Greetings, in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Steps to Forgiving Others
What Forgiveness is not:
Justifying, understanding or explaining why the person acted toward you the way he or she did.
Just forgetting about the offense and trusting time to take care of it.
Asking God to forgive the person who hurt you.
Asking God to forgive you for being angry or resentful at the person who offended you.
Denying that you were really hurt; after all, others have suffered more.
When it’s hard to forgive… this may help:
Make a list of everything the Holy Spirit brings to mind with regard to the hurt(s) you have experienced from this person (take some time on this).
Take two chairs and arrange them facing one another. Sit in one chair and imagine that the other person is seated in the other. Then say all the things the other person has done to hurt you. (Do not hold back on these … including the emotions and tears that go with them.)
Then: Choose by an act of your will to forgive that person once and for all time. You may not feel like doing this. That’s all right, just do it … and the feelings will follow. God will take care of that. And do not doubt that your forgiveness is real and valid.
To do this, you might pray: Because I am forgiven and accepted by Jesus Christ, I can now forgive and accept you __(name)__ unconditionally in Christ. I now choose, as an act of my will to forgive you no matter what you did to me. I release you from all the hurts _(say them all)_ and you are no longer accountable to me for them. You are free. I forgive you in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If that person is still in your life, now is the time to accept that person without wanting to change his or her personality or behavior.
Thank the Lord for using each person in your life as a tool to deepen your insight into His grace and to mold you more into the image of His Son.
Begin practicing a life of daily forgiveness. Keep yourself from the burden of anger and bitterness. Live in the freedom for which Christ has set you free.
In Him,
Pastor Fausel
Celebrate!
We have much to celebrate in our school ministry. As I write this article our enrollment for next year is just one short of 160 students. That’s a good start, but we still have plenty of space for your child or the child of someone you know. Word of mouth is still the best sales tool we have. Please don’t hesitate to talk to those you know with school-aged children and invite them to consider Our Savior Lutheran School as the Christian educational environment for their child.
Our school ministry would not be nearly as effective as it is without the constant work done by our volunteers. We were delighted to acknowledge two such individuals at our National Lutheran Schools Worship service on March 11. We wish to thank again Mrs. Laurie Tancula for the numerous hours she has given, particularly her leadership for the “Taste of Our Savior” these past two years and the annual PTL magazine sales in the fall. We also thank God for the dedicated work of Mr. Mike Shorter who has very capably taken over as chairman of buildings and grounds. Mike spent numerous hours this past summer painting the school classrooms and even more hours in the aftermath of the flood.
We also celebrated a milestone in the ministry of our school and church Music Director, Scott Kamman. Mr. Kamman is completing his 20th year this year, seventeen of them at Our Savior. Without his leadership for school music, weekly chapel, four different school choirs, hand bells, Christmas Program, and spring musical, we would not be the ministry we are. Our school and our lives are enriched because of his service.
But we reserve our greatest celebration for Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He, and His saving grace, are the reason we even have a school ministry where this amazing love can be taught and shared. To Him be all glory!
In Christ,
Martin A. Brieschke, Principal
Golden Oldies
Joining together in Christian Fellowship, Education, & Recreation
At each gathering you generally will find:
Lunch at 12:00 PM
Devotions
Speakers on a variety of topics or entertainment
Brief business meeting
Usually meet the 3rd Monday ofeach month
Occasional field trips or outings
The Golden Oldies will be meeting on Wednesday, April 18, instead of the usual 3rd Monday because they're going to the Wednesday matinee performance of the musical Oklahoma at Derby Dinner Playhouse. The group will travel to Clarksville by TARC bus. Unfortunately, all seats have been sold out for this performance. Please arrive at church at 10:15 AM to board the bus.
Sunday School in April
Happy Spring!
First, Thank you to all the voices of the Sunday School who came to sing at the early service on March 4th. We were thankful to have Mrs. Crespo direct this enthusiastic group once again!
Thanks also to the Sunday School staff who served the Feb. 28th Lenten meal. The lasagna was "warmly" received.
Leanne, Heidi and Mr. Nickel are putting out "feelers" for new Sunday School Superintendent(s). Please contact any one of them if you feel this is an area that you would like to serve. It has been a richly rewarding experience for Leanne and Heidi, one of which they will stay involved in and gladly help, support and train anyone who is interested!
SUNDAY SCHOOL SLEEPOVER AND EASTER EGG HUNT ON PALM SUNDAY April 1st. Have one of your child's friends spend the night at your home and then bring them to Sunday School for a fun Palm Sunday morning which includes crafts in the gym and our traditional Easter Egg Hunt. Kudo's to Mrs. Kamman and her many assistants making this possible for the children of our church and school.
Remember, no Sunday School on Easter Sunday. Enjoy your family worship time
Hover Power
Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.--Psalm 107:43
It's hard to hover. I can't prove that point from personal experience (I've never mastered the art of flying), but a team of researchers at the University of Montana have learned that most birds can't fly "standing still" for long.
By implanting "strain gauges" in the wings of black-billed magpies, scientists were able to gauge how much effort it took to hover. They found that it took twice as much energy for the magpies to hover than to fly normally.
Yes, as you might suspect, hummingbirds are an exception. They have an unusual shoulder structure and the ability to generate lift on both up and down motions.
Most of us are more like magpies than hummingbirds. What I mean by that is this: Our lives are busy and we're flying along at a pretty good rate. It's tough, hard work even to stop long enough to think about where our life is going and what we have learned about God along the way. It's hard to hover over one passage of the Bible long enough to really think about it in much detail. We seem more comfortable flying along through life with occasional glimpses of the Word and brief, once-in-a-while times when we focus our thoughts on God. That, unlike hovering, I do know from personal experience.
The author of Psalm 107 said that the wise person will heed his words and "consider the great love of the Lord" (v.43). If you can make some time to hover today, read all of Psalm 107. It contains some powerful word pictures that illustrate God's goodness, His grace, and His love. Making the effort for this kind of reflection may seem like a lot of work―especially when there is so much we have to do or would rather do. But we'll find that it is worth it―even if we're able at the beginning to hover for only short periods.
Another opportunity to hover happens in Bible study when we join together and share God’s Word with one another. Take advantage of the these opportunities to hover and attend one of the Bible Study opportunities available to you here at Our Savior or elsewhere.
So, fellow magpies, let's start hovering.
Pause to think and you'll have cause to thank.
Adult Bible Class Opportunities
Sunday Morning (9:45 AM) Bible Study
1. (New) The Lutheran Difference: Worship – Fellowship Hall – Pastor Fausel
2. Exodus – School Library – Kyle Lohmeyer
3. (New) The Communicating Marriage – 7th Grade Classroom – Paul Nickel
Tuesday Morning (10:15 AM) Bible Study
Matthew – Fellowship Hall – Paul Nickel
Wednesday Afternoon (2:00 PM) Class
Matthew – Oxmoor Lodge – Paul Nickel
Women's Monday Night (6:30 PM) Bible Study
(New) A Love Worth Giving - Faculty Lounge - Melissa Nelson
Women's Friday Morning (9:30 AM) Bible Study
(New) Walking by Faith: Lessons Learned In The Dark - Friday Mornings (9:30 AM) - Fellowship Hall - Paul Nickel
Men's Second Saturday (8:00 AM) Bible Study
Hope Under Construction: Insights Into the Life of Nehemiah - Fellowship Hall - Paul Nickel
Men’s Ministry Breakfast
Pancake Breakfast
2nd Saturday of the month
Saturday , April 14th, 8:00 – 9:30 AM
Bible Study “Hope Under Construction: Insights Into the Life of Nehemiah”
Led this month by Mark Otten
Join us and bring a friend!
Unequaled Employment Opportunity!!
In the beginning God created everything and He's still the owner and operator! We have unequaled opportunity to join Him in the family business. He graciously invites us to be stewards of a portion of His vineyard. As the employees, we don't own anything. Our relationships, our time, our talents, and our material possessions all belong to God. "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it”. We don't even own ourselves. God has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others. We are God's stewards -- His trustees. A trustee manages a trust primarily for the benefit of others. Someday, we will give God an account of how we managed that which He has entrusted to us. DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THAT DAY? The YOUTH MINISTER is another trust for each of us to manage. ARE YOU IN? Your gift for this Youth Minister is needed now to assist the call committee's search for the very best person available.
Peace & Blessings, Larry Ashley, Stewardship Chairman, 2007
Childcare Project Team Update
In keeping with the Great Commission, our vision is to foster the establishment of a new outreach ministry for Our Savior Lutheran Congregation in the form of a self-supporting high quality Christian Early Childhood Development Center (for children 6 weeks to 5 years of age).
To help “Grow the Kingdom”, the congregation in the January meeting approved spending up to $15,000 from the Building Fund to conduct a Marketing Survey to determine the feasibility of starting a Christian Childcare Center. Two potential sites are to be studied- our current campus and another site (still to be determined) in eastern Jefferson County. Our Savior by itself does not have the expertise to scientifically evaluate the potential market. Therefore a professional market research firm with experience in research with Childcare Centers will be engaged. This firm will do several things in each area selected for study; conduct an in depth telephone survey of 200 to 400 parents of childcare age children (probably several hundred total phone calls or more will need to be made to find this number of parents); assess Childcare competition; evaluate other factors, and make a final report regarding the feasibility of establishing a Childcare Center for 100 or more children.
Our Savior has also joined the Open Arms Institute as a member. Since they have extensive experience in helping other congregations to establish and successfully operate Child Care Centers, they will be a big benefit to us by helping us do a thorough job of going through all the necessary steps to plan, build, organize, staff, and successfully operate a Childcare Center.
The Marketing Study has not yet been initiated and may not take place until next fall for several reasons:
- The team is having difficulty identifying the very “best” affordable other site to study. The challenge is that we have identified several high potential sites and need help in identifying the optimum site. As a result we have requested Church Development Partners (CDP) to work with us in finding the best other site. Church Development Partners (an RSO of the LCMS) is in the business of helping congregations “acquire space and place for ministry at the lowest possible price”.
- Our current campus site also needs to be evaluated “architecturally” to determine if it has sufficient space for a Childcare Center. Both CDP and Open Arms will help us do this.
A sister LCMS congregation has expressed interest in starting a “preaching station” in the same area where we have identified “high potential” sites. We have met together with them and the Federation to discuss and will have a another joint meeting with the Indiana District and Mission Planting Advocates to work out how we can all work together to “Grow the Kingdom”.
The Team is attempting to move the project along as fast as possible, but wants to ensure we thoroughly do the upfront “homework” necessary for success and are following God’s will. The congregation’s prayers are requested to help Our Savior determine the Lord’s will.
Norm Kendt
Camp Cedarbrook
Jill McLellan, a member of Grace Lutheran Church, has accepted the position of Executive Director and will be handling Camp Cedarbrook’s reservations, will coordinate special events, such as work days and camp sponsored activities – Septemberfest, Circuit picnic, and Spring fling. She will also be working with the camp’s caretakers to help maintain and improve the physical resources at the camp. Jill can be reached at 502-797-8743.
Sherry Pierce, a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church, has accepted the position of Director of Development and will be handling advertising, fundraising, brochure & website development and public speaking for Cedarbrook. You may contact Sherry at (812) 207-7569.
We welcome both ladies to our team and want to thank all candidates that interviewed with us during our search.
Look for future information on Camp Cedarbrook’s activities and fundraising events. With our new team our goal is to bring everyone together and utilize the benefits of our wonderful camp.
The Stewardship Corner: IRA’s and Qualified Plans
Courtesy of Thrivent Financial for LutheransSome donors choose to support their church and favored nonprofit organizations through the gift of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) or other qualified retirement plan assets. This can result in a potentially substantial gift to the charity and the elimination of income and estate taxes due from heirs on the plans. This gift is revocable until the owner’s death and is well suited for donors who are concerned about multiple taxation issues, who desire to leave a gift at death, who wish to avoid publicity about the gift, who want ownership, control and use of the assets until death, and who do not need to provide their surviving spouse with income from the IRA or plan.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and its respective associates and employees cannot provide legal, tax or accounting advice or services. Work with your team of professionals, including your Thrivent Financial representative, your attorney and tax professional to determine and implement the appropriate option.
