LWML - Utah Zone

Convention Info: Christian Book Review and Bus Info

2011-09-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

We are looking for some feedback for a good Christian book to review for the District Convention April 27th-29th 2012 . Please submit your requests to Betty at breimann65@q.com

Also, we would like to find out how many ladies might be interested in chartering a bus to travel from SLC (or a surrounding area) to Meridian, Idaho for the District Convention April 27-29th 2012. MapQuest says it a about a 5 hour drive (from Utah County), at about 380 miles one way. If you are interested, please email Vicki at antnvik@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Timberlakes Retreat

2011-09-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful day spent in the mountains! Special thanks to Kris for sharing her home with us again, to Pastor Borcher for the Bible study, and to all of YOU who attended. We made the CUTEST (yes, I know I say that every year... and yes, I know that word does not exist) mite boxes with the story of the widow's mite on them! Until next year.....

Timberlakes Retreat

2011-07-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

As a deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, O God.

Psalm 42:1

It's that time of year again!

Please join us for the annual Utah Zone Retreat at Timberlakes. Kris (St. Marks) has once again invited us to her home to enjoy a wonderful Saturday together. We will have bible study, lunch and a craft. We can't WAIT to see what cute ideas Kris and her friend Jean come up with this year (check out the previous years in the blog below). The general information is below, please email Ashley (ashleywby@gmail.com) with any questions and for directions/assignments.

Saturday August 6th at 9am
Kris' cabin in Timberlakes

-Muffins, juice and coffee
-Bible Study
-Lunch
-Craft

Can't wait to see you all there!

Utah Zone Spring Event

2011-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

Utah Zone LWML Spring Event

Saturday, March 5th 2011

Grace Lutheran Church, Sandy

Registration beginning at 9:00 am

Registration Fee $10

Muffins, Fresh Fruit, Juice and Coffee

Child Care Will Be Provided

"Speaking Boldly"

Acts 4:13 b, 20

*News from around our district and from National

*Brief Business Session

*Bible Study

*Fellowship

*Lunch

*Installation of Officers

*Community Service Project

St. Paul's Annual Fall Retreat

2010-10-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Join us on Saturday, November 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ogden for our annual fall women's day retreat. Tickets are $20 which includes lunch, journals, and more! Please contact Jeannie wbarrette1@msn.com for more information. God's Wonder Full World!

check out this link for a sneak peek!

http://wonderfullworld.group.com/learn/videos

* This day retreat is a travel-themed experience that focuses on God's wondrous love. We all know about the Seven Wonders of the World, but what about the wonders of a woman's heart? At Wonder Full World, we explore questions every woman asks, such as "I wonder if anyone cares about me, I wonder where God is when life is hard, or I wonder if I can make a difference." Women find the answers to their questions in God's Word, and are affirmed over and over in God's unending love for them.

* The day includes service. Women today long for opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. So we've incorporated a way for women to make a difference in the lives of others right away!

* Everyone gets involved.
* Bible Study

* Fellowship

* Prayer time

* Singing and more!
* It's fun for women of all ages.
* Bring a friend!

Photos from Timberlakes Retreat...

2010-09-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from our annual zone retreat at Kris' (St. Marks) Cabin in Timberlakes. What a wonderful time it was! Food, friends, prayer, Bible Study and a craft. Perfect way to spend an afternoon! We had some new friends join us this year, it was so nice to spend time with them! Thanks to everyone who traveled to spend time with us. Also a special thanks to Jean our craft consultant and Kris for sharing her home.

The finished product modeled by Meredith and Jan (Christ, Murray)
These are little cross boxes made out of paper. We each got the chance to put them together and decorate them, SO FUN!!

Utah Zone Planning Meeting

2010-08-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder....

Utah Zone Planning Meeting
Saturday August 14th at 10am
Marie Callanders on 11th East 3900 South in Murray

Society Presidents, VPs or representation from each congregation please plan on attending. We need your input about some upcoming LWML events.

Timberlakes Retreat

2010-07-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Please join us on Saturday August 7th at 9am for our annual Timberlakes retreat. Kris (St. Marks, Provo) shares her beautiful home with us every year for lunch, bible study and a craft. Remember those CUTE journals we made last year? (See blog post below from 2009) I can't wait to see what surprises Kris and Jean (our "craft consultant") have in store for us this year! Please email me for directions and let us know if you have any questions.

Utah/Idaho District Convention 2010

2010-06-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

The District Convention in Pocatello, Idaho was a weekend to remember! We had a blast listening to mission speakers, visiting a simulated mission island called LaWeMeLu, sampling foods from around the world, studying God's word and catching up with our fellow brothers and sister's in Christ. We laughed, we cried and we laughed some more. Thank you to everyone who helped with this convention and a special thank you to our outgoing District President Melody Rosenwinkel. Here are some photos from the event...

Past Utah/Idaho District President Melody Rosenwinkel and LWML President Jan Wendorf

Sherrie, Ashley and Angelica

President Melody addressing the Convention body

Dinner on Saturday night was so good!! A buffet of foods from around the world, and let me just tell you...we made the rounds!!

Cindy (Grace, Sandy) Sharron (Light of the Valley, Riverton) and Ashley (St. Marks, Provo)

The was the cross that was used to decorate the stage, it was beautiful. Great job Naomi we loved it!

Our sweet LWML President Jan was such a good sport! She doubled on Saturday night as the LaWeMeLu Tribal Queen. She only spoke in LaWeMeLe-eese, so visitors to the "island" had to learn the language in order to share the love of Jesus with her. Thank you President Jan for spending the weekend with us, it was a pleasure!

