February 2020, LSI Bulletin/Newsletter Article and Story

Happy Valentine’s Day from LSI!“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Lutheran Services in Iowa’s (LSI) mission is about love: responding to the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate service. We give thanks for all the ministry partners, both individuals and congregations, who help share this love for Iowa children, families, and adults!

We see this love in newly adopted children and their families, in teens who learn to trade self-harm for self-worth, in Iowans with disabilities who are growing their independence and confidence, in new parents who are raising strong and healthy families, and in so many other moments of joy. You can help carry out our mission of hope and healing by giving a gift and showing love to the Iowa families we serve. For more information, please contact Deb Whitford, LSI director of philanthropy and church relations, at Deborah.Whitford@LSIowa.org or 563-676-2065.

Thank you for the love you share and create through LSI. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Our Mission: Lutheran Services in Iowa responds to the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate service. LSI is an affiliated social ministry partner of the Iowa congregations of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and a member of LSA (Lutheran Services in America). We proudly serve people of all ages, abilities, religions, sexes, gender identities, national origins, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. Learn more at www.LSIowa.org and www.facebook.com/LSI.iowa.

“I Feel Like a Parent Now.”

When Harmony learned she was pregnant for the first time, she was excited, but apprehensive. She didn’t know what to expect when raising her first child.

Harmony’s mother, Lois, helped her enroll in LSI’s Early Childhood Services, which provide parenting education and resources to families of young children across Iowa.

While she was pregnant, Harmony participated in prenatal programming, which helped her maintain a healthy pregnancy and ensure she had everything she needed when her baby was born.

When her daughter, Aya, arrived in October of 2018, Harmony and Lois began participating in LSI’s Parent Education Program, where they now attend regular classes and connect with other families in their community.

And at home, they receive weekly visits from their LSI Parent Educator, Amy. Each week, Amy brings resources for Harmony and age-appropriate toys for Aya. They work together to monitor Aya’s development, and Amy is teaching the family what to expect as Aya begins hitting her developmental milestones.

“LSI helps you learn how to raise your baby and how to learn about being a parent,” Harmony says. “Before, I felt like I was trying to swim, but I was drowning. I feel like a parent now.”

Pastor’s NoteFebruary, a month for celebrating the joy of loving relationships, is upon us.  In the gloom of winter a day of hearts and flowers, glitter and glam, maybe even a box of candy gives us reason to revel in the promise of spring and new growth.  But it is also a time to give thanks for the family of God that lives and works together here at Our Savior.  I have experienced that welcome each time I preach and serve here, and now, as your interim pastor, I experience it every time I visit you in your homes.  That tells me so much about the faith and mission that grows in this place.  

Thank you for that welcome and thank you for trusting me to bring you the Word made flesh in Word and Sacrament.  Together we celebrate the love that ties us together, the love that binds us and holds us in God’s love in Jesus Christ.  

It is an honor to serve among you.  Please do not hesitate to let me know of your needs.  I will help in any way that I can.  

My phone number is 319-464-2894.  Please leave a message if I do not answer right away and I will return your call as soon as possible.  I am in the process of meeting the sick and shut in but will always find time to visit with anyone with a joy or concern to share.  

Thank you for entrusting me with the great mission of sharing Gods love through Jesus Christ for all creation.  ~Pastor Ruth Ann Shriver

Join us after church on February 9th for a very special Valentine meal with a couple of intriguing appetizers, followed by a mixed green salad with strawberries topped with a yummy homemade dressing, a shepherd's pie-like beef stew, and who doesn't love a smooth, creamy creme brulee with a sugar crispened crust. Cookies will be available for purchase to thank a friend, neighbor, or relative. This extra special meal is a fundraiser to help with our LED lighting project.  Come join us after services, take time to chat with your church family, invite a friend to church, enjoy a special meal, and donate to help finish our lighting project. To-go orders will be available. Give Jeanette a heads up people count to help us on our shopping and food prep. Love to see you there!

Widow’s ‘N’ Widower’s will meet on Monday, February 17th at 11:30 at Pizza Ranch

Men’s Breakfast at Village Inn in Waterloo on February 1st at 8am

YOUNG AT HEART Young at Heart is having a Pizza Party (with salad) at noon on Thursday, February 13th! Join us for pizza, salad, and games to follow, here in our Social Hall. There will be a donation box to offset the cost. Please contact Dawn Holmes if you have any questions 319-268-1663

NE Iowa Food Bank-If you would like to donate something to help fight hunger, theseare the suggested items for the month of February are - Canned Chili, Canned Fruit, Peanut Butter, Crackers, Cooking Oil, Cereal,

Powdered Milk, and Canned Meat.

From Your Treasurer$$—Financially Speaking—$$

Amount needed to meet our budget:

Weekly = $ 2,414.00 Monthly = $10,460.00

*For the month of December 2019:Income *$13,601.00

Total Expenses— 10,889.71 Balance $17,550.09Average Attendance for December= 52

Tabitha Quilters will meet on February 4th and February 18th at 9am

OSLC Loan Closet is available to our congregation, our community and to anyone in the Cedar Valley at no charge. Many of us have at one time or another experienced a need of medical or health equipment on a loan basis. If you currently have some of the medical equipment, contact Joyce Arends so she can update her records, or if you have some equipment to donate, please contact OSLC office at 233-3156. All that is required is that all equipment be returned clean and in working condition for others to use. Contact Joyce Arends at 234-4376 if you have additional questions.

Memorials received for December were a donation for Delores Michaels from Jeananne Tharp, going towards the church lighting. Thank you!

