FENIMORE ROAD AT CORTLANDT AVENUE, MAMARONECK, NY 10543 ST. JOHN’S W INDOW A V IEW OF O UR L IFE MARCH 2018 Disciples and Fake Followers Lent is a time when we re-examine our discipleship and what it means to answer the call of Jesus to his disciples - “Come, follow me.” Simple words that drive right to the point that we are to follow in the steps of our Lord, which means commitment, compassion, caring - all done with credibility. I was interested to read recently that the New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, opened an investigation into a company that sold millions of fake followers on social media platforms, some of them copying real users’ per- sonal account information. What we are talking about here is online fraud, something that makes the Face- book creator, Mark Zuckerberg, cringe. He once said that he thought Facebook would be a tremendous influence that would bring people together. He did not, however, take into account the dark side of people who would abuse Face- book, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Of late he has been aghast with what has taken place, from Wikileaks to the Russian meddling and fake Facebook accounts, all used to manipulate tens of millions of people. So, in the end our Attorney General is prosecuting those fraudulent imperson- ators who are trying to create “fake fol- lowers”. Fake follower is an interesting term to me and becomes more and more alive when I tie it to fake news. In the real world of the church and its ministry I run into a lot of fake follow- ers, too. They may say yes to you and the church, and then are never seen again. In other words, there are disciples and there are DISCIPLES. There is a search for what is real in a world filled with hypocrisy. Would-be followers talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Jesus always railed against the hypocrisy of his time, where there were those who disfigured their faces, or who tried to show off how much money they gave to good causes, or who prayed in public to be seen by others. In the end, they turned out to be fake. We have all known people who have been “faking it”. They aren’t really who they seem. They aren’t genuine but, rather, they are phony. They are not the real thing. They are just a bad replica. In the business world, we call them knock- offs. They are labeled something they are not - whether it is a fake rolex or Louis Vuitton purse on the street in Chi- natown or a fake Christian who claims to follow Christ but incites hatred against Muslims. Jesus was the real thing, and when he says, “Follow me”, he expects no less than that. The world is full of frauds, impersonators, people who abuse their privileges, in social media and in busi- ness in general. However, you know a real follower when you see a person with a genuine concern for others, who shows commitment, a sense of compassion for those less fortunate, and a desire for jus- tice for those who have been wronged. MEH Midnight Run Friday, March 9 th Wine Tasting Saturday, March 10 th Book Club Thursday, April 12 th HOLY WEEK Palm Sunday March 25 Worship @ 8.15 & 10.30 am Maundy Thursday March 29 Worship @ 7.30 pm Good Friday March 30 7 am Men’s Prayer Breakfast 9 am Sunday School 12 noon Worship 8 pm Tenebrae Service Easter Sunday April 1 Worship @ 8 am & 10.30 am 9 am Easter Breakfast & Easter Egg Hunt
Transcript
F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3
ST. JOHN’S WINDOW A VIEW OF OUR LIFE
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Disciples and Fake Followers Lent is a time when we re-examine our discipleship and what it means to answer the call of Jesus to his disciples - “Come, follow me.” Simple words that drive right to the point that we are to follow in the steps of our Lord, which means commitment, compassion, caring - all done with credibility.
I was interested to read recently that the New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, opened an investigation into a company that sold millions of fake followers on social media platforms, some of them copying real users’ per-sonal account information.
What we are talking about here is online fraud, something that makes the Face-book creator, Mark Zuckerberg, cringe. He once said that he thought Facebook would be a tremendous influence that would bring people together. He did not, however, take into account the dark side of people who would abuse Face-book, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Of late he has been aghast with what has taken place, from Wikileaks to the Russian meddling and fake Facebook accounts, all used to manipulate tens of millions of people.
So, in the end our Attorney General is prosecuting those fraudulent imperson-ators who are trying to create “fake fol-lowers”. Fake follower is an interesting term to me and becomes more and more alive when I tie it to fake news.