Dawna-Ray selling us our mats. Not very honestly may I add....

Ahhh, Mary the Custom's Agent. Don't be fooled by that sweet, innocent smile...she had the ability to look at our passports and deny entry to the island. And did she ever!!

Pastor Borcher from Light of the Valley in Riverton asking a poor woman on the street if she knew who Jesus was....

Linda finally got paid for all her "hard work"

The mission team from the Alaska VBS mission trip taken last summer as they shared their adventure with us

Beth (St. Paul's Ogden) and her possy were our comic relief. She is seen here rapping. I'm pretty sure my sides still hurt.

It was a special weekend for the Utah Zone. We saw two grants very near and dear to many of our hearts selected to be funded for the next biennium. Light of the Valley in Riverton's Open Arms daycare program and St. John's Sudanese Ministry. Please keep them and all our grant recipients in your prayers and PRAISE GOD!

Our newly elected Utah/Idaho District President Betty Reimann! Congratulations Betty! Please keep her and all our incoming and outgoing District Board members in your prayers. Thanks everyone for a wonderful weekend! See you all again at Camp Perkins!!

Meet Your New Zone Board

2010-06-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

At the Spring Event in Tooele in April the new Utah Zone Board was elected and installed into office. Thank you to the outgoing Zone Board for all your dedication and hard work. Especially Pastor Bror Erickson who faithfully served the LWML and Utah Zone for the past 4 years.

From Left to Right:
Andrea (St. Paul's, Ogden)
Carol (St. John's, SLC)
Pastor Kristian Erickson (Christ Lutheran Church, Murray)
Ashley (St. Marks, Provo)

Thank you for your willingness to serve. Please keep these board members in your prayers along with the Utah/Idaho zone and all our grant recipients!

Convention Update

2010-01-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

Here is an update from Linda Larson our District VP of Gospel Outreach. I am headed to a Board meeting this weekend to iron out more details for the convention in Pocatello, Idaho the end of April/first part of May. Have a great weekend, please pray for all the business our District and Zone will be working through in the next few months. Also please watch the blog in the next week or so for info about our Spring Event! The Utah Zone Board has come up with some great ideas and we have some surprises in store for you! It is going to be awesome, you won't want to miss it!

Attention Avid Readers – Upcoming Convention Event

At our Convention, April 30-May 2, a number of breakout sessions will be offered Saturday afternoon. One of them will be a book review. The book we have selected is “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. This is one of the books used by the Woman to Woman Book Club, which is a part of Lutheran Hour Ministries. You will purchase the book, read it before attending convention and join us for the book review. I purchased my copy through Amazon.com. but you can also order it through your local bookstore. So, if you are looking for a good book to read this winter, here you go. Then you can be part of a fun discussion group at the convention breakout. See you there!!

Linda Larson
VP Gospel Outreach

One Of Our Own...

2010-01-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

This image is probably familiar to most of us. There is usually a stack of these little devotional booklets as we walk out of church Sunday morning. When I opened my new booklet (there is a yellow bird on the front) I noticed a familiar name. Our very own Beth from St. Paul's in Ogden has written all the devotions for the month of January! Thanks Beth for sharing your God given gift and talent with us once again. You go girl!

Also, don't forget to check out Beth's articles in the Lutheran Women's Quarterly!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

I received this card from a friend and absolutely loved it! Merry Christmas all my fellow sisters in Christ! I hope your Christmas is full of family and friends as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please take notice of our Janruary planning meeting it is on Saturday Janruary 16th 2010 at 9:30am at Marie Callendars in Holladay (right across from St. Marks' Hopsital) We have lots of stuff to go over so society presidents/congregational reps please plan on attending. If you are not able to make it please send representation from your congregation. Some of the things we need to discuss are listed below. Please bring your theme ideas and suggestions along with you:

*Bylaws
*Spring Events
*Elections: Zone President, Vice President Pastoral Counselor
note: (Nominating Committee Carole, Charlotte, Cindy and Elaine)
*Timberlakes Retreat
*Fall Rally
*Bible Brunches/Mission Activities
*Teen LWML
*Convention Update

Also, check out our new District website http://utahidaholwml.com/
Nice job Julie!

May God bless you and your service to Him in 2010!

St. Paul's Retreat

2009-09-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

"Sweet Life Cafe"
Where Women Savor Time With God

At Sweet life Cafe you'll satisfy your cravings for friends, God and spiritual growth. It's a retreat you won't want to miss. Join us as we savor time with God and with girlfriends. Together we'll experience meaningful Bible studies, flavor-filled activities, and scrumptiously delicious Fun!!

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ogden
Saturday November 14th, 9:30-4:00pm
$20.00 per person--lunch included
Pre-registration is required so please email (with questions too)
Jeannie Barrette- wbarrette1@msn.com

There will be a collection of non-perishable food for the local food bank and stuffed teddy bears for the Odgen Police Department. Thank you!

Want to see what we did last year? Check out our "older posts" labeled God's Grace Filled Seasons in October of 2008. You won't want to miss it!

Check this out...

2009-08-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hey ladies!

Our idea is catching on! Check out this link for a new blog that LWML President Janice Wendorf just launched! We love it President Jan!
http://www.lwml.org/blog/

Have a wonderful weekend!

Pictures From the Zone Retreat in Timberlakes

2009-08-21T10:08:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of the month we traveled to a beautiful place East of Heber City call Timberlakes. Our sister in Christ, Kris (St. Marks) offers her home to us every year for our Zone Retreat. We shared a bible study, fellowship, lunch, some brainstorming, recipes, prayers and a craft. Here are some pictures from the day. Thank you everyone for coming!