~ Rebecca Circle will meet next at 10am on February 3rd

~ Deborah Circle will meet again at 10am on February 11th

~ Ruth Circle will meet at 10am on February 10th

Council will be meeting Monday, February 17th at 6pm

Board of Spiritual Life will meet February 3rd at 6pm.

Meals on Wheels will be February 24th and 25th

Special dates

African-American History Month Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2020 Presidents Day, February 17, 2020 Transfiguration of Our Lord, February

23, 2020 Ash Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Leap Day, February 29, 2020

 

Garden of Eatin’

The Garden Committee met in January to discuss to future of the Garden of Eatin’. We have been doing this project for 6 years and have raised and donated over 1,460 pounds of produce. As any of you who have had a home garden know, this takes a lot of work. We have had a successful six years, but have decided that we will not be raising vegetables anymore.

Just as our congregation is transitioning to our next phase, so is our garden. We will still be a Garden of Eatin’. But we will be feeding pollinators. We have decided to transition our garden into a pollinator garden. Pollinators can be a variety of living things including: butterflies, bees, wasps, flies, moths, and humming birds.

They are all needed for our food supply. Since the increase in use of chemicals and pesticides, there has been a decrease in the number of pollinators that we have.

We want our garden to be a “pit stop” for pollinators that are native to our area or for those who are migrating through. We want to give them food, drink and a place to rest. We are fortunate to have our own horticulturist, Deb Estrem who is helping us with these transition plans. We hope to model our pollinator garden after the Blank Park Zoo’s “Plant, Grow. Fly.” program.

Thank you Connie Lubbert and Deb Estrem for helping with this garden transition!

Debbie Crawford

Our Lenten focus- Lent, the church-year season that begins on Ash Wednesday, is a time of penitence and spiritual renewal. Some people give up a luxury or vice during Lent as a form of self-denial; others undertake a project that benefits others.

The point isn’t to denigrate ourselves or to see how much we can do without. Instead, Lent helps us reflect on Jesus’ death. As Timothy Keller writes in The Reason for God: “The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

1st Ken Essmann2nd Goldie Johnson Bob Slater Paul Gabbard3rd Sam Wolf5th Irene Welch Dave Benham Landon Risse6th George Schumacher 8th Vera Bergen Treshun Moritz9th Daniel Heneghan10th Elise Burmahl Theresa Burmahl11th Kim Knapek14th Cassidy Leadley & Barbara Lewis15th Linda Joy Shauna Hacker16th Brad Dubois Wesley Granahan19th Steve Wolf20th Pat Lindsey27th Jordan Slater George Michaels28th Kim Utley Vanessa Meihost & Alison Lubbert

Happy Anniversary

Feb 3rd – Jerry & Pam HamlynFeb 17th – Jack & Sue PickerillFeb 27th – Jeff & Vanessa Meihost

Bible Quiz ~ The precise number varies depending on the Bible version, but roughly how many times does the word “love” occur in the Old and New Testaments combined?

A. 200-300B. 400-500C. 600-700D. 800-900

Answer: C

A prayer for Ash Wednesday

Lord of the winds, I cry to thee,I that am dust,and blown about by every gustI fly to thee.

Lord of the waters, unto thee I call.I that am weed upon the waters borne,and by the waters torn,tossed by the waters, at thy feet I fall.

—Mary Coleridge (1861-1907)

The Very Best Valentine

Almost everyone — at least of the female persuasion — knows the romantic meaning of the phrase “hearts and flowers.” Valentine’s Day is coming! What will I get from my boyfriend … my husband … my best friend? I’m hoping for some sort of bouquet, a card full of loving words and red hearts, candy or at least a sweet balloon.

Human beings may disappoint. That special someone may forget to check the calendar for February 14. But even if he doesn’t come through exactly as I hope, I can still be amazed and happy with the valentine I am sure to receive every day from my heavenly Father and his Son: words of delight and joy and caring — always surrounding me with love and more love. These are the best “hearts and flowers” I could ever have, and which I do have, on Valentine’s Day and throughout eternity.

Looking for LoveThough not a fan of making New Year’s resolutions, Jen Kramer decided to add meaning to 2018 by declaring it #theyearoflove. Each day she wrote a “love note” to a different person, expressing gratitude and offering encouragement. Recipients ranged from waiters and custodians to relatives and a terminally ill friend.

The experiment may have stemmed from the sudden, unexpected death of Kramer’s father while she was away at college. “Why don’t we say those things to people while they’re here?” she tells the Chicago Tribune. “It’s easy to be kind, and it’s easy to tell people how you feel.”

Kramer’s campaign didn’t cost a cent, yet it changed her life and touched hundreds of people in the process. Wherever she went, she discovered that “love showed up.” It’s simple, Kramer says: “You just have to look.”

2020 It’s a New Year for Church Women United! We invite all women of faith and backgrounds to come together. Come and bring a friend! Our forum meeting is Friday, February 7th at 9:30am at the YWCA in Waterloo. Please contact Joyce Arends if you have any questions (319) 234-4376

“There is only one happiness in this life: to love and be loved.”

—George Sand

A note from a client who shopped at our Christmas Shoppe this season;“Thank you for allowing me to shop at your place. It meant SO much to me and my two girls. If it wasn’t for you, my girls wouldn’t of had anything to open on Christmas! Thank you so much and God bless you all.”

Thank you notes from recipients of Christmas gifts through LSI;

“I would like to say thank you. I have been going through a lot and I really appreciate this!” ~Haley

“Thank you SO much for the gifts. My kids and I love them. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!” ~ Nicole

“Thank you for the Christmas presents. My kids really loved their gifts.” ~The Martor family

“Thank you so much for the gifts donated to LSI. My worker gave some of the gifts to me and my children. Thank you!” ~Kijafa