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 F E B R U A R 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... Love is As Valentine s Day approaches I am reminded of that little one frame newspaper cartoon, Love is enjoyed by young and old alike through the years. Originally a series of love notes Kim Grove drew for her future husband Roberto Casali, on publication it became their livelihood. What a neat idea, to bless the world with little reminders of love and what it is or should be. The idea goes back much farther though than a cartoon that started in the late 1960 s all the way back in fact to the Apostle Paul, who reflecting on the person of Christ, and the meaning of true unconditional love, penned under the power of the Holy Spirit the fullest, truest definition of love for all time. I ask couples in pre-marriage to memorize these words, and I invite you to meditate upon them today and in the days ahead as well Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave P l e a s e Ta k e n o t e... Mission Prayer Partners for February, Voice of the Martyrs 9 - CHIEF/Huron Claus 16 - Community Christian School 23-4C s COMMUNION Sunday, February 2nd Communion will be served after the 8:30 and 10:30 service. GREBEL & COFFEE Saturday, February 8th 7 a.m a.m. PRE-ORDERS and HELP welcome. Sign up at the Welcome Center! Or call rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NKJV Wishing you the fullness of Christ s love, 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. 4C s Ladies Fellowship Monday, February 10th - 7p.m. Zion Ministry Center Amazing Grace, How Sweet It Is All women of Zion are invited! Bring a dessert to share. Please sign up at the Welcome Center. CARRY-IN DINNER Sunday, February 2nd 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! The new directories are here!

2 NEWS FROM ZION Sympathies are extended to......mary Lou Fegler on the passing of brother-inlaw Harry Fegler....Donna Brehm & family and Don Green & family on the passing of their sister, Helen Lambert of Ohio....Helen Schmer & family on the passing of daughter-in-law, Jean Schmer of South Dakota....Sid & Peggy Henderson on the passing of brother Earl of North Carolina....Pat Stricker & family on the passing of brother Jack Snook of Iowa....the family and friends of Elmer Cook....the friends of Shirley Jones....Roger & Sheri Schwartzkopf and family on the passing of Roger s brother, Glenn.... Sharon Foos on the passing of her sister, Verna Jean Putman....Ed Hessler on the passing of son, Edward Lee Hessler. Congratulations to......sara & Kevin Barthel on the birth of their son, Braxton, born Jan 2. Proud grandmother is Kari Fedorchik and Uncle Tyler....Lucille Keller on her 90th Birthday!...Cheryl Rose on her 50th Birthday!...Angie Rhamy on her 50th Birthday!...Donna Brehm on her Birthday!...Preston and Stephanie Stricker on the birth of son, Jaxon Joseph Stricker on 12/31/13. Proud grandparents are Fred & Jody Stricker....Leona Rien on her 90th Birthday!...Lydia Becking on her 90th Birthday!...Ed Hessler on his 93rd Birthday! FAMILY NIGHT... is the third Tuesday of each month at from 6-8 p.m. The next meeting is Feb. 18th with a Mexican food potluck. It s not too late to join in the fun, food and fellowship! Questions: see Pastor Andy! * January s KCMI Broadcast was sponsored by Cliff & Cindee Reichert; Brenda, Shane & Tyler Smith; and Cindy, Jeff, Tim & Lori Reichert. *February s KCMI Broadcast is given by Betty V. Bauer in honor of daughter Kim on her 49th Birthday, 2/22; in memory of George R. Bauer and what would have been Betty & George s 56th Wedding Anniversary on 2/23. Thanks to all who share in this ministry! *If you are interested in sponsoring a broadcast for 2014, there are some months still available. Page 2 COOP RECEIPTS: $87, Great job, Zion!! We are very close, everyone, to our goal! Keep the receipts coming!!! 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 December, 2013 INCOME: Fund Raisers 1, Other Income 1, Special Income 2, Sunday Offering 27, TOTAL INCOME $ 33, EXPENSES: Bldg. & Grounds $ 3, Fund Raising Ministry 2, Mission Fund Office Staff Benefits 3, Staff Salary 7, Utilities 1, TOTAL EXPENSES: $ 18, TOTAL INCOME/EXPENSE $ 14, THANK YOU... We would like to thank the anonymous group who blessed our family with a generous love gift to help with the expenses relating to the birth of our new baby. We are certainly thankful for the gift, but even more we are thankful for the knowledge our child will be welcomed into such a loving environment. This church will never know what a huge blessing it has been to our family. Love, Andrew and Janae Griess UPDATE ON THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY: The 100th Anniversary Committee has been very busy...and time is running out. The medallions have arrived and are available in the church office, if you have not already picked one up. The cost is $12 and a display stand is $3. The Committee has contracted the catered evening meal for Saturday, March 22nd with The Steel Grill. The cost is $10 per plate NEWS FROM ZION and there is a reduced price for children. Tickets will go on sale February 9th. It is our heart s desire to have everyone, that would like to participate in our catered meal, be a part. We realize and want to be sensitive to those with large families or those on fixed incomes who may have some difficulty participating because of the $10 per person cost. PLEASE do not let that be an issue as we have funds available for those who might need help in covering the cost of their meal. Please see Robert Busch or call the church office. Invitations have gone out to