________________________________________VOLUME 38 NUMBER 6__

HAPPY FISCAL NEW YEAR

By Mark Rohrbaugh, President

With any New Year, fiscal or calendar, it is a time to reflect on where we have been and where we are going. We are in the midst of change as we enter a new fiscal year July 1. Change is never easy or fully predictable, despite our best efforts. But in the midst of change, we can be sure God is Good. For me, it helps to focus on this message.

We opened many sessions during the recent Metro Washington Assembly in Gettysburg with the call and response: God is good! All the time! All the time! God is good! In the midst of listening to reports, electing officers, voting on Resolutions, and electing a new bishop, it was an important reminder of God’s unending goodness and love.

This fiscal year, we face the launch of construction, decisions on options for new and different aspects of our building, adjustment to the construction inconveniences and to the changes however wonderful, welcoming a new Music Director, saying Godspeed to one Vicar and welcoming another, and making important finance decisions as we plan for the peak of spending on the renovation during the following fiscal year. We could get stressed about much of this, but it is important to remember God is good, all the time! Our budget is in good condition this fiscal year, and good planning will help buffer some of the fiscal stress we may face next year.

As we grow as a congregation, we seek and welcome diversity. This diversity comes in many ways. Even when we welcome it, we must keep in mind that it challenges us. In the opening Eucharist of the Synod Assembly, Bishop Schneider preached a sermon I would commend to your reading (www.metrodcelca.org/07_synod_assembly.htm where the spaces are underlines) entitled “The Call to Discipleship.” He spoke about discipleship in welcoming others into our churches: “[T]here are stages of welcoming, and that we must learn to grow from avoidance to tolerance, from tolerance to acceptance, from acceptance to caring, from caring to actively reaching, and from actively reaching to becoming genuinely

comfortable with those who are different from ourselves, be it a matter of color, worship style, politics, nationality, culture, sexual orientation or, whatever!”

Part of the reason we renovate our building is to better serve God, through our worship and study, through ministry to our community and with those who would join us in this ministry. As we grow in diversity, particularly in the midst of changes to our building and finances, it is important to remember that we all will be required to demonstrate a sensitivity to the “stages of welcoming” that Bishop Schneider talked about.

Welcome is not just for those who are new to our congregation. We must welcome one another on an ongoing basis. Not everyone will have the same view or the same skill set that we have individually. Thank God! We welcome our diversity of views and styles and inherent qualities as persons made in the image of God. We are all good because God is good. All the time!

SUNDAY SCHOOL ROUNDUP

By Linda Ott

Sunday School began its summer break the middle of June with most of the children sad to see it end for the summer. We hope to have some evening activities over the summer to afford the children chances to get together for movies and munchies or social time.

Our congregation is blessed with that critical number of young people who are committed to regular attendance and genuinely get the idea that their whole beings are strengthened by faith. These are children who want to grow their faith and enjoy digging into the mystery of God’s love for us. I’m sure if you asked them that they would offer a different reason like the cool crafts or singing.

The other part of Sunday School are the teachers and helpers who support it. I’d like to give thanks for the leadership of Fred Mills, Carolina Glauster, Sylvia Glauster, and Lee Schray for their faithful commitment to Sunday School. I know they too feel truly blessed to use their gifts in ministry with children. Sunday School will pick up again September 9.

VISIONING UPDATE

By Phil Hecht

At the June 24 Congregation Meeting, I reported on the status of the visioning process. We are ready to submit construction drawings to the District of Columbia for permitting, a process that is likely to take several months. We currently face a funding gap of approximately $450,000, due to (1) an updated cost estimate that is10% higher than the estimate we obtained last fall, (2) a lower appraisal of 1516 Hamilton Street than prior estimates that we had been given, (3) an estimate of $95,000 for remediation of hazardous materials during renovation, and (4) the additional cost of hiring an owner’s representative.

The Congregation approved the retention of JFW Inc. as our owner’s representative to assist us in finding cheaper alternatives and more efficient solutions to our renovation challenges. JFW Inc. already has identified a number of “value engineering” changes, and the Visioning Committee and Council have approved several of those changes that will save approximately $250,000.

Although the construction schedule has been delayed as result of these developments, it appears that we remain on schedule to begin construction before the end of 2007, subject to obtaining the construction permits in a timely manner. Stewardship Committee Chairman Howard Bell also reported at the June 24 Congregation Meeting that our renovation plans will not have an impact on our next fiscal year’s (2007-08) operating budget, but that we face a significant impact on the operating budget for our next fiscal year (2008-09) unless our Alive in Christ campaign pledges come in higher amounts and more quickly than anticipated.

A Revolving Door

By Pastor Renata Eustis

As a kid, I thought that revolving doors must have been invented by an adult who still liked to have fun. Like most other kids, I saw revolving doors as a merry-go-round of sorts and would go around as many times as my parents would allow. I now understand that the purpose of a revolving door is to save energy by minimizing the amount of cold or hot air that enters a building. (This is apparently defeated if you treat the revolving door as a merry-go-round.)

