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First Hand First Lutheran Church
October 2019
First Lutheran Church
208 West Sandusky Avenue
Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311
937-592-7699
Fax: 1-888-471-1970
Website: www.flcbellefontaine.org
Email: [email protected]
Pastor Larry Novak– [email protected]
Office Manager, Brittanny Porter– [email protected]
Director of Music, Judy Vassar- [email protected]
Bell Choir Director, Larry Walker- [email protected] Inside this issue:
From the Pastor’s Desk 2—3
Director of Music 4
October Out to Lunch Bunch 5
Trunk or Treat 6
October Events 7
All Saints Sunday 8
Remember in Prayers 9
Stewardship– A Way of Life 13
The Women’s Corner 15
October Birthdays/Anniversaries 16
Serving in Worship 17
October Calendar 18
The deadline
for newsletter
articles for the
month of
November is
October 21st.
October 27, 2019
Mission Statement:
Sharing God’s grace through prayer, witness, and service.
On this day we celebrate the heart of our faith: the gospel
of Christ—the good news—that makes us free! We pray
that the Holy Spirit would continue to unite the church
today in its proclamation and witness to the world. In the
waters of baptism, we are made one body; we pray for the
day that all Christians will also be one at the Lord's table.
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Continued next page
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Sunday, October 13 will be a very important worship service. Normally, October is stewardship
month, and the second Sunday is October is designated as Stewardship Sunday-the day we pass out the
pledge cards and ask for your commitment as to how much of the money entrusted to you by God you
pledge to give back to the church. And we will be doing that soon, but not on October 13.
Because, this year, I want to try something a little bit different. Instead of having stewardship Sun-
day, October 13 will be Vision Sunday. We will be taking time during the service to discuss a vision for our
church. The format would be that it is December 2020, and we will be discussing what we would like to
see in our year-end reports for the annual meeting in 2021. What have we done this year as far as wor-
ship, fellowship, learning, mission, and property? In order to do this, we need to ask ourselves a series of
questions: What are our strengths and weaknesses? What are our values? Where is God calling us? Obvi-
ously, we will not have all the answers figured out by the close of the service on October 13. This will be
the beginning of the journey, not the end. My idea is that throughout 2020, the church council will be
working with a vision planning team to craft a vision statement and vision plan for our congregation
through the year 2025. The ministry teams will be working on the steps we need to take to implement
the vision.
But on October 13, we will start only with 2020. After our vision planning Sunday, only then will a
budget for 2020 be crafted for the church. And only after the budget will be crafted will we then ask for
pledges. This is different than what we have done in the past. In the past, we have asked for pledges,
THEN crafted a budget. But leaders in the synod and other leaders in the field of stewardship and church
budgets have said that a vision should come first, then a budget, then the pledges.
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After all, if a person running for office were asking for donations to her campaign, you would not
want to contribute unless you first knew what her plan was, what her values were, and what her vision for
the country was. And if a school district asked for a school levy, you would not want to vote for it unless you
first knew what the vision of the school district was; and what the money was going to be used for.
But for years, we have been asking you to pledge without first seeing what the vision is, and what
kind of budget is needed for that vision. The result is that we craft budgets that maintain the status quo; nev-
er thinking too big, never changing much of what we have done before. With a vision in place first, then a
budget necessary to carry out that vision, the hope is that people when then be able to make a pledge with a
more clear and confident understanding of our mission, vision, and plan of action.
The ELCA vision statement is: A world experiencing the difference God’s grace and love in Christ
makes for all people and creation. As we look to the future, finding ways to live into our mission statement:
Sharing God’s grace through prayer, witness, and service, we are assured that we have God’s grace, mercy,
and love. Let us now begin the work of naming our vision: who we are, what we believe, and how we answer
God’s call to both proclaim and live into the kingdom of God in our community.
In the abiding hope of the empty tomb,
Pastor Larry
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Report of Director of Music
Report for October
September 1 Chancel Choir presented a favorite, “Beautiful Savior.”
September 8 was car show Sunday
September 15 Kris Shannon and Pastor Larry presented the scripture in song. The duet was “I Found the Lost.”
September 22 the Chancel Choir sang out for joy with “Sing Out Your Joy to God.”
September 29 the Kauffman family provided beautiful saxophone favorites. We so appre-ciate them.
Judy Vassar
Upcoming Special Sundays
Oct. 13 Vision Sunday Oct. 27 Reformation
Nov. 10 Women of the ELCA Sunday with Pastor Karen Torres Nov. 24 Christ the King Sunday
Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Eve Eve at Galilee Lutheran Dec. 1 First Sunday of Advent
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A Message from the Learning Ministry Team
A Message from the Christian Action Ministry Team
Out to Lunch Bunch-
The October Out to Lunch
Bunch will be going to The
Son of Thurman on
Saturday, October 26th at
5:30 pm. It is located in
Delaware. All are welcome
to come and be a part of the fellowship. Contact Judy
Vassar or the church office if you are interested or for
more information.
Sunday school!
Classes for ALL ages begin at 9 am.
We look forward to another great
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Trick or Treat
“Mini” Trunk or Treat
October 31st , 2019
6 pm - 7:30 pm
North parking lot of FLC
Come to FLC on Thursday evening, October 31st for a “TRUNK FULL” of fun! The Christian
Action Ministry Team members will be handing out candy and other fun items to kids. We are
encouraging the congregation to come and be a part of this fun Halloween event! Dress up in your
favorite character costume and join us!!
We need your help to donate individually wrapped items such as
candy, fruit snacks or chips. There will be collection box in the
lower narthex to receive your donations. Please drop them off by
Sunday, October 27th.
