November Newsletter - St. Mark Lutheran Church
Transcription
November Newsletter - St. Mark Lutheran Church
Growing God’s Family Saint Mark Messenger November 2013 Mission Statement From the Pastor Here at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and Preschool, we believe in “Growing God’s Family”. You will see this mission statement on our bulletins, business cards, newsletter and other printed correspondence. New nametags are also available. Inside this issue: Comfort Dog Ministry 2 Church Council 3 Treasurer’s Report 3 Ministries 4 Birthdays and Anniversaries 4 DCE Notes 5 Preschool 5 Special Events /LCEF 6 Calendar 7 Once again, we are coming to the end of another year and the opportunity to celebrate the holidays. It just seems to come around faster every year, doesn’t it? I know I am not quite ready for all of the holiday stuff yet, but I will be. This being November, we are all probably looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday that will be here in a few weeks. While we all like to have 4 day weekends, there is more to November 28th than that. Thanksgiving is a holiday where everyone in this country can stop for a moment, pause, count their blessings, and thank God for them. I know I have a lot to be thankful for, my wife and family, that I am your pastor (and will celebrate my eleventh year here in March), all kinds of stuff! Thanksgiving Day (and weekend) is not just a time for us to get off work, eat turkey `til we burst and watch the Packers play football. Instead, we are to remember how our heavenly Father has given us everything we need to support this life. We also remember how He has given us everything we need for eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For that, I am most Thankful. Let me remind you of the annual Thanksgiving dinner that will be here Nov. 24 with church following. Often, forgetting to say, “Thank you." is too easy for us. Nevertheless, let's be reminded to say thanks to our God. Father, for all you have given us: Thanks! Pastor St. Mark Comfort Dog Ministry Program 11/1/13 update “Thank You” to everyone for their continued support for this program! Program updates: -The St. Mark Comfort Dog Program has successfully raised the entire $12,000 needed for the purchase of our future Comfort Dog! Thanks to everyone’s generous donations we were able to mail our initial down payment check of $6000 to Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) on 9/30/13 and we have the final $6000 in our St. Mark Comfort Dog program bank account. -The final $6000 payment is not due until LCC has determined which dog “fits” with our Church and our Ministry Plan and “delivery date” has been scheduled. -Our St. Mark Lutheran Church K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry Plan was drafted and turned in to LCC for review. Currently we are in an “evaluation phase” with LCC as they review our Ministry Plan, our Church and our Community to determine which dog might best “fit” our needs. This is not an exact science, but LCC has had great success creating perfect matches between the dog’s temperament/personality and a Churches specific needs. For example, even though all of these dogs are very well trained to handle any and all human interaction, some dogs are just naturally drawn to children. A dog like this would be a natural fit for us as our Ministry Plan details many activities/events where the dog would be around children of all ages. Our St. Mark Preschool, our local Edmond Public Schools, and even UCO’s campus are just a few of those opportunities. -We made contact with VCA Kickingbird Animal Hospital and they expressed considerable interest in partnering with us to provide all routine/annual veterinary services free of charge. Their Hospital Manager is verifying that this will not violate any of their corporate policies before committing to the partnership. -Contact has been initiated with the following Community contacts for possible support, fundraising efforts, donations and/or sponsorships: Raising Cane’s = Koey to continue dialogue and set up a fundraiser night in their Edmond restaurant. Raising Cane’s will donate 15% of their sales from that evening when customers dine in support of our program. Waiting till closer to the possible “delivery date” to set a date for this. LCMS Foundation: John and Harriet Wiebe Mission