WOMEN OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA SOUTHEASTERN IOWA SYNODICAL. IN THIS ISSUE President Sue... pg Gathering Info...

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1 D I WOMEN OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA SOUTHEASTERN IOWA SYNODICAL R E C T I O N S Winter 2017 Volume XXVV Southeastern Iowa Women of the ELCA 31st Gathering will be held, June at Windsor Heights Lutheran Church Windsor Heights, IA 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man will be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are past away; behold all things are to become new. IN THIS ISSUE President Sue..... pg Gathering Info... pg 14 Vice President Kris... pg 3 Cluster News... pg Notes from Treasurer pg 4 Winter Retreat...pg.5 Business Meeting Minutes pg 8-13 NO. 4

2 Words from our President Sue Mangels Fall is becoming winter & Thanksgiving will be over and Christmas will be upon us when the Directions will be mailed to you. My prayer for all of you is to be happy & healthy. Advent prepares us for the wonderful joyful birth of Christ season-god's Son. May we be celebrate the spirit of Christmas like a child, full of anticipation and wonder. Before the New Year starts, you can still register for the next triennial gathering in Phoenix AZ in 2020 at the earlybird rate of $265. The newly elected churchwide board has already met and revised the budget for FY Among other things the revised budget provides for 11 staff positions and requires the elimination of two positions from our churchwide staff. The 2 positions are associate executive director and the administrative assistant. Deborah Calvert & Vanessa Davis-Bragg will be leaving. Ann Hightower will take on the financial tasks so if treasurers have questions-contact Ann or Audrey Riley. They will soon post for the director for justice position. If you know anyone qualified for this position-let them know to watch for this posting at the WELCA website. You may send a note to either Deborah or Vanessa to the churchwide address & they will be forwarded. The seed grant for WELCA health initiate, Raising up Healthy Women & girls is open till Dec 16. If you would like to know more about this application contact Valora Starr at valora.starr@elca.org. Also a Thankoffering service is available to download. Thankofferings celebrate your commitment to WELCA & help continue all the programs and giving to the world. Our fall retreat at Eldridge was enjoyed by all 18 that attended & winter retreat in Madrid Feb 3 is planned & the church ladies are preparing the snacks & food & speakers are from Access of Boone Co, on sexual assault. Come for the fellowship and information! Keep up Gods work. Sue M, Pres. 2

3 VICE PRESIDENT S CORNER Five months ago, at our Gathering, in Davenport, we elected a president, secretary, four board members and a nomination committee for Southeastern Iowa Women s Organization for Well it s time to start thinking of elections again! The nomination committee meet in November and will be looking forward to our Gathering in Next year we will need to elect a vice president, treasurer, four board members and a new nomination committee. If you feel a calling to serve on the SWO Board please get in contact with me, Kris Elgin, or one of the members of the nominations committee. Jane Kruse, is chair this year. Nancy Locker, and Carolyn Ahlstrom, are also serving on the committee. The ladies on the committee will start calling or ing soon. Please give prayerful consideration to serving and helping to do God s work in Southeastern Iowa. Your Sister in Christ, Kris Elgin Publication and Deadline Dates Issue Deadline Mailing Date Spring..Feb. 10..March 1st Summer...April 10...May 1st Spring Issue Deadline: February 10 Fall..August 10...September 1st Winter November 10 December 1st 3

4 Dollars and Cents from the SEIA Synod WELCA Treasurer (Linda S Kortemeyer) The fourth quarter of our fiscal year has started slowly. There are a number of churches that have not sent in any contribution yet this year. We usually have church units make a financial contribution to the SWO. This year we have only heard from 32. Please check with your WELCA treasurer and ask if your church has sent in a check this year: SEIA, SWO; Treasurer Linda Kortemeyer, 3406 Forest Road, Davenport, IA Your contribution is very important to the work we do in the Southeastern Iowa Synod. We send 50% of our money to the church-wide organization for their expanded work in global and domestic fields. We would really appreciate receiving any fourth quarter checks by the first or second week in January (or before) so we can close our books and send our budgeted dollars to CWO by January 15. If you have questions or want to call me ( ). Otherwise, please send an to me if you want to see if your church has contributed this year (korte4m3@gmail.com). Thank you and have a blessed Christmas. For any one planning on attending the Winter Retreat on February 3, 2018 in Madrid, IA and do not want to drive that morning to the event; here are two hotels that you can stay at on Friday night, February 2, Super 8 Hotel 1715 South Story Street Boone, IA Super 8 Hotel 1418 South Dayton Place Ames, IA You call on your own, no blocks of rooms have been made. 4

