Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 7, 2014 139 th year September 7, A.D. 2014 THIRTEENTH 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 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 Recovering from Surgery Mary Lou Goetting Hope for New Improved Treatments Elijah Rabacchi 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 the 800,000-plus foreign students studying at American colleges and universities. Many come from countries where the Gospel is not freely preached. Pray that their time in the U.S. would provide the opportunity for them to learn about Jesus. 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 Cookbooks are still available for sale in the church office during work hours. The cost for each cookbook is $17. 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. 7 2 Kings 4:38 5:8; Ephesians 6:1-24 Monday, Sept. 8 2 Kings 5:9-27; Philippians 1:1-20 Tuesday, Sept. 9 2 Kings 6:1-23; Philippians 1:21 2:11 Wednesday, Sept. 10 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29; Philippians 2:12-30 Thursday, Sept. 11 2 Chronicles 29:1-24; Philippians 3:1-21 Friday, Sept. 12 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; Philippians 4:1-23 Saturday, Sept. 13 2 Chronicles 32:1-22; Colossians 1:1-23 Lifetouch/Feed the Need Campaign We are all given the opportunity to help our local Food Pantry and save money on family portraits. Many of you took advantage of this opportunity and donated many items to be given to the Food Pantry at Peace Lutheran Church. This week we received a check from Lifetouch for $160 (based on how many families came to have their pictures taken) to be donated to the Food Pantry as well. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to support our community in this way. 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 $40,746.10 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 -3- Page -4-
Our Stewardship of Time, Talents and Treasures September 6-7 Organist: Janet Wicker Altar Guild: Debra Caby, Stephanie Diercks Acolytes: (6pm) Emily Brown (9am) Bastian Kraus Greeters: (6pm) Jim & Connie Kirkland (9am) Mila Biermann Elders: (6pm) Ed Kerkhover (9am) Jim Mevert, Virgil Gramenz 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 Worship Attendance: 8/30-31 Sat - 92 Sun - 159 Weekly Total - 251 Communed - 92 Christian Education Attendance: Sun. 17 Wed. 9 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 8/28 9/4 Month to Date Year to Date Congregational Offerings $ 6,578.75 $ 6,553.75 $ 38,791.20 School Deposits 3,835.88 3,835.88 49,490.82 Total Deposits $ 10,414.63 $ 10,389.63 $ 88,282.02 Expenses Church & Office $ 295.60 $ 295.60 $ 13,084.05 School 0.00 0.00 46,451.75 Parish Property 0.00 0.00 3,196.56 Total Expenses $ 295.60 $ 295.60 $ 62,732.36 St. Mark s Lutheran School News Chapel Our chapel service on Wednesday, September 10, will be led by Pastor Bruce Cameron from St. John's in Sparta. 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! PTL to have 1 st meeting Our first PTL meeting for the 2014-2015 school year will be held this Monday, September 8, 2014 in the cafeteria. We will have a meal starting at 6 pm of spaghetti, salad, & garlic bread followed by our business meeting at 6:30 pm. Please try to attend! You Didn't Miss It! If you were thinking you missed school picture day, think again! Picture day is Wednesday, October 1, also including class groups, Soft Ball, Baseball, and Cross Country. Look for picture flyers to come home later. Checking Balance September 4, 2014 $ - 4,506.83 Loan First National Bank........................................ $40,400.00 Page -5- Page -6-
LIVE OUT LOUD! St. Mark's Lutheran School started the 2014-2015 school year on Monday, August 18th with the theme based on Philippians 2:11 - "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord". What joy we take in that verse as we look to the future of St. Mark's School. Our enrollment for this school year has increased and we thank God for directing those families to attend our school. Our enrollment is as follows: Kindergarten 14, 1 st Grade 10, 2 nd Grade 11, 3 rd Grade 8, 4 th Grade 15, 5 th Grade 11, 6 th Grade 14, 7 th Grade 11 and 8 th Grade 8 giving a total of 102 for K-8. Pre-K 3 has 14 enrolled and Pre-K 4 has 20 students in our PK program. That gives St. Mark's a total of 136 students to hear God's word and "prosper". Thanks be to God for his many blessings and may He continue to bless St. Mark's this school year and in the future. Christmas Card Sales in Full Swing! Kleinhenn Christmas card catalogs were sent home with the youngest family members last week. This is our ONLY school wide fundraiser. Our goal is for each family Preschool-8 to sell $150 of merchandise or more. Share the brochures with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Extra catalogs and order forms will be available in the school office. The profit from the sales is used to maintain computers, purchase our contract for the Jupiter Grade System, pays for our anit-virus and firewall protection for our computer lab, all our awards the students receive, art supplies, diplomas and covers and many other items not covered by tuition and registration fees. Order forms are to be returned the week of September 15. ALL ORDERS ARE DUE BY SEPTEMBER 19! Check to be sure all information is complete on the order forms. Items will be delivered to the school the second or 3rd week of October. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Karen Gramenz. Please Help! 