The CALLER

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Eggertsville

Empowered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is the Mission of St. Paul's to Enrich Faith, Nourish Lives,

and Demonstrate Love in God's Name

From Pastor Hoffman

November 2009

The past few weeks have been an amazing time for our family. As I suffered through a bout with pneumonia, and responded well to the rest and medications there was a lot going on.

            Our step-grandson Carl returned from a year of military service in Iraq. He serves with the Marine reserves as a mechanic and driver and was posted to a small border town in the hills where not much happened and the average temperature was 100+. He is home safe and sound. His unit did not see much action or suffer casualties and so we give thanks for his safe return even as we recognize and mourn the loss of those other young men and women who suffer terrible injury and give their lives for the cause of peace.

            Within a few days of Carl’s return, our younger daughter Hannah secured and accepted a job offer at the University of Buffalo. She is not thrilled to be living at home with mom and dad, but she is employed in her field, which given the current economy is a true miracle.  Her life is changed and still changing as she moves from the role of student, to professional working woman. There is still a great deal of uncertainty in Hannah’s future, but there is also a sense of direction and purpose that was not there before. As her life continues to unfold we see great things ahead for her, even as we recognize that far too many people today are unemployed and under-employed in an economy that still suffers from the grip of greed and the undisciplined  behavior of those who were willing to risk the security of others, in order to realize personal gain.

            And then best of all, this morning, October 19^th at 8:30 A.M our newest and most amazing grand-daughter Callie Murray was born to Leah and Dave.  She checked in at 8# 7 oz and 20.5 inches.  We have all been counting the days and waiting patiently, but the  person who was the most excited about this birth is a dear friend of Leah’s who has been unable to have a child of her own. After multiple attempts of fertility treatments and an initial search for an adoption, this couple is longing to raise a child, but unable to do so. Their loss and suffering has become focused in Leah’s pregnancy in such a way that their joy is just overflowing, and it is infectious to any who come in contact with it.

            In these past few weeks there  has been just so much to be thankful for, and yet I Do not receive this as a sign of blessing, but as an invitation to bear the cross of Christ. In the moments of joy I do not close my eyes to the suffering that surrounds me, but I keep it in perspective.  In the moments of sorrow I am not overwhelmed, but uplifted by those who care for me.  In the moments of uncertainty I am neither lost nor abandoned, but merely open to the one who has promised to lead me and guide me all the days of my life.

            And so I give thanks for all that is good and I respond to all that is not good, with prayer, compassion and service.  This is what it means to be a steward of the life that God has given each one of us.  May each of you be so blessed, and moved, that your stewardship of God’s blessings might be shared with others to bear witness to the incredible good news of Jesus death and Resurrection.

                        Peace

                        Pastor Dan

From the President

of Church Council

IN OUR CONGREGATIONAL FAMILY

Know the Truth, Theophilus!

According to The Lectionary, 2008-09 is a “C year” in the three year cycle, meaning that many of the Gospel lessons for that year come from the Book of Luke.  Sunday October 18^th celebrated St. Luke the Evangelist and Physician.  The Gospel reading for that morning began with the first chapter of Luke in which he explains his motivation to write his Gospel.  His goal was to document the truth, as he had himself verified it, so that the students of theology and lovers of Christ might know the Gospel story.

Historically, Luke is said to have been a physician.  So he was called to serve in medicine and in proclamation.  I think that Luke demonstrates that we can be called by the Holy Spirit in many ways to serve.  Each of us can proclaim the Gospel using our own talents.  As we are reminded in the baptismal liturgy, we are called to let our light so shine that others may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in Heaven.  It is not necessary that we be ordained clergy, or deacons or even assisting ministers.  It is not necessary that we write a work as important as Luke’s Gospel.

What does make a difference is for each of us find our own ways of serving God, in our congregation, in our community, in the nation, in the world, and in all of God’s creation.  Join me in praying that the Holy Spirit guide each of us to find our own special way of serving God!

            Peace and Blessings be with you all!  John

Altar Flower Ministry

Helping Hands are needed!! 

