January 2016 - University Lutheran Church

 The Lampstand January 2016
Our Mission
The mission of University Church and Campus Center is to INVITE people to gather as a Christian family
to SHARE in worship, prayer, and the sacraments to SERVE as disciples of Christ's teachings
In This Issue
Our Mission
Pastor's Message
President's Message
ULC People
Decorating the Tree
AFRICA
Choral Cantata and Advent
Dinner
Beer & Hymns
Ladies' Holiday Tea
Nativity of Our Lord
Student Survival Dinner
Feed my sheep
ULC and Family Promise
January Adult Forum
Dwelling in the Word
WELCA Meeting
The BEE
Dresses for Africa
L.I.F.T
Pastor's Message Dear family of faith at ULC,
January 1 is not just a new day but a new year. Yet, every day is a new day in the life of
the baptized through the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Every
day can be the very day when a new commitment and an increase in the level of faith
brings forth celebration for all of us.
Worship Volunteers
Join Our
Mailing List
My thanks to the former council for their hard work under difficult times and to all of you
who have kept the ministries of ULC alive and well. Your new council is ready to move
forward and I hope that you not only support them but use your talents and gifts to support
the numerous ministries at ULC.
Together, celebrating the birth of the Savior, ULC will once again be able to come together
as One Body in Christ and in all we do and say proclaim God's glory and give thanks for
the privilege of being His people in this place.
God's peace, love and joy,
Pr. Bill
February Newsletter Deadline
Please send any articles for the
February newsletter by
January 28th to Elaine Henjum
ehenjum@gmail.com / Andy
Noss
andrew.noss@yahoo.com
January Worship Volunteers
Altar Guild
Jan 3 Elaine Manion Jan 10 Mary Lou Schirmer
Jan 17 Bev Gronwall
Jan 24 Sarah Prentice
Jan 31 Kathy Brill
Doorstep Vistors
Jan 3 Mary Lou & Dutch
Schirmer Jan 10 Cece & Phil Noss
Jan 17 Jackie Klein / George
Chappell
Jan 24 Dalene / Dan Tandy
Jan 31 Krissi / Dan Norford
Greeters
Jan 3 Krissi & Dan Norford
Jan 10 Alice & Bruce Simpson
Jan 17 Pat & Ron Gordon
Jan 24 Lois Wilkowske / Andy
Noss
Jan 31 Sarah Prentice / Ruth
Kalch
President's Message Dear ULC Members,
It is my honor to convey best wishes to each of you for continued good health, success
and increased blessings for the New Year from the members of your Council, and on my
Lay Assistants
Jan 3 Shari O'Brien Jan 10 Ron Bauldree
Jan 17 Jim Yale / Leslie
Richardson
Jan 24 Otto Johnston / Anna
Grace MontMarquette
Jan 31 Jesse Saarela
Lectors
Jan 3 Sarah Prentice
Jan 10 Joan Anderson
Jan 17 Andy Noss
Jan 24 Virginia Hedden
Jan 31 Krissi Norford
Sound Assistants
Jan 3 Dutch Schirmer own behalf. We begin this year with a clean slate on which we will record our various
experiences as individuals as well as those of our church family. In both instances the
writing tool is in our hands, for the most part. As Christians we acknowledge that God does
influence our path in life. We are also aware that He allows us to make choices. In this
regard we should attempt to choose wisely, influenced by His Grace.
Throughout life, individuals or communities occasionally have cause to recover from
experiences that cause anguish and (sometimes) considerable loss and discomfort.
Successful rebounding is attributed the resilience of the entity. Among other things,
resilience is the capacity to withstand stress and catastrophe. It is a characteristic that
pychologists have long recognized among the capabilities of humans. It is demonstrated
when individuals and communities are able to rebuild their lives even after tragedies such
as earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and the like. Being resilient doesn't mean going through
life without experiencing stress and pain. People feel grief, sadness, and a range of other
emotions after adversity and loss. The road to resilience lies in working through the
emotions and effects of stress and painful events. At this time, ULC is at a point where it
is necessary for us to be resilient.
Resilience is not a characteristic that a person is either born with or not. Resilience
develops as people grow up and gain better thinking and self­management skills and more
knowledge. Resilience also comes from supportive relationships with parents, peers and
others, as well as cultural beliefs and traditions that help people cope with the inevitable
bumps in life. Resilience is found in a variety of behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can
be learned and developed across the span of life.
As a church family, ULC is blessed with an abundance of resources. Among these are a
caring spirit, an abundance of welcoming warmth, an ability to forgive lapses, and
demonstrated caring for the disadvantaged (among others).
I encourage us to use the wealth of our resources in building resilience as we write our
history on the pages of the year 2016.
Your Council looks forward to cooperatively working with you in this regard.
Peace, Love and Hope
Ronald M Gordon
ULC People
Prayers:
...remember our seminarians: Brenda Maynor and Marissa Tweed
...health and healing: Gene, Al, Sandy, Ron, Betty and Walt, Agnes, Shari, Betty, Helen,
Jan 10 Sam Brill
Jan 17 Jesse Saarela
Jan 24 Scott Jeffers
Jan 31 Dan Norford
Ushers
Jan 3 Phil Noss / Andy Noss Jan 10 Jeanne & Bill
Chamberlin
Jan 17 Gene Brandner / Ron
Fourman
Jan 24 Virginia Hedden / Sam
Brill
Jan 31 Ron Fourman / Ron
Gordon
Counters
Jan 3 Bev & Ron Gronwall Jan 10 Donna Day / Ron
Gordon
Jan 17 Dan Norford / Andy
Noss
Jan 24 Gene Brandner / John
MontMarquette
Jan 31 Rick Dienhart / Peter
Fauerbach
Still Collecting Diapers!
We are still collecting
infant/toddler diapers for
Gainesville Community Ministry.
You can put them in the lime
green container in the Kaiser
Center. Gainesville Community Ministry
says they often get plenty of
newborn and small infant
diapers, but not a lot of the
larger size (fitting 20 pounds
and up). So, if you could, donate some
of the larger sizes. If you have questions, you can
contact Krissi Norford. Brett, Liz, Paul, Kerry, Michael, Michelle, Vanessa, Eli, Stephanie, Sharon, Caleb, Tom,
Elaine, Laurel and family, Rick, Larry and David, Florence, others we name in our hearts.
Ryerson Thank You
The family of Gene and Beverly Ryerson thank all of you who so kindly prayed, sent food
and cards, and visited Gene during his recent hospitalization. We especially thank the
Rev. Peter Fauerbach and Pastor Scholl for proving pastor's care, Jesse Saarela for the
timely CPR, and the members of council who helped the night of the event. Miracles do happen!!
January Birthdays:
1/2 Patricia Simpson
1/4 Joy Schmertmann Colley
1/6 Benjamin Brander
1/7 George Chappell
1/7 Bruce Frendahl
1/8 Gene Ryerson
1/8 Lauren Samuels
1/11 Agnes Martinsen
1/13 Beverly Ryerson
1/14 Ronald Bauldree
1/16 Benjamin Borgert
1/16 Barbara Dalsheimer
1/16 Dale Halbritter
1/19 Dutch Schirmer
1/20 Pastor Nate Gruel
1/24 Steven Fourman
1/26 Keith Walbolt
1/27 Lisa Manion
1/28 Rikki Schwarz Collins
1/28 Scott Simpson
1/29 Bill Ezzel
Altar Guild
Are you willing to serve on Altar Guild? Please talk to Kathy Brill, kzlibrary@aol.com.
Rich and Angela DiFiore
Rich and Angela DiFiore send their greetings from Pennsylvania, where the weather is
warm and there will be no white Christmas. (Rich is sad, but Angela is happy!) Rich is
really enjoying his position at Mercyhurst University. During the two weeks after
Christmas, he will be subbing at a local church. He has accepted a position as
pianist/organist at a small church in the neighboring community of Edinboro and will start
after the new year.
"Angela has gotten involved with the local dance community, and is currently collaborating
with others in the community for 'The Waterworks Project' which she participated with in
Gainesville. It is a national project to promote awareness of the precious natural resource
of water and will feature various dance, art and music presentations in early Spring. Rich
and Angela would appreciate prayers for her as she continues to look for more permanent
work in the area."
Congregation Meeting, December 13
ULC Choir, December 6
ULC Organ
Decorating the Tree, December 2
AFRICA
Bethlehem's Child:
Choral Cantata and Advent Dinner, December 6 Beer & Hymns
Ladies' Holiday Tea: December 13 Nativity of Our Lord, December 24th Student Survival Dinner: December 9 FEED MY SHEEP In John 21:17 Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep!"
For years the people of University Lutheran have quietly followed Jesus' directive to Peter.
We've been feeding God's sheep in a variety of ways. One way is our twice monthly
collection of staples. That shopping cart in front of the sanctuary collects food...cans of
veggies and fruit and beef stew or ham or tuna or chicken, boxes of cereal and hamburger
helper or pasta or noodles, and jars of peanut butter and jelly and beets, bags of rice and so
much more. For 40 years we have been part of Gainesville Community Ministries [GCM]
including the collecting of food and of toilet paper and diapers, toothbrushes and toothpaste
always a need that cannot be purchased on food stamp cards.
Now we have begun to expand our "FEEDING the SHEEP" by sharing some of our food
collection with UF's newly opened Field and Fork Food Pantry [FFFP] that provides food
for students and staff in need on campus.
We are now going to have the cart out every week as some folks have asked for this
stating that they want that opportunity to be there weekly! George Chappell will deliver our
goodies to GCM and Christina Hernandez will deliver our goodies to FFFP each month.
