rejoice is a congregation of the elca | january 2020 our ... … · communication with the synod...
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Rejoice is a congregation of the ELCA | January 2020
Rejoice! Lutheran Church
7855 Stow Road
Hudson, OH 44236
contact R e j o i c e !
330-653-5980
www.rejoicelc.org
chu r ch coun c i l
Chad Bryant
Bethany Bryant
Janet Juliano
Paige Giannetti
Marilyn Olzmann
Lisa Ramsey
Chris Wisbar
bu l let in and
news letter
Sunday Worship
at
Rejoice! Lutheran Church
Worship: Sundays 9:30am
Sunday School: 10:45am
Sept—May
ou r m i s s io n “To rejoice in, and share
the good news of Jesus Christ
Rejoice Voice President’s Letter to Congregation Hello Rejoice!
Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had an enjoyable New Years celebra-tion. We stayed low key with some old friends.
Can you believe Y2K was 20 years ago? WOW!
I am excited about 2020. There is just something about a new start— a reset to get things rolling again.
Pastor Betti will be with us again for the month of January. For those of you that remember her from the first Sunday in November, she is very happy to be back. Her sermon was very well received and she meshed instantly with our congregation.
Communication with the synod and Pastor Biermann will resume when the new year begins on Jan. 6. We will get an update at that time on where things stand on a new interim as well as the Call process. I will share infor-mation as soon as it comes available.
Keep the faith in God and in this process, we have made it this far. I do see a light; I am just not sure how bright it is.
Here we come 2020!
Chad Bryant Rejoice! President 216-577-3442
Treasurer’s Finance Report December is typically a robust month for contributions and this holiday season was no exception. December’s revenues came in over $16,000 and expenses remained low at approximately $9,500 given our reduced pastoral expenses. Given our surplus, we paid an extra $1,000 toward the principal of the mortgage at the end of November. Final YTD revenues hit $174,000 between both operating and capital, hitting our targets for the year with a slight surplus. Expenses for the year were at $151,000 primarily due to our reduced pastoral expenses, leaving a YTD surplus of $23,000. The congregation passed a slight deficit budget for 2020 so this surplus will contribute towards the 2020 anticipated losses and additional amounts may be used for additional principal payments toward the mortgage, once we have better estimates on our pastoral expenses with an interim.
Bethany Bryant, Treasurer
PAGE 2 R EJO IC E VO IC E
Rejoice! Call Committee January, 2020
Happy New Year! As we embark on 2020, the next stage in God’s plan for us begin to unfold. Pastor Karl made some suggestions which we incorporated into our Ministerial Site Profile and now we wait. Patiently. He is comparing our ministry needs and priorities to candidates’ strengths and passions in order to identify some individu-als who the Call Committee can begin to evaluate. Progress is being made even though we can’t see it.
Once the committee receives those names, we will not be able to share them with you until we identify a single candidate that we unani-mously agree to recommend to council. Confidentiality is an impor-tant tenet of the call process. We promise to keep you apprised of our progress generally and ask that you respect our need to keep in-dividuals under consideration confidential until we are ready to recom-mend someone, at which point you will have the opportunity to meet him or her prior to a congregational meeting.
Please remain patient, and continue to keep the call committee in your prayers.
Russ Ackerman Chris Bryant Tom Freborg Felicia Leipzig
Congratulations to Bob Radl as an Unsung Hero in Akron Bob Radl, a member of Rejoice for 10 years, was recognized as an “Unsung Hero” by the Akron Beacon Journal on December 27 for his significant volunteer efforts with the Bhutanese population in Akron (see link to ABJ article and video below).
After Bob retired, he was looking for some positive ways to spend his time while contributing more to the community. His wife, Janice, saw an article about the International Institute of Akron (IIA), an organization which welcomes new Americans to Akron to help make the community their home. She gave the article to Bob, encouraging him to become involved, which he promptly did!
IIA focuses on programs and services that “assist those born outside of the United States to integrate into American society.” After some training, Bob began by helping a family in 2012 and has continued to maintain that relationship, while also becoming engaged with several other families. He started by just helping them go through mail, learn how to pay bills, go to doctors’ appointments, work with gov-ernment offices for various registrations and even how to get a green card and driver’s license.
Bob received the ultimate compliment from his Bhutanese American friends when he was ill for a while. They came to the hospital to visit him and then eventually to his home as well, where they proactively did several outdoor tasks for Bob to assist him. He has attended their citizenship ceremo-nies and benefitted by developing close relationships.