A buck that wanted to check us out, maybe he smelled the coffee.
He wouldn't hold still for a good picture!

The lovely lady in the yellow shirt was our "creative consultant"
thanks Jean for the craft project!

Listening closely to directions...

After some serious concentration and a few do-overs...this is the finished product! Jean picked out a beautiful cross stamp just for us! Then Kris found some verses and prayers from Portals of Prayer and we chose our favorite for the front cover. Aren't these notebooks so cute??? And..the pens match! Some of us made 2 and gave one away to a friend, others said they were going to use theirs as a prayer journal. Cute, cute.

Thank you Kris for sharing your home with us!

We sure enjoy our time together every year!

Fall Rally at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Logan, Utah

2009-08-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

We are headed up north this year on Saturday September 19th 2009. We are going to have bible study, business. lunch and a Dessert In The Dark. There will be devotions and activities geared towards learning more about and even experiencing a "taste" of what it would be like to be blind. All proceeds from the Dessert In The Dark will go to Lutheran Blind Mission below is a link to their website and an article from their organization. Please share this information with your congregations and friends at church. Ask them if they would like to donate to our Dessert In The Dark. Invite all women to join us and if they are not able to make it, maybe they would be willing to send a donation with someone else. I found this article on their website that could be read during announcements at church or put on a flyer to hand out to the congregation. Please take advantage of it and we will see you in Logan on September 19th!

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Missionary Moment Narration

Mission work is an important activity of our church. In fact, it was Jesus’ last mandate: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

And so the first disciples went to many nations. Paul and Barnabas, Philip and Peter, and so many more, were sent by the Spirit to share the good news of salvation. And so, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has sent missionaries all over the world.

One often overlooked group of people right here in the United States are those who have lost their physical sight. Often, when people lose their sight, they become isolated and separated from society. Sitting alone, with little or no physical sight, they become angry at God.

In the United States there are 12 million blind and visually impaired people and 95% are unchurched. They are of all ages.

Lutheran Blind Mission is LCMS World Mission’s mission arm to reach blind and visually impaired people. It has reached out and served this group of people for over 80 years.

The Lutheran Library for the Blind is North America’s largest lending library of Braille, large type, and audiocassette Christian materials. Thousands of people are strengthened through the magazines and devotionals such as Portals of Prayer.

Through Lutheran Blind Mission’s outreach centers hundreds of blind and visually impaired people are helped and the Gospel is shared.

One of these people is Ruth. She was a Braille reader and an active user of The Lutheran Library for the Blind. She enjoyed receiving books that were inspirational, spoke of God, and not full of sex and violence. During the past few years, however, arthritis took its toll. Just as age can take the sight of some people, the arthritis took the use of Ruth’s hands. It became too painful for her to read Braille any more.

Ruth didn’t lose her joy nor did she give up reading. She turned to the recorded books the Library has on audiocassette tapes. She continues to keep an active mind, a healthy heart, and an active faith in Jesus. She is thankful to Lutheran Blind Mission for its materials that she can read.

Because most of the people served by Lutheran Blind Mission are living below the poverty level, all of our materials and services are provided at no cost.

There are many ways we in this congregation can help. Please consider a gift in today’s door offering. Keep this work in your prayers. Consider volunteering your time. You can look at the bulletin insert for ideas and contact information. In this way we play an important role in mission work right here in the United States.

Lutheran Blind Mission

Helping Blind People See Jesus

http://www.blindmission.org/index.asp

Zone Retreat at Timberlakes

2009-07-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Join us in two weeks for our annual Zone Retreat in Timberlakes. Kris (St. Marks. Provo) is kind enough to let us invade her quite cabin every year for a few hours of fellowship, food, bible study and devotion. And... a little bird tells me that she has a fun craft project up her sleeve so bring $4 to participate. (Anyone remember the cute post-it holders she made for us last year? I have a feeling it will be fun!) Email me for directions, food assignments or for more information ashleywby2@aol.com
I hope to see you all there!

As we speak there aproximatly 10 women for our district in Alaska teaching VBS! They are sleeping on cots, cooking meals and showering there at the church which is 45 miles outside or Anchorage, Alaska. In fact, our very own Cindy (Grace, Sandy) made the long journey to share the love of Jesus with children. Please keep them in your prayers this week.

Also, Camp Perkins was last weekend. I know there were a few ladies from our zone who went, did you have a good time? Please email me with pictures and let me know how it went! I wasn't able to make it this year and we'd love to hear all about it!

Our Banner

2009-07-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of our banner (sorry it took me so long..) It was Utah Zone's turn to make the District banner for convention this year. May I just say; ladies of the Utah Zone....WOW! You're amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you to the many hands that put this beautiful banner together. Everyone loved it, I heard lots of wonderful comments!

Portland 2009

2009-07-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Well we survived! The National Convention in Portland, Oregon 2009 is over. I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as I did. On behalf of the Utah Zone I would like to throw out a big THANK YOU to each and every one of you that worked at the convention. It warmed my heart to see all your familiar faces behind those green worker aprons. I would like to share a few highlights with you...

The convention delegates voted on a new mission goal for the 2009-2011 biennium and it is....
$1,875,000,00.00

Wow! And don't forget, that is only 25% of our mites. 75% stays in our Utah/Idaho District. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for our mites. 70% of the 1.825 million goes to projects and grants and the other 30% goes to operating expenses. Praise God!

