E p is t l e

of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Nevada, MO

T
H
E


St. Paul Lutheran
15156 E. Pony Hill Rd.
Nevada, MO 64772


417-667-7209 (O)

Stpaulnevadamo
@gmail.com

Worship 11:00 a.m.


Office Hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, &
Thursday 9:00noon
July
2014

Vol. 14, No. 7
Harvest of Love
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Vacation Bible School
If you plant goodness, you will harvest
faithful love. Hosea 10:12

Crafts, lessons, stories, games,
treats, some four-legged
visitors, & more!

Registration: 2:15 p.m.
VBS starts: 2:30 p.m.
Picnic in the park: 7:00 p.m.
Swim party: 7:309:30 p.m.

All kids from pre-kindergarten through
sixth grade are being called to be
Gods farmers of love!
Another Great Salad Luncheon
So many worked, cooked, and served:

208 tickets collected on the day of the luncheon
9 cookbooks sold
75 carryouts
$2,112 collected / $254 expenses
$1,858 profit (waiting for Thrivent match)
Thanks to Kathy Abele & Kathy Poe for chairing
Thanks to Kay Snedden & Nita Brundridge for
the wonderful table decorations
Thanks to Ronda Johnson for coordinating
ticket sales
Thanks to Anna Seewoester for making the
desserts
Thanks to Sam DeLaney for making the bread
sticks
Thanks to Mary Reinert for making the recipe
booklets and the cookbook inserts
Thanks to Martha Scott for the great publicity in
her Nevada Daily Mail article
Thanks to Chelsea Deines for securing the
Thrivent financial match
Thanks to Wayne Reinert & Dave McCullough
for brush hogging, sweeping and making sure
our grounds looked great and to Kathy Abele for
the tending the flower beds
Thanks to the 32 individuals who made salads
Thanks to the 24 individuals who sold tickets
Thanks to the 17 individuals who worked on the
day of the luncheon

Many hours of work and effort by so many made
what some have said was the best one ever.
Anna has the
carryout procedure
down to an art.
Vicki and Carol
developed some
dishwasher
hands.
Satrah and
Dave look
pretty happy,
but we dont
think they
spiked the
punch bowl!
Another great decorating inspiration using
real wheat and real grapes; Kay and Nita,
you are amazing.
Ronda, couldnt you find a
chair?
Understanding

As I sit here thinking about what to write for this months article, my mind continually thinks about the
impoverished within our communities. Those who Jesus ate with, healed, and called brothers and sisters. So
this month I wish to re-print the article that was published in the Nevada Daily Mail on the 20
th
of June.
I recently was reading through the Gospel of Mark and read the story again of the woman who took a
costly jar of ointment and poured it on Jesus head. The Disciples then were beside themselves saying that
this could have been sold and money given to the poor. Jesus says, in other words Why are you troubled by
this? and continues For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever
you wish; but you will not always have me.
I could imagine that the modern day parable would probably go like this, While Jesus was hanging out
at Simons house a woman came in talking on an iPhone, the others in the room were angry, how could this
woman have an iPhone, she should sell it and do something better with her money. And Jesus said, What
business is it of yours if she has an iPhone?
Now its a loose translation, I know, the disciples dont see that the woman is anointing Jesus for burial,
and she is doing this as a sign. One jar of ointment isnt going to address the poverty issue within the town of
Bethany. But the disciples reaction is one of knee jerk fashion. They are indeed concerned about the poor,
but I think what Jesus is saying, as he does a lot with his disciples, is Hey, you guys dont understand. And I
believe that is where we are in our world today. I might be making an over assumption that the majority of
those who receive this paper are of a different socio-economic class than who the disciples are concerned
for. And I am not free of guilt for assigning blame and supporting stereotypes of those with little means of
choosing to smoke or carrying an iPhone or having a 55 inch flat screen. We all do it, but it doesnt mean that
we understand poverty.
Recently I had the pleasure to travel for a few days to Dubuque, Iowa for a two day workshop on
understanding poverty. The title of the convention was Bridges out of Poverty, which matches the title of the
book written by Dr. Ruby Payne. In this conference I once again had my eyes opened up to understand peo-
ple who are in poverty. It was like Jesus saying to me, you will always have the poor with you and you can
show kindness to them whenever you wish. It is at the heart of what Jesus did in the Gospel readings; he
spent time understanding the situations that people were in, he healed the sick that no one else would touch,
he would feed the hungry, because he knew they couldnt be blamed for not having food. Dr. Payne writes in
her book, that We cannot continue to support stereotypes and prejudices about the poor. There are many
forms of
welfare, but the poor are the only ones who are labeled undeserving. We must understand their hidden rules
and we can neither excuse persons from poverty nor scold them for not know the hidden rules of middle and
upper class.
Perhaps there will be one day that we can understand what people are dealing with, or as my mom use
to say, walk in their shoes. I pray that all those who are hungry are fed, those homeless have shelter, and
those who find it hard to understand why that person has an iPhone doesnt judge. Because we hope that
others dont judge us for what we do, say, or buy. For Jesus says, You will always have the poor among
you, and can show kindness whenever you want. Lets change the culture and grow to be people of God,
people of acceptance, and people of light!
If you want to hear more about Dr. Paynes work, here is a YouTube video titled, What Every Church
Member Should Know about Poverty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRs24PCVjA0
Stay tuned for Bridges Out of Poverty events coming to Nevada!
Pastor Chris Deines


