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Sean Ewbank, Pastor ST. THOMAS LUTHERAN CHURCH

Edward R. Aller, Pastor Emeritus

9393 Church Road

Grosse Ile, MI 48138

(734) 675-0005; (734) 675-8807

Fax: (734)675-5068

Pastor Sean: (734) 250-1655

Emails: pastorsean@ office@ Website:

MAY 2011

Happy Easter!

You might find this to be an odd greeting, especially as you read this almost a full week after Easter Sunday.  On our church calendar, Easter is not only a day (most important day of the year) but also a season.  The Easter season lasts 7 weeks and concludes with Pentecost Sunday.  During the Easter season, the readings for our worship services normally revolve around post resurrection appearances by Jesus and the story of the early church getting its start.  Pentecost Sunday is seen as the birthday of the church, with the giving of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the church launching into the mission given to them: to share the Good News!

Our Easter season will be themed very much along these lines.  We are going to study together the gifts of the Spirit and how we as a church operate.

Here at St Thomas, we now have a mission statement along with a new logo and new slogan.  

We are going to spend the middle three weekends in May (May 7+8, 14+15, and 21+22) examining how God gives the church gifts in order to carry out the mission that is placed before us.

Let me be clear about some fundamental principles that I believe in wholeheartedly.

1. God calls us to carry out His mission.

2. God does not call us to do something that He first does not give us the gifts to do.

3.  All of us are called by God to play our role in the

carrying out of the mission.

4.  All of us are given gifts by God that we are to use

to carry out that mission.

So, in May, we will once again meet in small groups.  These groups will meet together once a week for three weeks, following each of the weekend worship services on this topic.  The groups will be given discussion starters that flow from that week's sermon.  If you miss a weekend worship, you can still catch up online by viewing the sermons on the web site.  By the end of this three week series you will have had the opportunity to discover the gifts that God has given to you.  We will do this by taking an inventory together.  This will be fun, easy, and enlightening!

May our month of May together be filled with the gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit!

Happy Easter! Pastor Sean

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Thursday, May 5th, is the National Day of Prayer.  The Downriver Cluster of ELCA congregations will be participating in this event by holding an evening prayer service at 7:00 PM.  The service will be held at St. Philip Lutheran Church in Trenton and will be led by members of the various congregations.  Please mark your calendars and plan on attending this event...bring a friend and/or family member.

The future of the Downriver ELCA Cluster: Report on a Meeting with Bishop Ken Olsen

Bishop Olsen met with Council members and ministry staffs from the six Downriver ELCA churches on Thursday evening, April 7. The Bishop spoke openly and honestly about sobering issues facing our churches, and then he suggested ways we might respond.

It is clear from the data he presented that the Downriver Cluster churches all have serious and pressing needs. A few may be near closing, there are only two pastors serving at the moment, and the Downriver population continues to diversify. We at St Thomas reported that we are in a relative healthy position at this time, as we seem to be showing recent signs of renewed energy and growth. But we agreed that all share common underlying challenges. The Bishop also stated that the Downriver ELCA churches are not alone: other Michigan clusters, our Synod, and most traditional denominations are facing declining membership, poor attendance, aging congregations, and struggle to adapt to changing populations. Our present course is not sustainable. He urged us to think in terms of sweeping comprehensive change. He spoke of consolidation as a possible solution.

The Bishop was careful to note that he does not have the authority to legislate change. In the ELCA, each congregation must decide and approve its own actions. But the Bishop’s message was that we must confront the issues with urgency, and he challenged the congregations to act together, taking advantage of a greater resource base. There were many questions and constructive dialogue following his remarks.

Our St Thomas Council met April 11 to discuss our next steps. We all agreed that working together with other cluster churches could offer opportunities that are just not possible when working alone. And though we have had a recent burst of activity under our new pastor’s leadership, we have so much more to accomplish. But we also recognized possible risks and geographical barriers. We concluded that we just did not yet have enough information about the other churches and their ideas to address our congregation.

On April 13, the Downriver ministry staffs met and agreed to form an exploratory team, with three representatives from each congregation. John Shelton from the Council, Russ Cameron as our Treasurer, and Sandy Loso from the Mutual Ministry Committee have volunteered to serve on this team. We expect this to be a brief study. Our purpose will be to assess our collective situation, investigate potential opportunities and risks, and prepare us to return to our individual congregations with answers to questions. Then, based upon our congregation’s input and approvals, we can decide how to best proceed. The timing and progress of this group will be reported at Sunday services; congregational meetings will be scheduled as soon as appropriate.

All we ask at this time is an open mind. None of us understand God’s intentions or where He is leading us. But we - as St Thomas’ Council – believe we might have been given a special and unique opportunity to serve the spiritual needs of our members and those of future generations.

John Shelton

St. Thomas Church Council President

MUTUAL MINISTRY

A new Mutual Ministry Committee was formed last month to serve Pastor Sean and congregation members.  The purpose of the committee may be found in the church bulletin.  Thank you to the outgoing members Betty Ruck, Sandi Loso. Marge Noyce, and John Shelton.  Welcome to the new committee members Sandi Loso - Secretary, Carol Pray, Diane Boletscher, Darcie Bammer and Dick Withey - Chairman.

BLOOD DRIVE – May 22

St. Thomas Blood Drive

in the Fellowship Hall

Sunday, May 22, 2010

9:00am – 10:45pm

hosted by the St. Thomas Youth Group. Appointments may be scheduled at –

sponsor code is StThomasGI.

BACCALAUREATE

The Baccalaureate for the graduating class of 2011 is planned for Tuesday, May 31 at Grosse Ile Middle School and will be hosted by St. Thomas this year.

SOUTHWEST DETROIT

MISSION DEVELOPMENT – ELCA – GRACE IN ACTION

The Southwest Detroit Mission Development is a new mission start of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The goal is to create a new community of faith based on the principles of community organizing, which means that the structure and purpose of the new faith community will be defined by the interests and needs of the people living and working in the neighborhood. Southwest Detroit is a diverse neighborhood, about 70% Latino with a mixture of White and African American thrown in, and even a little Arab American and American Indian. It is a thriving, bustling neighborhood full of shops, restaurants, bakeries, churches, schools, and all kinds of non-profit organizations. It is also known to be the only growing neighborhood in the city of Detroit. To learn more about the new developments and pictures, check out southwestdetroitmission..

"KIDS AGAINST  HUNGER"

THE CENTRAL WAYNE CHAPTER OF THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS IS WORKING WITH "KIDS AGAINST  HUNGER" to pack 10,000 + meals for the hungry on Saturday, May 7 at St. John's Lutheran Church at Telegraph and Northline in Taylor.   We begin at 10 am.   You are invited to help.  We need 120 people.  Please contact Pastor Ted Aller (734) 676-7999 or tedaller@ if you are able to participate. 

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Thank you to the following who provided Flowers for our Easter worship services:

Ethel J. Yops (2)

In Memory of Robert C. Yops, Sr.

and Robert C. Yops, Jr.

Betty Hoeft in memory of Ken Hoeft

Carol Pray in memory of Don Pray

Harvey & Doris Nissley

Pete & Sandi Loso (2) in memory of

Richard & Val Carr

Peter & Elizabeth Loso

Bev Gover in memory of Ed Gover

Dick & Gayle Withey (2)

Doug & Agnes Kujala (2)

The Thompson Family (2) in memory of

Carl & June Bloetscher

Edna & Clair Thompson

Gayle Mitchell (2)

In memory of Carl & Dolly Geloneck

John & Cheryl Shelton in memory of

Marge Bowen and

Oliver and Rose Shelton

The Karrar Family (2)

In memory of Marjorie Karrar

and John Slocum

Russ & Carol Cameron

In memory of Robert Cameron

Bill & Doris Swasey

In memory of Delores Lenard

Robert & Denise Malone (2)

Ann Wesley

In memory of Bill Wesley

Sonny & Debby Ouellette

In honor of Our Loved Ones

Stu & Denise Keeler

BAPTISMS

On April 9 we welcomed into

The St. Thomas family by Holy Baptism:

Brynn Christy Morris

Infant daughter of

Brad & Danielle Morris

Godparents are Greg & Kay Beeker

And Brynn’s twin brother

Brad Roger Morris

Godparents are

Jacob and Amanda Krogol

Both Pastor Sean and Pastor Aller presided.

MEN’S LUNCH GROUP – MAY 4

The speaker for this month is retired BASF executive Bob Lawrence. Bob’s topic will be “Urethane and You.” Bob’s entertaining and interesting talk includes demonstration and actual samples of the many products made from urethane.

The menu will be roasted legs of turkey with gravy, black beans and rice and layered whipped cream Angel Food Cake with strawberries for dessert. Don’t miss the good chow and the program.

We also will be finalizing the plans for the Ladies’ and Girls’ Dinner.  The dinner will be held May 18, 6:00PM dinner.  Caterer Jeff will do the cooking.  We will do the serving and clean up.  Please sign up on the work sheet. We plan to begin setting up at 4:30pm that day.

Your host, Bill Swasey

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LADIES AND GIRLS DINNER

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BULLETIN BOARD SIGN UPS

• Ladies’ & Girls’ May 18 Dinner.

• May 7 Packing 10,000 Meals.

• Check out Michi-Lu-Ca and Stony Lake camping opportunities on the bulletin board.

• Please sign up to host a coffee hour after a10:15am Sunday service. It can be simple with a sweet (like doughnuts, sweet rolls – store bought or baked), a non-sweet (like veggies, fruit, cheese & crackers) or both. An individual may sign up or ask another to serve with you. Set up, clean up after. The important part is to get acquainted with others in fellowship.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Stu & Denise Keeler

Who celebrated their

50th Wedding Anniversary

On April 29

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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

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2011 Habitat for Humanity

Monroe Build

Individual volunteers are needed Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for the Monroe Build May 10-September 10. Three new Habitat homes will be built. Meal providers are also needed. May 2-7 is National Women Build Week. To sign up to volunteer please view , click “volunteer now.” or contact Christina at (734) 243-2048 or

Habitat_for_Humanity_of_Monroe_C@mail.

Congregational Opportunity to sponsor/build is also available for the

2011 Thrivent Lutheran Building with Habitat for Humanity – Detroit in July

Information is available in the office.

MAY SERVANTS OF ST. THOMAS

DATE |GREETERS |USHERS |COFFEE HOST |LAY READER |ALTAR CARE |COMMUNION ASSISTANTS |NURSERY |SUNDAY SCHOOL |ACOLYTES | |Sunday, May 1 (Communion) |Sonny & Debby Ouellette |Fred Karn, Judy Cemer, Elke Malcomson |  |Judy Cemer |Judy Kohler |Bill Stevenson (Sat.)/Jim & Sue Quick (Sun.) |Allison Schmit |Shelby Brumfield Wendy Brozek Kathie Kline |Matthew Brown | |Sunday, May 8 |The Sal Finazzo Family |Al Skrocki, John Shelton, Sandi Loso |  |Marcia Steger |* |* |Lauren Brown |Shelby Brumfield Nancy Graver Marge Noyce |Jarek Schmidt | |Sunday, May 15 (Communion) |Harvey & Doris Nissley |Corey Bammer, Paul Smolak, Adam Bickel, Aaron Bickel |Bev Gover & Ethel Yops |Allison Schmit |Judy Kohler |Vic Lenhart (Sat.)/ Mark & Nancy Graver (Sun.) |Kathy Benko |Shelby Brumfield Joyce Bickel Marge Noyce |Elizabeth Finazzo | |Sunday, May 22 |Agnes Kujala & Joan DeByle |Stuart Keeler, Denise Keeler, Jim Quick |The Thompson Family |High School Senior |* |* |Sandy Foresi |Shelby Brumfield Chris Schade Marge Noyce |Jake Bolthouse | |Sunday, May 29 |Marge Noyce & Marcia Steger |Pete Rock, Art Wahl, Bill Swasey |  |Grace Biggar |* |* |Diane Bloetscher |* |Alexis Miller | |MAY 2011

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SMALL GROUPS WILL BE GETTING TOGETHER DURING MAY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF A GROUP, PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE: office@; (734)675-0005.

LOOKING AHEAD: CONFIRMATION – JUNE 12

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2

7:00pm

Ascension

Service at

St. Thomas

June 1

All Ladies and Girls are invited to attend this annual dinner.  Please sign up early.  There is limited seating.  The date is Wednesday, MAY 18 at 6:00PM.  The menu is prepared by Jeff Ruelle's Gourmet Catering.  The menu will be fresh green salad with nuts and Michigan cherries; the main entre is teriyaki pork tenderloin with cranberry & nut stuffing and green bean almandine.   A dessert of fine pastries will be served.  A program will follow the meal.

 

There have been some unfortunate happenings with our two door prizes:  The second prize for ten ladies/ girls to tour of the beautiful island of Grosse Ile in the elegant purple church touring bus has been eliminated.  UNFORTUNATELY it has been found that the entire engine needs replacing.  The first prize---A two-day, one-night trip to Tahiti also has been eliminated.  Unfortunately I received notice the Betty's Cinder Block Motel has filed bankruptcy   I asked Bob R. who attends men's luncheon if he could fly our first place winner for us and he agreed.  The new location will be Pelee Island for a one day stay.  Because of circumstances we had to have the drawing early.  Our winner is Weezey Ombudsman.  Congratulations to Weezey!!!

Dick Withey

MAY

2011

3

4

5:30pmWorship

(Communion)

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