A Message from Pastor Selover

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

In his book With Glad and Generous Hearts:  A Personal Look at Sunday Worship, Pastor William Willimon describes disciples as “Sunday people.”  He writes,

“A Christian is someone who has heard the call of Jesus to ‘follow me.’  In obedience to Jesus’ invitation, Christians now gather with others who have heard the same invitation in order to listen to Jesus, to speak to him, to eat and drink in his presence, and to celebrate his work in the world.  Then we scatter.  Having been refreshed and re-created on Sunday, we are now able to live as his disciples in ways that show forth the Good News to others.  We are Sunday people.”

I love that.  We are Sunday people.  Throughout this Lenten season, we have been focusing on what it means to be Sunday people -- people for whom worship is central.  Why Sunday?  Sunday is the day that grounds the rest of our week.  We come to hear a word of grace on Sunday, so that the rest of the week we can speak a word of grace to others.  Sunday is the day when we who are hungry are fed, so that we might feed others Monday through Saturday.  We meet Jesus on Sundays, praying that throughout the rest of the week, others might meet Jesus in us.

In the beginning of the season I invited you to take another step on the Road to Discipleship and use worship as your Lenten discipline.  Many of you have.  One of Zion’s disciples chose to attend Ash Wednesday as part of her Lenten discipline -- and she invited a friend!  Another disciple responded to the invitation by “taking something on” for Lent and making the commitment to attend Book of Faith each week.  She also invited a friend!  Someone else decided to try a new worship experience, attended the Healing Service for the first time, and found it to be very powerful. 

How has worship helped you connect to God in these forty days?  Tell me your story, or write it on the connection board in the back of the sanctuary for others to see.  Come and worship this Lent.  Take a step on the Road to Discipleship.  Deepen your relationship with God.  Why?  Because we are Sunday people. That’s who we are.

See you in church!

Pastor Dale Selover

Church Council Highlights - February, 2013

Pastors’ Reports: 

Pastor Summer reported on the January Visioning meetings and shared a diagram that captured what was said – that we are a community rooted in Jesus, lived out in worship, and connected in service. 

Committee Updates: 

Worship & Music - Janet Hornich reported that the committee is preparing for Lent and Easter. The work is continuing to move forward with the new sound system in the church and the altar table has moved forward to make room for the altar piece that has been mounted on the wall. 

Parish Life – Wendy Minerowicz reported that there were 28 people at the German Winter Fest party, and Dinner Groups are ongoing. 

Shepherding – Rosi Delia report that the committee is working on creating a “mapping” of the congregation intended to show where Zion’s members live in relation to Oldwick. 

Youth – Tina Dornbusch shared that the youth group is looking forward to participating in Box City on June 1 and 2.  The Rehoboth trip is also on the calendar and a Work Camp will be held in July.

Social Ministry – Linda Held reported that Zion is signed up to provide 20 people for New Jersey shore relief when the need arises.  Social Ministry would like to prepare “relief baskets” at Easter time, similar to the December Senior Baskets and encourage more members to sign up to help at Dover’s Faith Kitchen.  The next IHN hosting period is May 5 – 19.

Mission 300 – Pastor Summer met with Bob Durham and Judy Formalarie in preparation to add people to the Mission 300 committee and to develop plans for the historical celebration.

Property – John Minerowicz and his committee has met with the Tewksbury Historical Preservation Committee to review the parsonage restoration plans.   The committee is reviewing bids that have been received from five different contractors for the work that needs to be done. 

Evangelism– Donna Hunter reported that a New Member class is planned for March.  Plans are underway for a social sometime in the spring for those members who have joined Zion since 2010, the new member shepherds, and Church Council members.  Evangelism is continuing to work with Christian Education on creating a Children’s Prayer Book for the New Member/Visitor Bags. 

Finance – Tim Hunter reported that the committee will be working to manage the 2013 budget and spending.  Also, the committee will work with Stewardship to better understand ways to increase member giving to further support Zion’s needs.

Stewardship - On behalf of Joanne Rupp, Sandy Matsen reported that the committee will be sending a letter to Mission 300 pledgers to let them know the status of their three year commitments and progress toward completing their pledge.

Christian Education News

This summer Vacation Bible School will start on July 15 and conclude on July 19.  Anyone from the age of three through the completion of fourth grade is welcome.  We are very excited about this summer’s program – “SonWest Roundup – A Rip-Roaring Good Time with Jesus!”  Each day kids will discover God’s ultimate plan of salvation in Jesus, because “Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Anyone interested in helping out, please contact Melanie Hodges at shodgesa@optonline.net.

Adult Forum

Meaningful Worship  

Throughout the season of Lent, Sunday morning’s Adult Forum is focusing on worship.  Bring your questions and share your experiences as we discuss the liturgy, the seasons of the church year, and our worship life together.  Class is held Sunday mornings at 9:45 am in the Great Room.

Worship & Music News

Members of Worship & Music committee have been hard at work assisting in the enhancement and refurbishment of the sanctuary.  

The sound system speakers have been installed; and within the next two weeks, the members of Zion will be enjoying the benefits of having a top-of-the-line speaker system for speech enhancement.   The laser-controlled speakers  will provide optimum speech enhancement enabling everyone to hear Sunday’s readings and inspiring sermons.  The final steps are underway so be on the “look-out” … or should I say… “listen-up.”  

The altar has taken on a “new” and beautiful look.  Sitting in the pews, the altar and top piece appear to be one piece of “furniture,” however, upon taking a closer look, you’ll see the altar piece is actually mounted to the wall.  The cross takes the predominant place on this “new” piece, flanked by the flower arrangements. The surprise is that this altar piece is actually Zion’s original piece brought back to its original state by a true craftsman – Harold Wrede.  Thanks to Harold, we will be seeing all of the pieces restored, including the altar, pulpit, lectern, and baptismal font.  A special thanks to Harold, for sharing with us the gifts God has given him.

The refurbishing doesn’t stop there……  we’ve got plans for refinishing / refurbishing the pews with new pew cushions, the altar railing, and the chancel approach.

Special thanks to the committee for working so hard in moving these efforts forward.  Special thanks to the members of Zion for their willingness to embrace change.  Not only do these changes enhance the Zion of today, but move Zion into a new era and celebrate the next 300 years.

Shepherding

The Committee met for the first time in 2013 and reviewed all of the ministries Shepherding is involved in at some level.  There are a total of nine and counting – Stephen Ministries, Prayer Chain, Caring Connections, Prayer Shawls, Visitation Program (new), Women of Zion, New Member Log/Tracking, Pet Blessings, and Pictorial Directories. This month we would like to see how we can fine tune the PRAYER CHAIN and how/if we can make more PRAYER SHAWLS available to those in need.

If you have asked for prayers in the past for yourself or someone else then you are still on the prayer chain.  If your prayers have been answered or should be modified, please let us know by emailing Jenny Gelson at parishadministrator@zionoldwick.com with an update.

Prayer shawls are available to anyone in need.  If you would like one or, know of someone who can use one, please contact Kathy Rustwick  or Pastor Dale Selover at pastorselover@zionoldwick.com.   If someone would like to make a prayer shawl the directions are on the Zion website. We can always use more prayer shawls!

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New Member Classes

If you would like to learn more about Zion and our ministries, or if you or someone you know are interested in joining our congregation, please join us for New Member Classes.

Sunday, March 3      “Everything You Wanted to Know about the Lutheran Church”                          with Pastor Summer

Sunday, March 17     “Expectations:  Yours and Ours”  with Pastor Selover

Sunday, March 24       Meet the Council

All classes take place on Sunday mornings at 9:45 am in the Great Room of the CEB.  New members will be welcomed at both services on Sunday, April 7.

If you have any questions, please speak with Donna Hunter or the pastors.

Volunteering at Faith Kitchen

I’ve known about Faith Kitchen for years, but only as a line item on the church’s annual budget and as those folks who need A LOT of coffee.  This all changed early last month when I joined Pastor Mark and five other members of Zion to make and serve lunch to those who depend on Faith Kitchen for what could well be their only hot meal of the day.  Faith Kitchen is connected to Trinity Lutheran Church in Dover and sits, literally, right on the Rockaway River.  The surrounding neighborhood is a far cry from the Village of Oldwick but it was clear from the moment we pulled up with our trunk full of groceries, that this is a very special place.

We were met by Trink Schwartz, Director of Faith Kitchen, and as we lugged bags of canned beans, sausages, bread, vegetables, and fruit up the stairs, she outlined the job that lay ahead.  We had a little over 2 hours to prepare lunch for about 100 people. Piece of cake!!  Pastor had it all figured out.  On the menu for the day was sausage and white bean soup with rice, green salad, fruit, bread, and an assortment of pastries (oh yes, and lots of coffee).  We all quickly divided up the tasks and went to work.  There were cans and cans of beans to open (with a manual can opener) and mash, pounds of Italian sausage to boil, slice, and fry, bags of onions and carrots to chop, and the largest pot of rice I’ve ever seen to make.  We set the tables, mixed up the salad, set out the pastries, brewed the coffee and were set and ready to go when the doors opened at 11:30.

I am not entirely sure what I expected regarding the community that gathered for lunch, probably a stereotype from an old movie, but I was quite surprised by who showed up.  They were mostly men, young and old, clean and a little less clean, of various races, and speaking different languages.  And I purposely use the word “community” to describe them.  It was clear that this really was a community.  People greeted each other as friends. The younger folk helped serve the older folk and those who were less able to serve themselves.  There was a lot of chatter and laughter as well as some serious and sad faces. But from pretty much each and every person there, we received a smile and a “Thank You.”  They LOVED the soup (it was a cold, damp day) but were less sure of the chocolate walnut biscotti that had been donated by another church; we all thought the biscotti was the best!!  One of the rules at Faith Kitchen is that everyone is served before seconds are given.  To ensure this, we couldn’t serve seconds until 12:30 and at about 12:20, the line for seconds started forming.  In total were served 77 folks, probably most of them twice and more than a few three times.  We had only a small pot of soup left, which Trink saved for the next day (the day we were expecting several inches of snow). 

The old cliché of “you get more than you give” is truer than you may think.  We had a great morning serving God’s children.  What I took away from the experience is that all people are people regardless of their situation.  We are all part of the same humanity; and all, regardless of where we find ourselves, need each other.  As a church, Zion is looking to make and serve lunch at Faith Kitchen the first Thursday of every month through (and hopefully beyond) 2013.  Please consider being a part of this ministry and joining your brothers and sisters in Christ to make a difference in the Faith Kitchen community.  If you would be able to help - and by help we mean give of your time, heart, and hands - please talk to Pastor Summer or someone from Social Ministry.  All are welcome and all are needed.