Birthdays
7 – Brian Christenson
9 – Taylor Graf; Danielle, Allison, and Lindsay Hadad
10 – Susanne Kaluzinski
11 – Vicky Gomski, Michaela Rosenthal
12 – Carolyn Christ
13 – Tabra Gomski

Church Keys We are in process of updating the names of individuals who have keys to the church. This information is necessary in connection with our church alarm system. We have placed a Family & Friends list on the table in the Narthex. If you have a key to the church building, please put a “K” to the left of your name.

Iron Sharpens Iron The men of our congregation are all invited to attend our Iron Sharpens Iron sessions on Saturday mornings. This coming Saturday (March 13) we shall be using a Bible study produced by the Lutheran Hour’s Men’s Network entitled “Who Am I and What Am I Doing Here?” Our Bible study leader will be Brian Christenson. We meet on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month (except in November and December) at 8am. After a few months of meeting at McDonald’s, we are again going to be meeting at church. If you have any questions, please talk with Brian Christenson or Pastor Gruen.

Elsie Stauner Memorial It is the will of Elsie’s family that any memorials given in her name be applied to the seminary tuition of Brett Hinrichs when he enters the LCMS seminary this fall to prepare for the pastoral ministry. Please make out any checks to Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church which will hold the memorial money until this fall.

Mural Committee The Mural Committee is ready to take your picture for the Vine & Branches next Sunday immediately after church. After considering many locations, and practicing taking each other's photos, we are ready. It was determined that the best place will be in front of the mural. (We are sorry that this will cramp our coffee and fellowship space for a few weeks.) We ask that your family wear the same color, or a similar color for the photo, and also, solids work best, so please no patterns. The photos are completely voluntary. If Sundays do not work for your family, please let Bev Walczak or Bonnie Ruttenberg know, so we can schedule a time that will work best for you. Thank you for cooperation and help.

Volunteers Needed We need volunteers to clean the church sanctuary in the first months of 2010. We have decided to do that work ourselves rather than hiring someone to do it. That has really saved on our church budget. The sign up sheet is in the narthex on the window shelf next to the church office. It takes about 1 to 1½ hours each week. For more information, please contact Dale & Betty Ruff at 847-838-1308. 

Aid for Haiti Thrivent Financial is matching dollars sent to help Haiti $.50 on the $1.00. If BSLC collects all the donations for Haiti, and sends them through Thrivent we can take advantage of this offer. The money will be sent to the same charity that individuals might choose, LCMS World Relief. Individuals can also give through Thrivent's website to receive the matching funds, Thrivent.com/helpinghaiti. Thrivent's offer is effective through March 31, 2010. If you have any questions, please contact Bev Walczak.  

Vacation Bible School The dates for Vacation Bible School this summer have been set. Our VBS will be conducted from Monday July 19 to Friday July 23. The times will be from 9am to noon. There will be a closing ceremony on Friday evening at 7pm. Pastor Gruen will be coordinating the VBS if no one else comes forward. Tabra Gomski will be leading the music and skits. More information will be coming. Please mark your calendars now. Please begin praying for God’s direction on families whom you can invite.

A Habit Worth Keeping—Encourage Your Family to Pray A lifetime of prayer starts early. A Child’s Book of Prayers teaches parents and children that prayer is a gift from our loving God. He invites and encourages us to pray to Him, and He promises to listen and to answer. A Child’s Book of Prayers includes prayers of praise and thanksgiving, of confession and intercession, as well as prayers for special occasions and daily routines. It’s a great resource to teach your children about the responsibility and privilege of prayer. Available at www.cph.org or by calling 1.800.325.3040.

Teens: What do you want in a church? See the Barna Group's website below to see what most teenagers want to see in their church.  Contact Pastor Gruen or one of the Elders and let us know what YOU want.   

If you are interested in Creation and how our beliefs affect our view of the Holy Bible, check out the links on the In The Beginning page.

Sister! Sister!: Our fellowship evening with Bunco games are a great success! It is a great way to introduce your friends that may not attend church to your sisters at Beautiful Savior. Once they see how much fun we have together, they may desire to become a part of our wonderful church. More important, they may grow closer to God, which is indeed our ultimate goal. Each "sister" brings a white elephant gift or something new for about $5 to exchange after the game. Everyone is invited to this very enjoyable time of fellowship with our Christian sisters. Sister!Sister! is meeting on the second Monday of each month. Call the church at 847-395-9400 for the next date and location.

Young Adult Weekly E-mail Devotion: The Missouri Synod Northern Illinois District Young Adult Ministry Team offers a weekly e-mail devotion specially for young adults between the ages of 18-25.  It is written by Reverend Gerald Schalk, pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Barrington and vice president of the Northern Illinois District.  The devotions will be e-mailed every Monday.  To begin receiving it, contact Carol Northcutt. Include your e-mail address, name, home church with location, and college you attend.

Bulletins, etc.: We send our bulletins, prayer requests, and announcements to members and regular visitors of our congregation who wish to receive them. If you wish to be added to our e-mail list, please give your e-mail address to Pastor Gruen.