the lamb's pen, january 2013
DESCRIPTION
You are invited to worship with us at Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church, 406 W Cottage Grove Road, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin Sundays at 9 or 10:45 am or Mondays for Contemporary Worship at 7 pm.TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 2013
The Lamb’s Pen
A monthly publication of Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church
“BRING them in...LIFT them up...SEND them out”
Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church Pastor Nathan Krause
406 W. Cottage Grove Road Pastor Nathanael Abrahamson
Cottage Grove, WI 53527
(608) 839-3770
MISSION UPDATE (Ruthann Mickelson)
A new year - 2013 - and what better time would
there be to renew our zeal for spreading the
wonderful news that Jesus is our Savior! Jesus
himself tells us, “Go into all the world and preach
the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)
You say that you can’t go to “all the world”?
Here are just a few of the things you can do
throughout the year:
Invite a friend to church
Talk to visitors who worship with us
Tell someone what Jesus means to you
Pray for our missionaries at home and abroad
Send an extra offering to the ELS for missions
E-mail a missionary or send a greeting card
Read Mission News and Thoughts of Faith magazine
“When you have THE SHEPHERD…
...you have everything you need.”
Visit our website at
www.AbidingShepherd.org
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NEWS AND EVENTS
3 - JANUARY 2013
The Thrivent Builds with Habitat for
Humanity house that Abiding Shepherd
volunteers worked on in Stoughton is
complete! Valerie and her two children
will move into their new home on
December 26. Thanks for your help!
Thanks to the confirmation students and
families as well as the other volunteers who
decorated the church for Christmas!
Grace Rose Kolbow was received
into the family of God through her
baptism on Friday, December 14.
Elle Rae Poole was adopted into
God’s family through baptism on
Sunday, December 2.
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FYI… (Pastor Krause)
Spiritual information… “But I trust in you, O LORD; I
say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies and from those who
pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.” Psalm 31:14-16.
Two Thousand and Thirteen - it sounds strange even to say it. As we
prepare to cross the threshold into a new year, we wonder what this
new year has in store for us. What is going to
happen with the economy, politics, wars, and even
religion? Unlike previous “new year’s moments,”
2013 does not feel like as much of a “clean slate”
as in the past. Because of the events of 2012 many
people are feeling less hopeful and optimistic.
The words I quoted above, from Psalm 31, are often used as a
devotion for those preparing for death, or even as a reading at
funerals. Especially when life draws to its close there is no greater
comfort than knowing God is in complete control of both our lives and
our eternities. But King David’s words are more fitting as one faces life,
or the continuation of living. I know, we like to think we are in control.
We do our homework. We plan and budget. We assume 2013 will be a
success or failure based on our choices and decisions. But it won’t.
Whether facing life or death God is always God. He alone knows the
future. He chooses when to bless and when to withhold blessings.
These choices He makes according to His wisdom and grace. God
promises to be our guide and our guard in the new year just as He has
been in the past year. The question will be, as it always is, will we trust
Him? Will we listen to what God has to say about this new year or will
we try to tell Him what we think He ought to do?
King David had it right - whether facing good times
(your face shines on your servant) or bad times
(deliver me from my enemies and from those who
pursue me), David understood it was wise to trust
the Lord. May 2013 offer us all many opportunities
to do the same!
Congregational information… the biggest news item on our calendar is
the annual meeting. It is scheduled for Sunday, January 27 following
the late service. We will be serving lunch and then tend to the business
of the coming year.
Amongst the items for your consideration will be the new budget. As in
the past we are aggressively planning to conduct God’s business here
at Abiding Shepherd. As you review the numbers be sure to do so with
a large measure of faith because not only has God provided us with
many ministry opportunities, but we trust He will also provide the
resources.
Another item for your consideration is the
ratification of a new Team Lead. Rich Herbst has
faithfully served as the Lead for the Benevolence
and Fellowship Team and now his term is ended.
We thank him for his years of dedicated service.
Nominated as Rich’s replacement is Dan Samuelson. Dan
is ready and raring to go and we ask that you keep him
(as well as the other Team Leads and Teams) in your
prayers. Ask God to bless all the administrative work of our
congregation and that He allow us to be the lights of His
love to our community and our world.
