Newsletter

BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY

Lenten Supper and Worship

The theme for the Lenten Wednesday night worship and soup and sandwich suppers will be "Bread for the Journey.” The new format will be that the meal and worship will be held together in the fellowship halls of Zion and Our Saviour.

· The starting time will be 6:00 p.m.

The first one will be held at Our Saviour, Princeton, on March 4th. Be prepared for a new experience! The rest of the schedule can be found on the newsletter calendar.

New Orleans

A group from Zion will be returning to New Orleans to help rebuild the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. They will leave on March 28th and return April 4th. They have invited members of other churches to join them. Your prayers and of course, contributions to this worthy cause are welcome.

The people that went last year enjoyed it so much that they can hardly wait to return. Gods blessing on all who are willing to spread God’s word through this journey.

Prayer for the Church

‘FRESHENING UP YOUR PRAYERS’

Spiritually sharpen your prayers by using your five spiritual senses when communing with our Lord in prayer or when reading His Word.

TASTE: Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

SEE: Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

HEAR: Mark 4:9 Then Jesus said, “ He who has ears to hear, let him hear. “

SMELL: 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

TOUCH: Act 17:27 Men should seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.

Lessons For March  (To Print click link below lessons for print window)

March 1

Genesis 9: 8-17,
1 Peter 3: 18-22

Mark 1: 9-15

      One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4

March 8

Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16,

Romans 4:13-25,

Mark 8:31-38

March 15

Exodus 20: 1-17 ,
1 Corinthians1:18-25,

John 2:13-22

March 22 & March 29

March 22
Numbers 21: 4-9,

Ephesians 2:1-10,

John 3: 14-21

March 29

Jeremiah 31: 31-34,

Hebrews 5:5-10,

John 12: 20-33

Show a print version

How Can I Help?

Bread For the World

Often, we would like to be able to help in a crisis, but have no idea how. From time to time we will make information available to help you to help other locally, domestically and internationally.

This month we are featuring the hunger and poverty organization, Bread For the World.

Hunger 2008:
Working Harder for Working Families

A scarcity of food is rarely the cause of hunger. There is more than enough food to feed everyone in the United States. The supermarket store shelves are stocked to the ceiling. But none of this matters if families have no money in their pockets. Poverty spoils every meal.

The lone homeless person may be the most conspicuous image of poverty in the national media. Less conspicuous, but a much larger group, are the families who cycle in and out of poverty. Families most at risk are those that are just a little better off than poor, surviving on low-wage jobs until suddenly they lose their financial footing because the main wage earner's job has been eliminated or one of the family members has a medical emergency.

Liberals and conservatives agree, no hard working family should have to raise their children in poverty—and yet the sad truth is that many are. Two-thirds of all children growing up in poverty in the United States have one or more working parents, and one-third have a parent working full-time, year round.

Three decades ago, a low-wage job was enough to lift a family of three out of poverty; today, it scarcely comes close to getting them to the poverty line, and without food assistance and other government support a family struggling to get by in the low-wage economy would be on the absolute edge of desperation. Working Harder for Working Families focuses on families struggling to get by on these kinds of jobs, living in or on the edge of poverty. It recommends policies to support low-wage workers and help them and their families build assets. http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-reports/

Hunger 2009
Global Development: Charting a New Course

As the first decade of the 21st century winds down, the world is facing a hunger challenge unlike anything it has seen in the past 50 years. A steep rise in food and fuel prices has already undone some of the progress achieved in recent decades, and now a global financial crisis threatens to do worse damage still. It has been more than a decade since prices were increasing as quickly as they are now. Unlike earlier spikes in global food prices, today’s higher prices are expected to remain for up to a decade, perhaps longer.

Hunger Report 2009. Global Development: Charting a New Course The challenges to development are real, but they are not insurmountable. Ample proof exists that large gains have and can be made. Triumph depends on the commitment of developing countries, a commitment that must include promoting good governance and building strong institutions, establishing peace and stability, and preserving and respecting environmental resources. To make development work on a grand scale, the kind of scale envisioned in the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, developed countries also have to do their part, providing much-needed assistance and ensuring that other policies they put in place do not harm development. This partnership between the developed and developing worlds is the key to achieving the MDGs. It will take a stepped-up effort on the part of everyone. Continuing with “business as usual” will mean that hope of achieving the MDGs will fade out of sight.

Taken together, the MDGs represent a comprehensive vision of human development—one marked by dignity, equality, and opportunity for all. The MDGs include reducing poverty and hunger, increasing school enrollment, empowering women and girls, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, halting and then reversing the spread of deadly diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Global Development: Charting a New Course analyzes the inefficiencies in the current structure of U.S. foreign assistance and maps out a series of reforms to elevate development as a foreign policy priority.http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-reports/

How Can I Help?

Educate yourself and other about the causes of hunger and poverty and join in taking steps to help the church and our nation become more effective in alleviating this tragic reality.

At the end of Lent, we will be participating in BFTW's "Offering of Letters." We will also be taking a special offering from Pastor Karen's Lenten challenge. You can find out more here:http: www.offeringofletters.org/

Pastor’s Ponderings

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Everyday or at least almost everyday, we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” As we learned from Martin Luther in The Small Catechism, this line refers to our everyday needs...needs of all people, Christian and non Christian alike. God knows we need all these things without asking, but it is important to recognize that He is the source of all we need to sustain us. But as important as bread is for our earthly lives, it is even more important for our spiritual lives. It was food that God gave the Israelites, manna for our journey to get them to the promised land. God gave his son as the True Bread, manna for the spiritual journey.

During the 40 days of Lent, as we reflect on our walk with Jesus, it is a good time to ask ourselves if we are treating him with as much importance as we do food for our tummies. We never fail to eat each day, do we hunger to pray everyday? Do we seek spiritual nourishment in his word? Bread is needed for us to grow in body, the Holy Spirit is needed for us to grow in heart. Does our Spiritual armor need to be let out?

If you answer “No” to any of the above, please come to Wednesday evening soup suppers/services to be fed. Both types of bread will be available! Pastor Karen

Classifieds

Next time you visit a box store etc., please pick up some paper supplies for the church. We are in need of paper towels and toilet paper. Thank you!

If you have anything to sell trade or give away, or any other kind of “classified” add, let us know.

263-5583 or

263-7955

Anniversaries and Birthdays

Birthdays

March 06—Paul Johns

March 09—Carolyn Frankland

March 14—Brenda Talley

March 21—Nancy Johns

March 31—Clara Seibert

Larry Hannuksela

Anniversaries

March 06 - Bob and Penny Tanquary

2009 ZION COUNCIL MEMBERS/
COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES

OFFICERS:

President: Paul Johns 262-4748

Vice-President: Rob Utecht 262-5721

Secretary: Trish Smith 262-8305

Treasurer: Sue Hannuksela 263-3097

Financial Secretary: Bob Tanquary 262-4578

COMMITTEES:

FINANCE: Sue Hannuksela 263-3097

LEARNING: Amy Ireland 299-2040

MEMORIAL: Susan Harrison 262-4886

PROPERTY: Paul Johns 262-4748

SOCIAL MINISTRY: Rob Utecht 262-5721

FUTURE OF ZION: Pastor Karen 263-7955

WORSHIP & MUSIC: Carolyn Highhouse 263-4201

CHURCH COUNCIL WILL MEET ON THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH FOLLOWING WORSHIP

Please keep these people in your daily prayers:

Melvin, ImaJean, Doris Anne, Carl, Joan, Jim, Dorie, Mary, Jeanne, Byron, Raydell, Lucille, Mary, Pat, Margaret M., Kathy, Joan B. Clara, Elora, and the men and women in the military.

If you have names you would like to add to this list, please give them to Barb or put the names on the desk in the office.

BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY

Hunger 2009Global Development: Charting a New Course

Pastor’s Ponderings

Classifieds

Anniversaries and Birthdays

Hunger 2009
Global Development: Charting a New Course