A Message from Pastor Summer - June 2018

We just celebrated Trinity Sunday.  It many ways, the doctrine of the Trinity is daunting.  What do we mean by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one and one in three?  Unfortunately, the creeds do not seem to help us in making the picture clearer, including the Athanasian Creed, which was supposed to answer all the questions.  However, we say that the Trinity is one of the central doctrines of our faith.  We say that we are Trinitarian.  How do we get our hear wrapped around this daunting understanding of God?  How do we make sense of it?  What makes it so important?

To answer those questions, I would like to share a framework that has helped me.   The Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one and one in three are all a way of saying that the very nature of God is relational.  Relationships is who God is.  God builds relationships into everything.  When God created, God created a relational world.  You and I were created in God’s image, which means we were created as relational beings.  There is where we ran into trouble.  We were given the awesome and terrible power to both make relationships and to break them.  God’s design for us was that we would be in relationship with God, our true selves, each other, and the world.  Sin, our breaking relationships, is where we find ourselves.  We live in a broken world.  We feel the impact of those broken relationships every day of our lives.  The story of faith. The story of scripture is our breaking relationships, but more importantly, God restoring them.  The cross is the ultimate sign of our breaking our relationship with God.  In no uncertain terms, we said “No” to God by crucifying his Son.  However, God, in love, is relational (Trinitarian) and God said “Yes” to us by raising Jesus from the dead on Easter and opening the door to eternal life.  God will not let us go.  In describing God, the  Bible uses the word faithful.  In the light of the Trinity, we can also use the word relational.  God is at work in our lives to restore our relationship with God, our true self, others, and the world.  May the work of the Trinity continue is us. 

May Council Highlights

The Church Council met on May 17.  Highlights include:

· The Council voted to accept this year’s Confirmands into membership.  They are: Ryan Beauregard, Carol Anne Bredeson, Brianna Colasurdo, Joshua Evers, Brynn Gill, Jonathan Rodrick, Tanner Rogers, Luke Stevenson, and Roxanne Wieder.

· Pastor Summer, Judy Formalarie, and Todd Rothermel shared the highlights of their experience at Synod Assembly.       Pastor Summer noted that the NJ Synod has a wonderful reputation in the New Jersey State House for advocacy.  The work of the Lutheran Church in New Jersey is recognized and appreciated.

· Courtney Rzeplinski reported that Sunday School is concluding on May 27 with a Field Day for all students. 

· All members are encouraged to sign up for a photography appointment for the new church directory.  Photos will be taken at the CEB on June 10-13.  Please contact Rich Schumann at cobbler_22@yahoo.com or to schedule your appointment.

· The Summer Worship schedule will begin on June 17, with 9:30 a.m. worship at the church.  Beginning June 17, there will also be an 8:30 a.m. Service of Vespers with Communion at the CEB for those who would like to worship earlier / in the air conditioning.

· The Council voted to use $3,000 of this year’s Endowment Mission Outreach funds to support two needed projects at the Flemington Area Food Pantry.

· The Property committee will be contacting Comcast to make arrangements to bring internet access to the church building.  This will provide us with the opportunity to live-stream our worship services, among other things.

· Thank you to:

* Everyone who helped with the Tag Sale.

* Jeff Livingston and Cindy Rupprecht for teaching Confirmation Class again this year.

* Linda Held, Arlene Martin, Cindy Rupprecht and Bonnie Stanski for cross-stitching gifts for the Confirmands.

* Bonnie Summer for hand-knitting a very large supply of Pocket Prayer Shawls.

The next meeting of the Church Council will be on Thursday, June 21.  Meetings are open for all to attend.

Summer Worship schedule begins on June 17

Summer Worship will soon be here.  The first service will be on June 17.  This year, we are trying something different.  We are hoping to give attention to all of the concerns that are raised during the summer.  Those concerns include heat, visibility, music, acoustics, consistency, weekly communion, and fellowship.  To address all of these issues, there will be two services on Sunday through the summer.  There will be a spoken service with communion (Matins), at the CEB at 8:30 a.m.  This service will be in the round and, of course, will have air conditioning.  At 9:30 a.m., there will be traditional Summer Worship at the church, including music and communion, with a coffee hour on the front lawn to follow.  This will be the pattern for the whole summer.  People can chose the worship service that meets their needs.  See you at worship!

