Since the August e-News went to press before completion of heat respite lunch packs, here are additional details:

Sometimes, being a pastor in God’s church and world is overwhelming. There is always something to accomplish, a person to visit, a call to make, a meeting to prepare for, a sermon to write.

On Sunday, July 24, New Journey Lutheran Church hosted as guest preacher and fellowship discussant Ms. Solveig Muus, director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (www.LAMAz.org).

Residents of Fountain Hills, individually and through faith, civic and other organizations, are generous in addressing local, national and international hunger. We support Extended Hands and St. Mary’s Food Banks, pack heat respite lunches, volunteer annually for Food for Kidz and much more.

“You are cordially invited.” Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie preached to a room of nearly 400 ELCA deacons and pastors at the opening worship service of the Rostered Ministers Gathering (RMG) hosted at the Phoenix Convention Center in mid-July.

As Christian people, we are called to profess hope.

In a world that seems hell-bent on violence and destruction and death, here we are, the people of God: singing and praying, serving and sharing all because we have hope for a world that can be better.

Welcome to the first President's Perspective! In an effort to increase and improve communication between the congregation council and congregation, I was encouraged to write a letter in our monthly eNews letter on a periodic basis.

We are writing in response to the letter to the editor, published in the June 21 issue, which expressed sadness and disappointment regarding expressed prejudice against transgender persons in the Fountain Hills community.

New Journey Lutheran (ELCA) in Fountain Hills packed 200 lunches on Monday, June 26 in the first of three scheduled packs for Phoenix’s Grace Lutheran Church’s Heat Respite program and – in a new initiative, will add 15 additional lunches per future sessions for I-HELP at nearby City of Grace Church.

On Pentecost Sunday, we named before God the nations of the world, pleading for mercy and healing for those places and peoples torn by ancient animosities or terrorized by new fears.

Towards the end of April, I joined eight of my first call colleagues at Spirit in the Desert retreat center for our bi-annual and mandatory First Call Theological Education (FCTE) event.

Thank you to Denny Rubenow, Gwen Rubenow, and Kris Bartanen for working together to bring Food 4 Kidz back after a 3-year hiatus. A big thank you to all the friends and members of New Journey Lutheran Church who worked together to organize and support this community event, and to our financial partners: Church of the Ascension and Shepherd of the Hills.

At the end of March, I had the distinct privilege of participating on a “Philosophy of Religion” panel hosted by the Congregation Beth Israel in Scottsdale for their midweek teen education program.

Thanks to the generosity of 225 volunteers, the March 2 Fountain Hills Food Pack for Food for Kidz provided 72,000 meals for hungry neighbors near and far.

New Journey SewJourners received the below thank you note from foster children in response to the quilts we provided.

New Journey Lutheran Church members gathered a substantial collection of kitchen items, as well as additional furnishings, to join with ELCA churches of the Northeast Valley Consortium in preparing three apartments for newly arriving Afghan refugee families. Phoenix area apartments were set-up on February 2, 8 and 15 for families of 6, 7, and 13 members, respectively, in partnership with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, which has welcomed eight Afghan families in February.

On Sunday, February 12, we said “Godspeed and Farewell” to Crystalle Ebbinga. Tears of gratitude and love were shed. Though the Farewell did not happen how we hoped, we continue to give thanks to God for the many gifts and contributions Crystalle has made to our shared life and mission at New Journey Lutheran Church.

What is Lent, exactly? Well, Lent marks a forty-day period leading up to Easter, and mirrors Jesus’ forty-day wilderness stay. Observing the season of Lent became a practice during the 4th century as a way for Christians to prepare for the holiest days in the church calendar.

Mark your calendars to volunteer for the Fountain Hills Food Pack, which will be held on Thursday, March 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center. We are in need of 200 volunteers to pack dehydrated meals.

On Sunday, January 22 we blessed and set apart for the glory of God a stained glass art piece and Bibles, gifted to New Journey Lutheran Church by Hosea Harkness in memory of his beloved wife, Lily Harkness. We are grateful to God for the generosity of Hosea and for the opportunity to remember Lily in worship.