1

MESSIAH MEMOS Messiah Lutheran Church, Fairview Park, Ohio Issue 5: September 2017

Sunday Mornings this Fall Preschool - Grade 4

Sunday School resumes on Sunday, September 17,

and meets each week from 9:50-10:40 am. Chil-

dren ages 3 through fourth grade are invited to

attend weekly and learn more about Jesus

through devotionals, activities, music and crafts.

The Second Sunday of each month, join us for an

intergenerational “Second Sundays” program, led

by High School Youth. For more information, turn

to page 7!

First Communion

First Communion instruction for children in Grade

5 (or older), led by Pastor Burce. This is the first

step in Messiah's confirmation program. Students

and their parents should meet in the sanctuary on

Sept. 10 at 9:50 am. Students will begin commun-

ing on Reformation Sunday, Oct. 29.

Confirmation

Students in grades six through eight are invited to

a confirmation kick-off meeting with Pastor Seth

in the sanctuary on Sept. 10 at 9:50 am.

High School

All 9-12 graders are invited to join us each Sunday

morning at 9:50 am in the music room for a time

of food, fellowship and faith discussions. Our first

gathering will be Sunday, Sept. 17. We will plan

the year, talk about Second Sundays participation

and leadership, and share ideas of fun activities

we can do together! All are welcome. Questions?

Contact Kate Ilg at kateeilg@gmail.com.

Adult Education

From Sept. 17-Oct. 22, Pastor Richard Gahl will

explore the “Under-Reported Reformation: Care

for the Poor” during Adult Forum, from 9:50-

10:40 am in the Commons. Prior to the Refor-

mation, care for the poor and needy was nearly

nonexistent. The Reformation changed that with

the inauguration of the Common Chest. And Jo-

hannes Bugenhagen, who preached for Luther’s

funeral, was the key person in the expansion of

services designed to care for the poor. Somewhat

surprising is the finding that these early Lutheran

efforts grew out of their understanding of the

Lord’s Supper. Come join us at Adult Forum this

fall to learn more about this under-reported topic!

New Member Class

Are you interested in joining Messiah Lutheran Church? Our next New Member Class starts

Tuesday evenings from 7-8 pm from Sept. 19-Oct. 17. Childcare is available by request. If

you'd like to register, contact Kristine Kascak in the church office at 440.331.2405 or

kkascak@messiahfp.org.

You’re Invited to our

Rally Fest Block Party on

Sunday, Sept. 10!

See page 8 for details!

2

From the Pastor—

“Return to the Lord your God, for God is gracious and com-

passionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”

What a tremendous welcome you, Messiah fami-ly, have offered to me and to my immediate fam-ily during the month of August. Shelley, Noah, Zachary and I are thankful and grateful to be joining as co-workers in Christ and as fellow members in the body of Christian community found and grounded here within the extensive Messiah community. I am delighted to be part of the team.

On Sunday, Aug. 6, I preached for the first time here in your midst. The assigned and ascribed Gospel lesson for the day highlighted Jesus in-structing his disciples to feed others (“You give them something to eat!” Matthew 14:16).

This story, known as the Feeding of the Five Thousand, is found in each of the four Gospel accounts recorded and preserved in the Holy Scriptures and found in our Bibles. I believe that each of the woman, children and men who were present for the miracle of being fed and wit-nessed the compassion of Jesus would have re-membered that day for the rest of their earthly lives. It would have been one of their “Top 5”

most memorable days of their entire lives. I mean really, eating with Jesus and having enough food that there were leftovers. Can you imagine! Leftovers from the disciples of Jesus!

During the Aug. 6 sermon, I shared my “Top 5” days and I asked the question: “What are your ‘Top 5’ most memorable days?” As we get to know one another over the next few weeks and months, I invite you to share with me (as some have already so done) one or two (or three, four, or five) of your most memorable days which you have lived during your life to this point in time.

What are your “Top 5”?

I pray that as you live and breathe and have your being, that you grow in capacity to “Return to the Lord your God … for God is gracious and com-passionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” I look forward to walking alongside this congre-gation in the days, weeks, months and years to come. I give thanks to God for the faithful work of the Call Committee and Messiah Church coun-cil, and I am amazed by the giftedness of the staff! In all this, and more, I return Thanks to God for the welcome and for this new beginning in the name of the Lord.

