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1 S T. M R A K L U T H E R N A N E V. C H U R C H 1135 Oliver Street North Tonawanda, NY yystmark@gmail.com S E P T E M B E R P A S T O R A L R E F L E C T I O N S How is your heart doing? There are at least 3 different ways to look at that question as there are 3 common uses for the word heart. You could respond with information about your physical heart. The word heart also can refer to your emotional heart or spiritual heart. Physically the heart is a very important organ in the human body. From a physical stand point it is the muscle responsible for powering the blood flow system. When a person develops a heart problem then they will either over pressurize or under pressurize the system. Additional problems develop in the human body as a result of too high or too low blood pressure. Then there is the ultimate problem that develops when the heart quits. A person will die very soon thereafter. So the condition of your physical heart is very important. The heart is often considered the emotional center of a person. For example a person may ask, Don t you have a heart for? Or they may say, That story tugged at my heart. When a person examines their heart they often are examining the emotions and motives for their actions. Like the physical heart, emotionally you can experience too much pressure. Sometimes that can result in fits of anger or other outward actions to lower the pressure you feel. Emotionally you may be under pressurized that can result in a lack of motivation, care or compassion. The heart can also refer to the soul and a place where Jesus and the Holy Spirit live and work. A heart with a cross is used as a symbol in the Christian faith. It can represent Jesus having a heart for people and that is why He died for our sins. In response people have a heart for Jesus in thankfulness for His sacrificial love. In 1 Peter 3:15 it says, In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. There are all sorts of challenges that happen in life. Those challenges can create too much or too little pressure physically, emotionally and/or spiritually. It is good to examine our hearts. Taking proper care of our hearts is important now and for eternity. In Hebrews 13:9 It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace. In worship from September 9 October 1 we will explore 4 aspects of the heart: 1) Forgiving Heart, 2) Merciful Heart, 3) Gracious Heart and 4) Humble Heart. We will examine situations that impact our heart and how we respond to those circumstances. We will look at the heart of Jesus and directions from Jesus concerning our heart. I pray for the Lord to bless us and strengthen our hearts by His grace. In the Love of Jesus, Pastor Keith Knupp

2 Memorials and Membership changes Page 2 Memorial: Given to the Unified Fund in memory of Martha Meyer from Eugene Meyer Memorial: Given to the Unified Fund in memory of Jack Hanes from Cynthia & Charles Battaglia, Marilyn Brown, Doris Schmidt, Marcia Neri, & Nancy, Jonathon & Steven Plank, Carol & Gary Caitlin, Sharon & Jeffrey Borton, James & Deborah O Connor, Marion Schaeffer, Larry & Rachel Wolf, Evelyn Hanes Memorial: Given to the Endowment fund in memory of Jack Hanes from Ruth Hacker & Winston Moeller Memorial: Given to the Capital Projects fund in memory of Jack Hanes from Tom & Marilyn Parres Memorial: Given to the Family Life Ministries fund in memory of Jack Hanes from Judy Janowsky Memorial: Given to the Pew Cushion fund in memory of Jack Hanes from John Meyer, Ron & JoAnn Gentzke Memorial: Given to the Cemetery fund in memory of Jack Hanes from Judy Zastrow Memorial: Given to the Pew Cushion fund in memory of Charlene Wilkelmann from Ron & JoAnn Gentzke Baptisms Arkham Belue, Gotham Belue, Logan Kraft August 5, 2017 Death: Jean Kilkenny June 21, 2017 Death: Jack Hanes July 4, 2017 New members: Leroy Proefrock & Janet Kraft July 9, 2017 Faith Burth, Terrance Hubbell-July 30, 2017 Preschool News It s back-to-school time again and our preschool is gearing up for an exciting new year full of fun and learning. Since September begins a new school year it is the perfect time to talk about the beginning of the world. We will be learning about the creation story and how God made the world as a gift for us to enjoy. We will talk about how we were designed by God and each one of us is special and unique. We will spend time learning about all the wonderful things God created in our world and do some hands on activities as we explore the world around us as the seasons begin to change. We will learn about how God cares for us, and how we are supposed to care for the world he gave us. We encourage you to stop by and visit our classroom. We would love to have you come and read to the children, or just play for a little while. If you would like to stop by please leave a mes- sage for Diana Cooper in the office and I will get back to you to set up a time that works best. We are still accepting registrations for the school year. This year our program is offering a combined age program for three and four year olds on Mon.- Wed.-Fri., from 9am- 12:00 noon. There will be a Meet& Greet on Wednesday September 6 from 9-12 with activities for the children and a chance for parents to meet the teacher and the children to meet their new classmates. The first day of class will be Friday, September 8. For Registration Forms or information about tuition rates please refer to the church website.

