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JUNE 2005 Newsletter South African Festival Supports Synod's Youth Mission Trip
On Monday, June 13th, twenty-two Lutherans from northeast Ohio, ranging in age from fifteen to fifty-six, will board their plane in Cleveland, stop in Madrid, and wind up in South Africa for a 23-day Servant Event with our partners in the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. Seventeen service projects are planned. A trip to Kruger National Park will be included. We are helping to sponsor a Conference on Women in Ministry for our partners. Youth from northeast Ohio and South Africa will join hands to change the world for good. The mission group includes 14 missioners between the ages of fifteen and twenty-three, with eight more missioners well beyond that age. None of Zion's members will be among the group, but several expressed serious interest and came very close to signing up and joining in. Our South African Festival at Zion invited sister congregations from around our Northeastern Ohio Synod to express their support through donations large and small. The Stark County Chap-ter of Thrivent, with help from Bob and Linda Lancashire, agreed to contribute up to $1,500 in Matching Funds if we could raise $3,000 in contributions. That total reached $3,200 by Sunday, and has been heading higher every day since, with thirty-plus congregations delivering on that well-worn phrase, the check's in the mail. Indeed, the checks have been in the mail, with each day bringing more good news about synod-wide interest in this astounding servant event. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - both our local service team and the Stark County Chapter - helped to make Sunday, May 22nd, a nine thousand dollar day, benefiting our desire to make our restrooms nicer and our hope to make the world better. It all came together: praises be to God! More Than A Few More Thank You's Made To Order
When I think of May 22nd, I will remember the end of the day, when it was clear that we had made major progress toward the goal of funding our restroom renovations. I will also think of the fun I had walking around the neighborhood talking willing neighbors into enjoying Zion's finest, the handiwork of Zion's Singing Chef. I will recall the enjoyment, the laughter, and the delight on the faces of all who gathered to hear Pastor Paul Lintern sing songs, tell stories, and entertain. I will remember with gratitude the hard work of Chuck Danner and Carol Rossbach in helping to create the decorations for turning Luther Hall into a perfect site for playing host to a South African Festival; and how about Suzanne Walters and Zion's Senior Choir taking the time to introduce us to the sounds and movement of South African music on Sunday morning! There are many people who come to mind, and I am grateful to every single one of you for support you displayed in word and deed in making May 22nd simply a-may-zing. But I enter a different realm of gratitude when I think of the four stalwarts in the kitchen: Dale Jacobs, Susan Everhart, Marilyn Espe-Sherwindt, and Darlene Milavickas. What an incredible effort! What delicious food! What generosity in serving! I know they weren't alone in making the most of our best - roast pork loin, a feast of vegetables, and South Africa's pop & sauce; but they certainly stood out for the a-may-zing stamina that carried them through twelve hours of volunteer delight. Well, I don't know about their delight; but I am absolutely certain about my gratitude and Zion's thanks. Great News From The ZION SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday, June 5: Last day of 2004-05 Sunday School Year Zion enjoyed another great Sunday School year! We will be celebrating the year on Sunday, June 5, with a Carnival for the kids during Sunday School hour. There will be games, face painting, snacks and prizes. We hope everyone will join us for this great event! Summer Sunday School begins Sunday, June 12. We will start off with practice for a play that will be done in July to kick off Vacation Bible School. We also plan to have another play, service projects, crafts, games and special music throughout the summer! Please plan to join us for a summer of fun and service! SUNDAY SCHOOL CHOIR: The kids will be practicing music the next three weeks at the beginning of Sunday School. Please have the children at church by 9:10 am for practice. They will sing a great song at the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, June 12. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL AT ZION
We enjoyed another well-attended Council meeting in May. We would like for Zion to become a creative, healthy, and innovative LAB (a laboratory, a living experiment) for the kingdom of God. Our commitment to making Zion healthy will require focusing on Leadership, Activities, and the Building. The art of effective Leadership involves faithful attendance, mutual support, clarity of vision, communication, and discipline. Our efforts to strengthen the program base of our basic church Activities will require that we establish priorities and a plan as we work on growing members' involvement in worship, service, education, fellowship, and evangelism. Our plans for the Building are now taking shape, as we will focus on the restrooms first, then the sound system, the sanctuary, the kitchen, and Memorial Hall. Representing the Property Renovation Task Force, Darlene Milavickas introduced plans for addressing the need to refurbish the restrooms. Brian Walters will lead the presentation at the Congregational Meeting. A PowerPoint presentation will help to visualize the effect of proposed changes. Council members then learned more about how effective leadership means selling tickets for our South African dinners! Some members took 20, but most were given 15 to sell or to donate. Between our present members and future Council members who will start their term in July, we distributed 285 tickets. The good news is that the Council sold (or donated) these tickets, and 70 more. Jayne and Renee Schrader, Carol Rossbach, Ann Lemmo, Pete Fenney: an unlikely sales force, but marketers all, with all the Council, turning dinners into dollars for the restrooms renovation!
On May 31st, starting at 11:30 a.m., we will begin the sorting of the Postal Drive food, which for now is piled up in the gym. If you can read, then you are qualified to help sort food. No pre-registration is required. Just show up for lunch, fun, and fellowship. Our last pantry day, which was May 24th, one of our clients broke down in tears. She told us that her kids had to eat peanut butter from a spoon because they did not have bread. I cannot remember the last time I ran into that problem. How about you? Due to the school year coming to a close children will be home all day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We thought that BREAD would be a wonderful item in June for the Food of the Month Club. Two weeks ago I witnessed Lutherans coming together. I happened to arrive at the pantry late and got to observe the pantry squad in action. They were jovial, organized, and worked like a finely oiled machine. The pantry has changed and evolved beyond my wildest expectations. Not only have we grown, we have the capability to supply good food to our clients, and finally, it is not just two of us, Margaret and me, working the pantry. Our job has become much easier due to the Zion squad. Heading up that squad is Chuck Heller, Gary Horton, Evelyn and Larry Moore, Becky Aquilo, Sharon and Brooke Stout, Jean Scheck, Mary Humbert, Helen Edwards, Lauren Cavender, Charlie Cavender, Amy and Ashley Porter, and Helen Ballentine, who just recently retired from the squad. We thank you for the concern you have shown by volunteering. God bless everyone of you. June Anniversaries & Senior Birthdays
06/06 Eddie & Mary John 06/10 John & Margaret Brokloff 06/14 Ray & Jennifer Elkins 06/18 Rick & Sharon Stout 06/20 Scott & Kathleen Gross 06/20 Gary & Shirley Horton 06/23 Walter & Cheryl Dietrich 06/24 James & Stella Smiley 06/25 Blair & Marge Woodside 06/27 Leonard & Vickie Swartz 06/02 Hubert Roy A Note to Our Readers:
During the past three years Zion has been blessed with one of the finest organists in Stark County, a true gem of a person, a humble servant of Christ our Lord, who has proven time and again to be the epitome of grace, a fount of knowledge, a partner in the work of praising God through worship and song. Margaret Reichenbach has been the consummate colleague, so gracious in her dealing with everyone, unbelievably knowledgeable in treasures old and new, a veritable library of resources drawing from our rich Lutheran heritage of hymns and musical selections of every sort. She and her husband Don have made quite a contribution to our worship life at Zion week in and week out, with the Service of Lessons & Carols during Advent drawing Don from the pew and into the limelight as an accomplished musician in his own right. What a joy it has been to have Don and Margaret in our midst. Three years is hardly enough to enjoy all that they have to share. We thank God for the gifts He has given them, and for the short time we were enriched through their presence among us. Margaret has excelled in graciousness. She has been our friend, a partner, a joy and a blessing. Fare thee well, Margaret. May God bless you as richly in the years yet to come as you have blessed us in the years now recently past. These past couple of years have included even more than we could have hoped for with the presence of another long-term friend, skilled in the art of serving as an effective partner in ministry. I am referring, of course, to Helen Alex. In what turned out to be a personal favor to me and a timely blessing to the congregation, Helen returned, again, to assume the role of secretary at Zion, bringing order and grace to the Church Office, coupled with an unwavering commitment to making helpfulness her aim and achievement. What a gift and a blessing, both to me and to Zion. The time of Helen's brief return has just flown by; but we are all appreciative of the good she has done and how well she has done it. Melanie Slease has become Helen's temporary replacement in the Church Office. Melanie will be answering the phones in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Flo Jensen, who has been covering on Thursdays for quite some time, will continue to fill in on Thursdays through the summer. This somewhat makeshift arrangement will continue to function through the summer, while we form a search committee and look for someone who might serve as our Church Office Secretary Monday through Friday. You can expect to hear more about job descriptions as the summer unfolds. For the present, we are thrilled with Melanie's temporary availability. As many may know, Melanie spent the entire 2003-04 academic year in Mecklenburg, Germany with the ELCA's Young Adults in Mission. She has since been a super-busy student at Capital University, adding enough credits to her schedule to finish her four years at Capital in three! So, she'll be taking some summer courses while she serves as our secretary through August. Give her a call at the office. Get to know her. She, too, is a gem of a person, and home-grown, too, a life-long member of the Zion family.
What Tithing Means to Me, a personal testimony offered by a sister Lutheran at First Lutheran in Greensburg, PA. We on the Stewardship Committee thought you might find as inspirational as we did. "When I first began to give, I was a reluctant giver. I am not familiar with proportionate giving, although I put money in the church basket. I thought nothing about how much, how often, or what the church did with the money. My giving was based on a random decision made at the time of offering. I obviously had no plan. When my husband introduced me to a proportionate giving plan, I became aware of a higher plan - God's plan. God has plans, and he counts on us to help carry out these plans. God blesses you and me every day. Proportionate giving is a way to pass these blessings to others less fortunate, to those in need, to those in crisis, to those who are hungry or homeless. This list is endless. Our commitment to God's plan is endless, as is His commitment to us. "My family tithes - we commit 10%. I didn't always want to give this much. I would complain to my husband about what else we could do with the money. But my patient, loving husband explained that we are only the mangers of resources that belong ultimately to God. Think about what God has given to us. Tithing only 10% is a small amount compared to what we keep. We retain 90%. How blessed are we? Now, when I give to the church, which is God's conduit, I have an attitude of peace and thankfulness. I don't think about specifics such as the church's electric bill or postage costs. That's the small picture. The big picture is being a happy, committed, faithful servant in God's plan. God is faithful to His promises. We should be, too!
Our Person for the Month of June is Mabel Carlson Snyder - one of the persons who can say she has been a member of Zion Lutheran for all of her life - all eighty-three years, and still going strong and serving with distinction. Mabel grew up on a farm in Jackson Township in a family of six children. That farm is now the Hillfield Allotment. When first in school she walked to McDonaldsville School. Eventually, a bus picked her up closer to home. In 1950 the family built a home on Strausser Street. Mabel, her sister, and their parents moved there. Mabel lived there until she married William Snyder in 1969 and moved to his farm on Byers Street. She had gone to the Canton Business School, but never used that training. Instead she worked for the Hoover Company for twenty nine and one-half years. After she married William she helped on the farm - caring for sheep and lambs, taking care of a large garden, and canning everything in sight. After William retired from the Hoover Company they did some traveling - going to the west coast and to the east coast, and also south to Florida to visit with relatives and enjoy the sights. When you think of service to Zion, you can find Mabel's name on almost every list. She began to sing in the newly organized Youth Choir when she was ten, and has been singing ever since, often times as the soloist. She was a Sunday School teacher for the two and three year old children for forty years. Mabel was a worker on the Altar Guild for over thirty years. The Women of the Church have benefited from her faithfulness as a Bible study leader, as a Circle leader, as President of the group and as willing helper, and the sometimes leader of the Comfort Givers since it first began in 1968 - not to mention all the times she has baked cookies, fixed hot dishes, and helped serve at covered dish dinners, funerals, and receptions. We salute you, Mabel, as part of the history - the living history - of Zion Lutheran Church. The Northeastern Ohio Synod Assembly: April 30, 2005
A Written Report by Carol Rossbach It was a very interesting day as somewhere around 500 Lutherans gathered in Akron for the Northeastern Ohio Synod Assembly. The theme this year was "Claimed, Gathered and Sent." The keynote speaker was the Rev. David Daubert, Executive for Renewal of Congregations, ELCA Division of Outreach. He was at the Assembly as a representative for ELCA Bishop Mark Hansen. He is also a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois. He first spoke about the ELCA Mission Statement: MARKED with the cross of Christ forever; CLAIMED by our baptismal calling; GATHERED through worship to support and equip; SENT to be the hands and voice of God; FOR the sake of the world. Pastor Daubert then talked about WHAT MATTERS IN THE ELCA: Jesus Christ matters. Faith in Jesus matters. The Word of God matters. Worship matters. Ministries of congregations matter. Being a Lutheran matters because we have a particular slant. We believe that if we need help, God sends it; and it comes for free. We believe that God is God, and we aren't. We believe that what we are not Jesus is; and what Jesus is we get for free! Commitment matters, and discipleship is critical. Interdependence matters because we need the connections. If we are going to become what we want our church to be, then the ELCA needs to: support congregations; grow in evangelical outreach; step forward as a public church; deepen our global, ecumenical and interfaith relationships; support wise and courageous leaders. In talking about the need for leadership, Pastor Daubert shared that when congregations complain about the trouble they've experienced in finding a pastor, he likes to ask a simple question. How many people has the congregation sent to divinity school? The truth is that pastors come from local congregations. If we are not inspiring candidates to enter the seminary, where will our leaders come from? In a matter of great interest to Zion, Pastor Daubert then turned to evangelism. Did you know that 43% of Americans are unchurched? [Wow, that's a lot!] Did you know that two-thirds of those who belong to Christian churches are not in church on any given Sunday? [Yeah, we kind of knew that from local experience.] Did you know that only about 25% of the broader population are in church on any given Sunday? That means that three out of four persons in your neighborhood might benefit from an invitation to join us for worship. His definition of evangelism is this: loving Jesus and other people enough to want them to meet each other. [Pastor's Note: And one more thing … about human sexuality. After significant discussion, the Northeastern Ohio Synod voted to ask that the ELCA at its upcoming Churchwide Assembly this summer "affirm and uphold current policies and practices consistent with past understandings of Visions and Expectations, Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline, and social statements of the LCA and the ALC". In other words, the Synod suggests caution when it comes to changing traditional understandings of appropriate sexual conduct. Expect more coverage of this issue when the ELCA meets in Orlando, August 8-14.]
To Pastor Sherwindt and Chuck Danner,Dear Zion Friends, Sue & Al Whitmer 171 were served. Memorial Hall was filled. More than enough men were on hand to meet the challenge of a robust crowd, serving a delicious breakfast with style and love. Our thanks to Lorin Beaber & friends for the care displayed in the planning, to Dale Jacobs & company for the leadership shown in the kitchen, to John Davis for his commitment to organizing the Men of Zion, to all of our Team Leaders and their team members, with a special word of thanks to Jim Whalen, who again made sure that all of the women of Zion received a beautiful red rose as reminder of how loved they are.
A heart-felt THANK YOU goes out to the Zion Family for all the support you have given our team. We have been overwhelmed by your generosity and with your willingness to support our fundraising events. We really appreciate everything that all of you have done! We have one more fundraiser left, which is set for MONDAY, JUNE 6TH AT CHICK-FIL-A, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm. We have a great evening planned so please join us for good food and fun! We continue to offer a whole host of great items this year to show your support: We have set a lofty goal this year, and thank you all for your support in helping our team to achieve that goal, and exceed it. We are sure that we are all together in our prayerful desire of one day beating cancer. Cancer has touched most of our lives in some way, beyond the collection bucket by the coffee in the kitchen. We all have stories of survival and triumph, as well as heartbreak and loss. Our family lost a wife, mother, grandmother and friend, Nancy Roman, and a great-grandmother, Commella Roman, to cancer. Fielding a Relay for Life team and raising funds for the Cancer Society is our way of remembering and honoring, not just Nancy and Commella, but fathers, uncles, friends, and countless others fighting, and hopefully beating cancer every day. Relay for Life is a 24-hour experience filled with all the emotion you can imagine - sadness and longing for those who have passed, joy for those who have survived, hope for those battling, joy and laughter because we are together, and sheer silliness after you haven't had much sleep. All of these shared with the thousands who walk the track, with their team, as a Relay for Life, raising both money and spirits as we traverse the track. Please plan on joining us at this event on June 10th and 11th at Don Scott Field (across from McKinley High School). You don't have to be a member of a team to enjoy Relay! There is still time though if you would like to join one.
I would like to take a moment to thank God and all of you for giving me the opportunity to serve you in the capacity of President of Council. I thank you for your support, especially this past year with my health problems. It has been a challenge and a fulfilling time. I have come closer to my Lord and the members of Zion during this time. I have enjoyed working with Pastor and everybody else these past years. I am excited and anxious to get into our new projects to carry out the LAB for the kingdom of God at Zion. We are moving in a wonderful direction with our focus on leadership, our ministry activities, and plans for the building. We need everyone's help to accomplish our goals. There is always something each of us can do. I am looking forward to continuing my service to the Lord and Zion in new ways. May the Peace of the Lord be with you. Darlene K. Milavickas |