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The Star February 2017 Bethlehem Lutheran Church A community gathered so God’s message is
scattered.
Wahoo, Nebraska
Ph#402-443-3160
Pastor Bob [email protected] -
ph # 402-672-1345
Church office hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Church web site: bethlehemlutheranwahoo.org
Church email: [email protected]
As I have loved you, LOVE one another. John 13:34
“Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one
another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”—Ephesians 4:31-5:2
Dear Friends and Members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Wahoo… As we finish up a very busy January at Bethlehem as so many of you have been working hard to balance giving statements and expense reports; consider and evaluate endowment numbers and investments; write activity reports for our various ministries of the past twelve months; consider new budget and ministry requests; chart, document and audit reports, numbers and everything else that goes with ministry, the month of February greets us with a hopeful sigh of relief that our duties and the pace may slow a bit…but will likely not and perhaps that is a good thing. February is often thought of as the month of love with Valentines Day right in the middle of this 28- day month. Jewelers, florists, candy makers, card makers and other creative advertisers and merchants have already flooded our eyes and ears with their wares, encouraging us to express our love for one another through their product. Love is in the air! I looked in my Bible Concordance and tried to count the number of various references to ‘love’ in the Bible. I stopped counting after over 400 such references. Love must be rather important! A sampling of some of those ‘love’ references included love of vocation; love of spouse; love of children; love of nation; love of work; love of learning and most importantly, love of the Lord. Yes, our love of the Lord, but what about the love our Lord has for us? Our Lord’s love for us has been described as an ‘agape’ love. A love we note in our liturgy, “surpasses all human understanding.” This ‘agape’ love is a love that always gives; is of a total commitment; undeterred even when we turn from God. ‘Agape’ love is sacrificial, complete and selfless; does not change; always holds hope and promise for us when we stray. The Ephesians text I quoted at the beginning of this message speaks of putting away the bitterness and wrath, anger, wrangling and slander. After this long and seemingly never-ending political season, I think everyone has had enough of this nastiness. I can’t help but believe that the only way this will cease is for all Christians no matter their political feelings, drop to our knees in repentance and ask our ‘agape’ Lord to intercede. Our Lord loves us far, far beyond our meager understanding. Can it be that so many of our national and worldly problems are because we have turned from God in pur-suit of our own goals and desires? Can it be that so many ‘other’ activities occupy our time that we don’t take the proper amount of time for God? Both adults and children? Where is everybody is often asked? Are we returning any of this ‘agape’ love back to Christ? February is considered the month of love. Maybe the best way to show our love is to love our Lord.
Blessings Pastor Bob
Friendship Sunday
Sunday, February 12th is our annual “Invite A Friend Sunday” at Bethlehem. You
are encouraged to invite a relative, friend, neighbor, even a stranger to accompany you to church on that Sunday. Special services, treats and all kinds of other ‘goodies’ will be provided to share as we grow friendships; renew older ones; and make new ones. At a recent conference I attended, 40%+ of Nebraskans are considered to be unchurched. That is they have not attended a church service in the last year or are on any membership roles. Frightening statistic for sure. As Christians, we are all disciples and take vows at our children’s baptisms and as we join in membership to first be active in our churches and secondly to encourage others to the Good News Of Jesus Christ. A sign won’t do it; an invitation in the mail likely won’t do it; but a personal, face-to-face invitation or a phone call will demonstrate your sincere love of Christ, a love you would like to share with that other person or family. So, be a bit bold and invite…it just may change you…it will likely change others.
Annual Meeting
Once again, Bethlehem’s Annual Meeting is Sunday, February 5th. Dinner at noon
and the meeting to follow at approximately 12:30. (There will be plenty of time to watch the Super Bowl). It is important, it is vital that all members make the attempt to learn, to listen, to ask questions, to suggest, to participate in the life of the church. The vast, vast majority of the problems we encounter in being the church is a lack of information and communication. Our annual meeting is forum to seek and ask. Your church council, pastor and staff all desire to ‘do church better’; to worship our Lord; care for those in need; teach our young; teach our not-so-young. Your ideas and thoughts are important…please share them. Also, please offer gratitude to those who devote time, talent, heart and soul in the various ministries of Bethlehem. Offering gratitude to each other clears up a lot of those mis-understandings. Offering gratitude to God is good for the soul!
Middle School Ministry
On January 18th, your 30 plus Middle School Students and parent sponsors served
dinner at Matt Talbot Kitchen in Lincoln. Over 150 hungry people were served and as always your young people stood tall! They were tremendous witnesses of God’s love for all people. Cannot be prouder of them!
