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This Church changes lives!
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News for the week of March 10, 2024
Mid-Week Lenten Dinners @ 5:30 p.m. March 13 (March 13– CLC Deaconess Crew: Chili) March 20 (Mardi Gras Crew:
Jambalaya) Mid-Week Lenten Services March 13, 20 7:00 p.m. - - - - - - - HOLY WEEK WORSHIP SCHEDULE Palm Sunday 8:00 & 10:30 a.m. Maundy Thursday 7:00 p.m. Good Friday 1:00 & 7:00 p.m. Easter Vigil 4:00 p.m. Easter
Sunday 8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Watch your mailboxes! Watch for the letter arriving this week, and be sure to read through and pray about the brochure enclosed. Then bring your Statement of Intent to worship on Sunday to be part of our ingathering and celebration! (The brochure is available online at
clcvalpo.org/WhoMeBrochure; an online version of the Statement is at clcvalpo.org/WhoMe2024, and
you will certainly be included in the ingathering!)
Donations of candy and treats to put in eggs are
needed. Please drop your donations off at the CLC office. Thank you!
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Easter Bake Sale! Are you in need of treats to fill the Easter eggs with
for the Easter Egg Hunt? Is the yearly Easter sweet tooth setting in? Are you in charge of desserts for the Easter meal? If you answered yes to any of these questions (or even if you didn’t), then the Youth Ministry Easter Bake Sale is where you want to be! On Easter Sunday, there will be a table with home baked treats that will be available in the Gathering Space. Free-will donations will be accepted for any of the baked goods! If you have any questions, please contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn.jedrzejowski@clcvalpo.org. We hope to see you on Easter Sunday! - - - - - - - - - - Bakers Needed Do you enjoy baking? Is there a new recipe you’ve been super excited to try? On Easter Sunday, the youth program will be having its annual Easter Bake Sale. To make this possible, we are in need of baked goods! If you are interested in contributing some baked items to the Bake Sale,
please click on the link to sign-up: CLC Youth: Easter Bake Sale (signupgenius.com) Baked goods should be dropped off to the CLC kitchen by March 30th at the latest. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kaitlyn at Kaitlyn.jedrzejowski@clcvalpo.org. Thank you so much for supporting our youth ministries!
For Children and Families - Mark Your
Calendars! Our All-Ages Easter
Vigil is the highlight of the year! This year at 4pm on March 30, we will celebrate this ancient tradition while having a lot of fun along the way, using all 5 senses (plus our sense of humor) to walk through the family stories of God’s people and celebrate the Resurrection - and then break our Lenten “fasts” with s’mores. One of the best parts is always a collection of family storytellers for our Bible Stories - you can sign up at the
following link, and contact me (pastorerica@clcvalpo.org) for any help with ideas or questions! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0C49A4A92FA5FE3-47492298-easter Easter Sunday Egg Hunt, March 31 after 10:30 service Times are approximate, depending on when worship wraps up: 12:00– pre-k-k (near the Memorial Garden) 12:10– 1st– 4th grade (out in the field)
12:15- 5th-8th grade
(in the woods) We will have some plastic bags, but you may want to bring your own collecting container. Emptied
eggs will be collected back afterwards to be recycled for next year.
Join the continuing series in the Faith Formation hour!
Join us during the weeks of Lent for the study of The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. This book and
video series introduces us to the roots of racial injustice in the American church. The six sessions at CLC will take us on an historical, sociological, and religious journey from the American colonial period right through the Black Lives Matter movement and charts a path forward to replace established patterns and systems of complicity with bold, courageous, immediate action. The author, Jemar Tisby (BA, University of Notre Dame; MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary), is President of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, where he writes about race, religion, politics, and culture. He is also cohost of the Pass the Mic podcast and is studying for a PhD in History at the University of Mississippi with a focus on race religion, and social movements in the twentieth century. We meet at 9:20am in the Church Hall (big room next to the kitchen). Remaining dates for the series are March 17th, March
24th, and April 14th. It is not necessary for you to purchase the book or study
guide, but if you would like to purchase the book, click here. If you would like to purchase the study guide (which includes a personal study guide for reflection between sessions – a possibility for your Lenten devotional time) click here. Questions?? Contact Kathy Sutherland (ksutherland54@yahoo.com) or Patrice Weil (psherriweil@gmail.com )
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Prayers to Resist Racism Sunday March 17, 1:00 PM Porter County Courthouse,
Valparaiso Organized by First Christian Church Two weeks ago, a person hiding behind a mask and para-military gear walked around downtown Valparaiso with a sign declaring "Keep the Region White" alongside neo-Nazi and other White Nationalist imagery. This Sunday, we will join together to declare our rejection of that message. We will pray for a diverse region, a welcoming
region, a just region for all people. People of many faith traditions and who do not identify with a faith tradition are welcome. This will be a positive and inclusive gathering. Please bring your own signs with your messages of love, justice and welcome! Questions are welcome to Pr. Tim Trussell-Smith (tim@fccvalpo.org) [or Adam Gibson-Even (adam.gibson@gmail.com) if you don’t know Pr. Tim and are more comfortable with Adam]. If you’d like to speak (prayers or brief reflections about our desire to see an inclusive and diverse Porter County and Valparaiso) or lead a ritual, Pr. Tim would love to hear from you before Sunday. There’s a Facebook event (https://www.facebook.com/events/1386663452023995) if you’d like to share it that way.
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Workday/Spring Clean Up with our partner congregation Bethel Lutheran! Date: Saturday, March 16th Time: 9am – 2pm (including lunch) Sign-up in the Gathering Space Our partner congregation, Bethel Lutheran Church in Gary/Miller is celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. To prepare for all the festivities (including a visit from the Bishop), we will join Bethel for a Work Day to spruce up the church! Most of the tasks are cleaning tasks – so anyone can join in. If you’d like to carpool or need a ride to Miller/Gary, meet at the church at 8:15am. Questions? Contact Irene Adams or Kathy Sutherland
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Senior Gathering Thursday, March 28 Church Hall 9:15 a.m. Please join Gail Mannington and get to know more about A.M.O.S. ALL SENIORS ARE WELCOME!!
We’re Having Company! If the shelter building project down on Don Hovey Drive goes as planned, this could be our last season welcoming men participating in New Creations’ program
for meals and a safe place to sleep here at CLC. Please join us! How can you be a part
of this ministry? - Bring a meal
- Buy groceries for our shelter pantry
- Do a load of laundry
- Spend 4 hours drinking coffee and getting started on that novel you’ve been meaning to write (or just answering emails) while the men sleep
- Exercise your organizational
skills as part of the scheduling team
- Pray for our guests and volunteers
Sign-up sheets are in the Gathering Space, and on March 17th and 24th there will also be people in the Gathering Space ready to answer any questions you may have. Training sessions will be provided. If you have questions, contact: · Lisa Owen (219-477-9240; jlo46383@msn.com) · Diana Iltzsche (219-628-8950; diltzsche@hotmail.com) · Tim Sutherland (219-309-4413; sutherla@iun.edu) · Tony Reinhold (219-241-0914; tonyrein@aol.com)
New Creation (2102 N. Calumet Ave.) was created several years ago as a center for homeless men in Valpo and Porter County. The Men's Center currently offers supportive services for homeless men year-round during daytime hours and overnights at area churches. The Resale Shop is always in need of donated furniture and appliances, household and office supplies, laundry essentials and toiletries, and cleaning supplies
and paper goods. New Creation Men’s Center helps educate the community
on the problem of homelessness in Porter County and on the challenges faced by clients, with the goal to create self-sufficiency. For numerous years now, from April to October, CLC members have assisted the Men’s Shelter program in several ways i.e., hosting men overnight at CLC on Saturdays (Apr.-Oct.), preparing/serving meals (dinner and breakfast), and taking time to sit and talk with the men who are taking advantage of Shelter services. Along with six other churches (one
each night), CLC is planning to resume the overnight program with New Creation on Saturday evening, April 13, 2024. Please see various announcements in March about how CLC folks can volunteer for time slots and/or and bring meals on Saturdays beginning soon and continuing through the summer.
Gabriel’s Horn in South Haven/Portage is a Shelter for Homeless Women and Children. The short term shelter provides a safe, temporary shelter, food, linens, and basic supplies at no cost. Services include an aftercare program, arts & crafts classes, counseling, case management, and transportation. The Shelter helps lives rebuild, return to independence, and find dignity - through providing shelter, education,
counseling, and referrals to community connections. Help achieve our goal of $2500 in February (over and above giving combined with CLC’s budgeted amount of
$1200). By achieving our goal CLC will help New Creation and Gabriel’s Horn continue to thrive. Use your weekly worship giving envelope with check to CLC and indicate “New Creation” or “Gabriel’s Horn” or contribute through Subsplash on the CLC website https://clcvalpo.org via the “Give” button. Thank you to members for supporting monthly social ministry emphases.
Attention All Thrivent Financial
Members! Do you have any Thrivent Choice Dollars that have
not been directed to the charity of our choice? Minimum and maximum Choice Dollars
Designations Eligible clients will be designated a minimum of 25 Choice Dollars and a maximum of 5,000 Choice
Dollars per eligibility period (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31). Choice Dollars designated during the calendar year can be
directed until March 31, 2024. There are two ways of
directing Choice Dollars to Christ Lutheran Church: Computer: Go to the Thrivent Financial web site (www.Thrivent.com) and direct the Choice Dollars on-line. Phone: Call Thrivent Financial at 1-800-847-4836. When prompted by the electronic answering system, say “Thrivent Choice.” Follow the remaining prompts, and a representative will come on the line to assist you. You will need your Thrivent membership ID number and will need to answer some other personal questions to verify that you are the Thrivent member
who is on the line.
High School Theology Club Are you interested in exploring big theological questions? Have you ever thought to yourself, “Who is God?” or “Do humans have free will?” or “How is Jesus 100% human and 100% divine?” If these questions are ones you want
to explore further, then Theology Club is the place to be! Twice a month on Mondays at 6pm, Theology Club meets to explore these big questions in a deeper way through discussions, books, movies, and guest speakers. In Theology Club, we know that there may not always be an answer, but that we have a space to explore the questions to understand them more deeply (and sometimes that in itself is an answer!) If you are interested in joining and are a 9th-12th grader, reach out
to Kaitlyn, Director of Youth Ministries, at Kaitlyn.jedrzejowski@clcvalpo.org for more information! - - - -
- - - - CLC Family Feud Night All proceeds go to the CLC Youth Ministries! If you’ve experienced Family Feud Nights with your family, friends, or peers, you know just as well as I do how fun it is to test your knowledge and guess the answers before they appear on the screen. Well, now is your opportunity to do that in real-life! On April 21st at 5pm, the CLC Youth Ministries will be hosting a CLC Family Feud night! If you would like to test your survey knowledge, we encourage you to attend. You can form a team of 5 people, request to join a randomized team, or, come and be a part of our audience!
Teams are $50, randomized team registration is $10, and audience registration is $5. The QR code below will take you to the form for registration. Pizza, snacks, and beverages will be provided. There will also be a bag auction available! If you have any questions, please reach out to Kaitlyn at kaitlyn.jedrzejowski@clcvalpo.org. Survey says… come to CLC Family Feud night!
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