The Value of the Gospel Ministry

In connection with our Fall Stewardship Program we will also have three opportunities to discuss together The Value of the Gospel Ministry. I will demonstrate in this presentation what it is that our congregation does in sharing the Gospel and how this is valuable to us and to those we reach with the Gospel. The presentation will be offered three separate times to the congregation as well as to some of our existing groups. Try to attend one of them. If you desire a personal presentation, that can be arranged as well. We will also be distributing an informative pamphlet entitled, “Why Support your Church?” The goal of our Stewardship Program is to realize the value of the Gospel Ministry and to increase our offerings across the board to reflect that fact.
Mark 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Stewardship Presentations (Try to attend one of them) These will be held in the worship area of church and should last only one hour.
· Monday, November 13th, 7:00 PM
· Thursday, November 16th, 8:00 PM
· Sunday, November 19th, 8:45 AM

Thoughts on Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving I'm thankful ... That there aren't twice as many Congressman and half as many doctors. That grass doesn't grow through snow, necessitating winter mowing as well as shoveling. That there are only twenty﷓four hours available each day for TV programming. That civil servants aren't less civil. That teenagers ultimately will have children who will become teenagers. That I'm not a turkey. That houses still cost more than cars. That the space available for messages on T-shirts and bumpers is limited. That liberated women whose husbands take them for granted don't all scream at the same time. That snow covers the unraked leaves. That hugs and kisses don't add weight or cause cancer. That record players and radios and TV sets and washers and mixers and lights can be turned off. That no one can turn off the moon and stars.
Christianity Today (Nov. 17, 1978), cited in the Pastor's Story File, November 1991.

Thanksgiving Worship
Wednesday, November 22nd , 7:00 PM
Thursday, November 23rd, 9:30 AM
Help provide decorations for our Thanksgiving worship service by bringing produce such as corn, pumpkins, squash, apples etc. to church before the afternoon of November 22nd. If the church is locked, please leave your produce in the parsonage garage. Donated items will be returned to you unless otherwise noted.

My Dear Willy
Back in the very early thirties, William Stidger was seated one day with a group of friends in a restaurant. Everyone was talking about the depression: how terrible it was, the suffering people, rich people committing suicide, the jobless, the whole thing. The conversation got more and more miserable as it went on. There was a minister in the group, and he suddenly broke in and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do, because in two or three weeks I have to preach a sermon on Thanksgiving Day. I want to say something affirmative. What can I say that's affirmative in a period of world depression like this?" And as the minister spoke, Stidger said it was like the Spirit of God spoke to him: "Why don't you give thanks to those people who have been a blessing in your life and affirm them during this terrible time?"

He began to think about that. The thought came to his mind of a schoolteacher very dear to him, a wonderful teacher of poetry and English literature from years ago who had gone out of her way to put a great love of literature and verse in him. It affected all his writings and his preaching. So he sat down and wrote a letter to this woman, now up in years. It was only a matter of days until he got a reply in the feeble scrawl of the aged. "My Dear Willy"--Stidger says at that time he was about 50 years of age and was bald, and no one had called him Willy for a long time, so just the opening sentence warmed his heart. Here's the letter:

"My Dear Willy: I can't tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of autumn lingering behind." Listen to this sentence, will you? "You'll be interested to know that I taught in school for more than fifty years, and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning, and it cheered me as nothing has done in many years."

Stidger says, "I'm not sentimental, but I found myself weeping over that note." Then he thought of a kindly bishop, now retired, an old man who had recently faced the death of his wife and was all alone. This bishop had taken a lot of time, given him advice and counsel and love when he first began his ministry. So he sat down and wrote the old bishop. In two days a reply came back.

"My Dear Will: Your letter was so beautiful, so real, that as I sat reading it in my study, tears fell from my eyes, tears of gratitude. Before I realized what I was doing, I rose from my chair and I called her name to share it with her, forgetting she was gone. You'll never know how much your letter has warmed my spirit. I have been walking around in the glow of your letter all day long."

October Church Council Meeting Highlights
The October Church Council meeting was held on October 12th with all the members present. The Opening devotion was based on Matthew 9:35-38 with the encouragement to ask the Lord to send out more missionaries.

Financial Matters
Don Gibson gave the Treasurer’s Report. The following is a summary of his report.

