St. Matthew by the Lake Lutheran Church
The Fisherman’s News
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:1
February 2016
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“Country Breakfast”
Saturday, February13th
7:00 - 9:00
We will have a signup sheet in the Narthex for those willing to volunteer some time to
help cook, set up, serve, clean up, and have a good time with one another.. Tell you your friends and family to join us for a great breakfast. Remember monies from this breakfast go toward helping our community.
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THE FELLOWSHIP BOARD
or
G. I.F.T Committee
(Growing In Fellowship Together)
Mardi Gras Party
Friday, February 5th , 5:00
Plan to come out for an enjoyable evening. We have some delicious Cajun food planned, games to play, music to listen to and enjoy each other’s company. Don’t forget to wear your Mardi Gras colors of green, purple, and gold.
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will continue Wednesday at 11:15 and Thursday at 4:30. Please join us!
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B.A.S.S. (Board And Spouse Supper) Our next board and council meetings are Tuesday,
February 9th. In honor of Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday we are
serving Pancakes, Sausages and Mimosa’s to board and council members.
Must RSVP by February 7th . Preston’s making pancakes!
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THRIVENT FINANCIAL CHANGES
All Thrivent members are invited to attend the“thank you” breakfast on:
Date: February 20, 2016
Time: 9:00am
Place: Ponderosa in Draffenville
The Between the Lakes Chapter will cease operation at the end of March and the new“Action Teams” will take over providing service to the community. We would like to gather as many Thrivent members as possible for the free breakfast to thank you for the many years dedication to making a difference in the community with projects and generosity. We will also answer any questions you may have about the transition. Please see Darla Berton or Greta Henry if you have any questions. Thank you!
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WELCA will meet on February 2nd tying quilts at 9:00, with Bible Study, a meeting and lunch to follow.
All women are welcome!
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The children's living nativity performance during the Christmas Eve service was fantastic! Thanks so much to our young performers:: Lily Ratzlaff (angel), Lillian Savage (Mary), Justis Ford (Joseph), Joseph Faughn and Shallen Arachagia (shepherds), and Michael Faughn, Tristian Arachagia and Memphis Ford (wise men). Special thanks to Tanner and Jackson Castleberry for working on our manger and to the adults Lee Ann Wilson for playing the inn-keeper, Lauren Edwards for singing with the children, Julie Richards for being our narrator and to Rebekka Ratzlaff for helping us tweak the performance. And, thanks to all of the parents that helped to bring this Christmas program together!
We have started promoting our "Souper Bowl" fundraiser which will run until
"Super Bowl Sunday" on February 7th. We would like to surpass our last year's
record of 400 cans by asking everyone to bring at least 10 cans, or you can make your monetary donation out to the church and the youth group will purchase canned goods for you. All of the cans of soup (Raman noodles, tuna, Vienna sausages, etc.) will be taken to the Marshall County food pantry to provide meals for the hungry in our area. The children are planning a bowling trip in Paducah. The date will be announced later.
The youth are making plans for future fundraisers to be used for their materials and activities. Participation in the 2018 Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas is being considered. More information will be forthcoming
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INCLEMENT WEATHER
NOTIFICATION
PLEASE NOTE:
We will no longer be notifying our congregation by the telephone tree system. There will be a number of ways you can check for our church closing. We will do our best to post any closures as close to 8:00 am as possible Sunday morning. Other ways to check are:
*WPSD Channel 6 local news Snowman Report
*Our Facebook page
* Our website: wwwstmatthewbythelake.org
*Email will be sent to all members whose email is current
* You can call Dianne Martinek, or Darrell Olson
Please remember that all activities are weather permitting. If you are uncomfortable about attending something that has been planned due to the condition of the roads it is best to stay safe and stay home.
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TIME TO RE-ENROLL IN KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM! For those church members who signed up last Spring for the Kroger Community Rewards Program to benefit St. Matthew by the Lake, your enrollment has expired. Please re-enroll now to keep earning money from your purchases for our church. Every time you use your Kroger card, a small percentage of your purchase goes to your designated community charity. Then every quarter, Kroger sends a check including the earned money from all our members enrolled who have designated St. Matthew by the Lake Lutheran Church.
Just go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com(krogercommunityrewards.com) and follow directions to re-enroll. For the designated organization, type in St. Matthew by the Lake Lutheran Church. Our organization number is 51898. If you have not had a chance to enroll, now is the time! Just go to the same link and click "enroll" instead of "re-enroll."
Thank you for participating in the Kroger Community Rewards Program. Happy Krogering!
FROM YOUR MISSIONS AND MINISTRY BOARD
FEBRUARY MISSION FOCUS: H.O.P.E. ANNUAL BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN, February 14 – March 6
H.O.P.E. Clinic is our local crisis pregnancy center, located in Benton, KY.In addition to helping women with unplanned pregnancies and early ultrasounds, they also offer sexual disease testing for both men and women, and educational programs for healthier pregnancies and better parenting skills.
The annual "Baby Bottle Campaign" is one of their major fund-raising events, and St. Matthew by the Lake has been a generous supporter of this mission for several years. Baby bottles will be available for distribution starting Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. We are asking each family to please take a baby bottle, and drop your excess silver coins, dollar bills, and/or checks in these bottles. Please return your bottles (even empty ones) to the church between Feb. 21 - Mar. 6, 2016. We also ask that you pray for the child whose name is written on your bottle, a child who has been helped by H.O.P.E.'s services.
A THANK YOU NOTE FROM RIVER CITY MISSION: (direct quotes with some paraphrasing).
The Board of Directors of River City Mission wishes to thank members of St. Matthew by the Lake for your recent generous contribution of $1,000 in December. It is only with God’s guidance and through donors such as you that the Mission can continue to meet our expenses and care for the homeless. As you know, we receive no government funding, only donations. Only 2% of the budget ($22,936.00) goes for administrative expenses and all over that figure goes to feed, house and care for the homeless…including the utility expenses.
Winter is here and Christmas is gone with a new year dawning. We had a great 2015 year of caring for the homeless men and families. We continue to fill the family cottages and the men are keeping the bunkhouse busy. We continue to see many success stories with many moving back out into the city with new jobs and their own living quarters. Our religious services and Bible studies (4 days a week) are a blessing and we have been blessed during the Christmas season with many people remembering the residents and especially the 11 children with an explosion of gifts for all. We have started a new substance abuse program for all the men meeting every other week. A professional comes and teaches them avenues of laying down the addiction habit they may have. We continue to be blessed in receiving produce and baked goods from Kroger. We are a drug and alcohol FREE facility with strict rules. We continue to need your prayers as we care for the homeless.
$15 MILLION ELCA MALARIA CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING GOAL ACHIEVED!!
Thank you for the many ways you have contributed to the success of this campaign. You have helped protect countless lives from malaria. SO WHAT’S NEXT? While the ELCA Malaria Campaign will officially come to an end on Jan. 31, 2016, our commitment to ending deaths from this disease will not. In the coming years, support to our companions and partners to address malaria will come through gifts to ELCA World Hunger, which has a long history of supporting health-related work.
The ELCA would like you to know that reaching the $15 million goal has been made possible through the shared generosity of thousands of congregations and individuals. Thank you for your prayers, your partnership and your generosity.
“Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’”. Matthew 25:40 (MSG)