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Address: 521 N Lincoln Ave, Hershey, NE 69143
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Phone: 308-368-5510 Email: marialutheran.hershey@gmail.com https://marialutheran.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/MariaLutheranChurch/
The New Church Year Begins
Advent marks the beginning of the Church year, and is the
season to prepare for the coming of Christ. Advent began December 2nd.
There are 4 Sundays in Advent. A
Candlelight Christmas Eve Service will be held at 7:00 PM on December 24th.
Unfortunately, the weather forced us to cancel church
for the past two Sundays. On November 25th, the weather prevented our
preacher, Lawrence Wendelin from traveling; on December 2nd, since many
of our church members south of the Interstate were snowed in with more snow and
cold expected, the service was also cancelled.
Tim Johnson had the sermon prepared, based on Luke 21: 25-36, so we are sharing
part of his message here.
As we begin our Advent journey
this week, our Gospel lesson from Luke may seem a little out of place. We are preparing to celebrate his birth, but
in this lesson Jesus talked about the end-of-times.
Do you recall a few years ago
when 33 miners were caught underground by a cave-in at a mine in Peru. After a few weeks hopelessly trapped, they
shared their last meal of a crumb of bread and a sip of water. They expected to starve there, cut off from
their families, and in deep despair. But
above, 10 huge drills were burrowing into the mountain to affect a rescue. As the sound of the drills became audible to
the trapped men, they could do nothing besides hope and trust in their
rescue. When our own lives seem cut off
from hope, our Gospel message today tells us to turn toward our God and his
Promise for our rescue.
At the end of his ministry on
earth, Jesus got more direct and clear about things that would affect his
followers. It was necessary for him to
bring up the negative aspects of life on this side of eternity. Bad things will happen and people will be
fearful. It is to be expected in a
fallen world. Even the heavens--think
space and time--will be affected. Jesus
then predicted his second coming, using the image from the book of Daniel. Talk about scary! Do we run and hide? How do we remain faithful when these signs
begin to appear? Jesus said “Look up and
raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” That is the command for us and the reason it
ties to Advent.
This is the time of year when
our minds are beckoned by festive decorations and glitzy ads encouraging us to
spend money. Nothing is wrong with
purchasing gifts, but it does distract us from the fact that the Kingdom of God
is present here and now. Jesus pointed
out that we need to pay attention to see it.
Jesus said that all things will pass away except His Word. It is everlasting. In John 1 we read that Jesus is the Word, so
when all things pass away, He remains.
Then Jesus finished by cautioning his followers not to be distracted by
the anxieties and excesses that keep us from appreciating his presence with
us. This is the perfect description of
our current holiday mania, and the state of the world in general. We were in
church in Beatrice in mid-November and the pastor mentioned that it was 44 days
until Christmas and we could see people visibly cringe and grimace, most likely
focusing on all of the shopping, decorating and baking that needed to be done.
They had lost focus of the reason for the season. The recognition of Advent
allows us a “step back” to focus our faith on what is important.
Paul told the Thessalonians that
he was praying for them to receive what was “lacking” in their faith. In the original language, he meant he was
praying for repair or restoration. Their
faith was there, but needed strengthening in the right way. In the cultural wars raging around us, our
faith surely needs the same attention. We don’t
need to listen to the current “wisdom” that comes from those who love to hear
themselves talk. We need to listen to
the Word of God, which is Truth in the past, present, and future. The God who saves is also the God who
blesses. Praise be to God that He
provides for our Salvation and the growth of our faith.
So this Advent, we can dedicate
ourselves to moving the emphasis of the season from holiday festivities toward God’s
Word. Why accept a snack of secular
Christmas, when we can have a feast--the celebration of Jesus’ birth? Special food, and gifts shared with family is
enjoyable, but the true joy of the season is the awesome, world-changing event
of Christ’s birth, celebrated here in our church with our Christian brothers
and sisters. Let’s pay attention to the
signs that point us to creation’s need for the Savior to bring justice and
righteousness to the world. “Look up and
raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Amen.
Upcoming Events:
Maria’s
Ark for Grades K-8 : Wednesdays 4:00 pm (when school is in session)
Rides available from school
Youth Group for
Grades 9-12: Every Wednesday 6:30 pm
(when school is in session)
Maria Council Meeting: Wednesday,
December 5, 6:30 PM
Decorating the Church Soup and Sandwich Potluck:
Sunday, December 9, following worship
Please
bring a crockpot of soup, sandwiches, or other treats and stay to decorate the
church.
Maria Women Bible Study: Wednesday,
December 12, 6:30 PM
Everyone is
welcome to come for fellowship and Bible study.
Maria
Youth Caroling with the Catholic Youth: December 19th
Candlelight Christmas Eve Service
7:00 PM, December 24th
A Note from Wade
Mark
Batterson is credited with saying, “God doesn’t call the qualified, he
qualifies the called”. With that in mind, I am excited to announce that I
have begun training to become a certified Parish Assistant through the North
American Lutheran Church. I have felt called to this path for a couple
years, but did not feel comfortable pursuing the certification with our
previous affiliation. After lengthy
discussions with my family we decided to begin this journey.