Last year Vicar Gretchen left in July and Vicar Jeanne began in August. The six weeks in between was a kind of transition time, letting go of Gretchen and getting ready to receive Jeanne. The timing of the internship gets worked out by taking into account the prospective intern’s schedule, the current intern’s schedule, and my vacation schedule.

This year, the timing might feel a bit like a revolving door. Vicar Jeanne’s last day is Sunday, August 5. We’ll surround Vicar Jeanne, her husband Lou, and Sandy Smith (who’s being posted to Jordan) with prayers as we “send” them to be a vital part of other expressions of the church, the Body of Christ. Then Vicar Christine May begins her year with us two days later on August 7. On Sunday, August 12 we will officially welcome Vicar Christine and her family. One Sunday we’re saying good-bye to Jeanne, and the next Sunday we’re saying hello to Christine. A revolving door.

Merry-go-rounds aside, the purpose of a door is to go in or out. Unless we’re lost, we usually enter a place because we have something to do there. Then we leave, either when we’ve done what we set out to do or they close the building (i.e., our time’s up). The ideal, of course, is that we get done what we need to get done before the building closes.

I see some helpful parallels with the internship process. Interns come with the purpose of learning all that they can (before their time’s up) from the pastor and the congregation about what it means to be a pastor. The congregation is both the teacher and the setting where this learning takes place.

We have received much from both of our recent interns, as no doubt you did from previous interns/vicars. It’s also true that we have given much in terms of support, evaluation, friendship, and love. I believe we have done this because we have a clear sense of calling. God has called us to be a place where future pastors deepen their experience and understanding of what it means to be an ordained leader of the church today. Christ Lutheran Church is seen by seminarians as an exciting place to be an intern. Each of the times I have interviewed prospective interns, our schedule of interviews has been full.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the internship matching process. Though I interview candidates, I do not select them. In consultation with the lay leader who has accompanied me to the interviews, I list a minimum of three people I see as being a good match for me as a supervisor and the congregation—candidates I would accept without question. I then list others whom I would consider, following further conversation with the seminary. Each time I have had no trouble listing three or more prospective interns, both men and women.

This process is very interesting to me because I am impressed with how many strong ones there are and how different their strengths are. I found myself being glad that I was not the one selecting because it would have been difficult to choose. Interviewing these students has given me a lot of hope about the future leadership of the church. Former Vicar Gretchen, Vicar Jeanne, and soon-to-be Vicar Christine share a common gender, but each brings distinctive gifts as well as learning needs. The Holy Spirit has brought or is bringing each of these future pastors to Christ Lutheran Church for the purpose of strengthening and building up the whole Body of Christ. May we treasure our time with each of our interns—and may we also have fun on this Spirit-filled merry-go-round.

2007 YARD SALE

SEPTEMBER 29 and 30

"IT" IS COMING and NOW IS THE TIME to bring in your BOXED items (lids closed and "what's inside" marked on the top, please).

Place boxes on the stage in the undercroft. Call Joanne Noll, 301-530-2265, for coordination of large pick-ups. Bring clothing in September.

It's also time to think about what role you might want to take at the Yard Sale this year. There will be jobs for everyone! Contact Joanne with your thoughts.

Beneficiaries this year endorsed at the June 24 congregational meeting are: Transitional Housing Corporation, N Street Village, Green Door, National Coalition for Homeless Vets, Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Social Services, Lutheran Latino Ministries, ELCA-Tanzania Church Mission, Community of St. Dysmas, Bread for the City, Lifeline Partnership, Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light, and Charles H. Fortson Therapeutic Summer Camp.

THEOLOGICAL BOOK CLUB: READING AND SHARING TOGETHER

By Carla B. Howery

The Theological Book Club welcomes anyone to come on a one-time or continuing basis, to share thoughts about books that aid our faith journey.

We are meeting about every 6-8 weeks and we rotate who selects the book to read and kicks off the discussion (see the name in parentheses below). We will meet promptly at 12:15, now in the Wenchel Chapel. After a summer break to read trashy beach novels -- no, it was just hard to schedule a time to meet – we’ll resume in the fall.

September 23 --- Parker J. Palmer Hidden Wholeness (Carla Howery)

October 21 --- Elizabeth Sifton The Serenity Prayer (Herb Turvey)

November 11 – Ken Wilber Integral Spirituality (TBD)

Please come when you can or when a book catches your attention. And we welcome suggestions for books!

OUR CONFIRMANDS’ STATEMENTS OF FAITH

Both Alex Noll and Abraham Wege affirmed their faith and were confirmed as adult members of the Lutheran Church on June 3, 2007. The congregation was honored to listen to them as they read their faith statements during worship. Please keep them, as well as Solome Tesemma, Naol Ayana, and Rajan Negassa, who continue in the confirmation program at CLC, in your prayers.

