SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE
The talk of the nation in June was on floods and high gasoline prices. As far as we know, no Lord of Life families were adversely affected by the flooding. For that we are thankful. As far as we know, no members of Lord of Life families have not been adversely affected by the high gasoline prices. Yet here too we can be thankful. While prices are high, and while we like to complain, we are still able to afford to fill up our vehicles when necessary.
It seems as if Lord of Life members are doing exactly that this summer. People seem to be traveling this summer no less than previous summers. In fact, it seems like summer travel for our members may have actually increased!
The bottom line is that summer church attendance has been a concern. Because of the attendance patterns that were established in June, your staff and the Board of Elders have made the decision to combine our two services on Sunday mornings, July through August. There will be one service at 9:00 AM for these two months. There will be no Adult Bible Class or Sunday School during this time. This will give our hard working Sunday School teachers a much needed respite.
As you know, the decision had already been made to have just one 9:00 AM over the 4th of July and Labor Day weekends (July 6 and August 31). Now, those Sundays will mark the beginning and end of our “one service summer Sundays.”
There will be “coffee fellowship” time both before and after our service. There will be “Praise Band “ music for those who appreciate it, but please know that the “Praise Music” will begin sharply at 9:00 AM and will conclude around 9:15, at which time we will go into a more traditional service. We will not be offended if some of you choose to come at 9:15 rather than 9:00.
So join us at 9:00 (or 9:15) during July and August. 8 o’clockers, come and meet the 10:30ers. 10:30er’s, come and meet the 8 o’clockers.
Final Thoughts
I think I first joined Lord of Life back in late 1985, shortly after we moved to
Although just getting the boys to church, Sunday school, and confirmation classes was the best I could achieve in the early years, by 1993 I embarked on a wonderful adventure with Lord of Life. Along with Susan Benassi and Pastor Rogers, I attended the Stephen Ministry Leadership training and we began that about the same time we began the Parish Nurse Ministry. God was so gracious during those years as he proved Himself to me time after time as I ministered to others in His name, both as a Stephen Leader and as your first Parish Nurse.
Five and a half years later, our family moved to
Now, I am getting remarried and moving back to
You can email us at hanweb@msn.com or mail us at:
Don and Terry Weber
Good-byes are always hard, but for God’s family we need never say good-bye. “See you later” is a sure promise, all glory to our precious Savior Jesus. I expect you to continue the good work to which God has called you.
See you in Heaven, if not before,
Terry
FROM THE BOARD OF OUTREACH MINISTRY
Every month you generously donate food to the Circle of Concern. Our Board thought it would be interesting to share with you some of the many programs and assistance that Circle offers to the needy in our community.
Circle Of Concern’s Mission: Circle Of Concern feeds the hungry and provides emergency and long-term assistance to low-income families in western St. Louis County. We create opportunities for needy families to reestablish themselves as productive members in our community.
Circle Programs
Food Pantry
In 2007 Circle distributed 21,869 bags of food. A record 13,300 people were fed. Every family
received a combination of donated canned goods, bakery items, personal care products and dry food
as well as purchased meat, milk and eggs, and, produce: Food valued at $587,398 was shared
with families.
Scholarship Program
Every spring since the late 1960’s Circle has awarded scholarships to graduating high school
seniors. In the spring of 2007 Circle awarded 22 scholarships worth $74,000.
Financial Assistance
In 2007 Circle spent $84,294 assisting 675 families with rent help, utility bills, gasoline vouchers,
prescriptions and other necessary aid. Payments are made to landlords, utilities or other vendors.
Holiday Program
Circle shared the Spirit of the Holidays with families through three projects:
• Holiday Baskets containing canned goods, fresh fruit, turkeys and hams, frozen pies, blankets and gifts were distributed to 315 families before Thanksgiving.
• Holiday Adoptions matched 227 families with groups or special help for the season. Each family received food, gifts and gift cards and other requested items. Another 47 families received sets of Gift Cards.
• Toy Day shared new toys, board games, hats and mittens, plush animals, personal electronics, bikes and stocking stuffers with 444 kids in the last days of the year.