5 SEIA Women of the ELCA Winter Retreat St. John s Lutheran Church 104 S. Market St. Madrid, IA February 3, :30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mark 10:14-He said to them Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. The West Side Winter Retreat will be held on Saturday, February 3, 2018 starting at 9:30 a.m. with juice, coffee, sweet rolls and fruit. Our morning speakers will be from ACCESS (Assault, Care, Center, Extending, Shelter and Support) of Boone County. It will be on Sexual Assault. In-Kind Gifts: gift cards (your choice), laundry products, diapers and toilet training pull ups, personal hygiene products, toilet tissue, Kleenex, paper towels, women sanitary napkins. In the afternoon there will be a Bible Study. Breakfast and lunch will be provided by the women of St. John s. The cost is $5.00. Winter Retreat Registration Name: Address: City,State, Zip Phone Send check and Registration form to: Maureen Johnson 722 E. 2nd Street Madrid, IA Please make check out to: SEIA SWO. Registration is $5.00 per person by January 26,

6 Lutheran Chaplaincy Outreach (LCO) is at a crossroads, your financial support is needed!! We have implemented a 1 2 of 1 percent campaign since We ask that you go to your WELCA Boards, your church councils and ask to fund 1 2 of 1% of your WELCA/congregation budget to support LCO Ministry at the UIHC indefinite ly. You need this partnership with LCO. HELP US, PARTNER WITH US WITH 1 2 OF 1 % TODAY. Your gifts directly fund A ELCA Chaplain at UIHC Mail checks to: LCO 123 East Market Street Iowa City, IA For more information call or go to and click the Support LCO on the left side of the front page. Thrivent Grants Did you know that each Thrivent Member is allowed to receive up to 2 Action Team Grants per year? GO TO: To get more information. Directions Subscription Form Cost is $5 annually payable to: Southeastern Iowa Synodical Women of the ELCA. To subscribe to Directions, please fill out the form below and mail with payment to: SWO TREASURER-Linda Kortemeyr 3406 Forest Road Davenport, IA If you are sending in a subscription for more than one person; or if you are a board or Cluster Leader renewing or new subscriber please put the information on a separate sheet of paper, with names and addresses Date Name Address City State Zip + 4 Phone Church and Town Address Cluster 6

7 THANK YOU NOTE FROM Jane White A round of thanks to the folks at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Ankeny, for hosting the Oct. 21 Lutheran World Relief Pick-up Day. Because they had some construction issues they made arrangements with a neighboring congregation, First Church of Christ, to be the actual pick-up site. The youth of Resurrection and the youth of Prince of Peace Lutheran, Des Moines did a tremendous job of packing the semi-trailer. Many thanks to them and their parents for all the time they contributed. The saying, "It takes a village." was so true when it came to this project. Many churches (38) brought their items (5,185) to be loaded by 15 youth. Four women kept the count of items and shipping donations moving throughout the morning. Old Dominion Freight Lines placed the trailer and picked it up right on time. Thanks be to God for the many hands that were involved in making this day a success! Jane White, LWR Coordinator Also from our Treasurer: LWR October Event: Our SEIA SWO received checks in the amount of $ from the LWR pick up in Ankeny and Cedar Rapids. We used $680 for trucking costs from Ankeny to Minneapolis and now will send Lutheran World Relief a check for $4, from churches in our Southeastern Synod. Thank you to all those who helped make this a successful event. Thank you to our pick up church locations for making special arrangements this year for getting the quilts and kits into the trucks. Thank you to those of you who handle collecting the checks and sending them to our treasurer. Thank you note from Rosemary Solomon of the Pare Diocese in Tanzania: Thanks be to God! I take this opportunity to thank all of you who take care of us. The funds we received from you in the amount of $ for the Binti Mama program is greatly appreciated. I educate the Masaii women in the Pare Diocese about health care, child care, cooking, etc. Your money helps me to continue my work. 7

