a message from pastor denise - living faith racine...to my search for meaning, purpose, identity,...

Fed by God’s Word and led by the Holy Spirit, we gather together as a community of faith, to proclaim God’s love by ministering to our congregation, community and world.

Thank You and Farewell

My final week as pastor of Living Faith proved to be more difficult than I had imagined it might be. First, it came on the heels of the loss of my father.

My father had been in poor health for a while. He struggled with difficulty walking as the result of calcification within his spinal cord. He had sur-gery, twice, which opened his spinal cord and carefully removed the calcification. Had he not had that surgery he would have died a couple of years ago, I suspect, so we are grateful the extra time we had as a result of the surgery. He also had a great deal of pain which kept him from sleeping in a bed for a couple of years or more. Added to that he had congestive heart issues, narrowing of the esophagus and was recently treated for lung cancer. I had said that it was like he was on a bal-ance beam and that it wouldn’t take much to knock him off. Still, when he died, he had been do-ing a little better, so it came as a surprise. Thank you for your prayers and support in this difficult time.

I returned to Racine to face my final week as your pastor. The emotional hardness of my loss framed a week of continual loss. I have been your pastor for most of 31 years; it is hard to say goodbye. As I said on my final day in both my sermon and at the party, I know that I occupied a position of privi-lege in your lives, and I am very grateful for all of the years you afforded me that privilege.

Let me also thank you for your very generous

goodbye. It was often for me teary, but very joyful. Joannie and I thank you for the prayer shawl that you gave us and the laying on of hands in bless-ing. The party was wonderful. Thank you to the Arnold trio of amazing women who played for the party. Thanks to my beloved praise band. Some part of me wanted to go up and sing, but there was something touching to me about the empty microphone. Thank you to all of you for attending. That continues to move me. Thank you for your cards and gifts. The gift from the congre-gation, which was a combination of gifts from the congregation was very impressive. (I’ve asked Jo-annie if I could use it to buy a pony, but she says, “no.”) Thank you for the various pieces of art. Thanks to Pastor Denise for acting as MC. (Not to mention her years of partnership in the gospel.) Thanks to Barb Elmer (and friends) for all you did to plan this shindig.

Finally, thanks for your love. I felt it on Sunday, but more importantly you gave it to me for the last 30 years. Know that Joannie and I love you too and will miss you. Blessings to the Living Faith Congregation and to each of you in the years to come.

~ Pastor Warren

2 | The Journey A publication of Living Faith Lutheran Church

A Message From Pastor Denise

The question of how to be the church in this day and age is front and center right now. In an effort to get at that question, the West Vision Team has been reading “The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age” by Dwight J. Zscheile. His insights have been very helpful. I am now asking the question, “How do we take the best of who we are, of who God has created us to be, and bring that into a world that for the most part sees no need to Christi-anity?” We can no longer assume that anyone knows anything about Jesus or about the

church. What we might think is right and true in regard to our Christian faith is not even on the radar of many people in the world. Dwight Zscheile says this about his own experience:

“I grew up in a secular home without knowledge of Christian faith or practice. I regarded the church-es in my town as religious clubhouses catering to their members; whatever happened inside them was a mystery to me. It would never have occurred to me that Christian community could be the answer to my search for meaning, purpose, identity, and belonging. The last place I would have brought my questions, dreams and hopes was Sunday worship at one of those churches – nothing could be more intimidating! Were I to show up in many of those congregations, I would have been asked to migrate from my native culture into a “churchy” culture that would have been largely baffling to me. It may have been a culture perfect for fifty or a hundred years ago, but how it related to the gospel of Jesu and today’s world would not have been at all clear.

Fortunately, God used ordinary disciples to meet me where I was and share the gospel with me in terms that I could understand. This witness was embodied in relationships and involved deep listen-ing and acts of compassion.”

I am learning that I need to let go of all my assumptions and judgements about what people should know about Jesus and the church in order to be able to listen to where people really are and then tell the story of Jesus in a way that will relate to where they are in their own lives. So to be an ‘agile’ church we need to be “marked by a ready ability to move with a quick and easy grace; be nimble, adaptable, flexible, respon-sive and alert” to where people are to tell Jesus’ story in such a way that it will make an impact on their lives.

Take some time this month to pay close attention to where the people in your lives are at in relation to God/Jesus/Church. Is their story similar to Dwight’s? If so then it’s time to begin to think about new ways of telling the story and being church. Let go of all your assumptions and judgements about what is right and true and begin where the people you know are in their lives.

