Epistle for January, 2019

Transcription

1 Epistle for January, 2019 Bethany Lutheran Church First English Lutheran Church Friends in Christ Lutheran Church Meets at the DAC Building in Sebeka Sunday Schedule Sunday School 1st & 3rd Sunday 9:30 AM Worship 10:30 AM th St. Menahga, MN Sunday Schedule 8:30 AM Worship Coffee Fellowship 9:50 Sunday School 17 Main St. NW Menahga, MN Sunday Schedule 9:30 Worship Fellowship 305 5th St SW Sebeka, MN Pastor James Hallaway Parish Secretary Dayna Anderson Parish Newsletter Phone: PO Box 189 ~ Menahga, MN Bethany Council President Kris Spadgenske krsspad@gmail.com Bethany Organists Sandi Mickelson Kris Spadgenske First English Administrative Board President Marie Henstorf First English Pianist Sandy Nelson First English Custodian Dan Gilbert Mission Statement Bethany, First English & Friends in Christ Lutheran Churches are a caring, inclusive Christian Community dedicated to Word and Sacrament ministry; Growing in Christ; Sharing the faith; Serving our neighbors; and Supporting each other. The Epistle and weekly bulletins are also available online at: Friends in Christ Board of Trustees President Curt Oakland Friends in Christ Pianists Ardis Olson Laicy Erickson Chris Olson Ryan Oakland Follow us on Facebook: First English, Bethany, Friends in Christ Lutheran Churches

2 What would you like to see in 2019? What personal goals, obstacles, or achievements would you like to see yourself successfully navigate? We ask ourselves questions like this every year. Whether you make New Years resolutions or not we could all agree that if given a choice we would want good things, successful things and blessings in our lives and perhaps (hopefully) through our lives. Think about the word trajectory-the path described by an object moving in air or space under the influence of such forces as thrust, wind resistance, and gravity, esp the curved path of a projectile. 1 We know objects move according to forces and their course is set or altered by forces as well. What about you? What about our church? Consider these verses. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:15-19 The first force setting the trajectory of the Church was the truth that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the living God! Setting a Trajectory The secondary item is this revelation came from the Father. The third revelation is the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. The fourth revelation is Jesus as Christ honored as Son of the living God comes with keys to the kingdom. The keys are for binding and loosing. Jesus set up the Church for success. Remember, success to Jesus means the cross. It sure didn t look successful to the first disciples, but it was absolutely successful! If we are to continue in Jesus idea of success we must go back to the Word of God, discover the foundational doctrines of the Word, given by the Father and make corrections to our trajectory. Only Jesus as Lord can make these corrections. He is the source of truth, the source of power and the source of the perfect plan. What would you like to accomplish. What do you want for your church? Zechariah 4:6 Then he said to me, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. If success is by the Spirit of God then we must get a few things right to have the right trajectory. Relationship-we must rightly relate to God through Jesus Christ resulting in God giving His Spirit. This is being born-again. This is a gift we receive by faith. This sets initial trajectory. But the parable of the sower and other parables in Matthew 13 show it s not all just handed to us. There are other forces, evil forces within and without that effect our trajectory. S T E P S

3 So Paul says to the Galatians they must continue by the Spirit. You and I must learn to walk in the Spirit to keep in step with God, to accomplish His will, and to enjoy the promises of the covenant through Jesus Christ. If you wonder why things go badly remember you have flesh that strives against God and there are evil forces dedicated to see you fall and fail if they are able. I give you one promise from God s Word as you contemplate your trajectory. 2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. In Christ you are set up for success through His grace. Partake of this grace through faith, repentance and discipline in prayer and the Word. See what God will do in you and through you! ~ Pastor Jim 1 UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS: Sunday, April 7: Sunday, April 14: Pastor Jim & Kevin Kocurek are going on a mission trip to India. This mission trip will consist of ministry with Pastor Moses Koripalli in different locations in India. Pastor Jim and Kevin will be heading to India on January 7th and returning on January 23rd. Bishop Cosmas Salamba from Kenya will be our guest speaker for a United Parish Worship Service at First English at 9:30 AM Palm Sunday-Chosen People Ministries will be joining us for an evening service at First English with giving greater meaning to Passover. Remember in Prayer Jeremy Mickelson Pat Cochran Corrine Neisses Deb Bristlin Diane Mickelson Alexander Hallaway Frank Schilling Brie Schilling Kathy Maurer Carolyn Nolte Rachel Summers Alejandro Justin Gullekson Michelle Farlee Carol Schwartz Jim Tysk Izzy Donovan Greg Mickelson Donald Komppa Marlene Salo Curt Oakland Michael Knapp Paul Shepersky Dennis Anderson Tanya Porter Elaine Hollerud Thomas Merchlewicz Elvin & Ellen Yrjo Susan Gullekson Our Country & Military Braden Tjosaas Luke Hallaway Our Churches, Pastors, Leaders, and Staff Our Shut-ins Dayna, Pastor Ron and Pastor Jim along with our families would like to thank you all for your cards, gifts, wonderful words and your Merry Christmas to us. It is amazing how a kind word, a card or something baked with love appearing in our offices does so much to warm our hearts and add joy to our lives. Thank you and Happy New Year!

4 First English Administrative Board Meeting December 12, 2018 Present: Marie H, Teri T, Roger H, Virgel O, Roxanne G, Trisha K, Pastor Jim Absent: Verllien A Call to order: Marie H Devotions by Roxanne G Secretary s report was read, Roger H made motion to accept with the correction of roof defrosters were not installed, seconded by Trisha K, motion passed. Treasurer s report: Teri T made a motion to donate monies to Heifer International in the amount of $ to purchase a cow and water buffalo. Roxanne G seconded, motion approved. Mileage Reports were read. Roger H made a motion to approve, Trisha K seconded, motion passed. Committee Reports: Education-Trisha: Sunday School will be doing a performance Christmas Eve during service. Evangelism/Social Ministry-Roger: $125 donated to Women of the Word for fruit baskets. Worship-Teri: Invite Carol Snelling back for another Friday night gospel sing. Asking for acolytes. Church Finance/Stewardship-Verllien: No information. Building/Grounds-Virgel: Rain gutters are up. Roger H made a motion for Virgel to purchase a cabinet for Sunday School for Virgel to buy. Trisha seconded, motion passed. Youth-Pastor Jim: Christmas caroling at GPA on December 19, Old Business: 1. Lutefisk supper, January 12, Basement ceiling-lyo Room, plans & costs, estimated cost $1, Trisha made a motion to take down suspended ceiling and lighting and replace with LED lighting and painting the ceiling black. 3. Restroom sign, looking into replacing. New Business: 1. Annual budget was discussed and tabled. 2. Annual meeting is January 27, Committee reports need to be done EARLY, by January 1, Date to remember: December 21 Blood Drive 4. Nominating Committee report: Verllien A., Teri T & Trisha K are willing to continue to serve. 5. Fellowship Hall gables need to be looked at for proper insulation, contact Mid-State Insulation about checking into this. 6. Motion was made by Teri T to allow Pastor Jim to take a family day on December 30, seconded by Roxanne, motion carried. 7. Have Dayna check into print size and information on WCTA advertising. Next meeting date is February 12, 2019 at 6:30 PM. Devotions for February-Teri T Motion to adjourn by Roger H, seconded by Virgel, meeting adjourned. Submitted by Roxanne Gilbert, secretary FIRST ENGLISH Attendance & Offering 12/2/18 37 Adults 3 Children General $ India Mission Trip $ Building $ $ 1, /9/18 42 Adults 5 Children General $ Food Shelf $ Building $ $ 1, /16/18 47 Adults 5 Children General $ Backpack Mission $ Food Shelf $ Building $ $ 1, /23/18 37 Adults 5 Children General $ India Mission Trip $ Building $ $ 1, /30/18 36 Adults 2 Children General $ Building $ $ Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers for me as I was recovering from my fall. Arlette Markulla

5 Friends in Christ Board of Trustees Meeting December 15th, 2018 Present: Tracey, Tom, Gordy, Curt, Rueben and Pastor Jim. Financial Report: Rueben went through the financial report and a motion was made to move it to audit. Motion passed. Motion was made to pay the security deposit box at the Sebeka Bank and pay the liability insurance for our church, motion passed. Secretary Report The secretary report was read, and a motion was made to approve the report, motion passed. Missions: Missions were tabled for next month. Friends in Christ Board of Trustees: Friends in Christ will be needing to replace outgoing board members, and we are working on a time table to help revolve in and outgoing board members for a more seamless transition. Rueben will work on the budget for our next meeting. Held discussion on Friends in Christ budget for the 2019 year and tabled this for the January meeting. Talked about our church identity: Some good questions to think about for our church. Are we working for Gods plan or mans plan? And what has God called us to for Christ? Christmas Eve Service: Christmas Eve Service will be at Friends in Christ on December 24th, at 4:00 p.m. with a candle light service. Held discussion on Pastor Jim's benefits and salary as per I.I.P agreement from part time to fulltime ~ in the tri-parish with Friends in Christ s share being a 4, increase for the year. Motion was made and passed to approve the salary increase in the agreement. Motion made to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. Coffee servers: December 29th Tracey and Chris Olson January 6th Mike and Patty Strayer January 13th Bo and Kim Thurston January 20th Tom Craig January 27th Chris and Lacey Erickson February 3rd Youth Sunday Worship and Attendance December 2nd 35- $ December 9th 33-$ December 16th 29-$ United Parish Meeting December 6th, 2018 Present: Trisha, Jamie, Marianne, Tim, Ron, Sandy and Tracey. Review of Staff: Motion was made by Trisha and 2nd by Marianne as follows: Dayna will work in house two days a week and will work from home as needed up to the 22 hours per week. Phones to be transferred over and to be answered by her when no one is available during business hours Tuesday-Friday. Motion passed. Pastor Ron: Pastor Ron is under contract thru April of 2019 and is committed for one more year. The new incoming United Parish committee will need to have him sign a new contract with the tri-parish. Pastor Jim: We went through the Intentional Interim Pastor (I.I.P.) Agreement, and we held discussion on the contract and some of the wording in the agreement. Motion was made to by Jamie and 2nd by Tracey to approve the I.I.P agreement with some verbiage changes to be signed by and effective January 1st, Motion passed. Old Business: Waiting of Pastor Jim's list of pastoral duties. Bethany Council approved the Lenten services to be held at First English Church on Wednesday evenings. New Business: None Motion made to adjourn meeting. Passed Meeting ended in prayer. Submitted by Tracey 0. First English Women s Executive Board Meeting Minutes Thursday, December 20th at 4:00 PM. The meeting was opened with devotions and prayer by Marlene. Correspondence: Pregnancy Resource Center of Park Rapids, thank you note from Heartland Homes for donation. The secretary s minutes were read and approved. The treasurer s report was read and approved. Motion made & seconded to give $60 to the memorial fund in memory of those deceased in Events: Lutefisk supper on January 12th. Preparing new booklets. The next meeting will be held on January 17th, 2019 at 4:00 PM. Lucille Erickson, Secretary PLEASE NOTE: All meeting minutes published in the Epistle are yet to be approved at the next meeting of each council or board.

6 BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 18, 2018 MEMBERS PRESENT: Dave M., Kris S., Lynette Y., Ron M. and Evelyn M. Kris called the meeting to order and opened with prayer. Secretary s Report: Lynette made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 13 mtg. Ron seconded. Motion carried. Dave made a motion to approve the Pastor s mileage reports. Ron seconded it. Motion carried. Treasurer s Report and Budget for 2019: As of December 16, we have brought in more than we spent for 2018 by approximately $5, The United Parish has approved a raise for Pastor Jim and noted that Dayna would be cutting back to 2 days a week which will be a BETHANY Attendance & Offering 12/2/ Adults 12 Children General $ /9/ Adults 4 Children General $ Missions $ 7.00 $ /16/18 32 Adults 11 Children General $ Missions $ $ /23/18 17 Adults 2 Children General $ Missions $ $ /30/18 General $ Missions $ 5.00 $ savings of approximately $2, Budget is currently set at $62, and in 2018 we spent $34, There are many areas in the budget where we spend no money. Discussed making significant changes to the budget or leave as is realizing that we traditionally underspend. It was noted that with Pastor Jim s raise and current income in 2019 would probably be a wash. Dave made a motion to leave the budget the same with the exception of making adjustments for Pastor Jim s raise and the decrease in pay for Dayna. Kris seconded. Motion carried. Christmas gift bags (16) were distributed and 50 peanut bags were assembled. Sunday School Christmas program was excellent and well attended. Discussed giving a monetary donation from the mission fund. Kris made a motion to give $ to Pastor Moses and the Bible Institute through Boundless Ministries. Ron seconded. Motion carried. Annual meeting will be January 20 with a potluck meal following worship and meeting to follow. Lynette made a motion to adjourn and Ron seconded. Motion carried. Respectively submitted by Lynette Yliniemi, Secretary. The Bethany Lutheran Church Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 20, A potluck meal will be held following the service and the Annual Meeting will follow the meal. The Service on January 27, 2018 will be at 8:30 A.M. The First English Lutheran Church Annual Meeting \will be held on Sunday, January 27, 2018 following the morning service. The morning service will be held at 10:30 A.M. A potluck meal will be held following the meeting. The Friends in Christ Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 3, 2019 following the morning service. Please listen to these radio stations for winter weather church related cancellations, postponements, or announcements: KRCQ DL FM, KWAD Wadena 920 AM, KDKK Park Rapids 97.5 FM. We will also post on our Facebook page.

7 PARISH CALENDAR - JANUARY 2018 FRIENDS IN BETHANY FIRST CHRIST Sunday Sunday ENGLISH Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday :00 FE Quilting 9:30 FE Men's Coffee 6 & Meatball Supper 4:00 to 6:30 P.M. 6 White 6 White :30 Coffee 8:30 Worship Service 9:15 FE Bible Study 9:00 FE Quilting FE - Lutefisk 9:30 Worship Service 10:30 Worship Service Holy Communion 10:00 WoW 9:30 FE Men's Coffee 1:30 B Circles Mtg Sunday School & Holy Communion Sunday School Bible Study-WSM 4:00 FE Confirmation Fellowship Communion Srvr: Diane M Coffee Fellowship 6:00 FE LYO 6:00 FE WoW Bible Study White 13 White :30 Worship Service 8:30 Worship Service 9:15 FE Bible Study 9:00 FE Quilting 4:00 FE Women of Holy Communion Sunday School 9:30 FE Men's Coffee FE Exec. Sunday School 9:30 Coffee Coffee Fellowship 4:00 FE Confirmation Brd Mtg Fellowship 10:30 Worship Service 6:00 FE LYO Green 20 Green :30 Worship Service 9:30 Sunday School 8:30 Worship Service 9:15 FE Bible Study 9:00 FE Quilting Sunday School 10:30 Worship Service Holy Communion 9:30 FE Men's Coffee Fellowship & Holy Communion Sunday School Epistle Deadline 4:00 FE Confirmation Board of Trustees Mtg. Communion Srvr: Evelyn M Coffee Fellowship 6:00 FE LYO Bethany Annual Meeting Green 27 Green :30 Worship Service 8:30 Worship Service 10:30 Worship Service 9:15 FE Bible Study 9:00 FE Quilting Fellowship Lunch 9:30 FE Men's Coffee First English 2:00 Service at 4:00 FE Confirmation Annual Meeting GPA 6:00 FE LYO Friends in Christ Bethany First English 1/6 1/13 1/20 1/27 Readers Ushers: Mark & Adam S. Ushers Verllien A & Donna M Millie H 1/6 Gordy H Altar Guild: Greeters Millie H Tim & Brenda K 1/13 Ardis O Acolyte: Ava E. Readers Karen K Lynn L Thomas L Brenda K 1/20 JoAnn O Readers Counters 1/27 Sheila P 1/6 Jamie E Commuion Server 1/13 Mark S Setup/Cleanup Coffee Servers 1/20 Art Y Helper 1/6 Mike & Patty S 1/27 Lois P Acolyte 1/13 Bo & Kim T Altar Guild: 1/20 1/27 Tom C Chris & Laicy E. B=Bethany FE=First English FIC = Friends in Christ

8 BETHANY, FIRST ENGLISH, FRIENDS IN CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCHES 17 Main St. NW PO Box 189 MENAHGA, MN Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE Menahga, MN Permit NO. 3 Lutefisk & Swedish Meatball Dinner Menu includes lutefisk, Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, lefse, corn, rice pudding, fruit soup, flat bread, dessert and more! Saturday, January 12, :00 to 6:30 PM Lutefisk & Meatballs $15.00 Meatballs Only $11.00 Children 12 & Under $8.00 Proceeds will go to the needs and work of First English Lutheran Church. First English Lutheran Church, 17 Main St NW, Menahga, MN In case of a storm it will be rescheduled to Saturday, January, 26th.