The final credentials report showed 3,310 women (and men) registered for convention. That includes the convention body and all the delegates. Just to put things into prospective at the worship service on Friday night; $37,000 was collected towards our new mite goal. Check out the National website for more information on the grants we adopted. http://www.lwml.org/conventions/index.htm

But convention is not all about numbers that is for sure! We laughed with Jan Struck "humerus interruptor" as she learned all about what it's like to be a Lutheran Woman at convention. We cried with Heidi Floyd as she shared her AMAZING story of cancer survival and the miracle of her unborn baby that survived chemotherapy. We were moved by bible study from Dr. Mary Hilgendorf as we dove a little deeper into the stories of Ruth and Deborah. It was truly an amazing weekend. From our zone- Marie, Kathy, Jenny and Lily (Holy Trinity, Logan) came to Portland Oregon together. Great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter, these sweet ladies below make up four generations of LWMLers! What a blessing!

I will leave you with one last bit of news. Utah Zone and Utah/Idaho District get ready because in 2017 the whole nation is coming to....

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH!!!

That's right ladies! They're coming here! When it was announced at convention we all stood up and cheered...loudly. We've got our work cut out for us so please start praying, but with God's help we can show 'em all a great time. 2017 in Salt Lake City- whoo hoo!

Portland Updates!

2009-06-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

It's almost here...can you believe it? A little over 20 days and we will be attending the 2009 33rd Biennial LWML Convention! I am just finishing up a few last minute plans, how about you? Our zone has had the honor and privilege of making the Utah-Idaho District banner. District President Melody Rosenwinkel will be hoisting it high for us during the processional so watch for it! We hope you like it! I hope to have pictures up on the blog before we leave. I have some updates and information for you. If you have any questions about Portland please don't hesitate to contact me. If you are still thinking about going...do it! There is still plenty of time to register and the National LWML website makes it so easy. http://www.lwml.org/.

IMPORTANT: Utah/Idaho District Caucus Thursday June 25th at 4pm in room E142

DISTRICT PHOTO: Exhibit hall A at 5:45 on Saturday

Have you made contact with your National Delegate yet? She is waiting to hear how you would like her to vote in Portland in a few weeks. Here are the links for the LWML National Candidates and Grants, please take a moment and look through them they are the future of the LWML. I just printed mine off and I am going to look at them right now!

Candidates: http://www.lwml.org/resources/quarterly/2009/s09/candidated.pdf

Grants: http://www.lwml.org/conventions/docs/portland/2009_proposed_mission_grants.pdf

After you find whom and what you would vote for, please report those findings to Andrea your National delegate here is her email address- lwml_andrea@yahoo.com

I am praying everyone has a safe trip!

See you in Portland!

Just a reminder...

2009-04-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

Bible Brunch at Light of the Valley Lutheran Church
Sunday April 26th
Join us for their service at 10:30 am
Bible Brunch following at 12 noon

3383 W 12600 South
Riverton, Utah
84065
801-571-6769

Join us for a Bible Brunch at the Utah Zone's newest addition to the family- Light of the Valley Lutheran Church! We will be having lunch together and Pastor Borcher will be offering a bible study for us. Come and enjoy fellowship with your fellow sisters in Christ!

Important updates for our zone....

2009-04-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for visiting our blog to check in. Please save this site and use it to stay updated with Utah Zone Events. Below is new information, please share it with the other ladies in your congregations. Please let me know if you have any questions, thanks for your support! Lots of exciting things going on right now, praise God!

I hope everyone enjoys their Holy Week. Happy Easter- He is risen!

Ashley

-April-
Saturday April 26th at 12pm Bible Brunch
Light of the Valley Lutheran Church in Riverton
Lets all show our support to the newest congregation in our zone. Come and enjoy time together with fellowship and a bible study. Please bring a salad or dessert to share, we'll see you there!

Don't forget to register for National Convention in Portland!
There are some great airline rates right now...

Collecting Shampoo
Our Zone is collecting shampoo for hygiene kits that will be assembled at National Convention for parents of children at Doernbecher Children's Hospital . We have bee asked to collect 300 bottles of shampoo so please ask your congregations to help! Please bring them with you to any zone event especially the work party in May! We need to ship them by May 20th 2009!

Have you considered going on the District Mission Trip to Alaska?
We will be teaching VBS to children at a church in Palmer, Alaska. Commitments are needed at the end of this month. Please contact me if you need more information.

-May-
Saturday, May 9th at 10am- Work Party
Christ Lutheran Church, Murray
We will be working on special puzzle piece pins that will be used as a witnessing tool and the district banner for National Convention! Here is the design for the banner, we are in need of materials and expertise in this area. (Nice job Joan Shrank from St. John's and Elaine Holt from Grace, Sandy. They were the inspiration for the design!) Please contact me if you would be willing to help. We are going to need as many hands as we can get!

Have you contacted your Zone Delegate?
Before National Convention, take a moment to contact Andrea (St. Paul, Ogden) and let her know your thoughts on how she should vote to represent our zone. She is YOUR delegate, and would love to hear from you.
Andrea
lwml_andrea@yahoo.com

Our Mission Fair- Spring Event 2009

2009-03-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful event at Christ Lutheran Church in Murray last month. Thank you so much to everyone who traveled to attend. Ladies came all the way from Provo to Idaho to share the day together and God blessed our time. District President Melody Rosenwinkel even joined us all the way from the mountains of Idaho! We began our morning with coffee and a light breakfast provided by Society President Meredith and the ladies at St. Johns. Pastor Krause from Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Bountiful lead us in a bible study about service in action, we learned about being "cheerful givers" (1Cor 9:7-8) and that God comes to us and serves us through His means of grace (Phil 2:1-11).

There were three speakers who came and shared their time with us. Tami Champo from Salt Lake County Youth Services was our first speaker. She shared how we can all donate goods and our time to help youth who are in between foster care or in state custody.

