Newsletter

March 2016

Easter is March 27

Join us for Easter services

8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Easter Breakfast will be served at 9:45
by the Youth Group as a fund-raiser
to help them get to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans this summer.

Holy Week services:

Maundy Thursday at 7 p.m.
Good Friday at 7 p.m.

In back: Mom helper Katie, Thowat, Blake and teacher Missy

In front: Brooklyn, Leo and Amelia

The Pre-K Sunday School Class, answered a call from Bean's Caf to the Faith community,
to provide sack lunches for their guests. Beans was temporarily closed in February, so
they needed some extra assistance. The kids prayed for the folks at Beans and were pretty
excited and worked hard to help their Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Holy Week
Pastor Andy
We have just finishing up a sermon series called Flesh dealing with the incarnation of Jesus.
Incarnation is a big churchy word that basically means God came down and dwelt among his people. The
overall theme of the series was how Jesus wants us to live like a human being, living the way Jesus did
when he dwelt among us, and stop trying to be god.
Every year I am surprised by the numbers that roll in after Easter. Christmas always had double the
attendance of Easter. We all know the incarnation started with the birth of Jesus but somehow we do not
look at Easter as the more important church holiday if we are judging it by attendance. I want to
encourage you all to remember we are an EASTER people that worship a risen Lord and Savior. Sure, it
was necessary that Jesus was born and lived among us but Holy Week is the culmination of his life
among us. If he came and lived among us and did not suffer and die and be raised again to new life, then
he was just a good man, a powerful teacher, a guy who had some special ways of healing people. The
Apostle Paul said that if this were the case, we are to be pitied above all the people of the earth and our
faith is in vain!
Lets face it: Holy Week is what it is all about! Look at the picture above and what do you see?
The first graphic is of a cup and bread. We are reminded that even as Jesus faced death in a few
short hours, he wanted to give us all a meal to celebrate, strengthen us, and help us remember him. Jesus
gave us the Supper as a way to give us his grace, love, and forgiveness of sins. We take that meal in
trusting faith that it is not just bread and wine, but much more! We know he is with us as we take that
meal together even if we cannot see him face to face. This is what we celebrate on Maundy Thursday of
Holy Week.
On Friday of Holy Week, we see Jesus lay down his innocent life for us on the cross. That is the
middle graphic of the crown of thorns which is such a common symbol of his suffering. All the suffering
and pain that should be ours for our sin, all of Gods anger, is poured out on his one and only son, Jesus.
Our sins are no longer the millstone that hangs around our neck. That millstone is broken and picked up
by Jesus and carried away from us by that sacrifice on the cross. Jesus bridges the gap between our
sinfulness and Gods holiness. Even though we still sin, we are made holy in and through Jesus.
Yet, that would not have even been enough unless the third graphic did not take place. The empty
cross. The empty tomb. Darkness of death is flooded with the light of the living, raised Jesus! The chains
of death no longer hold us as Jesus broke forth and changed everything for our sake. We now have a
future and it is secure even when we experience death.
That is why it is important to remember: as fun and great as Christmas is, we are an Easter people!
We are a redeemed people. We are a people set free to love as we have been loved, and to live as Jesus
lived when he was among us. So happy Easter my friends and Christian brothers and sisters:
HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN, INDEED! ALLELUIA!

Did you know that Anchorage Lutheran is a

training center in Alaska?!
Pastor Harrison
We are excited and humbled by the opportunity God has given us
to help grow his Kingdom by having a hand in training ministry
leaders. We currently have two seminarians Albino Kong and Rick
McCafferty. They are both in the EIIT (Ethnic Immigrant Institute of
Theology) Program through Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. They are
training for ministry to specific ethnic groups Albino for African
immigrants, specifically those from the Sudan, and Rick for the Native
peoples. Soon, both of these men will be vicars. Anchorage Lutheran
will be a vicarage congregation once again and as any vicarage
congregation will tell you, this is an exciting thing! We also have others
in our midst who are deacons-in-training. They are studying and training through the MTC (Mission
Training Center) based out of Concordia University, Portland, so that they might be able to assume the
role of licensed lay deacon. (Even our licensed lay deacons continue their training through MTC!) All of
these men are being mentored by, are studying under, and are being supervised by Pastor Andy and
myself. They are an absolute joy!
So what does this mean for you, congregation? You will see these men up front, leading worship,
preaching, and teaching. You will see these men leading ministries and participating in meetings. You will
see these men making visits and working in the community. They are training, and the best school is that
of experience.
What role do you play in their training? Know this: you have a bigger role than you ever knew! You
all have a part to play in shaping these men! Pastor Andy and I both look back fondly on the lessons we
learned in seminary not just from professors and class work and other pastors, but also from our field
work and vicarage congregations! The stories, the encouragement, the friendships formed while in
training are invaluable in shaping a man for ministry. You give texture to the theology they learn, and the
real world where they can put the practical into practice. Heres how you can help them to be the
best possible:
1. Take great joy! God has given you the opportunity to be part of a community that helps to shape
and form leaders of the Kingdom. Rejoice that you have such a great part to play! Praise him
that we will be blessed by the ministry of such diverse, talented, wise, and experienced

