Messiah Lutheran Church. Pastor s Message

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1 January 2018 Messiah Lutheran Church And the word became flesh, and lived among us, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 Pastor s Message Inside this issue: Messiah Message/ 1 Happenings 2-4 Celebrations 5 Church Calendar 6 Serving in Worship 7 Hello All, The Christmas season is twelve days long, starting at Christmas and ending at the Epiphany of our Lord; where we celebrate the visit of the Magi. These wise men were the remnants of the Jews left in Babylon after the Babylonian captivity where we read about Magi in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar. The remnant of Israelites living in modern day Bagdad still went to synagogue every Saturday and studied the scriptures. These particular men were called wise for one reason, that they studied the scriptures and in their study of scripture they came in search of the coming Messiah, who has come to save us from our sins. The Messiah has come to make the final sacrifice on our behalf. To give to us the salvation of our souls. Theses wise men came seeking Christ in awe, reverence, and respect and if we too are wise, we too will seek after Jesus all of our days; as we are taking up our cross and following after him, year after year. May the Lord bless you in this New Year. Church Office: Pastor Mallardi Pastor Mallardi: DCE Ben Venteicher: Cong. President: Mike Secretary: Carrie Malusky

2 2 Happenings... Hays Area MOPS A Ministry of Messiah Lutheran Church Our December MOPS activities went very well! We were blessed with a wonderful Dec. meeting full of mason filled Christmas gift goodies and a circle yarn time that gave moms the opportunity to really open up to each other sharing the best and the worst things that happened in 2017! We had so many things to be thankful for and so many trials to be prayed for. Then, we had a fun time in the Frost Fest Parade! It was a great time of fellowship as well as a terrific way to invite lots of moms to join us at Mops. The back of our float said it best, MOMS encouraging each other through Christ! Our January MOPS meeting will be Sat, Jan. 13 from 9:30-11:30 am in the courtyard at Messiah! We will have a special guest from FHSU presenting to us about Self-Defense. It should be very educational and fun at the same time. Then on Mon, Jan. 29 from 6-8 pm we ll be having a wonderful COOKING experience, Menu Planning and Quick, Easy Meals for the Busy Mom through the KS Extension Office. Please RSVP on our facebook sight or contact Janine Remember, we meet the 2nd Saturday of the month from 9:30-11:30 am at Messiah. Please invite moms with children under kindergarten age! It s a wonderful way to share God s love and encouragement with them. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to set FREE those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19 MOPS is a group for mothers of children ages conception through kindergarten. Call Janine at with any questions or if you would be interested in being a Mentor Mom!! Women In After a beak during the month of December, we are ready to start again with our early morning prayer time! It will be wonderful to get back to it! We are in the midst of reading the book of Acts. Then we have discussion and PRAY together for our families, our church, our community, etc! We will meet on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am starting Jan. 10th. at Mokas Coffee Shop. God has given us a great gift of prayer! We would LOVE you to join us! Look to the LORD and his strength, seek his face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11 LWML will meet on January 8, 2018 At 7:00 pm in the Courtyard. Rhiannon will be the hostess and will also present the devotions. The program will be about Scams with the Hays Police Department Aaron Larson.

3 3 BABY SHOWER You re invited to the Baby Shower for Kelbi Harvey and Baby Finn! It will be held Saturday, January 6th at 10am in the courtyard. The theme will be John Deer Also, be on the look out for a Meal Train for the Seib family. Their new addition will arrive sometime in early January!! Best Foot Forward What direction are you going this next year? Perhaps you just set a New Year s Resolution or perhaps you just returned from traveling to see family or friends over the holidays. Either way you had or have a destination in mind and laid out a plan to make that happen. Our lives are full of these kinds of decisions and so what I am wondering is how intentional or aware are you about the decisions you are making today? Recently, I came across a guy who decided he needed to lose some weight as food controlled his life. In the case of OTHER addictions, you could simply quit consuming the bad things and make a fresh start, but how do you quit food? You can t, so this gentleman decided to only eat ONE food to eliminate temptation, but what food you ask POTATOES. So after research and monitoring by a couple doctors, this man ventured out into his quest to only eat potatoes for a whole year. Any guesses what happened? Yes, he lost 115 pounds after starting at 300+ and the big win food was no longer in charge. After the year, he did adjust his diet to foods other than potatoes, but he had reset his brain and body in how he was living his life. So Christian brother or sister where are you in your walk of faith? Where are you headed? What things would you like to put as a priority for the next week, month, year?! My goal for 2018 is improving my prayer and devotional life. I confess to you that I have not been as committed to that as I would like to be. Prior experience has shown that when I am more intentional about being in prayer, reading scripture, and strengthening my spiritual muscles if you will, my priorities and focus improve as I go thru each day. If you have not had the chance, I encourage you to pick up and read a very short booklet called A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther and translated by Rev. Matthew Harrison (our synodical president). Perhaps for you, you have a desire to improve your family devotional time? Maybe it is to attend church more regularly or even read your Bible daily. I encourage each of you to think about your daily walk and to seek out accountability partners or friends who will help you stay true to the course you set. (Read Hebrews 12 especially vs 1-2 let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith Running the race of faith ~ DCE Ben

4 4 Congregational Meeting Our next Congregational Meeting will be held on February 4th, There will be ONE service, beginning at 9:30 am. The Lutheran Laymen s League will be serving a breakfast. Please plan to attend this meeting! NOBLE MEN OF MESSIAH Vision: By God s grace we seek to build men of strength and character in service of God s Kingdom. Motto: Noble Men, Family Strong Here are the events planned for January 2018 Coffee - will be on Fridays weekly at 7:00 am at Breathe Café Bible Study Wednesday Nights in the Upper Room will reconvene on Wednesday, Jan. 10 th at 7:30pm. Social Night: There will be a Card Night on Friday, Jan. 12 th. Prov. 27:17 Iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another. For more information contact Ed Malusky , Gabe Hardman We are on Facebook just search Noble Men of Messiah! Mission Action Team News The Advent Celebration sponsored by MAT was held on December 6 th and enjoyed by 113 people. Children and adults learned about Peru and the mission at Lima Peru, where Rev. Eddie Hosch serves. A group from Messiah will be visiting there in May The kitchen workers served a delicious turkey dinner. baked cookies that are a favorite in Peru and were a favorite here also. Donna Fleischacker served samples of potato dishes that are popular in Peru. Ben Venteicher and Tara Marshall (assisted by the youth) entertained children with activities from Peru. The highlight of the evening was music by Mike Pipkin! It was so much fun to sing along to his piano playing talents! Thank You Mike, for coming back to share with us! $ was collected to help support school needs in the mission and also to help Messiah members with travel costs. Thanks to all for your hard work and for the generous contributions! Upcoming Events * Enjoy a pancake breakfast on January 28 th. An offering will be taken with funds going to mission projects. * On February 3 rd many hands will be needed for an all-church clean up day. THANK YOU! Donna Fleischacker and Andreas Maheras wish to thank you for your condolences of Andreas mother when she passed away Thanksgiving Day.

5 5 January Celebrations! Keith Dryden 1-1 Donna 1-1 Tricia Taylor 1-4 Paul Simpson 1-5 David Bose 1-8 Macie Chretien 1-11 Casen Hardman 1-11 Jill Brantley 1-12 Mikhail Brown 1-12 Janet Ottaway 1-12 Leo Knoll 1-14 Natalie Oborny 1-15 Preston 1-19 Matt Brooks 1-20 Lee Oelkers 1-20 Gary Brown 1-21 Carrie Malusky 1-21 Caterina Miller 1-21 Rhonda Miller 1-22 Jaxon Alvarez 1-23 Paul Phillips 1-25 Mary Shepker 1-26 Michelle Venteicher 1-26 Tammy Zadina 1-26 Samuel Venteicher 1-27 Tom Staab 1-28 Debbie Oelkers 1-31 Installation of New Officers We will install our new officers on January 7, Mike Gabe Hardman Jana Horsfall Sandi Stacey Stults James Feyerherm Rhiannon Gary Wegele Matt Lyon Keith Harmoney Parish Life Louise Reese Ed Malusky Sherry Dryden Wade Park Curtis Deines Happy Birthday! President Vice President Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer Stewardship Education Property Endowment Youth Happy Anniversary! Martin & Iva 1-17 Tom & Juanita Zerfas 1-21 Rick & Mary Shepker 1-26 Jim & Peggy Hart 1-28 Rhonda & Marion Miller 1-28 THANK YOU Thank you so much members of Messiah! We truly appreciate you loving kindness towards our family! Thank you for the generous monetary gifts for Pastor Appreciation Month and for Christmas! We are blessed. Thank You, Pastor Rocco, Janine, Caleb, Leah, Hannah, and Abigail Flower Chart The 2017 Flower Chart is now posted in the Narthex. If you would like to purchase flowers, please fill out your name and deposit your money in the box below the chart, or you can put your money in the offering. Please designate your giving for altar flowers. The cost is $25. Thank You!

6 4 JANUARY 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Office Closed 6:30 pm Parish Life Meeting 6:30 Youth & Parent Meeting 7:00 Praise 10am Baby Shower for Kelbi Harvey 7 Inst. of Officers Worship Service Education Hour 9:30 am 8 7:00 pm LWML 9 Ladies Bible Study 6:30 pm BOD meeting Noble Men Card Night 13 MOPS Meeting 9:30 am 14 Communion Service Education Hour: Carol Park on Foster Care :30 pm MAT meeting 6:30 pm Youth leadership meeting Communion Service Education Hour: Hosch Family Visit :30 pm BOE meeting Communion Service Education Hour Mission Team Fundraiser Breakfast 29 6pm MOPS cooking night 30 31

7 7 SERVING IN WORSHIP FOR JANUARY 2018 Date Parish Life Altar Guild Ushers Organist Acolyte Greeters 1-7 L: Ed Malusky A: Sandi L2: Jane Kohtz A2: Warren Kohts Curtis Sander Lauren Malusky 1-14 L: Jana Horsfall A: Wade Park L2: Louise Reese A2: Matt Brooks Sylvia Bixenman Brayden Brown 1-21 L: Errol Wuertz A: Gabe Hardman A: Paul Simpson L2: Curtis Deines Curtis Sander Lainey Hardman 1-28 L: Rachel Albin A: Ila Hulett A: Tina Simpson L2: Sherry Dryden Sylvia Bixenman Samantha Albin