OUR SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH WAYNE, NEBRASKA PRESENTS: The Mission of Our Savior: That all may know Christ, grow in Christ and joyfully go with Christ.

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1 OUR SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH WAYNE, NEBRASKA PRESENTS: MONTHLY The Mission of Our Savior: That all may know Christ, grow in Christ and joyfully go with Christ. God s work. Our hands. V OLUME XVII I SSUE AUGUST 2012 Dear Members of Our Savior Lutheran Church, While I know no poem greater than The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart by William Butler Yeats, and confess a personal kinship for the poetry of Robert Bly, every so often I run across a poem that addressees life s mysteries in such a profound way. One such poem is Sonnet XLVIII by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Poetic language is the only language that I know of that can carry weight...that can express thoughts and feelings that we all have in our hearts but are unable to share. As Saul Bennett said, this poem addresses majestically life s semicircular round-trip route, with a concluding line that closes the book with an astonishing insight. PB Now by the path I climbed, I journey back. The oaks have grown; I have been long away. Taking with me your memory and your lack I now descend into a milder day; Stripped of your love, unburdened of my hope, Descend the path I mounted from the plain; Yet steeper than I fancied seems the slope And stonier, now that I go down again. Warm falls the dusk; the clanking of the bell Faintly ascends upon this heavier air; I do recall those grassy pastures well: In early spring they drove the cattle there. And close at hand should be a shelter, too. From which the mountain peaks are not in view. CHOIR REHEARSAL SCHEDULE CHANGES Choirs will begin rehearsing once again on Thursday, August 23rd. Joyful Noise Handbell choir will rehearse at 6:30pm and the Adult Choir will rehearse at 7:30pm. Rehearsals will continue on Thursday evenings. SOCIAL ROOM RENOVATION Renovation work continues in the social room. The tile floors and stage area have been removed. A new floor and front wall for the stage (storage) area are in place. Painting and floor and ceiling installation will begin soon. As the renovation project progresses, we continue to ask for your patience and understanding in not being able to use the area and look forward to the finished product. OF THE FOUNDATION The third quarter meeting of the Foundation Board of Our Savior Lutheran Church will be held Tuesday, August 16 th, at 7:00 p.m. All grant applications need to be turned in by Monday, August 8 th to be considered. Applications are available in the Church Office.

2 PAGE 2 V OLUME XVII I SSUE DOLLAR DOOR OFFERING Mission Field Nebraska Each month our Dollar Door Offering (offering plate in center of the Narthex) goes to support the efforts of a different ministry. The August offering will go to Mission Field Nebraska. What is Mission Field Nebraska? The Great Commission calls all of Christ s followers to share the Good News. In the Nebraska Synod, we heed that call for those in our backyard who need to experience God s love by participating in and supporting our Mission Field Nebraska ministries. Mission Field Nebraska ministries build partnerships that address critical needs within the Nebraska Synod by caring for those in need providing a spiritually welcoming place for newcomers to our communities, our state and our nation seeking to share the Gospel in places where the Church has traditionally been unfamiliar No matter the locale or mission, each Mission Field Nebraska ministry takes to heart Christ s words at the end of Matthew s Gospel: Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20) SHARE YOUR BLESSINGS In an effort to provide continued support to the Wayne Food Pantry; each month we will designate particular items that the pantry is in need of. A blue basket is available in the Narthex to collect the donated items. For August: Peanut Butter, jelly, jams, honey. Juices not needing refrigeration; Dry, Boxed or packaged items rice, complete meals, ramen noodles, Jell-O and puddings, cereal (both hot and cold), flour, sugar, Bisquick, pancake mix, Rice-a-Roni meals, pasta of all kinds, boxed meals of all kinds, instant potatoes, dressing, sweet bread mixes, cookie mixes; Baby formula and food, evaporated milk. WISH LIST Haven House has shared with us a Wish List of items needed by them when servicing clients. They have also provided a clear tote (available in the Narthex) in which to gather the items requested. If you d like to help out, items needed include: paper towels, stamps, dish soap, laundry detergent, travel or full size deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, and underwear (female, all sizes). For more information about Mission Field Nebraska, please go to: Our Mission Field Nebraska ministries: Followers of Christ Prison Ministry (Lincoln) Fontenelle Community Church (North Omaha) Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey (South Omaha) Lakota Lutheran Center and Chapel (Scottsbluff) Lutheran Metro Ministries (Omaha) Sudanese Outreach Ministry (Omaha/Lincoln) Table Grace Cafe (Downtown Omaha) Todos los Hijos de Dios (Southeast Nebraska) United Asian Ministry (Dakota City) The Welcome Center (Lexington) FAIR TRADE COFFEE & CHOCOLATE The Women of ELCA has chocolate candy bars and coffee (de-caffeinated and regular) available for purchase. The chocolate and coffee is offered in support of World Hunger efforts through Fair Trade. The items are available in the church office during office hours. Fair Trade is a way to eliminate the middle person so that those from third world countries get a fair price for their crops.

