Dear Beloved Siblings in Christ,
Faith without works is dead. These are the very words that Martin Luther found so very offensive and troubling in the book of James. In fact, he argued that works of righteousness, the attempt to use good works to gain entrance to heaven and favor with God, was the opposite of God's expectation for us as believers. Theologians have debated for centuries whether good acts are required for salvation or done in response to salvation. Join us this Sunday as we celebrate "God's Work. Our Hands." and give thanks for the opportunity to express our faith in acts of service.
Faithfully yours,
Pastor Naomi
During the month of September, we are honoring the memory of Marge Ahlstrand, a beloved member of Lutheran Church of the Foothills, who completed her baptismal journey on July 20, 2024. Marge and her late husband, Rev. Ken Ahlstrand joined Foothills in the mid 2000's. In 2007 she was appointed the accompanist for the Desert Song service. In 2009 she set "The Lord's Prayer" to a melody everyone soon loved to sing, and a new liturgical piece was born at Lutheran Church of the Foothills. Marge served for 15 years before COVID-19 intervened and the Desert Song service and traditional services were merged after the pandemic. A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at Resurrection Lutheran Church in January. For this month, we will sing "The Lord's Prayer" to Marge's tune every Sunday in her memory.
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Sunday Bulletin and
Worship Service Links
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This Sunday, September 8th ~ 16th Sunday after Pentecost
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+8:00a -- Discussion Eucharist: Learning Center.
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Growing in Faith Together: Intergenerational Sunday School begins September 22.
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+10:00a -- Sunday Celebration: Sanctuary. (In-person and live-streamed on YouTube)
+ Service includes Holy Communion.
Monday, September 9
- The church office is closed.
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4:00p to 6:00p -- French Lessons: Activities Room. (Community group)
Tuesday, September 10
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Tuesday through Friday, 9:00a to 3:00p -- Church Office is open: Use the south entry door and ring the doorbell if the door is locked.
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12:00p to 1:00p -- God's Love Made Real - A Zoom Conversation with Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton: Activities Room.
Wednesday, September 11
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10:30a to 11:30a -- Staff meeting: Church Office.
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Noon -- Articles are due for "Weekly Footnotes": Church Office.
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4:30p to 6:00p -- Los Campaneros handbell rehearsal: Activities Room.
Thursday, September 12
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10:00a to 11:30a -- Coffee Talk: Meets at Bruegger's Bagels (corner of Sunrise and Swan).
Friday, September 13
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5:45p to 8:00p -- AA PreWeekenders & Al-Anon Sunset: Activities Room. (Community groups)
Saturday, September 14
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10:00a to 12:00p -- Celebration Choir rehearsal: Sanctuary.
Coming Up
- Sunday, September 15 -- All Ages Activity and Rally Sunday potluck
- Thursday, September 19 -- Thursday Journey returns!
- Thursday, September 19 -- Intentional Visioning meeting
- Friday, September 20 -- Primavera hot stew items due to Kitchen.
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God's Work. Our Hands: September 7!
The congregations of Lutheran Church of the Foothills, New Spirit Lutheran Church, and San Juan Bautista Lutheran Church will join together on September 7 from 9:00a to 11:00a to make Heat Care Kits for the City of Tucson's Housing First program. All ages are welcome! The kit assembly will occur at Building 15 of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center complex at 195 W. Irvington Road, Tucson. Click here to access the map and parking directions.
Immediately afterward, the volunteers will meet for lunch in the fellowship hall of San Juan Bautista Lutheran Church, 1130 E. Bilby Road, Tucson. The meat (chicken fingers) will be provided. See the Activities Counter to sign up to bring desserts and drinks and pick up directions to El Pueblo Neighborhood Center. For more information, contact Pastor Naomi.
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Veterans and Dogs Team Together for Better Health
Come to Social Time in the Activities Room after worship on September 22 to hear from a representative of Soldier’s Best Friend and be introduced to the veteran/dog team accompanying them. Soldier’s Best Friend matches dogs from local shelters with veterans living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic Brain Injury, and trains them as a team for one of two qualifications:
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Service Dog training takes a minimum of six to nine months to complete the program and master the skills necessary to qualify. Service dogs and their veterans have certain rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Therapeutic Companion Dog training is typically a minimum of four months and includes full obedience training. However, a therapeutic companion dog cannot go to many public places where a service dog is allowed.
The pairing and training are provided at no cost to the veteran (the average cost of training a veteran/dog team is $7,500). During September you can help support Soldier’s Best Friend by
- Praying for their staff and the veteran/dog teams
- Giving monetary support through Lutheran Church of the Foothills
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Purchasing items online from their Amazon wish list (SBF Amazon Wish List)
- Volunteering to help with administrative duties, fundraising events, and more
- Becoming a Foster Volunteer, housing a rescued dog for a brief amount of time while it is evaluated for being a suitable candidate for service dog training
To learn more visit the Community Service display table in the lobby. Also, go to the Soldier’s Best Friend website, https://soldiersbestfriend.org/ , select "What We Do" and click on Veteran/Dog Teams, or visit their Facebook site Soldier's Best Friend to read stories about the many ways service dogs are helping their veterans by “having their six.”
~ Community Service Team
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Household Blessings Sorting Day
Volunteers are needed to help with sorting on Thursday, September 12 at 8:00a at Tanque Verde Lutheran Church, 8625 E. Tanque Verde Road. If you have questions or items to donate, call Donna Elmquist at 520.603.2399 or email welmquist@msn.com.
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Habitat Tucson: Faith Build Committee Invites You
The need for affordable homeownership has never been greater. Habitat for Humanity Tucson's Faith Committee invites you to answer a call to hope at an Afternoon of Community, September 16, from 2:00p to 4:00p hosted by Bryan and Beth Daum at Haciendas del Conde Clubhouse, 5910 N. Pontatoc Road, Tucson, AZ. Join them to hear from two new homeowners, Kristina and Ida, and learn how the challenges of affordable homeownership are being addressed. Light appetizers will be served.
Please RSVP by Monday, September 9 to Katherine Richard, Donor Database Manager at katherine@habitattucson.org or call (520) 497-2385. All are welcome so please bring a friend! For more information, contact Beth & Bryan Daum.
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Sign Up for the Next Primavera Hot Stew Meal
Our next opportunity to provide a hot stew dinner at the Primavera Men's Shelter is September 20. As of this newsletter, we still need one more signup each for salad and dessert. We also need 3 servers. You can participate by signing up on the clipboard on the Activities Counter or calling the office to prepare the food in your home kitchen, provide side dishes and desserts, or serve the meal at the Shelter. The men will thank you!
Thank you for your participation in this ministry! For more information contact Sylvia Strauss-Kolb.
~ Community Service Team
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Partnering with Interfaith Community Services
Thanks to all you faithful grocery shoppers! There is an updated list of food items posted in the lobby. Interfaith Community Services (ICS) is providing healthier options to the people they serve. The additions are canned meats, small containers of fruit for children, shelf-stable milk, and pop-top cans for the unhoused people they serve plus all the other food items that we routinely donate.
The person who received our donation wanted us to know how much ICS appreciates all the food we donate and that they use all the food quickly. They are serving more people than ever. Many thanks.
~ Beth Daum
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The Heat Is On!
Summer has arrived at Sister José Women's Center a low-barrier shelter for women without housing. Staff and volunteers at the shelter see more sunburned faces, peeling lips, and dog paws that are inflamed from the hot, concrete sidewalks.
During the hot summer months, requested donations include essential clothing such as shorts, tank tops, shirts, lightweight pants, sandals, sneakers, individual-sized toiletries, rolling suitcases, and backpacks.
Because many guests have pets, booties for dogs, dry food or canned food with pull tabs for dogs and cats, kitty litter, and coats and beds for both dogs and cats are needed. The Center will also take new or gently used pet supplies such as beds, leashes, and collars. Now through mid-September, donations should be dropped off directly at the Center on 1050 S. Park Avenue, Tucson.
~ Patrice Frame
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ELCA World Hunger
Proceeds placed in the World Hunger Appeal Contributions Jar (on the stand inside the entrance to our worship area) are shared with the ELCA’s World Hunger program. Thanks for your generosity. July total: $79. ~ Ann Krohn and Carol Lundberg
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Welcome & Hope Since 1939
Global Refuge is the largest faith-based national non-profit exclusively dedicated to helping restore a sense of home to immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. For more information, go to their website: https://www.globalrefuge.org/
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ELCA Disaster Response
To help with our church's response to current crises here in the United States and around the world, look for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Lutheran Disaster Response forms on the Activities Counter in the lobby.
