[DistUpd] October 29

District Updates distupd at lists.ndlcms.org
Wed Oct 29 16:07:48 CDT 2008 

Update for October 29
A publication of the Nebraska District, a District ABLAZE!

Greetings in the name of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, who has gathered and joined His people together as His Church. What a blessing it is for each of us to be a part of the body of Christ, each with different gifts and talents, but each still a part of His Church.

What does this mean for us? Why is this a blessing to us as individuals and as congregations? Paul writes in Romans 12:4-5, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." This is also the way the Nebraska District works. Over 125 years ago, congregations from across Nebraska gathered together to create the man-made organization of the Nebraska District "in order to build, strengthen, and facilitate the work of the church" in Nebraska and beyond. (Thy Kingdom Come: A History of the Nebraska District of the LCMS, Dr. W. Theophil Janzow)

Even today, the 244 congregations of the Nebraska District partner together in support of a District Office to provide needed ministry support and services back to them and the other congregations of the District. Services provided to your congregation include a system for calling and placing church workers, both pastors and teachers; consultations during times of difficulty for congregations, schools, or church workers; resources and support for outreach ministries, including community outreach and new mission planning; a communication network including printed and electronic media; consultations for congregations and church workers on financial issues, including salary, benefits, and budget issues; and many other services.

The gifts your congregation provides from your budget to the mission and ministry of the District ensure that these needed services are available when they are required by your congregation or a sister congregation somewhere in Nebraska. A portion of the gifts to the Nebraska District are also passed along to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to support similar services and needed infrastructure for all of the LCMS congregations, as well as mission work here and abroad.

Thanks be to God for the ministry support gifts given by Nebraska District congregations and generous individuals. As members of the same body of Christ, may God continue to bless the support of our common mission of "discipling the saved and proclaiming Christ to a lost and changing world" through God-pleasing stewardship practices.

*         Prayer Requests
*         "Get the 2-1-1" on Human Care Services in Your Area
*         Lutheran Witness Renewal Time
*         Two EIIT Vicars Assigned to The Nebraska District
*         Needs Continue Following Hurricane Ike
*         Fan into Flame Congregational Update
*         Pew Cushions Available
*         Various Worship Items Available
*         Grants Available to Lutheran Congregations to Support Sabbatical
*         Concordia Coach Courtney Meyer Announces Retirement
*         Bulletin Insert Available for Sunday Before Election Day


PRAYER REQUESTS
Family of Ramon Nolte - We lift up in prayer the family of Ramon Nolte, who passed away last Friday, October 24. Ramon's service to the church throughout the years included president of the Nebraska Lutheran Laymen's League, member of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund District Committee, and member of the Nebraska District Board of Directors. His funeral service was Tuesday, October 28, at St. Paul, Kenesaw.

Rev. Bill and Venita Steinbauer and Family - We join in prayers of comfort for Rev. Bill and Venita Steinbauer at the death of Venita's mother this past weekend. Rev. Steinbauer serves as pastor of University Lutheran Chapel in Lincoln.

David Koopman and Family - Please lift up prayers of comfort for David Koopman and his family at the death of his mother, Mary Jane, last Friday, October 24. David serves as principal at St. John, Seward.

We ask that the Lord will grant all of these families a special measure of His peace and comfort at this time, as well as blessed assurance through the promise of eternal life at the Lord's side.


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"GET THE 2-1-1" ON HUMAN CARE SERVICES IN YOUR AREA
Church office staff, please consider sharing this information in your bulletin or your next newsletter. Thank you.

Statewide information about human care services in your area is available through 2-1-1.  Through 2-1-1 you can get information on human care services such as:
            -Child care                               -Rent assistance
            -Respite care                            -Utility assistance
            -Adult day care                       -Shelters
            -Drug rehabilitation                  -Food pantries
            -Mental health services             -Legal aid
            -Job training                            -Volunteer opportunities
            -Support groups                       -Transportation assistance
            -Education programs                -Head Start
            -Disaster relief                          -And much more...

Simply dial 2-1-1 on your phone and speak with a live operator. Interpretation assistance for more than 150 languages is available to callers. Anyone with Internet access can go to www.ne211.org<http://www.ne211.org/> and search for human service information online. Currently this service is available in 38 counties in Nebraska.


