Blog – Page 28 – St. Philip Lutheran Church

‘Tis the Season Once Again…And It’s Busy

Post author By danrad
Post date October 5, 2017
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Judy Burnette

It is an exciting time with our choir. We have a couple of changes taking place with our schedule, as well as, the beginning of Christmas Eve preparations.

First of all, our 8:30 a.m. and 11:00a.m. choirs will sing together for two services a month. This will give the congregation more opportunities to enjoy their music, as well as, give the choir more time to sing as one choir.

Here is how it will work. On the second Sunday of the month, the combined choir will sing at the 8:30 a.m. service. Then on the 4th Sunday, they will sing together at the 11:00 a.m. service. The rest of the Sundays will have the same schedule that we have had in the past.

Second, we will begin preparing our Christmas Eve music on Wednesday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the choir room. We will spend the first 40 minutes of each choir rehearsal learning the music. As always, we would love for you to be a part of the fun…even if it is just for these few weeks before Christmas. Hope to see you there!

World Food Day 2017 – Malawi Feeding Centers & Elijah’s Backpack

Post author By danrad
Post date October 5, 2017
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The right to food is a basic human right. Investing in sustainable food systems and rural development means addressing some of the major global challenges – from feeding the world’s growing population to protecting the global climate, and tackling some of the root causes of migration and displacement.

Currently, St. Philip supports 3 Feeding Centers in Mponela Parish in Malawi. The feeding centers serve nutritional meals to 150 orphans and vulnerable children each week during the rainy season (27 weeks). They also provide a mobile health clinic for families. $3 feeds one child for one week. Each center requires $450 each week to feed all 150 children. For the full 27 weeks, Mponela Parish needs $12,150! St. Philip’s noisy offerings have raised $1161 in 2017 – enough to feed all 150 kids for about 2 ½ weeks.

Elijah’s Backpack currently serves 43 kids in north Roanoke County – and more will join the program in the next few weeks. In 2016-2017, Elijah’s Backpack packed over 1700 bags of food. More than 50 volunteers logged nearly 5000 hours of service to kids in our community. Elijah’s Backpack has also added a new school this year: the Minnick School. We join others across Virginia in a goal to have no child hungry on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, October 31, 2017.

Council Notes News

Church Council News

Church council met on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in the church library. Church finances were discussed extensively as council prepares to submit a 2018 spending plan for congregational approval in December and as expenses continue to outpace giving this year.

While giving is up from last year, expenses are exceeding receipts by about $55,500 so far this year as insurance, utilities and other costs continue to rise. It is likely the church will end the year in the red for the third year in a row, which is a troubling trend.

Thanks to the Kinder Bequest and other substantial gifts over the years, St.. Philip has a sizeable endowment and long-term investment fund for capital projects, but council has tried to keep routine spending in line with annual giving.

Council discussed how best to communicate the situation with the congregation, and whether there are ways of responsibly tapping some of the church’s investment funds or income to cover ongoing expenses.

This will continue to be discussed next month.

Council voted on a new motion for the 2016 endowment disbursement. The motion presented last month contained an error. According to congregational policy, a portion of investment earnings from the endowment fund is disbursed every year to further the mission of St. Philip.

The disbursement will be as follows: $5,000 for the upcoming National Youth Gathering, $6,500 for media upgrades for the church (video conferencing for the library, televisions and monitors for the youth rooms and fellowship hall and improved wi-fi throughout the building), $2,000 to support Matt Leonard’s seminary studies and $1,500 for Caroline Furnace..

Council discussed the rollout of the new logo and tagline for the church and received an update about progress on a new website, which should be ready to be unveiled at the end of October.

Sarah Parker will attend a training session in September to serve as head of the congregational Forwarding Faith campaign, St. Philip’s contribution to the effort to raise at least $2.5 million over the next five years to provide an endowment for faith formation activities in the Virginia Synod.

The next council meeting will be Monday, October 16, at 7 p.m. in the church library. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Congregational Life

Listen: God is calling

Thank you to all of you for the many ways you serve God’s church through the ministry of St. Philip. Truly our calling is about God’s work and our hands. If you have been thinking about ways to connect to the ministry at St. Philip and have not been quite sure how to start please consider serving by:

Offering Counter Coordinator

Each Sunday we are blessed by the generosity of the people of St. Philip and each week some quiet servants make sure that financial offerings are counted and recorded before being deposited in the bank. We need someone to help train and coordinate this group of quiet servants. Speak with Pastor David if you might help with this ministry.

Recycler

We are looking for someone who would twice a month empty our recycling containers and take recyclable materials to the recycling center at Hollins University. Speak with Pastor David if you might want to help care for God’s creation this way.

Photographers

This is for everyone. Please, please take pictures of ways mission and ministry is happening through the community of St.. Philip. Then share them with Laura our office administrator to be celebrated on our St. Philip website and social media.

Worship Assistants

Ushers, acolytes, power point clickers, sound system operators, readers, communion assistants.. This is absolutely a great way to live out your faith on Sunday morning. Speak with Carol Dillman at 8:330am worship and Mary Jo Sahm at 11am worship.

Worship Assistants

October 2017 Servers

October_2017_Servers

Congregational Life Music Ministry

Sounds of Worship

Judy Burnette

When people think about music instruments used during worship, their thoughts most often turn to the piano and organ. Gradually, acoustic guitars were added as well as drums and tambourines. Church music has continued to evolve using a wide variety of instruments (electric guitars, drum sets, synthesizers) as well as many styles of music. Churches still use organs and pianos, but many have orchestras or “rock” bands.

At St. Philip, we do not have an orchestra, but we are blessed to have many talented people who share their gifts of music by giving us the opportunity to have a wonderful band. We also have those who play other instruments to enhance our worship. Recently our service was a “Celebration of Diversity.” We sang songs from different countries and used a drum ensemble, tambourine, shakers and claves in the accompaniment to enhance the spirit of the music. This may be new for some, but hopefully these are musical sounds that touch your heart.

Worship Assistants

September 2017

September_2017_Servers

Elijah's Backpack Ministries

Elijah’s Backpack

Each Friday afternoon elementary school children receive a pack of healthy food and snacks in their backpacks. Elijah’s Backpack may include the following items: cereal, breakfast bars, oatmeal, juice, tuna kits, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter crackers, soup, apple sauce, fruit cups, ravioli, vegetables, milk, and other nutritious food.

What is Elijah’s Backpack?

Many families struggle to eat healthy meals and snacks every day. Elijah’s Backpack, a free community ministry sponsored by St. Philip Lutheran Church in Roanoke, Virginia, helps families eat more healthy meals and snacks through their local elementary school.

Elijah’s Backpack works with families at Mountain View Elementary and Burlington Elementary, in Roanoke County. The school principal and guidance counselor select participants based upon need. Program participation is kept confidential. A parent or guardian must return a signed permission form for their child to participate. This form is available from their elementary school counselor.

The prophet Elijah was sent by God to visit Zarephath, where he met a widow and her son. When he arrived, Elijah was quite hungry and asked for food. The widow had so little food for herself and her son that she feared they would die of hunger, yet she shared her own bread with Elijah. God responded by providing more than enough for the three to eat together. (1 Kings 17:8-16) God calls us to serve all who hunger (Matthew 25:35-40; James 2:15-16). The story of Elijah reminds us that those who are hungry are also our sisters and brothers, gifted by God and very often sharing what they have with others in need.

WDBJ7’s news coverage of Elijah’s Backpack

Children carrying more than just books in their backpacks

Program Partners

Elijah’s Backpack is supported by St. Philip Lutheran Church, Hollins First Baptist Church, Enon Baptist Church, Hollins Church of the Nazarene, Northview United Methodist Church, Summerdean Church of the Brethren, Life Academy, Faith Alliance Church, Burlington Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Feeding America Food Bank, Hollywood’s Restaurant, and donations from individuals supporting Elijah’s Backpack. We are seeking other community partners.