Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 14, 2014 139 th year September 14, A.D. 2014 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Welcome Visitors! We have a gift mug for you available at all three of our entrances. Please pick one up after the service. We are glad to have you in worship today. May God bless you with His love and grace. Board of Evangelism In Your Prayers This Week Please Remember: Marlin Brockmeyer Mary Lou Goetting Linda Foote Eileen Clements Elijah Rabacchi Marcus Delre Debra Guebert Gloria Moore Julie Netherton Helen Braun Lynette Tillock John T. Foote Emma Ritter LuAnn Hartmann George Salger Hospitalized Gary McDonnough Continuing Concerns Marilyn Dailey Roy Thornton (Vicki Potter s father) David Jensen (Karen Chamness brother) Caniella Patterson & newborn child, Gabriel (Emma Ritter s cousin) Shannon Hohgrefe (Stephanie Diercks Brother) Kara Bartee (Nancy Higley s daughter) Tiffany Troue Denyer Ronald Ohlau (Linda Mulholland s step-father) Andy Schorr (Carol Mayer s brother) Anita Shafer (Mary Reith s mother) Daniel Bell (Lisa Greatting s Brother) Robert Holley (Norlyn & Jane Kingsten s grandson) Drew Stallman (Linda Foote s Grandson) Kevin Dukes (Donna & Pr. Al s relatives) Laverna Castens Delores Doss Norma Wolters Thelma Weaver Onieda Mahnken Shelly Fedderke Care Center Residents Evangeline Wahlmann Judy Clasen Adeline Bauer Delores Heck Clara Biermann Rev. Wally Dressler Luella Muench Mildred Eggemeyer Doris Salger Receiving Ministry At Home Jewell Rubach Marjorie Wicker Norma Rodewald Page -2-
Military Personnel & Their Families Justin Asbury, Richard Thompson, Kevin Kahre, Ethan Pierce, Matt Kraus, Casey Vallett, Tim Eichenseer, Bill Ingles, Andrew Grab, Bryan Gramenz, Cory Jeffers, Denny Ernsting, Heather Lee, Christina Willard-Cavan Mission Prayers Remember God s work through LCMS Campus Ministry as you pray for all the dedicated staff and volunteers involved in campus ministry, that God would energize them for their work and use them to plant seeds of faith that will continue to grow. We respect the privacy of our members and friends and will not pray for you publicly unless it is requested and we know we have your permission. Special Voters Meeting A special voters meeting was held on Wednesday, September 3 rd to present the motion to vote to remove Pastor Janneke from his office of Senior Pastor of St. Mark s Lutheran Church. Southern Illinois District President Tim Scharr was present to explain the process and the causes for which a congregation may remove a called pastor. Jason Vallett presented the allegations and Pastor Janneke presented his response to them. Pastors Keseman and Cameron also spoke on Pastor Al s behalf. There was much discussion before the vote was called. There were 261 votes cast with 133 yes for removing Pastor Janneke and 128 no against removing Pastor Janneke. A 2/3 majority (174 votes) was required to pass this motion and it failed to pass. Please pray for our Church, our members and leaders and Pastors Janneke and Bedard as we move from here to try and heal the rifts in our Church family. Pray that God s love will lead us to peace within our church. Cookbooks & School Roof Fund Want to make a donation to the school roof fund? How about purchasing cookbooks. You can donate $51 and get 3 cookbooks, $102 and get 6 cookbooks. The cookbooks are $17 each and all of the money goes to the roof fund. These cookbooks make wonderful gifts (birthday, shower, wedding). Please consider purchasing 1-2 or more and all the money goes to a good cause. The cookbook committee thanks you for any purchase. Bible Studies Wednesday, 10:00 am, Church Office Meeting Room. Bible Hour: Sundays 10:15 a.m.: Family Bible Study Fellowship Hall Studying the Gospel of Matthew Exploring Faith and Life Adult Special Needs Sunday School Class Bible Readings from (Lutheran Service Book) Daily Lectionary (pg. 299-304) Sunday, Sept. 14 2 Chronicles 33:1-25; Colossians 1:24 2:7 Monday, Sept. 15 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11, 14-33; Colossians 2:8-23 Tuesday, Sept. 16 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25; Colossians 3:1-25 Wednesday, Sept. 17 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Colossians 4:1-18 Thursday, Sept. 18 Nehemiah 1:1 2:10; 1 Timothy 1:1-20 Friday, Sept. 19 Nehemiah 2:11-20; 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15 Saturday, Sept. 20 Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16 Sunday School Sunday School will begin on September 14 th at St. Mark s Lutheran School in the 3 rd Grade classroom right after church. All children, preschool age and up to 8 th grade, are welcome to join us as we learn more about God s Word and His love for us. Thank You I would like to thank everyone for the cards, visits and prayers since my stroke and as I continue my recovery at Carbondale Rehab. These acts of kindness mean so much to me. I know I am very blessed to have all of you as a church family. Your kindness will never be forgotten. Thank You and God Bless, Eileen Clements Elder Zones Although the Elders have been assigned specific groups to focus on, congregation members may contact any Elder or either Pastor to discuss their concerns. Page -3- Page -4-
Our Stewardship of Time, Talents and Treasures September 13-14 Organist: John Baginski, Kim Preuss Altar Guild: Stephanie Diercks, Delma Rubach Acolytes: (6pm) Raven Masterson (9am) A.J. Stearns Greeters: (6pm) Leonard & Darlene Diercks (9am) Rodney & Rhonda Wilson Elders: (6pm) Mark Preuss, John Reith (9am) Dale Rice September 20-21 Organist: Carl Handel, Kim Preuss Altar Guild: Delma Rubach, Marilyn Wente Acolytes: (6pm) (9am) Christopher Taylor Greeters: (6pm) Allan & Ruth Waeltz (9am) Mike & Misty Smith Elders: (6pm) Steve Smith Worship Attendance: 8/30-31 Sat - 94 Sun - 153 Weekly Total - 247 Communed - 94 (9am) Bruce Uchtman, Chris Valleroy Christian Education Attendance: Sun. 17 Wed. 7 Financial Report Checking Balance August 1, 2014 $ -15,772.19 School Deposits includes $15,728 of pre-registration payments that were deposited in the last fiscal year. Income 9/5 9/11 Month to Date Year to Date Congregational Offerings $ 6,550.10 $ 13,128.85 $ 45,366.30 School Deposits 3,954.66 7,790.54 53,445.48 Total Deposits $ 10,504.76 $ 20,919.39 $ 98,811.78 Expenses Church & Office $ 4,032.53 $ 4,328.13 $ 17,116.58 School 12,852.07 12,852.07 59,303.82 Parish Property 0.00 0.00 3,196.56 Total Expenses $ 16,884.60 $ 17,180.20 $ 79,616.96 St. Mark s Lutheran School News Chapel Our chapel service on Wednesday, September 17, will be led by Mr. Larry Luedders. Everyone is invited to attend. The offering is designated for Will Fowler's Aide Fund. Please see the article below for information on Will Fowler. Will Fowler's Aide Fund Will Fowler is a student at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Cullman, Alabama and has been since three years old. It was soon discovered that Will suffered from Muscular Dystrophy and when he entered the third grade he was bound to a wheelchair. At this time St. Paul's Church and school pooled monies in order to buy a wheelchair lift so Will would be able to get up and down the stairs for his classes. He also needed an aide to transfer him from his wheelchair to other necessary places such as the toilet. Will is now entering the fifth grade this year, and the funds are no longer available to supply him an aide. He can no longer use his legs at all and since St. Paul is a parochial school they do not qualify for state or federal assistance. The faculty and staff at St. Mark's felt that Will's Aid Fund was a very worth while cause for our chapel offering so let's not forget our offering for our Wednesday chapel service! First Payment Due! Just a reminder to our families if you haven't done so already that the first tuition payment is due Monday, September 15. Checks should be made out to ST. MARKS. Remember that tuition is due the 15 th of each month. No Bus Service There will be NO AM or PM BUS SERVICE on Friday, September 19. St. Mark's is in session but Steeleville Public is not. Checking Balance September 11, 2014 $ - 8,354.41 Loan First National Bank........................................ $40,400.00 Page -5- Page -6-
GIA Applications due! All Grant-In-Aid applications should be completed on-line no later than Tuesday, September 30. If you have any questions about the procedure or would like information on how to apply, contact Chip Wasson at 615-6752. Mum's the Word! Fall mum sale that is. St. Mark's faculty are taking orders for beautiful fall mums to raise money to help defray costs for future teacher conferences and convocations. The cost is $7.00 per potted plant and come in an array of colors such as yellow, white, red purple, golden bronze, and pink. We are also offering mum coupons to Rolling Oaks Nursery near Willisville too. This will give you the opportunity to pick out your own mums at a time that is most convenient for you prior to October 31, 2014. Rolling Oaks also has a large variety of pumpkins, gourds, and other fall decorations for purchase. If you chose this option we will send coupons home the day your order is turned in with your child. Please make payment when you place your order and make checks payable to St. Mark's. Additional order forms are available in the office. Orders with payment are due no later than September 24, 2014 and mums will be ready for pick-up at the school on Friday, September 26th. Save those receipts! St. Mark's is again participating in the "Apple's for the Students" program through Dave's Food Center. When you shop at Dave's, save your receipts and bring them to school. We earn points to purchase items for the school. We can only use receipts dated September 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015. We would like to thank Norma Ernsting with the assistant of Denise Ernsting, who has graciously volunteered to be in charge of this campaign. Thank you ladies so very much! Christmas Card Sales Winding Down Kleinhenn Christmas card orders are due back next week September 15-19. Please try to return your orders in on time!! If you need additional order forms, they are available in the school office. St. Mark's Sports Tues., Sept 16 SB/BB vs St. John, Chester Home 4:15 pm Tues., Sept 16 CC Sparta Practice Meet Away 4:00 pm Thurs., Sept 18 SB/BB @ Red Bud Lutheran Away 4:15 pm Sat., Sept 20 CC Summersville Invitational Meet @ Mt. Vernon 9:00 am Christ Our Savior Lutheran High School Please RSVP: The 2014 Fall Benefit Dinner for Christ Our Savior will be hosted on Friday, October 24, 2014, featuring SID-LCMS President, Rev. Timothy Scharr. Invitations have been distributed. Please RSVP to Christ Our Savior either by mail or by phone. Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you. Seminary Visit: Pastor Bill Wrede will be visiting the COS campus on Sept. 10. If you are interested in learning about a career in LCMS church work, contact COS to arrange a time with Rev. Wrede. Strategic Planning: In an effort to continue growing enrollment at COS, the school will host a Strategic Planning Meeting on Thursday, September 18 at 7 p.m. If you would like to be a part of this discussion, please RSVP to the school office. 5 th Grade Visit Day: 5 th graders from around the area are invited to discover the advantages of Christ Our Savior on Thursday, October 2. All 5 th grade students are invited. If your student does not attend a Lutheran grade school but would like them to experience this event, please RSVP to COS by September 22. Randolph County Economic Development Summit: On Friday, October 3, COS will host a gathering of community leaders to discuss opportunities to collaborate and cultivate an environment for growth in Randolph County. If you would like to participate, please RSVP to COS. Steeleville Octoberfest: If you would like to help us with our lunch stand at the Steeleville Octoberfest on October 10 & 11, please call the school office. Lady Soldier s Volleyball Schedule: Sept. 16 AWAY v. Governor French @ 5:00 pm Sept. 22 HOME v. Bethel Christian @ 6:00 pm Page -7- Page -8-
Carl Salger Estate St. Mark's has received a gift of $22,607.00 from the Carl Salger Estate, to be divided equally between the church and school. The school has used its share to replace all computers in the computer lab and in each classroom. A portion of the church's amount has been used to replace the old Risograph machine, which was badly in need of repairs. The remainder will be used for another project for which the Board of Trustees is now getting cost estimates. Thank you to the Carl Salger family for this generous gift. Carl has set a wonderful example for all of us. In thankfulness for all the blessings he received during his life, he gave a portion back to God, from whom all the blessings had come. Debt Repayment The loan on the Bollmann Estate CD will come due the beginnning of February. It has been my goal to pay $1850 each week from the beginning of September, 2014 through the last week of January, 2015 to get this repaid. Currently, we have only been able to pay $1000 toward the principal in August leaving the total principal at $40,400. The Bollmann CD used for this loan is maturing the beginning of February. Thus is why the loan is due and we have no other CD's to use as collateral. This CD is legally bound by the Bollmann Estate to be used for Building and Maintenance. The Trustess have graciously allowed it to be used for this loan. Debt reduction offerings may be placed in the offering basket or turned into the church office. Unwanted Junk Becomes Cash Income for the Church Recycle your metals for St. Mark s general fund to help pay all the bills at the church and school. We can recycle any metal item, such as: Cans, Buckets, Air Conditioners, Electric Appliances (no glass tubes), Pots, pans, Motors, etc. Call for info or pickup (Mike Vallett 618-317-1058 or Jim Pierce 618-615-0650). In August the church made $246.15 from recycling. Peace Meal from Peacemaker Ministries What Revenge Can Teach Us About Forgiveness Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgetting is a passive process in which a matter fades from memory merely with the passing of time. Forgiving is an active process; it involves a conscious choice and a deliberate course of action. To put it another way, when God says that he "remembers your sins no more" (Isa. 43:25), he is not saying that he cannot remember our sins. Rather, he is promising that he will not remember them. When he forgives us, he chooses not to mention, recount, or think about our sins ever again. Similarly, when we forgive, we must draw on God's grace and consciously decide not to think or talk about what others have done to hurt us. This may require a lot of effort, especially when an offense is still fresh in mind. Fortunately, when we decide to forgive someone and stop dwelling on an offense, painful memories usually begin to fade. Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 206. Food for Thought "Revenge," says the famous Sicilian proverb, "is a dish best served cold." In other words, "effective" revenge requires careful planning as well as emotional distance from the experience that prompted the desire for revenge in the first place. Interestingly, there's also a sense in which biblical forgiveness is best as a "chilled dish." It shouldn't be emotionally chilled, of course, but it should be carefully planned and originate in a place deeper than our emotions. As Christians, we don't wait to forgive so that we can let the memory of the offense fade or so the other person will suffer. Instead, we forgive deliberately. We carefully plan for the restoration of the relationship that has been wronged, and we submit our emotional hurt to Christ, who compels us to forgive as he has forgiven us. As you "plot" your own forgiveness of others, remember that God's plan for forgiveness was a profoundly deliberate effort that impacted literally every generation over literally centuries of time. If "cold revenge" is deeply satisfying, how infinitely much more so is deliberate, planned biblical forgiveness. Page -9- Page -10-
Preparing for Worship Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 20 (21 September 2014) Isaiah 55:6 9; Philippians 1:12 14, 19 30; Matthew 20:1 16 Disciples Live in Their Vocations by Grace through Faith in Christ Those who are sent as laborers for his vineyard (Matt. 20:1) depict the wide diversity of vocations to which the disciples of Christ Jesus are called. Whatever our particular stations in life may be, we are called to live and serve by faith in His promises. Our labors do not merit anything before Him, for He is already generous to one and all without partiality. In mercy He has chosen to bear the burden of the day and the scorching heat on our behalf, to make us equal to Himself and to give us what belongs to Him, that is, the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 20:12 15). This way of the Lord is foolishness to the world and foreign to our thoughts, but He draws near, so that he may be found (Is. 55:6), he may have compassion and abundantly pardon (Is. 55:7). So it is that we are found in Christ Jesus, and He is honored in our bodies, whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20), by fruitful labor (Phil. 1:22) or by suffering. It is by faith in His forgiveness that our works are worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27). Sat., Sept. 13 Weekly Calendar SID LWML Convention.... 3:00 PM Wedding Kyle Hornbostel & Robin Kohlhaas.... 6:00 PM Worship with Communion Sun., Sept. 14.... 9:00 AM Contemporary Worship Service... 10:15 AM Bible Class/Sunday School Mon., Sept. 15 Tues., Sept. 16 Wed., Sept. 17.... 8:25 AM School Chapel... 10:00 AM Bible Class.... 2:00 PM Randolph County Care Center.... 4:00 PM Confirmation Class Thurs., Sept. 18..... Braille Center.... 7:00 PM LWML Meeting Fri., Sept. 19 Sat., Sept. 20 Sun., Sept. 21 Church Office Closed Food Pantry Donations & LWML Mites Collected.... 6:00 PM Worship Service Food Pantry Donations & LWML Mites Collected.... 9:00 AM Blended Worship with Communion... 10:15 AM Bible Class/Sunday School Help Needed for Funeral Luncheons We need to update the list of willing (although not always available) persons to help with funeral meals. Please call Linda Stegmann @ 426-3130 or Glenda Minton @ 965-9736. Call even though you believe you are on the list already. Thank you. Roof Fund Envelopes The school roof repairs have been completed. The Board of Stewardship has placed ROOF FUND envelopes in the pews and at each church entrance. To date $40,906.10 plus $3,000 from cookbook sales has been collected for the school roof fund (final cost $56,800). Prayerfully consider giving a special gift or gifts toward this Fund by using the envelopes. Page -11- Page -12-
St. Mark's Lutheran Church St. Mark s Lutheran School 105 North Garfield Street 504 North James Street Steeleville, Illinois 62288-1345 Steeleville, IL 62288-1433 Church Office: 618-965-3192 School Office: 618-965-3838 Fax: 618-965-2232 Fax: 618-965-3060 stmarks.steeleville@gmail.com stmarkssm@egyptian.net www.stmarksteeleville.com Dr. Alan Wendel Janneke, Senior Pastor School Contacts Cell: 618-317-4416 Mr. Larry Luedders, pr.owl.j@gmail.com Administrator Rev. Kelly Bedard, Pastoral Assistant Cell: (985) 791-4447 Sandra Fortner, School Secretary bedard.kelly@gmail.com Cell: 618-615-7466 Misty Smith, Church Secretary Cell 618-317-6319 The Mission Statement of St. Mark's Lutheran Church Our mission is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ through worship, education, outreach, fellowship and service. Worship Schedule Saturday evening 6:00 p.m.; Sunday morning 9:00 a.m.; Next Handicap Accessible Service October 9 th, 10:00 a.m. Next Contemporary Service October 19 th, 9:00 a.m. Blended Contemporary/Traditional Service September 21 st, 9:00 a.m. Holy Communion is celebrated every weekend, the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month at the 9:00 a.m. service and at the 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening service before the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Because those who eat and drink our Lord's body and blood unworthily do so to their great harm and because Holy Communion is a confession of the faith which is confessed at this altar, any who are not yet instructed, in doubt, or who hold a confession differing from that of this congregation and The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and yet desire to receive the sacrament, are asked first to speak with the pastor or an elder. Page -13-