Thank you for your faith and perseverance as we cultivate agility. ~ Pastor Denise

Council President’s Corner

When the Spirit moved me to say “Yes” to being on the Church Council two years ago, I wanted to be a part of the excitement that comes with change. Then when the Spirit moved me to say “Yes” to be-ing the Council President, I was excited to be a part of the renewed energy that was happening within the congregation! During this time of transition, we have not sat back to let the world go by and see what would happen. Living Faith continues to reach out to its members, neighborhood and community. The Spirit moved all of us to realize that change would keep us alive and that an open heart and

mind would give us the strength and courage we needed. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will move you to say “Yes” when you are being called and that together we will be God’s Hands and Feet through our ministries at Living Faith.

Coming Soon… “Meet the Church Council” which will be displayed in various places around the church so that you can match a face with a name and know who to contact if you have a question or concern that you would like us to share with the Church Council.

Wishing you Blessings Each and Every Day!

~ Vicki Siefert

MAY 2018 ∙ Volume #3, Issue #5 3

Beloved Sisters and Brothers of Living Faith Lutheran Church,

Endings and new beginnings. As we travel through life we encounter so many of them. I want to share some parting thoughts with you, my faith community for the entirety of my life so far.

As anyone who knows me even slightly, you surely know that I wear my heart on my sleeve. When I was being “knit in my mother’s womb” God thought to give me a heart so tender that it feels the pain of others intensely, but also a heart so on fire that I cannot witness injustice without rising up with passion to confront the source of that

injustice and plead for those who exist on the margins of society. To moderate these often unwieldy emo-tions, the Good Lord gave me the ability to laugh uproariously at the humorous side of life, and especially at myself.

That was a long-winded prologue to my formal farewell address! These past several months, as the time approached for me to say “goodbye”, I have protected myself from the sadness of leaving by gradually withdrawing from the life of the congregation. You might think of it in terms of “anticipatory grieving” which is a very natural way that people grieve an approaching death. My love for this faith community is fierce and shall remain so. Even as I physically move away from your presence, I cannot disassociate my feelings of care and concern for you.

Please know that I am going to carry each one of your precious souls in my heart. You will be in my fre-quent prayers. I ask you to “keep the faith”. After all, you are the embodiment of Living Faith! Continue to “shine your light before others” and shower your love and compassion on the dear ones that God places before you wherever life takes you. A part of my heart will ALWAYS be a part of Living Faith Lutheran

Music and Miracles

“I was so impressed by how warm and accepting the church was. Al-most everyone greeted me and shook my hand or hugged me. I felt so welcome. It’s like they were color-blind. I really didn’t expect such a reception.”

Above is the text I received from Antone Pendleton Brooks shortly after he played for us on April 15. It was the first time he had per-formed publicly in a long time. Ev-er since I invited him up to the sanctuary to play our Steinway grand piano after hearing about his musical gift, he has been prac-ticing for several hours on non-dialysis days, trying to reclaim his technique after years of not hav-ing access to a piano or keyboard.

As you may have learned from the article in the Journal Times from

March 12, Antone began playing the piano by ear at age 5. He was the middle child of seven siblings and grew up poor. When he was 14 Antone began taking formal piano lessons and eventually at-tended Southern Illinois Universi-ty studying music. He was often teased and ostracized because he “didn’t fit in” with his peers who did not appreciate classical music, and he unfortunately dropped out after 3 1/2 years.

He played gigs at hotel lobbies or restaurants as well as receptions and church services. He worked various jobs including as a Fed Ex package handler in New Jersey. He also worked as a lab techni-cian here in Racine, but when the lab he worked for changed own-ership, he lost that job and be-came homeless.

Because of poor health, Antone was unable to resume work. He has insulin-dependent diabetes and also end-stage renal failure which necessitates hemodialysis treatments 3 times per week. About a year and a half ago, An-tone was undergoing a procedure in the Emergency Room when his heart stopped for 10 minutes as medical staff worked to resusci-tate him. Had this happened out-side of a hospital setting, he likely would not be alive today. But the damage was extensive and his heart remains weak.

Antone lives in the inner city in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment building. He would love to have a full-size keyboard with 88 keys and headphones so he could prac-tice without disturbing his neigh-bors.

(Continued on page 10)


Names in the News

Anniversaries: Pat & David Rannow will celebrate 53 years together on May 1st … David & Arlene LaMack will celebrate their 58th wedding anniver-sary on May 14th and Daniel & Ruth Kane will cele-brate 52 years together on May 21st. May you all enjoy your special day.

Nonagenarian Birthdays: There is only one birth-day in May and that is Violet Schoolcraft who will turn 93 on May 5th. Best wishes to you Violet.

