LCM News

Lutheran Campus Ministry

at the University of Delaware

The mission of Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware is to express our Faith in God through fellowship, outreach and service.

Third Annual Fundraising Dinner of the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware

SAVE THE DATE!!!!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

701 South College Ave.

Newark, DE 19713

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE FUNDRAISING DINNER?????

On October 25, 2008 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. we will have a fundraising dinner at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Newark, Delaware. We are excited to hear from The Rev. Richard Graham, Bishop of the Metropolitan D.C. synod, who will talk not only about the impact of campus ministry in his life, but also in the lives of his daughters who are UD alumni. We will also be hearing from our own synod bishop, The Rev. H. Gerard Knoche who will talk about the extent and impact of our mission in the Delaware-Maryland Synod.

With the talk of the dinner comes the familiar question as to what the money will go to be used for. A major part of the money (90 percent) will go toward mission development at Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware. You may ask, “What is mission development?” We respond, mission development is used to expand our mission beyond the everyday work we do here. This may include, but is not limited to, a new building to house our ministry, refreshed office space, remodeling of the Bonhoeffer house and so much more. Our goal is to never spend any of this money on general budget items so that this money may go beyond the work that the ministry already does.

The other 10 percent of the funds is a tithe to the greater church. You may have noticed that at every fundraising dinner we give a portion of the proceeds to some other ministry in the church at large. This year we are giving that portion to the Sowing for the Harvest campaign of the Delaware-Maryland Synod. We hope that with the proceeds donated to this ministry, we will have a helping hand in extending the mission of God’s church on earth.

We hope that you will find the time to join us on October 25, 2008. It will be great to see your face and talk to you one-on-one about what we at the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware are doing to further God’s mission.

Message from the Pastor

Hi, Friends,

Can it be that we’ve already been back for more than a month? Or is it that we’ve only been back for a month … It’s funny how life works: we come together after being gone from each other for a summer and suddenly the pace picks up and we’re off and running and then the pace seems like a rat-race that we’re never going to finish. Does anybody feel out of breath with it all yet?

Well, there’s a lot going on. Just in Lutheran Campus Ministry: we meet on Tuesday night, we meet on Sunday morning, and both of those meetings involve meals; then we meet on Monday night for Bible study; and there’s tutoring and there’s the FISH program once a month which has two components and there’s an LSA student board meeting once a month … and I know that I’m forgetting something. Maybe several somethings.

Ah: the big thing – on the 25^th of October, a Saturday night: the Lutheran Campus Ministry dinner, with Bishop Dick Graham of the Metro DC Synod speaking, and with our own Bishop Jerry Knoche presenting a call to give. You’ll want to be there! You might want to make sure your family and friends know that they are all welcome to join us, too.

Another thing, though. At board retreats, every half hour we take a break from the business that is oh-so-pressing at the moment – and we pray. It’s a good break that allows us to get away from very important stuff to remember what’s most important: our relationship with God. It’s a break that keeps us healthy and sane and spiritually alive.

Along with that is the break that just restores and refreshes. It’s so easy to go from early in the morning to late at night – and to forget the necessary down time that is God’s way of letting is recharge. When we’re really really really really busy, it might seem like a risky thing to do: but our bodies will say, “Thank you.” And we’ll find that we’re much better able to serve and praise God, too.

Peace and power, PB

Service Spot

Please contact Amelia Blenderman at ameliaib@udel.edu if you are interested in helping out with Fellowship in Serving the Hungry (FISH) and any other service projects.

October is here and many people are thinking about apple picking and pumpkins. Why not also think about volunteering??

Join us as we tutor elementary students in math and English at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church from 6 to 7 p.m. on Thursday nights.

Join us as we help a member of our community renovate and tidy up her home on Saturday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Join us as we help those in need of supplementary groceries at our next FISH (Fellowship in Serving the Hungry) distribution at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Friday, Oct. 17 from 2 to 6 p.m.

