Zion Lutheran Church. 360 Chestnut Street East Annandale, MN (320) The Candle. January Rev. Thomas Queck, Pastor

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1 Zion Lutheran Church 360 Chestnut Street East Annandale, MN (320) The Candle January 2019 Rev. Thomas Queck, Pastor (Pastor) (Secretary) Webpage: zionannandale.org Like us on Facebook: Zion Lutheran Church Church Office Hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays - 1:00-4:00 p.m. Thursdays - 8:30-11:30 a.m.

2 January 2019 Candle From the Pastor The beginning of a new year presents to us an opportunity to not just look back upon the past year but to also consider the coming year. For some it may be difficult to do one or the other or maybe both especially if we have hang-ups over either or both. All people, dead or alive, have a past. It is impossible to talk about a person s life without talking about what has preceded in his or her life. St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians (chapter 3) talks about his former life. He was an important man, a Pharisee. If anyone had a right to brag about their life, he did. If anyone had right to be sorry for his past, he did. But he did not get hung-up on his past. You have a past too. What has preceded in your life is important to you, and it should be important to you. Important enough to be thankful. It s also easy to think about the faults and failures in your past. But don t get so hung-up on them that you forget God s favors and blessings of forgiveness. So often we don t say much when things go well, not even thank you. But when things don t go so well, we can speak quite loudly. We don t say thank you as often as we should. We complain when a mistake has been made, but we fail to compliment and say thank you when one has done a good job. Especially when we see what God has done for us. The past is past. And it does not help to keep reminding ourselves of our mistakes. Neither though, should we pretend that the past did not exist. We need to learn to accept our past, but not to get hung-up on it not approve it, not be happy

3 about it, not fret about it. When we accept the past, we need not pretend that it is not there. What is dangerous is to try to push our sins out of our mind. That doesn t work. The sins come back to haunt us. It is like taking the garbage, wrapping it in beautiful, decorative paper, hiding it someplace in the house, and then forgetting where we put it. Soon the stench becomes unbearable. There is a simple solution garbage trucks that haul it away. As we think back upon our sins of the past year, it won t do to wrap them up in beautiful paper and call them buy a different name. They will rise up to cause a stench in our life that will produce crippling spiritual disease. This need not be. Jesus Christ has offered to carry out the garbage of our sin. He endured its stench for us. He let the disease of our sin cripple him. He died as a result. He rose again so that we might know that our past garbage is washed away. We do not need to pretend that we are pure, for we are sinless, being forgiven by Jesus blood. When we don t get hung-up on the past, we live for the future. But here, too, we must be careful that we don t get hung-up on the future. While we look forward to our future life in heaven, we still live the life we now have on earth. All too often people live for what is to come while today slips by unnoticed. They look for some beautiful imaginary life in the future, completely ignorant of the beauty that surrounds their lives now. We need not get hung-up on the past or the future if we live for our Lord now. We won t if we realize that God provides forgiveness for the past. Rather, we confess ours sins and receive God s forgiveness. We then are freed from getting hung up on an unrealistic future. For then the future is not dictated by getting rid of the past but by God s love.

4 You see, Christ was hung-up on the cross so that we may make the most of today and be about the business He has given us to do. We live in his mercy, which is new every morning, knowing that the day is coming when we shall be eternally with the Lord. Pastor Queck Notes of Thanks Thank you to everyone who assisted with Meals on Wheels for the month of November: Mike Schmidt, Dub Ferrell, Dwane & Mae Schmidt, Donna Fox, Hannah Adams, Cheri Antl, Faye & Melanie Klein, Peter & Dorothy Minear, Kathy Queck, Gus & Cheryl Sellheim, Ellis & Linda Knute, Myra Steere, Matt Glinski, Emily Adams, Harlan & Sandy Dalbec, and Chuck & Pat Stoppelman. Your generosity will your time is greatly appreciated. Shelley Josephson Thank you to everyone for your prayers, calls, cards, and well wishes after my surgery. My surgery went well. Please pray for my continued recovery. God Bless, Shelley Josephson

5 November, 2018 Pastor Report i. Attendance for November Date Attendance Communions 11/4: /11: /18: /22: 106 Thanksgiving 11/25: 167 Total: 696 Average: ii. The Word a. Sunday Worship Services: 4 b. Thanksgiving Day service: 1 c. Care Center Services: 1 d. Weddings: 0 e. Funerals: 1 i. Phyllis Forsberg 11/7 f. Bible Classes i. Sunday: 4 ii. Thursday: 4 g. Confirmation Classes: 3 h. Instruction Classes: 2 iii. The Sacraments a. Baptisms: 0 b. Communions i. Sunday Worship: 247 ii. Care Center: 8 iii. Private: 8 iv. Administrative a. Zion Meetings: 5 b. Circuit/ District: 0 c. Pastor used 5 vacation days (Nov. 9-13).

6 November, 2018 Financial Report Zion s Checkbook balance on October 31, 2018 $9, Total income for November $17, Total expenses for November $27, Transfer to Zion Checking from Savings $7, Zion s Checkbook balance on November 30, 2018 $7, Account Balances as of November 30, 2018 General Fund Savings $17, LCEF Building Fund $6, LCEF Strue Endowment Fund $20, LCEF Cemetery Certificate $33, LCEF General Savings & Interest Fund $1, LCEF M. Miller Memorial Flower Fund $5, LCEF Memorial Fund $12, LCEF Social Ministry Fund $11, Zion Checking (Lake Central Bank) $ 7, Total Bank Accounts $114,286.72

7 Take down of the Christmas decorations will be on Wednesday, January 2 beginning at 6:00 p.m. Your help is very much appreciated. Busy Needles will meet on Monday, January 7, 9:00 a.m. Greeters are needed for January and February If you are available to greet, please sign up on the sheet located on the table in the Narthex. Altar Flowers To order altar flowers for a special occasion or in memory or in honor of a loved one, contact Myra Steere at The January Quarterly Voters Meeting will be on Sunday, January 13, 2019 following the worship service. All members are encouraged to attend.

8 Zion Lutheran Church 360 Chestnut Street E. Annandale, MN 55302