Blog Archives - Lutheran Women's Missionary League California Nevada Hawaii

Gospel Outreach

5/23/2021

by Bev Vietor, VP Gospel Outreach

Aloha, as they say in Hawaii. Zone 11-Hawaii had virtual gatherings at the end of March. They requested a video visit from Penny. The response was so positive to Penny’s video she is making it available for everyone to see where Penny lives.

Click on this link: https://youtu.be/1_n4CiRJoXM

Spend 5 minutes as Penny attempts to make mighty mites in her hometown, a small village with a four way stop sign in the foothills of California. You’ll visit her home church and meet her 92 year old Bible study teacher. Plus, the video provides important information on how to keep current with our grant projects. Get your pencil and paper ready with a cup of coffee as you enjoy 5 minutes with Penny.

Speaking of keeping current with mites, here’s a quick update. Time wise we are half way through our biennium, sadly we are only at 36% funding for our grant goal. One sad fact, as we have some really great grants that need funding so the gospel of our Lord can be shared in some unique ways. Keep collecting your mites and just as important, pray for our grants and the people who are working with them. Pray for your LWML CNH leaders, your church family, LWML nation, LCMS, and our nation. Prayers are powerful.

Christian Life

5/23/2021

by LaVada Terrell, VP Christian Life

I’m here to tell you more about the resources you can find on our LWML website (lwml.org). This time, I’ll share with you what is under the tab labeled The Word, e.g., program resources, group and personal meditations.

BIBLE STUDIES

A synopsis of the latest and most popular Bible study. At this time, a highlight of a two-session study by Linda Koch called Steps of Faith, searching the Scriptures and spending time reflecting on individual and collective experiences and the journey ahead.
LWML continues to support missions and missionaries in Europe with a series of Bible studies translated into Russian and Ukrainian. The Bible studies, written by well-known author Donna Snow, were originally published by the LWML in English. With grants from several districts, and in cooperation with the WORDrus Mission Society, eight multi-session Bible studies are now available to missionaries and individuals as free downloads.
There is a link to the LWML/CPH store where Bible study books can be purchased.
Lutheran Women’s Quarterly Bible studies can be downloaded, some with leader guides, some in Spanish, and archived from the present back to 1998.
The following can all be downloaded:
- Long/Multi-session Bible studies
- Short/Single session Bible studies on numerous topics and themes, church year, and seasons.
- Sketches/dramatizations, creative crafts, litanies, responsive readings, and short programs.

MUSTARD SEED DEVOTIONS

Individual Mustard Seed devotions may be read and downloaded.
Compilation booklets and packets of Mustard Seed devotions may be purchased.
History of Mustard Seed devotions
Uses of Mustard Seed devotions

PROGRAM RESOURCES

Program examples to include icebreakers, devotions, Bible studies, service projects
Links to Bible studies, dramatizations, sketches, craft projects, litanies, short programs
Retreat packages on different topics
Tab for seasonal themes

COLORING SCRIPTURES

Themed bookmarks, notecards, and pages, to download and color
Some in Spanish

ALL SPIRITUAL GROWTH RESOURCES

All of the above in shortened form
Also specific devotions for Gospel Outreach, Mission Grants, Podcast, Mite Box
LWML league pledge and songs

President's Message

5/23/2021

by Martha Dubke, LWML CNH District President

Dear sisters and brothers of the LWML CNH District,

On your mark, get set, GO! The time is flying by and soon we will be “Running the Race … Looking to Jesus” as we join many sisters and brothers in Lexington, Kentucky, be it in person or virtually!

June 24 through June 27 will be a time to gather for the election of officers, find out who will be the Mission Grant recipients, listen to Bible Study leader, Heidi Goehmann, be encouraged by our Keynote Speaker, Linda Reiser, be inspired by the messages of Mites in Action Speakers, giggle with the humorous interrupters, Jan Struck and Abby Goehring, and worship and celebrate. Opportunities to serve, to grow, to be encouraged abound.

Since I last wrote, the LWML CNH Executive Committee and the Board of Directors met via Zoom in February to go through reports and receive information in preparation for the Convention. I was absent from this meeting because I was in the hospital, but am thankful that all is well now. Thank you for your prayers and notes of encouragement. (P.S – One thing I learned is that excessive consumption of licorice tea can cause high blood pressure! No kidding)

In March, I participated in a Zoom meeting with LWML President Debbie Larson and the District Presidents and welcomed the news that our Convention would be held in person. A lot of work has been done to make this Convention possible and we are very thankful to have the opportunity to go. At this point there is a limit as to how many people can register. We are praying that Kentucky will open up and that all who desire to attend in person will be allowed to come.

The ladies of Zone 11, from Hawaii, invited me to an online event, Women in Mission, on two Saturdays in March. Presenter Beth Zier had a very meaningful presentation and we had a chance to get to know each other a bit more by being in chat rooms. The event was very well attended and included ladies from Hawaii, California, Nevada and even Hong Kong.

It is good news that other Zones are planning events in April and May, some online and others in person. There are events such as a Virtual Pajama Party and The Main Event presented online by Mt. Diablo Zone 7, and an in-person Prayer Service event put on by North Sacramento Zone 12, to name a few.

I’m thankful that a pandemic cannot stop the LWML from functioning and realize how adept you have all become with technology. Congratulations on honing your skills on the computer and on being willing to learn and use the technology that is available. I know it might be scary sometimes, but with God nothing is impossible.

On a personal note, I’m thrilled to announce that my husband and I will be meeting our first grandchild in September. I’m looking forward to learning all about being grandma. Any advice is welcome.

May you be encouraged with the words of our new Mission Statement, “As Lutheran Women in Mission, we joyfully proclaim Christ, support missions, and equip women to honor God by serving others.”

Zone 3 News

5/23/2021

by Cathey King, Zone 3 President

A Zoom Board Meeting got us back on track for LWML on March 13. Sometime during the Lockdown, I lost track of my responsibilities as a Zone President, a Senior Moment of great length! It was good to see all the ladies and talk about plans. Our Zone Human Care project through May is again collecting food for local food banks due to the large numbers of people still having hardships.

Being in the Central Valley, some of us are still in the purple and red tiers. Gatherings, even small ones at the churches, are frowned upon by those in authority. Most societies are only collecting mites while others have Zoom or masked in-person meetings depending on local rules.

Zone 3 is planning a Zoom Rally on Saturday April 17. Good Shepherd, Turlock, is hosting. Our speaker is from Westside Ministries and we have been promised a children’s chorus for our entertainment! Naomi, Grace, Modesto, plans to meet at the church to “attend” the Rally together. There is some talk that the Zone President will provide lunch. Hmmm.

Zone 5 News

5/23/2021

by Linda Lynch, President, Zion, Terra Bella

As our Zone 5 is not active at this time, I am sending an update on what our LWML is doing here at Zion, Terra Bella. As you know LWML is about "Serving the Lord with Gladness" and that is literally what we have done since January. Since our Christmas Bazaar was so successful with its modifications and pretty well attended, we decided to host a soup luncheon after church on Feb. 28. This was open to the congregation and was done as a " big thank you" to all of our church staff and volunteers. So in honor of them, our LWML ladies made a variety of soups and had bread, drinks and cake and "served" many of our congregational members with a choice of eating inside, outside, or as a take out luncheon at no charge. Everyone enjoyed a good meal and a good time!

We also were blessed to receive a donation in memory of a former member and we decided to use that money to help our Zion School children by providing a hot lunch for them when we could. So we had the privilege of providing a hot lunch and "serving" them in early February when they celebrated Lutheran Schools Week and also in April. It was fun to see their smiles, happy faces and their "thank you's"!

Nominating Committee

5/23/2021

by Marcia Houseworth

How often have we recited the LWML League Pledge? As Lutheran Women in Mission, we can all answer, “lots and lots of times.” We are so blessed as an organization to say that we have heeded the call: …and in obedience to His call for workers in the harvest fields, we pledge Him our willing service wherever and whenever He has need of us. In our societies, zones, and district, women are sewing, teaching, building, filing, visiting, cooking, serving, mentoring, writing, donating, leading, planning, sharing, etc.

Dare we, as a Nominating Committee, ask for more? Yes, we are. We are seeking names for the positions of

Vice President of Convention Planning
Vice President of Organizational Resources
Recording Secretary
Financial Secretary
President

Are you that person or do you know someone with leadership abilities willing to “tackle another job”?

Please send your suggestions or your own personal interest to Marcia Houseworth. The Nominating Committee is grateful for your help.

Zone 15 News

5/23/2021

by LaVada Terrell, Zone 15 President
The month of April, the three larger churches – Peace, Fresno; Emmanuel, Clovis; Grace, Visalia – opened their doors for worship. Also, these three societies also had their first meeting since March 2020. PTL! I attended all six meetings to hear about their plans for the future.

First Lutheran, Dinuba: ongoing collections of diapers and other baby items for local Pregnancy Resource Center; Dorcas Quilters started meeting again on Monday mornings; quilts go to LWR and local nursing homes; spent the month of April preparing for the Spring Rally.
Our Saviour’s, Caruthers: monthly Bible Study using the LWQ have continued since October with six in attendance; had their yearly LWML meeting in January making plans for the year. April brought the installation of their pastor, Rev. Scott Jacobsen; plans in place for their annual aebleskiver/ham breakfast on May 16th.
Grace, Visalia: have knitted 541 caps for the Cancer Society; have set a date for their annual Fall/Christmas Boutique on Nov 6; working on cookie baskets for shut-ins; craft dates will soon begin.
St. Paul’s, Selma: working toward their annual yard sale on May 8th; have lots of items since they couldn’t have one last year.

Emmanuel, Clovis: planning a tea in June to bring their ladies back together; many of their ladies died this last year or moved away, including two of their officers; however, two ladies came forward to fill these positions.
Peace, Fresno: planning to put together school backpacks with supplies for Sept at the local school; hoping to have their annual Oktoberfest; have resumed weekly Bible studies and craft days.

Our Zone SPRING RALLY was held at First Lutheran in Dinuba on Saturday, April 24th with 32 in attendance. This was our first Zone gathering since January 2020. Our Zone Counselor, Vicar Travis Wright, led us in a Bible Study on Mission Deo (Mission of God). Vicar Travis has been on mission trips to Guatemala; shared how he got started going there, and what they did while there: built stoves, water filters, VBS, worship. Also, Heather Borders shared about an orphanage they also support there in Guatemala – One Child Beyond Int’l. She is now a director for the organization and based out of Redeemer in Fresno. They presented a lovely video showing some of the beautiful landscape, the orphanage, the children, as well as the cardboard dwellings. Raffle items included a beautiful quilt made by a member of First, a Guatemalan handmade tapestry, and numerous gift baskets. Raffle monies and a generous offering was given to the mission fund and to One Child Beyond. First Lutheran LWML provided a Mexican luncheon of enchiladas, rice, beans, chips/salsa along with assorted salads and desserts. Such a fun day was had by all!

Convention Planning

5/23/2021

by Roxan Schwab, VP Convention Planning

2022 C0NVENTION NEWS!
Save the Date: June 10-12, 2022 (NOTE: Date is in June due to chance of snow over the pass for travelers)
Nugget Casino Resort, Sparks, NV

More to come in the fall.

Zone 10 News

5/23/2021

by Sylvia Dankers, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fallon, NV

Our group is small but we keep busy! Normally that is – COVID put a stop to our activities since March but I wanted to show a little about what we have done. We meet monthly to enjoy each other’s company, talk church news, and plan for fellowship snacks for events, after church, or whatever church may need.

Our main fundraiser is an annual Craft Fair – of course we did not have one last year, but we will this year!!! Our society makes items to raffle – our vendors also donate an item from their booth towards our efforts! The proceeds from our fair are used to send donations to Domestic Violence Program in our community a home of adults with limitations; our church; Senior Centers for the Meals on Wheels programs; our local high school for yearbooks; World Vision; and other community programs.

We fill new or gently-used purses filled with toiletries (i.e. toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, sewing kits, lotion, tissues, brushes, combs, etc) and take to our Domestic Violence chapter. Women (with children) come to the shelters sometimes with nothing but what they are wearing, and we not only provide them with necessary emergency items, but they also get a nice purse!

Zone 7 News

5/23/2021

by Cherylene Brueckner, Zone 7 President

April greetings from Zone 7. I write this article on the eve of our Spring Event, Young Women & the Young at Heart, Sisters in Christ! . . . In this ever-changing world, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. As we gently ease ourselves from the pandemic, we are once again having our event on Zoom. We are excited about getting together, and we are most thankful for God’s gifts that enable us!

Friday evening, we are hosting a Zoom Pajama Party, with fellowship, encouragement, and a candlelight devotion as we re-connect. Saturday morning, we will continue with the Main Event with devotions, “fast track” business meeting, Bible Study with Pastor Nick, exercises to God’s Word, Miss Penny video, Mite challenge, District Rep. Roxan, music, and prayers.

We are borrowing this theme and model from a retreat held by the Northern Illinois District. Do any other zones have an interest in teaming up with us to host an online winter retreat in January? The idea of having a pajama party with our sisters near and far from Crescent City to Reno, to Bakersfield, to Hilo, and all points in between sounds like fun to me! Let me know your interest. We can make this happen!

Benicia Lutheran Church – by Sherry Bell
Our church has not had a specific women’s activity over the past year. However, at Christmas 2020, many members of the congregation used Amazon Smile to donate wish list items to Noah’s Ark Preschool. Books, arts and craft items, playground equipment and classroom supplies were donated--a double benefit because the preschool received the needed items and the church received donations via Amazon Smile. The church youth group used some of their funds to purchase Christmas gifts for a needy family. This was sponsored through Benicia Community Action Council, a local nonprofit that provides many vital services for underserved families in Benicia. Our church has worked with the CAC many times over the years, usually at Christmas, but also during the year with food donations.

First Lutheran Church, Concord - First Lutheran Ladies – by Lynnette Campbell
During the COVID 19 pandemic our ladies have continued to contribute our mites. We participated in 2 Thrivent Action teams. One which involved marking Bibles for a Prison Ministry based in El Paso, TX. We were able to provide 100+ Bibles in English and Spanish. The second project was to host a Virtual Easter Egg Hunt and Food Drive for our local community. We are excited about the upcoming Zone Event on Zoom and hope that there will be in person gatherings in the not-too-distant future.

Our Savior Lutheran Church, Livermore – by Susan Contreras
Kris Back continues to lead the quilting group, aiming for another 100 quilts this year.
Beth Young has skillfully led us through the Lois Tverberg book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, as a Bible Study. The book has chapters with an essay and then questions to answer, so we had to read many passages from the Bible, and we gained an understanding of how the Hebrews viewed Jesus and His Ministry. Ms.Tverberg gave us a new understanding of ancient Hebrew thinking and practices. Did you know that Hebrew boys had to memorize the Torah, and Psalms and the Prophets? That is why they could understand Jesus’ statements that indirectly pointed to Him being the Messiah.

St. Philip Lutheran Church, Dublin – by Andrea Green
The Mary-Martha group put together over 50 boxes for Christmas Child this last year. For Easter this year, we built a Living Cross for our altar display.

Resurrection Ministries, Brentwood – by Jan Perry
Like all our sister churches, we have held on-line services since the beginning of the Pandemic, along with on-going Bible Studies via Zoom and even Zoom communion services, preceded by the recipe for making unleavened bread if we wished to make it in our homes! We have recently been holding services in the church parking lot and plan to move inside in the coming weeks.

Our Human Resources ladies and our youth have made a point the past year to periodically put little “thinking of you” tokens on the porches of various members, which have resulted in pleasant surprises and smiles.

At the end of 2020, Resurrection members were challenged by Pastor Dave to engage in a pledge to read the entire Bible in 2021 and were provided with a few guided options as suggestions. A good number of members have taken up the challenge and are using the App found on bibleinoneyear.org (led by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel). For anyone interested, it is a wonderful study and format. I highly recommend it!

Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Concord – Women of Holy Cross – by Joyce Liebe
Our ladies’ group continues with Monday morning “Coffee & Conversation” Zoom calls – 4-12 gals attend. We held our 1st evening "Keeping Connected" Zoom call in March (pix at left). We had a topic "share a funny story from high school". We also shared pictures. What a joy to learn & share with one another! And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25

We hosted our 1st annual Ragin’ Cajun Valentine Occasion. It included a sled full of Shrimp Boil (prepared by Pastor Mundinger), Gumbo over Rice, & Mardi Gras decorated cupcakes. It was a fun, socially distant, tailgate meal with several meals taken to-go. $384 collected from free will offerings was sent to Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano County

Our Savior Lutheran, Pinole - by Karen Mauer
The ladies of Our Savior, Pinole did not meet during the shut down of the church. Their last meeting in 2020 was on March 2. They continued to contribute to the society with their dues and mite offerings. After services on You-Tube and meetings on Zoom each Sunday, the church members were happy to get together again with indoor services on February 28.

LWML had its first meeting on April 5, 2021. What a glorious day to be able to meet again. Some ladies did not feel they could attend yet and we hope that will change in the near future. During the past year they continued to support the student food banks quarterly at Concordia Fort Wayne and Concordia St. Louis. Also, Bethesda Home and Lutheran Bible Translators were supported. Our mite projects received $833 at this time. Looking forward to getting back to meeting together and activities.

The comments and opinions expressed herein on this website do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and point of view of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League or The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Statements are made exclusively by the author(s) and appear as written and have not been subjected to the Lutheran Women's Missionary League or The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod doctrinal review process.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version(R) (ESV(R)) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
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