Daily Discipleship

Daily Discipleship is a great bible study resource from the ELCA covering the gospel that we are reading each week.  Dig deeper into the Good News for the season of Advent:

First week in Advent (Nov 27)
    Mark 13:24–37         Daily Discipleship

Second week in Advent (Dec 4)
   Mark 1:1–8                   Daily Discipleship

Third week in Advent (Dec 11)
   John 1:6–8, 19–28     Daily Discipleship

Fourth week in Advent (Dec 18)
  Luke 1:26–38             Daily Discipleship

Render unto God...

Pastor Summer recently preached on Matthew 22:15-22.  In the King James: "Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

In what ways do we "render unto Caesar" (the world we live in)?

In what ways do we render unto God?

How do these balance in your life?

What one thing can you do today to tip the scale closer toward the life God intended for you?

(You can leave a comment by
clicking on the title of a post)

Chatter

Hey, batter!  Hey, batter!

I’m flashing back to my little league days when our coach would say, “Let’s hear a little chatter out there!”

In case you didn’t know, you can leave comments on blog articles by clicking on the title of the article.  So, right now, click on “Chatter” and check out the new page that opens up.

Once you're on the interior page, you'll see where it says “Post a Comment” a little further down.  Give it a shot.  “Squeak” counts as a comment in my book.  So, let’s get some squeaks out there!

Disaster Relief

In his daily report from the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Orlando, Pastor Summer tells of how our church is in action responding to the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.  Many of us are impacted by the images and stories of disasters from around the world.  The ELCA, through its partnership with Lutheran World Relief, is active in caring for God's people and responding in a way that is much needed, impactful, and ongoing.  You can help these efforts right now with prayers for those affected and those working to respond to crisis.  You can learn more about how your offering contributes to our church's efforts, and make an additional designated gift at www.elca.org/disaster.

Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon - Day 4

Here’s Tina’s report from the last day of the Youth of Zion’s Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon service project:

Day 4

Wednesday, July 27

Today, the last day of "Hot and Hungry" was a very successful one.  At Brady Life Camp, the green group finished painting a sound booth as well as the arts and crafts shed, exceeding the expectations of those who run the camp.  The blue group was at the Faith Kitchen, cooking a lunch of hot dogs for their guests.  They also worked at washing the walls both upstairs and downstairs and cleaning the kitchen.  The red and orange groups both were delivering the food we have collected (over one ton!) in two separate caravans.  We delivered to the Fisherman's Mark Food Pantry in Lambertville, the Open Cupboard Food Pantry in Clinton, the Flemington Area Food Pantry, the Frenchtown Food Pantry, the Hampton Food Pantry, and the North Hunterdon Community Food Pantry in Glen Gardener.  After our work, we headed to the Good News Home for Women to have lunch and listen to the moving testimonies of the women who live there.  We came back to the CEB for a final worship, listing all the things we were thankful for. 

So, to sum up our work. Thirty-seven youth gathered to serve at four locations.  As I said, we literally gathered over a ton of food.  Collectively, our group gave a total of 1,092 hours of service.

If I may, I believe that I will declare "Hot and Hungry" a success.

 ------------
The Church Mouse would like to thank Tina Dornbusch for taking us all along with YOZ and their friends from Trinity Lutheran in Dover and Grace Lutheran in Mendham for Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon.  Congratulations to the entire team on a successful project, and thank you for all of your service!

Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon - Day 3

Here’s the latest from Tina Dornbusch on all of the amazing work our Youth Group is doing as part of the Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon service project:

Day 3

Tuesday, July 26

Today was a successful third day of "kingdom work" at five separate locations.  At the Good News Home, the green group were busy with clearing out more forgotten belongings to be taken to an overfull dumpster.  They also cleared out overgrown patches of garden area.  The blue group was off to Habitat for Humanity, working with people from Johnson & Johnson.  They put shingles on the roof, removed a bad beam and its cement footing, and exposed their inability to measure when they attempted to install a kick plate as Sue used a table saw.  The campers were very excited to see our red group at Brady Life Camp, even rapping to greet them.  The volunteers then worked on organizing excess Christmas presents and painting the art building.  The orange group fed tuna hoagies, fruit, and deviled eggs to 85 people at the Faith Kitchen as well as getting a chance to have conversation with some of the guests.  They also worked at cleaning.  At the Veteran's Home, they worked around the house as well as bringing 2 dozen cupcakes for the dessert.  Lou was in a talkative mood, discussing his experiences of growing up in Canada and being a tank driver in the Korean War.  After this work was done, the groups made our way over to Round Valley Reservoir to swim and shower.  Dinner was next, and then a trip to Matheny School for a music presentation.  All the kids felt thoroughly embarrassed by the multiple camp songs which they were called to the front to present.  Miraculously, we avoided getting caught in the brewing storm and were able to finish our time at Matheny on a good note.  Now, of course, it's time for bed; we still have plenty of work ahead of us tomorrow.

Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon - Day 2

In a Church Mouse exclusive, Tina Dornbusch reports daily from our Youth Group’s service project, Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon:

Day 2
Monday, July 25, 2011

"Hot and Hungry" got off to a great start today as the four groups were sent off to their respective work sites.  At the Faith Kitchen, the green group made tacos and sorted the food donations.  The guests were talkative and willing to share life stories, mottos, and a quick Spanish lesson.  Afterward, they made their way to the Veteran's Home, helping to sand and paint.  At the Habitat to Humanity site, the red group worked hard at relaying a sidewalk, putting in bolts for a deck, installing cabinet blocks, moving haybales, and digging dirt for a foundation.  Sue was very excited about her chance to use a power saw.  Over at the Good News Home, the orange group split up into two sections.  The first group worked on pulling weeds near the garden area.  The second worked on cleaning out a barn, filling an entire dumpster with what they cleared out.  At the Brady Life Camp, the blue group got the chance to eat lunch with the campers and learn about the foundation of the camp.  They also painted sheds for the camp.  Toward the end of the work period, a rainstorm began, stopping our plans to go to Round Valley Reservoir.  Instead, we visited the Talis house once more, using their outdoor shower to quickly clean up.  After, we returned to the CEB for a short presentation about Matheney School and a campfire.  There were plenty of old camp songs sung, and Pastor gave a special performance of his "Stupid Magic Tricks".  They were, as Megan puts it, "groundbreaking".  Tonight, we all hope to get more sleep than last night to prepare for the big day of work ahead of us.

Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon - Day 1

Squeak!  Hi everyone!  I'm very excited to bring you a Church Mouse exclusive day-by-day report of all the action going on with Hot & Hungry in Hunterdon - the Youth of Zion's follow-up to last year's very successful mission project Down & Dirty in Dover.  Here's Tina Dornbusch on the first day's activities: 

Day 1
Sunday, July 24

For months, there has been talk of a youth service program called "Hot and Hungry in Hunterdon" this summer. Today, the program officially started. After gathering at the CEB, we made our way to the Talis house. We may have been off to a rocky start, with people getting lost on their way, but the party was filled with fun. Upon arriving back at the CEB, there was a worship service with the "Made to Praise" band. Just to add to the excitement, we even got to set down our music for a song! After a quick orientation, we all continued on to "quiet" activities until we went to sleep. Of course, I must here emphasize my use of quotations around the word quiet; there was some disagreement as to whether these qualified. 

Tomorrow, we will split up in to groups to begin our service--or, as Pastor would say, our Kingdom Work. But for tonight, it's time to get as much sleep as possible before that begins.

Simply Giving

Squeak!  Hi everyone.  Hope you're all having a great summer.

One of the things that makes summer fun is taking the annual vacation, or maybe spending a weekend down at the shore.  One of the things that makes summer nice and carefree is not worrying about missing an offering to Zion when you travel.  The best way to do this is to sign up for Simply Giving, a program that automatically transfers funds from your checking account to the church - either one time or regularly.

You can sign up and manage your giving online. http://www.zionoldwick.com/simplygiving
It's really easy, but if you need some help or have any questions, feel free to contact the church office.

25 Years! - Congrats Walt & Susie! - VBS

Squeak!  There's so much going on at Zion!  First of all, a big "thank you" and "congratulations" to Pastor Summer, who is celebrating 25 years at Zion this year.  We love you! 

Thanks to Wendy Minerowicz and the Parish Life committee for organizing the Church Picnic, Mike Jennison and the Council for the fun "Preacher Extraordinaire" song, and thanks to everyone for coming out and bringing all the tasty food.

Congratulations to new members Walt and Susie Sandulli, who were married on Saturday!

Finally, I'm so excited for Vacation Bible School this week!  What's your favorite Bible School song?  (Mine is "All God's Critters!")

(Click on the title of the post to leave a comment)

Making new friends!

Squeak!  Hi everyone!  Our new website has been up and running for about a week and a half now, and already I’ve made lots of new friends.  As of June 12, 157 different people from 23 different states have stopped by to say hello.  How cool is that?  Pastor Summer preached on Pentecost about running out into the streets to share the Good News.  You can do almost the same thing with the Invite a Friend page.  Give it a shot!

As always, I'd love to hear what you think about the site.  Send squeaks to me at churchmouse@zionoldwick.com

First Squeak!

Squeak!  Hey everyone!   I overhear lots of conversation at the church, but now I can hear from people who have never even been to Oldwick.  So, hey out there!  What do you think of the new website?  If you're visiting and have never been to Zion, tell us where you're from, and stop by and see me sometime!  To leave a message on a blog, click my picture, then click "squeaks" at the bottom of the post.  Or you can email me directly at churchmouse@zionoldwick.com!