Hometown News - 2011 Jan/Feb Edition

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TO GOD BE THE GLORY

JAN/FEB 2011

1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860

www.nazluthchurch.com

The Hometown News is

a publication of

Nazareth Evangelical

Lutheran Church.

Member of the

Lutheran Church —

Missouri Synod.

Inside this issue:

Church Officers 2011 2

News and Notes 5

Pastor’s Corner 7

Youth Update 9

Mission Planning 10

The Hometown News

The Newsletter of Nazareth Lutheran Church

[ih-pif-uh-nee] – noun, plural -nies.

1. ( initial capital letter ) a Christian festival commemorat-ing the manifestation of Christ.

2. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the

reality or essential meaning of something.

The word “epiphany” has at

least two meanings for us. One is

the meaning we know in the church,

that is, Epiphany is a Christian com-

memoration of the manifestation of

Christ.

Epiphany is from the Greek

word, meaning “reveal”. God be-

gins to reveal Jesus for who He is:

God in the flesh, our Savior.

Jesus is revealed as God in the

flesh to the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12)

and in the Temple (Luke 2) and lat-

er, God confirms that Jesus is His

beloved Son through His Baptism

(Matthew 3:13-17).

God’s Holy Spirit turns rou-tine events: a birth, a visit to thetemple, the pouring of water,into Divine actions that revealChrist.

But how about the second

meaning of Epiphany? That is, the

sudden perception of a reality not

known before?

As we move into January, we

once again go back to our routines.

Whether it is going back to work orschool, keeping up the house and

our finances, we go back to a rou-

tine.

If we learn one new lesson from

Epiphany, let it be this: that where

God’s Word is, His Holy Spirit is. In

other words….

God’s Holy Spirit turns ourroutine events into Divine ac-tions that reveal Christ.

If you see a stranger in need, it

is the revealed Christ who says,

“Whatever you did for the least of

these brothers and sisters of mine,

you did for me.” The epiphany

given is that Christ is among us

through the weakest and meekest. If you are home alone and in

mourning, it is the revealed Christ

who says, “Blessed are those who

mourn, for they will be comfort-

ed.” The epiphany given is that

Christ is with us in our suffering.

Through faith alone, God’s Word is the lens through which we view the world and then,

nothing is routine, everything isa new opportunity to live in orshare the message of our merci-ful Savior Jesus Christ.

What an Epiphany!



The Hometown News

2011 Church Officers and Board Members

In the November voter’s meeting, our congregation voted in the following servants for Christ. Theywill be installed into their roles during our Worship service on January 2. As a congregation, we thank

all of them for their commitment and service.

President Clint Reierson

Vice President Eddie Hanford

Recording Secretary Jean Joyner

Financial Secretary Janet Antol

Treasurer Kay Grochowaski

Board of Trustees Andy Martin, Raymond Rayner, Benny Soltez

Board of Maintenance Jim Morris

Board of Elders Adrian Slimmen

Bob Dry

Charles Minor

Board of Deacons Thelma Klein, Carol Slimmen, Karen VanWorth

Board of Finance Marilyn Antunes

Board of Stewardship Gene Fistler

Board of Missions & Outreach Kara Canada, Angie Morris

January 1 Doris Cavin

January 1 Emily Lineman

January 3 Danny Petik

January 5 David Schaarschmidt

January 15 Robert Buren III

January 17 Kimberly Heiser

January 29 Velma Fleming

January 29 Anna Klein

January 31 Eva McKenney

February 2 Taylor Stewart

February 7 Andy Martin

February 14 Caitlin Kendall

February 19 Ashley Thompson

February 20 Cindy Fistler

February 22 Cindy Reierson

February 23 Sheri Kendall

February 26 Pam Klein



The Hometown News

Child Development Center Updates

Have you noticed the new CDC (Child Development Center) television inthe Narthex? This television will have all of the latest updates on the CDC.Please check it every week to make sure you stay up to speed as we begin

our investigation of whether or not the Lord desires us to open a CDC.

Upcoming Meetings:

January 21, Friday, 5PM

The project management team will meet with representatives from the District and Circuit to discuss

possibilities for Childcare Development Models.

