Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 2012

This Sunday's image of the life the risen Christ shares with us is the image of friendship. We are called to serve others as Jesus came to serve; but for John's Gospel, the image of servanthood is too hierarchical, too distant, to capture the essence of life with Christ. Friendship captures the love, the joy, the deep mutuality of the relationship into which Christ invites us. The Greeks believed that true friends are willing to die for each other. This is the mutual love of Christian community commanded by Christ and enabled by the Spirit.

 

Don't forget the forum (with breakfast this week!) at 9:30 a.m. sponsored by the Chapel's Green Team and featuring Peter Joseph (see description below).    
 
Prayer List 

 

Think about starting a "practice of praying" for the Chapel this week -- around the table before a meal, before bedtime, in the morning as you prepare to depart for a busy day. Use this list and remember those in need. We invite your prayers for:

 

For the family and friends of Henry Treadway, who died this week at Unit 2 across the street from the Chapel

 

For Jennifer Doebler's brother Scot, who is undergoing treatment for kidney and bone metastases  

 

For all students at CAL during these days of final exams

 

For Pr. Katie, Jay and John on the birth of their new daughter/sister, Elizabeth Kiran Hines-Shah 

 

For Arlene, David, Laura, Lucas' mother, Jackson's friend Matt, Pr. Jeff's friend Bryan, as they continue with medical treatment

 

For comfort and peace for Jen Afdahl-Rice and family as they grieve the death of her great uncle Chuck  

 

For Celia and Jim Kelly, and Maggie, parents and sister of Sona, who died suddenly of an aneurysm, while living in residence in Italy as a Latin scholar (neighbors of Flora)

For Betty, a friend of Miriam Casey, who is recovering from  surgery on Wednesday

For Maura, Don, and Duane as they continue to recover

 

For our friend Troy and his mother, Donna 

 

For all who struggle with eating disorders

 

For Charlie and Ray, who are living with terminal cancer diagnoses, and for their families and supporting communities

 

For spouses, marriages, and partnerships; especially in difficult times

  

For our confirmands, Lee and Matt
Quick Links

 
Worship Times

11:00 am Sundays
Eucharist

Thursday night Campus Ministry is on hiatus til the fall


10:00 am on May 27 
Confirmation Liturgy on Pentecost at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (NO SERVICE AT THE CHAPEL) 
 
Worship Leaders

Presider: Pr. Jeff Johnson

 

Preacher: Pr. Jeff Johnson

 

Organist: Tom Poyner 

 

Vocal: Renee Fladen-Kamm

 

Assisting: Steve Schultz 

 

Greeter:  

 

Sacristan:   

 

Lector: Sam Kanenwisher 

 

Council: Nancy Ulmer 

 

Prayer: Pr. Sanna Reinholtzen

 

Family Liaison: Kathy Gee  

  • May 13, 9:30 am - Adult Ed Forum sponsored by Green Team (with breakfast) 
  • May 15, 7:00 pm - Chapel Council (parish hall)
  • May 16, 9:30 am - 11:30 - Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (parish hall)
  • May 16, 3:30 pm - Confirmation Class (Lutheran Church of the Cross) 
  • May 17, Pr. Jeff at Synod Council Meeting (San Jose)
  • May 17, 7:30 pm  -  Ascension Day Service 
  • May 18-20  -  Pr. Jeff, Pr. Sanna & Jonathan Partsch at Synod Assembly (San Jose) 
  • May 26, 8:45 am - Sustainable Future Task Force
  • May 27, 10:00 am Confirmation Liturgy on Pentecost at PLTS.  (No worship at the Chapel)
  • June 2, 10:00 am  -  LVC fundraiser walkathon, Lake Merritt
  • July 18-22  -  ELCA Youth Gathering, New Orleans.  Want to attend? 
  • July 27-Aug 7  -  Pr. Jeff's Trip to Palestine with "Bright Stars over Bethlehem"
 
Confirmation Liturgy


Sunday, May 27, at 10:00 am (note the time change), we will gather with the other Lutheran churches in Berkeley for our annual joint Pentecost Liturgy where we will celebrate the confirmation of six young people, including two of our own, Matthew Schultz & Lee Jaeger. 

10:00 am
Chapel at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
2770 Marin Avenue, Berkeley

It will be a very festive celebration!  If you can help out with any of the following things, email Pr. Jeff and let him know.  We need an official photographer, 6 assisting ministers, a couple kids' time assistants (to help make colorful Pentecost kites!), 3 people for a small skit about Pentecost, drummers, and banner wavers.  Let us know how you want to help out!

There will be NO LITURGY AT THE CHAPEL on SUNDAY, MAY 27th. 


