Announcements

† IN OUR PRAYERS  Stella Q., Sue V., recovering from surgery at St. Luke’s; Aaron P., at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis receiving treatment for cancer; Kathy P., suffering health issues; Jack H., recovering at home; Paula B., April K., Sara P., Sara T., undergoing treatment for cancer.

† CHURCH MEMBER SURVERY  The online and paper survey started last Sunday and will run through Wednesday, April 20.  Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C3WTY66 using passcode GSCS2016, or obtain a paper survey from the church office and return it to the church office by April 20.  Please pay careful attention and answer the survey questions exactly as asked. Certain questions on the survey may ask for 3, 4 or possibly 5 answers.

† GAME GATHERING  Thanks to everyone who supported The Lutheran Youth Fellowship at their Game Gathering last Sunday.  The youth had a wonderful time hosting this event for the congregation and appreciated the large turn out and everyone’s generous donations!

† MORNING BIBLE CLASSES  Both Tuesday and Wednesday morning Bible Classes will resume their normal schedule this week.

† VBS PLANNING MEETING  Today, after the late service, there will be a VBS     planning meeting.  Anyone interested is welcome and encouraged to attend.

† PASTOR SUBMISSIONS  If you’d like to submit a pastoral candidate to the Call Committee, submit a written request to either Dave Wacker or Rob Sager by    May 5. The submission should include the pastor’s name, current position, your name (in case we need to follow up with you) and how you know the pastor.

† ATTENTION ALL GRADUATES  If you are graduating from high school, college, tech school, etc. we want to hear about it.  Please get a picture with a bio to the church office by April 22.  We want to publish your accomplishments and future plans in the May issue of the Shepherd’s Staff.  Parents, we may need your help with this, we don’t want to leave anyone out, but if we don’t have the information we can’t print it.  Thanks.

† LWML SPRING RALLY  The LWML Spring Rally will be held on Sunday, April 24, at St. Andrew’s Church in Stockton.  It is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm with     registration starting at 2:30 pm.  The program will be Jason G. with the Comfort Dogs.  All ladies (and men) are invited to attend these rallies.  They are a wonderful afternoon of spiritual growth and spending time with fellow Lutherans.

† 70 & OVER DINNER  All members (and their spouses) that are 70 years of age  and over are invited to attend this annual dinner prepared and served especially for them by our Lutheran Youth Fellowship Group on Sunday, May 1, at 5:00 pm.  This special event is one way our youth wish to show their appreciation for these seasoned congregational members.  It is always a lot of fun for both the younger members and the older members.  Please, RSVP to the church office, 358-1325, so they can plan to have plenty of food.  Need a ride or the meal delivered to your home?  That can be  provided ~ just relay that to any member of the Youth Group or let the church office know.

† SUNDAY SCHOOL OFFERINGS  For the first couple of quarters in 2016, both the adult and the children’s Sunday School offerings will be going to Children’s Haven in Joplin.  If you would like to monitor our progress, keep an eye on our bulletin board downstairs that will track our Sunday School offerings!

† VOTERS’ MEETING  The regular Voters’ Meeting will be held next Sunday, April 24, at 7:00 pm in the fellowship hall.  Along with our regular business we will also be asked to approve a resolution to GSLC’s Constitution.  The insert in the bulletin today addresses this resolution.

† IN OUR PRAYERS  Stella Q., Sue V., recovering from surgery at St. Luke’s; Aaron P., at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis receiving treatment for cancer; Kathy P., suffering health issues; Jack H., recovering at home; Paula B., April K., Sara P., Sara T., undergoing treatment for cancer.

† CHURCH MEMBER SURVERY  The online and paper survey begins today and will run from April 10^th – 20^th.  Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C3WTY66 using passcode GSCS2016, or obtain a paper survey from the church office and return it to the church office by April 20^th.  Please pay careful attention and answer the  survey questions exactly as asked. Certain questions on the survey may ask for 3, 4 or possibly 5 answers.

† GAME GATHERING  The Lutheran Youth Fellowship will be hosting another  Game Gathering event today at 3:00 pm, in the Fellowship Hall.  This will be a fun afternoon of Bingo and prizes put on by the members of our LYF.  Everyone is    encouraged to come, bring a friend and enjoy some fun while supporting our youth for the National Gathering in July!  There will be some concession type food available during the time and there will be door prizes and Bingo prizes including gift cards to various restaurants and other locations.  The suggested donation for a pack of Bingo cards to play all the rounds is $10.00.  Hope to see everyone here!

