Pastor Heller`s Corner - Trinity Lutheran Church
Transcription
Pastor Heller`s Corner - Trinity Lutheran Church
Faith in action TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH DAYCARE AND PRESCHOOL WWW.TRINITY-ATHENS.ORG F E B R U A R Y DATES TO REMEMBER February Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Church & School 9th—13th Monthly Newsletter Publication Book Fair February 2 0 1 5 10th— YarnWorks Ministry Pastor Heller’s Corner February 16th—Church Office Closed February 18th—Ash Wednesday Services February 25th—Mid- Week Lenten Services Begin Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:2 As we enter 2015 and consider the year ahead, the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit still rings true (Matthew 28:1620). The mission of the Christian Church has not changed. The Gospel is to be shared with all peoples. Someone might ask: “If that is the case, why are we still sending missionaries to other parts of the world when there is so much to do in our own neighborhoods?” INSIDE THIS ISSUE: A Word from Pastor Reinking 2 Lent Schedule 3 Birthdays & Anniversaries 5 Community Outreach 6 Contribution Statements 7 Youth Group and TLA Book Fair 8 Thrivent 9 February Volunteers 10 February Calendar 11 The answer is: People who need to hear the Gospel are found everywhere – and the fact is that the Gospel is not just shared by missionaries. Given today’s unprecedented mission opportunities, here and abroad, the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, by the power of the Holy Spirit, happens through the sending of our missionaries, evangelists, teachers, medical personnel, and others throughout the world in our stead while we give faithful witness to Jesus Christ through our faith, words, and actions. The shepherds walked a short distance to see the Christ Child and to find others with whom they could share the good news. But the Wise Men traveled hundreds of miles, over many weeks. We know that when they found the Christ Child they worshiped Him and offered gifts. They knew this was not just an ordinary baby, nor was He just an earthly king. While we don’t know what they said or did when they returned home, we can surmise they reported on their visit and talked about the newborn king. In that way, they became the first foreign missionaries of the New Testament era. Likewise, the mission of Trinity Lutheran Church and Christ the King Lutheran Church is still the same: We are called to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all those entrusted to our care: church members, students, school parents, friends, neighbors, and strangers – anyone the Lord sends to our midst. With that in mind, let us pray for our missionaries and our own mission success, both here and abroad, that others might come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Have a blessed New Year in Christ! Blessings Pastor Heller PAGE 2 A WORD FROM PASTOR REINKING I pray that the Lord is blessing you thus far in 2015. God has graciously given us another year to proclaim His Word and live in His blessings. 2014 was a very eventful year with the planting of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Commerce, GA. I have been amazed by all that God is doing. He has provided us so much already. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you for the donations. God's people have been exceedingly generous and we have been able to purchase many items for the mission. People have given large and small and all of these gifts are being used to the furtherance of God's Kingdom. As the new year begins I look forward to continuing to serve the Lord. We will continue with our Wednesday Night Light fellowship and Bible Study. We look forward to beginning period Services at Christ the King where God's word can be preached and the Sacraments administered. On March 1st there will be a combined Service of worship and thanksgiving at 2 PM. The Pastors of Trinity, Christus Victor, and Living Faith will all participate. Tom Ayer will provide the music. Members of these congregations are invited to attend. A sign up sheet is available in the gathering room if you wish to attend so we can be sure to have enough chairs set up and refreshments available after the Service. I invite you to come and see what the Lord is doing at Christ the King! Items for bags of nonperishable food items, hygiene kits, and baby kits were purchased and assembled on January 25th Continue to pray. Continue to give. Continue to expect big things from God. He is faithful to His promises! PAGE Lenten Schedule Wednesdays February 25th 25th— —March 25th †††††† 11:30 AM Service followed by potluck lunch †††††† 7:00 PM Service preceded by dinner hosted by church boards at 6:00 PM February 18th 11:30 AM and 7:00 PM Palm Sunday Sunday— —March 29th @ 10:00 AM Maundy Thursday Thursday— —April 2nd @ 7:00 PM Good Friday Friday— —April 3rd @ 7:00 PM Easter Easter— —April 5th @ 10:00 AM Easter Breakfast @ 9:00 AM 3 PAGE On January 25th Trinity collected a 2nd offering in support of Faith Comes by Hearing. All donations go toward sending biblesticks to our military men and women. You donated $368 to this wonderful mission. They currently have matching funds available which brings our total collection to $736. Thank you for your support. Join us as we celebrate Lutheran Schools Sunday on February 8th. With the Return of the Youth Group comes the return of the annual yard sale. Please save your things during you Spring cleaning to donate to Trinity’s youth as they fundraise for their mission trip. SOUP-ER BOWL COFFEE FELLOWSHIP: Join Trinity’s Youth this week (February 1st) as we take the reins of fellowship hour and serve up some scrumptious treats to “warm up” your Superbowl snacking arms! You can make a donation to support the local Action Ministries and support your favorite football team! We will be collecting for the special “soup-er bowl” event and will have signs to see which “team” receives more donations. 