Baptism: ANDREA MAE CHRISTENSEN, daughter of Neil and Marie (Miller) Christensen was baptized on April 15th with Emma Christensen and Michael Miller as sponsors. Welcome to Living Faith An-drea!

“Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ, On behalf of Warren’s Family, we want to thank you for the beautiful floral arrangement that graced Calvary Lutheran Church for the Memorial Service for War-ren’s Father who died unexpectedly on April 3rd. We are very appreciative of your love and support as we grieve. Warren & Joannie”

“To the members of Living Faith, I would like to thank you all for your support. I am very excited to go to the S.T.E.M. program and learn about medical procedures, criminal investigation, and building a robot. I can’t wait to tell you all about the things I will learn about. I am kind of nervous to go to the S.T.E.M. program but I know I have all of your sup-port and I promise to learn a lot and be safe and re-spectful. Please watch and look forward to hearing about my experience in early July. I could never thank you all enough for your help and your trust in getting me to attend the S.T.E.M program. Sincere-ly, Nathan Wilson”

“I also would like to thank everyone for their gener-osity and faith in Nathan. I was so excited for him when the opportunity was given and when I saw the cost my heart broke knowing that I personally could not send him. I never in a million years expected the out pour of support you have all shown. Thank you all, Wendi Smailes”

Pastoral Hospital Visits

Strict patient confidentiality rules prevent the hospital from notifying the church if you or a loved one is hospitalized.

If you’d like a pastoral visit and/or having your church family praying for you, please let the church office know.

Known to be Hospitalized

Ascension All Saints: Fred Hermes

Home Again: Glenn Abbott, John Hutchison (Veteran’s Home in Union Grove), Marj Byra, Ruth Therkelsen, June Klingbeil and Dana Wozniak with new son Carson.

Condolences

Heartfelt love, sympathy and support to daughters Kim (Art) Steege, Sheila (Mike) Canfield, Staci Gelmi and family and his many friends from FaithWorks Food Pantry at the death of DALE CHRISTENSEN who passed away on March 8th while vacationing in Jamaica… wife Beverly and children Warren (Joannie), Randy (Colleen), Wendy (Vaughan), Dawn and family at the death of MAURICE WILLIAMS, who passed away on April 3rd in Alexandria, Minnesota. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

Join the Living Faith Prayer Chain!

It is operates through a phone tree as well as a private group on Facebook. To put someone on the prayer chain, contact Cathi in the church office at 262-637-5671.

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Minutes from the March 27, 2018 Meeting

Present: Rose Frey, Carol Hawes, Bob Reinders, Peg-gy Abbott, Ginny White, Sue Oertel, Vicki Seifert, Margaret Robinson, Pastor Warren and Pastor Den-ise

1. Devotion – Peggy - Warren opened with prayer.

2. Check-in

3. Consent Agenda: Peggy moved to accept the con-sent agenda, it was seconded and passed.

a. Minutes.

b. Pastor’s Reports

c. Financial Reports

i. Statement of Income and Expenses

ii. Dedicated Accounts

iii. Balance Sheet

iv. Treasurer’s Report

4. Discussion/Action Agenda

a. AIM Disbursement - two suggestions came from the congregation for AIM disbursements; paying our debt and Lutherdale. The council recognized that AIM offerings are for mission and therefore paying off debt would not be an appropriate use of AIM offerings. The council then approved the March AIM offerings to go to Lutherdale. Pastor Denise suggested Lu-therdale’s scholarship fund to help kids attend camp. This was approved.

b. Approve Ministry Site Profile – Note changes. Ginny moved to approve the MSP and it was seconded. Discussion - It was passed.

c. Nominating Committee Meeting Update – Monday, March 26, Pastor Denise reported on Nominating committee meeting. Liz Kegel is going to chair. Next meeting is May 21.

d. West Campus Lease Update – Bob had discus-sion with Nate. Nate is talking to landlord. See-ing if we can get extension. Nothing definite at this point.

e. Interim Ministry Support Update - Pastor Denise met with Pastor Karen of Resurrection and Jennifer with synod to work on an Interim support for 10 hours a week.

f. Easter Breakfast – Update - Vicki went over list of things needed and update for workers.

g. Security Update – We received an estimate

and will have another follow up meeting. Inter-com system, door repairs, locks and 6 cameras. Fixing doors and windows now. Tim Nelson is volunteering his time for repairs.

h. Letter to Inactives Update – Letter will go out soon and Dorcas will follow up with a phone call. Peggy moved to accept list of members without envelopes to send out for removing from membership. It was seconded and passed.

