GO! Issue 7 Vol 3

Discover

YOUR FAITH.

Live

Grow

IN COMMUNITY.

GOD’S MISSION.

DEEPER WITH CHRIST VOLUME 7 ISSUE 3 2020

Discover. Grow. L i v e.

GoDeeperWithChrist.org

HOLY COMFORTER LUTHERAN CHURCH 1901 WOODLAND HILLS DRIVE - KINGWOOD, TX - 281.358.6500 - GODEEPERWITHCHRIST.ORG - FACEBOOK.COM/HOLYCOMFORTERLUTHERAN www.godeeperwithchrist.org 1

PASTOR’S MESSAGE We rejoice that our pastor, The Reverend Barbara L. Bartling, has the opportunity to take a four-month sabbatical, a time of rest and renewal. She will return to us on Sunday, October 4. The presence of Pastor Barb’s stole on the pulpit reminds us of our shared sabbatical journey and of our mutual commitment to prayer for one another during this time of rest and growth. In the meantime, we are blessed to have guest pastors with us.

As a part of the Sabbatical Blessing for Pastor Barb during worship on June 7, 2020, we prayed the following: With joy, we will remember you in our hearts for these four months, praying God will bless you with rest and renewal and will fill your heart with His love for you. We will miss you, even as we faithfully carry out with joy and hope the ministry to which we are called. Know that our thoughts and prayers will be with you, that we support you in every way, and that we look forward with joy to your return.

And Pastor Barb responded: With joy, I will remember you in my heart for these four months, praying God will bless you and fill your hearts with His love for you. And knowing the depth of that love, may you continue to bring the truth of God’s work, and a demonstration of Jesus’ love to people in our community and beyond. I, too, look forward to that day when I will return and again share in our ministry together. I will miss you as well, and I will pray for you. Thank you for creating this opportunity for a time of Sabbath rest and renewal in my ministry.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Discover

Faith Story: Godly Play[page

4]

[page 4] Worship & Music Ministry [page 5] WELCA on Zoom

Grow

[page 6] Praise Walkers [page 6] Second Family Care Team [page 6] Unsolved Mystery [page 6] HCLC School [page 7] First Place 4 Health

Live

[page 8] Volunteering @HAAM [page 8] Sabbatical Blessing [page 9] Stewardship [page 9] Theology on Tap [page 10] Conversation with Council [page 10] Germs & Jesus [page 10] Minister of Communication [page 11] Gathering Place [page 12] Online Worship [page 12] Flat Jesus Travels

GO! GO! is a quarterly magazine produced and published by the members of HCLC. The content of this magazine is intended to be shared. It is designed

by Michelle Valenzuela and printed

by PostNet - Kingwood.

Editor’s Note: For article and photo submission, please contact Pam MacNaughton at 281.358.6500 or pam@godeeperwithchrist.org.

www.godeeperwithchrist.org

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Faith Story: Godly Play

Colleen Engel, our School Director, was featured in an article on Godly Play authored

by Lori Haugen in the June/July issue of Living Lutheran Magazine, the official magazine for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Godly Play uses a Faith Formation curriculum that helps children explore their faith through story, gain religious language and enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play.

Colleen uses Godly Play weekly with preschool students, who range from 2 to 5 years.

Godly Play is also used in our monthly Front Pew Sundays. “It’s really easy for kids to understand,” Colleen said. Holy Comforter has a dedicated Godly Play room and uses the story as the basis for its weekly chapel service. Godly Play stories are designed for use with the church calendar and repeated each year. “It has absolutely changed the way we do religion at our school and the way the kids relate to it,” Engel said.

The Living Lutheran article began with the story of one of our former preschoolers, Thomas, striking up a conversation in the grocery store line with the woman behind his mother and him. “Do you know a man named Noah?” he asked her. “She was a bit confused at first,” said his mother, Jennifer Hoemberg, “But Thomas continued with great gusto to explain that ‘God called on a man named Noah to build a giant boat. It is called an ark! And all the animals came. And there were two of every kind! And that man, Noah, his boat saved them! Boy, am I glad Noah listened to God!’” By the time they checked out, Thomas and the woman were praying together.

