p. 1 “From Pastor Melinda”

Dates at a glance

Office/Pastoral hours

Worship times

p. 2 “About Faith Lutheran”

Homebound members

p. 3 & 4 Important dates

Up coming events

p. 5 Other announcements

p. 6 Council Minutes

Dates at a Glance

Feb. 2, 2019

Groundhog Day

Feb. 14, 2019

Valentine’s Day

Feb. 17, 2019

President’s Day

Feb. 26, 2019

Ash Wednesday

Sunday school 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.

Ash Wednesday February 26 at 7 p.m.

Office hours for

Faith Lutheran Church:

Monday through Friday

9AM—2PM

Pastor’s hours:

Pastor VanderSys will be

in the office Wednesdays

from 2-7pm

Incase of Pastoral emer-

gencies she can be

reached at

(906) 291-0897

INSIDE

From Pastor Melinda

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, As I write this, it is already the middle of January! Wasn’t it just Christ-mas? We are preparing for another season of the church year: Lent. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 26th and continues for forty days. On Ash Wednesday, Christians around the world will gather to have ashes put on their heads made in the sign of the cross with these words, “from dust you came and to dust you shall return.” Lent is a period of time when God calls us to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection. The forty days reflect the time that Jesus was said to have fasted for “forty days and forty nights” (Matthew 4:2), wandering in the wilderness before beginning His ministry. Many Christian’s practices include giving up something for Lent; choco-late, sweets, soda, swearing, bad attitudes, etc. Many also fast during this time. Fasting and abstinence are meant to mirror Christ’s fasting in the wil-derness. Some Christians, rather than giving up something for Lent, add something for Lent. Many view Lent as a time to reflect on what may be lacking in their life by adding more prayer time, carving out of their busy schedules more time to spend with family, attending church or church activities more often, being more patient, contributing more to the needs of the neighbor, etc. It is important to remember that Lent is also a time leading up to Holy Week when we commemorate the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ. Of course, as Christians, we know there is more to the story! We look forward with earnest to the Day of Resurrection-Easter Sunday. But before we get too far ahead, remember Lent. Let us prepare our hearts. Peace╬ Pastor Melinda

Page 1

Faith Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the

Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Synod website: nglsynod.org Denomination website: elca.org

At Home:

Beverly Tankersley– Medilodge– Rm B15

1011 Meridian St. SSM, MI 49783

Alice Isaacson- Avery Center, Apt. 302

SSM, MI 49783 (906)259-0402

Copper Garrett- 5036 W. Five Mile Rd.

SSM, MI 49783 (906)632-8727

Linda Doran- 590 Three 1/2 Mile Rd.

SSM, MI 49783 (906)632-6483

Eva Mohr– E 5040 State Highway M35

Escanaba 49829 (906)789-0423

At Freighterview:

605 W. Portage Ave.

SSM, MI 49783

Ruth Ronquist- (906)253-2331

Walter Pell- (906) 635-6002

At McKinley Manor:

2023 W 4th Ave. SSM, MI 49783

Diane Borrousch- (906) 632 7250

Our homebound and nursing home members are often so isolated that your phone call, visit, even a card can mean the difference between

lonely existence and continued life in our faith community. What can you do? Please reach out to those who have been such a vital part of our congregation and give back.

The Pathfinder is the monthly

newsletter of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

community at :

Faith Lutheran Church, 1600 Park Street,

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. (906) 632-7246

The deadline for the Pathfinder is

the 15th of each month.

Please send articles, comments, news items

c/o Pathfinder Editor, 1600 Park St. Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 or e-mail to faithlc1966@att.net

Interim Pastor: Rev. Melinda VanderSys

Church Office Administrator/Editor: Sean Uhrig

Congregation Council: Will Karr,

Dennis Brindley, Dan Kinnear, Sandy Lawson,

Vicki Luoma, Wayne Olsen, Stephanie Miller,

and Ese Osumili

Attention!

Are you interested in becoming a Member of Faith Lutheran Church? Do you know of

someone interested? Or maybe you would

like to know about becoming an Associate Member? A New Members class will begin soon. Time and date will be determined by those inter-ested.

Please contact the Church Office at 632-7246 or Pastor Melinda at (906) 291-0897 for more information.

