The Arising News J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 2 : I S S U E 1

WORSHIP

TIMES

Traditional

Sunday

8:00 am

& 10:30 am

Contemporary

Saturday

5:30 pm

Devotional

Wednesday

6:30 pm

Adult Bible Study

Sunday

9:15 am

Youth School

Sunday

9:15 am

January Sermon Series

all things new Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come! 2nd Corinthians 5:17

As we begin a new year, what a blessing it is to know that as baptized believers in Jesus Christ, all things are new! During this new month, we will look at how the forgiveness that is ours through Christ gives us new life! Behold, I am making all things new! Rev. 21:5

Dec. 31-Jan. 1 a new beginning New Year’s Day Jan. 7-8 a new King Epiphany Sunday Jan. 14-15 a new birth Baptism of Jesus Jan. 21-22 a new command Life Sunday Jan. 28-29 a new heart Sermon on the Mount

P A G E 2 7

Congratulations on your Marriage!

Baptized in Holy Water

Scarlett Sievert

12/18/2016

Greyson Stephens

12/25/2016

“Above all, keep loving one anther earnestly,

since love covers a multitude of sins.”

1 Peter 4:8

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Address changes/updates: Please update your home

directory!

David & Terri Lafrenz 333 9th St.

Moline, IL 61265

Lilian Mink 6015 N. Haye St.

Newman Lake, WA 99025

If you have moved, please remember to update your

records with the church office.

P A G E 2 6

Greeters:

8:00 10:30

1/8 Art & Kay Johnson Bryan & Sherri Johnson

1/15 Harlan & Lois Kundel Allan & Nancy Elias

1/22 Bruce & Judy Harford Andrew & Nicole McDowell

1/29 Marvin & Marjorie Reimers Gary & Linda Larson

2/5 Lee & Florence Reedy Kerry & Kali Gruenhagen

Ushers:

8:00 10:30

1/8 Bill Faris Gil Linenberger

Jason Franzenburg Ian McCloud

Garry Gruenhagen Larry Niebuhr

Harlan Kundel Rick Ehrke

1/15 Dan Kloppenborg Roger Dodd

James Luedtke Scott Sievert

Dave Luebbe Brad Johnson

Steve McCoy Travis Schwenneker

1/22 Andrew Pfeiffer Allan Elias

Dohn Pfeiffer Andrew McDowell

Marv Reimers Tim Welch

Mike Vieger Brody Welch

1/29 Terry Warner Bryan Johnson

Todd Mensendick Craig Tannahill

Jason Werning Gary Larson

Jim Wegener Gary Pinkerton

2/5 Ross Bergen Gil Linenberger

Joe Brophy Ian McCloud

Bill Faris Larry Niebuhr

Jason Franzenburg Rick Ehrke

Altar Guild

January:

Rich Emory

February:

Kelly Roehm

Pam Dittmer

March:

Erma Hill

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Inside this issue:

Dates to Remember Sunday Morning Bible Studies Wednesday Worship Schedule Lutheran Service Book Stewardship Message from IDE Financials LWML Library News Youth in the Word Kids Connection Little Blessings Church & Community Events Worship Servants Membership Changes Member Notifications Wall Calendar

4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17-23 24-26 27 28-30 31

Church Staff

Senior Pastor Rev. Kurt Larson

Pastor of Youth & Family

Rev. Isaac Johnson

Business Manager Mrs. Barb Grosskopf

Communications Coordinator

Mrs. Becky Van Nice

Secretary Ms. Carrie Reese

Little Blessings Daycare Director

Mrs. Terrie Burkey

Children’s Ministry Director Mrs. Leslie McCoy

Organist

Ms. Marilyn Luebbe

Music Director Mrs. Maria Klein

Maintenance

vacant

Office hours:

Mon-Fri 8:30-4:00

Business Manager Office hours:

