Love in Action

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

1300 Belt Line Road Collinsville Illinois 62234

618-344-3151 (Church) 618-344-3153 (School) 618-344-3378 (Fax)
Pastors M. Walther & P. Hemenway  Vol. 33  No. 8   August  2010

In his book, "Share Jesus without Fear" William Fay tells about an encounter with Muhammed Ali. Fay was stuck in an airport when he noticed the famous boxer sitting at a table with a brief case full of Moslem tracts. Fay was amazed to see Ali, suffering from Parkinson's disease, slowly signing each of the tracts. Here was a man with limited physical and mental abilities giving his all to share his faith. Yet many of us Christians are afraid to share. 

Isaiah 55.11 reminds us that God's word does not return to Him empty and accomplishes what He pleases. Paul told us that he was pleased when Christ was preached "whether in pretense or in truth." The key to sharing our faith is sharing God's word. God's word is what changes people. They may like or dislike us, but that really doesn't matter. What matters is that they hear God's word. God can use our feeble sharing of His word, but, as William Fay says, "He can't use our silence." 

Paul asks "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10.14) In the Book of Acts St. Luke reminds us how "The word of the Lord grew" through the active preaching, teaching, and personal witnessing of the apostles and the church. Preaching, teaching, witnessing... It's all very challenging. but God will help us. Peter prayed for himself and his fellow apostles that they would speak God's word with all boldness (Acts 4.29). We can ask for God's help as well, and we know that God hear that prayer and give us what we need to do His will.  Pastor Walther

August 1- Blood Pressure Screening between services in the connecting hallway

August 5- Braille Workers- Meet at 8:30 a.m. in the church parking lot

August 9- Congregational Life Meeting @ 7p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

August 21 & 22 Reception for the Day School teachers after the services in the Narthex

Our Board of Congregational Life has become aware of an organization named Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, which ships unneeded medical supplies for redistribution to people in need around the world. There is a woman who works at the Springfield, IL office, who also lives in this area, and is willing to pick up unused items at Good Shepherd on Thursday, August 19.

Following, is a list of items which can be used: hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, bed pans, bedside commode, bedside stands, chairs, cribs, exam lights, exam tables, hampers, IV poles, mattresses, medicine carts, scales, stretchers, ventilators, bandages, burn dressings, gauze, gloves, pads, diapers, sponges, syringes and tape.

Donations may be made in the church office beginning Monday, August 16, through Thursday morning, August 19.

August: Thursday, August 5^th, at 6:45 pm in Fellowship Hall.

The program will feature the senior high youth who will share their experiences at the National Youth Gathering. The inspiration they derive from being in fellowship with thousands of other Christian youth and the impact of the testimonies they hear touches their lives and ours, as supporters of this group. All members of the church are invited. Be sure to mark your calendars for this night!

In addition, there will be an ingathering of school supplies for the Unity Lutheran Grade School in East St. Louis. Following is a list of some of the items that are needed: Boxes of Kleenex, Pencil Boxes, Paper Towels, Manila Folders, Wet Wipes, Large Manila Envelopes, Pencils , 3 x 5 Note Cards, Pens (blue/black), Pencil Pouches, Spiral Notebooks, Dixie Drinking Cups, Crayons (box of 24), Hand Sanitizer, Large Crayons (box of 8), Markers, Pink Erasers, Loose Leaf Paper, White Copier Paper, Playground Balls, Glue Sticks , Scissors, Rulers (clear), & Pencil Top Erasers

September: Our September 2^nd meeting will be a "Hands-on Mission Projects night." We’ll be putting together layettes and sewing kits for Lutheran World Relief. Watch for the list of items needed in the next Newsletter and in weekend Bulletin Notices.

September 24 – 25: LWML Southern Illinois District Convention. (More details in the next Newsletter.)

Special Note of "Thanks" to all the LWML members who so generously donate the supplies needed to fulfill our mission/outreach goals. Any member of the church wishing to participate in these in-gatherings may do so by dropping items needed by the Fellowship Hall marked "Supplies for LWML Mission Projects." Your participation will be most appreciated.

Serve With A Zealous Heart! "Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name". (Psalm 86:11)

It strikes me every time when I read in Matthew about the calling of His disciples, how each and every day God calls us to be a follower of Him. Many people in this world say I am a Christian, but what does that really mean? I am a good person; does that make me a Christian? God calls us to be more than just a title, but to be a follower. A follower not of this world, but someone who listens, talks, walks, and wants to be like Christ.

As school is just around the corner we are confronted with meeting new friends, being united with old ones, learning new things, trying to stay awake during class, and deciding what crowd to be a part of. Sometimes starting school also comes with fears; fears of bad habits, being bullied, struggling with making grades, sports, expectations from people, and much more.

Yet, we have a God who simply states follow me. Follow me in your daily walk. When you fear the temptations or stuck with trying to decide what to do, He says come to me. He will walk beside you every day. Never will He leave you nor for sake you. Christ calls us in the passage to not just go through the motions but to discover who He is, and how much He wants to be part of our lives.

Become a follower of Christ!

As we look forward to this year we will unpack what it means to be a follower in a world that wants to lead us down the opposite road. We will talk about real life issues and see what the Bible has to say about it.

Attention All Junior High and Confirmation Students!!! If you are in the grades 7^th and 8^th grade this is for you. We will be meeting on August 22^nd at 12:00pm for Pizza and kick off the school year. We will be playing crazy water and messy games so come prepared for being wet and having chocolate on you. If you have any questions please contact Megan Loomis, Director of Christian Education at the church office 618-344-3151. Bring a friend and you don’t want to miss out!

On August 1^st and 15^th we will be meeting at Good Shepherd for some summer fun before you head back to school. Summer nights are a time where we build relationships and do devotion that ties in with the activity. This is a great way to invite your friends who are Christian or non-Christian. You might be wondering what we are going to do?

On August 1^st we will be meeting at 6:00pm for Mystery Night and on the 15^th we will be meeting at 6:00pm for Wet n’ Wild event (Bring clothes to get wet in), look in the bulletin and the mail for more information about these events.

If you have any questions please contact Megan Loomis, Director of Christian Education at the church office 618-344-3151.

This ministry has been meeting weekly during the summer for fellowship, food and God’s word. We will be finishing up the Truth Project on August 1^st right after late service. At that time we will discuss future activities.

If we do not have your college address at the church office, please send us an email so we can keep in contact with you as you are in college. You might even receive a care package from us too. You can e-mail your new address at Megan.Loomis@gmail.com or call the church office.

Thank you for the many prayers, people coming to help me move, and the words of encouragement as I have arrived at Good Shepherd. I look forward to meeting everyone and being followers of Christ together. It is with great honor and pleasure I will be serving alongside each of you. Please stop by the office or at church to say hi. Please continue to pray for the youth ministry at Good Shepherd and the work that God is doing here. It is not by our own strength that things get done or ministry happens but it is with God’s strength that He uses us to do His work.  Megan Loomis, Director of Christian Education

Council Notes
June 21, 2010

Board of Elders – Chairman Paul Lauber; Pastors

* Scholarship Committee will be meeting this month. We have 17 applications so far. * Sunday, June 27^th we are hosting a district meeting for all delegates to the Synodical Convention in July. Everyone is invited to attend to find out more about the convention issues and to offer their opinions. * The board continues to discuss the master plan for staffing. Positions that we want to consider would be full-time music director, part-time parish nurse, counseling ministry, additional part-time youth ministry.

Board of Christian Outreach – Chairman Bruce Cross

* Free hotdogs and snowcones June 19^th for VBS registration. Two unchurched families came. * 199 registered for VBS on the first day.

Metro East Lutheran High School – MELHS Reps Tony Fuhrmann and Mike Schneider

* MELHS is working on an exemption from unemployment insurance. * New landscaping is underway in preparation for the building. * Funding campaign for the new building continues by working with area churches, alumni, and online giving opportunities.

Board of Christian Dayschool – Chairman Eric Robinson & Principal Bob Mayhew

* Staffing changes include the additions of Fayla Dufford, Director of the Early Childhood Center; Jason Batty, Physical Education Teacher/Athletic Director; Sarah Wildauer, Grade 8; and Tana Dehning, Grade 6. * The principal, pastors and two board members attended a Funding Academy to learn how we might be able to find the financial resources to maintain the school ministry.

Board of Congregational Life – Chairman Kathy Bohnet; Parish Nurse Lynn Cook; Pastor Hemenway

* Lynn attended a conference in Milwaukee and brought back ideas for disaster preparation. * Sunday School Recognition is this coming Sunday. * Working on omissions from the picture directory. * Working on collecting distributing medical equipment (walkers, etc.) * We will have a voter registration drive this fall.