individuals. We will all grow in our faith in new ways as these men minister to us out of what
2.

3.

God has already shaped them to be.

Befriend them! Help them to experience healthy relationships in a congregation. Please

introduce yourself to these men. Befriend them. Invite them to your house (dont assume that

they are busy with other people!). Ask them how you can serve them and their families during

an often trying formation process. Take them out for fun activities.

Be forgiving! Understand that no one is perfect just as I know I made mistakes as I was

training (and still do!), these men are still learning what it means for them to minister in a
congregation. They are trying their best!

A very important note needs to be made here: if you have any constructive criticism for
how they can improve, please remember and respect that they are in training, operating
under supervision. Please bring it directly to Pastor Andy or myself so that we can serve in our

roles as overseers and mentors and help them to grow in their abilities. This feedback will allow
them to grow into the men God dreams for them to be, and they need to hear it directly from us

who have a wider context of where theyre at, where they need to be headed, and what is going
on in the broader picture.

As far as what you should share with them

4.

Be encouraging! Tell them when a piece of their ministry touches your life. Tell them when God

used a point they made in a sermon to move your heart. Tell them when you learned something
amazing from them. Tell them you enjoy their company. And be specific in your compliments

what was it they said that you liked? How did they teach that connected with you? It is easy for
any of us to get down on ourselves, and certainly Satan wants to stop them from growing into

effective servants of the Gospel. Help put the kibosh on that by pointing out what you see God
5.

working through them help us build them up in truth and love!

Perhaps most importantly, pray! Pray for these men. Pray for their families. Pray for their

pastors. Pray for their professors. Pray for the seminary and the universities. Pray for the Synod
and its direction and support of workers. Pray, pray, pray, and then pray some more!

As you prayerfully consider what it means to be a part of the formation of ministers, remember this:
Holy Week we get to celebrate how our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose to set each and every one of us
free from sin, from death, and from the devil! Jesus set us each on a path of ministering in his name all
throughout our life. We too, as followers of Jesus, are in constant training and shaping by the Holy Spirit.
And because that is true, the above points apply to each and every one of us in the
congregation as we all are in training! We, too, should rejoice that God has placed each of us together.
We, too, should befriend each other. We, too, should be both forgiving and encouraging, building each
other up. We, too, should be in deep prayer for each other. Our Lord calls us to this so that we all grow
together. When we do this, the world meets Jesus in us and new life can come!
As you ponder what all of this means for you, I pray you have a blessed Easter, remembering that for
you, Jesus is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Whats springing
up in Family
Ministry?

Time sure does fly when you are having fun, and we
find ourselves in March preparing for Easter. We have so
much to look forward to as we move into spring, Easter,
church family gatherings, getting our gardens ready, and newness of life is all around us
Speaking of newness of life, this summer a handful of youth will be traveling to New Orleans for the
National Youth Gathering. Teens who have gone in the past have come back with a new perspective on life, a
more intimate relationship with God and a better understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ
Jesus. Harrison and I are so looking forward to experiencing this with the youth. You have been hearing a lot
about NYG but what exactly is it? The National Youth Gathering takes place every three years. Its a
gathering where around 30,000 LCMS teens meet up to worship, learn and experience God in a bigger but
more intimate way. This event takes place July 16th-20th, we are really looking forward to it! How can you
support us? First and foremost, pray for us! Pray for open hearts, safe travels, and encouragement. We do
have a lot of money to raise so please keep that in prayer as well. This is a chance to show the teens at ALC
what a supportive church family looks and feels like. Thank you for your prayers and support. If you would like
a specific teen to pray for, please let me know! One of our fundraisers is the Rummage Sale and Bake Sale on
April 23. Please bring any wonderful treasures to the fellowship hall by April 20, and if you can bake yummy
things for the bake sale, please let me know.
I would like to take a moment to thank our confirmation prayer partners. We only have 4 more
confirmation classes left this year with our next one on March 18th. We will be watching Luther and you are
invited! So far the children have learned about our two sacraments (baptism and communion), the order of
service, and the 10 commandments. This may not seem like a lot but for a 5th or 6th grader, this can be a lot to
take in. The children are doing amazing and that comes from many places, one of which is the support they
receive through prayers. Our confirmation party where we will reveal the partners is April 30th. Keep
praying!!!
I would also like to thank our Sunday School teachers! We are more than halfway through our program
and we wouldnt be able to do it without our Teachers. If you see any of these wonderful woman, please
extended a warm Thank you, they have taken time out of their busy schedules to share the Word of God
with the beautiful children here at ALC!
Missy McMillan
Kathy Callies
Nancy Robert
Amanda Beaujean
Andrea Chang
Rachel Jones
Lori Taylor
Laura Burfiend
Liza Consbruck
All of these volunteers have made a difference and an impact. They are surely a blessing!
Lastly I would like to thank you all for your support of Family Ministry! I have been shown great love and
support and for that, I Thank you with all my heart, we serve an awesome God!
Blessings,
Rachel Goodell, Director of Family Ministry

Happy Easter
Everyone!!!
It is a joy and
a pleasure to
serve here at
Anchorage
Lutheran
Church. All of
you have
opened your
arms and your
church to us. We have felt the Love when we first
walked through these doors of the church, I think
its safe to say, It was Love at first Sight. It will
be a year since my wife and I became members
of this church.
I have finished my first two quarters as a
seminarian, and to my surprise, with grades of
an A and B+ respectfully. You, as the Church,
have given me an office where I can do my
seminary school with the help of two wonderful
mentors in our pastors.
I have had the privilege to serve as a worship
leader, deliver communion, teach adult Sunday
School, and deliver a couple of messages here at
ALC. I have also served in the community by
being with families at the hospital when their
loved ones were in critical care. I just recently
was able to go with a group of people to minister
to the women inmates at Hiland Mountain
Correctional Center for a week. These women
have such traumatic stories of abuse, neglect and
rejection. As they are walking through their
pains of their past and sharing their stories, they
are now living with Christ as He heals their
wounds and through His Love believing who
they are in the Father.
All this could not be done without the Love of
the Father. It is through Christ Jesus and all that
He does and is doing as long as we make
ourselves available for His Love to be shown
through us, His Children.
Happy Easter!

Rick and Jane McCafferty

Spring Joyshop
Joanne Fritz, LWML President

Saturday, April 16
Canines in Mission

The Joyshop is an annual gathering for

women sponsored by Lutheran Women
Missionary League (LWML) groups in Alaska.
This annual event offers the opportunity for
women of Alaska to gather for fellowship, Bible
study, learning about a different ministry, lunch
and worship.
Anchorage Lutheran LWML is hosting the
Joyshop this year on Saturday, April 16, 8:30 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m. Pastor Dennis Morner will introduce
us to his new ministry of training dogs and
handlers for therapeutic opportunities in many
caring situations.
Join us on Saturday, April 16 for this special
event. For more information, please contact me
at jofritz@gci.net or 245-1925; or call Shirley
Luedke at 272-7767.
And we need help! With set-up on Friday,
April 15; serving food on Saturday; and we need
a musician on Saturday. We would appreciate it
very much!

The Disappointment Gap...

Dont Be a Settler
From Jock Ficken, PLI
Dont be a Settler commercials have been
funny and frequent of late.

Settling: The other way of dealing with the

Disappointment Gap.

Settling: The Lowering of Future Expectations to

Match Past Experience.
The Disappointment Gap evaporates when we
artificially lower Expectations to match our
Experience.

Its like the Good News no longer sounds like

good news even in our own ears, let alone to a
world that increasingly views the Church like out
of date settlers in a 21st century world.
Heres my bold statement:

Theres an epidemic of churches (large, small,

tired, happy, new, old...take your pick) that
otherwise believe in God who has altered history
(and our own eternities!) and works the
miraculous, that have chosen to settle with
little or no expectation that God can actually use
them on mission in their territories or towns or
neighborhoods any longer.
They are no longer:

humbled before a sending God.

humbled before the scope of His mission .
humbled by their own human inability to
live out the mission.

