Luther Memorial Church • 225 West Tenth Street • Erie, PA 16501 • 454-0106

e-mail: info@luthermemorialonline.org website: www.luthermemorialonline.org

Luther Memorial Academy • 220 West Eleventh Street • Erie, PA 16501 • 454-0106

Volume 47, Issue 4 June/July 2020

Returning to Public Worship at Luther Memorial Church

For months, the coronavirus pandemic has prevented our church from gathering as we normally do at the “one table that builds us into one people”. Many of us have taken advantage of what has been offered online, but these online services leave us longing for a physical community, and to receive fully both Word and Sacrament, in particular, the Holy Eucharist. In this light, the “Committee to Reopen the Building” made a recommendation to Luther Memorial’s Church Council on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 to reopen the Luther Memorial Church main sanctuary for public worship on Sunday, July 5, 2020 for the 8:15 am and 10:30 am worship services, but only if Erie County is in the “Green Phase”. If, for instance, Erie County is not in the “Green Phase” on Sunday, July 5, 2020, but is by Sunday, July 12 2020, then public worship in the church building will happen on Sunday, July 12, 2020.

What Can People Expect When They Return to Church in the Building?

A Masked Assembly: As you prepare to enter the building please be aware of the signs on the doors which will indicate those open for entrance and exit, and that all people entering the building will be required to wear a mask.

A Dispersed Assembly: Worshippers will be required to occupy the pews that are open for seating, as many pews will be closed off to keep proper physical distancing. Members of the same household may occupy the same pew at a closer distance. Both the 8:15 am and 10:30 am worship services will be held in the main sanctuary. Other areas of the building (except rest rooms) will be closed off and unavailable to the congregation.

A Clean, Simplified and Disinfected Space: Our place of worship will be cleared of hymnals, pens, and offering envelopes. Between the church services volunteers will sanitize the pews, restrooms and those surfaces likely to have been touched by worshipers. All inside doors will be left open to reduce the touching door handles.

Upon arriving into the building: • there will be hand sanitizer stations available for your use.

• you will be asked to “sign in” you and your family members to help with contact tracing if that becomes

necessary.

• you will pick up your own worship bulletin located on the tables and then proceed to your pews.

After the service ends: • worshippers are discouraged from congregating as is our normal custom.

A Simplified Service with Less Movement and No Singing: There will be no processional down the main aisle of our church, all worship leaders will be seated and properly distanced in the chancel, and all worship leadership will be happening directly behind the front altar.

Worshippers will not be singing, but we will have worship music during the worship service as led by a small number of choir members and instrumentalists who will be physically distanced. Although worshippers are not to sing, following the hymn texts in the bulletin is encouraged. Cont’d.:

Page 2; Returning to Worship, cont’d.: Communion Under One Form: Only the Body of Christ will be offered to worshippers at communion time. Wine will be used only by Pastor Coleman. As you come forward with your mask and keeping the recommended 6 feet apart, you will lower your mask and the Body of Christ will be placed in your hand from a masked Pastor Coleman and return to your pew. Until the coronavirus pandemic is over, there will be no Altar Guild. Pastor Coleman will be responsible for cleaning and sanitizing all altar ware to ensure the proper sanitization. He will be extremely intentional of keeping his hands sanitized to ensure a safe distribution of the Body of Christ.

What Can People Do to Facilitate Our Return to Public Worship?

Pray and Stay Informed: Pray for Luther Memorial Church, our church leadership and staff, and stay abreast of pertinent news related to our ministry by looking for updates on our church website under the “News” section and our Luther Memorial Church Facebook Group page.

Be Patient, Flexible and Forgiving: All of us at Luther Memorial Church are participants in sacred worship. We will need to be patient, flexible and forgiving as we learn to worship together under circumstances we never anticipated. We are bound to make mistakes going forward, but we can learn from these if we extend charity to each other. We will be joyful even in the midst of knowing, that for now, our public worship will be different for a period of time. Understanding this coronavirus pandemic will be going on for some time, we are beginning our public worship in this way to help with the physical isolation we have all been feeling. Some may feel we should wait until we can worship like we used to, and while this is an understandable position, our church leadership, uncertain of when that would actually be, felt it important to try to slowly ease back into our public ministry.

