the staff january - Shepherd King Lutheran Church

THE STAFF
JANUARY
2014
Shepherd King Lutheran Church
303 West Ramsey Road
San Antonio, TX 78216
Phone: (210)344-5881
Website: www.sklcsa.org
E-Mail: shepherd.king@sbcglobal.net
KRIS CROSS.
active in
their
neighborShepherd King
hoods. (Other congregais blessed to
tions in the San Antonio
have a new ministry
area that are participatteam we are calling the ing are: House of Prayer,
“Leap of Faith” team.
Good Shepherd, Hope,
This team of six people Lord of Life, Emmanuel’s
-- Don Hill, Jane Elton,
Seguin and St. Paul
Denise Echigo, Tammy Karnes City.) Following
Moren, Debbie Nitsche, the insights from a
and Mary Marty – will
group called “The Misbe exploring ways our
sional Network” they
congregation can get to will learn about five
know our neighbors and general steps that can
become more involved
help congregations
in the good things God
know their neighboris already doing in the
hood and become incommunity around us.
volved in the lives of its
How will they do this?
people. Then they will
I’m glad you asked.
investigate ways they
On Saturday,
(the Leap of Faith team)
January 18th our Leap
might pursue these
of Faith team will meet
steps. Once a quarter
with teams from other
the larger group of lay
area Lutheran congremembers from each
gations and a ‘coach’ to
congregation will meet
learn about this opporto share stories, suptunity, offered by the
port and encourage
Southwestern Texas
each other, and consynod, called “Missional
tinue learning together.
River.” Imagine – a
Just to be clear –
group of 30 to 40 lay
our congregation’s
people and a couple of
team is called “Leap of
leaders talking about
Faith” and the advenways congregations
ture they will be particimight be present and
pating in with our synod
The Rev. Kris Franke Hill S.T.M., Pastor
Mrs. Barbara Alvarado, Director of Music/Organist
Mrs. Christy Strawn, Youth Director
Fax: (210)344-6567
is called “Missional
River”. You could say
our Leap of Faith team
is jumping into the Missional River with other
Lutheran folks from the
Southwestern Texas
synod.
Pastor Kris will
also meet once a
month with the pastors
of the congregations
involved; they will meet
separately from the
teams of lay members.
She will be learning
about leadership skills,
about her own leadership style, and how she
can be a more effective
leader of our congregation.
What is all this
meeting, discussing,
and investigating for?
I’m glad you asked.
The purpose is for our
congregations to become more involved in
the work of God that is
taking place right here
in our neighborhood.
We do not need to
travel overseas or even
drive across town to be
involved in God’s work;
God is at work in the
lives of people who live
near us and near Shepherd King. We want to
be a part of the good
things God is doing in
our community; we
want our neighbors to
know that we are here
and that we want to be
a partner with them in
daily life.
When Jesus
was asked “what is the
greatest commandment” he replied “the
greatest commandment
is to love the LORD
your God with all your
heart, with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and a second is like it –
to love your neighbor
as yourself.” But how
can we love our
neighbors if we do not
know them? The Leap
of Faith team, by participating in Missional
River, will be exploring
ways to get to know our
neighbors so we may
love them as God loves
us. That is the goal of
this program: to help
(Cont’d on pg. 3)
Page 2
THE STAFF
Worship with us:
RACHEL CIRCLE
January 27
We will meet in the Fellowship
Hall this month.
Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share. We’ll start early
(6:30 p.m.) for refreshments and
fellowship before we begin our
lesson at 7:00.
On Sunday, January 5, we
will have a blended service. It is officially the second Sunday of Christmas, not quite Epiphany Day (which
is the following day, January 6th).
Our worship on January 5th will begin
as a Christmas celebration and then
with the reading of scripture will shift
to an observance of the Epiphany. It
will be a wonderful celebration and a
unique day. Come worship with us!
The phone number listed for new
member Mary Marty, was incorrect
in last month’s STAFF. Please
make a note of the corrected number:
RETIRED MEN’S
BREAKFAST
Wednesday, Jan 8 & 22
9:00 a.m.
DENNY’S
Loop 410 and Blanco
MEN’S EARLY
BREAKFAST
Wednesday, Jan 22
7:30 a.m.
DENNY’S
Bitters and San Pedro
ROOF AND A/C SPECIAL FUND:
Cappy and Janice Colvin
In Memory of Alice Greco
UNDESIGNATED MEMORIALS:
J.D. and Ruth Marek
In Memory of Norma Underwood
J.D. and Ruth Marek
In Memory of Lucille Hegar
QUILTERS FUND:
Harold and Zona LaField In Memory of Jeff Donnell
Lillie Mae Dienger
In Memory of Jeff Donnell
Cliff and Edna Stappenbeck
In Memory of Jeff Donnell
Page 3
Kris Cross Cont’d….
