THE HUB - Christ Lutheran Church of Fredericksburg
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CHRIST-LUTHERAN- SEPTEMBER 2021
CHURCH.ORG ISSUE 135
THE HUB
A HOLY CONNECTION
Rev. Ethan Lowery
During my final semester of seminary, I read a little book
called After Whiteness by Willie James Jennings. In it, Jennings,
a professor of systematic theology at Yale Divinity School and
former academic dean of Duke Div, constructs a searing and
all-too-true critique of the state of graduate theological
education and, very much embroiled in graduate theological
education at the time, it knocked me off axis. His critique is
profound, yet simple. Jesus' ministry is rooted in the idea of
the crowd -- the hungry, hurting, sick, lost people who gather
around him in the cities and towns and follow him into the
countryside -- and the seminary's (and the Church's) attention
has slowly veered away from the crowd and towards
something else resembling our own navel, perhaps.
As Christians and as disciples, we are at the same time ministers and the ministered, charged with care of
the crowd and members of the crowd ourselves. In my role as Young Adult Missioner, my charge is with
the care of college students and young adults and the communities that sustain them, and in just the first
month of ministry here in Fredericksburg I've heard much about the state of the crowd. College students
have described the first week of classes feeling like a whole month, that all of their friends and classmates
are just kind of depressed and anxious, and how good but weird it is to be back. Young adults have
shared their difficult and murky risk assessments in their social lives, dealing with various degrees of
protection (or lack thereof) in their work places, or just feeling kind of -stuck- as this new reality continues
to shake out. And in truth, I've heard much the same about people on either side of their 20s and 30s too.
Continued on page 2.
Holy Connection Continued
After Whiteness reminds me that the Church is not just a building (nor is a campus ministry, a house)
neither is it a program calendar or a "Normal" that we are expected to return to. The Church is us, a
crowd of people, hungry, hurting, longing, and reaching out for God and for one another and
responding to those needs. And right now, we are a crowd that is individually and collectively knocked
off axis. Who is it that you are in the crowd? For what do you hunger? How are you hurting? For what do
you long? What hungers, hurts, longings do you see in those around you and whose hungers, hurts,
longings do we do our best to ignore? These are the questions for my ministry, and these are the
questions for all our shared ministries. They may not lead us where we planned for Fall 2021, but so far
as we are attending to the crowd, we can rest assured that we are headed in the right direction, that is,
following in Jesus' footsteps.
Visit thehousefxbg.org to learn more about Pastor Ethan and
CLC's ministry with young adults
Please Note: In accordance with the recommendation
from the Reopening Team and approval of Congregational
Council, masks are required when inside the church
building and when participating in indoor activities of the
congregation until further notice. Thank you for your
continued partnership as we endeavor to keep our church
family safe.
Healthy Generations Area Agency on Aging Fundraiser on September 18th, 2021
You have an opportunity to enhance the quality of life for all older citizens in the city of
Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and
Stafford by participating in the Fourth Annual Electric Stride. If you are interested in this
event, please see the flyer attached to the HUB email or contact Steve Scheibe.
Click here to read weekly stories from Micah Street Church and
Micah Ecumenical Ministries.
Pastor Anne will be away from the church office and her home
office beginning Friday (9/10) through Saturday (9/18). If you need
to relay a message to Pastor Anne, please email her and she will
respond after she returns from being out of the office. If you need
immediate pastoral assistance please contact Pastor Lou or the
church office.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OFFERINGS
Join the Tuesday book study on Zoom at 10 a.m. We are reading Looking for God in Messy
Places by Jake Owensby, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in western Louisiana. The Zoom link will
be shared in the weekly HUB email and posted on Facebook. You can purchase the book on
Amazon. If you have questions, reach out to Pastor Anne. **PLEASE NOTE: We will not meet
on Tuesday, September 14th.**
Scripture Study on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. Join Pastor Lou for a lectionary Bible
study focused on the following Sunday’s Gospel. No preparation is required. Join when you
can. **PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Bible Study this week (September 8th). Also,
On Monday, September 13th, our Bible study will be moving to Monday nights at
7:30 p.m.**
Let's Talk on Sunday's at noon. Join a faithful group of adult CLC members for
conversation and mutual support each week. Key leader: Robert Kravetz.