8 MINUTES OF THE THIRTY ANNUAL SEIA SWO BUSINESS MEETING Held June 16th, 2017 At GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH - DAVENPORT, IOWA 1. 0 ANNOUNCEMENTS; President Sue Mangels asked everyone to please shut off or silence their cell phones. Sue pointed out the stoles that the members were wearing. The stoles are the property of the SWO Board and will be worn by the board members at all SWO events, Cluster meetings and special events or be worn by delegates at the Triennial Gatherings at Church Wide so that people may identify us as from the SEIA SWO. 2.0 DELEGATE ORIENTATION; DELEGATE ORIENTATION BEGAN AT 4:00 P.M. President Sue Mangels directed the delegates to pages 5 and 6 of the GPR. Secretary Jane Kruse went over the Proposed Rules of Procedures. Voting members will receive a green card and a red card for voting. The green card is a yes vote and the red card a no vote. Each voting member will have 2 minutes for talking. They need to identify themselves by name, congregation and town. There will be no business meeting on Saturday. There will be a Claims and Credentials report along with a report of the offering taken on Saturday. President Sue Mangels introduced Joyce Carlson as Parliamentarian, Anne Pietscher as time keeper. Jane Kruse as secretary of the SWO board. Becky Shurson as our Church Wide representative from California. 3.0 CALL TO ORDER President Sue Mangels called the 30th Gathering/Convention of SEIA SWO Business Meeting to order at 4:15P.M. An opening prayer was given by President Sue Mangels and the WELCA Purpose and Mission Statements were read by the delegates found on Page REPORT OF THE CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE Number of the SWO Officers 4 Number of SWO Board members 6 Number of Delegates 21 Total Eligible to Vote voted Number of Non -Delegates 17 Guests 16 Total in Attendance 64 Continued on Page 9 8

9 Adoption of the Credentials Committee Approved. 5.0 ADOPTION OF PROPOSED RULES AND PROCEDURES Proposed Rules and procedures are printed on pages 5 and 6. There was no discussion. Action: Adopted 6.0 PROPOSED AGENDA The Proposed Agenda printed on page 8. Action: Adopted. 7.0 REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE Information found on pages 34, 35, 36, and 37. Nominating committee member Marge Felderman gave the following report. 7.1 Nomination for the office of President (Position for a 2 year term) Sue Mangels President Sue Mangels asked for nominations from the floor. There being none, the nominations were declared closed. 7.2 Nomination for Secretary (Position for a 2 year term) Lynda Miller 7. 3 Nominations for Board members (Position for 2 years) Jeryl Krumbholz Karen Miller Ardy Proehl Ramona Von Sprecken 7.4 Nominations for Board members (Position 1 year term) Carol Gruhn President Sue Mangels asked for nominations from the floor. There being none, the nominations were declared closed Continued on Page 10 9

10 7.5 Nominations for Nominating Committee Position 1 year term) Carolyn Ahlstrom Jane Kruse Nancy Locker President Sue Mangels asked for nominations from the floor. There being none the were declared closed. nominations 7.6 President Sue Mangels asked that the ballot for President and secretary be passed out. The delegates were instructed to fill them out. The completed ballots were collected. 7.7 President Sue Mangels asked to have the ballots for the board members be passed out and marked. The completed ballots were collected. 7.8 President Sue Mangels asked to have the ballots for the nominating committee passed out and marked. The completed ballots were collected. 8.0 PRESIDENT'S REPORT The president's report is printed on pages 15 and 16 of the GPR. The chair was turned over to the Vice President Kris Elgin to address any question. President Sue Mangels reported on a scholarship for first time triennial attendee for Elsa Pietscher, Barb Larson and Barb Spies. President Sue Mangels read a thank you from Elsa Pietscher for the Scholarship. There was no further discussion, Kris turned the chair back over to President Sue Mangels. 9.0 VICE PRESIDENT REPORT is found on Page 16 of the GPR 10.0 SECRETARY'S REPORT is found on pages Board has approved the minutes TREAUSRER'S REPORT The audit is found on pages of the GPR. The Proposed Budget is found on Pages 31 of the GPR. Treasurer Linda Kortemeyer moved that proposed budget be approved. Budget adopted REPORT OF THE CLAIMS COMMITTEE Before the Convention the treasurer had received $355 in offerings. Also $50 for Love gifts were received. For a total of $ BOARD REPORTS: Justice Report Page 19 of the GPR Stewardship Report: Page 17. Raised almost $7, in Good Gifts Piggy Bank. (Actual amount was $6, Together we can do mighty things. 10 Continued on page 11

