ALC Alert American Lutheran Church Smith Center, Kansas DECEMBER 2018 VOLUME 28 NUMBER 12 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, God is on a mission to save and bless the world. That has been God s mission since before the world began. God revealed his plan to Abraham and Sarah when God promised that, through them, all the nations of the world would be blessed. All along, God has worked through ordinary human beings to fulfill his mission. After many centuries of preparing the world for that blessing, God used an ordinary girl named Mary to bring that blessing into the world. Almighty God emptied himself and took human form. He gave up his power and glory and fitted himself into the humble body of a helpless baby who had to be fed and burped and have his diaper changed as any other infant would. God came down in Jesus to bring the world the blessing of salvation. Our salvation is complete in Jesus Christ, but that doesn t mean God s mission is finished. God s mission to save and bless the world continues because there are many people who do not know about the blessing of salvation in Jesus Christ. And, as he has throughout history, God uses ordinary people to fulfill his mission. Those ordinary people are us. That is what being a disciple of Jesus is all about. Christmas is a time when we celebrate God coming down to us to save us. How is God calling us to help spread the blessing of Jesus this Christmas season? What is God doing to bless our community and how can we participate in God s mission now and in the future? Have a blessed and joyful Christmas this year. Share the joy wherever you go. Yours in Christ,
From the Desk of Pastor Lee December 2018 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. -Luke 1:41-42 When Mary, who was pregnant with our Lord Jesus Christ, greeted her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, Elizabeth broke out in praise of Mary, marveling that she was blessed among women because of the child she bore. Because of Luther s criticism of the practice of petitioning Mary and the saints for prayers, Lutherans tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to Mary. In reality, Luther had the highest praise for Mary, seeing her as the model disciple humble, faithful, trusting, grateful and completely open to God s will. Mary demonstrates how we all should strive in receiving our Lord Jesus Christ. Compare Mary with the message our world often speaks concerning the celebration of our Lord s birth. It is anything but humble as Christmas decorations appear not merely before Christmas, not merely before Advent, not merely before Thanksgiving, but now start to pop-up just after Halloween. Advertising stimulates our appetites to consume everything. Children are subjected to commercial after commercial about toys they just must have; parents are pressured to go into debt to give their children all the stuff that the advertisers have convinced them that they must have. All this focus and stress on having and obtaining stuff stands in stark contrast to Mary s life that reminds us that it is not stuff that we need, but God in Jesus Christ who comes even to those who have nothing in terms of power, wealth and respect in this world. The focus on Hallmark holiday moments with family, which again the advertisers will tell us is what Christmas is all about is challenged by Mary s plight as she is faced with the very real possibility of being abandoned by Joseph because she was pregnant outside of marriage. When God did intervene to convince Joseph that Mary had been faithful to him, the pregnant Mary and Joseph were then sent far away to fulfill some bureaucratic nonsense concerning the Roman census, meaning that Mary had to give birth in a barn far away from the support of her family. Even under these conditions, Mary s praise was always directed towards God. I am not humbugging the secular ways that we celebrate Christmas. Time with family, presents and even the enjoyment of stuff are important things; however, as Christians, we are called to remember that these things are not the heart of Christmas. Christ is the heart, and only Christ. It is only through Christ that we, hungry and starved of righteousness because of our sin, are fed with God s grace and forgiveness. It is only through Christ that wealth and power are not the final determiner of who is worthy of God s love. It is only through Christ that generations from now will look back on our lives as call us blessed. May our Advent and Christmas seasons be filled with hope, humility and willingness to receive Christ born to us through Mary s womb and from the depths of the Father s heart. Your Friend in Christ, Pastor Lee
American Lutheran Church Council Meeting - Oct. 18, 2018 The council of the American Lutheran Church met on Thursday, October 18, in the parish hall with Wyatt Rhoades, Barbie Timmons, Dorothy Hommon, Tim Wilson, Denton Lehmann and Pastor Lorna present. Call to order: Council president Wyatt Rhoades called the meeting to order, the agenda was approved and Pastor Lorna opened with devotion and prayer. Minutes: Barbie moved and Dorothy seconded to approve the minutes; motion carried 6-0 Treasure Report: Dorothy moved and Denton seconded to approve the treasurer's report; motion carried 6-0 Pastor s Report: Pastor Lorna presented her written report. Pastor Lorna reminded everyone of dates of service of pulpit exchange with Pastor Lee. Committee Reports Worship and Music: Wyatt reported that Deb Jacobs will be available to play the organ the next few weeks. The church will hold the cantata in mid-december. Outreach: Sandra Conrad and Sharyl Billinger will join the outreach committee. Irene and others will reach out to inactives through a mailing. Thanksgiving Dinner will follow after church on November 18th. Parish Education: None Facilities: The switch to the ceiling fan in the parish hall needs replaced, the floor in the furnace room will need fixing at some point. We also need to get rid of the blinds that are in the furnace room, ask the congregation if anyone can use them to take them. Talked about replacing the toilet in the handicapped bathroom, Denton was going to look at it and decide what to do. Mutual Ministry: No report Kitchen Committee: All committee chairs have been added for the upcoming year. Old Business Eaton roofing has been in contact with Wyatt and Tim. Work continues to move forward from the past spring hailstorm. There were still some questions on out of pocket expense work. Discussion on writing a grant for flooring and wall covering were talked about, it was decided to see if another person would be interested in writing a grant to get these done. No action has been taken on the lapel microphone, it was decided that Pastor Lorna would talk to Allen Dunavan about this. The church directory should be here in December and out to the congregation by Christmas time.
