Community of Christ Lutheran Church          Phone: (419) 877-0607
                6517 Finzel Road                                                            Fax: (419) 877-5657
                Whitehouse, OH 43571

General Information

Reading Material Available - The recent issues of The Lutheran and Christ in our Home are available on the table in the foyer.  Please help yourself to any of the material on the table.

Hospitality Time -  Please look at the schedule on the Community Bulletin board and take a turn.  A family, a committee, a study group or a choir could provide Hospitality following the 5 PM service.  If you attend the 8 AM service and would like to have Hospitality Time following that service we will find a place to do that, please call the church office and we will help you with that.  This is a ministry that has become an important part of our worship & fellowship time each week.  For more information please call the church office or see the guideline help sheets on the bulletin board.

Nursery - is available at the 10:00 AM service.  However, due to space and staff limitations, we ask that parents limit this to kindergarteners and under.

Did You Miss Last Sunday’s Bulletin Insert? - Stop by the church and pick one up from the information table in the foyer.  They are available every week.

Remember Our Shut-Ins - Our older members and shut-ins feel very connected to our congregation even if they can’t get here every weekend.  Just a reminder for all of us to consider taking some time to personally visit with them.  Each and every one of them would appreciate some special time spent with you.  For addresses of where our shut-ins reside, please call the church office.

Equal Exchange - Fair Trade Coffee - Equal Exchange - Fair Trade coffee to be served at Community of Christ. Our church will be ordering Equal Exchange Brand coffee to be served during hospitality times at our church.  Equal Exchange Brand is fair trade coffee.  Equal Exchange currently works with more than 28 small farmer organizations in 14 developing countries.  Our trading partners are small farmer cooperatives - businesses owned and governed democratically by the farmers themselves.  Training programs for women in Guatemala, an ecotourism project in Nicaragua, new classrooms in El Salvador - these are all examples of the initiatives that co-ops have taken in their own communities with the income and support of Equal Exchange and other Fair Trade Organizations.

Fair Trade helps build pride, independence and community empowerment for small farmers and their families in poor countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.  To finds out more about Equal Exchange and Fair Trade visit www.equalexchange.com.  The Outreach and Growth Committee is looking for someone who would be interested in selling fair trade items at the church.  If you feel this mission is worth your time and effort, please contact Dick Schultz, Nancy Ferne, Kathy Chamberlain, Carol Budzenski, or Barb Thober.

Altar Flowers - There is a Flower Calendar on the bulletin board so that you may sign-up. The flowers can be dedicated in honor or memory of someone or To the Glory of God. Altar flowers can also be given for many reasons among them are:  Anniversaries, Birthdays, Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Graduations, etc! To reserve your dates for next year, see the Altar Flower Chart on the Community bulletin board.  The cost to you will be $17. This price will include flowers, set-up and delivery!  All you do is take them home.  Please remember to put your dedication on the index card as you sign up for your date. We want to make sure your event or special occasion gets recognized the way you intended for it to be.

If you have signed up for Altar Flowers for future dates, please make sure to pull the index card out and put your dedication on the card. This will save the church office a call during the week, unfortunately we can’t always reach people and we want to make sure your dedication accurate.

Giving Opportunity - The Pension Protection Act of 2006 provides a new opportunity for some people to give to our church or the Building Fund.  For the remainder of 2006 and all of 2007 individuals who have reached the age of 70.5 may make a charitable gift of up to $100,000 per year directly from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or Rollover IRA without having the withdrawal taxed.  Under prior law, these distributions would be taxable to the IRA owner, but under the Act, the distribution will be excluded from the donor's taxable income.  

Another benefit of the IRA Charitable Rollover is that the charitable distribution may be used by the IRA owner to satisfy a portion or all of their annual minimum distribution requirements.  This is especially great news for those who have pledged to the Building Fund.  For more information visit the ELCA Foundation’s Web site at www.elca.org/fo/charitableIRA.html or call the ELCA at (800) 638-3522, ext. 2970. 

Practical Tips for Sharing your Faith:

Community of Christ Lutheran Church Endowment Fund - The endowment fund is established for the purpose of providing members of the church and the community an opportunity to make gifts that become a permanent endowment of financial support and a loving memorial to those whom the church has served in the past, as well as those it will serve in the future. The endowment fund is designed to offer a balanced portfolio that not only can provide income, but also distribute principal for the appropriate missions recommended by the Endowment committee and approved by the Church Council. 

In addition to cash donations, there are many ways to contribute to the Mission Endowment Fund. One of the ways is through the designation of the Mission Endowment Fund as a beneficiary on: 

Long range planning is necessary in addition to current needs and provides funds down the road to ease those current needs.  If you would like more information, speak to a member of the Endowment Committee or Pastor Ferne.

Need to Borrow Tables or Chairs from the Church? - We are glad to lend out tables or chairs for your personal events. They are lent out on a first come, first serve basis by calling the church office for your reservation.  Please do not come and borrow tables or chairs without calling the church office before hand. This allows us to fulfill our commitment to those on the schedule.

