Is God Calling You to be a Lay Chaplain?

Do you want to deepen your relationship with God?  Would your gifts and talents be put to good use in pastoral care ministry?
If your answer to these questions is “yes” or “maybe,” you need to know about the Community of Hope. In addition to providing 42 hours of training to equip laypersons to serve in pastoral care ministry as Lay Chaplains, the Community of Hope offers spiritual growth opportunities in a community shaped by prayer and Benedictine spirituality.  
At Christ the King Lutheran Church, we have 32 active Community of Hope Lay Chaplains who live out their call to be “holy listeners” in many different settings: in their families, their workplaces, their neighborhoods, hospitals, nursing homes, hospice, and within the congregation. You are invited to consider becoming a part of our congregation’s Community of Hope. 
Classes will be on Monday evenings, August 16 through November 15. Registration deadline is July 23. Class size is limited. For more information or to register, contact Beverly Davis

Installation of the Reverend Sabine Lamar in Beaumont

The congregation of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Beaumont invites you to the installation of the Reverend Sabine Schluz Lamar as pastor on Sunday, July 25 at 4:00 p.m. The Rev. Michael Rinehart, Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod will preside. A reception follows the installation. Bethlehem Lutheran Church is located at 777 North Fourth St in Beaumont. Sabine has been a member of Christ the King Church since 1982.

Experiencing Godly Play as a Doorperson

In a Godly Play class, there are always two adults in each room: the storyteller and the doorperson. Adults are there in service to the children and to support the community of children. Just as adults experience the Sanctuary as sacred space, so do the children experience the Godly Play room as sacred space.
One adult centers the circle and tells a story, while the other helps the children cross the boundary from the every-day world into this special space, assists with the art response, and guides the children in serving and sharing the feast at the end of the session. From the vantage of the chair in the doorway, the doorperson can get to know and appreciate the children as they enter, work, and share. The children also appreciate the doorperson.
Being a doorperson is a deeply satisfying experience especially for those who are unaccustomed to the openness of children. In one recent class, the storyteller greeted the children and then commented that the class was unusual in that only girls were present, except the doorperson, and further that everyone was wearing pink, except the doorperson. In response, one girl jumped up and planted her pink hair-ribbon on the doorperson’s head. He could also wear pink and be part of the group!
The doorperson has the advantage of hearing the stories just as the children do and can experience Godly Play as worship. While there is no preparation required for the job, experience and training are valuable. Both informal and formal training is available, so anyone who would like to help provide the space and the community in which children can learn the language to think about and talk with God is welcome to begin anytime. For more information, please contact Marie Monroe

Taking Faith Home

Looking for a way to link Sunday worship with family faith formation Monday to Saturday? Taking Faith Home offers scripture readings, prayers, devotions and rituals to use all week!

Click on our homepage to view individual weeks. Look for the Taking Faith Home icon on the left side.

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.

Morning Prayer

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

Contemplative Prayer on Tuesday Evenings

Matthew 6:6 says "go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret". Contemplative prayer is a Christian spiritual formation practice in which one "goes into their room to pray." Exterior stillness helps to develop an interior silence and space where one can listen with the ear of the heart to hear the God who is always more willing to listen to us than we are to pray. Come on Tuesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. to room 210 and pray this ancient form of prayer.

Prayer Around the Cross on the First Saturday of Each Month the Taizé Service

The Prayer Around the Cross at Christ the King Church is held at the 6:00 p.m. Taizé Eucharist on the first Saturday of each month. 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 Around the Paschal Candle, Ministry of Healing on the Second Saturday of Each Month at the Taizé Service

A Ministry of Healing service is added to the Taizé service on each second Saturday of the month. It is called Prayer Around the Paschal Candle and offers the option to receive a Healing Blessing. The Prayer Around the Paschal Candle complements the Prayer Around the Cross which is held on the first Saturday of each month. Prayer Around the Paschal Candle is held on the second Saturday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the nave of Christ the King Church. Persons who wish may come forward for a prayer with laying on of hands and anointing with oil. The congregation accompanies and supports the individuals coming forward with songs of hope and resurrection faith. The Prayers of Intercession will deliver to God petitions on various aspects of healing. Gathered by the Holy Spirit around Jesus Christ, the Word of salvation, we pray for God’s healing in all its dimensions. . See an expanded article.