Our second speaker was Chris Croswhite, his picture is below. He is the Executive Director of The Salt Lake Resucue Mission. Chris oversees the complete ministry and day to day operations of the Rescue Mission (for men) and Rescue Haven (for women). They are a Christian based shelter in downtown SLC they offer emergency housing, daily meals, showers, clean clothing and a recovery program to the homeless and drug-addicted community. The Rescue Mission has big plans to relocate and expand their mission- so please keep that in your prayers. Thank you Chris for sharing the day and your passion with us!

Chris brought a wonderful surprise with him- she was a young woman by the name of Missy. She is a senior in the program at the Rescue Haven, and she shared her story with us. What an inspiration she was! Once living in a car and storage unit, she was a perfect example of God working through our hardships and tough times, all to His glory. She spends her days in prayer and bible study and is learning how to transition back into society, starting with a job. Thank you Missy for coming to our event, you truly opened our eyes and touched our hearts; we will keep you in our prayers.

Thank you everyone who donated goods for our in gathering, below is a picture of what we sent back with Chris and Missy. There were hygiene items, sheets, socks, underwear and clothing. They are also in need of used men's clothing and pillow cases.

Last, but certainly not least, we heard from Donna Neward who is a Stephan Ministry leader at Grace Lutheran Church in Sandy. She spoke with us about Stephan Ministry which is fairly new to our area. Also a Christian based organization; they offer specialized training for people to assist the Pastor in congregations by visiting, listening and offering support to those in need. We learned people in our congregations and communities are in need of our love and support and Stephan Ministry offers a confidential, safe environment for those hurting and in need to share their thoughts and concerns.

We finished up our day by spending some time marking bibles for the prison. There were a few of us who had never marked prison bibles before, it was really fun! We had Spanish and English bibles along with a guide that helped us mark certain verses and write certain phrases. St. John's in SLC and Christ in Murray are apparently veteran "prison bible markers", so thank you for the tutorial ladies!

Thank you again to Tami, Chris, Missy and Donna our wonderful speakers. Also to Pastor Krause and the ladies of Christ Lutheran Church, thank you for all your hard work.

Mission Fair- Spring Event

2009-02-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

March 14th from 9-3pm
will be our Spring Event at Christ Lutheran Church in Murray.
Here is some information:

Place:
Christ Lutheran Church in Murray
240 E 5600 Murray, UT 84107-6113

Registration:
$5
9-9:3o until 3pm

Activities:
Bible study including a special teen bible study, mission speakers, luncheon, servant events. Come and get new mission ideas!

Speakers and guests:
Rescue Mission of Salt Lake City, Stephan Ministry and special Youth Speaker.
http://www.rescuesaltlake.org/
http://www.stephenministries.org/

In gathering to support Rescue Mission in Salt Lake City:
Hygiene items
Disposable razors
New men's socks and underwear
Used men's clothing

Please join us for this exciting event! We would love to have teen ladies join us too, they are welcome to come for a special youth speaker, teen bible study and lunch. Or stay the whole day! Ask your congregations to help by bringing items for the in gathering. There are so many organizations in our area that could use our support, and we are going to hear a little more about how we can help. We will all be pitching in with child care so moms if you need to, bring the little ones!

Light of the Valley Lutheran Church Grand Opening

2009-02-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

The ladies of Light of the Valley Lutheran Church have asked the Utah Zone LWML if we would be interested in sponsoring coffee and treats after their Grand Opening service on February 22nd. If you can, please make a treat or dessert of some kind for after the service. If you would like to come to the service that would be great too! It will be a great opportunity to offer the new church our support and meet some of the ladies there. Remember we have a Bible Brunch on April 26th... it will be a wonderful way for us to introduce ourselves!

Here is a link to their website and information for that day. Thanks everyone!

http://lightofthevalley.com/worship_services.htm

Bible Class and Sunday school- 9:30
Worship 10:30
Refreshments following worship

3383 W 12600 S
Riverton, UT
84065
801-571-6769

Zone Board Meeting

2009-01-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder...

Our Zone Board Meeting is next Saturday January 24th at 10 am. We have so many things to discuss and I'd love to hear from each and every church. We will be planning our Spring and Fall Events, talking about National Convention in Portland, planning our Zone retreat and enjoying Christan fellowship together. Please email me with any questions (ashleywby2@aol.com)

Here is the information again...

Marie Callendar's Restaurant
1109 East 3900 South
Salt Lake City

Society Presidents, please plan on attending. If you can't make it, please send someone from your society or church to attend for you. It is so important that we have every one's input. I know some of you have elections in December, if you are no longer the president or leader please help your new leadership understand the importance of our bi-annual meetings. Or maybe, you could even attend with your new president! Our zone board meetings coincide with the district board meetings I attend in Idaho, so that way I am able to transfer information between our zone and district more easily. That communication is crucial. Here is a reminder about the structure in case you were wondering...

National LWML

District

(Utah/Idaho)

Zone

(Utah Zone)

Society

(at the individual churches)

If you notice there are link on this blog to the district and national websites. There should also be a link to each of the churches in our zone. Thank you for your support, I will see some of you Saturday!

Another Thank You to the Utah Zone!

2008-12-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

I received this nice note from Pastor Alan Borcher and his sweet wife Gayle. He is the Pastor at Light of the Valley Lutheran Church. He is thanking us for a gift card we gave him to Christian Gift and Bible to use for his church and mission work. Light of the Valley Lutheran Church is a new mission plant on the southwest side of the salt lake valley. They just had their first worship service on December 14th! Praise God! Here is a link to some pictures from their first service: http://lightofthevalley.com/firstservice.html

Utah/Idaho District LWML had the privilege of issuing a grant to Light of the Valley Lutheran Church for $5,000 in 2008; that money went to the start up process. How wonderful it is to see our pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters in our mite boxes grow into $5,000, then God using our grant money along with many others and blessing Light of the Valley Lutheran Church in so many ways!

Please also note there is a link to their website on this blog below on the lower right hand side under "our churches". If you are looking for a mission project, there is information on Light of the Valley's website for things they need. Please continue to keep this new church, the congregation, Pastor Borcher and Gayle in your prayers. So exciting, to God be the glory!

Christmas parties LWML style!

2008-12-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

I have be so blessed to serve as your Zone President for the past year, and I want to thank you all for the opportunity. It has been so wonderful, I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for 2009! It comes with many perks, and one of my favorites is to travel and visit with all of you at your churches. I very much enjoy coming to your society events and meetings and spending time with my fellow Women in Mission!

Last week I attended St. Marks' Ladies' Christmas party. When I walked in everyone was just getting warmed up by singing Christmas hymns together. Then we had a wonderful potluck finger food dinner with hot chocolate and homemade biscotti. Lane, the Society President had some fun games prepared for us including a Christmas Bible Trivia. Thank you Mary Martha Guild, it was wonderful.

The ladies at Grace Lutheran Church in Sandy invited me to their Christmas party this year. I learned that every year the ladies collect goodies to put in gift sacks and deliver to shut-ins who are in the area or belong to the congregation. Society President Cindy was all ready to go with Christmas bags and map quest directions to each home. We broke up into two groups and away we went.

The bags we stuffed full of everything from baked goods to devotional booklets. Some ladies even brought left over (blank) Christmas cards and put those in too, what a great idea!

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that tradition calls for dinner afterwards at Spaghetti Mama's! What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, thank you ladies of Grace for inviting me. May God continue to bless your mission work.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-12T13:05:00.001-08:00

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

He is the reason for the season, Merry Christmas everyone!

2008-12-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I received this from Beth at St. Paul in Ogden, it is an article about the Women's Day Retreat "God's Grace Filled Seasons" that they hosted for us in October. I wanted to share it with you all, God's blessings on your day! Thanks Beth and all the ladies at St. Paul for your faithful service to the Lord.

The women at St. Paul, Ogden, spent a beautiful day with Elaine Bickel at their annual women’s retreat on Saturday, October 4. The theme for this year was “God’s Grace-Filled Seasons,” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

More than seventy women attended the event including District President Melody Rosenwinkel and Utah Zone President Ashley Willoughby. Most guests were St. Paul members and friends but many women came from the Salt Lake area for the fun day of fellowship and spending time in God’s Word.

The day began with coffee, tea, homemade scones and a Bingo icebreaker. The women learned some interesting and extraordinary details about the women in the room. Who drove a combine? Who plays bridge? Who has a pet reptile? Who is a stamp collector? Who married her high school sweetheart? Who has a PhD? Who is a root canal specialist?

The women spent the rest of the day singing, sharing, and listening to Elaine Bickel who shared her joy in the Lord. She led everyone in a Bible study, “That’s A Bunch of Bologna!” She encouraged women to open their Bibles and read Hebrews 13:8. “What is the comfort given in this verse?” she asked.

She also shared her bologna metaphor: “Chances are you have never spent much time thinking about what a piece of bologna might feel like when it is stuck in there in the middle of two pieces of bread—knowing it is about to be devoured—knowing it must “meat” the needs of the very ones who are getting their teeth into it. It probably feels trapped—stuck in the middle—trying to keep the two sides together and yet feeling pressed and pressured. Even though we have never been a slice of bologna, or even pressed ham, many women who are in the middle of their lives feel much like that piece of bologna would feel if it could feel…overburdened! We need to remember our entire lives are in His hands. As we are serving Him by trying to help carry others, He is carrying us.”

Sandi Dellermann led the women in singing and praise music while Dina Scheifl was the soloist. Pastor Gary Trickey joined the women for lunch and closing devotions and prayer.

2008-11-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

Cindy Cinclair (Grace Lutheran- Sandy)

sent this to me. I loved it and wanted to share it with you all. Thanks Cindy!

Have a wonderful day!

PEDAL

I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since I took the back seat to Jesus, My Lord. Christ makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way, but it was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said "Pedal!" I was worried and anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered the adventure. And when I'd say, "I'm scared", He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord's and mine. And we were off again. He said, "Give the gifts away; they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do any more, He just smiles and says ... "Pedal."

-- Author Unknown

Thank You Utah Zone!

2008-10-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just received this thoughtful thank you card from Pastor Krause, the new Pastor at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Bountiful. I thought I would share it with you all........

Our Teen LWML/Fall Rally Event...

2008-10-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 18th was our Teen LWML Event. It was new and different, we have never done anything like this before. It is so important that we include women of all ages in the LWML, because serving the Lord is something we do with gladness our whole lives! We met some wonderful young ladies that day. Here are some pictures from our event.

Thank you everyone who brought hygiene items to donate!

Thank you Valarie and Tia from Mary Kay for the mini pedicures- my feet are still tingling!

Mini-pedicures.

Our Savior Jesus washed His disciples feet, then told

us all to go and do the same for each other.

Here the girls are making bags for the hygiene items they collected.

We had a drawing for prizes!

Thank you Mr. OZ (Eric Oswald DCE at Grace Lutheran Church)

Thank you ladies of Grace Lutheran Church for hostessing us,

and for the wonderful soup buffet for lunch. It was delicious!

Thank you Pastor Erickson for leading our bible study,

serving the last two years with us and reading this blog for me right now!

