Atonement Lutheran Church Newsletter - Messenger

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February 19, 2008 - Volume 29, #8

• Preparing for Easter
  

  As Easter approaches, there are opportunities to help you prepare yourself and to help others:

  • Mid-Week Services & Dinner
    Each Wednesday in Lent there is a brief Prayer Service held in the chapel beginning at 11:30am followed by a Fish Dinner in the Fellowship Hall. The cost of the meal this year will be $6.00 and reservations in advance are required. Each week we will have fish and two side dishes (that will be different each week).

    Make your reservation at worship on Sunday or by calling the church office at 492-9065, no later than noon on the preceding Tuesday.

  • Mid-Week Bible Study
    Two identical classes are being offered by Vicar Richter. Both will be held in the Coffee Shop - at 12:30pm (following the morning prayer service and fish dinner) and at 7pm (following Wednesday Evening Eucharist) :

    Discovering and Telling the story of God in our lives" is the Wednesday class that will begin to understand how the stories of our lives are also our "faith stories". Each of us has a faith story, where we see God moving, connecting, and interacting in our lives, and then to begin to speak that story surrounded by people who care about you. Please join us.

    All adults and teens are welcome!

  • It takes a lot of food!
    We have 17 families for which we will be making Easter food baskets. Your donations of food and money are vital for this ministry of care. With the hams we will buy, we still need donations of:
    • Boxed Scalloped or Augratin potatoes
    • Canned green beans and corn
    • Canned fruit and Jell-O
    • Funfetti Cakes
    We also fill out our baskets with non perishable foods for the days when children are not getting meals at school. We can use canned meat and meat entrees like chili, stew, "chunky" soups. We also need tuna, cream soup, elbows or noodles, mayo, crackers, peanut butter, jelly, rauman noodles, pasta and sauce, canned or bottled juice. Your generosity will make the most important of Christian festivals special for families in need.

  • Easter Memorials Available
    In addition to the plants that beautify our Sanctuary at Easter, there are a number of other memorial opportunities available:
    • Palm Sunday Bulletins - $50
    • Holy Week Bulletins - $25
    • Easter Bulletins (Vigil - $ 25, Easter Day - $50)
    If you are interested, please call the church office at 492-9065 and speak with Business Manager Beth Arthur.

  • Easter Plants
    We will be accepting memorial donations for the plants that beautify our sanctuary on Easter and are then distributed to members of our congregation who are not able to join us for services. Easter plant memorials will be collected through Palm Sunday. The entire memorial list will be printed in the Easter Bulletin and the Messenger. Thank you!

    If you are interested in making a memorial donation, please call the church office at 492-9065.

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• Devotional

  3rd Sunday of Lent
  Exodus 17:1-7

  I have had to move several times, and each time there is always a point where I think: why am I doing this? I hate moving! I don't even want to leave. Can I just stay here or go back to where I was? I think that's how it is with most journeys; there is a point where we get exasperated or frustrated. I can think of diets, exercise programs, jobs, or school moments where I felt that.

  So it is fitting that we find the Israelites here in the middle of our Lenten journey. Here they are, having been shown the amazing wonders of God coming out of the Red Sea, and they keep complaining. Those pesky Israelites! Never grateful! Psalm 95 even attests to their Òhard-heartednessÓ. But I don't find their behavior that unusual. I think of it as a very human reaction to the dangers, discomfort, and struggle in a long journey. And I think God's reaction is amazing. It's not wrath or anger, but simply helping them fulfill their needs. God reaches down and says ÒHere, drink. This will be a long journey, and I care about you. I will provide.Ó Hopefully in the midst of our journeys, when we're tired, frustrated, or angry, we can recognize the water from rocks that God provides for us.

  Let us pray, Holy Provider, you find us in the desert, and give us water. Sustain us with the love of your hand, and guide our path in the middle of our Lenten journeys. In the name of your Son, we pray, Amen.

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• Notes from Church Council

  As part of Church Council:

  The annual meeting of the Atonement Housing Corp was held earlier this month. Pastor Gaetz, as President of the Corporation, outlined what had transpired during 2007. The main acomplishment was the completion of Joslyn Court II. The closing for the complex was done on February 11.

  The annual meeting of the Atonement Child Care Council was also held. A goal in 2008 for this committee is to complete the paperwork required to make this a separate corporation from the church.

  The rest of the meeting was spent reviewing the council reports. The council asks that the congregation continue to make suggestions for the renovations for the office wing so that best possible renovations will be considered when the special congregational meeting is held.

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• Jacob Meggesto is on His Way to DC!
  
  For the second consecutive year, Jacob Meggesto has won the Post Standard/WCNY Spelling Bee. He will be representing Central New York in the National competition May. With the word ÒanathemaÓ he triumphed over 35 other competitors on the 17th round.

  Jacob is Richard Boynton's son and Richard and Madelyn Boynton's grandson. Congratulations, Jacob, we're so proud of you!

   

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• 2008 Volleyball Marathon - March 7th-8th at Syracuse University
  

  Our Youth Group members will be participating in the 29th Annual Volleyball Marathon - 12 full hours of volleyball, fellowship, worship and fun - all to benefit Lutheran Charities.

  Please help them with this community service project by pledging whatever amount you can. Youth Group members will be taking your pledges between and after services on February 17, 24, and March 2.

  Questions? Please contact Pastor Rodgers (492-9065) or Janet Holmgren (677-3846).

   

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• A Note from Phyllis Rodgers
  

  A thank you from Phyllis Rodgers- I am so pleased and honored to have received the Atonement Ministries Award. Everyone has been so kind to me and I really appreciate the people and programs here. Thank you,
  - Phyllis

   

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• Special Activities for Lent
  • Mid-Week Bible Study
    Two identical classes will be offered by Vicar Richter. Both will be held in the Coffee Shop - at 12:30pm (following the morning prayer service and fish dinner) and at 7pm (following Wednesday Evening Eucharist) : Tales from the Madhouse is a video study that tells the story of mysterious characters who had an encounter with Jesus of Nazareth in some way, but failed to recognize the significance. The study will dwell on the Biblical and historical background of these characters, and how their stories can touch and inform our experience of the sacrifice of Jesus.

  • Mid-Week Services & Dinner
    Each Wednesday in Lent there will be a brief Prayer Service held in the chapel beginning at 11:30am followed by a Fish Dinner in the Fellowship Hall. The cost of the meal this year will be $6.00 and reservations in advance are required. Each week we will have fish and two side dishes (that will be different each week). Make your reservation at worship on Sunday or by calling the church office at 492-9065, no later than noon on the preceding Tuesday.