Welcome Back, y’all

Mid-summer Potluck Social July 18, 6:00 p.m.

We will celebrate mid-summer and the return of Pr. Liebster and family with an old-fashioned potluck dinner. Please bring your favorite dish to share. Watermelon and ice cream will be provided for dessert.

Nursery Volunteers

Do you like babies? Or watching young children play with trains and other toys? Our church's families are growing, and we need your help. We are looking for more volunteers to help out in the nursery a few times a year, for either the early service or the late service. Babies need to be held, and there are small children to be read to. If interested, please contact Diane Schoppe or sign up in the nursery. See you there!

Yoga on Saturdays - 4:00 p.m.

The yoga class will meet on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. in the basement classroom. Bring a mat or foam for comfort. The cost is $7 per person.

Christ the King Lutheran Church
Annual Report 2010
is online

Parent's Night Out

Interested in an evening out while your children are cared for in the church nursery? Christ the King has a baby sitting co-op that provides a monthly evening out while parents take turns working in the nursery. Want more information? Contact Diane Schoppe.

Members are invited to suggest speakers or topics to be addressed during Sunday Forum.
Contact Susan Myres Uri with your ideas and comments.

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

July 18

Palestine Observed,
by Efraim Karsh, reviewed by Steve Bryant

July 25

The Female Brain,
by Louann Brizendine, M.D., reviewed by Susan Myres

August 1

This Will Change Everything: Ideas That Will Shape The Future,
compiled by John Brockman, reviewed by Alicia Goodrow

Class for New Members and Inquirers

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, July 23, 7 until 9 p.m., and Saturday, July 24, 9 a.m. until 4 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 two-day class is available when requested the Monday prior to the class.

Summer Sunday Church School Hour for Children

Young children kindergarten or younger are welcome to come to the nursery between services and play and have a story read to them. Children 1st grade and above may come to the Children's Library on the 2nd floor where there are books, puzzles, and games. Parents and youth are invited to volunteer to help the children find their books.

Check your Blood Pressure

The next blood pressure screening will be on July 25 between the morning services in the narthex. Monthly blood pressure screenings are held on the last Sunday of each month.

Serve Lunch at SEARCH

Christ the King Church members and friends join members of congregation Brith Shalom on the third Wednesday of each month to assist with the preparation and service of the noon meal for clients of SEARCH Homeless Services. Our next outing will be on Wednesday, July 21, 7:30 - 11:30 a.m. Contact Beverly Davis

CCSC Back-to-School Program

Thousands of children in Greater Houston will begin the 2010-2011 school year without the basic supplies they need to succeed in school. However, you can help! The Christian Community Service Center’s (CCSC) Back to School Program works to ensure that 6,000 underprivileged students in our community return to school well-prepared for academic success. You can help ensure that these students return to school well-prepared to learn in the fall by making a $45.00 donation to the Christian Community Service Center (CCSC) Back to School Program. Your donation provides one student with a new school uniform/shoes and a grade-level appropriate package of new school supplies. Please sponsor one or more students by submitting a check made out to Christ the King Church and earmarked “CCSC Back to School Project” in the offering on Sundays now though August or by donating online

Additionally, CCSC needs volunteers to help sort and distribute supplies to the children and their families on the following dates:

● Sort & Setup – Saturday, July 31 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 4600 Bellaire Blvd., just inside Loop 610 at Avenue B.
● Distribution (two shifts) – Saturday, August 7, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church

Please contact Maureen Sahualla for more information about how you can help with this important program.

CanCare Volunteers Needed

CanCare has an urgent need for cancer survivors and their family members to volunteer. Contact CanCare at 713-461-0028.

2009 Cancare Highlights

Information, Referral And On-Going Support
3,609 individuals received one-on-one long-term emotional support from trained volunteers
21,275 individuals received one-time listening support, information and resources

Hospital Visits
9,202 individuals were visited by CanCare volunteers at 15 hospitals and clinics.

Volunteers
113 new volunteers graduated from CanCare's training (a record number!)
CanCare has 600 active volunteers representing more than 50 types of cancer
77 active CanCare hospital volunteers visited patients in 13 Houston-area hospitals

Outreach Events
34,687 people reached through community education and support
CanCare participated in 134 speaking engagements and health fairs

Montrose Grace Place

Montrose Grace Place is open and now offers vulnerable youth ages 13-21 a hot meal and a safe, welcoming shelter from the street every Thursday evening from 6 to 10 p.m.
Volunteers are needed to help with set up/clean up each Thursday beginning at 5 p.m., and members of Christ the King Church will provide dinner for 30 people on the 2nd and 5th Thursdays of each month.
You may also contribute money towards this program. An immediate need is the conversion of existing space so that a shower as well as a washer/dryer can be installed and made available to those who need them. Checks can be sent to Montrose Grace Place c/o Grace Lutheran Church, 2515 Waugh Dr, Houston 77006.
If you have questions about this project and/or if you wish to volunteer, contact Rebecca Shields

Located by the mechanical yard on the south end of our parking lot.

Help us by bringing all your acceptable recycling items to our green and yellow Paper Retriever bin!
We make money on the tons we recycle.
A little help from every member can make a very big difference in our program.

For example, if you bring in a full brown paper grocery bag….you have contributed approximately 10 lbs.
For every 100 members that do this, we have collected 1000 lbs. or ½ ton.
If 100 members would do this each week, we would have 4000 lbs or 2 tons in a month! That means we would be hitting our target goal!!!

So, please help by doing your share to protect Mother Earth! Thank you so much for supporting our Paper Retriever Program.

Accepted items include:
newspaper, magazines, shopping catalogs, junk mail, office and school papers, envelopes with and without windows, phone books, paper bags (paper clips and staples do not have to be removed)
Items not accepted include:
cardboard, cereal/soda cartons, food wrap/containers, paper cups, tissue products, metal, trash, cans, plastics and glass.

Put a Smile on your Face

submitted by Barbara Rozek

I have found a great way to put a smile on my face. Each Sunday as I head out to the car and to early service, I stop by the kitchen cupboard and grab a can of milk or corn or green beans. One can – each Sunday goes from my kitchen to the basket at the door of the church. It makes me feel good and it helps fill up the hungry mouths of those in Houston with much less to eat than I. I tell myself that it isn’t much, but if I am conscious of what I am doing, hopefully it will spill over into the rest of my life and the life of others.

Last Sunday I bought a bag of dog food and put it in the basket. I have learned that the lonely and elderly often feed their dog or cat from their own meager food supply. Company for those who are alone is necessary for good health – almost as necessary as food for survival – nothing like a pet for touching and caring.

Try putting a smile on your face. Bring a can or bag of beans or jar of peanut butter each and every Sunday to the Hunger Basket. Make it a habit – a good habit.

High Five Food Drive

Help the Christian Community Service Center (CCSC) feed those in need with a diet that is protein rich!

The five primary protein sources needed:

Peanut Butter,
Canned Tuna Fish or Chicken,
Meaty Soups,
Beans,
Meaty Baby Foods.

Please bring your food donations to the drop off box in the narthex.

Feed the Homeless

The Feed the Homeless Ministry meets on Monday, July 26 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 Tim Redl for more information.

Plastic grocery bags needed for our Feed the Homeless program.
Donations can be left in the kitchen marked “For Feed the Homeless.”

Helping with Hunger

The Christian Community Service Center’s Emergency Services needs your donations. Houston's needy come to the doors of Emergency Services six days a week seeking assistance. The program helps clients, who qualify, with food, clothing and possibly some financial assistance.
In 2009, Emergency Services responded to a highly increased demand for basic needs by providing food, clothing, financial assistance and referrals to 22,365 persons in crisis. This effort included helping 1,160 families avoid homelessness or substandard living conditions by assisting with electricity, water, natural gas, and rent payments. More than 243,700 pounds of food was provided to hungry neighbors and 11,913 clients benefitted from gently-used clothing. The Community Garden harvested 2,059 pounds of fresh produce, aiding clients’ nutritional well-being. 
The Gethsemane Food Pantry expanded to three days of operation, working to address hunger in the southwest portion of our service area. The pantry fed 18,380 persons from 4,723 households, tripling results from the prior year. Of those served, 51% of client households included one or more employed adults. A Community Garden was established on site, and three Food Fairs were held to augment on-going services.
In the first quarter of 2009, they saw a 67% increase in the number of people seeking assistance. Many of these individuals were woman and children.
Specific items needed are canned fruits, and meaty soups. Also, jars of peanut butter and large boxes of cereal. Please donate!
Donations may be dropped off at the food basket in the narthex on Sundays.

Quilts Needed for Houston Lutheran Campus Ministry Oktoberfest and Quilt Auction!

Mark your calendars and plan to join us! Houston Lutheran Campus Ministry is holding an Oktoberfest Luncheon and Quilt Auction at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center at the University of Houston on Saturday, October 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Right now we are looking for quilts to be auctioned off! Quilts of any size will be appreciated! If you would like to donate a quilt for the auction or have any questions, please contact Pr. Brad Fuerst or Tim Redl. We are also looking for cash contributions to help defray food costs. More details about the Oktoberfest to come soon!

Christ the King Church is a ONE Lutheran congregation

Did You Hear About the Hunger Crisis?

The world hunger crisis was all over the news this past week. In just three years, the price of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice has almost doubled. If we don’t do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into extreme poverty. Please consider taking action with the ONE Campaign

Caring for One Another

Check out the Congregational Care Team display board in the narthex. Please consider joining our team in one or more capacities:

• Meals: Provide an occasional meal to a member or family in need or for a memorial reception
• Transportation: Provide occasional transportation for a doctor’s appointment, worship, shopping, or an emergency (as you are available, of course)
• Visiting/Phoning: Visit or phone a member who is temporarily or permanently indisposed, providing a listening ear and a compassionate presence
• Prayer Notes: Write a note to members expressing our support during times of need and to acknowledge life changes (scheduled for one month a year)
• Emergency Phone Tree: Inform a few of our members (call list) of a member’s death of other extraordinary emergencies
• Bereavement: Provide a faithful, appropriate presence to those experiencing a loss, such as death, property, divorce, or employment
• Community of Hope: become a lay chaplain through this training program and on-going support system.

For more information, contact Beverly Davis

Our Faith in Action

Every day, in a million ways, members of the ELCA are making the world a better place. In far reaches of the globe, and right here in our neighborhood, you’ll see that Lutherans aren’t folks who simply talk about their beliefs. We put them into action.

So make a meal to share. Have your opinion on government policy heard. Help a friend through their time of need. Here you’ll find stories that inspire and opportunities to get involved. Find out just how rewarding God’s work can be.

Help SEARCH Help Others

Now that summer is upon us, the Service of the Emergency Aid Resource Center of Houston (SEARCH) has a constant need for insect repellant and sunscreen. Our congregation has been asked to donate insect repellant and sunscreen. There is a collection box in the narthex for these items.

Paper Recycling Steps Up

Our recycling container is located by the mechanical yard on the south end of our parking lot. Please collect and drop off ALL your paper items. The church will be reimbursed per ton of paper picked up. We need to collect at least 1.5 tons per month.

Accepted items include: newspaper, magazines, shopping catalogs, junk mail, office and school papers, envelopes with and without windows, phone books, paper bags (paper clips and staples do not have to be removed)
Items not accepted include:
cardboard, cereal/soda cartons, food wrap/containers, paper cups, tissue products, metal, trash, cans, plastics and glass.

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. Order these items online

Food Donations Needed

Help fill the shelves at Emergency Services of the Christian Community Service Center (CCSC). Food donations are needed. Current needs are: peanut butter, tuna fish, meaty soups, canned fruit and vegetables. Please bring your food donations to the drop off box in the narthex.