Multi-generaltional: Jan (Christ, Murray) and Granddaughter, and some new LWML friends!

Registration table

Another multi-generation LWML.

Mother (Cindy Grace-Sandy), Daughter (Heather) and Granddaughters (Haylee and Mckayla). Awesome!

Thank you everyone who attended, especially those who traveled! It was so nice to meet all you beautiful young ladies, keep serving the Lord with gladness! Watch for announcements and let's do it again soon!

The Countdown Begins!

2008-10-14T08:43:00.001-07:00

Okay ladies this Saturday is our Teen LWML Event and Fall Rally! We will be having an in gathering for a Girl's Group Home in Salt Lake City. They care for teenage girls who are in state custody for a number of reasons which may include abuse and/or neglect. We thought it would be a great opportunity for the young ladies at our event to give back to girls their same ages, who maybe aren't quite as fortunate. We will be collecting Hygiene items and assembling kits to take to the Girls' Group Home, so PLEASE while you are out this week at the store (or make a special trip) pick up a few items for the young ladies at this girls' home.

Here are some suggestions:

Shampoo
Conditioner
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Non-aerosol hair care products
Hair Gel
Deodorant
Perfume
Body Spray
Lip Balm
Hair Bushes
Combs

Here is a link to the Girls' Group Home's website: http://www.slcoyouth.org/html/girlsGroupHome.html

Thank you everyone for your care and support, and we will see you Saturday! I hear the teen girls are really excited. Here is the info.

Teen LWML Event and Fall Rally
Saturday Oct. 18 10 am- 3 pm
Grace Lutheran Church in Sandy 1815 E 9800 S Sandy, UT
(801) 572-6375

God's Grace Filled Seasons

2008-10-10T10:20:00.001-07:00

Special Guest Speaker: Elaine Bickel

God's Grace Filled Seasons

A Women's Retreat at St. Paul's in Ogden, Utah

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh.

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Last Saturday (Oct. 4th) we spent some time together as friends in Christ. St. Paul's hosted a wonderful event and invited everyone to attend. Elaine Bickel was our special guest speaker, and wow... was that ever a treat. I had never met Elaine, but ever since St. Paul's announced her as the speaker I have not stopped hearing about her! She spoke to use throughout the day about the different seasons of our lives. Let me just say, there were a few times I was laughing so hard I was worried about what I was involuntarily going to do! She has a wonderful gift of seeing God's promises and miracles in every single part of daily life, and then sharing those promises and miracles with others.

Here is a link to Elaine's website for more information.

http://www.elainebickel.com/upcoming.html

King Solomon (possible author of Ecclesiastes) has always fascinated me. Son of the great King David, he sure had some big shoes to fill. But he knew he couldn't do it alone, in 1 Kings 3:7-9 Solomon asks this of God:

" Now, O Lord my God you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among people you have chosen, a great people too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? "

God grants this to him and Solomon lives his life and governs God's people using this God given gift. But just like us, Solomon and David were both sinners and made mistakes. Our loving Lord showed mercy on them, just as he does us each and every day through His son Jesus. Let us all follow Solomon's lead and ask God for what we desire, and take our worries and concerns to Him.

Thank you ladies of St. Paul's for putting on and inviting us all to your event, it was very uplifting. Also, thank you Elaine for sharing your time with us.

Teen LWML Event

2008-09-04T09:03:00.001-07:00

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,

saying, "This is the way; walk in it. "

Isaiah 30:21

October 18th at Grace Lutheran Church in Sandy

from 10-3pm will be our Teen LWML Event

Teen Activities Include:

* Special Teen Bible Study given by Mr. OZ, DCE there at Grace

* Shelly Davis from Salt Lake Lutheran High will be there doing a breakout workshop especially for you!

* A Servant Event- helping others because we have been so blessed!

*Mini Pedicures

*Luncheon

* Special gifts and door prizes

*Come and hear what the LWML is all about!

Women's Activities Include:

*Bible study given by Pastor Erickson

* Fall Business

* Servant Event

* Mini Pedicures

* Luncheon

* Let's show our little sisters in Christ what LWML is all about!

Let's all come together as women in Christ on October 18th for an event centered around God's Word and serving Him with gladness! We are so excited to invite teen girls to our event this year. Ladies, start thinking about some teen girls in your congregation, neighborhoods or families to bring with you! Child care will be provided for the entire day so those of us with little munchkins can attend. We need each society's help to put on a great event, so please ask your Society Presidents how you can get involved!

Please email me (Ashley Willoughby- ashleywby2@aol.com) or the Society President at Grace (Cindy Sinclair- csinclair@gracesandy.org) with any questions or to RSVP.

See you there!

Thought for the day

2008-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Joan (St. Johns, SLC) gave me this, she found it in a magazine- thanks Joan.

Answered Prayer

If you rise from prayer forgiven and clean inside, prayer has been answered.

If you rise more conscious of God's greatness, goodness, mercy, love and nearness prayer has been answered.

If you rise with greater love and compassion for other people, answered prayer is transforming your selfish nature.

If you rise with an abiding sense of peace in spite of the great problems that beset your life, God has answered by preparing you to confront these difficulties.

If you rise with clearer vision, greater purpose, a more positive outlook, renewed strength, and fresh inspiration, rest assured that your prayer has been answered.

The Epistle

Timberlakes Retreat

2008-08-12T17:06:00.001-07:00

"As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God."

Psalms 42:1

As I was traveling to Timberlakes for our Zone Retreat early last Saturday morning this was just one beautiful example of God's creation that He shared with me. It has been an annual event for the past five years or so to meet at Kris' (St. Marks) cabin in Timberlakes which is just east of Heber. She welcomes us into her beautiful home and we have a wonderful time talking, laughing and being together in God's word. We started off the morning with muffins and coffee along with a bible study. After talking about some upcoming events, we had a wonderful luncheon complete with hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixins.

Kris surprised us all with the cutest post-it note holders with matching pens she and a friend made. They were complete with quotes from all our favorite hymns, the hard part was deciding which one to pick! The rest of the day we were all walking around humming and singing, it was wonderful. We spent the last hour on a "Walk with Jesus", we went out for a walk on the trails and found things to remind us of our Savior. For example; something prickly for Jesus' crown of thorns, something dead for the savior truly died, a rock to remind us of the huge stone that was rolled in front of His tomb, and something alive because Christ lives! The best part was when Elaine Holt tried to capture a bumble bee for her living thing...we were all laughing, it was quite the sight! Thank you to everyone who made the trip, your company was wonderful!

Special thank you to Kris for

sharing your home with us,

it truly is a beautiful place.

Camp Perkins

2008-07-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tied Together in Prayer

Jesus Said: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in Heaven. For where two or three come together in my name there am I with them."

Matthew 18:19-20

The LWML District Retreat at Camp Perkins was last weekend and I am just now posting because I am still recovering from lack of sleep! It really was a great weekend with our sisters from Idaho. Cheryl Orme and the Yellowstone Zone were in charge this year, and they sure did a great job. It is a 7 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Camp Perkins but when you fill your car with drinks, treats, music, laughter and good friends the drive goes by much faster.

Friday Night- After a wonderful meal in the Lodge with Signe and the staff at Camp Perkins we were off to the Retreat Center to gather and dedicate the supplies we brought for the counselors at camp and for a Bible Study. Licenced Deacon Dave Schilling (Mrs. Naomi- self proclaimed) led us in our bible studies and the worship service with Holy Communion around the camp fire that night. After camp fire we met back in the Retreat Center for a wine tasting, snacks and games. Some of us stayed in the Retreat Center and others in the cabins, let's just say some made it to bed earlier than others!

Saturday- After breakfast we met for more bible study and some singing. The bible studies Deacon Dave Schilling put together for us we all about prayer and each day we walked away with a greater understanding about our daily conversation with God. We also learned that our prayer life has peaks and valleys but no matter what God does not move or change. He is always there and he hears our prayers and answers them according to His will.

That afternoon we had some free time so some of us went into Stanley to Mountain Mamas which is a huge craft show (kinda like Swiss Days in Midway) It was so fun, and apparently I was the only person at camp who has never been! There were canoes and paddle boats available to take out onto the lake, some went for a hike around the lake. I hear there was a mean game or HORSE going on at the basketball court and we saw some swimming and fishing too. It was a fun afternoon.

After dinner we all met again for some "entertainment"--and entertaining it was. We split up into groups and put together short skits, then we had a fun getting to know you questionnaire that was shared with the group. Wow, did we ever learn some fun things about each other. In fact there were a few times we were all but rolling on the floor in laughter! One would think after camp fire and this long, eventful day all these Lutheran ladies would quietly retire to their rooms and cabins right? WRONG! More games, cards and laughter into the night again.

Sunday- We began with an outdoor worship service overlooking the lake. Praising God right in the middle of the breathtaking sceanery He created for us... can we go to Camp Pekins for worship every Sunday? After breakfast and some goodbyes we headed for home. What a weekend it was. We met some new friends and got to spend some time with old ones too.

Thanks Yellowstone Zone, Dave Schilling, Signe and all the staff at Camp Perkins it was awesome!

So that was Camp Perkins in a nutshell. I think we rounded everyone up for group pictures, they are below. There were ladies from Holy Trinity in Logan, St. John's- SLC, Christ-Murray and Grace- Sandy. Utah Zone blew them all away with 13 ladies who attended, it was the most from any zone in our district. Hope everyone had a great time, until next year.....

Fall Event Announcement!

2008-07-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce our Fall Event- we are going to be having a Teen LWML event! Things will be a little different this time... it is going to be all about our little sisters in Christ! Every woman ages 12 and up will be invited to attend, and every member of the LWML Utah Zone is encouraged to bring a teen along with them whether it is their daughter, sister, friend, neighbor or someone from their church. The possibilities are endless!

We had a Zone board meeting at Mimi's Cafe (yummy) yesterday Cindy [Grace, Sandy], Meredith [Christ, Murray], Lane [St. Marks, Provo], Joan and Laura [St. Johns, SLC] and I discussed a few activities for our Teen Event; jewelry making, special teen bible study, secret Christian sister swap and a mission activity. I will post more details as they develop, please let me know if you have any ideas, suggestions or if you are interested in helping. Please mark your calenders it's going to be a great time!

Teen LWML Event
Friends Into Serving Him

Bible Brunch at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City

2008-07-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:13

Thankful we were for the time we spent together Sunday June 29th at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City. Last year the District Board came up with the wonderful idea of going out into the churches and studying God's Word together. The Bible Brunch was born! District President Melody lead the LWML Bible Study on the diverse women of the bible. We learned how God used women like Rahab, Bathsheba, Tamar, Ruth and Mary who were sinners just like us in His divine plan. The ladies of the Utah Zone all pitched in and put together a wonderful luncheon and we met four new friends from Redeemer! Thanks to Pastor Fischer and everyone at Redeemer for your kindness and hospitality. Special thanks to everyone who helped and attended our Bible Brunch. What a great idea- - fellowship with fellow sisters in Christ, food and God's Word... I couldn't think of anything better!