Too harsh? Let me back down a bit with some

less absolute I Wonders.

I wonder if we pretended too long to be in a

Come to Church culture that now finds us lost
in a Mission Field world thats plentiful all
around us.

I wonder if our own past experience should be

more deeply complemented with remembering
farther back to the Gospels and the life of Jesus
before lowering future expectations.

I wonder if we should go to our boards and go to

our leadership teams and ask each other: Have

we solved the disappointment gap by settling

and should we repent?

I wonder if our natural do the same thing and

expect a different result reflex should be
complemented with a small experimentation
space of trying new things in new ways to
engage our communities with the Gospel of
Jesus.

I wonder if the young leaders sprinkled around

our churches can contribute to a new season of
collaboration and creativity that overtakes the
common attitude of comparison and
competition.

And, I wonder if weve been conformed to a

mindset by the people were around to simply
settle for low expectations and cease to imagine
that God might be prepared to do more in this
new season.

Its a painfully difficult season for lots of leaders

in lots of places. Its a season and a calling that
can be toxic to our own well being and toxic to
marriage and family.
So, could I ask you to do a couple of things
this week?

Ask your spouse (if youre married): How

are we doing? Settling? And, do we need
to do something about how were doing?
Ask your leadership team/peers/board:
Have we solved the disappointment gap
by settling and have we lowered
expectations on what God is calling and
capable of doing?
Ask yourself: Most changes start with me
before they start anywhere else. Does
something need to start with me?

The path forward for most of us will not be linear

nor easy but I think I can promise you it will be
rich. So, I can hear the conversation with your
partners or peers or board meeting already.
Well, how do we know that if we do _______ that
it will work.
ANSWER: You wont know if it will work. And
very likely on the journey (with it working or
not) God will do something in us and maybe
through us that both surprises and prepares us!

Lutheran Social Services

of Alaska
Alan Budahl, Executive Director, LSSA
1303 W. 33rd Avenue
272-0643

Now that we are in the Lenten season, Easter

will soon be upon us. On March 1 we began
distributing Easter baskets to the families with
little children who visit our food pantry. We need
your help with providing Easter Baskets as we
anticipate sharing over 600 baskets in March.
We appreciate everyone's help in spreading the
good news of Easter through the story or activity
book included in each basket.
Thanks to all who participated by walking or
running in the Walk for Warmth on February
20th. This walk/run hosted by the United Way of
Anchorage raises funds for heating or rental
assistance for homeless prevention/placement.
We especially want to thank all who donated to
this cause. LSSA is the agency that distributes
these funds to our neighbors in need.
The Willow Garden Club is raising money to
buy trees to start replacing trees lost to last
year's Sockeye Wildfire. The trees are $25 for a
bundle of 20 trees and are being ordered
through the Society of Foresters. The trees are
little eight inch seedlings and come in different
varieties that include: Lodgepole Pine, Paper
Birch, White Spruce, Blue Spruce and Siberian
Larch (Tamarack). If you, your congregation,
book club, Sunday School class, Youth Group, or
workplace are interested in helping, please send
your funds to LSSA marked for trees and we will
get the funds to the Willow Garden Club. Trees
are limited so we need to act fast. There are also
opportunities to help plant the trees in the
spring, so if you are interested let me know.
Have you been looking for an opportunity to
volunteer? We need volunteers to help shop with
clients in the Food Pantry especially on Tuesday
afternoons and Wednesdays evenings. There are
also opportunities at our Mobile Food Pantry on
Tuesdays at Lutheran Church of Hope from 4:30
to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays at the Church of the
Nazarene on Jewel Lake at 88th Avenue from

9:30 to 11:00 a.m. If interested please call the

LSSA office
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to
LSSA through the Pick, Click, and Give campaign
on the Alaska PFD application. If you havent
completed your 2016 PFD application,
remember you have until March 31st to apply
and please consider a donation to LSSA.
Get your sneakers and join us for the
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau
Charity Walk on May 13th. All LSSA supporters,
families and friends are welcome to join the team
and raise money for our ministry. More
information will be available soon.