What a wonderful time of year this is, as we witness the true glory of our God! Rain and rainbows, green rolling hills, snow-topped mountains, and flowers beginning to bloom. As you begin preparing your hearts for Easter, take time to see all that is around you, breathe in the fresh air and know that you are loved by the God who sent His Son to take our sins to the cross and suffer and die for us.

The 41^st Biennial Convention in Omaha, Nebraska is taking place June 26-29, 2025. The theme is “Growing in God’s Grace.”  I hope you are planning to attend. Please look for me to say hello when you are there.

We are studying Galatians in my weekly women’s bible study, where Paul speaks about grace – that we have all that we need in Jesus Christ. I am recognizing that God is telling me to stop stressing and trust that He loves me, because nothing I can do will earn my way to heaven. Ephesians 2:8-9 states “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Accept this truth and live free from the burden of trying to earn righteousness.

An acronym for grace is God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. Know that Christ would have died on the cross even if you were the only sinner. This concept is hard to accept, just as by grace alone you are saved. I for one will give thanks and praise to this amazing God and continue to study His word, so on my last day I have the true comfort of knowing my redeemer lives!

Prepare your hearts and minds and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection this Lenten Season.

Living in God’s grace,

Roxan Schwab
LWML CNH President

The Executive Committee met on February 7, 2025, to begin planning for the District Convention on April 24-26, 2026. After listening to a very inspiring devotion by Pastor Counselor David Jung, we chose the following theme and Scripture.

Theme: Jesus is our Passport

Scripture: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. I Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)

The convention hotel is Doubletree by Hilton, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, CA 95815. Our Host Committee, which includes women from Zones 4, 6, and 19, met at the Doubletree in February for a tour and then proceeded to Town and Country Lutheran Church for our meeting. The sub-committees were selected and everyone is excited to start working on our next District Convention. More information will be given as time goes on.

Next up: Convention logo design

Now that we have the Theme and Scripture for the Convention, we are focused on creating a Convention Logo. If you have design skills to share, please consider working on a logo design. Email your design with an explanation to Roxan Schwab and LaVada Terrell.

The Board of Directors will vote on a logo later this year. Then banner making can begin!

The LWML Naomi Circle at Grace Lutheran in Modesto met for a fellowship “field trip” on Saturday, January 25, 2025. Seven members, spouses, and friends drove to the Modesto Junior College West Campus to tour the Museum of Natural History and see an enlightening movie in the William R. Luebke Planetarium. Dr Bill Luebke, a cherished member of Grace Lutheran, was the special guest. Lunch at the new Biscuit Basket was enjoyed by all.

Zone 4 held its Winter Event at Town and Country, Sacramento on February 22. The speaker was Heidi Matzke, Executive Director of Alternatives Pregnancy Center, which is Pro Gospel, Pro Woman, Pro Life. They are dedicated to meeting the medical, emotional, and ritual needs of women facing unplanned pregnancies. By offering hopeful alternatives to the abortion choice, Alternatives is committed to empowering families in the Sacramento area and enabling them to build positive futures.

Each Society/Group was asked to bring a themed raffle basket for silent auction; proceeds went to the Alternatives Pregnancy Center. A free-will offering went to Lutherans for Life. T&C women offered numerous soups for lunch and brought desserts to share. There were 22 ladies and three gentlemen who joined us for the event and gave $53.25 to mites.

Our LWML group is active with activities, events, and monthly business meetings. Although we don’t have a lot of members, we spearhead the activities, and many other women in our congregation then help with donations of food, when needed.

The women of Zion put on a successful soup luncheon and Christmas Bazaar in December to start off the season celebrating Christ’s birth. We raised over $2,000, which will support our seminary student and our mission-minded love gifts. The entire congregation had a good time. Unfortunately, it was also a farewell for Pastor Dandy and family who accepted a call to a church in Kansas.

In January, our LWML group led the congregation in a project of support for the local pro-life organization, Fem-Power Medical, in Porterville. Many ladies brought baby clothes and other needed baby items to help new and prospective mothers. It was so exciting to see the staff’s joy when receiving these and to assist this new organization. We hope to learn more about them and offer continued support.

We had a busy week in February as our ladies put together and served a luncheon for a funeral on one day, prepared a noonday meal for the children of our school a few days later (in conjunction with their celebration of Lutheran Schools Week), and then planned a luncheon at the church the following Sunday to help promote fellowship.

We continue to have our monthly meetings/gatherings in the early evenings at 6:00pm and include refreshments, a light meal, devotions, and a business meeting. We plan to hear more about Fem-Power Medical next month and look forward to the upcoming Lent-Easter season.

We began the New Year, with a “Secret Pal” for the year. What fun to suddenly find a thoughtful gift given by a “sister”. For Valentine’s Day, we had a big heart and asked members of our Church to provide pictures of themselves when they were babies or as young children. The event was a lot of fun. Now, we look forward to a Mother’s Day Tea and a quilt project for Greenwood Care Center at Christmas.  

St. Matthew’s church-wide focus on outreach is called Inspiring Hope. A pediatrician of a local hospital, who also is a member of St. Matthew’s, approached Inspiring Hope and LWM about the idea of doing projects for the children’s hospital associated with her work. Inspiring Hope was supportive, and LWM immediately rallied some of our skills to help launch HUGS for Kids (HOPE in UNCERTAINTY by GOD’S STRENGTH), a ministry that addresses some of the needs of infants, children, and teens with chronic medical conditions during their hospital stay. Since its inception, it has expanded to another local hospital with a children’s ward. 

In HUGS for Kids first year of operation, LWM has provided dozens of fleece blankets, hand-knitted and crocheted beanies, and corsages and boutonnieres for the area hospitals teen prom and is helping to deliver a church-wide call to “fill a welcome bag” of goodies for children entering extended care at area hospitals.

This winter, LWM recruited willing hands to knit and crochet beanies for preemies through teenagers. Patterns of all sizes and styles were gathered and made available for interested volunteers. Dozens of beanies have been delivered to hospitals. One pediatrician commented. “It warms my heart to see the kids wearing the beanies.”

In February, women were busy making boutonnieres and corsages for the annual Spring Prom hosted at a local children’s hospital for immuno-compromised and hospitalized teens who are unable to attend their high school’s prom.

In May, you’ll find LWM leading a session on making fleece blankets as part of the community-wide LOVE Rocklin event. Last year a hundred fleece blankets were donated to the HUGS project.

Please send information by April 1, 2025. We want to hear about your future plans and successful past events, and we always love photos! Send to: News Editor