The Empty Chair 
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?" said the father. The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I see the empty chair; I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bed ridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head." "I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest." "Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now." "So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm." The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon. "Did he die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, and when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside and told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. "But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?" The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

Deadline
    Attention youth grades 8 -12! The deadline for registration for the International Youth Rally to be held in Ames, Iowa July 10th - 15th is February 15th. 
    Ask pastor for a copy of the registration and more information.

The Humble  Birth of Jesus
-Special Mission to the Children Report
    The Christmas Story has special meaning for the poor of the world, including those living in poverty in Northern Mexico. These poor people can easily visualize the pregnant Mary as she rides her
donkey down the dusty, rutted dirt roads towards Bethlehem, roads not unlike the roads of Mexico.
     They can easily imagine the poor couple being turned away by the inn owners, left in the streets, helpless and needy, for they too have been helpless and needy all their lives. They know by experience the faith which Joseph and Mary displayed, for they too have been helpless and needy all their lives. They know by experience the faith which Joseph and Mary displayed, for they have often had to trust in God for the very necessities of life. 
    They can rejoice with Joseph and Mary when God makes a place for them to settle down for the night, even though it is only a stable, for many of the children and their families presently live in little more than small, cold, drafty boxes, made of wood or mud. 
    The Mexican mothers nod with a deep understanding and great joy, and you can see their eyes fill with tears, as they hear about Mary giving birth to her child in the stable, remembering the first cries of their own children, born - not in an antiseptically clean hospital - but on an old worn blanket on the dirt floor of their own little house. They can close their eyes, and they can see themselves tearing a cloth in strips to serve as a blanket for the newborn baby. 
    And they can easily identify with the shepherds, poor and despised, marginalized by society, whom God in His great love chose to receive the announcement of the Savior's Birth from the angels that first Christmas night, and who were the first to worship the newborn King.
    All this speaks forcefully and dramatically to the hearts and minds and spirits of the people living in poverty, hunger, sickness, and want in Northern Mexico. Why? Because the Christmas story says to them
that the Savior truly came for all people, including the poor of the world...including them.
    There is no end of need in Mexico. Every road you take, everywhere you turn, every direction you look, in every village and town, the desperate needs rise up before you. One would have to be blissfully ignorant or willfully blind to miss them.
    Yes, in Mexico, the needs are endless, and the numbers of children needing our compassionate, Christian assistance are overwhelming. Requests come to us from everywhere, asking us to come to help the children in the surrounding areas.
    But there is no reason to lose heart. Mission to the Children volunteers, both American and Mexican, use what God has graciously provided to meet as many of the spiritual and physical needs of the children as possible. We do what we can do.
    Although the needs are great, so are the resources available through caring Christians like yourselves. Although the children needing our help are many, so are the numbers of loving Christians who in compassion, desire to bring the Gospel and material assistance to these precious little ones.
    Although the challenges are enormous, even greater is our Lord, who has sent us into the world to preach the Gospel to every nation, and to share with those in need, promising us that whatever we do for even one of the least of these brothers and sisters of His, we do for Him.

Cascade Mountain Ski Trip
    The annual ski trip will be on Sunday, February 11th. Skiing will be from 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM. Cost for lift tickets and ski rentals is $32.00 per person. Snow tubing is also available at a cost of $15.00 for every two hours until 8:00 PM.
    Contact pastor or see the poster at church for more information.

Annual Meeting Highlights
    The Annual Meeting was held on Wednesday, January 10th, 2001 with 28 voting members present. The meeting began with a devotion by Pastor Vander Galien based on James 4:13-17 in which he reminded the men that all of our plans need to take into consideration if it is the Lord's will or not.
    The minutes of the July Voters meeting were read approved. A moment of silence was observed for those members who had passed away during 2000. All membership changes for the past year are recorded in the Annual Report which will be out in early February.

Unfinished Business
    The voters reviewed the congregations Vision and Mission Statements and signed this important document. One old church pew designated to be removed from the church basement is still in the church basement. The Lakeside Lutheran High School Federation committee noted that several families intend to send their children either to Lakeside Lutheran High School or to Luther Prep in the next several years. A letter from Richard Hensler on the Building Committee was read. (Complete text is in the Annual Report.) Due to a lack of direction and perceived commitment from the congregation, Mr. Hensler has resigned from the Building Committee. His work was received with thanks.

Reports of Officers and Committees and Action Thereon
    Reports were given by the various members of the Church Council and their respective areas of concern. The texts of those reports are also to be found in the Annual Report. Rather than highlight those reports here, I encourage you to read the Annual Report for a full report of the work that our various committees have been doing here at Salem in the past year.

Recommendations of the Church Council and New Business
    The Voters approved the proposed 2001 Church Budget with one change. The amount budgeted for church utilities was raised in view of rising energy costs.
A clarification on the designation for loose offerings was noted. (More so for the Pastor than for those who have been here for a while.) The loose plate offering goes toward Synod Mission's until it becomes apparent that we will reach our Mission goal for that year. At that point they are then credited to our General Fund. 
The Church Council appointment of Jeff Soldner as Financial Secretary for one year was approved by the Voters.
    The Voters decided to keep our current Thursday night worship service as is with no changes.
The Voters approved the purchase and installation of a commercial grade changing table for the Mother's room.
    The Voters discussed purchasing and installing sliding wall partitions in the church basement to reduce noise and to make arranging classrooms easier. Wanting more information, the matter was tabled until a special voters meeting to act on this matter. The special voters meeting will be held after worship services on Sunday, February 11th. Cost of such a project is approximately $5000.00. The church has undesignated monies in the Memorial Fund which could be used for this project. Those who have donated the monies have voiced their agreement in using the money for such a purpose.
    Housing allowances of $3000.00 and $2000.00 were granted to Pastor Vander Galien and Mr. Anderson respectively. This is a tax break which means that they do not have to report that amount of their salaries as income for Federal Income tax but are still required to pay Social Security on it.
The Audit Committee reported that the church financial books are in order.

Election of Officers
    Jim Aellig was elected as Trustee in a close race. Matthew Yuenger and Jeff Greenwald were elected as Elders with no men nominated to run against them. The new Church Council was installed on January 21st and the men who were leaving the Church Council were publicly thanked.

Annual Report
    Last year's annual report was a whopping 49 pages long. Someone told me the other day that any report over 20 pages doesn't get read. It is just too big! I can see his point. I used to get the daily paper and would read it thoroughly from Monday to Saturday. But when that huge Sunday edition came, I seldom read any of it. It was just too big!
    Well, this year's annual report will appear to be shorter. It's "only" 40 pages long. But in fact it is longer because the church directory has been omitted. (It will be produced separately in the near future.) Does this mean that the entire annual report will not be read? Most likely. 
    I encourage you to start reading the annual report by choosing those sections that are of interest to you. After that, then take some time (you have a whole year by the way) and read the other sections as well. The annual report informs you of what each of our committees has been up to lately. Who knows? You may even want to become a part of an organization or committee within our church that suits your spiritual gifts. We encourage you to volunteer and not just wait to be asked.

Pioneer Chili Dinner
    Our Lutheran Pioneer group will be actively involved before, during, and after worship services on Sunday, February 4th. 
    The Chili Dinner will be held in the church basement starting at 11:30 AM. All members of the congregation are welcome to attend and to enjoy the good food and fellowship. 
    There is no charge for the meal but a freewill offering will be taken at the door for those wishing to support this important program of our congregation which receives no financial support from the church budget.

Sundae Sunday
    The 3rd and 4th grade Sunday school class will be serving a treat after our worship service on Sunday, February 25th. As the title suggests, the treat is an ice cream sundae. 
    This activity hopes to accomplish several goals:
    1. It will give the class and their parents an opportunity to work together in a service project.
    2. It will give the members of the congregation an opportunity to get to know each other a little better.

WHY TAKE TIME FOR MUSIC & WORSHIP IN SUNDAY SCHOOL?
by Carl Nolte 
One of the great blessings of our Lutheran heritage is the gift of music in the worship life of our church. Children can praise and thank God through music and singing. They also can share the gospel by using God's gift of song in hymns and spiritual songs. The Holy Spirit strengthens faith through the repeated use of Bible paraphrases and spiritual texts. Children can demonstrate their love and faith in Jesus through music and worship.Beyond worship and praise, music experiences in Sunday school can help children develop their God-given abilities in music and provide them with opportunities for participation in church services by singing and playing instruments. In addition, these children can develop a better appreciation for the heritage of music in the Lutheran church.Opportunities for using music and worship in Sunday school may vary greatly among congregations. Some congregations have an opening or closing devotion with all the children. Others have a classroom devotion led by the teacher. Devotion outlines given in Christian Worship and Chapel Talks, both published by Northwestern Publishing House (NPH), provide starting points for teachers and pastors to tailor devotions to the level of the children. With a little preplanning, teachers can practice hymns for future devotions to improve understanding and worship enthusiasm.The Christ-LightŪ religion curriculum includes a number of supplementary songs on copy masters that could be used for classroom singing and worship in Sunday school. Many of these are spiritual songs that can be taught in a short time. Other music resources include songbooks from Concordia Publishing House (CPH) and Augsburg Fortress. CPH also publishes a songbook for its annual vacation Bible school program that includes a CD or audiocassette of the songs and accompaniments. One word of caution--music materials usually are copyrighted. If songbooks and hymnals are not purchased for the children's use, permission is needed to copy both text and music. Responsible planning would suggest that Sunday schools budget for musical materials or ask for special donations to cover the cost. Using something for church is no excuse for breaking the law.For many Sunday schools, singing in church includes a Christmas children's service. The Christmas kits from NPH are adaptable for large and small groups with varying amounts of time for preparation. Teachers or high school helpers can read or recite some of the more difficult sections. When the Sunday school classes sing in the Sunday morning service, they become part of the congregation's worship life. Hymns and spiritual songs with refrains work well. Have the younger children sing the refrain and the older children the verses. Singing songs of the liturgy or the verse of the day (unison settings are available from NPH) allows the children to contribute to the worship and learn about it at the same time.Children who are keyboard players can accompany classroom or joint devotions. Band and orchestra students can play preservice music or the melody or descant lines of hymns. Organists and choir directors can be enlisted to use the musical talents of the children. The students' music teachers usually will be happy to offer suggestions for music the students can play for church.A major challenge for teaching music in Sunday school is finding the time and personnel. Situations vary greatly. Sunday school teacher meetings could include time for planning the music used in worship and sharing teaching suggestions. If keyboard players or instrumentalists are not available, taped accompaniments give nonmusical teachers the confidence to include singing in their classroom.Using God's gift of music in the worship and teaching of Sunday schools will have great rewards for the children and congregation as well. With specific goals in mind and some practical planning, Sunday school can lead our children to praise the Lord through hymns and spiritual songs.