Resurrection Bell Ringer
Days of Grace
Baptisms: Received in the joy of the Christian community through Holy Baptism were Matthew James Morris, Adeline Sabra Rush, and Lauren Elizabeth Moss. Matthew is the son of Clint and Becky Morris and was born on February 7, 2003. Adeline is the daughter of Stephan and Teddie Rush and was born on June 17, 2003. Lauren is the daughter of Jason and Kim Moss and was born on February 6, 2003. Welcome to the Lord’s family!
In Our Prayers
Hospitalized: Dora Rothenberger, Don Newswanger
Prayers for healing: Joyce Schmelzer
In Sympathy: Connie Wiernicki, for the death of her sister, Susan Gephart
Friends of the Congregation in need of God’s presence and comfort: Heidi & Steve Jordan
Many Thanks . . . .
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our Resurrection family. Your prayers and many kindnesses during Susan’s illness and death have lifted us and brought comfort in our time of loss. – Connie, Todd, Jacqueline, and Anna Wiernicki
Thanks to those who participated in our charity golf outing by playing, hole sponsorship, donations, or volunteering to work the outing. Congratulations to the team of Steve Rentz, Marty Welch, Craig Welch, and John Thompson for taking first place with a great eleven under par score.
RLC Senior High Youth Group Serves at Wheeler Mission . . . .
On Sunday, September 14, the RLC Youth Group helped serve dinner at Wheeler Mission. They served about 230 people in 30 minutes. It was quite an operation! Afterward, they helped clean up and prepare for the next day. In October, the FaithBuilders will take a turn serving at Wheeler Mission. Pictured from left to right: Marcie & Brian Hrankowski, Megan McCarty, Andrew Elsner, Adam Elsner, Laura Hewitt, Mary Cairns, Lara Clements, Amy Tatum, Sarah Cairns, Craig Cairns, Abby Tatum, and Pr. Mitch is taking the picture.
Mark your calendars:
Oct. 11 “Out of Darkness”
Oct. 11 & 18 Spriritual Gifts Class
Oct. 12 Prison Congregations in America
Oct. 26 Pumpkin Carving Party
From the Staff . . .
Partners in Christ,
Global Missions at RLC
Resurrection Lutheran Church has gone through tremendous spiritual and physical growth in the last seven years. Much of that has happened because of the emphasis placed on missional outreach. There has been a lot of wonderful things that have happened on a local and community level from this congregation. However, we have not done much with global missions. We sponsored an entire Ark for the Heifer Project last year which gave us a taste for helping others on a global scale, but what we hope to accomplish this next year is to personalize or put some skin and bones on our global outreach. As a part of my official Internship for Luther Seminary I am to help establish an area of ministry that has not before been present in the congregation. The area that I have recognized is this area of Global Missions.
Operation Bootstrap
As many of you know the Sunday School children are supporting an organization called Operation Bootstrap. Operation Bootstrap Africa is a Minnesota-based, non-profit, inter-denominational organization dedicated to helping people help themselves in a variety of educational programs in Africa. Funds raised are used to purchase building materials for the construction of primary school classrooms -- that the villagers build themselves! OBA is a unique partnership within our Global Family. Villagers put in their time and labor to do the actual construction. They also provide funding to help promote education for children throughout Africa.
Maasae Girls School
OBA provides funding for the Maasae Girls School in Tanzania. This is where the emphasis on global missions becomes personal for me. As I began my research on how a church becomes a missionary sponsor for an overseas missionary, I knew that I had missionary connections with some classmates and professors from my college days at the Lutheran Bible Institute-Seattle. When I pursued information on these missionary friends, it turns out that two of them actually are missionaries at the Maasea Girls School. One of them Jean Walstrom is the chaplain at the school, the other Beth Elness-Hanson is a volunteer teacher. Beth’s husband Eric works with the Heifer Project located in Tanzania. (It makes me think God has a hand in all of this.)
Beth loves her students. She teaches computers to all the students in a brand new computer lab. Many of her students never flipped an electrical switch prior to coming to MGLSS! She really enjoys teaching Form 3 Biology (a 9th grade equivalent). Beth realizes that these young women are pioneers.
Hope Given to Students
In the Maasai culture, girls rarely have the opportunity of receiving an education. Several attend primary school, but many Maasai fathers feel that it is a waste of time to educate a daughter, who very likely has been promised in marriage, shortly after her birth. Another hurdle is the nomadic Maasai lifestyle, which means that children are not always near a school and, they will move often. Finally, marriage at 14 or 15 years of age and raising children conflicts with secondary education.
The Maasae Girls' Lutheran Secondary School opened in 1995 to provide secondary education for young, pastoralist women, especially the Maasai, in a Christ-centered community. Now, more girls have opportunities and a future with hope.
The first few years were very difficult. Some parents were intensely opposed to the school. Now there is more acceptance, but their lack of resources makes educating their daughters almost impossible. Tanzania is the second poorest nation in the world, with an average yearly income of $550. Thus, these eager, young Maasai women would have absolutely no opportunity for secondary education without scholarships. Every student here is sponsored by people from North America and Europe.
Learn More about It
You can read more about Beth and her family’s ministry at the Maasae Girls School at www.mglss.org or we also have set up a link on the www.RLCIndy.org homepage. The Sunday School Committee has made a wonderful bulletin board that has helped to visualize what the children are supporting, please take a look down by the Fellowship Hall. I will also be making a bulletin board that will include pictures and information regarding the missionary work of Beth and Jean. Also, I will include a monthly article about these missionaries to keep the congregation informed of this ministry.
My hope and prayer is that RLC will continue to reach out in the name of Christ to further the Kingdom of God in our own lives, in the community, and into the world as we fulfill Christ’s call to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations....” Matt 28:19a.
In Christ’s service,
Adult Offerings
Sunday 9:30 Education Hour
Oct. 5 ■ Conclusion of Islam + Christianity Series
– In church Nave
Oct. 12 ■ Prison Congregations in America
Pastor Ed Nesselhauf, friend of our member Pr. John Moe, has dedicated his ministry to establishing active, working congregations within state prisons across America. Hear his story of these vibrant faith communities and what they can teach us on the “outside.” – in church Nave.
Oct. 19 Three new classes begin!
■ Christian Basics
An overview of the Christian faith with a Lutheran perspective, including congregational life at Resurrection church. For new members, inquirers, and anyone looking for a “refresher.” – in church Nave with Pr. Dave.
■ Sunday School Express
A 30 minute module of topical discussion using “reality check: Christianity in the workplace” by Vera Gilmore. Small group facilitated by lay leader – in Choir Room off the Narthex from 9:30 to 10:05.
■ Scripture Lessons for the Day
Small Group discussion on the appointed lessons for that Sunday’s worship. Background context and application for today. Facilitated by lay leader – in Fellowship Hall.
Coming in November:
■ Faith and Contemporary Literature
“The Magic Barrel” - stories by Bernard Malamud, led by RLC member and Franklin College English Professor Kathy Carlson. Books available in church office. Read up in October!
Save this Date!
November 15 & 16
Consecration Weekend . . . .
Our annual stewardship emphasis will begin by the end of October. The celebratory conclusion will come on Consecration Weekend, November 15 & 16. As part of our stewardship emphasis this year, we will collect Estimates of Giving as an act of worship at all three of our weekend worship services.
Following each of the three services, there will be a catered Celebration Meal. This will be a celebration of how God has blessed us and how we are able to use those blessings in our ministry here at Resurrection. Before the end of each meal, the stewardship team will have a report on the Estimates of Giving received so far, including an estimate of the funds that will be available to support our mission and ministry in the coming year. We hope that everyone will be able to join us in worship that weekend and share in the fun of one of the meals.
Handbell Notes . . . .
We are looking for anyone interested in making beautiful music with the Handbell Choir. The “Grace Notes” practice handbells on Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm. Anyone interested is welcome to join us. Come one! Come all! We’d love to have you give us a ring.
Our member, retired pastor John Moe, has organized a 20 mile bike trek to raise funds for Prison Congregations of America. Pastor Ed Nesselhauf, Director of PCA will ride with us. We will have a leisurely, non-competitive ride for all ages, 20 miles in length. (Children under 18 are welcome, but only with adult supervision.) Enjoy the scenic ride along Fall Creek, White River Trail, Canal Towpath and part of the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple. For more details, contact Pr. John Moe at 888-2647 or mjmoe@voyager.net. The Mission of PCA is to work with Christian denominations and prison officials so that prison congregations are established in state prisons across America.
Mark your calendars
for our fall Blood Drive
at RLC on Sunday morning, October 26th.
Discovering God’s Vision
for Your Life:
You and Your Spiritual Gifts
As this edition of the Bell Ringer goes to press, the first
offerings of this spiritual gifts discovery course are wrapping
up. More than fifty people have been sifting through the clues to
find out how God has gifted them. The course is comprised of eight
modules which include a variety of activities: lecture, discussion, experiential activities, and practical application. Course participants study the purpose, source, and definition of spiritual gifts; identify clues to their gifts through various means; take a spiritual gifts inventory; explore what the Bible says about each gift; discuss practical applications of spiritual gifts theology in our congregation; and much more!
There is another opportunity to take part in this course coming up in October:
Saturday, October 11 & 18, 9:00-3:00pm
Four modules will be covered each Saturday. Because of the way the course builds toward the conclusion in Module 8, it is important that participants be able to attend the entire time both Saturdays. Lunch will be provided. You may register for this October session by calling the church office, signing up on the sheet in the narthex on September 28 or October 5, or use the yellow response form in the bulletin. Additional information may be found in the rack next to the water fountains in the narthex.
Current plans are for the course offerings to be repeated in November and then again in January/February. We are also exploring offering the course in a retreat format. It is our hope that the majority of the congregation will take part in this course at some point during this coming program year.
If you have any questions, contact a member of the Spiritual Gifts Lead Team: Pastor Mitch, Team Leader; Townsend Schnabel, Assistant Team Leader and Recordkeeping Coordinator; Pat Hamby, Course Leader Coordinator; Ann Buie, Ministry Advisor Coordinator; Tim Ropp, Ministry Description Coordinator; Stacie Fruth, Public Relations Coordinator.
“Out of the Darkness”
A Ministry of Music - a Message of Hope
Saturday, October 11, 7:00pm
Bring your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to this powerful evening. Through personal story and inspirational song, hear about one man’s journey out of depression as he bears witness to the unconditional love of God. Nationally known Christian speaker Tim Glendening, on behalf of Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ord, Nebraska, presents “Out of the Darkness,” a program of words and music about surviving clinical depression.
“Out of the Darkness” is a ministry designed to help inform and educate the public about the disease of depression as well as offer words of help and hope to those who struggle with life. This dramatic two hour presentation includes a collection of Christian ballads interwoven with Tim’s personal story of his life-long decline into the darkness of clinical depression. From early childhood to an eventual suicide attempt, Tim points to signs of depression that went unnoticed and of a faith that was without God’s love. He relates how therapy and the discovery of God’s unconditional love have been instrumental in his recovery.
A seasoned vocalist and former radio personality, Tim has been performing throughout the Midwest for several years. Since 1995 Tim and his wife, Jan, have traveled throughout the United States sharing this ministry with congregations of all denominations. “Out of the Darkness” is an Inter-Congregational outreach program of Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ord, Nebraska and is funded solely by donations.
Pumpkin Carving Party
October 26th
3-5:00pm
Come and join us for our 3rd annual pumpkin carving party. This is a great time for families to get their Jack O’ Lanterns ready for Halloween without messing up your own kitchen. There will be judging and prizes awarded, and some fun games for the kids. Bring your own pumpkins and favorite carving tools.
We’ll supply the cider if you help with the snacks. Check your bulletin for the yellow slip and sign up! Hope to see you there!!
Men’s Breakfast
& Bible Study
Saturday
October 11, 7:30am