Well hello members of Living Lord Lutheran Church!  Here I am again, your Council President.  I will be happy to stay on as President until you are sick of me!  Let me say how appreciative I am for your support last year with all the housekeeping items we took care of dealing with the leaving of the ELCA.  Believe it or not, we are still finding references to the ELCA in some of our documents and we will take care of those as the year goes on.  We will be working on a few funds to amend the requirements of the fund.  The first will be the Maggiano Scholarship Fund.  We would like to get back to awarding scholarships and we cannot do that as it is now written.  We have two Council members who volunteered to work on that Committee and we are looking for a Chairperson.  Our second fund is the Fuchs Fund.  We are looking at ways to use that fund to pay certain general fund expenditures which would free up that money for other areas of the general fund.  I realize that the Fuchs Fund seems to be a sacred cow here at Living Lord, but what we would be suggesting should not be too controversial.  We will keep you informed about both of these items.  The Property Committee is working on the projects they would like to see done this year going through the Fuchs Fund.  We will be getting estimates and making final decisions on which projects to proceed with as the weather changes going into spring.  These will then be presented to Council for approval and then to the Fuchs Fund for their approval.  Stay tuned.  Well, that’s the start for 2025 and as other things come up we will let you know.

Church Information…Please remember that you can obtain church information from the monthly Lamplighter Newsletter, the Constant Contact emails you receive, on the church website (www.lllc.org), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Living-Lord-Lutheran-Church-493806727349110/), and postings on the church bulletin board.  Church Council Meeting minutes are posted on the bulletin board and sent out via Constant Contact.  We would like to see a better “open rate” when we send information to you via Constant Contact so that we know you are being informed of the activities that are occurring at the church.  If you have any other suggestions on how best to reach out to our parishioners, please see a Council member.

Our congregation is being asked by the Evangelism/Membership Committee to collect in March all sizes of socks and all sizes and colors of T-shirts.  These are for the students in need at all Howland Local Schools through their Paw Pantry.  The Paw Pantry provides clothing, food, hygiene products, and school supplies for those students in need.  Teachers for all the schools in the district submit referral forms for items needed and requested.  We at Living Lord Lutheran Church will collect socks and T-shirts for students in need in grades K-12 in all colors and sizes to help fill the requests.  Let’s fill the collection basket in the narthex for the entire month of March.  Go Tigers!

Please join us every Wednesday night during Lent (starting March 12, ending April 9) at 5:00 pm for our Soup Supper meal followed by a lesson from Pastor Gammon.  This is a good Fellowship opportunity as we prepare for Easter week.  There will not be a Fellowship Sunday in March with our Wednesday gatherings.  April Fellowship falls on Easter Sunday (April 20) this year.  I am still working on that.  More info to come.  I don’t know about you, but I am ready for Spring and warm days!

We will be offering Easter Food Baskets.  The board with donation lists will be in the narthex.  The last day to bring in food donations is Sunday, April 6.  Food Basket pick-up will be on Palm Sunday, April 13, after the worship service.  If you wish to reserve a basket, please contact Pam Boothe.  Thank you in advance!  God bless.

Ah February!  A month of some of our coldest weather, but also the month of love as we celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Hearts, flowers, maybe even yummy chocolates, serve as symbols of affection and love.  We celebrate with each other with special cards, trinkets, and sometimes sharing a special meal.

As a Christian, I sometimes find it odd that the symbol of the greatest love of all is often left out.  The cross.  Can you think of a greater expression of love than Jesus allowing himself to be crucified for our sake?  And yet, the cross is rarely used as a symbol of love during the festive times of Valentine’s Day.

Is it because we realize that we could not love as much as Jesus did?  Is it because we feel inadequate in comparison?  Or do we fail to recognize the cross as a symbol of great love?  Afterall, it has probably never been explained to us as such.

We all have in our lives someone that we would willingly lay down our life for.  Some of us may have more than one.  Some of us would do so for our nation.  But for the whole world?  For people we do not even know?  That’s what Jesus did!  He died for all!  Surely that is love!

It is my prayer that we all come to recognize the cross as a symbol of true love.  A love so great that it includes everyone and everything.  And we, as Christians, following the command of our Lord Jesus, are to love one another as He loves us.  So, let’s pick up our crosses and love all those around us.  Let us too become a symbol of true love, Christian love!

May the Lord bless you and keep you under His divine protection now and always,
Pastor Gerry

Church Information…Please remember that you can obtain church information from the monthly Lamplighter Newsletter, the Constant Contact emails you receive, on the church website (www.lllc.org), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Living-Lord-Lutheran-Church-493806727349110/), and postings on the church bulletin board.  Church Council Meeting minutes are posted on the bulletin board and sent out via Constant Contact.  We would like to see a better “open rate” when we send information to you via Constant Contact so that we know you are being informed of the activities that are occurring at the church.  If you have any other suggestions on how best to reach out to our parishioners, please see a Council member.

As of January 31, 2025, my term of In-Reach Chairperson on Church Council will end.  My time served in this position for the past two years has been very fulfilling.  I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Committee members who served faithfully on the projects for our Homebound members:  Karen Bandy, Rose Baringer, Jean Pfleiderer, and Barb Wright for volunteering every time to help deliver gifts to our Homebound.  “Kudos” to the Prayer Chain gals who volunteered their time to pray for members and friends during all their health issues and/or with the passing of a loved one:  Camille Allen, Karen Bandy, Pam Boothe, Karin McKinney, Kitty Thompson, Rose Zavatsky, and myself.  We all know that there is power in prayer…and more is better!  We must leave it to God to answer our prayers.  Many of us are impatient thinking God doesn’t hear us and will not answer, but God always answers!  May God’s blessings guide you, surround you, and give you peace now and always.

By the time that you are reading this, our National Day of Thanksgiving will be over, and with it, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  In fact, it should be just a few days until Christmas Day!  And just a short time after that it will be New Year’s Day!

Many of us can recall the pitch slogan of businesses (especially fitness centers and diet clubs) “A new year, a new you”, as they promised miraculous transformations in your physique.  Well, I have to tell you as I look to the upcoming new year, I don’t want a new you.  No, although I am still learning names and faces, I love the you that you are right now!  That’s right, YOU!

In the short time that I have been with you, I have learned that you, yes you, are miraculous just the way you are.  This is what I have learned about you so far.  You are:

• Faithful – Not only are you faithful to your God, but you are also faithful to your church and one another. You just celebrated 60 years as a church!  You constantly act out of caring for one another, especially when one is in need.
• Courageous – You decided as a church that you were not being served as you thought you should be by the ELCA, so you made the brave decision to leave and move forward on your own path. It was not an easy decision, but you made it and are moving forward as a family of faith.
• Giving – You give to and support your church and each other. When something needs to be done, you do it!  You give to people you don’t even know when you find out that there is a need.
• Adventurous – You took a chance and signed up a fat old fellow with a goatee to be your pastor! Although we had several “practice” runs together, you reached out in faith and hired me. I will endeavor not to let you down, nor break the trust you have bestowed me with.  (Don’t panic…my contact is only for a year!  Lol)
• Passionate – You freely express your faith. You do so with your words and your deeds.  I have witnessed such great acts of faith and humanity in what you do for this church, each other, and those in our community.
• Joyful – It has been said that “Laughter is the best medicine”. If that’s true, there should never be anyone in our church that isn’t healed.  Together you enjoy God’s plan and blessings.  You deal with serious issues by poking fun at yourselves and others to relax and comfort one another, and I applaud you for it!

So, you see, I don’t want a new you.  I want the same loving, giving, faithful, adventurous, passionate, joyful YOU!  But I do wish you a blessed New Year.

Your servant leader,
Pastor Gerry

Wow—it’s January 2025—can you believe it?  Another year in the books and here we go.  Let’s hope all goes well for Living Lord Lutheran Church in this new year.  We have a busy month planned.  The budget will be worked on and completed.  We will be looking at the budget very carefully and could have some hard discussions about looking at new revenue sources.  All Committees will have their final reports ready for our Congregation Meeting.  We will be taking down the Christmas decorations as well (that part makes me sad).  We will be finishing up our nomination process and hopefully will have all positions filled.  We might be looking at different ways of filling some of those positions.  If anyone is interested in one of the open positions, please see me or any member of Council.  We will keep you updated.

Annual Congregation Meeting…Our Annual Congregation Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2025, at 10:30 am.  Please plan on attending.

Church Information…Please remember that you can obtain church information from the monthly Lamplighter Newsletter, the Constant Contact emails you receive, on the church website (www.lllc.org), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Living-Lord-Lutheran-Church-493806727349110/), and postings on the church bulletin board.  Church Council Meeting minutes are posted on the bulletin board and sent out via Constant Contact.  We would like to see a better “open rate” when we send information to you via Constant Contact so that we know you are being informed of the activities that are occurring at the church.  If you have any other suggestions on how best to reach out to our parishioners, please see a Council member.

Transportation Team…Do you have an appointment and your car won’t start?  Do you want to come to church but your car is in the shop?  You want to worship with your friends at Living Lord, but you have no way to get to church?  Well, we have some wonderful volunteers to drive you if you are unable to drive to your destination.  If you are in need of transportation, please call one of the following:  Darlene Altiere, Ernie and Pam Gerbetz, Neal and Joyce L’Amoureaux, or Karin McKinney.  You may call one of the volunteers listed and make arrangements with them for your needed trip.  Discuss thorough and precise plans and enjoy the service provided.  Thank your provider and God!