Please welcome our new  music director, Mrs. Joy Elowsky (see her biographical information below).  God is indeed good and gracious to have brought us together so that our worship would continue to be the highest and best that we are able to offer God.   Joy comes to us with a wealth of experience as a Lutheran musician, is already known by some of our members, and is eager to serve the Lord, lead our worship, and work with our music groups.   While we are thankful for her, we are also aware that her personal and family realities might possibly come to bear on her tenure with us.  Her husband, Pastor Joel Elowsky recently received his Ph.D and seeks to teach at the college/university/seminary level, even as he simultaneously offers his pastoral abilities to congregations in need of assistance.   While he will soon begin teaching at Eastern College near Philadelphia (commuting 3 days/week), he is open to other professorial opportunities that may arise at some time in the future.   Aware of this, we are grateful that Joy and her family will be part of the SHLC family and mission and ministry for the foreseeable future.   May the Lord bless her, and us, as together we strive to Bless the Lord and be a blessing to people, making a difference in people's lives!  
 
Our new Sunday Evening Contemporary Event is off to a great start!  The two evening services in June met our expectations in terms of participation and our own growth and experience.   Though we are as yet unable to sustain the event on a weekly basis, that is one of our goals, as is the service being an entrance point for people who might be unchurched.  The informal, contemporary and teaching format is intentionally designed to provide an easy and non-threatening opening for people who are seeking to know more about God and about things spiritual.  As an additional blessing, the event also serves as an alternative service for SHLC'ers who might not be able to worship on a given Sunday morning.  Future Sunday Evening Events will be July 12th and 26, and August 9th and 23rd - all beginning at 5:15 pm and ending at 6 pm.   Be sure to be part of this new opportunity to serve and worship the Lord!
 
As you read this, the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year nears its June 30th ending.  Over the past year, SHLC average Sunday worship attendance has increased from 152 to 179.   May God be praised for the lives and hearts blessed when we meet the Lord in worship.  Tithes and offerings returned to the Lord and dedicated to our regular and planned ministry expenses have also increased almost 4% this fiscal year, and we expect to end the year at or near the "break-even" point of giving vs. expenses.  We thank God for this, especially since giving declined almost 8% in December 2008 and January 2009 from the previous year.   In the first 6 months of 2009, however, our congregations stewardship of tithes and offerings has been "flat" or "even" compared to the same period in 2008.  What does all of this mean?    As the Lord has blessed us, our response is to return blessings as our worship, trust and thanksgiving to him.  Though times and economies might be stressed, God continues to provide our every need, especially and including his grace and mercy in Christ, as well as our physical needs.  Therefore, we ought not be hesitant to freely and generously return tithes and offerings to God, so that the work of Christ would continue, and that we as God's people would be able to proclaim the only hope that endures and lasts.  Therefore I encourage you to worship the Lord every week (even during the summer!) and return your offerings to the Lord on a regular basis, even though you may be away.   God is good, and is worthy of our honor and praise!