1. Dear Faithful Members of the Good Shepherd Family:
services, I feel that trimming
worship so we can get on with
the rest of our lives is backwards
thinking. Again, our lives were
created for worship by the One
we worship. Does not the One
who gave us the gift of time,
every year, month, week, day,
minute and second of our lives
deserve more from His chil-
dren? Our complete liturgy is
about an hour and twenty min-
utes in length. Special events
may lengthen some worship ser-
vices, but considerable effort is
exerted not to extend the time
beyond an hour and a half.
While the word liturgy literally
means work, our time of wor-
ship should never feel like
drudgery. Our motivation to
come and worship our God
should never be guilt. God de-
sires that we, God’s children
come willingly to express our
love and thanksgiving. God also
desires to bless us through our
worship, and to shun that bless-
ing would be foolish and
sad. With all of the foolishness
and sadness that is in the world
and in our lives, should we not
be inspired to embrace the bless-
ings of worship all the more? In
fact, perhaps sharing this article
with a friend, neighbor or family
member may inspire them to join
you on Saturday at 5:30 or Sun-
day at 8 or 10!
We are truly a blessed people
and we have an awesome God,
may our lives and actions reveal
these truths with joy!
Faithfully living into our mission
together,
Eric Olaf Olsen, Pastor
If you have ever asked the
question, “What is my mission
in life?” let me share with you
the answer, or at least name the
place where the deep questions
of existence can begin to be
answered. God created us for
worship. Just as an eagle is
built to soar, so are we specifi-
cally engineered by God for
prayer, praise, and thanksgiv-
ing! Nothing should seem more
natural than joyfully pouring
ourselves out to God. And
while God is the sole object of
our attention in worship, God
blesses us through this activity
by cleansing our sin, repairing
our brokenness, stretching our
imagination and nourishing our
spirit.
Like breathing, we should
ensure nothing impedes our
ability to worship since our
identity and wellbeing are so
intricately tied to this sacred
event. With that said, I would
like to use this opportunity to
address a few worship-related
concerns.
While God created us for wor-
ship, over the years there have
been human cultural changes
which have caused the day that
was originally set aside by early
Christian communities for wor-
ship, Sunday, to become clut-
tered with sporting events,
social engagements, and
work. Sadly, faced with pres-
sure from coaches, bosses and
social calendars many Chris-
tians sacrifice worship and in-
advertently block blessings of
stability, peace, and meaning
from their lives. Earlier this
year we added a Saturday eve-
ning service of Holy Commun-
ion to help members overcome
some scheduling challenges,
and now a new spoken service
has been added at 8:00 am on
Sundays. This service of Holy
Communion will be without
the usual hymnody and will be
held outside weather permit-
ting. So if you have to hit the
road by 9 to get to that planned
outing, come to church first at 8
and feel free to wear your swim
trunks! It is our hope that
families will then not miss the
opportunity and privilege of
worship!
It may seem that adding ser-
vices acts to divide our congre-
gation, but the reality is that
the cultural pressures that we
face daily are what divide us
and draw us away from God
and each other. Gathering to-
gether here at Good Shepherd,
centered in the reading and
preaching of God’s Holy Word,
and the sacrament of Holy
Communion, is what unites us
in to the One Body of Christ. In
fact, when even one child of
God is absent from our weekly
worship, our worship is dimin-
ished. So like Christ, it is im-
perative that we keep seeking
and reaching and searching for
ways to include and invite.
On the other hand, there are
some things that we should not
compromise on, such as the
integrity and order of wor-
ship. The shape of our inten-
tionally Lutheran liturgy fol-
lows the traditional ancient
order of Gathering, Word,
Meal, and Sending. This order
was not designed to fit within
an hour, but was intended to
draw us close to our
God. While I am not advocat-
ing for excessively long worship
G O O D S H E P H E R D
L U T H E R A N
C H U R C H &
S C H O O L
J U L Y 2 0 1 1
A M E S S A G E F R O M
O U R P A S T O R
Psalm 100
1
Make a joyful noise to the
Lord, all the earth.
