November 2023 - Zion Lutheran Church

Annual Meeting 2023

11/21/2023

All voting members are requested to attend the Annual Congregational Meeting of Zion Lutheran Church on Sunday, December 3, 2023, in the Sanctuary at 11:45am. A voting member is defined as confirmed, and communing and contributing in the current (2023) or preceding (2022) calendar year. The Annual Congregational Meeting will be immediately followed by a Special Congregational Meeting. The sole purpose of this meeting is to vote on a recommendation from the Call Committee to vote to approve the Call

Zion’s Mission

11/08/2023

So much to be thankful for! God’s faithfulness to Zion is abundant and we are seeing it in concrete ways all over this place. If you ever doubt that there is hope for the world, I invite you to pause on a Sunday morning or Wednesday evening here at Zion and observe all that is happening. The building is alive with more and more people, and I find it so refreshing to be in a place where smiles, hugs, genuine care,

Call Committee Update

11/08/2023

As I write, outside there are a lot of changes happening. The temps are cooling, the trees are displaying vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange and my lawn is finally green from all of the rain. Changes are also happening at Zion. Our Call Committee has spent the summer preparing documents for the Synod describing our church, and our community as well as interviewing and evaluating candidates for Zion’s Associate Pastor. I am happy to announce they have unanimously

40 Years of Handbells

11/01/2023

October 22 was a day of celebration for Zion handbells and the congregation. The small set of 37 bells/3 octaves that was purchased in 1983 has grown into a 5-octave set, chimes, and lots of wonderful music over the past 40 years. On October 22 Jane Hruby, the first director and initiator of funding the first handbells, worshipped at Zion along with her husband Jim and daughter Pam. We are thankful for Jane and for all of the ringers who

Church Facility Updates

11/01/2023

It has been exciting to watch the building spring to life this fall. Kids are filling the building in Sunday school, confirmation, and youth group. Many of the local Scout groups are back having fun on Monday nights. Folks have been attending Bible studies and other fellowship events. The sounds of vocal and bell choirs fill the halls on Wednesday evenings. Zion is bustling! And now, as fall slowly slips away, we are fervently preparing for the winter season with

Year End Giving

11/01/2023

Did You Know: Nearly 1/3 of all charitable giving occurs in December. And 10% of all giving is done the last three days of the year. Reasons People Wait Until the Last Days of The Year to Give Taxes Many people wait until the end of the year because gifts given at this time of year can be used against their income tax. Procrastination People can sometimes be lazy. We are called to shepherd our flock of people. Sometimes our

October Blessing Closet

11/01/2023

A huge thank you to all the wonderful donors and volunteers who were able to make winter much warmer and brighter for hundreds of kids and their families with warm coats, winter accessories, and thousands of slightly used clothing items in the Blessing Closet! You helped give 564 coats to 144 families and 394 kids. What a blessing! Below are the details for Blessing Closet and Coats for Kids and Mobile Food Shelf: Zion Blessing Closet Ministry Families Served—144 Children

We Helped the School of Hope!

11/01/2023

We currently have three mission partners- Mission Jamaica, All Kids Can Learn International (AKLCI), and Redeemer Lutheran Church. For the past few years, Zion’s Global Mission Committee has identified a special project that is beyond our annual support for our partners. This identified special project then becomes our focus for the annual golf event. On a beautiful late August day, 63 golfers and six event helpers had a wonderful day raising over $5100 for this year’s special mission project “The

Ukrainian Refugee Report

11/01/2023

Zion continues its support of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Tetiana Chibova is a thirty-year-old woman with two children, Sofiia, eleven, and Olena, seven. They are from the city of Kherson, not far from Odessa. About a year ago, after her husband was killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she and her children escaped to Norway where they awaited an opportunity to come to the United States. Buffalo residents, Keith and Nancy Markwardt offered to be their official sponsors.