MARCH 2020

Zion’s Good News

ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH

Sunday Morning Worship

9:00 a.m. March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 “Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ”

Wednesday Lenten Services

5:30 p.m. March 4, 11, 18 and 25 “At the Name of Jesus”

First Communion Classes

Beginning March 8th, see page 5 for more information.

Daylight Savings Time Begins Sunday, March 8th

ZLC Lenten Challenge 2020 FILL THE WELL

When is the last time you or a child relative had to walk for hours to collect water for your family life saving needs? Consider helping FILL THE WELL this Lent season to support Malawi’s water needs.

Well Buckets will be passed for NOISY OFFERINGS during Lent.

See page 4 for more information!

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“The Wilderness of Lent” Lent is a season of transformation. As the Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness, we let the Spirit take us out into the wilderness to work on us so that at Easter we have some newness in our life to celebrate. In this Lenten wilderness, we could do nothing better than meditate on Philippi-ans 2:5-11 and let these words transform our way of living. Whether Paul actually composed these words or was simply passing on an early Christian hymn, the author points us to a whole new way of being in the world: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited But emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. These words challenge our usual way of thinking about life. We go into the wilderness with one culturally conditioned “mind” and Paul chal-lenges us to adopt a mind formed by Christ. The mind we take into the wilderness is a mind shaped by a market-driven, dog-eat-dog, competi-tive world where the goal is to win and get ahead. The mind we take into the wilderness has been trained to crush the competition and prove that we are better than the other guy. Then comes Paul with these words just prior to this hymn: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others.” Let’s live into the wilderness of Lent as we remember Christ’s life, death

and resurrection.

~ Pastor Sue

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Wednesdays Week 1 - Christ emptied and humbled himself Week 2 - Christ became Obedient Week 3 - At the name of Jesus all knees shall bow Week 4 - Every tongue confess Jesus

Sundays Week 1—Tested Week 2—Nick at Night Week 3—Living Water Week 4—What kind of Sight Week 5— Arise

Worship 5:30 pm Soup and Sandwich Following

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ZLC Lenten Challenge 2020 FILL THE WELL ● 18,622,000 national population

○ 45% under the age of 15 ● 70.9% live below poverty line

● 34.58% of rural lack access to water

● 70.3% of rural lack sanitation Malawi - one of Africa's most densely populated and least developed countries in the world and many live in rural areas with water scarcity. Many women and children spend hours of their day walking to collect water for life survival. Water is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals must have water to survive. If there was no water there would be

no life on earth. Apart from drinking it to survive, people have many other uses for water. These include: ● cooking ● washing bodies, clothing food and eating utensils ● keeping houses and communities clean ● recreation; such as swimming pools ● keeping plants alive in gardens, parks & on farms

In 2015, total U.S. water use was approximately 322 billion gallons per day, 87% of which was freshwater. The Earth might seem like it has abundant water, but in fact less than 1 percent is available for human use. The rest is either salt water found in oceans, fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps, or too inaccessible for practical usage. With growing populations comes greater demands on freshwater resources. However, the world’s water supply will always remain constant. And although it's true that the water cycle con-tinuously returns water to Earth, it is not always returned to the same place, or in the same quantity and quality. Well Buckets will be passed for NOISY OFFERINGS during Lent. Sources: https://www.epa.gov/watersense/how-we-use-water http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/us-water-supply-and-distribution-factsheet http://www.charitywater.org/our-projects/africa/malawi https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mi.html http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/us-water-supply-and-distribution-factsheet

First Communion Classes At Zion, children have a place with Jesus at the gra-cious and wondrous meal of forgiveness, life, hope, joy, renewal, nourishment, peace, comfort, chal-lenge, courage, and strength; a place like no other — the Lord’s Table. The arms of Jesus are open. The table is set. There is room for all, and Jesus has never stopped saying, “Let the children come to me.”

Discerning Your Child’s Readiness A child’s readiness is best determined by a parent or one who knows the child well, in consultation with the Pastor. Every child is different and each will pick up on the significance of the meal at a different point. Use questions like these to help you understand your child and her/his sense of belonging in the faith community, so you can make a decision about readiness. • Is your child comfortable in various locations around the church,

including the altar? • Will the child extend his or her hands when asked to do so? • Does your child seem able to interact with others enough in order

to receive the elements? • Is he/she aware enough of others in the congregation and their

needs to show a degree of respect for their communion experi-ence?

• Are you as parents or caregivers prepared to help make this a pos-itive process?

Such questions are meant to assist you in understanding your child’s readiness. These questions are meant to simply generate conversation, set goals, and direct the preparation process for each child and her/his family.

