Thursday, April 26, 2012

May 2012




Calvary Lutheran Church & School  

E-Chronicle                                                                                  May 2012
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CALL MEETING

Sunday, May 13

(immediately following 9am service)

10:15am Children's Sunday School

NO Adult Bible Class

May Birthdays

5/1   Edith Mena

5/2   Paul Hoffman

5/6   Barbara Goldhammer

5/10 Sharise Coleman

5/11 Gerald Luehrs

         Rebecca Silva

5/15 Barbara Adams

5/17 Kyra De laCruz

5/20 Traci McClain

         William McClain

5/22 Lee Strom

5/23 Pastor Gary Mohr

         Evan Manrique

5/25 Debra Pye

5/27 Mabel Stafne

5/29 Frank Mitchell

         Ashley Frybarger

         Alexis Frybarger

5/31 Sue Ellis

        John Binder        

 

May Anniversaries

5/2 Dan & Sandy Silva 31 years

5/5 Harold & Jan Curler 50 years

5/5 Dwight & Kim Heggins 21 years

5/6 Dubravko & Amy Sosa 12 years

5/7 Kurt & Edith Mena   18 years

5/18 Mike & Lisa Ghiselli 27 years

5/24 Robert & Gina Gerome 26 years

5/30 Phil & Carmen Caspersen 48 years

TIME CHANGE

Beginning May 13

ONE Service at 9am

Sunday School at 10:15am

Dates to Remember
May 3- National Day of Prayer

May 5- Wittenberg Tea

May 6- Confirmation Sunday 10:45am

May 13- Begin Summer Service Schedule ONE 9am Service

June 5- 8th Gr. Graduation 7pm

August 6-10- VBS "SKY"   

Address Update
Louise Woodard

Gold Quartz Inn, .

Rm. 201

15 Bryson Dr.

Sutter Creek, CA 95685  

NO FLOWERS ON THE ALTAR???

The flower chart in the narthex has many open Sundays.   In the past we have counted on members signing up to celebrate wedding anniversaries, birthdays and special events. Money has not been budgeted for this expression of thanksgiving. If you would like to have flowers grace our altar as a Thanksgiving to God for his many blessings, please pick a Sunday. We have an agreement with Fred's flowers for a cost of $25.00 delivered.   So, if you'd like to see flowers continue to be placed on the altar, SIGN UP.   Elders........

 

WITTENBERG SPRING TEA, MAY 5, 2012 

Getting ready for the Spring Tea at Wittenberg.  We need your help with tea type cookies, or brownies. 

¨ Please do not use any nuts in your food.

¨ Amount: 4 doz., You may drop them off at the Church office,

Friday, 4 May, 2012 before 4 pm or bring them to Wittenberg no earlier than 9am on Sat., 5 May.  ¨ LWML will have a sign-up located by the quilts outside the church so that we can keep track of the amount. ¨  If anyone would like to help serve at this tea,  please let me know.  

What a wonderful way to share the love of Jesus with others.  Thank you  for your help with this. 

Love in Jesus, LWML - Barbara Adams, Facilitator

8th Gr. Confirmands
 Trevor Contier

Jenna DeTurk

Ashley Frybarger

Alexis Frybarger

Danielle Guerra

Karl Mena

Tristan Mueller 

Pastor's Ponderings

     Well our time has come. Speaking on behalf of Gloria and me, I have to say, "We have truly enjoyed our time at Calvary." YOU, the members and families of Calvary have been encouragers to us. We have been blessed to worship as the family of God at Calvary.

I personally, want to thank you for putting up with my adjustments to your worship life. I'm thankful you were not hard on me when I first arrived since I had gathered some rust after being off for a year and a half. It's been fun for me moving from the pew in the congregation back to leading worship once again.

     I have no fears for you as you move forward as a congregation. Pastor Lu Werth has grown and pastored a very large congregation before his retirement and since his retirement he has been interim pastor to several congregations. You are blessed that God brought him out to California.

     Some of the memories I will take away is how willing so many were to form a choir for Easter this year. I truly enjoyed participating in this venture and I hope you gather a choir for future occasions. You are blessed with many talented people who love the Lord.

Below I have noted some things I hope I have left behind for YOU to grow on.

1. I hope I have given you a bigger picture of God.

"For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord"  

(2 Cor. 4:5).   

