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MESSIAH MEMOS Messiah Fairview Park Issue 6: October 2017

Celebrating the Reformation

at Messiah Lutheran Church

We are a few weeks away from one of the

most important anniversaries our church will ever celebrate!

500 years ago, on October 31, 1517, an obscure professor at a 15 year-old university turned the Western world on its head. He did it in the oddest of ways, by posting an academic objection, in nine-ty five numbered sentences, to the practice of sell-ing indulgences to raise money for church pro-jects.

Fumes of discontent choked the air of late medie-val Europe. Luther is the hero—or culprit, depend-ing on your point of view—whose sparking pen made them explode.

Luther’s heirs today have another way of looking at it. We dare to trust that God was involved, deeply and graciously, in that Reformation explo-sion. That's why Lutherans are making a special fuss of celebrating it this year, and of thanking God for it too.

At the heart of our fuss and our thanks is the

simple fact that people around the globe are able to hear the Gospel in 2017. It seems obvious to us that Luther's igniting spark of 500 years ago has much to do with this.

I realize that "the Gospel" is a piece of shorthand church-talk that confuses lots of English speakers in 2017, so let me explain what we mean by it at Messiah Lutheran Church.

In simplified terms, the Gospel is Christ offering himself and his benefits, no questions asked, to

every person who comes to meet him in Holy Communion.

In other words, the Gospel is any set of words that delivers the promise of God's unwavering commit-ment, anchored in the death and resurrection of Jesus, to hold people in his love today, no matter who or how or where they are; and whether they deserve this love—not a one of them does—is en-tirely beside the point. That Christ deserves it for them is the only thing that matters.

Were it not for Luther and the Reformation,

chances are strong that the only thing we'd be hearing in churches these days is the same old reli-gious talk about all those things a person has to do to get to heaven. Instead we get to hear the far better story of how God in heaven is reaching down to grab hold of us and bring us home, with joy and laughter along the way.

We have a great celebration in the works for Octo-ber 29, when we mark the anniversary at Messiah. With all my heart I encourage you to be on hand that day to enjoy God's Reformation gifts. Yes, he still insists on giving them, and no, he will not quit.

--Pastor Burce

“The Gospel cannot be preached

and heard enough, for it cannot be

grasped well

enough…”

- Martin Luther

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Back-To-School Highlights at Messiah Lutheran School

From the Interim Music Director

Calling all those who enjoy singing – Messiah Choir needs more voices! I ask you to prayerful- ly consider if you are called to serve in the music ministry at Messiah. The choir rehearses from 7-8:30 pm on Thursdays in the balcony.

Cantors are needed for both Sunday services to chant and lead the congregation in singing the Psalm and the Gospel Acclamation. If you are interested in trying chanting, please contact me.

- Linda Kempke, Interim Director of Music, lkempke@cox.net

Did you know that Messiah Lutheran School supports one of only FOUR ELEA accredited K-8 schools in the entire ELCA nationwide? On behalf of all students, families and staff of Messiah Lutheran School, I thank you for your continued support of this unique ministry! Your day school min-istry is off to a great start this year. We welcomed new staff and stu-dents, many of them in preschool and Kindergarten, and our total enroll-ment is up! Trends show that 75 percent of our preschool students attend Messiah Lutheran School for Kindergarten, so growth in preschool is very encouraging.

We’re off to a great (and busy) start this year. Our teachers and students are already planning some great fall field trips to libraries, orchards, farms and more. Our school lunches have featured peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from the school garden. We’ve had internationally known speaker Bob Lenz present to our students in grades 4-8, and sixth and seventh grades have already led chapel. Our fifth-eighth grade students are now all reading our first community novel, Wonder, and we invite you to read along with us. Middle school students are stepping into their roles as leaders of our youngest students as reading buddies, lunch help-ers and more.

We’d love to connect you with this ministry. We’re looking for volunteers for a few different activities, in-cluding tutoring, teaching Junior Achievement courses about economics and business, and more! Contact me at hcasselberry@messiahfp.org or 440.331.6553 to use your gifts in this special ministry of Messiah Church. We continue to pray for members of Messiah Church, and we appreciate your prayers as well!

- Helen Casselberry, Principal

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Stewardship 2017: Let’s Celebrate

Messiah - It’s time to Party!

In the Lutheran Christian tradition, Refor-mation Sunday is a big deal. Many, but not all, Christian traditions celebrate the Reformation, and when it is celebrated, it is most often cele-brated on the last Sunday of October each and every year. In this way, Reformation Sunday is a yearly celebration.

This year, the celebration is again happening the last Sunday of October. Just like Christmas is celebrated every year in the Western tradi-tion on December 25, Reformation is celebrat-ed every year. But this year is different. This year is special. This year the Reformation is being celebrated for the 500th time. Pause for a moment and say that out loud … 500 years!

What a long time! What a magnificent ex-panse of God’s activity of goodness and mercy which leads us to Celebration.

Messiah - Let’s Celebrate!

This year’s theme for the annual time of Stew-ardship 2017 will focus on Celebration. God has already given it all, and we simply get an opportunity to say “thanks” and participate in what God is up to in this world. Stewardship

2017 is a time to both look backward and for-ward. We recognize in this Reformation, that you and I are here and that we have heard the Good News. We have heard the Good News because of the faithfulness of generations that have gone before us. We are able to read the Bible because of those who preserved manu-scripts and made God’s Word available to oth-ers. We oftentimes sing hymns written hun-dreds of years ago because musicians were supported and encouraged to create music to the Glory of God. We worship in this marvel-ous facility because of the vision of others who saw the possibilities for a congregation on Lo-rain Road, and our sanctuary is enhanced by the vision of the congregational leaders, gifted stained glass crafts-people, and generous do-nors throughout the last 88 years.

As we look to the future and what God is do-ing with and through us, let us pray that we will be as faithful as those that have preceded us.

Let’s celebrate and praise the Lord through the gifts and our offerings of thanksgiving.

+ Pastor Seth

For more information, or to volunteer,

contact Kristine Kascak at 440.331.2405

or kkascak@messiahfp.org.

Sunday, October 22, 4 pm

Messiah Lutheran Church & School

21485 Lorain Road, Fairview Park Gather your ghouls and goblins for trick-or-treating from car trunk to car trunk in the

Messiah parking lot.

Stay for hot dogs and fellowship!

FREE event for the community.

All are invited! Join us, rain or shine!

Want to Help?

Join the Fun

Be a Trunk Host

Food & Treat Donations

Also Needed

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“God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sun-day Results

Messiah donated more than four grocery carts

full of groceries and toiletries to the Fairview

Park Hunger Center and Love INC. After the

items were collected on Rally Day, they were

prayed over in worship, that they might help

nourish and benefit our local community mem-

bers in need.

Mission & Outreach

October Coat Drive

Time to clean out your closets and do-

nate new or gently worn coats and

jackets to Love in the Name of Christ, a

local non-profit that supports Cuya-

hoga County residents in need. Please bring your coats

to church during the first four Sundays in October, and

place them in the box outside the church office. The

coats will be picked up, cleaned and delivered to the

homeless and poor throughout Cuyahoga County. If

purchasing a new coat, please buy sizes XXL and larger.

Laundry Love Ministry

Update

On the last Thursday of each

month, five to ten Laundry Love

Messiah team members gather a

mile east of our campus at Leo’s

Laundromat on Lorain Road for a

creative ministry that helps en-

gage with people in our communi-

ty “where they are.” Here we provide free laundry ser-

vices and a meal, helping alleviate the financial burden

for those in need. As of our September event, we have

paid for over four tons of laundry at a cost of about

$200 a month.

Starting this month, we will be accepting donations of

new and gently used children’s books to donate to the

children who come to laundromat with their families.

As many of our Laundry Love volunteers are educa-

tors, we also will be offering tutoring to students as

needed.

Thank you Messiah for your continued support of our

ministry. If you would like to get involved or contribute

financially, please contact Janice Snyder at

jsnyder@messiahfp.org.

Hurricane Relief Matching Gifts

Total

2017 has been one of the most active and de-

structive hurricane seasons on record. Messiah

Lutheran Church & School have been collecting

donations for Lutheran Disaster Response, one

of the most respected disaster relief agencies.

Thanks to a generous match by Thrivent Finan-

cial, the $4,000 collected by Messiah Lutheran

Church before Sept. 30 will be doubled by

Thrivent before being donated to Lutheran Dis-

aster Response. You can still make a donation to

hurricane relief work online at messiahfair-

view.org, or by making a check out to Messiah

Lutheran Church and writing “Hurricane Relief”

in the subject line.

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FAMILY NEWS

WEDDINGS

EMILY GOODLIVE & BEN SAYERS

SEPT. 23

IN MEMORY

ANDREA SCHUMANN

NOVEMBER 6, 1932-SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

JUNE SCHULTZ

JUNE 5, 1935-SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

High School Youth Fundraisers

More than 25 Messiah youth have registered to attend the 2017 Youth Gathering in Houston next Summer. While this is an amazing demonstration of blossoming faith in our young people, it means our youth need to get busy raising more than $30,000 for our large group to attend the event. Here are a few unique fundraising opportunities:

Do You Have Odd Jobs? Do you have odd jobs around your house and could use a helping hand? Messiah youth are ready and available to help! For a free-will donation, a student or team of students will come to your house with an adult to complete various job re-quests. Work will be done through Nov. 15, and again in the spring. For more information or to schedule a re-quest, contact Darlene Waugh at 440.331.2405 or dwaugh@messiahfp.org.

Join us for an Applebee’s All-You-Can-Eat Flapjack Breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 8-10 am at the Westgate Applebee’s! Enjoy unlimited pancakes, soft drinks and coffee with a side of potatoes, bacon and juice. Tickets are $10, ages 11 and up; $6, ages 4-10; kids 3 and under eat free! See a youth group member, Kate Ilg or Darlene Waugh to purchase tickets; or con-tact Kate Ilg at kateeilg@gmail.com.

Scrap Metal Fundraiser: On Saturday, Oct. 7, Messiah Senior High Youth will be collecting scrap metal (copper, aluminum, and other metal) from 9-10:30 am in the Messiah parking lot. Simply bring your scrap metal to Messiah, trucks will be waiting in the circular entrance. Need help transporting or need a pick up? Please con-tact Tom Ratvasky at 216.785.6542. The scrap metal fundraiser will take place the first Saturday of each month.

We’re Under Construction

Thanks be to God for the generous

Saints at Messiah who have contributed

to our facilities campaign and are help-

ing make our renovation projects this

fall a possibility. Construction projects

began at Messiah in September and will

continue throughout fall. So far, work

crews have been repairing and painting

exterior windows and stained glass.

Other scheduled projects for this fall in-

clude demolition and replacement of

our front steps, roof repair, HVAC unit

replacement and other general exterior

facilities projects. As of this time, there

will be no disruptions to weekday or

weekend parking or traffic flow. Howev-

er, we will do our best to notify Messiah

Church & School families of any poten-

tial disruptions in the future. We look

forward to refurbishing and renovating

our facilities to better glorify our Savior

here at Messiah!

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October Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Education Hour 11a Holy Communion

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7p Joy Ringers

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7a Faith at Work

7p New Mem-ber Class

4 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 7p Church Annual Meeting 8p Pints with Pastor

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7p Choir Rehearsal

6

78-10a Apple-

bee’s Pancake Fundraiser 9a Scrap Metal Fundraiser 5:30p Holy Communion

8 8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Second Sundays Education Hour 11a Holy Communion

9 7p Joy Ringers 7:30p Men’s Basketball

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7p New Mem-ber Class

11 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 6:30p Crossways 8p Pints with Pastor

12 Messiah School Closed 7p Choir Rehearsal

13 Messiah School Closed

14 5:30p Holy Communion

15 8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Education Hour 11a Holy Communion 12p Youth Gathering De-votions 7:30p AA

16 7p Trustees Meeting 7p Joy Ringers 7p Monthly Women’s Bible Study 7:30p Men’s Basketball

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7p New Mem-ber Class

18 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 6:30p Crossways 8p Pints with Pastor

19 7p Choir Rehearsal

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21 5:30p Holy Communion

22 Christ the King Sunday

8:30a Holy Communion 9:50a Education Hour 11a Holy Communion/New Member Sunday 4p Trunk or Treat 7:30p AA

23 7p Joy Ringers 7:30p Men’s Basketball

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25 9:10a School Chapel 10:00a Bible Study 6:30p Crossways 8p Pints with Pastor

26 7p Choir Rehearsal

27 7p BHITC Hymn-Fest

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1:30p Kreps/Dickey Wedding No Saturday Service

29 Reformation Sun-

day! 8:30a Holy Communion 9-11:30a Reformation Breakfast 9:50a Adult Forum 11a Holy Communion/ First Communion

30 7p Joy Ringers 7:30p Men’s Basketball

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Non-Profit Org. US. Postage

PAID Cleveland

Ohio 44126 Permit No. 3829

Messiah Lutheran Church

21485 Lorain Rd,

Fairview Park, OH 44126

Phone (440) 331-2405

www.messiahfairview.org

Dated Materials

Issue 6

October 2017

Messiah Memos

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Join Us for a Reformation Celebration!

Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017

Worship at 8:30 & 11 am

Retired Messiah Pastor Gerald Miller, Preacher

Linda Kempke, Organist

Adult Forum 9:50-10:40 am

Roundtable Discussion with Pastor Burce &

Pastor Miller

No Sunday School or Confirmation Classes

Fifth Grade Students Receive First Communion

at 11 am Worship Service

Reformation Breakfast from 8-11:30 am

Trivia, Music, Luther Cut Out, Old Lutheran

Prize Baskets, Coloring Contest

Let’s Party Like Its 1517!

Reformation Breakfast Volunteers Needed!

Name: ____________________________

Phone: ___________________________

I would like to volunteer:

Hall Set-up (Sat, 10/28) 9a-Noon ____

Clean-up (Sun, 10/29) 11:30a–1 pm ____

Or to volunteer, contact Sharon Ratvasky at

440.391.1511 or Ratvasky@sbcglobal.net

All proceeds benefit the Messiah High School

Youth Group in its fundraising for the

2018 National Youth Gathering!