West Pasco Lutheran NEWS

Church Life Goes On As Consolidation Plans Proceed

At their annual meetings in early 2008 all six churches voted by large margins to proceed with consolidation.

See the News Page for vote totals and other TEAM news.

 

In 2008 attendance is up and life goes on in the West Pasco Lutheran churches. In March four of the six churches brought in new members through baptism, and three have scheduled new members classes this spring. Members had three options for Wednesday Lenten Services and all three services were well-attended.    

 

After the success of joint confirmation, the Weave Us Together worship, and the joint Lenten Services, planning is underway for joint Vacation Bible School this summer. TEAM churches will sponsor two sessions during different weeks, with one session during the day and one in the evening. This will give practically everyone a chance to participate regardless of work schedules and vacation plans. Look for more information as plans proceed.

TEAM Leadership Council (TLC) Formed and Officers Appointed

At the February 5th meeting the TEAM formed a leadership council with one representative and one alternate from each church. The task of TLC is to set agendas and keep the process moving. Minutes of meeting and more information can be found on the Meeting Notes page. Bob Memoli was appointed chair and Sharon Bellak is the secretary.

Easter Sunrise Services

About 400 to 500 people woke up early to attend the joint outdoor “Sonrise” service at Gulf Harbors Beach. It was a wonderful service, and, as one person reported, "we felt like we were all one church." The indoor sunrise service at King of Kings was also meaningful and well-attended. The $634 offering at this service was donated to the Salvation Army Domestic Violence Program at the Pasco County Outreach Center.

 

All Six Churches Vote for Consolidation

At their 2008 Annual Meetings the West Pasco churches voted on the following resolution:                 

The West Pasco Lutheran TEAM           In August, 2007 the six ELCA churches in West Pasco County of Florida formed a team in to explore ways to collaborate for more effective ministry. The idea of a team to explore cooperation came in April, 2007 at a workshop led by Pastor Jerry Wahl, the ELCA Mission Director for the Florida-Bahamas Synod. The TEAM's first meeting was on August 4, 2007. David Raymond of ChurchFuture.com serves as the facilitator and consultant to the TEAM. More information about Raymond can be found at www.ChurchFuture.com.  The TEAM's objective is to revitalize Lutheran ministry in West Pasco County to effectively reach and serve people of all ages in the area by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

             "We, the members of _____________________________ Lutheran Church, wish to share the love of Jesus Christ with people of all ages in West Pasco County; we endorse the work of the West Pasco Lutheran TEAM as it has explored avenues of cooperation among the West Pasco ELCA churches. Therefore we now urge the TEAM to move diligently toward consolidation."

Here are the vote totals:
 

Date	Church	Yes	Percent	No	Abstain	Total
1/27	All Saints	55	100.0%	0	0	55
1/27	First	19	95.0%	0	1	20
1/27	Immanuel	78	92.9%	4	2	84
1/27	Joyful Spirit	119	96.7%	4	0	123
1/27	King of Glory	61	96.8%	2	0	63
2/3	King of Kings	47	78.3%	9	4	60
		379	93.6%	19	7	405

After the vote on the above resolution, All Saints also had a vote of confidence for the All Saints members on the TEAM and a vote of thanks for the All Saints TEAM member and for all the others on the West Pasco Lutheran Team for the work they've done to this point.

Joint Information Meeting on January 13th

About 100 members from all six churches gathered at King of Glory on Sunday afternoon, January 13 for an Information Meeting about consolidation. The meeting started with prayer by Dorothy Richards from King of Kings and an introduction of TEAM members. This was followed by a presentation that summarized the demographics of West Pasco County, facts about the six churches, information about consolidation, three case studies of other churches that successfully consolidated, and a brief summary of the Consolidation Plan that the TEAM developed the day before.

Bob Memoli moderated a spirited question and answer period. Members had questions about what buildings might be used by the new congregations, how the new congregations can be successful in reaching new people, the pastors, and basic facts about consolidation. Several people talked about God's will for ministry in West Pasco county and how we carry out that will together. There were concerns expressed about the difficulty of giving up cherished church buildings and concern that the  consolidation process was being driven by money.  Darrell Hargreaves from King of Glory closed the meeting with prayer.

West Pasco Men in Mission News

This is the first monthly report on activities of your West Pasco Lutheran Men in Mission. Each month we will bring you an up-date on our activities and ask you to share this information with your congregations. We will gladly add the e-mail addresses of any man in your congregation that would like this sent directly to him. Thank you for your support of our Men’s Ministry of the ELCA and our west Pasco churches.

Our project “Disaster Response Plan” was completed in November and copies given to Pr Gary.  Pr. Gary will present it to all six of our TEAM church councils and allow this to be a team ministry. This has not been presented yet.

In November King of Glory Lutheran Men in Mission became West Pasco Lutheran Men in Mission and we are pleased to announce that the December meeting was attended by 12 men. Four of the six Lutheran west Pasco churches were represented and we were pleased with the good response we had.

In view of the closing of the King of Glory facilities to the meeting of all groups on April 31st, I approached Larry Bonnie of King of Kings to explore the possibilities of using their facilities for our meetings. He advised me the week before Christmas that Pastor Sally Cooke had ok’d West Pasco Lutheran Men in Mission meeting at King of Kings beginning with the May meeting. Remember Second Saturday of the month. 8:30 – 10 am breakfast meeting with Bible Study.

We received information near the end of December that Mr. Doug Haugen, the National Director for Lutheran Men in Mission will be coming to Florida on March 24th for several visits around the state. One visit will be in the Tampa area. If you would like to be involved in developing the event for West Florida please let me know. There are never enough hands to get the job done. Stay tuned for further developments

Ray Lanier, West Pasco Lutheran Men in Mission

TEAM Receives a $5,000 Grant from the ELCA

On September 22 Pastor Jerry Wahl, mission director, and Pastor Rita Gardner Tweed of the Florida Bahamas Synod announced a grant of $5,000 from the ELCA Division of Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission. This grant will be applied toward TEAM expenses during the exploration period.

Over 600 People Worshiped God Together on November 18th

             

On November 18, 2007 the TEAM sponsored "Weave Us Together", a joint service for the six TEAM churches. The service was held at King of Glory. All of the West Pasco pastors participated, along with three joint choirs, special musicians, a band, an organist, clowns and mimes. Pastor Jerry Wahl was the preacher.

West Pasco Lutherans Give $787 for Families in Need

All of the unmarked offerings from the Weave Us Together worship were delivered to the Pasco County Domestic Violence Outreach Center.  These funds totaled an AMAZING $787.00 !!!  They are going into the "Direct Relief Fund" for the Center.  This fund is used for crisis intervention to address the immediate needs of the women & children coming for protection from impending life- threatening & abusive situations.  They often arrive with literally "only the clothes on their backs." This donation will provide basic essentials to support these fractured families to continue in the everyday activities that all children should have, such as clean clothes for school.

There is a possibility that this money will be matched by Thrivent, which would provide nearly $1,600 to help families just before Christmas. Just after the November 18 worship Susan Fontaine said, "We have no idea of all the lives that were touched today- that will be touched- due to our weaving together in this worship, sharing the love & forgiveness of Christ."

Joint Confirmation in TEAM Churches off to a Great Start

At its first workshop on August 4 the TEAM decided to support two immediate measures:  a joint worship service and joint confirmation.

Joint confirmation started with an Orientation Meeting on September 19th. About 24 young people from five of the six churches are enrolled. Classes are each Wednesday at 6:00 starting on  in the Fellowship Hall at Immanuel Lutheran Church at 8410 Sycamore Drive.  Pastors Sally Cook, Gary Logan and Jerry Nordsiek are team teaching in both  large group and small group settings.