Hoemberg said her son understands the stories and shares them at home. “The effect of Godly Play in our household has been tremendous,” she said.

WELCA on

ZOOM!

Our Women of the ELCA unit at HCLC is meeting via Zoom for some of the circles. Naomi Circle has been meeting for Bible study on the second Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. on Zoom. Prayer Shawl ministry has also joined in the ranks of using Zoom as a means of getting together and staying in touch with each other on the third Thursday at noon. If you’re interested in joining us, please contact Beth Moseman at txhusker@pobox.com and you can be added to the Zoom email list.

The only date in the future on our calendar right now is Sunday, December 6. If we are back meeting together in person by then, that will be the day we will decorate the Christmas tree in the sanctuary and WELCA will be providing lunch after the late service. Let’s all pray we are able to keep that date!

If you have any questions about our women’s group, please contact Beth Moseman 281-358-5501.

By Beth Moseman

Going deeper in faith, service, & relationships Worship & Music Ministry in 2020 Here we are … all in the same boat … pausing, waiting, struggling, hoping, experiencing something we never expected for which we have an

overload of information, especially about COVID-19, but few real solutions – YET! This will be a Fall Season at Holy Comforter Lutheran Church and School like no other in our history. Ordinarily, I would be inviting you to participate in worship leadership and music-making. But… for the time being we are worshiping and meeting online, virtually, doing our best to be a community in a digital world. For now, we are doing ministry differently than ever before. Our time together is real, but not in-person – YET!

Scripture

is filled with stories about living with uncertainty. Recently we have heard parables of Jesus using ordinary things to explain God’s ways.

The sower and the seeds, the wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed, the rising dough, the treasure in a field. The mystery of God is beyond words. Even so, the various images and metaphors have much to teach us about our loving, faithful, grace-filled God. Rather than focus on worry that things are different and uncertain now, we can focus on God’s promises and abundance of all we need.

Stream Team Our team of approximately ten people has faithfully worshiped every Sunday, providing the livestream so that it may be experienced by those who are not with us in the church building. While we cannot all gather in person, we can worship together remotely, called and claimed by the Holy Spirit. We can confess, receive forgiveness, learn, pray and sing together - remotely. You may have noticed that our prayers each week include petitions for the renewal and refreshment of Pastor Barb while she is on sabbatical, as well as prayers for all who suffer due to COVID-19. We have the opportunity to participate wherever we are, embraced by our loving God, and loved by our own community and those God has placed in our circles.

Wherever you are In the past, I would have said those God has placed in our paths or in

our midst, but most of us are going few places. Wherever we are, God is with us and calls us to be the church, worshiping, sharing God’s love, and helping and serving as we can. Much of our hymnody assumes that we are physically gathered in community: All Are Welcome in This Place, All Who Hunger Gather Gladly, As We Gather at Your Table, Gather Us In, God Is Here!, and so many more. In many we sing about joining our voices in song and praise. It is my hope that, wherever you are, you sing and worship with our brothers and sisters wherever they are.

Protocols are in place so that when we can worship in person again, we are as safe as we can provide. Face coverings are required, pews are roped

off to give us ample social distancing, lines on the floor remind us to stay at least six feet apart, hand sanitizer is available in numerous locations, etc. Every precaution is being taken to prevent the spread of the virus and any other contagious illness. Signs are posted reminding us to follow recommended practices, including to stay home if experiencing any symptoms of illness. We exchange the Peace without touching. We receive the Body and Blood of Christ in one kind only - individual Communion wafers distributed by a sanitized, gloved hand. We have shortened our services to approximately 45 minutes, assuming that exposure time may have something to do with possible spread. Singing is limited, with masks and social distancing, to three congregational hymns. We look forward to the day that such restrictions are no longer deemed necessary.

