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The Spectrum March 2016

St. Luke Lutheran Church * 1400 Market Street Williamsport, PA 17701 (570) 323-7309

stlukeluth@verizon.net * www.stlukeweb.com

SERVICES OF WORSHIP

Sunday, March 6th, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Rev. BJ Collins, presiding and preaching, Camp Sunday

8:00am - Holy Communion in Chapel 9:15am Sunday school/Confirmation /Youth Ministry

10:30am - Holy Communion, followed by coffee hour

*** Sunday, March 13th, Fifth Sunday in Lent

8:00am - Holy Communion in Chapel 9:15am Sunday school/Confirmation /Youth Ministry

10:30am - Holy Communion

***

Sunday, March 20th, Palm Sunday 8:00am - Holy Communion in Chapel

9:15am Sunday school /Confirmation /Youth Ministry

10:30am - Holy Communion /Hunger appeal offering, followed by coffee hour

***

Sunday, March 27th, Easter Sunday 7:00am - Holy Communion

8:15am Easter Breakfast 9:15am Children’s Egg Hunt

10:30am - Holy Communion

***

Service Hours 8:00am:

With Holy Communion in

Chapel &

10:30am: With Holy

Communion

9:15am Sunday school/Confirmation /

Youth Ministry

OFFICE HOURS: M & T – 9-12, 1-3;

W, Th, F – 9-12

The Church office will be closed

Monday, March 28th for the Easter Holiday.

Please no fy us of changes of

e-mail address

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FROM THE PASTOR

March Column

I am holding in my hand a petite white clergy stole that could be worn at Easter, as it is Easter’s liturgical color with an embroidered gold cross and crown on either side. It has ample white, luxurious fringe at the bottom, and for those of you interested in the fabric, the inside label says “100% silk.” It is part of a stole set I inherited from my uncle Frank, a clergyman who served in the Philadelphia area his entire life. The stole, indeed, seems to speak of the rather comfortable and optimistic era of the (then-) Lutheran Church in America of his time. The church was still strong in the lives of upwardly mobile, prosperous Americans, shaping communities of purpose and accompanying families in their joys, griefs and life passages. This stole saw the antics of the many youth growing up in Uncle Frank’s suburban parish, wildly achieving, with their sights set on the rigors of challenging colleges in the expectation of productive careers. It was a time charged with a deep love for the landscape of America – and, in the case of his parish – the Jersey shore and the Jersey pine barrens.

But the cross and the crown at the center of this stole are not relics of that time and place in American life. They do not get folded away because it is now 2016 instead of 1966 and their impact is negligible. Rather, the cross and crown hover over us to equally inform our lives, too. That is, you may experience “the crown” of Easter morning and the assurance of the power of God through the raising of Christ Jesus. (We traipse joyfully to church on Easter Sunday full of faith in the power of God and in the belief that, one day, all will be right with the world as God has intended it.)Yet faith explains to us that you only come to this crown, having gone through the cross of Good Friday and the stillness and grief of a Holy Saturday.

Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said that in a “world come of age,” our task as the faithful, in fact, would not be so much tending to the trappings of “crowns,” as much as being willing and able to suf-fer alongside those who suffer. This cross- this suffering - is indeed writ large over our planet, in ways Bonhoeffer could scarcely imagine - from the cries of refugees to the grief of the new victims of increas-ingly extreme weather.

On Easter morning we will come hoping to hear the Good News of God’s power – yet we will be assured that God in Christ suffers alongside us, and is a companion of gentleness and love, through the years and the joys, griefs and life passages that they bring. The Christian experience continues in each era. We cele-brate this 2016 on Easter Sunday, March 27th, at 7 AM sunrise and 10:30 festival worship, yet to be sure, we mark the entire week beginning with Palm Sunday, March 20th. That includes Maundy Thursday, with a service at 7 PM, and Good Friday, with a service for the children at 9:45 in the AM and at 7 PM for adults as well. May the cross and the crown continue in front of our eyes, strong symbols that they are.

In Christ,

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BJ COLLINS, ASSISTANT TO THE BISHOP, VISITS ST. LUKE MARCH 6th.

In November, the bishop asked Pastor Aurand to serve as an interim pastor at St. Michael’s – Cogan Station. While she has been serving the parish on some weekdays, a scheduled visit by Rev. B.J. Collins to St. Luke will allow her to spend a Sunday morning at St. Michael’s as well.

Who is B J Collins? BJ (Barbara Jeannne) is called by the ELCA to serve half-time as Director for Evangel-ical Mission for the Upper Susquehanna Synod, and in addition to that role, she serves half-time as Assistant to Bishop Driesen.