Womans Book Study group continues to meet the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each
month. July 10 will start the discussion of Ms Understood; Rebuilding the Feminine
Equation by Joy Hatmaker. The author uses examples from the five women named in
Jesus lineage to help identify who a daughter of Christ is. From the woman who acted
like a prostitute to the woman who was one, the widow to the adulteress to the mother,
each has something to pass on. Join us on July 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Susie Knutesons
house (1002 S. Adams) for fun, fellowship and faith conversation. If you want to join our
discussion and need a book, there are several copies available in the office.
St. Paul's Involvement in Habitat for Humanity

The 14th Habitat for Humanity house is now under construction at 519 E. Lee Street. The roof is on and
the interior is roughed in. Several St. Paul members have been involved with Habitat: Jerry Janes is
currently on the local board, Bobbi Ogle and Ken Osborn served in the past. Jerry and Carol also work the
Habitat potato luncheon held on the second Wednesday of the month, September through May. Maybe there
are more of you, if so let us know your involvement.
St. Paul is what is considered a "covenent church" for Habitat which means we do budget for a
contribution to Habitat each year. The sign outside the house on E. Lee shows St. Paul involvement.
Volunteers Needed:

Pie makers needed to help the Vernon County
Senior Center July 26 when they host a Fiddle and
a Feast Benefit Dinner for their home delivered
meal program. Sign up on the bulletin board to
make either a fruit or nut pie. Deliver pies on Friday
8 a.m. - 2 p.m. or Saturday, 4 - 6 p.m.

We need helpers to sell fair trade organic coffee at
the farmers market each Saturday (8 a.m. - noon)
as a fundraiser for our high school youth to go to
Detroit for the 2015 ELCA National Youth Gather-
ing. Sign up sheet on bulletin board.

Help fill the red wagon this summer with breakfast
and lunch items to help Community Outreach feed
the children in our community.

Crafty card makers needed to meet again in late
August to make cards to be sent to members of the
congregation. No need to bring supplies. Watch
for more info and time. Thanks to Mitchelle Hall for
coordinating this project.
The Camp Tomah Shinga Quilt Auction will
be July 12, 2014. This is an annual fundraiser for
the camp where many quilts will be auctioned off to
support the mission of the camp. Please consider
going to the auction this year, we will car pool to the
camp and come back on the 12
th
. The women of St.
Matthew in Butler have been working hard on a quilt
they will put up for auction. It will be a great day to
see the camp and support them in passing on the
faith to youth! This stained glass "Quilt" was made
by Pastor Chris' mother in law, Pam Nanney to
have auctioned
off on the 12th
Thanks also to
Anna Seewoester
who put together
a nice basket of
goodies including
a St. Paul Cook-
book for the
auction.
St. Paul Lutheran Church
15156 E. Pony Hill Rd.
Nevada, MO 64772
July Birthdays
Wesley Ogle July 2
Russell Hogan July 6
Vivienne Spangler July 12
Phyllis Jackson July 12
Thomas Kerbs July 13
Mikayla Mohrmann July 16
Ernest Sitz July 18
Anna Lee Bloesser July 19
Olivia Creech July 25
Kennedy Ogle July 25
Elvie Stoltz July 28

July Anniversaries

Randy & Bobbi Ogle July 3, 1976
Sid & Kristine Fulton July 4, 1992
Chris and Chelsea Deines July 5, 2008
Wes & Amber Ogle July 9, 2005
July Congregational Life Committee:

Nancy Kerbs Wes & Amber Ogle
Rex & Ellen Byergo Russell & Tammy Hogan
Greg & Reanna Villagomez
Watch for our new church sign on BB Hwy.
VBS: Harvest of Love
July 20