Newsletter Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church Box 159 920 15 th Street Perry, Iowa 50220 515-465-5298 Email: mtolivetlutheran@gmail.com Website: www.mtolivetofperry.org Facebook: facebook.com/mtolivetlutheranchurch 2018 From Pastor Jeremy As I sit here in my home office thinking about what to write for the newsletter this month I am looking around at all the neat stuff I have. For those of you who have not gotten the opportunity to see my home office, I have a lot of neat stuff. I look at my collection of Michael Jordan figures. I look at my 2 &1/2 foot tall Darth Vader statue standing guard over the rest of my Star Wars collection. I look at my Red Skelton collector s plate and my special edition Tottenham Hotspur flag. I mean this is some really neat stuff I am surrounded by. As much as I enjoy having this stuff around though, I am not sure I would say I am really all that thankful for it. Not in the grand scheme of things anyway. I am glad I have the stuff as it does give me some joy, but as I think about the things in life I am truly thankful for I think plastic Michael Jordan figures would fall pretty far down the list. I know one thing for sure I have never thanked God for having a cool Star Wars toy. As we approach Thanksgiving we think about the things in our lives we are truly thankful for. Stuff usually doesn t make the cut. No, it is things like family and friends that come to the mind first. Good health and a stable life. Food and shelter and the security that comes with both. These are the things we typically go to first. For good reason, these are the real important things in life after all. The things that truly matter. The things to be truly thankful for. The things to thank God for. For it is from God that these true gifts come from. And I have not even mentioned the best of them all. For as great as family, friends, food and shelter all are they pail in comparison to the amazing gift that is God s love for us. A love so great God was willing to send his son to die so we could know that love in our lives. So we could experience it firsthand. So we could live in that love for all eternity. Now that is a real gift. That is something to truly be thankful for. So in the midst of all the thanks you will be giving this Thanksgiving. Remember that gift. Name it. Give thanks for it. Then live your life in gratitude for it. Most importantly though, share it. Share God s love with those around you. Share God s love in our community. Share God s love in this world, wherever you may be. Give others a reason to be thankful as well. Give them God s love.
40 Days of Thanks Giving We are still collecting items during the 40 days leading up to Thanksgiving. This year we are asking you to bring in personal hygiene items like deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, tampons, diapers, or things of that nature. These items will go to area food pantry s who are always in need of these type of things. Confirmation Once again our youth will be gathering this fall to learn about their faith during Confirmation. We will be meeting on Wednesdays at 2:30. This year we will be studying the Old Testament. Please keep all the youth in your prayers as they gather together to learn and grow in their faith this year. Sunday School We are excited to kick off a new Sunday school year! Your child is invited to attend class to learn about the stories of the Bible through a comprehensive web based curriculum. This year s Sunday school will be offered for ages 2 through 5th grade. Sunday school will be held on the first and third Sundays of each month and for November that will be the 4 th and the 18th. Community Thanksgiving Service We will be gathering together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to give thanks through worship on Wednesday, November 21 at 7:00 PM at First Christian Church. Join us as we gather together with many of the other churches in town for this service full of thanks and gratitude to God for all we have been given. Choir Practice is meeting on Wednesdays prior to Thanksgiving. Come make a joyful noise at 6:30pm
Prayer Groups Starting in October we are forming prayer groups among the members of Mt. Olivet. These will be small groups of people whom you can pray with and for and who will be there to do the same for you. It is a way for us to stay connected outside of church and be the family of Christ for one another in our day to day lives. Your group leader will be contacting you with more information on how and when your group will be organized. Participation is not required but I highly encourage everyone to take part. Prayer List Prayers are powerful and as a church we want to be sure that whenever anyone in our family is hurting we are lifting them up in prayer. So please feel free to contact Pastor Jeremy with any prayer concerns you may have. These may be for yourself or for people you care about, members or not. Women of the Word Women of the Word will meet in November with the location to be announced at a later date. The book for November is The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere. In this warmly humorous and deeply poignant story, we are reminded that the Christmas Promise is the promise of second chances. Church App For many of us our phone is how we connect to everything, except church. Well that no longer has to be the case as now you can download your very own Mt. Olivet app! Inside this app you can watch our worship services, write and read prayer requests, see upcoming events, read our newsletter, bulletin and weekly email, read the Bible and study weekly devotions based on the lectionary, or look up other members in our directory. All of that and more will be at your fingertips at any moment with through this awesome little app. To get the Mt. Olivet app you can download Church App - Tithe.ly from the app store and select our church or just go to the following link; https://tithely.app.link/mtolivet-lutheran-church Make Mt. Olivet a part of your daily ritual.