4 PAGE 5 Sunday School for ALL AGES begins with opening each Sunday at 8:45 A.M. Kids Cross Craft Club meets the second Sunday of each month following the service. Lunch and craft time is enjoyed by all who attend. The Club is open to grades Trinity is always in need of volunteers. There are many ways you can serve, such as; ushering, altar guild, reading, acolyting, serving coffee fellowship after a service, sponsoring the altar flowers for the week, helping with weekly grounds maintenance, etc. Please sign-up in the Gathering Room. Thank you for your servants heart. February Birthdays December Anniversaries MILITARY ADDRESSES Ian & Sarah Ensley 17215 Meadowlark Lane Wamego, KS 66547 Brent Kickbush BAH MCA 09307 Tom Lalicki 31 Farmington Ave New London, CT 06320 22/25 David & Mary Connor 02/25 Tom & Sandra Sheridan 02/01 Don Schneider 02/01 Robert Erb 02/02 Ruthann Rodekohr 02/05 John Jackson 02/07 Anthony Thornton 02/09 Alexia Kubiak 02/11 Bethany Ensely 02/11 Aron Cooper 02/11 Michael Hammons 02/13 Caresse Vojnovich 02/14 Carsten Stansell 02/17 Pam Kickbush 02/18 Tom Walker 02/19 David Bacastow 02/20 Libby Garrett 02/20 Sue Baughman 02/21 Eleanor Kunis 02/22 Tyler Streetman 02/23 Leah Guven 02/26 Grace Manske 02/26 Tony Smith 02/26 Virginia Reece 02/28 Rebecca Kickbush Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study (TABS) will start studying Exodus beginning January 6th at 12 noon. There is a sign-up sheet in the gathering room if you are interested in joining. If you have any questions, please contact Laurie Bunker, Sandra Sheridan, or Jerilyn Smith. We hope to see you in January. PAGE On Nov 14, 17 volunteers met at Trinity Lutheran, and packed boxes with turkeys and other food. We then delivered them to 25 families in need of them. Wam Bam, thank you mam. Some of these families would not have had a good Thanksgiving dinner. God is good for all He provides. Trinity's YarnWorks Ministry will meet on Tuesday, February 10, 2 pm at church. We'll be making plans for activities and donations for the coming year. We welcome everyone's thoughts about possible places for gift donations, especially in our own communities. We'd particularly like to know of places to donate items for veterans. Even if you can't attend our meetings, we are grateful for items you make at home and for your yarn donations. For more information about the types of things we use for donations, see the YarnWorks flyer in the Gathering Room, or talk to Ruthann Rodekohr or Judy Russell 706-543-2225 or [email protected] Thank You Note from a Recipient at Denny Towers Dear Members of the Sew & Sows and YarnWorks Ministries, When I wrote you in December 2014 it was to Thank You for my beautiful scarf I chose. To say how much I appreciate what you do for all my neighbors and myself, not only for the material gifts, but what thoughts and love, caring and compassion go into each piece. In my thank you note, I hoped to share with you my feelings about what the gifts mean to me then there was a knock on my door a few days after mailing out my thank you. When I answered the door a gentleman, holding a beautiful arrangement of flowers introduced himself and who he was with. I did not pay attention to what else he had in his refight arm and when he extended this awesome quilt and said it was for me, I became speechless and shaky. I was and still am overwhelmed with the gift and love and compassion that went into making the quilt and I can never say thank you enough! Please accept my thank you note, without sending me another gift because I don’t think I could handle anymore excitement in one year (HA! HA!). I will take very good care of my quilt! It’s on my bed and I don’t feel alone anymore when I go to sleep. You made my heart smile! Please accept Thank Yous from my neighbors who for whatever reasons cannot do so themselves. Pastor David Heller, Judy Russell, Dory Israel, and companion dog Ole delivered gifts from Trinity's YarnWorks Ministry to Denney Towers on December 9th, 2014. This is the third year that the YarnWorks Ministry has joined with Trinity Sew and Sows to create and deliver gifts for the residents. 