† MORNING BIBLE CLASSES  There will not be a Tuesday morning Bible Class this week because Pastor will be gone for a Pastoral Conference.  Also, there will not be a Wednesday morning Bible Class this week because Earl Kirn will be gone for training.

† VBS PLANNING MEETING  Next Sunday, after the late service, there will be a VBS planning meeting.  Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

† BASKETS OF PROMISE  LWML would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who donated items for the Baskets of Promise during Lent.  Instead of the goal of 35 personal care kits, they were able to put together 48 kits.  On top of that, they donated an extra 365 items to Crosslines of Carthage.  Thanks for your generous donations!

† PASTOR SUBMISSIONS  If you’d like to submit a pastoral candidate to the Call Committee, submit a written request to either Dave W. or Rob S. by May 5. The submission should include the pastor’s name, current position, your name (in case we need to follow up with you) and how you know the pastor.

† ATTENTION ALL GRADUATES  If you are graduating from high school, college, tech school, etc. we want to hear about it.  Please get a picture with a bio to the church office by April 22.  We want to publish your accomplishments and future plans in the May issue of the Shepherd’s Staff.  Parents, we may need your help with this, we don’t want to leave anyone out, but if we don’t have the information we can’t print it.  Thanks.

† LWML SPRING RALLY  The LWML Spring Rally will be held on Sunday, April 24,     at St. Andrew’s Church in Stockton.  It is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm with     registration starting at 2:30 pm.  The program will be Jason Glaskey with the Comfort Dogs.  All ladies (and men) are invited to attend these rallies.  They are a wonderful afternoon of spiritual growth and spending time with fellow Lutherans.

† SUNDAY SCHOOL OFFERINGS  For the first couple of quarters in 2016, both the adult and the children’s Sunday School offerings will be going to Children’s Haven in Joplin.  If you would like to monitor our progress, keep an eye on our bulletin board downstairs that will track our Sunday School offerings!

† VOTERS’ MEETING  The regular Voters’ Meeting will be held Sunday, April 24, at 7:00 pm in the fellowship hall.  Along with our regular business we will also be asked to approve a resolution to GSLC’s Constitution.  The insert in the bulletin today addresses this resolution.

† IN OUR PRAYERS  Stella Q., Sue V., recovering from surgery at St. Luke’s; Aaron P. at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis receiving treatment for cancer;  Kathy P., suffering health issues; Jack H., recovering at home; Paula B., April K., Sara P., Sara T., undergoing treatment for cancer.

† CHURCH MEMBER SURVERY  The online and paper survey will be available    April 10^th – 20^th.  Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C3WTY66 using passcode GSCS2016, or obtain a paper survey from the church office beginning April 10^th and return it to the church office by April 20^th.  Please pay careful     attention and answer the survey questions exactly as asked. Certain questions     on the survey may ask for 3, 4 or possibly 5 answers.

† GAME GATHERING  The Lutheran Youth Fellowship will be hosting another  Game Gathering event next Sunday, April 10, at 3:00 pm, in the Fellowship Hall.  This will be a fun afternoon of Bingo and prizes put on by the members of our    LYF.  Everyone is encouraged to come, bring a friend and enjoy some fun while supporting our youth for the National Gathering in July!  There will be some concession type food available during the time and there will be door prizes and Bingo prizes including gift cards to various restaurants and other locations.  The suggested donation for a pack of Bingo cards to play all the rounds is $10.00.  Hope to see everyone here!

† EASTER BREAKFAST  Thanks to all those who helped with the Easter breakfast, assisted during the services, and donated items for the Easter egg hunt last Sunday!  What a wonderful way to celebrate our risen Lord on Easter!

† THANK YOU  The LYF would like to thank the congregation for their donations to their group at the Easter breakfast.  It is wonderful to have such generous support from our congregation.

† LYF MEETING today at the church at 6:00 pm.  Please, make an effort to attend because there is much planning to do!

† EASTER LILIES  Thanks to all who helped make our church look so beautiful Easter Sunday by purchasing lilies to adorn the altar!

† JR CONFIRMATION RETREAT  There are four youth currently attending the Jr Confirmation Retreat at Camp Windermere.  Pray for safe travel as they return this afternoon.

† ATTENTION ALL GRADUATES  If you are graduating from high school, college, tech school, etc. we want to hear about it.  Please get a picture with a bio to the church office by April 22.  We want to publish your accomplishments and future plans in the May issue of the Shepherd’s Staff.  Parents, we may need your help with this, we don’t want to leave anyone out, but if we don’t have the information we can’t print it.  Thanks.

† LWML SPRING RALLY  The LWML Spring Rally will be held on Sunday, April 24, at St. Andrew’s Church in Stockton.  It is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm with     registration starting at 2:30 pm.  The program will be Jason Glaskey with the Comfort Dogs.  All ladies (and men) are invited to attend these rallies.  They are a      wonderful afternoon of spiritual growth and spending time with fellow Lutherans.

† SUNDAY SCHOOL OFFERINGS  For the first couple of quarters in 2016, both the adult and the children’s Sunday School offerings will be going to Children’s Haven in Joplin.  Children’s Haven is an organization that provides a temporary home and nurturing care for local children ages 0 – 17 whose families are experiencing a   crisis.  Our goal is to raise $1,000.00 by the end of the second quarter.  If you would like to monitor our progress toward this goal, keep an eye on our bulletin board downstairs that will track our Sunday School offerings!

† NURSERY/CRY ROOM  Should your child become distressed or distract others  during the service, a furnished nursery/cry room is located in the narthex for your use.  Please ask one of the ushers if you need directions.

† IN OUR PRAYERS  Stella Q., at Mercy McCune Brooks recovering from surgery for a broken hip; Sue V., recovering from surgery at St. Luke’s; Aaron P., at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis receiving treatment for cancer;  Kathy P., suffering health issues; Jack H., recovering at home; Paula B., April K., Sara P., Sara T., undergoing treatment for cancer.

† EASTER BREAKFAST  Thanks to all those who helped bring items for the Easter Breakfast!  What a wonderful way to celebrate our risen Lord on Easter!

† SCRIPTURE STUDY  The Wednesday morning Scripture Study Group is back to its normal time of 10:30 am.

† LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF  Thanks to all of you who took part in the LWML sponsored project for the Lutheran World Relief’s Baskets of Promise campaign.  Each week in Lent we collected items to form LWR Personal Care Kits that help impoverished people stay healthy in life’s most challenging situations.  The amount of donations brought in has greatly exceeded our expectations.  Thanks again for your help with this project!

† EASTER EGG HUNT  Once again the Board of Education (with a lot of help from our Lutheran Youth Fellowship) is sponsoring the annual Easter Egg Hunt.  The excitement begins right after the breakfast today, so get ready for some egg  hunting fun.

† LOVE OFFERING  At the Easter Breakfast the LWML will not be asking for a free will offering, but we will be taking up a love offering which will go to the Lutheran Youth Fellowship for the National Youth Gathering that the group will be attending in July of 2016.

† LYF MEETING next Sunday here at the church at 6:00 pm.

† EASTER LILIES  Thanks to all who helped make our church look so beautiful by purchasing lilies to adorn the altar!

† GAME GATHERING  The Lutheran Youth Fellowship will be hosting another Game Gathering event on Sunday, April 10, at 3:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.  This will be a fun afternoon of Bingo and prizes put on by the members of our LYF.  Everyone is encouraged to come, bring a friend and enjoy some fun while supporting our youth for the National Gathering in July!  There will be some concession type food available during the time and there will be door prizes and Bingo prizes including gift cards to various restaurants and other locations.  The suggested donation for a pack of Bingo cards to play all the rounds is $10.00.  Hope to see everyone here!

† ATTENTION ALL GRADUATES  If you are graduating from high school, college, tech school, etc. we want to hear about it.  Please get a picture with a bio to the church office by April 22.  We want to publish your accomplishments and future plans in the May issue of the Shepherd’s Staff.  Parents, we may need your help with this, we don’t want to leave anyone out, but if we don’t have the information we can’t print it.  Thanks.

† THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS  Be sure to direct your 2015 Choice Dollars.  Eligible Thrivent Financial members have until March 31, 2016, to direct any remaining 2015 Choice Dollars.  After that date, 2015 Choice Dollars expire.  Through the Thrivent Choice Dollar Program, eligible members have the power to recommend where Thrivent distributes part of its charitable grant funds annually.  You can  direct your Choice Dollars online at thrivent.com/thriventchoice or by phone at (800)847-4826 and when prompted, say Thrivent Choice, Press 1 to direct Dollars or 2 to hear the terms and conditions.  A representative will work with you.  Or you can contact Thrivent Financial Associates: Austin Rice or Thom Mehl (417)232-4800 and they can help you.

† NURSERY/CRY ROOM  Should your child become distressed or distract others  during the service, a furnished nursery/cry room is located in the narthex for your use.  Please ask one of the ushers if you need directions.