OUR SAVIOUR S LUTHERAN CHURCH 1524 WEST MAIN, DURANT, OK

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1 OUR SAVIOUR S LUTHERAN CHURCH 1524 WEST MAIN, DURANT, OK Our Saviour s News JUNE/JULY 2016 PASTOR S COR NER How many folks can identify with this or a similar scenario? Someone in your household tells you that there is a drip in the shower head and no amount of turning the knob will stop it. You hear it said to you and think to yourself that it is only a drip and so you do not worry too much about it at the time. About a month later you get reminded about the drip again because now it is two or three drops at a time and no amount of turning the knob tighter will get it to stop. You think to yourself that you will check it sometime later because it is only a couple of drips and only adds up to a small cup of leakage so it can wait for awhile. Then a few months later you get reminded about the drip because now it is two or three drops every ten seconds or so. You finally take the shower head apart and look at it but do not find anything wrong so you put it back together again and leave it alone with its dripping. After all, it only adds up to a small plastic bucket worth of water in one day s worth of dripping, and you can use that water to water your flowers around the house so not all is lost. I can guess that you are getting the idea about now that eventually you will come home to find your bathroom under water because of the slow yet worsening drip has become a possible catastrophic problem and needs plumbers etc. to maybe rectify the situation and sometimes may require a complete change of the system. We have been in discernment here at Our Saviour s for the last couple of years about what our mission is in this place, and who we are called to be in the Durant area. We have begun to put some of those discernments in play, such as the Back Door music venue, and also have determined that we are still called in this place to be a Lutheran worshipping community. We are in a good place to begin being more visible and using our property in more intentional ways which will help us move from maintenance to mission. We are a very generous congregation and give at a rate which is, quite frankly, astounding given our size. That being said, however, I bring the above scenario up because that is the way churches quite a bit of the time look at their financial situations. We have known for several years that we were slowly (dripping) our savings every year to make up the difference at the end of each year. We bring it up at every annual meeting and several times during the year. Several of us have addressed it in newsletter articles, etc. Yet, it is our human nature to not really think about it because it is just a drip. The crux for us now, however, is at the end of this year we will be out of our savings, and we will start the next year out with only offerings that come in. This situation is by no means unique to our congregation. Most faith contexts, even those with more members, find themselves in similar or worse places with their finances. We will be hearing more about, and being more intentional about, stewardship (not just the financial piece), in the next six months, but the financial piece is important to our ministry at this time. The drip in the shower had the potential to become a bigger problem than we would like it to be, and since we do have much to be hopeful for moving ahead here in our context, let us continue to work on ways that we can fund the ministry of Grace in Christ that God has clearly called us to be about in this place, Our Saviour s Lutheran. See you in Church, Pastor Jeff

2 P A G E 2 Church council notes Our Saviour s Lutheran Church Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Pastor Jeff Corson opened the meeting with prayer. In Attendance: Rhonda Collier, Shanetha Collier, Evelyn Engel, Skip Lamb, Martha Landua, Mary Slice, Sarah Weissenbeuhler, Pr. Jeff Corson and Trey Collier. The meeting began with a meal celebrating Rhonda Collier s birthday and moved on to the business of the church. The minutes of the April 9, 2016 council meeting and the April 30, 2016 financial report were presented for approval. Discussion was held concerning OSLC s current financial situation. Trey reported that finances are as was expected for close to halfway through the year and that we are on pace to deplete our accounts by the end of the year. We should have no cash flow problems until the end of the year. It was decided that a letter to congregational members concerning our finances should be written by Pastor Jeff, Rhonda and Trey. Martha will type and distribute the letter by USPS. Rhonda moved to approve the minutes and financial report as presented; second by Evelyn; motion carried. Committee Reports were presented by the following representatives: Shanetha () - Details of the May 20th Game Night are settled. June 12th is the date of OSLC s annual Ice Cream Social at the Lamb s home from 5-7 pm. Everyone is asked to bring ice cream AND a side dish. Hot dogs will be provided. No activities will be held in July. Sarah (Education) - An ad hoc committee has been formed. Attending the 1st meeting were Robin & Kevin Bell, Jenny & Brady Fox, Sarah W. and Pr. Jeff. Discussion centered on intergenerational and family Christian Education events with the exception of Middle and High School students who would enjoy their own Bible study, meal and community projects. Mary () - On June 5th the Chicago Folk Service will be used for seven weeks. July 24th the Morning Prayer Service will be the worship format for 7 weeks. Special services include Sept. 11th God s Work, Our Hands Sunday and Sept. 25th an outdoor service. Skip (Stewardship) - Skip started a discussion about ideas to highlight our financial Stewardship program. Several suggestions were given and Skip will evaluate them to decide what he would like to pursue. Evelyn (Ministries) - Evelyn is mailing cards to non-attendees and others who need support. The church Garage Sale will be June 11th. Items can be delivered to the church between June 6 and 10th. Set up will be Friday pm and early morning on Sat. to move tables outdoors. The council and youth are working together to get items ready for the sale. Pastor Jeff: - A New Member Class will be held soon. Pastor attended a Domestic & Sexual Abuse program in OKC & the Mission Assembly. He met with the Bryan County United Way to request funding for the Durant Ministerial Alliance. He will be gone the second weekend in Aug. to attend his 35th high school reunion. Other Business: The ELCA dedicated day of service, God s Work, Our Hands will be Sept. 11th. Rhonda read a communication from Briarwood concerning a Youth Service Project and other events to be held. Mary will be publishing a combination June/July Newsletter. The next council meeting is June 15th. Martha moved to adjourn the meeting; second by Rhonda; motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Martha Landua, Secretary

3 P A G E 3 Ice cream social What s the best way to celebrate summer? With ice cream, swimming and fellowship! Join us for the annual OSLC ice cream social! Hot dogs will be provided, so we are asking the congregation to please bring an ice cream AND a salad or side to share. Swimming will be available, so please wear your suits if you want to get wet! There will also be outdoor games as well as general fellowship time. We hope all of you will join us for this fun and refreshing event! When: Sunday, June 12th Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Where: Skip and Danelle Lamb s house (Maps to be provided closer to date) Happy Birthday June 05 Steve Remshardt 07 Paislee Johnson 10 Brady Fox 17 Robin Bell 18 Emalynn Gray 20 Jenny Fox 29 Evelyn Engel 30 David Odem July 03 Joanna Nannestad 14 Barbie Noltkamper 14 David Noltkamper 23 Chris Comer 24 Chaz Johnson 29 Shantyle Remshardt Swimming Hot Dogs Ice Cream DON T MISS OUT ON THE FUN! There will be no Seeker s Bible Study in June, July or August. We will resume in the fall. Have a fun summer! OSLC BENEFIT GARAGE SALE It s time to clean out your closet, garage, storage shed and under the bed! It s time for Our Saviour s Lutheran Church Benefit Garage Sale! The date is Saturday, June 11th, and we welcome volunteers to help get our treasures out the door in the morning and greet our many customers. You may start bringing your goodies to the Hall on June 5th. Please price your donations except for clothing. Helpers are needed on Friday, June 10th at 10 am to sort, price and have ready to carry outdoors on Saturday morning. So mark your calendars to help us out on Friday and/or Saturday. Current plans are to open up the sale at 8 a.m. (or before) and close by mid afternoon. Proceeds will benefit the Lutheran Youth Organization. Happy Anniversary June 08 Leslie & Joseph Flint 09 Meghan & Colton Bacu 30 Barb & Kevin Kusch July 05 Joanna & Josh Nannestad 07 Lauren & Chaz Johnson 15 Robin & Kevin Bell 20 Kathleen & Brandon Destination: 16th & Main Durant, OK June 11, 2016

4 PAGE 4 OUR SAVIOUR S NEWS BRYAN COUNTY Pregnancy center A huge thank you to those of you who took home a baby bottle from the Bryan County Pregnancy Center and have been filling it with coins, bills and/or checks for their annual fund raising Baby Bottle Campaign. All baby bottles are due back on Father s Day, June 19th. You may bring them back earlier, if need be, and give to Mary Slice or Martha Landua. July Noisy offering The July 31st Noisy Offering will be given to the Wesley Campus Ministry. Save your change and make a huge noise when placing it in the offering plate that morning. Bills and checks are very much welcomed. Thank you for whatever you can give. The council designated both the May and July Noisy Offerings to be given to the Wesley Campus Ministry to help them minister to the Southeastern University students they serve. Just like our own church, they are on shaky financial grounds and your donations will help them tremendously as they begin the fall semester in August. Please check out the pamphlet posted on the bulletin board to learn about the various worship, volunteer and fellowship activities offered to students at the Wesley Center. On a 1944 radio address from the White House, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do that is by not voting at all! So Vote in the Primary Election on June 28th! GOD S WORK. OUR HANDS SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2016 On Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will again join together for God s work. Our hands, Sunday. Whether we clean parks and roadways, visit the elderly and homebound or bake cookies and write thank you notes for first responders, this dedicated day of service celebrates the work you do every day and gives us the opportunity to share God s love with all people. The 2016 God s work. Our hands, Sunday will also mark the 15-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Our Saviour s council is exploring opportunities for us to participate in the 2016 God s work. Our hands, Sunday. Watch for details in future newsletters and church bulletins. Mark your calendar now to participate with your fellow OSLC members in this dedicated day of service in our community and with ELCA Lutherans throughout the USA No adult continuing education this summer! Daughter texting to her Dad: Daddy: I am coming home to get married soon, so get out your checkbook. I am in love with a man who is far away from me. I am in Australia and he lives in Scotland. We met on a dating web site, became friends on Facebook, had long chats on Whatsapp. He proposed to me on Skype, and now we ve had two wonderful months of relationship through Viber. My beloved and favorite Dad, I need your blessing, good wishes and a really big wedding. Lots of love and thanks. Lilly. Dad replied with this text: My dear Lilly: Like wow! Cool!! I d suggest you get married on Twitter, have fun on Tango, buy your kids on Amazon, and pay for it all through Paypal. Oh, and when you get fed up with this new husband, you can sell him on ebay. No need to thank me. Lots of love, Dad

5 P A G E 5 JUNE 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Steve Remshardt & 5-7 pm Ice Cream Social at Lamb s pm Prayer Walk Bring items for Benefit Garage Sale M-F Paislee Johnson Joseph & Leslie Flint Meghan & Colton Bacu Brady Fox 10 am? Set up for Benefit Garage Sale 8 am? OSLC Benefit Garage Sale Flag Day 5:15 pm Comm. 6:30 pm Council 9am 4 pm Quilters Emalynn Gray Father's Day Baby Bottles due back Jennie Fox & *2pm Baby Shower See below am-7 pm Primary Election in Hall Evelyn Engel David Odem Kevin & Barb Kusch *Baby Shower for Barbie, David & baby Dawson Noltkamper, June 26 at 2 pm at Choctaw KOA A Manly Lumberjack Lunch will be served. You are asked to bring a book instead of a card to help start Dawson s library. See invitation on narthex bulletin board.

6 P A G E 6 July 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 Overnight Christ Lutheran, Austin, youth spend night at OSLC 3 Happy B day Joanna Nannestad 4 Independence Day 5 6 pm Prayer Walk & Barbie & David Noltkamper 15 Robin & Kevin Bell 16 9 am 4 pm Quilters No council meeting Newsletter articles due Chris Comer 24 & Happy B day Chaz Johnson Shantyle Remshardt & Noisy Offering

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