saturday services return weekly november service information...saturday services return weekly in...
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Saturday Services Return Weekly In November, we’ll be returning to holding Saturday services each week, with communion served on the first and third Saturdays! In addition, the third Saturday service will feature contemporary music. Sundays will continue with contemporary services on the second and fourth Sundays and traditional services on the rest of the weeks, all at 10am. Communion will be offered on the first and fourth Sundays.
GOD CONTINUALLY BLESSES US With COVID, a contentious election year, social isolation and racial strife, 2020 may make you feel despondent – where is God in the midst of this mess? One need only look around the church to realize that God continues to bless us even in the midst of difficult times. Financially, our congregation was able to donate more than $6000 to Haven of Rest with our thank offering before the church match. Our school raised $2075 in only two weeks with their No Sale Fundraiser. One Sunday in October, the plate offering was in excess of $30,000! We’ve had consistent donations to a variety of causes – we filled an entire truck with furniture and household goods to donate to HARP Ministries, and donated Rice-a-Roni, handmade scarfs and hats and school supplies in numbers greater than last year. Service teams like Braille gained new volunteers and are quickly completing backlog orders from the shutdown. Members are stepping into new roles on the leadership teams, some for the first time. We have been able to worship consistently whether online or in person despite the lockdown and even have a full slate of online and in-person Bible studies available. Our school has its largest class of Kindergarteners this year and the other classes are full and going strong. We were delivered an excellent Director, and wonderful teachers and assistants when we needed them. We are blessed beyond measure by a loving God and for this we are thankful! Happy Thanksgiving!
Join us on Thanksgiving Eve, November 25, for a 6:30pm service. All welcome!
November 2020
November Service Information
All services will be held in the Sanctuary until further notice. Christian Education Hour for all
ages at 9am on Sundays.
Sunday, November 1, 10am, traditional
Saturday, November 7, 4pm, traditional
Sunday, November 8, 10am, contemporary
Saturday, November 14, 4pm, traditional
Sunday, November 15, 10am, traditional
Saturday, November 21, 4pm, contemporary
Sunday, November 22, 10am, contemporary
Wednesday, November 25 Thanksgiving Eve Service 6:30pm
Saturday, November 28, 4pm, traditional
Sunday, November 29, 10am, traditional
Sunday services will be streamed to our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and
audio will be available in the church parking lot by tuning your car radio to 90.1FM.
Above: Beautiful fall color surrounds the Fairlawn Lutheran steeple
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AT FAIRLAWN LUTHERAN IN OCTOBER YOUTH NIGHT: Another fun youth night included a devotion and prayer and an epic night of capture the flag and ultimate frisbee! All youth grades 5-12 welcome for the next youth night on Sunday, November 8, 5-7pm.
CONFIRMATION: One of our confirmands was quarantined during the recent confirmation service. At Fairlawn Lutheran, students study for two years before being confirmed and it is important for the church to support each confirmand in his or her public confirmation. We are pleased to announce that Maddox Albright was finally able to be confirmed before the church at Sunday’s service. Congratulations!
GIRL SCOUTS Fairlawn Lutheran has a Girl Scout Troop! Led by Fairlawn Lutheran School teacher Danielle Hale, this Daisy troop (ages 5-7) will spend the year building relationships, learning the Girl Scout Law and Promise, and having fun!
HARP MINISTRIES DONATION DAY We are pleased to report that we were able to fill an entire truck with furniture and household goods for HARP Ministries (Helping Appalachian Rural People) in Caldwell, Ohio. Learn more about HARP at www.HARPcaldwell.org.
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NEW MEMBER SUNDAY Sunday, November 1, we will be welcoming nine new members to the congregation during the service! Make sure you stop and meet them and introduce yourself! CHURCH LANDSCAPE CLEAN UP DAY Saturday, November 7, 9:45am-1:00pm The church landscape clean-up day is a great way for individuals and families to serve this Fall! We need volunteers to help prepare the church property for winter by raking leaves, weeding, cleaning up downed branches and trash, trimming shrubs, etc. At 9:45am, there will be a continental breakfast (individually packaged) and devotion lead by Pastor Adam, and then at 10am, Facilities Team Members will show us what needs to be done and assign tasks. Many hands make light work – join us! Tools needed for the event: two to three gas powered leaf blowers, two hedge trimmers, six or seven leaf rakes, one wheelbarrow, clippers to cut up large sticks/hedges, gas powered weed eater, and lawn debris bags. Please RSVP Pastor Adam, [email protected], by Wednesday, November 4.
