Life in Action
Quarterly Magazine January 2021
Photo by Rebecca Campbell on Unsplash
Faith stories about connecting, celebrating and serving in God’s love.
Administration Office Hours 8:30 a.m - 4:30 p.m. (M-F) Tele: 281-367-7016 Email: LOL@LordoflLifeOnline.org
Photo by Annie Spratt/Unsplash
Sunday Worship Schedule Informal Liturgical Worship 8 a.m. Contemporary Worship 9:45 a.m. Traditional Liturgical Worship 11:20 a.m. Sunday School 9am (Sept. - May)
Luke 2:10 The angel said to them, “Fear not. Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy that shall be to all people.” At Lord of Life, we just wrapped up our advent season, and celebrated the end of an old year. For many of us, 2020 was a year of immense changes, upheaval, and uncertainty. While we have looked to 2021 with hope that it can include a return to stability, it’s worth remembering that change isn’t inherently negative, and some changes are cause for excitement. One such change for our congregation is the addition of Pastor John Van Haneghan, who is joining us as interim Senior Pastor. He comes to us with many years of experience with congregations both small and large, in all corners of the United States. We are excited about the opportunity to partner with him during our time of transition as we call our next Senior Pastor. Pastor John was recommended to Lord of Life leadership by the Synod before being interviewed by personnel committee and approved by the congregational council. Those involved in the interview process appreciated his positive energy, commitment to facilitating a healthy ministry, and sincerity, and look forward to his ministry among us as we prepare to call our next senior pastor. Welcome Pastor John!
Lord of life lutheran church 3801 s. pANTHER cREEK dR., tHE wOODLANDS, tx 77381 LOLonline.org
Our Mission at Lord of Life:
You can reach staff by phone 281-367-7016 and dialing the extensions listed below. Office hours vary by position. Rev. John Van Haneghan, Interim Senior Pastor, ext. 103 Pastor David Bauser, Associate Pastor , ext. 104 pastordavid@LordofLifeOnline.org LORD OF LIFE PROGRAM STAFF Dan Fenn, Director of Worship and the Arts, ext. 106 DFenn@lordoflifeonline.org Tammy Fincher, Coordinator of Worship Support, ext. 105 TFincher@lordoflifeonline.org Sarah Schlacks, Director - Bells of Life Handbell Choir Jenny McKenna, Director of Outreach, ext. 108 JMckenna@lordoflifeonline.org Patrick Nazaroff, Director of Teen Life Ministry, ext. 117 PNazaroff@lordoflifeonline.org Carrie Kessler, Director of Children's Faith Formation, ext. 113 childrensfaith@lordoflifeonline.org ADMINISTRATION: Brian Dawson, Financial Manager, ext. 101 finance@lordoflifeonline.org Rick Janacek: Office Manager, ext. 100, RJanacek@lordoflifeonline.org Peggy Sloan, Director of Connecting Ministries , ext. 120 PSloan@lordoflifeonline.org Marna Arlien, Communications Coordinator, MArlien@lordoflifeonline.org Nicki Forester, Nursery Coordinator nursery@lordoflifeonline.org Michelle McGuire, Kids of the Kingdom Preschool Director, ext. 119 KOKmcg@yahoo.com Carlos Robles, Custodian Jeremy Kelsey, Coordinator of Instrumental Music Jarek Kreitz, Scott Mack, & Cory Frederick Video/Sound Technicians
This is Christ's church. There is a place for you here. We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person-questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God's work in Christ's name for the life of the world. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America ELCA.org
Contact Us:
We seek and welcome all to connect, celebrate, and serve in God’s love. Our Vision: That all have life through the love of Christ
God loves you and I do too. Pastor David Bauser is a graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus OH. He is the Associate Pastor at Lord of Life and can be reached at pastordavid@ LordofLifeOnline.org. Hear more from Pastor David at BeyondSundayPodcast.com
More info at LOLonline.org/Lent
Lent/Easter 2021 Ash Wednesday February 17 Mid-week Lenten Worship Feb. 24, Mar 3, 10, 17, 24 Palm Sunday March 28 Maundy Thursday April 1 Good Friday April 2
Easter Sunday April 4
Journey out of the
Wilderness
Photot courtesy of Bluewater Globe Unsplash
Another Lenten season is here. It’s been nearly 1 year since the world as we knew it was turned upside down by the Corona Virus now known as COVID-19. During our Lenten season last year we were appropriately studying “Wilderness.” As we launched into stay-at-home orders, remote learning, online shopping, virtual Bible studies, and watching church from our couches this theme felt almost prophetic. A year later, while we are hoping that the end of our wilderness time is approaching, I think we are all growing weary of this wandering in unknown lands. Nonetheless, here we are: facing another Lenten season, still facing a variety of health and safety concerns, in the midst of a pastoral transition, and all the while wondering if we dare to hope for an end to the wilderness. We cannot change the realities that we face. I wish that I could wave my hand and make even one part of this go away. But they didn’t grant me that particular super-power in Seminary and I’m fairly confident that I didn’t just miss that day in class. Instead, we face these days and weeks, that have turned into months and years, together. We stand hand in hand with our community of faith so that whatever may come we have someone standing with us to push