THE PASTOR’S PRESS June 9th is the 1 year anniversary of Pastor Deanna and my ordination and soon there after we began our ministry in the North Mountain Parish. First and foremost I would like to say thank you for a wonderful first year of ministry!!

I have loved watching as we grow to learn about one another as individuals and con-gregations. There have been many wonderful ministries tried this year with the hope that as we work together all our ministries might be strengthened. We have continued joint cate-chism within a cluster of 8 churches and all three congregations have continued to support Luke’s Backpack, a ministry of Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries. More specifically in the context of the North Mountain Parish we have come together for Young Adult Ministries, a joint pictorial directory, a cookbook project and plans are coming together for a joint Vaca-tion Bible School this summer!

While each congregation continues to keep its own identity, we are continually finding ways to partner with one another in our new projects so that we learn about one another and pool our gifts/talents so that we might have a larger reach within our community. I see this continuing to be a success in the coming years as we continue to seek ways to actively include and engage each congregation and by actively participating in joint worship, events, and opportunities for outreach in our community.

I am often reminded of Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians where he says “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (1 Cor 12:4-6) Each congregation in the North Mountain Parish has gifts that they contribute to the body of Christ, and we are one in the body of Christ in our parish.

I urge you all, brothers and sisters in Christ, press on in your life with Christ, bear one another’s burdens, speak well of one another and seek the unity that we share which is in Christ.

+May the peace of Christ be with you all, Pastor Jonathan

Commemoration Corner

St. Barnabas, Apostle (June 11th)

Barnabas, one of the earliest Christian disciples, was originally called Joseph. After Paul’s conversion, it was Barnabas who introduced the former persecutor of Christians to the apostles. With Paul he organ-ized the first missionary journey, but he was soon overshadowed by Paul. At the council of Jerusalem he defended the claims of Gentile Christians. In the Eastern church Barnabas is commemorated as one of the seventy commissioned by Jesus, and the ob-servance dates from the fifth century. Tradition as-serts that he was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, in

A.D. 61. He is regarded as the founder of the church on the island of Cyprus

Prayer: Grant, Almighty God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and sub-stance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

St Stephen Men’s Breakfast

WHEN: Sat. June 29th from 7 to 10

am

WHERE: St Stephen’s Fellowship Hall

FOOD: Sausage, Scrapple, Sausage & Chipped Beef Gravy Fried Potatoes & Eggs Pancakes & Biscuits

COST: Free will offering

BENEFIT: SS Building Fund

Relay Reminders

St. Peter’s Relay for Life team will par-

ticipate in the county’s Relay event

from May 31 – June 1, at the county

fairground. Please remember to turn

in your coin boxes and purchase your luminaries

in memory or in honor of your loved ones. See

Melissa if you have any questions. Thanks for your

continued support of this very worthy cause.

Vacation Bible School

The North Mountain Parish Vacation Bible School will

be held July 15th-19th, from 6:30-8pm at St. Pe-

ter. Children ages preschool through 8th grade

are encouraged to attend, and adults and young

adults are encouraged to volunteer. Look for

more information and registration forms in the

coming weeks.

Get it on your calendar

(and your friends’ calendars) now!

North Mountain Lu-

theran

Cookbook Update

Recipes have been entered, edited &

now in the hands of the printer.

Thanks to all of you the cookbook has

400 recipes. A special thanks to

Shirley Bowman, Clara Barden, An-

drea Doehler & Linda Racey for re-

ceiving, assembling & editing the reci-

pes. Also a special thanks to Pastor

Jonathan for doing some special

pages for the book. Books are sched-

uled to be delivered by mid July &

ready for sale. Again, thanks to all

who participated.

SERVING THIS MONTH

MIKE COOK/JOYCE HAMRICK.................................Organist

DAVE BARDEN...........................…................................Reader

CHARLES AND JOY DYKE............................................Ushers

BARBARA CONNER................................................Altar Guild

JOYCE HAMRICK..........................................................Flowers

BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

5 Tommy Keeler, Jr.

6 Joyce Hamrick

9 Jeff Gochenour

14 Darryl Kibler

17 Wilbur Dysart

19 Pastors Jonathan & Deanna Boynton

22 Mike Cook

23 Amelia Mowery

25 Jerry & Luella Sager

ST. MATTHEW EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

www.northmountainlutheranparish.com

North Mountain Lutheran Parish

HOLY HOOPS!! There are many components that go into building your spiritual health. One of these components is good physical health. One opportunity for a healthy lifestyle is through a new event called HOLY HOOPS! You are invited to come play bas-ketball or come watch and enjoy the company of other fans on the 2nd and 4th Monday nights of each month at 6:30PM until dusk. We will play at the county park in Maurertown with folks from other churches in the area!

Parish-wide 5th Sunday

Worship and Fellowship

Our next opportunity to worship as a parish will be Sunday, June 30th. We will gather at 11am at St. Peter for worship, followed by a potluck fellowship. Bring the whole family and the folks down the street for this exciting and energizing time to be Christian family!

July Newsletter Deadline

is FRIDAY, June 21. Please send all articles

and information to Gloria Goeres at

goeres@gmail.com.

Summer Worship Format

It’s almost summer! St. Peter’s will implement a different worship format for the season. Liturgy and most of the hymns will come from With One Voice. We may even do an occasional outdoor worship. We will return to the ELW in the fall, but come enjoy a slightly different wor-ship experience.

Please send cards to:

Jerry Sager at Loving Arms Rest Home 103 Lee Burke Road Front Royal, VA 22630