Agnus Dei Lutheran Church Gather in grace

Grow in faith Go in service

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, Grace and peace to you! There is a legend that King Heiron II of Syra-cuse gave a carefully weighed amount of gold to the smith to create a beau ful crown. The smith did indeed create a very ornate crown for the king, but Heiron became suspicious that the smith had been dis-

honest and kept some of the gold for himself, making the crown of a mixture of gold and some other metal instead. To solve the mystery, the king sent for the renowned Archimedes, the finest mathe-ma cian in Syracuse. Heiron charged Archimedes to find out by any means possible if the smith had been dishonest. Archimedes pondered the problem for days, un l he decided to take a break from his musings one day to relax in a bath. At the bathhouse, as he stepped into the pool, he observed that water began to spill over the sides; as more of his body was submerged, more water spilled out. Suddenly, it became clear to Archimedes that he could use this phenomenon to determine the volume, and there-fore the density, of the crown. Now he could determine if it was pure gold! He was so excited by this sudden discovery that he forgot his clothes and ran naked from the bathhouse all the way back to his home shou ng “Eureka! Eureka!” “Eureka” means “I have found it.” What Archimedes found may not seem that exci ng to us, but for him it was very key he had been seeking to unlock his puzzle. “Eureka” was the exclama on Archimedes used when he had his epiphany, and to this day it is synonymous with some great discovery or flash of insight. It also carries a connota on of something unexpected. Archimedes was not looking for an answer to his ques on as he stepped into the bath, but unexpectedly the answer came to him. Eureka is a wonderful word for the season as we celebrate our own Epiphany this month. “Epiphany” means to ‘reveal’ or ‘appear.’ We call this season epiphany because we celebrate the revealing of God’s messiah to the world, God ap-pearing among us in Christ. Humanity has been seeking to find God in many different ways and places throughout the ages, but nobody ever expected God to come to us. Now, like Archimedes, all of a sudden we have made an unexpect-edly and wonderful discovery: we have found God present with us in Jesus, a peasant nobody born in a stable in Beth-lehem. Jesus comes to us like the answer to a ques on we did not know enough to ask, bringing the good news of God’s deep and abiding love for us. What a “eureka” moment! Like Archimedes in the bath, the gospels tell us that God’s messiah was first revealed in water—at his bap sm. As we celebrate the season of Epiphany, we remember that we share in this same bap sm as our Savior, and through that bap sm we are filled with his light to illuminate a world dark with injus ce, despair and death. The truth of who Jesus is reminds us of the truth of who we are, both as individual children of God and gathered to-gether as the Church. Epiphany is a me for us to rediscover God’s calling for us in our homes, our community and our world. During Epiphany, we see again as with new eyes how God has called and equipped us to be lovers and caretak-ers of God’s children and God’s world. Just as God has been revealed in the unexpected carpenter from Nazareth, God is also alive in us, working to change the world. Eureka! Yours in Christ, Pastor Seth & Pastor Stephanie

Inside this issue Ca l e n d ar———— p. 1 0 Celebrations——–——p.9 Council Message—–—p.2

Human Concerns—–--p.5 Pastors’ Message—––p.1 Stewardship—-——p.6,7 Worship Schedule—p.11

Upcoming Events Christmas Eve Worship times

5, 7, 10

Christmas Day worship at 10:00 AM

Dec. 28 Lessons and Carols

Jan 6 Epiphany

From Our Pastors

2015

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Jeanette and Loren Carlander Audrey Clinton Jim Greenley, Krump’s Brother in Law Judy and Dick Latimer Jerry Moore Dave Roberts Myra Snider Doris Sorrels

Sundays at 9:40am in the Parish Hall

Jack Stier Rose VanderKlomp Alene Wilkes

Serving Our Country: Jason Barelli, U.S. Navy Matt Fistler, U.S.A.F.(Carlander’s Grandson) Staton West, U.S. Army

Gree ngs from Your Church Council, Happy 2015! We wish you and your family a wonderful new year and all of the hope and op-portunity it will bring. The council met on December 11th. Lyle Miller spoke to the council about a rela onship Agnus Dei has with the Tacoma Lutheran Re rement Community. We are one of 20 local churches that has a suppor ng rela onship with this community, but in recent years Agnus Dei's involvement has dwindled. Lyle and the council would like to explore how this rela onship can be renewed and improved.

Pastors Seth and Stephanie reported that the Advent soup suppers and services were successful and well-a ended. There is also some interest among the youth to a end the ELCA Youth gathering this summer in De-troit, which we feel is great news! There will be a strong service component for Youth a ending this incredible opportunity.

Our December financial report was encouraging and indicates that we may end 2014 at or near our opera ng budget for the year. We are s ll solici ng bids to replace our expiring insurance coverage and a decision will be made once all pending bids have been received. Steve Carlson reported that the new computer and so ware up-grades are complete and working properly.

Once again, we wish to remind everyone that we are here to serve you and please do not hesitate to contact any council member with concerns or ques ons that you might have as we begin this new year together.

Peace and Blessings,

Your Council

Pastors Stephanie and Seth and their family as they mourn the death of Pastor Stephanie’s grandmother, Midge Schweitzer

January Adult Forum: The Gospel of Mark The Gospel according to St. Mark is the shortest and the oldest of the four gospels in the Bible, and some mes the most neglected. Mark has no Christmas stories of shepherds or foreign dignitaries, no turning water into wine, and no stories of the resurrected Jesus. The ending of Mark’s gospel is…lackluster, to say the least. Yet, this small book has an important part in the history of our faith and forms the basis for much of what we know about Jesus. This year, our lec-

onary readings will come primarily from the Gospel of Mark. To kick off the year of Mark, during the month January, Pr. Seth will lead a discussion on where we will learn a li le bit about its history and background, and look at the unique perspec ve Mark brings to our understanding of Jesus. Please join us!

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From The Parish Nurses Zoe Holmes, Gwen Daugs and Teresa McDonald

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverb 3:7-8Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord

and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverb 3:7-8

Happy New Year 2015!

Have you made your New Year’s resolu ons yet? (Maybe your resolu on is not to make any New Year’s resolu ons!) This month, your parish nurses would like to recommend that you and your family focus on personal improvement, especially where it comes to a healthier life style. The fitness center in my Arizona winter community recently published a list of daily habits and how they affect life ex-pectancy. I don’t know who originally researched and first published this, but I’d s ll like to share it with you:

· Ge ng just 20 minutes of moderate exercise a day, on average, extends your life by two years. (Is that all?)

·Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day increases your life expectancy by about a year. (Surprising, huh? Most Lutheran will be happy to hear this.)

· Every ten pounds over your poten al weight cuts about a year off your life. (Yikes!)

· Watching two hours of TV a day cuts your life expectancy by about eight months if you are a man and ten months

if you are a woman. (Don’t you wonder how someone came up with this?)

· If you eat one por on of red meat a day, you will live about 14 months less than you would if you did not eat red meat. (Makes you want to become a vegetarian)

· Ea ng five servings of fruits and vegetables a day increases life expectancy by 4.3 years for men and 3.8 years for

women. (Why do men get an extra six months on this one?)

· Smoking a pack of cigare es a day takes seven to eight years off your life. (Ask Humphrey Bogart or Gary Cooper!)

· Having one alcoholic drink a day actually increase your life expectancy by about a year. But every addi onal drink per day decreases your life expectancy by eight and a half months for men and seven months for women. (Not an incen ve, gals!)

This year, experts are encouraging en re families to consider making a pledge to adopt a healthier and more ac ve lifestyle. Parents have more poten al than anybody else to influence their children’s behavior—including their ea ng habits—according to a study by the Academy of Nutri on and Diete cs. “You are the most influen al role model in your child’s life,” says Kim Larson, registered die an nutri onist and Acad-emy spokesperson. “Modeling healthy ea ng behaviors encourages children to adopt and choose healthy behaviors that will benefit them for a life me.”

Small steps add up. Larson recommends making healthy lifestyle changes that are realis c and easy to s ck with over the long-haul. Try adop ng these healthy choices for your family: * Make sure your children know that they are part of a team and that health and fitness are a family affair. * Encourage children to help plan family meals and their own meals—from developing the menu to shopping for it to preparing and serving the meal. * Research snacks. Know what’s healthy to put in your body and what isn’t. The food that lines your pantry shelves can be a major determinant for you and your family to maintain healthy ea ng habits. If you stock your shelves with junk food, your family’s diet and health will suffer. Keeping nutri ous foods on (con nued)

