O.S.E-news: August 29

 

This 50^th year of Our Savior is proving to be even more of an eventful year than we anticipated.  To help keep up with some of the many things going on, at the end of this and future E-newsletters we’ll be running an ongoing “Dates to Remember” section.  So, be sure to give that a quick perusal each time. 

 

This Wednesday night, August 31, is our Sunday School Pizza and Registration night, beginning at 6pm.   If you have a child Sunday School age (pre-school thru grade 12) please join us and see what is in store for another Sunday School year.  This is always a fun night and great way to get to know folks!

 

This coming weekend (Labor Day Weekend) we will be celebrating the work that is done in and through our members and friends throughout the week.  This will not only be a way to recognize and give thanks to God for the work we do, but also get to know better what each member does and how each member uses his or her gifts.  So at either 6pm Saturday or 9:30am Sunday worship, bring a business card or brochure for your place of work, or wear what you wear to work, or just plan on filling out a 3X5 card (which we will provide) for you to put your name and what  you do to be placed on our bulletin board.  You might be surprised at all the various gifts and abilities present in this congregation!

 

Now, getting back to this 50^th Anniversary year being even more eventful than anticipated, on August 23 our church council received a letter of resignation from our music director, Jim Boschker.   The council thanks him for his service and sharing his gift of music with us for these past seven plus years.  Jim has been the most gifted and experienced musician Our Savior has had in our 50 year history.  We’ve appreciated the work he’s done with our chancel choir and hand bell choir, along with introducing our congregation to our red hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship.  I’m proud to say that we are probably one of the few congregations in the ELCA who know most of the settings in the ELW, and we have Jim to thank for that.   We understand that he will be moving to Colorado to help his sister care for her seriously ailing husband.  We wish Jim well in this new chapter in his life. 

 

As we also now enter a new chapter in our life, we invite your input as we look at the future of music ministry here at Our Savior.  We have many musically gifted people among us. We thank especially Johanna Jones and Ron Sample for stepping up and leading worship and we look forward to other musical gifts among us to be shared in the weeks and months ahead.   

 

Finally, remember, this will be the last weekend of our Summer Worship Schedule (Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9:30am).  Our regular schedule of Saturday 6pm, Sunday 8:30 and 11am and Sunday School at 9:45 am resumes the weekend of September 10-11.

 

For other information about the life and ministry of Our Savior be sure to visit our website at: www.oursaviorelca.com. 

 

See you in church!     Pastor Jack +

 

“Dates to Remember”

 

Wednesday August 31:   Sunday School and Confirmation Registration Night, 6pm with pizza and salad supper.

 

Labor Day weekend, September 3-4:  Last weekend of summer schedule:  Saturday worship 6pm, Sunday 9:30am.  For all our working folks, bring a business card and wear your “work” clothes to worship as we celebrate and give thanks for the workers among us.

 

Wednesday September 28:   Wednesday night dinners resume; 6pm!    This will also be the first night of 3 New Member Gatherings.   Anyone interested in becoming a member of Our Savior, or just learning more about the congregation is invited to join us at 6:30pm after the dinner then again on Sunday, Oct.2 at 9:45am and again on Wed. Oct. 5 at 6:30pm.    New members will be received the weekend of Oct. 15-16.

 

Beginning First Thursday evening in October:   Dancing with the Lutherans!  Watch for more info to come.

 

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, one service only at 10am!    50^th Anniversary Celebration and Dedication of our new addition!

There will be a service on Saturday at 6pm that weekend, but only one service that Sunday.  Bishop Ed Benoway will be our guest preacher that day.  Worship will be followed by an “Open House” to tour the new addition, pictures and remembrances of Our Savior’s 50 year history, and a dinner.   Watch for more info, but mark your calendars now!

 

 

 

Today is another one of life’s milestones for many children and families: the first day of school in Indian River County! This past weekend it was wonderful having so many of our children, teachers and those who work in the school system in any way, come forward for a beginning of the school year blessing. While a couple of our folks couldn’t be here due to being sick or out of town, the blessing included them also.




To take a few images from our Scripture readings and sermon yesterday, our prayer for our students, teachers (and all of us in fact) is that: 1) this year may be built on God’s presence and promises, which is a Rock solid foundation for life; 2) with that foundation that our lives be transformed into the kind of people God made us to be; and 3) that we find our true identity in that transformed, “built on a Rock” life, remembering that we are numbered with all of those heroes of faith from Abraham to Peter and all of the others since.