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LUTHERAN WITNESS RENEWAL TIME
Church offices - it's almost time to start the renewal process for the Lutheran Witness subscriptions. Please call Sandy at the District Office at 888-643-2961 or email sandyr at ndlcms.org<mailto:sandyr at ndlcms.org> with contact information for the person who will be coordinating the Lutheran Witness renewal process for your congregation. This will help us by ensuring all changes are handled properly. Thank you for your help.


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TWO EIIT VICARS ASSIGNED TO THE NEBRASKA DISTRICT
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is pleased to announce that two students received calls to be pastors and 11 students received vicarage assignments in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Ten students in the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) program and one student in the Distance Education Leading to Ordination (DELTO) program are awaiting calls. In these cases, the details of calls to specific sites are being finalized and should be completed soon. Great care is exercised in both the candidate call and the vicarage placement processes to ensure that the best possible match is realized between the seminarian and the ministry site. The assignments were given during the Seminary's morning chapel service on October 22.

Trinity, Lincoln, was assigned two EIIT vicars during this service:

 *   Gabriel Bol, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
 *   Vincent Paul, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Nebraska

Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) is a specialized program leading to ordination for men engaged in pastoral missionary contexts in ethnic immigrant and urban cultures. Students are preferably first-generation immigrants leading immigrant-based churches. The program consists of distance education, contextual mentoring, and regular on-campus (Seminary) modules.

These students join more than 12,000 graduates from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, who have been prepared to serve as pastors, missionaries and chaplains in the LCMS. The Seminary's spring placement is scheduled for April 22, 2009.


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NEEDS CONTINUE FOLLOWING HURRICANE IKE (from LCMSNews -- No. 60, October 27)
While the economic crisis and presidential candidates' campaigns dominate headlines, little news is heard about Texans who still struggle to clean up their homes and try to get their lives back on track more than one month after Hurricane Ike.

Their stories long ago faded from nightly broadcasts, but tough challenges remain in hard-hit areas for many LCMS members and congregations, including:
*         Rev. Alan Taylor, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Galveston, who has yet to learn if his home is salvageable and is dealing with major repairs to reopen the flooded church where at least 75 percent of the members suffered major property damage.
*         Rev. Timothy Dinger, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Port Arthur, who is living in a rental home with his wife and four children after they lost nearly everything. The family has no insurance to cover their loss because they don't live in a flood zone.
*         Three staff members of the popular children's center at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Beaumont, whose homes were seriously damaged. All continue to serve in their ministry, including the director who remains in her home but worries about how growing mold is affecting her daughter, who has asthma and severe allergies.

Dire, urgent, and "afraid of being forgotten" is how Rev. Glenn Merritt, director of Disaster Response for LCMS World Relief and Human Care, summed up needs when he visited LCMS congregations in Southeast Texas Oct. 8-10.

"Galveston is in shambles. Port Arthur and Bridge City are in shambles. Yet we're not hearing anything about hurricane-related needs," said Merritt, who met with pastors to get the ball rolling on emergency grants from the Synod's mercy arm to help impacted LCMS members and professional church workers.

"A little over a month out, you don't see much [about Ike-related challenges], even on the news here," said Dr. Lou Jander, the LCMS Texas District mission and ministry facilitator who serves as the district's disaster response coordinator. "Certainly, there are fewer people suffering today than a week after [Ike], and nearly all power has been restored. But needs definitely remain, and some of the greatest are those of our church workers."

Among Jander's top concerns are for between 200 and 300 pastors, teachers, and other church workers with financial challenges. Many are grappling with unexpected cleanup and repair costs. Others missed paychecks when Ike forced schools to temporarily close and congregations to cancel services, losing a week or two of offerings.

To read the entire article or to find out more information about relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Ike, visit http://www.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=14245.


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FAN INTO FLAME CONGREGATIONAL UPDATE
The Nebraska District received its first $100,000 pledge for Fan into Flame from a District congregation last week! Praise God that Trinity, Fremont, has prayerfully pledged a tithe of their upcoming campaign to go towards Fan into Flame, with the goal of $100,000.

Congregations around the District are beginning to return congregational pledge agreements after much prayerful deliberation. These pledge agreements allow congregations to be a part of the 2008 Fan into Flame campaign in the Nebraska District, while giving them time to plan and implement an appeal next year.

Tithing from an upcoming campaign is a great way for congregations to be involved. If your congregation is planning any type of capital improvement or debt-reduction campaign, please consider pledging a portion of the money raised to do mission work through Fan into Flame. Congregational pledge agreements are available to be printed from the District website at http://www.ndlcms.org/news/FIF/index.html.

Even if your congregation is not planning a major campaign in the near future, you are still encouraged to set a goal and complete a pledge agreement as soon as possible to help campaign personnel provide the necessary support to congregations involved with Fan into Flame.

If you have questions or would like more information on this exciting mission endeavor of the LCMS, visit the District website at http://www.ndlcms.org/news/FIF/index.html or contact Andrea Essling at andrea.essling at lcms.org<mailto:andrea.essling at lcms.org> or 888-643-2961. Congregations are strongly encouraged to notify Andrea of their intent to participate by December 1, 2008.


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PEW CUSHIONS AVAILABLE
St. Peter's, Davenport, has recently been blessed with God's gift of new cushions for their pews.  Their former cushions still have some life in them and might be useful to a mission congregation or any other congregation who would be interested in having some. They are of a burgundy color, slightly redder than the cover of Lutheran Service Book. They have 32 cushions about 138" long, two about 102" long, and two about 202" long.

They would be happy to give them free to any congregation. Arrangements can be made for them to be picked up, or if circumstances allow, one of their members may be able to drop them off. Congregations that are interested should contact Rev. Timothy Prince at revprince at hotmail.com<mailto:revprince at hotmail.com>.


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VARIOUS WORSHIP ITEMS AVAILABLE
Pacific Hills Lutheran Church in Omaha has a number of various worship items available free of charge to any congregation that can use them.

Following are the items that are available:
        Purple paraments
        Two chalices and paten
        Communion ware
        Flower vases - 2
        Old aisle candles
        Two candle holders

Contact Pastor Bill Moorhead at PastorMoorhead at PacificHillsLutheran.org<mailto:PastorMoorhead at PacificHillsLutheran.org> for more information or if your congregation is interested.


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GRANTS AVAILABLE TO LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS TO SUPPORT SABBATICAL
Wheat Ridge Ministries is offering financial assistance to Lutheran congregations that are supporting and encouraging the health and wellness of church leaders by providing sabbatical experiences for pastors and other full-time professional church workers in the congregation. This grant program is being implemented as a pilot project of Wheat Ridge Ministries.
Wheat Ridge believes that sabbatical leave for rest and renewal is a significant way that congregations can support professional church worker health and wellness. Ministry sabbaticals can help staff persons stay healthy in the midst of the pressures and complexities of serving others.

Any Lutheran congregation developing a sabbatical plan for a pastor or other church worker within the grant guidelines may apply. The maximum amount per grant is $7,500 per congregation, and the congregation must match the grant amount provided. During the pilot phase of this grant, up to ten grants will be available annually and no more than one grant will be provided to a congregation.

The grant is to be used specifically for sabbatical experiences for professional church workers. Within these guidelines, funds may be invested in the following ways: salary and benefits for additional staff during the sabbatical period; costs related to assistance provided by a sabbatical interim worker; travel expenses related to the sabbatical experience; education expenses related to the sabbatical experience. The grant may not be used for general congregation operating expenses, purchase of equipment or any other expenses that are unrelated to the sabbatical plan.

Congregations interested in applying for a Wheat Ridge Sabbatical Grant can visit www.wheatridge.org/sabbaticalgrants<http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=apLIJTNuE8KGI3I&s=cgJKJVMALaLOK1PzGmE&m=jtIWKePQIdL0E> to review the requirements and determine whether the grant is appropriate for their needs and to download a grant application. Any questions may be referred to the Wheat Ridge office at 800-762-6748.

Wheat Ridge is also pleased to provide many other valuable resources for sabbatical rest and renewal through its Ministry Sabbatical Resource Center online at www.wheatridge.org/sabbaticalresourcecenter<http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=9oLGLQNqH7LHJ3J&s=cgJKJVMALaLOK1PzGmE&m=jtIWKePQIdL0E>. The Center is coordinated by the Rev. Timothy Fangmeier, Wheat Ridge Staff Associate, Davidson, North Carolina. For questions regarding the sabbatical process in general or for information about the need for coaching regarding the development of a sabbatical plan, please contact Pastor Fangmeier at tim at giftedpeople.org<http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=9oLGLQNqH8LHJ2J&s=cgJKJVMALaLOK1PzGmE&m=jtIWKePQIdL0E>.


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CONCORDIA COACH COURTNEY MEYER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Courtney Meyer, head football coach at Concordia University, Nebraska, will end his coaching duties at the completion of 2008 season. Coach Meyer made the announcement October 21 after talking with current players and coaches earlier in the week.

"For nearly two decades, coach Meyer has led the Bulldog football program," said Rev. Dr. Brian
Friedrich, Concordia's president. "His focus on the 'double win' - winning on the field and in life as a Christian - has inspired student athletes, coaching colleagues, alumni and our campus community."

Meyer has been a part of Bulldog football for 31 years: four as a player, eight as an assistant coach and 19 as the head coach. He coached the Bulldogs from 1977 to 1984 as the defensive coordinator before taking a head coaching job at Concordia University, Wisconsin. He returned to Concordia University, Nebraska in 1990 as the head coach.

Meyer was twice distinguished as a conference coach of the year. He earned the honor first in 1999 as the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference co-coach of the year after Concordia's first winning season in more than 12 years. He was named the Great Plains Athletic Conference coach of the year in 2001 when the Bulldogs went 10-2, finished as GPAC co-champions and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA playoffs. Meyer also served as the president of the NAIA Football Coaches Association in 2000.

"Coaching for me has been a ministry," said Meyer. "It is time for someone else to assume this position of influence. Concordia University has been very good to me in giving me this opportunity. I will treasure the relationships I have shared with young men and look forward to continued contact with them. I will do everything I can to support the university and the football program as it moves into an exciting new phase. Coaching is all consuming - my time to step aside is now, and I am at peace with it."

"He has found great joy in doing that which is most important - touching the hearts and lives of young men with the love of Jesus Christ," said Friedrich. "Coach Meyer has modeled service and leadership on and off the field. His enthusiasm for life, living, learning and Bulldog football will be missed greatly. We wish him God's richest blessings as he retires and transitions to another pace and phase of life."

Coach Meyer noted that the decision to retire came in mid-July and is not related to the current season.


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BULLETIN INSERT AVAILABLE FOR SUNDAY BEFORE ELECTION DAY
The following information was shared by LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick. Christians in Nebraska are encouraged to vote on Tuesday, November 4, and exercise the freedom God has given them as American citizens.

In just a few days, many U.S. citizens will have the opportunity through the casting of their votes to make a decision about traditional marriage that could affect the course of our nation for generations to come. In Arizona, California, and Florida, marriage-protection amendments are on the ballot.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has a biblically based position on this very important matter. Respectfully yet unapologetically, I strongly encourage the pastors and people of our Synod to make every effort to protect marriage as a divinely created lifelong relationship between one man and one woman.

We urge Christians across the nation to vote to protect marriage for the sake of our society as we know it and as humanity has always known it. Exercising this duty and privilege through voter participation on Nov. 4 is part of the responsibility to our nation that we bear as Christian citizens.

Here is a link to a bulletin insert that we encourage you to use this Sunday in your worship services to help communicate to your parishioners the urgency of this issue:
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=14273<http://www.ne16.com/t/7326159/254230050/50324232/0/>

For more information, please review the following online resources on this subject either on the President's Web page, www.lcms.org/president<http://www.ne16.com/t/7326159/254230050/50324233/0/>, or selectively, as follows:

Read the statement from the Synod president:
http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/Office%20of%20the%20President/Protecting_Traditional_Marriage_Statement.pdf<http://www.ne16.com/t/7326159/254230050/50324234/0/>

Listen to a public service announcement from the Synod president:
http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/stream/?pl=14272&vurl=www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/Office%20of%20the%20President/LCMS_PSA60.mp3<http://www.ne16.com/t/7326159/254230050/50324235/0/>

Watch the press conference conducted at the International Center last week:
http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/stream/?pl=14274&vurl=parabolic.edgeboss.net/wmedia/parabolic/sequence_1-gbk_press-samesexmarriage-hdv_1080i_60-parabolic_wmp_wide_screen2.wvx<http://www.ne16.com/t/7326159/254230050/50324236/0/>


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Blessings,
Nichole Hetz
Nebraska District LCMS
Director of Communications
1-888-643-2961
nicholeh at ndlcms.org<mailto:nicholeh at ndlcms.org>
www.ndlcms.org<http://www.ndlcms.org/>

* Please Note: The inclusion of items in the Update from outside sources is for informational purposes only. Inclusion of such items does not constitute District endorsement.


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