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. This year we are looking for a volunteer to help with the adding of the receipts, putting them into bundles and packing them for shipment. This person only needs to check on the receipts once a month but we need to make sure they all get mailed by the due date. If you have a little extra time and would like to help, stop in the school office. Save Those Box Tops! Don't forget St. Mark's also saves BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION! You can find the familiar label on lots of different products such as Totino's, Chex Mix, Cheerios, Hefty, Scott, Ziploc Juicy Juice and much more. Some of these you may have not thought of. So look for the hot pink label next time you shop and save those box tops! St. Mark's Sports Tues., Sept. 9 BB @ Red Bud Catholic Away 4:15 pm Tues., Sept 9 SB @ RBC & Trinity-Coop Away 4:15 pm Thurs., Sept 11 BB/SB vs Evansville Home 4:15 pm Sat., Sept 13 SB vs RBL @ Red Bud Catholic Tourney 11:00 am Sat., Sept 13 BB vs RBC @ RBC "B" Tourney 11:00 am Sat., Sept 13 CC meet @ Smithton Invitational 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. Page -7- Page -8-
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 Don't Be a "Chocolate Only" Christian! Through Jesus you can also experience genuine peace within yourself. Internal peace is a sense of wholeness, contentment, tranquility, order, rest, and security. Although nearly everyone longs for this kind of peace, it eludes most people. Genuine internal peace cannot be directly obtained through our own efforts; it is a gift that God gives only to those who believe in his Son and obey his commands (1 John 3:21-24). In other words, internal peace is a by-product of righteousness. This truth is revealed throughout Scripture: "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you" (Isa. 26:3). "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever" (Isa. 32:17; cf. Ps. 85:10; 119:165). "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea" (Isa. 48:18). These passages show why it is impossible to experience internal peace if you fail to pursue peace with God and peace with others. Internal peace comes only from being reconciled to God through his Son, receiving his righteousness and the power to resist sin, and then obeying what God commands. "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us" (1 John 3:23). By God's design, the three dimensions of peace are inseparably joined. As one author expressed it, "Peace with God, peace with each other and peace with ourselves come in the same package." Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 46-47. Peace Meal continued... Food for Thought Authentic biblical peace is like Neapolitan ice cream. Peace with God is like the chocolate. Peace with others is like the vanilla. And peace with ourselves is like the strawberry. Some folks, when presented with a carton of Neapolitan ice cream, eat only their favorite flavor (usually the chocolate, right?) before putting the 1/3-empty package back in the freezer. When subsequent snackers drop by, they become crestfallen: Neapolitan without one of the flavors just isn't Neapolitan! Much of modern Christendom is like this. "Christian" is too often understood only to mean "at peace with God." Rarely are Christians encouraged to dig their spoons into the vanilla and strawberry dimensions of the faith: making peace with others and experiencing peace within. Sure, the chocolate is important--you might even say it's the "best part", but chocolate-only Christians will never change the world. Blessed are the true Neapolitan peacemakers, for they will not be confined to the freezer for long! Preparing for Worship Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 19 (14 September 2014) Genesis 50:15 21; Romans 14:1 12; Matthew 18:21 35 Forgiving as the Lord Forgives Us In settling His accounts with us, our Lord acts not with anger, but with compassion. He does not imprison us as we deserve, but He forgives all our debts and releases us (Matt. 18:23 27). Therefore, our Lord bids each of us to have mercy on your fellow servant and forgive your brother from your heart (Matt 18:33, 35). By the Lord s forgiveness of our sins, we are free to forgive those who sin against us, because He has been handed over to the jailers in our stead, and He has paid our entire debt with His lifeblood. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord s (Rom. 14:8). Since we all will stand before the judgment seat of God, we are not to despise our brother (Rom. 14:10), but gladly forgive him. By the grace of God, our brother also will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand (Rom. 14:4). Though we daily sin against each other, the Lord intends to bring it about that many people should be kept alive (Gen. 50:20). Jesus speaks kindly by His Gospel and promises: I will provide for you and your little ones (Gen. 50:21). Page -9- Page -10-
Weekly Calendar Sat., Sept. 6.... 6:00 PM Worship Service Sun., Sept. 7.... 9:00 AM Worship with Communion... 10:15 AM Bible Class/Sunday School Mon., Sept. 8.... 1:00 PM Coulterville Care Center..... Manor at Mason Woods.... 6:30 PM Parent/Teacher League.... 8:00 PM Board of Trustees Tues., Sept. 9.... 6:30 PM Elder/Evangelism Visits Wed., Sept. 10.... 8:25 AM School Chapel... 10:00 AM Bible Class.... 4:00 PM Catechism Class Thurs., Sept. 11... 10:00 AM Handicap Accessible Communion Service.... 7:00 PM Parish Council Fri., Sept. 12 Sat., Sept. 13 SID LWML Convention..... Wedding Rehearsal 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 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. Lady Soldier's Volleyball Schedule: Sept. 11 HOME v. First Baptist @ 6:00 pm Sept. 16 AWAY v. Governor French @ 5:00 pm 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 September 11 th, 10:00 a.m. Next Contemporary Service September 14 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 -11- Page -12-