June 2019
Shepherd News
Monthly Newsletter of Shepherd of the Valley LCMS
801 E Denver Avenue, Bismarck ND 58504
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Special thanks to everyone who volunteered at Heavens Helpers Soup Cafe. Shepherd of the Valley was able to sponsor a full day at the Cafe and took part in meal preparation, serving, and cleanup. If you are interested in further volunteer opportunities at the Cafe please visit their website at www.soupcafe.org and sign up for a time! The Cafe is a great way to bless those in our community, so thank you for your service in His name.
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Pastor Wolfgram and Vicar Woodside attended the Peace Officer Memorial Service on May 15 at the ND State Capital. Pastor Wolfgram and Vicar Woodside serve as chaplains with Crisis Care Chaplaincy.
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Hello, my name is Richard Dailey and I am going to serve as your vicar beginning August 1st. I am 30 years old and I was raised in North Pole, Alaska as a Southern Baptist. I joined the Army in 2006 at the age of 17 and served as an infantryman. While I was serving in Afghanistan, I sustained several injuries, which led me to a medical retirement. After I returned from Afghanistan, I met my wife, Sarah. Sarah introduced me to the Lutheran faith while we were dating. As we began talking about marriage, I began taking confirmation classes under Sarah’s pastor. I finished the classes, but I still had concerns about Baptism, so I was not confirmed.
After Sarah and I were married in 2009, we moved up to Alaska. I continued to study the Lutheran faith and we began attending Zion Lutheran Church in Fairbanks, Alaska. I began confirmation classes again and was confirmed under Pastor Walla in 2011. While at Zion, I became friends with Pastor Walla. At Zion, I continued to grow in my knowledge of Lutheran doctrine, and I began to consider going to the seminary. In 2012, Sarah and I decided to move back to Oklahoma to be closer to Sarah’s parents. In 2014, Sarah gave birth to our first child, Matthias. 2016 was a big year for our family. Sarah gave birth to our daughter, Ruth, I completed my undergraduate studies in history and political science, and Sarah completed her nursing degree.
During my final years at Cameron University, I began talking to my pastor and the Concordia Theological Seminary admission counselor. The more I studied the Scriptures and the Book of Concord, the more I desired to become a pastor. I began at the seminary in the summer of 2017 with a rude awakening, Summer Greek. Although Greek pushed me back on my heels, I passed with good marks. My first year tested me in many ways, but God and a few good friends helped me along the way. In 2018, during the throes of Summer Hebrew, our third child, Samuel was born. I continued to grow as a theologian and a Christian husband and father over my second year.
Well, this was a little snapshot of my life. We are looking forward to meeting everyone and to continue learning and growing as I serve as your vicar. May God bless you in your service to Him.
In Christ,
The Dailey family: Richard, Sarah, Matthias, Ruth, and Samuel.
Congregational Picnic Scheduled
Pastor and Denise Wolfgram invite you to their home for a congregational picnic on Thursday, June 20, beginning at 5:30 PM. Please bring a dish to pass and share as we fellowship together. Serving begins at 6:00 pm and we will plan to have a campfire as well. Join us at 4601 Rolling Ridge Road.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:34-35
We recognized the important role of family, and the blessings that parents and children can be in our lives. We recently celebrated Mother’s Day in May and we will be celebrating Father’s Day in June. While our earthly relationships are important, our relationship with God is of eternal importance. Through Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice on the cross, we are made his brothers and sisters, restoring our relationship with God and providing us with the promise of eternal life.
The Voter’s Assembly will be meeting on Sunday, June 23rd during the education hour at 9:30 a.m. This meeting will include our annual election of officers and members of our boards. Please prayerfully consider in what ways you could use the gifts God has given you in service to Him and your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Positions we’ll be electing include:
- A Vice President of the Congregation, who will serve one year as Vice President, the following year as President, and the third year as Immediate Past President.
- Members of the Boards of:
- Lay Ministry;
- Evangelism;
- Stewardship, including the Human Care Subcommittee;
- Youth;
- Education; and
- Member of the Martin Luther Elementary School Board.
A few years ago, the VisionPath Leadership Team took steps to update our congregational Mission Statement, as well as put together a set of belief and value statements. While these have been presented in the past, we will be asking the Voter’s Assembly to formally adopt them. If the Voter’s Assembly sees fit to adopt them, we will take steps to make them more visible within the congregation and to intentionally convert them into action.
As a church family, our MISSION is to share, nurture and live our faith in Christ.
As a family of believers, we BELIEVE:
- The Bible is God’s unchanging Word, and is the foundation for what we teach and how we live.
- Sin separates us from the family of God.
- Jesus suffered and died on the cross as payment for our sins, restoring us to God’s family.
- Jesus rose from the dead, granting us eternal life.
- Our faith is strengthened when we gather as family around God’s Word.
- We are created in Jesus for the purpose of welcoming, loving and supporting one another as God’s family.
As followers of Jesus, we VALUE being faithful to God’s unchanging Word, celebrating our mission as family in Christ and caring for our church family and community.
- We are FOLLOWERS of Jesus.
- We are FAITHFUL to God’s unchanging Word.
- We CELEBRATE our mission as family in Christ.
- We CARE for our church family and community.
Your Brother in Christ,
Justin Dever
As the summer warms up we certainly enjoy getting away to the lake or camping for the weekend. Before you leave for the weekend, be sure to be fed and nourished in your faith life and join us for our mid-week worship services hosted at Shepherd of the Valley at 7:00 PM each Wednesday evening. Pastors and vicars from our Lutheran Church Missouri Synod sister congregations will lead the services and proclaim God’s Word. Be blessed as you worship!
June 5 Marcis (Holy Communion)
June 12 Woodside
June 19 Zellers (Holy Communion)
June 26 Walla
July 3 Wolfgram (Holy Communion)
July 10 Schmeling
July 17 Walla (Holy Communion)
July 24 Wolfgram
July 31 Zellers (Holy Communion)
August 7 Marcis
August 14 Wolfgram (Holy Communion)
August 21 Walla
August 28 Dailey (Wolfgram liturgy & Holy Communion)
Greetings Church Family,
Where I work, we like to use the acronym BLUF which stands for “Bottom Line Up-Front”. It means to get to the point right away so…BLUF: We need 14 more responses to reach our goal so have extended the survey; it will now end on June 9th. Thank you from the Vision Path committee to those that have completed the Re:Vitality survey! Our collective responses will give us, SOTV, an idea of where we are as a congregation. Essentially, what are we doing well in serving Christ and what could we do better. Without your input, we, Vision Path, can only guess and apply our energy toward what we think is right.
If you have not completed the survey on-line or using the paper version please take 15 minutes to do so; YOU matter, YOUR opinion matters! Visitors, regular attendees, irregular attendees and those that can’t make it to service are all asked to complete a survey. The paper surveys can be found on the table left of the doors as you walk into the sanctuary and can be deposited into the white box with large red “Re:Vitality” letters. To complete a survey on-line, copy and paste this web-address into the address line of your favorite browser: www.lcms.org/survey/revitality and when prompted enter this code: C83514. Husbands and wives please complete separate surveys.
Yes, this is about the third week that I have been bugging you about taking a survey, okay maybe fourth week, but it’s important! The results will have LONG LASTING effects on how this congregations serves the Lord. Think about your responses as a down payment on an amazing gift that you will be giving yourself and others. I truly look forward to sharing the results with everyone and digging into the next steps with all of you. We are in this together! Your sister in Christ,
Ann
Martin Luther School News!
School is out for the SUMMER! What a great year it has been at MLS!
As the staff at MLS closed out the year, we listed the blessings we have felt over the past year. Your support and prayers were definitely on that list! What an outpouring of love we felt at this year’s Mayfest as together we raised over $50,000 to help continue the ministry at MLS.
We look forward to continuing the partnership with our congregations, families and students as we make plans to celebrate our 25th anniversary during the 2019-2020 school year.
Our theme for the upcoming year is “Rooted and Grounded,” based on Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
25 years! Imagine the growth you see in a tree over 25 years, the depth of the roots the help the tree to sustain the winds and storms that attempt to cause it to topple over. Think of the expanse of the branches that reach out to the skies and bear fruit. Over the past 25 year, MLS has faced struggles, winds that test the security of those roots and cause the branches to sometime flail in the tempest. We are thankful to our faithful Lord who has helped MLS stay rooted and grounded through the work and gifts of His servants in the Bismarck Mandan area and the church at large, and we look forward to many years of ministry to come!
MLS is currently taking applications for a part-time teacher(s) 5th/6th grade teacher in any or all of the following subjects: science, social studies, and reading/language arts. These content areas could possibly be covered by more than one individual, so if you have an interest in teaching only a specific subject, please feel free to apply! Contact Denise Wolfgram at wolfgram@lutherschools.org or call the school office at 224-9070.
| JUNE BAPTISMAL BIRTHDAYS
Cody LaFond 6/1 Laith Hintz 6/3 Dane Wolfgram 6/7 Walter Rehling 6/11 Ken Purdy 6/14 Noah Jackson 6/20 Krey Ekstrom 6/20 Josh Lawyer 6/21 Brandin Kuntz 6/21 James Bechtold 6/24 Darline Bourn 6/24 Kyleen Ekstrom 6/27 Melvin Sutheimer 6/27 Grayson Lawyer 6/29
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| JUNE BIRTHDAYS
Kristi Hintz Carrie Harling Denise Walker Marilyn Brandner Luella Corbin Samantha Henke Joyce Keith Dorrie Burkhardsmeier Ted Kuusisto Jaden Austin Grayson Lawyer Mary Reiner Cathy Sitter Mikayla Zeis Jesse Strum Dawn Albrecht Lisa Miller Todd Schwagler Gabe Bjergaard Loren Strum Evan Purdy Nolan Purdy Curt Krecklau |
| JUNE ANNIVERSARIES
Arlan & Sherrald Kostek 06/07/64 Norman & Carol Mohl 06/16/67 Eldon & Carla Unrath 06/03/72 Lonny & Korrine Lang 06/15/74 Carey & Cindy Bittner 06/07/75 Kevin & Cindy Olson 06/16/79 Ken & Cheryl Purdy 06/27/82 Loren & Kathie Strum 06/04/83 Lester & Denise Wolfgram 06/17/89 Curt & Lyn Krecklau 06/09/90 Leland & Lisa Miller 06/28/91 Rob & Dorrie Burkhardsmeier 06/08/02 Laith & Kristi Hintz 06/07/03 Paul & Sara Vukelich 06/12/04 Nate & Carrie Harling 06/30/12 Daniel & Tabitha Dinger 06/15/13 |
| ELDERS OF THE MONTH
June 1-15 Marty Bjergaard June 16-30 Ken Purdy
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June Ushers 2019
*June 2 Don Geinger & John Hoffman 815am
Kari Kramer & Laith Hintz 1045am
June 9 Rob Burkhardsmeier & Robert Knutson 815am
Curt Krecklau & Dan Jackson 1045am
*June 16 Kevin Brockel & Michel Henke 815am
Bob Ziebarth & Justin Dever 1045am
June 23 Dwight Cook & Lonny Lang 815am
Greg & Melvin Sutheimer 1045am
*June 30 Don Geinger & John Hoffman 815am
Cheryl Purdy & Leon Lippert 1045am
June Greeters 2019
*June2 Wayne & Joy Doll 815am
Walter & Bernice Rehling 1045am
June 9 Becky & Jeremy Gildea 815am
Bridget & Arianna Roll 1045am
*June 16 Dwayne & Joyce Keith 815am
Tony Aukland 1045am
June 23 Carrie & Nate Harling 815am
Bob & Heather Ziebarth & Lily 1045am
*June 30 Don Geinger 815am
Leon & Jerry Lippert 1045am
June Acolytes 2019
*June 2 Hunter P. 815am
Blake N. 1045am
June 9 Miranda A. 815am
Emma V. 1045am
*June 16 Daisy A. 815am
Reese D. 1045am
June 23 Keityn H. 815am
Brekken Z. 1045am
*June 30 Zeva B. 815am
Kallen H. 1045am
| THE PURPOSE OF SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH IS TO PROVIDE SPIRITUAL NURTURE THROUGH WORD AND SACRAMENT, LIVE THE FAITH AND REACH INTO THE COMMUNITY WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. |