The Dove |
|
|
The Salem Dove NOVEMBER 2005 FROM THE PASTOR: We celebrate the national Thanksgiving Day in November. As Christians we should be saying thanks every day of our lives, but looking at our national day can be helpful. Thanksgiving is most readily spoken by people who have seen how fragile and vulnerable our human life is. When President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of national thanksgiving in 1863, we were in the midst of a civil war. Very close to the day of thanksgiving that November, Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address in a cemetery. The turning point of the war had been reached at Gettysburg, but it would take almost two more years to conclude the war and a century almost to bind up the nation’s wounds. The pilgrims at Plymouth also gave thanks in the midst of hard times when life hung on the edge of death, and life was seen as a gift of God. When we see our own weakness and limits and the great gifts God has given, we are at our strength as stewards of God’s gifts, and thanks seems to just roll out of our souls in words and songs. When we think of the many gifts we have, three come to mind as important to remember: family, country, and church. When we look closer, all three of them need leaders with vision and good sense for life to flourish. In listening to some of the questions and answers in the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, I heard some things that apply to all of us in our life as Christian citizens in families. There are many people around us – in church and family too - that want us to make important decisions on the basis of our personal opinions and likes or dislikes. They have no visions or principles beyond themselves and their own preferences. When Judge Roberts was asked about his personal feelings on the hot button issues of the day he said that was not the issue. What were important were the constitution and the present facts and evidence as they were placed beside the constitution. Case decisions could not be made ahead of time before the case was heard. (I hope I am reflecting his views accurately here.) This applies not only to a Supreme Court justice. This also applies to pastors and church leaders who take an oath of office too. Lots of people think pastors and church leaders simply make decisions on the basis of (CON’T. ON PAGE TWO) Salem Lutheran Church10 McClellan Circle
- Buffalo,
New York 14220
Rev.
David F. C. Wurster, Ph. D. – Pastor
Lois
L. Jones, Director of Music
Ernelle L. Poinivas, Secretary Stephen
Jarmusz Sr., Custodian
Claire Carlson, ‘Dove’ Editor Rev. Richard E. Blemaster, Pastor Emeritus
e-mail:
salemoncircle@yahoo.com
website: www.salembuffalo.com = = = Misson: SALEM/Peace -
As the Father sent me I send you.
= = = Vision:
Preach – Teach – Heal – doing what Jesus
does (con’t. FROM THE PASTOR) what feels right. Many do. But they are not called to do this. This is what activist judges and clergy do. A Lutheran pastor or church leader is called upon to know Christ, scripture, and the teaching of the church (the catechism is minimum) and to lead and make decisions as facts and evidence flow through life on the basis of the teaching of the church. He or she is called to make and live with decisions he or she sometimes does not like. The decision compass is not just a feeling inside but a living Lord speaking through the teaching of the church. This is true for pastor and lay leaders. But this gets even closer to home for all people. Some people think that being a family leader means to just make decisions that feel right. A Christian family leader is called upon to learn the teaching of the church, family wisdom and to regularly grow in faith and wisdom at the table of the living Lord. In this way, a family leader is not conformed to this age (of feel goodism) but transformed by the renewing of the mind to prove what the will of God is, the good and well pleasing and perfect. This means you can’t judge the specifics of a case with your 17 year old when the child is 13 years old. You are growing in the basics and must apply teaching to the evidence when the 17 year old case comes before you. This brings the comments of Judge Roberts close to home for us all. A good leader is ready to grow in knowledge and wisdom and patiently examine the evidence as presented in life. This includes a good family leader. Another thing the judge showed us at this point is how important it is to know who you are called to be and not to be what you are not called to be. A judge is not called to legislate or make law nor to be the chief executive of the land. So it is with leaders in the church and family. We pray God give us wisdom to be who we are called to be and not to intrude into the offices of others. A typical example of this intrusion is when someone intrudes upon a parent when the parent is disciplining a child. I remember once when my wife disciplined one of our children and one of our mothers countermanded her. That