2
Worship the Lord with
gladness;
come into his presence
with singing.
3
Know that the Lord is
God.
It is he that made us, and
we are his;*
we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture.
4
Enter his gates with
thanksgiving,
and his courts with
praise.
Give thanks to him, bless
his name.
5
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures
forever,
and his faithfulness to all
generations.
2. President’s Report – Council Meeting June 21, 2011
tinues to improve. We anticipate a
larger surplus this year than last.
Church income continues to rise.
We have plenty to do. We have fa-
cilities that are almost 60 years old
and buildings that were built when
energy was cheap.
We have certainly turned a corner.
The next two years will be just as im-
portant as the last two. Through our
Ministry Teams we need to support
Pastor’s efforts and take on some of
what he has personally done. Lighten
his load.
We need to invite new members to
join us on those teams, to help us in
doing Mission and Ministry. We
need to think bold thoughts, dream
dreams and see our Ministry for what
it can become not just what it has
been.
Thank you for all you do. Continue
to serve God, be faithful in worship
(there are many opportunities every
weekend—three—now that summer
has arrived), be faithful in steward-
ship (time, talents and treasure), pray
for each other, and pray for our min-
istry.
Be true to our Mission;
Loving, Living and Sharing Christ.
I am sure you all have experi-
enced it—time flying. That is
definitely how I feel!
Two years have passed since the
June Church Council Meeting in
2009 when I was elected Presi-
dent. I knew these would be chal-
lenging and exciting years. I also
knew that God, who is faithful,
would answer our prayers.
That first year was certain to be
a really important one. Our
budget for the year anticipated a
shortfall of income versus ex-
penses ($45,000) even with an 8%
increase in Church Income. Just
nine months after the financial
markets collapsed, the School Ad-
ministration was finishing the
school year and planning for an
upcoming school year that held
great uncertainty.
We were also going through the
Call Process in 2009 and into
2010. The Call Committee
worked carefully and prayerfully.
As that fiscal year was coming to a
close, the future was coming into
focus, at least as far as who our
Pastor would be and that the fis-
cal year would end in a small sur-
plus, not a deficit. Thanks be to
God!
God was watching over us,
guiding and blessing us. Pastors
Jurik and Loufman provided solid
spiritual leadership and helped us
through the Call Process. Our
prayers were answered when Pas-
tor Olsen arrived in August of
2010. We had made it through a
few very challenging years and
now we had the full time Pastoral
leadership that was sorely
needed.
God blessed our School
through a time that called for
program changes in order to
meet the needs of our commu-
nity. Modest investments were
made in order to add a two year
old toddler separation program.
This new program, along with
the excellent administration
and staff that we have, posi-
tions us well to do ministry
through the school in future
years.
The second-year budget was
also out of balance with ex-
penses expected to exceed in-
come by $29,000. Income was
forecasted to increase modestly.
Pastor Olsen’s impact over the
past ten months cannot be
overstated. He stepped in with
great energy and enthusiasm,
connecting personally with
members and school families
alike. We made the move to the
new hymnal; added a Saturday
evening worship service; held a
community Thanksgiving Ser-
vice; and extended our reach
into the community through
the Shepherd’s Table Lunch-
eons.
I could go on and on. I am
pretty sure my best attempt
would take up many para-
graphs and I would still leave
more than a few things out. We
have added 19 new members in
the past ten months.
This is just the beginning.
Our financial situation con-
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT,
MR. PAUL HINSCHMR. PAUL HINSCHMR. PAUL HINSCHMR. PAUL HINSCH
4. The Saintly Sewers of Good Shepherd have been rather busy these past few weeks, produc-
ing the many dresses you may have seen on display in the narthex.
The rewards of their weekly sewing sessions usually result in charity quilts for babies in need
that are distributed to various organizations on Long Island. Upon seeing an article in one of
her sewing magazines, however, sewer
Janet Cox approached fel- low members
Loretta Ruff and Irma Carlson to see if
they might be interested in participating in
this “Little Dresses for Af- rica” pro-
ject. Their response is right here in these
photographs!
Little Dresses for Africa is a non-profit,
Christian based organiza- tion that provides
relief to the children of Africa. These sim-
ple dresses are distributed through orphanages, churches and schools in Africa to plant in the
hearts of little girls that they are worthy. To ensure that they actually get to the children, the
majority of the dresses are sent with mission teams here in the United States for personal dis-
tribution. TV host of her show, Nancy's Notions, Nancy Zieman, and her employees are team-
ing up with this organization to help with the shipment of these dresses.
The Saintly Sewers report that it was not only a fun, worthwhile project, but it also touched
their hearts to be of such great help in such a simple way.
AFRICA’S CHILDREN WILL REAP
FROM THIS “SEW”
GOOD SHEPHERD’S SAINTLY “SEW”ERS HIT THE MACHINES
FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CAUSE -
LLLLittle
Dresses for Africa is a
non-profit, Christian
based organization
that provides relief to
the children of Africa.
Just a few of the many
dresses designed by our
talented “sew”ers that
were on display in the
narthex during the
weekends of June 18/19
& 25/26. Pastor Eric
blessed them during the
service on 6/26.
Once again we will be holding our Wednesday evening Bible study
& Pot Luck dinners at 6:30 p.m. during the months of July and Au-
gust.
John & Judy Hinsch have volunteered to host on July 20th, while
Tom & Dell-Ann Benson will open their home to us on August
10th. We very much appreciate their making their homes our home
for the evening.
Please consider opening your door to host on either July 6th, 13th,
or 27th or in August, the 3rd, 17th, 24th or 31st. Everyone brings
something to keep the host feeling “pressure-free!”
The sign-up sheet is in the narthex waiting for your name. What
better way to spend a hot summer evening than with your Good
Shepherd family, good food, and the Good Book!
GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL
99 Central Park Road, Plainview, NY 11803
Phone: 516-349-1966 Fax: 516-349-8438
E-mail: church@ourshepherdlives.org
Website: www.ourshepherdlives.org
Ministers: The Members of Good Shepherd
Reverend Eric O. Olsen, Pastor
Judy R. Hinsch, A.I.M., School Director
Teresa Ratkowski, Director of Choir and Organist
Maureen Cooke, Church Secretary/Newsletter Editor
Lindsay Kuefner, School Secretary
John E. Menig, Jr., Sexton
Bobby Lang, Sexton
SUMMER IS BACK!SUMMER IS BACK!SUMMER IS BACK!SUMMER IS BACK!
...AND SO IS WEDNESDAY EVENING...AND SO IS WEDNESDAY EVENING...AND SO IS WEDNESDAY EVENING...AND SO IS WEDNESDAY EVENING
POT LUCK DINNER BIBLE STUDYPOT LUCK DINNER BIBLE STUDYPOT LUCK DINNER BIBLE STUDYPOT LUCK DINNER BIBLE STUDY
Little Dresses for Africa - Changing lives one little dress at a time..."
CLEANING YOUR CLOSETS? Please hang on to
some of those old clothes just a little bit longer. We will
be having a clothing drive for the needy in the fall.
5. Please join the members of Trinity’s Junior & Senior Youth Group for
a great time on Saturday, July 30th. We will begin the day at 10 a.m.
at Splish Splash for a full day of wet and wild fun. Then we will pro-
ceed to Trinity Lutheran Church in Rocky Point, a mere 15 minutes
away from the park, for a barbecue dinner at 5:30 p.m.
The cost of this day is only $30 per person. Please complete
the registration form below and send it to Trinity Evangelical
Lutheran Church before Monday, July 18th. We also have
forms in the narthex.
HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME!!!
SPLISH SPLASH/BARBECUE/LAWN PARTY!
Come for a spectacular day of
fun and fellowship!
The BIG THANK YOU below is from our social ministry who delivered 175 pounds of food to Lutheran Life Services
on June 6th!
YOUTH GROUP outing—July 30th
6. Did you or someone you know celebrate
an Anniversary? A Birthday? A Promotion?
Are you proud of yourself or of someone else?
Let us know what is happening!
Please e-mail any news (good or bad) that you’d like to share with
your family in faith by the 15th of each month to:
Church@ourshepherdlives.org.
Many of you have been receiving our past
few newsletters on line as well as through
the US mail. In order to save postage ex-
penses, we are trying to downsize and hope-
fully eliminate mailing our newsletter alto-
gether. If you have been receiving it through
e-mail, you will no longer be getting it
through the US mail.
If we do not have your e-mail address, and
you would like to continue to receive Good
Shepherd’s monthly newsletter, please send
us an e-mail at
church@ourshepherdlives.org in response to
this notice.
If you are interested in continuing to receive
this newsletter but have no e-mail access,
please call the office at 516-349-1699 to dis-
cuss this matter.
If we do not hear from you at all, we will as-
sume that you no longer wish to receive
news from Good Shepherd. If this is the
case, however, please extend the courtesy of
letting us know.
Thank you for helping us to keep our ex-
penses down and our records current!
- submitted by Mary Weigert
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
FROM OUR TECHNOLOGY TEAM
www.ourshepherdlives.org
Hear Pastor Eric’s Sermons!
Stay appraised of upcoming events!
Get timely calendar changes!
Get news from our church and school!
Stay current with your Good Shep-
herd family while you are away!
YOU CAN EVEN order flower dedica-
tions & make prayer requests, too!
Don’t forget to . . .
check out our website
“Summertime and the living is easy…”
Do a summer “cool” coffee hour. Think outside the coffee urn.
Summer allows us to do cool drinks—iced tea, punch, lemon-
ade…you choose!
Check the schedule and treat us to your creativity. Hot coffee,
iced coffee, juice, to name a few—it’s really up to you!
Thank you!
- Karin Kienle
KEEP THINGS COOLKEEP THINGS COOLKEEP THINGS COOLKEEP THINGS COOL
(OR NOT!)(OR NOT!)(OR NOT!)(OR NOT!)
Please e- mail all articles for inclusion in the
August newsletter no later than July 15thJuly 15thJuly 15thJuly 15th, to
church@ourshepherdlives.org..church@ourshepherdlives.org..church@ourshepherdlives.org..church@ourshepherdlives.org..
7. On Trinity Sunday (also Father’s Day), June 19th, the congre-
gation of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church rejoiced in welcom-
ing seven new members into our family through Affirmation of
Baptism. Two were returning
members; another two were joining
their own families in membership
here, and three have long been
among us and decided that the time
was right for them to become part
of our family. We’d like you to meet
them:
Elaine Cassimatis commutes to our
church from Freeport where she
lives with her dog, Santana. She
holds a Masters in American and
British Literature from Hofstra Uni-
versity and works in a totally unre-
lated field—property manage-
ment! She credits her becoming a
member of Good Shepherd to the
Grace of God, a wonderful decision
her parents made years ago, and her
introduction and subsequent
friendship with Rodney and Gun-
hild Schabel. Her friendship with
the Schabels spawned from her tak-
ing Norwegian lessons from Gun-
hild in 2006 prior to a hiking trip to
Norway that summer. Rodney and
Gunhild often spoke about their
involvement with Good Shepherd.
Elaine imparted that she had gradu-
ated from Nassau Lutheran School
in Mineola in 1968. During their
conversations, she recalled her
wonderful memories of those years and realized how fortunate
she was that her parents had chosen Nassau Lutheran for her
formative years. Finding and joining Good Shepherd Lutheran
Church has been no “fluke of fate” or accident for Elaine. It has
been a sort of homecoming, and she is very happy to be here.
“The Lord really does work in mysterious ways!” Elaine re-
marked.
Angel Lorch and her son Jason were members who transferred
to Faith Lutheran Church during Jason’s confirmation prepara-
tion. Angel has been an assistant teacher in our school’s pre-K
program since 2000 and also runs our popular “Music &
Movement” enrichment program. Jason was part of the Beth-
page High School swim team that shattered the school’s 36-
year record for the 200 Freestyle Relay on January 4th with a
time of 1:36.47. Jason just graduated and will be attending
Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh, NY in the fall. Angel
and Jason reunite not only with their Good Shepherd family
but also with their own family, Phil and Christopher, as mem-
bers of our church.
Vicki Milhim also decided to join her husband George as a
member of Good Shepherd. Vicki was born in New York City
and grew up in East Meadow. She is the office manager at her
husband’s accounting firm, George E. Milhim & Company in West
Hempstead. She enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, and
learning about new topics.
Melissa Saueracker
has always felt
warmly welcomed by
our congregation ever
since her husband
George and their chil-
dren, Jack and Josef,
became active mem-
bers in 2008. She also
enjoyed being part of
our school family
since 2006 and de-
cided to become a
member because she
felt it was important
to be part of the same
church as the rest of
her family, particu-
larly as Jack prepares
to receive his First
Holy Communion
next April. A former
full-time elementary
school teacher,
Melissa now substi-
tute teaches in the
Plainview/Old Beth-
page School District.
She chose to leave her
full time status to
raise her children, and
with the support of
her husband of 11 years, she has been able to see them develop
and mature into young adults.
Beverly Strack just completed her 12th year as the teacher of
our school’s “Busy Bees.” pre-K program. Born and raised in
Pennsylvania, Beverly graduated from the University of Pitts-
burgh. She has been married for 25 years to Bob, and they
have 3 children: Samantha (19), who just completed her
sophomore year at the University of Delaware, Benjamin (17),
a recent graduate of POB JFK High School, and Emily (14).
Her children reflect a warm and loving mom, dedicated to
blending her career with her #1 priority: her family. Their
summers are spent at home in Old Bethpage with lots of fam-
ily activities, otherwise referred to as “Camp Strack”.
During her days of teaching art in the Huntington School Dis-
trict, Gunhild Schabel shared a mutual friend with Nancy
Stingelin. After their friend moved away to Anchorage, AK,
Gunhild and Nancy remained only occasionally in touch.
After her husband passed away, Nancy sold their home in
Syosset and moved to Fairhaven Apartments in Woodbury,
only a few blocks away from the Schabels. They established a
closer friendship, and she often visited Good Shepherd with
them. And she liked us! Born in Flushing, Nancy is a Busi-
ness Adminstrator for A Step Ahead. She enjoys cooking, gar-
dening, working with animals, traveling, and office work.
GoodShepherdLutheranChurch
GoodShepherdLutheranChurch
GoodShepherdLutheranChurch
GoodShepherdLutheranChurchWarmlyWelcomes:
WarmlyWelcomes:
WarmlyWelcomes:
WarmlyWelcomes:
ElaineCassimatis
ElaineCassimatis
ElaineCassimatis
ElaineCassimatisAngelineLorch
AngelineLorch
AngelineLorch
AngelineLorchJasonLorch
JasonLorch
JasonLorch
JasonLorchVickiMilhim
VickiMilhim
VickiMilhim
VickiMilhimMelissaSaueracker
MelissaSaueracker
MelissaSaueracker
MelissaSauerackerNancyStingelin
NancyStingelin
NancyStingelin
NancyStingelinBeverlyStrack
BeverlyStrack
BeverlyStrack
BeverlyStrack
8. AUGUSTAUGUSTAUGUSTAUGUST
Dell-Ann Benson
Tom Berardino
Carl Gscheidle
Gail Haupt
Jessica Hinsch
Mary Knotek—75
Ryan Lessman
Olivia Marlin
Bob Rickmeyer
Genevieve Sounia
Zachary Vollono
Margaret Wenger
Warren Wiegert
Judy & John Hinsch
July 30 — 34 years
Martha & Tom Berardino
August 5— 22 years
Margaret & Paul Wenger
August 13 — 45 years
Dell-Ann & Tom Benson
August 24 — 24 years
Not listed? Then we just didn’t know!Not listed? Then we just didn’t know!Not listed? Then we just didn’t know!Not listed? Then we just didn’t know!
Please contact us so we may update our records and recognize your spe-
cial moments & accomplishments in future issues.
Thank you!
MAXIMILLIAN JAMES LUDEWIGMAXIMILLIAN JAMES LUDEWIGMAXIMILLIAN JAMES LUDEWIGMAXIMILLIAN JAMES LUDEWIG
BORN TUESDAY, 6/21/11 @ 11:33 A.M.
6 LBS/14 OZ, 19”
CONGRATULATIONS, VIENA & WAYNE!CONGRATULATIONS, VIENA & WAYNE!CONGRATULATIONS, VIENA & WAYNE!CONGRATULATIONS, VIENA & WAYNE!
JULYJULYJULYJULY
Lauren Banzer — Sweet 16
Michael Benson
Tom Benson
Joe Berardino
Gerard Coggins, Jr.
Al Ehl
Christopher Lorch
Corin Lund
Paul Rickmeyer
Alyssa Tollefsen
Arlene Wittwer
BELATEDBELATEDBELATEDBELATED
Ethel Batchelder
Karin Kienle — 60
Melissa Milhim — 21
9. T H O S E C E L E B R A T I N GT H O S E C E L E B R A T I N GT H O S E C E L E B R A T I N GT H O S E C E L E B R A T I N G
Page 9
T H O S E P R E P A R I N GT H O S E P R E P A R I N GT H O S E P R E P A R I N GT H O S E P R E P A R I N G
F O R O R D A I N E D M I N I S T RF O R O R D A I N E D M I N I S T RF O R O R D A I N E D M I N I S T RF O R O R D A I N E D M I N I S T R YYYY
Roger Griffith
T H O S E I N N E E DT H O S E I N N E E DT H O S E I N N E E DT H O S E I N N E E D
O F H E A L I N GO F H E A L I N GO F H E A L I N GO F H E A L I N G
WE PRAY FOR...
Ken Garcia (Irma Carlson’s friend), Maria
Spergel (Suzanna Allan’s mother) Marie
Fenter (Dell-Ann Benson’s friend), Tyler
LaGois, Genevieve Sounia, Joy Parisey (GSL
teacher Cindy Cannizzaro’s sister); Susan
Boettcher (John McGowan’s sister), Paul
Hinsch, John Binsfeld & Dick Frantz
(Benner family friends), Julia Kellermueller
(SL teacher assistant Sue Curran’s mother),
Maureen Araujo, Sean Walsh, Mary Knotek,
Henry Kirschbaum (Lori Tollefsen’s uncle),
Doris Monten, Nancy Kwiatkowski (Janet
Cox’s daughter), Viena Ludewig, Jay Boryea
(Paul Hinsch’s friend), Ken Dixon (Pastor
Eric’s friend), Deb Gebhart (Ruff Family
Friend), Sven Faret (Gunhild Schabel’s son),
Reverend Patricia Large (Lori Mason’s
cousin), Diane Lisa (Cathy Vollono’s friend),
Janice Ridings (Rickmeyer family friend),
Francis Lee (Helen Kopf’s son), Lynne Carl-
son (Irma’s daughter-in-law), Ed Lennon
(Lori Mason’s relative), Mary Melvin
(Virginia Schroeder’s daughter), Mary Ellen
Moyse (George’s wife), Don and Francine
Unger (Katalina Paterakis’s grandparents),
Fred Ruff, Joyce Tare, Jake (Maisch family
friend) and his family, Ian Spadaro (Dottie’s
grandson), James Fields (Vincent and Doro-
thy Cronin’s nephew), Richard Karl (Naomi
Pfund’s friend), Mary Gessing (Dorothy and
Vincent Cronin’s cousin), Rita Cunningham
(Cronin family friend), and Diane & Chris
Cucci (Naomi Pfund’s student).
T H O S E S E R V I N GT H O S E S E R V I N GT H O S E S E R V I N GT H O S E S E R V I N G
I N T H E M I L I T A R YI N T H E M I L I T A R YI N T H E M I L I T A R YI N T H E M I L I T A R Y
USMC Lance Corporal Nicholas Ventrelli-O’Connell (Patty
Larson’s family friend), David Jacobs (Joyce Tare’s nephew,
Alec & Madison’s cousin), CPT. Paul Rickmeyer, Major Phillip
Sounia, MSgt. Richard Miranda, Christopher Zito (Mary
Knotek’s friend), Sgt. Vincent Mezick.
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea
and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a
small, desert-like island. The two survivors, not know-
ing what else to do, agreed that they had no other re-
course but to pray to God. However, to find out whose
prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the
territory between them and stay on opposite sides of
the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next
morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his
side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The
other man’s parcel of land remained barren. After a
week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray
for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked,
and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his
side of the land. On the other side of
the island, there was nothing. Soon
the first man prayed for a house,
clothes, more food. The next day,
like magic, all of these were given to
him. However, the second man still
had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a
ship, so that he and his wife would
leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship
docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded
the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second
man on the island. He considered the other man un-
worthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his
prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to
leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven boom-
ing, “Why are you leaving your companion on the is-
land?” “My blessings are mine alone, since I was the
one who prayed for them,” the first man answered.
“His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not
deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had
only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you
would not have received any of my blessings.” “Tell
me,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray
for that I should owe him anything?” “He prayed that
all your prayers be answered.”
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our
prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
- submitted by Paul Hinsch
S O M E T H I N G T O P O N D E RS O M E T H I N G T O P O N D E RS O M E T H I N G T O P O N D E RS O M E T H I N G T O P O N D E R
Wayne & Viena Ludewig—Maximillian James born 6/21/11
Marcia Ressmeyer Sink & Russ Boynton—Married 7/2/11
10. UPDATE FOR JULY 2011
WITH COUNSELING SITES LOCATED IN:
NASSAU SUFFOLK MANHATTAN QUEENS WESTCHESTER
Prepared especially for LCC Association Congregations & Schools
Now that school is ending,
it is normal for parents to
put thought into what ac-
tivities their children will
be involved in this sum-
mer. The tendency is to
‘kick back’ and have a re-
laxed home schedule.
However, spending time at
home does not mean you
can let your guard down
when it comes to home
entertainment. Being
aware of which shows or
movies your children are
watching and how much
time they spend in front of
the television is vital.
Although it is natural for
children to model the be-
haviors they see and hear
on a daily basis, parents
do not often correlate their
children’s language or ac-
tions to the television pro-
grams they watch. The in-
fluence of television shows
is increased as a result of
the show’s combined audio
and visual stimulation as
well as the implicit mes-
sage that the content of
what is being watched is
‘normal and acceptable’.
The adult content that is in
many programs and com-
mercials, especially after
5:00 p.m., can become
overwhelming for parents
to monitor. Violence, ques-
tionable language or sex-
ual content are examples
of areas you may want to
monitor. Even channels that
show only cartoons often have
cartoons geared to teenagers
or adults instead of young
children. So how do you, as a
responsible parent, effectively
monitor what your child
watches? The following sug-
gestions may help.
• Discuss the content of your
children’s TV shows with
them.
• Do your homework: make
sure you know what content is
in the shows your child is
watching and limit your child’s
television to those shows you
are comfortable with. If you
are not always able to do this
on your own, talk to your ca-
ble company about putting
blocks on your television for
certain programs or have a
password put on your cable so
that your child must first get
your permission before watch-
ing a show.
• Keep family oriented mov-
ies or children’s book tapes on
hand for those times when
there are no appropriate
shows on TV
• Don’t implicitly trust movie
ratings—these have become
much more liberal in the past
few years. One helpful re-
source is Focus on the Fam-
ily’s Plugged In
(www.pluggedin.com) which
gives parents details about vio-
lence, sexual content, etc. in
current movies.
• When you are watching TV
with your children, make sure to
express disappointment and/or
sadness if someone gets hurt, is
treated badly or is doing some-
thing harmful to another per-
son. Feel free to stop the movie
and ask your children what they
think about what they just saw.
Use TV time as an opportunity
to enhance your child’s educa-
tion with the strong morals and
values that you have instilled in
your family.
Don’t use TV as a babysitter.
Do fun things (that don’t involve
TV) together when possible such
as a trip to the zoo, reading
books together, playing games
or letting your child help you
with dinner.
REMINDER: LCC’S SPRING AP-
PEAL ENDS ON JULY 1. PLEASE
MAKE YOUR DONATION ON OUR
WEBSITE OR VIA MAIL (LCC,
132 JEFFERSON AVE.,
MINEOLA, NY 11501). THANK
YOU.
You may reach the Lutheran Coun-
seling Center at 516-741-0994 or
1-800-317-1173 or e-mail us at
Center@lccny.org. LCC has seven
counseling sites in and around
metropolitan New York. Visit our
website at www.lccny.org. LCC has
seven counseling sites over the New
York metropolitan and surrounding ar-
eas.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING YOUR CHILD’S TELEVISION HABITSTHE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING YOUR CHILD’S TELEVISION HABITSTHE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING YOUR CHILD’S TELEVISION HABITSTHE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING YOUR CHILD’S TELEVISION HABITS
By: Nichole L. Adams, Psy.D., LCC Licensed Child Psychologist
11. SERVICESERVICESERVICESERVICE
ASSISTINGASSISTINGASSISTINGASSISTING
MINISTERMINISTERMINISTERMINISTER
LECTORLECTORLECTORLECTOR ACOLYTE(S)ACOLYTE(S)ACOLYTE(S)ACOLYTE(S)
Saturday, July 2 Please Volunteer Please Volunteer Please Volunteer
Sunday, July 3 @ 10:00 John Schwaninger Please Volunteer Please Volunteer
Saturday, July 9 Ellen Sangesland Ellen Sangesland Please Volunteer
Sunday, July 10 @ 10:00 Lori Mason Gretel Saul Please Volunteer
Saturday, July 16 Please Volunteer Please Volunteer Please Volunteer
Sunday, July 17@ 10:00 Judy Hinsch John Hinsch Please Volunteer
Saturday, July 24 Ellen Sangesland Ellen Sangesland Please Volunteer
Sunday, July 25@ 10:00 Dell-Ann Benson George Milhim
Zachary or Danielle
or Adriana Vollono
Saturday, July 30 Please Volunteer Please Volunteer Please Volunteer
Sunday, July 31@ 10:00 Anne Rickmeyer Richard Benson Please Volunteer
JULY SERVICE SCHEDULE
No acolytes were scheduled because of the number of servers that are siblings and family
vacations; however, we do need you to serve. Please contact us as soon as possible so we
may schedule accordingly.
Also, if any assisting ministers and/or lectors would like to fill those “please volunteer” spots,
please contact John Schwaninger at 349-0811. We also need people to serve at the 8:00
a.m. service on Sundays.
As always, “THANK YOU!”
