Newsletter THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD

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1 Southern Illinois District Lutheran Women in Mission Newsletter THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD Volume 66 No. 1 June 2017 LWML Calendar. Retreat held in Belleville June Nat. Convention July 20 District Board Meets October 1 LWML Sunday October 7 Fall Retreat In This Issue: President s Page Counselor s Message Gospel Outreach Special Focus Communication Christian Life Planned Giving District Directory Mission Statement: The Mission of the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Women s Missionary League is to encourage each woman in the district to grow spiritually and to use her God given gifts to praise God and serve people. Bag of Gifts Those who attended the Spring Retreat are engaged in a craft project.. The Southern Illinois District LWML held its annual Young Women s Spring Retreat on March 11 at Zion Lutheran Church in Belleville, and 90 people attended. The theme was Diamonds are Forever: A Grace-filled Re-Formation. T he verse used was Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and a bride adorns herself with her jewels. The attendees each made a jeweled magnet to take home to remember the day, plus a necklace to wear from washers and washi tape. Each one was very unique, and followed the verse in the bride adorns herself with jewels. All were given bag to decorate and fill for the Violence Prevention Center of Belleville, and 98 bags were filled given as Blessing Bags to those coming to the center for help. They were made to remind the ladies that they are special in the eyes of the Lord no matter what their situation is. Along with the bags, there were many items brought that were also donated to the Center. Turn to Page 3

2 Page 2 LWML Newsletter 2017 From Brenda... President Brenda Schoenbeck The purpose of the president is to provide Christ centered leadership, using His wisdom and provision to seek opportunities in helping our LWML sisters use their gifts in service to the Lord. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus... (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). In March I attended the Women s Day of Renewal at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville. Jan Struck was the keynote speaker. Many of you may have seen From Jan at LWML Helen... conventions. She promotes herself as a comic interrupter. I saw many of my LWML President sisters Helen there, Mayer so some of you may be familiar with what I am about to say. Jan is a list maker. The title of her address was What Did I Do with my Spiritual To-Do List?? Take a look at the above Bible reference above from 1 Thessalonians 5. Be joyful always, pray constantly and be thankful in all circumstances: that is quite a to-do list! How are we doing with that? It seems that there is always something on the LWML to-do list. Preparation for the convention in Albuquerque in June is at the top of the list. The LWML is planning a big 75 th Birthday Party. Will I see you there? Our delegates, Young Women Representatives and our pastoral counselor are getting ready to go. Beyond the convention, we are looking forward to our Fall Retreat on October 7, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Greenville. Please put this on your calendar and your to-do list. You will be getting more details later; please save the date. Deb Albers, our Vice President of Christian Life, is already working on the retreat program. Your district board has also begun planning for the 2018 district convention, which will be September 28-29, 2018, at Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School in Centralia. Your zone president is looking for a representative to serve on the nominating committee. Let your zone president know if you are interested in serving on this committee. It is importance to get the committee up and running by the fall, to find those of you who are willing to share your time and talents by serving on the district board. Offices to be filled are President, Vice President of Organizational Resources, Vice President of Special Focus Ministries, Corresponding Secretary and Financial Secretary. Please contact me or any of our current officers if you would like to know what each office does. The district bylaws, which has position descriptions for each office, can be found on our website, There will more to come on the district convention. Sometimes with all our to-do lists, it helps us to focus what we, as the Lutheran Women s Missionary League, pledge: In fervent gratitude for the Savior's dying love and His blood-bought gift of redemption we dedicate ourselves to Him with all that we are and have; and in obedience to His call for workers in the harvest fields, we pledge Him our willing service wherever and whenever He has need of us. We consecrate to our Savior our hands to work for Him, our feet to go on His errands, our voice to sing His praises, our lips to proclaim His redeeming love, our silver and our gold to extend His Kingdom, our will to do His will, and every power of our life to the great task of bringing the lost and the erring into eternal fellowship with Him. Amen. NEWSLETTER Editor: Jane Lucht addresses and changes to: Lucy Thompson To God alone be the glory. Brenda

3 2017 LWML Newsletter Page 3 Counselor s Corner Rev. Jay Holden The school year has come to an end, and our students and educators are beginning their summer break. Here at SIU Carbondale, the campus and community look a little different without all the students and their stuff. But that wasn t the case just a few weeks ago. Oh the students were already gone, but a lot of their stuff was piled up in collection boxes in the lobby of their dorm. Our Campus Ministry, in conjunction with the Sustainability Office at SIU, collects all the unwanted clothing and unopened food that students would have just thrown away. By collecting these items, not only do we keep them out of the landfill, but we also donate them to the local thrift store and local food pantry to serve those in need. This year we collected over 2 tons of clothing! It is amazing how much extra stuff we have in our own homes and probably in our church buildings as well! We all find it quite easy to just keep adding stuff in our lives. And we also find it convenient to just throw something away. Out of sight, out of mind! But, our Lord is not a throw away God! Our Lord made a beautiful creation from nothing, and filled it with all kinds of wonderful and unique creatures and plants. But when that perfect creation was ruined with sin, God didn t throw it away; instead He made plans to rescue it redeeming it with the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ s sacrifice for each one of us, God promises that we are His, and we will be with Him forever! Until we see Him face to face for eternity, we have some responsibilities to care for God s creation. Genesis 2:15, The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. We also work and keep our little section of creation today. As ladies of the LWML, you have lots of responsibilities within your congregation to have a positive effect on God s creation. Could your church switch from Styrofoam or plastics in favor of real plates, cups, and silverware? Yes, it would mean extra work for cleanup, but think of all the waste that would be saved! If that is too much of a jump for your congregation, perhaps even switching to paper products could be a good first step. Imagine if every Society in Southern Illinois could take the lead on helping our congregations to do our part of working and keeping God s creation! Clothing that was collected Continued from Page 1 Items collected were $50 in gift cards, 23 pair of shoes, 96 pair of underwear, 994 hair bands, 226 pairs of socks, 190 hangers, 39 hairbrushes, 45 toiletries, 46 bath towels, 11 wash cloths, 4 hand towels, plus $ in monetary gifts. Worship followed in the sanctuary, as the retreat goers sang songs of praise to their Awesome God. Holy Communion was celebrated as well. Sr. District Pastoral Counselor Rev. Jay Holden from Carbondale was the worship leader. The offering was for the national LWML 75 th anniversary mite goal. $839 was collected. Melissa Russell shared with the group what kinds of services are provided at the Violence Prevention Center. She informed everyone of how important the center is for those that come by. She had a love for her work in helping others; it was evident in her presentation. A skit was performed depicting the different jewels in the Bible. Pastor Terry Grebing from Renault Jr. District Counselor, led the women in an uplifting Bible Study, The day concluded with prayer. The Committee on Young Women planned the day. The committee includes Carol Small, Beth Small, Kim Stegman, Debra Albers, Pastor Jay Holden and Pastor Terry Grebing.

4 Page 4 LWML Newsletter 2017 Vice President of Gospel Outreach Miriam Koehne Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2 New Mite Boxes have been designed in honor of the LWML s 75th Anniversary It reads: Lutheran Women in Mission Sharing the Love of Jesus Christ for 75 years It also contains a lot more information about the LWML They are free and can be ordered from LWML.ORG Alleluia! He is risen! Those words ring out loud and clear as we view the empty tomb on Easter morning. But what happens next? Where do we focus our hearts and minds on a daily basis? It is so easy to get caught-up in the worries of our daily schedules. Children to get up and off to Lord in prayer and devotion school, job duties that exwill help us place our cares on pand and have impossible Him, focus our eyes on heaven deadlines, supper to get on and guide us through whatever the table, soccer practice, tasks lie ahead. homework, providing care for a parent or child, preparwill that path be leading ing for retirement. Someyou to Albuquerque, New times you just want to yell Mexico this summer to take STOP! Colossians 3:2 repart in the 37th Biennial minds us to set our minds on LWML Convention? All things above, not those of Turn to next page this earth. Daily time with our Mission Grants for the Biennium Amount Approved Amount Paid Amount to be Paid Unity Lutheran Christian Elementary School, East St. Louis Camp Wartburg's Shepherding Sheep Camp for people with disabilities Seminary Student Scholarships SID $8,000 $8,000 Shared Prison & Jail Ministry in Southern Illinois District, LCMS $7,000 Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School, Evansville, IL Tuition Assistance Fund Metro East Lutheran High School, Edwardsville, IL Student Scholarship & Tuition Assistance Trinity/HOPE Feed Children of Lutheran Schools in Haiti, Gallatin, TN $2,500 $2, American and International Student Ministry, Carbondale, IL Lutheran Braille Workers Center, New Minden, IL Today s Light $2,500 $1,260 $1,200 Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School, Centralia, IL, Rev. Timothy Mueller Mentor Grant Student Assistance Fund Scholarship SID Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville, IL Lutheran Student Fellowship LCMS U at SIUE-Edwardsville, IL Campus Ministry Outreach Program $3,000 $1,500 $1,500 Lutheran Bible Translators - Lectionaries in Mother Tongue for Lutheran Churches in West Africa $1,000 $1, Organization TOTAL (September, 2016) $56,000 $3,500 $3,500 $17,750 $38,250

5 2017 LWML Newsletter Page 5 Vice President of Special Focus Ministries Carol Small Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Engage and Encourage one another. How do we do that in our churches today? What does that look like? What can you do? This looks different in any church, but yet the same message needs to come through. Jesus is the connection that we have with one another. We know that Jesus died and rose for us, that we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life when we believe. Sometimes we need to hear that from another lady that can say "Hey, I know where you are at!" What can we do to help you? Where can we serve you? We need to remember that everyone has a talent and can be shown where that can be used within our societies and churches. This is not forcing them but encouraging them to share their talents. If we can show them that we have a great passion for what we do and get others involved in doing missions that are local and tangible. That means we MISSION GRANTS praise to God for the wonderful news that our national mite goal of,000 was met and surpassed as of March 31, The women within the LWML have remained focused on missions and the task of bringing the Good News to those who have not yet heard it. Within our district, during the month of June, we will be disbursing scholarship funds to qualified applicants studying to be Pastors, Teachers, Deaconesses, and Directors of Christian Education. Our God is an awesome God! His blessings continue to pour out in abundance all around us. May you continue to serve the Lord with gladness! Here are a few correspondences from mission grant and scholarship recipients: Lutheran Bible Translators Lectionaries in Mother Tongue for Lutheran Churches in West Africa recently wrote Thank you for your gift to can do little things for others like collect food and then deliver it. Try to engage younger ladies by having things for them to do but also remember to have something for the children to do that could be used in the mission. We are always wondering how to get more ladies involved but that is going to be done one on one. Bible study is a good way to engage and encourage but also taking time to show care and concern for others. I pray that we all take the time to encourage and engage one younger and one our same age lady in each of our churches. I know God will lead us to the right people. I hope that this summer you can be creative in planning your meetings and missions to include others. May God bless you! LBT and the work of Bible translation for those who do not yet have God s Word in the language of their heart. God s blessing. From LCMS U at SIUE-Edwardsville Campus Ministry Outreach Program where Pastor DeBlieck engages students in activities where they can learn and grow in Christ. Our campus ministry has truly been blessed by your prayers and financial support! The students have been enriched in their faith through your gifts. From a scholarship recipient He will be going out on vicarage this summer and wrote My two years so far at seminary have taught me so much about our Lord and His church, and now I get to put that into practice. Thank you for your generous support.

6 2017 LWML Newsletter Page 5 Vice President of Communication Sharon Guebert Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation Psalm 5:1 Where does God talk to you? And where do you communicate best with God? We all have a different answer, because we are each a unique individual created in his image. At a women s retreat today we were asked to share with one another a happy place. One said, climbing a mountain ; quilting ; being with family; another said pulling weeds in my garden. Personally I m a garden person too, or maybe I just love to play in the dirt! Our flower garden tells us a lot about life... among our flowers are weeds, flowers growing in a different place than where you planted them, they become over grown. They are not happy and don t bloom! And then you have to deal with snakes, moles, voles and even the dog wants to dig in the dirt too, right where you put the plant the kids gave you for Mothers Day. Do you plant annuals and perennials? Flowers that love the sun or prefer the shade. One might think, Oh I don t even know where to begin with a flower garden, so they don t try. You think you need to take a class in gardening! In Genesis 2;8 is says; And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he had formed. He created man from the dirt of the ground in the garden. The question was; Where are you happiest? Where do communicate best with God? Do you have a favorite place? Many from across the nation will travel to Albuquerque, NM in June for National Convention. What a great place to feel the God s presence as they gather together. As women in Christ, we all have the same needs even if your happy place is different than your LWML Sister. Find your happy place with Lutheran Women in Mission. Lynn Lukomski interviews a donkey (Rev. John Lukomski) during their presentation of Donkey Jack s Aspirations at the Lower Kaskaskia Zone Rally in Evansville. The theme for the Rally was Meek Sitting on a Donkey.

7 Page 6 LWML Newsletter 2017 Vice President of Christian Life Debra Albers Convention Notes: The voting board approved the selection of Beth Small of Collinsville as our Young Woman Representative (YWR) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We congratulate Beth on her selection an look forward to her joining the rest of the district leaguers in Albuquerque. Rev. Mitchell Schuessler is a candidate for pastoral counselor for the national LWML. It would be great to have someone from the SID to be represented on this board. Worry Don t worry about it? Just stop thinking about it! Has anyone ever given you these commands before? Or have you ever told someone to do this yourself? Easier said than done, right? My husband loves to tell me this because I am a worrywart! Yep, my number one sin is worry. Yet, God s Word says to do this instead, from Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. WOW! Deb, did you read that? Well, reread it. Go ahead; read it with me one more time. I need these words daily, sometimes hourly. How about you? I fret over everything. We just had a celebration here at our home; it was our own children and their spouses, plus my father-in-law. People that have seen my home in disarray, most of whom lived in it and kind of caused that situation, and yet, I was all in a tizzy. I extensively cleaned in the bathroom on the afternoon before everyone s arrival; when the gathering was over, I realized that I was the only person that even used the bathroom during the two hours that the company was here. All the stress I caused myself, for nothing! That folks, is just a small glimpse at what I can worry about. I am sure that many of you, if not all, worry about something, perhaps it is doctor appointments, aches and pains, children, husbands, bills, work, and this list is endless. This fall, our district retreat will be October 7, 2017 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Greenville. We will be looking into this theme more in depth. Would you plan now to attend this retreat with me? I am really planning it to see what I need to do to stop worrying; maybe you might get some tips too! In the meantime, take it to the Lord in prayer! No one can worry and pray at the same time. Max Lucado LWML Store Have you shopped at the LWML Store? Pat Wernsing is in charge of the store at district events. There are many items available in the catalogue, and it would not be possible to have them all in stock. She asks that anyone who is planning to attend an event and would like to purchase something to contact them so it can be preordered. Catalogues were distributed at the last district convention. Items are also listed online at lwml.org, and there are monthly specials. The items do no have to be purchased from the district LWML Store, but it will save paying the postage. Reminders will be included with each event invitation. Call Pat Wernsing at pawrn47@gmail.com

8 2017 LWML Newsletter Page 7 Vice President of Organizational Resources Helen Mayer I ve got a question for you, Grandma. Now those of you with young (preteen) children or grand-children, know the little spark of instant fear that comes through your mind when you hear these words. The fear of: Will I know the answer?, What have they heard now on the bus or play ground?, What did they see on TV? Did they read something in the paper? you get the idea. Never the less, you put a smile on your face, and answer, What is your question? Seems my grandson wanted to know why some churches try to be so fancy. His thought was that they don t have to be to worship Jesus, because, as he saw it, we can worship Jesus anyplace, even outside on a walk in the woods. Think about that a minute why are we trying to make churches so fancy? We know Jesus does not need anything but our true love for Him and how we share that love with others, so are we making churches fancy just for us? Jesus has said were two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them. OK, so what does that have to do with LWML? Just this we do not have to have a fancy LWML meeting. We do not have to follow a set form to say that we had an LWML meeting. They do not have to be held in church, on a certain day, following a certain agenda, for those involved to be part of LWML. Today, many ladies are missing out on the wonderful benefits of being part of the LWML because for one reason or another, they cannot be at scheduled LWML meetings. Sometimes, we need to take a look at how, when, where and why we hold our LWML meetings. Do we schedule them to be fancy because that is the way we have always done it? Do we schedule them because you have to have them? If that is the only reason you are having them, then maybe it s time to look at your society s LWML again. You can have an LWML gathering anywhere, anytime that ladies can make it. LWML is all about helping our ladies grow in God s Word and then putting that growth into service for others. Maybe it s time to reevaluate your society, and make it more user friendly. Maybe it s time to try something different in order to encourageenable-equip more ladies in your congregation so they are able to enjoy the benefits of LWML both personally and through service to others. The LWML has so many options and resources to help you do this, check them out at lwml.org. If there is something I can do to help you out, as your VP of Organizational Resources, just let me know and I will do what I can to help you make LWML a living, growing part of your congregation. Members at the Spring Rally of the Upper Kaskaskia Zone showing signs for I love you seen on the blogs from South Korea where the Trinklein Family, formerly of Olive Branch, is serving.

9 Planned Giving Advocate Ruth Ann Arbeiter Planning Smart - Giving Twice Many people do intentional planning in order to accomplish personal priorities. Examples of this include education, recreation, career, housing, vacations and worship. It rings true. When something is a priority, we usually plan for desired outcomes. Economic outcomes require planning as well. Elements of such planning include working to produce income, budgeting, saving, debt reduction, insurance, education, and long-term concerns such as retirement or healthcare. All these concerns require planning if goals are to be reached. Without planning, the future is left to circumstances that may miss the benefits that most people desire. Planning shouldn t be limited to finances or future. People often spend endless hours planning to improve their quality of life or planning vacations. We plan for recreation, entertainment, sporting events, weekends at the lake or walks in the woods. All this planning is done because these activities are important priorities for emotional, physical and social well-being. Generosity is also an important element of life that requires good planning. People who give their first-fruits do so with planning and discipline. Those who practice such planning in response to the Lord s kindness, confirm their priorities for the Lord s work and for other people. Planning for the end-of-life transfer of a person s material property is a component of life that has significant ramifications for others. A sad reality is that the average person spends little time planning for the responsible stewardship of their estate when they go to heaven. Estate plans often fail to explore charitable benefits. Charitable estate planning can avoid unintended gifts to Uncle Sam, designating them instead for family and ministry. For those who have generosity as a priority, smart planning involves a thorough exploration of charitable planning. Please ask us to help you be intentional about this area of life. For more information or help with your estate plan, please contact our own LWML Gift Planning counselor, Linda Gage, toll free, at or lindagage.lwml@gmail.com. More information is also available on our website: At our district level, you can contact Gift Planning Advocate Ruth Ann Arbeiter at or arbeiterra@egyptian.net. LWML Surpasses Mission Goal for Biennium The Lutheran Women s Missionary League (LWML) announced the Mission Goal of $2 million was met and has been surpassed. President Patti Ross shared, Praise and thanksgiving to God! Through Mite Box offerings and generous responses to our Lord s blessings, LWML will be able to fund all 19 grants chosen by the Des Moines Convention in In humble adoration and with praise to our faithful God, we dedicate these dollars to Him for the work of missionaries and ministries around the world who work to spread the saving message of Christ's love and forgiveness. Mission offerings sent with the postmark of March 31, 2017, were applied to this mission goal, so a final accounting will be announced later. Mite offerings, along with donations from other LWML supporters, will help continue to fund the mission grants which will be selected at the LWML Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in June 2017.

10 Page 8 LWML Newsletter 2017 Serving You Are: President Brenda Schoenbeck Vice President of Gospel Outreach Miriam Koehne Vice President of Christian Life Deb Albers Vice President of Organizational Resources Helen Meyer Vice President of Special Focus Ministries Carol Small Vice President of Communication Sharon Guebert Recording Secretary Patti Liefer Corresponding Secretary Lucy Thompson Financial Secretary Carol Oldinski Treasurer Ruth Ann Arbeiter Counselor Rev. Terry Grebing Counselor Rev. Jay Holden Editor Jane Lucht Archivist/Historian Peggy Sachtleben Christian Resource Editor Joyce Aukamp Young Women Representative April Rottmann Resources. LWML Store Pat Wernsing Quarterly/Newsletter Coordinator Lucy Thompson Send changes of addresses or s to: Lucy Thompson sidlwmllucy@gmail.com Board Notes: Reports were given at the board meeting by the vice presidents and zone president and were discussed and ideas shared. Information on the National Convention in Albuquerque was shared. The SID banner was on display for the board members to see. It will be taken to the convention. A recap of the District Spring Retreat was given. Everyone agreed it was a very up-lifting day. Preliminary plans for the District Fall Retreat was presented to the board. It will be October 7 at Our Redeemer in Greenville. A report was given from the Endowment Committee on moving the scholarship fund CD s to the Endowment Fund for a higher return that would create more money for scholarships. Loving Gifts Memorials Oella Fullington Cathy Goforth* Verdell Niermann Bernadine Stellhorn In Honor Charlie & Sharon Guebert s 55th wedding anniversary Becky Roschnafsky* *Denotes Student Assistance Fund