News and updates
FAITH WEAVERS
Faith Weavers takes place every Wednesday evening from 5:15PM-6:45PM as long as school is in session, or otherwise announced. As we continue in the month of December, though, please remember to check our website and Facebook page for program and weather related updates. Again, if the public school cancels due to weather, or other factors, on a particular Wednesday, Faith Weavers will be likewise canceled for that evening. If your child is between Kindergarten and 6th grade, please consider having them join us for the fun! Parents can find more information and register on our church website under “Educational Ministries” and “Faith Weavers.”
Also, if you would be interested in donating to support this program, besides monetary donations, included below is a list of some requested food items. As always, your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated!
Please put non-perishable donations in the marked bin in the kitchen with a note (from who, for who) and alert church staff about your donation. Cold items should be put in the refrigerator, and frozen items should be placed in the freezer. For more information, contact Mr. Jareske.
For December
1. 16oz packages of spaghetti noodles
2. 24oz jars of spaghetti sauce
3. Bags of shredded cheddar cheese
4. Bags of shredded mozzarella cheese
5. Rolls of 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef
6. Regular bottles of mild taco sauce
7. Regular jars of mild salsa
8. Large packages of frozen chicken nuggets
9. Large packages of frozen french fries
10. Regular cans of fruit cocktail
11. Regular cans of mandarin oranges
FAITH WEAVERS HELP
If you feel called to help with Faith Weavers in 2025, week to week, please contact Kim Baumann, Suzie Wachter, or Mr. J (402-329-4313) in the near future. Volunteers can be 7th grade and older. At this time, we are specifically looking for, at least, one new volunteer to assist in the kitchen with cooking, several volunteers to help by serving the meal, without cooking, and several volunteers to assist with the Crafts Station. For more information, please contact Mr. J to inquire.
ZION TUITION ASSISTANCE FUND
If you would like to help provide students with a Christian education, please consider donating to the Zion tuition assistance fund. It is easy to donate! Make checks payable to Zion Lutheran School and just write in the memo tuition assistance. Have a special student in mind for assistance? Contact the school office at 329-4658 to set up a donation for them.
SCRIP
If you would like to purchase Scrip, order forms are available in the Narthex. Order forms and/or RaiseRight purchases need to be submitted before Tuesday of each week. Contact the school office at 329-4658 with any questions.
ZION NEWS
If we have an email address on file, we will be emailing you rather than sending out a hard copy in the mail due to rising costs of postage. You can view the Zion News on the church website as well. If you would still like a hard copy mailed out to you, please let the office know. An email was sent out with the most recent Zion news a few weeks ago. Thank you.
USHERING
If any newly confirmed, or previously confirmed, youth students would be willing to assist during church services on Sunday mornings, please call 402-329-4313 to let the church office know. We are currently looking for both ushers and technology booth assistance, and training will be provided for anyone willing to serve in either capacity. As we prepare to begin recording our services with our new camera equipment in the near future, a few additional volunteers to assist with either running the soundboard, running the camera, or managing the slideshow would be very much appreciated.
FUSION YOUTH MEETING
Our monthly Fusion Youth Group meeting for 7th through 12th grade students is scheduled to take place this Sunday, December 8th, from 5PM to 7PM at Zion Lutheran Church. To prepare for our current fundraiser, we will be primarily decorating cookies during this meeting so please plan to wear clothes that could get messy. If any parents are available to stay to help, that would be greatly appreciated. Also, due to the specific plans for this group on this date, this meeting will be a little shorter, and as to not overtax cleanup efforts, no meal is being planned, at this time.
COOKIE AND CANDY FUNDRAISER
Need cookie and candies for Christmas? Let us help! Due to a very successful baking season, thus far, we are happy to announce that the deadline for pre-orders for cookie and candy platters and plates has been extended to December 9th! As before, you can place a pre-order by calling Sarah Endorf (402-277-0654) by Monday, December 9th, at the absolute latest, and we will have these items available for pickup on either December 14th, 10AM-12PM in the Zion kitchen, or December 15th, following both church services and the Children’s Christmas service in the narthex. Remember, only a limited number of pre-made platters will be available for those who do not pre-order. Cash and checks, made out to the Zion Youth Group, are accepted, and all funds will go toward paying for youth activities. For more information about how this can be completed, and our varieties, please check the flyer on our church website or call Sarah Endorf.
Options include: Dozen Decorated Sugar Cookies ($12, pre-order $10), Dozen Undecorated Sugar Cookies (pre-order only $8), Large Platters of Cookies and Assorted Candy ($40, pre-orders $35), and Small Platters of Cookies and Assorted Candy ($30, pre-order $25)
PAMPERED CHEF FUNDRAISER
The PTLS is hosting an online Pampered Chef fundraiser for new playground equipment starting Friday, November 1 with final order date as Monday, December 9th. This is a great time to order Christmas presents or get something for yourself! Visit https://www.pamperedchef.com/party/zionlutheranschool or visit Zion Lutheran School Facebook's page to place your order. Thank you!
CHRISTMAS CARDS
The youth students representing the Fusion Youth Group will be, once again, selling Christmas cards in the church narthex following both church services on the remaining Sunday mornings in Advent to help fundraise for our various events and trips. Please consider checking out our selection as we all prepared for the Christmas season. Cards can be purchased during the week by speaking with Mr. J.
CANDY MAKING
If any parents would like to help with candy making at the Endorf residence on Saturday, December 7th, beginning at 10:00AM to help prepare for the youth fundraiser, please let Mr. Jareske (dcejareske@zionlutheranpierce.com) and/or Sarah Endorf (402-277-0654) know in the very near future. This job requires a little more skill, so we are looking for the help of approximately 4-5 adults for this task on this date. Thank you!
YOUTH EVENT
An event for 7th through 12th grade youth is scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 15th, from 5PM to 8PM at Zion Lutheran Church. This will be our annual Christmas party meeting, and to help with this, the plan is to have everyone planning to attend contribute to a potluck to provide for the meal for this evening. Please speak with Mr. J, or check our church website, for a way to sign-up to bring a food item to help with this meeting. We will also have a White Elephant gift exchange, and although this is completely optional, if you would like to participate, gifts should be church appropriate, kind, and no more than $20, if purchased. Homemade gifts are welcome, but please be aware of allergies when baking/buying.
YOUTH FUNDRAISER HELP
The youth group will be working to assemble cookie and candy plates and platters on Friday, December 13th, after school on that date. If any youth and parents are available to assist, please let Mr. J know, and your help would be greatly appreciated. We will meet in the Zion kitchen.
YOUTH ADVENT MEAL
The youth will be offering their Advent meal on Wednesday, December 18th, from 6:00PM to 7:00PM in the Zion kitchen/gym. This year, in addition to serving the meal for congregation members who gather in the gym for our typical freewill donation, the youth group will also be offering to-go containers containing our meal for the set price of $5 per to-go container of food. As such, spaghetti, garlic bread, a lettuce salad, and bars will be our planned meal for this year. Given that, we will be asking for youth families to please consider assisting with this meal by either donating a component part for this meal, such as noodles or bars, or assist with the cooking, serving, and supervision during the meal. To organize this process, a sign-up sheet document link is available by email or on our church website, so that, as families begin signing up to help, we can work to cover each category needing assistance. Again, if 7th-12th grade youth students and families are planning to assist with serving, we ask that you arrive to the church kitchen on December 18th by 5:30PM, and if you plan to donate, please leave donated items in the church kitchen by the evening of December 17th, at the latest. Thank you for your help and support!