Newsletter article for May 2016

“Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it in my side.  Do not doubt but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

                                                                                                -- John 20:26-27

            Time has fled and our snowbirds are fleeing north.  Sunday after Sunday we have been saying  our goodbyes and wishing them well in their travels.  Even with Mothers’ Day and Pentecost, graduations, confirmations and Memorial Day observances, May often seems like a winding-down month.  School is coming to a close and Summer is on its way. 

            This year’s early Easter means an early Pentecost, which here at Atonement means early confirmation.  Not only has this year’s confirmation class been the largest I’ve had at Atonement with 8 students, they have all been wonderful.  I am very proud of the abilities and achievements of those we will be confirming this year -- Joshua Diemer, Nicholas Trejo and Z’Leah Liburd, and am looking forward to Confirmation Day when the whole class will be sharing their faith projects with the congregation.

            Our big new event this month is the Ministry Fair on May 22.  We’ve been looking for ways to help showcase our ministries and get people involved.  We’re particularly looking to help our own members become more familiar with what goes on at Atonement.  On May 22, we’ll take time between the services and during the sermon time at the late service to explore displays and network with ministry leaders.  This is a first for us, so I’m excited to see how it goes.

            As Summer approaches, our Morning Glory service draws to a close for the season.  That final Sunday, the last Sunday in May, we will be celebrating Memorial Day with some special music and a team effort between our praise band and choir.  In June, we will be going to one Sunday service and we’ll all worship together at 10am.

            I will be doing some travelling in June – first to the synod assembly in Daytona Beach for 2 days, then I am off to Austin, Texas with 2 of our Hispanic ministry team members.  Thanks to an invitation from our Bishop’s assistant Jaime Dubon and a grant from the ELCA, Alice Deyne, Esthel Kane and I are being sent to a special week-long training for congregations that are just beginning Hispanic ministry programs.  I am expecting that this training will give us a wider look at what churches are doing in Hispanic ministry.  This will help us gain some new directions and ideas for areas we might be able to grow and develop our Hispanic ministry.  This is going to be very helpful, since I don’t have any personal experience with Hispanic ministry beyond what we have done here at Atonement. 

            And what have we done here, you ask?  We have partnered with Hispanic congregations, such as the First Hispanic Presbyterian Church of Tampa, and First Pasco Unity Church.  These congregations had services in our building and once in a while we would worship together.  We also shared a confirmation ministry with Resurrection House in Dade City up at Shepherd of the Hills.  We would teach children from Atonement, Shepherd and Resurrection House together, breaking down geographical boundaries and cultural barriers at the same time.  We have our long-standing history of baby showers and other partnerships with the Resurrection House community as well.  And now, we have several groups learning English as a second language through classes taught by Atonement members.

            By the way, this last month Esthel became the latest person to join our deacon training program.  Deacons are members who wish to be trained to deepen their discipleship and commitment to Christ and to the ministry of Atonement.  They undergo two years of training with me, as well as a certification through the Synodical deacon process of our synod.  After summer is over, I will be meeting monthly with the deacons and deacons-in-training to teach and review topics in advanced discipleship.  We currently have three deacons: Detlev Aeppel, Scott Giesking, and Suzi Morgan; and three in training: Rebecca Parker, Jim Turner, and now Esthel Kane.   

            Of all the snowbirds who have flown up north this season, my heart especially goes with those who are not expecting to be returning to Florida.  To Ed and Barb Hvizdos, to Earl and Ruth Uecke, and to Sam and Ethel Youse, each of whom will always be a treasured  part of our Atonement family, we send an unbroken flow of prayers to God for health, joy and grace to be with them and between us all.  We wish the best to them and all our snowbirds and hope they tune in to catch us on the live stream from time to time.  But most of all, we wish you all the blessings of Christ’s peace -- that peace He shares with all He calls His friends -- those He asks to follow Him, those He bids reach out and touch Him, those He calls to behold and to believe.

Peace,

Pastor Scott