St. Mark Lutheran Church

Saint Joe, In

  "THIS SITE MADE POSSIBLE BY DONATIONS TO THE

ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH MEMORIAL FUND."

 ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH

302 WASHINGTON ST

SAINT JOE, INDIANA

 

 

 

 

Merle Holden,  Pastor
Phone: 574-215-4288
Email:

Member Lutheran Congregations for Mission in Christ (lcmc.net)

 

Sunday Worship Service  10:16 a.m.                                  
Jr. Church for youth during During Worship
                    

Wednesday Worship Dinner at 6:15 Service  7:00 p.m.
Jr.Church for Youth During Worship

  WWW.STMARKSTJOE.COM

St. Mark Evangelical Church in Saint Joe now has its own website!

The new address is owned by the church. It will appear on all business cards, letterheads, bulletins, newsletters and the sign out front.

Merle R. Holden, Minister, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Saint Joe, In.

ST MARKS, SEPTEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER

Merle R. Holden, Pastor

Member of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ

 

PASTOR’S REPORT 

The week of the 2010 Pickle Fest will long be remembered by the people of Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Saint Joe! Last year we had an entry in the Pickle Fest parade on Saturday. For many years our ladies group has sold baked goods in the Riverdale Elementary cafeteria. Construction at the school prevented them from doing that this year! But for the first time our church had a good tent featuring Sloppy Saint Joes(based on old Mason Family recipe!), nachos and cheese, super nachos(with SSJ on top!), baked goods, soft drinks and bottled water! Temperatures in the 90’s each day with high humidity made this a real challenge by itself!

What we had not planned on was a record 3 funeral dinners in the same week!

In fact, we have set a new all time church record with 8 funerals in 2010!

The previous high was 7 in 1962! So far this year we have had 7 funeral dinners!

So all of this came, the very week after Vacation Bible School and the week before School starts meaning many families were on vacation! And if all this were not enough, some of the people scheduled to work the food tent, were involved in the funeral arrangements! So quite the challenge for a church our size! But we came through and with flying colors! Plenty of food and workers for all 3 funeral dinners and each shift covered for the Pickle Fest food tent and parade! I think all our active members were either not shut-ins or not on vacation had a part in some or all of this!

Rex Snyder was the key person for the Pickle Fest! He set up the food tent, helped take it down, worked a shift and came to the church 2 hours before the tent opened to get the food ready! As if all that were not enough, he also organized our entry in the parade!

Rex is building up massive rewards in heaven! Kimm Krafft got a super large electric fan from SDI which made tent conditions bearable! Without that fan I really do not know how things would have gone! Nate Krafft was also very valuable because he came in Saturday and showed the first shift how to do it as well as working a shift Thursday and Friday and being in the parade! With our right green shirts and brown hats we really were noticed at the Pickle Fest, both at the food tent and in the parade! Margaret Weber, not even a member of our church, volunteered to work a shift! Laune Mason prepared all the SSJ on Wednesday night and helped when he could but with the death of Opal Mason he had his hands really full! We had several people interested in our church as a result of our work and we will see how that goes!

This year was our first attempt at having a food tent at the Pickle Fest.

Whether we have one in 2011 is up to the church council. But I think we did learn some valuable lessons from our first attempt. Soft drinks and bottled water-we used 37 bags of ice-large bags-we could easily cut that in half by having people bring in coolers. Use one cooler for Pepsi, one for Diet Pepsi, one for Mt. Dew and a 4th for MISC drinks. Then have a 5th one for "cool down" as we move along and have to refill the original coolers. Continue to use the large cooler Phil Mavis gave us for bottled water.

This would also eliminate the problem of youth gathering around the water tank with ice.

Also we found we do not need 6 workers per shift! 3-4 is plenty and this would mean a reduction on the 7 shifts from 42 people to 21-28 people! After conferring with Mary Lu Snyder, our Financial Secretary, and Kim Scouten, our Treasurer, I am pleased to announce that it looks like we made $884.24! This, despite the hot and humid weather which really held down the number of people attending! One big reason for the profit was all the donations! We had very little invested! So a big thank-you to all who donated and worked! The profits will go towards the $3000 we borrowed from the Building Fund for current expenses in 2009.

On the funeral dinner side, veterans Marvella Dilley, Marcia Sible and Marilyn Funk came to the rescue! Linda Hiser, sister of Delores Emenhiser, helped with the 3rd funeral dinner and she also is not a member of the church! Satan was also at work that work!