New Business The out of pocket bid from Eaton roofing was discussed, Denton moved to accept the out of pocket expense of wrapping the apex stained glass windows and replacing the 3 overflow windows for a price of $5,319.99. Tim seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0. Guide One Insurance has dropped about ½ of the churches in Kansas; the company Brotherhood has picked us up, there were questions of rates and coverage. More info will be obtained as we move forward. The council discussed doing something different with the north entry way. Possibly replacing the old single paned windows or closing this area in and only having 1 window on each side of the door was discussed. The money that was allocated from the insurance could possibly pay for a significant part of the work. It was decided that we needed more information and that we would meet with Eaton to look at options and report back at the November meeting. The council decided to have an informational meeting with the congregation on the topic of the parsonage. The meeting will be informal, inviting the congregation to give feedback to the council and have discussion amongst the members on how to handle the parsonage. This meeting will take place after church on Sunday November 11 after the service. Wyatt listed some questions that were brought up by members that the council had talked to. A list of pros and cons of the parsonage were listed. The council then discussed questions that they had; some of these questions were unable to be answer as we needed more information. Barbie talked about the Disciples of the Plains council meeting held earlier in the month. The budget of the 4 point parish was discussed and how the monthly percentage share was divided between the 4 congregations. Next Meeting: November 18th at 7:30 p.m. Meeting adjourned and closed with the Lord s Prayer. Tim Wilson Secretary
NEWS/UPCOMING EVENTS SURVEY: The Synod Council is asking individuals throughout the synod (lay and clergy) to take a survey at www.css-elca.org/bishop-election. The Bishop's election task force is working on a "site profile" for the synod (just as a congregation would who are preparing to call a pastor) to enrich their understanding of the character of our synod. Remember, the synod is all the ELCA members in Kansas and Missouri. It does not refer to the work of the the Office of the Bishop in Kansas City. We are all "the synod" doing ministry together. The task force would really appreciate your honest input. Please take advantage of this opportunity to share your thoughts with the synod council. For those who don't do computers, a print version of the survey will be available on the table that holds recycling. Thanks, Lorna SUNDAY SCHOOL: Sunday school will be at 9:00 December 2 through 23 to allow extra time to practice for the Christmas program. There will be no Sunday School on December 30. CHRISTMAS CANTATA: A performance of Behold the Star will be held on Sunday, December 16, 3:00 p.m. at American Lutheran. SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM: Sunday School will be performing To Us a Child Is Born on Sunday, December 23, at 6:00 p.m. A brief reception will follow in the parish hall. OUTREACH REQUEST: If you or a family member is ill or in the hospital, please let Pastor Lorna know (cell: 785-533-4691 or church: 282-6373). We d love to be able to pray for, send a card and/or prepare a meal for those who need it. Cards will be sent by Irene (620-7465) and Pam will make arrangements for meals (282-4733). VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES NURSING HOME SERVICES: Seeking members to participate in the nursing home worship services. American Lutheran leads the service once every eight weeks. Services are held on assigned Sundays at 2:30 pm at Sun Porch (Long Term Care) and 3:15 pm at Smith Center Health and Rehab. Your presence would be much appreciated by the residents. ALTAR GUILD: Altar Guild volunteers are greatly needed! If a month at a time won t work for you, find a friend to take it on with.