Connections St. Matthew Lutheran Church - Connecting Faith With Life! CALENDAR of EVENTS SAT., APRIL 11 FOOD PANTRY WEEKEND 10am - 1pm ECIRMAC 5:30 pm Worship 6:00 pm Sola Gratia Farm Local Flavors Dinner Alexander is 80. It doesn’t take long in any conversation for Alexander to start his complaining. He complains about the weather, politicians, sports, and the list goes on. Alexander really gets on a roll when he starts complaining about his good-for-nothing daughter. He complains he has no peace – no peace at all. Liza works at a fast-moving company, but she has begun to notice her bosses consistently overlook FOOD PANTRY the talented Hispanic employees for wellWEEKEND deserved promotions. At a meeting last week, her 8:30 am Worship bosses made several jokes about Hispanics. She 9:50 am Coffee Fellowship was deeply offended, but doesn’t want to stir 9:50 am Sunday School 9:50 am No Adult Forum Today things up at her workplace. She really likes her 10:45 am Worship job, but she is losing sleep over the matter. She MON., APRIL 13 just wants to be at peace, but she doesn’t feel the 8:30 am Morning same about her bosses. Prayer STM SUN., APRIL 12 FOOD PANTRY WEEKEND 9:00 am Group Pastors’ Text Study TUES., APRIL 14 5:45 pm 6:00 pm 6:00 pm LUTHERAN DAY IN SPRINGFIELD Council Meeting Bell Choir Rehearsal Boy Scouts WED., APRIL 15 9:30 am 5:30 pm 6:15 pm 6:30 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry CrossTraining Adult Bible Study STM Choir Rehearsal FRI., APRIL 17 11:30 am Religion & Lit Discussion of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close SAT., APRIL 18 10am - 1pm 5:30 pm ECIRMAC Worship SUN., APRIL 19 8:30 am 9:50 am 9:50 am 9:50 am 10:45 am 2:00 pm Worship Coffee Fellowship Sunday School Adult Forum Today Worship CROP Walk On the evening of his resurrection from the dead, Jesus appears to his disciples and gives them the gift of the peace as well as the promised Holy Spirit. These two are intricately connected. Peace is a gift from God alone. We have no true peace without God. God’s peace is more than being without conflict. Obviously, Jesus is a man of peace, but he is crucified by his enemies. Yet he has peace in his spirit and freely gives up his life so we might experience God’s incredible peace and presence. He confronts his enemies time and time again. He breaks through traditional boundaries as he invites children to come to him, teaches women, heals on the Sabbath, and eats meals with sinners. Jesus strives to bring peace to all humanity. When Jesus visits the disciples on the night of his resurrection, he gives them peace and commissions them. They are sent in his name. Peace is to be their companion. He breathes on them and gives them the new life of the Holy Spirit. They are not to journey alone, but the Spirit is to be their companion filling them with peace. Prayer O God, giver of peace, give us peace for the journey and most certainly for the day. Amen. Prayer Requests Teri Nelson, sister of Sandy Ackerman Merle & Virginia Shea, Lucy Stuyniski, parents of Mike Shea Kathy Lowery, friend of Margie Colter Tim Roy, Specialist Sean Splittstoesser, Kristie, friend of Elaine Ebeling grandson of Ruby & Dan Splittstoesser Karen Warfield, sister-in-law of Rod Warfield Connie, friend of Cheryl Light-Shriner Diane Orris, mother of Amy Burge, mother in law of Matt Burge **************** Wayne Mcdaniel, friend of Mel & Liz Schwartz **************** All the relatives of the Richardson family, Nancy Ellis, sister of Karen Deck Debbie Jones, friend of Mel & Liz Schwartz son-in-law of Rudy & Elaine Ebeling **************** Sharon Hedrick John Gantz Aleta Blobaum Debbie Fotzler Leona Saathoff Bruce Larson Ruby Splittstoesser Bruce Carroll Hervin Buhr Mike Krumwiede Rod Warfield Elaine Ebeling Sandy & Arlen Ackerman **************** Remember our shut-ins: Robert Anderson Vivian Larson Pat Tammen friend of Mel & Liz Schwartz Bruce & Ethel Hamilton, friends of Mel & Liz Schwartz **************** Fran & Laurie Sexton, parents of Margo Richardson **************** Lorayne Knapp, mother of Peg Warriner Janice Shields, niece of Joyce Hayn In loving memory of ~ Yarra Tammen, niece of Alan Tammen Please include her family & friends in your special thoughts & prayers. May God welcome her into the kingdom of heaven. Please note: Names on the list for prayers will be posted for one month unless otherwise requested. Please contact the church office with any updates or extensions. Thank you. STAFF OF ST. MATTHEW LUTHERAN CHURCH PHONE: 367-1189 www.stmatthewurbana.org Pastor Robert J. Rasmus Office Coordinator Gayla Pellum Administrative Assistant Derald Meier Sunday School Superintendent Ann Rasmus Nursery Ruby Splittstoesser & Danielle Deck Parish Nurses Aziza Awate, Beth Riddle & Rita Vanier Connections Deadline: Submit announcements in writing to the church office or by e-mail to gayla.stm@stmatthewurbana.org no later than 9:00 a.m. Wednesday. Thank you! Welcome! St. Matthew Lutheran Church is a fellowship of Christian believers called to: grow in Christ, share the Gospel, serve