February 2021
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February 2021 Newsletter for the Congregation And Friends of ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 101 N. Greenwood Street, Tamaqua, PA 18252 (570) 668-2180 ~ FAX (570)668-2181 Pastor ~ Cindy White Melody Gensure ~ Parish Administrator - Email~ [email protected] Parish website ~ www.ziontamaqua.com Our Mission: Zion proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament as Gospel messengers in the community. We seek to be instruments through which God transforms lives and strengthens relationships within families and within our community of believers. 1 Happy February Brothers and sisters in Christ, The congregation of Zion continues to thrive during these trying times of the pandemic. This is “heart” month as we will be celebrating Valentine’s day. The Lutheran church commemorates Saint Valentine on February 14th. Saint Valentine born in 226 AD. He was a clergyman, either a Bishop or Priest. He is believed to have defended Christians in Rome during the Roman persecution, healed a blind girl and converted many people to Christianity. He was martyred for not recanting his faith on February 14th in the year 269 AD. He is the patron Saint for love, marriage, epileptics and beekeepers. Wednesday morning prayer will be celebrating “Love” all month. I will be having guest singers every Wednesday. You will want to tune in and be surprised by some of my guest’s talent. There is only one word for love in the English language. I far prefer the Greek language that has 7 words to describe love. They are as follows: Eros, romantic love, Philia: intimate, authentic friendship, Ludus, playful flirtatious love, Storge: unconditional, familial love, Philautia: self-love, Pragma: committed companion love, and last but not least, Agape: empathetic, universal love. I think that is much more descriptive, don’t you? In this case, 7 words are better than 1. I pray that this month finds you with many opportunities to express and experience the love of Christ in your lives. He encompasses everything and more than all of the above definitions. Please stay warm and well. I continue to pray for you all. I will leave you with this Biblical quote. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8 May God bless and keep you all, Yours in Christ, Pastor Cindy 2 ZION IN-PERSON WORSHIP - Church Council has approved Sunday in-person worship beginning Sunday, January 31. The Saturday 5:30 p.m. worship will remain virtual (online) for the time being. Council has set the worship attendance number at 25. The service is currently downstairs until the sanctuary lighting improvement project is completed. Reservations for the Sunday service will be accepted on a first come, first served basis by calling the Parish office at 570-668-2180 or by email at [email protected]. The Parish office is open Monday and Wednesday, Noon to 5 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reservations can be made Friday, the cut-off day, by calling 610-674-2072. Zion is following CDC guidelines and members are expected to also act responsibly. Those attending must wear a mask and only members living in the same household may sit together. Both Saturday and Sunday services are live-streamed on the church website. The Sunday service is also available on the Zion Facebook page. All services are available on PhoneLiveStream by calling 570-393-2180. Services are recorded for later viewing and listening. Our ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING will be held Sunday, February 14, 2021, following the 9AM Service. Please plan to join us as a quorum needs to met. PLANNED GIVING - Church Council has established a three-person team to develop a planned giving strategy for Zion. The team is led by George Taylor and consists of one Council member and one member of the congregation. Ernie Henritzy is the Council member. The team will review available materials and brainstorm ways of conveying information to the congregation. Do you feel called to serve on this ministry? If so, contact George Taylor at [email protected] or at 570-668- 4451. P.S. If you are planning to revise or make a will this year, consider including the church. Hoagie sale - The Culinary Team at Zion Lutheran in Tamaqua is holding a hoagie sale. Order by January 28, 2021 at https://www.ziontamaqua.com or by calling 570- th 668-4451. Pick up is Friday, February 5 from noon until 5:00 pm. Altar Flower and Bulletin Sponsors needed for 2021 - The Altar Flower and Bulletin Sponsor list for 2021 is on the table in the gathering room. The costs of the flowers are $26.50 and individuals will be billed from the florist. The cost of the bulletin sponsorship is $16.00 and monies are due when you place your name on the list. You can also sponsor the Candles for the month at $40. Please remember to fill out a card with your honorarium or memorial this information is needed for the bulletin. Please do not sign up without filling out a form. These sponsorships are on a first come first serve basis; this is to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to sponsor these memorials. Please contact the church office if you have questions. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. 3 Morning Prayer on Facebook and Website: Rev. Cindy White reads a selected Bible verse and offers a brief message or song Wednesdays at 9 a.m. Individuals with specific prayer requests can email those requests to Pastor White at [email protected]. Services Streamed on your phone Zion has begun offering worship services and messages through a phone streaming service. The target audience is our homebound members who receive calls when a service or message is about to begin. Anyone can call 570-393-2180 (it’s a local number) and listen. Services are recorded so a caller can listen to recent services or messages. We started using the service right before Christmas and as of Jan. 26, we’ve phone- streamed 14 events and 89 people have listened. The service costs $59 per month and has been sponsored the first three months by members of Church Council. Would you consider being a sponsor for a month? If you feel called to be a sponsor, please write PHONELIVE STREAM on your envelope or check. The Lenten series for this year invites us to prepare for Easter with the words of the lay theologian and beloved writer C.S. Lewis. His insights and love for Jesus will be a gift to us during this contemplative time of Lent. I believe this is just what will feed our hearts and souls during a Lent living with Covid- 19. Hope to see you at Saint John's starting Wednesday, February 17th -March 31st. yours in Christ, Pastor Cindy 4 Zion’s 2021 Church Council officers: Chris Henritzy, President, Michael Haspe, Vice-President, Tiffany Warden, Secretary, Dave Gensure, Treasurer, and Ann Marie Hadesty, Financial Secretary. Other members of Council include: Sam Caley, Arlene Derr, Ernie Henritzy, Brenda Hill, Glenn Fritzinger, Brian Lawfer, Bob Maue, Bonnie Painter, and Mary Ruth Taylor; if you have suggestions or concerns, please seek out a member of Council so that we can promptly address the needs of the congregation. lease note if you have recently become a member or feel there are changes in your membership information please fill out a membership packet located in the Gathering P Room. If you need them sent to you, please contact the church office. Thank you for keeping our records up to date. Upcoming Events February 5 – Pick-up Hoagies 12:00 until 5:00 pm February14 – Annual Meeting February 17 – Ash Wednesday at St. John’s Lutheran Would you like to make a gift to our Capital Campaign today? Do you need an envelope for your gift? Blank envelopes can be found in the rear of the church on either side. Please just write your name and Capital Campaign on the envelope so we can give you credit; and place the envelope in the boxes found on the wall on either side at the back on the sanctuary. For information on our Capital Campaign, please visit our website at http://www.ziontamaqua.com/capital-campaign/ Please Join Us! Saturday Worship – 5:30 pm/ Online Only Sunday Worship – 9:00 am / Reservations Only Christian Education – 10:15 am 5 Remember to shop with the AmazonSmile program. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Zion whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support Zion by shopping at smile.amazon.com. Just go to our website or Facebook and click the link. Thanks in advance for your support!! December 2020 Council Highlights There will be no in-person services, including Christmas Eve. This will be reviewed at the January Council meeting. Services will continue to be streamed. Council approved a three-month trial of Live Stream Phone Service as another way to share our services with members. The cost will be covered by donations from three council members. Council approved Miller Keystone holding a blood drove at Zion the end of January or beginning of February. Details will follow. Twenty-five pork and sauerkraut dinners will be delivered to home bound members on New Year’s Day. Confirmation classes will resume in January, via Zoom. 2020 financial statements have been mailed. The IRS requires us to only send statements to those who contributed $75 and above. Please be advised that we will be following the IRS requirement and will send statements only to those who have contributed $75 and above.