Please congratulate Bob and learn more about what he continues to gain from this experience of helping others. Also see the ABJ link and video interview: https://www.beaconjournal.com/news/20191227/unsung-hero-mentoring-akrons-bhutanese-refugees-becomes-second-career-for-robert-radl
Family Fun Nights Want some fun time with family and friends? Join our "Family Fun Nights” on the 4th Friday night of each month. Coming in January, enjoy an optional dinner, short bible study, and fun activi-ties with your kids, grand-kids and other adults! Invite friends, neighbors and others to join in a gath-ering of fun and laughter during the winter months! Mark your calendars! See flyer attached.
Carla Maurer Marilyn Olzmann Ellen Wisbar
R EJO IC E! VO IC E PAGE 3
January Birthdays
December 2019 Financial Report
If you do not see your birthday or anniversary listed, or it is incorrect, please help us update our info. Contact C a r l a M a u r e r a t [email protected]
Christmas Eve at Rejoice!
Thank you all for your cards, greetings and generous gifts this Christmas!
May God Bless you in the new year! —Carla Maurer
Devyn & Sean Giannetti
Felicia Leipzig and Pr. Jim Kulma
George Arnold
John Leipzig & grandsons
Christmas Eve Fellowship
Lisa Ramsey
Ma
rilyn O
lzma
nn
Bo
b G
ian
ne
tti a
nd
Ch
ris W
isb
ar
4 William Nagy
11 Marisa McLelland
16 Dana Bryant
22 Joyce Clothier
24 Ellen Ackerman
25 Jen Radel
2019
Dec Actual Dec Budget Dec Variance
to Budget YTD Actual YTD Budget
YTD Vari-ance to Budget
2019 Budget
INCOME:
General Revenue $11,220 $9,173 $2,047 $112,809 $110,081 $2,728 $110,081
Capital Revenue $3,205 $3,888 ($684) $44,297 $46,660 ($2,363) $46,660
Other $1,595 $1,300 $295 $17,250 $15,600 $1,650 $15,600
Total Income $16,020 $14,361 $1,659 $174,356 $172,341 $2,015 $172,341
EXPENSES:
General Expense $5,468 $10,403 $4,935 $92,848 $120,355 $27,507 $120,355
Capital Expense $4,000 $4,000 $0 $58,281 $48,000 ($10,281) $48,000
Total Expenses $9,468 $14,403 $4,935 $151,130 $168,355 $17,225 $168,355
VARIANCE
Total Variance $6,552 ($42) $23,227 $3,986 $3,986
Benevolence Giving $833 $417 $416 $5,000 $5,000 $0 $5,000
7855 Stow Rd. Hudson, Ohio 44236
REJOICE! LUTHERAN CHURCH
Phone: 330-653-5980 E-mail: [email protected]
We’re on the web!
www.rejoicelc.org
Paying it Forward Rejoice has been so
blessed by many mission
partners. Let us pay it
forward to others who
need our blessings!
January’s 3rd Sunday of the month loose offering will be donated to Lu-theran Campus Ministries of Kent.
Many thanks to those who contributed in December to the Rejoice Samaritan Fund.
Men’s Group Rejoice Men’s Group
will meet at Perkin’s
restaurant, in Hud-
son, on Jan. 18 at 8:00
a.m. Please come out
and join us for break-
fast and conversation.
Evening Women’s Bible Study Group The Women’s Bible Study group will meet on
Jan 13., 7:00pm at April Yanda’s
Feb 10., 7:00pm at Marilyn Olzmann’s
Christian Unity Prayer Service and Luncheon - Jan. 23, 2020 The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each January. Hudson churches will gather on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 10:00 AM for a prayer service and luncheon. This interdenominational service will be held at Hudson United Methodist Church in Hudson, located at 2670 Hudson-Aurora Rd.
After the prayer service, ticket holders will enjoy a luncheon catered by Nosh’s Eatery and Creative Catering.
Our featured speaker after the luncheon is Professor Carolyn Behrman from the University of Akron. A staunch advocate for community-based research and service-learning, Dr Behrman devotes part of her time to cultivating community-based partnerships and developing curriculum that aligns course content goals with partners’ concern. She will share her stories of working with the Asian immigrant communities in Akron.
Ticket price is $18.00 per person and may be obtained from Carla Maurer or Ginny Pillsbury after Dec 11.
Rejoice Care Committee: Please let any of the following know if any congregation members experience sickness, a death in the family, new babies, or other situations where we might be of some assistance.
George Arnold, Joyce Clothier, Tom Freborg, Judi Boebel, Carla Maurer, Chad Bryant
Christmas Tree Takedown Please join us on Satur-day, Jan 11 at 9:30am to help take down the Christ-mas decorations! Many hands will make the work go quickly!