CHRISTMAS CARE PACKAGES AT CHESHIRE PRISON

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR PRISONERS

Once again this year you are invited to participate in providing Christmas Care Packages for inmates at Webster Correctional Institution in Cheshire. Items include:

Soap-bath size

Toothbrush-adult size

Tooth paste-large 6.2 oz

Deodorant-no glass or women’s

Hard Candies-individually wrapped

Instant Hot Chocolate –individual packages

Bring items and leave in box marked Prison Christmas Gifts by December 6, 2009.

CROP WALK

During October one of the mission organizations we support is CROP.

Crop Walk (www.churchworldservice.org/CROP)

CROP Hunger Walks are “Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty”– neighbors walking together to take a stand against hunger in our world.

Together we raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting.

WHO BENEFITS FROM THE MONEY RAISED:

25% of all proceeds will be infused into Southington Bread For Life with the remainder going to Church World Service to help solve world hunger problems.

THANKS FOR MAKING THIS A FABOULOUS 40th

THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRYING APPLE FRITTERS A CELEBRATION

There are so many people who worked so hard to make this week a reality. Lydia Holbrook our chairperson and John Miller our Council President led us through another banner year. Apple Fritters are a blessing, but this blessing only becomes a reality when everyone helps to make it happen. Each of you played an important part in the process to make our Apple Fritters a reality. You are a blessing. Thank You!! Don’t forget that we have t-shirts and bandana for all who worked so hard. Embroidered Zion Aprons are for sale (at cost) $15 each while supplies last.

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child (www.samaritanspurse.org/occ)

During the month of September we are focusing on Operation Christmas Child as our featured mission.

A table near the elevator has information about helping to create a Christmas Box to a child around the world.

Whether they are refugees of civil war, survivors of a natural disaster, or victims of extreme poverty, children around the world need to know that they are precious to God. That’s the motivation behind Operation Christmas Child, the unique project of Samaritan’s Purse that enables caring people to share God’s love with hurting girls and boys in the far corners of the globe. Take an ordinary shoe box, fill it with toys and other presents, and you have an extraordinary gift for a child in need of joy and hope. Most important, these shoe boxes provide opportunities for local believers to tell children about Jesus Christ through Gospel literature and evangelism programs. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV).

SERMON SERIES THIS FALL

Faith Questions

9/13 Is God in Your Future?

9/20 Is Faith Nonsense?

9/27 Pr. Baumgartner

10/4 Does God Really Care?

10/11 Is Jesus the Only Way?

10/18 Is There a Hell?

College Freshmen Survey

This latest survey reveals what the new college class of 2013 knows about the world.

Covenant to Care

 Zion Lutheran and First Lutheran are pleased to have participated in Easter “baskets” for our Covenant to Care teens again this year. We were asked to remember the same 33 youth and four babies and toddlers that we helped this past Christmas. Each teen received a back sack (a lightweight drawstring bag popular with teens) filled with a few Easter treats. The babies and toddlers each received a basket filled with Spring toys and a few healthy snacks.

Our DCF social workers Steve Gambee and Deb Duncan said the teens were happy to receive their Easter bags – “it means so much to these kids that someone cares and is thinking of them”.

Zion continues to place critical goods such as twin beds, dressers, lamps and other apartment basics with teens in need. *Currently requested: boys clothing size 12-18 months. Thanks for your continued support of these CT youth!

 

30-Hour Famine www.30hourfamine.org

 We Did It!!!

 We Starved for Food

Thanks to the prayerful and financial support of our congregation, we completed our 30 Hour Famine! It wasn’t easy…but we had a fantastic time.

Notice the amazing wishing well display in the sanctuary created to illustrate that one child under the age of 5 dies every three seconds. One drop of water will fall every three seconds to remember that child’s death. There are around 26,000 children dying today because of hunger, poverty and disease.  Donations can still be made for world hunger.

Best of all, we raised over $900, which can help feed and care for 2 children for an entire year! That’s a pretty incredible accomplishment. Thank you for your contributions!  Special thanks to the chaperones and students who collected donations and participated in this year’s famine for those in need.

Souper Bowl of Caring www.souperbowl.org

The Souper Bowl of Caring is a youth-led, grassroots movement of caring, the result of thousands of young people joining together to fight hunger and poverty in their communities. Since 1990, $34 million has been raised for charities across the country. Money raised here at Zion is donated to Bread for Life.

Holy Land – February 11, 2009

  

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
After breakfast we drove to Joppa, the ancient port city to view the home of Simon the Tanner. We read from Acts 9:32-43 and then Acts 10:24-ff. It talks about Peter going to Caesarea and Joppa. This is where I walked today. It was amazing to step into history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we will begin our journey north along the coastal road to to Caesarea, built by Herod the Great. It was here that Peter was imprisoned for two years. Herod was a builder. We sat in a 5,000 person amphitheater and then saw pieces of his palaces by the sea. It actually had a fresh water pool right on the salt water beach. We also saw a piece of stone etched with Pontius Pilate’s name. We saw an aquaduct that ran fresh water 15 miles from the spring.

 

 Visit the Crusader’s fortress and Roman ruins.

 

Proceed to Beit Shearim, ancient seat of the Sanhedrin, to visit the Catacombs and the ruins of what was once the most important synagogue in Israel.

 

We ate lunch at Megiddo or Armageddon. See Revelation 16:16.

 

We continue to Megiddo ancient chariot city of King Solomon and Ahab. They had a stable with 700 horses.

Mt. Tabor, the traditional site of the Transfiguration. This will be the gospel text when I return on Feb. 22. It is a mountain with height. Jesus and the disciples would have been in good shape to hike to the top.

On top of Mt. Tabor we visit the Church of the Transfiguration, a Roman Catholic church that marks the traditional place of Jesus’ transfiguration.

We end the day by coming to our hotel (Nof Ginosar Hotel) right on the Sea of Galilee. We will stay here for two nights. Dinner was an amazing buffet of salads, main dishes and desserts. The black olives are great, but the desserts are even better. It’s all kosher-so no dairy in anything, but I can’t tell.

Tomorrow we will go around the Sea of Galilee, including a boat ride and going into the water for a remembrance of baptism. So far it’s all been so amazing. I can’t take enough pictures or movies to do it all justice. I’m recording the lectures our tour guide gives. I think we could do an adult education class, just on the pics and tour guide insights.

 

 

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrive Ben Gurion Airport.

Meeting and assistance through customs to your waiting guide and motor coach.

There were no issues at the airport or going through customs. It was good to see my checked luggage arrive. Means everything got here.

I did have a multi-plug short cuircut, but nothing got fried but that, thankfully. I had a back-up so all is well.

We met our guide Ezra who will lead us each day of our tour. We are on a coach bus, so it will be nice moving from site to site. Very different from the Africa tour.

Transfer to Tel Aviv. Check into your hotel for dinner, group meeting, and overnight

Our first meal was a buffet at the hotel and there was a great variety of food. I sampled different foods and enjoyed the meal. It was good not to be on the plane.

We are staying at the Tal Hotel in down town Tel Aviv. We are only a block from the Mediterranean Sea. There is a thunder storm right now that blew in from the sea. There is lightening and thunder and the wind is blowing hard. We walked down to the sea, after dinner, but the storm was coming so I came back and worked on updating the blog and getting my luggage packed for tomorrow.

We have a 6:30 wake up, breakfast is at 7 and the bus leaves at 7:45. Tomorrow will be a good day as we head North to the region of Galilee.

Overnight: Tel Aviv, Israel

February 9, 2009

There are 36 pastors from all over the USA, from all different faith denominations. Our flight left just a little late, the 747 was full, with no empty seats. We will arrive in 10.5 hours. We had a meal of spaghetti, salad and a brownie.

We slept some, but after a few hours the Orthodox Jews got up and got dressed to say prayers. It woke up most of the plane. I slept a few more hours and then awoke for breakfast (omelet and bagels, with fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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