Grace Ministries – September 2017

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Grace Ministries - Yoked Communities of Faith and Service NON-PROFIT ORG.

c/o Zion Lutheran Church U.S. POSTAGE PAID

41 Whitmarsh Avenue PERMIT#205

Worcester, MA 01606-3296 WORCESTER, MA

NEWSLETTER October 2017 TIME SENSITIVE

PLEASE DO NOT DELAY

Our lives are formed by Word and

Sacrament, and we gather as the beloved

children of God around the means of grace

where our lives are in Christ.

Grace Ministries – September 2017

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Pastor’s Corner

SEASONAL CHANGE

Leaves have begun to fall even as I begin writing this piece in mid-September. I was surprised that this was happening even a week or two ago in my neighborhood as I engaged in my morning walk.

God’s way of providing nature the mechanism for ongoing renewal is always a reminder for me of the blessedness of Divine design for all life. As human creatures, the created of God, the Almighty’s children, our provision for renewal came through death, rising and ascending; the sacrifice of our Christ.

And we have access to the Eucharist and renewal, between our parishes, five times most weeks and at a sixth each second week at Rejoicing Spirit Worship in Greendale. This blessed gift for us is always offered through the Love that meets each of us exactly where we are, wherever and in whatever condition that may be; not ifs, ands or butts, just Grace in the midst of our lives.

I know my life isn’t anywhere close to what it was 5, 10, 20, 30 or more years ago. As I let the Spirit of God, in Christ, work in and through me many cycles of falling leaves have filled piles needing to be carted away of ways of thinking, being, feeling and relating that don’t match my ongoing enlightenment for ways of letting God move me through Love for the ongoing needs of the communities I serve and creation as a whole.

That life is meant to be an ongoing awakening would be an understatement. Jesus

pointed so many times away from this earthly plain of existence to God, just as did the prophets of old, that we might grow through faith and commitment in preparation for the entire trajectory of our spiritual existence and in benefit of the kingdom here and now, the question is: “How can we ignore God’s free and blessed enlightenment?”

Leaves will fall, seasons will change, but God remains constant forever: for us, with us, ALPHA and OMEGA.

As our parishes face times of decision in meeting the needs of our communities, and the world around us, may we be open to enlightenment that may cause leaves to fall from our personal branches of understanding, so that new growth might take place.

May our Lord and Savior’s sacrifice impress upon us often the depth of Love we can never fully understand, yet met the “machine” of humanity face-to-face in lifting up the triumph of Godly understanding over the accommodation our mortal reasoning that can turn into unhealthy modes of living and coping.

May this Grace from on high help us breathe, rest and shed the weight of possible concerns, ambitions and grudges held so to move forward in transformation; a changing of our human seasons.

May we be ready to heartily celebrate the Re-formation’s 500th Anniversary as Christ’s church seeks to be about God’s will in the Spirit that scriptura sola (scripture alone as revealed by the Spirit) guide an awakening through that Word which became flesh, everyday!

In Christ’s blessed name + PA

Sunday homilies are online each Sunday by midnight on both Zion and Bethel FACEBOOK public pages for

those who are away and missing being with us in person!

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Doris Brick c/o Oakdale Nursing & Rehab. 76 No. Main St., W. Boylston, MA 01583

Nancy Person c/o Overlook Masonic Health Center 88 Masonic Home Rd., Charlton, MA 01507

Thyra Steelman Holy Trinity Nursing & Rehab Center 300 Barber Ave., Worcester, MA 01606

Jeff Moody c/o Sandalwood Care & Rehabilitation Center 3 Pine Street, Oxford, MA 01540

Delores Bengtsson c/o Millbury Heath Care Center 312 Millbury Street, Millbury, MA 01527

Harold Johnson c/o Millbury Heath Care Center 312 Millbury Street, Millbury, MA 01527

Dot Reid c/o Lutheran Rehabilitation & Skilled Care Center 20 Harvard Street, Worcester, MA 01609