Every week Altar Bouquets are taken after worship and delivered to members who are home-bound or in the hospital. The bouquets are delivered with a smile, a copy of the bulletin, and sometimes a few moments to chat. The people who do it describe it as “wonderfully rewarding” and “bringing joy to someone”. Bill and Claire Franke coordinate this ministry, and would love for YOU to be a part of it. If you would like to be a part of this rewarding, joy-bringing group, please call Claire at 835-7183.

Come! Now is the time to worship!!

November 1 – All Saints Sunday

9:00 – Adult Forum

10:00 – Holy Communion

10:00 – Sunday School

11:30 – Holy Communion

November 8 – 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 – Adult Forum

10:00 – Holy Communion

10:00 – Sunday School

11:30 – Holy Communion

November 15 – 24^th Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 – Adult Forum

10:00 – Holy Communion

10:00 – Sunday School

11:30 – Holy Communion

November 22 – Christ the King Sunday

Consecration Sunday

9:00 – Adult Forum

10:00 – Holy Communion

10:00 – Sunday School

11:30 – Holy Communion

November 29 – First Sunday in Advent

9:00 – Adult Forum

10:00 – Holy Communion

10:00 – Sunday School

Community Calendar!                    

Morning Prayer – Tues. at 7:00 a.m.

Adult Bible Study – Thurs. at 6:30

Confirmation Class – Thurs. at 6:30

Evening Prayer – Thurs. at 7:15 pm

Adult Choir – Thurs. at 7:30

Nov. 4 – 10:00 – Comforters meet in the Parish Hall

Nov. 7 & 21 – 9:00 – Men’s Club Breakfast/Bible Study

Nov. 9 – 6:00 – Finance Committee

Nov. 10 – 7:00 – Eggertsville Community Org.

                7:00 – Council

Nov. 15 – FLU SHOT CLINIC HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Nov. 20 – 6:00 – GIFTS Reunion Pot Luck Supper in the Parish Hall

– come and catch up with your friends from GIFTS!

Sunday Nov. 22 – Consecration Sunday – ONE SERVICE

Tuesday Nov. 24 – 7:00 – Community Thanksgiving Service

at Crossroads Lutheran Church (Main & Burroughs Dr.)

Thursday, Nov.26 – 2:00 - Thanksgiving Dinner in the Parish Hall –

all are welcome but reservations are a MUST!

Sign up in the back narthex or call the Church Office – 835-0407.

Sunday, Nov. 29 – First Sunday in Advent

From the Parish Register...

Married: “What God has joined together...”                                                                 

                Candice Atherton & Kevin Siegel

Died: “Into your hands we commend...”                                                       

                M. Jane Engelhardt                                                                     

                                Stephen M. Habermehl

Thanks For Prayer Shawls 

From Carlos Pena – ELCA VP -  (Mary knit a shawl at the Churchwide Assembly and Bishop Jerge presented it to Carlos at the end of the Assembly)  I was so surprised by the presentation. The shawl is beautiful and a very meaningful representation of God’s loving arms around me whenever I place it on my shoulders. I am especially grateful to find out that you designated me to receive your beautiful handwork. My wife and I have both found such comfort in using it while at prayer...

From George Mason – My dear friends, My doorbell rang, my dog Cuddles ran to the front door, and who was there but Dave Metz bringing me a prayer shawl! What a comfort to me to have it, knowing that the ladies of St. Paul’s made it with prayers also. It is wonderful to know what a great family we are at St. Paul’s. Once again I thank you, knowing that the shawl will give me comfort through my illness and with the Master’s help I will be well again.

Thanks For Chicken Dinners

(extra dinners were delivered to a number of our shut-ins following the fund-raiser)

From  Bob & Ruth Ruhland – Dear St. Paul’s friends, What a nice surprise to receive Chiavetta’s chicken dinners for Bob and me, They were delicious and it was nice to see Anita Rosa who took the time to deliver them. We were so pleasantly surprised and can’t believe all the wonderful people there are at St. Paul’s. Thank you! God bless

Thanks For Altar Flowers

From Ruth Nelson - I wish to thank St. Paul’s and the couple that brought them  for the pretty flowers. I also wish to thank the church and Bonnie (Gentner) for the nice chicken dinner (see above)

Thanks For Caring

Dear Pastor Hoffman, Mary and Paul, Thank you all so much for a very wonderful funeral service for my mom. It was the best I could have expected.  St. Paul’s was a true support for Jane throughout her years. Best Regards, John Engelhardt (Jane’s son)

Reaching Beyond St. Paul’s .....

