The Shepherd's Staff 2020 - Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran ...
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The Shepherd’s
Staff 2020
Thoughts from Pastor Andrew:
Dear Members of Shepherd of the Hills,
First and foremost, I want to express my thanks and appreciation
for all the ways in which you make me and my family feel so loved.
The incredible generosity and kindness you have extended to us during this holi-
day season has simply left us amazed and rather breathless- and that’s no exag-
geration. The many thoughtful presents, the cookies and treats, the monetary gift
gathered by the elders and the home improvement projects, have all touched us
and increased our desire to be richly embedded in the life of our church for a
long, long time. We, of course, have always been so happy here, but the unbeliev-
able love and kindness you show us has a profound impact on our understanding
of what it means to be a part of a church family. With all our hearts, THANK YOU!!
I am so anxious to serve you in 2020.
Speaking of the new calendar year, I forecast that it will be a stressful one for
those who have strong political feelings either way. Perhaps it would help if, in our
personal prayers, we entrust the next several months and the welfare of our
country entirely to the Lord’s keeping. Remembering that His kingdom is not of
this world, we nonetheless put our faith in His gracious plans for this world, which
is where He intends us to be for the time-being. He has a plan and He is working it
out according to His mysterious purposes, which will always elude our under-
standing. That said, we will survive the next several months together, focused on
Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, who has promised to make all things new. He can
and He will do it.
God bless you!!
Pastor Andrew
Where to find it is on Page 13!
Welcome to our new President Nancy Burns
Welcome to 2020! A Year of Praise, Gratitude and Prayer
Dear Shepherd of the Hills Friends,
As we gather this New Year, we want to first Praise God for His Good-
ness! (Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation!) We express
gratitude for all He has done for us and how He has inspired us to help
each other and our communities. (Now thank we all our God, with hearts
and hands and voices!) We pray that He will grant us peace in the New
Year and continued grace to help us through all challenges that we may
Be sure to ask Nancy or face. (What a privilege to carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer!)
Gerry Burns about the histo- Thank you all for sharing the many gifts that our Lord and Savior Jesus
ry of this red phone. Christ has given to YOU! Much has been accomplished in His Name!
You will laugh at “the We appreciate all who have served and will continue to serve our church
rest of the story!
family!
This year, we will highlight some of our ministries each month on the
front page. That way, we can “showcase” the many good activities that are happening here!
Connecting through Christ Assimilation program
We will begin with our “Connecting through Christ” Assimilation program. Many members have
participated in brainstorming ideas, answering questionnaires and posting their interests in the
church. Assimilation Team Members have gathered the information and will share so that all can be
aware of current ministries, as well as new ideas to help everyone “Be Connected!”
Members are encouraged to connect with those who have similar interests. For example, Jerry
Brown led an inaugural hike on October 31 st. Eleven members joined a one-mile hike while some
continued for another two-mile hike. Kris Brown shepherded those who needed a little more time to
complete the hike (Like me!). We appreciate Jerry and Kris for making this a wonderful experience
with a guided tour by Jerry, Master Trail Builder!
Others are reaching out to those with similar interests- either “one-on-one” or starting a group
meeting. As another example, Lisa Liedberg invited members to her home for knitting!
Thanks to All who are Connecting through this Ministry! Please invite others to join you in activities
throughout the New Year!
Please LISTEN to the Lord’s call as He leads YOU to the ministry and service that is right for YOU!
(Here I am, Lord!)
Remember that YOU are the only ONE in the world that has the unique gifts and experiences
that can help others along our earthly journey. “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and won-
derfully made: Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14).
I pray that God will bless YOU and YOUR Family throughout the New Year!
Nancy
2
SANTA “CHRIST”MAS PHOTO OP Jane Kampion, Chairperson
ANOTHER SUCCESS FOR OUR ANNUAL SANTA “CHRIST”MAS PHOTO-OP!
On Saturday, December 7th Shepherd of the Hills hosted our 3rd annual Santa “Christ”mas
Photo-Op for our community. 36 families brought their children for a picture with Santa
Claus. Santa was then given the blessed opportunity to share the love of Jesus with 59 chil-
dren! This was an increase of 10 children and 8 families over 2018! And we saw twice as
many children as we did in 2017 (our 1st Santa event). What a joy it was to see so many happy and excited
children in The Gathering Place. Our Almighty God is pouring blessings on the children of our community
through this event and we are privileged to be His agent.
We were also blessed with a team of at least 44 volunteers at the event plus all the cookie makers! We
cannot begin to express our appreciation to everyone who helped. I do not want to present a list of names
because I do not want to leave anyone out by mistake - So a BIG THANK YOU to:
Our Inn Keepers who greeted and registered our guests.
Our Shepherds who guided our guests to Santa Claus and then got them settled with re-
freshments and a place to sit.
