The Reverend Owen Griffiths, Pastor
Faith Lutheran Church
Heading 1
4150 Woodhaven Road
Philadelphia, PA 19154
(215)-637-4210
flcphiladelphia@verizon.net
Welcome
Thank you for visiting Faith Lutheran Church online!
We are a small, family-friendly church in NE Philadelphia.
Whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey--married or single, old or young, black or white, native-born or immigrant, gay or straight, bisexual or transgender, parent or childless, rich or poor--you are always welcome here at Faith Lutheran.
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Help us out: If you missed your weekly offering, or if you just want to support the ministry of Faith or the ELCA, you can make an online donation by clicking the "GIVE!" button on the menu bar.
Our Mission
Our mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people through worship, education, service to our community and world, fellowship, caring, and prayer.
We would love to have you join us!
Baptisms & Weddings
Call the Pastor at (215)-637-4210
for information on how to schedule baptisms and weddings; he will be glad to work with you.
SUNDAY WORSHIP
You can enjoy VIRTUAL worship on Facebook Live every Sunday.
Go to Faith Luther on Facebook!
Just click the underlined link!
Worship Schedule
Sunday Worship
10 AM
Children's Time
during worship
every Sunday
WELCOME! VIRTUAL WORSHIP NEWS:
If you can't make it to church on Sunday morning, we're bringing church to you. We are livestreaming Sunday morning worship at 10 AM on the Faith Luther Facebook page. You can also read the texts of Pastor's sermons by clicking on the "Pastor's Blog" tab on the toolbar. Please remember, too that you can make online donations by clicking on the "GIVE!" button above.
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You can also check out videos from our national church body, the ELCA, our Synod, or our congregation below. We usually start our livestream about 10 minutes BEFORE the worship begins, so you can fast forward through the video to hear this week's announcements and experience the previous Sunday's service.
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Pentecost 16
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Gospel: Mark 7:24-37
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus[c] ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
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First Lesson: Isaiah 34:4-7a
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
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News
New Members
September 8 was New Member Sunday. We officially welcomed new members into our church family. We are delighted to receive the Acevedo Family: Angelina, Selena, Pete, and Eloise; the Goffredo-Halteman Family: Jim, Annemarie, Atumn, and Jordan; Cloreen Russel; Renee Robinson; and Bob McGee. We're glad to have you with us!
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Volunteers Needed
Feast of Justice always needs some extra hands to help pack dry good boxes and distribute food to their needy neighbors. Distribution is every Thursday from 5 to 8 PM. If you can help, please email the Volunteer Manager at:
staff_mgr@feastofjustice.org. (Note underscore after “staff”)
Last Sunday of the Month Donation
Our last Sunday offering for September will be to Heifer International. A small donation will help families in the developing world move to financial sustainability. Just $30, for example, can purchase a hive of honeybees, a bee box, and beekeeper training which can double the yield of small farms. $20 can purchase a flock of baby chicks which can grow up to lay eggs and provide an additional source of revenue to struggling rural families. Please plan on giving whatever you can to support this worthy organization when we take our collection on September 29th.
Bingo Night
What’s a church without a little bingo? Faith’s Bingo Night is scheduled for Friday, September 13 at 6:30pm in the Lower Auditorium. There will be gift baskets to win and lots of fun to be had. Tickets will be on sale soon. Proceeds from Bingo Night will go to our Building Fund to help us fix the central AC in the sanctuary. Questions? Willing to volunteer a gift basket? See Laura Duffield.
Air Conditioning
Relief is here! Perspire no more, for Faith’s AC has been successfully repaired. Although we might not be needing it for too much longer this season (let’s hope!), it’s good to know that things are working properly. Unfortunately, there’s been a cost—$7,000 to be exact. . We used funds from our reserves for the cost of this repair, but this has made our financial cushion uncomfortably thin. It will be necessary to replace the funds we’ve spent, so we hope all our members will consider pitching in by making a special donation to help replenish our reserves and getting us back on sound financial footing.
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Confirmation Class
Online Confirmation instruction will begin on Tuesday, September 10 at 5:30 PM. The class is for 7th grade students and up. Please email Pastor at pstrgriff@aol.com if you would like to enroll a student (or yourself!).
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Kids’ Time & Children’s Sermon
Just a reminder that Faith has something for our younger members every Sunday. Pastor Owen will give a brief lesson for children during worship time, and then our young ones will be excused to the nursery room for an age-appropriate lesson. The kids will then be invited back to be blessed at the altar during Holy Communion.