2015 June
Content
Newsletter
June 2015
Confirmation 2015
Thirteen students were confirmed on Sunday, May 3.
Pictured below are the confirmands at the 8:30 service: Abagail Busch, Zachary Chang,
Payton Yoder, Chase Pounds, Hunter Pounds.
In the back row are Pastor Andy Ritchie; Rachel Goodell, the new Director of Family
Ministry; Pastor Harrison Parker
Photo of the 11:00 group is on the next page
Confirmed at the 11:00 service were (middle row) Annika Rohde, David Ritchie, Ivan Keil, Fisher Davis. In the
front row are David Robert, Rachel Miller, Emma McMillan. Grace Ritchie, not pictured.
From Pastor Andy
Summer time is different in Alaska. There are
a special set of challenges in the church we face
so that means there are a special set of
opportunities before us as well. We face
decreased attendance in the summer from people
wanting to go out and enjoy this short season of
warmth and sun. July is a peak fishing month.
Hunting possibilities come into the calendar
early- to mid-August carrying through until midto late-September along with Silver fishing.
Summer has no children’s Sunday School. There
is no adult education in the summer time.
Volunteers for services are harder to find and
sometimes missing even if people have signed up
for helping as life gives people options. People are
coming and going and are not here in worship
each week or even every other week. This is the
reality — and yet please understand I am grateful
for each and every person who comes to worship
and grateful for those who are going outside and
enjoying God’s creation.
So what do we do to address these special sets
of challenges? How do we offer meaningful ways
to connect to Jesus through word and sacrament?
A connected sermon series like we have just
fished called Baptized We Live is not ideal as the
topics connect and build on each other. Neither is
what we finished up before as we walked through
the Bible in The Story series. We have a
possibility here to connect though in a different
way for six weeks with a stand-alone sermon
series that is for the long-time disciple of ALC as
well as for visitor. It is very family-friendly for the
kids who are here but wish to be out in the sun.
Having worship the way we plan will address the
essentials of our need for weekly word and
sacrament strengthening. The series will also
help fill in for the lack of an education hour.
So, June 28th we begin this series which will
run for six weeks titled Surprised by Hope. Hope
is not something we talk about enough. As a
preacher I may have a sentence or two about
hope. On rare occasions I might have a paragraph
talking about hope and yet the Bible is all about
hope and we struggle to grasp what hope looks
like! The topics will be:
Week 1: 6/28 — Hope for the World — God
wants his people to experience hope and share it
- and it's not just what God will do in the future it’s God's kingdom now.
Week 2: 7/5 — The Hope of the Resurrection
— Hope is more than escaping this world to
heaven. Rather it’s a confidence that God's
kingdom, presence, and power are breaking into
our world now and a new creation has begun.
Week 3: 7/12 — The Hope of Heaven —
Heaven is not just some far-away place we hope
to go to. Through Christ, it is very near, and as we
follow Jesus, the reality of heaven comes alive and
is unleashed through us.
Week 4: 7/19 — The Hope of Jesus’ Second
Coming — We have a biblical confidence that
Jesus will return to this world, restore creation,
heal his people, and make all things new.
Week 5: 7/26 — The Hope of Salvation —
Through Jesus’ resurrection, we are saved from
sin and death. But there is more: God is saving
and restoring all creation, and he invites us into
the work of sorting out what is wrong in the
world.
Week 6: 8/2 — The Hope of the Church — The
hope is more than just what lies ahead — it is our
experience of God’s Kingdom breaking into our
everyday journey of faith as we do justice, extend
mercy, express love, offer compassion, and
celebrate beauty, all in the name of Jesus.
This will be a very different worship
experience for six weeks as these topics need a
little longer than the standard 20 minute sermon,
which means we will trim some of the order of
the church service temporarily. We want to help
you discover for yourself what HOPE looks like
and what God’s word says about HOPE. We are
asking you to bring your Bibles. We will have
some short discussion times where you can share
what you are discovering about HOPE or hear
what others are seeing from God’s word
concerning HOPE. It will no doubt make a few
uncomfortable but we are asking for people to be
open to this summertime-only opportunity!
Church and worship are not about the place.
Church and worship are about God coming to us
and our response to God and to each other. In
order for us to have a little discussion time and
maximize our opportunity to be in the word of
God, we will be worshipping in a different place
than normal. Our fellowship hall is much
friendlier for this opportunity! We will gather
around round tables for the worship and sermon
time. There will be some food and drink present
for the kids (and adults if you wish to partake).
The elevator is in good working order, and some
may choose to enter the church through the doors
off 15th Street and come across the patio. The
service will be like I did three years ago when we
gathered downstairs for Lent midweek and did a
first-person biblical character each week from the
Easter story.
No matter which service time you attend it
will have the essentials of worship: God’s word,
confession and absolution, prayers, the
Sacrament, and a few hymns or songs based on
8:30 or 11:00 worship styles. After spending
nearly two years going through the books of the
Bible (pre-Story sermon series and The Story
sermon series) you will notice this deals deeply
with doctrinal/teaching issues of Scripture. I
hope those who come this summer enjoy this
temporary change of worship style and way of
looking deeply into God’s word in a worship
setting which very closely mirrors how the early
church gathered in the first 400 years of its
existence before Christianity became a stateacknowledged religion. Please consider coming as
you can and enjoy the journey!
God Bless,
Pastor Andy
Family Ministry
I would like to start and thank you, the
congregation for your support, as well as the
support from Pastor Andy, Pastor Harrison
and Terry Callies. God is surely on our side
and we can see him working here at ALC. The
excitement I feel is overwhelming as I dig in
deep and serve the Lord.
My first BIG job here at ALC will be
directing and organizing Vacation Bible
School. This year we will be doing a camping
theme called “Camp Discovery”. VBS will take
place August 3rd–7th from 3–6 p.m. There are
many opportunities to volunteer and child
care will be provided. I will be holding two
volunteer meetings. These meetings will give
you a chance to learn about the opportunities
and sign up.
First meeting: Wednesday June 17th at 6
p.m.
Second Meeting: Monday June 22nd at
noon
If you have already reached out to me to
let me know you are interested I urge you to
join in on a meeting anyway so you can better
prepare yourself. I am really looking forward
to working with the volunteers and I am open
to your input. If you are interested in the
slightest but worried about time, please let
me know! We have big tasks and we have
small tasks. Let’s work together in Christ and
share his good news!!!
Thank you for your continued support and
I look forward to working with each and
every one of you. Please feel free to contact
me at any time.
God’s Blessings,
Rachel Goodell
Director of Family Ministry
[email protected]
Rachel and Jake Goodell
Weighing Anchor
Jim Scriven, School Administrator
A vision that many of us have
shared for some time is to expand
our school ministry through high
school. We’re so thankful and
excited to see that shaping into a
reality. We are concretely planning to
begin with a freshman class fall of 2016, just
one school year away. Now, many of you are
aware that we are working to build a large
addition to The Lutheran Center which will
allow us the space to host a full high school
program right alongside our PS-8 classes.
However, this new space won’t be available
until fall of 2019, should things proceed
according to plan (and you never can be
quite sure about plans this far out!). So how
can we be saying 2016?
Our ministry partners at Anchorage
Lutheran Church, a founding congregation
of our association and a ministry that has
walked hand in hand with us these past 35
years, has made the offer for us to use
classroom space at the church to bridge the
gap in facility need as we continue to grow.
Very exciting! Through their contribution of
facility space and support, we’ll be able to
grow grade by grade all the way up through
12th Grade, so that when our new building
is ready, we can move a full high school
program into it immediately. That is
tremendous stewardship of resources, and a
huge blessing to the many families who are
so appreciative to have this option. Each
year families wish they didn’t have to seek
out a new school option as their children
graduate 8th Grade. Thanks to the
committed support and ministry-minded
vision of the people and leadership of
Anchorage Lutheran Church, as of next year
families no longer will have to. This year’s
7th Graders will have the
option of becoming our
first high school
graduates, the Class of
2020!
I look forward to the
ways God will grow both
Anchor Lutheran School and
Anchorage Lutheran Church through
this new step in partnership together. The
school ministry spent its first years
operating in the rooms of Anchorage
Lutheran and Zion Lutheran Churches. How
appropriate that this new direction for our
program, high school, will have its birth in
the same cradle!
[email protected]
522-3636
Congratulations to our 2015
college graduates
We didn’t get all the names, but they
include:
Victoria Funner from Fort Lewis College in
Durango, Colorado.
Elsa Dieckgraeff from University of Alaska,
Anchorage.
Krista Dieckgraeff from Marquette
University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Alexandra Sedor from University of
Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Eric Hueners from Gonzaga University,
Spokane, WA.
Lutheran Social Services
of Alaska
Alan Budahl, Executive Director, LSSA
1303 W. 33rd Avenue
272-0643
Summer is upon us. Children are out of
school for summer break, and as always we
see an increased number of households
coming through our food pantry. This year
we are also facing a decrease in government
commodities so this leaves us depending
more on food donations and purchases to
serve all those who are in need. In the
summer kid friendly foods are needed such
as cereal, peanut butter, jelly and canned
fruit. Other items like boxed meals, pasta,
spaghetti sauce/noodles, and canned
protein meats like tuna, chicken or spam are
popular picks from our client choice shelves.