LVC Walkathon (Lake Merritt)

lvc walk 

Join current and former volunteers, site supervisors, and members of the Lutheran Volunteer Corp Community in a Community Walk around Lake Merritt to support future LVC volunteers in the Bay Area.

Saturday, June 2. Registration begins at 10am at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 397 Euclid Ave, and the walk will start at 10:30. A short program and potluck will follow.

Donations can be made at the event or at the Lutheran Volunteer Corps website by clicking on the "Donate" button.

 

 

Ascension Service


ascensionThirtieth Annual Episcopal Lutheran Ascension Service
Thursday, May 17, 2012 | 7:30 pm Stanford Memorial Church 
 
PREACHING
Dr. Martha Ellen Stortz

Christensen Chair in Religion and Vocation at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

PRESIDING
Bishop Marc Handley Andrus
Eighth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California  

 

Green Team Forum on Sunday

green team
Download the Green Team Challenge here and start changing your lifestyle! We will be adding leaves to the "Green Challenge vine" growing in our sanctuary as we make changes.

At 9:30 am this coming Sunday (May 13th) we will have a forum
sponsored by the Green Team in collaboration with California Interfaith Power and Light, featuring Peter Joseph. Peter Joseph is a medical doctor who was moved after seeing "An Inconvenient Truth" to do something about climate change. He was accepted into the Al Gore speakers training and subsequently has given 80 talks in northern California.

Simone is preparing yogurt & wholesome waffles for breakfast during the discussion! 

Simone, Louise, & Julia are decorating more organic cotton, not-made-in-a-sweatshop bags (with the great Green Team logo) which will be available for sale at $6.00 each!



Thank you for the Lights & Sound!


Let there be light! Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the coordination of Martha Backstrom, and the high altitude (30 feet up on the scaffolding) volunteer work of Sam Tia, Chuck Jaeger, and Paul Gilbert-Snyder last week on Tuesday night, we have a complete set of lights again in the sanctuary! Thanks everyone for making this happen! 

Also, many thanks to the donors to the New Audio Visual Project, especially: the Marjorie Bauman Memorial Fund and Chapel donors (Ben & Laura Johnson, Flora Schultz, Theresa & Stephen Woo, Bennett Falk, Nancy Nielsen, Bob Wohlsen, Ron Kresge, and Paul Hilfinger) for making this much needed improvement possible. 


Council Meeting Update


The next meeting of the Chapel Council will be Tuesday, May 15th at 7:00 pm in the parish hall.  All are invited.

Last month, the Council met on April 17th.  Here are some highlights of the meeting from Sam Tia (Council Secretary).  A copy of the minutes (unapproved til May meeting) is available by clicking here.

  • A leadership retreat was restructured into an alternative, lower cost, single day event.
  • Discussion of the Synod's Transfer of Assets Resolution has been pushed over to May. 
  • Get in touch with Bob Wohlsen if you have any feedback or suggestions on the draft "Pastor & Ministry Staff Evaluation" plan.
  • A fall "narrative lectionary" plan was  laid upon the table for further discussion, with the goal of fostering biblical literacy within the congregation.

Week of Renewal at PLTS


You are invited to a Week of Renewal (June 25-29) -- classes, worship, stimulating conversation and restorative time in the company of old and new colleagues in ministry and lay people interested in theology, in the wonderful setting between the Bay and Tilden Park.

 

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Lundblad, "Embodied Preaching in a Virtual World"  Preaching is a strange and wonderful craft where spoken words are embodied not only in the preacher but in the listeners as well. In this week, we will engage the body (voice, movement, pauses, etc) and spoken words as resources for preaching and also explore how electronic resources can expand the dialogue preachers have with the congregation.

 

The Rev. Dr. Ted Peters, "Life Beyond Death: What Can We Expect?"

The tragedy of human dying is accompanied by an impenetrable mystery: what next? Various religions have offered up a variety of theories. What can we learn from what the Bible or from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? What is God's promise for us?

 

Dr. Lisa Fullam, "Spirituality and Ethics in Pastoral Ministry"  This course will bring into dialogue aspects of ethics and the spirituality of life and ministry around four salient virtues: self-care, justice, fidelity and trustworthiness. How does spirituality intersect with ethics?

 

Dr. Steed Davidson, "Jeremiah: A Voice Out of Time"  This class will explore the implications for life and ministry today of understanding Jeremiah as a marginal, solitary figure bereft of much support for his controversial positions that were probably never embraced in his time.

 

For more information and to register, please click here .


Contact Information
University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley

Council President Nancy Ulmer: nkulmer@sbcglobal.net