Summer Coffee Hour

Volunteers are needed to host Summer Coffee Hour.  This is a time of fellowship on the front lawn of the church, immediately following the 9:30 a.m. worship service.  Please sign up in the narthex to bring cold drinks and light snacks, like fruit and baked goods.  There is actually no coffee provided at Summer Coffee Hour — too hot out!  Any questions?  Contact Bob Durham at 908-255-6201 or tcsaluki@aol.com.

Youth and Family Ministries - Update from Courtney Rzeplinski

Dear Members and Friends,

For me, it is officially summer time. Starting in June, I will move to a lesser schedule for June and July. I will still be at church every Sunday, but will be doing almost all of my remaining work from home. This summer is an exciting time at Zion!

 Over the course of June, July and August, I will be leading a Youth Ministry Study Team that will devote their time to creating an effective youth ministry program here at Zion. I have a few dedicated volunteers who will complete a book study as well as numerous planning meetings so that Zion can relaunch a purposeful youth ministry program. The plan is to launch a program for Fall, or if more time is needed, January of 2019. The process to creating a sustainable youth ministry is not an easy one. The team must first examine why we desire to have a youth program and what we aim to teach our youth. Then the logistical planning comes in place. Who are we targeting? How will we reach them? Who will be the leaders?  All of these questions and more will need to be answered before we launch a program.

Also this summer, we will be celebrating Vacation Bible School (VBS). This year’s them is “Shipwrecked! ... Saved by Jesus” and will be held July 9 through 13. Our VBS program is offered for K-4, and there is an opportunity for our older students to return as helpers for each classroom. If you have interest in helping for VBS or would like to register, please call the church office at 908-439-2040.

There are several smaller projects that will be worked on over the summer as well as these two major areas. I can’t wait to get started!

Peace,

Courtney Rzeplinski

Congratulations to Our Graduates!

Grade School

Ryan Beauregard                

Terrill Middle School to Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS

Carol Anne Bredeson 

Alexandria Middle School to Delaware Valley Regional HS

Brianna Colasurdo               

Readington Middle School to Hunterdon Central Regional HS

Joshua Evers 

Old Turnpike Middle School to Voorhees HS

Brynn Gill 

Readington Middle School to Hunterdon Central Regional HS

Natalie Lundari 

JP Case Middle School to Hunterdon Central Regional HS

Jonathan Rodrick 

Woodglen Middle School to Voorhees HS

Tanner Rogers 

Clinton Public School to North Hunterdon HS

Roxanne Wieder 

Readington Middle School to Hunterdon Central Regional HS

Emma Yarton 

Old Turnpike Middle School to Voorhees HS

High School

Erik Dehkes 

North Hunterdon High School to Carnegie Mellon University

Andi Delia 

Voorhees High School to University of Colorado Boulder

Erik Livingston 

Delaware Valley Regional High School to Roanoke College

Emma Mikitiuk 

North Hunterdon High School to University of Pittsburgh

Katherine Rupprecht 

Voorhees High School to Pratt Institute

College

Tina Dornbusch    

Northwestern University

BS in Mechanical Engineering, minor in Spanish Literature

MS in Mechanical Engineering, concentration on Environmental Sustainability

Zack Heeman        

Rutgers University

BA in Psychology

Allison Kaufman 

Boston University

BA in Computer Science and Philosophy

Chris Merritt 

Ohio University, Scripps College of Communication

BS in Communications – Integrated Media

Cricket Treanor 

Bucknell University

BA in Economics and Environmental Science

Graduate School

Rachael Kaufman 

Virginia Commonwealth University

Master of Social Work

Meet Our Members

Andy & Cindy Rupprecht

Cindy Rupprecht lives with her husband Andy and daughter Katherine in Lebanon Township since 2000, when they joined her family’s migration from Basking Ridge to Hunterdon County.  When one of her sisters was married at Zion, the whole family loved the church so much they all joined. 

Cindy graduated from Moravian College and has had diverse jobs from computer programming to entrepreneur to restaurant cook.  She apparently is still deciding what to be when she grows up.  Andy is a Lehigh graduate who works in IT at NBCUniversal and enjoys running 5K races.  Katherine is a senior at Voorhees HS and will be attending Pratt Institute’s film school in the fall.  In a circle of life note:  Cindy and Andy met at a film class.

