Women On a Mission. Lutheran Women s Missionary League. Minnesota South District Fall 2018

Transcription

1 Women On a Mission Minnesota South District Fall 2018 Lutheran Women s Missionary League I am a member of the Lutheran Women s Missionary League, and I hope that you are a member also. There is that very Lutheran question, what does this mean? I looked up missionary in the dictionary. It defines missionary as a person sent to propagate religion or to do educational or charitable work. Does this describe our organization and are we missionaries? The Mission Statement of the LWML says: The mission of the Lutheran Women s Missionary League is to assist each woman of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in affirming her relationship with the Triune God so that she is enabled to use her gifts in ministry to the people of the world. We pledge in the LWML 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; in obedience to His call for workers in the harvest fields, we pledge Him our willing service, wherever and whenever He hath need of us. We consecrate to our Savior our hands to work for Him, our feet to go on errands for Him, our voice to sing His praise, 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 erring into eternal fellowship with Him. Amen. If we profess the LWML Mission Statement and the LWML Pledge and mean what we say, we are missionaries. Am I a perfect missionary? No, I am a sinner. With God s help through His Word and Sacraments, and prayer, we strive to faithfully reach those who do not know Jesus. We begin with reading and studying God s Word. We support mission work with prayer and mites given for mission grants, and encourage mission service wherever we see a need. We support our church and each other through prayer, which leads to wonderful fellowship whenever we meet. As LWML District President, I met many of you. What a wonderful group of women, and pastors. Our church and LWML have so many working to reach unbelievers in new and also traditional ways. Our prayers and support are vital to all mission efforts. Thank you for your prayers for the LWML District Board and me as president during the past four years. What a comfort! Please continue to keep President Deb and the LWML Board in your prayers as they Serve the Lord with Gladness. Margaret Hesemann, LWML (Past) Minnesota South District President Inside This Issue Mission Grants Page 2 Counselor s Message Page 3 Committee On Young Women Page 4 Mission Mites Page 4 Memorials Received Page 4 Gifts from the Heart Recap Page 5 Equalization Page 6 Parliamentary Pause Page 6 Rally Schedule Page 7 Board of Directors Page 8 Submit articles for the Women On a Mission to: comm@mnslwml.org Next Board of Directors Meeting tentatively scheduled for Saturday November 17, 2018 $23, in mites collected this quarter! Next WOM Deadline: November 10, 2018 This issue of the WOM was printed in September 2018

2 PAGE 2 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION FALL 2018 ISSUE PRINTED: September GOSPEL OUTREACH Name of Grant The Dwelling Place, General Operating Support Tuition Assistance for Students Seeking a Lutheran High School Education Beginning Balance Previously Paid Paid This Quarter Paid to Date Unpaid Balance $15, $0.00 $.00 $0.00 $15, $54, $0.00 $5, $5, $49, LCMS Mission Central $10, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $10, MN South District Student Aid Scholarships $35, $0.00 $4, $4, $31, Camp Courage A Place of Hope & Healing $4, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $4, Camp Omega Rooted*Celebrating*Growing $25, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25, Two MN South Congregations Connecting Ethnic Neighbors $10, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $10, Trinity/HOPE $5, $0.00 $5, $5, Paid In Full Seminary Education for New Pastors in South Sudan $7, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $7, The Lydia Project $10, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $10, New Beginning for Children with Learning Needs $10, $0.00 $1, $1, $8, Support for Concordia Seminary for International Graduate School Students $5, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $5, Total Mission Grants Projects $198, $0.00 $15, $15, $183, National LWML $66, $0.00 $7, $7, $58, Total Mites $265, $0.00 $23, $23, $241, The WOMEN ON A MISSION (WOM) Is published four times a year by the LWML Minnesota South District, an auxiliary Organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Editor: Assistant Editor: Circulation Manager: Diane Frauendienst Roxanne Pieper Carolyn Wagner

