1. Keep it positive 2. Keep it Biblical 3. Stress the Mission (P. 21) Generous People by Pastor Eugene Grimm

Transcription

1 Northern Great Lakes Synod Notes & Quotes Volume 18, Issue 10 October North Third Street Marquette, MI / / fax Three Commandments of Stewardship Ministry Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes Inside this issue: Bishop s Pages 1-5 Pastoral Vacancies and Interim Pastors Synod Financials 2 Pastor Jennifer Johnson Wrege Keep it positive 2. Keep it Biblical 3. Stress the Mission (P. 21) Generous People by Pastor Eugene Grimm In many of our congregations, October brings with it stewardship! This is a very good thing. I love stewardship! Stewardship time is a great opportunity to renew our excitement about the mission of the whole Church of Jesus Christ. At stewardship we can mine the great Biblical truths. We give because we have been so richly given! And during a stewardship program, we are reminded that our hope lies in a Risen Jesus Christ. Our trust is in God, not in dollars or any of our efforts. What a wonderful time of year to tell the story of God s love. What a wonderful time to share the many ministries of the Synod and the whole Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. What a great time to talk about generosity, about tithing, about proportionate giving, about making a pledge or estimate of giving. Stewardship is like Sunday School. Each Fall we do not say, Are we going to have Sunday School this year? Instead, we plan for it. We arrange for the teachers, set up a schedule and order materials. Some years, Sunday School works out better than other years but we have it every year. The same should be for stewardship ministry. We need to do it every year. The plan may change, the approach and the leaders will be different, but we cannot ignore stewardship and just hope that the message will get through somehow. An old friend told me a hundred times, Plan your work and work your plan. If you need help with a stewardship plan, call me. I would welcome an opportunity to talk to your Council or stewardship committee about your fall-winter work.

2 Page 2 Notes & Quotes Pastoral Vacancies and Interim Pastors First, Iron River - Pastor Earnest Ness Trinity, Rhinelander - Pastor Norman Peterson Gethsemane, Wallace - Pastor Dave Christenson Salem, Ironwood - Pastor John Kuziej Bethany, Escanaba - Pastor Peter Andersen Calvary, Minocqua - Pastor Barb Girod First, Iron Mountain - Pastor Gene Wickman Trinity, Stonington - Pastor Stephen Gauger Siloa, Ontonagon & Faith, White Pine - Pastor John West St. Paul/St. John s, Ironwood - Pastor Joyce Heintz Sharon, Bessemer The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you can do only a little. - Sydney Smith The Lord has blessed us with His gifts! At summer s end, our mission support giving is at its highest level in more than ten years. Designated gifts through August 31 are only slightly below last year at this time. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the strong commitment to Christ s mission evidenced by our congregations giving. Thank you for your partnership in this mission! As of 8/31/ $ Change % Change Pledged Amount 1,053,034 1,061,143 +8, % Amount Received 582, , , % Designated Gifts 159, , %

3 Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 3 Thomas A. Skrenes, Bishop (continued) LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE THE HURRICANES It is just terrible! A million people have been displaced in Louisiana and Mississippi. Hundreds of thousands are living in modest housing. The needs are great. Women and men are unemployed. Children are attending school hundreds of miles from their former homes. The United States government is spending billions of dollars, and the American people are supporting The Red Cross and other wonderful charities. And our Church is in the midst of it all. Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, is at work. Our Churches do good work! Our Disaster Response Ministry is recognized as a leader in the work around the World Trade Center after September 11, Your Church is working with the Lutheran congregations, pastors and lay leaders in the south to reach out to the victims of the Hurricanes. You will want to be a part of this monumental effort! Pray for Louisiana and Mississippi and offer your financial support. Your offerings will be sent on quickly! You may also find out more information at the ELCA website God is at work in you. CAMPUS MINISTRY IS CHANGING For nearly fifty years, the work of Lutheran Campus Ministry at our public universities in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been accomplished by the ministry of pastors and lay committees called by the Church. Under the umbrella organization, Lutheran Campus Ministry Wisconsin-Upper Michigan, thousands of people have been served in these five decades at the 12 campuses in the two state area. Beginning on February 1, 2006, LCMWUM will cease to exist, but campus ministry will continue. Each of the six Synods in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan will take primary responsibility for campus work. In our Synod, the sites at Michigan Technological University and Northern Michigan University will now be administered in cooperation with local committees and the Northern Great Lakes Synod. We also will have more financial responsibility for the ministries. Pastor Jon Magnuson will continue his work at Northern Michigan University, as will Pastor Bucky Beach at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. This is an important time for campus ministry! We are at work developing the structure in our Synod for a successful 21 st century effort on our campuses. Our hope is to present a plan for this work to next year s Synod Assembly.

4 Page 4 Notes & Quotes Thomas A. Skrenes, Bishop (continued) Now has come the glory season. Glory in the bountiful fruits of God s earth. Glory in the breathtaking multi-colored leaves of the trees. Glory in the invigorating smells of Fall. Even glory in the sparkling frostblanket covering the grass and putting it to sleep for the winter. Glory, glory everywhere we look. TRANSITIONS +Congratulations to our newest pastors! Pastor John Autio was ordained on August 26. He now serves Mission United in Pelkie, Michigan. Pastor Devon Barrix was ordained on August 28 and now serves at Faith in Rock and Bethany in Perkins, Michigan. +Congratulations to Dr. Larry Pagel from Messiah in Marquette who was recently named Collegiate Teacher of the Year from the National Business Education Association. He is a professor at Northern Michigan University, Marquette. Larry serves also on the Lutheran Campus Ministry Board of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and is the Synod Florist. He cares for the beautiful flowers around the Synod Office. +A new Double Preacher s Kid as Hannah Irene Wight Hoogheem recently made her appearance in God s world. She is the daughter of Pastors Karen (Bethel, Ishpeming) and Joel (Trinity, Ishpeming) Wight Hoogheem. God bless this growing family! Luanne and I are deeply appreciative of the many notes, cards and gifts we have received as we celebrated the silver jubilees of our Christian professions. The worship and reception on Friday, September 16 was very exciting for us. The Trinity Lutheran Church in Ishpeming was full as we thanked God for twenty-five years of ordained service for me, and as we all celebrated with Luanne her twentyfive years as a Registered Nurse. We are also touched by the outpouring of gifts that will benefit the

5 Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 5 Thomas A. Skrenes, Bishop (continued) Synod Seminarian Scholarship Fund and the Nursing School at Finlandia University. Our thanks to the Synod Council for their energy and willingness to celebrate! Thank God for you. Habitat for Humanity Grace, Gwinn Project Life Saver Grace, Gwinn Lutheran World Relief Grace, Gwinn Zion, Marinette Holy Trinity, Chassell Grace, South Range Zion, St. Ignace Calvary, Rapid River Bethel, Ishpeming Lutheran Campus Ministry Faith, Ishpeming Immanuel, Escanaba Grace, Gwinn Emanuel, Skandia Trinity, Ishpeming Calvary, Rapid River Thomas & Barbara Bach Bernhardt & Phyllis Petersen Alfred & Ethelyn Tewel Ellen & Melvin Carlson Grace, Gwinn World Missionary Support Trinity, Stambaugh for Jeff Johnson Mission United, Pelkie for Jeff & Mary Johnson Faith, Rock & Bethany, Perkins for Jeff Johnson ELCA Disaster Funds Mission United, Pelkie Grace, South Range United, Crystal Falls Lutheran Social Services Salem, Ironwood Seminarian Scholarship Bethany, Amasa LAMP USA Our Redeemer, Newberry Luther Home Our Redeemer, Newberry Endowment Steven & Joni Peffers in memory of Ernie Peffers Hurricane Katrina Holy Trinity, Chassell Salem, Bark River Bethel, Ishpeming +Thomas A. Skrenes, Bishop tskrenes@nglsynod.org

6 Page 6 Notes & Quotes From the Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Jennifer Johnson Wrege Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Lutheran Book of Worship We were running late, Marv and I, as we headed into the church where we planned to worship one Sunday morning while on vacation. I was eager to get settled into our seats, seats not too close to the front, of course, when I realized that there were about twenty to twenty-five people chatting in the middle of the narthex right in front of the entrance to the sanctuary. I was thinking, in that tone of voice: Why don t these people get out of the way while they are talking so those who want to get into the sanctuary can get there! when I realized that these were not just people enthusiastically chitchatting with each other before worship, but we were in a line! It was a line of people waiting to get into worship. The church was full of worshipers, others were entering the sanctuary, and we were waiting in line! I commented to a woman standing next to me in line, Are we in line to get into worship? Yes, she smiled, isn t that something! The expression on her face was beaming with delight. It hasn t always been like this. We have our share of challenges, she said, but we are learning to approach them more creatively. Like our organist situation, she continued. About five years ago we advertised for months trying to get an organist. We d get a nibble here and there, but nothing really. Every once in awhile someone would come and play the piano for us at worship. It was going okay, but we longed for an organist. We had just about given up hope when one of our members, a retired band director who had no keyboard experience, began to learn how to play the organ. He took lessons.

7 Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 7 Pastor Jennifer Johnson Wrege (continued) He practiced. After awhile he began to play at our worship services. Now, to listen to him, you d think he d been playing all his life. I could tell you other stories. but by then, we were at the front of the line and the pastor was beginning to welcome everyone, so we headed toward the chairs being pointed out to us by one of the ushers and sat down. In some ways, this organist reminds me of Moses. Everything was going just fine when God nudged him to begin something new. Like Moses, he had to overcome some resistance to the scheme God was initiating - he was retired; he was too old; he didn t want to be tied down; he didn t have time; he was a trumpet player, not an organist; it was just too much. Yet, in the end, he did it. Having discerned where God was leading him, he followed. I ll bet there is a part of us that is a bit like Moses in each one of us. You can bet that God has a purpose for each of us, and that God calls each of us to mission and ministry. And, I ll bet that every once in awhile, each of us resists that call to some degree as we raise our issues that we are too young or too old, too busy or too bored, unwilling or unable, too poor or too wealthy, lack skills or experience, or it s just plain too scary. Yet we can be of good courage knowing that wherever we are sent, God is already preparing the way, providing the resources, developing our skills, and providing us with experiences so that we can go with confidence and assurance. Where is God sending you? Blessings Leo Buscaglia, who lectured and wrote on the subject of love, once told about judging a contest to discern what child among several nominees was the most caring. The winner turned out to be a 4-year-old who had gone to visit an elderly neighbor who had lost his wife. Seeing the old fellow crying in his yard, the little boy went to him and lifted himself upon the grieving man s lap. Later, when his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, he answered, Nothing. I just helped him cry. - Found in The Connecting Link

8 Page 8 Notes & Quotes From the Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Jennifer Johnson Wrege We were running late, Marv and I, as we headed into the church where we planned to worship one Sunday morning while on vacation. I was eager to get settled into our seats, seats not too close to the front, of course, when I realized that there were about twenty to twenty-five people chatting in the middle of the narthex right in front of the entrance to the sanctuary. I was thinking, in that tone of voice: Why don t these people get out of the way while they are talking so those who want to get into the sanctuary can get there! when I realized that these were not just people enthusiastically chit-chatting with each other before worship, but we were in a line! It was a line of people waiting to get into worship. The church was full of worshipers, others were entering the sanctuary, and we were waiting in line! I commented to a woman standing next to me in line, Are we in line to get into worship? Yes, she smiled, isn t that something! The expression on her face was beaming with delight. It hasn t always been like this. We have our share of challenges, she said, but we are learning to approach them more creatively. Like our organist situation, she continued. About five years ago we advertised for months trying to get an organist. We d get a nibble here and there, but nothing really. Every once in awhile someone would come and play the piano for us at worship. It was going okay, but we longed for an organist. We had just about given up hope when one of our members, a retired band director who had no keyboard experience, began to learn how to play the organ. He took lessons. He practiced. After awhile he began to play at our worship services. Now, to listen to him, you d think he d been playing all his life. I could tell you other stories. but by then, we were at the front of the line and the pastor was beginning to welcome everyone, so we headed toward the chairs being pointed out to us by one of the ushers and sat down.

9 Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 9 Pastor Jennifer Johnson Wrege (continued) In some ways, this organist reminds me of Moses. Everything was going just fine when God nudged him to begin something new. Like Moses, he had to overcome some resistance to the scheme God was initiating - he was retired; he was too old; he didn t want to be tied down; he didn t have time; he was a trumpet player, not an organist; it was just too much. Yet, in the end, he did it. Having discerned where God was leading him, he followed. our skills, and providing us with experiences so that we can go with the confidence and assurance. Where is God sending you? Blessings I ll bet there is a part of us that is a bit like Moses in each one of us. You can bet that God has a purpose for each of us and that God calls each of us to mission and ministry. And, I ll bet that every once in awhile, each of us resists that call to some degree as we raise our issues that we are too young or too old, too busy or too bored, unwilling or unable, too poor or too wealthy, lack skills or experience; or it s just plain too scary. Yet we can be of good courage knowing that wherever we are sent, God is already preparing the way, providing the resources, developing

10 Page 10 Notes & Quotes Title Author

11 Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 11 Author s Article - continued

12 Northern Great Lakes Synod 1029 North Third Street Marquette, MI Phone: 906/ Fax: 906/ On-line Devotions for October October 2-8/ Sheree Mariani, Bethany, Ishpeming October 9-15/ Tera Kossow, First, Gladstone October 16-22/ Pastor Bill Jacobson, Zion Metropolitan, Felch October 23-29/ Vicki Underhill, Bethany, Norway October 30-November 5/ Ann Johnson, Our Saviour, Iron Mountain Pray and Work Ora et labora Notes and Quotes is a monthly publication of the Northern Great Lakes Synod mailed to clergy, AIM's, synod committee members, agency representatives and ELCA and congregational leaders. If you would like items included in this newsletter please submit them to: Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes, NGLS, 1029 N. Third Street, Marquette, MI Evangelical Lutheran Church in America NORTHERN GREAT LAKES SYNOD 1029 North Third Street Marquette, Michigan Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Marquette, MI Permit No. 22 We re on the web! Mailing Label