JANUARY 2020 Christus Victor Lutheran Church - "To bring the Life, Love and Teachings of Jesus
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Christus Victor Lutheran Church
J A N UA RY 2 0 2 0
“ To b r i n g t h e L i f e , L o v e a n d Te a c h i n g s o f J e s u s
C h r i s t t o t o d a y ’s w o r l d ”
1
Hello Christus Victor Family and Friends:
Christmas is over and a New Year is just around the corner. I look back on 2019 and I realize how blessed I am to
serve at Christus Victor. While there are lots of ministry opportunities that come our way that all have great value, our
congregation has to be mindful of the size of our congregation and our resources. I am very proud of the ministry that
has taken place through this congregation. I have been humbly surprised by the people who have come forward with a
desire to move forward in one ministry area or another and are willing to do the work to make it happen. The vision
for being the hands of Jesus in very real ways is alive and well at Christus Victor.
As the year came to a close, Christus Victor was gifted $50,000 with some direction for its use. The people who have
made this incredible donation have chosen to be anonymous, but be assured, they have a deep commitment to ministry,
and great faith in this congregation. Stewardship is very important to the donors. As a congregation, we have not been
great with our stewardship in giving to the wider church. We are careful about how the money given to the ministry is
used, but we have been less than faithful in our stewardship to the Synod. Honestly, it has been hard to sit at synod
meetings where the budget is discussed and diagrams of where the money comes from. Our giving to the wider minis-
try is barely noticed. Therefore, the first 10% will be going to the synod.
After the offering to the Synod, we will be looking to purchase a new digital piano. It is no secret that our organ is not
in good shape. While it still can be played now and then, it cannot be used every week. This organ is very old and in
need of repairs that are cost prohibitive. Therefore, we need to begin to think about getting rid of this organ. It isn’t
reasonable for a congregation our size to invest in a new organ. While it is hard to find a person to lead music in wor-
ship for what we can pay, finding someone that plays the organ is going to get increasingly more difficult and expen-
sive. With all of the ways our worship ministry is growing, we need more space. The organ is very large and is basi-
cally unused. It is time for us to think about getting rid of the organ.
The digital piano we have now is used with an organ sound and most people probably couldn’t tell the difference.
However, this piano was purchased when the soundboard crashed on our last one, and we had limited time and money
to get a replacement. As our music program grows and what we do in worship expands, it is important to have equip-
ment that will serve us well and for several years. Trish and others are looking at what piano will serve all our needs,
with great sound, for several years, at a reasonable price.
Once that is purchased, the issues with the cracks in the sanctuary will be addressed. We have had our foundation in-
spected as many feel this could be the problem. It is not the problem. The two parts of the roof that are slanted on each
side of the sanctuary are bowed. If you go outside and look closely, you will see the problem. We have been given a
few bids to repair this and I have been pleasantly surprised that the bids are not more. There will be a group of people
who know way more than I do looking at these bids and making the decisions on moving forward. We were relieved
to hear that this problem would be easier and less expensive to fix than we thought.
Once these issues are addressed, we need to decide what to do next. In passing conversations there are several things
that people have mentioned that would update our worship space. Some things that have been talked about are new
flooring/carpet, new seating, fresh paint (which will likely be a part of the roofing fix), and changing light fixtures. A
group of individuals will be working on the full list and getting bids on each thing being consider. They will also be
prioritizing what the items on this list so that we can begin doing these things with the money we have been given, and
people will know that there are things that they can contribute to should the seed money not take care of it all.
I will be staying after worship on January 12th in order to have an open conversation about these plans. If you have a
desire to help with this process or you have concerns you want to be addressed, this would be the time to do that. We
will begin work on the roofing and purchasing a new piano immediately but other work in the sanctuary will take a
little longer. This meeting is the perfect opportunity for us to work together to make our worship space the most mean-
ingful it can be.
God Bless you All, Pastor Tammy
2
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Thank you for all the kind comments about the cantata. I hope it enhanced and brought extra
musical blessings to your Advent season. The choir truly had a wonderful time preparing it as
our musical gift to the church. I hope you noted the smiles from our singers. They truly do
have a fun time at choir rehearsals. I hope that as you evaluate your new year that you will
consider joining the choir and finding out how wonderful it feels to share God's word in song
or by ringing handbells.
Finally, I hope that your new year will be filled with many opportunities to show Christ's
love to others.
