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Pastor's Message
Greetings, in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
There was a time when church meetings … were … well … church meetings. You might have said that they were a necessary evil that just had to happen to make sure the ship-of-state stayed afloat.
Well, times have changed, at least here at Our Savior. It used to be the most dreaded Church Council meeting was the one (or more) that addressed the upcoming budget.
Well, most notably, although we still use the word “budget” because that’s what it’s been called traditionally and that’s how it’s referred to in our by-laws… we on council now call it what it is: our Ministry Spending Plan… it forecasts how we will be allocating our financial resources to the various ministries of the congregation, including Our Savior Lutheran School.
Now, after all the heads of the various ministry boards put their forecasts together, we sat down to decide what to do with a forecast of $63,000 worth of ministry spending above what the congregation and school forecasted they would receive as giving and income in the fiscal year 2012.
This discussion took well over an hour; however, the council arrived at a “balanced budget” by consensus, which even included pay increases for the staff! How did they do it? I don’t want to steal their thunder … come and hear it for yourself.
So --- PLEASE come to the May 22 Voters Meeting to see the work they did, and I hope, approve it and thank the council for their leadership. It was such a joy to stand with everyone holding hands at the end of that council meeting as we sang the Doxology together!
God is at work here at Our Savior. What a personal joy it is to be called by you to join Him here in what He is doing.
All for Jesus,
All for Jesus!
Pastor Fausel
 Notes from the Music Director
Dear friends in Christ,
“And down the stretch they come!!” Does this phrase sound familiar to you? If you are acquainted with our state’s love for horse racing, then you know that this is a rallying cry that the announcer shouts just as the horses round the last corner and head for the straight path to the finish. It’s one of my favorite parts of the Kentucky Derby. It adds to the excitement of those final moments of the race. We’re on our feet yelling and cheering. All too soon, however, the race is over, our excitement wanes, and we move on.
We are in a time of the church year when we are nearing the end of an exciting occasion. We have just celebrated the joy of Easter in all its triumph and glory. The trumpets have sounded and we have been filled with excitement and elation! As we come down the stretch through the month of May and approach the month of June, we are entering into the second half of the church year. From Advent and Christmas all the way to the Easter season, we have been focusing on the major events in Christ’s life. We call this time the “Festival Half” of the church year. When we reach the festival of Pentecost, we then enter into the “Non-Festival Half” of the church year that lasts all the way to Thanksgiving. The readings focus more on our response to God’s love. As its name implies, there are far fewer occasions to celebrate.
A great temptation for us is to think that the race is over. We’ve experienced the festivities of Christmas and Easter, and now we face a long period of worship without a festival. Sometimes the devil tempts us to lose interest. Summer comes upon us with its warm weather. Vacations beckon. We sometimes lose our focus and become distracted.
But our worship continues, as it well should! God forgives us our short attention span and calls us back to Himself. He sees our weakness and encourages us on. This is all the more reason to join with our fellow Christians in corporate worship to praise our loving God. We can also learn a lot about ourselves and our relationship to God in these Pentecost weeks.
I pray that you will be able to continue to worship regularly this summer. If you are vacationing, look up a church in the phone book. It can be a very edifying experience for both you and the church itself. Many summers ago, my family attended a very small church that met in the living room of a converted ranch style home. We weren’t very dressed up, but that didn’t matter. The people were so delighted to have us there to worship with them. It was a beneficial service for all of us. Another time, we had our own worship service in our hotel room. Try it!
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1
All for Jesus,
Scott Kamman
Director of Music
Song of the month: The children in our dayschool learn a special hymn or song of the month as part of their worship and religion class experience. For the first part of the month of May, they will be learning “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865, and the music was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871. Sullivan named the tune "St. Gertrude," after the wife of his friend Ernest Clay Ker Seymer, at whose country home he composed the tune. The Salvation Army adopted the hymn as its favored processional. The hymn's theme is taken from references in the New Testament to the Christian being a soldier for Christ, for example 2 Timothy 2:3 (KJV): "Thou shalt endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
 Chapel Worship: Everyone is invited to worship with the school children each week as they gather for chapel on Wednesdays at 8:45am in the sanctuary. It is an excellent opportunity for midweek worship. Come and join us!
May 4: Preschool & Grade 8
May 11: Grades K & 7
May 18: Grade 2
May 27: Principal Brieschke (Closing service)
Answer to the April quiz: The hymn that relates the story “To Jesus, who had blessed them, close-folded to His breast, the children sang their praises, the simplest and the best” is “All Glory, Laud and Honor.” (LSB 442)"
May quiz: Which song rings out the Easter message, “Hear the bells ringing, they’re singing that we can be born again”?
 Spring Sing ’11: Thanks to all who helped in any way with our spring production this year! To God be the glory.
 Contemporary Worship Teams: Singers and musicians, if you are out there, know that we are always in need of volunteers to help us out at our 11:00 AM Majestic Celebration worship services. We are especially in need of guitarists, as well as wind instrumentalists. If you would like to sing or play on a regular basis, talk to Scott (426-1130). Time commitment depends solely on you, as little or as much as you desire. We need you!
Hearing Assist Devices: Had trouble hearing well in our sanctuary? These small sound amplifying devices are available from the ushers. Please ask for them! They amplify what is going through our sound system. (These devices do not work outside the sanctuary.)
 Worship Reminders: Remember to turn the ringer of your cell phone off when entering the sanctuary! (If Someone Important needs to get your attention during worship, you’ll hear the trumpet sound.) Thank you for maintaining a worshipful atmosphere.
If you partake of the individual communion cup, please clearly hold the empty cup in front of you to help the communion assistant who is serving the common cup to see that you have already communed. Thank you.
 Have you ever arrived late for worship? Sometimes it is inevitable. However, please remember that if you do arrive late for the service, wait until the congregation begins singing a hymn, song, or piece of the liturgy before being seated. That is the appropriate and least distracting time to enter into worship. Thank you for maintaining a worshipful atmosphere! (Oh, and check your clock before next Sunday!)
Worship Notes
 The Divine Service, our weekly liturgical worship celebration, contains both changing and unchanging parts. Within the service, there are certain parts – called “the Propers,” that are different every Sunday. These include:
Collect,
Scripture Readings,
Introit and Gradual,
Prayers,
and Hymns.
These changing parts of the service ensure that we hear and tell the “whole story” of our salvation over the course of a year. They provide “something new” for each Sunday.
Our church body rotates the Propers on a three year cycle so that different Propers are used each Sunday for three years straight. We are currently on Cycle A.
In an effort to try to help us all learn about our worship life and liturgy, we offer this little “tidbit” of information each month. It can serve as a review for you, an answer to that question, “Why do we do that?”, or as a teaching tool for our children or grandchildren. Please share this with your family. Discuss it prior to worship. If there is something you would like to have answered, let me know. I’ll do my best to find out!
Monthly Liturgy Rotation for "Joyful Heritage" Services
First week: Divine Service Setting 1
Second week: Divine Service Setting 4
Third week:Divine Service Setting 5
Fourth week: Divine Service Setting 3
Fifth week: Matins or Service of Prayer and Preaching
Youth News
April hosted our last confirmation event. We did confirmation a bit different this year. We had the classes once a month in an event setting. 6th, 7th, and 8th graders would meet for dinner, opening and then go to separate classes. The curriculum, FaithInkubators, uses brain friendly methods such as skits and discussion questions to teach Lutheran Doctrine. The students were so blessed to have teachers that were not only concerned with them learning the material but also with helping them grow in their relationship with each other and with Christ. Thank you so much to Scott Frederickson, Mike Terkula and Pastor Fausel! Thank you also for all who brought treats or drink and thank you for those who have been praying for our events and our confirmands. We ask that you continue to pray as we start planning for next year!
Look forward to encouraging our 5 confirmands this coming Sunday, May 1, as they stand before the congregation to confirm their faith. This is just the beginning of their adult life in the church. Pray that they continue to study God's Word and surround themselves with a cloud of witnesses. Our confirmands include: Bailey Tipmore, Chris Tipton, David Terkula, Nick Hardin and Nolan Romines. Such a solid group of people! I'm excited to see what God has in store for them.
The Junior Youth were able to serve God by helping with the annual Easter egg hunt for the group "Confronting the Epidemic", a support group for families of children with Autism. We brought 200 eggs stuffed with gluten free candy to hide around the library and hallways of Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg, IN. It was a joy to help and observe the children finding the eggs with delight. We used this opportunity to show God's love to the people at the Easter egg hunt just by loving them. The picture below is the group that helped with the hunt.
A few senior high youth were able to catch an afternoon showing of the movie Soul Surfer. We completely recommend this movie. It's a true story of a girl using an unfortunate situation to glorify God.
May will be a ridiculous month of little sleep for the youth at Our Savior (or at least little sleep for me!). The senior high youth will be having a lock-in on May 6th here at church. The Junior high youth will be having a lock-in here on May 20th. We also plan on having a car wash during the voters meeting on May 22nd. Lots of exciting things to look forward to!
Thank you for your support of the Junior and Senior youth ministry here at Our Savior. Please continue praying for our youth and the planning and direction that we are going in this ministry. God is good and He promises to be with us!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Have a blessed Easter season.
Bethany
Children's Summer Sunday School
The last Sunday of Children’s Sunday School for this program year will be Sunday, May 29th. Children’s Sunday School will restart Rally Day, August 21st, 2011. This change has been necessitated by the difficult, almost impossible, task of staffing Summer Sunday School as well as the very low participation by the children.
Summer Bible Study Hour Childcare
Realizing there are parents who desire to attend Adult Bible Study, childcare will be provided beginning Sunday, June 5th throughout the summer until Rally Day, August 21st. Children should meet in the music room by 10am. This childcare will be staffed by one adult and one assistant each Sunday. Christian videos and related activities will be provided each Sunday. No advanced preparation is necessary. You can serve in this way by contacting Paul Nickel or Bethany Kunkle by phone (426-1130), email (
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or
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) or sign up on the sign-up sheet located on the bulletin board in the church lobby. Adults and confirmed youth are needed.
Adult Summer Bible Study Hour
Adult Bible study will continue through out the summer. There will be one class meeting in the Fellowship Hall each Sunday beginning Sunday, June 5th (10:00 – 10:45am) and continuing until Rally Day, August 21st. This study will be led by Pastor Fausel and Paul Nickel and will continue the study that is currently held in the Fellowship Hall taking an adult’s look at Sunday School Bible stories. ChildCare for Sunday School aged children rovided. Children meet in the music room.
Braille Ministry
We are in need of volunteers for our Braille Ministry which meets on Tuesdays 12 Noon – 2pm in the Fellowship Hall. Some of our faithful people have not been able to attend because of health problems and we have had to cancel a few sessions. Our aim is to provide God’s Word to blind persons and we do mailings of the book of Isaiah, not just in the USA, but all over the world.
We do instant training for the various jobs and WELCOME new people. Any questions call Sue Kendt. Ph. 254-1612.
Men's Softball
Men's Softball will begin on Monday nights after Derby. The cost is 40.00 and the games are played at Watkins Methodist on the corner of N. Hurstbourne and Westport road. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Hayes by phone at 290-9514 or E-mail at mbhayes@ insightbb.com
Mother's Day Rose Sale
Roses will once again be for sale on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8 in support of the Pregnancy Resource Center in Louisville. Roses will be on sale before and after Sunday School/Bible class and after 11:00 service. Roses will be available for $2 a piece or $20 for a dozen. Please consider supporting a local Louisville ministry reaching out with love and care. If further information is needed, please contact Chris Francik at 426-0864 or 381-3643.
Dining Out Together
May 14, 6:00pm
We are excited to be gathering at the home of Deb and Sue Wolter for a meal catered by another of the Taste of Our Savior Restaurants, Mark’s Feed Store. They do a great job catering! Since they really do not have room to accommodate us as a group at their location, we will let them bring it to us!
Deb and Sue have a wonderful place in Crestwood where we will have a chance to relax and once again have great food, fun and fellowship. Bring your lawn chair! This will be a unique opportunity for us to mix and mingle without seating restrictions or limitations. Bring a friend!
Since this is different than usual, we will have to sign up early and pay in advance to have the catering service. The cost will be $12 per person. We will have a ‘picnic’ style buffet including chicken, pork, potato salad plus much more.
You are welcome to bring your favorite beverage. Tea and lemonade will be provided.
Mark your calendar to join us for another wonderful event! Any question, call 905-4834 or email
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.
Billie Detroy
Directions to the Wolter’s, 7506 Abbott Glen Drive, Crestwood, can be found on the board by the sign-up sheet or call 905-4834 for more info.
Consider car pooling and sitter sharing!
PS: Give me a call to hear the challenge! Let’s make it happen!
Facebook Event Page
Mother/Daughter Tea
YES! It’s almost “Tea Time” again! Our American Heritage Girls Troop is hosting our fourth annual Mother/Daughter Tea fundraiser on Saturday, May 14, 11:00am-1:00pm in the school gymnasium. Tickets are on sale after both church services and in the school office and are $12/person through May 8 ($15/person after). Our “Beach Party” will include a light lunch, AHG Talent Show and other activities. Don your favorite spring party dress, bring your favorite tea cup and Join Us!!
Donations Appreciated: Since the Tea is our largest fundraiser of the year, we would especially appreciate any donations of finger sandwiches. Please contact Becky Kamman (254-1308) if you can donate sandwiches or help in any way with this special event. Thank you!
ChristCare Sponsored Congregation Picnic
WHO’S INVITED: Everyone! You don’t need to be a member of a ChristCare Group
WHEN: Sunday, May 15th
TIME: 4:00pm till ???
WHERE: Robsion Park behind the Lyndon Post Office. Directions from the church to the park.
WHAT TO BRING: Your own beverage, picnic gear (games, chairs, blankets, etc.)
FOOD PROVIDED BY OUR ChristCare GROUPS
Golden Oldies
Our next meeting will be at noon on Monday, May 16th, at church. The meal will be a potluck, with a meat dish provided. Please sign up on the poster in the Fellowship Hall to bring salad, potatoes/rice, vegetables or dessert for eight to ten people. The program will be about “Prodigal Ministry”, a Christian after care program designed to help both men and women avoid returning to prison. The presentation will be given by Jennifer Partin, the program director. Bring a friend and enjoy the food and fellowship. Questions may be directed to Bill Haller at 426-7755.
Attention Blood Donors
Be a donor at our spring Red Cross BLOOD DRIVE on Wed, May 18th. It will be held in the Fellowship Hall from 2:00-7:00pm and walk-ins are welcome. The Red Cross has given us a goal of 25 units. School parents who donate may vote for the grade that their child attends. The grade generating the most units will be awarded an ice cream treat. One unit benefits 3 different individuals so your gift is important. Help make this drive a success
Kitchen Procedures Training
A class is being planned to instruct all groups the proper manner to set up, take down, and clean up the Fellowship Hall, Gym and Kitchen. Please mark your calendars for May 21 and select your representative(s) that you will send to this class. We need ALL groups to know and understand the proper way to use our facilities and not leave these chores and duties to a selected few. Time of this class is 9am-11am. We will meet in the church Fellowship Hall with refreshments available at 8:45 prior to the start of the meeting. To better plan for this class, please contact Pat Kuecker at 222-1048 or
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by May 14th to let us know you will be attending. Your interest in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Congregational Meeting
Potluck and Congregation Meeting in gym after late service. The meat dish will be provided, each family is requested to bring a side dish, salad, or dessert for 8-10 persons.
Monthly Calendar
View the complete May calendar.
Something missing? Email information to
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and it will be posted.
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