The Messenger
The Monthly Newsletter of Blessed Savior Lutheran Church
A Message from Pastor Sander
Death has been swallowed up in victory. I Corinthians 15:54
The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
My Dear Fellow Christians!
News affects us to a greater or lesser extent. Some news makes a difference in our lives, others, not so much. But, of all news, the news of Christ’s resurrection is the one news item that affects us more than any other news. It is personal, subjective, it has to do with me. The resurrection of our Lord signals and secures my own resurrection.
As we slowly reconvene in our churches after a year of no or sporadic gatherings, the Christian church retakes its practice of gathering around the altar of our Lord to receive together the nourishment for our souls: Word and Sacrament, that is, the Lord’s Supper. The sheer fellowship of believers in Christ is also a very important source of comfort and strength for us Christians. We are family – the family of God. We give of ourselves to one another. We live in unity and harmony.
I urge members of Blessed Savior Lutheran Church to come and collect the gifts Christ wants to grant you here every time we gather in worship. We are still cautious and follow the precaution rules recommended by the Center for Disease Control and the Wisconsin Heath Department. But we do not live in fear, because we know we did follow our Lord’s will in submitting ourselves to the authorities he put in place.
During the past year almost all the in-person activities at our church were cancelled. But not a single one of our mission projects was left unsponsored. We met every single one of them and even exceeded what was planned or aimed for. Blessed Savior did not default on any of its bills, even though our worship attendance in person since June has been around one third of what it usually is. Our online services are viewed by around one hundred households every week. Our viewership exceeds our state borders. We sometimes hear from people from other continents. It is God’s kingdom coming to those who did not hear of it before. God has expanded the reach of the message we preach at Blessed Savior. If you go to YouTube and search for Blessed Savior New Berlin, you will be surprised at the amount of spiritual aid
you will find!
Let us rejoice as we partake of the Lord’s Supper and celebrate his resurrection!
God bless you! To God alone be all the glory!
Yours, in Christ, Pastor Martinho Q. Sander
Holy Communion Procedures
From the Chairman of the Board of Elders, Rick Krause:
We will resume serving Holy Communion at both services on Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2021, and at all three services on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021. Going forward, we will serve the Sacrament at both services on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. Some procedures will be changed until we are able to get back to normal.
You will be ushered via the center aisle to the table on your side of the church, either in groups of two people or in family units. We will not maintain a line in the center aisle, so stay in your pew until it is time for you to approach the table. Pastor will speak the words of institution from behind the altar, at which time you will remove your mask, eat the wafer and drink the wine, and immediately replace your mask. Place the napkin and empty cup in the waste receptacle as you return to your pew via the outside aisle.
If you have any questions, please contact an Elder for more information.
Serving Us in Worship
April Birthdays and Anniversaries
Preschool News
Stressed? Have you prayed?
All of us know about a woman named Hannah. Hannah, of course, was the mother of Samuel. We see that Hannah was not happy in life. She did not feel complete because she did not have a child. Having a child was a sign of worth and security. To make matters worse, Hannah’s husband’s other wife did have children. The fact that the Lord left Hannah childless left her feeling unworthy, incomplete, and hopeless. Did Hannah seek revenge and act negatively toward her husband or his other wife? Did Hannah give up and turn her back on God? No, in fact she did the opposite. She ran to the Lord’s house and poured out her soul, so much so that Eli, the priest, thought that she was drunk. Because Hannah ran to the Lord, He blessed her. He gave her a son. Hannah had peace because she was able to pour out her soul to the Lord.
Do you sometimes feel like Hannah? I know that sometimes I want to be LIKE Hannah. Instead of running to the One that has the power to fix me and things I feel, I run to others and hope that others will give me the answer. Hannah was so stressed about not having a child that she could not even eat. There was nothing physical that could make her feel better. There was no other person that she could talk to that could fill the void in her life. We see that after Hannah left the temple, she had peace and was no longer sad.
So why do we let this precious gift go to waste? Why do we hold on to things that we cannot change? Why do we internalize things and let them stress us out to the point of anxiety and depression? We can free ourselves by simply going to our Father and pouring out our soul to Him. God is the one that has the power to heal. We need to give it to God and trust that He is able and will handle it. While we are waiting for the Lord’s answer, maybe He is waiting for us to run to Him! I encourage you to use this wonderful tool that God equipped us with, PRAYER! Prayer has the power the change things, it has the power to complete us, it has the power to give us peace so why should we pass that up? Talk to your Father in heaven, He is waiting for you His dear child to call out to Him and to pour out yourself to Him – He is listening!
In His Service,
Jennifer Leinss
Scholastic Book Fair Blessed Savior will host the Scholastic Book Fair from April 25th through May 2nd. This book fair is a BOGO book fair and everything will be buy one get one free! It is a great time to stock up on summer reading for your children and grandchildren! Book fair will be open in between services as well as throughout the week. | Spring FundraiserIf you ordered Kringle from our spring fundraiser, this is your friendly reminder that the pick up day is Tuesday, April 20th from 3:00-5:30. Please be sure to swing by church to get your kringles as we don't have freezer space to store them! Thank you for your support! | Open EnrollmentOpen enrollment of the 2021-2022 school year continues! We only have a few more spots available so be sure to register today! We have 2K, 3K, and 4K openings and would love to add your child to our educational family. Spread the word about this wonderful preschool! If you are interested or would like more information concerning the preschool and childcare, please see Jennifer Leinss! |
Scholastic Book Fair
Spring Fundraiser
If you ordered Kringle from our spring fundraiser, this is your friendly reminder that the pick up day is Tuesday, April 20th from 3:00-5:30. Please be sure to swing by church to get your kringles as we don't have freezer space to store them! Thank you for your support!
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment of the 2021-2022 school year continues! We only have a few more spots available so be sure to register today! We have 2K, 3K, and 4K openings and would love to add your child to our educational family. Spread the word about this wonderful preschool! If you are interested or would like more information concerning the preschool and childcare, please see Jennifer Leinss!
Passing on the Blessing
Through an act of faith (read: major gift) our congregation was able to pay off our mortgage – all of our $248,000. Instead of reducing our posted “weekly needs” in $1,200.00, our Voters’ Assembly passed a resolution to keep our “weekly needs” at the same level it was when we still had to pay a mortgage payment. This would enable our congregation to pass on the gift by donating extra grants in the amount of $1,200.00 per week to various causes and charities. Last month our Church Council allocated grants worth $15,000.00 to missionaries, the joint seminary fund, and six local charities. The Lord’s work among us is alive and well! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Holy Week and Easter Worship ScheduleMaundy Thursday, April 1st: In-Person Worship at 11am and 7pm. Online Worship will be posted in the early afternoon. Good Friday, April 2nd: In-Person Worship at 1pm and 7pm. Online Worship will be posted mid-afternoon. Easter Sunday, April 4th: In-Person Worship at 6am, 8am and 10:30am. Online Worship will be posted by mid-morning. Online Worship can be found on YouTube at Blessed Savior Lutheran-New Berlin | Tuesday Online Bible Study We have a new Bible Study series beginning Tuesday, April 6 called "Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?", which takes a look at 12 false christs. Through these, we'll be reminded of the true Christ of the Bible. We will be meeting via Zoom at 9am or 7pm for 7 weeks. If you are interested in participating, please contact Jaime Greene at jaimelynn581@gmail.com. | Youth Flower Fundraiser Our Youth are once again hosting their Spring Flower Fundraiser! You may place your order by filling out the attached order form (found as a PDF below), or by contacting Jaime Greene at jaimelynn581@gmail.com. Order forms will also be available in the Narthex. Orders are due by Sunday, May 2nd. You can pick up your flowers on Saturday, May 22nd from 10am-12noon. |
Holy Week and Easter Worship Schedule
Maundy Thursday, April 1st: In-Person Worship at 11am and 7pm. Online Worship will be posted in the early afternoon.
Good Friday, April 2nd: In-Person Worship at 1pm and 7pm. Online Worship will be posted mid-afternoon.
Easter Sunday, April 4th: In-Person Worship at 6am, 8am and 10:30am. Online Worship will be posted by mid-morning.
Online Worship can be found on YouTube at Blessed Savior Lutheran-New Berlin
Tuesday Online Bible Study
Youth Flower Fundraiser
Sunday School at Home
April 4 - The Resurrection of Jesus
April 11 - Christ Appears to His Disciples
April 18 - The Ascension of our Lord
April 25 - The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
Sunday school families will also work on the hymn "I Know that My Redeemer Lives". It can be found on page 218 in the One and All Rejoice hymnal.
Ready, Set, Gold! Usually at this time we are making big plans and gathering volunteers to host a fun week of VBS, however this year will look similar to last year in that we will not be hosting a VBS here at Blessed Savior. We do however invite you to join Jaime and Jennifer weekly for "Ready, Set, Gold", a fun Olympic program with a Biblical twist. Each week you will hear a Bible story, have a craft, snack, and game idea, and sing songs with us. Watch for more information to come and when to register for this event! Registration is necessary if you would like a porch drop of fun things! | Summer Sunday School Our Summer Sunday School program will be a weekly video series that you as a family can catch when it is convenient for you! Join Jaime and Jennifer weekly as they become mad scientists and share a Bible story and a science experiment to go along with the story! They will get hands-on and dive deeper into the Word of God so be sure to join them for this fun summer adventure! | Cereal Boxes A big thank you to everyone that collected and brought in cereal boxes for our latest ingathering. We were able to ship 40 pounds (about 300 boxes) to the Apparent project. With each cereal box 11 jobs are created. Each cereal box yields about 50 beads that are then used for making jewelry that is sold to provide funding for education and childcare in Haiti. Our next cereal box project will be collecting full cereal boxes. Our preschool students would like to create a giant domino game to see if we can line the hallways with donations. The cereal boxes collected will then be donated to Bethany Lutheran Food Pantry! How many rows can we create? |
Ready, Set, Gold!
Summer Sunday School
Cereal Boxes
Our next cereal box project will be collecting full cereal boxes. Our preschool students would like to create a giant domino game to see if we can line the hallways with donations. The cereal boxes collected will then be donated to Bethany Lutheran Food Pantry! How many rows can we create?
Special Missions
Happy Anniversary! Jaime celebrates 15 years in the ministry
1. Her first career choice was in the justice system, specifically in family law.
2. God called her to be a DCE after attending a National Youth Gathering in Atlanta, GA in 1998. Her current count of NYG is 8!
3. She graduated from Concordia University Nebraska
4. Jaime completed her internship at Cross Lutheran Church in New Braunfels, TX.
5. Jaime is happily married to Steve and has two children, Sam and Maddie.
6. She is from St. Louis and she is a Cardinal and Blues fan to the core.
7. Her happy place is a beach somewhere in Aruba or Hawaii.
8. She has served all 15 years of her ministry here at Blessed Savior.
9. In her spare time Jaime loves crafting, scrap booking, watching movies, reading, and hanging out with friends and family.
10. Over the span of her 15 years she has had roughly 500 kids in her youth groups.
11. Growing up she played basketball and volleyball and even has the scars to prove it.
12. Her favorite part of being a DCE is getting to be witness to that moment when faith goes from being something you learn about, to being something personal.
13. She is a sweet person that LOVES her sweets! Her favorites include ice cream, ooey gooey butter cake, and specially shaped Reese's peanut butter treats.
14. Her favorite Bible story is Judges 4:21.
15. Jaime runs on Diet Coke!
Financial Update YTD Offerings as of 2/28/2021 General Offerings: $71, 616.26 General Expenses: ($88, 764.43) Other Offerings: $25, 261.30 Other Expenses: ($21, 465.78) Total Offerings, Less Expenses: ($13,352.65) Preschool Income: $43,010.39 Preschool Expenses: ($41,353.88) Preschool Income, Less Expenses: $1,656.51 | Membership Total Membership at the end of February: 559 Average Weekly February Attendance: 108 Average YouTube Worship Views: 115 | Official Acts Baptisms: New Members: Membership Loss Due to Transfer: Membership Loss Due to Death: |
Financial Update
General Offerings: $71, 616.26
General Expenses: ($88, 764.43)
Other Offerings: $25, 261.30
Other Expenses: ($21, 465.78)
Total Offerings, Less Expenses: ($13,352.65)
Preschool Income: $43,010.39
Preschool Expenses: ($41,353.88)
Preschool Income, Less Expenses: $1,656.51
Membership
Average Weekly February Attendance: 108
Average YouTube Worship Views: 115