M e s s i a h M e s s e n g e r

Transcription

1 Messiah Lutheran Church M e s s i a h M e s s e n g e r Volume LIX, Issue 1 January, 2015 THE ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING will be Sunday, January 25 at 9:15 a.m. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this meeting. OFFERING ENVELOPES The 2015 offering envelopes are ready for you to pick up in the narthex. If you do not find your name on the envelope boxes, please let the office know. You can start using the new envelopes in January. ANNUAL REPORTS All committee reports should be in the office by now. If you have not yet sent in your report, please do so as soon as possible. Staff and Council Members at Messiah Pastor Rev. Susanne Smith Youth Director Kelly Benz Organists Roger Hatteberg & Sandy Good Choir Director Gloria DeVilbiss Bookkeeper Dennis Wohlers Secretary Toni Landon Facilities Jerry & Kay Claussen, & Jim Gerst Nursery Attendant Ashley Gerst Preschool Staff Margie Gerst, Aubrey Gerst 3rd Year Seminarian/LSTC Dione Miller 2014 Council Members: John Larson-president, Deb Brinkley-vice-president, Joel Hanger-treasurer, Christa Ruther-secretary, Joy Shah, Wayne Heibner, Dick Benne, Anita Fleming, Mark Smith, David Wiemer, Kathryn Boyle, Roger Sheagren, Carm McBeth, Dan Wiedemeier Inside this issue: Tidbits Messiah Faith Story & Youth Notes Preschool News & From the Pastor s Desk Christmas card from the Shermans Scheduled to Serve, Birthdays & Anniversaries Calendar

2 TIDBITS... COMMUNITY AND CARE PLEASE WELCOME OUR NEWEST MEMBER Bob Bellville who moved to Burlington in his retirement. We ask God s blessing on Bob as he joins the congregation of Messiah Lutheran Church. OUR THANKSGIVING EVE OFFERING was a gift to the Burlington Homeless Shelter. With a little more added in from Pastor s Discretionary Fund, we were able to send the shelter a check for $400. God bless you all. TEACHING AND LEARNING ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL/ADULT FORUM January 4: movie- The Vicar of Dibley: The Live Nativity January 11-February 18: Mark s Epiphany Gospels, with Pastor Wayne Weissenbuehler WEEKLY BULLETINS can be viewed each week on our website. You may also view The Messenger on our website. Our website address is: WORSHIP AND CELEBRATION MESSIAH LUNCH BUNCH will meet at Sunnybrook at 12:00 noon on Saturday, January 24th. Please RSVP to Mary Bentley at by January 19th. Messiah needs a cook for 3rd Wednesday suppers each month. There is a stipend for this task, and if you are interested, please talk with Pastor Susanne. SERVICE AND WITNESS GOOD NEWS! At our December 6th packaging, Kids Against Hunger surpassed its eight year alltime high by one carton of 216 meals. This year we packaged a total of 132,840 meals. The count since we began in January of 2007 is 784,512. Messiah and the Mediapolis Group filled 14 cartons instead of their normal 10 in one hour. Way to go Messiah! Thanks for your hard work and being such a great team. ALTAR GUILD On January 18th after the second service the Altar (Angels) Guild will meet to make plans for It is no longer necessary to commit to 1, 2 or 3 years of service. We need 12 to 24 families to commit to 1 month at a time. The meeting on January 18th will last less than 30 minutes. We hope to be able to cover the entire year with enough people to help set up with communion every month. If you are interested and cannot attend the meeting, contact Lisa Weiler at or Judy Stewart at We appreciate all the help we can get. God s blessings to all of you who served this past year. WORSHIP ARTS COMMITTEE is looking for one or two people interested in helping design and hang the liturgical banners in the sanctuary. The banners change with the liturgical season. Talk with Pastor Susanne to find out more about the possibilities. THE KIDS AGAINST HUNGER GIFT WRAP had a very successful year by making a profit of $3, The total taken in was $3, with $ in expenses. Thanks to all who helped wrap for KAHGB this year. PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH - looking to hire: Secretary hours per week Contact Kraig Zlomke at Please note..pastor Susanne s cellphone number in the church directory is incorrect. Please change the number to The monthly Lutheran Magazine, the voice of the ELCA, is free for all members of Messiah who want to receive it. Messiah underwrites our subscriptions. If you don t presently get the Lutheran, and want to, please let the church office know. AND, if you get the magazine and DON T want it, we ll take you off the subscription list. Thanks. Pastor Susanne By the grace of God... Funeral - Lois Hultquist 12/28/ /04/2014 PAGE 2 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 1

