M e s s i a h M e s s e n g e r

Transcription

1 Messiah Lutheran Church M e s s i a h M e s s e n g e r January, 2017 THE ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING will be Sunday, January 22 at 9:15 a.m. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this meeting. OFFERING ENVELOPES The 2017 offering envelopes are ready for you to pick up in the narthex. If you do not find your name on the envelope boxes, please let the office know. You can start using the new envelopes in January. ANNUAL REPORTS All committee reports should be in the office by now. If you have not yet sent in your report, please do so as soon as possible. Questions? Talk to Joanne Mohr or Dennis Wohlers. On Saturday, February 18, 2017, Messiah will host a performance of the St. Elizabeth Women s Choir from Wartburg College. The singers will also be in worship with us on Sunday, February 19, providing music for our worship. In anticipation of their visit, we need to provide housing arrangements for approximately 60 young women, an evening meal the night of the performance, and breakfast the following morning. If you are able to house two or more student-singers, please phone Toni in the church office. Need more information? Please talk to Roger Hatteberg, Pastor Susanne or any member of Worship and the Arts committee. Staff and Council Members at Messiah Pastor Rev. Susanne Smith Youth Director Kelly Benz Organist Hal Morton Choir Director Gloria DeVilbiss Administrator/Bookkeeper Dennis Wohlers Secretary Toni Landon Facilities Jerry & Kay Claussen, & Matt Mitchell Nursery Attendant Ashley Gerst Preschool Staff Margie Gerst, Director Aubrey Gerst, Deb Jensen, Krystal Klein 2016 Council Members: Joel Hanger-president, Mark Smith-vice-president, Steve Sanders-treasurer, Joanne Mohr-secretary, Deb Brinkley, Joy Shah, Christa Ruther, Carm McBeth, Dan Wiedemeier, Judy Stewart, Marcia Taeger, Rich Miller, Roger Hatteberg, John Larson Inside this issue: January Happenings, Congregation Council Motions Youth Notes Preschool News & From the Pastor s Desk Stewardship Message from Kelly Benz Time & Talent form Lutheran Services in Iowa Scheduled to Serve, Birthdays & Anniversaries Calendar

2 SERVICE AND WITNESS TAKE AWAY HUNGER will be packaging on January 14th with Messiah scheduled at 10 a.m. Please sign the sheet in the narthex if you plan on helping. TO JOIN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Facebook meetings, please contact Christa Ruther or Kelly Benz via Facebook Messenger. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 p.m. THANK YOU Lotegeluaki Lengai, Wendy Lotegeluaki and the Lotegeluaki family say Thank you so much, Messiah, for the gift of money given at the Thanksgiving Eve service to help build the orphan children s kindergarten in Arusha. The Lotegeluaki family has created a non-profit named Change for a Change to support their work in Lotegeluaki s home community on the skirts of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. They brought a slideshow to Thanksgiving Eve worship this past November to show us the progress on the school building. If you wish to make a donation to the Lotegeluaki kindergarten project, you may write a check to Messiah and note Narisio school on the memo line. Many children will thank you! Worship and celebration MEET OUR NEW MEMBERS On December 4, 2016 the following became members of Messiah: Scott and Meghan Ganschow and their children Hazel and Sean; Diane Gray; Ben Lundell; and Darrell and Linda Sweezer. Be sure to meet and welcome our new members. TEACHING AND LEARNING ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL/ADULT FORUM January 1: Movie day: Vicar of Dibley holiday episode January 8: Pastor Susanne presents: The art of Christmas: views of the nativity January 15: Dave Wiemer presents on Honor Flight January 22: Annual meeting/today s gospel January 29: Pastor Susanne presents: Who are the parish nurses? By the grace of God... Funeral - Wanda Wiemer 05/11/ /27/2016 COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS December 20, 2016 NOTE: Due to length of reports only highlights are provided here. Full reports and minutes of council meetings are available in the office and on the council bulletin board in the hallway. MOTION Requests for use of facilities for: Joanne Mohr-family Christmas, December 26, 2016, 11:00am- 3:00pm-social hall & kitchen; Deb Brinkley-PEO, January 20, 2017, 12:00-4:00pm-social hall & kitchen. MSC MOTION New members to be accepted: Charlie and Ruth Allen. MSC GLORIA DEVILBISS is retiring from her position as Messiah senior choir director at the end of January, Gloria has been our choir director for 32 years. She tells us that she began singing in her first choir when she was eleven years old, in That s a lifetime of church choirs! On Sunday, January 29, we are going to celebrate Gloria s career, her creativity and dedication with a potluck luncheon in the social hall after the 10:30 service. Messiah will provide table service, meat and beverages. You are invited to bring a dish to share, and your good wishes for Gloria! FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY AT MESSIAH Messiah s administrator, Dennis Wohlers, is teaching Dave Ramsey s Financial Peace University for us on Monday evenings, beginning Monday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. The last class will be on March 13. Financial Peace University is a biblically grounded process for getting out of debt and becoming financially independent. To sign up for the class, please contact Dennis Wohlers in the church office. PAGE 2

