Living Daily in His Grace 2

Double-Duty Volunteer 3

Processional Cross 4

Offering and Mission Walk Reports 4

Girls Event 5

2016-2018 Mission Grants 6

District Officers 7

Inside this issue:

LUTHERAN WOMEN’S MISSIONARY LEAGUE MISSOURI DISTRICT

August 2016

The call of Abram is a special promise reminder to us. When God told Abram to leave his father’s house and travel to a foreign land, Abram had no idea what was in store for him, but “he went”. (vs. 4) He packed up his belongings and along with his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, Abram went. With no map or GPS, he traveled on to God’s place. I think it is very interesting to note that as he traveled, he would speak to the Lord and build an altar at that place. Take some time to read the entire account in Genesis 12 and 13. God made a covenant with Abram. God told Abram, “I will make…”, “I will bless…”, and “you will be...”. God never said, “I think I will” or “Maybe I will.” God said, “I will…”! Those are powerful words, said by our powerful God. Abram trusted and believed God would lead him to fulfill His purpose, in the right place and at the right time. Along the way, Abram stopped to talk and commune with God. What an example! Yes, that is true, but if we only dwell on Abram’s response, we take away from the awesome promises of God that came to Abram and also come to us each and every day. Quoting from a recent Portals of Prayer, “The good news is that God’s gifts to us are not dependent on our responses. God always pro-vides, even though our finances may be tight. God is our closest friend, even when our health fails. God provides meaning, even when we feel unfulfilled. Our praise may be anemic at best, but God still pours out His blessings. His work within us stirs us to expressions of thanksgiving to our loving Redeemer and Friend.” (August 2, 2016, Portals of Prayer) Yes, we are blessed, and God uses us to be His blessing throughout the world. TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!

I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2

Christie Steffens, LWML Missouri District President

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August 2016

Living Daily in His Grace, ‘til We Meet Him Face to Face By Myra Weber, Recording Secretary, 2012-2016

Ascended yet still right here; Word and Sacraments held dear. Living daily in His grace, till we meet Him face to face. I am with you always to the end of the age, Lasting through eternity, God’s love spans the centuries! This was a verse and the refrain from our theme song for the LWML Missouri District Convention in Cape Girardeau. Since I’ve been home, this theme song keeps playing in my head. God’s love spans the centuries! I can’t think of a better theme. What a wonderful blessing we have in knowing that God has loved us even before we were born and will love us forever. He will never stop loving us no matter how we mess up daily. Throughout the convention, all attendees reflected their love for God. Through everyone, the keynote speak-er and past LWML President, Linda Reiser, our current LWML President, Patti Ross, President of Missouri Dis-trict of the LCMS, the Rev. Dr. R. Lee Hagan, our mission speaker, Mr. Gary Thies, our LWML Missouri District President, Christie Steffens, and all the members and delegates, His light did definitely shine. There are al-ways so many smiles, so much joy, kindness, and willingness to give of precious time at these conventions. There were so many ladies who worked really hard behind the scenes, especially the ladies who made the delicious coffee cakes, made the decorations, filled the tote bags, and packed up the many ingathering items. That is truly serving the Lord with gladness. My favorite part of district LWML conventions is always the Friday night worship service, and this one was no exception. There was one thing that impressed me during this year’s service and has made a lasting impression in my mind forever. As I watched the ladies come up for communion, I noticed ladies in their late 80’s and 90’s walking up with their walkers to receive God’s for-giveness. It took everything they had to walk up front. They could have stayed in the back and received com-munion from a pastor, or maybe they could have just stayed in their chairs. But no, the love of God and the desire to receive His forgiveness was much greater. I will never forget that. We could easily come up with excuses why we shouldn’t get involved with LWML or church activities - we have aches and pains and our schedules are filled with “other” things. I realized at that moment, as I watched those ladies, that I have no excuses. I asked God to forgive me for all of my excuses. There is great joy in knowing that He will forgive me, and, most of all, will love me “throughout the ages,” until I can walk (without a walker) up to Him and meet Him face to face.