Throughout this semester, LCM will have optional offerings during Tuesday night worship. We would like to ask you to consider bringing non-perishable items to be used toward FISH. Of course, any non-perishable item is fantastic, but here are some ideas. Any monetary donations will also be put toward FISH groceries.

October 7 - Jell-O

October 14 - Apple Sauce

October 21- Raisins

October 28 - Fruit Cups

November 4 - Ramen/Cup Noodles or Pasta

We hope to see you at these events!

Want to get involved with a really cool service project that impacts children?

LCM has a tutoring program in collaboration with

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Newark, Del.

Tutoring is every Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Rides leave from the Chapel at 6:15 p.m.

Contact lutherans@udel.edu or Chris Ebert (cebert@udel.edu) for more information.

LCM Service Project

Get your work clothes on!

Elizabeth Carney needs some help!

October 11, 2008

10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

We will be helping Ms. Carney clean up her house and help get her organized.

Contact lutherans@udel.edu for more information or to let us know you can help

Lutheran Campus Ministry

at the University of Delaware

Stewardship of God’s Creation Campaign

Whereas, God said “Have dominion over the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28);

Whereas, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in assembly adopted a social statement on the care for creation which states, “We of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are deeply concerned about the environment, locally and globally, as members of this church and as members of society” and;

Whereas, the University of Delaware, in its Pathway to prominence has a goal to “Become ‘The Green University,’” therefore be it;

Resolved, that the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware cares deeply for the earth that God has given us;

Resolved, that the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware will take appropriate measures to sustain the earth that God has created; and be it further

Resolved, that the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware accepts the Stewardship of God’s Creation Campaign and will support it in any way possible.

Accepted by the Lutheran Campus Ministry

Directing Committee, September 21, 2008

Lutheran Campus Ministry

Stewardship of God’s Creation Campaign

“Have dominion over the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28) This call from God is a call not only for us to rule over all that He has created but to protect, nurture, and sustain all that He has created. Just as God took Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and look after it (Genesis 2:15), we too have to care for the earth that God has place us in.

At the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware, we will strive to be good stewards of Gods creation. Some of the methods to do so include, but are not limited to:

1. Set the thermostat to a cooler temperature during the night than during the day during cold weather.
2. Install only digital thermostats that can be programmed to turn off when heating is not necessary
3. Turn off the air conditioners when no one is in the building during warm weather.
4. Clean and/or replace heating and air conditioner filters at least twice a year.
5. Insulate the windows so that warm air is not lost during cold weather.
6. Turn off lights when no one is in the building.
7. Use compact florescent light bulbs.
8. Be sure dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, before using.
9. Use washable dishes, cups, and flatware. Use paper and plastic minimally. Never use Styrofoam.
10. Have recycle containers available and highly visible
11. When buying new appliances, buy only Energy Star appliances
12. Have information about this campaign highly visible.

By doing these simple measures, we can insure that we take care of God’s creation. Through God’s creation He is worshiped and glorified. Let us “praise the name of the Lord, for by His command they were created” (Psalm 148: 5)

Monday Night Bible Study

Monday nights, LSA meets for Bible Study in the chapel at 7:00.
 
This fall we have been looking at the Psalms to see how the Psalmist uses images from creation to point to the Creator. You don't have to have been to all of these to begin to come now.
 
On the 13th of October we will begin a week to look at a couple of very basic writings of Martin Luther.
 
We do this because Lutherans around the world have begun a "Luther Decade" to celebrate 1508 as the year that Luther began to teach at Wittenberg, and to look forward to 1517 as the 500th anniversary of the date that Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church. This event is remembered as the official beginning of the Reformation of Christianity.
 
Here are a couple of links to websites on the Luther Decade:
 
http://www.wittenberg.de , http://www.luther2017.de

Help with this newsletter

Would you like to contribute to the LCM newsletter? We need you. The task is pretty simple. You can share your thoughts for “Why Christianity?,” photos, announcements about upcoming activities, or anything else you find important to be heard! Please contact Jen Heine at jheine@udel.edu with any future newsletter contributions or questions!