The Messenger February, 2022 - Faith Lutheran Church
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Faith Lutheran Church
The Messenger
February, 2022
In this issue:
Page 2: VBS, HFAS, Faith Formation, Confirmation
Page 3: Sundays in February
Page 4: Louise Heiss, Bible Study
Page 5: Life Together at Faith
We Give Thanks for Our Common Life
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor and martyr, wrote that “the church is not a human dream but rather
a divine reality.” He meant we shouldn’t judge the church by our own ideals and wishes—it will always
fall short. Instead, we should see the church, with all its faults and frailty as God’s presence—Christ’s
Body—in the world.
Last Sunday (January 23) we celebrated our expression of Christ’s body, Faith Lutheran, in our Annual
Congregational Meeting and Celebration. You can find a copy of all the church’s actions and reports here.
You can see a slide show of the highlights of 2021 on our Facebook page. Even in these tough days we
have much for which to be thankful.
Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic church. Fill it with all truth and peace. Where it is cor-
rupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it ; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right,
strengthen it; where it is in need, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus
Christ, you Son, our Lord. Amen.
The Messenger February, 2022 1
Harstad Fine Arts Series presents a concert featur-
ing Sephardic music on Medieval and Renaissance
instruments, featuring University of Kentucky
guitar faculty, Dieter Hennings. Sunday, February
6, 2022, 4:00 PM at Faith. Tickets are available at
www.harstadarts.com.
Faith Formation Opportunities
Summer, 2022
By Val Dutcher Godly Play
From the Congregational Survey responses and We are now offering Go d ly Play Sundays on
the Focus Group meetings, I clearly saw and Zoom from 10:00 until 10:30 AM.
heard our congregation’s concern about a need Confirmation Class
for Faith Lutheran to focus on attracting and re- Confirmation Class, grades 6-8, meets regularly,
taining youth and families. and participants are informed of scheduling.
Our recently completed Pastoral Profile states the
Tuesday Bible Study
following: “As we move forward with a new
shepherd, our immediate goal is to collectively The Tuesday Bible Study meets at 11:00 AM via
work toward unifying our congregation, fol- Zoom. (See page 4.)
lowed by working together to increase our mem-
bership, specifically the demographics of young- Pray for Our Confirmation Class
er families and youth.”
With all that said, I am ready to step forward and
commit myself (100%) to launching and oversee-
ing Faith Lutheran’s plans for Vacation Bible
School this coming summer. But I will need the
congregation’s help, support, and prayers. (“It
takes a village!”)
Please join me for an initial VBS Planning Meet-
ing on Thursday, February 3, at 7:00 PM via
Zoom. I will have an outline of decisions that
need to be made, research I’ve done thus far, and Maybe it’s been a while since you were con-
I would appreciate getting input and feedback on firmed. This year five of our young people gather
key areas (dates, times, meals, theme, curricu- for monthly classes. In earlier classes we dis-
lum, content) so that we can move forward. cussed what it means to “belong” and how we
If you can attend, please e-mail me at valjdutch- belong to God and can belong to the Church; we
er@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. explored the Ten Commandments and the Apos-
(continued on page 3)
The Messenger February, 2022 2
tles Creed—God’s guidance for the world; we Sundays in February
looked at the many things Advent and Christ-
Our Sunday lessons in February will tell us of the
mas tell us about God’s love for us.
calling of the great prophets Jerimiah and Isai-
Here is what we learned last week:
ah. We will hear of Moses bringing God’s law to
There are many ways the church is involved in the people.
our society as a witness to God’s ways. Since we
We will continue in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians,
were just past the MLK holiday, Dr. King was
hearing our hope in Christ’s resurrection.
our example. I reminded them that all his work
was motivated by his faith and his role as a pas- In our Gospels Jesus joins his disciples in their live-
tor. We looked at other movements that in- lihood as fishermen; he teaches us about true hap-
volved faith leaders—abolition, freedom of reli- piness in the beatitudes; he challenges us to turn
gion, women’s movement, LGBT rights, the pro- the other cheek and walk the extra mile; he reveals
tection of children, the provision of healthcare. to three disciples the wonder of his true identity.
We learned ways Faith Church addresses Join us to read, mark, and inwardly digest God’s
these: Mission Health Lexington, God’s Pantry Holy Scripture.
Food Bank, Blessings in a Backpack, participa-
tion in past MLK and Pride events.
I asked what issues faith could address and the
class pointed out bullying, substance abuse, gun
violence and poverty.
We saw a brief video on refugees in the Bible
(Israelites from Egypt, Jesus as a baby, Adam
and Eve from the garden) and church ministry
to refugees. We learned Micah 6:8: the Lord re-
quires us to “do justice, love kindness and walk
humbly before God;” and Matthew 25:31-46:
serving Jesus by feeding the hungry, giving wa-
ter to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the
sick and the prisoner, serving the “least of
these.”