In the real world of the church and its ministry I run into a lot of fake follow-
ers, too. They may say yes to you and the church, and then are never seen again. In other words, there are disciples and there are DISCIPLES. There is a search for what is real in a world filled with hypocrisy. Would-be followers talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.
Jesus always railed against the hypocrisy of his time, where there were those who disfigured their faces, or who tried to show off how much money they gave to good causes, or who prayed in public to be seen by others. In the end, they turned out to be fake.
We have all known people who have been “faking it”. They aren’t really who they seem. They aren’t genuine but, rather, they are phony. They are not the real thing. They are just a bad replica. In the business world, we call them knock-offs. They are labeled something they are not - whether it is a fake rolex or Louis Vuitton purse on the street in Chi-natown or a fake Christian who claims to follow Christ but incites hatred against Muslims.
Jesus was the real thing, and when he says, “Follow me”, he expects no less than that. The world is full of frauds, impersonators, people who abuse their privileges, in social media and in busi-ness in general. However, you know a real follower when you see a person with a genuine concern for others, who shows commitment, a sense of compassion for those less fortunate, and a desire for jus-tice for those who have been wronged. MEH
Midnight Run Friday, March 9th
Wine Tasting Saturday, March 10th
Book Club Thursday, April 12th
HOLY WEEK Palm Sunday
March 25 Worship @ 8.15 & 10.30 am
Maundy Thursday March 29
Worship @ 7.30 pm
Good Friday March 30
7 am Men’s Prayer Breakfast 9 am Sunday School
12 noon Worship 8 pm Tenebrae Service
Easter Sunday April 1
Worship @ 8 am & 10.30 am 9 am Easter Breakfast &
Easter Egg Hunt
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Marvin E. Henk Pastor
Church Council
Serge Banzet President
Suomi Sakai Vice President
Manuela Petzold Treasurer
Karen Clark Council Secretary
Matt Hardigree Financial Secretary
Yourha Kang Worship & Music
Robert Dilworth Stewardship
Karen Guinee Youth
Dorothea Ferri Christian Education
Detlef Joerss Property
Megan Aquilina Evangelism
Marc Schlueter Social Ministry
Marvin E. Henk Pastor
Staff
Christiane Janssen Secretary
Matthew Thomas Organist & Music Director
Anna Piselli Sexton
Choir Directors
Matthew Thomas Adult Choir
Austin Kehrle Handbell Choir
MINISTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Margit Bier, Peggy Jacobson, Nate Lipsen, Sandy Herrmann, Peter Gisondi, Ava Pagnotte, Eileen & Teddy DeAngelo, Brian Kennedy, Blake O’Connor, Alice Tobing, Michelle Tobing, Richard Devingo, Serena Boshak, Helen Wills, Stacey-Lyn Roggemann, Janet Baker, Nicholas Joerss, Jan Henk Miller
Keep in Your Prayers
WEDDING Alisha Brandon and Diego Garcia, January 6
IN SYMPATHY Our sympathy goes to Jim Wills over the death of his father, Clyde Wills. Our sympathy goes to Serge Banzet over the death of his very dear friend Christian Bickert.
YOUR SPECIAL GIFTS IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY
Discretionary Fund Suomi Sakai & John Quinley Sandy & Jim Kilts Beverly Broodie-Stewart Detlef Joerss The Rev. Tim Kennedy Bill Podszus
Endowment Fund Jim Wills
Memorial Fund Ruth Herron Smalt in memory of Theresia Bittlingmayer
Midnight Run Suomi Sakai & John Quinley
Music & Worship Jim Wills
Property Jim Wills
Renovation Beverly Broodie-Stewart Vincent Rusciano Carolynn & Robert Dilworth Lori Uhle & Tommy Mal-oney
St. Peter’s Lent Mission Beverly Broodie-Stewart Heike & Boris Rauls Kathy & Pastor Henk Sandy & Jim Kilts Karen & Mark Stuart Barbara & Peter Roggemann Jim Wills
THANK YOU
RENEW YOUR ST. JOHN’S WINDOW SUBSCRIPTION
St. John’s Window Subscription 2018 I would like to support St. John’s Print Ministry. Enclosed is my $40 check.
Name:__________________________________
☐I would like to further support your ministry and continue receiving the newsletter by bulk mail.
Each of you must give as you
have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compul-sion, for God
loves a cheerful giver.
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EVENTS
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Ecumenical Lenten Services A way of being more disciplined about ob-serving Lent is attending our Ecumenical Lenten services Tuesdays at 7.30 pm during Lent (except the vacation week in February). Is is also a way of connecting with our fellow Christian congregations in Mamaroneck.
For the service at St. John’s on March 20 we need the following help for the reception that follows it: • Finger sandwiches • Cakes • Finger foods such as deviled eggs, crudités with dips, etc. • Soft drinks, water
Please email Marc Schlueter at [email protected] and let him know what you will bring. Thank you!
March 6 Barry Avenue AME Zion Church, 645 N Barry Ave
March 13 United Methodist Church 546 E. Boston Post Rd.
March 20 St. John’s Lutheran Church
All Services are at 7.30 pm on a Tuesday.
SPECIAL LENTEN MISSION PROJECT Our Lenten mission project this year is St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Bronx. This church is in financial trouble and cannot afford to pay its insurance. It also in arrears with unemployment and withholding taxes. Its $100,000 budget is somewhat stable, but fragile. Its congregation has 140 members and continues to have a lively weekly worship, Bible study, prayer services, a choir, food pantry, community Thanksgiving dinner, women’s activities, etc. Its pre-school program was begun 30 years ago and continues to service families in the under-served neighborhood. The church once was a German congregation but because of
changing demographics it is a mix of African-American and African-Caribbean residents. The church itself needs many property repairs, from paint to plas-ter to shingles to carpeting etc. There are lots and lots of things that need to be done to the church building itself. Several of our members visited St. Peter’s recently and spoke to the coverage pastor and took a tour of the facilities. The Church Council has voted to make St. Peter’s our Lenten project. We would like to raise $4,000 minimum, and we are asking every-one to give. Write your checks to St. John’s, but put “St. Peter’s/Lenten project” on the memo line. We can really make a difference in the life of this church and keep a Lutheran witness in the neighborhood.
SPECIAL
SPECIAL LENTEN MISSION PROJECT
I would like to support St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Bronx and am enclosing a check, made out to St. John’s Lutheran Church for “St. Peter’s/Lenten project”.
Name:___________________________________________
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 741 East 219th Street, Bronx
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Without volunteers the Midnight Run would never happen. Please consider helping with the Run, be it by giving sup-plies, helping sort clothes and toiletries before the Run, or going on the Run. We need:
• Lots of cleaned and washed clothing - mostly men’s, but also women’s, no children’s - suitable for the colder months. In particular: jeans, hoodies, sweat pants, hats, gloves. Please bring the clothes in plastic bags.
• Men’s underwear and socks, new • Blankets & sleeping bags • Personal care items such as small bars of soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, female hygiene products, • Boxes for storing sorted clothing • One person to pick up van in Dobbs Ferry on Friday and return on Saturday morning • 3 - 4 drivers/cars to go on Run • 8 - 10 adults to go on Run, plus young people • One person to make big batch of soup/chili • Six people to make 6 lunches each • Six people to donate undershirts • Six people to donate tube socks • Six people to donate underwear • 10 - 15 people to sort clothes and load van
Please contact Marc Schlueter at [email protected] for any questions and let him know how you can help.
Wine Tasting Saturday, March 10 at 7 pm
Join us for a great evening with two French master sommeliers, Serge Banzet and Gérard Perrot. This event is about learning to master the art of buying and drinking wine. You will learn how the different wines are processed, the various types of vines, how to buy it and read a sticker on a bottle at the wine shop, and what is the right price. Then you will learn the process of tasting the wine before drinking - and finally, you will know enough to judge the wine you like. Tell your friends and bring them!
Gérard and Serge would like this to be a fundraiser for our church and are asking for a small donation of $15 p.p. for this very unique and valuable experience.
Our new book is Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. It is a 2011 National Book Winner for Fiction and set in the 12 days leading up to and just after Hurricane Katrina. The heart of the book is salvific and teaches us to weather the storms that come in our own lives.
Why not take time for the luxury of reading a great book and discussing it?! Join us on the 12th for wine and cheese and an interesting discussion.
By directing your Choice Dollars to St. John’s, you can help support our ministry.
With Thrivent Choice, you can recommend where some of Thrivent Financial's charitable outreach funds go. Thrivent Financial members have until March 31 to direct any re-maining 2017 Choice Dollars or they will expire. So far we have received $1,504 through Thrivent Choice for 2017.
The deadline is March 31 to finish up your 2017 Choice Dollars.
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Palm Sunday Worship @ 8.15 & 10.30
am
Maundy Thursday Worship @ 7.30 pm
Good Friday 7 am Men’s Prayer Breakfast
9 am Sunday School 12 noon Worship
8 pm Tenebrae Service
Easter Sunday Worship @ 8 am & 10.30 am
9 am Easter Breakfast & Easter Egg Hunt
ORDER YOUR EASTER FLOWERS Easter morning is filled with hope and joy. Part of that hope and joy is expressed when we adorn the sanctuary with flowers showing our great hope in the resurrection of our Lord. You are invited to participate in this day by con-tributing to the Easter Flower Memorial Fund.
I/we, ____________________________________, would like to contribute the following flowers:
Azaleas ($20) ____ Tulips ($20) ____ Lilies ($20) ____Hydrangeas ($20) ____ (Please indicate the number of plants)
( ) In memory of ( ) In honor of ( ) In celebration of _____________________________________
( ) For all God’s blessings ( ) To the glory of God Other: _____________________________________
Total amount: $ ______ Check ( ) Cash ( ) Please submit this slip with your check or cash and write Easter flowers on the memo line of your check.
HOLY WEEK WORSHIP SCHEDULE: MARCH 25 - APRIL 1
On May 19, 4pm, FLORILEGIUM CHAMBER CHOIR - of which our very own Manuela Petzold is a long-time member - will present a concert here at St. John's. The program will focus on the different stages of life; topics such as childhood, marriage, social responsibility, the challenges of aging, and facing death will be addressed - all with an underlying foundation of hope. Composers such as Daniel Pinkham, Johannes Brahms, Daniel Elder, and Eric Whitacre will be featured. Please save the date for this very special performance and stay tuned for more details soon!
Join us for adult Sunday School. Yes, Sunday School! Just when you thought you had finally graduated, and now at your ripe old age, you are going back to learn more about your Christ-ian faith and how to express and share it. You can learn a lot in one hour because people at-tending will challenge you along with the books we are reading.
Right now we are reading the NY Times bestseller Living Faith by Jimmy Carter. It is a spiri-tual autobiography that shows the many nuances of President Carter’s intellect, faith, and life. He writes, “When I returned to my beginnings, I see a number of times when what I believed I wanted most was challenged by a more difficult path. When I had the courage to choose that path, even in the midst of despair and uncertainty, I was given glimpse of deeper truths that continue to sustain me.”
Join us Sunday mornings. You’ll be glad you did.
Adult Forum Sundays @ 9.15 am
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T H E 2 0 1 8 T A G S A L E I S O N M A Y 1 2 Remember us
when you do your spring cleaning!
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We need donations of household items in good condition, jewelry, toys in good condition, baked items, women's and children's clothing in good condition. We are accepting wood furniture. Please no upholstered furniture or laminate furniture. Please no books, comput-ers, or TVs.
Historically, the tag sale has made $4,000 for the youth group. This has enabled our teens to attend every All Lutheran Youth Gathering. Please donate your time and items to help St. John's reach its goal for our youth and enable them to attend the Youth Gathering in Houston this year.
We need volunteers to help with: ★ setting up on Wednesday, May 9, Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11 in the evenings. ★ selling in the clothing room on the day of the Tag Sale (May 12), ★ working in the furniture room, ★ selling in the main area (fellowship hall), ★ six cashiers, ★ cleaning up from 2 pm onwards.
Please contact Kathy Henk at [email protected] to volunteer or for any questions.
Annual Picnic - June 3 Join us at Midland Park in Rye for our traditional outdoor guitar service and a wonderful day of fellowship. There are games for children and adults, including volleyball and baseball.
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ANNUAL MEETING
Our annual meeting on February 4 was well attended, well led, and those who participated were well fed be-cause our Youth Group provided delicious nourish-ment with its Souper Bowl Sunday. We reviewed a very productive, insightful, informative, and productive
year of service. In no particular order, we had a very successful Se-niors BBQ for our community, a great Rally Day, a hugely successful
blood drive (breaking all records), two outstanding concerts, and visits from Martin and Katie Luther. We were also within a few dollars of meeting our actual budget. Our outreach continued to be strong with sizable gifts to Hurricane relief, Augusta Victoria Hos-pital, Bread for the World. Other outreach projects include the Midnight Run, our local food pantry, toys for children at Christmas, financial support for St. Rita’s Free Medical Clinic, and Christmas gifts for mentally challenged adults in group homes in our community. Everyone left with a smile on their face and with a reminder that next year can be even better. Let’s not let the good get in the way of the best we can be.
During the annual meeting the mem-bers of our Church Council who served for a total of three or six years officially left the Council, and other church members were confirmed for a second term or newly elected. We would first like to acknowledge the great work done by our outgoing Council members: A big thank you must go to Heath Kihn, who has served so well as Financial Secretary, making sure that our gifts are recorded correctly and that people are well informed about their contributions. We also ap-preciate his insight, care and commitment to St. John’s. Karen Haghenbeck has done a remarkable job in the area of Music & Worship. Her leadership enabled us to make dramatic changes in our music program. Karen’s consistent care for our church and its worship program has made a big difference. Final-ly, Steve Michaelson has distinguished himself in so many ways as our Church Council president, and his oversight has opened the doors to many opportunities that have helped us as a congregation achieve our goals and become a more effective ministry. Steve has been there for all of us, including me, and we have been the beneficiaries of his wisdom and strong lead-
ership. We will miss all of them because they all have made giant contributions in the area of leadership for our church.
Serge Banzet moved from Evangelism to become our new president. Robert Dilworth was confirmed for a second term as chair of Stewardship.
Then, we would like to introduce the new members: Megan Aquilina as Evangelism chair, Yourha Kang as Financial Secretary, and Matt Hardigree as Music & Worship chair. Yourha has been a member of St. John’s for about twelve years. In that time, she served on the Council before as Sunday School chair, is an active participant in Adult Forum and other church events, and was married in the church to husband Eric Miller. She normally attends the 8:15 am service and is happy to be a member of such a vibrant church. She currently lives in Greenburgh and is an associate professor of biology at Iona College.
Megan is from Baltimore, but has called several other cities home: Boston; Colmar, France; Miami; London; nearly every borough in New York City; and now Larchmont. After getting a masters in Magazine jour-nalism from Columbia, working as an editor/writer for about 12 years and starting a family with her husband, James, she decided to pursue a new path and recently received a dual-masters in Special and General educa-tion from the College of New Rochelle. Currently, Megan is working as a fourth grade teacher at the Chapel School in Bronxville. Megan considers her greatest achievements to be her children Eloise and Sebastian and her marriage to James. She is both humbled and honored by the request to for her service on the Church Council.
Matt is a native Texan, Astros fan, father to Bette and husband to Christine. A journalist for a decade, he now works as a writer/producer for video and televi-sion (/DRIVE on NBC Sports) as well as a media con-sultant. When not working or spending time with fam-ily, Matt is an inveterate ultimate frisbee player.
In Thanksgiving for another year in service to our Lord.
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Margaret Knowlton Eric Hoffmann 79 Broadway, 2nd fl Harrison, NY 10528 cell 914-351-0084 [email protected]
Amy Robertson (& Luca Renda) Francesca and Matteo Renda 1216 Henry Avenue Mamaroneck, NY 10543 917.438.8562 [email protected]
On February 4 we also took in Margaret Knowlton, Annie Thurow and Robert Clarida as new members as well as Amy Robertson and her children Francesca and Matteo Renda as associate members. Amy and her family recently moved to Mamaroneck after 13 years overseas for her hus-band Luca Renda's job with the United Nations. Amy is a freelance writer and NGO con-sultant, Matteo is a 9th grader at Rye Neck, and Francesca an 8th grader. Amy is a Seattle native and she and the kids are members at Queen Anne Lutheran Church, but were look-ing for find a local church home during their stay in New York and were happy to find St. John’s. They attend the 10.30 am service. Margaret lives in Harrison with her son, Eric Hoffmann, and grew up in Mamaroneck with three older brothers. She has worked at Greenwich Hospital for the last 14 years, scheduling Radiology and lectors and ushers at the 10.30 am service.. Bob and Annie are native Midwesterners who live in Larchmont. They are parents of two 17-year-olds. Annie is retired from a career in marketing research and volunteers three days a week at Sara Neuman. Bob is an attorney in Manhattan who works with copyright and trademarks. Annie and Bob have been attending the 8.15 service for the past year.
Hi everyone!
The rather full schedule for the 1st half of the school year is behind us and the quiet time of the year is upon us, along with all of the cold and snow. Even as we take this little breather we are already planning Lenten events and special projects.
Some items are:
• New curriculum focusing on the New Testament • Preparations for Holy Week • Special Craft with Sarah Coble • Mid-Night Run Class and making up toiletry bags
for the homeless.
Attendance for Sunday school is very important as there is so much to teach the children and so little time to get everything accomplished. So parents, please make your best efforts to have your children with us weekly and to stay for service when you can. Pastor provides such wonderful children’s sermons and the kids love going to play with our nursery attendant’s right afterwards which gives you the opportunity to enjoy the service until they join you again for communion. Give it a try!
Try to enjoy these wintery days,
Dorothea Chairperson for Christian Education
Happy Birthday wishes to:
Henry Rockel 02/20/08 Ozzy Ringstad 02/26/09 Tyler Bocek 02/06/06
SUNDAY SCHOOL
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ELCA SIGNS LETTER TO PRESIDENT ABOUT PALESTINIAN AID CUTS February 6, 2018
President Donald J. Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Trump:
As Christian denominations and organizations concerned about and working in the Middle East, we are writing to express our dismay at the recent decision to withhold $65 million in U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The humanitarian impact of these cuts will be devastating. Many of our agencies and local partners know firsthand the important role that UNRWA plays in providing assistance to Palestine refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza. More than half a million Palestinian children are educated in UNRWA schools. Half of Gaza’s popu-lation receive food assistance from UNRWA. Hundreds of thousands of people each year rely on health services pro-vided by UNRWA clinics. These already-vulnerable communities will be forced to suffer even more if these uncon-scionable cuts are not restored.
Secondly, we are deeply concerned by the politicization of humanitarian aid that is evident in this decision. The U.S. government has long maintained that “a hungry child knows no politics” and while this has not always been carried out perfectly, it has remained as an important guideline for U.S. policymakers. Humanitarian aid must be provided to civilians on the basis of need alone, not used as a way to attempt to extract concessions from political leaders. We are also concerned that this action could lead to a trend toward politicizing humanitarian aid to other vulnerable commu-nities around the world and would erode U.S. reliability and credibility internationally.
Thirdly, the effort to withhold funds from UNRWA appears to be part of a series of actions to deny basic rights to Palestinians—in this case, their fundamental rights as refugees under international law. We yearn deeply for the day when UNRWA will no longer need to exist, but this must be the result of a negotiated resolution of the conflict, based on international law, that is fair and just for both Palestinians and Israelis. It cannot come through unilateral decisions by the United States to deny the rights of Palestinians.
We stand ready to work with you and all who seek a more just and peaceful future for all peoples in the region. In the meantime, we urge you to restore immediately full U.S. funding to UNRWA.
Sincerely,
• Alliance of Baptists • American Friends Service Committee • Church of the Brethren, Office of Public Witness • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America • Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns • Mennonite Central Committee U.S. • Office of Social Justice; Christian Reformed Church • Pax Christi International • Pax Christi USA • Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) • Reformed Church in America • United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries • United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
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PREPARING FOR THE YOUTH GATHERING IN HOUSTON
We had all kinds of delicious soups at our annual meeting - among them coconut carrot, carrot soup, Pasta fagoli, Pea soup, Broccoli Soup, lentil soup, Tortellini and taco soup - as well as salads, bagels, soda, and dessert items at our Youth fundraiser for the Houston Youth Gathering in the summer. Many thanks go to Sabine Deil, Suzanne Kraft, Rebecca Gómez, Manuela Petzold, Marc Schlueter, Jeanhee Chung, Karen Haghenbeck, Karen Guinee, Joanna Tobing, Kim Schiro, Dorothea Ferri, Lynn Hillman, Margaret Knowlton, and Pastor Henk. We hope we haven’t forgotten anyone! It seems our congregation really enjoyed the nourishment for the annual meeting, and we’re planning to do this again.
SHOP AT AMAZON AND BENEFIT OUR YOUTH St. John’s has become an Amazon affiliate to raise funds for our young people to attend the All-Lutheran Youth Gathering in Houston this summer. If you are planning to shop at Amazon, please go to our website and shop through the Amazon link on our home page. Go StJohnsNY.org, click on the Amazon link, do your shopping, and Amazon will donate a small portion of your purchase to our church to benefit our youth. Spread the word to your family and friends and encourage them to use this link for Amazon shopping, too! Any questions, please contact the office at 914.698.4348 or email at [email protected].
HOUSTON - LOOKING AHEAD. Our young people, along with some adult chap-erones, will attend the All-Lutheran Youth Gathering in Houston this summer. The theme is: THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. This theme could mean a lot of things. The primary scripture will be Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” We are going to explore this passage/theme as we prepare for our trip and we are going to discover more when we arrive there. We are hoping that this trip will change everything for our young people as they deepen their faith through their participation in this Gathering.
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PEOPLE PARADE…PEOPLE PARADE…PEOPLE PARADE…PEOPLE Have you ever been to a Puerto Rican wedding? Well, if you haven’t, you have really missed something! So, get some Puerto Rican friends, although you don’t have to be as young as Millie Brandon stepped on the floor without her cane and began to cha-cha-cha at her granddaughter Alisha’s wedding to Diego Garcia on January 6. Yes, at times we think Millie may be faking it in church when she uses her cane because you certainly couldn’t tell on the dance floor that she needed one ever. The wedding was won-derful, especially since Pastor Henk was so privileged to perform the ceremony for Alisha and Diego. Alisha was once Pastor's confirma-tion student, so this was a very spe-cial moment for him. It was great to see the Brandons and Colóns out in force - Russell knows how to dance pretty well himself, along with his sister Lisa, her husband Joe, daughter Angelina and Kathy Henk (is she a closet Puer-to Rican?!)... Pastor Henk was re-cently in Rome, where he was able to meet with Stephanie Kirch-gaessner Politi in a piazza for a glass of wine. Stephanie had just returned from Scandinavia. Pastor Henk married Stephanie and hus-band James a few years ago, and they now have two beautiful chil-dren. They both work for The Guardian, where they are writers par excellence - it was a treat to spend an hour with her and to learn more about the great report-ing she does… How long is your staying power when it comes to opera? Detlef Joerss broke all records sitting at the Met for Wag-ner’s Parsifal for over 5 hours. It hurts just to hear about it. Pastor Henk can have a very nice nap,
