Summer Punch Bowl

During the summer, we have a reception every Sunday after the 9:45 a.m. service. Thanks to Shirley Coen, Tricia Murphy, and the rest of the Christian Education Committee for bringing delicious cookies and brownies and for hosting yesterday's reception. We have the reception outside whenever we can. As you can see from this picture, yesterday was a beautiful day.

Music for the Second Sunday after Petecost, June 10

During the offering this Sunday, Dan Minnenan, bass, will sing Life as a Father, by John Prindle Scott (1877-1932). Prindle was an English composer best known for setting scriptural texts to music for solo singers. We thank Dan for singing this week.

Other music:

ELW Setting Four of the Communion Service
Prelude: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, Robert Hobby
Entrance Hymn: Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing, ELW 886
Hymn of the Day: Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak, ELW 676
Hymns During Communion: Abide with Me, ELW 629; I Am the Bread of Life, ELW 485
Sending Hymn: I'm So Glad Jesus Lifted Me, ELW 860
Postlude: I've Just Come from the Fountain, Michael Hassell

The Color Green

If you've come to this site before, you'll notice that we've changed the color scheme to green.

Green is the liturgical color that is used by many denominations, including the ELCA, during the Sundays after Pentecost. The Gospel readings that are read during worship in this season emphasize the teachings and ministry of Christ. The color green is used to symbolize our growth in faith as we experience these readings in worship.

If you come to our services next weekend, you'll see that the paraments that hang on the altar, lecturn, and pulpit have been changed to green, as well as Pastor Gary's stole and chasuble. The next changes will occur in the fall when we celebrate Reformation (red), All Saint's Day (white), and the festival of Christ the King (white), then turn to blue for Advent.

For more information on the meaning and use of liturgical colors, click on this link to go to the ELCA's FAQs about worship: Liturgical Colors.

This Year's Confirmands

I just received this picture that was taken of our confirmands on Pentecost, the day they were confirmed. Congratulations to Andrew David Dickerson, Emily Susan Kugel, Nicole Joann Martinez, Morgan Leigh Nandrasy, Alec John Snead, and their families. Thanks to Pastor Gary for helping to lead these youth on their faith journey.

Our Pastor's Weekly Ministry Update

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We still have AIR CONDITIONING in the sanctuary while we wait for the new system to be installed!! Thanks to Ron Iverson and the members of the Property Committee, we are able to temporarily utilize the old AC system in the sanctuary that was disconnected in anticipation of the installation of the new system, but not yet dismantled. This is truly a blessing, as it will be mid-August before the new system is installed. As we say at camp, God is good – all the time!

Last Sunday, Sharon and Pat Griffy renewed their marriage vows during worship, and then treated all who could stay to a grand post-worship catered meal. Thank you, Sharon and Pat, for choosing to include our community of faith in your celebration!

This weekend, our lessons include two miracle stories in which God raises two people from the dead, which is what our Lord does for us each day by breathing forgiveness, hope and new life into us through the Holy Spirit. At the conclusion of both worship services (Sat., 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 9:45 a.m.), the Health Ministry Team will offer free, confidential blood pressure screenings for all who wish to participate.

On Saturday, June 9, Christ Lutheran Church (one of our mission partners) is hosting a Community Block Party in Old North Dayton, from 1 – 3 p.m. Individual and family volunteers are invited to assist with set up, tear down and staffing the booths. Please prayerfully consider sharing an hour or more of your time between 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you are interested, or have questions, please contact the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church.

Thought for the week:

"I myself do nothing. The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me." – William Blake

May God's blessings fill you with hope and joy this week so that you may live the life God has in store for you. See you in worship.

In Christ,

Gary

Chancel Choir Picnic

This year's Chancel Choir picnic will be this Friday, June 8th, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. The following will be provided:

• Hotdogs and brats
• Iced tea and lemonade
• A hot grill

Bring a dish to share. You can also bring other items to grill, if you want something fancier. If you haven't signed up on one of the sign-up sheets, please call Sonia to let her know you're coming and what you can bring. See you there!

A Big Ending to the Choir Season

Yesterday was the end of the choir season, and all of the choirs participated in the service. Thank you to all of the choir members and their directors:

• Chancel Choir - Ginger Minneman, Director
• Sonshine Choir - Elizabeth Beal, Director (thanks to her husband Joe for substituting for Elizabeth, who was unable to attend yesterday)
• Joyful Noise Choir - Celeste Hoerner, Director
• Bell Choir - Richard Freudenberger, Director

Thanks also go to Sonia Davila for accompanying the Sonshine Choir and to Phil Hanna for singing a solo with them.

As always, we appreciate the talents of our organist, Rachel Spry.

Our music team is lead by Ginger Minneman as Music Director. Ginger's talent, creativity, cheerfulness and enthusiasm make her a joy to work with, and inspire us to keep pushing ourselves to grow as church musicians.

The choirs will resume in September. In the meantime, we look forward to hearing soloists and small groups singing and playing through the summer.

Saturday

Thanks to Terry Bruns for leading our service yesterday evening in Pastor Eichhorn's absence. Terry's sermon, based on the readings for Trinity Sunday, was about wisdom and hope. May the wisdom of the Holy Spirit lead you to walk in hope, trusting that you can take the next step toward doing what God wants you to accomplish.

Worship Committee Meeting

The Worship Committee will meet on Saturday, June 9, at 10:00 a.m.

Summer Worship Schedule Begins this Weekend

In the summer, we have one worship service each Sunday. It is at 9:45 a.m. In September, will return to having two services at 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Our Saturday service is at 5:30 p.m. year round. As noted below, this service is held outdoors in the Prayer Labyrinth, weather permitting.

Please join us for one of our services this weekend.

Choir Rehearsals on June 3

Choir rehearsal times for Sunday, June 3:

• 8:55 a.m. - Bell Choir
• 9:00 a.m. - Sonshine Choir
• 9:00 a.m. - Joyful Noise Choir
• 9:15 a.m. - Chancel Choir
• 9:45 a.m. - service begins

From Our Pastor - Ministry Update

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It was a wild weekend in worship, as we celebrated the Festival of Pentecost. Saturday night worship moved outside for the first time this year, and it was grand!

On Sunday, at the 10:30 service, five of our youth affirmed their baptisms in the Service of Confirmation. The five were Andrew David Dickerson, Emily Susan Kugel, Nicole Joann Martinez, Morgan Leigh Nandrasy, and Alec John Snead. In the worship procession, 3 of the confirmands carried poles with red streamers, and on one pole was also attached a dove kite, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. I am thrilled to announce to you that before the procession reached the chancel steps, we had captured the Holy Spirit(!), as the streamers from one pole became completely tangled up with the dove kite. It was great to watch from the rear of the procession! Needless to say, our five new adult members of Lutheran Church of Our Savior are ready to serve the congregation in their new capacity, and I am proud to have had the privilege to work with them in Confirmation over the last two years! And it was a joy to worship with their extended family members yesterday. Special thanks to members of the Christian Education Committee, who hosted a reception in the confirmands' honor after worship.

NEXT SUNDAY, JUNE 3 OUR WORSHIP SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR THE SUMMER – 9:45 A.M. There will be no 8:15 or 10:30 Sunday worship throughout the summer. Saturday worship continues at 5:30 p.m.

Next Sunday, is also Music Sunday in worship (9:45 a.m.). The Chancel Choir, Hand Bell Choir, Sunshine Children's Choir and Joyful Noise Children's Choir will lead us in worship. Also, during worship, we will celebrate with Sharon and Pat Griffy as they affirm their marriage vows on the 25th anniversary of their wedding in the midst of our community of faith. Following worship, Sharon and Pat invite everyone to join them for lunch on the Parish House west patio. Your prayers and presence are the only gifts requested.

And also next Sunday, after worship (9:45 a.m.), the Youth Group will be holding a Bake Sale to support the HVAC project. So, stay for lunch, and then buy some dessert to take home with you!

Please keep in prayer the Southern Ohio Synod, which meets in assembly this Friday and Saturday at Capital University in Columbus. Terry Bruns is our lay representative.

May the Holy Spirit move you this week to share the Good News of Jesus with at least one person!

In Christ,

Gary

Music for Pentecost

• 10:30 service: Setting Four of the service of Communion from ELW.
• Prelude: Pentecost, by Everett Titcomb
• Entrance Hymn: ELW #367, Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds
• Hymn of the Day: 8:15 service, ELW #396, Spirit of Gentleness; 10:30 service, Veni, Sancte Spritus (Taize)
• Offertory: 8:15 service, Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest, by Paul Manz; 10:30 service, Chancel Choir, No Rocks A'Cryin, by Rollo Dillworth
• Sending Hymn: ELW #400 God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind
• Postlude: Toccata Giocosa, by Gilbert Martin

Today's prelude, Pentecost, makes use of the chant Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest). Titcomb's choral anthem I will Not Leave You Comfortless, which our ChancelChoir sang two weeks ago, uses the same chant.

A Message From Our Pastor - Pentecost; Confirmation; Saturday Service Moving Outdoors

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

This weekend, we celebrate the 3^rd major festival of the church year: PENTECOST. This marks the day in which God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the believers in Jerusalem, and that same Spirit is still poured out upon believers in baptism today. The color of Pentecost is RED, and I encourage everyone to wear that color to worship this weekend. Red is the symbol of the blood of the martyrs. The word martyr comes from the Greek, meaning to witness one's faith. By virtue of our baptism, we are all martyrs – witnesses for Jesus.

During the 10:30 a.m. worship service we will celebrate with 5 youth who will affirm their baptismal vows in the Service of Confirmation. A special reception will be held in their honor following worship.

The Saturday (5:30 p.m.) service moves outside in the Memorial Prayer Labyrinth this weekend. Special thanks to Judy Ault, Karen Roberts, and Rachel Spry, who filled the flower beds with new soil and flowers, as well as picked up plenty of debris from the trees. And special thanks to Carl Ault, who helped me clean out the pond.

REMEMBER!!!!!!! THIS IS THE LAST WEEKEND FOR 8:15 AND 10:30 A.M. SUNDAY WORSHIP – WE MOVE TO THE SUMMER SCHEDULE (9:45 A.M.) ON JUNE 3.

May God bless you this week, and may you follow the Spirit's prodding to join us in worship this weekend!

In Christ,

Gary

Pentecost

Acts 2:2-4. "And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."

This Sunday, May 27, is Pentecost. The banners that will be hung in the sanctuary were made several years ago. Members of our congregation traced their hands on red fabric. The flames on the banners were made from the tracings.

Bell Choir

Just a reminder that the Bell Choir will rehearse after the 10:30 a.m. service this coming Sunday, May 27, and at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 31. We will play at the service on June 3.

The Ascension of Our Lord

This weekend, we celebrate the Festival of Ascension of Our Lord. The following is the music for our services on Sunday:

• ELW Communion Setting Four (10:30 a.m. service)
• Prelude: Deo Gratias, Healey Willan
  
• Entrance Hymn: Hail Thee Festival Day, ELW 394
• Hymn of the Day: Allelulia! Sing to Jesus, ELW 392
• Offertory: organ at 8:15 a.m. service, Lobt Gott, Ihr Christen, J.G. Walter; Chancel Choir at 10:30 a.m. service, O Clap Your Hands, John Rutter
  
• Hymns during Communion: Lord Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor, ELW 475; Like the Murmur of the Dove's Song, ELW 403
• Final Hymn: Crown Him with Many Crowns, ELW 855
• Postlude: Toccata, Gordon Young
  

Ascension; Saturday Service Moving Outside - A Message From Our Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

This weekend we celebrate THE FESTIVAL OF THE ASCENSION, the second of the three great festivals of the church (Easter, Ascension, Pentecost). Just as the disciples were beginning to understand Jesus' resurrection, he left them. But his visible absence made it possible for him to be in the world in a new way – through his Spirit. Even today, Christ is present with us through the community that gathers to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism and Holy Communion, and receives the living Word of God's forgiveness and love.

We plan to move outside for Saturday worship on May 26. In preparation for that move, we will be working in the Prayer Labyrinth next Wednesday, May 24 in the afternoon, filling the raised flower beds with topsoil, planting flowers, and cleaning the pond. If you can help, stop by the church in the afternoon, or contact the church office.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
In his daily devotional book, Beyond Words, author and theologian Frederick Buechner writes, Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it's like to live inside someone else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.

May God bless you this week, and together may we celebrate in worship God's endless blessings for us.

In Christ,
Gary

Saturday Evening Service Moving Outdoors

Assuming that the weather cooperates, Saturday evening (5:30 p.m.) services will return outdoors to the memorial labyrinth on Saturday, May 26.

Our Saturday evening services are informal Communion services that follow the ancient four-fold pattern of gathering, Word, meal, and sending. The sermon is the same semon that is given at the Sunday services. Songs are accompanied by acoustical guitar and keyboard and range in style from folk to contemporary, with some "golden oldies" added to the mix. Some of our members attend this service regularly, and others attend it when they can't make it to church on Sunday.

As always, visitors are welcome.

Blessings on the Prayer List

One of the members of the Worship Committee pointed out the other day that our prayer list includes almost exclusively people who need help - people who are ill; people who have lost loved ones; people who have experienced a natural disaster; etc. She pointed out that we can also lift people up to God in thanks for blessings that have bestowed on them. We talked about this at our meeting today, and decided that we like the idea. So, be aware that you can put people on the prayer list when you want to thank God for blessings that have occurred in their lives.

Please communicate prayer requests directly to the church office. [Do not put any requests on this blog.]