life together this week at central Exploring the promise of God for all

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1 MARCH 5/6, 2016 life together Lenten Prayer, Staff Change and Shared Ministry Invitation The season of Lent continues and so too the opportunity for Lenten prayer. One of the ancient patterns in the season of Lent is midweek Lenten prayer. This year there are two beautiful opportunities for you as we look to the final two Lenten Wednesdays. First, midday Lenten worship at 12:15 p.m., followed by soup and salad lunch. This half hour worship is centered in the Lord s Prayer, song and life together. Second, Wednesday evening prayer stations, with soup and bread meal and a Bible study on the prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. The prayer stations are open from 4:00-8:00 p.m., soup and bread is served from 5:45-6:45 p.m., and the Bible study is at 6:15 p.m. Pastors and our seminary students are available to guide your prayer experience and to talk about it with you when completed. There are four wonderful stations where God is present for you. Carolyn Diamond, our Saturday night musician, has decided to resign. Her last Saturday was last weekend, on February 27. We are grateful for Carolyn, for her energy and passion. We wish her well as she explores the next opportunity for her gifts. As with all staff changes we honor her decision and continue in God s call for our life together. Next you are invited to a wonderful soup and bread lunch at 11:45 a.m. The Shared Ministry Team is sponsoring an event for us to grow in our understanding of discipleship as people who explore the promise of God for all. At the lunch there will be short presentations on each of the four mission area clusters; the goal is to help you find a place where God is calling you to become more connected. It is also a time for you to celebrate where you currently serve and how that is rewarding for you and your faith. More details on page 3. It is a great time to be the church together. In joy and sorrow, change and new beginning, God is at work, shaping us to be the body of Christ. Yours in Christ Jesus, Pastor Peter Exploring the promise of God for all this week at central SUNDAY MAR 6 Adult Faith Formation 9:30 a.m. fellowship hall The Lord s Prayer, holy conversation grounded in Luther s Small Catechism. Grab your coffee or tea and participate in the holy conversation on the Lord s Prayer each morning in the season of Lent. Join Pastor Peter for the holy conversation on the fifth petition: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. THURSDAY MAR 10 A Different Kind of Book Club 1:30 p.m. fireside lounge We will meet to discuss the book Madam Secretary, by Madeleine Albright. If you have questions, Diane Stoltenberg, diac@frontiernet. net or Louise Griffin, griffs2@comcast.net. All readers are welcome. MAR 10 AND 11 Quilting for LWR Helpers are needed to sew quilt tops. Quilt packets that can be sewn at home are available at the church office. New, easy packets have been added, with some pre-sewn squares already done. Also, more helpers are needed on the days of assembly, March 10 and 11. If you have any questions, please call Carol Henderson at Finished quilts will be distributed by Lutheran World Relief to persons in need in as many as 60 countries, often after a natural disaster. SATURDAY MAR 12 Downtown Grief Coalition 9:30 a.m. room 123 The speaker this week is Dawn Miller and the topic is: Music Therapy and Grief. The meetings are open to all adults experiencing loss due to the death of a loved one. For more information contact Joan Van Wirt at or vwirtj@outlook.com.

