GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH Tacoma, Washington GOOD SHEPHERD NEWS. Gotta Love It

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1 GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH Tacoma, Washington GOOD SHEPHERD NEWS February 2011 Gotta Love It Ah, Valentine s Day (February 14). That heart-filled holiday when we send cards, buy flowers, and drape ourselves in romance, all because greeting-card companies tell us we must. Stores, television commercials, and even spouses tell us that, on this particular day, we are obligated to show love. And my goodness, we d better mean it. Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another (John 13:34). Does that mean that Jesus is also getting in on the act? You must love one another, He commands. You d think Jesus, of all people, would understand that you can t love just because you re told to. Love as I have loved you, He says. Jesus did not love by sending a card. He gave, not flowers, but His life. He bought our redemption from sin with His own blood, not because it was His obligation, but because He loved us completely and wanted desperately to make us His brothers and sisters. So, if we have trouble sending cards and flowers; how can we love as Jesus does? Such love is God s gift to us in Christ Jesus. He loved us first with the overwhelming love of the Savior; His love can t help but spill over. He loved us to the full. He makes His love perfect in us. And we love because He first loved us. May the Lord fill our hearts with His love, and may our hearts be filled with the joy of Christian love for one another. Blessings, Pastor Dan

2 Times and Seasons Have you taken a moment to reflect on the times and seasons you pass through, or perhaps the one you re in right now? They can be easy to miss as they go flying by. Christmas is already a distant memory, as is Advent and those seasons were just a little over a month ago. Winter is in full swing, but the days are getting longer, and Spring seems just around the corner. Before we know it, it will be Summer, and hardly will our grumbling about the cold and rain be gone from our lips, when our grumbling about the heat and sun be fresh on our tongues. For the kids that are out there didn t your first semester of school seem to fly by? For you parents how long ago does it feel like your high school years were (how can my 20 th reunion be this summer, when I only graduated so recently)? For you grandparents how long ago were those cries in the middle of the night, with young ones who seemed unaware of your lack of sleep? Times and seasons they just keep coming, and we keep moving right through them. On a bigger scale, the people of God go through times and seasons, too. We mark the smaller seasons and festivals of the church year, and most of us are familiar with those. But there are also bigger seasons and times that we ve come through. Not too many years ago, immigrant Christians from Europe settled in the New World, forming new communities of faith and life (one of which was the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.) Not too long before that, the people of God wrestled with recapturing the heart of the Scriptures during the Reformation. Not long before that Eastern and Western Christians fractured in what s been called The Great Schism of The further you go back through the history of God s people, the more you find them struggling and rejoicing in different times and seasons. Our Junior and Senior High Youth Group is studying about one of those big seasons of transition that took nearly 450 years to complete, called the time of the Judges. Holy Scripture is full of these times and seasons for God s people, and we as the Church continue to live through various times and seasons. So, whether we re talking about the times and seasons of our own lives, of the Church year, or of the epochs that seem to be measured in centuries, what holds us together and keeps us from drifting away is always the Word of God. Christ Himself said that while heaven and earth will pass away, His Word will never pass away. Even if you re awash in the pagan cultures that often enslaved and persecuted Israel during the time of the Judges, where people just did whatever they thought was right in their own eyes, the Word of God continued to save, guide, and enliven His people. So, too, if you re struggling in this time of your life, or worried about our increasingly hostile pagan culture, where even Christian people seem to just do whatever they think is right in their own eyes, the Word of God has not passed away. It remains forever to guide and console, to teach and admonish, and ultimately to enliven us by faith in the true Word of God, who is Christ Jesus our Savior. The Word of God, the Son of God, is here with you in this time and this season, just as He always will be. Rejoice, beloved of God you are never alone! The Lord of Life, the Word of God, is here with His people. Amen. Pastor Brad Men s Breakfast / Bible Study February 19 th Join us Saturday, February 19 th at 7 am for a delicious breakfast, wonderful fellowship, and in-depth Bible Study. Join us. Pastor Dan

3 President s Corner I hope 2010 was a growing and blessed year for you and your family. I hope your Christmas celebration was enjoyable and created a memorable connection to the gifts God has given us. I pray that you look upon 2011 with enthusiasm for greater possibilities. To all those who attended the voters meeting in January, thank you. Also, thank you for making it a very efficient meeting. It was clear that many of you spent time thinking about various aspects of church activities and thus had very concise questions. That tells me you care, and that is a wonderful thing. I also want to give special recognition to Vice President Tony Huset. It was his wisdom that led to the postponing of the voters meeting from December to January, and it was his diligent efforts that had everything prepared for the meeting in January. While it may seem to be a little thing to many of you, I can assure you as new leaders to Good Shepherd that it was not the highlight of our ego to tell the congregation that we were not ready. But it was the right thing to do. To all of you joining the various boards, whether elected or appointed, welcome and thank you for stepping up to help. We look forward to working with you. Julian Doyle Women in Mission A letter to all women of Good Shepherd: Greetings Sisters in Christ! You are invited to the LWML Convention June 23-26, 2011 in Peoria, Illinois. Being with Jesus Living on the Edge. Conventions are truly Mountain top experiences. Our own Rainier Zone will be having our Spring Rally in April at Beautiful Savior, Milton. Come and meet more sisters! Since I mentioned Rainier Zone, we as part of this Zone are co-hosting the 2012 Washington- Alaska District Convention in June 2012 in Olympia. You can share in the rich experience of joining with at least 300 LWML ers in Olympia. Mites are desperately needed to meet District and National goals. Please help! Good Shepherd Ladies, I appeal to you on an organizational level. We don t have any current Bylaws (last ones about 1980). We also have not had an election in many, many years. I have been the contact person for Zone, District, and National LWML for over 25 years. What do you want to do? Stay connected to LWML? Not affiliate? Something different? Pray about this. More later! Jane Oberg TWO SIMPLE AND FUN SUGGESTIONS TO INSPIRE YOUR JOYFUL MITE GIVING Buy LWML a Cup of Coffee How many of us would not buy our friend a cup of coffee as an act of kindness? Why not commit the amount of buying LWML a cup of of coffee? For a week, a month or a year and send it to support the LWML mission grants? What s in Your Closet? This is your chance to take inventory of your closet! You are encouraged to count all the shoes, handbags or purple items, ties and suits in your closet. Determine the amount to give per item of choice.

4 Women s Brunch & Bible Study / Pink Shoe Our monthly Bible Study will meet again on the second Saturday of the month from 9:30-11:45 am in the fellowship hall. Please join us February 12 th for a shared brunch and fellowship followed by our Bible Study. The Pink Shoe Club is for girls from kindergarten 6 th grade. We all come together for brunch and then Miss Sue (Sue Tofflemire) takes the girls for an activity while the adults study God s Word. All are welcome! Please join us! Babysitting is provided with advance notice at Preschool News In wanting to tie up a few loose ends our preschool would like to thank Paul Boulè, a brand new congregational member who installed our exit signs above the outside door in our large preschool room. He will also be doing some other electrical work for us with our lights. We would also like to thank Taressa O Neil of Burning Cupcakes, our candle fundraiser, who in the end donated 100% of the candles to our preschool! So, when all was said and done with the candle sales and donations the preschool has just over $ for our electrical Lunch Bunch News Approximately 25 of us enjoyed an outing at Concordia Lutheran School on January 3 rd. Rather than tour the facilities we heard how the staff handles special situations where students have difficulties. It gave us insight into how a school like Concordia is different from non-christian schools. After this presentation we were treated with a concert by the Marimba Band and our outing closed with a delicious lunch. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 1 st at Good Shepherd in the Fellowship Hall. A number of those attending the LUNCH BUNCH will share their hobbies / collections. We would love to have you join us. We start with a devotion by Pastor Dan at 11:30 am, followed by a shared meal and our program. work. Thank you to everyone who helped this happen. What an amazing gift! Last, but not least, we would like to thank everyone who continually prays for our preschool. In January we hit a new milestone when we added our 18 th student. God is great! We are very excited to be serving the many students and their families with the love of Jesus Christ. Bonnie Jean Huset Preschool Director / Teacher In March we plan to view a video. Popcorn will be free but bring your own favorite beverage. Right now we do not have a set program beyond March, but one idea is to visit the Wilcox egg plant in McKenna and we are open to any other suggestions. For good fellowship and fun, come and join us on the first Tuesday of each month. Pastor Ken Boetcher REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR AND VISIT OUR HOMEBOUND Helen Barkubein, Esther Bundy, Becky Caruso, Maralyn McDonald, Ethel Peterson, Helene Stegmann, Lydia Valentine, Connie Winther, Harriet Zmuda

5 Elected Officers for 2011 President Vice President Board of Education Board of Elders Board of Fellowship Board of Stewardship Board of Trustees Board of Youth Julian Doyle Tony Huset Donna Gerzevske Denes Van Parys Melissa Varvil Wayne Boudreau Joe Morton Bill Reed Kathy Brazell Mike Burgardt Florence Classen Norman Gerken Caron Long Darren Schorer Bob Baldridge Mike Dobiash Mike McGee LaVonne Borcherding Debbie Tanner Susan Tofflemire CONCERT COMING SOON TO GOOD SHEPHERD Be sure to save Thursday, March 24 th at 7 pm for a concert here at Good Shepherd featuring the Concordia University Wind Ensemble of Portland, OR The group is the primary instrumental ensemble of the university. Repertoire is chosen from varied time periods, styles, and genres. Members serve as student ambassadors and representatives of Concordia University through their concerts and other performances. This 27-member group is under the directorship of Dr. William Kuhn. The concert is open to all, so be sure to invite your friends. We will be feeding the group that evening as well as hosting them in homes for the night. Watch for sign up opportunities.