It’s kind of a sad day for me. On July 2, 2016, Garrison Keillor will offer his last radio program. I have “grown up” listening to his stories of Lake Wobegone, Minnesota, as if they were from my own “yester year.” I will miss him, even though his stories and books will continue to be heard through re-prints, syndication, etc.

And, being the Fourth of July week-end when you will probably read this, I invite you to go to You Tube and type in “The Living Flag” by Garri-son Keillor, and, listen to the story of long ago when a travelling cap sales-man came through Lake Wobegon. It’s almost as famous as his “Pontoon Boat” story about 23 heavy-set Lutheran pas-tors dressed in earth tones and making good eye contact with one another…” It’s one of his funniest stories of all time—but, I digress.

I’m thinking about our flag, and, about our country.

We’re in a mess. That’s a personal opinion, please understand that. I’m not much of a political scientist, and much less a good interpreter of the “going’s on” of government these days. I’m sorrowful for the violence and terror that still runs rampant in our land. But through all of this, I think about our flag.

I don’t personally like for our flag to change color. I understand to change it with rainbow colors, etc. signifies a statement of love and support for cer-

tain folks of our nation; but I think the colors originally chosen represent us all.

Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress gave this expla-nation:

The colors of the white stripes signify “purity and innocence.”

The colors of the red stripes signify “hardiness and valor.”

The color of blue signifies “vigilance, perseverance, and justice.”

No one person or nation is perfect. We cannot always follow every challenging call to service and care for others completely or flawlessly. These colors (that wave in war and also when at peace) encourage me to strive to help the innocent, persevere

for justice for all people, and stand firm for the freedoms that all people shall have when living on American soil, and beyond. Those colors serve as well as any other color we might wish to make our flag.

God bless you all in your living out your faith in God and your dedication to our country. But remember that the colors of our flag should be a con-stant reminder of the need to love our neighbors no matter the color of their skin, choice of nationality, faith, or lifestyle.

A God bless you all, and God bless America!

Pastor Jim

July, 2016

Summer Worship Schedule

9:30 am-Traditional Worship

10:45 am-Heartsong Contemp.

Staff

Pastor Jim Nipper, Senior Pastor

Pastor Ed Myers, Associate Pastor

Carolynn Bailey, Music Director

Melissa Malenda, Parish Nurse

Cindy Watkins, Office Admin.

Tony Mowell, Heartsong Leader

Council and Officers

Mitch King, President

Sean Golden, Vice President

Patty Wessner, Secretary

Richard Koepper, Treasurer

Curtis Van Hooser, Fin. Secretary

Marcy Aaroen, Christian Ed.

Sean Golden, Seeking

Brenda Whitson, Outreach

Tedd Stephens, Property

Jay Stafford, Finance

Nancy Shilling, Social Ministry

Kathy Robinson, Worship/Music

Tom Marshall, Shepherds

Kathy Leonard, Youth Ministry

Lewis Wessner, Youth

Our Saviour Lutheran Church

212 Sunset Drive

Johnson City, TN 37604

423-282-2313

Email:

Web: www.oslc2.cc

News articles are due by July 18 to appear in August’s NewSense.

Fa ith

Council

Highlights

June 6, 2016

Pastor Jim offered opening devotions.

Discussed upcoming events such as Melting Pot

(June 8); VBS (June 12-16); Blood Drive (June

15); WELCA Events: Picnic (June 22) and Re-

treat (July 9); Next Council Meeting (July 11,

with Kathy Leonard to do devotions.

Thanks were offered to many people: please

see the “Thank you to..” page in this newsletter.

Approved minutes from Council meeting and

committee reports.

Approved that recent “local benevolence” will

be given to “Family Promise.”

Approved to change Continuing Resolution

C1202.A08 to read “Stewardship” instead of

“Gathering.” We will follow the proper chan-

nels to change in the Constitution and By-Laws

all of the names of the committees back to their

original names (i.e. “Praising Ministry” back to

“Worship & Music”).

As a part of these changes, Council is seeking a

person to become the Stewardship Council

Representative, to begin upon approval by

Council. (If the congregation has any sugges-

tions for who this could be, contact the Pastors or

anyone on Council.)

The new “One Call” contact system has been

used at least once and was successful. The old

“Phone Tree” has been replaced by this new,

more efficient system.

