st. paul’s epistle st. paul’s epistle · st. paul’s lutheran church 2 ... imagine being in...

St. Paul’s Epistle


October-November 2013

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

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Office Phone: 703/573-0295 Pastor’s Direct Line: 703/573-6008 Sunday services are held at 8:00 and 11:00 a.m.

Worship in Mandarin is held at 9:30 a.m. Sunday School and adult classes are held at 9:30 a.m.

Pastor — The Rev. Mark Shaltanis Assistant/Chinese Pastor — The Rev. Xinhong (Chris) Yang

Pastoral Assistant — The Rev. Wayne Lehrer Director of Music — Laurel Benson Brown

Preschool Director — LuAnn Carrig Director of Youth — Stacy Blake

Director of Education and Family Life — Melissa Hecht Secretary — Susan Irwin

Business Manager — Ellen Heup Newsletter Editors — Marcia Baumgartner,

Linda Orvedahl, Kim Williams Church is located at the intersection of

Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and Idylwood Road.


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Pastor’s Corner

Lessons from the Sermon on the Mount Recently I was asked to submit an audio recording of a five-

minute “sermonette” to be aired on the Lutheran radio station KFUO. This station has served as a voice of our church for many years, broadcasting out of St. Louis, but now streamed through-out the world via the Internet. Go to www.kfuoam.org to find out more or to listen in. Here’s the message I submitted based on Matthew 6:16–34:

Today’s text comes from that section of Matthew’s Gospel commonly known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” Since one of the purposes of this sermon is to show Jesus standing in the foot-steps of Moses, the great law-giver, it is no surprise that we have here three teachings addressed with the introductory words “do not.” “Do not draw attention to yourself when fasting. Do not store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. And do not be anx-ious about your life.”

The first two of these subjects sound like typical moral teaching, as would commonly be found in a list of laws. We can understand them well. People should not draw attention to themselves when fasting because that is using one’s devotional life for some kind of personal gain received from others. Like-wise, people should not store up for themselves treasures on earth because that is a misplaced priority. We should be more concerned about being rich toward God.

But what about that third command of Jesus, to not be anx-ious? How can Jesus expect this? Isn’t anxiety something we just feel? Doesn’t it come about naturally?

We get the sense that this statement of Jesus must be more than just a moral command. But what then is it? Only when we

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understand that Jesus is more than just a law-giver can we un-derstand this teaching. Jesus is also our Savior. He was sent by God to redeem us. He died on the cross to take away our sin. As our Savior, his words take on a meaning of promise and hope as well as command.

So Jesus can tell us not to be anxious because he has overcome all that causes anxiety. He has saved us from sin, which leads to all worry. He beautifully and memorably illustrates this by pointing to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Just as God cares for them—overcoming their challenges of food and shelter—so will he also, and even more, care for his beloved people.

We may still have feelings of anxiety as we struggle to faith-fully believe our Savior. Our eyes still see the dangers, and our emotions often kick in ahead of our faith. God understands. His words are not just a command but also an assurance and an invi-tation. He assures us that God is caring for us, and he invites us to be at peace.

For Christians, some of our anxious emotions are simply a response to another side of our faith—the side that cares for oth-ers in response to our Lord. The scriptures reflect this dichotomy. We think of St. Paul telling the Corinthian Christians, in chapter 12 of his first letter, to be anxious in caring for the other members of the body (v. 25). And we recall how Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippian Christians because he was anxious for their welfare (2:20). We worry because we care. But Jesus warns us not to be overcome by our worry.

Martha wanted to prepare a meal for Jesus. She cared about his good health. But Jesus told her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is neces-sary.” The disciples of Jesus were being sent out as sheep among wolves. He assured them, “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.”

What is it that you are anxious about? Is it your children? Your career? Your health? Your country? Your church? Most of us have a long list of concerns. And it is good that we are con-cerned, for God wants us to care for each of these. But it is even


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Sunday School Teachers 2013–2014

Pre K and Kindergarten Linda Orvedahl and Holly Freelander

First and Second Grade Nikki Gage and Denise Taranov

Third Grade Janet Poore and Theresa Shaltanis

Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Jill Hecht and Lynn Jacquez

Seventh and Eighth Grade Tawni and Sean Harrell

High School Janice Sebring

Thank you to all our teachers for your time and dedication.

more important that we trust in God’s care. “Your heavenly Fa-ther knows that you need them,” as Jesus says in the text.

“Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you,” says the Psalmist (55:22). “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you,” Peter reminds us in his epistle (5:17). “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” concludes Jesus in this text, “and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Coming from anyone else we might think a command to not be anxious is folly. But coming from Jesus, our Lord and Savior, these words reflect the wisdom of God and give us his peace. May this peace be yours forever. Amen.

—Pastor Mark


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Stewardship Our 2013 stewardship emphasis will fall in November,

under this theme: “To Each a Spiritual Gift, for the Common Good.” You can hear, in that title, that we will focus more on the gifts and talents God has given us—to recognize them and to use them in a way that pleases God. You will get details in a congregational letter, but this little devotion from Portals of Prayer for August 23, 2013, actually introduces the subject of spiritual gifts at work to honor God better than anything we would write. Please read I Kings 3 and this devotion to pre-pare you to participate in our stewardship Sundays.

Friday, August 23 Endless Possibilities

Imagine being in the courtroom when Solo-mon declares, “Bring me a sword” (v. 24) and says to divide the child and give each woman half (v. 25). Do you think Solomon had a situation like this on his mind when he asked the Lord for the gift of wisdom? The almighty God, in his perfect knowl-

edge, knew exactly how his gift would be used and how it would be perceived.

We all have talents and God-given gifts. Maybe we have not been as forthright as Solomon in asking and receiving specific gifts or talent, but God does bless his people with gifts that he ex-pects them to use. We should take time to consider our God-given gifts. We can ask for his help in discerning our gifts and using them in God-pleasing ways.

Perhaps people have “stood in awe” of our gifts and perhaps not. Regardless, rest assured that our Lord is waiting to greet us with these words: “Well done, good and faithful ser-vant” (Matthew 25:21). For despite our failings, our Lord redeems us by his blood and makes us acceptable in his sight.

Dear Lord, You know the gifts You have given me. Bless me so that I take courage in using them in ways that honor and glorify You. Amen.

Read 1 Kings 3 Psalm 112:1–4 And they stood in awe of the king, because they per-ceived that the wis-dom of God was in him to do justice.

—1 Kings 3:28


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Keith Sanderson

Mary Ann Wollerton

Anita Moorehead

Eunice Brown

June Frazier

Joe Mills

Dee Sitnik

Maureen Forcier

Peter Frenze

Jack Hartman


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Leisure Group Picnic at Lehrer’s Home August 8, 2013

Our meal started with a prayer of thanks to God for the wonderful assortment of delicious food. A different dish was brought by each person. And the Lehrers provided the main course and drinks. Lois, our hostess, is at the far left. Our chef was Pastor Lehrer, who was, as always, dressed appropriately for the occasion. He is probably ex-plaining to Al and Vivian Attermeyer how he grills his juicy hamburgers. Vivian Attermeyer, Trudy Walker, Marge Glass, Pastor Yang, Mary Ann Wollerton, and Mona Smith enjoy the good meal and the fellowship.


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Pictures by Luther Smith Article by Trudy Booth

Marge Glass appears to have the two pastors stumped over a difficult question. Gladys Hane watches as Dot Woodbury slices the cake with mathematical precision.

The Leisure Group will visit Mary Washington’s home in Fredericksburg on

Thursday, October 10.

Call Trudy Booth (703/256-7151) to sign up.


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October 1 Olivia Johann 2 Sophia Amusah Shirley Harjes 3 Yong Xian Ma Kim Williams 4 May-Britt Alexis Joseph Godbee 6 Marian Robinson Chloe Shaltanis Alek Taranov 7 Jeanette Muller Val Noring Steve Perlowski 8 Kyra Godbee Xin Wang 9 Gary Follin Michael Harkins Katie O’Neill 11 Jack Hartman Noah Starck 13 Henrique Schneider Jason Starck 14 Jacob Gage Mary Ma Arthur Schneider Cliff Warfield 15 Lauren Perlowski 16 Rebecca Yang 18 Kaitlin Armstrong 19 Chris Frenze Jeannine Ramakis 20 Jessica Stark 22 Sean Harrell 23 Mary Janssen Hannah Rollins 24 Kadyn Godbee Daniel Wang