Faith Statement

By Abraham Wege

I am going to tell you about my faith- what I believe and how it makes a difference for me.

I’ve been going to church my whole life. When I was a baby, I was baptized. When I was seven years old, I went to choir in the Oromo Church in Ethiopia. My brothers and I went to Sunday School every Sunday. My Dad was a pastor in the Oromo Church. My Mom helped organize food for church holidays like Easter and Christmas.

Going to church helped me to believe in God.

In July 1999, my Dad came to the U.S. and attended Christ Lutheran Church. In December 2002, I arrived with my Mom and five brothers. We joined my Dad at Christ Lutheran Church. It was important for me to go to church, Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Confirmation.

So, I traveled around the world, but my church education continued. The first day I went to Sunday School, I was quiet because I did not know English. But Linda Ott helped me. And my parents and family helped me. Pastor Renata, Pastor Lee, Vicar Jeanne, Vicar Gretchen, Owen, and Kendall helped me. They taught me the Word of God.

I went to Confirmation class and I learned how to believe for myself. I believe in the words of the Apostle’s Creed. I believe in one God. I believe in his son, Jesus, and I believe in the Holy Spirit.

In Baptism God welcomed me into the Christian family. But I was a baby. I didn’t know what was happening. That’s why I am here today to affirm what happened when I was baptized. Baptism made me a new person because God washed away my sins.

I believe Jesus is God’s son and our Savior. This means he protects all of us. Jesus died for our sins. This means he forgives our sins and gives us a chance to change -- he gives us a new start in our lives. For example, at school, people can say mean things and can do bad stuff to me. Jesus teaches me to forgive them, to walk away. That’s what we remember during Holy Communion. We eat the bread and drink the wine and remember that Jesus gave himself for us -- to forgive our sins.

Jesus died and rose again. Nobody can do that -- only Him. Jesus’ resurrection means to me that death is no more. Jesus can make us rise again, to live an eternal life with Him. He will come back to judge us and decide good and evil.

I try to pray -- not just because I am going to be judged, but because when I pray I get to know God and Jesus. If I’m afraid, prayer gives me courage. If I’m sad, prayer helps me feel better. So does serving God’s people. Jesus taught us how to serve by helping the blind, helping the poor; loving everyone. I believe God has called me to serve members of Christ Lutheran Church. I serve the members of God’s family when I am crucifer in church, when I help the homeless in Sunday School, or when I helped a family move into an apartment in Confirmation class.

So, even though I am done with Confirmation, I will still serve. I will help the people in Confirmation class and Sunday School. I will still help with worship. I will stay focused when people preach. I will serve God and my faith will grow and mature.

Thank you for listening!

Faith Statement

By Alex Noll

Faith. What is faith? According to the dictionary, faith is something believed to be true, but not based on facts. This could be any array of things. Any different kind of religion or scientific belief. My personal faith is in God and the Bible, of course. But I am not saying that I don’t have any doubts or questions though. And I used to feel really bad when I would think, maybe God doesn’t exist or maybe some other religion is true. But I realized that it is pretty much impossible not to have questions.

A wise person once said to me “faith without question is dead.” That simple little sentence totally changed my entire mentality on my own personal faith. I realized that Jesus knows that we are imperfect and understands that we might have questions. God came down to earth through Jesus as a human, so that further strengthens my belief that God understands what it is like to be human and be curious. Jesus even had questions when he said God, why have you forsaken me? Having questions, in fact, may make us have a stronger faith in Christ.

I had this one question in my head that bugged me literally for months. In my science class back in 7th grade we started to learn about the theory of evolution. My teacher told the class that there was a big explosion and all the planets and galaxies and whatnot kind of formed into what we have now. Later that week we watched a video of Bill Nye, the science guy, and he explained how this theory explains how DNA got on the earth and then ran a mini-simulation and came out with a fluid that is found in DNA. And for some reason I was watching that, and I was simultaneously thinking of the theory of creationism and mulled it all over, and I came to find that I thought the theory of evolution to be legit, and it made sense. I felt terrible thinking that because I really wanted to think that creationism was the only legitimate theory of how life was made.

So one day I actually brought it up to my mom, and she said that evolution explains how things happen but the Bible explains why things happen. And once again it was someone telling me something that kind of made me think -- maybe it isn’t wrong to believe in science at the same time. In some ways they coincide with each other. I don’t think one is not necessarily truer than the other. And as they complement each other, I am able to keep an open mind and continue to have questions to continue to build a stronger faith.