Frances Gadde c/o Sterling Village Nursing & Rehab. 18 Dana Hill Road, Sterling, MA 01564

Audrey Sturdevant c/o Overlook Masonic Health Center 88 Masonic Home Rd., Charlton, MA 01507

Robert Townsend c/o Millbury Heath Care Center 312 Millbury Street, Millbury, MA 01527

PRAYER LIST Bethel - Mary Ardan - Helen Armstrong – Diane Bates – Larry Beard, Phil Becker – John & Nancy Berube - Karen Carlson - Lynn Sherwin Crystoff - Fred Cashman - Jane Connelly – Tim Cronin – Shirley Cummins - Fenby Family - Liesl Voosen Fields - Judy Garneau - Terrance Harris – Anita Haynes- Paul Josephson - Harold Johnson – Mary E. Johnson - Nadine Kane - Donald Kosciusko - Jean Latti - Bill Lewis - Don & Lola Lofman - Sal Luco - Bob Marshalkowsk – Mac & Pauline McIlvaine - Jane Moir – Dawn Morgan - Alice Nobert – David Olson – Amanda Parks - Aili Prockette - Jessica Shea – April Spring - Pastor Ed Sproul – Sophie Constance Stoldberg - Betty Stough - Steve Trilligan – Katrina Turecki - Jane Umphrey - Kay Venning - Linda Vernon - Tim & Tammy Roscoe – David Tatro

Zion - David Boyce Ginny Hearns - Ben Simmarano - Janet Hourihan - Jayden Richardson - Betty Nielson - Pastor Nancy Beckwith - Carol & Howard Wilder – Barbara Valleli - Sheila Davis – Laura Engvall – Kathy Bowen – Karl Doane

Have you engaged with the prayer wall?

BETHEL CHANCEL PAINTING

We changed the brand and type of candle oil and little over a year ago due to the former brand causing smoking issues. And that situation over time darkened the chancel walls.

In an effort to restore a fresh look and feel to the space, Council has received a quote from Painter’s Pride in Framingham, MA and voted at the September meeting to move ahead with the renewing of the chancel walls. This group is fully licensed and insured and previously did a wonderful job at Zion as part of that sanctuary’s restoration just a few short years ago.

If you would like to make a donation towards this work that would be heartily welcomed! The entire project will run under $4,500, and will make a significant difference in the face of our space.

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SEPTEMBER YOUTH GATHERING

Our group departed Zion’s parking lot about 3:15PM on Friday 9/8. We had an uneventful trip to Camp Calumet to attend the 39th annual New England Synod Youth Gathering, affectionately known as HAMMO (for Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT where we have been exiled from for the last 2 years while the state replaces the worn-out service network.)

We arrived in West Ossipee and had dinner at the Subway before making our way to camp; the group began tent erecting about 6:45PM, as the sun was rapidly disappearing.

With tenting up, our group arrived at Luther Hall by the beach for the 8:30PM commencement of the weekend program: featuring The Rev. Stephanie Smith (my ELCA colleague from Cathedral in the Night of Northhampton) as our speaker for the weekend, Jena Hardy (my youth work colleague from Trinity-Worcester) as MC, and Bread of Stone as the band-in-residence for the event.

While our young people kept plenty busy during “downtime” (manhunt, swimming, eating snacks, shooting hoops, etc.), we were kept busy with activities including our Grace Ministries team (with our partner, Zion-Oxford) setting up, staffing and cleaning up from running Pr. Matt Martin’s EndHungerNE meal lines (3 of them). Calumet raised funds to buy the meal supplies and HAMMO provided the people-power to build the kits. And, Pilot Freight, of Windsor, CT, donated sending a van to Calumet to pick up the majority of the meals

LOOKING FOR A GROUP OF

LUTHERANS TO MEET WITH

AND SHARE SOME EXPERIENCES

AND HAVE FUN?

AS A SHARED MINISTRY WITH BETHEL/ZION, WHY NOT GIVE ONE OF

THE FOLLOWING A TRY?

MEN’S GROUP On Tuesday, October 10th, the Men's Group will be gathering for food and fellowship @

6PM. Cost per person will be determined at the

door. Proceeds will benefit our Camp Calumet Scholarship Fund. Please sign-up

in the Narthex or call the church office!

WOMEN’S: DOLs (Dine Out Ladies)

Tuesday, October 10th @ 6PM Dianna's Neighborhood Bistro, 120 June St,

Worcester. Meet at the restaurant - each person is responsible for the cost of their meal. Sign up in the Narthex or call the

Bethel Office.

“BOOKIES” Book Club Selected books for discussion are:

“The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah Monday October 23rd

“Be Free or Die” by Cate Lineberry Monday November 13th

“The Late George Apeley” by John Marcquand Monday December 11th

All are welcome from both Bethel and Zion. We meet at 2pm in the Chapel. There are no commitments to read all of the books;

if there is only one that interests you, come by for that meeting. If you have read a book and did not like it, please come anyway...it makes for much more interesting conversation! And, bring recommendations for books we hope to

read in 2018. Happy reading!

Call the Bethel office for more info 😊

Grace Ministries – September 2017

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to feed 10K people AND shipping same to Texas for disaster relief!

Our young people were absolutely GREAT; helpful, respectful, engaged, and hungry! We went through much of the food our families supplied for the trip (although we have NEVER gone through everything brought, ever) and enjoyed a Saturday evening meal at Oliver’s Pizza and Sub Shack (there was NO pizza leftover…)

Thanks to all parents and others who supported our trip! We anticipate being back at Hammonasset State Park in 2018, though the weekend will likely move into later August instead of the weekend following Labor Day, due to the state of CT beginning the limiting of their “open” season effected by budget cuts (Calumet is too far to travel for the majority of our Synod’s congregations and this has severely impacted participation levels over the past 2 years.)

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OCTOBER 2017

Zion

Mary DiLiddo – 10/07 Elaine Henderson – 10/12 Michael Blomgren – 10/13

John White – 10/15 Lynn Wiinikka – 10/15 Julie Bowen – 10/29

Bethel Ken Johnson - 10/03 Helen Talbot - 10/04

Gina Benvenuti - 10/04 April Nystrom - 10/14 Mary Johnson - 10/17

Ann Hanks - 10/18 Ryan Bennett - 10/18

Timothy Cronin - 10/21 Pam Evers - 10/22

Cathy Bergman - 10/25 Jill Ducat - 10/29

Miranda Courteau - 10/31 Lynne Guittar - 10/31

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ALCM Conference Recap

Greetings,

I was blessed to attend the ALCM Biennial

Conference in Minneapolis, MN July 9-12.

Thank you all for your donations to help make

the conference a reality!

I participated in various worship services with

lots of singing. It felt like I was in a large choir

with all these musicians!

We also shared in a 2-part plenary on the role of

the cantor in worship. It was described as a

“dis-membering” with cantor responsibilities

being shifted to others, such as the pastor. Any

musician/singer is considered a cantor as we

help lead in congregational song during worship.

Therefore, the role of the cantor is important and

we must “re-member” the role of the cantor.

I attended several workshops. Two included

choral reading for singers and ringers. Sample

music was provided to take home so you’ll hear

some of those in the coming months. Another

focused on pastoral care for musicians.

Seminary students studying to become pastors

receive some musical training in addition to their

pastoral studies. However, church musicians

also utilize pastoral training as they are ministers

in their own right and do not receive pastoral

training. The last workshop centered around

dynamics of hymodity.

We visited Augustana Lutheran Church in West

St. Paul for our opening worship and the first

part of our plenary. We also visited Westminster

Presbyterian Church a block from the hotel for

worship, the second and last part of our plenary,

some of our workshops and our regional ALCM

meeting. Lastly we visited St. Olaf Catholic

Church for a hymn festival led by the National

Lutheran Choir.

The conference was filled with great information

and also vendors from various publishers where

additional sample music was purchased and as I

said above you’ll hear some of the sample music

in the coming months.

