RE-FOCUS
A Publication of Reformation Lutheran Church
Volume 18 June 1998 Number 6
From the Pastor
The Eleventh Annual Assembly of the Central States Synod,
ELCA, will take place June 12-14 at Bethany College, Lindsborg. Pastoral and lay delegates
will represent the 73,000 baptized members of our 221 Missouri and Kansas congregations.
Lay delegates from Reformation Church are Ted and Karen Vlamis and Ray Shinn and Kristin
Blomquist. Also attending will be Deaconess Doreen Leptien and Anita Mansholt. In addition
to being a pastoral delegate, I am chairing the Resolutions Committee. The theme is
"Making Christ Known: Hope For Today."
A unique feature of this year's assembly will be Friday's Exploring the Future of Our
Synod in Open Space. Discovered by Harrison Owen, Open Space Technology will enable the
synod assembly through small work groups to create an agenda and develop ideas for
leadership. Delegates will help shape the mission of our synod through their input. A
written report will be assembled and handed to participants when they leave.
Specifically, delegates in the small work groups will look at Bishop H. George
Anderson's "Seven Initiatives to Prepare for a New Century: A Call to
Commitment" (adopted at the 1997 Churchwide Assembly). While the opportunities for
ministry are limitless, Bishop Anderson has urged the ELCA to select those critical areas
where action now will make the most difference for the future. Here are the seven
initiatives in the briefest of form:
- Deepen our worship life.
- Teach the faith.
- Witness to God's actions in the world.
- Strengthen one another in mission.
- Help the children.
- Connect with youth and young adults.
- Develop leaders for the next century.
These Seven Initiatives will be the focus of discussions in small groups. These are
crucial times in which we live. These are days of deep spiritual hunger and seemingly
intractable social problems. The tasks before us are immense. But we are not alone, We
have Christ who is Hope for Today. With Christ our Hope, the synod assembly will gather
for worship, planning and action.
- Pastor Jerry Mansholt
From the Deaconess
I went to school in May. Now I more clearly understand what
I've been doing since last September. Mary Ward Pfeiffer and I sat through three long days
of LOGOS Training School early in May. The material wasn't new to me, but this misquote
from I Corinthians 13:12 describes the impact of those three days-Then I knew only in
part; now I know more fully. I would need this whole newsletter, not just a column, to
describe the areas that were made clearer to me at LOGOS school. But here are two:
1. LOGOS is not just a program we do for our young people; it is an instrument
through which the entire congregation ministers to the children and youth, as well as
adults. LOGOS introduces and fosters an attitude that every person is created in God's
image and therefore is worthy of being loved and treated with respect. Developing these
caring relationships is not just going to happen on Wednesday evenings. This
attitude filters into everything we are and do as a congregation.
2. People should not be recruited, coerced or arm-twisted into being involved in
LOGOS; people are called to be part of this ministry. Those of us in leadership need
to be in prayer. The congregation needs to be in prayer. If we ask God to lift up those
people who can serve in this area, the Holy Spirit will move those people to commit their
time and energy to LOGOS.
In summary, LOGOS is a ministry of Reformation Lutheran Church, centered on Christ and
lead by the Holy Spirit. How can you beat that!
- Deaconess Doreen Leptien
Thank You!
Thanks to our Reformation family for your prayers, cards,
visits and phone calls during Arvin's hospitalization and rehabilitation. The hip joint
replacement surgery went well, and his therapy at home is progressing nicely. Your support
and encouragement is deeply appreciated.
- Arvin & Marjorie Bender
Nursery/Cradle Roll
Mary Lou Bengtson has accepted the position of coordinating
the Nursery/Cradle roll. Mary Lou will send out a mailing to parents of our newborn to
three-year-old children on their birthdays and on their half birthdays.
Thank you, Mary Lou, for your willingness to serve!
