ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH SIGN FEBRUARY 2015 www.stmarknt.org Pastoral Reflections Dear friends and members of St. Mark, During February we have 3 special items. First is the Winter Picnic (aka Cabin Fever) with a beach theme on Sunday February 8 after worship. It should be a lot of fun with some great entertainment provided by “In Jest”. Second is Ash Wednesday on February 18. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a special season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. This year we will begin with a Fish Fry Dinner at 5:30pm followed by worship service at 7:00pm. We will have the traditional distribution of Palm Ashes , a visible reminder we are from dust and to dust we shall return. From birth to death we are sinners in need of the cleansing forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We will receive the forgiveness of Jesus in the bread and wine, body and blood, of Holy Communion. Pastor: Rev. Keith Knupp Email: [email protected] Office: 716-693-3715 Cell: 585-507-5249 How to contact us: St. Mark Lutheran Church 1135 Oliver Street North Tonawanda, NY 14120 716-693-3715 [email protected] Please call the office at 693-3715 or email [email protected] to let us know how you would prefer to receive the SIGN. Please give us your name, phone number and email address. 1. By mail 2. Church mailbox 3. Email St. Mark has made some changes to the distribution to the SIGN. There are 3 options: Third is a special speaker from “Food for the Poor” on February 28 and March 1. Rev. Gary Bauch will be with us again to share the Word of the Lord and the work the Lord is doing through “Food for the Poor”. This is our special Mission for Lent this year. I ask you to set aside a little to help support this Mission to feed the poor in Central America. You may want to make a sacrifice in what you eat or how much you eat to save some money. Then give your savings to this Mission that feeds both body and soul. Of course you are welcome to give any amount you feel led by the Lord to give. On a sad note I need to inform everyone that St. John has decided the Lutheran Academy will NOT be opening in September 2015. There are many reasons for this decision. I want to thank everyone at St. Mark for their time, discussions, ideas and support to rent St. John use of our school building for this potential ministry. I believe it was a healthy process for us to experience together. The Lord is at work in and among us at St. Mark. Sometimes we don’t understand all that happens. Part of faith in Jesus Christ is that we minister together. He works through His Word, Sacraments and people. We continue to put our lives in His hands and trust in His direction. Let us continue to explore and discover the ways for us to grow in the new life in Christ. In the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Keith St. Mark Lutheran Church & Pre-School 1135 Oliver Street North Tonawanda, New York 14120 716-693-3715 Change Service Requested Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID NORTH TONAWANDA, NY PERMIT #3 Memorials, Gifts & Membership changes MEMORIAL: Given to the Unified fund in memory of Loa Campbell’s birthday from Lyle & Diane Hoffmeister MEMORIAL: Given to the Family Life Ministry fund in memory of Helen Storey From Peter Storey MEMORIAL: Given to the Unified fund in memory of Lillian Cozad, Bret Cozad, Frieda Cozad, Grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Niles from Paula, Carole, Bruce & Wayne Cozad MEMORIAL: Given to Unified fund in memory of Bob Clark from Dennis & Jane Stange MEMORIAL: Given to the Unified fund in memory of Butch Vollmer from Dennis & Jane Stange MEMORIAL: Given to the Unified fund in memory of Lorry Zimmerman from Karen Rader GIFT: Given to the Unified fund in honor of Art Krull’s 100th birthday From Doris Schmidt GIFT: Given to the Endowment fund from the Women’s Ministry of St. Mark (LWML) DEATH: Lorry Zimmerman—January 6, 2015 Mentor Program St. Mark would like to start a mentoring program to help Confirmands and New Members become more acclimated and feel more welcome in our congregation. There is no training involved. We are simply looking for people who would volunteer some of their time and encouragement to these people by being there to answer questions for them and show a personal interest in them. We can give you ideas how to do this. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact the Pastor or the church office. Please consider this as a way to make St. Mark a great place to share the Good News!! North Tonawanda Food Pantry The North Tonawanda Food Pantry is requesting food donations for people in need. For the month of December we donated 28 bags of food! This month’s request is: Personal care items: Shampoo, tooth brushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors) Please consider bringing items as we continue to reach out to our community. You may drop the items off at the church. Your donations are greatly appreciated! Thank you A SINCERE “Thank You” to the following individuals who gave of their time and talent to decorate and un-decorate the church for Christmas. Jim and Patty Retzlaff, Maryann Kraemer, Joyce and Paul Schultz, Sharon Arkins, Dave Dexheimer, Elly,Mike and Grace Crouch, Carol Siverson, Marilyn Brown, Joe Neri, Justin Neri, Judy Zastrow, and Elders & Trustees. Your help is greatly appreciated. Many hands make for light work. Apartment for rent LUTHER MANOR APARTMENTS 245 BRYANT STREET NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. 14120 One bedroom apartment available with appliances. $480.00 per month includes heat & water. Must be at least 62 years of age to apply. If interested call Evelyn at The Lutheran Service Society 716-631-9212 Preschool What a great month to talk about God's infinite love for us! This month preschool will be talking about God's love and care for each of us. We'll read the Bible story from Mark 10 about Jesus blessing the children as well as talk about mercy and forgiveness using the parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Zacchaeus. We will also celebrate Valentine's Day together as preschool never passes up the chance to party. Even though it is only February, preschool is already looking forward to next school year. Our 3 year old class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-12noon and our 4 year old class meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9am-12noon. If you or any of your friends and family have preschoolers, please encourage them to come visit us at one of our upcoming open houses! Word of mouth is our best advertising! Open Houses are scheduled for Wednesday, February 25th and Wednesday, March 11th both from 5:30-7pm. Please also feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] with any questions you may have. In Christ, Jessica Neuman Tumbleweeds Two-Year-Old Play Group 1st & 3rd Tuesdays—Next play group will be on February 3rd & 17th from 9:30-11:00am at St. Mark Lutheran Church & Preschool. Cost is only $5.00 per session! Come have fun and enjoy great activities for you and your child to share while making new friends. Includes arts and crafts, music and movement, gross motor play, story time and Bible activities. For more information call 716-693-3715 or email [email protected] LEGO Club Next meeting Sunday, February 15th from 5:30-7:00p.m. in Grandma Jan’s Room at the School for ages 6 and up. Come show off your building skills, have a snack and learn some very cool stuff. Youth Soccer Camp St. Mark invites children grades K-2nd to participate in a soccer skills camp held in St. Mark school gymnasium. The camp runs every Monday for 4 weeks beginning Monday, February 9th to March 9th 4:30-5:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $25.00 per player and is limited to the first 20 children on a first come/first serve basis. Additional information and applications are in the information rack behind the Welcome Desk at the church or by calling the office at 693-3715. EPIC Senior High Youth (9-12 grade) The next EPIC youth meeting will be on Wednesday, February 4th at 6:30 p.m. Meet new friends, talk about teen topics, discuss the Word of God, share your opinions and plan for fun activities. Note from your Treasurer Contributions for the first four months of our fiscal year were reported in the previous newsletter and were running behind what was budgeted. We are in a better financial position since then. 5 Months of Budget Actual Rec’d Budgeted Envelopes $104,358.30 $117,516.00 Budgeted Misc. Giving _15,291.65 15,301.07 $119,649.95 $132,817.07 Non-Budgeted Received __________ 6,439.21 Total $119,649.95 $139,256.28 Expenses were $12,135 above what was budgeted for the same time period. We received $360 in December and $151 in January from Thrivent Choice Dollars, $36.56 in Dec and $18.28 in January from St. Pauly Textile, and $62.40 from Bottle Junction (that’s 1,248 containers!). If you have any plastic, aluminum, or glass containers that have a deposit, please call the church office and arrangements can be made for a pick-up. Ash Wednesday Fish Fry St. Mark Family Life in conjunction with the Elders will be hosting its first Fish Fry for Ash Wednesday, on Wednesday February 18th from 5:00-6:15 PM. The fish will be provided and cooked by BW, which is the same outfit that does our barbecue. They will cook it on site. St. Mark members are asked to invite friends and extended family so that they might stay to worship with us as well. Worship begins at 7:00, so it is the goal to have everyone seated by 6:15 so everyone including workers can attend worship. Tickets will run until February 15th. Tickets must be obtained ahead of time for this event; there will be no tickets at the door. Tickets are also available at the church office from 8-12:00 MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. Evangelism Guest Letters – Total for 2014, 63 initial letters and 13 follow up letters for a total of 76. Ticket donation is $10.00 for a fish fry which includes a 9-10 oz. piece of beer battered haddock, potato salad, cole slaw, rye bread, dessert and beverage. There are no child or 1/2 portion fish dinners for children. Child option: Donation is $ 6.00, which includes chicken tenders, potato salad, cole slaw, rye bread, dessert and beverage. If you have questions, please call Becky Dena 870-3595. We are looking for bakers to donate pies and desserts for the fish fry. Please sign up in the narthex or let Becky Dena know by Monday, February 15th. Loaves of Love – Total of 24 loaves delivered for 2014. Magdalene Project – 100 gifts successfully delivered. HELP is needed on Saturday, February 7 @ 12:00 noon to set up tables and chairs and decorations. Many hands make for light work ! Outreach – We are working together with the Board of Elders to reach inactive members and nonmembers inviting them to events that would pertain to them. St. Mark Board of Evangelism: Sharon Arkins, Becky Dena, Marcia Neri, Alice Pfonner, Joyce Schultz, Karen Vollmer, Carol Ziegler, Judy Zastrow Stewardship Our December meeting was cancelled and we met again on Jan. 22nd to plan our focus for 2015. The Prayer Shawl Ministry is continuing to bring comfort and “connection” to several recipients. There are still some boxes of 2015 contribution envelopes on the table in the narthex. These will be delivered by the end of January if not picked up before that time. If asked to be a greeter or counter, please consider a positive response. Greeters are important as they make people feel welcome to our church. We “care” that they are joining us in worship. Our next meeting will be Thursday, February 12th at 6:30 p.m. Dorcas Quilters & Stitchers We again will be meeting each Thursday during the month of February, 10:30am in the lower level of our church. Bringing a friend with you is a great idea, too! Sickness and weather has prevented some of our quilters to attend in January so we will attempt to play a bit of "catch-up" in February. Again, no need to "know how to sew" ... at this time we would welcome anyone who would be willing to help with tying the quilts that are already put together. If that does not interest you, how about just helping "size" some of our donated sheets to the 60"x80" requirement? Thank you for your help to accomplish our goal of 75 quilts for Lutheran World Relief!!! Women’s Ministry of St. Mark The Women’s Ministry of St. Mark membership is open and welcome to any woman member of St. Mark. Presently, their business meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month in the library of the school building, with the exception of January, July and August. Included in the business meetings are reports by the LWML (Lutheran Womens’ Missionary League), and the Dorcas Quilters. Whenever we have mission projects, fundraisers, bereavement dinners and the like, the generosity and willingness of so many of those who cannot attend these meetings becomes visible, and very welcome. Our Candy Cane Fair and Women’s Christmas Luncheon have proved to be very popular and help to bring community members into our facilities. Once again, we thank all who help us in our mission of doing our Lord’s work! The next meeting of the Women’s Ministry will be on Thursday, February 5. Lunch is planned for 12:30 and the business meeting at 1:00pm. Bring a sandwich, and dessert and coffee/tea will be provided. The LWML report by Alice Pfonner and the Dorcas Quilters report by Esther Stoeckel follows. Submitted by, Phyllis Phillips, President