God’s people. Do come again to St. Matthew Lutheran Church where you are always welcome. Worship Services Saturday, 5:00 pm • Healing Service on the 3rd Saturday of the month A relaxed & informal worship held in the Christ Chapel. Sunday, 8:30 am Spirited traditional worship that focuses on participation through the liturgy, the great hymns of the Church, & corporate confession of our faith. Sunday, 10:45 am Praise & worship in an open & accessible style. STEPHEN MINISTERS: THE AFTER PEOPLE People often ask, “What exactly is a Stephen Minister?” One way to put it is that Stephen Ministers are the After People. Stephen Ministers are there: ...after the phone call you hoped you’d never get. ...after the divorce papers are served & the bottom falls out of your life. ...after the funeral, when everyone has left & the emotions you’ve held at bay come crashing in on you. ...after the doctor says, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more we can do.” ...after the nursing home director shakes your hand & & says, “Welcome to your new home.” ...after the last child honks the horn, waves, & drives away—& the house suddenly seems empty. ...after the gavel goes down, the handcuffs go on, & your loved one is led away. ...after the baby arrives, demanding more of you than you ever dreamed possible. ...after you find a pink slip with your final paycheck. ...after your family & friends have heard your story one too many times, but you still need to talk it out. Stephen Ministers are the “After People.” They are ready to come alongside you–or your friends, neighbors, coworkers, or relatives –& provide comfort & support for as long after as needed. ALTAR FLOWERS The flowers on the altar this weekend are given in celebration of Bryan Fink’s 23rd birthday from his parents, Greg & Kay and sister, Lynette. Happy birthday Bryan! Help make our altar beautiful! Celebrate a birthday, anniversary, someone’s life or just because. The sign up sheet is located on the bulletin board in the narthex. There are still many open dates throughout this year. ADULT FORUM Our Adult Forum is taking this week off. We will resume on Sunday, April 19th. WEDNESDAY ADULT BIBLE STUDY Our multi-year adult Bible study cycle continues that takes us through the whole of the Scriptures. The Augsburg Adult Bible series is written by scholars & pastors from the Lutheran tradition & is formatted for both private study & group reflection in the Augsburg Room on Wednesdays at 6:15. YOU MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO HELP FEED HUNGRY FAMILIES Your help to families in need of food in our community has always been a great success. Your response to our STM Food Pantry week end and your continued donations of food week after week to this STM Ministry helps to provide food for families who without your help would not have food to eat. Here are some things that we are running low on that would help fill the list of things that we deliver to the families; canned peaches, boxed instant rice, hot cereal, complete pancake mix, pancake syrup, canned fruit cocktail and boxed mashed potatoes. Please call Richard or Kay King at 367-1297 and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE FOOD DELIVERIES Can you spare about 2 hours every few weeks? We have a great spot for you helping families who are in need of food. We would love to have you join us in making deliveries and will be happy to train you. Start 2015 by helping with this ministry of St Matthew. We will be looking forward to hear from you, Richard and Kay King 367-1297. FOOD PANTRY WEEKEND THIS WEEK We have a blessing of items for the food pantry once a month during a Sunday morning service. This will fall on the first full weekend of every month. A basket for donations will be placed in the narthex Saturday evening & Sunday morning. We ask that you still give to the pantry on other days. Food Pantry Weekend will serve as a reminder that the need for food never goes away. STM FOOD PANTRY WEEKEND IT’S TIME TO MAKE UP THE NEXT WORSHIP ASSISTANT SCHEDULE! I will be scheduling worship assistants in early May for the June through September 2015 services. Please note: During June, July & August there will only be one service on Sunday mornings at 9:30am. I will be using assistants from both 8:30 & 10:45 together for many of the duties. We are especially in need of people for Altar Guild, Cantor, Sound Technician, Coffee Fellowship, Visitor Team & Offering Counters areas. We will be happy to train anyone who is interested. We would love to have your smiling face be part of our team of worship assistants! If you are currently part of the schedule, please contact me to let me know if you are unavailable for certain weekends and/or if you have a scheduling preference. Please have your requests and/or preferences emailed to me at my office address (gayla.stm@stmatthewurbana.org) no later than May 1st. If you have any questions, please give me a call at the office 367-1189. Thank you! Gayla Pellum PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY THIS WEEK The next meeting of the Prayer Shawl Ministry will be Wednesday, April 15 at 9:30 a.m. in the Concord Room at church. We welcome all who knit. If you know of someone who would be comforted by a prayer shawl, please contact Joan Peterson (384-7415), Mary Anderson (896-2061), Pastor Bob or the church office (367-1189). The stories from the recipients are beautiful & filled with gratitude for the prayers & love that goes into making them. RELIGION AND LITERATURE THIS WEEK Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey. Join us for discussion on April 17th at 7pm in the Concord Room. BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS - APRIL 18-19 Blood Pressure Screenings are held on the third full weekend of the month. A parish nurse will be available in the Parish Nurse office (west side of the Concord Room) starting at 4:30 on Saturday evening & after the Sunday morning service. Please stop by. Look for the colorful banner hanging outside of the door! BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING TODAY LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STORYBOOK PROJECT! An informational meeting about Storybook Project is being held at 10 a.m. on April 25 at Holy Cross Church at 3778 North Water Street, Decatur, IL. Coffee and cookies will be served. For more information, contact Rev. Amy Ziettlow at aziettlow@gmail.com or Gail Beard, Storybook Director, at gail.beard@lssi.org or 217371-1633. Please RSVP to Rev. Amy by April 20 if you plan to attend. St. Matthew is the home base for the Storybook Project team for Danville Prison. Bill Brown, Jon Gunderson, and Nancy Schneider are on the team and would welcome additional members. Many children whose mothers or fathers are incarcerated rarely get to see or to hear from their parents. To help them keep that vital voice connection, every month Storybook Project sends hundreds of children of the incarcerated a book and a CD of their mom or dad reading the book to them. This involves a once-a-month morning visit 9 or 10 months of the year. We have a collection box placed by the church office for your new or like-new books that would lend themselves to oral reading and that are suitable for children of all ages. 2015 CU CROP H UNGER WALK Get your walking shoes ready, the Champaign/Urbana CROP Walk will be next Sunday April 19th starting at 2pm. CROP Walk is great way to raise awareness and money to help solve local, national and international hunger problems and improve your health in a fun way in fellowship with other members of St. Matthews and area churches. We are looking for individuals and families to walk, and sponsors to help support our walker’s efforts. If you are interested in walking or sponsoring a walker please contact Jesse Helton or Jon Gunderson. Walkers will be available after services to receive your sponsorship or you can also sponsor on-line. To sponsor online, visit the local Crop Walk website (http://www.cu-cropwalk.org) and just follow the “St. Matthew Lutheran” link on the home page of the website. 25% of the funds raised stay right here in Champaign county and will be used to support St. Jude’s Worker House, the TIMES center and Eastern Illinois Food Bank. Look forward to walking with you and your support! Our son, Kristoff David Miller, was born March 2 at 12:51pm. He was 8 lbs, 4.5 oz and 19.5 in long, a nice size and not nearly as big as the ultrasound had predicted. He has light brown hair with a touch of red. He is doing well and has a very healthy appetite. Dave and Suzie Miller Congratulations to the Miller family from all of us at St. Matthew! Join Lutherans from across the state in study, prayer and action for greater justice and compassion in Illinois. Please join us to build relationships with public officials, showcase the active engagement of Lutherans in pursuing the common good, and build camaraderie among Lutheran advocates in Illinois. STM Garden of Remembrance STM Garden of Remembrance Columbarium memorial options are available. Those ordered this winter will be included in the spring landscaping. A display of options will be in the coffee area for viewing. A memorial request form is on the table near the coffee bar. Niche spaces are $1200 and include 2 urns and engraving. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Connie Minnes, Kathy Rhoads, Vic Isaksen, Karl Koenke or James Quisenberry. SOLA GRATIA FARM 2015 SHARES ARE AVAILABLE NOW! Shares for the 2015 season of Sola Gratia Farm are currently for sale. Some shareholders purchase a share for their own family, while others purchase a share to be donated to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. The price for a half-share for 2015 is $315 and a full share is $575. Shareholder agreements are available in the farm or church office. If you would like more information, please ask a member of the Sola Gratia Farm board. WHAT’S HAPPENING AT CROSSTRAINING APRIL 15? R ECEIVE THE H OLY S PIRIT Mac & Cheese, Salad, Veggies Dessert, Milk & Water Suggested donation $2.00 per person
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