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

By Joanne Noll

The 2007 Strawberry Festival was held Sunday, June 10, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. This was a new time and it was challenging to get the berries prepared before the worship service began. Berries were picked by David Blakemore, Marty Jewett, Joanne Noll, and Bob and Sara Sylwester on Friday, June 8. The dining room was set up on Saturday. About 10 people plus the coffee hour team showed up at 8:30 am on Sunday to whiz through 120 pounds of berries. Others donated yummy cakes and shortcakes! We needed all who came to prepare, serve, and clean up.

Most folks stayed for this extended coffee hour and fellowship. June 10 was also the first day the Oromo Lutheran Church worshiped in our sanctuary, and many came early to enjoy berries and fellowship! The total offering was $1003 and profits were $756, which was donated toward the Stephen Ministry program.

Our Sunday School is Growing!

By Carolina Glauster

Try your hand at this trivia question: How many active members between the ages of two-and-a-half and 6 would you say we have here at CLC?

It might surprise you to learn that there are ten children in this age group in our congregation, and seven more who are younger than two-and-a-half but growing up fast. (If you're up for another challenge, see if you can name all 17, or better, reach out a hand and greet each of them with a sign of peace when you see them in worship.)

This delightful population explosion is exciting for many reasons, not least of which is the joy and energy these bright youngsters bring to our worship and our life together. It is also an opportunity for us to respond to God's call to offer our youngest members Christian Education in a space and a way that is geared especially toward them.

I am thrilled to announce that this September we will be starting a second, younger-aged, Sunday School class using the wonderful Catechesis of the Good Shepherd curriculum developed by Sophia Cavaletti and used in churches across this and many other countries. CGS is a unique curriculum that sets out to nurture the spiritual life of the child, particularly the pure and deep love shared between God and the young child. A CGS classroom is filled with Montessori-like materials that provide the children with an opportunity to work closely with stories from the Gospels and elements of the church's liturgical tradition.

I have spent the past nine months taking part in an intensive training to certify me to teach CGS here at CLC. As I have learned more about the program and spent time in CGS classrooms in the area, I have become very excited about our opportunity to share this wonderful experience with the beloved children of our community. I'd be delighted to share some of my experiences with you; please come and speak to me if you have any questions or are interested in hearing more.

I hope some of you will want to learn more about our plans, and perhaps offer your gifts of time and talent to help to bring them about. There are opportunities for those with gifts at woodworking, clay moulding, sewing, and other creative arts to take part in the construction of the materials for our classroom, a project that we'll be working at throughout this summer. In the fall, someone who wants to join us as an assistant teacher would be most welcome. Please prayerfully consider whether you might be someone who has gifts you'd like to offer towards one or another facet of this exciting project. Watch for announcements in the coming months about the progress we are making in our preparations and how you can become involved.

The more I have watched this project unfold at CLC, the more I have sensed God's presence in it. I feel a great sense of joy and excitement about the blessings God will bring to our children and to our congregation through this work. And I trust and believe that as we each have opportunities to see and participate in efforts to create this special space for our youngest children, we will all sense God's presence and share in that joy and excitement.

2007 Metro DC Synod Assembly Report

By Carolina Glauster

I was among the five people from CLC who, early this June, had the opportunity to travel to Gettysburg, PA, for the ELCA Metro DC Synod Assembly. When I first asked if I could be one of the people to go, my request was met with some incredulity by some of those who overheard it. After all, who can spare three days (two of them work days) in the admittedly busy month of June to travel to a big conference hall and exercise Robert's Rules of Order for days at a time?

Of course, the Synod Assembly is so much more than that. The incredible experience of being a part of that temporary three-day community -- a smaller microcosm of our vibrant synod community -- more than makes up for the inconvenience of taking the time and effort to be there. It was very uplifting to feel, in a more concrete way, the presence of some of the wider community of God's people -- the Church extending far beyond the walls of our own congregation.

Many parts of this wider church were represented among us. The Assembly had the opportunity to hear from representatives from many of our ecumenical partners in the area, including the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the Moravian Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ, and others. As Bishop Schneider remarked, just the fact of these busy people's presence with us for three days said a great deal about the strength of their commitment to relationship with us and to unity within the church.

Also with us were a number of young people from Lutheran Campus Ministries in the area, who shared some of their stories as part of a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Campus Ministry in this country. We also got to hear from members of our own synod who shared work that is happening in the synod in the areas of Youth and Family Ministries, Church Planting and other Evangelism work, and Social Justice Ministry, among others. We heard about and saw some of the good things God is doing at our synod's two Outdoor Ministry sites: Caroline Furnace and Mar-Lu Ridge. These and many other folks who shared their stories added up to a strong sense of a great abundance of ways and places that God's work is happening among us.

The powerful sense of being surrounded by all of these people and the larger ministries they represent was most present for me in our times of worship together. As we prayed, sang, and shared God's Word and Christ's supper together, I was aware of and encouraged by a connection to that wider community. It is a connection that we all share, though we may not always be mindful of it, and it is one well worth reminding ourselves of and being encouraged by whenever we share communion together.