Our Technical team who took pictures of the children and families with Santa, then
cropped and printed the photos.
Our Heavenly Hosts who offered cookies, coffee and hot cocoa to our guests and made
sure that our tables were steam cleaned and supplied with coloring pages, etc.
Our youth group who entertained our guests with puppet shows and a simple Christmas
tree craft that they offered to the children.
Our Gift givers who made sure that each family received, along with their photos, a gift
bag filled with Nativity story books, crafts and other Christian materials.
Our cookie makers who supplied our refreshment tables.
The Gideons who passed out Bibles to those who wished for one.
Our Reindeers who picked up lunch for all our volunteers!
Our Property Guys and all those who helped us with setting up the Gathering Place and
then helped with clean up afterwards!
And of course, SANTA CLAUS!
You are all a blessing to our church family and our community! We heard amazing compli-
ments from our guests. We will certainly host even more children next year to hear about the Love
of Jesus!
Luther’s Morning Prayer
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me
this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would Keep me this day also from sin and every
evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul,
and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.
3
New Year’s Resolution Ideas
submitted by Rev. Andrew J. Abraham
1. Using a hundred words, articulate your personal philosophy.
Have fun inviting others to scrutinize and disagree with it.
2. Ponder deeply Matthew 5:5. What is Jesus asking of you personally in that verse?
3. Master the omelet.
4. Organize your old photographs.
5. Hire someone to fix what you put off fixing.
6. Gather your friends together around a table and brainstorm with them for a whole
morning on a local problem that demands a solution. Submit your ideas to the
right people.
7. Offer lessons in something you can do well.
8. Call a non-profit that is achieving success in their mission and ask them what they
need to achieve even more success. Find a way to get for them what they need.
9. Become more acquainted with Beethoven's nine symphonies (or Chopin's Noc-
turnes).
10. Write a short paragraph that will serve as your personal mission-statement guiding
you throughout 2020.
11. Treat yourself to increased measures of total silence.
12. Talk to a counselor or a cherished confidant about a memory that haunts and trou-
bles you.
13. Pick a Shakespeare play. Read it. Study it. Find it on Netflix.
14. Become more intentionally aware of your common streams of thought and consid-
er how they impact your daily moods.
15. Collect socks or underwear (or something useful) for the homeless population.
16. Call five people you haven’t seen or spoken to in over ten years.
17. Memorize the Twenty-Third Psalm (the King James Version, of course).
18. Read Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey.
4
19. Purchase a series of lectures on DVD concerning a subject that fascinates or in
trigues you and watch them repeatedly throughout the year. (Archeology? Astrophy-
ics? Foreign cultures? Dinosaurs? Economics? Famous explorers? Art History? The
American Revolution? The Medici? Marine biology? World religions? Abnormal psy-
chology? Architecture? Ancient civilizations?) Acquire just enough new information
to make you dangerous in this particular field of study.
20. Build a ship in a bottle.
21. Choose one of the Four Holy Gospels and commit to reading it five times during the
course of the next twelve months, and invest in good, scholarly commentaries to
help you understand the text.
22. Encourage the youth of our community to read, hike, build and have much less
screen time.
23. Learn about your family tree.
24. Walk away from toxicity.
25. Host tea parties.
26. Write a short story exploring one or two themes that have preoccupied your
thoughts for years.
27. Take up birdwatching.
28. Come up with new ways to greet and engage people you encounter in everyday
settings.
29. Increase your willingness to admit your mistakes, failings, vices and weaknesses.
30. If you’re a republican, treat a democrat to lunch. If you’re a democrat, treat a repub-
lican to lunch. Keep the conversation light-hearted and discuss anything but politics.
5
Visiting Friends Catherine Peterson,
Chairman
We all know that SOTH is a very loving and caring congregation. The devoted mem-
bers of Visiting Friends want to make sure that anyone struggling with a health or per-
sonal issue is reminded that someone cares about them. Join our mission to make
phone calls and/or send cards “to one of the least of these your brethren”. You can’t
help feeling cheered yourself, knowing that you have helped brighten the day of some-
one in need of encouragement.
Our committee meets on the second Monday of each month at 10:00 AM. We
share who is in need and who we have contacted the previous month. If you are not
one for meetings, it is not mandatory to attend. Let the committee know by filling out a
contact record sheet and putting it in the Visiting Friends mailbox each month so we
can keep Pastor and the elders in the loop. Please prayerfully consider joining us in this
important ministry.
If you or someone you know would benefit from this ministry, please contact Cathe-
rine Peterson at 931-788-6914 or at lcpete35@yahoo.com.
Sheepdogs Wayne Croy, Chairman
Winter is here, so prepare your car for it.