3 Children, Youth, & Family Ministry LIFT Children 3 years old 6th grade join us on Sunday, January 8th at Trinity Lutheran Church from 5:00-6:45pm for a night of fun, education, music, prayers, crafts, dinner and worship. ALL ARE WELCOME!! Confirmation will meet on January 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th The Sunday school children will be singing at the annual meeting!! Please join us at 9:15am on Sunday January 22nd. Sunday school children need to be here by 9:10 that day. High School Youth Group Wednesday January 25th 8:00-9:00pm High School Trip Registration There is still time to register!! Spots are first come first serve and at last check there were 70 spots left for our whole synod so register soon!!! $150 non-refundable deposit reserves your spot! *See Kelly for more information. A note from Kelly... Our high school students are very excited to have an opportunity to attend the Rooted mission trip. However this trip cost each youth about $700. Soon we will begin fundraising! I would also like to thank those who have already donated to help these young people!! Our younger kids will be learning about Jesus baptism and what it means to be baptized this month. They have also been invited to sing at the annual meeting! Our confirmation youth will be attending the annual meeting and learning about becoming an adult member of Messiah through confirmation. In confirmation they will begin their study on the Creeds and will lead the Apostles Creed in worship in early February. Blessings, Kelly PAGE 3

4 Messiah Preschool 3, 4 & 5-Year-old Sessions SHAPING FUTURES THROUGH FAITH BASED EDUCATION The BIG NEWS for 2017 is that Registration is underway for the sessions. Our list will start to fill up and we would love to invite your child or grandchild or a neighbor to come join us. If you would like a registration form or need more information, please call Ms. Margie (our Director) at ext. 2. As always, thank you for considering supporting our preschool and its mission to Shape Futures. This year especially we are in need your benevolence of sponsoring a child s tuition or making a donation towards our expenses in the preschool fund. This is such a wonderful developmentally appropriate educational program and we continue to have families that want this type of a Christian experience for their child versus the public school system. Have a Blessed and Happy 2017!!! From all of us in the Preschool Wing From the Pastor s desk The new year begins. But I want to comment on the year just completed. All of 2016, our Roman Catholic cousins have enjoyed a Year of Extraordinary Jubilee. This happens every 25 years since about 1300 CE, but this time Pope Francis made a truly extraordinary year of it. His call for mercy went so far beyond being nicer to people. Rather, Pope Francis called for us to experience, as both givers and receivers, the kind of welcome that Jesus extended even to the hated tax collector: I m going to your house today, to be with you, and by the way, will you also be my disciple? Francis has called on all Christians to live mercifully in a deeply personal way, a way that will change us in our heart and soul. In his book, The Name of God is Mercy, he recalls a woman in his parish in Argentina, a woman whom the parish sometimes helped out with gifts of food. Her husband had left her, and she finally turned to supporting her little children by prostituting herself. One Christmas, she came with her children to see her pastor, Francis, and he thought she intended to thank him for the food. But when he asked her if she had received the gift, she said, Oh, yes, that too. But I came here today to thank you because you never stopped calling me Señora. Before 2016 ended, Pope Francis issued an edict that all women who had experienced abortion could go to their parish priest and ask for, and receive, forgiveness. This is an overwhelming declaration of mercy for untold thousands of women who have made difficult decisions with lasting consequences. And he attended a Reformation celebration with the Swedish Lutheran church last fall, declaring that the conflicts between Lutherans and Roman Catholics, lasting these 500 years, will end as we show mutual kindness and mercy to each other. How would you like to experience mercy in 2017? Pope Francis has reminded all of us that Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. He has gone on to ask us to leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others. Enter the pain and joy and chaos of one another s lives. Pray for one another. Learn names and call people by their names. Name the nameless. Challenge ourselves to be both merciful and joyful. Be Jesus, his hands and feet and heart and comfort and challenge. Live this new year with love and mercy and blessing. Pastor Susanne PAGE 4

5 A Stewardship Message from Kelly Benz My name is Kelly Benz and I have served as Messiah s director of children, youth, and family ministry for the past 10 years. The stewardship committee asked me to speak to you today about how your offering supports children, youth, and family ministry here at Messiah. Together when a child is baptized we make a promise to them. This is a very important promise. We promise to live among them, bring them to the word of God and the holy supper, teach them the Lord s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, place in their hands the holy scriptures, and nurture them in faith and prayer, so that they can learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made, and work for Justice and peace. In short your offering makes it possible to fulfill this promise. At their baptism we begin with a gift of their own Christ candle that they can light each year on their baptismal anniversary to remember not only the promise that we the people of Messiah made them but also the promise from God that they are a named and beloved child of God. When they are just 3 years old they begin learning even more by attending Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, over-nights, and an educational monthly program called LIFT. Your offering supports all of this. By the time they reach high school we have placed the holy scripture in their hands a multitude of times including gifting them 3 different age appropriate Bibles, and the Lutheran Handbook. We have taught them the Lord s Prayer, and brought them to the holy supper. At the National Youth Gathering last year in Detroit they experience community and the Lord s Supper with 36,000 other young people. This is an experience they never forget. You support this. They attend confirmation camp at EWALU in Strawberry Point Iowa, learn the Creed, the Ten Commandments, attend 2 years of confirmation. Together they learn that God loves them, the people of Messiah love them, and that they are the hands doing God s work. They give back, they pack food with Take Away Hunger, they learn about the hungry like on mission trips in Chicago and Colorado, the poor, social justice, and more. This year they will be learning about human sex-trafficking, homelessness, immigration and boarder issues on the Rooted trip to Las Vegas and Phoenix. You support them. They go on trips to serve others and learn that God has a plan for them and how they can help others. They learn about vocation. They learn how to become adult people of faith, members of Messiah, and children of God. You support them. They serve on the Southeast Iowa synod council, they go to seminary and become pastors, they go to college and show love for their neighbor, they go into the workforce and show compassion and depend on their strong faith that they developed growing up and learning about God here at Messiah. You support them. Thank you for living out their baptismal promise. Thank you for praying for them. Thank you for supporting and loving them. Thank you for passing the faith. Kelly PAGE 5

6 Messiah s 2017 Time and Talent and Treasure Invitation: I m in! Nominate me for: congregational council Preschool board endowment committee synod assembly voting member nominating committee I want to be part of: Property committee monthly meeting outdoor work indoor work landscapers/gardeners Outreach committee: occasional meeting Take Away Hunger packing Piecemakers/work at church work at home Lutheran World Relief kit assembly Messiah Cares missions visitors Ambassadors Worship and the Arts committee: monthly meeting Sunday nursery backup greeter usher lector altar guild senior choir acolyte communion assistant special music/in the summer Christmas Eve other times after worship refreshments Parish Life: occasional meetings a supper club luncheon helper for funerals/ other occasions contribute food to funeral lunches play on the Lutheran softball team manage that team in 2017 Paint-a thon adult mission trip summer family camp Memorials committee women s circle Communications committee Christian Education: online meetings help with Sunday School youth events (like chaperones or drivers) participate in adult Sunday school Thursday AM Bible study men s Bible study Financial Peace University I am thinking of something else interesting/helpful/creative like I am making an estimate of giving for 2017 for $ weekly/monthly/ annually. I would like to talk to Dennis about electonic/paypal/app giving options. I am Contact me at

7 Bea Foss daughter Gretchen Thomas sent this Christmas card with her drawing of Georgie Creepmouse. Pastor Susanne comments, Twas the week after Christmas Lutheran Services in Iowa Giving Voice for Iowa Children and Families Lutheran Day on the Hill Families living in poverty. Iowa children who go hungry. Former refugees building new lives. These kinds of issues are rarely the center of attention at the Iowa State Capitol. Let s change that! Please consider joining Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) and the three Iowa synods of the ELCA for Lutheran Day on the Hill, an annual day of advocacy in Des Moines to uplift the needs of our neighbors. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 21. Visit next month for event details, online registration and an online toolkit for your congregation, including how to participate in this year s congregational letter-writing campaign. If you are new to advocacy, come learn more about the legislative process and your role as a citizen. If you ve attended before, join us again. We hope this year s schedule will also allow you more opportunities to connect with legislators. Our Mission: Lutheran Services in Iowa responds to the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate service. LSI is an affiliated social ministry partner of the Iowa congregations of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and a member of LSA (Lutheran Services in America). We proudly serve people of all ages, abilities, religions, sexes, gender identities, national origins, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. Learn more at and A New Harmony Zach has always had a love of the outdoors. In his free time, he can usually be found in his back yard, mowing the lawn or making sure his snow blower is working properly before the first snow. But when Zach began working with his hourly support staff, Shane, he found a new love: music. Shane is an hourly support staff with LSI s Services for People with Disabilities. Each week, the duo works together to help Zach stay active in the community, practice his coping skills, and achieve his personal goals. Music therapy has become a major part of their time together. We play guitar quite a bit, Shane says. I think music therapy is very important. It just helps calm the soul down. During each session, Shane teaches Zach a few new chords or strumming patterns that Zach can practice on his own. I know when I ve had a long, bad day at work, I get kind of angry rather quickly, Zach says. If I can, I go to my room and grab my guitar and start strumming some chords. I m not much of a singer, but I ve started putting some words with some of the jamming out I do. Seeing Zach s new appreciation for guitar is just one way Shane is constantly inspired to come to work. A lot of motivation for hourly work is you only have a short amount of time with the individual, and it has to change their life, he says. When we can use our time to utilize music like Zach has, it can be a great coping skill, and it s working for him. PAGE 7

8 Scheduled to Serve in January 8:00 SERVICE Communion Assistant: January Pr. Wayne Weissenbuehler January Brandon Orth January Darwin Bunger January Carm McBeth January Marge Classen Lector: January Pr. Wayne Weissenbuehler January Mary Chicken January Darwin Bunger January Carm McBeth January Karen Cahill 10:30 SERVICE Ushers: Bob Engberg (head usher), Blake & Riley Ruther (January 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29); Larry & Nancy Johannsen (January 1 & 8); Ernie & Linda Voigt (January 15 & 22); Dan & Marcia Wiedemeier (January 29) Greeters: January Bob & Doris Speer Communion Assistants: January Joel Hanger January Steve Sanders January Lisa Weiler January John Larson January Paige Clements Lector: January Joanne Mohr January Betsy Wolf January John Larson January Darwin Bunger January Linda Voigt Acolyte: January Narisio Lotegeluaki January Brian Newberry January Matthew Dittner January Jacob Dittner January Nenyo Lotegeluaki Altar Guild: Lynn Sheagren family JANUARY BIRTHDAYS 3 - Andrew Deuitch 4 - Mark Smith 5 - Suzie Bray, Susan Simmons 7 - Jane Richter 9 - Larry Williams 10 - Natalie Good, Brent Ruther, Diane Scott 11 - Lisa Jacobs 12 - Linda Natzke, Sue Schoof, Craig Wyant 13 - Nenyo Lotegeluaki 14 - Jeff Bloomquist, Samantha Carruthers 16 - Matthew Dittner, Josh Myatt 17 - Matthew Dieterich, Rebecca Egerton, Jim Watts 18 - Ryne Smith 19 - Marianne Darnall 20 - Owen Gulick, Joy Shah 22 - Jonathan Arnold, Mary Bloomquist, Jeremy Jacobs 23 - Justin Ruther, Mark Siegle, Jerry Smith 25 - Keith Bloomquist, Cosette Smith 26 - Larry Johannsen 27 - Matt Brockway, Barbara Springer 28 - Alice Gallerick 30 - Lengai Lotegeluaki 31 - Jacob Dittner JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES 2 Abe and Melissa Lambert Keith and Marcia Taeger Lee and Shelly Kerr Betsy and Jerry Hysell Mike and Cristy Schmidt Pat and Dennis Hudgel Mission Statement Welcoming all people to share in God s blessings by strengthening our commitment to God through prayer, fellowship and service. *Let the office know if we have missed your birthday or anniversary. If you prefer not to have your name included in the birthday and anniversary lists, please let us know. PAGE 8

9 1 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship January 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 8 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 11:30a-Worship & the Arts Comm. 5:00p-LIFT at Trinity 5:00-9:00p-Burlington Marathon Bridge group-social Hall & Kitchen 15 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 22 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 9:15a-Annual Meeting of Congregation 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 29 8:00a-Worship 9:15a-Choir Rehearsal 9:15a-Sunday School 10:30a-Worship 11:30a-Fellowship 12:00p-Potluck luncheon for Gloria 2 3 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 9 7:00p-Men s Bible Study 10 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 12:30p-Membership Comm. -Happy Joe s 4:30p-Communications Comm. 7:00p-PEO-Library (Mohr) 7:00p-Piecemakers/Quilters -Conference Room 8:00p-Christian Ed. Comm.- online :30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 12:00p-Staff Meeting 6:30p-Congregation Council-Conference Room 23 7:00p-Men s Bible Study 24 9:30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm :30a-Pastors Text Study 12:00p-Alanon-Conf. Rm. 4 9:30a-Ruth/Mary Elizabeth Circle-Social Hall 4:30p-Open Circle-Library 7:30p-Confirmation-Social Hall 11 9:00a-Piecemakers/Quilters 7:30p-Confirmation-Social Hall 18 6:00p-3rd Wednesday supper-social Hall 7:00p-Holden Evening Prayer 7:30p-Confirmation-Social Hall 25 9:00a-Piecemakers/Quilters 7:30p-Confirmation-Social Hall 8:00p-Youth Group/Bible Study 5 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm. 6:00p-Property Committee- Conference Room 7:00p-Sarah Circle 12 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm. 6:30p-Executive Committee-Conference Room 19 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm. 26 9:30a-Weekly Bible Study- Conf. Rm.. 6 4:00p-Barker birthday party-social Hall & kitchen 13 11:00a-1:00p-King s Daughter s & Son s What- So-Ever Circle-Social Hall/ Kitchen 20 12:00-4:00p-PEO-Social Hall & Kitchen-D. Brinkley :00a-TAH packaging :00p-Messiah Lunch Bunch

10 MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH 2411 West Avenue BURLINGTON, IOWA Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Burlington, IA Permit No. 360 Return Service Requested JANUARY 2017 MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH Phone: Fax: Sunday Mornings Worship 8:00 a.m. Sunday School and Adult Bible Study 9:15 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Third Wednesdays Supper 6:00 p.m. Holden Evening Prayer 7:00 p.m. This month Weekly Bible Study - every Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. Confirmation - every Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. Piecemakers/Quilters - January 11 & 25 at 9:00 a.m.; January 10 at 7:00 p.m. 3rd Wednesday (January 18)-Supper (6:00 p.m.), Holden Evening Prayer (7:00 p.m.) Take Away Hunger packaging - at the mall on Saturday, January 14th at 10:00 a.m. Annual Meeting of Congregation - Sunday, January 22nd at 9:15 a.m.