With the school year begun, Sunday School is now around the corner. A week from Wednesday, August 31, will be Sunday School registration night at Our Savior. A pizza and salad dinner will be served, children can come and meet their teachers and classmates, everyone will get to meet “Goldie” our Golden Retriever “Seeing Eye Puppy in Training”, who will be this year’s mascot for the Sunday School and you’ll get to hear about all that is in store for this new Sunday School year, for our kids and adults. So, please mark your calendars and plan on joining us.



As we keep an eye on our latest tropical weather system, our “Disaster Response Team”, which went to Alabama back in June, is on standby and ready for whatever may come our way. But the general feeling is that we probably won’t see more than some extra wind and rain, which is still needed (at least the rain part).



For other information about what is happening in and around Our Savior, please check out our website at: www.oursaviorelca.com . To see the member directory on that website, the password is: letyourlightshine. (I know, it’s kinda long. We’re working on that.)



God’s work; our hands! See you in church! Pastor Jack Diehl +

There's no doubt that the summer season is winding down! Teachers are all busy in their classrooms, the "Back to School" sales are happening, and this coming weekend, we'll be having our "Blessing of the Backpacks" at both the 6pm Saturday service and the 9:30am Sunday service. Our children will be bringing their backpacks to church, placing them at the altar, and during the service will be invited up, along with all teachers and others who work in our school system for a beginning of the school year blessing.




On the construction front, attached with this email is a picture of the great progress being made on our addition. The walls are up and trusses may be going up by later this week! In the picture you can see in the center the higher part of the wall, which is where the new main entrance will be. Mark your calendars now for the dedication and 50th anniversary celebration on Sunday, December 11!



This past week we received notice that Thrivent (the fraternal insurance company for Lutherans) was sending us $1200! What a nice surprise! This is because several of our members designated their "Thrivent Choice Dollars" to Our Savior Lutheran Church! Many thanks to those of you who did this. This is something any Thrivent member can do. You just need to call 1-800-THRIVENT (or 1-800-847-4836) and tell them you would like to designate your Thrivent Choice Dollars to Our Savior Lutheran Church in Vero Beach. Or, you can designate them to something like "Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida" or any of a number of other recipients. If you don't designate your "Thrivent Choice Dollars", they will still go to a good cause, but one of their choosing, not yours. So, if you're a Thrivent policy holder, please consider this. It costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time to make the phone call.



Along with school beginning, the Youth Group (grades 6-12) will have its kickoff party for the new school year on Wednesday August 24, 6:30-8:30pm. Plans are in the works for "Rock the Universe" coming up along with other great things in Youth Ministry. Whether you are a long time Youth Group veteran or brand new, plan on joining us as another season begins.



Finally, our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will be meeting all week in Orlando. For highlights or to follow the events of the week as they happen, go to www.elca.org.



As another season is about to unfold before us, may we enter it with hope, confidence and trust in the One who promises to be with us til the end of the age. And in the time we have, may we be reflections of His Light in all of our comings and goings.



See you in church! Pastor Jack +

"How my mind has changed" is the title of an occasional article in a bi-weekly theological journal. I thought of that title as I reflected myself on how my mind has changed on some-thing. As Christians, and Lutherans especially perhaps, we don't like to "blow our own horn." When giving a gift to the church, we prefer to do that anonymously.

But several years ago when we were visiting Savannah, Georgia and touring the old churches there, I noticed the names of people (most who have long since been gone) under some of the stained glass windows. As I looked at those names I didn't see those people as "bragging" or "blowing their own horn". Instead what I saw were some of God's people who left a bit of their legacy to the glory of God for the benefit of genera-tions to come. These were real people, living real lives, with all the joys and sorrows of life, but who left a part of themselves which would point to a greater Life, to God's ongoing presence in our lives.

Then I thought of the brick at Beachland Elementary with the Diehl Family name on it, as a way of giving thanks for our 15 years there (4 kids, 3 years apart!); and the Diehl Family name on the Rotary Fountain at Pocahontas Park, as a way of giving thanks for being a part of this community for all of these years. And I think of the names we have here at Our Savior in our Memorial Book of those who gave the pews or the windows in our existing church some 28 years ago, and how when I see those names, many of whom have gone on to glory, I rememberthem and give thanks for them and am reminded that we are a part of that "great cloud of witnesses" mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews.