Back To School
In August 2007 Circle packed bags of school supplies, plus backpacks, for 455 returning students.
Camperships
Circle spent $5,217 giving 44 youngsters “summer opportunities” at residential, day or sports camps,
or, educational enrichment classes. Circle also coordinated camperships for other kids which were
paid for by area civic groups.
Birthday Club
In 2007 the Birthday Club gave 325 children wrapped presents. Many kids also received
Birthday Bags with cake mixes, icing, party favors and other fun stuff.
In Kind Items
Circle Of Concern receives – and shares – a tremendous amount of donated food and other items.
Donated Food The donated items in family orders have been valued at area discount supermarket prices. Donated produce, bread, dairy products and other perishables are valued at a “day old” level.
Seasonal items (such as turkeys) are priced at the common sale price during prime season.
School Supplies Each child helped receives a bag of school supplies, a backpack and other items valued at the common sale prices of the items at area discount stores.
Toys & Gifts Circle Of Concern distributes news toys, games, personal electronics and gifts on Toy Day each December and through Circle’s Birthday Club. The items are valued at discount store sale prices. Families “adopted” for the Holiday Season receive presents and food collected by “adopting” groups. The value of these goods is estimated based upon information from the adopted and the adopters.
From The Board of Stewardship
The Board of Stewardship applauds all of our members who step up to the plate and carry out the responsibilities that help the church to function smoothly, that help maintain our property, and that help to enhance the worship services. This month we’d like to share some interesting “man-hours” put in by our choir members.
The Sanctuary Choir rehearses every Wednesday evening, September through May for 1 ½ hours and they usually sing 3 Sundays a month. That’s 57 hours per choir member per year.
The Handbell Choir rehearses every Tuesday evening, September through May for 1 ½ hours and they play 1 or 2 Sundays a month. That’s about 56 hours per handbell member a year.
The Praise Team and Band are almost all volunteers. They rehearse and sing/play every Sunday from 9:30 -11:30, that’s about 104 hours a year.
Ah-men rehearse 1.5 hours when they sing, which is about once a month; they put in about 2.5 hours a month.
Four Belles rehearse on Tuesday evening, September through May for 1 hour and play about once a month. That’s about 38 hours per month.
Some of our members are in more than one choir and some are not able to participate each time due to vacations and other obligations. But all in all, it can be estimated that over 2,000 man hours of volunteer work per year are put in by our volunteer choir members.
And we can all agree that we have one of the best music ministries in this area when it comes to quality and variety. Our heartfelt thanks to our Director of Music, Karen Stevenson, and to our many choir members.
From the Heart of the Parish Nurse
When I first came back to Lord of Life, as your Office Secretary, Carla May gave me an orientation to the job and I recall her telling me that I since I was the editor, I could do anything I wanted in the newsletter (within reason of course). Well, I am still the editor for this month's Lifelines and I want to talk to you from the heart as your first Parish Nurse.
Back in 1992, I was completing a BSN at Maryville University - that's a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I was taking a community health course and had the opportunity to interview a Parish Nurse at Trinity in Soulard. After being a pediatric nurse for 20 years, I realized that I had finally found the nursing to which God was calling me.
What was it about this form of nursing that caught my heart? It was the holistic aspect - of caring for a fellow human being, not just physically, but honoring their mental, emotional and spiritual aspects as well. When Pastor Rogers filled out the grant application, one of the main things mentioned was that our elderly would receive better care. That would happen through Parish Nurse visits.
If I visited a shut-in, I had the opportunity to check their blood pressure - a pretty normal nursing task - and I could assess safety, diet and proper use of medication - all nursing tasks that are related to physical health. On those visits I always told them that I was there in the name of Lord of Life. I represented the congregation coming to them.
The not so normal nursing tasks that I enjoyed included:
Mental and Emotional Care: (something few harried nurses have the luxury of providing anymore). We explored how they were feeling and what they were thinking and how they were serving in God’s kingdom. This ministered to their social needs as well.
