From the Outreach Committee, Volunteers Pam Boothe and Donna Wright

Easter Food Baskets…As we still do not have an Outreach Committee Chairperson, Pam Boothe and Donna Wright have volunteered to lead the Easter Food Basket collection, which began on Sunday, February 25.  The last day to bring in items will be Sunday, March 17.  A chart will be in the hallway for items to bring.  If you know anyone in the church or anyone in the community in need, please call or email the Parish Office (330-856-5302 or [email protected]) to order your food basket by Friday, March 8.  We will pack and distribute the baskets on Sunday, March 24, immediately after the worship service.  No deliveries.  There will be envelopes for monetary donations at the food chart in the hallway.  Please mark “Easter Food Baskets” in the memo portion of your check made payable to Living Lord Lutheran Church.  You may also place your check in the collection plate.  If you have any questions, please contact the Parish Office.

From the Worship Committee Chairperson, Nancy Walters

Soup Suppers & Lent Midweek Services…We are hosting Soup Suppers with Lent Midweek Services every Wednesday during Lent at 5:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.

 

Lent Boxes…Please return your Lent Boxes on Palm Sunday, March 24.  Contributions will go to Camp Frederick’s Grief Camp.

 

Holy Week Schedule
Sun., March 24 – Palm Sunday Service at 9:30 am/Return Lent Boxes
Thurs., March 28 – Maundy Thursday Service at 4:00 pm
Fri., March 29 – Good Friday Service at 4:00 pm
Sun., March 31 – Easter Sunday Service at 9:30 am

From the President, Bob McKinney

I am still having trouble remembering to write the new year 2024 on stuff that I write.  Well, we are starting a new year at Living Lord Lutheran Church.  Your Council and I are ready to make this a great and fulfilling year.  We hope to have a new pastor soon and will be working together on many ways of bringing in new members!  We will start that process by having a Council Retreat in February to bounce ideas off each other for that purpose.  I hope to be working with our Property Committee to suggest items around the church that need to be addressed in the new year, as well as all other Committee Chairpersons to continue our outreach into our community.  I know I have said this before, but our church does a good job, with limited resources, to be as active as we are.  If any member has any comments, suggestions, or concerns, please let me or any Council member know as we want your feedback.  May your New Year be a happy and healthy one and may God bless you and your family.

 

Church Information…Please remember that you can obtain church information from the monthly Lamplighter Newsletter, the Constant Contact emails you receive, on the church website (www.lllc.org), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Living-Lord-Lutheran-Church-493806727349110/), and postings on the church bulletin board.  Church Council Meeting minutes are posted on the bulletin board and sent out via Constant Contact.  We would like to see a better “open rate” when we send information to you via Constant Contact so that we know you are being informed of the activities that are occurring at the church.  If you have any other suggestions on how best to reach out to our parishioners, please see a Council member.

From the Fellowship Committee Chairperson, Pam Gerbetz

We are looking forward to our Soup Suppers each Wednesday during Lent.  Please sign up to bring a soup and join us for a bowl and a short message from our pastor.  February 18 is our regular Fellowship Sunday.  I am recuperating, but my team is on duty so please plan on joining us after worship service for coffee and a treat or two.  I wish to thank all donors, helpers, bakers, husbands, and friends for their support as I start my second year as Fellowship Chairperson.  It has been my pleasure to serve my church and my God.  I will be back on duty soon with everyone’s prayers.  Thank you.

 

Monthly Women’s Breakfast…Please join us at our monthly breakfast at Vasilio’s in Cortland on the second Thursday (Feb. 8) of every month at 10:00 am.  All are welcome!