Board of Stewardship – Chairman Doug Ruckman

* Motion passed to send half of Together in Mission money ($5K) to Jamie Endorf’s ministry in Peru and the other half to the District mission partnership with the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. * We have a 4.56% yield from our Endowment Fund. *

Parish Administrator & Board of Church Property – Chairman Bob Jones; Parish Administrator Marty Hoffman

* Lower level parking lot light is installed. * Summer cleaning is progressing with a number of classrooms being repainted. * Parking lots are scheduled to be resealed and restriped. * Parish Admin has been meeting with the departing and arriving staff to help them with all their insurance needs. * The board is proposing a project ($16.5K) to put pavers into some of the parking lot islands and areas around the back playgrounds that tend to muddy. This will come to the Voter’s Assembly for approval since it is over the $10K limit.

Youth Ministry – Youth Director Jaime Brinkmann

* Garage Sale was a success. * College Bible study is using "The Truth Project" and is meeting on Sundays after the 10:30 service. * The youth are ready to attend the National Youth Gathering. * This is Jaime’s last meeting with Megan Loomis taking over in July. We thanked Jaime for her service and pray for her future family.

Board of Finance – Chairman Tim Evers

* For the first 11 months we are about 2.3% below projected income. However expenses were lower. We also received a Thrivent match for $25K. * Our loan is just under $1.5 million. At the current pace it should be paid off in six years. * We have also met all financial obligations to MELHS and District/Synod. * We are projecting an overall 5.5% increase in spending for the next fiscal year. Our largest increase is in scholarships (10%). We are also increasing our donations to District/Synod by 7%. * School budget will have a shortfall of $154K. Tuition will increase by 3.5%. Next year we will have to make some decisions regarding staff if we don’t see an increase in enrollment.

Church Council – President Jeff Baker; Secretary Mary Jane Wade; Personnel Cindy Pulvirenti

Discussed the ongoing formation of the Nominating Committee. We will be forming to nominate candidates for board elections that will be held in November. * Jeff continues to work on a proposal to create "vice-chairman" positions for our boards with the understanding the the vice-chairmen will serve for two years and then serve as chairmen if elected.

Baptisms (Children): Gwynn Adele Freeman, Lydia Grace Manthei

Baptisms (Adult): Carlynn Alexandra Musil, Faith Michel Paskero Tarr,

Confirmations (Adult): Virginia ellen greenplate, Carla Faye Koberna, Angela McCandless, Jacob McCandless, Carlynn Alexandra Musil, Alesha Skelton, Kevin Daniel Stajkowski, Fathe Michel Paskero Tarr, Helen Michele Whitworth

Received Through Transfer: Ryan & Jocelyn Freeman from Zion, St. Charles, MO; Jon & Sandy Stein from Trinity, St. Louis, MO

Profession of Faith: Burke & Karen Latch from Our Lord’s, Maryville, IL

Marriages: Alan Michael Meredith & Brittany Nicole Snyder; Scott Philip Green & Stephanie Senorina Farias

Souls: 1,646                          Comm.: 1,363

On August 17 we will meet at 11:30 a. m. on the church parking lot and go to Pere Marquette State Park. Please call Mary Preuss (288-9525) by August 14 so we can make a reservation for you. Everyone is welcome to join in the fellowship as we support each other in our faith.

Little Lambs Preschool in Maryville, IL is looking for an Assistant Day care worker. We are looking for someone who is at least 18 years old & is willing to work from 1 to 4:45 p.m. each day. Please call 344-8989 & ask for Diane if you are interested in applying for this position.

No matter what the circumstances, grief recovery is a painful process. On Thursday, September 9, from 6pm to 7:30pm we will begin GriefShare, a special weekly seminar and support group for people who are grieving the death of someone close to them.

This group is sponsored by people who understand what you are experiencing and want to offer you comfort and encouragement during this difficult time. 

Each GriefShare session includes a video seminar and group discussion. A workbook assists you with note taking, journaling and grief study. The videos feature top experts on grief recovery, re enactments about living with grief and real-life stories of people who have experienced losses like yours. During the small group discussion time, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with others who experienced a recent loss, learn about their experiences and share your own.

GriefShare is a nondenominational group and features biblical teaching on grief and recovery topics.

Please join us for the first session held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, in the fellowship room. It should last about 1 ½ hours. There is a $10.00 fee for the workbook. Scholarships are available upon request. Please request more information or register by e-mailing lcookparishnurse@charter.net or phone the church secretary 344-3151.