June 2026 Pastor's Letter
Pastor Dustin marching in the Rotterdam Memorial Day Parade.
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And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:20
Dear siblings in faith, We are about to enter into the quieter season of Pentecost and move from spring to summer here in Upstate New York, but heh, we're not quite there yet, as the first two weeks of June are extremely busy ones in the life of our Spirit filled congregation! On Thursday, June 11th, Messiah will host a nationally recognized author and community organizer, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, who will address our sanctuary alongside participants in our Community Advocates Program. Dinner will be served at 6:00pm and the program will begin at 7:00pm. Please RSVP at https://bit.ly/PovertySpeakout2026 and invite your friends and neighbors for what will be one of Messiah's best outreach opportunities of the year! On Sunday, June 14th, we'll hold a Special Meeting of the Congregation following Mass to approve a RCC/ MLC Memorandum of Understanding that we've been trying to finalize for over a year, as well as approve a capital campaign to fix our flat roof, replace our old boiler and refurbish our Youth Room. A massive thank you to Brian Maki, Steve Friebel and Heather Zimmer for all their hard work preparing quotes for the necessary capital improvement work. I'd also ask that you hold our RCC Deputy Executive Director, Erin O'Neill, our RCC Board and myself in prayer in the lead up to a RCC Donor Roundtable on Tuesday, June 9th. Our goal at this critical gathering with major donors and community partners from across the Capital Region is to make sure RCC will remain sustainably funded in the years to come. With God's help, and your prayers, I'm very optimistic we'll get there! Finally, make sure your kids, grandkids and great-grandkids (and all your friends' kids, grandkids and great-grandkids too!) are signed up for Messiah's first Vacation Bible School in many years taking place August 3rd - August 7th! Our goal is to have thirty young people in our community experience a week of faith, friendship and fun, and provide local families with a full week of affordable childcare to boot (the cost is only $20 with scholarships available!) Register at https://bit.ly/mlcvbs! In hope, Pastor Dustin |
Honor Your Loved Ones with Flowers for Mass!
You can both beautify our worship space for Sunday Mass AND honor your loved ones by purchasing flowers in their honor! The cost is only $10 to be paid in cash or check directly to Judy Becker, who has been faithfully stewarding this program for many years. There is a Flower Chart to reserve a Sunday on the central pillar in the narthex, but at the time you sign up for flowers please write your dedication and enclose $10 in the provided envelopes. You can either put those envelopes in the Bread of Life Food Pantry mailbox, the offering plate or hand them directly to Judy Becker. Dedications will then be listed in the bulletin each Sunday. Thanks so much for helping make worship beautiful in Christ's name!
David and Lore Ellis Landscaping Fund
David and Lore Ellis supported our Spirit filled congregation in many ways throughout their lives, but in particularly, they spent decades caring for our landscaping around Messiah and provided so many beautiful shrubs, bushes and flowers. In April 2025, our Congregation Council voted to create a new David and Lore Ellis Landscaping Fund in their honor. If you'd like to contribute, simply put "Landscaping Fund" in the memo line of a check, select "Landscaping Fund" on tithely or speak with Pastor Dustin.
Newsletter Articles Due
Let's continue supporting Heather by getting newsletter articles in on time. Please send all newsletter articles to Heather at [email protected] by the following dates for the upcoming month: June 21st, August 23rd, September 20th
Office Hours for Heather and Pastor Dustin
Heather continues to work in-person at Messiah on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am - 2:00pm. Pastor Dustin will hold in-person office on Wednesdays at Messiah from 2:00pm - 4:00pm. You can also see any changes to normal office hours on the Parish calendar, found here.
Leadership News
As you can see from looking at our current Committee Roster (digitally linked with a paper copies in the Parish Administrator's Office) there are SO MANY of our members (and some non-member friends!) who have signed up for one of our 23 committees and one of our 6 volunteer lists.
There are now nine committees remaining where we are looking for new leaders:
Faith Formation Ministry Team
Fellowship Ministry Team
Social Action Ministry Team
Stewardship Ministry Team
Worship & Music Ministry Team
If you are interested in serving in one of these roles in the coming year, please speak with Mission Support Chair Ann Marie Gray!
There are now nine committees remaining where we are looking for new leaders:
Faith Formation Ministry Team
- Youth Committee Chair
Fellowship Ministry Team
- Lutheran Men in Mission Chair
- Young Families Chair
Social Action Ministry Team
- Community Service Committee Chair
- Social Justice Committee Chair
Stewardship Ministry Team
- Archives Committee Chair
- Creation Care Chair
- Property & Grounds Committee Chair
- Publicity Committee Chair
Worship & Music Ministry Team
- All set!
If you are interested in serving in one of these roles in the coming year, please speak with Mission Support Chair Ann Marie Gray!
Healthy Systems Team Update
Rev. Aileen Robbins and Karen Immerman from the Upstate New York Synod's Healthy Systems Team met with fifteen different members of our congregation and RCC staff on May 20th and May 21st to begin unpacking all we've navigated as a Spirit filled congregation amidst the Rotterdam Community Center spinoff process. They will have follow up Zoom conversation with four more individuals. They will then compile a report on ways we can continue to grow as a healthier congregation system later this summer. Stay tuned for more details on next steps once we receive back the report. A sincere thanks for Gina Gross who provided food for Rev. Aileen and Karen along with everyone who participated in the process and shared their story!
Narthex Art Gallery
Throughout the summer we'll be showing the work of Bob Penn, a long time Messiah member who donated much of his artwork to our Spirit filled congregation upon his passing. There will be a number of additional pieces shared from other Messiah members as well. If you'd like to contribute to our Narthex Art Gallery, please reach out to Steph Palazeke at [email protected]. A massive thank you to Steph for all her hard work on this project!
Messiah Youth Fund Bottle & Can Collection!
Want to help our youth attend the 2027 ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota? We need to start saving now! One way you can support that important work is donating your bottles and cans to the Messiah Youth Fund account at Green Bottle Redemption Center! NOW located at 651 Consaulus Ave, the redemption center is open Tuesday - Friday from 9a - 4p & Saturday from 9a - 2:30p! Thanks so much and please help us spread the word!
Pastor on Vacation
Pastor Dustin will on summer vacation from Monday, June 15th - Saturday, June 27th. During that time, all matters related to Messiah Lutheran Church can be directed to our Director of Operations, Heather Zimmer, at [email protected]. Particularly for emergency pastoral care matters, Heather will put you in touch with Rev. John Califano. All matters related to the Rotterdam Community Center can be directed to our Deputy Executive Director Erin O'Neill at [email protected].