St. Matthew Lutheran Church Newsletter December 2017

Transcription

1 St. Matthew Lutheran Church Newsletter December 2017 From the Pastor December brings us Advent, a season to appreciate on the way to Christmas. The commercial and secular world wants it to be Christmas right now, or maybe just a winter holiday. Advent is a powerful antidote, allowing us to wait, reflect, and anticipate. I hope to see you at our midweek Advent services each Tuesday night at 7:00. We will be following the biblical themes associated with the season: Prophets, Hope for the Coming of Christ Bethlehem, Love for Those in Need who Have no Room Shepherds, Joy for Spreading the Message of Christ Angels, Peace on Earth, as the Message of the Angels We will also have warm beverages on hand during these cold nights. Come and bring a friend. This year our Sunday School children will bring us their program within the services on both Saturday the 16 th and Sunday the 17 th. They have been working on this, their witness to the rest of us. I know I certainly remember being in such programs as a child, and I m sure many of you do also. It is important for the children that the rest of us are there for them, and that who they are gets defined over time by experiences like this. We are going to offer The Census and the Star on the 14 th at 7:00 P.M., and on the 16 th at 1:00 P.M. If you have ever wondered about the very first Christmas, this is an event for you. The birth of Christ was a real event in real time. There are still traces of what happened then in history, the archaeological record, and even in the sky. Bringing that to believers and non-believers alike has become our specialty. Be with us for The Census and the Star in our unique planetarium conference room. Again, bring a friend. Last, I would like to ask all of you to recall the many ways available to you through your church to bring help to others. This church distributes clothing to those in need; makes clothing items for the needy through With These 1

2 Hearts and Hands; supports the Food Pantry; provides a Bible Study ministry each week at the nursing home; opens its doors to the Christian preschool, Little Learners and brings Special Focus Missions before the congregation on a rotating schedule. These are: The Jo Daviess Workshop; Volunteer Hospice of Northwest Illinois; the Malaria Bed Net project; Fill the Well (a fresh water ministry); Lutheran Military Veterans and Families; World Food Crisis; School Kits and Health Kits; the new United Churches Emergency Fund; and the Ixtapa Mission in Mexico. That s not all we do, and we look to doing more in the area of human care in But we do a lot, not to mention what you do as individuals serving Christ each day as you interact with those around you. Please continue to work in the vineyard which is this church. Blessed Advent and Christmas to all! Frederick W. Baltz, Pastor 2

3 PRESIDENT S LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION December 2017 Dear Members of the Congregation, I hope everyone enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving Day and time with family, friends and neighbors. Once again we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Advent services on Tuesday evenings at 7 pm have begun. Please bring a guest to one of these services, or our traditional Christmas services, to share in the good news of His coming. The 2018 Stewardship Drive is complete, again in record time. Almost every member returned a pledge and a time and talent form, including Izabella and Logan Farrey! Thank you to Dale Knipschield, Wyatt Anderson and Pastor Baltz for chairing this year s committee, to the Council members who served as team leaders, and to Dick Beutel and Stacy Meade for their behind the scenes work in the office. The Strategic Planning Committee is working overtime and their final report is about to be released. After Council approval on December 13, copies of the report will be distributed to members at the Saturday and Sunday services. The report is the culmination of many hours of work by the committee. The Congregation will vote on its acceptance, as our blueprint for the future, at the Annual Meeting. The Call Committee had its first official meeting in late October. Members received resource materials to review in the coming weeks. We discussed a broad overview of the call process and how various tasks might be delegated to the members: Connie Consedine, Deb Hyland, Jan Etzel, Tanya Vanderlinde, Bill Fitch and Wayne McIntyre. I am pleased to announce that Deb Hyland has volunteered to serve as chair. The next meeting will be on December 4 th. Pastor Baltz will speak, and Charlie Marsden will review the final results of the Strategic Planning Committee s work. After this meeting, please watch the newsletters in 2018 for regular monthly reports from the committee. The Safety Security and Technology Committee will also meet on the 4 th. Roger Johnson, chair, will outline projects and goals for next year. Repairing the asphalt drive is one project under consideration and funds in the 2018 budget have been allocated. I would like to thank Roger and Dale Knipschield for adding task lighting to the church office. Also several members have stepped forward to assist Kathy Pedersen and her committee with communion clean-up duties. Thank you! We still need members to form a Special Focus Ministries committee. Outreach, missions and ministries..all topics we re interested in and support as members of St. Matthew s. Please see the help wanted ad in this newsletter. The 2018 budget is almost finalized and will be approved by the Council at their December meeting. Copies will be available to the congregation prior to the Annual Meeting. One final note, please prayerfully consider serving on Council next year. We are in need of members to replace those who are retiring. For more information, call Charlie Marsden or Dale Knipschield. 3

4 I leave you with the verse of the day: Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You are always welcome to call or with your thoughts and questions: or njahyman@gmail.com. Your sister in Christ, Nancy Hyman 4

5 Members and Friends of St Matthew, Report from the Strategic Planning Committee December 2017 The SMLC Strategic Planning Committee met on November 7 and November 14. We completed our SWOT analysis and Action Items for Financial and Stewardship and for Physical Conditions and Meeting of Needs. Again and again, we realized that we are blessed with talented, dedicated people, a dedicated pastor, great technology and a wonderful, traditional church building that is well maintained. We are truly blessed with much to be thankful for. And, we struggle with the same challenges being faced by many small Midwestern congregations. The Strategic Planning Committee wrapped up their work on November 14. The draft of the Strategic Plan was completed on November 27 and sent off to the Committee for a review this week. This draft of the Strategic Plan will be shared with the Call Committee and Pastor Baltz and discussed at the Call Committee Meeting on December 4. It will be formally approved by the Strategic Planning Committee on December 5 and forwarded to the Council for their review and approval on December 13. It will then be distributed to the Congregation for review and subsequent approval at the Annual Meeting on January 21. The Strategic Planning Committee spent over ten months developing a Strategic Plan for St Matthew Lutheran Church. Members of the committee were most respectful of each other s opinions and viewpoints and welcomed dialogue with each other. Discussions were to the point, with an effort made to document the good and the not so good things about St Matthew Lutheran Church. This objectivity will serve us well as we move forward by calling a new pastor, building on the strengths and opportunities that the Lord has provided us. Let us prayerfully go forward with the Holy Spirit s guidance, serving the Lord as best we can. Special thanks to Strategic Planning Committee Members o Holly Bertucci o Dick Beutel o Connie Consedine o Deb Hyland o Nancy Hyman o Dale Knipschield o Charlie Marsden (Chair) Let us move forward together to make St Matthew Lutheran Church the best that it can be, serving the Lord and advancing His Kingdom in all ways possible, seven days a week. We offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us ourselves, our time and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. LBW I look forward to your thoughts, ideas, questions, and comments. Call me at or me at ckmarsden@outlook.com. May the Lord Bless Us and Keep Us, Charles R. Marsden SPC Committee Chair 5

6 ANNOUNCEMENTS Office News If you need to contact Stacy Meade, Church Clerk, or Tom Staver, Financial Secretary, please call the church office at or There is a new in box on the desk in the office for messages, notes, receipts, etc. Please include your name, phone number and instructions in case there are questions. EVENTS THIS MONTH Every Tuesday 10:00 am - Bible Study at The Nursing Home 2nd & 3rd Tuesday 12:30 pm - Quilters 2nd & 4th Tuesday 3:00 pm - With Our Hearts and Hands Ministry Wednesday 8:30 am - Men's Bible Study 10:30 am - Prairie Ridge Bible Study 12:00 pm - Brown Bag Bible Study Specific Dates December 4 10:00 am - Safety Security and Technology Meeting December 4 6:30 pm - Call Committee Meeting December 5 6:00 pm - Strategic Planning Committee Meeting December 5 7:00 pm - Worship: Advent December 12 7:00 pm - Worship: Advent December 13 6:00 pm - Church Council Meeting December 14 7:00 pm - "The Census and the Star" December 16 1:00 pm - "The Census and the Star" December 19 7:00 pm - Worship: Advent December 24 10:00 am - Christmas Eve Church Service December 24 7:00 pm - Christmas Eve Church Service December 25 9:00 am - Christmas Church Service CELEBRATIONS IN DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 7 Dan Consedine 18 Mike Hyland 17 Corinne Beutel 22 Andrea Grass ANNIVERSARIES 26 Dave and Bernadine Anderson 6

7 November 19- December 31 IXTAPA, MEXICO Ixtapa Christian Fellowship is my church in Ixtapa, MX. I go each year and bring donations from St. Matthew. Again I am asking for financial donations to help with missions such as Baby Bundles, the Group Home for seniors, jailed inmates and the teaching of hygiene. Shirley Friedl Weekend # THOSE WHO SERVE IN DEC 2017 USHERS & ACOLYTES (Sat: 1 person, Sun: 2) LECTORS (1 Person) 1 Sat. 2 Nancy Hyman Sat. 2 Nancy Hyman 1 Sun. 3 Pam & Roger Johnson Sun. 3 Cindy Baltz 2 Sat. 9 Jim Moser Sat. 9 Jan Etzel 2 Sun. 10 Nancy Hyman Sun. 10 Nancy Hyman 3 Sat. 16 Jeff Miller Sat Sun. 17 Dale & Maureen Knipschield Sun. 17 Dale Knipschield 4 Sat. 23 Sat. 23 Jan Etzel 4 Sun. 24 Sun. 24 Cindy Baltz 5 Sat. 30 Jim Moser Sat Sun. 31 Sun. 31 Dale Knipschield Bulletin Folders (1 or 2) - 10:00 am Sat. Morning COMMUNION ( Sat: 1; Sun: 2) Sat. 2 Roger Johnson Sat. 9 Sat. 9 Jan Etzel Sun. 10 Sat. 16 Sat. 30 Sat. 23 Sun. 31 Sat. 30 Fran Rogers Nancy Hyman & Please submit articles, pictures or information for the newsletter to njahyman@gmail.com no later than the 25th of the month. 7

8 CHURCH FINANCIAL SUMMARY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2017 Sept Year-To-Date Total Income $ 12,992 $127,773 Total Expenses (11,190) (136,3637) Total Net $ 1,802 $ ( 8,866) See our website for our full calendar of events. 8