Christ Lutheran Newsletter 7

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1 August 2017 Christ Lutheran Newsletter 7 Echo 2.0 Share God s Word, Share His Love, and Do It Now! Christ Lutheran 605 South Fifth Street, Norfolk, NE Theme / Logo Unveiled by Rev. Chip Winter What you see below is the logo for the Christ Lutheran theme: By grace through faith in Christ ALONE. As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation this October the inspiration for this theme comes fromlutheran the three solas of the Reformation, which were then Christ coupled with the passage from St. Paul s letter to the Ephesians, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Grand Opening Sunday, August noon 3:00 p.m. Welcome to a new chapter in Christ Lutheran Childcare Ministry. We are blessed to announce the opening of our new building! Please come celebrate with us after second service from 12:003:00 Sunday, August 13. Take a tour of the new facility, get to know the staff, have some fun and fellowship! There will be food, face painting, balloon animals, a bounce house, petting zoo and more. We couldn t have done this without you and we can t wait to see you there! The three solas for which Dr. Martin Luther is famous are, as follows: Sola Gratia (grace alone), Sola Fide (faith alone) and Sola Scriptura (scripture alone). All of these are made possible by Christ Jesus alone, Who is the Word of God made flesh. This is the reason for the alteration of the last sola to Christ. Each phrase is then emphasized by the complete upper case use of letters for alone. The ring or circle encompassing the crucifix can symbolize the eternal suffering of Christ Jesus on the cross. But it also symbolizes the everlasting life that belongs to Christ Jesus in His triumphant resurrection from the dead, which also then belongs to all who put their faith in Him, alone, for forgiveness and life.

2 Christ Lutheran Congregation News August 2017 Mission offering project for July and August The Sunday School in partnership with Orphan Grain Train, is collecting items for Christmas Gift Boxes. We need the congregation s help to collect the following specific items for these boxes, which we will assemble on Sunday School Rally Day: coloring books 24 count crayons Plastic or rubber balls (5 diameter max) or deflated soccer balls with an air pump Small stuffed animals or Beanie Baby New toothbrush in package New socks New underwear T-shirts (no military references) Stickers Small dolls Car or truck toy (5 limit) Jump ropes Lip balm Hair bows/clips No variations are acceptable, as this can create problems with customs inspections. These items can be left in the box in the narthex. Thank you for your help! Last Call for Preschoolers Have you registered your preschooler for the school year? There are a few openings in the morning classes but time is running out! Classes begin on Monday, August 21. Registration forms are available online or at the school office. Upon registration preschoolers will receive an invitation to our Welcome to School party on Thursday, August 17. Parents are invited to an Orientation on Thursday, August 10. For additional information, call the school office at or visit the school website at Blessing of the Backpacks Join us on August 13, at either the 8:00 or 10:45 a.m. worship services for the blessing of our students backpacks as they prepare for the school year. Students will be asked to bring their backpacks to the front of the church for this special part of the service. Practice in the Summer? While many students put their musical instruments away for the summer, Riley Bender (left) and Josie Bazyn continue to practice their flutes. Recently, the two girls teamed up and shared the their talents through a musical offering in church. Riley will be a sophomore at Norfolk High School and Josie will be in sixth grade at Christ Lutheran. They are both looking forward to the next time they can praise God with their music in a service. 2

3 Children s Ministry Christ Lutheran August 2017 Summer Sunday School Parents and twos through senior high continue to meet weekly from 9:30 10:30 a.m. each Sunday. Preschoolers through grade 3 have been studying Superheroes of the Bible! Grades 4-6 are using the Grapple curriculum, which helps students grapple with some of the big questions in our life of faith. Our final week of summer Sunday school is August 13, when we will finish with s mores! Rally Day Coming Up Sunday, August 20 will mark the start of a new year of Sunday school, and promotion to the next grade. On this day, families are invited to attend church at 8:00 with their children, and then attend our group opening at 9:30 in the gym with their children. Following the opening, we will work together to assemble our Christmas gift boxes for Orphan Grain Train. The students will then be introduced to their new Sunday school teacher for this year, and go to new classrooms with their parents to complete an activity together and fill out an emergency contact form. Parents with more than one child should go with the youngest child. Sunday School is for children age 3 through grade 8. A separate class for 2 year olds and their parents is held in room 206. At this time, we are seeking just a few more staff members for the new year of Sunday School. Team teachers for grade 1-2, grade 4, and grade 5 are still needed. Because these teachers are part of a team, they do not need to attend every Sunday. Anyone who is interested in joining this fun and dedicated staff can contact Lisa Moreno. See page 2 to see how you can help with the Sunday School Mission Offerings during the month of August. Lisa Moreno, Children s Ministry Coordinator lmoreno@clnorfolkmail.org I Can t Teach Sunday School! If you have thought about helping with Sunday school, but don t think you can do it, please read on. Here are the last of the myths about being on the Sunday school staff. Myth #5: I can t handle classroom discipline, so I cannot be on the staff. Or, Teaching just isn t for me. We need more than just teachers! You could be a helper, giving assistance to a teacher who is comfortable managing a class. You could also be a greeter to welcome people to Sunday school and answer basic questions about time and place. Those who do teach, are given a good deal of material to keep the children busy with a variety of activities, so discipline is rarely an issue. When it is, we have support staff to help you out! In addition, some outgoing staff members have offered to mentor a new staff member, teaching them the ropes as they settle into the job they have volunteered to do. Myth #6: We like to get away during the summer, so I cannot commit to being on the Sunday school staff. Many of our staff members are often gone in the summer. Since enrollment is down during the summer months, staff members are able to go from teaching just twice a month, to teaching only once or twice all summer and choose which week in which you work! We work together to make it feasible for even the busiest summer schedule! Myth #7: I am too young or too old to teach Sunday school. We have had staff members ranging in age from 16 to 78. The children benefit from having leaders share a variety of life experiences. Many parents of school-aged children feel too busy to teach at this point in their lives. Many empty-nesters feel that their time to teach has passed. Who does that leave? We need YOU! If you have any questions about Sunday school, or would like to find a place that you can get involved, please contact Lisa Moreno at or lmoreno@clnorfolkmail.org. You can also contact the church office. Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Sundays at Christ Lutheran School 3

4 Christ Lutheran Christ Lutheran School August 2017 Steve Stortz, Principal Playground Planning The Voters meeting of July 9 was a wonderful blessing! As the school year came to a close, plans were up in the air as to the relocation of the playground. We were looking at the back yards of two houses to the north of the school as a possibility. We could put the one large piece of equipment up and have one grade out there at a time. This would not be ideal, but we could make it work. In a step of faith, the congregation voted to purchase the 3 houses to the north of the school with the intent of using it all for playground. Instead of hiding the playground behind the houses, the plans will be to fence in the whole area and put the equipment closer to 5 th Street and have green space to play on along the alley. This will be great PR for the school and will be appreciated by the students and teachers. Though we know there will be a delay as to when this transformation takes place, we are appreciative of the great support from the congregation. New Teachers Welcomed On August 1, CLS will welcome two new teachers to the fulltime teaching staff. Angela Wingert, who has been serving as a part-time PE teacher, will be moving into the Grade 4 classroom next to Mr. Portwood. Mrs. Wingert is married to Matt Wingert who serves as Director of Christian Education for Christ Lutheran Church. They have a 2-year old daughter, Grace. Joining Mrs. Leckband in Grade 1 is Mrs. Darienne Wood. Mrs. Wood is a May graduate of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. Darienne s husband is a new music teacher at Norfolk Public. You may have seen the new Grade 7 teacher Nicole Phelps around already. She arrived back from China in the middle of June. Miss Phelps will be teaching science to students in grades 5-8 along with her homeroom subjects. Look for additional information about these ladies in next month s Echo 2.0 Dates to Note Scrip sold Tuesday & Thursday 9:00-3:00 in School Office Chapel every Wednesday at 8:20 all are invited Aug. 1 Teachers Report Aug. 3 Registration Day Aug. 13 Teacher installation/rededication 8:00 service Aug. 16 First Day of School K-8 (early dismissal) Aug. 16 Opening chapel 9:00 Aug. 22 Board of Education 7:00 Aug. 28 Measurement of Academic Performance Testing Sept. 4 Labor Day, No School Get SCRIP on Your Phone or at School At the end of June, our extended family got together in Branson, Missouri for a reunion. I arrived loaded with SCRIP for family members and a phone ready for action. Gift cards for Walgreens, Hy-Vee, and Shell were handed out and paid for. Shopping was happening at Old Navy, the Disney Store, OshKosh/Carters, and Bass Pro Shop. After arriving at the checkout register and getting the total, I whipped out my phone and ordered the necessary amount of SCRIP. In just 1 minute, I had a gift card on my phone and gave it to the clerk who checked us out. This week of activity earned about $45.00 in credit for tuition. If you would like to learn how to do this on your phone to help the congregation, the school, or a particular family, just let Miss Schipporeit or Mr. Stortz know and they would be glad to help you. Being Good Stewards What would you say to 16 like new desks for $5.00 (normally $100 + each)? How about 96 chairs for $ instead of the normal $4,000.00? Add to that some audiovisual equipment, a basketball hoop, and four filing cabinets and you have the makings of a great sale. These were all part of deals purchased at the NECC auction this summer. From Nicole Phelps Dear Members of Christ Lutheran, It is with great joy that I accept the Call to Christ Lutheran Church and School to serve as the Upper Grades Science Teacher. I am excited to join the ministry at Christ Lutheran and look forward to working with the staff and congregation to work in the lives of the students at the school. May our loving and gracious God bless our efforts in ministry together. Blessings, Nicole Phelps Registration Day to be Held August 3 from 9:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m. will be official day to complete registration for the upcoming school year. While forms are filled out, tuition payments are arranged, and supplies are purchased; the best part is seeing our CLS students and families again! Students look forward to seeing who will be in their classes and meeting their new teachers. The teachers are equally excited to meet their new students and introduce themselves to parents. Do you know a family who is looking for a quality Christian education? Let Principal Stortz know and he will make contact with them, or better yet, share your experience and bring them with you. Transfer students receive ½ off tuition, and financial assistance is always available. 4

5 Christ Lutheran Confirmation and Junior High Youth August 2017 You ARE Saved by Works You are saved by works. But not yours. Jesus did more than die for you. He lived for you. Salvation is not merely the forgiveness of sins. It is the gift of righteousness, received by faith. We receive what He deserves rewards for His good works given as a gift. And He received what we deserve because of our deeds punishment. God works to save you. He gives you the fruit of His labor by grace. You receive this through faith. This Good News is the focus of the Scriptures. You do nothing. God works. And His works are very good. Matt Wingert, Director of Your good works are done in response to salvation. Justification by grace through faith does not mean good works are bad, but puts them in their proper role. We live according to God s will out of thankfulness to His love. (LutheranReformation.org) Confirmation Confirmation is going to be a lot different this year! Fellowship, Service, Learning, Mentors, Small Groups, three teachers, two grades, one class. You might be wondering a very Lutheran question: What does this mean? Parents of students in Grades 7 and 8 are invited come to a parent meeting on August 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Make plans to attend. Fellowship In August we will have a school Kick Off BBQ and Gym games. Check the Focus and your s for more details soon. We also continue to meet through the summer Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the blue room with the Sr. High group. Come school year, we will go back to meeting in the 7 th Grade Room. Reformation 500 Mark your Calendars for November 5 th at 3pm. We will have a 500-year celebration worship service at Christ Lutheran, then head over to Our Savior for the largest Lutheran potluck you have ever seen. There will be fun, games, and fellowship. See you there! Get Connected If you want to receive s, or sign up for an event, it all takes place online. Please sign yourself up on the website below. /home 5

6 Congregation News Christ Lutheran August 2017 Stewardship is Counter-Cultural From the Board of Stewardship What makes stewardship so counter-cultural? Well, the Bible reminds us that we don t own anything! It doesn t get much more counter-cultural than this when we realize that we live in such a consumer driven world. For too many the accumulation of stuff is a sign of success and maybe even God s blessing! The Bible makes this clear that this isn t the case. We own nothing! We are simply created and redeemed to care for those things the Lord has entrusted to us for the sake of His creation and others! The world s consumer mindset has the posture of the hands of people closed, like the hand of our first parents closed around the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Closed hands grasp. They claim ownership over whatever is grasped. When the counter-cultural message of Christian stewardship is shared, the hands of humans are different. They don t grasp. They receive. Hands must be open to receive from God. The hands of a steward must also be open if stewardship is to be godly. Godly stewardship is stewardship of God s possessions for the sake of our neighbor. What has been entrusted to the steward is for the care of someone else, not just the personal satisfaction and pleasure of the steward. Reformation 500 Celebration The Reformation was not about anything new, but about returning to the unchanged and unchanging truth. So it still is today. The celebration of the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation is not a time for novelty. It is time to return. Return to the basics. Return to the foundation. Return to the truth. All the churches in the circuit will get together as one Church to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the reformation. We will have a Worship service at Christ Lutheran at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday November 5, with special guest speaker Rev. Dirk Reek. After the service, we will go to Our Savior s new building to have the largest Lutheran potluck you have ever seen! There will be music, games, bounce houses, great food, and fellowship. More info coming soon! (LutheranReformation.org) This means that stewardship must start with repentance. Humans are by nature graspers and owners. Redeemed stewards are not. Again, it doesn t get any more counter-cultural than that! As stewards we have been created and redeemed to be stewards for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God s people are to be stewards in all aspects of their life. In fact, stewardship is to be the way of life for all those redeemed and restored by Jesus! (from StewardCAST, April, 2017) As we begin a new fiscal year at Christ Lutheran, may the Holy Spirit guide each of us in answering two central stewardship questions: How has God blessed me and how is God calling me to respond? May the Lord bless our response. 6

7 Christ Lutheran Pastor s Ponderings August 2017 Rev. David Goehmann, Associate Pastor dgoehmann@clnorfolkmail.org Growing Daily Are you growing? That is the real question when it comes to church. We can become involved volunteering in service to the congregation or even in service to our neighbor. But that does not mean we are growing. Although serving does give us a feeling of belonging and purpose, it does not necessarily mean we will grow. Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. We grow through God s Word, anything else and we won t necessarily grow. Some are in the good habit of doing a daily devotion, even two or three devotions a day. But this is clearly not ideal for church unless they share what they have read with other Christians. There are many more opportunities to use electronic communication these days. Still, face to face, interaction is the best form of fellowship and communication you can get. Facetime (Which is a Apple software program that lets you see the other person on the screen while you talk to them) is about as close as you can get. Still it is second best to actually being able to catch all body language and shake their hand or give them a hug when they need it. Sorry virtual hugs and high fives are just not the same. Attaching a smiley face on your texts really does not mean much any more. You can see the real shortfalls to electronic communication. That being said, it is still good if you can at least do some sharing of God s Word, if that is all you are able to do. But be careful, because if you are only using electronics for sharing between Christians, then it may be the result of you placing spiritual growth low on your priority list. 7 So ideally as a church if we want to grow, we would gather people around the Word of God. It seems a bit one sided in my opinion for everyone to just listen to one person speak about God s Word and everyone else keep their mouths closed. Would that really be ideal for church? Or would that be more like everyone reading the same devotion book at home and no one ever talking about it? I think it might be more like the second point. Of course I am talking about the sermon, of which I occasionally get comments, but usually they don t go into much detail like, Good sermon. Please don t stop the comments, because I like the encouragement. The best case scenario is when we are all free to make comments and it is in a face to face group, while a leader guides us through the Bible. Can you think of anything like that? Maybe a Bible study? Or maybe another revolutionary idea? A family perhaps? But again, face to face interaction between families has fallen to the wayside. Maybe we should align our priorities in such a way to make family attendance first, Bible Study attendance second, and Public Worship attendance third. Of course I m not advocating that we don t go to Public Worship. Each person is more like a plant, you need soil, sun, and water. I m suggesting family devotions and Bible study are like soil and sun, and in Nebraska we know all too well water is also necessary. Have fun growing! The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Matthew 13:31-32 ESV

8 Christ Lutheran Membership Roll Call August 2017 Starla Landkamer Roster Changes: Transfer In: Connie Leffers, 808 West Park Avenue, Norfolk; from Immanuel Lutheran, Tilden, NE. Jim and Terri Shafer and Rachel, nd Road, Stanton; from Our Savior Lutheran, Norfolk. Profession of Faith: Tyla Bereuter, 106 South 17 th Street, Norfolk, from Salem Lutheran, Stromsburg, NE. Josh and Daun Stoddard, Alyssa and Rebecca, 911 South 2 nd Street, Norfolk; from Peace Lutheran, Okeechobee, FL. Laura Vogel, rd Road, Norfolk. Transfer Out: Charlie and Sarah Scheinost, 2202 West Norfolk Avenue, Norfolk; to Our Savior Lutheran, Norfolk. Colby and Staci Kolm, Makenzie, Presley, Skylar, Kyzer, 106 North Boyer Street, Battle Creek; to St. John Lutheran, Battle Creek. Kent VonKampen, Norfolk; to Grace Lutheran, Norfolk. Release Eric Wells, 2623 E. Castlerock Lane, Spokane, WA; to St. Luke ELCA, Spokane, WA. Adult Confirmation Three individuals were received into membership upon completion of Adult Information Class. They are: Shannon York, Michael Hilliges and Brandi Jonson. Baptized into God s Family Tyson James Koenig, son of Timothy and Jami Koenig. Born October 15, 2016; baptized June 24, Sponsors are Ben and Nina Baldwin and Matt and Melissa Hansen. Kason Wayne Burns, son of John Wulf and Kayla Burns. Born August 9, 2016; baptized June 25, Sponsors are Brooklyn and Brady Houdek. Tyler David Hart, son of Michael and Shannon Hart. Born May 25, 2017; baptized July 15, Sponsors are Brandy Held and Josh Peters. McCabe James Hoskinson, son of Casey Hoskinson and Alyson Bower. Born August 2, 2016; baptized July 16, Sponsors are Breanna Bowers, Tanner Bowers, Jon and Nicci Nunnenkamp. United in Marriage July 1, 2017 Jonathan Carl Jahnke and Danielle Kristine Harstad. Called to Eternal Rest Glen M. Kolterman, April 30, 1943 June 10, Alice A. Hellmers, September 10, 1920 June 24, Violet B. Droescher, June 24, 1926 June 26, Celebrating 80 Years or More in August: 3: Gladys Spaulding 5: LaVaine Benson Dixie Wiedeman 9: Duane Klug 16: Marion Meisinger 26: Betty Schmidt Leonard Vogel 29 Naoma Schulz 30: Helen Reeves 31: Ione Horst Leon Wagner Moved from One House to Another: Pete & Denise Volquardsen, 907 Larayne Lane, Norfolk Joel Beeks, 1314 West Pasewalk #14, Norfolk, Angie Larsen, Shamrock Road, Omaha, Jody Throckmorton, 605 N. 34 th St., Norfolk, Beth Risor, E. State Hwy 41, Adams, NE James Wagner, 960 Prospect Road, West Point, NE Garret & Kenzie Pasold, 1307 West Park Avenue Norfolk, Joanne Klentz, 906 Larayne Lane, Norfolk Dan & Stephanie Hoff, st Avenue, Norfolk, Myka Mayo, 4434 East Justice Circle, Orange, CA New Member Welcome Sunday, August 13 after 8:00 service. Join us for cookies and coffee in the Narthex and get to know your new brothers and sister in Christ.

9 Congregation News Christ Lutheran August 2017 News from the Site Planning Committee by John Robertson During the Voters Meeting on July 9 action was taken to authorize the purchase of 3 properties directly to the North of the school along 5 th Street. This location will be transformed into a new permanent space for the school Playground. Over the last couple of months, the Site Planning Committee has focused on creating a Master Site & Facilities Plan into a draft form of best use for the entire site of our Church properties. Looking forward into the next 5-10 years (and beyond) of potential for further development of our physical ministry spaces, the ability to move the main play space for the school children to the North of the campus was ideal. The Site Planning Committee will continue its work to outline a best-case plan for the campus. You should look forward to town hall style events in the coming months to help us best refine and ultimately agree upon the plan for our church body to strive to achieve as we make our facilities the best possible spaces for our ministry to grow and flourish. In the next weeks, we will be meeting with various church and school groups who will be most appropriate to help design the best use of the space now available for the playground. As details continue to be refined in regards to the budget for playground more communication will be published for everyone s understanding. If you have any input or questions about the planning please be sure to share with us as we can only do our best work when every voice is heard and collectively share the joy that will be the new space for our next generations to enjoy! If you are able to help in any way to make this effort a success please be sure to contact the Church Office and they will make sure to connect you with the team working toward this goal! Below are the details of the property acquisition as were shared at the Voters Meeting. Sources Cash Pledges made during the Voters Meeting $125,000 In-kind donation made to cover all demo and removal costs 30,000 REVEL Auction donations ,000 Other unrestricted gifts and donations available for School use 36,000 TOTAL $206,000 Uses Purchase of 407, 409 and 411 South Fifth Street $277,000 Estimated demolition and/or removal of 3 houses 30,000 Estimated costs to prepare site for playground (fill dirt, fencing, landscaping, etc.) 25,000 Estimated playground equipment (to be further refined as plans are finalized) 50,000 Estimated need to complete project ($176,000) Photo right show the hallway in the section of rooms that will house toddlers and the younger children in the Child Care. Many of the finishing touches are now being put on the new Helping Hands building. Furniture and equipment are arriving daily. 9

10 Christ Lutheran August 2017 Printing Costs for This Month s Echo 2.0 Paid for by Donations from These Sponsors Abbey Christian Store Bev Mauch, Coldwell Banker Dover Realtors Norfolk Implement Dr. Dan Blomenberg Eye Physicians PC Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust Dinkel Implement Dr. Leon Gebhardt Freudenburg & Associates LLC Taylor Creek Physical Therapy Jerry s Trailers & Campers Randy Oertwich, United Farm and Ranch Management Krivohlavek & Hatfield, D.D.S. Christ Lutheran Church 605 South Fifth Street Norfolk, NE phone fax School 511 South Fifth Street phone fax Helping Hands Childcare 400 West Pasewalk Ave. (Corner of Fourth Street & Pasewalk Ave.) phone Next ECHO 2.0 deadline is August 8, 2017 Send items to echo2@clnorfolkmail.org