WHAT DO THESE STONES MEAN?

     There is a unique practice mentioned in the Old Testament, and it is called “memorialization”. In Joshua chapter four the Israelites were commanded by the Lord to gather twelve stones from the River Jordan, and to set them up for a special purpose. The coming generations will see them and ask, “What do these stones mean to you?” And this will provide an opportunity to tell of the great works of the Lord and to give Him glory.

     This is what I think of anniversary celebrations. There's a old church building standing in Silverhill, Alabama, and there are none still living who were part of planting this congregation one hundred years ago. What does it mean that there is a Lutheran congregation here in this place? The centennial celebration provides a wonderful opportunity to pass on to new generations the story of the faithful pioneers who settled in Baldwin County, who sacrificed to organize and build a church, and who experienced so many answers to their prayers.

     “What does this mean?” These words, too, will immediately resonate with all who received confirmation instruction, as they recall having memorized the questions and answers from the catechism. So an anniversary provides another opportunity, to remember those who labored among us (Hebrews 13:4), faithful pastors and teachers who walked according to the Word of God as they instructed past generations ... and to thank the Lord for them. It is also an opportunity to reflect on what we were taught and to recommit ourselves to this heritage of faith.

     What does an anniversary celebration mean? “One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts”. (Psalm 145:4).

     A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

     It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

     The pastor made himself at home but said nothing.  In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.  After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.  The host watched all this in quiet contemplation.  As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow, and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

     Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The Pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave.  He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more, with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

     As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

     We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

     The meeting was called to order by Charlie Canning. Members present included Milt Luoma, Charlie Canning, Ernest Burnett, Linda Gibbs, Darlene Tasso, Vera Avera, and Pastor Dave. Pete Midgarden arrived for the meeting later. Pastor presented a brief devotion on Ephesians 3:15.

     MINUTES. Copies of the August minutes were distributed to each council member for review. The minutes were accepted as presented.

     Treasurer's Report. Darlene presented the treasurer's report for August. The report was accepted as presented.

     Reports.

    Thrivent Report. Ernie reported that the Thrivent local chapter approved a dollar for dollar matching grant up to $800 for our centennial celebration. Thrivent approved matching funds for Hurricane Katrina relief in the amount of .50 for each dollar raised, up to a maximum amount of $1,000. $1,200 had already been received in the month of September.

     Museum Report. Ernie reported that plexi-glass was too expensive for the architectural plans, so they were laminated instead. They are now on display in the museum. He will be searching for more artifacts in the safety-deposit box.

     Maintenance Report. Charlie reported we had a successful turn-out for the clean-up day. 15 members participated. The church roof lost some shingles as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Pete is working on installing a floor system in the bell tower. Insurance funds from last year's Hurricane Ivan are being used to defray the costs.

     Centennial Celebration Report. We received correspondence from Commissioner Lipscomb that he is planning on attending our event. Governor Riley will be unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict.

Pastor's Report

     Website Report. In August we had 473 different website visitors making 588 visits averaging a minute and a half a visit. 1512 separate pages were visited for an average of 2.57 pages viewed per visit. Google indexing was responsible for over 200 visits, Yahoo for fifty or so, and MSN for 13. The AFLC website was responsible for 16 links. 164 different phrases brought people to our website with no clear pattern being apparent. Key words appeared to be "church" and "Lutheran." Our website was indexed 20,406 times in August.
Action Requested: None

     Summer Missions Program Resceduled Again. Pastor Gerdeen did complete the Missions Program on August 13 and 14 which had been originally scheduled early this year. Our "matching funds" generated over $600 for missions after expenses.
Action Requested: None

     Evangelism Grant for 2005. Jim Rasmussen has not reported receipt of any Thrivent funds by AFLC yet. There is no word on when the dollars will come.
Action Requested: None

     One Hundred Year History. Our yearbook book was received in August. Calculated costs are $12. There are about two dozen left. Do we want to make them generally available at our Open House Saturday? Dalton Head has offered to sell them at his antique store and give us funds as they come in.

I have drafted a letter under Pete's signature for complimentary copies to: The AFLC Bible School/Seminary Library, Silverhill First Baptist, Silverhill Covenant, City of Silverhill, Silverhill School, the Silverhill Library, St. Elmo Community Church, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Mobile. Do we have other places that a complimentary copy should be directed.
Action Requested: Do we offer copies at the Open House or do we want to take advantage of Dalton's offer? Are there other places with a historical relationship to us to donate a copy of our yearbook?

     Funds to St. Paul's Lutheran School in India. Transfer of funds to St. Paul's School may be delayed two months, depending on when funds are received in Minneapolis. The AFLC makes one money transfer per month, typically the first week of each month, to minimize processing costs.
Action Requested: Coordinate with AFLC schedule if we can.

     Amplified Podium for Church/Large Group. We have received our amplified podium. If we ever want to do a wireless mic through the unit, it is a do-able item.
Action Requested: None

     Men's 710. Attendance remains consistent but is definitely lower in the summer. Pam Matthews, a representative from the Social Security Administration, will speak tomorrow about the new drug benefit under Medicare and will open that meeting up to both men and women of our community.
Action Requested: None.

     Song Books. We have had an inquiry from a couple different sources re contemporary music. We have received three separate chorus/songbooks for evaluation. I am thinking that perhaps we could try a couple of contemporary songs in place of our present opening hymn for a couple months and ask the congregation at that time how it feels about trying to incorporate contemporary music into that particular slot in the liturgy.
Action Requested: Would a couple people on Council be willing to look at the three contemporary hymnals to evaluate them for POSSIBLE use at Zion at some point? This is NOT an urgent need.

     Meals on Wheels. There has been no action on a meals plan for Silverhill, but the issue may present again after the Katrina relief issues settle.
Action Requested: None.

     Heritage Day. Heritage Day is next Saturday. Our Swedish Potato Sausage will be ready on Friday morning. I couldn't pin Holly down on cost because the spices have not been purchased yet. We will need sample cups and forks. Do we need someone to chair and coordinate our preparations? Our tentative menu is rutabaga/potato, Swedish sausage, sweet stuff, and sweet tea or other drinks. The bus running through Silverhill will be stopping at our corner. We may be busier than we thought--Debbie advises that the Covenanters are not doing meatballs this year.
Action Requested: Authorize sausage costs of about $100 or less to be paid when we are billed in a week or so. Do we need to authorize any other purchases?

     Passion Play. Michael Bowman wants to bring Passion Play Ministries International of New Mexico to Baldwin County. I attended a meeting with several churches represented on August 23 and on August 30--a steering committee for this project is being developed. To this point I have helped them put together an initial letterhead and done some suggestions for recruiting a community board to oversee this ministry. I do not see us at Zion being particularly involved with this ministry, but I think we should foster work in getting it going, if the Lord so leads. Future involvement level undetermined.
Action Requested: None.

     Hurricane Katrina Relief--Short-Term. We have had a variety of inquiries how Sunday School classes and churches can help in this disaster. A number of churches are reluctant to work with national agencies, preferring to help with local groups close to the disaster. As you are aware, a couple churches are directing relief funds directly to us for distribution to specific hurricane-related needs. Others have gotten advice from me to support national disaster groups (e.g., World Relief, Salvation Army, Red Cross, etc.) after checking for local needs related to relocation of disaster victims to their respective states. I've also brought the blood shortage to people's attention with the thought that a blood drive may really help our shortage down here. We have offered to support Loxley Church of God in its initial role as a shelter, then as a distribution site, and now as a worker transit station to get volunteers to Mississippi. Churches have sent us over a $100 to this point and there is a promise of $2500 in the mail that is yet to be received. My sister's church in Lafayette is in the middle of relief work--I have referred several churches seeking direct-relief connections to dialog with that church, since what it is doing very transparent and visible in terms of accountability. We also have individual members of the congregation who are aware of specific needs of family or friends related to Katrina. I have no formal list of those needs.

     Hurricane Katrina Relief--Mid-Term. We have attempted to assess local needs. The pastor of St. Paul's in Mobile reported the church was intact and there were no congregational needs last week. I spoke with the Wisconsin Synod church in Mobile today--the new building under construction was flattened; two congregational families were flooded out of their homes--insurance assessment has not been completed. Catholic Social Service has not been taking any phone calls since Katrina, so we have no sense of needs in our ecumenical outreach area--I faxed an inquiry to them today. Silverhill Christian Academy has no problems other than electrical service. Silverhill School has two families with kids in school re Katrina, but the secretary was unaware of specific needs--she will check with the families. Foley Nursing Home reported that new residents brought the familiar problem of few socks--Darlene has purchased some socks already. Charlie Canning's brother is much nearer to the major damage area in Alabama and is aware of needs in Coden and Bayou LaBatre--I asked Charlie by e-mail to see if he could get more specifics. Father Savoi at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Fairhope will be chairing a meeting tomorrow at 10 to assess where the churches of Baldwin are in the relief work, since there are apparent problems with the communication systems of some agencies and groups providing service.

     Hurricane Katrina Relief--Long-Term. We are apparently about an hour away from major damaged areas. There has been some interest among farmers and other northerners of coming down after the crops are out or even later in the winter and helping with relief. Would we be open as a congregation in allowing a small group or two to work out of our facilities for a weekend or even a week or so this fall and winter? The idea would be to house them here and send them over to Mississippi for a work detail, depending on needs. Would we set up the Fellowship Hall as the place or ask congregates to house a fellow or two for this kind of short-term mission IF we decided to help in this kind of operation?
Action Requested: How do we collect a needs list and how do we decide on allocating dollars? How do we help this Wisconsin Synod church and two Lutheran families impacted by Katrina? How do we help the friends and family members of our own congregation that we become aware of? How should we help the churches and families of south Mobile County--do we channel funds through churches, do we ask Pastor Canning to determine needs and communicate through his brother Charlie Canning, do we work through a disaster organization, or do we do something else? Should we designate a portion of funds to Catholic Social Service which apparently is overwhelmed with business related to Katrina? Should we work with a group of churches if that is the result of this meeting at St. Lawrence Church tomorrow? Should we delegate funds to Loxley Church of God who have a direct pipeline into a damaged church in Pascagoula? Should we offer to help in the longer term--that is, do we work with the AFLC to develop a work project/short term mission for those who want to work in longer term relief and repair of buildings and infrastructure?

     Children and Sunday School. If Henrie is here tonight we will hear the good news that the Sunday School is already suffering growing pains. The age span is too large and Henrie is just one person. Both Sunday School rooms are now being used.
Action Requested: Do we allocate both Sunday School rooms for children and move the adults out to the fellowship hall? Do we do something else? Who do we approach to assist Henrie and what is our plan?

     Children and Children's Church. Dana approached me after services on Sunday and offered to do Children's Church. Essentially, the little kids would go next door to the Fellowship Hall during the hymn before the sermon and return at the end of the service. Real little kids have trouble sitting still--this would be a nursery experience in some sense, but a worship experience that would be age appropriate.
Action Requested: Do we want to take advantage of Dana's offer? Should this be handled in another way?

     Foley Nursing Home Ministry. Our experience at Foley Nursing Home continues to be less than optimum. Again there was a conflicting activity scheduled for our time slot on Sunday. Participants are unhappy. Maybe the Lord is leading us to a different nursing home or a different ministry.
Action Requested: Would someone from the Council or the congregation do an assessment of alternative potential nursing home ministry for us?

     Old Business.

     Foley Nursing Home Ministry. Our Foley Nursing Home Ministry was discussed. It appears that other activities at the nursing home are being scheduled at the same time as our service. This has happened several times leaving us to question if this is where we need to be. A motion was made and seconded to stop the monthly service at the Foley Nursing Home. Motion carried. Other nursing homes and assisted living homes in the area will be explored as a possible replacement.

     HERITAGE DAY. Zion will host "A Taste of Sweden" and have an open house for the Church and Museum on Saturday, September 17. Donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of the potato sausage.

     ---- A mop rack for the utility closet will be completed soon.

     New Business.

     Hurricane Katrina Relief. Approximately $4,000 has been collected thus far. A needs assessment for the best use of the funds will be made by Pastor and the council and a special meeting will be called to decide how the funds will be disbursed.

     With no further business, the meeting was adjourned with The Lord's Prayer.

     Respectfully submitted by

     Linda Gibbs, Council Secretary