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Ventures In Youth Ministry Symposium Report

Posted August 28, 2019 By admin

“For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters, only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.” – Galatians 5:13

 The most profound thing I learned at the Youth  Symposium last week in Indianapolis was that it is not about youth ministry at all, it’s about youth doing ministry. I had the honor of attending Lutheran Week-where the first two days are set apart for NALC directors, pastors, and church staff who have a vision of raising up the youth of their congregations not only to know who Jesus is, but to have a mission for others to know Him too. The meetings were led by Gary and Laurie Pecuch, who have dedicated their lives to the youth of not only their congregation but to train others to lead the youth of every NALC congregation. During our time together, we shared resources, ideas, goals, and a vision for the future of the Church that will be placed in the hands of our youth. We covered topics such as biblical-self-esteem, outreach to our communities, spiritual disciplines such as scripture study and prayer, and building strong cross-generational relationships within our church family. I enjoyed learning from others and making connections with many who have been on the front lines of youth ministry for much longer than I have, sharing the wisdom that they have gained over the years. It really is a family of people who are all on the same team to lead the youth to put their faith in action and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the opportunity to attend the Convocation and trusting me to faithfully report back to the congregation what I have learned. 

 Rachel

Filed in Fellowship, LCY, Lutheran Church Youth, Outreach

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted August 28, 2019 By admin

16 So say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

As a continuation of my last newsletter   article; the importance of implementing daily time in  prayer and in scripture study during the slow season that will carry us into the next with joyful hearts. It’s no secret that there is a lot going on in our world today and sometimes it seems that our only option is for our face to meet the ground time and time again and pray. This is where we are to press in, instead of letting the flesh lead us, we must rediscover the preeminence of the Word of God and value truth over feeling and emotion; let us hold on even  tighter to the anchor of the living Word of God and to our church family also.  

We need to pray in boldness, faith, and declaration in order to raise up our youth amongst the craziness of the world around us. This is done by impressing the importance of discipleship, church attendance, and Godly living as no optional- but commandments we are to obey as Christians. It is essential that as we continue to grow our youth program at St. Jacob’s, we do so as a team. One body, made of different parts, with different gifts; all committed to seeing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth be a reality for our young people. I look forward to growing in these spiritual disciplines alongside each of you for in the months to come. 

All for His glory,  Rachel

Filed in Bible Study, Fellowship, LCY, Lutheran Church Youth, Outreach

Worship And Music

Posted August 28, 2019 By admin

We had an AWESOME choir workshop on Saturday, August 17th!  It sure feels good to have already looked at and worked on music for Advent and Christmas, so that when things get really busy after Thanksgiving, we’ll be ahead of the game.  We also had time to work on the upcoming fall anthems, because September seems to sneak up on us when we’re on summer break (wonder how that happens?) 

Angela and I have worked on the schedule and musical selections for the Children’s Choir and we’re very excited about what’s coming up this fall.  From getting new choir robes to helping the children discover and develop their talents, it is shaping up to be another great year for our youngsters (and us two young-at-heart-ers!)

 The Handbell Choir will be taking an extended break for the foreseeable future.  I will be using this time to assess and reevaluate the role of handbells in our worship services and discern the path forward. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated during this process.  As always, thank you to the congregation for your continued support of the music ministry at St. Jacob’s.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Laurie

Filed in Fellowship, Worship and Music, Worship Service

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

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

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

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

Handbells 101 Class

Posted June 26, 2019 By admin

Handbells 101 is not only for people who know how to read music. No, Handbells 101 is for anyone who is interested in learning anything about handbells. Sure, the ultimate goal is to develop future ringers to keep our handbell choir full and active, but that’s not my only goal with this class. I want to share my knowledge and my skill set with others. I want people to know that you really don’t have to know how to read music in order to play bells. Does it help? Of course, it helps. But it’s not necessary.

What’s necessary is a willingness to learn, a desire to be part of a team and the ability to commit to being there for the other people in the group. See, a handbell choir isn’t about just one person, it’s truly a team effort and takes everyone’s presence to make it work smoothly.

As I said in my June newsletter article, this class is for anyone who wants to learn to play handbells OR anyone who simply wants to know more about handbells.

It’s also for current or past ringers who would like a little extra time to refresh, relearn or improve their ringing technique. So please come join me any Monday evenings in July and/or August from 6:45 PM to 7:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall.

I hope to see you there.

Laurie

Filed in Fellowship, Other Happenings, Worship and Music

In the Wild, Vacation Bible School

Posted June 26, 2019 By admin

Our 2019 VBS, “In the Wild”, was held Monday, June 17th through Thursday, June 20th. We started each night with a delicious meal and then off to our encounters in the wild and with Jesus. We studied animal habitat, sounds, camouflage and learned some animal facts. Most importantly….we experienced Amazing Encounters with Jesus.

Our class rotations included lessons, music, crafts and games. Games included dodge ball, kick ball, golf, baseball, anything with a ball and running. Everyone played including the teachers.

On Monday night, we encountered Jesus in the Temple. We made traveling tic-tac-toe boards and in music, we started learning the song – “Why He Came”. Our younger children started to learn “Jesus Knows My Name” and “I Hear Stories of Jesus”.

On Tuesday night, we continued to travel with Jesus. This time we met him at the Jordan River where John baptized Jesus. In music, we started a new song, “What God Has Done” as we continued to work on “Why He Came” and the younger children continued learning their two songs. During crafts, we tie dyed our animal shirts – tiger, zebra and giraffe.

On Wednesday night, we met Jesus on the water again. But this time during a storm he walked on the water to his disciples in the boat. We made balancing butterflies in crafts and continued to learn our songs in music.

On Thursday night, we encountered Jesus at the empty tomb as he spoke to Mary and she ran to tell the disciples – “I have seen Jesus! He is alive!” In crafts, we made happy, trumpeting elephants as we celebrated and rejoiced that Jesus is Risen!

We celebrated our 2019 VBS on Thursday night, with family and friends as we presented our songs, stories, and crafts and closed with ice cream and cookies.

A very special thank you to our teachers and cooks. Without them, VBS would not have been possible for our 71 attendees who were ready and willing to experience some amazing encounters. Thank you to our parents and grandparents for sharing your children with us. We had some amazing adventures on the Wild Side! See you at VBS 2020!

Filed in Bible Study, Fellowship, LCY, Other Happenings, Outreach, Pastor, Worship and Music, Worship Service
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