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Our Mission Statement

We of Joy Lutheran Church foster 
grace-filled relationships with Christ
through worship, fellowship, and service.
Notes of Joy - Week of September 20, 2020
Sunday, September 20 is Creation Sunday!

After worship we will gather for a community service project. We're going to pick up litter along the roadways. We will observe social distancing - wear warm clothes and bring your gloves!
Sunday, Sept. 20 Worship is In-person and Online

Our Sunday worship will be available on Facebook beginning at 9:30am.  



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Children's Message - Saturday at Noon
Pr. Karen will have a recorded Children's Message available on Facebook this Saturday, September 19th at noon. Click the Facebook link above.
Pastor Karen's Office Days

Pastor Karen will be working:
  • Mondays
  • Thursdays
  • Sundays 

Due to family commitments she needed to change her days. You can usually find her in the Office on these days. If you have an emergency, please do not hesitate to contact at any day and time. 907-434-1862
CONFIRMATION

Starts:
  • Sunday September 27th
  • 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
  • In Brause Hall
  • We will practice social distancing and recommend masks

If your young person is in at least 7th grade and not confirmed this is the class for them! Questions: Call Pastor Karen, 907-434-1862
Sunday School Planning Meeting
  • Monday, Sept. 21st
  • 6:00 pm
  • In Brause Hall (we will be practicing Social Distancing)

We hope to use a Virtual Sunday school at first (similar to VBS) and find ways we can gather occasionally for in-person fun. We will also talk about transitioning to In Person as Covid goes down.
River of Life Lutheran
Please keep in prayer our sister congregation River of Life Lutheran Church. A fire destroyed the River of Life church building early Tuesday morning, and it is a total loss. They will be worshipping in their parking lot this Sunday at 11:00am, asking for healing and direction.

If you wish to give, send donations to P.O. Box 670470, Chugiak, AK 99567.
THANK YOU FOR 
YOUR RESPONSE TO OUR
FOOD BANK DRIVE!

Special thanks to Eris and Sean Soellers who collected 75 lbs. of food in their neighborhood! Great leadership!


Thank You Notes Received
We received cards from Nome and Shishmaref expressing thanks to the Joy Lutheran family for the handmade masks sent.

"Thank you much for the mask[s] coverings. I'm just letting you know that all of them were distributed and used for a good cause. Thank you. Much blessings..." --Shishmaref Lutheran Church

"Dear Members of Sew for Joy Sewing Group, Thank you for the face masks. We will put these to good use among our congregation and in our community. We appreciate you thinking of us and know you all are in our prayers!" -- Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Nome
Thank you for your generous offerings!
 
Our August offerings dipped quite low — $3600 lower than average.

Any giving is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Joy of Reading Book Club 
The Joy of Reading Book Club meets the 3rd Monday of every month and gets started around 6:30 PM. Even if you haven’t read the book of the month you are still welcome to join us. It’s a fun evening of discussion, sharing of ideas and respectful listening. And lots of socializing and laughter!
 
Here are the books we came up with for the next few months.   A whole new season of reading!

  • September â€“ Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. This meeting will be at the home of Lois Lester and she has promised social distance.
  • October â€“ The Dragons, the Giant, the Women by Wayetu Moore
  • November â€“ The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
  • December â€“ Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin
  • January â€“ Jimmy Bluefeather by Kim Heacox
COMING UP:

Sunday, September 20th -- Creation Sunday In-Person Worship (Service project after worship -- Picking up Trash from roads near Joy. Wear warm clothes and bring gloves.)

Monday, September 21st -- Sunday School Planning Meeting

Monday, September 21st -- Book Club

Sunday, September 27th -- Confirmation Begins

Sunday, Oct. 4th -- Sunday School Begins (details to follow, we are still planning) 
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JCDC is Hiring!
Joy Child Development Center is hiring.
  • Teacher: Toddler room teacher. Experience preferred but not necessary.
  • Cook: Experience preferred, but we will train.
Background checks are required. Please contact Robin O'Mara at 694-2755 if interested. Must be 18y.o.+
RECAP FROM THE
SEPTEMBER 8th CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING

Your Council’s September 8th meeting was dominated by discussion of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) and related topics. After many months of hard work, the MSP group was ready to submit their draft document for Council review. The major topics we discussed included:

 Finances as of 8/31/2020:
  • Our income and expenses are mostly in line with the 2020 budget approved in January
  • We had approved upgrades to the sound system in the sanctuary, which resulted in additional maintenance expenses of $3,500 in August
  • Our General Offering fell by over 20% for the month of August. Historically August is a down month and with no in-person services due to Covid, we weren’t overly concerned but will watch this closely.

A subcommittee was formed (Pastor Karen, Scooter Benson and Sue Weimer) to consider names for the 6 person Call Committee. They will be looking for a representative mix of perspectives; members with children, youth, elders, new members, established members, etc.

Lengthy discussion was given to future staffing requirements. The council is recommending a full time pastor and a part time administration position.
  • Our financial situation does not allow us to have both a full time pastor and full time admin position. 
  • Our finances will only allow us to seek a full time pastor with no more than 5 years of experience. 
  • A survey of areawide ELCA churches revealed that congregations of similar size to JLC had part time admin positions however all had direct volunteer member involvement, especially in the financial areas. We will need to step up to cover duties currently performed by our full time admin position.

The recommendation to make changes in staffing was especially difficult because of the direct impact it has on Jan D. She has been a valued and trusted presence in our office for almost 9 years.  She has been invaluable especially during this transition period but the council felt that the church needs a full time pastor to lead us into the future. We are not proposing any immediate changes however the MSP requires a decision regarding full or part time pastor position. Please keep Jan in your prayers as she begins to access her future employment options.

--Sue Weimer, Council President
The next church council meeting will be Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 7:00pm.