October 2023 Anno Domini

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." Matthew 2:9-12
La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church

6300 E Bell Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Tel (480) 948-1234
lacasadecristo.com
Key Dates This Month
PURPOSE

My daughter received a rhyme Bible when she was a toddler. My husband and I would read the book to her on a regular basis, but the favorite rhyme was about Jonah. I can still recite it to this day...

God said to Jonah, "I have a little task; get up and go to Nineveh, and do what I ask. The people there are wicked, so tell them to obey; but Jonah got on board a ship and sailed the other way." And our girl would say the next line, "Uh, oh, Jonah, you should've gone to Nineveh."

Unlike the wisemen in the verse above, who were warned in a dream to go home a different way and obeyed in order to fulfill God's purpose for his Son, Jonah was trying to avoid God's purpose for his life by running from what the Lord was asking him to do because it was too hard. It did him no good to try to run from doing God's will and there were consequences, namely a windstorm, being thrown overboard, and ending up in the belly of a whale.

There is a saying: "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called." How many times have we been asked to fulfill a need that we do not feel qualified to carry out or seems too difficult, so we say 'No' without even praying about it? I know I have felt that way, but I'm reminded over and over that God is with me and will direct my path.

I encourage you to take a leap of faith when you feel God tugging on your heart to use the gifts He has given you. You will be a blessing to others, but, more likely, you will be blessed beyond measure. At La Casa de Cristo, there are so many ways to do just that!

Lord, thank you for the ways you have gifted us and please help us discover our purpose and to do Your will, regardless of whether or not we feel we are equipped for the task. Show us where we can be most effective and bring others alongside us to disciple us and to be in fellowship with. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen!

Nancy G.

October is a month where we truly celebrate fall and, of course, events such as our Trunk or Treat and more! In the life of the church, it is also a big month. We look forward to Confirmation weekend, Reformation weekend, and then we have All Saint’s Sunday coming soon.    
 
I would like to suggest, however, that we recognize that EVERY weekend worship opportunity here is special! We sometimes look to “big events” and “special Sundays,” and it is certainly true that we have many major and minor festivals in the life of the church calendar.
 
But, in the early church, and reinforced by the Reformers including Martin Luther, EVERY Sunday was considered to be a “mini-Easter,” a time for a true celebration of the first Easter Sunday. 
 
Sadly, in a world of multiple sports events, soccer fields that are open all weekend from 6am-6pm, sports events that often consume us and our schedules, and streaming and entertainment options that give us ample opportunity to skip worship, we often see our worship as “one option among many” on the weekends. 
 
My encouragement to you is, 'keep the main thing the main thing' season in and season out. Let us not major in the minors, but keep worship central in our lives. Scripture tells us when we “seek first His Kingdom and righteousness, all things will be added unto us as well” (Matthew 6.33). Let’s keep it all in perspective, and celebrate every worship opportunity as a “mini-Easter.”
 
In Christ,

Pastor Jeff Ruby, Lead Pastor
The Mount of Beatitudes
On the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, amongst some rolling hills, sits the Mount of Beatitudes. This is the traditional location where Jesus shared his famous sermon from Matthew 5. It is a beautiful site overlooking the lake.

"Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said:
'Blessed are the poor in spirit,
  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
  for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
  for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
  for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
  for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
  for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
  for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"
(Matthew 5:1-10)
 
The Mount of Beatitudes was marked with a Byzantine church in the 4th century. A modern Roman Catholic Franciscan chapel, The Church of The Beatitudes, was completed in 1938. It was designed by the reputable Italian architect, Antonio Barluzzi.
Where is this piece of stained glass located in the Sanctuary? 
And what is depicted on it?
In 1517, where did Martin Luther post his 95 Theses?
A local market in Wittenberg
To the church door in Wittenberg
Instagram
A coffee shop
What inspired Martin Luther to become a monk
A dream
A near death experience
He liked the clothes
His father
The answers will be in the next
What's Happening Wednesday e-News.
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Royal Family Kids Camp
Royal Family Kids Camp champions resiliency, self-esteem, hope and positive memories through an amazing five-day summer camp experience for children ages 7-11 in foster care. The camp curriculum and activities are designed to enhance trust-based relationships and a lifetime of uplifting experiences for these amazing children. This year we took 42 kids to camp where they experienced horse-back riding, bible study, fishing, friendships, a surprise birthday party complete with gifts for each kid, as well as lots and lots of incredible activities. On Thursday, October 26, we will celebrate the success of camp, recap the fun memories, and learn about what is new with RFKC during a special dinner at 6pm in Fellowship Hall. Please join us to learn more about this incredible ministry, our plans for RFKC 2024, as well as how YOU can make a positive difference in the lives of children who need us most. RSVP here. For more info, contact Kyle Treude at kyle@azroyalfamily.com.

Sanctuary Choir

With Dr. Jeremy Peterman
 
Many of us in the choir, along with some other church members and friends, are on our way to Europe. We arrive on Oct. 6 and will perform quite a number of times in Germany, Austria, and Czechia (the Czech Republic).

My task is devising a 30 minute organ/choir concert at St. Francis of Assisi Church in downtown Prague. The choir will sing some choral arrangements, and I’ll sprinkle some organ solos throughout. I’ve entitled the concert “Peace Amid the Chaos” and it will feature two arrangements based on hymn texts attributed to St. Francis, along with a Kum Ba Ya variation and Philip Glass’s “Mad Rush” for solo organ which will obviously characterize the chaos in my concert title. I think it’ll be a nice balance of repertoire, though we’ll likely have to pull this concert off with 30 minutes of rehearsal time or less in the church’s sanctuary. I've gotta find that “peace” portion of our concert’s title…

Oh, having been built in 1702, this organ was most definitely played by Mozart during his times in Prague!
Happy October! Members of the choir and friends, Dr. Jeremy Peterman/organist, and I will be experiencing and sharing music, visiting Wittenberg, St. Thomas (Bach’s Church) and other historic sites throughout Germany and Czechoslovakia from October 5-16. Please keep everyone in your prayers.

In other news, there are some very exciting concerts on the horizon:

Sunday, October 8 @ 3:00 pm - Sonoran Desert Chorale - Get tickets here.
Sunday, October 22 @ 4:00 pm - Alleluia orchestra - Concert of Hope - Free event
Sunday, October 29 @3:00 pm - Grand Canyon University Chorale and orchestra – Requiem Dan Forrest & Beethoven C Major Mass - Free event

Jennifer Sheldon, Director of Music and Worship
🎼 Get to Know Your Choir

Jan DeJarnett and Jeannie Redon, twins

We have just begun our second season in the La Casa choir where we are thriving because of the gifted leadership of Jennifer and Jeremy, not to mention the special bonus of fellowship of our choral brothers and sisters who have embraced us and adopted us into their family. We have so much fun in choir, especially laughing at the non-stop “Jennifer-isms.” Jeannie is a second soprano and Jan, an alto.

We were born “wombmates” in the first half of the twentieth century in San Diego and grew up 40 miles east in the mountain community of Descanso. We both made the most important decisions of our lives as young children: asking Jesus into our hearts. At a very young age we began singing harmony in duets and children’s choirs and have continued to sing in choirs ever since. Jan was a church pianist for many years.

Jeannie was a nurse and worked for a few years until she was diagnosed with Lupus and had to go on disability. She and her husband were greenhouse farmers in San Diego. One of her biggest challenges of faith has been her daughter’s struggle with having had a double lung transplant and the subsequent years of gradual rejection.

Jan and her husband were transferred to Phoenix in 1978. A few years later, they both quit their jobs to form their own company, a private label food brokerage. After 40 years of marriage, God called him home.

Once Jeannie retired, she was free to come to Phoenix and help Jan with the sale of her business and to assist in the care of Jan’s husband and their live-in great aunt. After 40 years of living apart, we were reunited and, God willing, plan to stay that way until “death do us part.” We live together and share one car because we are never apart. We both love to travel and have been doing quite a bit of it while we’re still blessed with good health.

We met Pastor Susan at the gym a few years ago and she told us about La Casa. There are many factors which drew us here... most importantly, sound Biblical teaching by the pastors; liturgy and the creeds which remind us weekly of our need for repentance, soul-searching, and the affirmation of our faith; and the music. Though the hymns are old, their theology is always relevant. Singing them with a robust congregation is awesome and we believe the choir is a catalyst to inspiring all to sing and worship.

Jeannie’s favorite hymns are: “Near to the Heart of God” and “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” Jan’s: “The Love of God” and “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” We look forward to many years of serving our Savior at La Casa with the special gifts He has given us.

MOMS' meetings are in full swing for 2023/24. We minister to moms with children ages 0 to 18. The mission of MOMS at La Casa de Cristo is to encourage, educate, and equip every mom in every season of motherhood, using Christian values to strengthen families and to leave NO MOM ALONE.

Registration is still open and you can find more information and register at www.lacasadecristo.com/moms/. We have outstanding speakers to help you with your own faith, family and raising children. We hope you will join us.

* * * * * * * * *

As the holidays are fast approaching, Women's Ministry presents The Christmas Gathering on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 9:00am in the Gathering Place. Sue Heimer, our guest speaker, will help us prepare our hearts for Advent and Christmas seasons. Our table hostesses are planning a beautiful setting for this event. Register here.

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Breakaway Weekend 2024 is coming on January 19-21 at Little America in Flagstaff. Here is the link to register.

Our theme is: "The Divine Interruption"
Session 1: Interrupted by Bumblebees and Hollywood
Session 2: Interrupted by Bad News
Session 3: Interrupted by Hormones
Session 4: Interrupted by Doubt

Please join me and make this the best retreat ever since this will be my last one directing!

Jennine Ulibarri, Director of Women's Ministry
Ignite Kids

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12b. 

The above verse goes with our latest theme in Ignite kids, GLOW. It is also our current verse of the month. Through this series, we have been learning all about how we can be a light for Jesus in all that we do through Bible stories that talk about light. We are excited to conclude our Glow series on October 8 by having our very own Glow party during Ignite kids that morning. We encourage all kids to WEAR white for this fun event! 

On September 17 we had 20 children receive their First Communion at our 10:30am worship service. The participants learned what communion is, why we do it and how it is an important reminder of the great love Jesus has for us. The children sat together at a large table during worship to help remind us of this important meal we have together as a church family. The students also got to etch a glass plate and cup to remind them of this important day in their faith life here at La Casa. 

I am hopeful that October will bring cooler weather for our fun family event, Trunk or Treat. This event is an outreach to our community to bring people to our campus to show them the love and light of Jesus. There are many people involved in this event that attracts in excess of 3,000 people to La Casa de Cristo each year. At the heart of Trunk or Treat are our trunk decorators. They spend hours decorating their vehicles and passing out candy to the young (and sometimes old!) of our community. We also have many people that donate pounds of candy that keeps our trunk decorators supplied with goodies. As a member of the Scottsdale/Phoenix neighborhood, we are so happy to share in this community gathering. Please invite your family, friends and neighbors to this fun, free, festive event! For more information or to help, go to lacasadecristo.com/trunkortreat for all the details.

Please consider joining us in one of the three ways above to show our community the love of Jesus right here on our La Casa campus. 

Staci Medina, Director of Children's Ministry
October! It is officially autumn, which means cozy apparel, your favorite chilly weather recipes, and colorful fall foliage. Well, maybe not for the Valley of the Sun, but I like to think about going up north to enjoy that. October is also packed with food-centric 'holidays,' such as National Dessert Day; I, being a foodie, know of 17 national food days during the month.

However, to me, the most special part of October is Confirmation Weekend here at La Casa de Cristo, which is an opportunity for teenagers to publicly “confirm” their faith in Jesus Christ.

I spend a little over two years getting to know the students who are now freshman in High School. As we go through the classes, trips, girl/guy nights and Sunday mornings, we grow our relationship with Jesus and each other, learning the importance of church community. Lifelong friendships and memories are made and teens experience the love of God and make personal commitments to follow Jesus for life.

An important part of each confirmand's journey is their prayer sponsor, who commits to praying for and encouraging him or her during the two year period. If this is something you can do, I would love to have you partner with me in praying for our youth. Please email me at sscudder@lacasadecristo.com.

Confirmation is an emotional and uplifting weekend as we celebrate the teens and their families. I would like to personally invite the entire congregation to come out the weekend of October 21/22 and support the teens and their special weekend as they run all four services.

You are in for a treat when you listen to what confirmation means to them and how the program has helped them grow their faith.

Suzan Scudder, Director of Jr. High Ministry
You can’t beat this monthly activity!

Arizona Musicfest offers HealthRHYTHMS Group Drumming Sessions on Thursdays beginning at 4:00pm. This free event is held in the Community Room at 7950 E. Thompson Peak Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ 85255. Frank Thompson facilitates this hour-long session designed to build community using percussion instruments. All instruments are provided. No experience necessary. Please let Frank know to expect you by clicking here to RSVP. The next two monthly dates are: October 26, 2023 and November 30, 2023.

Another upbeat monthly option on Wednesdays is West African Drumming (the next one is November 1, 2023). This class is also lead by Frank Thompson and is held in the community room at Arizona Musicfest, 7950 E. Thompson Peak Pkwy. These classes will guide you through learning techniques and styles on the Djembe and Djun (drums). There is no cost for these classes and drums are provided for each participant. Please RSVP at www.azmusicfest.org/drumming-rsvp.

Blessings,
Donna Bosley
Health Ministry was so pleased to have so many people stop by the table at our Get Connected Sunday. I met some great people and received more ideas of classes folks are interested in. One of the suggestions was to have a support group for those in chronic pain. I would be happy to lead such a group if I knew how many people are interested. If you are, please give me a call at the church or drop me an email at jknowling@lacasadecristo.com.  
 