6 PAGE 7 2015 Contribution Statements are located in the Gathering Room for members to pick up Trinity Workday March 21st Christ the King Workday March 28th A draft of the membership directory is on the sign-up table in the Gathering Room. Please take a moment to check it for any updates that need to be made. Deadline for making updates is Sunday, February 8th. PAGE 8 YOUTH FUN STRAIGHT AHEAD! Trinity transforming teens have got some great events coming up and we need your youth! We are also signed up to prepare and deliver a meal for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter on Sunday, Feb. 1 st. We will fix and drop this off following worship hour. Theme…Taco Fiesta!!! J Next week (February 8 th), we will again meet after church to prepare a meal, this time for our special sponsorship of IHN. Coming soon…Lenten devotions and activities! To participate or contribute to any youth activity, please contact Kristin Schmidt at [email protected] Place: Trinity Lutheran Academy When: February 9th—13th Time: 8:00—10:00 AM and 3:00—6:00PM Daily PAGE 9 Good news about your retirement! Did you know that the average American spends 20 years in retirement? 1 Just think of all you could do during that time! Now think about how much money you’ll need. More good news: An experienced financial professional can help you: Find money to save. Determine when you can retire—and how much you’ll need. Develop a retirement savings strategy based on your age, specific goals, risk tolerance and other important factors. Select appropriate savings and investment options. Optimize your Social Security benefits. A 2011 survey done by the Employee Benefits and Research Institute (EBRI) found that 44% of people who tried to figure out their financial futures ended up changing their retirement savings plans. It just goes to show that it pays to review your retirement strategy periodically. You may even want to get a second opinion. Also, keep in mind: The sooner you start saving, the more time your money has to grow. If you think you’re starting too late, you can’t change the past—but you can affect your future. Saving and investing come in all different strategies. Whether you’ve got 20 years until retirement or five years—starting today is better than starting tomorrow. Get sound financial guidance from Don Goldsmith, Financial Consultant, ChFC, RICP, FIC or Kelly Goldsmith, Associate, CFP®, CLTC, FIC, at 770-982-0420 or e-mail [email protected] today. Also, visit Thrivent.com to learn how our not-for-profit financial services organization has been helping families connect faith and finances for more than 100 years. 1 Top 10 Ways to Prepare for Retirement, U.S. Department of Labor, 2013. Thrivent Financial and its respective associates and employees have general knowledge of the Social Security tenets; however, they do not have the professional expertise for a complete discussion of the details of your specific situation. For additional information, contact your local Social Security Administration office. Insurance products issued or offered by Thrivent Financial, the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Appleton, WI. Not all products are available in all states. Securities and investment advisory services are offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., 625 Fourth Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415, a FINRA and SIPC member and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thrivent. Thrivent Financial representatives are registered representatives of Thrivent Investment Management Inc. They are also licensed insurance agents/producers of Thrivent. For additional important information, visit Thrivent.com/disclosures. The Board of Christian Education would like to offer another adult Sunday school class on Sunday mornings. Therefore, we are in need of a teacher or teachers to lead this very important service to our Lord. If you feel as if you are being called to teach, please see someone on the BCE. We are ready and willing to help you. Thank you for considering this very important service to God. We look forward to hearing from you. God's Blessings to you: Jeanie Raney, Melissa Fowler, Kristin Schmidt, Delores Stallings, Frank Gile, Patty Slavic, Camilla Lambert, Sally Willard and Amy Williams - Co Sunday School Superintendents PAGE 10 PAGE 11 Statement of Purpose Trinity Lutheran Church exists to bring people to a saving faith in Jesus and into the fellowship of His Trinity Lutheran Church family in order that they may mature in their Chris- 2535 Jefferson Road tian walk as they are equipped for ministry within the church and a life of service to the world which Athens, GA 30607 glorifies God. 706-546-1280 www.trinity-athens.org Our mission is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus boldly, to praise God fully, and to serve others joyfully. This Month Please Pray For Jeff Williams, cancer Raven Cooper, Rheumatoid Arthritis Charles McMachem, pancreatic cancer Eric & Laurie Bunker , healing Michael and Saundra Hammons, healing Sandi Schmidt, recovering from surgery Dorothy Lewis, recovering from surgery Luanne Worley, brain tumor Mark Martini, liver cancer Grace Manske, healing Dee Burke, healing Faith in Action is the monthly newsletter of Trinity Lutheran Church. All members are encouraged to submit articles, Board Chairpersons, please let us know what your boards or committees are doing. Turn all contributions for the newsletter in to the Church Administrator no later than the 15th of each month. Contributions may be submitted by hard copy, email, fax or phone.