FLAP - Family Life At Pilgrim PDF Print
 
October 30, 2008

Family  Life  At  Pilgrim
An E-mail Newsletter for Pilgrim Families

Welcome to FLAP!

FLAP is back! ... with an expanded subscription list and a new look. FLAP, or Family Life At Pilgrim, is a monthly e-mail newsletter sent out to Pilgrim families with the purpose to communicate upcoming events at Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School as well as to inform and educate about family issues from a Christian point of view.

To have an email address added or removed from the FLAP list, simply reply to this email with "Subscribe FLAP" or "Unsubscribe FLAP" in the subject heading from the account you would like added or removed.

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Annual Fall Festival

Pilgrim's annual Fall Festival is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. this coming Saturday, November 1st, with a costume parade for the kids. The Fall Festival offers a variety of entertaining games, music, fabulous food and booths. Through Oct. 31 you can purchase discount Supertickets (20 tickets) for $5.00. The Supertickets will cost $6.00 on Nov. 1. The easiest way to buy advance Supertickets is at the parking lot gate before or after school. Proceeds benefit PTL, which in turn benefits Pilgrim Lutheran School in a variety of ways. The weather is going to be gorgeous, so come out and enjoy a beautiful afternoon.

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Set Your Clocks BACK Saturday Evening

Set your clocks back one hour Saturday evening before going to bed as Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 2nd.

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Kids for Christ

Kids for Christ (KFC) is a wonderful opportunity for Pilgrim families with toddler through 4th grade children to get together for lunch, Christian fellowship, and a fun activity for the kids. KFC meets the first Sunday of every month, so will be meeting this coming Sunday, Nov. 2nd, starting at 12:00 noon in the Parish Hall.

The activity this month is a service-oriented craft. The children will makeThanksgiving and Christmas cards not for their immediate family, but for people that are part of their extended Christian family -- members of Pilgrim who are homebound and would really love to receive these cards. Pastor Dube will take the cards to give out on his shut-in calls. What a wonderful way to bring joy to brighten their day! After the craft, with the weather so nice, the kids can go out and play on the playground and get their fill of running, and chasing, and sliding, and climbing, all while mom and dad enjoy a period of rest and Christian fellowship following a busy week.

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On Being a Christian and Voting in America

No one needs to be reminded that Tuesday is Election Day. The constant barrage of political advertising assures that we won't forget it. While we may tire of the advertising messages, it remains our privilege and responsibility as Christian citizens to cast our ballots. So I encourage you to exercise your right to vote on November 4th!

As a minister of religion of a tax-exempt non-profit organization, I am prohibited from endorsing a political candidate or party. Seeing as there is no political party instituted by God, I really have no interest in making such endorsements anyway. However, I do feel it important to share what the Bible says about political issues and want to encourage you to make your own personal decision from there.

First, the Bible says very little about most political issues, because most political issues are not spiritual issues. You may prefer lower taxes, but the Bible does not endorse low taxes -- it simply tells us to pay our taxes honestly in Matthew 22:15-21 and Romans 13:6-7. You may have an opinion on universal healthcare, social security, finance reform, immigration, off-shore drilling, and so on, but these are not spiritual issues the Bible specifically addresses. As a result, Christians can in good conscience have disagreements on these issues.

But the Bible does speak clearly on a few issues. Take abortion. Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13-16 speak of God knowing us and forming us in our mother's womb. Exodus 21:22-25 prescribes the same penalty for someone who causes the death of a baby in the womb as the penalty for someone who commits murder. In God's eyes a baby in the womb is every bit as much a human being as a full-grown adult. For the Christian, the right to choose never supersedes the right to life, especially in the case of human life that is unable to defend itself. Therefore, I believe supporting candidates who are pro-life is a God-pleasing decision.

Another issue which is most definitely Biblical is that of gay marriage. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman in Genesis 2:22-24. The Bible condemns homosexuality in the strongest possible terms. (See Genesis 19:1-13, Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.) Endorsing gay marriage or even civil unions is basically giving approval to a lifestyle choice the Bible condemns as immoral and unnatural. I believe gay marriage is also an issue Christians should consider when they evaluate a candidate.

The Bible teaches that a leader in the church should be a godly, moral, ethical person (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:6-9). This should apply to political leaders as well. If politicians are going to make wise decisions that honor God, they must have a basic morality on which to base the decisions they are going to make. So if there is a clear moral distinction between two candidates, I believe Christians should choose the more moral, honest, and ethical of the candidates.

No matter who is in office, and whether you voted for them or not, whether or not they belong to your political party, the Bible commands us to respect and honor them (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). We are at all times to pray for those in authority over us (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). 

Voting in a democracy such as ours is a Christian's opportunity to promote, protect, and preserve godly government. Passing up that opportunity means potentially letting those who would denigrate the name of Christ have their way in our lives. So ... get out and vote! And pray that God would bless those elected to office that they use their positions wisely and to God's glory.     

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Christian World View Class

Need a reality check? Beginning Sunday, November 9th during the Sunday School hour at 9:30, this fun and thought-provoking adult Bible class will challenge you to look at the world from a Christian perspective. Meet in Room 109B which is in the portable buildings on the NE side of campus. Bring your Bible. Contact Liz Hinkle at 281-240-6755 with questions.

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Thanksgiving Worship

In spite of recent economic woes due to Hurricane Ike and the downturn in the economy, we still have a lot for which to be thankful. Join Pilgrim on November 26th, the day before Thanksgiving, at 12 noon or 7:00 p.m. for a service of praise and thanksgiving. Bring your Bible to answer "Why Thanksgiving?" 

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2009 Entertainment Book

If you are like me you noticed the 2008 Entertainment Book coupons expire this week. No need to fear or panic. The 2009 Entertainment books are available in the school office for a limited time for only $20. 50% of that benefits the school. If you are not familiar with the Entertainment Books they provide money saving offers for things such as restaurants, groceries, museums, live entertainment, airline tickets, hotel rooms, other services, you name it -- it is probably in there.

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Humor

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. 'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.' 
  
A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?' 
  
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide  for themselves whether “computer” should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation. 
  
The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:
  
1.  No one but their creator understands their internal logic; 
  
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
  
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and 
  
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it. 
  
(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
  
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on; 
  
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves; 
  
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and 
  
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model. 
  
The women won.



- Pastor Kaufmann