i. Tanzania Fundraiser – Pastor Denise would like to have a dinner fundraiser for the clinic. Her brother in law will be coming in May/June and give a talk about clinic and maybe preach. Peggy moved to accept this fundraiser. It was seconded and passed.

j. Council Picture - postponed

k. New Business – Pastor Warren requested that he be able to take his computer which is 2-3 years old now. Margaret moved to give War-ren his computer to take home. It was second-ed and passed.

l. Approve Signers – It was approved by the council that on the church’s accounts, invest-ments and safe deposit box, the pastors will be removed as signers and the treasurer and president will be signers along with the finan-cial secretary on the checking account.

m. Laser Printer - George from Midwest Office would like to see our laser printer replaced. He did donate a Canon Copier. The council moved to accept the gift of copier. It was se-conded and passed. Warren moved to get Ricoh printer for around $500. It was second-ed and passed.

n. Clean Up, Paint Up, Fix Up Saturday – Vicki will check with Ollie and set up a date.

o. Getting To Know Our Constitution –

We reviewed the following:

Membership—Chapter 8

Balloting By-Laws C10.01.03 & .07

5. Adjourned with prayer.


Noisy Offering - The April 15 Noisy Offering went to help Antone Brooks and we collected $438.34. Thank you for your generosity. And thank you Antone for your music! May’s Noisy Offering will go to the Racine Cluster Community Meal, which is in need of additional funding as they are currently running a deficit.

Thrivent Action Grants - We have used Thrivent Action Grants for a number of Youth Gathering fundraisers this year. A grant was also used for the Easter Breakfast. If you need help using your Thrivent Action Grants or directing your Choice Dollars please contact Pastor Denise. Use your grant today!!

Altar Flowers - Honor or remember someone with flowers on the altar. Bouquets cost as little as $25 (we use Signature Flowers by Randy.) You may also bring your own in. Call the church office to sign up.

Members in Need - Living Faith has a very special ministry called “Members In Need.” Volunteers provide home cooked meals, rides to appointments, companionship or other needs to our members who are re-covering from surgeries, suffered loss or other hardships. The more volunteers we have on the team, the better we will be able to help those in need. Please either call the office at 262-637-5671, Alma Vacek at

262-681-1738 or let Pastor Denise know that you would like to be a part of this minis-try team.

Socks & Undies & Jogging Pants Sundays - The last Sunday of each month has been designated to collect socks, undies and jogging pants for Knapp School. Please look for the donation box in the Narthex at the East Campus and also at the West Campus.

Meatloaf Ministry - A big thank you to all our members who helped to provide meat-loaf meals to those recovering from hospitalization or just in need a warm meal. A spe-cial thank you to Donna Hansen who calls for donations of food, Dorothy Stofen who calls to see if people would like a meal and Laurie Belter "the cookie lady" who pro-vides the delicious cookies to compliment the meal. Members provide the food, we put them together and wait for call that there is a need. If you'd like to be involved in the "meat loaf" ministry call the church office at 637-5671. It's definite way to be involved in our church and let our members know we care.

Bingo! - Here is an opportunity to put a smile on our senior citizens faces at the Villa at Lincoln Park. We need volunteers to visit with the residents, desserts and bingo priz-es. Suggested prizes are stuffed animals, large boxes of Kleenex, bags of candy (chocolate, life savers, etc.) sugar free candy, necklaces, nail polish, large print word puzzle books, word search books and adult coloring books. Please contact the church office at 637-5671 or Alma Vacek at 681-1738 if you can help. Thank you and God Bless! ~ Alma

Coffee Hour Clean Up - Coffee Hour clean up is as easy as pie, especially now that we are using paper cups. Please check out the check list for clean up on the coffee bar so that Fellowship Hall is ready to host the Sunday night Community Meal. Here is a sneak preview: turn off and unplug coffee warmers, put all supplies in coffee bar, empty coffee urns and rinse out, empty grounds in coffee makers, turn off coffee make, package remaining treats in zip lock bags found in the coffee bar and place on kitchen counter to be used for the Community Meal, wipe down tables, coffee bar and push in chairs. Remember, ‘many hands make light work.’ Thank you for pitching in to clean up.


Mt. Meru Tumaini Health Clinic Fundraiser: On Saturday, June 16 at 6pm, the Mt. Meru Tumaini Health Clinic will be hosting a dinner fundraiser at Living Faith in Fel-lowship Hall. Dinner will be twofold: an American menu which will be catered and a variety of Meru dishes will be available to try or have as your dinner. The Tanzanian

boutique will be open. We will have African beer and wine available for a donation. Best of all, Rev. Silas Mbise will be here directly from Ndoombo, Tanzania to tell us about the work of the dispensary and how you can and do make an impact on the lives of the people living on Mt. Meru.

