STEWARDSHIP AS A WAY OF LIFE The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it. - Psalm 24:1 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the life-giving Holy Spirit. Stewardship is one of those churchy words that needs to be liberated from the baggage it carries in the minds of many and its poor application throughout history. For many people I think stewardship is synonymous with fundraising to meet the congregation's budget. Thus, many congre-gations engage in a month long campaign in the late fall to get members to pledge money so the congregation can pay its bills. Stewardship is not simply about money. Stewardship is not something to be done just for a brief period of time at the end of the year. Stewardship is so much more. A healthy and biblical way of understanding stewardship begins with the reality expressed by Psalm 24:1. Everything belongs to God. Every-thing. God is the creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and un-seen. There is nothing that exists that does not ultimately come from God. And all that God has created is good, very good in fact. My Jeep belongs to God. My home belongs to God. All the stuff I have belongs to God, because all of it originates in materials/resources that God created. My job comes from God, which means my income comes from God, be-cause my job and income from it are the result of abilities/gifts/skills/talents given to me by God. I belong to God. My life belongs to God. And all of it is a gift from God. Stewardship is, therefore, how I manage what God has entrusted to me. As a steward of what God has given me I am responsible for the care and use of what is God's. It is a lifetime appointment. It is a sacred trust that encompasses all of life. So, how I care for and use what belongs to God bears witness to the kind of caretaker I am. I am a good steward if and when I care for and use what belongs to God as an acknowledge-ment of God's ownership and as a loving response to God for what God has entrusted to me. I am a faithful steward if and when I generously give back to God. Stewardship is a way of life; it is the care and use of my time, talent and treasure. Faithful care and use of my time, talent and treasure are car-ried out generously and lovingly for the purpose of God's continuing work in this world.

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St. Jacob Lutheran Church Growing and Sharing; Inviting and Caring

September 2019

S e p t e m b e r N e w s l e t t e r

In this Issue: 2 From the Pastor cont.,

WELCA News

Alzheimer’s News

Fellowship Pew Pads

3 Sunday Morning Servents

Brotherhood,Teen Scene

4-5 Council Minutes

5 Need Help,KOK

6 Choirs, Upcoming Events

7 Calendar

Thought of the Month

Prayer is not merely ex-pressing our present de-

sires. Its purpose is to ex-ercise and train our de-

sires, so that we want what he is getting ready to give us. His gift is very great, and we are small vessels for receiving it. So prayer

involves widening our hearts to God.

Augustine of Hippo

From the Pastor

1

Healthy and vital congregations are communities of good stew-ards who truly believe that God is at work in and through their congregation and are constantly at work to make sure their minis-tries are reflective of God's ongoing plan of healing and restoring the world and all of creation. The Lord bless you and keep you and lead you to everlasting life. Yours in Christ, Pastor David Eidson

Sept. 2019 2

Alzheimer’s Team News We are raffling off a quilt made by Jane

Wahl. The quilt was made in honor of the

2019 High School Graduates. The tickets

are $5 each. The last day to purchase tick-

ets will be September 18th.

We are also doing a “Coloring Contest” this year. The contest will be

by age group and coloring sheets will be provided on the back ta-

ble. Cost is $2.00 per entry for ages 3-10 and $5.00 per entry for ages

11-adult. Entry fee is due when you turn in your coloring sheet. All

entries must be turned in by September 6. We will display all entries

and all entries will be numbered. You can vote for your favorite entry

for a donation September 8th-18th. A prize will be rewarded to one

entry per each age group with the most votes! Winners will be an-

nounced the weekend of the walk. Please put your name, age, and

phone number on the back of your coloring sheet before you turn it in

with your entry fee to a team member listed below.

Money collected from our fundraisers will be turned in as part of our

congregation’s contribution for 2019 to help fight this devastating dis-

ease. A table will be set up to purchase your tickets and coloring

sheets or see Joyce Ike, Cindi Eidson, or Cheryl Pulfer.

Our team is registered on the Miami Valley Alzheimer’s website, so

you may register to walk and donate at any time. We will also have pa-

per registration forms available soon. Come and join us on Saturday,

September 21st at the Sidney/Shelby County court square to walk

with us! Registration 9am/Opening ceremony 10am.

Weekly Fellowship Pew Pad Beginning in September we will no longer be using the communion registration cards that are in the pews. Instead, there will be a Fellowship pew pad placed in each pew for ALL to fill out EACH TIME YOU COM-MUNE. This can be used for visitor information as well. It is stated in our Church Constitution that we are to be keeping track of communion registration. This can only happen if the congregation helps by filling out the fellowship pew pad each time you commune. This will help us to know you better and keep accurate records, please complete the information, then pass it to the next person in the pew. If you have any questions, please fill free to ask the church office.

WELCA News We will be collecting Personal Care Kits for the Lutheran World Relief until Sunday, September 22nd. We can on-ly accept complete kits. The kits include: • One light weight bath size towel (20”x40”to 52”x27”) dark color recommended • 2-3 bath size bars of soap totaling 8-9 oz (no mini hotel size bars, please) in original packaging • One adult-size toothbrush in it’s original packaging* • One sturdy comb (no picks or fine-toothed combs); remove packaging • One metal nail clippers (attached file optional); re-move packaging • Rubber bands, string, rib-bon or yarn to secure each Kit. • *toothbrush multi-packs may be used by sealing an individ-ual toothbruch in a business size envelope; no plastic bags or wrap. Do not add other items or leave out any of the items listed. All items should be new in good condition. Wrap all the items in the towel and tie se-curely with ribbon or yarn. Do not enclose the Kit or any of its contents in plastic bags. A sheet is located in the back of the sanctuary with more in-formation. If you have any questions, please see Bonnie Schmidt, Linda Pleiman, or Kathy Fogt. Also, located on the back table is information about the Bien-nial Convention on Friday & Saturday, September 20 & 21 at Ascension Lutheran Church, Cincinnati.and Nomi-nation form for voting mem-bers for the Triennial Con-vention in 2020.

Sunday Morning Servants Sept 1 Sept 8 Sept 15 Sept 22 Sept 29

Readers 8am Ashley Anthony Jim Brandt Linda Glessner Deb Christman Kara Kipp

Readers 10am DJ Heintz Joyce Jones Jim Koppin Lisa Brady Mike Schnell

Acolytes Deacon Miranda Evans Mara Cathcart Madison Kipp Marlie Barhorst

Crucifer Celeste Beam

Greeters N- N- N- N- N-

S-Mary McIntyre S- S-Mary McIntyre S- S-

Communion Asst Fred Pulfer Judith LeFevre

Blood Pressure Ck Jan Elsass

Brotherhood

Brotherhood will resume monthly meetings beginning in September. Our first meeting of this fall sea-

son, will be held on Monday, September 9th at 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker will be Shelby County Sher-

iff John Lenhart. All men and friends of the congregation are invited to attend.

September 29th will be our annual observance of Brotherhood Sunday and

Men in Mission service, during the 10:00 a.m. worship, with our traditional

Men’s Choir. All Men of St. Jacob are welcome!

Save the Date-Father-Son Banquet—November 13th at 6:30pm

Men’s Prayer Breakfast has begun! We meet every 3rd Sunday of the month at 7:15 a.m. in the

church basement. Come join us for breakfast, fellowship, devotion and prayer time.

The next Prayer Breakfast is Sunday, September 22nd. (Note: Sept. will be the 4th Sunday)

Teen Scene will kick off the season on Wednesday, September 4th from 6-7pm

in the upstairs. There will be snacks, games, and devotion time. This is open to

all teens and pre-teens of the community. Teen Scene advisors are Brad & Karla

Pleiman. Come and bring a friend or two!

Thank you *Thank you posted on the bulletin board in the office area:

Wittenberg, LOMO, Wernle, Shelby Hills Early Childhood

Sept. 2019 3

Church Council Minutes August 19, 2019

4 Sept. 2019

Members in attendance: Pastor Eidson Darrell Heintz Brad Pleiman Mitzi Eisenhardt Cheryl Pulfer Jerry Pleiman Dianne Cavinder Deb Christman Steve Wildermuth Ann Huffman David Fogt Excused Members: Rick Ike Keith Elsass Gathering Devotion by Pastor Eidson- Being Open to God’s Will Secretary’s Report Roll Call was taken. The minutes from the July 15th, 2019 meeting were reviewed. Ann Huffman moved and Jerry Pleiman seconded to accept the Secretary’s Report. Motion passed. Financial Secretary’s Report For July 2019, the Current Offering was $15,639.64 and the Benevolence Offering was $2,106.00. The Capital Campaign collected $1,020.60. Dianne Cavinder moved, and Mitzi Eisenhardt seconded to accept the Financial Secretary’s report. Motion passed. Treasurer’s Report For July 2019, the receipts were $18,745.94 and expenses were $20,831.48 for a negative difference of $2,085.54. This brings the Year-to-Date receipts to $121,507.03 and the expenses to $119,310.22 for a posi-tive difference of $2,196.81. David Fogt moved, and Steve Wildermuth seconded to accept the Treasurer’s Re-port. Motion passed. Offering Our Gifts and Talents Trustee’s Report Jerry Pleiman reported that a date will be set to get the sewer lines repaired. The elevator inspection is set for September. There has been an insect problem in the basement. Ortho inspected and said there is a powder post beetle issue in the basement. Trustees will look into treating the basement. Sign Ohio inspected the cross on the tower as only half the lights are working. They said the cross is in need of repairs. The cost for repairs will be $2,800.00. This will be held for congregational approval. Jerry received the following quote for the roof repair on both towers. The quote from Frost was for $23,229.94. We are still waiting for a quote from Cotter-man. Frost also had a quote for all new gutters and downspout for $20,900.00. Jerry received two quotes to fill in the cracks and reseal all the parking lots. One quote was for $2,988.75 from Superior Seal Coating. The second was A&B Asphalt for $3,807.00. This will also be held for congregational approval. Jerry also said that there are about 6-8 shrubs that have died. He has someone that may help pull them out. The AED boxes have been installed. The empty lot will be seeded in late September. Deacon’s Report Parish Ed- Nothing to report Worship Team- Have not met yet. The Vision Development Team- Have not met yet. The Benevolence/Christian Action Team- Nothing new to report. The Evangelism Team- Have not met yet.

Pastor’s Report Pastor Eidson made 9 visits in the month of July. The number is lower than what he typically will make per month due to vacation. Pastor wanted to thank all who participated in the work-day at his residence on July 6th. Pastor took vacation July 22-28th. Pastor Neil Brady was on call to handle emergencies. Pastor Robert Willauer presided over worship on July 28th. Pastor is now a member of Southern Ohio Synod’s Collaborative Team which provides resources, training, and support to those congregations in the synod which are serious about be-coming a vital and renewing congregation. Pastor Eidson has completed 13.3 hours of continuing education this year. Each pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church is required to complete 50 hours every year. He needs 36.7 additional hours and hopes to complete them by the end of October. Pastor is looking at starting a Stew-ardship team by the end of the year. Admin. Report Cheryl Pulfer reported that Brotherhood Sunday will be September 29th and Gideon Sunday will be September 15th. There is a baptism on the 22nd. Cheryl also made a weekly Fellowship Pad. This is to replace the com-munion cards. She will be putting them in the pews to be passed in the pews at every communion. Continuing Business President Heintz said Sprint has not been in contact reference the tower. This item will be dropped. President Heintz said that at the next congregational meeting, he will bring forth the motion to increase the dollar amount that council can approve (constitution will need updated). Right now the current amount is $2,000. New Business President Heintz said the endowment fund team is down one member. The President will look at adding a member as soon as possible. David Fogt said the Pastor is interested in a free standing alter. The pastor would rather face the congregation rather than have his back toward them. David said he has someone that is interest-ed in donating the money for the alter. David will look into this. Pastor would like to have a “Gods Work, Our Hands Sunday” on September 8th. This will be a cleanup at Lutheran Memorial camp. He will announce this to the congregation. Envisioning Business The next Council Meeting will be held on Monday, September 16th, 2019 Respectfully Submitted, Brad Pleiman

Need some help! Not sure if it is age or what but I am having a difficult time remembering names and faces. If it is at all possible I would appreciate a picture of your family with everyone’s names. You can either e-mail it to me eidson1960@msn.com or drop it off in the office. Thanks you so much for your assistance. Cindi Eidson

Kids of the Kingdom will kick off this coming Sunday, September 1st at 1:30-3:00pm. Meet at the church. This is open to all 1st-6th graders. For more information see Jeff Bertke. Come and join us and bring a friend or two!

St. Jacob Lutheran Church 5

Wednesday Night Schedule St. Jacob Wednesday night schedule will be as follows: Teen Scene 6-7pm—open to ALL middle and high schoolers in the community (Starts Septem-ber 4th) Hand Bell Choir 7-7:45pm—open to ALL—starts Sept. 4 new members/practice starts Sept. 11th Senior Choir 7:45-8:30pm—open to ALL—starts Sept. 11th

Handbell Choir The Bell Choir will have a new member orientation on Wed, Sept. 4th. This is open to anyone who would like to see what hand bell ringing is all about and try ringing some bells. Regular practice is schedule for Wednesday evenings at 7-7:45 p.m.

Senior Choir WE WANT YOU to join Senior Choir! Wednesday, September 11th, 7:45 to 8:30 p.m. We sing the 1st and 3rd Sunday’s of the month. Hope to see you there!

Congratulations Congratulations to all the fair participants who won awards of various types at the county and state level this summer!

Upcoming Events Sept 1 Confirmation students receive Bibles & handbooks

Kids of the Kingdom 1:30-3:00pm

Sept 4 Teen Scene 6-7pm

Handbell Choir orientation 7pm

Sept 8 God’s Work-Our Hands Sunday

Sept 9 Brotherhood 7pm

Sept 10 Ruth Circle 7:30 pm

Sept 11 Teen Scene 7pm

Handbell Choir 7-7:45pm

Senior Choir 7:45-8:30pm

Sept 15 Gideon’s Sunday

Sept 18 Wednesday evening schedule

Sept 21 Shelby County Alzheimer’s Walk 10am

Sept 22 Men’s Prayer Breakfast 7:15am

Sept 25 Wednesday evening schedule

Sept 29 Brotherhood Sunday 10am

6 Sept. 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

112th Sunday of Pent

Worship 8&10am Sunday School 9am Blood Pressure Ck 9-9:45am Kids of the Kingdom 1:30pm Phyllis Boone Larissa Himmeger

2

Timri Berning Justin Krites Angela Maher

3

Erin Luellen Jaime Quatman

4 Teen Scene 6pm Handbell –new mem-bers orientation 7pm

5 Katie Lentz

6

*Fred & Cheryl Pulfer

7 Elias Cooper Doug Huffman Randy Krites Ezra Quatman

813th Sunday of Pent Worship 8&10am Sunday School 9am God’s Work-Our Hands Sunday Jill Brandt

9

Parish Ed 6:30pm Brotherhood 7pm Morgan Spence

10

Ruth Circle 7:30pm *Bruce & Carol Bulle

11 Teen Scene 6pm Bell Choir 7pm Senior Choir 7:45pm

12 Bailey Althauser Ron Frank Kate Opperman

13

Kim Klopfleisch

14 Amy Krites *Andrea&Christ Hilgefort *Mark&Jane Wahl

1514th Sunday of Pent

Worship 8am & 10am Sunday School 9am

16 Church Council 7:00pm

*Scott & Sharon VanFossen

17 Ashtin Bowman Julia Poppe

18 October Newslet-

ter items due Teen Scene 6pm Bell Choir 7pm Senior Choir 7:45pm Nancy Spence

19 Isaac Cooper Geoff Wilt *Steve & Jan Elsass

20

Heather Althauser

21 Shelby County Alzheimer’s Walk 10am Ashton Berner Carly Rogers

2215th Sunday of Pent

Worship 8&10am Sunday School 9am Men’s Prayer Breakfast 7:15am Hunter Bowman

23 Vision Dev meeting 7pm

24

Bev Dunlap

25

Teen Scene 6pm Bell Choir 7pm Senior Choir 7:45pm Abigail Current Kantessa Stewart

26

Cody Limbert

27 Austin Fogt

28 Carter Dirksen Lois Fogt

2916th Sunday of Pent Worship 8&10am Sunday School 9am Brotherhood Sunday 10am Sherrill Clifford Taylor Spence

30

*Anniversary

NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE PERMIT NO. 3

SIDNEY, OH 45365

St. Jacob Lutheran Church

101 W. Main St., P.O. Box 434

Anna, OH 45302

Phone: 937-394-4421

Www.stjacoblutheran.com

Email: stjacob@embarqmail.com

Growing & Sharing; Inviting and Caring