April 2007

Newsletter of Atonement Lutheran Church,

Rev. Tina Koenig Ray, BCC, Pastor

The "Three A’s" are put forward by David Anderson & Paul Hill in Frogs without Legs Can’t Hear, Nurturing Disciples In Home And Congregation. They use the Three A’s primarily in regards to working with youth, but they can be applied to all of us in ministry and those we encounter. (Remember, according to Luther we are all in ministry.)

Notice that it is not the AAAA Club. Authoritative is not included in the mix. Youth, well, any of us, do not respond well to authoritative behavior. It tends to get our dander up and we respond by building walls or by our own authoritative behavior.

In our Wednesday Lenten series we are discussing relations with our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters.

The book mentioned below could be a way for you to venture into a world that you could never experience on your own. I have not read the book, but it looks like it would raise serious issues. It was recommended on the current issue of Edu-link Online. Edu-link is a communication connection for those serving Lutheran Campus Ministry and its friends.

The Attack is by Algerian author Yasmina Khadra (The Swallows of Kabul). It explores what could prompt a beautiful, rich Arab woman to become a suicide bomber. Amin Jaafari is a successful Bedouin-Israeli surgeon whose world is literally blown apart the day his wife becomes a bomber. He had no inkling of her feelings. The novel is his quest to understand both her actions and his own identity. Khadra makes every effort to be evenhanded in his presentation; there are no simple heroes and villains here. This one would work well for a book group, both on its literary merits and because of the issues it raises.

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"No. How could he, with just two worms."

Our new council has been installed and has met for the first time on February 19th. We are looking forward to some exciting things in this coming year. But I would encourage all who have ideas about how we can grow our congregation to please bring them forward to any person on the Council. It’s with everyone’s efforts that we can help get the Word of God out into our community.

We have touched many lives this past year, but wea ll know there is much more we can do. Help this Council become all it can by bringing ideas and your help to them.

Yours in Christ,

Bruce Johnson

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March 21^st
11:00 a.m. Atonement - Service of the Word
7:00 p.m. Host: 1st United Methodist Church - Preacher: Rev. Tina Koenig Ray

March 28^th
11:00 a.m. Atonement - Service of the Word
7:00 p.m. Host: St. Thomas Catholic Church - Preacher: Rev. Shawn Stapleton

April 6^th - Good Friday
12:00 noon - Host: First Congregational Church - Preacher: Rev. Dr. Floyd Prude, Jr

Feb adults/youth

Mar adults/youth

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Total income for February $ 6,427.40 Total expenses for February - $ 10,723.60

Net income (February 2007) $ - 4,296.20

Due to the new privacy laws regarding health information, the hospital will not release the names of patients. So if you are going into the hospital, or know someone who is hospitalized, please call the church office, or let Pastor Tina know.

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The following items are posted in more detail in the Klingberg Chapel or the hallway bulletin board:

Eternal Candle: The Eternal Candle for April is from Rollyn & Charleta Affeldt in honor of children and grandchildren.

Altar Guild: Mary & Richard Wendtland

Flowers: open

Bread of Heaven: open

Fellowship: The Council for Palm Sunday

Acolyte: open

KidsKorner: Andrea Garvey

Y.A.G Host: Jan Mitchell

Bread of Heaven: open

Fellowship: no fellowship today for Easter

KidsKorner: open

Bread of Heaven: Irene Baker & Phyllis Steele

Fellowship: Irene Baker & Phyllis Steele

Acolyte: open

KidsKorner: Aly Garvey

Flowers: Dave & Jane Luety for their 30th wedding anniversary

Bread of Heaven: open

Fellowship: Dave & Jane Luety

KidsKorner: open

Y.A.G. Host: open

Flowers: open

Bread of Heaven: open

Fellowship: open

KidsKorner: open

Y.A.G. Host: open

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4/13 Florence Buchholz 4/25 Nicole Johnson

4/16 Irene Baker 4/26 Candy Hoefer

4/19 Joan Guetschow 4/29 Paul Bolender

4/2 Fern Miller 4/13 Barb Anderson

4/5 Bonnie Ottow 4/18 Kyle Hoefer

4/6 Sally Luety 4/20 Austin Anderson

4/7 Freda Leeder 4/25 Michael Janke

4/12 Ross Johnson 4/28 Lloyd Holmberg

4/13 Jackie Holmbeck 4/29 Charleta Affeldt

Nelson Steele March 14, 2007

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The India Children’s Choir is coming to Beloit!

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday, I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems and be decorated with intricate carvings. Everyone would see my beauty." The second tree said, "Someday, I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of other world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull." Finally, the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time, and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. One came to the first tree and said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest. At the second tree, one of the other woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy, because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened, because it knew that, if it is cut down, its dream would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, so I'll take this one," and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was made into a feed box for animals, placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dream. Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth, and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose, and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace," and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets, and the crowd mocked the man who was carrying it The man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that, when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best Keep it moving...pass it on, so it could inspire more people. Sometimes the heart sees what the eyes can't. --

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should
brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it because you get up first, and then

we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.

The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here
and you should do it, because that’s your job, and I can just wait for my coffee." Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."

Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and
showed him at the top of several pages,

that it indeed says ..........

The signup sheet for the Easter Garden is available in the Klingberg Chapel. Plant selections are the same as last year (Easter lilies, tulips, jonquils, begonias, cinerarias, hyacinths and daisy mums) and the plants are still $15 each.

Hands of Faith will be here from April 22-29th. The clothesline of needs will be up in the hallway next week, and sign up sheets for Overnight and Dinner Hosts will be in the Klingberg Chapel as well.

The Sisterhood will meet on Tuesday, April 3 at 1 PM in the Klingberg Chapel. Marge Mueller will be hostess. A guest speaker from Hospice will present a topic "How to communicate with people who are seriously ill." All women are welcome and invited to attend. Please bring items for the Hospice Kits for Global Health Ministries. The kits will be taken to the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin assembly May 3rd.

The W.O.W.’S will be lunching at Cliffbreakers in Rockford on Thursday, April 12 at 12:30. Meet at the church for shared rides at 11:30 AM, and depart at 11:45.

LifeLight Communications is pleased to announce that we will be bringing yet another major Christian concert to Rockford, IL. The number one Christian concert tour of the spring Tobymac with opening acts Thousand Foot Krutch, Building 429, and Family Force Five will be arriving at the the Community @ Rockford March 25th. Tickets are on sale at The Community @ Rockford office, Lemstone Christian Store Rockford, Family Christian Store South Elgin, www.itickets.com or order by phone 1-800-965-9324

Beloit College is hosting two special events this spring: "What Rule Do You Live By?", Rev. Floyd Prude speaker, on Wednesday, March 28 at 8 PM in Mayer Hall. Rev. Prude will speak as part of the College’s Moral Values series, addressing students and members of the wider Beloit community about how people interact with each other in today’s progressive society. This will be a good opportunity for moral dialogue among people of faith and secular people, College students and City residents. "Creating Community through Art; Creating Art through Community" is Thursday, April 12 at 8 PM in the Moore Study Lounge in Pearsons Hall. Mansankho Banda is an internationally recognized drummer, dancer, storyteller, improvisational performer from Malawi, who uses his talent to build trust and common vision in diverse groups. He uses traditional African and Western Art forms to work with schools, businesses, non-profits and faith groups from Russia to Sierra Leone and across the USA including the Children’s Peace Conference in Vienna and the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. Masankho is a recipient of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Heroes of Compassion Award for his peace and social justice work around the world.

The Spring Gathering of the Beloit Conference of the Women of the ELCA will be held at First Lutheran Church in Janesville on Saturday, March 31st from 8:30 AM-12:30 PM. The

focus for the morning will be women’s health issues. The speaker is Colleen Keen, a registered dietician who will be speaking on "The Top 10 List for Healthy Women". She is a dymanic speaker who puts a very spiritual element into her message. Registration is $6 and is due March 25th. Send your registration to: Sharyn Pann, 708 Waterford Drive, Beloit, WI, 53511. If you have any questions, call Sharyn at 361-0754.

The Messiah Lutheran Church Youth Group will present "Remember", a dinner theater at 6 PM beginning Saturday, March 31 thru Wednesday, April 4th (no performance on Monday). The cost is $8 for adults, $4 for children 5-12 years old, and children under 5 are admitted for free. The menu includes relishes, coleslaw, dinner rolls, baked ham, baked potato, corn and lemon or cherry pie. For reservations, call Gene & Kathy Dassow @ 362-6672 or Sheryl Sager @ 815-289-5381.

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Troop meetings Monday @ 7 PM, unless a holiday

April 13-15th Williams Tree Farm (tent camping)
May 11-13th Cabin Camping @ Lake Ripley
June 18-23rd Chippewa Flowage
July 15-21st Summer Camp @ Camp Indian Trails
August 4th Bike Trail

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Taking Care of You: Powerful Tools for Caregiving is designed for family caregivers of elders or persons impacted by serious illness or injury. Whether you are helping a spouse, parent, friend, someone who lives at home, or in a nursing home, it doesn’t matter. What is important is that you are interested in learning some tools to help YOU in your caregiving role. You will learn tools to help you reduce stress, relax, take care of yourself, reduce guilt, anger and depression, make tough decisions, set goals and solve problems and communicate effectively with other family members, your doctor, and paid helpers. The total cost for all seven classes is only $10 and includes a How to book to accompany the class content. Classes meet for 2 1/2 hours each week. Scholarships covering the cost of the classes are available, as well as transportation to the classes and respite care for your loved one while you are attending classes. To register, call 758-8455.

Upcoming sessions are:

Date: 4/10/07-5/22/07

Time: 9 AM -11:30 AM

Held at First Lutheran Church, 612 N. Randall, Janesville

Date: 5/9/07 -6/20/07

Time: 1 PM- 3:30 PM

Held at Huntington Place, 3801 N. Wright Rd, Janesville

Date: 9/11/07-10/30/07

Time: 9 AM -11:30 AM

Held at HospiceCare, Inc., 3001 W. Memorial Dr., Janesville

Date: 10/1/07-11/12/07

Time: 1 PM- 3:30 PM

Held at 2nd Congregational Church, 657 Bluff, Beloit

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Hospital regulations require a wheelchair for patients being discharged. A student nurse found one elderly gentleman--already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet--who insisted he didn't need any help to leave the hospital.

After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let the student nurse wheel him to the elevator. On the way down she asked him if his wife was meeting him. "I don't know," he said. "She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.

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