NEW MOBILE GIVING APP IS HERE!
We’re excited to announce Christ Lutheran Church is upgrading our mobile app! Vanco, our eGiving
provider, has launched an improved mobile app called Vanco Mobile to replace GivePlus Mobile. This
update must be completed for all CLC online givers by September 30th as this is the date that Vanco will retire
Give Plus.
You can download the Vanco Mobile app for free from the App Store or Google Play. The full name of the
app is “Vanco Mobile Faith Engagement” on both stores. When you first login, you can find CLC quickly by
using invite code “L5NANR” in the search field.
If you already have an account in GivePlus, you can logon with the same username and password in Vanco
Mobile. From there, you will make future one-time donations or set up recurring giving right through the
app. Just select your fund and amount, enter a payment method and complete the donation. It is
important to note that existing recurring donations originally entered using Give Plus will be continued and
will be visible in the new app. Although that might discourage you from starting to use the new app, it is
better to make this change now to be ready to make any updates to your gifts and so that you can easily
monitor your giving records.
One more point--when you make your first donation in Vanco mobile, your payment method will have to
be entered anew in the Vanco Mobile app. If you want to change your recurring donation, you will have to
cancel your current donation and enter a new one using the new app, Vanco Mobile, for both actions.
When you make a new donation, there is a new switch on the giving screen to “Cover processing fees”
which will add 1% for bank account donations or 2.75% to credit card donations.
Please download Vanco Mobile by September 30th. Vanco will be retiring GivePlus Mobile after
this date. If you have questions or need assistance with our new mobile app, please contact the
church office or call Bob Wilcox.
COVID-19 UPDATES & RESOURCES
Helpful Counseling Resources
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990
is free.
Our partners in ministry, enCircle, formally Lutheran Family Services, has immediate openings for new
patients using their telehealth services. They have expertise helping people of all ages to include family
issues. They accept several major insurances, Medicaid, and self-pay. They also offer sliding-scale fee
arrangements. Schedule by calling 888-841-4835 or click here for more information:
encircleall.org/counseling
Feeling overwhelmed by COVID-19? The Virginia Department of Health has offered VA C.O.P.E.S. Trained
crisis counselors are available seven days a week (Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 9 PM, Saturday & Sunday
5 PM - 9 PM. Call or text 877-349-6428.
Emergency services remain available through the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board at 540-
373-6876.
Helpline at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg at 540-371-2704 This is a local community resource
line that can match the caller with our local mental health resources including counseling, local tele-
psychiatry, and support groups.
National Suicide Prevention Line is 1-800-273-8255 or simply dial 988.
Additional helpful links...
Virginia Department of Health:
https://www.facebook.com/VDHgov/
Virginia Department of Emergency Management:
https://www.facebook.com/VAemergency/
Fredericksburg Government:
https://www.facebook.com/FXBGgov/
Fredericksburg Civic Alerts:
https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=938
If you live in other jurisdictions, please like/follow your local government resources on Facebook or the web.
Christ Lutheran will attempt to share practical and spiritual resources from the Lutheran World Federation, ELCA,
Virginia Synod, local health systems and other resources on our public Facebook Page and private Facebook group.
The Commonwealth of Virginia has announced that pre-registration is no longer required for COVID-19
vaccinations. Direct scheduling may be done for those 12 and up as indicated below. Walk-in clinics are
being announced as available. Follow the Rappahannock Area Health District on Facebook for more
information. If you need more immediate assistance, call the VDH Call Center at 877-ASK-VDH3 (877-275-
8343).You can also read
