Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Crestview Hills, Kentucky
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2718 Dixie Highway |
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Newsletter of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 2718 Dixie Hwy. Volume XXV, No. 2 From The Pastor, Richard Foster says that when “Divine Love has slipped into our inner spirit and taken over our habit patterns, we do not have to work hard at being good and kind; we are good and kind. To refrain from being good and kind would be the hard work because goodness and kindness are part of our nature.” (Celebration of Discipline, p.9) The most startling thing about this statement is its hidden implication, that God, our God, desires to be in fellowship with us. Our God-relationship doesn’t start with us. It starts with God! From the beginning we were created to need God, to recognize an emptiness when we are apart from God. Unfortunately, we live in a world that often tries to fill that specific emptiness with other things. Is it any wonder that it is so easy to look around the world and see unkindness, even evil? It is time for us, individual believers and churches, to step up in goodness and kindness, our world is desperately in need of it and so are we. The only way to do that is to let God slip into our inner spirit and rule over our lives. Have you allowed God to rule in your life? Would your calendar and your checkbook witness to your responsive love for God? If not, what would have to change in order to let that happen? When I examine my life, I know that I still have a lot of “letting go, letting God” to do. Perhaps you find that to be true in your life as well. It is far too easy for me to think that everything hinges on me. Because I am very committed to my work, I can easily fall into the trap of working on my own agenda rather than letting God work in and through me. The sad thing about that is that God intends for it to be easier than I make it. God desires to work in and through me. God desires that I would live in the promise of salvation. God desires that I would be hopeful. And what God desires, God always provides for. God is never stingy. It is more a matter of my openness to what God is doing than God’s willingness to give. As soon as I turn that “key” in my heart, what has seemed hard will be easy, natural, exactly as God intended. If you aren’t already taking a Bible Study class you are invited to start right away. When we study the Bible, we become more and more open to God. Don’t worry about what you don’t know. All of the Bible study classes are welcoming and user friendly. We tackle difficult texts and topics but we do it in a way that invites every level of understanding. If you aren’t already active in prayer you are invited to join a prayer group or to come and be trained so that you can start another prayer group. Prayer will open your God-relationship more rapidly than anything else. There are several prayer groups already functioning, we would love to have even more groups. If you aren’t yet serving, we can help you find places to serve. And so the list goes. It turns out that the each aspect of discipleship also encourages and grows our God-relationship.
-Pastor Vicki
The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, February 21, with a potluck dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Desserts will be provided by WELCA Board members and the evening worship service will follow at 7:00 p.m. Please sign up in the narthex and plan to join us each Wednesday evening through March 28 for dinner and worship.
Committee Night Scheduled for 2/5
Monday, February 5 is the first committee meeting night for 2007. All the discipleship committees will meet in the fellowship hall at 7:15 p.m. following the joint council/discipleship chair dinner meeting that starts at 6:00 p.m.
New Member Classes Coming Up
Periodically classes are offered for visitors and regular attendees to join our community of discipleship. You may take the classes even if you don not intend to join at this time but would like to know more about Lutherans in general and Gloria Dei specifically. Classes will be held February 11 & 18, and March 4 & 11 at 9:45 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. New members will be received on March 18 at all services.
On Sunday, February 4, the Gloria Dei Men’s Group will have their third-annual Chili for Children event. The proceeds of the sale, along with Thrivent funds, will be used to send Angel Tree children to a week long Christian summer camp. The two boys we sent last year returned with reports of all the fun they had and their desire to go again. It costs $300 to send a child to camp. Volunteers are needed to make and buy chili. Our goal is to sell 100 quarts of chili at $5.00 per quart. It’s a great way to feed your Super Bowl guests and support a worthy cause. For those who do not want to buy chili, but would like to contribute, donations in any amount are welcome. If you have any questions, contact Bob or Bonnie Handahl at 331-7137 or bbhand@fuse.net.