Be Ready to Stay Home If You Do Not Feel Safe or Prepared: If you are in the “high risk” category of developing life threatening complications due to the coronavirus you are encouraged to stay home. You should not feel pressured or forced to return to public worship, because Online Sunday morning worship, Morning and Evening Prayer and Wednesday morning Bible Studies will continue to be provided. One change you should know once we begin our public worship is that the worship service can be watched on Facebook Live at 10:30 am through Luther Memorial’s Facebook Group page, and then with time for processing and uploading the worship service will be found on the Church’s webpage and YouTube channel by 12:30 pm.

Be Ready to Ask Questions: If you are uncertain or confused by what is being shared in this document, or you have any questions about our ministry, please contact the church office or Pastor Coleman. Pastor Coleman would like to thank each of you for your patience, love, care and generous giving during this very trying time. Finally, Pastor Coleman would like to thank St. Jude Catholic Church for providing the format of this letter. Luther Memorial ReCharge

Summer ReCharge Worship Sunday, July 12 and Sunday, August 2

4:00 – 5:00pm Picnic 5:00 – 6:00pm Worship

We are looking forward to worshiping outdoors for our ReCharge Services in July and August. Bring a picnic basket with goodies for you and your family and we’ll gather outside at 4:00pm to enjoy one another’s company (of course being mindful of keeping socially distant). Worship will follow at 5:00pm.

In case of inclement weather, please check for updates on our Luther Memorial Facebook Page and the ReCharge Facebook Page.

Our love and sympathy is extended

to the family and friends of:

Pastor Richard Schultz who died Saturday, May 9, 2020

Page 3 Congratulations to our 2020 Graduates

We congratulate our youth as they graduate from high school and those graduating from college. While not able to have that walk across the stage to receive their diploma, we extend congratulations and our very best wishes as they continue to college and their new careers.

Congratulations to our graduating high school seniors:

ANYA BLASCO McDowell High School Penn State Behrend Early Elementary Education

REGAN DEDIONISIO Collegiate Academy Duquesne University

JACK ELLIOTT Collegiate Academy Penn State Behrend

CHRISTIAN FUHRMAN Collegiate Academy Penn State Behrend

DANIEL HACKENBERG Clarion High School Clarion University

NATHAN HELSLEY Mercyhurst Prep Mercyhurst College

LUCA HOKAJ Fairview High School Lynchburg University, Virginia

MATTIX MCCALL Erie High School Pennsylvania College of Technology Collision Repair/Car Registration & Business Management

MEADOW MCCRACKEN Collegiate Academy Gannon University

SUTTON ROWLAND Mercyhurst Prep Edinboro University

STEWART SATUR Fairview High school

THOMAS SCHLECHT George Washington High School Undecided Charleston, WV

DYLAN SCHNELL McDowell High School Undecided

PENELOPE WITOSKY Home-school Education Plans to study as a dental hygienist

BENJAMIN YOUNG Lockport High School; Lockport, NY Undecided

Hats off to our college graduates: ELLIE CADDEN University of Pittsburgh Environmental Studies with minors in Spanish and Legal Studies

ANNA DOWNEY Penn State Behrend Bachelor of Arts in Psychology/double minor in Sociology, Crime, Law & Psychology. Pursuing Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice with completion May 2021.

HANNAH LUJBLI Lake Erie College Facility Management & Teacher Trainer in Equestrian

ELLA SANTILLANO Mercyhurst University Applied Forensic Sciences / minor in Art and Theatre Graduated Summa Cum Laude

MADELINE SATUR Penn State Behrend Mathematics Degree / currently working as a fraud analysist

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Christian Education

Vacation Bible School

YES! We will have VBS so please join us for a great time on Zoom. Get your Bible lessons; fun activities are planned; and even snacks! Service hours are also available for anyone interested. Please contact the church office for information.

Registration is appreciated as information will be emailed to families listing a few items you may need to have on-hand. Registration is easy:

1. Complete the form below and return to the church office; or

2. Contact Norma in the church office by email at nbuerk@luthermemorialonline.org or phone at 454-0106, ext. 221. Information needed is email, cell phone and children’s names.

Spic & Span

Carpets and floors will be cleaned throughout the church and school during the week of June 22.

Please contact the church office if you plan to stop in, as some areas of the building will be inaccessible. Thank you.

Camp Lutherlyn

Because summer camp has been cancelled at Camp Lutherlyn this summer due to the Covid-19 virus, Luther Memorial Church council voted to make a contribution to Lutherlyn in the amount of $1,500. Please pray for the camp’s leadership during this challenging time, and please consider making a donation to Camp Lutherlyn as well.

June & July Birthday Celebrations for our Sunshine Members

PATRICIA RICKLOFF 6/2 LAURA BETH KRAUT 7/6 16120 Castle Park Terrace 321 East Avenue Lakewood Ranch, FL Erie, PA 16507 CHERYL ALBERT 7/21 JEANETTE BLAIR 7/23 5600 Swanville Road 4115 Sassafas St. Erie, PA 16506 Erie, PA 16508

Virtual Family Vacation Bible School Theme: “Jesus’ Power Will Pull Us Through”

Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 10 6:30pm – 7:30pm (approximately)

VBS REGISTRATION

Children’s Name(s): ____________________________________________________________________________________

Email: __________________________________________________ Cell Phone: ___________________________________

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Now What?

At the beginning of this pandemic in March, I think most of us were full of fear. Fear of getting the virus, fear of the unknown and fear for our future. These fears are still present but now we have progressed to just wanting it to be over. We are worried about our broken world and want to come out of this “cocoon”. How will it be? I hear friends tell stories about how some people have returned to their “normal life” like nothing is

different. Unfortunately things are different. This virus is a menace! It affects each individual differently, and we don’t know how it will affect each of us. How can we help not be affected by this virus?

I heard two scientists speak about, “what could be the outcomes we learn from this pandemic”? I heard the first one back in early April and the second recently in June. They both hope that the outcome after the pandemic would be that people would take better care of their health. You’ve heard that people with underlying diseases or co-morbidities are more susceptible to the virus and possibly dying. These diseases that increase the risk are diabetes, heart and lung disease, weakened immune systems and severe obesity. These risks are similar to what is seen with other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza. The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has increased from 30.5% to 42.4% from 1999 – 2000 through 2017-2018 and severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. That is almost double! So what these scientists hope is that we will become more conscientious about our health, especially if we have an underlying condition. Yes, it has affected perfectly healthy people, but the people with conditions have been affected more severely. Many have joked about the “quarantine 15 of the Covid 19”, pounds that have been gained during the quarantine. Now is the time to think and act on taking charge of our health so we can fight off this virus. Maybe by doing this we will feel that we have some control over it and that it’s not controlling us. Hopefully when our area “turns green” we can form a walking group and Pastor can resume the running group. Exercising in the fresh air with friends can also help our mental health, which I’m sure has suffered also.

Blessings, Linda Graffius, RN Faith Community Nurse

June Birthday Celebrations

Carter O’Leary 6/1 Ben Shchouchkoff 6/1 Jan Birkner 6/2 Mark Cadden 6/2 Patricia Rickloff 6/2 Roy Washill 6/2 Jennifer Young 6/2 Ashley Gloekler 6/3 Barb Grande 6/3 Aimee Huston 6/3 Tyler Keller 6/3 Doug Blair 6/4 Melanie Cadden 6/5 Martha Stickner 6/5 Brian Carlson 6/6 John Evans 6/6 Dave Birkner 6/7 Richard Hessinger 6/7 Stuart Satur 6/7 Bethany Fried 6/8 Jesse Graffius 6/8 Noelle Partusch 6/8 Kristen Ambrose 6/9 Marshall Boyd 6/9

