Religion

Stelzer leads charge to gather donations for Haiti orphanage (03/11/10)
The congregation of St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars and member Kathy Stelzer are hoping they can make a difference for an orphanage in Haiti destroyed by the January earthquake. "After the earthquake, I wanted to find an orphanage in Haiti that needed some help," said Stelzer...

Gehlen student removed from school after e-threat (03/04/10)
An 18-year-old Gehlen Catholic Schools student who allegedly authored a message threatening other Gehlen students was removed from the school immediately Thursday. The student, an 18-year-old female, sent the alleged message via an electronic communication, according to the Le Mars Police...

Sievert is guest speaker for local World Day of Prayer (03/01/10)
A local celebration for World Day of Prayer will be 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 5, at Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Le Mars. Featured speaker will be Dick Sievert who will share about the Kids Against Hunger project. Kids Against Hunger, which now has an outpost in Le Mars, is an organization that packs and ships meals to starving and malnourished children around the globe...

Johnson, Albus prepare for Nigeria mission trip (02/16/10)
A commitment to global missions by members of United Methodist Church of Le Mars (UMCL) will be realized this summer as two members travel to Nigeria. Barb Johnson of Merrill and Chelsea Albus, 18, of Le Mars will be part of the Iowa United Methodist Conference's Iowa Volunteers in Mission group in June, working in a southern area of Nigeria in partnership with the United Methodist Church there...

Snow days adding up for Le Mars Community and Gehlen Schools (02/08/10)

Ten Le Mars scouts honored with Pope Pius XII emblem (02/08/10)
Ten local boys will be receiving the highest emblem in Catholic boy scouting. Michael Brandenburg, Tim Burwitz, Mitchel Christoffel, Preston Freking, Matt Klein, Kyle Mangerson, Zack Nemmers, Jonathan Puhl, Ryan Sitzmann and Andrew Theisen were honored Sunday at a Mass in Le Mars for earning the Pope Pius XII Emblem...

'Feed the Need' grocery project continues (02/04/10)
A successful food collection project started at the Christmas holiday season will continue on an as-needed basis. "Feed the Need for Christian Needs" was started by the United Church Women (UCW) organization at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in cooperation with Fareway and Hy-Vee grocery stores in Le Mars...

Water for Life Honduras (02/03/10)
A local group is about to change the lives of people of five villages, plagued with parasites and other water-borne diseases. The Le Mars Rotary Club spearheaded fundraising for water projects in Honduras, pulling together more than $35,000. That's enough to build a water system in each of those five villages, bringing clean, potable water to more than 1,000 people's homes...

New Honduran president good news for mission group (02/02/10)
Will the inauguration of new Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa mean restoration of the country's international aid, and with that return funding to Mission Honduras Le Mars programs? That's what Richard Seivert, director of Mission Honduras Le Mars and Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras, believes...

Gehlen opens Catholic Schools Week with special Mass (01/29/10)
A Mass at Gehlen Catholic Schools gymnasium at 8:45 a.m. Monday will kick off Catholic Schools Week under the theme, "Dividends for Life." The week will celebrate the life-long impact of a Catholic education. Catholic Schools Week is observed Jan 31 through Feb. 6 and is celebrated by the National Catholic Education Association and schools throughout the Diocese of Sioux City...

Gehlen speech groups advance to state (01/27/10)
Four groups from Gehlen Catholic School are advancing to the State Large Group Speech competition. They earned a spot at state after competing in Saturday's Large Group Speech District Competition at East High School in Sioux City. "It went real well, even though we missed a lot of practice for snow days," Coach Elizabeth Rogers said...

Gehlen kindergarten, TK round up dates set (01/25/10)
Plans are underway at Gehlen Catholic School to welcome the classes of 2023 and 2024. Catholic and non-Catholic parents of children who will be 5 years old by December 31, 2010, are invited to an information meeting on from 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, February 23 in the Gehlen Library...

Le Mars KCs celebrate 100 years of service (01/18/10)
A Le Mars organization with a history of service in the community will observe its 100th anniversary this month. The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic, family fraternal organization which support services programs in their churches and community. The Le Mars council, Trinity Council 1466, was instituted Jan. 23, 1910, with the first meeting held Feb. 4, 1910, in the office of Dr. Fitzgerald in Sioux City. Sponsoring council was Epiphany Council in Sioux City...

Sitzman joins Gehlen Catholic staff (01/14/10)
There's a new face in the halls of Gehlen Catholic Elementary School. Lisa Sitzman began her work as elementary guidance counselor in early December. Sitzman has been meeting with teachers and Elementary Principal Lorie Nussbaum to learn the specific needs of the elementary classes and individual students...

Spring construction set for Gehlen Wellness Center (01/12/10)
What started as a free-standing structure to house a wellness center at Gehlen Catholic Schools will now be an addition to the school's back gym. Construction on the addition is expected to start in the spring, according to Tony Gunter, the school's high school athletic director, teacher and coach...

Rewind 2009: The worst of times and the best of times (12/31/09)

Gehlen band takes first at bowl competition (12/30/09)
The Gehlen Catholic School Marching Band swept the Class 1A field show competition at the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl this week. Even though the band barely arrived in Orlando, Fla. on time due to poor traveling weather, the Gehlen students took the field and claimed not only the overall title for the high school band competition but also all five category awards...

Churches hold Christmas Eve, Day services (12/23/09)
Churches in Le Mars and the area have set Christmas Eve services and Christmas Day services to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The following list includes those churches which have shared their service information. Christmas Eve Family Worship with Communion, 4 and 6 p.m...

St. Lucy Day: Celebration of lights and sweets (12/14/09)
As the girls enter the classroom, children's eyes light up. Dressed in all white with a golden sash and a unique crown -- a wreath of evergreen with four candles in it -- the eighth grade girls of St. Catherine-St. Mary's Catholic School in Remsen are playing the role of St. Lucy...

Pioneer Village Christmas readies for weekend activities (12/10/09)
Pioneer Village Christmas will hold its second and final weekend of activities Saturday and Sunday evening, open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. New this year are displays in the Round Barn, with the live nativity performed twice each evening at the barn's entrance. Displays of Santas, snowmen, lighted ceramic village pieces and animated Christmas figures are inside...

Election may calm Honduras waters, allow more aid (12/07/09)
After more than four months of uncertainty, the people of Honduras elected a new president last week -- a move that will hopefully speed aid to the poor there, according to a Le Mars man with a close connection to the country. Richard Sievert, director of Mission Honduras Le Mars and teacher at Gehlen Catholic School, has been closely following the situation in Honduras, especially since June, when the country's president was deposed...

Six selected for 2009 Drake Honor Band (12/04/09)
Six Gehlen Catholic students are among the 200 musicians from Iowa and Nebraska who will perform this Saturday during the 2009 Drake Honor Band Festival in Des Moines. They include seniors, Sarah Jentz and Josh Schreiner; juniors, Christopher Eral and Matt Klein; freshman, Elisabeth Niebuhr; and foreign exchange student, Yerin Seo...

Your letters matter, soldier tells students (12/03/09)
After writing letters to a soldier in Afghanistan for months, elementary students at Gehlen Catholic School got to meet him face to face. Army Specialist Scott Tillman, of Le Mars, spent Wednesday afternoon speaking in classrooms a few days before returning for a second tour of duty in Afghanistan...

FVH Auxiliary stirs up sweets for Saturday sale (12/02/09)
A Christmastime tradition, the 23rd Annual Holiday Goodie Sale hosted by Floyd Valley Hospital Auxiliary will be 8 a.m to noon Saturday at the hospital's lower level Conference Center. The kettles have been bubbling at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Le Mars as batch after batch of chocolate fudge, white fudge, caramels and peanut clusters are prepared for the sale...

LCS, Gehlen students present holiday music concerts (12/01/09)

Family brings new life to former church (11/25/09)
The former St. Catherine Church in Westfield has a new calling -- to become a family's home. In September, Chris and Joni Vondrak purchased the former Catholic church and along with their children Emily, 14, Joe, 10, Frankie, 9, and Molly, 6, are working to make it into a home...

'Feed the Need' bags help Christian Needs Center (11/24/09)
It's called "Feed the Need for Christian Needs" and is a way to get much-needed food items to the center during the holiday season. This donation project teams up the United Church Women (UCW) organization at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ with Fareway and Hy-Vee grocery stores in Le Mars...

Gehlen, LCS students selected for Opus Honor Choir Festival (11/09/09)
Students from Le Mars Community Schools and Gehlen Catholic School have been chosen to participate in the 23rd annual Opus Honor Choir Festival. Gehlen Catholic eighth grade student Sara Roder will make her fourth appearance in an Opus Honor Choir. She also received the high honor of being chosen as a solo finalist for the song, "Benedictus" in the 7th & 8th Grade Girls Honor Choir...

Gehlen Catholic hosts Veteran's Day Prayer Service (11/09/09)
Gehlen Catholic School will host a Veteran's Day Prayer Service at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in the Gehlen Catholic gym. Members of the community, past and present servicemen and women and their families are invited to attend the service. Guest speaker will be Gary Tillman, nurse anesthetist at Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars. Gary and his wife, Elaine, are the parents of Michelle ('98), Jake ('01) Scott ('03) and David, a senior at Gehlen Catholic...

Student takes a seat in the UN (11/03/09)
Along with students from around the world, Sarah Gengler filed into the United Nations' General Assembly Hall -- the meeting place of nations -- and took her seat. Her place card read: United Arab Emirates. The Gehlen Catholic School alum isn't a United Nations (UN) delegate, at least not yet, and she's not from the United Arab Emirates, but she did serve on her university's National Model UN delegation...

Mission Honduras production to air on local TV (10/30/09)
A slideshow and video production of 2009 Mission Honduras trips will be airing on Cable Access Channel 12 on Sundays during November. The production is named "Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras 2009: A Year In Review." Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras will present the DVD productions of each of...

Museum to host railroading program, ethnic food fair (10/19/09)
Railroading in Plymouth County and ethnic foods of the area will be the focus of a program Sunday at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. The Rev. Gary Landsness of St. John's Lutheran Church, ELCA, Le Mars, will present a program on railroading at 1:30 p.m. in the museum's Music Room on the main floor...

Hand sanitizer pumps up locals against germs (10/16/09)
Free standing automated hand sanitizer dispensers for shoppers to use greet customers in the Le Mars Hy-Vee dairy section. That's just one precaution local stores and facilities are taking to combat the spread of germs in the wake of H1N1. Hand washing along with hand sanitization is the No. 1 prevention against the flu, other than vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control...

Two earn Eagle Scout rank with service, leadership (10/16/09)
Mitch Christoffel and Matt Klein were honored at a Court of Honor celebration Sunday, Sept. 27 for earning the highest rank in scouting, the Eagle Scout Award. Christoffel's Eagle Scout service project involved helping design and build a brick border and landscaping around Gehlen Catholic School's electronic sign...

Drug court: It's not about being judged (10/15/09)
Editor's note: This is the second story in a two-part series about Plymouth County's drug court, which celebrates its second anniversary this week. Jerry Haack was homecoming king in his class at Gehlen Catholic School. He set records on the track. He grew up in a healthy family environment...

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Remsen, celebrates 125th anniversary (10/15/09)
Congregation members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Remsen will celebrate its 125th anniversary Sunday, Oct. 18. St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, the oldest Christian congregation in Remsen, traces its history back to the 1880s. The missionary workers from the Evangelical Synod of North America visited the Remsen vicinity and occasionally conducted services in private homes...

New five-year plan shifts future for Catholic churches (10/12/09)
The Sioux City diocese bishop recently announced a new five-year plan that would keep weekend mass at Assumption of Our Lady Church in Merrill. An earlier plan issued by the diocese in February would have ended weekend mass at the Merrill church within 10 years due to a shortage of priests...

Students may still travel to Honduras despite political turmoil (10/09/09)
For the first time in Gehlen Catholic School's history, two student teams, instead of just one, will travel to Honduras this spring to help connect communities to fresh water supplies. At least that is coordinator Richard Seivert's hope. Honduras has been pummeled by political unrest since June when the country's president, Manuel Zelaya, was deposed after he tried to hold a vote about re-writing the nation's constitution, according to international news reports...

