ST. JAMES LUTHERAN CHURCH Newsletter 2014 1741 South State Street Greenfield Indiana 317-462-7340 Our Mission: To bring people to Christ, encouraging relationships with Him and others. INSIDE THIS EDITION Pastor s Page Council Corner Healthy Churches Thrive Fellowship Photos of the Month Bits and Pieces Birthdays and Anniversaries Thought for the Day Do not waste time bothering whether you love your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. ~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 1
Dear Friends, Pastor s Page While the weather has been exceptionally cold, my heart has been warmed considerably over the last several weeks as I watch the excitement generated through our consulting process with Church Doctor Ministries. God is doing a new thing at St. James and within me personally. While I love the people of St. James, I was beginning to question, over the last year, what potential our church had for the future and what my role (if any) should be. God has used this process to reveal things to me that I could not see before. A new vision if you will, for this ministry. I believe that a healthy church is one that is growing spiritually and numerically (the first being most important). Yet I have no desire to lead a mega church. If our church got to the point that our facilities could not hold the number of people coming, I would likely suggest a satellite church be established. But all that is really for God to decide. Our part in this is to grow into faithful disciples and engage in the actions expected of a disciple. God will then do what he wants with this ministry. Any church that is not growing is dying, even if it is a slow death. When churches are about the business of creating disciples instead of creating church members who expect to be waited on, they grow, and the lives of their members are changed. Those members whose lives are changed develop relationships with others who don t truly know God. God then uses them as a tool to change the lives of others through the power of His Spirit. The cycle then repeats itself. Does that make any sense to you? If not, it will eventually as we continue to teach these concepts. We can no longer afford to keep doing (or not doing) the same things and somehow expect different results. We can no longer continue to be the same people and expect God to do anything with us. Some of us have been resisting or ignoring God for years, even though we may show up in the pew on Sunday. I make an important request of you today. Please pray that the momentum generated at St. James will not die out and be wasted. A movement has begun here and God can use it to do powerful things! God s blessings to you, 2 Pastor Larry
Council Corner The Church Council would like to thank all of the congregational members who attended and participated in the oral presentation by Dr. Kent Hunter from Church Doctor Ministries. Kent presented more that 175 recommendations for St. James to consider in the main categories of Spiritual Health, Philosophy of Ministry, Structure, Outreach, Staff, Worship, Ministries, Finance, and Building and Grounds. If you did not attend Kent s presentation, I recommend that you watch the recorded presentation or read the written report that was authored by Kent and his staff. DVDs and copies of the report are available through the church office. I hope those of you who attended Kent s presentation left the meeting, as I did, with the feeling of optimism and excitement at the possibilities for the future of St. James. But, there is a lot of work, decision-making and preparation to be accomplished in order for St. James to reach our goals. Your Council has reviewed all of the recommendations, and decided which recommendations are to move to the action plan development stage. We are now in the process of identifying appropriate committees, individuals and ad hoc groups to write actions plans for these recommendations. The timeline for completion of these action plans is April 20 th (Easter). These action plans will serve as a master plan or road map for St. James over the next several years. Council will keep the congregation updated on the progress of the action plans. Finally, we will be conducting the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, February 16 th following the second service. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending. Major agenda topics for this meeting include review of annual committee reports, election of new Council members and an update of the action plans development and implementation. With God s Help, Ray Pohland 3
An Opportunity for You We have scheduled an open, informational gathering for those who would like to see our church become more productive. This is for those who would like to see our church have a greater impact and reach more people for Christ. It is an opportunity to discuss how our church can grow spiritually. Monday, February 24 th at 7:00 PM Calling all Thrivent Members! We are attempting to add the Thrivent members of St. James to our database. When we apply for financial assistance for various events at our church, we are often asked how many Thrivent members attended or participated. Without knowing who you are, we have no way of filing the report correctly. If you are a member of Thrivent Financial please send us a quick email, or phone the office to let us know. Thank you for your assistance. 4
Euchre/Game Night Looking for something to do on a Friday night? Join this lively group as they meet for some fun and games. If you ve not joined us yet, we would love to have you. If you attended in the past, and we haven t seen you in a while, come back! All are welcome! Friday, February 21 st at 7:00 p.m. Feel free to bring a snack to share and the beverage of your choice. Coffee and tea are provided. Fellowship Night Out Enjoy eating out with the fellowship of others? Come to dinner at The Riley House US 40 Greenfield February 25 th at 6.00 p.m. All are welcome bring a friend! Evening Women s Bible Study Jane Koors-Mahan will be facilitating the Priscilla Shirer series: He Speaks to Me Preparing to Hear from God The first of six sessions begins on Tuesday, February 25 th at 5:30 p.m. A light meal will be provided each week to make it more convenient for those coming straight from work. A sign-up sheet is located in the gathering area. 5
Youth snow tubing at Perfect North Slopes February 23 rd departing the church at 10:00 a.m. Confirmation High School Please contact Cindy at ckgember@stjamesnalc.org if you would like to attend. In order to get a group rate, reservations must be made by February 12 th. Cost: $30.00 per person Congregational Meeting Sunday, February 16 th 11:45 a.m. Stop by our table in the gathering area on Sunday, February 9 th and purchase some tasty treats. The baked goods will be available before and after both services. This is a youth fundraising event. 6
Top Left: Christmas Program 2013 Jack Peterson, Livia Quigley, Grace Mason, Trevor Hale, Andrew Peterson, Trenton Lovell, and Christian Bell. Top Right, Middle and Bottom: K-7 th grade FUN and FELLOWSHIP! 7
Home for the Holidays! Christmas Eve at St. James. 8
Bits and Pieces of News! Karen and Mathilda Bell participated in the Bop to the Top benefit for Riley Children s Hospital. This is a 36 floor climb up the One America Tower in downtown Indianapolis. Karen s time: 8 minutes 12 seconds with Mathilda coming up right behind her at 10 minutes 10 seconds. Way to go girls! Working hard to benefit others. Congratulations to Erik Cliburn (high school youth group) who received a role in the upcoming GCHS drama Dracula. Erik plays the part of Van Helsing, and has been working hard to incorporate a Dutch accent into his portrayal of the character. If you would like to attend, the production takes place on February 21 st and 22 nd at 7:00 p.m. and the 23 rd at 2:00 p.m. You can call the high school ticket line to reserve your seats. 9
One of our churches goals is to improve communication, therefore our Finance Committee has committed to providing a financial summary each month in the newsletter. If you have any questions or desire greater details please contact Ronald Kissell. Financial Status as of December 2013 General Fund: Beginning Balance $8,810.21 Income $34,304.04 Expenses $20,765.71 Ending Balance $22,348.54 Partners In Ministry Balance: $42,841.38 The 2014 flower charts are now available on the bulletin board outside the church office. Please be sure to write clearly, defining your dedication. PLEASE NOTE: There are two charts. If you want two vases we ask that you sign both charts on the line corresponding to the date you wish to purchase them. If you only sign one chart, one vase of flowers will be ordered. The cost is $20.00 per vase. LOOKING AHEAD During the season of Lent we will be offering a worship service on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. Prior to the service join us at 6:00 p.m. for fellowship and a meal. The following committees will be providing the dinners: March 12 Daylighters March 19 Church Council March 26 Ladies Bible Study April 2 Choir/Worship Committee April 9 Youth 10
Happy Birthday... February 1 Mark Bode February 2 Eric Amundson February 3 Alex Smith February 5 - Marlene Leitenberger February 6 Mike Herron, Phil Miller February 10 Amanda Smith February 13 Jo Cook February 14 David Mowrey February 19 Kristin Broome February 20 Steve Beyer February 21 Marieta Boone, Amanda Phelps February 22 Larry Gember February 24 Mary Ellenberger, Penny Ellis February 27 Ivy Kallas, Dottie Timmerman Happy Anniversary... February 23 Mark and Maggie Bode A special birthday wish to Amanda Phelps who is celebrating her 99 th birthday on February 21 st. God s blessings Amanda! 11
Larry Gember Greg Branson Erik Cliburn* Cindy Gregory* Mike Herron Linda Hess Shari Karkowski Larry Kindig Eric Lewis Kristin Mason Phil Miller Ray Pohland *Non-voting member Church Council Members pastorlg@stjames-lutheranchurch.org branson.gregory@yahoo.com youth liaison cindy.gregory@dfas.mil michaelmherron@yahoo.com sunshine851@sbcglobal.net shkark@live.com LBKindig@comcast.net ericlewismobile@yahoo.com kk.mason@comcast.net phillip@iquest.net rcpohland@att.net Church office: 317-462-7340 Church email: office@stjamesnalc.org Church website: www.stjamesnalc.org Prayer Ministry: June Gries cjgries@comcast.net Director of Youth and Family Ministry: Cindy Gember ckgember@stjamesnalc.org Music Director: Jean Ellenberger jellenb@comcast.net Thought for the day Let s ALL be REAL! 12