Of course, besides worshiping together and hearing each other's stories and greetings, the Assembly took care of all the kinds of business such a gathering is meant to address. You can read about all the resolutions that we took up, along with Bishop Schneider's sermon and some of the other highlights of the weekend, at http://www.metrodcelca.org/07_synod_assembly.htm. I won't list them all here, but there are two in particular that seem worthy of mention.

The first, of course, was the election of a new Bishop and the fond farewell to our current Bishop, Theodore Schneider. The election process took up much of our time and attention during the three days we were there, and ultimately Pastor Richard Graham was chosen to serve a six-year term as Bishop of our Synod. Pastor Graham is currently serving at Hope Lutheran Church in College Park, and will be installed as our Bishop on October 14th.

The second was the voting on the two resolutions sponsored by our congregation. You may remember that at our last congregational meeting before the Assembly, CLC voted to sponsor two resolutions to be voted on by the assembly. Both were on the topic of the rostering and ordination of persons who are "homosexual in their self-understanding." We called on the Synod Assembly to memorialize the National Assembly (meeting in Chicago this August) to officially encourage the synods and bishops of the ELCA to use restraint in applying the current policies restricting persons in same-sex partnerships from serving as rostered leaders in the ELCA and to refrain from discipline when considering the cases of currently rostered and called persons in such relationships. The full text of our resolutions can be found on the website above. The good news is that both of our resolutions passed by comfortable margins and so will be passed on to the National Assembly in August!

I do encourage you to spend some time on the synod website, or in conversation with Pastor Renata, Vicar Jeanne, Lee Ann Schray, Mark Rohrbaugh, or myself and find out a little bit more about the happenings at the Synod Assembly. There is, of course, too much to tell completely here. But I particularly hope that, whether or not we have the time to learn about each resolution that was passed in Gettysburg, we can all be mindful of and encouraged by our membership in the community of our synod, always keeping the work and life of our fellow congregations in our prayers and being uplifted by their prayers and love for us.

Greetings from Camp Mar-Lu Ridge!

By Vicar Jeanne Befano

I’m writing this from Camp Mar-Lu Ridge, where more than 80 young people and a dozen pastors and vicars have gathered for the week. Five of them -- Abraham Wege, Alex Noll, Solome Tesemma, Naol Ayana, and Rajan Negassa -- are from CLC, thanks to the proceeds from last year’s Silent Auction.

To mix up the kids so they can get to know folks from other churches, the campers are together sometimes with their cabin buddies, sometimes with larger household groups, and other times in groups depending on their interest. (For our three guys, Alex, Naol, and Abraham, that, of course, would be basketball!)

All five of them get together with me once a day for a check in, just to see how things are going. I think, if they were to send a postcard home, you would hear something like this. “It’s fun. It’s hot. There are a lot of gnats always bothering me. They want us to go to bed too early. I really liked hiking to shock rock. I’ve learned a lot of camp songs and played a lot of games. I love the view from up here. Swimming is so fun. Archery rocks. I’ve met some nice kids. It’s hot. (But I already mentioned that, didn’t I?!)”

Some underlying experiences that camp provides are harder for them to put into words. Many of them have never gotten together or even knew that so many Lutheran kids even existed! Here they are learning they are a part of a bigger community of believers and they have a lot in common with them. The Body of Christ has suddenly gotten a lot larger for them and they are realizing they are part of something that is really BIG!

This week’s camp focused on Bible story. We acted some out and put on plays, and acted out others and made a Power Point presentation of our group in costume! The Bible came alive for them mostly because it wasn’t only heard, but it was experienced and reflected on. The campers had a chance to understand better the culture into which Jesus was born by playing the part of the different people who lived then. We heard from a pastor-turned-into-a-Roman Centurion (who told us Caesar would protect and provide for us), a member of the Sanhedrin, and a Tax Collector. We met Anna, the prophetess in the Temple who was waiting for the savior. A Zealot who talked about the need for a revolutionary Messiah who would conquer Rome and restore Israel, and a group of Essenes who had escaped the corrupt society, choosing instead to live in the wilderness, invited us to join them. All were waiting for a savior, a messiah who would restore order, and each tried to convince us that they had the right answer.

Jesus has also visited Camp Mar-Lu Ridge. We joined him and shared a Seder meal with him. We heard him give an entirely new meaning to the Meal, when he told us that he was the Pascal Lamb who would be sacrificed. And we experienced the profound continuance of this Jewish feast into a new Christian Sacrament of Holy Communion when we heard Jesus tell us to “do this in memory of me.”

Afterward we went with him to pray in the garden, but our prayer time was interrupted by soldiers who took him away and beat him. We were present the next day at the Sanhedrin trial and heard the High Priest condemn him. Both Rajan and Solome were part of the trial, and acting out their parts was demanding and difficult.

