Concordia Lutheran Church

President Christine Zogas called the meeting to order.
Pastor Koch opened the meeting with prayer.
Minutes of the Fall Voters’ Meeting were accepted as presented.
Election Results: (See the special article below).
Membership changes for 2011 were considered and ratified.
New Board of Education and Board of Youth Members were affirmed.
October’s Financial Report and donation graph were reviewed.
Pastor Koch read a statement he had prepared which contained an explanation of changes that the District Office recommends take place following the retirement of a Pastor and the calling of a new Pastor.
Proposed budget for 2012 was discussed. Many questions were raised and ratification could not be completed. The Voters’ meeting of December 11th was recessed until December 18th to follow the 11:00 service where further discussion and ratification of the budget for 2012 will take place.
Other Old Business will also be discussed and handled on the 18th.
New Business
Nomination forms on which congregation members may turn in the name of a possible Pastor for Concordia will be presented and discussed on the 18th.
Committee Reports were in written form and were handed out on the 11th.
Meeting of December 11th was closed with Prayer.

RESULTS OF (continued) VOTERS’ MEETING ON DECEMBER 18th, 2011:
Meeting called to order and opened with prayer.
Nomination forms, on which congregation members may suggest the name of a possible Pastor for Concordia, were presented and discussed.
Budget for 2012 was discussed. After much discussion and many questions were addressed and answered, motion was made and passed to accept the budget as presented with the stipulation that the amount budgeted ($5000) for “Maintenance and Repair – Parsonage” not be used except for emergencies.
Meeting of December 18th was closed with Prayer.

Yes, Lent starts. It is a most important time of the year for Christians.
It is a time of REFLECTION – as we contemplate the plans and work of God for our salvation.
It is a time of REACTION – as we become contrite and recognize our spiritual need.
It is a time of REPENTANCE – as we confess our sins and receive anew the forgiveness in Christ.
It is a time of RENEWAL – as we commit to the use of God’s power in Christ for new life.
It is a time of REJOICING – as we finally celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and ours as well.

I have just reviewed your Lenten and Easter customs and find them very impressive. We shall do our best to refresh what you have as established worship practices. We shall begin with Ash Wednesday worship at both 12:30 and 7 p.m. The 7 p.m. worship will be preceded by our traditional Ash Wednesday supper. There will be opportunity for ashes as we receive the absolution Jesus prepared for us through His life, death and resurrection. I trust that the meditations on that day will be a true blessing to you. Arrangements for the meal are shown on page 3 and in our Sunday bulletins.

We have not yet selected the themes to be used in our Wednesday worship but we have decided to have worship at 12:30 p.m. and in the evening on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and evening worship on all Wednesdays in Lent at 7 p.m. Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services will be celebrated with Holy Communion and forms of worship that are traditional here. We may put some special emphasis of our own but will stay with your patterns of worship.

We will provide full information on Easter worship in the next month’s Chimes. Suffice at this time to say that all of the previous activities and worship on Easter will occur. The Sunday after Easter will be set aside for the children’s program on Jesus’ resurrection.

I must say that I was impressed with the amount of effort and planning to which you are accustomed and anticipate a most meaningful celebration of this season with you – WITH ALL OF YOU! Do join us at Concordia as we Reflect, React, Repent, Renew, and Rejoice in God’s salvation in Christ.

Join us for Youth Group Sunday School / Bible Study. We meet in the Youth Room in the lower level between services. PLAN TO JOIN US!

YOUTH GROUP SCHEDULE FOR FEBRUARY:
FEBRUARY 4TH 10 a.m. Prepare for Sub-Sandwich sale
YOUTH GROUP MEETING IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING

FEBRUARY 12TH Youth usher. Ushers are needed for both the 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services. Ushers need to be at the church 30 minutes prior to the start of the service.

Youth Group is open to all members of Concordia from 6th grade through high school (and beyond), including those in Confirmation Class. Members are encouraged to bring friends to our meetings and events. For more information about the Youth Group or any Youth Group activity, please contact Adam Jures 708-699-2913 or Walter Jures 708-788-8596.

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS

WE HOPE YOU JOIN US EVERY SUNDAY BETWEEN SERVICES. This month we will be reviewing our first lessons about Joseph and Moses with some cool activities and games. Your children will also be creating some wonderful Valentine’s Day crafts on February 12th to share with the family. We will also start to plan our Spring service project. Please help your children grow and understand the importance of God’s Word by bringing them to Sunday School.

Amy Staubus Jill Giannotta
astaubus@earthlink.net jgiannotta72@hotmail.com

Here is the schedule for February:

Tuesday, February 7 – @ home, vs. Hodgkins
Tuesday, February 14 – away vs. Darien
Tuesday, February 21 – away vs. Burbank
Tuesday, February 28 – @ home vs. Brookfield
Tuesday, March 6 - @ home, vs. Westmont

Games start at 8:00 p.m. Setup begins around 7:30 p.m. Visiting teams are allowed to warm up from 7:45 – 8:00 p.m. Home teams warm up as soon as they are set up, until 7:45 p.m. Directions to all churches will be provided.

Be sure to visit Concordia’s website: www.concordiaberwyn.org. and click on Dartball on the left side of the main page to go to the dartball section.

Questions about Concordia Dartball should be directed to David Landa.

MANNA...Give to L.E.A.F, Little Lambs and the Ros Scholarship Fund while doing your shopping. Order forms are available above the Manna mailbox in the Fellowship Hall. Completed order forms along with your check made payable to: Concordia Lutheran Church (memo Manna) need to be placed in the Manna mailbox safe attached to the wall by 11 a.m. Sunday. Orders will be placed every other Monday and delivered on the following Sunday. Order dates are Feb 6, Feb 20 and Mar 5.

AT THE FALL VOTERS’ MEETING OCTOBER 16th, it was announced that the church had received a letter from 5/3 Bank advising us that a bequest from the estate of Viola Petr had been left to the church in the amount of $50,000.00. News of the bequest was also published in the bulletins of October 23rd and in The Chimes dated October 26th, 2011. We have since been advised by 5/3 Bank that there was an error in their letter. A copy of the trust was sent to us along with the corrected communication. The bequest was $5,000 and earmarked for the Organ Fund.

CALL PROCESS UPDATE: Sincere thanks to all who turned in Pastor Nomination Forms. They have been sent to Bishop Stechholz along with our self study report and cover letter written by President, Noal Staubus. Bishop Stechholz will review what we have sent and remove any names of individuals from The Call list who do not qualify and add names creating a modified Call List. This modified Call List will then be sent back to Concordia along with Self Evaluation Tools of the men on the modified Call List. After review, we will selectively contact the men on the modified Call List to determine if they are open to receiving a Call to Concordia. Any men open to a Call will then receive a copy of our Self Study Report.

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What a wonderful winter wonderland that God has given to us. We are celebrating the season of ice and snow in our classroom. We have been talking about snowmen this month and have done various activities with snow. Our four-year-old class is working on letter bags, also known as letter show and tell. Children bring a few things in their bags that begin with that letter. They are really enjoying this activity and are learning to recognize and write letters.

In February, we will begin enrollment for the 2012--2013 School Year. Children must be potty trained and age 3 or 4 by September 1 to be eligible to register. Families may visit our classrooms and obtain enrollment information by calling 708-795-7563. There is a church member discount and some scholarships available. The classes offered are combined three and four year old classes. Included with this month’s Chimes is an information sheet containing important enrollment information for Little Lambs Preschool. If you do not have preschool age children, pass it on to someone who does!

SAVE THE DATE – the second annual Spaghetti Supper Art Show will be on Saturday, April 14, from 4 – 7 p.m. Tickets will soon be available in the preschool office, or from any board member. Fabulous artwork by our students, exceptional food, and fun raffle prizes will be enjoyed by all!

Thanks to those who have donated their used ink cartridges, cell phones, DVDs, Ipods, video games, digital cameras, laptops, video game consoles, laser cartridges as well as ink jets and cell phones. These help both our environment and bring revenue to our school. HAVE A GREAT MONTH!

Two recently sainted ladies were avid LWML members their entire lives. They realized early on how LWML affirms each woman’s relationship with Christ and how it encourages and equips women to live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and to support global missions. They reaped the benefits of the organization for many years.

Gertrude Schmidtke-Koehlinger, one of the LCMS women who met in Chicago in 1942 to found the LWML, peacefully passed into the arms of Jesus on December 21, 2011. At her funeral visitation, her daughter-in-law presented two Mite Boxes filled with coins to a representative from the national LWML who had come to pay her respect. Imagine contributing to mites after you’re in heaven! Even while in a nursing home, Gert collected them from her caretakers, other residents, and visitors. The total was $2.69. While most of the coins were shiny and new, one coin stood out. It was an old wheat penny dated 1942, the year she attended the first meeting in Chicago! In the big picture, $2.69 is not a large number when compared to the total mission goal. However, if everyone was as diligent and mindful of the details and importance of our grants as Gert, our Mite Boxes would also be overflowing.

On December 29, 2011, Helen Miller received the Crown of Life. Over 40 years ago, an eager LWML member “dragged” an unenthusiastic 15-year-old girl, named Helen, to an LWML meeting, all along reassuring her that it would be interesting and that she would want to get involved. From that day forward, Helen served her Lord as part of the LWML, because she desired to help spread the Good News by supporting missions with mites and prayer. At her funeral, the pastor brought a Mite Box. He said, “This is the first thing Helen gave me when I began my ministry at ‘Holy Cross. She simply said, ‘Fill it.’” Following the funeral service, those in attendance were given an opportunity to contribute to the Mite Box. Helen truly gave to mites even to her death.

If YOU are a female member of an LCMS church, YOU are a member of the LWML, the official women’s auxiliary. Have YOU plugged into any of its activities—mite collecting, Bible studies, in-gatherings, servant events, or rallies and conventions? If not, what are YOU waiting for?

CONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCH

February 2012