FIRST FRUITS WE GIVE OUR FIRST FRUITS BECAUSE HE GAVE US HIS ONLY SON

January 2017 Volume 20 No. 1

First Things First … for the New Year

"O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all

the prayers made to you in this place.”

2 Chronicles 6:40

Three Resolutions Not To Ignore…

1. Resolve to… Spend Time in Prayer…

The Three Days of Prayer

Every LCMC congregation, member and pastor is being invited to set aside some time each day of January 3, 4 and 5, 2017 for prayer. You are encouraged to simply pray at work, home, school or while traveling—wherever and whatever you are doing. “Our attitude toward prayer has often been characterized by saying, “well, all we can do now is pray!”. Prayer is not the hopeless act of desperation. Prayer is a gift that God has given to us as a means to approach the throne of grace with confidence—like that of a child coming to her parents sharing concerns, victories, defeats and every part of life. It is an opportunity to express the deepest heartache and the greatest joy. Prayer is a conversation between the Creator and the created…a conversation which began with God, for us, in Christ Jesus.”(Mark Vander Tuig)

Daily: For each of the 2016 Three Days of Prayer, I simply ask each of you to spend some time each day in prayer. Each day, as a help, via email, I will send a daily devotion to your inbox. If you prefer to receive it via text message, please let me know. You will also be able to access it from the First Lutheran, El Campo Facebook page.

Day One: January 3 – DAY OF CONFESSION

This is a day focused on CONFESSION ~ We must confess that the church belongs to Jesus and not to us. We must confess that we have made our lives, our relationships—and even the church—in our own image. We must confess separately and together to lay down our pride, our sin and our agenda and ask the Lord of the church for forgiveness, which He gives freely and with mercy.

Day Two: January 4 – DAY OF PETITION - 5:30 p.m. – Prayer Service – In the Sanctuary

On this day of petition it is time to get down on our knees and pray intentionally and specifically for our congregation, First Lutheran Church, El Campo. We will meet together for a period of corporate confession, and prayer beginning at 5:30 in the sanctuary.

Our prayer needs:

† For Pastor Donna, and for all the leaders who carry out the day-to-day ministries of our church: Our

church council, committee chairs, and teachers of the Word. We ask that the Lord lead highly

committed people with a heart for Him and his people to come forth and fill the upcoming council

vacancies.

† For unity. This is a call out to each and every member to share in the work of the

many ongoing ministry responsibilities of our congregation. We are in dire need of a

more equitable distribution of the work we do here for the Lord lest it bear down on

just a few.

This year, 2017, is the time to listen to how God is calling you to serve. Choose a ministry

to say YES to. If you are feeling the Lord’s call upon your heart to contribute to the good

of the congregation in a specific ministry area, please contact me.

† Pray for all who are connected to our church that they may thankfully respond to

God’s call and experience the joy of giving and sharing their lives, and the Gospel,

with others.

o Pray not only for those separated from us, but especially for those who are

separated from God.

o Fervently pray for them to experience God’s redeeming love in Christ.

o Pray for those who reside in care facilities and are home bound.

† We pray for more to join the Prayer Team Ministry. Join us corporately in the ongoing

twice monthly ministry of prayer.

Day Three: January 5 – DAY OF VISION

Pray that the Holy Spirit will move through every heart and mind of our Church family, and enable the leaders you will elect to serve by following the lead of the Holy Spirit. Together we must begin to see God’s vision for His church and how through us it might be revealed and fulfilled. This year let us begin to carry out God’s vision for First Lutheran.

This time of year we look forward to the new beginnings, the new and exciting challenges that lay ahead and the potential for a greater, better than the year before. This time of year takes me to 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When looking at this verse in the context of the new year we sense hopefulness, a new beginning, a fresh start. For many, this time of year brings about a sense of “Wow, that happened last year. I can’t believe the mistakes I made. This year will be different. I will live as if last year never happened.” This all sounds good and well, but the reality is that you cannot erase your past and you cannot erase your past mistakes, your failures or your losses no matter how hard you try. They will forever be etched in your own personal database.

The great thing about these etchings is that we get to choose how we view these memories for eternity. We have the choice to either let these events define us or the opportunity to use these events to gain knowledge, understanding, to grow as a person and to grow deeper in our relationship with God.

As we read further in to 2 Corinthians in verse 18-19, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the “ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

This awesome, incredible gift is attained through one way and one way only. Ephesians 2:8-9

says, ”For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the

gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Everything about our relationship with

God depends upon us trusting Him in faith, and by resting in His grace. We are to come to Him as a little child saying, "Daddy pick me up", and when He does, He carries us. Let Him.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice So as you celebrate the dawning of yet another year that you’ve been blessed to walk on this God created earth, I encourage you to renew your faith, hope and trust in the redemptive power of the Blood of Christ. It’s through His blood alone that we will truly experience a fresh start and a new beginning!

2. Resolve to… Spend Time in God’s Word…

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.” Eph. 4:9 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Mat. 18:20 The Adult Bible Study Class meets at 9:30 am on Sunday mornings in the Trued room. We are currently studying the Book of Exodus.

3. Resolve to…be Joyful… “Have you ever noticed that grateful people are joyous people? Paul gave the Philippian church a command to rejoice, and he tied the spirit of joy to an attitude of thanksgiving:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4–7)

Paul shoots straight with us. If we are to really have joy in our lives, we must be gentle and gracious. We are to pray instead of worry. And as we pray, we are to pray with a spirit of thanksgiving or gratitude. It’s all a matter of attitude. When we received the gift of salvation, we became a part of the body of Christ. Read how the Bible describes this gift: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has placed these in the church” (1 Cor. 12:27–28). Did you get that? When you received the free gift of salvation, you also received the gift of membership into the body of Christ. Membership in the body of Christ, the church, is a gift from God. And when we receive a gift, we should be joyous and grateful. It really is a matter of our attitude.” (Excerpt from Thom Rainer’s book “I Will”).

Keeping Christ First, Pastor Donna

+ + + + + +

Needed for 2017:

Coordinators for each of the ministry areas (ushers/sexton/readers/assisting minister). Say YES

to serve.

If you wish to serve on Altar Guild, please contact the WOW (Women of the Word) who do a

fine job of preparing Christ’s altar for our worship each week!

Thanks for serving with an attitude of gratitude!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your Church Council,

We are still wrestling with the 2017 Church budget. Our congregation is small, therefore our financial contributions are very limited. We are very grateful that we have members who regularly and faithfully contribute and who can occasionally give extra to meet particular needs which arise. But now, as we enter a new year, we are going to have to get creative if we are to see our church continue.

Everyone has received their contribution statement to date by now. I trust that all are giving a tithe of their income, our “first fruits”, and see that giving is made-up whenever attending is missed. I trust that all of us by now understand that doing so opens each of us individually to receiving a blessing from God. God says to trust and test him on this, and He does so because He knows the current concern our finances and the future continuance of our church bring to us. If he can get us to trust him in this area, we should then be able to trust him in all areas of our lives.

Pastor Donna had been talking to a church who was considering coming in to the LCMC, which we had hoped to partner with. As of last contact, that church has decided to remain where they are.

Sure, it would be great if we could obtain more members. But, I understand that is not the purpose of God’s church just to get members for member’s sake and certainly not just to have more money, which though, I am afraid is necessary if we are to continue meeting our financial obligations and to exist as a congregation. Our prominent mission is still to spread the gospel and the love of Christ to the world. Pastor has been reaching out to the needy in Spirit and in finances in our community through your generous contributions to the “Noisy Offering” This is a perfect ministry for our church as there doesn’t seem to be enough effort overall in El Campo to meet the great need. Sure, there are groups who feed the body… but what about the soul? We need to roll up our sleeves and help her in this. And if our finances lack be the catalyst which may stir us to become evangelists, Praise be to God!

At our last budget meeting, we were able to cut $1200. This is something, but it will not really make that much of a difference if we don’t find a way to unite and come together as a team to turn things around.

I keep thinking about how God has provided what the offering plate has not and perhaps that is the lesson here? Still, I don’t think God would mind all that much if we could walk on our own two feet for a time. The attendance on of December 4th was not only dismal…but detrimental to our church’s state of health. And if those who did not attend do not make it up by regularly giving their first fruits for that week, we are in the hole. And December is usually the month when we fill the coffers to ensure a successful ministry year.

So, that is the reality. God tells us not to look at what is but at what is not. If this is our moment of Faith, we must all be up to the task and unite. We each must be open to hearing what God is calling us to do in the upcoming months…and if we are to continue, then do it. BUT, make sure it is God’s will and not ours. There are people who have got their feelings hurt because they tried to push their idea and others did not follow. So, they got mad and picked up their toys and went home. That is not what being a member of the body of Christ is about. I hope these people look inside themselves and come to the place we are all called to, which is to put themselves after God, not before. Thanks, Lynn D Talafuse First Lutheran Congregational President

First School

And Day Care ews First School is currently at 64 children.

