Grace Notes January 26, 2010

Unity in the Body of Christ

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of

the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and

gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every

effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is

one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your

calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who

is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Therefore it is said,

‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

he gave gifts to his people.’

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some

evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work

of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to

the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to

maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer

be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine,

by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But

speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is

the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted

together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is

working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in

love. Ephesians 4: 1-16

When I came to Salem, I truly felt called. I was in transition, actually

looking for a position as a principal of an elementary school either

private or in Wisconsin. But this position kept coming back to me in

different ways, kind of gnawing at my soul, so I thought I would try,

never having actually worked in a church other than volunteering on a very

regular basis, and inside wanting to work in a church. Low and behold, I

was given the position. I still feel I had a purpose in coming to Salem,

though I’m not sure what it was, but for some reason God has decided I

must move on.

John and I have grown to love Salem and its people young and old. We leave

with much sadness and truly grieve our loss. We thank all of you for the

wonderful sending, the love you have given us, the volunteering in God’s

service for Salem’s youth and children, and all the good times and bad as

even both help us to grow.

I leave you with one parting word, “relationships”. Build your

relationships between young and old, parents and children, youth and

children, youth and adults, and young adults and older adults, passing on

your faith, and faith stories, and modeling your mission “Living Christ’s

Love” in everything you do and wherever you go. This is the most valued of

what you have given me, the importance of forming these relationships.

We will remember you always and will keep in contact with you, hopefully

sharing what works in Christ’s mission.

Lovingly, yours in Christ,

Carol Sauter

Coordinator of Family Life Ministry

Salem Lutheran Church

This week at Salem:

Sunday, January 31st at 9:15 am – First Communion Class for 3rd Grade and

all members and visitors of Salem – Come and join the third grade in

Fellowship Hall for fellowship, hospitality, and learning.

Monday, February 1st at 7:00 pm – Technology Team Meeting

Tuesday, February 2nd at 6:30 pm – Witness Committee Meeting

GRACE NOTES January 19, 2010

Because the world is so closely related, we find at Salem that we are

grieving the devastation in Haiti in a more personal way that we ever

imagined. One of our own, a young seminarian at Wartburg, was doing

mission work with his wife and first cousin right there in Port-au-Prince.

His wife and cousin made it out of the building that tumbled and shifted.

He did not. The last sounds that his wife heard was him singing.

Singing! Can you imagine??? “God’s peace to us we pray” were his very

last words. 25 years old with a marvelous future as God’s servant and now

he is gone. And his body may never be recovered from all that rubble. Oh

the aching; it goes on and on.

As someone said, you can’t imagine 150,000 people dead but you can imagine

one dearly beloved person. We are all related.

Because the world is having such economic troubles, we find at Salem that

we are losing one of our valued staff members. We don’t have the income

to support a fulltime Family Life Ministry coordinator. We had her for

two years and got new direction, new visions, new dreams from this

dedicated, hardworking person. She leaves a big hole in our lives

together. When she came on board, we couldn’t and didn’t imagine that

this day would come. We know that people get laid off; we just didn’t

think it’d be so close to home. We are so sorry. We are all related.

Years ago, I had a book titled “Family of Man”. It was a wonderful photo

book of people, just people, from around our globe, doing ordinary things.

Men plow in Russia much the same way as they do in Northern Illinois.

Pregnant women look the same whether Asian or South American. Children

play with the same energy and vitality the world over, no matter where

they go home for supper. Everyone needs food and shelter. People in

foreign countries may seem strange, unknowable, not like us. That’s not

true. They are second or third cousins, that’s all. They are family,

just family we haven’t met yet. Open your heart please. Pray for all the

suffering ones in our precious world. They need our prayers, they need

us, just as we would need them if we were in their shoes. We are all

related.

Amen.

Judy Bergeson

Diaconal Minister

THIS WEEK AT SALEM:

At our 8 AM service we bid farewell to our Family Life Ministry

coordinator and invite everyone to the Hospitality Hour after the service

to celebrate her work with us. A card basket will be available.

Our Annual Meeting is this Sunday, January 24th. Come to the luncheon

after the 10:30 AM service and stay for the meeting. All are invited; all

are needed!

Grace Notes January 13, 2010

I love calendars! I have several hung up around the house to enjoy their

beautiful photos of barns and birds and lighthouses – some of my favorite

things – and I keep a large appointment-type calendar at church for all my

church planning. Since I am an organizer by nature, it’s fun to fill in

the dates with both routine and special events.