Congratulations! - Congratulations to our “Swing into Spring with Scrip” winner! Carolyn Gibson was the recipient of a $25 gift card to both Piggly Wiggly and Applebee’s. Enjoy! Thank you to everyone who pur-chased Scrip during the month of March. Please think about using Scrip for your spring and summer party planning and shopping.

Easter Breakfast - Special thanks to everyone who helped to make the Easter breakfast a wonderful treat for all. From set up and decorating, including hand made centerpieces, do-nating of scrumptious food items, serving and cleanup. We are truly thankful for you. Thanks also to those who donated to the National Youth Gathering fundraiser. They raised $308! Spring and God bless!

Clean Up, Paint Up , Fix Up Saturday - Join us on May 26 from 10:00am - 3:00pm as we meet to get some spring cleaning done at the East Campus. There are many nooks and crannies that need some attention, sprucing up and organizing, spots that need cleaning, repairing and painting. In the next weeks, we will be making a list of jobs to be done so that we keep everyone busy. Watch the weekly bulletin for more information and an op-

portunity to sign up on the long yellow sheet.

National Youth Gathering - Our next group meeting is Sunday, May 20 at 12:30pm at the East Campus.

Be a Sponsor! We are looking for anyone interested in sponsoring one of our youth to go to the gathering. Registration costs are $300 per person. Travel costs are $400 per person. There will also be hotel and food costs. Total cost will be about $1,200 per person to go to the gathering.

News from the MET

Our job is done and we have officially turned over the Ministry Site Profile to the Call Committee. The MSP (Ministry Site Profile) was approved by the Church Council at its March 27 meeting. It was submitted to the Synod and was officially approved for post-ing by the Bishop on April 9. The MSP is now avail-able for viewing on the ELCA website as well as at both campuses.

We would, however, still like to keep in touch and share some of the main points of the report. During the process, the MET was asked to put together goals for the future. After considering your thoughts and input, along with current ministries

that are already happening at Living Faith, we determined what those goals might be. You will find these goals at the back of the report along with a very crucial and im-portant piece; “Plan For Evaluation and Re-

view of Ministry Goals.” To insure that the Minis-try Site Profile and all the work we did together as a congregation does not just fall by the wayside, we have created a workable plan to evaluate and as-sess our ministry goals. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks again for giving us the opportunity to serve Living Faith during the MET process. ~ Steve Blegen, Kevin Ehnert, Rose Frey, Joy Webb, Karin Langlois, Chris Simon & Vicki Siefert


Volunteer Opportunities

Living Faith Tech Team

Have you ever wondered how things on the technical side of the worship service

work? Here is your chance to learn about it and help us out!

We need people to help operate the screen for an-nouncements, etc. Training will be provided at your convenience. If you have questions, please contact Vicki Siefert.

Our Harmony Club

Our Harmony Club pro-vides day programs for the elderly in our community who may have been diag-nosed with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, have suffered a stroke, or who are simply socially isolated.

They can spend up to 6 hours at our sites where they interact with other guests and volunteers in games, crafts, lunch, and bingo.

If you would like to volunteer with Our Harmony Club, contact Dawn Vlach at (262)880-5301 or via email at: DawnVlach@ourharmony club.org

FaithWorks Food Pantry Needs

While every donation is greatly appreciated, with our new shopping arrangement at Feeding Ameri-ca, monetary donations actually go further than food donations. Checks can be made out to ”FaithWorks Food Pantry”; you will still get credit on your contributions statement.

That said, all food donations are welcomed. Our greatest needs right now are:

• Spaghetti Sauce

• Egg Noodles

• Peanut Butter

• Toilet Paper

• Bar Soap

Volunteers are needed to staff the pantry during operating hours (Tuesdays 1-3pm and Thursdays 6-8pm.) Volunteers are also needed to package produce and bakery on Tuesdays from 10:30am to 12:30pm in the Food Pantry.

Please sign up on the long yellow sheet, or talk to Margaret Robinson or June Klingbeil if you are interested.

Funeral Luncheon Committee

Living Faith is blessed to have a wonderful funeral committee and we invite you to be a part of that by choosing one or all of the areas needed when it comes time to planning. We are looking for volunteers to help in the following areas:

Set Up - setting tables and getting food ready (which is usually ordered or catered) Clean Up - clearing tables, doing dishes, putting away all serving pieces and packaging up leftovers Baking a dessert or perhaps making some Jell-O

Church Office Assistant

Often times the office is in need of help to assemble bulletins or prepare special mailings. This is usually done on a weekday morning and requires only a few hours of your time while working with additional helpers. Sign up on the long yellow sheet in the weekly bulletin if you are interested in either opportunity.

