Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church - Menasha, Wisconsin

September 2010 Newsletter

Mount Calvary’s Lutheran Messenger

 

Our mission at Mt. Calvary is to teach the absolute truth of God’s Word, baptize in the name of the Triune God, and share our faith in Jesus with our community and the world.

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N8728 S. Coop Rd., Menasha;

731-4001

SEPTEMBER 2010

 

Stop Making Excuses

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

Jeremiah 1:4-10

"But…I can’t." "But…that’s too hard!" "But…I don’t know how." "But…someone else can do it better than I can." How often during our day do we focus on our limitations and make excuses why we didn’t do something or why we can’t do something. Unfortunately, these same excuses transfer from the daily activities of life to the important spiritual matters of life. Excuses abound. "But…I don’t have time for church right now." "But…it’s all too confusing to figure out." "But…when my kids get older then I’ll think about those things." "But…" The list goes on. The prophet Jeremiah had a direct call from the Lord to be his spokesman to the people of Israel. Granted, he was going to have a rough task and a very difficult message for the people to hear. However, the first thing he did was make an excuse, "I do not know how to speak." Our sinful human nature resists the call of God. Not many can claim a direct call from God, but we all can claim making excuses in response to God’s will. A friend brings up a spiritual discussion to which we say, "I don’t want to talk about it." A family member invites us to come with them to church. We say, "It’s my day to sleep in." Our child asks us about God and who he is and we say, "Go ask your mother." A fellow church member asks us to serve and we say, "I don’t have the time." We can only marvel that God in his love continues to reach out to us. He didn’t cast Jeremiah aside for his excuses, but rather reminds him that he has nothing to fear. The all-powerful God, who knew him before he knew himself, was present with him. Today God wants to remind you of two things when you are tempted to make excuses and steer away from his call. One, you are part of the Lord’s plan. He knew you before you were formed in the womb and he desires that you, now outside of the womb, come to know and believe in him. And, two, with that reality in mind, he wants us to understand that life is not about me as an individual, rather we are here on this earth to carry out the Lord’s purpose. So stop making excuses. The Lord is calling you to believe in his Son, Jesus and live for him. Discover more about him in his Word. For help and guidance, go online to www.whataboutjesus.com and learn more about Jesus. Enjoy living for your Lord today!

Prayer: Lord, keep my sinful nature from resisting your precious call to faith and your will to live out my faith in you. Empower me today to stop making excuses and see every aspect of my life as an opportunity to glorify you. Amen.

WELS Devotion

 

 

 

Bible class will begin at Mt. Calvary on Sunday, September 12. The first course of study is The Life of Christ. The teachers for the class will be Mr. Enter, Mr. Weisheim and Mr. Evansen, who will also be teaching the class at St. Luke so that Pastor Szep can preach the sermons at both congregations. The Bible class at Mt. Calvary will be conducted from 9 A.M. - 10 A.M. The class at St. Luke will be conducted from 10 A.M. - 11 A.M. Additional Bible classes are available on Mondays at 7 P.M. at St. Luke and on Wednesdays at 6 A.M. at Pioneer II, in Kimberly. Currently the topic for the Monday and Wednesday class is Predestination. The topic for the next class has not been finalized.

CWS:

Christian Women’s Society will be meeting on Tuesday, September 14th at 6:30 pm. We will finish the baby quilts and crosses and will sew classroom curtains.

SUNDAY SCHOOL REGISTRATION

: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." The sign up sheet for Sunday School is in the back of church. May every parent understand that Sunday School plays a vital role in their child’s spiritual development, and take advantage of the opportunity to bring their children to Sunday School faithfully. This year our Sunday School will use the excellent course titled "Growing In Christ" from Concordia Publishing House.

Sunday School Donation

Our Sunday school is in need of a new curriculum. We have currently used up all the materials of our existing series. Having looked at our options for Sunday School curriculums, we have decided to order "Growing in Christ" a wonderful series that will assist the parents in our congregation to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Please prayerfully consider a donation to help support our Sunday School Mission. Please mark your offering envelope "Sunday School.

Moms Devotional Group:

Starting Monday, September 13th we will be having our mom’s devotional group from 9:00 – 10:00. We are following the book "The Power of a Praying Wife." You can get this book at the Family Christian Book store or online at Amazon.com. Last year we had a great group and many lasting Christian friendships were made as we followed the book "Girl Talk." We encourage all to come…children are welcome.

Youth Group

We are looking for someone to co-lead the WELS United Youth Group. Please contact Cathy Collyard from Bethel if you would be interested.

Mt. Calvary Breakfast group

will meet on Monday, September 13th at 8:30 a.m. at the Pioneer in Kimberly.

Company Matching

Please check with your company’s benefit department to see if they have matching funds available. Bemis, Miller Electric, and Thrivent are examples of companies that have matching programs for schools.

Our church library

is located on the left when you enter the commons. There are a variety of books to choose from. Please check it out. Just sign a card with your name, date and name of book and put it in the back of the index card box. If anyone has donations, they can be placed on bottom shelf, Shirley will take care of them.

Parents of college students

: Please assist the Board of Elders in providing for the spiritual needs of these young adults. Simply provide their current residential or e-mail addresses. Please contact Mark(731-0735) or Jim (749-8865).

WELS Food Pantry Collection Sunday

is September 19th, although items may be brought at any time. Please help the WELS APPLE VALLEY FOOD PANTRY. Our pantry shelves are very LOW!!! This is a list of items needed: cereal, dish, laundry & bar soaps, paper toweling, canned meats such as chicken, ham, tuna, etc… chunky soups, spaghetti sauce and all noodles, hamburger helper, macaroni & cheese, jam, canned fruits, rice, canned and boxed potatoes, cake mix & frostings, saltines, graham & misc. crackers.

Food Pantry Drop Off The location for donating food has moved. Please place your food on the floor in the hallway leading to toe commons area. Thanks.

Thrivent Choice:

In August 2010 everyone should have received a letter from Thrivent concerning their eligibility for Choice Dollars. Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Elementary School, and Bright Beginnings Preschool are eligible to receive Choice Dollars. To designate your Choice Dollars, visit Thrivent.com/thrivenchoice or call 1-800-847-4836. At the prompt, say Thriven Choice. All three organizations are listed in the Thrivent Choice catalog. Choice Dollars for the calendar year 2010 expire on March 31, 2011. You may automatically set up a recurring direction on the Thrivent Choice website. Whenever the balance reaches $10.00 or more it will be processed.

Come and Join St. Luke Lutheran Girl Pioneers

All girls entering 1st grade and above can join. We meet every other Tuesday starting September 8th. Our meetings are from 6:20 pm to 7:45 pm. All meetings are held at St. Luke Church in Little Chute unless otherwise noted in our schedule. The registration fee is $20.00 for the year and registration will take place on Tuesday, September 7th at 6:20 pm. Bring your calendars to this meeting as you will be asked to sign up to bring treats, chaperone field trips or our sleepover, or help with projects. Open to members of St. Luke, Mt. Calvary, & Bethel churches. Our leaders are Pam Dercks from Mt. Calvary, and Kate Vosters and Kay White from St. Luke. If you have any questions or can’t attend the registration meeting, call Pam at 989-2183, Kate at 788-0289 or Kay at 788-0792.

FVL News

:The 7th Annual Dinner Auction at FVL will be held on Saturday, October 16th. Tickets are $40 each or $75 per couple and can be purchased through the FVL office @739-4441. Again this year all proceeds will be directed toward FVL’s Growing in Grace campaign and fo tuition assistance to help keep tuition costs as low as possible for all FVL families.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church (WELS) of Mauston

, Wisconsin is beginning an exploratory in Adams County Wisconsin–includes the communities of Adams, Friendship, Dellwood, Grand Marsh, Arkdale and Rome. Worship begins on September 19, 2010 at 10:30 A.M. at the Adams Community Center/Library, 569 N. Cedar Street in Adams.

Aluminum Cans

Aluminum cans may be brought to Mount Calvary anytime. Place them in the new "containment area" next to our storage shed until they can be sold, which money goes to Mt. Calvary.

CAMM MISSION LECTURE

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Speaker: Linda Liesener, CAMM Contact Coordinator; Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2010; Time: 6:30 p.m. artifacts display/socializing; 7:00 p.m. lecture

Place: Grace Lutheran Church, 1390 Breezewood Lane, Neenah

 

 

 

 

The Lutheran Women’s Missionary Societies of Neenah invite you to join them for a Central African Medical Mission photo presentation by Linda Liesener, Tuesday, October 5. The mission, a concept of the 1957 WELS convention, provides missionary and humanitarian aid. Today, over 75,000 individuals are given aid annually at the Malawi and Zambia sites. Linda's knowledge of the mission through her daughter Alicia, who served in Malawi from 2004-2007, will inspire you. The mission’s current daily activities and its gospel outreach to the people of Malawi, Africa, will be covered. A free-will offering will be taken. Refreshments follow.

 

 

CONGREGATION BUSINESS

CONGREGATION BUSINESS— AUGUST

Worship & Giving - 5 Sundays

Worship Average/Week 181 souls

Unified Budget Gifts $22,196

Missions $226

Forward in Faith Gifts $2,375

Sunday School Materials $340

Jesus Cares Ministry $15

Dody Blajeski Memorial $30

August Membership Changes

Funeral:

Delores Blajeski died August 9th. Her funeral was at St. Luke on August 12th. Transfer Out: Ryan and Megan Demianiuk to Emmanuel First Lutheran, Lansing MI; Megan Sengstock to St. Paul's, Appleton; Virgil, Ann, Aaron, Grace and Marion Hanson to Trinity, Brillion; Jonathon and Julie Seefeldt to St. Luke, Little Chute.