Almighty and eternal God, so draw my heart to you, so guide my mind, so fill my imagination, so control my will, that I may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use me, I pray, as you will, but always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

May President's Message

Neil Koepke 

Happy May!

When I was younger, every year on May Day (5/1) we used to make May Day baskets filled with candy to commemorate the turn of chilly, snowy, and rainy months into warmer ones in North Central Illinois. This tradition dates back centuries in Germany, when people would leave a paper basket containing spring flowers and sweets on each other’s doorsteps, usually anonymously. Our custom was to sneak to someone’s front door, ring the doorbell, yell “May basket!” and then run, run, run.

This is a busy month for many of us. Let’s thank our Preschool teachers, K-12 teachers, and all school support staff for a great year. Welcome to well-deserved summer relaxation : )

Finally, don’t be afraid to invite someone to Christ the King Lutheran Church so we can share our “treats” with others.

Neil Koepke

404-406-3401

Council Corner

Cathy Beard, Secretary

A favorite hymn of mine is Here I Am Lord which includes lyrics that stand out - "I will go Lord, if you lead me, I will hold Your people in my heart." The hymn is a conversation with God asking us how we will respond to those in need. The world and our surrounding community have many needs, thus the Stewardship Committee landed on the 2024 campaign theme - "Hope Grows Here." 

So often we think of stewardship and relate it to money or things of material value, however your time and talents costs only your valuable time to provide and serve your neighbor.  Our talents are given according to us through God’s grace. These talents are to be used to glorify Him. We are accountable to God and our fellow persons to be ministers of righteousness and upholding Christ Jesus. The biblical doctrine of stewardship teaches us that everything started with, belongs to, and is intended to glorify the Creator, God. 

The scriptures are full of wisdom on how to manage all things in a way that glorifies God, benefits others, and grow His kingdom. Of all the areas of life that we encounter, helping others is the most important. Christ the King is in the process of developing a team of volunteers that would share their time and talents within our community. This team would be called upon to help and provide talents to deliver hope to others with a quick response when called upon.  The team will work in conjunction and partnership with the Outreach Committee. Our Christ the King congregation contains the ability to see the needs around us and the hearts that choose to help.

Please consider reading our weekly Voice newsletter with a focus on stewardship and its journey. Hope is defined as a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment. How will you provide hope and experience fulfillment?

Let us go forth, empowered to serve, provide, and GROW HOPE.

For you, O Lord are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

~ Psalm 71:5

Sunday Morning Discipleship

Preschool Bible Story and Play

for Children 3 & 4 years old.

Sundays

9:45 -10:45 a.m.

Education wing, room 102

For the second half of the year (January - May) the class will include New Testament and Holy Week Bible stories. The class will be using curriculum from Frolic Preschool by Augsburg Fortress.

Young Elementary Sunday School

for students K – 3rd Grade

Sundays

9:45 -10:45 a.m.

Education wing, room 105

For the second half of the year (January - May) the class will include Old and New Testament and Holy Week Bible stories. The class will be using curriculum from Simply Loved by Group Pub. The children will enjoy crafts, sing songs and use memory buddies to help them remember who God is and how much he loves them.

• For May 5 - God Tells His People How to Build the Tabernacle, Exodus 35:10-36, 36:1-38. Led by Benita Gibbons.

Pre-Confirmation Class

for students 4th - 6th Grade

Sundays

9:45 -10:45 a.m.

Education wing, room 112

This class will be using the curriculum Connect by Augsburg Fortress. Students will have Old Testament Bible lessons, videos, and learner sheets that are designed just for tweens, blending solid theology with quirky humor. They will explore major themes in the narrative arc of the Bible—from the Old Testament this school year. Next school year they will study the New Testament.

• For May 5 - Occupation, Ester 4:13-17. Led by Dawn Finley.

New Adult Class - The Holy Spirit Creates Community

Sunday May 5 and 12

9:45 -10:45 a.m.

Education Wing, Adult Classroom

Led by Pastor Banitt & Floyd Koegler

In this two-week session the class will take time to connect and reconnect with others as they look at scripture from the book of Acts, on how we grow in our faith, and serve others.

The class will then have an opportunity to serve others on Sunday May 19th at 9:45 a.m. in the fellowship hall.

Please contact Deborah Scarazzo 

if you have questions regarding all Sunday Morning Discipleship offering.

CIA Bible Study

Tuesdays at 10:00 AM

Music Room

Led by Pastor Banitt

Try reading in-depth the Scriptures for each coming Sunday worship ( May 12 ).

Women of the Word

~ with Pastor Finley

2nd and 4th Sundays

next gathering - May 5

12:15 p.m.

Music Room

All women of CTK are invited to attend - Women of the Word. The focus of this group will be more casual conversation, not a formal Bible Study. Please bring your own food and beverage. For more information, please contact Melissa Loggins or Susan Papesh.

CTK Library



Christ the King Lutheran Church Library, located across the hall from the Church Office, exists to support the Christian Education mission of the Church and to provide resources for personal spiritual growth. Over 1,000 books are held in the collection and may be borrowed for two-week periods any time. The library is open during Sunday morning worship and fellowship hours and during normal church office hours.

Children’s Church

(11:00 am ONLY)

Children's church will be offered for children K4 - 2nd grade on the 1st & 3rd Sunday’s.

New Member Class

May 5

9:45 - 10:45 AM

Education Wing



New member orientation classes will be held on Sunday, April 21, April 28 and May 5 at 9:45 a.m. New and different information will be presented each Sunday. Pastor Finley will present on May 5.

If you would, or know someone who would, like to unite with our congregation or just find out more about the Lutheran faith and this congregation, please contact Pastor Finley (text 912-655-5615) immediately. 

New member forms are available in the racks behind the Welcome Desk in the narthex. 

New members will be received into the congregation on Sunday, June 2. 

Directory Updates

We are in the process of publishing a new church directory. If you have any changes to your address, phone numbers or email, please contact the Office Manager by May 23.

WELCA

Pieces for Christ

Wednesday, May 8

9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Cuthbertson Fellowship Hall

Pieces for Christ will be meeting on Wednesday, May 8 from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Bring your sewing machine, thread, scissors and a lunch as we continue our quilting for Lutheran World Relief. If you have helped with the tieing of the quilts back in January and would like to help again, we will have a few quilts ready to be tied that day. Come for an hour and relieve Barb of the daunting task of tying all the quilts we make during our quilting sessions. 

We will be having our semi-annual boot camp July 10– 13 and we could use anyone who would like to come and help any of those days also. Just an hour out of your day would help tremendously. During our camp we produce around 100 quilts and that’s a lot of quilts that have to be tied before we send them off to the ingathering in August. So give it some thought and mark your calendars for our 4 day camp. Would love to see a few new faces join us. We have the thread and needles so all you need to bring is yourself. Thanks in advance for your interest and volunteer spirit. 

Any questions text or call Cathie Gibbons at 678-923-2964.

OUTREACH

Human Trafficking

Information Seminar

Wednesday, May 22

7:00 PM. 

Fellowship Hall

One of the Directors of Wellspring Living, who is also a human trafficking survivor, will speak at Christ the King Lutheran Church about what it is like to be trafficked and what Wellspring Living is doing to shelter and rehabilitate young girls from this very ugly crime. If you have an interest in this topic, this is a great chance to learn more. Informational materials and light refreshments will be available.

The Outreach Team extends this invitation to the congregation, parents of the CTK Preschoolers, and friends. We hope to see you there.

To find out more about Wellspring Living, please visit wellspringliving.org.

OUTREACH

Family Promise Host Week 

May 26 - June 1

Fellowship Hall and Education Wing

CTK will again Host the families for Family Promise. Please consider volunteering to provide a meal, be an Evening Host, spend the night, set up, take down or do laundry.

Please click the link below to sign up for a spot.

For further question contact Lu Leeds at 770-315-7113 or luleeds@comcast.net

Thank you in advance.

WELCA

Lydia Circle

Tuesdays

1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Music Room

The women of Lydia Circle meet once a week to talk, laugh and knit. They knit everything from prayer shawls to stocking caps and baby blankets. Last month theytook a prayer shawl to Connie Gantt.

They are always looking for new members, no experience necessary. They will even teach you to knit or crochet.

For more information, please contact Carol Reed or Denise Yoho.

WELCA

Women's Retreat

A committee has been formed to plan a women's retreat. This process will take time to get everything in order and to secure a location, so please continue to be patient. 

If you would be interested in taking part in a retreat, please sign up on the form at the Welcome Desk or send your name, phone number and email address to Sue Hallman.

It's been a long time since we were able to hold a retreat and many prayers are needed to make this come to fruition. But we are women of CTK, we can do anything! 

EVANGELISM

Name Tags

Did you know that we would love for you to wear your Christ the King name badge? Name tags help form first impressions with potential new members and help us to determine any visitors. Name badges communicate much more than just a name. A name badge is an invitation for friendliness. Plus, they make engaging in a friendly level much easier. Engaging in conversation with someone is easier if you can address them by name. Will you help us?

EVANGELISM

Sunshine Ministry

Due to the increased cost of postage, cards of encouragement, sympathy, etc. will be placed in active member mailboxes in the administrative hallway at the church. Homebound members will still be mailed. Please check your mailbox periodically.

Thank you for your support of this ministry.

MUSIC MINISTRY

CTK Instrumentalists

2nd and 4th Sundays

9:20 - 9:50 a.m.

Sanctuary



Please contact Deborah Scarazzo if you are interested or for more information.

SCRIP

This Sunday

9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

Cuthbertson Fellowship Hall

DEBT FREE! Imagine, if you will, what it would be like if we had no mortgage. Wouldn’t it great to have thousands of extra dollars available EVERY MONTH. Some of our members think our kitchen needs to be remodeled – we could do that! Some of our members think we should build a full-sized foosball court to encourage our youth to invite their friends and help our membership grow – we could do that! Some of our members would love to see other improvements – we could do that! We could do lots of great things if we had the EXTRA money that comes from paying off a mortgage. With that in mind, bring your check books to the Fellowship Hall and buy gift cards. Let’s get rid of our mortgage!

OUTREACH MINISTRY OF THE MONTH

Jesse's House

Jesse’s House Inc., originally known as the Forsyth County Youth Shelter, was founded in 1998 as a result of a 1996 needs assessment survey for the north Georgia region conducted by Kennesaw State University. The home currently serves girls up to age 21 who are still in DFCS care. Since its inception, Jesse’s House has served over 1000 girls from all over the state of Georgia. Jesse’s House takes pride in providing a safe haven and excellent care of these young ladies during a difficult period in their lives. There are many ways to volunteer to help the residents of Jesse’s house. To learn more, visit their website www.jessehouse.org.

VBS 2024   

Scuba: Diving into Friendship with God

Monday, June 3 - Thursday, June 6

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Open to students 3 years old (must be potty trained) - 6th grade.

7th-12th grade volunteers serve as Crew Leaders

Registration is open now.

$25/child through May 5

$30/ child after May 5

$10/youth and adult volunteers (covers T-shirt and snacks)

If registering after May 5, T-shirt is not guaranteed

Scuba takes kids on a aquatic adventure where they will dive into friendship with God! At Scuba they will come to know friendly aquatic Memory Bible Buddies, as they enjoy diving into exciting Bible Studies about Elijah, Jonah, Jesus, and Lydia’s House.

Fun crafts, KidVid Cinema, and aquatic games will help kids build strong friendships as they dive deeper in their Scuba experience. Tasty Tidal Treats are also part of their Scuba adventure!

They’ll be talking about their undersea adventure long after VBS is over!

Parent, Grandparents and friends are invited to join us for our closing lunch celebration on Thursday!

or use the QR Code.

After registering, mail a check to

Christ the King Lutheran Church

1125 Bettis Tribble Gap Rd.

Cumming, GA 30040

or pay online at www.ctklutheran.com by credit/debit card.

Please make sure to put VBS in the memo line.

Please contact Deborah Scarazzo if you have any questions.

A big thank you to Sandy Rose for volunteering throughout the year at CTK Preschool. She has been a greeter for our Open House, Christmas program, and comes monthly to read to our children.

Preschool Graduation in Wednesday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m. All are welcome.

The following events will be happening shortly. If the event is in red, more information is available by clicking on the event.

• May 19 - Confirmation

Kitchen Shower

Thank you so much to all of the gift-givers and participants of the CTK Kitchen Shower! It was a fun-filled event thanks to our chief, Neil Koepke, and Peachie Cline, our party designer. There are still more items we could use so if you haven't donated and would like to, the shower box will be available in the narthex for the next couple of weeks.

The Place Food Pantry

The Place is extremely grateful for our generous volunteers and donors. Without your time and financial support, we could not meet the growing needs of our community. This month the needed items are: Sugar, Flour, Pancake Mix, Cake / Brownie Mix, Crackers, Cereal, Meat Helper, Cooking Oil, White Rice, and Condiments. During the Summer, they also need extra food for the kids while they are not in school—Protein Bars, Protein Drinks, Mac and Cheese, Cereal Cups, Raviolis and Individual Snacks.  You may bring your items to the church on Sunday when you attend service or drop them off Monday - Thursday from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.

"Pop Tabs"

Do you drink canned sodas or other drinks? The church collects the “pop tabs” on these cans to donate to the Ronald McDonald House charities. Please save these tabs in a plastic bag and place the tabs in the filing cabinet in the administrative hallway near the water cooler – someone collects and takes them down to the collection point periodically. Thank you for helping families to defray their medical expenses by being able to stay at a Ronald McDonald house while their child is in the hospital

Church Office Hours:

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Monday - Thursday | Closed Friday & Saturday

Newsletter, Sunday Bulletin & Prayer Request Deadline:

Submitted to the office by TUESDAYS, 12:00 Noon

Submission Email: ctk1125@ctklutheran.com

Friday is the Pastor’s and Staff’s Day Off. Please refrain from calling the office or the Pastor on his cell (or texting). If you have a pastoral care emergency after normal office hours, please call the church office and press “2.” This will call the Business Manager’s cell.

Building Use

When you use the building, even just a portion like the fellowship hall, please remember to turn the thermostat back down to 65 degrees. Running the heat when no one is using the building increases our natural gas bill.

Flowers for the Altar

Each week flowers adorn our altar area. Any weeks for which there isn’t a sponsor, flowers will not be placed on the altar. If you would like to sponsor flowers, please send the information to the Business Manager, Kathy Voerg at ctk1125@ctklutheran.com. If you sponsor flowers, they can be left outside on the portico for you to pickup on Monday.

Church Offering

Thank you to all that have continued to give. The easiest way for you to send your contribution to the church is through our online giving. It is simple and easy to use. If you are not comfortable using online services, you can simply mail your contribution to the church or drop it in the locking mailbox next to the portico.

Christ the King Lutheran Church

1125 Bettis-Tribble Gap Rd

Cumming, GA 30040

Prayer Requests

Prayer Request cards are available next to the offering plates in the narthex. If you would like to add someone to the Prayer List, please fill one out and place it in the offering plate. Prayer requests can also be emailed to the Business Manager. Prayer requests need to be submitted by noon on Tuesday to be included in the coming Sunday's bulletin.

Lumbar Pillows

Lumbar pillows have been donated to the church for anyone to use during service if they feel they need more back support. They are located in the back pews. Please return them to the back pews when service is over.

MAY 5 - SUNDAY

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

• 8:30 - 9:30 AM In-person Service
• 8:30 - 9:30 AM Livestream Service
• 9:30 - 10:30 AM Fellowship
• 9:30 - 10:45 AM Pictures in Fellowship Hall
• 9:30 - 10:30 AM SCRIP on sale 
• 9:45 - 10:45 AM Discipleship Hour
• 9:45 - 10:45 AM New Member Class
• 9:45 - 10:45 AM VBS Training
• 10:00 - 10:45 AM Chancel Choir Rehearsal
• 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM In-person Service
• 12:00 PM Xolos de Gwinnett Game (offsite)
• 12:15 - 1:15 PM Women of the Word

MAY 6 - MONDAY

• 6:00 - 9:00 PM Scouts BSA

MAY 7 - TUESDAY

• 10:00 - 11:00 AM Christians in Action Bible Study
• 1:00 - 2:30 PM Lydia Circle
• 6:30 - 7:30 PM Cub Scout Pack Leader Meeting

MAY 8 - WEDNESDAY

• 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM Pieces for Christ Quilting
• 10:00 AM Preschool Graduation

MAY 9 - THURSDAY

• 5:30 - 6:20 PM Handbells Rehearsal
• 6:30- 8:00 PM Sonlight Praise Band Rehearsal

MAY 10 - FRIDAY

• OFFICE CLOSED

MAY 11 - SATURDAY

• 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Yard Work Day (Rain Date)

MAY 12 - SUNDAY

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

• 8:30 - 9:30 AM In-person Service
• 9:20 - 9:50 AM Instrumentalist Rehearsal
• 9:30 - 10:30 AM Fellowship
• 9:30 - 10:30 AM SCRIP on sale 
• 9:45 - 10:45 AM Discipleship Hour
• 10:00 - 10:45 AM Chancel Choir Rehearsal
• 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM In-person Service
• 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Livestream Service

Rev. J. Patrick Finley, Pastor

STAFF

Kathy Voerg, Business Manager

Susan Hudock, Admin. Assistant

Chad Watkins, Music Minister

Deborah Scarazzo, Christian Education & Youth Coordinator

Dr. John Broman, Chancel Choir Director

Melissa Moorman, Preschool Director