St. James Lutheran. Pastor's Paragraphs. September 2018

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1 St. James Lutheran Pastor's Paragraphs Is this nonsense? Why do we name the ninth month of the year with a word that means seven? Why do we begin all manner of events and schedules in the ninth month instead of making this month the first month? Why does the first month come in the middle of winter? Our community, personal and church calendars seem to have almost no relationship to each other as to beginnings and endings, starts and stops. What is certain in Anno Domini 2018, September is a month of both beginnings and endings for the people of God at St. James Lutheran Church of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. The beginnings include the start of ipraise, classes, WELCA monthly meetings, choir rehearsals (both vocal and bell), quilting, and a return to worship at 10:15 AM on Sunday mornings. Where things have slowed down a bit during the summer months, the activity level of the whole congregation picks up and fills up your calendar. We pray these will be exciting days for you! While it cannot be called an ending --- more a Milestone on the Journey --- we will celebrate the Affirmation of Baptism with the young people that have studied for three years, leading to this day. September 23 at the 10:15 AM service we will recognize them as they respond to God's baptismal grace with the confirmation of their faith. Family, friends, sponsors and all people of faith are encouraged to be part of that important day. Finally, there is an ending. September 29 and 30 will be the last worship services I will conduct at St. James Lutheran Church. It has been my privilege to be with you these seven months. Prayerfully, you are seven months closer to having a full-time pastor in your midst. I certainly hope you will be as receptive and caring about that person as you have been to me. Be assured, the process is long and slow, but you have not been forgotten or abandoned. Continue getting ready and preparing your hearts for the personification of Good News who will be coming into this place, and into your lives. Thank you for giving me the chance to touch your minds, hearts and lives. Pastor Will Olsen 1

2 Fall Worship Schedule Our fall worship schedule will begin September 9 with church services beginning at 10:15 AM. Church service on Saturday will still be at 5:00 PM. This will be the schedule throughout the school year. Fall Retreat at Outlaw Ranch This year's Fall Retreat at Outlaw Ranch is Friday, September 7, and Saturday, September 8, and will be hosted by Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Spearfish. Kari Webb, also from Our Saviors, will be the main speaker with the theme of Grow Joyfully. You may recognize Kari because she has preached in our church a couple of times recently. Registration begins Friday at 4 PM, and forms are available in the office. A nonrefundable registration fee of $5.00 is due by September 1. The following are the fees for 3 meals and lodging: the lodge is $64.00, the barn is $61.00, and cabins are $ The commuter rate is $ Come to relax, rejuvenate, and grow joyfully. God's Work. Our Hands. Sunday Fall Schedule The following is a list of programs that will begin shortly: August 29 was the first day of confirmation classes for those in the 7th and 8th grades. Classes will be every Wednesday after school, about 4 PM. Quilting begins September 10 & 11 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Esther Circle will begin September 12 at 9:00 AM. September 12 will be the first day of Bell Choir at 6:15 PM, and Adult Choir will begin that day at 7:15 PM. The first day of ipraise will be Wednesday, September 19 at 3:30 PM. Classes will be held the first and third Wednesday of every month unless notified. Adult Sunday School will begin September 16 at 9:00 AM. Once again we will participate in the God's Work. Our Hands. Sunday program on September 9. A few service projects have already been selected including cleaning at the Compassion Cupboard, singing with ipraise students at the nursing home, changing light bulbs in the church (which requires a ladder and a tall younger person), cleaning the refrigerator and the WELCA storage room, and delivering treats to first responders and/or nursing homes. If you know of any other great service projects we could do, please contact one of the deacons: Rhonda Johnson, Betty Kozur-Baker, Karen McLennan, Ronda Mehrer, Mark Stiller, or Ann Turbiville. If you participated in last year's events and still have a yellow t-shirt that we used that day, please wear that t-shirt on September 9. We have a few extra t-shirts left over from last year, so if you did not receive one then, please check to see if we have your size that Sunday when you come to church. Volunteers Needed Volunteers are needed to help with projects at the parsonage. At this point, we plan to do some minor repairs with the idea that our next pastor may want to have the parsonage. In order to make it presentable to any prospective pastor, we need to get those projects completed. The church council decided that we need to work on this on a weekly basis, so volunteers will be needed each Saturday beginning at 8 AM. Please come if you are able to help! 2

3 Sunday will be Sunday, September 23, during the worship service. Confirmands and their mentors will meet with the church council at the next council meeting on September 11. They will be asked a few questions about their faith and will also be given the opportunity to ask some questions of their own. In addition, there will be a short rehearsal for the confirmands the Saturday before confirmation, September 22, immediately after the evening worship service, or around 6 PM. A reception will follow the worship service on September 23 and will be hosted by Hospitality Group 4 (Schmidt to Young). Pickers will play September 22 at the 5:00 PM Worship Service Quilting Begins Deborah Circle The women of Deborah Circle will be using the Bible study called Twelve Women of the Bible this year. The study includes a DVD and is presented by various women who will examine the spiritual lessons from 12 iconic women in the Bible, 6 from the Old Testament and 6 from the New Testament. Come join us the third Thursday of every month at 7 PM. Adult Sunday School The Adult Sunday School will begin on September 16 at 9 AM and will meet in the church library. This year's study will be a book by Max Lucado called Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World. Join the class as we study the lives of men such as Noah, Job, Moses, Paul, and Matthew. Congregational Meeting The quilters will begin working again in September and continue through May. They typically meet the first and second Monday of every month. Last year they donated over 100 quilts to Lutheran World Relief and gave some quilts away locally to Lutheran Social Services and Canyon Hills Center in Spearfish. In addition, they sell a number of quilts during our annual Thanksgiving Feast in November. They appreciate all of the help and donations of material from the congregation. Come join the group and help them with their great service! There will be a special congregational meeting on Sunday, September 16, after the worship service to vote on allocating funds for remodeling the chancel area as well as general improvements in the sanctuary. There may be a vote on acquiring a line of credit for the project. 3

4 Farewell to Pastor Will When Pastor Will agreed to be our interim pastor, the contract stated that he would stay until the middle of September. However, when we approached him about confirming the next group of youth, he graciously accepted our invitation to stay and complete that task. His final day with us will be September 30, and we wish to send him off well. Vern Fritz has once again offered his incredible barbecuing talents so that we can have a special farewell party for Pastor Will. Please join us immediately after the church service September 30 to say farewell to Pastor Will. Ordination of Kris Garlick The following is from Kris: It's been a long road that has taken six years. I transferred from the TEEM program at Wartburg Seminary and will be the first Kairos student to complete the Lutheran program and be ordained. What sparked my faith was signing on to be a guide at Our Saviors, Spearfish, when my son, Billy, was in the 7 th grade. Since that time I was drawn closer to Christ serving Lutheran Campus Ministry at BHSU, and Lutherans Outdoors of South Dakota. I served as pastor at Grand River Lutheran Church, Buffalo, before I came to be called by Grace Lutheran Church, Sturgis. I've had the support of so many people along the way from Belle Fourche and Buffalo, to Spearfish and Sturgis. As Pastor Will would say, I've been blessed (by you) to be a blessing to others. Thank you, St. James. Pie and Ice Cream with the Bishop Congregational pastors and leaders are invited to join Bishop Zellmer and the South Dakota Synod staff for pie and ice cream on September 13 at Community Lutheran Church, 705 S. Newton Avenue, in Hill City. All events will begin at 6:30 PM and will end by 8:00 PM. All are welcome to be there. 4

5 The following letter is from Lutherans Outdoors in South Dakota. Greetings St. James Lutheran Church, Summer is flying by and your Lutherans Outdoors camps are very busy. We are so pleased with the group of counselors and staff that are at each camp this summer. We have trust in these young people who live the mission every day, in making a difference in the lives of those attending camp. My note today is simply to provide an update about each camp. I want to share with you and your congregation, the critical impact of congregational giving on our young people from all of our churches across South Dakota. Outlaw Ranch had its 60th Anniversary celebration a few short weeks ago. It was a weekend filled with reunion hugs, wonderful stories of the impact camp had on people's lives and heartfelt songs sung around the campfire. NeSoDak The dedication of the newly purchased shoreline property expanding the waterfront by 523 feet was held on July 15. It was a wonderful event honoring the true potential of this new property. Joy Ranch continues to touch lives and hearts in a very special setting that truly demonstrates the All Are Welcome theme. Klein Ranch is a true gem in the high plains of South Dakota. The experience to see the high prairie from between a horse's ears is remarkable. The new kitchen has been a wonderful improvement. Each one of our camps is truly a blessing to all who attend. We certainly understand budgets can be tight. However, we encourage you to consider a gift of a size that will be comfortable for your congregation. Statistics have proven that if a young person attends camp for a week over two summers, the chances that he or she will be in a church as an adult is 5 times greater. You may say but we don't have young people going to camp from our church. I have two responses to that. The first is obviously, What can we do to change that? The second, is the old saying that we have all been warmed by a campfire that someone else lit. Our churches are nearing a crisis with fewer young people attending. Don't you think we must do all we can to reverse this trend? If your congregation is able to make a gift now, it would be greatly appreciated. If in your next budget, you could include giving to Lutherans Outdoors, maybe in our way we can help young people find their way to your church too. Should you have questions, please feel free to give us a call here at Lutherans Outdoors or reach out to me via at jerry@losd.org. God be with you, Jerry Soholt Development Director News from India Shadrach Peter reports in a July newsletter that work on the hospital in Muranpur is going well. They now are able to reach more people than before. The medical team is working hard to meet the demands of the work. By God's grace, they hope to get the registration number for the hospital soon. The new doors, the lights, and the fans have been fixed. Shadrach thanks everyone for their prayers and support. He asks for prayers for the eye camp and the dental camp in August so they will be able to help the school children and people in the villages. He also asks for prayers so finances will be available to pay for the staff, medicine, equipment, and other needs of the hospital. 5

6 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Grief Support Group 3:00-4:30 PM Worship 9 AM 9 Fall Worship Schedule Begins Worship 10:15 AM God's Work. Our Hands. Sunday Quilting 9 AM Quilting 9 AM Judy's Assisted Trustees & Living 10 AM Deacons Belle Estates 6:30 PM 11 AM Imagineering Meeting 6 PM AT CHURCH 17 Saturday 1 Worship 5 PM 7 8 Lutheran Men in Worship 5 PM Pray Without 7th & 8th Grade Ceasing 10 AM Mission at Belle 4 PM Inn 7 AM 12 Esther Circle 9 AM 7th & 8th Grade Council 7 PM 4 PM FIRST DAY: Confirmands & Bell Choir Mentors Meet 6:15 PM with Council Lutheran Men in Worship 5 PM Pray Without Ceasing 10 AM Mission at Belle Pie with the Inn 7 AM Bishop 6:30 PM in Hill City Choir 7:15 PM 18 Grief Support Group 3:00-4:30 PM Adult Sunday School 9 AM Worship 10:15 AM Friday 19 FIRST DAY: ipraise 3:30 PM 7th & 8th Grade 4 PM Lutheran Men in Worship 5 PM Ceasing 10 AM Mission at Belle Pickers Inn 7 AM Deborah Pray Without Circle 7 PM Play Bell Choir 6:15 PM Choir 7:15 PM 23 Adult Sunday School 9 AM Worship 10:15 AM Sunday Lutheran Men in Pray Without Worship 5 PM 7th & 8th Grade Ceasing 10 AM Mission at Belle 4 PM Inn 7 AM Bell Choir 6:15 PM Choir 7:15 PM 30 Adult Sunday School 9 AM Worship 10:15 AM Farewell Barbecue for Pastor Will Dinner Belle 5:00-6:30 PM 6

7 SEPTEMBER 2018 BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES Sunday 2 Monday Tuesday 3 4 Wednesday Thursday 5 6 Brendan Gallagher Tyler Bickerdyke Terry Hoscheid & Reva Potter Brian Lyons Friday 7 Diane Feist Mark Nore Saturday 1 8 Joan Galyen Macky & Joan Galyen Terry & Linette Batterman Billy & Roxanne Smart 9 10 Shaine Weishaar Chuck Capp David Jeitz Duane Olson 16 Josh Gallagher Sawyer Leitner 23 Joshua Mehrer 17 Joe & Suzer DeJong 24 Joseph McLennan Conley Torgrude Mary McKenna 20 Ava McLennan Rosie Kane Jay & Abby Olson 25 Emma Kang Becky Jeitz Sandy Lamb Mark & Rhonda Johnson Bill & Shawna Eastman Theran Anderson

8 St. James Lutheran Church 1100 Stanley Street Belle Fourche, SD Newsletter Church Council Members Pastor Will Olsen President: Larry Shoemaker Vice President: Linda Stambaugh Treasurer: Carolyn Kindsfater Secretary: Paul Turbiville 8 Trustees: Steve Jakober, Sandra Kane, Mike Keolker, Jeri Olson, Mary Shoemaker, and Brian Stambaugh Deacons: Rhonda Johnson, Betty Kozur-Baker, Karen McLennan, Ronda Mehrer, Mark Stiller, and Ann Turbiville