27 Blaine McCants Timothy Provance 29 Daisy Zhu 31 Xin Wang

November 3 Kim Follin Cassie Freedlander 4 Tori Jewell Jerry Orvedahl Dong Xia Sun 7 Bev Mackey Addison Piceno 8 Jerry Meyer 9 Mike Johnshoy 10 Robbie Hecht Zachary Yashar 11 Einar Hirw 14 Christian Hecht 15 Steve Berg 18 Fabiano Schneider 19 Gloria Farbstein 21 Jason Kruse II Jeanne Piceno Wen Juan Tan 22 Bill Gratz Richard Thomas 23 Enoch Boateng 25 Michael Tang 26 Mark Behrens Barbara Easterly Ted Lay 27 Janice Sebring 28 May Laedtke Yaxiao Zhao Judith Bellock


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Rally Day Chili Cook-off Winner Congratulations to Xiang (Shawn) Wang and the Chinese congregation for their winning chili recipe at the Rally Day Chili Cook-off!

It’s Chili by George

Ingredients Original recipe makes 10 servings

2 pounds lean ground beef 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon white sugar 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/4 cup chili powder

Directions

1. Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium‐high heat until evenly brown. Drain and crumble.

2. In a large pot over high heat, combine the ground beef, to‐mato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pep‐per, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)


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Preschool News October/November 2013

I am so glad that God created seasons. Especially fall. How about you? It is a reminder that God is in control of our world and all things. The cooler temperatures, the crisp air, and the beautiful colors are renewing and refreshing.

The preschool year has begun with 77 children in our care. God has provided wonderful children and families for us to teach, minister to, and love. There are never two years that are alike, so we begin again, new and fresh.

The teachers, children, and families are getting to know one another; the children are beginning to know the daily routine; and some are happy, some not so much. Just as the leaves are beginning to change, our Preschool children are changing also. Our youngest (two-and-one-half years olds) are growing in their ability to leave Mom or Dad and trust another adult who cares for them. Our older children are learning to problem solve, nego-tiate their wants and needs, and write their names. There is much to experience and learn in each preschool day!

This month, the children will be going on a field trip to Poto-mac Vegetable Farm. This organic working farm, just west of Ty-sons Corner, provides the children an opportunity to see vegeta-bles and flowers in the fields. Sometimes they are even offered a taste of a fresh vegetable just plucked from a bush or the ground. Did you know a fresh carrot really tastes much sweeter? The children also get to see chickens, pigs, and goats. Can you believe that for some of our children this is their first experience being on a farm? Our children also learn that vegetables and fruit are produced in the grocery store! And of course the best part of the trip is that each child gets to pick the perfect pumpkin to take

“I like the world in autumn, The days are oh so crisp.

This one season of the four, Holds joy that can’t be missed. I find some joy in every day, There is no doubt about it,

I am so glad God created four seasons.” (author unknown)


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home! The children will also have the opportunity to participate in our annual “Let’s Pretend Parade” on October 31 at 12:10 p.m. If you want to see something GREAT, feel free to stop by for this fun school event.

In November, the children will be learning about travel and Thanksgiving. This is one of my favorite months. History reports that the Pilgrims would not have called the gathering of 1621 “Thanksgiving Day,” but in fact the religious celebration that we know today gradually evolved into a yearly feast and celebra-tion. As America grew and New Englanders moved to new states, the custom of an annual Thanksgiving Day took root in our country. And I am glad it did. Thanksgiving Day gives us the opportunity to reflect on how God has blessed our lives and made them fuller and more complete. While some children are thankful for toys and candy, many of the older children are learning what true thankfulness is and are beginning to express their thankfulness for their family and their home.

In chapel, the children are hearing Bible truths about Noah’s ark, Abraham, Joseph and his special coat, Moses, King David, Elijah, and how Jesus healed the 10 lepers. Chapel is held for our classes on Thursday and Friday mornings at 9:45.

So as you can see, we are off to another wonderful start! Stop by and see us anytime. We love visitors. In closing, I’ll leave you with this poem written by George Herbert (1593–1633):

Thou that has given so much to me, Give one thing more—a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleases me, As if Thy blessings had spare days;

But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.

Have a blessed and memorable fall, and don’t forget to count your blessings!

God’s Instrument, LuAnn Carrig Director


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The Wittenberg Project

Don’t miss the Witten-berg Project article in the September issue of The Lu-theran Witness (page 23.) This interesting Luther-based project in Wittenberg, Germany, is being coordi-nated by the Rev. David Mahsman. The Rev. Mahsman has visited St. Paul’s several times, and St. Paul’s has given him both financial and Christ-centered support.

December–January Newsletter

Deadline: November 20

Send submissions to [email protected],

[email protected], and

[email protected]


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