The Dove |
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J U N E 2 0 0 3 ======================================================================================= FROM THE PASTOR: As I write this I have just come out of a meeting with a leader and a group of people. The leader raised a question about a project the group was doing. Did the project fit, not fit or stretch the mission statement of the group? That’s an excellent question for any leader whether a CEO, pastor, parent or grandparent. It’s like asking people on an expedition whether the road they are looking at fits the compass bearing or not. If the bearing is west, then don’t take a road going southeast. So
with Father’s Day coming up in June, I began wondering about
Salem’s mission statement and this whole thing of human
fathers and families. We
should be able to see that the congregation’s mission
statement (Salem -
Peace to you; as the Father sent me I send you.”)
points us in the direction of stronger fathers and fatherhood.
A “Salemite” should be growing as a father if that
is his calling in life. Real
fatherhood begins with God and being a child of God.
Another way of thinking about our mission at Salem is
to remember Jesus’ words in the sermon on the mount (Matthew
5) when He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the children of God.”
Salemites or peacemakers are children of God and are
being reshaped and redeemed into the image of God.
In a good family system children see their dad as a
hero and become like him in many ways.
The truth of the matter is that in bad family systems
children take on parts of the father’s image even if they
say they don’t want to.
We all are to be following in the footsteps of our Lord
and become more like him as children of the Father. If
we think of boys and fathers for a moment, we realize that
becoming a man and father in the image of Christ is not just
becoming a “nice guy.”
Jesus is not just a nice guy.
Jesus is pictured as a man who could cry, laugh, love,
fight, discipline, stretch people to grow and call a spade a
spade. In the
middle of all of this Jesus was and is a promise keeper.
He kept His promises from eternity to His Father and
then to His disciples and to us.
He promised to love His people unto and through death
and sin and rose to promise He’d be with us to the end of
time and beyond. Promise
keeping is at the core of being a real child of God, man or
woman. It’s at the core of being a “salemite” and at the core
of being a father. Promise
keepers know that changes in life are crucial to growing in
life and being fathers if that is their calling.
This means a man must be careful that he not make
promises he can’t keep or won’t keep.
It is quite a spiritual discipline to sort out those
promises we can and will keep and those we can’t and
won’t. Ideally
the first promise a man should make is to his God.
Realistically he often has other life events bump him
around before he really understands this.
Then we catch on that God has kept His promise to us
even when we were confused about our own.
(continued on
next page) ======================================================================================= SALEM LUTHERAN
CHURCH
10
McClellan Circle -
Buffalo, New York 14220 Phone
- 824-2787 - e-mail: salemoncircle@yahoo.com
Rev. David F. C. Wurster, Ph.D.
- Pastor
Rev.
Richard E. Blemaster, Pastor Emeritus From the Pastor continued: The crucial family promise a father makes is the one he makes, or ought to make, to the mother of his child. This is the promise that separates him from his children so he can be a father. If he doesn’t separate from his children, he remains a boy. I have often talked to a mother with two children and commented that she talks like she has three children. She then may say she feels like she has three because her husband is like one of the kids. Such a woman is often tired and angry. To keep the promise to his child’s mother, a father has to grow through changes in grace. He has to go from being a boy to being a man to being a husband and then to being a father. A woman can help in this journey, but she cannot get a boy into manhood – only a man can get boys into manhood. In some native American cultures, the men send the boys on a vision quest in which they seek a vision of the spirit for their own life, and when they return from the quest they get a new name – a man’s name to describe who they are. This is also called a rite of passage. In the Christian faith we recognize the themes of baptism and a vocation in this. When a boy catches the vision of being a man he begins to catch on to being a lover, a warrior, and death and life. He realizes that he is not pretty and innocent, but a sinner. Then forgiveness and grace are not possible options for life, but essential for daily life. He learns the core truths of the Christian faith of how powerful presence can be and that sometimes in his weakness as a human the power