EVENTS
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FALL FELLOWSHIP SUNDAY It was a beautiful day for attendees to join together after service for fun and fellowship. Thanks to the Member Care Team for planning an event to give us time to reconnect!
CITY OF FAIRLAWN THANKS MASK MINISTRY Fairlawn mayor (and church member) Bill Roth presented Pastor Jim Gau and Outreach Chair Connie Little with a resolution at a recent meeting. The resolution says, in part, “A resolution expressing appreciation and gratitude to the Fairlawn Lutheran Church Mask Ministry for their donation of 500 cloth masks to the City of Fairlawn personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
BRAILLE TEAMS BACK IN ACTION Three of our Braille teams have resumed meeting and are working on the backlog created by COVID – the teams have welcomed several new members and continue to print Braille Bibles sent worldwide. Learn more at lbwinc.org.
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Bless Others
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Braille Ministry Producing the Bible in Braille. Bob & Betty Hessel [email protected], (330) 907-4639 Brown Baggers Packing lunches for the homeless. Ann Congeni [email protected] Outreach Team/Human Care Partnering with local missions to help others in our community. Connie Little, [email protected] Prayer Shawl Ministry Making blankets for the ill or grieving. Donna Hessel, 330-836-6549, [email protected] Visitation Ministry Visiting homebound church members. Mary Yoder, 330-867-4991 [email protected] Card Ministry Creating handmade cards for homebound members. Lisa Tobin, [email protected] Meal Ministry Providing meals short-term for bereavement support, and for those recovering from illness, injury or childbirth. Member Care Team, Meredith Mariani, [email protected]
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Volunteers Needed to Send Christmas Cards to School Students and Staff Remember how exciting it was to receive a piece of mail with your name on it when you were a child? Katie Bungard, our new preschool director, has a wonderful idea to help connect church members with our school students and teachers this Advent season! We’d like each of the 64 students and 12 staff members to receive a Christmas card from a church member inscribed with a short note of encouragement or seasonal celebration. These do not have to be fancy or specialty cards, but simply addressed to a student or teacher with a personal message. To participate: 1. Contact Kim Hornyak for a name or list of several names of school
students or staff members ([email protected], 330-836-7286).
2. Make or purchase a Christmas card, inscribe a message and sign with your name and “Fairlawn Lutheran Church”.
3. Address the envelope with the name given.
4. Drop the card/cards off at church by December 14 to be distributed before Christmas break.
This is an easy and uplifting way to share the love of Christ with the students and teachers God has entrusted to our care at Fairlawn Lutheran. Gifts Needed for Haven of Rest COLLECTING NOW through November 29 We are collecting donations for Haven of Rest’s Happy Birthday Jesus Party - unwrapped new toys, games, and gift cards for infants to 18-yr-olds. Gifts especially needed for teens. Put gift cards in Jean Wurzbacher’s mailbox in an envelope marked HBJP. All other donations go in the donation box in the Fellowship Hall. Contact: Jean Wurzbacher, [email protected].
Outreach Collection Thanks The Rice-a-Roni collection was a big success – the congregation donated 227 boxes which our mission partner OPEN M will use in the food baskets they assemble to hand out to those who need it at Christmas. Thanks to all who donated! (at left: Marie Tucillo and Barb Reynolds)
Birthdays 1 Trevor Chuna 1 Tom Hessel 1 Tom Zeigler 2 Jim Kroeger 5 Ken Peace 6 Woody Woodward 7 Jim Lewis 9 Ed Paul (96 YEARS!) 10 Chad Hull 10 Luke Juengel 10 Carlton Miller 10 Ilona Stroupe 11 Paige Rusyniak 12 Landry Chuna 13 Barbara Beck 15 Jeremy Schultz 15 Ryan Stouffer 15 Charlie Vehlow 16 Marilyn Doty 18 Bob Kronenberger 18 Hannah Mariani 18 Nathan Schultz 18 Eric Wakefield 19 Don Seagren 19 William Shriver 21 Walter Kiekhaefer 22 Autumn Terpenning 22 Mary Yoder 26 Drew Meyer 27 Lisa Tobin 29 Juliette Keller 30 Elaine Daubenmire
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Young Adults Group Activities The Young Adult group is for adults age 18-30. All welcome – bring a friend! Contact: Marcy Brabander, [email protected]. 11/3 7:00pm Bible Study (Church Youth Room) 11/13 6:30pm Friendsgiving (Pastor Adam’s House) 11/17 7:00pm Social Event (Church Library) YOUNG ADULTS HOST CAMPFIRE Our Young Adult group (ages 18-30) met up with the Royal Redeemer young adults for a bonfire in the field to the west of the church. There were 15 attendees at this first meet-up with more joint activities “in the works”! Parent Workshop: Preparation for Christmas in the Christian Home Wednesday, November 18, 7-8pm, Fellowship Hall Join parents of all ages and at all stages as we discuss preparing for Christmas as Christians. Contact: Pastor Adam, [email protected].
Pastor Adam Call Position openings (known as calls) for Pastors are different than a typical “job search” because we believe a pastor is “called” by God to serve in this capacity. Pastor Adam received a call from Ascension Lutheran Church in Pittsburg, PA, recently. This means he has two calls – one to our church and one to the PA church. Due to the call process being guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, Pastors can receive calls from other churches at any time whether the Pastor is looking for a new position or not. From Pastor Adam: “Thank you so much for all your prayers regarding the call process. After prayerful deliberation, the Lord has led me to accept the call to serve as Sole Pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh. My last Sunday serving as your Associate Pastor at Fairlawn Lutheran will be November 22. It has been such a joy serving as your pastor and I have been so blessed by you all. I want to thank you, the Saints at Fairlawn, for your love and support these past 4 1/2 years. It has been my honor to serve you!”
Anniversaries 9 Brian & Andrea Downey
11 Rick & Andrea Bonesteel
13 Paul & Linda Liesem
14 Skip & Diane Bray
22 Paul & Lynn Flanick
23 David & Lisa Sears
27 George & Alice Strickler
Special congratulations to Skip & Diane Bray who are celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary this month!
Flowers Chancel flowers are given to the glory of God by:
Nov. 7/8…by Rick and Andrea Bonesteel in celebration of their ninth wedding anniversary.
Nov. 14/15…by Don and Mary Dee Raabe in celebration of granddaughter Olivia’s ninth birthday, and by Ginette Bruno in memory of her mother Irene Leidal’s birthday.
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School Days This has been a year of adapting for our school, but challenging situations have brought great new ideas! For instance, photographers were not allowed in the building due to COVID, so Director Katie Bungard set up a photography background on the bridge and we took photos of each child. The parents liked these shots even better than the professional ones and we even allowed each child to do a “silly” face (at left).
Technology has been important in many ways. The new Brightwheel app has enabled drop off to be faster even with the temperature-taking and COVID questions. Parents are able to join their students’ class as guest readers over Zoom.
With restrictions on separation of students, the children can’t meet in large groups for Chapel or in the main preschool room. How did the school adapt? One class goes to Chapel in person, the others watch a live stream in their classrooms.
Restrictions on using the large room in the middle of the preschool? Teachers took the learning outside to maintain distancing and give the students more space to move.
Our school has been able to take the challenges and come up with solutions that meet COVID regulations and still provide the high quality education that is expected from Fairlawn Lutheran. Way to go school staff!
