Spirit of Hope Weekly Newsletter

2605 S Signal Butte Rd

Mesa, AZ 85209

Services: 5:00 pm Saturday

9:30 am Sunday

August 9, 2023

Office Hours: Tuesday 10-12pm. Wednesday 9-12pm & Thursday 11-1:00pm

Monthly Calendar Click Here

Prayers –

We pray for those church members who are struggling with many health issues.

Pray for the health of: Daryl, Pastor Jim Eschenbacher, Frieda, Ruthie, Mike, Linda and Ken, Donna Miller, Lois.

Prayers for Joe, Matthew, Kevin Anderson, Connie, Leroy,

Lord, guide all who are struggling this week with loss and grief.

Prayers for Ardis Johnson's husband, Allan and family.

Help us be angels that shine the Light oi Christ upon them giving encouragement as they need. Amen

Memorial Service for Ardis Johnson is Saturday, August 12th in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota at 11 am central time (9:00 am Arizona time).

This service will be live at 11 am (CST) at the following website:

https://www.larsonfuneralpelicanrapids.com/obituaries/ardis-johnson

A memorial service will be held here in the fall.

Save the date!

Sunday August 27, 2023 immediately following the worship service

The Council began, over 2 years ago, to update our Constitution. As we were working on it, the Synod updated their recommendations, so we started over. Finally, it has been finished and we are happy to say “approved” by the synod.

We now need to have the congregation vote to ratify it. We have a copy of the old constitution from 2017 and a copy of the new one on the desk in the Narthex. We encourage you to take a look.

Also, the new one will be emailed to all voting members of the Congregation, so be on the lookout for it. Let us know if you are a voting member and do not receive one within the week. We will take a vote on Sunday Aug. 27, immediately following the Sunday service. In the meantime , if you have any questions please see Karen Torgersen, Barb Kearns , Diane Thompson., Pastor or myself.

Council Highlights

· Rosemary is very pleased with the number of Time and Talent surveys that have been returned. She is organizing them for the ministry team chairs.

· Pastor reported for the evangelism team They are considering including a 3-question survey to the welcome letters for new visitors. This should provide more feedback as to what attracted them to SOH

· The Constitution was approved by the synod. A vote by the Congregation will occur on August 27 immediately following the morning service.

· Barb Kearns reported for the facilities team. Leaks were repaired near the sidewalk.AC filters were changed. Backflow tests by the city were conducted. Termite inspection was completed. We passed the fire inspection. All is well.

· Diane reported for the worship team. New altar linens were purchased.

· Mary Beth reported a slightly higher increase in giving. We all breathed a sigh of relief. 😊 Thanks to everyone. The audit was completed as well.

· All agreed Sam Small is doing a great job with Stewardship. His reports and transparency is much appreciated.

· Phil reported that meetings will begin in October regarding the anniversary celebration in March.

· Letters were sent to parents of our youth announcing the Arizona DBacks Faith and Family Night Friday, August 25th @ 6:40pm and the back-to-school pizza party Friday, September 8th @ 6:30pm

Hi Friends!

My name is Debbie Zimmerman. I am your Prayer Partner at church.

You might have noticed a table with a row of candles near the sound booth. They are there for you to come and light a candle and I will pray with you for whatever is on your mind.

Sometimes we need that extra prayer to help get thru an issue, pray for thanking God for an answer, and maybe just pray for something that is on your heart. I am here for both services: Sunday at 9:30 am and Saturday at 5:00 pm service during communion or after church. You can let me know.

Your Sister in Jesus Christ

Debbie Zimmerman

Musical Bingo

August 24th

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Join us at church for Musical Bingo with music from the 1950's and 1960"s. Fun for all, men and women, with short Medicare Advantage presentation.

Presented by Pauline Hall

Licensed Sales Agent

Devoted Health Plan

Any questions, contact Debbie Kravec.

November 4th Craft Show

Craft Exhibitors and shoppers wanted for the November 4th Craft Show at Spirit of Hope Lutheran. Please spread the word, post on neighborhood message boards and tell your friends.

Applications and complete information to reserve your table can be picked up at church or downloaded from our website: www.spiritofhopelutheran.com You can click on the button below and print the application.

Click here for Application

In my previous article, I referenced the 2023 Stewardship Committee goal of achieving sufficient financing to support the Church budget. So how was the budget for 2023 prepared for your approval?

The budget was prepared as a zero-sum budget, meaning that the total sum of the operating expenses was projected to equal the total predicted income from tithes and offerings. Throughout 2022, the Church Treasurer monitored monthly expenses to determine if any trends could be decerned, such as inflationary impacts on costs for materials and services, aging infrastructure, personnel needs, etc.

Then an estimate of non-designated giving was determined based on the 2022 trends. In early fall, the Treasurer met with our Pastor and members of the Church Council to discuss where increases or decreases could be made in allocating funding for each budget category to meet the zero-sum criteria. The draft budget was then brought to the full Council for discussion and approval before being presented to the congregation for adoption at the annual meeting.

Developing a Church budget is always a very challenging endeavor; the efforts expended by those involved in formulating the 2023 budget are greatly appreciated.

Sam Small

TUESDAYS – 10:30am in the large classroom

Lead by Pastor Tony Scheer

Beginning a NEW BIBLE STUDY - THE TORAH

The TORAH is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws.

Please join us! Each week is a new adventure. We will begin with Genesis 1:1 this up and coming Tuesday and continue on each week from where we stopped the week before!