One last thing, please thank God for all the volunteers and helpers He
has provided throughout this past year at Abiding Shepherd. Much has
been accomplished through the willing service of many people. God
has graciously provided willing hearts and helpful hands.
5 - JANUARY 2013
CHRISTMAS FOR KIDS (C4K) 2012 (Claire Doelger)
The song binder is closed, glitter is scattered on the
floor EVERYWHERE and Jesus’ birth was imprinted on
many families across the Cottage Grove area. This
was a transition year as we trained more people to
take over the C4K program as I retire from a
program that is so close to my heart and my faith. I
feel our family was brought to Abiding Shepherd for
a purpose, and this was one of them. After eleven
years of coordinating, I feel my calling is now to concentrate on other things
near and dear to my heart… my family, my grandchildren and my
business. As our Grandson Owen showed me his ornaments he made at his
first C4K, he said, “PRETTY SPECIAL GWAMMA!” Yes Owen, these are PRETTY
SPECIAL years and memories. My prayer all along has been that the
memories, the crafts, the songs, the ceramic nativity sets, and the real
meaning of Christmas be implanted in these kids now and will stay with them
their whole lives through, reminding them of the SPECIAL words shared about
Christ, the baby in a manger, sent to all at Christmas time. Yes, Christmas for
Kids is a PRETTY SPECIAL place… a memory I will have forever.
This year, the Monday before C4K started, we had only 25 kids signed up.
Was it a sign people were losing interest? NO! By the end we had 44 families
registered with a total of 78 kids signed up, with many walk-ins the day of the
Saturday sessions. WOW! Record numbers! With a few changes (like moving
our oldest group into more of a leadership role) excitement was abounding
from ages two through eleven.
In the words of kids who attended, “What I like about Christmas for Kids is…
watching movies and eating snacks;
songs you sing, like the B-I-B-L-E and the Ho-Ho-Ho-Hosanna song;
I really like crafts, the ceramics and making cool things;
being with my friends; lots of kids;
listening to the Bible stories and hearing about Jesus;
three hours of entertainment while my mom and dad have alone time;
I love C4K because it has an awesome play;
playtime was really great; I love playing bingo;
three hours out of the house fun;
It is the funnest place in the world;
I love to dance with the bells;
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7 - JANUARY 2013
It is one of the things I always ask my mom when it will start;
it made kids so excited and thrilled for Christmas;
I was an orange and now I am in my third year of blue and all years I had
so much fun at this amazing event;
thank you so much for all you have done in my life and many other kids.”
The program brought 98 guests to watch the kids perform their songs and
play, packing the house with about 160 people total. I kept thinking about
the spectacular venue we offer families to come and sing fun Christmas songs
about Jesus, the Bible and salvation and to see the Christmas story in a play.
My heart is joyful when I listen as families loudly join in singing CHRISTmas
carols. Where do we get to do this anymore?
I also hear from many families...
Thanks for all your efforts on once again pulling together C4K. It means so
much to so many families with our girls especially looking forward to it each
year. They love the songs, the crafts and the incredible Christmas spirit you
instill each season in the hearts of all.
THANK YOU FOR BUILDING A COMMUNITY AROUND OUR LORD DURING THE
CHRISTMAS SEASON. The gift of the Nativity scene is so precious.
THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done over the
years for Christmas for Kids. In Macy's words....’thanks for teaching us about
Jesus!’ Every time we drive by, they ask when they get to go to ‘Bible camp’
again.”
With great thankfulness, I want to pour out my
appreciation to all the volunteers from our
congregation, the community “graduates” that
came back to volunteer, Lakeside Lutheran and
Luther Prep students. Thank you to Kristen Maier
and Stacy Zank, who are retiring from the craft
area after this year. Thanks to Pastor A., Alyssa
Scharrer, Josie Babinchak, Kathy Pohlman,
Stephanie Cook, Tammy Niedfeldt and Jena
Bleecker as well as Sue Chamberlain, who
prepares treat bags for the Grand Finale each
year. A special thank you to Dave Doelger for ALWAYS doing the AV (who is
also retiring so we can BOTH sleep in!) and Caity Riley for playing the piano
every week. As one child wrote and I pass on to all of you…
”Thank you for being OSAM” (awesome).
With love and thanksgiving, Claire Doelger
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E.P.I.C. YOUTH MINISTRY (Pastor Abrahamson)
Wow - what an incredible 2012 for our E.P.I.C. Youth Ministry! In addition to
our E.P.I.C. Sunday nights we were blessed with two youth retreats, a pond
party, a costume party, and more. I’d just like to thank all the E.P.I.C. Youth
and their parents for being part of such a wonderful year. Also, thank you to
Dan Samuelson and Jae Hinstorff for being great leaders each week at
E.P.I.C. and for taking care of things when I’m not able to be there.
The final “big” event of 2012 we were blessed to take part in was a very cool
service and learning opportunity made possible by Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans. On December 9, Thrivent sent us to Piggly Wiggly to buy (on their
dime) $1,000 worth of food and supplies for the Cottage Grove Food Pantry.
Before we made our way to Pig we divided into four different groups that
focused on different food and supply areas: household supplies, breakfast
boxed food, lunch/dinner boxed food, and canned goods. Each group was
given the task of buying $200 worth of items. After the teams achieved this
goal, we as a group discussed what items might be in greater need at the
Food Pantry as well as any items we may have missed, such as condiments,
and used the remaining $200 to purchase those items. Once the truck was
loaded we went and personally delivered the items to the Food Pantry. This
event truly was a blessing to us because not only were we able to help area
families in need this Christmas, but we learned a great deal about the Food
Pantry and helping others in the Cottage Grove area. A special thank you to
Tammy and Terry Niedfeldt for their work in organizing this event. Oh, by the
way, the station manager for Channel 3 just happened to be in the
checkout next to us at Piggly Wiggly and was so impressed by the event that
he insisted that there be a story about it on their website! Check out the
Monona/Cottage Grove section of their site for the write up.
9 - JANUARY 2013
UPCOMING EVENTS
EUCHRE NIGHT AT ABIDING SHEPHERD (Sue O’Kroley)
Friday, January 18, 6:30 pm
Those who are experienced and those who would like to learn are
invited. You do not need a partner to join in the fun - tables are
arranged after everyone arrives. Most folks bring a snack to share.
ANNUAL MEETING AND LUNCHEON
Sunday, January 27, Noon
Please plan to attend the Annual Congregational
Meeting as we look to the future of Abiding Shepherd.
The church will provide hot sandwiches for lunch with
members asked to bring side dishes. An agenda,
proposed 2013 budget and other materials will be
available for your review by Sunday, January 20.
SKIING/SNOWBOARDING AT TYROL BASIN
February 10, 3:30 pm
A special evening of snow fun has been scheduled! The
details are still being planned, but save the date for this
skiing/snowboarding event! Free skiing and
snowboarding lessons are offered.
WINTER WISHES
Dear Members of Abiding Shepherd,
Thank you so much for supporting Lakeside
Lutheran’s Teens for Christ in our recent Winter
Wishes coat and hat collection for St. Marcus in
Milwaukee. We appreciate your willingness to help!
In His Service, Kayla Pagel, Teens for Christ
“I tell you the truth, that whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you di for me.” Matthew 25:40.
Editor’s Note: We collected enough coats, gloves, scarves and hats to fill a
50-gallon barrel! These items were distributed to our less fortunate brothers
and sisters in inner city Milwaukee through St. Marcus Lutheran Church.
BENEVOLENCE AND FELLOWSHIP (Rich Herbst)
I am happy to announce that Dan Samuelson has accepted the
nomination to be our new Benevolence and Fellowship Team
Lead. That nomination will, hopefully, be ratified at the Annual
Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 27, 2013. I feel he
will be a perfect fit and bring a lot to this team!
I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as Team Lead for the
Benevolence and Fellowship Team. I would especially like to thank my team
members Leslie Wren, Celebrations and Fellowship Coordinator; Paul Karow,
Leadership Care and Support Coordinator; Shawna Jobke, Special Events
Coordinator; Sarah and Derek Hein, At-Large Coordinators and Pastor
Abrahamson for administrative support. Also a special thank you goes out to
Tammy Niedfeldt for her help with our funerals and other special events and
Holly Freund for her assistance with sign-ups, ordering food, supplies and
other items needed by our team. Please assist this team in any way you can
in the coming new year. Much help will be needed to coordinate our special
events and fellowship activities.
