Notes of Joy for the Week of October 6, 2019
Our Mission Statement

We of Joy Lutheran Church foster 
grace-filled relationships with Christ
through worship, fellowship, and service. 
Luke 17:5-10
A little faith goes a long way is our Lord’s point in the gospel. A mustard seed’s-worth has miraculous potential. The patience, tenacity, and endurance required for the life of faith are the blessings received in water and the word (holy baptism), bread and wine (holy communion), the word read and proclaimed in this assembly. Anticipate them. Receive them with thanksgiving.
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FEMA & Earthquake Repair Update
Members of Joy:

Here's an update on the status of repairs to our facility; there's good news and some just so-so news.  

  1. Bottom line is that Joy is still in FEMA's queue to get our repairs accomplished - good news.
  2. FEMA's Consolidated Resource Center (CRC) prepared a scope of work for our sheet rock and concrete repair. However, the estimated cost of repairs far exceeds what is actually required. For example, the scope of work calls for extensive sheet rock replacement when crack repair would be the appropriate fix. Obviously we need to reconcile these differences which is going to take more time - so-so news.  
  3. Our state representatives continue to support Jan and I at every turn - good news. And FEMA just recently appointed a new representative to work with Joy and the state - also good news.
  4. Once we (Joy, the state and FEMA) agree on a scope of work, the state will hire a project manager and we'll be able to get the work done. 
  5. Of course this process will all take more time. Thanks for your patience up to this point; please bear with us in the future. 

- Jan D. and Wayne R.

Pick.Click.Give.
As Alaskans, we have all heard the slogan, “Pick.Click.Give.”  This October 3 rd , all eligible Alaskans will receive their annual Permanent Fund Dividend. The Dividend this year will be $1,600. Unfortunately we cannot “Pick.Click.Give.” to Joy Lutheran this year, but there is still a “golden” opportunity to help support Joy Lutheran Church by donating a portion of your 2019 Dividend to Joy.

To donate electronically, please click the green "Donate" button at the end of this newsletter.

Thanksgiving Blessing
The Chugiak Eagle River Thanksgiving Blessing committee held our first 2019 planning meeting. This year’s event will be Mon., November 25. Area churches, Food Bank of AK, and many volunteers provide families in need with a Thanksgiving turkey and all the fixings. In mid-October we will share more information and a link to LOVE Inc’s online volunteer sign-up page in the Notes of Joy newsletter. Joy Lutheran Church will have a separate sign-up sheet for in-house hosting volunteers. 
(Spoiler Alert: “peas”)

-Jan Deering

Interested in Joining Joy Lutheran Church?
Contact the office at 694-9601 or joylutheran@gmail.com and let us know you’d like to explore a deeper relationship with Joy Lutheran Church.
Confirmation & Children's Ministry
As you know, we are gearing up for our Interim Pastor to  start on Sunday, October 20 th .  When the council asked what was important to Joy, confirmation classes were at the top of the list! Pastor Karen has also expressed that confirmation classes are one of the favorite parts of her job! This sounds like a perfect match! Children’s ministry is also an area that has received a lot of interest. There are folks stepping up to help put this together so the first step is to hear from you. 

You will find an insert in your Sunday bulletin that will be used to gather some information about Joy’s confirmation and children’s ministry. We want to determine who is interested in attending, ages, preferred meeting times and if you can help. Please return this insert by October 20th. You can also call the office at 694-9601 or email at  Joylutheran@gmail.com  with your response.

There's a link below to print and complete at home if more convenient.


Volunteer Opportunities

Lawn Rangers Needed - Fall Edition
As we begin Fall with cooler temps at night, the grass starts to go dormant. However, the leaves are falling and the gardens need to be cleaned out for winter - so there's still work to be done. If you have a hankering for some lawn and garden work, we'd love to have some help (after the rain and before we finally admit we need to call that termination dust "snow").

Worship Assistants Sought
Our Worship Assistant Schedule is extremely empty.  Please take a few moments to consider if you can help with future worship services. It’s hard to scramble at the last minute to fill openings. There are many positions and training is available if you have never volunteered or it has been awhile. Just add your name to the schedule on the Opportunities bulletin board in the narthex. Contact the office if you’d like training.  THANK YOU!
JCDC is Hiring!
Joy Child Development Center is accepting applications for teachers.   Must b e 18 y.o. or older. They are most in need of staff whom are willing and able to start when the center opens at 6:30am, or work a later shift until closing at 6:30pm. If interested, please contact the director, Robin O’Mara at 694-2755.
Weekly Worship Assistant Schedule
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. We share a light dinner and then move on to our book discussion. It’s fun and thought provoking! We have all grown from it.

  • October 21 – Betty Veldhuis is hosting; the book is Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
  • November - Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep - We are looking for a host for this one.
  • December - The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates - Sue Weimer will host.
  • January - Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck - Wayne & Judy Rush are hosting.
 
Everyone is welcome! If you haven’t read the book, just come and enjoy the evening with us.
Joy Church Council Members
Sue Weimer
Scooter Bentson
Clarke Hemphill
Tom Bird
Debby Bird
Dina Torres, Treasurer


The next church council meeting is Tuesday, October 15 at 7:00pm.