Immanuel Lutheran Church

Transcription

1 OCTOBER NEWSLETTER 2017 Grace Happens at the Church on the Hill Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Sunday Schedule Discipleship Classes 9:15 Worship 10:30 Church Secretary: Sharon Fritz (512) Financial Secretary: Evelyn Remmert Office Manager: Sandy Trussell (512) Pastor Report October is a big month in Lutheran circles. It centers and concludes with Reformation Day and this year we celebrate the 500th anniversary. On October 31st in the year 1517 Martin Luther posted 95 Thesis on the Wittenberg Church door in response to the actions of the Roman Catholic Church and this has become recognized as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. At that time all of Europe known as the Holy Roman Empire was under the religious rule of the Roman Catholic Church. In order to finance the building of St Peters Basilica in Rome, and maintain the political regime of the Papacy Leo X promoted the sale of Indulgences. A monk named John Tetzel was selling as many as he could in the Germanic states and sending the money to Rome. Indulgences are papal papers of forgiveness. The slogan Tetzel was using was when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs. He was even preaching that the sins of those already deceased could be freed from their time in purgatory. Perhaps this sounds foolish to us today, but in Luther s time it was taken seriously and even the poorest were led to believe that this was important. Luther and the Reformation stand was and is that God s grace cannot be purchased. 8 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. (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV) The reformers penned The Augsburg Confession which states the basic Lutheran theology of the Christian faith according to the Holy Scriptures. From this and the other Protestant writings came the Reformation principal of By Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone, and some add to the glory of God alone. (Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria) The Reformers adopted this phrase from 1Peter 1:17 The Word of the Lord remains forever." (Verbum Domet in Manette Aeternum) and put these initials on all their uniforms VDMA. Martin Luther and the reformers are credited for bringing about theological thinking and practices Protestant Christians consider gospel today. The printing press was invented during this time and Lutherans published not only the Bible but all the documents of the Reformation in the language of the people. Previously Latin was the language of the church, and Greek and Hebrew had to be mastered to read and comprehend the scriptures. Putting these documents into the common language opened the scriptures to the people and changed the world. This is why we remember and celebrate the last Sunday in October as Reformation Day. Wednesday evening Bible Study from 7pm 8pm in the Fellowship Conference Room. Child care will be available as there is need. P.O. Box CR 401 Taylor, Texas Phone: (512) ilc@eccwireless.net

2 It s the Nativity Kick-Off Party And You and your family are invited! Sunday, October 15, 2017 At 5 p.m. Immanuel Lutheran Church 411 CR 401, Taylor This year our meal will be Pot Luck So.Bring your favorite dish to share! It s time to meet the new members of the Nativity Family Also if you have other family or friends that you know would like to be in the Nativity. now is the time to invite them to the party so we can get them signed up. Looking forward to seeing you there! Bonnie Gordon Bonnie-g@austin.rr.com Kathleen Stanko Tia1.chica2@gmail.com It takes about 135 people for Nativity to work. There are openings in all areas. We will be visiting area churches dressed in costume to let others know about the need for cast members. If you are interested in participating in this endeavor or would like for this to happen at your church now would be the time to talk about it. For visiting churches we would need permission from your pastor as well as a date that would work. Give this some thought and bring it to the Planning Meeting. Cast and Crew members Required Have Angel speaking and non-speaking 12 7 Imbedded crowd people to walk with tours 6 3 People in the market 24 9 Venue people 14 8 The family going to pay their taxes speaking (we usually have a husband, wife and one or two children (children do not have to be their own) 4 adults + 4 children Welcome/Farewell 7 5 Guide - speaking 3 2 Gabriel - speaking adults Mary and Joseph - speaking 3 sets 2 sets Inn keeper speaking 6 2 Guard - some will be speaking 8 3 Shepherds - speaking and non-speaking 10 6 Wise men - speaking 6 4 Choir 12 4 Guitar and keyboard musician 3 2 Kitchen helpers to feed the cast 3 0 People to help park cars 4 2 Total

3 Women of the Word (WOW) Met on Sept. 10, Officers are: President: Bonnie Gordon Secretary: Debra Rinderknecht Treasurer: Bonnie Kaderka Our next quarterly Meeting will be January 14, 2018 at 2 pm. Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ s Annual Gathering Oct 8th-11th We Confess Our Faith is the theme of our 17th Annual LCMC Gathering and Convention, which takes place October 8-11 in downtown Minneapolis. This year we also celebrate the 500th anniversary of the nailing of the 95 theses of Martin Luther to the church door in Wittenberg, the beginning of the Reformation. Once again, we will be streaming the Annual Gathering live at POLKA SERVICE 2017 PRAHA BROS. OCTOBER 29TH CAPT. RED S $12.00 TICKETS OCTOBER USHERS: Pam Leschber Nathan Balusek OCTOBER ALTAR GUILD: Kristina Weise Kristi Talley OCTOBER LECTORS: 10/1/17 Cindy Bailey 10/8/17 Sandra Krueger 10/15/17 Cheryle Kruger 10/22/17 Donna Rinehart 10/29/17 Robert Rinehart OCTOBER FLOWERS DONATIONS: 10/1/17 Jimmy & Melanie Weise, given to the glory of God 10/8/17 Bobby & Sandra Krueger, in honor of Sarah s birthday 10/15/17 Robert & Bonnie Kaderka, given to the Glory of God in honor of their birthdays (7th &21st) 10/22/17 Lena Lantzsch, in memory of Emanuel Lantzsch 10/29/17 Reformation Sunday celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation; red flowers donated OCTOBER ACOLYTES: 10/1/17 Krista 10/8/17 Rachel 10/15/17 Kyleigh 10/22/17 Myleigh 10/29/17 Abigayle

4 Page 4 IT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR CHILI The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fundraiser was a huge success. The food was great, the fellowship was as warm as the chili, and lots of money was raised to help rebuilding efforts in South Texas. The meal donation jars collected over $300.00, the silent and live auctions collected over $1, Our total donation will be approximately $2,000.00! Any additional donations will be welcome. Thank you to all who brought and served food, those who brought and bought auction items, and to our super kids who helped with setup, clean up, and the auctions. You are all blessed by your service. We are blessed to be Spirit Strong and Immanuel Strong and we know where our strength comes from. Remember Philippians 4:13 I can do everything though Christ who gives me strength. We have been blessed to be a blessing. Let's pass it on.

5 Page 5 Hurricane Harvey Recovery Work Report It has been a month since Hurricane Harvey came roaring in and camped on the Texas coast. The damage is so extensive that only just with in the last week can visible progress in the recovery work be seen. Bryan Haun and I on our way to Tivoli last Monday saw a massive mountain of sawdust and semi-trucks loaded with debris lined up to dump their loads at a massive grinder. But I am getting ahead of the story. The beginning of the rescue work began with LCMC and NALC churches coming together and establishing distribution centers. Our Saviors Lutheran in Victoria is serving as the central Texas distribution and the NALC church in Rosenberg for the Houston area. For us at Immanuel it was decided that Relief Donations could be distributed through our Focus Giving Mission helping directly those we are working with in the Tivoli-Austwell-Seadrift area. The relief work began with rescue aid. Cindy and I were the first responders, with food, water, and gas and oil for chain saws at Our Saviors in Victoria. With the supplies you donated and purchases from Sam s Club our Immanuel team has taken items each week. Other supplies began arriving within a week after the storm with such an outpouring of grace that has transformed this recovery into a love feast of neighbor helping neighbors. Aid from all over the country arrives almost daily now. Just today I saw Our Saviors Victoria loading relief supplies for the Baptist Church in Rockport for distribution there. The first week-end after the hurricane Tyler Talley, Bryan and Rhonda Haun, Cindy and I volunteered in Austwell. Cindy had picked up a couple cases of Thorndale s meat market sausage and with flower tortillas and the help of a Bar B Q trailer team and others who brought side dishes everyone ate, the volunteer workers, everyone in town, even the delivery drivers bringing shared supplies. Our team was on the timber removal and we did our due diligence until the heat of the day overcame us. On that first week the town of Tivoli was still mostly flooded. It is right by the Guadalupe River. So it was the second week before we could visit with the folks at First Lutheran. The Sanctuary was in shambles as the winds blew open the front doors and saturated everything. They are hoping to save the altar fixtures and the pews but everything else is ruined, even the 90 year old piano. What a shame. Through the church we are identifying what families are in the most need. Our first priority while waiting for insurance inspections and evaluations was to get the church electrical service back in order. This had been torn from the building by winds. Bryan and I accomplished the first phase of this task this last week. There is more electrical work to do, but the building is meter ready. We are hoping that they will be ready to resume worshiping in their social hall by October 1 st. As the Lord provides. Thank you for all your prayers and donations to the Hurricane Relief. We will continue to help working together as teams, with donations, and prayers until the work is done come and see Christ in action. Praise be to God! Cottage Meetings Get involved Be heard Make a difference The group meetings are off to a great beginning. Thanks to Pam Leschber who hosted a gathering on September 17 th. We centered our conversation around the topics of Love, Forgiveness, and Faithfulness. Sharing stories of our walk with Jesus and our hopes for the future the evening passed too quickly. The Transition Team prays that everyone will avail themselves to these gatherings. We promise you will be affirmed and inspired by the faith of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Anyone is welcome to host a gathering, so if you are interested please talk to one of us, the TTF team. Your brother and sisters in Christ, Bethany Grissom, Paige Morris, Alan Matthews

6 Page 6 Memorials OCTOBER Birthdays GENERAL FUND: For: Helen Forsdahl by Larry & Pam Leschber For: C.R. Browning by Virginia Teichelman BUILDING FUND: For: Helen Forsdahl by Emory Leschber Family Roxanna Teichelman.1st Sharon Klaus.4th Emory Leschber..4th Sarah Krueger...6th Robert Kaderka...7th Kenneth Balusek.15th Samantha Mundkowsky...11th Bonnie Kaderka...21st Melanie Weise..23rd Nick Trevino th Sandra Kruger...26th Madison Morris....27th Krista Randig..29th Sharing & Forgiving NOISY OFFERING This will be an ongoing collection for 2018 Camp Eagle FAITH CARDS CARDS ARE AVAILABLE NOW FOR.50 CENTS. Stop and check them out they are beautiful!! We are accepting used greeting cards to continue making our beautiful glittered card creations.

7 OCTOBER 2017 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SS & CONF- 9:15 CONF/STUDENT/PARENT MTG 10:30 WORSHIP HOLY COMM WOW BAKE SALE SS & CONF 9:15 8 SS & CONF- 9:15 10:30 WORSHIP WORSHIP 10:30 HOLY COMM NATIVITY 15 KICK-OFF PARTY SS & CONF- 9:15 10:30 WORSHIP O LCMC Conference Bryan & Rhonda Haun Immanuel delegates BIBLE STUDY 7-8PM BIBLE STUDY 7-8PM DEADLINE LINE FOR november NEWSLETTER SS & CONF-9:15 WORSHIP 10:30 REFORMATION POLKA SERVICE BIBLE STUDY 7-8PM GET YOUR TICKETS!!! POLKA SERVICE 2017 P. O. Box 1355 Taylor, Tx Phone: ilc@eccwireless.net Office Hours: Tues-Fri-9am-noon