Advancement Fund = $5000 grant application turned in on 9/30/13. A Committee Board reviews all applications during October and makes a number of gift distributions in November. -Our next step / important milestone: Patiently wait. We are officially on the placement list as are a number of other LCMS Churches. We may not be on the list for the current 2013 batch of dogs currently coming out of training, but we should be on the list for the next batch due to “graduate” from training next spring (~May 2014). Unfortunately for Pastor, the Class of 2014 does not appear to have a “Mahershalalhashbaz” on the list of puppies in training. Luckily, the Class of 2014 does include 7 beautiful little girls (Dora, Jewel, Lydia, Lily, Mercy, Rosie, and Shiloh) and 2 gentle guys (Noah and Rufus). As always, if you have any questions OR if you are interested in volunteering to help out with this program as a Handler or administratively, please get in contact with one of the Committee members. Additionally, if you know of a community fundraising effort or key community contact we need to be pursuing, please let us know. Yours in Christ, St. Mark Comfort Dog Ministry Committee team Carlene Rupp Nona Smith Erica Erler Richard Abrahamson Todd Rudat Koey Keylon 2 Church Council... 2013-2014 CONGREGATIONAL OFFICERS Kristy Theimer President John Over Vice-President Aimee Hallenbeck Recording Secretary Keith Schreiner Treasurer Derek Herrs Prentess Alletag Russell Rupp Richard Abrahamson Trustees Christine Williams Carlene Rupp Amy Wilson Ministry of Education Todd Rudat Communications Director Mike Hill Neil Hoecker Koey Keylon David Seaman Russell Wantland Ministry of Elders David Seaman Kristy Theimer Bob Lane Mike Hill Julia Wantland Long Range Planning Board David Fischaber Chairman — Child Development Ministry CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS If you are interested in obtaining an updated copy of the Constitution & By-Laws of the Church, you can find a copy on the credenza in the Welcome Hall. Marie Vandiver Financial Secretary — Child Development Ministry Michelle Keylon Elizabeth Seaman Board Members — Child Development Ministry Rob Williams Financial Secretary KEEP RECYCLING! Bring those papers to our recycle bin! Bin is located in the parking lot. We make $10 for every ton! November Scripture Readings Nov 3 Rev 7:(2-8)9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matt. 5:1-12. Nov 10 Ex 3:1-15, 2 Thess 2:1-8, 13-17, Luke 20::27-40 Nov 17 Mal 4:1-6, 2 Thess 3:(1-5)6-13, Luke 21:5-28 (29-36) Nov 24 Mal 3:13-18, Col 1:13-20, Luke 23:27-43 Fall Retreat to Camp Lutherhoma 9th & 10th of Nov. Please contact Mike Hill for more information. TREASURER’S REPORT Monthly General Fund Giving Target: $25,515.00 September Total Income Budgeted Expenses $23,754.48 ---------------($4,317.95) General Fund Cash Balance 1/1/2012: YTD General Fund Giving Surplus: ------------------General Fund Balance: $41,868.21 ($7,178.41) $34,689.80 Feed My People Christmas Dinner Canned veggies, instant mashed potatoes, canned sweet potatoes. Canned gravy, cranberry sauce and money for hams. They can always use canned meat, canned meals, PB, and canned soups. Thank you for your support of this worthy cause! “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.” Mt. 25:40 Any questions, contact David and Elizabeth Seaman at 749-0314. 3 Support Our Troops Join the Prayer Chain: Do you need a special prayer? will be collecting items for our troops both overseas and at Ft. Sill Warrior Transition Unit. Call the Prayer Chain Contacts. Lucille McShane at 341-8986 Email Captain: Mike Hill at [email protected] Requests can also be included in the Sunday service bulletin by calling the Church office at 340-0192. To be added to the phone or e-mail prayer chain contact Lucille or Mike. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” -Eph 6:18 Sundays at 9:30AM There are 2 Adult Bible Study classes currently. Pastor Erler will be teaching a class in the sanctuary—topic is “Revelations” and Mike Hill is teaching the Book of Concord in the library. It is getting close to Christmas and they like to always receive Christmas goodies and crossword puzzle books. Pens, paper and cards that they can send back to loved ones back home. Maybe some hot sauce to flavor the MRE's. They also like to read about the news from their home state or town. They enjoy any news from anyone and maybe even pictures. No religious items and no pork products. Lets see if we can get several boxes to go to our troops. Any questions, call Merle Wagner @ 330-3017 Tuesdays at 10AM Join Pastor Erler in the church library for this weekday bible study class. 