But giving back to God is a good idea. We give back to God out of gratitude for all God has done for us and given to us. Saying “thank you” to God is good for us.

As you begin to give back to God, start where you can. Probably the most important part of getting started is to plan it into your budget. If you are like most of us there isn’t much money left over at the end of the month. Waiting to see what is left before we give to God means we give God little or nothing. And we don’t say “Thank you” like we want to.

If you have been giving for a while, you probably understand that giving is good for the giver. You may even feel the call to tithe. Tithing is giving one tenth of one’s income back to God to be used for God’s purposes in this world. A practical way to move toward tithing is to try challenging yourself to grow by one percent of your income.

Wes and Mary Mahlberg, Judy Bergquist, & Dan Hanson

Golfers had a great day last Sunday at the Ed Blair Classic at Wild Marsh.

The winning team, with a score of 28 was Dan Hanson, Judy Bergquist, Wes and Mary Mahlberg. Closest to the pin was Melissa for women and Bob Strommen for men, and the longest drive was Joell Morin for women and Scott Morin for men.

Contests and the sale of “mulligans” raised $150 for the Buffalo Food Shelf.

Check out the rest of the photos on Facebook

This month is the last of the six stewardship values from Mr. Charles R. Lane’s book “Ask, Thank, Tell.” Value # 6 is “Cheerful Giving.”

Mr. Lane refers to 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

In the last five months of this newsletter we have touched on a different giving value. They were intentional, regular, generous, first, and proportional. We briefly summarized Mr. Lane’s thoughts on these five giving values. In his writings for this value of cheerful giving he notes that “The key to being a cheerful giver is to practice the other stewardship values. If the first five stewardship values characterize your giving, you will be cheerful in your giving. If they don’t, you won’t. It is that simple.”

Are you “cheerful” in your giving? Do you feel good when you write your check to Zion? Jesus says, that where your treasure is, and where you put your money, that is where your heart will be. Being a “Cheerful” giver will help you grow in your relationship with God.

I hope the six stewardship values that we have highlighted over the last six months have helped you identify your giving value. Giving by these six values will lead your heart to Jesus.

Contact Lynne Moratzka at 651-641-3419 or lmoratzk@luthersem.edu for more information. A free-will donation will be taken during the program. All proceeds will go to the Luther Seminary FRIENDS Endowed Scholarship Fund. This event is open to the public.

Sunday, September 12
Sixteenth Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 15:1-10
Pastor Ted Preaching

Sunday, September 19
Seventeenth Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 16:19-31
Pastor Ted Preaching

Sunday, September 26
Eighteenth Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 5:1-11
Pastor Mike Foss Preaching

Sunday Services are 8:30, 9:45 & 10:30am

• September 15: Soup
• September 22: Pasta
• September 29: Baked Potatoes

Serving time is 5:00-6:15pm and the suggested donation is $3 per plate.

After Supper, beginning at 6pm, childcare will be provided for children with parents taking part in evening activities at Zion. Contact Holly or Roxie with questions.

If you own a business and would like to help support the newsletter, please contact Liturgical Publications (LPI) directly at 1.800.678.4574. Bud Bien from LPI will also be on site at Zion for the week of August 30 and can be reached during that time through the church office at 763.682.1245.

Zion’s Social Ministry Committee, whose role is to reach out to our community, will be planning and preparing the first of these monthly meals which will be a nutritious breakfast served on Saturday, September 18 at the Community Center.

Your Help is Needed

In order to feed about 300 men, women and children :

1. Volunteers are needed to greet people, prepare and serve the meal. There will be shifts of volunteers between 7am and noon. on September 18. Please sign up at the information booth in the church.
2. To raise money to sponsor this event, the Social Ministry Committee will be asking for donations at our Ministry Fair booth on Homecoming Sunday, September 12. Make a contribution to help Zion feed people in need in Buffalo and the Social Ministry Committee will give you a box of candy!

• The Orientation meeting will be on Homecoming Sunday, September 12, in Trinity Hall, from 9:40am-10:20am.
• Sunday school information packets will be distributed to parents.
• During the parent orientation meeting, Sunday school children will gather in the Sanctuary for a special Family Express worship service.
• Families who have opted to make a donation toward Sunday School supplies will be asked to make that contribution at the time of the meeting.
• Those who have not registered online will be able to complete registration forms.
• Please contact Holly or Roxie at 763.682.1245 with any questions.