Peace. - Pastor Seth

Pr. Seth Bridger

Reformation Corner

LUTHERAN OKTOBERFEST

Greater Cleveland Lutheran Church-es present Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 9, from noon-10 pm at the Metroparks Reservation Big Creek Reservation. Join us for food pre-pared by the Hofbrauhaus, Biergar-ten and three bands. To purchase tickets in advance, call 216.241.6000 or visit hofbrauhaus-cleveland.com/oktoberfest1

REFORMATION HYMNFEST

HymnFest 2017 will musically cele-brate the theology of the Refor-mation like no other! Friday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 pm at The Shrine of St. Stan-islaus (3649 E. 65th St). Tickets are $15 when purchased in advance, $20 the evening of the performance. Purchase your tickets online at buildinghopeinthecity.org or by call-ing 216.281.46783.

REFORMATION 500 @ MESSIAH

Make plans to join us for our Refor-mation 500 celebration at Messiah Lutheran Church on Sunday, Oct. 29. Our High School Youth will serve a Reformation Breakfast, and former Messiah Pastor Rev. Gerald Miller will preach. Look for more details in the October Memos!

3

FAMILY NEWS

BAPTISMS

LIAM DOCTOR

CHILD OF MICHAEL & MEGAN

WEDDINGS

JACKQUELINE STRANGE &

DOUG GARBER

JULY 30

DEATHS

ARLENE ZUBIN

NOVEMBER 25, 1932—JULY 28, 2017

2017 Wedding Anniversaries

50th

James & Marilyn Edwards

Rev. Richard & Judith Gahl

Wolfgang & Barbara Goebel

Rev. Bruce & Kristi Hathaway

55th

Bruce & Slyvia Albers

Robert & Nancy Ruth

65th

William & Swea Manthey

Richard & Carol Markus

George & Martha Young

Stewardship Year-End Update

We have much to thank God for at Messiah this fall. There are the obvious gifts. A new pastor. New teachers. Fresh faces at church on Sunday, or in the hallways during the school week.

There are also gifts we tend to take for grant-ed. One of these is the steady faithfulness of the people we share our congregation with.

We saw that faithfulness on vivid display this summer. In mid-June I wrote to all our active members asking for extra help to meet Mes-siah's obligations for the fiscal year. We needed to gather about $130,000 by July 31. The response inspired awe. We came within $15,000 of meeting our target.

I want all of you to share my profound thanks to God for our fellow saints at Messiah. Year after year they demonstrate a deep and gen-erous commitment to the life of our church, and to the mission of Christ our Lord that keeps unfolding here. Seeing this encourages me to be steadfast in my own giving, and to grow in it too. I trust the same is true for each of you.

This fall Pr. Richard Gahl is going to help us think again about our wonderful calling as God's stewards. He has done this for several years. God grant that all our ears and hearts will be as open this year as they have been in the past. We all have learning and growing to do. And when we stay connected to Christ, each of us has the ability, granted by the Holy Spirit, to inspire others to greater faith and commitment even as they inspire us.

I will pray for you this fall. May the light of faith, hope and love, anchored in the stunning promises of God, shine brightly at Messiah Church.

--Pastor Burce

4

Mission & Outreach

“God’s Work. Our Hands.”

“God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is an oppor-tunity to celebrate who we are as the ELCA – one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.

At Messiah, we will acknowledge this day on Rally Day, Sunday, Sept. 10, by collecting toi-letries for Love INC., and food for the Fair-view Park Hunger Center.

If you’d like to help, please pick up a reusable shopping tote at Messiah and fill it with the enclosed list of most needed items; or pur-chase items from the list below and return them to Messiah's grocery cart in the atrium by Sept. 10.

Canned Fruit & Vegetables

Macaroni & Cheese, Spaghetti and Sauce

Baked Beans, Soup, Mashed Potatoes

Toilet Paper, Hygiene Products

Thank you for helping our local community members in need!

Redeemer Crisis Center

Volunteers are needed to help serve a meal at the Redeemer Crisis Center with a group from Messiah on Sunday, Sept. 10, from about 3:30-6:30 pm. If you are interested, please contact Michele Kvintus at michelekvintus@gmail.com.

Vacation Bible School

Sixty-eight children attended Messiah’s 2017 Vacation Bible School program, Almighty For-tress, in August. The kids raised $137 to sup-port Messiah’s Laundry Love mission project!

