You may drop off your clean, neatly packed and sorted items for the garage sale beginning on Saturday, April 21st through noon on April 25th.

Here are two helpful hints for sorting your items:

1. Separate clothes into bags/boxes marked as women, girls, men, boys and infants.
2. Put all household items in a separate box.

These two minor requests will make the jobs of those sorting and setting up much easier.

We will again be offering a Bake Sale and Lunch Stand. There will be sign up sheets for donations passed around as the date gets closer.

If anyone is interested in helping this year, there will be a sign up sheet with specific working times for you to sign up.

If you would like flyers to distribute at your place of work or business, they will be on the table under the bulletin board soon.

Any questions, please call the church office.

Thank you in advance for all your help with this project!

THANK YOU, too, to our wonderful core of volunteers, without which our AWANA club could not function! We are blessed at St. Paul with so many who give of themselves in countless ways to encourage and mentor our young people. Listed below are those who were involved with the program this year:

• Commander: Deanna Babler
• Secretary: Paula Rainwater
• Games: Duane Schurch & Loren Ludeking
• Puggles: Cheryl Bradt, Adam & Christina Boyer, Jan & Joe Boyer, Brooks Henneman
• Cubbies: Dianne Meinert, Pat Smith
• Sparks: Karen Kleckner, Cathy Ludeking, Joanne Meinert, Sue Naevestad, April Zettle, Sal Kuhlmeier
• T&T: Jim Kleckner, Merlin Meinert, Diane Schurch
• Set-up Crew: Wayne Blocker Sr.
• Opening & Closing Program Leader: Diane Schurch
• Pastoral Support: Rev. Scott Naevestad
• Missionary: JP Morgan

To everyone from the congregation that contributed toward the financial support of AWANA, prayed for our young people, invited a child to participate, visited during a Wednesday evening club meeting or in any other way gave of your time – we are very thankful for you!

• Secretary and Treasurer reports read and approved with a treasury balance of $2901.96.

Old Business

• Easter update – Pre-K – 5th grade will have an Easter parade for the church during the Sunday School hour. Parents are encouraged to stay for a time of light refreshments and a brief survey as the children prepare for the parade.
• Sunday School Department update – the K-5th grade teachers will be teaching about the “Fruits of the Spirit” for the summer Sunday school. The preschool class is looking for an additional helper. If you’d be interested in serving in this way, please talk with Valerie Wymer or Kristi Krahmer for details.

New Business

• Salvation Army collection for April will be a general collection. Thanks to those that continue to support this mission.
• Updates for the Jr. Superintendent, Assistant Jr. Superintendent, Adult Superintendent and Assistant duties were updated and presented to the board. Binders will be made for these positions as well as others that can be passed on to future members.
• VBS date and theme have been set: July 23-27 and will be a Son Surf Beach Bash.

Other topics discussed were:

• Awana
• Need for sub-committee for the BOCE
• Teacher Appreciation for Sunday School and Awana – set for April 22nd during worship
• High School Graduate Recognition – May 20th during worship
• Clean up of nursery toys and a wish list for the memorial committee
• Establishing a game closet for Sunday School and Youth Fellowship use. April will order games.
• Approved purchasing new items for the Pre-K-5th grade Birthday Box.

Next meeting set for April 3rd at 6:30pm.

We will also plan to meet Sunday, April 15th and 29th at 6pm at the church for a time of fun fellowship and study. Hope to see you there!

• Heard reports from the following committees: Board of Christian Education, Finance, Cemetery. Mission Committee will meet April 10th and the Worship Committee did not meet.
• Appointed Christina Boyer to the Board of Christian Education to finish the term of Deanna Terpstra, due to her recent move. This term will expire August 31, 2012.
• Approved the recommendation from the Cemetery COuncil to award the mowing bid to Mark Mashaw. His contract will start April 1st.
• Pastor Scott gave dates that he will be away from the pulpit and will being working on Pulpit Supply for those dates. Denny Buss will preach on May 27th while Pastor Scott is in NY for Kyle’s college graduation.

Next meeting was set for April 17th at 7pm.

Junior Choir will plan to sing April 29th and will practice the two Sundays before.

At this point the rest of the schedule for April is still open. Watch Sunday bulletins for announcements of who will be singing and which Sunday. There are five Sundays in April so there are openings for other music as well.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, poverty, sickness, personal tragedy. He Arose! Unemployment, government borrowing, national debt, credit cards maxed, foreclosure. He Arose! Divorce, abandonment, abuse, alimony, childcare payments, separation, broken relationships, loneliness, depression. Am I worthy? Does anyone love me? He Arose! Achieve, be your best, strive, get a good education, get a good job, I’m average. They are all smarter. I’m a failure. He Arose! Murder, suicide, wars, violent crime, rape, bullying, verbal abuse, physical abuse. He Arose!

Autism, SIDS, birth defects, miscarriages, downs syndrome, infertility. He Arose! Pollution, over population, global warming, nuclear meltdown, gas prices. He Arose! Death — death of a parent, death of a spouse, death of a child, death of a friend, death of a pet, death of our Savior. He Arose!

When the movie The Passion of the Christ came out, it had a powerful impact on the audience … a major complaint about the movie is that it spent too little time on the resurrection … that Jesus did rise from the dead.

We come to this season of Easter and isn’t it easier to think about all the problems we face? All the hurts we experience? All the concerns that burden us? Christians are called “Easter People” because of the hope we have in the resurrection … but too often we are “tomb people” … frustrated that we can’t get the stone rolled away.

Mark 16: 1-3 ~ “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices so they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

In essence they were asking, “Who will remove the burden for us? Who will take away the stone so we can serve and honor Jesus? The stone is too great for us.” Why do we think we have to have our burdens taken away before we can serve Jesus?

God rolled the stone away and Jesus’ resurrection defeated death … and every other burden, concern, stress, pain, sickness, doubt, disaster, depression, helplessness and the list goes on, we have ever had or ever will have.

He Arose! … He Arose! … Hallelujah Christ arose!

Who will you tell? Who will you invite to join you for Easter? Who will you bring hope to?

Happy Easter!

Pastor Scott