Messiah Lutheran Church, Knoxville TN

This year, as part of Vision Messiah 2010, our congregation is seeking to focus its attention on the issue of Hunger, its causes, as well as the various initiatives and ministries that seek to give aid to over one billion people who suffer from hunger.  

During the month of September, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, and its parent organization Feeding America, are asking faith communities to take action to fight domestic hunger. Throughout Hunger Action Month, Feeding America’s nationwide network of more than 200 food banks is calling upon communities to take action through the “30 Ways in 30 Days” campaign.

Here at Messiah, we have a long history of taking action in local and global hunger ministry. Our FISH pantry, KARM meals, and support of the ELCA World Hunger Appeal are just three examples of Messiah’s action over the years to serve the poor and feed the hungry.

This month we’re asking you to find the way that’s right for you to make a difference. Whether it’s by advocating and raising awareness, making donations, or giving of your time and energy, consider how you might use this month as a time to further your involvement in hunger action. To assist you, we encourage you to take a look at page 3 to learn more about Messiah’s current hunger ministries. In addition, we invite you to bring a canned food to worship on Rally Day—Sept. 12—to give during the offering. All canned foods collected will go to Messiah’s FISH pantry. On Sept. 19 we’ll include a special offering for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal in our worship. Go to http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Responding-to-the-World/ELCA-World-Hunger.aspx to see ways in which your offering makes a difference in our church’s action against hunger.  You might also want to visit http://hungeractionmonth.org to take Second Harvest’s action pledge and to learn more about other ways you can observe Hunger Action Month.

The need in our community, country and throughout the world is tremendous, but so is the impact that we can make together. Let’s join together this month and take action.

WELCA plans to host a craft fair again this year on Saturday, November 6, 2010. In addition to a WELCA table and a bake sale table, outside crafters will be invited to participate. We plan to have craft items from Lutheran World Relief again. More information will be coming.

If you are a crafter and would like to secure a booth for the event, you may register by completing the attached form. For more information, contact Lynn White at 865-693-6275 or email Lynn.

Yoga is offered at Messiah each Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 4:30-5:30 pm in the fellowship hall. All work will be done on a mat. Through deep breathing, stillness of the mind and poses, yoga provides a wonderful form of exercise.

Students will be asked to sign a waiver. It is strongly suggested that you always discuss new exercise programs with your physician.

You will need a yoga mat and it is recommended that you bring a small soft blanket. Clothing should be loose fitting, such as, warm-up pants. If you have blocks, please bring those.

Cost $2.00/class.

Contact leader Libby Helle (679-2564) for more information.

Messiah is pleased to host overnight mission groups traveling to and from their destinations. In 2006, our facilities accommodated over 13 groups totaling more than 250 people. Groups bring their own sleeping bags and bedrolls and sleep in the shelter of our facilities.

For more information, please email or call Kristin in the church office.

OWLs (Older, Wiser Lutherans) sponsor a weekly group—Coping with Loss/Grief Support Group. The group meets in the church library on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm and is led by Lynn White, a retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has past experience in facilitating such groups.

Life is certainly filled with changes, and along with those changes we experience different kinds of losses. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 spells out these changes clearly:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance, a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Those 8 verses are a thorough description of the different phases we all experience in life’s journey. There is definitely a time “for every matter under heaven.” As we age, it seems as though losses increase, doesn’t it? We retire and are faced with a whole new life schedule. We lose friends and family members along the way in our life’s journey. Those losses naturally bring up a whole lot of different emotions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any emotion you may be feeling at any certain time. These emotions are natural reactions to the circumstances we may be facing. Emotions are real and grief encompasses a whole tangled ball of emotions. That tangled ball of emotions will be introduced at the first group meeting.

We hope to be a bridge for healing with this group as we share with each other and look at various authorities on the subject. If you find yourself in the position of coping with loss, whether it be health, loved ones, financial, etc., we encourage you to join us on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 1:00 pm in the church library.

The Messiah Book Group will meet Tuesday, April 7 at 7:00 pm in the church library to discuss The Gift of the Jews by Thomas Cahill. The discussion will be led by Georgia Phillippi. Anyone interested is welcome to attend, whether you’ve read the book or not.

Join Messiah Book Group for future discussions

The Messiah Book Group meets every couple months to discuss books. Anyone interested is invited to join the group for one or all of the discussions. The group will meet in the church library at 7:00 pm on the dates listed below for the book indicated.

•           September 13, 2010 - Discussion led by Pat Kopp

Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican
by Benjamin Blech & Roy Doliner

•           November 1, 2010 - Discussion led by Connie Cole

When Bad Things Happen to Good People
by Harold S. Kushner

Other books on the group’s list:

•           Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled,
            Beat-up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning

•           The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

•           The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

•           An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor

•           God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most
            Important Question–Why We Suffer by Bart D. Ehrman