Newsletter THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD

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1 Southern Illinois District Lutheran Women in Mission Newsletter THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD Volume 67 No. 2 September 2018 LWML Calendar. Sept. 28 & 29 District Convention October 18 District Board Meeting In This Issue: President s Page 2 Counselor s Message 3 Gospel Outreach 4 Communication Servant Resources 6 Christian Life 7 District Directory 8 Convention is September 28, 29 CHRIST OUR ROCK is the place to be Come on down! Come on over! Come on up! We want YOU to be part of the celebration and party for 75 years and beyond of the LWML in Southern Illinois! We need you to help us praise the Lord for this marvelous milestone. Come let us make a joyful noise to the Lord, let s shout his praises throughout Southern Illinois and beyond. Let s come together to serve him with gladness by ending the biennium with thanksgiving and with beginning a new one by singing in his presence. Is my excitement about this event coming through? Is it jumping off the page at you? This is a historical moment, ladies very few of us will see another 75 in our lifetime, so come and mark the moment with your brother and sisters in Christ! Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School in Centralia, Illinois is the place to be on September 28-29, Mission Statement: The Mission of the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Women s Missionary League is to encourage each woman in the district to grow spiritually and to use her God given gifts to praise God and serve people.

2 Page 2 LWML Newsletter September 2018 From Brenda... President Brenda Schoenbeck The purpose of the president is to provide Christ centered leadership, using His wisdom and provision to seek opportunities in helping our LWML sisters use their gifts in service to the Lord. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5) Coming up in just a few short weeks, we will be meeting at our district convention. I hope you come ready to celebrate as we round out the year of our 75 From Helen... th anniversary as an organization. The convention committee has been working for over a year, putting together the convention. Friday President evening Helen events Mayer will be presented by Young Women. Saturday we will open the convention with worship. Mission grant proposals have been submitted, reviewed and are ready for selection. The Nominating Committee has a slate of officers to be voted on as you select your new leaders for the upcoming biennium. The program committee has lined up speakers and maybe a few surprises. Come and enjoy the convention time. This is the final year of our anniversary celebration, the Diamond Dazzle. During our milestone year, I pray that you have been engaged, touching lives with caring hearts, equipped Christians for service in an ever changing world, encouraged by reaching out to share the Good News and have enjoyed being part of the celebration as we continue to Serve the Lord with Gladness. On a personal note, thank you for allowing me to serve you again as your district president. You are all truly a blessing to me and to the LWML. Jesus Christ Above All. Brenda The LWML is celebrating 75 years of its organization at the Southern Illinois District Convention NEWSLETTER Editor: Jane Lucht janel@htc.net addresses and changes to: Lucy Thompson sidlwmllucy@gmail.com Two former SID board members went to heaven recently to be with the Lord Our sympathy to: Shirley Wheatley of Highland and Diana Karlen of Prairietown

3 September 2018 LWML Newsletter Page 3 Counselor s Corner Rev. Terry Grebing Labor Day this year was on Monday, September 3. According to my trusty friend, Google, Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. Traditionally observed on the first Monday in September, it was created by the labor movement in the late 19 th century and became a federal holiday in This national holiday unofficially marks the transition from summer to fall. In a broader sense, labor day can be described as a personal holiday associated with our entry into this world via our biological mothers. With every birthday celebration, we are formally marking that transition from life inside the womb to life outside the womb as our lives continue to unfold under the watchful eye of our Heavenly Creator. With every passing year, the Lord richly blesses us with opportunities for loving service. Accordingly, every day is labor day in the Lord. That fact especially holds true for women, if the old adage is to be believed: Men work from sun to sun, but women s work is never done. From my male perspective, this is oh so true. Members of the fairer sex tend to take on the lion s share of daily duties to a degree that is anything but fair. For that reason, as the burden on women becomes increasingly taxing day in and day out it can take a toll on them physically and emotionally as well as spiritually. All too often, tasks become tedious! Chores become a chore! Labor becomes laborious! Faced with too many irons in the fire, women may be on the verge of burnout! As a sure cure for burnout, Labor Day weekend in America is a wonderful time to reflect on the prototype for Labor Day weekend. It began late Maundy Thursday in the Garden of Gethsemane. Our Lord was engaged in fervent prayer as the weight of the world s sins began falling on his shoulders. Pulling an all-nighter that continued into Good Friday, Jesus laboriously walked the way of the cross under the burden of His cross. Nailed to that cross, He painstakingly endured the full burden of the world s guilt. Every day is labor day in the Lord Having declared It is finished before bowing His head in death on Good Friday, the body of our Lord rested in the tomb all day Saturday. After the Lord restored His body to life by unleashing an incredible amount of divine power early on Easter Sunday, the angel announced, He is not here! He has risen, as He said! Having seen their Lord in person later that day, on Monday morning and throughout that day, His amazed disciples were able to declare: Christ is still risen! He is still risen indeed! Alleluia! Any time our earthly labors for the Lord start getting the best of us, we are able to make that same declaration! Along with that declaration comes the assurance expressed by the Easter hymn writer, He lives to grant me rich supply; He lives to guide me with His eye; He lives to comfort me when faint; He lives to hear my soul s complaint. Jesus proves those words to be true with His openended invitation expressed in the words of Matthew 11:28, Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Fortified with that promise, every day is a holiday in the Lord! Every day is a cause for serving the Lord with gladness! As Lutheran Women in Mission work together voluntarily for the cause of the Risen Christ, every day can be a labor of love in the Lord! Therefore, may the Lord enable us, together, to be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain! Don t forget your ingathering items for Christ Our Rock High School, copy paper, Kleenex tissues, dry ease markers, hand sanitizer, or money for the computer fund.

4 Page 4 LWML Newsletter September 2018 Vice President of Gospel Outreach Miriam Koehne Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 All praise and thanks to our marvelous God!! The Mite goal for the Biennium has been exceeded! We thank God for giving us generous hearts to not only meet our Mite goal but to give extra which can go toward the goal for the next biennium. Soon we will be selecting new Mission Grants at the 39th Biennial SID LWML Convention being held at Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School, Centralia. Organization I want to thank my committee for helping put together the summaries of the grants submitted. Each grant proposal addressed a wonderful mission of spreading the message of our Savior throughout our districts, nation, and world. It was difficult to limit these missions but our Board came up with a ballot containing 22 grants. Each Delegate will be allowed to vote for eight of these grants at the convention. Be on the lookout for the special edition Newsletter that will give you details on these grants which can be shared and discussed with your societies. Amount Approved Amount Paid Amount to be Paid Unity Lutheran Christian Elementary School, East St. Louis Camp Wartburg's Shepherding Sheep Camp for people with disabilities Seminary Student Scholarships SID $8,000 $8,000 Shared Prison & Jail Ministry in Southern Illinois District, LCMS $7,000 Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School, Evansville, IL Tuition Assistance Fund Metro East Lutheran High School, Edwardsville, IL Student Scholarship & Tuition Assistance Trinity/HOPE Feed Children of Lutheran Schools in Haiti, Gallatin, TN $2,500 $2,500 American and International Student Ministry, Carbondale, IL Lutheran Braille Workers Center, New Minden, IL Today s Light $2,500 Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School, Centralia, IL, Rev. Timothy Mueller Mentor Grant Student Assistance Fund Scholarship SID Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville, IL Lutheran Student Fellowship * LCMS U at SIUE-Edwardsville, IL Campus Ministry Outreach Program $3,000 $3,000 Lutheran Bible Translators - Lectionaries in Mother Tongue for Lutheran Churches in West Africa $1,000 $1,000 $56,000 TOTAL (September, 2016) $56,000 $7,000 $2,500 *Grant recipient disbanded, funds collected not utilized in biennium. Will apply to grants.

5 September 2018 LWML Newsletter Page 5 Scholarships awarded to many district students Seminary scholarship recipients that were awarded this year include: William Hale Keith Kettner James Peterson Timothy Roggow Michael Stein Ian Kinney Joshua Schiff Mitchel Schuessler Student Assistance scholarship recipients: Alicia Benning Jacob Roggow Alexandra Spear Elizabeth Koester Hannah Sivia Clara Nebel Bryce Becker Megan Hanenberger See article below on scholarships for more information about the recipients and amount awarded. MISSION GRANTS Scholarships: Our committee met on May 15 to review applications and available funding for scholarships to be given out. Thanks to remaining funds from a Thrivent matching gift, Alleluia cards, Mission Grant funds, and earnings from the Student Assistance fund principle in the Endowment Fund, a total of $8,950 was given out. Sixteen total scholarships were awarded - eight of these went for Seminary Scholarships and eight went for Student Assistance Scholarships. Please continue to keep these individuals in your prayers as they pursue full-time service in the church. We are receiving thank you notes from some of the recipients for grants and scholarships. Here are some of their comments I would like to share: LCMS U at SIUE Campus Ministry wrote We are very grateful for all you do to support us. Our blessings are constant reminders of you. We could not do and expand our outreach ministry without your support and prayers for us. Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School (Evansville) expressed Young lives are touched and molded each and every day because of our wonderful faculty and staff, and most importantly, through Christ. Your donation makes you an integral part of our school s mission and the Great Commission of Our Lord and Savior. From scholarship recipients 1) Your support has been invaluable and deeply encouraging... I thank you most heartily for living out your calling in a faithful and powerful manner. 2) I am very excited to serve the Church as a pastor, thank you for helping to make that possible. 3) The first year of seminary has been humbling, challenging, rewarding, and overall a wonderful journey of learning. Our family can t thank you enough for your prayers and financial support. This brother and sister team are Eli and Zoe. They are very excited to donate their Mite Box full of coins so others can hear about Jesus. Why not introduce the Mite Box to your children and/or grandchildren at an early age.

6 Page LWML Newsletter Page 5 Vice President of Communication Sharon Guebert The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it Proverbs 10:22 A long time ago I learned I wouldn t always be good. I won t always be sweet or smart. But I can always be grateful. The Lord loves a grateful heart. The blessings we receive when we put our trust in God s promises. If we were to make a list of our blessings on a sheet of paper it would, by far outweigh our problems. Today, I would put writing this article as a problem! And then that list of blessings is right in front of me! God s promises written in the Mustard Seed Daily Devotions said; When we rely on God s promises and witness His presence in our daily lives, we gain access to a wealth of contentment, strength, and power. God is here! We cannot be unhappy and grateful at the same time. Blessings are not to hoard, but to share. As Christians we are blessed when sharing our blessings with others. What a blessing it is to attend the LWML District convention on September 28 and 29. What a blessing it is to sing his praises with Sisters in Christ. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Christ Our Rock High School in Centralia! Vice President of Organizational Resources Helen Mayer Welcome Back! When I was still teaching full time in a Lutheran school, these words always played a special part in my life, because they were the words that began another year of school. Another year of learning, sharing, growing, fun and usually with some problems mixed in the whole thing to keep things interesting. A new school year brought new challenges, triumphs, some failures, but most of all, love! Love for our Savior and each other. So why am I talking about welcome back to you all in this column? Well, for a couple of reasons I m sure you know me well enough by now to know there has to be an LWML connection to it, and you are so right. Many of our local LWML societies do not meet during the busy summer months, and this is the time of year when they begin their regular meetings again Welcome Back! Just like in a new school year, we do not know what challenges, rewards, and yes, even problems, we will be facing as a LWML society this year. For a lot of societies, the number of active members is getting smaller and smaller for any number of reasons, from illness, relocating, getting older and unable to get out and about-you know what I mean. This is a challenge that has no easy solution, but just remember Jesus words---.where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them., so don t give up! You may have to scale back your activities, but don t give up! There may also be some members who have come back to the society after being away for some reason Welcome Back! Always be in the lookout in your congregations for ladies who may not be active as an LWML member, but who might need just an extra Hello, or a heartfelt, How are you? to help her through a rough time in her life. She may not even be in church right now, but she may be in your neighborhood, community, or family. Be ready to share your love for your Savior with her, because Jesus always has a Welcome Back for anyone who may have left His church for one reason or another. We never really leave His love, but sometimes we just need to hear about that special love from a friend be that friend to say: Welcome

7 Page 6 LWML Newsletter September 2018 Vice President of Christian Life Debra Albers 75 years. What s Next? Onward, Christian soldiers march on to what God has planned for you to do next. The convention will be over soon and then what? What does God have planned for you now? Where will He lead you? Maybe you have a new office to fill or perhaps you have served your term and are searching for the next way to share Christ with others. I know for certain these things, God needs you to tell others about his amazing gifts of love, grace and mercy. I know God wants you to be in his Holy Word and in his house for worship. I know God has a plan for you to be a missionary for him, wherever you are. So onward Christian solider! What do the next 75 years look like? Only God knows those details, and I m no one special, so he hasn t revealed them to me. LOL! What I do Concordia Publishing House has decided not to have a store at the district convention. Instead they are offering a 20 percent discount on items ordered around this time. There will be a flyer in the district convention packet for members to use for their discount. However, there will be the LWML Store at the convention with many new items. Orders for LWML items can also be ordered ahead of time from Pat Wernsing (see address and phone number at right). know, God will be with us. He has a plan, we must follow. Put Christ before you and let him lead you into battle whether you are sharing his love with those you love or with complete unbelievers he will guide your words he will use you to let them see Jesus in you and through you. So, suit up the battle continues! Where will we go? Wherever we go, we will be treading where the saints have trod before! Whether our lives are on level ground, rocky roads, mountains or valleys God will be by our side to hold our hand and even carry us through. Hold steadfast to his teachings. Life will change for each of us. God will remain the same. Be thou faithful unto death and you will receive the crown of life. Rev. 2:10b. 75 years and beyond! LWML Store Have you shopped at the LWML Store? Pat Wernsing is in charge of the store at district events. There are many items available in the catalogue, and it would not be possible to have them all in stock. They ask that anyone who is planning to attend an event and would like to purchase something to contact them so it can be preordered. Catalogues were distributed at the last district convention. Items are also listed online at lwml.org, and there are monthly specials. The items do no have to be purchased from the district LWML Store, but it will save paying the postage. Reminders will be included with each event invitation. New catalogues will be distributed at the district convention in September. Call or pawm47@gmail.com

8 Page 8 LWML Newsletter September 2018 Serving You Are: President Brenda Schoenbeck Vice President of Gospel Outreach Miriam Koehne Vice President of Christian Life Deb Albert Vice President of Servant Resources Helen Meyer Vice President of Special Focus Ministries Carol Small Vice President of Communication Sharon Guebert Recording Secretary Patti Liefer Corresponding Secretary Lucy Thompson Financial Secretary Carol Oldinski Treasurer Ruth Ann Arbeiter Counselor Rev. Terry Grebing Counselor Rev. Jay Holden Editor Jane Lucht Archivist/Historian Peggy Sachtleben Christian Resource Editor Joyce Aukamp Young Women Representatives Beth Small and Kim Stegman Resources.LWML Store Pat Wernsing Quarterly/Newsletter Coordinator Lucy Thompson Send changes of addresses or s to: Lucy Thompson sidlwmllucy@gmail.com Memorials Paul Johnson Sandy Kohweier Carol Kraft Sue Mueller *Sue Mueller Edin Schrader Loretta Schuette Esther Sprehe *Shirley Wheatley *Denotes Student Assistance Fund Board Notes: -The board agreed that the SID LWMLwill have a display booth at the Prison Ministry Conference in St. Louis. Samples of what the SID has been doing in the past for Prison Ministry will be in the booth. -The nominating committee reported on the nominees for the district convention, and they will be announced in the Special Edition prior to the convention. -Sharon Guebert will represent the district at the Assembly of Leaders gathering held in St. Louis in November. The new president and junior counselor will also attend. -There was discussion on the cost increase of the Quarterly. It was reported that some societies have not contributed to the current price. -Those who have access to the Internet are encouraged to visit the SID LWML website to obtain current information and share it with others. The LWML devotion is on Facebook every morning. -Zones should be choosing delegates and alternates to the national convention prior to January 1. Young women are also encouraged to submit an application to attend the convention in Loving Gifts Birthdays Edna Benning s 100th birthday In Honor *Sharon Brewer