Missional Offering

Mission Offering for July
Lutheran Social Services, Inc

Together we can get Pr. Moore to throw the first pitch at the Houston Astros game on Lutheran Day, July 28! Here is how it works:
Every year the Houston Astros host a fundraising effort for Lutheran Social Services, Inc. (LSS) on Lutheran Day at Minute Maid Park. The tickets sold through LSS are half price plus $2. The extra $2 go to the children’s ministries of Lutheran Social Services. Last year LSS sold 1000 tickets, which raised $2000 for the children. This year LSS wants to double this amount through a challenge to Lutheran churches around the city. LSS is asking Houston-area churches to raise substantially more funds in addition to the amounts raised from ticket sales.

As an incentive the pastor of the congregation which raises the most funds for LSS beyond the ticket sales will get to throw out the first pitch...this could be Pr. Moore’s big break! Game day is Saturday, July 28 at 2:55 p.m. The Astros play the Padres.
Lutheran Social Services, Inc. is the social service arm of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. The organization annually serves nearly 35,000 children, elderly and poor in Texas and Louisiana regardless of religious beliefs, ethnicity, gender or age. The LSS ministry includes domestic and international adoption, children’s residential treatment, therapeutic foster care, health care and retirement services for seniors, adult day care, services for the poor, disaster response and emergency assistance. Lutheran Social Services has been and continues to be a prominent partner in the Hurricane Katrina and Rita disaster relief efforts.

All of July’s mission offering will support LSS’s ministry of service.

Special

Congregational Meeting To Call New Campus Pastor July 22

A special meeting of the congregation will be convened on Sunday, July 22, at 12:15 p.m. in the parish hall to vote on a recommendation to call Bradley Fuerst to be Houston’s Lutheran campus pastor.

The Houston Lutheran Campus Ministry Council, a partnership of Christ the King Lutheran Church and the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, voted on July 2 to initiate the call to Brad. Church Council voted unanimously on July 10 to recommend Brad to the congregation.
Christ the King Church and the Synod created the partnership to share responsibility for financing a full-time campus pastor to serve students and staff at Rice University, the University of Houston and the institutions of the Texas Medical Center.

Brad, who hails from Hildreth, NE, is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC.

Worship

Morning Prayer

Each weekday morning at 8:15 a.m. Morning Prayer is said in the narthex. All are welcome to participate.

Prayer Around the Cross at Taizé Service

The Prayer Around the Cross will be held at the Taizé Eucharist on the first Saturday of each month at 6:00 p.m. A wooden cross on the floor of the altar sanctuary confronts worshipers with the suffering of Christ on behalf of humanity. In its presence the suffering of the world and our own burdens come to light. Christ gave salvation to all on the tree of the cross. It is the tree where life might be restored. Worshipers may choose to meditate on the cross from the pew or may enter the altar sanctuary and kneel at the cross.

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.

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.

Splashtown Lock-in

Youth middle school age and up are invited to an all night lock-in at Splashtown on July 27. Enjoy live music, guest speakers, and an all night of water slides and attractions. Deadline to reserve your ticket is Sunday, July 22. Contact Tim Lenz for more information.

Playgroup on Tuesdays 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Christ the King Church invites parents with babies and toddlers to participate in a playgroup on Tuesdays from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. in the nursery. Each week parents meet with children of various ages for fellowship and exchange. Playgroup will continue meeting throughout the summer on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:30 in the nursery. Please contact Diane Schoppe if you have any questions. All are welcome.

Parents’ Online Group

Log in to an online parent support group for quick answers to quick questions. Join the group of Christ the King Church members who take advantage of the accumulated wisdom and knowledge shared by parents of the youngest members.

To join the group, send an email to Penny Linsenmayer. Include your name and email address in the body of the message.

Luther League

Luther League meetings regularly for food, fellowship, games, and discussion. All 6th grade through 12th grade youth are invited.Contact Tim Lenz or 713-523-2864 ext. 1001 for more information. Click here to view the Luther League website.

Fair Trade Coffee Sales Continue

Fair Trade coffee from Equal Exchange is on sale after services and through the church office.

Equal Exchange, founded in 1986, is the oldest and largest for-profit Fair Trade company in the US. They offer organic, gourmet coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate bars produced by democratically run farmer co-ops in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Yoga on Saturdays - 10:00 a.m.

Yoga classes meet on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. in the basement classroom.
This gentle Hatha Yoga class 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. Bring a mat or foam for comfort. The cost is $7 per person.

“All Around the Globe” - Christ the King Summer Family Camp
now thru August 8

Come and join the family camp on Wednesday nights at the church from 5:30-8:00 p.m. Families and individuals meet for dinner, music, devotions, games, and crafts. The theme for the summer is “All around the Globe.” Children will create their own world maps, learn songs in different languages, and will get to make crafts symbolizing different countries. Music explorers director Debbie Whitmire leads two music classes and the Luther League leads the games. The last night on August 8 will be a pool party. There will be no meeting on July 4.

Music Classes with Debbie Whitmire at Summer Family Camp

The Christ the King Family Camp this summer is the perfect time to continue the music and dances we enjoyed so much on Wednesday nights during the school year.

The music class for children ages 0-7 will meet 6:30-7:00 p.m. for singing, bouncing and playing instruments. Parents, grandparents and other adults caring for the children are invited to join during this time of making music together. Folk songs from around the world and sign language vocabulary for the Lord’s Prayer fit in with the theme “All Around the Globe.”

The Orff class from 7:00 through 7:45 is for elementary children who already have some musical experience and are ready to receive instruction on our beautiful new Orff instruments. All older students and adults are eagerly welcomed as well.

