The Good News

Newsletter of Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church | Hopewell, Virginia

February 2, 2012 Volume VII

Jesus Kept it Simple by Rev. David Voss

Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the rst and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. - Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said that all of Gods law and all of the teachings of the prophets come down to two simple things: Love God. Love each other. Jesus knew how to deal with human nature. He knew that we tend to make things complex when, in fact, they are not. Create a mental picture of the organization of Nazareth Lutheran Church in your mind. Can you picture all of the positions, committees, chairpersons, duties? Do we know who we are and where we are going, or do we have five different directions? As long as what we are doing is in the name of Christ, we certainly will be blessed, but Jesus teaches us in Matthew 22 to keep it simple. Stay focused on what God is focused on: love! How we are organized should not get in the way of loving God and one another. What a blessing to be involved with the dedicated members of Nazareth who have been working so hard on helping to redefine our ministry at Nazareth to reflect Gods mission of love through Jesus Christ.
1

The Simple Church initiative isnt just a new idea, soon, it will be something presented to you so that God can begin his spiritual housecleaning with you. Its pretty simple. Its all about Gods love and if its all about Gods love then its all about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ in all we do and say. Jesus Christ will keep us united today. Jesus Christ, shared with the world so they may know The Way.

From Friends
From Marilyn Antunes Thank You! My Dear Family in Nazareth, I want to thank all of you for the cards, phone calls, beautiful flowers, visits and prayers during my hospitalization. I truly appreciate all your support and hope I will be able to join you soon! God bless you all, Your sister in Christ, Marilyn New Years greetings and blessings From Jenny and Chris Graham Our new address is: 580 McGuire Street Colorado Springs, CO 80916

Childcare
James Eckenrodes mom has a childcare service, and she currently has some openings. If you need this service or would like more information, please call Elke at 530-1254 or on her cell at 691-8369. She will care for new- borns on up in age. Hours are 6:30am to 6:00pm.

Lenten Mid-Week 5, Wed. March 28 at 7 PM Maundy Thursday *, Thur. April 5, 7PM Good Friday, Fri. April 6, 7PM Easter Sunrise, Sun. April 8, 7AM Easter Worship, Sun. April 8, 11AM Do you know if everyone in your family and if all of your friends are Baptized? This year, for the Easter Sunrise service, we welcome those who have not known the blessings of Baptism and the faith that God gives through this Sacrament. We hope that this will be a Baptismal service but it will require we take a moment to reflect right now. Please, take the time to ask yourself if you know of anyone who needs this blessed gift, speak with them, ask them if they are interested in learning more about this blessing from God. Pastor Voss would eagerly wish to speak to anyone whom you believe may be open to this gift of Gods grace.

In Loving Memory
This issue of The Good News is in loving memory of my wife, Esther Koren Wallat; gone, but not forgotten. -Your Loving Husband, Ernest Wallat

Lenten Schedule
The following is the worship schedule for Lent. All services will be led by Pastor Voss. * = the Lords Supper will be offered. Ash Wednesday *, Wed. February 22 at 7 PM Lenten Mid-Week 1, Wed. February 29 at 7 PM Lenten Mid-Week 2, Wed. March 7 at 7 PM Lenten Mid-Week 3, Wed. March 14 at 7 PM Lenten Mid-Week 4, Wed. March 21 at 7 PM
2

Flower Coordinator
Needed: Someone to coordinate the flowers on the altar. As of January, I am bowing out of being flower coordinator. If any one is interested please let the Church Council know. Thank you,. Cindy

Pray for One Another

Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are homebound: Mary Petik, Joe & Doris Cavin, Marilyn Antunes, Jim Kaiser Our members and friends serving our country in the military: Bruce Layne, Danny Petik, Chris Graham, Dustin Petik, James Eckenrode, David Petik, Jeff Crossen, Jeffrey Head, Brandon Edwards, Mike McKinzie, Andrew White, Steve Foxx, Military Chaplains Our members and friends away at college: Landry Doane, Casey Davis, Lindsey Engels, Alex Johnson Our members who are sick, hospitalized, in need of spiritual care or recuperating: Rowena Carter, Annette Dry, Joe & Suzie Hilton, Bob Dry, Polly Sodat, Joey Reierson, Cindy Fistler ,Tina & Art Doane, Nicki Thomas, Karen Van Worth, Arnie Slimmen, Jean Joyner Our friends who are sick, hospitalized or recuperating: Jonathan Weston, Rita Joyner, Jeff Walter, Bernard Carter, Jes Greeno, Francis Brinkley, Windy Broughton, Dale Olson, Jordan Layne, Debbie George, Raymond Holley, Pam Webb, Pat MacDonald, Jesse Thomas, Barbara Wilson, Clara Pito