Transferring Membership? - If you are a member of another Lutheran congregation and would like to join Community of Christ, please talk to Pastor Rich.  He will meet with you and explain who we are and our ministry here at Community of Christ.  We are always looking for new members as together we serve Christ!

A Grocery Cart in the Foyer? - Did you ever wonder why a grocery cart sits in the church entry way?  Here at Community of Christ we support the Feed Your Neighbor Program by sending canned goods to Salem Lutheran Church in north Toledo and the Whitehouse Food Pantry. By placing the shopping cart in the foyer, it is a reminder to us that there are those less fortunate when it comes to feeding their families.  These Feed Your Neighbor Programs are a vital part of our Outreach program as they continue to minister to families in need. Your continued support is appreciated by all.  Any non-perishable goods may be donated.

Food Pantry Information - We support both the Salem Lutheran Church Food Pantry, Toledo and the Whitehouse Food Pantry.  Both pantries are interested in canned/boxed meats and meals which can make up a stand-alone meal such as hamburger helper, tuna fish & noodles, spaghetti and meatballs, etc.  Also needed are any kinds of canned fruit and all kinds of vegetables except corn & green beans.  Paper products are also welcome since these are not covered by food stamps.

From the Church Office - If you come by the church during the week, please be prepared to use your church key.  During the times that Pastor Rich is out of the office, the doors will be locked.  If you don’t have your key handy, please stop by anyway, and knock on the door and we will let you in.  Thank you!

Memorial And Honorium Designations - Community of Christ welcomes both memorials (given in memory of individuals) or honorariums (given in honor of some event or person living).  These gifts can be given to the church and designated for our Memorial or Building Fund. So when you want to give a memorial or honorarium, (to celebrate a birthday or special event, wedding, graduation ordination, anniversary) please consider giving it to our own church.   These gifts are also listed on your personal giving statements.

Recycle Those Aluminum Cans - For years we have been recycling aluminum beverage cans.  Please don’t crush them as the weight becomes overburdening.  We are changing our collection drop-off point because of construction to the direct opposite side of the building.  Our old fence will be constructed in the opposite corner near the Dutch Road entrance door.  The proceeds of the can money along with the noisy offering goes to the Building Fund.  Save your cans from your home, neighbors and work and bring them here!

Prayer Shawl Ministry- This is a ministry of prayer and care for those in great need. Prayers of healing and love are woven into the prayer shawl as it is made, for the person who will receive it. A card or letter is given with a prayer for the recipient to pray as the shawl is being worn.  Knitted or crocheted shawls are made and given to men, women and children who have a great need for love and prayer in their lives as they face physical or psychological issues in their lives.

How are they made?  This ministry combines knitting/crocheting and praying as you make beautiful prayer shawls with love and care for those in great need. Just follow the directions for making the prayer shawl and pray as you knit/crochet, for the person who will receive the shawl.

Who receives them? Men, women and children with great need for love and prayer including the homebound receive a prayer shawl. "If they can't come to church we bring church to them. We reach out to meet the needs of those whom God brings to us" (Quotations used by permission of Bette Shellhorn, July 17, 2002) Some references are taken from The Lutheran, December 2001; Knit one, pray one. In a letter to Ms. Shellhorn, Marge tells men, "Don't confuse this with a Jewish prayer shawl, gentlemen. This shawl is for those times when you are sick at heart or body and need to feel surrounded by a warm hug filled with the love and prayer of others who are pulling for you."  

Simply Giving - Have you considered the convenient way of giving your offering to the church?  Simply Giving is a free service provided by Thrivent for Lutherans for individuals to have their church offerings electronically transferred from their account to the church’s account.  We now have 18 envelope users at Community of Christ which use this service and we would like to increase that number as it provides a consistent level of financial giving even when the members are away.  Please call the office and talk to Sherrie or pick up a brochure on the Information Table in the Foyer.

Give it a try and see what you think!  Do your financial contributions tend to be the same on a weekly or monthly basis? Simply Giving is great!  You can just have your contributions transferred from your account to the churches account.  This can be done weekly, bimonthly, monthly or if you have specific dates you would like to use.  Have you every sat down in worship and realized you left your envelope at home?  No more checks to write, no looking for you envelopes on Sunday mornings and no more check writing at the beginning of the service!  This so convenient, and everyone benefits.  It is a time saver for our members, and it allows the church to have a consistent cash flow, especially as summer attendance can present a financial challenge for the church.  If you are interested, call Sherrie in the office and she will help you out.  There are also forms available on the information table in the foyer.  If you want to try it for a few months, and decide you don’t care for this method of donating, we can make that change back for you at anytime.

Do You Know? - Do you know why we carry our offering up to the Altar during worship instead of having the plates passed through the rows?  When our Church was started in 1974 the organizing committee made this decision because by carrying our offering up to the altar we are giving it and we are giving ourselves - where if an offering was collected from the congregation it would be asking.  Maybe a small thing - but doesn't it make you feel better to know that you are "giving"?