For that reason, my mind has changed about names being out where they can be seen, as a witness to our faith and gratitude to God for how our lives have been blessed, and how we can be a witness to God's love even after we are gone.

That is the thought behind our "Tree of Life" which will be "growing" out of "Living Stones" in our new narthex/lobby area. This "tree" will be formed out of copper and the leaves on it will be of gold, silver and bronze colors. On each leaf will be names of families, children, parents, in honor of, or in memory of, or simply to the glory of God. To claim a leaf the gold leaves are $5,000, silver $2500 and bronze $1000. The payment for these can be spread over 5 years if necessary. The "Living Stones" at the base of the tree will be for other gifts. But when the tree is up, there will be no "key" saying how much any of the leaves or stones "cost". It will just be a beautiful legacy to the real people who have been and/or are a part of the life and ministry of Our Savior on this 50th Anniversary year. And for anyone who prefers to claim a leaf or part of a leaf or stone anonymously there will be plenty of un-named leaves and stones.

So no matter how you'd like to be a part of this 50th anniversary project, it will be a witness each of us can make to God's love and care both to those around us now and to future generations. For when all is said and done, isn't that what God's call to us is in our Baptism? "Let your light so shine before others that people may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven!"

Letting our light shine, for 50 years and counting!

Pastor Jack Diehl +

We still have several weeks of summer, and our summer worship schedule, yet to go. Having been gone on vacation for a big part of July I almost forgot what a nice change this summer schedule is! Yesterday was a great example. During our one service on Sunday morning (9:30) folks who don't usually get to worship together were there, catching up on summer travels and activities and reconnecting with one another. There was also a special kind of energy about all being together. Many thanks to all who are such good sports about making the adjustment and help make summer a special time together!




Along those lines of being together, we all got to recognize and say good-bye to Laura Hincemon. Laura and her husband David have been an important part of our congregation and community for about 25 years. Laura was our organist for many years during the time that Linda Fox was our director of music. After retiring she had been a "pink lady" at the hospital for many years, continuing to share her sweet spirit in that setting. She also has regularly provided cookies and other goodies for our coffee hours and for the staff. David was the funeral director at Strunk funeral home in Sebastian for many years, and cared so well for a number of our families in that part of the community. Laura and David will soon be moving to Salsbury NC near Laura's daughter, closer to her roots. As they have been a blessing to us, may God bless them in this new chapter in their life. How good it was for members from both the 8:30 and 11am services to be together to share in this sending.



A quick story about priorities: This past Friday one of our members, Harry Olmstead, who lives alone, was admitted to the hospital, right from a visit to the doctor. He hadn't expected this. Realizing he would be there over the weekend, when he asked his daughter to go to his house and bring him his toothbrush, shaver, etc., he told her to be sure and get his offering envelop (he told her right where it was) and make sure she put it in the offering plate when she came to church! He said he knew everyone's part helps. :-) Thanks for being a great example for all of us!



Looking ahead, a week from this coming weekend, August 20-21, will be the last weekend before school starts already! On that weekend we are inviting all school children (including college students if they are around) to bring their backpacks, or computers or whatever, for a "Blessing of the Backpacks". We also invite our teachers (and we have quite a few!) and anyone who works in the school system, to bring lesson plans or just come and be included in the blessing at the beginning of another school year. So, get the word around, mark your calendars and plan to join us on either that Saturday or Sunday August 20-21 for a beginning of the school year blessing!



Finally, re: our construction! One of our members will be cruising the parking lot in our golf cart before worship on Saturday and Sunday to spare folks the longer than usual walk to the church during our construction. This service was pretty well received this past weekend. Don't be shy. Take advantage of it! It's fun besides. And speaking of construction, concrete blocks are being delivered today and the walls will start going up tomorrow! Maybe we'll have some more pictures for you within the next week or so.



As your week unfolds, when the storms of life come your way remember the words from our 2nd reading this past Sunday, how "the Lord is generous to all who call on him" and "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." We live with a great Promise and Presence in our lives as a people of faith.



See you in church! Pastor Jack +