At this writing, my colleagues around the world and I are awaiting the second round of preliminary results from a University of Colorado – Boulder intensive study, funded by a number of professional musicians organizations, on safely making music in groups during the pandemic. The first round of the Performing Arts Aerosol Study focused on wind instruments of various kinds. The singing portion, after some delays, was due out August 6.

Like many others, I have attended numerous webinars and read countless articles and recommendations about the safety of making music in a group. There is a huge amount of theory, but much less clear scientific evidence on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19. Early super-spreader choir events largely have turned out to be different than they first appeared, such as having a clearly symptomatic person in a group in close quarters singing for a long (2-1/2 hours) period of time. Singing and aerosol spread apparently is an issue, as is reading or praying in unison (the Confession, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer). Preliminary studies indicate that exposure time plus particle density (droplets/aerosols) equal infective dose of virus, assuming virus is present. There also are issues of ventilation and air exchange. Masks and social distancing are highly recommended, as well as frequent hand washing/sanitizing. Some recommend outdoor worship/rehearsals only. Soon we may know more.

Did you know…

Listening to and making music help relieve stress, anxiety and depression. Yes, we know about studies that show that “music makes our students smarter” – actually the name of a Facebook group! Music is one of the best medicines for the human brain – and soul. Music helps the production of dopamine, the “feel good” hormone, leading to a greater sense of joy or contentment. Making music increases the production of Human Growth Hormone (HgH), which according to Web MD is necessary for regulating body fluids, muscle and bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism, and possibly heart function. So please – Listen to music. Make music, even if it’s body percussion with recorded music. And (no matter how you think it may sound) SING!

By Marsha Seale

Minister of Worship & Music

www.godeeperwithchrist.org

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FIRST PLACE 4 HEALTH First Place 4 Health will be starting a new session on September 12. We are changing our meeting day to Thursdays from 9:30 – 11 a.m., and we will be meeting in the Wittenberg Room. We focus on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. The class includes a weekly Bible study and a session lasts 12 weeks. Contact Beth Moseman 281-358-5501 if you are interested in getting into the next session.

By Beth Moseman

PRAISE

WALKERS

Praise Walk is a group that meets every morning for an hour of exercise in the narthex area using mostly DVDs with a variety of types of exercise (walking, aerobics, weights, yoga, bands, etc.). However, since groups are not meeting in-person yet, we can only walk outside together. Now that the weather is getting a “little” cooler it will be better for doing that. We are meeting from 8:15 – 9:15 a.m. Monday – Friday. Call Beth Moseman 281-358-5501 or 281-615-1131 for details.

By Beth Moseman

SECOND FAMILY CARE TEAM updates

The Second Family Care Team met via Zoom on Tuesday, August 4, at 7 p.m. We have been in contact with care partners regularly via phone since we cannot visit in-person during this pandemic. We have been delivering food, gift cards, books, etc. when needed. We are in special need of drivers to help take care partners to a doctor appointment or other such errand. The SFCT is a ministry that provides practical, emotional and spiritual support to our care partners. We do such things as visits, household tasks, transportation, social outings, assistance with errands, and more depending on the needs of each individual. We are committed to serve with dignity, compassion and respect for each person. Currently we have 25 care partners that we are assisting. If this sounds like something you would enjoy doing, please contact Beth Moseman 281-358-5501. We can always use more volunteers!

By Beth Moseman

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES We have a wonderful mystery at HCLC that needs solving. These drawings/love notes were left on/in our mailbox. So…we wonder...

We expect some children in the neighborhood left them, but what a blessing for our church to be in the hearts of children. God is good.

By Christy Janacek

Early Childhood Education

@HCLC

Holy Comforter School congratulates the 2020 Graduating Class of 4 year olds.

Congrats Graduates!

My firs his mo needed We wo was br in the so muc a differ found That w I was s with fl doing

KIDS H Each y Eleme week i life. O can rai mento There It is ea would No exp I am re

The 2020-21 School year has begun! Space is still available. We are still registering for Mother’s Day Out, Preschool & Extended Care.

Contact Colleen Engel 281-3589337 for more information.

Fall Kickoff Parade to bless the school year took place on September 2! Pictures to follow in our next issue.

Karen Geffert, Cathie Tanner, and Cindi Goebel

www.godeeperwithchrist.org

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FLAT JESUS

TRAVELS

Top Row (left to right): Arabella & Mary Jean Wallinger at the Green Bay Farmer’s Market | Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, WI | Traveling River Road in MN and stopping on the Mississippi River | Mary Jean Wallinger in Canton, OH | In Nebraska!

Middle Row (left to right): Arabella Wallinger at Little Manitou Falls, WI | Mary Jean and Arabella with Uncle Kurt | Golf cart ride around Kingwood | Louie & Winnie Schiefelbein walking in Wichita, KS | Playing Uno in Nebraska!

Bottom Row (left to right): Visiting SHSU! | With Sam Houston | Rick Janacek’s old stomping ground | Tower @SHSU | More SHSU!

VOLUNTEERING: food fair at HAAM

SABBATICAL

BLESSING

Friends in Christ, On Holy Trinity Sunday, June 7, dozens of HCLC congregants in Kingwood, across Texas, and eight other states gathered corporately for in-person and online worship and to send Pastor Barb Bartling off on a four month Sabbatical. The Sabbatical Blessing ceremony for rest and renewal was very moving as Pastor Barb also prayed that God would fill our hearts and the Spirit would fill us as we continue His work in her absence. In the ceremony, Pastor Barb’s stole was removed and placed on the pulpit. The stole will remain on the pulpit as a symbol of our shared Sabbatical Journey and our mutual prayer for one another during this time of rest and growth.

A Sabbatical is an opportunity for a pastor to step away from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and engage in a period of renewal. This is a time for intentional exploration and reflection, for drinking again from God’s lifegiving waters, and for regaining enthusiasm and creativity for ministry. Pastor Barb is using her Sabbatical to study the early Christian Church, which she believe may be the key to understanding where the Church will flourish in the 21st century and beyond.

By Melissa Lanier Holy Comforter Lutheran Church Council President

By Christy Janacek

Ministries and expenses continue in these uncertain times of gathering and living differently, but outreach ministries cannot continue if we have not received enough donations to sustain them. Please continue your faithfulness in giving as we move into fall programs and restart service ministries to Go Deeper with Christ.

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1 Peter 4:10 NRSV Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

We have new ways to volunteer and participate in worship and ministry at HCLC. There are quite a few things that can be done from home now (with minimal technical skills) using your computer including social media, website updates, livestreaming worship, recording Front Pew activities, editing, writing articles for GO! Magazine and eBlasts. Please reach out to Christy, Minister of Communication and Community Engagement, if you’d like to learn more Christy@godeeperwithchrist.org. There are also ways to volunteer at the church and beyond with social distancing or solitary roles, including grounds work, clerical or office work, sanctuary preparation, lectoring, making calls, delivering items or driving people to medical appointments. Please call the office if you would like to help with any of these ministries.

We have additional ways to give online & via text using your mobile device. https://www.godeeperwithchrist.org/egiving for details.

HCLC Endowment Legacy Fund Webinar Opportunity in September

Growing Generosity Through Legacy Planning: Good stewardship involves planning for your future, including giving to family and ministries that you love. How to plan a legacy that will reflect your faith and values will be discussed during “Growing in Generosity-Legacies That Last.” This webinar, presented by Lutheran Foundation of the Southwest, will be offered on Wed., Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. (repeating 5:30 p.m.). For more information contact Dr. Liz Johnson, synod gift planner at 713.775.1595 or lcjohnson@lfsw.org. Or reach out to your Endowment Team: Wade Wallinger, Bill Goebel, Rita Hansen, Duane Utecht

www.godeeperwithchrist.org

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THEOLOGY ON TAP

Theology on Tap is a time to for those over 21 to gather for good conversation about faith along with their favorite beverage. The summer months have brought us together for our once-a-month gatherings virtually via Zoom and facilitated

by Steve Bost. Discussion is based on several questions around a particular theme. In June we shared conversation about Memorial Day, grilling, Ascension and Pentecost. July brought a patriotic slant and the hot topic of white privilege. The next scheduled get-together is September 20, 2020 at 4:00 p.m.

If you would like to join in the conversation, please contact Steve Bost – sdbost@usa.net or 832-535-7183.

By Pam MacNaughton

CONVERSATION with Council

Germs & Jesus

Nineteen folks joined us on Sunday for our quarterly Conversation with Council. This forum is for members to come together with Council to hear about what is happening at HCLC, as well as any new updates and share questions or concerns. Wade Wallinger led the conversation and Council was on hand to answer questions and concerns. The main areas covered were survey results and the current giving shortfall and ideas for Stewardship growth.

Visit us online at https://www.godeeperwithchrist.org/council for a copy of the slide show that was shared during the meeting or to watch a recording of the meeting.

By Christy Janacek

“Many years ago our pastor’s young son, Mark, was in a Sunday School class. The teacher was planning a change of activities and told the class to go wash their hands really well. Mark grumpily exclaimed, ‘Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear about and I’ve never seen either one!’”

-Faye McKinzie

A WORD FROM

the Minister of Communication and Community Engagement

Member Feedback Turned into Action Plan for Fall 2020 Fall ministries and programs are gearing up at HCLC. Thanks to our 20/20 Visioning team members for your input and ideas at the zoom meeting and thanks also to the 52 people who participated in the survey. We appreciate those of you who called with ideas, input and a willingness to help out as well as teams like Team Living Boldy and Second Family Care Team for gathering up the troops and meeting via zoom to get a fall plan together. We are so blessed to have a church that is willing to stretch outside of their comfort zone in order to gather differently and continue God’s work in this place and beyond.

Our Survey, which was posted on the website, Facebook, Instagram, the eBlasts, hard copy in the office and emailed pdf by request, communicated clear results about where participants go for news and updates. HCLC weekly eBlasts was the primary resource by far, with Facebook coming in at a distant second and the website/letters in the mail tying for a close third. This helps us direct our energy on how we communicate. We discovered that with 70% of participants attending the Facebook livestream and good marks on service elements, we are on track with online worship. The areas where we could improve are technical execution, a more manageable worship guide and more live music.

This lets us know that focus on “stream team” training & recruitment, which is really improving each week, should continue. We are in discussions about how to more fully digitize the worship guide. Marsha Seale, Minister of Worship and Music, proposed to Council the restart of live music for windless instruments and potentially soloists or small ensembles, with all of the proper precautions, which was approved!

We also learned that participants are craving fellowship and miss interacting with their church members. Over 60% of those surveyed would like to try a virtual Bible study or fellowship opportunity and are eager for outdoor options when the weather cools down and it’s appropriate. From this input came the weekly “Coffee Chats” on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. This is a short, 30 minute combination of fellowship and study and will likely grow into two opportunities as people get more comfortable with the new online medium.

Specific things that came from the 20/20 Visioning Meeting polls were that 47% of poll participants are interested in virtual leadership this Fall and another 33% are willing to support. Also clear is a desire to keep Wednesday evenings set aside for Worship, Word and Witness, but with a deep disappointment that we cannot meet in person yet. The desire to keep it brief but meaningful was expressed, due to expected screen fatigue by that time of day during this stage of the pandemic. From this input WoW LIGHT was born. It will be an abbreviated time to gather online and will serve as a spiritual touch point with a sensory component each week to remind us who we are and Whose we are.

We have more exciting things coming up at HCLC for adults and kids, including a Fall Kickoff and Back to School Blessing Parade on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd @ 6:30 p.m. - so stay tuned!

Sincerely, Christy Archer Janacek Minister of Communication and Community Engagement www.godeeperwithchrist.org 11

JUNE

MAY

GATHERING

PLACE

The Gathering Place at HCLC normally meets on the first Friday of each month from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. to offer respite care to families with a loved one who has dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke, etc. During the hours that care partners are at HCLC our volunteers engage with them in activities, crafts, exercise, music, and more. We offer entertainment and lunch along with fellowship and support. The pandemic has caused us to change our format to a drive-thru style instead of in-person gathering. Care partners and their caregiver drive through the HCLC parking lot and we give them a bag of activities and a bag of food to take home. In July we gave each family a

pizza. We have some musical entertainment for them to listen to as they drive by. We deliver any bags left over to care partners that were not able to attend the drive-thru.

Our themes for the past 3 months of the Drive-Thru have been Summer, 4th of July and Baseball.

If you are interested in volunteering (once a month) or know someone who would benefit from attending The Gathering Place as a care partner, please contact Pam MacNaughton 281-460-9252 or Beth Moseman 281-3585501.

By Beth Moseman

JULY

www.godeeperwithchrist.org 13

ONLINE

WORSHIP

Online worship continues

at HCLC and is well attended. As of the first week of August, we have had 21 worship services livestreamed to Facebook during the early service at 8:15 a.m. Five of these Sundays were hybrid (in-person as well as online) as we began livestreaming during inperson worship on the first weekend of the pandemic (March 15) and then again when the church opened back up for five Sundays (5/31, 6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28), before the building was closed again due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. Our average early service “attendance” of the livestream is about 30 households per week (~60+ people each week), plus the 8-12 people who are needed in-person to facilitate the worship service. We have instituted an online attendance form to help us discern who is attending the worship services and especially need this completed for those who watch the recording of the livestream for late service at 11:00 a.m. or after. We currently have about 15-20 people that complete this form as “late worship” attendees, but the video has between 150 and 225 views each week, so we believe we have

more than that who watch after the fact.

Although we much prefer being together for in-person worship, the silver lining to having online worship is that we have had people from across the country and across the world joining us for worship on Sundays. Although we began recording the livestream crudely, using only a smart phone in the sanctuary, we have since upgraded our system and have had better results with video and audio. We are so thankful to our donors for providing the camera and equipment to make this possible. We also have one additional volunteer who has learned how to run the camera and make the livestream recording and another who is currently being trained. We are currently looking into making the worship guide more accessible and/or adding screen slides that will guide viewers through the service. We would love to have other volunteers who are willing to train to do this important ministry. We have several things that interested volunteers could also do from home. Please reach out to the office for more details.

By Christy Janacek

www.godeeperwithchrist.org 15

Discover. Grow. L i v e.

GoDeeperWithChrist.org

Holy Comforter Lutheran CHurch Staff

The Reverend Barbara Bartling Senior Pastor pastorbarb@godeeperwithchrist.org Marsha Seale Minister of Worship and Music marsha@godeeperwithchrist.org Christy Archer Janacek Minister of Communication christy@godeeperwithchrist.org Bill Goebel Financial Secretary bill@godeeperwithchrist.org Pam MacNaughton Director of Administration pam@godeeperwithchrist.org Colleen Engel School Director colleen@godeeperwithchrist.org Duane Utecht Operations Coordinator operations@godeeperwithchrist.org

Church Council Members

President - Melissa Lanier Vice-President - Brad Goodwin Secretary - Megan Vincent Treasurer - Duane Utecht Past President - Peter Kaleda Other members: Wade Wallinger, Geneva Pattishall, Pastor Barb Bartling Holy Comforter Lutheran Church is the sum of its members blessed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do ministry together. We are a traditional church & congregation that thinks and works “outside the box� to bring progressive ministries, services, programs and outreach to our local community and beyond!

Holy Comforter Lutheran Church & School was the first church and preschool program in Kingwood, Texas. We are a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Visit www.godeeperwithchrist.org for more info on our Mission & Vision, History, Pastor, Staff & Council, Ministries, Communion Policy, Testimonials & Worship Services.

Cover Photo courtesy of Colleen Engel