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March 2020 Newsletter Please submit your April newsletter material by March 15th
Pastor’s
Pondering
Once again, we embark on the forty-day journey leading to Easter, known as the
season of Lent. There are three categories of Lutheran Lenten liturgical practice:
Visual, Historical / Traditional, and Emotional / Spiritual.
The first, visual component is the color purple that adorns the Chancel area dur-
ing the Season of Lent. The dye to make purple was difficult to find in ancient times
and is attributed to wealthy royalty. It adorned Christ only once—as He was mocked
and ridiculed as the “King of the Jews”. Purple represents solemnity, penitence, and
prayer as we, God’s people, meditate on the agony His Son willing endured for us.
A second visual component is the sign of the cross I will make on you forehead during the imposition
of ashes on Ash Wednesday. This symbolic rite is a reminder of the sign of the cross placed on us in Bap-
tism, our mortality (“Remember: you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”), and the filth of our sin washed
clean by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus.
Historically and traditionally, we omit the word “Alleluia” from the liturgy and hymnody. We do not
use the Hymn of Praise during Lent. “Alleluias—a Hebrew word meaning “Praise the Lord” - returns full-
voice in the glorious celebration of Easter morning.
The emotional / spiritual character of the Lenten season is one of penitence. Connected to the Great
Vigil of Easter; however, the season of Lent may also be one of preparation, as catechumens who have been
prepared, were appointed to be baptized during the Service of Holy Baptism in the Easter Vigil service.
The practice of fasting (or “giving something up”) during Lent is not required for
Lutherans because it is ot commanded in Holy Scripture. As a matter of Christian freedom, starving oneself
of pleasure of the flesh is a way to remember daily the great sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to pay for the
world’s sin.
I pray blessings on your Lenten journey as you again experience the depth of Jesus’ obedience and
the great love of God to redeem a world so desperately in need of salvation.
Peace for the journey,
+ Pr. Cheryl
The Women’s Bible Study Group God’s Gals
Will meet on March 2, 2020 at 6:30 pm At Carol Van Metre’s home.
(206 Watermark) Please contact Carol at 572-4960 for more information.
Join Us!
Meet the second Monday of the month. Men, join us at Bayside
At 6:30 pm on March 9th.
Monthly Bible Study
2nd & 4th Tuesdays of the month
at 10:00 AM.
Bring your Bibles.
Come join us!
Sunday Refreshment Schedule
3/1 - Ulbrich
3/8 - Chandler
3/15 - Mayer
3/22 - Shilling
3.29 - Bennett
Home Communion
will be distributed to our homebound
members: March 4th
To volunteer for this vitally needed ministry,
contact Karen Peterson!
Thanks!
5th Diana Beck
5th Greta Carlson
6th Sharon Bednorz
7th Matthew Hartman
7th Lyla Johnston
13th Paul Morrison
14th Marcus Carlson
15th Marlie Gray
18th Steph Godfrey
20th Elizabeth Carlson
20th Roger Wunsch
25th Dorothy Lamprecht
25th Jan Oldfather
26th David Villegas
28th Jacque Jecker
30th Alma Allen
31st Rebecca Klimek
March
Please sign our
Flower Chart In the Narthex.
There Are
No Altar Flowers
During Lent.
-If there is a need to adjust the thermostats, please read the instructions to reset them properly when you are finished. (Does not mean to turn them to off and fan should be set on auto) Not all thermostats have the same temperature settings. Lights have also been left on at times. If you think you might be the last one out, please double check. Thank you for
Victoria Christian Assistance Ministry
108 N. Liberty St., Victoria, Texas 77901 / P.O. Box 1786 Victoria, Texas 77902 Phone 361-572-0048 Fax 844-361-8726
VCAM MONTHLY UPDATE February 2020
(January 2020 Services)
Total Households Served – 1235 Total Number in Households - 3445 Food Boxes – 1111 Basic Needs – 1244 Clothing – 652 Home Delivery – 14 Financial Assistance – 26 # Homeless Served – 77 # Homeless Visits - 206 *First-Time VCAM Clients Served – 63
The next VCAM Saturday! is Saturday, February 15. Please check out our website at: www.vcamvictoria.org or our Facebook page for the list of VCAM services provided and additional VCAM Satur-
day! dates in the coming months (always open the third Saturday of each month).
2019 BY THE NUMBERS
HH SERVED TOTAL HH FOOD BOXES BASIC NEEDS FINANCIAL ASST.
