Special

How Hospitable are We?

The Witness Commission invites any interested persons to meet with us to review our hospitality and membership efforts. Where are our strengths and weaknesses? Are we missing opportunities to attract visitors or engage new members? Should we consider a change to Festival Dinner and Auction format? A focus group will meet on the 3rd floor on Tuesday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m. Contact Gaelyn Lesher, Wendy Wiker, or Beverly Davis with any comments or suggestions.

Church Music Festival at First Evangelical Lutheran Church Sunday Afternoon February 12

A festival of Lutheran Church Music will be held at 5 p.m. this afternoon at First Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Christ the King Church Choir and Brass Choir will be joined by five other groups in presenting music of the liturgical year. The festival will demonstrate the wonderful reverberant acoustics of the beautiful and impressive 1928 nave located at 1311 Holman, just east of the 3400 block of Main Street in Midtown. Everyone is invited to come out and enjoy showing support for this renewing congregation which was founded in 1851

Worship

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.

Prayer List Available

A complete prayer list of all the people for whom we pray can be found on the literature rack in the narthex or on the permanent bulletin board by the first floor elevators in the ministry building..

Last Contemplative Prayer on Wednesday Nights

Marion Hanson will be leading a series on “Contemplative Prayer” Wednesday evenings from 6:45 – 7:30 p.m. through February 15. The group meets in the council room.

Music

Music in the Hall

The sound of lively music will be heard every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the parish hall.

Children, youth, and adults of all ages are welcome to sing camp songs and hymns accompanied by P.J. Gustafson and his guitar. Bring your snacks and drinks and make a joyful noise before settling into class.

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.

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; lunches for undergraduate, and graduate student, and visitors from Louisiana and Mississippi are always complimentary.

Young Adult Perspectives

Young Adult Perspectives (“YAP” for short) is a student and young adult discussion group that meets on the 2nd and 4th Saturday evenings of each month at 7:15 p.m. (after Taizé) in the church basement. No preparation is necessary... just bring an open and inquiring mind. Our next YAP session will be on Saturday, February 25. For more information, e-mail Pr. Peter Stockmann.

Writing Life Stories Resumes

The Writing Life Stories workshop has resumed with the Wednesday Night Live! program from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday on the 3rd floor. This series focuses on pivotal points in one’s life, as well as writing about our lives through periods of change. The sessions are flexible, giving the participants an opportunity to both write and discuss their stories. Anyone with an interest in writing life stories can join in anytime. Mainly we want to capture the events that we’d like to share with our families and friends. Last fall, we explored various techniques to get started and to trigger memories from the past through mapping and free flow writing. We were often well entertained by the group’s wellspring of memories. There were some very lively stories told and we certainly are looking forward to sharing again. For more information, contact Anna Fay Williams.

Interested in Scandinavian Folkdancing

On Mondays at 7:00 p.m. in the basement classroom, the Scandinavian folkdancing group gathers for an evening of fun and folkdancing. Any potential dancers, musicians, or folks with an interest in preserving the Scandinavian culture are welcome to join the group. For more information call Joyce Calderon, 281-360-9670.

Swing/Jitterbug Lessons

David Karohl will be teaching four, 2-hour lessons on Tuesday nights in February, in the basement classroom. Singles and couples are welcome. Childcare can be arranged, with shared expenses. The cost is $35 per person for all four lessons, and all proceeds will go to the children’s ministry for Godly Play supplies. Fun people, good music, and as much exercise as you want!
Contact David or 281-492-5730 with questions or to sign up.

Wednesday Night Dinners are for EVERYONE!

If you haven’t had a homemade dinner lovingly prepared by our food service ministry team, you’ve really missed out.  Instead of cooking on Wednesday evenings, swing by the parish hall between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. and either eat-in with friends and family, or take-out a delicious and inexpensive meal. Adult dinners are $4 and children’s plates are $3

All members who enjoy good food and good fellowship are also invited to join us by volunteering one Wednesday night during the fall semester. There are 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, please contact Beverly Davis or 713-523-2864, ext. 1027.

Wednesday Night Alive! Menu

Sandy Troff, chef

Meat or Vegetable Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Tossed Salad

served from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Take Out Available

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 4 to 7:00 p.m. The market offers fresh organic produce.

Yoga meets on Saturday Afternoons

The yoga class meets Saturday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. in the basement classroom.

