Sabbatical Time at Messiah

The Ministry Council has approved a three month sabbatical for Pastor Greg and the Messiah Family from June 13th through August 29th. It has been 8 years since our last sabbatical. Pastor Greg's sabbatical will focus on rest and renewal including travel and retreats with Kim, reading and study about transforming congregations in changing communities.

During our shared sabbatical, life at Messiah may be a bit different, but it will go on! Here are some key pieces and information you will need:

1. Worship: Vicar David Mayen will lead a majority of our worship services and preach once a month.

Lay members of Messiah will be preaching including: the National Youth Gathering Participants, Sandy Rose, Martin Malley, Jayme Wiederin, Randy Schriener, and Sam Everson. In addition, Assistants to the Bishop, Richard Sheridan and Rebecca Sheridan will each be with us on a Sunday to lead worship and preach. We will also be lead by our regular Assisting Ministers at 8:30 and by Assisting Ministers at 10:30.

2. Pastoral Care: It is hoped that Vicar David will be available this summer. However, as of press time, this has not been confirmed. Our Pastoral Care Team of Doni Schroeder, Louise Kvasnicka, Sharon Dickman and Donna Bright will continue to visit our homebound members and do hospital follow-up. Erin Kampschnieder, Director of Discipleship, has been contracted for additional hours this summer to cover hospital and crisis calls. She, along with Jean Menard in the office, will serve as "first responders." If you have any pastoral care needs contact them first. Pastors Erik Boye, Mark Fry, Wenda Fry and Glenn Harless will also be available for crisis and funerals. They can also be contacted through Erin or Jean.

3. Faith Formation: As the sabbatical is happening during the summer months, there is little scheduled for faith formation. (But do check out the fantastic New Vacation Bible School, explained elsewhere in this newsletter!) However, lay teams are in place to do the planning and preparation for next fall. When September rolls around we will hit the ground running with another year of growing disciples!

4.Mobile Food Pantry: The MFP will continue during the summer months under passionate, capable leadership as it has all year.

5. Office hours and contacts: Office hours are 8:00 am - 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday and 8:00 am - 12 noon Fridays. The office phone number is 402.331.5510. For emergencies outside of office hours contact (in this order):

Vicar David Mayen (402) 812-4317

Erin Kampschnieder, Director of Discipleship:   402.990.3192

Ministry Council Officer (Elections will be May 2nd, so contact information will be posted after that).

May Newsletter

Discipleship 

 Our "Kairos Quest" continues as we seek, listen to, and follow God!  

Sunday School...  (Last day of Sunday School before Summer break is Sunday, May 17th)

Little Disciples (age 3 through Kindergarten) We continue to use new curriculum from Augsburg Fortress' Spark.

Elementary Children will continue to explore God's Word each week as they first gather together for opening and a video introducing the day's theme. Then they continue in three grade grouped classes.

Junior High youth:

See you next fall!  Have a great summer!

NOTE:

Senior High continues under the leadership of Erin, and Max and Natalie Fleming. Great plans for fellowship, service and discipleship are all underway!

May 3rd:  Senior Breakfast in Fellowship Hall  

May 10th: Mother's Day Fun  

May 17th: Game Day 

May 24th: Senior Sunday 

Senior High Youth Newsletter

Twitter: @MessiahSrYouth

Facebook:   Messiah Lutheran Senior High Youth   

LUTHERAN YOUTH SERVE OMAHA  

This year instead of VBS, kids K-12 are invited to join in the 5th annual Lutheran Youth Serve Omaha. This event, June 15-19, 8am-12:30pm will allow kids from Lutheran churches around Omaha to help out the local community by setting up age-appropriate service projects during the week. Kids will be carpooled to Kountze from Messiah each morning, and then brought back to Messiah concluding the service. Volunteers are needed and greatly appreciated, even if you can't commit to the whole week. There is no cost for this week long event, and breakfast will be provided each day. If you cannot participate in the event, but still want to help out, we are looking for the following donations:   

Milk                                                   Yarn Scraps for Scarves

Juice Pouches or Boxes                    Adult t-shirts for reusable bags

Granola/Cereal Bars                         Names/Addresses of service

Fresh Fruit                                            men and women

Fruit Cups or Snacks                         Embroidery Floss for bracelets

Sunblock Spray                                 Two 1 2/3 yard pieces of fleece

Bug Spray                                             for blankets

Garden Gloves                                  Paper Sacks

Wet Wipes                                         Monetary Donations

Latex Gloves

Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel

If you are interested in your kids participating in LYSO or volunteering as an adult, you can contact Erin Kampschnieder at the church office, on her cell (402-990-3192) or at erin@messiahfamily.com. We would love to have you participate! Come and share in God's love! 

Rebecca Circle:  Will meet  Monday May 18, 6:30pm @ Paulette Schubert's house    

Spring is Here!

And with it another growing season for our landscaping. We are looking for stewards of creation who will volunteer their skills, time, and love of gardens for the various landscaping areas around the building.  Please sign up on the sheet posted in the lobby. There are still some areas that need a gardener. Thank you for keeping our campus beautiful! 

Options for Managing Your Giving:

Manage your giving online

NOTE: If you already donate automatically using Simply Giving, please provide the email address you would like to register to the office BEFORE creating a profile online.  This way, your current giving records can be automatically linked to your online profile.

1)    Visit the church website at www.messiahfamily.com

2)    Click on the "Online Giving" link on the right side of the page,

3)    Click on the Create Profile button, then

Your giving can be from either of the following types of accounts:

Direct Debit Giving

Credit & Debit Card Giving

Use www.messiahfamily at any time to set up an automatic donation plan, change your donation plan, make a one-time donation or view your online donation history.

Donate from your smart phone

Messiah

FINANCE SECTION OF NEWSLETTER: 

In March the General Fund balance increased to $51,037 aided by improved giving, a 5-week month, and a stock donation.   This more than made up for the shortfall in January and February and puts us back on a path toward a reasonable financial reserve.

Our five endowment investments at the ELCA Pooled Trust paid out income for the first quarter totaling $962 which has been distributed to their associated sharing and outreach special funds.

Our Mission Share is current at 10% of Current Expense offerings. The Imagine Fund has a balance of $20,188. The Sudanese Worshiping Community transfers 10% of their offerings to the Messiah General Fund.

The graph below shows the Income, Expenses and General Fund balance by month for the past 13 months

.

Upcoming Events & Information