The day finally arrived; Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven. He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself. However, the gates are closed and Forrest approaches the Gatekeeper. St. Peter says, "Well, Forrest, it's certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast, and we've been administering an entrance examination for everyone. The test is short, but you have to pass it before you can get into Heaven"
Forrest responds, "It shor is good to be here, St. Peter, sir. But nobody ever tolt me about any entrance exam. Shor hope the test ain't too hard; life was a big enough test as it was."
St. Peter goes on, "Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.
First: What two days of the week begin with the letter T?
Second: How many seconds are there in a year?
Third: What is God's first name?"
Forrest leaves to think the questions over. He returns the next day and sees St. Peter who waves him up and says, "Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers."
Forrest says, "Well, the first one -- which two days in the week begin with the letter "T"? Shucks, that one's easy. That'd be Today and Tomorrow.
The Saint's eyes open wide and he exclaims, "Forrest, that's not what I was thinking, but you do have a point, and I guess I didn't specify, so I'll give you credit for that answer.
How about the next one?" asks St. Peter. "How many seconds in a year?"
"Now that one's harder," says Forrest, "but I thunk and thunk about that a nod I guess the only answer can be twelve."
Astounded, St. Peter says, "Twelve? Twelve!? Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?"
Forrest says "Shucks, there's gotta be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd... "
"Hold it, " interrupts St. Peter. "I see where you're going with this, and I see your point, though that wasn't quite what I had in mind. But I'll have to give you credit for that one, too.
Let's go on with the third and final question. Can you tell me God's first name"?
"Sure" Forrest replied, "its Andy."
"Andy?!" exclaimed an exasperated and frustrated St. Peter. "OK, I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?"
"Shucks, that was the easiest one of all," Forrest replied. "I learnt it from the song. . "ANDY WALKS WITH ME, ANDY TALKS WITH ME, ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN. . . "
St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates and said: "Run Forrest, run."
Hurricane Katrina Update
9Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up.
10Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong
to the family of believers.
~ Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina remains etched in the memories of all of us on the Gulf Coast. And for the victims who lost everything in the storm, efforts to rebuild are arduous.
Pastor Dittman received Hurricane Katrina funds from Zion for distribution to some of the families at Christ Lutheran Church in Pascagoula in the weeks before Christmas 2005. Shown at right are Pastor and Mrs. Robert Dittman.
In early September, Zion Lutheran Church spearheaded relief efforts specifically designed to assist families known to our congregation. With the continuing support of our members, other AFLC churches, and individuals throughout the country, we have been able to expand the distribution of funds to TWELVE families, TWO churches, and TWO charitable organizations. By the first week of December, we’ve distributed a total of almost $20,000.
Our continued prayers go out to the victims of Katrina, and the distribution of assistance will continue as needs require and funding continues.
Click here to read more about Hurricane Katrina Damage at Christ Lutheran Church.
Click here to read more about the Hurricane Katrina Ministry at Zion.
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 7, 2005
The meeting was called to order by President, Pete Midgarden. Members present included Pastor Dave, Milt Luoma, Ernie Burnett, Charlie Canning, Pete Midgarden, Darlene Tasso, Linda Gibbs and Vera Avera. Pastor Dave opened with a brief devotion on Colossians, “In that Christ himself possesses all the treasures within him.”
MINUTES. The minutes of the October meeting were presented by Darlene Tasso, acting secretary. The minutes were accepted as presented.
TREASURER'S REPORT. Darlene presented the treasurer's report for October. The report was accepted as presented.
Committee Reports.
Maintenance: Pete reported that work on the bell tower is now complete and that the roof was repaired from
Hurricane Rita.
Museum/Library Report: Ernie will work to compile the centennial celebration into one book.
Thrivent Report: The Thrivent Christmas Party will be December 3 at Camp Dixie. Charlie summarized the four
projects that were completed this year.
Pastor's Report 051107
Website Report. In October we had 476 different website visitors making 618 visits averaging two and a half minutes a visit. 1999 separate pages were visited. Google indexing was responsible for 228 visits, Yahoo for 39, and MSN for 14. Our latest activities page was viewed 89 times, our museum page 55 times, our photos page 46 times, our windows page 93 times, and our history page 45 times.
Action Requested: None
Evangelism Grant for 2005. Our grant has arrived. We will be following up on implementing the grant with the start of the next school semester.
Action Requested: None
One Hundred Year History. We have two left in the church and about a dozen put away.
Action Requested: How many do we want to keep on hand?
Centennial Liturgy and Events. We used an October “Augustana Centennial Liturgy” and a condensed version of October 30 with Pastor Lee. Elements of that liturgy were used on October 29 with Pastor Pierre Burns’ drama of Luther. These have been placed in our museum and will be used as promotional material until the supply is exhausted. Originals have been placed on our website along with an explanation of why we use a liturgy is Sunday worship. Attendance at our Centennial Weekend was about 60 people for each day.
Action Requested: None
Carl Stumer Memorial. Jackie has inquired about specific use of the memorial contributions.
Action Requested: Would someone from Council like to discuss some options with her?
Gulf Coast Revival Festival. The Billy Graham Association will be bringing the “Gulf Coast Festival” to Mobile in April. A church planning/involvement meeting was held on October 11--I did send an e-mail summary of the meeting. Virtually all events are scheduled in the evening, effectively precluding us from involvement.. Unless the Council has objections, Zion will be part of the referral network the Festival will refer new believers to; in addition, we will participate in Operation Andrew, which is a church-based outreach mechanism.
Action Requested: None.
Men's 710. The Gideon presentation at Men's 710 for October 11 presented the new Gideon's Memorial Bible Program to both men and women of our community. Attendance was average. We will have the Baldwin County archivist as guest tomorrow morning for Men’s 710.
Action Requested: None.
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.
Passion Play. Passion Play incorporation is happening and there is some indication that the venue is shifting to Foley. Pastor Dave Singleton at Foley United Methodist is helping coordinate things, so organization is proceeding a little better. There will be an ice cream social next Sunday in Foley, by invitation, to potential churches willing to team for a Passion Play.
Action Requested: None.
Hurricane Katrina Relief--Mid-Term Strategy. You will remember that we initiated a Mid-Term Relief program per the plan outlined by Linda. The Council has initiated income streams of $300 a month for six months to our five families identified and to St. Elm’s community ministry. I contacted other AFDC churches with our basic proposal, i.e., getting 100 takers to do $5 a week for six months to help us. No specific responses to the proposal, but dollars continue to come in.
Action Requested: Sufficient funds have come in to look at additional aid areas. What is the thinking of the Council for directing additional funds?
Hurricane Katrina Relief--Mid-Term Update. Emmaus Lutheran Church has sent its Hurricane Katrina Relief check to us after discussing which group to get it to for relief. In addition, it has asked whether I would bring an update to its congregation. After consultation with Council members, I have accepted the invitation. Cindi and I will be gone Saturday to Monday this coming weekend for this purpose.
Action Requested: None.
Christ Lutheran Church of Pascagoula and Mid-Term Katrina Needs. Pastor Dittman has reported that relief funds were received from Zion. In addition, the Girl Scout school supplies and Bibles were delivered to Pascagoula via Pastor Dittman. There may be more need there. The congregational president is Jerold Shepherd, 228 475-4575 (cell 228 623-3846).
Action Requested: Does someone from the Council want to investigate whether further funds should be directed there?
Pastors’ Conference. Pastor’s Conference is coming up in mid-January. I would like to attend again this year.
Action Requested: Council’s advice.
Missions Conference. We tentatively have Pastor Enderlein lined up for a late winter or early spring Missions Conference with an emphasis on India.
Action Requested: Shall we proceed with formal scheduling in late March or early April?
AFLC Annual Conference. Annual Conference will be in June in the state of Washington.
Action Requested: Do we have Council members who would like to go?
2006 Budget. We are just a month away from our last Council meeting of the year. What committee work needs to be completed before year end?
Action Requested: Assignment of specific tasks.
Advent Sunday Pre-Christmas Program and Midweek Advent Services. We will be planning for our first Sunday in Advent very soon. Christmas decorations will need to be set up for the community Christmas celebration--a chance to finish off that potato sausage! We will keep a Midweek Advent Service schedule in place of Midweek Bible Study.
Action Requested: Set church clean-up/decoration day. Set Advent Door Offering designation.
Snow-Bird Ministry. I think I want to do a once a week snow bird outreach. We can promote it by asking people to bring cookies or rolls to share and we will provide coffee and a Bible study. I don’t know what to call it, but we can start it easily enough without requiring any church volunteers for it. I’m thinking maybe a Thursday morning.
Action Requested: What is the thinking of the Council
~Pastor Dave
Old Business.
Parking Lot: Ernie met with a paving contractor on getting another bid for the parking lot. He has not returned Ernie’s calls as of yet. A motion was made and seconded to move $2,000 of insurance money proceeds for roof repairs to the parking lot fund. Motion carried.
Hurricane Relief: Funds have continued to be received for hurricane relief that can support additional needs. Linda reported on the Crosby family who has relocated to Loxley from Mississippi and could use our help. The motion was made and seconded that we allocate $1,300 now for household items and give them $300 per month for the next 5 months. Motion carried. Linda would get an assessment of their needs and coordinate getting the items to the family.
New Business.
Audit Committee: Pete will talk to some of our members about serving on the audit committee and performing the audit before our annual meeting in January.
Song Books: Pete reported that after speaking with congregational members, they felt there was no need to purchase other songbooks because there are enough “contemporary” songs in our hymnal to choose from.
Advent Services: Advent services will begin on November 30, with soup and sandwiches at 6:00 and Vespers at 7:00 p.m. Christmas in the Park will be December 2. The church will be decorated on Thursday for open house. “Hanging of the Greens” service on Sunday, December 4. A motion was made and seconded that the Advent Offering go into our general fund. Motion carried.
Snowbird Gathering. The motion was made and seconded that our church establish a midweek snowbird gathering for Bible study and fellowship beginning in November. Motion carried. Pastor will coordinate this.
Cedar Tree on Church grounds. The council discussed what to do about the cedar tree in relation to the parking lot paving project. It was agreed to table the issue until after Christmas, since the tree is decorated for Christmas.
Vision Project. The council was presented with the question of continued support of the project when our three year commitment is over. There was no action taken on the subject.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned with The Lord's Prayer.
Respectfully submitted by,
Linda Gibbs,
Council Secretary
The Birth of Jesus
. . . and the star
they had seen in the east
went ahead of them
until it stopped
over the place
where the child was.
~ Matthew 2:9b