First Communion classes are as follows:

Sunday, March 8th — 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 14th — 8:30-10:00 a.m.

Sunday, March 15th —

First Communion at 9:00 a.m. worship service. Invite sponsors and grandparents!

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OFFERING DESIGNATIONS DURING LENT The offerings for the Wednesday evening Lenten Worship will be designated for the following benevolences: • February 26 Lutheran Social Services • March 4 Crossways Bible Camps • March 11 Missionary • March 18 World Hunger • March 25 Feed My Starving Children • April 1 Bible Camp (Zion pays half of the

registration for each student) Synod Assembly, May 16, 2020 Trinity Lutheran Church - Eau Claire, WI We are looking for two volunteers to be voting members at Synod Assembly this year. The requirement is one male and one female. Voting members must be confirmed. Please contact Pastor Sue if you are interested.

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Beginning Next Week: “Living in the Light” A Lent Bible Study

Week One: “The Old Adam and the New” Week Two: “The Long Journey” Week Three: “Love Poured Out” Week Four: “Walking in the Light” Week Five: “From Death to Life”

Join us from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the

Conference Room.

Vacation Bible School dates have been set: Sunday, July 19th - Wednesday, July 22. All Aboard, the Rocky Railway for mountains of fun! On this faith-filled adventure, kids discover that trusting Jesus helps pull us through life's ups and downs, and keeps us on track! We will need volunteers to help, so please mark your calendars! More information to come!

Little Lutherans (K – 3rd Grade) and J-Team (4th – 6th Grade) will be held Wednesday, March 4th and 18th. After school until 5:15 p.m.

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What is Thrivent? Thrivent is a mission-driven, not-for-profit membership organization that helps Christians on their Wise With Money Journey. While others see mon-ey as a goal, Thrivent sees it as a tool for serving God, your family, and your community. A Thrivent financial consultant can help you create a ho-listic strategy that aligns your finances with what's important to you and re-flects your unique needs, goals and values. It's more than insurance and an-nuities! Thrivent has been assisting Christians for over 100 years to live a more content, confident and generous life. Check out the brochures on the table in the Narthex for more information, or visit www.Thrivent.com. For Thrivent Members... Thrivent news and updates If you are a Thrivent member and would like to receive updates on local activities, please contact the church office or June Krueger (info below) and let us know if you prefer to receive info by mail or email. Thrivent Choice dollars Each year, Thrivent distributes some of its charitable outreach funds to organizations that are important to members through the Choice Dollars pro-gram. Eligible members are reminded to designate your 2019 allotment by March 31st.

June Krueger -- Zion's Thrivent Congregation Advocate Phone or Text: 715-897-0617 Email: rajmkrueger@gmail.com

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COUNCIL MINUTES

Zion Lutheran Church Council met on Monday, February 17, 2020 President Brenda Castellano called the meeting to order

Carmella Moon led with devotions. During the meeting the council:

• Approved the Secretary Report.

• Approved the Treasurer Report.

• Approved the Ministry Teams Reports.

• Received two Thank You Cards and sent one Thank You.

• Lee reported on progress for Elevator Project.

• Staff Support present recommendation for new Custodian.

• Voted Maryel Schoenfuss as Secretary, Brenda Castellano as Vice President and Carmella Moon as President for new terms starting in March.

Respectfully submitted by Carmella Moon, Secretary • A full copy of the Secretary’s notes is in the office.

Building Update 2020 Payment Bi-Weekly Start Payment Interest Principal Ending Dates Balance Amount Paid Paid Balance 1108 & 11/22 $299,612.92 $ 3,100.00 $ 901.34 $ 2,198.66 $ 297,414.26 12/04 $297,414.26 $16,000.00 $ .00 $ 16,000.00 $ 281,414.26 12/06 & 12/20 $281,414.26 $ 3,100.00 $ 867.15 $ 2,232.85 $ 279,181.41 01/03 & 01/17 $279,181.41 $ 3,100.00 $ 839.71 $ 2,260.29 $ 276,921.12 01/31 $276,921.12 $ 1,550.00 $ 417.30 $ 1,132.70 $ 275,788.42

Total monthly principal payments $ 23,824.50 Total monthly interest payments $ 3,025.50 Balance of loan as of 01-31-2020 $ 275,788.42

Partners Bank Building checking acct balance as of 02-12-2020 $ 10,874.95

ZION CHURCH COUNCIL 2020-2021 Council Members were installed on February 23rd. Thank you for

your continued service and dedication to Zion.

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Super Bowl Challenge

The results are in!! 52 items for the San Francisco 49ers and 90 for the Kansas City

Chiefs. Zion, I think we did good determining the Super Bowl Champions.