11 Discipleship Report: Page 18 of the GPR. Reports were approved DIRECTIONS. Lynda Miller editor If there are changes please let Lynda know so she can keep her data base up to date REFERENCE AND COUNCIL No resolutions were brought to the Gathering Announcements Cluster 10 and 11 Fall meeting will be September 23, 2017 at Holy Trinity in Ankeny. Cluster 1 will be at Bethesda Lutheran Church October 7th, 2017 Cluster 5 will be St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clinton on September 16th, DISCUSSIONS; There was discussion and questions about Registration for the Gathering. Using smart mail, e mails etc. No action taken Agenda There was discussion about the Agenda going out two weeks before the Gathering. Put it out into some kind of format. Wanda Miller suggested not the whole GPR just a few things in the Directions. Northeast Iowa does it all online. There was also discussion about the Directions and the bulk mailing. 200 copies has to be sent out for bulk mailing. Possibly using the Southeastern Synod website REPORT OF THE ELECTIONS; 18.1 President Ballots Cast 29 Number of Ineligible votes 1 Votes cast for Sue Mangels 28 President Sue Mangels reelected President of the SWO Board 18.2 Secretary Ballots Cast 29 Number of Ineligible votes 1 Votes cast for Lynda Miller 28 Lynda Miller elected Secretary Continued on Page 12 11

12 18.3 Board members 2 Year Terms Ballots Cast 29 Number of Ineligible Votes 1 Votes cast for Jeryl Krumbholz 15 Votes cast for Karen Miller 25 Votes cast for Ardy Proehl 23 Votes cast for Ramona VonSprecken 21 Board members elected for a two year term were Karen Miller, Ardy Proehl and Ramona Von Sprecken Board member 1 year Term Ballots Cast 29 Number of Ineligible Votes 1 Votes for Carol Gruhn 28 Carol Gruhn elected for a 1 year term Nominating Committee Ballots Cast 29 Number of Ineligible Votes 1 Votes for Carolyn Ahlstrom 27 Votes for Jane Kruse 27 Votes for Nancy Locker 26 Nominating Committee elected for the 2018 Gathering are Jane Kruse (Chairman) Carolyn Ahlstrom and Nancy Locker Business Meeting Adjourn until Saturday June 17th, 2017 at 11:00 for Claims report. Motion to adjourn by Karen Miller seconded by Barb Spies. Motion carried. SATURDAY JUNE 17th, REPORT OF THE CLAIMS AND CREDENTIALS; Linda Kortemeyer Treasurer $ given prior to Gathering 6-17 $1385 from Congregations personal offerings Continued on page11 12

13 Total $1, plus $ for a total of $1, Offerings will be collected through August. Love Gifts for the VA prior $50.00 also received a $10.00 check 12.0 CREDENTIALS: SWO Officers 4 Board members 6-1 Number of delegates 17 Number of eligible to vote 37-1 (36) Number of non delegates 24 Number of Program Presenters 8 Total in Attendance 69 Business meeting officially adjourned at 11:05 A.M. Respectfully submitted Jane Kruse, Secretary LWR Day, October 21, 2017 Thanks for the commitment of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Ankeny, for providing space, personnel, and other resources to send all those Lutheran World Relief kits and quilts from congregations up I-35 to Minneapolis! A crew of youth volunteers move boxes, packed and labelled (by many of you) into a large truck for the highway. Rain or shine, even relocating when the Resurrection parking area was under repair this fall, their job gets done well. Pictured are volunteers Joyce Lehman, Velma Iles, Lois Porth, and Jane White (SEIA WELCA Board Member), who record reports and donations of money for the transportation. Any extra money goes to LWR; however, trucking is a significant item. As noted in Fall Directions, a new trucking business will be needed starting Spring

14 The 2018 Gathering Committee is hard at work getting plans made for another great Gathering. Lots of details are still in the planning stage and more information will be in the Spring Issue of Directions. For now, here is what they have for me to pass on to you. 1. The date: Friday, June 22 to Saturday June 23, Place: Windsor Heights Lutheran Church th Street Windsor Heights, IA 3. Hotel Info: Days Inn th Street West Des Moines Phone There is a block of rooms reserved under: SWO-mention this when making your reservations, by June 4, 2018 to get the rate of $80.00,plus tax per room. Maybe a bit higher for more in the room. And like last year the Business Meeting will be on Friday afternoon. So, keep that in mind as you decide to be a delegate. 14

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16 RESOURCE PAGE HUMAN TRAFFICKING COMMITTEE Sandy Chandonia Kathryn Bly Cell Phone Rhonda Hershberg Southeast Iowa Synod Website To get to our web page-click on About-then click Southeastern Women s Organization to get to our page 2018 Nominating Committee Chair-Jane Kruse-805 S. 14th Ave., Washington, IA H C Carolyn Ahlstrom th Ave., Story City, IA H Nancy Locker 801 Prince Street, Grinnell, IA H

17 RESOURCE PERSONS Directions Editor Lynda Miller 1808 S. 11th Avenue Eldridge, IA ChurchWide Women of the ELCA 8765 W. Higgins Rd. Chicago, IL ext Women Together in Prayer Mondays at Noon SE Iowa Synod Council Board Position Karen Goedeken 6400 N. Glen Dr. Palo, IA Today s Dream Tomorrow s Reality Racial Justice Advocate Deb Husak 2071 Hwy. E43 Toledo, IA CLUSTER LEADERS (Note: only the Chairperson receives a free subscription to the Directions. If a Cluster wishes the Board to receive it, they should send in subscription forms with payment). I need to be informed when the Chairperson changes. Cluster #1 Cluster #2 Marilyn Greene Ardy Hinds Pat Kolpin 305 West 5th St NW Elm Ln. 400 McCellan Apt. #4 Huxley, IA Ankeny, IA Tama, IA marilyngreene29@yahoo.com cycloneardy@hotmail.com Cluster #3 Inactive Cluster #7 Inactive Cluster #4 VickeiAdamson Ramsey Road Anamosa, IA vickia@relmach.com Roberta Jurgensen Cluster #5 Carol Gruhn 1025 N. 4th St th Ave. N. Clinton, IA Clinton, IA gruhn15@hotmail.com Cluster #6 Norma Bailee 2610 N. Division St. Davenport, IA bailienorma@gmail.com Cluster #8 Delores Stigge N. Gear Ave. Burlington, IA Cluster #9 Anita Simmons 1117 D Ave. Albia, IA alsimmons@mchsi.com Cluster 10/11 Lavon Heston 6300 School St Apt 309 Windsor HeightsI A lavonheston@msn.com Please send updates to: Lynda Miller 1808 S. 11th Ave. Eldridge, IA lmchurchlady56@gmail.com 17

18 Southeastern Iowa Women s Organization Directory President : Sue Mangels 523 Messenger Rd. Keokuk, IA H C sue.mangels52@gmail.com Cluster Liaison 8 Secretary Lynda Miller 1808 S. 11th Ave. Eldridge IA H C lmchurchlady56@gmail.com Vice President Kris Elgin 2440 Newport Avenue Oskaloosa, IA C rselgin1@hotmail.com Cluster Liaison 9 Treasurer Linda Kortemeyer 3406 Forest Road Davenport, IA H korte4m3@gmail.com STEWARDSHIP Virginia Eggers th Street Clinton, IA H C virginiaeggers1949@gmail.com Cluster Liaison 5 Carol Gruhn th Ave. N Clinton, IA H C Cluster Liaison 7 JUSTICE Judy Hardesty 320 E. Washington St. Apt. 9E Iowa City, IA C Judy.Hardesty3@gmail. com Cluster Liaison 3 Maureen Johnson 722 E. 2nd Madrid, IA H C dbhouser@huxcomm.net Cluster Liaison 1 DISCIPLESHIP 18 Ardy Proehl 513 NW 3rd St. #8 Ogden,IA Cell arproehl@gmail.com Cluster Liaison 2 Karen Miller 4130 Northwest Blvd. Apt. E201 Davenport, IA C grammy630@msn.com Cluster Liaison 6 Ramona Vonsprecken 114 Erie Street Maquoketa, IA H C Cluster Liaison 4 Send corrections to Lynda Miller 1808 S. 11th Avenue Eldridge, IA lmchurchlady56@gmail.com

19 CLUSTER NEWS Cluster 1 Met on Sept. 30, 2017 at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Ames. Devotions were given by Pastor Bryan Simmons. All were welcomed by Karla Mortensen; Ardy Hinds introduced our guest speaker- Pastor Bonnie Parker who spoke on Katie Luther. After the program, Marita Rouse, representing SEIA synod council, spoke about the council. After offering, and prayer we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Ardy Hinds called the Business meeting to order Roll call was held, 36 people attended, representing 8 different churches. The treasurers report was given. Maureen Johnson from SEIA Women s Synod reminded us of the Fall Retreat on October 21 at Faith Lutheran Church in Eldridge. There will be a Winter Retreat at St. John s Lutheran Church in Madrid on Feb. 3, She also reported that the Gathering will be June 22 and 23 at Windsor Heights Lutheran Church, Windsor Heights. Our Spring Meeting will be April 28 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ogden. The program will be on Prayer. Cluster 2 Cluster 2 met for their "Fall Event" at Trinity, Newton on Oct. 7th. A beautiful Bible Study was presented by Pastor Ken Ahntholz on our theme "God's Masterpiece" from Ephesians 2. We did some singing. About 25 women were in attendance. Love gifts were collected to be sent to LSI. A brunch of coffee cake, fruit and coffee was served by the Trinity women. Following brunch, John Claes from Lutheran Services of Iowa spoke showing a Power Point on the work that is done among our most vulnerable in our state. Our church is so blessed to have such an organization and their work is to be commended. An offfing was taken and our Cluster donated generously. Ardy Proehl gave her report from the SWO. Next event will be held in April of 2018 at Trinity, Marshalltown. All women are welcome and encouraged to attend our semi-annual events. Cluster 4 Cluster 5 Our meeting was held September 16th at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Clinton. With the Bible Study led by Pastor Clark Olson-Smith on "How do we give". and the speaker for the day was Deb Whitford from the Davenport of of LSI. Who spoke to us on what they needed and the operation of LSI. It was a very interesting 1/2 day. The Spring Meeting will be on April 28 at Maquoketa. Cluster 6. Save the date for Cluster 6 Spring Gathering on Saturday, April 21, We will be at Grace Lutheran Church, 1140 E. High Street, Davenport, Iowa There will be a panel discussion on the Church Fear Factor. This panel will consist of a representative from law enforcement, the education system, the medical community and the city council. We are requesting a $10 donation and we welcome anyone interested. Please join us and bring this information back to your community. This is an important factor in our lives. Discussions on subject during breakfast How are some churches currently preparing for safety? Questions can be submitted ahead of time with phone number or address for follow-up Short business meeting and election of officers will follow Cluster 8 The Fall Cluster meeting was held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Mediapolis on Thursday, October 12,2017 with 23 in attendance. Pastor Jerlenn Schlesser led the worship service on Mathew 25: 35 & 36 with Holy Communion. The speaker was Char Blodgett, executive Director of the Burlington Area Homeless Shelter. She explained how the shelter operated and their needs. The In Kind Gifts were for the Homeless Shelter. The Spring Gathering will be at Messiah Lutheran Church in Burlington in April Continued on Page 20 19

20 Cluster 9 Cluster 9 met on Sat., Oct. 14, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Knoxville. Good Shepherd Interim Pastor Nat Bothwell gave devotions with the theme We Gather to Remember the Reformation and to Look Forward, and he presided at Holy Communion. Deacon Muriel Johannessen presented A Visit from Katharina Luther in which she portrayed Katy Luther from Katy s own firstperson point of view of her life. Five of the six congregational units in the cluster were represented. SWO Vice President and Cluster 9 Liaison Kris Elgin reported on the June SWO Gathering, the churchwide Triennial meeting in July, and next year s SWO Gathering. Cluster Leader Anita Simmons filled everyone in on the Gathering part of Triennial that she attended. The offering was contributed to SWO, Lutheran Services in Iowa, and locally to Family Fun Fest. St. Paul (Ottumwa) will host the spring gathering Cluster 10/11 The 10/11 Cluster Gathering was held at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Cindy Tonneson welcomed the guests and invited them to enjoy the refreshments and fellowship. Pastor Lisa lead the group in devotions asking what season we enjoyed the most. New Life and changing seasons are a blessing. President Lavon Heston introduced the guest speaker, Muriel Johannessen who portrayed Katharina von Bora. Katie was placed in the Benedictine Cloister by her father to further her education. As a teenager she was moved to a Cistercian Monastery and became a nun. It was there she learned about roots and foliage to use for healing purposes. This skill was used throughout her life, especially when the plague hit Germany. Martin Luther helped Katie and her friends escape the monastery by hiding in barrels used to transport herring. She married Martin Luther in She was a wife, mother, business woman, gardener, cared for the sick and entrepreneur. She began making beer using the hops from her garden and sold the beer to help with expenses. She was a faithful woman who followed Christ. The song, A Mighty Fortress is Our God was sang by the group accompanied by Peggy Brown. The business meeting began with the general offering, we received $203. RLC decided the Love Gift offering of $176 would go to Lutheran Disaster Response. The cluster board decided to give $75. to the Hunger Hike. Roll Call was taken with 6 churches being represented and 24 in attendance. The treasurers report and secretary's reports were placed on file. The synodical liason Ardy Proehl commented how energizing the Triennial Gathering was. Dates to remember are October 21-Fall Retreat, February 3- Spring Gathering and June 22-Synod Gathering. The LWR report was given by Diane Simonson, The next LWR Drop is October 21 at RLC. The April LWR Drop had 41 churches participating. 1,907 quilts, 83 sewing kits, 1276 health kits 167 school kits, 372 baby care kits 77 bars of soap and $3, for shipping was received. Suggestions were made on appropriate prints to use for quilts, where to order batting and diaper pins. The Spring 10/11 Gathering will be hosted by Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ankeny on April 28, Lavon closed the meeting with a story, prayer and The Lord's Prayer. Thank you to all the RLC woman who in anyway took part in making this Cluster Gathering a successful morning enjoyed by all who participated. 20

21 CLUSTER CALENDAR Spring 2018 Cluster Gatherings Cluster 1.. April 28 Bethesda Lutheran, Ogden Cluster April 28 Trinity Lutheran, Marshalltown Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5..April 28 Maquoketa Cluster 6 April 21 Grace Lutheran, Davenport Cluster 7 Cluster 8 April Messiah Lutheran, Burlington Cluster 9.. St. Paul Lutheran, Ottumwa Cluster 10/11 April 28 Holy Trinity, Ankeny PRE-REGISTER FOR 2020 PRE-REGISTER FOR THE ELEVENTH TRIENNIAL GATHERING A special pre-registration price of $265 has been extended until December 31, Payment in full is required at the time of pre-registration. Preregistration is not refundable, but is fully transferable and can only be used for the Eleventh Triennial Gathering, which will be held July 16-19, 2020, in Phoenix, Ariz. Here is the web site: 21

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24 Non-Profit ORG. U. S. Postage RETURN ADDRESS: Lynda Miller, Editor 1808 S. 11th Avenue Eldridge, IA REF: Women of the ELCA Return Service Requested PAID Rock Island, IL Permit No. 243 DATES TO REMEMBER Winter Retreat-Saturday, February 3, 2018 at St. John s Lutheran Church-Madrid, IA 2018 Gathering-June at Windsor Heights Lutheran Church, Windsor Heights, IA