Musically yours,
Trish
3
Worship Committee
I was so busy last month, that I didn’t get a chance to put in an article for the VOICE in De-
cember, so here is a two-fer for January. You will notice in the Voice that we are trying to put
in the schedule for Worship Assistants a month in advance so you can see where you are on
the schedule. There are a lot of moving parts in putting together a schedule for Assisting Min-
isters, Altar Guild, Ushers, Acolytes, Greeters, and Lectors. The first step is to ask if anyone
has any conflicting dates that they cannot serve. I also need to make sure that members of the
Praise Team are not asked to serve on the third Sunday of the month since they tend to be a
little busy during service. Those folks who are Assisting Ministers and Altar Guild cannot be
scheduled for both on the same week since we would lose a communion assistant. I also send
my Assisting Minister schedule to Carol V. who schedules the acolytes so that families can be
scheduled together. Then I look at the church calendar to see what colors are needed for which
Sundays. I try to schedule at least two months ahead so that everyone has a feeling of when
they will come up on the schedule. I don’t have quite enough volunteers to have everyone
server only once a month, but I am getting there. If you have a calling to be a worship assis-
tant, please do not hesitate to ask. We do have training classes as needed and I will walk as-
sisting ministers through a whole service including practicing pouring from the chalice into a
cup. We also have regular Altar Guild retreats so that if anyone is confused, we are confused
together. I told everyone to not be shy to contact me if there are any questions or supplies
missing. Do not feel like you have to be an expert on theology to be a part of the worship ser-
vice.
Ash Wednesday is February 26th and we will have an Imposition of Ashes service that even-
ing. This starts off our Lenten season which ends on Easter, April 12th. It is a time to either
give up something like chocolate or take on something like a service to God or reading the Bi-
ble. There are many services that you can do for the church and what a great time to
start. What did you put on your time and talent sheets that you are not already doing
now? Think about how you can become part of the group that does worship or property or
stewardship or outreach or parish life. Let someone know you are interested. We will make
sure you have a part to play.
Even though the Advent Soup Suppers are now over, we will have another opportunity to have
Lenten Soup Suppers starting the first Wednesday in March. If you missed the mini-plays
about Bethlehem in Advent, the Lenten season will also have something to see and hear and
you get two extra weeks of it. I am looking forward to what Pastor Tammy has for us in Lent
since the Advent plays were thought-provoking and informative.
Our wonderful choir director/organist, Trish, will tell you more about our musical groups, but
we have three awesome groups that are getting better all the time. Bell Choir meets on Mon-
days at 6PM. If you can count and follow your color, you can play bells. We are even getting
into some fancy moves like swinging the bell and tamping it on the table. The more people we
have, the more octaves we can play and the more intricate melodies and harmonies we can
make. We have five dedicated adults that want to push the envelope of bell ringing, so please
join us.
4
Chancel Choir meets on Mondays at 7PM. All voices are welcome. The Chancel Choir has
been singing at a local nursing home and the residents love it. What a blessing music can
bring to those that hear it. They just completed their Christmas Cantata and I bet there are
more where that came from. It is so nice to see the Chancel Choir building up again and
making a joyful noise unto the Lord.
The Main Street Messengers Praise Team has been phenomenal. It is nice to sing more con-
temporary hymns along with different versions of traditional hymns. The Messengers meet
on Sunday mornings at 9:15AM. They also play through the summer, so if you don’t have
time now to join them, you can come in at any time you can. It was awesome to see Paul
Davis on the violin on Messenger Sunday. I am hoping we hear more from him in the fu-
ture.
If you play an instrument or sing or both and would like to do special music on your own or
with accompaniment, let Trish know. She is always open to special music especially on
those Sundays when nothing much else is going on. Jack and I plan to play for church in
December and will try to come up with more songs to play on our guitars together. I have to
say I do get nervous in front of everyone, but I know you all are so appreciative of every-
thing that anyone wants to do with regard to special music. I find the more I practice, the
less nervous I am. Trish will fit you in when you want to sing or play, but the summer is
when we need you the most. If you start practicing now, you will be ready for the summer
time and you will be glad you did.
The next Worship Committee Meeting is on 1/9/19 at 7PM in the Library at church. If you
like something we are doing, or have suggestions on what to do in the future, please let me
or Pastor Tammy know or (hint, hint) come to the meeting and participate in the planning of
worship. If you ever wanted to know why we do the things we do or if you have ideas that
another church has done in the past, we would like to discuss it with you. We want worship
to be a group effort and not just the job of a few. Liturgy is the work of the people and that
means you.
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and I am looking forward to seeing you all in
church!
Yours in Christ,
Stacey Keener
Worship Committee Chair
5
Christus Victor Children’s School
Now that the New Year has arrived the teachers and children at CVCS
are transitioning right along into the second part of the school year. During
the month of January the children at CVCS will be learning about winter and
Texas. The monthly Bible verse for January is, Psalms 81:10, “I am the Lord
your God”
Thank you to Johnny and Carol Vykukal for arranging for Mr. and Mrs.
Santa Claus to visit the children at CVCS. We are thankful for their per-
sonal relationship with the Santa.
Happy New Year !!!
CVCS School Director
Thank you for all the well wishes, visits and prayers.
A very special thank you to the members of the choir who shared Christmas carols
with me.
I am currently at Kay Paine’s house for a week of recovery before heading back to
my own house.
Thanks,
Carol Roush
6
January Birthdays!
