preschool Sports6p Boy Scouts Venture Crew7p Boy Scouts7p Legacy & Endowment Mtg.

13

8a Worship/CC9:30a Worship/SS10:30a Volunteer Appreciation11a Worship/CC4p Douglas County Singers Concert7p AA Meeting

19 6:30a Men's Breakfast Group8:15a Preschool9:15a Beth Moore Study12p Preschool Sports7p Boy Scouts

20 8:15a Preschool9:30a Preschool Music Time with Linda11:15a Staff Mtg.12p Preschool Sports1p Visiting Nurse Assoc.5p Crossroads Band6:30p Praise Team7p Blaze-Sr. High

8:15a Preschool9a Nursery - MOPS9:30a Preschool Music with Linda2p Preschool Music Time with Linda7p Confirmation Learning Event

21 22 8:15a Preschool7p Beth Moore Study7p Celebration Choir

23 8th GRADE LOCK-IN8:15a Preschool5:30p Preschool Parent's Night Out8:30p 8th Grade Spring Lock-in

24 8th GRADE LOCK-IN12a 8th Grade Spring Lock-in7a General Maintenance5p Worship/CC

25

8a Worship/CC9:30a Worship/SS11a Worship/CC12:15p CLC KidsRock!7p AA Meeting

26 6:30a Men's Breakfast Group8:15a Preschool9:15a Beth Moore Study9:30a Mission Quilters12p Preschool Sports4p Confirmation Pastoral Interviews6p Boy Scouts Venture Crew7p Boy Scouts

27 8:15a Preschool11:15a Staff Mtg.12p Preschool Sports4p Confirmation Pastoral Interviews5p Crossroads Band6:30p Praise Team7p Blaze-Sr. High

8:15a Preschool4p Confirmation Pastoral Interviews

28 29 8:15a Preschool4p Confirmation Pastoral Interviews7p Celebration Choir

30

14 15 16 17 5p Worship/CC 18

6 7 8 9 10 11

9a Chicks w/Sticks5p BAPTISM - Haney5p Worship/CC

Mission Moment8a Mops Consign.5p Preschool Parent's Night Out5p Worship/CC

APRIL

Your Military Ministry has scheduled a Military Ministry Day at the Rockies on Saturday, May 23. This is a 2:10 game against the San Francisco Giants. Tickets are $19 for Lower Reserved, Out�eld Sections 343-346 OR $35 for Out�eld Box, Sections 144-150. Please complete a ticket order form and turn in to the church o�ce along with your check or cash payment for the tickets. This event is a fundraiser to bene�t the Pastoral Discretionary Fund to aid military families in need. You will not have your tickets until after we turn everything in to the Rockies on May 13.

Thank you, again, for supporting theMilitary Ministry AND the Pastoral

Discretionary Fund!

Military Ministry Day at the Rockies

Christ Lutheran Church

Military Ministry

Colorado Rockies vs. SF Giants Saturday, May 23rd @ 2:10pm

Please return this form with FULL PAYMENT to the Main Office by: May 13th

PLEASE INDICATE NUMBER OF TICKETS DESIRED

Outfield Box Sections 144-150 # of tickets @ $35____ $

Lower Reserved, Outfield Sections 343-346 # of tickets @ $19____ $

Total Order

Pay by Cash or Check made out to the church

Proceeds will benefit the Pastoral Discretionary Fundto aid military families in need

Name: _______________________________________

Phone Number: ________________________________

Email: _________________________________________

8997 S. BroadwayHighlands Ranch, CO 80129Change Service Requested

Outreach MinistriesHarrington Elementary School in Denver – various projectsOutreach UgandaUrban Peak Teen ShelterAlcoholics AnonymousBon�ls Blood DriveSky Ranch Lutheran CampLutheran Family Services projectsGrant Avenue Street ReachPueblo De Dios (in CA) ProjectsELCA World HungerMilitary MinistryChicks with SticksMission Quilters

MusicCLC Kids Rock!Youth Worship Weekend Band CelebrationCarillon RingersCrossroadsDouglas County SingersPraise TeamCarillon Ringers

Preschool

Followers of Jesus Christ

Youth & Family MinistriesBaptism ClassesFirst Bible ClassesFirst Communion ClassesSummer Vacation Bible SchoolCon�rmation Classes (7th & 8th graders)Sunday SchoolDynamite Youth Group (4th, 5th & 6th graders)BLAZE (Senior High School Youth Group)Mission TripsFamily Nights

Education and FellowshipAdult Education Classes (held during 9:30 service and Thursdays at 9:00am)Men’s Breakfast Group – bible study group meets every Monday morningWomen of Joy – a Christian book club that meets twice monthly for fellowship and serviceRejoice Circle – women’s bible study, meets twice monthly

Church Community MinistriesAltar GuildNew Mothers MinistryWorship TeamsFirst Impressions TeamUshers and GreetersBulletin “Folders”Readers Decorating TeamAssisting MinistersMowing & Snow RemovalKitchen TeamRecycling TeamMaintenance TeamSweet Bread MinistrySign TeamChefs for ChristSanctuary CareCard MinistryPrayer Tree

Fun and FellowshipOWLS – Senior group meets monthly for fellowshipShepherds Dinner GroupMen’s Book ClubWomen’s Book ClubAdvance! Men’s GroupWomen’s Bunko

There’s a place for you!