3 Messiah Faith Story for January 2015 Spirit, lead me to where my trust is without borders. Nepal Dalton Hayes writes us this letter: I am now a senior at Simpson College in Indianola. My faith has grown so much since I have been in college, and I am looking for ways to continue growing. On a soccer trip to Costa Rica, I was blessed to volunteer in an orphanage. It was an amazing experience and it left my heart craving more. I pray that God will fill me with a passion and fire to serve him, and that I will be provided with a path to continue this service. I heard this message again in one of my favorite songs: Set a fire down in my soul, that I can t contain and I can t control. I want more of you, God, I want more of you, God. There s no place I would rather be than here in your love. I feel called to spend all my life in God s love and to share His word and love with people who otherwise may never experience God and his grace. And I feel called to travel to Nepal to share His love. God has blessed me with the opportunity to serve in Nepal this May, on a mission trip to share His word and love with people who may never have experienced God s grace. I will be in Nepal May 7-22, with a team from Salt Company, from Indianola, Iowa. We will be working in a juice factory in Katmandu, the capital city, and then traveling into the mountains to help set up a new Christian church. We will travel to Pokhara, home of the World Peace Pagoda, and volunteer in a Tibetan refugee camp. The last six days of the trip, our team will hike into the Annapurna Mountains with local sherpas. We will ascend to over 14,000 feet, with the mountains around us as high as 27,000 feet! God has given me a beautiful life, and I am confident He will continue to assist me in my journey. I am raising financial support for this trip, about $3500, and am praying that God will help me raise this money. If you wish to support me on this faith venture, I am asking for your prayers that we have a successful trip and return home safely. Any financial support you wish to give me can be sent to New Heights Church, 210 W Ashland, Indianola, Iowa 50125, with my name on the memo line. Thank you for reading my letter and for your prayers. If you want to talk to me some more about my mission and my faith journey, please call my mother, Jana Hayes, and she will give you my phone number. Yours in Christ, Dalton Hayes Sr. High Youth Group Wednesday, January 28th, 7:30-8:30pm-Youth Room Registration is happening now!! For students in 8th-12th grade that are eligible to attend the ELCA Youth Gathering! Please fill out a registration form (located on the youth bulletin board) and a non-refundable deposit of $ For more information, please contact Kelly and check out the ELCA website: Youth News Kelly will be at the ELCA Youth Worker s Extravaganza January 29-February 2. Sunday School sings in worship at the 2nd service on January 18th Mentor Program Holiday Potluck Sunday, January 18th at 5pm in the social hall. Please bring a dish to share. If you are unable to attend, please contact your mentor/mentee and Kelly. We will enjoy a meal together and play some games! Hope to see you there! Confirmation meets at 7:30 p.m. at Messiah on Wednesday nights-january 7, 14, 21 & 28 LIFT January Trinity Lutheran 5:00-6:45pm for children 3-6th grade PAGE 3 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 1

4 Messiah Preschool News Greetings from the Children s Wing of the church. The BIG NEWS for 2015 is that Registration is underway for the sessions. Our list will start to fill up and we would love to invite your child or grandchild or a neighbor to come join us. If you would like a registration form or need more information, please call Ms. Margie (our Director) at ext. 2. As always, thank you for your support of our preschool and its mission to Shape Futures. Have a Blessed and Happy 2015!!! From the Pastor s Desk I am looking over my shoulder at the year that has ended. I see gains and losses, and much that has yet to be categorized and summed up. Wayne is officially retired from Faith Lutheran, retired for the third or fourth time since I ve known him. Both my children are now married. I have grandchildren who can say my name. Messiah is living up to her mission, again, for yet another year, her 156th, I think. Roger Hatteberg says it right: Messiah will always make it through. He s right, thankfully. God bless you for being the church you are. Bless you for your creativity and your good, common sense. Bless you for loving the children in your midst. Bless you for keeping watch over eachother, and for keeping vigil with our friends in Liberia. Bless you for singing in worship, in the choir and in the congregation and in Sunday school. Bless you for meals, for brown bread, and for a thousand poinsettias. Bless you for filling the sanctuary with quilts, and the back of the social hall with boxes of food for the hungry. And the Salvation Army barrels and the mitten tree. Bless you for discovering a new sidewalk. Bless you for getting to all those meetings..you get the idea! St. Paul writes to his favorite congregation, in Philippi, on the north coast of Greece: I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. And it is right for me to think this way about all of you.for all of you share in God s grace in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. The Lutheran Study Bible calls Philippians Paul s most joyful letter. At the end of his letter, Paul gives his advice to the Philippians: Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things, keep on doing them and the God of peace will be with you. We lose things at our house, and I spend a lot of time looking for those lost things. But we also have a sign on the wall, a Martin Luther quote: I have gained and lost many things in my life. But I have found that whatever I have placed in God s hands will be mine forever. Looking ahead, at 2015, we ll place Messiah in God s hands, for another year. What we pray for, and what we work for, in the new year, will happen under God s grace. I m sure of it. Pastor Susanne PAGE 4 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 1

5 Carolyn Miller received this Christmas card from friends in Liberia. Varney Sherman is a respected attorney in Monrovia, Liberia, and was a candidate for president in Carolyn has posted this card on the mission bulletin board in the front hall at the church. PAGE 5 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 1

6 Mission Statement Welcoming all people to share in God s blessings by strengthening our commitment to God through prayer, fellowship and service. Scheduled to Serve in January 8:00 SERVICE Greeter: January Bonnie Kienlen January Carm McBeth Communion Assistant: January Mary Chicken January Mark Smith January Carm McBeth January Paul Miller Lector: January Bonnie Kienlen January Karen Cahill January Carm McBeth January Barb Bohlen 10:30 SERVICE Ushers: Bob Engberg (head usher), Will & Deb Brinkley, Joanne & Alan Mohr Greeters: January Mary Kulp January Mary Kulp Refreshments: January Venita Myatt Communion Assistant: January Gail Kerns January Robin Chew January John Larson January Dick Benne Lectors: January Robin Chew January Ruth Baker January Judith Stewart January Robin Chew Acolytes: January Lauren Morgan, Paige Clements January Narisio Lengai January Paige Clements January Riley Ruther Torchbearers: January Olivia Taeger, Mathew Dittner Crucifer: January Zach Morgan Altar Guild: Brenda Clements family JANUARY BIRTHDAYS 3 Andrew Deuitch 4 Mark Smith 5 Suzie Bray 5 Susan Simmons 7 Jane Richter 10 Natalie Good 10 Brent Ruther 10 Diane Scott 11 Lisa Jacobs 12 Linda Natzke 12 Sue Schoof 12 Craig Wyant 13 Nenyorata Lotegeluaki 13 Mary Sharkey 14 Jeff Bloomquist 14 Samantha Carruthers 16 Mathew Dittner 16 Joshua Myatt 17 Matthew Dieterich 17 Rebecca Egerton 17 Jim Watts 19 Marianne Darnall 20 Owen Gulick 20 Joy Shah 22 Jonathan Arnold 22 Mary Bloomquist 22 Jeremy Jacobs 23 Justin Ruther 23 Mark Siegle 23 Jerry Smith 25 Keith Bloomquist 26 Larry Johannsen 27 Matt Brockway 27 Barbara Springer 28 Alice Gallerick Selling Scrip Cards this month: January 4 Courtney Brinkley January 11 Alex Furnald January 18 Alex Furnald January 25 Zach Morgan JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES 2 Abe and Melissa Lambert Emily and Dustin Dorrell Keith and Marcia Taeger Lee and Shelly Kerr Betsy and Jerry Hysell Mike and Cristy Schmidt Pat and Dennis Hudgel PAGE 6 *Let the office know if we have missed your birthday or anniversary. If you prefer not to have your name included in the birthday and anniversary lists, please let us know. V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 1

7 January 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship/Children s Sermon 11:30a-Fellowship 11:45a- Taking down the greens 11 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 5:00p-LIFT at Trinity 6:30p-Abigail Circle-Library 18 8:00a-Worship 9:00a-Christian Ed. Comm. -Conference Room 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship/SS Children Sing 11:30a-Fellowship 11:30a-Altar Guild-Conf. Room 5:00p-Mentor Program Holiday Potluck-Soc. Hall 25 Annual Meeting 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Annual Meeting 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 5 9:00a-PEO-J. Richter 6:30p-Preschool Board 12 7:00p-Men s Bible Study at Messiah 19 6:30p-Congregation Council-Conf. 6 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. 13 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. 4:30p-Membership Comm. 4:30p-New Testament Greek Class-Library 6:30p-PEO-Library-J. Mohr 20 9:00a-12:00p-The Writing Group-Library 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Staff Meeting 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. 4:30p-New Testament Greek Class-Library :30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. 12:00p-Communications Committee-Library 4:30p-Landscape Committee-Conference Room 4:30p-New Testament Greek Class-Library 7 9:30a-Ruth/Mary Elizabeth Circle 4:30p-Open Circle 7:30p-Confirmation-Conf. 14 9:00a-Piecemakers 6:00p-Messiah Merry Munchers-Social Hall 7:30p-Confirmation-Conf. 21 7:00p-Worship 7:30p-Confirmation-Conf. 28 9:00a-Piecemakers 7:30p-Confirmation-Conf. 7:30p-Sr. High Youth Group-Youth Room 1 New Year s Day Office closed 8 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. 4:30p-Worship/Art Committee Planning 7:00p-Sarah Circle 15 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. 6:00p-Property Committee -Conference Room 6:30p-Executive Committee-Conference Room 22 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. 29 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. 1:30p-MCW Leaders Mtg.- Library :00-2:00p-Special Olympics-Social Hall :00a-KAH Packaging :00p-Messiah Lunch Bunch-Sunnybrook Kelly at ELCA Youth Worker s Extravaganza January 29-February 2

8 MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH 2411 West Avenue BURLINGTON, IOWA Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Burlington, IA Permit No. 360 Return Service Requested JANUARY 2015 MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH Phone: Fax: Sunday Mornings Worship Sunday School & Choir rehearsal Worship Third Wednesday Supper Third Wednesday Worship 8:00 a.m. 9:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 6:15 p.m. 7:00 p.m.