The core focus of her work is that of being one who orchestrates, facilitates, and equips our whole Synod for evangelical mission – to lift up and unpack what the Mission of God is and how we are all partners in this mission. She oversees the work of the Synod’s Mission Table, Mission Developers, Mission Interpreters, Renewing Congregations, Stewardship, and Transformational Ministry and also works alongside the minis-tries of the Synod’s GROW Team and Small Church/ELCMA Team.

B.J. was born in Johnstown, PA and grew up in Hollidaysburg, PA, the youngest child of The Rev. and Mrs. George E. Nein, Jr. She was a Music Education major at Penn State University and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bloomsburg University. She graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Get-tysburg, PA in 2001 and was ordained on March 23rd, 2002. B.J. served as pastor of the Follmer / St. John’s Parish, Potts Grove for over 10 years and most recently as the Interim pastor of Zion Lutheran, Kratzerville. She has also served on the synod’s Transformational Ministry team since its formation. B.J. and her husband John, who is an independent insurance agent and community musician, have two married children, a daugh-ter and son, and two granddaughters.

Please welcome her to the pulpit at St. Luke on March 6th.

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THE SEW-FINE QUILTERS Will meet Monday, March 7th in Bell Hall from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. We always welcome donations of cotton fabric, sheets, thread, and embroidery floss. Especially needed this year is cord for drawstrings on school kits backpacks. Each backpack takes 4 yards of strong cord or rope 1/4 inch diameter, such as par-achute cord or clothesline.

THE SHAWL

MINISTRY

The next meeting will be held

Tuesday, March 29th at 9:00AM.

WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB Book Club meets at 12:00 March 14th at Julie's Coffee Shop (on the southeast corner of Third & Pine). The book for the month of March is Thunderstruck by Erik Laron.

LENTEN STUDY GROUP Since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis on March 13, 2013, many sur-prising and refreshing moves have issued forth from the Vatican. One of the most heralded events was last fall’s publication of Laudato-Si, (English: Praise be to you (my Lord), the Papal Encyclical on the environment and global justice. In con-nection with a Lenten theme of earthkeeping, a small group of about a dozen folks is reading evangelical together. The small group takes place on Tuesdays in Lent at 3:30 PM at St. Luke. Ask Pastor Aurand on Sunday for a copy of the Tuesday text.

MID-WEEK LENTEN SUPPER

&

SERVICE Wednesdays during Lent (March 2nd, 9th, & 16th) Join us at 6:15PM for a simple supper of salad, soup and bread; followed at 7:00PM with a “That You May Have Life” Vesper Service (similar to Holden Prayer, but with a Lenten fo-cus.) We need volunteers to provide food for the Lenten Suppers. Sign-up sheets are in the West Corridor (near the Chapel). Remember, many hands make little work!

K.I.C.K. Movie Night, Saturday, March 19th. Our feature will be Disney/Pixar's Inside Out. Bring your favorite (nut-free) snack and we'll make a giant snack mix. 6:30 pm. Pjs, pillows and sleeping bags encouraged. Guests and all ages always welcome.

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HOLY WEEK WORSHIP AT ST. LUKE

Sunday, March 20, Passion/Palm Sunday – 8:00AM & 10:30AM Thursday, March 24, Maundy Thursday – 7:00PM Friday, March25, Good Friday – 9:45AM -11:00AM Children’s morning Holy

Week event; 7:00PM evening worship Sunday, March 27, The Resurrection of Our Lord – 7:00AM service 8:00AM Breakfast followed by a 9:15AM Egg Hunt and a 10:30 AM service

Friday, March 25th Kids Good Friday 9:45am-11:00am

Before we get to the light of Easter, we must walk through darkness of Good Friday. Come for the morning to experience an age appropriate telling of the Passion Story. No a bad lesson for parents, either. School is out this day– feel free to bring along a friend. Most suited for Elementary age. Nursery care provided. (Pre-schoolers will meet in the nursery for a Veggie Tales Easter movie and a pre-school craft.

Available 2016 dates for weekly altar flowers:

July 17th

July 24th

August 7th

August 21st

September 18th

October 23rd

October 30th

November 6th

December 11th

Please call Sarah Young at the church office if you would like to fill a date. 570-323-7309

ST. LUKE’S ANNUAL EGG HUNT Will be held on Easter Sunday, March 27th at 9:15am.

Candy donations are needed for the event. Please place them in the basket in the West Hall entranceway.

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OUTREACH MINISTRY

COLLEGE CARE PACKAGES- Thank you to all who brought in goodies for our 13 college stu-dents. These care packages send our love and encouragement at they continue their studies toward their degree.

LUNCH WITH PASTOR- Wow! What a good turnout we had for our February luncheon in spite of the “sloshy” weather! Let’s do it again for March when we will venture west to the Kast Hotel, 723 Arch St (Newberry). Parking is located in the back of the hotel. We meet on the third Wednesday of the month, this time, March 16, at 12:00 noon. If you plan to attend please call the church office for your reservation. Regulars; we have your name, but if you have other plans, also let Sarah know.

BREAKFAST AND BIBLE- Our study in March continues with Paul’s letter to the Philippians when

we listen to his words encouraging us to have “the same mind as Christ and care about others’ interest more than our own”. Marilyn Eshleman will be our hostess and Linda Liptak will lead the lesson. Please join us at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 18th. R.S.V.P.to Marilyn if you will be attending.

POSITION OPEN AT ST. LUKE

Applications are being accepted for the position of the St. Luke Building Maintenance Manager. Some typical responsibilities in this position are: misc. building repairs and contacting vendors for major repairs or emergencies, working with the Ministry of Property; being a liaison to garbage and plowing vendors and keeping the walkways clear when it snows; sharing some du-ties, when asked, with the Custodian. A complete job description is available in the church of-fice. Hours are flexible and may average to about 10 hours a week. If interested, please pick up an application from in the office or from the web site. Early applicants preferred.

Time to Register for Camp Mount Luther Have you checked out the brochure for 2016 at Camp Mount Luther? You’ll find it chock full of choices: base camps, adventure camps, “classic” camps, extreme camps, family camp. Best of all, these opportunities are affordable with all the discounts and scholarship available. First – remember that the St. Luke fund pays half the cost of all campers’ tuitions. Secondly, St. Luke has a “camperson” which also reduces your cost and gives you discounts at the camp store. There’s a $25 discount for early registration (before April 1), a $25 discount if you bring a friend who has never been to camp, and there’s a $25 discount for siblings who attend to-gether. It is wise, then, to enroll early both to ensure you have a place at the camp you want – and –to make the week(s) affordable. See the camp brochure in the west hall for more in-formation or go to www.campmountluther.org.

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~~~~~~~~~~~Easter flowers~~~~~~~~~ We are offering Easter flowers this year on a per order basis.

You will be able to choose between lilies, tulips, so we can get our requests to the florist, we need your orders to the office by Sunday, March6th.

You may take your plant with you after the 10:30 AM Service on Easter Sunday or leave for a shut-in delivery. Please pay with the cou-

pon below and return to us by Sunday, March6th.

PLEASE PRINT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Given in memory of:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

or

Given in honor of:

________________________________________________________________________________________

by

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Lilies and tulips flowers are $10 each

I would like to place at the altar:

_____ lily (4-6 bloom) white

_____ tulip (6-8 bulbs)

1st color choice:

___red ___ purple ___ pink ___ orange ___ yellow

2nd color choice:

___red ___ purple ___ pink ___ orange ___yellow

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_____ Yes, I will take my flower with me after the Easter Service.

______No, I will leave for a shut-in delivery.

*(Your 2nd color choice will only be placed if the green house is out of 1st choice or poor flower quality.)

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FROM THE PRE-SCHOOL The students are looking forward to all the fun that March brings! The theme this month is "March Madness". The week of March 1-4, the children will be celebrating Dr. Seuss. The West House will once again be hosting the students for their annual Egg Hunt on March 18. Spring break is March 22-25.

A big thank you goes out to Nancy McCarty for coming in to read to the students and for donat-ing 2 books!

Reminders-

- Registration for the 2016-17 school year is under way! If you know anyone who is interest-ed in pre-school for their 3 or 4 year old, please share our information!

- The pre-school's Annual Mother's Day Flower Sale is coming up in April!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

…..And Happy Anniversary: (We’re sorry if we missed anyone. If we did, please contact the office so we can add you to our computer records.)

Happy Birthday to our members celebrating in March:

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DATE GREET-ERS

USHERS ACOLYTE LECTOR ADMIN ASST. MINISTER

COMM HELPER

6th

8:00

Chris Knaur Nancy McCarty David Keating

10:30 Taormina/ Harris

Family

Terry Belles

Matt Larson

Doug Durand

Patty Durand

Olivia Strother Wilma Reader Bill & Linda Liptak

George Schuman Taormina/ Harris

Family

13th

8:00

Chris Knaur Becky Masden Nancy McCarty

10:30 Sue Beidler Madlyn Fortin Sue Beidler Mark Bergren/ Charles Mahler

Melanie Taormina Fortin Family

20th 8:00

Chris Knaur Nancy McCarty

Narrator– Nancy McCarty

Jesus– David Keating

David Keating

10:30

Scampone Family

Same (Palm Sunday)

