  __________________September 3, 2026________________  A Message from Mary B Do you recognize this treasure box? It sits on the small table in the narthex. You can deposit your “treasure” of receipts from Main Street Market (Co-op) here. The receipts will be given to Cooperative Ministries and magically become funds for the Backpack program! What an easy way to support our local kids! Kudos this week to Bill Mann for his tireless work this summer in beautifying our courtyard and flower beds. His latest work has been adding plantings along the parking lot. Thank you, Bill! ISO – Adult volunteers to support our middle school and high school Youth as they meet with the Youth at 1st Presby. Sunday evenings 5:30 – 7:00. You get a free meal and joyful interactions with teenagers! I know we have some brave souls who would both benefit from and contribute to this ministry. “Teach me, my God and King, In all things thee to see, And what I do in anything, To do it as for thee.” --George Herbert (1593 – 1633) For His Sake, Mary B ______________________________________________________________________________ Those who serve, Sunday, September 6, 9am Musician Barb Becker Media Team Charlie Kennedy Ushers Greg & Collette Suhr Worship Leader Jack Webb Lector/Intercessor Mike Schingle Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Coffee Hosts Karen Larson, Diane Morrison Flowers: Don & Nancy Kepler In thanksgiving for their grandchildren, Madeline, Meredith & Morgan Upcoming Events at St. Francis: Tuesday 9/8 Centering Prayer 11a Friday 9/11 Men’s Bible Study 8a Library Sunday 9/13 Sunday Worship 9a St Francis Joyful Noise Offering today NO Sunday School on Sept. 6, but we'll start up again on Sept. 13 Thursday 9/17 DOK meeting 6p Sunday 9/20 Game Night 6p Ice Cream Social to Welcome Rev. Mary from 5-6p ______________________________________________________________________________ From the Office - Ann’s Announcements  Birthdays: Madi Collins September 8 Ann Salomon September 8 Christy Anderson September 10 Noah Moreno September 11 Greg Peterson September 12 GO GOLD! Sunday, 9/13 Wear Gold or Yellow to celebrate Scottsbluff Schools GO GOLD week  Steve’s Message: Sunday 9/20 Game Night 6p Ice Cream Social prior to Game Night to Welcome Rev. Mary from 5-6p The Signup sheet for helpers is posted on the Parish Hall bulletin board. Emergency Pastoral Care Pastor Kathy Montira, ELCA Sr. Pastor, Calvary Lutheran Church (308) 632-8023, 8:30a-2:30p Monday-Friday (308) 874-6021 after hours Prayer requests need to be received by Tuesday, if you’d like them to be printed in the bulletin. You may call (308) 632-4626 (leave a message) or email. The Forward Day by Day’s for August-October are available in regular and large print. If you’d like either of these mailed to you, please email us or call the church office.   ______________________August 20,2026_______________________ WESTERN DEANERY MEETING Saturday, August 29, 2026 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 16th St & Cheyenne Ave, Alliance 308-762-1965 LET’S LEARN ABOUT THE PRAYER BOOK BRING YOUR PRAYER BOOK and BRING YOUR QUESTIONS Rev. Chris & Charles Plantz — guest speakers 9:00 am Coffee & Snacks 9:30 am Guest Speakers and Discussion 11:00 am Holy Eucharist Noon Lunch Served Short meeting after lunch Please bring news about your church activities! Questions: Call Karen Boysen 308-760-1024 Hope to see you all here!! _____________________________________________________________________________________ Intercessory Prayer Members of the Daughters of the King are available for Intercessory Prayer in the Mary Chapel each Sunday after worship. All prayer requests are kept confidential. ______________________________________________________________________________ Prairied Treasures = St Francis Outreach Prairied Treasures is a unique ministry of St Francis. Housed in the undercroft, this “one-man show” is our primary funder of outreach donations to the community. It is an e-bay marketplace that sells donated items, using the proceeds to make monetary donations to community organizations such as Doves, Red Cross, Schools Backpack Program, Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Episcopal Relief & Development, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, Save the Children and Shriners Hospital as well as other ministries within St Francis (e.g., Daughters of the King, Sack Lunches). Since its inception, Prairied Treasurers has made over $100,000 in donations. Prairied Treasures was created by a group of parishioners in 2007. Over time, most of the original founders of the ministry have moved on to other ministries. But, Don Kepler persists. Don has been working tirelessly since the beginning of Prairied Treasurers to collect, evaluate, and market donations that he posts on the e-bay site. For him, it is a labor of love. Now, it is time to look to the next generation of e-bay enthusiasts. Don is looking for an apprentice who is willing to learn the ropes of this ministry. This is an opportunity for someone who has some general computer skills and an interest in turning buried treasures into cash for St Francis’ outreach to our community. If you are curious about this opportunity, you can contact Don Kepler at 308-635-0734 or Mary Bowman at 303-514-2820. ______________________________________________________________________________ Those who serve, Sunday, August 23, 9am Musician Nancy Meier Media Team Stephanie Schingle Ushers Monica & Kathy Shambaugh Worship Leader Kathy Shambaugh Lector/Intercessor Bill Mann Altar Guild Judi Widmaier, Connie Schingle, Jeane Anderson Coffee Hosts Mary Bowman, Barb Manasek Flowers: Marian McKee In memory of her husband, Dick Upcoming Events at St. Francis: Tuesday 8/18 Centering Prayer 11a Friday 8/21 Men’s Bible Study 8a Library Sunday 8/30 Sunday Worship 9a St Francis Godly Play Sunday School 9:00a ________________________________________________________________________________ From the Office—Ann’s Announcements  Birthdays:
Jean Hilyard August 23 John Wymore August 26 Godly Play Sunday School will start Aug. 30 at 9:00a! Emergency Pastoral Care Pastor Kathy Montira, ELCA Sr. Pastor, Calvary Lutheran Church (308) 632-8023, 8:30a-2:30p Monday-Friday (308) 874-6021 after hours Prayer requests need to be received by Tuesday, if you’d like them to be printed in the bulletin. You may call (308) 632-4626 (leave a message) or email. The Forward Day by Day’s for August-October are available in regular and large print. If you’d like either of these mailed to you, please email us or call the church office.   ______________________August 27,2026_______________________ A Message from Mary B Dear Friends – You may have noticed that I added my last initial “B” to my name on the header for this message. I do this to distinguish my communications from those of our new Interim Rector Mary Caucutt. Mother Mary will begin her journey with us on Sunday, Sept 13. We have received three letters from her for you to get to know her a bit before she arrives. We emailed the first of these letters last week and will email the second one this week and the third one next week. There are also copies of the letters available at the church. If you have not received a copy of Mother Mary’s letters, call the office and let Ann know. As we await Mother Mary’s arrival, we keep moving forward with the ministries and business of the church. Last Sunday, the Audit Committee met to complete the Financial Audit for 2025. Members of the Audit committee are: Charlie Kennedy, Diane Morrison, Stephanie Schingle and John Selzer. I thank them for their time, patience and diligence in performing this somewhat tedious, yet important, task. Once the Audit document is finalized and sent to the Diocese, it will be available to anyone who wishes as copy. Call the office and let Ann know if you want a copy and she will make sure it gets to you. Speaking of ministries – one of our most important ministries is Formation of Children and Youth. As you may know, for the past couple of years, our youth have been meeting along with the youth from the 1st Presbyterian Church and Rev Erin was our adult volunteer assisting with this ministry. The youth will begin meeting again on Sept 13 and we need one or more adult volunteers to assist the volunteers from 1st Presby with the meetings. They meet each Sunday at 5:30 pm for a meal and then an activity/program 6 pm – 7 pm. According to Rev April (1st Presby), “What we mostly need from adult volunteers is their presence and their encouragement of the youth. If any volunteers would also like to help lead an activity or even suggest activities, we'd love that, but it's not required.” If you are interested in volunteering for this important ministry, please let me know. Thank you all for your faithful service in continuing to make St Francis a beacon of God’s love in our parish and our community. For His Sake, Mary _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WESTERN DEANERY MEETING Saturday, August 29, 2026 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 16th St & Cheyenne Ave, Alliance 308-762-1965 LET’S LEARN ABOUT THE PRAYER BOOK BRING YOUR PRAYER BOOK and BRING YOUR QUESTIONS Rev. Chris & Charles Plantz — guest speakers 9:00 am Coffee & Snacks 9:30 am Guest Speakers and Discussion 11:00 am Holy Eucharist Noon Lunch Served Short meeting after lunch Please bring news about your church activities! Questions: Call Karen Boysen 308-760-1024 Hope to see you all here!! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prairied Treasures = St Francis Outreach Prairied Treasures is a unique ministry of St Francis. Housed in the undercroft, this “one-man show” is our primary funder of outreach donations to the community. It is an e-bay marketplace that sells donated items, using the proceeds to make monetary donations to community organizations such as Doves, Red Cross, Schools Backpack Program, Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Episcopal Relief & Development, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, Save the Children and Shriners Hospital as well as other ministries within St Francis (e.g., Daughters of the King, Sack Lunches). Since its inception, Prairied Treasurers has made over $100,000 in donations. Prairied Treasures was created by a group of parishioners in 2007. Over time, most of the original founders of the ministry have moved on to other ministries. But, Don Kepler persists. Don has been working tirelessly since the beginning of Prairied Treasurers to collect, evaluate, and market donations that he posts on the e-bay site. For him, it is a labor of love. Now, it is time to look to the next generation of e-bay enthusiasts. Don is looking for an apprentice who is willing to learn the ropes of this ministry. This is an opportunity for someone who has some general computer skills and an interest in turning buried treasures into cash for St Francis’ outreach to our community. If you are curious about this opportunity, you can contact Don Kepler at 308-635-0734 or Mary Bowman at 303-514-2820. ______________________________________________________________________________ Those who serve, Sunday, August 30, 9am Musician Barb Becker Media Team Steve Trickler Ushers Alena Kennedy, Nancy Kepler Worship Leader Monica Shambaugh Lector/Intercessor Jane Sayre Altar Guild Judi Widmaier, Connie Schingle, Jeane Anderson Coffee Hosts Sarah Schaaf, Connie Schingle Flowers: Jill Young & Lorrie Wold In memory of Gary & Neta Young and Neva Jones Upcoming Events at St. Francis: Tuesday 9/1 Centering Prayer 11a Friday 9/4 Men’s Bible Study 8a Library Sunday 9/6 Sunday Worship 9a St Francis NO Godly Play Sunday School on 9/6 Thursday 9/17 DOK meeting 6p Sunday 9/20 Game Night 6p Ice Cream Social to Welcome Rev. Mary from 5-6p From the Office—Ann’s Announcements  Birthdays:
Artie Johnson August 30 Anniversaries: Clark & Amy Wisniewski September 4 John & Peggy Wymore September 5 Godly Play Sunday School is back this Sunday at 9:00a! Steve’s Message: Sunday 9/20 Game Night 6p Ice Cream Social prior to Game Night to Welcome Rev. Mary from 5-6p The Signup sheet for helpers is posted on the Parish Hall bulletin board. Emergency Pastoral Care Pastor Kathy Montira, ELCA Sr. Pastor, Calvary Lutheran Church (308) 632-8023, 8:30a-2:30p Monday-Friday (308) 874-6021 after hours Prayer requests need to be received by Tuesday, if you’d like them to be printed in the bulletin. You may call (308) 632-4626 (leave a message) or email. The Forward Day by Day’s for August-October are available in regular and large print. If you’d like either of these mailed to you, please email us or call the church office.   _______________________August 13, 2026_______________________ Prairied Treasures = St Francis Outreach Prairied Treasures is a unique ministry of St Francis. Housed in the undercroft, this “one-man show” is our primary funder of outreach donations to the community. It is an e-bay marketplace that sells donated items, using the proceeds to make monetary donations to community organizations such as Doves, Red Cross, Schools Backpack Program, Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Episcopal Relief & Development, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, Save the Children and Shriners Hospital as well as other ministries within St Francis (e.g., Daughters of the King, Sack Lunches). Since its inception, Prairied Treasurers has made over $100,000 in donations. Prairied Treasures was created by a group of parishioners in 2007. Over time, most of the original founders