~ Community Service Team
Image by Matthias Fischer from Pixabay
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Thursday Journey Begins September 19!
What is Christian Nationalism? Are these just the latest buzzwords to get folks talking and worried in a heated election cycle? How do I tell the difference between nationalism and patriotism? Are we supposed to talk about politics at church? Isn't there a separation of church and state?
Join us on Thursdays, 10:00a to 11:30a each week beginning September 19th as we explore these topics while living our civic duty as faithfully engaged members of society and actively seeking to live out our faith!
Photo by Brad Dodson on Unsplash
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Join Bishop Eaton and Be Part of the Movement!
Join ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton for a conversation about God's Love Made Real. This ELCA movement encourages us to create a world where we can experience the difference God's grace and love in Christ make for all people and creation. The FREE, Zoom-only event for the Sierra Pacific, Southwest California, Pacifica, Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain synods will take place Tuesday, September 10, at 12:00p. Registration is encouraged, but not required. If you want to watch from home, click here to access the Zoom link. Individuals are also encouraged to watch and join in the discussion from the Activities Room at Lutheran Church of the Foothills. Sign up on the clipboard on the Activities Counter if you are interested in attending.
Learn more about God's Love Made Real at https://lovemadereal.elca.org/
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Democracy, Faith, and Peace-Building in 2024
Join best-selling author and Sojourners founder, the Reverend Jim Wallis, in reflections on the current state of our democracy and his most recent book, The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy. The presentation will be held at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 West 23rd St., Tucson, on September 11, 2024, at 6:00p. Click here to register.
Copies of Rev. Wallis' book are available for purchase at Antigone Books. This event is being co-sponsored by Arizona Faith Network, Southside Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, and Arizona Democracy Resiliency Network.
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Lift Up Your Voice in Praise!
The Celebration Choir will be starting up again soon. We will begin rehearsals on Saturday, September 14, at 10:00a in the sanctuary. If you read music, that’s great, but it is not a requirement. The choir is a great place to serve and make closer connections with our church family, especially if you are new to the congregation. Please see Andy Bade for details.
Image by David Beale from Unsplash
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Learn with Read & Yak
"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."
– Walt Disney
Read & Yak is a diverse group that meets on the fourth Saturday of every month in-person in the Activities Room and on Zoom. The next meeting is on Saturday, September 28, at 10:00a to discuss the Pulitzer Prize winner Trust, by Hernan Diaz. Click here to join the Read & Yak Zoom meeting. Meeting ID: 822 7558 0676 Passcode: 844657
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Grand Canyon Women of the ELCA: 2024 Retreat
Join the Women of the ELCA on October 4-5, 2024, at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 1200 N. Campbell, Tucson for the weekend retreat "Holy Spirit Set My Heart on Fire." Registration, which includes Saturday lunch, is $120 per person. The deadline for registrations is September 21. Register online at https://grandcanyonsynodwomen.regfox.com/2024-grand-canyon-womens-retreat
For more information, see the flyer on the Activities Counter.
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United in Prayer: Ecumenical Vigils for Peace during the 2024 Election Season
Leaders from several Christian denominations, including the ELCA, have organized a series of prayer vigils leading up to the election. These vigils will be held at various locations across Arizona. Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 1200 N. Campbell, Tucson, will host a vigil based on the topic "Harden Not Our Hearts" on October 14, 2024, at 6:00p. For the entire schedule and locations go to gcsynod.org/news
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We pray for . . .
- Judi W.;
- Summer U-B. (friend of Justine W.);
- Beth S. (friend of Rosemarie S.);
- Sharon D. and family, Ronnie F. and Lori B.;
- Brett, Ava, Brooklyn, Heather, Shelley, Adrian, and Jonathan (friends of Sylvia S-K.)
- Nicole and Bianca (Colette Barajas' & Kristen Birner's nieces);
- Jeremy W.;
- Brandon, Kathy, Danna & Gina James (friends of Sylvia Strauss-Kolb);
- Pat Walker (former member);
- Mandy and children (friends of Liz Zidel);
- Susie, Lance, Jan, and Michelle (friends of Sylvia Strauss-Kolb);
- Robert Olson (Pastor Naomi's father);
- Bryce Lich (Michael Lich's nephew);
- Vicki Becker; and
- Sue Thompson.
Names will remain on the prayer list for three weeks unless otherwise notified.
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