CONCORDIA COLLEGE ALABAMA ALUMNI AND FRIENDS 

 Dear Alumni and Friends,
The weekend of May 11-14, 2017 is rapidly approaching. The deadline for sending in your various fees is even closer. Keep in mind that all are asked to submit the dues of $35.00 whether you plan to attend or not. We hope and pray that you are planning to attend all the activities and will send your payments accordingly.
I am asking all of the Alumni/Friends Chapters to submit their gifts to the Association and thereby to Concordia College Alabama on or before May 12th, 2017. All other fees you are asked to send to me, or
Mrs. Gracie Hollins,Treasurer on or before April 1st, and no later than the 15th, of April 2017.  Please go to Concordia College Alabama web and give a little of your precious time to the Alumni Association bar and you will be given all the activities for the weekend so identified. A brief summary is given here. Would you please share the information with all those in your area who are graduates and friends of the college?
To those chapters that I know are diligently working to make your fundraiser a success, blessings to you. I am praying that all will go well and that you will have excellent support from those who love our institution.

Below is the information that you will find on the web of www.ccal.edu:

1. Thursday May 11 -- at 6:00 P.M. Graduates/Family Banquet Julius & Mary Jenkins Center (400 are               planned for) 6:00 P.M.

2. Friday May 12 -- arrival of Alumni and Friends 
    A. Dedication of new location of Dr. Rosa J. Young Museum at 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. West Campus
    B. Graduation Exercises, Practice, and Walk Through 4:00 P.M.  
    C. Alumni/Friends Working Reception: Graduates free: All others $10.00.  Lehman Center at 6:00 P.M. to           9:00 P.M. (The future enhancement of CCAL) (150 expected to attend)

3. Saturday, May 13th -- 2017 Alumni/Friends Breakfast $5.00. The time is 8:00 A.M. to 9:15 A.M.
    A. Graduation Exercises in the Julius/Mary Jenkins Center 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon. The class of 1967           will participate.  All the Pastors are invited to attend the graduation exercises and to bring their individual         red stole and robe.
    B. Graduation Reception: Place to be determined. It may beheld in the Lehman Center.
    C. Alumni/Friends Business Meeting: Kreft Center Theater 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
    D. Planning to travel to Montgomery for arrival at 5:00 P.M.
    E. Cruise Snack food and open bar 5:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. $45.00
    F.  Dinner and fellowship at Mrs. Lucinda Moseley's home 9:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.
    G. Return to Selma.
   
4. Sunday, May 14th -- Breakfast on your own.
    A. Worship at Trinity Lutheran Church Selma, AL, 1900 Marie Foster Street. Rev. Steven Washington is              the Pastor.
    B. Bible Class at 9:45 A.M.
    C. Worship Service at 11:00 A.M.   
    D. After Worship Reception sponsored by Trinity Lutheran Church -- Trinity Lutheran Church Fellowship               Hall.
    E. Closing of the 2017 Alumni/Friends gathering.  Please help us to plan well by sending in your fees and           contributions!

Please pray for our work together and blessings on your work and travel to and from the gathering. The Lord be with you.................

Sincerely in His service
Rev. Dr. McNair Ramsey, President CCAL
Alumni/Friends Association
176 Deep Woods Circle
Valley Grande, AL 36701

Mrs. Gracie Hollins, Treasurer
1712 Broad Street
Selma, AL 36701
C/O Concordia College Alabama

Greetings from Grace, Huntsville!  The New Year has been a busy one.  In late January the LWML Ladies of Grace Circles held a Quarterly Meeting.  Five ladies shared their support of outreach missions: The Christian Women's' Job Corps; the Student Exchange Program; the Neighborhood Baby Thrift Store; the Huntsville Community Chorus; and a member of our Sew-n-Sews group showed a crocheted plastic mat made from plastic bags which they distributed to homeless shelters.  Our middle school Optimist Club students and parents did an excellent job of converting our fellowship hall into an "Italian Ristorante" where they prepared and served a delicious Italian Valentines Dinner on February 13th.  A lovely evening was enjoyed by all who attended!  A group from Grace attended a Ray Van Derlann Seminar in S. Pittsburg, TN,on "The Road to the Cross" about Jesus's last week with His disciples.  One attendee said, "It was very insightful and gave a tremendous amount of illuminating cultural background that revealed deep meaning to Jesus's words and actions in His last week."  A Chili Bowl Competition was held February 24th.  There were 17 entries; the judges included someone from our Police and Fire Departments, HEMSI, our Church, and Mayor Tommy Battle.  There was live blue-grass music, a photo booth and door prizes.  The $2,000 raised will go to our Capital Campaign specifically for completion of classrooms on the second floor of our Family Life Center.  We are now conducting Wednesday night Lenten dinners and worship services in anticipation of Easter. 

 To God Be the Glory!

REDEEMER LUTHERAN - PENSACOLA, FL ~ PAIRS AND SPARES

Redeemer Lutheran Church's Pairs and Spares Supper Club in Pensacola, Florida is celebrating its 10th Anniversary on January 6th.  We are not just a couple's supper club and we are not just a single's supper club: We are Pairs and Spares.  We are not just a group of "old people" who don't want to cook; we are a mixture of young and old.  We divide up into groups of about 8 people or 4 different households.  Each month we take turns picking out a restaurant for our group to go eat.  It can be a place that we love or it can be a place we have never been.  Sometimes, it's the best food we have ever eaten and sometimes...well, we just remember that one and don't go back.  But every time we go, it is good Christian fellowship.  It's a perfect time to get to know someone from early service or late service or someone we say hello to, but really don't know very much about them.  Or maybe it is someone we have never spoken to, but are glad we have this chance to get to know them.   We change groups every 4 months.  Sometimes we are with the same pair or spare that we were with last time and sometimes we are with a brand new group of pairs and spares.  Right now we have 5 groups. 

Submitted by Ann Ball

37th Biennial Convention of the LWML
"Jesus Christ Above All"

June 22-25, 2017

Join us as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the LWML!

Click here for a PDF of the convention registration form.

Check out the convention page of the LWML website for all of the exciting convention details!

STEWARDSHIP OF OUR CONGREGATIONS PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS -- MARCH 2017 

• Congregational identity . . . Connected multi-point parishes, never consolidated or combined.
• Worship culture . . . Key to connecting with like congregations, includes communion practice, style of worship, and ministry context.
• Partnership desire . . . Willingness to partner and participate with other congregations.
• Congregations self-describe/self-identify as growing, stable, declining.
• Components of congregational ministry will include Word and Sacrament ministry (worship service, sermon, communion), Education (Bible study, confirmation), and Pastoral care.