3 MONTHLY PAGE 3 PASTORAL ACTS Marvin Eugene Rutenbeck, son of Micky & Katie Rutenbeck was baptized on July 8, He was born May 2, His sponsors are Jaret Olson and Teddy & Lea Hall. Tate William Jensen, son of Tyler & Cara Jensen was baptized on July 15, He was born June 28, His sponsors are Tyler Huges and Christian Conrad. Welcome Baby! Join us on Sunday, August 12th (following worship) as we welcome Tate William Jensen into the Our Savior family! Light refreshments coffee, juice, muffins, cookies, fruit will be served in the Narthex. IN OUR PRAYERS... Tate was born on Thursday, June 28th to Cara & Tyler Jensen. Cara is our Youth Discipleship Leader and Tyler serves as one of the F.L.o.C (high school youth) leaders. We remember in prayer those who were hospitalized in the last month: Ben Bruflat, Cara Jensen & Tate William, Melvin Claussen, Inez Baker, Vernon Bauermeister, Lois Youngerman, Dorrine Liedman, Don Koll. YOU VISITED ME The Visitation Ministry Group meets once each month to sign and send cards to church members and to share a visit with friends. No meeting was held in July. Fifty-one Thinking of You cards were sent and one Baby card was sent. Please come and be a part of our Visitation Ministry Group. This month s meeting is on Wednesday, August 15, at 1:00 p.m. For more information about this wonderful ministry, please contact Erna Karel ( ) or the church office ( ). Katie Hoskins Thank you so much for the Gordon M. Nedergaard Scholarship! I ll be attending Wayne State in the fall and this money will help out. Also, thanks for all the encouragement through the years as I grew in my faith. Bob & Betty Morris Thank you to Pastor Bob and the Our Savior Lutheran church family. Thank you for the cards and prayers when we were hospitalized. We appreciate the bulletins and notes that are attached to them. Our Church family has helped us to be strong physically, emotionally and faithfully. If the only prayer you say in your whole life is - thank you that would suffice. Meister Eckehart