3 A note from your Treasurer Page 3 Following is the 12-month report for our fiscal year that ended July 31, Income Aug July Budget Aug - July Actual Envelopes/Simply Giving $227, $230, Special Envelopes (Birthday, Energy, Initial) 2, , Evangelism 2, , Family Life Ministries 24, , Miscellaneous Church Income 37, , School Building Use 1, Head Start Reimbursement/Miscellaneous 1, School Building Rent 41, , Head Start Utilities Reimbursement 8, , Total Income $347, $338, Expenses Church $323, $286, School Building 51, , Total Expenses $375, $327, Last year, the congregation passed a budget (an estimate of expenditures for the year and proposals for financing them) that had a deficit of ($28,468.87) for the church and breakeven for the school building. This compares to the actual income and expenses that show a church deficit of ($647.16) and a school building net income of $12, (Which is being saved for future school building roof replacement ). For the coming fiscal year (August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018), the congregation passed a budget that has a combined deficit of ($33,186.02). There are several ways the church receives income without a monetary donation. St. Pauly Textile submits a check each month based on weight for clothes donated in their shed located in our parking lot. This year, we received a total of $ From Thrivent Financial, we received $2, by eligible members directing their Choice Dollars to the church. If you would like to donate the deposit from your bottles and cans, take them to Bottle Junction at 3050 Niagara Falls Blvd. Just give them our church name and they will give you a receipt that you can hand to Marty Held or place in her narthex box. If you can t get out there yourself, please call Marty Held at for pick-up at your house. Portals of Prayer North Tonawanda Food Pantry October-December 2017 Portals of Prayers are in! Copies are available at the church and in the church office. The North Tonawanda Food Pantry is requesting food donations for people in need. Your contributions are valuable in our community effort to distribute food and other necessary personal items to the less fortunate citizens of our area. We collected 4 bags and 5 bags of food in July 2017! This month s request is: Cereal & Oatmeal. Please consider bringing items as we continue to reach out to our community. You may drop the items off at the church. Your donations are greatly appreciated!

4 Other news Page 4 S C R I P O R D E R S There are Scrip cards available usually after church. We have Tops (10.00 & cards), Subway, Red Robin, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Horton's, Wendy's, Bob Evans, Target and Chipotle. A C E S & C O N F I R M A T I O N The first meeting for ACES & Confirmation will be 2 Sunday's a month. The first meeting is September 10 at 5:30pm. G Y M R E N T A L G U I D E L I N E S Eligible to rent the gym are members and nonmembers that regularly attend church services at St. Mark as well as families of currently enrolled preschool children. The process remains the same to call the church office for availability of a date. Following that, a person would submit a completed contract along with the rental fee and deposit at which time the reservation will be placed on the calendar. A new rental price was also passed. C A N D Y C A N E F A I R November 4th from 9-3pm Come join us for your Favorite Crafters, Bake Sale, Lunch, Chowder! **More information to follow** For additional information contact: Katie Krueger: or Cathy Perretta: T A S T E O F S T. M A R K Coming on September 30, 2017 to St. Mark Immediately following Saturday night church at 6:00-8:00 pm. Enter a dish in the following categories: Best Appetizer, Soup/salad, Main dish Dessert and Kids dessert (12and under) The congregation is encouraged to bring friends and family to this event. The entrance is $ 5.00 a fork to eat for the evening. You are welcome without entering a dish. Everyone will get a chance to vote and prizes will be awarded. There will be more information in the bulletin, entry forms in the narthex starting in September. Hope to see you there!! Adult Bible Class Sunday morning Adult Bible Study will resume on September 10 at 9:15am in the gym. In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we will explore "A Man Named Martin". Nearly 500 years ago, an unknown monk from a backwater town in Germany, set in motion a movement that would literally transform Western civilization. The impact Martin Luther had on the growth and development of Christianity is enormous. But how did this unknown miner's son change the world? In this Lutheran Hour Ministries' Bible Study, we will examine the life and times of this religious reformer. From his humble beginnings in Germany to his tieless work to understand Scripture and share the truths of the Bible, Martin Luther inspired a Reformation that reverberates throughout Christendom to this day.

