Mount Zion Lutheran Church Tidings Vol. XXIX Issue 1

January 2015

Merry Christmas

11533 – 135 Street N.W. Edmonton, AB Website: http://www.mtzionlutheranedmonton.org/ Crystal Stevenson, Editor Email: [email protected] Tidings appear monthly except for a combined July/August issue.

... And a Happy New Year

Vol. XXIX Issue 1 Issue #: [Date]

January 2015 Dolor Sit Amet

Hastings Lake Bible Camp

Raffle & Book Exchange Updates

Have you ever wanted to work at a camp? Hastings is now accepting applications for the 2015 Summer Ministry Team! If you feel led to spending the summer ministering to people of all ages in God’s beautiful creation, then fill out an application and send it in! Applications are available http://www.hastingslake.com.

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Celebration Bank On the last Sunday of some of the months, there is an opportunity to share what you are thankful for after everyone has their “coffee” after the service. It is one way to get to know the members of the congregation and what they are thankful for. Every time we have the celebration bank, at least one person is thankful to have the opportunity to come to church and to be with friends. Watch the monthly calendar as to when there will be the “Celebration Bank”.

In May, the monies of $33.60 was deposited to the General Budget of the church. In December, the monies of $206.50 will be deposited to the General Budget of the church to help pay for the fertilization program that was not put in the 2014 budget. The book exchange donations totalled $22.55 which will be deposited to the General Budget of the church.

Crafting Sessions Every Thursday morning 9:00- 11:00 am. Drop by the library to join us as we gather to visit and work on any unfinished craft project you may have.

The money that is donated to the Celebration Bank goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation Northern Branch. For the 2014 year, MZLC will be donating $250.60 which included $142.95 from the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. Thank you to everyone for their donation as well as the willingness to share what you are thankful for. - Donna Chanasyk 2

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Council Meeting Minutes Church Council met Wednesday evening, December 17, 2014 to debate and make decisions affecting our congregation. We have been following a devotional series on the missional church. It is prepared by Bishop Dr. Larry Kochendorfer. We intend to use the series in 2015 as well. As in past years, we will again have a Christmas Eve service at 7:00 pm with carols, communion, and candlelight. There is no service on Christmas Day. This year we rented a colourful, moveable sign and placed it near the street corner. It informs the neighbours and passers-by about the the time of the Christmas Eve service. Pastor Jane Zinken has kindly and ably provided pulpit-supply for us during Pastor Charlotte's sick leave. She will also preside at the Candlelight service. Pastor Charlotte accepted a call to the Armena, AB, parish and will begin service there in January. God blessed us with with her presence as interim pastor for a little over a year and we grew quite fond of her. But God continues to care for us by moving Pastor Tim Posyluzny to accept our call to be Mount Zion's permanent Pastor. He will begin his duties on January 4, 2015. We look forward to a long, fruitful partnership in the Lord's work in our neck of the woods. We have invited a representative of Drayden Insurance, the company that provides insurance coverage for us, to talk to Council at our January 2015 meeting about insurance coverage our renters need to purchase.

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Council also reviewed our fee schedule and decided to leave the rates at the current levels. Organist's and pastor's fees will also remain unchanged. Our TruGreen lawn care program was extended through 2015. Mount Zion's Christian Trust Fund had an $8000.00 certificate mature on November 30, 2014. Council decided to reinvest the capital for another five years. There is currently $309.70 (interest) in the Guaranteed Interest Fund. This money is intended to be used for the following: a. Give grants to individuals for Bible College or Seminary (theological training) tuition fees; b. Bring outstanding Christian lectures to Mount Zion for spiritual enrichment; c. Enable Mount Zion church leaders to participate in conferences and training events in the areas of Christian education or church music; d. Use for projects that enhance a welcoming atmosphere in worship or extend the outreach of the congregation into the community and e. Support capital improvements needed by the Congregation. In 2015 we must expend at least 10% of the interest earned in 2014. The Fund may not be used to offset day-to-day operating expenses of the Congregation. Applications for grants must be made to Council in writing. Well, that covers the main points. So long for now! -Ed Jobs 3

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Bishops Message From Rev. Dr. Larry Kochendorfer Synod of Alberta Territories Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

I thank my God every time I remember you… (Philippians 1:3). This year I am inviting you to reflect on portions of Paul’s letter to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi (1:1b) as you gather for church council, adult study, youth group, coffee group and are engaged in learning, discernment and reflection together. Relying heavily on the writing of Rev. Dr. David Lose, each article will include a brief reflection on a Scripture passage, questions for reflection and discussion, and a prayer. I encourage you, as we begin, to read Paul’s letter in its entirety in one sitting. Remember as you read that this is a letter – of Paul – to a church. Fred B. Craddock (Philippians, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, © John Know Press 1985) teaches us that this congregation’s setting was very likely a house church, the most common form of Christian assembly in the New Testament; and that the congregation received the letter while assembled for worship, which is to say that the congregation received it by the ear not the eye. Perhaps as you read the letter in one sitting you will choose to read it aloud!

In this New Year it seems appropriate to begin…at the beginning: Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all the saints in

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Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1-3). Philippi was a city established in Macedonia (Greece) near several gold mines. This, along with its strategic location along an important trade route, explains both its significance in the ancient world and the reason it was built as a fortified city. By the time of Paul, the Macedonian Empire had been replaced by the Roman Empire and Philippi flourished not only as a city but also as a military garrison. Most of what we know about Paul’s relationship with the Philippians comes from the letter itself, although we can glean a little more information from some of Paul’s other letters and from Luke’s description of Paul’s visits to the Philippians in The Acts of the Apostles. From these sources, historians gather that Paul first visited Philippi around 49-50 AD and returned perhaps twice more. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is usually dated to around 60 AD. Why is he writing? As we will see, the Philippians had sent Paul gifts and a companion to help take care of him while he was in prison. This companion, Epaphroditus, became very ill while he was with Paul. Once Epaphroditus had recovered, Paul sent him back to the Philippians in order to thank them for their gift and to offer counsel, encouragement, and instruction on matters both theological and personal. Paul begins his letter in the customary form of the ancient word: announcing first the - continued

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Bishops Message Continued sender, then the recipient, and then offering a formal greeting. In this case, Paul uses a greeting that became customary for him, blessing his recipients with grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Preachers since have often begun their sermons with the same words, in this way linking their preaching to the teaching of the earliest apostles. Philippians is considered the first Christian community in Europe and represents the spread of the gospel through the ancient world. When you think about it that way, you begin to realize that these early Christians form something of a bridge between the teaching of Jesus in the first century in Palestine and all those who in the years and centuries to come would come to believe in Jesus because of the efforts of missionaries like Paul and congregations like Philippi. In this sense, the Philippians are our ancestors in the faith, and what Paul writes to them he also says to us. For while the specifics of their condition and situation differs from ours, their questions – how to maintain confidence in the face of struggle, the search for peace and contentment in a turbulent world, the pursuit for hope in a world filled with despair – resonate with our own. For this reason we keep reading these ancient words, hearing in them the concern of a pastor for the growth and health of a young Christian congregation, first for those believers gathered Philippi in the middle of the first century, and now to countless

communities of faith spread all over the globe in the twenty-first century. Read and Reflect: Philippians 1:1-11 Discuss and Reflect:  What in this reading leads you to say, “I wonder about…”, or, “I noticed…”  How might Paul`s prayer for the Philippians (1:3-11) guide your prayer for your congregation, our Synod, our national Church?  Share a word of thanks to those gathered with you – to an individual and/or to the group. Be specific as you share. Pray together: Gracious God, we give you thanks for the Apostle Paul, who spread the word of your grace and peace throughout the world he knew, and we give you thanks for the Philippians, early believers who cared for Paul and each other. In Jesus’ name. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen (Philippians 4:23). The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

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