Katherine Krause has been teaching yoga for 7 years and has been practicing yoga for 9 years. She also works in student support services in Fort Bend ISD. She teaches a gentle Hatha Yoga class that is for all ages and all levels. Yoga is good for releasing stress, toning the muscles, increasing flexibility and just feeling good!!! You will be practicing yoga on a hard floor so you should bring a mat or foam for comfort. The cost is $5 per person.

Egg Decorating Class

Monica Hartley will teach a class on how to decorate eggs in the Ukrainian style. The class will be held Thursday evenings at Christ the King Church, March 2-April 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Learn the history and craft, and decorate the eggs. They make great Easter presents or decorations. The class size will be limited, so register by February 20. Cost is $10 per person. All materials will be provided. For more information and to register, contact Monica Hartley.

Parents’ Night Out/Movies in the Hall

PNO/MITH CO-OP accepts new members year round, but our annual open enrollment period is now. All families of children ages infant through teen are encouraged to join. Expecting parents are encouraged to join and may work before their due date. The co-op not only provides the opportunity for adult interaction within families, but ministers to the children of the congregation as they play together and build lasting friendships within their spiritual community. Member families must sign the compact and pay an annual registration fee prior to using the co-op. The 2006 dates are: February 18, March 25, April 22, May13, June17, July15, August 19, September16, October 21, November18, December 16, January 20, 2007.

Contact Barbara Scott to sign up.

Parents’ Night Out/Movies in the Hall (PNO/MITH) is an independent co-op of parents that use the church facilities at least once a month from 5:30 to 10:30 for affordable childcare. Two adult representatives from each family commit to work together ONE NIGHT during our calendar year which runs February through January. PNO offers age-appropriate care and activities for ages 5 and under in the nursery with the average cost being $10/child. MITH offers age-appropriate activities and movies for ages 6 and up in the parish hall supervised by 2 working parents. The normal cost of MITH is $1/child. The co-op uses an RSVP system to assure appropriate adult/child ratios and may limit the number of participants for an evening.

Shrove Tuesday Pancakes

The annual Pancake Supper will be February 28 from 5:15 until 6:45 p.m. in the parish hall. Come and eat all the pancakes and sausage you can and enjoy the music of the Carnival.

If you can help shop, prepare or cook, please contact Marie Monroe.

Women's Retreat

Women's Retreat

April 21 – 23

Chain of Lakes Resort

Theme:
How Your Family Functions.

RSVP by March 15. Registration forms are available in the Church office or by email on request.

The cost is $150.00.
Payment for Women’s Retreat due by April 1. You may pay in 3 installments before April 21.

For more information, contact Sally Muma at 713-728-7115 or
Pr. Kathy Haueisen at 713-523-2864 ext. 1030 or kathyhaueisen@ctkelc.org.

Valentine’s Day Gift

Looking for a perfect Valentine’s gift for your husband or wife? Why not a romantic weekend away from home where you can fall more in love? A Marriage Encounter weekend is exactly that kind of getaway, and the results can last all year. The next weekend is February 24-26. To register or get information, call Arnie and Sue at 713-464-6703 or Laird and Winnie

Education

Visiting Guests this Winter

Dr. Bradley and Marion Hanson will be with us as guests of The Melanchthon Institute through February 20. Brad Hanson will teach a Thursday evening course on Faith and Loss.

Marion will be leading a series on “Contemplative Prayer” Wednesday evenings from 6:45 – 7:30 p.m. through February 15.

Faith and Loss (final class)

Taught by the Rev. Dr. Bradley Hanson
7:00 p.m. Thursday evenings at Christ the King Lutheran Church (basement classroom) continues through February 16.
Serious loss—whether from natural disaster, death, divorce, poor health, economics, or other cause—affects every aspect of our being—our emotions, intellect, relations with others, relationship with God, and our body. In this series we are taking a multidimensional approach to loss that includes intellectual responses to the problem of suffering and meditations on Scripture. Our reflection and conversation are enriched by reading two books by C. S. Lewis. The Problem of Pain exemplifies the theoretical approach, while A Grief Observed is his own deeply moving response to his wife’s death.

Friday Morning Bible Study

The class is taught by Pastor Liebster. The class o focuess on biblical sources of the text of the liturgy. New participants are always welcome and will find that entry into the group is easy. Snacks are served at 10:00 a.m.; class will begin at 10:30.

Sunday Forum

Sunday Forum meets Sunday at 9:45 a.m. in the basement classroom.

New Sunday Forum Series - Festival of Passover

Adult Education begins a new series of Sunday forums on the Festival of Passover. In New Testament times, the Festival of Passover was the principal feast in the Jewish liturgical year, and it has remained so ever since. Our Passover lecture cycle includes four meetings.

On February 12, Matthias Henze will read texts from the Old Testament, both priestly/liturgical and historical, that describe the Feast of Passover in ancient Israel.

On February 19 and 26, Rabbi Kenneth Weiss, campus rabbi for students in the Houston area and executive director of Houston Hillel Student Center, will explain how Passover is celebrated by Jews in different times and places.

On March 5, Pastor Karin Liebster and Matthias Henze will present early Christian appropriations of the Passover holiday.

New Member Classes

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, February 10, 7 until 9 p.m., and Saturday, February 11, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
These classes, 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 or 713-523-2864, ext. 21. Childcare is made available when requested the Monday prior to the class.

Wednesday Night Bible Studies

On the Book of Psalms, by Nahum Sarna continues on Wednesday nights at 7:30 p.m. The class is taught by Velma Rice and meets in the council room. Books are for sale on the book cart in the narthex.

Last Contemplative Prayer on Wednesday Nights. February 15

Marion Hanson will be leading a series on “Contemplative Prayer” Wednesday evenings from 6:45 – 7:30 p.m. through February 15.

Lutheran College Fair

Next Saturday, February 18, 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Lutheran college representatives will hold a College Fair at the Marriott Hotel, 16090 City Walk, Sugar Land, Texas 77479. There will be a Financial Aid Seminar at 11:30 a.m. and the College Fair from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Beverages and hors d’ oeuvres will be provided.

What a great opportunity to explore the Lutheran College option! Reps from many colleges and universities will be present with opportunity for individual conversation. Attendees will discover that a Lutheran college may be more affordable than thought and offer many educational programs. And last year the food was great, too!

Service & Care

Feed the Homeless

Campus and Young Adult Ministry sponsors a Homeless Ministry program at Christ the King Church, and we would love for you to join us. On the 2nd and 4th Monday evenings of each month we meet at Christ the King Church to make sandwiches and prepare meals, and deliver them to downtown homeless individuals. We meet in the kitchen and parish hall at 5:45 p.m. to set up 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! Our next gathering will be on Monday, February 13. Contact Wendy Wiker, if you are interested in participating and/or have any questions.

Looking for Donations for a Craft Basket

The Christian Community Service Center’s Azalea Dinner is on March 30. This year Christ the King Church is putting together a “Craft Basket” to donate to the silent auction. Items for this basket might include: markers, art sets, craft books, craft kits, scrapbooking supplies,etc. Money will also be accepted and used to buy basket items. Items for the live auction, which include vacation homes and other items similar to our own Festival live auction items, are also needed. Please contact Jenna Nassif if you would like to make a donation.

Saludos from Eli

Elizabeth Bakalyar is in Costa Rica and runs an after-school arts program in a community in San Jose.

She sends her “saludos” and extends her heartfelt thanks for the congregation’s support. You can find out more about Eli’s exciting work as she posts her journal entries at www.travelpod.com/members/ebmargit.

Calling all Cooks and Bottlewashers

The Food Service Ministry Team is looking for volunteers for Wednesday nights during the spring semester. Food service will be from 5:30-7:00 p.m. each Wednesday. We have a full range of volunteer positions available from skilled to unskilled (from cooks to servers to dishwashers). We are blessed with great cooking, as well as serving and cleaning talent, in our congregation. Even the most kitchen-phobic person will find the dishwasher a blast! For more information or to volunteer, please contact Beverly Davis or 713-523-2864 ext. 27.

Help Fight Hunger in Houston

Christ the King Church member Lydia Busch is Chairperson for the Empty Bowls Houston fundraiser on Saturday, March 4 at 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. For a minimum $20 donation, diners will receive a simple lunch of soup freshly prepared by the Houston Food Bank Community Kitchen, along with bread and water, and then have the pleasure of selecting a bowl from hundreds of one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted bowls donated by Houston area ceramists and craft artists. The empty bowls will serve as a reminder of all the empty bowls in our community and around the world. Original works of art created by some of Houston’s best-known artists will also be available via silent auction.

The event will be held at two neighboring Houston Museum District museums March 4, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main Street and Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main Street

Also, volunteers are needed. For more information, contact Lydia Busch.

Azalea Dinner

CCSC’s 10th Annual
Azalea Dinner

Thursday, March 30
6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Westin Oaks Hotel, 5011 Westheimer

For more information contact Jenna Nassif