Upcoming Events:

January 23, Sunday

Team Assignments — individuals will be assigned to their respective teams. The Land Team, Internal

Communications Team, and Business Team, will be formed and begin their work.

It is estimated that a feasibility study will be performed in the February/March timeframe assuming the

business team concludes there is a vibrant and viable ministry for our church through a CDC.

MOVIE NIGHT

DOCUMENTARY: BONHOEFFER —

PASTOR, PACIFIST, NAZI RESISTER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 7PM — 9PM

Join friends or make new ones as we watch this

compelling film on an extraordinary theologian

who lived during the rise of Hitler’s Germany.

A short discussion will follow the film.



Jan/Feb 2011

For our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Nursing Homes -

Velma Fleming, HHCC (227)For our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are home-bound -

Mary Petik ` For our members and friends serving our country in the military -

Bruce Layne Danny Petik Chris Graham Dustin Petik James Ecken-rode David Petik Jeff & Stacey Crossen Jeffrey Head Steve Foxx BrandonEdwards Mike McKinzie Stacey Wells Military Chaplains

For our members and friends away at college –

Landry Doane Casey Davis

For our members who are sick, hospitalized, in need of spiritual care or recuperating -

Evelyn Rayner

Rowena Carter

Bob and Annette Dry

Kathy Beahm

JennyGraham Marilyn Antunes Joey Reierson Nicki Thomas Barney HamptonGerald Koren Leanne Eckstein

For our friends who are sick, hospitalized or recuperating

Jonathan Weston Rita Joyner Ray Miller Jeff Walter Suzie & Joe Hilton Dor-othy Kunkel Freddie Gonzalez Kay Slade Bernard Carter Richard Brinkley, Jr.Thomas Slimmen Carolyn Kennedy Pat MacDonaldChase & Charlie Bennett Zachery Gilkey

For the families of the Saints departed Joann Miller

Pray for One Another Prayer List updated as of December 19, 2010

Bible Study and Adult Confirmation

Contact Pastor Voss for spe-cifics. We now have six con-

firmation students! Please

continue to encourage and in-vite anyone who has not re-

ceived this foundation of

Christian teaching.

WEDNESDAYS 7:00 PM

Wednesday evening Bible

studies will commence on

January 5th. Separate Bible

study classes will be offered

for the men and women.

Whether you are young or old,

visitor or pillar, we have a Bible

Study for you!

SUNDAYS 9:30 AM

Bible Study

Meet in the “Old Church” Room

at 9:30 AM. A new topic of

study will be presented in the

coming weeks.

Adult Conirmation

Interested in joining our church

or learning more about our

faith? A new adult conirma-

tion class will begin in Febru-

ary. If you are new to the Lu-

theran faith and/or would

like to join our church,

please contact Arnie to

join in.

Youth Conirmation

Youth in grades 7—11 areencouraged to join in our

Confirmation program. Youhave two options:

Weekly students meet every

Sunday at 9:30 AM.

Bi-Weekly students meet

every other Sunday at

8:30AM (to 10:30 AM).



The Hometown News

News and Notes

MISSION OPPORTUNITY

In February, a nurse and a nurse anesthetist that I work with are going to Haiti on a medical mission

trip. They are going with the Haiti Outreach Ministry group. (www.haitioutreach minis-

tries.org) From now till the beginning of Feb., I will be collecting the following items to send with

them...Tylenol, Ibuprofen, chewable and liquid Tylenol, Benadryl, cough drops, Monistat cream, anti-

biotic cream, Tums and Vitamins. There will be a basket on the table near the mailboxes for your do-

nations. These people need our help...let's show them the love of God. Thanks, Cindy R.

CHURCH CHOIR

Calling All Choir Members, Past and Present! Please look around at home and weed out any old mu-

sic you have! We are particularly looking for a music songbook called "Carols Alive". Any questions

please see Cindy R. Many Thanks!

