Mess iah Mes s enger

Messiah Lutheran Church

February, 2016

Pastor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rev. Susanne Smith Youth Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Benz Organist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hal Morton Choir Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gloria DeVilbiss Administrator/Bookkeeper . . . . . . . . . .Dennis Wohlers Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Toni Landon Facilities . . . . . . . . . . Jerry & Kay Claussen, & Jim Gerst Nursery Attendant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Gerst Preschool Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Margie Gerst, Director Aubrey Gerst, Deb Jensen 4th Year Seminarian/LSTC. . . . . . . . . . . . .Dione Miller 2015 Council Members: Joel Hanger-president, Mark Smith-vice-president, Steve Sanders-treasurer, Joanne Mohr-secretary, Deb Brinkley, Joy Shah, Christa Ruther, Carm McBeth, Dan Wiedemeier, Judy Stewart, Marcia Taeger, Rich Miller, Doris Speer, Roger Hatteberg, John Larson

Inside this issue:

February Happenings and

Congregation Council motions . . . . . . . . .2

Youth Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-4

Preschool News & Lutheran

Summer Music information . . . . . . . . . . .5

From the Pastor’s Desk & ELCA

Global Church Sponsorship letter . . . . . . 6

Messiah’s February Faith Story . . . . . . . 7

Scheduled to Serve,

Birthdays & Anniversaries . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Staff and Council Members at Messiah

ASH WEDNESDAY (February 10) and EACH WEDNESDAY IN LENT

We will eat together at 6:00 p.m. and then worship together at 7:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday wor-ship includes imposition of ashes and Holy Communion. Lenten Wednesdays we are singing Holden Evening Prayer. Please join us. Ash Wednesday (February 10) supper provided by: Missions Committee and Sarah Circle February 17 Lenten supper provided by: Youth February 24 Lenten supper provided by: Abigail Circle and Ruth/Mary Elizabeth Circle March 2 Lenten supper provided by: Parish Life March 9 Lenten supper provided by: Open Circle March 16 Lenten supper provided by: Church Council

Service activities after the Lenten Wednesday evening services Global Mission Service projects will be done each week in Lent starting at 7:30 p.m. in the so-cial hall. Confirmation class will also be participating in these mission projects from 7:30-8:00 p.m. each week.

February 17-Laying out quilt patterns with Messiah Quilters February 24-Package school kits with Missions Committee March 2-Package school kits with Missions Committee March 9-Roll bandages with Missions Committee March 16-Package personal care kits with Missions Committee

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COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS— January 18, 2016

By the grace of God . . . Funeral - Marvin R. Mickelson 06/24/1941 - 01/10/2016

COMMUNITY AND CARE

HOSPICE HOUSE MEALS on the second Thurs-day of each month. We are looking for volunteers into 2016. A sign-up sheet is available in the nar-thex. If you should have any questions, please con-tact Ruth Gaudian at 754-5956.

———————————————————————

Thank you note

The Social Ministry Committee wishes to

thank everyone who brought gloves, mit-

tens, and caps for our Christmas Tree in

December. The West Burlington Elemen-

tary School received everything grateful-

ly. They were in great need of these

items.

NOTE: Due to length of reports only highlights are provided here. Full reports and minutes of council meetings are available in the office and on the council bulletin board in the hallway.

MOTION Request for use of facilities by Marcia Wiedemeier for February 5, 2016 for P.E.O. meeting and dessert. Kitchen and social hall will be used from noon-3:30 p.m. MSC MOTION Request for use of facilities by Russ Smith for January 23, 2016 for Jerry Smith’s 90th birthday open house. Social hall and kitchen will be used from 1-5 p.m. MSC MOTION Approve agenda for Annual Meeting for the Congregation, January 24, 2016. MSC

SERVICE AND WITNESS

MESSIAH will be packaging for KIDS AGAINST HUNGER on Saturday, February 20th at 11 a.m. Please sign the sheet in the narthex. MISSIONS/OUTREACH COMMITTEE is looking for at least one person to take charge of preparing the Lutheran World Relief school kits for packing during Lenten Wednesday evenings. This is an easy task, and the supplies are already at the church. For more information, contact Joanne Mohr at 319-759-7639.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS are available in the narthex and church office for high school seniors and college students. The scholarship applications must be renewed each year. Completed forms are due April 1st. Messiah offers scholarship for mem-bers of the congregation who have been accepted into accredited institutions of higher learning. The undergraduate scholarship program includes accred-ited non-degree programs and technical training. ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL/ADULT FORUM February 7: Dave Wiemer “Coins of the Roman

Empire” February 14-March 20: “Daily Discipleship” Bible

study on the Lenten gospels.

