F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

ST. JOHN’S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

Grace Mired in Mediocrity There are people in this world that we all know, who want to do as little as possible when it comes to any job or membership in any organization. They are the people who hide in the pews and want someone else to come forward. They are the people who never understood the idea of sacri-fice, generosity, or going the extra mile. I run across a lot of people like this. They live lives of mediocrity, not appreciating all that they have. Oftentimes they are stingy, self-serving, and never think anything is really required of them. It’s rather pathetic.

These are the people who take advantage of others because they have been granted “a free lunch”. By the grace of God, they have been blessed, but they never realize it. As Lutherans, we are used to people who take advantage of grace. It’s unfortunate but it is true - “But for the grace of God go I”. One of my favorite quotes is by  Frederick Buechner:

“The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the

world. Beautiful and terrible things will hap-pen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.”  

The note that Lutherans sing in the ec-umenical choir is GRACE.  Yes, it was grace the Martin Luther discovered 500 years ago.  It was the freedom, the for-

giveness, and the liberation of grace that allowed him in a medieval world to stand up and shout at his church that it missed the point.  It was grace that made all the difference in the world and, if you think about it, in our own heart.  Where would I be today without grace?  Let me tell

you - in deep trouble.

I am also reminded of Lutheran pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was one of seven children, growing up in Berlin, where his father worked as a prominent professor of psychiatry and neurology. His mother was also well-educated. He was the first of the Ger-man theologians who spoke out against the persecution of the Jews, and was hanged as a Nazi traitor in 1945.

COMING EVENTS

4 July Tailgate Party Monday, July 4th

FALL EXCERPTS:

God’s Work. Our Hands. Senior BBQ

Sunday, September 11th

Worship Regular Services resume

September 18th

Rally Day Sunday, September 25th

Blessing of the Animals Saturday, October 1st

Oktoberfest Saturday, October 22nd

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

Marvin E. Henk Pastor

Church Council

Steve Michaelson President

Suomi Sakai Vice President

Manuela Petzold Treasurer

Karen Clark Council Secretary

Heath Kihn Financial Secretary

Karen Haghenbeck Worship & Music

Robert Dilworth Stewardship

Karen Guinee Youth

Kate Tobiasen Christian Education

Peter Gifford Property

Keri Degroote Evangelism

Marc Schlueter Social Ministry

Marvin E. Henk Pastor

Staff

Christiane Janssen Secretary

Matthew Thomas Organist & Music Director

Anna Piselli Sexton

Choir Director

Austin Kehrle Handbell Choir

MINISTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Margit Bier, Marge Campabadal, William Solano (Myra Hahn’s father), Peggy Jacobson, Nate Lipsen, Sandy Herrmann, Gisela Haugenes, Cherine Bellamy, Peter Gisondi, Leslie Jachner, Ava Pagnotte, Ana Colón, Margaret D'Andrea (Trudi Bunke's sister), Anne Marie Gorman (Peter Roggemann’s sister), Eileen & Teddy DeAngelo.

Keep in Your Prayers

UPCOMING BAPTISM Aaron Flores, July 17

UPCOMING WEDDINGS Frank Delapaz & Gloria Leon, July 17 Caroline Freire & Mark Luceno, September 10

HOSPITALIZATIONS/SICKNESS Anne Huber, at White Plains Hospital. She is now home. Leslie Jachner, White Plains Hospital. Jamie Onofrio Franceschini, relapse of a kidney condition. She is improving.

FUNERAL Anthony Ianora, June 28 Olivia Solano, June 29

IN SYMPATHY  Our deepest sympathy to the Hahn family over the death of Myra’s mother, Olivia Solano. Our deepest sympathy to Christine Romani and family over the death of her husband, An-thony Ianora.  

Bonhoeffer coined the term "cheap grace”.  Grace that is found but unappreciated; grace without cost, discipleship or a thankful heart; grace that is taken for granted and not lived out in service.  We cheapen God's grace when we don't find it to be an inspiration that leads us to greater service.  The world is full of people who have cheapened God's grace.  

It's a gift of grace to be able to worship, in community with one another.  My definition of a rich, full and wonderful life begins with the awareness of grace. That awareness should not engender passivity, but should move us off the couch, into an energetic world of service, where every day is a gift, and every opportunity to love and serve others is a gift as well. It is when we don’t appreciate that gift, we have missed the whole point of grace.

Let’s not take grace for granted or cheapen it, but only recognize it and rejoice in it.

MEH

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

BBQ Tailgate Partywith Fireworks and Music over the Mamaroneck Harbor

Bring your family, your lawn chairs, your grilling meat and salads and munchies (latter prefer-ably to share) - the grill is provided. It is a fun evening with the best view of the fireworks over the harbor.  Don't miss out on this special event! Start is at 6 pm on Monday, July 4 — Church Parking Lot -  $12 per car. There is only limited space for cars, so an early reservation is essential. Please email Rebecca Gómez for reservations: lapluma99@optonline.net.

September 11: “God’s Work. Our Hands.” BBQ for Seniors September 18: Regular Worship Schedule & Sunday School begins September 21: 9th grade Confirmation begins September 25: Rally Day/Adult Forum begins September 29: Bible Study begins October 1: Blessing of the Animals October 5: 7th/8th grade Confirmation begins October 22: Oktoberfest October 27: Confirmation Dinner October 30: Confirmation Sunday/Reformation Sunday November 3 & 10: New Members Class November 13: Commitment Sunday November 20: Harvest Brunch Festival November 23: Thanksgiving Eve service

Oktoberfest is back! Please mark your calendars for

Saturday, October 22.  We will once again gather with steins in hand and lots of that good bratwurst, weisswurst, kassler, and strudel along with designer German beer - this is NOT to be missed.

Tickets are $45 and will be available soon during Coffee Hour after church or by call-ing or emailing the church office. Don’t miss out - get your ticket early, we have a limited number.

with the

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SPECIAL GIFTS IN JUNE

Organ Fund Trudi Bunke Rosalind & Zachary CarterKaren Clark Dorothea Ferri Stacy & Shane GallagherKaren Haghenbeck-Nunnink Kathy & Pastor Henk Carla & Brian Hofland Ellen & Frank HuberDetlef Joerss Debbie Keith & John Kunicki

Sandy & Jim Kilts Robert MaierMaria Martins Sue & Steve Michaelson Judy & Joe Musumeci Manuela Petzold Suomi Sakai & John Quinley Diana Sparks In Honor of Dorothea Ferri’s Birthday Robert & Barbara TippingKate Tobiasen & Tina FranceschiniJill & Anthony Valentino

Renovation Lisa & Austin Kehrle Stacy & Shane Gallagher Trudi Bunke

Lawn Care Maria Martins Stacy & Shane Gallagher Melissa & Justin Boisseau

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

CHURCH COUNCIL MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT

WE NEED YOUR HELP We are hoping to have a new organ blower motor arriving here in August, at a cost of about $10,000.  So far, we have received $5,330.  We need everyone's help to reach our goal. If you want to make a contribution to help us fund this project, please earmark your check “Organ fund”.  

We have received a total of $5,830 for the fund to date. We are getting there, but we are still some way from reaching our goal of $10,000.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Thank you for already donating to the organ fund:Trudi Bunke Rosalind & Zachary Carter Karen Clark Dorothea Ferri Stacy & Shane Gallagher Karen Haghenbeck-Nunnink

Kathy & Pastor Henk Carla & Brian Hofland Ellen & Frank Huber Detlef Joerss Jeanne Kolb Debbie Keith & John Kunicki

Sandy & Jim Kilts Robert Maier Maria Martins Sue & Steve Michaelson Judy & Joe Musumeci Manuela Petzold

Suomi Sakai & John Quinley Diana Sparks Robert & Barbara Tipping Kate Tobiasen & Tina Franceschini Jill & Anthony Valentino

Our congregation continues to be blessed with generosity by its members and we all are grateful for the combined effort to meet our financial obligations this year.  As of May 2016, the current receipts towards operating expenses amount to $123,685, a substantial increase of more than $5,000 compared to the same period last year.  Further, we are happy to report that operating expenses are close to budget at $122,642, which represents a decrease of expens-es of almost $8,000 compared to the same period in 2015!   Your Council and pastor would like to say THANKS for the tremendous support and for sharing our vision to break even at year end!  If we continue this path together, we can accomplish this very important goal.  

Renovation Update: Final cost for the project is approx. $718,000. Pledges are over $724,000. Money received over $518,000. All figures are as of early June.

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

ST. JOHN’S LAWN & CAMPUS CARE One of the things that make us proud here at St. John’s is our beautiful campus, and there is nothing like Coffee Hour on the patio in the midst of our thriving landscape. We are thankful for all the gifts we have already received, but need to keep this appeal going as we have also needed to spend money on maintaining the rest of our campus - weeding, pruning, planting, adding mulch and stone. Thank you so much for your support in making us look our best!

A thank you to those who have already given: Melissa & Justin Boisseau (4), Beverly Broodie-Stewart, Jeanhee Chung & Niels Ringstad, Sarah & Kurt Coble (3), Dorothea Ferri & Kevin McCoskey (4), Karen Haghenbeck (3), Kathy & Pastor Henk (2), Fred Herlitz (3), Lynn & John Hillman (3), Carla & Brian Hofland (2), Detlef Joerss (2), Sandy & Jim Kilts (3), Maria Martins (2), Corky & Frank McCullough, Judy & Joe Musumeci, Maggie O’Connor, Johanna Perry, Lisa & Frank O’Gorman (3), Barbara & Peter Roggemann, Karen & Mark Stuart (2), Robert & Barbara Tipping (2), Lori Uhle & Thomas Maloney, Melissa & Justin Bois-seau, Stacy & Shane Gallagher.

Yes, I want to be part of our lawn & campus beautification program. ($40 per week)

Name ____________________________

Amount __________________________ # of Weeks ____

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Sebastian Aquilina 6/3 Regina Teran 7/3/08 Matthew Tomkiel 7/8/05 Dalton Boisseau 7/10/05 Riley Rhodes  7/23/08 Anton Schlueter 7/29/02 Anna Tomkiel 7/31/10 Julia Tomkiel  7/31/07 Lulu Schlueter 8/8/06 Dylan Merkitch 8/21/10 Amelie Schlueter 8/26/04 Sawyer Grubert     8/29/11

t o o u r s u m m e r b a b i e s !

Feed the Needy in our Community The hungry people in our communities come from many different ethnic back-grounds; they are children, elderly and adults. They are employed with low wages, unemployed, living on social security, social security disability, or public assistance. They are those people who, after paying rent, utilities and medical bills, don't have enough money every month to buy food. We need to do more food to help our community’s needs, especially during the summer. Please bring in non-perishable food for the pantry. Cereal, rice, pasta, and other staples, as well as monetary support, are always helpful. Thank you!

SUMMER GIVING It could make

all the difference This summer, while you are away, ministry continues and bills continue to need our

attention. Every dollar here at St. John’s is used wisely and not spent frivolously. However, it takes a lot of resources to cover our expenses, such as heating a building in winter, meeting salaries, and also using our resources to enable our mission to reach out far be-yond these four walls. So, please don’t forget your regular offering during this, for us, challenging time of summer.

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

YOUR DONATIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

McCoskey Men Hard at Work: A big thank you to Kevin Mc-Coskey and his dad, Charles McCoskey, for taking the time and applying their expertise and craftsmanship to fix our conference table in our big new meeting room. Here are two dedicated men… ➽ Congratulations are in order yet again for Shari Rauls. Her 4x800m relay team won the Gold again with a personal best time of 8 minutes, 54.33 seconds (second best outdoor time in the U.S. this spring) to win the D1 State and Federation titles.  Anchor Shari provided another suspenseful finish; their time was the second fastest time run this spring in the U.S. and the 12th fastest all time. Her team has won two State championships and a National championship this year. Shari was selected as Ma-maroneck High School/ Daily Voice Standout Student-Athlete, and her relay team was awarded the Westchester Track and Field Girls Athletes of the Year by the Journal News. … ➽ Jack Hill-man is in Dublin, we hear, on an internship at an air purification company for which he is supposed to work on a prototype. Let us know how it works out!… ➽ Many people feel that Pastor Henk’s baked beans are the best in the world. Thanks to some people named Bush, Pastor Henk has been

successful at making baked beans. However, a big thank you has to go to Roger Van Tassel, who donat-ed the beans that Pastor used for his dish. Without that donation, there would have been no beans… ➽ There is nothing like a party from the Bronx - great music, lots of dancing, and wonderful fun. That was the story behind Antho-ny Valletta’s retirement party that ended up being a grand celebration of a very nice guy. Kathy and Pas-tor were more than happy to be a part of it… ➽ Hey, there is a great new restaurant in Harrison, and it’s called “Piero’s” - it used to be in Port Chester. Karen and Buddy Stuart recommend it highly, and so does Kathy Henk. If you are looking for Italian food, give it a shot… ➽ We just learned that our organist Matthew Thomas is very close to Michelle Obama - or at least he was close enough to see her in person when she was giving the commencement speech at CUNY in Manhattan. He said it was a great speech… ➽ Happy first anniversary to Karen and Bill Nunnink! They are currently on vacation in a place where it’s 112F and there are casinos… ➽ Thanks Howard Heyel for fixing our outdoor lights so that they all light up at the right time… ➽ It was good to see Wendy and Heath Kihn at the picnic. Heath’s new job keeps him very busy and traveling a lot. We appreciate his great job as financial secretary of our Church Council in addition to his workload… ➽ It was also great to see Eleanore McCaffery at the picnic, looking as smart as ever… ➽ If you think our campus looks better than ever, you are right, thanks to Bill Podszus, who did a superb and expert job at

pruning, weeding, and planting… ➽ Guess who is working at Mor-gan’s Fish House in Rye? Amanda Yannett! It is always great to run into a past confirmation student… ➽ Keri and Chris Degroote recommend Fire Island as a great vacation spot. Unfortunately Chris cannot drive onto the island with Pontiac Firebird… ➽ It’s good to have Detlef Joerss back in town after a recent trip to the south of France and Hamburg, Germany. He says France and Germany are the places to be in the summer… ➽ Corky and Frank McCul-lough visited Margaritaville, Jim-my Buffett’s restaurant in Key West, FL, where they were just prepping themselves for Jimmy’s concert this summer at Jones Beach. “Just wasting away in Mar-garitaville”… ➽ Guess who’s humming Rocky Mountain High, Col-orado? It’s Silvia Misina, who re-cently attended a conference there and loved it… ➽ Speaking of Colorado, Suzanne and Walter Zullig are planning to go to Den-ver by train. How exciting is that?!… ➽ It was nice to have George Groth play the piano recently at church, along with his brother David, who helped set up commu-nion… ➽ Trudi Bunke was in church with a big smile because she was so happy to see her children and grandchildren in Boston - hey, bean town is more than just the Red Sox, it’s the Bunkes! ➽ Waithira and Tom Protano are back from Kenya, where they en-joyed the wildlife, but most of all seeing their daughter Wanjira, who lives there… ➽ Is it true that Chrissy Casey is expecting twins? Congratulations. Grandma Lynn Ferrari is ecstatic… ☀

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

People Parade... Parade...People Parade... People Parade... People

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

If you showed up at church on Sunday, June 12, you would be have been disap-pointed unless you read the signs that said “No 9.30 am service at church today - there is a picnic service at 11 am at Rye Midland Park.” If you went to that ser-vice, you were elated by the great music of not only Steve Goodenough and Pe-ter Dodenhoff, but also that of our own choir led by Matthew Thomas, our mu-sic director. If that wasn’t enough, the Sunday School children sang “Jesus Loves Me” and Brian Kopilak led us in “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and if that wasn’t enough, Allison Henk sang her effervescent rendition of “Sanctuary”.

It was a beautiful day with a good service and a very short sermon (how can that be good?!), but a MASSIVE turnout. How do we know that? Well, some peo-ple said the circle was enormous for receiving communion. It was indeed big. Also, we knew that all of the chairs were taken and then there were people standing and sitting on picnic benches - there were a lot of people. It looked like about 150 showed up for the day. Finally, we know because every last bratwurst and hamburger and all the other food were gone. Everything was eaten down to the table. Ultimately, we knew because we ran out of beer. Yes, it was not a pretty picture at the end. By the way, the choice of beer was amazingly good. Thank you, Peter Gifford!

A huge thank you must go to Marc Schlueter, who handled everything with his usual grace and good temperament. It was well organized, with every detail covered. We also have to thank Lisa Kehrle for her emergency run to get charcoal and lighter fluid. THANK YOU, LISA! A big thank you does go out to Bobby Tipping, who brought his truck and all the ice we needed from the firehouse. The picnic committee of Chris DeGroote, assistant chairman, and Bill Podszus, Joanna Tobing, Gloria Phinsee, Kevin Mc-Coskey and Dorothea Ferri, Karen and Jim Guinee, and Johanna Perry made it a great suc-cess as well as all those many people who brought in salads and side dishes, and desserts, Pastor Henk’s famous baked beans, and Jim Guinee and Kevin McCoskey’s superb grilling skills. Another special thank you goes to Dorothea Ferri and Sarah Coble and helpers for leading the games for the children.

All in all, if you didn’t know what state you were in when you arrived at the picnic, you might have thought that you were in Kansas or Indi-ana where these picnics are often very frequent - or, perhaps, you might have thought you were an extra in the movie “Picnic”. Pastor Henk is a dead ringer for William Holden… At any rate, there is nothing like a picnic! Thanks to all who made this a fun day and to the providential guidance to the One who gave us perfect weath-er.

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

A big thank you to Joanna Tobing for the photos!

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H , F E N I M O R E R O A D A T C O R T L A N D T A V E N U E , M A M A R O N E C K , N Y 1 0 5 4 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

Or Current Resident

St. John’s Lutheran Church Fenimore Road at Cortlandt Avenue Mamaroneck, NY 10543 (914) 698.4348 Email: office@stjohnsny.org Web: stjohnsny.org

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Permit 4302

White Plains, NY

Mrs. Waltraut Albert Mr. & Mrs. Albert Askew Mr. & Mrs. Serge Banzet Mr. & Mrs. Justin Boisseau Ms. Trudi Bunke Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Christopher Ms. Wenche Delfino Ms. Nora Desrayaud Ms. Dorothea Ferri Mrs. Karen Haghenbeck-Nunnink The Rev. & Mrs. Marvin Henk The Rev. & Mrs. Paul Henry Mr. Fred Herlitz Mr. & Mrs. Howard Heyel Mr. & Mrs. Brian Hofland Ms. Anne Huber Mr. Kenneth Huth Ms. Peggy Jacobson Mr. Detlef Joerss Ms. Yourha Kang Mr. & Mrs. James Kilts Ms. Genene Kluck Ms. Sandy Kolb

Ms. Julia W. Levine Ms. Mary Jane Maddox Mr. Robert L. Maier Mrs. Robin Maliscewski Ms. Maria Martins Mr. & Mrs. Frank McCullough Mr. James McCullough Mr. & Mrs. Ed Murray Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Musumeci Mr. & Mrs. Michael Newgaard Ms. Maggie O’Connor Mr. & Mrs. Frank O’Gorman Mrs. P. Ouwerkerk & Mr. J. Richards Mr. John Quinley & Mrs. Suomi Sakai Mr. & Mrs. Mark Rocconi Dr. & Mrs. Peter Roggemann Mr. Vincent Rusciano Mr. & Mrs. Michael Sangregorio The Rev. Dr. & Mrs. Fred Schumacher Ms. Diana Sparks Mr. & Mrs. Eric Stockmar Ms. Karen Stone-Yannett Mr. & Mrs. Mark J. Stuart, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. William Tappert Ms. Regina Terán Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Tipping Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Tipping Mrs. Kathleen Tobiasen & Mrs. Tina Franceschini Mr. & Mrs. Robert Van Der Wateren Mr. & Mrs. James Williams Mr. Jim Wills Mr. & Mrs. Walter Zullig

If you don’t see your name here any-more but you would like to continue to receive your newsletter via first class mail and help support St. John’s print ministry, please return the enclosed

envelope with $35.

If you have sent in your contribution and don’t see your name, please let us

know.

Thank you for your support!

S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

Thank you to our patrons who have taken out a 2016 subscription in support of St. John’s Window!

Details on p.3