Nancy Rogan 6/9 Dustin Schumacher 6/9 Cindy Hedlund 6/10 Brent Young 6/10 Ava Fracassi 6/11 Diane Giannelli 6/11 Henry Gilbert 6/11 Judith Steff 6/11 Michelle Vahey 6/11 Dave Lintelman 6/12 Carol Nicotra 6/12 Blake O’Brien 6/12 Doug Chaffee 6/13 Rykiah Rogan 6/13 Andrew Bebko 6/14 Regan DeDionisio 6/15 Don Tatar 6/15 Elizabeth Cowan 6/16 Robert Davidson 6/16 Molly Gaber 6/16 Sally McAfee 6/16 David Ruler 6/16 Linda Swanson 6/16 Maureen Montero 6/17

Zandra Shaffer 6/17 Dave Mumford 6/18 Cecilia Ulrich 6/18 Katie Schrader 6/19 Susan Cappelletty 6/20 Mara Fromyer 6/21 Ellie Young 6/21 Jackson Young 6/21 Tanner Galloway 6/23 Virginia Long 6/23 Juliet Woodward 6/23 Karen Lundwall 6/24 Julie Wolfram 6/25 Allison Brown 6/26 Mary Laver 6/26 Dorothy Youngman 6/26 Donovan Rogan 6/27 Chase Rowland 6/27 Brooklyn Fry 6/28 Sally Allen 6/29 Heather Pirschel 6/29 Cynthia Hessinger 6/30 Tim Houston, Jr. 6/30

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July Birthday Celebrations

Ann Jensen 7/1 Mattix McCall 7/1 Ray Schaney 7/1 Cameron Durian 7/2 Heidi Heilman 7/2 Carlo Cimino 7/3 Tara Durian 7/3 Annette Fuhrman 7/3 Bill Galloway 7/4 Jeana Williams 7/4 Stephanie Ames 7/7 Jon Brown 7/8 Zoe Carolus 7/8 Dale Carullo 7/8 Robert Maas 7/8 Jane Tell 7/8 Cynthia Treiber 7/8 Amanda Warren 7/9 Lorraine Johnson 7/10

Stephanie King 7/10 Angela Eagle 7/12 Nicole Lippert 7/12 Brody Warren 7/12 James Woodward 7/13 Emmett Andrae 7/15 Ron King 7/16 Kaitlin Weber 7/16 Julie Ditz 7/17 Brian Hubbard 7/17 Maggie Jensen 7/17 Greg Kern 7/17 David Morphy 7/17 Katherine Ulrich 7/17 Sarah Davis 7/18 Rich Seward 7/19 Adam Reusche 7/20 Bill Steff 7/20 Elizabeth Wolf 7/20

Cheryl Albert 7/21 Rebecca Burling 7/21 Nicholas Lang 7/21 Chris Narusewicz 7/22 Madeline Satur 7/22 R. J. Treiber 7/22 Jeanette Blair 7/23 Elvin Montero 7/24 Steve Durian 7/25 Kristen Lawson 7/27 Jeff Will 7/27 Rob Cooney 7/28 Lennon Andrae 7/29 Pat Mitchell 7/29 Drake Howell 7/30 Patrick Vahey, Jr 7/30 Carla Andrejewski 7/31 Tucker Galloway 7/31 Diana Schaney 7/31

June Council Minutes via Zoom

1. Minutes of the May 12, 2020 meeting were reviewed and on motion unanimously accepted.

2. Treasurer’s Report - Greg Kern reviewed the details of his written report indicating that church finances are in good condition. On motion the report was approved unanimously. Contributions have been coming in early. A question revealed that food distribution has been funded entirely by donations.

3. Reopening of Luther Memorial Church – Following discussion on the recommendations to reopen Luther Memorial Church from the Reopening Committee is was unanimous to approve these parameters.