Luth

er Fast 2

01

6

Preschool & Elementary Ministry

Jr. High

Min

istry H

igh Sch

oo

l Min

istry

A note from Kelly...

Ash Wednesday is February 10th and the Sunday School children will begin learning about Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, and the Lenten journey. I encourage each fami-ly to go on a Lenten journey together as a family this year. You can read different stories from their Spark children’s Bible together each day, or volunteer togeth-er. In this newsletter I have included a Lenten calendar where children can color each box as they make their way through the Lent season.

Blessings, Kelly

LIFT is an educational program for children 3 years– 6th grade. This program is a joint ministry among the Lutheran churches of Burlington. Our next LIFT is February 14th from 5:00-6:45pm at Trinity Lutheran. Supper is provided. All are welcome.

On February 14th the children will be singing I Am A Promise during the 10:30am worship service. Please make plans to be in worship that Sunday.

Confirmation meets in February: 3rd, 17th, and 24th

Wednesday, Feb. 10th, there is no confirmation class. The students are expected to attend Ash

Wednesday worship at 7pm

Sunday School Staff for February:

2/7 Maggie O’Hulligan & Laura Carruthers

2/14 Ashley Hester & Laura Carruthers

2/21Maggie O’Hulligan & Laura Carruthers

2/28 Ashley Hester & Laura Carruthers

Children’s Sermon Feb. 7th!

MISSION TRIP

7th grade- High School Students–Mission Trip

registration to Brownsville, Tennessee is hap-

pening now! Trip dates are July 8th-12th/13th.

Love Like Jesus–Synod service learning event in

Des Moines is June 16th-19th.

See Kelly for more information & registration!!!

Save The Date!!!!

June-

~ 16-19: Love Like Jesus in Des Moines

for Sr. High (those entering 9th grade in the 2016-17 school year)

July-

~ 8-11: Mission Trip to Brownsville TN

For 7th grade –High School—Registration going on now!!

~ 18-22: Vacation Bible School at Messiah

August-

~ 7-12: Confirmation Camp @ EWALU

For youth in confirmation and those starting confirmation next fall.

Meal Time Prayer

Good and gracious God thank you for the food we are about to eat and those we share it with. In

your name we pray. Amen.

Friday, February 19th 6pm to Saturday, February 20th 8am Jr. & Sr. High youth & friends

Micah 6:8 Act justly, love mercy and humbly..

Join us for a lock-in filled with service, games, friends, worship, and fun!

Please bring: a snack to share & coloring books and crayons/markers to make kits to donate to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

RSVP to Kelly by Wednesday, February 17th

PAGE 3

Youth News Jr. & Sr. High Ministry

PAGE 5

Messiah Preschool News Greetings from the Children’s Wing of the church.

Registration is underway for the 2016 – 2017 sessions. Our list will start to fill up and we would love to invite your child or grandchild or a neighbor to come join us. A new benefit of being a member of Messiah Lutheran Church is a discount in tuition for your

child. I can help you with that process if you come see me. If you would like a registration form or need more information, please call Ms. Margie (our Director) at 754-7591 ext. 2. We will be out at Westland Mall for the Day of the Child on Sunday, April 3rd. Come and see us! As always, thank you for your support of our preschool and its mission to Shaping Futures through Faith Based Educa-tion. If you are interested in provid-ing tuition for a preschooler next ses-sion or making a donation to the pre-school fund, please see Ms. Margie. Happy Valentines day from Messiah Preschoolers and Teachers.

NEW IN 2016: Sounds of Summer Institute (SOSI)!

June 26-July 10, 2016 at Luther College Lutheran Music Program is now offering a 2-week option

that will allow students in grades 8-12 to experience large ensemble, private lesson, and more!

We are also excited to celebrate our 35th summer of

Lutheran Summer Music (LSM)! We will be hosting our 4-week summer academy on the campus of

Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. June 26-July 24, 2016.

Encourage a young musician to apply to either of our incredible summer programs founded in musical excellence,

Lutheran faith, and supportive community. If you would like to learn more about our summer programs,

please email admissions@lutheransummermusic.org for more information!

Special ALCM Discount LSM applicants can use the discount code ALCM16 to receive a $100 discount on tuition!