4 PAGE 4 V OLUME XVII I SSUE A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT WE SAY YES! Saying Yes to God is risky. A sensible person simply wouldn t do it. Think about it. The prayer that many of us hear in church on Pentecost goes like this: God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as you sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit. Kindle in us the fire of your love, and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom That s a very nice prayer. Who can argue with open our hearts and strengthen our lives? The prayer asks very large things in very comfortable phrases. Certainly, this prayer lets us sound like we are saying Yes to God but without taking any unnecessary chances. Your Stewardship Committee has chosen the theme We Say Yes! for our fall stewardship program. We Say Yes! is designed to guide us toward accountable stewardship, an accountability drawn from our own answers to the questions God asks others in the Bible. It is an exercise through which we will discover a deeper revelation of the mystery of the gospel, and a profound desire to live in grateful and generous response to God s blessing and incarnate gift of life. We will be addressing four themes based on the following four questions: 1. Where are you? 2. What have you done? 3. Where is your brother/sister/neighbor? 4. Who do you say that I am? Each of these questions calls us to accountability as the loved children of a gracious God. We have been given the gifts of life, love, and salvation. The gospel message is that Christ died that we may have life. What a gift! What a treasure! And having been given the gift, we respond with grateful joy that honors the gift and the giver. The earliest stories in Scripture establish human accountability. The story of the fall turns on God s questions to God s erring creatures: Where are you? and What have you done? Adam and Eve broke the limits of freedom that God had established, and they were called to account. Similarly, the story of Cain and Abel establishes another accountability for humankind. The center of the story is God s question to Cain, Where is your brother? And Cain s response, Am I my brother s keeper? is answered with a resounding, Yes, as Cain is held to account for his action against his brother. Fundamental to being human beings created in the image of God, is that we are accountable to God. God continues to call out the questions: Where are you? What have you done? Where is your brother? A life of faith is a life of relationship with God. Think of that. To whom do we feel most accountable in our lives? Most likely, it is those to whom we feel closest and most loving. What kind of relationship can there be if we do not have a sense of accountability to the other person? We recognize that there are things asked of us in a relationship and that if we ignore those things, the relationship suffers. The church exists to support, nurture, equip, and send the faithful out into the world to share the gospel with others, to tell all who hear that God forgives sins. God calls us into community and into relationship. How do we answer that call? It begins by saying Yes, I will do my part. Yes, I will be a trustworthy servant and steward for Christ. We are stewards of God s mysteries. Christ is not as concerned about the end product of our lives or all that we accomplish as he is that we be found trustworthy along the path of our life journey. Following Christ and living as a faithful steward may include a few unexpected turns. Yet we are caught up in Christ s story. We might just be amazed at how fulfilling the whole process can be. Say Yes to God s call, become a steward of God s mysteries. God has some wonderful surprises in store for you. In the next Monthly s we will address the four themes based on Where are you? What have you done? Where is your brother/sister/neighbor? Who do you say that I am? STEWARDSHIP GENERAL FUND GIVING As of July 16, 2012 June 15, 2012 Balance $20, Expenses $31, Receipts $38, July 16, 2012 Balance $27, AVERAGE WEEKLY WORSHIP Attendance for July: 198

5 MONTHLY PAGE 5 HOUSES FOR HEALTH UPDATE... We received an updates from Bob Kasworm on June 17 th and July 13 th regarding the sixth and seventh Houses for Health that we are building in Tanzania. Bob writes, Dear all at Our Savior, Well once again I went on foot to check out your houses. I am happy to report that your house #6 is finished...and the family has actually already moved in. See attached pictures of Upendeo Lema and children Michale, Widimi, and Jeremiah. I was again struck by just how poor this family is and yet scratching to get by... they were busy gathering sand and gravel which they can sell...if not for much. They have already partially moved in, even in advance of cleaning up the site. I then continued on up the mountain. It is still rainy season up in the area of your house #7. I found Julius and Roze Lema along with all three grandchildren at home. Good progress has been made as you can see of the three photos of the unpainted white house. They still need it to dry out enough so the lumber for the doors and shutters will not be swollen from the moisture. You will get a picture once finished...but it may be a while since it turned into an 8+ mile hike with 1,500 ft of elevation gain involved. Congratulations on the near completion of this series of Our Savior, Wayne houses. I know are going to be building two more and I will as always send you some information once we get to them. Thank you so much for your confidence in and support of this program to assist those truly in need here in Tanzania. Dear all at Our Savior, It has been good exercise to climb the climb the mountain to check on House #7 of Our Savior Wayne. As the attached picture shows, the house is now completed. I did not find anyone at home, but as I began descending I encountered Roze Lema who was carrying a load of fodder (on her head as is the style here) back to the milk cows at their house. She thought it very funny for me to ask to take such a picture, but I did so just the same. It is one of my favorite and I hope you think so too. Thanks to you all for this remarkable achievement in completion of 7 houses here in Africa! It must make God smile to know his people in far away Wayne are helping those most in need here. I will let you know about your houses #8 and #9 as we get to them in the months ahead. Thank you for your confidence and support. Bob Kasworm Alegent Health-Tanzania Bob Kasworm Machame Lutheran Hospital

6 PAGE 6 V OLUME XVII I SSUE JOY CIRCLE No meeting in August Women of the ELCA CIRCLE MEETINGS REBEKAH CIRCLE No meeting in August TABITHA CIRCLE No meeting in August CHARITY CIRCLE Wednesday, August 15, 7:30 p.m. Program: Organizational Meeting / Plarn Leader: Cindy Franzen, Connie Meyer VISITATION Wednesday, August 15, 1:00 p.m. QUILTING & SEWING No meetings during renovation EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING No meeting in August by Dorothy Wert Created, called and empowered: celebrating 25 years of ministry For three days in June of 1987, Lutheran Women gathered in Milwaukee, Wis. to form Women of the ELCA. As we celebrate 25 years of this organization, we re celebrating a tradition that extends back an additional 150 years. American Lutheran women have been coming together in community for service and study since 1837 when the first women s missionary society was formed in New York. The first national Lutheran women s organization, the Woman s Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the General Synod, was founded 42 years later in That s quite a legacy! The women who founded Women of the ELCA had incredible vision, creating governing documents that are both inspirational and flexible. Our church-wide constitution calls us to commit ourselves to full discipleship and oneness in Christ. We are to affirm the worth of each woman in the life and work of the organization while proclaiming and practicing inclusive unity. All entities within the ELCA and all expressions of Women of the ELCA are to function interdependently and share responsibility for fulfilling the common purpose. Leaders are to provide a form of leadership that supports and empowers others within the community. Our community of women is to work toward wholeness of the church. We have claimed and are practicing an anti racist identity. These incredible images of our community are set forth in Article III of the church-wide organization s constitution. Individually and collectively we have lived into many of these images and yet have fallen short of some of these aspirations. So it goes with those who are both saints and sinners. We thank God for God s grace that gives us new opportunities each day to live into the loving community the women who founded this organization imagined. By Linda Post Bushkofsky, Executive Director of Women of ELCA ALTAR GUILD Altar Guild workers for August: Joan Baier, Melia Hefti, Arlene Ostendorf, Norma Backstrom, Debbie Bargholz, Jeannine Anderson, Sharon Fleer, Lila Splittgerber, Donna Lutt. Please check your schedule for the date and time. We will be celebrating 25 Years of the Women of the ELCA throughout the next year and at our Spring Gathering. Let us clap our hands and sing Praise to the Lord. Called and saying, Yes, Dorothy WELCA President

7 MONTHLY PAGE 7 COUNCIL CORNER: The Council met on Monday, July 9, 2012 Pastor Fallon shared with council about the programing at the WSC WeLCoMe House. He shared excitement for this coming school year and that they would like to have an OSLC member serve on their advisory council. Work on the Social Room is progressing well. COMMITTEE MEETING NIGHT August 13, 6:00 PM For the Weekend Bulletin: by 11:00 a.m. each Thursday. For the Monthly Newsletter: 20th of the month. (Advance notice will be given of early deadlines.) Join us on Facebook! Call Committee has worked on interview questions and have done a mock interview. Council approved the replacement of an office computer. Stewardship Committee will use a program called Just Say Yes for this year s stewardship focus. The next regular meeting of the Church Council will be Monday, August 13 at 7pm. Pastor Bob will have devotions on chapter one of Missional Renaissance. This newsletter is published monthly as an update on the life and activities of Our Savior Lutheran Church 421 Pearl Street Wayne, Nebraska / Fax: 402/ Front Porch: 402/ Office oslc@oslcwayne.org revbob1950@gmail.com cara@oslcwayne.org mkanitz@oslcwayne.org mhansen@oslcwayne.org kris@oslcwayne.org afterschool@oslcwayne.org Website: A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Weekly Worship Opportunities: Saturday Evening: 6:00 PM Sunday Morning: 10:00 AM Sunday School, Adult Education &Coffee Hour: 9:00 AM Bob Oleson Interim Pastor Cara Jensen Youth Discipleship Leader Mark Kanitz Director of Music Kris Robinson Administrative Assistant Margaret Hansen Business Manager - Church Council - Darrel Heier President Sharon Garvin Vice President Kim Dunklau Secretary Chuck Rutenbeck Treasurer Lesa Backstrom Deb Hammer Tanya Heikes Ann Milliken Barb Stenwall John Vakoc

8 AUGUST ANNIVERSARIES AUGUST BIRTHDAYS 1 Jennifer Greve, Liam Wachter 2 Ryan Hank 3 David Olson 5 Sheryl Doring 7 Matt Becker, Jewell Schock 8 Byron Heier, Mia Nelsen, Bill Smith 9 Donna Claussen, Peg Schaffer 10 Craig Olson, Nate Sims 11 Grant Onderstal 12 Marcy Amundson, Steve Dinsmore, Ken Jorgensen, LaVern Ostendorf 13 Lynda Belt 14 Vera Hummel, Robert Sherman 15 DeAnn Behlers, Roy Gramlich 16 Carroll Baier, Jeremy Bauermeister, Kary Ellis, Karma Magnuson, Dylan Sokol 17 Shelley Jorgensen, Eileen Lutt, Bradley Woehler, 18 Lillian Bargstadt, Kim Becker, Jaydyn Jorgensen 19 Ellen Lueders 20 Natalie Bentjen 21 AJay Heine, 22 Zachery Gemelke, Kinnley McGuire, Ray Roberts, Judy Sherman 23 Debbie Bargholz, Shirley Gathje, Sheldon Onderstal, Brad Wieland 24 Erika Fink, Sierra Kravig, Lynette Lentz 25 Randy Bargholz, Melia Hefti 26 Andrea Blecke, John Geewe, Julie Grone, Janice Johnson 27 Sharon Garvin, Carol Novak, Joyce Sievers 28 Adrianna Perez, Jeanne Vezner 30 Pat Erwin, Maxine Olson 31 Catherine Hall, Sam Kurpgeweit 2 Stan & Barb Stenwall (38) 3 Kelly & Candace Petersen (10) 6 Matt & Kim Becker (1) 7 Joel & Shelley Jorgensen (19) 9 Alan & Madge Bruflat (32) Dan & Tanya Heikes (23) 11 Perry & Lesa Backstrom (28) Mike & Lori Dickes (33) Jerry & Kris Robinson (22) 14 David & Joan Baier (36) Mike & Peggy Hank (36) 16 David & Eileen Lutt (48) Steve & Annette Rasmussen (32) 17 Don & Judy Koenig (49) 18 Lowell & Kathy Johnson (44) Lawrence & Lavonne Smith (62) 20 Bill & Betty Reeg (46) Robert & Cynthia Sherman (24) 22 Don & Sandra Schulz (54) 23 Darrel & Phyllis Rahn (50) 25 Harvey & Bonnie Mohlfeld (49) 28 Peg & Jeff Schaffer (13) 29 Gerald & Julie Grone (48) Victor & Janet Kniesche (58) 31 Steve & Paula Gemelke (21) If we have missed your birthday or anniversary, please accept our apology and let the church office know. GRIEF RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUP is a special weekly seminar and support group for people who are grieving the death of someone close to them Grief Classes are offered each Tuesday evening, 6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m., August 7th through October 30th at Providence Medical Center, 1200 Providence Rd. Wayne. The classes are FREE and a snack is furnished For more information, please contact Sr. Deana Case at ( ) The program is presented by the Providence Medical Center Grief Support Team. You are welcome to begin attending the group at any session. Each is self-contained, so you do not have to attend in sequence. You will find encouragement and help whenever you begin.

9 Our Savior Lutheran Church 421 Pearl Street Wayne, Nebraska / O Magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3 August 2012 OUR SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH 421 Pearl Street Wayne NE Non-Profit Organization Postage Paid Wayne NE Permit #7 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Giving Thanks For: