a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question to test him. Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, You shall love the Lord your

Transcription

1 a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question to test him. Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:32 40 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Love God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments sum up all that God has commanded through the law and the prophets. Thanks to what Jesus did for us on the cross, our salvation does not depend on how well be obey the law. We are saved by God s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God for that! But getting saved is not the culmination of or the end point of a faith journey. God s grace gives us a new beginning, a new life as adisciple of Jesus Christ. We are a people saved by grace and sent out to serve; to love God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves. With our sinful natures and the distractions of the world all around us, neither of those tasks are easy for us. There is much in our world which calls to us to love them more than we love a God we cannot see. And many of the people around us can be very hard to love. So how do we follow Jesus in these things? We will never love God or our neighbor perfectly, but how can we move closer to our goal of loving like Jesus loved? One of my favorite theologians, C.S. Lewis, has some wisdom for us. The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time [worrying about] whether you love your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his gratitude, you will probably be disappointed. (People are not fools: they have a very quick eye for anything like showing off, or patronage.) But whenever we do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it less. We need many tools in our tool box as we do our best to follow Jesus. Acting as if can be one of those tools along with prayer, scripture, and the encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, we can t do any of it without the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit urging us on. The love we share with our neighbor is not something we have to find within ourselves. We share the love that our God has already given us. Of that love there is a never ending supply. I hope you had a great summer. God bless all those, big and small, who are returning to school and the parents who send them. Grace and Peace, 1

2 From the Desk of Pastor Lee September 2016 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. - 1 st Corinthians 1:10 Ben, Kathy and I had a wonderful vacation. We spent most of our time in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which is where the bloodiest battle ever on United States soil took place in the Summer of 1863 during the Civil War. On our way to Gettysburg, however, we stopped at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. This library and museum presents history with the aid of modern technology. One of the exhibits at the museum is a room that focuses on all of the negative rhetoric and condemnations of Lincoln leading up to his election, expressed using holographic technology along the walls that enables us to hear, from the faces of real people, the full hatred and venom of their words. Just beyond this exhibit is a newsroom where a news anchor is covering the presidential election of 1860 as if it was happening today, with four candidates splitting the votes in an already extremely divided county, opening the door for Lincoln to be elected even though his name did not even appear on the ballot in most southern states. At the end of the broadcast, the news anchor says in an exasperated tone, The 1860 election; what a mess! What sent a chill through me as I walked through these exhibits is how similar much of the venomous rhetoric of the 1860 election seems to live on today as we approach the 2016 election. We are living in very divisive times that tempts us to throw up our hands in despair and proclaim, What a mess! During the Civil War that followed the 1860 election, churches and denominations, including Lutherans, were fractured along political and geographical lines. Many American denominations still bear the scars of these fractures. And, as Christians, we are approaching the 2016 election already politically fractured in many ways. Some of these political fractures are quite visible along denominational lines, but others are quite hidden within the denominations themselves, including our ELCA, which still struggles to find unity after dealing with several controversial but inevitable cultural issues. The reality that we need to confess is that we have not reached the unity that 1 st Corinthians 1:10 challenges us to achieve; we are often neither of the same mind nor of the same purpose. But our fractured reality does not have to be what defines us and is definitely not our future. Christ died on the cross to make us one with him, and his cross is like a great current that inexorably pulls us with love through a chaotic ocean of hate and division. The challenge for all Christians is to begin living in this future now and to not wallow in the rhetoric that deceives us into thinking that we will never have common ground with one another. As vehemently as the tyrants of hate and division may rage in our time, these tyrants have no future; our future is Christ and in Christ we will be one; we can be one and we are becoming one. With faith in Christ and in his sure and certain future, let us approach this very divisive election season and very fractured time in our history with love, forgiveness and charity. Let the world see in us, as members of the body of Christ, not a reflection of the venomous rhetoric of the world, but a reflection of the love of Christ, who doesn t run from the hatred of our time, but who firmly embraces the cross so that hatred and division will be our past and not our future. Your Friend in Christ, Pastor Lee September Birthdays 2 Marvin Hines 17 Curtis Bienhoff 4 Konner R. Wagenblast 20 Kaleb Wagenblast 6 Jeri Hunter 21 Kyle Bienhoff 10 Kenneth Molzahn 21 Lucas C. Barnes 11 Elizabeth Hardacre 23 Melissa Westbrook 12 Levi Barnes 24 Kyler Seemann 13 Shelby Gordon 25 Barb Reilley 14 James Molzahn 28 Jakeb Brown 16 Janet Suchsland 28 Kass Wagenblast 2

3 Disciples of The Plains Parish Council Meeting July 25, 2016 (unapproved) Disciples of the Plains Parish Council met July 25, 2016 at Emmanuel in Stuttgart. Council members present were Dennis Lehmann and Tom Bose from American, Smith Center; Paul Merklein and Sharon Krafft from Emmanuel, Stuttgart; Linda Miller and Bill Molzahn, St. John, ; and Bob Lamp and Ricky Solida from Zion, Phillipsburg. Pastoral team members present were Pastor Lorna Paulus and Pastor Lee Bennight. Russell Dettmer, Parish Treasurer and Bill Schick, Parish Mutual Ministry representative, were also in attendance. I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairman, Dennis Lehmann at 7:30 p.m. II. Devotions Pastor Lee offered a "Prayer of Remembering". III. Approve Agenda one additional item was added to the agenda: VI. Other Reports (C) Mutual Ministry Report. Bob made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Bill M. seconded. Motion carried. IV. Prior Meeting's Minutes Bob moved and Linda seconded to approve the minutes of the May 23rd meeting as printed. Motion carried. V. Treasurer's Report Linda made a motion to approve the Treasurer's Report, Tom seconded, and the motion carried. VI. Other Reports (A) No Communication Coordinator's report. (Discussion followed and a suggestion was made to have Nora Rhoades, the Parish Communication Coordinator, attend and present her report when the Parish Council meetings are held at American. Dennis will contact her about this.) (B) Pastors' Reports Pastor Lee and Pastor Lorna submitted printed reports. Pastor Lee also talked briefly about the recently attended (by Emmanuel's and Zion's youth) confirmation camp at Camp Tomah Shinga. Pastor Lorna requested approval to use "Continuing Education" time to attend a Reformation Celebration in Germany in June, (C) Mutual Ministry Report Bill Schick, Parish Mutual Ministry representative, reviewed what the committee and pastors have been doing. They currently meet once a month for prayer, Bible 3 study, book study (Pastor and People book) and sharing with each other what's going on within the congregations and with the pastors and their ministry. VII. New Business (A) Parish Policy Handbook Linda had made revisions and submitted an updated copy of articles to be included in handbook. The household expense line item was questioned and revised deleting the line in parenthesis: (One hundred dollars ($100.00) per month of each pastor's salary shall be designated for furniture and/or household expenses). Dennis provided notebooks for everyone; and Pastor Lorna will be designing a front cover sheet. (B) 2017 Budget Russell reported on Portico, submitted Appendix A CSS Salary Guidelines as a reference tool for pastors' salaries and benefits packages, and suggested possible numbers for pastors' FICA, Pension, and Health Insurance, Utilities, Phone, Mileage, Continuing Education, along with Pulpit Supply, Synod Assembly, and General Operating Expenses. After discussion of different scenarios when plugging in certain numbers, it was decided to have Russell draw up a comparison sheet of these different scenarios and present it at our next meeting. Upon receiving this information, council members will complete the 2017 Proposed Budget. (C) Average Sunday Attendance Numbers (September, 2015 August, 2016) Each congregation's average attendance report is to be submitted to the Parish Council prior to the September meeting. (D) Parish Mission Festival is set for October 30th at 10:00 a.m. at American in Smith Center. After a few guest speaker suggestions were offered, it was decided to ask the Ashby House (family shelter in Salina) to present their mission and ministry to others. Pastor Lorna will contact them. Each congregation will be responsible for various duties and what foods to bring. The meat will be paid for by the parish. VII. Next Meeting is scheduled for September 26th at 7:30 p.m. at American in Smith Center. VIII. With no further business, the meeting adjourned with the Lord's Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Krafft Parish Council Secretary

4 St. John Lutheran Church Council Minutes August 10, 2016 Unapproved Greg Billings, President, called the meeting to order. Council members present were Greg Billings, Wesley Diercks, Linda Miller, Sarah Molzahn, Melissa Westbrook, and Pastor Lorna Paulus. Pastor Lorna opened the meeting with devotions from Galatians. The minutes of the June 8th council meeting were read. Wesley Diercks moved, seconded by Melissa Westbrook, to approve the minutes as read. Motion carried. The treasurer's report was presented and discussed. Melissa Westbrook moved, seconded by Sarah Molzahn, to approve the treasurer's report. Motion carried. Maintenance Report: The water softener at the parsonage has been taken care of. The original grant request to Dane G. Hansen Foundation was declined. It has been resubmitted with new wording. Greg had talked to Hoefer Custom Stained Glass and because of help issues they will not be here on August 17th. They hope to be here yet this month. It was decided to not refinish the floors until all of the windows are reinstalled because of the possibility of the scaffolding scratching the refinished floors. Discussion was held on sending out a letter on the windows as was done for the altar. Linda Miller will check with Jeanette Stevens to see if there is a copy and addresses in the memorial secretary's information. A new air conditioner has been installed in the parsonage, Wes stated he has also installed a thermostat cover in the Parish Hall, a new altar light switch and a new door closer. Pastor presented her report and stated that visitations have been going well. Confirmation classes start on the third Sunday in September and will meet on the first and third Sundays. Parish Council Report Linda Miller reported the Parish Council met on July 25 th. Bill Schick, Mutual Ministry, met with the Council and stated they had been meeting once a month. He explained what they have been doing as of this time. The policies that have been approved were reviewed and will be added to a policy handbook for the council 4 members. The budget was discussed. Average attendance numbers will need to be given to Russell Dettmer by the first part of September so he can draft a couple of options for the budget for the Council. Mission Festival date of October 30 th at Smith Center with Ashby House as the speaker was tentatively set. Worship Committee Pastor stated the Worship Committee met and discussed the Mission Festival. The Thanksgiving eve service will be at St. John's this year. There has been positive feedback on the music this summer. Advent begins the last Sunday in November. They will wait until the first Sunday in December for the hanging of the greens. Education Committee Report in the newsletter. Evangelism Committee Greg Billings stated that Sam Rice has agreed to chair the Evangelism Committee and will start having a quarterly meeting. Old Business Old Fashion Saturday Night was discussed. The prizes for the games have been ordered and received. The Council members will need to donate $20.00 and five liters of pop. The council will meet at the bus barn at 5:00 p.m. to get the games and set up. The Council instructed Sarah Molzahn to go ahead and order the AED machine. Melissa Westbrook received a bid from Joe Stansbury for repairing and leveling some of the more fragile headstones in the cemetery of $2, Linda Miller moved, seconded by Sarah Molzahn, to contract with Joe Stansbury to repair the headstones in the cemetery with payment coming from the cemetery fund and general fund. Motion carried. New Business Pastor stated she will be starting a class for new members. Mission Festival will be at American Lutheran Church on October 30 th. Melissa Westbrook moved, seconded by Sarah Molzahn, to approve the purchase of two longer acolyte robes and one package of three cinctures. Motion carried. Pastor Lorna had received a letter of release from the Lutheran Missouri Synod Church in Kearney, Ne, for Larry and Lori Miller. West Diercks moved, seconded by Melissa Westbrook to approve the

5 release to join St. John for Larry and Lori Miller. Motion carried. Melissa Westbrook stated that we might need to buy a sound board for up front at the church. They will be checking to see if the used sound board and monitor will work up front. Wesley Diercks moved, seconded by Sarah Molzahn, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was closed with the Lord's Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Linda S. Miller, Secretary Holy Communion Sunday Worship September 4 & 18 Prairie Haven 1:00 p.m. September 18 Bible Study Afternoon 2:00 pm September 8 th Evening 7:00 pm September 12 th Sunday News What an awesome group of Sunday kids we have! We had faithful attendance all summer and enjoyed learning together in our classes as well as sharing our worship and songs with the nursing home residents! I pray all our children will remember and cherish their time in Sunday and singing to their older friends across the street! Worshiping across the generations is the best experience as we learn that we need each other, and that the need to love and praise God is never outgrown! Seeing our youth share their time together, building friendships with their peers and with God priceless!! We truly are one family with God as our Heavenly Father! God is so good!! We are nearing the end of our school kit collection and have been blessed by so many generous people, giving of supplies, time, donations, and prayers! Our St. John family will bless children all over the world by giving them the tools they need to attend school and offering them a chance to better themselves by receiving an education. Small seeds planted today will reap great harvests in the future, and we get to be apart of making that difference THANK YOU!! 5 Classrooms are full and ready to continue studying God's Word this fall. Our youngest classroom is FULL with 8 amazing kiddos! Our middle group is bursting with awesomeness with 9 members, and our high school group is packed with outstanding examples of Christians with 7 young adults! Then we are blessed with our adult class who never ceases to gather and study the Bible. Thank you Paul for your faithful leadership and for all the adults who continue to share their faith with each other! Their door is always open for anyone to join them. (They're pretty nice too lol!) In a nut shell...st. John Lutheran Sunday =AWESOME stuff going on here!! See you next Sunday!! ~Robin Billings Date Children's Assisting Lector Sermon Minister 9/4/2016 Pastor Lorna Ron Melanie 9/11/2016 Joyce Linda Ra. BJ 9/18/2016 Dawn Sam Morgan 9/25/2016 Linda Mi. Andrea Bob 10/2/2016 Pastor Lorna Morgan Bill Acolytes: Olin & Kyler Organists: Carol Rahjes & Dawn Meyer Sound/Radio: Luke Rahjes & Bill Molzahn September Wedding Anniversaries 9/1/07 Natalie & Chuck Knipp 9/2/51 Paul & Wilda Conaway 9/4/76 Janis & Ted Mogan 9/19/61 Marvin & Loretta Struik 9/22/56 Ila & Lee Walker 9/22/96 Steve & Tanya Russell 9/23/06 Mike & Amy Rose 9/24/05 Mindy & Scott Mcdowell 9/26/81 Leonard & Genny Robben Rahjes 9/29/79 Douglas & Wanda Rahjes Under His Wings If anyone is suffering from domestic violence, they can contact Brenda Reiners (785) or Melva Vopat (785) to get help and advice.

6 September 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Radio Broadcast: Every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. on 92.5 FM & 1490 AM. Also, you can listen to the radio broadcast on Ch. 19 on the local Nex-Tech/ Ruraltel Cable. - Click Listen Live Noisy Offering 9:30 - Sunday 10:30 - Service - Holy Communion All Day Quilting 6:00 Bell Choir 2:00 Afternoon Bible Studay :30 Sunday 10:30 Worship Service 7:00 Evening Bible Studay All Day Quilting 6:00 Boll Choir 7:00 Parish Mutual Ministry - American 8:00 Church Council Noisy Offering 9:30 - Sunday 10:30 - Service - Holy Communion 1:00 Pairie Haven Devotions All Day Quilting 6:00 Bell Choir 2:00 Confirmation Class 9:30 Sunday 10:30 Worship Service - Pr. Lee :30 Parish Council - American AM Blanket Tying PM Quilting 6:00 Bell Choir