of God’s grace can shine forth. Jesus said he could have used the power of the sword like he stilled a storm, but that would have not changed any hearts. His presence in the depths of our life changed lives at the core. Presence is power for fathers. Maybe I bore you with a powerful image about families, but I find it true. If you want to test it, go out and look around in the city or on Indian reservations. The family is like a chess game. The most powerful piece on the board is the queen. Mother’s emotional power and connection in family and clan is the strongest force going. But in the game, once you lose the king the game is over. This does not mean if dad dies or if there is a divorce then every kid is doomed. It is a pattern, and if it goes on too much and too long in family, society, or congregation the game goes into loss. In my own growing up I am thankful that my father kept his promise to just be there. He did not understand my studies or the path of my life, but he promised to be there and was. I also have to forgive him for being all too human at times, and to realize that because of a divorce and some slanted cultural attitudes from German immigrants, he wasn’t present for my sister. I can only listen to her and can’t fix it or cover it up. In closing I’m reminded of a story where Jesus challenged a father to grow in faith. When a father brought his son to Jesus (Mark 9) and the child had convulsions the father said, “If you can have compassion and help us. Jesus was not just a nice guy who immediately jumped in to fix the kid and make the father feel good. He challenged and pushed the father. He said in effect, “What is this ‘if you can?’ All things are possible to those believing.” Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief.” Jesus challenged the man to greater vision and faith. He did not settle for just a “fixed kid” but for a stronger father. It is good to think about our fathers in June and other times. We are blessed if we are able to say the word to someone else before it belongs to us in the same way it is good for a pastor to have said that word to someone else before being one. Back to our mission at Salem. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. Jesus taught us to say “Our Father” that we might be his sons and daughters. Peace, Pastor Wurster L I B R A R Y N E W S Some
new fiction has been added to the library shelves. In Rightfully Mine by Aggie Vilanuera, Rizpah and her
sisters challenge the ruling that only males could claim a
family inheritance of land.
They take their claim to Moses, requesting their share
of the promised land. The Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier is the fictional account of the trials
of the early Christians under Nero’ rule.
To Die in the Queen of Cities by Sandy Gengler
also tells the story of Christian courage and love in the face
of Roman persecutioin. Other
fiction available: “Song
of Deborah” by Bette M. Ross
“Mary of Jerusalem” by Gloria Howe Bremkamp
“A Light in Babylon” by Carole C. Carlson
“To Make All Things New” by Caryl Porter
“Mark: Eyewitness” by Ellen Grunderson Traylor Among
the many non-fiction titles added are:
“Esther” by Charles Swindoll
“A Child Shall Lead Them” by Diane Kemp
“Time Flies” – Bill Cosby
“The Power of Miracles” by Joan Wester Anderson There
are many other books available for your reading enjoyment.
Come in and take a look!
Gretchen Putzman *
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from
T H E
S A L E M
P I E C E M A K E R S
. . . The following letter was received from Cornerstone Manor: “We wish to thank the members of Salem Piecemakers for the beautiful quilts you made for the woman and children. We greatly appreciate the many hours spent at this project. It was a pleasure having you tour our facility and join us for lunch. God bless you for your kindness and thoughtfulness. We are truly grateful for the love you show us through your support and we look forward to seeing you again in the future.
Sincerely,
Lora Warkentin, RN, DNS – Director, Cornerstone Manor” Also
. . .
If you’re an early riser and read your Sunday paper
before church, and aren’t planning to use the Joann’s
Fabrics ad, please bring to church and give to one of the
quilters. (Please
note: coupons
usually expire the following Saturday!) Deann Sheppard *
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* * At
our last meeting, Joyce Vassallo was elected President, and
Elinor Jentsch was elected
Vice President. We
thank our previous President, Carol Engelbert, and Vice
President,
Sally McAlpine, for their years of service to the L. W.
M. L. Love/Care packages were sent to Justin LeBlanc, Becky Croston, and Catherine Baron. These packages are sent to students or service personnel to let them know the congregation of Salem is thinking about them while they are away from home. These packages usually contain homemade cookies, candies and Christian tracts. Rev.
