Author: troy

Dinner & Dancing Under the Stars

St. Paul Lutheran Church and the Shared Lutheran Ministries present:

Dinner and Dancing Under the Stars

When:

Saturday, July 20
Serving at 5pm

Where:

Hermann Sons Life Hall, Rutersville
5830 St. Hwy 159, La Grange, TX

What:

Dinner: Fried chicken, sausage, and trimmings. Dine-in preferred.
Free will offering: all proceeds benefit Lutherhill Ministries.
Live and Silent Auction: This year there will be a “SECRETARY SHOWDOWN” between Cheri Herbrich of SLM and Ruth Poncik of St. Paul. Each are bringing their ‘specialty’ for the live auction to see who can raise the most money for LUTHERHILL.
Music provided by: The Back Porch Boys at 6pm

BYOB and lawn chairs.

Members are encouraged to bring desserts for the meal.

 

$15,000 Raised for Rain or Shine Campaign

At Synod Assembly St. Paul La Grange heard the story of KINDRED and their work in and for their community. St. Paul council voted to gift KINDRED $15,000 for their Rain or Shine campaign. Kinnon Falk was in La Grange to receive the gift with some of the St. Paul Council. St. Paul hope this encourages other churches in the Synod to help KINDRED. Yes, God was Calling and St. Paul WAS LISTENING!

Fishers of Men 2023 Weekend Retreat

Fishers of Men had their annual weekend retreat at Meiners Ranch near Cotulla the weekend of January 26-29, 2023. About 12 men attended and all worked together to provide meals and devotionals. There was time for visiting, riding the ranch, and leisure time.

A.M.E.N. Donations

St. Paul donated a total of 962 pounds of food to AMEN as of 9/13 in 2022!

That is AMAZING! However, donations are down from 2021 by 300 pounds. Monetary donations for this year to AMEN are $2,900. AMEN has struggled in recent months with supply chain issues from their supplier. Please keep them in your thoughts when you shop, even a modest amount to your personal shopping list can make a huge impact to someone in need.

The second weekend of each month is when we emphasize AMEN donations, but we are happy to take them all month long! There is a cart in the Narthex and green baskets on the office porch and under the drive-through. Monetary donations to AMEN are also welcome – just mark your envelope AMEN.

Thank you for your generous donations.

Letter from Council President Karen Bellue

Hello All,
Fall is finally here! Some may say in Texas that doesn’t mean much but I am embracing the new season and I hope you all are too. Your council met this past Tuesday, September 20th.

Some months there are agenda items that require a great deal of attention and other months there are simply house keeping items acted upon. This was one of those meetings. Below you will find an account of items discussed.

Dianne Lude reported that on October 30th there will be a Sunday Fun Day pumpkin carving event.

Atlan Citzler gave an update on memorial funded projects. He said he will present a list of 2022 projects in its entirety ayt the next annual meeting in January.

Russell Dittrich shared there is soon to be a synod-wide meeting regarding mission projects in Peru and elsewhere. The church we have contributed to in the past there has not responded to communications in the last year or more. We will look to the synod for guidance in this matter.

After a recent property committee meeting David Ehler shared a report outlining painting projects to be considered after bids are secured. Gutter cleaning, curbing the playground, contracting electrical work for both the church and the office are all projects that will be moving forward this fall. This month rental house issues were shared. A new dishwasher was purchased and rotting entry points through the basement area will need repair. Fencing will need to be replace on another rental house. The largest project will be an extensive trimming of the oak trees on the property that will take place in October or November. The next property committee meeting will be October 11th to discuss bids and timelines for these projects.

Russell Dittrich let the council know that the new website is under production and is 80% completed. The next step is to decide who, what, where and how it will be maintained and updated after rolling out.

Ruth also brought her concerns about the ancient office copier. It was decided we would continue with the same company for services and lease a new one.

Work on reviving the nursery will be continuing in the next few weeks. We will let you and the young families of the congregation know when it is ready for littles.

As always, your council is here to serve our congregation. Please share any blessings or concerns with any of us. We want to thank all of you who worship with us on weekends and who volunteer throughout the month for making Saint Paul Lutheran a house where we all feel like God’s family.

Shalom,
Karen B. Bellue, council president

Honor Flight for Gilbert Freudenberg

Gilbert Freudenberg recently participated in the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Gilbert was recognized as a Korean War veteran and went to Washington D.C. on September 16 and 17, Flight # 75. He caught the flight in Austin, Texas, where he and other veterans were greeted by a Military Honor Guard. In Washington, he stayed at the Sheraton Hotel, in view of the National Monument Mall. On Saturday they were bussed to the Mall and ceremonies began with a posting of the colors at the World War II memorial, followed by visits to memorials recognizing veterans of the Korean War and Vietnam War, as well as the Lincoln Memorial and the gravesite of Audie Murphy at Arlington National Cemetery.

Later they were taken to the Air Force Museum, the Naval Museum, and the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. One of the other participants, the only World War II veteran on the trip, assisted in the placing of the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. Upon return to the Austin airport, the veterans were greeted by a Military Honor Guard and an Austin Fire Department water salute.

(Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that provides this service free of charge, with staffing mostly by volunteers. This was the 10th anniversary of the flights departing from Austin.)