Pastor’s Page

Pastor Zetto

And, at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus,

the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Luke 2:21

New Year’s Day has another name. No, it is not Parade-and-Bowl-Games Day. It is “The Name of Jesus.” The first Christmas Liturgy was celebrated in 336 AD at the Church of Saint John Lateran1. The “Octave” of Christmas2 regularly used the Naming Story of Luke 2:21 as its Gospel. By the fourteenth century it had acquired its own name, “The Circumcision and Name of Jesus.”

The Jewish Covenantal Tradition3 prescribed that circumcision would occur on the “eighth day” (one week after birth) at which time the baby would receive his official name, the name by which he would be known in God’s Covenant Family.

Jesus was named “Joshua4,” after Moses’ second-in-command and, upon Moses’ death, the leader of Israel in the military conquest of the Promised Land. The name Joshua/Jesus means “The One who Saves His People.” In Old Testament understanding, the “Savior” would never be the person, but God acting in and through the person. Thus Jesus, as God’s Son, is both the substance and the vehicle of God’s grace in our world.

Holy Baptism is the New Covenant form of circumcision5. Through God’s grace in Baptism we become part of God’s Covenant Family, we are named in God’s Book of Life6. Another name for Baptism is Christening; we are named with and by Christ, so that our “last name/family name” is “Christian.”

How do you wear your name … like a NCAA/NFL football player? You are marked with the Cross of Christ at your baptism; do you carry that mark with you and demonstrate it through jewelry and Christian behavior?

Pastor Zetto 1Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire 313 AD (Constantine, Edict of Milan), St. John, Lateran (The Chief Church of the Bishop of Rome, Pope; it is outside the walls of the Vatican.) was dedicated 324. 2Following the Jewish custom of counting the eighth day as part of the calculated week. 3Practiced from the time of Abraham (ca 2000 BC), made “official” with the Exodus Covenant at Mount Sinai (ca 1500 BC). 4Joshua = Hebrew, Jesus = Greek. 5Colossians 2:8-15.

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Pastor’s “Schedule”

Happy Birthday January

4 Jan Sun Church Install Congregation Council 12:00 N Worship and Music Ministry Meeting Take down Chrismon Tree 6 Jan Tue 9:30 am Pastors’ Bible Study; Christ the Servant (713-784-6620) 8 Jan Thu 12:00 N Conference Clergy; Grace (713-528-3269) 11 Jan Sun 12:00 N Executive Committee Meeting 13 Jan Tue 9:30 am Pastors’ Bible Study; Christ the Servant (713-784-6620) 7:00 pm Congregation Council Meeting 19 Jan Mon 12:00 N CROP Meeting; Interfaith Ministries (713-526-8532) 6:30 pm Service and Fellowship Ministries Meeting 20 Jan Tue 9:30 am Pastors’ Bible Study; Christ the Servant (713-784-6620) 23 Jan Fri 7:30 pm WPCU Event, Lakewood Church 25 Jan Sun 12:00 N Worship & Music Ministries Meeting 26-28 Jan Mon-Wed Tri-Synod Continuing Education Event; New Braunfels

1 Bill Morgan 6 Owen Etheredge 6 John Weium 8 Andrew Pierce 9 Diana Brandt 10 Elaine Riggs 12 Don Haus 14 Dick Edmund 14 Nancy McMurray

15 Anders White 15 Glen White 18 Ellen Carter 19 Marilyn England 19 Valerie Hairston 21 Martha Satterwhite 25 Brooke Pierce 26 Ed Howard 31 Morgan Hann

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Are you unable to be at church? Pastor Zetto will be glad to commune you at home.

Call the church office (713-468-9443) or Pastor at home (281-599-0885).

Jesus: “The light of the Empty Tomb”

Sermon Topics

4 Jan – 2nd Sunday after Christmas (White) – “In the Beginning” John 1:1

11 Jan – Baptism of the Lord (White) – “What Kind of Love is This?” Mark 1:11

18 Jan – Confession of Peter (White) – “Confirmation Confession” Matthew 16:16

25 Jan – Conversion of Paul (White) – “Confirmation Perspective” Luke 21:19

1 Feb – 4th Sunday after the Epiphany (Green) – “Astounding Authority” Mark 1:22

8 Feb – 5th Sunday after the Epiphany (Green) – “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Mark 1:38

15 Feb – The Transfiguration of our Lord (White) – “Here’s Looking at You” Mark 9:8

Worship Plans for Epiphany 2015

“Mark – Immediately, Now” This Liturgical Year (begun Advent 2014), our Gospels come mostly from Mark. It is easy to think of Mark as a “Readers’ Digest Gospel” because it is the shortest; but that is far from the truth. Mark was the first to write the Story of the public ministry of Jesus. There is no birth story and Easter is told simply as “Jesus is risen” with no appearances of the Resurrected Christ. We are expected to fulfill in the story of Jesus as Jesus has become resurrected in and through our living. Mark’s other theme is “immediately,” watch how often Mark uses that word in telling the Jesus Story. Epiphany draws us to and through the “firsts” of Jesus’ ministry and should be a straight read-through of the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Except … we encounter the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January) which is “liturgically bookended” by The Confession of Peter and The Conversion of Paul.

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President Janet Zaozirny

Happy New Year 2015! As is our tradition, a new slate of Council members begin their term January 1. The new Council will be installed during worship on January 4. New members on Council are: Mike Riggs, Stuart Moen, Joyce Kennedy, Karen Carter, Doris Bosse and Ron Richter. The 2015 Council will be organized as follows: President: Mike Riggs Vice President: Karen Whitefield Treasurer: Linda Richter Secretary: Karen Carter Communications Ministry: Doris Bosse Learning Ministry: Karen Whitefield Outreach Ministry: Ron Richter Property Ministry: Stuart Moen Service and Fellowship Ministry: Susan Fisher Support Ministry: Ron Campbell Worship and Music Ministry: Joyce Kennedy As I pass the baton on to President Mike Riggs, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to serve on Council for the past four years. Also, we owe many thanks to the 2014 Council who have so readily served our church. On March 22, 2014, volunteers from our congregation met to brainstorm about MDLC. One outcome of that meeting was to set the following four goals for 2014. Here is how Council worked to implement them:

Develop an “Excel” spreadsheet on attendance and compare it with Attendance Cards to determine accuracy; Ron Richter followed up and found the Attendance cards are relatively accurate. In addition, when people are absent over several weeks, we now follow up with a scripted phone call to inquire if all is well or if anything is needed. The Outreach Committee/Ministry has begun this process of contacting absent members.

Develop a Visitors Process Manual to be used in identifying, meeting, and greeting visitors, and providing for data assembly, follow-up communications and visits. Pastor Zetto provided a written description of our current procedures and presented that to Council in October.

Improve our Website. In our May and June Council meetings we devoted much of our time to discussing mdlc.org and our priorities. We enhanced our website by adding brief resumes for our staff and edited committee descriptions, and began to include weekly happenings at MDLC. Gary Tamburello led us in these efforts and also directed the completion of a brief video on our Chrismon Tree, which he then posted on mdlc.org.

Improve our MDLC Sign. This objective soon developed into investigating an electronic sign purchase. Council has reviewed products from several vendors and is still gathering facts about vendors and cost, as well as requirements of Bunker Hill Village. Council will be presenting its recommendations to the congregation soon. As members of MDLC, only God knows our future. The Council believes heartily in the ELCA motto, “His Work, Our Hands”. Please be ready to assist the new Council and volunteer rather than waiting to be asked to help. Keep the 2015 Council in your prayers, as well as considering what active role you will play in 2015.

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Learning Ministry Karen Whitefield

Happy New Year! As I begin my second year serving the youth education ministry I am looking forward to trying new things to provide a meaningful faith experience for our youth and their families. I appreciate your prayers, advice and ideas.

Vacation Bible School (VBS) Day Camp is coming! Our week of camp will be July 27th-31st. The theme this year is “Act. Love. Walk” from Micah 6:8. Throughout the week campers will explore God’s mission for us: to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him. Registration will begin in May, and we have space for 30 campers— kindergarten-8th grade. Youth 6th-8th grade will be able to participate in the junior leadership portion of the camp. Youth Sunday School Youth Sunday school continues for children in grades pre-K-5th. Heather Barta, our nursery attendant provides education for the younger youth, with a lot of fun for good measure! Our older youth meet in the education building for their instruction and fellowship. If you know of youth who do not yet have a church “home”, please invite them to join us. Confirmation Class Dillon Carter, Brandon Escamilla, Kennedy Havens and Ashlyn Whitefield continue their weekly study as they work toward their confirmation. Please continue in prayer for these four and all youth growing in their faith and understanding.

Confirmation Services for these youth will be held on January 25, 2015. Please join us in affirming their faith on that day.

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Don’t lose the opportunity to serve and love the Lord while you are volunteering!!! Let the Worship and Music Ministry fulfill a lifelong dream for you and become a worship participant on Sunday mornings! Please check your schedule to see if you are available on Sundays to be one of the following— Usher, Assisting Minister, Lector, Communion Server, Greeter, Acolyte, Altar Guild member, and Money Counter.

Volunteer sheets are in the Narthex. Please sign up. We really need you! Thank you!

Worship Participants

Please volunteer: Worship

Participants January 4 January 11 January 18 January 25

Assisting Minister Marilyn Mekala Hub Tett John McMurray Glen Dorow

Lector Jo Ann Peschel Karen Carter Scott Pierce Mike Riggs

Communion Server Angela Richter Ron Richter Mike Riggs Elaine Riggs

Ushers Stuart Moen Stuart Moen Stuart Moen Stuart Moen

Greeters Ruth and Charles

Gerum Margaret and Mel

Dosch

Janet and Clarence Zaozirny

Ron Richter

Altar Guild Mary and Laura

Lemburg Elaine and Mike

Riggs Elaine and Mike

Riggs Elaine and Mike

Riggs

Counter Linda Richter Linda Richter Linda Richter Linda Richter

Flowers Pastor and Dawn

Zetto Elaine and Mike

Riggs Mary and Laura

Lemburg The Whitefield

family

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Director of Church Music Pamela Tamburello

Dear Friends: “In this world of darkness, we are given light. Hope for all the dying…carry the light. Go and tell the children they are precious in his sight…” So goes the beginning of the song, “Carry the Light,” written by Twila Paris not so long ago. It reflects this time of year, the time after Epiphany when there is a great deal of light imagery. The season of Epiphany begins after we celebrate the festival of Epiphany. It begins with the Baptism of Our Lord, which is on January 11th this year. The season of Epiphany (or Time after Epiphany) concludes on Transfiguration of Our Lord, which is always the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. During the Time after Epiphany, a great amount of our service music reflects the light that God brings to us. Such hymns/with which we may be familiar include: O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright Songs of Thankfulness and Praise God, Whose Almighty Word I Want to Walk As a Child of the Light You Shine Carry the Light Shine on Us Shine, Jesus Shine In Evangelical Lutheran Worship, there is section in this worship book entitled “Time after

Epiphany” which has 18 hymns. There are some hymns that may be new to Lutherans that are well-suited to the worship themes of the season. In particular, hymn 307, Light Shone in Darkness, picks up the light theme at three points in time: the world’s creation, Christ’s resurrection, and the global transformation still to come. This hymn is worth investigating, so take a moment and check it out. If you do not have a copy of Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW), feel free to stop by the church office to borrow a copy of this worship book. As we journey through this season, which culminates with Transfiguration Sunday on February 15th, keep a look out for

the various themes that run through our worship services. May the light of Christ shine upon you during this time!

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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18-25 January 2014

The formal celebration of Christian Unity in the Houston area will be Friday evening, January 23, 2015, at Lakewood Church, 3700 Southwest Freeway (Route 59) - between Weslayan and Edloe Streets. It will include Bishop Michael Reinhart. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18 January and 25 January. It is actually an octave, that is, an observance lasting eight days. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began in 1908 as the Octave of Christian Unity, and focused on prayer for church unity. The dates of the week were proposed by Father Paul Wattson, cofounder of the Graymoor (New York) Franciscan Friars. He conceived of the week beginning on the Feast of the

Confession of Peter and concluding with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul on 25 January. In 1948, with the founding of the World Council of Churches, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity became increasingly recognized by different churches throughout the world. In 1958, the French Catholic group Unité Chrétienne and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (a body which includes, among others, most of the world's Orthodox churches as well as many Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, United and Independent churches) begin co-operative preparation of materials for the Week of Prayer. The year 1968 saw the first official use of materials prepared jointly by the Faith and Order Commission and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, representing the entire Catholic Church. Collaboration and cooperation between these two organizations has increased steadily since, resulting recently in joint publications in the same format. Our celebration of Christian Unity in the Houston area will include Bishop Michael Reinhart (Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, ELCA) and Bishop Janice Huie (Texas Annual Conference, United Methodist Church) as speakers at the prayer service. A concert at 7:30 pm will precede the service which begins at 8:00 pm. The theme is from John 4:1-42: “Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink” (4:7). At the beginning of the service, there will be a procession of representatives from all the participating denominations with vessels of water.

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THE STAFF OF MDLC, thanks the congregation for their generous Christmas remembrances. It is our joy to work with you in ministry in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ.

ugustana Food Pantry needs you! Please remember to bring jars of peanut butter, rice, beans or soup for our Peanut Butter Ministry, we share these

great foods with the poor!

Fairbees Square Dance Club Fun Nites Join the Fairbees for January Fun Nites to learn more about square dancing and meet new friends. If you enjoy the Fun Nites, mark your calendar for Mainstream Lessons that will begin February 5. Cost: Free Dress: Casual Dates: January 22 January 29 Times: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Where: MDLC Fellowship Hall Caller: Jay Flowers

Dear Congregation,

I would like to thank you for the support, love and proof of affection you have shown to me during the past year.

I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to each of you for the wonderful and generous gift I received this Christmas from MDLC. It is indeed an honor to work for MDLC. I am blessed!

Lotty Evertsz

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President ··························· Mike Riggs

Vice President ........................ Karen Whitefield

Secretary ................................ Karen Carter

Treasurer ................................ Linda Richter

Worship & Music Ministry ....... Joyce Kennedy

Support Ministry ..................... Ron Campbell

Learning Ministry .................... Karen Whitefield

Service & Fellowship Ministry . Susan Fisher

Property Ministry .................... Stuart Moen

Communications Ministry ....... Doris Bosse

Witness Ministry ..................... Ron Richter

Memorial Drive Lutheran Church

12211 Memorial Drive Houston, TX 77024-6206

Nursery Open 8:45 a.m. Sunday School 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship Service10:30 a.m.

Telephone: 713-468-9443 Fax: 713-468-0236 Web Site: www.mdlc.org

Email: secretary@mdlc.org

Our Mission Statement: Memorial Drive Lutheran Church

is committed to the teaching and study of the Gospel and

to proclaiming Christ as our Savior as we reach out in service

to all people with faith, hope, love and enthusiasm.

STAFF

CHURCH COUNCIL

A CONGREGATION OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA

Pastor J. Jeffrey Zetto Email: jjdrz10@aol.com or jjdrz@mdlc.org Pamela Tamburello Director of Church Music; aimpam@mdlc.org

Memorial Drive Lutheran Church 12211 Memorial Drive Houston, Texas 77024-6206

The deadline for submission of information for the February Contact is January 12.