3 PAGE 3 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION FALL 2018 ISSUE PRINTED: September 2018 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:4). Dear Friends in Christ, Today we focus on this ancient prayer still prayed twice daily by devout Jewish believers specifically on the first word of this famous prayer, the word SHEMA. It is often translated to hear or listen, but it s more than just sound waves entering your ear. Biblically, to shema is to listen and to obey. Listening and obeying are two sides of the same coin. Shema is about giving respect to the one speaking to you and doing what they say. In this sense, real listening take effort and action. Years ago, my quiet morning was interrupted by a scream that led me to think one of our children had just died. It seems as though my wife had picked up a newspaper, taken it into the house, opened it up to read it, and a bat flew out at her! Of course I responded to this scream in record time! I threw open the door, I bravely threw a towel over the bat, I took her by the hand, and rescued her. Then, like the coward I am, I sent our teenage son up there with a tennis racket to deal with the unwanted fowl. The word Shema in my house on that day included no less than four thoughts: 1. Hear the scream/sound waves entering my head 2. Pay attention to the scream. 3. Respond to the one who is screaming. 4. Respond now to the scream. Shema in the Old Testament included on the one hand people living with the premise that God is hearing them cry out, God is paying attention to their crying out, God will be responding, and God will be responding in an ongoing and generous and wise manner. On the other hand, we see that the very covenant relationship between Israel depended on Israel listening, listening closely, and obeying the commandments and the statutes if they were to continue to enjoy God s special treatment. In Genesis 29, we read that when the Lord saw that Jacob loved his wife Rachel but hated his wife Leah. God chose to open Leah s womb but close Rachel s. Leah cried out to the Lord, He heard (the word is shema) her cry, and He responded by giving her a son whom she called Simeon. The name Simeon in Hebrew is shim on, which means that God heard her prayer. In Exodus 19, God thundered down from Mt. Sinai that if Israel shemas him, that is to say if they listen and obey his covenant, then out of all the nations on earth, they would be his treasured people, they would be to him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Their listening to and responding to God s Word would change their hearts; it would make them a people that would be different than all other peoples on the face of the earth. Shema in the Old Testament carries with it the idea of listening, paying attention to, and responding. Shema in the New Testament is also all about both hearing and doing the Word of God. James says that hearing but not doing the Word of God is like a man who looks himself in the mirror, then walks away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James goes on to say that the one who claims to be religious but spends his days slandering and gossiping and tearing down people with his words, that religion is worthless. His baptism and confirmation certificates, to quote an old saying, wouldn t be worth the price of the piece of paper they are written on. James reminds us that religion that is pure and undefiled in God s courtroom is the religion that visits the orphans, the widows, sick and those in prison. Religion that is pure and undefiled is the religion that cares about the basic needs of others, it cares about the social issues of the day, it cares about those who are struggling with all kinds of troubles, whether those troubles are self-inflicted or not. Our very blessedness in life has to do with listening to God s Word and refusing to let it go in one ear and out of the other. It has to do with being still on a regular basis and working hard to listen, to actively listen, to use the language of the 1941 hymnal, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God, Shema has always been true, in the language of Jesus, that blessed are they who hear the Word of God and hold onto it, treasure it, keep it. That s another way of saying, to use the language of David, that blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, blessed is the one who sin is cover, blessed is the man against whom the Lord count no iniquity. In the Language of Psalm 1, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, blessed is the one who does not stand in the way of sinners, blessed is the person of all ages who delights in the law of the Lord, and on this law he meditates day and night. The kingdom of God is like a nation whose people are less and less paying attention to the God of their parents and grandparents, more and more they feel like something is missing. But it s also like a little and big Christian congregations all across the country side who operate with the premise that their covenant God is hearing them cry out, He is responding to their cries, He is responding in a regular way to their crying out. And because of all that is true, these folks are more and more appreciating that they are the favored and the redeemed people of God, they are more and more delighting in the forgiveness of their sins, more and more contented to be swimming in the waters of their Holy Baptism, more and more reveling in the eating and the drinking of the Lord s Supper, less and less do they feel like something is missing. Pastoral Counselor, Pastor Larry Griffin