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Tyrol Basin Dinner Tours Salty Earth Tour Recipe Club
Picnic Progressive Dinner Pastor A’s Ord & Install Mt. Olympus
Carnival Pastor K’s 25th Pastor & Stella’s Shower
THANK YOU
Dear Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church,
Friends of China teachers and students thank
you for your support. We have received your
gift of $3,265.49. Please remember all our
teachers in your prayers.
Rev. Marcus Birkholz
Editor’s Note: The “Friends of China” program was our
third quarter Direct Ministry and Missions Support
project. Thank you for your generous donations! Micah
Ricke teaches English in Beijing through Friends of
China. He also spreads the Gospel message in China,
a country hostile to Christianity. His blog can be read
at http://rather-epic.blogspot.com. Here is a recent
blog posting (Jason is a Chinese eighth grader that is
learning English in Micah’s class)...
Stone Man
I'm correcting 脑子的饭 - naozi de fan - brain food. It's a journal assignment I
have my Social Studies class do for the first five minutes of every class. I just
read little Jason's entry on the question, "Why does God let bad things
happen to good people?" I need to share this 8th grader’s entry with you…
I think God want to trine us, even the very good person will have his work
from God too. God want us to be a stone man in his love, then we can fight
with evil. We will know what is true from what is false. And what is the thing
from God, or from the evil. To de a clever man, God will use some bad
thing happened to you life, and tell you some important thing, some thing
you didn't know, let you know when the earth was gone, God will stand
with, forever. When you have some hard thing, pray, you just need say,
God will give you if you really need. Believe in God trus him in everwhere,
evertime, when you do anything. When the bad thing is come, you can be
very happy, because God is stand with us, remember? We don't need fear
anything, because God's love. Pray, he will help you, he will stand with you,
when the earth is gone.
Wow! If that's not an amazing confession of faith, I don't know what is. Thanks Jason.
Micah with friends
11 - JANUARY 2013
COORDINATION TEAM MINUTES (Condensed)
At the Tuesday, December 4 Coordination Team Meeting, Team Leads…
Reviewed Team Reports through November and the October Financial
Statement.
Learned Dan Samuelson accepted the nomination as Team Lead for
Benevolence and Fellowship (to be ratified at Annual Meeting) and Josie
Babinchak agreed to become the Coordinator for Community Outreach.
Search continues for Special Events and Special Needs Coordinators.
Heard from Brent Wegner (Operations and Finance Team Lead) about
continuing action to refinance our current mortgage.
Discussed several items in preparation for the Annual Congregational
Meeting scheduled for Sunday, January 27.
Proposal from Synod’s Board for Home Outreach (BHO) regarding the
remaining interest subsidy as well as the preliminary 2013 budget (with
and without Synod subsidy income). Agreed to present a 2013 budget
without Synod subsidy to members at the Annual Congregational
Meeting for approval (if Synod approves our proposal). Budget shows
cash deficit of approximately $52K.
Debt Service Fund - Will present a motion to put an additional $50K
from the Debt Service Fund towards the mortgage principle at time of
refinance.
Proposed Strategic Plan for ASLC - A plan prepared by the Strategy
and Planning Team will be presented at the Annual Meeting,
explaining what the Team is doing, how it might affect the
congregation and what the Team might need from congregation.
Direct Ministry and Mission Recommendations - four ministries were
approved to submit to congregation at Annual Meeting.
St. John’s Lutheran Church in Jabalpur, India
Abiding Shepherd Education Fund
Kids Around the World
Thai Village Handcraft Employment/Evangelism Project
Agreed to postpone Ad Hoc Team for Sexual Harassment, Child Abuse
Policies and Procedures until January, 2013.
Entered closed door session to discuss staff compensation for 2013.
Clarified job description and duties of Assistant Team Leads and Lead
Facilitator for consistent wording in Constitutional Bylaws.
Note: Copies of complete minutes are available by contacting the office.
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