Special

Easter Celebrations

We will celebrate Easter this year during Sunday Church School in the parish hall, courtyard, and Melanchthon House lawn, weather permitting. Come join in the celebration with breakfast, the annual Flowering of the Cross, and Easter egg hunt for the younger children. You can bring flowers or purchase flowers that morning from the Luther League to decorate the cross in the parish hall. The Luther League will prepare the egg hunt with our youngest hunters (infants to 2 years) in the fenced playground area, our 3-6 year old hunters in the courtyard and our older hunters (7-11 years) across the street in the front yard of the Melanchthon House.

A Season for Nonviolence

Whatever you do may seem insignificant but it is most important that you do it—Gandhi

A Season for Nonviolence, January 30 - April 4, is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world. For more information, visit: http://www.agnt.org.

The Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence

2005 marks the halfway point for the Decade for a Culture of Nonviolence.

The Decade for a Culture of Nonviolence originated from the work of twenty Nobel Peace Laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama who appealed to the United Nations.

On November 10,1998, the UN General Assembly voted to designate the years 2001-2010 as “The Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World.”

The 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly commits this church to work with other churches and organizations to build a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence in the decade 2001-2010.

What can Individuals Do?

• Create a plan for peace to use at home, at school, in your neighborhood, in your congregation, and in places of work;
• List things you do each day or week that contribute to a peaceful family, community, and world;
• Plan time for confession and reconciliation with those closest to you;
• Ask for forgiveness and extend forgiveness to others;
• Practice weekly affirmation of those closest to you. Focus on words and actions;

What can Individuals Do? (Joining With Others)

• Working together is key in our efforts during the Decade.
• Working ecumenically, with community groups, and with non-governmental organizations (NGOS) can enrich and enhance our efforts.
• Visit www.elca.org/nonviolence for a listing of Web sites and contact information for a variety of groups that may be helpful.

Worship

German-language Ministry

Ostermesse German-language service Easter Sunday March 27, at 2:00 p.m. in the nave. Reception to follow.

Prayer Requests

To add a loved one to the prayer list please complete a prayer request card, located in the pew fronts, or on the mobile bulletin board, and give it to an usher, email the church office or call 713-523-2864. ext 21.

Wednesday Night Meditation Group

The Meditation Group, led by Marion Hanson, will meet from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in the 3rd floor conference room.

Music

Fellowship

Join Us After Worship

Snacks, coffee, and juice will be provided after the 8:30 and 10:50 service. Please join us in the courtyard. Donations benefit world hunger.

Special Easter Meal

The Sunday Café will offer a special Easter lunch of leg of lamb. Lunch is in the parish hall at 12:15 p.m. An adult’s lunch is $5; a child’s lunch is $3. First time visitors receive a complimentary lunch; undergraduate and graduate student lunches are always complimentary.

Sunday Café

Lunch is in the parish hall at 12:15 p.m. An adult’s lunch is $5; a child’s lunch is $3. First time visitors receive a complimentary lunch; undergraduate and graduate student lunches are always complimentary.

Houston Farmers Market at Christ the King Church

West University and Rice Village area residents may now enjoy the Houston Farmers Market on Tuesday evenings. The market is held on the parking lot of Christ the King Lutheran Church from 5 to 8:00 p.m. The market offers fresh organic produce.

Wednesday Night Alive!

Wednesday Night Alive! is back in full swing. Along with our joyful and inspirational music classes for children and adults and our thought-provoking adult Bible studies, we offer an expanded list of activities for everyone. Members of our food service ministry jumpstart our evenings by cooking a healthy and delicious meal. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m..

Wednesday Night Prayer Shawl Knitting Group

Join the prayer shawl ministry this Wednesday evening in the parish hall anytime between 6 and 7:30 p.m. Martha Winston will be on hand to teach new knitters and to mentor the more experienced.

Wednesday Night Alive!—Summer Style ---Six Weeks plus Family Pool Parties

Wednesday Night Alive continues in a transformed style this summer. Get in the swim of things June 15 and August 10 with a starting and finishing family pool party. Children 3 - 12 will enjoy a summer program Wednesday evenings from June 22 – August 3. The six weeks of programming (no event July 6) include a bring your own dinner, supervised recreation time with Summer Youth Director Tim Lenz and older youth, Godly Play, music, drama, crafts, and a child-size evening worship service. Registration is $25/child with a limit of $75 per family. Scholarships available upon request. Sign up at the current Wednesday Night Alive sign-in table or contact the church office for registration forms.