Mon, Wed, Thurs

11:00-3:00

Pastor Larson is off on Tuesdays

Pastor Johnson is off on Fridays

1/4 Wed. 9:00 am Morning LifeLight - weekly

5:15 pm Confirmation/Kids Ablaze - weekly

5:30 pm Dinner for $1 - weekly

6:30 pm Devotional Service– weekly

7:15 pm Evening LifeLight - weekly

1/5 Thurs. 6:00 pm Praise Team Practice - weekly

6:30 pm Elder’s Meeting

1/6 Fri. 6:00 pm Trivia

1/7 Sat. 7:00 am Workout - weekly

7:30 am Men’s Bible Breakfast

8:00 am Christmas Décor Repackaging

9:00 am Youth Bottle/Can Drive

1/9 Mon. 6:15 pm Choir Practice - every Monday pm

1/10 Tues. 6:30 pm Evening Crafters

1/11 Wed. 8:30 am Power Prayer Group - weekly

1/12 Thur. 6:00 pm Church Boards Meeting Night

7:30 pm Church Council

1/19 Thurs. 10:00 am Daytime Quilters

1/22 Sun. 9:15 am Quarterly Voter’s Meeting

12:00 pm Family Fellowship - Sledding Party

1/24 Tues. 9:30 am Mugs & Muffins

1/26 Thurs. 5:00 pm Christian Care Servant Event

1/27 Fri. 11:45 am Fellowship Friday

1/28 Sat. 11:00 am Middle School Event - Pizza w/Pastor

2/1 Wed. 8:30 am Power Prayer Group - weekly

9:00 am Morning LifeLight - weekly

5:15 pm Confirmation/Kids Ablaze - weekly

5:30 pm Dinner for $1 - weekly

6:30 pm Devotional Service– weekly

7:15 pm Evening LifeLight - weekly

2/2 Thurs. 6:00 pm Praise Team Practice - weekly

6:30 pm Elder’s Meeting

January - Dates to Remember

P A G E 4 January Worship Servants

Elders:

12/31 5:30 Scott Sievert

1/1 8:00 Ron Gruenhagen 10:30 Tim Welch

1/4 6:30 Jim Wegener

1/7 5:30 Craig Tannahill

1/8 8:00 John Riedel 10:30 Gene Sperry

1/11 6:30 Ron Borcherding

1/14 5:30 Gary Hentze

1/15 8:00 Tim Welch 10:30 Mike Botz

1/18 6:30 Rich Emory

1/21 5:30 John Riedel

1/22 8:00 Scott Sievert 10:30 Craig Tannahill

1/25 6:30 Reynold Waech

1/28 5:30 Gene Sperry

1/29 8:00 Gary Hentze 10:30 Rich Emory

1/1 6:30 Tim Welch

2/4 5:30 Ron Borcherding

2/5 8:00 Ron Gruenghagen 10:30 John Riedel

Acolytes:

8:00 10:30

1/1 Jackson Franzenburg Mason Banks

Kaedyn Burkey Nels Fossum

1/8 Grant Van Nice Logan Rall

1/15 Casey Krager Alexa Wakeland

Elizabeth Mann Austin Siebert

1/22 Isabella Wegener Camille Schwenneker

1/29 Julia Werning Carter Cornett

2/5 Marc Pfeiffer Carter Wichelt

Carter Atkins Dana Johnson

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Sunday Morning Cookies P A G E 2 4

1/1: (8:00) Kay Johnson & Reva Thoemig (10:30) Available 1/8: (8:00) Erma Hill & Sandy McLeod (10:30) Pam Bloomberg & Sarah Rassler 1/15: (8:00) LWML (10:30) LWML 1/22: (8:00) Lisa Botz & Cynthia Mensendick (10:30) Barb Schwenneker 1/29: (8:00) Lois Kundel & Linda Schroeder (10:30) Nancy Elias & Joan Hinck 2/4: (8:00) AVAILABLE (10:30) Chris Pinkerton Please sign up to provide cookies. Everyone enjoys treats and fellowship after Sunday morning worship services.

Altar Flowers: Beautify our Altar with flowers. Sign up at he kiosk.

ALTAR ORGAN

1/1 AVAILABLE

1/8 Carlyn Lesch

1/15 Mr. & Mrs.Sparbel Reynold & Paulette Waech

1/22 AVAILABLE

1/29 AVAILABLE

2/5 Terry & Michelle Warner

When you have signed up to provide flowers for a certain date, please fill out the pink

Altar Flower instruction sheet and turn it in to the office. The cost for a bouquet is $38

(slightly more if you wish to add special flowers). Please make checks payable to RCLC

Altar Guild. --OR-- please let the office know if you choose to purchase and deliver a

flower arrangement of your choice to the sanctuary by 4pm on the Friday preceding your

chosen date.

