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THE MESSENGER GOOD SAMARITAN CHURCH NEWSLETTER VOLUME 111 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2021 FROM THE INTERN S DESK TIME FLIES WHEN YOU RE HAVING FUN The saying time flies when you are having fun has never been truer for me than it is at this moment In January of this year I started my congregational internship at Good Samaritan Church of Pinellas Park I knew that the internship would last until August and August seemed so far away Now it seems like time has flown and I find myself at the end of this part of my journey As I reflect back on my time with you I struggle to find words adequate enough to describe how grateful I am to all of you You will likely never know the positive impact you have all had on my future ministry Working alongside Pastor Jen has been one of the best parts of my journey toward ordination Because of her mentorship I am a better person now and I will be a better local church Pastor in the future She has always been willing to listen to me pray for me and with me and I have been in awe of her leadership in the midst of a pandemic including now a shift to hybrid worship services I am so thankful for all of the opportunities she has given me during my time at Good Sam I am also grateful to have had the opportunity during the first part of my internship to serve alongside my fellow intern Jeremy Wallace It was great to have someone to talk to who understood the struggles of balance between seminary internship work and family Last but certainly not least I am thankful for each and every one of you You have encouraged me embraced me welcomed me and you have allowed me the brave space that I needed to grow You have been a great example to me of how to be the church even when church looks very different than it did pre pandemic Your ministry to those who are struggling with food insecurity and your work toward social justice and transformation have taught me what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus I have cherished all of our time together and I will be carrying those moments with me into the next phase of my journey toward ordination You are all a huge part of my seminary journey and I will remember you always I will close with a quote from Paul as I think it sums up exactly what I want to say to all of you In Philippians 1 3 Paul writes to the church that is meeting at Philippi and he says I thank God every time I remember you I will do the same Thank you from the very bottom of my heart and may God continue to bless you as you continue the work that you have been called to do With a Grateful Heart Chance Martinez Colon CHANCE HAS BROUGHT US JOY LAUGHTER AND AMAZING SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS AND WISDOM Chance and Enrique You will both be greatly missed NEW SUMMER FOOD PANTRY HOURS IN EFFECT THROUGH SEPTEMBER Monday Thursday 9am Till Noon 1

BE SURE TO STAY CONNECTED MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR VIRTUAL MEETINGS WITH PHONE OR COMPUTER ARE AVAILABLE 2

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE WE ARE BACK IN PERSON BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO WATCH FOR NOTICES BY PHONE OR EMAIL EACH WEEK FOR ANY CHANGES WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU INFORMED Thank you all for making the quick shift over to virtual with us mid July as we took an abundance of caution around some potential and confirmed covid cases in our congregation Test results are back and all of the potential Covid cases among our pantry volunteers have come back negative Hurray We still have one confirmed case of Covid for someone who attended worship while potentially contagious Nevertheless our session feels that is safe to return to hybrid worship this week since that will be 14 days since our congregation was last in contact with this member We pray that you will continue to stay vigilant and put our vulnerable and unvaccinated community members first Remember masking and distancing is to protect others much more than ourselves It is an act of love whenever you are around anyone whose vaccination status you do not know to mask and distance and Jesus taught us to be people of love Submitted by Pastor Jen FAST NEWS We are proud to see results from all of our work this year The County Commission has approved a second round of housing projects and three out of four are 100 affordable units one has 20 of them 332 units total We continue to advocate for projects to serve low income families The County Commission also voted to move forward to the next phase of establishing a central pathway to behavior health treatment It s going to take another year and one million dollars before this one central pathway is a reality August is the month to take a break recharge our batteries and prepare for September s launch of our house meetings You will all receive an invitation to meet with a few others in our congregation to share personal experiences and concerns These concerns will all be presented at the first Assembly in October and network members will vote on the issues to address Please make it a priority to attend one of our house meetings in September Through the years FAST has been a successful platform for social justice in this county Together we make significant changes for the better How do we stand FAST TOGETHER Submitted by Bev Kelly DEADLINE FOR SEPTEMBER 2021 MESSENGER IS AUGUST 15 Send all information for submissions to carolyn woodard 130 gmail com 3