Relay for Life Celebrates 25 Years in Racine On Friday and Saturday, June 1 & 2, the Racine Community will gather with family, friends and neighbors at the Mt. Pleasant Campus Park in support of the American Cancer Society’s #1 fundraiser…the Relay For Life! The theme this year will be “Lights, Camera, Cure” inspired by the Silver Screen and our 25th Silver Anniversary. In the past, Living Faith has had a Relay For Life team. Sign up on the long yellow sheet if you would be interested in joining a team or if you would consider being the Team Captain/Co-Captain to get things organized. Please contact Vicki Siefert at 262-634-4154 for more information.


(Continued from page 3)

He is often too weak after dialysis to take the bus to the church to play the piano. With the noisy offering he may be able to get that key-board at last!

When I asked Antone if he watched himself on CBS, he said he doesn’t have a TV. Then I asked him, “What else DON’T you have?” I now learn that he has no kitchen table or chairs, no cur-tains, no shower curtain, no lamps or end tables and needs a love seat and sofa and some dishes, tableware and throw rugs. (He never asked me for anything!). He is such a sweet and gentle man. I’m going on a mission to get him what he needs to complete furnishing his place. Any help will be appreciated! You know how to reach me. (262-930-8257)

Thank you for the amazing hospitality shown to Antone and to so many other of “my guys” that I have brought to the church over the past sever-al years. They always tell me this is THEIR church! Blessed are the poor. ~Joannie

Noon Bible Study - The noon Bible Study has CHANGED DAYS!

We are now meeting on Tuesdays at 12noon.

We will approach the coming Sunday’s lessons using the Benedictine practice of Lectio Divina. In Christianity, Lectio Divina (Latin for "Divine Reading") is a tradi-tional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to

promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word. It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the Living Word.

Men’s Breakfast - The Men’s Breakfast continues on the first and third Thursday of every month at 7:30am at Annetta’s Café (8020 Durand Avenue) in Sturtevant. Please join us! Cliff Vacek will be spear-heading this study. If you have any questions contact Cliff.

New Wednesday Night Bible Study - “Making Sense of the Cross” began April 11 at 6pm and will run for six weeks. This Bible study, written and featured on video by David Lose, is second in the series we used last fall when we talked about making sense of scripture. There is a book and we will again use a video with David Lose. The cost for the materials is $15.00. We meet at the East Campus in the parlor.

Theological Book Study - Saturday, June 16 at 9:30 with brunch. We will watch the mov-ie “Dear White People”.

The book for the coming year will be “The Great Spiritual Migration” by Brian McLaren. Our first date will be Saturday, September 15 at 9:30 with brunch. The book is available on Am-azon or at Barnes and Noble.

Welcome to Our New Members

On May 6 we welcome into membership at Living Faith:

Kathy Winnen (cousin to new member Mary Pel-lesen, retired from a nursing career at Gateway),

Cyndy Griswold (mom to Nathan, has jumped right in to Bible Study and volunteering at events),

Nathan Griswold (son to Cyndy, has been singing with the choir and will be involved with Racine In-terfaith Coalition.)


Vespers May 5 May 12 May 19 May 26

Reader Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed

Tech Person Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed

Living Faith East May 6 May 13 May 20 May 27

Reader Elaine Lucht Maggie Gruenwald Marilyn Thygeson Karin Langlois

Tech Person Vicy Arnold Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed

Ushers Ollie Nielsen, Lois Beres, Rose Frey

Coffee Hour Cyndy King & Sandy Fugate

Veryl Hermes Rebekah Circle Vicki Siefert

Many opportunities are available for you to actively participate in our worship services. Please contact the church office if you would like to help out.

Living Faith West Please check your email for the Living Faith West ministry calendar.

Neighborhood Camp

Racine ELCA Neighborhood Camp fills an important need in our

neighborhood during the summer. Camp is a collab-orative, creative community outreach ministry to the children of Racine. It was created to provide the underserved children in our neighborhoods a safe, fun and stimulating place to learn and play. There

are plenty of summer camps in the Racine area, but Neighborhood Camp is unique as it is provided at no cost to the campers. Funding for Neighborhood Camp comes from various grants and from gener-ous support of congregation members like you. It is easy to make an online contribution to camp at www.neighborhoodcampracine.org. If you’d prefer you can print out a form and mail your donation in.

