Indiana District
Lutheran Women’s
Missionary
League
Leader Development
Spring,
2009 SRD EXPRESS
Dear Sisters in
Christ,
Are you a strong
person? How strong are you? There are many types of strength. Here are a few:
1. Physical strength.
- Mental
strength.
3. Emotional
strength.
Personally, I
have little physical strength and I have average mental strength. What about my emotional strength? I am a strong person because I rely
on God for my strength. Phil.
4:13 says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” NIV. Do I get nervous, do I worry, and do I lack
self-confidence? Yes, and I know that if
I turn everything over to God, He will give me all the strength I need
to get through any situation. How do I renew
my strength?
* Pray-asking for God’s continued
strength. Psalm 55:17 says, “Evening,
and morning, and at noon, will I pray,
and cry aloud: and He shall hear my
voice.” KJV
* Study God’s Word. Romans 15:4 says,
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
* Attend
Holy Communion regularly. Acts 2:42
says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and the prayers.” RSV
* Be in Christian
Fellowship. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
says, “ Therefore encourage one another and build each
other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
NIV
You have an opportunity to renew your
strength by attending the Indiana District LWML Treatshop for all LWML
members and leaders on Saturday, August 15, at Carmel
Lutheran Church,
Carmel, Indiana. The theme, “Where’s the Strength?”
will be emphasized throughout the day during Bible Study, prayer, Christian
fellowship and sectionals to help you better understand the workings of the
LWML. Come and find strength to
be more involved in your LWML society and zone.
The registration form can be found in this newsletter and the
Quarterly. We’re looking forward to
seeing you at this workshop.
Trusting in Him for guidance,
Emily Rogers, Leader Development Chairman, March 2009
****************************************************************************************
Emily Rogers, Chairman---10473 S. SR 9, Pendleton, IN 46064---765-778-7654,
rogersrabbits@aol.com
Area 1-Peg Brettin-7720 East Toto Road,
Knox, IN 46534---574-772-3343,
pjbrettin@yahoo.com
Area 2-Kay Dager-9324
Douglas Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46835---260-385-2432, arearealty@prodigy.net
Area 3-Bev McIntosh-6606 Boston Ridge Ct.,
Indianapolis, IN
46237---317-781-0391,
bevmc0391@comcast.net
Mix It Up!
Make your gatherings
welcoming, creative, warm and fun with a mixer!
Mixers allow
interaction that is non-confrontational and fun.
Suggest
that everyone bring the same object to the meeting. Two
examples:
1. Everyone could bring a cross, a teacup, a
hat, or a picture. Then each woman
explains her item, where it came from, what special significance it has...etc.
2. Have everyone bring ten pennies. At the beginning of the meeting explain that
a certain word (can’t, won’t, no) or action (crossing your legs or arms) is
forbidden during the meeting. If someone is caught using the word or doing the
action, she must forfeit a penny to the person who caught her. At the end of the meeting, the one with the
most pennies gets a small prize and all the pennies go to mites!
Create
groups by categories. Two
examples:
1. Have everyone locate others who like the same
things as they do (favorite food, color, sports team, vacation spot, biblical
character, hobby, house chore, etc).
Call a category out and give everyone time to gather in groups around
the room. They are encouraged to yell
out their favorite thing in that category to locate others with similar
likes. This allows the participants to
know others who like similar things, and it will spark new conversations and
friendships.
2. Have them form groups by
characteristics. Call out a physical
feature (same eye or hair color, same hair length, wears glasses, same height,
freckles vs. non-freckles, same color shoes or clothing, etc.). Once they are grouped, have them introduce
themselves to someone they do not already know.
Make meeting others fun! “Let us
not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another . . . “
Hebrews 10:25
Adapted from The
Team Leader (April 2006)
Bev McIntosh, Leader Development, Spring 2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Power Outages Inspire Power Surges
“Icy, Cold,
& Dark”, “Powerless Residents Warming to Shelter”, and “Schools
Closed” were all headlines recently in the local paper in southern Indiana following an ice
storm. With tornados, hurricanes, flood,
snow and ice storms, all of us have been affected or know someone who has been
affected by these devastating weather events. Many have lost power to
their homes. How lost we all are without power. We rely on electricity
for light and heat and to run our appliances like refrigerator, freezer, TV,
computer, and the list goes on.
What about
other power? “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way
perfect.” (2 Sam 22:33). That is the power that got me through the night
when you could hear one tree limb after another crack and fall. As the sun
rose, the damage from the ice came to light, and the inside house temperature
continued to drop. Prayers continued. God gave us the strength we needed to do
whatever we needed to do to survive. In some cases that meant finding alternate
ways to heat and cook. Some used their skills and tools to clear roadways. Some
checked on neighbors and took care of elderly. Churches opened their doors to
offer shelter and food. The power of God was all around. We witnessed faith in action.
As lights
came back on, I was very grateful for the power that is supplied by the
electric company. But, the power that I know I will always have is from
God; His power will not fade.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Ps
46:1)
Angie Richardson
Leader Development
SRD, Spring 2009
INDIANA DISTRICT
LUTHERAN WOMEN’S MISSIONARY LEAGUE
Christian
Outreach
WHO’S
IN YOUR CHURCH?
“Now
there were Jews living in Jerusalem…Parthians and
Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Cretans and Arabs….those who had received his word were baptized; and there
were added that day about 3000 souls
“- Acts 2: 5-41 (NAS)
Let’s look at this familiar Pentecost passage in modern
terms - the first Christian congregation had people from:
·
Italy (Rome)
·
Egypt
·
Iran (Medes)
·
Iraq (Elam)
·
Greece (Crete)
·
Turkey (Pamphylia)
·
Arabia
·
Libya
They were all Jewish.
But what a spectrum of ethnic and cultural heritages! This was no homogenous group. Clothing, language, food, governments, skin
tone, art and culture and even treatment of women were different from one
ethnic group to another.
Acts 2 goes on to record:
·
Everyone
kept feeling a sense of awe;
·
They
had all things in common;
·
They
shared what they had with anyone;
·
They
were of one mind;
·
They
took their meals together;
·
They
praised God together.
Notice the “all”, “everyone”, and “together” words. Although from diverse cultural and ethnic
backgrounds, they were one in Christ.
And the world was watching them.
The result of this unity of diversity was that the world was impressed
and people became believers (Acts 2:47)
What different ethnic and cultural heritages are represented
in your congregation and LWML society?
Does everyone feel equally valuable? Do you have a partnership bridging
cultures to reach out to the world beyond your church?
Because we fear that which is different from us, it is only
by the Holy Spirit’s power that the same unity found in the early Christian
church can develop in us. May God
strengthen our faith, forgive us our reluctance, help us overcome the barriers
within our own congregations, and enable us to give witness to the world of our
Savior’s love. To God be
the glory!
Your servant in Christ,
Michele Yamanaka, Chairman
CHRISTIAN OUTREACH COMMITTEE
Michele Yamanaka, Chairman
4336 Charter
Lane
Fort Wayne IN 46815
260-424-5070
YamanakaM@cs.com
Area 1
Nora Cleary
1036 State
Street
Hobart IN 46342
219-942-5241
musicsewfine@verizon.net
Area 2
Cathie Wakeland
3606 Oakpark Drive
Ft. Wayne,
IN 46815
260-492-7863
Area 3
TBA
Area 4
TBA
Telling the story
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the
nations what he has done.” Psalm 105:1 NIV
On a cold January morning, my husband and I had gone
to the doctor to find out Jim’s PSA levels after his prostate cancer surgery. A
stop at the grocery store provided an excellent opportunity for sharing the
Gospel. Here is what happened. In the check out line a lady, Nancy, was “venting” about several crises in
her life:
·
her teenage son who had died right before Christmas;
·
her husband losing his job;
·
brain damage to another child due to being on life
support.
Understandable, she needed to talk….and to anyone
who would listen. She, like many of us, wondered “WHY.”
I
listened for a while and then spoke up, saying that I put my trust in the Lord.
I told her how the last year had been filled with ups and downs for our family
as well. At times we doubted that God was there to help us through the tough
times. He not only forgave us of that doubt, but gave us the reassurance that
our heavenly Father was there to be our Refuge and Strength. I offered to put
her family on our prayer chain at church. She not only accepted the offer but
asked where we attended services, giving me a chance to invite her to come and
worship. All during this time, the cashier and other customers around us were
able to hear the conversation. God had put everyone there so that the Word
could be spread. As we left the store, I
not only thanked God for my husband’s good test results, but I also prayed for Nancy and all the other
lives that God had just touched through this event. My confirmation verse supported me that day:
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because
it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16 (NIV)
Through this experience, God used an everyday situation to get His Word
out. I thought that day would be only focused on Jim and his medical status.
God had other plans. He gave me an opportunity to share His love and tell His
story of salvation. May this song stanza be a theme of yours as you go about
your daily life.
I
love to tell the story, Will be my theme in glory;
To
tell the old, old story Of Jesus and His love.
Lord, thank
you for being our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. Help us
to see our neighbor’s afflictions as a golden opportunity to make known all
that you have done. Amen.
Nora
Cleary
Christian
Outreach Committee
March
2009