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(parish nurses con nued) hand instead gives your family be er access to have the best diet possible. Here are a few other changes to think about for the New Year even if you’re not into resolu ons: Learn to say “No!” You cannot be everything to everyone at all mes. Reduce stress. Stop over-scheduling yourself. Say “no” to events, ac vi es and obliga ons that do not mean much to you and your family. That leaves more me for the things that are meaningful. And make sure you also carve out me for yourself each day, even if it is just fi een minutes of doing something you like. Unplug more o en We all love technology but some mes we’re too connected to the outside world and not connected enough to one an-other. Make it a family habit to not bring your smart phone to the dining table. And try to not use your smart phone, computer or other devices between a family determined me and bed me every evening. You’ll be surprised at the quality me you’ll have available! Give back Giving back to those less fortunate is rewarding. There are hundreds of ways that you and your family can contribute to others by par cipa ng in community ac vi es, whether that’s at Agnus Dei or volunteering at a local food bank or local hospital. Even if you decide to not make any resolu ons for 2015, please keep in mind that preven ve health is important for a be er quality of life for you and your family. January is a great month to schedule eye examina ons, physical examina-

ons, and dental examina ons for the new year. Don’t be a procras nator! Keep in mind that the parish nurses keep weekly hours at the church. Our new office is located in the youth room. You will find Teresa there most Monday mornings and Gwen is there most Wednesday mornings. You are encouraged to stop by to talk with them about any health care needs. Please call the church ahead of me to make sure they are avail-able.

We are thoroughly enjoying getting to know you all better! We continue to work through the directo-ry, setting up times to meet with each household, either in your home or here at church. So, if your last name comes at the beginning of the alphabet, know that we will be contacting you soon to set something up. The sole purpose of the visits is to get to know you better! What are the greatest joys in your lives? What are your greatest challenges? What do you love about Agnus Dei? What are your dreams for the church?

We look forward to visiting, Pastor Seth and Pastor Stephanie

Pastor’s Visits

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Human Concerns

In any language you deserve a big thanks for supporting the following gifts in December:

Dollars for FISH – (as of 12/20/14) $305 Food Backpacks For Kids – Soup Supper collection of$1363 and much more in food donations has

filled the cupboards Peace Families – A very generous selection of presents were delivered on December 19th

To recap 2015:

We collected over 1000 coupons and labels to benefit the Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission

We fed weekend meals to over 60 local kids through FBPK

In Winter – Spring we cleaned our closets of “old” tee shirts and made over 40 baby kits plus fabric kits, and many quilts and personal care kits for Lutheran World Relief

We served a meal at Peace Lutheran in April and again in October

We collected vases, pots, gardening supplies and more for the Women’s Prison horticulture program

Aided by the VBS kids we made over 50 school kits in the Summer - Fall and shipped them with more quilts to LWR

In November we collected gifts for kids served by the Key Peninsula Children’s Home Society

In Summary, while it may have felt like Agnus Dei was in a state of flux in some ways, your generosity was steady and constant. Good Job!

And on to 2015…. Something we’ve done before: As this newsletter is produced we don’t know who will play in the Super Bowl. But we do know who will fill the SOUPER BOWL with coupons and labels…US. Let’s try to make our 1000 label goal in January. The SOUPER BOWL is located on the top of the bookshelf in the narthex.

Something new: The January TP Marathon Challenge Yes, that’s toilet paper to benefit FISH!! Here’s the math: On average a roll of TP is 100 ft. long. So, 52 rolls are about 1 mile long, and a marathon is 26 miles or 1, 372 rolls of TP. If 100 families bring 13 rolls each we will have a Marathon of TP. Crazy??? Just a little. But it’s January and we need a project, and FISH needs TP. So, let’s do it!

Little Lambs Preschool News Registration for the 2015-2016 school year begins in January. If you or someone you know is looking for a quality preschool education, please tell them about Little Lambs. Word of mouth is our best ad-vertising! Did you know that you can benefit our Little Lambs preschool with your shopping dollars by participat-ing in the Fred Meyer Community Rewards Program? It’s easy and once you register online you don’t have to do anything else, every time you shop at Fred Meyer, Little Lambs preschool receives a dona-tion. Fred Meyer donates 2.5 million per year to non-profits in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Sign up for the program by going to www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards and link your Rewards card to Little Lambs by our non-profit number NPO#84590.

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December Attendance (to date) Dec 3 Midweek 55 Dec 7 159 Dec 10 Midweek 55 Dec 14 166 Dec 17 Midweek 62 Dec 21 140

Sharing our Gifts Stewardship Update

Thank you to all, good and faithful stewards.

