JUST A REMINDER...

There will only be one Sunday service during the month of August at 9:30am August 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31

LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF – 2008 SCHOOL KITS

Our St. Matthew Youth are organizing the annual drive to collect school supplies and bags for needy children around the world. An LWR school kit may provide the only supplies for children returning to school after the disruption of war or natural disaster. The donation box will be in the foyer from mid-August through mid-October for the collection. The following items are needed:

• Padded or spiral notebooks of ruled paper approximately 8-1/2" X 11" totaling 150-200 sheets; do not include loose-leaf paper (If using 70- count notebooks, include three notebooks if you have enough; otherwise, include two)

• One blunt scissors (safety scissors with embedded steel blades work well) • One 30-centimeter ruler, or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other

• One pencil sharpener

• One eraser approximately 2-1/2" long

• 12 sheets of construction paper in assorted colors

• One box of 16 or 24 crayons

The members of St. Matthew have been always been very generous with donations to this project. Thank you in advance for supporting this worthwhile project. For additional information, contact Stephanie Alumbaugh, Pastor Julia or call the church office (367-1189).

SUNDAY FORUM: THE HOLY LAND

For the past 2 years, St. Matthew Church has supported the Lutheran congregation in the Palestinian city Beit Jala. Our member, John Setterlund, has recently completed 22 months of volunteer service as pastoral assistant & music teacher at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation & resident at the Boys Home. During Sundays in September Pastor Setterlund will lead discussions at the 9:45 adult forum.

• Sept. 7 - Visiting the Holy Land

• Sept. 14 - Churches of the Holy Land

• Sept. 21 - Division and occupation

• Sept. 28 - Living & ministering in Palestine

Campaign Update

• Construction has begun!

• To date, 115 commitments have been made totaling $597,621. This was short of our goal but this is only the beginning of a 3-year campaign. As of June 30, $186,421.30 of those commitments have actually been given to the campaign.

• From the land sale, $391,199 is available for construction. The total of cash and commitments is $988,820.

• The members voted unanimously to proceed with the construction at the Special Congregational Meeting held July 27th.

• The Groundbreaking Ceremony was held August 3.

PLEASE NOTE: During our construction, on Saturday evening & Sunday mornings the parking spaces in the front circle drive will be designated as “Special Needs Parking Only”. Also, the doors to the Fellowship Hall will be accessible from the main parking lot. Thank you for your cooperation during this time.