| Shepherd News
Shepherd of the Valley LCMS 801 E Denver Avenue, Bismarck ND 58504 September 2019
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NEW MEMBER INFORMATION CLASS
A six-week class for persons interested in learning what we believe and teach as Lutherans will be held at Shepherd of the Valley starting Monday, September 9 at 6:30 pm. If you are interested (or know of someone who might like to attend) please contact Pastor Wolfgram. We will then be receiving new members at Sunday services on November 3 with a “Welcome Brunch” hosted by the Board of Stewardship during the Education Hour.
TAKE HEART IN YOUR GRIEF
Whether you are mourning the death of a loved one who died several years ago or the more recent loss of a family member, you are invited to “Take Heart In Your Grief.” Sunday Evenings starting Oct. 6, 2019 6:30-8:00 PM. Session will be held at Shepherd of the Valley and led by Rev. Thomas R. Marcis Jr. and Pastor Les Wolfgram. To register or for more information call the church office at 701-258-4231.
LITTLE FREE PANTRY UPDATE
Our Little Free Pantry has seen lots of action from donors and consumers! As we continue to support this endeavor, we want to provide for the body and soul of those in need. Our first ideas for opportunities to feed the soul include having small cards in the box for prayer requests and, on the other side, items suggested to be left in the box, including a Bible. We will also place Shepherd of the Valley brochures in the box.
We are also addressing how we stock the Little Free Pantry. Those who wish to contribute may do so at their discretion either by stocking the pantry directly or by leaving items at the church for distribution. We are organizing a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule to distribute items left in the church. It would be great to have more than one family for each day to build a “tag-team” to share the load. A sign-up sheet will be available in the Fellowship Room. The volunteers will pray over the box and contributions and, then, stock the box on the assigned days. It will be interesting to see how God uses the Little Free Pantry to bless us and others!
Human Care Committee
What’cha doin’? This might be a question you have for the Human Care Committee since we have been relatively quiet about our emphasis for the third quarter of the year. To answer the question, we are establishing a Benevolence Fund during this quarter. This will probably prompt many of you to ask, “What’cha doin’?! What is benevolence?”
“Benevolence is very similar to grace–providing assistance to someone in need without looking for payback. The difference between benevolence and grace is eligibility: where grace has no eligibility requirements, benevolence does. There has to be a minimal set of requirements to justify giving away someone’s hard-earned money to someone else. From a Christian perspective, should benevolence require qualification and accountability? The answer is unequivocally, yes. Christians and churches need to discern between being gracious and being gullible. Do we just give the token quarter to someone in need? Or do we open our doors and wallets to bed, clothe, mend, and feed, for as long as needed? We need to discern who to help, when to help, how to help, how intensely to help, and who not to help.” — Rod O’Neil (author of Benevolence Giving for Church and Family: Helping the Needy God’s Way)
So that is what we have been doing. Working through a benevolence fund policy that will address those discernment questions. The policy will be further considered by the Church Council. We don’t know how long this initial process will take. In the meantime, donations are being accepted. Contributions may be made to the Benevolence Fund by making checks payable to Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church and noting “Benevolence Fund” on the memo line.
| QUILTERS! SOTV quilting group is in need of more people. We are a very small group. We will start meeting again in September. We have been meeting Mondays and some Tuesdays. We do simple block quilts. If you have free time, please consider helping. It is a good way to get to know church members better. We usually bring a lunch and socialize. No experience needed. Call Pam Dever – 222-2604, 391-6332 cell; or Dorris Weidrich – 223-4396.
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| Greetings Church Family!
Exciting news! The Vision Path Committee has set dates for the two workshops that will happen this fall at Shepherd of the Valley. Everyone His Witness (E1HW) “emphasizes listening to people to understand their worldview and where their lives connect with Jesus’ story. It does not focus on learning witnessing scripts or methods for engaging total strangers.” It is highly recommended to attend E1HW prior to attending Shepherding Our Stays (SOS) as this workshop will prepare you for the language and concepts used in SOS. E1HW will be held on October 12th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM with time allowed for lunch that will be provided by the church. The cost to attend the workshop will be $10 to cover the workbook used in the training. The goal attendance for this workshop is 36 people divided into 6 groups of 6 people. The deadline to register and order your workbook for E1HW is September 19th. The other workshop, Shepherding Our Strays “addresses a significant challenge for many congregations: members who have separated themselves from the spiritual life of the congregation. Much more than a checklist for ‘cleaning up the rolls’ or ‘clearing out the deadwood,’ Shepherding Our Strays provides congregational leaders and concerned members with practical processes and useful tools for reaching out to inactive members with care and intention.” SOS will be held November 2nd at SOTV from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM with time allowed for lunch that will again be provided by the church. The deadline to register and order this workbook is October 10th. The goal attendance for SOS is 36 people as well. To register for either workshop or both, please send an email to Ann Willoughby at anncwnd@gmail.com with the following information: the name of the workshop you wish to attend (E1HW, SOS or both), your first and last name and telephone number. The cost for each workshop is $10, so if attending both will need to pay $20 prior to the deadlines. E1HW must register and pay by September 19th, SOS must register and pay by October 10th. Please enclose cash or check made out to SOTV in an envelope and write your name and the name of the workshop you will be attending on the front. The other LCMS churches in the Bismarck/Mandan area have been invited to attend so please register early to guarantee your spot. Lastly on Wednesday, September 4th and Sunday, September 8th (both services) there will be a short presentation right after the benediction to share the results of the survey that was taken in June of this year. It will take about 7 or 8 minutes of your time to stay and listen. The Vision Path Committee felt it was important to share the results with the congregation to raise everyone’s awareness about where we are as a congregation. Peace, Ann Willoughby Vision Path Committee Chair
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| 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
And he said to them “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15
We are called to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is not always easy to know what to say or even how to start the conversation. To make it easier, Shepherd of the Valley will be offering workshops to teach us techniques for talking to others about our faith. This includes a foundational Everyone His Witness workshop on October 12th and a workshop titled Shepherding Our Strays which focuses on reaching out inactive members on November 2nd.
To give you a bit of a preview, the Shepherding Our Strays workshop teaches the LASSIE technique to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. LASSIE includes: Listen; Ask; Seek; Share; Invite and Encourage. I would ask you to please prayerfully consider attending these workshops.
The Facility Planning Committee has received draft architectural drawings laying out options for improving Shepherd of the Valley’s kitchen, fellowship space and Sunday School rooms. The committee will be meeting with the architect in September to discuss these options and figure out next steps.
As the school year starts, please keep our students, teachers, staff, administrators and others impacting our youth in your prayers.
Your Brother in Christ,
Justin Dever
| As a church family, our mission is to share, nurture, and live our faith in Christ. |
| SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS
Lydia Pansegrau Steven Reiman Emma Vannett Kim Jackson David Aarhus Andrew Krecklau Renae Strum Emma Lewis Kathie Strum Alex Aukland Leland Miller Nate Strum Dexter Fetzer Brianna Albrecht Hadley Williams Neveah Schulz Rosie Kapp Deldyn Lewellyn Tabitha Dinger Ann Willoughby Jeremy Gildea Stephanie Hansen Adam Voegele Jensen Hintz
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| SEPTEMBER BAPTISMAL BIRTHDAYS
Lori Sutheimer 9/2 Marion Reinke 9/6 Wayne Doll 9/7 Abby Aukland 9/13 Kam Ekstrom 9/14 Heather Dever 9/15 Mikayla Zeis 9/16 Renae Strum 9/18 Michelle Kimmes 9/19 Sheila Kalonick 9/20 Sherry Hawley 9/25 Bernice Rehling 9/25 Alex Aukland 9/27 Shirley Wohl 9/27
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| September Ushers 2019
*Sept 1 Craig Helm & Robert Knutson 815am Steve Reiman & Kevin Olson 1045am
Sept 8 Don Gienger & John Hoffman 815am Kari Kramer & Laith Hintz 1045am
*Sept 15 Kevin Brockel & Micheal Henke 815am Curt Krecklau & Dan Jackson 1045am
Sept 22 Dwight Cook & Lonny Lang 815am Bob Ziebarth & Justin Dever 1045am
*Sept 29 Chuck Falkenstein & Eliot Reinke 815am Greg & Melvin Sutheimer 1045am
September Greeters 2019 *Sept 1 Carrie & Nate Harling 815am Leon & Jerry Lippert 1045am
Sept 8 Lowell & Corrin Fahrni 815am Chuck & JoAnn Falkenstein 1045am
*Sept 15 Don Gienger 815am Leslie Watson 1045am
Sept 22 Marion Meske 815am Pam Dever & Lily Dever 1045am
*Sept 29 Wayne & Joy Doll 815am Walter & Bernice Rehling 1045am
September Acolytes 2019 *Sept 1 Paige S. 815am Daisy A. 1045am
Sept 8 Keityn H. 815am Kallen H. 1045am
*Sept 15 Blake N. 815am Brekken Z. 1045am
Sept 22 Hunter P. 815am Reese D. 1045am
*Sept 29 Miranda A 815am Emma V. 1045am
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| SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
Joe & Sheila Kalonick 09/07/85 Mike & Kari Kramer 09/14/85 Adam & Sonja Dever 09/15/07 Todd & Sharon Schwagler 09/20/91 Walter & Bernice Rehling 09/21/52 Craig & Cindy Helm 09/25/81 Ted & LaRae Kuusisto 09/28/85 Michael & Dori Nelson 09/29/78
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| September Elders
1-15 Rob Burkhardsmeier
16-31 Marty Bjergaard
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