Approved for Property Committee to pursue an

architect to draw up plans for a potential new

entrance to the back of the church as well as

new designs for the old bathrooms on fellow-

ship hall and new bathrooms for the nursery.

Cost not to exceed $2,100.

New computers for Cindy Watkins, Carolynn

Bailey, and Heartsong Worship have been pur-

chased. IT Decisions of Johnson City is diligent-

ly working to install all these new systems

(including new phones) and hope to have them

all up and running in June.

Meeting adjourned with the reading of our Vi-

sion Statement and the praying of our Lord’s

Prayer.

Closed the meeting with the Lord’s Prayer.

Next meeting will be July 11th and we’re asking

Kathy Leonard to have devotions.

Attendance for June:

Date 9:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. Total

June 5 140 54 193

June 12 112 52 164

June 19 107 57 164

June 26 75 48 123

Kathy Leonard Bio

Our Saviour Lutheran Church has been an important

part of Kathy Leonard’s life for as long as she can remem-

ber. Kathy’s maternal grandparents, Virgil and Elnora

Knipp, were charter members of OSLC. Her parents, Ken

and Barbara Diehl, are still members of OSLC. Kathy was

baptized at OSLC and was very active in church during her

childhood. She was confirmed here and served as presi-

dent of the youth group. Kathy and her husband Mickey

were married at Our Saviour in 1992. Their children, Mi-

chael and Colton, were baptized and confirmed at OSLC.

Kathy is getting ready to start her 20th year of teaching

in the Johnson City School System. She teaches 6th grade

science and social studies at Indian Trail Intermediate

School. When she isn’t teaching she enjoys spending time

with family and camping. Her love of teaching and work-

ing with young people led her to serve on church council

in the Exploring ministry. She has also taught Sunday

Music News from Carolynn

What a wonderful Vacation Bible School we have had! I wish

that everyone in this church family could have been a “fly on

the wall” as we:

ate together

witnessed Mary (the mother of Jesus) and her neighbor

Eunice dialogue about Jesus

talked with the Rabbi in the synagogue

visited the marketplace

played in the hills of Nazareth

sang songs about Jesus, his name and his life (rang chimes and played rhythm instruments)

With 40 children and about 15 workers, we had a houseful each night and were able to do so

many interesting and fun events. The singing and playing were outstanding; each night I left

here feeling encouraged and uplifted by our children. Shirley Boyle agreed to help me this year

with the music – and she was outstanding! Her love for children and the music we chose was an

inspiration!

I hope that in the future we can do more musical and theatrical events with our children.

(Liturgical dance anyone?) I want to pose a question to all parents with children in our church

family.

Would you be willing to support a choir program for our children? Would you bring your chil-

dren and be available to assist on a limited basis with some activities? I have ideas for a chil-

dren’s program – but the biggest resource is YOU and your CHILDREN. That is crucial before

planning anything! Talk to me this summer and let me know if you are interested and let’s see if

in the next season we can do MORE musically with our children.

I send best wishes and love to you for a great summer season! Hope to begin something new and

exciting this fall!

In Him,

Carolynn Bailey

Parish Nurse News

Special thanks to our veterans and all those that fought for our country’s freedom and liberty. Thank you for sacrificing your lives to make the freedom of our land possible. Independence is something that so many of us take for granted way too often. July 4, is the day that we celebrate this federal holiday. Take time as you are celebrating to consider the importance of why you are celebrating. Also, take time as you are celebrating to THANK our Lord, Jesus Christ, for the freedom and independence from sin that He afforded to anyone who believes in Him. Our spiritual freedom was given because of His sacrifice.

I John 3:16- This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (NIV)

Happy 4th to All of you!

~Go God! Melissa Malenda, RN, Parish Nurse

Nurses are known to enforce cleanliness. Why, because, hand-

washing with soap and water for example, is the most effective way to

fight the spread of germs (CDC).

Soap is also an encouraging way to combat spiritual germs:

July 12th- Friends in Grief- OSLC library. 10:00-11:00am

July 17th- Blood pressures- will be taken free to anyone who wishes to have their blood pressure checked. Very important and encouraged to do so!!!

July 20th- Women’s Self-defense class, @ OSLC; see brochure on right

July 23rd- CPR. 8am-12pm; being offered to OSLC parishioners. Contact Melissa Malenda for more info and registration. Melis-sa024@comcast.net or (276) 210-4670.

July 26th- Friends in Grief- will meet for lunch at 11:45am. Place TBA.

Ministries in Motion

Thursday's- 6:30pm- YOGA- meets in the OSLC youth room. If you have a yoga mat, please bring it with you.

Friday's- Walk/talk- (Chair Yoga) 10:00-11:00 am. Devotion, prayer, "joke of the week” in the fellowship hall.

"Care" Bears are available to all parishioners to take to a family mem-ber, friend or just anyone in need of some extra tender loving care from OSLC. Please take part in this outreach ministry because testi-monies have proven that it is touching hearts!

WOMEN ONLY

SELF DEFENSE

CLASS! AGES 12-70

9 AM UNTIL 12 PM

212 Sunset Drive Johnson City, TN 37615

Join us for a self-defense class

taught by the Washington County

Sherriff’s Department. Lunch will

be provided following class and is

$5.00 per person. Wear your

workout clothes and be prepared

to try out the techniques that you

are learning.

Reservations are required because

space is limited. Forms can be

picked up in the office at Our Sav-

iour Lutheran Church, Monday-

Friday; between 9am and 3:00pm.

Forms should be submitted on or

before July 13.

For more information contact: Melissa Malenda,RN at melis-sa024@comcast.net (276) 210-4670 or Cindy Watkins, secretary, by phone @ OSLC-(423) 282-2313.

Ministry

OSLC Youth and

Family Night at

the Johnson City

Cardinals

We will be heading to Cardinal Park on July 30th to

watch the Cardinals take on the Bluefield Blue Jays.

This is an all family event, so parents and youth are

encouraged to come. The game is at 6 pm with fire-

works after the game. For only $7.50, you get a re-

served seat and a meal (hot dog and chips). For only

$1 more, you can have a hamburger instead of the

hotdog. Contact Pastor Ed or Patty Wessner for

more details and to reserve your spots today.

Summer Pool

Party and Cookout

Dave and Deb Soike will be

hosting a pool party for the

youth entering 5th grade and

up on Sunday, July 17th from

4:00-7:00 p.m. Bring a snack to

share, your swim suit , and some friends. Address is

4501 Cherokee Road, Jonesborough, TN.

INTERESTED IN

MEMBERSHIP?

Pastors Ed and Jim are interested in meeting with

anyone who has an interest in OSLC. We would

love to sit down with all potential new members

and help you get acclimated with this new family.

Send us an email, text message or speak to us in

person and we will set up a time to meet.

Co-Ed Softball Update

The 2016 Co-Ed Softball season came

to an end on June 13 as OSLC lost to Grace

Free Will Baptist in the Tournament Champi-

onship. The team finished with a 7-3 record, a

1st place tie during the regular season and 2nd

place in the tournament. This season was

special as we dedicated it to those fellow

church members/staff who passed away and

were supporters of the team. Michael Leon-

ard designed and added to our jerseys an “In

memory of Ross Blackmer, Gary Shealy, Bon-

nie Koepper, and Marjene Chapman.” We

would also like to say a thank you to all the

fans who came out to support us each game.

Once again we had the most fans of any other

team out there.

The team included: Laura Arredondo, Nick

Arredondo (also Assistant Coach), Clint

Estep, Michael Leonard, Coltin Leonard,

Katie Stacy, Abby Wilson, Brandon Price,

Amanda Trivett, Shane Wilcox, Wendi

Young, Jeff Corvin, and Maddie Boles.

Food Pantry Please remember the church food pantry when you are

grocery shopping. Just one or two items from everyone

will keep our pantry full. Monetary donations are always

welcomed. Your generous donations to our food pantry

have made a difference in many lives. Food items needed:

Crackers Soup Dry beans Cornbread Cookies Spaghetti

Remember to check product dates for expiration.

Grocery bags given in June-10 bags

Macaroni & cheese Canned veggies Peanut Butter Canned fruit Spaghetti sauce Canned meat

Rice Raisins Jello/Jello pudding Apple sauce Cereal Cake mix

News from Social Ministry

Melting Pot

We will prepare and serve a meal at the Melting Pot on

July 13. If you would like to volunteer in this ministry,

please sign up on the list located on the bulletin board

near the library.