Page 2

Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp

It’s not too early to start thinking about camp. Registration forms and infor-mation for Fortune Lake Lutheran

Camp have arrived in the church office. Please call if you are interested.

The first half of the Annual Meeting for Faith Lutheran Church will be held immediately following worship on Sunday, February 9th, 2020. The purpose of this meeting will be to review the Annual Report as presented, elect members to fill upcoming Congregation Council vacan-cies, and to conduct any other business that may come before the congregation at that time. We will also need 2 members to represent Faith as delegates to the Synod As-sembly as well as 2 alternates. Please consider volun-teering to be on the ballot for these positions. The As-sembly will be held in Finlandia University on May 14-16, 2020.

All voting members (“a voting member is a confirmed member who, during the current or preceding calendar year, shall have communed in this congregation and shall have made a contribution of record to this congregation”) are strongly urged to attend.

There will be 2 seats to be filled on the council this year. If you are interested please get your information in to the office or to Will Karr or Sandy Lawson. If you have questions regarding either the Council posi-tions or the delegates & alternates to Synod Assem-bly, please call the office at (906) 634-7246.

Page 3

3rd Dennis Aho

4th Russell White

5th Gregory Oja

6th Rebecca Hallesy

6th Bonnie White

8th Daniel Gervasio

8th Eunice Kinnear

9th John McDonald

10th Wil l iam Skidmore

11th Matt Brindley

11th Jul ia Gervasio

11th Jamie Sanderson

13th Steve Sanderson

17th Dorothy Leach

19th Marc Carr

21st Jacey Cook

21st Wil lard Kocsovsky

21st Beverly Tankersley

26th Kiahna Sanderson

Ken & Joy Lake

58 years 2/3/62

Patricia & Wayne Olsen

51 years 2/15/69

Nancy & Paul Brewster

32 years 2/13/88

BINGO & SLOPPY JOES Join us Sunday, February 16th,

after worship for Valentine’s Day weekend B-I-N-G-O and Sloppy Joes.

Wednesday Evening Worship

The Church Council voted to cancel

Wednesday evening services begin-ning January 29th. Faith will hold Worship services on Ash Wednes-

day, February 26th, and during Lent. The Council will discuss at the

April meeting whether Wednesday services will continue.

Good news! We have a Pastoral Candidate Interview!

Ms. Rita Chirala, a graduate of Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago (LSTC), and her son will be at Faith the second weekend of February.

The tentative schedule is:

Thursday, Feb. 6 Mid-afternoon Arrival of Pastoral Candidate (P.C.) Rita & her son; Martha and Linda will be the chauffeurs

Friday, Feb. 7 6:00pm Faith’s Call Committee will interview P.C. Rita and provide dinner

Saturday, Feb. 8 1:00-3:00pm Faith will host a Meet-and-Greet for P.C. Rita & her son; Fellowship Committee will provide refreshments

Sunday, Feb. 9 10:30am P.C. Rita will preach and preside P.C. Rita & her son will return to Chicago; Dennis & Ruthann will be the chauffeurs

Call Committee will meet

We pray for Pastoral Candidate Rita and her son as they prepare to come to Faith. We pray for the Call Committee and the members of Faith as they prepare to wel-come P.C. Rita and her son! In Christ’s love, Pastor Melinda Administrative Interim Pastor

February 14th

February 17th

Lenten Journey: Seven Wonders of the Word

This year our Ash Wednesday and Mid-week Lenten Services will be shaped around the Book of Faith Lenten Journey: Seven Wonders of the Word. Each week we will explore what God’s Word does in our lives, congregations and world. Please join us as we meditate on:

Ash Wednesday, February 26th: The Word Creates March 4th: The Word Calls March 11th: The Word Commands March 18th: The Word Saves March 25th: The Word Sustains April 1st: The Word Shapes

Ash Wednesday service is at 7:00pm All other Mid-week Lenten Services begin at 6:00pm. Starting March 4th, please join us for a soup supper beforehand at 5:15pm

Page 4

FebruaryFebruary 22 99 1616 2323

LECTOR

Lynne Nortch

Cathy Tibbett

Nancy Bolio

Lynne Nortch

ORGANIST

Lisa Justin

Dave Erfourth

Lisa Justin

Dave Erfourth

CHOIR

DIRECTOR

R.A. Brindley

R.A. Brindley

R.A. Brindley

R.A. Brindley

ALTAR

WORKERS

Lily Randall

Volunteer

Lily Randall

Volunteer

Lily Randall

Volunteer

Lily Randall

Volunteer

USHERS

Bob Mattson

Volunteer

Bob Mattson

Volunteer

Ken Lake

Volunteer

Ken Lake

Volunteer

OFFERING

COUNTERS

Sandy Lawson Ese Osumili

Sandy Lawson Ese Osumili

Sandy Lawson Ese Osumili

Sandy Lawson Ese Osumili

NURSERY

Flickingers

Flickingers

Flickingers

Flickingers

Page 5

February 29th

Congregational Meeting To Call a Pastor

We have come to an historic moment in the life of our congregation. We will vote on calling our next Pastor

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23*

Sunday School – 9:30 a.m.

Worship – 10:30 a.m.

Nursery Care Provided

Congregational Call Meeting – After Worship (about ½ hour)

Child care available during our Congregational Meeting

This is a unique event in Faith’s life and your presence is essential.

Please make every effort to attend, to express your thoughts about

the pastoral candidate and to cast your ballot.

* If the Call Committee does not choose to recommend a pastor,

the meeting on the 23rd will be cancelled.

Faith Lutheran Church Council Meeting November 19, 2019

The meeting was called to order by President Will Karr at 7:05 p.m.

Members present: Will Karr, Stephanie Miller, Pastor Melinda VanderSys, Sandy Lawson, Vicki Luoma, Dennis Brindley Members absent: Dan Kinnear, Ese Osumili, Wayne Olsen

Devotions: Vicki Luoma gave devotions. Devotions for January – Sandy Lawson Previous Minutes: Dennis Brindley made a motion to accept the minutes of October 15, 2019. Se-conded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried. Future meetings:

Tenative Christmas dinner -Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at Country Club

Tuesday, January 21, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Counters: November – Sandy Lawson, Dan Kinnear December – Will Karr, Dennis Brindley Janu-ary – Wayne Olsen, Vicki Luoma

Old Business:

Driveway: Next spring Boilers: Waiting for final quotes

Holiday Dinner: Sandy will contact the Country Club about a dinner on Tuesday, December 17 at 6:00 p.m.

New Business: Nominating Committee - 2 council seats will be open. The terms are up for Dennis Brindley and

Dan Kinnear, but they can run again. Synod delegates need to be selected at the Annual meeting in February for the Synod Convention on

May 14-16 at Finlandia. Staff Evaluations need to be completed by the end of the year. Reinstatement of membership – A motion was made by Dennis Brindley to accept Karolyn Hyde for

membership. Seconded by Stephanie Miller. Motion carried. Census – The information about the 2020 Census should be put in the Pathfinder.

Bishop Finegan will preach at Faith on January 19.

Pastor’s Report: Pastor Melinda gave her report.

Committee Reports

Christian Education – Wreaths are being sold. Endowment – The rest of the Endowment disbursement for this year needs to be discussed. Fellowship – The Veteran’s Dinner served about 90 people. The leftovers were donated to New Hope

House for Women. Christmas Eve will be cookies and cider. Worship and Music – Next meeting is Nov. 20. Christmas Eve service will be at 7:30 p.m.

Outreach – Will be meeting soon Finance – A printout of the financial statement through Oct. 31 was available. Property – A new Ariens snowblower has been purchased. Steps are needed for the back door.

Campus Ministry – Meeting Nov. 20. Linda Carrick is a member of the Anchor House Board. WELCA – The proceeds from the bazaar were around $1800. The Women’s Christmas luncheon will be Dec. 4 at 11:30 at the Casino. December 11 at 10:00 WELCA will meet at church to put together

baked goods, etc. to bring to the shut-ins. Staff Support – Will be meeting soon to do evaluation.

A motion was made by Dennis Brindley to accept all committee reports including the Pastor’s Report. Seconded by Stephanie Miller. Motion carried. Motion to adjourn: Dennis Brindley made a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Seconded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer.

Respectfully submitted, Vicki Luoma, Council Secretary Page 6

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2 ♥

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FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH

1600 PARK STREET

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI 49783

PATHFINDER

FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH*

YEAR OF MATTHEW

FEBRUARY 2020

EPIPHANY / LENT