Again thank you for your support it was a

blessing to be able to attend the conference

because of your generous gifts.

Thank you and God’s Peace, Adam Hanks Bell Choir Director

IN MEMORYOF WALDO PIERCE

Susan Racine

JUDITH NELSON

SCHOLARSHIP FUND Carolyn Nelson & Joyce Szerejko

David Richard

A special gift was given to Bethel in

honor of Sal Luco and John Kallio’s

50th anniversary by Carolyn and Pastor

Paul Henry.

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ZION COFFEE HOUR OCTOBER

10/08 – Ruth & Horace Ames & Jan Shuler OPEN

10/01-10-15,10-22-10-22-10-29 It’s that time of year when we head back down to the Palmer Room for Coffee, Tea and Snacks. Please see the sign-up sheet in the Palmer Room. Again, it’s FUN & EASY and everyone enjoys mingling with the congregation and visitors!

ALL ARE WELCOME!

OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES Bethel

Doris & James Belk - 0/02 Lisa & Kevin Ratcliffe - 10/04 Gus & Timberly Frick - 10/06

Don & Ann Hanks - 10/08 Leanne & Thom Carraher - 10/09

Cate & Bryan Spanos - 10/18 Michelle & Tom Chunis - 10/19 Sylvia & Richard Forgit - 10/20

Dennis & Dianne Marcotte - 10/21 Christine & Michael Gagnon - 10/28

Zion Gregory & Wendy Milton – 10/17

Richard & Tina Henry – 10/30

OPENINGS FOR FLOWERS

OPEN DATES 10/01,10/08,10/15,10/22,10/29 Zion

Open dates are available for flowers. Flowers always look nice placed on the altar and brings brightness to our day! Please see the flower sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside of the Office at Zion or in the Narthex at Bethel. Thank you!

ZION’S FALL FAIR 2017

OCTOBER 14th

9am to 2pm

It’s that time of year again for our annual Fall Fair! Once again this year we’ll be reaching out to vendors, but more importantly we also need your help in making this a great Fair!

We are in need of help for the snack bar (café), any ideas for this year’s menu are more than welcomed. Also, we need a setup and take down crew and a few volunteers to help out with the flea market table or you can have a table of your own. If you are willing to volunteer please contact Doreen at the office or see me in church during coffee hour. Sign-up sheets will also be available.

If one or two people can help with the organizing of this event, I would appreciate it very much.

Thank You, Doreen

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500th REFORMATION

CELEBRATION!

It’s here, a time to think upon the Grace

which led Martin Luther into a firestorm of

response for making known God’s truth and

hope for humanity: his is an example for us

in being bold in living out our faith in both

certain and uncertain times, not being

afraid to stand up for justice, human rights,

and the freedom that comes through

eternal Love!

On Saturday, October 21st @ 5PM, we will

gather at Zion for an Octoberfest meal to

be followed by a slideshow presentation of

the Wittenburg region by Pr. Ed Voosen

and his wife, Ruth. Look for ticket info

soon at both parishes.

And, in the weeks leading up to

Reformation on Sunday, October 28th,

there will be an Augsburg Fortress Book

Store circulating through both church

narthexes with books for children and

adults concerning Luther and the re-

formation of Christ’s church. All books

ordered will be discounted from on-line

pricing and will be shipped FREE OF

CHARGE to your home!

REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT With the U.S. travel ban, Ascentria’s

work with helping folks fleeing from

oppression has taken a hit by at least

50%. That means, people who are in fear

for their lives don’t have the same access

to safe havens as they did before. And

we’re talking about people who HAVE

BEEN FULLY VETTED by our State

Department and other agencies.

This has impacted our Grace Ministries

work in co-sponsoring a family each year,

so far. However, with October the

possibility for picking up a family needing

assistance might just yield some folks we

can help, so we may need to respond fairly

rapidly in collecting furniture and home

goods donations, then figuring out how to

support them with rides and ESL

assistance.

Please pray for those in peril and God’s

leading by the Spirit for our work in being

present to sisters and brothers in need,

as our Christ has taught us!

