Announcements
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The Annual Congregational Meeting will be held February 19, followed by a potluck lunch.
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The Central Valley Conference Bishop's Gathering will be held at Mount Calvary on Sunday afternoon, February 26, from 2:45-6:00. Bishop Mauney is expecting between 70 and 80 people to attend this gathering.
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The holy season of Lent begins Wednesday, February 22 – Ash Wednesday. The Mount Calvary family will gather at 7:00 that evening for the Ash Wednesday service.
For the next five Wednesday evenings, we will again hold our Lenten Soup Suppers at 6:00 followed by the mid-week Lent service at 7:00 led by a rotation of pastors from Valley Lutheran churches.
This year, our Lenten theme is “God’s Gift of Love and Forgiveness” as explored through the Psalms.
| Date |
Presiding Pastor |
Topic |
February 29 |
Pastor Diehl |
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God (Psalm 143) |
March 7 |
Rev. Karen Van Stee
St. Mary’s Pine, Mt. Jackson |
Against you and for me
(Psalm 51) |
March 14 |
Rev. David Drebes
Prince of Peace, Basye |
Come quickly to help me
(Psalm 38) |
March 21 |
Rev. Kathleen Miko
Timberville Parish |
Hiding from God or hiding in God?
(Psalm 32) |
March 28 |
Rev. Kate Schroeder
St. Paul, Jerome |
God’s enduring presence for you
(Psalm 102) |
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BASKETS OF PROMISE
This Lent, Mount Calvary is joining Lutheran World Relief’s Baskets of Promise appeal. Each Sunday of Lent, we will collect a different item to fill school kits that will give many disadvantaged children the essential tools to learn and work toward better futures.
The items will be collected each Sunday during the Children’s Sermon. Here’s the collection schedule and the items you can bring:
▫ February 26 – tablet notebooks (70-sheet, approximately 8”x10½“, no loose-leaf paper)
▫ March 4 – backpacks (sturdy, drawstring cloth bags, approximately 14”x17”, with shoulder straps)
▫ March 11 – pens (black or blue, no gel-ink) and pencils (#2, unsharpened, with eraser)
▫ March 18 – rulers (30-centimeter) and erasers (2½“)
▫ March 25 – crayons (box of 16 or 24) and pencil sharpeners
▫ April 1 – scissors (blunt safety scissors)
As with each of Mount Calvary’s outreach ministries, the Baskets of Promise project represents an opportunity for service beyond Mount Calvary. Participation is always voluntary.
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 Can a shoebox change a life? It can when a child who has little else in this world is personally handed one after it's been filled with tokens of love from half way around the world!
Mount Calvary’s Congregation Council recently approved the start of a new ministry under the direction of Heather Diehl. Throughout the year, we will be collecting items to fill shoe boxes for the Operation Christmas Child project – a ministry of Samaritan's Purse founded by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. In addition to the monthly items, you are also welcome to donate your empty shoe boxes anytime during the year. (Ladies, here’s another good reason to go shoe shopping: we need boxes!)
A list of suggested shoebox items will appear in future newsletters and in bulletin announcements. You're welcome to bring any item(s) from the suggested list throughout the year. However, each month we will have a featured item. For the month of February please bring, as you are able, small stuffed animals. Remember - each item must fit inside a shoebox with other items, so think small.
Have fun with this new ministry all year long while thinking about making a child’s Christmas special somewhere else in the world!
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Mount Calvary’s Sunday School Program Resumes!
 Sunday morning, January 8th, Mount Calvary’s Sunday School program resumes after its Christmas Day and New Year’s Day break.
Children ages 3 through 12 will continue with their Bible study using the One Room Sunday School program. The winter/spring units are “Hope Is Born,” “Jesus, Son of God,” “Jesus’ Ministry,” “Hosanna,” “Jesus Lives,” and “The Early Church.”
Our youth (grades 9-12) will continue exploring important questions about faith and theology through the series re:form. Their study units address “Discipleship,” “Jesus,” “Other Beliefs,” and “Tough Questions.”
When they resume meeting, the adult Sunday School class begins a six-session series titled Good Questions on Heaven & Hell. The six questions are:
○ “What happens next?”
○ “Can unfailing love and eternal torture go together?”
○ “Will unbelievers simply cease to exist?”
○ “What is heaven?”
○ “What do we gain from bodily resurrection?”
○ “What is the Kingdom of God?”
COME JOIN A CLASS!
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Mount Calvary Brotherhood Bunch
Mount Calvary will initiate the Mount Calvary Brotherhood Bunch, a male counterpart to our popular “Secret Sisters” program.
During the year, Brotherhood Bunch participants will leave their secret “brother” small gifts, treats, and other surprises at a designated spot in the church. At an end-of-year dinner, each Brotherhood Bunch participant will learn the identity of his secret brother and pick a new one for the coming year.
Sign-up forms and participant information sheets are now available on the narthex table. You may also speak with Bucky Miller (477-3287; jbmiller.mtjackson@gmail.com) or Pastor Diehl (477-2421; mtcalrev@shentel.net) about the Bunch. All boys and men are invited to join this special fellowship!
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The Backpack Project The Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries’ Backpack Project provides Shenandoah County elementary school children from low-income families nutritious meals for their weekends ~ their time away from the school lunch program. A table in the narthex will collect your donations of any of the following (packaged in individual serving sizes):
▪ V8© juices or 100% orange juice |
▪ fruit cups/canned fruit/Fruit Roll-Ups© |
▪ oatmeal and/or cereal (individually packaged boxes) |
▪ SpaghettiOs© or ravioli |
▪ tuna kits |
▪ canned vegetables |
▪ macaroni & cheese singles |
▪ canned chili |
▪ peanut butter |
▪ microwave popcorn |
▪ crackers and/or pretzels |
▪ pudding |
▪ Teddy Grahams©/animal crackers/Goldfish© |
▪ granola bars and/or breakfast bars |
▪ chicken and/or vegetable soup |
▪ water |
▪ applesauce |
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A blue flyer providing complete information on how you can help is available on the narthex table.
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Copies of issues of The Virginia Lutheran, The Word in Season(a daily devotional booklet), and Christ In Our Home (a large print daily devotional guide), may be found on the narthex bookshelf.
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Be Involved! Youngsters and adults are warmly invited to offer your time to one of the church’s many service opportunities. Find a rich and varied "menu" of options to Be Involved! here on our website and in the newsletter.
Any youth or adults interested in serving as an acolyte, reader, or communion assistant should contact Susan Foltz (984-4477). We welcome new participants to these opportunities to serve Christ and Mount Calvary. Training is provided.
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