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Sunday Morning Bible Studies

Praying the Psalms In The Library

The Psalms are the Hymnbook of the entire Bible and are the only songs and poetry that we have which are truly inspired

by God and inerrant. In this Bible study we will all grow in the wisdom of these holy prayers. We will learn from God himself more about His nature, our nature, and how He wants us to pray. This class will last for several weeks, and all are wel-

come.

A Man Named Martin Video Bible Study in the Sanctuary

We are celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Refor-

mation all year here at Risen Christ! We begin this year of celebration with a new video Bible study about Martin Lu-

ther, A Man Named Martin - The Moment. This Bible study examines the events that led to the Reformation and the

struggle Martin Luther fought for the truth of the Scriptures!

“14But as for you,

continue in what

you have learned

and have firmly

believed, knowing

from whom you

learned it 15and

how from child-

hood you have

been acquainted

with the sacred

writings, which

are able to make

you wise for sal-

vation through

faith in Christ

Jesus. 16All scrip-

ture is breathed

out by God and

profitable for

teaching, for re-

proof, for correc-

tion, and for train-

ing in righteous-

ness, 17that the

man of God may

be competent,

equipped for eve-

ry good work.’ 2

Timothy 3:14-17

- P A G E 6

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Come and hear what God is doing through His Church in Russia! Bishop Vsevolod Lytkin, the bishop of the Lutheran Church of Siberia, will be visiting Park View Lutheran Church on Jan 8. A free meal will be served at 5pm. Bishop Lykin will speak at 5:45pm. You are invited to join us for this unique opportunity ~Pastor Peter Hoft

This new group will be meeting weekly on Wednesday

mornings beginning January 11 @ 8:30-9:00 a.m. in the sanctu-

ary for prayer and meditation. We will pray for our church, our

country, our leaders and anyone requesting specific prayer.

ALL are welcome to attend. If you can’t attend, take a few mo-

ments to stop whatever you are doing at work/home/etc. to

pray with us. If you have specific prayer requests, please email

them to becky@rclcqc.org

P A G E 2 3

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Altar Guild would like to

thank everyone for contrib-

uting to our altar display of

beautiful Poinsettias.

The QC Dining Tour books

have been sold too! The pro-

ceeds from those books will

help purchasing more items

for the altar.

The Risen Christ staff would like to thank you for your overflowing gen-

erosity and support. We think it would require us to close the office for

the month of January to write all the thank you notes that you are due!

We are truly blessed by our Risen Christ family!

From the deepest parts of our heart, we thank you!

There are not enough words or

praise for all our volunteers who

are ready to hop in and do what it

takes. Thank you so much!

The world needs more volunteers

and also people to pay it forward,

whether it is a kind word, a help-

ing hand, or to make some ones

day by telling them God loves

them.

Submitted by Jerry Rogers, Golf Commissioner

P A G E 2 2

Sledding Party

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22ND

NOON

Sign up at the kiosk to share ingredients for walking tacos for lunch

prior to sledding and warm drinks to share while sledding.

After lunch we will head to the First Church of the Nazarene

1010 N. Clark St., Davenport

between 1 & 1:30.

Please remember to wear warm clothes and bring sleds. If we do not

have enough snow for sledding we will have Nerf Wars at RCLC.

The ladies of Risen Christ are invited to a luncheon baby

shower for our music director, Maria Klein.

Saturday February 4th at 11:00 am in the narthex.

Maria is registered at Target, Walmart and Burlington.

The baby's room theme is Little Mermaid!

Due to the large numbers we could have, RSVP ONLY if you are

coming!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Teresa Rusch 563-271-0931 & Anna Gosney 563-271-0933

-

Wednesday Worship Schedule

Risen Christ is beginning an exciting new Wednesday night of worship, education and fellowship for all ages this fall! This will be the perfect middle of the week break to take time to worship the Lord, spend time in His Word, and fellowship with your brothers and sisters at RC! Join us for all of the activities or whichever part fits your

schedule.

5:15-6:15 Kids Ablaze (3rd - 5th Grade) Confirmation (6th - 8th Grade) All 3rd-5th graders are invited for crafts, games and learn-ing about God's Word! All 6th-8th graders are encouraged to come for Confirmation training, to learn the Scriptures

and prepare to receive Holy Communion.

5:30 - 6:15 Dinner For a Dollar Take a night off from cooking! Everyone is welcome to a fellowship meal served at Risen Christ each week for only

$1.00! Join us for food, fellowship and fun!