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OUTREACH/SOCIAL MINISTRY Reaching out to a world in need

Bethel

When we read from Romans chapter 12, we are asked

to remember God’s mercies, and present our bodies as

living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. We are

transformed by the Gospel of God’s Grace, and thus

called to a greater service. We all have unique God-

given talents which are used in building God’s Kingdom

on earth; there is no act too small, nor service

insignificant in doing God’s work. Any act of sharing

from hearts of gratitude for God’s mercy is both needed

and appreciated. We invite each member of our

congregation to consider where their God given gifts

may be used together with the Social Ministry team, in

support of programs that we are called to serve. Each

month we present information about where our

congregation is supporting the needs of various service

agencies and ministries. We ask that you pray on each

of these needs and where God may be calling you to

serve.

There are times we need drivers to pick up and deliver

food, clothing and other items to local service agencies,

or walkers and sponsors to help raise money and

awareness for the homeless and hungry. There are

times we need people who are willing to visit or stay

overnight at the IHN home on June Street. We need

people to cook and serve meals to the residents at

Dismas. These are just a few of the many ways our

congregation has reached out in the past and will

continue to do so in the future. As always, we welcome

your input and ideas of ways we can join together as we

are able and willing to serve; we are the hands and feet

of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit. Please join us as we

meet at 6:00 on the third Tuesday each month. Here

we address how we might respond to needs, locally,

nationally and internationally. All are welcome.

Walk for Hunger – Auburn Youth and Family Services

Walk for Hunger will be held on Sunday October 22nd at

1:00 PM.

Concert – A Bunch of Guys – A Bunch of Guys is a

singing ministry, which helps build and strengthen

community. On Sunday October 29th at 3:00 PM, Bethel

will be hosting A Bunch of Guys in concert, with a

reception to follow. This is a free will offering concert

with donations going to Lutheran Immigration

Refugees, 350.org, and Worcester County Food Bank.

Please save the date and invite your friends. More

information will follow.

With the ongoing needs of the victims of recent

hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters, our

Social Ministry team will be addressing ways we can

help support the relief efforts through the ELCA. When

thinking about natural disasters and “acts of God,”

remember, the real act of God is how His Spirit

empowers us through prayer as He calls us to serve with

compassion and mercy. There will be more information

in the coming weeks concerning our congregation’s

response.

God’s Peace be with you. The Social Ministry Team

The following Fridays we will be serving and

joining in meal with the folks at Dismas. Call

Bethel church office and leave your name if you are

interested in joining us for any of these dates.

Friday October 27th Friday November 24th Friday December 29th

Zion Our outreach programs continue with donations of non-

perishable food for Abby’s House. Bring your donations

in and put them in the bins marked for Abby’s House.

The donations are very much appreciated as they help

to feed the residents at their facility on High Street.

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They also help to provide food for walk-ins who are in

need. How about grocery items at “buy one, get one

free” and donate the free one to Abby’s.

We also continue to donate good used clothing to the

homeless veterans. Again, there are bins in the

donations area off the narthex marked for the veterans.

Items of good used clothing for adults and children can

be put into the St. Pauly’s shed in the parking lot. Not

only does this help St. Pauly’s, Zion gets a rebate from

them based on the weight- a win-win.

Keep in mind that Zion will be at IHN November. This is

an important ministry to help families who have

become homeless. Please keep in mind that volunteers

are needed for early evening activities as well as staying

overnight. More information below. Those who have

served know what a good feeling it is to be able to help.

IHN WEEK!! It is almost upon us!! Our week this Fall is November

12th through the 19th. Rather than making meals for

them we donate gift cards. That has a couple of lessons

in it. 1. They eat the food that they are accustomed to.

