Atonement Lutheran Church Newsletter - The Messenger

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September 8, 2009 - Volume 30, #34

• Save a Tree, Save a Stamp, Save some Money!

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• Welcome Vicar Christine
  

  Installation Sunday, 9/20
  Joint Service with OVPC
  10:45am at Atonement

  We welcome Christine Wulff as our Intern (Vicar) for the 2009-10 Program Year. Her first day with us was September 8th and her Installation will be held at the Joint Service on September 20th at 10:45 AM. Please make every effort to greet her and make her feel at home with us.

  Christine is a student at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina where she has completed two years of study. She was born and raised on Long Island and received both a BS and PhD in Animal Science and Microbiology from Cornell in Ithaca. Before going to seminary, Christine worked in research at the University of Kentucky and actually owned her own small farm. In her leisure time she reads, hikes and rides a Ducati motorcycle. She and her cat Sasha will be living in the Classic American complex on Mains Avenue, although not the same apartment, where our Vicars have lived for a number of years.

  Much of her job description will be similar to that of past Vicars; she will be focusing on some new areas, primarily Youth Ministry. The Atonement members of the Intern Support Committee this year will be Carole Barr and Jerry Holbrook. Two additional members will be from Onondaga/South Presbyterian Church.

  Following the service of Installation, please

   

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• Appleseed Presents....

  

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• The Gospel According to.....Disney?
  
  

  Pr Gaetz invites you to a slightly capricious investigation of how different authors have shaped their message to speak to their audience, starting with that 20th century theologian Walt Disney - yes the Walt Disney who created an empire that "started with a mouse." The class will meet in the Coffee Shop each Wednesday at about 7 PM - following worship.

   

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• 4-5-6 Club Kick-Off Hot Dog Roast
  
  

  Mark your calendar for the annual 4-5-6 Club Kick-off Hotdog Roast. All Atonement children in fourth, fifth and sixth grades are welcome to join us. If you have never eaten a hotdog roasted on a stick over an open fire, you simply do not know what you are missing! We also plan to carve pumpkins, make apple turkeys, play games, and have fun.

  Where: Judy Holmes' House, 3431 Fox Road, Syracuse, 13215
  Time: Leave Atonement Church at 3:45pm Return to Atonement Church at 7:00pm

  Permission slips must be turned in by September 27

  Questions: Judy Holmes (673-9393, EWHolmes@att.net) Janet Holmgren (677-3846) Vicar Christine (492-9065)

   

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• Atonement Lutheran Youth Organization
  
  

  All Atonement youth (grades 7 and up) are invited to the Atonement Annual Apple Picking, Bonfire, and Hotdog Roast!

  Where: Judy Holmes' House, 3431 Fox Road, Syracuse, 13215
  Time: Leave Atonement Church at 3:45pm Return to Atonement Church at 7:00pm

  Permission slips must be turned in by September 27

  Questions: Judy Holmes (673-9393, EWHolmes@att.net) Janet Holmgren (677-3846) Vicar Christine (492-9065)

   

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• Shawl Ministry
  
  

  As cooler weather approaches and the yarn, knitting needles, and crochet hooks come out of the closet, please take some time to help replenish the prayer shawl box. It is empty. Prayer Shawls are given to congregation members who are hospitalized or homebound because of serious surgery, injury or illness. Patterns and instructions are available from Pr. Rodgers if needed. As you work, please remember to pray for the person who will receive your shawl. Prayer shawls are tangible evidence of our thoughts, prayers, and concern as church family.

   

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• Greetings from Your New Vicar
  

  Hi, my name is Christine Wulff and I am very honored and pleased to be continuing my seminary education as vicar here at Atonement Lutheran Church. Your warm welcome has meant a great deal to me and I very much look forward to getting to know as many of you as possible in the coming weeks and months. So if you haven't already introduced yourself, please feel free to catch me either at church or in my office and say, "Hi." I promise that I will work diligently to remember as many names as possible, but if I forget yours, please, please, please accept my apology in advance.

  There's an old Southern joke that goes something like this. A young, eager woman from New York City moves to Charleston, SC. One day she asks her new neighbor, a native South Carolinian, how long it takes to get to the supermarket. "Well, that depends, honey," the older woman replied, "on how many folks I know along the way."

  Now not all Southerners are like this of course, and not all Northerners are in a hurry, but I've always liked this joke because it reminds me that there are often as many ways of looking at a journey, as there are ways of getting there. It is perhaps for this reason that the church often refers to our lifelong relationship to Jesus Christ as a faith journey. When you and I were baptized we started that trip; a daily adventure that never stops until we meet Jesus face-to-face in the next life. Until that day comes however, you and I are traveling along a bustling road that's filled with lots of other "drivers" as we struggle to live as faithful Christians in a busy world. By the way, our Methodist friends call this spiritual road trip "sanctification."

  And just like any other road trip, the sanctified road will feel very familiar at times. Some folks will drive just like we do and live out their faith in ways we recognize and appreciate, while others will make us just plain nuts. Sometimes we'll feel like we're the only one on the road, while other times we'll feel like we just don't know where the heck God's road is, or that we took a wrong turn twenty miles back. And sometimes, sadly, there will be crashes.

  Yet regardless of where you are on that highway today, whether you feel you are cruising along at warp speed or perhaps you are stalled out on the side of the road; know that you are not alone. The church has recognized that throughout its history the pilgrim road has never been an isolated, country lane but a bustling, thriving highway. Long before you and I set out on our faith journey there have been others who have gone before us to show us the way. Some people call them saints, as in, "the communion of saints" from the creed, while others prefer to call them spiritual heroes. Whichever you prefer, the Lutheran church continues to lift these people up in special commemorations throughout the year as role models, because let's face it; all of us had to learn how to drive at some point.

  So each week in this article, I hope to let you know about some of these other "drivers" that is, other Christians from all periods of history, who have made the trip already. Think of these stories and the people you're about to meet this year as spiritual "books on tape" for the trip that lasts a lifetime. My hope is as we learn about these folks together, each of us will at some point recognize and rejoice in finding a fellow traveler along the way.

  May the road rise up to meet you.
  May the wind always be at your back.
  May the sun shine warm upon your face,
  and rains fall soft upon your fields.
  And until we meet again,
  May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
    -Traditional Irish blessing

  In God's peace,
  Vicar Christine

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• Atonement Women of the ELCA Meeting
  Saturday, September 26, 9am

  Bible, Baked Goods, and Beverage - sponsored by Women of the ELCA and led by Pastor Rodgers - will meet 9-10:30am on the third Saturday of each month (except September when we will meet on the fourth Saturday - 9/26). The bible study is followed by a short meeting to update folks on events for Women of the ELCA, for those wishing to stay.

  This year's bible study topic is Paul's letter to the Romans. As written at the beginning of the bible study: "We will read some mail - St. Paul's letter to the followers of Rome. It allows us a glimpse into those very earliest years as believers gathered into little groups all around the Mediterranean world. What did Paul write? What did he think was important for the Roman Christians to hear? How do we read mail addressed to others so long ago and find strength and guidance for our own time?" Come and find out!