Hope Alliance Landscape Maintenance (weather permitting) or an indoor project Sign-up for each of the above projects on the Narthex bulletin board. 12:00 noon - Lunch and Fellowship in the TEC We pray for God's guid- ance as we as a congrega- tion consider what it means to give joyfully to God— overflowing with generosity and thanks for all of the blessings God has poured into our lives. In what ways is God calling our congrega- tion to be generous with the blessings He has given us? Stewardship Committee On Sunday, February 2 nd , we will kick-off our 2014 Stewardship Program, God's Work. Our Hands. This will be our focus, not only over the next few weeks but throughout the coming year. We are reminded that Stewardship is year-round as our ministries are year- round. As a congregation and as individuals, we can see evidence of how God can take little things, things that seem relatively insignificant and multiply their impact beyond what we could have ever imagined. We are richly blessed by God. As stewards of all God's blessings, we are first receivers of what God has already done. Then in trust and faith, we accompany the active work of God in the world through our gen- erosity. Stewardship is about how we as a congregation together can do God's work. It's about how we can to- gether live out God's call to love God and our neighbors. On February 23 rd , as part of our Consecration Sunday celebration, we will join to- gether our hands to do God's work and to love our neighbors. Please join us and don't forget to wear your God's Work. Our Hands t- shirts if you have one. Below is the schedule of events for February 23 rd : 9:15a.m. - special early Worship Service 10:00 a.m.—12:00 noon - God's Work. Our Hands. Community Service Projects "Buddy Blankets" for Round Rock Volunteer Center (sponsored by Thrivent Financial) Singing at Trinity Care Center Treats for Firefighters Deep Wood1st Grade Teacher Aids meal. Please join our youth and youth around the country as they demonstrate God's love by loving their neighbors through the Na- tional Souper Bowl of Caring. You are invited to drop $1 (or more) in the Broncos or Seahawks soup pot as you leave worship on February 2nd to show support for your team and support the Round Large enough to serve, Small enough to care February 2014 Volume 2, Issue 2 Mark your calendar: God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday February 23 rd Inside this issue: February Events 2 Living Life Intentionally 3 God’s Work. Our Hands. Service Projects 4 Council Updates 5 ELCA Updates 6 Prayer Concerns 7 Everyday Heroes at LSS 8 On Sunday, February 2nd, 160 million Americans will tune in to the Super Bowl football game to see whether the Denver Broncos or the Seattle Seahawks will take home the NFL SuperBowl XLVII Champion Title! At the same time, there will be people worrying about staying warm, finding shelter and a warm National Souper Bowl of Caring - God's Work. Our Hands. Rock Area Serving Center. Our January food collection of canned soup is also part of our Souper Bowl of Caring project. God's Work. Our Hands. 2014 Stewardship Program
8
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Transcript
Hope Alliance Landscape Maintenance (weather
permitting) or an indoor project
Sign-up for each of the above projects on the
Narthex bulletin board.
12:00 noon - Lunch and Fellowship in the TEC
We pray for God's guid-ance as we as a congrega-
tion consider what it means to give joyfully to God—
overflowing with generosity and thanks for all of the
blessings God has poured into our lives. In what ways
is God calling our congrega-tion to be generous with
the blessings He has given us?
Stewardship Committee
On Sunday, February 2nd,
we will kick-off our 2014 Stewardship Program,
God's Work. Our Hands. This will be our
focus, not only over the next few weeks but
throughout the coming year. We are reminded that Stewardship is year-round
as our ministries are year-round.
As a congregation and as individuals, we can see
evidence of how God can take little things, things that
seem relatively insignificant and multiply their impact
beyond what we could have ever imagined.
We are richly blessed by God. As stewards of all
God's blessings, we are first receivers of what God has
already done. Then in trust and faith, we accompany the active work of God in
the world through our gen-erosity.
Stewardship is about how we as a congregation
together can do God's work.
It's about how we can to-gether live out God's call to
love God and our neighbors. On February 23rd, as part
of our Consecration Sunday celebration, we will join to-
gether our hands to do God's work and to love our neighbors. Please join us and
don't forget to wear your God's Work. Our Hands t-
shirts if you have one. Below is the schedule of events for
February 23rd:
9:15a.m. - special early
Worship Service
10:00 a.m.—12:00 noon -
God's Work. Our Hands. Community Service
Projects
"Buddy Blankets" for Round Rock Volunteer Center (sponsored by Thrivent
Financial)
Singing at Trinity Care Center
Treats for Firefighters
Deep Wood1st Grade
Teacher Aids
meal. Please join our youth and
youth around the country as they
demonstrate God's love by loving
their neighbors through the Na-
tional Souper Bowl of Caring.
You are invited to drop $1 (or
more) in the Broncos or Seahawks
soup pot as you leave worship on
February 2nd to show support for
your team and support the Round
Large enough
to serve,
Small enough
to care
February 2014 Volume 2, Issue 2
Mark your
calendar:
God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday
February 23rd
Inside this issue:
February Events 2
Living Life
Intentionally
3
God’s Work.
Our Hands.
Service Projects
4
Council Updates 5
ELCA Updates 6
Prayer Concerns 7
Everyday Heroes
at LSS
8
On Sunday, February 2nd, 160
million Americans will tune in to
the Super Bowl football game to
see whether the Denver Broncos
or the Seattle Seahawks will take
home the NFL SuperBowl XLVII
Champion Title!