From the In-Reach Committee Chairperson, Bonnie Sanzenbacher

First of all, I would like to wish all the members of Living Lord Lutheran Church a very Happy, Healthy, and Successful New Year.  Second, I would like to thank my Committee members for their helping hands during the past year:  Karen Bandy, Rose Baringer, and Jean Pfleiderer.  You certainly made my job easy!  Third, and most important to share, in December the Committee decided to give homemade cookies to our homebound members, along with a Christmas card signed by members of the congregation.  Our volunteer cookie bakers were Karen Bandy, Rose Baringer, Audrey John, Jean Pfleiderer,  Rita Tewksbary, Barb Wright, and me.  Cookie containers and postage stamps were purchased from a monetary donation given by Sue Armstrong and Christmas cards were donated by Kitty Thompson.  The containers of cookies, along with a card addressed to each of the homebound members, were placed on the narthex table on December 10 in hopes that a church member would take and deliver a container during the week.  Mike and Chris Kowach, Don and Patty Smith, Kitty Thompson, Rich and Rose Baringer, Tom Lauka, and Barb Wright all volunteered to complete the delivery.  The goal of spreading Christmas joy to our homebound members was reached and I want to sincerely thank all those named above for your time and especially for your caring concern for our homebound members.

 

Prayer Chain…The Prayer Chain of Living Lord Lutheran Church includes seven volunteer members.  A Prayer Chain is simply a request that people join in prayer for others which deepens the power of prayer.  If you would like to pray for others in our congregation and community who are ill, hospitalized, homebound, or have health issues, please contact Bonnie Sanzenbacher at 330-372-5103 for more information.  The group could always use another “link”.  The group includes:  Camille Allen, Karen Bandy, Pam Boothe, Karin McKinney, Kitty Thompson, and Rosemarie Zavatsky.

 

From Interim Pastor Michael Meranda

This is the final article I will write for your “Lamp Lighter”.  Two simple words express my feelings:  Thank You.  You welcomed me as your interim pastor in June 2022.  Not only did you welcome me, you also welcomed my wife, Mary.  That double welcome was especially appreciated.  She and I had to navigate together this stage of life, 42 years after I was ordained, called “retirement”.  For decades we were an intimate part of a community of faith.  Suddenly that ended.  Thanks to you, and to our Northeast Ohio Synod, we were able to share the Word and Sacrament with you these recent 18 months.

Right away we appreciated the hospitality of your personalities.  You were welcoming and shared a great sense of humor.  It was easy to fit in and enjoy your traditions at Living Lord.  I have commented several times on how much we appreciated the accessibility of your building.  The rooms and grounds were always well kept and maintained.  Your worship space was so very comfortable with cushioned pews and air conditioning.  Your staff and council and committees always generated positive encounters.

There is good precedent for ending with this thank you.  That is how Luther would have us end and begin each day.  Luther’s Evening Prayer begins, “I give THANKS to you, Heavenly Father, that you have graciously protected me this day.”  Luther’s Morning Prayer begins, “I give THANKS to you, Heavenly Father, that you have protected me through the night.”  In Luther’s spiritual practice, the day is bookended with thankfulness.  We begin with thanks.  We end with thanks.  A sense of gratitude propels us into the day.  A feeling of gratitude helps us get a good rest at night.

So, I was grateful to be received as your interim in 2022.  I am grateful to you for all we experienced together the past year and a half.  Gratitude punctuates our experience.  Gratitude propels us into the next stage of life.

Thank you so much!
Interim Pastor Michael Meranda

From the President, Bob McKinney

Annual Congregation Meeting…We will hold our Annual Congregation Meeting on Sunday, January 28, following the worship service at 10:30 am.  Please plan on joining us for this very important meeting.

 

Church Information…Please remember that you can obtain church information from the monthly Lamplighter Newsletter, the Constant Contact emails you receive, on the church website (www.lllc.org), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Living-Lord-Lutheran-Church-493806727349110/), and postings on the church bulletin board.  Church Council Meeting minutes are posted on the bulletin board and sent out via Constant Contact.  We would like to see a better “open rate” when we send information to you via Constant Contact so that we know you are being informed of the activities that are occurring at the church.  If you have any other suggestions on how best to reach out to our parishioners, please see a Council member.