April 10 , 2007
Volume 1, Issue 8

Editor: Rick Scherger

Ministry opportunity

Friends and Family … April 4th
Holy Week – Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.  Lord, you did what terrifies us, and won our redemption. Strengthen our hearts to do what we have to do—C.S. Lewis.  Good Friday we will be traveling to two of our village churches with clothes, hats, tee shirts and mainly greetings in Christian love.
Our time here is drawing to a close, we are very busy putting closure to gathering viable project ideas. Upon our return we will have much to share.  We continue to attend daily devotions /service at the hospital chapel – we leave the house at 7:30 a.m. – we will miss this. We look forward to Bishop Elaine and Pastor Rick Sauer’s visit. We travel by train on Sunday to meet them.
The daily knockings on our door persist – some are very difficult. This morning at 9:30 a member of Cross and Crown (C&C) came wanting help for his daughter to continue her schooling at the cost of 30,000 cfa/year.  Another project?: A Scholarship Fund. We feel bad for this family, he is going to be 60, he has a much younger wife – still having babies! If this daughter has to quit school, what becomes of her? So often – they get involved in misadventures to support themselves. Pregnancy and HIV/Aids infection run high in this young age group!

ST. JOHN’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, GREENWALD, MANITOBA
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, THALBERG, MANITOBA

Invite you to join in Celebrating 100 years of Ministry 1907 – 2007

JULY 8, 2007
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, THALBERG, MANITOBA

SERVICE OF COMMUNION – 10:30 am
LUNCH – 12 NOON (Free Will Offering for lunch)
AFTERNOON PROGRAM – 2:30 pm

ST. JOHN’S WILL HOST AN OPEN HOUSE BOTH PRIOR TO AND AFTER THE EVENTS AT TRINITY.

I am writing to invite/urge you and your congregation to participate in an exciting opportunity, the forthcoming MNO Synod Stewardship Practicum:  “Turning our Church Right Side Up: Revitalizing Congregations in Mission and Stewardship”.  A portion of this practicum (Thursday and Friday) is for pastors/diaconal ministers only. Saturday is geared for lay leaders (and pastors/diaconal ministers). While it would be of greatest benefit that both rostered ministers and lay leaders attend from each congregation (strongly encouraged), please send whatever representation that you can.

Did you know?
TITLES: Very often we are confused by the various titles in the church. One such title is "Commissary", which we have borrowed from our sister church, the Anglicans. A commissary is someone who has received a commission from the bishop, to act in the place of the bishop. With my absence from the synod while on a tour of the Cameroon, our Companion synod partner, I have appointed Rev. Larry Ulrich, Assistant to the Bishop, as my commissary. He will be available to work with congregations and rostered leaders as needed, as well as manage the synod office. His commission does not include policy and financial decisions nor ordinations, which are the responsibility of the synod council and the bishop.

Reverend and Pastor are two titles for ordained leaders. However, one refers to those serving in pastoral ministry, one who has contact with parishioners, one who shepherds a flock and one who is on the roster of our denomination (a PASTOR serving a call) while the other is the official title given to all clergy (REVEREND). Should an ordained person be without a call in the church, they too are often referred to as reverend. So, in your parish you might call the clergy pastor, but others who are not from the parish would probably call them reverend.

Crossword is for all leaders and groups in your church. If you know of someone in your parish who would benefit from this communication tool, why not encourage them to sign up and receive this weekly bulletin.

The Synod Foundation for Mission and Ministry is assisting in the work of ministry in our synod. Grants for projects or ministries are available. However, we also need to increase funding so that there is a legacy of funds for future needs in the synod. Why not consider donating today?

Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) does not allow for different fees assigned to members and non members. Congregations should be looking at their policies for use of the building and bringing these fees in line with CRA guidelines. It may affect your charitable status as a congregation. Please look online at www.cra-arc.gc.ca for further information.

Also, check your insurance coverage- couples who count offering together may be jeopardizing your insurance policies.

Thanks

Elaine

The Institute for Community Peacebuilding has invited Susan Neinaber of the Alban Institute to Winnipeg to resource church leaders who wish to deal with the difficult issues in their churches. It is easy to start a conversation about difficult issues - it is much more difficult to have it go well. Susan Neinaber will, over three days from May 7 to 9, guide workshop participants through specific processes that have proven very successful in making the discussion of difficult issues a positive experience for the church.

Bishop Sauer is encouraging representatives from as many congregations as possible to attend this workshop, which is called Talking about the Tough Stuff.