print
This year our chapter will offer two options for election dates. Sunday November 4th or Sunday November 11th. We offer two dates to enable each congregation to find a date that would maximize member participation. The chapter has budgeted $100 for food and fellowship for each congregation in conjunction with your election. If the Thrivent coordinators in your congregation commit to organizing a fellowship, the chapter will send the funds prior to the event. Your chapter leadership contact will facilitate this for you. This year ballots and other election materials will be hand carried to your church or to a congregational coordinator following our next chapter meeting on October 31st. The slate of officers is listed below with the exception of a Records Director as Betty Coates recently passed away. Suggestions for Records Director before the election would be welcome as well as after the elections where an appointment to the position can be made. All elected chapter leadership positions are considered “open positions” each year, even though there may be some members who have not completed their four consecutive terms.
On July 8th we celebrated the dedication of a new Habitat home for Sandra Townsend and her daughter in Rosenberg. What a blessed occasion it was. The dedication was the culmination of 10 weeks of Saturdays doing all the things it takes to build a home. Eight Lutheran Churches in our Chapter supported the effort through donations totaling over $8000, provision of worker lunches and 150 man days of labor. Local non Lutheran friends provided an additional 75 hours. Becky Ohm was our coordinator for the project. She was there every Saturday signing workers in, providing snacks and drinks and coordinating lunches. Two other homes ,one on either side of us, were built concurrently with ours providing an opportunity to fellowship with the folks from St. Laurence Church and Elkins High School. There was a small army of people there each Saturday. Finding a parking place on Habitat Way was a problem at times.
Encouraged by the outpouring of support from churches and the community, our chapter has decided to apply to build another home on Habitat Way in 2008. We can do this! The chapter leaders chose to schedule the build in the fall of 2008 to take advantage of cooler weather. The spring of 2007 got a bit hot on those Satruday afternoons. We will again need to contribute $7500 (or gifts in kind) as seed money from the chapter in support of the project. I know the workers will be there as they were in 2007. Jerry Lohr is willing to serve as project coordinator in partnership with another willing person. It is a major committment to do what Becky Ohm did but two helpers will make it a lot easier. We hope to see you there.
We have committed all but a $100 of our Chapter allocation. It has been a very good and active year. We remain able to respond to disaster type situation, never-the less, as there is money available for such situations. It is a good thing too since hurricane season is upon us.
Sean Gutierrez, our chapter Congregational Service Team Director, has outlined in his latest news letter the need to expedite congregation projects so that we can spend all the available funds. Free supplemental funds are a terrible thing to waste. Keep looking for good works to do. We read in Ephesians 2:10 that we are created specifically for the doing of good works because of our gratituge to the Lord.
We have scheduled our annual all chapter meeting for Sunday December 2nd in Danevang. The festivities will be held in and around Danavang Lutheran Church between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. The community danish history museum will be open for browsing at 4:00pm with the meal starting at 6:00pm. The main meal will be preceeded by an appetizer of fried alligator. The Janiks who have an alligator business will share a little of what alligator culture is all about. Doyle and Ann Schaer will coordinate a classic gulf coast shrimp boil for the main course. Those of you who shared the annual meal with us in Danevang in 2005 will remember how good that was. We will once again have the pleasure of some Hans Christian Anderson style danish entertainment by Winnie and Pr. Laird Engle. They will regail us in period costumes as they do so often in area churches and schools.
This newsletter is written for you by volunteer leaders of your local Thrivent Financial for Lutherans chapter, and any views expressed are those of the writer. For questions, comments or to learn more about chapter activities in your area, please contact one of your chapter leaders, who are listed on our Web site at: www.thrivent.com/members. Just click on Information About My Chapter.
|