STAY INVOLVED BE A PART OF SUNDAY WORSHIP EACH WEEK THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY THE FELLOWSHIP AND OUTREACH TEAM NEEDS YOUR HELP 4

qThe Fellowship and Outreach Team hosted a dinner event via Zoom on Wednesday July 21 Folks brought their meal to the computer and enjoyed fellowship with others as they ate Martha qSunday July 25 was Pajama Sunday and we had several participate Here Anita Cape Donna Knight Sandy Badger and Taylor Eric Johnson Barb Steger Bev Kelly Chris Johnson and Chance Martinez Colon pose in their sleepwear Chance Martinez Colon participated in the fun FINAL 2021 HURRICANE FORECAST IS IN EXPECT A VERY ACTIVE STORM SEASON Colorado State University has issued their final forecast for the Atlantic basin hurricane season including the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico They stated that sea surface temperatures in the subtropical North Atlantic region are above normal Usually above normal sea temperatures in these waters portends an active season is ahead of us in August and September Elsa s development and intensification so early in the season is suggestive of an upcoming active storm season In modern history only five hurricanes have developed in early July in the Caribbean each one was followed by a very active major hurricane season For example Hurricane Emily developed in July 2005 which was followed by Katrina in September of 2005 The updated forecast for 2021 calls for 9 hurricanes of which 4 of these will be considered a major hurricane HURRICANE NAMES FOR THE 2021 ATLANTIC SEASON Ana Henri Odette Bill Ida Peter Claudette Julian Rose Danny Kate Sam Elsa Larry Teresa Fred Mindy Victor Grace Nicholas Wanda If there are more than 21 named storms there will be additional names provided by the World Meteorology Organization 5 They are calling for 20 named storms this season five have already formed by July 7 2021 The probability of at least one major hurricane making landfall are 43 for Florida and 43 for the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville Forecasts are important in that they remind us of the reality of living on the Florida coast every year there is a possibility that we will experience potentially dangerous storms including hurricanes One storm can make for a very bad season I urge you to have a plan and be prepared for the season Please be sure to pick up the 2021 Hurricane Guide in the narthex of the church or at the food pantry These guides are updated every year Good Samaritan Hurricane Information for 2021 The Pinellas County Hurricane Preparation Guide for 2021 continues to be available in the narthex at Good Samaritan Church The information is also available at https www pinellascounty org emergency allhazardguide htm Submitted by Clarence Wilkinson

BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY CLUBS As part of Stewardship we ask that those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries donate to Good Sam a dollar per year The following are the names of those in the Birthday and Anniversary Club for 2021 The total collected so far this year is 560 BIRTHDAY CLUB Jane Gaylord Barb Steger Jean Cooley Kate Hall Judy Friend Martha Taylor Bev Kelly Suzie Steger Thank you to all who participate Submitted by Kate Hall FOOD PANTRY REPORT JUNE 2021 Number of days open to serve clients 13 Number of clients served Adults 663 Children 193 Total 856 Volunteers during June were Bev Kelly Ginnie Thompson Ginger Breitkreutz Kate Hall Carole Diehm Tom Fauquet Linda Rupp Sarah Butz Beryl Fruth Judy Friend Joni and John Melville Lewis Hill Robin Becker Beverly Finn Kay Snyder Jacob Spencer and Jane Gaylord The number of households served in June was 332 That means that 332 bags of groceries were given out in the 13 days we were open in June June is the first month in over a year that the total number of individuals served has been less that one thousand For the first 6 months of 2021 we have served 6 821 individuals The Pantry Steering Committee has decided that our hours will be reduced for the summer Our volunteers have worked throughout the pandemic without a break Now that the number of households coming for food has diminished we decided to close the pantry on Tuesdays through the summer This will allow our volunteers some time off Signs are being changed to reflect the new schedule Deliveries from Hope Village formerly RCS have been occurring monthly since March We are having difficulty in finding able bodied helpers to bring the cases of food from the wooden pallets where the truck driver unloads the food into the pantry for storage The last 2 months our delivery has increased in the number of food items received This requires more volunteer hours to pack the USDA bags Oakhurst United Methodist Church in Seminole continues to hold monthly Pop the Trunk food drives for our pantry on the third Saturday of each month Other outside groups and individuals have been bringing food to the Donations door Some of the regular donors ask us what we most need and bring those items the next time they deliver to us As always thanks to all who keep this important mission running Submitted by Kate Hall 2021 FOOD PANTRY CLIENTS 1400 CURRENT FOOD PANTRY NEEDS SOUPS OF ALL KINDS AND SALTINE CRACKERS 1075 750 425 100 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TREASURER S REPORT In June the total of pledges received was under the budget by 1 784 Now that many of us are meeting in person on Sundays there is now some loose offering and non pledged income The Total Income for June was over budget by 3 071 This was because we transferred 5 000 from the United Church Funds investment to the operating account This had been budgeted in March but our cash flow was sufficient at that time We have had major air conditioning repairs and a new air cleaning system paid in June Now that our buildings are seeing more use the expenses for their maintenance are increasing June s total expenses were only 2 28 below the budget Utility expenses repairs and the hiring of our new Director of Music 6 brought the expenses up to expected levels I made entries to record the change in value in the United Church Funds account at the end of the second quarter Even after the 5 000 withdrawal in June the value of the investment increased by 20 788 for the quarter Submitted by Kate Hall

DON T FORGET 7

THE MESSENGER of Good Samaritan Church 6085 Park Boulevard Pinellas Park FL 33781 727 544 8558 Email office goodsam church org Web Site discovergoodsam org Our Mission To Build The Beloved Community A Ministry of Hospitality Vision and Justice A Global Mission Church Check out Good Sam on FACEBOOK SESSION Katie Fullerton Clerk Kate Hall Treasurer CLASS OF 2021 Lisa Ware Carolyn Woodard Vacant CLASS OF 2022 Beverly Finn Linda Rupp Clarence Wilkinson CLASS OF 2023 Sarah Butz Beryl Fruth Chris Osberg ST JAMES LIST Pray for one another that you may be healed James 5 16 Let us remember those members and friends who have asked for our prayers and those who are unable to attend worship Vicky VanDien wife of Ferris VanDien Dawn Johnson Sophia Stringer Shaddai Simmons Drew Taylor and family Martha Taylor s son Jo Jo and Amanda Byrd the Brockus family Dottie Boake Nancy Rudasill Eddie Kosinski Sandy Badger Donna Knight Harry Miller all the families in our community affected by COVID 19 whether through sickness or financial stress and Good Samaritan Church Jesus didn t reject people Neither do we CELEBRATING OVER 100 YEARS THE MESSENGER Newsletter of Good Samaritan Church Presbyterian Church USA More Light and United Church of Christ Open and Affirming Sunday Worship 10 30 a m Fellowship Coffee Hour Following Worship GOOD SAMARITAN CHURCH STAFF Rev Jen Daysa Pastor Rev Jean Cooley Parish Associate Mikal Mancini Director of Music Ministries Rebecca Kessel Office Administrator Position to be Filled Bookkeeper Shelby Lamb On furlough through Summer Nursery Assistant Mirko Bratic Custodian Rev Dr Harold M Brockus Pastor Emeritus GOOD SAMARITAN MINISTRY TEAMS Resource Development Team Clarence Wilkinson Moderator Gretchen Ackerson Celeste Behret Beverly Finn Beryl Fruth Kate Hall Treasurer Liaison Care Team Ginger Breitkreutz Moderator Beverly Finn Jane Gaylord Jim Moore Mickey Moore Clarence Wilkinson Disaster Preparedness Liaison Justice and Mercy Team Rev Jean Cooley Moderator Gretchen Ackerson Sarah Butz Judy Friend Lewis Hill Linda Rupp Rachael Wells Clarence Wilkinson Kate Hall Food Pantry Liaison Bev Kelly FAST Liaison Spiritual Formation Team Chance Martinez Colon Moderator Jean Adams Sarah Butz Steve Crist Rev Bill Cooley Judy Friend Chris Osberg Debbie Rasmussin Carolyn Woodard Fellowship and Outreach Team Eric Johnson Moderator Sandy Badger Robin Becker Annie Gambino Barb Steger Suzie Steger Martha Taylor Personnel Committee Gretchen Ackerson Robin Becker Kate Hall Clarence Wilkinson Pastor Relations Committee Carolyn Woodard Moderator Ginger Breitkreutz Bev Kelly Chris Osberg Lisa Ware Clarence Wilkinson