Additional scholarships and discounts are also available to help students get to LSM.

From the Pastor’s desk

The church season is on the move again, from the post-Christmas pause of Epiphany, to our long preparation for Easter which is Lent. Look at the map Kelly has drawn in this newsletter to help our young people follow the Lenten journey. Adult coloring books are getting popular—how about if all of us color in our steps from Ash Wednesday to Easter this year? We could color each day accord-ing to how we have followed this Lenten prayer: “Gracious God, call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ.”

There’s a catch. Look at Kelly’s map once more. Do you notice that Sundays aren’t counted in the forty days of Lent? That’s because Sundays are always ‘days off’ from the Lenten disciplines of self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love. Whoopee! Sundays are ALWAYS the day of Resurrection, mini-Easter, and even if you forego meat or some other lovely thing for Lent, make Sunday your little Easter and celebrate, with worship, communion, something that pleases your soul and your mind and heart. And then make Wednesday your ‘church night’ this Lent, with supper together at 6pm or whenever you get here, Holden Evening Prayer at 7pm, Lutheran World Relief service projects in the social hall at 7pm, and brief confirma-tion classes at 7:30. Our confirmation classes this Lent will all be New Testament study. Isaiah en-courages us this Lent: “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched plac-es, make your bones strong. And you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. You shall raise up the foundations of many generation and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” That’s you, the beloved family of Jesus. Pastor Susanne+ Dear Messiah Lutheran Church,

Your gift impacts lives!

Thank you for your generous gift of $1,000.00 to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for the ministry of Brian Palmer. Your generosity shows your commitment to walking alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. For this, we give thanks.

Because of your support to ELCA Global Church Sponsorship, together we are able to:

Send more than 220 Missionaries, including 74 Young Adults in Global Mission, to work with our companion church in 46 countries.

Provide scholarships to International Women Leaders as they respond to God’s call to ministry, either in their home context or as they attend an ELCA seminary, college or uni-versity.

Accompany our companions around the world by responding to their priorities through investing in evangelism, education, church expansion and other important Global Ministry projects.

For more information on how your gift is impacting God’s work throughout the world, visit www.ELCA.org/globalchurch or contact me directly at andrew.steele@elca.org or 773-380-2758. Again, thank you for your incredible generosity!

Peace,

Andrew Steele Director, ELCA Global Church Sponsorship

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PAGE 7

Messiah Faith Story for February 2016

Gary Winters and the Rev. Dr. Deb Winters are the co-founders of God’s Precious Children, a ministry to the children of Liberia. Sarah and Andrew, who are mentioned in this newsletter, are Deb’s students at Palmer Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Messiah supports God’s Precious Children with our gifts to its Tui-tion Scholarship Program (TSP), particularly to Bethany Lutheran School near Phebe Hospital. This newslet-ter from the Winters comes to us through Carolyn Miller. This was their 1st trip to Liberia since the Ebola epi-demic. Greetings to all,

Our work is almost done. Praise God! We have had a busy 2 weeks gathering all the student info and taking new pictures of all our students. Doubting if we should be taking on any new students we have taken a step in faith and added almost 100 new students to the tuition sponsorship program. It is really hard to face a mother in tears sharing the story of not being able to keep her children in school. The need is so great and we pray we can find sponsors for them.

Our two day trip back in the bush visiting five schools went very well. It was great to see our old friends again and make new ones. Our longtime friend Pastor Edwin Flomo invited our team to stay overnight in Sanoyea at the church guest house. Staying in this precious rural town of Sanoyea is like stepping back 100 years in time. Walking down the bumpy dirt road lined with weathered mud brick homes with wonderful smells drifting from the outdoor cook houses, as dogs barked and played on the streets and roosters crowed a screeching greeting, as children ran to say hello while timidly reaching to tough the white man’s hand, all shout of a simplicity we in America so long for. What a wonderful peaceful place to spend the evening. Thank you Lord.

On Wednesday we went to Bethany Lutheran School. Sarah and Andrew wanted to interview the principal, Lorpu Jaeway, as part of the “self-sustainability study” they are doing to help the schools in Liberia.

After the interview they did a skit for the students at Bethany based on Isaiah 40:30 & 31 how God helps us when we are overburden with troubles. The kids just loved it and a few teachers made a comment how much the message meant to them. One particular teacher told Andrew that it touched his heart because of so many recent deaths in his family he was finding it very difficult carrying these great burdens. When God’s word is shared one never knows who all will be blessed.

