A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 Savior Divine Lutheran Church 10040 S. 88TH Ave. Palos Hills, IL 60465 1 FROM THE PASTOR Sunday Worship 9:30 a.m. Your Outdoor Walk Becomes a Spiritual Walk We know what walking can do for us. It can refresh our souls and give us time to think about important matters. I usually am out walking in the morning just to make contact with the outdoors before beginning my work. One of my neighbors even asked me during one of my walks if I am working on my sermon while walking! Though not intentionally, I m sure some thoughts have surfaced. In one of my walks around the streets in my condo complex, my outdoor meanderings turned into a spiritual walk. This came about as I was observing what was around me and tried to make some spiritual connections. Here is what transpired: A large rock I saw reminded me of how God is referred to as a rock in the psalms. The bright sun made me think of Jesus, who is the sun of righteousness. Mal. 4:2 The trees reminded me of the passage in Revelation 22, where trees are for the healing of the nations. We have these words in Scripture about God: Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. Romans 1:20 NRSV If you are able, I would encourage you to do such a walk. Your walk can bring you to a greater awareness of the great God we have. Pastor Marty Our 75th Anniversary Year Continuing Our Journey
2 A New Addition to the Courtyard A couple of new benches have been added to the courtyard. They can even be converted to become a picnic table. The benches have been donated by in loving memory of her husband, Len. The Rev. A. Craig Settlage Fund for Leaders Being Established Rachel Settlage has worked to establish an A. Craig Settlage Fund for Leaders Memorial Scholarship Fund. This fund is being established since theological education was very important to Pastor Settlage. You are welcome to contribute to this fund. It will help to honor Craig s memory and assist those men and women seeking to serve God and the church through ministry. Checks may be made payable to ELCA Endowment Fund and include on the Memo line A. Craig Settlage Scholarship Fund. Mail your check to EFPT Receipts, P.O. Box 1806, Merrifield, VA 22116-8002.
3 Check Out Our Discipleship Group for Developing an Infectious Faith. The Discipleship Group is launching into a new book entitled Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg. Have you ever wondered how your faith could become infectious to others? This book will explore passing on your faith to others and provide you with some ways for doing so. The group will have their first session on September 25 after worship. The class will discuss Chapters 1-3. Please see Pastor Marty for a copy of the book. New members are always welcome. The 500 th Reformation Anniversary Celebration in 2017 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has already begun making preparations for celebrating the 500 th Anniversary of the Reformation next year. The council here at Savior Divine will be working on developing ways for us to celebrate. In preparing for this celebration Augsburg Fortress, the ELCA publishing house, has just developed an app of the Small Catechism for your mobile device for both ios and Android. The app is being offered free of charge! In the app store look for Small Catechism Sparkhouse. An additional study guide can be purchased for $1.99. In order to learn more, check out these sites: If you have access to the Internet, you can check out the Web site of www.elca500.org. If you are on Facebook, you can like www.facebook.com/roadtothereformation. If you are on Twitter, the handle is @rd2reformation. Congregational Development The council at its last meeting continued to work on development for our congregation. I have set up a page on the church s web site (www.saviordivine.org) where suggestions can be offered not only by council members but by others in the congregation. On the homepage you can click on the link Congregational Development and there you can leave a comment. Pastor Marty
CHURCH PICNIC The annual church picnic this year will be held on Sunday, September 11 th with Moraine Valley Community Church following a combined worship service at 10:30 that day. Fried chicken will again be catered. You can still bring you own meat dish if you prefer, but if you would like the church to provide fried chicken for you, be sure to indicate your desire on the sign-up list in the back of the church. The list will also be for how many salads and desserts are being planned to be shared family style. Plates napkins, cups, plasticware, soft drinks, and coffee will be provided. (A free-will offering will be taken to cover this cost.) 4 Favorites water balloon toss and egg-toss are again planned for outdoors. Marshmallow golf driving is again planned also, as well as other outdoor games for children (if enough sign up) and adults--such as bean bags and ladderball. Bingo and whatever games you would like to bring are scheduled for indoors. The traditional door prizes will be distributed too. Any new games or activities will also be considered. So plan to stay after church September 11 th. Bring the entire family, invite your friends, and plan to have a fun-filled afternoon! As always, any way you can help in setting up beforehand, cleaning up afterward, securing door prizes, or suggesting new ideas will be appreciated. Paul Wackenhuth Picnic Co-ordinator
5 Improving Communication with Our Church Office If you are an assistant, lector, responsible for bringing bread, or using the remote, please notify the church office if you are unable to serve on your appointed day. Finding a substitute would greatly help us! When you find another person to take your place, please let the office know so the correct person can be listed in the bulletin. Elsie s Food Pantry Items needed by the Pantry include macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, canned fruit, and cereal. Other types of food are also welcome. The food may be placed in the Amish Pie Safe. Also they need plastic grocery bags. These bags can also be left in the Pie Safe. Baptism We were pleased to welcome into the family of God Darek Ray Beakley through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism on July 24. The parents are Derrill and Samantha Beakley and the sponsors are Shane Misner and Laura Radtke.
6 Connect with our Facebook Page Savior Divine has its own Facebook Page in order to connect with people through social media. Our church s Page presents activities of our church and other news of the ELCA and at the end of the week a challenging question regarding discipleship in reference to the upcoming Sunday message. The page becomes an outlet for us to connect with others outside our congregation. For instance, some non-members have liked our page and our postings get circulated via the Hills Chamber of Commerce to other Chamber members on Facebook. The church s Facebook Page address is www.facebook.com/ saviordivinelutheran. Since it has been set up as a business page, your own postings will not show up on the church s page. Why You Might Do a Facebook Check-In from Church If you are on Facebook, consider doing a check-in some time when you are at church on a Sunday morning (you can pin the location). By doing this you are letting your friends know that church is an important part of your life! You might also want to add a few words about the service. The Pennies for Heaven The jar is out for any loose change you may want to throw in during the summer weeks and can be found near the stained glass window. The jar also takes dollar bills. Money collected will be part of our support of the mission programs of our Metropolitan Chicago Synod.
7 August 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 Elsie s Pantry 7 8 9 10 11 Prayer Elsie s Pantry Group 14 15 16 17 18 Worship Elsie s Panatry Planning 1 p.m. 21 22 23 24 25 Elsie s Pantry 28 29 30 31 5 6 12 13 19 20 26 27 Worship Schedule August/September 2016 DATE ASSISTANT LECTOR REMOTE BREAD USHERS COUN- ALTAR 8/7 Twelfth Sunday After Jill Cottrell Paul Wackenhuth Karen Birk 8/14 Thirteenth Sunday After Jill Cottrell Jeri Edwards Linda Good Derrill Beakley Diane Chathas 8/21 Susan Karen Jackie Fourteenth Sunday After Adamek Birk Bellettiere Derrill Beakley 8-28 Fifteenth Sunday After Sandy Wackenhuth Matt Birk Nancy Pappas Legrand 9/4 Sixteenth Sunday After Jill Cottrell Derrill Beakley