Gehlen homecoming parade set (10/08/09)
With a forecast of a sunny but cool day Friday, Gehlen Catholic Schools has several actvities planned for Homecoming 2009. Friday is Jay Spirit Day and starts with the Jays Olympics at Cleveland Park at 8:50 a.m. The coronation ceremony will be noon in the Gehlen Gym...

Goodwill trailer in Merrill next week (09/24/09)
Donations will be accepted at Goodwill's Ambassador trailer in Merrill next Wednesday through Oct. 7. The Ambassador trailer will be in the northwest corner of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church's parking lot. Donations are to be placed as far to the front of the trailer as possible. Furniture and large appliances will not be accepted...

Presbyterian UCC celebrates 125 years of sharing faith (09/11/09)

Gehlen Catholic airs 9/11 program on Channel 12 (09/10/09)
As we remember the life changing events of 9/11, Gehlen Catholic will air a special program this Friday on Local Access Cable Channel 12 at 9am and again at 6pm. The program is also dedicated to the 9/11 victims, heroes, and their families; as well as our own local law enforcement, fire fighters, and medical professionals for their selfless service...

Local ELCA pastor present at vote on sexuality (09/03/09)

Holy rolling for hunger: Pastors cycle across U.S. (08/05/09)
A group of pastors are fighting hunger, but not from the pulpit. Instead of waiting for people to come to church, they're bringing the message to them on a bamboo bicycle built for three. Hitting every corner of the country, three Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) pastors and their support team from West Virginia put thousands of miles behind them to raise awareness of world hunger and how people can respond...

Gehlen students prepare for 2009-10 school year (08/03/09)
After many changes this summer, Gehlen Catholic Schools principals Lorie Nussbaum and Jeff Alesch say Gehlen Catholic is ready for the 2009-2010 school year. Those families who have not completed their registration should stop by the office Monday through Thursday, Aug. 3 through 6, between 9 a.m. and noon and 1 to 3 p.m...

Installation service Sunday for Grace Lutheran pastor (07/31/09)
The Rev. Timothy Geitz will be installed as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Le Mars in a 3 p.m. service Sunday. The congregation welcomes all members, the Le Mars community, the Missouri Synod community and friends to the service. The Rev. Steve Schultz, second vice president of Iowa District West, will officiate the installation...

Presbyterian UCC hosts fair worship service (07/30/09)
The chapel bell will ring Sunday morning at the Plymouth County Fair, calling everyone to the 11 a.m. ecumenical church service in the air-conditioned Century Hall. Hosting the service this year is the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Le Mars. The congregation members invite everyone to the "come as you are" service which will be a service of praise and thanksgiving...

Life Skills quilts features schools, tractors (07/29/09)
Thousands of stitches have put together colorful quilts for the 13th Annual Life Skills Foundation Quilt Auction. The auction will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Century Hall on the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. More than 60 quilts, including pieced, appliqu�d, embroidered, frayed, hand-quilted, machine-quilted and tied, all of various sizes, as well as crocheted afghans will be on the auction block...

Ordination, consecration service set for new Lutheran clergy (07/10/09)
Three Lutheran congregations will celebrate together as their newly called pastor and diaconal minister will be ordained and consecrated in a 3 p.m. service Sunday, July 12, at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Craig. Sarah and Joel Nye have accepted a call to serve the three congregations of the newly-formed Plymouth Ministries. This includes St. John Evangelical Lutheran, rural Akron, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran, Craig, and St. John Lutheran Church, Merrill...

Ice Cream Days - what a flavor of home (06/12/09)
"It's all about Ice Cream!" is the theme for the 2009 Ice Cream Days celebration next week in Le Mars. The Ice Cream Capital of the World is ready to roll out the ice cream carts, cones, scoops and sandwiches. You name it. "Cone Sculptures" at the Arts Center and root beer floats at the Plymouth County Historical Museum start the day off Thursday, June 18, with both open from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday...

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