2014 General Fund Giving Report General Fund: Goal Actual % of Goal Annual $380,000 December (to date) $31,667 $29,306 93% Year to Date $380,000 $332,351 87% Above and Beyond $125,000 $130,260 104% 2014 Designated Giving Report

December (to date) Year to Date Building Fund $2030 $31,620 FISH (local food bank) $305 $6515 World Hunger $2300 $16,421 Organ Lease $695 $6169 Ebola Disaster Response $2251 $2251 Building Fund Balance $86,225

RE-NEWED AND RE-FRESHED This is a quote from one of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis. I believe that he is talking to all Christians no matter how much we are giving to the Church: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amuse-ments, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not all pinch or hamper us, I would say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.” Mike Snowden

Stewardship Committee

Join our pastors for a weekly bible study based on the lectionary on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 AM in the youth room. It will be led by either Pastor Seth or Pastor Stephanie depending on which of them will be preaching that Sunday. All are welcome!

Please let Pastor Seth and/or Pastor Stephanie know if you are in need of pastoral care. If you would like to be contacted by one of our pastors please call the office at 253-851-6222 or email them at pastorstephanie@agnusdeilutheran.org or pas-torseth@agnusdeilutheran.org. In an emergency, you can reach Pastor Seth @ 253-448-3481 or Pastor Stephanie @ 253-234-7752

As you may know, the intercessory prayers for each Sunday are currently being wri en by church mem-bers. For about the past year, Dan Dana, Phyllis Brandt, Marilyn Colyar, and Peter Liljengren have been the prayer writers. If you have any interest in wri ng the prayers once a month, please contact Shari Shull or Marilyn Colyar. If wri ng is something you enjoy, we would be happy to have other voices write prayers reflec ng the needs of our congrega on and the world.

Stewardship

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We are thankful to… The choir, the men’s group and the prayer shawl knitters and others who provid-

ed soup, set up and cleaned up for the Advent midweek soup suppers. The volunteers who set up and decorated for Christmas Worship. All the musicians for the special music in the month of December. Denny Sapp for his work with the new security system. To the knitters for the beautiful, warm hand-knitted hats which were put into the

food bags of the 58 students in our FB4K program. The volunteers and students are very appreciative of your skills and generosity

To our neighbor Richard Madison who came over to edge and mow the church lawn so it would look its best for Christmas worship.

To the Santa Lucia Par cipants: Once again, Santa Lucia brought the light of the Christ Child to our congrega on. Thank you to the youth who par cipat-ed: Keyan Gootkin, Lars Bliss-Miller, Keeley Gootkin, Sophie Alvestad, Sharon Smith, Jessica Bigger, Cecilia Roark, Aaron Hogeberg, Olin Hogeberg and Jonathon Hogeberg. Thanks also to Pastor Seth and Kara Beloate for helping the narrators and the Lucias to interpret the text and deliver it clearly! Also, a huge thank you to those who brought food, helped set up, washed dishes, and cleaned up. It takes a village—and the village responded. A special thank you to Marilyn Hermstad who coordinated the kitchen ac vi es. You all are bring-ers of light! Manga Tåck! Margie Anderson Deb Bruckner Cindy and Bob Beals Phyllis Brandt Gwen and Daryl Daugs Marlene Bridgeforth Ann Rousseau Pa Christensen Helen Willis Kara Beloate Arlene Stang Margaret Duncan Anne Sapp Tamara and Greg Jackson Lyne e Bren n Martha Johnson Ronnie Kulman Ghita Lorenz Neal VanderVoorn Amber Gerspacher Kris n and Doug Page Sonia Miller Linda Ribary Marian Borg Linda Zehnder Rich Cook Tom Bradford Ardith Johnson Marilyn Colyar Chairman, Worship Commi ee

We are so thankful to be members in the Agnus Dei family of faith. Your prayers and good wishes for my sister Lois have been vital in this ten year journey we took together. Words can not fully express our gratitude. God is truly good. Eunice and Dick Werner A HUGE thank you to you all for the incredibly warm and enthusiastic welcome we have received here at Agnus Dei. A special thank you for the many gifts we received at the “Gift Card Shower” that took place on our first Sunday here. Between the gifts and many great suggestions for things to do and places to eat, we are keeping busy exploring and falling in love with the area.

Peace and Joy, Pastor Stephanie and Pastor Seth

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This Month at Agnus Dei--(all meetings at church unless noted.) Wednesdays, 1:30-3:00--Prayer Shawl Ministry meets in the ADLC Youth Room. All knitters and crochet enthu-siasts are welcome! Contact Gwen Daugs Wednesdays, 9:45 am--Back Packs 4 Kids in the com-munity room. Donations always welcome. For information Contact Phyllis Brandt or Pat Borgen Wednesdays, 10:30 am Lectionary Study with our pas-tors in the Youth Room, Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Adult Choir, Contact Shari Shull, 851-6222 Thursdays, 10:00 AM Church Staff Meeting Fridays, 10:00 am--Augsburg Bible Study in the com-munity room. Contact Rose VanderKlomp Jan 3, Saturday, 8:30 am--Men’s Square at the Sun-set Grille, Breakfast and Bible Study. Contact Steve Carlson Jan 3, Saturday, 8:30 am--Women’s Circle at the Sunset Grille, Breakfast and Bible study. Kayaking or walking for those who wish. Contact Sonja Miller Jan 10, 9:00am—1:00PM Council Meeting in the Com-munity Room Jan 13, Tues 1:00 pm (extra day) Quilting for Lu-theran World Relief in the Community Room

Jan 15, Thursday, 5:30 pm--“Theology on Tap” at The Marketplace Grille. Contact Doug McDonnell Jan 16, Friday, 7:00 pm--Agnus Dei Book Group in the community room. Contact Neal VanDerVoorn Jan 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No Little Lambs, Office Closed continued

Celebrations: JANUARY BIRTHDAYS* 3 Terri Schinkel 4 Denny Sapp 5 Lauren Johnson 6 Veronica Kulman 7 Linda Olson 10 Jessica Bigger, Sue Horton, Shinho Park 12 Robert Beals 15 Haley Babare 16 David Skeels 17 Virginia Kenefick, Stacy Bigger 21 Mik Moore 22 Drew Babare, Teresa McDonald 25 Rose VanderKlomp, Jonathon Hogeberg 26 Barbara Deák 27 Chelsea Walker 28 Brock Olive 29 Inessa and Bryna Hay Wiren

JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES 31/59 Daryl and Gwen Daugs

To Jim and Linda Ribary on the birth of Landon Elliot, grandchild number 4, who was born on Nov. 6th and grandchild number 5, Zoe Grace born on December 23rd. And to Teresa McDonald on the birth of grandson number 4! Alexander Christopher, who was born on December 22. What a wonderful Christmas blessings!

January 2015 S M T W T F S

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Jan 20, 1:30 pm--Gather Bible Study in the community room. Social time begins at 1:00 pm) followed by the study found in the January Gath-er Magazine entitled “Transforming Life and Faith.” for more information contact either Marge Olmsted or Barb Deák Jan 27, 1:00 Quilting for Lutheran World Re-lief in the Community Room

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Agnus Dei Lutheran Church Calendar For more information see event details on page 9

Serve in Worship Schedule Coordinators: Altar Guild: Dianna Carlson Altar Flowers: Dianna Carlson Assisting Ministers: Shari Shull Communion Servers and Greeters: Marilyn Hermstad Lectors: Marilyn Colyar Offering Counters: Linda Ribary Ushers: Marilyn Hermstad

10:30 Bible Study

10:30 Bible Study

10:30 Bible Study

10:30 Bible Study

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Serving in Worship January 2015

1/5/15 1/18/15 1/25/15 1/11/15

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The monthly newsletter of Agnus Dei Lutheran Church 10511 Peacock Hill Ave NW

Gig Harbor, WA 98332 Submit newsletter items, subscription requests and address changes to Editor/Administrative Assistant: Cindy Beals 253-851-6222 office@agnusdeilutheran.org Church Staff Pastor: Rev. Stephanie McCarthy 253-851-6222, pastorstephanie@agnusdeilutheran.org Pastor: Rev. Seth Novak 253-851-6222, pastorseth@agnusdeilutheran.org Minister of Music, Shari Shull, A.I.M. 253-851-6222, sharishull@comcast.net Pianist, Susan Luebeck Administrative Assistant, Cindy Beals 253-851-6222, office@agnusdeilutheran.org Council President Carol Dana Treasurer, Lance Colyar Financial Secretary, Pat Humlie Asst. Fin.Secretary, Rose VanderKlomp Zoe Holmes, Parish Nurse Gwen Daugs, Parish Nurse Teresa McDonald, Parish Nurse Jack Stier, Parish Sexton

Council John Barelli, Marlene Bridgforth, Steve Carlson, Lance Colyar, Carol Dana, Ehren Gossler, Don Krump, Linda Olson, Tim Wilson

Little Lambs Preschool Director/Teacher Shannon Moore Email:lambs@agnusdeilutheran.org Board President Debbie Snowden Financial Secretary Kimberly Morgan Secretary Kristin Page