Neighborhood Camp 2018 - “Come and See, Come and Serve!”

Neighborhood Camp planning is underway! Camp will run four days a week from June 25 through August 2. (Camp will not meet the week of July 2.) Camp Direc-tor BriAnna Brooks is already busy planning activities and field trips that the campers are sure to love.

Neighborhood Camp needs volunteers!! Can you give an hour or two of your time this summer? It’s always a treat when we have guests come and read a sto-ry to the campers, or lead an art project. Maybe you have a special talent you’d

like to share with the kids. Want to help, but would prefer a ‘behind the scenes’ job? Helpers are always needed in the kitchen to help with preparing and serving meals, as well as helping to clean up. If you’re in-terested in sharing of your time or talents, please give the church office a call. They’ll pass your name onto BriAnna and she’ll be in touch with you.


Senior Friendship Center

May 2 Kentucky Derby Day & Hat Contest Devotion & Communion Lunch: Surprise Fun ‘N Games May 16 Bingo at 11:00 a.m. Lunch: Surprise Chicken Foot Dominoes

Women’s Breakfast

The women’s breakfast is being discontinued, as it has become increasingly difficult for people to participate in this event. Thank you for many years of devotion and fellowship!

Please note: Ladies Night Out is now on Tuesday!

Lutheran World Relief Fabric Kits

It’s time to gather items for Lutheran World Relief fabric kits. A Fabric Kit contains the following items:

• Pieces of cotton or cotton-blend fabric (no knits or 100% polyester); fabric should have no stains/ holes and be cut into pieces measuring:

• 2 1/4 yards of 60" wide fabric, or

• 3 yards of 44" wide fabric, or

• 4 yards of 36" wide fabric

• Spools of matching general purpose thread, 250-300 yards each

To quote the Lutheran World Relief website: “Teach a person to sew and you’ve given them tools they can use to earn an income, support their family, and break out of poverty. Many of the thousands of Fabric Kits Lutheran World Relief distributes are used in vocational training pro-grams to teach young men and women useful and marketable sewing skills.”

You can bring items on Sunday and leave them in the marked box in the narthex. You may also spon-sor a Fabric Kit for $18, and we will purchase the needed items. Please mark any offering given for this purpose “Fabric Kit.” Thank you for your sup-port of people in crisis around the world!

I thank Thee, Lord, as a volunteer

For a chance to serve in the coming year

And to give of myself in some small way

To those not as blessed as I each day

My thanks for health and mind and soul

To aid me ever toward my goal

For eyes to see the good in all

A hand to extend before a fall

For legs to go where the need is great

Learning to love - forgetting to hate

For ears to hear and heart to care

When someone's cross is hard to bear

A smile to show my affection true

With energy a plenty - the task I do

And all I ask, dear Lord, if I may

Is to serve you better day by day.

Author Unknown


Focus: Energy Bar Wrapper Program

Energy bars have become a popular food item in our culture. Unfortunately, their wrap-pers have become commonplace in our landscape and are taking up valuable space in our landfills. TerraCycle®, Cascadian Farm, and LÄRABAR have partnered to create an Ener-gy Bar Wrapper Program, a free recycling program for foil-lined energy bar wrappers. Bring your energy bar wrappers to church and help give them new life in upcycled prod-ucts through TerraCycle®.

Energy Bar Wrapper Program accepted waste: Foil-lined energy, granola & protein bar wrappers

Turning in your collections is easy. A TerraCycle® collection box is conveniently located inside the south entrance. Or, you can bring your collections to the church office and tell Jill, Kim, or Cathi you have a “gift” for Karin Langlois!

News from the Crazy SCRIP Lady

Treat Mom this Mother’s Day! Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Texas Roadhouse cards are IN STOCK and available for immediate pur-chase. (Living Faith receives a generous 8-9% dona-tion from these restaurants to support our minis-tries on the sale of these cards.) PLEASE NOTE: We will be out of town May 2 – 6, but I am planning to place an order the evening of May 7. Contact me on my cell (see contact info below) and I would be happy to add any cards you need to that order.

Graduation season is also upon us! Whether you’re buying that special graduate a new Dell computer (like we did for our son when he graduated from high school), getting them something fun, or stock-ing up on supplies for a college dorm room, there

are Scrip cards for over 100 retailers available.

To get your Scrip at the East Campus, see Dick Langlois at the Scrip ta-ble before the 9:00 ser-vice or at coffee hour. You can also pick up an order form in the narthex and call Karin at 672-0635 or email her at [email protected] to order your Scrip. (The weekly order deadline is Monday even-ing.) SCRIP ordered by then can be picked up by Thursday evening, if you need it before the week-end, or on Sunday at church. If you attend our West Campus, June Klingbeil has order forms and a good selection of cards, and you can get your Scrip there.

Box Tops for Education

Thank you for continuing to bring in the Box Tops for Education symbols. I brought Knapp School another $20 in Box Tops at the end of April. They were thrilled! Just reuse an en-velope or baggie and put them in the offering plate, bring them to the church office, or give them to Karin Langlois. Thanks!

Fundraising Made Simple

Did you know that when you shop at GFS and you mention Living Faith, we receive a percentage of some of the purchases you make?

If you dine at Texas Roadhouse on Sundays and turn in a copy of the bulletin, they will donate 10 percent of your food purchases to Living Faith. A great opportunity to use those Texas Roadhouse Scrip Cards you have purchased from Dick Langlois at the East Campus in the narthex or June Klingbeil at the West Campus.

Thanks for supporting our fundraising efforts!

mailto:[email protected]


May Readings

May 6: Sixth Sunday of Easter

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

Psalm: Psalm 98

Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

Gospel: John 15:9-17

May 13: Seventh Sunday of Easter

First Reading: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Psalm: Psalm 1

Second Reading: 1 John 5:9-13

Gospel: John 17:6-19

May 20: Day of Pentecost

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Second Reading: 104:24-34, 35b

Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

May 27: First Sunday after Pentecost

First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm: Psalm 29

Second Reading: Romans 8:12-17

Gospel: John 3:1-17

Service Times

Saturday Vespers Service (East Campus) ............................................... 5:00 p.m.

Sunday Service at Living Faith East Campus ………………………….. ..... 9:00 a.m.

Sunday Service at Living Faith West Campus ....................................... 10:30 a.m.

Thursday Community Worship (East Campus) ......................................... 5:15 p.m.

Living Faith Church Office Hours

Monday - Friday (located at East Campus) .............................. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Living Faith Staff

Ministers .............................................. The People of Living Faith Lutheran Church

Pastor ................................................................................. Rev. Denise M.H. Mbise

Administrative Secretary/Bookkeeper ...................................................... Jill Steiner

Secretary ............................................................................................Cathi Webster

Secretary ............................................................................................. Kim Saunders

Senior Choir Director ................................................................... Dimitri Shapovalov

Organist /Pianist .................................................................................Jill Wanggaard

Organist /Pianist ........................................................................................ Tina Perri

Organist Emeritus ................................................................................. Fred Hermes

Pianist ................................................................................................ Tina Tempesta

Part time Maintenance .............................................................................. Jay Martin

Part time Janitorial ................................................................................. Ollie Nielsen

Senior Friendship Center Director .......................................................... Vicki Siefert

Nutrition Site Supervisor .................................................................... Donna Pankoff

‘The Journey’ Editor .........................................................................Diane Thygeson

Staff E-mail addresses

Rev. Denise Mbise ............................................. [email protected]

Jill Steiner .................................................................. [email protected]

Kim Saunders .................................................................... [email protected]

Cathi Webster ................................................................Cathy@livingfaithracine.org

Diane Thygeson ............................................................. [email protected]

General Church E-mail address

Living Faith E-mail ......................................................... [email protected]

Living Faith Website ........................................................... www.livingfaithracine.org

Living Faith Facebook .................................. www.facebook.com/LivingFaithRacine

Locations

Living Faith East Campus ............................................ 2915 Wright Avenue, Racine

Living Faith West Campus .................................... 8700 Durand Avenue, Sturtevant

FaithWorks Food Pantry

Food Pantry Hours ............. Tuesdays 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., Thursdays 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Food Pantry Facebook ................... www.facebook.com/faithworksfoodpantryracine

Food Pantry E-mail ............................................................. [email protected]

Free Blood Pressure Clinic A free blood pressure clinic will be held the first Sunday of each month following the 9:00 service at the East campus. Please stop down

to Fellowship Hall after the service and have your blood pres-sure checked. ~ Barb Elmer, RN and Marion Beyer, RN

Newsletter Deadline Articles to be included in the June 2018 issue of The Journey should be submitted to Diane Thygeson no later than May 20. Submit arti-cles to: [email protected] If you are not receiving The Journey please call or email the church office and let us know. Thanks!

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Living Faith Lutheran Church 2915 Wright Avenue Racine, WI 53405-5094 Published Once a Month

Thank You and Farewell

A Message from Pastor Denise

Council President’s Corner

Welcome New Members

This and That...

a message from pastor denise - living faith racine...to my search for meaning, purpose, identity,...

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