Thank you for all who participated and Hudson Ballerstein for the great idea!

Reminder:

Application Deadline

April 1st

5:00 p.m.

ATTENTION ZION MEMBERS: Mark your calendar for Thursday April 16th- 6:30-8:30 pm. to pack food for FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN.

This year they will only be packing on Thursday April 16th and Friday April 17th, so our goal is to have a group for Thursday evening.

Minimum age to volunteer is 5 yrs old but they are not allowed in packing areas. Grades K-2 we need 1 student to 1 adult, grades 3-6 - 3 students to 1 adult, grades 7-9 - 4 students to 1 adult and grades 10-12 - 5 students to 1 adult.

We can do online registration starting March 1st. I will book us for the Thursday April 16th time from 6:30-8:30 pm. time slot. If you have packed before you know how awesome it is to know we are helping so many lives, if you haven't packed before please consider joining us for a fun evening as a Zion Family. I will have a sign up sheet in the back of church so please look for it and "Join Us!!"

Thank you for your support- Dan & Deb Wieland

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MARCH BIRTHDAYS 3 - Heather Pupp 4 - Gary Lang 5 – Wynn Schoenherr 7 - Travis Moen

Russ Dahlke Heather Trachte

8 - Denise Marg 10 - Isaac Kramer Anna Spaeth Megan Johnson Sandy Grell 11 - Jordan Weber Colin Cole

Brenda Castellano Addison Beining

12 - Scott Trachte 13 - Kathy Zuelke

Macey Kilty Maxwell Fischer

14 - Ruby Thompson 15 – Evalyn Joswiak

16 - Emilie Greenberg Malia Hoesly Finley White Dayton White

18 - James Carpenter 19 - Tom Schoenherr 21 - Dan Weber Shane Moen Amii Kreft 22 - Shirley Skerhutt Brian LaSee 26 - Diane Dennee Bernie Huser Chris Murphy 27 – Megan Custer 28 – Michelle Multerer Jordy Trachte Avery White 29 - Charles Foley Mackenzie Frueh Opal Ford-Werner Natalie Messerschmidt 30 - Olivia Ballerstein

MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 6 - Russ & Cheryl Dahlke 12 – Gary Plank & Dar Pawlik Plank 19 - Douglas & Marilyn Bolen 24 – Jim & Cory Wiesman

• Pumpkin • Blueberry • Raspberry • Blackberry • Pecan • Apple • Cherry • Caramel Apple • Custard • Peach

$8 per π – Pre Order Now !!!!

Last day to order is

March 7th.

Delivered on 3/15/2020

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YOUR CHURCH STAFF

COUNCIL MEMBERS

President: Carmella Moon

V. Pres.: Brenda Castellano

Secretary: Maryel Schoenfuss

Treasurer: Marge Redetzke

Evangelism: Cory Wiesman

Faith Formation: Jackie Fischer

Property: Lee Spindler

Stewardship: Amy Cournoyer

Worship: Lois Miller

PASTOR: Sue Eidahl Home Phone: 687-4381 E-mail: eides@zionlc.com

Secretary: Lori Lang E-mail: office@zionlc.com

WAYS TO CONNECT

WITH ZION

Write us at Zion Lutheran Church, 213501 Legacy Street, Stratford, WI 54484-9632

Phone us at 715-687-4110 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or leave a voice mail message.

Or email us at office@zionlc.com or directly to emails above. WEB SITE: www.zionlc.com

TRADITIONAL WORSHIP

9:00 a.m.

PLEASE keep the office updated: • Address, Phone & Email changes • Births, Deaths, Hospitalizations

INDEX Page 1 March Highlights 2 Pastor Sue’s Letter 3 Wednesdays and Sundays in Lent 4 2020 Lenten Challenge: Fill the

Well 5 First Communion Classes 6 Living in the Light / Offering Desig-

nations During Lent / Synod As-sembly

7 VBS / J-Team & Little Lutherans / Thrivent

8 Building Update / Council Minutes 9 Super Bowl Challenge / FMSC /

Scholarship Reminder 10 Mmm Mmm Pie! / Birthdays &

Anniversaries 11 Church Staff & Index Pull out: March Calendar and Serving Schedule NEWSLETTER DEADLINE The 21st of each month. ANNOUNCEMENT DEADLINE Wednesdays by 9:00 a.m. WEEKLY E-MAIL Goes out on Monday morning. Email office@zionlc.com to be added to the receiver list.

Zion is on Facebook.

You can go to our website at www.zionlc.com and click on the link to

the Facebook page.