13,626 37,808 11,937 14,247 274 – $20,559 *AVG 1136 PER MTH
HOMELESS AN AVERAGE OF 53 HOMELESS CLIENTS PER MONTH TOTALING 2,083 VISITS
BY MONTH # HOUSEHOLDS #HH MEMBERS FOOD BXS B.N. CLOTHING JAN. 947 2630 823 1023 350 FEB. 1120 3107 974 1230 463 MAR. 1112 3069 975 1214 408 APR. 1010 2650 876 1097 463 MAY 1048 2846 918 1165 403 JUNE 1089 3032 953 1188 448 JULY 1116 3079 976 1194 516 AUG. 1209 3391 1071 1264 504 SEPT. 1246 3461 1098 1308 579 OCT. 1236 3460 1089 1164 541 NOV. 1255 3545 1098 1189 602 DEC. 1238 3538 1086 1211 659 I took a couple of inserts from our annual meeting in January, pasted and hi-lited those numbers from the second half of 2019, to emphasize how our numbers steadily increased towards the end of the year. The numbers are staggering…are they not? VCAM will continue to serve. Your support is always valued and very much appreciated.
God bless…Marc
“Providing hope when things seem hopeless…”
FINANCIAL STATEMENT - JANUARY 2020 A complete line item budget report is posted outside the Secretary's Office.
Please contact the Treasurer or a member of the Council if you have any questions.
General Fund
Income and Expenses
Fund Balances as of
1/31/2020
Offering $16,194 General Fund $39,678
Transfers $0 Emergency Fund $5,086
Expenses ($20,661)
Building Improve-
ments $36,146
CVLC Tithe $500 Memorial Fund $6,879
President $0 Special Offerings $11,641
Vice-President $11,049 Youth Fund $12,582
Secretary $1,214 Youth/Music Director $3,864
Treasurer $2,932
Invite $531 Total $115,876
Proclaim $395
Nurture $320 Benevolences
Cong. Life $82
Serve $0 Paid this month $538.00
Facilities $3,635
Net Gain (Loss) ($4,467)
Treasurer Report
Pastor’s Bible Study
On the second and fourth Tuesdays
10:00 am in the Friendship room
Steward your soul for a fuller life
Jesus teaches, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for
their soul?” –Mark 8:36, 37 (NIV)
Instead of the superficial “How’s it going?” a wise colleague asks friends, “How is your soul?”
The question requires effort. To answer it I must plunge deep inside -- below the constantly churning waters of everyday joys,
hopes, ambitions, desires, anxieties and disappointments. These are so strong, especially our desires and ambitions, that if we are
not careful they can absorb all our time and energy.
Jesus repeatedly warns us not to let our desires and our worries engulf us, keeping us from paying attention to the soul. Our soul is
where we connect with God, the source of our greatest strength and truest identity. Without attention, our soul can dry up like a
plant without water. As with all the treasures God has given us, we must be stewards of our souls.
The mystics of old and modern prophets (such as Richard Rohr, Marjorie Thompson or Howard Thurman) teach us to employ prayer,
holy silence, and other spiritual disciplines to tend our souls and keep worldly worries and desires from overwhelming us.
This month, begin a daily practice of caring for your soul. You might begin with five minutes of spoken prayer followed by five
minutes of silence. Or reflect deeply on a Scripture passage. Or try prayerful yoga. (Your pastor might be able to give you some re-
sources or ideas.)
With a little practice and attention, you can become stronger, more centered and more spiritually resilient.
How is your soul?
-Rob Blezard
Copyright © 2020, Rev. Robert Blezard. Reprinted by permission. Pastor Blezard serves as an assistant to the bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod and works as content editor for www.stewardshipoflife.org. He blogs at www.thestewardshipguy.com.
2020 CENSUS BULLETIN AND END OF SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
For February 29 – March 1, 2020
On March 12, 2020 the U.S.Census Bureau will Invite You to be Counted
As far back as 1790 everyone in this country has been counted every 10 years.
We call this the census. America’s founders included it in the Constitution because they wanted a
government that represents the people. That census count is used to allocate seats in the House
of Representatives for all 50 states. Its data is used to track the shifts in population to help
determine where new roads, hospitals and schools are needed as well as improving existing
ones. It will inform how billions of dollars will be used to communities every year. Being counted
benefits all of us.
Ukrainian Egg Demonstration
On February 25th Doris Wanamaker, mother of Joanne Woods, presented a demonstration on making Ukrainian eggs to the Tuesday morning Bible study group. Although the tradition of decorating Ukrainian eggs, call Pasanky, dates to before Christ’s birth, symbols such as crosses, butterflies, and fish were incorporated into this
folk art with the spread of Christianity. The process of making the eggs involves writing on a raw or blown egg with melted beeswax using a special tool called a kistka. After applying the wax design the egg is dyed. The
process is then repeated, adding more wax, and dying the egg a slightly darker color. This process can be repeat-ed 4 to 6 times depending on the complexity of the design. The final step is to carefully remove the wax reveal-ing the design on the egg. After watching the demonstration, participants were able to try their hand at making
their own simple pasanka. Each participant was also given an egg created by Doris in keeping with the tradition of creating the eggs to share with others.
In preparation for Transfiguration Sunday,
Jared and I were in the Fellowship hall
arranging tables and putting away extra
chairs. We found three trashcans with
trash. This one did not even have a liner.
Who used the room for a meal?
No one was scheduled. These were not
even our paper plates.
I have already asked around to groups that
use our space. No one knows.
Will you be the one to solve this mystery?