Shepherd King know its neighbors and love them with the love of God.
Please join me in praying for our Leap of Faith team as they wade into the Missional River.
Pastor Kris Franke Hill, stm
January Meetings
Committee Meetings for January will be on the 2nd Wednesday, January 8th. The January Council will also be moved
back a week; council will meet on Wednesday, January 22nd
at 7pm.
Missional River:
We will be installing our “Leap of Faith” team, which is getting into
the “Missional River” on Shepherd King’s behalf, on Sunday morning
January 12th during worship at the late service (10:30). Please come
and support these members of our congregation willing to experiment
with getting to know our neighbors and share the love of God with them.
Congregational Meeting
Please be sure and come to our annual congregational
meeting on Sunday, January 19th, after worship (there will be
only one service that morning, at 10:30am). We will be electing
new council members and adopting a budget for 2014.
Page 4
THE STAFF
As we bring another year to a close, we want to thank
Pastor Kris for sharing all of her talents at
the Wednesday morning Bible study. I know all of you
have heard her preach, but she is a superb teacher
bringing Biblical times into our current lives . We
laugh, pray, and read the scriptures. This class is a
great mid-week pick up. We all usually bring our own
Bible's from home and they all shed a slightly different
light on what ever we are reading at the time. Of
course, the church also has Bibles if you don't own
one or forget yours. Our group is mostly retired, but it
is open to all ages and faiths. Men are welcome
too. We would love for any of you that want to come, (no homework) please do. Our next session
will begin Wednesday, January 8 at 10:30 a.m. and we will be studying Deuteronomy. If you don't
drive, own a car or whatever the case and you live close to the church, we will be glad to pick you
up. Let our daughter Courtney (church secretary) know and we will pick you up. We hope each and
everyone of you have had a blessed Christmas.
Gayle and Monty Blaschke
How did you come to be a part of the community of
Shepherd King? Why have you chosen to stay? We
would love to have more of you submit your story about
belonging to this family of faith. Tell us how you came
to be here – send your story to Pastor Kris via email
(krishill22@hotmail.com) or post (303 W. Ramsey Rd,
San Antonio, TX 78216) or drop it by the office and
we’ll include it in the newsletter in the future.
This month we hear from long time member, Janice Colvin. She writes:
“Since Shepherd King’s first minister was Marvin Huth, my cousin, it just seemed natural for
me to come here. I had my membership transferred to Shepherd King. We had our son, Nathan,
baptized as an infant here. Then, two years ago, we were blessed to have a wedding at Shepherd
King. Nathan married our wonderful daughter-in-law, Julia, who also became a member. I have very
fond memories of teaching Sunday school, teaching summer Vacation Bible school, and teaching
and helping with the ‘Alleluia’ children’s choir.”
We love you, Janice, and we’re glad you’re here!
Page 5
Holding Your Family Together
How can you help your children know that God loves them? How can
you strengthen your family’s ability to talk about everything and anything, to
support each other day in and day out? “Faith 5”, a daily devotional program
designed by The Reverend Doctor Rich Melheim, gives families the tools to
do those very things.
Family members agree to meet for 10 to 15 minutes each evening
(right before bed is the optimal time) to go through the five steps: share, read,
talk, pray, and bless. Dr. Melheim advises a pillow fight as a transition into
devotional time (and he has the research to explain why that is advantageous).
Then each member of the family mentions a high and a low from his/her day (step one). Step two is to
read a brief passage from scripture. Next the family talks about what they read, trying to connect
their highs and lows to what they read in the Bible. Then they share a prayer for one another and
conclude by giving each other a blessing (making the sign of the cross on each other’s forehead and saying
something as simple “God bless you” or “I love you and so does God”).
Starting new habits – like gathering each night for family devotions – is not easy. A group
from Shepherd King (mostly families with children) will be meeting once a week for six weeks in
January and February, Sunday nights from 4:30 to 6:30, to encourage and support each other as we
learn about and commit to following the Faith 5 steps. Each family will be reading Melheim’s book
“Holding Your Family Together: 5 Simple Steps to Help Bring Your Family Closer to God and Each
Other” and discussing what we read as we share an evening meal and tell our stories about what is
working and where we’re struggling.
We will be meeting in each other’s homes (starting at Pastor Kris’s home) on Sunday evenings January 12, 19, 26, February 2, 9 and 16 from 4:30 to 6:30. Participants are asked to chip in
$5 per adult ($10 per couple) to help pay for child care on site while we meet.