Melting Pot served 169 meals on June 8, 2016

Charity of the Month

Good Samaritan Ministries

In July we will support Good Samaritan Ministries

with helping supply needy area children with book

bags and school supplies. They need monetary do-

nations to help purchase these items. Since school

starts in early August, donations need to be in be-

fore the third Sunday in July. If you want to help,

please make checks to OSLC and mark it “Book

Bag Project.” Thrivent Financial is providing $330

in matching funds.

Many programs in our area were started with the

help and guidance of Good Samaritan Ministries.

A few of the programs under the Good Sam um-

brella include: Melting Pot, a food pantry, pro-

grams for children, a day center, rent/utilities assis-

tance, home repairs, temporary shelters, medical

and dental services, a women’s prison ministry, and

their “adopt an elderly person or family” at

Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. They also have a

thrift shop called Heaven Sent, which is located in

back of their facility on North Roan Street. They

accept donations of clothing, furniture, and any

household items you want to give.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prayer Shawl Group

meets on the second Monday of

each month at 2:00 pm Fellow-

ship Hall.

The Cover Girls

The Cover Girls meet the

second and fourth Monday

of each month at 10:00 am

in Fellowship Hall.

Primetimers

are meeting on July 6 at 11:00 am at the church, then will proceed together to

the Whistle Stop Deli, 110 Howard Gouge Road, Unicoi, TN. Karen Wilson is

our host.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Items we Need: Backpacks

Full Backpacks

Glue Bottles

Glue Sticks

Compositions

Legal Pads

Crayons

Index Cards

Pencil Boxes

Rulers

Folders w/prongs

Big Markers

Colored Pencils

1 Inch Binders

1 1/2 Inch Binders

1/2 Inch Binders

Pencils

Scissors

Calculators

Dividers

Protractors

Sharpeners

Blue Pens

Red Pens

Black Pens

Good Samaritan Ministries is excitedly preparing for our annual Back

to School Picnic, which is on Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 2:30 pm. We

will enjoy a great time of food and fun while also providing children

who are pre-registered in the back to school program with clothing,

backpacks and school supplies.

The need is great this year and can only be met through everyone in

the community pulling together to make this a successful event.

www.goodsamjc.org

If you would rather contribute money, make your check payable to OSLC and in the subject line put “The Book Bag Project.” If you are do-nating cash, use a pew envelope and write your name on it so you are credited for your donation.

The local chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has pledged $330 in matching funds for the project.

Volunteers for July

Lector Schedule for the Months of July and August All of July-Pat Wolf

Ushers for July 3rd David Hamilos, Ronda Keffer, Janeen & Travis Pennell 10th David Hamilos, Ronda Keffer, Janeen & Travis Pennell 17th David Hamilos, Carmel Paulson, Helen & Berry Fetterolf 24th David Hamilos, Carmel Paulson, Helen & Berry Fetterolf 31st David Hamilos, Carmel Paulson, Travis & Janeen Pennell

Financial Tellers 1st week–Debbie Seifert, Berla Smith

2nd week-Jean Loveday, David Chalkley

3rd week–Christy Huff, Ken Diehl

4th week-Joe & Lu Mattson 5th week-David Chalkley; Jean Loveday

Communion Assistants for July 3rd Fred and Sylvia Becklehimer 10th Ken Diehl, Mitch King 17th Dee & Parnell Freeman 24th Dee &Parnell Freeman 31st Dee & Parnell Freeman

Altar Guild July Betty Marshall, Susan Marshall

July Families of the Week 3rd Jason, Jessica, Payton, & Molly Green Diana & Norman Duncan

10th Frank & Ann Cunningham Lisa, Jacob, Ava, & Zoe Herbert

17th Linda & Gene Maddox; Lori Markstrom 24th Jed & Lori Seehorn; Burleigh & Julia Witham

31st Nathan, Melodie, Jayce, & Chance Trent Justin Starr

Altar Flowers for July July 10 Berla Smith July 17 Nippers 24th Maggie Flint

Hospital Visitor List for July 3rd Jones

10th Mattson

17th Alexander

24th Holland

31st Rye

Library Committee All of July Kathy Kelly

Prayer Shawl Team for July 3–Beverly Gugliotta, Nancy Shilling, Patty Neas 10-Phyllis Farst, Lu Mattson, Berla Smith, Jan Ecklund 17–Cheryl Milliken; Trudy Blackmer, Betty Chalkley 24-Mary Ann McGaughey, Judi Boebel, Marilyn Proffitt Nursery—we need volunteers every week, please sign up!

