Newsletter for the week of December 22nd
Please join us on the 24th and 25th for our Christmas services. Christmas Eve: Lessons and Carols, 5 & 9 PM Christmas Day w/ Communion 10 AM
Sunday, January 12th at 12:30PM The voter’s meeting will be held both in-person and via Zoom. Please plan on attending this meeting, which will include important items such as 2025 budget approval, elections, and the strategic plan. Timothystl.org/voters
Sunday School & Adult Bible Classes at 9:30 am Nursery Room Holly Feldman has a lesson and play time for nursery age children. PreK—Kindergarten—1st Grade North Side Preschool Wing Room: Teachers Gina Hawkins and Amanda Bello 2nd to 4th Grade South Side Preschool Wing Room: Teachers Erik Herrmann and Frank Kohn 5th and 6th Grade Middle Preschool Wing Room: Teachers Sue Koch and Megan Enderle 7th to 12th Grade South Side, 3rd Floor Teachers Gary Krekow and Amanda Myers Adult Bible Class – Basement, Room #2 Teacher Jessica Bordeleau The Sermon on the Mount is the longest recorded sermon preached by Jesus. Through resources from the Bible Project, we will take Lectionary Study - 3rd Floor North Side Teacher – Seminary Fieldworker |
Worship Volunteer Schedule Sign-up sheet every Sunday in the narthex. Feel free to volunteer as you are able. Church Member Information As always, if your information is missing or incorrect on the website or bulletin, please let us know at office@timothystl.org. Fellowship Hour Tables Thank you so much with your help setting up tables and chairs for 9:15 coffee hour after early service and taking them down after education hour before late service. It is a big help for older members and families with small children. Please keep it up!
Scam messages have been going around in our community. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from someone at Timothy, please delete it immediately and report it to the church office.
New Year’s Concert: 1/11 at 4 PM Children's Choir & Timothy Chimers -No Rehearsal in December -Resume the rehearsals on Jan. 15th -Children's Choir: 3:30-4:00 -Chimers: 4:00-4:30 Timothy Choir -No Rehearsals on Jan. 1 or 8 -Resume the rehearsal on Jan. 15 Handbell Choir -No Rehearsal on Dec. 25 -Rehearsal on Jan. 1 Praise Ensemble Scheduling with Jinah |
The next LWML meeting has been moved to Thursday, January 9th at 1:30 PM, Multipurpose Room. Please join us as we visit with Katie Luther via video.
Thank you all our cookie bakers who responded abundantly to our request, thank you! We packed over 100 boxes of cookies for the Christmas Market with your help. All proceeds will benefit the food pantry. Great things can be done when many helping hands come together, always through Jesus. May God bless you! LWML
The food pantry has enough goods for now and just needs toilet paper. Thanks for all your support! - Timothy Staff
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Hot apple pie Unscented Cranberry
Re-sale of Noah’s Christmas ornament Cost $5 To purchase or for more information, contact Marcia Bello or Amanda Bello
Please pray for our new Stephen Ministers this month. These lay ministers will be providing care for people in and around our congregation who are experiencing life challenges. If you know someone who could use a caring presence to walk along side of them, let Pastor Dinger know. “The Stephen Minister is the caregiver, and God is the Cure-giver.” |
Report available upon request
Timothy’s council met on Tuesday, December 10th at 6:30pm with full agenda.
Representing the Word of Life School Board, Greg Poppitz discussed potential opportunities for Timothy to upgrade our school facilities, provided we can find and allocate funds. Such projects include ceilings and lights (est. $12k), wayfinding signage (est. $6k), and bathroom renovations (est. $15-20k). He also updated us on WOL’s strategic planning process.
Treasurer Holly Feldman provided a financial report, and we discussed expenses and revenues as we near the end of the year. For the past few months, giving has been running slightly behind prior years, but we are generally on-track to meet the budget. December giving is usually strong. Giving Tuesday generated nearly $15,000. A few expenses needed to be recategorized, but nothing out of hand.
Pastor Dinger, Pastor Matt, Mark, and Jinah each submitted written reports prior to the meeting and were available for questions.
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Marla Steenbock reported on Weihnachtsmarkt, which was a great success, aided by beautiful weather. We sold out of mugs and glasses, after starting with 300 of each. We assume there were well over 1,000 total attendees. We had 70 vendors this year, and will keep it the same for next year.
Pastor Dinger and I updated the council on our Visioning/Strategic Planning efforts that have taken place over the past year with Dale Kreienkamp.
We had great participation from the congregation through surveys, focus groups, and the committee that met for over 11 hours across three nights. I will provide further details and documents at our January voters’ meeting.
We put significant effort into this plan, which will help guide Timothy for the next three plus years. |
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An investment committee has met several times this year to review the bequests and endowments that have been left to the congregation over the years with specific purposes, such as scholarships.
While they are being held by Thrivent, we may not have them invested in the best accounts/funds for our purposes. In the first quarter of 2025, we want to take action to adjust these investments. If you have expertise in this field, please let us know, because we could use your help.
The budget committee provided an overview of the proposed 2025 budget, and answered detailed questions. The proposed budget includes a 2.5% cost-of-living increase for full-time staff. The overall bottom-line is a deficit of approximately $14,000. |
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. The Missouri District Convention will take place in June 2025.
The council nominated John Hagen to serve as our delegate.
Elections: the council consists of nine members on three-year terms, with three expiring each year. The following have terms expiring: Judith Meyer, Gerald Brewah, and Adrian Bordeleau.
Having served on the council for the past nine years, Judith is ready to step aside. Vice-chair Margaret Rall has been speaking to potential candidates.
If you are interested in serving on council, elders, WOL board, or in other roles, please speak with Margaret, one of the pastors, or me. |
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Timothy Lutheran Church