If you are interested in learning more about Faith 5 please speak to Pastor Kris.
Many, many thanks to all who contributed to the Support
Ministries’ annual projects for the season, Warm Hearts,
Warm Hands (warm outer clothing for those in
need), house hold items for those getting a fresh start at
setting up their own private home or apt. from temporary
quarters at (SAMM) on Blanco Rd and for Toys and items
for the young children at Miller’s Child Development Center. All was greatly appreciated and thankfully accepted.
A large Poinsettia card (hand-made) was given to the
church as a “Thank You” from the Miller Child Development Center. They are soooooo appreciative. It will be
displayed for all to enjoy. Thank you once again for being
a blessing to others as you have been blessed.
Page 6
THE STAFF
THE LADIES CORNER
As I write this, it is a week until Christmas. We are waiting for
the Baby Jesus to make his appearance. We have done this so
many times and yet every year it is just as exciting to wait for the
wonder of Christmas. I hope as you read this, you can relax and
ease into the New Year.
Thank you to Jeanne Weisbaker who has served on our Shepherd King WELCA Board for the last 10 years or so. She has elected not to continue and yet we
know we can count on her to help in any way she can. Linda Hansen, Barbara Eickman, Marybelle
Taylor and I will continue to meet and plan and inform you of happenings in our Alamo Conference.
We invite anyone who wants to, to join us. We meet every 2 months or so. Our next Conference
Event will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church in Marion on Saturday, April 26, 2014.
Thank you to all for your participation and for being Bold Women.
Shirley Kearns Hormuth
Coordinator, Shepherd King Lutheran Women of the ELCA
January 1
Hudson Boag
January 17
Fred Kupfernagel
January 2
Nanette Pesina
January 18
John Elton III
Dana Maureschat
January 3
Emile Reid
Susan Vogel
January 4
Suzanne Dahl
Janice Wolf
January 5
Sue Hansmire
January 7
Helen Snyder
Soren Teilmann
January 10
Virginia Wissmann
January 11
Robert Harkreader
January 22
Cooper Grill
January 23
Ashlee West
January 25
Mikhaul Pape
January 26
Ron Meyer
January 27
Karin Hernandez
January 30
Janet Lease
January 31
Doris Simpson
Page 9
SHEPHERD KING ALTAR GUILD
The work of the Altar Guild is more than housekeeping. In essence, it is to assist in creating and
maintaining a climate of worship for the congregation. Through our worship service we seek the
message of the Gospel of Christ and respond to it.
Communication is two-way, and so we have built
our church and furnished our chancel in a way that
aids this communication and creates a proper climate.
Climate is something that can be changeable; it is
not static. In our worship there can therefore be
multiple variations in the employment of symbols and in the settings. Using candles, hangings, flowers, and all other symbols is an expression of what we believe, and not mere decorations.
Shepherd King has been blessed with a group of dedicated women of the church to see that each
week our worship is enhanced by their preparation of the Sanctuary. A ministry of Shepherd King
that is appreciated by all very much.
The Altar Guild is in need of members and we want to invite anyone who can volunteer once a
month to serve. No training needed you can learn as you go. Please consider this Ministry here at
Shepherd King. Please see Kathy Gerloff for more information.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR NOVEMBER 2013
Budget Requirements for November ($5,045.00 x 4 weeks)
Contribution Income Received
Misc. Income received
Total Income Received
Expenses for November 2013
$20,180.00
15,830.86
338.00
16,168.86
22,110.89
I am grateful to all of you for supporting our Pastor Kris, the wonderful staff, and our church council
with your gifts of money, gifts of labor and your love for each other. Your support is what make our
Community of Faith a special place for all who gather here. Happy New Year!
Shirley Kearns Hormuth
President, Church Council
Shepherd King Lutheran Church
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
San Antonio, Texas
Permit No. 1838
303 West Ramsey Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78216-3818
Address Service Requested
Date Mailed: December 23, 2013
CHURCH COUNCIL
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
PRESIDENT:
Shirley Kearns
VICE PRESIDENT:
Debbie Nitsche
SECRETARY:
Erla Naumann
TREASURER
Carl Hansen
MEMBER-AT-LARGE:
Janice Colvin
Jana Gosvig
Eric Owre
COMMITTEES:
AD HOC COMMITTEES:
EDUCATION/YOUTH:
Alison Surma Estep
BANNER MINISTRY:
Mae Martin
Patricia Martin
FELLOWSHIP:
Denise Echigo
PERSONNEL:
Barbara Eickman
SUPPORT MINISTRIES:
Iris Hegemier
PROPERTY:
Melvin Gerloff
WORSHIP:
Karen Keener