Young Adult Perspectives (YAP)

YAP is back... with a new twist! Young Adult Perspectives (“YAP” for short) is a student and young adult Bible study/discussion group that usually meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturday evenings of each month at 7:15 p.m. (after Taizé) in the basement of Christ the King. All students and young adults are invited. No preparation is necessary... just bring your Bibles and an open and inquiring mind. We read portions of the Bible aloud and discuss. Our next YAP session will be on Saturday, April 2. For more information, email Gentiana Wenzel

Start Spring Cleaning for April Tag Sale

To help fund some of our children’s programs, we are having a tag sale on Saturday, April 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the parish hall. We are seeking any household items, including toys, nursery equipment or other baby gear. You may leave donations at the back of the parish hall beginning on Sunday, April 17, after the late service, and during church hours throughout that week. The parish hall is also open in the evenings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of that week until 8:00 p.m.

We ask that you advise us of any large donations (couches or televisions, for example) prior to delivery. You may contact Michelle Beck . For electronic items, please indicate if they are in working order.

We are also in need of volunteers to help sort and price items on Friday evening, April 22 and with general help during the tag sale on Saturday. If you are interested in volunteering, or if you have any questions about donations, contact Michelle.

Upper Elementary and Middle School Youth Retreat

Come for a day at camp at Lutherhill in La Grange. The Spring retreat will be the second weekend in April, beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 and ending at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 10. The retreat is open to all upper elementary and middle school youth. The cost is $45.00 per person. Jim and Irmi Willcockson will be chaperoning and providing transportation to any interested youth. We will gather at church at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and expect to be back by 7 p.m. Sunday evening. Please contact Irmi at to reserve a spot.

Education

Crossways Bible Study

Crossways Bible Study, a survey course of the narrative and major themes of the Old and New Testaments, has started. Section Five will study The Gospels and Acts : Messianic expectations and Judaism; Mark; Matthew; Luke; John; Acts.

Class meets from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays in the council room. The workbook, which costs $20, includes a study sheet for each unit that guides one through the biblical text in preparation for class. There is still time to participate in the class. Scholarships are available. If you have questions or to register, please contact Velma Rice.

Theologian in Residence

The Rev. Dr. Bradley Hanson will be The Melanchthon Institute’s Theologian in Residence through March.

Dr. Hanson has written several books: A Graceful life: Lutheran Spirituality for Today; Teach us to Pray; Introduction to Christian Theology, and Grace that Frees. He is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and Director of Grace Institute for Spiritual Formation.

Dr. Hanson and his wife, Marion, are both trained Spiritual Directors and will be offering times for Christ the King Lutheran Church members to visit with them about the benefits of spiritual direction as part of their ministry among us.

Adult Forum

April 3 & 10 Hymns & Chorales

Lead by Carroll Shaddock

April 17 The Late Medieval Book of Hours: Aesthetics and Ideology

Lead by Dr. Linda Neagley

April 24 The Power of One

Bread for the World Staff and Volunteers

May 1 Hunger Awareness

Bible study on the most famous story in the New Testament

Lead by Jim Shields

Adult Forum is held on Sundays at 9:45 a.m. April 3 & 10 will meet in the parish hall, April 17, 24 and May 1 will meet in the basement adult classroom.

Hymns and Chorales

We all know how to classify hymns. There are those we know and those we don’t know, those we like and don’t like, those that are easy and those that are difficult, those that are singable and those that are impossible! Might the congregation not have more useful classifications and information to assist it in appropriating for its use the hymns and chorales which have inspired Christian worship over the centuries? Does this not become even more important when cultural diversity and the fraying of shared cultural/religious upbinging and experience are increasing, so that to many the staples of 19th century American Protestant hymnody are as unknown as Gregorian chant? This two-week class will explore the varieties of Christian hymnody, with special emphasis on the great Lutheran musical tradition, and how one may become better equipped to find (and express in singing) the distinctive power and spirit lying within so many of our hymns and chorales.

Carroll Shaddock will offer this presentation on Sundays, April 3 and 10 at 9:45 a.m. in the parish hall.

The Late Medieval Book of Hours: Aesthetics and Ideology - April 17

The Book of Hours, often sumptuously decorated and highly personalized for individual patrons, was the most popular prayer book of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This lecture will explore both its function within devotional life of the late middle ages as well as its expression of social and political ideologies within the Parisian and Burgundian courts.

Make Hunger History!

 

Join us on Sunday, April 24, to learn what you can do to Make Hunger History!
Come for lunch at 12:00 – cost $5
12:45 p.m. Registration
1:00 Welcome & Opening Devotions - Rev. Haueisen
1:10 Introductions – Jim Shields, ELCA Hunger Coordinator
1:15 Special Presentations: Millenium Challenge Account (MCA) Update & A Student’s View
1:30 Make Hunger History Campaign Lew Hille, Bread for the World
2:15 Small Group Discussions
2:45 Reflection, Action & Commitment
3:00 Closing prayers

Day of Wonder at The Melanchthon Institute and the Museum of Natural Science

April 16, 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Pastor Bruce Booher will present a morning session at Christ the King Lutheran Church on the Wonder and Awe of God’s Creation. After lunch the group will move to The Houston Museum of Natural Science for an afternoon of special exhibits and programs that reinforce the theme. Cost for the day, including Museum fees and lunch is $50. Contact The Melanchthon Institute for more details or to register.

Friday Morning Bible Study

Friday Morning Bible Study is taught by Pastor Moore. New participants are always welcome and will find that entry in to the group is easy. Snacks will be served at 10:00 a.m.; class will begin at 10:30.

New Member Class

If you are interested in becoming a member of Christ the King Church, you are invited to attend the Adult Catechesis class.
We will offer a 2-day class on Friday, April 22, 7:00 until 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, April 23, 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
These class, based on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, are open to inquirers, those seeking membership, and members wishing to refresh their memory on the basic tenets of our faith.

You may sign up on the bulletin board or contact the church office, 713-523-2864, ext. 21. Childcare for the 2-day class is made available when requested the Monday prior to the class.

Nursery Orientation Meeting

New parents or expecting parents are invited to a nursery orientation meeting on Sunday, April 3, in the nursery room immediately following the late service. For those of you who are rather new to the nursery, or who plan to use the nursery in the near future, we will introduce you to our nursery staff, review guidelines and answer any of your questions. Feel free to bring your children and after-church snacks. We expect this will take no more than 30 minutes. If you would, please RSVP to Michelle Beck by April 1.

Service & Care

Help CCSC Feed the Hungry!

Did you know that Christian Community Service Center (CCSC) fed 17,471 persons in crisis last year? That 51% of these people were children? That the effort took nearly 113,000 pounds of food? Help collect non-perishable food items for CCSC, including:

Canned Soup, Canned Fruits, Dry Soup (ramen style), Canned Vegetables, Dry Cereal, Peanut Butter, Baby Food / Formula, Tuna.

A collection box is located in the narthex chapel on Sundays and in the church office weekdays. For more information, contact Beverly Davis

CanCare Spring Training

There are still a few spots available for CanCare’s Spring Volunteer Training Program for cancer survivors and family members. The class will meet Friday, April 1 (evening); all day Saturday, April 2; and then Sunday from 2:00-8:30 p.m. The training will be followed with a celebratory graduation dinner on Tuesday, April 5. For information about the training or about CanCare’s ministry to cancer survivors, please contact Joyce Greenfied at 713-647-9063.

Feed the Homeless

Campus and Young Adult Ministry is excited about its Homeless Ministry program at Christ the King, and we’d love for you to join us. We meet at Christ the King Church in the parish hall at 5:45 p.m. to make sandwiches and prepare the meals, and leave for downtown at about 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. to deliver them. All are invited to help out with meal preparation, downtown delivery, or both! The next gathering will be Monday, March 28. Contact Erika Soechting if you are interested in participating and/or have any questions.

Food Service Ministry Continues: Calling all Cooks and Bottlewashers

All members who enjoy good food and good fellowship are invited to join us by volunteering one Wednesday night this spring. Food service will be from 5:30-7:00 p.m. each Wednesday through then end of May. We have a full range of volunteer positions available from skilled to unskilled (from cooks to servers to dishwashers). Even the most kitchen-phobic person will find the dishwasher a blast! For more information or to volunteer, contact Courtney Harper.