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 8 August, Southeast Iowa Synod Assembly SEIA 2015 Synod Assembly was held May at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines. Pastor Susanne, Pastor Wayne Weissenbuehler, Alan and Joanne Mohr attended from Messiah. Pastor Wyvetta Bullock from ELCA church headquarters gave updates about work we are doing together as the ELCA, and preached for worship on Saturday morning. Bishop Burk presided over the assembly, and in his report, gave his assessment of how our synod is doing. Messiah member Lotegeluaki Lengai was among the seventeen SEIA synod members elected as voting members at the ELCA s churchwide assembly in New Orleans in July Resolutions adopted include: 1) Peace Not Walls: a resolution encouraging those in our synod to learn, pray and act around issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 2) Life of Faith initiative which encourages the priesthood of all believers, and life on ministry within churches; 3) SEIA synod will support the Always Being Made New Campaign for the ELCA and will undertake a synod-wide campaign; 4) a resolution of thanksgiving for the assembly and various ministries of our synod. The assembly passed a 2016 budget and minimum compensation guidelines, and celebrated pastors anniversaries of ministry. Many Lutheran organizations set out displays and put on workshops for the assembly. To learn more, visit the 2015 Synod Assembly webpage at seiasynod.org. The 2016 synod assembly will be held May 6-7 at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville. Would you like to be a delegate from Messiah next year? Staff and Council Members at Messiah Pastor Rev. Susanne Smith Youth Director Kelly Benz Organist Hal Morton Choir Director Gloria DeVilbiss Administrator/Bookkeeper Dennis Wohlers Secretary Toni Landon Facilities Jerry & Kay Claussen, & Jim Gerst Nursery Attendant Ashley Gerst Preschool Staff Margie Gerst, Director Aubrey Gerst, Deb Jensen 3rd Year Seminarian/LSTC Dione Miller 2015 Council Members: John Larson-president, Deb Brinkley-vice-president, Joel Hanger-treasurer, Joanne Mohr-secretary, Joy Shah, Anita Fleming, Christa Ruther, Mark Smith, Kathryn Boyle, Roger Sheagren, Carm McBeth, Dan Wiedemeier, Judy Stewart, Marcia Taeger, Rich Miller Inside this issue: Tidbits Preschool News & Congregation Council Motions Youth Notes From the Pastor s Desk; letter from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago....7 Scheduled to Serve, Birthdays & Anniversaries Calendar

2 TIDBITS... COMMUNITY AND CARE THE SOCIAL MINISTRY COMMITTEE is asking that special offering envelopes be designated to the Homeless Shelter during the month of August. Char is very short of funds at this time of year. We want to give her as much support as we can. THE PROPERTY COMMITTEE is working on a 5 year strategy planning agenda. If you have ideas or projects that you feel are necessary or even beneficial to the church, call me in the office at The organ repairs have been completed. Dennis HOSPICE HOUSE MEALS Join together with others to serve the monthly meal on the second Thursday of each month. For more details, please contact Ruth Gaudian at AN INTRODUCTION TO CENTERING PRAYER Saturday, August 15, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Centering Prayer is for all who are seeking a deeper relationship with God. Centering Prayer is practiced by people all around the world, creating local and global networks of Christians in communion with Christ and each other and contributing to the renewal of the contemplative dimension of Christianity. Meeting location: Christ Episcopal Church, 623 N. 5th St., Burlington, IA; Preregister Contact: phone or lovelock3@gmail.com. FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY AT MESSIAH Messiah s administrator, Dennis Wohlers, is teaching Dave Ramsey s Financial Peace University for us on Tuesday evenings, beginning Tuesday, September 15. Financial Peace University is a biblically grounded process for getting out of debt and becoming financially independent. This class is sponsored by Messiah s stewardship committee, and you may preview the topics on Dave Ramsey s website. To sign up for the class, please contact Dennis Wohlers in the church office. SERVICE AND WITNESS KIDS AGAINST HUNGER will be packaging on Saturday, August 15th. Messiah is scheduled at 11 a.m. THE NEW-TO-YOU CHRISTMAS SALE is scheduled for November 14th. Hopefully, this will give you time to think about Christmas items, good used toys, and small re-gifted items you may wish to donate. The proceeds will go to Kids Against Hunger Greater Burlington. Thanks to all who support KAH in so many ways. IT S TIME TO START COLLECTING SCHOOL KITS for LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF School supply sales are hot. Folks are buying, trying to get their children ready for school. How about if we join them and buy supplies to be placed in home-sewn backpacks for children overseas who have no school supplies at all? Thanks for making them smile. Items needed are: 70 page spiral notebooks Ball point pens (no gel pens) #2 unsharpened pencils Pencil sharpeners Rulers with 30 centimeters on one side 24-count crayons Blunt scissors We gladly accept monetary donations. Please place them in an envelope marked School Kits and put it in the offering plate. You may place purchased supplies in the baskets located in the hall. On behalf of the children receiving the filled backpacks, a grateful THANK YOU. The Missions Committee CONCERNING LIBERIAN STUDENTS WHO WE ARE SPONSORING I will soon send our tuition money to Gary Winters. If you have not talked to me recently, please see me before or after church or give me a call ( ). Thank you. Carolyn Miller PAGE 2 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 8

3 Through Faith Based Education Children Ages - 3, 4 & 5 - Certified Teachers 5 Star Quality Rating System - Iowa Gold Seal Award for Quality Serving the community for over 50 years ext West Ave., Burlington, Iowa Greetings from the children s wing. Yes we have a few openings in our 3 and 4 year-old sessions. Call Ms. Margie (our Director) at ext. 2. If I am not available leave me a message with your phone number, name, address, and the class you are interested in. I will return your call and any questions you may have. Our parent meetings will be on August 26 th and 27 th at 6 PM. The children s orientations will be on Thursday, August 27 th 9-11 AM and 1-2 PM and again on Friday, August 28 th 9-11 AM. Our first day of school for 4 s is on Monday, August 31 st and 3 s on Tuesday, September 1 st. We are getting excited for another great year with old and new friends. I would like to invite you to renew or lend your support for Messiah preschool students by donating to the Scholarship/Tuition Fund. This helps with tuition assistance to our church family members. Several families still wish to send their children to a private Christian preschool setting rather than to the public school programs at this age. The opportunities we offer the children give them a jump start throughout their educational journey in a nurturing setting. These experiences are developmentally appropriate and balanced between structure and free choice. Other items that you could donate to the preschool would be gift cards from Walmart, Staples, Walgreens, Fairway or Hy-Vee. We can always use craft or art materials. We still continue to collect Campbell s soups or product labels and proof of purchases. Every donation helps in great ways. Have a safe and relaxing rest of the summer!! Thank you for your continued support and prayers. COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS July 20, 2015 NOTE: Due to length of reports only highlights are provided here. A copy of full reports and minutes of council meetings are available in the office for review. ACTION ITEMS: MOTION Request from Pastor Susanne to use kitchen and social hall for local church organists breakfast meeting on August 29, 2015 from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. MSC MOTION Request from Ashley Gerst to use kitchen and social hall on August 2, 2015 from 1:00-6:00 p.m. MSC MOTION The Property Committee requires a written request for anything that involves the building or property to go through the Property Committee for approval even though funds are available. MSC MOTION From Endowment Committee: #1 Recommendation to council that: Endowment make a 1 time gift of 10% of the Carl Pedersen Bequest equaling $5, to SE Iowa Synod for MSC #2 Recommendation to Council that Endowment give the preschool up to $2, to be used as tuition subsidies for up to 10% of the yearly tuition for Messiah members from the Enburg trust for a maximum of 20 students. MSC PAGE 3 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 8

4 6 high school students + 3 adults =9 This is the number I counted continually as we were amongst 30,000 of our closest Lutheran friends at the 2015 National Youth Gathering in Detroit. On our first day in Detroit we headed to Greek town for dinner and then off to Ford Field where our nightly main event happened. Our first night was started by hearing from our Presiding Bishop Eaten. Bishop Eaten gave a great welcoming and encouragement to our youth but I m pretty sure the lasting impact was our youth seeing exactly what it looked like to be surrounded by so many of their Lutheran peers who also gave up a week of their summer to come to Detroit to participate in service work, proclaim justice, proclaim community, proclaim story, worship, and have a lot of fun, too! Each day had a different theme and each night ended with a gathering main event at Ford Field with different speakers and musical artist. On our Proclaim Justice day we did service work with the Hope organization on the Keep it 100 project doing neighborhood beautification. There were some problems getting supplies and lunch due to a car accident that shut down the highway that day. Our kids worked on a pretty hot day pulling weeds and picking up trash in a neighborhood. After we learned that we wouldn t be receiving lunch I saw God in our youth. Their response was that s okay, lots of people go hungry and they continued to work with a smile on their face! The next day was our Proclaim Story day with the Southeast Iowa Synod (we had 950 youth from our synod attend). Together with Bishop Burk we learned about Jesus being the Good News and studied the Gospel of Mark. Our final theme day was Proclaim Community where we spent the day at Cobo Center learning and playing! Together we did smaller scale service project, learned about Walk for Water, human trafficking, Women of the ELCA, donated blood, hair, money and much more! This trip was something each youth will always remember and I am honored to be able to walk along side them with this experience. To learn more about the speakers, artist, and other activities we got to participate in, go to: Kelly Benz Director of Children, Youth, & Family Ministry PAGE 4 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 8

5 Youth News Rally Day/ First day of Sunday School will be September 13th Something new. High school youth will be meeting the last Sunday of the month at 9:30am starting September 27th for youth group/bible study and DONUTS in the youth room. Last Blast! August 5:30-7:00pm For children Kindergarten-5th grade Come for pizza and games! Wear clothes you can get messy in! Weather permitting, we will have a water balloon fight! Please let Kelly know by August 16th if you are coming to the Last Blast! Confirmation Program will meet every Wednesday night from 7:30-8:30pm in the conference room starting September 16th! 3rd year students will meet in the youth room. Confirmation Sunday for these students is October 11th. Bring your backpack to church on Sunday, August 16th for a special blessing for the new school year at both worship services! Bring your friends too! LIFT begins September 13th PAGE 5 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 8

6 What happens when 30,000 youth go to Detroit for 5 days This happens: We raise $402,000 for ELCA World Hunger s Walk for Water We have 650 people donate hair for a minimum donation of 433 inches of hair We proclaim justice by * 1,847 mural boards painted * 600 neighborhoods affected * 319 vacant homes boarded up * 3,200 vacant lots cleared of debris * 1,425 backpacks distributed * 36 urban gardens installed * 99 picnic tables built * 26 dumpsters filled We donate blood 78.8 Gallons (607 pints) We donate over 1 million diapers! God's Work. Our Hands. PAGE 6 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 8

7 From the Pastor s desk It s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon. Sort of. Messiah doesn t let down much over the summer. Kelly and eight others went to the National Youth Gathering in Detroit. Gloria and Hal went to the national Association of Lutheran Church Musicians in Atlanta. All of them say Wow, I love being around that many Lutherans! This month, Social Ministry Committee is turning their attention to Burlington s homeless shelter, asking us to help provide for those among us who are working hard to find a productive place in our community. Messiah Lutheran Preschool is enrolling children for the fall see in our council actions that we are now providing a tuition subsidy for Messiah members. And the area ELCA congregations are planning our annual God s work, our hands workday on Saturday, September 12. Save the date for work projects for young and old, outside and inside. Sunday, September 13 is Rally Day and our church picnic! Stewardship Committee is reviewing our history of support for our congregation. Some great givers don t attend worship much. Some regular worshippers don t contribute any other time, or talent or money. Most of us fall in between, but when have we reviewed our pattern of giving and helping in all these areas? Messiah s leadership is constantly reviewing our use and stewardship of our resources; we have robust checks and balances. Nothing goes to waste here! Even our paper gets recycled. Council treasurer Joel Hanger will bring you a September article about Messiah s complicated finances: expect him to remind you that though we are incredibly blessed by our trusts, they don t pay salaries, utilities, mission/outreach or benevolence. That has to come from us, from prayer and from gratitude for all that is given us. What are you grateful for? I ll bet you can write a list. I know I can. Thanks be to God. Pastor Susanne+ LETTER FROM LUTHERAN SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AT CHICAGO Dear Members of Messiah Lutheran Church: Date: 07/15/15 Amount: $2, Designation: Student Scholarship for Dione Miller Thank you for your gift supporting the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and its mission of preparing women and men for ministry. We appreciate your witness during this season of Pentecost: God s spirit alive and at work in our world and at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Your gift sows a seed reminding us to live in the present according to what we believe about our future. Thank you for investing in this ministry of theological education and for your prayers, your gifts, your wisdom and your encouragement. We are most grateful to be celebrating this Pentecost season with you and are blessed by your generosity in giving. Sincerely, Jessica P. Houston Assistant Vice President for Advancement PAGE 7 V O L U M E L IX, IS S U E 8

8 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 August 8:00 SERVICE Communion Assistant: August Mark Smith August Marge Classen August Dione Miller August Cathy Borden August Carm McBeth Lector: August Kathy Geren August Marge Classen August Mary Chicken August Cathy Borden August Carm McBeth 10:30 SERVICE Ushers: Don Duke (head usher), Steve & Diane Sanders, Linda & Ernie Voigt Refreshments: August Lorna Miller Communion Assistant: August Rich Miller August Joanne Mohr August Dione Miller August Joel Hanger August John Larson Lector: August Darwin Bunger August Judith Stewart August Sandy Good August John Larson August Darwin Bunger Acolyte: August Lauren Morgan August Narisio Lotegeluaki August Paige Clements August Riley Ruther August Samantha Carruthers Altar Guild: Lynn Sheagren Family AUGUST ANNIVERSARIES ALTAR FLOWERS FOR AUGUST: August 16 - from Pr. Susanne in honor of Wayne Weissenbuehler s 80th birthday August 30 - Darwin Bunger and Robyn Hortie 1 Wayne and Nancy Tolander Karen and William Cahill David and Kris Vanerstrom David and Lisa Weiler Jimmy and Marjorie Gerst Al and Genny Lunning Steve and Diane Sanders Tom and Jill Blackwood Steve and Julia Swanson Bob and Doris Speer Tom and Marianne Darnall Michael and Kay Spieler Kent and Gretchen Lewis Justin and Carrie Ruther Peter and Kathy Furnald Don and Donna Duke Keith and Mary Bloomquist Blake and Diane Ruther AUGUST BIRTHDAYS 2 Eli Gerst 3 Ava McCulloch 5 Joe Wolf 6 Harrison Arnold 6 Lauren Garcia 9 Cole McGinity 9 Seth McGinity 10 Aubrey Siegle 10 Jean Vass 10 Shannon Wiegard 11 Lisa Classen 12 Mia Ruther 13 Richard Baker 13 Robert Engberg 15 Maverick Carruthers 15 Madison Furnald 15 Kristel Lunsman 15 Luetta Peterson 16 Tom Blackwood 16 Skylah Pratt 16 Roger Sheagren 16 Brenda Waring 17 Laura Darnall 18 Marjorie Nelson 18 Doris Speer 18 Julia Swanson 19 Stacia Meierotto 19 Diane Sanders 20 Samuel Zager 21 Suzanne Todd 22 Lillian Benz 22 Diane Ruther 23 Ruth Marie Kuepper 23 Rhea Leibli 24 Melissa Lambert 26 Richard Benne 27 Jarad Dettman 27 Emily Meyer 29 Paul Polahar 30 Braden Hayes 30 Hudson Wischmeier 31 Jill Blackwood PAGE 8 *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 8

9 August 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 8:00a-Worship in Shelter House 9:15a-Adult Bible Study-Lib 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 1:00-6:00p-Gerst family party-social Hall/Kitchen 9 8:00a-Worship-Shelter House 9:15a-Adult Bible Study-Lib 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 11:30a-Worship & the Arts Comm. 6:30p-Abigail Circle-Library 16 Blessing of the backpacks 8:00a-Worship-Shelter House 9:15a-Adult Bible Study-Lib 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 11:30a-Preschool Board 11:45a-3:00p-Baker family party-social Hall/Kitchen 23 8:00a-Worship-Shelter House 9:15a-Adult Bible Study-Lib 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 30 8:00a-Worship-Shelter House 9:15a-Adult Bible Study-Lib 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 3 7:00p-Burlington Organists Network-Hattebergs 10 6:15p-Endowment Committee-Conference Room 7:00p-Men s Bible Study 7:00p-God s Work, Our Hands meeting-social Hall 17 6:30p-Congregation Council-Conference Room 24 7:00p-Men s Bible Study 31 First day of preschool 4 9:00a-Landscapers work crew 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 11 9:00a-Landscapers work crew 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 6:30p-Communications Comm. 6:30p-PEO-Library-Mohr 7:00p-Christian Ed. Comm.- Youth Room 7:00p-Piecemakers/Quilters -Conf. Rm. 18 9:00a-Landscapers work crew 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Staff Meeting 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 25 9:00a-Landscapers work crew 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 11:00a-Landscaping Committee-Conference Room 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm :30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conference Room 12 10:00a-2:00p-Preschool training-conference Room 19 5:30p-K-12 Last Blast before school event 6:00p-Supper 7:00p-Holden Evening Prayer with Communion 26 5:00-8:00p-Preschool parent meetings-sanctuary 13 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm. 6:30p-Executive Committee-Conference Room 20 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm. 6:00p-Property Committee- Conference Room 27 Preschool Orientation 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm. 5:00-8:00p-Preschool parent meetings-sanctuary :00a-Kids Against Hunger packaging :00p-Messiah Lunch Bunch 28 Preschool Orientation :00a-12:00p-Burlington Organists Network breakfast-social Hall

10 MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH 2411 West Avenue BURLINGTON, IOWA Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Burlington, IA Permit No. 360 Return Service Requested AUGUST 2015 MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH Phone: Fax: Sunday Mornings Worship in the Shelter House Adult Bible Study Worship Third Wednesdays Supper Holden Evening Prayer & Communion 8:00 a.m. 9:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. This month - Each Sunday in the library at 9:15 a.m.-adult Bible study: the gospel for the day Sunday, August 16th Blessing of the Backpacks at both worship services August 5:30-7:00pm-Last Blast for children Kindergarten-5th grade, come for pizza and games! August 19th-3rd Wednesday-Supper (6:00 p.m.), Holden Evening Prayer & Communion (7:00 p.m.)-social Hall