St.Paul Lutheran Church & School
400 S.13th Street Fort Dodge, IA 50501
Phone 515-955-7285
stpaulfd@stpaulfd.org
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THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
Monthly newsletter of St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church, Fort Dodge, Iowa
Our Mission Statement: Disciples of Christ Making Disciples for Christ
“Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.”
--- Proverbs 29:18
Starting on April 12th & 13th, nine congregational members gathered to form the Vision Frame Initiative team. This initiative was approved by our Parish Administrative Council (PAC) to begin the process of determining what St. Paul Lutheran Church & School aspires to be. We have just celebrated 160 years as a congregation & school, so the question is, “What does St. Paul want to look like ministry wise when we celebrate 170 years?” The Vision Frame process will help to provide direction to everyone in the organization as they focus their efforts on achieving the vision.
You will be hearing me talk a lot about the Vision Frame over the next several months. So, I wanted to write this article to explain the concept and lay out what the goals we will achieve. First of all, I want to emphasize that what the Vision Frame Initiative team does will be reported to the congregation in townhall meetings. Receiving feedback and thoughts will be most important as the team goes through the process. Please keep an eye out for upcoming congregational meetings so that each of us will be able to participate.
The Vision Frame is a collection of statements that will reflect the Kingdom Concept of St. Paul Lutheran Church & School. The Vision Frame will help to express our DNA. The goal of this process is that every leader, ministry, and program in the church & school should begin from a clear understanding of the Vision Frame. The Vision Frame includes an articulation of the church and school’s unique mission, values, strategy, mission measure, and vision proper.
MISSION: A clear and concise statement that defines what the church is ultimately supposed to be doing. Mission answers the question, “What are we doing?” The mission serves as the compass and guiding North Star of the church & school. It is the heartbeat. The mission is like a golden thread that weaves through every activity of the church & school.
VALUES: The shared convictions that guide the actions and reveal the strengths of the church & school. Values answer the question, “Why are we doing it?” Values are pillars that represent the conscience of the church & school.
STRATEGY: The process that demonstrates how the church will accomplish its mission on the broadest level. Strategy answers the question, “How are we doing it?” The strategy is like a container that holds all church & school activities into one meaningful whole.
MEASURES: The characteristics of an individual’s life that reflect the achievement of the mission. Measures answers the question, “When are we successful?” Measure is the church & school’s portrait of a disciple and definition of spiritual maturity. It provides the standard by which the mission can be measured with respect to an individual’s development through the ministry of the church & school.
VISION PROPER: The living language that anticipates and illustrates God’s better future for the church & school. Vision Proper answers the question, “Where is God taking us?” The vision is a God–inspired dream. It is like a developing Polaroid picture of the church’s preferable future. It develops first in the minds-eye of the leadership and then in the people. Vision is made possible by imagination fueled by faith, hope and love. It is our unique fingerprint here at St. Paul Lutheran Church & School in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Please keep this process in your daily prayers. I look forward to seeing how God will work through us as we seek to follow His lead in the years ahead.
Pastor Kendall Meyer
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Fort Dodge IA, (LCMS)
Announcements
On May 19th We will be doing a dedication of our Lower Level at 9:15AM. Please Join Us for this Wonderful Event!!
St. Paul Lutheran Church & School
Food Pantry will be open only on Thursday’s from 2pm to 4pm.
Thank you!
Orphan Grain Train
Judy will take items to Camp Okoboji for OGT in June. So Clean out your clothes closets and she will take them to camp for OGT.
Rummage Sale will be June 7th & 8th. If you have things you would like to donate you may bring them to the church but if you can hang on to them until May we would appreciate it as we have limited space to store items.
SHOP WITH SCRIP: Scrip Cards are gift cards you buy from us and a percentage comes back to the church & school. Come stop by the church office window and see what we have available.
What a fun and easy way to raise money for Our Church and School!
We will be selling scrip Saturday before 6pm and after 6pm service and also 9:00-9:30 and after 10:30 service on Sunday mornings.
Partners in Ministry envelopes are up! They show the needed amounts to fill our needs. Your help is appreciated on any of them; take an envelope and put in the offering plate or turn in to church office.
God Loves a cheerful giver.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: I will be retiring after the Annual Meeting in April, 2024. The Board is currently seeking the next Executive Director for Camp Okoboji. YOU CAN HELP . . . Word of Mouth and/or references have proven to be the most successful recruiting tools!! If you believe someone you know has the potential to be a quality Executive Director, please forward their names to myself or Scott Ebel, Board President. The Search Committee will follow up with all recommendations to determine any possible interest, maintaining complete confidentiality of how their name was received. Contact information is:
Scott Ebel: (712) 395-2688 or meatheadebel@yahoo.com
or myself at (515) 408-5790 or kirk.campokoboji@gmail.com.
lness Bash, Location Athletics for Education & Success, 712 3rd St. NW Fort Dodge. This will be May 11th from 11am-2pm.