Prayer for all Ages
Prayer will be the focus during our interactive
intergenerational summer Sunday School. Classes for all children and adults will be held
in the Parish Hall on June 14, 21, 28 and July 5, 9:45-10:45 a.m. The topics, based on
passages from the Book of Acts, include: A Prayer Life, Listening to God, In Everything
Give Thanks, and A Matter of Trust.
This intergenerational experience brings together members of all ages. Each person
brings along his or her individual talents, gifts and faith stories. When we all come
together, regardless of age, we help to build up the body of Christ.
S.S Organizational Gathering
All individuals helping with our intergenerational summer
Sunday School are asked to attend an organizational gathering on Thursday, June 4, from
7:00 to 8:15 p.m., to look at the curriculum and go over expectations for these four
sessions.
Usher Schedule for June
The following persons are scheduled to serve as ushers at
the 11:00 worship service during the month of June: Ron Ott, John Lee, Waldo Gerards, Jim
Frank, Jerry Whetstone, Larry Barr, and Bryan Barr.
Time Out for God
The 32nd year of "Time Out for God" lakeside
services at Cheney Lake State Park began on Sunday, May 24. This ministry for campers and
others in the area has grown over the years. These services run from Memorial Day weekend
through Labor Day weekend. Time of service is 9:00 a.m. each Sunday. These services
include a time for singing, special music, scripture, and a timely meditation. Chaplain
John Pool of Lutheran Institutional Ministry conducts this ministry.
Should you or your family be in the lakeside area on Sunday morning, you are invited to
come as you are, bring a friend, and join us in a unique worship experience. Enter Cheney
Lake State Park on the west side at the main entrance off of 21st Street W. Services are
held in and around the pavilion.
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry is a program of our congregation in which
lay members are trained to provide Christian one-on-one care to persons experiencing all
kinds of life needs and circumstances.
Stephen Ministers are committed Christian people who express God's love through regular
visits with another person who is in need of care and support. Every Stephen Minister
receives a minimum of 50 hours of formal training and continuing education throughout
their years of service.
We will be starting our fourth class of Stephen Ministers this fall. There will be an
orientation session in August to provide more details and to answer any questions. Please
watch the Sunday bulletins and the Re-Focus for more information.
Quotes from Stephen Ministers:
"Stephen Ministry is an opportunity to provide support and share God's healing,
caring love with another person in God's family."
- Shari Ryding
* * *
"The Stephen Ministry program has helped me in all areas of my life. Mainly, I'm
reminded that listening and just being there for people in need are the best things you
can do for those in need."
- Marla Schmale
Women of Reformation
CIRCLE MEETINGS
Priscilla June 9 - 9:30 a.m. at church (Nursery available with 24-hr. notice)
Sarah June 15 - 7:00 p.m.at the home of Iva Volbrecht, 640 S. Mission St.
Dorcas June 17 - 1:00 p.m. at the home of Barb Everson, 204 Burr Oak Rd.
BLANKET MAKERS will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Mondays, June 1, 15,
and 29.
MOTHER-DAUGHTER TEA will be Sunday, June 7, 4:00 p.m.
CHURCH WOMEN UNITED listening forum on breast cancer is June
5, 1:00 p.m., at Martinson Avenue Christian Church, 1635 Martinson. If you are interested
in going, call Carol Ott.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS . . .
July 16
Lunch and Bethany Home visit in Lindsborg, Kansas.
August 7 & 8
Women of Faith's "Bring Back the Joy" Conference comes to
the Kansas Coliseum. Check the bulletin board in Parish Hall for more details and a
sign-up sheet. If 10 or more of us pre-register together, the cost is $39 each.
September 26
Women of Reformation Retreat, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Come and
discover your mission as we look at "Talented, Tired, Beautiful Feet." Nursery
will be provided.
October 9 & 10
Synod Convention in Columbia, Missouri. If you would like to better
understand the structure of the Women of the ELCA or would like to renew your enthusiasm
for the women's organization or meet a lot of nice people, this is the place to go.
