News from Zion. News from Zion

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1 News from Zion News from Zion Z i o n e v a n g e l i c a l c h u r c h ~ S c o t t s b l u f f, N e b r a s k a J U L Y, Z i o z i o n s c o t t s b l u f f. c o m W w w. z i o n s c o t t s b l u f f. c o m F ro m t he pa s to r s d e s k... The Prayer Garden Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all. Jeremiah 31:12b NKJV There is something about gardens and prayer that just seem to go together. Something about digging in the rich scent of the earth in the cool corners of the day that relaxes the mind, unstresses the body and gives pause to contemplate and communicate with our heavenly Father. In many ways I consider the Book of Psalms to be the Bible s prayer garden. A place within the Book of books to draw near to God s heart, to listen in on tender prayers lifted in faith long ago and to make them our own. That s what we re doing this summer together on Sundays as we zero in on a variety of favorite Psalms in church and I encourage you to take those Psalms home and make them a part of your prayer life and practice. Someone has said, There is a Psalm for every sigh of the human heart. And I believe that is true. The Psalms cover the vast array of life circumstances and emotions from on top of the world with praise unto God to trembling on the very brink of despair and even death. Covering a vast range of approaches to prayer including P l e a s e Ta k e n o t e... Mission Prayer Partners for JULY, CHIEF/Huron Claus 13 - DeSouza/FIM COMMUNION Sunday, July 6th Communion will be served following the 8:30 and 10:30 service. 20-4C s/annual Conference 27 - The Gideon s International praise, repentance, trust, petition, worship and more, the Psalms is the ideal prayer manual to teach us about prayer, how to pray and even to be used as a path to prayer in itself. The Psalms can be rewritten in your own words to make them personal pleas of prayer and praise or they can be used just as they are written. They can be read silently or aloud, sung alone or with others, or even read responsively in prayer as a congregation. They can be used as complete Psalms for our prayers or one can pick out a few choice verses here and there to pray, memorize and meditate upon. In the course of the summer we will cover only a handful of favorite Psalms but the Book of Psalms is one of the longest in the Bible with no less than 150 short chapters. Let me encourage you, whether working in the garden or sitting back in a quiet corner of you home, to take the Psalms with you and make it your companion in prayer as you approach the King of Kings and Lord of Lords from right where you are. May it open your heart to His, and may you rejoice in the many treasures you find while digging and harvesting there. Pastor Garry Get your newsletter first and in color if you receive it via . Just drop us a note at zion@zionscottsbluff.com and we ll put you on our list. Give it a try for one month... if you don t like it, we ll happily switch you back. CARRY-IN DINNER Sunday, July 13th ~11:30 am Please bring a dish to share and a heart ready for fellowship! Our intention is purely to provide an opportunity to grow closer as a church family... so we would love to have you join us! CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED JULY 4TH

2 NEWS FROM ZION Page 2 Sympathies are extended to......scott & Wendee Powell on the death of Scott s grandmother, Oella Pedersen....family and friends of Pauline Ott....Whitne & Terry Lofink and family on the passing of Whitne s grandmother, Audette Ostendorf. Congratulations to......josie Griess on her 6th Birthday, June 3rd!...Esther Schwindt on her 101st Birthday. Cards can be sent to: 2850 Campo Verde, Las Vegas, NV Harold Greeb on his 85th Birthday, June 11th....Sharon Woznick on her 71st Birthday....Scott Reifschneider on his graduation from Des Moines University with his Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies. Proud mom and dad are Jeff & Lori Reifschneider and grandparents Ken & Maureen Reifschneider....Pastor Andy on his 40th Birthday, 6/13!...Pastor Andy & Janae on their 16th Wedding Anniversary, June 13th....Debbie Pieper on her recent graduation from UNMC School of Nursing....Zach & Randi (Hughes) Pieper on their recent wedding here at Zion, June 14!...Vern Fegler on his birthday and Vern & Evelyn on their Anniversary....Beau Lofink for being selected a member of the West Nebraska All-Star Football team....sarah (Rose) and Devin Geiser on their recent wedding, June Nathan Schick on his birthday, June 27th. THANK YOU... Dear Church Family - Thank you for letting me and my family use the tables and chairs for my graduation party. I appreciate it very much! Beau Lofink Zion Church Family - Thank you very much for the book of devotions. Also, thank you for always supporting me as I grew up! Sincerely, Ryan Schwartzkopf The July KCMI Broadcast has been given in honor of the upcoming wedding of Shaylah Schadwinkel and Taylor Stephens by grandmother, Shirley Ruppel. Thanks to all who share in this ministry! October are still available for sponsorship. Just let Barb know at We are still recycling printer cartridges and cell phones - just bring them to the church office...and we will do the rest!

3 Page 3 General Fund for May, 2014 INCOME: Other Income 4.50 Sunday Offering 18, TOTAL INCOME $ 18, EXPENSES: Bldg. & Grounds $ Fund Raising Ministry 2, Mission Fund Office Staff Benefits 2, Staff Salary 9, Utilities 1, TOTAL EXPENSES: $ 16, TOTAL INCOME/EXPENSE $ 1, NEWS FROM ZION CIRCLE OF PRAISE Saturday, July 19th ~ 6:00 p.m. Carry-in Supper Hosting: Terry Martin & Ruth Hein Sign up at the Welcome Center LADIES GUILD: Ladies Guild was held June 2nd with 12 members present. Hostesses for the evening were Linda Peterson and Evelyn Fegler. Two songs were sung and a devotion was given by Linda based on Hebrews 11, Because of Faith". Prayer was led by Bridget. There is a summer Coffee Hour sign up sheet. Feel free to pick a Sunday to serve and enjoy the fellowship. OR bring in goodies that can go in the freezer for those times when no one has signed up. Thank you to all who have served! Did you know you can now listen to and/or see our church service on your home computer? Go to our website: and click on LISTEN ONLINE. Find the date of the message you d like to see or listen to and click on that date. A big thank you was given to Kathy Jay and Terry Martin for planning the wonderful Mother s Day Tea for the ladies of the church in May. In the business part of our meeting, the Treasurer's report was given. There was no old business. In new business, a sign up sheet will be put at the Welcome Center for the Ladies Guild Picnic to be held in August. There will be no meeting in July. In other business, a discussion was held about the Coffee Hour. The Guild was asked if they could help to make sure that on the Sundays when no one has signed up, that we could check the freezer and prepare a couple of trays of goodies for Coffee Hour between services. We closed with the Lord s Prayer. Teri Erdman

4 NEWS FROM ZION Page 4 MISSIONS: July Mission Project 2014 Camp Rock S more and More Drive At Camp Rock there are many programs and maintenance supply needs that are crucial to make the summer run smoothly as well as aiding them in their year-round ministry. Listed below are some of the many items that are needed at camp. Your support and donations make a tremendous difference! If you would like to make a donation from our S more and More Drive wish list, please place the items you would like to donate in the box labeled S more and More Drive by the Mission s table in the foyer. Thank you in advance for your donations and your support!!! Above all else, don t forget to remember to lift them up in prayer as they continue to minister to kids and adults from around the Panhandle. Lysol Spray Window Cleaner Paper Towels Lysol Disinfectant Cleaner Toilet Bowl Cleaner Toilet Brushes Dish Soap Hand Soap Bleach Big Marshmallows Hershey s Chocolate Bars Graham Crackers Bulk Cans of: green beans, peaches, applesauce Large Bags of Cereal Tins of Coffee Boxes of Tea LED Light Bulbs Reams of 11x7 and 8x11 paper Reams of 8x11 Card Stock 6x8 Envelopes Business letter Envelopes Stamps Trash Bags (all sizes) Permanent Markers

5 Page 5 ~ AWANA NEWS ~ I am starting off this month s article by playing a bit of catch up on a couple of thank-you s that I failed to mention last month: First thank you is to one of our Sparks Student Leaders, Holly Walker, who was also serving out her title as Miss Northwestern Outstanding Teen during this past club year. She had told us at the end of the club year that she had chosen to fundraise for Zion AWANA Club and was calling it Tabs for Truth. She asked us to start saving the tabs off of the top of our pop cans (or the whole empty can!). At one of the last club meetings this past club year, she presented us with $ that she had collected. Woohoo! Thank you, Holly, for blessing Zion AWANA Clubs!!! My second thank you is to Pastor Andy Griess for organizing an Overnighter for the T&T and Trek Boys!!! Thank you, as well to the male leaders and at least one dad that made the Friday night... into Saturday morning before Jamboree a really fun time for our 3 rd 8 th grade boys!!! They went on an afterdark hike, played all kinds of games in the Ministry Center (NOT video games), had lots of food and VERY LITTLE sleep!!! Great job, guys!!! UPCOMING EVENTS: Swimming Reward Party Now that my life has slowed down a bit, I will be making calls to schedule this and get invitations sent out to all clubbers that qualified. Start watching for your invitations in the mail beginning mid-july! NEWS FROM ZION Staff Picnic Yes, it is already time to start thinking about this, Staff!!! I am looking at the week of August 17 th. Let s tentatively plan on Wednesday, August 20 th at 6:30 p.m. I will give more details next month &/or just send out the invitations. Kick-Off 2014 We felt like we had a successful day last year combining efforts with the Sunday School Staff to do the all-church picnic they sponsor and then have our Kick-Off later on in the afternoon. We are tentatively planning the same thing on September 7 th. Please make plans to attend!!! As I mentioned in one of my past newsletter articles, we lost several staff members at the end of this past club year. If you have been thinking about joining our staff, please get in touch with me. The only job requirements are: 1) You must love kids! 2) You must be willing to commit approximately three hours of time on Sunday afternoons and 3) You MUST have put your trust in Christ as your Lord & Savior!!! This is one of the most rewarding (non-paying) jobs you will ever have!!! God Is In Control, Cheryl Rose, Commander

6 NEWS FROM ZION SUNDAY SCHOOL: Bible School 2014: Gangway to Galilee, where we studied God's Amazing Grace. Our mission project for the week was the Matthew Project. This ministry feeds a lot of very needy people in our valley. The Director met with the children on Monday. He brought the truck and the kids got to go out and tour the truck and see how the Matthew Project worked. We challenged them with a goal of $ for the week. I am happy to say we reached that goal by Friday and in fact went over to $ that we presented to the Matthew Project to help buy ingredients and even the containers to put the food in. Thank you to all who helped and to our church members who so graciously gave to help also. I think the kids, as well as the adults, were shocked that there are so many needy families in our valley. I am sure when they see the Matthew Project truck parked, they will recognize it and know they did something to help. We had so much fun with crafts and games; the younger kids did tie-dye shirts, the older kids made cupcakes and decorated them to look like fish; they made fresh fruit popsicles, and blue jello cups for everyone on Friday. There is always an awe-inspiring moment that happens every year in Bible School. This year, we were asking trivia questions and giving out prizes and a little boy, about 4 or 5 years old, answered the question and he came to the front. There were girl and boy prizes and without thinking about it, he picked a pink Duck Dynasty blanket. I wondered if I should say something to him and thought he might be poked fun at by the other boys. Without hesitation, it was what he wanted. He went back to his seat, and his little baby sister, who was 3, was sitting with him. He immediately gave her the blanket, and hugged and kissed her. The other kids were so taken by this they just roared and clapped for him; it brought tears to my eyes! Who does that at his age? I found out that some of the older kids and my daughter told me that at Awana, whenever he gets anything from the share board, he wants nothing for himself; he gives it to his little sister. It took a 5 year old to make me examine my life. When was the last time I gave a hug, a smile, a compliment, maybe a word of encouragement to someone? What was really neat is that the kids got what he was doing, and I saw Micah Schick picking out a pink flip flop to make Gracie something (who couldn't be there) and then I saw Anna making Gracie something to take home to her. Like the song says, it only takes a match to get a fire going and to spread God s love. Andy did an amazing job with devotions; he even created a storm and the kids learned so much. Ephesians 2:8, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is Page 6 a gift of God. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped in any way ~ the treats were amazing!!! We will be planning stage of our annual Sunday School Picnic combined with Awana Kickoff for September 7th. Please watch for details. Have a very blessed summer. Sharon, Robin, Deb YOUTH: For the first time since I've been here, we are continuing a weekly youth group activity into the summer. Because we haven't tried anything like this until this year, I did not know what to expect. The first few weeks have been a mixture of promising and disappointing results. On the negative side, we have only been averaging 10 to 12 students per week for the first three weeks. At the same time, each week we saw several students who were not there the week before. If we can get all the students who have been coming to all come on the same night, we'll end up with a pretty good group. I also have several who have promised they will start coming as soon as softball/baseball league wraps up. The most exciting part of summer youth group for me has been the response to the lessons. I am attempting to teach a group including those 6th grade through college age on some of the difficult questions Christians face in defending our faith. I have been quite happy with the way our junior high students have understood and interacted with this subject matter that is very challenging for them. The other opportunity our students have to get involved and grow in their faith each week is on Sundays. We have combined all students 7th grade through college for Sunday School and are working through the book of 1 Peter. The subject matter of this book is so relevant for students and works together perfectly with what we are studying on Thursday nights. I love teaching this book. So far this summer, I have felt really good about the response those who have been attending Sunday School have had to the book. The only real disappointment is that many of our students are not participating. My hope is that you would join me in praying regularly that the families of our church would more fully take advantage of the opportunities we provide for their students to grow deeper in their faith. Andy

7 Page 7 NEWS FROM ZION Zion Evangelical Church Calendar JULY, 2014 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY :30 Staff Meeting 6 7 7:00 Church Board Mtg 7:15 Zion Softball 8 CAMP ROCK ~ Discovery Camp/K-2nd Grade 9 10 Wedding Rehearsal Schadwinkel/ Stephens Wedding Schadwinkel/ Stephens :30 Prayer Team V 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct 10:30 KCMI Broadcast 11:30 Communion 7:15 Zion Softball NO CAMP ROCK ~ Senior Camp/Pastor Andy 13 9:30 Prayer Team I 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct. 11:30 Carry-In Dinner 4:00 Vespers/Residency Circle of Praise 6:00 p.m. CAMP ROCK ~ Core Camp/7th & 8th Grade :30 Prayer Team II 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct. 4:00 Vespers/Residency 4 C s CONFERENCE/Rhode Island CAMP ROCK ~ Intermediate Camp/5th & 6th Grade Valley Food Pantry 1:00 p.m :30 Prayer Team III 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct. 5:30 Youth to Water World CAMP ROCK ~ Junior Camp/3rd & 4th Grade