Ministry to Military Meeting, March 5, 5:30 pm

Its time we got our boots on the ground and started serving our military neighbors at Ft. Lee. Learn about how we can do it! All interested members are invited to learn about Operation Barnabas and how we can benefit from this ministry within the ministry of Nazareth. Join Rev. Richard S. Rogers, Chaplain (Colonel) Retired for his presentation on Monday, March 5 at 5:30 PM. We will have a light dinner at 5:30 PM (food will be provided, but monetary donations are appreciated). The meeting will begin at 6PM and go until 7PM. What is Operation Barnabas? Operation Barnabas is a network of care to our nations military members and their families. They will work with us to reach out to all branches of the military. You may ask: Why is it called Operation Barnabas? Barnabas was Pauls companion, who helped him in his missionary journey. His name means son of encouragement. We hope to encourage our military and their families with the Gospel in action! Are you ready to serve the military as they have served you? Join us, Monday, March 5!

Spiritual Gifts
A decade or two ago we had a stewardship program entitled The Gifts are in the People. I have come to see that not only stewardship but the very life of Christ is evident in His people! I am not as active as I used to be in some areas of our church life. Therefore, I have become more aware of others leaping in to do those hundreds of tasks that maintain the life of our church. Sunday school is one example. There are fresh faces and little teams working together with our children and adults. Preparation for teaching takes time and focus. We can be thankful for all our teachers, including Pastor Voss. This list includes those working with our youth. These folks put in a lot of time planning and travelling with them, such as their Christmas visit to the Good Neighbor Village. I am also thankful for our nursery volunteers, for their dedication and their flexibility when there are scheduling considerations. There are loads more examples. When someone is ill or homebound there are dedicated souls who arrange for their physical needs as well as praying for them. The folks on our boards are diligent about planning and follow through. There are also a multitude of tasks that are taken care of outside the boards. How about the ongoing job of managing the kitchen and the work of those who prepare and

maintain the altar for Holy Communion? All these efforts are often taken for granted, and they continue year in and year out. Lets not forget the choir, our organist, and ALL who provide music for our worship! It is truly a gift. There are many details and casual endeavors that happen all the time and may go barely noticed, like greeting visitors. This is something we can all be involved in, praise God! This be- ing said, it is true we are not always Gods gracious people. Forgiveness is sweet, however, and can help us emphasize the positive, and grow in love. In fact, please forgive me if Ive neglected any task or group. I too take these gifts for granted. As the year draws to a close and we look forward to a new year of opportunity for ministry, we can give God thanks for all those every one of us, really who help maintain the life of our congregation and our outreach. I like to recall the resurrection story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They encountered a stranger who seemed to be unaware of the events which had happened in Jerusalem during that historic week. The stranger turned out to be Jesus. The disciples were ignorant of that fact until they saw Him give thanks and break bread that eve- ning.

As we look around our congregation let us cherish the love that people show which reflects the never-ending love of our Lord Jesus! - Sue S.

Child Development Center Update

This coming Sunday (February 5) the congregation will hear the latest update on the Child Development Center from our new President, Jim Morris. Over the next few weeks, many questions will be taken, discussed, and researched, regarding the stewardship required by the members in opening a Child Development Center. Stewardship is not just about money, its equally about time and talents. Once the congregation has discussed this commitment (Sunday and ongoing) and fully understands the requirements to successfully open a CDC, a vote may then be scheduled. Please contact President Jim Morris for additional details on the plan of action.

Nazluthchurch.com changing to .org

We will be slowly migrating away from nazluthchurch.com to the more appropriate nazluthchurch.org. The .com website and e-mail accounts will work for the remainder of 2012, but please begin to use the following as soon as possible:
Website: nazluthchurch.org Office: office@nazluthchurch.org Pastor: davidhvoss@nazluthchurch.org

Simple Church Update

Two Simple Church meetings have been held thus far in 2012. There are six phases to the implementation of the Simple Church ministry at Nazareth. 1. Study the Simple Church model for ministry 2. Create new simple vision of ministry 3. Study current ministry and bylaws 4. Adapt current ministry and bylaws to the new simple mission oriented vision 5. Present new ministry to the congregation 6. Implement new ministry The Simple Church meeting group is currently working on phase IV. Great progress has been made and we believe we will be done with phase IV by the end of February and ready to present our first draft to the Church Council at the March meeting. Please note that the first draft given to Council is for their input and review, not a final submission. After Council gives their final approval, then the ministry would be presented to the congregation and voted on by the congregation. We expect this vote to take place at the June voters meeting with the implementation of our new

ministry model immediately afterward. Here are just a few exciting developments in the Simple Church plan that will be proposed to the congregation: The structure of the church organizational model will be adapted to fit within the mission of the church. No longer will mission just be a part of our bylaws, rather, our bylaws will become a servant of our mission. Accountability is built within the new model, so that we can hold each other accountable to the position we have accepted. We will have a youth (under age 18) representative on the primary mission board. All members of the church will be asked to participate in some aspect of the ministry of the church. How and where one participates is not dictated, but creating a culture of engaging our people in ministry promoted. There is much work to be done yet, but with the Lords blessing, the progress has been great. Update provided by Pastor Voss

Nazareth (and himself) do what we do the best we can do it. Leadership: Pastor Voss will schedule quality leadership training through circuit and district resources to build up our next generation of leaders. Worship: Weekly worship briefings will be held Sunday morning for all who are involved in assisting with worship so that we are all on the same page and prepared to serve in our roles at the 11AM worship. Communication: Pastor Voss has begun to delegate any responsibilities that are a hinderance to his call (primarily administrative duties not required to be performed by the Pastor) Ministry: Continue our work on developing a Simple Ministry model for Nazareth that keeps us focused on sharing the Gospel. Identity: A study of the Lutheran liturgy and Confessions is set for summer so we can better understand who we are and why we worship as we do and how blessed we are to have our church identity rooted in the Lutheran confession of faith. How can you get back to basics? Do the little things well! Welcome guests. Dont take on too much. Hold your family accountable to the Lutheran confession of faith. Thats a great start!

Back to Basics
In 2012, the goal is to get back to basics. If we are to take on big initiatives as a church, we need to make sure we first can do the little things well. Pastor Voss is leading up the following initiatives to help
5

Lutheran Hour Ministry Sunday is February 5

How can you tell when your culture is post-Christian? Lets check some of the signs. How many people do you know who...
... assume God didnt create the world from nothing in six days? ... feel heaven and hell are probably imaginary places? ... believe it might not matter whether theres a God or not? ... have never thought about why they dont go to church? There are those who say we now live in a post-Christian culture; there are plenty of reasons to agree with them. Heres part of what being the Christian Church in a post-Christian culture looks like: This year, 50% of churches will not see one person come to faith in Jesus. This year, 4,000 churches will close. This month, 1,500 pastors will be newly unemployed. What does this mean? Now more than ever, our culture needs rescue...restoration...renewal; and God is calling faithful Christians to the task of sharing the Good News of JesusHis cross, His resurrection, His eternal promisewith those who dont know Him. Join us in responding to the call. For more than 80 years, Lutheran Hour Ministries has reached out with the Gospel every week through The Lutheran Hour radio program. Lutheran Hour Ministries can also help your congregation enhance and energize your witness and outreach with: MISSION U, a workshop and webinar based witnessing-training system, Regional Outreach Conference (ROC) local outreach training conferences International Ministry Partnerships, in-depth collaboration with LHM overseas outreach efforts, including short-term mission trips Five14, outreach-focused events for teens; Mens NetWork, a program designed to help men re-connect with the life of the church Operation Barnabas, a program to reach out to members of the U.S. Armed Forces Spanish-language resources, childrens resources and more. To learn more about working together with Lutheran Hour Ministries to share the Good News of Jesuswith family, neighbors, community, and beyondvisit www.lhm.org or call 1-800-876-9880.

We will be collecting a special offering for Lutheran Hour ministries this Sunday. Please consider donating to this important mission and ministry!