Mother s Day May 13 th TLCW Bible Study May 15 th

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1 Trinity Lutheran Church Lake Norden, SD Member NALC Pastor Mark Jamison Trinity Office: H: (605) C: (605) Website: Pg 1 Upcoming Events Pg 2-3 Pastor s Pen Pg 3 Council Minutes Pg 4 Prayer Program Birthdays Pg 5 Trinity News Pg 6 Evangelism Page Pg 7 NALC News Pg 8 Kidz Page Pg 9 Invitations Graduation Pg 10 Summer Camp VBS Dates Confirmation Sunday Date Event Time May 3 rd Confirmation Sunday May 7 th National Day of Prayer May 9 th Hamlin Graduation May 10 th Mother s Day May 13 th TLCW Bible Study May 15 th Ascension of our Lord May 14 th Evangelism & Council Meeting May 16 th Arlington Graduation May 19 th Mending at Golden Living Center May 25 th Memorial Day May 27 th TLCW Quilting 2 pm 7 pm 6 & 7 pm 2 pm 1:30 pm 1 P a g e

2 A friend of mine wrote this devotion; it is autobiographical in nature. Through his tragedies and personal suffering God has formed faith. My friend has a great witness. Too good not to share with you. He reminds the goodness of God can be trusts in the worst of circumstances. How good and pleasant it is when God s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. ~Psalm 133 God has blessed you richly! Maybe not with oil running down your beard and onto the collar of that beautiful suit, or lovely dress, but He has blessed you! He has given you all you need: a roof over your head, food in your belly, a soft bed to sleep on, and a community of believers to rejoice with you when things are good, and to lift you up when things are not good. I met a man, recently, who had a very interesting story. You see, some years ago he had purchased a motorcycle. He had never ridden one before, so he took a motorcycle safety course. He was excited to get his first bike and he found the perfect one. It was big, shiny, and of course, loud. He was cautious. The first week he had it, he went to his church parking lot and drove it around in circles to get used to the way it accelerated, the way it shifted and the way it turned. One Sunday evening, after her felt more confident, he took it out to practice on the streets in his neighborhood. He was only a few blocks from his house, at a four way stop and when he started again, something about the turn he was making didn t feel right and he laid the bike down. He realized quickly that he was stuck under the 800 pound bike. Some neighbors had witnessed the accident and helped him to get out from under the steel beast. He then realized that his leg was broken! He had had the motorcycle for a whole week and he had already broken his leg in an accident. That should ve been a clue. Several years had passed since that accident and the bike had sat, unused, for most of that time. That s not to say he never rode it, but it sat more than it rolled. He chose one beautiful Saturday to go for a ride. He was on a major thoroughfare, in fairly heavy traffic, when the SUV in front of him stopped a little short. He hit his brakes and realized that there was sand on the road. He panicked and again, laid the bike down. This time, he broke his other leg! This time, when the doctors tried to fix the break, he got an infection. He ended up with some ugly wounds and uglier antibiotics. He spent three weeks in the hospital. He had a total of four surgeries. His body decided to quit making red blood cells for a time and it looked like he would die. But he didn t. His congregation prayed for him. His pastors and friends visited him. His coworkers collected money to help with medical bills. People from all over brought food. God had blessed him richly in his time of need. After three months at home, three more months working from a wheelchair, it looked as though his leg was healed. He went to another specialist to close up the last holes in his skin. This new doctor knew with one look that the leg wasn t really healed. The bone hadn t knitted properly. The man was given a most difficult choice. Have more surgeries to fix the leg, with no guarantee of success, or have an amputation. He decided to have the amputation. A month or so later, he got a prosthetic leg and learned to use it. Recovery went well and he adapted quickly. Things were looking up. A few months later, though, his father passed on. He had had Alzheimer s disease and it had taken it s terrible toll. He missed his father, but, after watching his decline, it was almost a relief. You d think that all this would be enough to make the man questions God. I think most people would have thrown in the towel. This guy tried once, but he wasn t successful. You d think this would be enough to make him lose his faith in the promise. To make him walk away from God. But it didn t. This man actually seems to have grown stronger in his faith. He now walks closer to God than he had ever walked before. But then, as things seemed to be returning to something that looked like normal, his daughter slipped while hiking in the mountains. His beautiful, bubbly 17 year old girl fell 200 feet to her death. But, if you speak to him today, he will still tell you that God has blessed him richly. He will tell you that through all of the anguish he has endured in the last two years of his life, he still believes in the promise. You see, through all this, he has been surrounded by, literally, hundreds of people. They constantly remind him of the people his daughter toughed in her 17 years. They remind him of the people he has touched in his life. They remind him that he is not alone. He has been surrounded by the people of God. Though all of this he has learned how much God has given him. 2 P a g e