Gary Coury 1/2
Karen Hernandez 1/11
Emily Vykukal 1/16 Thank you everyone for
Parker Campbell 1/19 the generous
Amy Myers 1/20 Christmas Gift!
Ken Schafman 1/30 You are a true blessing!
Sandie
The 2020 Offering Envelopes
are ready for pickup in the
Narthex!
Thank You! Thank you for your generous
to the following for our support of the ministries of
December Flowers Christus Victor Church!
Vanessa & Ralph Zambrana
Jennifer Schaudt-Seal
Kay Paine
Helen Goodwin
Paul & Sharon Appel
Tracy Campbell
All the wonderful people who
donated beautiful Poinsettias for Christmas Eve!
The office and the school will be closed on
Will resume January 9th January 1, 2020.
“Making Sense of the
Cross”
7
JANUARY 2020
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4
HAPPY NEW
YEAR!
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
9:15Praise Team Practice Choirs will not
practice this week 6:00 Bible Study
10 am Coffee Fellowship 8:00 am Cross
10:30 am Worship Service & Crowns
w/Communion 7:00 Worship 9:00 am Quilt-
Committee ing
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
9:00 Bible Study 6:00 pm
9:15 Praise Team Practice Handbell Council Retreat
10 am Coffee Fellowship Practice 6:00 Bible Study
10:30 am Worship Service
7 pm Choir
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
9:00 am Bible Study 6:00 pm 6:00 Bible Study
9:15Praise Team Practice Handbell
10 am Coffee Fellowship Practice
10:30 am Worship Service
7 pm Choir
26 287 28 29 30 31
9:00 Bible Study
9:15 Praise Team Practice 6:00 pm
Handbell 6:00 Bible Study
10 am Coffee Fellowship
10:30 am Worship Service Practice
7 pm Choir
8
Health Concern Serving in our Military Long Term Health
Personal Needs Michael Bredeson Earl Armstrong
Mac Currie Steve Bivens
Bereavement Brandon Geiger Robert Casso
Spencer Karkosky Sylvia Coursen
Alysa Mann Meyer Ashlynn Coury-Moseley
Blake Meyer Rick Eckstrom
Timothy Whitehead Letha Frederick
Zach Wood Bobbie Gibson
Elissa Gould-Schaudt
Carolyn Hannum
Warren Harris
Victoria Jungnickel
Ray Mitchell
Irene Richmond
Marjorie Schaefman
Patricia Meyer Schalla
Carol Schaudt
Ken Schaudt
Tom Sharp
*Asterisk: Status
confirmed, but not address
9SERVANTS FOR JANUARY 2020
Position January 5 January 12
Altar Guild Laurie Stockstill & Don Birkelbach Debbie & Paul Davis
Acolyte Isaac Guajardo
Assisting Minister Bill Ferreira Wendy Gram
A/V Tech Tracy Campbell
Children’s Church Christine Sapp Christine Sapp
Greeters Mary Ann Davis Candy Rivera
Lector Bri Towner
Ushers Bonnie & Scott Short
Position January 19 January 26
Altar Guild Sandie Price Kathy Barnhill
Acolyte
Assisting Minister Patty Parker Bri Towner
A/V Tech
Children’s Church Christine Sapp Christine Sapp
Greeters Laura Danielson Penny Dougherty & Paula Towner
Lector
Ushers
For The Month of January
Lock Up
Tellers Tracy Campbell & Mary Ann Davis
10Christus Victor Lutheran Church….281-332-6847
Vision Statement: “To Bring Life, Love, and Teachings of Jesus Christ to Today’s World”
Sunday Worship with Children’s Church: 10:30 am
Church and School Contact Information :
Contact info for Pastor Tammy Sharp -Cell # 281-924-1667
Tammy’s E-mail: pastortammy@comcast.net
Tammy’s Office Hours: 9 am until 4pm Monday thru Thursday. [Friday...out of office.]
Church Office Hours: 8:30 am until 3 pm
Church Secretary, Sandie Price Office# 281-332-6847
Church Office E-mail - cvlctx@comcast.net Website- www.christusvictor.us
Choir Director, Trish Fowzer
Worship Committee Chairperson, Stacey Keener
Children’s School Director, Tebertha Henderson…281-332-2821 E-mail...cvcsdirector@comcast.net
Christus Victor Congregation Ministers
2020 Church Council Members:
Council President: Sara Smart
Council Vice President: Karen Sebung
Council Secretary: Vanessa Zambrana
Church Treasurer: Carol Vykukal
School Board President: Sara Smart
Outreach: Diana Bredeson
Education: Lisa Kutinac
Worship: Ruby Morrow
Parish Life: Paula Towner
Stewardship: Brad Loucas
OFFERING REPORT
YEAR-TO-DATE
2019 Offering Needed: 207,639.00
Current Offerings Received: $ 155,553.00
Shortfall: $ 52,086.00
Building Fund Offerings ytd: $ 10,925.40
Building fund loan balance: $ 34,021.10
(as of December 11, 2019)
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