1. Make sure your tires are properly inflated.
2. Test your battery, as battery power drops with lower temperatures.
3. Make sure the cooling system is in good working order.
4. If using all season tires, check the tire tread and replace
if less than 2/32 of an inch.
5. Check tire pressure.
6. Check wiper blades and replace if necessary.
7. Add wiper fluid treated for -30.
8. Keep the gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze.
9. Keep your car's emergency kit fully stocked.
6
GROWTH Jan Simko, Chairman
Mike, Cheri & Dan (son) Kisly
118 Chatham Lane
Fairfield Glade, TN 38558
815-814-4211
(Mike) 224-406-2923
(Mike)michaelkisly@gmail.com
(Cheri) mkisly@aol.com
Stewardship Nancy Burns
Gratitude from Stewardship
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
A heartfelt gratitude from the Board of Stewardship! There are
not enough words to celebrate your generosity this year! By sharing with others the treas-
ures that God has given to us, we truly express the Reason for all our seasons of life!
During 2019, we provided funding to local and overseas missions, gifts for the Angel
Tree and special offerings to support Trinity Hope and the children of Haiti! Participants in
the Dave Ramsey learned about faith-based financial management. We appreciate all of
these efforts and look forward to a blessed New Year!
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League Jan Simko, President
Please save your change.: “Mite Sunday” is the 3rd Sunday of each
month. Your continued support will help our district reach its goal. Thank
you, so much for your help.
The Lydia Sisters will meet again on Tuesday, January 14th at 9 AM. Please consider join-
ing them. They provide quilts not only to LWR but to local shelters and charities. It’s a reward-
ing venture AND NO sewing skills required!!!
7
January Celebrations
Date Name Anniversaries
1/02 Becky Pittman Date Name Years
1/04 Debe Hinterman
B 1/07
Barb Keslin
Chris Krueger
1/01 Bill & Debe Hineterman 39
1/09 Sharon Palow
i 1/11
1/13
Virginia Rideout
Don Palow
1/10
1/19
John & Mary Beck
Jay & Judy Paemel
50
46
1/16 Sheryl Craig
r Carol Jannusch
Sheridan Miszklevitz
1/24 Lance & Carol Holman 11
1/28 Mike & Kathi Parli 53
Jay Ross
t 1/17
Judy Wilson
Anna Helimeier
1/29 Phil & Linda Winterroth 54
h 1/18
Linda Winterroth
Betty Tuggle
Each month we will highlight those who have achieved the
50 plus years of matrimony, a very special landmark.
1/21 Kathy Partain
d 1/22
1/23
George Walter
Elaine Braun
1/24 Marla Carroll
a 1/25
June Leclair
Sharon Riharb
1/26 Joan Baldwin
y 1/27
Conrad Welch
Camdyn Daltan Music Ministry Rick Weyhrich, Director
s 1/29
1/30
Terilynn Beyer
Pete Kampion
Fred Mundt If you are interested in joining or learning
more about our music ministry, feel free to
Is your name missing ?
Although we try to include the names of all members attend a practice or talk to Rick Weyhrich.
celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, we
occasionally miss someone.
Please let us know of any errors or omissions so we Bell Choir Practice at 4:00 PM
can do better next year! This information is taken Adult Choir Practice at 5:00 PM
from the official church records, so please make sure
that your data is up to date and complete. Practice resumes on Wednesday, January 8th.
Donation Items for the Youth Garage Sale!
PLEASE HOLD ON TO your garage sale items for the youth garage sale.
We will be placing a date and time to bring them in the future SOTH Notes and Newsletter.
THANKS
8
STEPHEN MINISTRY Broken Jan Baessler,
Restored Awareness Coordinator
STEPHEN MINISTRY
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on some things that have happened in our
Stephen Ministry this year here at Shepherd of the Hills. Our beloved leader, Pastor
Paul Weigert decided it was time for him to retire to a warmer climate. So he and Lin-
da sold their house here in Fairfield Glade and moved to Lutheran Haven in Oveido,
Florida. Turns out he is still doing the Lord’s work there, being a vacancy pastor for a church
there. The Lord always finds a place for a good pastor.
Meanwhile here, three Stephen Ministers here also went to Florida in June to attend a Lead-
ers Workshop. Craig Jannusch, Bill Baessler, and Jan Baessler spent one week in INTENSIVE
study learning how to lead the group of Stephen Ministers here at SOTH. We learned so much
and returned eager to put into practice what we had learned. We discovered that we had two
additional trained Stephen Leaders. So, with our five trained Leaders, we have developed a
team of leaders who are ready to go forward with this ministry in our congregation.
We have just finished our first training class and have added four new Stephen Ministers to
our group. There are now 14 trained Stephen Ministers in addition to the 5 leaders. We are all
ready, willing, and able to work with and serve any of you who need someone to walk with you
during a difficult time.