Iowa Total Care Green To Go Program: Free Produce for Community members, Health & Wellness Resources, Community Partners,
Food Trucks & Family Fun.
More info call Webster Public Health at 515-573-4107
Bus Trip:
Trip is planned for the Creation Museum/ Ark Encounter for June 10th through the 14th. Also one planned for Dec. 2nd-6th.
Flier is located on the bulletin board in the Communication Center.
Blanden Art Museum-presents
Joanne Alberda, Tales From a Ghost Town.
Located on the 2nd floor gallery,
March 2nd through April 20th. A reception will be Saturday, March 16, from 2:00pm to 4:30pm.
The exhibition of non-traditional quilts using traditional quilting techniques.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” We will be asking for our congregation – for our members to assemble together to not only hear God’s Word, but to also receive the Lord’s Supper, to pray together, to be worshipping with others. Meet with us at 10:00 a.m. on Thursdays, in the chapel. Please come and go as you can, you don’t have to be there every week. Also you may pray out loud or to yourselves. Silent prayers are fine.
The homeschool families of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Carlisle, Iowa are hosting our third annual homeschool conference on Saturday, May 11, 2024, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The conference, Oh, Blest the House: Vocations Within the Homeschool Family, features Rev. James Preus, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, Iowa, as our keynote speaker. There is no charge to attend this event, however, we will accept free will donations at the conference. Lunch and snacks will be provided, and limited childcare will be available. Find additional information and complete your registration on our website: holycrosscarlisle.org
In order to apply for the scholarship, a student must meet the following requirements:
Be a graduate of St. Paul Lutheran School and have all fees at St. Paul paid in full
Be a member of a LCMS congregation
Be a high school graduate
Be enrolled in college as a full time undergrad student
Provide a high school and/or college transcript
May apply a maximum of 4 times
Depending on available funds, scholarships will vary for the 2024-2025 college year. Selection will be based on the recipient’s academic capability, excellent character, industrious habits and financial need (Preference will be given to those students enrolling in a Missouri Synod Lutheran college or university). Recipients will receive one-half of their scholarship each semester to help pay tuition, fees, and books.
To be considered for a scholarship another year, the student must again complete the application procedure. You may print a application off of St. Paul School web page, or stop in the church office for one.
The application deadline is April 8th , 2024.
High School & College Youth:
High School & College Youth: High school youth and college students will meet Sundays at 4pm to 5:30pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church. Contact Pastor Kendall Meyer or Lynn Meyer with questions.
Sunday School Pre-K through 5th
grade meets on each Sunday morning
at 9:15am to 10am
in the Multipurpose Room, located on the School side.
Confirmation 6th through 8th grade will meet on Wed. April 3rd at 5:30pm and end at 7:00pm.
Confirmation 6th through 8th grade will meet at 5:30pm on Wed. evening,
in the Communication Center Lower Level.
Attention: YOUTH GROUP GRADUATES. Any youth who participated in St. Paul youth group in the last 2 years ,
PLEASE SEE Lynn Meyer. We would like to put your handprint on our youth wall along with your favorite Bible verse.
If you are interested in helping deliver meals let Michael know in the church office.
We serve about every 10 weeks and we could use regulars and subs.
Pray on it and let us know. It’s fun to partner up with a spouse or a friend.
We are still looking for some subs to call on if the regulars are unable to do the route.
By enrolling, AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to support our Church! Simply log into your Amazon account with your normal log in information. Search ‘AmazonSmile’ within your account page, then at the top of the page, choose “select a charity”. Type “Saint Paul Lutheran Church”, you will notice numerous St Paul’s, make sure to select Fort Dodge, IA!
Now when you plan to make purchases on Amazon, start by shopping through the AmazonSmile website; it is no different, it just remembers your charity information each time. It is that simple and profitable, without any pain.
If you are able to help serve at funerals please let Glenda Juilfs or Janette Kee know. We need help getting ready for the meal, making sandwiches, setting up tables, making lemonade and coffee. We serve the family the meal, and then there is cleaning up afterwards. We call for cake donations from members and have them delivered to the church. So if making a cake is something you could do let us know. We would be glad to have you join in helping the funeral committee.
Thank you!
St.Paul Lutheran Church & School
400 S.13th Street Fort Dodge, IA 50501
Phone 515-955-7285
stpaulfd@stpaulfd.org
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