In saying our goodbyes to our TSP helpers, Peter Kollie, just returning from his uncle’s burial, shared with me his sad heart due to a number of recent deaths in his family.

Remembering last year’s Ebola outbreak, one would think Ebola would be the cause, but only indi-rectly is this true. When Ebola struck many hospitals, for fear of not knowing how to handle Ebola, just closed their doors. There are many illnesses in Liberia that can cause an early death if not treat-ed and if you were sick and could not find an open hospital willing to treat you, it could prove to be fatal.

Sarah and Andrew’s skit was perfect reminding us what a loving father we do have and that He will never forsake us. God will give strength to the weary.

As we close shop in Liberia for another year, keep our team in prayer as we start our journey home.

In His service, Gary & Deb

PAGE 8

Scheduled to Serve in February

8:00 SERVICE Communion Assistant: February 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marge Classen February 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Cahill February 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cathy Borden February 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Chicken Lector: February 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marge Classen February 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Cahill February 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cathy Borden February 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Chicken

10:30 SERVICE Ushers: Dan Wiedemeier (head usher), Dave

Wiemer, Chalmer & Sandy Good, Mark Smith Communion Assistant: February 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tina Jones February 14 . . . . . . . . . Wayne Weissenbuehler February 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Larson February 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Venita Myatt Lector: February 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Baker February 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Larson February 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Judith Stewart February 28 . . . . . . . . . Wayne Weissenbuehler Acolyte: February 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hunter Vargason February 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kylie Wolf February 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hunter Vargason February 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narisio Lotegeluaki Altar Guild: Lois Sirek & Kay Wischmeier

Ash Wednesday & Lenten Midweek Service Acolytes:

February 10 (Ash Wed.) . . . . . Narisio Lotegeluaki February 17 . . . . Nenyo Lotegeluaki & Elle Jones February 24 . . . . . Matthew Dittner & Quinlan Kirk

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS

1 Dalton Hayes 2 Lois Clark 2 Colleen Heibner 2 Natalie Jacobs 2 Betty Mauer 2 Kay Spieler 3 Judy Brocket 5 Sue Abbott 5 Kathryn Boyle 5 Gertrude Meinsen 6 Jaelyn Gerst 6 Susan Hinz 8 Will Brinkley 9 Nathan Weiler 12 Adam Gerst 12 Thea Good 14 Mary Lee Matteson 15 Caleb Smith 15 Casey Smith 16 Bob Goede 16 Tom Miller 16 Carrie Ruther 17 Gunnar Hoffer 17 Karter Spieler 18 Pat Hudgel 18 David Otto 18 Makalah Peterson 18 Stacey Renard 20 Doug Classen 20 Darlene Dieterich 21 Kathy Furnald 21 Hudson Powers 21 Ryan Simmons 23 Marge Classen 26 Stephanie Benne 26 Bailey Galvin 26 Katie Schultz 27 Lois Bailey 27 Robin Graham 27 Judy Worley 28 Sally Miller 29 Connor Sheagren

FEBRUARY ANNIVERSARIES

1 Robert and Carole Beck - 1969 23 Lois and Greg Sirek - 1980 26 David and Wanda Wiemer - 1986

*Let the office know if we have missed your birthday or anniversary. If you prefer not to have your name included in the birthday and anniversary lists, please let us know.

ALTAR

FLOWERS FOR FEBRUARY:

February 28 - in honor of Wanda and Dave Wiemer’s 30th wedding anniversary

Mission Statement

Welcoming all people to share in God’s blessings by strengthening our commitment to God through prayer, fellowship and service.

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MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH 2411 West Avenue

BURLINGTON, IOWA 52601

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Burlington, IA

52601-1598

Permit No. 360

Return Service Requested

Sunday Mornings Worship 8:00 a.m. Sunday School and Adult Bible Study 9:15 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m.

Wednesdays in Lent Supper 6:00 p.m. Holden Evening Prayer 7:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY 2016

MESSIAH LUTHERAN

CHURCH

Phone: 319-754-7591

Fax: 319-754-7592 E-mail: messiah2411@gmail.com

www.messiahburlington.org

This month - February 10th-Ash Wednesday-Supper (6:00 p.m.), Worship with communion and

imposition of ashes (7:00 p.m.) Wednesdays in Lent-February 17 & 24-Supper (6:00 p.m.), Holden Evening Prayer

(7:00 p.m.) February 19-20 Luther Fast for Jr. & Sr. High youth