3 He has a wonderful wife who will be with him through whatever life brings. He has another beautiful daughter with a promising future. He has amazing friends who will hold him up when he crumbles. He has a family of fellow Christians who will carry him through the toughest of times. He has a God who promises that he will see his little girl again. This guy isn t anyone special. He s not the most faithful of believers. He can t quote you Bible verses. He doesn t witness to everyone he meets. He is a sinner, just like every one of you. But God has blessed him. God has blessed you as well. God promises that he will be with you through all of your triumphs. He will be with you through all of your defeats. God will surround you with people who will lift you up and people who will hold you up. He will house you, feed you and clothe you. God came to Earth to give you His love. You are special. You are one of God s chosen people. To God, you are like that man s little child: beautiful, precious, full of promise. You are so wonderful to God that He holds you in his bosom even as you weep. You are so important to God that he would die for you. See you in worship, Pastor Mark Council Minutes Trinity Lutheran Church 9 April 2015 Meeting was called to order by President Rusty Antonen Present: Rusty Antonen, Dan Koistinen, Roger Anderson, Gerry Koisti, Brittany Larson, Bud Larrabee, Scott Steffensen, Lee Swanson, and Pastor Jamison Absent: Larry Jensen Devotions: Rusty had devotions. Secretary s Report: March minutes reviewed. Gerry made a motion to approve. Seconded by Dan. Motion carried. Treasurer s Report: Treasurer s Report was reviewed. Dan made a motion to accept and seconded by Bud. Motion carried. Committee Reports: Christian Ed: Need to see if we are going to do the community Bible School with the Covenant Church. Lee will ask Abby. Evangelism: Gerry reported the committee discussed the Harvest Festival, visiting, and stewardship. Discussed putting need for volunteers in the Food Pantry in newsletter and bulletins. Property: New lights are up in the basement. Scott will look at the parsonage deck with Pastor. Old Business: Software is in for the projectors. Needs to be picked up. Public Exam for confirmation candidates is April 26 at 5 pm at Trinity. Potluck to follow. Pastor gave an update on Cindy. She is on the mend. New Business: Reviewed the items Brittany had brought. Offering Designations for Global and Local Missions: o Local Missions Beacon Center in Watertown. Lee made a motion to send these funds to Beacon Center and Dan seconded. Motion carried. o Gerry made a motion to send Global Mission funds to Lutheran World Relief. Roger seconded. Motion carried. Announcement to be made in church to remind youth and parents about Church Camp. Quilts will be given to Seniors on April 12. Summer worship will start June 7. Pastor requested we start at 10:15 rather than 10:00 to give him some more time with Badger after church. Lee made a motion to approve, seconded by Brittany. Motion carried. Brittany will visit with Jeanette and Paul on changing the banners. Next meeting is May 14, 2015 at 7 p.m. Lee will have devotions. Gerry made a motion to adjourn and seconded by Brittany. Submitted by: Lee Swanson 3 P a g e

4 May 3 rd : Robert Pedersen; Kasey Steffensen; Dawn (Hakeman) Nelson May 10 th : Lila Grape; Carmen Antonen; David Carlson; Darin Riter May 17 th : Floyd Arneson; Randy Riter; Barb Ruotsalainen; Austin Niemann May 24 th : Arlo & Barb Carlson; Brent Koisti; Erland Juntunen; Nicole (Jager) Simril May 31 st : Jessica (Koistinen) Prouty; David Lee; Travis Riter; Marcey (Jager) Hagedorn. 3 rd Tony Arneson 3 rd Brad Ruotsalainen 4 th Alex Antonen 4 th Jarid Espland 4 th Robert Hauschildt 5 th Pearl Nelson 8 th Amber Steffensen 9 th Barb Carlson 22th Jason Arneson 11 th Chance Niemann 15 th Jason Aho 15 th Jane Haufschild 15 th Elaine Larsen 19 th Kelly Haug 20 th Jace Steffensen 22 nd Lloyd Riter 23 rd Tim Carlson 23 rd Lexie Kranz 25 th Erland Juntunen 25 th Douglas Koistinen 31 st Justin Koistinen 31 st Barb Miller 31 st Melanie Aho All mothers are invited to worship with us on May 10 th for a special Mother s Day treat! Worship begins at 10:45 am at Trinity we hope that you ll be able to join us! 4 P a g e