5 LWML news Page 5 New LWML Logo Meaning: Through this identity, the hope is to empower members through deeper connections, tradition, and the desire to serve God. The symbol was created with this in mind; one that represents the members of both the LWML and the church. A heart to represent the love and giving nature of the members; a drop to symbolize the blood of Christ; and a cross above all else to proudly show the purpose behind the efforts of the LWML. We met in July, 2017 at Grace Lutheran for a brief business meeting, pot luck dinner and loads of fun & laughter at the pound auction. Proceeds from the auction will be used for the Eastern District Convention hosted by the Niagara Zone. The Voice of the Lord Biennial Eastern District Convention plans are underway. Save the dates of June 1-3, 2018 so that you can be in attendance to support your Niagara Zone. Shellie Knupp wrote a skit for the retreat at Camp Pioneer in September to invite members throughout the District to come to our area for the convention. She is also working hard on making of the banner, worked diligently on the logo for the event and a video for churches to share with their congregations. Amanda Fink is arranging entertainment and a memorable favor for those who attend the banquet. I am giving my time to Food/Hospitality. If you can bake, we would appreciate your support for the Hospitality room for those not staying in the Doubletree. Kathy Burkett is our Niagara Zone Treasurer. So you can see St. Mark is committed and asks for your support including the need at that time for voting delegates. We also would like to submit a name for a Young Woman representative. All women who support missions are invited to attend all events and learn about LWML. To date the Eastern District LWML has paid through donations to MITES $4,500 for mission grant #1 to support crafts, supplies and food for the elderly and dementia clients through Trinity, Lockport and $5,000 to educate Haiti women in Bible Study, personal health and leadership through LWML member Sharon Wolff from Batavia, NY. Thirteen women are planning to attend the retreat at Pioneer Camp in September 15-16, Keep us in your prayer. LWML Saturday/Sunday CELEBRATE WOMEN IN MISSION a special worship service is planned October 7&8, 2017 Sunday, October 15, 2017: Niagara Zone LWML Fall Meeting, Trinity Lockport, NY June 1-3, 2018: Our plans are well underway to host the th Biennial District Convention in Niagara Falls, NY. The event will be held at the Doubletree, Niagara Falls. The theme is The Voice of the Lord...Enlightening, Electrifying, Empowering. The focus of our convention weekend will be based upon this and Psalm 29:3-4, The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The Niagara Zone is only required to host a convention once every 12 years and NOW IS OUR TIME. What better place than the roar of Niagara Falls to proclaim The Voice of the Lord to our societies, congregations and friends. Recycling Fundraiser-Eastern District LWML Thank you for your continued support of this ministry to Eastern District LWML. This fund allows us to support Young Women s Ministry at both National and District conventions. Collection of the ink cartridges/electronic devices recycling program as a fundraiser is ongoing. Please refer to the updated Recycling Flyer on the bulletin board. Recycling can be placed in the pink bin in the coat room. To date the LWML has earned $1,295.09; since October, 2016 we have earned $ Cancelled postage stamps program is flourishing. Keep them coming!!! We are encouraged to be saved and placed in the narthex box for the purchase of Bibles for prison ministry. Simply cut off stamps leaving ¼ inch around the entire edge of the first class, commemorative or foreign stamps (do not collect presorted or bulk stamps).

6 WOSM (Women s Ministry of St. Mark) Page 6 The Women s Ministry of St. Mark is open and welcome to all women. Our business meetings are held from March to December on the first Thursday of the month in the church basement. The next meeting of the will be on Thursday, September 7 th. Included in the business meetings are reports by the LWML (Lutheran Womens Missionary League), and the Dorcas Quilters. We meet at 12:30 for our bag lunch, and dessert is provided. Our business meetings begin at 1pm. The Candy Cane Fair Craft Show will be held on Saturday, November 4 th this year. We are looking forward to another successful Craft Show, and have been told that we are the venue most crafters like, and want to come back to again. While the Women s Ministry is hosting the Fair as usual, this year we are pleased that Katie Krueger and Cathy Perretta are the chairwomen, and you will find their report elsewhere in this issue of the SIGN. This year the Visiting Nursing Association are unable to dispense flu shots. year to receive their shot. Since this event is not merely a fundraiser, but an evangelistic tool, which brings the community into our space, and allows them to see us in action, as we work together in Christian Fellowship. And while here, to learn of our church services and Youth schedules, and the many Christian events available for families. Whenever we have mission projects, fundraisers, dinners and the like, the generosity and willingness of so many of those women who cannot attend these meetings becomes visible, and very welcome. We thank all who help us in our mission of doing our Lord s work! Dorcas Quilters This report comes to you with good news! We already have a very nice count of utilitarian quilts for Lutheran World Relief with our gathering on Thursday mornings throughout the summer months. Having received monetary and fabric donations from Thrivent Financial and friends, we recently were able to purchase Warm & Natural batting again to ensure warm quilts. Some of our Girlfriends Unlimited quilters make beautiful 'quilt tops' which we then sandwich with the W&N batting, but we lack the 'backings' to finish the quilts. Thank you for your previous donations... so now we are asking for donations of used bed sheets that perhaps you may have or find in your travels to garage sales, Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. Sheets received are then sized to the required size of 62" x 82" to make a 60" x 80" quilt. Thanking you in advance for those, also! Please feel free to visit or join us any Thursday morning between 10:30am and 12pm in the church's lower level. We'd love to have you! Contact Faith Goodrich, Marie Nowark or Esther Stoeckel or Yvonne Upton (church office) if you have questions. Yvonne will refer your message to us. Sunday, October 1 ~ Akron Falls Picnic Join us for a relaxing day walking the park and enjoying a picnic lunch in Akron Falls. We will meet in church parking lot for carpooling at 11:45am. For those who would like, we will take a short hike (approx. 1 mile) around the Falls. Please bring your own bag lunch and drinks, lawn chairs are optional. We will stop for ice-cream on the way home. Sign up sheet is in the Narthex. Key contact: Jane Stange Future Events: Our core group will be meeting in September to plan events for the next several months. If you would like to join our group, or if you have any suggestions for activities, please contact Jill Hoover at or by at hooverfour@roadrunner.com

7 Girlfriends Unlimited (continued) Page 7 D A R W I N M A R T I N H O U S E T O U R On Saturday, August 19, thirteen Girlfriends toured the Frank Lloyd Wright s Darwin Martin House Complex on Jewett Parkway in Buffalo. There was ample free street parking, and the carpooling worked well, keeping the vehicles to a small number. It was a two hour tour, and we were lucky enough to have not only a docent, but the Director of Education for the complex, and she gave us so much added information about the family and the house, it was very fascinating to see and hear. The two-hour walking tour included the Martin house, Gardener s Cottage, Barton House along with the pergola, conservatory, and carriage house. Following our tour we had a late lunch/early supper at the Parkside Meadow Restaurant, at 2 Russell Place, across from the Buffalo Zoo. We had the small banquet room which added to our fun day. This restaurant was quaint in an Old Buffalo decor sort of way, and many of us will be going back. Having seen this very interesting site, many of us discussed also seeing Greystone the other Frank Lloyd Wright mansion in Derby. Stay tuned. Attendees were: Jane Stange, Marilyn Brown, Judy Janowsky, Velma Achenbach, Audrey Janowsky, Mary Ann Kraemer, Karen Vollmer, Kathy Davis, Deb Dexheimer, Linda Hill, Leslie Stolzenfels, Jill Rogers, and Phyllis

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10 Page 10 S A V E T H E D A T E 9/30 Taste of St. Mark 10/1 Girlfriends Akron Falls 10/7-8 LWML weekend 10/13-15 Camp Pioneer Jr. & Sr. Retreat 10/15 Adult Night 10/27 Trunk or Treat 11/4 Candy Cane Fair