November 2001 Newsletter

Pot luck, please bring a main dish, hot vegetable dish or salad to share
(it should serve 6 or more people)
Cake and beverage provided
Sign up to share a talent for the talent show!!

We will receive Matching Funds from
Lutheran Brotherhood
Bonanza Branch #8237

How do you handle the issues you face each day? How do you confront life and the real world? Do you find yourself in God’s Word, prayerfully seeking God’s help? Or do you immediately turn to others to tell you what to do? I don’t know about you, but sometimes when a crisis like what happened on September 11th happens, I find myself asking others to pray before I talk to God about the situation myself. The recent crisis has brought me to realize that God wants us to read His Word and talk to Him first. Actually He wants us to tell Him always.

We constantly carry on a personal conversation with ourselves. We evaluate every situation. We review conversations with others over and over in our minds. We carry on an internal discussion about life and our evaluation of it.

I believe God wants us to invite Him into that conversation. That’s what I believe that Paul means when he tells us to "Pray without Ceasing" in Thessalonians 5:17. God never gives us a command we cannot fulfill. So instead of talking to yourself as I often do, why not join me and start talking to God.

I invite all Good Samaritan Lutheran Church members, family and friends, to a special service of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. We will have a special opportunity to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, at Christ Lutheran Church on 111 Torrey Pines Rd. It is a Thanksgiving Eve service at 7pm on the 21st of November. I will be preaching at this joint service. Pastor Tom Stutelberg, Pastor Ron Bessert and Pastor Brian Rossow will also be participating in this service. Members of both churches choirs will come together to sing special music.

July 27-28, 2001 I went to the dedication of Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church. This building is called "The Church Built from Crosses." My friend, Beverly Arthur from New York, took me to Jackson, Wyoming for the dedication.

On Sunday, November 11^th at 10:00am, Saved by Grace will become an official congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Assistant to the Bishop, Rev. Paul Halvorson will preach.

The 9:45am Adult Forum will be "How to get ready for College." Parents of middle school and Senior High students are encouraged to attend.

Louise Gabriel – 90 years old
Attends Saturday at 6pm
Position: Left side – second to last row by the window – next to her son

When Louise was born Madam Curie won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and Irving Berlin wrote, "Alexander’s Rag Time Band". She is the same age as Mitch Miller, Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball and Vincent Price. Louis was a homemaker and waitress from Oklahoma. She has three children, 5 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. She loves to read, cook and study scripture. At 90 years she tells me she still only has one cavity. Her son is Larry Bayne.

Elvira Oglesby – 92 years old
Attends Sunday at 11am
Position: Left side – third row from the front-center aisle – next to her daughter

When Elvira was born Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States. She has lived through 17 presidents. Elvira is the same age as LBJ, Ian Fleming and Arlene Francis. Wilbur Wright flew 30 miles in 40 minutes the year she was born and Major League Baseball made the spitball illegal. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 1908 and have never won another one since Elvira was born. Elvira was born in Chicago and worked for Banker’s Life and Casualty . She has three daughters, 13 grandchildren and 39 great grandchildren. She enjoys the Good Samaritan Quilter’s group and other handwork and crafts and she works word search puzzles. Her daughter is Marilyn Prodraza.

Frances Finnin – 91 years old
Attends Sunday at 8am
Position: Left side-center aisle – forth row from the back – next to Woody

The year Francis was born China abolished slavery and Mark Twain and Florence Nightingale died . She is the same age as Mother Teresa and Jacques Cousteau. Frank Lloyd Wright was designing houses in 1910. Francis was born in Virginia and was the Director of Christian Education and assistant pastor at a Methodist church for 30 years. She has 5 children, 7 grandchildren, and 11 ¾ great grandchildren. With the help of the C.A.T. bus, Francis attends the Sunday adult forum, the Thursday morning bible study and continues to take classes at UNLV. Her last classes were Women in Philosophy and Shakespeare. Francis just moved into her own apartment and she tells me it’s the first time in her life she has had her own place.

All three of these wonderful women were born before Fenway Park was built in Boston. Women could not vote. There was no vaccine for polio and penicillin wasn’t discovered until 1929! The Major League record for most home runs in a season was held by Ned Williamson –27. Babe Ruth was still a teenager. There was no Pentagon. There was no NBA, NHL or NFL and no Television. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible was not even around yet. What makes these three nonagenarians so remarkable to me is their energetic spirit for life. Take time to know these women; they’re always ready to share that spirit.