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THE CHURCH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED
MONDAY, MAY 29, FOR MEMORIAL DAY
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Dear Pilgrims,
What a wonderful close to the Easter season on Sunday as we celebrated together as church and preschool. We had 132 people join together as congregational members, visitors, preschool families, staff, and teachers. The energy was high, and faith from 80-year-olds to 2-year-olds was on display.
We’ve now spent the first half of the Church Year focused on the life of Jesus: his birth, baptism, teachings, miracles, his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension. Now with the third major festival of the year, Pentecost, we begin the second half of this year. We now focus on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What are we called to do and to be?
This is an especially meaningful season of the year as Pilgrim continues its Season of Renewal, in which we will be called to define our identity and mission in this new day. Between June 4 and November 26, we’ll have a healthy amount of time to sharpen our purpose, renew our spirits, and clarify our vision. Today, we introduce our new Season of Renewal Team (please see the Council report in this issue of Pilgrim’s Progress), who will support the work we will ultimately do together. Thank you for praying for this process and pondering how you are being called to be a part of it all.
See you Sunday, dressed in red,
Pastor Mary
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Please see the Church Council Update below)
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Pentecost Day is this Sunday, May 28
Confirmation for Zachary Shealy and
Recognition of Pastor Mary's ordination anniversary
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As Eastertide concludes, we prepare to celebrate the gift of the Spirit 50 days after Easter Day this Sunday, May 28. All are asked to wear something RED, showing we’re full of the Spirit, too.
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During this service, we will also celebrate the Rite of Confirmation for Zachary Shane Shealy, pictured right. Zach’s parents are Kim and Boyd. His confirmation mentor is Keith Galloway.
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We will also recognize Pastor Mary Anderson’s 40th Anniversary of Ordination. Pictured right is Pastor Mary, with her husband Frank, on her ordination day, May 27, 1983, at Newberry College. Frank was ordained that June.
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There’s much to celebrate this Pentecost. Please mark your calendars in RED and plan to be with us.
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Beginning Thursday, June 1
Pilgrim's Progress will be delivered on Thursday mornings
| Beginning Thursday, June 1, Pilgrim's Progress will arrive on Thursday morning rather than Wednesday morning. The extra day allows more time for writing, editing, and formatting the weekly product. | |
Short Stories by Jesus
New Bible Study continuing on Tuesdays;
Zoom recording is available for those who miss a lesson
Tuesdays, May 30, and June 6
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. (during the Prayer and Share Program time) OR
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. by Zoom Only
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This new Bible Study, which began May 16, focuses on some of the parables of Jesus from a different perspective for most of us. We’ll use as our guide the book by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus.
Dr. Levine was a professor at Vanderbilt Divinity in Nashville in New Testament and Jewish Studies for many years. As an Orthodox Jewish woman, she has a love for Rabbi Jesus. She has also dedicated much of her research and teaching to better understanding the First Century Palestinian context that was the place and source of Jesus’ teaching.
Participants are encouraged to purchase this book for themselves. The book is at this link on Amazon. Having the book isn’t a must, but reading her commentary ahead of time will support our learning.
Please use the button below to register with an email to our church office. We will send a Zoom link. After you register, please order the book.
Pastor Mary will record each session during the Zoom meeting. Let her know if you want a link to these recordings for one or more sessions.
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RSVP needed
Graduation celebration, lunch will be Sunday, June 4
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Congratulations, Graduates Day!
The Pilgrim family will share a meal after worship (about 11:30 a.m.) on Sunday, June 4, to celebrate Madisson Kaminer, Amy Shealy, and Victoria Smith, all graduating from high school. To provide enough food, we would like to get a headcount. So if you think you are coming to our celebration of Madisson, Amy, and Victoria, please go to this RSVP document and let us know.
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At the luncheon, we will welcome our speaker, Caroline Haggard, pictured right. She is a native of Lexington, a lifelong Lutheran, and an alumna of Lexington High School and the University of South Carolina. She graduated in 2017 with a BSE in Civil and Environmental Engineering and works as a transportation engineer with the South Carolina Department of Transportation. While at USC, she participated in Lutheran Campus Ministry and currently serves on the board for LCM at USC. Caroline resides in Cayce with her rescue cat, Dottie, and enjoys gardening and baking for friends and family.
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Sunday, June 11
Planting Pilgrim's Season of Renewal Tree
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On Sunday, June 11, we will conclude our morning worship outdoors as we gather to plant a tree celebrating Pilgrim’s Season of Renewal. If you worshipped with us during the Season of Lent, you would remember the bare sycamore tree that appeared on the first Sunday, standing tall by the pulpit. Through the season, we watched it slowly bud and then leaf out. We are now calling it our Season of Renewal Tree and will be planting it on the south side of the sanctuary. We pray that as it grows under God’s care, our congregation will too!
| Men's choir is organizing for Father's Day, June 18 | |
Father’s Day will be a big day for Pilgrim. We are organizing a Men’s Choir to sing the anthem. Our regular singers will participate, but any man or older boy who would like to join in singing is invited to come to the sanctuary by 9:30 a.m. on that Sunday to rehearse. Greg Sommer will bring our homily for the day. A celebratory hot dog lunch will be cooking on the grill out front.
We are also inviting everyone who would like to submit the name of a special father figure or male mentor in their lives to do so in the next few weeks. The names you submit will be listed in the bulletin, and a prayer of thanksgiving for them will be included in our Prayers of Intercession. Starting next week, look for a bulletin insert regarding this prayer listing, or email the name to the church office.
Last, we will provide a tour of our newly repaired sanctuary areas for all to see. We thank all the property team folks who worked so hard to accomplish this work for us.
| Community food pantry needs are updated | |
Thank you for your continued generous support of our Food Pantry. In addition to canned meat, which is always needed, please add pop-tarts, peanut butter, and toiletry items to your grocery list. Toiletry suggestions include bar soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. Again, many thanks for helping Pilgrim take the love of Christ into our neighborhood daily.
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Collecting pop tabs generates dollars
for Ronald McDonald House of Columbia
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What is the Ronald McDonald House? The Ronald McDonald House of Columbia, SC
provides quality family-centered care to families with ill or injured children receiving
treatment at a nearby medical facility.
To support Ronald McDonald House of Columbia, Pilgrim Lutheran Church has been and continues to collect pop tabs. The pop tabs can be delivered on Sunday mornings or to the church office.
How does the pop tab program help? Community supporters collect pop tabs from soda, soup, and food cans. These tabs are then recycled and exchanged for money to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities in Columbia, SC. The pop tabs are made
from a different aluminum quality than the can and are easier to recycle.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church ensures your donated pop tabs are delivered to Ronald McDonald House, where they are recycled into dollars that support families.
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Worship and Music Committee
Funds needed to replace computer, AV equipment
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The Worship and Music Committee wants the congregation to know about the need to replace some of the computer and audio-visual equipment in the sanctuary. We are in the process of purchasing a new computer that will greatly assist us in reliably live-streaming our worship service. The cost is $600.
If you appreciate the live-stream service and would like to contribute financially to its availability, you may write a check to Pilgrim with “Sanctuary Computer” in the memo line. Thank you for your generosity!
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Pilgrim Preschool Sunday celebrated school year | |
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Sunday’s Pilgrim Community Preschool Day was a delight. The church was filled with the preschool children's excitement, songs, and a parade of lights. We especially enjoyed celebrating the graduating four-year-olds at the end.
Thanks to Preschool Director Meredith Cook, all of the teachers, students, and their families for coming, Jennifer Schwabe for her help, Jane Park for the scrumptious refreshments and decorations in the narthex, and Victoria Smith, Brenda Sommer, and Linda Spires for serving in the nursery.
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Over the last two weeks, we’ve introduced our Constitution Task Force and our Faith Formation Team. Today, we happily present our Season of Renewal Task Force.
Over the next two years, this innovative task force will help Pilgrim discover and define our identity, understand our mission and purpose, and find new ways of doing our mission. They will also help us think of new ways of being good stewards of our assets (like our facilities, preschool, and financial assets).
They will begin by listening to the Holy Spirit and consulting with innovative and experienced leaders in the wider church and local community. Based on their listening, learning, and praying, this task force will make recommendations to the Church Council as part of our Season of Renewal.
Pastor Mary Anderson serves as the staff member supporting this ministry. The members are Lisa Davis, Jackie Kaminer, Carol Murray, Wolfram Schwabe, and Wally Steinhauser. In addition, someone from the Pilgrim Community Preschool will also serve (still to be appointed). We will share that information with you as soon as we have it.
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Lisa Davis is a retired educator who served children in the Midlands for 33 years in the classroom and as a principal. She has been a member of Pilgrim for over ten years and has served on the Personnel Committee and as a communion assistant. She can now be found behind the audio board during church services.
Lisa feels her work with a diverse population in schools affords her some out-of-the-box thinking and vision. She is thankful for the opportunity to serve during this Season of Renewal.
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Jackie Kaminer is married to Joseph Kaminer and stepmother to Madisson and Avery. She currently works as the Site Training Manager for Michelin in Lexington, where she is also the Diversity Council Co-Lead and Chair of the Women’s Network. Jackie is a Heart of Columbia Chorus member, serving as the Membership and Marketing Chair.
As a lifelong resident of Lexington County and a recent graduate of Leadership Lexington County, Jackie believes that Pilgrim Lutheran Church is a vibrant place to practice her faith and is excited to use her God-given talents to serve the church in this capacity during the Season of Renewal. She serves on Church Council and in the Children’s Ministry and Music Ministry. Jackie is an innovative thinker and a change agent in all that she does.
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Carol Murray graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Music Education. She has recently retired after 30 years of teaching orchestra to middle and high school students in the Columbia area. Carol has also played cello with the South Carolina Philharmonic since college.
Carol joined Pilgrim Lutheran Church over ten years ago. She loved the congregation’s warmth and the amazing music on her first visit. Carol quickly became involved in the music program at Pilgrim, playing with the praise band and handbells. She also served as a communion assistant and took communion to church members in nursing homes.
Carol’s educational experience and her passion for seeing Pilgrim Church flourish again make her look forward to serving the church during our Season of Renewal.
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Wolfram Schwabe has worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for nearly six years as a Management Consultant, primarily serving clients in the financial services industry. Since the fall of 2020, he has been consulting for a Fortune 50 bank as a team manager that helps coordinate bank-wide efforts to comply with mandates imposed by a federal regulatory agency. This requires meeting with professionals from various backgrounds to identify current deficiencies and determine process enhancements in governance, operations, and technology.
Wolfram is interested in joining this task force because Pilgrim is the first church where he has felt engaged as an active member. Pilgrim has also been central to major personal and family events, including his wedding, the baptisms of his three children, and their attendance at the Pilgrim Community Preschool.
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Wally Steinhauser graduated from Jacksonville University with a B.S. in Business and received his M.B.A. from New York University (Stern School of Business). He had a long and successful career in the brokerage industry, working with clients such as Merrill Lynch, The New York Stock Exchange, American Express, and many others. He also led AT&T’s (now Avaya) product marketing organization in its communications systems business.
In August of 2005, his family moved to Lexington to purchase Wingard’s Nursery and Garden Center, his wife’s family’s business. He is married to the former Delores Wingard. They have a daughter, Jordan, and a son, Zachary.
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To keep Pilgrim's membership informed about events and activities, a 10-Day Church Calendar can be accessed and printed through the button below. | |
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Norma Drafts
Dell Collins
Carol Metts
Zach Mattox
Jerry Shutt
Mary Beth Hill’s friend, Geena
Peter Reinhart’s friend, Chris
Jamy Claire Archer’s father, Tom
Garry Sutherland
Boyd Shealy’s mother, Caroline
Prayers for our congregation and all its leaders
For peace among peoples everywhere
If you have prayer requests and thanksgiving to share, please contact the church office at plc@wearepilgrim.com or call (803) 359-9421 or write requests on the welcome cards at worship.
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WORSHIP - SUNDAY AT 10 A.M. | |
Sunday's worship service - May 21, 2023 | |
A Gift or Offering is an act of worship | |
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You may also mail your gift or offering or deliver it in person to:
Pilgrim Lutheran Church
1430 N Lake Drive
Lexington, SC 29072
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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