February 2009 Newsletter

The Family Times February 2009

From Pastor Kelly:

A Shared Conversation One of the great privileges for me over the last year has been working with a great congregational council. I have had the joy of working with individuals who are faithful diligent and visionary. One of the great pleasures for me within Council meetings over the last year is when we have taken the time to do what we now call “Big Think.” We try to spend time thinking beyond the day-to-day, considering new ways of doing things and new things to do. In one of these conversations, I asked some questions about what we had learned over the last few years and what implications that had for the future. I wrote questions and responses on a white board in one of the classrooms, and then I took a picture of the white board. Now I would like to share that conversation with the larger congregation. In the article below, I will use different fonts to indicate different things: This regular font = my insights from the conversation. SMALL CAPS WILL INDICATE THE QUESTIONS I POSED Bold + Italics will indicate Council’s Responses The conversation started with this question, which I wrote on the top of the white board: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SINCE JANUARY 1, 2005? We can stand on our two feet. There is a core community of people here. Indirect communication is not helpful. God provides: no deficit in 2007, we lost many leaders but others stepped up, the interim pastors helped us. I then asked, “Where do we see these themes in our life or in the Bible?” Someone shared that when Pr. Royer left, it forced the congregation to grow up. I shared what someone told me once how they knew they were an adult: when she lived in a dorm room and dropped her hairbrush into the toilet and realized she couldn’t ask “Daddy” to get it out. Events happen in our lives that force us to be adults, to be responsible, to act from our faith and principles. Whenever a pastor leaves a congregation, that is the challenge the congregation faces, and Family of God is no different. We then talked about the “core community of people here.” (Continued on the next page)

Family of God Lutheran Church 4770 Route 202 Buckingham PA 18912 phone: 215-794-5973 email: [email protected]

OUR MISSION: Hearing, Speaking and Doing God’s Word. OUR CORE VALUES: Faith, Love, Family, Prayer

STAFF MEMBERS: Pastor……………….…Rev. Bernard Kelly Interim Director Of Ensembles………....Michael Hillegas Director Of Youth Ministry……..…Scott Nugent Admin Assistan…...…..Suzanne Fernandez Family Times Editors….Michele Koch Katie Lekich Intern ………………….Don Gleiter

CONGREGATIONAL OFFICERS: President………………Jane Ellen Nugent Vice President……....…Glenn Gracey Secretary………..……..Brett Hauber Treasurer………………Ken Canham Financial Secretary……Dave Robertson

COUNCIL-COMMITEE LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS Christian Ed…………...Nancy Routhier Evangelation……….….Maury Drum Finance…………............Brett Hauber Men’s Ministry…..……Terry Andree Parish Life…………..…Karen Skillman Terry Andree Property……………..…Glenn Gracey Social Ministry …..……Nancy Routhier Stewards………………..Dawn Irwin Women’s Ministry……..Jane Ellen Nugent Worship & Music……...Amy Fell Youth………………….Karen Skillma

Family of God Lutheran Church Our Mission… Hearing, Speaking, and Doing God’s Word

Our Core Values… Faith, Love, Family, and Prayer

Our Vision for Mission… We believe God is calling us to be a church where:

• Vital, vibrant worship inspires people to live out their faith. • People work together to meet community needs in the name of Jesus Christ. • People of all ages are spiritually nurtured and grow in the Word. • Youth are encouraged, supported, challenged, and appreciated. • People joyfully invite others to know the Lord and His church. • People are Open to the stirrings of the Hold Spirit.

I was reminded of the Biblical term, “remnant.” Over and over God promises to raise something wonderful up out of a remnant. In Genesis 45, Joseph explains that God sent him to Egypt ahead of the famine in order to preserve a remnant of the covenantal people; the prophets Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Ezekiel, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai and Zechariah all speak of a remnant. It seemed to us that there was a faithful “remnant” at FoG, and that God could and would make this remnant flourish. Then we talked about “indirect communication.” Indirect communication takes many forms and most often occurs when one person does not feel comfortable telling another person something. For example, person ‘A’ tells person ‘C’ something they should actually tell person ‘B’ in the hope that person ‘C’ will do something about it. This is not being honest about our feelings or genuine in our relationships. We need to learn how to be genuine with each other. I thought of two Biblical statements: Exodus 20:13 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor;” and Ephesians 4:15, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” It seems that God is pretty insistent about honest and genuine communications among His people. This is something I, the Council and the Mutual Ministry Team will work to achieve in this place. There will be sermons, teaching, writing, role-playing and accountability exercised in order to make open, honest and genuine communications the norm here at Family of God. Then, we talked about how God provides. This was a wonderful time of personal testimonies. We all shared how God had worked to bring us through difficult times in our personal lives and how God had done the same thing for the congregation. Who could have anticipated donations that would have prevented a deficit in a year when the congregation did not have a regularly called pastor? Who could have seen the individuals who stepped into leadership roles after established leaders left? And several Council members mentioned that even though the period with interim pastors was quite difficult, God used this time to bless Family of God. Then, I asked the next question: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN GOING FORWARD? WE need to pray and trust God (we being both as individuals and as a congregation). The core community is a gift to be cherished and nurtured. Learn to speak the truth in love. We need to learn how to express our concern for “neighbors.” As we elaborated on these thoughts, someone had me add something to the sentence: We can stand on our own two feet – holding God’s hand. This means that while we don’t have to depend on a pastor, we do have to depend on God. We talked

about how if we can’t be honest with one another than we aren’t being honest with God either. None of us liked the prospect of being dishonest with God. We also determined that we need to celebrate the sacrificial gifts that are made at Family of God day after day by a wide variety of people, not just the pastor. We also determined that we need to start sharing our stories with the broader congregation so others can see all the good stuff that has happened, is happening and by the grace of God will continue to happen at Family of God. Finally, I asked, SO, WHAT IS THE TAKE AWAY FOR US? Several folks answered, “It’s not about us.” And then another person, added, “It’s not about us. Except that it is.” What I took this to mean was that the Council was convinced that all that had happened, good and bad God had been able to use and redeem in order to bless His people at Family of God. And that ultimately this is not the story of how a group of people moved through a tough time, but yet another story of how God acted to bring that people through their tough time. And yet, it is our story. This is the story of how God blessed Family of God in particular. A story of how we may have drifted away from God, gotten into a jam and then God came and sought us out, restored us and redeemed our suffering. It is the miracle of the Biblical narrative taking place in Bucks County, PA in the 21st century. It is our story about our God. And it is a very good story indeed. It is one that needs to be told. -Pastor Kelly

Worship Services in February February 1

February 8

February 15

February 22

Fourth Sunday After Epiphany 8:00 am Traditional Holy Communion 10:30 am Worship Service and Holy Communion Fifth Sunday After Epiphany 8:00 am Traditional Worship Service 10:30 am Worship Service Sixth Sunday After Epiphany 8:00 am Traditional Holy Communion 10:30 am Worship Service and Holy Communion Transfiguration of Our Lord 8:00 am Traditional Worship Service 10:30 am Worship Service

Time for Children is every Sunday after both services. Invite friends and neighbors to worship with you at Family of God!

Family of God Website Would you consider making www.familyofgodpa.org your homepage? Then, you can easily be informed as soon as things are added, and you are encouraged to add your own ministry content and read the Daily Devotion. If you are not sure how to do this, contact Pastor Kelly or Ken Gish at [email protected]

SUNDAY SCHOOL SCOOP! January was a wonderful month at Family of God. The kids have been learning the rotation “Teach Us To Pray.” We have been focusing on learning The Lord’s Prayer and WOW are they doing great. Encourage your child to help Pastor Kelly lead the Lord’s Prayer during a service. All they have to do is let him know and he’ll take it from there. (Remember, they won’t need to do the entire prayer by themselves. They’ll get us started and the congregation will take it from there.) Ask them to amaze you with their knowledge of the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples. February brings the exciting topic “Life In Bible Times.” The kids will learn what life was like when Jesus walked the earth. What things are the same and what things are very different? Be sure to spend Sunday mornings with us so that you can find out. Calendar of Events for February 2009

HOLD THE DATE! The date has been set and we wanted you to know right away! th

Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 17th 9:30am to Noon Registration forms will be sent out via email in April.

February 1st 9:15 to 10:15 – Week 1 “Life In Bible Times” February 8th 9:15 to 10:15 – Week 2 February 15th - Group Sunday School February 20th – 6:00pm to 8:30pm - Friday Family Night February 22nd – Week 3 Looking ahead, we will begin March with our 7th Rotation “Journey To The Cross.” Please do your part and sign up to help out as either a teacher or an assistant for one of the rotations. If you would like to be a part of this wonderful ministry please contact Joella Grube (215) 230-4555 [email protected] or Marilyn Boucher (215) 489-2764 [email protected] or sign up on the bulletin board in the back of the Narthex

Adult Sunday School Programs: Adults have the opportunity to participate in two small group discussions 9:15am-10:15am on Sunday mornings. John Detwiler and Bill Irwin are leading a discussion on Rick Warren's “40 Days of Community- Better Together: What on Earth Are We Here For?” There is an instructional video, journal, devotional, and study guide available. 40 Days of Community teaches steps you can take in order to live a healthy, balanced, purpose driven life. Jane Ellen Nugent and Cindy Mahoney are facilitating a discussion on Max Lucado's Life Lessons book which has you read and study Romans over a 12 week period of time. Both groups encourage new participation. You do not have to commit to attending each week to participate. Join us!

55+/- Gang

2009 Tri-Annual ELCA National Youth Gathering Every three years the Lutheran church holds a national rally open to all Lutheran Youth entering grades 9th through 12th. This year the event is being held in New Orleans La and holds the theme of JESUS, JUSTICE, JAZZ. The event will focus on the idea of what it means to live in relationship and service with each other in the manner of Christ. What better place to bring this understanding together under Christ than the city still reeling from the fury of Hurricane Katrina. Each day we will be on outreach missions focused on literacy somewhere in the local community and each evening we will be worshipping with 35,000 other youth in the Superdome. This is a once in a life time powerful event!! We have currently about 10 youth and 2 chaperones registered for this event. As you can imagine the cost is high and in the current economic climate all that harder to raise capitol towards. While we are working on different fundraising efforts and even hiring our youth out for janitorial work, it will still take a lot to get them all there. We are looking at ways to defray some of the costs and ask that you consider the followingIF ANYONE HAS CONTINENTAL FREQUENT FLYER MILES THEY MIGHT DONATE TOWARD A PLANE TICKET PLEASE CONTACT SCOTT NUGENT.

The 55+/- Gang will meet at the church on Wednesday, Feb. 4th, at 11:30. We will be serving a variety of homemade soups with Italian bread, dessert, coffee and tea, at cost of $2.50 per person. We will then be playing a game called Bago, for which you will need to bring a $2.00 item in a plain brown paper bag. Please call Karen Papandrea at 215-598-3457 for more information.

Buy/Order or Support Bulletin Board Check out the bulletin board in the back hallway across from the bathrooms. The Bulletin board may be used to allow members of FOG to complete outside fundraising. For example, girl scout cookies, wrapping paper, pizza orders, and even Lutheran Charities Bike Ride sponsors may be found here. The idea is to limit the faceto-face selling on Sunday mornings while allowing fundraisers to have a place at FOG. Any member who is selling something can place an order sheet on the bulletin board, and anyone wanting to purchase or support that organization can simply place their order on the form.

