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OUR STEWARDSHIP OF HIS RESOURCES
District Mission Support Trends
2015 2016 2017
Total Budget
$900,000 $900,000 $900,000
Budgeted Income $300,000 $300,000
$300,000
through 04/30
Actual Income $287,249 $264,759 $253,733
through 04/30
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| SPIRIT OF SOUTHERN SUBMISSIONS  Remember that submissions for the May/June issue of SOS are due by May 15. The preferred means for receiving submissions is by email (sos@southernlcms.org). Please send photos as JPEG files, attached to the email. Congregational news that is received but exceeds space in the printed SOS will be published on the "Around the District" blog of our website. Thank you for sharing your news! (click on image for the current issue) |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
| July 7-10, 2017 |
SAVE THE DATE!!
Sr. Youth Retreat |
Blue Horizon Camp
Panama City Beach, FL |
| November 19-21, 2017 |
2017-2018 Annual Teachers' Conference |
Grace Lutheran Church and School, Huntsville, AL |
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Pastoral Leadership Institute
Pastor Eric Johnson, Mission and Ministry Facilitator at the Southern District, led this group of SD pastors and wives in a four day PLI workshop held at Open Arms Lutheran Church on May 8-12.
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| IN TRANSITION: CALLING CONGREGATIONS St. James - Gonzales, LA Grace - Huntsville, AL
Trinity - Monroe, LA
St. Paul's - Cullman, AL
Christ the King - Natchitoches, LA
If your congregation has extended a call, or had a call returned, please remember to notify the Southern District office.
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~ CALLED TO SERVE ~
Rev. Robert Lydick, Emeritus, Panama City Beach, FL to Redemption, Panama City Beach, FL ~ Accepted
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| ~MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES~ Celebrating the Ministry of Pastor and People Anniversary of Ordination 40th Year - Rev. Raymond Gage - Epiphany, Jackson, MS ~ 5/1977 15th Year - Rev. Raymond Angerman - Good Shepherd, Shalimar, FL ~ 4/2002 |
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"The Greatest of These Is Love"
On April 28-30, the ladies of the LWML LA-MS District gathered for a weekend of fellowship and spiritual renewal. The biennial retreat was held at Rosaryville Spirit Life Center in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
The retreat center was a beautiful location for attendees to meditate on God's Word. The weekend's theme was "The Greatest of These Is Love," based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13b. Pastoral Counselors, Rev. Bill Vogt and Rev. David Hartung, led us through in-depth Bible studies and devotional time, as well as a worship service. We were reminded to love even when it is not easy, when it may not be our first instinct, or when we do not think we have time. Start with prayer - Change us, Lord!
Gifts from the Heart were donated to SAFE (Southeast Advocates for Family Empowerment). This organization provides help and resources for those affected by domestic violence. A representative from SAFE gratefully accepted the gifts and spoke to us about the work SAFE does.
To put love in action, we colored cards with uplifting messages on them and wrote a personal note as well. We put a card along with two Mustard Seeds in an envelope. They will be given to sisters in Christ who have been affected by flooding and tornadoes. A particularly touching moment during the retreat was when Michelle Zollinger, Vice President of Human Care, presented cards to women in attendance who were affected by these natural disasters.
Thank you to Rita Salathe, Vice President of Christian Life, and the Christian Life Committee for all of your hard work on the retreat! We were blessed to meditate on the greatest of these-love, experience it as we interacted throughout the weekend, and be empowered to live love every day!
  
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ARABIC OUTREACH
New, free resource for Arabic outreach:
Open doors to conversation with Arabic-speaking immigrants or exchange students in your community with a new, free resource from the Lutheran Heritage Foundation:
A Child's Garden of Bible Stories, translated into the Arabic language. Available in hardcover and paperback, this colorfully illustrated collection of 60 Old and New Testament Bible lessons is available free of charge to the ministries that need them. Call LHF at
(800)554-0723 or email
info@LHFmissions.org to order your copies.
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SAVE THE DATE:
ANNUAL TEACHERS' CONFERENCE
Please save the date for the 2017 - 2018 annual Teachers' Conference.
Here is the basic Information:
WHO: The teachers and DCEs of the Southern and Mid-South Districts
WHAT: Annual Conference
WHERE: Grace Lutheran School and Church, Huntsville, Alabama
WHEN:
Sunday, November 19 - Tuesday, November 21
WHY: For Professional Growth, Worship, and Camaraderie
For more information, contact Glenn Gerber g.gerber@southernlcms.org or
the Conference Chairman, Tom Naatz at Grace, Huntsville
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MARTIN LUTHER: THE IDEA THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
On
Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 6:30 pm, in Slidell, Louisiana at the Grand Theater Slidell 16, a new Martin Luther movie entitled
Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed The World will be shown. The film is produced by Tugg with funds provided by Thrivent Financial. The film tells the rousing adventure story that was Martin Luther's life, following his bold quest for truth--a journey that would reshape the church, and the world. Hugh Bonneville stars and narrates the 108 minute film. The film is perfect for Jr-Sr youth and above. There will be a short introduction before the movie begins and a Q & A session after the movie. Join Lutherans from all over St. Tammany Parish, Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans area to celebrate the 500th Reformation Anniversary!
Click on above link to purchase.
Other information including a two minute movie trailer is available on the Tugg website: NewLutherMovie.com/lcms
This is a great outreach event to invite you friends, neighbors and family to hear about
salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Have questions or need further information? Please contact:
Sharon Mahnke
Lamb of God Lutheran Church Mission Chair
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37th Biennial Convention of the LWML
"Jesus Christ Above All"
June 22-25, 2017
Join us as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the LWML!
Click here for a PDF of the convention registration form.
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The saying goes, if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. So, what do you stand for? Is it worth standing for?
Southern District Senior Youth Gathering
July 7-10, 2017
Panama City, Florida
Registration is done online by going to
southernlcms.org
Click on youth ministry tab and select senior high events.
Early Bird Registration - Monday, May 8, 2017 through Sunday, May 21, 2017 $180.00
Normal Registration - Monday, May 22, 2017 through Sunday, June 25, 2017 $200.00
The featured speaker for the Youth Gathering is Pastor Travis Hartjen. Pastor Travis is a  church
planter in Allen, TX, where he helped launch Tangible Grace. Prior to that, he was a DCE and focused on the discipleship of families and students. He speaks around the country weaving the truth of Jesus with humor and anecdotes from his own life.
The Great Romance Band - Worship/Rock Band from the St. Louis, MO area - will be featured.
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ASKING THE RIGHT STEWARDSHIP QUESTIONS
-- MAY 2017
The April StewardCast newsletter challenges us to dig deep when listening to and responding to questions about stewardship. See StewardCAST, April 2017 for full article details. This topic closely aligns with our evolving Stewardship of Our Congregations project that is now entering the phase of identifying and selecting congregations to participate.
When confronted by a question it's not uncommon to hear the response,
"what is the questio
n
behind your question?" When underlying questions are exposed, they can be dealt with, repented of and then learned from. This then leads to the asking of better questions. Better questions allow for the opening of individual learning and community formation. This is true in stewardship.
Very often the questions that are posed to stewardship leaders in the congregation, district and
Synod are most often veiled. The first one that comes usually sounds like this: "Can you help us in stewardship?" While this seems like an innocent enough question, there are so many layers behind it that need to be explored. What is the question behind this question? There can be so many! Without
parsing the original question, it is impossible to get to a deeper answer.
But what might some of those behind the question questions actually be? They might be as crass as, "Can you help us get the people of our congregation to give more money so that we can pay the bills?" There are other questions that might be lurking behind that simple query. "Can you help
me understand what it means to lead stewardship?" "Can you help us understand how stewardship fits in with the rest of the ministry of our congregation?" This list of these behind the question questions are
almost endless, but they must be discovered! If they are not, the answers given will not truly serve the congregation, and ultimately the ministry of the Gospel, well.
Here are a three sample questions . . . Is the congregation's stewardship about the Bible or the bills? Does the congregation take seriously how counter-cultural stewardship is? Does the congregation know what the congregation is doing in Jesus' name in the congregation, community and world? See the full newsletter for answers.
We are at the point in the Stewardship of Our Congregations project where asking the right questions and listening to responses is essential. Survey questions and interview topics guided by God's Holy Spirit will help connect host and satellite congregations with a compatible ministry context. For more information on the Stewardship of Small Congregations initiative to include interest in participating in the effort, please contact Stewardship Team members Pastor Tony Ramsey or Don Panzenhagen using contact information on the
District Stewardship Who We Are web page.
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WE LIFT UP IN PRAYER. . .
And celebration
Rev. John and Valerie Reynolds (Trinity-Gadsden, AL) at the birth of their granddaughter Amelia Kate Futo, born Friday, April 21. Congratulations!
The family of
Rev. John H. Davis (Emeritus) at his entering the Church Triumphant. Services were held May 13 at Trinity Lutheran, Mobile, AL with Rev. Benjamin Stallworth officiating.
The family of
Rev. Jack Betz (Emeritus) as he entered the Church Triumphant on May 9. Rev. Betz served as pastor at First - Florala, AL, and had most recently lived in Beaufort, SC. No further information is currently available.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;..."
John 11:25 (NIV)
These brothers and sisters in Christ coping with cancer:
Rev. Jerry Conley (Emeritus - Marianna, FL)
Mrs. Gloria Moritz, widow of Rev. Victor Moritz (Emeritus - Metairie, LA)
Rev. Sidney Ponseti (Emeritus - Baton Rouge, LA)
Mrs. Doris Taglauer, wife of Rev. Jim Taglauer (Emeritus - Folsom, LA)
Rev. David Robatzen (Lutheran Church of the Resurrection - Pensacola, FL)
These brothers and sisters in Christ coping with various health issues:
- Mrs. Melodie Rupp, wife of Rev. Bob Rupp (Emeritus - Pensacola, FL)
- Mrs. June Ring, mother of Rev. Marcus Ring (St. Paul - Shreveport, LA)
- Rev. Michael Shannon (Faith - Shreveport, LA)
- Rev. Rory Hermann (Good Shepherd - Gulf Breeze, FL)
- Rev. Brandon Simoneaux (Christ Our Savior - Harvey, LA)
- Rev. Dr. James P. Brown (Emeritus - Pensacola, FL)
- Dr. J. B. Marshall (Concordia College Alabama Board of Regents member)
- Rev. Dr. Edgar Homrighausen (Emeritus - Lacombe, LA)
- Rev. Bernard Ansorge (Ascension - Huntsville, AL)
- Rev. Jerome Terry (Bethel - New Orleans, LA)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed. Thessalonians 2: 16-17
(NIV)
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THE GIFT OF GENEROSITY-Electronic Giving
A definition of generous includes this phrase:
Freely sharing valuable things.
Freely sharing
. . .no strings attached. . .no tit for tat. . .nothing expected in return.
Valuable things: your child. What is more valuable than a life of someone you love beyond measure? As we reflect on this message, remember
Those Who Don't Yet Know Jesus. Your continued support for the mission and ministry of the Southern District is requested.
If you need a convenient way to make regular offerings, we encourage you to look into our electronic online giving options.
Visit
here or contact Ronnie Giaise
at the Southern District office for more information --- r.giaise@southernlcms.org.
Illustration by Patti Miller, Member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fairhope, Alabama.
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