July

Birthdays

1 David Holland

2 Dave Soike Joan Blackmer

3 Megan Booker

4 Dean Osejo

5 Ella Estep Marcia Peters

7 Rita Gregory Ann Godsey

8 Mandy Hoyle

10 Larry Ecklund

12 Pat Wolf Jessica Green

17 David Nipper

18 Gabe Aaroen

19 Ronda Keffer

21 Kathleen Lowry Michael Hembre Carolynn Bailey

22 Ann Cunningham

23 Norma Martin

24 Steve Alexander Garry Booker

25 Jacob Aaroen Orville Proffitt

29 Noah Rice Janice Miller

Congratulations to Dr. Kelly Ballard Vail, who was mar-

ried by Pastor Nipper, on Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m. on

roan Mountain (Amphitheatre) to Mr. Terry Vail. God bless!

Congratulations to Leah Godsey, granddaughter of

Lucy Wright. Leah graduated from Lincoln Memorial

University with an AS degree in Veterinary Medical

Technician in June, 2016.

DID YOU KNOW?...that our synodical bishop, The Rev.

Julian Gordy, will be at OSLC on Reformation Sunday to

help kick off the “500th Year of the Reformation”? Mark

your calendars for a special worship on October 30, 2016!

There are plenty of dates in July for giving Altar flowers. One ar-rangement is $35 and two is $70.

WELCA News July is the annual WELCA Retreat, Garden Getaway on July 9 at the Neas’ farmhouse in Parrottsville. You can register on the Welca bulletin board.

Garden Getaway!

Are you looking for time away from the busyness of life – time to “stop and smell the roses,” as you relax with friends, share laughter and stories, and spend time with God? Join us at our Garden Getaway retreat to experience this and more!

Garden Getaway is a relaxing garden-themed retreat that includes worship, Bible study, and time for laughter as well as time for quiet reflec-tion. And don’t worry –we won’t make anyone pull weeds. This is a time to walk with God, the Master Gardener.

Our annual WELCA Retreat will be held at the Neas’ Farmhouse in Parrottsville on Saturday, July 9. Please sign up on the WELCA bulletin board if you plan to attend.

Women’s Grief Group

An evening "Women's Grief Group" will meet at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 29, at the home of Faith Akin, 2907 West Walnut Street, Johnson City. All women are welcome! Please call for more infor-mation to Faith at 737-2434. All women are welcome.

Library News

Books on Prayer

Some people seem to

simply know how to pray.

They do it well; they share

beautiful prayers at sup-

per, in Sunday school and

at committee meetings. But some of us aren’t

sure if we really know what should be in a

prayer, or what we can or should pray for. If

you are part of the unsure crowd here are

some books in our church library you may find

helpful. They are all found in the 248.4 section.

I’ve Got to Talk to Somebody, God, by Marjo-

rie Holmes, provides samples of prayers for

everyday life situations; the good and the try-

ing. The author shares prayers for situations in

life over which we all struggle including ag-

ing, not feeling loved, money struggles, and

recovery from illness. This book also includes

some of the celebratory areas for which we

can pray including the joy of color in our lives,

the ability to do daily tasks and intimacy.

In Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to be

with God, author Bill Hybels discusses how

our lives are quite often scheduled so that

prayer gets fit in to the extra available

minutes, or not even at all. This author consid-

ers prayer a crucial element in our lives and

that time spent with God in prayer is a commit-

ment. One entire chapter is dedicated to slow-

ing our lives down so we can pray. The book

includes a study guide and questions for re-

flection.

Sometimes it is impossible situations that bring us to the brink of prayer. In his book, Prayer is

Invading the Impossible, Jack W. Hayford ad-

dresses how crises can bring us to ask God to

get us through the impossible and to help us

with situations where we see no way out. The

author points out that prayer should not be a

last ditch option and that the daily practice of

prayer improves our walk with God. The book

reviews areas such as what to pray for, what if

you are hesitant to ask or not sure if you are

praying for the right thing, what is God’s ca-

pacity for answers to prayers, and how to be

honest with God in prayer.

