Note: The January 2001 GoodNews was combined with the December 2000 edition.
Abendmahlsgottesdienst
(German for ‘Communion Service‘)
February 17 & 18, 2001
Intern Joe will be singing the German Lutheran Communion Liturgy as
we commemorate
Martin Luther.
Pastor Tom will preach.
Bring a friend to Church on this festive weekend.
February, 28 at 6pm
Worship with Communion and
Imposition of ashes at 7pm
Grand Canyon Synod
High School Winter Retreat
February 2 - 4, 2001
Hosted by the Northern Arizona University Lutheran
Campus Ministry
Ten youth and adults from Good Samaritan will be
attending this annual event.
Skiing, sledding, skating, dancing, worship and food.
Pastor Tom Mac Adam signed a one year contract to be the pastor of our new Lutheran Church in Pahrump. His title is Interim Pastor. Hiring Pastor Tom was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA. A second grant is expected in February.
On December 31st our choir visited Pahrump and performed their Cantata at their 10am Sunday morning worship. Attendance was 72 plus the 30 member cast and choir from Good Samaritan. A total of 102. Almost the same number (101) were in attendance on Saved by Grace’s first ever Christmas Eve service.
Over the holidays, Saved by Grace received two major gifts from members and friends. One was for $17,000 and is designated for the building fund. The other was for $4,000 and is being split between the building fund and general fund.
Good Samaritan’s poinsettia fund sent $500 to Saved by Grace as part of our outreach to local, national and world churches and programs.
We are one in Christ—One Lord, One Faith, One
Baptism—reaching
out with compassion, humility, and kindness by:
Giving of ourselves willingly
Sharing our gifts generously
Loving our Lord wholeheartedly
Caring for others totally
As instruments of the Holy Spirit we will worship, learn, witness,
and grow together to fulfill Christ’s Gospel of Love.
EVENTS
We want to thank all of you for the Christmas gifts and cards you shared with us this year. There was everything from candles, lotions, breads, cookies & candy, gift certificates, mustard, honey, art work and socks -- and more!!
We also want to thank all friends of Good Samaritan along with the Church Council for the Christmas bonus’.
Sincerely,
Jolene Carlin, Intern Joe,
Pastor Mac Adam, Pastor Stutelberg
Report from Intern Joe
Dear friends,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your dedication, support, and encouragement, with which you welcomed me during these first couple of weeks of my internship at Good Samaritan Lutheran Church.
Thanks to your help I am very well set in my apartment. Due to your open benevolence, I already feel quite at home in the liturgy, although I am still struggling with my English during services. It is a joy to work with you and to be a part of your lives. I feel very comfortable here in Las Vegas and I am looking forward to staying these coming months with you, growing in faith and service to God, and returning home to Germany with many new ideas and thoughts for my future ministry.
God Bless you,
Joachim "Joe" Woerner
Intern Pastor
We’ve all read about the latest Census Bureau statistics, which show that the poverty rate is at the lowest point in two decades. This is certainly welcome news. At the same time, the fact remains that 11.8 percent of the population, including 12.1 million children, live below the poverty line. And that line is woefully short of what it actually takes to put healthy meals on the table, pay the rent, cover childcare, and keep your car running or pay for public transportation to and from work.
In 1999, a family of four with less than $17,029 in income was considered below the poverty line; for a family of three, $13,290. A full-time minimum-wage worker earns $10,712 a year.
To be at the poverty line, that worker would have to earn $6.38 an hour, or over a dollar more than the minimum wage of $5.15.
The U.S. government considers housing to be "affordable" if it costs no more than 30% of family income. To afford rent and utilities, excluding a phone, for a modest 2-bedroom unit, a worker would have to earn a median hourly wage of $12.47, more than twice the minimum wage. Of course, many families earn much less, and therefore pay a higher percentage of income for housing. This means cutting back on food and other expenses, which low-income families can ill afford.
So while the new poverty statistics are encouraging, they are little consolation for the millions of people still living on the edge of survival
49,124-The number of applicants for the TV show Survivor II.
10,000-Estimated number of applicants for the Peace Corp in 2000
Enlist three new congregations as host sites for IHN
Enroll more people in our ‘Safe for a Day’ program*
Seek more employers to provide jobs for people in our program
Add two or three more members to the IHN board
Develop a fundraising team to assure adequate funding for IHN
* ‘Safe for a Day’ is a program in which people make a $20 minimum contribution to IHN. Many people have pledged $20 a month for 2001. If you are interested call 638-8806 and ask for Tona Campbell.
There are currently 17 host sites for IHN which includes five ELCA Lutheran Churches and Faith Lutheran High School. Good Samaritan’s next host week after January 28-February 4 is May 20-27.
7th & 8th Grade
Confirmation Schedule
C.O.W.
Wednesday, February 7
6:30 - 8:00pm
Wednesday, February 21
6:30 - 8:00pm
Wednesday, March 7
6:30 - 8:00pm
7th Grade Confirmation Teacher
Susan Gentry
Joachim Woerner
8th Grade Confirmation Teachers
Pastor Tom Stutelberg
Judy Ellithorpe
LBW’s Googly, and
a Wicket Keeper
While on my sabbatical this past fall, I attempted to learn a bit about the game of Cricket. I even brought back a cricket bat and ball. While touring the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, a hallowed place first established in 1853 and the site of the 1956 Olympics, I discovered that cricket is like baseball. And croquet. And fast-pitch softball, chess and a long day at the beach.
Our tour of the trophy rooms and club rooms at the Cricket Grounds reminded me of the old Ivy League fraternities. There were lots of walnut framed doorways, photo lined halls, Waterford Crystal loving cups, and men in blazers. We attended a portion of what was called a test match between Australia and the West Indies. A test match lasts for four days. Each day the teams would break for lunch and for afternoon tea.
The game of cricket is complicated but goes something like this. After a coin toss to determine who bats and who fields, the eleven fielding players take positions such as deep fine leg, deep mid on, short extra cover and silly point. Silly point is a well named position because that fielder stands about four feet from the batter. The game takes place in a stadium much like a baseball park but the batting occurs in the middle of the filed, or out beyond second base on a baseball field.
In the middle of the field are two wickets about 20 yards apart. Two players from the other team come out to bat. One actually bats in front of one wicket while the other waits at the opposite wicket as a runner.
The batter stands with a bat bent like a hockey stick in front of a looped shaped wooden wicket. The bowler, (pitcher in baseball) gets a running start like a javelin thrower and stops near the other wicket to let go a ferocious over hand fast pitch. He cannot bend his elbow when he throws. The ball travels close to 90 mph and it is as hard as a cue ball. The object is to bounce it in front of the hitter so the uneven ground will make it more difficult to hit the ball OR try to get the batter out by sneaking the ball past the batter and through the wicket or by hitting the wicket and knocking off the spools that sit precariously on top of it. No three strikes here.
The batsman has two jobs: To protect the wicket and to score runs. If the batsman gets a hit, he and his teammate at the opposite wicket run. If they both cross and reach the other end safely, one run is scored and the runner becomes the batter.
There is no foul territory in cricket. A ball hit out to the wall in any direction is an automatic 4 runs and a ball over the fence - like a home run - is worth 6 runs. It is common for a good batsman to score 100 runs in one turn at bat. This is called a century. A respectable overall score for a team is in the range of 300 runs. The professional record for runs in a single at bat is 501. One Pakistani batsman actually batted for three days, setting another record.
While I was watching this test match I thought I heard a familiar Lutheran phrase being shouted out by several players. It consisted of three letters and I asked about it. I was right. I may have been on sabbatical but I hadn’t forgotten my roots!! If a batter attempts to block the ball with his leg to keep it from hitting the wicket, it is an automatic out and players shout LBW!! LBW!! Leg before wicket.
My sabbatical, which included a trip to Australia and New Zealand, was such a delight. I want to thank every member of Good Samaritan for supporting this time away. If you want to read some more about Australia try Bill Bryson’s new book, In a Sunburned Country.
See you in Church!
G’day
Pastor Tom Stutelberg