And my favorite - Spiritual Care:
Whether I saw someone in their own home, the hospital, or the nursing home, I always brought a devotion, a Bible passage, and prayer. We prayed about whatever their needs were that day, that week or that month. Not a written standard prayer, but the kind that comes from our heart directly to our Lord's.
What a blessing for a shut-in who rarely sees anyone to have the company of a member from their own church visit them regularly. The visits took as long as they took. Usually a hospital visit took no more than 15 minutes due to physical need for rest. But nursing home and home visits could often take an hour. Sometimes they took place once a month, but once a week was not unusual if their circumstances called for it. For the dying, the visits were usually more than once a week.
We enjoyed the luxury of time. We took time to talk about their week and their concerns. Then we took time to study God's word as it related to their concerns. Then we took time to talk with our Lord in prayer. We had heart to heart talks with each other and heart to heart talks with God.
We had several temporary Parish Nurses then our beloved Jackie Schamber took the position and did an excellent job despite working full time at the hospital as well. Did you know that we never had an office dedicated specifically to the Parish Nurse? For a brief time we shared space with the Preschool, until the Junior Kindergarten was added.
It is less than ideal that the Parish Nurse has had to function with an office to store her myriad of resources for all of the other age groups; to talk privately to maintain patient confidentiality; and to meet with individuals for one on one health counseling?
If you were facing cancer you would want a private space to share your fears and tears and would welcome the resources. If you were the one whose husband was beating you, you would want the privacy. If you were the lonely soul who was home alone day after day, you would want the luxury of time with a fellow Christian.
Most of you are aging baby-boomers and might actually benefit from the visit of a parish nurse in a few short years. Lord of Life probably will not have one by then. Although this is an excellent ministry with unlimited potential, there is neither space in our budget nor our facility for one.
Perhaps we can no longer afford to offer a staff member for advocacy, education, personal health counseling, training and coordinating of volunteers, resource and referral, and clarification of the relationship between faith and health (the 6 roles of a Parish Nurse).
But people are not disposable. Remember the elderly, the frail, the infirmed, the abused, the disabled, the shut-in and the lonely. Bring the congregation to them. (YOU GO!) Terry
SENIOR PAGE Brought to you by Lutheran Senior Services
Did you know that lonely people tend to experience more illnesses and die at a younger age. Loneliness may impair the immune system?
Did you know that aging brains are far more vigorous, resilient and fertile than previously thought?
Did you know that regular exercise is just as effective in combating major depression as medication, especially exercise in group settings?
Did you know that older adults who exercise regularly report fewer difficulties with daily activities, experience less pain, have higher energy levels and sleep better?
Did you know that the average household for those over 65 is up 164% in the last 8 years, to $21,452?
Examine Your Congregation’s Older Adult Ministry in order to Enhance, Enrich and Enlarge it.
- Is our worship life one where we seek to meet the needs of older adults?
- Are we a nurturing congregation that offers timely ventures to teach older adults to live healthier, happier and holier lives.
- Do we give older adults opportunities to share their gifts, support their peers and serve in meaningful ministries?
- Do we provide a ministry that promotes sociability and intergenerational activities?
- Are we stimulating interest in helping older adults share their faith?
Celebrating Life as Grandparents
With so many families today in crisis, more grandparents are shouldering the responsibilities of parenthood. Grandparenting is a holy calling—given by God—to care for and nurture young lives and leave a lasting legacy for the family. Most grandparents desire to be good grandparents and this takes work, planning and cooperation.
Solomon wrote: A good person leaves an inheritance for his children’s children. Proverbs 13:22.
Faith communities such as Lord of Life have the privilege of helping grandparents build relationships and enhance their grandparenting role:
1. Honor grandparents in a special worship service.
2. Sponsor Bible classes, seminars and retreats that focus on the role of grandparenting.
3. Promote intergenerational ministries.
From the President
During the May 18, congregational assembly meeting, I broached the subject of future land use for Lord of Life. What is our vision and what would we like to accomplish with the present property? Since this meeting, I have received several carefully stated and well considered replies. I would like to hear from more people. Present thoughts include:
1) Auditorium for Contemporary Services
2) Christian Day School
3) Gymnasium for members and community use
4) Senior living facilities
The most controversial aspect of this proposal would be the sale of some property, near the fire house, to provide seed monies to finance the New Vision.
You may enter your comments on our Member Connect web site, write or e-mail the church office or e-mail me, Jim Urban at jiurb@cs.com.
Thank you.
July Circle of Concern Needs:
Canned Pasta (Spaghetti-O’s, Ravioli, etc.)
Macaroni & Cheese
Jelly
Peanut Butter
Jello & Pudding single-serve
Please bring your items in any plastic or paper bag or the Yellow Meal-A-Month Bags, which will be handed out on July 6. Place your bags in the barrel in the Fellowship Hall by July 27th. Thanks for your support!
Muslim Radicals Attack During Church Service
Murder, Amputate Christians
The following news article comes from International Christian Concern – www.persecution.org.
http://www.persecution.org/suffering/newsdetail.php?newscode=7403 accessed 6/17/2008
(March 20, 2008) the Washington-DC based human right group, International Christian (ICC) www.persecution.org has investigated an attack on Christians that we first reported on march 7, 2008 (“Muslim Radicals Kill Three Christians and Wound Dozens in Southern Ethiopia”). Upon further investigation, we have learned that the attack occurred on March 2, 2008, during a Sunday morning church service, and resulted in the death of only one Christian, while 17 more were injured.
Christians in this remote village had seen three people lying in pools of blood after the attack and assumed that they had all died. Our sources contacted us before verifying that all three of the seriously wounded had died. The name of one murdered victim was Tulu Mosessa, who was a father of eight children.
Christians from the area told ICC that Muslim radicals simultaneously attacked Kale Hiwot church in Chebbi Nensebo village and Birhane Kirstos church in the nearby Tirsu Nensebo village.
The Kale Hiwot church was the scene of most of the violence on the day of the attack. There were about 200 people attending the service, when a group of Muslim radicals surrounded the church and barricaded the doors shut. They then proceeded to break in through the windows and started hacking at the churchgoers with machetes. It is clear that these attacks were well planned and carefully executed to cause as much bloodshed as possible.
Muslim radicals had attacked the church before and burned it down, which the Christians in the village rebuilt. During the most recent attack, someone was able to raise the alarm and the local police quickly arrived at the scene, averting further bloodshed. One policeman who was wounded while trying to quell the violence was taken to a hospital in Addis Ababa.
Eight of the seriously wounded Christians were taken to a hospital in Awassa. ICC was able to speak to one of the eight who had been wounded, Ahmed Jamal [not his real name], who is a Muslim convert to Christianity. The Muslim radicals cut off his left hand with their machetes during the attack. When ICC asked him if he knew his attackers, he said, “Our attackers are our neighbors, with whom we ate and drank.”
Asked what motivated the Muslims to attack, he said, “They were taught [about] Jihad.” Though he is lying on a hospital bed, Ahmed Jamal is worried about further attacks by Muslim radicals. He said, “We fear for our families [who remain in the village].”
Others with wounds from the machete attack who are currently in the hospital in Awassa include 9names intentionally withheld) a 28 year old man who lost his left hand, a 32 year old man whose head was slashed, a 20 year old man whose right and left hands were slashed, a 31 year old man whose lung was pierced, an 18 year old man who backbone was slashed, a 19 year old man whose backbone was also injured, and a 5 year old girl who right hand was badly injured.
Another eight Christians with minor injuries are currently receiving medical treatment in the town of Wonka, which is near the villages where the attacks took place.
ICC has also learned that nine of the attackers have been imprisoned by Ethiopian authorities. One of the imprisoned is a local government official, Hussein Berriso. ICC sources said that 150 machetes were discovered in his house after the attacks.
In related development, on March 10, 2008, radical Muslims burned down the house of a local evangelist. The radicals were enraged because the evangelist had helped to transport the eight wounded Christians to Awassa hospital.
