Update for October 1 A publication of the Nebraska District, a District ABLAZE! Greetings in the name of our Heavenly Father, the Lord of the Harvest. It doesn't matter if you live in a city, town, or rural area, you know this is the time the Lord has given farmers to harvest the crops from the fields. As Nebraskans, even if we aren't farmers we know the harvest is important to the economic conditions of our state, as well as the well-being of our fellow citizens. Likewise, the Lord has planted a mission field right outside each of our doors. He has brought African immigrants, Hispanic immigrants, and Asian immigrants to our communities, as well as young families, older adults, and those who have never heard of Jesus Christ and His wonderful gift of salvation. The fields around us are ready to be harvested and He calls each of us to go into these fields with His Word and the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. Please pray about how the Lord can use you in His harvest and pray for those across the District who are joining you in this field. Did you know everything your Nebraska District Office does is with the intention of giving to the congregations and workers the resources they need to go into the mission fields of Nebraska? Every resource available from your District Office is funded by the mission and ministry dollars your congregation commits to the District. This commitment is usually made as part of your congregation's annual budget. It is the dollars from your congregation that allow the District Office to provide these resources back to your congregation when they are needed. To find out more about the resources your District Office has to offer your congregation to equip and support you as you tell the Good News of Jesus in your church, school, and community, visit the District website at [1]www.ndlcms.org or contact the office directly at 888-643-2961 or [2]info@ndlcms.org. ¨ [3]Prayer Request ¨ [4]Church/School Secretary Workshop Registrations Mailed ¨ [5]Parish Health Survey ¨ [6]Beverly Duensing Chosen "Teacher of the Year" ¨ [7]Update on Greater Omaha Mission Opportunities ¨ [8]Omaha Lutheran Schools Change Name ¨ [9]CPH Warehouse Sale is Coming to Nebraska ¨ [10]New Materials Available for LWML Sunday ¨ [11]New IRS Regulations Require Response ¨ [12]Mission Service Opportunities ¨ [13]Asian Tour Rescheduled by Lutheran Hour Ministries ¨ [14]Wheat Ridge Launches "Giving Gardens" Hearts for Jesus Project ¨ [15]Concordia Theological Seminary Announces Library Expansion Project PRAYER REQUEST Virginia Wempen and Family - Prayers have been requested by Pastor Rob Kuefner for Virginia Wempen, a 75-year-old member of Holy Cross, Kearney, and her family. Virginia has been missing since Friday. She is wheelchair bound, and hasn't driven for 10 years, usually transported by various services. Her wheelchair was found next to where a car in their driveway usually sits, but the car was gone. She had money and a credit card with her, but none of her medications. She has been delusional and confused at times, especially since a more recent hospital stay. All of the proper authorities are searching for her, but to date there is no further information. Please join in praying that she would be kept safe and be found, and that she could receive the help she needs. [16]Back to top CHURCH/SCHOOL SECRETARY WORKSHOP REGISTRATIONS MAILED The Nebraska District is pleased to once again be able to offer a Church/School Secretary Workshop for all church and school office staff in the District. This day full of resourcing, renewed acquaintances, and refreshments will be held on Tuesday, November 11, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. on the campus of Concordia University, Seward. This year's workshop will include sessions on newsletter design and Godly boundaries, as well as time to meet the District Office staff and to network with the other secretaries. Registration materials were mailed to each church and school office. Copies of the form may be made as needed. Materials are also available to be printed from the District website at [17]http://www.ndlcms.org/news/conferences/secretary.html. The registration deadline is Friday, October 24. Contact Nichole at the District Office, [18]nicholeh@ndlcms.org or 888-643-2961, with questions. [19]Back to top PARISH HEALTH SURVEY The Parish Health Committee of the Nebraska District is asking each congregation to complete an optional online parish health survey to help the committee assess parish health programs taking place in Nebraska congregations, as well as to assist them in allocating resources, planning programs, and providing support to congregation in the areas of health and wellness and health ministry. Follow the link below to begin this short, 5-minute online survey. The survey will only be available until midnight next Wednesday, October 8. Please take five minutes between now and then to share your congregation's information with the committee. Contact Chris Blanke at [20]Christine.blanke@cune.edu with questions or for more information. Survey link: [21]http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2288MSQZGC3 [22]Back to top BEVERLY DUENSING CHOSEN "TEACHER OF THE YEAR" "Beverly Duensing got a call two weeks ago that she didn't expect. The call was from Wal-Mart, letting the local