Everyone is invited to the Homecoming Sunday celebration following the 10:30 service on September 12 which will include a carnival and fun for the whole family.

Thank you so much to those of you who have already contacted us about sharing your time and talents with our Sunday School children this fall. We are excited for the opportunity to work with you in teaching our kids about our loving and eternal God.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone and express our gratitude for your prayers, gifts, donations and words of encouragement, those of you also, taking time out of your busy schedules to prepare and deliver meals to us, after the devastating loss of our home and belongings. We feel very fortunate not to [have lost] any family members and thank the Lord for this gift. Although this was extremely difficult to overcome, our Zion Family made such a positive effect in helping us move forward, your support will always be remembered.

We are excited to share [that] we have begun the [rebuilding] process, with hopes of moving in by mid September.

Thank-you all so much! God Bless

Dan & Kim Mero and Family

But in giving, churches also benefit as Love INC:

• Assists churches in going beyond benevolence or simply handing out resources to connecting with people in need and developing relationships.
• Verifies that each request for assistance is legitimate so that churches can be good stewards of their resources.
• Helps churches prevent creating dependency in those they assist by discovering and solving problems at the root level.
• Identifies unmet needs or gaps in community services and informs churches of new opportunities for ministry.
• Lessens the strain on any one church as the network of churches work together to meet needs.
• Provides a more cost-effective approach to ministry by sharing resources and utilizing volunteers to meet needs.
• Helps churches assist those in need both inside and outside of the congregation.
• Demonstrates unity in the Body of Christ as churches come together to fulfill God’s command to love their neighbors—offering a powerful witness to the community.
• Connects un-churched people to churches, helping churches grow as they reach out to the community with the love of Christ.

7th & 8th grade students will return to Duluth, MN for their mission trip June 19-24, 2011. There will be information available at the Confirmation Parent Meeting on September 15.

Senior High

The Senior High Mission Trip Meeting will be September 15 @ 7:30pm in the Youth Room.

This will be the first opportunity to get information and register and is open to all students who will be in 9th-12th grade this fall and their parents. Please make every effort to attend.

Sunday School

• Age 3 to grade 6
• Registration form: http://zionbuffalo.org/SS/Sunday%20School%20Registration%20Form.pdf
• Parent meeting is 9:40am, Sunday, September 12
• More information at http://www.zionbuffalo.org/ss

Confirmation

• Grades 7-8
• http://zionbuffalo.org/Confirmation/confirmation%20registration%20form.pdf
• Parent meeting is 6pm, Wednesday, September 15
• More program information at http://www.zionbuffalo.org/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=91282

• September 15: Mission Trip Meeting – 7:30pm
• September 22: First Night of Graceland – 7:15pm-9pm
• September 29: Graceland – 7:15pm-9pm

Each night, there will be worship, games, discussion and/or study. These nights are open to all students who will be in grades 9-12 in Fall „10. Come prepared with a Bible and notebook.

Pastor Ted‟s sermon on Homecoming Sunday, September 12, will introduce the goals of A Promising Tomorrow and the integrated approach to ministry that it brings to Zion. Worship will include the first of a series of special A Promising Tomorrow weekly bulletin inserts designed to inform the congregation of those goals and to invite everyone‟s participation in crafting a vision for Zion‟s future.

At the annual Ministry Fair on that day, representatives of the four ministry components of A Promising Tomorrow will be available to respond to questions and listen to members‟ ideas. These four are the Power Surge book study, the visioning process, stewardship education and congregational resource development. You will also have the opportunity to sign up for one of the five congregational gatherings and to join a Power Surge book group.

Pastor Ted‟s sermon on September 19 will focus on listening to God‟s call and the question “Who is not here?” The weekly bulletin insert will include a message from Gordon and Wanda Weber, co-chairs of the Congregational Resource Development Team.

On September 26, Pastor Michael Foss, author of Power Surge will speak at morning worship on the topic of “our gifts” and the resources already present in the Zion community. That evening, he will also speak at the first congregational gathering.