February 2021 - News & Views

A Message From Rev Bauer…

“The Lengthening Of Days“

Today, I was outside installing a 2 by 4 in a concrete support to buttress and support one of the fences in my backyard.  The warmth of the sun reminded me, that in the midst of Winter, Spring is not too far in the distance.

We have been celebrating Epiphany, the season which signifies the light of Christ brightening the world.

We now begin to turn our attention to Lent. The English word Lent is a shortened form of the Old English word lencten, meaning "spring season". This refers to the lengthening of days, the process of transforming Winter into Spring.

Lent has been associated with many traditions:

Lent, in the Christian church, a period of penitential preparation for Easter.  In Western churches it begins on Ash Wednesday, six and a half weeks before Easter, and provides for a 40-day fast (Sundays are excluded), in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry.  In Eastern churches Lent begins on the Monday of the seventh week before Easter and ends on the Friday that is nine days before Easter.  This 40-day “Great Lent” includes Saturdays and Sundays as relaxed fast days.

In the early centuries, fasting rules were strict, as they still are in Eastern churches.  One meal a day was allowed in the evening, and meat, fish, eggs, and butter were forbidden.  The Eastern Church also restricts the use of wine, oil, and dairy products.  In the West these fasting rules have gradually been relaxed.  The strict law of fasting among Roman Catholics was dispensed with during World War II, and only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are now kept as Lenten fast days. However, the emphasis on penitential practice and almsgiving remains, and many Catholics also observe a meatless fast on Fridays during Lent.  In addition, Catholics and other Christians often choose to give up specific pleasures, such as sweets, alcohol, or social media, during Lent as a way to foster simplicity and self-control; many use their cravings or desires for these items as a reminder to pray and to refocus on spiritual matters.
 Lent offers us the opportunity for self-inventory on our lives.  We can evaluate what we like, what’s working and consider what we would like to discard, what is not working.
 Our journey to Easter can be a meaningful one, but it requires vulnerability and trust.  Can we trust God to be there for us? Can we trust one another as we support each other in our spiritual growth?
 I hope you’re willing to journey with me during this Holy Season.
See you in church?
I hope so as we bear witness to the lengthening of days.

 In Christ’s love,
Pastor Peter Bauer

IN OUR PRAYERS

Gisela Drayton, Jimmy Wilson, Pastor Eric Titus, Wanda Haecker, Vivian Wilson, Tommy & Judy Brown, Cleven Engelhardt, Mel & Elsie Barnett, Luke Hunter, Leola Schultze, Joyce Schaefer, Michael Strzelczyk, Deanne Engelke, Mariann Bielke, Venge Rakowitz

IN SYMPATHY

Family of William Roberson

Family of Roland Luensmann

Family of Betty Wiederstein

DOMINOES & LUNCH

There will be NO Dominoes or Lunch until further notice. Hope everyone continues to stay healthy and safe!

Happy Wedding Anniversary 

No mile markers for the month of February.

Please continue helping us to give special recognition and to honor these wonderful mile markers. If you know of someone going to be married 25, 40, 50 or more years, please let the Church Office know for that month’s newsletter. 

SOUPER BOWL OF CARING

On Sunday, February 7th the EDGE will be participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring. No food will be served but monetary donations are being accepted. Please support the EDGE.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS FOR FEBRUARY

Feb 7 – Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

• Isaiah 40:21-31
• I Corinthians 9:16-23
• Mark 1:29-39

Feb 14 – Transfiguration Sunday

• II Kings 2:1-12
• II Corinthians 4:3-6
• Mark 9:2-9

Feb 17 – Ash Wednesday

• Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
• II Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
• Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Feb 21 – First Sunday in Lent

• Genesis 9:8-17 
• I Peter 3:18-22
• Mark 1:9-15

Feb 28 – Second Sunday in Lent

• Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
• Romans 4:13-25
• Mark 8:31-38

Redeemer Church Council 

Meeting Minutes

Due to the rescheduling of the Council Meeting to January 27th the December minutes were not available for the Newsletter.

Give to Redeemer United Church

You make the Difference!

Giving to the church is essential to the vitality and future of the church. Your faithful, weekly giving enables the continued fulfillment of the ongoing mission of Jesus for our church in the community. 

As we navigate the uncertainty and impacts of the current health crisis surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19), it is important that we continue to reach out to friends, family and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Equally important is your continued giving, to ensure the vitality and financial stability of our congregation.

Redeemer now has several ways to give. Please utilize what is most convenient for you.

· Mail your offering weekly to our secure P.O. Box

Redeemer United Church

P.O. Box 743

Marion, TX 78124

· Online! Use the church’s new Online Portal

o Tithe.ly Website: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1343017 

o Download the "Tithe.ly" App on your smartphone and select our church to give

· Access the “GIVING” Page on the church’s Website

o http://www.redeemerucc.com/

· In Person! Drop off your offering to the church

o Call first to arrange delivery to Marsha

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” – Hebrews 13:16 NIV

HEART OF TEXAS ASSOCIATION

The Heart of Texas Association Committee on Ministry licensed Rene Slataper during its January 19th meeting. Rene is currently serving as Minister of Outreach and Organizational Development at Labyrinth Progressive Student Ministries in Austin, an ecumenical college student ministry based near the University of Texas.  The ministry is supported by several Austin area churches. Rene is also a student in the online Master of Divinity program at Chicago Theological Seminary and is a Member in Discernment with the Heart of Texas Association. He is a member of the Congregational Church of Austin, where he also currently works part-time as their video technician. Rene is also a recipient of multiple scholarships from the national UCC. We receive Pastor Rene with joy as begins licensed ministry in the Heart of Texas Association.

It is with sadness that I share that the Evangelical Church of Lyons has voted to leave the United Church of Christ and give up its membership as a church in the Heart of Texas Association. The Lyons church has been part of the former Brazos Association and then later part of Heart of Texas since the South Central Conference became part of the United Church of Christ. Our ties have been long and heartfelt, with good memories over the years of meeting with them, sharing their joy as the church fellowship hall and sanctuary were rebuilt, and having their members be active and great supporters of the Association and at Slumber Falls Camp. They have recently called Andrew Keuer as their pastor, and have decided to head in a different direction in their ministry. They leave us with our appreciation for their many years with us, and with every hope and prayer that their ministry will flourish in faithfulness and joy in the years to come.

Tom VandeStadt has announced his retirement as pastor of the Congregational Church of Austin as of the end of February 2021. Tom has served Congregational Church for nearly 20 years and has led the church in many ways -- in homeless outreach, in excellent worship, through his active social justice work in Austin, and in caring ministry. We wish Tom well as he prepares for this transition in his life, and offer prayers for Congregational (the church where I am a member) as it joins several other churches in the Heart of Texas in a time of transition and search for new leadership in Christ’s ministry.

Blessings in Christ,

Liz Nash, Association Minister

ALTAR FLOWERS & BULLETINS

February 7, 2021 – Holy Communion  

LITURGIST – Jeanne Rawe

ALTAR FLOWERS – Jimmy & Candace Scheibe

BULLETINS – open

February 14, 2021  

LITURGIST – Pam Griffin

ALTAR FLOWERS – Bielke family

BULLETINS – open

February 21, 2021   

LITURGIST – open

ALTAR FLOWERS – open

BULLETINS – open

February 28, 2021  

LITURGIST – open

ALTAR FLOWERS – open

BULLETINS – open

February Birthdays

02-Carli Luensmann, Marshall Strey, Rev. Gerry
 Metzger
03-Jeanne Rawe
04-Ann Lindley, Reagan Rawe
05-Tameria Lindley
06-Ronnie Hulett
09-Emmalyn Walter
10-Lana Smidt
13-Lennert Steffen, Ella Maierhofer, Elliot Zegels
15-Virginia Strey, Carolyn Reininger
16-Halla Nickel
17-Susan Gray
18-Marvin Krueger
19-Becky Reinhard
21-Gail Lampman, Ashtyn Dilworth
23-Michael Reinhard, Brooke Reininger
26-Jeremy Walter, Heather Niles
28-Carol Lilie, Caleb Rackley

February Wedding Anniversaries

14-Ronnie & Lois McDougal
16-Greg & Darvi Mayo
19-Darrell & Diane Hunter

ASH WEDNESDAY WORHSIP

There will be no in-person worship for Ash Wednesday but it will be pre-recorded and posted 

to the Church website.

DATES TO REMEMBER....

 

February 7th  – Sunday School
 EDGE – Souper Bowl of Caring 

February 14th – Sunday School
 Youth Worship (Tentative) 

February 21st – Sunday School  

February 28th – Sunday School

A Message From Rev Bauer…

“What’s Your Wish This New Year?“

The New Year is here 2021, and many of us are saying hallelujah! Last year and all of its struggles, tragedies is not something that we hope to see again.

So what do you want for this New Year? Do you want to lose weight, get a promotion, spend more time with your family, take up a new hobby? Maybe read some books or find a new sport to play, a musical instrument to learn.

The New Year promises to have new opportunities and challenges for all of us.

Epiphany is the season where we celebrate the light of Christ which has come into our world.  We truly are living in a time where we need more light and where we need more enlightenment.

During this Interim pastoral period, we have learned to worship in different ways, now embracing both live in person services and recorded services which are available on our website.

We celebrated in confirming seven Confirmands in mid-December into the life of our church.  Their youthful enthusiasm and optimism gives us all new light and new life.

The pastoral search committee continues to work hard at reviewing ministerial profiles and I am confident that they will find the right candidate to be considered as the new settled minister for Redeemer United Church of Christ.

2020 was a year of a great turmoil but 2021 promises to be a year of great blessing.

Here’s to overflowing blessings for you, your family, our church and our community this year and in the future.

See you in church

I hope so.

There’s lots to celebrate!

Pastor Peter Bauer

IN OUR PRAYERS

Gisela Drayton, Jimmy Wilson, Pastor Eric Titus, Wanda Haecker, Vivian Wilson, Tommy & Judy Brown, Cleven Engelhardt, Mel & Elsie Barnett, Luke Hunter, Leola Schultze, Joyce Schaefer, Michael Strzelczyk, Deanne Engelke, Mariann Bielke, Betty Wiederstein

IN SYMPATHY

Family ofClaudia Schneider

Family ofKenneth Winkelmann

Family ofDelores Pardue

Family ofLarry Bourdeau

Happy Wedding Anniversary 

 Peyton & Doris Reynolds – 40 years

 Please continue helping us to give special recognition and to honor these wonderful mile markers. If you know of someonegoing to be married 25, 40, 50 or more years, please let the Church Office know for that month’s newsletter. 

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Logan Saulter who received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University.

SPECIAL THANK YOU

A Special Thank You to Steve Gangawer, Reagan Rawe, and Gerald Kriewald for repairing the electrical wiring on the carillon in the bell tower following extensive damage done by squirrels.

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

The annual Congregational meeting will be held on Sunday, January 31st following worship. Please have your annual reports in by Tuesday, January 26th to the church office.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS FOR JANUARY

Jan 3 – Second Sunday after Christmas

• Jeremiah 31:7-14
• Ephesians 1:3-14
• John 1:1-18

Jan 10 – The Baptism of Christ

• Genesis 1:1-5
• Acts 19:1-7
• Mark 1:4-11

Jan 17 – Second Sunday after Epiphany

• I Samuel 3:1-20 
• I Corinthians 6:12-20
• John 1:43-51

Jan 24 – Third Sunday after Epiphany

• Jonah 3:1-5, 10
• I Corinthians 7:29-31
• Mark 1:14-20

Jan 31 – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

• Deuteronomy 18:15-20
• I Corinthians 8:1-13
• Mark 1:21-28

2021 Church Council

President – Janice Gangawer
Vice-President – Wyatt Kunde, Jr.
Secretary – Debbie Luensmann
Treasurer – Carrie James
Financial Treasurer – Faye Titus
Recording Secretary – Jeff Thayne

Property & Maintenance – Doug Muenchow
Building Fund Treasurer – Caleb Rackley
Christian Education Rep – Krista Saulter

Memorial Fund Treasurer – open
Stewardship Chairperson – Jed Wells
Evangelism Chairperson – Karl Harborth

Redeemer Church Council Meeting Minutes – Condensed

Via ZOOM

November 18, 2020

President David Albright called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. Jeff Thayne provided the meditation. The October 2020 council meeting minutes were read and accepted as written.

The financial reports were reviewed, discussed, and accepted.

COVID UPDATE

The cases in Guadalupe County are going up and down. The council will keep an eye on the number of cases in the coming weeks.

SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATES/STATUS

· President Albright to draft letter to Parsonage tenants.

· Search Update – job was posted Nov. 16th on two private job boards and on the UCC site. The conference will assist with background checks to vet applicants. The church member register needs to be reviewed as this number will be important for discussions with the pastoral candidates.

DISCUSS UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS

· THANKSGIVING SERVICE, Nov 24th - St. John Lutheran Church had to cancel the service. Council voted to not hold in-person service at Redeemer but will record and post the Thanksgiving Message.

· DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS - Women’s Fellowship will decorate the altar with Christmas trees and put up the Nativity scene.

· TOTENFEST, Nov. 22nd - three members and one non-member to be remembered.

· CHRISTMAS PAGEANT, Dec. 13th - A lot of singing with masks and social distanced.

· CONFIRMATION, Dec 13th, 2:00 pm – Council serve as Ushers & Acolyte, contact -free Communion. Service will be recorded. Church will purchase a bible for each confirmand and presented by Jim & Gerry Rackley.

· NEXT COUNCIL MEETING - Need 4 more Council volunteers. Elect new positions.

· RAFFLE DRAWING, Dec 20th, 11:30 am - Tickets/Money due Dec 20thby 10:30 am.

· CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE, Dec 24th, 5:30 pm - Bulletins with songs, sing 1stverse only, with masks on. Rev Bauer will make it a meaningful service. May need two services depending on number of attendees. 

· ADVENT – begins Sunday, Nov. 29th - Sunday School classes and Adult Bible Study group will read the liturgy and light the candles in Advent wreath.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm. 

Respectfully submitted,

Debra (Debbie) Luensmann

Redeemer UCC Council Secretary

HEART OF TEXAS ASSOCIATION

Faith UCC in New Braunfels is undergoing a major transition. As of January 1, 2021, Scott Martin will be retiring as Pastor. Scott is a friend to many of us. He leaves Faith with our great appreciation for his ministry and many good wishes. The church has called Carla Cheatham to be their Designated Term Pastor. This is a type of transitional pastor that is charged with helping the church move toward specific goals, with the possibility of being considered as the settled (called and more permanent) pastor if both sides agree. Carla is the author of Hospice Whispers: Stories of Life and leads the Carla Cheatham Consulting Group, which trains people in caregiving fields in ethical caregiving. She has served in hospice and parish ministry. We join Faith and Carla in great hope for their work and future in ministry together.

Our Association Committee on Ministry has granted Amelia Fulbright “Seeking Privilege of Call” status in the United Church of Christ. This status means that Amelia, who was ordained at First Baptist Church of Austin, has been recommended for ordained ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ by our Committee on Ministry and will have an Ecclesiastical Council to be voted on for ministerial standing at our Association Spring Meeting. She will also be seeking a call to ministry in a UCC church. Amelia is currently the Designated Senior Pastor at University Baptist Church in Austin, where she served as the Associate Minister earlier in her ministry for several years. Before her current work, she was the founding Executive Director of Labyrinth Progressive Student Ministries at the University of Texas at Austin. Labyrinth is supported by a number of Austin area churches including Congregational Church of Austin and Church of the Savior, among others. Amelia put together Labyrinth and the coalition of supporting churches to form a powerful ministry that offers worship, Bible study, meditation, and community to students who are devout, questioning, and on a journey. We welcome Amelia to the Heart of Texas Association.

I rejoice to share with you that James Pennington, Senior Pastor of First Church UCC of Phoenix, Arizona, will begin his tenure as Executive Director of Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, on February 22, 2021. The Back Bay Mission Board has had a gratitude-filled time of farewell with retiring Executive Director Alice Graham, whose work has been transformative and excellent. As many of you know, Back Bay Mission is a partner ministry with the United Church of Christ, does magnificent outreach work among the poorest people of the area, and hosts work camps for mainly UCC groups from across the country. James comes with extensive non-profit leadership experience prior to becoming a UCC minister. At First Church, he has led a ministry that expanded the church’s outreach to those with no place to live, to refugees, and as a leading institution advocating for those with the least voice and poorest among us. I feel a special joy in making this announcement after serving on the search committee that recommended him. I hope many of us will find a way to get out to Biloxi to see and be part of doing God’s work at Back Bay Mission.

Blessings in Christ,

Liz Nash, Association Minister

Dates To Remember

January 3 – NO Sunday School

January 10 – Sunday School 

January 17 – Sunday School

January 24 – Sunday School
January 31 – Sunday School 

ALTAR FLOWERS & BULLETINS

January 3, 2021 – Holy Communion  

LITURGIST – Jeanne Rawe

ALTAR FLOWERS – open

BULLETINS – open

January 10, 2021   

LITURGIST – open

ALTAR FLOWERS – open

BULLETINS – open

January 17, 2021  

LITURGIST – open

ALTAR FLOWERS – Reagan & Jeanne Rawe

BULLETINS – Gerald & Betty Kriewald

January 24, 2021  

LITURGIST – open

ALTAR FLOWERS – open

BULLETINS – open

January 31, 2021  

LITURGIST – open

ALTAR FLOWERS – Willfloyd Strey family

BULLETINS – open

January Birthdays

01-Sondra Harborth
04-Michael Wiederstein
06-Jim Rackley, Allen Wiederstein, Ava Harborth
08-Elmon Wiedner, Wade Pape, Douglas
 Muenchow
10-Faye Reinhard
11-Duane Kutach, Steve Origas
12-Clydell Smith
13-Loretta Corkran, Gisela Drayton, Lindsey

Henderson, Koert Zegels
14-Jean Manning, Tim Schneider
15-Wyatt Kunde, Jr.
18-Joyce Frederick, Betty Surman
19-Terri Rosebrock
21-Sharon Zillmann
22-Vivian Wilson
24-Karl Harborth
27-Avery Corkran, Patti Dilworth,
 Michael Woerndel, Jamie Wells, Donna Torbet
28-Vicki Lassere
29-Tammy Haecker, Michael Nickel, Eli
 Guenther
30-Melvin Krueger, Walter Brunner
31-Willfloyd Strey, Ronnie McDougal

January Wedding Anniversaries

 03-Koert & Kayla Zegels
03-Peyton & Doris Reynolds
07-Kevin & Krista Saulter
30-Darren & Kim Luensmann