FLC Mid Week Announcements

Worship Times:

Wednesday: 6:15pm - Starts this Wednesday, August 27th

Saturday: 5pm

Sunday: 8:15am & 10:15am

All Worship Services are Live Streamed on Facebook Live.

https://www.facebook.com/

FLCBlair/

Office Hours

Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-4:30pm

Fridays: 8:30am-3:00pm

Phone Number

402-426-4073

LIFE Night Starts this Wednesday,

August 27th!!!

Please join us for Food, Worship,

Classes, and Fellowship!!!

LIFE Night Kickoff!

Please join us as we celebrate FLC’s new year of

worship, fellowship, and education

opportunities!!

Wednesday, August 27th

· Nacho Bar @ 5:30pm

· Worship Lab @ 6:15pm

Including a “new year blessing” and

presentation of Confirmation Bibles to 6th graders

· LIFE Night & Confirmation classes @ 6:45pm

· Adult Fship @ 6:45pm

(Enjoy some ice cream and adult chat-time in the Fship Hall!)

Come join us for food, fun, and fellowship to kickoff our new year at FLC! 

And invite a friend, while you’re at it! 

Financial Update

Dear Members of First Lutheran Church,

As summer comes to a close, I wanted to provide a brief update on how the church is doing financially.   

Through the end of July, FLC’s offering revenues are below budget $53,000. While our general fund balance remains adequate at $68,245, it will likely get depleted unless offering revenues return to budgeted levels. Our budgeted revenue for the remainder of the year is $272,000 (approximately $54,400 per month). We have been running $15,000-$20,000 below budget per month over the summer.  Expenses are below budget as FLC has spent $8,000 less than budget year-to-date. Thank you to our staff for continuing to find ways to save costs.

We are so grateful to all of our members for their continued support, whether that be financial support, volunteering at church events, teaching our young people or simply praying for the needs of our congregation. Summer can be a challenging time and we often see offerings decline with no Wednesday night services and families taking time off to enjoy summer activities. We have continued to provide so many wonderful events to support our community and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve those in need.

The recent storms in the Blair area have also strained our resources as we have worked to respond to the needs of our neighbors in this time. We are honored that the community knows that First Lutheran Church is a place to go in their time of need, and it is our constant desire to be found faithful when God calls us to such important work.

As school starts and we get back into our normal fall routines, we ask that you assess your financial situation and prayerfully consider increasing your financial contributions for the remainder of the year to help First Lutheran Church stay on track and meet it's financial obligations. A one-time donation or adjustment to your monthly giving would go a long way in helping us overcome our current year offering shortfall.

On behalf of the Church Council, thank you so much for your consideration of this request. We truly appreciate your support and thank you for being such an important part of the FLC community.

God's Blessing to All,

Jeanette Moeller, Treasurer

Women of First Lutheran

Every Tuesday morning from 8:30 to 12:00, women of First Lutheran are meeting for the Love Days. We meet in the Quilt Room, just left off of the elevator in the basement. We work on quilts that are given away to mission of the area and Lutheran World Relief. You are welcome to come anytime during the 8:30 to 12:00 time period! We tie quilts, pin and sew bindings! We make tops, middles, and backs for the quilts and cut squares of fabric for the blocks. Please come and join us on Tuesdays anytime during 8:30 to 12:00 to help make quilts available to distribute to others. You don't need to know how to sew to help in making the quilts.

Kits for Lutheran World Relief

We are in the process of putting together Health, School, and Baby Kits. You can make a donation for these kits by giving a check made out to Women of First Lutheran with kits in the memo line. Supplies will then be purchased to complete these kits which are sent to Lutheran World Relief in the fall. Some items you can purchase for the kits are: 24 box crayons, pencils, Bic pens, 70 page notebooks, 12 inch rulers, Ivory Soap, and hand towels. A tote to collect these items is in the basement by The Quilt Room door.

Pastor Glen's Office Hours

Pastor Glen will be keeping walk-in office hours on Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9am to 12 pm and on Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. and is available by appointment anytime Monday through Thursday.

Reminder: If you are hospitalized or having a medical procedure it is important that you contact Pastor Glen directly because the hospitals will not call the church. You can text or call Pastor Glen at 402-740-6395 or

e-mail him at pastorglen@firstlutheranblair.org. Also, if you need to get in to the church and it is locked you can also reach out to

Pastor Glen to let you in.

Church Office Closed

The church office will be closed Monday, September 1st for Labor Day!

Women of the ELCA - 2025 Biennial Convention and Gathering

The Women of the ELCA are holding their 2025 Biennial Convention and Gathering, September 26-28, 2025, a Carol Joy Holling Conference and Retreat Center. This year’s theme is “Wrapped in God’s Love”. Registration forms are located on the women’s table outside the Life Center. There is an Early bird discount of $25 if signed up by August 22. Deadline to sign up is September 10th. Hope to see you there for a wonderful weekend of faith and fellowship.

There will be basket in the Narthex for tangible items for the gathering. Please see list below:

Winter coats

Mittens

Gloves

Scarves

Stocking caps

Socks*

Shoes*

Boots *

Backpacks

*For children and teenagers

All items should be new or like new.

Choir News

Choir rehearsals have started up again on Tuesdays

at 6:30pm!

We are always looking for new members to join us!

The choir rehearsals are on Tuesdays at 6:30pm in the choir room (take the

elevator to the

second floor and turn left). Regular

attendance is encouraged but don't be discouraged if you can't make it each week. You are welcome to join as often

as you can. For more information and questions, contact Vince at VKrysl@firstlutheranblair.org

WE DESPERATELY NEED COOKIES/BARS

FOR SEPTEMBER! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!!

We are needing cookies for September!

Please help if you can!

The Mid Week Meal needs your help.

We serve 240 people EACH WEEK.  That's 20 dozen cookies/bars EACH WEEK.

Please sign up to provide a treat for these folks!! We are especially in need in September!

Signup here or call Erika

(402-533-0918):  https://signup.com/go/hfewWuF

Social Concerns Committee:

BackPack Program - August is the month for our annual support of the BackPack Program - members of First Lutheran have supported this initiative for many years. 1 in 5 children in the Food Bank’s for the Heartland’s 93-county service area is at-risk for hunger. The BackPack Program, a partnership with area schools (including Blair), offers packs of weekend breakfasts and lunches to children. Each week during the school year, 8,700 packs—equaling 34,800 meals—of easy-to-prepare or ready-to-eat nutritious food are distributed to children in 237 schools in 108 school districts in Nebraska and western Iowa.

Presently Woodhouse Auto Family is matching your gift – dollar for dollar up to $500k. The cost to sponsor one child for the academic year is $164 but any amount is welcome. You can make an online contribution by clicking Donate To the BackPack Program Today or you can send a check directly to The Food Bank for the Heartland, 10525 J Street Omaha, NE 68127. For more information visit www.foodbankheartland.org. Thank you FLC for your continued generosity of this program!

God’s Work; Our Hands - On September 6^th, FLC plans to participate in the ELCA’s annual, God’s Work; Our Hands, the church-wide day of service by beginning a long-term and ambitious project to recover the Potter’s Field in the Blair Cemetery. As the date approaches, information will be provided and we hope you will plan to participate in this exciting effort. There will be snacks and a meal that day for those who participate. We also invite you to consider ordering a special shirt to wear on that day, not only acknowledging “God’s Work; Our Hands,” but also First Lutheran Church. Short sleeve shirts are $13; long sleeve shirts are $19. Orders need to be placed by August 10th in order to have the shirts for the project day. There are order forms for shirts and a sign-up sheet for the day at the Welcome Center. This is an exciting project that is already generating community interest, and FLC is pleased to be providing this leadership.

Summer Garden Market Now Available to First Lutheran Members: With the Blessing of the Fruits held at services on the weekend of June 28th and 29th, the Summer Garden Market is officially open for business. Those attending services on Saturday evening and the two Sunday morning services will be able to pick up vegetables, fruits and baked goods prior to or after the service. These products will be grown or baked by First Lutheran gardeners or bakers. This market will be open throughout the summer and into the fall months. Members obtaining these products are asked to contribute a free-will donation which will go to Lutheran World Relief.  

Donated garden produce and baked goods can be brought in on Friday during the day or on Saturday afternoon after 4:00 p.m. prior to the 5:00 p.m. service. Produce can also be brought in prior to the 8:15 and 10:15 services on Sunday. The donated items can be placed on the garden cart in the narthex of the church. As any Farmer’s market, produce should be clean and neatly arranged.

Often gardeners find themselves with extra produce or baked goods. Why not bring these goods to the market at First Lutheran. By doing so, you will be providing worshippers an opportunity to obtain some very nutritious and wonderful food as well as support a very worthwhile cause. We will see you at the market!!  

New Christ in Our Homes are here

Christ in Our Homes-If you would like a Christ in Our Homes daily

devotional they are available at the Welcome Center in the Narthex and also on the usher table outside of the LIFE Center for July, August, & September. The Christ in Our Homes is a book that has a daily

devotional to read and pray. Please stop by and pick one up if you would like or if you need one delivered please call the

church office at (402) 426-4073. 

ATTENTION FLC MEMBERS!!

FLC is now using a new database called Realm. This database is used to organize our membership records. This system also tracks all our financial giving, enables us to do scheduling, and Realm collects all kinds of information to help us be a better church.

The really unique thing about Realm is that YOU, the congregation, can update, edit, and control all of your own data in the system. You can change your address, add an email preference, tell us where you'd like to be more involved at FLC, see your giving information, and so much more.

If you would like to do this from home please email Vince at vkrysl@firstlutheranblair.org to request a login.

We hope to have all our FLC members update their profiles and begin interacting on Realm by the end of 2025.

Women's Bible Study

“The Minor Prophets, spanning from Hosea to Malachi, represent a tapestry of prophetic literature in the Old Testament. These twelve books, collectively known as the “Book of the Twelve” in the Hebrew Bible, are united by their brevity compared to the “Major Prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel). They address the covenantal faithfulness of God and the repeated infidelity of His people. Each book offers unique insights into the character of God, His dealings with Israel, and His ultimate redemptive plan fulfilled in Christ.”

The Friday Morning Women’s Bible study are learning about the Minor Prophets. The guide for this study is “Journey with the Minor Prophets” by Mary Cooney. “Through observation, interpretation and application the goal is to engage your heart with the living Word of God. Not intended to provide you with all the answers, rather to help you discover for yourself a few of the riches that God has for us in His Word.”

Please join us in the church library on Friday mornings from 9:30-11:00 a.m. to learn more about the minor prophets and enjoy fellowship with one another. If you have any questions about this Bible study, contact Susie Pinquoch at spinquoch@gmail.com.

Do you participate in our online worship services?

If you watch our services on Facebook or other sites, please like the post or leave a comment each time. This will help us improve our accuracy in attendance numbers at First Lutheran.

Wednesday, August

27th, 2025

We will be serving Meat & Cheese Sandwiches, Chips, fruit, and dessert.

WE REMEMBER IN OUR PRAYERS

Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers