St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church 800 South Division Street Chenoa, Il 61726

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1 St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church 800 South Division Street Chenoa, Il June 27, 2017 You ve heard of the Freshman 15, right? That s the often joked about yet all-too-common case of people putting on a good 15 pounds their first year off at college. For me it didn t stop there. By the time college, four years of seminary, and a couple years as a pastor were over I d added a good 60 pounds on to what I was in my high school days. For years I talked about needing to get in shape, but without exhibiting the discipline necessary, it didn t happen. Finally, I did start actually doing something about it. Through diligence and persistence, I was able to shed 50 pounds in the span of six months. By being disciplined and focused on my goals, I was able to achieve them. For a while. Because I got lazy. I quit the gym. I stopped being diligent in watching what I ate. Over the next couple years I didn t gain it all back, but well over half. When pants started getting too tight to button a couple months ago, I had a choice to make. Buy bigger pants, or get back on course. I chose the latter. I take little joy in actually going out and running, but if I know that if I want to be healthy, I have to. Self-discipline isn t always enjoyable, but it s necessary. And, I admit, it s still a work in progress. What does this have to do with church? Titus 2:11-12 says: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

2 As Christians, we all want to live God-pleasing lives. We all want to be people whose faith is strong and evident to those around us. But like personal health, it doesn t happen on its own. It requires discipline. It requires taking action and doing the things that actually bring about that change. Like the body responds to diet and exercise, faith needs to be properly fed and cared for if you want it to grow and strengthen. That means feeding it with the Word of God both in worship on Sundays and in personal devotion at home. It means making it a point to spend time in prayer every day. And it means cutting down on the junk food and poison of the soul, taking the steps to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions so that they don t continue to damage your heart, which is the temple of God. We take care of our bodies so that we can do things like watch our children grow up and play with our grandkids. God likewise calls us to be disciplined in tending to our faith so that we can rejoice in the goodness of God both in this current age and in the age to come. It isn t always easy. For a lot of us it may not come naturally. But God is with you. He will give you strength. And as you run your race, he will bless you richly. Pastor Jeremy St. Paul s Discipleship Date Attendance Offering Missions

3 VBS was held June 5-9, 9 AM 12 Noon, Monday- Thursday in the morning with a Friday evening session and closing ceremony with cake and ice cream. At any given day there were 45 children in attendance. The theme was A Mighty Fortress. Our sincere thanks to Anna Schmidgall for transforming the church into a Mighty Fortress, complete with draw bridge. The children learned about the The Battle of Jericho, Hezekiah s Prayer and God s victory over Assyria, Josiah rediscovering the Law of God, Palm Sunday and Easter. Our thanks to the following: Station Leaders-Danielle Gooding, Cherlyn McBride, Megan Meyer, Pastor, Sophia Schuler, Madison McBride and Anna Schmidgall Group Leaders-Hannah Norris, Megan Rhoda, Tracy Schuler, Ben Rhoda, Paige Weber and Ann Meyer Helper- Ramona Schuler Our thanks to the following for their snack donations Ann Meyer, Penny Reed, Diane Brandt, Judy Rhoda, Janni Rhoda, Normalynne Bashford, Ramona Schuler, Carol Koehl and Neta Erdman. From Our Parish Nurse Pam Norris Did You Know Women who regularly attend worship services (at least once a week) have a 20 percent reduced risk of death, regardless of whether they smoke, drink or exercise. Those were the conclusions of a study of more than 92,000 women by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Yeshiva University. Researchers attribute the findings to the emotional support and release from stress that regular worship provides. I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord! Psalm 122:1 printed by permission of Better Health

4 N ew Newsletter Series. I am continuing to visit and interview members of our congregation and those interviews appear again in this newsletter. If you would rather not be interviewed, please tell me when I call you. Joy Poppe Alma Brucker was born at the Fairbury Hospital on March 7, She and Robert were married June 21, 1959 at the church in the country. She has been a member of our church since 1936 and was confirmed in 1950 and she has four children. She likes that the people in our church visit with family when they are here. In her free time she likes to play duplicate bridge, euchre, attend garage sales and craft sales. Her favorite childhood memory would be playing cops and robbers with Shirley [Taylor] Schuler on their ponies. If she could talk to anyone it would be her mom and dad. She would like to be remembered as a caring Christian person. When she attended Confirmation Classes, her class had to memorize Bible verses and she wishes she could remember those verses better. When she was younger she wanted to be a school teacher and her first job was teaching school at Gibson City Junior High. People would be surprised she would like to learn to drive a semi and learn to roller skate. Her parents, Erma [her sister], and Franklin [her brother] are the people who have had the greatest influence on her life. Her favorite Bible verses are: Psalm 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. And John 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Robert Brucker was born January 10, 1935 in Lawndale Township at home. Robert and Alma were married June 21, Robert along with Jim Reeser and Bill Barrett were confirmed May 25, He has four children and has been a member of our church since He likes that our church is close to his house, he just goes with the flow. His favorite way

5 to spend his free time is to play tennis, shoot pool and drive out to the farm. As a teenager he loved to play football. If he could talk to anyone it would be his dad and mom. He would like to be remembered as pleasant and easy to get along with. He wishes he were a better speaker and when he was younger he wanted to be an engineer. His first job was baling hay and he feels his dad had the greatest influence on his life. Shirley Beitz was born December 17, 1947 at home in Clarksburg. She and Norman were married February 23, 1964 and they have four children. Shirley was confirmed in 1964 and has been a member of our church since She and Norman agree on what they like most about our church is that we follow the teachings of the Bible and what Jesus commanded his disciples to do, we study the Bible and follow the creeds. Shirley likes to ride along with Norman when he drives around. Her favorite childhood memory would be going to the log cabin in the woods of her grandparents. If she could talk to anyone it would be Norman s sister, Rosemary O Donell, and her mom and dad. She would like to be remembered as a great grandmother. When she was younger she wanted to be an ice skater. Her first job was babysitting at a very young age. Her grandparents had the greatest influence on her life. She and Norman share a favorite quote, Do unto others as you want them to do unto you. Norman Beitz was born April 9, 1945 at home in Stewardson. He and Shirley were married February 23, 1964 and they have four children. Norman went to Trinity Lutheran School at Stewardson and was in Confirmation Class with eight others every day while he was in 7 th and 8 th grades. He was confirmed in He and Shirley agree on what they like most about our church is that we follow the teachings of the Bible and what Jesus commanded his disciples to do, we study the Bible and follow the creeds. Norman s favorite way to spend his free time is to just drive; and he loves to hunt. His favorite childhood memory is at Christmastime at his grandmother s house, his grandmother would put all seventeen grandchildren on the stair steps and they would sing Christmas carols. If he could talk to anyone it would be his mom and dad. He would like to be

6 remembered as a herdsman and a dairy farmer. He wishes he were a better Christian. When he was younger he wanted to farm the home place and his first job was working for another farmer up the road from where he grew up. People would be surprised if he sat at home and did nothing. He feels Mr. Andrew Komaracheck, a grade school teacher for all eight grades at Trinity Lutheran School, had the greatest influence on his life. Norman and Shirley share a favorite quote, Do unto others as you want them to do unto you. Janet Seeman was born at St. Mary s Hospital in Streator July 9, 1942 and went on Saturdays from fifth grade through eighth grade for Confirmation classes. She was confirmed with fourteen others in her class in 1956 at St. John s Lutheran Church in Flanagan. Janet and Roger were married September 15, 1962 and they have three children. She has been a member of our church since July She doesn t care for a lot of the hymns that we sing and wishes that we sang more familiar ones. Her favorite way to spend her free time is to swim at MCO in Bloomington. One of her favorite childhood memories was playing with the neighborhood children in Flanagan. If she could talk to anyone, it would be her dad. She wishes she had better health and when she was younger she wanted to be a nurse. Her first job was waitressing at a restaurant in Flanagan. Her fourth grade teacher, Miss Cavanaugh and her eighth grade teacher, Miss Triplett had the greatest influence on her life. Her favorite saying is Never say never. Roger Seeman was born at the Fairbury Hospital on January 23, Roger and Janet were married September 15, 1962 and have three children. He has been a member of our church since July Roger was confirmed in the church in country in 1952 by Pastor Skibbe along with Dallas Wendling, Colleen Rhoda, Marcia Jones and Ronnie Winterland after going for two years on Saturdays. His favorite way to spend his free time is going to Florida and he used to play volleyball and pickle ball in Florida. If he could talk to anyone it would be his mom. He wishes he could see better. All he ever knew was farming, so that is what he wanted to be. His first job was farm chores.