October 2008 Newsletter Volume 5, Number 4
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
On December 17, 1903, at 10:35 a.m., Orville Wright made history by executing the first powered and sustained flight from level ground. For twelve seconds he defeated gravity and flew 120 feet along the beach of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In the field of aviation, this historic event represented a very small beginning that would someday see air travel as a daily occurrence and mankind sending people to the moon and returned safely.
However, for Orville and Wilbur Wright, this was the end of a long and tedious journey that was initiated by a dream – a desire to fly. What most children would abandon as a simple fantasy, they saw as a potential reality. They believed they could fly, but more importantly, they believed they should fly. They began to build their dream and engineer their vision. They took the necessary steps to ensure that what they believed could be, would be.
In a book written by Andy Stanley entitled, Visioneering, he states that “everybody ends up somewhere in life, a few people end up somewhere on purpose. Those are the ones with vision.” Those are the people who come to the end of their life and look back with a deep sense of satisfaction and think, “I did it – I succeeded – I finished well – my life counted.”
So what about Shepherd of the Coast – what is our vision – why are we here? The vision for our church is “With the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will advance a Lutheran expression of the Christian faith in the Greater Fort Lauderdale community. We will recruit, train, and empower our members to serve Christ by serving each other as we reach out to those in our community to meet their spiritual and physical needs.
On September 14th we kicked off our spiritual campaign with the theme of “The Best Is Yet to Come” based on Dr. John Kieschnick’s book “The Best Is Yet to Come: 7 Doors of Spiritual Growth”. For the next ten weeks we explore the seven doors leading to personal and spiritual growth. Around this theme we re-focus on Jesus, the cross, real worship and not just going through the motions of attending church. Dr. Kieschnick quotes in the introduction of his book:
“Today, many people examine the claims of Jesus because they know deep in their gut that there has to be more to life. Some are trying to fill the hole in their hearts with corporate success, some with possessions, and some are just “raising hell” to give themselves a thrill. But in their quiet, reflective moments, they long for something that really satisfies.
Countless others have settled for a bland, lifeless form of Christianity. They sing the songs and hear the messages, but they are distracted by the cares of living. They once had a burning love for God, but over the years, that flame has died and is now only an ember. They still feel close to God from time to time, but these are fleeting moments. They used to make bold decisions to speak out for Christ, give sacrificially, and meet needs wherever they found them, but now, they just go through the motions of attending worship most Sundays, giving a little out of their surplus, and are no longer excited about the ministries of the church. Still the ember is there. If exposed to a little fuel and oxygen, I believe these people can flame again!”
Let us expound on God’s grace, that free gift of God that we receive undeservedly. Without it we are totally lost. Dr. Kieschnick explains that grace is Christ centered, received through faith (and faith alone!) and remains with believers forever. Continue to pray for the ongoing ministry of our congregation and prayer for your leadership as we continue to put the final touches on “The Best Is Yet to Come!”
Your servant in Christ Jesus, Vicar Bert
“I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.”
Harry S. Truman
The Best is Yet to Come
It is not too late to join a small group for our fall Spiritual Growth Campaign. Additional books have been ordered. They are on sale for $15 each. If you would like to participate, please contact the office 954-772-8010 or pastor@shepherdofthecoast.org for more information.
Groups currently scheduled:
Sundays: 6:30 pm @ Czaplewski Home
Tuesdays: 7:00 pm @ Gorwood Home
Thursdays: 7:00 pm @ Deuparo Home
Stephen Ministry
Caring, Committed People Needed
Shepherd of the Coast is a Stephen Ministry Congregation and we would like to re-activate this wonderful way to serve our Lord. If you are a Stephen Minister and would like to become active in this program of lay caring, plan to attend out first meeting on Thursday, October 16th at 7:00 p.m. in the multi-purpose room.
Please think and pray about this opportunity to serve. If you have any questions please contact Vicar Bert at the church office, extension 247.
Confirmation Class
Confirmation Class has begun. September 21st was our first class for this year. It is a two year program in which our young people are equipped to become communicant members of the Church. However, Confirmation at the end of those two years is not graduation! The class meets from 10:45 am until noon, in the library. There is still more that we all have to learn, and that’s why we need to be in worship every week, and in Bible Study – not to mention our own daily devotions and prayers. We are off to a good start; but there still is room for more! If you know of any children who are of Confirmation age, please talk with Pastor Dan, Vicar Bert or Pastor Russ. Also, if you are interested in Adult Instruction, please speak to those same three men.
Tweens Ministry
This is an exciting, growing group!!! Tweens are children between the ages of third through fifth grade. We’re not little children anymore and were not teenagers yet. We’re trying to fit in where we belong. When you come to Tweens, you have found a wonderful group of kids that share a lot in common. These kids can talk to one another about their day at school or just about anything. Our group discussions are about what ever topic of the day the kids come up with. The conversations are monitored and kept appropriate.
To be part of Tweens group you don’t have to go to Shepherd of the Coast School. You just have to be in grades third through fifth. We meet the first and third Wednesday of the month. Our times are 3:15pm-4:30pm. We spend our first fifteen minutes doing a Bible Devotion. We usually have snacks and we have an awesome game room complete with pin ball. You can spend some time working on your homework if you would like to.
I would like to wrap this up by saying again that we are very happy to have the Tweens group at Shepherd of the Coast! We are even happier to report that this is a growing group of kids that really enjoy meeting and just having hang out time with their friends. Questions… email bsorren@shepherdofthecoast.org.
Children’s Ministry
Here at Shepherd of the Coast we have a wonderful Children’s Ministry Program. Every Sunday during the 9:30am service we have two Sunday School Classes going on. The first one is for children three years old through first grade. The second class is geared for children second grade through fifth grade. Your children are always welcome to join us during the Sunday school hour.
Our next service that is geared for children takes place during the 11:00AM service. This is our very own Kids Church. We have a set up similar to real church. We use bulletins, we light candles, we have music and yes we even sing a song or two. Kids Church is available for children as young as three up to fifth grade.
If you have children younger than three years old, we have a staffed nursery available for you during the 9:30am and 11:00am service.
Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran School
On August 20th we began our fifth year as Shepherd of the Coast. Tropical Storm Fay delayed our first day of school until Wednesday, but we were blessed to avoid any damage or loss of power.
We began this school year by reminding ourselves of our roots in Hope, Grace, and Peace Lutheran Schools. All the music, athletic, and academic award plaques from Hope are proudly displayed in the second floor hall of the education wing. The trophies and plaques from Peace are on both floors, as are the Shepherd of the Coast awards. (Since Grace operated a Learning Center, they didn’t enter many basketball tournaments.)
We were blessed with a legacy gift last year and that enabled us to begin this year with a “new” computer lab. All the work stations are new and our network has been enhanced to provide better security. The “old” lab computers continue to be used in the classrooms.
We are again facilitating a dual enrollment with Broward Virtual School for our middle school students. This is enabling some of our 8th graders to take high school algebra and receive high school credit. It also has enabled us to offer a more in depth Spanish class for all of our middle school students.
The best part of our school is our teachers. Shepherd of the Coast is blessed to have an excellent staff:
Kindergarten: Mrs. Soni Gorwood
Grades 1 & 2: Mrs. Sharon Utech
Grades 3 & 4: Miss Carisa Meier
Grades 5 & 6: Mrs. Rose Doctor
Grades 7 & 8: Mr. Ralph Utech
Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Laurie Lumex
In Christ,
Daniel P. Czaplewski, Principal
Looking for a way to help the sick?
Well then you’re in luck! CAPS FOR CANCER is collecting any new baseball caps or scarves. They will then be donated to the cancer patients at St. Jude children’s Hospital or Joe DiMaggio children’s hospital. Please bring your donations to the front office, or the Pastor.
Items Needed for Haiti
Cross International is undertaking a special church-to-church relief effort to help the poor in Gonaives – one of the areas of Haiti hardest hit by three recent hurricanes. Gonaives, the third largest city in Haiti, has become a virtual lake of muddy, contaminated water and flooding conditions are expected to persist for weeks with months of back-breaking cleanup to follow. Local pastors, including Pastor Revenel Benoit (of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti) in the area are doing everything they can to relocate the poor into shelters and makeshift communities, but they have asked for our help to supply both urgent aid and long-term resources. To meet this need, Cross is mobilizing local churches to collect both cash for immediate needs and food/resources for the weeks and months to come. We will be collecting these items at Shepherd of the Coast over the coming weeks and taking them to the drop off point for shipment by Cross International to Haiti.
Needed Items:
New tarps, ropes
Cooking pots
Utensils
Towels, blankets
Bottled water by case (12/24 per case)
Cleaning products
Canned food/ flip open tops
Canned pasta meals
Garbage liners
Shovels
Buckets
Rice, beans in 10-20 lb bags
Cooking oil
Peanut butter
Batteries, flashlights, matches
Gauze, Neosporin
Gauze bandages
Feminine sanitary products
1-gal ziplock bags of Personal Hygiene Kits
filled with:
Bar soap
Tooth brush, tooth paste
Washcloth
Neosporin
Band Aids
Items to assemble kits or complete kits can be brought to school or you can bring complete kits.
Thank you so much for your support! On Monday, September 22, we filled a truck with hygiene kits and food items and delivered them to Cross International. Your donations are still needed to help the people of Haiti. Please continue to bring them to the church.
News from the Learning Center
Our new school year is going very well for us. As you may already know, we start accepting children as young as six weeks old through age four. In our learning center we have a total of seventy two children.
What a blessing from God and an opportunity for Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran to share God’s word to our families. This is done on a daily basis. At some point every day, every one of us has an opportunity to share God’s love, and talk about God. This is even true when it comes to our infants. Now, you may wonder how the infant caregivers share the word of God to babies. We do this by singing Christian songs and reading little books to the infants about Jesus. In our other classrooms we have a “Jesus Time” everyday with the children. We also have Chapel Day every Wednesday for our three and four year olds. We would like to extend an invitation to you, our church family, to join us on any Wednesday morning at 9:30am. This would give you an opportunity to see our children interact with God’s word that is shared with them by one of our pastors. The children also sing songs during chapel time.
Most of our classrooms are filled. However, we will have spaces available in our infants, toddlers and VPK classrooms. If you know of anyone that may be looking for a Christian center for their child, please tell them about us.
VPK stands for Voluntary PreKindregarten. This is a free program designed for four year olds. The class instruction time is 8:30am – 11:30am, Monday through Friday. We do offer added care for $4.00 per hour. Stop in the office for more information or email bsorren@shepherdofthecoast.org .
God’s Blessings,
Brenda Sorren
Learning Center Director
Christmas Pageant Tickets on Sale
We have a limited number of tickets for the First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant for Saturday, Dec 13th at 7:30 pm. The cost is $38 each. Sign-up clip board is in the lobby. Make your check out to: Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church and place it in the box on the table in the lobby.
WOW!
Women of the Word
Women Of the Word offers a Wonderful Opportunity in God’s Word. It is a group of women who love scripture and enjoy studying it in a warm friendly atmosphere. WOW meets on the third Tuesday of the month at the Barcelona Club House in Pompano Beach. Call Marilyn Sagehorn at 954-972-9498 for details.
LWML News
Ladies, you are invited to join the next meeting of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) on Saturday, October 11 at 10 am in the fellowship hall. Please come for food, fellowship, and mission outreach opportunities!
52 Years of Hope DVD
In an effort to preserve and share the heritage of Hope Lutheran Church and School, we have developed a DVD presentation of photographs that chronicle 50 years of fellowship, growth and experiences. The first draft was previewed at the last event held at Hope Lutheran and contains images of our legacy from the very beginning in 1956 through the final service offered on August 17, 2008. It is a moving tribute to the accomplishments of our congregation throughout the generations that have worshiped together at Hope.
As we embrace our future in God’s will, it is truly a blessing to remember how much we’ve shared in the events and successes of the past and fondly remember all that has enriched our lives and brought us to where we are today. If you have any photo’s past or present of particular interest that you would like to be considered for this presentation, please send a description of the item to Shepherd of the Coast church office, Att: DVD Committee. We will be offering the final edition DVD to anyone who wants a copy by simply letting us know. There is a suggested donation of $5.00, if you would like to include it with your request. We are expecting to have the DVD available by early November, so don’t hesitate if you have submissions you would like considered.
Community Events
In going forward there are a number of social ministries that the members of Hope have traditionally offered to our community and families during the “holiday” time of year. They include a congregation Thanksgiving Dinner, a turkey dinner and kits of personal care items for the less advantage at St Laurence Chapel in Pompano Beach, and the angel tree ministry that includes children and the men and women of our Armed services. If you are interested in attending to or helping with any of these good works please let us know by contacting the church office or return the “Here’s Where I Fit In” form in this newsletter. It won’t be long and the Holy Days will be upon us, so let’s get started with a social ministry task committee. We would like to create plans and set dates as soon as possible and could sure use your help.
Finally, with all the devastation that has occurred, and storm season isn’t over yet, we would like to offer a fund raiser for relief pick up Barbeque. We will offer Home style pulled pork with bbq sauce, Whole Roasted Chicken and side dishes of coleslaw, corn, baked beans or sweet potato for pick up on Sunday, October 5. Take them home, heat and serve. We would like to receive the orders in advance to have them ready for October 5. Please look for the order form in this newsletter or in the church lobby and return it before Friday, October 3. Then take Sunday off and let us do the cooking, it’ll help many left with little in the wake of the storms.
“Take Sunday Off and Let us do the Cooking” order form
Pick up on Sunday, October 5, 2008
Please place your order in advance or no later than Friday, October 3.
Return form to the office.
Name: _____________________________ Phone: ________________________
Number x $ = Amount Due
Roasted Whole Chicken (serves 2) $ 6.00 ____$6.00
Pulled Pork (1 pint serves 2) $6.00 _________$6.00
Coleslaw (1 pint serves 2) $2.50 ___________$2.50
Corn (1 pint serves 2) $2.50 ___________ __$2.50
Baked Beans (1 pint serves 2) $2.50 ________$2.50
Sweet Potatoes (1 pint serves 2) $2.50 ______$2.50
Cash or check accepted
Make your check out to Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church
WayFest 2008 (10th Anniversary)
This year is the 10th anniversary of WayFest (formerly called "Boonaducious")
The event will be at the Cruzan Amphitheatre (formerly Sound Advice in West Palm) on Saturday, Nov 15th, gates open at 2pm and ends at approx 11:30pm. We normally get lawn tickets because we can spread out comfortably (the reserved seating is cramped and cost more). Cost is $25 per person general admission.
There will be a “Kid Zone” with rides and games, also various Christian vendors, as well as a great booth which addresses all aspects of CREATION vs Evolution. Every year that we have attended there has been a great experience and attendees range from 0yrs --- 90+++yrs. It really is a great time of fellowship and connection for all.
“I eagerly look forward to this event and hope all who are able will go!!!!” Jacqui Rivera
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Shepherd of the Coast Shirts on sale - Last day to order October19, 2008
Cash or check accepted, make your check out to Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church
Name: __________________________
Phone: __________________________
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Long Sleeve Van Heusen Dress Shirt $25.50
(Size: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large)
(Colors: White, Blue, English Blue)
Short Sleeve Van Heusen Dress Shirt $23.00
(Size: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large)
(Colors: White, Blue)
Denim Shirts $17.50
(Size: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large)
(Long or Short Sleeve)
Polo Shirts $12.50
(Size: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large)
(Colors: White, Blue, Green, Red, Blue)
October Celebrations
Birthday
1 Hildegard Brenner
Natalie Hallasey
Roberta Murphy
David Thompson
Ralph Utech
5 Marilyn Dean
Virona Hardison
Taylor Montgomery
6 Nova Lishon-Savarino
7 Karen Grego
10 John Chaperon
12 Carolyn Atchison
William Ferwerda
13 James Anderson
James Hoy
17 Anita Hampel
18 Anne Russel
19 Frances Anderson
Ryan Barrett
Harvey Zimmer
21 Blair Cochrane
27 Connor Black
Virginia Lehr
30 David Maltrotti
31 Mary Ellen Dobson
Pamela Jo Pierce
Mark Rasor
Anniversary
5 Frank and Sonja Earle
9 Orville and Ruth Thaler
10 Felice and Barbara Criscuoli
12 John and Judy Hill
13 Robert and Brenda Sorren
15 Robert and Mildred Welky