Walk to Defeat ALS 2014

Team Thrivent Messiah at the 2014 ALS Walk

Once again this year, Messiah Lutheran Church supported the Walk to Defeat ALS.  ALS has taken the life of several members of our Church including Steve Pesto and Deana Glover.

Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis.

Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries.

This crippling disease can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease yet it still costs loved ones an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need. Help make a difference and donate or join a walk today.

Messiah raised money for our part of the fight with a spaghetti dinner fundraiser.

Spaghetti Fundraiser for Walk to Defeat ALS

This year, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the Country and the Internet by Storm.  Millions of Americans have accepted the challenge so far.  Eight members of our congregation decided to accept the ice bucket challenge after the Spaghetti dinner.  Here are a few videos of their challenges.




Thanks to everyone who helped support this year's Walk to Defeat ALS.  As of the time of writing of this blog article, the ALS Organization has raised over $70 Million Dollars.  We are praying that this money will finally allow researchers to find a cure for this terrible disease.

Here are some additional photos from the Spaghetti Dinner and the ALS Walk.

Narthex Carpet

You may have noticed a little change in the Narthex this week.  A team of volunteers ripped up the old carpet, repaired the floor and laid some attractive new carpet squares in a custom designed pattern.

If that old carpet could talk, what stories it could probably tell. It had been in place for over twenty years. During that twenty plus years it served as the welcome mat for our Church.  It welcomed God's people during thousands of Church services, Lenten services, Advent services, Weddings, Funerals, Concerts and a host of community activities.  And though that carpet had served us faithfully and well, it had outlived its serviceable life.

The hardest part of the carpet project was removing that twenty plus year old carpet from the floor.  A number of techniques were used, but they all required a bunch of old fashioned elbow grease.

New Carpet Design

Once the old carpet was removed, the new carpet was installed using a design created by Meredith Kilby. The design features a center motif that resembles both the empty tomb (Christ’s resurrection) as well as a simple church structure.  Upon entry to the church, repeated elements intentionally guide the eye, and hopefully feet, towards the center of worship at Messiah, our sanctuary.

To the left of the design (towards the fellowship hall) a pathway points the visitor towards fellowship, community, and service at Messiah.  To the right (towards the education wing) a similar pathway heads towards the education wing where a hopscotch pattern emerges to beckons all ages towards spiritual growth and the learning of His Word.

The three carpet tones being used for the design are blue (representing the waters of baptism), red (fire of the spirit)  and gold (Worship/King).   The blue tone was selected to coordinate / relate to the existing wall to wall carpet that exists in the Fellowship Hall and down our church hallways.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this project a success.

Now that the carpet in the Narthex has been replaced, there is still more work left to be done.  In the coming years, we will be replacing additional sections of carpet throughout the Church.

Here are some additional photos of the Narthex Carpet Project.

LWR Blankets and Kits 2014

We humbly dedicate our gifts of love to you. We ask that you bless the fruits of our labor and the whole work of Lutheran World Relief, that together we may minister to our neighbors in need.

Today at Messiah Lutheran Church, we dedicate a year's worth of work by two of our ministries.  The Comforters and the Kit Ministers produced hundreds of items that will go to Lutheran World Relief in support of global ministries.

Lutheran World Relief is a non-profit organization that works with local partners to provide lasting solutions to poverty, injustice and human suffering.

The goal of LWR is to help communities cope with and recover from emergencies in ways that promote lasting improvements in people’s living conditions

Mission Quilts: When you make and send a Quilt, you are not only comforting someone you have never met, but providing an object that is useful in ways you probably never imagined. In addition to being a cozy, clean new bed cover, it can be:

• a baby carrier, tied around a mother’s back;
• a market display, spread on the ground and piled with vegetables;
• a sack for transporting those goods to market;
• a sunshade;
• a shawl; and most importantly
• a constant reminder that someone, far away, cares a lot.

This year the Kit Ministers produced and packaged approximately 750 school kits, 300 personal care kits and 300 Baby Care Kits.

Personal Care Kits: When LWR distributes Personal Care Kits, it’s often to people who have lost everything. In the wake of an earthquake, or having fled from violence as their homes were overtaken, they clasp a towel from a faraway place, with a bar of soap, a toothbrush…and washing up, they know that they have not been forsaken by the world.

Baby Care Kits: A Baby Care Kit from LWR is like a promise. It says to that baby, Your needs will not be neglected by this world. You matter to us. When you send Baby Care Kits, you provide encouragement by welcoming these little ones into an international community that cares. Baby Care Kits are distributed as part of emergency and relief efforts, to be sure, but they are also given out as part of LWR health initiatives to encourage women to seek prenatal care. One such initiative in Mali provided training for local prenatal health care workers, who were given Baby Care Kits to distribute when they assisted with births. These kinds of programs help more babies in rural, poor areas receive a healthy start in life. We hope you will join us in this effort!

School Kits: Why school supplies? To the children who receive School Kits, these supplies mean the difference between getting an education or not. Public school is usually free, but in the places where LWR works, even a few required supplies, like pens and paper, may be more than many families can afford. And when parents can only afford to send one of their children to school, girls rarely get priority…yet the education level of mothers has the biggest impact on development.

The Comforters meet each Tuesday at 10 am.  If you would like to participate in the Comforters Ministry, please contact Annette Joens.

The Kit Ministers meet in the evening.  If you would like to participate with the Kit Ministers, please contact Rhonda Gaede.

Here are some more photos of these two ministries in action.

Vacation Bible School 2014: Trees of Faith

Vacation Bible School 2014: Trees of Faith

Messiah Lutheran Church conducted our annual Vacation Bible School during the week of 22-24 July.  This annual event was led by Kert Reedstrom, Messiah's Director of Youth Ministries.  The week was a great success with over 70 participants.  The theme this year was "Trees of Faith."  Each night featured fellowship during dinner and then multiple crafts centered on the "tree" for the evening which was decorated with the ornaments crafted by the children.

Click on this link for more photos from vacation bible school.

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