I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date! Unlike in Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” movie, it is never too late to utilize the spiritual gifts God has given you. From ushering, to helping in the nursery, or being on a committee, we all have skills that God wants us to use. Please share your talents with others in God’s House. If you haven’t filled out your Time and Talent Survey it is never too late. Please pick up one in the Narthex or go online to the church website at http://www.gloriadei-nky.org/ and fill one out. God gives us all talents and skills that he wants us to use in his name. How will you use yours? Do you need help in discerning, sorting out or distinguishing your Spiritual Gifts? Have you asked yourself: What energizes me? What are those deep and persistent desires and tugs in my life that just won’t go away? What new opportunities, challenges are opening up in my life and how can they used for the common good? What feels right? Come! Let us explore these questions together on Tuesday, February 27, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Mark you calendars for the 27th and watch the bulletin for more information.
Why Ashes?
On Ash Wednesday many pastors dip a finger in black ashes and make the form of a cross on the foreheads of worshipers. Many Christians keep the symbol on their head all day as a reminder of one’s sorrow for one’s sins; as a sign of humility and need for forgiveness; and as a reminder of the death of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.
In the first two sessions this month, we will conclude the DVD presentation by Rev. Mark Powell, a professor at Trinity Seminary. Rev. Powell gave the keynote speech at the Indiana-Kentucky Synod Assembly, in which he spoke in a humorous but thought-provoking way about our commitment to worship and fulfilling the great commission in our lives. During the last two Sundays of February, we will begin the seventh in a series of Faith Lessons by historian and teacher Ray Vander Laan. This DVD presentation is called “Faith Lesson: Walk as Jesus Walked.” Please join us for discussion, fellowship and your own enrichment each Sunday at 9:45 a.m. in Room F-1 of the Fellowship Hall.
The Power of Prayer
“Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his wisdom and knowledge and riches! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!” Romans 11:33 TLB Have you ever wondered why God answers prayer as He does? Do you often find yourself asking Him, “How could you let that happen? That’s not how this was supposed to turn out!” If you have said or thought either of these, you are not alone. In prayer, we dutifully bring our requests before God, but rather than allow him to follow through according to his will and wisdom, we begin to speculate and bargain with him, second guessing his actions and questioning his intentions. It might help to remember that compared to God, our view is very limited. We often think we know what is best in various circumstances, but God sees things from His long-range vantage point. He has a reason behind every event and a plan to fulfill His purposes for each of us. Every detail is finely orchestrated for the good of all, even when we think we know what the outcome should be. Only God truly knows how to prepare us for the future and eternity with Him. We must walk in faith, resting in the belief that “things aren’t always what they seem” and God always has our best interest at heart. The following “angel tale” illustrates this school of thought, as the young angel asks the older angel some of these very same questions: Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem." The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, “How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die.” "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem." -(author unknown)
Aren’t we sometimes like the young angel, questioning or even accusing God when things don't turn out the way we think they should? But God’s Word reminds us “that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans” (Romans 8:28 TLB). In faith, we just need to trust that every outcome, even those beyond human logic, is always for our good, to help us become all God intended us to be.
Discipleships and Their Responsibilities
Please consider volunteering your time and
talent! There is always a need...great or small! Ephesians 4:11-13 - The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
COMMUNICATIONS
- Contact: Lisa Huddleston – 859-282-7334
Oversees all financial records of the
congregation, secures insurance coverage, prepares an annual budget, oversees
Counters, the Foundation and Memorial Fund, and carries out the Stewardship
Campaign.
PERSONNEL
- Contact: Fred Miller – 859-384-2542
Recent Memorials Received
Several individuals have made donations to the Memorial Fund to remember or honor someone or just to make a loving donation. Gene Schmidt was remembered by Wanda Edwards, and Mary House was remember by Herb & Janet Wedig both with an undesignated donation. The following made donations to Pastor’s Helping Hand: Tom & Mary Chapin, Bill & Jan Schein, Margaret Berwanger, and Megan Bosma. Gene & Susie Brown and Margie Conner made donations to the undesignated Memorial Fund. Thank you for your continued generosity. -Geneva Reimer, Memorial Secretary
The women’s retreat is getting close now. Mark your calendars and sign up now in the narthex. There is a sheet that needs to filled out along with a little more info by the sign up sheet. The dates are Friday, March 10th at 5:10 pm and Saturday, March 11th, until about 2:00 pm. The site will be St. Anne’s in Melbourne, Ky., about 25 minutes from the church. It is a wonderful opportunity for you to come with a sister, mom, grandma, daughter or any other female relative or friend in your life. The cost is $55.00 in advance. (If money is a problem, let Pastor Vicki know.) About a week before the retreat, you will receive a reminder with a map, a list of who is going, and other details. Questions can be directed to Geneva Reimer: 356-7911, Marjorie Mueller: 331-5266, or Susan Schmidt: 635-2006. See you there.
