Beautiful NOVEMBER 2018 Savior Lutheran Church Newsletter HOW CAN I REACH BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR? Phone: 480-967-2660; Email: office@beautifulsaviortempe.org or check us out on the WEB: www.beautifulsaviortempe.org Mail or in person at: 1337 W. 11 th St., Tempe, AZ 85281 Church offices are open Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. FELLOWSHIP HOUR SPONSORS sign-up sheet for November is on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall or let Dorothy know which Sunday you can volunteer for: November signups that still need sponsor are: 11, 18 & 25. Please sign-up in the fellowship hall or Call Dorothy at 602-276-7076. ***If you put food in the refrigerators please put your name and the date you put it in on the items! Thank you, Dorothy STATUS OF THE CAMPUS REJUVENATION FUND RAISING PROJECT: We have raised a total of $35,368.65 through the end of October, plus $1,000 in pledges. The giving included so far is from the following projects: Direct Donations: $29,068.50 PTC Projects (Rummage Sale etc.): $ 2,683.15 Dinners (Lent, Soup Lunch, etc.) $ 582.00 Jazz and Chocolate Concert: $ 1,100.00 Memorials: $ 1,110.00 Pledges: $ 1,000.00 Fish Fry (Net after expenses): $ 825.00 Total: $36,368.65 At this time, we have raised (and pledged) 73% of our goal of $50,000 by Thanksgiving to match the $50,000 already donated by our anonymous benefactor. We have one more official fund-raising event being planned - a concert by Glenn and Ellen Brown. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the concert will likely occur in early December rather than before Thanksgiving. We'll provide details as soon as they are available. We only have three weeks left to raise the remaining $13,631. Please help us meet our goal with whatever you can do. If you would like to donate to this fund, put your donation in a Designated Fund envelope (included in your box of envelopes) or in a regular envelope, mark it for Matching Funds, and put it in the offering plate. A big thank-you to everyone who has donated, volunteered during fund raising activities, and especially to our anonymous benefactor for helping us in this effort. Blessings, Don Schumm
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE OCTOBER 2018 VOTERS MEETING The quarterly Voters meeting was held on Sunday, October 21st, following the worship service with 20 voters in attendance. Here are some highlights of that meeting: Printed reports from Boards and Committees distributed Kathy Held elected to the Voting Assembly Andrew Grant is alternate lay delegate to 2019 synodical convention for our circuit Pastor attended District conference in Cathedral City, CA in September There will be a Thanksgiving Eve service, evening only Pastor will be participating in Pastor Share for Advent, leading Advent worship at 3 churches with their pastors leading Advent worship at Beautiful Savior. Treasurer reported a negative year-to-date balance at the end of September Loan balance is about $5200 Financial Secretary reported 3rd quarter contributions were hirer than first or second quarters Contribution envelopes for 2019 have been received Stewardship has distributed pledge letters and will celebrate Stewardship Sunday Nov 4 with a luncheon after the worship service Christian Education is planning an event in November Elders remind everyone to bring any concerns to them as they are responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the congregation Rummage sale organized by Trustees and Positive Thinking Committee has raised over $2500 for the matching fund; Lutheran Thrift Store in Mesa picked up all the leftover items Items kept from the rummage sale and available to loan to BSLC member for temporary use are a walker, wheelchair, and hospitable bed Hosted the 4th and final Tempe High Football Dinner on Oct. 19th. 5 BSLC women attended the LWML Zone Celebration at Trinity Lutheran in Fountain Hills Next LWML meeting is Nov. 17th to view The First Rosa film LWML hosted the Odle memorial reception in August Thank you to BSLC for recognizing LWML Sunday on Oct. 7th Director Ellen Brown outlined her goals for the music ministry including adding a musical presence to the BSLC website, adding rehearsals for the choir to prepare music for the upcoming holiday services, recognizing the contributions of the Bergmans to casual Sunday music Campus Rejuvenation Fund has raised $35,000; $15,000 needed by Thanksgiving to match the anonymous donor s $50,000 Committee of volunteers to prioritize projects for the Campus Rejuvenation Fund to be appointed at Nov. 11th budget meeting. Please contact Don Schumm if you would like to serve on this committee. Appreciation for Pastor Misch was celebrated at the Voters meeting in recognition of Pastor Appreciation month. Note: If you are a member of BSLC and would like to become a Voter, please contact President Don Schumm to be nominated at the next Quarterly meeting (October). If you would like to receive copies of the Minutes and Reports of Council and Voters meetings, please contact Sandra Wardwell (480-334-4176 or s.wardwell@asu.edu )
BOARD OF FINANCE:
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE: STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE November, 2018 THANKING GOD! During this Thanksgiving season, it is easy for us to give thanks for our families, our homes, our clothing, and our food. These blessings are very visible to us. However, there are other blessings for which we should be thankful, but we may need to be reminded to give thanks because we sort of take them for granted. For example, when is the last time that you thanked God for the air that you breathe, the taste of fresh coffee in the morning, the aroma of flowers or the beauty of a sunset, the excitement from a college or pro baseball/football game, the joy of holding a baby. The list could go on forever. This Thanksgiving, don t forget to thank God for His awesome love through Jesus Christ for us and also thank Him for empowering us to love others. Stewardship Committee thanks all the people of Beautiful Savior Church for your support to our church and its projects. You, the people of our church, gave school supplies and personal items to Gililland Middle School and Holdeman Elementary School; prepared communion twice a month and on special occasions; donated/pledged toward the Campus Rejuvenation Fund; donated and helped with fundraisers (one was rummage sale); gave to LWML for missions; donated food to our Food Bank; gave crocheted/knitted caps to cancer organizations, homeless, hospitals and other charities; collected bottled water for Phoenix Rescue Mission; maintained the upkeep of the church; and are ready to assist again to help God s people. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God s varied grace (I Peter 4:10). The first Sunday in November is Stewardship Sunday. Pledges can be dropped in the offering plate on that Sunday or any Sunday in the month. Stewardship Committee invites all to have lunch with us in Fuerbringer Hall following the Worship Service November 4 th. Grace Timm, Gladys Meyer, Dorothy McShee Stewardship Committee LWML PRAYER CHAIN Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church has a Prayer Chain sponsored by Lutheran Women in Mission. The purpose of the Prayer Chain is to pray for others, sharing their burdens and their joys. Prayers can be for sickness/surgery, dying/death, newborns, happiness/thankfulness and disasters to mention a few. Twenty-six people make up the LWML Prayer Chain. New members are always welcome the more people who pray, the better. To join, call Gladys at 480 897-2236 or email geneglad@q.com and give your desire whether to receive the requested prayer by telephone or email. To request a prayer, call Gladys at one of the contacts above or Pastor Zach on 480 967-2660 or 602 582-7473. Prayer requests are accepted any time and forwarded to the members as soon as possible. Prayer requests can also be given to Gladys on Sunday and will be included in the Monday Prayer, which includes a mini devotion, and is circulated to all prayer chain members. God welcomes your prayers. He listens to and answers all prayers in His own way and own time. This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, (I John 5:14). Gladys Meyer, Prayer Chain Leader
WOMEN IN MISSION ( LWML) Thank you to all who participated in LWML Sunday Oct. 7th by serving as ushers, readers, and greeters. Five BSLC ladies and one member of Family of Christ Lutheran Church attended the LWML Zone Fall Celebration on Oct. 20th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fountain Hills. We heard Shara describe her work as communications director in Africa for the LCMS. We assisted the PTC and Trustees with the rummage sale and recognized Pastor Misch at the November Voters meeting for his service to BSLC as part of Pastor Appreciation Month. Our next meeting will be Saturday, Nov. 17th at 10 A.M. We will be viewing the DVD from the LCMS about The First Rosa, who established many Lutheran schools in the South. Thank you for your support of the LWML! Please let me know if you have any questions about the LWML and join in our activities whenever you can. Sandra Wardwell, 480-334-4176 or s.wardwell@asu.edu
PASTOR MISCH: A Time of Thanks November is a month that invites reflection and realization of all that surrounds us. It encourages us to take some time to be thankful. Thankful for family and friends. Thankful for food and shelter. Thankful for the wonderful things we have. And even though it is a good month to reflect on what we have, it is also a good month to consider who we are. And who we are is oftentimes connected to what surrounds us. Stewardship is a theme that goes well with the month of November. However, the idea of stewardship is often buried by American culture. What I mean by this is that the idea of stewardship is mainly connected to finances but stewardship is much more complex than that. To be a steward is to manage or look after someone s property. In the Christian context stewardship is the recognition that everything we have belongs to God and we are in charge of looking after the things that he has put in our care. And when stewardship is seen in this way the responsibilities that we have increases. We recognize that the resources we have are not ours. They are God s and he has graciously put us in charge of their wellbeing. We recognize that who we are and what we can do are gifts that God is given to us and because of that we are to act as proper stewards and be ready to give whatever God has need. And this is where it can get hard because we like to think we own everything we have. We like to take ownership over our money and our stuff. We even take ownership over our families and our children. However, as stewards we seek out God s purposes and we obey him. So, this month a good question to ask is how do I be a good steward of God? And that means so much more than being thankful for whatever we have as connected to an action that we have done. It is a complete and total recognition that what we have does not belong to us. How does that change the way we see our stuff? Thank you, Pastor Misch