Weekly Lectionary Devotions Every week your bulletin will include next week s lectionary texts with some thought provoking questions for you to read through and think about during the week. Come to church already knowing the Bible lessons and ready to engage them on a deeper level. New Online Giving We are transiting our online giving program from Vanco to Tithe.ly So if you were giving before you will need to sign up again with our new provider. Further information will be coming soon. November 13 at 9am Spring Valley Campus Bible Study & Meeting Turn, turn, turn: A time for faithful repentance. Session Three: Turning as the church to the world. When we rpent as one body in Christ, we open the way to healing and reconciliation. M.J.A Christian Book Fair Heading into the holiday season we will be hosting a book fair filled with great books for both children and adults. We will have sample books on display for you to browse and order forms available for you to buy. This is a free service offered to us by the Lutheran publishing house Fortress Press and all books are available at discounted prices. Come and check it out this November. Welcome Team for November Nov 4 - Reuter Family Nov 11 - Bob Thompson & Gene Grell Nov 18 - Stetzel Family Nov 25 - Doris Bennett & Sandy Seeman Readers for November Nov 4 - Becky Reuter Nov 11 - Harley Weyer Nov 18 - Martha Stetzel Nov 25 - Doris Bennett Coffee Fellowship for November Nov 4 - Sackett Nov 11 - Nov 18 - Stetzels Nov 25 -
October Church Council Highlights The regular monthly meeting of the Mt. Olivet church council was held on Wednesday, October 11, 2018. The meeting was called to order by Linda Huntington at 5:30 p.m. Pastor led a short devotion from 1 Corinthians. We will be having a Reformation Party on October 28 th from 5-7. Our party will be held at La Poste. Come and enjoy some food and entertainment with your friends. October 14 th will be the start of our 40 days of giving. We plan to collect personal care items. Some suggested ideas to bring: laundry soap, tooth paste, tooth brushes, shampoo, conditioner, diapers, soap, personal hygiene products, deodorant. Anything you can use for personal care!! Thanks in advance. We will look forward to see our bounty grow. Our church app: Tithe.ly is up and running. We currently have 26 people who have downloaded the app. The directory is currently being updated for easy access to members and member information. Give it a try! Sunday school Christmas program will be on December 16 during our regular church time. They will practice on December 2 and 9. The prayer partner program is beginning to take off. You will be contacted by your group leader soon to let you know what is involved. It will be a great way to learn about our church friends and will be an opportunity to pray for each other and to lift each other up. There will be more information coming about an Advent Bible Study in December. More information to come. We will be having a book fair that will be open for our members and members of the community. The company is Spark House which have great books. There will be a kids and adult selection on display. Watch for the display to appear in the fellowship hall. Books make great gifts for kids! Meeting was adjourned and we closed with the Lord s Prayer. Our next meeting will be November 14. All are welcome.
Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church 2018 Church Council Officers and Committee Assignments Officers: President: Martha Stetzel Vice-president: Carol VanKirk Secretary: Linda Huntington Committee Assignments Worship and Fine Arts Gene Grell 515-438-4804, ggrell48@gmail.com Amy Gregory, 515-351-9079, carlam02@luther.edu Property and Long Range Planning Earl Bonjour 515-465-4594 Jay Nelson 515-465-8164, jay.nelson@ldc.com Social Concerns\Fellowship & Care Committee Carol VanKirk 515-490-4655, carolvk@outlook.com Martha Stetzel 515-465-2869, marthastetzel@gmail.com Faith Formation Meg Menke 515-290-6388, megemenke@gmail.com Linda Huntington 515-465-2645, Linda.Huntington@perry.k12.ia.us Pastor Jeremy s Contact Information: Home Phone: 515-465-5837 Cell Phone: 712-389-2747 1415 8 th St, Perry, IA Email Address: jwinter001@gmail.com Church Secretary, Theresa Burns Contact Information: 515-975-6102 Email Address: theresadburns@gmail.com