Parish News

CANNED FOOD DRIVE

Our canned food drive is a continuing ministry program. So please bring a canned food item to be brought forward during Communion each Sunday. We are again supporting the Lutheran Mission Society. We have collected over 6500 pounds of canned goods for distribution. Thank You for your generosity.

ALTAR GUILD

The Altar Guild needs volunteers to help set-up communion one Sunday a month.

Please call Rebecca Lawrence at (410) 975-0062.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR Help!

Chancel Choir: (Sings at the 8:15 a.m. Service)

The Chancel Choir is Looking for Singers to help with the following: the Thanksgiving Eve Service Special Music Presentation, Christmas Eve Special Music , and Cantors to help lead the 8:15 Worship on special Sundays. Please see Cindy Berger after the 8:15 service, or just come to the Chancel Choir practices on Mondays at 7:00 p.m. if you would like to participate in any or all!

The Chancel choir would like to do a Tenebrae service on Good Friday, April 22, 2011. The Tenebrae “Once Upon a Tree” by Pepper Choplin as told by Luke.

At the beginning of “Once Upon a Tree” “…Luke feels unworthy to set his pen to the story of the cross….this is a story of LIFE that leads us through the range of the human experience through the celebration of the triumphal entry. The struggle of Gethsemane, the tenderness of a Mother’s grief, the anger in the face of injustice.”

Come join us on Monday evening at 7pm in Zick hall to learn the music for this very powerful Tenebrae. Please see Cindy Berger if you are interested in being a narrator.

Glory and Praise Singers and Musicians
Dan Foss - Director - (410)760-5557

The Glory and Praise singers and musicians meet every Tuesday evening in the sanctuary. Musicians meet at 6:30 PM and the singers meet at 6:45 PM.

This talented group assists in leading the 11:00 a.m. contemporary service as well as special services throughout the year.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!!!

Please schedule all new plans for meetings and events through the Church Office so that they may be advertised in the Bulletins and the Messenger as well as assuring that there will be a room available. Please remember that many outside events are on our calendar that you may not know about so checking with the office before scheduling is very important.

Please call the Church office at (410) 647-0340 for assistance in your scheduling needs. If Ann Marie is not there, leave a message. THANK YOU!

Gardening Committee

Remember that our gardens still need your attention. September is a perfect time for weeding, cutting back or removing dead or broken branches and planting spring blooming bulbs such as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. This is also a wonderful time to plant any new perennials, shrubs or trees. All fertilizing should have stopped in preparation for the dormant season.

Tara Fontz

Please contact Pastor Dave by phone (410-647-0340) or e-mail pastordavesimpson@live.com to sign up or for more information.

WE ARE IN NEED OF HELP EACH SUNDAY…

Please Volunteer as a SUNDAY SERVANT

Check the Sunday Servants list in the back of the Messenger and see where help is needed, and then please consider volunteering.
If you would like to volunteer for just one time ~ or more, here is what to do:
For Acolytes/Crucifers call: George Poteet at (410) 255-1209.
For Altar Guild call: Rebecca Lawrence at (410) 975-0062.
For Communion Assistants, Greeters/Presenters or Lay Readers See: Trisha Jacobs, or Sign-up on the Calendar in the Narthex.

Please Help

We need a volunteer to take care of the Name Tags. Lorraine Preston has been doing this for a long time and would like someone else to take over. If you would like to volunteer, see Lorraine.

A Public Service Announcement

Need help with Paying Heating and Electric Bills? The Anne Arundel Community Action Agency is you local office of Home Energy Programs. Community Action also does housing counseling for evictions, mortgage defaults, reverse mortgages and first time home buying. Call (410) 760-6125 for more information.

Office Hours: Mon-Thurs
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Free Parking
(410)760-6125
Fax# (410) 760-6439

CRY ROOM UPDATE

(Those of you on the church e-mail list received an update about the Cry Room very similar to this article, but we are putting a modified version in the Messenger to make sure everyone has the same information. The second-to last paragraph will be new to those who received the e-mail)

In the spring, Pastor Dave along with Children’s Ministry representatives made a decision to institute a Cry Room during Sunday Services. As was printed in the Messenger and Bulletin, this decision was made after talking with many members of the congregation. There were several important reasons for going with a Cry Room, including:

1. Our belief that whole families should worship together if at all possible.
2. Parents are most comfortable taking care of their own children, especially little ones. When the Nursery was open, it was not unusual for a parent to accompany their child to the nursery even when there was an attendant on duty.
3. The difficulty we have encountered keeping the nursery staffed. In the "old days," someone could just jump in and cover the nursery if needed. Now, the reality is that anyone who takes care of children has to undergo a background check well ahead of time.
4. The under-utilization of the nursery when it was open, particularly during the 8:15 service, but also there were many Sundays when nursery would be unused during the 11:00 service. Parents have been able to take their children to the Cry Room as needed if they (parents OR children) need a break from the service. Because the Cry Room is the former Nursery, there are ample toys to occupy children. Parents can continue to listen to the service on an audio feed.

As the summer came to a close, the Cry Room was re-evaluated for the fall. We considered several options, including:

1. Continue the Cry-Room through the end of the year, then make decide how to proceed in the spring
2. Provide nursery at both services provided we can find (and background check) sufficient volunteers
3. Provide nursery at one service (probably 11), again provided we can find volunteers
There are a couple of other things we are have discussed which would need to be included in the next church budget if implemented:

- Pay someone to provide "professional" childcare on Sunday mornings
- If the cry room is going to be a permanent fixture, move toward a video feed of the service. It is important that we as a church welcome people of all ages to our worship services and activities. The decisions we make impact not just our current members, but how visitors, especially those with small children, perceive our church.

Those who are working with this issue realize that no solution is going to please everyone. So we are asking for your continued feedback, but especially requesting your prayerful understanding that we will continue to prayerfully work, with the guidance of God, toward the best plan for our congregation. We have looked at other congregations near us - some have cry rooms without a nursery, some have a nursery with no cry room, and some have both (which is probably impractical for our logistics at the present time).

After soliciting feedback from the congregation, the decision has been made to continue with the Cry Room at least through the end of the year.If you have any further comments, please speak with Pastor Dave, Tara Fontz, or Julie Ranelli.

CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE: (410) 647-0340

Or e-mail: celc1908@yahoo.com

And give us the news, so that we may keep in contact and give their names to Campus Crusade, etc.tc.

Thank you!

Flowers are needed for the Alter each week. Please check the Flower List on the Revolving Bulletin Board in the Narthex to plan your gift of flowers in honor or memory of a loved one. Thank You!!

Last edited on 4/08/11

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