GOODnewsMonthly NewsletterJuly– August 2013

LutheranChurch of the Redeemer

819 Washington Avenue

Monaca, PA15061

FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR

“DOES REDEEMERLUTHERANCHURCH HAVE A FUTURE?” Y-E-S!

LutheranChurch of the Redeemer has had a long and distinguished history here in Monaca. . Right now membership is down, we have few children, and no permanent pastor. Many of our members are graying, like me. We are encumbered by a huge debt. “Do we, as a congregation, have much of a future?” a concerned member asked me recently. . My reply? -- “YES!”

Our congregation is strategically located in an area that’s bound to grow. Reports are that the Hallmark Company is moving into the area. Several other corporations are considering coming here. $200,000plus homes are being built in our and surrounding communities. The economy is slowly recovering. Our congregational facilities are top-of-the-line. There are glimmers of hope and growth all around us. So, don’t give up on Redeemer. There are many signs of life here!

In Christ,

RWS

IN MEMORIAM Our Christian Sympathy is extended to Mr. Donald Martin and his family on the death of his wife and our fellow member, Jean. A long-time member of Redeemer, Mrs. Martin has lived a life of quiet faith and devotion to her our Lord, her family and to Redeemer Lutheran. Patience under trials has been her legacy. While there is sadness at Jean’s death, there is also the quiet joy and satisfaction of knowing that her long night of suffering is now over and she is at peace in the eternal keeping of God. REST ETERNAL GRANT HER O LORD, AND LET LIGHT PERPETUAL SHINE UPON HER!

OUR CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY is also extended to the family and friends of our fellow member James Ballish. During the difficult years of his later life, James Ballish never complained, was always upbeat and appreciative of any kindness. He was buried on June 25th. May God’s Holy Spirit, the Comforter be with all who mourn his passing.

THE ‘GREEN SEASON’ The three major festivals of the Church Year (Christmas, Easterand Pentecost) are now over. During this ‘non-festival’ part of the church year, weconcentrate onthe teaching, preaching and healing ministry of our Lord.

DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS---please remember your gifts, tithes and offerings when you are traveling or away. The work of our Church continues twelve months a year.

YOU, YOUR GOD GIVEN POSSESSSIONS AND YOUR WILL We all have been richly blessed by God. Many of us have come from modest backgrounds and have far more than our parents ever dreamed of. What do we do with all our material blessings when we are no longer around to enjoy them? Leaving our estates to our family members is instinctive. Why not in addition, remember our ‘church family’ in our wills. Gifts like that will help insure that Redeemer Lutheran will continue to serve for many years to come.

TO THINK ABOUT

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.

OUR CONCERN LIST - PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS: William Cook, Peter Regalla, Ross Brown, Suellen and John Ulicny, Jeffrey Kovach, Kevin Musgrave, John Martinchek, Anna Italia, Betty Taormina, Dorothy Lintz , Patricia Keck, Lindsey Malloy, Dorothy Markulin, Olive Heckman, Sarah (Sally) Harper, Sally Barnhart, Andrew Meiterth, Sally Dawson, Peter Schuster, Anna and Jim Kossler, Wayne Sharf, Katherine Druschel, the family and friends of Jean Martin, the family and friends of James Ballish, as well as Pastor Strobel and our Church Council as they lead us in these difficult times.

OUR PRAYERS ARE FOR ALL IN OUR MILITARY FORCES INCLUDING: Robert Fox, Sarah Jo George, Fred Hunt, Greg Marchlinski Please notify the church office of any soldiers on this list that have returned home.

WE WELCOME HOME Tony Reda who has returned home safely! Welcome home and thank you for your service to our country!

IN ASSISTED CARE FACILITIES:

J Olive Heckman and Sarah Harper are at Friendship Ridge Peter Schuster is at Passavant Retirement Center in Zelienople Sally Barnhart is at Trinity Oaks ---Andrew Meiterth is at Cambridge Village

Anna Italia Is at Franciscan Manor, BeaverFalls Dorothy Markulin is at Windsor House, New Middletown, Ohio Sally Dawson is at Elderberrry Care in Ambridge

PRETTY MUCH ATHOME THESE DAYS: William Cook, Peter Regalla, Betty Taormina, John Martinchek and Dorothy Lintz

ADDRESS CHANGE: Mrs. Dorothy Markulin is now near her daughter in Ohio. Her address is Room 155, Windsor House. 5250 Windsor Way. New Middletown, Ohio. 44442

FIRST COMMUNION INSTRUCTION Our LutheranChurch does not specify a particular age at which children should begin to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. It used to be when they were confirmed, then 5th Grade. Now the time for First Communion is left to the discernment of the family. If you, as a parent have decided “it’s time” for your young person to receive First Communion Instruction, simply call Pr. Strobel or the Church Office. Thank you!