4. Camp Lutherlyn Contribution – On motion it was unanimous to send Camp Lutherlyn $1,500.00 in lieu of the program for confirmation students since the camp is closed due to Covid-19.

5. LMA Bathroom Dividers – The State requires a divider between sinks in rest rooms; each sink with its own soap

dispenser. On motion it was unanimous that Luther Memorial acquire partitions and soap dispensers for the LMA

restrooms.

6. Payroll Protection Program for LMA – Funding was received for both the school and church because they share the

same EIN number. Holy Trinity also received funding because we process their payroll.

7. Online Services – These are well received and going well; thank you to all involved.

8. July Council Meeting – Tuesday, July 14 at 6:00pm. It will be determined if this will be held via Zoom or at Luther

Memorial.

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May 2020 Statistics

ATTENDANCE: 8:15 A.M. 10:30 A.M. 4:00 P.M. RECHARGE CHILDREN’S CHURCH TOTAL All services in May cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Worship services offered on the Luther Memorial website, Facebook and YouTube. Tuesday Morning Prayer, Wednesday Morning Bible Study and Thursday Evening Prayer also offered online. BAPTISMS:

FUNERALS: GRIFFIN, PAULINE – Date of Death: Friday, May 1, 2020 / Date of Service: Wednesday, May 5, 2020 / Pastor William E. Coleman officiating. SCHULTZ, RICHARD – Date of Death: Saturday, May 9, 2020 / Private service: Thursday, May 21, 2020.

MEMORIALS: SCHULTZ, RICHARD – FROM: Marilyn Rositer Shirley & Montie Collier Karen Lundwall Pat Young

LETTER OF TRANSFER: None recorded.

NEW MEMBERS RECEIVED: None recorded.

WEDDINGS: None recorded.

May Council Minutes via Zoom

1. Minutes of the April 14, 2020 meeting were reviewed and on motion unanimously accepted.

2. Treasurer’s Report – Greg Kern reviewed the details of his written report indicating that church finances are good. Contributions have been coming in early. A question revealed that food distribution has been funded entirely by donations.

3. Summer Car Show - Nothing is decided but the committee is leaning toward postponing.

4. Reopening Luther Memorial Church - Pastor Coleman presented three issues for determining a way toward reopening the building to worship after the state changes the pandemic zone to green. It was decided that council will evaluate opening the church building to worship at each council meeting. Discussion also included the decision to continue offering virtual worship services at least as long as the building remains closed. Les Fobes requested the formation of a group to study the materials gathered about the pandemic, with the goal of making recommendations to council. Proposed members of the committee are Pastor Coleman, Norma Buerk, Linda Graffius, Beth Keller, Chris Paul, Pat Bellingham, Charlie Lintelman, Ray Schaney; in consultation with Miriam Scheid and Walt Gaber.

5. Church Worship – Upon vote it was unanimous that no meetings or any groups be held in the church building before the next council meeting, with the decision to be reviewed at each successive council meeting.

6. VBS – VBS is currently scheduled for July. Group Publishing is making available materials online to be able to hold a virtual VBS at no charge. Beth Keller will continue discussions before making a final decision.

7. Candidacy Process – Michael K. Snider has been granted entrance to the candidacy process of the NW PA Synod.

8. Payroll Protection Program – The application for Luther Memorial Academy has been completed in good order and has to be re-input online. Miriam Scheid will be moving forward with this.

9. Review of 2019 and Ongoing Income and Expenses - Pat Young reported that she has completed the review of finances and found everything in good order. She submitted a letter reporting her work to Treasurer Greg Kern.

10. Software Licensing – Walt Gaber requested approval of expenditure for software licensing: Sound Trap $249/year and Reaper $60. On motion this was unanimously approved.

11. Thank You’s – Pastor expressed thanks to prayer group for cards and phone calls, and encouraged council to make phone calls to people on the call list.

12. Photo Request – Norma requested that Council members send pictures of themselves and their families for inclusion in the Sunday virtual services.

13. Council Meeting – The next council meeting will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 6:00pm, via Zoom.

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Erie Gives Day 2020

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO HELP A NON-PROFIT

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020 8:00AM – 8:00PM 12 HOURS OF GIVING

Day and Time: Checks will be accepted on Monday, August 10. The online event takes place on Tuesday, August 11. You have 12 hours to make your donation between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm.

Participating Nonprofits: Your organization must be a 501(c)(3) and either be a member of The Nonprofit Partnership or have an Agency Endowment with the Erie Community Foundation to participate in Erie Gives. Luther Memorial Church, Luther Memorial Academy and Bethany Outreach Center appreciate your support.

Gift Amount: The minimum gift is $25. There is no limit to the amount of money you may give. There is no limit to the number of organizations you can donate to in a transaction.

Making a Donation: Simply log on to www.eriegives.org or call the Erie Community Foundation at 454-0843.

Credit Cards: Only Visa, MasterCard and Discover will be accepted. The credit card processor charges a nominal fee per transaction. The Erie Community Foundation does not receive any fees. (Credit card gift cards will not be accepted.)

Checks: Donors can write a check for their Erie Gives donation. • Checks must be made out to The Erie Community Foundation; • All check donations must be accompanied by a Check Donation Form. For your convenience, the Check

Donation Form is included with this newsletter. It is also available for download at www.eriegives.org. • Checks must be delivered to The Erie Community Foundation (459 West 6th Street, Erie, PA 16507) no later than

Monday, August 10, 2020.

Prorated Match: The Erie Community Foundation and our sponsors will enhance each donor’s gift by providing a prorated match to each gift made to a nonprofit.

Your Receipt: You will receive an email receipt of your gift; please retain it for tax purposes. Unless you choose to remain anonymous, your donor information will be sent to the appropriate organizations.

When the Nonprofits receive your donation: Due to COVID-19, the annual Check Distribution Day will not be held at the Erie Zoo. This year, all Erie Gives donations will be mailed to nonprofits.

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The first day of school for Luther Memorial Academy will be Monday, August 24.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone!

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Luther Memorial Academy

Congratulations to Our Graduates!

In a most unconventional end to the school year, we were able to have an unconventional 8th grade graduation ceremony. Wayside Presbyterian graciously allowed us to use their large parking area to conduct our graduation ceremony. All 8th grade students and families were in attendance. The weather was beautiful and the simplified ceremony recognized each student for his/her achievements. I don’t think it will be a moment our LMA family will forget. It somehow summed up the spirit of perseverance that got everyone through this crisis. I must give special thanks to Dawn Weborg and Amanda Fried for their efforts in putting this together.

MIRA BAVARO Collegiate Academy

COOPER BEBKO Collegiate Academy

DOMINIC BELLOTTI Collegiate Academy

LAUREN BURLING Collegiate Academy

BRADEN CAMPISE Collegiate Academy

ALEXIS FULLERTON Erie First Christian Academy

HAILEY HEITSENRETHER Collegiate Academy

AMARE HOPKINS Collegiate Academy

KHANH JOHNSON Collegiate Academy

LAYLA JOHNSON Collegiate Academy

GABRIELLE MILLER Collegiate Academy

ALLANAH POPE Collegiate Academy

ILANA RUBINOFF Collegiate Academy

BEN SHCHOUCHKOFF Cathedral Prep School

DAVID TERRY Collegiate Academy

DARHYL THOMAS Cathedral Prep School

NATHAN TUZNIK Collegiate Academy

Going Above and Beyond

A number of our graduates received special awards for outstanding efforts during the school years. Congratulations to each of them for their achievements.

AWARD WINNERS:

George Black Award Alice C. Engel Award for Extraordinary Effort Lauren Burling Gabrielle Miller

J. David Mumford Award Susan M. Belott Christian Service Award

Mira Bavaro Alexis Fullerton Benjamin Shchouchkoff Cooper Bebko Helen Schade Academic Fitness Award Cooper Bebko

First Day of School