NURSERY POLICY

We are reminding folks of our original nursery policy, since we will begin using it again. This policystates that the nursery is for children aged 4 and under. We know that 4’s become 5’s overnight, and

this has resulted in some confusion. The 5’s have become accustomed to staying in the nursery, and

sometimes they bring their older friends. This places a burden on our volunteer staff. Also, many 5’s

are capable of enjoying the whole service. Thank you for your help!

CHILDCARE

James Eckenrode’s mom has a childcare service, and she currently has some openings. If you need

this service or would like more information, please call Elke at 530-1254 or on her cell at 691-8369.

She will care for newborns on up in age. Hours are 6:30am to 6:00pm.

Dear Nazareth Friends,

Thank you all for your prayers,cards, and calls. They have all meant so much to me during this time and have helped me deal with being home and inactive for so long. I have found out that doing

nothing is not as much fun as I used to think it would be! I havemissed you all and look forward to being back at church soon.

Sincerely, Leanne

http://ministries.org/






Jan/Feb 2011

VISIONA SERMON SERIES

JANUARY 2011

TRUSTING IN GOD

EMRACE THE FUTURE

TO THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST

God’s Vision for our Life, Church, Eternity

Second Sunday after Christmas

January 2 – God’s Vision for our Life

Sermon text: Ephesians 1:3-14

Key Verses: v. 11-12: In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who

works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to

put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Epiphany January 9 – God’s Vision for our Church

Sermon: Ephesians 3:1-12

Key Verse, v. 10: His (God’s) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should

be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.

The Baptism of our Lord

January 16 – God’s Vision for our Eternity

Sermon and Bible Study text: Revelation 21:1-7

Key Verse, v. 6-7: He said to me: ―It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Tothe thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious

will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.‖

Upcoming Services:

The Third Sunday of the Epiphany Season: January 23 – Guest Preacher

The Fourth Sunday of the Epiphany Season: January 30 — Youth Leading Worship

The Fifth Sunday of the Epiphany Season: February 6 — Lutheran Hour Ministry Sunday



PASTOR’S

CORNER

SIMPLE CHURCH BOOK STUDY

We now begin our Simple Church book study with the purpose of re-evaluating how our church or-

ganization serves our mission to “reach out to all in faith and love....”

We will hold an online discussion of each Chapter (please register by going to the bottom of our

home page www.nazluthchurch.com). We begin reading Chapter 1 on January 1. Questions will be

asked via the online forum to keep us focused on the purpose of reading the book, that is, “How can

our church structure best serve our mission?” We will read a Chapter per week with due dates to

complete each chapter as listed below.

January 1—Finish Chapter 1





February 27—March 20—Discuss suggestions for church structure and develop presentation for

council and congregation.

VISION

Beginning with the irst Sunday of the New Year, we will embark on a sermon series entitled

“Vision: God’s Vision for our life, church, and eternity”. The focus of this series will be to get focused

on God’s Vision for our future as we move from mission planning in 2010 to active mission in 2011.

Nazareth already does so many things well, including the Easter Fair, the Fall Festival, just to name

a few. I look forward to 2011 as we continue to increase our activity for the Lord according to His

Vision.

SHORT-TERM MISSION

In this newsletter you will ind a short -term mission planning form. This is for

mission and ministry projects to be completed in 2011. I cannot emphasize

how important it is for all of us, regardless of whether or not we serve on a

board, to consider how we can make a direct impact on our communitythrough focused ministry planning. Having a short -term goal for yourself or

your board not only gives you a sense of direction for serving our community

with the Gospel, but it binds you to the larger mission of our church.

“Jesus said, let the little children come to me, do not hinder them….”

- Matthew 19:14

February 5– Finish Chapter 6

February 12—Finish Chapter 7





The Hometown News

Operation Barnabas: Congregations Supporting our Military

The LCMS maintains a special program that helps congregations show love and

support to returning service people: Operation Barnabas. The following is summa-

rized from an account by Pastor Philip Baerwolf of Immanuel Lutheran Church in

East Dundee, Illinois. It is from Harvest News.

