Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church Weelkly Announcements

“A Caring Family of God”

Remember to bring in food items for Tri County Family Ministries!!!!

WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS TO LUTHEROAD DAY CAMP! PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE IF YOU NEED AN APPLICATION.

“A Caring Family of God”

MEETINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES AT MARTIN LUTHER EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Monday, 5/12

7:30 PM Katherine Luther Circle at the home of Connie Gibson

Tuesday, 5/13

5 PM TOPS Meeting

6 PM Alzheimer’s Association Meeting at MLLC

Wednesday, 5/14

5:30 PM Handbell Rehearsal

7 PM Adult Choir Rehearsal

Thursday, 5/15

11 AM Bible Study

6:30 PM Learning Team Meeting and VBS Workshop

7 PM Finance Team Meeting

Friday, 5/16

9:00 AM Respite Care

SC Synod ELCA Assembly

Sunday, 5/18

8:30 AM Worship Service

10 AM Sunday School

11 AM Worship Service

4 PM SUNDAYSCOOL AT THE RIVERDOGS GAME

· SUNDAYSCHOOL - On SUNDAY, MAY 18TH, THE SUNDAYSCOOL WILL BE MEETING AT 4 PM AT THE RIVERDOGS BASEBALL GAME AT THE JOE RILEY STADIUM!! Bring your Picnic Basket full of items to share! Tickets are $5 each and are payable at the ballgame window. Join us and let’s have some fun and fellowship while we enjoy our hometown baseball game!

· TOPS – TAKE OFF POUNDS SENSIBLY – please join us at Martin Luther Church each Tuesday at 5 PM to find out how you can “Take off pounds sensibly”.

· Ronald McDonald Meal – on the first Monday of each month, Martin Luther Church provides a meal for the Ronald McDonald House. They now have 25 rooms (instead of 12) and we prepare meals to feed 40-50 people. The number of residents has more than doubled with the new and much needed addition. Your generosity has helped many people and we thank you for your continued support. Please contact Joan Cunningham at 795-1592 for more information or to assist with this ministry.

· “A GOOD MORNING” RESPITE CARE PROGRAM IS HELD EACH FRIDAY FROM 9 AM to 12:30 PM AT MARTIN LUTHER EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. A Good Morning provides care for those with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and respite for their caregivers. There are dedicated and trained volunteers operating the program. Participants enjoy fellowship, a morning snack, lunch and activities while caregivers enjoy several hours of respite. Interviews for clients are held on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 5:00 PM. The cost is $15.00 per session. Additional volunteers are always welcome. If you are interested, please contact Jan Carter, 766-2767 or Patti Mears, 795-3102.

· On the weekend of March 14, the Air Conditioner unit for the MLLC Sanctuary was vandalized. We believe that those who vandalized the unit took the valuable copper and aluminum parts for resale. A police report was filed and insurance money has been received. Our insurance reimbursement was minus a $1,000 deductible. The Executive Council has decided elected to have the a/c work done by Terrace Heating and Air and to replace this unit with a heat pump that will more efficiently heat and cool our sanctuary. The upgrade of the unit will cost MLLC $2,530 above our insurance proceeds. All contributions to help with this cost difference will be appreciated!

· The 2008 Assembly of the South Carolina Synod will be held Friday – Sunday, May 16 – May 18, 2008, at The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia, South Carolina. We will focus our deliberations and celebrations on the churchwide emphasis and assembly theme, “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Churchwide representative will be Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, who is invited to preach for our Sunday morning worship at the convention center. Please keep our MLLC representatives and guests in your prayers as they attend the Assembly; Pastor Steve Cooper, Delegate Peggy Oxendine, Delegate Richard Fowler, Delegate Becca Spain, Guest Joan Gander and Guest Sherry Fowler.

· The SC WELCA Annual Convention, May 23-25, 2008, Lutheridge, Arden, NC -Registration is $30.00 per person ($40 after 4/1/08) which includes all meals and 2 nights lodging. The registration fee doesn't include the room and meals. There is a additional fee of $72.00 per person for lodging at Lutheridge (double occupancy) and the meals. For accommodations outside Lutheridge, there is a $25.00 fee for meals at the Convention. Optional Biltmore Ticket for Sunday Afternoon is $37.00. Registration forms are in the church office or you may obtain one from Connie Gibson or Melody Alcorn. Make checks payable to SC Women of the ELCA.

