St. Mark is a welcoming community, boldly witnessing Christ s love.

Transcription

1 St. Mark Lutheran Church 1614 West 5th Street Storm Lake, IA Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Storm Lake, IA Permit No. 35 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED St. Mark is a welcoming community, boldly witnessing Christ s love. St. Mark Lutheran Church ELCA January 2019 Visit our website -- office@stmarkstormlake.com WORSHIP.LEARNING MISSION COMMUNITY FRIENDSHIP Saturday Worship at 5:30 p.m. Sunday Worship at 9:00 a.m. January 2 - Narcotics Anonymous (each Wed. at 12:00 pm) January 3 - Alcoholic Anonymous (each Thursday at 12:00 pm) January 8 - Winds of Hope and Parkinson s Support Group January 9 - Bible Study (each Wed. 7am Lakeshore) WELL and PPC Meeting January 12 - P.E.O. Meeting January 13 - Special Fellowship Coffee for Margaret Stangohr January 14 - Stephen Ministry January 16 - Naomi Circle and WELL January 19 - Third Saturday Pizza & World Hunger January 20 - World Hunger January 21 - Sarah Circle January 23 - WELL January 24 - SMART January 27 - Annual Meeting January 28 - Stephen Ministry January 30 - WELL

2 PASTOR DAVID KEBSCHULL 2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel. -Micah 5:2 As I am thinking about sermons for this final weekend of Advent and Christmas Eve, what has captured my attention through the scriptures has been the greatness of God s love for those who seem so insignificant, overlooked, and often forgotten. A mighty King coming from a tiny town called Bethlehem, a young teenage girl bearing the Son of God, the skies opening up and the angels from heaven singing to the lowly shepherds and their sheep. Each Saturday and Sunday during the season of Advent at St Mark, we have sung the beautiful Holden Evening Prayer, and while I have led it many times in other settings, this December, the greatness of God s love for the lowly keeps speaking to me: You who made the heaven s splendor, Every dancing star of night. Make us shine with gentle justice, Let us each reflect your light. Mighty God of all creation, Gentle Christ who lights our way, Loving Spirit of salvation, Lead us on to endless day. (Holden Evening Prayer- Service of Light - Marty Haugen) Each time I sing these words, I feel the need to reframe my understanding of what it means to live faithfully and follow Jesus. While we may look forward to crowds filling the hall and sanctuary of St Mark on Christmas Eve, the hope and significance of Advent and Christmas rests not in the crowds that gather here or who cheered for Jesus when he entered into Jerusalem, but rather, the hope lies in the lives that are changed because he entered into their world.

3 No one knew this better than Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she would give birth to a child who would change the world. My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. (Luke 1:46-48) As you celebrate Christmas this year, may your soul magnify the Lord. May your spirit rejoice in God, and may his light shine through you into the lives of those whose only hope rests in the child born in that little town called Bethlehem. Peace to you, Pastor Dave Kebschull PRESIDENT As you receive this newsletter, the holidays are winding down and we are looking forward to beginning a new year with excitement at St. Mark. Pastor Dave has been diligently acclimating himself to St. Mark and the community, looking for ways to introduce things from his experiences serving other churches as well as discerning what already works well at St. Mark. We are truly grateful for his leadership. Some areas of discussion and new ideas for 2019 include providing space for a preschool, changes to update the constitution and evaluation of our current governance to see if improvements are needed. Also look for munching for missions to start again. Please contact Jane with a date and the mission you would like to support for PPC review. I am excited and looking forward to what 2019 brings to St. Mark as we grow in faith together. In Christ s Love Kent Smith

4 PARISH PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING Present: Pastor Dave, Kent Smith, Cindy Smith, Randy Sennert, Lisa Mellmann, Joan Christen, Paulette Erlandson, Megan Peterson, Margaret Stangohr, Mike Porsch, Bob Rohlfsen President Kent Smith called the meeting to order and the agenda was approved. The Secretary and Treasurer s reports for November were accepted. In Ongoing Business: Munching for Missions will be starting up again and people can start to sign up. The Annual Meeting will be January 27th at 10:00 am in the Sanctuary. The LSI Partnership agreement was reviewed and will be going to LSI for their approval. This agreement will be reviewed annually. Preschool discussions are ongoing and there is a lot of planning involved. Pastor Dave, Kent Smith and Julie Sievers will be updating our constitution. In New Business: Annual reports are due January 1st and need to be given to Jane. The Budget for 2019 was discussed and approved. The BVRMC disaster agreement will be reviewed. Audit committee was discussed with Megan Peterson volunteering to serve. Thrivent Choice Dollars were discussed with future dollars going for our next National Youth Gathering. Discussion was held regarding purchasing an outdoor Nativity Scene for our church to have next year Board Members gave their reports. Submitted by Joan Christen, Secretary St. Mark Annual Meeting Sunday, January 27, :00 am in sanctuary

5 STEPHEN MINISTRY Thousands of congregations of all types and sizes are using Stephen Ministry. It works in so many different situations because all congregations including ours share two common characteristics: First, there are people who are hurting and who would benefit from one- to-one, Christ-centered care many more people than pastors alone can care for. Second, there are laypeople with the gifts and potential to provide that care if they are trained and empowered to do so. Stephen Ministry brings these two groups of people together in a powerful way. If you feel a calling to be a part of this Program, please let the office of one of the Stephen Ministers know of your interest. Annual Meeting Agenda Opening Prayer Approval of the Agenda Approval of the Minutes Reports: Treasurer s Report Pastor s Report President s Report Board Reports Old Business New Business Approval of 2019 budget Presentation of the 2018 audit report Announcement of the 2019 nominating committee Adjournment and Prayer

6 A SPECIAL FELLOWSHIP COFFEE FOR MARGARET STANGOHR will be after worship service on Sunday, January 13. Margaret will be moving to Washington, Iowa on January 15th. Best of luck Margaret. We will miss you. Pastor Dave s Christmas Tree in his office. (A hall tree with garland and lights). It is awesome. One of the more unique trees we have seen at St. Mark...

7 WE ARE GOD'S MASTERPIECE Ladies Day with Quilt Display Saturday, January 12, 2019 Bethel Baptist Church, Hwy 7, Newell, IA 9:00 am - 3:30 pm (registration starts at 8:30 am) Cost: $15 (includes lunch) Featuring: Priscilla Shirer Videos Breakout Sessions include: Service to Others - Kaden's Kloset Projects + Scripture Memory Hiding God's Word in Our Hearts Seeking God - The Impact of Prayer Reserve tickets in advance at BethelBaptist Church

8 JANUARY BIRTHDAYS 1/01 - Simon Key 1/01 - Nyanur Lual 1/01 - Tara Kron 1/01 - Nancy Masters 1/01 - Brian Reierson 1/02 - Joanne Georgeff 1/02 - Melvin Gutz 1/02 - Eric Masters 1/03 - Marcia Woodke 1/04 - Heather Woodley 1/04 - Phil Walsh 1/05 - Ron Ellefson 1/05 - Bonnie Hunter 1/05 - Tom James 1/05 - Brigitte Porter 1/06 - Steve Eddie 1/10 - Peter Winterton 1/11 - Lyle Jackson 1/12 - Grace Newell 1/16 - Brett Dewerff 1/17 - Dorothy Tam 1/19 - Michael Sullivan 1/20 - Joe Kucera 1/24 - Deb Wilshusen 1/25 - Linda Anderson 1/26 - Doris Berge 1/26 - Adam Sievers 1/27 - Nathan Converse 1/28 - Kenneth Payne 1/29 - Stephanie Brummer 1/29 - Ryan Gutz 1/29 - Cade Kaufman Please let us know if we missed your birthday! THANK YOU TO ST. MARK CAROLERS: Thank you for coming to sing to Bob and I. Bob had a cute smile when you were singing. It means so much for you to share with us. We also enjoyed the Christmas cookies. Bob & Susan Thompson THANK YOU to everyone who generously gave me gifts this holiday season. You are all very special to me. Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed New Year. Jane THANKS to our friends at St. Mark - the delicious plate of cookies and the visit by the carolers both added to the Spirit of Christmas. Pray God will bless each of you. Robert & Dorothy SARAH CIRCLE would sincerely like to thank all those who helped decorate our Mitten and Cap Christmas Tree. We were able to give the Storm Lake Elementary School 20 pairs of mittens/ gloves, three scarves and 42 caps! Thank you for so generously contributed! THANKS for the amazing support and partnership. May God Bless you All. Merry Christmas! Maria Garcia (LSI) THANK YOU!! A big thank you to the St. mark Carolers for their visit and the nice cookies. It was th high light of my day and week and so very good to see all of you. The carols you sang were so beautiful and helped to make my Christmas Season very meaningful. I really appreciated it all!! May God bless you. Sincerely, Norma Juhl HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Tyson & Christina Rice 1/01 Dan & Julie Sievers 1/12

9 Preparing for Christmas at St. Mark!

10 WESTERN IOWA SYNOD FESTIVAL OF TREES Thank you to Paulette Erlandson for using her decorating skills which created a very beautiful and unique tree to represent St. Mark at the Festival of Trees that was held December 8th at the Synod Office. Paulette also provided snacks. Once again, thank you Paulette. NAOMI CIRCLE CHRISTMAS LUNCH Jennie Walsh, Ferne Frederiksen, MaryAnn Bengtson, Phyllis Caradine, Carol Northrup, Joanne Georgeff and Jane Hartwell gathered at BozWells for lunch on Wednesday, December 19th. Good food and fellowship was enjoyed by all. PARISH EDUCATION THANK YOU to all the families that participated in the 2018 Christmas Program on Dec. 15. A special thanks to Kayla Hernandez for directing the "production" again this year! Everyone did a fantastic job...it is an event that many look forward to year after year! WELL will resume on Wed. Jan. 9. Classes will run Jan. 9 - April 17. We will take a break during lent (Lenten services will be on Wednesdays, instead of WELL), and then finish up April 24 - May 15. Please consider signing up to provide a meal for the second half of the year. The sign up sheet is on the round table. Parish Ed Board- Megan Peterson and Kyle Bartz

11 January 3, 2019 Board 4:00 PM January 7 & 21 Sew & Do 9:00 AM ST. MARK WOMEN January 16 Naomi Circle meets for Bible study at 9:30 AM. The Bible study is session 1 of Meetings with Jesus Come and See: Seeking and Finding Faith. In the Gospel of John, we contemplate the mystery of God through Jesus. January 21 Sarah Circle meets at 5:30 PM for a light supper and Bible study. We are continuing our study of the parables this year. Do you knit or crochet? Yarn is available in the office to make prayer shawls. All women of St. Mark are invited to participate. NEEDED: Several people to be on a Funeral Committee as additional co-chair coordinators. Margaret Stangohr will be leaving this position in January. There are written directions which I will explain as I will still be on this committee. Many members have graciously helped and served and I thank them so much for that! Thank you also Margaret for your service. Gloria Rohlfsen JANUARY 2019 BOOK NOTES Thank you to Ferne and Barb for tending to the library this winter. And 2019 is a new year with resolutions and new ideas. Please consider reading a book out of your usual taste. We have lots of good and challenging selections in our library. New books this month include: Amish Cooking Class: The Seekers by Wanda Brunstett The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis With You Always (Orphan Train) by Jody Hedlund The Whole Town s Talking by Fannie Flagg Naked Spirituality by Brian McLaren Happy reading! Carole Suhr, librarian

12 January 2019 Raising our Voice for Iowa Children and Families Lutheran Day on the Hill Families struggling without access to mental healthcare. Human services providers overworked and underpaid. Former refugees striving to build new lives. These are all issues faced by Iowans. Join us to make sure they are heard at the Iowa State Capitol. Please consider joining Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) and the three Iowa synods of the ELCA for Lutheran Day on the Hill, an annual day of advocacy in Des Moines to uplift the needs of our neighbors. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 19. Visit next month for event details, online registration, and an online toolkit for your congregation. If you are new to advocacy, come learn more about the legislative process and your role as a citizen. If you ve attended before, join us again. We hope this year s schedule will also allow you more opportunities to connect with legislators. If you would like more information, please contact Deb Whitford, LSI s director of philanthropy and church relations, at Deborah.Whitford@LSIowa.org. Our Mission: Lutheran Services in Iowa responds to the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate service. LSI is an affiliated social ministry partner of the Iowa congregations of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and a member of LSA (Lutheran Services in America). We proudly serve people of all ages, abilities, religions, sexes, gender identities, national origins, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. Learn more at and LSI.iowa. Building a New Home After spending almost 20 years in a refugee camp in Nepal, Narayan and Chandra are grateful for the life they have built for their family with support from LSI s Refugee Community Services. After marrying in the camp, Narayan and Chandra resettled to Des Moines in Everything was new. Everything was different. Their child, Aaman, was a newborn, and they found themselves overwhelmed with medical bills. Chandra desperately wanted to pursue her medical career. At the time, it seemed impossible. But LSI helped Chandra enroll in college classes. Narayan started volunteering at LSI as an interpreter. Later, he became a full-time case manager with LSI, where he continues to lift up former refugees by connecting them to resources, educational activities, and supporting them as they pursue citizenship. LSI supported me and allowed me to provide for my family. It helped us establish ourselves in Iowa, he says. Chandra now works as a lab assistant in an Iowa pediatric clinic. Narayan and Chandra have become homeowners and feel confident, independent, and established in their new community.