1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

Friendship Focus
January 2015
A Newsletter for members and friends of Friendship Lutheran Church
It’s January — among the wide variety of gods Romans could
choose from, Janus, or rather, the IDEA of Janus remains fascinating. Janus was god of thresholds, doors and gateways. They named
this month after this two-faced deity, one face looking forward,
one backwards. We’ve a number of proverbs that illustrate Janus’
message:
“A nation that cannot learn from the past is doomed to
repeat it.”
“You can’t know where you’re going unless you know
where you came from.”
“You can’t think ‘Outside the Box’ until you’re sure of
what’s IN the box!”
“You cannot innovate with integrity without being deeply
rooted in tradition.”
There is also Master Oogway’s sage advice: “Yesterday is
history, the tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift: That is why it is
called the present.”
(actually from the poet Alice Morse Earle in 1902, but more people
know Kung Fu Panda than Earle’s book).
Psalm 77 riffs on this theme: In a really bad place, the poet wonders:
“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an
end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious, has he in anger
shut up his compasion?” (vv.7-9)
The poet’s answer follows later:
PASTOR’S PAGE CONTINUED
“I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord, I will remember
your wonders of old, I will meditate on all your work, and muse on
your mighty deeds.” (11-12).
So we take the time in the dark of winter to consider the
past, envision the future, and so order our steps to, in the words of
the Westminster shorter catechism, “To glorify and enjoy God forever.”*
If you HAVEN’T yet got a copy of our Friendship Lutheran
Church history, (available in the Family Life Center and Parish
Hall), please do so, read it, and consider how long we’ve been here,
how much we’ve accomplished, how great the legacy of our forbears, and what an example we’ve got to live up to. It’s a wonderful
gift, our past.
And the future? It’s not quite the mystery some think. The
Lord Jesus beckons to us from the future. He will meet us again in
the breaking of the bread, in his Word proclaimed every time we
gather. The Holy Spirit will join us, unite us, and strengthen us to
advance the Kingdom of God. We WILL glorify God and ENJOY
God this coming year.
And right now? Well, right now let’s dream big. Let’s look
around at the community we live in - where is God already at work?
Can we join in? Is there someplace needing grace and steadfast love?
Is there someone lonely, heartbroken, discouraged, or just lost without purpose? Where can we bring the enormous energy and resources of this congregation to bear, to bless and serve our people?
Dream big, people, Jesus is WITH US! Our work is limited ONLY
by our VISION!
So consider the works of the Lord, in this place, over so
many years past.
So consider the promise of the Lord, to walk with us and
work with us in 2015.
So consider the present, the gift, God’s holy right now, and
make the most of it.
God be with y’all, God make his face shine on y’all, and
God SHOW all of us what’s next.
Pastor Greg
2
*The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (which
our Presbyterian friends cherish in the same way we cherish Dr.
Luther’s Small Catechism) reads famously: “What is the chief
end of humanity? - To glorify and enjoy God forever.” The
Westminster SC is way longer than Luther’s SC (thank God I’m
Lutheran!), but this eloquent statement is admired by all Christians, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and what not.
MISSION/OUTREACH
SERVANT EVENT at HICKORY SOUP
KITCHEN
On Sunday, January 4 the FLY’s and interested adults & FROG’s
will be serving a meal at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen on LR
Blvd. We will meet at the church at 3:30 pm. Contact Michelle
Bowman for more information.
CRISIS CENTER FOOD
Current food needs at the Christian Crisis Center are crackers, soup,
brown beans, and cereal. Two grocery carts are in the hallway near
the chapel to receive donations.
RED
CROSS
BLOOD DRIVE
The American Red Cross
will hold a Blood Drive in
the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, January 18, from 12:30
pm until 5:00 pm. Please
make an appointment to
come by the church that
day and give the gift of life.
To reserve your spot, contact Judy Henderson at
(704) 585-9580
3
MISCELLANEOUS
SAVE THE
DATE!!
Friendship, St
Luke and Reformation Lutheran Churches have
received an $800
grant from
Thrivent Financial to have some
fun and fellowship together! So
we will be going snow tubing on January 25th in the afternoon after
church. The normal cost is $20 per person but this will be reduced
depending on how many people go. Please sign up by January
11th so we can reserve tickets and a time. More details will be coming as we get closer to the date. Sign up sheets will be available at
both worship services.
CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER
THANK YOU
God has blessed my family in many ways. Thank you so much for
the breakfast fundraiser you had for me. This year has been very
hard. Thank you and your congregation. I know I have angels
watching over me. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas,
Linda Fincannon
Thank you to the members of Friendship for their generosity during this Christmas season.
Denny Teague
4
Dear Friendship Family,
What a joy and privilege it has been working with you at Friendship
over the past few years. I have enjoyed getting to know you better.
You are a special group of people. Thanks also for the holiday gifts
and treats this Christmas season.
I pray God’s blessings on you all.
Best Wishes,
Teena Stewart
Thank you to Friendship Lutheran Church for your generosity this
Christmas! We are so blessed to serve as your pastors and to be a
part of this community! May 2015 continue to bless our congregation and our life together!
In Christ,
Pastor Greg and Pastor Carol and family
5
MISCELLANEOUS
NEWSLETTER
DEADLINE
Any items for the
February issue of
Friendship’s Focus
Newsletter should be
submitted to the parish
secretary no later than
Tuesday, January 27th.
Email submissions to
[email protected] or call (828) 632-4482.
PARISH OFFICE CLOSED
Due to the New Year’s holiday, the parish office will be closed on
Thursday, January 1st. In case of emergency contact (828) 632-2310.
HOME BOUND & EXTENDED CARE MEMBERS:
Ruth Hefner—Springs of Catawba
Kathleen Jolly— Valley Nursing
Willie Icenhour—Trinity Village
Charlotte and Wade Sweet—Conover Nursing & Rehab Center
Lucille Icenhour
Darlene Stafford
Alice Icenhour
Novella Fox
Alice Bowman
Ray Bowman
Maxine Mays
6
OUR SHARING
OFFERINGS
NOVEMBER, 2014
CURRENT
BENEVOLENCE
BLDG/IMPROVEMENT
DISASTER RELIEF
FAMILY LIFE CENTER
HELPING HANDS
PRESCHOOL
WORLD HUNGER
YOUTH MISSION
BACKPACK MINISTRY
ADULT MISSION
CHRISTIAN CRISIS CTR
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
S.S CLASS
JEREMIAH JOLLY LOVE
OFFERING
HOSPICE OF ALEX. CO
CRUISE-IN
EBOLA
LINDA FINCANNON BENEFIT
YTD
$28,780.82
$1,505.00
$2,707.00
$0.00
$6,760.00
$80.00
$450.00
$180.00
$483.00
$420.00
$70.00
$540.00
$269,918.41
$14,690.00
$10,162.80
$65.00
$52,943.00
$1,702.00
$3,500.00
$1,845.00
$1,983.00
$3,257.00
$124.00
$1,893.00
$0.00
$852.21
$0.00
$0.00
$9,034.00
$10.00
$4,666.00
$20.00
$20.00
$9,034.00
$10.00
$4,666.00
SPENDING
CURRENT
SEPTEMBER 2014
$19,602.58
YTD
* $284,353.91
*INCLUDES ROOF AND PIPE ORGAN REPAIRS
7
COUNCIL CORNER
From time to time some council matters require more explanation than can be given in the official minutes. For that
reason, we have reinstituted an old Focus feature known as
“Council Corner.”
New Constitution: Friendship has always been at
the forefront of organization in church matters. In 1857, prior to the building of the old octagonal shaped church,
Friendship adopted a set of rules even when synod said
that the commandments were enough to guide the operation of the church. In today’s ever-changing world, the need
for more defined guidance is even more important. Our detailed direction comes from our church constitution. Upon
investigation, your council noticed there are some parts of
our old document that need to be brought up to date to
more clearly define who we are, where are we going, and
how do we purpose to get there. For this reason your council will begin work in January on amending and adopting a
new constitution. Some things we will consider are: terms
of council members, time between terms, voting rights of
pastors, and more appropriately defined membership.
Membership structure and definition will be added to our
current by-laws which are very scant to say the least. If you
have other cares and concerns regarding the laws and
rules that govern our congregation, please take the time to
speak to a member of the Constitution Task Force: Guy
Kerley, Randy Bowman, Jane Nichols, Payton Boyles or
Gary Icenhour. Your input is vital and very important to us.
Church Maintenance/Updates:
Our current church
building was opened in 1960 and since that time we have
added to that original plan with roof changes, organ additions, paved parking lots, Sunday school additions, and finally a Family Life Center. During that period we have at
times overlooked the obvious tasks of maintaining our
church home in a way any good steward would.
Our
church building is now approaching 55 years in age and is
in need of significant updates to reduce current and future
8
energy costs and future maintenance costs. Our recent
Love Friendship Day produced some good results and
started the ball rolling to bring our building back to its former
beauty and glory. We will continue to move this initiative
forward especially when the warm days of spring return.
Your volunteering is essential but I know that many of
you work long hours away from home already. For this reason we will be forced to hire some of the work to be done
by others. If you cannot volunteer, please consider extra
giving to the Building and Improvement Fund or perhaps
adopting and/or paying for a task that needs to be done to
improve our church building.
A list of required update tasks is being prepared and
will be ready in January. Please take time to review the list
and see if God is calling you to share your time and/or talents to make Friendship a church home you can be proud
of.
WE CONTINUE TO
REMEMBER
Linda Fincannon (B. Cline) (12/7)
Margie Markam (J. Gant)
Kenneth Bowman
Erinn Hollo (B. Hollo)
Ginny Elder
Katie Hollo (B. Hollo)
The family and friends of Dennis
Spivey
Eric Watts
Mia Blochaviak (A. Palmer)
Jon Hayes
Danny Sells
Fred & Jane Sipe (R. Deal-Lackey)
(12/14)
The family and friends of Addy Call
The family and loved ones of Elena
Walker
Clark Andrew Hollo (B. Hollo)
Loretta Chapman (12/28)
Sharon Goble (J. Lackey)
Cindy Hefner (L. Harrington) (12/21)
Kyler Bebber (E. Bebber)
Ray Bowman (K. Bowman)
9
10
JANUARY
BIRTHDAYS
Payne, Terry
Watts, Wendy
Elder, Woody
Goble, Sharon
Hefner, Ruth
Robitschek, Andrew
Cook, Terri
Rader, Megan
Stafford, Raylie 01/10
Birchfield, Sam
Deal, Debbie
Hefner, Ellen
Long, Alissa
Nichols, Jane
Bowman, Donna
Ford, Kindola
Locklear, Deidra
Hefner, Paulette
Smith, Angie
Windsor, Amy
01/02
01/03
01/06
01/06
01/08
01/08
01/10
01/10
01/11
01/12
01/14
01/14
01/15
01/16
01/16
01/16
01/17
01/18
01/18
Icenhour, Ben
Christopher, Tamala
Hollar, Barry
Smith, Stasya
Windsor, Ethan
Hefner, Ryan
Sweat, Mabel
Bowman, Madison
Pearson, Wendelynne
Bowman, Brenda
Icenhour, Mary Ann
Icenhour, Marcella
Shealy, Dawn
Bowman, Christopher
Fox, Kendra
Mooney, Jared
Harrington, Tamara
Kerley, Colby
Gantt, Rickie
Pantovich, Nathaniel
Hefner, Jeffery
11
01/19
01/20
01/21
01/22
01/22
01/23
01/23
01/24
01/24
01/25
01/26
01/27
01/27
01/28
01/28
01/28
01/29
01/29
01/30
01/30
01/31
CouncilandStaffServingYou
Council & Officers
Staff
Gary Icenhour, President
Danny Price, Vice-President-Finance
Sandra Icenhour, Treasurer
Dana Frye, Secretary
Marty Buff
Eric Frye
Robert Gant
Jeff James
Julia Rhyne
Chris Jolly
Jimmy Watts
Daphne Payne
Phyllis Little
Brian Chapman
Guy Kerley-Financial Secretary
Rev Carol & Gregory Yeager
Lori Branch
Silsa Moore
Cindy Wiles
Denny Teague
Teena Stewart
FRIENDSHIP LUTHERAN CHURCH
5300 Church Road
Taylorsville, NC 28681
Phone: 828-632-4482
Emergency Line: 828-632-2310
[email protected]
Co-Pastors
Preschool Dir
Church Keyboardist
Preschool Asst. Dir
Sexton
Parish Secretary
NONNON-PROFIT
POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT 106
Taylorsville, NC 28681
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
12