2 they have to budget and plan for up to 6 families. 3

they have to have it ready for 6pm. So we are looking

for donations of gift cards. Some examples would be Big

Y, Price Chopper, Price Rite (I don’t know if they have

gift cards or not) Walmart, Rite Aid, CVS. They can

always use donations of toiletries, paper goods, diapers,

dish soap, laundry soap, etc. Home Depot Cards or

Lowes…it is a house; things go wrong and break. The

thing about foodstamps ( and not everyone gets those)

and such it doesn’t buy toilet paper, diapers, toothpaste

or soap. Imagine living with out those.

IHN helps families by keeping the families together and

not splitting them up. They help in job searches or

education. They help with giving them structure in their

day. A place to feel safe. An address. Families who do

work are required to give a considerable portion of their

income to the program to hold for them. It is put away

and used for 1st, last and security for an apartment. And

other necessities for setting up a home. That being said,

IHN takes donations of home goods also; such as dishes,

pots and pans, towels, lines, anything needed to set up

a home.

This is one of the easiest feel good immediate

gratification things that you can do as a

volunteer. Overnights, are typically your easiest shift.

Your relief is there by 6:30am during the week and 8:30

am on the weekend. You can get as interactive as you

want as the volunteer. When the kids are in school

chances are you won’t see too much of the families

because the kids go to bed early and typically the

parents are in there with them. You may or may not

have a lot of interactions with the families. There are

plenty of times that I got a lot of reading and

needlework done.

You haven’t volunteered there before? I can meet you

there or do it with you, if my schedule allows. The

families love the volunteers!! It is a very nice house in a

very nice neighborhood. 91 June Street in Worcester.

You can google Interfaith Hospitality Network… see

pictures of the house and read their

story www.InterfaithHospitalityNetwork of Greater

Worcester.

I don’t have a lot of money but I can give my time, and

love and patience and kindness!

Look for the sign up board and sign up to volunteer

your time and/or gift cards, etc.

Thank you so much! Debbie Engvall 617-620-0516

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November 4th 9:00 – 2:00

The Harvest Fair is fast approaching and there is lots to

do in the coming month.

We will be accepting items for the White Elephant Room beginning October 15th. Please bring clean usable items. We will not be accepting televisions, computers, printers, stereos or other electronics. If you have any used books you are willing to donate to be sold at our fair, we will be accepting them at any time.

We are also looking for people to make homemade baked goods, candies, pickles, jams and jellies for our Bake Shoppe. This is one of our biggest and most popular venues at the fair.

During the month of October, we will be scheduling craft nights where we will be making crafts to be sold at the Bethel Crafters table. If anyone has ideas or would like to donate homemade crafts or materials to the fair, we would greatly appreciate your help.

We need support from the members of our congregation. There has been a good showing of committed volunteers at the meetings so far, but we would love to see more participation in the planning and preparation of the fair. There will be many opportunities to help with setting up, working the day of the fair and cleaning up at the conclusion of this event. We will have a sign-up sheet in the Narthex for those who are available and willing to help in any of these areas. If you have never been involved in the past, please consider volunteering your time. Everyone has a lot of fun and it’s a great time of fellowship.

Bell Choir News We are excited to kick off the new year with wonderful anthems in the works. I am excited to announce we are adding 1 or 2 additional ringers in October after adding a ringer this past spring! This means we are close to doubling the size of the Bell Choir since last year! We are also in the process of having much need servicing, cleaning and polishing completed on our first two octaves of handbells. The project should be completed in time to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with our handbells looking and sounding brand new! Thank you to the Council for their support! There is still PLENTY of room for new or past ringers. NO musical experience is necessary or required. If you cannot commit to a full year you can also ring seasonally. We will begin Advent and Christmas preparations in November. Lent, Holy Week and Easter preparations will begin in February. If you are interested for information or you want to participate in a workshop just to see what it's like to be a bell ringer please sign up in the Narthex or email me at arhanks42385@hotmail.com. Blessings, Adam Hanks Bell Choir Director

ZION SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS

Zion Sunday School began at Rally Day on September 17 with cotton candy and a "Back to School" theme. We're using new materials and challenging our memories with weekly verses. Ages Pre K through 4th grade are welcome, and everyone's encouraged to bring a friend! Join in the fun at Zion!

