Southwood Lutheran Church

Storms

Who was that person in the current poll who said they liked thunderstorms? I normally enjoy them also, but our facility hasn't enjoyed them!

When we arrived here on Tuesday morning, we were greeted by shingles in the north parking lot. This was from the storm that blew through on Sunday night. The shingles were from the southeast portion of the lower sloped part of the roof over the sanctuary. We had a little bit of water in the sanctuary, but not anything major.

However, when we got here this morning (Friday), we were greeted by more shingles! This time we had some in the front lot, and many in the north lot. Our area from the storm earlier in the week was a little bigger, plus we lost shingles from the east portion of the building, right over the library. We were not as fortunate with the water coming in this time - the tar paper underneath blew away, and we had water in the library and some in the sanctuary.

Thanks to Ben and Jackie Schroetlin, our custodians, and to Diane Kacvinsky for picking up the shingles in the parking lot! We probably lost somewhere between 200-250 between the two storms. The roofing contractor will be out sometime next week to make repairs. The insurance company has been notified as well.

I'm praying for sunny skies this weekend!

High School Graduation

Our son, David, is graduating from high school at the end of this month. There have been many milestones with him over the years, but this seems to be a biggie! As he did the senior blessing on Sunday, Chip talked about parents needing to let go. I think God is trying to tell me something because this morning, I received the devotion below in my e-mail in-box. For those of you who are also going through big milestones with your children, it definitely gives us something to think about. . .

Landscaping Opportunity

In early spring and summer of last year, our contractor was responsible for installing and maintaining all the landscaping around the church. This year, we are responsible for it ourselves. What a great opportunity!

Would you like to adopt an area here at church? Your responsibilities would include pulling weeds, trimming, and whatever you think is necessary to keep our grounds looking nice. Maybe you'd like to take over one of the islands in the parking lot and plant some decorative grasses, or you'd like to dig into that planter in the front of the church and make sure it is free of weeds. Maybe you'd like that spot by the youth room and would like to add some snapdragons. What a great project for a family or small group! 

If you are interested, please contact me! The first people I hear from will get their pick of an area to adopt. I'm sure there are many of you out there with green thumbs who would do a great job! Once we get into spring and summer, I'll be spotlighting some of these areas on our blog. I know we have a lot of talented people out there.

Prayer - Where and When and How?

I hope I'm not the only one who is struggling with our Lenten theme of Prayer. Prayer for me has always been difficult. First of all, I'm not good about setting aside time to be alone with God. It seems the minute I have quiet time I either start thinking of all the things I need to do, or I think about some fun things I could be doing, or I fall asleep. Then, I find it difficult to know how God is answering my prayer. A clear yes or no would be good!

So, I've been hoping this time of Lent will help me with some issues . . .

Update - Zion and Middlecross

Zion Church is planning to have their first worship service at our old location on 27th Street on December 2. They are moving their offices the week of November 26. They have been meeting at Grace Lutheran the past several months.

Middlecross Church will have their last worship service at 27th Street this coming Sunday, November 25. They will be having services at Southwest High School, starting December 2.

We continue to pray for both churches in their upcoming moves.

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!

27th Street Property

As of October 17, we no longer own the property on 27th Street. We closed on the sale of the building to Zion Church. It was amazing to me how quickly it's possible to close on a transaction that is so important to both churches! I think we were only at Nebraska Title for about 10-15 minutes.

All proceeds from the sale of the property will be applied towards reducing our debt. Think of what this will mean to our ministry! We received $1,000,000 (after closing costs) yesterday. At 6% interest, that's $60,000 yearly that can be applied to ministry at Southwood! Next year, we will receive another $350,000 and the following year we will receive $200,000. By Neal Lyon's calculations, when all these payments are factored in, we will be saving $100,000 in interest every year for the next 10 years. This doesn't factor in our regular payments on the loan.

So, it's a win-win proposition for everyone involved. We will be able to do more ministry. Zion will have its own facility. MiddleCross has expanded the options they are looking at for growth. Praise God!

Sale of 27th Street property

At our congregational meeting on September 30, Southwood members unanimously approved the sale of our 27th Street property to Zion Church. Terms of the agreement are as follows:  $1,050,000 payable at closing, $350,000 payable one year from closing, and $250,000 payable two years from closing.

Many people have asked me when we will close on the building. We hope to close within the next couple of weeks. Susan Napolitano, a member of our congregation with expertise in this area, is helping to make sure that we have all of our i's dotted and t's crossed. We will need to satisfy our lender, American National, to make sure that they will have a security interest in the money that Zion will be paying in the future.

We also needed to make sure that MiddleCross Church, who is currently leasing the building, did not want to match the offer. They have declined, and we are waiting to get that in writing from them. They are currently looking at their options.

It was gratifying to see Southwood members so united in this matter. Knowing that our 27th property, where so much ministry has been done in the past, will continue to serve another congregation, gives me a great feeling.

CrossWalk Devotion ~ Grow ~ Thursday

Focused on the Goal

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. ~ Philippians 3:12-16 (The Message)

In this passage, Paul seems so focused. He has one goal in life – reaching out for Christ. Can I say that I have “total commitment?” Unfortunately, no. I am too often distracted by things going on in every day life.

For those of you who have done the small group reading on Growth this week, you know that it encourages the reader to take some time (at least one hour, half a day is better) for solitude. Our small group met Sunday afternoon, and not one of us had done this (one had tried, but ended up taking a nap). Why is it so hard to find quiet time for God, yet make time for everything else?

What I have found is that when I walk in the mornings, I can use the time to talk to God. I can thank him for the beauty of the morning, pray for guidance in the day ahead, and praise him for his creation.

How else can I grow in my faith? Being in a small group, going to Adult Ed classes, doing morning devotions. These are all ways I can reach out for Christ, the way he reached out for me. For me, the more I try to grow in my faith, the easier it becomes to set aside the time for it. Although I can’t say it’s total commitment, it does help my vision become less blurry. I may not be running as Paul is in this passage, but I hope to speed up from my slow jog as I continue to grow.

Prayer: Gracious God, You have given me everything, and I give you so little of myself. Help guide me in all my decisions today. Help me to continue to reach out for you, and thank you for first reaching out to me. Amen

~ by Lori Changstrom

Top 5 Reasons to join our Traffic Team!

5.  You get to spend some time outdoors.

4.  You get to work with some fun people who usually go have donuts and coffee together afterwards.

3.  If you are shopping for a car, you get to look at a big variety to get ideas.

2.  You get to visit with a lot of people on Sundays that you otherwise might not see.

1.  People bring you cookies!

I worked outside with the Traffic Team on Sunday and I loved it! And yes - someone really gave me cookies as they drove by! If you are interested in being part of this fun team, we have two shifts:

9:15 - 9:50 AM

10:30 - 11:05 AM

Give me a call! We'd love to have you join us!