Notes from the Music Director
Dear friends in Christ,
Many thanks to those of you who have helped purchase Lutheran Service Books for Our Savior. They are expected to be shipped at the beginning of this month. (There is still time to order if you missed out before!) We will dedicate the hymnals and begin using them in our worship within a few weeks of our receiving them. As we eagerly await the arrival of our new Lutheran Service Book, let us take a closer look at the beautiful artwork on its outside cover.
The most prominent feature of the cover design is the cross. The dark, innermost portion of the cross is a reminder of the darkness of Good Friday, when our Lord “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil.2:8). The prominent, gold leaf cross is a reminder of the resurrection of our Lord. God raised Him “from the dead and gave Him glory, so that [our] faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:21). The eight embossed squares surrounding the cross remind us of Christ’s resurrection on Sunday, the eighth day, and the inauguration of a new creation through our Baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Taken as a whole, the cross design gives the impression of ongoing expansion – even as the Gospel continues to be proclaimed until the end of time “in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
To the left of the cross are depicted the means of grace, through which the Gospel goes forth into our lives and to all the world. From top to bottom are an open Bible (Word of God), a shell with drops of water (Holy Baptism), and Communion vessels with grains of wheat and fruit of the vine (Lord’s Supper). On the back cover, the Holy Trinity is pictured in the form of the hand of God (the Father), a cross (the Son), and a dove (the Holy Spirit).
We look forward to becoming acquainted with this new friend with the prayer that it may be used in all its fullness to give voice to the prayer, praise, and thanksgiving of God’s holy people as they are graciously served by Him through Word and Sacrament.
Yours in Christ,
Scott Kamman
Director of Music
Meet Some of our New ChristCare Leaders ~ Mark and Pat Otten
Pat was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in a Maryland suburb. Her parents took her to church at an LCMS church in the area from the earliest days of her life. She was confirmed in 1966 in that same LCMS church. She went to college for two years at Concordia, Bronxville, N.Y., then transferred to Concordia, Moorhead, MN, where she graduated in 1974. She met her husband, Mark, at that same LCMS church in suburban Washington in 1977 and they were married in 1978. Since then she has lived in San Diego, Milwaukee, Lafayette, IN, Seattle, Boston, and now here, where she has always been active in church choir, and has at times been a member of small group Bible studies, women’s ministry, parochial school boards, and youth ministry. She looks forward to seeing you in the ChristCare Group she and Mark will co-lead.
Mark was raised in Bellingham, Washington, where his parents took him to Sunday school as a child. He was inactive until he started worshiping at a Lutheran church in Temple Hills, Maryland and completed adult instruction in 1976. He met his wife, Pat, at that church and they were married in 1978. Mark and Pat have lived and worshiped in San Diego, Milwaukee, West Lafayette, Seattle, Boston and here in Louisville. Mark has been active in church service as an adult Bible class leader, council member, elder, Boy Scout leader, and Youth leader.
Easter Egg Hunt
YOU ARE INVITED to Our Savior’s annual EASTER EGG HUNT on Sunday, April 1, during the Sunday School hour, beginning at 9:45 AM. Each Sunday School class will be invited to the Hunt at a designated time. If your child is too young to attend Sunday School but would like to hunt for Easter Eggs, they should be at the front doors of the school by 9:45 AM and they will join the preschool class for their hunt. Everyone should bring their Easter Egg Baskets. Come and have a great time with us.
A Success! “ Sail on the Seven Seas”
The 4th Annual “Taste of Our Savior”. Was an evening filled with excitement from the live and silent auction, to the variety of food samplings. Over 200 tickets were sold for people to enjoyed the evening of food, fun and fellowship. Items donated included homemade furniture, vacation home packages, golf packages, classroom artwork done by the students of Our Savior, jewelry, clothing, sporting tickets, gardening items, baby baskets, game and entertainment baskets, and pampering baskets just to name a few.
Youth News!
For those in high school, your presence is requested at the church on Sunday, April 22nd at noon. In addition to the monthly worship, Bible study, and games you have come to know and love, we will be deciding on some service projects. And watch the Sunday bulletins, as we may come up with something special to add and you'll want to be prepared! Don't forget to get your homework done early that weekend. For questions or rides, call the Otten’s at 244-5903 or the Robison’s at 938-4766.
Men's Softball Players Needed!
Men’s softball on Monday nights at Watkins Methodist Church will begin after Derby. Our Savior’s team is looking for players. The cost is around $35. If you are interested please contact Scott Krantz or Mike Hayes.
Scrap Booking Event - DATE CHANGE
April 20 at 6 PM a group of ladies will be gathering in the Fellowship Hall to work on their Scrap Book projects. Anyone interested is invited to join in the fun. Just bring your supplies and a snack to share and a beverage to drink. This is open to beginners and experts as each person works at their own pace and own their own projects. This is a great way to get together for some wonderful Christian fellowship. Take this opportunity to give your spouse some one-on-one time with the children and enjoy an evening of relaxing creativity. Call Karen Ranzau with questions.
Thank You
Dear Friends in Christ, We would like to thank you for the cards and words of encouragement that you extended to us at the death of Norm’s dad, Harold. He will be celebrating his 100th birthday in May with the Lord.
Sincerely, Norm and Sue Kendt
Holy Week Services
You are invited and encouraged to attend our Holy week services. Celebrating the joy of Easter is much better comprehended and appreciated as we also ponder His Passion.
Palm Sunday, April 1
8:30 AM & 11 AM, Communion
Maundy Thursday, April 5
7 PM with Communion
Good Friday, April 6
12 NOON and Tenebrae at 7 PM
Easter Services, April 8 (all with Communion)
6:30 AM Sunrise
9:00 AM Joyful Heritage
11 AM Majestic Celebration
Our Savior Music “Notes”
Lutheran Service Book Information: The word from Concordia Publishing House is that there is quite a demand for the new Lutheran Service Book, and that our hymnals are backordered. They will hopefully be arriving close to the beginning of April. In the meantime, we will continue to intersperse small portions of the hymns and liturgy into our services as they are made available to us.
Hymn of the month: The children in our dayschool learn a special hymn or song of the month as part of their worship and religion class experience. For the month of April, they will be learning the hymn, “Hail Thee, Festival Day.” This hymn tune, accredited to Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) is a bit of a challenge for congregational use (there are three versions for different occasions, which can be sung separately or combined). However, it can be quite impressive when learned by a congregation.
Refrain: Hail thee, festival day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
Day when our Lord was raised,
Breaking the Kingdom of death
1. All the fair beauty of earth
From the death of the winter arising!
Ev'ry good gift of the year
Now with it's master returns:
Refrain
2. Rise from the grave now O Lord,
The author of life and creation.
Treading the pathway of death,
New life you give to us all.
Chapel worship: Everyone is invited to worship with the school children each week as they gather for chapel on Wednesdays at 8:45 AM in the sanctuary. It is an excellent opportunity for midweek worship. Come and join us!
April 4 ~ First Grade
April 18 ~ Pastor Fausel
April 25 ~ Fourth Grade
Answer to the March quiz: The song that reminds us that “Faith sees, believes God will provide the Lamb of price” is “The Lamb” (written by Gerald Patrick Coleman).
April quiz: Which hymn elates “Away with sin and sorrow! My Love, the Crucified, has sprung to life this morrow”?
Spring Sing ’07 is in the works at Our Savior Lutheran School.
The students in 3-day Preschool, Kindergarten, and Grades 1 and 2 will be the stars of our feature performance this year, the musical “bugz.”
Our Hosanna Choir (grades 3-5) will perform the cantata “The Tale of the Three Trees,” and the Gloria Choir is putting together a revue of the favorite Broadway show, “Phantom of the Opera.” We’ll also hear from our Handbell Choir and our School Band! The show is scheduled for Thursday, April 26, at 7PM. The congregation is invited. Come and enjoy the show!
Contemporary Worship Teams: Singers and musicians, if you are out there, know that we are still in need of volunteers to help us out at our 11:00 AM Majestic Celebration worship services. We are in special need of a keyboard leader and guitarists, as well as wind instrumentalists and vocalists. If you would like to sing or play on a regular basis, talk to Scott. Time commitment depends solely on you, as little or as much as you desire. We need you!
Hearing Assist devices: Had trouble hearing well in our sanctuary? These small sound amplifying devices are available from the ushers. Please ask for them! They amplify what is going through our sound system. If you would like to purchase your own personal set of earphones for use with the church sound system, please contact the church office. (These devices do not work outside the sanctuary.)
Worship Notes! In an effort to try to help us all learn about our worship life and liturgy, we offer this little “tidbit” of information each month. It can serve as a review for you, an answer to that question, “Why do we do that?”, or as a teaching tool for our children or grandchildren. Please share this with your family. Discuss it prior to worship. If there is something you would like to have answered, let me know. I’ll do my best to find out! Check out this month’s edition of “Worship Notes!”
THIS MONTH’S WORSHIP NOTES:
Agnus Dei is a Latin phrase meaning “Lamb of God.” John the Baptist spoke these words as he pointed to Jesus coming toward him (John 1:29). As Christ comes to us in the Holy Supper, we recognize Him as the Lamb of God sacrificed for us to free us from the bondage of sin and death.
Holy Trinity Building Update
Dear Friends of Holy Trinity,
Just wanted to give you an update on how things are progressing here at Holy Trinity concerning the building project. Slowly moving forward would be the only way to describe it. We are currently waiting for building permits from the state. While we had hoped to break ground last fall, the Lord and the state had other plans. We are learning a lesson in patience and perseverance. We are now anxiously waiting and hoping to go forward with building in early spring.
We thank you for all your support both financially and through your prayers. It has been a great blessing to us. We have around $110,000 raised in donations and grant money. A little shy of the $150,000 we hoped to raise initially. The plans were altered to fit the monies we have and we are moving forward. The need for a new facility has reached an immediate level. The problems with the building we are in currently are increasing. Now besides our increasing mold issue we have dealt with bees in the walls, crumbling door jams, a loss of air conditioning and a weakly functioning heating system. Through it all we are still here maintaining a Lutheran presence in Grayson County. It is through your generosity and prayers that this will continue and increase as we reach out to the community. Thank you again.
God bless you all!
In His Service,
Deacon Monty Gleitz
With Praise and Thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.....Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Leitchfield, KY) & The Lutheran Mission Builders would like to invite you to be part the groundbreaking for our new church building. The groundbreaking will be part of our April 15th, 10:30am (Central Time) worship service.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville needs reliable, friendly volunteers to help at the office. A commitment of a full day is necessary to keep Habitat running smoothly. While this is an attempt to cover the office when the office manager is out, there is a pressing need for regular, weekly, receptionist volunteers. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5 PM. Please call Jenny Caffrey, Office Manager, 637-6265 if you are interested.
A training session will be held to orient interested volunteers.
Duties include:
Opening the office at 8:30 AM and turning on the lights
Answering incoming calls
Transferring calls to staff
Answering visitor questions about the Habitat program, volunteering, and ReStore
Greeting office visitors
Light clerical duties, as needed
Closing the office at 5 PM and turning off the lights
Golf Scramble
The Lutheran Family Services Of Kentuckiana is holding its 9th Annual Scramble at Tanglewood Golf Course on Saturday May 12, 2007. Lunch will be catered by Bootleg Bar-B-Q, at 12:30 PM. There will be a shotgun start at 1:30 PM. For registration or additional information please call Lutheran Family Services at 899-5991.
Blood Drive
Mark your calendars now for May 9, 2007 from 2-7 PM, for our Spring Blood drive. There will be sign up tables between services as the date approaches. As the spring and summer months approaches the donations for blood is lighter. Please plan now to give in May. Your gift can truly save a life.