Affirmation of Welcome
Reformation, a congregation of Christ's Church, welcomes everyone to join with us in a journey of faith. We are committed to providing worship, programs, ministries and pastoral care to all, regardless of religious background, age, color, ability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, or national origin. Everyone is welcome in this place, where the love of God is the foundation of all that we say and do!
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The Reporter
Reformation Lutheran Church
ALL Are Welcome & Affirmed Here!
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Worship Service Update
Every Sunday we offer two worship options. We are worshipping IN PERSON FROM OUR CARS in our parking lot - with Communion! - every Sunday at 11:30 AM. In order to ensure the health and safety of our congregation, we will continue our online church service at 10:00 as well. Please join us for worship online HERE.
More information about online activities is described below. Stay tuned for updates.
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Pastor's Perspective
As we head towards Easter and the resurrection, we prepare with Holy Week. We begin with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and the preparation for Passover. We will celebrate Jesus’ entry with our Palm Sunday services. We will live-stream our 10:00 am worship service and gather for our 11:30 parking lot Worship, but with a Palm Sunday caveat. After the worship, we will drive through the neighborhood with our radios blasting Easter hymns that I will be broadcasting on our transmitter which can reach over 300 yards on 99.9 FM. Then we will move on to Maundy Thursday and Jesus’ final meal and action at the Passover.
It was a meal that was a sign of deliverance for the children of Israel out of their bondage of slavery in Egypt, was now going to become a sign of deliverance for the world out of our bondage of slavery to sin. Jesus, God incarnate in our Christian understanding, chose to go to the cross as a finishing act for an old broken covenant, so a new covenant of radical grace and selfless love could be realized and experienced. How radical? How selfless?
It was a grace that was so radical that Jesus gathered for the Passover meal with the one who would betray him, along with the one who would deny him, and all who would desert him, and in John’s gospel he even washed their feet. That was radical grace, a grace his disciples were and are called to live out. Jesus’ love was so selfless he was willing to offer his body, his flesh as the completing act to a blood-soaked covenant. Why, so his disciples, his followers could live out this new covenant in the God-given grace witnessed in Jesus selfless love. So, join us for our livestream Maundy Thursday and Good Friday evenings at 7:00 pm worship to recall those gracious and love-filled acts of Jesus.
Then we will celebrate the victorious love of God as we celebrate the resurrection of God’s incarnate love, Jesus. A glorious action that we Christians know as Easter Sunday. I invite you all to join me as we begin the day as we live-stream from a local cemetery to celebrate the empty tomb and the stories that recount that glorious morning. Then we will broadcast on both Facebook and YouTube a prerecorded Easter service at 10:00 am, and finally gather in the parking lot for our 11:30 drive-in Easter service and celebrate with Holy Communion. Join us for these various ways to celebrate Jesus’ victorious selfless love.
Shalom,
Pastor Tim
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Prayers of the Church
Sick and Homebound: Tracy Hamiter; Dot Perry; Barbara Prosser; Connie Pool; Bobbie Black and Beth Mayer.
Health: Emmy Reeves; Landon Derrick; James Dekle; Paul Swing; Freda Schoch (friend of the Bupp family); Carla Ray; Marlene Thornton; (aunt of Alan Nettles); Flo Bouknight (friend of Mark Rowland); Elyse Stockberger (a 23 year old battling leukemia in Conway) and Carol Sue Ritchie.
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Space Dinners Moves from Planning to Gathering and Sharing
Reformation Lutheran is an inclusive, LGBTQIA+ affirming congregation that believes Christ calls us to serve others with joy. In that spirit, we proudly introduce Safe Space Dinners, a ministry for homeless LGBTQIA+ youths.
The ministry is simple. On the second Thursday of each month, these youth (14-23 years old) are offered a safe space and time to gather to rest and recharge, a home-cooked meal, and a backpack of items they will find helpful in their day-to-day life. Obviously, while we are not gathering in person at the church, we will wait to host dinners until it is safe to do so.
There is no preaching, no conversion therapy attempts; only support and comfort. This is a ministry of giving – nothing more.
To Make this Ministry a Success, We Need Your Help
GIVE:
While we wait until it's safe to host the dinners, we will use the time to gather items for the backpacks and look to our church members and the community for help. Each month, participants will be given the following items:
● Drawstring bag
● Toiletries
● Hygiene items
● First aid kit
● Protein bars
● Packs of nuts and dried fruit
● Sharpie and notebook
● Cooked chicken packets
● Socks
● Reusable water bottle
● Hand sanitizer
● Gift cards for fast food
● Comet bus passes
You can contribute by purchasing many of the items from the ministry’s Amazon Wish List. The items you purchase should be shipped to: Safe Space Dinners, c/o Reformation Lutheran Church, 1118 Union Street, Columbia, SC 29201.
Monetary donations will be used for food gift cards and bus passes. Checks should be mailed to Reformation Lutheran Church, 1118 Union Street, Columbia, SC 29201. You can also donate directly on the Reformation website using the Giving tab. Please mark your donation for Safe Space Dinners.
Monthly dinners will be prepared and served by members of our church. All those interacting with the youth have passed a background check through the SC State Law Enforcement Division.
Share with Others
Reaching beyond our congregation will help ensure the success of this ministry. Taking time to share this information with others will make a big difference:
· Like Safe Space Dinners on Facebook (@safespacedinners). Then invite your friends to like it, too.
· Follow Safe Space Dinners on Twitter (@safespacedinner) and Instagram (@safespacedinners).
· Forward this to your friends and family.
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Reformation's
Holy Week Schedule
Sunday, March 28
Our Palm Sunday Worship service will be our usual Live-streamed on Facebook at 10:00 AM with our Parking Lot Gathering service at 11:30 AM. Palms will be available outside the sanctuary all day, and will be distributed at our 11:30 am Parking Lot service. After the 11:30 service, we invite those who gathered in their cars to drive through our Earlewood neighborhood with our windows down and our radios blasting the Easter hymns being transmitted on our 99.9 FM station - which can broadcast of 300 yards from the transmitter - to celebrate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
Thursday, April 1 and Friday, April 2
Maundy Thursday and Good Friday will be live-streamed on Facebook at 7:00 PM each evening.
Sunday, April 4
For Easter, we will begin with a sunrise livestream from an undisclosed destination (exact time and further details to be determined & announced.) We will then Livestream our (pre-recorded) 10:00 AM Easter Worship on Facebook & You Tube; and finally gather at 11:30 AM for our Parking Lot Easter Service.
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BIG News — Planning is Under Way to Resume In Person Worship!
Assuming that Covid cases and hospitalizations continue their downward trend, Reformation’s Transition Team and Council have recommended that limited in person worship resume starting Sunday, May 2, 2021. Up to 50 people, including worship leaders, will be able to safely worship in person in the Sanctuary at our 10:00 Service. The Service will continue to be live-streamed on FaceBook and YouTube for others.
To help protect our most vulnerable, this in person worship will be different from our ‘old normal’ in the following ways:
— Anyone wishing to attend a Service in person must call the church office to reserve a seat, limiting attendance to 50 persons, helping to ensure the safety of those who gather to worship or lead worship. More details on making reservations will be provided later.
— Wearing a mask will be required following public health guidelines. Worshipers are encouraged to put their mask on before they exit their cars. Worship leaders will remove their masks while reading or singing. We wear face coverings in worship because we love our neighbors as ourselves. We take comfort in knowing that nothing can hide or separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Available seating will be marked, ensuring individuals or family groups are seated at least six feet apart and that worshipers are at a safe distance from worship leaders.
— Communion cups with wafer and wine in a sealed disposable container will be handed to attendees as they enter, as has been our practice at our Drive In Services. Worshipers will remove their masks briefly to eat and drink their communion elements.
— Offering baskets will be available as you enter or exit the Sanctuary.
— By attending a Service in person, you agree to your image being shared on the livestream video. Your presence also indicates your understanding that, if you become sick after attending, the congregation will be notified that exposure could have happened at a Service you attended.
— All attendees who are physically able to climb steps will be asked to enter the Sanctuary by the front steps or the side door into the BreezeWay. Others will have access through the Fellowship Hall.
— There will be no Nursery or Fellowship Time after Service, as we continue to keep our children, members, and visitors safe.
— At the end of the service, worshippers can greet each other outdoors respecting social distancing guidelines. Worshippers are asked to continue to wear their masks until they enter their cars.
Full details can be found in the Updated Transition Plan found on Reformation’s website. Reformation’s Worship and Music and Property Committees will be coordinating efforts to prepare our building and worship space to safely welcome you back to worship and will keep you posted on any updates. Our leadership team will continue to monitor DHEC Covid-19 case counts in Richland, Lexington, and Kershaw counties, and will advise us if trends rise, indicating a need to halt in person activities again. Please follow up with Ginny Eiwen or Pastor Tim if you have questions or concerns.
Our decision to open the Sanctuary for Sunday worship DOES NOT MEAN it is necessarily a good idea for YOU to worship in person. We encourage you to listen to your doctors, your family, your friends, and public health professionals to decide whether or not public worship is a wise or safe option for you at this time. Please do NOT come to church if you feel sick or have been in contact with someone who is sick.
We look forward to being in worship together with our church family again starting May 2, 2021! It will be so wonderful to see familiar faces and to greet new visitors who have been worshipping with us on-line over our year of isolation! SEE you soon!
Ginny Eiwen, Council President
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Thank you, Reformation
Dear Reformation Lutheran Church,
Thank you for your gift of toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff, and those we serve, we appreciate your generosity. Because of your support, our families have a safe place to call home. You are helping ensure our families stay together as they work towards stable employment, housing and health.
Our goal at Homeless No More is to keep families together as we seek to create an environment where at-risk and homeless families maximize their potential as they move toward independent lives. We are the only service provider in the area that welcomes fathers and boys over the age of 12. Our proven continuum of care for families includes three unique initiatives; emergency services (Family Shelter). transitional housing (St. Larence Place, and Live Oak Place.
Throughout 2020, hundreds of homeless and at-risk families with children have participated in our programs and services at Family Shelter, St. Lawrence Place, and Live Oak Place. We've made substantial progress in our fight to end family homelessness, and we are proud to share these accomplishments with supporters like you.
We could not do this without you. Thank you for joining us in the fight to end family homelessness in the Midlands. Your contribution enables us to continue making positive changes in our community.
With gratitude,
Lilia Anna Sauls
President/CEO
Homeless No More
Dear Anne and Reformation Lutheran,
Thank you so much for the clothing donations. The homeless in our city will be extremely thankful!
Thank you for being such a force for good in our community.
In Solidarity,
Tyler & Food NOT Bombs
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Beach Retreat 2021
Hello all!!
Well, we will try again this year to have our annual beach retreat at the Coastal Retreat Center in Isle of Palms, SC. Our dates this year are September 6-12. Mark your calendars if you are interested. More details will follow in the coming months.
Let’s pray we will all stay healthy 🙏🏻
Thank you,
Kathy Bupp
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Lector and Usher schedule
April 4
Lector Streaming & Parking Lot: Jim Prater
Ushers: Jim Prater, Lynn Black, Gary Parish
April 11
Lector Streaming & Parking Lot: Chris Clark
Ushers: Steve Asbill, Luis Guzman, Eddie Ritchie
April 18
Lector Streaming & Parking Lot: Ginny Eiwen
Ushers: Ginny Eiwen, Shirl Lamontagne, Eddie Ritchie
April 25
Lector Streaming - Jim Potts
Lector Parking Lot - Daisy Ritchie
Ushers: Robert Ruesga, Lee Amick, Shirl Lamontagne
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April Celebrations
Birthdays
Esther Richey, April 3
Rev. Bill Eiwen, April 7
Kelly Reed-Huff, April 8
Chelsea Casey, April 9
Casesy Williams, April 13
Jeff Harrell, April 13
Sarah Trani, April 16
Michael Watson, April 17
Josue Rodriguez-Laureano, April 17
Alexandria Leon, April 19
Dorothy Ellen Perry, April 20
Fred Mansperger, April 21
Kathy Bupp, April 28
Richard Hernandez, April 30
Anniversaries
Anthony Miles and Patrick P. Miles, April 17
Jim Prater and Julia Prater April 24
Lee Amick and Robert Ruesga April 25
Casey & Jennifer Williams, April 30
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20 Years of Formative Service
Jessica Craver’s feet felt frozen. Recently deployed by ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) to the Lutheran Church in Australia, she’d failed to pack adequate footwear to withstand the continent’s harsh winter. Her host mother had noticed. “She set out a basin and washed my feet,” Craver said. “What a beautiful sign … that we are called to serve each other in ways that are uncomfortable.” That was four years ago, but Craver, now a nurse in Seattle, said the moment continues to influence her approach to hospitality when she cares for the city’s most vulnerable.
Such stories are common among the more than 1,100 YAGM alumni. The program, which recently celebrated 20 years, originated from a partnership with the U.K. volunteer organization Time for God. Since then, it has evolved to include collaborations with ELCA companion churches or organizations in Argentina/Uruguay, Australia, Central Europe, Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal and the United Kingdom. And it has a history of influencing future ELCA leaders.
“YAGM volunteers are formed by our companion churches and the ELCA during their time in service; they come back to the United States ready to effect positive change within our congregations and U.S. society,” said Michael Busbey, acting director for mission personnel and leadership formation.
This rings true for Jill Rode, who taught in Thailand through YAGM more than 15 years ago. After her YAGM year, she returned to teach there for 3 1/2 more years. “[During] that YAGM year … my faith was broken open and put together again. All those years formed the foundation for me to think about seminary,” said Rode, now a pastor at St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn.
Although YAGM will pause in sending out young adults during the 2020-21 year due to COVID-19, staff say the future of this program is “very bright.” Funded in part by Mission Support, YAGM continues to affect church through its rich cohort of alumni who are pursuing callings as rostered leaders, educators, farmers, medical professionals, lawyers, camp directors, human rights activists and more.
“It really acts as confirmation and affirmation of an individual’s call to serve God and welcome our neighbors,” Rode said. “YAGM takes this really big world and shrinks it down. People who were once strangers become neighbors and friends.”
Thank you for your generous gifts of Mission Support, which made this story of faith in action possible. Mission Support is the portion of your offering your congregation shares with your synod, and your synod shares with the churchwide organization. To learn more, visit ELCA.org/SOFIA.
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Words Matter
“The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, but no one can tame the tongue — a restless evil, full of deadly poison... With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.”~James
This Lenten season our midweek Holden Evening Prayer service theme was Prophetic Echoes and Messianic Promises. It was to remind us that words matter. The promises of the prophets echoed throughout history and gave us the persistent promise of a messianic event. For us as Christians, that event was Easter. Those words did matter, and the reverberations of those words rippled through each prophet.
Sadly, other words echo through history as well, even those of hate and violence. As mention by James, the tongue is very small but can cause so much damage. We have experienced that “stain” even in the church, with inquisitions, bloody crusades, and religious wars. We have also experienced such echoes in the political realm as well. Such echoes of hatred and bigotry started a Civil War, and a couple of months ago created an atmosphere of distrust in our elections which reverberated into an assault on our nation’s capitol as an insurrection.
Even more recently, we experienced another dreadful byproduct of echoed words of hate. There has been a deadly trend of violent attacks on Asian-Americans over the last year. Those trends can be tied to the Covid-19 virus, and a president’s attempt to shift blame for his own inept policies addressing the virus, by characterizing it as the China-virus or Kung-flu and tying the virus to Asians, which for his misguide disciples includes Asian-Americans. This reverberation was heard just the other week in the echoes of gunshots that took the lives of eight innocent people in two Atlanta massage parlors. Six of those killed were Asian-American women.
At this writing, they’re still investigating motives, but in a society that has been drenched in five years of the political language of hate and bombastic boastful claims that, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, okay, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay?" should we be surprised? Echoes of unlawful behavior reverberate just as those of hope. Unfortunately, those unlawful words echoed in deadly ways.
We, as the church should shout, “Enough hate!” And let our actions and words of love out-echo such cowardly actions and words of hate. A small group of 12 did so some 2000 years ago, can it not be done once again. Together, let us stop the hate! Yes indeed, words do matter.
Pastor Tim
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The Wired Word - Wednesdays at 7:30 PM
On Wednesday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. we begin a new Zoom series of Wired Word. We will discuss a new news topic each week for about one hour. Watch for the Zoom meeting link. If you want topic background and discussion outline in advance, email dotjeffcoat@aol.com
Quote from Steve Asbill a regular participant:
According to the Pew Research Center, Americans are collectively identifying as non-religious in increasing numbers, and those who identify as Christian are attending church less often. Speaking for myself, the times I've strayed from attending church or actively practicing my faith stem from being unable to see the connection between practicing faith and facing or processing issues personal or global, respectively. The Wired Word sessions on Wednesday nights have given me a chance to read in-depth about events facing our world and make tangible connections to the individuals and situations we read about in the Bible, some of which I previously had not correlated directly with our times. The discussions we have are authentic and timely, and use a 21st century method to not only help us bring the kingdom of God to life for ourselves, but also how to bring light to our communities and inner circles."
Join this group for one or more sessions during April and May.
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Announcements and Reminders
From the Property Committee
............. Coming Soon! ...........
Little things you can do to make our Church a Happier Place!
If you can:
- use a paint brush
- handle a hammer or a broom
- maybe organize a room
Then you can help. Please stay tuned for more details.
Calendar Updates
Check the calendar on the church's web page (www.reformationcae.org) for the latest updates, changes, cancellations, and postponements in church activities and meetings.
Virtual Adult Sunday School
Adults are invited to join our virtual adult Sunday School discussions each Sunday at 9:00 am via Zoom. We are exploring various faiths and denominations using Honoring Our Neighbors' Faith materials, but you don't have to have the book to participate. There are several easy ways to use Zoom from your phone or computer:
2. Go to Zoom.us and look for Join A Meeting at the top right, then enter the meeting ID: 890 9045 9442.
3. If you have a Zoom account, you can sign in and use this meeting ID: 890 9045 9442
Do You Need a Mask?
Sarah Trani has offered to supply those who needs cloth masks. You may contact her directly at sarah.trani@gmail.com.
Keep in Touch with Your Church Family
Do you need a Reformation Lutheran Church Membership Directory? To request a copy, please contact Mikita at the Church Office at (803.252.1507) or via e-mail at officeofreform@gmail.com.
Reformation Lutheran Church Newsletter
The Reporter is published monthly at Reformation Lutheran Church and is sent electronically or mailed to members and friends who wish to have a copy. A link to The Reporter newsletter is also posted on the church website: www.ReformationCAE.org and on Reformation's Facebook page.
The deadline to submit articles or items to be updated, announced, or published is the eighteenth of the month. If you have news to share, please send it to the church office. Please email to officeofreform@gmail.com.
Do You Need Help to Watch Our Sunday Service On-Line? To join a Zoom Meeting?
In order to ensure members, visitors and friends can meet with us for our Worship Services, Daily Devotionals, and numerous ZOOM meetings, our Transition Team, Church Council, and current volunteers are looking for additional volunteers to assist folks to connect their PCs and other electronic devices to our Facebook page and the ZOOM meeting site. We are also looking for a means of creating DVDs of the services in order to send or deliver them to folks. And in general, we are asking for suggestions on how to be more effective in our outreach efforts regarding this portion of our ministry.
Do you.........
- need help?
- have any ideas?
- have some time to help?
- Have any equipment to share?
Please call the Church Office (803.252.1507) or Ginny Eiwen (803.331.5465) if you need any help, or you can assist in this effort.
Inspired and encouraged to share
Each month a heartwarming story, card or letter from a member, friend or fan of Reformation Lutheran Church will be featured in the newsletter.
The church office receives many cards in the mail, online notes, phone calls and comments throughout the month.
We feel inspired and encouraged to share the powerful, positive impact Reformation offers to so many from all over the country.
If you have something to share, please send your notes or heartfelt comments to the church office by mail or send an email to - officeofreform@gmail.com. We may feature your comments in an upcoming newsletter. Yes, you may remain anonymous.
Suzanne Terhunen, a Facebook fan from Rhinebeck, New York
Pastor Tim, this was such a good series for Black History Month. Very informative and enlightening. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.
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1118 Union St. Columbia, SC 29201
803-252-1507
Tim Bupp, Pastor
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