I have many helpful presentations on the horizon. On Sun., October 8, join me for Medicare 101. No need to sign up; just come to the Fellowship Hall @9:15am to learn the abc’s of Medicare. On Sunday, October 15 @9:15 in Fellowship Hall, Duet will be giving a presentation on the scope of their services to family caregivers, home-bound and aging adults, and grandparents raising their grandchildren. On Thursday, November 9, Tyler White will be here to educate us on Estate Planning in Classroom A @10am. Also, I am excited to have Jan Hertzfeld with us for an 8-week Diabetes Empowerment Education Program, beginning November 7 from 9:30-11am in Room D. Matter of Balance classes will take place over eight weeks, beginning on January 19, 2024. Keep checking the weekly e-news for information. I am looking forward to seeing you all there.

"Protect Your Bones At Any Age" is a helpful article for men and women that you can read by clicking here.

As your Parish Nurse, I am here to serve you. God bless.

Jean Knowling, R.N.
Parish Nurse
Shelby Acotto
Ashley Adam
Katie Akhbari
John Akin
Anabelle Alderfer
Karen Allen
Scott Alles
Joan Altman
Lynda Altman
Kurt Altman
Laurel Andersen
Bob Anderson
Jo Anderson
Kim Atchison
Nate Baker
Mitchell Bakke
Derek Barker
Chip Barnes
Preston Barton
Ray Benage
Linda Berg
Abbey Block
Jim Bogues
Kelly Bohart
Kim Boynton
Griffin Brandt
Kimmie Brown
Annie Brown
Blake Browning
Nola Bundschuh
Cheryl Burross
Sydney Busch
Char Butters
Matt Butters
Frank Chan
Nancy Chase
Michael Clark
Brad Clement
Katherine Clements
Lorrie Culloton
Ben Danner
Kristen Daugs
Cindy Davis
Heidi Derbak
Lori Fedorka
Cliff Frink
Carly Froyum
Emily Furnish
Jim Gabrielson
Lyle Gall
Brian Gibbs
Judy Goodrich
Thomas Gray
Chris Green
Cynthia Gruenemeier
Suzanne Gunnell
Chris Haenel
Dan Halaburda
Samantha Hanson
Jill Hanson
Jim Harter
Maria Hauser
Carrie Hauser
Alex Hayes
Luann Helepololei
Jerri Henry
Jake Hilgendorf
Cara Hoffman
Linda Hoffmann
Lucas Holben
Terry Jansen
Elly Johnson
Judy Johnson
Noah Keegan
Kristi Kelly
Carolyn Kendall
Russ Kirk
Becky Kirk
Rick Knowling
Jennifer Kroening
Barbara Lang
Lisa Larson
John LaRue
Drew Laursen
John Layman
Sandra Leicken
Conchetta Lesser
Michelle Lindstrom
Terri Lorch
Katie MacDonell
Randy Marema
Malori Marin
Kelly McKennon
Rod McKinley
Kim Meloche
Scott Minard
Steve Minard
Jim Minter
Janelle Minter
Jason Moore
Dawn Moorer
Bill Moss
Kimberly Moulton
Matthew Mowrey
Jim Mueller
Jim Mueller
Eve Murillo
Drew Murwin
Katie Musselmann
Riley Ness
Tatum Ness
Ron Nickel
Rebecca Noble
Kristin Nordeen
Helen Noyes
Mary Nutting
Lucile Oglesby
Dave Oglesby
Natalia Olson
Howard Pals
Sharla Pancamo
Phil Parker
Dori Parsons
Rachel Peterman
Zack Potthoff
Madison Rand
Peggy Redifer
Sarah Reynolds
Don Richardson
Chris Riggers
Owen Rinehart
Carl Robbins
Linda Robens
Mike Roberts
Dick Robinson
Jeff Ruby
Zachary Schade
Bryan Schanafelt
Karen Schellhase
Maria Schroeder
Quinn Seidman
Jaime Sexton
Becky Shaffer
Sande Shannahan
Pat Shannahan
Pam Shirvinski
Darlene Skarda
Lynne Smigiel
Judith Smith
Mark Solem
Sydney St. Clair
Mark Stephens
Kristen Stevenson
Terry Stewart
Kennedy Stillwagon
Amy Storz
Katherine Swartz
Diane Tooker
Matthew Tresnak
Kyle Treude
Peg Vakula
Cade Valenti
Kris Voll-Laound
Jack Vossbrink
Anne Waltz
Celine Weldy
Diane Wenz
Gwen Westphal
Glenn White
Ila Whiteman
Beth Wilson
Linda Wilson
Renee Woods
Jan Wooten
Anthony Xavier
Noah Xavier
Malisa Zagami
Janet Zenti
Louise Zeurcher
Arnie & Barb Cowdery
62 years
Jack & Carroll Haydon
67 years
Gary & Kazuko Hess
51 years
Dean & Donna Lundquist
57 years
John & Sherri Nowak
55 years
Bill & Dorothy Rice
59 years
Frank & Pam Shirvinski
56 years
Lloyd & Linda Wallace
66 years
Roger & Diane Wenz
58 years
Jerry & Diane Zwick
50 years
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