ULC and Family Promise: Taking care of families in need 2016 is bringing ULC the unique and exciting opportunity to serve the community as the
newest 'Congregational Host' in the Family Promise network. In a nutshell, this means that
ULC will host ­ through the grace of its facilities and members ­ a few struggling families
for one straight week three times per year. Our first host week is Jan. 31 ­ Feb. 6.
We will need many volunteers to make this week run smoothly. To get involved or find out
more information, talk to Amy Schirmer or Sherrie Kirk. Better yet, come to an orientation
meeting on January 10 at 1:30 in the Kaiser Center. Also, several ULC members
already volunteer for other host congregations, so they're good resources, too.
This is a huge and intensive mission which ULC is not doing alone. Gethsemane and
Servants of Christ and possibly other congregations are joining us with people­power and
supplies. Still, there are many jobs to share around. Volunteering typically will mean just
a few hours during the host week doing things such as cooking, serving, and eating dinner,
greeting and 'hanging out' with the families, setting up or taking down the 'bedrooms', etc.
Other volunteers will be needed to stay overnight at the church to ensure families are
tucked in safely. Other ways to support this program is through monetary or goods
donations, mostly for food.
So, if you can, join other volunteers from ULC and our sister support congregations, and
Jayne Moraski, exective director of Family Promise at our January 10th meeting, where
we'll hope to sign up many of the volunteer posts. If you can't come, keep your eyes open
for sign­up sheets or communicate with Amy S soon. We'll also be calling out for some
help on a weekend soon to clean out and prep the 'bedrooms'.
Thank you and blessings in the New Year!
Amy Schirmer, amy_schirmer@yahoo.com 352­214­0991
January Adult Forum January Adult Forum ... All are Welcome ... 9 am Sundays
The Adult Forum (9:00­10:00 AM) is kicking off 2016 with a study of the
Gospel of Mark with Pastor Scholl as our leader.
WE BEGIN ON JANUARY 17
You don't want to miss this !!!
Dwelling in the Word WELCA Meeting Welca Congregation Unit Organizational Meeting
Thursday January 21, 11:30 in Kaiser Center .
WE ARE WELCA ­­Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America .
Our Mission
To mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ. Our Purpose Is a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus
Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our
gifts, support one another in our callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote
healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world.
The congregational, inter­congregational and special units are the largest expression of
the organization and are the heart of the organization. This is where we grow the
organization, inviting women to experience the reconciling and transforming love of God
through Jesus Christ, encouraging women to act on their baptismal covenant.
There is a place for you in Women of the ELCA.
For additional information contact Liz Finn at liz.steenson@gmail.com
WHAT'S UP AT THE BEE?
Weekly on Tuesday a group
...some regulars...others drop in...
gathers for
LUNCH: bring your own lunch and drink. Dessert occasionally provided.
DEVOTIONAL: for daily inspiration
FELLOWSHIP: sharing our lives & God's role in it
STUDY: January will be an exercise for closure of 2015 and planning of 2016. Bring your
planner/calendar from 2015 and your new one for 2016. Should be fun!
PROJECTS: currently we are working on sewing pillow case dresses & knitting prayer
shawls...and a couple of other projects that have popped up.
You can see the pillowcase dresses already made hanging in the Kaiser Center **to learn
more about this project go to www.littledressesforAfrica.org You can still donate pillow cases for this project...give to Sharon Grant or Liz Finn
We are also the hosts for L.I.F.T.
JOIN US ON TUESDAYS
for
"THE BEE"
WHERE: ULC KAISER CENTER
WHEN: 11 am ­ 1 pm
COME and SEE!!!
NEED MORE INFO:
Shari soben@springmail.com 904­710­6577
Or
Liz Finn at Liz.Steenson(at)gmail.com 904­315­7948
LITTLE DRESSES FOR AFRICA and HAITI
PLANTING SEEDS OF WORTHINESS IN THE HEARTS OF LITTLE GIRLS
Members of ULCCM have for several months been making "PILLOW CASE DRESSES" .
You can see them hanging on the south wall of the Kaiser Center. The project started as
part of the weekly BEE. If you want to be part of this project talk with Sharon Grant.
LITTLE DRESSES FOR AFRICA is a non­profit Christian organization formed to send
relief to the children of Africa. The dresses [and now britches for boys] are distributed
through orphanages, villages and schools to bring relief. During distribution simple lessons
are taught on nutrition, clean water and sanitation.
We also understand some of our dresses will go to Haiti.
Even if you cannot sew, or choose not to, you can bring pillow cases or provide funds to
mail the dresses. Cost of mailing is $2/dress.
www.littledressesforafrica.org
L.I.F.T. Our Pastor and Staff
Dr. William Scholl
Pastor / Campus Pastor@ULCgainesville.com Ana Zecic Jeffers
Minister of Music
Cheryl Williams
Administrative Assistant
info@ulcgainesville.com
Shari O'Brien, Diaconal Minister soben@springmail.com
University Lutheran Church | | info@ulcgainesville.com | 1826 W University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32603
Phone: 352­373­6945
Fax: 352­373­1679
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