Reconciling in Christ Conversation
What’s Happening 10.31.2024
Do you know any home-bound Zion members? One of the hardest things as a
congregation, and as a pastor, is to keep track of members who have moved into that
category we are calling home-bound, which we used to call shut-ins. Home-bound are
members that are basically un-able to attend a Sunday morning worship service, and
have a difficult time getting out and about for anything but the most critical of trips,
doctor’s appointments, grocery store, hair appointments. Some are still in their own
homes, many are in assisted living facilities or traditional nursing homes.
Often becoming home-bound is a slow process, and it happens in incremental steps,
one or two at a time. They may have moved to an independent living situation, that
eventually moves them over to their assisted living area. They may have given up their
driving, but their children are able to take them most places they need to go to. They
were in assisted living, but had a fall, ended up in rehab and then finally landed in a
nursing home. There are all sorts of variations as to how this happens.
As well, in the situation of a couple, quite often one of the members is able to get out
and still drive, but is very limited in the amount of time they can be gone because their
spouse is in need of almost 24-hour-a-day care. So, in a sense, they both are home-
bound, as well.
The point of this long explanation is that often in the process, neither the member, the
spouse or the family realizes that in amongst, all the other things that are changing
about their lifestyle, they also are not able to attend worship and receive Holy
Communion.
More often than you would think, the church is the last to know one of their members
have become home-bound. And if we are not aware of their status, they are missing
out on our ministry of home visits from the Pastoral Care Pastor, Dirk Stadtlander and
our monthly lay home visitors. In addition, when I do hear of a home-bound individual
or couple, I make every effort to get out to see them at least once, to let them know I am
aware of their situation and build a connection with them.
Below is a list of those who we are aware are unable to attend weekly Sunday morning
worship, whom we consider “home-bound”. I would ask that you take some time to
consider the members you have known here at Zion and ask yourself are you still
seeing them on Sunday mornings for worship? If you realize you haven’t seen them in
a while, I would ask that you either share their name with us, or if you feel comfortable,
give them a call and ask how they are doing. If they seem to fit into our home-bound
category, ask them if you could notify the church office and let us know of their situation.
Thank you in advance, for helping us be the kind of congregation that carries out our
Biblical calling to care for those in need around us.
Anne Hesse
Louise Kruise
Ellen & Keith Niehaus
Marilyn Larson
Carolyn Crowell
Priscilla Jacobsen
Nancy Kienzle
Mary Ann Conrad
Ada Crow
Jim & Shirley Hassman
Barb Lueder
Nancy & Les Cullers
Judy Gehrke
Hazel Wenman/Yoder
Lorraine Turnipseed
Elnora Smith
Gerry Gardner
John Ernst
Betty Norbeck
Al & Karen Albertus
Barbie Buddin
New Members Class
What’s Happening …11.6.2024
I am finally in the process of setting up a New Member class for here at Zion. It has been on my list almost since I got here, at least names of individuals who have expressed an interest in joining Zion Lutheran as a congregational member.
Unfortunately, so many other things needed to be done that were a higher priority, it tended to fall to the bottom of the list. And to be honest, it was a pretty short list when I first got it. You usually have a New Member class with at least 6 or more people to make it worth the time and energy of the person leading, myself, but also others, like the council and other ministry volunteers and sponsors that are involved in the process.
I am thinking we finally have more than 6 or so folks who have expressed an interest in joining, so it is time to offer this opportunity. So even if you have given your name to us prior, and we probably still have it, I would so appreciate if you would email me at msmith@zionlutheran-ic.org, if you and or your family are interested in joining Zion as a congregational member.
I usually offer three meetings for a New Member class. The first is for people to share a little about themselves, their faith background, family, occupations, hobbies, etc.
The second is with a group of individuals who are a part of various ministries here at Zion who will share just a little about the ministry to give new folks an idea of all the options of activities they can get involved in. They say, if an individual does not get involved in a ministry within the first six months of joining a church there is a good chance they will soon leave that congregation. It makes sense, in that if a person is not building relationships with people and investing in ministry, their sense of belonging is pretty low and they are likely to quit participating when a few other things rise on their priority list.
The third is a time where I share about Zion’s history, values and priorities. As well, if there are new members that are not Luther, I will share some of what it means to be an ELCA Lutheran here in America. And finally, a bit about the wider church such as our synod and national structure and ministries.
Again, if you are interested in attending, you also can attend and decide not to join I suppose, but either way, please let me know and I will hopefully find three dates that work for the majority of the group and plan it out.
Pastor Marsha