Hurricane Harvey Response

Please stand by our neighbors as we begin the long road to recovering from Hurricane Harvey, one of the most catastrophic storms to hit the country in more than a decade. Lutheran Disaster Response’s affiliate is actively pre-sent, collaborating with community leaders and offi-cials to initiate the proper responses, particularly the long-term recovery efforts. Together, we have a strong history of working with disasters in the Gulf Coast area. Recovery efforts are expected to take years, and Lutheran Disaster Response will be there to accompany those affected through every phase of this disaster. We invite you to stand by our neighbors on the Gulf Coast during this time. Your gifts ensure that our church will be able to provide help and hope for those left homeless or otherwise affected by this dis-aster for years to come. Gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response, designated for "Hurricane Response – United States" will be used entirely (100 percent) for this disaster until the re-sponse is complete. Together, we can help provide immediate and long-lasting support. Give today to support the needs in this response and others like it.

To make a donation, visit community.elca.org/USHurricaneRelief or call 800.638.3522. Or make a check payable to Messiah Lutheran Church and write “Hurricane Harvey” in the subject line. Messiah will count your donation toward your contributions and direct all funds to LDR. Please note: At this time, Messiah is accepting cash donations only (no goods).

5

Bible Studies & Music Ministry

Bible Studies/Meeting Groups

Women’s Monthly Monday Evening Bible Study

Women of all ages are invited to join Deaconess-es Ruth Mortensen and Jeanette Rebeck the third Monday of the month, beginning Sept. 18, from 7-8 pm. Our study will begin with the book, “40-Day Journey with Martin Luther,” by Gracia Grindal, who draws from Luther’s vast collection of works and selects 40 passages that raise pro-found truths about faith and life.

Pints with Pastor

Men of all ages are invited to join with Pastors Burce & Seth each Wednesday evening at 8 pm at Gunselman’s Tavern for informal discussion. Come as you can. Bring a friend!

Wednesday Morning Bible Study

Join Pastor Burce each Wednesday at 10 am for a Bible study in the north end of the Fellowship Hall. The group will be studying the prophet Zechariah this fall.

Crossways Bible Study

Crossways Bible Study will resume on Wednes-day, Sept. 20, at 6:30 pm in the north end of the Fellowship Hall. Pastor Burce will be leading Crossways starting with Part 5, The New Testa-ment. If you’ve been curious to join Crossways, now is the time to join us! Crossways is a great way to journey through the Bible. To register, contact Kristine in the church office at 440.331.2405 or kkascak@messiahfp.org.

Faith at Work

Join Pastor Burce the first Tuesday of the month, beginning in October, from 7-8 am at Panera Bread in Rocky River. Faith at Work is a monthly meeting of people interested in exploring how the word of God sheds light on days spent in the workplace where we're called to serve God.

Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord

Joy Ringers Handbell Choir resumes weekly re-

hearsals on Monday, Sept. 11, at 7 pm. New

members welcome! For more information, con-

tact Ruth King at rcjcking@cox.net.

Messiah Choir rehearsal resumes Thursday, Sept.

7, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. All are invited to come

and sing!

I’m happy to be here, working with a wonderful

staff and with you, the people of God at Messiah.

The worship of the church is praising God within

the community (that’s all of us together) and car-

rying the vision of the gospel into the whole life of

the Christian. As the community worships, com-

munes, listens and participates in the story of the

Christ event, it learns to discern the good news of

the final reign of God and is thereby guided in its

life and witness to and in the world.

Music cultivates the living tradition of sound

made by voices and instruments of the communi-

ty. Through worship, the community is identified

as the community of the new age, the community

of the cross, singing a new song in anticipation of

the consummation of the reign of God.

The mission and work of the community flow out

of worship. As music is a proclaimer of the Word,

so worship is the hub of the wheel and the liturgy

of the church is “Exhibit A” of the Gospel.

My prayer is that we will make music together

and sing the new song of the cross; the song of

God’s people of every time and every place.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Linda Kempke

Interim Director of Music

6

From the Principal— What a joy and blessing it is to be heading into a new year at Messiah Lutheran School. Those of us who have worked through the summer in a quiet school building are

excited to welcome our teachers, staff, students and families for a year of God’s promised grace and growth. We extend a special welcome to: Multiple new students in kindergarten, sec-

ond, fourth and sixth grade, and our largest preschool classes yet! These families are the newest members of our church and school community, and we look forward to welcoming them warmly and wholeheartedly.

Pastor Seth Bridger, our new Associate Pastor.

