SID Missionette. First Servant Event held in June

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1 Southern Illinois District Lutheran Women in Mission SID Missionette THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD Volume 63 No. 1 September 2012 LWML Calendar. Sept. 28 & 29-SID LWML Convention Oct. 18 SID Board Meeting June National LWML Convention in Pittsburg In This Issue: President s Page 2 Counselor s Message 3 Gospel Outreach 4 Human Care 5 Communication 6 Scholarship Recipients 7 Servant Resources 8 Board Notes 9 District Directory 9 Loving Gifts 9 First Servant Event held in June Lutheran Women s Missionary League conventions at the national level always encourage the women and men to participate in servant events prior to the convention. At a district board meeting, it was decided to try to hold a similar event in the Southern Illinois District. The event was held June 16 at Unity Lutheran Christian Elementary School in East St. Louis. Even though it was a hot day, the group completed numerous projects. They cleaned rooms, worked in the courtyard and enjoyed the fellowship with other volunteers. It has not been decided when another servant event will be held. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions where a similar event could be held, contact the district president or any member of the district board. 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. BUSY AT WORK Volunteers who came to the Servant Event at Unity are busy cleaning up one of the classrooms. The help was appreciated by the Unity staff.

2 2 From Helen... President Helen Mayer 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. Summer time greetings: How many of you remember that song that was popular back in the 60 s about the ant who tries to move a rubber tree plant? (Hope I m not the only one that does-ha). Well, to refresh memories, or in some cases to give you the jest of it, here goes. Point of the song was that it was seemingly impossible for one single ant to move a big rubber tree plant. Not to be deterred, however, the little ant had High Hopes and this with her perseverance, she was able to move that plant. So you re asking, what does that have to do with me and LWML. Here is the rest of the story. I recently saw a long column of tiny ants moving what to me was an impossibly big insect. By working together, they had High Hopes and were moving the bug. O.K., I know, still no LWML. My point is that our up-coming district convention, is like that rubber tree plant-impossible for one ant to get it done. However, we have a long column of ants busily working together to accomplish our goal-a memorable convention for all you LWML ladies in the district. In the Bible, we read of the talents we are all given, and your BOD is such an example of that as we are busily working to finish up the Convention. We hope to see many of you there, to see the fruits of our labors. We have High Hopes! See you in September!!!! And Give Thanks!! LWML Sunday...is traditionally set aside for the first Sunday in October, but it can also be observed on other dates. Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, is the author of the 2012 LWML Sunday material, designed under the theme, Salted for Service. Every pastor has received a packet to help with the LWML Sunday celebration. Materials can be ordered from the LWML Office in St. Louis. Go to MISSIONETTE Editor: Jane Lucht addresses and changes to: Pat Hoffmeier Gifts of Love When God asks us to be faithful stewards, He is not trying to diminish our estates. He is trying to extend and preserve them by linking them to His work for the Kingdom. Charitable trusts and gift annuities can provide donors and their families an income for life, special tax deductions and joy in knowing that the gift remainder can be designated to LWML. For more information, contact LWML Gift Planning Services at 1 (888) or visit or Ruth Ann Arbeiter, SID LWML Gift Planning Services, at Come visit the Gifts of Love booth at the district convention on Sept. 28 and 29. SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS

3 Counselor s Corner Rev. Mark Nebel 3 "Sitting by the dock of the bay," "I got my toes in the water," "on a pontoon...motorboatin.'" Secular songs serenade us with the soothing intersection of sand and sea, ship and shore, boat and beach. How often do we seek and find relaxation where there is water rippling in waves upon the rocks of a lakeshore in the summer! This experience is not new to us, not by a long shot. As I write this, we heard in last Sunday's gospel reading that Jesus tells His fatigued followers, "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6:31b-32). They needed this time off because after they had returned from the mission trip Jesus had sent them on that their report back to Him was interrupted by so many people coming and going that "they did not even have a chance to eat." Jesus recognized the need His disciples had for a break from their hectic activity. Not one to ignore the instructions of our Lord, this week my family and I are following His command. We are spending a week of vacation next to three different bodies of water, the Lake of the Ozarks, Bull Shoals Lake and Table Rock Lake. There is beauty and relaxation in such parts of God's creation. God created us to work but He also commanded us to rest. We need a regular weekly break from our routine of work. We also need longer breaks on a yearly basis to rejuvenate our bodies and to reconnect with our families. These times of rest and relaxation give us time to spend reading God's Word. Through the Bible the Holy Spirit moves us to marvel at God's goodness, to rejoice in the eternal salvation that Jesus has won for us, and to thank God for His many blessings to us. Renewed by this rest we ready to return to our God-given vocation as His baptized believers. I pray that you had a chance this past summer to take such a break and get some well-deserved and blessed rest. Scholarships awarded to district students The following are the Seminary Student Scholarship Fund recipients: David is a second year student at Concordia Seminary, St Louis and is married to Jenna. Rev. Stephen Krenz, Hoffman $500 Rev. Krenz is in the Doctor of Ministry program at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He is the Pastor at Trinity Lutheran, Hoffman, IL. Rev. Krenz and his wife, Lisa, have two children. Timothy Schaekel, New Athens $2,000 Timothy is a third year student at Concordia Seminary, St Louis. David Schultz, Wood River $1,500 The following are the Student Assistance Fund recipients: Connie Kettner, Jacob $300 Connie is a fifth year student at Concordia, Seward, Nebraska. Her career goal is to become a Lutheran Junior High teacher. Jacob Schultz, Wood River $300 Jacob is a fourth year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. His career goal is to become a pastor. Turn to Page 7 TELL THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS

4 4 Vice President of Gospel Outreach Mickey Roth Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3: 5 & 6 This Bible passage from Proverbs has been my favorite for over 25 years. It has seen me through many situations, and I know that because I can trust in God in every care it will continue to guide me always. Many different situations can test us. Health, jobs, stress over too much going on in our lives, family problems, finances, national tragedies and many other cases. ( Little did I know when Goal Praise God!! $58,000 $48,000 $43,000 $38,000 $33,000 $28,000 writing this that My husbands twin brother would pass away very suddenly) This summer one of our big stresses has been the weather too hot and too dry. Other locations it has been too wet. There have been tornadoes and wind damage. We never know when there will be earthquakes or hurricanes. All of these test our trusting in the Lord for His timing and His plan. This brings to mind the great apostle Paul. He was given a thorn in the flesh. Three times he asked the Lord to take it away, but God s answer was My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness 2 Corinthians 12: 9. When we are weak, when we are not in control, it is then we trust the power of God. We are thankful that through the use of an extra fund of $60 we were able to fund all of the grants of the past biennium. We trust that at our September convention God will guide the selection of the grants for the next two years. Then through our prayers and mites we trust that all of the grants will be funded. Turn to Page 5 LWML MISSION GRANTS BIENNIUM Total Mite Goal: $58, Grant Name Grant Goal Disbursed To be Paid- Camp Wartburg s Camp for People $4,000 $4,000-0 with Disabilities Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School $7,000 $7, Centralia, Mission Tuition Assistance Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School $7,000 $7, Evansville Financial Aid Assistance International & American Campus $5,840 $5, Ministry SIU Carbondale Lutheran Braille Workers Center $4,000 $4, At Baldwin Metro-East Lutheran High School $7,000 $7, Edwardsville Tuition Assistance Seminary Student Scholarships $8,000 $8, In the Southern Illinois District Shared Prison Ministry with $7,000 $7, The Southern Illinois District SIU Edwardsville Lutheran Campus $2,160 $2, Ministry Outreach Program Unity Lutheran Christian Elementary $6,000 $6, School East St. Louis Totals $58,000 $58, Designated Gift to Giving Gardens $1,500 Designated Gift to Operation Barnabas $1,500 Designated Gift to Grain Train $50 PRAY FOR MISSION GRANTS

5 Vice President of Human Care Deb Albers 5 Time for Change But still the same Well, folks, here it is the last Human Care article; that is if the voting delegates accept the changes. Names change all the time. As women, we change our last name when we marry. I changed from Debra Nolte to Debra Albers. Sometimes we get a nickname, like Red. There are variations of our names like Debbie or Deb. That name change doe not make me any different. I am still the same person. Our LWML has been Lutheran Women s Missionary League for quite some time, but we have been changing the officer and committee names for awhile now. At the 2011 LWML convention in Peoria, there was a LOT of discussion about committee name changes. If you attend the event, you recall the time it took to vote on eight or nine different ideas that were presented. If you couldn t be there, you can just imagine the discussion it raised. GOSPEL OUTREACH The point is the committee work will be the same kind of work, just a new name. Change is hard to accept. I never thought I would put that in writing. I even said, We ve never done it that way before at a recent youth group meeting. This time I meant it, it wasn t just a joke. I too am getting set in my ways and don t like as much change as I used to. Hmmm? What is going on? My husband could probably give you some theories on that. We will all accept whatever the voting body decides, stay or change. If the name changes to Special Focus Ministries, it will be more consistent with the LWML on the national level, and we can all be on the same page that way. It will take some getting used to! Hey, don t we all write the wrong year on our checks for about the first month of the New Year? I sure do, but I get used to it and finally get it right. Our God saw that change was necessary in the Garden of Eden. We praise Him for fixing things. He sent Christ to redeem us, lost and condemned creatures. Now that s a change we wouldn t want to live in eternity without. This past quarter $3,000 in mites went to Unity Lutheran Christian Elementary School in East St Louis to assist in giving scholarships through their Belong to Jesus Scholarship Fund. Also $4,000 was awarded to three seminary students to assist in funding their education. This completed the funding of all of the grants in the biennium. Fourteen more scholarships were awarded to college students in the Southern Illinois District who are going into full time church work. (They are listed on Page 7) This year only $1,900 was available to divide between these students. Please remember to donate to the Student Assistance Scholarship Fund when giving a memorial at the death of a loved one or when you would like to honor someone on a special occasion. We pray that all of these scholarships will be used to further God s Kingdom. KEEP MISSIONS IN PRAYER Former board member Is called home Ninety-year-old Marion Goheen of Highland, financial secretary for the SID LWML in the mid 90s, was taken home to her heavenly Father this spring. She was born and raised in Minot, ND and she and her husband had four children. He passed away seven years ago. Marion loved music, sang in the choir and other musical groups, wrote verses to familiar tunes to sing for meal time prayers. She knew the Bible so well and loved Bible studies. She held offices in the zone and district and attended several national LWML convention. At Highland, she was the top quilt maker. A dear friend, Shirley Wheatley said, We were blessed to know her.

6 6 Vice President of Communication Lucy Thompson The purpose of this office is to inform the district of what has happened and what will be taking place in the LWML. John 16:33 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. As always I will start out saying how fast the time has gone but it really has sped by. Did I make the best use of my time? Probably not. Did I melt down? Yes I did. Did I always go back to my comfort zone? Yes most definitely I did. God assures me all the time that he s got my back no matter what is going on. I want to also take some space to thank you for electing me to this office. I have really enjoyed it and enjoyed working with so many different Christian women. You have shown me time and again what a Christian woman acts like and looks like. God has a lot of work with me! What is going on in the district? One of the things Start making plans now to attend the convention in Pittsburgh in 2013 that went on in June was a group worked for a morning at Unity Lutheran Christian School in East St. Louis. Tina Enke provided lunch to the group. There were 15 workers who cleaned desks and weeded the grounds in the heat! Praise God for all you do. What is around the corner? The convention opens on Friday, September 28th at Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville. We ll open the doors at 6:00 pm. There will be a devotion presented by Pastor Paul Hemenway. There will be a servant event for the ingathering and lots of fun and fellowship. Registration opens at 7:00 am at Metro East on Saturday. The day begins with the Worship Service. The form to register is online under the Upcoming Events heading. The guest registration is due by August 15th. It s time to plan for LWML Sunday which is usually celebrated on the first Sunday in October. If you did not receive materials they are available on the lwml.org website. They are under the Events Menu. Finally we can all start making plans for the National Convention in Pittsburgh in The dates are June 27th thru June 30th. The theme is Quenched by the Water. Since this is my last newsletter for now I will say to all of you-i will see somewhere at some time. God s Blessings to you all. Night of Fellowship Metro East Lutheran High School Friday, Sept. 28 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. The evening will include devotions, craft time to decorate Christmas stockings for the ingathering items, singing, games, snacks and special guests. PRAISE GOD EVERYDAY

7 7 Scholarship recipients continued Justin Tayon, Belleville $300 Justin is a fourth year student at Concordia, Seward, Nebraska. His career goal is to become a Lutheran teacher and Director of Parish Music. Stefan Gramenz, Steeleville $150 Stefan is a third year student at Concordia, Mequon, Wisconsin. His career goal is to become a pastor. Jonathan Hamrick, Maryville $150 Jonathan is a third year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. His career goal is to become a Director of Christian Education and work in family ministry. Blake Borchers, Glen Carbon Blake is a second year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. His career goal is to become a Director of Christian Education. Rachel Hamrick, Maryville Rachel is a second year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. Her career goal is to become a High School English teacher. James Peterson, Carterville James is a second year student at Concordia, Seward, Nebraska. His career goal is to become a pastor. Katherine Ray, Bethalto Katherine is a second year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. Her career goal is to become a Special Education teacher. Elizabeth Schaff, Litchfield Elizabeth is a second year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. Her career goal is to become a Lutheran elementary teacher with a concentration in music. Emily Hoffman, Collinsville $50 Emily is a first year student at Concordia, Chicago, Illinois. Her career goal is to become a teacher. Leah Maag, Waterloo $50 Leah is a first year student at Concordia, Seward, Nebraska. Her career goal is to become a teacher and to work with Parish Music. Michele Musegades, Collinsville $50 Michele is a first year student at Concordia, Irvine, California. Her career goal is to become a deaconess. Elizabeth Small, Caseyville $50 Elizabeth is a first year student at Concordia, Mequon, Wisconsin. Her career goal is to become a full time Missionary. She is pursuing a degree in Secondary Education. Pray for the recipients as they prepare to serve the Lord in their careers PROCLAIM CHRIST BOLDLY

8 9 Vice President of Servant Resources Pat Wernsing Plans are in full swing for the SID LWML District Convention in Edwardsville, on Sept. 28 and 29, at MELHS. I hope to see several of you there. Important items to discuss are the name changes for VP of Servant Resources, and VP of Human Care. Also, the change of procedure for the selection of nominees for various offices. You don t want to be out of the loop, so please attend the convention and stay informed about your LWML. We also have 10 exhibitors signed up; come check out the various booths. Hopefully, the weather will be cooler, and we will have a nice fall day. Don t forget to review your bylaws!! But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. 1 John 1:7 LWML Website Adds Pastors-in-Mission Webpage The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) announces the addition of a webpage designed specifically for pastors. In support of the 2012 Concordia Seminary and Concordia Theological Seminary graduating students, the LWML launched the Pastors-in-Mission webpage in May. The webpage offers great resources for all pastors with quick-access links. SERVANT EVENT Volunteers from the district who participated in the servant event at Unity Christian Lutheran School in East St. Louis take a break and pose for a picture. Not pictured is Tina Enke who took the photo. GROW IN GRACE

9 10 Serving You Are: President Helen Mayer Vice President of Gospel Outreach Mickey Roth Vice President of Christian Life Rosemary Fulton Vice President of Servant Resources Pat Wernsing Vice President of Human Care Deb Albers Vice President of Communication Lucy Thompson Recording Secretary Norma Tucker Corresponding Secretary Pat Hoffmeier Financial Secretary Kathleen (Kathy) Bohnet Treasurer Ruth Ann Arbeiter Counselor Rev. Dale Skeesick Counselor Rev. Mark Nebel Editor Jane Lucht Archivist/Historian Peggy Sachtleben Christian Resource Editor Joyce Aukamp Young Women Representatives Elizabeth Barnes and April Rottmann Public Relations Director Marie Voges Quarterly/Missionette Coordinator Pat Hoffmeier Delegates: New officers and mission grants will be elected and chosen at the district convention on Sept. 29. Please refer to the special edition or mailed information to you earlier this summer to help you make your decision. Memorials Marion Goheen Kenneth Johnson Leslie Johnson Leona Koester Richard Marlow Anniversaries Don & Marvella Locking (40) Board Notes: Discussion was held on renaming the Missionette, due to another organization using that name. Several suggestions were given and will be checked out to see if they are legal. Plans are to announce the new name at the district convention. LWML Resource Catalogs will be given at the convention. There will also be the LWML Store with hundreds of items from which to shop to avoid shipping costs. Sympathy was extended to Mickey and Dan Roth who announced that Dan s twin brother had suddenly been called to his heavenly home. Final plans were made for the district convention on Sept. 28 and 29. The board met at Metro East Lutheran High School in July to become familiar with the facilities. There is adequate parking and everything is on ground level. The Metro South Zone is hosting the event. Many letters of thanks and appreciation were received from the scholarship recipients. A continental breakfast will be served before the convention begins. Loving Gifts Birthday *Mildred Lueking (100) Anna Sprind (102) In Honor of Lena Rust *Denotes Student Assistance Fund SEND YOUR NEWS TO THE EDITOR