given the opportunity at the Met… If you like modern dance, Elise Monte is the dance company to see. Recently Kathy and Pastor Henk as well as Heike and Boris Rauls attended their gala and were more than impressed by this high-energy and very positive dance troop. A big thank you to Carolynn Dilworth, who sits on its board… It was great to see Carol and Ryan LaHurd on their recent visit to New York. They are both retired, but you wouldn’t know it as they continue to travel extensively and love being grandparents. Ryan has even writ-ten an article on the Spirituality of Being a Grandfather with theological interpretation! Pastor got a few tips on being a good grandfather. Carol has written an article for Dialog magazine on 50 Years of Polarization and the Changing Roles of Faith Communities. It is quite insight-ful… Amy Robertson recently came back from Puerto Rico with husband Luca and children Francesca and Mateo. She said parts of it have come back strong, but there are lots that have not. Puerto Rico needs to be in our prayers as people there continue to suffer… Our new Lenten Mission
Project, St. Peter’s in the Bronx was visited by Serge Banzet, Detlef Joerss, Manuela Pet-zold, and Pastor. All came away with the overwhelming feeling that we can make a difference through our Mission Project… Manuela Petzold, our treasurer, surprised many of her friends by moving from New Rochelle to the coast in New Jersey, much farther away. She loves her new home by the sea, though, and has promised us to stay faithful and drive those miles on Sundays and for Council meet-ings. Apart from being a member of our Church Council, Manuela is also an essential member of our choir. We wish her happy days in her new home…It was good to see Steve Michaelson back in church and doing coffee hour to boot right after returning from a trip to Chile with wife Sue. They had such a great time there, they want to go back… It was goodbye to Debbie Keith and John Ku-nicki, who packed up shop and moved south for Debbie’s new job. Good luck - we will miss you!
New Interim MNYS Bishop Bishop Robert Rimbo resigned at the end of January. The Rev. Donald J. McCoid has been ap-pointed as interim bishop of the MNYS, effective March 12, 2018. Bishop McCoid has served as the Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA from 2007 through 2016, as the Executive for Ecu-menical and Inter-Religious Rela-tions. He also served as Bishop in the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, as the chair of the sixty-seven member ELCA Conference of Bishops from 1999-2003, and served as chair of its theological advisory committee.
A UNIQUE COMMUNITY
To All;
Alas, I will not be there to enter a chili to compete with that made by Pastor Henk! I trust that everyone has a wonderful time this evening at both the dinner and the Service. It is an experience that I have not found anywhere else - just one more thing that makes St. John's such a unique and special community.
Best regards, Bill (Podszus)
Or Current Resident
St. John’s Lutheran Church Fenimore Road at Cortlandt Avenue Mamaroneck, NY 10543 (914) 698.4348 Email: [email protected] Web: stjohnsny.org
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit 4302
White Plains, NY
Michele & Michael Allison Joanne Askew Lois Baldwin Véronique & Serge Banzet Melissa & Justin Boisseau Trudi Bunke Karen & Ken Christopher Bob Clarida & Annie Thurow Maureen & William Collins Wenche Delfino Gloria L. Donovan Dorothea Ferri Kathy & Pastor Marvin Henk The Rev. & Mrs. Paul Henry Lynn & John Hillman Carla & Brian Hofland Anne Huber Detlef Joerss G.V. Johnson Hans Peter Kirchgaessner Jeanne Kolb Sandy Kolb Suzanne & Robert Kraft Mary J Maddox Robin Geberth Maliscewski
Maria Martins Corky & Frank McCullough Cheryl & Ed Murray Judy & Joe Musumeci Patricia Ouwerkerk John Quinley & Suomi Sakai Diane & Mark Rocconi Dr. & Mrs. Peter Roggemann Judy & Michael Sangregorio Karen & Mark Stuart Madeline & Bill Tappert Barbara & Robert Tipping Irene & Robert Van der Wateren Jim Wills Suzanne & Walter Zullig
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Midnight Run March 9 A great opportunity to volunteer!
