Immanuel Lutheran School

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SCHOOL DEDICATION SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 

Here is the schedule for Sunday, August 24.

• •There will be a special service that weekend, Sunday, August 24, 4:00 pm, at the new school building.
• •Rev. Richard Boche, our Wyoming District President will preach for the dedication service.
• •Diane Schnare will be installed as our newly called teacher.
• •Micki Messersmith and Jocelyn Gerth will be installed as teachers.
• •Sunday School and Midweek School teachers will be installed as instructors in the faith.
• •The school building will be dedicated and the school officially opened.
• •A dinner will follow at the school to celebrate this milestone.

Nine Great Ways to Support our Lutheran School

Pray - Pray that God will provide the resources our congregation needs as it moves forward with this mission. Pray for our teachers, our Pastors and lay leaders, our students and their families, and all the volunteers working on this project. "The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29

Shop at Safeway with a Safeway Community Giving Card - Using this card is easy, and our school will receive a 5% cash rebate on all purchases made with the card. You pay no fees, and still take advantage of all advertised specials and Safeway Club discounts. Please see detailed information elsewhere in this newsletter or contact Tara Stanec at 760-7539 to get your Safeway Community Giving Card and get started!

Save and submit your Grocery Kart receipts - The school receives "points" based on the dollar value of receipts that are collected. These "points" can then be redeemed for school-related supplies. Receipts can be left in the specially-marked box in the upper level of the narthex.

Shop at your favorite retailer using gift cards purchased through the school - From Walmart to Cabela's to Herberger's, many retailers offer gift cards (scrip) that charitable organizations can purchase at discounts of 2.5% - 10%. You then pay face value for the card and use it like cash when you shop. If you shop regularly at participating stores, this can be a great way to support our school. Please visit shopwithscrip.com to sign up or contact the school at 629-1601to see if your favorite stores participate!

Collect "Box Tops for Education" and "Labels for Education" - These small coupons are found on the packaging of certain brand name grocery items. They can be redeemed by our school for education-related supplies. Simply clip and leave them in the specially-marked boxes in the upper level of the narthex or downstairs in the preschool area.

Designate our campaign when ordering with Schwan's - Our "active" campaign with Schwan's raised almost $700. Our school can still receive a 5% cash rebate on purchases made through mid-November. Be sure to designate our campaign when ordering online, through the call center (855-870-7208 Option #2), or face-to-face with your driver. Our campaign name is "Immanuel Lutheran School, Alliance, NE" and our campaign ID is "3944."

Open an account with Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) - An account with LCEF can benefit you, our congregation, and the church at large. You get competitive interest rates on your deposits, as well as the satisfaction of knowing that your money is being used to help congregations (including ours) enhance their ministries. As an additional benefit, Immanuel can "earn" a rebate on its loan interest rate based on the number of new investors from our congregation. Please see detailed information elsewhere in this newsletter. It takes as little as $25 to open an account!

Designate our school as the recipient of your Thrivent "Choice Dollars" - Certain Thrivent members receive "Choice Dollars" each year that can be given to the organization of the member's choice. If you have these dollars available, take the time to designate our school as the recipient.

Volunteer your time or abilities - No matter what your availability or ability, you have a part to play. We will probably need you in the coming months! Contact the church office (762-4663) or one of our Pastors if you are willing to assist.

At the Voters' Assembly on January 26, 2014, the congregation approved obtaining a loan for up to

$225,000 from Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) for school-related expenses. (LCEF is a financial organization that serves Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod partners in the U.S. and around the world. Through the dollars invested by over 50,000 individuals, congregations, schools, organizations and businesses, LCEF assists ministries with loans and ministry support services.)

The school Finance Committee has learned that LCEF offers graduated "rebates" on loan origination fees and loan interest rates based on the number of LCEF investors from the borrowing congregation. The rebate is based on the number of investors (a joint account is considered two investors), not the

amount invested. The potential benefit of the rebates for Immanuel assuming a five-year loan and a

25% investor participation rate would be about $5,300.

Jeff Snyder, our Wyoming District LCEF representative, will be making a weekend visit to Immanuel in the near future. He will provide a brief overview of LCEF's account options and will be available to answer questions and assist with applications. Account options include general savings, family emergency accounts, health savings accounts, education savings accounts, an investors club for children, and others. LCEF offers competitive interest rates on deposits and it takes as little as $25 to open anaccount.

If you have any questions, would like an application, or would like to schedule a meeting with Mr. Snyder, please contact Cindy Brown at (620)755-0467. You can also learn about LCEF by visiting www.lcef.org.

Do you buy groceries? Would you like these purchases to generate cash for our school? If so, here is how:

1. Purchase a $5 reloadable Safeway Community Giving Card through the church. These cards can be ordered by contacting Tara Stanec at 760-7539.

2. Take the card to Safeway and have it "loaded" with the amount of your choice (up to $ 500). Safeway will accept cash, check, credit or debit cards for this payment.

3. Use the card to make purchases until it is exhausted. It works just like cash, and you still take advantage of all advertised specials and Safeway Club discounts.

4. When the card is exhausted, "reload" it by going to Customer Service or a checkout register. The "reload" is a separate transaction and must be completed before a checker begins scanning groceries at the check stand.

The school will receive a 5% cash rebate on all purchases made with the cards. Anyone can participate, and our school gets the credit as long as the cards are purchased through the church. If 100 student and congregational families use the cards, and each purchases $100 per month for a year, the school receives $6,000. It adds up quickly, so please participate!

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21