Celebrations

Christo Spiritus Awards at Lutheran South, St. Louis

As part of National Lutheran Schools Week, March 2-8, Lutheran South recognized three outstanding students who made a significant contribution in their service and dedication to Lutheran South. These students, all seniors, received the 2008 Christo Servis Award (You Serve Christ).

Students were selected who:

• are a positive influence to the spiritual atmosphere at South
• in some way serve the church, school, and community
• demonstrate care and concern for others
• are involved in various school and community activities
• display exemplary character and reliability

Left to right:

Ben Frentzel, Christ Memorial Lutheran Church
Margaret Lewis, Timothy Lutheran Church

Dan Hohenstein, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Missouri Geographic Bee Semifinalist

Student Named Missouri Geographic Bee Semifinalist By National Geographic Society

Jeremy Busby, a seventh-grader at Grace Chapel Lutheran School, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2008 Missouri Geographic Bee. Bees were held in schools with fourth through eighth grade students throughout the state to determine each school’s Geographic Bee winner. School-level winners then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the national Geographic Society. In each of the 50 states and in the territories, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level.

The 2008 Missouri Geographic Bee will be held at Memorial Union on the campus of the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO on Friday, April 4, 2008.

The state winner will receive $100, a globe, and a trip to Washington, D.C. where he will represent Missouri in the national finals at the National Geographic Society headquarters, May 20-21, 2008. The national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship.

Raymore Cross Dedication

Cross Given to the Glory of God

Earlier this year, Murel and Charelene Geyer donated a beautiful hand-carved cross to Bethlehem congregation. When the new sanctuary was dedicated in 2007, Murel quietly went to work on plans for carving a cross to enrich the beauty of the altar. After visiting with some members of the congregation, he began discussing his plan with his wood carving instructor. Together he and Murel began to work on the cross.

The team selected basswood for the cross structure and used beech wood to complete the three-dimensional designs. Murel envisioned the Bethlehem star, where our Savior’s story begins, overlaid with a cross, where His mission was fulfilled and our forgiveness was secured. Also included on the cross is the figure of a dove which reminds us of Christ’s presence in our lives through the workings of the Holy Spirit.

Work began in late June. Murel had his sites set for a September completion date in remembrance of Charelene and his 52nd wedding anniversary. After the sanding was completed, the design was finalized in the later part of July. The cross was then assembled and sanding was continued for most of August. It was not until September that the designs were begun. A new goal was established, and Murel began to aim for completing the project in November hoping to be finished in time for Thanksgiving. October and November found Andy and him working to finish the carving for the designs. November came and went, and finally the project was almost complete. December found the pair fitting the pieces onto the cross and allowing the completed project to dry.

The cross was delivered to Bethlehem with Pastor Reimnitz receiving the gift for the congregation and making plans to present it to the congregation on January 6. If you notice, the deadline kept changing providing evidence that if you want to hear God laugh-tell Him your plans!  January 6 is a significant date for Bethlehem it happened to be the 21st anniversary of the worship service as a congregation.

May the cross dedicated to God’s service continue to bless the worshippers at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Lutheran Senior Services welcomes new Vice President of HR Dale Kreienkamp

Lutheran Senior Services has experienced remarkable growth over the past two decades, growing from a single St. Louis-area retirement community to one of the largest not-for-profit senior care groups in the country. The challenge for Dale Kreienkamp, LSS’s new Vice President of Human Resources, is to ensure that the 150-year-old organization never loses sight of how important its employees are.

"You don’t provide care with buildings," he said. "You provide it with people. My goal is to help Lutheran Senior Services attract and retain the best possible employees. Our staff members become family to our residents, so they have to be our top priority if we are going to stay true to our Christian mission of helping older adults live life to the fullest."

A longtime supporter of the organization, Kreienkamp assumes responsibility for serving over 2,300 LSS employees at 20 locations in Missouri and Illinois. Formerly the chief human resources officer for St. Anthony’s Medical Center, he spent the last five years as president of Human Capital Partners, a consulting firm based in Ballwin, Missouri.

Kreienkamp graduated from the University of Central Missouri with dual degrees in Human Resources and Management. He went on to earn a master’s degree in HR Management from Washington University, and holds a lifetime accreditation as a Senior Professional in Human Resources. A member of St. Louis’s Workforce Investment Board, he has served in leadership roles on a wide array of civic and industry organizations.

Kreienkamp makes his home in West County near Lutheran Senior Services at Meramec Bluffs, the senior living community where his parents reside.

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Bonne Terre Officer Installation

St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Bonne Terre, Mo., installed their congregation and ladies guild officers. May God bless their continued spiritual leadership in the coming year.

Pictured with Pastor Charles Henrickson

Back row:  Ray Petty, Bob Worsham, Darrel Faircloth, Steve Smith, and Arnold Hadler.

Front row:  Leland Gielow, Bob Arment, Kathleen Petty, Jan Burr, Lee Hoffmann, LaVerne Grotewiel, and Betty Arment.

An Extreme Makeover Webster Gardens Edition

During the month of April The Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens took there “First Serve Saturday” to a new level. 

Single mom, Linda Witte-Steurtz, and her children, moved out of their 122 year-old home so Webster Gardens could roll up their sleeves and begin the first ever “Extreme Make-over, Webster Gardens Edition.”

The Gospel of Mark tells us about many instances in which Jesus served.  He acted immediately to heal the sick, rescue the poor, and feed the hungry.  May 1st marks the celebration of His ascension into heaven. As St. Mark recounts that occasion, he writes that Jesus’ followers reacted and went everywhere to tell others about Him.  Then he goes on to say, “the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.” ( Mark 16:20 NLT)

There were over 100 volunteers at the “Extreme Make-over” of Linda’s house.  The Lord was working with them there!  In ten short days, God helped Webster Gardens transform Linda’s home, confirming what is taught at Webster Gardens, and witnessing to many.

You are invited to a celebration lunch from noon to 1 p.m., Sunday, May 4th at Webster Gardens to  thank all the volunteers, organizations that donated, and see more pictures and video.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, April 30th to the church office.

Written by Mary Bayes

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Full District Staff Listing

Anniversaries

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Missouri District Professional Church Workers,

The Professional Church Workers’ Conference will be held November 11-14, 2008 at Tan-Tar-A.  The theme for the conference is “Team Ministry.”  The committee is seeking presenters for sectionals.  Please review the Presenter Memo and the Presenter Request Form and return the information to the District Office.  Thank you for your assistance in helping to develop an excellent conference.

Professional Church Workers’ Conference Committee