We look forward tomorrow to doing a couple service projects at a local farm and community center. On Friday, before returning home, we will experience peeking into the tomb in the early morning hours and finding it empty. And we look forward to meeting Jesus as he comes through the doors of the chapel. Doubting Thomas will also have a chance to check out the wounds of the resurrected Christ and to believe! Through all of this drama, we will experience in new and profound ways the Christ who overcame the cross and the grave.

We look forward to returning with new insights, new friends, and memories that last a lifetime! Be sure to check the bulletin board outside the church office for camp photos.

FROM THE NEW VICAR

My name is Christine May and I will be interning at Christ Lutheran beginning in August. I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate in God’s work in D.C. with you!

I am attending seminary at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, although we live in Falls Church, Virginia. Prior to attending seminary I was a stay-at-home mom and a special education teacher. My husband, Don, is a lobbyist for the American Hospital Association. Don and I have three children – Carter (age 10 – almost), Jackson (age 8 – almost), and Cooper (age 5). They are fun and creative children. Their interests include: soccer, baseball, guitar, Legos, and animals. My home congregation is Bethlehem Lutheran in Fairfax, Virginia. My family plans to attend Christ predominately and visit our home congregation on occasion.

I have a strong interest in justice and equality, both locally and globally. I am also passionate about the church’s relevancy and education. Besides running my kids around and attending seminary, I enjoy reading, distance running, and traveling (although I haven’t done as much of this as I would like). I look forward to meeting all of you and sharing our lives in Christ together.

Extra Tax Break

By Bob Sylwester

If you are over 70 ½ and are required to make withdrawals from an IRA, for 2007 the IRS is offering a tax break. If you have the withdrawal sent directly from the financial institution to the church, you pay no tax on the distribution. The distribution does not qualify as a charitable deduction but your tax saving could be significant, especially if you do not itemize. This may help you meet your Alive in Christ or yearly pledge. This law is in effect only for 2007 and is part of the Pension Act of 2006. Because the distribution generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, even non-itemizers can benefit. You may transfer up to $100,000 for the year. See you financial advisor on accountant for more information.

This graphic is the Stephen Ministry logo, which consists of a cross and a circle, together with a broken person and a whole person. The broken person stands behind the cross, symbolizing the brokenness in our lives as a result of our sin. The whole person stands in front of the cross because it is through the cross of Christ that we are again made whole. The circle symbolizes both the wholeness we receive through Christ and God’s unending love for us. As a Stephen Ministry Congregation, each of us is called to be instruments of God’s healing love for each other and all of creation. For more details about our newly forming Stephen Ministry, contact Pastor Renata, Carla Howery or Vicar Jeanne.

STEPHEN MINISTRY: A CONGREGATIONAL INITIATIVE AND

A CONFIDENTIAL MINISTRY

By Carla B. Howery, Co-Coordinator, Stephen Ministry

WE ARE ALL PART OF THE STEPHEN MINISTRY

Stephen Ministry is based on the idea that all Christians are ministers. The responsibility for passing on God’s love is for all Christians, not just for a chosen few. God has given us all gifts for ministry and called us to put those gifts to use. Stephen Ministry is a place where people with special gifts for caring ministry can use those gifts to bring Christ’s love to people in need. If you are interested in reading some of the books the Stephen Ministers are using, contact Carla Howery to purchase copies, at cost of:

Christian Caregiving: A Way of Life $16

Speaking Truth in Love $14

Stephen Ministry will be part of Christ Lutheran Church’s overall caregiving, which includes pastoral care, prayer, random acts of kindness, and organized acts of kindness! The recent generosity of the congregation in donations to Stephen Ministry at the Strawberry Festival and in the proposed budget shows the commitment of our Church.

AND YET, STEPHEN MINISTERS HAVE SOME IMPORTANT BOUNDARIES

Probably the dominant theme of Stephen Ministry is that it is Christ-centered. But a runner up theme is the importance of confidentiality. In the 50 hours of training the Stephen Ministers receive, they are continually reminded of the need to keep names and information of care receivers confidential.

Indeed, at the January training that Renata, Jeanne, and I attended in Florida, we had role playing exercises where we, as Stephen Leaders, had to ask a Stephen Minister to end her/his ministry because of a violation of confidentiality. It was tough in a role playing to do this, especially with a (role playing) Stephen Minister convincing us s/he was sorry and that it would not happen again. We felt like heels but we dug in our heels. Confidentiality cannot be breached.

Some members of Christ Church have expressed concern that Stephen Ministers could be or are a “secret society.” Yes and no. Yes, in that we keep secrets and will take considerable lengths to do so. After the 50 hours of training, in addition to doing continuing education, we will meet twice a month in peer supervisory groups. We can share concerns about our care receivers and how the relationship is going. In those groups, we will not use people’s names or identifiers.

