ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
February – March 2012 Newsletter
WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
WORSHIP: Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - Soup Supper at 5 p.m. Worship with the Lord’s Supper at 6 p.m.
Sign up to host Soup Supper in the narthex.
LENT WORSHIP – Feeding the Body and Soul
Join us for 2 meals freely given, every Wednesday during Lent
Soup supper for the body at 5 p.m. – Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper at 6 p.m.
Sign up to host soup suppers in the narthex – it is suggested that 2 or 3 families host each supper.
ILT CHAPEL Come to Chapel online at the Institute of Lutheran Theology (ILT) - a brief (about 15 minutes) Worship Service: prayers; scripture; homily at 11 a.m. (EST) on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. http://www.ilt.org/chapel.html
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SERVING IN WORSHIP
Altar Guild: February: Marilyn Majeski March: Joanne Erickson
Council Person: February: TBD March: TBD
Accompanists: Linnea Barron is scheduled to be our musical accompanist at the 9 a.m. Worship on Sundays.
Bertha Hommer is scheduled to be our musical accompanist at the 10:45 a.m. Worship on Sundays.
February Readers – Sun, 9:00 a.m. February Readers – Sun, 10:45 a.m.
5 Cathy Janda 5 Caleb
12 Charles Schroeder 12 Caitlyn
19 Joe Majeski 19 Jay
26 Sharon Ollila 26 Sunday School
March Readers – Sun. 9:00 a.m. March Readers – Sun, 10:45 a.m.
4 Darlene Hill 4 Caitlyn
11 Sandy Menge 11 Need Volunteer–Youth in Wisconsin
18 Bertha Hommer 18 Cassie
25 Susie Bollech 25 Rejean
ACOLYTES
February Acolytes – Sunday 10:45 a.m. March Acolytes – Sunday 10:45 a.m.
5 Jay 4 Caleb
12 Rejean 7 – Wed Jay
19 Caleb 11 None – at Retreat
22 – Wed Cassie 14 – Wed All Confirmands
26 Sunday School 18 Cassie
29 – Wed Rejean 21 – Wed TBD
25 Caitlyn
28 – Wed Caleb
UPCOMING EVENTS @ ZION!
LADIES AIDE or WOW (Women of the Word)
Monthly meeting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14th and April 11th
~11:45 am Sack lunch together
~12:15 Bible Study led by Arlene VanBuren
ZION COUNCIL MEETING
Sunday, February 5th following the second Worship Service @ ~ 11:45 a.m.
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
ALTAR GUILD needs members - Contact: Deb Vizina @ 524-5261
New Members through Baptism or Affirmation of Baptism. If you are interested in either baptism or becoming a member of the congregation please contact Pr. Judy. We hope to welcome new members on Holy Saturday, April 7th. Sherrie’s Sunday School class for 2 year olds and up will be studying Baptism each Sunday during Lent – if your child is interested in being baptized this would be a great opportunity for them to learn more about what Baptism is - please have him/her attend the class.
LET US PRAY…. (prayer is service to God and community)
IN OUR PRAYERS - Evelyn Corgan, Patti Coss, Carol “Peaches” Davis, Jim Dompier, Eunice Dove, Darlene Helen Elmblad, Joel Elmblad, Sunyi Elmblad, Dave Gouin, Marty Gouin, Autumn Haataja, Darcy Juntti, Alta Koski, Jan Magnant, Kathy Magnant “Klepp”, Nellie Reed, Dan Roth, Lois Roth, Donald Soli, Dave Thomas, Betty Tollefson, Derek VanBuren, Pat & Molly Whelan. Congregations: Wainola Lutheran Church; Our Savior Lutheran; Atlantic Mine; Bethany Lutheran, Covington; Aura Lutheran; Kemi Lutheran Church, Russian Karelia
OUR SERVICE MEN – Scott Elmblad, Tim Houle, William Patterson, Mike Roberts, Sam Roth, Amanda Turunen, Dan Turunen, Matt Turunen, Derek VanBuren, Drew VanBuren (Let us know if we are missing anyone or if they need to be taken off the list)
SHUT-INS – Bob & Naomi Collins, Anna Davis, Bill Davis, Toini Heikkinen, Sylvia Nelson, Dorothy Schroeder, Pearl Toyrus, Rose Toyrus,
(Please let Lisa (zlcs@up.net) - know if someone should be taken off this list or added so it will be correct in the newsletters)
ADULT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
STUDY OF THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. in the church library. An awesome study!