5 Thank Yous Thank you for the beautiful Easter flower given to us after the Easter service. It meant a lot ot be thought of in such a nice way! ~ Joan & Ray Arneson Thank you for remembering me with the pretty Easter plant. It is a special gift from special people. ~Barb Ruotsalainen Thank you for the flowering Easter mums. God bless you all for remembering me! ~Lila Grape Baby Shower An open house baby shower will be held in the basement of the Trinity Lutheran Church for the upcoming birth of Roy & Sami Hauschildt and Steven & Tawnee Hauschildt s daughter Valerie Rae Delores. Roy & Sami will be having their first child in September. Valerie was born on March 31 st weighing 7 lb 1 oz and 20 inches in length. Grandparents are Bob & Theresa Hauschildt of Lake Norden and Mona Matson of Hayti. Thank you for all the prayers, cards, and phone calls received while I was in the hospital and recovering. It was greatly appreciated. Thank you! ~ David St. John TLCW Mission 2015 Help the Trinity Lutheran Church Women fulfill their mission for It will soon be winter in Kenya, Africa where the temperatures will decrease to around 30 degrees with no snow. The children/families do not have heat for their homes and they are in need of warm clothing. Before you put away your warm clothes or taking any to Goodwill that will no longer fit your children next year, please consider helping our TLCW satisfy their mission. Donations of the following items must be placed in the educational unit by May 10 th : sweatshirts/pants, pants of any kind, shoes without holes, coats, gloves, hats, blankets, quilts, and sweaters are all expectable items. Clothes can be for children or adults. Kenya does not get any snow so snow pants and snow boots are not needed. Thank you for your help! Thank You Thank you to the Church women for thinking of me on Administrative Professional day! I received a beautiful flowering Rose plant that will make a wonderful addition to our landscape! It is such a great reminder of how wonderful you all are you make this job fun! Thanks again for everything! ~Brittany Larson 5 P a g e

6 Jesus Love Me For Senior Adults Jesus love me this I know Tho my hair is white as snow Tho my sight is growing dime Chorus Yes Jesus loves me Yes Jesus loves me Yes Jesus loves me the Bible tells me so Tho my steps are oh, so low With his hand in mine I ll go On through life come that may He ll be there to lead the way Chorus When the nights are dark and long In my heart he puts a song Telling me in words so clear Have no fear, for I am near. Chorus When my work on earth is done And life s victories have been won He will take me home above To learn the fullness of His love. Chorus ~ Submitted by TLC Member In Praise of Mothers A good woman is hard to find, and worth farm more than diamonds. Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise: Many women have done wonderful things, but you ve outclassed them all! ~ Proverbs 31:10, When God thought of mother, he must have laughed with satisfaction and framed it quickly so rich, so deep, so divine, so full of soul power, and beauty was the conception. ~ Henry Ward Beecher Loved Beyond Belief From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:16 Everybody knows what a vicious cycle is: Someone gossips about me. I get angry and snap at the innocent clerk who checks me out at the grocery store. The clerk, in turn, frets over the injustice all afternoon and blows up when her supervisor unexpectedly asks her to work the weekend. Frustrated, the supervisor tears out of the parking lot as her shift ends, cutting off a driver who s in a hurry to get her baby to the doctor. Fenders scrape. And on it goes, bad will spiraling downward in an ever more hurtful cycle of negativity. All of us contribute every day to vicious cycles like this, to the ugliness and pain around us. When we stop to consider it, the shame and guilt can overwhelm us. Maybe you ve experienced that. I know I have. But praise God, there is a virtuous cycle, too! Ephesians 4:16 tells us how it began with Christ ( from him ) who has loved us beyond measure. From all eternity God has loved us. He loved you, knowing all about your sin, knowing what it would cost him to rescue you from it. Here is love beyond belief! This is love higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean. This is love that extends from east to west and beyond. Here is love that can t be stopped, love that will never end. This is love that died for you personally and rose again to give you life forever! Having received this love, we each, in turn, commit to supporting one another, especially in the body of Christ. Loved beyond measure, we love others, in turn no stingily or grudgingly but beyond what we believe is possible, building one another up in love. Lord Jesus, you have loved e beyond measure! I don t deserve it. I don t understand it, but still, you love me! ~Jane L. Fryar (Loved Beyond Measure: Daily Devotional) 6 P a g e

7 NALC Convocation is Aug Martyrdom and faithful witness will provide a common theme for the 2015 NALC Convocation and the theological conference that precedes it. The Lutheran Week events will be held Aug at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Martyr: Life-giving Witness is the theme for the 2015 NALC Convocation Aug The Convocation will begin at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, with special Mission Intensive sessions including speakers and workshops to highlight the NALC s commitment to its Mission-Driven core value and to equip congregations for mission. Mission Districts will meet on Wednesday evening as a part of the Mission-Driven focus. Convocation business sessions on Aug will include speakers on the theme as well as church business including the election of bishop and members of the Executive Council and Court of Adjudication. The Convocation is expected to conclude by 5 p.m. Friday. The Women of the NALC Annual Gathering will take place Aug under the theme, A Gathering of Witnesses. The women will meet 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday. Tuesday supper and Wednesday breakfast and lunch are included in the registration fee. Martyrdom and the Sufferings of the Righteous is the theme for the Carl E. Braaten and Robert D. Benne Lectures in Theology Aug The theological conference begins at 1 p.m. Tuesday and concludes at noon on Wednesday. A special room rate has been negotiated at the hotel. The rate is good for reservations made by July 21. Reservations may be made through a link on the NALC website or by calling Watch the NALC website for more information. Online registration will be available soon. Nominations being received for Bishop, Executive Council, Court of Adjudication Nominations are now being received for positions to be elected at the 2015 NALC Convocation. The Convocation will elect the bishop, three members of the NALC Executive Council (two lay people and one pastor) and two members of the Court of Adjudication. Under the NALC Constitution, congregations are empowered to submit nominations for all positions to be elected at Convocation. The nominees for Bishop will be all those pastors nominated by a congregation or a Convocation delegate and willing to serve. The Nominating Committee will select and propose a slate of nominees for the Executive Council and Court of Adjudication and will also consider nominations from individual members of the NALC for those positions. Brief descriptions of the duties of each position are available on the NALC website. Please submit nominations by May 1. This will enable the committee to meet the constitutional deadline to make biographical information available to NALC members. To submit a nomination, please complete the Nomination Form available on the NALC website (under the 2015 Convocation tab) and return it to the Nominating Committee. Nominees will be asked to complete the Nominee Biographical Form, which then will be made available online. Questions may be addressed to the Nominating Committee at nominations@thenalc.org. 7 P a g e

8 According to Acts 2, on Pentecost some people accused the disciples of being drunk. Why? A. Because they were still asleep at 9 in the morning. B. Because all the wine was gone. C. Because they were all speaking in foreign languages. D. All of the above. Answer: C (See Acts 2:4, 13.) 8 P a g e

9 Pearl Nelson is turning 90! Please join us in celebrating with her on Sunday, May 3 rd from 1-3 pm at the Senior Citizen s Center in Lake Norden! Everyone is welcome to attend! Nick Jensen will be graduating from Arlington High School on May 16 th at 2 pm. Everyone is invited to join him for an open house at his home at 305 East South Street in Badger following the ceremony. Nick will be attending Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown this fall for Automotive Technology. Henry Austin Niemann will be graduating from Hamlin High School on May 9 th at 2pm. Please join us for a celebration honoring him following the ceremony at our home, rd Street Lake Norden. Please keep our graduating seniors in your prayers as they graduate this month. From Arlington Nick Jensen From Hamlin Lexi Kranz and Jonathan Kretzschmar and Austin Niemann. Best wishes to you in your future! 9 P a g e

10 Come to Camp this Summer! Weeks beginning to fill up register soon! The following weeks are FULL or NEARLY FULL! But we still have plenty of room! Register soon so you are SURE to get into the camp you want! NeSoDak Confirmation Camp 1: June 7-12 (FULL) Confirmation Camp II: June (Nearly FULL!) Camp: July (Nearly Full!) Music Camp: August 2-7 (FULL) Confirmation will be held on Sunday, May 3 rd. Please join us in celebrating the Affirmation of Faith for Kirby Antonen & Chance Kretzschmar. Outlaw Ranch Youth Camp: June (Nearly Full!) Youth Camp: June (FULL) Any youth that are interested in going to camp this year, please contact Sherry Antonen or get ahold of the church office and we will help you out! SAVE THE DATE! Vacation Bible School will be held from August 2 nd 5 th. More information to follow! Walking in Faith In What Are You Afraid Of? Facing Down Your Fears With Faith (Tyndale House), David Jeremiah describes Englishman John Pounds ( ) as an example of facing debilitation with faith. While working at the docks as a teen, Pounds tell from a ship s mast. Recovery took two years. Out of boredom while bedridden, he began reading the Bbile and soon accepted Christ. Once well enough, Pounds worked for a cobbler and later bought his own shop, making orthopedic shoes for disabled children. His own body had healed crookedly, resulting in constant pain, so he could identify with people he served. Pounds also fed homeless children, taught them to read and told them about Jesus. What might John Pounds have become had he not been severely injured? Jeremiah asks. Our struggles often enable us to empathize with and help people we wouldn t have met otherwise. Through our weakness, God can minister to others (2 Corinthians 12:9). 10 P a g e