Halle Clark

Margot Briggs

Narrator- Sondra Fisher

Jesus- Dan Lamade

Peter- David Bailey

Servant - Chelsey Wood

Witness- Diana Bailey

1st Criminal- Brad Nason

2nd Criminal - Bill Liptak

Centurion- Charles Mahler

Linda Herbst/ Chelsey Wood

Charles Mahler Borch Family

27th

7:00

Nancy McCarty

Chris Knaur TBA Nancy McCarty Dan Lamade/ Carol Stech

Linad Herbst Marilyn Eshleman

Hanne Schuman

Karen Baldys 10:30

Briggs Family

Same

(Easter -late

service)

Ethan Strother

Chelsey Wood Margot Briggs/ Patty Durand

Chip Edmonds Ethan & Olivia

Strother

Cyle Hiller

DATE COFFEE HOUR

FLOWER DELV.

COUNTERS LAY CALLER COMM.

CLEAN-UP

NURSERY ALTAR CARE

The March Hare 6th

Clark Family Tignor Betty & Charles Paris

Liptaks Moyer Sandy Moyer/

Mackenzie Bloom

13th

Schuman Nancy McCarty & Sally Labenberg

Belles’ Kathy Borch Karen Scampone/ Andrew Borch

20th “For the Love”

Book Club

Moyer Leah Lewis & Joanne Harner

Lamades Linda Herbst/

Linda Wolfe

Joann Wolfe/ Madalyn Fortin

Hunger Offering TBA

27th

Easter Breakfast

8:15AM

Easter

flowers

TBA Taorminas 24th & 27th Websters

Jessie Young/

Kara Hershey

24th

7:00

PM

Glenda Merkel

Psalm– Nancy McCarty

Charles Mextorf/Marilyn Eshle-

man

Carol Steck Mahler Family

25th 7:00

PM

Ray Schreckengast 1 David Bailey

2 Charles Mex-torf

3 Sue Duchman

4 Diana Bailey

5 Bill Liptak

6 Dan Lamade

7Hanne Schuman

Marilyn Eshleman

SERVING IN MARCH

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OTHER

OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR AREA

oodles of noodles chunky soups jelly tuna fish powdered drink mix (i.e.: kool aid) canned veggies saltine crackers canned fruits sugar & flour macaroni & cheese cookies

Hours are: 9:30am-12noon on Mondays for delivery. Tuesday/Thursdays from 10am-3pm clients by appoint-ment only 570-322-1657 Castellano Center 320 Park Ave., Williamsport, PA

We at the food pantry would like to send a Valentine Thank You to all of you who give generously to us! We also are very thankful for the Volunteers that came after the Peace Walk for the Martin Luther King Day of Service to help us out clean-ing and restocking our shelves!! They helped our pantry immensely on getting ready for our yearly inspec-tion and review. The biggest Valentine is to all our volunteers. Those who help out and give back to all the people with their loving and open hearts. Such is being a Christian! That is a patient, loving, non-judging heart to help unify and build our community. This is a slower time of the year for receiving donations, un-derstandable because of holiday and utility bills, we are in need of the following things:

LOOKING FOR A SUMMER JOB? Camp Mount Luther is looking for qualified staff for the summer. They are in need of men and women to serve in paid and volunteer capaci-ties this summer. Counselor positions are espe-cially needed. In addition, volunteer nurses are needed to serve as the weekly health officer. Candidates must possess a commitment to Christ, a passion for adventure, and strong lead-ership skills. If you or someone you know is in-terested, contact Chad Hershberger, Executive Director, at the camp office at (570) 922-1587. Applications are available on the website at http:// www.campmountluther.org.

Be Part of A Community Garden: The Salvation Army Red Shield Community Garden is now accept-ing applications for plots in the garden (located at 724 Park Avenue). The vision of the garden is to meet human needs in Jesus Christ's name without discrimination through three avenues: 1) empowering the Williamsport community by providing the opportunity to plant, grow, and harvest their own produce; 2) educating individu-als and families about the value of gardening; and 3) donating the abundance of vegetables to local non-profit entities in the community. Groups who serve families or individuals (including children or seniors) with lim-ited resources are welcome to participate. Applications can be found on The Salvation Army website (www.williamsportsalvationarmy.org) Please contact Amy McGovern at The Salvation Army with any ques-

CHURCH WOMEN UNITED WORLD DAY OF PRAYER* Date: Friday, March 4 at 1:30 p.m. Place: First Church of Christ Disciples 1250 Almond St. Wmspt. Theme: “Receive Children, Receive Me”

This year the World Day of Prayer Celebration was written by the Women of Cuba. They chose the biblical text based on Mark 10:13-16 to call us to ex-plore the depths of God’s love and accept the invitation to receive the realm of God as a little child.