ZION NEWS - July (A monthly publication of Zion Lutheran Church)

Transcription

1 1216 WEST 8TH ST - DAVENPORT IA (563) ZION NEWS - (A monthly publication of Zion Lutheran Church) V OL. 2015I SSUE 7 J ULY 1, 2015 Summer Worship at Zion continues Sundays - 9:00am with Word, music, and Sacrament, and celebration as brothers and sisters in Christ! Don t forget your every-sunday family reunions as we worship, pray and celebrate together. Remember, it s cool to come to church! Zion Community Dinner Wed., 15 th - 6:00pm It s a summer-time Pizza-party! Join your Zion family for food & fellowship with one another and our friends & neighbors! Thanks to Lloyd Bartling for donating the pizzas! All the rest of us need to do is round out the meal with fresh veggies and desserts. Sign up to bring what you can and/or help serve & clean-up across from the office. EVERYONE is invited to come and enjoy the great food & fellowship! ZION YOUTH Time to Mateo, Grace, Kate & Anna will be attending the 2015 Youth Gathering in Detroit, Kirby Winn and Pastor Karen will travel with them as adult leaders. 29,000 young people and leaders will be gathered around the theme Rise Up. There will be faith inspiring worship, relationship building and service in the community. They ll leave knowing that God brought them together for a purpose, and God sends them back out with a message for the world: Jesus is good news! Youth will be sent home with a mission to rise up together as followers of Jesus Christ who builds bridges, bears burdens, breaks chains and brings hope. Please keep the group in your prayers. The annual Zion Outdoor Worship & Family Picnic will be August 23 rd at the Fejevary Park Shelter Davenport IA (just 5 minutes from Zion!) Mark your calendars and watch for details in the next Zion News!

2 Zion News monthly W. 8th St - Davenport IA page 2 From the Pastor... Oh, praise the gracious pow r that tumbles walls of fear and gathers in one house of faith all strangers far and near; We praise you, Christ! Your cross has made us one! (ELW #651) As I write this we are still hearing funeral eulogies of the members of the Emmanuel AME church who were killed- as they studied God s word of peace. It is impossible to fathom such an act. In his eulogy, President Obama, said they were still living their faith when they died. Just days later there were bomb attacks in the Middle East, shootings from California to Philadelphia. And a local case of violence against a woman splashed across our headlines. It is a challenging and discouraging time. When we cannot muster the trust or the song, we rely on that of others. When we sing a hymn such as this one, we sing it relying on the faith of Jesus Christ. Sleeping in the boat on the storm Jesus knew the power of God would be present. On the cross the power of God won the battle of evil, sin and death. Yet, evil still tries to win the day. But our faith and hymns like this one remind us that God has won the day, through Jesus Christ. In the victory over sin, death and the power of evil, we are made one. We are united to that victory and we are sent into the world to demonstrate what being one means. Oh, praise persistent truth that opens fisted minds and eases from their anxious clutch the prejudice that blinds. Oh, praise inclusive love, encircling ev ry race, oblivious to gender, wealth, to social rank or place. In her statement following the shootings in Charleston, Bp. Eaton challenged us individually and as a community, I urge all of us to spend a day in repentance and mourning. And then we need to get to work. Each of us and all of us need to examine ourselves, our church and our communities. We need to be honest about the reality of racism within us and around us. We need to talk and we need to listen, but we also need to act. No stereotype or racial slur is justified. Speak out against inequity. Look with newly opened eyes at the many subtle and overt ways that we and our communities see people of color as being of less worth. Above all pray for insight, for forgiveness, for courage. The cross of Christ, that has made us one, gives us courage to repent, to examine, to tell the truth, and to act. How will we do this at Zion? Let s talk about how we will respond to the sin of racism that keeps us from being one in Christ. As we have that conversation, let s keep singing, We praise you, Christ! Your cross has made us one! Pastor Karen Ullestad Baptized into Aidan Lee Davis June 7, 2015 Alexander Robert Ciccotelli June 7, 2015 (at First Presbyterian, Davenport) New Life! Welcomed by Affirmation of Baptism Teena Davis June 7, 2015 Married Jonathan & Samantha (Hayen) Schroeder June 13, 2015 Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love may our lives together bear witness to your love.