DAILY DEVOTIONS can be found online at Zion’s blogspot “In the Wilderness” and can be found at http://zionlutheranskanee.blogspot.com The devotions are a journey through scripture from Genesis to Revelation. For those who haven’t wanted to read the Bible from front to back and found it just too hard, Pr. Judy thought this might help some of you. The blog began on July 23 with Genesis. We will read a chapter or two every day (if you need a Bible contact Pr. Judy) and she will write a brief devotion or maybe some random thoughts on the reading. We hope this will be beneficial to you.
ZION WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY – 2nd Wednesdays of the month beginning in September following the WOW meeting and lunch at about noon - led by Arline VanBuren.
ILT WORD AT WORK CLASSES – These classes are available online and feature expert speakers and timely topics. These classes are free to all members of Zion Lutheran because Zion is a Designated Teaching Center. Please contact Pr. Judy if you are interested. Class days and times are as listed:
These courses are non-credit courses with the purpose of helping build up congregations and their members.
Paul's Epistles: 1 Thessalonians - Monday's, March 12 - April 23 (8-9 pm)
Paul is one of the most significant New Testament witnesses to the early church and to early proclamations of Jesus. He is also one of the most controversial. Professor Kyle Fever will introduce participants to the first of Paul's life letters in the New Testament.
In Pursuit of the Paranormal - Tuesdays, March 13 - April 10 (8-9:30 pm)
Fascination with the paranormal is a cultural phenomenon of our time which has been growing for years now. Television programs about haunted sites abound. What does this say about the spiritual hunger of people in American society today? But the purveyors of paranormal lore seem to have this in common: God is rarely present in what they say. This popular course, Dr. Frederick W. Baltz, Pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Galena, Illinois, will explore with participants the ideas and terms used by those associated with a broad range of paranormal study. The biblical understanding and counsel related to the paranormal will be clarified, and contrasted with the popular models. Participants will explore whether science is on the verge of establishing the existence of spiritual reality. This course might be subtitled: A Christian's Guide to the Paranormal.
Genesis: Abraham's Continuing Journey - Thursdays, March 15 - April 26 (8-9 pm)
Rev. Kip Tyler, Pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Master in Omaha, Nebraska, will lead participants on a journey through the promised land as seen by Abraham using Scripture, Keynote presentations, archeology, Luther's commentary and videos.
Equipping Parents to be Spiritual Leaders in the Home - Wednesday's, April 11 - May 30 (8-9:15 pm)
Parents by God's design are intended to be the primary spiritual guides for their children. The strategy for infusing the four basic faith-forming practices of prayer, bible reading, faith discussions and faith in action is relatively simple, requiring hands-on learning, and uncomplicated tools to achieve measurable and significant results. Rev. Dr. Douglas Schoelles, Lead Pastor of Resurrection Church in Keller, Texas, will explore methods for implementing the strategy in congregations and why this is a critical evangelism strategy for the 21st century.
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Youth and Family Page
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
We have classes for children age 2 through grade 6.
Pre-confirmation – all Sunday School classes: With hopes of better preparing our young people for confirmation/affirming their baptisms, every Sunday during Lent, Sunday School classes will be studying different areas of the Small Catechism. Our youngest children will be studying Holy Baptism, youth 3rd grade and up who have not yet received their first Communion will study Holy Communion, and older youth who have received their first Communion will be studying the 10 Commandments using a course called “Respect.” Any youth who attend Sunday School on the first Sunday of Lent, Feb 26th, will receive a Luther’s Small Cat (Catechism) for young people as a gift.
First Communion will be received by youth in 3rd grade (and older) on Maundy Thursday, April 5th that attend the class on Sundays (Feb 26th thru April 1st – 6 week class) during Lent in Troll’s Sunday School class. Arrangements can be made for parents to help youth with the material if they need to miss a class.
Catch the Wave LCMC Youth Event will be held at Three Bears Lodge in Warrens, Wisconsin (which is just north of Madison) March 9th thru 11th. Seven of our youth (Jr. High and High School plan on attending this event. The emphasis will be on exploring God’s plans for their lives using a study from Jeremiah 29:11, mission projects to take back home and continue, lots of music and messages from a Minnesota based singer/songwriter/speaker, Peder Eide. There will also be free time to enjoy the water park.