· AFTERNOON TEA - St. Matthews Lutheran Church in downtown Charleston invites all to their Afternoon Tea beginning May 23 through June 1 from 1-5 PM. All proceeds from this event support programming at the Outreach Learning Center. “Quality Time”, an adult respite care program for people with Alzheimer’s and other memory loss disorders, will be the recipient of all tips. For more information call 843-579-0420.

· Carolina Conversations - A National Libraries of Medicine Project of the MUSC invites older persons (65 years of age and older) to volunteer for a collection of recordings to be used in research to expand our community’s understanding of aging and how to communicate with older people. Each older participant will be compensated for his or her time. Arrangements can be made for the recordings at people’s homes. For more information or to volunteer, call Charlene Pope at 843-792-4642.

· PICCOLO SPOLETO HAPPENING - Atlanta Schola Cantorum, under the direction of John Whitt, will present Miserere + Alleluia: Songs of Sorrow and Joy at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 120 Broad Street, downtown Charleston, at 11 AM on Monday, May 26, as part of the 2008 Piccolo Spoleto Festival of Churches. The program will include works by Schutz, Byrd, Gibbons, Brahms, Billings and Tavener. Admission is free. For more information, call 724-8395.

lamb.tif LAMMS ON A MISSION

“Almost Heaven” Mission Trip

Youth from the following churches are traveling to West Virginia this summer (July 13 – 19, 2008) to help build Habitat for Humanity homes; Living Grace in Tucker, GA; Amazing Grace in Laurens, GA; Martin Luther in Charleston, SC; Messiah in Decatur, GA; and St. James in Norcross, GA. The Youth from Martin Luther Church participating in this build are; Erich Kruger, Matthew Rimer, Luke Rimer, Will Waters, Carley Congdon, Becca Spain, Brooke Dark, DJ Watts, and TJ Peterson with adult leaders, Pastor Steve Cooper, Joanie Gander and Marcia Dark. (12 people in all!) The Youth of Martin Luther Church invite you to help them raise the needed funds to travel to West Virginia in several ways.They invite you to purchase a foot!!! Building 2 x 4 planks will be in the Narthex. We ask you to purchase a foot (12 inches) of the board and write your greetings, hopes, prayers for the home and the family who will live in the home, on the board. The sections of board will be sold for $10 a foot or $30 a yard. The boards will be taken with the Youth to West Virginia and be used in the construction of the home. Watch for more exciting ways that you can “Build Up” our youth and their “Almost Heaven” Summer Mission Trip. AND CHECK OUT OUR BULLETIN BOARD IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL WING.

LUTHEROAD DAY CAMP COMES TO MARTIN LUTHER CHURCH.

Camp is coming to Martin Luther Church

July 27 – August 1, 2008.

LUTHEROAD Day Camp is an exciting program offered by Lutheridge+Lutherock Ministries, Inc.. Five days of Christian Day Camping for youth in grades 1 through 5. It is a joint venture of Martin Luther Church and Lutheridge+Lutherock Ministries. The cost for the week is only $140, this covers all costs. WHAT HAPPENS AT DAY CAMP? Bible Study, worship --- games for fun and recreation where everybody plays and learns --- arts and crafts --- singing --- fellowship --- nature studies --- making new friends and much more! WHERE WILL IT HAPPEN ? Day Camp will run from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Thursday. The Friday session will conclude at noon with a special program for families and friends. Day Camp will be held at Martin Luther Church, 1605 Harbor View Road, James Island. WHO WILL LEAD IT ? Counselors from Lutheridge+Lutherock Ministries will lead the program. The staff are Christian young adults trained and equipped in Bible Study, worship, first aid, recreation, creative activities, and working with people both young and old. The counselors are college students, at least 18 years old and are led by an experienced camp director in conjunction with a church coordinator. Volunteers from our church will share in the leadership. WHO CAN COME? Any child in grades 1 to 5 can sign up. (Grades refer to grade entering in the fall.) You do not have to be a member of the congregation - Day Camp is open to everyone! (And camperships are available for those in financial need.) To register, fill out the form and enclose a $35 deposit per camper and send it to the church office and remember to bring the health history form. The balance of the fee is due one week prior to the first day of camp.

STILL ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS. Registration forms are in the church office!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES

Graduating from James Island Charter High School

Josef Burke

(son of Brenda Burke and grandson of Betty Browder)

Ben McLaughlin

(son of Patty and Marty Iler and grandson of ML Lybrand and the late Eunice Lybrand)

Graduating from The Citadel

Scott McLaughlin

(son of Patty and Marty Iler and grandson of ML Lybrand and the late Eunice Lybrand)

Teens Encounter Christ

TEC is a three-day retreat, a mini-course in Christianity. It is built around a series of talks mostly by young people, but with a few by adults and clergy. The weekend also includes small group discussion, skits, worship and group building activities. It is designed to deepen ones relationship with Christ and enhance leadership skills of youth and adults. The South Carolina movement is known as Hearts on Fire TEC, or HOFTEC. Participants are youth 15 years of age and older, usually but not always confirmed in a Lutheran congregation. Adults who work with youth and their families are also encouraged to attend. Both teens and adults may return to serve on (help lead) future retreats. The next retreat is Saturday through Monday, May 25-26, 2008. Leaders for the retreat will arrive Friday evening. Participants should arrive between 8:30 and 9:30 on Saturday morning. The retreat ends Monday afternoon about 5:00. The fee is $75 and includes all costs associated with the weekend. Scholarships are available. For more information contact Pastor Steve Plonk at 843-509-0438 or gplonk@bellsouth.net.

Feeding the Hungry

We hear a lot about the problem of hunger all around the world, but we have hungry people right here in Charleston. Tricounty Family Ministries / LSS had an increase of 21 % in the number of families seeking help with food in March compared to last year. Almost 10,000 meals were served in the soup kitchen and 6,000 bags of groceries handed out compared to 4,000 in 2007.

Twice a month members of Martin Luther Church go to North Charleston to fill paper bags with staples to be handed out at the Tricounty family Ministries center. Clients may be helped every four weeks. Since the first of the year, donations of canned goods by churches have been down. This means more food has to be purchased. The soup kitchen has been serving more than 200 people each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, approaching the numbers usually seen at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thank you to the “Sack Packers” who go to North Charleston twice a month (the Second Tuesday morning and the Fourth Tuesday evening) to pack groceries. A Big Thank you to Marie Putney who interviews clients weekly.

Items needed for the sacks include: cereal, canned vegetables, canned fruit, protein (canned meat or peanut butter), rice, pasta, grits, soup, flour and cornmeal. TFM/LSS supplements with fresh vegetables, meat and bread when available.

alz flyer.jpg

Vacation Bible School Workshop

Thursday, May 15^th @ 6:30pm

Please mark your calendar for the 2008 Vacation Bible School Workshop.

Volunteers are needed for the following stations:

Crafts Games Snacks

Bible Stories Science Music

*Teacher and Assistant for Preschool will be needed during the am program.*

There will be a Christian Education Meeting @ 6pm prior to the workshop.

Items that you can start saving for VBS:

Metal and plastic coffee cans with lids Shoeboxes with lids

Paper towel tubes Toilet paper tubes

MORNING VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27 - 9 AM until Noon

EVENING VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Sunday, June 22 through Thursday, June 26 - 5:30 to 7:30 PM

SOUTH CAROLINA WELCA

CONVENTION PROJECT

2008

The South Carolina Women of the ELCA will be holding their 21^st convention at Lutheridge on May 23-25, 2008. Once again, Lutheran Family Services will be the recipient of our Convention Project. All gifts received will be used in South Carolina. School kits will be the focus for this year’s project. Your help is really needed in supporting this project. The following is a list of the items that are needed:

Backpack

2-inch loose-leaf notebook

notebook paper

#2 pencils

pens

spiral notebooks

pocket folders

paperback dictionaries

markers or colored pencils

youth Bibles

If you cannot donate all these items, then any of these items (unopened packages) will be appreciated. Please place the prepared kits or individual items in the box located in the Narthex. Monetary donations will also be accepted. Our goal is to collect 25 backpacks for the project to take to convention. Deadline is May 24^th. If you have any questions, please contact Connie Gibson, 762-0317.

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