Thanksgiving at FLS

Students at First Lutheran were really filled with the Thanksgiving spirit this year. As part of a Student Council project, students collected canned goods for THORN Ministries which helps to feed the homeless in the Clearwater area. Our students really responded by bringing over 1,000 cans of food which were used to help feed over 200 people on Thanksgiving Day! There was even food leftover which went on the shelves to be used for future needs. Student Council purchased 7 turkeys which were also part of the meal. Sharon Andress from THORN Ministries visited in chapel this week to personally thank our students for thier generosity. Way to let your light shine Flames! You were a blessing to many in our community.

We are also continuing to collect chapel offerings which will be sent to LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionary Pilots), an organization that flies in to remote areas of Canada and Alaska bringing Sunday School and Vacation Bible School supplies. $500 is enough money to keep a LAMP plane flying for one week.


Have you marked your calendar to attend our Christmas programs? You won't want to miss them. Our pre school through first grade program will be on Saturday Dec. 9 at the 6:30 worship service. Our gr 3-8 program will be on Wednesday Dec. 20 at 11:00 am ansd 7:00 pm.
The students have already begun working to make these programs special. The Christmas story never grows old and our students are excited to share its message with you. Invite your friends and neighbors to come along with you.

Good Things

When the SSAC consultants were here last week, one thing they did in each of their focus groups was to ask for input about what good things are happening around FLS. Many things kep showing up on everyone's list. I would like to share a few of these with you.

1. Christian Education - this showed up on almost every list. Parents noted that at FLS their children receive a solid Christian foundation and education. One person put it this way " Religion - See it, Feel it, Hear it". That's great to hear. Our message is getting through. Our ministry is getting done.

2. Quality Education - it was noted many times that at FLS students receive a quality education from a knowledgeable and talented staff using a strong curriculum. Mention was made several times of the success of our graduates when they go on to high school.

3. Athletics - whether or not we win every game, our sports program is seen as one of the good things about FLS. All students in grades 4-8 who want to be a part of our sports teams are allowed. We have dedicated coaches and a strong Booster Club who are very supportive of our athletic program.

4. Teacher -Student relationships - again this showed up on many lists. Our teachers work on building nurturing relationships with their students as well as parents. People commented on the care and enthusiam our teachers show.

5. Parent Support- I would personally like to echo this one. One of our school's greatest blessings and strengths is the support we receive from our school parents. This comes across in so many ways from volunteering in the classroom, on committees, helping with work projects, donations of time, money, supplies, and just the support they offer to teachers as we work together. Our fantastic PTL would also be an important highlight of parent support.


We need to celebrate these "good things". We also need to make them even better. As we move forward we need to brag about these strengths and let others know what a great place FLS is. There are many more items that appeared on the list, but for now I wanted to highlight just a few of them. Continue to keep FLS and the SSAC improvement process in your prayers as we continue to seek to do God's will in this place.

SSAC Team Report

The SSAC team has made their visit and gone. Everyone who had an opportunity to meet and talk with them came away realizing what a great group of school leaders they were. The four consultants were 1) David Florine , Columbus, Indiana, 2) Roy Kaiser, Detroit, Michigan, 3) Jeff Howell, Chicago, Illinois, and 4) Dennis Fangmann, St. Louis, Missouri. After arriving late Saturday afternoon, they spent Sunday morning in our worship services and the rest of the day and evening meeting with various focus groups. They spent the day Monday at school, meeting with the teaching staff at the end of the day. Tuesday was spent writing their report. On Tuesday afternoon they gave a summary of that report to staff and whoever from the focus groups was able to attend.
Their summary included a list of "good things" that are happening around First Lutheran as well as the areas we need to focus on for improvement. It should be noted that there are a lot of good things happening around here. I will be sharing a lot of that with you in future blogs. The complete report should be received by me by the end of the week. Then we can begin the task of making our plans for improvement. All of this will have been in vain if we fail to take the next step and just let this report lie around and gather dust. Keep this process in your prayers as we seek to do God's will in this place.
I am so grateful for the hard work of the visiting SSAC team. I am also so grateful for the LCMS Department of School Ministry who funds this. In case you were not aware, this is not costing First Lutheran anything. It is provided by the Synod.
David Florine (the team leader) will be returning to First Lutheran in about 6 weeks to see how we're doing with getting the process started and giving advice on how to proceed. He will also be visitng 2 more times after that if we request it.
I cannot repeat enough how excited I am that we have become involved in this process. We have some hard work ahead of us, but we've taken the all important first step. As Pastor would say, like Peter, you can't walk on water unless you get out of the boat.
To God be the glory!