Come and Learn . . . Go and Share . . . Honor and Serve
Our Savior Lutheran Church – November 2015 Newsletter
1010 – 8th St. South - Brookings, SD 57006 www.oslcbrookings.net
Church Office (605) 692-6989; Church e-mail –
Pastor Ken Brokmeier - Home - (605) 692-9249; e-mail –
Vicar Matt Stuebs - Home – 920-903-2221; e-mail –
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
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I NEED MORE . . . FAITH
“I Need More FAITH.”I can’t imagine any honest Christian who wouldn’t say a hearty “Amen” to that statement. Because of the common weakness of our sinful, human nature, the fervent request that a greatly distressed father made to Jesus with regard to his son’s great need and his own weakness of faith has often struck a chord: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
Notice how that statement is punctuated with only a semicolon with regard to his faith, but an exclamation point with regard to his unbelief. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of the faith-life of God’s people. We wish our own “Faith Alive” banner were punctuated with an exclamation mark or at least a simple period. But we know a question mark suggesting uncertainty or doubt gets in there way too often.
Just about every Sunday we make a confession of faith with the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed. The key truths of the Christian faith are very briefly and yet adequately summarized in those statements. There are no exclamation points in either of those great, ancient creeds—just commas and periods that acknowledge the basic scriptural facts. That’s an important aspect about saving faith: knowing the truth about the true God and the Savior he has given us.
Since this faith is totally a gift, we need to keep going to the Lord with this request, “Lord, I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” We keep having a problem with unbelief because it’s such a “natural” part of us. Faith is a supernatural thing, and it is kept alive and strong only with the supernatural Word of our supernatural God.
The most important thing to remember about faith is that it derives all of its strength from its object, that on which it rests. As a famous preacher once said, “It is not your hold on Christ that saves you; it is Christ. It is not your joy in Christ that saves you; it is Christ. It is not even your faith in Christ that saves you, though that be the instrument. It is Christ’s blood and merit.” There might indeed be many instances where our trusting faith is pretty shaky, but the Savior and his promises are rock solid. With this subject of faith it’s most important to hear him speak with exclamation points, “I love you! I have saved you! I will never let you go!”
MONDAY NIGHT SERVICES CONTINUE
The church council and elders have stated that we would try this practice on a limited basis until Christmas.
As a result we will be having a Monday night worship service on: November 9 & 23; and December 14. In short we will plan on having Monday night service on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 6:30PM with communion. We will not have one on December 28 because of the other special services available at the end of December.
If you have any suggestions or feedback regarding the Monday night services, please share them with Pastor or one of the councilmen by the first part of December.
BIBLE STUDY OPPORTUNITIES
1. Sunday Morning (9:45AM) - For the beginning of November we will continue to study the same stories as our Sunday school students. We will not have Bible study on Monday evenings prior to worship. We will have a special Study on November 22.
2. Teens – Check with Vicar or Pastor about having Teen Bible study separate or joining with the adult group.
3. Thursday morning Breakfast Bible Study – Meets on Thurs. mornings from 7:00-7:45AM. The 7AM class just began a study called – Five Things You Can Do to Understand the Bible Better. is close to finishing the topic of Church Fellowship.
4. Thursday mornings from 9:30-10:30 – This group is finishing the topic of Church Fellowship. Who can sing and play for weddings? What about close(d) communion? Scouting? Anyone is welcome to join us for some soul-food!
5. Bible Information Class – Pastor and Vicar have several different BIC classes going right now including Mondays at 5:15PM and at other times during the week. Bottom line is that if you or someone you know is interested in BIC, please speak with Vicar or Pastor to get started!
6. Collegians are meeting for Bible Study on Tuesdays at 8PM on Campus in Wagner Hall Room 167. Check the bulletin for topics that will be discussed.
7. Bible Study at Sun Chase apartment building will meet on November 2 and 23, 2015 at 1PM in the Community Room as we study OT stories. Anyone is invited to come.
BOOK CLUB
Watch for information in the bulletin for the next book read and date. Most likely looking at January 2016.
FURNACE REPLACEMENTS
At the Quarterly Voters’ Meeting held on October 25 the decision was made to replace the furnace and air-conditioner at the parsonage as well as the furnace and air-conditioner for the office, narthex and bathroom area at church. The total estimated cost is: $17,800.
The Planned Giving Committee has $3,000 available for matching from the family of Lloyd Elliott (memorial money). We invite all our families to support this project with special gifts between now and the end of the calendar year. You can simply label them – Furnace Fund and place in the offering plate.
ADVENT TEA
This year’s Advent Tea will be held on Wednesday, December 2, 7:00 PM. This year’s theme is One Small Child. We thank Crystal Blum for spearheading the event. Please note the following ways that you can assist – sign up by November 15:
· Five nativity sets each with Mary, Joseph, the Christ-Child, three Wise men and some shepherds
· At least two needed as narrators (one being a male). Need to be available for Advent Tea and also rehearsal on November 21, 10:30 AM
· Donation of prizes – please let Sue Brokmeier know
· Set up on Sunday, November 29, 3:00 PM
· Clean up after the tea on December 2nd
There is a separate signup sheet for those planning on attending. If you are bringing guests, please list their names on the sheet with your name behind the name(s).
LITTLE LAMBS
We have begun a 10-week fall session of Little Lambs. We invite our members and others in our community who have children ages 0-5 to join us from 10:00-10:45AM for some play time, a Bible story, craft and other fun activities. We have been blessed so far with about 20 different children. Please share this invitation with others. The last day for the fall session is November 27th.
SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PRACTICE
The Sunday School Christmas service will be held on Sunday, December 20th at 4:00 PM. As a result we will plan to have practice for that service on Sundays, November 29, December 6 and 13 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM and then on Sunday, December 20 right after the 9:00 AM service. Pastor and Vicar will soon be assigning individuals parts. If you know you are not able to attend, please let Pastor know ASAP.
CONFIRMATION
We have reached the time of year when weather might play a factor for Confirmation class especially since we have students from 6 different school districts. If your child cannot make it to class in a given week, please let Pastor or Vicar know and make sure you obtain the homework information.
Confirmation parents – please check with your child reach week regarding their assignments. If you are not sure, please contact Pastor or Vicar.
PRAYER REQUEST/UPDATE ON MEMBERS
Please remember in prayer our homebound. We also include the following who are living with cancer in various forms or continue to recover from surgery or other ailments. At the time of this writing tey include: Gladys Bren, Richard Landsman, Lee Wimmer, Lew Rabenberg, Wayne and Caroline Doop, Mavis Peterson, Crystal Blum, Sandy Lujan and Bill Everding.
We have the following addresses for our members who are in the military:
Lcpl Trent Krogman
4196 Williams Ct.
Tarawa Terrace, NC 28543
Jordan Zmuda
PO Box 3394
Fort Polk, La. 71459
Please get Newsletter prayer requests to Linda by the 20th of the month.
SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS
We are also looking for several individuals willing to help teach our teens. Materials are available for you to use.
SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS SERVICE
The Sunday School Christmas Service will be taking place on Sunday, December 20, 4:00 PM. Information about practices is found elsewhere in the newsletter.
YOUTH GROUP
The WELS International Youth Rally will be held June 28-July 1, 2016 in Fort Collins, CO. Students who have been confirmed through those who are currently seniors in high school are eligible to attend. More information will be coming. Start saving your money!!
TEENS
We will again be looking to have our homemade bread and soup lunch on Sunday, November 29 after the second service. Watch for more details. We will also use this Sunday to make sure we have the backdrop down for the Festival of Lights parade. We will tentatively plan do our shopping for needy families on Sunday, December 13 from 1:30-2:30PM and then go Christmas caroling from about 2:30-4:00PM.
ONE IN CHRIST
Information was shared at the Quarterly meeting regarding our congregations participation and goal for the One in Christ offering being gathered to retire our Synod’s remaining debt of $4.7 million – down from the $22.4 million that it was a little over a decade ago. Eliminating this debt will put our synod in a better financial position to continue our God-given mission of training and sending gospel proclaimers.
The plans are for our congregation to have celebrate a One in Christ Sunday on November 22 with a special order of service. The council has set a goal for our congregation to raise a total of $15,000 between now and June 30, 2016. More information will be coming.
NEW FRIENDS
Active members of our congregation and returning college students are familiar with the New Friends. It is a program in which our college students, together with a few of our members, prepare and serve a meal following the second service to other college students and members of our congregation. ALSO INVITED are about seven group homes containing residents with disabilities.
The second New Friends event for this school year will be Sunday, November 22 following the second service. We invite members of our congregation and students from our campus ministry to help with this rewarding event. If nothing else, stay for lunch and watch the first time!
To help keep down the costs of meals, we will have signup sheets inviting our members to donate items for the meals. In the near future, look for the donation list and also a signup sheet for those who plan to attend the meal. The menu for November 22 is turkey Tetrazzini and pie.
Please speak to pastor if you have questions.
SEIDL THANK YOU
I’d like to thank the MANY volunteers who gave of their time to help with my siding project and with splitting and stacking my winter's supply of firewood. Whether it was a few hours, many hours, or in some cases, many days, all was very much appreciated. What an awesome display of Christian love! Risë and family
NOVEMBER GREETERS
If you can’t greet on the Sunday assigned to you, please find a replacement. November Greeters: 11/1 – Clayton Cook/Robert Bertelsen; 11:00 – Walt/Yvonne Wosje; 11/8, 8:30 – Jerry/Judy Miller; 11:00 – Al/Linda Minor; 11/15, 8:30 – Mark Bren family; 11:00 – Dane Slater; 11/22, 8:30– Harold/Linda Berkland; 11:00 – Linda Schumacher; 11/29, 8:30 – Matt Fenske family; 11:00 – Youth Group
SCRIP
We thank Judy Miller & Cal Cook for handling SCRIP. Turn in your order by 11 AM on Sunday and it should be here by Friday noon so that you can pick it up the following Sunday. Your support of Great Plains Lutheran HS is very much appreciated. During the week, you can stop by the office and also purchase SCRIP.
If a store clerk tells you your Scrip card has no value when you try to use it and you do believe it does, DO NOT give up your card! The clerk can enter the barcode manually. If that does not work, let the Scrip people know.
STEWARDS INC. (GSI) Thrift
Never underestimate what you might find in a thrift store. Items we could use at GSI include: Bed frames, box spring and mattresses, chest of drawers, small refrigerators, antiques, jewelry, bedding and linens, boots and snow pants, halloween costumes, old hats, canes, walkers and shower chairs. We have had requests for a keyboard, dehumidifier, AM-FM CD player, washer and dryer and small electrical appliances. We also accept new items – anything from perfumes and lotions to unopened toys.
Donations to GSI Thrift can be considered a charitable deduction. Let us know if you need a charity receipt when dropping off your donations.
AV- COMMITTEE
Please share your thoughts with AV committee. A different hanging microphone is being installed in order to pick up the choir. We thank Seth Hansen who has been working hard to put together the service each week to project including getting the nearly 800 Hymns/Psalms converted. Eventually the committee will look into AV- needs in the other parts of the church. The committee welcomes feedback and suggestions so please feel free to make them.