Dress for Success Returns
Ruth Circle will be collecting interview appropriate women's clothing for Dress For Success again this Spring. Please bring your gently used clothing (dry cleaned, pressed, and on hangers) to church during the month of April. Larger sizes and accessories are greatly appreciated. We will also have a bake sale on Sunday, April 1 and April 22 after the 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services. Proceeds will go to Dress For Success with a matching gift from Thrivent.
WELCA Circle News
Ruth Circle - will be meeting on Thursday, February 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Lynn Colomb's home. Geneva Reimer will provide devotions. Call Lynn at 342-4621 for directions. Mary Circle - will meet Thursday, February 15, at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Charlotte Davis (342-8883). Her program covers subjects like "Birds of a Feather" and "This Pew Is Reserved." Please, join us! Martha Circle – will meet on February 26 beginning with dessert at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Joy Shattuck, 238 Farmington Drive in Lakeside Park. Jean McCarter will co-host and give the devotions. All ladies are invited to join us. Call Lisa Miller at 331-8655 for car pool information.
Thanks to all who attended Chris' Swearing In Ceremony on New Years Eve and especially those of you who sang for the event. It was a wonderful night of celebration and what a way to start the new year! Chris and I would also like to say how much we have appreciated the cards, flowers, food, visits and most importantly the prayers extended to us throughout his surgery and recovery. We are so fortunate to be part of such a caring and supportive church family. -Chris and Pat Mehling Volunteers for February
MISSION STATEMENT
The family of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church accepts the call of our Lord Jesus to "go therefore and make disciples" and to fulfill this call by: · Evolving the highest-quality worship experience · Establishing community outreach that is Christ-centered · Fostering spiritual growth · Maximizing human and financial resources · Transmitting our love for Christ to those in need
SUNDAY SERVICES
Sunday worship services for everyone are offered at 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday at all services. A nursery is also provided at all services.
GLORIA DEI NEWS
The Newsletter of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is published monthly. The deadline for articles is the 15th of the month. Articles may be e-mailed to the editor, Val Eason, at newsletter@gloriadei-nky.org or faxed to 578-0273.
CHURCH OFFICERS
Duane Skavdahl……………………………….……..President Steve Kieffner.…..………………………..……Vice President Todd Kuhse…......………………………………..…..Secretary Kurt & Kay Freyberger………………………...……Treasurer Paula Ebert……………………………...…Financial Secretary CHURCH STAFF
Rev. Vicki Garber…………………………….…Senior Pastor Rebecca Brode…...……Director of Youth & Group Ministries Debbie Hoydal……………………………....Church Secretary Terri Chapman…………………………………..…..Custodian
PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Peggy Fisher & Dolores Kreutzjans…..….Preschool Directors Anita Carmack……………………...………….Music Director Ron Carmack………...…………..……Chancel Choir Director Mindy Barrett………………………Children’s Choir Director Lynn & Paul Goodridge……………….…Praise Band Leaders Bob & Bonnie Handahl…..Adult Sunday School Coordinators Terri Stinebruner …Children’s Sunday School Superintendent Nancy Mlinarik……Children’s Sunday School Superintendent
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Because
I really do care for you, I hope and pray that you will grow every day in the
Lord. May the Lord slip into your inner spirit and rule over your life.
Thrivent
Builds Worldwide team is assembling a group of enthusiastic volunteers to work
with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans, April 21-28, 2007. This trip will
give you a chance to travel, give to and share with the Gulf community, learn
building skills, grow personally and spiritually, and have fun. They hope to
have the team finalized by the end of February. For more info contact
thriventbuildsgulf@gmail.com or call Erin Gladstone at 317-777-9227 or Kelsey
Peterson at 317-690-4587.