Of course in a small congregation it is hard not to “guess” about whom the Minister is speaking, even without a name as an identifier. But even IF one or all of us CAN identify (or think we can) the person, we will not use a name ourselves, ask for the name, nor never reveal anything about the person and their situation to anyone outside the supervisory group. You have our word on that! As the program grows, we hope to have more Stephen Ministers AND more care receivers, including people outside the congregation (your neighbors, friends, co-workers) as well as members of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. If/when that happens, there will be less chance of knowing the care receiver.

But NO, Stephen Ministry is not a secret society. It’s a congregational mission where everyone plays a supportive part. We are happy to talk about our training, our ideas, how others might help. For example, David Blakemore will help us with assessment of depression, using his professional counseling skills and some standardized instruments. We hope other members with pertinent expertise will help with training, referrals, and consultation. We will share our books (see above) and our excitement. We will ask you for help with tasks, to complement the “sitting beside and offering prayer” (a “cool cup of water”) that is the Stephen Minister’s role. But the Pastor or Vicar will make such requests, so it will never be known if the person receiving “task help” has a Stephen Minister or not.

Members of Christ Church who want to receive care will, no doubt, have relationships with some of the Stephen Ministers prior to coming together in these new roles, and after doing so. When the “matches” are made (by Renata and Carla), the care receiver will certainly have to think about any prior relationship with a possible Stephen Minister and will make his/her preferences known. Once the caregiving relationship has come to a close (and that’s a slightly formal process), then many Stephen Ministers and care receivers continue some kind of friendship of their mutual choosing. Some do not. The care receiver may disclose to others that s/he had a Stephen Minister, but not vice versa.

The essence of the caregiving relationship is that it is a SAFE HAVEN to express feelings, doubts, sadness, concerns, needs, and so forth. The care receiver must be free from concern that her/his feelings and story will be heard by others. The loving God to whom we turn in times of need is our model. We will listen and pray with the person and let God be the CUREgiver. But the thoughts, words, tears, laughs, and prayers are kept in that loving circle of the Stephen Minister, the care receiver, and our God. Nothing will go outside that loving circle. Would you not want that assurance for yourself?

VBS 2007: The Great Bible Reef

By Linda Ott

Put on your flippers and scuba gear and imagine you are at the bottom of the ocean. This year we made an attempt to turn the undercroft into an ocean floor and, with the help of our Vacation Bible School attendees, we made scuba divers, fish, and other underwater creatures to make the ocean come to life. We have a whale and octopus but no sharks…yet! This year we had a record number of kids: 41 ranging in age from 2 to 15. VBS supporters have come forward to tell the stories, prepare the meals, serve as group or activity leaders, set up, clean up, herd children from one activity to another, register and sign-in attendees each night, and, frankly, do whatever we ask to ensure that things run smoothly.

The magic of VBS is bringing together the children from our congregation, the neighborhood, the Latino Lutheran church, and the Oromo congregation to get tossed into our ocean together and learn about God’s love for them and how God wants us to show that love to others. Each night this year we had a theme word; Monday: Care, Tuesday: Help, Wednesday: Trust, Thursday: Believe, and Friday: Listen. Our story, craft, music, group, and game time all supported that theme. The children had a short Bible verse to remember each session. We also collected money to be used to stock a fish farm—a way for the children to put action behind the message and help others.

This year we were blessed by an exceptional group of kids—they have been wonderfully willing to help and were appreciative of the opportunity to join us for this week of exploring the great Bible reef. Some of the VBS attendees will join us in worship on July 1 to share VBS songs.

The Ear of Christ

After three years of instruction with Pastor Renata, Vicar Gretchen, Vicar Jeanne, shepherds Kendall Bentz (Abraham) and Karin Klingman (Alex), these two young men were confirmed on Trinity Sunday, June 3.

Alexander Chesley Noll, son of Wayne and Penelope Pohlman Noll, was born August 8, 1992 in Silver Spring, MD. He was baptized December 27, 1992 at Christ Lutheran Church, Washington, DC.

Abraham Wege, son of Teshome W. Duke and Berhane Jirata Tesgara, was born April 23, 1991 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and baptized May 24, 1991 in Memeaessa Lutheran Church, Addis Ababa.

We wish them every blessing as they continue their faith journeys in the years to come.

The Duke Family (Teshome, Berhane, Abraham) has been renting a house from the estate of Emma Schlaifer for several years. Emma, a CLC member, died in October 2005. The Duke family has purchased this house at 1344 Kennedy, and are now proud homeowners! Congratulations!

Lizzy Hecht is in South Africa for two weeks to play soccer and participate in AIDS awareness training with South African peer-age girls. Lizzy and ten of her DC Blast teammates left June 24 for Cape Town and will be going to Port Elizabeth before returning home on July 9. Her trip is being chronicled in the Washington Post, so you can follow her progress and review the team’s blog at www.washingtonpost.com/worldsunited. The girls raised $60,000 for the trip and plan to leave $10,000 to keep a soccer program going in Port Elizabeth after they leave.