4 PAGE 4 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION FALL 2018 ISSUE PRINTED: September 2018 Committee On Young Women This past June, there were seven Young Women Representatives from across our district that attended the MN South District convention themed Grace Above All. Besides learning about the LWML, these young women participated in YWR devotions, nightly get-togethers, games, a selfie-challenge, and a coffee house devotion. They also experienced the full convention activities of bible studies, sitting in on the business meetings, listening to mission speakers, and worshiping and communing with hundreds of other women. Please continue to pray for these young women, that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit and be driven to serve the Lord with gladness through the LWML. It s not too early to be thinking of the national convention that will take place in Mobile, Alabama in June Young women, please prayerfully consider the opportunity to represent MN South District at the national convention. What an amazing and motivating experience this could be for you. To our more seasoned women, please be thinking about young women in your congregations that could fill this role for our area, and be praying for them. We know through the LWML that God can move women to serve in very mighty ways. Amy Khamphanh and Adrienne Zhang Mission Mites At the 2018 LWML MN South District Convention, I was elected to serve as the new Vice President of Gospel Outreach replacing Deb Vinkemeier who now steps into her elected position as President. Deb s shoes will be hard to fill as VP of Gospel Outreach. My shoes may just be a different style and size, but they step toward the same mission-minded goals of the LWML. I am a member of Trinity Lutheran in Waconia and have been a member of the Trinity Ruth Guild society for almost 30 years. Our two LWML societies, Ladies Aid and Ruth Guild, are in the North Carver Zone, Minnetonka Conference. The new Gospel Outreach Committee is composed of Counselor Rev. Eric Nelson of St. Paul s, Lester Prairie; Molly Loder of St. James, Howard Lake; Diane Gustad, St. John s, Winsted; and Chairman Carol Hubert. At the time of the 2018 Convention $13, was still needed to meet the Mission Goal of $265,000. The grant to Students Seeking a Lutheran High School Education was not paid in full as well as the 25% to LWML National. This deficit was carried over and has been paid in full by the mites received from the months of May and June and the District Convention. Our mites now will begin going towards the first before the Mission Grants. We can now report that all Mission Grants for the Biennium have been paid in full! God be Praised! Let s jump start our Mite giving for the new Mission Grant Goal of $265,00 for the Biennium. I would encourage you to empty your purse or wallet of the loose change after reading the WOM and drop all those coins into your Mite box! To guide you in your daily giving and praying for a specific Mission Grant go to our website and print out the new Mite Calendar for the month. In God s Grace we serve Him and give our Mites that the Good News of His Grace would be shared with others. God s Blessings on the giver and receiver of those Mission Mites! Carol Hubert, Vice President of Gospel Outreach Marie Mills Nadine Bode Esther Sauter (2) Carol Klaustermeier (2) Memorials Received May-July 2018 Len Harens Lillian Ische Rev. Don Urbach Melvin Jungclaus Kaaren Hendricks Cathryn Houk Esther McCaulley (2) Grace Arneson Marce Braun Jean Booker Marvel Vorwerk Donald Keyes Envelopes for the MN South District Memorials are available from Financial Secretary, Irene Mensing. Please contact her at cell; home, or financialsec@mnslwml.org if you need some. Memorials and bequests can be sent to Irene Mensing at th Street, Blue Earth, MN 56013

5 PAGE 5 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION FALL 2018 ISSUE PRINTED: September 2018 Convention Gifts from the Heart The 27 th Biennial LWML convention is now a wrap and ladies, you were amazing! As my first convention as VP of Human Care, I was completely blown away by the outpouring of the Gifts from the Heart items. As a recap: Baby Kits 438, divided between three pregnancy centers Individual Baby Items 977 pieces, divided between the pregnancy centers Global Health Hospice Kits 758! (After reviewing the numbers, I realized I had not added in the total number of Kits that had been delivered ahead of time.) Great job ladies! I want to share the messages I received from our recipients: First Care Rochester (Rochester zone) Jody Fryer, Director We so greatly appreciated the many boxes of baby kits! Our staff was overwhelmed by the generosity of those who attended the conference. These baby items will help supply our Clothing Closet and baby layettes for many months to come. It is exciting to be able to share with our clients that these gifts came from those in their community who care for them and their babies. Thank you for helping us meet the needs of our clients and show them Christs love. First Choice Redwing (Lake Pepin zone) Mandy Fleming, Director I was so honored when I was contacted many months ago, and notified that First Choice Clinic would be recipients of your Gift of the Heart. We have been abundantly blessed by your generosity. For weeks, every time I walked into our storage room, I d just smile with delight as I d trip over the bundles and I would just praise God for you and all the ladies who made it possible. Your gifts have allowed us to meet such a great need for the people we serve. They have been overwhelmed by the generosity we have been able to show them; much like we were overwhelmed by the generosity you showed us! We are so thankful you chose to partner with us for this special event, and we pray that you are all blessed in equal abundance. Grace Place Winona (Winona zone) Carla Burton, Director Grace Place was overjoyed to receive so much support for our Gifts of Grace Shelf here in Winona!! Words cannot express our gratitude. We have an average of 145 visits per month to our free shelf; so many lives will be touched by this outpouring of love from the LWML. Global Health Ministries Kim Dickey, Director First, let me say thank you for the amazing number of Hospice Kits from your Convention. A really amazing gift from the hearts of the women of the MN South Districts you ve touched more than 750 people with your gifts, not just the patients but also the families who care for them, and the church workers and volunteers who minister to them. The gift of a kit helps empower health workers and volunteers to connect with patients, opening the opportunity to encourage them to seek treatments, bring pain medication to alleviate their suffering, and provide a referral and even transportation to a hospital when needed. Thank you to my Human Care Committee, Mary Schwarz, Mary Mulfinger and Tabitha Hoffman. Also, thank you to the many volunteers that circulated in and out to help with the Gifts from the Heart at convention. And now, we look forward to 2020! Pamela Hunter, VP of Human Care

6 PAGE 6 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION FALL 2018 ISSUE PRINTED: September 2018 Equalization what is it? E qualization is the name of a fund that LWML Districts use to collect funds to help cover expenses for zone delegates to attend national LWML conventions. Minnesota South District Board of Directors voted to set the equalization for 2019 at $5.00 per member. Societies and individual members are to have their share to their zone treasurer by November 15, In 2017 each zone delegate was given $1,100.00, which in almost all cases covered all expenses to attend the convention in Albuquerque. Your zone president received a packet at the August Board of Directors meeting which contained the equalization forms for each church/society and individual member in their zone. Societies and individual members will receive their packets at the zone planning meeting this fall. If your society has not paid equalization in the past few years but would like to again become active or if you are interested in becoming an individual member, please contact your zone president identified on the back page of this WOM or you can contact me and I will get the information to you. Irene Mensing Financial Secretary Attention: Effective immediately send your mites, rally offerings, memorial money, and such to: Irene Mensing LWML MN South Financial Secretary th Street Blue Earth, MN financialsec@mnslwml.org cell; home Quarterly order form will be in the winter WOM and send to the address listed on the order form. Equalization is sent to your Zone Treasurer. 6 Steps to Bylaw Review PARLIAMENTARY PAUSE Linda Butzin has been appointed your new parliamentarian and bylaws chairman. She is excited about this new challenge and looks forward to reviewing your bylaws. Has your zone or society had their bylaws reviewed within the last 5 years? Set up a committee to take a look at your bylaws and see if they are still current. The six steps for reviewing and updating bylaws are: 1 the zone or society committee drafts revisions/amendments and presents the proposed changes to the group for input and preliminary approval; 2 the zone or society sends a copy of the proposed changes to the Parliamentarian (see address on back of WOM); 3 the district bylaws committee reviews the proposed changes and sends a report back to the zone or society; 4 - the zone or society committee uses the district committee report to make corrections and/or adjustments to their bylaws; 5 these final bylaws are presented to the zone or society membership for a vote for final approval; 6 after final approval the zone or society sends an electronic copy of the updated bylaws to the District Parliamentarian for reference and filing. Irene Mensing Past Parliamentarian and Bylaws Chairman

7 PAGE 7 MINNESOTA SOUTH DISTRICT WOMEN ON A MISSION FALL 2018 ISSUE PRINTED: September 2018 CONFERENCE/ZONE DATE/TIME LOCATION SPEAKER/THEME St. Paul Metro Zone October 13 9:30 a.m. Arlington Zone September 29 8:30 a.m. Bethlehem Lutheran 655 Forest St. St. Paul, MN Immanuel Lutheran th Street Courtland, MN Rev. Mark Koschmann Hopeful Evelyn Seton Chance Outreach International Litchfield Zone October 13 8:30 a.m. Mankato Zone TBD Bethlehem Lutheran 7809 Country Road 35W Annandale, MN Deaconess Faith Swenson Women Serving at Home and Abroad McLeod Zone October 20 8:30 a.m. Minneapolis Metro Zone No Rally Scheduled Good Shepherd 1407 Cedar Avenue North Glencoe, MN Amelia Nowack Haiti Northwest Suburban Zone October 13 6:00 p.m. Southwest Suburban Zone September 29 Lake Minnetonka Zone October 27 North Carver Co /South Carver Zone Owatonna Conference Fall Rally October 1 6:30 p.m. September 15 Blue Earth Zone October 7 1:30 p.m. Pipestone Zone September 27 Sherburn Zone September 22 9:0 a.m. Whitewater Conference Fall Rally October 13 Worthington Zone October 20 8:30 a.m. Beautiful Savior 5005 Northwest Blvd Plymouth, MN Mt. Hope Lutheran 3601 W. Old Shakopee Rd. Bloomington, MN Redeemer Lutheran 115 W. Wayzata Blvd Wayzata, MN St. Paul s Lutheran 505 Westminster Ave SW Watertown, MN Zion Lutheran Church 924 Bridge Avenue Albert Lea, MN St. Paul Lutheran 211 Budd Street Fairmont, MN Our Savior Lutheran Church th Avenue SW Pipestone, MN Our Redeemer Lutheran 101 Kimball Ave Jackson, MN St. Matthew s 555 East 12 Street St. Charles, MN Our Redeemer Lutheran 120 North Front Street Okabena, MN Nader Alaraj POBLO Saved to Serve w/servant activities TBA TBA Monica Groves The Dwelling Place Danielle Frietag Human Sex Trafficking Rev. William Utech Hope for the Struggling Congregations Virginia Flo Lutherans for Life Hope for Life Rev. Andy Audette, Church Planter Remedy Church, Oakdale Rev. Jeff Sage Gad Has Plans

8 PRESIDENT DEB VINKEMEIER Phone: VICE PRESIDENT OF CHRISTIAN LIFE DEBI MAHONEY-YLITALO Phone: VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATION SHIRLEY VOLK Phone: VICE PRESIDENT OF GOSPEL OUTREACH CAROL HUBERT Phone: VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN CARE PAMELA HUNTER Phone: VICE PRESIDENT OF SERVANT RESOURCES KATHY ROSLANSKY Phone: RECORDING SECRETARY MARY KAY MAGES Phone: FINANCIAL SECRETARY & EQUALIZATION IRENE MENSING Phone: TREASURER & MEMORIALS & BEQUESTS DARLENE FRETHAM Phone: NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JOANNE ROSENFELD Phone: NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: JULIE EBERT...AUDREY OEHLKE ELAINE TAGGATZ... CHYERAL STOHLMANN PARLIAMENTARIAN LINDA BUTZIN Phone: ARCHIVIST-HISTORIAN LOIS MARQUARDT Phone: QUARTERLY MANAGER JEANNE PONTO Phone: DATABASE MANAGER DELORES MCGILLIVRAY Phone: COUNSELORS REV. LARRY GRIFFIN Phone: (cell) (church) REV. ERIC NELSON Phone: REV. FRANCIS GREEN Phone: REV. WILLIAM SABOL Phone: MEETING MANAGER RENEE CHAMBARD Phone: ASSISTANT MEETING MANAGER JOAN LUEDTKE Phone: LWML STORE MANAGER JUDIE WATERS Phone: WEBMASTERS JOY ANDERSON Phone: ASSISTANT WEBMASTERS TRACY EICKHOFF Phone: COMMITTEE ON YOUNG WOMEN ADRIENNE ZHANG Phone: AMY KAMPHANH Phone: WOM EDITOR DIANE FRAUENDIENST Phone: ENEWS EDITOR & ASSISTANT WOM EDITOR ROXANNE PIEPER Phone: WOM CIRCULATION MANAGER CAROLYN WAGNER Phone: HEART TO HEART REPRESENTATIVE EVELYN SETON Phone: CONVENTION CHAIRMAN JOYCE SWEDEAN Phone:... ZONE PRESIDENTS CAPITOL CONFERENCE NE SUBURBAN: SANDY WYATT ST. PAUL METRO: BETH SCHUSTER CROW RIVER CONFERENCE ARLINGTON: DONNA WOLTER LITCHFIELD: LILLIAN KENT MANKATO: WANDA SCHWARTZ... MCLEOD: GLENDA SCHUFT LYNDALE CONFERENCE ST. CROIX RIVER: MARY TORNO SE SUBURBAN: LOIS PETERSEN MINNEAPOLIS CONFERENCE MINNEAPOLIS METRO: RUTH HICKEY NW SUBURBAN: MADELYN KRINKE SW SUBURBAN: JENNIFER ADAMEK MINNETONKA CONFERENCE LAKE MINNETONKA: ANNA GERBER NORTH CARVER: SHELAH BURANDT: SOUTH CARVER: HELEN ANDERSON OWATONNA CONFERENCE AUSTIN: CHYERAL STOHLMANN FARIBAULT: GLORIA KENOW WASECA: JUDIE WATERS SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE BLUE EARTH: JULIE EBERT PIPESTONE: LAURIE GIFF SHERBURN: CAROL HENNING WORTHINGTON: CAROLINE WITT WHITEWATER CONFERENCE LAKE PEPIN: NANCY KOHRS ROCHESTER: DOROTHY ZEMKE WINONA: KATHY KOHNER