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God’s Love Spans the Centuries Blessed to Be a Blessing

By Pat Petzoldt, Convention Registrar and also VP of Organizational Resources

Being on the hosting end of a convention puts a whole new light on the many ways an LWML Convention is truly a blessing. Whereas I have been involved on the hosting end of a Missouri District Convention, it was a long time ago in 1992, the last time it was held in Cape Girardeau. I certainly was not sure why I volunteered to be the Registrar for this convention. I guess I forgot that as Vice President of Organizational Resources, I also had a number of responsi-bilities at the convention. But when I review how blessed I was to be involved as a Regis-trar, I know why God led me to volunteer to do double-duty. First of all, I was blessed to obtain two of the most dedicated co-chairmen possible. Both Diane Weber and Carolyn Schmidt faithfully fulfilled the duties that I delegated to them as my Registration co-chairmen. As VP of Organizational Resources, I was in charge of the LWML Store. Both of

my committee members, Gail Clampitt and Barb Wachter fulfilled the duties I assigned to them to manage the store. They were all friends, but after working so closely with them, we are now even closer friends. I was also blessed to have had the opportunity to work closely with all the other chairmen of the convention committee, really for two years before the convention. When I asked for volunteers to help at the registra-tion table and the LWML Store, there was not one of the 28 ladies asked who declined my request. In fact, many of them approached me to offer their help. If they were not able to help, it was only because of a con-flict with them either helping somewhere else at the convention or their schedules would not allow it. I was also blessed to be able to say that I felt like I knew every registrant. As their names came through my mail-box and were entered into my database, each one got a designation. I truly regret not being able to meet

each and every registrant face to face. The final number of registrants ended at 582. Only five of those registered were not able to attend the convention. With the 26 extra guests we had as entertainers, the final number of names that came through as registrants or guests stood at 603. That does not include the many guests who attended the opening or closing services and also some of the “behind the scenes” volunteers who were not required to register. What a blessing! As registration chairmen, I announced the registration at the

convention at four different intervals. I do not want to reiterate all the numbers that I reported then, but just to give an idea on how the above numbers were divided, here is the breakdown based on the 582 regis-trants, five who were unable to attend: Delegates»243, Alternates»75, Board of Directors»18, Clergy»11, Dignitaries»16, YWRs»19, Past Presidents»5, Vendors»10, Zone Presidents»20, Members»142, Guests»23. To give an idea on how many attended from each zone, here is the breakdown: Altenburg»62, Cape Girardeau»48, Carrollton»5, Columbia»27, Concordia»30, Iron Mountain»23, Jackson-Bootheel»36, Jeffer-son City»31, Kansas City North»7, Kansas City South»41, Northeast»20, Rolla»12, Sedalia»22, Southwest»25, Springfield»22, St. Charles»35, St. Joseph»5, St. Louis North»18, St. Louis South»32, St. Louis West»19, Washington»14. The rest were reg-istered as vendors, dignitaries, or as out of state guests. How blessed Cape Girardeau was to have all these folks attend from all ends of the state and from out-side the state as well! The hope is that the Convention in Cape Girardeau was as much of a blessing to all who attended as it was to those of us who acted as hosts.

All praise and Glory to God for our many blessings!

August 2016

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August 2016

Processional Cross While making plans for the convention, Christie Steffens realized that the MO District LWML did not have a proces-sional cross for the opening worship service, but always borrowed one from a local congregation. She approached the past district presidents about purchasing one, and they all happily agreed. Christie had the vision for an LWML processional cross and Carla Krazl of CK Wall Works has a God-given talent for making crosses. How wonderful that God brought them together! The Past District Presidents commissioned Carla to use stained glass (purple, of course!) in the creation of a two-sided processional cross. She submitted several sketches and the design was chosen. Carla started with the circular stained glass panel, and then she cut and finished the wooden crosses. She says that putting it all together was the exciting part! You can find Carla and view photos of this process and others at www.facebook.com/ckwallworks/

Friday Offering

2016-2018 Mission Goal

$4,847.72

Saturday Offering

75th LWML Anniversary Endowment

Fund

$1,616.50

Sunday Offering

Mission Central

$7,081.76

Convention Offering Report

Saturday Morning Mission Walk Report

Saturday Walkers

$4,636.00

Virtual Walkers

$2,294.62

First Ever Event

$1,541.00

Past District Presidents

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Girls Event at Blue Springs Timothy LWML Society, Blue Springs, had a “Girls Event” on May 1, in their Family Life Center. Guest speaker, Carolyn Miller, presented the history of wedding dresses from 1900 through the 1980’s. They played some typical bridal shower games and viewed a slide show which featured LWML Society members or their family members in their own wedding dresses. There were pictures from as early as 1890 through today. Those who attended were amazed to see how the dress styles have changed

over the years. The ladies enjoyed digging out their wedding photos—some from many years ago. There were prizes for “married the long-est,” “married farthest away” (destination wedding), and for anyone who eloped. “Girls” celebrating 25 and 50 years of marriage this year also received a gift. One hundred ladies enjoyed the afternoon which also included a reception buffet and wedding cake.

August 2016

Decorated backdrop for family photos

Carolyn Miller and wedding gowns

“The Girls” at Timothy’s Family Life Center

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Mission Grant Amount

Amount

Paid

6/9/16

1. Concordia Seminary Food Bank, St. Louis, MO $10,000 0

2. Urban Youth Outreach, Camper Scholarships, Heit’s Point, Lincoln, MO $16,800 0

3. Little Bit of Haven, Scholarships, Christian Hospitality House, St. Louis, MO $15,000 0

4. Healthy Homes, Stronger Families, Successful Kids, St. Trinity Lutheran Church,

Carondelet neighborhood in St. Louis, MO

$15,000 0

5. Assistance for the University Lutheran Chapel of Hope, Southeast Missouri State

University, Cape Girardeau, MO

$10,000 0

6. Restored Hope Against Additions (RHAA), Lockwood, MO $15,000 0

7. Open Arms Early Childhood Development Center in Ozark, MO $15,000 0

8. Bringing the Gospel to Muslim Refugees in St. Louis: Witness through Local

Churches, POBLO International LCMS mission society, Clinton Township, MI

$12,000 0

9. Our Savior Christian Academy, serving Platte City and Smithville, MO $25,000 0

10. Financial Aid for Students in Need at Messiah Lutheran School, Independence,

MO

$10,000 0

11. For the Greater Things, St. Matthew Lutheran Church and School, Walnut Park neighborhood in North St. Louis

$20,000 0

12. Wonderfully Made—First Conversations about Disabilities and Supporting

Families in Missouri with materials from Bethesda Lutheran Communities, Water-

town, WI

$4,200

(Partial)

0

TOTAL $168,000 0

(0%)

August 2016

Home

away

from

Home

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August 2016

Convention Site Coordinator Janice Rose 417.883.5598

jrose4546@yahoo.com

President Christie Steffens 573.517.8200 lwmlmopresident@gmail.com VP of Organizational Resources Pat Petzoldt 573.824.5912 vporganizationalresources@gmail.com VP of Christian Life Myra Case 816.805.2061 mcase@embarqmail.com VP of Communication Kristy Carter 417.234.0618 kcarterlwml@gmail.com VP of Special Focus Ministries Ann Seider 573.489.2816 seider6366@gmail.com VP of Gospel Outreach Amee Boettcher 573.450.7733 ameeboettcher@gmail.com Recording Secretary Linda Verman 816.824.0301 laverman@comcast.net Treasurer Donna Lacey 816.695.0134 donnajlacey@att.net Senior Pastoral Counselor Rev. Kristopher Morris 573.286.3862 pastormorris@ctklo.org Junior Pastoral Counselor Rev. Martin Hasz 573.979.2791 pastormarty@lutheranchurchscottcity.org

Archivist-Historian Kathy Merritt 417.869.9573 rkmerritt@mchsi.com Paliamentarian Angela Gielow 636.734.5262 gielow@swbell.net Administrative Assistant Teresa Backs 417.840.4563 tbacks@hotmail.com Communications Editor Linda Dunn 816.518.1408 missouri.lwml.news@gmail.com Communications Webmaster Stephanie Edgar 314.640.8601 kumbawatta@aol.com Organizational Resource Structure Judy Rose 417.230.9672 judyrose@centurylink.net Organizational Resource Leader Development Karen Drury 573.450.0552 otherdruryinn@gmail.com Gospel Outreach Church Worker Study Grants Crystal Lueckenhoff 573.896.5627 crystaljczonelwml@yahoo.com Financial Secretary Carol Riedel 573.881.4318 criedel@bessi.net Mission Servants Cindy Redecker 573.579.7128 cmredecker@yahoo.com

www.missourilwml.org

Women In Mission Theme and Deadline November Issue Theme: Prayer

Deadline: October 25, 2016 No need to limit submissions to theme

Email articles and pictures to: missouri.lwml.news@gmail.com

mail to: Linda Dunn, 3908 Forest Ave Kansas City, MO 64110