250th Anniversary Mt. Zion Mugs

Mt. Zion mugs are for sale and on display in the conference room.  You can purchase them after service for $6 each.

2012  Flower and Bulletin Charts 

Please consider eommemorating a special event or memory of a loved one with a donation of flowers or bulletins.  The Flower and Bulletin Charts are available in the rear of the church.  Bulletin sponsorship is $ 20.  Please note that it is the responsibility of the flower sponsor to order and pay for the flowers and to have the florist deliver them.  (Detailed instructions are posted at the back of the church next to the Flower Chart.)  Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Thrivent Choice Program

Thrivent Financial offers its members two ways to help distribute some of its charitable outreach funds.  One is through Thrivent Choice Voting Events during which time all members 16 and older can participate in determining how $1 million is distributed among a short list of charitable organizations.  Voting events are held once or twice annually for a limited period of time.  Eligible Thrivent members are notified of these events and can then review the short list of Lutheran and non-Lutheran organizations and vote for the charity of their choice.  Funds are distributed to the organizations based on the percentage of total votes they receive. Organizations receive their funds within one month after the Voting Event closes. 

The other part of the Thrivent Choice program is Thrivent Choice Dollars.  Eligible Thrivent benefit members 16 and older are designated a certain number of Thrivent Choice Dollars based on their insurance premiums, contract values, and Thrivent Financial volunteer leadership.  The members then direct those Choice Dollars to organizations who are enrolled in the program, such as Mt.Zion.  Members who are eligible to participate in the Choice Dollars program receive a letter in the mail.  The Choice Dollars is not money that members receive for themselves, it is money that can only be donated to the organization of their choice.  The 2011 Choice Dollars need to be designated by March 31 of this year.  If you are an eligible Thrivent member and haven’t already designated your dollars, please call Thrivent or go online and make your choice by March 31^st.

            2011 was the first full year of the Thrivent Choice program and it was a great year!  About 36% of eligible members participated with approximately $60 million of Thrivent Choice grant funds distributed to more than 20,000 organizations.  We are happy that Mt.Zion has received $6784 for the 2011 year.  The program began in part with a trial run in 2010.  That year we received $911.  We’ve recently received notification that for the month of January we have received $1983.  This brings us to a total of $9678 given to us since inception of the program in 2010.  This money is deposited directly into Mt.Zion’s bank account.  Thank you to all our members who chose Mt.Zion to receive their Thrivent Choice Dollars!!!

            There is one change I need to bring to your attention.  Thrivent is phasing out the recurring direction, this is the “set it and forget it” option for directing Thrivent Choice Dollars.  If you have selected this option for the distribution of your Choice Dollars you should have already received a letter from Thrivent explaining this change.  2012 is the transition year.  Members are able to continue directing their Choice Dollars on an ongoing basis for the 2012 year only.  There is a tear-off reply card included on the bottom of the notification letter.  In order to continue your recurring direction to the same organization for 2012 you must return the completed card.  Then in 2013, you will need to select an organization each time you want to direct your Choice Dollars.

            I have brochures with information about the Thrivent Choice program.  It includes the telephone number and website contact information.  Please see me for a brochure or for any questions you may have.

            Once again, thank you to everyone who chose Mt.Zion to receive your Thrivent Choice Dollars.  In these difficult economic times it has been a great help to our budget.

                                                Sharon C. Billger, Mt.Zion’s Thrivent Congregational Advocate 

Fuel Oil Notice - Winter is here!  We appeal to everyone to consider making a contribution to the fuel fund either by using the envelope located in the box of offering envelopes or by direct contribution with a note designating the funds use.  We appreciate your kindness.  All amounts are appreciated and will be used as specifically designated.

Community Emergency Plan-Use of Church Project

How many of you were without electric during the freak snowstorm in October. Remember how many people’s lives were affected locally? Several have suggested to us that maybe the church could be used as a community emergency shelter when circumstances like this arise.The idea was submitted to the property committee for discussion and a recommendation.

"The Property recommends to council that such a plan be implemented. The committee feels that it should be made available to others in our community who might be in need, not only church members. Of course, this would only be if we indeed had electric as well. The committee strongly recommends that a church member be present whenever the building is being utilized for emergencies. Also, the committee suggests that a mailing be done in the area informing area residents of the availability of our facility.  In addition, perhaps a network of members willing to open their homes to others could be done by word of mouth.”

Jeff asked council’s approval to seek members to serve on a new committee to address this. Council approved.  During discussion it was noted that a good place for the new committee to start would be to contact the Red Cross. This is an outstanding project and one that we hope we can put in place. However, there are some things we need to find out from the township.

How can you help? We are looking for several volunteers that could coordinate this effort as a “special” committee. If you are interested, please contact Pastor Hammond, Martin Billger or any church council member. This would be a great project that would be very beneficial to our community. Again, we need volunteers to do some leg work and investigation to make this happen. We need you!

Did you know that we have a special account that is specifically designated as a building fund. The building fund offering are used totally for the preservation of the church building. Just like the fuel fund, any financial donations received for the Building Fund can ONLY be used for the building. We certainly appreciate everyone’s support of this much needed fund.    

CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP

Attention all musicians!

If anyone is interested in playing in a contemporary worship band please contact Greg Schappell.  Any instrument would be welcome.  Singer, guitar player, bass player, drums just to name a few.  You don’t have to be an expert.  If we could get a group together I would like to practice once a week for 2 hours. We can practice for a while until everyone feels comfortable.  Any participation would be greatly appreciated.  If you are musically inclined or just dabble this would be a great opportunity to use that to glorify our Lord and it will be a lot of fun!

Use GoodSearch.com for your web searches

.  Download the 'GoodSearch - Mt Zion Lutheran Church - Kutztown toolbar, at 'http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/mt-zion-lutheran-church-kutztown.com' and save it as a favorite.  We will earn money every time that you search or shop online.  Be sure to select the 'Kutztown' location to guarantee that we will get credit. Thanks to Andrew Frederick and Michelle Batz for this information. 

 Would you prefer to give a monetary donation to the church directly?