TECHNOLOGY HELPS CONNECT PARENTS WITH CLASSROOMS The school typically has a variety of visitors from guest readers to parent volunteers to expert presenters. Due to COVID restrictions, outside adults are not allowed in the building, but with a little ingenuity and technology, the 3s class was able to have their first guest reader recently! This parent read a book to her child’s class via Zoom – it was a great way to reconnect parents and have them volunteer in the classroom but still observe COVID restrictions. It also builds relationships and community.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION WOVEN THROUGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM Christian Ed is a crucial part of the curriculum at the school and is incorporated into all types of lessons. Below are just a few examples of how teachers use art to teach Bible stories and Christian faith – (left to right) Moses parting the water, the story of Joseph, and God having “the whole world in His hands”.
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SCHOOL PROPERTY IMPORTANT FOR STUDENT DEVELOPMENT The playground and lower parking lot are used daily – what looks like play actually teaches cooperation and sharing, develops gross motor skills, refines balance and builds muscles.
Teachers have taken advantage of the beautiful weather to teach outside or allow children to work outside.
Teachers use a variety of toys to encourage small motor development, develop problem solving skills, and ready students for age-appropriate math and language learning.
Lots of floor space is a requirement – the school uses hands-on activities and movement whenever possible, so large open spaces are important for learning.
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By the Numbers
SERVICE ATTENDANCE
NOTE: There were technical difficulties 8/30 that resulted in low online numbers.
050
100150200250300350
Total Weekend Attendance (online & in-person)
020406080
100120140160180
Sunday Service Attendance Online vs. In-Person
TOTAL # of in-person TOTAL # viewing online
This chart shows service attendance per weekend. Some weekends have one service and others have two. This chart combines all ways a person could access a service – in-person, in the parking lot, on Facebook or on YouTube, and includes those who may have watched an online version on a day other than when it was posted.
This chart shows how many people attend the service in-person vs. watch online. This chart only includes Sunday services because there is no option to watch the Saturday services online.
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FUNERALS
October 29, Mary Miller was called home by our Savior, Jesus. She is now at rest from her struggles and pain. Please remember Rex, their girls, and the family in your prayers.
Please remember Lisa Sears and her family in your prayers – Lisa’s father died in the faith at the end of October. Amber Luptak’s father died in faith on October 3. Please keep Amber and her family in your prayers. THANKS Did you see our Sunday School staff and students wearing “I love my pastors” stickers on their masks in October? It was Pastor Appreciation month! We are so grateful for Pastor Gau and Pastor Adam – make sure you remember them in your prayers!
FAMILIAR FACES
Former member Susan Mittelstaedt (right), was recognized for 43 years of teaching after retiring in August. Current member Laura George surprised her at her church in Indiana recently and thought some of our members who knew her would like to know about this honor.
PRAYER REQUESTS Submit your prayer requests to [email protected], or call the church office at 330-836-7286. Requests will be posted on Realm. HOLY COMMUNION On Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons, the Pastors will offer communion at church to those who cannot attend Sunday in-person services. Contact the church office to set up a time to receive the Sacrament. Please note that there is no individual communion the week of November 23. CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED The church office will be closed November 26-27 in observance of Thanksgiving.
STAFF Rev. Jim Gau Senior Pastor [email protected]
Rev. Adam Thompson Associate Pastor [email protected]
Rev. Jack Kozak Visitation Pastor
Kim Hornyak Director of Adult Ministries [email protected]
Elaine Daubenmire Office Administrator [email protected]
Allyson Robinson Communication Director [email protected]
Gary Pinter Organist/Choir Director [email protected]
Katie Bungard School Director [email protected]
Connections Newsletter Deadline E-mail content for newsletter to Allyson
Robinson at [email protected] by the 18th of the month for publication the
following month.
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3415 W. Market Street Fairlawn, OH 44333
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
CHURCH SATURDAYS 4pm Service SUNDAYS 9am Christian Ed Hour 10am Service CHURCH 330-836-7286 fairlawnlutheran.org [email protected]
SCHOOL
20 years of high-quality Christian education for
children preschool through Kindergarten.
Christian education
Small classes Convenient location
SCHOOL 330-864-7724
fairlawnlutheranschool.org [email protected]
Fairlawn Lutheran will embrace people and walk with them in a RELATIONSHIP with Christ.