Ultimately, every one of us needs to be told repeatedly that the God of Scripture is bigger than all of our earthly problems. While we live in a complex age with a changing culture, we need to always remember that God is in control, that He loves us immensely, and that nothing is impossible for Him. When the trials of life come, we can so quickly forget this truth!

2. I hope I have encouraged you as a congregation to appreciate financial constraints.

Congregations have always and will always face financial challenges. To grow as a congregation, we will always feel our need for more. However, these constraints can never force us to do less-but rather they need to force us to be more creative, to pray more and to seek God's guidance more earnestly. Remember, God does not need our offerings, however, we need to give them as part of our worship and growth as the people of God.

3. I hope I have encouraged you to turn to the Bible when problems arise.

Our theme this year, chosen by our school is: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

I hope I have encouraged you to be in God's Word always, especially when work dries up, when we hear of a difficult medical diagnosis of a loved one, etc. The Bible is God's Word and it is able to meet all of our needs, even though I, your pastor, am not. In all situations, rejoice in God and His powerful Word.

4. I hope I have shown you how to read, study, and handle the Bible for yourself.

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).

I am sorry that I have meet with so few of you in weekly Bible study classes. I hope you take the challenge to gather around God's Word each week with Pastor Lu Werth, my replacement. The Bible can be difficult to read if we don't know where to begin. During my time at Calvary, I have studied the opening of Revelation, James, Acts, Hebrews, and a study on Prayer. In addition, I have tried to make each sermon a little Bible study as I address a Gospel lesson each Sunday. I hope I have left no doubt how important God's Word is and has been in my own life. Please remain students of God's Word always.

5. I hope I have taught you to thank God for the gift of salvation He has entrusted to you and that I have challenged you to share this hope with one another.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22-27).

Jesus struggled with the church folks of His day because they became fact finders but it did not lead to changing their lives. They memorized the Scriptures but they could not recognize the Messiah when He was standing right in front of them. I hope I have caused you to apply God's Word to your particular life situations-finding comfort in all things because God is in charge. I hope you can look back at your check book since August and see in it that your concern for God and His will shows by the way you are now spending your money.

6. I hope I have helped you see how relevant God's Word (the Bible) is for YOU today.

"Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day...They are not just idle words for you-they are your life"  

(Deut. 32:46-47).

I hope I have been able to help you see how the Bible stories affect the way you are to live your life Monday through Saturday and draw you back to come on the following Sunday. YOU are NOT alone, ever. God is with you and he wants to walk with you all the days of your life on earth and right into heaven with Him.

    Thanks so much for allowing me to be your short-term pastor. It's been fun for me and I know God has great things in mind for Calvary Lutheran Church and its ongoing ministry.

God's peace be with you,

PG

 

Dear Members of Calvary,

Since our son-in-law, Greg Mohr, grew up in your congregation and went through your school, we've heard about Calvary for many years, but never thought I'd be serving as your vacancy pastor.   The Lord works in mysterious ways.

 

Since I know about you, I'll tell you a little about myself. I grew up in Eau Claire, Wis. and then spent my first two years of college in preparation for the ministry at Concordia Junior College in St. Paul, Minn. My last two years of college were at Concordia Senior College in Ft. Wayne, Ind. from where I went to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis for four years of graduate studies including one year of vicarage at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in St. Louis. Throughout my ministry I've also done a lot of post-graduate work at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, Calif. in addition to participating in many seminars on various aspects of church ministry.

 

Following seminary graduation in 1965, Norma Moerer and I were married in Omaha, Nebr. where she had been teaching at Mt. Calvary Lutheran School. Norma grew up in Wheaton, Minn. and Auburn, Nebr. and in preparation to become a Lutheran school teacher, went to Concordia College in Seward, Nebr.

 

Up until the last few months, our entire ministry was spent in the mid-west. My call at the seminary was to be the first pastor of a new mission congregation in Tiffin, Ohio. Then in 1969 I accepted a call to an inner urban congregation, Timothy Lutheran in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1977, Hope Lutheran in Shawnee, Ks, a small congregation in a suburb of Kansas City, Mo. extended a call to me. During our tenure there, Hope started a school and grew to be a large congregation. Then, in 1985 Christ Our Savior Lutheran, a small congregation in Livonia, Mi. started as a result of the doctrinal controversy in the LC-MS, extended me a call. During our 21 ½ years in Livonia, Christ Our Savior grew to be a very large congregation and started another congregation in a neighboring suburb.

