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TRANSCRIPT
TRI POINT LUTHERAN PARISH
CARELETTER
AUGUST2015
PASTOR JAMES SELLS & PASTOR BECKY SELLSPO BOX 343
GENEVA, NE 68361WWW.TRIPOINTLUTHERANPARISH.COM
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
1026 O StreetGeneva, NE 68361
402.759.3822St. John’s Lutheran Church
PO Box 188Ohiowa, NE 68416
402.295.2324
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
105 South Third StreetPO Box 248
McCool Junction, NE 68401402.724.2441
CARELETTER
AUGUST2015
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
To our family of faith at the Tri Point Parish,
Grace and peace to you all as we enter into the final stretch of summer. Grace and peace to you in the midst of work, vacations, fairs, ball games, trips, and the whole host of things that summer brings. Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I am writing this letter after just returning to Nebraska from the National Youth Gathering in Detroit. I hope that you were able to keep up with what the kids were doing through Facebook but if not, I invite you to do so now. What you will see is faith formation in action, you will see God made present to a community, that has seemingly been abandoned by the world, through the hands, legs, and voices of an entire generation of young Lutherans.
Being in a religious setting with thirty thousand other people who believe and worship God the same way that you do is not an experience that we get very often, especially in these busy summer months, we are sometimes fortunate to worship with tens of people, not thousands. And yet whether there are twenty people at worship or fifty or one hundred or thirty thousand, God is present and he is calling us not only to a service of worship but also to service of evangelism, of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world.
The kids at the Youth Gathering learned that Evangelism is a situation of action being a lot louder than words. Our group helped clean up a poor neighborhood park so that their kids would have a clean and safe place to play. It is hard for us to imagine not having the resources to properly care for something as simple as a park but for many citizens of Detroit this is a reality. There is no money from the city to pay for lawn maintenance, many of the houses are vacant, many of those that still live there are unemployed and there are no jobs available for them to find employment. Added to this the lack of resources to even leave to find a better situation and we saw a community that was stuck in a downward spiral of poverty, drugs, and violence.
And yet, God was active in such an abandoned place. Various residents of the community organized food distribution so that the kids of the neighborhood could at least get a nutritious lunch, the place where this distribution took place? The park where we spent our time cleaning. Lots of the kids who where there helped us clean, we had a little gal named Brooklyn hanging out with us and as we shared labor, lunch and ice-cream together an interesting thing happened. It was no longer “those poor people” or “those lazy people who don’t take care of their stuff” it was Brooklyn, and her brother and her mom and Pat, the gal who was organizing the food distribution. It was community.
That is what being the church is all about. Whether amongst thirty thousand kids spread out through a depopulated city or among fifty people spread throughout a town of 100 or 400 or 2,000. This is something that we will be spending more time on in the months and years ahead. Be on the look out for mission opportunities. If something comes to your attention share it with Pr. Becky or myself because that is God calling us to be his feet and hands. In the meantime, our next service opportunity will come up on September 15th for God’s Work Our Hands ELCA service day. Stay tuned for what our service project will be. Let us remind ourselves that even in the middle of busy lives we can be church together!
Blessings and peace throughout the month of August.
Pr. James
AUGUST 2015 – PRINCE OF PEACESUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
26 27 28 29 30 31 1
Pastors Out of Town2 3 4 5 6 7 88:30am Worship 7am Men’s B. Study 9am-Noon 9am-Noon9:30am Fellowship 10:30am Text Study Office Hrs. Office Hrs.