Dennis Putzman will be the speaker at the Fall Retreat at Camp
Pioneer. Registration forms are now available to sign up for this
weekend. Thank
you to all the ladies that helped prepare, serve and clean up
after the musical at church on Sunday, May 18.
Our
next meeting will be held Thursday, July 24, 2003.
Julie Diehl
Secretary ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ W O M E N ‘ S
G U I L D Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 10, 2003 at
7:00 p.m. in the social room.
Dessert and coffee will be provided by the committee. We
had election of officers at our May 13th meeting
– Treasurer:
Sallie Langner
Secretary:
Delores Landwehr
Corresponding Secretary:
Leola Colvin Our Salad Bar/Penny Sale Luncheon will be on Wednesday, June 11, at 12:00 noon. Tickets are $6.00 and includes one envelope of 50 tickets for the penny sale. Extra tickets are available - $.50 for 50 tickets. Tickets can be purchased from Shirley Wilke. Please
bring clean items for the sale.
Example: hand
lotion, paper towels, kleenex, cake and cookie mixes, jello
and pudding in a box, canned goods, knickknacks, and any other
items you can think of. Mark
items - “Women’s Guild
Penny Sale,” and put in the kitchen before Tuesday, June
10th. We
will gladly accept donations from anyone, not just Guild
members. Women’s
Guild Picnic will be Tuesday, August 12, 2003 at 4:00 p.m. at
church.
Frances E. Wiedemann
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Vice President ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S A L E M G O L D E N A G E R S Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2003 at 12:00 noon. If you wish, you may bring your lunch. Dessert and beverage will be provided by the committee. If you are 55 years and over, please join us.
Ann Nicosia Secretary^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Something
to think
about
. .
. After the baptism of his baby brother, Jason sobbed all the
way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, “That the preacher said he
wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay
with you guys.” OF
INTEREST TO ALL: Sunday, June 1, 7:00 p.m. at University
Presbyterian Church, .
. .
The
Western New York Chorale presents:
Main St. & Niagara Falls Blvd., Buffalo, N. Y.
14214
“Sacred & Profane”
Phone: 836-7660
Herbert Tinney, Conductor
and
Roland Hayes, Lutenist Sunday, June 8, 7:00 p.m. at St.
Simon’s Episcopal Church,
200 Cazenovia St., Buffalo 14210; Phone: 822-1901
Donation at the door: $10.00 ($7.00 for
seniors & students); children 12 or under, free Program includes: 16th &
17th C. Sacred Music of Spain and Mexico . . .
(Franciscus Guerrero, Canite tuba; (Anonimo): Salmo 118:
Clamavi; Himno, Veni Creator;
Juan de Lienas, Missa a 5 JHS Maria;
Ildefonsus Lobo, O quam suavis est)
18th
& 21st C. Sacred Music of the United States . .
. (William Billings, Sing ye merrily (Psalm 81:1-);
Herbert Tinney, O pray for the peace of Jerusalem –
first performance).
17th
& 18th C. American (US) and English Songs . . .
(Jacob French, Two Songs: Cease while ye winds to blow;
Busy, curious, thirsty fly;
Anonymous, We do account that music good; Ask me no
more whither doth stray;
Nicholas Lanier, Silly heart forbear).
19th
C. Songs of Buffalo and Niagara Falls . . . (The Music
Collections of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. RUMMAGE
SALE . . .
Friday, June 6th, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Admission:
$.50 St.
Simon’s Episcopal Church, 200 Cazenovia St., Buffalo, N. .Y.
Saturday,
June 7th, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. $2.00 bag sale 50/50 split
Motor
Vehicle Accident Clinic at U. B. (Department of Psychology offers assessment and treatment for people who
have experienced a serious auto or motorcycle accident and are
troubled by accident-related stress.
Trouble recovering from the accident may include
nightmares, trouble concentrating, emotional problems and
difficulty driving. Participants
will received free evaluation and (where appropriate)
treatment focusing on alleviating signs and symptoms of
stress. For more
information, call 645-3650, ext. 230 and ask to speak with Dr.
Gayle Beck. Free
Booster Car Seat . . . Bring
your clean, safe, usable, infant or toddler car seat with all
its labels and Harvest House will give you a brand new EvenFlo
Booster Car Seat absolutely free.
The booster seats are for children ages 4-8, weighing
no more than 80 pounds and using a shoulder-lap belt system in
the rear seat only. Children
must not be taller than 4 ft. 9 inches.
All traded in car seats will be given away to someone
in need.
All you need to do is to bring your car seat to the
Harvest House Baby Ministry at 1782 Seneca St. (between Bailey
and Mineral Springs), Buffalo, N. Y. between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday or 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday.
This program is ongoing and will last until Harvest
House runs out of booster seats. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Please
save these
symbols found
on General
Mills products
-- Schools
can receive 10 cents each for them.
We can send them to Bethesda Lutheran Home, along with
the Campbell soup labels.
Please give to Sallie Langner (882-7351). M c K I N L E Y C I R C L E P A R A D E
Sunday, June 8, 2003 2:00
p.m. from Dorrance Ave.
to Southside Pkwy. All members of Salem are invited to join the “McKinley Circle Parade – Dorrance Ave. to Southside Pkwy. – celebrating a vision 100 years ago by Fredrick Law Olmstead for a park like setting for South Buffalo. The parade starts at 2:00 p.m. from Dorrance Ave. Participants need to be at Dorrance Ave. at 1:30 p.m. Salem will have a car shuttle leaving church from 1:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. for all those joining us in this event. Reserve Sunday, June 8th for a fun time
representing Salem in this parade.
We are planning a potluck luncheon after church.
A sign-up sheet will be in the upper parish hall or
call Maxine Ford (826-3461) or Joyce Vassallo (549-4248) or
the church office (824-2427).
Also, if you are interested in participating in the
parade, please call one of the above.
All organizations of Salem are asked to participate.
We also need volunteers for the car shuttle. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Passing the Peace -- Swapping Stones We
have received a grant application at Salem from the Eastern
District for a Lilly Endowment grant of up to $45,000.00.
“Lilly Endowment seeks to strengthen Christian
congregations by providing opportunities for pastors to step
away briefly (example: 3 months) . . . to engage in a period
of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations, but times of intentional
exploration and reflection, for drinking again from God’s
life giving waters, for regaining enthusiasm and creativity
for ministry . . . Lilly Endowment believes ministry is
profoundly important, not only to the people directly served,
but also to the larger community and society . . . The program
is for pastors who are serious about parish ministry and who
can in conversation with their congregations envision this
program as a means of reviewing a long term commitment to that
congregation and to ordained ministry.” Some
of the proposed activities for the pastor include visiting
with members of his own and his wife’s family in different
parts of the country with the idea of reflecting about where
they have come from and where they are going in life and
marriage together. Then
they would travel to a place like Alaska and visit with and
swap stories with people from a “different world,” and
think more about how the Christian faith and life fit
together. Then
time would be set aside for the pastor to spend alone in
reflection. Activities
for the congregation would include expanding our vision of
mission beyond ourselves and expanding our sense of
stewardship to support and give life to the mission of Salem.
Some possible activities include having our local
Buffalo missionary, Pastor Pittock, serve as pastor for Salem
for a month and talk about our place as Lutherans in Buffalo.
Then we invite a pastor from a place like the Alaska frontier
(a sort of exchange program) to come and be pastor at Salem
for a month and tell lots of stories about mission and people.
Then we ask someone like Dr. Belasic to spend a month
and open up the area of stewardship with the congregation. We
would like to see an accent on leadership development from
youth to adult in the whole process.
In this regard one idea is to have a person be a
process observer and write up the story of the whole
experience. If
this person were one of the youth, we could ask that $500.00
of the grant be given to this person for a scholarship for
continuing education. The
church council has endorsed the process of application.
We have the official forms from Lilly Endowment.
We hope to have the proposal written by July 1st.
Then by the end of the year we will hear whether we
have been chosen. Pastor
Karl Brenner and his congregation has received one of these
grants. He said
to hang in there if not chosen the first time.
About 100 are given across the U.S.A. in a given year. Even
if we do not receive the money we should pursue some of the
themes and directions at Salem that we write in the proposal. A
committee will meet with the pastor in the weeks ahead to swap
ideas and write up the papers.
Input -
If you have any ideas that you think we should think
about for renewal and vision at Salem in the years ahead, let
Pastor Wurster or Jim Carr know so it can be considered.
Contributions and constructive criticism makes a
stronger proposal and congregation.
Also, grant proposal printed material is available for
anyone interested. D O N A T E D V. B. S. I T E M S Please leave items in the upper parish hall, outside the choir door - - Paper towels Green, blue, red construction paperWax paper Empty, clean ˝ gallon milk cartonsMasking tape Balloons – long and skinnyDuct tape Table tennis ballsOld newspaper Blue Crepe Streamers
Clear mailing tape
Tub tints (coloring)
Large balls of twine
Paper & Styrofoam bowls
Lifesaver candies (100
individual wrapped)
Small paper plates (uncoated) Plastic spray bottles Foam packing peanutsTissue paper – yellow, red, orange Tongue DepressorsFish shaped crackers – large jar (5) B. J.’s Glitter-all colorsPaper bathroom cups – 3 oz. Elmer’s & tacky glue
Wooden blocks
Twin or full size flat sheets (light blue) Dress up clothes (pre-school) Sponges (3 x 4) rectangle6 Jump ropes Seashells, starfish, sand dollarsPlastic play food Clear plastic shower curtainToy boats Plastic shower curtain with fish decorationsSponges – sea creatures Chocolate “gold coins” – LOTS!
Paint brushes (child’s)
Old costume jewelry (necklaces, pins etc.) Sidewalk chalk Clear fishing line
Blue & green spray paint
Construction paper
Poster paint & small paint brushes
Stuffed animals
2 – 10 x 25 ft. black plastic roll
Candy corn (750 pieces)
7 gallons fruit drink per night x 5 = 35 gal.
Jelly in squeeze bottles
5 large boxes corn flakes
7 white frosting
6 soft tub margarine
6 squeeze bottles of honey
paper plates (140 blue)
700 paper cups
5 large containers of napkins
600 toothpicks
30 plastic knives
Anti-bacterial soap To be donated
on a specified night (contact
Sue Landwehr – 822-9431) – Monday -- 140 unfrosted cupcakes
7 containers of whipped topping Tuesday -- 7 loaves sliced breadWednesday -- 37 apples
unsliced
process cheese Thursday -- 140 hamburger buns
3 bags of large marshmallows Friday -- 20 - 8 oz. bars of cheddar cheese
-- 450 red and
green seedless grapes V.
B. S.
B O R R O W E D
I T E M S
Please put your name and phone number on the item with masking tape and we will return it to you after Vacation Bible School. Fish nets Child goggles & swimming mask Plastic sea creatures
Wading pool (2) Swim fins, goggles, wet suit
Gravel 12 “red
bricks”
12” PVC pipe Fireman outfit
10 sticks (8 inches long) Box fans – large
Extension cords 1 life jacket or ring
Conch shell Plastic sword
25 ft. light nylon rope 4 – 25 ft. clothesline
20 Muffin tins Blue food coloring
10 heart shaped cookie cutters 10 paring knives W O R S H I P The
Worship Committee has developed a page for the DOVE that will
communicate to the congregation the themes, liturgies, sermon
texts and titles and other points of worship
(LW = Lutheran Worship
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal
WOV = With
One Voice) Hymns
and liturgy are being chosen by Pastor, the Music Director, and
the Worship Committee. Comments
invited for future growth. SUNDAY LITURGY 1st Hymn Sermon Hymn Communion Hymns Last Hymn Text and Title
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