Archive for July, 2019

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Creating A Vision For Ministry

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

What is St. Jacob’s vision for ministry within our community and world? To be honest, we can’t say we have a clear vision. As a congregation of God’s people, we are all called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, follow him in faith and participate in the mission of God by doing the work of the gospel. In order to follow Christ, we must first understand God’s mission. We then must pray and discern which ministries to which God is calling us. And finally, we must create a vision, a clear understanding and strategy as to how we will engage in such ministries. For as Scripture teaches us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs, 29:18 KJV

 On June 30th, a small group of church family members met to begin this conversation. We introduced the process by which our church might discern those ministries God would have us do and then created a vision as to how we will do them. Yet this task is not simply for a small group. If we are to be serious about our faith and ministry, we will all need to take part.

Creating a vision for ministry does not happen quickly. In the coming months, there will be several seminars scheduled for St. Jacob’s church family members to come listen, learn and discuss the work God has set before us. Plan to attend these seminars as they are scheduled and be a part of St. Jacob’s participation in God’s mission.

Filed in Bible Study, Fellowship, LCY, Lutheran Men, Lutheran Women, Missions, Other Happenings, Outreach, Pastor, Sunday School, Worship and Music, Worship Service

NALC Lutheran Week

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

The annual NALC Lutheran Week and Convocation will take place in Indianapolis, IN during the week of August 5-9. The week’s events begin with the NALC Youth Symposium. Youth and Family Ministry directors, volunteer youth leaders and pastors from all around the NALC will meet to discuss strategies for helping our youth and families grow in faith. St. Jacob’s Youth and Family Ministry Director Rachel Shelton will be participating in this symposium.  

The highlight of the week will take place on Thursday and Friday as the convocation begins the process of electing a new bishop. Bishop John Bradosky has indicated that he is not available to serve a third term as NALC Bishop. Twelve candidates have been placed in nomination. We pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance during this election and all other business of the convocation. St. Jacob’s delegates to the convocation are Pastor David Nuottila and Larry Shull.

Filed in Other Happenings

Lutheran Men News

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

The Lutheran Men plan to meet on August 18th at 6 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Robert has the devotions. The cooks for the meeting will be Lynn, Danny, and Robert.

Filed in Fellowship, Lutheran Men, Other Happenings, Outreach

Lutheran Women News

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Our next meeting will be held on August 11th at 4:30 PM. The meeting location hasn’t been determined but will be announced soon.

Filed in Fellowship, Lutheran Women, Other Happenings, Outreach

Homecoming

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Our annual Homecoming celebration is just weeks away. On August 26th we will welcome Pastor Brad Hales, NALC Director for Domestic Mission as our guest preacher. Pastor Hales serves as the Pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church in Culpepper, VA., where he leads a vibrant Senior’s Ministry within his church and community. As Director of Domestic Mission, Pastor Brad works with the Assistant to the Bishop for Mission and with NALC mission teams to develop a vision and strategy for domestic mission work. As chair of the Carolinas Mission team, Pastor David Nuottila works with Pastor Hales in several of these instances.  

For Pastor Brad, it’s all about Jesus. He is known for his passion, excitement and joy in sharing the good news of God’s grace through Christ Jesus. He and his wife Lisa have been married for twenty-five years and have two daughters, Lydia and Abigail. Please welcome Pastor Brad to St. Jacob’s on August 26th and enjoy our Homecoming celebration.

Continue to watch your worship folders for updates and plans for the festivities.

Filed in Other Happenings, Outreach, Worship Service

Come Watch The Fireflies!

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

St. Jacob’s Families and Youth are invited to a night of fellowship to watch the Columbia Fireflies baseball team on August 18th at 5:05 PM. Tickets are $9.00 per person and parking is an additional $4.00 cash per car. There is a sign-up sheet on the Youth Bulletin Board in the hallway next to the Fellowship Hall, the deadline to sign up is August 4th so reservations can be made! There will be an email sent out as the date approaches with specific details regarding tickets! Continue to check the Youth Bulletin Board often so you can stay updated on upcoming announcements and events the Youth will have coming!

Filed in LCY, Other Happenings, Outreach

Up and Going

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Up and Going members and guests boarded the St. Jacob’s Express, with Gerald driving, to spend the day at the SC Farmer’s Market. Helen gave the devotions based on the surprising gifts from the farm.

A short business meeting was held before we left for the Market.

Arrangements were made by Tracy for us to visit the labs at the Consumer Protection Lab and Metrology Lab located at the Market. The laboratories are under the direction of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

At the Consumer Protection Lab, we toured the Petroleum Lab, the Pesticide Residue Lab, The Seed Lab, Planting and Germination Rooms, the Dog, Cat, Horse Feed Lab and the Food Lab. Each individual lab provided a knowledgeable person to explain the workings of the lab and to answer any questions.

The tour continued to another building which houses the Metrology Lab, there we visited the Precision Weights Lab, the Grain Lab, Small Volume Lab, the Large Volume Lab and Small Mass Lab. These are the most fascinating labs. These labs ensure that the food items, animal foods, fuels, seeds and other items are the correct weights, items as listed, germinations of seeds are correct and in general are as labeled on the pack. Gas Station fuel pumps are checked for weight per gallon and contents as marked. The fuel pumps are labeled with a sticker stating the month and year that it was inspected. Each gas station should be checked once per year. We were overwhelmed with information but thankfully assured that someone was checking things that we all consume. We left the Labs with a huge appreciation for the work that these wonderful people perform daily. A special thank you to all who made this trip so enjoyable.

Lunch was enjoyed by all at the Market Restaurant. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. We spent a few minutes in The Tea Room browsing around and checking out all of the items made in SC.

Our tour of the Farmer’s Market concluded with a walk-on bus tour with Brad. We toured the fruit and vegetable sheds, the commercial sheds, the out of state vendors shed and other sheds in that area. Gerald then took us into the fruit/vegetable shed, parked the bus and gave us time to shop. Favorite items purchased were tomatoes, peaches, watermelons and cantaloupes. We stopped at the flower sheds and some purchased flowers. What a wonderful day we enjoyed together!

The August meeting will be the 4 Churches Meeting. It will be held on Thursday, August 22nd at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New Life Center at 11 AM. We each are asked to bring a side dish or dessert. The meat, drinks, etc. will be provided by Holy Trinity. Please arrive at Holy Trinity by 11am. This is surely to be an enjoyable meeting.

Filed in Fellowship, Outreach, Up and Going

Church Council

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Council Briefs July 2019 The St. Jacob’s Church Council met July 2nd for its regular meeting. Good things noted for the month of June:

• VBS was very good. Thanks to all the volunteers and Sherrie McTeer for heading things up

• Nursery TV is operational, thank to Brandon Slice, John Riser and Don Dease for the hard work

• New Digital Sign has been installed and is operational

• Lutheran Men BBQ was a big success

• Confirmation of 5 Youth

Important Notes and Dates:

• Pastor to be in Congo from July 8 – 25 for mission work

• NALC Lutheran Week is August 5 – 10

• Supply Pastor List during Pastor David’s mission trip

• July 10 – Pastor James Houck

• July 14 – David Kibler (Eucharist elements to be consecrated by Pastor on 7/7/19) • July 21 – Pastor Sarah Woodward

• July 24 – Pastor Paulette McHugh

• July 28 – Called Congregational Meeting (Vote on Bishop)

• Due to unforeseen events, the Pictorial Directory has been postponed until further notice

• Church Yard sale is scheduled for October 12th; details to follow when available

• Next council meeting is scheduled for August 13th @ 6:30 PM in the Church Office

Ongoing Project Updates:

• DIGITAL SIGN: Completed

• PARKING LOT: Initial survey has been completed. Updates of progress of project will be made when they become available

Respectfully submitted,

Andrew,

Secretary,

St. Jacob’s Church Council

Filed in Council Reports, Other Happenings

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

With summer in full swing, most of us have gone on vacation (or plan to), spent extra time with our families, and hopefully got caught up on our sleep. Summer can be a very busy time of the year, but it can also be a time where we can prioritize rest. What exactly does this word rest mean? How do we do it?  What does the verse in Genesis mean when it says, “On the seventh day, God rested?” 

We don’t know exactly what God did when he rested, but we do know that He took the time to look all around at His great creation and felt joyful about the things that were in it. Have you ever heard the saying “stop and smell the roses?”   

That’s exactly what our rest should look like. In the midst of our busy lives, whether we are looking at a sunset over the ocean, animals on a farm on the side of the road, or our family members across the dinner table; we should sit back, take a moment to breathe, and pray to thank God for all that He has blessed us with. We can pause, reflect, and focus our mind’s on Jesus with all the evidence around us of His goodness. Summer break is the perfect time to begin a routine of spending time daily in prayer and in God’s word that will carry us into the next season with gratitude, peace, and joy.            

In Christ,

Rachel Shelton

Filed in Bible Study, LCY, Other Happenings, Outreach, Worship Service

Worship and Music

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

As we head into the month of August and “enjoy” the heat and humidity of our area, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany are in the forefront of my mind.  It may seem as if those church seasons are far in the future, but time has a way of slipping by very quickly and before any of us are ready, November will be here.

The choirs and the handbell ensemble have taken time off this summer, as usual, but we will be          resuming regular practices in August and September.  Keep an eye on your bulletins and newsletter         calendars for the most current information.

As in the past, I’d like to extend an invitation to singers in the congregation to join the choir during Advent and Christmas.  I know that time-constraints and prior commitments may prevent some people from being a part of the choir on a full-time basis; if this is true for you, but you’d like to sing with the choir during December, please plan to attend our workshop on August 17 from 9 AM to 12 PM.  We will be working on Advent and Christmas music and I will provide lunch for everyone who attends.

Filed in Fellowship, Other Happenings, Worship and Music, Worship Service
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