What kind of heritage does a displaced people in a foreign land have? We think back to the founding of Silverhill in 1896 and people of Swedish background. At the time of the founding of Silverhill, one Swede in five did not live in Sweden. Times were bad in the homeland. We know that many came to this country, but there were other countries to which the émigrés traveled. What is your heritage when you are not at home, you are not
where you grew up, when you are a displaced person?
We can direct our thinking back about 3300 years ago. The people of Israel had been released from bondage in Egypt by God's intervention. But after leaving Egypt, they had rejected God's direction and ended up in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Let's think about getting out of that wilderness. Deuteronomy, the last of Moses' books, reminds the people of God's great mercy. Yes, mercy! Mercy in the wilderness! Moses directs the people to think about their heritage.
He tells them that God's generosity is not just theirs, but He has provided a heritage to all people. That heritage is not dependent on place. It is interesting that not all English translations pick up on God's activity for the nations. Here's what it says in the good old King James Version (Deuteronomy 4:19): “And [watch out] lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” The KJV recognized that God is the Giver and the Divider of things among men.
The New King James Version renders things slightly differently. “And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.” God again is the Giver, but Moses reminds the people that sometimes people lose sight of the Giver for the gift, particularly those things that have been given to all people, that heritage.
Heritage is the gift of the Creator to all people, things like the sun, the moon, the stars--all the things of God's creation. We think of the community in which Zion Lutheran Church is
planted. But the community and the gifts of life, whether here in Silverhill or anywhere else, are God's gifts. You and I may think that we have worked or earned what we have, but the Bible is clear that what we have comes from our Heavenly Father, not from the works of our hands.
Heritage Day in Silverhill is being celebrated with a community event on September 17. Zion Lutheran Church has been supporting Heritage Day from the beginning back in 1982, sometimes quite actively. We try to remember our roots and celebrate our roots, but maybe we have lost site of our real heritage, God Himself. We have a good God that wants to save us, that sent His only Son that we might be His heritage. When we look at who we are without Christ and then look at who we are with Him, are we not amazed just like the prophet Micah? “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.” (Micah 7:18)
Our heritage is a merciful Heavenly Father. Make an effort to support Heritage Day. Come and celebrate what God has really done. Have a brat in the park, a meatball at Silverhill Covenant, and a "Mini-Taste of Sweden" at Zion as we open our museum to its first Heritage Day (our opening last year was blown away by mean old Ivan), a museum that proclaims God's faithfulness to His people.
~Pastor Dave
Silverhill Heritage Day
Saturday, September 17th
Zion Lutheran Church and Museum will be open for tours.
Various Skandanavian delicacies will be served in the Fellowship Hall as “a Taste of Sweden.” Donations will be accepted to help defray any costs.
Click on the Heritage Day pictures to go to a separate page of Zion Lutheran Church - Heritage Day Memories.
This year, during Heritage Day, Zion will open its doors to the community to our new Library/Museum. Thanks to Ernie and Henrietta Burnett for locating and displaying many artifacts dating back to the early days of “Swedish
Lutheran Zion Church”.
Click on the Museum pictures to go to a separate page for the Zion Lutheran Church Museum.
Zion Year Book Now Available
Our ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH HISTORY, 1905-2005:
FIRST HUNDRED YEARS--A YEAR BOOK,
has now been received and is available on the credenza in the narthex of the church. We did not subsidize its publishing with advertisement, so each book costs $12. Of course the Swedish blue cover with the yellow outline of the church on the cover, remind us of the Augustana roots of the congregation. Please pick up a copy or two and just give Zion a donation in the envelope provided for the yearbook. The supply is limited.
Johnson's Mark 3 Years
as Zion Turns 100
Zion’s Council President Pete Midgarden recognizes Pastor Dave and Cindy Johnson on the completion of their 3rd year of ministry in Silverhill.
Pastor Dave has spearheaded the compilation of Zion’s history (The First Hundred Years) into a 100-page yearbook.
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 8, 2005
The meeting was called to order by council president, Pete Midgarden. Members present included Milt Luoma, Charlie Canning, Ernest Burnett, Pete Midgarden, Linda Gibbs, Darlene Tasso, Vera Avera, and Pastor Dave. Pastor presented a devotion on Hebrews 5:12 in preparation of our upcoming mission workshop.
MINUTES. Linda presented the minutes for the June council meeting. There was no council meeting held in July. A correction as to the schedule of events for the centennial celebration was added to reflect that the schedule had been modified and updated in a subsequent letter. The minutes were approved with the noted correction.
Treasurer's Report. Darlene presented the treasurer's report for June and July. The treasurer's reports were accepted as presented.
Reports.
Maintenance.
Thrivent Report. Charlie reported that we will receive $500 in matching funds for our missions workshop. Approximately $700 has been raised. Monies received in excess of our expenses will be sent to the Indian School. Charlie will try to secure funds from Thrivent for our Centennial Celebration.
Museum Report. Ernie reported that the museum will be expanded to include the middle area between the sanctuary and the museum. The architectural plans for the parsonage and church were located and will be placed under plexi-glass for display in the museum.
Maintenance Report. The balcony area is in need of being cleaned out to make room for the centennial service. A place to store the Christmas tree was discussed.
Centennial Celebration Report. We have received three responses from the invitation letters that were mailed: The Swedish Council, Pastor St.Pierre and Pastor Jecklin. The schedule of events is set and was included in the letter of invitation.
Pastor's Report 050808
Website Report. In June and July we had 453 and 431 different website visitors making 594 and 534 visits averaging a little more than a minute a visit. 1931 and 1778 pages were visited respectively. Action Requested: None
Summer Missions Program Resceduled Again. Pastor Gerdeen is rescheduled for this weekend, August 13 and 14. Our "matching funds" promotions relate to program expenses and Ugandan and Indian missions. Right now, the Indian mission called St. Paul's Lutheran School appears to need a lot of help because or roof replacement and clean water needs; teacher salaries have been a longer term need. Jim will arrive late Friday afternoon and leave afternoon on Sunday.
Action Requested: Set spending priorities at this time?
Evangelism Grant for 2005. I made an AFLC inquiry in July re our grant status. Jim Rasmussen reported that Thrivent had not transferred funds to the AFLC yet. At this time there is still no word on when the dollars will come. We cannot really do any planning until we have funds in hand. I will advise Linda, our grant signatory, when we need to set up some school interface. I am assuming that we will deposit funds into our checking account when they arrive.
Action Requested: Do you want Linda to follow the grant guidelines in terms of dispersing funds with the Council being advised of expenditures?
One Hundred Year History. Our yearbook book arrived today. We still do not have exact costs itemized for us. Foley Public Library has requested two copies. Dalton Head has offered to sell them at his antique store and give us funds as they come in.
Action Requested: Do we want to take advantage of Dalton's offer? Council to determine how to recover costs of printing when our costs are known.
St. Paul's Lutheran School in India. We have gotten an initial response from Pastor Dasari for St. Paul's Public School in India. Our regular donation has sparked some activity. Pastor Ivars Krafts has asked Pastor Dasari to update the website information and Ivars has really done a nice job helping Luther (Dasari). Luther's e-mail to us was printed in the Messenger. There are specific needs for paying teachers, getting clean drinking water, and repairing school roofs. Our donations are doing much to help that little school.
Action Requested: None at this point..
Amplified Podium for Church/Large Group. We have an aging congregation and visitors who cannot hear in our church. People can generally be heard, but even some of our lesson readers have soft voices at times, which makes the hearing problems of some, even more difficult. As we come to our Centennial celebration we will be anticipating a full church and full fellowship hall. The more bodies present in a listening space, the more sound-absorption that takes place between speakers and the last row in church. The result is more hearing problems.
I think the time has come to address the amplification needs. Our wireless mic system serves a need when people choose to use the receiver system, but I think we need some additional help, pariticularly if we have a crowd.
I have researched some amplified podiums. A four-speaker, 30 watt floor lecturn suitable for our numbers of people runs several hundred dollars. Incorporating a wireless mic into that lecturn speaker system adds another one hundred or so. If the UHF mic shares the same band as our existing wireless system, our current mic can be amplified through the Williams Sound unit as well as that lecturn. Moreover, we would have a mic on the lecturn for readers (and for our "Luther" presentation on our Centennial celebration).
If we invested in a set of wheels, the lecturn could be rolled over to the Fellowship Hall when needed with not too much effort.
Long's Electronics have given us a quote for $528.55 for an amplified lecturn and UHF lapel mic, with delivery taking two weeks. Warranty is for one year and the manufacturer is one recognized in the US. There are competitors outside of Alabama with slightly different podiums (mainly the same manufacturer), but we don't need to amplify Silverhill (i.e., we don't need super watt systems), and competitors' prices don't appear to be any better than Long's.
Action Requested: Authorize use of Memorial Funds for amplified podium and wireless mic.
Men's 710. Attendance remains consistent at between 10 and 15, but was somewhat fewer after Hurricane Ivan when Dalton Head spoke. The speaker tomorrow morning will be Bob Higgins from Robertsdale relating to economic development in Baldwin. In September we will have a representative from the Social Security Administration to talk about the new drug benefit under Medicare and will open that meeting up to both men and women of our community.
Action Requested: None.
Swedish Inquiry. Richard Lindh from Sweden approached our church in July seeking information on the Hoff family which relocated in the 30s and in the 40s. He found information on them on our website and approached us through our website e-mail.
Action Requested: None.
Wedding of McKinnis-Wolf. Dana Wolf and Kenny McInnis were married on July 8, their wedding rehearsal date, because of Hurricane Ivan. To our knowlede, only the Ralph Utters showed up on Saturday for the scheduled marriage.
Action Requested: none.
Song Books. We have had an inquiry from a couple different sources re contemporary music. I have received a chorus/songbook from the AFLC and expect one from Concordia shortly. 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 two contemporary hymnals that we will have to evaluate this coming week?
Photos by Philippe Oszuscik, PhD, University of South Alabama. Ernie Burnett escorted Dr. Oszuscik through our historic church earlier this summer. Attempts to contact him re viewing our original blue prints have failed and we will not make further attempts.
Action Requested: None.
Centennial Celebration Letters. Over 30 letters of invitation have gone out to church and community leaders to send greetings or be recognized on the Saturday of our Centennial weekend. Ernie Burnett is collecting responses for our museum archives.
Action Requested: None.
Centennial Speaker. Pastor Pierre Burns has formally committed and will present our Centennial Saturday "Luther" drama during our afternoon worship service. As an aside, I have asked Pastor Lee if he has any "period vestments" suitable for his visit.
Action Requested: Start thinking of an honorarium.
Meals on Wheels. I submitted a formal plan to implement a Meals on Wheels program to the Mayor and Pastors Jesse and Jeff. The Mayor was going to put it into the discussion hopper, but nothing concrete has happened to this point. Mayor Green is suffering from a bad disk in his neck.
Action Requested: None.
Heritage Day. Mrs. Malcom Fosberg called on Thursday requesting information about our participation in Heritage Day, September 17. The Silverhill Heritage Planning Committee will be meeting in Little Hall on August 15, Monday, at 6:00.
Action Requested: What kind of participation do we want to do? Could we do Swedish sausage, hardtac, and raumagrut or something else in a Swedish tradition?
Passion Play. Michael Bowman wants to bring Passion Play Ministries Inrternational of New Mexico to Baldwin County. A meeting with churches is scheduled for the afternoon of August 23, 3:00-5:00. Involvement level undetermined.
Action Requested: None.
~Pastor Dave
Old Business.
Honorarium. The council discussed paying an honorarium to Pastor Gerdeen for the missions workshop to be held the week-end of August 13-14. The council approved reimbursement for travel expenses and a $300 honorarium. The amount was based upon a full day presentation on Saturday, preaching on Sunday, and a concluding program on Sunday. We have budgeted $150 for a supply pastor.
New Business.
Silverhill Heritage Day. Zion will participate in the Heritage Day Event with a tour of the church and museum. Various Skandanavian delicacies will be served in small portions as refreshments to offer the public "a taste of Sweden." Donations will be accepted to help defray any costs. A clean-up day for the church will be held on Saturday, September 10th in preparation for Heritage day and our Centennial Celebration.
Public Address System. TThe need for amplification during our Sunday morning worship service and for events held in our parish hall were discussed. Compatibility with our current sound system was a major concern. The back speakers in the church are not turned on currently. Pete will re-connect and check out the system on Sunday. If it is determined that additional amplification is needed, a special meeting will be held by the council to make a decision.
Music. Pastor brought up the idea of adding praise and worship songs to our worship service to encourage more singing and participation. Purchasing song books was discussed as well as paying copyrights for songs we may choose. The council decided to poll the congregation on their favorite hymns that are in our current hymnal that could be incorporated into the worship service.
Maintenance. A suggestion for some kind of hanging rack to hold mops and brooms in the utility closet in the parish hall was discussed. Pete said they would come up with some kind of hanger.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned with The Lord's Prayer.
Respectfully submitted by
Linda Gibbs, Council Secretary
The Crucifixion
Jesus called out
with a loud voice,
“Father,
into your hands
I commit my spirit.”
When he had said this,
he breathed his last.
~ Luke 23:46
