The Gethsemane Witness - Gethsemane Lutheran Church

What’s Inside?
 July Calendar and Ministry Schedule
 July Birthdays
 Service Possibilities !
The Gethsemane Witness
GETHSEMANE LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Pastor Ponders “Forward Moving”...
July 2015
www.gethsemanesd.org
church@gethsemanesd.org
2696 Melbourne Dr., San Diego, CA 92123
Church Office: 858-277-6572
FAX : 858-277-6511
We state in our Mission Identity
Statement that we are forward-moving
along with being an “intergenerational,
eclectic Lutheran Christian congregation”.
The intergenerational surprises us at
Pastor Gloria
times (ask Linda Peters!) while eclectic is
clearly present at all times. At the last Council meeting,
the “forward-moving” was clearly there.
1. Roger Krauel, Susan Mendoza, Jerry Albert,
Liz Thompson, and Pat Wiedower were appointed to the
Sustainability and Transition Planning Task Force. It’s a
mouthful so already “STP” was used. One Council
member thought this was appropriate since the product
with that name is an “additive which adds power and
smoother running to an engine which is already running”.
They will convene soon to begin their work. The Draft
Job Description for this Task Force passed.
2. The Parking Lot/Front Entry design is moving
forward with the help of an architect who will provide
us conceptual sketches in light of the water issues (The
first plan was “plant busy for color”). The new design will
be simpler and feature the three olive trees. We also
are talking with Mission Village Christian Fellowship
about the two dumpsters and how to enclose them.
3. Approved Jenny Mendoza’s enrollment in the
15th Annual Youth Ministry Training Event for Pacifica
Synod, August 6-8, to help her support Sydney & Jordan
in Middle School youth events. (Post meeting: Pastor
Gloria will also attend this event to be a part of conversations about youth ministry in small congregations.)
4. Approved moving from lawn in the area
between the Preschool and Chapel to “Children’s Garden”
with “outdoor classroom” space. Its water will be for
food not lawn and signal “Gethsemane is kid-friendly!”
5. Received the resignation of Mary Ann Kelley
who is moving on to new endeavors (see next column);
planned a Farewell Lunch on Thursday, July 9, at 11am.
5. Approved three new members: Cyndi Jones,
Virginia Morse, and Jeffrey Jenkins. This is now seven
new members in first six months of 2015!
Dear Pastor Gloria and Members
of Gethsemane Lutheran Church,
I want to take this opportunity
to thank all of you for the warm
welcome you gave me four years
ago when I began working with
you and for your support in my
endeavors for you in the years
since.
There is much for me to do in
another area of my life, and so I
must tender my two weeks notice
with my last day July 9, 2015,
after which I will take my two
weeks paid vacation before I
begin this other endeavor.
Blessings to you all, and
with much love,
Mary Ann Kelley
The Council accepted her
resignation with gratitude for
her service. A Farewell Luncheon
is planned for Thursday, July 9,
at 11am in the Garden Room. If
you cannot come, you are encouraged to send a card or talk with
Mary Ann before she leaves.
We may have a replacement to
overlap briefly with Mary Ann
but won’t know until next week.
UPDATED 2015 DIRECTORY…
Mary Ann’s news made the
newly published 2015 Directory
in need of a revision. Help us!
1. Check the directory for
correctness. (They were in the
bulletin on June 28. If you didn’t
get one, call the office or extras
are in the narthex.)
2. Do we have your email? Do
you text? Is your cell a better
number than your home one?
Page 2
Called to serve…
“SWAS” (Service With A Smile) is built into every day
at Confirmation Camp. The ELCA Youth Gathering sends
everyone out into the community for one Day of Service.
When the orange “servant” T-shirts of the ELCA Youth
Gathering hit the neighborhoods of New Orleans in 2009, it
made the news, and the Mayor invited 30,000 youth back in
2012. Detroit will know the ELCA Youth are in town...not
for rowdy behavior but for their gift of hours of service!
Response to God’s grace to care for our “neighbors” is a
hallmark of Lutheran self-understanding. It’s been many
years since Jean Arneson, Dottie Burger, and Hildie Class
began delivering Meals on Wheels. Some of you respond
to your children and grandchildren in life-enhancing ways.
Some of us go to Tijuana to build a simple 12x12 house and
nearly all of us support the Mission Trip as a Shareholder.
Here’s some new and renewing opportunities:
1. Ascension Lutheran Church helps at Stand Down, a
weekend of welcome for homeless Veterans, by working in
the Clothing Tent on Thursday, July 16, from 7am to noon.
If you want to help, email Emily H. (hartetalsd@gmail.com)
or call 619-582-2680 to leave a message for Emily.
2. We need a co-leader to work with Becky Baker in
leading the Storefront Teen Shelter ministry to provide the
dinner for teens on the first Monday of every month.
3. The Friendship Lunch is growing and will be at
Mission Village Christian Fellowship every Wednesday
due to their larger space. We need a partner for Jean
Knapp since Mary Ann Kelley had been doing this. Open
to this? Wednesdays in the morning every other month.
4. The Odd Job Club does just that: “Odd jobs” we
otherwise would pay to have done. The Chapel floor needs
washing which involves moving chairs and washing floors.
Next meeting of this exclusive club (not really!) is July 18
from 7 to 9am (because it gets hot early). However,
“Special Meetings” can happen anytime. Another “hot” job
is defrosting the freezer.
5. Joetta Muhlenkamp showed her mighty grilling last
year for the Oktoberfest. HOWEVER, this year she is
having knee replacement in September and will need to be
“Supervising Chef”. She needs some helpers...interested?
6. A “Christ Care Team” to take bread and wine from
the Table to those who cannot gather with us is being
renewed along with visitors for anyone with a need for
Christian companionship. We occasionally need drivers for
some of our members. Talk with Pastor Gloria about this.
July
John Hoaglin 3rd
Carly Pfizenmeier 5th
Don Burmeister 12th
James Neuman 23rd
Jon Peterson 25th
Bruce Hartley 26th
Julia Miller 26th
Jay Finnecy 27th
Take me out to the ballgame...
The Padres fundraiser for the Serra
Mesa Food Pantry will be Saturday,
August 8, with the Padres vs. Phillies
at Petco Park. This game has a Padres
throwback jersey for the giveaway.
Tickets are $38 with half going to the
Food Pantry. Jerry Albert is
again leading this
effort…tickets are
available now and
going fast. Get yours soon!
THANKS…
...to our Choir, Director Ken Baker,
and Accompanists Andy Attwood
and Malcolm Twentyman for a year
of amazing song leadership and
special music. We are grateful for
your gift of time and skill and for
your faithfulness. Choir, have a good
rest, and we’ll see you in September!
...to Pat Wiedower and Judy Nagy for
agreeing to serve on Council and for
Judy’s service as Secretary.
...to Linda Juhasz for her faithful
coordination of the Sunday/Monday
helpers for worship and the office.
...to all who helped with the 4th of
July Breakfast in Shawn Canyon.
...to Jenny Mendoza for creating a
Gold Award Project of spreading the
work in Serra Mesa that extra fruit
from trees can go to the Food Pantry
and for making it possible for all of us
to help in some way.
Page 3
25 Years for the Americans With Disabilities Act
July 26 marks the 25th Anniversary of President
George H. W. Bush signing the ADA. Cyndi Jones
was a part of the effort to get it passed and was on the
lawn of the White House for the signing.
The Gethsemane Council sent a resolution to the
Pacifica Synod Assembly encouraging acknowledgement of this day which passed by a large margin.
Cyndi will be our preacher on July 26 and at 11am we
will have a discussion on the ADA which will include its
benefits, its challenges, and what remains to be done.
A panel of Cyndi Jones, Roger Krauel, Debbie
Attwood, and Linda Juhasz will lead the discussion.
A Tribute to Pastor James Hallerberg
When Pastor Gloria was on Sabbatical two years
ago, Pastor Hallerberg was Supply Pastor. He died
on June 19 after a short illness. A Pastor of deep
grace and intellect, he provided a reasoned Christian
witness the last few years at the Pride Parade when
he sat near the designated protest area while wearing
his clerical shirt, cheering the Parade participants.
He took verbal abuse himself from the self-identified
Christian protesters. His Memorial Service is on
Saturday, July 18, at 3:30pm at First Lutheran.
We will let the Pride Parade know they lost a
good Christian friend in Pastor Hallerberg through
an ad in the Parade Guide...Ginger Hallerberg
expressed her gratitude to us for this tribute.
NEWS FLASH:
the “Attack of the Pink Flamingos” at
Gethsemane is delayed to August 10-31
In May/June, we heard that Pink Flamingos
were showing up in the front yards of members of
Tierrasanta Lutheran Church. Furthermore, for a
donation to the Youth Fund for the ELCA Youth
Gathering in Detroit in July, the flamingos will only
stay 3 days. (Info alert: Jenny Mendoza is going to
Detroit with the Youth Group from Tierrasanta,
and Sydney & Jordan Cummings and Pastor Gloria
went to Confirmation Camp in June.) We heard
that a donation to the GLC Youth Fund will get
you an insurance policy to keep the lovely pink
flamingos out of your yard. Rumor also has it that,
for a donation, you may have them delivered to
someone “to tell them you love them!” (Caveat:
not delivered if homeowner has purchased “pink
flamingo insurance”.) We’re not sure but for July
and early August the pink flamingoes might be hiding
out among their friends at the San Diego Zoo!
TBD...more info later!
News from The Serra Mesa Village…
“a neighborly network of seniors for seniors”
The Serra Mesa Village is creating opportunities
for community among Serra Mesa seniors. The
Village concept is built upon the reality that most
neighborhoods become “unplanned retirement
communities” for the people who want to stay in
their own homes as long as they can. Each Village
develops according the needs in their neighborhood
to provides a network of activities and resources for
life to be full and supported.
The General Membership meetings are held
from 3-5pm on the third Thursday of each month
at the Library on Aero, and the meetings are open
to all. On July 16, our speaker is from Elderhelp
which has resources for our Care Committee.
To help “jump start” the Care Committee,
Gethsemane received a $4,000 Edgar Grant
from Lutheran Social Services. The Village
Board and Membership are grateful to us!
On the second and fourth Tuesdays, there is a
“Drop In” time in our own Garden Room from
1-4pm for games, crafts, or good old fashioned
visiting while meeting new friends.
Local trips are planned for the 1st Thursday of
each month. August 6 will be a visit to the Natural
History Museum. RSVP to bill.horton@gmail.com
or call 858-565-2473 and leave a message.
For more about the concept of the Village and
how it is going in Serra Mesa, talk with Pastor
Gloria or simply come to a meeting or outing.
Around the property and grounds…
1. Dave Pfizenmeier (I’ll Handle It) took care of
the lights that were out by the Garden Room.
2. We are exploring making the Prayer Walk more
accessible and meaningful for all people. We
began by removing the stepping stones (which
were too far apart to work for anyone!). Jerry
Albert and Chuck Cheek made this happen.
3. Water Awareness...we reduced our water bill
by 57% but that included time during the May
rains. The Preschool will do just squirt guns
and water tables for Hot Weather Water Play
Days. Bark and a few plants were added to the
Palm Tree corner in the courtyard by Nick
Mulcahey and Chuck Cheek on Odd Job Day.
4. The wall where the Hibiscus left stains has
been fixed and repainted by our Maintenance
Coordinator Chuck Cheek with help form Gail
Pulkrable. Many smaller things that make a big
difference have also been done...THANKS,
Chuck!!
Ge ths e m a ne L ut he r a n Chur ch
2696 M e l bour ne Dr ive
S a n Die g o, C A 9 2123
Phone: (858) 277-6572 - Fax: (858) 277-6511
Preschool: (858) 277-7710
Check out our Website
at
www.gethsemanesd.org
Gethsemane Lutheran Church...
grounded in the gospel, anchored in Word
and Sacrament, traditional yet creative,
seeking to be God’s people in this time
and place.
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Gospel Concert Series
with
Andy and Debbie Attwood
July 25, and August 22
3:30pm — Table Talk
5:00pm — Gospel Concert
6:00pm — Salad Bar Supper