Balance 9/30/2000	    $627.16
Transfer from Savings	  $4,000.00
General Income	          $6,388.00
Mission Income	            $609.21
Non Budget Income	  $5,757.24
Total Receipts           $12,754.45
Total Receipts and 
Balance	                 $17,381.61
Disbursements
Salary Items	          $6,148.12
Utilities	            $833.17
Education/Missions	  $1,552.67
Miscellaneous	            $622.01
Debt Reduction	            $500.00
Total Budgeted Expenses	 $11,228.75
Non-Budgeted Expense	  $5,849.24
Total Disbursements	 $17,077.99
Checkbook Balance	    $303.62
Non Budget-Owing	  $4,408.00
Debt	                  $6,000.00
General Deficit  	-$10,104.38

Lavern Priebusch gave the Financial Secretary’s Report. He noted that as a congregation we are $3726.07 behind in meeting our year 2000 Operating Budget. The Church Council encourages all of the members including themselves to address this problem by increasing our offerings so that they more closely resemble the wonderful blessings that we receive from the Lord. We would be amazed at how quickly we could overcome this deficit if collectively we would each increase our offerings by only $5.00 to $10.00 more per week than we are accustomed to do so. It seems ironic that we will willingly (O.K. out of necessity sometimes) pay more for gasoline and fuel oil but that it takes a major appeal to get us to give more to something much more valuable and necessary–the work of the Lord!

Worship
Pastor noted the recent worship attendance and the special October worship services which included Mission Festival, Reformation, and the District Wide Forward in Christ worship service in Madison celebrating the 150th Anniversary of our Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod.

Pastor will take his final week of vacation for 2000 revolving around the December 10th worship service.

Education
Our representatives missed the October St. John’s Board of Education meeting due to an oversight. The Sunday school account has $882.91 in it. Pastor noted that he has 23 students in Confirmation classes. Members are welcome to join our Adult class on the Gospel of John. Mr Anderson is teaching an overview of the Old Testament in the 5th – 6th grade religion class.

Building and Grounds
Old church pews are still available to the members of the congregation. The asking price is $50.00 per section or $100.00 for the whole pew but we are now also considering best offers. The Council voted to have the congregation replace the dishwasher in the parsonage. A special door offering will be held November 5th and November 12th to help offset the cost of this expense.

Elders’ Committee
The Elders are working through a book on visiting members called The Shepherd’s Assistants. Our focus is on visiting inactive families with children of Sunday school age as well as our teens.

Stewardship
Our church will be having its annual Stewardship Program the first three weeks in November. The theme of this year’s program is The Value of the Gospel Ministry. Experts (and common sense) agree that a person will invest his or her time, talent, and money into the things that they consider to be valuable to them. The question then is why don’t we as a congregation seem to spend much of our time, talent, or money on the support of the work of the Lord. The goal of our program is to demonstrate without question the value of the Gospel ministry and to appeal to each of us to support it according to its real value instead of our perceived value. Look for more information on how you can participate in this program elsewhere in this newsletter.

Unfinished Business
Our Lakeside Lutheran High School committee will be meeting to develop a survey to determine how many potential students we may have from our congregation attending Lakeside in the future. They will also be exploring ways in which members can support out Student Fund which provides scholarships to those who attend Lakeside.

Pastor will be asking each member to sign our adopted Mission and Vision statements. This will occur starting with our Stewardship Program in November.

We Care Pick ‘N’ Save Program Benefits Lutheran Pioneers
Help Support our Pioneer program through the We Care Pick ‘N’ Save Program. All you have to do is designate your grocery receipts at Pick ‘N’ Save toward our Pioneers program and they will electronically tally up our benefits every time you shop Pick ‘N’ Save and use your Pick ‘N’ Save card. Our number is 696800.

In the past contributors were required to save their receipts and turn them in. Although the new way is easier, our Pioneers have received only a very small credit after six months whereas in the past they would have received a $100.00 credit by now.

Mission Festival
Salem enjoyed our annual Mission Festival activities on October 15th. In our worship service Mr. Scott Miller, a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, reminded us that we are Christ’s witnesses and that we are to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to those we know. The children of the Sunday school raised their voices in song as did the choir and the members of the congregation. The special liturgy emphasized how the Holy Spirit gives us the courage to witness and that He will grant us success.

Mr. Miller filled us in with the mission work that our synod is doing in Mexico and Puerto Rico. He had served as a mission vicar this past year in that part of the world. Our goal is to train nationals in both those areas to become leaders in sharing the Gospel there.

The Ladies Aid served a wonderful meal with the main course of turkey with all the trimmings. Generous pieces of pie finished the meal for many of us.

Mission Festival involves a lot more work than a regular worship service. Thank you to the Ladies Aid in all of their preparation for the wonderful meal. Thank you to the Sunday school children for singing, to the teachers for helping them learn their hymns, to Linda Kroeger, Diane Vander Galien, and Sharon Anderson for directing them. We thank the choir and its director for enhancing the service with song and to our organist, Karen Straseske, for all the extra work in playing both the organ and the piano and for traveling to and from the balcony for the service.

Prior to Mission Festival the congregation was strongly encouraged to contribute to Mission by use of special offerings. Our congregation has responded by giving almost $2000.00 to missions in our offerings on that day. In addition, the slightly over 100 people who attended the meal contributed $414.00 in free will offerings. Another $75.00 was donated and $31.00 was received for extra food sold. The expenses for the food was $245.44 which means that the meal generated $274.56 which the Ladies Aid will also be contributing to our missions.

Mission Festival was a little more “work” than on a normal Sunday, but those who pitched in and helped in any way can look back with the knowledge that it was time and effort well spent as together we encouraged each other to support the mission of our church.

Dishwasher Replacement
Back in the “old days” when your dishwasher broke down, it meant that your wife was sick. Now it means that the electric dishwasher is no longer functioning as it should.

The old dishwasher in the parsonage was in need of costly repairs. Therefore, the Church Council under the recommendation of Building and Grounds chairman, Milton Firari, decided to have the congregation replace the old dishwasher with new one. The cost of the new dishwasher is $500.00. We will be having a special door offering on November 5th and 12th to seek contributions from members to help offset this expense. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Taking Your Child to Church
The following excerpts from a pamphlet by Mary Ann Kuharski, a nationally known author and speaker, give some timely advice for the family with small children that worships together and for the congregation who welcomes their presence.

Sit up front. Through trial and error we’ve learned that a toddler or young child always behaves better if he or she has a front-row seat. Put yourself in your child’s place. With the limited eye level a preschooler has, imagine yourself seated behind rows of members. The pastor and altar are up front, and a youngster can hardly be expected to pay attention if his vision is blocked by others.

Many parents have been pleasantly surprised to see their previously squirming child transformed to a quiet, attentive observe–all because they had changed their seating habits and the youngsters could see what was going on.

Garner the support from clergy and community. Many a young couple is thankful when pastor and congregation openly encourage the presence of small children. While some churches have nurseries or insist that parents stay in the crying room with their children, it is to those who utter “let the children come unto me” that there awaits a greater reward. This is not to suggest that members be subjected to rages, continued outbursts, or temper tantrums. On the contrary, every parent must recognize there are days when no amount of coaxing or preparation will ward off unruliness. When those moments occur, it is time to remove the child and know in your heart that Lord will honor your intention.

Don’t worry about the occasions when you don’t get anything out of the service. God will bless you for trying, and for the image you create for your child and the surrounding community who observe. God will see the importance of faith in your life. Tapes and printed copies of the sermon are also available upon request!

Expect good behavior. Children need to learn early that there are some occasions during which they must refrain from talk or play. This teaching is the beginning of good self-discipline. Even young toddlers are eager to please and to copy the actions of their loved ones. It doesn’t take too much effort on a parent’s part before a child, from observation, will begin to show a more reserved behavior.

Of course, there are times when the only recourse left to a mom and dad with a fussy or crying child is to leave the pew. In that regard, we discovered that instead of leaving church altogether, sometimes just the motion of moving to the narthex, cry room or basement will stop the fussy behavior and help the child through the worship service.

Be sure to encourage your child for good behavior. Compliment good behavior just as you would chastise bad behavior. Children love to feel appreciated, noticed, and praised for their actions. Most youngsters are only too eager to repeat the same good behavior that won them praise the first time.

Insist that your child try, but don’t expect perfection. Be patient, yet persistent. Children do outgrow disruptive behavior. Most “been there” parents suggest that it takes a few weeks or months for a youngster to adjust to an in-church atmosphere.

Attend church together as a family. If at all possible, make Sunday (or Thursday night) a truly family affair by going to church together. This self-imposed “unity” may involve more effort than taking turns, or going in shifts, but the benefits will almost always outweigh the hassle. Sunday should be reserved as a time to pray and worship together–the one day during the busy week when friends, hobbies, or outside interests take a back seat to the worship of God. Your job, hobby, bed, or the golf course will still be there waiting for you on Sunday afternoon!

Here’s one last thought. We cannot expect that the presence of babies and small children in church is going to produce an austere setting, no matter how much preparation and prayer. There will always be the occasional cry or outburst. On the other hand, we live in an era in which millions of youngsters are victims of abuse, abandonment, and abortion. Perhaps we should view the occasional or uncontrolled cry of children in our midst as a gentle and subtle remind to pray for those less fortunate who have not opportunity to offer their own “joyful noise to the Lord.”