2-5:30pm Office Hrs.7pm TPLP
- - - Pastors Out of Town - - - Council Mtg.9 10 11 12 13 14 158:30am Worship w/ Pastors’ Sabbath 7am Men’s B. Study Planning Day 9am-Noon 9am-Noon 7pm BlackwoodHoly Communion 10:30am Text Study For Pastors Office Hrs. Office Hrs. Legacy Brothers9:30am Fellowship 2-5:30pm Office Hrs. 1pm Ministerial 7pm Worship & 2:30pm Hymn Sing Concert @ First2pm Camp Songs & 7pm Women’s Night 7pm PoP Council Music Meeting @ Heritage CrossingsGames @ CJH Out @ PoP FH Meeting16 17 18 19 20 21 2210:30am Lakeside Pastors’ Sabbath 7am Men’s B. Study 9am-Noon 8am BVLH GolfService @ Lone Star 10:30am Text Study Office Hrs. Tournament @Recreation Area 2-5:30pm Office Hrs. Noon Senior Meal Hebron Country Club
@ Senior Center 9am-NoonOffice Hrs.
23 24 25 26 27 28 298:30am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath 7am Men’s B. Study Planning Day 9am-Noon 9am-Noon9:30am Fellowship 10:30am Text Study For Pastors Office Hrs. Office Hrs.
2-5:30pm Office Hrs.
30 31 1 2 3 4 58:30am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath9:30am Fellowship
SERVERS FOR AUGUST 2015Counters for August: Kim Gaston & Larry Smith
Worship Date August 2 August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30Greeters Kim Kamler Toodie Biegert Kaiser Family Jividen FamilyUshers John Steider Family Theis Family Trowbridge Family Whitehead FamilyOrganistReader Lisa Hopken Sylvia Jividen Lakeside Service Teresa Kapperman Nancy MeyerAcolytes KayLynn Sieber &
Trevor MeyerKateLynn Petersen & Halle Theis
at Lone Star Recreation Area
Alexia Dittmer &Kelsi Gaston
Bella Lichti &Lexi Theis
Video Matt Hogue Leyton Hopken 10:30am Cole Jividen Ashton O’BrienCommunion Prep. Sandy LichtiCommunion Asst. Mark O’BrienSound Board Marsha Kennel Jacob Bespalec John Steider Chad GastonFellowship Theis Family Whitehead Family Bespalec Family Birky Family
AUGUST 2015 – FIRST EVANGELICALSUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
26 27 28 29 30 31 1
Pastors Out of Town2 3 4 5 6 7 810:30am Worship 10:30am Text Study Noon Senior Meal 3-5pm Office Hrs.
7:00pm TPLP 3-5pm Office Hrs.Council Mtg. 7pm Men’s B. Study
@ Kerry’s- - - Pastors Out of Town - - -
9 10 11 12 13 14 1510:30am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath 10:30am Text Study Noon Senior Meal 3-5pm Office Hrs. 7:00pm Blackwoodw/ Holy Communion 7pm Women’s Night 3-5pm Office Hrs. Legacy Brothers2:00pm Camp Songs Out @ PoP FH 7pm Men’s B. Study Concert @ First& Games @ CJH @ Kerry’s16 17 18 19 20 21 2210:30am Lakeside Pastors’ Sabbath 10:30am Text Study Noon Senior Meal 3-5pm Office Hrs. 8:00am BVLH GolfService @ Lone Star 3-5pm Office Hrs. Tournament @Recreation Area 7pm Men’s B. Study Hebron Country Club
7pm First CouncilMeeting
23 24 25 26 27 28 2910:30am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath 10:30am Text Study Noon Senior Meal 3-5pm Office Hrs.(Heritage Sunday) 3-5pm Office Hrs.