A
Parish Assistant is a person who serves a congregation as needed alongside, or
in the absence of, an ordained Pastor. The training includes eight
sections of emphasis, Old Testament, t New Testament, systematic
theology/confessions, Church history, Homiletics, worship history/traditions,
pastoral care & counseling, and spiritual life. This program is a two-year
program and is led by Pastor Jeff Cottingham from Trinity Lutheran in
Gothenburg.
When
certified, I will be able to lead a congregation in much the same way an
ordained Pastor would, ie. preaching, communion, baptisms, funerals, pastoral
care, and weddings, etc. This would qualify me to assume a leadership
role or fill a vacancy within a congregation.
If
you have any questions about this program don’t hesitate to ask me.
God
is most definitely good. Wade Hudson
Maria Lutheran Church Council
Meeting Minutes
November 7, 2018
Council Members Present: Gail Martin, Turner Dorr, Kerry Frels, Peggy
Brown, Tim Johnson, Terri Johnson
Other Attendees: Wade Hudson
Gail Martin, President called meeting
to order
Minutes for 10/17/18 were approved
with corrections. Turner made motion;
Peggy seconded motion; motion carried.
Finance/Stewardship:
·
Peggy reported on bank
accounts. General Ledger will be
presented in December for budget purposes.
·
Tim handed out mission investment
statement along with letter requesting funds to be disbursed and sent to
church.
·
Great Plains Mission District
Annual meeting is on Nov 10, 2018 in Abilene, KS. Will get packet of what was presented.
·
Still working on visitation of
members in need. Tim will get information
updated at the hospital
·
Communion Training with Pastor
Mike Williams will be done. Tim will
coordinate for himself, Wade and Turner
·
Discussion of possible affiliation
with Paxton needs to be take place. Need
to get information on financials and scheduling prior to annual meeting. This needs to be placed on agenda for Annual
meeting in order to get congregation questions, concerns, and input.
New Business:
·
Christmas Eve Service time was
discussed. Turner made motion to move
service to 7:00 pm; Kerry Frels seconded motion; motion carried.
·
Harvest Festival – Amy Williams
will play organ and Pastor Mike Williams will be guest speaker and will do
communion. Gail Martin made motion for
$250 pulpit supply; Turner Dorr seconded motion; motion carried.
·
Decorating the Church for
Christmas – Will have potluck soup and sandwich after worship and December 2.
Old Business:
·
Banner for the NALC is in the
church
·
New Phone and answering machine is
in fellowship hall
·
Letter was sent out in the
newsletter for affiliation notice
·
List of members – Tim created list
of current member with address, phone#, and emails
Christian Education:
·
Wade ordered stickers for the bus
·
Ark will have 22 kids going to the
Newsboys concert in Grand Island
·
Confirmation – Wade Hudson and
Sara Wiseman are working on curriculum that was used when Pastor Judy was here.
Building and Property:
·
Still waiting on shingles to get
fixed. Planning on doing when electric
company replaces pole and the bucket truck is here.
·
Will get estimate on possibly
replacing bell tower roof and trim with tin instead of shingles
Next meeting will be on December
5, 2018
Meeting Adjourned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kerry Frels,
Secretary, Maria Lutheran Church,
Hershey, NE
Communion by Lay Leaders
The Maria Council decided to
have lay leaders trained to offer communion at our services. Turner Dorr, Wade
Hudson, and Tim Johnson met with Pastor Mike Williams of the LCMC on Nov. 19th. He talked about the Lutheran understanding of
the sacraments and that God’s Word is what is important.
He suggested stressing the
Words of Institution and the Lord’s Prayer as the focus in the communion
service to remind us of Christ’s presence with us.
December Birthdays and Anniversaries*
2nd, Michael Jorgensen,
5th, Jeremy & Gail Martin*
7th, Bill Maassen
8th, Aidan George
14th, Tehya Eckhoff
15th, Hudson
17th, Peyton Fisher
18th, Ryan Klaasmeyer
18th, Jason & Savannah Lashley
22nd, Marguerite (Dorr) Gallegos
22nd Silas James Dorr
23rd, Bette Frels
24th, Janet Moorhead
26th, Lyric Frels
27th, Claude & Kelly Hoatson*
28th, Bobbi Jo Brannan
31st, Mitchell & Stephanie Moorhead
31st, Shaun Weekly
Worship
Leaders
Dec 9: Lawrence Wendelin; Lessons: Malachi 3:1-4, Psalm 126, Phillipians
1:3-11, Luke 3:1-16
Dec 16: Turner Dorr; Lessons: Zephaniah 3:14-18a, Isaiah 12, Phillipians
4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18
Dec 23: Lawrence Wendelin; Lessons: Micah 5:2-4, Psalm 80:1-7, Hebrews
10: 5-10, Luke 1:39-45
Christmas Eve at 7:00 PM: Tim
Johnson; Lessons: Isaiah 62:10-12,
Psalm 98, Titus 3:4-7, Luke 2:1-20
Dec 30: Lawrence
Wendelin; Lessons: Jeremiah 31:10-13, Psalm 111, Hebrews 2:10-18, Luke
2:41-52
December Ushers and
Readers: Hudson Family Communion
and Altar: Tim and Terri Johnson
Cookie Volunteers needed
Contact Numbers for Prayer Chain
and Concerns: Tim Johnson (308) 520-0677
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