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Ministry Fun in June

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EQUIPPING THE SAINTSPay it ForwardA few weeks ago I was having one of those days when everything that could go wrong did go wrong around the home. The final straw (I thought) was when one of the light bulbs in the kitchen burned out. I grabbed our ten foot ladder and crawled up to our twelve foot ceiling. After struggling to get the bulb out and crawling down, I found that we no longer had any of these bulbs! So now I am angry and quickly jump in the car to buy more bulbs at Ace Hardware, find the bulbs, go to the checkout counter with a line of ten people, and realize I forgot my wallet.

Frustrated past the point of politeness, I say to the clerk, “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but before I stand in this long line, I forgot my wallet and credit card. Would you be able to find my info in the computer?” She said no, but when it is your turn we could call your wife for card number if the manager Okays it. Unexpectedly this wonderful, angelic lady who is checking out ahead of me says, “I will pay for the lights!”

I strongly decline saying it’s my fault for forgetting but thank you anyway. She persists telling me the same thing happened to her and she wants to pay it forward. The only thing she asks is that I too pay it forward. After finally, reluctantly accepting this heartfelt generosity, I tell her she has made my day not only better but great and that I will pay it forward in as many ways as possible.

Returning home and being asked how did it go…were you able to find the special bulbs? The answer was “I forgot my wallet but it went fabulous!”

Many thoughts came to mind after thinking about that phrase “pay it forward.” I came to the realization that never before had I been asked to

do that and that I have a debt of gratitude to that wonderful stranger. You know, we all have received so many blessings…so much help in this life not only from loved ones but also strangers – public servants, especially veterans – paying it forward. We are all in their debt.

What about our Christian approach to “paying it forward?” God has given us the gift of His Son, Jesus, for our redemption. Paul says in Romans 1:14,”I am a debtor both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” – in other words, a debtor to all of God’s people. God has en-trusted each of us with this spectacular gift of Jesus and the gospel to “pay it forward” to everyone. As elders we hope that we have been able to pay it forward to you through this report, and that you will also “pay it forward” in your life. You probably have been doing this already without even speaking the words.

With Love, your Elders

God’s Work, Our Hands SundayMark you calendar today! Once again we will participate in this day of service to our community. Since 2013, thousands of ELCA con-gregations have participated in this opportunity and dedicated one day to serve communities in ways that share the love of God with all people.

The Mission Support Team with the assistance of other members of our congregation are planning ways we may help others. Some ot the popular activities in which we participated last year will include singing at a nursing home, baking cookies for community service workers, and helping at The Sharing Place. We also have new ideas to serve our community. We will share these with you soon.

There will be a display on the large bulletin board where you can sign up for an activity, sign up for a box lunch that will be served after the 11 o’clock service on this day, and order a “God’s Work, Our Hands” shirt if you don’t already have one. We will also have a list of items

SAVETHE DATE

SundaySeptember 8!

KOG BULLETIN BOARD

we need for this day. If you wish to do-nate one of these items, please sign up for this also.

Hope to see a record number of vol-unteers on the afternoon of September 8th. This is a family affair! Everyone will have fun.

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No Juggling ActIn the new live-action version of the Dis-ney movie Aladdin, the lead female role of Princess Jasmine is played by actress and singer Naomi Scott.

Along with being a gifted actress and sing-er, Naomi Scott is also a devoted Christian who grew up leading worship.

Recently she was interviewed by the Chris-tian humanitarian organization Compas-sion U. K. (for which she serves as celeb-rity ambassador) about what role her faith plays in her life and career. I noticed she took issue with the way her faith is dealt with by secular questioners.

She told the magazine, “Sometimes we [her husband and her] get asked the ques-tion, ‘How do you juggle your faith and what you do?’ But for me, I don’t know how I would do life without my faith,” she said.

She went on: “That peace that you know you’re loved and valued [by Jesus Christ] is something that keeps me incredibly grounded, incredibly focused. Quite hon-estly, I don’t see it as this separate thing, this add-on thing. My faith is just a part of who I am and what I do.”

I think Naomi Scott is explaining something very important to realize when one has faith. A mature faith for a Christian is when a Christian see their faith as not something that is lived out just one day a week. It is something that should be lived out every day.

And not only that. Faith, as Naomi says, is not an “add on” to life. It is not something that we are to treat like a fad or some additional task in life – something we can add or subtract in life, depending on how busy we are. No. There is no reason to “juggle” our faith-life and the rest of our life. Faith IS the rest of our life.

It is a disturbing trend charted in the annual Pew report on faith that, more and more, people do not see the need to nourish their faith by going to worship or by doing other spiritual activities.

I am happy that younger celebrities like Naomi Scott can testify to the reality that our relationship with God is something we are called to commit to, to take part in, in order for our relationship with God to grow and grow.