Pray for these young people who are exploring
affirming their faith.
The Messenger February, 2022 3
times. The people of Faith have mentored me and helped
Louise Heiss, 1931-2021 me grow in God’s grace. I am the most fortunate of peo-
ple. I have experienced so much love.
Into your hands O merciful Savior, we commend
your servant Louise. Acknowledge, we humbly be-
seech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your
own flock, a sinner of our own redeeming. Receive
her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed
rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious com-
pany of the saints of light. Amen.
Tuesday Bible Study
Each Tuesday morning from 11 AM to noon, a
number of Faith members join for Zoom Bible
Study.
On February 1 they begin a new book: the Gospel
of Mathew. This gospel contains many riches: the
We are grateful for the generosity and care of the
Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's
church and its members who contributed to the
prayer, the great judgment (meeting Christ in the
burial expense of Ms. Louise Heiss. We are also
least of humanity).
grateful to the people of Temple Adath Israel
(Rabbi David Wirtschafter), which made a signifi- You're invited to join this group Tuesdays
cant gift. This is the congregation of one of at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82366441404?
Louise’s daughters. pwd=QUE3dnR0eE9RNlJOcURiSDg2MmJ4Zz09
Louise was laid to rest and committed to the care Learn more about the Gospel of Matthew with this
of God on January 27, 2022, accompanied by the introduction from "The Bible Project". https://
love and prayers of the church. She is buried next www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dv4-n6OYGI .
to Howard, her husband of 50 years. She is sur-
vived by two daughters and many grandchil-
dren.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Louise was a member
of Faith for 66 years, having joined with her fami-
ly in 1955. She served as a greeter for many
years. She may have been the first face many of
you saw when you first came to Faith. The fol-
lowing are Louise’s words, taken from her
written service arrangements:
“To me to live is Christ; to die, but gain.” These words
of Paul’s say it all. The wonderful family of Faith Lu-
theran Church has been so important in my life. There
were so many through the years who helped me
through difficult times and rejoiced with me in good
The Messenger February, 2022 4
Life Together at Faith
3 Helen Born 8 Daniel & Sue Anne
Bonnie Chastain Lau
8 Henry Coleman 16 Joyce & Ford Cornett
Susan Hamilton Charlie & Susan
11 Bert Grotrian Hamilton
14 Aja Hammonds
15 Paige Barricklow
16 Henry Kurth
17 Debbie Anderson
Anna Shannon
21 Leah Hower
22 Gena Cooper
Kay Cottrill
24 Hannah Williams
25 Ole Wendroth
27 Patty Slevin
28 Scott Wilson If your birthday or anniver-
sary does not appear here,
please let the church office
know. We never intention-
ally leave anyone out!
December Financial Summary
Dec 2021
Actual Total Actual Total
Total In-
Total Income Total Expense Income Less Total Ex- Income Less
come -
- Month - Month Actual Total pense - YTD Actual Total
YTD
Expense Expense
$ $
Budget Forecast $27,982.00 $31,126.42 3,145.00 $335,784.00 $373,517.00 37,740.00
Actual $50,149.03 $32,016.79 $18,132.24 $389,672.28 $305,550.79 $84,121.49
$121,861.4 Represents
Variance $22,167.03 $890.37 $21,277.24 $53,888.28 ($67,966.21) 9 Budgeted
% 179.2% 102.9% 116.0% 81.8% Carryover
The Messenger February, 2022 5
Faith Lutheran Church
1000 Tates Creek Drive
Sunday Worship Schedule
Lexington, KY 40502
In-Person Worship 8:30 and 11:00 AM
Phone: 859-266-7621
Fax: 859-266-9600
Email: Online Streaming, 11:00 AM
office@faithlutheranchurch.com
Staff
Church Council 2021
Reverend Doug Hahn, Interim Pastor
Richard Heine, President
859-266-7621
Gayle McGrath, Vice President pastordoug@faithlutheranchurch.com
Sherri Greer, Secretary Kathy Egner, Parish Administrator
Debbie Rosenberg, Treasurer office@faithlutheranchurch.com
Jonathan Delap 859-266-7621
Office hours: Mon-Thurs 9:00-3:00; Fri. 9:00-12:00
Carolyn Holmes
Neil McComb, Sexton
JoEllen McComb
859-229-8834
David Templar
Charla Heersche, Learning Center Director
Reverend Doug Hahn, Interim
fllc859@gmail.com
Pastor
859-268-0108
Financial Secretary
Lexington, KY 40502
1000 Tates Creek Road
Faith Lutheran Church
The Messenger February, 2022 6
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