Judy and I have made about 800 trips from Nappanee to Saint Joe over the past 5 years and never a problem! But Saturday on State Road 3, just outside Kendallville, someone had left a piece of steel on the road and we hit it! Just as we were pulling into Jitters for the free ice, the low tire light came on! We went to a gas station across and street and filled the tire with air. We then got the free ice and started down County Road 35 but about a mile down the road the low tire light came on again! So we back to Auburn with the ice still in the car and the parade starting at 1pm.It was now 11:15 am. The first place we stopped had 4 bays full and the manager said it would be at least one hour before he could get it in! So off to Wal-Mart we went! They had an open bay and got the tire fixed!

Then to the food tent with ice and then the parade, the funeral, the committal service and the dinner! Back to the food tent and at 8:30 pm we left! Slept really good Saturday night!

We were challenged as a church but we came through and we met the challenge and we will be stronger in the future as a result!

Now on to VBS! The first night we had only 9 students but we got up to 17! The cook-out on Friday had around 50 people! A tremendous outreach for our church! Great job by Sharon Mavis and her staff once again!

Finally, on a financial note. What is the best way for us to pay back the remainder of the $3000 loan to the Building Fund? After Pickle Fest profits and Thrivent donations we will owe about $2000. We will also use any profits from the Spaghetti Dinner on November 5. Beyond that each of us needs to give as much as we can to current!

When we miss a week, we need to make that offering up! Then in January, the church council together with our church treasurer, Kim Scouten, can examine cash flow and, hopefully, pay back some of the loan! We need to get this loan paid back and we can do it! Of that, I have no doubt at all!

Now we come to a milestone! I have now been your pastor for 5 years! It has been an honor and a great privilege to serve as your pastor! Together and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we have achieved much! Communion every service, new service books, a Wednesday service, a new handicapped accessible addition to the church, and average weekly numbers at worship growing from under 20 to 75! This has taken the involvement of all of us and especially the leadership of a very strong church council! But I must confess I have been a total failure in one major category! I have not convinced enough of you that regular attendance at worship is so critically important! For August our weekly worship numbers will be under 50 per week! This is most distressing to me and it should be to you!

When we offer a Wednesday service for those who can’t attend on Sunday, the numbers show a decided lack of commitment! Since I am the spiritual head of the church, I take full responsibility for this! It is my greatest failure but with God’s help I will keep working on it! All of us need to understand we have much work to do and the time to do it is very limited! Three funerals in one week should convince us of that!

We need to rededicate ourselves to winning and nourishing souls for our Lord and Truly Risen Savior Jesus Christ! The first step in that process in regular weekly worship!

Together, lets all move ahead and work for Christ until, one by one, we are called to our eternal home! What a blessing it will be to hear Christ say “Well done that good and faithful servant!” I do know what the next 5 years hold! But I am anxious to find out!

 

W O W          Women of the Word

WOW did not meet in August because of the Pickle Fest.  However, we did furnish baked goods for the St. Mark booth.  We also served three funeral dinners the same week. 

Thanks to all who helped by furnishing goods and working at the booth and at the dinners!

September 9th we will meet at 12:00 noon.  Please note the time.  We will start with a potluck lunch, then have the meeting.  The lesson, the second on prayer, is on patience.  Judith Holden will lead the discussion.  Ladies, please bring your ideas for future studies. Penny Sechler and Jane Carpenter are the September altar committee.  Don and Penny Sechler are the cleaning committee for September.

 

Walter Ervin was baptized at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Saint Joe.

In his funeral message Merle said that Walter was an example of the type of person that made the United States such a great nation!

He paid his taxes, served his country well, was married to same woman for over 60 years.

Walter displayed great pride in keeping his home and grounds in immaculate condition!

Walter S. Ervin, 91, died Wednesday at DeKalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn, IN.  He was born on July 2, 1919 in Auburn, IN to the late Walter & Ethel (Scott) Ervin.  He married Lelah Mae Richards on January 6, 1940 in Spencerville, IN.

Surviving are:

Wife Lelah Mae Ervin St. Joe, IN

Daughter Jean (Phil) Pinkerton Auburn, IN

Grandchildren  Cheryl (Joe) Terry St. Joe, IN

Eric (Hollie) Kessler Lafayette, IN

Great Grandchildren Paige & Payton Terry

Grace & Caroline Kessler

Walter worked for the railroad and then went to work for County Line Cheese as a tester for 29 years.  He was a WWII Army veteran, and a 50 year member of the American Legion Post 409. Private family services will be held at Carnahan-Baidinger & Walter Funeral Home in Spencerville, IN with Merle Holden officiating.  Burial in Riverview Cemetery, Newville, IN.   Memorials to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.              

 

In his funeral message Merle talked about knowing the Mason family for many years.

He told a story about living across the road from the Trenarys when John and Opal were courting.

He also complimented Opal’s family for the excellent care they had given her during her final illness. Merle felt Opal and God had reached and understanding and Opal had said several times she was comfortable with her relationship with God.

Opal Mason, 77 of St. Joe died Tuesday August 10, 2010 in Miller’s Merry Manor in Garrett.

She was born August 8, 1933 in Auburn to Brooks and Mary (Witt) Trenary. They have both passed away. Opal was a bookkeeper for several years for Auburn Motor Sales and she also worked for 16 years for I & M Electric in Fort Wayne before her retirement in 1976.  She was a member of St Marks Lutheran Church in St. Joe.

She married John D. Mason on October 5, 1968 in the Mt. Pleasant Church in Butler and he survives in St. Joe. She is also survived by a son John B. Mason of Kendallville; 2 step daughters, Linda (Steven) Sims of Fort Wayne and Letha Chambers also of Fort Wayne; 2 step sons, Larry Mason of Yulee, FL and Laune (Debbie) Mason of Fort Wayne; 3 Grandchildren; 5 sisters, Mary Lou (Jordan) Baughman of Butler, Doris (Chet) Matherly of Elkhart, Audry Walter of Big Long Lake, Ruth (Ervin) Fetters of Diamond Lake, Alice (Dale) Yarde of Garrett; Brother in law, Loran Cook of Lemington, Canada.

She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister Joan Cook, a brother Forest Trenary and a step daughter in law Barbara Mason.

Services will be 11 AM Friday August 13, 2010 at Feller and Clark Funeral Home, 1860 South Center Street, Auburn, IN. with Rev. Merle Holden officiating.  Memorials can be directed to St. Marks Lutheran Church of St. Joe

 

In his funeral message Merle stated he had full confidence that Ann was now with our Lord and Truly Risen Savior, Jesus Christ! He stated Ann led a full long and long, good life and what more could anyone ask for? He complimented her family on the great care they gave Ann in her final illness. While a Presbyterian, Ann attended the Wednesday evening worship services at St. Mark regularly. Merle called Ann a friend and said he will miss her but he rejoices she is heaven with Christ and wants for nothing!

Anna E. Richards

St. Joe – Anna E. Richards, 91 of St. Joe died Monday, August 9, 2010, at the Visiting Nurse and Hospice Home in Ft. Wayne.  She was a graduate of St. Joe High School. Ms. Richards was a beautician for 37 years working in the Lincoln Tower in Ft. Wayne.  She was born on June 16, 1919 in Newville, to Romeo and Nellie (Warner) Richards.

Surviving are two nieces and their spouses, Suzanne and Lynn Witt of Grabill, and Kay and Scott Parshall of Houston, Texas; a sister, Mae Ervin of St. Joe; eight great nieces and nephews and their spouses, Tami and Pete Smith, Jeni and Tom Boese, Jeff Witt, Jeremy Zeisloft, Sarah and Chadd Kelley, Cheryl and Joe Terry, and Eric and Holly Kessler; 10 great-great nieces and nephews; and one great-great-great nephew. She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Esther Coburn; and two brothers, William Richards, and Russell Richards.

Services will be at 2 PM Saturday @ Feller & Clark Funeral Home, 1860 S. Center St., Auburn, with Pastor Merle Holden officiating. Burial will be in Leo Cemetery, Leo.

Memorials may be directed to the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, St. Joe.

THREE BIG EVENTS IN SEPTEMBER!

Three big events are coming up in September!

Sunday, September 12 at 10:30 am will be our annual joint service with St. Peters at the Spencerville Community Club. Pastor David Stephley will read the gospel and give the sermon and Merle will lead worship. St. Mark will supply communion and the WOV worship books (the blue books). St. Peters will supply the meat and all are asked to bring a salad, dessert or casserole for a meal to follow worship. This is a great time of fellowship with fellow Lutherans!

Saturday, September 25, will be our annual hot dog roast  at the home of Todd and Lorie Haase, 5836 County Road 39, Auburn. The event starts at 6pm but if you can’t make it until later, that is fine! We will have a bonfire around the pond! Bring a salad or desert and a lawn chair and plan on a relaxing evening of Christian fellowship!