First Communion
Gabe Harris, Carter Ricks, Jaxsen Wilt, Taylar Shull and Audrey Waido all completed our first communion class and received their first communion on January 29
th.
Congratulations to these young people and their parents and sponsors. Welcome to the Lord’s Table!
Adult Forum
Bethlehem Blessings
We welcomed 4 new families into our Bethlehem Family in January! Jarred, Brenda, Irvin, Maeva and Vera Royal; Tylor, Lindsey, Taylar and Owen Shull; Craig, Lindsey and Wesley Langemeier; Adam, Rachel and Briggs Barry. We also celebrated the baptisms of Vera Royal, Briggs Barry and Wesley Langemeier. Thank you to all those who sponsored and drove the Middle School Ministry Kids to Matt Talbot… Mike and Angie Luben, Dean Biggerstaff, Tami Coffey, Chrissy Waido, Julie Borchers, Amber Lihs, Michelle Koranda and Tom Zeleny. Thank you also to the sponsors who took Middle School Kids to Grand Island for the Middle School Gathering and then spent the night at church with them! Michelle Koranda, Dean and Angela Biggerstaff and Tom Zeleny.
It is in blessing others that we are blessed with a precious blessing of our own~
Please join us as we begin a new Bible Study on the book of Hebews in the New Testament. From the introduction in this study we read: A former Olympic distance runner and veteran missionary wrote the following to a friend who was caught in the throes of a horrendous personal crisis: The sentence “Whatever… the blow, we must keep on” captures the theme of the letter to the Hebrews, which I have entitled Race to Glory. The author of Hebrews states it very clearly: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (12:1)
In this race…. I suddenly hit a branch of a tree (and)… the blow almost knocked me out…. It knocked me out of my race, stopped me cold… Somehow I staggered back on the track and stumbled along…. I remember one clear conclusion. I must keep going, even if I come in long behind. I must not quit. So I kept going. I won the race… Whatever the difficulty, the blow, we must keep on. God will lead to the result that will glorify him.
Middle School Ministry!
6th—8th Graders!
Middle School meets every Wednesday at 6 PM
for a meal and fellowship followed by a lesson.
February Acolyte Schedule:
February 5th 9:00 AM - Brody Jacobsen and Deena Stang
11:00 AM - Tabitha Cooney and Harper Hancock
February 12th 9:00 AM - Courtney and Kailey Strait
11:00 AM - Tabitha Cooney and Marke Zeleny
February 19th 9:00 AM - Payton Ricks and Rylee Koehler
11:00 AM - Kyan Lausterer and Andrew Waido
February 26th 9:00 AM - Deena Stang and Ethan Havlovic
11:00 AM - Marke Zeleny and Harper Hancock
MSM Meals Provided by: February 1st - Jacobsen Family and Mortensen Family
February 8th - Waido Family and Luben Family
February 15th - Stang Family and Koehler Family
February 22nd - Flores Family and Candy Zeleny Family
February Birthdays Ashlen Groff 2/1 Tobin Harris 2/1 Taylar Shull 2/1 Audrey Waido 2/1 Arthur Gerdts 2/2 Deyo Anderson 2/3 Lukus Forbes 2/3 Michelle Libal 2/3 Colton Nutzman 2/3 Russell Williams 2/3 Dillon Duckworth 2/4 Anna Gottschalk 2/4 Jacee Price 2/4 Macy Homes 2/6 Jerry Volin 2/7 Susan Williams 2/7 Braden Harris 2/9 Lucas Simons 2/9 Gadreal Zeleny 2/9 Lucy Defoil 2/10 Valerie Kellner 2/11 Kevin Stukenholtz 2/11 Joseph Carr 2/12 Jeffrey Kaiser 2/12 Alicia Holtorf 2/13 Emma Harris 2/14
Laura Harris 2/14 Morgan Novak 2/14 Kevin Klahn 2/16 Kyan Lausterer 2/16 Melissa Novak 2/16 Samuel Flores 2/18 Ardis Grieser 2/18 Jared Pehrson 2/18 Steven Olson 2/20 Michelle Henderson 2/21 Shandah Mensik 2/21 Tatum Watts 2/21 Rob Miller 2/22 Brian Schmidt 2/22 Gentry Holtorf 2/23 Stacy Ideus 2/23 Jack Beatty 2/24 Darian Coffey 2/25 Cynthia Gerdts 2/25 Elaine Hennings 2/25 Carleigh Olson 2/25 Marshall Strom 2/25 Ethan Urban 2/25 Trevor Urban 2/25 Seth Syverson 2/26 Ty Syverson 2/26 Amy Groff 2/27 Cortney Spangler 2/27 David Wiese 2/28
Anniversaries: Jay and Michelle Wilt 2/17
First Step Preschool News
Happy New Year! We are so excited to be back at preschool after our Christmas break! Since we have been back we learned about ice and how it begins with the letter “Ii”. The preschoolers got to use ice cubes to paint with and we watched how an ice cube turned into water. During “Jj” week, jungle, the kids used socks to make snakes out of, they crumbled newspaper into balls to stuff their socks & then us teaches helped them put their eyes & tongue on. After they were all done they colored their snake with markers and named their snakes. Kangaroos is what we learned about during “Kk”. We learned about how they carry their babies called Joeys in their pouch. We also used a globe to find the country Australia since that’s where kangaroos are found, besides the zoo. Ladybugs was what we talked about during “Ll” week. We turned rocks into ladybugs by painting them red and adding black spots, eyes and antennas. We can’t wait until Groundhogs Day to find out if the groundhog will see his shadow or not! We look forward to many new and fun learning experiences! Debbie, Julie and Alicia First Step Preschool, BLC
Sunday Monday Tuesday
5 Annual Meeting 9:00 AM Worship 10:00 AM Sunday School / Adult Forum / Fun and Fellowship 11:00 AM Worship 12:00 PM Dinner by BLY 12:30 Annual Meeting
6 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 6:30 PM Boy Scouts
7 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 10:00 AM Mom’s Club
12 Friendship Sunday 9:00 AM Worship 10:00 AM Sunday School / Adult Forum / Fun and Fellowship 11:00 AM Worship
6:00 PM Men of Action
13 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 6:30 PM Boy Scouts
14 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 9:00 AM Quilting Old OB 10:00 AM Mom’s Club
19 9:00 AM Worship 10:00 AM Sunday School / Adult Forum / Fun and Fellowship 11:00 AM Worship 12:00 PM Church Council Meeting
20 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 9:00 AM WIC 6:30 PM Boy Scouts
21 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 10:00 AM Mom’s Club
26 9:00 AM Worship 10:00 AM Sunday School / Adult Forum / Fun and Fellowship 11:00 AM Worship
27 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 6:30 PM Boy Scouts
28 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 9:00 Quilting Old OB 10:00 AM Mom’s Club
February 2017
Sunday, February 5th Dinner at 12:00 PM Meeting at 12:30 PM
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 5:00-8:00 PM Women of Faith 6:00 PM MSM
2 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 9:00 AM Bible Study 8:00 PM AA Meeting
3 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool
4
8 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 1:30 PM Cluster 5:00-8:00 PM Women of Faith 6:00 PM MSM
9 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 9:00 AM Bible Study 8:00 PM AA Meeting
10 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 1:00 PM Krazy Quilters
11
15 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool 12:00 PM ACT Mtg 6:00 PM MSM 5:00-8:00 PM Women of Faith
16 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 9:00 AM Bible Study 1:30 PM MGM 2:00 PM Bethlehem Women 8:00 PM AA Meeting
17 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool
18
22 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 12:00 PM ACT Meeting 5:00-8:00 PM Women of Faith 6:00 PM MSM
23 9:00 - 11:00 3/4 Preschool 9:00 AM Bible Study 8:00 PM AA Meeting
24 8:30 - 11:00 4/5 Preschool 12:30 - 3:00 4/5 Preschool
25
February 2017
Men of Action— please join us for dinner, devotions
and fellowship on February 12th at 6 PM. All are welcome!
Luther’s Lessons Evangelical Evangelical means centered in the good news, the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) chose to use this word in its name
because it expresses the heart of Lutheran theology. (The term evangelicals is often used
today to refer to conservative Christians, fundamentalist, and the “religious right.”)
Justification by grace through faith is a defining phrase for Lutherans.
+ Lutheran theology is centered in grace, God’s unconditional love for us.
+ Justification refers to the way we are made right with God despite our sin and
self-centeredness.
+ The Church at the time of Martin Luther was corrupt in many ways and the medieval
view at that time was that you earned salvation and your way to heaven through good
works. Martin Luther taught that we are justified by grace, not works.
+ Grace means that everything begins with God’s initiative.
+ Our relationship with God is not determined by our good works, our behavior or our
being holy and spiritual. Rather God loves and accepts us unconditionally. In baptism we
receive the gift of God’s never-ending love.
+ Our faith, our service and our good works are a response to God’s gracious initiative,
not the way to earn it. Our whole lives are a response to what we receive in baptism.
Lutherans and the Bible
+ Lutherans read the Bible through the lens of the gospel, the good news. The gospel is
the message of forgiveness, freedom, new life, unconditional love and acceptance that we
receive through Christ.
+ Lutherans do not give equal weight to all of the Bible; Martin Luther taught that the
proclamation of the gospel had ultimate authority.
+ Lutherans define the Word of God first as Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. The
Word is also the proclamation of the gospel (in preaching, sacraments and through word
and deed).
+ The Bible is the Word of God in that it bears witness to the gospel of Christ.
Source: http://www.holytrinitychicago.org/about/lutheran
Bethlehem Women: Bethlehem Women met for their first meeting of 2017 on
January 19th. Seven ladies were in attendance.
Arlene Johnson opened the meeting with a poem
“A.S.A.P.” and we learned a new meaning for a s a p –
Always Say A Prayer instead of “as soon as possible.”
During the business meeting our regular reports were
given and Mary McKay gave us each a new sheet to keep
track of items we’ve acquired for our school and health kits.
We decided to strive for 50 kits each for those projects.
Helen Hansen reported sending several cards at Christmas
time plus some get well cards.
Arlene Johnson and Mary McKay will be attending the Winter Retreat in Grand Island
this coming Saturday. The theme is “Jesus at the home of Mary and Martha.”
We have received many thank you notes for our year end donations to various
serving arms. We also received a nice donation for our group from Elaine Hennings.
Thank You Elaine.
Our new yearbooks were handed out and we want to extend a big thank you to Amy
Groff for printing them for us. THANK YOU Amy!
Planning is progressing on the Spring Gathering we will host here on April 1st.
We received our offerings and then Marilyn Volin led us in our new Bible Study on
Galatians “Christian Faith and Christian Freedom.” The theme verse for lesson one, “No
Other Gospel,” was Galatians 2:16, a verse central to Martin Luther’s theology.
Following our lesson Arlene Johnson served Ostakaka and ginger cookies.
In February Darlene Hanson has the lesson and Alvina Mumm is hostess.
FOR YOUR CALENDAR: Tuesday, February 14
th 9:00 a.m. Quilting (Old basement)
Thursday, February 16th 2:00 pm Bethlehem Women (Fellowship Hall)
Tuesday, February 28th 9:00 am 2
nd Quilting Day (Old basement)
Saturday, April 1st – Spring Gathering hosted by Bethlehem
JANUARY 10TH, 2017 Church Council Meeting Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Wahoo
Members Present: Chad Fox, Mike Christen, Keith Obert, Missy Abbott, Michelle Koranda, Jovan Lausterer, Kim Schnakenberg, Tiana Strait, and Pastor Bob Hayden. Members Absent: None Guests Present: Cheryl Dunbar CALL TO ORDER- The meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM OLD BUSINESS DECEMBER MINUTES- December of 2016 council meeting minutes were presented by the President for council consideration. Motion to approve by Lausterer and seconded by Abbott. Motion unanimously approved. DECEMBER FINANCIAL REPORT- December of 2016 financial reports were presented and a Motion to approve was made by Lausterer and seconded by Christen and was approved unanimously. PASTOR’S PROGRESS REPORT- Pastor Hayden presented his December progress report to the council. Motion to approve by Ideus and seconded by Obert Motion unanimously approved: COMMITTEE LIAISON REPORTS WORSHIP AND PRAISE COMMITTEE REPORT- Working on fixing sound system and getting more trained to run it. Would also like to find another piano player for Second Service.
No other old business was presented to the council for consideration. NEW BUSINESS PHOTO DIRECTORY- still in the works. Mutual Ministry Committee will be getting started soon. FARM LEASE Motion made by Obert to approve the Farm lease Ideus seconded. Motion approved.
2017 BUDGET-
The church council commenced its 2017 budget analysis by reviewing the 2016 year-end
figures with Cheryl Dunbar. Cheryl did an excellent job of not only putting the budget
numbers together but also identifying areas where adjustments would be
necessary. Council Members Fox and Lausterer then gave the council a brief
description of how staff reviews went the prior Friday. Having considered that
information, the council then discussed the need for increasing all payments/salaries
made to staff by approximately 2% to account for a cost of living adjustment as no such
adjustment was done the prior fiscal year. Special consideration was given to the
positions of pastor and administrative assistant as both staff members took pay cuts
when arriving at the church based. The council felt that both individuals are doing
excellent work and that a larger adjustment to their salaries (approximately 5%) should be
made to address the difference from their past employment positions. The final
discussion point centered around large long term property repair costs the church would
be incurring in the coming year and how best to address those needs from a budgeting
standpoint. After having considered all of the above, the council agreed that once a few
pieces of additional information are received in the next week or so that the revised
budget will be sent by Cheryl to member Fox who can disseminate the same
electronically to the full council for approval at a special meeting of the council.
ANNUAL MEETING—February 5th at 12:30 PM ADJOURNMENT- The meeting was adjourned by the President at 8:57 p.m. followed by a Prayer from Pastor Hayden. Submitted by Michelle Koranda Church Council Secretary
Fair Trade: A Global Force for Good
When is a cup of coffee more than a cup of coffee? When it
helps lift up farmers and artisans around the world.
Excerpted from an article in Thrivent Magazine.
Congregations across the country have embraced fair
trade — and its ideals.
Lord of Life Lutheran Church in The Woodlands, Texas and
many other churches buy their coffee from Equal Exchange, a fair trade,
for-profit, worker-owned cooperative that works with small-scale farmers.
LWR Fair Trade, as the partnership is called, began when a staff member at
utheran World Relief brought in an article about fair trade coffee, says Chandler
Carriker, Lutheran World Relief’s senior manager for constituent engagement.
“That person raised a crazy question: What if we helped Lutherans rally around this as a further way to help those
living on the margins of society around the world?” he says. They tested the
project for a year, asking Lutherans to buy Equal Exchange coffee for
themselves and their churches. It quickly caught on.
For Jim Gramlich, a member of Westlake United Methodist Church in Westlake,
Ohio, a trip to El Salvador brought the impact of fair trade into focus.
“Equal Exchange pays a fair, stable price and maintains a long-term partnership
with communities to help them earn an honest living and produce good coffee.”
Gramlich, who earned the nickname Mr. Coffee by selling fair trade coffee after
Sunday services for more than a decade, knows it’s about more than just a cup
of joe — the coffee he sells provides funds for the church’s missions and supports
farmers across the globe.
“We’re helping people sustain a better life through what we buy,” he says.
When people buy fair trade coffee, they are helping farmers improve their skills.
For every pound of fair trade food products sold through LWR Fair Trade, Equal
Exchange donates 20 cents to LWR Small Farmer Fund. “As Christians, we’re
called to help one another, especially those who face extreme poverty or don’t
have enough income to support their families,” says Brandi Monroe-Payton,
engagement manager for Lutheran World Relief.
Coffee and cocoa farmers face difficult working conditions. Without fair trade,
they are at the mercy of global prices that can soar one year and crash the
next. Fair trade also means that people work in safe conditions, no child labor is
used and producers show respect for the environment.
In Central America, the coffee harvest usually ends in late February or March. By
May, most small-scale farmers have used up their earnings. That means their
families may have to eat less than usual, or they may borrow from friends, starting
a cycle of debt.
Fair trade sets a minimum price for coffee farmers and helps them sustain their
families year-round. If the market price is above the current fair trade price, the
farmer receives the market price. “If the world coffee price tumbled and went
below the fair trade minimum floor price, it buoys you up at a reasonable level,”
he says.
In addition, the coffee cooperatives vote on how to use the extra money, or
“social premium,” they receive through fair trade sales to help their communities.
With that social premium, which is included in the purchase price, they may
choose to build a classroom, a medical clinic or a road to get their coffee beans
to market.
For those involved in fair trade, there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing fair
trade items on the shelf in their local grocery store. “That’s a real success because
at the end of the day it makes a difference in the lives of more and more farmers,
and that’s our desire,” Carriker says.
Fair Trade Coffee available at the Mission Marketplace!
SHOP the
MISSION
Marketplace NEW ITEMS . . .
Sunday, February 5th.
Check out our new
stress busting
Bath Bombs!
Bethlehem Lutheran Church 504 West 8th St.
Wahoo, Nebraska 68066 402-443-3160
Newsletter mailed 1/27/2017
Nonprofit Org. Permit No. 23
U.S. Postage PAID Wahoo, NE 68066
Return Service Requested
Let Us Know Your Email Address! If you would prefer “THE STAR” via email let us know. Also, having an email address can help us update people faster and without postage costs. Simply email the church office at: [email protected] and give us your email.
Our Members at the Care Centers:
South Haven: Eunice Brodahl and Robert Peterson Care Center: Jenny Iversen
Saunders House: Tom Lindau & Stanley Dokulil
Please let us know: If you are going to the hospital or having a procedure done please give the office a call to let us know. HIPA rules prevent hospitals from calling us.