was an intrusion into another’s called office. With some trepidation I told that mother to stay out of it. So we give thanks to God at his time that he gives us the gifts of family, country and church and leaders in each. We continue to give him thanks for grace and life renewal in forgiveness and life that is so strong it’s eternal too. When you first read these words I should be on the other side of the world in Sri Lanka. As you know our church body and Lutheran World Relief called me (the second time this year) and asked if I would go minister to some of the pastors who are worn out working with the victims of the tsunami of last December. I will join a colleague in Minneapolis and we then fly to Tokyo to Singapore to Colombo and then into the country. We don’t know exactly what we will do in any detail. We will listen to people who have lost much and then pray the Spirit’s wisdom to respond with the message of our Lord’s hope. We can’t go with prepackaged programs and answers. We go with the faith and the teaching of the church catholic and listen to the people and then serve. (In some ways that sounds like Judge Roberts again.) I have a feeling we will come back (November 7th) with a growing sense of thanks for family, country, church and leaders. I will report back to the members of Salem and tell the story of the trip. I appreciate the leadership of Salem and ask for the prayers and blessings of you all as Jesus said, “Peace be with you, as the Father sent me, I send you!” Peace and thanks,
Pastor
Wurster WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW BIBLE
STUDY A Bible Study
is at 1 pm on Tuesdays led by Sally
McAlpine. All
are welcome. A Bible Study led by Ruth Carr is on Thursdays at 9:30 am. All are welcome. SUNDAY
MORNING ADULT
BIBLE CLASS Faith, Stories and Prayers Making peace with head, heart, tongue
and both hands Mission:
Salem/ Peace – As the Father sent me, I send you. Vision:
Preach, Teach, Heal/Care – doing what Jesus
does
Lutherans are people with One Lord and 3 books
(Bible, Catechism, Hymnal) Schedule may be revised for special topics and
forums
Each week we will choose a hymn, prayer and/or
psalm to begin the class. Bring a favorite to class and
we will use it. Date
Bible
Catechism Nov. 6
John 8
Lord’s Prayer Petition 2/3/4 Nov.
13
John 9 – Sign #5
Lord’s Prayer Petition 5/6 Nov.
20
John 10
Lord’s Prayer Petition 7 Concl. Nov.
27
John 11 – Sign #6
Baptism I Dec. 4
John 12
Baptism II 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111 THANKSGIVING WORSHIP SCHEDULE
The annual THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE, sponsored by
the South Buffalo Ecumenical Association, will be held
at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, November 23 at Salem. We hope
many will attend this community event to give thanks to
God for another year of abundant blessings upon us all.
Our THANKSGIVING DAY SERVICE will be held at 10:00
am on Thursday, November 24, with Holy Communion. As
had been our tradition, we ask everyone to bring food
items (as much as a grocery bag full, if possible) for
the South Buffalo Community Table on Southside Avenue in
Buffalo; and leave them in the narthex on the way into
church. Cash gifts are desired and can be dropped in the
offering. (Food and cash can be brought in before
Thanksgiving Day, too, if you’ll be away for the
holidays.)
What a privilege we have to gather in church as a
congregation to give thanks to God for another blessed
year! Let’s all contribute through our presence,
prayers and our generous offerings of food and cash for
the South Buffalo Community Table, as well as for our
own church!
Generous thank offerings also will help us to
meet our commitment and eliminate our deficits for the
year. What better motive for doing THANKS-GIVING? ////////////////////////// DIRECTORY CHANGES Mrs.
Ethel Krawczyk, 5285
South Park Ave., Hamburg, NY 14075-1520 Memorials and
Gifts are recorded based on information from the
control sheets complied by the counters each Sunday.
Please note Memorials and Gifts may not be
published in the Dove in the same month in which they
are donated. MEETINGS YOUTH The
Youth met on Sunday, October 16th after
service. We kicked off the meeting with a pizza party before the music
began. Lynn
Scarpine led a discussion of how prayer is incorporated
in music; Gospel music, Christian Rock and the best yet,
some of our design.
We broke up into four groups.
The groups then selected a passage from the Bible
and set the words to music of their own choice.
Some groups took a familiar song and created
their own words of prayer and praise.
Not a bad start. From everyone’s comments, we will be trying this again in
the future. The
Youth group participated in the Salem Roast Beef Dinner
festivities. Our
Youth presented a “Theme Tray” table of 14 items,
ranging from “Family Game Night” to a “Barbie
Basket” to holiday items to sweet confections.
Congratulations to all of our winners and special
thanks to all who supported us.
These creative baskets were donated by Kim &
Russ Alessi, Carlson family, Carr family, Sue Gifford,
Hoffmann family, Mark & Monica Thomas, Nancy Thomas,
Paul & Dawn Thomas and an anonymous donor. We
are going to start a new
feature for the youth and young at heart in this
issue. We
want to keep the mind working, so your fun task is to
take the ‘phrase of the month’ and create a many
words as possible (at least 3 letters long).
We will award a prize for the (1) most words
found and (2) the longest word found. Separate prizes will be given for our youth 12th
grade and lower and those young at heart (age 20+).
This month’s phrase is: SERMON ON
THE MOUNT Submit
all entries to the Youth Leader by the second Sunday of
each month by placing in his mailbox.
Winners will be notified and posted.
Good luck. The
next meeting will be held in November, but a date has
not been set yet. All
youth are reminded we are asking for a canned good for
the needy to share with others what they don’t have or
are in need of. The
canned goods can be placed in the barrel in the narthex
before service. If
others congregational members, who are young at heart,
would like to contribute to this worthy cause, it would
be greatly appreciated.
Paul
Thomas, Salem Lutheran Youth Leader MEETINGS (con’t.) WOMEN’S GUILD Our next meeting will be on November 8 at 12:00 noon. Bring your lunch. Coffee, tea and dessert will be provided by the committee. Thank you to all who provided baked goods, crafts and labor at our sale during the roast beef dinner on October 5th. A profit of $165.20 was made. Fran Wiedemann, Vice President nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn GOLDEN AGERS The next meeting of Salem Golden Agers is Thursday, November 3rd 2005. Please bring a bag lunch. The next future meeting will be December 1st.
Norma Krug qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
National LWML
President Linda Reiser has encouraged all LWML members
to join their sisters in Christ throughout the country
in PRAYER every Monday at 12 Noon.
Claire
Carlson ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CHURCH COUNCIL POSITIONS
NEEDED!!!
Salem is looking to fill 3-year terms as of
January 1, 2006 VICE
PRESIDENT TREASURER MUSIC AND
WORSHIP New
position: STEWARDSHIP (if approved by Voters in the
Fall)
If you have any questions or interest, please
contact Mark Thomas.
Mark
Thomas, Salem Council VP
Please remember the deadline for the Dove is
always the third Sunday of the month.
Articles may be placed in my basket in the
church secretary’s office or email to patchtroop546@aol.com.
Thank you.
Claire
Carlson Are
You a Good Steward of Your Time? I
find myself returning to 1
Corinthians 12-14 again and again in my ministry.
These and the spiritual gifts passages in Ephesians
4:11-13 and Romans 12:6-8 are
critical in our understanding of the proper stewardship
of time. Of all
the contributions C. Peter Wagner made in the past, a
major one was his discussion of the relationship between
church growth and spiritual-gifts discovery. Concerning
time management and spiritual gifts, Wagner says,
"While the church is subject to many principles of
human organizational management, it is much more than a
mere human organization. It is the Body of Christ. It is
an organism with Jesus Christ as the Head and every
member functioning with one or more spiritual
gifts." When a
church functions according to spiritual gifts, the work
of ministry is distributed to every member. No church
member, including the leader, has an excessive burden. Says
Wagner, "God does not bring people into the Body of
Christ as spectators. He expects them to participate in
the life and work of the church just as the various
members of our own physical bodies contribute to the
well-being of the whole." Spiritual
gifts discovery has two primary benefits in the area of
time management. It frees the church leader to minister
according to his giftedness and passions. And it
empowers the people of the church to be in ministry
which might otherwise fall in the overloaded hands of
"hired help." Spiritual
Gifts Discovery by the Church Leader Are You a Good Steward of Your Time? (con’t.) For
example, as a pastor, I discovered counseling was one of
my weaknesses. Two prominent gifts I have are
administration and evangelism. But the rest of my
spiritual gift mix is not conducive to a counseling
ministry. This awareness led me to take some steps
that greatly increased my personal ministerial
efficiency. First,
I realized I had a tendency to place counseling
responsibilities on the back burner since my gifts were
not in this area. But as a pastor I could not relinquish
all counseling responsibilities. So I made special
efforts to make myself available and open to my people.
I could not give them the impression that I did not care
for them or that I did not want to see them. Second,
I was honest with my church members that counseling was
not my strength. I always had an open door for them, but
in the long-term, others could help them more than I
could. And that statement brings me to my final step. Thirdly,
I delegated counseling responsibilities when possible.
Two laypersons were trained and equipped to handle a
large portion of the counseling load in the church. A
staff minister with spiritual gifts more compatible with
counseling handled much of this ministry. Finally, I
referred some members to Christian psychologists in our
area. The
point is simple. I knew my spiritual gifts, and I knew
where I was not gifted, so I made plans to enhance my
strengths and compensate for my weaknesses. Spiritual
Gifts Discovery by the Church To
unleash the church, you must create an awareness of
spiritual gifts and a climate for ministry by spiritual
gifts, and provide training and equipping so many can
best use their gifts for the glory of God. Thom S. Rainer is dean of the Billy Graham School at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY The author of 14 books, he also serves as president of the Rainer Group and Church Central Associates. Copyright © 2003 by Dr. Thom Rainer. Used by permission. www.ChurchCentral.com Article
submitted by the Salem Stewardship Committee.
Our team meets monthly and is looking for ways
for congregational members to be more involved and more
enthused in the activities of the church.
Please read this article and provide us your
feedback. We
want to hear what you are feeling and what you think the
church body as a whole can do different.
Talk to us, write down your comments (privately
if wanted), BUT WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Any member of our team will sit and listen (and learn).
Contact Jim Carr, Sharon Croston, Paul Thomas,
Ray Yox, Marjorie Zawada or Pastor Wurster. THANK YOU
Thank you for all the prayers and cards I
received from my church family during my recent illness.
God bless you all.
Leola
Colvin 5555555555555555555 PRE-SERVICE HYMN SING
On
November 13 at 10:15 am, we will be having a pre-service
hymn sing. We will be singing 3-4 of your requests from
the Lutheran Worship Hymnal and the Salem Supplemental
Hymnal. This is a wonderful way to prepare yourself for
worship. If you have a special request that is not in
either hymnal, see Joanne Kushka.
Joanne
Kushka UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU CHRISTMAS CARD EXCHANGE
It’s that time again! Our annual Christmas Card
Exchange program will be starting November 27. I am
asking that all donations be given to me by December 18,
to give me time to shop and deliver the food before
Christmas. If you have any questions, please see me or
call 823-8461.
Joanne
Kushka +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HANDICAPPED
PARKING
Please note that only those with handicapped
parking tags are allowed to park in the designated
handicapped spaces in the church parking lot.
Thank you for your cooperation. B A N N S Published
“Peter Robert Gittere and Kimberly Sue Zeltman
wish to enter the holy estate of matrimony according to
God’s ordinance. They desire that common Christian
prayer be made on their behalf so that they may begin it
in God’s name and prosper therein. And should anyone
have anything to say against it, let him or her speak in
time or afterward hold his peace. God grant them His
blessing. Amen.”
All are invited to the wedding, a public service
of worship on Friday afternoon, December 16, 2005.
Pastor Wurster &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ROAST BEEF DINNER REPORT
WOW! What an exciting time we had on
Wednesday, October 5, 2005!
A lot of things were happening at the dinner and
in the bazaar room. Not the least of which was the
dishwasher “blowing a gasket” and everything having
to be washed by hand. God bless the men and women who
pitched right in to clean up the mess! Attendance was
up, more dinners were sold, including take-outs, and
every organization who participated in the bazaar made a
profit. It was a lot of fun and hard work but the bottom
line is that we made $2,038.00 (including matching funds
from Thrivent) for the Handicap Access Fund. Thank you
to everyone who helped in any way. We especially
appreciate Carolyn Feider and her husband Mark who
sliced all the meat, Steve Jarmusz who helped us through
electrical problems, Mel Beyers for making a new sign
out front and the members of the committee who put in
long hours – Shirley Banas, Sally McAlpine, Ethel
Berkhoudt, Norrine Nagel, Delores Landwehr and Ruth
Carr.
Norrine
Nagel STEPHEN SERIES
MINISTRY
One to One Christian care giving ministry system
– The Stephen Series provides congregations with the
structure, training and resources to set up and
administer a complete system for lay care-giving
ministry in the congregation.
Lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide
one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized,
terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed,
relocated and others facing a crisis or life challenge.
Stephen Ministry helps pastors enhance caring ministry
by ensuring that quality follow-up care is available for
as long as it is needed. How
does it work? 1.
Congregations pay a one-time fee to enroll in the
Stephen Series. This provides access to the training,
resources and ongoing support of Stephen Ministries. 2.