Steve Benson, former CLC Music Director, has accepted a position as Director of Music at Peace Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Peace Lutheran has a thriving and active music program, including another paid staff person who directs several bell choirs and a volunteer director of the children’s choirs. Steve says he is looking forward to coordinating their programming and working with their choir. He adds that they will be renovating the choir gallery and doing some work on the pipe organ to improve its tonal palette. Steve extends an invitation to visit or come sing with them after they resume in the fall.

Woody Jewett and his partner Dr. Takashi Yamashita are moving to Portland, Oregon, June 30 so Takashi can accept a two-year appointment as visiting associate professor of economics at Reed College. The move was considered exciting enough -- despite its temporary nature -- that he resigned from his former university where he had tenure. They have purchased a 2BR condo minutes from a marina and park on the left bank (southwest quadrant) of the Willamette River. Come and visit, says Woody. To celebrate the move they're headed to Asia with Andrew (26) and Caroline (24) for two weeks to see Hong Kong and Taiwan. New address is:

Charles Wood Jewett Jr. &
Dr. Takashi Yamashita

1616 SW Harbor Way, Apt 408

Portland Oregon 97201

home 503/224-0778

cell 310/570-9744

CLC was well represented in the Komen National Race for the Cure on June 2 for a record turnout on the National Mall. Pastor Renata was among the runners as were Eric Sylwester and friend, Tammie Dzybrac. The walkers included Janet, Dean and Sharon Kelly, Bob and Sara Sylwester, former members Marie Williamson, Roberta and

Elizabeth Pittman, Karl and Deborah Krchma, Janet Kelly's brother and sister-in-law from Endicott, NY, Lynn and Fran Price, Lynn's son and granddaughter from Crofton, MD, Lynn Price II and Eva Price. Of course, we all went the extra mile after the Race to the traditional "Brunch for the Cure!" To everyone who turned out and to those who contributed but were unable to participate on Race day, Janet says “Thank you for supporting the Holy Cross Team in the fight against breast cancer!”

On Sunday, June 10, Sharon Kelly completed her 14th finish in the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in 2 hours, 19 minutes -- almost her best time ever! Thanks to everyone who supported Sharon in this event for the March of Dimes. The GCBS has become so popular worldwide as one of the most challenging open-water swims that entries are now done by lottery. Only 600 swimmers are accepted! We're keeping our fingers crossed that Sharon will get in again next year and get her 15-year plaque. This event has been in existence for only 19 years.

News from the Sylwester household: Bonnie sent Bob an electronic Father's Day card from http://www.lutheransonline.com. Bob remarks that he has a few wayward relatives who will soon be getting Lutheran cards.

From Mike and Kathy Gelner: Greetings from Mongolia! We wanted a place for our vacation that was the opposite of living in Guangzhou -- a destination that had cool weather, was low in humidity, had blue skies and few people but lots of birds -- and Mongolia was the answer! We just spent five days living in a ger (yurt) in a nature preserve and it was wonderful. We are now in Ulaan Baatar, the capital. We also spent a few days in Beijing on our way here. Other news is that Tim is living with us and working in the Consulate in the computer section this summer, Andreas graduated with honors from Montgomery College and will start at U of MD in the fall and recently visited us in China, and Elizabeth and Will Covey just got engaged! Liz is finishing her post-Bacc pre-med course at Georgetown and will be working and applying to med schools during the next year. Will, who is also a Foreign Service kid, is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins School of International Studies. It was wonderful to be able to worship at CLC and see everyone when we visited on Easter. We plan to be back in the U.S. for home leave in October.

Focus on new member: Matthew Rist

By Charles Fortson

Matthew Rist is the youngest son of CLC members Ray and Marilee Rist. After graduating from Walt Whitman High School he attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in philosophy (because he didn’t like taking tests).

While at the university, he volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club in North Philadelphia. He spent his first year after graduation working there, as well. Then Matthew and his best friend James Shepperd—who, along with his wife Jana, is a member of Christ Lutheran—took time out to experience Hawaii for six months. Matthew next attended graduate school in Amsterdam and earned a master’s degree in philosophy. After attending law school at the University of Arizona, he joined the Public Defender’s staff in Baltimore and now works on the Downtown Circuit Court staff.

In 2004 Matthew traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia, to serve as best man when James and Jana Shepperd were married. While there he met his future wife, Lucia Vrankova. In June of 2006, Matthew and Lucia welcomed the light of their lives: Lukas Charles Rist.

Matthew likes football and reggae music and loves his family and friends. He also likes everything about Christ Lutheran Church—the pastor, the music, and the congregation. He cherishes all he experienced growing up in this church and looks forward to having his son experience the same traditions.