We have ended all of our holiday festivities. The Christmas Program was a success and we greatly appreciated seeing FLC church members in attendance! We are pressing forward into the New Year with many successes behind us but our vision for the future of First School remains strong. The promise of a hope and a future are the words burned in my heart from God as well as him continually creating a new work within this school and in my life. I stand strong on God’s promise to me because his word does not return void and I know I can trust that he will never leave us nor forsake us. The world can seem scary and unpredictable and we may not yet know what is ahead for 2017 but First School will choose to stand on God’s promise and take him at his word. The Best is yet to come! To God be the Glory!

Many Blessings,

Bree Joines

First School Director

01/03 Psalm 148; Isaiah 63:7-9, Hebrews 2:10-18, Matthew 2:13-23

01/10 Psalm 29; Isaiah 42:1-9, Acts 10:34-43, Matthew 3:13-17

01/17 Psalm 40; Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42

01/24 Psalm 27:`1, 4-9; Isaiah 9:1-4, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-23

01/31 Psalm 15; Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Matthew 5:1-12

CONFIRMATION

If you have, or know of, a youth in grades 5 through 12 who wishes to learn about and prepare to affirm their faith as an adult member of the congregation they need to be attending Confirmation Classes with Pastor Donna. During this two-year course of study youth must attend classes, regularly participate in worship with their family, and serve in First Lutheran Youth Service Projects in order to be confirmed at

the conclusion of the 2 years. Each youth and their family will be interviewed regarding their child’s readiness to be confirmed.

Contact Pastor Donna at 979-332-2938

WE’RE HERE WHEN YOU NEED US

OR

Office hours: Tues & Thurs: 8:30am - 4:30pm Wed: 8:30am – 12:00pm

Phone: 979-543-5847 Email: office@firstlutheranec.com

01/03 Sarah Langston

01/07 Forrest Newton

01/08 Nora Hollingsworth

01/09 Helen Johnson

01/09 Kirk Marek

01/10 Landon Thane

01/16 Kalin Christenberry

01/16 Sarah Thane

01/18 Sheila Miller

01/20 Odis Newton

01/21 Dorothy Atchetee

01/22 Bill Speckles

01/27 Cathy Schoenfield

01/30 Cindy Mathews

01/01 Kathee Labay

01/03 Karen Kight

01/04 Ashlyn Hanna

01/04 Angelina Tijerina

01/04 Gabriella Tijerina

01/13 Norma Newton

01/18 Jake Herrington

01/25 Claudia Wilfert

01/25 James & Diane Stewart

01/26 Ted & Cathy Schoenfield

COUNCIL MEETING Thursday, January 12

th

6:00 p.m.

Pray for our loved ones

In the Military

Jake Barosh Sarah Langston (Reserves)

Pastor Donna Zipp:

Email: pastorfirstlutheran@yahoo.com Phone: 979-332-2938

Our FLC Family

Dorothy Atchetee

Charles Bard

Henrietta Bram

Nora Hollingsworth

Robert Hollingsworth

Harry & Marilyn Kight

Kirk & Pat Marek

John Nelson

Forrest & Norma Newton

Betty Nielsen

Nelda Wagner

Family of Elaine Wigginton

Friends of FLC

Riley Sless

Everett Clark

Vanessa

Pathway Lutheran Church

Ackworth, Georgia

Branden Maurer

(car accident)

Chuck Knudson

(Church plant)

Brian McMillan

Needs of our community

Victims of domestic violence

Preston Dornak

Bill Sturm

Eugene Bard

Meredith Borak

Kenny

Our country

Charles

(cancer patient)

Brian D.

Mike Bergstrom

Arlene Tucker

Rozell Giesie

Family of J.V. Korenek

Debbie Hamman

Family of Robert Kainer

Emma Moulden

Peggy Glaze

Zack

Mr. Joines

List will be cleared on the 1st

in January, April,

July and October. Please help us stay current; call

the office with changes or additions.

WOMEN OF THE WORD

MEETING

Monday, January 9th

6:00 p.m.

WOW Food Drive

Sunday, January 1st

Prayer Meetings

Wednesdays

January 4th & 18th

5:30 PM

Everyone is invited!

January at a Glance…

Jan. 1 ~ A Year With The Lord – New Year Service - Our New Year’s Day Worship Service connects the seasons of the calendar year and events of the Church Year into a single story. Through a series of reflections, hymns and readings we will develop a stronger sense of the whole story of God’s love and care through Christ as we reflect on the past year. January 3, 4 and 5, 2017- LCMC Three Days of Prayer Jan. 4 – 5:30- Day of Prayer for First Lutheran – Sanctuary Jan. 7- Mark Vander Tuig visit 9-12:00 Jan. 8 ~ Baptism of Our Lord - Time and Talent Commitment Sunday Time to say YES! I will be an

active, unified, committed church member sharing my God-given gifts and talents through the ministries of First Lutheran in 2017.

Jan 15 Stewardship- Called to Serve

Jan 22 Stewardship- Called to Give

Jan 29-Stewardship – Called to Commitment &

Accountability

Annual Meeting - Potluck following Worship

Quotes from Martin Luther

on Prayer

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ― Martin Luther “Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart.”― Martin Luther “God wants us to pray, and he wants to hear our prayers—not because we are worthy, but because he is merciful.” ― Martin Luther, Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional

FLCEC Manna Meals Team

serves Monday, January 2nd

Pat Marek is our contact person for

Manna Meals on January 2nd. Thank you to those who have already signed up to provide casseroles for this meal!

We will still need people to help serve on this date.

Church Office Closed

Pastor Donna will be off and the church office will be closed the week of December 26-30. Pastor will be back on January 1.

In case of a pastoral emergency, please contact Lynn Talafuse, Council president

at (979-320-7440) or another council member.

+ + + + + + + +

Flower Chart

The new Flower Chart for 2017 is available for you to choose your special dates. Please sign up for the Sundays when you would like to provide flowers for our service!

End of Year Giving

All donations must be in the church office by

Dec. 31st

in order to receive credit for 2016.

All contributions received Jan. 1st

or later will

be credited to 2017, regardless of the date on

the check.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 Sunday School

9:30 AM Worship Service

10:45 AM w/Communion

2

Manna Meals FLC Team serves

5-6:30 PM

3 - - - Three - -

4 - - Days of -

Prayer Service

5:30PM

5 - - Prayer -

Manna Meals 5-6:30PM

6 7 Mark Vander Tuig visit –

9-12

8 Sunday School

9:30 AM Worship Service

10:45 AM

9 WOW

Meeting 6PM

Manna Meals 5-6:30 PM

10 11

12 Church Council

Meeting 6:00PM

Manna Meals 5-6:30PM

13

14

15 Sunday School

9:30 AM Worship Service 10:45 AM

w/Communion

16

Manna Meals 5-6:30PM

17 Newsletter Items Due

18

Prayer Time

5:30PM

19

Manna Meals 5-6:30PM

20

21

22 Sunday School 9:30 AM Worship Service 10:45 AM

23

Manna Meals 5-6:30PM

24

25

26

Manna Meals 5-6:30 PM

27

28

29 Sunday School

9:30 AM Worship Service

10:45 AM Annual Congregational

Meeting

30

31

January Responsibilities

ASSISTING MINISTER: Daniel Wilfert

SEXTON: David Kight

USHERS: Calvin Borak, Ted Schoenfield

ALTAR GUILD: Billie Jean Bram, Cori Bram,

Pat Marek

ACOLYTES READER

1st

8

th Diane Stewart

15th

Helen Johnson 22

nd Nelda Wagner

29th

Lynn Talafuse

If you are unable to serve on your date, please find someone to take your place.

JANUARY FLOWER

CALENDAR

January 2017

1st

Open

8th

Kirk & Pat Marek

15th

Open

22nd

Open 29

th

Open

First Lutheran Church

304 Oscar

El Campo, TX 77437

979-543-5847

Email: office@firstlutheranec.com

ESTABLISHED FEB 1893

Worshipping Christ and Sharing the Word for over a century.

Donna Zipp, Pastor Helen Marie Kight, Organist

Christine Richter, Office Manager Bree Joines, Director of First School

Join us on FACEBOOK or check us out at

www.FIRSTLUTHERANEC.COM

CHURCH COUNCIL MEMBERS: Calvin Borak, David Kight, Sheila Miller, Ted Schoenfield, Lynn Talafuse,

Nelda Wagner & Daniel Wilfert.

Our Newsletter

can be found on

our website at www.firstlutheranec.com

Join us for our Annual Meeting

on Sunday morning, January 29th

!

Sunday School – 9:30 a.m

Worship Service – 10:45 a.m.

Potluck Lunch after Worship

Our Annual Congregational meeting will

follow.