Finding Blessings in Sadness As many of you know The Boucher Family experienced a great sadness when Ross’ father passed away on New Year’s Eve. He had been on dialysis for approximately 5 months, but was otherwise in pretty good health for a man of 80. On Wednesday, December 31, 2008 he had a big breakfast with his wife, walked down to get the paper, drove himself to dialysis and about 2 hours into the treatment he blacked out and was unable to be revived. This has been a huge shock to our family. Ross and I have been together since 1990 and have not experienced any family deaths. Not an aunt, uncle, cousin, parent or grandparent. Now that’s luck! Our children, Taylor (11), Kelly (9) and Brian (6) have had to experience death and grief which is difficult even for us as adults. They have done well as we all have. What has shocked me the most is how many blessings I have witnessed since New Year’s Eve. I’d like to share them with my “family” at Family of God as a testament to God’s unending love for all of us. Ross and I met when we were in a wedding 22 years ago. The wedding was held in a Catholic church. Now, being the “unchurched” person that I was, this was very concerning. I was only 13 years old. During this very long mass one of the groomsmen had a seizure and passed out. Well, you can imagine how that frightened me and so with that I passed out during the “Our Father”. And yes, Ross fell in love with me anyway! Years later we started dating and years after that we married in 1995. Needless to say the trauma of passing out in that church has haunted me ever since. I have worked myself through it at FoG, but put me in a Catholic church and watch my nerves go through the roof. The funeral for Ross’ father was at Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel (you guessed it, a Catholic church). Well, when I gave thought to the fact that not only was I going to have to sit through an entire mass, but I was going to have to sit in the front row, I was sick with fear. I spoke to Pastor Kelly about it and he told me to eat, not think about it (which as much as I respect what PK has to say, that one didn’t do me any good!), but mostly remember that it shouldn’t matter which “house” we are in, but what we are doing in that “house”. What I should be focusing on is worshipping Jesus, not thinking about myself. I gave this great thought and

prayed a whole lot! I prayed that Jesus would give me the strength to move beyond my fear and to remember that this church is a place of comfort and peace just as Family of God is to me every day. Well, I prayed and prayed, but BOY was I nervous. I was shaky, clammy, nauseous…I was a mess and I was sure I was going to pass out right in the middle of the mass. Right before we walked into the funeral I went to the bathroom for a few drinks of cold water, 4 to be exact. I nervously walked back out and as we followed the casket in I had one more thought that I was DEFINITELY going to pass out. As I crossed the threshold of the sanctuary I instantly felt peace. It was awe inspiring to me. I felt calm, warm and comfortable. I truly felt the supportive hands of God comforting me. It is an experience that I will never forget. God is awesome and will answer prayers if you just give it all to Him. I had laid my fear on Him and He took it. Aside from that blessing I witnessed so many beautiful situations. Relationships that grew stronger because of the realization that in an instant someone can be taken from you. Taylor had spent every day since her Pop pop’s death telling me that she wasn’t going to go into the viewing, which was her choice, but when Brian went in and started to cry she didn’t hesitate for a second before she came to his side to comfort him. Following through on a suggestion from Kelly we let his grandchildren release white balloons with messages for Pop pop. It was a beautiful and tangible sight that I will never forget. Experiencing the kindness of so many family and friends in the way of food, help, cards and prayers was humbling. From this I will take many things: grief, sadness, renewal, peace and grace. I pray that this is not something that I will experience again anytime soon, but I have faith that when I do go through it Jesus will be right there with me. AMEN! -Marilyn Boucher

Prayer Chain The Family of God prayer Chain invites your requests. Praying for one another is a vital ministry of care and support. To add a name or concern, please contact Nancy Routhier at 215-267-7919 or [email protected]

Intern’s Corner This month we will begin our lay home communion ministry. I would like to thank the following members of Family of God who have volunteered to be a part of the lay home communion ministry team: John and Victoria Flint, Donald and Barbara Howard, Dawn Irwin, Karen Kelly, Carole Mahnken, Jane Ellen Nugent, Lisa Pitts, and Anita Zaketa. We are blessed to have so many who are willing to volunteer their time to this ministry, and I know they will be blessed in return through this ministry. Wednesday nights in February, beginning Feb. 4 at 7:30, we will meet at the church to study The Book of Faith – How Lutherans Read and Understand the Bible. This is an initiative of the ELCA to help increase bible literacy among Lutherans. We will be learning to read the Bible from four different perspectives: devotional, historical, literary, and Lutheran theological readings. We will examine several Bible passages from each of these perspectives to learn what each approach can teach us. If you plan to attend, either call the church to let us know you will be there or put your name on the sign-up sheet in the narthex so we can be sure to have enough materials for everybody. Give it a try – you are guaranteed to learn something new about the bible. -Don Gleiter