us, encourage us, comfort us, and – when needed – pick us up of the ground so that we can continue on. I cannot stress enough how important this community has been for our family through these times. While we have been apart from our biological families we have connected with many of you during these crucial times. Many of you have provided encouragement for me personally and professionally over these past months. Others of you have built connections with my family so that they too are cared for and encouraged. I am deeply grateful for this support. My prayer is that you too are turning to members of your faith family for support. Lord of Life has always been a place for people to feel connected to God and to one another. There is no global pandemic that can stop us from doing just that. I do not know what these connections will look like for you but I do hope that you seek them out. Call the church office if you are having trouble getting connected. Try a new virtual bible study. Call me directly and we can set up a time for your group at Lord of Life to meet safely together. Because together we can come through this time stronger and more deeply connected then we ever thought possible. In light of this, you will see new opportunities to bring us together brought to you by the Adult Faith Formation team at Lord of Life. This Lent we will move through the Gospel of Mark both in worship and in a variety of small group and Bible study sessions. Whether you are in an existing Sunday School class or not this is a great opportunity to jump into a new setting and connect with your faith and your faith community. We will make a devotional available to every household that will move you through Mark’s Gospel so that by Easter, as a congregation, we will all have read the Gospel together in its entirety. We are confident that this can be a simple step for any of us to take that will deepen our faith and our relationships with one another. We hope you will join us! May God bless you this Lenten season. May you find new sources of strength. May you find new avenues to show compassion. May this community stand by you through all things and may you stand with us as we journey out of the wilderness.
Pastor David
If you are interested in serving on the Altar Guild we have a place for you at the table. Our volunteers are as diverse as our congregation and we would love to have you. Email s.guttormson@yahoo.com or call the church office at 281-367-7016.
serving Behind the scenes
by Shari Guttormson, LOL member since 2004 and Head of the Altar Guild
"While they were eating, Jesus took the bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:26-28 How amazing is our God! And what a blessing it is to be able to set the table for the people at Lord of Life every week. You go to church, you see the altar is set, the baptismal font is ready, the pulpit is prepared…but what does it all mean and why do we do it? These are the places where the sacraments of our faith take place, the altar where we celebrate and participate in the Lord’s supper, the font where we publicly proclaim our faith and are baptized into the Lord’s family, and the pulpit where we hear the word of God spoken over each of us every week. What is the roll of altar guild? Primarily, to work in coordination with our liturgical arts team to set the tone of our worship space and make it a place where the congregation can come together and glorify God in a meaningful way and to help connect the words that are written in the bible with our everyday lives through the physical acts of being in worship together. While the liturgical arts team focuses primarily on making the sanctuary space beautiful which, let's be honest, is what most people will notice (and hopefully enjoy) as they come into the sanctuary. The altar guild team focuses on the sacred as well as the sacraments of worship. So, let’s break it down: The colors of the season: Seen through the fabric hanging on the altar, font, and pulpit. We focus on 5 main colors. Green – “ordinary time” color – we use it all summer. Purple – representing penance, preparation & sacrifice used primarily for Lent before Easter. Red – as a symbol for passion and blood - used for Pentecost & Reformation Sunday. White – a holy color used for Christmas, Easter, Trans-figuration, Holy Trinity & All Saints services. Blue – symbolizing the birth of Christ for the season of Advent. Preparation of the baptismal font: Cleaned weekly – did you know that it has three drops of water from the river Jordan, where Christ was baptized, squeezed in there? When you dip your finger in you are connected to the places where Christ has been. The three shells in the water represent the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. When someone is baptized they take home a shell from the water as a symbol of their baptism. The Paschal candle is there. Often called the Christ Candle, it is lit for the first time at Easter every year – the light of Christ coming into the world. Preparation of the pulpit: where the word of God is spoken over us. Usually just adorned with a parament representing the color and symbols of the season. The Bible is also placed there. Preparation of the altar: where we honor God. Liturgical Book – containing the text and directions for running the service. Chalice – the cup holding the blood of Christ and covered with a veil. Bread – the body of Christ broken for you. Wine – to be poured into the chalice, symbolizing the blood of Christ, Cloths – like purificators and patens that are used to wipe and cover the cup. White candles on each side of the altar – symbolizing that Jesus was both human and God. Red Candle – always lit and a remembrance that the light of Christ is with you always. What does being part of altar guild mean to some of the people who do it? Why do we enjoy it and how does it further God’s work in the world? For me, my few minutes up at the rail on my knees taking communion are some of the closest and most private moments I have with God while I’m at church. It’s just me and him at that moment and I know he is listening – like a private audience with the King. Being able to help other people have that same experience by simply setting the table for service is special for me as an act of service to God and also an act of obedience in answering his call to serve him in the church. I enjoy it because I am grateful to God every day that I am saved by his Grace. I asked a few of our volunteers for their thoughts, as well: "Since I was not raised Lutheran, I am interested in understanding the traditions of the Church. Weekly communion is certainly a strong tradition and that is why I joined Altar Guild. We normally have at least 2 people serving Alter Guild per week, which offers me the side benefit of meeting and working with some members of the church that I didn't know." - Patrick O’Toole "Altar Guild for me is one way of helping prepare our church for worship. I enjoy being a part of Altar Guild because it is one way of being more than just present for worship, it allows me to become a part of the worship service. It is a privilege to be able to help bring the body and blood of Jesus to our worshipers." – Pam Dube "Working with the Altar Guild team is important to me because I love taking communion. We have lived overseas in places we couldn’t attend church or communion was only given quarterly. I missed it. I love that Lord of Life has communion every service, every week, it is a blessing. I enjoy making it happen for others." -Valerie Millman Welcome to the table the Lord has prepared for you. I look forward to seeing your kind and smiling faces as soon as we are able but may the Grace of our Lord be with you till we meet again.
From MOWmc.org: "Through the efforts of Meals on Wheels staff and volunteers, over 580 homebound seniors in Montgomery County are able to remain safe and happy in their homes. We help them avoid the high costs of nursing home care and alleviate the stress of caregiving often felt by their family, friends, and neighbors."
LOL member since 19977 by Debbie Cox,
Rich Haut loading a cooler of meals into Susie, his 1930 Ford Model A Ford
Every Thursday I wake up and am excited to get my day started! Just before lunchtime I drive to the Meals on Wheels meal delivery pick up location to load my car with a cooler filled with hot meals for the Seniors on my route. My route is the Glen Loch route, right behind Lord of Life Lutheran Church, where I deliver to homes and apartments to homebound Seniors who are unable to make a hot meal for themselves. Twelve years ago, my former teaching partner and I decided to deliver meals for Meals on Wheels as an opportunity to help out in our community, as well as catch up with each other’s lives. But after connecting personally with each of our Seniors, it has developed into SO MUCH MORE! We have learned about our new friends lives: their past careers, families, favorite foods, and needs. We look forward to seeing each other every Thursday. For many of our Seniors, we are the only person they see and talk to each day. Thursdays have shifted from a volunteer job to - what I do, what I want to do each week. Galatians 5:13 says : Serve one another in love. As I deliver a meal to each door, I feel the love deeply as I’ve been told, “You’re my people.”, “Can I share a story with you?” “Oh good! You’re here!” “Thank you for caring.” “I really appreciate you.”, ”I love you.” Which leads to a favorite verse of mine: Matthew 19:19 Love your neighbor as yourself. There are many different kinds of volunteer opportunities at Meals on Wheels. To find out more about delivering Meals (weekly or substitute when you can), put meals together, send out mailings, make birthday bags, special events/ fundraisers contact: lisa@mowmc.org
Nutritious Meals & Caring Connections
Meals on Wheels Mission: To foster the independence and dignity of homebound seniors in Montgomery County by providing them with nutritious meals, transportation, and caring connections
Rich Haut loading a cooler of meals into Susie, his 1930 Ford Model A Ford.
Lord of Life members Annette and Rich Haut have been blessed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of hospitality. Under the current circumstances there has been limited opportunities for them to share their table with others. Annette thought that Meals on Wheels was a great way to take advantage of this gift, as well as giving Rich an opportunity of sharing his Model A hobby. Meals on Wheels delivers around 5,000 meals a week here in Montgomery County and can truly use the help. Every Monday Rich is out there delivering meals on a route that runs down Lake Woodlands, delivering around 10 to 12 meals and saying “Hello in There” to several folks that genuinely need some hospitality. Weather permitting, Susie even gets to stretch her legs!
By Rick Janacek, Office Manager
Hands of Faith Fair Trade Ministry Changing the World, One Purchase at a Time Our ministry began in 2005 with fair trade coffee sales at Lord of Life. Our growing ministry, run completely by volunteers, is now a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation and features products from over 40 countries. Stop in soon and bring a friend! 3801 S. Panther Creek Dr. in The Woodlands or shop online hands-of-faith-fair-trade. myshopify.com/
Hands of Faith Fair Trade Ministry Changing the World, One Purchase at a Time Our ministry began in 2005 with fair trade coffee sales at Lord of Life. Our growing ministry, run completely by volunteers, is now a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation and features products from over 40 countries. Stop in soon and bring a friend! 3801 S. Panther Creek Dr. in The Woodlands or shop online hands-of-faith-fair-trade. myshopify.com/ text
Meet our staff
Get to know the people at Lord of Life who help you shape the mission and vision of our congregation
The world has changed. COVID-19 closed Lord of Life Lutheran Church for worship, meetings and events for several months. Luckily, the church has reopened for worship, and we will continue to expand what is open over the next weeks and months. While we were closed to the public, the office remained open and staff continued to operate under the “new normal.” During this time, we worked on improvements to the building to ensure the safety of everyone when we reopened. While there are no guarantees that someone won’t get sick, we wanted to make the building as safe as possible. The road to reopening began with the purchase and installation of air purifiers. We installed REME HALO® units and other units like them on all 11 AC systems around the building. These units: • Kills up to 99% of bacteria, mold and viruses • Reduce sneeze germs by 99% in the time a sneeze can reach three feet. • Kills 99% of viruses on surfaces The REME HALO® utilizes RGF’s patent-pending Reflective Electro Magnetic Energy technology. Installed into the supply plenum of the existing air conditioning or heating system air ducts, the REME HALO® produces Hydro-Peroxide plasma that is distributed through the air handler, through the duct system and into the conditioned living space. Unlike passive air technologies, which need pollutants to pass through the unit for purification or filtration, the REME HALO® sweeps through the area actively purifying pollutants at the source. In addition, the charged plasma induces particles to coagulate or stick together making them bigger and easier for your filter to catch. Hydro-Peroxide occurs naturally in the earth’s atmosphere and is part of nature’s process of cleaning the air. In addition to the new air purifier units, we have also hired professional cleaners to clean all the rooms in the building, including the Sanctuary after every use. They are using CDC-approved electrostatic sprayers to clean all flat surfaces, killing viruses and other germs. These sprayers provide an electrical charge to solutions, allowing them to wrap conductive surfaces with an effective and even coverage. Double-charged particles envelope all conductive surfaces – shadowed, vertical, and underneath. The church is also purchasing these same sprayers so that we can use them throughout the building. As the building reopens further over the months, we will also be asking any group that is meeting or having an event in the building to clean after themselves, with products that we will provide to them. Room-size limits will also be in place to ensure proper social distancing during meetings. Masks will be required, and health questionnaires will be filled out by all attending the meeting to enable contact tracing. Lord of Life wants you to feel as comfortable as possible when you decide to come back, and we hope these additional tools and methods will help you feel safe while you are here.
Carrie Kessler
Director of Children's Faith Formation
Safe
Courtesy of United Nations Unsplash
Favorite Bible verse: Isaiah 40:31- But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Lord of Life member since: April 2017 My Credentials/Experience: Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Penn State; Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University; 21-yr member of the US Air Force Reserve as a Public Affairs Officer; Girl Scout leader; Lord of Life volunteer with Children’s Ministries, Welcome Desk, Hospitality Team, Global Missions; Volunteer at French Elementary About Me: I was born and raised in Pennsylvania and will always call it home. I’m a country girl at heart and love the outdoors – flowers in the spring, swimming pools all summer long, colorful leaves in the fall and snow piled so high it was like climbing Mt. Everest. Growing up I was surrounded by genuine, hard-working people, especially my parents and sister. I left for Air Force Basic Training two weeks after high school and I’ve served in our military ever since. What are the values that drive you? Hard work, Honesty, Commitment What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? I love baking and cooking. I turn on music and get to work creating. What do you enjoy about the work you do at Lord of Life? I love serving the families in our congregation. Families, especially these days, have a lot to manage in their daily lives. Finding ways to connect families to their faith is the best way to help them know God’s love and grow stronger as a family. We also have an amazing Lord of Life staff and I’m proud to serve alongside them. What’s one thing you’re really bad at? Basketball or anything you have to throw. What’s one thing you’re really good at? Networking. Have you ever met anyone famous? No Hollywood celebrities but during my deployment to Afghanistan, I once met the President of Poland. I was his convoy driver and that was a bit shocking to him because I am a woman. After returning him safely to his airplane at the end of his visit, he changed his mind about that. What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekends? Campfires in our backyard with music and s’mores. You can reach Carrie at ChildrensFaith@LordofLifeOnline.org.
Volunteers are welcome. Email us at LordofLifeHOF@outlook.com
keeping you At church
Don't forget:
Lord of Life Lutheran Church 3801 S. Panther Creek Drive The Woodlands, TX 77380 LOLonline.org