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Active in Faith

May 2016

Monthly publication for members and friends of

Faith Lutheran Church 4005 Palm Drive, Punta Gorda, FL 33950

941-639-6309 faithadmin88@embarqmail.com

Pastor: Rev. Dana Alan Narring, MDiv

Mission and Vision Statement:

Empowering All People to Know Jesus Christ!

Monday 10:30 –Bible study on women in the Bible, “Encouraged in Heart”

by Dr. Mary Hilgendorf. Classes will resume in November.

Thursday – 10:30 to 11:30 AM – Pastor Clyde’s Thursday Bible class:

Studying the life of Moses

Worship Services

Saturday 5:30 Praise and Worship Service

Sunday 9:30 Worship Service

“as they were looking on, he was lifted

up, and a cloud took him out of their

sight.” Acts 1:9b

May 5

“And suddenly there

came from heaven a

sound like a mighty

rushing wind, and it

filled the entire house

where they were

sitting.” Acts 2:2

May 15 Trinity Sunday

May 22

May5

May 8

May 30

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Wandering Editor’s Note

Even though no articles were submitted this month, there are on-going activities

at Faith. Please read the bulletins. Those of you who are up north, please keep

Faith in your prayers and continue to support Faith financially. Terry and I will be

on the road May 2 to see friends and relatives and will arrive in IL on June 2.

God willing we will return to Punta Gorda on November 1.

Naomi Weslock

IMMEASURABLY MORE

As of April 2016

Mortgage Balance: $573,280.52

Prev. Monthly payment: $6,710.64

New Monthly payment: $4,869.94

Received IM (Just 1%): $114,850.00

Paid to principal: $104,000.00

Pledges Received to Date: $347,293.00

It is very important for you to use the separate “Mortgage Fund” envelopes for your pledge contributions. A separate check

from your Sunday donation is needed. You may also donate online at our website. Look for the Immeasurably More option.

Carol and Steve Meyer

The care packages containing personal products and

treats are like treasures from home. Items needed are

playing cards, games and movies are always welcome as

are most hygiene supplies (soaps, deodorant and individ-

ually wrapped baby wipes are high on the list). Please

place the items in the box in the narthex.

Food pantries are low! Please place food supplies in the

baskets.

Board of Missions

Joanna Waterman

Chairperson

As you can see from the figures to the left our capital campaign was successful and is already having a big impact on our mortgage payment. The generous members and friends of Faith have already given well over $100,000 towards their pledges which has reduced the monthly payment by over $1,800. Keep up the good work and praise the Lord.

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Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

Serve the Lord with gladness. Psalm 100:2

Naomi Weslock

Please keep Sam Fink, our adopted seminarian, in your prayers as he studies for the ministry at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

Please the letter from him on the following page.

Dates to remember: Sept. 30-Oct. 2: LWML FL-GA District Convention at Palm Beach Gardens, FL Nov. 9: Meeting Nov. 18: Set-up for the rally Nov. 19: Fall Zone Rally at Faith, Punta Gorda Dec. 3: Cookie Walk (Set-up Dec. 2) Jan. 25, 2017: Meeting Feb. 22: Meeting

Mar. 3 and 4: Flea Market (Set-up Feb. 27-Mar. 3) Mar. 22 Meeting Apr. 26: Meeting June 22-25, 2017 LWML Convention at Albuquerque, NM

Spreading the Gospel of Christ

Please continue to fill your mite boxes, bring them to Faith and deposit them in the

large Mite Box located on the LWML table in the narthex. The mites fund many

mission projects internationally such as Outreach in Refugee camps in Lebnon

($7200) which is one of 19 projects and in FL/GA district Muslim Mission Society

($7500) one of 10 mission grants. There are mite boxes on the LWML table if you

need one.

LWML FL-GA District Convention

September 30-October 2, 2016

PGA National Resort and Spa, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

If you wish to join our two delegates, Virginia Johnson and Joanna Waterman, and alternate,

Marilyn Bredvic, please pick up the information sheet on the LWML table.

The LWML bulletin board has been up-dated! Please take a look at it for information about the

Sarasota Zone Fall Rally on November 19 at Faith. Plan to attend this great event!

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To our great supporters and friends at Faith,

I hope this letter finds you well in this Joyous Easter Season!

My first spring quarter is well underway, and I am finding myself busier than ever. All students are

required to complete both an “Institutional” and “Cross-Cultural” module before their vicarage. I am

doing both this quarter. For my Institutional module I am visiting with patients at the nearby Saint

Mary’s hospital. I have the opportunity to meet and pray with people of many different back-

grounds and cultures, and it has been a wonderful experience. For my cross-cultural module, I am

taking sign language classes two evenings a week. It is a full emersion course with a deaf

instructor, and has already been very rewarding.

In worship class we have covered the cultural and ritual aspects that are behind our Lutheran

worship, as well as the concept of Liturgy, and what it entails. This week we started going over the

actual order of the service, defining things and learning about why we do them. In my Lutheran

Confessions course we just completed our first unit, which was on the three Ecumenical Creeds

(Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian) and how they came about. I am looking forward to our next unit,

which will be about the book of Concord. In Biblical Hermeneutics, we have covered New

Testament textual criticism, which is the work of deciphering the many manuscripts we have from

early church times to produce the text most accurate to the “autographs” or original Bible. Lastly,

my LCMS history class has been covering the story of the Saxon immigrants coming to St. Louis in

the 1830s, and the foundations of our synod.

On Sundays during Lent I taught a class at my field work congregation, Concordia Lutheran Church

in Kirkwood, MO. We walked together through a book by Seminary faculty member Travis Scholl

called “Walking the Labyrinth.” It was a challenging and very rewarding experience for me.

This August our Seminary will be sending a group of students to Israel to tour and study the Holy

land, an opportunity to gain 3 credits, as well as the experiences and knowledge of the places

Jesus lived. I have been accepted to attend and am very much looking forward to the trip. Please

keep our family in your prayers this busy summer.

As always, I write this letter in sheer amazement of your generosity toward our family this year. We

give thanks to our God often for you. Above is a photo that a friend took on Easter. Despite Eli’s

suspicious leer, we are so very grateful for our lives here and the opportunity we have because of

you.

In Christ,

Sam, Kelsey and the kids

A letter from Sam Fink, our adopted student.

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Board of Evangelism

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

It is said that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet but we’d like to be able to call

you by name! Many of you already know everyone in the congregation, but our newer members

and guest do not. Wearing your nametag every week may seem like a chore, but it is really an

act of kindness and fellowship, a small way to be more welcoming. If you’ve lost your nametag,

now is a great time to replace it. If you tend to leave your nametag in your other purse or in your

spouse’s car, get a second one to have on hand. There is a sign-up sheet for a new name tag on

the glass table in the narthex or call Betty Pio at 941-276-3621.

Susan Narring

Critical Update In our last newsletter, we announced that we are expecting another baby, and we were surprised to

find out in a recent ultrasound that it is a girl! After four boys, this will be quite a change. Her due

date is fast approaching in early August. Thankfully, so far the pregnancy is progressing without

complications, and we are ready to move and have the baby delivered in

Colombo, Sri Lanka. If we do not receive the "green light" in May, how-

ever, then it will be too late for Monica to travel, we will have to stay here

in the USA for several more months, to have the baby, and then wait un-

til it is safe for the baby to travel, probably in October.

The pledges of support that come in over the next TWO WEEKS, there-

fore, will be critical to determining whether we will move in May, where

our baby will be born, when we can finally deploy, and whether or not our

partner churches in Sri Lanka and India will have to wait another three

months before I can begin to serve them in person. A few months of ser-

vice overseas can change lives forever!

In terms of numbers, we are now about 80% funded, but still fall short by about $20,000 to meet

our goal, to be deployed. That would require just 17 people to pledge $100 per month; or 33 people

to pledge $50 per month; and so on.

Thank you to all of you who are already supporting us with your prayers and financial gifts. If you

would like to support this mission, and have not yet signed up, now would be a great time to do so!

To support our work financially, you may send a tax-deductible gift to: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Syn-

od P.O. Box 66861 St. Louis, MO 63166-6861 Make checks payable to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Syn-

od. Mark checks “Support of Edward Naumann.” Gifts can also be given securely online through the LCMS

website, on my online giving page at lcms.org/Naumann.

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Georgia Kaye

April 9, 2016

Born October 20, 2015

Parents: George Earl

Frantz III and Laura

Kaye Frantz

Happy 100th Birthday

to Lillian Vedder

“For the Lord is good; his

steadfast love endures for-

ever, and his faithfulness to

all generations.” Psalm

100:5

Thank you, Shirley Cyr,

for your faithful and

beautiful service at Faith.

We will miss your smiles!

God watch over you as

you begin your new jour-

ney in Geogia.

“Serve the Lord with gladness”

Psalm 100:2

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Bill Winslow 5/1

Ken Fladd 5/3

Martin Hudock 5/3

Tom Saxton 5/3

Candace Monroe 5/5

Trudi Hagel 5/6

Blanche M. Bensch 5/7

Phil Miller 5/9

Ron Stocker 5/12

Jan Jackson 5/13

Virginia Johnson 5/14

Margueritte Jones 5/14

David Cope 5/15

Heinz Bens 5/19

Donna MacDonald 5/19

Shelly Cope 5/20

Seth Norsell 5/21

Shirley Cyr 5/23

Ken Hagel 5/23

Jackie Saeger 5/23

Hal Jandola 5/25

Bob Manley 5/27

Kay Oetting 5/30

Leonora Suglio 5/30

Flo Norsell 5/31

Ron and Sharon Stocker 5/2 35 yrs.

Bob and Margaret Trapp 5/5 54 yrs.

Victor and Diane Gonzalez 5/9 46 yrs.

Dale and Blanche Bensch 5/22 57 yrs..

Edwin and Jackie Saeger 5/28 56 yrs.

Charlotte Puska

August 4, 1938-

March 31, 2016

Ronald Norsell, Sr.

June 5, 1941-

April 22, 2016

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March Ushers, Readers and Elder Schedule

View weekly announcements and calendar at: www.faithlutheranpg.com

The church’s office email address is: faithadmin88@embarqmail.com

Church office hours are 9am-2pm Monday-Friday

Deadline for May newsletter is April 22.

Please e-mail all announcements, articles and photos to wanderingweslocks@netzero.com

Editor will reserve the right to proofread and edit all articles for the monthly newsletter.

Date Ushers Reader Head Elder

Sun., May 1 Terry and Naomi Weslock Jackie Saeger and Doris Hinze

Naomi Weslock Roger Thalacker

Sat., May 7 Dick Lehman

Sun., May 8 Dick and Lou Young Sam Jackson and Cheryl Kampa

Pastor Koehler Gerry Misener

Sat., May 14 Dick Lehman

Sun., May 15 Bob and Gladys Manley

Ralph and Kathy Winkler Fred Vogelpohl Pete Daut

Sat., May 21 Ken Johnson

Sun., May 22 Larry and Marcia Berkel Phil and Ro Miller

Larry Berkel Larry Berkel

Sat., May 28 Dick Lehman

Sun., May 29 Dave and Shelly Cope Ken Johnson and Leonora Suglio

Dave Cope Dave Cope

Many of us enjoyed having a cup

of coffee on Sunday mornings in

the narthex.

Coffee/Welcome center was

made possible by a generous gift

from Marilyn Wessel in memory of

Pastor Ken Wessel. The center

was constructed by Jan Wells.