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December Newsletter |
Christmas Reminders
of God's greatest gift--His only begotten Son.
May the Christmas candles remind you
of Him who is the light of the world.
May the Christmas tree remind you
of another tree on which He died for you.
May the Christmas cheer remind you
of Him who said, "Be of good cheer."
May the Christmas feast remind you
of Him who is the bread of life.
May the Christmas snow remind you
of the cleansing power of Christ.
May the Christmas bells remind you
of the glorious proclamation of His birth.
May the Christmas carols remind you
of His glad tidings which we are to proclaim to all mankind.
May the Christmas season remind you
in every way of Jesus Christ your King.
Holiday Worship Services
Christmas Choir Service
· Sunday, December 24th
· 10:00 AM
We will use a special liturgy involving introductions to the choir songs, hymns sung by the choir, and congregational singing.
Young Peoples Christmas Candlelight Service
· Saturday, December 16th
· 7:30 PM
The members of our Young Peoples Society will lead the congregation with unique readings anticipating the birth of Christ as well as traditional hymns sung by the congregation and the annual candle lighting.
Children's Christmas Eve Service
· Sunday, December 24th
· 7:30 PM
The children of our Sunday school will tell of the birth of Jesus with spoken and sung messages. We will have a congregational hymn sing for fifteen minutes prior to the service as we prepare for this favorite event.
Christmas Day Song Service
· Monday, December 25th
· 9:30 AM
The singing of favorite Christmas hymns and readings will highlight this worship service.
Help Wanted!
Part of the celebration of Christmas does involve some work. Within our homes we have to decorate, bake cookies, prepare meals, purchase gifts, wrap presents and so much more.
Your help is needed as we prepare for our worship services this Christmas holiday season and as we bring the good news of Jesus to our shut in members and the community. Here are some opportunities that you can do to help make this Christmas a joyous event.
Prepare!
Prepare your hearts for the coming of Jesus by attending our regular worship services during this advent season.
Prepare for your part in the worship service you are in by being at the appropriate rehearsal (choir, children's, or YPS) on time and ready to go.
Prepare the sanctuary by helping decorate the tree etc. on Saturday, December 16th, at 1:00 PM
Sing!
Lift your voices in song during any or all of your worship services.
Join the choir in caroling to our shut in members. We plan to leave from church on Sunday, December 17th, at 1:00 PM.
Give!
Every child looks forward to the Christmas bag filled with peanuts and candy that we give out on Christmas Eve. Through the generous donations of members and AAL, these bags are possible. Your gift of appropriate items or money to pay for them and your labor to help fill them shows that you care.
Pray!
Pray that Christ will fill your heart so that you can fill the hearts of others with the wonderful message that Jesus is born!
Remember Our Shut In Members
Our congregation has some dear members who for physical reasons just are not able to come to church for worship very often or at all. They are known as "shut ins". (I've never been to happy with the term "shut in", but I haven't been able to find or come up with a term that is any better.) Fortunately, these members are still able to benefit from the Word of God and the Lord's Supper in a variety of ways. Your pastor visits them throughout the year to bring them comfort from God's Word, distribute private communion, and to keep them posted on what is happening at their church. Ladies from the Ladies Aid also visit during the year to encourage them as do other members from time to time.
In December we also invite members of the congregation (not just choir members) to go caroling to these members as well. Last year we only had two groups of five go caroling. I think we can do better than that. Otherwise we give the mistaken impression that only a handful of members care enough about these lifelong members who have given so much to the church throughout the years. We implore you to participate with our caroling this year. We will divide into two groups and each group will make about a half dozen stops.
I would also encourage you to remember our shut ins with Christmas cards or if you have the time, a short visit or phone call. Here is a list of our members that are on our current shut in list. Please remember them in your prayers throughout the year as well.
Our Shut Ins
Selma Ackerman
W 9190 Iron Road
Beaver Dam, WI 53916
887-7570
Fritz Berger
Hillside Manor Nursing Home
Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Bob and Lorraine Bobholz
1117 Gertrude St
Waukesha, WI 53186
414 547-8030
Erma Gibson
N 3098 CTH-GI
Reeseville, WI 53579
927-5788
Herb Grueneberg
W 9740 Hwy. 16-60
Reeseville, WI 53579
927-5781
Edna Landsee
555 S. River St.
PO Box 23
Reeseville, WI 53579
927-3827
Bob and Doris Leistico
116 Lakecrest Dr
Beaver Dam, WI 53916
356-0382
Jack Leistico
1085 Jaystone Terrace Apt 202
Waterloo, WI 53594
478-4007
Dorothy Luckow
Continental Manor
South High Street
Randolph, WI 53956
Adeline Mittag
W 7602 CTH-KW
uneau, WI 53039
927-3474
Adeline Priebusch
Continental Manor
B22 South High Street
Randolph, WI 53956
Nadyne Sack
217 Brad St
Johnson Creek, WI
699-8309
Edith Soldner
Two West 201
198 Home Road
Juneau, WI 53039
Donations Wanted
Our local branch of AAL is coordinating an effort to provide help for area families in need this holiday season. We are looking for donations of non perishable food items, toys, and clothing. Once we have collected your donations, we will take them to Beaver Dam to the City Building where they are being collected and they will take care of distributing them to places such as PAVE, the New Beginnings Homeless Shelter, and like agencies.