Sunday, September 19, Judith Holden’s little sister, Jean Bell and her friend Gay will come over 500 miles to worship with us! Jean lives in Lavoca, Arkansas, just outside Little Rock and right on the Oklahoma border! Jean’s husband, Pat, died two years and is greatly missed by the entire family and was a dedicated Christian as well. Jean is rock ribbed Southern Baptist and Gay is Methodist. Gay is a nurse. We believe this will be Jean’s first time ever in a Lutheran Church so if you hear an “Amen” shouted during the sermon, it is probably Jean! It will be the first time Jean has ever heard Merle preach. But, have no fear, although Southern  Baptist preachers are known to give long sermons, Merle’s will be the standard length!

CHANGING FACE OF LUTHERISM!

The times they are a changing all right! Especially in the Lutheran Church! Until last August we had basically the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Synod as the 3 large Lutheran bodies in the United States. Lutheran Congregations for Missions in Christ was also around but not very large. There were (and still are) several smaller Lutheran bodies with less than a 100 churches, some less than 50. But things began to change last August when the ELCA voted to allow the ordination of pastors engaged in a same sex relationship and to allow the blessing of same sex marriages. When St. Mark joined LCMC on November 1,2009 we became the 200th church in the United States to be a member church. As of this writing LCMC now has 450 member churches in the United States!

Now another new Lutheran body is forming and be time you read this the North American Lutheran Church will be in existence and taking in member churches. NALC is a spin-off from CORE. CORE was a conservative group within ELCA but left the ELCA after the sexuality decision. NALC has more structure and staff then LCMC. They have a bishop and will form conferences but not synods. They will not have a quota system for delegates other than equal between ordained and lay. But a major safeguard NALC has put in their constitution is that major articles of the constitution can only be changed by a 2/3 vote of the churches! LCMC also has an even stronger safe guard as it takes a ¾ vote of the churches to change things!

So what will things look like one year from now?

Many churches have already had the first of the two required votes to leave the ELCA. Now they will have a 2nd vote and decide weather to go with the LCMC or the NALC. Speculation seems to have LCMC growing to around 600 churches in the United States.

For NALC I have seen figures ranging from 400-600 but I think 600 is probably more accurate.

Some have speculated LCMC and NALC might one day merge. I do not see this happening at all but I do see close cooperation between the two bodies.

Meanwhile, back in Saint Joe, we wait to see how area churches go. Pathways in Harlan is an LCMC member.

So if a 3rd close by church joins LCMC we can form a district. This could be for holding meetings of the pastors for mutual support, for youth gatherings, ladies group gatherings and general gatherings for all. Meanwhile Presiding ELCA Bishop Mark Hansen just does not seem to be on the same planet with most of us! In a recent letter to pastors he talked about asking for forgiveness for the way Lutherans treated Anabaptists in the Reformation! Now, I know I have many sins that need to be forgiven and I know God forgives me when I repent and ask him to forgive me but I do not feel I am responsible for something that happened almost 500 years ago! Bishop Hansen also noted the formation of another Lutheran body but did not name it. He asked when we needed another body?

I get the strong feeling that Bishop Hansen does not care what we believe as long as we stay in the ELCA and send our money to them! Speaking of money, the failure to the follow the Bible is costing the ELCA and its Synods big time in the pocket book! The Indiana-Kentucky Synod treasurer recently sent out an appeal to the churches for money! Basically, they were behind $145,000 and adopted a budget to reflect that and now they are behind another $104,000! They will cut their giving to the ELCA by $145,000! Taking these figures church wide I figure ELCA is facing a massive $10-$12 million deficit!

Meanwhile I rejoice that St. Mark made organization for our church! The decision to leave the ELCA and join the LCMC! In fact, I think LCMC is the perfect

The church at large never grew more than it did in the first century after the resurrection  of Christ!

It had the least organization and yet it grew rapidly!

Bishops and Executive councils do not win souls for Christ! Souls for Christ are won at the local church level! So we at St. Mark are free to win and nourish souls for the Kingdom without any interference and I rejoice for that!

A YEAR OF CHANGE!

2010 has been a year of dramatic change for all Lutheran churches in the Ft. Wayne area! In addition to the changes involving churches switching from ELCA to LCMC or NALU, we have the changes in the way the Lutheran Foundation does grants and the changes in Thrivent giving money to the churches. I recently completed a questioner from the Lutheran Foundation. First of all, we are extremely fortunate to have the Lutheran Foundation. Any Lutheran church outside of their 10 county area will tell you that! While I complimented the LF on their great work, I also made known to them our great displeasure in the fact they quit approving money for needy families! I have also spoken to a member of the LF Board of Directors and several staff members about this concern.

The LF board apparently feels Lutheran Social Services can take care of needy families and the LF gives LSS a considerable amount of money for this purpose. This probably works well in Allen County.

In fact, a Lutheran pastor told me he sends all requests for needy family funds to LSS and they get taken care of. But outside of Allen County is another story. I have yet to find a Lutheran pastor outside of Allen County who knows anything about LSS helping needy families! In 5 years as your pastor the only thing I have ever received from LSS is constant requests for money! I have been promised by LF staff people that someone from LSS would contact me but it has never happened! I am guessing that even if we used LSS, it would involve too much time and too many trips to Ft. Wayne! So my hope is that the LF will change this part for 2011! The LF also is considering changing the dates (again!) for when we apply for grants! For the regular $10,000 grants one proposal has us getting the money after July ! This is because the LF operates on a July-June year while almost all churches operate on a January-December year! I strongly opposed this proposal and we shall see what happens! Also when you apply for a capital grant-matching funds for building an addition-the deadline in December 1!

Meaning you do not get the money until well into the next year.

So if we wanted to build an addition in 2012 we would have to apply by December 1,2011! The days of getting money for the libraries and Riverdale Youth League are most certainly over, like it or not!

The LF has the gold and they set the rules! Ditto with Thrivent!

Every year we could count on $1000 from Thrivent!

No more! This year it looks like we will get just under $150! So we are working in all new territory! The challenges facing us are many! But I am grateful for a strong church council to guide us! They are all dedicated Christians and committed to St. Mark Lutheran Church and for that I am most grateful!

We will move on and continue our mission to win and nourish souls for our Lord and Truly Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

SEPTEMBER  BIRTHDAYS

 

WORSHIP ASSISTANTS FOR  SEPTEMBER 2010

ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH

 

SEPTEMBER 5:

ACOLYTE: ALYSON BOGER

GREETERS:BILL AND SHIRLEY MCCLURE

USHERS: REX SNYDER, LYNN WITT

READER: DEB MASON

COMMUNION ASSISTANT-NELSON HEISLER

REFRESHMENTS-CLAUDIA WINN

FLOWERS-CLAUDIA WINN\

 

SEPTEMBER 12-

JOINT SERVICE WITH ST. PETERS

READER: DEB MASON

 

 SEPTEMBER 19 -

ACOLYTE: ALEX HOLDEN

GREETERS: BETTY AND NELSON HEISLER

USHERS: NELSON HEISLER, AUSTIN REYNOLDS

READER TROY SNYDER:

COMMUNION ASSISTANT-CLAUDIA WINN

REFRESHMENTS-MERLE AND JUDY HOLDEN

FLOWERS-BOB BAKER, IN MEMORY OF JUNE BAKER

 

 SEPTEMBER 26-

ACOLYTE-KAILEN BERRY

GREETERS: MARY LU AND REX SNYDER

USHERS::TROY SNYDER, ROBERT BAKER

 COMMUNION ASSISTANT-CLAUDIA WINN

READER –LORI HAASE

COMMUNION ASSISTANT-CLAUDIA WINN

REFRESHMENTS-NELSON AND BETTY HEISLER

FLOWERS-BOB BAKER

 

 

SAVE THOSE ALUMINUM CANS!          

The St. Mark Church Council has started a project to recycle aluminum cans. Just bring your cans to the church and Rex Snyder will take it from there! If you can crush the cans that will be helpful! But if you can’t we will take them whole!

All proceeds will go to the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund for helping needy families in our community! If you wonder how you can make a difference in our community-this is one way and its easy!

 

NEW CHURCH BROCHURES

We all need to be inviting others to COME AND SEE!

Because Jesus does not want any to be lost and we should not want any to be lost! With this is mind, Nelson Heisler has produced a brand new church brochure to give to people! So the easiest way to invite someone to COME AND SEE is to give them a church brochure! See Merle for yours! We will have these brochures at our food tent at the Pickle Fest also! Remember the brochures do no good sitting on a shelf! So lets use them!

 

ST MARK’S LUTHERAN CHURCH

www.stmarkstjoe.com

Member of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ

P.O. Box 345 302

W. Washington St.

Saint Joe, In, 46785

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 

 








 

 










 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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