He’ll be working with all of us to strengthen the joint ministry of Messiah Church and School, and he’ll be helping teach 8th grade Religion/Faith Formation in the process. He comes to us from Trinity Seminary in Columbus.

Miss Allyson Deal, our new First Grade teach-

er. Miss Deal comes highly recommended to us from Baldwin-Wallace University, where she emerged as a leader in her field, presenting at multiple conferences.

Mrs. Kayla Szabo, our new Second Grade

teacher. Mrs. Szabo earned her degree, license and reading endorsement from Ashland Uni-versity. She taught with success in Avon, Midview and at Sterling Education before ac-cepting this position at Messiah.

Mrs. Ashley Welsh, our K-8 early care supervi-

sor. She is a graduate of Messiah School (class of 2003), has coached basketball at Messiah, and looks forward to caring for our students in the morning.

As we move into this new year, I am encouraged by the work already begun to further unify the minis-tries of Messiah Lutheran Church and School, and embrace our local community in Christian service. Once again, God has blessed the work of our staff, students, and families. We received test score re-ports that indicate that Messiah School students’ scores well exceed state averages on every Ohio test. We know that our congregation is an im-portant part of this team also, and we thank you for your continued support. We take our work seriously and joyfully here at Messiah School. In the context of a world that needs wise, compassionate and skilled citizens and leaders, we know that the faith, intellect and char-acter we cultivate in our students equips them to be just such people. As a faculty, we’ve been read-ing “Formative Five: Fostering Grit, Empathy, and Other Success Skills Every Student Needs” as we prepare to offer with even more intention an edu-cation that strengthens our students academically, spiritually and personally. In August and Septem-ber, our focus will be on developing empathy. We’d love to hear from parent, grandparents, and members of our partner congregation: How have you experienced empathy? Why do you think empathy is an important

trait for Christian person to develop? How have you helped others build their capaci-

ty for empathy? Email me at hcasselberry@messiahfp.org, or call me at 440.331.6553 to share your insights. May we continue to celebrate God’s many bless-ings in the year to come at Messiah Church and School! Helen Casselberry, Principal

7

8

9

September Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

9 am Youth Group Recy-cling 5:30p Holy Communion

3 8:30a Holy Communion 10a Holy Communion 7:30p AA

4 Church &

School Offices Closed

5 7a Faith at Work 7p Boy Scouts

6 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 8p Pints with Pastor

7 7p Choir Rehearsal

8

9 Noon Lutheran Oktoberfest 5:30p Holy Communion

10 8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Rally Day 9:50a Confirmation Meeting for 5th-8th Students & Parents 11a Holy Communion 12p Rally Fest Block Party 3:30p Redeemer Crisis Center

11 7p Joy Ringers 7:30p Men’s Basketball

12 7p Church Council 7p Cub Scouts 7p Boy Scouts

13 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 8p Pints with Pastor

14 7p Choir Rehearsal

15

Youth Gathering Registrations

Due!

16 5:30p Holy Communion

17 8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Education for all ages 11a Holy Communion 12p Houston Youth Gathering Devotions 7:30p AA

18 6-9p Child Abuse Preven-tion Training 7p Women’s Bible Study 7p Trustees 7p Joy Ringers 7:30p Men’s Basketball

19 9a-noon Child Abuse Pre-vention Train-ing 7p New Mem-ber Class 7p Boy Scouts

20 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 6:30p Crossways 8p Pints with Pastor

21 7p Choir Rehearsal

22

23

2p Goodlive/Sayers Wed-ding

5:30p Holy Communion

24 8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Education for all ages 11a Holy Communion 7:30p AA

25 7p Joy Ringers 7:30p Men’s Basketball

26 7p New Mem-ber Class 7p Cub Scouts 7p Boy Scouts

27 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 6:30p Crossways 8p Pints with Pastor

28 6p Laundry Love 7p Choir Rehearsal

29 30

10

Non-Profit Org.

US. Postage-

PAID

Cleveland

Ohio 44126

Messiah Lutheran Church

21485 Lorain Rd,

Fairview Park, OH 44126

Phone (440) 331-2405

messiahfairview.org

Dated Materials

Issue 5

Sept. 2017

Messiah Memos

Insert Label Here

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

“By grace you

have been

saved through

faith.”

Ephesians 2:8

Join us for a Blessing of the Backpacks

Students of all ages are invited to bring their back-

packs to church on Rally Day, Sunday, Sept. 10, for

a special “Blessing of the Backpacks” during the

8:30 and 11 am worship services!