7pm Men’s B. Study@ Kerry’s
30 31 1 2 3 4 510:30am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath
SERVERS FOR AUGUST 2015Worship Date August 2 August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30Reader Bernace Norquest Tim Stacy Lakeside Service Pattie Bailey Christian StacyOrganist Deb Tonniges Jane Hoeft at Lone Star Jane Hoeft Jane HoeftUshers Neil West &
Eric BarnesNeil West &Eric Barnes
Recreation Area 10:30am
Randy Barnes & Dustin Chrisman
Mike Vorderstrasse & Jim Green
Communion Asst. Doug Smith
FIRST EVANGELICAL NEWS
FIRST EVANGELICAL - REGULAR MEETING MINUTESJune 17, 2015
Present: Jim Norquest, Mike Vorderstrasse, Curt Cogswell, Jim Green, Jack BellisAbsent: Tim StacyAlso Present: Pam Norquest
Meeting Called to order by Jim Norquest called at 7:15 p.m.Devotions by Pastor BeckyMotion to approve the Agenda made by Mike seconded by Jim G. (All ayes - motion passed.)Motion to approve the April Board Minutes made by Mike seconded by Jim G. (All ayes - motion passed.)
Pastors Report:. The new Tri-Point Secretary starting working this month. Hoping to have a Men’s Retreat at Swan Lake this Friday. Pastor Becky and James will be gone July 1st through the 6th. Vacation Bible School in McCool Junction starting on July 19th.Motion made by Jim G. and seconded by Curt to approve Pastor’s Report. (All ayes - motion passed.)
Treasurer’s Report: Pam presented the Treasures ReportPam reported that the church received a refund on our propane contract from the COOP. New premiums for insurance went up $540. Motion to accept by Curt Seconded by Jack – (All ayes - motion passed.)
Tri-Point Parish Report: Tri-Point hired new secretary as mentioned in Pastor Report. Currently discussing how to pay the new secretary between the Tri-Point Parishes. One Call is being united this month.
Next Tri-Point Meeting is in August.Ministry Teams Report: Worship – Music was picked for the next two months. Becky Weber is calling the organist. We need Acolytes for services – have ushers do it before the service on Sunday. Went over bylaws for Worship and Music.Youth - No Report (Rachel Mertz going to the youth gathering).Evangelism – No ReportProperty – Looking into getting bids for painting the church. Fairbury Glass came up to bid on the church doors. Christian Education – Dan Aude and Paul Dawson have agreed to serve on the committee.Stewardship – No ReportHospitality – The Committee talked about doing a Cream Can Dinner at Octoberfest. Baileys have agreed to head up the Raffle/Auction for Octoberfest. Endowment Committee: No Report
Old Business:a.) Motion to loan out Round Tables to
congregation members made by Curt and seconded by Jim G. (Passed all ayes.)
b.) Pastor will pass out bylaws to Council Members.
New Business:a.) Wedding during Mustang Round-up.
Communication: Pastor no official “Join Hands Day.”Closing Prayer: Pastor Becky Adjournment Made by Jim and seconded by Mike.Next Meeting: Wednesday August 19 at 7:00 p.m.
AUGUST 2015 – ST. JOHN’SSUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
26 27 28 29 30 31 1
Pastors Out of Town2 3 4 5 6 7 89am Worship w/ 10:30am Text Study 9-11am Office Hrs.Holy Communion 1:30pm WELCA Mtg.
3-5pm Office Hrs.7:00pm TPLP
- - - Pastors Out of Town - - - Council Mtg.9 10 11 12 13 14 159am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath 10:30am Text Study 1:00pm Ministerial 9-11am Office Hrs. 7:00pm BlackwoodCouncil Mtg. 3-5pm Office Hrs. Legacy Brothersfollowing service 7pm Women’s Night Concert @ First2:00pm Camp Songs Out @ PoP FH& Games @ CJH16 17 18 19 20 21 2210:30am Lakeside Pastors’ Sabbath 10:30am Text Study 9:30am 8:00am BVLH GolfService @ Lone Star 3-5pm Office Hrs. Birthday Coffee @ Tournament @Recreation Area Ohiowa Cafe Hebron Country Club
- - - Sewing Days - - - 9-11am Office Hrs.23 24 25 26 27 28 299am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath 10:30am Text Study 9-11am Office Hrs.
3-5pm Office Hrs.