A MYSTERY For many years, on the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death, a mysterious visitor slipped silently into a Baltimore cemetery and left three red roses and a bottle of cognac on Poe’s grave. The identity of that visitor has never been discovered. We have a similar mystery at Redeemer .On June 5, someone slipped into the Pastor’s Office and left a bag filled with Pastor Strobel’s favorite cookies. No one has claimed responsibility. Those cookies are delicious!

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSOn Sunday, June 16th, Ronald and Joan Hojdila and Carol Tyloski were received back into the fellowship of our congregational family. We are delighted to have them as our fellow members. May God richly bless them , their families and loved ones. All three are former members of Redeemer. WELCOME BACK!

AND GOD SAID “LET THERE BE LIGHT!” Redeemer’s visibility in the community has increased thanks to the efforts of John Menda, your Church Council and the Center Electrical Service. Our lovely church steeple is now flood-lighted at night. A new entry system for those visiting the church during the week is soon to be completed. Redeemer is ‘on the move.’

SATURDAY SERVICES FOR THE SUMMER ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Saturday July 6th and 20th at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday August 3rd and 17th at 6:00 p.m.

INTERIM PASTOR’S JULY SCHEDULE During July and the first week in August, Pastor and Mrs. Strobel’s youngest son (from Thailand) and grandchildren (from Spain) will be visiting with them. This will necessitate some changes in the Pastor’s usual schedule. In the event of any emergency, he can be reached at his home. Simply call 412-366-0074.

ON THE LIGHT SIDE

Engraved on a tombstone in England –

REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU WALK BY.

AS YOU ARE NOW, SO ONCE WAS I.

AS I AM NOW, SO SHALL YOU BE.

REMEMBER THIS AND FOLLOW ME.

To which someone replied by writing on the tombstone. ‘TO FOLLOW YOU I’LL NOT CONSENT UNTIL I KNOW WHICH WAY YOU WENT.’

IMMORTALITY

I’ll always be remembered, wherever I may roam.

My presence will be noted, my whereabouts be known.

I’ll never be abandoned, deserted or dismissed.

My name will live forever, on some company’s mailing list.

MANY THANKS TO OUR STRAWBERRY SUNDAY VOLUNTEERS For one of our very first Congregational Outreach events, we were blessed to have so many volunteers! Strawberry Sunday would not have been successful without the help of: Pat Macio, Perk Michaluk, Eleanor Smith, Emma Ofcharka, Lori Brown, Patty Thomas, Barb Zager, Shirley Tadich, Andrea Boswell, Jon Boswell, Eugene Standley and Frank Parone. Approximately 60 members attended to help make it a great success! Thank you everyone!

WOMEN’S CIRCLE NEWS

Lois Circle will meet the 3rd Tuesday of July and August.

Phoebe Circle will meet the 3rd Friday of July and August.

Joy Circle will be responsible for July’s altar care. There will be no meeting of Joy Circle until September.

REDEEMERCHURCH PICNIC Just a reminder that Redeemer will be holding an old fashioned INDOOR church picnic immediately following church services on Sunday, July 28th. You don’t have to bring a thing...just your family and a friend or two! Indulge in favorite picnic foods including ham, fried chicken, potato salad, additional salads, baked beans, and homemade apple pie!!! Give Mom a break from cooking...and beat the heat with your Redeemer Family! There is NO CHARGE for the meal and no free will offering will be taken. Please feel free to invite a couple of friends and family members. A sign up sheet is in the Narthex.

OCTOBERFEST 2013 Redeemer will be holding it’s first Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, September 28th in Fellowship Hall. The evening will include an authentic German/Bavarian dinner and dessert, Burke’s Bavarian Brass band for your entertainment and a Beer Stein contest along with other events! Look for more information in upcoming church bulletins.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME! THRIVENT DAY AT THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES will take place on Friday, September 20, 2013. This is a Pepsi Max game and will include great ticket seats on the third base side, a hot dog, a Pepsi and a pretzel. We will meet again in Zelienople and take a bus to the game to avoid traffic and parking issues. The cost for the package is $20/person. A limited number of tickets are available! To make reservations or for more information, contact Anne Baver at 724-662-9392 or . Reservations must be made and tickets paid for by August 15th!

If the World’s In a Crisis, Local Man Tries to Help

Author: Brian O’Neill, Pittsburgh Post Gazette May 19, 2013

David Andrew Strobel is one of those guys who’s fluent in Spanish and English, can get by in Guarani, Portuguese and German, and has a working knowledge of Bosnian,/Serbo-Croatian.

You know the type?

I didn’t either. I had to look up Guarani to find out it’s an indigenous language of Paraguay. That’s one of many countries Mr. Strobel has called home these past couple of decades as he’s bounced across the world with the Peace Corps, the American Red Cross and the like.

Lately, he has awakened most mornings in Bangkok, Thailand, but his Red Cross territory stretches many thousands of Asian miles, from Nepal through Bangladesh and Myanmar to the Philippines. All of that is a long way from North Hills High, but Mr. Strobel spent 30 hours on planes to get back to the States and receive the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award on Thursday, along with Kim McLoughlin, a research chemist and inventor.

Mr. Strobel, 45, didn’t fly all that way for the congratulatory hardware. He had Red Cross meetings in Washington, D.C., before the event, and the morning after, he got up at 4:30 to catch a flight back to D.C. for more sit-downs. Talking with him, I got the feeling he’d much rather be making the world a little better than sitting still.

But I kept him on the phone because I figured that if there’s room in this paper for stories on quarterbacks, felons and socialites, there should be room for a few hundred words on a humanitarian who went pro. So what struck the Ross native about home after being away so long?

“Maybe the lack of connectivity to the rest of the world,” he said Thursday.

He’d spent the morning watching CNN. The stories were largely about tornadoes in Texas. The 13 twisters killed six people and injured dozens. That certainly merited coverage, but he saw nothing about a cyclone he was tracking in Bangladesh and Myanmar that was threatening about 9 million people. (The Post-Gazette ran a brief Thursday on Cyclone Mahasan that said it weakened and dissipated, causing less damage in Bangladesh than feared and sparing Myanmar almost entirely. Yet at least 45 people died.)

Sometimes we don’t realize how blessed most of us are.

“If you have money in the bank and in your wallet, and some spare change, you’re among the top 8 percent of the world’s wealthiest people,” Mr. Strobel told me, as he would later tell the audience at the North Hills High ceremony.

He credits his parents for his sense of duty to humanity. His father, Robert, is a Lutheran minister and his mother, Joyce, is a church musician. His wanderlust is his own.

After getting his master’s degree in international affairs from OhioUniversity in 1991, Mr. Strobel went to work as a construction supervisor for Habitat for Humanity in rural Georgia. From there, he joined the Peace Corps, implementing clean water and first aid programs in Paraguay.

He worked through the 1990s with various charities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, Central America and the Caribbean, the joined the Red Cross in 1999. After working in supervisory roles for six years in Latin America, he has spent almost eight years working in South and Southeast Asia.

Even reading his resume is exhausting. There have to be easier ways to see the world, but he’s gotten to scuba dive in a lot of strange waters and has seen places most tourists wouldn’t care to look. He says what works in Texas also works in Asia: The Red Cross trains local responders to handle crises so they can begin digging their way out of messes before any rescue workers fly in.

When he wakes up in a place like Nepal—assuming he’s slept—“I feel privileged for the opportunity to be in such a beautiful place and serve people.”

This might be a strange way to end this, but I found myself thinking about this great line in “The Simpsons Movie” where the Albert Brooks character, a White House appointee and phony humanitarian, says, “I’m a rich man who wanted to give something back. Not the money, but something.”

Mr. Strobel chose a simpler route. He never worried about getting rich and got straight to the good parts of a life well lived.

The Redeemer Family offers our sincere congratulations to Mr. David Strobel for this most noteworthy award. We also congratulate Pastor and Mrs. Strobel for the values they have inspired in their son. Not onlydoeseach of you love our Lord and His people, your faith and living in accordance to His will is an inspiration to us all!

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! As part of Redeemer’s Outreach into the community, we are looking for able-bodied volunteers who can assist with weed whacking the headstones in the historic GermanLutheranCemetery. Since this is the “first cutting”, we could also use a couple of volunteers to help bag up the clippings. Much of the work should be able to be accomplished in a short period of time. We are hoping volunteers will continue come out for 2-3 hours every two to three weeks to help maintain the cemetery. It would be great if we could get it looking presentable no later than July 13th in time for the filming of Communities of Distinction which will be featured on FOX News later in the summer. If you can help in any way, please call Patty at the church office. THANK YOU!

JUST A THOUGHT Outreach isn’t always about the money – it’s also about what we can do to make life in our community, much better for all of us!