Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack event -- March 31 and April 1

Zion is seeking 500 volunteers to pack 100,000+ meals over two days, which will be delivered to starving children around the world.  Come help us pack and help us raise funds for this important event.  

Registration is done through the Feed My Starving Children website.  Please click here to register.   

Please click here to see a video from our 2016 Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack event.

A Message from Pastor Summer -- February 2017

Congregational Meeting — How will we say “Yes”?

 This past Sunday, we held our annual congregational meeting.  I am very grateful for all those who were able to attend.  Our annual meeting is very important in the life of our congregation.  For those who were not able to come and for those who did and would appreciate a summary, I would like to go over the high points.  We finished the election of our Church Council for 2107.  John McAleer and Richard Schumann will be joining our President, Judy Formalarie, and Vice-President, Todd Rothermel, along with Janet Hornich, Jeff Livingston, Rebecca Melick, Bob Durham, and Emma Mikitiuk to make up our council.  The budget for 2017 was passed.  It was noted that we ended last year strongly, however, we still fell short of meeting expenses by $3,000.  In addition, we noted a trend of decrease giving.  This trend is reflected in our budget for 2017.  Most notably, this led to a decrease in our giving to the Synod from 12% to 10%.  The Bulletin of Reports (always a good read) was presented and approved.  It was noted that the biggest event of last year was Feed My Starving Children, where we packaged 108,000 meals for children around the world.  A presentation was given about the position of Director of Youth and Family Ministries.  We have a potential candidate, who will be meeting with various groups within the congregation.  This position will require an additional financial commitment from our congregation.  There was also a presentation of potential church renovations.  Permission was given to explore crown molding and frieze along with refurbishing the paneling on the choir loft.   Finally, the Church Council was officially installed and the meeting was concluded with prayer.

This brings me to the main point of my message this month.  I told a joke at the end of the meeting.  A pastor tells his congregation that he had good news and bad news.  The good news is that they had more than enough money to do everything they envision.  The bad news is that the money is in their pockets.  For me, the challenge before our congregation is this.  After a year of significant loss of key members through death and moves, we have a challenge before us.   Those people constitute a loss in both giving and volunteers.  This is either a setback or an opportunity.  We need people to say “Yes.”  Here is the challenge.  If we are to have a Vacation Bible School, we need people to take on leadership roles.  If we are to continue Family Promise, we need people to volunteer.  If we want to reclaim our narrative of generous giving to the Synod, we need people to give.  If we want a Director of Youth and Family Ministry, we need people to go the extra mile.  If we want to make renovations to the church, we will need additional support.  The truth is that all these things are within our grasp.  My prayer is that we are moved by God to say “Yes.”  I believe this can be a great year for us at Zion.

Peace,

Pastor Summer

January Council Highlights -- by Judy Formalarie, Council President

· Council members got to meet and interview the candidate for the Director of Youth and Family Ministries position.  It was decided that he will next meet with other church groups, such as the Christian Education Committee, for their input.  We will continue to have him meet  with others, and any new resumes that come in to us will also be reviewed for suitability.  A small task force was named to move this forward.

· It was noted that Feed My Starving Children funding is going well and we should be able to fully fund the event this year.

· Family Promise will be here in March and more volunteers are needed.

· The Stewardship committee reported that 99% of pledges for 2016 have been fulfilled.

· Containers are now available for people to use to fill our freezer with food.  Anyone can pick them up, fill them and return to the freezer.  The frozen meals are then available to anyone in need.

· In honor of Kay Beagle, the closet in the CEB where Family Promise supplies are kept will be named “Kay’s Closet”.

· In recognition of the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, more intentional activities will be planned to celebrate and  discuss Martin Luther and the Lutheran faith.

· Rick Schroeder has agreed to be a ‘point person’ for the CEB to look at usage, costs, and policies.

· This month’s thanks go to:

* Sean Dalgauer for playing the bagpipes on Christmas Eve.

* Janet Hornich for the Christmas Eve luminaries.

* The volunteers who changed all the light bulbs at the CEB.

The next meeting of the Church Council will be on February 23rd.

REFLECTIONS ... by Joanne Rupp

Last month when I was writing about the emergency light/exit sign issues I mentioned that we need another Glenn Beagle.  Never did I think that one month later I would be saying we need another Kay Beagle.  We all know there is no one person who can be a Kay Beagle.  It will take a lot of us to equal Kay. 

In March we will be put to the test when Family Promise comes back to Zion for two weeks.  Kay was the person who filled in all the holes when no one volunteered to help.  I will admit that I am one of the people who never volunteered to be on site.  I would think, “This is not in my wheelhouse.  I don’t know how to do this.”  I think there are a lot of people like me.  A “regular” needs to take me by the hand and be my mentor.  I hope there are others out there that just need a mentor because it is going to take a lot of mentoring to fill the hole that Kay has left.  Let’s honor Kay together.

Update from the Social Ministry committee -- by Rebecca Melick

As a committee, we are deeply saddened with the passing of Kay Beagle.  Kay, or Mrs. Beagle, as I still called her, was a friend and a role model to us all.  Unbelievably at 92, she still ran our Family Promise hosting program, greeting guests each day, tending to their needs and coordinating volunteers.  It was Kay who spent long weekend days at the CEB, always with a smile and kind word.  Let's do her proud and fill up the volunteer spots.  If you are  a veteran, recruit a friend who has never served.  If you are new, give it a try, but please help us to keep the tradition going. 

In Kay's memory, Social Ministry is considering undertaking a minor remodel of the Family Promise linen closet on the 3rd floor on the CEB.  This was a wish of Kay's to make it easier for volunteers to sort and store sheets and towels used by our guests.  If anyone is handy and interested in helping us with this project, please call Rebecca Melick at (908)229-3744 or email at rrmelick@gmail.com.

Coffee Drive for Faith Kitchen

Our coffee drive continues through February.  So far, we have collected 113 pounds.  We have exceeded our minimum goal, but are hoping to double our collecting to 200 lbs, exceeding our collection from 2016.  Donations can be placed in the narthex or entrance to the CEB

Family Promise — March 5 - March 19

Our Family Promise guests will be arriving in just one month.  Look for an electronic sign up, or sign up using the paper copy in the narthex.  It goes without saying that more volunteers are needed as Social Ministry committee members will be taking over the countless hours put in by Kay Beagle to make this ministry possible.

Feed My Starving Children — Friday 3/31 and Saturday 4/1

Members of Zion and friends will once again be given the opportunity to claim the days and times of their choosing prior to general registration through the FMSC website.  An email will be sent out by mid February with an electronic link.  Volunteers will also be needed to help with registration, set up, clean up and refreshments for the FMSC staff.

Tag Sale — April 29th (rain date of May 6th)

As spring arrives, save your treasures for our 3rd ( I can't believe it!) annual Oldwick Town Wide Tag Sale.  Donations will be received during April with a schedule to be published.  It was Kay's wish that donations from this sale start a scholarship fund for children of Family Promise to attend summer camp at Crossroads.          

Notes from the Annual Meeting of the Congregation

· Fifty-eight voting members of Zion were present for the meeting, which Pastor opened with prayer.  Council President Judy Formalarie welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them all for their support of the Council and the ministries of Zion.

· A vote was taken to approve two new Council Members:  John McAleer and Rich Schumann.

· The 2017 budget was discussed and approved unanimously.

· The Annual Report for 2016 was discussed, a few changes/corrections made, and then approved unanimously.

· Bob Durham gave an update on the search for a Director of Youth and Family Ministries.  A copy of the job description is available to the congregation.

· Harold Wrede gave a presentation on potential church renovations. The congregation gave full support to moving forward with the installation of crown molding and frieze in the sanctuary, and to investigating the feasibility of updating the paneling on the front of the choir loft.  Additional possible projects will be considered at a future time.

