Linda Haffner & Jessica Fedje - Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran ...

Surprised by Grace
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dreamed that God would send Grace an angel, and a hospital chaplain brought a silver angel ornament to hang on
her bassinet the next day. There’s also the odd coincidence that Jessica and her husband Jim are both nationally recognized
speech coaches. Grace is likely to need speech therapy. “Maybe God put this baby in our lives because we’d
know exactly what do with something like that,” Jessica wonders.
“Congregational care is about God becoming flesh and taking on and understanding your worries and problems,”
says Pastor Chris Smith, who visited the family at the hospital before Grace’s surgery. “And it’s the efforts of many,
many people, not just the pastors that make the difference to people in need.”
Grace will next have surgery to reconstruct her palette in February, 2012. Jessica and family hope and pray for
another successful operation and are comforted to know they have a congregational family behind them for support.
Worship & Music
Worship is at the heart of experiencing Jesus at Shepherd of
the Valley, and as such, it is only possible with the hard work
and dedication of many volunteers.
Even a casual visitor at SOTV can see all the various volunteer
opportunities, including greeters, ushers, communion
assistants, and most audibly noticeable—musicians!
SOTV is home to a rich and multifaceted music ministry featuring thirteen
different choirs and ensembles for voice, handbell, brass and woodwind.
But there are countless other volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes as
well. Something even simple like Holy Communion requires time and effort to set
up. A stroll through the sanctuary on first and third Saturday mornings often reveals
a group pouring each cup of wine and juice for distribution the following morning.
These volunteers also fill the wafer trays and check the amount of supplies in
between services on Sunday. There are three rotating teams who handle this task for
about an hour and a half, twice a month. It is not a huge time commitment for such
a vital task. There is always a need for more volunteers. If you are looking for an
easy way to help out with worship, maybe this a job for you!
Prayers for our
Wonders: Pray that
the Holy Spirt will
blow through SOTV’s
worship creating faith
and life for all.
Photo: BlancheK
Did you know? In the
fiscal year of 2010-11:
$4,424.64 was spent
on wine, juice, wafers,
baptismal napkins, and
candles
152 number of ushers
who volunteered
1,967 average weekly
attendance, all services
$6,027.58 was spent on
music for all ensembles
$1,387 was spent just
on music licenses
107 members in
Senior Choir
13 different music
ensembles
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