So ask yourself: is your faith some segregated part of your mind or your life – or do you know someone where that’s true for them? Do you do something in your work life that would not be what God wants you to do? Or are you NOT doing something God wants you to do?

There’s no need to juggle faith and life. God created our faith to guide our life; God created our life to live out our faith.

PASTOR’S COLUMN

An Excerpt from the Daily Journal:Ah-ha! We have made it to Racine, Wisconsin! The journey was very quick and included a highly desired stop at Mars Cheese Castle. After purchasing an overwhelming amount of cheese curds and sampling fourteen year old cheddar cheese, Pat took a quick trip to the bathroom--just kidding, the cheese was really good and non-vomit inducing. However, upon ar-rival, Pat acquired a new nickname after a spelling error at registration: Ernest. After getting settled, we enjoyed setting up two nine-square courts and playing some jolly good card games. After an above-average hamburger meal for dinner, we headed to evening program.

At the program, we met our work groups and received our assignments for the week. Calder, Elyse, Jody, Ryan, Gloria, Anna, Janis, Jalane, and Claire will be painting and scraping the exterior of houses! Jenn will also indulge in some painting as well as rebuilding a porch, Sam is rebuilding a different porch, and Above-Average Ernest is building a chain link fence.

To close off the night, we took an ice cream run to Dairy Queen where they offered cotton candy dipped ice cream cones and cotton candy flavored blizzards. We also enjoyed talking about our day and hopes for the week in our devotionals, and enjoyed all the love and support sent from our prayer partners.

Many more adventures await us this week and we are happy to see where this week takes us! Talk to you soon with many more stories. We were going to end with a joke, but we worried it would be too cheesy!

Over and Out,Elyse and Claire

SR HIGH MISSION TRIP

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SR HIGH MISSION TRIP

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Beach days and BBQ dinners are great, but here are 3 things to know to stay safe in summer.

1. Mower Injuries Every homeowner loves the sight

of a pristine, neatly mowed yard. But in their haste to get that lawn in shape, some people forget to take precautions. The injuries are also hard to repair, because not only can whirling blades cause complex lac-erations and fractures, but they can bury contaminants like grass and dirt in the wound.

To be safeR Wear closed-toed shoes -- prefer-

ably with a steel toe -- when you mow, along with goggles or sun-glasses, gloves, and long pants that will protect you from flying debris.

R Keep kids away from the push mow-er and off the riding mower. Riding mowers are not just another ride-on toy.

R Get a professional to service your mower or learn how to do it proper-ly. Important: Disconnect the spark plug to prevent it from accidentally starting. Turning a push mower’s blade manually can ignite the en-gine.

2. Dehydration Disasters You’ve romped outdoors with the

kids all day, and your water bottle ran dry long ago. Suddenly you feel dizzy and lightheaded, and your mouth tastes like cotton. You’re de-

hydrated -- meaning you haven’t taken in enough fluids to re-place those you’ve been sweating out.

Heatstroke is the most severe form of dehydration. That’s when your internal temperature rises to dangerously high levels. Your skin gets hot, but you stop sweating. Someone with heatstroke may pass out, have hallucinations, or suffer seizures.

Preventing dehydration and heatstroke couldn’t be easier: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water, take regular breaks in the shade, and try to schedule your most vigorous outdoor activities for times when the heat isn’t so strong, such as early morning or late afternoon.

For persons suffering more serious dehydration or heatstroke, get them indoors, have them lie down, and cool them off with ice packs and cool cloths. Someone who is seriously affected by the heat may need intravenous fluids in the ER.

3. Sunburn Snafus Your risk for melanoma doubles if you’ve had just five sunburns

in your life.

In addition to practicing “safe sun” -- wearing sunscreen that protects against both UVB and UVA rays, long-sleeved shirts, and wide-brimmed hats, and staying out of blistering midday rays -- there are things you can do to treat a severe sunburn:

R Drink water or juice to replace fluids you lost while sweating in the hot sun.

R Soak the burn in cool water for a few minutes or put a cool, wet cloth on it.

R Take an over-the-counter pain reliever, such as acetaminophen.

R Treat itching with an OTC antihistamine cream or a spray like diphenhydramine (such as Benadryl), which helps block the in-flammatory reaction.

R Apply an antibiotic ointment or an aloe cream with emollients that soften and soothe the skin directly to the burned area.

PARISH NURSEThree Summer Health Hazards By Gina Sahw, WebMD Archives

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Thanks to Pr. David, our council & you all, we had a wonderful three-day experience at Purdue University attending the annual INKY Syn-od Assembly! Like so many before us, we came back with a better understanding and appreciation of the “wider church”….even wider than IN & KY borders. What we had not expected was the happiness!! Folks were truly happy to come together to fellowship, do business, enjoy laughter & amazing music, and to worship…oh, and to eat & eat & eat. While it served as a reunion for many, it was also an opportu-nity to meet new people and learn about so many ways to serve God and hear some amazing speakers. You can see photos & highlight of this assembly at the INKY Synod website here:

Just in case you don’t read this article all the way to the end, we would like you to know that the 2020 Indiana-Kentucky Synod Assembly will be meeting Jun 4-6 at the Embassy Suites in Noblesville IN. Seri-ously consider attending as KOG delegates (you get to vote) or as visitors….you can even sleep in your own beds at night!

Do you know what happens at an Assembly? From the business as-pect, it is much like a congregational meeting but with a much larger scope. Ministries are discussed, constitutional resolutions are made/voted upon, nominated members of synod council & committees are affirmed, budget is discussed, passed. Speaking of the Synod bud-get, did you know that a percentage of our KOG general fund giving is given to our Synod? Funding from the churches in our Synod make up 37% of the Synod’s budget & is called ELCA Shared Mission Sup-port. As the title implies, 43% of those monies are shared throughout the Synod churches. Per Bishop Gafkjen, “A budget is a mission plan. It calls all of us to be generous.”

Every Assembly has a theme and this year’s was “Who is My Neigh-bor?” The daily Bible studies led by Bishop Gafkjen & the speakers all spoke to this theme as did many of the workshops that were offered. Bishop Gafkjen’s Bible studies intertwined the “neighbor” theme with “God is calling us to something new.” We invite you to look up this YouTube by clicking here .

This video clip highlights the differences in the 1950 Indy 500 pit stop and the 2013 Melbourne race’s pit stop. Bishop Gafkjen says that we need wheels put on in new ways…meaning that while deeply honor-ing the best of our traditions, proclaim the Good News in new ways that honor God’s mission today.

One of our favorite examples given by another church in our Synod as a new way to serve neighbors was the laundromat. A member of that church had been homeless on several occasions & knew the im-portance of clean clothes to one’s self esteem. Every Tuesday from 10-2, this church provides laundry products and money for washers/dryers to all who come. Of course, refreshments & fellowship are part of all this. One of the neighbors doing her laundry asked where their church was located because she thought would like to come. The pastor’s answer: The church is right here.

To answer “Who is My Neighbor?” speakers Pastors Sharon & Timo-thy Taylor (NC) addressed diversity in their talk and workshop “Does

Reading the Label Really Help?” Pr. Tim asked people to raise their hands if they’ve been stopped by the police: once, twice, three, four, five times. There were no hands left after 5 times. He has been stopped 50 times & only one was for an ac-tual traffic infraction. He is a self-described black man. They encouraged us to seek alternatives to destructive communication and open doors to reconciliation stressing that we can make a difference one person at a time starting with ourselves.

Pr. Mandy France (Minnesota) further an-swered the “Who is My Neighbor” question by her discussion of Islamophobia that she encountered in a Minnesota rural small town. The persecution of the town’s phy-sician, Ayaz Virgi, M.C. and Pr. France is jaw-dropping. We encourage you to visit this website: You will notice that Pr. France & Dr. Virgi receive a standing ovation in the YouTube. At our Assembly meeting Pr. France received a standing ovation. She said that our neighbors are Muslims, blacks, old, young…everyone that God created. We may not have a lot in com-mon with our neighbors or even like them, but we are still called to be a good neigh-bor to them. Because God created them.

Both Bishop Gafkjen & Pr. France read to us Luke 10:25-37…which is referred to as the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus asks the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mer-cy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Assembly theme asks “Who is Your Neighbor?” The Rev. Dr. Donald K. Gil-lett II, Exe. Dir. Of the Kentucky Council of Churches, ended his sermon Friday night with this question: “What kind of neighbor are you to the God we claim to love?”

Again, we thank you for this opportunity to serve our KOG family by being your dele-gates….as it turns out, you gave us a great gift.

Cheryl & Chuck Hazelrigg

ASSEMBLY RECAP

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WORSHIP & MUSICNotes of NoteDuring the last of June and now into July, I’ve been playing a series called Penta-tonic Hymn Medley. It includes six famil-iar tunes titled by their tune name: Beach Spring, Holy Manna, New Britain, Slane, Endless Song, and Wondrous Love. What’s Cool and a Real Challenge is that the pentatonic versions are all written in six sharps or six flats! Let me tell you it’s some work to be sure the tune is clear while keeping focused on all those inci-dentals!

I thought you might be interested in what that means and we could explore to-gether. The pentatonic scale is the guru of improvisers particularly for a style of music which you’ll read in my article a few paragraphs later. It is easy to create and to use – (haha that might be an over-statement.)

The concept is really simple: the ma-jor pentatonic scale is a bunch of notes from the major scale. We know that the major scale has 7 notes. The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and cre-ated another scale, this is why it is called “penta”. In the case of the arrangements I’m using it’s six notes.

Pentatonic scale has notes that when played generate a pleasant melody and can be used to generate a tonal theme or song although playing can be tricky. If you have never listened to a pentatonic scale, take a keyboard or a piano and play the black keys one af-ter another. This is the sound of a pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale can be major or minor. The major pentatonic scale has the 5 notes of the major scale; the minor pentatonic scale has the 5 notes of the minor scale.

But this scale, besides the possibility of being used in the context of arrangements like mine, can also be used in other contexts that the major and minor natural scales cannot (this is the reason for you to like it!). That’s why they call it the Blues - the pentatonic scale is the “queen” in this style. Who is better than the blues artists, born improvisers about 99% of them using only this scale to provide the soulful musical sequence? Blues developed over the years from the pentatonic mournful singing in the cotton fields influencing and giv-ing rise to other styles like Jazz, Rock, Soul and of course coming to Church through Gospel music.By the way, you may have heard of Pentatonix the acapella sing-ing group whose original member and director suggested naming them after the pentatonic scale representing the five members of the group. They said they replaced the last letter with an “x” to make it more appealing.

Here’s hoping this information and my medley is appealing while allowing you to recognize the tunes!

Enjoy Summer!Julie

Assisting Ministers Lectors Communion Assistants Ushers

July 7

9:00 a.m. Jodi Behlmer Alyssa Bodt, Jodi Behlmer, Noella Prochaska Lillards

11:00 a.m. Mary Eckard Jeannette Brumfield Tom Rasmussen Dick DeLor/Hans Loyda

July 14

9:00 a.m. Nancy Gagen Culvers, Nancy Gagen Cliffords

11:00 a.m. Mary Krohn Sarah Lillard Dick Otto Roger Prasuhn

July 21

9:00 a.m. Amy Hulse Ernsts, Amy Hulse VanTries

11:00 a.m. Gordon Peterson Bob Sipes Warren Buddenbaum Brad Johnson

July 28

9:00 a.m. Laura Saffen Saffens, Deann Wimer Craig Frothingham/Jim Schmohe

11:00 a.m. Brian Krohn Jeannette Brumfield Tom Rasmussen Brandon SmartWo

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July 1Maxwell CossellLynn EdrisSamantha Vanderveen

July 2Colleen CliffordJames FlobergRobert Sanchez

July 3Jodi BehlmerAndy Crowell

July 4Doug ExcellHank Starkey

July 5Steve Behlmer

July 6Gloria GarmanWendell RahnStacey Wimer

July 7Jim Bogner

July 8Wes BucherCJay Murphy

July 9Warren BuddenbaumRobert Johns

July 10Amanda Boldt

July 11Brian Pearce

July 12Max Ellis

July 13Noella Prochaska

July 14Lorma Hetland

July 15Tori MayerDick Otto

July 16Mary KrohnKaren MolitorisAmelia NixKhoua Xiong

July 18Arden Bork

July 19Mark BrunsStacia FlobergCamilla London

July 21Jerry BrucknerEllen ClefischMarian LarsonHannah LichtenbergerKarla Reilly

July 22Trudy Johnson

July 25Nick Calcalmuggio

July 26Jill Beck

July 28Henry HaskellDennis Wimer

July 29Evan AckermannNathan Hewitt

July Birthdays

SATURDAY5:01 p.m. - Saturday Evening Gathering - A “come as you are” gathering with music, a message and Holy Communion.

SUNDAY9:00 a.m. - Contemporary Outdoor Worship - (weather permitting). Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the surroundings of our “front porch” (folding chairs available). There will be contemporary music, hymns, a message from the pastor and Holy Communion. In case of inclimate weather, service will be held in the Sanctuary.

11:00 a.m. - Classic Lutheran Liturgy - Worship focuses on par-ticipation through the liturgy, hymns and corporate confession of our faith. Holy Communion is celebrated each Sunday.

PleaseJoin Us For Worship Staff

Pastor . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David L. HewittMinister of Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy RumschlagAdministrative Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leslie FrenchMusic Ministers . . . . . . . . . Andrew Martin and Julie ShadingerParish Nurse . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . Donna FrazierDirector of Gloryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diane HewittDirector of Preschool . . . . . . . . . . .Michelle Chaille

Office Hours:Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

www.kogcarmel.org

Phone:Church: (317) 846-1555

Fax: (317) 846-1590Community Preschool: (317) 846-0597

2201 E. 106th Street, Carmel IN 46032