October Witness- Newsletter
Dear Wittenberg, It was my honor and delight to get to deliver Meals-on-Wheels this week as a part of Wittenberg’s service to that agency. (Thanks to Linda Trier, Nancy Trexler, and Sandra Phillips who also delivered this week, and to Joy Fisher for keeping us all coordinated all year long!) You may not know that I worked as the route coordinator for Meals-on-Wheels in Forsyth County for several years; this work is precious and was formative to my understanding of our call as people to reach out with mercy and grace to all of God’s children. My Meals-on-Wheels experience and Pam’s contribution have led me to listen again to something the Holy Spirit has been nudging me towards here at Wittenberg. While I continue to visit with folks who are not able to attend worship and people facing illnesses and hardships, almost every visit my host will express that they miss their friends at Wittenberg. If you are willing and able to visit our homebound members I hope you will take the time to do so. If you would like to learn more about visiting and maybe go together, let me know! As our MOW volunteers know, it’s always easier and more fun to do this type of work together. ………………………………………………………………………………………… You may have heard about our new Purpose Statement: God’s creation participating in nurturing the Savior’s community. This statement was a product of our conversation with Pr. Danielle DeNise about our mission and vision as a church. The congregation was invited to participate in this conversation this summer through announcements in church, the Sunday email, and in the newsletter. About 10 people came to identify core values, descriptors, and hopes for Wittenberg. A small group formed to write a purpose statement: Cat Honeycut, Jerry Trier, and Jennifer Welch. The Council received and approved this statement in August. God’s creation participating in nurturing the Savior’s community is both a true statement today and a continued guide for our work as a church. As Cat deftly explained in a children’s sermon a few weeks ago, this is our aim as a church. To participate in, and nurture God’s community. Whenever we make plans for our time, talents, or possessions this statement can serve as a guide to answer the question: Are we participating? Nurturing? Are we serving our neighbor in love? There are so many ways we can participate in and nurture Christ’s community. On September 23rd we hosted a Car Seat Safety Check at the church! On Monday, October 2nd we will host a community education event about the opioid crisis in Rowan County. On October 8th we will invite our neighbors of all kinds to a Blessing of the Animals. The opportunities to BE the church at Wittenberg are enormous. What blessings we have to share! Peace to you all, Pastor Heather |
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A friend of Pam Crowell's wrote this article and she wanted to share it with the Wittenberg Family. “From Where I Sit…” by Dr. David Sutton A recent report from the Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, caught my attention. He said that there's an epidemic of loneliness in the United States and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death of levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General. The report is titled "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation" and finds that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. And it warns that the physical consequences of poor connection can be devasting, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease; a 32% increased risk of stroke; and 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults. Yikes! Murthy says that "It's hard to put a price tag on the amount of human suffering that people are experiencing right now. He went on to say this: "In the last few decades, we've just lived through a dramatic pace of change. We move more, we change jobs more often, we're living with technology that has profoundly changed how we interact with each other and how we talk to each other. And you can feel lonely even if you have a lot of people around you, because loneliness is about the quality of your connections." In a letter accompanying the report, Murthy calls on Americans to take these trends seriously and to do what they can to reverse them. By focusing on building meaningful relationships, we can tap into a hidden source of healing, he writes. "Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful." Murthy writes. I confess my prejudice, but I think the answer is the church. If you have yet to find a way to connect in the body of Christ in your own church, please reach out to your neighbors or in your community setting. If you're missing seeing somebody in worship, give them a call and say, "I've missed you." If you have an idea for a way to help increase connections between people, please speak up to those around you and/or involve your pastor to hear your thoughts. And remember, you may not have ever known loneliness but there are those around you that have....and maybe do even now....and you can make a difference with really simple acts. While loneliness is not a pandemic status like COVlD, it's an issue to which we should attend and which we should take seriously as we seek to be faithful in our service to Christ. Not to sound all preacher-y but as I write this article, I kept thinking about this verse from 1 Corinthians 12:25 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it, I encourage you to pay attention to each other.....when you ask how someone is doing, really listen to the answer. Pay attention to who's here and who's not here and reach out with a note or a call. Let's try to keep the loneliness epidemic at bay among us. And that’s the view from where I sit. Meals on Wheels-Witness October 2023 Much appreciation to our first time MOW volunteers – Heather Bachelder and Linda Trier. Now that the initiation phase is complete, we look forward to having you deliver in 2024. Also, many thanks to Sandra Phillips and Nancy Trexler who also helped deliver in September. For October/November, the delivery team is: October 30-November 3 Kim and Jody Shuping
We hold in prayer... Our Members: Phyllis Fisher, Renee Wiles, Bill and Kim Fraley, Ed and Faye Harper, John Fisher, Nancy Hylick, Mildred Peeler Grieving Families of: Dwayne Earnhardt, Terry Hahn, Hugh William Bost, Jackie Elliot, Gene Miller, Wesley Lyerly, Barbara Rimer Lewis, Gary A. Goodman, Active Duty: J-Hylton Tucker, Dominic Minor, Noah Wiles, J. Michael Shuping, Adam McCombs, Daniel S. McDonald, Toler Alexander, Bitt Bryant, Jake Earnhardt, Bobby Wheeler Deployed Military: Dorian Pine, Dakota Mace, Isaac Jones, Anthony Burton, Brandon Smith We hold always in prayer the victims of gun violence, chronic and acute illness, mental health struggles, our partner agencies in mercy and assistance to our neighbors and all those who we lift to God’s care in our hearts or aloud. September Birthdays and Celebrations! 02 Avery Carman 06 Adriane Morris 08 Jean Stirewalt 10 John Fisher 14 Kevin Kisamore 14 Patrick Honeycutt 15 Brent Hartman 17 Clay Stirewalt 18 Ronald Ralston 20 Sue Lyerly 29 P.H. McKinney 29 Cody Gasque 30 Melena Ketner 31 Jacob Rowell |
Wittenberg Lutheran Church 114 West Bank St. GQ P.O. Box 345 Granite Quarry, NC 28072 704-279-4505 www.wittenberglc.org |
Wittenberg Lutheran Church
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This month at Wittenberg is all about the Book of James. This short New Testament book is a public epistle, meaning that it is addressed to a general audience, like us! This book offers wisdom for living a life as a Jesus-follower. While Luther called this book the “straw epistle,” it is an excellent example of how the Law and Gospel work together to guide and inspire us. September’s sermons will focus on the Book of James all through September and we will begin a study of James on September...
Dear Wittenberg Community, August is a time of preparation for many of us. Even for those of us who are far away from the practicalities of an academic year, August and September still feel like a new beginning in many ways. Maybe I’m in “back to school” mode as well because I thought this fall might be a good time to talk about some parts of our worship service. One way that we prepare for our worship services both seasonally and each week is with the Prayers of Intercession. These prayers...
Hey Congregation, don’t forget our Back to School Bash! You can help out by donating the items found on the flyer and/or volunteer to help before and on the August 3rd distribution day. Sign up on the clip board found on the display at church or call Linda Trier at 757-899-0503. Thank you! Our prayers and "good goodbye" are with Jane Faggart as she continues her journey of faith at Cross of Christ Lutheran in Concord. All our classes are FULL for 2024-2025. We are super excited. Since we...