3rd Saturday at 8AM Men’s Study Bring your breakfast and join in a study with other men. Contact the office if you have questions 340-0192 November Anniversaries Celebrate... Sangyoon & Eunhee Jeon Kris & Trish Harland Jerry & Judy Crabb November Birthdays Reese Wilson Russell Wantland Lynnea Glass Parker Rupp Jayla Long Jeff Jenkins Sheila Rudat Claudette Theimer Lucile Kettner Mandy Long Nona Smith 11/1 11/4 11/11 11/11 11/12 11/13 11/13 11/14 11/15 11/16 11/16 Kerissa Holsten Trevor Rudat Steve Dodge Marie Sterling Natalie Iver Abraham Gachoki Cindi Schemm 11/17 11/17 11/18 11/22 11/25 11/30 11/30 4 11/11 5yrs 11/27 20yrs 11/30 51yrs Congratulations Please contact the Church office if you are new to the congregation or do not have your birthday and anniversary dates on file. We apologize for any omissions. Youth Ministry... From the desk of Sheila Rudat, DCE ... Thanks to everyone who helped or attended the Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat. It was a wonderful event and so many people attended and had a great time.! WOW night – Wednesday, Nov. 13th at 5:30pm. We will be serving Tacos and fixings. Bring your favorite games to play. Preschool Mo the r’s D ay O ut Pr o gr am Preschool News... Sunday School children will begin practicing for the Christmas program beginning on Sunday, Nov. 17th during Sunday School hour. All of the children and youth in the church are encouraged to participate. “Introducing A Child to Jesus” Preschool Board Meeting November 4th, 2013 5 A Very Special Thank You From Birthchoice Edmond LWML -MEETING TIME for your ‘ shower’ of lay- The next LWML meeting will be Saturday, December 7th at 11am in the Library. All women and girls 12 or ette items you donated to older are encouraged to attend and share in the wonderful our clinic. The young moth- missions and ministries that we support - your help is welers are always touched to comed and greatly needed. We have Bible study, our business meeting, then share a tasty dessert and fellowship. If receive these new baby anyone has questions please contact Nona Hoecker items as they adjust to The first Sunday of each month is Mite their new babies. Box Sunday. Thank you for reaching out to them at this special time. Baptisms Sincerely, Your friends at Birthchoice Edmond Caris Campbell and Isabella Berg 6 7 WORSHIP SERVICES Pastor Mark Erler Sunday Services Early Service Traditional 8:15AM .. Late Service Contemporary 10:45AM Contact Us: If you would like to contact Pastor Erler, please call him at the Monthly Newsletter Deadline We encourage everyone to submit contributions for the St. Mark Messenger newsletter. If you have a short story, humor, quote, etc…, please submit it along with its credits to the Church office. However, we need all material by the 18th of every month in order to edit, compile and publish it. Help us make this newsletter a quality product to inform, educate and enlighten. WORSHIP FOR SHUT-INS If you, or someone you know, are home on Sunday mornings, Lutheran Church office at 340-0192. After Ministries Media, Inc. offers a program for shut-ins. The program can be hours or in case of an emer- found on the following television services: DIRECTV Channel 377, DISH gency he can be reached on his NETWORK (check local listing) or TOTAL CHRISTIAN TELEVISION network cell at 205-5551 or at home at — TCT (check local listing); all broadcast on Sunday mornings. DIRECTV 844-4992. Channel 377 airs at 10:30 Central time. All programs are a half hour in To reach our Preschool Director length with no commercials and no reruns. This ministry is not a and DCE Sheila Rudat call 217- recording of a Sunday morning service but a special taping done just for 201-1341 or e-mail at stmark- this [email protected]. www.worshipforshut-ins.org ministry. For St. Mark Lutheran Church & Preschool 1501 N. Bryant Street Edmond, OK 73034 Ph: 405.340.0192 Fax: 405.340.0290 Church Website: www.stmarkedmond.org Pastor Erler E-mail: [email protected] Church E-mail: [email protected] more information call 888-286-8002 or go preto