30 31 1 2 3 4 59am Worship Pastors’ Sabbath
SERVERS FOR AUGUST 2015Organist: Nancy Cradduck
Ushers for August: Galen & Patsy Niederklein, Russell OzenbaughFlowers for August: Betty Remter
Communion Assistant for August: Luther RoitWorship Date August 2 August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30Acolyte Kala Most Kimberly Schropfer Lakeside Service
at Lone StarKayLynn Sieber Conner Nun
Lay Reader Galen Kuska Barb Dunse Recreation Area 10:30am
Larry Nun Carol Kapperman
ST. JOHN’S NEWS
LETTERS FROM LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF:Dear St. John’s WELCA,
Greetings from Lutheran World Relief! Thank you for your generous gift of quilts and kits for LWR distribution overseas. These gifts of your hearts and hands are beautiful expressions of God’s grace and love to people all around the world. Your care and compassion makes it possible for families and communities to keep themselves healthy, warm, educated and employed.
Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in March 2011, many Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, & Iraq. Since 2011, LWR has been responding to the Syrian refugee needs. Thanks to your generosity, 9 Mission Quilts and 7 School Kits have been distributed. On behalf of our neighbors in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and many other villages, schools, hospitals, and refugee camps, thanks for your contribution.
From the Quilt and Kit Ministry ManagerLutheran World Relief
Another letter from the Quilt and Kit Ministry Manager stated that, according to the online tracking record, our Mission Quilts went to Tanzania, departing the LWR warehouse on February 25, 2015. This shipment included 36 of our quilts. This receipt may not reflect our full donation.
“Mission Quilts provide comfort and warmth when temperatures drop at night. Thank you so much for your partnership in bringing hope to our neighbors in Tanzania. We thank God for you!”
From the Quilt and Kit Ministry ManagerLutheran World Relief
MAKING QUILTS FOR LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
AUGUST QUILTING DAYS:AUGUST 18TH & 19TH @ 9:00AM
POTLUCK MEAL @ NOON
AUGUST CELEBRATIONSBIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES
PRINCE OF PEACEAugust 01 Christine Coash
02 Chad GastonLinda NewellMegan PoppertTrenton Srajhans
03 Jessica Herman04 Mark O’Brien08 Lauren Hopken12 Kristopher Kaiser13 Larry Smith15 Douglas Hafer
17 Harlan Fangmeyer18 Tami Dittmer
Carsyn Koenig19 Colleen Rippe21 Jacob Bespalec22 Keith Nunns25 Donald Belau
Ryan Koenig26 Ashley Srajhans27 Gabriel Eberhardt29 Gordon Sukstorf
August 02 Glen & Lori LoontjerJohn & Audrey Steider
05 John & Patt Lentfer06 Andy & Sharie Hubert08 Jeffrey & Jenna Theis09 Jerry & Jane Stratman19 Ashley & Jason Srajhans20 Jason & Pamela Bespalec21 Stanley & Nancy Meyer26 Becky & Richard Reinsch27 Larry & Lisa Hopken
FIRST EVANGELICALAugust 08 Sharon Davis
Jim Norquest14 Rynee Spencer16 Don Norquest17 Lisa Cogswell19 Curtis Cogswell
21 Paige Stacy22 Tyonna Johnson26 Derek Rea27 Abbie Christian28 Tripp Chrisman
August 28 Dustin & Paige Chrisman
ST. JOHN’SAugust 05 Duane Cecrle
08 Weldon Bornschlegl09 Carol Kapperman15 Mitch Ozenbaugh16 Francis Garrison18 Vicki Ozenbaugh18 Wes Rippe
Kevin Wolfteich
20 Sara Cradduck21 Brooks Reetz23 Tonya Wagner
Nicole Sanders29 Avery Rippe
Peggy Roit30 Gaylord Gradduck
August 2 Jay & Kay KnappAlan & Kaye MussmanGalen & Sharon Kuska
08 Jess & Georgia Schropfer12 Ron & Carol Kapperman13 Kevin & Jodi Wolfteich14 Bruce & Kathy Soukup15 Dallas & Claire Ann Mussman21 Nick & Melissa Mussman
Louis & Darlene Schropfer25 Gorlyn & Jenene Nun
TRI POINT LUTHERAN PARISH
LAKESIDE SERVICESUNDAY, AUGUST 16TH 10:30AM
LONE STAR RECREATION AREA
Potluck meal to follow servicePlease bring food and table service for
your families!
GENERAL PARISH NEWS
TRI POINT LUTHERAN PARISH MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 14, 2015
Members Present: Nancy Meyer, Pastor James, Gaylord Cradduck, Tim Stacy, Kathy Barnes, Ruth Drake.
Clark Poppert was not present.
Devotions led by Pastor James
Joys and Concerns shared
Review of Lenten/Easter activities: Attendance down this year. Will use Holden Evening Prayer next year. Schedule for next year will remain the same with meal at 6:00 PM and service at 7:00 PM.
Secretary update: No applicants. Discussed possibilities and options.
Helpmate/One Call possible changes: Motion by Ruth to divide cost of One call by 1/3. Second by Gaylord. Motion carried.
Cell phone Plans: Currently each church pays approximately $16 per month. A discussion was had about increasing each church’s portion to $30 per month. Tim indicated that he would need to check with his council first. Motion by Tim to increase. Second by Ruth. Motion carried.
Confirmation plans: Interviews will be held with pastors. Confirmation is May 3 for all 3 congregations. Confirmation camp will be June 14-19 @ Camp Carol Joy Holling.
VBS: McCool will have VBS July 20-24; Geneva June 2-4. The Geneva UCC Church is in charge this year.
Next meeting scheduled for August 4 @ 7:00 PM.
Meeting closed with Lord’s Prayer.
DIAPER DRIVE AT YOUTH GATHERING
Faith Tenneh, 19, of Lancaster, PA hands off diapers to be donated at the
Starfish Family Services in Inkster Friday, July 17 th, 2015. This event was
sponsored by the Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America allowing the young members to volunteer their time and services
while visiting the Detroit area which will culminate in a four day event at
Ford Field. Busloads of Lutheran teens who are volunteering throughout
metro Detroit this week turned up in Inkster on Friday to help with a massive
diaper drive. (Photo credits: Gary Malerba)
The teens, part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Youth Gathering, partnered with Starfish Family Services in Inkster for Operation Diapers for Detroiters. The goal: to build a “mountain” of diaper boxes collected by 18 busloads of people.
Some of the teens, who come from across the country, brought diapers with them, while others had them shipped to their hotels. In all, the teens collected 40,000 boxes of diapers. On Saturday, the groups distributed the diapers to more than 50 non-profit organizations across the Metro Detroit.
The Lutheran youth conference, which is held every three years, draws more than 30,000 people to one city to partake in community outreach. New Orleans was the featured city for the past two gatherings.
Kyla Smith contributed this report.
LOCAL POINT OF INTEREST:The Tri Point Lutheran Parish raised $600.00 for this mission, thank you everyone!
AUGUST JOKES AND QUOTES
“Life
expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”
- Doug Larson
“A man should never plant a garden larger than his wife can take care of.”
- T.H. Everett
A man walks into a flower shop.“I’d like some flowers, please.”“Certainly, sir. What did you have in mind?”He shrugs. “Well I’m not sure, I uh, I uh, I uh…”“Perhaps I could help. What exactly have you done?”
A new business was opening and
one of the owner’s friends wanted to send him flowers for the occasion. The flowers arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card: “Rest in Peace.” The owner was annoyed, and called to complain. “Sir, I’m really sorry for the mistake, and sorry you were offended,” said the florist. “But even worse, somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, ‘Congratulations on your new location.’”
“The philosopher who said that work well done never needs doing over never weeded a garden.”
- Ray D. Everson
What do you get if you cross a four-leaf clover with poison ivy?
A rash of good luck.
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