As we go into the new year, if you encounter difficult situations and the burdens become in-
creasingly heavy, let a Stephen Minister help. We do not promise to solve the problems for
you, but we are willing to walk with you through your trials, to be a support for you, to be a lis-
tening ear and a shoulder to cry on if that is what you need. We can promise confidentiality.
We can pray for you and with you if that is your desire. A Stephen Minister promises to be
Christ's representative to you.
For additional information, you can contact one of the following Stephen Ministry leaders:
Craig Jannusch, 931-707-5079, Kris Brown, 630-234-8686, or the church office, 931-484-3461.
“Shoes with Heart!” Salli Lemke, chairman
WE ARE NOT asking for money ! Just your gently worn shoes. Collect them from friends, family and neigh-
bors during this giving season.
We are helping you clean out your closets. Kick off your shoes today ALL members of SOTH. One
day someone is going to be walking in your shoes and you have changed a life with your generosity. All shoes
are refurbished and disinfected. We have two collection sites for your convenience, one outside the Church
office and one across from the mailboxes.
Thank You everyone and a very Happy New Year to each and everyone of you.
9
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4
Small Group Task Force
CHURCH/OFFICE/SLF - 2PM
CLOSED Classroom 1
FOR NEW
YEARS’S
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Holy Communion SOTH Christian Golf— Property Crew - 8AM Council - Griefshare—Noon Men’s Breakfast—
8:30AM 1:30PM Classroom 1 8:00AM
KICK—12 NOON River Run Golf Course (Fellowship Hall)
Sunday School KICK— Sheepdog Meeting -10AM Santa Photo Op debriefing Kitchen Committee—
12 NOON Knitting Group 1-3PM (Conference Room 1) 2:30—3:30pm 2PM
Installation of New (Lisa Liedberg’s home) The Gathering Place
Officers @ both services Fairfield Glade Bible Study—
Elders—3PM Fellowship -2PM Bells - 4:00PM 7PM
(Classroom 1) Choir - 5:00PM TBA
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Holy Communion SOTH Christian Golf— Bingo Bash 10am - 1pm
8:30AM Property Crew - 8AM SAGE—2PM Fellowship Hall
KICK—12 NOON River Run Golf Course (Classroom 1)
Sunday School KICK— Visiting Friends—10AM
12 NOON
AED Training -10AM-12PM Bells - 4:00PM
The Gathering Place Lydia Sisters—9AM Choir - 5:00PM
M
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Holy Communion SOTH Christian Golf— Caregiver Coffee Hour
8:30AM Property Crew - 8AM 2PM(Family Room)
MITE SUNDAY River Run Golf Course
Knitting Group 3PM
(Lisa Liedberg’s home) Bells - 4:00PM
KICK—12 NOON Deborah Circle—5:30PM Choir - 5:00PM Fairfield Glade Bible Study—
Sunday School KICK— Sunday School Steering (Classroom 1) 7PM
12 NOON Committee 1PM (Classrm1) TBA
Stephen Ministry—4P
26 27 28 29 30 31
Holy Communion SOTH Christian Golf— Growth - Launch of Shoe Drive
8:30AM Property Crew - 8AM 9AM (Classroom 1) Fundraiser
River Run Golf Course
Bells - 4:00PM
KICK—12 NOON Choir - 5:00PM
Sunday School KICK—
12 NOON
10MEMBERS CHALLENGED BY HEALTH AND MEDICAL PROBLEMS:
Bill Baessler Yvette Dolan Shirley Dunham Andrew Gallagher Kathie Gallagher Marilynn Grennan
John Gruber Jim Hardy Roger & Shirley Helms Debe Hinterman Lance Holman Lloyd Miller
Dennis Stuebben Tom Towers Nora Walter Pete Wiedemann Roz Ziemba
OUR HOMEBOUND:
Ann Barich, Dottie Bickel, Margaret Geary, Albert & Linda Fink, Marg Higgins, Roger & Caroline Karstaedt, Marlys Lee, Barb Zaccari
OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
The family of Bob Durham, Noah Anderson (Joanne Bandazewski) ANNOUNCEMENT:
Karen Clark (Elaine & Len Braun)
Breana Shaw and her parents (Sue Cox) IF you know a person is now do-
Sally (Susan Dowell) ing well please notify us so that
Doris Fulk (Jean Hresko) their name can be removed.
Holly Punzel (Alice Hockenberry)
Rose Gahns (Ed Leese)
Jenna Lank & family (Salli Lemke)
Gerald Michel (Leora Miller)
Family of Bill Wilhelm, Karol Moosekian, Gary Dollian (Bob Moosekian)
Amy. Kevin & Kim (Becky Quick)
Don Swartzlander (Joe Swartzlander)
Macey (Pat Wiedemann)
OUR MILITARY, deployed or stationed out of the USA:
Ben Crain (Nancy & Gerry Burns)
Listen to Pastor Andrew’s If you are new to the church or have been
here a while but haven’t found your niche, we
sermons while you're away! have so many opportunities for you to get in-
http://shepherdofthehills.buzzsprout.com volved. Read through the newsletter or Sunday
bulletin and you will certainly find something
that grabs you!