of the ministry have moved on to other ministries. But, Don Kepler persists. Don has been working tirelessly since the beginning of Prairied Treasurers to collect, evaluate, and market donations that he posts on the e-bay site. For him, it is a labor of love. Now, it is time to look to the next generation of e-bay enthusiasts. Don is looking for an apprentice who is willing to learn the ropes of this ministry. This is an opportunity for someone who has some general computer skills and an interest in turning buried treasures into cash for St Francis’ outreach to our community. If you are curious about this opportunity, you can contact Don Kepler at 308-635-0734 or Mary Bowman at 303-514-2820.Prairied Treasures = St Francis Outreach Prairied Treasures is a unique ministry of St Francis. Housed in the undercroft, this “one-man show” is our primary funder of outreach donations to the community. It is an e-bay marketplace that sells donated items, using the proceeds to make monetary donations to community organizations such as Doves, Red Cross, Schools Backpack Program, Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Episcopal Relief & Development, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, Save the Children and Shriners Hospital as well as other ministries within St Francis (e.g., Daughters of the King, Sack Lunches). Since its inception, Prairied Treasurers has made over $100,000 in donations. Prairied Treasures was created by a group of parishioners in 2007. Over time, most of the original founders of the ministry have moved on to other ministries. But, Don Kepler persists. Don has been working tirelessly since the beginning of Prairied Treasurers to collect, evaluate, and market donations that he posts on the e-bay site. For him, it is a labor of love. Now, it is time to look to the next generation of e-bay enthusiasts. Don is looking for an apprentice who is willing to learn the ropes of this ministry. This is an opportunity for someone who has some general computer skills and an interest in turning buried treasures into cash for St Francis’ outreach to our community. If you are curious about this opportunity, you can contact Don Kepler at 308-635-0734 or Mary Bowman at 303-514-2820. ______________________________________________________________________________  Surprise Donation for the Sack Lunch Program! Earlier this year we requested a grant from the Oregon Trail Community Foundation to help fund our Sack Lunch program. We were disappointed to learn that they did not have funds to allocate for that purpose. Imagine our surprise when Barb Manasek got a call from the OTCF saying they had an anonymous donor who gave them funds for ministries like our Sack Lunch program. The OTCF remembered us and included us in the recipients of funds from this generous anonymous donor with a check for $4,000! What a blessing! ______________________________________________________________________________ Rev Chris Planz will be the Ministry Leader on Sunday 8/16 (this Sunday) and we will be celebrating Holy Eucharist. Ministry Teams, Sunday ,August 16, 9am Musician Barb Becker Media Team Charlie Kennedy Ushers Alena Kennedy, Mike Schingle Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Madi Collins, Ella Iron Shell Lector/Intercessor Clark Wisniewski Eucharistic Minister Monica Shambaugh Altar Guild Judi Widmaier, Connie Schingle, Jeane Anderson Coffee Hosts Judi Widmaier, Sandi Van Engel Flowers: Jeff Bott & Cindy Strauch & Lisa In memory of Willard & Shannon Bott Upcoming Events at St. Francis: Tuesday 8/18 Centering Prayer 11a Friday 8/21 Men’s Bible Study 8a Library Sunday 8/23 Sunday Worship 9a St Francis Rev. Chris Plantz will be here on the following date: 9/20 for Eucharist Worship Service. From the Office—Ann’s Announcements  Have a Great School Year! Birthdays:
Cory Foster August 16 Donald Graham August 19 Ann Selzer August 20 Anniversaries: Greg & Collette Suhr August 21 Ben & Christie Shaver August 22 Emergency Pastoral Care Pastor Kathy Montira, ELCA Sr. Pastor, Calvary Lutheran Church (308) 632-8023, 8:30a-2:30p Monday-Friday (308) 874-6021 after hours Prayer requests need to be received by Tuesday, if you’d like them to be printed in the bulletin. You may call (308) 632-4626 (leave a message) or email. The Forward Day by Day’s for August-October are available in regular and large print. If you’d like either of these mailed to you, please email us or call the church office. |
Rev. Erin Rath
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