Pastor Baerwolf recalls the apostle Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian where, after hearing the

Gospel, the Ethiopian says, ―Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?‖ A similar encounterhappened at his church. He tells about seeing a car leaving the church parking lot just as he was re-

turning. His secretary told him it was a young soldier returning from Afghanistan who had come to

the church inquiring about baptism. The congregation had hosted an Operation Barnabas workshopearlier in the year and had a heart for those who wear our country’s uniform and their families. They

were ready to respond in love when God presented an opportunity to care for a military member

returning from service.

Pastor Baerwolf continues,‖I immediately called the soldier back, and within 10 minutes he returned

to the church and we chatted for awhile. I learned that his name was Greg, and he had never beenbaptized as a baby. After his time in Afghanistan, he was convinced he should be baptized. He was

certain the Lord had saved his life on more than one occasion while serving in hostile territory. Greg

had also witnessed many events of atrocity and knew that he needed to be baptized. I quickly talkedto Greg about his faith — he assured me of his trust in Jesus as his Savior acknowledging that Jesus died

on the cross for his sins and rose again from the grave to give him hope of heaven.‖

―I assured Greg of God’s mercy. We discussed how to honor Him by obeying His commands and

that serving as a soldier is a just and noble calling.‖

―…I explained how in the service of Holy Baptism we would confess the Apostles Creed together.

Greg said he agreed with all those statements, so we scheduled the baptism. Praise God for the gift

of faith and for welcoming a new member into God’s family!‖

Learn more about how your congregation can get involved at

www.operationbarnabas.org or by calling 402-316-8873.

Publication Dates for the Hometown News in 2011

ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE PAPER VERSION MAILED

MAR/APR MARCH 7 MARCH 9

MAY/JUN MAY 2 MAY 4

JUL/AUG JULY 5 JULY 7

SEP/OCT SEPTEMBER 6 SEPTEMBER 8

NOV/DEC NOVEMBER 7 NOVEMBER 9

http://www.operationbarnabas.org/

http://www.operationbarnabas.org/



The Hometown News

Board of Outreach & Missions, December 2010

Christmas Families

Nazareth generously adopted 3 families for Christmas. The requests for gifts were placed on the Christ-mas Tree in the Narthex. A few tags were not taken; however, the wonderful people of Nazareth gave

money to buy the remaining gifts. Seed money from Thrivent was used to buy food items. All un-

wrapped gis were wrapped and delivered on December 20th.

Thanks again Nazareth for giving so lovingly to others!

Nazareth Youth Activity, Winter, 2010—2011

December

The youth had their annual Christmas Gathering. They started the night with some Bingo at the church.They then took the church bus to the Hopewell Covalence Center to read the Christmas Story and sing

Christmas Carols to Velma Fleming. Aer that they did the Walk Through Bethlehem at a local

church. They then returned to the church to open gis and have refreshments. Everyone had a great

evening of Chrisan Fellowship. January

The youth will assist in the church service with Pastor Voss’s help. They are also going back the visit Ms.

Fleming who will have a birthday at the end of the month.

Defeating the Radio Scrambler from your Editor Sue S.

I’m sure I have Attention Deficit Disorder. I was never diagnosed this way as a kid (did theyeven have such a thing in the 50’s ?), but the older I get the more easily distracted I am. Hey, it’sthe culture, the environment! (no, it’s me) Rapid fire images on TV, my email in-box seededwith messages from people I never heard of. Of course I don’t have to participate, but often I

do. Once all the chatter begins, my mind gets cluttered and it is harder to focus, as if a radioscrambler had been turned on. That’s why my morning quiet time has become so vital.

Several years ago a friend told me she always has her devotion in the morning, so I decidedto try it. I vary the routine, and I always work in some prayers for others. God has promisedthat He will draw close to us as we draw close to Him. (James 4:8). Happy truth! Fifteen or 20minutes in the Word has the power to order the rest of my day.

Remember how Jesus told Martha, who was distracted and anxious about many things, that“Mary has chosen the one thing needful”. I derive great benefit and peace from that one thing.



TO:

Nazareth Lutheran Church1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860

Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church

Reaching out to all in faith and love.

Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Serving joyfully!

Hometown News - 2011 Jan/Feb Edition

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