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FAMILY FUN DAY
February 4th at 2 p.m. at Pr. Judy and Howard’s
Make valentines for residents at Bayside, hotdog cookout, maybe play in the snow.
Children of all ages are welcome (-1 to 100 plus)!
Letter from Pr. Judy
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Greetings:
We have begun a new year. 2011 was great, but 2012 promises to be even better. The verse from Jeremiah quoted above is from a letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the Israelites while they were in captivity in Babylon. Even though they are in exile from the land promised and given to them, they are encouraged to make the best of it. Even in captivity, God has a plan for them – plans for prosperity, to give them hope and a future.
God has a plan for you. He has a plan for Zion. We have a future together as members of the Body of Christ and we have been and will continue to be busy proclaiming the good news of the kingdom in both word and deed.
At the LCMC meeting I attended at Bethany Lutheran, Covington yesterday, we were encouraged as individuals and congregations to use the gifts that God has given us to proclaim the good news of the kingdom to everyone around us – everyone we encounter. Pr. Vander Tuig reminded us that for every 1000 people who are members of a church, only 1 unchurched person visits a church in a year. J Now, what kind of evangelism is that? I’d personally like to know how many who profess to be Christians only visit their congregation once per year.
My hope and prayer for this year is that we can renew our emphasis on evangelism. Pr. Dan Piel, a former pastor of Howard’s and mine, called to wish us a Merry Christmas a few weeks ago. He suggested that we make a new and renewed effort in evangelism. Although, he was really leery about calling it a program, he suggested that every member of the congregation choose one unchurched or lapsed neighbor to pray for and encourage for one year. Mentor them, encourage them to Worship with you; to hear God’s Word; to receive that Supper that nourishes our souls and see what happens. He suggested that a congregation that would be united in this effort to reach out to their neighbors would about double in a year and the next year, if all members, including the news ones, continued praying and encouraging another unchurched friend or neighbor the church would again double in size. Think about how the early church got started…. It was average men and women who shared the story of Jesus with others, who invited them to come and hear and see and the church grew. From a handful of average men, with Jesus as their guide, the church of Jesus Christ has grown to be what it is today.
Worship and Music committee has already been planning for a year of wonderful opportunities to invite friends and families to join us for Worship and Fellowship.
During Lent this year our focus will be on “Feeding the Body and the Soul.” Encourage your neighbors, your friends, and families, to join us for 2 free meals every Wednesday afternoon/evening. Food for the body – soup suppers - will be shared at 5 p.m. (Hosts/hostesses needed – please sign up in the narthex) and food for the soul – Holy Communion – will be shared at the 6 p.m. Service. Encourage everyone you know to join us!
Worship and Music has even begun planning ahead to Pentecost and Confirmation, which will be on May 27th. There will be only 1 service at 10 a.m. and we will be revising the service to be something of an Old Time Gospel Mass. I have requested that our confirmands (Caleb, Cassie, Jay, & Rejean) give me the name of their favorite Christian song as well as the name of someone who doesn’t normally worship with us that they will be inviting to join us that day – godparents would be a good option.
Either of these special times of celebration are excellent opportunities to invite others to worship with us. From time to time, I’ve heard suggestions that we should have a “invite someone to Worship Sunday.” I think we did that quite a few years ago. But, haven’t in recent years. The way I look at it: every Sunday is an “invite someone to Worship Sunday.”
God knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. But, you should know that God has plans for your neighbor as well… Reach out to them with the good news in both words and deed, to the glory of God.
God’s Peace – Pr. Judy
NEWSLETTER REMINDER: Please let us know if you prefer to receive the newsletter by hard copy or email. There is a register in the narthex so that you can let us know. If you didn’t get a paper copy this month, that probably means you are on the email list only already. Newsletters come out every other month.
Our Calendar can be found at http://www.zionlutheranskanee.org/calendar_4.html
Home page: www.zionlutheranskanee.org
Blogspot: www.zionlutheranskanee.blogspot.com
Contact Pr. Judy: judym@up.net or 906-524-5993 or 906-524-6524
Zion Evangelical Lutheran
13511 Roland Lake Road
Skanee, MI 49962
(Note: address change)