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GRACE MINISTRIES – Yoked Communities of Faith and Service

The Rev. Andrew H. Borden, Pastor pastor_andrew.b@verizon.net

Worcester Campus - Zion Lutheran Auburn Campus - Bethel Lutheran 41 Whitmarsh Avenue, 01606 90 Bryn Mawr Avenue, 01501 Office: 508-853-2009 Office: 508-832-3427

The-Community-of-Zion-Lutheran-Worcester.org BethelAuburnELCA.org

Parish Secretary – Doreen Earley Parish Administrator – Ann Spinner Music Director – Sally Bond Director of Music – Michael Hoffmann President – David Valleli President – Grover Gentry

Bethel Congregation Council EXECUTIVE TEAM: President - Grover Gentry Vice President – Roberta Briggs Secretary – Cate Spanos

Christina Nelson, Betsy Baird, Bev Sampson, Phil Becker

Functional Units Social Ministry – Marie Sturdevant & Judy Sampson

Sunday School – TBA Finance Team – Lisa Ferreira, Chair Property Team – Dave Sutton, Chair Altar Guild – Leanne Carraher, Chair

Worship & Music Committee – Joan Parker, Chair

Staff Parish Administrator – Ann Spinner bethelauburn@verizon.net

Director of Music – Michael Hoffman Preschool Director – Bev Sampson 508-832-9411 Bethel_preschool_auburn@outlook.com

Yoke Council Co Presidents Grover Gentry (Bethel) & David Valleli (Zion) Secretary – Bill McGovern (Zion) Cate Spanos (Bethel)

Betsy Baird (Bethel)

Zion Congregation Council EXECUTIVE TEAM: President – David Valleli Vice President – Katherine Mangsen Secretary – Bill McGovern

Kristin White, Nancy Hallstrom, Bruce Blomgren, Will Toombs, Sara Ruffo

Functional Units Outreach Ministry Team – Ingrid Lawrence/Jean Harger, co-Chairs

Sunday School – Dave & Kate Valleli, Jennifer Courtney, Sara Ruffo-Education Board Finance Team – Laura Blomgren, Chair Personnel Team – Bill McGovern, Chair

Altar Guild – Virginia Carlson, Chair

Staff Parish Secretary – Doreen Earley zionlutheranworc@verizon.net Treasurer – Laura Blomgren Director of Music – Sally Bond

Sexton – Jim Gardner

A RECONCILING IN CHRIST COMMUNITY

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BETHEL COUNCIL CONNECTION

As we head into the Autumn season, Bethel Lutheran Church is alive and brimming with energy and activity!! On Sunday September 17

th, Rally Day, the 10:15 service gave meaningful readings and pastoral message to 85 worshippers. It was

exhilarating and joyful to see this number of people at our service! Also, Sunday School began with a growing number of young children in a broadening age group. Upcoming for the month of October are the Men’s Group Dinner and Dine Out Ladies, both on October 10

th ;the charity

Golf Tournament (to benefit children wishing to attend Camp Calumet summer camp) on October 14th; the celebration of

the 500th anniversary of the Reformation on October 21

st at Zion Lutheran Church in Greendale; a concert at Bethel

presented by A Bunch of Guys (lead by Knute Ogren). Plan on attending these special activities. Other activities include the Walk to End Alzheimer, the Crop Walk, and our Harvest Fair in Early November. At a recent service we celebrated the Baptism of Reese Bennett and the addition of Ryan & Mirissa Bennett and their extended family to our Bethel family! WELCOME!! We have several other families and individuals who are attending with some regularity. Introduce yourselves, speak with them and make them feel welcome. We have our new Director of Music, Michael Hoffmann, playing and leading our energized choir every Sunday morning. Bethel has always been a “church of music”!! Our Sunday service with a full church is always more joyous and full of life! Here is my challenge: Let’s have each one of us personally invite someone (family member, neighbor, friend, anyone) to attend a Sunday morning service this month! Let us see where this effort takes us!! Prayerfully, Grover Gentry Congregation Council President

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