Contact Kathy Drake or see the bulletin board for more information. Missouri will be
beautiful that time of year!
THANKOFFERINGS PROVIDE HOPE
Some parts of America's inner cities have become isolated enclaves
populated by women and children, with a few elderly and disabled men. The ELCA's House of
Prayer serves such a neighborhood in Syracuse, New York. There Pastor Alice Moberg-Sarver
ministers to people struggling to maintain dignity and hope. This ministry helps people
learn to love, trust, and care for one another, and to rely on God's grace for their
survival. House of Prayer is a beacon of hope in its community. It is there, and it will
be there, because of the support you give it through Thankofferings.
Ice Cream Social
The annual ice cream social will be held Sunday evening,
June 14, beginning at 7:00 p.m., at the home of Randy & Ruth Koepsel, 2329 S.
Crestway. Please bring your own lawn chairs. Donations of ice cream, cookies, and cake are
needed. A sign-up sheet will be posted in the Parish Hall.
Best Time of Life
B.T.O.L. will meet Monday, June 8, at 12:00 noon in the
Parish Hall for the regular potluck luncheon. The program following the luncheon will be
presented by Richard Crowson, editorial page cartoonist for The Wichita Eagle. As
one might expect, Mr. Crowson is said to be somewhat of a humorist, as he gives some
insight on his work for the newspaper. All senior adults are invited.
Summer Camp Canceled
A cracked swimming pool, a broken water pump, and a
shortage of staff led the board members of Camp Tomah Shinga to decide to cancel the 1998
summer camp program. The goal is to spend this summer working on the needed improvements
in order to get Camp Tomah Shinga into tiptop shape for next year. We apologize for the
inconvenience and disappointment this decision will cause.
Staff E-Mail Addresses
Pastor
Deaconess
Office Secretary
E-Mail from Hungary
"[I] give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in [my] prayers: remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor
of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
- 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
It hardly seems possible that my term here is coming to an end . . . . it was only a
few months ago that I established contact with you! Somehow eight months have slipped by
noticed, yes, but extremely fast. Indeed, just now as I am feeling settled in, it is time
for me to start packing again for the next adventure that God has in store for me--on U.S.
soil this time. Confusing as my path may be, Paul's words to the Thessalonians, "I
give thanks to God for you . . . remembering without ceasing your work of faith . . .
." have come to mean a lot to me over the past year. Clearly, this year in Hungary is
not my own . . . it is part of something bigger, just as all Christians are part of
something bigger, it is part of all of you.
Any work that I have been able to accomplish here, if I have touched any lives, is not
a credit to Amy but to Christ's power in me and to faithful believers who have prayed for
me and for my ministry. What is awe-inspiring to me, as I look over the last year in my
attempt to understand it, is that the moments of indecision, joy, victory, humility, peace
. . . are all part of the Christian community I have supporting, loving, and praying for
me.
The power of prayer is something I will never understand, but when I read Paul's words,
I feel a piece of the understanding shared in the strength of a Christian community. And
there is no way to acknowledge that power, that pure gift, than to offer thanks and praise
to God for giving us one another. However, in that gift we have been given the
responsibility not only of ourselves but of our Christian brothers and sisters.
I can think of times here when I felt too overwhelmed, too tired, too faithless to
pray. I know now that in those moments your prayers back home were covering me, sheltering
me and lifting me up. And as ashamed as I am to admit it, it took being the
"receiver" of prayers other than my own, to make me fully understand God's
grace, how he uses our weaknesses to become strong, and how important it is to pray for
other people. Thank you!!
In Christ, Amy
Educational Event for All
Time and Abilities Sunday has been changed to an
intergenerational educational event for the whole congregation on June 7 between services.
Come visit with member representatives of various ministries and committees and learn how
each of us can offer our God-given gifts of time and abilities to the work of our Lord.
Host an Exchange Student
Exchange students will be arriving in August to attend area
high schools. Students have their own spending money and medical insurance. You provide a
loving home and three meals a day.