teacher know she had been selected as Wal-Mart's Teacher of the Year. `I was very honored,' said Duensing, a second grade teacher at St. Paul's Lutheran Education Center. `I had no idea.'" The Beatrice Daily Sun shares the full story of Beverly's award in an article on their website, [23]http://www.beatricedailysun.com/articles/2008/09/30/news/local/doc4 8e23c657efc3481125841.txt. Beverly has been a teacher at St. Paul's for 15 years, starting as a kindergarten teacher and now teaching second grade. She was nominated at the Beatrice Wal-Mart by several former students. We thank and praise God for Lisa Knoepfel (see last week's Update), Beverly Duensing, and all of the other dedicated teachers who serve the Lord, the students, and their families through Lutheran schools in Nebraska. [24]Back to top UPDATE ON GREATER OMAHA MISSION OPPORTUNITIES The Greater Omaha Task Force has been busy planning and developing new ministries at the 40^th and Q Street property in Omaha, previously Zion/Peace Lutheran Church. When the congregation closed its doors, the Nebraska District - LCMS purchased the building to minister to the neighborhood where it is located. Right now, the mission at 40^th and Q Streets has centered on human care ministries, with plans to tie it in with God's Word with a future preaching station. Faithful servants have been busy sharing and showing the love of Christ through English as second language (ESL) classes, American citizenship classes, as well as Vicar Obdulio Felix leading devotions and singing with the students. The gym is being used by Sudanese and Hispanics. Computers have been donated and moved to the center to be used for a job training center starting in October. You can be a part of this mission too! There are opportunities for volunteers from all areas to be part of this walking together in mission. To hear more about how the Lord has already touched the lives of people benefiting from activities in the building, and to learn how you can be part of this effort as it unfolds over the next months, please attend a meeting on Sunday evening, October 12, at 7:00 p.m., at the former Zion/Peace campus at 40^th and Q Streets, Omaha. The assembly will receive the report of the Greater Omaha Area Task Force, who will also be sharing about mission opportunities in Greater Omaha and how churches can partner together to develop new missions and strengthen established ministries in Greater Omaha. The meeting is open to everyone! [25]Back to top OMAHA LUTHERAN SCHOOLS CHANGE NAME The Wider Omaha Lutheran School Association has changed its name to Concordia Lutheran Schools of Omaha. The change brings the corporate name of the Lutheran school system into agreement with the names of the schools it operates: Concordia Academy elementary school, at 108^th and Grover Streets, and Concordia Jr.-Sr. High School, 156^th and Fort Streets, both in Omaha. "Concordia means harmony or agreement, and this brings harmony to our schools' names," said Rev. Jim Rasmussen, Concordia Schools' chief executive officer. Rasmussen said he believes the new name will help the schools become better known in the Omaha area. The schools' former name was often shortened in writing and conversation to the acronym WOLSA. Rasmussen said that acronym "didn't mean anything to people who weren't already familiar with us." By contrast, Concordia is a name that is used by Lutheran educational institutions across the country, including the Concordia University System affiliated with The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. That system includes Concordia University, Nebraska in Seward. Concordia Lutheran Schools of Omaha was founded as the West Omaha Lutheran School Association in 1996 and opened its first elementary school in 1998. The name was later changed to the Wider Omaha Lutheran School Association (replacing "West" with "Wider"). Today the schools serve a total of 440 students: 231 at Concordia Academy in grades kindergarten through 6, and 209 at the junior-senior high in grades 7 through 12. Concordia Lutheran Schools of Omaha is owned by 16 churches affiliated with The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in Omaha and the surrounding area. In addition to the new name, the school system has a new logo. Concordia Omaha plans to complete the transition to the new name in all documents, promotional materials, signs, and the website (which continues as [26]www.wolsa.org for the time being) by the end of the current school year. [27]Back to top CPH WAREHOUSE SALE IS COMING TO NEBRASKA Concordia Publishing House brings its Warehouse Sale -- the largest sale of the year -- to the campus of Concordia University, Nebraska. The sale is open Friday, October 24, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this time, excess inventory from Concordia Publishing House is offered at deep discounts. Sale items include books for children and adults, teaching resources, and more. The Concordia Publishing House Warehouse Sale is located in the Janzow Campus Center on the Concordia University campus in Seward. For more information about the Warehouse Sale, call Mary Oldenburg at Concordia at 402-643-7405. [28]Back to top NEW MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR LWML SUNDAY The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) is offering new materials for this year's suggested LWML Sunday, October 5. Dr. Robert Roegner, executive director of LCMS World Mission, the global Gospel outreach arm of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, authored a number of the new materials using this year's theme, "Opened Eyes ... Hearts Ablaze!," based on the text from Luke 24:31-32. Some of the materials available include worship service bulletins (for purchase), a sermon with an outline (free), and a children's sermon (free). In addition, for the first time this year, LWML is providing a LWML Sunday worship service CD for $10. There is also a short video clip featuring LWML President Jan Wendorf, available for free download at [29]www.lwml.org, which can be used to inform congregations about the women's auxiliary and its ministry. Those who place an order for LWML Sunday bulletins or the worship service CD will receive a free packet of the new "With This Ring" Mustard Seed Devotions. For more information or to order LWML Sunday materials, visit [30]www.lwml.org. Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) is the official women's auxiliary of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. LWML provides spiritual support to woman while also encouraging and equipping them to use their God-given talents to share the Gospel with those in their community and around the world. [31]Back to top NEW IRS REGULATIONS REQUIRE RESPONSE (From Reporter Online, [32]http://www.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=14163) Concordia Plan Services (CPS) is offering resources to help LCMS congregations, schools, and other church organizations understand revised Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations that go into effect January 1 governing tax-deferred savings plans and tax-sheltered annuities -- and which will require response by many LCMS employers, according to CPS. An article prepared by CPS for this issue of Reporter reads as follows: "The revised IRS 403(b) regulations (governing tax-deferred savings plans and tax-sheltered annuities) that go into effect on January 1, 2009, will have a significant impact for all employers, including church organizations that have at any time permitted their workers to make pre-tax contributions to a 403(b) plan. Depending on the employer's decision and action regarding the new regulations, their workers can be affected as well. "In the past, 403(b) plans have generally been considered an individual contract between the worker and a 403(b) provider. With the revised regulations, the IRS has made it clear that 403(b) plans are now going to be regulated as employer-sponsored plans. This means employers will have ongoing oversight and compliance responsibilities, including the requirement of a written plan document, for any 403(b) providers to which their workers make pre-tax contributions. "As an option, any LCMS employer enrolled in The Church's Plan and using only the Concordia Retirement Savings Plan (CRSP) after December 31, 2008, has the assurance that Concordia Plan Services and MetLife will take responsibility for most of the administrative and compliance issues of the new regulations minimizing the administrative burden on the employer. "To help employers and workers understand these revised regulations and the employer's increased responsibilities, Concordia Plan Services has compiled helpful resources. To access the information, visit the Concordia Plan Services website at [33]www.concordiaplans.org and click on "Retirement" on the left, select "Concordia Retirement Savings Plan," then "403(b) Regulations." There you will find: * "A link to the IRS website, where you can view Q & A and link to a copy of the 131-page revised regulations. * "A link to the MetLife website, which also provides many resources regarding the IRS revised regulations (MetLife is the administrator of the Concordia Retirement Savings Plan, the 403(b) plan offered through the Concordia Plan Services). * "A Glossary of 403(b) terms which is a handy reference tool when reading about the regulations. * "The Concordia Plans Update newsletter which was mailed in late August 2008 to all LCMS employers participating in the Concordia Plans. This newsletter explains what these new regulations mean for employers. * "A recorded "Webinar" that references the Concordia Plans Update and presents the topic in a user-friendly format geared toward LCMS employers. "The revised regulations have the greatest impact on employers that allow salary deferrals to multiple 403(b) providers. Employers in this situation are urged to carefully consider their options and research the costs and impact to staff and resources if they wish to support contributing to multiple providers after December 31, 2008." [34]Back to top MISSION SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES Ysleta Lutheran Mission - El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico A group of mission-minded folks from Trinity, Grand Island, are planning a week-long mission trip to Ysleta Lutheran Mission January 17 thru 24, 2009. This mission is a recognized service organization of LCMS that engages in a variety of mission activities and social ministries in the El Paso area and across the border in and around Juarez, Mexico. These activities have included building and repairing churches, building homes, and distributing food, clothing, health kits, blankets, toys, and other charitable items. The mission has recently been allowed to engage in ministry at the U.S. Border Patrol Detainment Center in El Paso. A passport is required. Some updated immunizations are also recommended. Cost is approximately $800 - $1000 per person, which includes most expenses. Some scholarships may be available to those interested. Fund raising efforts are also being planned to help defray expenses. A website is available for further exploring at [35]www.ylm.org/servantevent.html. If you are interested in knowing more, call Ken and Gerry Koepke at 308-381-4712. Korea (from missionary Rev. Patrick O'Neal's newsletter) EFL Professors and Volunteers Luther University/Seminary (LTU) is seeking two experienced teachers with a Master's degree to teach English as a first language (EFL) classes to university students and community children. These are paid positions on yearlong contracts starting March 1, 2009. LTU is also in need of 2 to 3 volunteer missionaries to teach English for their 3 week Winter English Camp for children in January. If you are interested in these positions, please email directly to [36]patrick.oneal@lcms.org. [37]Back to top ASIAN TOUR RESCHEDULED BY LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES Lutheran Hour Ministries is postponing its Asia tour previously scheduled for this November until the first week of November 2009. The move comes following a period of political protests in Thailand that led to the Thai government at one point imposing a state of emergency. "We have had a ministry center in Thailand since 1991 and view the country as very stable," says the Rev. Walt Winters, Director of LHM's International Ministries division. "The last couple weeks have simply been an exercise in democracy by the citizens there. While we didn't anticipate any safety problems moving ahead with our tour this November, we have decided to be cautious and postpone the trip for a year to allow for things in Thailand to return to normal." LHM will now offer two ministry tours in 2009, one to Panama and Nicaragua Feb. 5-14 and one to Thailand and Vietnam Nov. 1-14. The tours offer attendees an opportunity to get a firsthand look at LHM ministry in action and learn about the many outreach ministry highlights in the host countries. Tour leaders include LHM staff or board members who know the countries, the sights, and the ministries of the specific country you will be visiting. The tours are managed by professional tour agencies that have expertise in the regions being toured. A brochure, bulletin insert, and PowerPoint presentation with more information are available at [38]www.lhm.org/tours. The website also includes trip itineraries, costs, payment schedules, and registration forms (Latin America tour information is available now, Asia tour information will be online soon). You may also call 1-800-944-3450, ext. 4168 or send an e-mail to [39]tours@lhmint.org if you have additional questions. [40]Back to top WHEAT RIDGE LAUNCHES "GIVING GARDENS" HEARTS FOR JESUS PROJECT Wheat Ridge Ministries is excited to announce a new Hearts for Jesus project, Giving Gardens. This new project, in partnership with Hope Seeds, Inc., Bradenton, Florida, will make a difference in the lives of children in Haiti and other countries where the world's hungry live. When your school, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, small group, etc., participates in the Giving Gardens project, you can make a world of difference! Your gift to Giving Gardens will support the distribution of climate and cultural-appropriate seeds, training, planting, and harvesting of gardens. Perhaps the most important gift you will give is the seed of faith being planted and nurtured through the work of teachers and missionaries. Every $500 donated to Giving Gardens supports: * Garden seeds that can produce nutritious vegetables and fruits that will feed many families. These vegetables and fruits can transform sick and malnourished children into healthy and energetic boys and girls. * Surplus food from the gardens is sold to earn money for other kinds of food, for clothing, for medicine, and for education. * Seeds from the produce may be collected and used for the next season's crop. * Seeds of faith that are planted in young people through special garden schools, similar to vacation Bible school, taught by trained teachers and missionaries. Wheat Ridge Ministries invites you to "plant" Giving Gardens! We thank you for what you do to care for God's children throughout the world. Giving Gardens offers another way to share the love of Christ in a hungry world. Giving Gardens resources include daily activities for early childhood and elementary age students, object lessons, chapel resources, a skit, a poster, postcards, chapel offering boxes, a copy of the book "3 in 1 (A Picture of God)," and much more. For additional information and to order materials, please visit the Giving Gardens website at [41]www.wheatridge.org/givinggardens. You may also contact Wheat Ridge Ministries at 800-762-6748. There is no charge for these materials. [42]Back to top CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ANNOUNCES LIBRARY EXPANSION PROJECT The opening service for the commencement of the one hundred sixty-third academic year brought more than just the inauguration of a new school year. The Reverend Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, President of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, announced the public phase of an eight million dollar renovation and expansion project for the campus' Walther Library. The Walther Library expansion project will provide new resources for students and faculty, house specialized instruction centers, and centralize more than 175,000 volumes owned by Concordia Theological Seminary, the home of one of the richest and most unique theological collections in the state of Indiana. The seminary contracted with the architectural firm MSKTD & Associates, Inc. to move forward with working drawings for the Walther Library project with preliminary work done this winter and construction anticipated to begin sometime next summer. This addition will add approximately 48,000 square feet to the existing library and will house 40,000 volumes currently in storage, as well as an additional 6,000 volumes in the seminary's rare book collection. The new facilities will also provide areas for students to benefit from collaborative study opportunities. The architect has taken wonderful care to design an addition that will blend in beautifully with the architectural masterpiece Eero Saarinen designed over fifty years ago that came to fruition in this campus. Special care has been exercised in preserving the heritage that will continue to serve the seminary and church for many years to come. "God's people have already responded so generously from the heart that gifts and commitments to the Walther Library addition have reached $5,625,000, or 70 percent of the total needed to pay for the first building to be added to the campus in over forty years. Praise God for His lavish grace," commented Dr. Wenthe. [43]Back to top Thank you to all the congregations and individuals who submitted information for this week's Update. Items to share are always welcome and may be emailed to [44]communications@ndlcms.org. We pray this e-newsletter may be a useful resource tool to you in your personal and congregational ministry. Please feel free to reproduce anything in this newsletter and pass this resource along to others you know who may also benefit from this information. Anyone is welcome to subscribe and may do so by emailing their email address to [45]communications@ndlcms.org and requesting to be added to the mailing list, or by visiting [46]http://www.ndlcms.org/news/communications. Blessings, Nichole Hetz Nebraska District LCMS Director of Communications 1-888-643-2961 [47]nicholeh@ndlcms.org [48]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. References 1. http://www.ndlcms.org/ 2. mailto:info@ndlcms.org 3. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#prayer 4. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#secretary 5. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#parish 6. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#teacher 7. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#omaha 8. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#name 9. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#sale 10. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#lwml 11. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#irs 12. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#mission 13. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#tour 14. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#gardens 15. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#library 16. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 17. http://www.ndlcms.org/news/conferences/secretary.html 18. mailto:nicholeh@ndlcms.org 19. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 20. mailto:Christine.blanke@cune.edu 21. http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2288MSQZGC3 22. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 23. http://www.beatricedailysun.com/articles/2008/09/30/news/local/doc48e23c657efc3481125841.txt 24. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 25. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 26. http://www.wolsa.org/ 27. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 28. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 29. http://www.lwml.org/ 30. http://www.lwml.org/ 31. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 32. http://www.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=14163 33. http://www.concordiaplans.org/ 34. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 35. http://www.ylm.org/servantevent.html 36. mailto:patrick.oneal@lcms.org 37. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 38. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/www.lhm.org/tours 39. mailto:tours@lhmint.org 40. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 41. http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=8oLCLKNrHiLKJZJ&s=9nKEIMOoH7LIJSOnHjH&m=deLGIQOpH5LQE 42. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 43. file://localhost/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/distupd/attachments/20081001/3492d883/attachment-tmp.htm#atop 44. mailto:communications@ndlcms.org 45. mailto:communications@ndlcms.org 46. http://www.ndlcms.org/news/communications/update.html 47. mailto:nicholeh@ndlcms.org 48. http://www.ndlcms.org/