August 13-17

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. – Psalm 51:10-12

SATURDAY:
7:30 am – Men’s Club @ Country Rose Café

SUNDAY:
9:00 am – Divine Service
10:45 am – Church Picnic / Welcome Ms. Owings, PLS 3rd Grade Teacher

MONDAY:
6:30 pm – Vespers Service / Communion

THOSE SERVING US THIS WEEK: 08/16
Ushers: David Harris, Chuck Daniels, Jim Sundby & Peter Sundby

Organist: Michelle Minton
Vespers Accompanist: Mallory Daniels
Live Stream: Abel Gullixson
Acolyte: Cody Hines

THOSE SERVING US NEXT WEEK: 08/23
Ushers: Tom Langseth, Zac Ruhl, Mike O’Neill & Shon O’Neill

Altar Guild: Katarina Bleasdale

Organist: Albert Harris
Vespers Accompanist: Mallory Daniels
Live Stream: Matt Kopf
Acolyte: Murray McDaniels

ALTAR FLOWERS: Placed by Sue Kautter.
Please contact the church office at office@parklandlutheran.org if you would like to supply flowers. We will ask for the date you would like to give flowers and the reason (if there is one). These upcoming dates are available/reserved:

Aug. 23 (Trinity 12 – paraments are green) – Available
Aug. 30 (Trinity 13 – paraments are green) – Available
Sep. 6 (Trinity 14 – paraments are green) – Available
Sep. 13 (Trinity 15 – paraments are green) – Reserved

~Church Potluck Picnic August 16~

Notes!

2026 CHURCH POTLUCK PICNIC – SUNDAY, AUGUST 16:
We will be welcoming Ms. Owings as our 3rd grade teacher at the picnic this year. Please plan to stay after church on Sunday, August 16th for our annual church potluck picnic. There will be fun games, food and fellowship as well.

  • Grilled meat will be provided (accepting free will donations at the picnic to cover costs)
  • Asking families with last names beginning with:
  • A-L to bring a side dish
  • M-Z to bring a dessert

There will be a signup sheet in the Narthex on Sunday (Aug. 9) requesting numerous volunteers to help with each category:

  • set up (Sunday: 8 – 8:45 AM)
  • bringing propane grills (set up before church)
  • grilling (after church/during picnic)
  • setting out food (after church)
  • helping with games/activities (before/during picnic)
  • take down of chairs and tables (following picnic)
  • cleanup of food, dishes, sweeping floors (following picnic)

Please consider how you might help lighten the workload for those who organize the picnic. These extra “little” jobs are also an important part of the fellowship opportunities as you get to chat with those you are working with.

NEW THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT PLS:
The Board of Christian Education is pleased to announce that Ms. Owings has accepted the position of Third Grade Teacher at PLS for the 2026-27 school year. Ms. Owings earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Central Washington University and is a Washington State-certified teacher. We thank the Lord for this wonderful blessing and ask that you keep Ms. Owings in your prayers as she begins her service as a member of the PLS faculty.

NEW USHERS SCHEDULE:
A new Ushers Schedule has been printed up and a copy placed in each ushers mail slot. It runs from Sept. 6, 2026  to Jan. 31st of 2027. There is also a copy pinned up by the Ushers cupboard. The new schedule includes all the Festival Services for Fall and Winter of 2026. Please familiarize yourself with the dates you are assigned. We are always looking to bring more Ushers on board so if you are interested, please contact Mike O’Neill. Thank you all for your continuing service to this most important Church duty.

PAINT AND “SIP”:
The Women’s Club is having a Paint and “Sip” event on August 20 from 6:00-8:00 pm in the PLC old main basement. We invite the women of the congregation to come join us for a landscape painting class with hors d’oeuvres and mocktails. No alcohol will be present. There will be a children’s supervisor if needed at the event and their craft is included with adult RSVP. Kathi Minton is doing the painting instruction. There is a $20 fee to offset the cost of supplies. Cash or check made out to Women’s Club will be collected at the door. Space is limited for painting, but feel free to attend for the social time. Please use this RSVP to sign up: https://forms.gle/mqBQ9xtkzfScXCR37

AUGUST GIVING FOR BUDGET AND MORTGAGE:
Please see the Midweek Update for details.

JULY BUDGET REPORT:
Our summer months are historically low-income months due to not receiving any substantial tuition income while school is not in session. July was also a pretty low month for offerings, compared to our budget. Happily, our expenses in July were also lower than our budgeted amount. But it is good to recognize that this budget is a deficit budget, meaning that we recognize that our annual income is not expected to meet our annual expenses. At the current rate we have about a year before we will need to liquidate some of our investment income in order to pay expenses. Please see the Midweek Update for more information.

Reminder Notes!

PASTORAL FAMILY DAYS OFF CAMPUS:
Pastor Gullixson – Thursdays (during the summer)
Pastor Lehne – Fridays
Pastor Sparley – Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays

VOTERS MEETING HIGHLIGHTS:
Notables from Reports:

Pr. Sparley:

  • Mt. Vernon is in significant financial problems due to a few major contributors no longer present or able to support at their previous level.
  • BWO trip to Eastern Europe will be only about 3 weeks rather than months, due to the BWO seeking to call a full time missionary to the area.
  • Has resumed teaching a few classes to the seminary students in Kenya (Tuesday and Thursday mornings).
  • Daughter Kirsten is getting married the last weekend of August, so he will be absent that weekend.

Elders:

  • Thank Mike O’Neill for his time and energy spent taking care of the Sunshine Fund. As he steps back, the Elders are taking over that responsibility.

Principal and Board of Christian Education:

  • 118 enrolled (104 – last year at this time)
  • Scholarships awarded so far: $119,851
  • 60% cap on tuition assistance in place
  • Hired Ms. Owings as 3rd Grade teacher
  • August 29 – Back-to-School Campus Clean-Up Day (please plan to help out)

Trustees:

  • Numerous projects are underway.
    • Done: Falling fence by the ballfield, drywall in women’s bathroom, New window above the pulpit put in place (a true stained glass window is currently under design), pressure washing of various areas around the school.
    • On the “to do” list: reworking playground area north of the Ark & siding repairs on the ark (donation), repainting the parsonage (donation), the Memorial building roofing project.

Treasurer:

  • Last fiscal year we adopted an unbalanced budget with a deficit. We were going to withdraw matured investment interest to compensate for some of that deficit, but they did not mature until after the fiscal year. We ended the fiscal year with a deficit. Please see the Midweek Update for more details.

Election:

  • Ben Bleasdale was elected to the Board of Christian Education to fill the position vacated by Warren Merriman earlier this year.
  • We thank Warren for his many years on the board.

Motions:

  • Rev. Obenberger was accepted as a voting member of the congregation.
  • A peaceful release was granted to James Romnes who has moved to TN and is joining an LCMS congregation.
  • Acknowledgement of Discontinuation of Spiritual Fellowship:
    • The Board of Elders recommended that we initiate the acknowledgement that Duane Garrido and Robert Barr, Jr. have discontinued their fellowship with us by their absence among us and lack of ability to contact them or receive contact from them. If you have information about how to contact them, please speak to Pr. Gullixson.
  • Temporary Budget Passed:
    • In light of the conversation that we are having regarding our future pastoral planning, we have put in place a temporary budget until the October Voters’ meeting.
  • Requested the Circuit Visitors Conference confer the Pastor Emeritus status on Rev. Glenn Obenberger.

UPDATED CAMPUS CLEAN-UP DAY 8/29:
There will be a fellowship campus workday on August 29 from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm (or until various projects are done). There is a list of outdoor and indoor projects to be completed around the campus. Please bring your favorite tools to work with, and we hope to see you there. Useful items: shovels, rakes, pruning shears, chain saws, cleaning pails, rags, gloves and glasses, etc.

SYNOD PRESIDENT’S NEWSLETTER:
You can find a copy of the August Synod President’s Newsletter in the Narthex or on the Synod Website.

EVERGREEN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL OPENING SERVICE:
You are cordially invited to join ELHS for the 2026-27 school year opening service Sunday, August 23 at 6:00 pm.

ELECTRONIC GIVING:
Parkland Lutheran Church has a convenient way to make your regular offerings. With our electronic giving program, you can easily set up a recurring giving schedule or make one-time contributions. Visit our church website for more information or go straight to it by clicking on this link

  1. This is optional; the old system of contributing by check and cash still works.
  2. Members can still set something up through their banks so that regular checks are mailed in.
  3. If members choose this new option, they might wish to consider still using their envelopes and indicate on them that contributions are given electronically (not necessary, but that way a young confirmation student sees regular contributions going into the offering plate).