Taken from the 2018 Stewardship Report handed out on Oct 28th and available now online:

 Connecting Through Grace
 
Thank you!  You are a gracious and grace-filled community. This stewardship report flows from your generosity, creating new ministries and ways for us to be a people connecting through grace.
 
Thanks be to God for the gift of this community. It is our most precious gift, overflowing from God’s heart, shaping and calling us to be a community of grace. How do we see the Spirit connecting us through grace?
 
Look deep into the cup where love is poured, ‘”for you.” Feel joy celebrated and, when one is in sorrow, we all taste salt. See our fun and fellowship; sacrifice and service; conversations and consolations. Let the music and worship wash over you. In all these connections there is grace, connecting us with the very life of God.
 
Because of your financial gifts, we have explored new ways to be people of grace. More than prayers for the care of creation, we have made the commitment to reduce our carbon footprint through building renovation. We are connecting more and more children with God’s grace through our VBS outreach and choir days. We are a community of compassion, connecting with refugees at the border, where Cristo Rey Lutheran receives our gifts as Milagro de la Frontera (Miracle at the Border).
 
What if a stranger should drop in and ask about “this community of grace, this connecting through grace, —— what does it look like?” We can sweep our hand over every aspect of our life together and truly say, “It looks like this.”
 
To download the entire Stewardship Report, click the link below.
http://www.zelc.org/council-minutes--reports
 
Pastor Steve Klemz
 

BLUE
The color for hope.
The liturgical color for the Advent season, heralding our Advent prayer:  “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Overheard from Let Me Shine Preschool children, “My school is in the blue church.”
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church – the place of hope, the gathering place with Jesus.

BLUE NO MORE
The blue walls are gone, replaced.
Alas, they could not contain our hope, to be wise stewards of our carbon footprint.
 
CROSS SHAPED
The blue walls are gone, but they are now transformed, redeemed.
Cut into pieces, they are etched with the sign of the cross.
Jesus said of the cross, “I, when I am lifted up, will draw all to me.”
Paul said of the cross, “it has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.”
Behold, the cross shaped wall has become a gospel bridge.
 
MILAGRO DE LA FRONTERA --- Miracle at the Border
With your donations, these crosses created a miracle.
True to their blue character, they are a miracle of hope for Cristo Rey Lutheran Church, El Paso.
 
Pastor Rose Mary reports:  “We received 22 asylum seekers today.  They came tired, hungry and seemed lost. They ate, registered, received new clothing, showered, ate dinner and began to relax.  As always, we welcomed them we offered God’s hope and love to his children.  Thank you for being mission partners with your support for Immigration and Refugee Ministry.”
 
HOSPITALITY REPLACES HOSTILITY
The bridge of hospitality replaces the wall of hostility.
Thank you for opening the borders of your hearts.
Thank you for your generosity!  To date, $3,318 has been raised for Cristo Rey.         
Thank you for your prayers and support for Juan de Dios Lopez.
Thank you, Bob Hackworth, Jimmy Krzysik and Christian Hackworth, for your labor of love, crafting the crosses.
 
Caminante, no hay puentes se hace punetes al andar.  (Voyager, there are no bridges, one builds them as one walks.)  ---  Gloria E. Anzaldúa                                                                       
With Christ,  Pastor Steve 

Announcements.  We have sung hymns, received the Word and celebrated the great grace of Christ’s “for you” in the Holy Meal.  Now we anticipate the holy rhythm of worship’s conclusion:  “Go in peace.  Serve the Lord.”  But, before we go:  “Announcements.”  (More than once assisting minister Denny Gross has introduced them as “Zion’s commercials.”)
 
Our announcements are typical of many churches, which share various congregational concerns: receptions, ice cream socials, the Salmon Run and fundraisers like the Olivia Rose Golf Tournament.
 
But listen carefully to this summer’s announcements.  They embraced a unique theme in the many ways we are connecting through grace in our community and the world.
 
Seventh grader Berkley announced that she was selling home made slime, so that she could purchase toys for activity bags for children in Primary Children’s Hospital. (she made 34 bags)
 
Brant Parker Graham invited us to his band’s concert at Zion.  The MAD (Make A Difference) Band raised thousands for the Youth Resource Center, which supports and shelters homeless and at-risk teens.
 
During all the “Bread Sundays,” we were encouraged to join Bread for the World http://www.bread.org/
 
John Krehbiel asked that we consider school supply donations for Bright Minds Daycare, serving refugee children.
 
We were invited to address those difficult-to-talk-about-social-justice-issues at monthly Social Action Forums.
 
Volunteers responded to requests to provide meals for Family
Promise and the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Journey for Justice Caravan.
 
Then there are the crosses.  Yes, we are requesting donations for crosses, cut out of our old exterior wall, raising funds for Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey, El Paso.  The funds will support the congregation’s ministry with family reunification and border ministries.
 
Have you noticed how the announcements give witness to the many and various ways we are caught up in God’s loving service to the world?  You are amazing people, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Don’t be surprised if the announcements replace the sermon for a Sunday sometime soon.  The sermon would begin, “Listen to the various ways the Holy Spirit is moving in and among and through us.”  Announcements follow.  Then we will conclude with a loud, “Amen!”       Pastor Steven Klemz
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