At the same time, there will
be people worrying about staying
warm, finding shelter and a warm
National Souper Bowl of Caring - God's Work. Our Hands.
Rock Area Serving Center. Our
January food collection of canned
soup is also part of our Souper Bowl
of Caring project.
God's Work. Our Hands. 2014 Stewardship Program
February 23—CHANGE OF WORSHIP TIME
Mark your calendars for this special Sunday!
Worship at 9:15
Service Projects begin at 10:00
Lunch is served at 12:00!
“God’s Work. Our Hands” isn’t just a catchy phrase;
it is what stewardship is all about.
God’s Work. Our Hands.
Page 2
GENEROSITY—COMMITMENT—SHARE
Adult Sunday Studies in February
9:25-10 a.m. in the Grace House “Blue Room”
February 2 — When has another person given you a gift of grace?
When have you received a gift that you could not
have earned or deserved?
February 9 — Have you ever been inspired to give by someone
else’s generosity?
February 16 — Have you ever faced a challenge that required your
full commitment?
Use these conversations on Sunday morning
to strengthen and support your faith.
GOD’S WORK, OUR HANDS SERVICE PROJECTS
The five projects planned are:
“Buddy Blankets” for Round Rock Volunteer Center
(Sponsored by Thrivent Financial)
Treats for Deep Wood Firefighters
Singing at Trinity Care Center
1st Grade Teacher Aids for Deep Wood Elementary
Landscape Maintenance for Hope Alliance Shelter
(weather permitting) or an indoor project
Sign-up for service projects in the narthex, online at www.graceline.org
ing to Grace. It has taken me many years of intentional
growth to be able to give 14%
in offerings to Grace. I’m not
telling you this to make you
feel guilty or righteous. I’m
telling you this because I am a
leader in this congregation and
like other leaders I know com-
mitment is part of intentional
living. Growth in giving doesn’t
happen as a reaction, it re-
quires a plan, a commitment. It
took years of small steps for
me to give 10% and years more
to step beyond that.
You know this from life les-
sons. At work a boss runs out
of patience if you can’t commit
to a plan and follow through.
At home or with friends pa-
tience wears thin when there is
no meaningful time together.
Imagine Olympic athletes with-
out focus or commitment to
their skill.
What is your commitment this
year? Maybe you will increase
the percentage of your time
given, in prayer, worship or
service. Maybe you will grow
the percentage of money that
you give. Please make it an
intentional, thought-filled com-
mitment. Let’s live intentionally,
for God and for one another.
Peace,
Pastor Cindy
Have you had days when you felt
like a ping pong ball? You never
got to what you thought you
would be doing, instead your day
was filled with reactions. Emails,
texts and phone calls popped up
that scattered your efforts rather
than being intentional. “I didn’t
get anything done today”, is the
refrain at the end of such a day. The story of one congregation in
2 Corinthians 8 can help ground
our faith. It is a congregation
that understood generosity not
as a burden or a reaction to
what had popped up in front of
them but rather an intentional
response to God’s love.
Why is it important to be inten-
tional about our giving? We
might ask why is it important to
worship, pray or study as a ma-
turing Christian. Intention
means that there is a plan. We
Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 2
Living Life Intentionally
Hope Alliance turns 30 in 2014!
30 years strong thanks to you!
Since 1984, Hope Alliance has been providing services to victims of domestic and sexual violence free of charge. Through the help of amazing people like you we have been able to assist over 15,000 vic-tims on their journeys. We cannot thank you enough for your continued support. This year we will have a 30th anniversary party, a peer-to-peer fundraising activity and several other opportunities for you to come out and stand with Hope Alliance as we let others in our community know about the need for these services.
A Prayer Service
“..But when you pray, go to your room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” Matt. 6:6
A new prayer service is being organized. Centering prayer is time to slow down. It is a
time to separate ourselves from the noise and schedules in our lives and sit quietly. There
are no new prayers or new music to learn. Centering prayer brings us together to “be still
and know that I am God” as Psalm 46 teaches.
Please watch for more details to come. Contact Pastor Cindy ([email protected]) with
ELCA/ELCIC Bishop’s Academy, January 2-7, 2014, Savannah, Georgia
Who are the Nones? A PEW study does not provide a clear description; e.g.
urban millennials are a world apart from rural millennials. Greg Smith, US Re-
ligion Survey, PEW, describes them in this way: They are not sworn off
disbelief, just not in any religious organization. 4 in 10 pray once a month. Re-
ligion is somewhat important; they are not uniformly secular; they are not
just searching or waiting. Perhaps most distinctive is that they don’t go to
church. There is disagreement about whether they come mostly from the
Protestants, but the Catholic Church has them, too. Often, they are people
who have never gone to church in the first place. They are simply going about
their lives, giving a big shrug to the whole issue of religion.
The Nones rebel against a rigid definition of sin. When conservatives say this
is what a religious person looks like, they simply say, “That’s not us.” Nones are skeptical that the church is into grace and forgiveness. Walt Bouman not-
ed that the Christian life is about immortality, not immorality. And that is
about belief, not actions/works. Now that you know that death is not final,
there's more to do with your life than try to preserve it.
Psychologists are telling us that those who are feeling isolated have a higher
rate in “sinful behavior.” What if the Nones knew “wondering” about the
faith is a normal part of the practice of faith, like worship and praying and
singing? Exerpted from notes taken by Bishop Ray Tiemann