Mite Goal Exceeded. Upcoming Events and Deadlines

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1 Women On a Mission Minnesota South District Summer, 2012 Inside This Issue Mite Goal Exceeded Praise God from whom all blessing flow! We have reached our mite goal! With everyone working together, the LWML Minnesota South District has not only met its mite goal for the biennium but has exceeded it by $1,938.73! The biennium officially ended on April 30, Mites will continue to be collected. Any mites collected after April 30, 2012 will go toward the mission grants goal set at the convention in June. Be sure to study the mission grant information available so that you know which grants you (or your society delegates) want to vote for at the convention. Praise the Lord and thank you for your mites which support these mission grant recipients who strive to spread the saving Gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mission Grants Page 2 Mite Minute Page 2 Convention Presenters Page 3 Pastor s Greetings Page 4 President s Greetings Page 5 Servant Resources Page 5 Christian Life News Page 6 Parliamentary Pause Page 6 Memorials Page 6 Care nucopia Page 7 Fall Joyshops Page 7 Board Members Page 8 Convention Schedule June 22: 8:45 am - 3:30 pm Christian Life Day 7:30 pm Opening Worship Service June 23: 8:15 am - 4:30 pm Convention Sessions 6:30-8:00 pm Banquet and Entertainment June 24: 6-7 am Pledge Walk 8:45-11 am Convention Session 11 am - 12 noon Closing Worship Service Next WOM Deadline: August 11, 2012 Convention Check List When you come to convention, don t forget your registration confirmation that you received either in the mail or by with your health information filled in, a Bible for Christian Life Day, your Gift from the Heart item, singing voice, offerings, energy, pledge walk sheet/donations, a sweater and enthusiasm. $39, in mites collected this quarter! Upcoming Events and Deadlines June 21, 2012 Pre-Convention District Board Meeting, Mankato June 22-24, 2012 MN So. District LWML Convention, Mankato August 15, 2012 National Mission Grants Proposals Deadline August 18, 2012 District Board of Directors Meeting, North Mankato Submit articles for the Women On a Mission to: comm@mnslwml.org This issue of the WOM was printed in May, 2012.

2 PAGE 2 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION SUMMER 2012 ISSUE PRINTED: MAY, Gospel Outreach Name of Grant Beginning Balance Previously Paid Paid This Quarter Paid to Date Unpaid Balance Trinity/HOPE, Inc. $5, $4, $ $5, $0.00 Seminary Student Tuition Assistance Matching Grant, St. Louis & Fort Wayne $20, $16, $3, $ $0.00 The Dwelling Place Transitional Housing, Domestic Violence Shelter, Twin Cities $10, $9, $ $10, $0.00 Scholarships for Lutheran High Schools in the MN South District $42, $36, $5, $42, $0.00 Full-Time Professional Church Worker Students Financial Aid $40, $31, $8, $40, $0.00 LWML Mission Trip VBS MN South District $20, $16, $0.00 $16, $3, Lutheran Bible Translators Vehicles for Missionaries in Africa $10, $9, $ $10, $0.00 Special Education in Lutheran Schools, MN South District $7, $6, $ $7, $0.00 Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Food Bank $10, $9, $ $10,000.00` $0.00 Concordia Seminary, Fort Wayne, Food & Clothing Co-op $10, $9, $ $10, $0.00 Lutheran Blind Mission Outreach Center in Minneapolis $5, $4, $ $5, $0.00 Concordia Renewal Center Support for India (partial) $ $ $41.00 $ $0.00 Total Mission Grants Projects $180, $153, $22, $176, $ National LWML $60, $50, $9, $60, $0.00 Total Mites $240, $203, $36, $236, $ MN South LWML is now on Facebook! Like us for daily updates on the latest products in the LWML catalog, Bible verses, encouragement, mite reminders and more! National LWML is on Facebook too! Check it out! The WOMEN ON A MISSION (WOM) Is published four times a year by the Minnesota South District Lutheran Women s Missionary League, an auxiliary organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. MITE MINUTE: Thanks be to God for all the wondrous blessings He gives us. We have met and passed our Mission Grant Goal. The money received over and above the goal will now go toward the next biennium goal which will be decided at the LWML Minnesota South District Convention in June. Keep the mites coming. Notice that the Financial Secretary has a new address. It is: Darlene Fretham 209 West Central Street Springfield, MN 56087

3 PAGE 3 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION SUMMER 2012 ISSUE PRINTED: MAY, 2012 Convention Bible Study Leader: Dr. Dale Meyer Dr. Dale A. Meyer, who currently serves as the tenth President of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, has been selected as the Bible study leader for this year s convention. Meyer was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He is a 1973 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, earning a Master of Divinity degree. He earned a M.A. (1974) and a Ph.D. (1986) in classical languages from Washington University in St. Louis. In 1993 Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. Prior to serving as President of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Dr. Meyer has served as pastor of St. Salvator Lutheran Church, Venedy, IL; St. Peter Lutheran Church, New Memphis, IL; and Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Collinsville, IL as well as being on the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO. Dr. Meyer was speaker on the radio program The Lutheran Hour from 1989 to 2001, and until 2003 he was the host of the television show On Main Street. Dr. Meyer served as third vice-president of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod from 1995 to He served as the Gregg H. Benidt Memorial Chair in Homiletics and Literature at Concordia from He is the author of The Meyer Minute, a weekday internet commentary. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Bible Society. Dr. Meyer resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife Diane. They have two grown daughters, Elizabeth and Catharine. Banquet Entertainment: Dr. Mary Hilgendorf Our Saturday evening banquet entertainment this year will be Dr. Mary Hilgendorf. Dr. Hilgendorf serves as Professor of Education and Ambassador to the Women s Leadership Institute at Concordia University Wisconsin. Mary is married to Duane Hilgendorf, Senior Vice President of Advancement at Concordia, and they have one son and daughter-in-law, and one daughter and son-in-law, and two toddler grandsons. Mary is the third and youngest child born to an LCMS pastor s wife and her husband, the pastor. She grew up in parsonages in Michigan, Illinois, and California with a four-year stretch at a men s penitentiary in Illinois where her father served as prison chaplain. Mary holds Bachelor s and Master's Degrees in Education from Concordia University Nebraska, and she received a Ph.D. in Educational Foundations from Marquette University. Her dissertation is entitled C.F.W. Walther and Education in The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Before coming to Concordia in 1992, Mary taught in Lutheran schools in Arkansas, Florida, and Wisconsin. Mary served as the Chair of the Elementary Education Department at Concordia from 1998 until 2005 when she became the Director of the Women s Leadership Institute. In 2002, Mary was voted Faculty Laureate by her faculty colleagues at Concordia University Wisconsin. Mary is a frequent speaker at women s conferences and educational seminars. She is very enthusiastic about providing educational opportunities for women to grow in their unique gifts of leadership. Mary believes that we can make a difference as we encourage and equip women for Christian leadership in service to Christ in the church and the world. Convention Offerings The offerings for the 24th Biennial LWML MN South District Convention are: 1. LWML Minnesota South District Mission Goal 2. Veterans of the Cross (Retired Clergy & Church Workers) 3. Rochester Circuit Muslim Ministry 4. Production of Braille Bibles/Minnesota South

4 PAGE 4 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION SUMMER 2012 ISSUE PRINTED: MAY, 2012 Pastoral Greetings Ephesians 2:8, 10a (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We live in a throw-away society. Often, if one of our appliances or gadgets has a problem, we throw it away. It is cheaper and easier to go buy a new one. Besides, no one fixes that stuff anymore. With the synthetic fabrics that we wear, we would like for our clothes to wear out so we could buy some new so we pass the clothes we no longer want to some organization that will re-sell it or send it to people who lack clothing. With food, we are much more conscious of the sell-by date, thinking that, if it has reached that point, we need to get rid of it. Our grandparents made do with what they had. They ate left -overs that we might not find too appetizing. They didn t know what a sell-by date was. When the collar on a shirt got frayed, they turned the collar over the back was not worn at all! And when the shirt was finally beyond repair, they used it to make rugs. They were satisfied with the car or the toaster that was not of the latest model or had the latest features. Many of them had lived through times of depression, war or drought times when abundance was unknown. In those times, it was make do or do without. Thankfully, our God is not interested in throwing us away. He loves us, and because He does, He has made a new person out of each one of us. It happened at our Baptism and we are made new again each time we hear His Word, confess our sins and receive absolution, or receive His Body and Blood in His Holy Sacrament. We are re-made and re-cycled and made-over into God s people because of the love that He has for us. The cost for making us over was high. It took the blood of God s One and Only Son, shed on the cross. It took the extreme agony of the punishment that He took for us. As we still bask in the afterglow of Easter, we can be confident that the makeover that God has done will carry us to eternity. God makes us over into His people, but He doesn t make do with us. We are not inferior because of our makeover. We are cleansed and whitened. Our sins are removed as if they were never there. We are not second class because we are re-cycled. In God s eyes we are perfect because He sees us through the blood of Jesus. We are God s workmanship made over into people fit for heaven. Rev. Dale Kohrs, Pastoral Counselor LWML "Gifts of Love" Program As Christian stewards, we know that God who is the source of wisdom, grace, love and power is not only by our side, but is at work in our hearts when we make a gift to benefit LWML or other Christian charities. A planned "Gift of Love" may provide special tax deductions plus a lifetime income for yourself, spouse and possibly heirs. LWML volunteers Mary Kay Mages and Glenda Schuft are available to help explain the LWML "Gifts of Love" program to your zone or society. Please contact them to learn more about this important piece of Christian stewardship. glendaschuft@embarqmail.com, marykay_schuft@hotmail.com , Their program may be as short or as long as you need. You may also visit LWML Store at Convention If your makeover needs something special, be sure to check out the LWML store. There are a lot of new first items and old favorites to purchase. The store will be open during convention breaks Thursday night to Saturday evening. If you collect convention charms, this is where they will be. Be sure to say Hi! to Juliene Klaustermeier, the store manager, and her helpers, among them her granddaughters Abigail and Grace. They ll be ready to serve you.

5 PAGE 5 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION SUMMER 2012 ISSUE PRINTED: MAY, 2012 MISSIONS WHAT CAN I DO? Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. Christ completed His mission by rising on Easter morning enabling all believers to live with Him forever. What are you doing, or what can you do to show that you know and believe this? As the object of the LWML is three pronged with Mission Inspiration, Mission Education, and Mission Service, we can see how we can apply this to our lives and assist those who are around us. The district convention is June at Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato; are you registered? Delegates were to have been registered by May 1 and guests by May 15 to avoid a late fee for the guests. Delegates should read the material when they receive it so that they will be able to vote intelligently regarding the grants proposals, officers, and proposed bylaws. That is part of your education. How are you inspired? You want to do the best you can and go to the Lord in prayer to guide you in the decisions you make so that all you do is pleasing to Him. You attend Christian Life Day with the four Bible studies. You participate in the Bible studies, hear the mission speakers, and all of the other sessions at the convention. You serve Him as you complete your functions at the convention and then go back to your local societies, share what you learned from the above mentioned items, the Bible studies, and the fellowship with your LWML friends. Guests are able to do all of the above except for the voting. All can participate in the Christian Life Day on Friday during the day as well as participate in the opening Communion Service as we praise the Lord, sing wonderful songs with great messages, share the peace with our fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. We are inspired by the Young Women Representatives from the zones and societies. The convention closes on Sunday morning with a worship service as we continue to do all to the Glory of God. You leave the convention; now what? Does it stop there? NO! We will leave the convention center and go back to our homes, communities, church, work, and family. We should continue to remember we have been Made Over in Christ and what we do should be reflected at all times. As we are inspired, educated and then serve we all have great opportunities at all times to Serve the Lord with Gladness. Darleen A. Harens LWML MNS District President Leadership Tools Are you in a position of influence or leadership? Leadership is not just being elected it is an attitude a way of thinking. As you commit to a new position of service to our Lord, you won t want to miss out on the variety of resources for developing leaders on the LWML website. Under the resource tab you will find helpful printable items to use with your society. I like the Mentoring Resource Kit, the Naomi and Ruth Bible Study and the LWML Servant Resources Kit. Type in this link leader_development/index.php or look under the Resources section at Joy Anderson, Vice President Servant Resources Rockin Mites The Rockin Mites will be returning to the Verizon Center for the LWML Minnesota South District Convention. Be sure to bring your mite contribution so that you may take your turn in the rocking chairs. All mite contributions will go toward the Mission Grants Goal to be set at the convention.

6 PAGE 6 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION SUMMER 2012 ISSUE PRINTED: MAY, 2012 Grace - Into Faith - Into Action The Christian Life Committee invites you to attend the Christian Life Day Grace - Into Faith -Into Action a study of Ephesians 2:8-10 which in itself is a formula of solid declaration on free will. This study will be divided into 4 parts, Relationship Construction, Grace Construction, Into Faith Construction, and Into Action Construction. All of this is Friday, June 22 beginning with singing with Dave and Sabra Horn. Each of these Construction lessons will help with the Extreme You Makeover that is planned for you at the 2012 convention. So join us and plan to leave a New You! Those who signed up when they registered will have an enjoyable luncheon with Dr. Hilgendorf on Saturday, June 23. We heard her speak at the LWML convention in Portland 2009 and were very impressed. To quote V.P. Midge, She is probably one of the best speakers I have heard in a long time. I could listen to her all day! Margaret (Midge) Hohenstein, Vice President Christian Life Quarterly Update The new Quarterly subscription runs from Summer 2012 to Spring Your first copy will be mailed around June 1, You can add to your order but you cannot decrease your order. There were 186 societies with subscriptions and 65 single copy subscriptions this year. Barbara Fellersen, Quarterly Manager PARLIAMENTARY PAUSE Each district is a subordinate organization of the Lutheran Women s Missionary League. When referring to a specific district of the LWML, write LWML or Lutheran Women s Missionary League preceding the district name. For example: LWML Minnesota South District. The full title of a district president should be written in the following order: LWML Minnesota South District President Darleen Harens. The full legal name of a zone is preceded by Lutheran Women s Missionary League and the district name. For example, Lutheran Women s Missionary League Minnesota South District Blue Earth Zone. Myrna Behrens, Parliamentarian ATTENTION: All Society and Zone Treasurers and anyone else sending money to the LWML MN South District: Your Financial Secretary has moved and all monies to the LWML MN South District should now be sent to her at: Darlene Fretham 209 West Central Street Springfield, MN Memorials Received February - April, 2012 Dorothy Volberding Marie Kehren (2) Frieda Braun Edgar Schultz Nancy Petrich Lelan Hibbing Ben Christens Chuck Groth Robert Durbin Rudella Thompson Lorna Schmidt Kenneth Schwarz Pearl Law Marjorie Hart Lavonne Dahlke Ardis Bakkene Lillian Sommers Bernice Soeffker Irene Grabau Dorothy Ihrke Dolly Waitikowich

7 PAGE 7 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION SUMMER 2012 ISSUE PRINTED: MAY, 2012 THE CARE NUCOPIA I hope you are enjoying or have enjoyed blessing others with your Gifts from the Heart for the District convention. If you are reading this before the convention and are planning to attend, please stop by the Human Care booth. Come and watch a video highlighting the five organizations selected for this year s Gifts from the Heart as well as other Human Care activities. The rest of the display will also offer a meaningful experience. The most exciting part of the booth will be the opportunity to participate in a Servant Event! Stop by and see what it is all about! The Human Care Committee chose not to include school items for the Gifts from the Heart for the District convention. We would like to encourage you to consider purchasing school items when they go on sale this summer in preparation for the next school year. Place them in your care nucopias and make an effort to keep your ears and eyes open for opportunities to donate these items to organizations that may be asking for them. As most of you may know by now, there no longer is a Vice President of Human Care on the national LWML level. Human Care is now a part of Gospel Outreach and is called Mission Servants. They have a beautiful new logo pictured above (on the right) You can download their new logo in color from the LWML website, and I m sure you could find many uses for it. My term as District Vice President of Human Care will soon be ending, and this may be the last edition of The Care nucopia. Serving in this capacity has truly been a blessing and a rewarding and humbling experience. I hope I have been of help to you, your societies, your zones, and the district, and that thinking of Human Care in terms of a care nucopia has been beneficial. I still encourage you to express your faith by carrying your care nucopias with you at all times, to fill them with both material items and acts of service, and to empty them often. May your care nucopias help others with their daily needs and be a witness of our loving Triune God as well as a magnet drawing unbelievers to Him. He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. (Proverbs 28:27 and 14:21, NIV) Patti Thies, Vice President of Human Care LWML Joyshops Survival: Loving while Living Romans 12:9-13 Join your sisters in Christ for an uplifting day of Bible Study, fellowship, food and fun! Saturday, September 29: St. Matthew s, Worthington Saturday, October 6th: Good Shepherd, Owatonna Saturday, October 13: Concordia, Red Wing Saturday, October 20: St. Paul s, Lester Prairie

8 President Darleen Harens Ph Vice President of Christian Life Margaret Hohenstein Ph Vice President of Communication Ruth Badciong Ph Vice President of Human Care Patti Thies Ph Vice President of Gospel Outreach Debi Ylitalo Ph Vice President of Servant Resources Joy Anderson Ph Recording Secretary Joyce Lanie Ph Financial Secretary & Equalization Darlene Fretham Ph Treasurer & Memorials & Bequests Sandy Weiden Ph Chairman of the Nominating Committee Marge Knoll Ph Nominating Committee Members: Julie Christopherson, Lois Marquardt, AnnaMary Seltz, Vangy Vanstrom Parliamentarian Myrna Behrens Ph Archivist-Historian Lois Marquardt Ph Quarterly Manager Barbara Fellersen Ph Counselors Rev. Jon C. Olson Ph (church) Rev. Jon Vollrath Ph Rev. Russell Allan Reed Ph (home) Ph (church) Ph (cell) Rev. Dale Kohrs Ph (church) Meeting Managers Joan Luedtke Ph Margaret Hesemann Ph LWML Store Manager Juliene Klaustermeier Ph National Convention Bus Lady Julie Ebert Ph Webmaster Wendy Greiner Ph Assistant Webmaster Delores McGillivray Ph Committee on Young Women Amy Vincelli Ph Nicoleen Meyer Ph WOM Editor Joann Rosenfeld Phone: WOM Assistant Editor Irene Mensing Phone: WOM Circulation Manager Carolyn Wagner Phone: ZONE PRESIDENTS Capitol Conference NE Suburban: Marilyn Akerman St. Paul Metro: Beth Schuster Crow River Conference Arlington: Ruth Wolter Litchfield: Deb Chapa Mankato: Wanda Schwarz McLeod: Linda Butzin Lyndale Conference St. Croix River: Mary Torno SE Suburban: Mary Mulfinger Minneapolis Conference Minneapolis Metro: Bea Haagenson NW Suburban: Julie Hollister SW Suburban: Charlotte Renner Minnetonka Conference Lake Minnetonka: Carmen Melendez North Carver: Majel Wendorf South Carver: Carolyn Durbin Owatonna Conference Austin: Donna Bailey Faribault: Betty Velzke Waseca: Judie Waters Southwest Conference Blue Earth: Kay Groth Pipestone: Patti Pierson Sherburn: Connie Markquart Worthington: Myleen Swanson Whitewater Conference Lake Pepin: Doreen Hoffman Rochester: Delores McGillivray Winona: Michelle Prigge