The Messenger SEPTEMBER Engli sh Lutheran Church of Bateman (ELCA) VOLUME IX ISSUE X 2015 Is Sunday the only day you can travel to spend time with relatives? Have sports programs forced you to miss church on Sunday? Is 9:00AM to early for you to get the bod in motion? Miss that boost of peace from time with God? Wednesday Night Worship is coming Starting Sept. 9 at 7PM, after the Wednesday Night Live studies have ended, we will have a worship service. It will have the same lessons and sermon from the preceding Sunday, except during Advent and Lent. We are working on the style and liturgy that will make this a service special for those who can not make Sunday Lutheran World Relief Simply Giving 2 Pastor s Letter 3 Blessing of Animals Outdoor Worship Sunday, September 6 at 9 A.M. (Labor Day weekend) Come and celebrate all of God s creatures. In past years we have shared in praising God with fish, rabbits, cats, dogs, Guinea pigs and horses. Animals in the Bible as well as animals today witness to God s marvelous grace in Creation and the preservation of all. Hear the message. Share National Youth Gathering 4 Soles 4 Souls Crop Walk Seasons Symbols 5 Children, Youth & Family News 6 Wednesday Night Live 7 Pantry Pals 8 Pantry Pals Continued 9 Worship in the Woods 10 Sunday Worship Servers 11 Mailer Outdoor Worship 12 Gordy s scrip program Please consider buying Gordy s Scrip Cards. ELCB receives 5% of each card. Currently we average close to $200 monthly profit. Proceeds will go to the roof fund. These cards can be used on any Gordy s purchase of gas, groceries or liquor. Cards are available immediately in $25, $50 & $100 amounts.. See Ray Larson, Cathy Thompson or Betty Leidholdt
Page 2 Lutheran World Relief Projects THE MESSENGER We have reached the conclusion of our kit collections drive for 2015. We have reached our goal of 55 school kit and 50 personal care kit items. A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to everyone who contributed items for the kits or helped in some way to reach our goals this year. There will be a display of the kits and quilts later this fall. Look for further information/updates. THANK YOU for another successful year-god S WORK OUR HANDS Carol Peterson and Julie Mitchell Mission Stewardship SIMPLY GIVING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q. When I enroll what bank information must I provide? A. For a checking account you must provide a voided check; for a savings account you provide a deposit slip. You bank account number and bank routing information will also go on the authorization form. Q. How do I participate in the weekly church offering? A. You are not required to submit a weekly envelope. A special Simply Giving pew card is available and you may place that in the offering plate to signify that you are making an offering that week. Q. Will the information I provide be used to solicit me for other business? A. No, you will never be solicited by Vanco Services. It is only used to process the electronic transactions. Q. Can I consider enrollment at a later date? A. Yes, Simply Giving is an ongoing program. Just contact the church treasurer or bookkeeper. Q. Are there any charges to participate in this program? A. No, there are no costs to you. There will be more Simply Giving articles in following Messengers and bulletins. If you would like to ask additional questions or enroll right away contact one of our team members Karen Rokser or Ray Peterson. Together in Christ ELCB Finance/Stewardship Committee 9 th ANNUAL LEFSE BAKING DAY Date: November 7 th, 2015 Place: English Lutheran Church of Bateman Kitchen Time: 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. (Sign-up sheet will be posted on the WELCA board). Needed: Approximately 50 pounds of peeled, cooked russet (not red) potatoes. (See sign-up sheet, please)! Please come for part or all of this day of Norwegian Culture and fellowship! The lefse made this day will be sold at our Home Tour Bake Sale on December 5 th. We need many helpful hands as ricers, mixers, rollers, and turners in the interesting process of making lefse. You don t know how? Come learn we will teach you! Join us for a fun day of working and laughing together. Lunch will be provided! If you have any questions please call Carol Turner at 715 523 0218 or e-mail at ct1148@icloud.com.
Page 3 FALL IS COMING CHANGE IS COMING VOLUME IX ISSUE X Are you ready for summer to be over? Have you done all you fall clothes shopping along with the back to school supplies? Have you figured out what are all the activities you are signing up to participate in? The summer has been filled with planning for the fall activities. It has meant spending time in prayer asking God for direction, spending time listening to the needs/wants of families, spending time discussing possibilities, and again spending time praying to discern God s plan. Discernment is different from studying the statistics and making a quantified decision. It is about spending time with God. Listening to God through Bible study, prayer and discussion. It involves more time to consider God s plan. It is spending time in quiet to hear God. As we are reminded by Elijah in 1Kings 19 Lord was not in the wind;... not in the earthquake;... not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence or in the King James Version a still small voice was where God s calling could be heard. This is the voice we need to listen to the most. It does not always come with full plans and many times I have found myself saying I think this is what you want Lord but I am not sure. I am going to take these steps toward doing this. If it is your will, help me in doing this. If it is not your will, then have these steps fail drastically so that I know to pursue something else. Discernment is not always easy. Even when we are confident of God s will, many times we have to wait for others to be open and to listen to that still small voice. The work we are doing with United in Christ Ministry, Pantry Pals, and Wednesday Night Live all have and continue to require our ongoing discernment. Every time we meet as leaders for this congregation we need to spend time in study and prayer so that we will continue making the wise choices that God wants us to do. The council has plans this September to do a Ministry Review through the Synod. We will have a team of individuals who will meet with various people in the congregation and in the community. They will help us look at who we are, where we are, and what we need and want to be doing. As outsiders they will give us a different perspective on our ministries as we continue our work and our discerning what God is calling us to do in this place at this time. We will do this in the midst of changes on Wednesdays: expanding the adult ministry, changing the style for youth, adding God s Word, Our Hands, and adding the worship service. Then changing the way we help feed our neighbors through Pantry Pals. By the end of October all of this will be routine just as the school and extra curricular schedules will have fallen into place. United In Christ Ministry continues to develop. Right now four of the pastors are taking a course on developing leaders as collaborative teams. We are doing advance reading with online discussion. At the end of September the four of us will be attending a week of discussion and learning at Luther Seminary after which we will be working together on a project. As I have met with our group of clergy, I can see how this class is helping us to be more of a collaborative team. We are coming together in new ways that will continue to help all of the congregation to see the benefit of a staff of clergy. We have different specialties that are a compliment to each other and will enhance all the ministries. The discernment process in the other congregations is taking longer but giving the time for the congregations and the clergy to grow in this way (and that includes us) will be worth it in the long run. Celebrating the coming of all the fall changes. Pastor Deborah
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E N G L I S H L U T H E R A N C H U R C H O F B A T E M A N 20588 County Highway X Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 Pastor: Rev. Deborah Nissen E-Mail: pastordeborah@elcbateman.org Church Office Phone: 715-723-4231 Office Hours Tues.& Wed.., 9 am - 1 pm Thurs. 9:00 am-12:00 pm Church E-Mail: secretary@elcbateman.org Bookkeeper: bookkeeper@elcbateman.org Web Page: www.elcbateman.org CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1913-2013 We the family of English Lutheran Church of Bateman are here to serve the Lord through worship, fellowship, stewardship and discipleship. OUTSIDE SERVICES Sunday, September 6 at 9:00 am (Blessing of Animals) Please join us as we worship under The Lord s beautiful sky.