For more information, contact: Nancy Perrin at 307 S. Walnut, McPherson, KS, (316)
241-1162.
Area Singles Gathering
Area Ministry District 5 is beginning to form a singles
group. Please plan to attend the first event, "Italian Dinner Night" at Lord of
Life Lutheran Church, 11215 W. 13th, on Saturday, June 20, at 7:00 p.m. A freewill
offering will be taken to cover costs. If you have any questions, please contact Marla
Schmale at 686-2064.
Habitat for Humanity
The ELCA congregations of south-central Kansas are joining
together to build a 3-bedroom home with basement in the vicinity of West 21st Street
between Arkansas Ave. and Amidon. The project will use the 4-day "blitz-build"
construction format, with foundation work done in advance and interior trim work completed
later. Construction will be Wednesday through Saturday, September 23-26. Volunteer
labor is needed. Jerry Whetstone,
681-2007, is recruiting volunteers--both skilled and unskilled people, young and old.
Volunteers will work with experienced supervisors, scheduled in 4-hour shifts.
Refreshments will also be needed.
Guidelines for homeowners include: families with children, ability to assist in the
building project, low income but sufficient to handle low mortgage payments, and interest
in sharing in community with neighbors. Contact Pr. Sally Fahrenthold, 744-1242, for
application information and forms. Deadline to apply is June 30.
From the Seminary
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your interest in and gracious financial support of Dawn Gorges as she
studies in preparation to serve as a pastor of our church. You have become a partner with
Dawn and this ministry of theological education, and I want to be accountable for the
assistance that you give.
Dawn is a delightful person to work with and a very good student. She has completed in
good order 37 semester hours of graduate level credit towards her Master of Divinity
degree. She has reached the required level of competency in her study of the Greek (KOINE)
and Spanish languages. In addition to her academic studies she has gained practical
experience in an ecumenical and cross-cultural setting at St. Julia Roman Catholic Church
in parish education.
Our students also serve on an Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest
student/faculty worship group to gain expertise and experience in the leading of worship.
In this manner they learn about and develop an appreciation for our rich and shared
liturgical heritage. This has enriched her worship life as she participated also in
Lutheran student/faculty worship groups, thus participating in the leading of worship in
both the Episcopal and Lutheran communities. She is receiving a sound Lutheran grounding
and identity in this ecumenical context. This will help her to serve with confidence as a
Lutheran pastor in the ecumenical realities of the communities where we live.
All first year students continue to work on discerning their calls to become pastors of
this church, and Dawn is no exception. The ELCA candidacy process calls for students to
receive their official endorsement as candidates for ordained service in their second year
of study. This makes the satisfactory completion of their first year critically important.
Dawn has accomplished this and is in a good position to proceed.
This summer she will serve a three month term in Clinical Pastoral Education at Seton
Medical Center in Austin where she will develop insights and skills in ministering with
people who are experiencing great trauma, loss, even facing death. She will serve both the
patient and the family as they pass through great physical and spiritual stress in the
name of Jesus Christ and in the ministry of the Gospel.
Incidentally, one of her teachers here at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the
Southwest is Dr. Raymond Pickett. He was serving Peace Lutheran Church in Manhattan,
Kansas, when he was called to serve as our Assistant Professor in New Testament Studies.
All of us are committed to providing for our students the best possible education through
our Lutheran faculty as well as the faculties of the Episcopal seminary where we are
located and the Austin Presbyterian Seminary nearby. At the same time we are continually
directing their attention to the world beyond our campus as the arena in which they will
serve. Many of them will be in settings that will require the spirit, understanding, and
skills of a missionary going into unfamiliar territory. Dawn, in my opinion, will have
both the necessary skills and knowledge, and she certainly exhibits that spirit.
Thank you for sharing Dawn with us. It is our pleasure to serve her in these years of
preparation.
Sincerely,
August Wenzel, Director
Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest
