January 2015 Monthly news of Trinity Lutheran Church Wanamingo, Minnesota (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) 9:00 am Sunday School Sunday Worship Services 10:30 am Church Office 824-2155 TrinityWgo@DeskMedia.com Church web site www.trinitywanamingo.org Pastor Christopher Culuris Parsonage 507-824-2410 chrisculuris@yahoo.com Pastor’s Office Hours Tuesdays 1:30-3:30 pm and Wednesdays 9-11 am Our Mission: God gathers the people of Trinity Lutheran Church to: • grow in a love relationship with God, • live in obedience to Jesus Christ, • serve the needs, hurts and hopes of all people. Our Sister Congregation: Principe de Paz (Prince of Peace) of Tunja, Colombia Partner Missionaries Rev Ann Klavano Papua New Guinea Trinity Lutheran Church TRINITY NEWSLETTER THOUGHTS FROM PASTOR CHRIS Brothers and Sisters, Psalm 65:11a says, “You crown the year with your goodness.” Happy New Year! As we begin a new year we pause to thank God for the blessing of another year of life. What a precious gift life is, one given to us from God Himself. As we begin 2015 let us all take some time to reflect upon the gift of our lives and the gift of God’s grace in our lives. Life, and all we possess in this life, is a gift of God’s grace given freely to us. In response let us thank God for His amazing generosity and love. Let us thank God for His many blessings and consider how we wish to use these blessings to honor the Lord and help our neighbor in 2015. Every New Year marks a new beginning. God has blessed us with another year to live in this world. Out of fatherly love and divine goodness God invites us to enjoy life in His Kingdom. In response to what God has freely and lovingly given us I wonder…what are our goals? What long-term goals do you have for your life? What goals do you have for 2015? Did you make any “New Year’s Resolutions?” Do you have any personal goals you want to achieve this year? Does your family have any special plans for the year ahead? When it comes to our faith lives what would we like to work on in the year ahead? Do we want to read through the entire Bible this year? Would we like to commit ourselves to a discipline of daily prayer? Do you want to volunteer your time with our Sunday School children or work with our parish youth group? What goals do you have for 2015? Whatever goals we may have remember the Lord crowns the year with His goodness. Therefore, let us thank the Lord for the gift of our lives and make the best use of the gifts God has bestowed upon us. In Christ’s service, Pastor Christopher Culuris Continued on page 2 Page 2 Circles— Tuesday Jan 13th 9:30 AM Hosted by Jean Borgscahtz Wednesday Jan 14th 2:00 PM Hosted by Ruth Braget Thursday Jan 8th 2:00 PM at Heritage Hill January WELCA Meeting T RI NI TY NEW S LET T ER Continued page 1 — CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL Mark Yourfrom Calendar MEETING — January 10th, 2015 The Trinity Lutheran Cemetery Association Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, January 10th, at 1:00 p.m. in the church basement. CONGREGATIONAL ANNUAL MEETING - January 18th The Annual Meeting of Trinity Lutheran Church will take place following 10:30 am worship service on Sunday, January 18th. Pastor Gene’s mission work Letter from the desk of Pastor Gene Hasselquist … We arrived in Donna on the 2nd of Dec. and all went well on the trip. The semi was unloaded on the 4th and a crew from the school with a forklift was there to drag the pallets back to the end of the trailer with a long chain and then lifted up and brought to the entrance of the Sharing Place. All went well. We had about 30 people working with us. Thanks again for all that the Friends of Gene did for the Runn School project. The offering rec'd that Sunday amounted to $1,605.00. Wow that was great. Thanks for helping to load the semi too. The Christmas Party for the Children at Runn is on Friday at 1 p.m. The gifts have been bought and the 4000 cookies have been baked and place in zip lock bags. It will be a great day for them. God bless you. Gene H. Love of Christ Lutheran Church, ELCA 914 West Third Street Weslaco, TX 78596 WELCA Quilting resumes on January 12th. Prayer Shawl Group at Wanamingo Lutheran Meets January 13 at 7:00 p.m. All women are invited to be a part of TLC Circle Groups. If you have not attended a Circle Group, come join us! We have great Bible Study, Fellowship and Lunch. Meeting times and places are notes in the newsletters and Sunday bulletins. Any questions call Susan Haugen 824-2358. January WELCA “Bring Five Items” WELCA collection for January will be laundry and cleaning supplies. Some specific items asked for are Wisk detergent, Oxi-clean, bleach and Downy fabric softener. Any other items along this line are also welcome. 2015 Flower Chart is posted on the Bulletin Board T RI NI TY NEW S LET T ER Page 3 Planning Council / Boards Submitted by Bonnie Hermann/Recording Secretary The Planning Council met on December 10, 2014 at 7 pm. President David Froyum called the meeting to order. Pastor Culuris led us in devotions and prayer. Property/Stewardship by David Froyum Paid the benevolence $1,050. Removal of the chimney from the church will be done with local people to keep the cost down. The leaks on the church roof have been repaired. The stage in the drama room needs some attention. Discussed the possibilities of having the inside of the church painted. Finances at a Glance 2014 Budget $156,234 Month of December Budget $13,020 Received $13,434 + or (-) this month $( 414) ————————————— Year at Date Budget Received $143,215 $142,014 + or (-) year to date ($ -1,200) Lay Ministers/Evangelism by Randi Schaefer Discussed the procedure of the letter being sent to the worship team. The annual review with Pastor Culuris has been completed. Discussed visitations by Lay Ministers to shut-ins. Talked about setting up a Gmail account for the Lay Ministers and saving information so that all can access it. Suggested names to be contacted about serving on the Lay Minister/Evangelism board. Education by Lisa Dierks Finalized final details for the Christmas program which is this Sunday, December 14th during the worship time. Christmas program practice will be Saturday, the 13th. Pastor’s Report by Pastor Culuris Reviewed the November report. Other Business: Checked the constitution for terms of board members and made suggestions of people to contact for the 2015 ballot. Upcoming Events The Boards meet on Wednesday, January 7th at 7:00 p.m. December 24-Christmas Eve Candlelight Service5:30 pm at Trinity, 4:00 at WLC December 28-Joint worship service with hymn sing9:00 am at Trinity January-Worship time at Trinity is 10:30, WLC is 9:00. January 18-Annual meeting immediately after worship 245 47 Goal Received Planning Council follows at 8:00 p.m. Thrivent Financial Choice Dollars The 2014 total of $995.00 has been designated to the Parsonage upkeep by our Thrivent Members. Thank you Thrivent Members! Page 4 T RI NI TY NEW S LET T ER Board of Education Thank you to the Sunday School Children & the Board of Education for the wonderful Christmas program on December 14th! Trinity Train Year One, Story Four God Calls Samuel Theological Focus: God calls me. What We Will Learn: The students should know the following at the end of the session. 1. Samuel was a gift to God from his mother. 2. God called Samuel to deliver a message, to be God’s voice 3. God “calls” and uses each one of us to do His work in the world, if we are listening Bible Memory Verse 4-year-olds - Grade 6: "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening” I Samuel 3:9 Trinity Train Salvation Stations 4-year-olds - Grade 2: God’s Garden: Sleeping Samuel treat Dram Depot: Samuel & Eli puppet show Grand Temple-B: Storyboard & game Boxcar Cinema: Samuel video Grade 3 – Grade 6: Games: Cooking: Grand Temple-A: Signs of God: Listening games Sleeping Samuel treat Reading of the bible story Samuel video Sincerely, Lisa Dierks Chair – Board of Education Confirmation Classes Resume January 7th January 4 Rob & Ria Hedeen January 11 Megan & Adrian Pearson Brian & Holli Gudnekcht Vicki Hines Matt & Shannon Schaefer Josh & Calie Schaefer January 18 Ryan & Vanessa Amundson Brent & Tina Leininger Chris Goodman January 25 Rita Harris Eric & Lisa Dierks Mike & Christy Alme Luke & Krista Swanson Jason & Amy Raths Confirmation Classes will February 1 Holly & Lee Schaefer start up again on February 8 Andrew & Sally Grove Wednesday, January 7th, February 15 Rob & Ria Hedeen at 4:30 pm. February 22 Megan & Adrian Pearson Brian & Jynnylee Radtke Christine Ranc Brian & Holli Gudnekcht Vicki Hines Matt & Shannon Schaefer Josh & Calie Schaefer Keeping you in the loop!!! If you wish to receive the newsletter electronically, please contact Trinity Lutheran Church by email ( TrinityWgo@DeskMedia.com ) insuring the correct email address. Those receiving the newsletter electronically can pick up their "Christ in the Home" devotion booklet by the bulletin board. Thank you. TRIN ITY NEWS LET TE R Page 5 Sunday Second Sunday of Christmas Monday Tuesday Wednesday 1 Thursday Happy 8 New Year 7 13 14 Newsletter Deadline 15 6 2:00 pm– Heritage Hill Communion 1:00 pm—Thursday Circle hosted at Heritage Hill 12 4:30 pm– Confirmation 7:00 pm– Boards Meet 8:00 pm– Planning Council 2:00 pm– Wednesday Circle hosted by Ruth Braget 4:30 pm– Confirmation 8:30 am–Quilting 9:00 am—1st Call Group, Zumbro Lutheran, Rochester 9:30 pm– Tuesday Circle hosted by Jean Borgschatz 22 7:00 pm– Youth Committees meet 21 9:00 am– Volunteers help w/Newsletter 4:30 pm– Confirmation 29 4:30 pm– Confirmation 28 20 26 8:30 am–Quilting 8:30 am–Quilting 27 19 5 Worship Team: Lyle & Jean Borgschatz, Brian & Tess Groth, Rhan & Ann Lund, Alan Olstad, Wayne & Diane Wilson 4 Baptism of Our Lord 9:00 am– Sunday School 10:30 am– Worship Service w/Holy Communion 11 9:00 am– Sunday School 10:30 am– Worship Service 18 Second Sunday after Epiphany . 25 9:00 am– Sunday School 10:30 am– Worship Service w/Holy Communion followed by Annual Meeting 9:00 am– Sunday School 10:30 am– Worship Service MN Teen Challenge Feb 1st 2 ‘15 Friday 10:00 am—WELCA Bible Study Leaders 3 10 Saturday 16 24 17 9 23 31 1:00 pm—TLC Cemetery Association Annual Meeting 30 Pastor Culuris away on vacation thru February 6th TRIN ITY NEWS LET TE R T RINITY L UTHERAN C HURCH Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Wanamingo, MN Permit No. 3 P.O. Box 316 301 Second Ave. Wanamingo, MN 55983 Address Service Requested Phone: 507.824.2155 Fax: 507.824.2155 (call first) TRINITY CHURCH web site: www.trinitywanamingo.org Pastor Christopher’s e-mail address: ChrisCuluris@yahoo.com Church e-mail address: TrinityWGO@DeskMedia.com God gathers the people of Trinity Lutheran Church to: grow in a love relationship with God; live in obedience to Jesus Christ; serve the needs, hurts and hopes of all people. Help save time... If you can, please e-mail your reports, announcements, notes to trinitywgo@deskmedia.com February Newsletter Deadline is Jan. 16th 2015. Thank you Happy New Year