Cindy began teaching the pre-school Sunday School 13 years ago and has taught all grades at some point.  There was one group who “literally could not get away from me,” she says, since she kept moving up with them.  She currently helps the team who teach Confirmation and encourages everyone to consider teaching Sunday School because it’s a great way to get to know the kids and their families.

Rick & Ellen Stevenson

Meet the Stevensons!  Rick and Ellen Stevenson both grew up in Hunterdon County. They met in 1979 in third grade and went all through elementary school, high school and even college together. After getting engaged and wanting to join a church together, they made a list of local churches to find one that was a good fit. They planned to go to 3 different church services one Sunday (May 1996). After hearing Pastor Summer’s very first sermon, they both agreed they had to look no further and knew they had found their church, perfect for them. Rick and Ellen were married in July 1997 at Zion Lutheran Church.

Rick & Ellen are busy enjoying raising their four children in Readington Township: Chloe, a junior at Hunterdon Central (age 17) enjoys singing, acting and dancing. Madigan, a sophomore (age 16) loves to bake and plays golf for her high school team and at local golf courses. Luke, a seventh grader (almost 14) enjoys playing baseball and basketball. He’s a catcher and a pitcher. Luke recently made his confirmation at Zion. Kevin (age 9), is in the third grade. Kevin likes all sports but especially baseball, basketball, and lacrosse and is a Chicago Cubs fan.

Rick runs ForQuest Solutions, his own software consulting business. He loves the Yankees and playing sports with his kids. Ellen is former teacher and coach and has been a stay at home mom since her children were born. As a family they enjoy vacationing at Outerbanks, NC, going to NY Yankees games, rooting for Clemson football, eating together at home and restaurants, and spending time at the pool.

Pocket Prayer Shawls

A Pocket Prayer Shawl is a miniature version of a prayer shawl that is small enough to fit inside a pocket or purse. The crafter infuses each stitch with a prayer or loving intention to provide love and goodwill to the person who will receive this small item. They can be carried into surgery, tucked in a military helmet, or slipped under a pillow!  We all need comfort, assurance and love.  We aren’t always comfortable asking for these actions but can more easily accept the love of a handmade item. 

Pocket Prayer Shawls are now available in baskets at the church and CEB for ANYONE to take!  Each one has a tag with the description and a prayer attached to it.  All you need to do it give them away! Please spread them around to anyone who you feel can benefit from a Pocket Prayer Shawl. 

Schedule Your Zion Directory Photo

It has been four years since Zion’s last pictorial directory.   So many things have changed: new marriages, new babies, new members, and maybe even a few new grey hairs. And, look how those kids have grown!  We need new pictures now!!  The pictorial directory is a wonderful asset to Zion’s members, new and old. But we need to have your picture in it to make it work!

Plus, this may also be the time to get your child’s picture taken in their sport uniform, or in their scout uniform. It can also be the perfect time to get portraits taken of your whole family---siblings, children, grandchildren.  You can also bring any props you want like pets or musical instruments. Anyone, not only members of Zion, can sit for a portrait! While we want all of Zion’s friends and members who come to services, you can bring anyone else you like with you.  When was the last time you were able to get a professional portrait taken? Use this opportunity!

There is never an obligation to buy anything---but four lucky people will win a $100 gift certificate towards their purchase through a drawing of those scheduled. Plus, senior citizens also get a discount if they wish to purchase any pictures. Everyone who does sit for a portrait will receive a free 8x10 picture just for getting their portrait taken.

For your convenience, we have selected four days that pictures can be taken.  Starting with Sunday, June 10^th, we will run every day through Wednesday, June 13^th with daytime and evening appointments. You must be scheduled, though, so please respond to one of the emails that have been sent from the church office or contact Richard Schumann to schedule directly with him.  Richard can be reached at 908-627-1261 or cobbler_22@yahoo.com.

Blood Drive - July 28

The Social Ministry Committee is sponsoring a Blood Drive on Saturday, July 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Christian Education Building.

Age restrictions are as follows:  Donors who are 16-17 years old must have a signed parental consent form.  Anyone aged 18-75 is automatically eligible to donate.  After age 75, the donor must have a doctor’s note clearing them for donation.

As a special gift, each donor will be entered  to win a pearl necklace generously donated by Roman Jewelers, valued at $250.