Let me know if you have a clue.
Jan Oldfather CVLC Secretary
CAN YOU SOLVE
THIS MYSTERY?
Date Assisting
Ministers
Usher
Teams
Tellers Altar
Guild
Acolytes Festival
Services
March 1
8:45 am
11:15 am
Nancy Peters
Karen
Peterson
Brian
Christensen
Megan
Bennett
Mr. & Mrs.
Nilsson
Jacque Jecker
El Rose
Harding
Jolie
Lambert
Raylei
Carlson
March 8
8:45 am
11:15 am
Harold Crater
Joe Crisp
Nelson
Janssen &
Natalan
Mayer
The Crisps
Harold Crater
W. Lamprecht
Jerry
Peterson
Marie
McCoy
Nancy
Kramer
(Bread)
Clayborne
Janssen
Jayden
Shilling
March 15
8:45 am
11:15 am
Kim
Schneider
Joe Crisp
T. Duke & The
Bommersbachs
Kolton
Shilling
Matthew
Schneider
Marcus
Carlson
El Rose
Harding
Braden
Ulbrich
Taylor
Chandler
March 22
8:45 am
11:45 am
Rev. Randall
Herman
Duane Woods
P. Morrison
Roy Kuester
Joann Woods
Caren
Hollingshead
Jacque Jecker
Liz
Schneider
Gay
Hoffman
(Bread)
Morgan
Ulbrich
Madison
Chandler
March 29
88:45 am
11:45 am
Rebecca
Crater
Rebecca
Crater
Brian
Christiansen
Joe & Linda
Crisp
Mr. & Mrs.
Nilsson
Marcus
Carlson
Gail
Williams
Bennett
Janssen
Chance
Richardson
March 2020
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNSDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1
8:45am Worship 9:45am Coffee 10:00am Sunday S. 11:15am Gathering
2
6:30pm God’s Gals 7:00pm Unity AA (FR) Home Communion
3
6:00pm Men’s AA (FR)
4 6:00pm Lent Meal 6:30pm Choir Practice 7:00pm Hymn Sing 7:15pm Service
5
6:00pm OSL Meeting 7:00pm Unity AA(FR)
6
Pastor’s Sabbath
7
8 8:45am Worship 9:45am Coffee 10:00am Sunday S. 11:15am Gathering
9 7:00pm Unity AA (FR)
10 Fishers of Men 10:am Pastors Bible Study 10:00am 6:00pm Men’s AA (FR)
11 6:00pm Lent Meal 6:30pm Choir Practice 7:00pm Hymn Sing 7:15pm Service
12 10:00am Pericope (FR) 6:00pm Council Meeting 7:00pm Unity AA (FR
13
Pastor’s Sabbath
14
15 8:45am Worship 9:45am Coffee 10:00am Sunday S. 11:15am Gathering
16 Worship & Music 7:00pm 7:00pm Unity AA (FR)
17
6:00pm Men’s AA (FR)
18 6:00pm Lent Meal 6:30pm Choir Practice 7:00pm Hymn Sing 7:15pm Service
19 6:00pm OSL Soaking Prayer 7:00pm Unity AA (FR)
20
Pastor’s Sabbath
21
2 8:45am Worship 9:45am Coffee 10:00am Sunday S. 11:15am Gathering
23 7:00pm Unity AA (FR)
24 Fishers of Men 10:am Pastors Bible Study 10:00am 6:00pm Men’s AA (FR)
25 6:00pm Lent Meal 6:30pm Choir Practice 7:00pm Hymn Sing 7:15pm Service
26
7:00pm Unity AA (FR)
27
Pastor’s Sabbath
28
29 8:45am Worship 9:45am Coffee 10:00am Sunday S. 11:15am Gathering
30 7:00pm Unity AA (FR)
31
6:00pm Men’s AA (FR)
Healing
Nancy & Travis Mayer
Shirly Spies
Nona Crater
Ryan Hartman
Gray & Adelaide Carter
Dusty Metting
Chris Janssen
Virginia Flathmann
Howard Vomhof Sr.
Nita Jensen
Kay Beeson
Sandie Woods
Louie Rockwood
Brittany Webb
Nancy Brooks
Debbie McClanahan
Terry Ulmer
Jerry Peterson
Dusty Stange
Robert Barnwell
Martha McCarthy
Ruth Hollingshead
Wade Shumbera and Family
Bil Montague
D.J. Jecker
Connie Nilsson
Paula Nilsson
Pat Schweke
CVLC Praise and Prayer List
Assisted Living Residents
Randy Lamprecht
Janet & Warner Thamm
Gertrude Gras
Betty Rockwood
Alma Allen
Church Triumphant
Alan Korthals
Janie Villa
Ted Oldfather
CVLC
Congregation
Council Members
Altar Guild
Healing Grace
Mutual Ministry
God’s Gals
Fishers of Men
United Campus Ministry
Laurel
La Paz
Choir
Elizabeth
Alyvia & Daniel
Vicar Johnene
Jan
Pastor Cheryl
