Wow, it is hard to believe the school year is quickly coming to a close. It was such a blessing for us all to be in person, without masks! Here’s a recap of the past few months! In the spring, we took time to focus on praying and taught the preschoolers how to grow their relationship with God. We made prayer cubes to demonstrate different ways to talk to God. The students also learned about the many miracles Jesus performed including healing a blind man, healing the sick, calming the storm, and walking on water. During the Easter season, the kids were very excited to pass around resurrection eggs at circle time, discover what was in each egg, and learn each object’s meaning! To further their learning about Jesus’ death and resurrection, they heard Bible stories and made art projects including Jesus coming out of the tomb which read, “No gloom in the tomb!!”.

 

In addition to our bible studies, the preschoolers heard about life on the farm and were blessed to have real live ponies and chicks visit the preschool! To embrace the students’ parents (wonderful group this year!), we hosted a “Dad’s n Donuts” day as well as our annual “Mother’s Day Tea”. The children were so excited to have parents and grandparents in the church and classrooms! Diana, Rebecca, and I have experienced a wonderful year together! We feel blessed to be working with one another, instilling in these precious children just how much Jesus loves them!

 

Please make sureto be at church on June 11^th for our preschool slideshow!                                                             

 

  

                                                                                                    

Amazing things are happening with our ministry!  The chaplain has stopped in twice since our newsletter.  I thought I would continue to share updates with all of you because if not for this congregation, this ministry would not have happened.  As you know, there is a great need for so many that have so little and here is a story that the Chaplain shared with us.

Just know that you all have made a difference to people in need and God willing we will continue to serve him by serving his people in need.  Serving the Lord—one backpack at a time!     My humble thanks to all of you.   Ellen Kulle

 

Once again, we were blessed to be THE HANDS AND FEET OF GOD with a little help from a High School Senior.

Chaplain Parrish was contacted by a Westview Christian High School senior.  She was to do a Senior Project and she choose to put kits together for the homeless and provide them to Chaplain Parrish.  He in turn is grateful for our partnership with him and brought a lot of them to us to add into our backpacks.  We all know that God works in ways we can only imagine and his works usually come out when you least expect them.  So once again what we started here at St. Paul has been blessed by an outside force that can only be God’s hand working for his poor thru others that enhance our ministry.  These kits match what we put in our backpacks and I can only think that God put that list of items in that senior’s heart to help us continue what we started.  We welcomed them with joy as it helps us serve God’s people who are in great need.

 

If you would like one of these kits for your car, please call the office and we will make sure that you get one to give out.

 

As the need will increase with the warmer months, we need more backpacks to be able to continue this ministry.  They don’t need to be fancy, just sturdy enough to hold all the items we put in them.  God bless those who give to the poor.

S.P.A.R.K.

 (St. Paul Church’s Announcements to Read and Know)

     February 2023

 

PROMISED TREASURES: A series of midweek services for Lent

This Lenten season, we have a fresh opportunity to embrace God’s amazing love for us, His baptized children, in new ways. St. Paul clearly says that “faith comes from hearing” (Romans 10:17), but the Gospel is also communicated through the physical senses of sight, smell, touch, and taste. Jesus mentions that a good teacher not only brings out new treasures but reminds people of old and rich treasures as well (see Matthew 13:52). So, each Wednesday in Lent, we will take a weekly journey to see, smell, touch, and taste a number of biblical elements. Our Lenten series is called Promised Treasures. Just as Israel wandered through the wilderness under Moses for forty years, awaiting the Promised Land, we await heaven in the wilderness of this life. Life as exiles in the wilderness of this world is not easy and pain-free. In this vale of tears, we await our real home, the new promised land of heaven. Until we enter our eternal promised land, however, the Lord calls us to be His light in this dark world (see Colossians 3; Ephesians 4). This series will begin with ashes, then proceed to salt, water, light, bread, and finally, palms. Then, during Holy Week, the focus shifts toward water and blood, wood, fragrant oil, and finally, on Easter, milk and honey. All these beautiful Old and New Testament elements will remind you of God’s eternal love in Christ, fill you with renewed hope, and increase your joy, knowing that because we are His baptized children, God is near to us now more than ever.

Ash Wednesday – February 22 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)

Sermon: Sitting in Dust and Ashes

Children’s Message: Ashes and Hope!

 

Midweek of Lent 1 – March 1 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)  

Sermon: Salt: The Gift That Sweetens and Preserves

Children’s Message: Salt to Sweeten and Preserve

 

Midweek of Lent 2 – March 8 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)  

Sermon: Water Gives You Life

Children’s Message: Water for Life

 

Midweek of Lent 3 – March 15 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)

Sermon: Light Shining in the Darkness

Children’s Message: Light Shining in the Darkness

 

Midweek of Lent 4 – March 22 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)  

Sermon: Bread of Life

Children’s Message: Bread of Life

 

Midweek of Lent 5 – March 29 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)  

Sermon: Palms and Victory

Children’s Message: Palms and Life!

 

Maundy (Holy) Thursday – April 6 (1:30 PM Senior Center; 6:30 PM Sanctuary)

 

Sermon: Water and Blood

 

Good Friday – April 7 (1:30 PM Senior Center Hot Cross Bun Service; 7 PM Sanctuary Service of Darkness)

 

Sermon: The Old Rugged, Wooden Cross

 

Easter Sunrise – April 9 (7 AM in the Grove, weather permitting)

 

Sermon: The Oil of Joy and Gladness

 

Easter Morning – April 9 (8:30 AM & 10:45 AM in the Sanctuary)

 

Sermon: Welcome to the Promised Land of Milk and Honey

Children’s Message: Milk and Honey Bible Study: Milk and Honey

 

Notes:

Soup suppers will start at 5:15 PM in the lower level of the church for the midweek services 1 through 5.

 

Communion will be served at the Maundy Thursday services.

 

Easter falls on a non-communion Sunday at St. Paul. Invite your friends to church!

 

Pastor Don

I want to open with clarification of a statement I made in my last article. I stated that, per my resource, we must follow the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Treasurer’s Manual. While reading the Voters Meeting minutes of September 19, 2021, I read, “Pastor Richard commented that the District and Synod are advisory bodies only. The church is free to spend and manage its money as it sees fit without their input or approval.” So, I stand corrected.

The documents I researched included the St. Paul Lutheran Church Council Meeting Minutes – August 19, 2021, the St. Paul Financial Secretary Edward Jones Investment Account Report to the Voters August 19, 2021, and VOTERS MEETING September 19th, 2021 minutes.

In early 2020, the church’s General Fund received $57,107.86 from the Elsie Borcher’s Estate. These funds were already invested in an Edward Jones account. The monies received from the estate were transferred into a new account set up for St Paul, titled Edward Jones Church-1 Guided Solutions Flex Fund (aka CH-1).

During the voters meeting on 6/28/2020, Chuck Gollnick made a motion to move up to $100K from the checking account to the Edward Jones investment account so that it could receive better earnings. On March 17, 2021, $65,000 was transferred from US Bank Checking General Fund to the CH-1 account at Edward Jones.

At this same meeting, there was a subsequent motion by Council to move $140K from the LCEF stewardship account which had been earning only around 0.25%. These funds were transferred to our US Bank account. On June 10, 2021, these funds were transferred to a new Building Fund account at Edward Jones (CH-2). While the $140K Building Fund is restricted, the proceeds/profits earned are unrestricted income.

At the September 19, 2021, meeting, Tim Grace acknowledged that there is risk with investing. He also discussed during times of inflation, money that is not earning is losing money. Our two accounts invested with Edward Jones were doing nicely, with positive net earnings during fiscal year 2020-2021.

Unfortunately, the stock market took a turn for the worse during fiscal year 2021-2022. Next month, I will share the current status of CH-1 and CH-2 accounts.

 

This Children, Youth and Family Update from Jennifer Gatke originally went out as an email to church families from Pastor Don! 🙂

Yeah, for not recreating the wheel!