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Thanks to ALL who help out at Our Daily Bread. The next evening, we will be serving is
Monday, October 21st. If you can’t help us serve but would still like to help you could
provide the dessert. This month we are asking for cookies. If you haven't had the
chance to help at Our Daily Bread, please consider doing so. A sign-up sheet is in the
upper narthex. Volunteers are asked to arrive at Our Daily Bread about 4:15 pm prior
to the serving time of 4:30 pm. If you have any questions or concerns please contact
the church office.
On Sunday, October 13th we will be having a special congregational
meeting. This will be to cover Vision Planning to look forward into the
next year and more to follow. Everyone is invited to attend and express
their opinions and ideas! We will see you then!
Looking Ahead in NOVEMBER
Our annual Thankoffering Service will be on Sunday, November 10th. Between now and then, try to
become more aware of your small daily blessings and start setting aside some change (or bills) to put
towards this special yearly mission offering. A quote to remember, “every day is not a good day, but
there is good in every day”. Try to find: an item unexpectedly on sale, a parking place close to the
entrance, a beautiful sunset, a good doctor’s checkup for yourself or a family member, a letter from a
friend, etc. The more you start looking, the more you can find. More details will be in the November
newsletter.
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Soups, Salads, Bread and More!
Sunday, October 20, 2019
If you would like to donate items, there is a sign up sheet in the lower narthex
Suggested Items: Soups, salads, breads, brownies, cookies
AFTER YOU PURCHASE YOUR TREATS, STAY AND WATCH
THE TALENT SHOW!
Do you Sing, Dance, or Play an Instrument?
Tell Jokes or Do Magic Tricks?
Share your Talents with your church family during the Taste of Fall Sale
(Sign up Sheet in Lower Narthex, Also)
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Communion Wine Openings:
October 29th
October 27th
November 24th
Altar Flower Vases:
1 Vase November 3rd
2 Vases November 10th
1 Vase November 17th
*Contact the church office to sign up, if you wish
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October Meeting Dates:
10/7- 7:00 pm Council
10/14- 7:00 pm Christian Action
Ministry Team Highlights
Christian Action Ministry Team
• Fall activities
• Trick or Treat activities
Learning Ministry Team
• Sunday school classes
Worship Ministry Team
• Special Services
Property Ministry Team
• Building Maintenance
Finance Ministry Team
• Budget Review
Copies of reports from the monthly
meetings of each ministry team is
available for you to view in the Part-
ners In Ministry Book located in the
lower narthex.
Sunday Attendance
September 1– 65
September 8– 104
September 15– 78
September 22– 78
September 29– 94
Average: 84
2019 Church Council
President– Chris McKenrick
Vice-President– Gail Keck
Secretary– Liz Rose
Members- Cheri Comstock, Chris Gamble, Adam Smith,
Ray Swisher, Chris Tillman , Susan Wyckoff, Ben Zoldak
Faith Circle Thankoffering Project
During the months of October and Novem-
ber, we will be collecting items for the resi-
dents of Luther Community, such as:
• Mens & Womens socks
• Mens & womens house shoes/slippers
• “Shelf-stable” foods
• Depends/Incontinence pads
Boxes will be located in the lower narthex
for your donations from
October 15th - November 22nd
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October Birthdays 10/01 Susan Wyckoff
10/03 Sophia Porter
10/06 David Carman
10/07 David Ackerman
10/07 Susan Weikart
10/08 Gregory Jameson
10/13 Pam Pulfer
10/14 Brad Jones
10/15 Domonique Johnson
10/22 Max Pummell
10/22 Ashley Hoy
10/22 Lottie Bodin
10/23 Cindy Carman
10/25 Whitley Baxley
10/28 Ryan Carman
10/31 Judy Hadley
John & Krista Belser 10/18/1997
Steve & Amy Heath 10/07/2000
Chris & Marshall Blair Hildreth 10/09/2014
Loren & Gloria Kipker 10/02/1971
John & Miriam Knisely 10/04/1958
Ray & Cheryl Kramer 10/13/1973
Mick & Roni Lile 10/28/1977
Corey & Renae Van Hoose 10/01/1994
Larry & Jean Wright 10/06/1979
Greeting Cards
Do you have Christmas, birthday or any other
greeting cards that you have received and don’t
know what to do with them? Don’t throw them
away … bring them in and we will recycle them
for you. Place them in the receptacle located in
the lower narthex. You can bring your cards in all
year long.
Thank you for your
generosity by giving to the
Weekly Religious
Education (WRE)
program, again this year! Your support
is vital!
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Serving in Worship OCTOBER 2019
Ushers
Max Bixler
Kevin & Robyn Miller
Mike Zoldak
Acolytes
10/06 Winnie Bodin
10/13 Connor Gamble
10/20 Jacob McKenrick
10/27 Megan Keckler
Crucifers
10/06 TBA
10/13 Brandon Gamble
10/20 Lucas McKenrick
10/27 Declan Shannon
Communion Helpers
10/06 Maddox Keith & Layla Hoyt
10/20 Sophia Porter & Eden Smith
10/27 Lottie & Brooks Bodin
Readers
10/06 Cindy Weikart
10/13 Don Voorhies
10/20 Susan Wyckoff
10/27 Bodins
Communion Assistants
10/06 Gary Kauffman & Connie Regula
10/20 Dave Comstock & Gail Keck
10/27 Barb Triplett & Cindy Weikart
Greeters
10/06 Max & Margie BIxler
10/13 Carol Smola
10/20 Sue Campbell
10/27 Diane & Dave Anderson
Worship Assistants
10/06 Dick Griffith
10/13 Beth Harman
10/20 Cindy Weikart
10/27 Kris Swisher
Altar Guild
Margie Bixler & Susan Wyckoff
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