Around the Parish

The monthly “Men’s

Prayer Breakfast” – that

usually meets on the

first Saturday of the

month, will meet in July

on the second Saturday of the month, July 9, at

Golden Corral at 8 am. July 2 is the Saturday of a

number of Fourth of July weekend celebrations

so we thought we would move it a week. Hope

to see you there!

…Brian Patteson, Tom Marshall, Ken Peters, Wayne Hover, Carl Snyder, and, Pastor Ed Myers (who

“saved the day” by helping the group find a breaker we needed turned off to install receptacle for

the main control area) for their work in wiring the new office system and wireless system too.

…Marcy Aaroen & Sean Golden, along with all the staff and “High Road Class” helpers, students,

and their parents for a wonderful VBS this year! “Hometown Nazareth” was a big success! “Eunice

and Mary” – you were amazing!

…Larry Ecklund for taking pictures recently of our recent First Communion Class and our Affirmand,

Connor Hall

…all the men who attend the first Saturday of the month’s “Men’s Prayer Breakfast”

…Cindy Watkins for being our new Office Administrator! She is doing great!

…everyone for responding so well to the summer schedule of 9:30 a.m. traditional and 10:45 a.m.

Heartsong worships

…the Cover Girls for their hard work on making quilts for the world

…our Prayer Shawl ministry – to those who make the prayer shawls and those who deliver them

…those who help prepare food for “Melting Pot” and those who help serve the food

…those who worked with the Blood Drive in June

…those who help collate the newsletter and mail it

…Faith Akin for organizing a new women’s grief group that meets in her home on the last Friday of

the month at 6 p.m. (watch for details)

…Melissa Malenda for hosting the “heart valve” presentation and heading up the blood pressure

checks each month (and those who help her with that!)

A huge thank you to all who gave of their musical talents in June: Shirley Boyle, VBS music Leader;

Mike English, Banjo solo on June 5; Whitney Ann Collins, vocal solo on June 12; Sopranos of the

OSLC Choir (Pam Alexander, Sylvia Beckelhimer, Ann Cunningham, Mary Alice Nipper) anthem on

June 19; and the children of VBS Celebration Choir at both services on June 19.

Thanks to Joni and Dale Cannon and Ken and

Marcia Peters for running the Blood Drive for

2015-16 while Janet was in the hospital.

Larry Ecklund

To all the office volunteers,

Thanks to all the ladies for getting the office

ready for me. I appreciate the organizational

skills and the knowledge you shared with me to

make this new journey less difficult.

Cindy Watkins

from Around the Parish

To our church family and friends,

We’d love to stay in touch with our friends at Our Saviour.

Michael and Ella English 340 Tom Bell Road #147 Murphys, CA 95247 E-mail: Michael.english95@yahoo.com

Ella is on Facebook.

Christian Education We’ve completed another very successful week of VBS. We

spent the week learning about Jesus as a boy and how much he

was like all of us. After all, Jesus had a family, Jesus had a name,

Jesus had a home, Jesus went to church, and Jesus served oth-

ers… so do we.

We had 41 tribe members participate in the week along with 11

youth helpers. Of these 50 children, 15 were non-members of Our Saviour; so VBS is proving

to be a nice outreach event for our church.

VBS would not be possible without the help of a lot of people. Sean and Marcy would like to

thank all of the church members who donated food and supplies. We appreciate your

generosity. We would also like to thank all of the people who donated their time during

the week. The following adults gave of their time:

Marcy Aaroen Laura Arredondo Carolynn Bailey

Sharron Barger Shane Barger Fred Beckelhimer

Sylvia Beckelhimer Shirley Boyle Jennifer Estep

Kristie Golden Sean Golden Cat Hopper

Emily Jones Colton Leonard Michael Leonard

Kathy Leonard Jim Malenda Melissa Malenda

Denise Montag Jim Montag Pastor Ed

Pastor Jim Pam Ross Lewis Wessner

Shara Ross Cassie McAllister

Thrivent

night out

with the Car-

dinals will be on Saturday, August 6 at 7pm. We

will be meeting at the game and sitting in a group if

you like, but you don't have to. It is also Bobble-

head night so there is an incentive to get there ear-

ly if you want to get one, gates open at 6pm, they

have limited quantities. I have tickets for those

who would like to attend, a limited quantity as

well, see either Tom Marshall or Betty Marshall the

next few weeks or until they are gone.

Having the opportunity of serving as a lay delegate to the Synod Assembly from OSLC carries with it a responsibility to provide a written response of one’s impressions. I attended this event May 27-29 in Birmingham. AL at the

Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in downtown. Our accommodations and the complex were very nice. Birmingham has a kind of nostalgia for me, as my father was originally from that area. Our family took numerous vacation trips to Birmingham to visit grandparents and other relatives during my formative years. One of my brothers lived and worked there during a portion of the 1980’s.

The theme of the assembly was “We Are Lutheran.” They did not add “Now Hear Us Roar!” After all we are Luther-ans; not exactly fitting our style! However, I did witness bold worship experiences, bold convictions expressed surrounding various resolutions and reports before the Assembly, a bold commissioning and send-off of a young missionary family to the Middle East, as well as bold efforts on the part of various congregations across our SE Synod to survive and thrive in a time that sees challenges to our denominations of the Christian faith in the US and across the world.

For me, it was interesting to mix with other Lutheran brothers and sisters. We can too easily develop a rather myopic view of faith/church within the rather narrow reaches of our own church family. At the Assembly there were several hundred participants representing all ages, shapes and sizes, colors, lifestyles, and viewpoints. While our worship services contained familiar liturgy, the musi-cal accompaniment was provided by a jazz ensemble. This provided a version of blended worship which I enjoyed. A nice variety of worship leaders and sermon presenters were provided.

A variety of worship sessions were offered, making it diffi-cult to decide which of these our pastors and I would attend. I chose to attend a worship addressing how con-gregations might encourage their leaders and members to develop healthy lifestyles. Another I attended dealt with Lutheran theology and policy, essentially some of the ba-sics of our Lutheran faith and position in the broad Chris-tian faith.

We were exposed at the beginning of some of the Plenary Sessions to a contemporary version of Christian music, in particular hip-hop music that included some rap music. The performer for this was a young African-American woman, “Kelly Glow,” her stage name. It was interesting

to learn that she has a doctoral degree—like me an edu-cational doctorate. Her dissertation work involved intro-ducing educational materials to school age children using hip-hop and rap music. By the way, her dad is a Lutheran

pastor in our synod, so her Lutheran roots run deep!

Some of the resolutions coming before the assembly in-volved such topics as: acknowledging and expressing re-gret to Native Americans for the damage done in the in-terest of European colonization and displacement of these peoples; supporting efforts to increase the number of African-Americans that join our Lutheran congrega-tions; initiating greater strides to eliminate discrimination among those who are a part of the LGBT community; and offering special thanks to our current military, veterans, and their families for their sacrifices in the defense of our country. Agreements were signed with companion synods in Malaysia and Singapore, after greetings were offered by the presiding Bishops from each of those synods. It is noteworthy that there have been efforts in our Synod to reach out and dialogue with those of the Muslim faith, in an effort to promote understanding and harmony, espe-cially with the real presence of threats from Islamic-based terrorist.

As a member of OSLC, I was pleased to learn that our con-gregation ranks very high among the 161 or so congrega-tions across our SE Synod with respect to our financial commitment for mission support of the Synod. This is a major way that we contribute to the work of the church beyond our own church family and immediate community in which we reside.

It was interesting to be able to witness a groundbreaking ceremony in Georgia at Luther Ranch. We were able to see this through a video hookup in real time. The venture there continues to grow and provide an area for

meetings, retreats, recreation, fellowship, and worship.

The Assembly is a lot to take in for only a few days, to be sure, however, the experience is enriching and inspiring, while offering a broader understanding of the workings of our Synod within the greater national church of the ELCA.

Oh, by the way, Bishop Gordy closed the Assembly with familiar words to us, in the name of the Triune God, fol-lowed by the directive to “Go in peace. Share the good news.” And, our response to him was the familiar, “Thanks be to God.”

Report respectfully submitted by, Dr. Tedd Stephens, Lay Delegate OSLC

Reflection on Southeastern Synod Assembly

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Our Saviour Lutheran Church Non-profit Org. PO Box 3160 CRS US Postage Paid Johnson City, TN 37604 Permit #207

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Our Saviour Lutheran Church

212 Sunset Drive

Johnson City, TN 37604

Purpose statement: “Make disciples, and grow in grace.”