ICC’s president in a statement said, This is not an isolated incident in Ethiopia but rather part of trend of radical Muslims attacking Christians. Ethiopian officials must get serious about protecting Christians. They must target radical Muslim leaders and centers or the Ethiopia could be in danger of becoming another Nigeria with an intractable religious split.
ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department. For additional information contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
If you would like to receive the free monthly newsletter from ICC, just call the church office 636-532-0440. Don Stenzel
Attention all Women: Check your winter coat, PLEASE!!
On Easter Sunday, my coat was taken by accident and a short gray coat with a hood was left. The Monday after, another short gray coat was brought back and the hooded one was taken. The funny thing is that the short gray coat brought back, still isn't mine. The one currently at church is from Gap. My coat is also a short gray coat but was from New York & Company. Please check your short gray coat and make sure that it is actually yours and not mine. Please also check with any guests that you might have brought on Easter Sunday.
Thank you very much for looking for my coat. Cynthia Sieloff
The Thursday Morning Bible Study class will begin the study of Philippians on August 7. Paul's letter to the Philippians is an Epistle of Joy! Paul wrote the letter from prison, probably from Rome in 61 AD.
The Thursday Morning class has been meeting for 20+ years at 9:30. Pastor Rogers is the teacher.
You can find out about Living Way Bible Study by going to their web site which is www.livingwaybiblestudy.org Retired Lutheran pastors write the lessons.
There is homework involved which means there are 2 pages of questions to try to answer in preparation for class. If you don't like to do homework, it doesn't matter. You don't have to!
It would be wonderful to have new people join the class! You don't have to "sign up" ahead of time. Just appear in the conference room at 9 AM August 7, 2008!
VBS MISSION PROJECTS
As part of Friendship Trek, we share God’s blessing with other children through two mission projects. Many children around the world have to survive amid the horrors of war, natural disasters, and poverty. You are invited to help us provide needy children with school supplies and toys that bring much needed joy and hope to their all too often desperate situations.
Our goal is to fill 40 School Kits for Lutheran World Relief and 60 Global Care Packages for Lutheran Hour Ministries. Thanks to the women in our Tuesday morning quilting group, Ties That Bind, who make the 40 school bags for us to fill with supplies.
Needed supplies:
Padded or Spiral Notebooks of ruled paper (8” x 10-1/2”)
Blunt scissors (safety scissors with embedded steel blades)
12” ruler with one side metric
#2 Pencils with eraser
Pencil Sharpener
2½” Eraser
Ballpoint pens (blue or black ink)
16 or 24 count boxes of crayons
10 count package of Colored Pencils
Small coloring books
*Child’s toys for ages 5-12, unisex
*Suggested toy ideas: Etch A Sketch, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, Lego, jump ropes,
balls, Slinky, puzzles, toys that light up or make a noise (with extra batteries), etc.
Please do not include second-hand or cheap throwaway toys.
Warning: Do not include candy of any kind, military style items, liquid items, breakable items, or sharp items.
Please place your donations in the coolers at the VBS Display in the Welcome Center. You may place your cash/check donations (to cover the shipping costs) in the offering plate, clearly marked for Vacation Bible School or drop it by the church office. We appreciate your support!
Please support our VBS the week of July 21- 25 with your prayers for the children, their families, and our volunteers. When coming up to the church that week, please watch for children outside and in the parking lot.
YOU’RE INVITED TO A
FRIENDSHIP TREK
CELEBRATION!
Come hear & see what we did during the week!
Sunday, July 27 during the ___ a.m. Worship Service
Hear what we learned about Jesus, our Forever Friend!
Hear the kids sing VBS songs!
See pictures, crafts, and activities from our Trek!
Enjoy Refreshments!
Meet our guest families that joined in our adventure!
IMPACT FLOAT TRIP
IMPACT youth will once again float down the lazy river and enjoy a few hours in the quiet of the Current River on Wednesday, July 9. We will leave Lord of Life at 8 am and return in the late afternoon. The cost will be $30 for a day of floating and lunch on the river. Sign up in the youth room before July 6.
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