Please bring your items to church or the parsonage garage between now and December 17th. If you want a member of AAL to pick up your donations, call pastor at 927-5353 and we will send someone over. Remember the words of James in
James 2:14f.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 I f one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Council Meeting Highlights
The Salem Church Council met on Thursday, November 9th, with all in attendance.
Financial Matters
Don Gibson reported on the finances of the church. The following is a summary of his report.
General Deficit -$10,104.38
Balance in General Fund $303.62
Total Receipts $13,850.83
Disbursements
Salary Items $5,630.12
Utilities $987.50
Education/Office Supplies $884.88
Missions $2872.45
Miscellaneous $1028.95
Debt Reduction $500.00
Total Budgeted Expenses $11,903.90
Total Non-budget Expenses $468.75
Total Disbursement $12,372.65
Checkbook Balance
10/31/2000 $1,478.18
Non Budget-Owing $7,347.26
General Deficit $6,869.08
Lavern Priebusch gave the Financial Secretary's Report. He noted that our Mission Offerings January through October have reached $10,876.21 which is $376.21 ahead of our year to date goal of $10,500.00. He also noted that our yearly budget goal of $6,000.00 for debt reduction has been reached with total offerings towards it of $6,260.24. Both of these items are good news to report from the financial front! However, our operating income is now $4,522.02 behind our operating expenses for the year so your church still needs your faith prompted offerings to support the ministry here at Salem. Lavern also reported that our offerings to the Building Addition for January through October of 2000 have reached $5,621.00.
Worship
Pastor noted the special services that we will be having in November and December. See this newsletter for when our special Christmas services will be.
Education
Mr. Quin Anderson reported that although 80% of the children who are in Sunday school on a given Sunday do attend worship, only about 50% of the total number of children who should be in Sunday school are attending worship on any given Sunday. We continue to encourage parents to consider the importance of Sunday school attendance and worship attendance for their precious children and to be involved in worship and Bible study themselves as the means by which God will increase their faith in Jesus and their love for God.
Evangelism
In December our evangelism committee (and volunteers) will be distributing the Gospel of Mark on cassette tapes to households in the Lowell/Reeseville communities as well as an invitation to our special holiday worship services.
Building and Grounds
Thank you to Milton and his helpers for removing the leaves from the church property. A new dishwasher has been installed in the parsonage. Over $250.00 has been donated to help cover the cost.
Elders Committee
The Elders have begun to contact and visit families in the church whose children have not been attending Sunday school. We will endeavor to expand our efforts to visit with all of our inactive members as time progresses.
Stewardship Committee
Pastor has developed a Stewardship Program called The Value of the Gospel Ministry. The worship services in November carry this emphasis as does a special presentation that he delivered on three separate occasions to the membership of Salem.
Building Committee
No progress.
Unfinished Business
The Church Council has clarified several items in regard to the Salem Student Fund. This fund offers tuition assistance to students from Salem who attend Luther Prep in Watertown and Lakeside Lutheran High School in Lake Mills (This is a fund different than the one established by Eugene and Lydia Hahn.) Applicants may apply for assistance before September 1st of that school year. Assistance will be given to applicants but not to exceed half of what is in that fund at the time of the distribution. Our Lakeside committee will be looking at ways to help increase the offerings given to this fun. At present there is $3320.31 in the fund but little has been given to it the past several years. Currently, there is no one requesting aid from this fund.
Pastor has yet to pass around the Mission and Vision statements of our church for signing.
New Business
Pastor will be promoting sale of the Bible on audio through the Faith Comes from Hearing program.
The budget committee will be Pastor, Don Gibson, Lavern Priebusch, and Jeff Weinheimer.
The church now has a Web Site. It can be accessed by going to www.aal.org, then to Lutherans Online, and then searching for "Salem" under all sites. Weekly sermons and bulletins will be posted as well as the monthly newsletter and other articles about our church.
The Value of the Gospel Ministry
Our focus here at Salem during the month of November was on the value of the Gospel ministry. We must agree that we are willing to commit ourselves and our resources to those things in life that we consider to be important to us. The goal of our emphasis on the value of the Gospel ministry was to become more aware of just how valuable our congregation is to us and how important the spiritual blessings that God gives to us through the Gospel ministry are to be. Imagine how empty our lives would be and filled with anxiety if we did not believe in our God who has given us every spiritual blessing through faith in Christ Jesus. Imagine how unsettling it would be if we did not have a church that we could attend regularly to hear the comforting message of God's love and forgiveness. Consider what a blessing it is to know that through our church we are taught about God, reassured of his love, and given direction in a world that is becoming increasingly godless.
Our faith in Jesus isn't to be just a part of our lives, it is to be the central focus of our lives around which everything else revolves. Those who follow him make it their number one priority to trust in him, hear his word, rely on his promises, and seek his guidance for every decision he or she makes.
The financial support of such an important focus is also to be of a high priority in our lives. God will carry out his will and preserve the Gospel ministry in spite of us. But we have a distinct privilege to be a part of the financial support of such a noble endeavor.The Value of the Gospel Ministry Stewardship Program that we had in November attempted to make several key points in regard to the financial support of the Gospel ministry. The following summary may help to clarify those points:
1. God has considered our salvation so valuable that he gave up his Son to save us from our sins.
2. The early Christians considered the spread of the Gospel to be so valuable that they gave up their lives to share the message of Jesus.
3. God commands us to consider as most important our soul's salvation and the spread of the Gospel.
4. Our commitment to the Gospel Ministry has not always put God first in our lives.
5. God forgives those who have not been faithful stewards.
6. The forgiven Christian will reevaluate his/her past performance and will endeavor to reflect the true value of the Gospel ministry in the future in the way he or she contributes to the support of the church.
Salem Ev. Lutheran Church is not going to tell you to what degree you should support the work of the Lord financially in the future. We do not want to limit your generous response to God's great love for you! We do encourage each member to reconsider the value of the Gospel ministry and to step forward in faith to support what we believe to be the focal point of our lives.
Operation Evangelism
Saturday, December 9th 1:00PM
Our church wants more members. Really? Yes, really! We believe that our church provides people with the message of salvation, the assurance of the forgiveness of sin, and direction to meet life's challenges and to celebrate its blessings.
Operation Evangelism is an effort to make our church presence known better in the community, to offer a free gift to area households, and to invite our neighbors to our worship services.
During Operation Evangelism we will go door to door in Lowell and parts of Reeseville and distribute the Gospel of Mark on audio cassette to all who are willing to receive this gift. We will also hand out invitations to our Christmas worship services.
Please consider supporting this event by volunteering to help pass out the cassettes and invitations. (You will be trained as to what to do.) We also are asking for help to sponsor the distribution of these cassettes. You will find in your mailbox a special envelope that you can use to sponsor as many cassettes as you wish. The cost per cassette is only $2.50. It makes a great gift as we celebrate the gift of God's Son.
WELS Wind Ensemble Christmas Concert
Everyone is invited to a Christmas concert at the Beaver Dam High School auditorium on Friday, December 22nd at 7:00 PM.
Treat yourself to sacred and secular music performed by the WELS Wind Ensemble and hand bell choir from Zion Lutheran Church in Columbus. The audience is asked to join in with a grand finale of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus performed by the band, bells, and several area choirs singing praises to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Our Condolences
The Lord called home Mrs. Lydia Hahn on Tuesday, November 21st. We pray that the Lord will comfort those who mourn her passing with the rich assurance of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lydia L. Hahn
Lydia L. Hahn, 75, of W8588 Cowbird Road, Reeseville, died on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2000, at Beaver Dam Community
Hospital.
The funeral was on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 10 a.m., at Salem Ev. Lutheran Church, Lowell. The Rev. Paul Vander Galien officiating. Burial was in the Reeseville
Cemetery.
Mrs. Hahn was born on Feb. 8, 1925, in the town of Lowell, Dodge County, the daughter of Paul and Celia (Franz) Braatz. She was married on June 4, 1941, to Reuben R. Hahn. She was married on May 15, 1960, to Eugene Hahn in
Lowell.
Mrs. Hahn was a lifelong resident of the Reeseville area. She farmed with her husbands for many years, was a member of Salem Ev. Lutheran Church, Lowell, the Ladies Aid of the church, and was a former Hiawatha Clippers 4-H leader for many
years.
Survivors include her husband, Eugene Hahn, Reeseville; one son, Floyd Hahn, Horicon; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one sister, Verona (Oliver) Wright, Beaver Dam; one brother, Oscar (Cheryl) Braatz, Chicago; her special friends, Art (Dorothy) Nickel, Lake Mills; nieces, nephews, relatives and
friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Reuben R. Hahn, in October of 1959; one son, Jerome Hahn, in March of 1960; and two brothers, Arthur and Orley Braatz.
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