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August Shalom 2007
It's not easy being Christian on your own.
There are so many other demands and claims on your life that it is easy to get “out of the habit”. There isn't anyone to bounce ideas off or to ask questions or share insights. There is anyone to pray for us, or support us, or encourage us or challenge us or speak a word of forgiveness to us.
It's hard to be Christian on your own.
At various times during the church's long history, “small groups” have become a significant part of the church's life. It started when Jesus gathered twelve around him (even he didn't like to do faith on his own) to teach and guide. Paul always gathered a group together when he started a new ministry in a new community. Monasteries often started as small communities gathered around the faith. A Lutheran named Philip Jacob Spener gathered small “faith communities” together in an attempt to renew the church.
Today, many growing congregations use small group ministry as the backbone of community life within the church. Small groups build solid relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ, provide for support and encouragement in the life of faith, and can be a great deal of fun!
Here at University Lutheran, we already have a number of small groups functioning. The Care Groups serve a number of individuals and families. The WOW Group, quilting group, youth groups and SOUL all share some of the dynamics of a small group.
This year, one of my ministry goals was to expand the small group ministry of our congregation. I think this would make us much more effective in caring for current members of our congregation and in integrating new members as they join us. Small groups will also give us all opportunities to grow in faith, deepen our understanding of scripture and provide us with avenues of service.
My vision would be that everyone in the congregation would become a part of a small group this fall. How's that for dreaming big!
I envision these groups gathering at least monthly in people's homes for fellowship, study and prayer. I realize people don't need one more thing to cram into busy schedules and lives, but it would be my hope and prayer that these monthly small group gatherings would become welcome times of respite, reflection and recharging in the midst of all the craziness. I would hope that they would be simple times shared with fellow Christians to gain support and nurture in faith and life.
You'll be hearing more about this ministry as the fall unfolds. Please prayerfully consider getting involved when your invitation to join comes!
Peace,
Pastor
Mike
SOUL
Grow in Christ + Grow in Wisdom + Grow
in
Faith
SOUL is University Lutheran's ministry for and with college and university students and other young adults.
Katie Anderson
John Cloud
Meghan Rieke
Andrew Somers
Peer Ministers plan and organize SOUL events, contact and welcome new students, publicize SOUL activities and serve as evening hosts in the Campus Ministry Center (ULC South).
Taizé Tuesdays were very successful last year! We hope to see even more young adults involved this Fall! If you've never been a part of Taizé Tuesdays, you have got to check this out. Things start off at 6 PM on Tuesday evenings with a FREE home cooked meal at the Campus Ministry Center (south of the church). At 6:44 PM we begin our weekly prayer service. Don't worry… it's very informal! We sing (simple stuff, easy to learn), have time for quite prayer, read scripture, talk, laugh, and, in general, have a very good time. There are undergrads, grads, non-students, and a few “older folks” (like Pastor Mike) who all get involved. Hope you can come and bring a friend!
Come! Join in the fun! The whole congregation is coming out to welcome new and returning students, and faculty to OU and University Lutheran! The food and fun happens right after second service (around 12:30 PM) on Sunday, August 26. Be there!
The way SOUL funds its programs and activities during the year (service trips, Lutheran Student Movement Gatherings, Sunday lunches and everything else) is by parking cars for home football games. We need everyone's help to make this Parking Project a success! The first home game is against North Texas on September 1. GO SOONERS!
Each New Year's, the Lutheran Student Movement (the church's organization for Lutheran college and university students) hosts a big national conference. This year the conference will be in Denver. The event includes powerful worship, meaningful service projects, great speakers and lots of free time to see the sights (maybe we'll even squeeze in a day of skiing when the conference is over). We're telling you about this now so that you can mark your calendars (December 27-January 1) and begin saving your nickels. Of course, if the parking project goes well… there will be some scholarship money available!
Ever want to
ask a
question about the sermon?
Ever want to
go
deeper into the topic or theme?
Ever want to
find out
more about the passages we read on Sunday mornings?
Ever want to
talk
about the faith?
Ever want to
learn
more about the bible?
Then SERMON
TALK-BACKS are for you!!!
Sermon Talk-Back is a bible study group that meets every Sunday evening from 7-8 PM. Each week, we review and discuss the bible lessons read in worship on Sunday morning, discuss the sermon, and talk about how the lessons shape our lives and impact our world. The conversation is always lively (and sometimes gets a little off topic) and is always interesting and informative. New people are always welcome! Plan to include Sunday Sermon Talk-backs in your routine this fall!
Confirmation classes for all 7th and 8th graders begin with a very important Parent and Student Meeting on Wednesday, August 22 from 6:30-7:30 PM. At that meeting we will hand out the schedule for the year, review requirements for the program and share some of what the students will be learning. Regular classes start on Wednesday, August 29 from 6:30-8:00 PM. This year, we will be studying Luther's Small Catechism and basic Lutheran theology.
SOUL is looking for individuals and groups to provide a home cooked meal for about 15 (unless we really grow this fall) hungry college students on Tuesday nights at 6 PM. If you can help, sign-up on the SOUL bulletin board (in the Narthex) or talk to Gwen Gransberg. Cooks and their helpers are invited and encouraged to stay for supper (it gives the students a chance to know you better) and for the prayer service if that's possible.
Now is a great time to get involved in a committee, activity or new program here at ULCSC! Fall is the time when committees and ministries get going and are always looking for new ideas, helpers and participants. Talk to one of the committee chairs or council liaisons:
Committee Chair Council
Liaison
Stewardship Eric Olsen Ken Minor
Worship Art Lantagne Bob Metz
Education Jan Feldt (??) Arlis Scott
Evangelism Carol Hoadley Bob Crawford
Social Ministry Duane Winegardner Nina Livsey
Fellowship Mary Martin Jane Douglas
Publicity Sandra Longcrier Steve Gunnels
Campus ministry Andy Feldt Kevin Goebbert
Facilities Management Fred Schmidt Roy Strom
We also need new worship assistants, communion assistants, readers, video and sound technicians, bread bakers, altar guild workers, ushers, acolytes, and choir members! If you would like to help lead worship, talk to Pastor Mike, Sammie Olkinetzky (choir), Art Lantagne (worship service techs), Peggy Strom (altar guild), Lon Ocker (ushers), Donna Shaw (Early Service acolytes) or Joanne Klumpp (Late Service acolytes).
Pastor Mike would like to thank the congregation for his 20th Anniversary of Ordination surprise party. I was, to say the least, overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity. I very much appreciated the gift certificate for Lowes and the clock has been given a prominent place on my desk. It is so wonderful to be blessed with such a great church family, and with friends like you. Thanks again!
If you have some space…
Knowing where a typical unbeliever is coming from is the first step to connecting with them. Researcher Thom Rainer interviewed thousands of unchurched Americans and published the results in The Unchurched Next Door. Many of the following findings may surprise you:
* Most of the unchurched prefer to attend church on Sunday morning if they attend.
* Most are not antichurch or antireligion.
* Most Americans have never been invited to church – never.
* 82 percent of the unchurched are at least “somewhat likely” to attend church if they are invited.
* Two percent of church members invite an unchurched person to church.
* Most of the unchurched feel guilty about not attending church.
* Very few of the unchurched have had someone share with them how to become Christian. And Christians have not been particularly influential in their lives.
* The attitudes of the unchurched are not correlated to where they live, their ethnic or racial background or their gender.
* Many of the unchurched are far more concerned about the spiritual well-being of their children than of themselves.
Reprinted
from Seeds for the Parish May-June,
2007.
[From Pastor Mike -- I read this article and it made me go, “hmmmm…” Often, we are afraid to risk asking someone to church with us, but the evidence continues to show that people are looking to be asked. Invite someone to church with you next Sunday!]
How can we learn?
Different people learn in different ways. Some people learn more from visual cues, some people learn by reading and still others learn by doing. The goal of any education program is to teach as many ways as possible so the most people can learn the greatest amount. This applies to Sunday school and bible study as well. No matter how you learn, you have to have something to learn. You need the materials. You can't do bible study without a bible just as you can't learn to play the piano without a piano.
One of the roles of the church is to provide such materials to the people for study in the church building and especially in the home. I am always surprised to find out how many people don't even have a bible let alone know how to use it. Most modern bibles contain not only scripture but an index, a concordance, maps, references to other parts of scripture or other writings, devotions and even extra material explaining history, culture and life in ancient times. The bible is one of the greatest resources for faith development in all ages and now more that ever! Use it!
Recommendations:
New Revised Standard Version(NRSV) for anyone over high school and over.
New International Version(NIV) has a wide variety of devotional and study bibles available, also for young adults and older.
Contemporary English Version(CEV) is a paraphrase of original biblical texts. Great for children and older.
Calendar of Events
Aug. 7-9 Avalanche Ranch VCS 630-8pm for all ages. Adult sessions also.
17 Youth/
19 Backpack blessing for anyone who is involved in education
20 Norman Schools start
Sept. 9 RALLY DAY
Adult and Children's Sunday School starts (955 am)
26 Adult Ed. Lutheran Studies starts
Backpack Blessing
School is almost here again! We will again be doing a Backpack Blessing August 19 for anyone who is involved in education. Teachers, students, professors, administrators; bring your backpacks and briefcases so we at ULCSC can pray for you as you start another school year.
Lock-in
The Youth and
ULCSC Endowment
Trust
The University Lutheran Church and Student Center Endowment
Trust can help you leave a legacy for ministry.
The trust was created on January 30, 2000. The mission statement of the trust, adopted
August 28, 2001, is “The Endowment
Trust
strives to support the mission of the
The following are some of the ways to contribute to the trust:
Envelopes for contributions to the ULCSC Endowment Trust are available in the narthex
If you shop at Albertsons, an easy way to contribute is to use the ULC Community Partners' card. The proceeds from the quarterly disbursements from Albertsons are deposited in the Endowment Fund
* Wills and bequests - You should see an attorney for advice and assistance in setting up such a vehicle.
* Cash and Securities - You can make contributions of cash and securities to the Fund on a one-time or on a periodic basis. gifts of appreciated stocks and bonds can often provide you significant tax advantages.
* Real Estate - You can make a contribution of real estate or other items of value in consultation with the Mission Endowment Fund Committee.
* Life Insurance - You can make a gift to the fund of an existing life insurance policy or purchase another with the Fund as the principal beneficiary.
* Charitable Gift Annuity - You can create a charitable gift annuity providing income for yourself or someone else while also providing the Fund a sizable portion.
* Trust - You can establish a trust with all assets managed by a trustee, with the Fund as the named beneficiary.
* Will - You can make a bequest to the Fund through your will, permitting a gift to the church at your death in full accordance with your specified wishes.
In these and other ways you can support the ministries
of
If you would like more information or are interested
in contributing, please contact one of the following trustees:
Women of the
Word
Women of the Word will be reading “Can't Wait to Get to Heaven” by Fannie Flagg. This book is an absolute treat! For those of you who remember “Fried Green Tomatoes,” you have a whole new town full of characters to learn about, enjoy, and identify with. We meet Fridays at noon. Bring a lunch if you desire. Call Arlis Scott (xxx-xxxx) or Mary Sue Schnell (xxx-xxxx) for information and/or suggestions. Please. . .come read with us! Books are available at Borders for a 10% discount.
May
I ask you a favor?
On April 30,
the
first residents of Concordia Life Care Community moved into their apartments. By this time, more than 30 apartments
are
occupied, and more people move in almost every day or so.
Concordia is
a
not-for-profit retirement center located at 7707 W. Britton Road, Oklahoma
City
73132. It is owned by Lutheran Senior Citizens, Inc. (LSCI), which is made
up
of ten LCMS congregations in the Oklahoma City area. LSCI is recognized
by the
IRS as a 501(c)3 organization. That means
contributions people make to LSCI may be deducted from taxable income when
preparing their 1040 income tax return.
The three-story
main
building includes a chapel where a service is now being conducted each
Thursday
at 2:00 p.m. There may be Bible classes or other activities held there,
too. We've already obtained 50 chairs,
and an organ will be there soon. Three stained glass windows are being
made by
a local glass artist. Additional features will soon include a projector
and
screen.
We plan to use
the
altar that St. John's Church used years ago.
We plan to move it to Concordia soon.
LSCI hopes to
find
donors who'll help us raise $100,000 for these and other furnishings. Some
Oklahoma chapters of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans are conducting
fund-raisers for this purpose.
If the Lord
leads
you to do so, you may make such a gift and mail it to me ... I am
on the
LSCI board and I'm leading the funding project of the Cleveland County
Thrivent
chapter.
Please make
your
check payable to
Cleveland County
Chapter Thrivent Financial,
put it into an envelope addressed to
me,
Rev. H. Kamman, 7707 W. Britton Rd., Apt. 2201, Oklahoma City,
OK
73132-1532.
Your response
to me
in the next few days will be most helpful.
This chapter's project has a goal of $700, and we already have nearly $300 in advance gifts. Wouldn't it be great if we could complete this project very soon?
Thank you again for your support.
Harold Kamman
1 - Nick Maddock
Becky Singleton
2 - Carole Eliason
Donna Shaw - Memphis, TN
3 - Renita Escobar
Paul Gilje
6 - Kendra James
Carolyn Lewis - San Antonio, TX
7 - Rachel Johnson
Angie Song
8 - Cass Petre
13 - Sarah Johnson
14 - Bill Scott, Herlong Army Depot, CA
Ann Smith
15 - Carrie Ann Baker
Karsen Madole
18 - Peg Stoltenberg
19 - David Rader
20 - Bob Crawford
23 - Stephanie Lowery
24 - Carolyn Roshong
25 - Beverly Metz - Frederick, OK
27 - Tamara Swenson
28 - Jeremy Escobar
30 - Lucas Harrison
31 - Stan Eliason
August Anniversaries
1 - Eric and Jane Abraham
Phil
and Karen Carlson
4 - Terry and Paul Bell
Bill
and Beverly Turner
6 - Mike and Terrie Girlinghouse
10 - Paul and Ann Gilje
13 - Larry and Joanne Klumpp
20 - Richard and Melodie Massie
21 - Bill and Cass Petre
23 - Mark and Janice Bienhoff
Dan
and Scottie Davis - Brenham, TX
Bob and Beverly Metz - Manitou, OK
24 - Don and Maryanne Maletz
25 - Mark and Sharlene
Kleine
27 - Paul and Dorothy Brinker
29 - David and Marian Klumpp
Rich and Donna Reynolds
30 - David and Cynthia Alvis
Statistics -
May 2007 Worship
Attendance
|
|
5/6/07 |
5/13/07 |
5/20/07 |
5/27/07 |
|
Average |
|
8:30 |
88 |
70 |
75 |
50 |
|
71 |
|
11:00 |
91 |
95 |
98 |
72 |
|
89 |
|
2007 |
179 |
165 |
173 |
122 |
|
160 |
Statistics -
June
2007
Worship Attendance
|
|
6/3/07 |
6/10/07 |
6/17/07 |
6/24/07 |
|
Average |
|
8:30 |
66 |
75 |
57 |
53 |
|
63 |
|
11:00 |
61 |
84 |
80 |
81 |
|
76 |
|
2007 |
127 |
159 |
137 |
134 |
|
139 |
ULC Prayer List
Please keep the following in your prayers:
For those who are sick and recovering and their caregivers: Herb Kuhlman, Paul Brinker, Dorothy Thompson, Dave Alvis, Kirstin Schwandt, Tamara Swenson, Jake Manzanares, Doug Gransberg, and Shelley White.
James West, Aneice Rodrigues, Orville Thomas, Taiyoko Payton, Zack Weight, Ari Williams, David Balan, David Volk, Anna White, Dora Cox, Tim Cole, Marjean Guderian, Valerie Foley, Oscar and Ella Ann Olson, Ron Bain, Michelle Black, Clayton Robinson, Joe Vivaldi, Elsie Eaton, James Winegardner, Stu Chandler, and Lony Birkett.
For those serving in the Military: William D. Petre, Justin Smalley, John Huston, Matthew Haddon, Scott Main, Welby Richardson, Billy Loving, Jeff Jorgenson, Joshua Bell, Michael Lewis, Trevor Downen, Mike Faulkenberry, Nils Gransberg, and Jason Kahne.
For those serving as missionaries of the Church: David and Alicia Brondos, in Mexico. Sally and Tom Roach, and Herb Hafermann, in Tanzania.
For those who grieve the death of a loved one….. the family of Mel Maytubby, Brandon Ellis, Casey Gibson, George Heuple, Dorothy Swenson, and Ilse Fischbeck.