· Out-going Council members, Joanne and Ron Rupp and Mike Mikitiuk, were thanked for their service.  An installation was held for all incoming 2017 Council members.

· An emergency contact list will be created on a volunteer basis for anyone who would like to give contact information to the church office.

· The meeting ended in prayer.  Following the meeting, a potluck luncheon was enjoyed by all.  Thank you to Bob Durham who took charge of setting up and cleaning up the event.

Highlights from the Annual Retreat of the Church Council

On Friday night, January 27th, Council members met to discuss their starting point of faith and the gifts they bring to Council. It was a great way to get to know each other better.

On Saturday morning, we spent time reviewing specific areas of Zion and discussed how we could be more effective.  Those areas included:  Evangelism, Youth, Fellowship, Education, Shepherding, Stewardship and Mission.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time but the area of Worship will also be discussed at the next Council meeting.  

Comments were recorded and voted on for their importance. The most important two areas in each category will be a focus at each Council meeting to keep track of activities and work done to address them.

From the Endowment Committee

DESIGNATING ZION AS A BENEFICIARY OF YOUR IRA RETIREMENT PLAN

If you are considering leaving a bequest to Zion’s endowment as part of your estate planning, and you have an IRA Account, you may want to consider naming Zion as a beneficiary of your IRA instead.  The deposits you made into your IRA or Corporate Retirement plan went in PRE-TAX, which means when they come out they are taxable, unless you have already completed a Roth conversion.  What this means if you named your children as the beneficiaries of your IRA or your Retirement plan, or even your spouse, the distributions out of your plan or IRA are taxable as ordinary income to your children or your spouse.  If you have Life Insurance, investments or assets in your name, they are distributed out on a POST TAX basis, with no current income tax due.  Zion is a non-taxable entity, so distributions made to Zion carry NO TAX LIABILITY. So unlike distributions to children or spouses, Zion would get to keep the full amount designated, not reduced by any tax liability.  Stocks, real estate, or other assets are valued at the date of death, and if they have appreciated while you owned them, that appreciation is forgiven upon inheritance, something very valuable to your survivors.  So if you have an IRA or corporate retirement plans and are considering making a bequest to Zion, designate Zion as your beneficiary and let your surviving family members inherit your non-retirement assets without an income tax liability.

ENDOWMENT SUNDAYS FOR 2017:

The three Endowment Sundays for 2017 will be:

May 14^th – Mother’s Day

June 18^th – Father’s Day

November 5^th – All Saints Day

Please contact any member of the Endowment Committee (Geof Close, Ted Jermansen and Rick Schroeder) if you have any questions!

Discipleship -- February 2nd

Discipleship will be meeting on February 2 at the CEB.  It will begin with a potluck supper at 6:30 and discussion at 7:30.  This year, we will be focusing on the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation.   All are invited.  We would love to see you there!

Lunch Bunch -- February 9th

The Lunch Bunch will be meeting on February 9 at noon.  We will be going to Kristen’s Italian Grill, 1386 Rt. 22, Lebanon, NJ.  The phone number is 236-6022.  Join the fun.  We’re looking for you!

Vespers -- February 9th & 23rd

Vespers meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.  This month, we gather on February 9th and 23rd.  There is a Soup Supper at the CEB at 6 p.m. followed by Vespers at 7 p.m.  This worship experience has been deeply meaningful to many people.  Please join us!

Beginning in March, Vespers will move to the first and third Thursdays of the month.

Book of Faith

The Book of Faith is continuing to explore the Gospel of Matthew.  We are discovering how Matthew tells the story of Jesus.  How is Matthew the same as the other gospel writers?  How is he different?  What is Matthew’s witness?  Come join the conversation.  You won’t be disappointed.  The adventure continues!   

Please note: There will be no class on February 15.