HOLIDAY BAZAAR & AFTERNOON OF HOME PARTIES

AT THE GREENFIELDS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

MORE THAN 40 VENDORS INCLUDING

Tastefully Simple,

Home Interiors,

Avon, and Tupperware will be there.

There will also be crafts, jewelry, home decor,

cookies, candy, quilts and more.

Refreshments will be available.

Call 684-8400 for more information.

A German “Kappenfest”

to benefit Lutheran Charities

Sunday, Nov. 15 - 3:00-7:00 p.m.

Club Lorelei (5895 Southwestern Blvd)

Music for listening & dancing by the Almdudlers

Beverages & German Food for purchase

Admission $10/person before 10/31

$12/person at the door

Call 632-2623 for more info and tickets

Resurrection Health Center
The dinners that Paul & Christine Storfer and Vern Stein and Kathryn Francis sponsored for the Health Center, plus matching funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, netted $13, 520 for the purchase of medicines for the Lighthouse Free Medical Clinic at the Health Center!! Sincere thanks to all who attended and supported the dinners. This money means the Clinic will be able to provide medicine without cost to the poorest patients.

STAMPS & CELL PHONE RECYCLING -

Bring your cancelled stamps (please keep the edges intact)

and cell phones to the boxes in the back narthex.

THANKS!

From: THREADS OF HOPE Linens Pantry

To the People of St. Paul’s Church, I would like t

o thank you all, on behalf of Threads of Hope Linen Pantry,

for your continual support of this ministry.

Your generosity has been responsible for

helping many unfortunate souls and has given

them a reason to smile and have hope that their

futures will be brighter. The Threads of Hope

depends on people like your congregation.

Thank you so very much for always “being there”

for us and our clients.

Sincerely, Betty J. Peters, Co-Chair

Don’t Forget:

Non-perishable food is always needed for the Pantry Shelf!

A new sign-up to deliver food has been posted.

If you can help, please sign up on the bulletin board by the shelf.

Food delivery is at the end of the month you sign up for,

A message about Stewardship

On November 22 we will celebrate Consecration Sunday.  In plain English, this is the Sunday where we pledge our financial commitment to supporting St. Paul's mission to: Enrich Faith, Nourish Lives and Demonstrate Love in God's Name.  Lots of you serve on committees and do all 3 of these important tasks in your daily lives - without ever spending a cent.  Mentally and spiritually we encourage you to make the commitment to continue or start doing more around our mission.  That is the core of stewardship.

The stewardship campaign is historically tied to monetary pledges, but real stewardship involves daily responsibilities for our planet, people in our com-munities, our facilities and our family here at St. Paul's.  I ask that each of you prayerfully consider how you will be a steward of God's creations in 2010.

Much of Stewardship is boring - even a bit mundane.  Our stewardship of St. Paul's has some of those boring tasks too - cleaning, electric bills, furnace repairs, snow

plowing, and candles to name a few.  Even the basic functioning of our facility is critical to the mission of the Church.  Our beautiful building and wonderful staff must be maintained to meet our mission.  Our finances have been pretty good so far this year and we should be able to meet all of our basic obligations and even have a good chunk (perhaps $20,000) for benevolence opportunities - now that's stewardship!!! 

From a mortgage loan perspective, we are down a bit this year and will likely be short about $20,000 to cover our loan payments.  The good news is that prior capital campaigns (Building to Serve! and Building in Faith!) had enough success that even though we're short $20,000 this year, we will be able to cover the mortgage for about another year at existing levels of giving (this is a “heads up” that we will need a new capital campaign next year).

Within the next couple if weeks you be receiving a pledge card.  Your financial support is an important complement to the other stewardship activities you perform every week.  I ask that you prayerfully consider how to be a better Steward.  My role is to get the bucks - a tough task -  but we all really need to focus on the complete stewardship picture - and that's the bucks too....

                                                - Scott Vahue

Pray for the Church! every day at 3:16 p.m.                                                                         

 Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth and peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in need, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen