The St. Paul Messenger

Transcription

1 The St. Paul Messenger St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church 742 Depot Street Manawa, WI Church Phone: friend us on facebook, st paul Lutheran school and church, manawa, wi Service Times: Sunday s 8:15 & 10:30 a.m. (2nd & 4th Sunday Communion) Monday s 6:30 p.m. (2nd & 4th Monday Communion) Inside this issue: Sunday Bible Study Women s Bible Study 2 2 LWML 2 Chili Luncheon 2 Thank You 2 Voters Meeting 2 Ladies Aid News 3 Mission Statement 3 School News 4 125th School Anniversary Shut-In Service Hospitalized Anniversaries Birthdays January Calendar and Serving Schedule PASTOR S ARTICLE Happy New Year! May the God who made the sun, moon, and stars to mark out our seasons also mark out your year to come with blessings of His grace, mercy, and righteousness! I speak that with confidence because the Lord has shown us where we receive His grace, mercy, and righteousness: in the Gospel of His Son who came to bring everlasting light to the sin dark world! Every New Year s Eve since 2001, the 2001 summer staff of Lutheran Island Camp in Henning, MN has reunited at Lutheran Island Camp to start their year off right. My wife and I are proud members of the 2001 summer staff. I believe we missed the reunion in 2004, but every year we have reconvened at the Island. We gather there with the friends we made during that summer of service. We came from many different backgrounds, but the summer of 2001 bonded us strongly in our shared ministry to one another and campers. Friendships of the likely and unlikely variety were formed and romances began. Sarah and I along with Dave and Miriam are wedded couples whose beginnings took place on the Island. When we gather on the Island, we share again in the purposes that brought us there so long ago and in the memories of that time. We gather there in that space where so many life-shaping events took place. Speaking for myself, I had been going to summer camp at Lutheran Island Camp since So, when I return there, I return to a place I d visited all through my formative years. The memories that the place reminds me of are not just limited to what happened those 3 months in The memories remind me of the life experiences from those formative years. For instance, every time I visit the Island, I regret my decision in I went to volunteer for a week as a junior counselor in July. At the end of the week, the camp director offered me a job to stay on for the rest of the summer as a full time counselor. I declined because, get this, I did not want to spend the rest of the summer away from my high school girlfriend of the time. Also get this: she dumped me a week later. Oh, how I wished I d taken up that opportunity to continue working at camp that summer. These memories along with so many others are brought to mind by our annual visit to the Island. In summary, I appreciate beginning each year by returning to the place where so much of my growing up took place and where I am reminded of many other parts of those growing up years. I appreciate beginning each year with those people who impacted me there and were impacted by the people and the place in ways similar to myself. I appreciate the chance to remember what God has done in my life in His mysterious and not so mysterious ways as we turn the calendar to the next year. All this is to urge you also to visit and remember those important places and people whom God has used to shape you and send you into His world.

2 The St. Paul Messenger Page 2 CREATION: WHY CHRISTIANS DO NOT BELIEVE EVOLUTION Class begins Sunday, January 8th at 9:30 a.m. in the lunch room. The class will meet every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. until February 26th. Come with your questions and comments as we re-examine why the church holds onto the Bible's record of creation while so many flock toward the Theory of Evolution. Contact Pastor for more information (natereichle@gmail.com, ). WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY GROUP FORMING! Britney Riesenberg ( ) is forming a study group that will meet here at St. Paul starting on January 4th at 6:30 p.m. (meeting every other Wednesday). She will use the excellent study, "Stuck" by Jennie Allen. Please contact her to be a part of the group. LWML Our December 20, 2016 meeting opened with St. Paul kindergarteners under the direction of Debbie Hintz sang "Christmas All Around The World" and "Go Tell It On The Mountain". They were enjoyed by all. We all read the devotion "Christmas Is 12 Of The Year." A short meeting was held, after which we enjoyed Christmas treats and fellowship. Our Service Projects for December were: 1). Attend and bring someone to Christmas Services 2). Visit the sick and shut ins 3). Pray for our Country 4). Pray for our service men and women. Our next meeting will be January 17, CHILI LUNCHEON St. Paul Men s Club Chili Luncheon Sunday, March 19th 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Free will donation. More details coming soon. THANK YOU! From Pastor Reichle and his family to you all! We are blessed by your prayers, greetings, cards, and gifts! Thank you for brightening our Christmas by your generosity and Christian love! JANUARY VOTERS MEETING Sunday, January 15th Between services

3 The St. Paul Messenger Page 3 ST. PAUL LADIES AID The St. Paul Ladies Aid held their annual Christmas Party on Thursday, December 1st, 2016, with a program prepared by Betty, Jeanette & Barb. The children of grades one through four entertained us with songs, accompanied with actions. They all told us their names, and they were rewarded with treats handed out by Barb. Thank You to the teachers, Brenda, Rachel, Becky & Roxanne. The program continued with a reading from the Lutheran Indian Ministries Advent Devotions, concerning faith, and it talked about the faith that the wise men must have had at the time of Jesus birth, to follow the star. In our lives, also, we need faith to face all our challenges. Pastor Reichle gave the devotion based on one from the Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries. It talked about the prayers we offer up to God, and compared them to the prayers of Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, who had prayed for a child, but it seemed that God hadn't heard their prayers. Eventually God sent them the child they had prayed for, and in our lives, also, it seems He doesn't hear us, however, He does hear us, but will answer when He feels the time is right. We opened our portion of the program by singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Barb gave a reading "Because of Christmas," Jeanette read "A Christmas Carol" and Betty read "The Christmas Spirit." We had sung another hymn, "Joy to the World," and then closed the program with the hymn "Silent Night, Holy Night." There was no formal business meeting or roll call, however, Yvonne asked for volunteers to play Bingo at the nursing home on Wednesday, December 14th. We also agreed to purchase two poinsettias to help decorate the church for the Christmas season. We closed with the table prayer, and enjoyed a delicious pot luck lunch. It is always surprising to see the variety of dishes that are brought to pot lucks! We exchanged gifts, which were given out based on numbers which each member drew. Our group is small, however, we are thankful that we are still able to serve our congregation, and our God! MISSION STATEMENT We need a Mission Statement as an immediate guide and goal for the urgent time in which we live, to harness our energy, establish unity of purpose, and prepare for the future. The PURPOSE, POWER, and PROMISE of the Church are found in the succinct statement of our Lord: YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES (Acts 1:8). According to God s Purpose for us, our congregational goal is: TO TESTIFY TO GOD S LOVE IN JESUS TO EVERY PERSON AROUND US AND HOLD UP THE CROSS AND NOT BE ASHAMED OF IT; and continue TO BE WITNESSES FOR JESUS CHRIST IN HOME AND CHURCH AND SCHOOL IN WHAT WE SAY AND DO, AND HOW WE SAY AND DO IT. This is God s Description of what His Church should be... And can be. HOW: 1. Through personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior John 1: Thirsting for His WORD to grow in Him John 8:31 3. Showing this growth by life-style evangelism Matthew 5:16 We must note that a very integral part of this, OUR MISSION and PURPOSE, is our congregation s rededication to the support and growth of our parochial school II Timothy 3:15 for a time such as this II Timothy 3:1.

4 The St. Paul Messenger Page 4 SCHOOL NEWS School Christmas Programs On December 14 th, over 250 people gathered for the annual Preschool and Kindergarten Christmas Program. The students and teachers did a wonderful job presenting the Christmas story through readings and songs. The evening concluded with a Happy Birthday Jesus Party and fellowship. Pictured to the right are some of the preschool and kindergarten students. A special thanks to Mrs. Griesbach, Mrs. Hintz, and all the volunteers for their time and effort. The 1-8 th grade program has a battle with mother nature on its original date. So we tried again on December 21 and had a successful program. There was over 300 people in the audience for the event and every student was again a part of this year s program. A huge thanks to Mrs. Taggatz, Mrs. Suehs, Ms. Jenks, Mrs. Beyer and Mr. Korotka for all of their work preparing and presenting the Christmas message. An important thank you also goes to the students for sharing the Christmas with all in attendance. Accelerated Reading Accelerated Reading is an individualized reading program for students at St. Paul. This program challenges students to read individual novels at school and at home. Points are awarded for each book and prizes are as goals are reached. All prizes are donated from local businesses. During the school year so far, over 2,585 books were read with a 88% success rate. Also, a total of 12,947,372 words have been read for this program.

5 The St. Paul Messenger Page th SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY On February 19 a special Sunday worship service will be held at 9:30 with a formal banquet to follow. The students will be singing during the service, a guest speaker will be attending and a meal is being planned following the service. Please mark your calendars!!! COMMUNION SHUT-IN SERVICE Thursday, January 19th at 2:00 p.m. This is a worshipful communion service in the sanctuary as well as fellowship with other members of St. Paul. We will be bringing the communion elements to the pews where you will be sitting (in every other row). After a brief communion worship service with Pastor Reichle you will have an opportunity to enjoy a snack in the fellowship area. All are welcome to come. CLUES TO AGING WELL Whether or not we like it, the days dwindle down to a precious few, as an old song puts it. We re aging daily and hourly. The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, moves on... The question, sooner or later, is: How do we best handle the aging process? It begins with keeping a healthy spirit. The body ages, but our spirits can remain vibrantly alive. We can keep spiritually alert by carrying on a conversation with God, truly listening more than talking. We can strengthen our spiritual life by attending worship services and reading the works of people who lived close to God, such as Mother Teresa, E. Stanley Jones, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others. Keeping one s body in tune through exercise and diet are also keys to aging well. But just as important are fellowship with others, working on interesting projects, engaging in family activities, learning something new and traveling. Most importantly, remember that you re never too old to grow in love for others. After all, St. Paul tells us that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:7-8, NRSV). HOSPITALIZATION REMINDER Don t forget to let pastor or the church office know when you or a family member will be hospitalized or will enter a nursing home, or will be a shut-in desiring communion visits. Because of privacy rules, some hospitals no longer call when a person is hospitalized.

6 The St. Paul Messenger JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES Ronald & Edna Voss Donald & Anne Reznichek Brittany & Alex Stroik Garold & Susie Bartel JANUARY BIRTHDAYS Mitch Gehrke Andrew Scheller Daniel Bonikowske Roger Bonikowske Roberta Snyder Franklin Jaeger Jr Carol Juergens Jay Sturm Glenn Drath Beverly Mengert Dakota Affeldt Zoe Brunner Eileen Wesener Jason Breier Joann Breier Holly Keough Lily Simons Brian Elmhorst Karen Haines Leonard Bartel Linda Draeger Haylee Hoffman Susan Koehler Susan Schuelke Merrijo Smith Jerrod Rieckmann Jaci Bartel Brady Zemple Cheyenne Bailey Sharon Baldwin Jared Gehrke Lee Klotzbuecher Donald Reznichek Henrietta Baumer Cashton Dunnihoo Gloria Mikkelson Page 6 Ezra Steingraber Audrey Suehs Renee Behnke Nicholas Bonikowske Russ Bonikowske Kurt Kreklow Julie Patri Gloria Suehs Callie Oltz Jensen Timm Megan Timm Timothy Schneiderwendt Sandy Breier Adelyn Schertz Emmy Lee Searvogel Kaden Bonikowske Alexandria Fradrich David Scheller Debra Schuelke Ferne Keso Gloria Zemple Michelle Cady Bruce Herrmann Scott Jaeger Alexi Klotzbuecher Sally Richter Patricia Craig Linda Much Jeremiah Claussen Nancy Johnson Kim Steiger Daniel Beyer Aubree Drath Dorothy Hass Patricia Herrmann Riley Ort Shelby Behnke Karen Rohde Josie Timm