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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