Southwood Lutheran Church

What's Happening in the Neighborhood?

For those of you who have been to church in the last week or two, you probably noticed there seems to be a lot of activity, both on our property and the adjoining properties.

On our property, Gary Carstens has spent many hours over the past month getting debris hauled off, planting grass seed, and overseeing the installation of ground cover and silt fences. This is really going to make a big difference this spring! Last spring, all we had around us was dirt. This year, we'll have green! Thanks to him and the volunteers who have helped him out!

Property to the south - Many people have asked what is going on with the land directly to the south of our property. This land is owned by the Sampson's. They are going to put in townhomes. So - if you want to live close to church, I can give you their phone number! They would like to start building late this fall or early next year. They are also making plans for developing the land all the way to Saltillo Road. This will take a few years, but much of the land will be residential, single-family homes.

Property to the north - This property is owned by Lincoln Federal. They are planning a development that will have some commercial property along 40th street, and, at this time, are planning that the rest of it will be residential. Yesterday, they started doing some grading. They have a "soil mining" permit. This will allow them to move dirt from this property to another property where it is needed. (Did you know they needed a permit for that???)

LES has also been in the neighborhood. They are preparing the areas along the streets for streetlights. We will need to pay for those, but LES needs to come in first to get everything ready for them. Glenn Neemann has told me they will definitely have the area ready by spring, if not sooner. Won't it be nice to have this area lit at night? It will make it much easier to find the driveway!

As you can see, this area around us is going to develop quickly over the next few years. This will give us many chances to reach our new neighbors with the Good News of Christ!

In the Sweet By and By

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10 NRSV)

Joseph Webster (1819-1875) was a musician who often visited his friend, Sanford Bennett (1836-1898), who owned a drugstore in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Joseph would suffer from periods of depression, and his friend could always tell as soon as he walked into the store if he was sad. Sanford found that he could raise Joseph’s spirits when he could get him working on a new song. One day, when Joseph walked in and went right to the stove without saying anything, Sanford knew Joseph needed a lift! He called to Joseph saying “Webster, what is the matter now?” He replied, “It’s no matter, it will be all right by and by.” Sanford was struck with an idea and said “The Sweet By and By! Why would not that make a good hymn?” and he turned to his desk and began writing the words as fast as he could. He gave the words to Joseph who than began immediately to write the notes. In only thirty minutes, Sanford, Joseph and 2 other friends were singing the hymn! This hymn was later included in a Sunday School songbook compiled by Joseph in 1868. It has been a favorite gospel hymn for many people ever since. (Source information from 101 More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck)


In the Sweet By and By

1. There's a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way,
To prepare us a dwelling place there.

Refrain
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;

2. We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blest,
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessings of rest.

3. To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer a tribute of praise,
For the glorious gift of His love,
And the blessings that hallow our days.

Remembering Our Saints

This time last year, on All Saints Sunday, we were remembering our saints in a once-in-a-lifetime way as we inscribed their names on the newly poured concrete floor of our sanctuary and our youth room (see photos of the sanctuary inscriptions and the youth room inscriptions).  Those names on the concrete floor are a lot like our saints.  We can't see them or touch them any more...but they're there, and they've left a mark that will never fade. 

This Sunday is All Saints Sunday -- the first in our new church. Several elements of our worship experience will reflect our focus on remembering our "saints" -- those who have finished the course of this life in faith and are now holy, made pure and spotless by God's mercy and love.  The color for All Saints' Sunday is white, the color of purity and completeness.  Streamers with white ribbon will be processed during the opening hymn to reflect our joy that God promises to raise us to new life in Heaven where we will join all the saints who have gone before us. 

During the worship service we will have time to reflect on the saints in our lives.  A bell will toll to symbolize the new life that saints have in heaven.  Later in the service, remember that “the company of heaven” joins us as we celebrate communion.  Heaven and earth join together in the Lord’s Supper.  Even as we commune with our fellow believers, we are united with the saints of every age.  What an awesome miracle!  In the Lord's Supper, we are given a sneak preview, you might say, of what awaits us--the great heavenly banquet yet to come.

BackPacks at Saratoga

Meetings are rarely blog-worthy....but today is an exception! This morning I had a meeting at Saratoga Elementary School (13th & South -- pictured at left). Over 50% of the students at Saratoga qualify for free lunch -- and right now none of those students take home a Food Bank BackPack on Friday afternoons. But that's about to change! Today's meeting was so exciting because we kind of sealed the deal on a partnership between Southwood, Saratoga and the Food Bank that has been developing for a few months. And starting in January, Southwood and the Food Bank will be sending 50 kids at Saratoga home with a BackPack of food for the weekend!

If you haven't heard about the BackPack Program, you can catch up here and here and here. Since August, the Community Missions Committee has been in conversation with Dana Govaerts and Scott Young over at the Lincoln Food Bank about the possibility of Southwood sponsoring a new school in the BackPack Program. This would be sponsored in part by funds from our Mission Unlimited tithe (learn more here). We've had lots of logistics to figure out. The BackPack program serves over 700 kids in Lincoln right now, and over at the Food Bank they've run out of space to store and pack the food to serve any more schools. So ... we've found space to store the food at Southwood....and, starting in January, volunteers from Southwood will pack the food for 50 backpacks every week....and more volunteers will deliver the food from Southwood to Saratoga during the week....and more volunteers will hand out the backpacks full of food to 50 little people at Saratoga every Friday afternoon during the school year.

Based on the response to our Stock the Shelves drive for the BackPack Program, interest and support for this program is high at Southwood. By rough estimate, we've already collected over 1500 pounds of food, with 3 more weeks to go in our 7-week drive! Watch for more details coming soon about how you and your family or your small group can raise even more food support for the Food Bank by going out into your neighborhood and collecting cans for the Food Bank between November 11 & November 18. More information about how you can get involved as a volunteer at Southwood or at Saratoga will be coming soon -- but if you're like me and you just can't wait, send me an email and I'll fill you in on what we know so far.

Kim

Youth Service Project -- Halloween Style

This Wednesday on Halloween, students all over the city will be out collecting candy, scaring the daylights out of young kids in their neighborhood and seeing who can come up with the most creative costume.

The students of Southwood will be going door-to-door for a much more noble and productive purpose. Our middle school students and adult leaders will join over 1,000 other students from across the city in collecting food for the People’s City Mission. Our students will go door-to-door collecting canned and non-perishable food items in the neighborhoods closest to our church.

After collecting the food items, all of the students and adult leaders will converge on the Lancaster Event Center for games, free food and a concert by local Christian recording artist Casting Pearls. We anticipate having around 70 students and adult leaders from Southwood participate. They will be dressed in traditional Halloween costumes and will be celebrating with the People’s City Mission as people from all over Lincoln support their vital ministry to the poor in our community.

One of the Scariest Days of My Life

In life we sometimes have days that are permanently etched in our minds for their beauty and timelessness. For me, those moments include my wedding day, the birth of my first child, graduations. Unfortunately, other days are memorable for much different reasons. This day is memorable for how scared I was.

I was a senior in high school here in Lincoln. It was late on a Friday night and I received news from a friend that one of our teammates and friends was suffering from alcohol poisoning and had to be rushed to the hospital. I was exceedingly fearful. Why would she do this? How could she? What was so bad in her life that she felt this was an option? As the weekend progressed I received all of the details from friends. She was at a party; she was drinking way too much. She passed out and vomited a lot. Then, she stopped breathing. She was rushed to a local hospital where her heart literally stopped beating. She was legally dead for a moment. Thankfully, she was able to be revived, had her stomach pumped and was gradually restored to health.

That Friday night I almost lost a dear friend and teammate. She was beautiful, smart, funny, good at sports. She was only 15. So why would she risk her life in this way? Why couldn’t she talk about her pain? Why did she have to drink so much? Why did so many of my high school friends engage in risky behavior like this?

As a former drug and alcohol counselor, I have seen and heard literally hundreds of stories just like mine. Sadly, it happens every weekend in America. It happens right here in Lincoln. Your student may have even witnessed risky behavior like this. I care deeply about students and want them to make choices that will encourage them in their faith and allow them to be all that God created them to be. With this in mind, we have an opportunity for parents on November 15th here at Southwood. From 6:30-8:30pm we will air a satellite broadcast of Drug Proof Your Kids in the Fellowship Hall. The presenter Jim Burns, is president and founder of HomeWord, a Christian organization which assists adults as they help young people make wise decisions and lead positive, vibrant, Christian lifestyles.

Come join us as we learn about how to educate our students on the dangers of drugs and alcohol and how we can help them remain drug free.

Chip

CrossWalk Devotion ~ Invite ~ Friday

Bridging the Gap

"But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves." - James 1:22 (NRSV)

Have you noticed that the segment of the American population most absent from our churches is men ages 18 to 34. Why is that? Is there a "generation gap" in our communities of faith? Research shows that the most significant men in the faith lives of young men are the older men who take time to build bridges across the "generation gap" and cultivate relationships with the younger guys.

Don Escher, a man in his seventies, took on the ministry of building bridges and forming relationships with younger men in his congregation and community. "After my wife died, I found myself open to what the Lord wanted me to do. I began to take notice of young people at church, especially the young men, and I set out to connect with them."

Don found no insurmountable "generation gap" between him and the young men he formed relationships with. He learned to listen to them in a nonjudgmental way. As the younger guys realized his genuine interest in them, they began to open up to him. They also became interested in him.

"Many of them are amazed that some one who is active in church would have the same kind of doubts and bumps in life they have," said Don. He made it his business to talk to young men wherever he found them –
at church, in restaurants and other public places, and at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.

Don died in February 2006. He lives on in a sense through the young men that he built bridges to, - young guys who have a deeper relationship with Christ because Don used effectively the special talent God gave him to reach out to others. He was not only a hearer of the word, but a bridge builder, a doer.

Bringing It Home:
1. How many young men have come to visit your church and no one even talked to them?
2. What opportunities do you have to build bridges to younger men at church, in restaurants, and in other public places?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you built bridges so that others could have a living relationship with their heavenly Father and with you. Give me the vision and courage to engage young men that I meet. Grant your Spirit may open their hearts and minds to the good news, to faith, to hope, and to community. Amen.

Doug Haugen, Director
Lutheran Men in Mission
ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries
Tel. 773/380-2566

This devotion is a Faith@Work devotion. Receive Faith@Work Devotions daily by email (it's free!). Just send a blank e-mail to FaithatWork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

You are What You Eat

We’ve all heard the phrase “You are what you eat.” Today that would make me a Cinnamon Roll-Orange-Mac & Cheese-Peas-Apple Mom (so far). Since last week, I've paid a little more attention to what I eat. Last week a nutritionist spoke to our MOPS group and really opened my eyes up to the amounts of calories in fast food and sodas. Even the kids meals when we think we are feeding our kids (or ourselves) smaller portions sometimes have just as many calories as adult meals. Yikes! It just goes to show that fruits and vegetables are good for us (as much as I would like to deny it). I keep waiting for the report to come out that fried foods help combat diseases and maintain youthfulness, but nothing yet. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.

Most days I try to eat fairly healthy to set a good example for my daughter, Brooke, but when she’s sleeping I like to dig out my super secret stash of junk food. Luckily, even with my bad habits Brooke has turned out to be a pretty good eater. She loves meat, most vegetables and will eat fruit at any time. Although, she would be perfectly ecstatic with ‘snacks’ all day long.

When is it in our lives that we decide fruit and vegetables don’t taste good? I can’t ever remember enjoying fruit. Last week, Pastor Greg blogged about the fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-Control. He urged us to “make” fruit. After we make it, maybe we could eat it! How much would be considered a full serving? I think I would enjoy “eating” all of those fruits. Patience may be hard to swallow sometimes but with a little practice I’ll get used to it. Love and Joy sound like they would be sweet to eat and Kindness is a little soft like a ripe banana. At times I may choke on Self-Control but I can always recover thanks to God! Maybe we could make a new food pyramid using the fruits of the Spirit. Try it this week-and just think, the more fruit we eat, the more fruit we will make.

Mindy Robart

CrossWalk Devotion ~ Invite ~ Wednesday

Matthew 28:19-20 – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Last week I asked five “seasoned inviters” to share with me some of the ways they go about inviting others into a relationship with Christ.  Here are some of their responses.  I hope you will see that these are regular people just like you, interacting with other regular people.  This isn’t rocket science – it's relationships!

Who have you invited? 

• Family, co-workers and friends
• I ask anyone who mentions that they do not go to church.
• My cousin and his wife, a friend, a co-worker, and neighbors.
• People that I spend a lot of time with.  At one time or another they shared some of their life experiences with me that tell me they are searching for more out of life.
• A parent of my daughter’s soccer team and the coach.

What did you invite them to? 

• Worship services.
• My Small Group.
• Youth programs.
• Worship and Mission Trips.
• Worship Festival and Sunday School
• Youth Group.

What words did you use when you invited them?  Did you ask more than once?

• In inviting people to worship I am sure to tell them the times of worship and Sunday school and offer to pick them up.
• I use the new church as a reason, “you’ve got to come and see the new place.”
• I talk about the warm inviting fell I experience by being a part of Southwood.
• I start with a different question:  What are your plans for the weekend?  That progresses to what I am doing and I always mention that I am going to church on Sunday.
• I wish I could say my words were eloquent and intellectual but my invitation usually sounds like this, “Man you should come to church,” in a caring way of course.  What I have found is timing is not everything, we just need to plant the seed and be sincere.
• Sometimes the person gives me a lead, recently a person said to me, “You seem happy at your church.”  Well as you would guess that left an opening I could back a tractor trailer through.

What happened as a result of your invitation?

• Many have visited, a few have joined, and one was baptized.  Often they say they’ve heard of our church but it doesn’t go much further.
• Some of my family and friends have attended.  The ones that still have not come, I keep asking and inviting.
• One has become a member.
• At first nothing usually happens and then next thing you know one of those friends are ringing the bells in bell choir, sitting beside me in bible class, worshipping with us in church or riding in a pick-up with us in Honduras.
• It seems easier each time.  I find that if I’m listening to the tiny voice there are openings in a conversation where I can say something about church or invite a person to join us.
  

Inviting is not always easy, but as these people will tell you it is about building relationships and not being afraid to ask again and again.  You are simply telling a story about how having a relationship with Jesus Christ makes a life changing difference in your life.

 

Gracious God, encourage me in all  my relationships to be loving and gracious.  Empower me as I seek to invite others into a relationship with you.  Lord, speak into my heart and encourage me with the right words and timing.  In Jesus name,  Amen.

~ by Pastor Sara

A lamp to my feet

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NRSV)

When children are baptized, parents make a promise to “place in their hands the holy scripture.” This month, the third graders at Southwood and their parents have been learning about the Bible. On Sunday, October 28, the 3rd graders willl receive their own Bibles in worship, as their parents place in their hands the holy scripture.

This is a very important part of nurturing a child in their faith. The story of baby Moses demonstrates what a precious opportunity we have to teach our young children to know and to love God. His mother had him only for a short time before they had to give him to Pharaoh’s daughter. While she had the opportunity, she taught him to know God and that God loved him and watched over him. Even though Moses was taught in all the wisdom of Egypt, he still followed the faith of his mother. She had a powerful influence over him even though her time with him was short. Teach your child the faith by reading her the Bible that the Word of God may be a life long source of strength and hope.

Here are the lyrics to a song, "Ancient Words," that express how the Word of God can work in our lives:

“Ancient Words”

Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God's own heart
O let the ancient words impart
Words of life words of hope
Give us strength help us cope
In this world where'er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home
Ancient words ever true
Changing me changing you
We have come with open hearts
O let the ancient words impart
Holy words of our faith
Handed down to this age
Came to us through sacrifice
O heed the faithful words of Christ
Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God's own heart
O let the ancient words impart
We have come with open hearts
O let the ancient words impart
O let the ancient words impart

(word by Lynn DeShazo)