The pastors and lay leaders who will direct Stephen
Ministry in the congregation attend a seven-day
Leader’s Training Course where they are equipped to
serve as Stephen Ministers. 3.
Stephen Leaders recruit, select and train lay persons in
the congregation to serve as Stephen Ministers. 4.
Stephen Leaders assign Stephen Ministers to those who
have requested a caregiver. Stephen Ministers meet with
their care receivers for about an hour once a week for
as long as the person needs this level of care. 5.
Stephen Ministers participate twice a month in
supervision and continuing education with their Stephen
Leaders.
Enrolled congregations continue to implement
steps two through five as often as they desire, making
Stephen Ministry a vital and lasting ministry in the
congregation. “Since
we began Stephen Ministry 15 years ago, I sleep better
at night. Right now, for example, I know there are 23
people receiving care – very high quality Stephen
Series Ministry (con’t.) care on a weekly basis from our Stephen Ministers. As a pastor,
I simply don’t have another 23 hours a week to provide
that care myself. So it’s a joy and comfort to know
that people in need are receiving that care from our
Stephen Ministers.” Rev.
Arnold Frank, Christ Church Lutheran, Phoenix, Arizona “With a team of dedicated Stephen Ministers, our church can
reach and care for many more people than I ever could
alone. This is the third congregation that I’ve helped
to begin Stephen Ministry – and it is well worth the
investment.” Rev.
Dr. Keith L. Riddle, First Presbyterian Church, Fort
Lauderdale, Florida “Stephen
Ministry allows us to provide aftercare to those who
have been through a crisis and to nurture and support
people we otherwise would not be able to care for. It is
a quiet ministry with a powerful Christ-centered
presence.” Rev.
Debra Angell, St. Gabriel the Archangel Episcopal
Church, Cherry Hills Village, Colorado How
long has Stephen Ministries St. Louis been in existence? It
was incorporated as a not-for-profit religious and
educational organization in 1975. How
many congregations are involved in Stephen Ministry? More
than 8,000 congregations worldwide are enrolled in the
Stephen Series, with about 400 new ones enrolling each
year. What
size of congregations are involved? Stephen
Series congregations range in size from fewer than 100
to more than 10,000 members. How
many denominations are represented? Congregations
from more than 100 denominations are using the Stephen
Series, including Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists,
Lutherans, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Disciples of
Christ, Churches of God, Assembly of God, Nazarenes,
Reformed, Evangelical Free and many nondenominational
churches.
Rich
Landseadel
BIRTH
ANNOUNCEMENT
Jack and Noelle Rennolds announce the birth of
their daughter, Leah Grace on August 17th
2005. The Sacrament of Baptism was performed on
September 11th at First Congregational
Church, Java Village, New York. Leah is the
granddaughter of Norm & Gloria LeBlanc. sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ANNUAL PAVS BRUNCH
MEETING Sunday,
November 5, 2005 11
am – 1:30 pm Hickman
Hall, Pioneer Camp 9324
Lake Shore Rd., Angola RSVP
549-1420 $10
per person Pioneer
Ministry Update, Volunteer Recognition and PAVS
Elections ssssssssssssss SOUTH BUFFALO ECUMENICAL ASSOCIATION (SBEA)
MEETINGS November
10 – St. Teresa RC – 12 Noon – Network of Biblical
Storytelling December
8 – Good Shepard Baptist – 12 Noon – Christmas
party – gifts for the needy January
12 – site TBA – 12 Noon – Franciscan Prison
Ministry llllllllllllllllllllllllllll FREE
COMPUTER CLASSES, GED CLASSES AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTION Adult
Education Division, Buffalo
Public Schools 20
convenient locations register
at: Adult
Learning Center 389
Virginia St. Buffalo,
NY 14201 Mr.
Craig -
888-7088 ext. 101 UpSkill.org See
church office for more information. SOUTH
PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ANNUAL ELECTION DAY
LUNCHEON AND DINNER Tuesday,
November 8th Luncheon:
12 Noon – 1:30 pm. Adults
- $4.50 Children (3-12) - $2.50 Dinner:
4 – 7 pm Adults
- $7 Children (3-12) - $4 , under 3 – free Tickets,
call 822-1255 or 627-3112 Take
outs available. Bazaar
with Crafts, Baked Goods and Attic Treasures
Pastor Ken
Babcock @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ |