Newsletter

November 2015
Unity in Prayer
Pam Hueners and Bobbi Helms
Did you know that your pastors pray for YOU
regularly? The thought crossed my mind recently
that I (Pam) do not pray for them often enough.
We have been blessed with two amazing Godfearing men to lead us in ministry at Anchorage
Lutheran Church men who bring the Gospel in
all its purity to us every week.
As they pray for us regularly, we urge you to
hold them up in prayer daily. In addition, please
join us at the church for two holiday prayer
meetings for our pastors, our staff, their families
and the ministry of Anchorage Lutheran Church
on the following dates:

Thanksgiving Prayer Meeting

Friday, November 6th, 7 p.m.
Pie reception following.

Christmas Prayer
Meeting

Friday, December 4th, 7 p.m.

Christmas Cookie reception
following
If you are able to help with pies or Christmas
cookies for either or both of these gatherings,
please contact Bobbi Helms, 345-8281,
bhelmsakatgmail.com.
There is nothing more powerful than prayer
to unite and heal us as we walk with our pastors
in Christs ministry at Anchorage Lutheran
Church and in our community. Hope to see you
November 6th and December 4th!

From Pastor Harrison

Disciples of Anchorage Lutheran Church:

After a month of careful and prayerful

deliberation, I have been led to return the
call to LakePointe Church in Hot Springs, AR
and to continue serving Jesus Kingdom here
alongside Anchorage Lutheran. Please join us
in praying for LakePointe as they continue
their search for an Associate Campus Pastor.
I want to give a hearty thank you for the
prayers you offered on behalf of myself and
Stacey during this time of discernment.
Thank you for your patience, as I know
waiting to find out what will happen within
the ministry of a congregation is never an
easy time. Your love, friendship, and words
of encouragement were truly a blessing to
both Stacey and me.
And as you know, October
wasnt just a time of prayerful
discernment it was also Pastor
Appreciation Month. You are all
too kind! Your words, gifts of
support, and huge outpouring of
love for me and Stacey this month
were a constant joy to us. Thank you,
thank you, thank you! Your kindness and
generosity is humbling.
Stacey and I are so excited and thankful
that we get to spend more time with all of
you here! You have become like family to us
in many ways, and we look forward to
getting to know you each even more. We
have loved getting together for meals and
joining you for activities that you love to do

(even if weve never done them before), and

we want to continue that!
We also look forward to getting out and
trying more Alaskan things! If you have
anything youd like Stacey and I to join you
for, please dont hesitate to ask we
promise well do our best to join you as much
as we can. (Your Associate Pastor might even
be willing to temporarily put away his flipflops and shorts to join you in some winter
activities!!)
And ultimately, Stacey and I are excited to
continue working together with you in Jesus
Kingdom where Jesus has planted each of us.
We have a lot of work here to do in
Anchorage, and Im excited to continue
getting after it with all of you! We know from
the Scriptures that Gods heart is for the lost
and the least of this world I pray wed
continue to work together, encouraging one
another with Scripture, to make our Fathers
desires our own, to make Jesus mission our
own, and to live those out in our daily lives
by the help of the Holy Spirit. Lets talk that
out together, share ideas on how to live that,
use the gifts and talents God has given us in
service of others, and get to work together.
Please keep praying for Gods Kingdom
work here in Anchorage. I pray that wed all
set our hearts on what God would have us set
our hearts on the lost and the least and
that we as a congregation speak and act true
only to Gods heart. Im excited to continue
learning what all of this means for each of
you in your daily lives and to continue trying
to live that out with each of you, so that
people see Jesus when they look at us (2
Corinthians 5:20). May God make it so! Im
excited to see whats to come!
With love and anticipation in Jesus name,
Pastor Harrison

Wednesday, November 25
7 p.m.

Christmas Party
The annual Womens
Guild Christmas party and
luncheon will be held at
Carol Dragers home on
Saturday, December 12,
beginning at 11:00 a.m. All
ladies of the congregation
are invited to attend.
Lunch will be provided by
Carol and fellow LWML members. We will be
taking part in the local community Toys-forTots program again this year. If you are
interested in supporting this program, please
bring along an unwrapped gift/s for any age
child. Should you care to participate in the
Christmas tree ornament exchange, bring an
anonymous gift-wrapped ornament to trade.
Please join us for this festive occasion of
Christmas caroling and good fellowship.
Carol guarantees to have a least one
decorated tree in every room of the house!
4812 Potter Crest Circle, 338-1430.

Weighing Anchor

Allison Chandler, School Administrator

Ms.Chandler@ALSalaska.org

This is the month where we start into the

holiday season. It is usually a busy time of year full
of gatherings, parties, food, shopping, music and
decorations. As I write this I am looking out my
office window where a fresh blanket of snow covers
the ground, a reminder of the approaching holiday
season. I look forward to November, to
Thanksgiving, to opening up our home for a meal
with old and new friends. I look forward to the
increased focus this month brings for me personally
of giving thanks for Gods blessings. Sometimes my
personal prayer list seems more like a grocery store
shopping list of things I want for others. November
reminds me of the importance of giving thanks for
what God has done. He does not need my thanks, I
need to say thank you to God. Its a reminder and a
humbling thing for me and I hope for you too as we
enter this season.
Giving thanks helps me to live joyfully. As a
person of faith in Jesus I have and acknowledge my
joyful dependence on Him who loves me and gave
me everything I have. There is joy in knowing and
trusting that He has given me what I need; maybe
not everything I want, but definitely what I need.
We have been created to need God, to seek him, and
yet, sin gets in the way. That is why God in His word
is always reminding us of his love and where we
can find joy. Phrases God gives us like pray
continually, I will not leave or forsake you, I will
be with you always are just a few of the hundreds
or thousands of statements reminding us that we
have a dependable God deserving of thanks. So, as
you each enter into this season, make time to give
thanks in your prayers.
From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastor Andy

522-3636

Its November, which means we turn our thoughts

again towards thankfulness. As Christians, our entire
lives are ones of thankfulness, as we live out our
gratitude for the unearned love and salvation given to
us by our incredible and awesome God. November,
however, gives us the opportunity to reflect on the
blessings, gifts, and joys in our lives, and to give
thanks to the true source of all good things, our
Savior, Jesus Christ.
So what does Anchor Lutheran School have to be
thankful for? Do we have time for the whole list?

Families that we work with on a daily basis, helping

their children learn and grow.
Great teachers who put in endless amounts of
energy and love for their students.
New teachers who are working hard to be a blessing
to their students.
An amazing Facility Care Manager (Tim Skinner).
A Board of Directors who positively supports the
school ministry and faithfully pursues a vision for
growing our impact in this community.
School faculty and staff members committed to
serving the Lord through the exceptional and
tireless use of their God-given abilities.
So many helpful school volunteers, allowing us to do
more than we could possibly accomplish on our
own.
Child Care/Child Watch Director Grace Marsh, who
leads the Early Childhood and Before and After
school programs with exceptional care and
professionalism.
Students who are growing in the grace and
knowledge of our Savior day by day.
People often speak of the positive and caring
feelings they experience when they walk into our
school. We have tried to figure out how those feelings
are created, and looking at this list it isnt a wonder
anymore. However, this is just the tip of our blessings
iceberg. We have many more reasons to give thanks,
especially to God in all circumstances. We also thank
you for your continuing support and prayers, giving
Anchor Lutheran the ability to extend the reach of our
congregations into the community with the Gospel.

Whats Falling
in
Family Ministry

Our 2015 fall education quarter has started and is in full

swing! We have so much for which to be thankful for!
Sunday school started in September, youth group and
confirmation started in October and we are expecting
our first communion class to start in November. Our
heavenly Father has blessed us greatly! Here is a
rundown of what is happening in each of these areas

Sunday School started September 13th and we give many Thanks to and for our teachers.

Without those who stepped up and volunteered to teach Sunday mornings, we would not have this
valued program. The children have been learning about the life of Joseph and are moving in to the
life of Moses. In honor of Joseph feeding the hungry the Fish room (pre K-K) held a food drive.
These children collected around 50 items for our local food bank! Way to go Fish room. Thank you to
those who donated and also to the Mikkelsens who delivered the food to the bank for us!

In addition, the Frog (1st-3rd) and Lion (4th-6th) classrooms will be setting up an angel tree this
Christmas season for children of prisoners. We learned that Joseph was in jail and God gave him
strength. The children placed signup sheets in the narthex asking for participants, they had 48 sign
up! Thank you to those who helped our Frogs and Lions! We are excited to get the tree set up this
holiday season. If you didnt sign up but would like too, we will order extra Angels so you will have a
chance!

Our youth had their first meeting October 7th! We meet every Wednesday at 6 p.m. normally in

the youth room but sometimes we will meet elsewhere. Youth group starts or ends with lots of fun
games and in-between we have real and in-depth conversations about God. We have been asking
ourselves about creation, how we are sure God exists and can it be scary being a follower of Jesus.
On October 28th we had a Halloween game night with several fun food challenges including bobbing
for apples, blindfolded pudding feeding (very messy, sorry parents) and a donut on a rope challenge!
The youth will also be participating in service events in the upcoming weeks.

(Blindfolded Pudding Feeding) (Donut Rope Challenge) (Bobbing for Apples)

I know Im sounding like a broken record but I cant be clearer how thankful I am to those who stepped
up to teach Sunday school! Every so often we will have a community breakfast in place of Sunday school
and adult ed. This gives teachers a break and also gives us a chance for fellowship. ALC will provide a
variety of coffee and creamers depending on the time of year (pumpkin spice, peppermint mocha, yum!!!),
we will also provide a variety of teas and other beverages. All who attend are asked to bring a dish to
share! I dont know about you but I love a good breakfast shared with friends!
Confirmation started October 3rd! We are doing things a little different this round. Class is held once a
month on a Saturday night in the fellowship hall. The children cover 3-4 topics a night and dinner and
dessert is provided by all who attend. Each confirmand has a prayer partner who prays for them during
this important course in their life. Prayer partners are kept a secret until our end of the year party in
May! We are expecting Confirmation Sunday to be May 1st, how wonderfully exciting!
First Communion classes! We are offering a 1st communion class November 7th at 5:30 in the fellowship
hall. Please let me know if you are attending!
Lastly, October was Pastor Appreciation Month. I want to encourage you to
continue to lift both Andy and Harrison up in prayer! We are blessed with
wonderful pastors who continually help us grow in relationship with Christ. We
thank you and pray for you Andy and Harrison!

Blessing and love,

Rachel Goodell

Director of Family Ministry

Rachel@anchoragelutheran.org

Greetings Fellow Disciples of Anchorage Lutheran

Church (ALC),

As many of you know October was Pastor

Appreciation Month. I got lots of requests from
members asking me what they could do to show
their appreciation to our pastors. That was an easy
question for me to answer, as it is the same answer
that I would have given regarding all of our pastors
that have served in the 43 years that I have been a
member of ALC. Like our previous pastors, Pastor
Andy and Pastor Harrison are devoted men of God
and all of them would say that it is not about them.
It is about Gods ministry at ALC. So I have told
people that the best way to show your appreciation
to our pastors is to do three things as it applies to
Gods ministry at ALC.

1. Pray!!! Pray for the pastors, the staff, the

leaders of ALC, and Gods ministry at ALC. Bobbi
Helms and Pam Hueners jumped all over this
suggestion. They organized a Prayer Session
that was held on Oct. 2 in which approximately
25 people came to the church to pray and
another approximately 25 people who were
working or out of town and couldnt make it to
the church prayed on their own throughout the
day. After that prayer session, I could feel the
Spirit working amongst us. There is a different
feeling in the atmosphere at church. Two more
prayer sessions have been scheduled before the
end of the year. They will be held at 7:00 p.m. on
Fri. Nov 6th and Fri. Dec. 4th. Dessert and
fellowship will follow each session. I encourage
everyone to make plans to attend these.
2. Join Jesus in His Mission at ALC!!! Our
Intentional Interim Pastor, Pastor Reinke, had
cottage meetings and helped us establish our
goals before we called a new pastor. The
number one goal is to reach out into the
community and make a difference in peoples
lives. Both of our pastors are highly devoted to
this ministry. I am highly devoted to this
ministry as well. Consequently, I have decided
to devote most of the agenda of our Mission and
Ministry Council (MMC) Meetings to discussions
about mission and ministry and what we can do
to reach out into the community and make a
difference in peoples lives. Many of you have
been asking what more you can do at ALC to
make a difference in peoples lives. For starters,

I have been inviting members to attend MMC

Meetings. The next meeting will be on Nov. 12th
at 6:30 pm and then, after that on the 3rd
Thursday of each month. Together we can plan
what we can do to make a difference in peoples
lives, and then we can go ahead and do it by
joining Jesus in His mission in Anchorage.

3. Dont let 1 and 2 be one-time events, but

keep doing them throughout the year!!! This
really doesnt need any further explanation.
Lets all work together and join Jesus as He
makes a difference in peoples lives.
Blessings!!!

Terry Callies,

Licensed Deacon and President

Anchorage Lutheran Church

Mentoring/Discipling Parents
I will be leading a class on Mentoring/Discipling
Parents to be Spiritual Leaders of Their
Families. Typically I would be having three to four
sets of parents participating in the class. I currently
have one set of parents that want to participate and
we will get started once we get a date and time
established, so there is still time for you to
participate if you are interested. If so, contact Terry
Callies, 345-8029, or cell 242-5714.

Guest Ministry
Kathy Callies, Guest Ministry Coordinator
Thank you to the Guest Ministry
Team who faithfully Greet, Usher
and warmly welcome our guests
and members each week. You are
appreciated, and I thank you for
your ministry and serving. Id
like to also say We are all
Greeters and I encourage each
of you to help make this an
Environment of Hospitality just
as you would if guests were coming
to your house.
For my first Newsletter article on Guest
Ministry, I want to focus on first impressions
That first impression our guests form is a lasting
one and do you realize that this first impression is
formed in the first 20 seconds of their arrival? It
begins in the parking lot: if the lot is full they might
think, It is too crowded, I am not going and they
leave. If the parking lot is empty they might think
this must not be a very good church, there are no
cars here, and I am not staying. They might even
make it into the entry and if it is full they might get
nervous and leave before even going into the
Sanctuary. What if they were not even greeted or
made to feel welcome at all? (I have visited several
churches in Anchorage and have had the experience
where no one talks to me. It does leave a lasting
impression.)
Just in this short timeframe, they have pretty
much made up their mind about the situation, and
when they do go into worship, their minds are
already made up about the place and the Pastor and
the Word cannot even sink in. They wont return
most likely.
This is why the Greeters Ministry is so
important! We have the opportunity in the
first few minutes of making a positive and
warm impression on our Guests and Visitors
so they can settle into worship or Bible Study
and have an open heart to hear His Word.
If you would like to hear more about the Guest
Ministry here at Anchorage Lutheran, stay tuned to
the Newsletter each month for some tips and
information that will help us welcome Guests and
Members.

In Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you

gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave
me something to drink; I was a stranger and you
invited me in. This scripture tells me that God is
saying do this, it is important, and it also lets me
know that Greeting is of God. There are so many
scripture verses that really bring it home in my
heart that greeting of others is important to God
and we should gladly do it in response to His
great love for us.
In thankfulness to God for this opportunity to
serve Him.

Preparing for Winter

Terry Callies

Summer is over, which means we are coming off

of a few months when giving is usually lower than
the rest of the year. Winter is upon us and with
winter comes added expenses, increased utility bills
with lights on more frequently and the furnace
running longer, snow removal and ice melt
expenses, as well as other expenses associated with
winter. To help us stay ahead of our bills, please
stay current on your giving or even consider giving
a little extra as the holiday season and the end of
the year approaches. God is faithful to each of us
and continues to bless us all year long. We have the
opportunity to return to God a portion of what He
has already given us.

Marys Baby Shower

36th Annual
Lutheran Womens Advent Brunch
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Egan Center
911:30 a.m.

We invite you to a time of spiritual

rejuvenation, celebration and
community, to prepare with fellow sisters
in Christ for the upcoming Advent Season.
Tickets for the Brunch are $24 and includes a full
breakfast and a morning filled with fellowship,
music and story.
To purchase tickets, call Arlene Raney 244-0258

Lutheran Social Services

of Alaska

Alan Budahl, Executive Director, LSSA

1303 W. 33rd Avenue
272-0643

Harvest of Hope Auction

This year Lutheran

Social Services of Alaska
will hold this exciting
event supporting our
programs on Friday,
November 13th at the
Sheraton Anchorage. The
Harvest of Hope auction is
a major source of funding,
fulfilling the need of over
40,000 individuals during the
past year. Come join the festivities, dine and enjoy
the charitable convivial atmosphere of the silent
and live auctions with auctioneer Paul McGuire.
Tickets are $100.00 or $800.00 for a table of 8
and you can purchase yours by calling Sue at the
LSSA office at 272-0643 ext. 10, or go online at
www.lssalaska.org click on the events tab and then
the Harvest of Hope tab. We promise you that your
contribution will go a long way towards fostering
hope for many within our neighborhoods.
Thanksgiving Blessing

We are finalizing our plans with others in the

faith-based community of Anchorage for this years
Thanksgiving Blessing food basket distribution.
Last year we distributed food to 1,343 households
amounting to 5,946 individuals. This year we are
planning to serve 1,400 households. LSSA is the site
coordinator for the distribution at Central Lutheran
Church and needs your help in many ways. As usual
we are asking our Lutheran congregations to collect
the corn, green beans, stuffing mix or cranberry
sauce that your congregation has been assigned. We
also need your help volunteering with set-up and
distribution on Monday, November 23rd. Shifts on
Monday are from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 12:30 to 4:30
p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. If you can help us out at one of
these times please call the LSSA office at 272-0643
ext. 10 or email us at lssa@gci.net.

Christmas Stockings
It is a tradition to present Christmas stockings
to the families with young children who visit our
food pantry during the month of December. Thank
you to all the groups and individuals that make
stockings for this ministry. We ask that you include
a story or activity book about Jesus birth in the
stockings. If you need instructions
or a template of the pattern
please contact the LSSA office.
Neighborhood Gift

This year all the

Neighborhood Gift sites will
again come together at the
Sullivan Arena for distribution
of toys and meals on Tuesday,
December 15th and
Wednesday, December 16th. We
have divided the city by zip codes as to which day
families will shop. Eagle River residents food and
gifts will be distributed on Wednesday, December
16th only at Harvest Christian Fellowship. You can
sign up to volunteer at
www.salvationarmyalaska.org/alaska/gift_2015.
Community Rewards

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to

help earn dollars for LSSA just by shopping with
your Fred Meyer Rewards Card. If you haven't
signed up simply join the program by linking your
Fred Meyers Rewards Card to Lutheran Social
Services of Alaska at
www.fredmeyer.com/community rewards. You still
will receive the Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and
Rebates at the same time you are helping LSSA.
Also when purchasing on Amazon.com please
use Amazon Smiles and choose LSSA as we receive
rebates on your purchases through Smiles.
Save the Date

November 14th Harvest of Hope Auction,

Sheraton Anchorage 6 p.m.

November 23rd Set up and distribution for

Thanksgiving Blessing, Central Lutheran

December 15th and 16th Set up and distribution

for Neighborhood Gift, Sullivan Arena