6:30 - 7:00 Wednesday Night Worship Everyone is invited to join us for our new mid-week wor-ship service! This will be a different from Saturday night and Sunday morning, with a devotion from God's Word and an emphasis on using our hymnal as a rich resource of wor-ship.

“On God

rests my sal-

vation and

my glory; my

might rock,

my refuge is

God.” Psalm

62:7

In this series

we are ex-

ploring the

depth of the

riches which

are contained

in our Luther-

an Service

Book (LSB).

So far we have explored the

long history and importance of

hymnals in the Lutheran

Church for teaching the Bible,

and we have seen how our

hymnal is focused entirely on

delivering the goods of Jesus’

death and resurrection through

Word and Sacrament. We have

considered the Psalms in the

beginning of the hymnal, and

today we will look at the ser-

vices contained therein.

What is a church

“service” anyway? What is the

purpose of the services that are

printed in the LSB? When we

think of going to a “service”

we often think about offering

service to God, namely, the

worship due his holy Name.

While we do have the oppor-

tunity to worship God at

church services, and it is right

to do so, that is not the true

meaning of a “service”. We

Lutherans define a “service” as

the place and time where God

serves his people. It’s actually

the other way around! If you

find this surprising, just think

about the way that our services

are structured. There are two

main parts: (1) the service of

the Word, where we hear read-

ings from God’s holy Scripture

and preaching on that Word,

and (2) the service of the Sac-

rament, were we receive Jesus’

true body and blood under the

forms of bread and wine. Eve-

rything else in our services are

like branches that grow from

the vine of God’s gift to us

(that includes our prayers, our

songs of thanksgiving, and so

forth). The Word (1) and Sac-

rament (2) are known to us as

the Means of Grace because it

is through these means alone

that God gives us the gift of

forgiveness of sins, eternal life

and salvation won for us by

Jesus’ atoning death on the

cross and resurrection from the

dead. So the heart of a

“service” is not that we serve

God, but that God first serves

us. To reinforce this point, the

editors of the LSB gave the

services which include Word

and Sacrament the title “Divine

Service”.

The particular services

that are included in the LSB

come from various times in

history, dating as far back as

the 3rd and 4th centuries and

as recent as the last two hun-

dred years. All of these parts of

the Divine Service have stood

the test of time as excellent

ways to communicate the

Means of Grace (like the Kyr-

ie, Angus Dei, etc.). An expla-

nation of these parts (including

the phenomenon of

“chanting”) deserves it’s own

article, so please look in future

publications of the church

newsletter! Next time will con-

sider some important resources

for you and your family in the

LSB that are commonly over-

looked.

In Christ,

Pastor Johnson

Lutheran Service Book: To Know a Treasure When You See it

Part 3: The Divine Service

FROM THE DESK OF

PASTOR JOHNSON

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Risen Christ Lutheran Church has been chosen as a host church for a Tim Tebow Foundation Night to Shine. We will be holding our Night to Shine event at Trinity Lutheran Church and School Activity Center and Fellowship Hall. The Tim Tebow Foundation works with churches around the country to provide an incredible prom night experience centered on God's love for people with special needs, ages 14 and older. This year there are 375 churches participating world wide in Night to Shine. Another local church, Our Lady of the River in Le Claire, Iowa, will also be hosting an event.

Night to Shine will be held simultaneously all around the world on February 10, 2017. Night to Shine provides a red-carpet entrance, complete with a friendly welcome from paparazzi, limo rides, karaoke, hair and makeup stations, shoe shining areas and, of course, a dance floor. It is a night when all guests are crowned kings and queens of the prom. This is a night not only for guests to shine, but for churches to shine, for volunteers to shine, and most importantly for the Love of Christ to shine.

Some ways you can help are: 1) Pray for the planning committee that the Lord will guide our planning and that this event will be a blessing to all involved. 2) Sign up to volunteer. We will need lots of volunteers. Some jobs are more glamorous than others, but all are important. We will be contacting volunteers in the near future to give you more specific details. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. 3) Donate to the event. We received a $4000 grant from the Tim Tebow Foundation, but we need to raise additional funds. We are also currently seeking corporate help and sponsorship. If you would like to donate, checks may be written to Risen Christ Lutheran Church with "Night to Shine" in the memo.

Contact Sandy Sievert for more information. Thank you

P A G E 2 0

Please pick up your offering envelopes, located on the table in the hallway, us-

ing the envelope makes it easier for the counters to record offering correctly. If

you would like envelopes, a sign

up sheet is on the table. Alterna-

tively, members may sign up for

Simply Giving, an automated

electronic withdrawal from your

checking or savings account, just

fill out the form on the table or

print a copy of the form from our

website www.rclcqc.org (located

under the “resources” tab) and return to the church office. You can also make a

request at your bank to have offering checks sent directly to RCLC.

To all RCLC Night to Shine volunteers. We have a had a tremendous re-

sponse to the request for volunteers for the Night To Shine event on February

10th. We will not only have volunteers from Risen Christ, but also from

throughout the community. As you can imagine, with the number of volunteers

needed, managing the event takes a lot of organization and planning. To aid

with that we would ask that you take one more step in the volunteer sign up pro-

cess. There is a volunteer registration on the Risen Christ website that we are

asking all Night To Shine volunteers to use, even if you have signed up at the

kiosk in the Fellowship Hall. The link is at http://www.rclcqc.org If anyone

needs assistance with that process, please contact Sandy Sievert at 563-349-

4288 or Scott Sievert at 563-528-5192 and they will assist you. Again thanks for

the wonderful response and the willingness to assist the Church with this event

to serve the special needs community.

BIBLICAL STEWARDSHIP

P A G E 9

Celebrating New Years is a celebra-

tion of the past and the future. We

take stock of the past with thanks-

giving and sometimes even relief

(that it’s over), and we look to the

future in the hope and anticipation

and perhaps even worry of what it

holds. The point is that New

Year’s celebrations remind us of

who we are as opposed to who we

would like to be; what we have

done in comparison to what we

want to do. It reminds us of our

accomplishments, but mostly it

reminds us of our failures. What

we’ve lost. Who we’ve lost. New

Years is our own version of Dick-

ens’ classic A Christmas Carol.

And we all play Scrooge. We are

visited by the ghosts of our pasts,

presents, and futures. St. Paul

writes: “The point is this: whoever

sows sparingly will also reap spar-

ingly, and whoever sows bountiful-

ly will also reap bountifully. Each

one must give as he has made up

his mind, not reluctantly or under

compulsion, for God loves a cheer-

ful giver. And God is able to make

all grace abound to you, so that

having all sufficiency in all things

at all times, you may abound in

every good work. As it is written,

‘He has distributed freely, he has

given to the poor; his righteousness

endures forever.’ He who supplies

seed to the sower and bread for

food will supply and multiply your

seed for sowing and increase the

harvest of your righteousness. You

will be enriched in every way for

all your generosity, which through

us will produce thanksgiving to

God” (2 Cor 9:6–15).

St. Paul tells us that the

Lord of all will both supply and

increase what you need to give to

the church for its work in and for

the world. He tells us that this work

that God is doing in us will enrich

and bless us in every way and

through this it will produce thanks-

giving to God. With this in mind,

here is some practical advice to

help you take stock of your giving

of years past, which will help you

to change what needs to be

changed, improved, or done away

with altogether. First, attend the Divine

Service to receive God’s gifts of

forgiveness, life, and salvation. If

you’ve not been faithful in attend-

ing worship to hear the preaching

of God’s Word, to receive for-

giveness, and feast of the rich food

of our Lord’s body and blood for

the eternal benefit of your body and

soul, then repent and come to re-

ceive the gifts God freely gives.

God doesn’t want your money. He

wants you—all of you (Matt 22:20–

22).

Second, pray for the

Lord’s help. Your right as a Chris-

tian is to speak with your Father,

the King of all creation, freely

through His Son, our Lord, Jesus

Christ. Go to the throne of grace

and ask for strength and wisdom to

follow His bidding faithfully (John

15:1–16).

Third, consider what the

Church is and what the Church

does. The Church is a mercy place.

It inhales the mercy of the Father

by the death, resurrection, and as-

cension of His Son through the

preaching of the Gospel and the

Sacraments. It exhales this mercy in

love toward the neighbor. You are a

member of the Church, of God’s

family. Thus, you are not only a

recipient of God’s mercy, but a

bearer of that mercy for the life of

the world. You spread that mercy in

showing mercy through the gener-

ous giving of your income to sup-

port the work of the Church in and

for the world, as the Israelites did in

the Old Testament (Lev 27:1–34).

Fourth, take stock of your

current giving in light of the New

Testament’s teaching on supporting

the work of the Church. Are you

giving of your first fruits, taking it

out of your paycheck first, or does

God get what’s left over? Are you

giving voluntarily and cheerfully?

Are you giving proportionally and

generously? The Old Testament

required a tithe, ten percent. The

New Testament gives freedom to be

generous, to give more for the

Church’s work. Are you relying on

God’s promise to provide and in-

crease what you need to do His

work? If your answer is no to any

of these, repent. If God gave you

His only Son, will He not provide

for you all things, even physical

things? Trust Him, His Word, and

heed it.

So, don’t let your past

define your future. Rather, commit

for the year a generous proportion

of your income, which is God’s gift

to you for this body and life.

P A G E 1 0

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Bless-ings to you my fellow servants of the Church. My greet-

ing atop this note is meant to be equivalent to “Merry Christ-mas.” I like the title above be-cause it speaks to the very es-sence of Jesus’ birth. It is easy during this season to be wrapped up in the traditions that focus on the manger, the rudimentary conditions, the dark night sky over Bethlehem, and the baby in the arms of a doting father and nurturing mother. The traditions are fine and can be very helpful for a proper celebration of the High

Feast of Christmas.

The caution for us all is to re-member that the events of Christmas in Bethlehem must always be understood in light of Jerusalem 33 years later. Apart from Jerusalem the events of Bethlehem get swallowed up in trappings that ignore or forget about the atonement. The Son of God becomes flesh and dwells among us full of grace and truth says John’s Gospel. It is a mystery to say that God

stooped to become man, it is also true to say that in Jesus the Christ man is lifted to a life

beyond the fate of all humanity.

Maybe it will be helpful for us to think of the Nativity scene in terms of a Friday through Sun-day some three decades later. The wood of a crib would pref-ace the wooden instrument of crucifixion. The dark night of Bethlehem would pale in com-parison to the darkness that fell upon Calvary at 12:00 noon. The swaddling clothes which were a sign to the shepherds would give way to a shroud. The stone manger in which the baby Jesus was laid is miniscule in relation to the stone rolled over the tomb as He lay in quiet death. The an-gels who announced His birth in heavenly chorus would return to ask the question “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He is risen.” Jesus mission from His birth was to atone for the sins of the world even when it would cost Him His life. He willingly gave it up as He powerfully took it back again in victory over sin, death and

the devil.

All this He did for us, for you and for me. “I have good news of great joy. Born to you this day in the City of David a Sav-ior who is Christ the Lord.” A Savior, our Savior gifted to us – flesh and blood to eat and to drink for forgiveness, life, and salvation. So tiny and helpless in the little town of Bethlehem. Appearing even more helpless in the city of Jerusalem. Help-less according to the human eye but not according to the human/divine Son of God. Keeping Bethlehem in the shadow of Jerusalem allows us to celebrate rightly the miracle of the Incarnational Festival of

Joy.

Merry Christmas!

Rev. Dr. Brian Saunders President Iowa District East – LCMS

Tatar

sauce

anyone?

P A G E 1 9

January 27 @ 11:45

Everyone is invited to share a luncheon

meal (NO RSVP required!). Bring a dish

to share and invite a guest.

Contact Kay Petersen for additional

information

DAYTIME QUILTERS

D ay Time Quilters

meet the third

Thursday of the

month. Join us anytime

between 10 and 3 and

stay as long as you

like. Bring a lunch if you will be with us

at noon. No sewing skills are required. We

will be layering and tying quilts

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Tatar

sauce

anyone?

P A G E 1 8

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Thank you to all who came out to donate blood at the end of October. We collected 22 units of blood, which can help save up to 88 lives! Not only did we surpass our goal, but we also earned $270 in grant money for Little Blessings. How awesome! Our next blood drive will be held Tuesday March 14, 2017, so save the date! The last day to donate and still be eligible on that date will be January 17

th. Again, thank you for your dedication to this

cause! ~Jessica Welch

Meeting monthly on the second Tuesday at 6:30 pm. Please join us if you can. You can help as-semble quilts, stitch new member bookmarks or bring your own craft project. If you have questions, please contact either Rachel Luebbe or Sharon Tannahill. Next meeting: January 10 February 14

“Every tithe of

the land,

whether of the

seed of the

land or of the

fruit of the

trees, it is the

Lord’s; it is

holy to the

Lord.”

Leviticus 27:30

CHURCH FINANCIALS

Submitted by Barb Grosskopf DECEMBER, 2016

P A G E 1 1

T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

P A G E 1 2

The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) is the official women’s auxiliary of

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. For almost 75 years, the LWML has focused on

affirming each woman’s relationship with Christ, encouraging and equipping women to

live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and to support global missions.

LUTHERAN WOMEN’S MISSIONARY LEAGUE

Submitted by Paulette Waech

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that

is above every name.” Phil. 2:9

The Philippians passage is the main theme for the upcoming National LWML Convention, June

22-25, 2017, in Albuquerque, NM, with the theme of “Jesus Christ above all”. The combined four Dis-

tricts of the Rocky Mountain area invite all ladies to attend and participate in uplifting worship, inspiring

speakers, exciting and fun activities, and seeing old friends while making new. Detailed information is in

the Winter Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly. More details to follow in the coming months.

Recently the Society board met to make plans for the next few months, several exciting activi-

ties to engage the ladies of the congregation in “serving the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2), and joy-

ful fellowship. One such event is the “Mountain Top Breakfast”, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017,

at 9:00a.m., to prepare for Trans-figuration Sunday and Ash Wednesday (Feb. 26 & March 1, respective-

ly). Other activities include worship time, fellowship and planning for the upcoming Spring Rally to be

held either March or April at Risen Christ.

SPECIAL DATES TO REMEMBER:

Jan. 10, 2017 Tuesday 6:30p.m. Evening Crafters

Jan. 15, 2017 Sunday 8:00 & 10:30a.m. Serve refreshments

Jan. 19, 2017 Thursday 10:00a.m. Morning Quilters

Jan. 24, 2017 Tuesday 9:30a.m. Mugs and Muffins (fun & fellowship)

Feb. 10, 2017 Friday “A Night to Shine”

Feb. 25, 2017 Saturday 9:00a.m. “Mountain Top

Breakfast” & worship

Feb. 28, 2017 Tuesday 9:30a.m. Mugs and Muffins (fun & fellowship)

Finally, special thank you to the members of the congregation for their donations of school sup-

plies, baby items, material for quilts and health kits, such an outpouring of love and appreciation in grati-

tude for what our Lord has done for us. In addition, with hearts of thankfulness for the mites, over $660,

submitted to Iowa East District for Mission Grants on the District and National levels, was given in 2016.

Quarterly Voter’s Meeting

Sunday, January 22 @ 9:15 a.m

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“Proclaiming the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to children and their parents through a high quality child care program.”

Little Blessings Day Care

The Daycare started out this year wel-coming three new families into the cen-ter. Between the three families we wel-comed four new children. Our center is once again full and wait-ing for summer to arrive so we can move children around and be able to welcome more children into the center. Our Christmas program on December 13

th was a great hit. Several new chil-

dren had never experienced singing to a group of people and had quite fun sharing their talents. Fellowship with cookies and punch was held after the program which gave families time to socialize and interact among the fami-lies. The daycare would like to thank Jessi-ca Welch for having the blood drive at the church. Mississippi Blood center partnered up with the daycare, we were able to receive a gift card for $270.00 to purchase items needed for the center. Thanks again Jessica. For the month of January, the children will be learning about how God helped

Joshua and the people of Israel defeat the people of Jericho. The following week the theme is about deserts. John the Baptist lived in the desert, also known as the “wilderness.” From de-serts to vacations, the children will talk about taking time to rest “vacation.” We finish the month off with communi-cation and the Lord’s Prayer and then the story of how Jesus healed a blind man. The center will be having school age children on January 13

th and 16

th if any

family is in need of child care when their children are out of school. Please contact the center The center is looking for a motivated, friendly person that would like to work in the daycare. Afternoon hours, salary depends on experience and education. Benefit package includes vacation and paid holidays. Please contact daycare if interested. In Christ Terrie

LIBRARY NEWS Submitted by Brenda Ross

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Newly added book to the RCLC Library: What’s Best Next : How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman

“To every day think about what is the single thing you could do today that would serve God and your employer or audience or family. And if you think about one thing that you can do, you’ll

increase the odds that you’ll do it. Just do it.” (p. 64)

This is an apt book to read at the begin-ning of a new year, when you may be mak-ing resolutions or at least changes in your routine or habits.

Part 1 begins with an encouragement to put first things first i.e. making God su-preme. This may redefine the way you think about productivity. The chapters throughout explore questions like, “Does God care about getting things done?” (Hint: the author answers this, in part, using the parable of the talents from Matthew 25. Go read it now. I’ll wait.)

Part 2 explores an idea called Gospel-Driven Productivity (GDP) : a new way to look at getting things done. You’ll find your-self asking questions like “Why do the things I do every day matter?” This section also explores peace of mind (Hint: this comes through remembering that God has everything under control) and the role of prayer and scripture in our productivity.

Part 3 is a catalyst for helping you identify your mission, life calling, and roles.

Part 4 guides you in creating a structure for setting up your time & routines.

Part 5 offers suggestions on freeing up your time for what is most important.

Part 6 walks you through how to execute the plans you’ve designed in Parts 4 & 5.

Part 7 covers the “Why,” exploring our life’s causes and how they relate to our faith.

I liked the extra sections found in the back including:

Recap (p. 329) for those who can’t or don’t want to take the time to read the entire book.

Easy reference guide (like an in-dex) directing you to the page numbers for each concern.

Recommended reading citations

Learn More & Pass This On, about sharing this message via social media

I would like to hear your thoughts on this or any other book after you check it out from the RCLC Library. This one will be shelved in the Christian Interest area of the nonfic-tion section at the Risen Christ Lutheran Church Library.

God’s Peace Be With You, Brenda Ross

RCLC Librarian

“I am not ashamed

of the gospel, for it

is the power of God

for salvation to

everyone who

believes.”

~ St. Paul,

Romans 1

Middle School

High School

Youth in the Word

T H E A R I S I N G

N E W S

P A G E 1 4

BIBLE STUDY: We continue to grow in God’s Word together at 9:15 in the

youth room with Mr. Emory and Mrs. Sacrison. They continue on

their Journey though the Bible. Please support them with your prayer!

CONFIRMATION: If you haven’t yet, please schedule your home visit with

Pastor Johnson. They are going very well! Confirmation began again on Janu-

ary 4th, and our topic of study and devotion is Holy Baptism.

EVENT: Pizza at Pastor’s! All Middle School Youth are invited to Pastor

Johnson’s house on Saturday, January 28th from 11:30 to 1:00 to enjoy Chris-

tian fellowship and Pastor Johnson’s homemade pizza. The Youth are also

helping with the trivia night on January 6th at RCLC in support of the “Night

to Shine” event.

BIBLE STUDY: Our High Schoolers will continue their journey through St.

Paul’s letter to the Romans on January 8th at 9:15 AM in Pastor Johnson’s of-

fice. All senior youth are welcome!

YOUTH GROUP: We are going to have a special Youth Group meeting at

Pastor Johnson’s house on January 18th from 5:30 to 8:00PM. We will have

some of Pastor’s homemade pizza followed by games. We will also discuss

youth group time and decide on the SERVANT EVENT for this coming Sum-

mer. So come!!!

SERVICE EVENT: The Youth are helping with the trivia night on January 6th at

RCLC in support of the “Night to Shine” event. Be sure to clear your schedule to

help with “Night to Shine” next month, on Friday, February 10th. We will need

all the Youth to help!

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T H E A R I S I N G N E W S

Kids Connection submitted by Leslie McCoy

S unday school resumes

on January 8. Come

join us as we start the new year in

the New Testament, learning about

the life and ministry of Jesus

Christ. And, as always, bring your

friends!

Staffed nursery also resumes

on January 8. Take advantage of

our staffed nursery during the

Sunday school hour to join in an

adult Bible class. Children 6 mos-3

yrs old welcome!

Nursery attendants: Jan. 8- Halie Dodd & Rachel Luebbe

Jan. 15- Maddie Peters & Leslie McCoy Jan. 22- Kaite Johnson & Lois Kundel

Jan. 29- Savannah Ruark & Linda Schroeder Feb. 5-Katie Ehrke & Gayla Kelly

When the parents brought

the child Jesus to do for him

what the custom of the Law

required, Simeon took him

in his arms and praised God,

saying: “Sovereign Lord, as

you have promised, you

now dismiss your servant in

peace. For my eyes have

seen your salvation, which

you have prepared in the

sight of all people, a light

for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people

Israel.” Luke 2:27-32