Do you ever wonder what the year will bring as you open a new calendar?

It’s really a clean slate, full of opportunity. You might block out dates

for days off, vacations, camps or camping, concerts or sporting events, or

write yourself reminders. Many people write in birthdays and

anniversaries. Sooner or later you’ll need time for those medical

appointments too.

Calendars tell us lots of things. If mine becomes too full of black ink

and no white space, I know I’m in trouble and I’d better hold back or I’ll

get sick. If I see only work and no time for family and friends or

volunteer time, I might need to prioritize. If I see several days in a

row open, it might be a great time for a special project or visit.

Granted there are some months that are more intense than others, but I

have found it very healthy to look at each month as a whole every once in

awhile and measure how healthy a balance I have created.

While I love to plan far ahead, I have also learned to be flexible. We’ve

rescheduled a Christmas celebration 3 times now with my sister, so the

calendar gets messy with changed plans. When a funeral comes up at Salem,

that takes priority and other things are shifted. When illness comes, you

do what you can and leave the rest for a while. When work schedules

change you breathe deep and try to adjust.

I try to use my calendars as a tool but sometimes they can become a

tyrant. Constant demands make you feel like you need to escape. I was

told once you say “yes” very easily when you are in your 20’s. In your

30’s you begin to choose when to say “yes”, in your 40’s you have learned

the word “no”, and by your 50’s you don’t feel bad at all saying it!

There are so many things wanting our time, most of them very worthwhile,

so it is hard to choose.

Do you think God can be Lord of your calendar? We ask God to be Lord of

our lives.

We say we want to follow God’s priorities. When I get overwhelmed with

too much to do or have an open space of time and am deciding what to do, I

find it helpful to talk it over with God in prayer, asking him to help me

sort things out and give me a push in the right direction. Some things go

on the calendar without question for me. I am committed to worship and

rehearsals and meetings; they are both my work and my priorities. I would

love to fit in time to learn quilting and do more traveling, but most of

the time neither time nor money permits….maybe another year or another

time in my life.

As you put away your 2009 calendars and start filling in 2010, why not

pray and ask God to help you fill in the most important things first.

Decide what you are committed to and what your goals are. Be flexible but

try to keep the spirit of your decisions alive. Trust the Lord to be with

you through each month and all it will bring, good or bad. Know you have

partners in faith to support and care for you through all the challenges

and joys to come. Value your gift of time and use it to bless those

around you.

God’s peace in 2010,

Carla Vanatta, Associate in Ministry

Salem Lutheran Church

Salem reminders:

Worship services at 5 p.m. Saturday and 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Patti Beamsley, Scott Graves, and Rod and Marty Oehlert will share their

experiences from the November Katrina Relief trip at the 9:15 a.m.

hospitality hour in Fellowship Hall this Sunday and Sunday School classes

are offered for all children and youth age 3 through high school.

Salem High School Youth will lead 10:30 GRACE worship.

Mark your calendars for Jan. 24th lunch and annual meeting.

Grace Notes January 6, 2010

Our Christmas celebration is unusually long this year, and we love it. Our

first get-together of the season was December 5th, when most of our

extended family could come. The last party won’t be until January 14th

with the Puppet Praise team. We don’t mind spreading the Christmas holiday

over 6 weeks and longer. It is one of our favorite times of the year. In

fact, we listen to Christmas music throughout the year. Many of the videos

on our shelf are Christmas movies…”White Christmas” is great in July! On

the 25th of each month, we remind one another of the count-down: “Only 11

months to Christmas!”

Are we a little crazy to keep Christmas all year long? The world around us

seems eager to put it away soon after December 25th, ready to move on to

the next holiday.

But Christmas isn’t only one day, or even twelve days as the song says.

Christmas doesn’t fit in a box that is stored in the attic with the

ornaments until next year. Christmas is FOREVER. It is Jesus…God with

us…not only for today, but always! A real, living Jesus…given first as a

baby, now living not just for a day or a season, but for all time.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone

who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus brings life. Every day. Throughout the year. Don’t put the spirit of

Christmas away with the decorations. Believe and trust in Jesus every day.

Celebrate Christmas all year long.

Ron Vanatta

Salem calendar:

Epiphany Extravaganza today, Jan 6th at 7 PM in fellowship hall. Please

bring a dessert to share and a gift of new children’s clothing for

families at Hope Haven. Story, skit, song, and fellowship. Sponsored by

the Salem Confirmation Group and the Worship Committee.

Worship this weekend: 5:00 Saturday, 8:00 and 10:30 Sunday