GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH 140 East 56 th Street, Tacoma, WA Ph: August

Transcription

1 GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH 140 East 56 th Street, Tacoma, WA Ph: GOOD SHEPHERD NEWS August August 2018 St Paul wrote, "As the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." Ephesians 6.6. The appellation servant may not, at first thought, have the charm that some titles given to Christians might have. We might rather be called faithful followers of the Lord or strong believers or kind and understanding worshipers of Him who is the Light. But when it is accepted in the heart, servant becomes a beautiful and meaningful name. Servant suggests long hours, meager wages, tiresome work, drudgery, unquestioning obedience. In the time of St Paul it could even mean slavery; the word he used is best translated bond servant. But servants of Christ truly suggests happy hours, rich reward, interesting work, satisfying endeavor, voluntary obedience. We sing, "Savior, like a Shepherd lead us... Thine we are... Thou hast bought us." That blessed truth lifts us from the quagmire of depression and gives us a new vision of Christian service. It puts new meaning into the performance of everyday duties, no matter what. Blessed is that servant of Christ who does the will of God from the heart, a heart that rejoices in the redeeming love of Christ and counts it a privilege to be both His servant and His fellow-worker wherever we might go, whatever we might do. Lord Jesus, we thank You for buying us back with a great price. We would be Your own, for time and for eternity. As Your servants and fellow-workers, use us to do what is Your will, that in doing what You bid we may do it gladly, as unto Thee. And grant us at the last, through Thy grace, the faithful servant's reward, for Your holy Name's sake. Amen. Noel D. Koss, Interim Minister 1

2 President s Corner This month, I am going to let you know how we as a church are doing financially. AS with most churches, we are struggling. Our church budget for 2018 is $302,000. This means for each Sunday we would need $5,698 to meet our budgeted needs. As of this writing (July 17) we have been given through offerings of $130,832. Since we need $159,547 to meet our budgeted needs, we are $28,715 behind. This amount is what we would need for a full time pastor. The purpose for this writing is not doom and gloom. My purpose is to inform and encourage. Using the contributions to the general fund for 2017 (last statistics available). I divided the congregation into three sections. They were: those who gave $0 - $25.00 per week, those who gave $25.01 to $ per week, and those who gave over $ per week. There were also some that only gave a seasonal offering. In the first group, there were 51 total givers. Those who gave $10.00 or less per week were 36. In the second group, there were 12 that gave between $ $50.00 per week and 21 who gave between $50.01 to $ per week. The third group totaled 15 envelopes. There were also 15 that gave seasonally. This doesn t include any giving to Missions, Improvement Fund, Little Lambs Preschool, or any other special offerings given. In the book, The Work of the Church Trustee author Orlando Tibbetts has a chapter on Buried Treasures for the Kingdom. In this chapter, he outlines three ways to raise dollars for the church. They are, Every Member Canvass (personal visits), Pledging a Commitment for the Year (what to do), and Proportionate Giving (setting aside before any other financial claims are made). While these are just three ways to obtain general fund dollars, there are more I won t go into. The church is also helped through estate planning, wills, bequests, and project giving. While these all help, they should not be the primary source of income for the church. Earlier, I mentioned encouragement. We are behind our budgeted amount but we aren t ready to close the doors. As a congregation, we need to step up and make sure we provide for God s Kingdom and His work. Our main purpose is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all. We CAN do that. I wish to thank everyone who gave in 2017 and everyone who is giving in We need to know where we are financially and what needs to be done about it. I challenge our entire church population to make sure we do our part and make sure the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached here for a long, long, time. Are you helping? God in His glory will provide for His church. Blessings to All, Joe Morton, President 2

3 Do You Know Who Your Elder Is? Zone Elder Names 1 Norm Gerken ( ) Alber Classen 2 Joe Morton ( ) Cunningham Jaech 3 Wayne Boudreau ( ) Jindra Merkel, L. 4 Julian Doyle ( ) Merkel, R. Scott 5 Tony Huset ( ) See - Zmuda Sunday Sermons are now being audio recorded and are available for you to listen, share, and enjoy again anytime on our Men s Ministry Schedule for August No Class August 4 th August 18 th - 8 am Full Breakfast Time to Take a Closer Look (Mark 8) Carillons Have you noticed the silence from the Church Bell Tower? This is because our carillons are not working. The cost to replace them is as much as $10,000. Can you help? Donations can be made at the office or in the offering basket. Please mark them for the carillons. THE LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES RADIO PROGRAM AND RESOURCES: The Lutheran Hour Ministries can be heard on KLAY radio at 10 am Sundays. The recordings are also available on their website ( The Lutheran Hour Ministries offers daily devotions, along with other opportunities to serve, through their website at 3

4 Women in Mission / Women s Ministry Tuesdays: Bible Study (9:15 am) Quilting (10 am) Mites Sunday, August 12 To All Good Shepherd Women, Summer is such a blessing to each of us warm weather, sunshine, gathering with sisters in Christ to pray, praise, and give thanks! Did you read your Summer Quarterly? The theme of serving Christ in the military is very inspiring. Did you notice that one of the National LWML grants is for veterans and their families? Your mites help fund this and Washington Alaska District grants as well. Please be generous! Turn to page 24 in the Summer Quarterly. See Bea Daily? Ask Janet West about her. They have been friends for many years. On Tuesdays we continue to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief. Join us anytime, even just to visit. Send donations to LWR 700 Light Street, Baltimore. Paul Peterson, Chaplain of Tacoma Seafarers Center (1118 Port of Tacoma Road, Tacoma, WA, 98421), spoke after the worship service on July 15 th. This ministry serves to seafarers who come into the Port of Tacoma. Over 6,600 seafarers receive ministry each year, with at least 24 chapel services. Tacoma Seafarers is supported with some grants but mostly donations from people like you. Last year 1,492 Christmas Boxes were given to seafarers. We, from Good Shepherd provided 150 of these Christmas Boxes. We have two exciting events to look forward to that occur on the same day, October 13 th. Fall Rally at Zion Lutheran on 6 th Avenue and Women s Retreat here. Please attend one! Serving the Lord with Gladness, Jane Oberg LADIES RETREAT Ladies, our annual fall retreat will be held at the church October 13, Special low price of $20 with minimum attendance of 40. Scholarships available. More details to come. 4

5 ol. Preschool News Sharing Christ, Feeding Lambs We have two weeks of Summer Camp left: July 31 - August 1 and August 7 8. Camp classes run 9 11:30 am and are $35.00 per week. Our last summer Play Date is August 1 from 11:30 12:30 pm. Please join us in the playground to play and meet new people. Back to school orientation is scheduled for Wednesday, August 29 th beginning at 6:30 pm. This is for all registered families or families considering the school year for their child. Please come to this informational gathering that lasts about 45 minutes. Registration is underway for the school year. Classes begin on Tuesday, September 4 at 8:45 am. We do have room in all our classes. Registration fees are $65 for the Toddler Class and $85 for the remaining classes. Please see Bonnie, call the church office, or visit our website for more information. Do you like to bowl? Narrows Plaza Bowl is having a fundraiser for registered schools our preschool is one of them! We have a preschool dad who works there and signed us up. This fundraiser continues through the end of August. If you want to bowl before 8 pm the bowling alley will give you 1 free game for every $1 you donate to Little Lambs Preschool. That s it. Shoe rental, drinks, and eats are on you. The $1 per game you donate will 100% be given to our preschool in September, after the fundraiser officially closes. Currently our preschool will be receiving $25 let s see if we can double that amount! (It is okay to donate $5 and only bowl 2 games the preschool would get the $5 you donated.) For more information about this, please see the fact sheets in the narthex or visit Thank you to everyone for your support to the preschool in so many ways. We sincerely appreciate it. Serving our Savior, Director / Teacher MARK YOUR CALENDAR! GROW AUCTION OCTOBER 6 TH Dinner, Silent and Oral Auction More details to come. 5

6 Please join us Sunday, August 19 th for a Presentation from Gideons International WE SAY GOODBYE to Richard Vasel and his family! We pray God s rich blessings to attend them. A HEARTY WELL DONE, THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT (Matthew 25:2) is to be said to Bonnie Jean Huset and to all who made this year s Vacation Bible School a resounding success. Thank you parents for bringing your children to God s house for all the promises of God find their Yes in Him! (2 Corinthians 1:20) VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL