The Messenger. Month at a Glance Sunday, February 4 5:00 p.m. F3 for Youth Groups

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1 The Messenger Month at a Glance Sunday, February 4 5:00 p.m. F3 for Youth Groups On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7: is an unusual year already. Not only have we had a super blue blood moon (as worded in the news) but the beginning of Lent falls on Valentine s Day and ends with Easter Sunday on April 1! I couldn t help but reflect on how this special time of the church year begins with us reflecting on our sinful condition on a day earmarked for love and how much we need His love which He freely grants to us without any merit or worthiness in me (as the Small Catechism says). It then ends on a day known for PAGE 1 pranks and other oddities, April Fools Day and how the world views us as fools for following Jesus and believing in the resurrection! But I would rather be considered a fool for Christ than the wisest of the wise (according to the world). As St. Paul writes, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18) On top of all this, I ve now had the joyful opportunity to baptize my first senior citizen and assure him of God s great love for him before he leaves ATTENDANCE IN JANUARY Tuesday, February 6 5:00 p.m. Elders Meeting Sunday, February 11 5:00 p.m. Elders Meeting 6:15 p.m. Council Meeting Wednesday, February 14 6:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday Service Sunday, February 18 5:00 p.m F3 for Youth Groups Monday s 1:00 p.m. Ladies Bible Study Wednesday s after Ash Wednesday 5:30 p.m. Meal 6:15 p.m. Lenten Worship 7:00 7:30 p.m. Midweek Classes & Adult Bible Study Thursday s Pastor s Bible 11:00 a.m. Country Place Living 2:00 p.m. Guest Homes 2 6:00 7:30 p.m. Grief Share Saturday s 9:00 Noon Recycling Center continued on page 2 9:30 a.m. Sunday School January January No Report January No Report January No Report

2 this world. What else will 2018 bring? Only the Good Lord knows but we will wait to see. But back to Lent. It s a common practice during this season for individuals to give up something they love (either doing or eating) to serve as a stark reminder of how difficult it is for us to give up a little something for a few weeks in contrast to all that Jesus gave up to come into this world and die for our sins. This year I would like to encourage you to do something a little different. Instead of giving something up, I would like you to take something on. Consider it a Lenten Challenge. Earlier this winter the LCMS issued an updated version of the Small Catechism so what better time than the Lenten season to pick up your old (or new) copy of the Catechism and review the six chief parts. One could be read each day of the week (followed by some prayers) according to this schedule: Monday The Ten Commandments Tuesday The Apostles Creed Wednesday The Lord s Prayer Thursday The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Friday Confession Saturday The Sacrament of Holy Communion Sunday alternate each week between Daily Prayers, Table of Duties, & Christian Questions with Their Answers (covering each twice). If you can t find your Small Catechism, it is also found on p. 321 of the Lutheran Service Book, on the internet, or I d be happy to loan or print this up for you (it s only a few pages). Alternatively you may choose to read Luther s Large Catechism during Lent, focusing on one chief part each week. If you choose to read through the Large Catechism, I can loan you a copy of that for your devotions during this time. In the L.C. there is an interesting note about the Exhortation to Confession. The Large Catechism, first published in 1529, did not include this exhortation, but before 1529 ended, a revised edition came out that did include it. So will you take up the challenge? As it is, this will dovetail nicely with what we will be reflecting on for our Lenten Wednesday evening worship. I hope that you will join us for our Ash Wednesday service (which includes Holy Communion) at 6 p.m. on that day dedicated to Love. By the way, there is no meal that week but in the weeks to follow we will have Lenten meals beginning at 5:30 p.m. with Lenten worship beginning at 6:15 p.m. Midweek classes will follow at 7:00 p.m. for 30 minutes each week. Circuit Visitation Rev. Ted Cook is the current Circuit Visitor for our group of churches in SE Kansas (called Circuit #5). It is his intent to visit all the Lutheran Churches in our circuit before his term ends in June. He will be mailing out a questionnaire to our congregation in the near future with the plan of meeting with us afterwards so that members who would like to provide oral feedback vs. written feedback may do so and to field any questions they may have. He is schedule to be here on Saturday morning, March 3rd (9:00-10:30 a.m.) but he did tell me that there is a grandchild due around that time which might supersede his visit on that date. I will keep you posted. Joining Jesus This past week was our Voters Assembly and discussion came up about visiting members and in particular those who have been absent. A reflection that hit me afterwards is that just as Jesus works in the lives of those who don t know Him. Likewise, He invites us to join Him in connecting with those who do. Just show them you care, He s taking care of the rest. Joining with you on Jesus mission, Pastor Dan <>< PAGE 2

3 Here s what s going on at SONshine Preschool & Childcare this month: SONshine is full with 20 student in each class. Childcare in the afternoon is a smaller group. Themes & Letters this month: Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv *Rhyming *Graphing *Counting 0-20 *Shapes *Sorting *Valentings *Groundhog Day *Teeth *My Five Senses Activities Valentine s Day will be a special time with a Valentine Party. We continue to do Chapel time with Pastor Dan. This month we will be doing a special Valentine s Day craft with Pastor Dan during one of our Chapel times. Towards the end of this month, we will be doing a SONshine Preschool T-shirt fundraiser and a Raida Cutlery fundraiser. Stories *Tooth Trouble *You Think It s Easy Being the Tooth *Fairy? *My Five Senses books *Love,Splat-Splat the Cat *Bars loose Tooth *Any many Valentines Day books Announcements: Happy Birthday: Mailey Hillman Feb 4 Cooper Clark-Feb. 7th Gabe Engelman-Feb. 7 Ryder Smith Feb 11 Parker Miller 24th LADIES CIRCLE Ladies Circle will meet Tuesday, February 6, 2018 in the church Fellowship Hall. The meeting will begin with coffee and refreshments at 9 a.m. and the meeting at 9:30 a.m. Roll Call is a Bible couple. Catherine Thorsell will have the devotion and the topic will be by Elaine Engelman. There will be Valentines to sign for the shut-in and the projects are Haskell Light-Lawrence, Bethesda Home and Cherry Street Youth Center. All women members of Zion Lutheran Church are invited to attend. LENTEN SERVICES We will begin the Lenten season on February 14, 2018, so I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that our Wednesday evening offerings have been designated for giving opportunities rather than Zion s general expenses. Please note that Ash Wednesday s offering will be for our Kansas District Mission Pledge and also for LCMS Disaster Response. Thank you for your generosity, Elaine Engelman. PAGE 3 The Recycling Center is open every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Volunteers for February, 2018 February 03 Zion Youth Ramsey February 10 High Prairie Pioneers February 17 Boy Scouts February 24 Zion Youth Lewis & Hendrickson

4 YOUTH GROUPS R.O.C.K. (Junior High Youth) ( Relying On Christ the King) Y.A.C. (Senior High Youth) (Young Adults in Christ) Christmas Program Thanks I ve heard it said several times (even this last Sunday) how much everyone enjoyed and appreciated the Christmas Program on December 17th with participation by the choir, the singing of the youth and an ensemble of band players who blessed us their tunes as well. This is a thank you to the parents, to the young people and to all the families who were involved in the Christmas production. It s a joy to see all the gifts of God with which he has blessed individuals being used to the glory of God! Thank you. What does the future hold for such activities? Let us see what Lent and Easter bring. It may be that we will be able to incorporate such things in our worship time and again as we are able. Even though the National Youth Gathering is more than a year away, our youth have been actively engaged in fundraising to make this trip a reality, just as He is real and present even now. Be sure to keep your eyes out for Krispy Kreme donut sales, Car Washes, the Easter Breakfast and that like as ways to support our young people in the endeavors. In the meantime, they are being encouraged in their faith walks with activities here and now. A lock-in is in the works for the near future. Let us know if you would like to help out. LERT Training We know that being in southeast Kansas we are in a prime spot for natural disasters. The LCMS Lutheran World Relief is known for its ability to come in after emergency responders and help a community get back on its feet through its Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT). These teams are are based out of congregations and circuits to help in all kinds of cleanup and reconstruction efforts. What makes LERT so successful is that after the federal, state, and other organizations pack up and go home, the church remains in the community. It would be great to start a LERT team in conjunction with other Lutheran Churches in the area, or at least learn from the training how we can better prepare for when a disaster strikes. LERT training is being offered in several venues this winter with the first on Saturday, February 10, 2018 (9 a.m. 3 p.m.) at St. Luke s Lutheran Church, Manhattan and a second on Saturday, February 24, 2018 (9 a.m. 3 p.m.) at Christ Lutheran Church, Overland Park. If you would be interested in attending and learning more about LERT, please see Pastor Dan. PAGE 4

5 Feb. 01 Feb. 03 Feb. 07 Feb. 08 Feb. 09 Feb. 10 Feb. 11 Feb. 13 Feb. 14 Feb. 18 Feb. 19 Feb. 20 Feb. 26 Karen Kinzer Sydney Wilson Gabriel Engelman Eilene Escalante Mackenzie LeRoy Eli Lewis Boone Hamilton Tim Wimsett Thomas Ramsey Toni Carter Mason Dickerson Irvin Lassman Janis Oehlert Steffany Wilson Joe Luttrell Barbara Seefeldt Amy Madril Mike Thompson Jennie Hasty Jim Saving Feb. 02 Feb. 08 Feb. 10 Feb. 11 Feb. 12 Feb. 14 Feb. 16 Feb. 19 Feb. 22 Feb. 23 Feb. 26 Feb. 27 Brent Audiss Don Krone Alyssa Ramsey Judy Chappell Allie Johnston Larry Washburn Jacquelin Guerrero Jessica Audiss Adrian Madril Brady Hood Samara Miller Susan Stich Gavin Church Tim Wimsett Feb. 02 Greg & Toni Carter, 1980 Feb. 15 Gary & Debi Freeman, 1974 February 19, 2018 Abraham Lincoln s birthday is February 12th. George Washington s birthday is February 19th. PAGE 5

6 Zion s Messenger The Newsletter of Zion Lutheran Church Taking on Something for Lent! Zion Lutheran Church 1202 W. Main Street Chanute, KS All visitors are welcome to worship with us each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Sunday School begins at 10:45 a.m. Church office: (620) ZionChanute@sbcglobal.net If at any time, you find corrections that need to be made to the newsletter or calendar, please contact the church office. An electronic version is available at the following website: If the electronic version meets your needs, let the church office know, so that we can reduce the number of paper copies that we produce. Thank you.