3 Zion News monthly W. 8th St - Davenport IA page 3 Ever-Growing, Learning and Living our Faith in Community! WARM, WELCOMING WEDNESDAYS! at Zion continue in & August. Each Wed. we will have supper and activities 6:00-7:30pm. The grill will be ready for bring if you want to bring your own meat to cook, or bring a brown-bag supper or a salad to share followed by lots of fellowship and fun! Each week we ll sing, or play, or serve, or study the Bible. Invite your family or a friend. Bring your own comfortable chairs. We ll gather in the north entrance patio. An Anniversary Celebration! Herb & Jan Berndt are celebrating their 30th anniversary this month, and want to celebrate with their Zion family after worship on 19th. It will be an opportunity to enjoy a reception with treats, coffee, and time to congratulate and visit with the happy couple! Youth Gathering Bake Sale One last opportunity to support the youth trip to Detroit 12 at a Bake sale immediately following the finance forum. We ll also send off the travelers with a word of blessing in. Calling all Campers! All Zion member youth are eligible for a campership if you are going to a Lutheran Bible Camp this summer! There are still a few camps left at EWALU, and other Bible camps, so if your youth is planning to attend, please let the Zion office know! Calling all Camper-SUPPORTERS! CAMPERSHIP CONTRIBUTIONS ENCOURAGED Zion does have youth attending Lutheran Camps this summer, so our Campership Fund is in need of donations to help our families with camp costs. Please consider a donation today to either of these funds. Our campers appreciate it! SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE IN Funds are still IN NEED Zion has six college Scholarship Applicants who have been approved for the coming academic year! While there is enough money in the Scholarship fund to support these applications, we will be depleting the fund in doing so. Please consider a donation to the special fund for Scholarships during the month of. Our college youth will benefit greatly, and be oh, so grateful for our support!

4 Zion News monthly W. 8th St - Davenport IA page 4 Janine's jottings... Neighborhood & Community Ministries You are invited! for food & fellowship at the Zion Community Dinner Wed., 15th - 6:00pm in Fellowship Hall It s a Pizza-Party! We will have pizza, fresh veggies & fruit, and of course dessert. Join your Zion family and neighbors for food & fellowship with one another! Annual School Supply Drive: School starts August 24 and again as in past years we will be collecting school supplies and distributing them to our neighborhood schools (Monroe & Jefferson). The school staff will then share them with students in need. As in past years we are asking for donations of: back packs, boxes of Kleenex, pump bottles of hand sanitizer, #2 pencils, blue and red pens, loose leaf paper and notebooks (wide lined only), glue sticks and 4 oz. bottles of glue, crayons-16 or 24 count, and 2 pocket solid colored folders. These are just a few of the many items that children need in order to start the year off ready to learn. If you are interested in making a donation or have a question feel free to stop and talk with me. We will be accepting donations 1August 20. Donations can be dropped off at the office or left under the Hospitality Table. The Jefferson and Monroe staff express their thanks and appreciation for these much needed supplies. Food Pantry: It s summer! There s no school and many of us are planning and going on vacations! This is the time of year when we all look forward to a slower more relaxed pace. Well that is not what happens at the pantry it continues to be as busy as ever, because unfortunately hunger doesn t take a vacation. Feeding ones family still needs to happen whether it s summer or not. Thus the food pantry stays busy. As you see June 1-19 we served 86 households benefitting 299 individuals with 119 being children. And the pantry doesn t just provide food we also share information about community meal sites and other neighborhood pantries. This summer we are also providing information about the Davenport School Districts Summer Food Program which provides breakfast and lunch MondayThursday to children 18 years old and younger at different locations around the city. So as you see there is still much to do in the summer. As this is a time of the year when people s schedules seem a little more relaxed this might be a time when you are more able to share your gifts at the food pantry. There is always something for people to do both young and old. So consider helping out either Monday or Thursday 3:30-5:00. Don t worry if you have never been to the pantry before because there is always someone ready to teach you the ropes. So this summer I invite you to join us at the pantry and see what happens there. 1 John 4:19(NRSV) reads, We love because God first loved us. Thus, in a simple tangible way through the ministry of sharing food we show God s caring love to others. God s Peace, Janine - PROPERTY LINES THANK YOU! To everyone who helped Property with our Indoor Clean-up Day on June 20th. A lot of decluttering was done, and many items were re-homed/donated. Watch for a Fall Clean-up (inside and out) day, to be announced soon. On another note Property committee invites all who are interested to tour Glass Heritage LLC in Davenport on Sat., 11 at 9:00am. Contact John or Roxeann ( ) or Roxeann.Ford58@gmail.com if you would like to be a part. No children allowed on the tour as they work with glass & lead.

5 Zion News monthly W. 8th St - Davenport IA page 5 Seniors Small Groups and such OWLS : Zion s O.lder W.iser L.utheranS 60+ Fellowship will swoop in to Red Lobster on E. Kimberly Rd, Thursday, 23rd for a delicious lunch and great fellowship. Meet there at 11:30am, enjoy lunch, then it s up to whoo? up to You as to what you do! Join us! Please call Grace Haller ( ) or Kathy Longlett ( ) by 21 if you plan to come. Sparkling Birthday Blessings to these Zion Seniors who will celebrate in! 7/02 Glenn Kelley 7/06 Charles Hawkins (95!!) 7/06 William Rhodes 7/06 Eugene Stanger 7/07 RuthAnn Greve 7/12 Shirley Swingle 7/22 Jerry Grady 7/30 Mary Behr A word on the challenge of Staying Cool In June when we turned on the air conditioning for our church, we discovered a compressor in the chiller on the north side of the building not working. After many tests it was determined that the only fix was to replace the compressor. This repair comes at a cost of about $12,000.00, which we do not have budgeted. The council decided at our meeting to go ahead with the repair and borrow the funds from our dedicated accounts until we can collect enough to pay ourselves back. So please use your special property maintenance envelopes or simply put air conditioner on your checks and help us pay this bill. Thank you in advance Steve Howland council president

6 Zion News monthly W. 8th St - Davenport IA page 6 NOW HEAR THIS AND THAT! Greetings from former Zion Pastor Allan Negstad Pastor Al writes Dear Pastor Karen, Each month I read the Zion News and give God thanks for your ministry. From I was co-pastor with Ken Gamb, who remains one of my dearest friends. Zion holds a special place in my heart and the spirit of your ministry shines through the words of the Zion News. So I thank you and give thanks to my God in my every remembrance of you. Now in my retirement, since 2007, I live in downtown Minneapolis and am a happy member of Grace University Lutheran. In 39 years of ministry I served Zion, Mohall, ND; Our Savior's, Sioux Falls, SD; and St. James, Minneapolis, MN; in addition to Zion, Davenport. My internship was at Zion, Minneapolis, so there are three Zion s in my past. Special greetings to all the members who remember me at Zion. Chorale Midwest comes to Zion The Chorale Midwest is a premier volunteer chorus comprised of eighty auditioned singers, including Zion member Mark Meyer. Founded in 1996 by a group of passionate singers who wanted to master and perform choral works, and also create a welcoming community of musicians in the Cedar Rapids area, the group takes pride in performing challenging and diverse choral works from multiple musical genres. Under the artistic direction of Dr. Bradley T. Barrett since Zion is pleased to host a concert performance by Chorale Midwest Sunday, 26th at 2:00pm We ll be playing some of the Chorale s recorded music before worship earlier in, and the group will also participate in worship at Zion on the day of the concert. Finance Ministries Please join us for a Congregational Forum on 12th where we will review Zion s financials mid-way through the year compared to our operating budget. We will meet in the sanctuary directly after the 9am worship service. YTD through June we are $11K off from our budget, assuming even giving throughout the year, yet $6K ahead of where we were at this point last year Giving thru the half of the year is down $11K from budget. $2K ahead of last year to date. Expenses thru the first half of the year are right where we expect to be (50% of our budget spent). $4K under where we were this time last year We have $15K remaining cash surplus over and above what is required to meet our dedicated account obligations. In addition to operating budget, we will be presenting information on the dedicated funds (food pantry, legacy fund, memorial fund, etc..), and online offerings/giving. Figures & Financial Facts: Regular & Loose OfferingsJune 2015 $ 18, Expenses paid out June $(18,333.78) Difference +$ Food Pantry fund 6/30/15 $ 4, God s work... our hands!

7 Zion News monthly W. 8th St - Davenport IA ALTAR FLOWERS GIVING JULY 5 - OPEN 12 - David & Carole Feeney 19 - OPEN 26 - OPEN Want to give flowers (or an alternate offering) but not sure how? Instructions sheets are available in the hallway underneath the flower chart. Remember, you can give flowers for the altar or an alternative offering to one of Zion s special funds (ie: Brown Bag, Scholarship fund, etc.) in lieu of flowers. On such Sundays, we will have 2 lovely green plants adorning the altar. page 7 Greeters for Sundays 9:00am Kathy Longlett & Cary Scott Lisa Zosulis Wanda & Al McDonnell Carl & Char Engstrom, Emily Winn We need Greeters! Can you smile? Shake a hand? Say welcome? You re fully qualified! Call Grace Haller ( ) to help us. COMMUNION Set-Up/Clean-Up USHERS /05 Darrell & Kathy (glasses) Darrell Longlett, Mike DeBruyn, Ken Stoltenberg 7/12 Altar Care/Staff (intinction) 7/19 Harrison family (intinction) 7/26 Kealey family (intinction) We need Ushers for Sunday worship services. Our list is running thin - yet help from all ages is welcome! If you are available to usher, please indicate your willingness on a pew card or contact Bud Kelley. THANK YOU! Lectors/Readers 2015 Assisting Ministers for (Sundays 9:00am) Sundays 9:00am Kirby Winn Julie Kalkwarf Dona Noble (Pr. Engstrom presiding) 26 Janine Johnson ACOLYTES Janine Johnson 12 Cary Scott 19 Joseph Obleton 26 Char Engstrom TELLERS (Sundays - 9:00am) 5 - Addison Flynn & Katey Harrison 12 - Christina Lopez & Kate Kealey 7/05 Chuck Dau, Carl Engstrom, Lisa Zosulis, Eva H Kaylynn Miller & Dustin Briggs 7/12 John & Roxeann Ford, Jim & Sherry Koens 26 - Grace Babka & Anna Winn 7/19 Stu Goldsmith, Delores Smith, Matt Engstrom 7/26 Mark & Beth Meyer, Sue Keller, Gene Rome THANKS BE TO GOD FOR EACH OF YOU and the leadership you give to our worship. If you cannot serve when assigned, please try to switch with someone or get your own sub. PEACE! Jody Kealey