Parents’ Night Out/Movies in the Hall

Mom! Dad! Need Some Quality Time Without The Kiddos? Join Parent’s Night Out!
Parents’ Night Out/Movies in the Hall (PNO/MITH) operates as an independent co-op of parents to provide affordable childcare in a safe and nurturing environment at Christ the King Church. The co-op is open to members and non-members. PNO/MITH usually occurs once a month. Two adult representatives from each family commit to work together ONCE in return for at least 10 nights of childcare during our calendar year. Our calendar year runs February through January. The Co-op offers age-appropriate care and activities for ages 5 and under in the nursery and age-appropriate activities and movies for ages 6 and up. The co-op accepts members throughout the year and offers prospective members one trial evening with no obligation to join.

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.

Education

Book Reviews

Sundays at 9:45 a.m. in the basement classroom

The book review summer series enjoys great popularity as an interesting and delightful opportunity for cool fellowship on hot summer Sundays.

July 22: Alicia Goodrow reviews Religious Freedom and the Constitution written by the new Dean of UT Law, Lawrence Sager. Published by Harvard University Press. A chapter from the book may be downloaded for free online at www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/lsager/religiousfreedom_excerpt.pdf. The book can be purchased from Amazon.
July 29: Michael Pullara reviews Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor.
August 5: John Boles reviews his forthcoming book A Biography of Edgar Odell Lovett
August 12: Penny Linsenmayer, Wizards, Wardrobes, and Wookies: Navigating Good and Evil in Harry Potter, Narnia, and Star Wars, by Connie Neal
August 19: Paul Monroe reviews The Heart of Christianity, by Marcus Borg
August 26: Rally Sunday

Summer Sunday School

Sunday mornings from 9:45-10:45 a.m. toddlers are invited to join together to listen, sing and dance to their special collection of songs in room 204 on the second floor. The older children will meet in room 109 on first floor for movies from our large collection of children’s Bible lessons, telling the great Old Testament stories beginning with the story of David. Summer Sunday School will be informal to take into account travel plans and vacations. Children are welcome to attend one, two or all of the sessions and to bring their friends. Adults who can spend an hour enjoying music with the little ones are invited to sign up on the list on the nursery door or contact Marie Monroe.

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, August 10, 7:00 until 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, August 11, 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 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, Childcare for the 2-day class is made available when requested the Monday prior to the class.

Reading the Classics: Homer, The Iliad

Have you ever wanted to go back to college and read some of the “great books” of the West? Here is your chance to do so. In the first series of the Sunday Forum class offerings this fall we will read some of the greatest books ever written. We begin in September with Homer’s The Iliad.

On four Sundays, beginning September 9, Matthias Henze will read with us excerpts from this Greek classic. Please note that the rules of the Sunday Forum classes will change slightly. In order for this class to work, participants must read short sections from The Iliad before coming to class. The Iliad consists of 24 books. Below you find the dates of our four class meetings. The books listed behind each date will be discussed on that Sunday; this means that you will have to have read the assigned books before coming to class. You do not have to be able to attend all Sundays, but you have to have read the assigned readings to be able to follow the discussion.

Homer makes for a great summer reading (the ideal beach book?), so start reading now! English translations are easily available at every major book store in Houston and on-line. It does not matter which translation you use, though I recommend the paperback edition and translation by Robert Fagles in the Penguin Classics series. Make sure that you bring your copy of The Iliad to every class meeting. And please don’t be intimidated: we will go through the text slowly and will take plenty of time for questions. Most importantly, you will find reading Homer immensely rewarding and will come to appreciate why The Iliad is one of the greatest timeless classics ever written.

September 9, The Iliad, Books 1 and 4
September 16, The Iliad, Books 6 and 9
September 23, The Iliad, Books 15 and 16
September 30, The Iliad, Books 22 and 2

Service & Care

Back-to-School Program

Thousands of children in Greater Houston will begin the 2007-2008 school year without the basic supplies needed to succeed. Fortunately, you can help by providing the necessary tools for one child to arrive at school on the first day of class feeling well-prepared and ready to learn! A $45.00 donation to the Christian Community Service Center’s (CCSC) Back to School Program will provide one student with a new school uniform/shoes and a grade-level appropriate package of new school supplies. CCSC hopes to provide 5,500 students with these essential supplies for success, but needs your help. Please sponsor one or more students by submitting a check made out to “CCSC Back to School Project” in the offering on Sundays now through August or donating online at CCSC’s secure website.

Additionally, CCSC is in need of volunteers for sorting supplies (August 4) and for distribution (August 10-11). Please contact Susie Crafton for more information about this important program.

Feed the Homeless

The Feed the Homeless Ministry meets on Monday, July 23 at 5:45 p.m. in the kitchen at Christ the King Church.

Join us on the 2nd and 4th Monday evenings of each month at Christ the King Lutheran Church to make sandwiches and prepare meals, and then deliver them to downtown homeless individuals. Our schedule is as follows:

5:45 p.m. - Meet in the kitchen and parish hall to set up and prepare the meals
7:00 p.m. - Leave CTK for downtown to deliver the meals

All are invited to help out with meal preparation, downtown delivery, or both! All are welcome.Contact Wendy Wiker for more information.

Shoes Needed For Orphan Souls!!

There are millions and millions of feet all over the world that belong to kids without shoes. Many of those feet belong to older children and teenagers who are the forgotten ones in orphanages. We need YOU to put shoes on their Big Feet by donating shoes, sizes youth 1 through adult 10. Due to customs regulations, shoes for the children need to be new – and we also need new, clean, white socks for those beautiful feet! Bring your shoes and socks donations to church before August 26 and we’ll get them packaged and shipped. If you’d prefer to give a cash donation, make the checks out to Christ the King Lutheran Church, memorandum Shoes for Orphan Souls. Be a Big Foot Benefactor and Bring Big Smiles to Beautiful Children!