our former pastors as well as to the family members of our pastor s who have gone on to Glory. Invitations have also been sent to our sister 4C s churches as well as some other area churches. There will be 3 services on March 22nd and 23rd: Saturday night, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. Speakers and further details continue to be worked on. If you any pictures of yesteryear that could be borrowed for display, be sure to contact me, a committee member, or the church office. We would love to present those during the weekend of activities. And of course, these would be returned to you. The Committee is looking for a number of volunteers to help with the catered meal and the carry-in after the Sunday morning service. This is an exciting time for Zion! There will be special music and special speakers and an opportunity to reminisce and a time to plan for the next 100 years! Watch your bulletins and March newsletter for further updates as they come. We are looking forward to seeing you at this celebration! In Christ s Glory, Robert Busch

4 NEWS FROM ZION Page 4 ~ AWANA NEWS ~ The AWANA Staff started off the New Year on Saturday, January 4 th with our annual Staff Christmas Party and White Elephant gift exchange!!! We had a great time despite having a smaller group due to leaders being out of town with their families or other activities. I was considering doing something other than Mexican food but the Staff asked that we stick with it for our food theme which was certainly fine with me!!! We had great food, fellowship and fun/laughter!!! People got even more creative with the White Elephant gift exchange than usual they would wrap a piece of paper with a note that said the recipient could find their gift in the sanctuary Erik Harris ended up being the proud owner of a pumpkin piñata. Randy and Martha Stricker brought gift bags with White Elephant gifts in it that had an envelope at the bottom of the bag that told the recipient they had won the jackpot and were given a Wal-Mart bag FULL of more gag gifts!!! We were teasing Randy and Martha that they had emptied out their entire White Elephant Gift Exchange closet!!! The next day at the carry-in dinner after church, I was sitting with Austin Rhamy (one of our first year Student Leaders) and his family. We got to talking about the White Elephant Gift Exchange the night before. He said that now that he s been to one and has seen what people bring, he ll know what to look for next year to bring ~ with a BIG SMILE on his face!!! (I can t wait to see what he comes up with!!!) On the following day, Sunday, January 5 th, our first club night back in 2014, we gathered at the Playhouse Rollerskating Rink. It was a really cold afternoon/evening but we had a great turn out and thankfully, didn t have any major injuries! I was so pleased and proud - to see how the clubbers would help each other out when someone would fall down! I have no doubt that these kids will be there for their buddies when they are having a down time in life! I am amazed at how the Playhouse has expanded what they have to play with and on from when I used to go every Friday as a freshman in high school. There are large inflatables to jump in or on, roller skates, roller blades, scooters and a couple of LARGE tricycles are available to use. You can also bring your own skateboard or Ripstik Caster Board. (Even the Commander tried out the adult-sized tricycle!!! ) I LOVE to see the parents that come out and skate with their kids &/or help teach them how to skate, ride a scooter, etc. Then, there are some of those little ones that zoom around that rink like they were shot out of a cannon!!! Weaving in and out of people that are three times taller than them! A BIG thank you, Pastor Andy, for sharing a message with us from God s Word!!! It can be quite the challenge at the roller skating rink! (Continued on page 5)

5 Page 5 NEWS FROM ZION (Continued from page 4) Commander s 50 th Birthday Party At Kick-Off this club year, I told the clubbers/parents that our theme this club year was to have a ball/blast (PARTY!!!) and the special number this year was 50 but I said they would have to wait to find out why, 50 since we had just celebrated 30 years of AWANA at Zion. Well, they found out in the flyer I sent out after the first of the year. The clubbers & leaders were invited to celebrate the Commander s BIG 5-0 on Sunday, January 12 th. I had five treats for them: mini-cupcakes, individual cups of ice cream, lime green glow bracelets, stickers and blowouts/squawkers. They also had five fun facts and five bonus fun facts to turn in as homework if they wanted to earn $5.00 shares. DO YOU KNOW how much the following cost in 1964: a gallon of gas?, a new home?, a Barbie doll?, a loaf of bread?, a Scrabble game?, the Mouse Trap Game? It was a special ending to my birthday celebration weekend! Congratulations to our December Clubbers of the Month: Sparks Alexis Jerrell & Samuel Bowlin; T&T Anessa Mehling & Nathan Schick and Trek Anna Schick. We are so proud of how hard all of our clubbers are working!!! Keep up the great work!!! Coming in February... On Saturday, February 1 st, the T&T Clubs have Bible Quiz competition at Monument Bible Church from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. We would love to have people from our congregation there to encourage our clubbers! The following day, Sunday, February 2 nd, is Sports Day. On Sports Day, instead of wearing our uniforms, we wear clothing representing our favorite sports team whether that be professional teams, the YMCA basketball/ soccer/volleyball or school team colors. We will meet from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. so that everyone has time to get to their Super Bowl parties. During Council Time for Sparks thru Trek, we hear testimonies from area high school athletes usually from our own group of student leaders serving in our club. At the end of the month, on the 23 rd, we will be inviting our grandparent s to our club time... and there may even be something fun in the planning for Valentine s Day!!! ~ Commander Commentary ~ In celebrating the milestone of 50 years of life on this earth, of course, there is the teasing of becoming physically old & over-the-hill but, I REFUSE to grow up!!! (As you can see in the picture of me on the adult-sized tricycle at the roller skating rink!) Where I desire to be growing old, however, is in my spiritual life. January not only marks my physical birthday but also my spiritual birthday this year it is 42 years! I was not fortunate enough to be involved in an AWANA program as a child/teenager. I thank God, though, for the spiritual growth that I have experienced as an adult being involved in the AWANA ministry not only serving in leadership but working through the handbooks myself. AWANA s motto is to Train children to KNOW, LOVE & SERVE the Lord and with Valentine s Day coming up, let s be reminded of the GREATEST LOVE of all that was shown to us when God sent His one and only Son, Jesus to this earth to die for our sins... doesn t that warrant our love and gratitude for Him??? GOD IS IN CONTROL!!! Cheryl Rose, Commander

6 NEWS FROM ZION LADIES GUILD: Ladies Guild met Jan 6 with 14 ladies present. Prayer requests were given and prayer was led by President Elaine Kling. Two songs were sung. The secretary and treasurer's reports were read and approved. In new business, the weekend group will help with Lucille Keller's 90th birthday party Sat., Jan 11 from 2-4pm. Noodles will be made Jan 20 at 8am. Eggs will be broken at 2pm, Sunday afternoon on the 19th. The 4C's Women Fellowship will meet Monday, Feb 10 at Zion and we are the hosts. The theme is Amazing Grace, How Sweet It Is. There will be a dessert bar after the program. It will start at 7pm and there is no charge. This is a change from previous years as it will not be held at the Civic Center. This is open to all ladies of the church - just bring a dessert and please sign up at the Welcome Center. Also discussed were the Valentine boxes that go to our away college students to be filled at the Feb 3rd meeting. We will be filling 20 boxes. If you would like to help, please bring 20 items that an away college student might like: candy, packaged cookies or snacks, ramen soup, hot chocolate packs etc. The meeting was closed with the Lord's Prayer. The officers were the hosts for the evening. Teri Erdman ``````````````````````````````````` LET S COOK DEUTSCH: Zion s Youth Celebrating 100 Years of German Cooking! On January 4 th about twenty of Zion s 5th Graders thru College + Age, plus a few older folks, had a great time learning to cook eleven different German recipes. Derek Goss, Betty Kraus s grandson even joined us to our delight! Lorrine Hein, Cheryl Rose, Sharon Stricker, Renee Fertig, Shirley Ruppel, Pastor Andy Griess and the college age students helped make the day run so smoothly. We started in the Zion Page 6 kitchen a bit after 8:00 and finished by 3:30 and even ate right on time! The purpose of this Schmeckfest (Tasting Feast) was: 1. To celebrate our German Heritage. 2. To pass down to the next generation the wonderful German recipes our families have made for over a century. 3. To encourage our youth to enjoy learning how to make the German food of our ancestors. 4. To start the celebration of Zion Evangelical Church s 100th Year Anniversary Food we made or demonstrated how to make included: Garlic Sausage, Homemade Sauerkraut, Rival Kuchen (German coffee cake), Butterballs, Noodles (for Drücklen and Noodles and Butterballs and Noodle Soup), Gemusesalat (Cucumber Salad), Zwiebeln (Fried Onions in butter) mit Schmeltz Glaze and Kartoffeln (Potatoes) und Glaze with eggs scrambled over them, and Homemade Butter. Kenneth, Lori and Jeff Reifschneider shared their garlic sausage recipe that has been in their family for years, brought in a hundred year old Wurst stuffer and let the kids mix the ingredients and fill the lamb s intestines by turning the crank on the Wurst stuffer. Renee Fertig shared the Grentz family canned sauerkraut recipe. We all have to wait until the first of February to taste our jars of sauerkraut. We can hardly wait. My mom, Shirley Ruppel taught the group how our great-grandmothers made and cut noodles. She also demonstrated and taught how to make glaze dough and butterballs, and taught a few how to cut, tie, and fry Grebel, plus ate her homemade rye bread for dinner. We made almost 500 butterballs! Everyone took a bag of twenty butterballs home and the rest went in the butterball and noodle soup which was made for the potluck dinner after church on Sunday, (Continued on page 7)

7 Page 7 (Continued from page 6) January 5 th. We used my cousins Dee Stricker s and Deb Stobel s combined recipe of Denna Kuchen and made five different Denna Kuchen which we also served at the potluck on Sunday (and yes, we heard countless German women roll over in their graves when we used Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix instead of making the dough from scratch! It saved us a lot of time!) I demonstrated how to make Gemusesalat which I thought most would hate! The Ruppel family recipe includes peeled and sliced cucumbers, shelled and sliced hard boiled eggs, ½ and ½, milk, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Everyone but two loved it to my surprise! Kathy Trook made it on her own the following Sunday! Looking back four things stand out from cooking together. First, there are many ways to make a given German dish. Secondly, YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES when learning how to cook any dish German or not, and that is OK! Next and most important, it was fun to see the generations work together. Finally, how I firmly believe it is so very important to get your children in the kitchen and get them cooking with you and family members whatever your heritage is. You will have a day just as we had a day of tasting, cooking, fellowship and fun! A Schmeckfest! Robin Schadwinkel. Editor s note: Thank you, Robin Schadwinkel, for your time and awesome organization of this event. Your efforts did not go unnoticed and we appreciate you! NEWS FROM ZION LENTEN SERVICES 2014 THEME: The Lord s Prayer March 5, 2014 ~ Ash Wednesday Church: Hope Preaching: Pastor Garry Schick March 9, 2014 Church: Salem Preaching: Pastor Andy Griess March 16, 2014 Church: Zion Preaching: Pastor Dale Brown March 23, 2014 Church: Emmanuel Preaching: Pastor Curt Holzworth March 30, 2014 Church: Federated Preaching: Pastor Troy Allen April 6, 2014 Church: Plymouth Preaching: Pastor Ted Meter April 13, 2014 ~Palm Sunday

8 NEWS FROM ZION YOUTH - I was anxious to get back to our weekly schedule after having a couple weeks away from it during Christmas break. During the break, I was able to take some advantage of the students' time off of school to get together with them for special activities. We got together for a movie and games after taking down the Christmas decorations on Dec. 29. Also, on January 1, we took advantage of some beautiful snowy weather by taking a winter hike that turned into sledding/snowball fight adventure. Once the students went back to school, we started back up with all of our weekly active ties. Our junior high group on Thursday night is still running pretty small in numbers. I am doing what I can to encourage our students to invite friends to grow the size of our group, so we'll see how this semester goes. One of the benefits of having a smaller group that I have been pleased to see is that the high school and college students I have helping as leaders have taken advantage of opportunities to get to know the junior high students. I'm seeing quality relationships being developed in which our older students really have the chance to mentor the younger ones. Also, in our junior high, I have been pleased with my faithful group of about six or seven 7th and 8th graders who have been coming regularly to Sunday school. This year in Sunday school, I have been basically doing a slightly scaled back version of what I do for our senior high Bible study. It's a lot to ask a group as young as these students especially at 9:30 on a Sunday morning, but they are doing great. Some Sundays are better than others as far as concentration level, but all in all, the quality of their effort in thinking through and taking part in the discussion has been very good. As far as our senior high group is concerned, we are approaching the point in the school year when students' extracurricular schedules are beginning to get fuller and fuller. We have begun to see a slightly smaller group both on Wednesday and Sunday nights. My hope is that even with things getting busy with school our students will set time aside especially on Wednesday nights to take part in Bible study. All year we have been studying Romans, and we are about to get to the section of the book with all of the practical application. The first eleven chapters have been filled with theological concepts we have been working to understand so that we know how to think correctly as Christians. With this foundation in place, the final five chapters will be filled with the practical actions we need to take to know how to live correctly as Christians. As Page 8 you pray for our students, please pray that God would motivate them to make time for these important lessons. Please pray for me as well as I prepare and present these lessons that I would be clear and motivational. Andy VALENTINE HUMOR: Go ahead and chuckle at these Christian pick-up lines just don t expect them to be very effective! Now I know why Solomon had 700 wives... because he never met you. For you, I would slay two Goliaths. The Word says, Give drink to the thirsty, and feed the hungry ; how about dinner? Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead. I believe one of my ribs belongs to you. How many times do I have to walk around you to make you fall for me? You really float my ark. Me. You. Song of Songs: The Remix. How would you like to join my purpose-driven life? Circle of Praise: Circle of Praise met Jan 25 at 6pm. 40 people enjoyed a pot luck supper before our short meeting. It was decided that the money raised from the Cookie Walk will be given to the Anniversary Committee for expenses for the 100th Anniversary. The amount given will be $ We will be doing s to notify of meeting dates; we also will do a signup sheet, put the date in the Newsletter and the Bulletin each week. The sign up sheet was passed around for hosting the monthly meetings. In other business it was decided that we would have a pot luck every meeting with the hosts doing a program, if they so desire. A new grill for the church will be purchased by the Circle of Praise for use in functions at the church. Bob Busch gave a update on the Anniversary. We closed with the Lord's Prayer. The next meeting will be Feb 22 with Ben and Lorrine Hein as our hosts for the evening.

9 Page 9 NEWS FROM ZION Zion Evangelical Church Calendar FEBRUARY, 2014 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Batt/Wynne Wedding 2 p.m. 1 Romans 5:8 NKJV 8:30 Worship & Praise 8:30 Heritage 9:15 Coffee & Fellowship 9:30 Communion/Chapel 9:30 Prayer Team I 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct 9:50 Take Twenty 10:30 Worship & Praise 10:30 KCMI Broadcast 11:30 Communion/Chapel 11:30 Carry-in 3:30 Awana/Sports Day 7:00 Youth Fellowship 2 10:00 Bible Study/Village 7:00 Ladies Guild 3 10:00 Bible Study/Wel-Life 12:00 Men s Bible Study 12:00 Women s Bible Study 7:00 Church Board Mtg. 4 9:30 Staff Meeting 6:30 7th Grade Confirmation 7:00 Choir 7:30 8th Grade Confirmation 8:00 Sr. High Bible Study 5 7:00 Junior High Outreach GREBEL & COFFEE 7-10 a.m. Compassion Sunday 8:30 Worship & Praise 8:30 Heritage 9:15 Coffee & Fellowship 9:30 Prayer Team II 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct 9:50 Take Twenty 10:30 Worship & Praise 3:30 Awana Clubs 4:00 Vespers/Residency 7:00 Youth Fellowship 9 10:00 Bible Study/Village 4C s Ladies Fellowship Ministry Center 7pm 10 10:00 Bible Study/Wel-Life 12:00 Men s Bible Study 12:00 Women s Bible Study 6:00 Night 7:00 100th Anniversary Comm. Meeting 11 6:30 7th Grade Confirmation 7:00 Choir 7:30 8th Grade Confirmation 8:00 Sr. High Bible Study 12 7:00 Junior High Outreach :30 Worship & Praise 8:30 Heritage 9:15 Coffee & Fellowship 9:30 Prayer Team III 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct. 9:50 Take Twenty 10:30 Worship & Praise 3:30 Awana Clubs 4:00 Vespers/Residency 7:00 Youth Fellowship 16 10:00 Bible Study/Village 7:00 100th Anniversary Comm. Meeting 17 10:00 Bible Study/Wel-Life 12:00 Men s Bible Study 12:00 Women s Bible Study 6:00 Family Night/ Mexican Potluck 18 6:30 7th Grade Confirmation 7:00 Choir 7:30 8th Grade Confirmation 8:00 Sr. High Bible Study 19 7:00 Junior High Outreach Circle of Praise 6:00 p.m. 23 8:30 Worship & Praise 8:30 Heritage 9:15 Coffee & Fellowship 9:30 Prayer Team IV 9:30 Zion/Emerald Ct. 9:50 Take Twenty 10:30 Worship & Praise 3:30 Awana/Grandparents Night 7:00 Youth Fellowship 10:00 Bible Study/Village 24 10:00 Bible Study/Wel-Life 12:00 Men s Bible Study 12:00 Women s Bible Study 6:00 Night 25 6:30 7th Grade Confirmation 7:00 Choir 7:30 8th Grade Confirmation 8:00 Sr. High Bible Study 26 7:00 Junior High Outreach 27 Valley Mobile Food Pantry 1:00 p.m. 28 1