 

Following my retirement in Oct., 2006, I received special training in synod's Intentional Interim ministry, first serving Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Saginaw, Mi. and then as Senior Interim Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Monroe, Mi.

 

Through out my ministry I was also active in serving our Lord on various boards and committees in the church at large, some of which included circuit counselor, Pastoral Conf. Chairman, member of the Michigan District Board of Directors, Vice President of the Michigan District, and member of the Alumni Board of Concordia Seminary St. Louis.

 

The Lord empowered me to do this work only with the help of my very supportive wife, Norma, who has been my right hand for almost 47 years, giving me great help not only in our 4 congregations, but in my work in the church at large. The Lord also blessed us with 4 daughters, Elizabeth, who died in infancy, Rachel, who is married to Pastor Mohr's son, Greg, Rebekah and Christina who is married to Geoff Dow. We've also been blessed with one grandson, David, the son of Rachel and Greg.

 

I am looking forward to serving you as vacancy pastor, helping you to grow in the work of our Lord until you secure your own pastor.

 

In Christ's Service and yours,

 

Pastor Luther Werth


Prayers of the Church

Thanksgiving

For Pastor Gary & Gloria's time of devotion to Calvary; f or Carole Adams' successful surgery;For our faithful altar guild (Jan Curler, Linda Dutton, Linda Duvall and Norma Smith); For all of the volunteers that helped to make the Easter Egg hunt a great Success- a special thank you to Cindy Suppus & Sue Ellis; for the Youth & Brian Pye for preparing & serving Easter breakfast; for all those who

participated in the golf tournament & the volunteers that prepared thedinner; For Phil Caspersen's return home; For Jacob Ellis' successful surgery; for the baptisms of 3 Calvary 8th graders, Ashley & Alexis Frybarger and Danielle Guerra

 Peace in the World

President Obama and our country's leadership - For our soldiers in

Afghanistan: for Frank Mitchell II, Thomas Caspersen & Antonio Landaverde who are overseas; for those in the Reserves- Jonathan Ellis; Talitha Benz, now stationed in Arizona

 For our Staff

Fred Brauer; Margie Luehrs; Chrystle Vincent; Traci McClain; Amy Sosa; Christina Grace; Bethany Chhom; Ellen Hackerd; Kristi Morlock; AbbyEinspahr; Mike Souza; Doug Henry; Kim Heggins; Blenda Schultz; Michelle Michael; Sherrie Akre; Carol Liston; Cecilia Guerra; Cindy Suppus; Lydiana Sanchez; Holly Contier; Pastor Gary

 Ministry Guidance

For our interim ministry need; Marketing Ideas; Wittenberg Manor Outreach; Evangelism; Children's, Family and Youth Ministries; Parish Education; School Enrollment

 Peace and Comfort

Frank Mitchell family for the loss of Frank's father, Harry; For Jackie Stockton family, Jackie passed away on March 30 after a 9 year battle with cancer.

 Cancer Patients

Pat Brown; Bettie Benz' son-in-law, Stephen Comfort; Dee Lazaga;   Evelyn Asker; Joyce Schwartz, Leanne Mueller's mother; Melody Saldate; Wanda Grimm

 Physical, Emotional or Spiritual Healing

Pat Mankiller; Jacob Ellis; Wayne Dorais, Stacy Coleman's

father- Alzheimer's; Phyllis Larson; David Sutter (Ellis' cousin); Phil

Caspersen; Jose Ocampo, Leah Aguilar's father- stroke; Daniel Jensen; Barbara Arionus; For Amy Sosa's mother, Dianne; Millie Salo; Willine Watson; John Ohanesian; Tyler & Dave Flynn

 Expectant mothers

Grace Ramos; Colleen Martchenke- due August; Stephanie Mendia- due June; Emily Blank- due June



BOARD OF GOVERNANCE

March 8, 2012

  

Present: Barbara Adams, Darlene Goldhammer, Jeff Jensen, Lee Strom, Pastor Mohr

  

Lee Strom started our meeting with a devotion based on Jer. 44:15-19 from the Living Bible. A rebellious people told the Lord they would not listen to Him but would do what they wanted to do, including burning incense to the queen of heaven. They believed that all had gone very well for them as long as they worshipped her (great prosperity and peace); the women also said that their husbands were very aware of and also involved in the incense burning. When Jeremiah told them they must stop the idol worship, they refused to do so. When they had stopped the worship, their crops had failed to produce and they had nothing but problems in every area of their lives. God hates idol worship, which they were doing, but we are all slow learners.

  

Sometimes an action seems so right, but the results don't show that to be true. If you are in an arid area and come upon a can of cool water, your first instinct would probably be to drink it. Once you finished your drink, you would again be in need of water. If you carefully followed the sign hanging above the can of water that said, "Use to prime the pump," you would have an abundant supply of water and not just one good drink.

  

Another example of doing what seems right would be a congregation misled by the idea that a new and bigger building will bring in more people. God's word says we are to "go and teach," not go and build buildings. Are we at Calvary "going and teaching" as God has told us to do, providing programs to strengthen our members and reach out to others, or are we caught in doing things that only seem right? Lee ended the devotion with prayer.

  

PASTOR'S REPORT

Pastor expressed concerns about the requirements for our upcoming confirmation class. Those concerns will be turned over to the Elders. Pastor will also be meeting individually with each member of the staff.

  

OLD BUSINESS

  • Rick English will represent our congregation at the CNH District Convention to be held at the end of April.
  • Jeff Jensen reported that a phone would be available in the Youth Room after Calvary Club closes at 6 pm, since they have access to the phone during the day. Long distance calling will not be available at any time on this phone.
  • We discussed suggestions for getting members involved in activities here at Calvary. It was decided to prepare a slate showing where people are involved and a place for people to volunteer for a specific committee.

 NEW BUSINESS

  • The Board of Governance has authorized the change of the signature card for the Calvary Lutheran Church Checking account at Bank of the West. The 4 signers on the new signature card will be Barbara Adams, Darlene Goldhammer, Lee Strom and Jeff Jensen.
  • We discussed the agenda for our Congregational Meeting on March 25, 2012.       An agenda will be available in the bulletin for the next two Sundays. It will include the confirmation of two BOG members, financial information, a report from Principal Fred Brauer on the school and a report from the Call Committee.
  • The next issue of the Chronicle will include a graph showing the giving patterns of our congregation for the past six years. Jeff will continue to meet with Principal Fred Bauer on a regular basis regarding finances.

 Meeting ended with prayer by all present. Next BOG meeting March 22, 2012.

  

Respectfully submitted

Darlene Goldhammer

BOG Secretary

************************************************************************ 

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

March 25, 2012

 

President Barbara Adams called the meeting to order and Gerry Luehrs lead in an opening prayer.

I.The first item of business was the confirming election of two Board of Governance (BOG) members. Voting members were given ballots and an opportunity to confirm Barbara Adams and Sarah Anderson. Barbara was re-elected for her second term and Sara was elected for her first term.

  II.Dave Mueller gave a report from the Call Committee. Following a previous survey of what the congregation was looking for in our new pastor, we started with a slate of 13 candidates. Dave contacted each of the candidates and several indicated they did not wish to consider a call; the committee chose not to consider two because of what the survey preferences had shown; two of them had just accepted other calls. One individual has yet to return the latest questionnaire. As soon as that information is in, the committee will meet to consider the remaining candidates, arrange phone interviews and hope to have a Call Meeting by the end of April. Dave also reported that Pastor Werth has agreed to replace Pastor Gary Mohr beginning May 8 until we have a pastor. 

 

III. Principal Fred Brauer addressed the group to explain new tuition incentives that have been added for the purpose of providing early payment savings and aiding in planning for next year. He then introduced a short video about our upcoming summer school program and new programs that will be available next year.  

 

IV. Treasurer Jeff Jensen presented three graphs based on information provided by Financial Secretary Howard Goldhammer showing the 5-year giving trends at Calvary and the decline in giving. Jeff proceeded with a detailed presentation of income and expenses for this fiscal year and answered questions from the floor. Jeff also indicated he would be exploring the establishment of a line of credit on the parsonage from CNH Church Extension Fund in case there is a need to borrow funds. The voting members of the congregation will need to approve any borrowing before it can be done.  

 

V. The final item of business was for Barbara to explain the "How Can I Help" sheets, which had been handed out. It listed all those who are now serving in short-term commitments at Calvary and left space for those who wish to sign up where there is a need.

Dave Shultz closed with prayer.

 

Meeting adjourned.

 

   Respectfully submitted

 

   Darlene Goldhammer, BOG Secretary