With the increased number of
households served in the Food Pantry we
are also in need of volunteers. We are really
needing help on Wednesday evenings from
4:30 to 7 p.m. We can also use help on
Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday from 1 to
4 p.m.
The HUGSS (Help Us Give School
Supplies) and Coats for Kids program will be
split into two separate events this year due
to the renovation of the Sullivan Arena.
HUGSS distribution of backpacks and school
supplies will be on Tuesday, August 11th at
East High School. Coats for Kids will be on
Saturday, September 26th at the Salvation
Army Gym located on their C Street campus.
Volunteer opportunities for HUGSS will be
available for set-up on Monday, August 10th
and on Tuesday, August 11th for
distribution. Also volunteers will be needed
for distribution of coats on Saturday,
September 26th. Between now and
distribution we need help with school
supplies and donation of new and gently
used coats. We also have a need for adult
sized coats. You may drop off any coats at
the Fireweed Cleaners on Fireweed and
school supplies at LSSA office.
If any Thrivent Member would like us to
help you apply for the $250.00 mini grants
that could be used for a food drive, shop for
school supplies for HUGSS or purchase
warm winter coats for children who need
them. Please call Sue Freie (272-0643) at
the LSSA office and we would be happy to
help you write a grant. All Thrivent
Members can write two grants per year.
Associate Members can write for one grant
per year.
Music Lessons: If you or your children are
looking for an opportunity to take music
lessons in Guitar or Piano, please contact
Mischa Shimek, 529-7581 or
[email protected]. Lessons can be
scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays
between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rates are $35–
$40 per hour.
Campout 2015
The Summer Campout will be held July 24-26 at Quartz Creek Campground. The campground is
located on beautiful Kenai Lake and Quartz Creek . There are 11 first come, first serve sites
available, but you need to arrive early to get one of those sites, we suggest Wednesday,
Thursday, or as early as possible on Friday. It is strongly recommended that you go online to
recreation.gov and reserve a site. There are a number of double sites available where two
families can share a site. Mike and Lisa Wilkinson will be in charge so please let them know if
you are coming and what site you will be in. 868-3901 or [email protected]. It is a beautiful
campground and a great location.
June 2015
Confirmation 2015
Thirteen students were confirmed on Sunday, May 3.
Pictured below are the confirmands at the 8:30 service: Abagail Busch, Zachary Chang,
Payton Yoder, Chase Pounds, Hunter Pounds.
In the back row are Pastor Andy Ritchie; Rachel Goodell, the new Director of Family
Ministry; Pastor Harrison Parker
Photo of the 11:00 group is on the next page
Confirmed at the 11:00 service were (middle row) Annika Rohde, David Ritchie, Ivan Keil, Fisher Davis. In the
front row are David Robert, Rachel Miller, Emma McMillan. Grace Ritchie, not pictured.
From Pastor Andy
Summer time is different in Alaska. There are
a special set of challenges in the church we face
so that means there are a special set of
opportunities before us as well. We face
decreased attendance in the summer from people
wanting to go out and enjoy this short season of
warmth and sun. July is a peak fishing month.
Hunting possibilities come into the calendar
early- to mid-August carrying through until midto late-September along with Silver fishing.
Summer has no children’s Sunday School. There
is no adult education in the summer time.
Volunteers for services are harder to find and
sometimes missing even if people have signed up
for helping as life gives people options. People are
coming and going and are not here in worship
each week or even every other week. This is the
reality — and yet please understand I am grateful
for each and every person who comes to worship
and grateful for those who are going outside and
enjoying God’s creation.
So what do we do to address these special sets
of challenges? How do we offer meaningful ways
to connect to Jesus through word and sacrament?
A connected sermon series like we have just
fished called Baptized We Live is not ideal as the
topics connect and build on each other. Neither is
what we finished up before as we walked through
the Bible in The Story series. We have a
possibility here to connect though in a different
way for six weeks with a stand-alone sermon
series that is for the long-time disciple of ALC as
well as for visitor. It is very family-friendly for the
kids who are here but wish to be out in the sun.
Having worship the way we plan will address the
essentials of our need for weekly word and
sacrament strengthening. The series will also
help fill in for the lack of an education hour.
So, June 28th we begin this series which will
run for six weeks titled Surprised by Hope. Hope
is not something we talk about enough. As a
preacher I may have a sentence or two about
hope. On rare occasions I might have a paragraph
talking about hope and yet the Bible is all about
hope and we struggle to grasp what hope looks
like! The topics will be:
Week 1: 6/28 — Hope for the World — God
wants his people to experience hope and share it
- and it's not just what God will do in the future it’s God's kingdom now.