2 worship and formation community Worship and Lifelong Faith Formation Saturday Worship p.m. Worship 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Faith Formation 9:30 a.m. God s Word in Our Midst weekly Bible study every Wednesday 1:30 p.m. Gather with the week s preacher to discuss the Bible readings for the upcoming worship. Coffee provided. Easter at Central Passion/Palm p.m. Palm Saturday 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Passion (Luke) with Procession with Palms entrance rite Maundy Thursday 7:00 p.m. - New Commandment - Love one another Noon - 1 p.m. Tenebrae (1 hour) 1-3 p.m. Guided Prayer stations, sanctuary, 3 p.m. closing prayer 7:00 p.m. Prayer around the Cross, John s Passion Guide to Prayer The season of Lent continues, with the invitation to renew our spiritual practices. You are invited to set aside time each day to prayer the Lord s Prayer. This week you are invited to meditate on the fifth petition of the Lord s Prayer. The Fifth Petition: Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Martin Luther s teaching: What does this mean? We ask in this prayer that our heavenly Father would not regard our sins nor deny these petitions on their account, for we are worthy of nothing for which we ask, nor have we earned it. Instead we ask that God would give us all things by grace, for we daily sin much and indeed deserve only punishment. So, on the other hand, we, too, truly want to forgive heartily and to do good gladly to those who sin against us. Life Passages for February Funerals Linda Ellen Singer Born January 24, 1948; died January 26, 2016; Funeral was held at Central on February 5. Gerhard Malling Cartford Born March 21, 1923; died February 8, 2016; Funeral was at Central on February 20. Randi Oen Born March 22, 1930; died February 9, 2016; Funeral was February 16 at the Mueller-Bies Funeral Home. Richard Conrad Jenkins Born October 24, 1936; died February 20, 2016; Funeral was held at Central on February 27. Entombment in the Columbarium at Central. Harold Knut Rebne Born August 26, 1926; died February 23, 2016; Funeral was held on February 29 at the White Funeral Home. Donate to School Health Care Kits The School would like to assemble 600 health care kits to benefit the Augsburg Central Health Commons. Three hundred kits will be assembled on Palm and another 300 kits will be assembled next fall. They invite you to donate money so they can purchase the items in bulk; one kit costs approximately $6.00. Included in a kit is: shampoo, a tooth brush and paste, deodorant, hand soap, tissue, dental floss, comb, lotion, hand sanitizer, wash cloth, lip balm, fingernail clippers and a razor. School team members will collect money (and items) on the following s: March 6, and 13. Help Grow Our Easter Garden This year we continue our tradition at Central of offering members and friends the opportunity to honor or remember loved ones by contributing to our Easter sanctuary decorations. Donation forms will be available at the Floral Guild table outside the fellowship hall between worship services, in the south commons following worship, and at the church office, through the weekend of March 13. The cost is $10 per plant. Forms and checks made payable to the Floral Guild may be mailed to Betty Reveling, 1548 Oberlin Circle S., Fridley, MN The plants will be distributed to our homebound members and friends following worship services on Easter, March 27. Extraordinary Gifts Through January, Central s revenue received from regular offering is 99.7% of the budgeted amount for the first eight months of our fiscal year. Thanks for your consistent generosity! But, I want to say a word about extra-budget legacy gifts, which have contributed to an overall surplus even though other revenue streams, such as parking, are down. This year, Central has been blessed with several substantial legacy gifts as a named beneficiary in wills or annuities. So, as we journey along the path of building renewal in order to preserve and continue the legacy of Central, perhaps you feel called to include Central as part of your estate planning, either to the Central Foundation or to the church directly. Homeless Day on the Hill March 15, 7:45 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Come and advocate with people of different faiths from the DCEH, and other advocates from around the state! Meet for a great send off and light rail transportation to the Day on the Hill coffee included! Meet legislators with others from your district, sharing with them the need for increased housing funding. Registration at www. mnhomelesscoalition.org is greatly preferred ASAP. Lunch and transportation cost will not be provided. For more information, contact Pastor Melissa at mpohlman@centralmpls.org. Soup for the Soul: Discovering God s Promise For All, March 13, 11:45 a.m., fellowship hall Enjoy a delicious bowl of soup from It s Greek to Me and French Meadow Cafe. During lunch, our worship, faith formation, community and generosity leaders will share how everyday people become disciples of God. Come for soup and be transformed. Sponsored by the Shared Ministry Team. Holy Saturday 7:00 p.m minute Great Vigil of Easter. Conclude with festival fellowship Easter 7:00 a.m. Sunrise devotions in the Columbarium/empty tomb (no sunrise service) 7:30 & 9:30 a.m. Easter breakfast seatings 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Easter Festival Choral Eucharist (with Central Choir) Display This Newsletter for Free Parking This Spirit is your parking pass as you exit Central s lot after worship. Show the newsletter to the parking staff to help them quickly identify you as a Central worshiper who should not be charged for parking. Central also regularly receives gifts of stock, which have tax benefits to the donor. Similarly, it is now possible for donors to donate tax-advantaged gifts from IRAs thanks to action by the President and the Congress in December last year. The IRA Charitable Rollover allows owners aged 70½ or older of traditional and Roth IRAs the ability to distribute directly, or rollover, to certain public charities (including churches like Central) up to $100,000 per year without the distribution being included as taxable income, but allowing it to count towards the annual mandatory withdrawal. Apart from the stipulations noted, the only other requirement is that the transfer be directly to the church. Thus, the process is simply to instruct your IRA fund manager to cut a check payable to Central. espirit Stay up-to-date on the weekend happenings ahead of the weekend, with the weekly espirit newsletter. If you don t receive this electronic newsletter, please sign up at or Sara Masters at smasters@centralmpls.org. Please contact me to discuss any of these forms of extraordinary gifts. Obie Holmen, director of finance

3 news and happenings Shared Ministry and Appreciation Weekend This week, we continue our series of interviews with past presidents of Central. On the way to Pentecost weekend (May 14-15), the Shared Ministry Team is interviewing the current president and past presidents, listening for their excitement and insights on God s call for us as Central Lutheran. Kevin Lile - Congregation President Faith is a family affair. Kevin started coming to Central about 15 years ago and joined in Kevin had grown up LCMS, attended a Lutheran grammar school but over time drifted away from church. Now, Kevin, along with his daughter and son-in-law, Kari and Eric Colchin, and their two children, Olivia and Alex, are members of Central s family. Central was open, affirming and welcoming and that kept me coming back, says Kevin. Kevin is actively involved in church life and is our current council president. He is a job coach for the Restoration Center, participated on the call committee for Pastor Peter, previously chaired the Personnel Committee and has participated on the LGBT Advocacy Team. He was also part of the team that developed the Ministry Site Profile for the senior pastor call process. Kevin sees a direct connection between living his faith and sharing his gifts. God is at work here at Central Kevin explained. We are coming together and defining our mission and creating a common understanding of what God is calling us to do. Central is uniquely positioned to make a difference in the community because of our downtown location and history of serving others. Kevin believes that we are at a critical juncture in Central s history. If we listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and have the resolve to act boldly in response, he believes we have an exciting future. Kris Johnson, Shared Ministry Team Kalle Toivio In Concert, April 17, 4 p.m., Central Lutheran Church Kalle Toivio, a Finnish classical virtuoso concert pianist and organist, will give a concert at Central on April 17. There will be works by Bach, Franck, McNeil Robinson, Vivaldi, Sibelius and a complete improvised organ symphony. The concert is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. SUNDAY, MARCH 6 8:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Lifelong Faith Formation 10:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Lunch/Community Time 11:35 a.m. Choristers 11:45 a.m. Shared Ministry Team 2:45 p.m. Lifelong Faith Formation Leader Search Committee MONDAY, MARCH 7 10:00 a.m. Augsburg Central Health Commons 10:00 a.m. Mental Health Open Hours 11:00 a.m Worship 11:30 a.m. Community Meal 12:00 p.m. Bible Study and Conversation p.m. Anniversary Steering Committee TUESDAY, MARCH 8 7:00 a.m. Building Renewal Task Force 9:00 a.m. Restoration Center AA 9:30 a.m. Heritage Ministry Team 10:00 a.m. Hennepin Health Outreach 1:30 p.m. Prayer Shawl Knitters Group 6:00 p.m. Heading Home Central 6:30 p.m. Global Mission Ministry Team 7:00 p.m. Lenten Book Study WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9 9:00 a.m. Maintenance and Custodial Support 12:15 p.m. Service of Word and Prayer 12:45 p.m. Light Lenten Lunch 1:30 p.m. God s Word in Our Midst Bible Study 4:00 p.m. Guided Prayer Experience 5:45 p.m. Light Lenten Supper 6:00 p.m. Bell Choir 6:15 p.m. Bible Study with Pastor Peter 7:15 p.m. THURSDAY, MARCH 10 9:00 a.m. Quilting for LWR 9:30 a.m. Augsburg Central Health Commons 10:30 a.m. Augsburg Nurses Women s Group 1:30 p.m. A Different Kind of Book Club FRIDAY, MARCH 11 9:00 a.m. Quilting for LWR SATURDAY, MARCH 12 9:30 a.m. Downtown Grief Coalition p.m. 6:15 p.m. Saturday Evening Fellowship 6:30 p.m. Sacred Second Saturday CENTRAL LUTHERAN 333 South 12th Street Minneapolis, MN centralmpls.org SPIRIT SUBMISSIONS Submit items for consideration by Monday at 4 p.m. each week for the upcoming issue to smasters@centralmpls.org COFFEE HOSTS Mar/Apr birthday babies PRAYER REQUESTS prayers@centralmpls.org Member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness

4 WorshipLife March 5-6, 2016 There s a lot of talk in church now about the Three Days, or in Latin, the Triduum. These are our most holy of days. They make up our most important single celebration of the year. The three days of the Triduum are counted using the Jewish way of keeping time: from sunset to sunset. So the first day of the Great Three Days is from sunset on Holy Thursday until sunset on. The second day is from sunset on until sunset on Holy Saturday. The third day is from sunset Holy Saturday (the great Easter Vigil) to sunset Easter. They are one three-day event. The death and resurrection of Jesus cannot be separated. The meaning of these days is distorted when we imagine that the liturgy re-enacts the final events in the life of Jesus in a sort of historical review. The mystery of Jesus death and resurrection is a present reality: the boundaries of time, and the boundaries of death, have no power here. is a day of paradox, as the name suggests. This is not a day of unmitigated mourning for the followers of a dead leader. Even on this second and solemn of the Great Three Days we reassemble as people of the Resurrection. This is a Good day, this is God s day, this Friday falls in the midst of God s great new creation of our redemption, our salvation. We do not spend the day pretending that Christ is still dead, but rather in solemn devotion we acknowledge that the cross before us is God s gift of life and the path into a future that promises abundance and freedom. After Maundy Thursday, we reassemble in silence on. We read from Isaiah about the suffering servant, we pray the lament of Psalm 22. Hebrews imagines the cross as a throne from which Christ reigns for all time. John s passion account is proclaimed on Good Friday. Matthew, Mark and Luke (read on Passion ) focus on Jesus suffering. John s beloved passion narrative proclaims that the death of Jesus is, The Great Three Days paradoxically, the triumph of the divine Christ. Christians for centuries have found this gospel s passion the most appropriate for reading on. The intercessions that are prayed on are known as the Bidding Prayer and the text is one of the Church s oldest prayers in continual use... ancient words that still resonate in our lives of faith and connect us across time to the whole Church. Traditionally this is the one day in the year that the church does not pray the great thanksgiving and celebrate holy communion. Both Maundy Thursday and the Easter Vigil include this meal. The service continues with the procession of a large cross into the midst of the assembly. In adoration the Church praises the Crucified Christ and many choose to make some sign of reverence and devotion light a candle, touch the cross, whisper a prayer, make the sign of the cross, or kneel or bow briefly. The Lord s Prayer may be prayed. Finally a hymn is sung in celebration of the triumph of the cross, a reminder that we do not depart in sadness but in thanksgiving for Christ s victory already accomplished. At Central we have used this ancient service order on evenings. This year we introduce it to Good Friday noon as well. As we form our children in faith, we wish for them to experience in a way in common with the whole church. Attendance has been dropping at the noon service so many people now work on they cannot commit the three hours. For example, attendance grows over the course of the three hours and we ve been saddened to invite great preachers to preach to a sparse assembly early in the service. Finally, the pageant nature of the Tre-Ore feels more and more dissonate with our ELW worship practice that invites more worshipers participation. So it s time to try something new. This new pattern will also allow more energy and musical opportunities to be invested in the Easter Vigil. Next week: Reflections on the queen of festivals, the Easter Vigil.

5 Weekend Worship at Central March, 2016 March Lent Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal father and the repentant son Saturday with prayers for healing with prayers for healing Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 March Lent Mary anoints Jesus for his burial Saturday John 12:1-8 March of the Passion Palm The passion and death of Jesus according to Luke Saturday of the Palms Gather in South Commons for procession with palms & Choristers at 10:30 Founders Day Luke 22:14 23:56 The Great March 24 Maundy Thursday New CommandmentHoly Communion March 25 Tenebrae Noon (1 hour) (Quiet reflection follows) Three Days March 26 Easter Vigil Holy Baptism Festival March 27 Easter 7 am Columbarium Spoken Devotions 7:30 & 9:30 am Easter Brunch Festival Prayer around the Cross Central's Easter brunch, hosted by the youth! Easter (March 27) at 7:30 and 9:30. Tickets will be available online (watch the e-spirit), or between services on March 13 and 20. Suggested donation: $10 for adults, & $5 for children 10 and under. All proceeds will be for the Halverson family as they make preparations for Jody to return home.