Check with Chris at the office or see your
Elder for help in connecting to your right niche.
January 5 January 19
G Early
Late
Early
Late
R January 12 January 26
E Early
Late
Early
Late
E
T GREETERS WANTED! No experience needed!
E Have you been given a warm welcome here at SOTH? Then you know what to
R do. Give a warm smile, a handshake or a friendly hug to people as they come in the doors. You
are asked to sign up in the book located on the counter in the Gathering Room. You may volun-
S teer for one week, one month or a combination of Sundays. Your rewards are warm smiles,
handshakes & friendly hugs in return.
11SAGE (Seniors Against Getting Elderly ) Pat Wiedemann, Chairman
The Senior Ministry aka SAGE Board took the month of December off to rest and spend time
with their families during the Christmas season.
Meeting changes for the month of January : The board meeting has moved to Wednesday, January
15 at 2:00 pm in class room 1 and the Caregiver Coffee Hour will meet in the Family Room on
Wednesday, January 22nd at 2:OO pm. Both meetings are open to anyone wishing to attend.
OUR EIGHTH BINGO BASH will be held on Saturday, February 8
from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm in Fellowship Hall. As in the past, a
free will offering will be asked to help offset the cost of prizes and
food. Lunch will be served around 10:45 and we should be back to
playing by 11:20 or 11:30. This event is full of fun, fellowship, high
jinx and one event that you won’t want to miss. So mark your cal-
endar and save the date now. As usual, we will have a sign up sheet
out on the counter in the Gathering Room.
The Shepherd’s Singles:
SINGLE………. But Never Alone!
We will meet again In February at 11:15 on
Friday February 14th . We welcome all singles to join us and welcome any suggestions you
have about times, places or other activities. Look for more information in the February Staff.
Call Dorothy Buuck at 484-7204 or Doris Smith at 788-3442 for more information.
The Shroud Encounter
We will be sponsoring a presentation by internationally
acclaimed Shroud of Turin expert, Russ Breault, on Sunday,
March 22 of 2020 at three o’clock in the afternoon here at
Shepherd of the Hills.
Tickets are just $10.00 and are limited. We expect this
event to fill up quickly. If you want to attend, a sign-up sheet
is available in the secretary’s office during the week or you can call the office at
484-3461. If you are quite certain that you will want a ticket, we’d like to make
sure that you get one. Payment for tickets are not required to sign up. Please
watch for that deadline in a later newsletter.
SO PLEASE SIGN UP NOW BY CALLING CHRIS IN THE OFFICE AT 931-484-3461!!
12Lance and I want to thank everyone for the pray- Where to find: Page #
ers , calls and cards during his recovery from shoulder
Bible Studies 19
replacement surgery. Lance is doing really good and
Celebrations 8
he sees Dr.Barton on the 18th and we hope he can
CEB 18-19
lose the sling at that time. Again thank you all, we are
Church Calendar 10
blessed to belong to such a wonderful church family.
Growth/Greeters 11
Carol Holman
In Our Prayers 10
Thank you for your prayers for us this past week. Phil's surgery Kick Time 18 & 19
went well, and now it is a wait-and-see whether the operation corrected LWML 7
the hand problems. Please continue to pray for good results in his hand. Music Ministry 8
Linda's diagnostic test went well and will be treated with medication. Member News 7
Thank you so much to our church family for your love and care, New Year’s Resolutions 4 & 5
Phil and Linda Winterroth President’s Introduction 2
Property Crew 16
My thanks for all the prayers and caring concern of SOTH members
SAGE 12
during my bout with pneumonia. Although my energy level continues to
Santa OP 3
get better, I am thankful for the progress that has been made because of
Serving the Lord 14
your prayers to our compassionate, loving, and awesome God.
Sheepdogs 6
Bill Baessler
Shoes with Heart 9
Mega thanks to all my Church friends and acquaintances for the Shepherds Little Flock 17
thoughts, cards and especially the prayers during my recent illness. SOTH Picture Board 15
What a wonderful caring and loving congregation you are! Stephen Ministry 9
Tom Baldwin Stewardship 7 & 12
Thank You Notes 13
Praise to my God for a good report on my cardiac cath. Many thanks
Visiting Friends 6
for prayers offered by my church family. God is good!
Alice Hockenberry
A thank you note to Donald Guckenberger:
Earlier this year I answered the call from Council President Don Guckenberger to join a new
Kitchen Committee which was formed to make the kitchen run smoothly and more efficiently.
Though I was new to the church, Don was welcoming and organized and before the meeting end-
ed I had volunteered to steer this committee! Though concerned I couldn’t stand up to Don’s
expectations, after all this time I consider him and Marsha friends.
I will definitely miss his military style leadership and hope that he continues to be involved in
the many aspects of SOTH. During our expansion project Don not only was very involved but he
surrounded himself with a host of dedicated volunteers which worked so hard sharing their tal-
ents and in so doing saved the church untold $$$$$$! The list is too long to identify them all, I
sure wouldn’t want to leave someone out!
I didn’t want this opportunity to pass by without thanking Don and Marsha first of all for all
they have contributed to our church these past two years but also for their kindness and friend-
ship so freely given to me. While Don is leaving big shoes to fill, I look forward to working with our
new president, Nancy Burns.
Sincerely,
Lisa Liedberg
13January Altar Flowers Serving The Lord in
If you have a celebration or a loved one you
January
would like to remember, you can remember with
flowers and help bring beauty to our altar at the
same time. There is a flower sign up poster at the
. entrance to the Sanctuary.
Food City gives our church a special price.
Please see Kathie at the Food City Floral Dept. by
the Wednesday before your designated Sunday, to order and
Date Team # Members
pay for the flowers. Delivery to the church is included for
free. *To get tax exempt you need to stop by church for a card. 1/05 & 2 Janeth Moerdyk, Susie Pow-
If you wish to share your flowers, please contact Catherine 1/12 ers, Barb Kleimola
Peterson or Sue Cox with Visiting Friends. When you sign up for
flowers please indicate if you plan to take them yourself. If you
do not indicate on the flower chart, by writing T (take) after your 1/19 & 3 Ingeli Matthews, Janet Fra-
name the Visiting Friends group will take them to shut-ins. 1/26 zier, Salli Lemke
Thank you.
Barb Kleimola, Altar Guild Chairman
1/05 John & Mary Beck
1/12 Bill & Debe Hinterman
Early Service Late Service
1/19
1/05 Earl Thomas Tom Walters
1/26
1/12 Jim Hardy Jody Bauer
1/19 Kevin Troyano Flo Dobbs
1/26 John Wedlund Bill HInterman
1/05 Fred Mundt
Duty Elders 1/12 Keith Moerdyk
1/19 Bob Moosekian
1/26 Craig Jannusch
Communion Assistants :
Team # 2
1/05 Early Bob Moosekian
Late Terry Woodley Early Service Late Service
John Wedlund Keith Moerdyk
Karan Wedlund Janeth Moerdyk
Janet Simko Denise Jordan
Ed Leese Jack Frazier
Sharon Leese Tom Taylor
Board of Stewardship Bulletin Benders
Sunday Fold Date Team
Worship Attendance Weekly YTD Offerings
1/05 1/03 Lloyd & Leora Miller,
11/24 249 $ 9,655.42 $ 433,011.59 Elinor Penney
12/01 189 $ 13,039.00 $ 446,050.59 1/12 1/10 Carolyn & Beth Gigg, Dana Burger
12/08 228 $ 10,112.00 $ 456,162.59 1/19 1/17 Linda Swanson, Dana Burger
12/15 234 $ 8,238.79 $ 464,401.38 1/26 1/24 Kristin Knight, Linda Schumacher
12/22 232 $ 5,010.09 $ 469,411.47
14SOTH’s Picture Board
Santa “Christ” mas
Photo OP!
It takes a village to
make such an event
successful.
AND it was!
See full story on page 3.
“SHOES
With
Shoe Drive
See page 7 for
details!
A Thrivent Action
Team hosted a suc-
cessful activity provid-
ing a Christmas party
for the SLF daycare
kids. All the children
received a stocking
filled with goodies and
a gift. Pictured in no
particular order: Diane
Torgerson, Linda Long,
Ingeli Matthews, Mary
Beck, June Leclair, John
& Bonnie Bailey, Angie
Long, Sabrina Gunder-
son and Kathy Partain.
15Property Crew “Old people doing young people’s work.”
John Wedlund, Chairman
Wow! What a turn out. We had at least 45 people working in the SOTH
buildings on our December 14th “Clean up day”.
The rental storage pod was emptied.
Stuff was moved to different areas in the Fellowship Hall and church.
A large amount of things on the main floor of the Fellowship Hall were
relocated so the entire floor could be swept and vacuumed.
A crew of people set out to clean everything in the Fellowship Hall kitch-
en.
Some of the volunteers cleaned many things in the Gathering room,
church and admin building. Others were busy decorating the sanctuary
for Christmas.
Two truck loads of cardboard boxes and other materials were hauled to
a recycle area. The Guckenberger’s daughter Debbie and son Don came
to help, as did Pastor and Monique’s 3 sons.
Lots of work was done followed by a pizza lunch. God bless all that
came to serve our outstanding church, it’s ministries, and our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Making the Fellowship Hall shine!
The finishing touches getting ready for dedication. A huge thank you to all
of our members who shared their talents so unselfishly.
WE are truly blessed here at SOTH.
16Shepherd’s Little Flock ECM Board, John Beck
Sabrina Gunderson, Director
What’s Happened – This year was full of changes, some great and some not so great. We have
grown in classrooms, students and staff. It is wonderful to fill a community need with opening an
infant room. Finding loving and wonderful teachers has had its challenges. We have persevered
through it and are now back on track. We had some staff leave but also had some return.
We collaborated with Heavenly Host to have an all-day fall teacher’s conference. It went very
well and we have decided to do another one in the fall of 2020.
This fall Victoria Williamson, new board member for ECM, applied for and received a VEC grant
to help with the purchase of outside equipment. We are hoping to purchase more bikes.
What’s Happening – We have 9 or 10 of our staff returning to college, with 2 just starting out
for the CDA. Most of us are returning to get more training hours. The state has increased our con-
tinuing educational training hours. With the fall teacher’s conference and the college classes, we
should all meet the yearly state training requirements.
Tennessee is offering an employee wage grant that provides a “state bonus” for those staff
members who have 6 or more credit hours in Early Childhood and who remain employed with a
childcare center longer than 6 months. Four of our current staff have applied and should receive
their bonus this month.
Focus on the Flock – Celebrating a birthday this month:
We Wish Happy Birthday and God’s Blessings to:
Aryonna who will be 2 on the 5th
Ava who will be 5 on the 21st
Peyton who will be 2 on the 26th
Creative Curriculum –
Our religion curriculum focus: Wiseman and Baptism
The letter for the month is: Ww,Bb
Our themes will be: Children around the World and Winter
Our monthly Bible verse is: Mark 16:16 Believe and Be Baptized
Remember – We will be closed on Tuesday, January 1st, in observance of the New Year.
Thank You – To the congregation for all the support that we received this past year. We are all so
fortunate to minister to the little children.
With the Love of Jesus,
Shepherd’s Little Flock Staff
17The Board of Christian Education Bill Baessler, Chairman
As God’s people, sharing the Gospel of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, is our most important task.
SMALL GROUP MINISTRY TASK FORCE update: We are seeking a few more FACILITATORS,
especially in the Fairfield Glade area. All that is needed are people (couples, single individu-
als – men or women) willing to open their homes and provide the first meeting space for 6 to
10 people for the three or four weeks from the end-January to the beginning of Lent at the
end of February (tentative time frame). Each group would then have the option of continuing to meet be-
yond that time frame if they so desire. They would then set up their own meeting time schedule (for exam-
ple: weekly, twice a month, once a month), place, and materials based on the needs/wishes of the group.
However, to begin this ministry the first three to four weeks would be following Bible studies written
by Pastor Abraham with the title: “Engaging the Mystery of the God-Man, Jesus”. The Bible studies are
complete with Scripture references, background information, discussion questions, and devotions. Each
group could then decide on a study leader as well as where and when they would meet for the ongoing ses-
sions. There are more lessons in this series if the group would like to continue exploring the lessons written
by Pastor Abraham
Since most of our members live in Fairfield Glade or in Crossville, these two areas are where we
need the most facilitators, with one or two more in outlier areas (Monterey?). Signup sheets have been
placed in the Gathering Place for those interested in being a facilitator. Thank you to the following people
that have already signed up to be a facilitator: Jan Simko, Tom Walters, Terilynn Beyer, Dianne Corn, and
Lynn Duran. Training of facilitators will take place at 9 AM on January 11, 2020 in Classroom 1. Please
prayerfully consider this opportunity to serve our Lord and His family here at SOTH.
Thanks to Ingeli Matthews, Dianne Corn and her team, we currently have all SOTH members listed by zip
code. The plan is to keep this list current and new members will be added as they join our church.
Shepherd’s Little Flock: (ECM Board - John Beck, Team Leader)
Crossville has a great need for childcare. We have been blessed to be able to expand Shepherd’s Little
Flock. We praise God for allowing us to serve the families of our community with His love and care. Please
see Team Leader John Beck’s report elsewhere in this newsletter for additional information.
K.I.C.K. Time (Sunday morning children’s ministry): (Jan Baessler, Team Leader)
K.I.C.K. Time (Sunday School) now meets after the 2nd worship service in Classroom 1 at the same time
as the Youth Ministry meets. This year’s theme is: God Fulfills His Promises through Jesus.
Classes in January will focus on the parables and miracles of Jesus: January 5 – Parables: The Prodigal
Son, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Sheep; January 12 – Parable: The Talents; January 19 – Parable: The Good
Samaritan; January 26 – Miracle: Jesus Calms the Storm.
We continue to use a variety of presentation types: PowerPoint, historian, and videos to keep the chil-
dren engaged in the lesson. Each lesson includes a craft project, as well as a discussion sheet to be used by
the parents to reinforce at home the objectives of the lesson.
Youth: (Michelle Pleinis, Team Leader)
The Youth continue their Bible Study based on the worship services lectionary readings. They continue
to plan activities for the rest of current year. One of the exciting events happening in the summer of 2020 is
18The Board of Christian Education continued:
YOUTH cont: a VBS ministry being planned by Cyndi Vickers as coordinator. Please watch for future up-
dates in the SOTH newsletter.
Confirmation: (Terry Woodley, Team Leader)
The Confirmation students are currently studying The Lord’s Prayer section of the cate-
chism. The young people are discussing and learning the meaning of each petition as it pertains
to them. Please pray for our confirmation youth: Silas Vickers, Gabe Abraham, and Andrew
Abraham (the younger).
SOTH BIBLE STUDIES AND ONLINE RESOURCES
Weekly Bible Studies
Neff Bible Study - This bible study is held every Friday from 1-3pm in Classroom #1. It was started by Bob Neff (China mission-
ary) many years ago and he has handed over the reins to Craig Jannusch to continue the tradition. They are currently studying
the smaller books of the bible. Please check the weekly Newsletter bulletin insert for any changes in the schedule. Contact
Craig Jannusch for more information at 931-707-5079.
Sunday Bible Study - This bible study occurs on Sundays between services (9:15-10:10am) and is led by Pastor Andrew. We are
currently studying Luther's Small Catechism. This is a great time to meet new people, learn a thing or two from Pastor Andrew,
and enjoy any number of side topics that pop up during the bible study hour!
Other Bible Studies
Fairfield Glade Bible Study - This bible study is held in Fairfield Glade on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month at 7pm. Please
check the weekly Newsletter bulletin insert for location and schedule changes. Fred Mundt and Craig Jannusch take turns lead-
ing the bible study using a Concordia Study Guide. They will be studying Jeremiah and Lamentations. Contact Craig Jannusch
for more information at 931-707-5079.
Deborah Circle - They will resume in January. This women's bible study group has been going strong of over 20 years! It was
created for women who are unable to attend daytime bible studies (for any number of reasons). The group decides on a bible
study and purchases their own books and is self-guided. The bible study is held at the church in Classroom 1 on the 3rd Tues-
day of the month at 5:30pm. They are currently focusing on “Women of the Bible”. Contact Mary Beck for more information
at 931-261-2808.
Online Resources
Sunday School Lessons – These include Study and Leader Guides in each downloadable file. They are great for a self-guided bible
study. Be careful if you print out a file, because they have upwards of 100 pages.
They can be downloaded at: http://tinyurl.com/sothssfolder
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) - www.lcms.org
Bible Studies and Devotions - www.lcms.org/worship/bible-studies Description: This is our Synod's website with down-
loadable bible studies and devotions.
Lutheran Hour Ministries - www.lhm.org
The Lutheran Hour - www.lutheranhour.org Description: This website provides online devotions, daily devotions and The
Lutheran Hour Radio Broadcast. An app is available for your phone so you can easily listen/read devotions/bible studies on the
go! Lutheran Women in Mission (LWML) - www.lwml.org
Bible Studies - www.lwml.org/bible-studies Mustard Seed Devotions - www.lwml.org/mustard-seed-devotions
Description: This website is tailored to women and provides access to multiple bible studies and devotions.
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod - www.wels.net Devotions - wels.net/serving-you/devotions Description: This
website has devotions and bible studies as well as an app for your phone so you can listen/read daily devotions on the go.
Bible Gateway – www.biblegateway.com Description: This website is a great resource for Bible passage lookups, Bible studies,
Verses of the Day and more.
Shepherd of the Hills Online Sermons - shepherdofthehills.buzzsprout.com
19We are Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church,
Missouri Synod
1461 Sparta Hwy
Crossville, TN 38572.
Phone: 931-484-3461
Fax: 931-707-0042
Email: soth@sothmail.org
Pray Requests: prayers@sothmail.org
Web Page: http://shepherdcrossville.org/
Online SOTH Sermons:
http://shepherdofthehills.buzzsprout.com/
Sunday Worship Services
8:00 AM and 10:30 AM
Adult Bible Study
9:15-10:15 AM
Kids in Christ’s Kingdom
Children’s KICK Time Sunday School
After the 2nd service
Pastor Andrew’s Sunday Bible Study
LUTHER’S SMALL CATECHISM
with Explanation
9:15 –10:15 AM
20You can also read