Week 2: 7/5 — The Hope of the Resurrection
— Hope is more than escaping this world to
heaven. Rather it’s a confidence that God's
kingdom, presence, and power are breaking into
our world now and a new creation has begun.
Week 3: 7/12 — The Hope of Heaven —
Heaven is not just some far-away place we hope
to go to. Through Christ, it is very near, and as we
follow Jesus, the reality of heaven comes alive and
is unleashed through us.
Week 4: 7/19 — The Hope of Jesus’ Second
Coming — We have a biblical confidence that
Jesus will return to this world, restore creation,
heal his people, and make all things new.
Week 5: 7/26 — The Hope of Salvation —
Through Jesus’ resurrection, we are saved from
sin and death. But there is more: God is saving
and restoring all creation, and he invites us into
the work of sorting out what is wrong in the
world.
Week 6: 8/2 — The Hope of the Church — The
hope is more than just what lies ahead — it is our
experience of God’s Kingdom breaking into our
everyday journey of faith as we do justice, extend
mercy, express love, offer compassion, and
celebrate beauty, all in the name of Jesus.
This will be a very different worship
experience for six weeks as these topics need a
little longer than the standard 20 minute sermon,
which means we will trim some of the order of
the church service temporarily. We want to help
you discover for yourself what HOPE looks like
and what God’s word says about HOPE. We are
asking you to bring your Bibles. We will have
some short discussion times where you can share
what you are discovering about HOPE or hear
what others are seeing from God’s word
concerning HOPE. It will no doubt make a few
uncomfortable but we are asking for people to be
open to this summertime-only opportunity!
Church and worship are not about the place.
Church and worship are about God coming to us
and our response to God and to each other. In
order for us to have a little discussion time and
maximize our opportunity to be in the word of
God, we will be worshipping in a different place
than normal. Our fellowship hall is much
friendlier for this opportunity! We will gather
around round tables for the worship and sermon
time. There will be some food and drink present
for the kids (and adults if you wish to partake).
The elevator is in good working order, and some
may choose to enter the church through the doors
off 15th Street and come across the patio. The
service will be like I did three years ago when we
gathered downstairs for Lent midweek and did a
first-person biblical character each week from the
Easter story.
No matter which service time you attend it
will have the essentials of worship: God’s word,
confession and absolution, prayers, the
Sacrament, and a few hymns or songs based on
8:30 or 11:00 worship styles. After spending
nearly two years going through the books of the
Bible (pre-Story sermon series and The Story
sermon series) you will notice this deals deeply
with doctrinal/teaching issues of Scripture. I
hope those who come this summer enjoy this
temporary change of worship style and way of
looking deeply into God’s word in a worship
setting which very closely mirrors how the early
church gathered in the first 400 years of its
existence before Christianity became a stateacknowledged religion. Please consider coming as
you can and enjoy the journey!
God Bless,
Pastor Andy
Family Ministry
I would like to start and thank you, the
congregation for your support, as well as the
support from Pastor Andy, Pastor Harrison
and Terry Callies. God is surely on our side
and we can see him working here at ALC. The
excitement I feel is overwhelming as I dig in
deep and serve the Lord.
My first BIG job here at ALC will be
directing and organizing Vacation Bible
School. This year we will be doing a camping
theme called “Camp Discovery”. VBS will take
place August 3rd–7th from 3–6 p.m. There are
many opportunities to volunteer and child
care will be provided. I will be holding two
volunteer meetings. These meetings will give
you a chance to learn about the opportunities
and sign up.
First meeting: Wednesday June 17th at 6
p.m.
Second Meeting: Monday June 22nd at
noon
If you have already reached out to me to
let me know you are interested I urge you to
join in on a meeting anyway so you can better
prepare yourself. I am really looking forward
to working with the volunteers and I am open
to your input. If you are interested in the
slightest but worried about time, please let
me know! We have big tasks and we have
small tasks. Let’s work together in Christ and
share his good news!!!
Thank you for your continued support and
I look forward to working with each and
every one of you. Please feel free to contact
me at any time.
God’s Blessings,
Rachel Goodell
Director of Family Ministry
[email protected]
Rachel and Jake Goodell
Weighing Anchor
Jim Scriven, School Administrator
A vision that many of us have
shared for some time is to expand
our school ministry through high
school. We’re so thankful and
excited to see that shaping into a
reality. We are concretely planning to
begin with a freshman class fall of 2016, just
one school year away. Now, many of you are
aware that we are working to build a large
addition to The Lutheran Center which will
allow us the space to host a full high school
program right alongside our PS-8 classes.
However, this new space won’t be available
until fall of 2019, should things proceed
according to plan (and you never can be
quite sure about plans this far out!). So how
can we be saying 2016?
Our ministry partners at Anchorage
Lutheran Church, a founding congregation
of our association and a ministry that has
walked hand in hand with us these past 35
years, has made the offer for us to use
classroom space at the church to bridge the
gap in facility need as we continue to grow.
Very exciting! Through their contribution of
facility space and support, we’ll be able to
grow grade by grade all the way up through
12th Grade, so that when our new building
is ready, we can move a full high school
program into it immediately. That is
tremendous stewardship of resources, and a
huge blessing to the many families who are
so appreciative to have this option. Each
year families wish they didn’t have to seek
out a new school option as their children
graduate 8th Grade. Thanks to the
committed support and ministry-minded
vision of the people and leadership of
Anchorage Lutheran Church, as of next year
families no longer will have to. This year’s
7th Graders will have the
option of becoming our
first high school
graduates, the Class of
2020!
I look forward to the
ways God will grow both
Anchor Lutheran School and
Anchorage Lutheran Church through
this new step in partnership together. The
school ministry spent its first years
operating in the rooms of Anchorage
Lutheran and Zion Lutheran Churches. How
appropriate that this new direction for our
program, high school, will have its birth in
the same cradle!
[email protected]
522-3636
Congratulations to our 2015
college graduates
We didn’t get all the names, but they
include:
Victoria Funner from Fort Lewis College in
Durango, Colorado.
Elsa Dieckgraeff from University of Alaska,
Anchorage.
Krista Dieckgraeff from Marquette
University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Alexandra Sedor from University of
Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Eric Hueners from Gonzaga University,
Spokane, WA.
Lutheran Social Services
of Alaska
Alan Budahl, Executive Director, LSSA
1303 W. 33rd Avenue
272-0643
Summer is upon us. Children are out of
school for summer break, and as always we
see an increased number of households
coming through our food pantry. This year
we are also facing a decrease in government
commodities so this leaves us depending
more on food donations and purchases to
serve all those who are in need. In the
summer kid friendly foods are needed such
as cereal, peanut butter, jelly and canned
fruit. Other items like boxed meals, pasta,
spaghetti sauce/noodles, and canned
protein meats like tuna, chicken or spam are
popular picks from our client choice shelves.
With the increased number of
households served in the Food Pantry we
are also in need of volunteers. We are really
needing help on Wednesday evenings from
4:30 to 7 p.m. We can also use help on
Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday from 1 to
4 p.m.
The HUGSS (Help Us Give School
Supplies) and Coats for Kids program will be
split into two separate events this year due
to the renovation of the Sullivan Arena.
HUGSS distribution of backpacks and school
supplies will be on Tuesday, August 11th at
East High School. Coats for Kids will be on
Saturday, September 26th at the Salvation
Army Gym located on their C Street campus.
Volunteer opportunities for HUGSS will be
available for set-up on Monday, August 10th
and on Tuesday, August 11th for
distribution. Also volunteers will be needed
for distribution of coats on Saturday,
September 26th. Between now and
distribution we need help with school
supplies and donation of new and gently
used coats. We also have a need for adult
sized coats. You may drop off any coats at
the Fireweed Cleaners on Fireweed and
school supplies at LSSA office.
If any Thrivent Member would like us to
help you apply for the $250.00 mini grants
that could be used for a food drive, shop for
school supplies for HUGSS or purchase
warm winter coats for children who need
them. Please call Sue Freie (272-0643) at
the LSSA office and we would be happy to
help you write a grant. All Thrivent
Members can write two grants per year.
Associate Members can write for one grant
per year.
Music Lessons: If you or your children are
looking for an opportunity to take music
lessons in Guitar or Piano, please contact
Mischa Shimek, 529-7581 or
[email protected]. Lessons can be
scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays
between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rates are $35–
$40 per hour.
Campout 2015
The Summer Campout will be held July 24-26 at Quartz Creek Campground. The campground is
located on beautiful Kenai Lake and Quartz Creek . There are 11 first come, first serve sites
available, but you need to arrive early to get one of those sites, we suggest Wednesday,
Thursday, or as early as possible on Friday. It is strongly recommended that you go online to
recreation.gov and reserve a site. There are a number of double sites available where two
families can share a site. Mike and Lisa Wilkinson will be in charge so please let them know if
you are coming and what site you will be in. 868-3901 or [email protected]. It is a beautiful
campground and a great location.
