From Our Pastor- Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ; SESSION 3: WE ARE CHURCH TOGETHER

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1 Faith News Volume 18, Issue 5 May 2015 Faith Lutheran Church PO Box 175 Wolverton, MN (218) faith@wtc-mail.net Rev. Clay Ellingson, Pastor th Avenue S. Moorhead, MN (218) It is the mission of Faith Lutheran Church: To gather prayerfully as the Body of Christ; To grow in faith, love, and service; To go into the world joyfully as disciples. Sunday School, 9:00 a.m. Sunday Worship 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month. Coffee Fellowship May Food Pantry Item: Condiments From Our Pastor- Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ; As part of our Wednesday evening Lenten services we used a resource published by the ELCA called Claimed, Gathered, Sent which helped us engage in conversation with one another about why being church might matter. Below you will find some excerpts from the resource for your own personal reflection. There are five sessions altogether and so we will continue the series through July. SESSION 3: WE ARE CHURCH TOGETHER KEY BIBLE PASSAGE : Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 GETTING STARTED When have you made something happen on a team that you could not have done on your own? Perhaps you participated in an outdoor adventure, carried out a service project or solved a problem at home, at work or school, or in your congregation. How would your experience have been different if you had tried to do it by yourself? HERE S WHAT The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome: For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another (Romans 12:4-5). How does that image of one body with many members happen in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America? Watch the video We Are Church Together ( com/watch? v=4zei8p1zwni&feature=youtube_gdata), shown at the 2014 ELCA synod assemblies. Note words, phrases or stories that capture for you the meaning of the statement, We are church together. After viewing the video, take one minute to write your response to this question: What word, phrase or story from the video most clearly or powerfully says to you, We are one body with many members; we are church together? Even if you did not watch the video what is one way you think of the church as one body? SO WHAT? In the Apostles Creed, we say we believe in the communion of saints. Communion of saints is another name for the church. As the communion of saints, we are bound together by our shared commitment to God s mission: to love, save, bless, and free all of creation from the power of sin. 1 Yes, this is God s mission, but God invites us to spread the good news about what God is up to. That s our central purpose as the church. That is

2 what makes us different from other socially conscious, kindhearted, generous, morally upright, compassionate efforts in the world. In the ELCA, no individual congregation or synod can carry out God s mission for the world alone. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton observed in the video: There is no way that the churchwide organization or synod offices can be with the saints and be present in the communities where our churches are planted. The local congregation does that. But there is no way that the local congregation by itself can run camps, train leaders, engage in disaster response or accompany global companions. That is the work we do together as synods, agencies, colleges, seminaries and the churchwide organization.2 1 Rolf A. Jacobson, ed., Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (Minneapolis: Augsburg Books, 2008), Elizabeth A. Eaton, A place called Lutheran, The Lutheran, November 2013, article.cfm?article_id= In the video you watched a few minutes ago, you also heard her say: When our brothers and sisters in Detroit do God s work, they are doing it on our behalf, because we can t be there. And when you engage in God s work wherever you live, you are doing it on behalf of all God s children everywhere. In Christ, we are truly members one of another. In this marvelous and grace-filled way, we are church together. Even if you did not watch the video can you think of some examples? Describe examples of God s people working together to serve others in word and deed. How did working together make the community more effective? NOW WHAT? The video described a wonderful partnership between a rural and an urban congregation. Which of your congregation s ministries could be multiplied by teaming up with another individual or group in the ELCA? Even if you did not watch the video you can still reflect on the questions below. Where do you see examples of church together in the synodical, churchwide and global ministries? How might you or your congregation support the ministry of other individuals or groups in the ELCA or The Lutheran World Federation? To be church we have to be together as congregations and as the ELCA. Part of being church together is being able to disagree but still be together. Being church together when we disagree can be challenging. But if people leave the church, they lose the community and the community loses them. How is being church together different from a secular club or organization? What can we learn from coming together to worship God and to serve our neighbor that helps us stay together as church when that feels difficult? WRAP-UP AND BLESSING What one or two ideas that you have thought about seem most important to you? Close with this prayer from Presiding Bishop Eaton. Good and gracious God, you ve created a marvelously diverse, sometimes complex world, and people who thought they had nothing in common realize that in you, we are all one body. So thank you for the marvelous ways you ve surprised us here. And thank you that we realize that, yes, we can give, but grace is something that we all need to receive. Bless our work and our ministry, bless our joy and our trying things new, knowing that, as we walk with you, we might stumble, but you won t let us fall. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen. Peace, Pastor Ellingson May Birthdays 1 Keelee Pfau 3. Glen Ellingson 5 Piper Henderickson 10 Lori Nord 10. Kylie Hendrickson 10 Dale Gardner 11 Veronica Nelson 12 Linda Lucke 13. Doris Dibley 13 Randy Hodges 14 Bruce Slinger 16 Amber Nord 16 Amy Traut 17. Diane Slinger 19 Lucille Nelson 19. Harriet Ness 22 Stephen Dockter 22 Kevin Olthoff 23 Jane Buchholz 23 Sue Ellingson 25 Effie Weik 27 Kelsey Emerfoll 30 Linda Jones 31 Donna Johnson 31 Michael Aigner Anniversary 2 Shawn and Andrea O Dell 4 Mike and Debi Byars 5 Steve and Maryann Olthoff 8 Leroy and Bonnie Turner 19 Mike and Peggy Mastin 21 Ron and Cheryl Affield 22 Jason and Kyle Hendrickson 30 Greg and Pat Freitag

3 Faith Share and Care Funeral: The funeral of Marion Allen was held at FLC on April 15. Marion passed away on April 10 at the age of 84. Funeral: The funeral for Quentin Israelson was held at FLC on April 21. Quentin passed away on April 14 at the age of 96. Honors: Kaela Lucke was selected for the National Honor Society and the Atmospheric Sciences of Meteorological Society at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks Births: Congratulations to Dustin Askegaard and Jessica James on the birth of a baby boy, Bentley James on April 28. Proud grandparents are Tammy and Doc Dockter. Backdoor Ministry Update The committee received another bid on the project and it came in $15,000 more than the last bid. Therefore, The committee is reconsidering the project and working with Council on a coarse of action. More updates will follow in the weeks ahead. Please feel free to talk with any committee member if you have questions. Committee Members: Dave Matz and Cindy Nord--cochairs, Deb Byars, Chad Erickson, Gayle Matz, Larry Ness, Wally Nord Lent Offering Our Lent Offering of $1,319 will be given to Someplace Safe. Someplace Safe is staffed by local advocates and volunteers trained to offer assistance to victims, survivors, family and friends who have been affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, or general crimes. Financial Update The summer months are approaching us and as this has typically been a slow offering time for FLC, the council is asking that you review your giving and consider making a gift. Our giving to date is $35,528 and our expenses are $52,550. Thank you for your contributions. Faith Fitness at Faith will take a pause for the summer as we move our workouts to the great outdoors. Thank you to LaDawn Turner, Vicki Nelson and Mandy Schroeder for leading these wonderful workouts. We had a great turnout throughout the winter and it felt great! Continue staying active this summer! FAITH WOMEN NEWS NEXT MEETING: Faith Women will meet on Wednesday, September 9 at 2:00 for Bible Study with business meeting following. Mother Daughter Other Brunch will be Saturday, May 9 at 10:00 a.m. The Speaker will be Taunya Todd. See poster on page Fall Auction Date Changed to Wednesday, November 11 at 7:00 pm due to scheduling conflicts with our auctioneer. November 2015 Meeting Date Changed to Sunday, November 8 after worship Please keep these people who are under medical care in your prayers. Let Pastor Ellingson know if you would like your name or that of a loved one added to this list. Jane Buchholz Sheyenne Crossing West Fargo, ND Ethel Edwards at home Moorhead, MN Louie Gruenberg River Pointe Moorhead, MN Marion Israelson Eventide Senior Living Moorhead Elaine Johnson River Pointe Moorhead, MN Leona Johnson Rosewood Fargo, ND Lucille Nelson at home in Wolverton, MN Keith Nelson Group home in Duluth, MN Beatrice Nord Riverview Place Fargo, ND Myrtle Nord The Leach Home Wahpeton, ND

4 Senior Sunday Come celebrate with our Seniors Brady, Jacob, Jessica, & Savannah Sunday, May 3 Cake will be served in their honor Jessica Church Parents: Kathy Church and Kurt Church School: Breckenridge Activities: I ve participated in Just For Kix dance through school for 7 years. I was a cheerleader for my high school basketball team and wrestling team for a year. I played Wolverton softball when I was younger. Favorite Memories at Faith Lutheran: My favorite memory at church was any day at Sunday school when I was younger. I always had fun with all the kids in Sunday school. Future Plans: So far my future plans are to graduate and attend the Minnesota school of horseshoeing for a two week program this fall then next year attend the Equissage program in Virginia for a week program. Savannah Paulson s profile will be in next month s newsletter. Also graduating this year is Krista Hanneman. Krista grew up at Faith Lutheran but moved to Breckenridge and was confirmed at Breck Lutheran. Our prayers go out to all of our seniors who are graduating in Exciting times for them! If you know of any college graduations please let Lisa know so we can list them in next month s newsletter.

5 Brady Johnson Parents: Mark and Kristi Johnson School: Breckenridge Activities: Throughout high school I have been involved in a wide variety of activities. I was a speech team member for 5 years. I enjoyed playing football, while it was short lived due to the numerous injuries. I was an active member of Mathletes and Knowledge bowl. I was also in band and piano for many years. I served on the student council from my freshman to junior year. Feeling like I had a full high school experience I chose to enroll in Minnesota s PSEO program at MSUM for my senior year. Favorite Memories at Faith Lutheran: My favorite memory at Faith Lutheran was the 2012 National ELCA gathering in New Orleans, LA. Another great memory was reading in church. As soon as I could read I was anxious to participate in the service readings. I am positive this early start of reading in front of the congregation fostered my interest in public speaking. Future Plans: I will be attending South Dakota School of Mines and pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. Jacob Lucke Parents: Jim and Linda Lucke School: Breckenridge Activities: Choir, LYO, Meals on Wheels Favorite Memories at Faith Lutheran: When we went on the bus tour of New Orleans. Future Plans: NDSCS for business management or full-time work.

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7 Youth Attend Sr. High Youth Gathering Harlie Nord and Kaitlyn Israelson attended the North Western MN Sr. High Youth Gathering at the Young Life s Castaway Club in Detroit Lakes, MN in March. Comments about their experience: The 2015 Youth Gathering was fun because I met a lot of new people, including the girls in our dorm. It was a great experience for us because we did lots of teamwork activities. Our speaker for the weekend was Crystal Kirgiss. I loved her humor that she incorporated into the assemblies every night. One night she talked about be your own person, that we are not all the same. Some people have things that others don t, but you should be happy with what you have. Music was performed by the group Mission. They were an amazing group of musicians that got everyone singing. The next day we split off into small groups. The first session Harlie and I were a family of 4, we had to fill out application for food stamps. Then we had to shop at the food pantry and grocery store with limited funds. The hardest was to plan nutritious meals for a week with those groceries. The second session was watching the movie No Place at the Table. It was very inspiring and made me realize what people are actually going through. Rosie was a fifth-grader from Colorado who struggled in school because she was hungry. We had dances both nights and got to meets lots of people. The theme for the weekend was YTGBA You Take God s Breath Away. We discussed people in our lives who take your breath away. It was a great experience and I hope more people come next year. Kaitlyn I had fun the weekend of the retreat. I got to meet new people, make new friends and best of all got to praise God. They had a fabulous speaker. She really went in depth when she spoke. And she really connected with some people. I loved every second of it. I would love to go there this summer for one of the week camps they6 have. Harlie

8 FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL Meeting Minutes April 8th, 2015 NOT APPROVED Members Present: Mark Miller, Chad Erickson, Marie Skoblik, Mike Aigner, Linda Lucke, Pat Frietag, Bev Isrealson Members Absent: Scott Smith, RC Stein, Pastor Ellingson Opening Devotion: May 6th Pat Frietag Communion Assistant: April 19 Chad Erickson Communion Assistant: May 3rd Linda Lucke Offering Counter: All of Council Food Pantry item March: Condiments, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo Secretary s Report motion to approve; Chad Erickson, second; Bev Israelson. Motion passed. Treasurer s Report motion to approve; Pat Freitag, second; Mike Aigner. Motion passed. Council decided to put a message in the next newsletter regarding the offering and our budget and how we currently sit as a congregation. Committee Reports: Finance Scott Smith nothing to report Property & Maintenance RC Stein nothing to report Education Chad Erickson nothing to report Music & Worship Bev Israelson meeting April 15th, planning for Pastor s vacation and other leave. Youth Mike Aigner LYO served 100 people for the Easter Breakfast on Sunday April 6th. Faith Women 12 quilts will be sent to Someplace Safe and 12 quilts will be sent to Lutheran World Relief. Next Thursday April 16th, Faith Women will attend a prayer breakfast at the Hilton Conference Center hosted by New Life Church at 9:30am. Cluster 6 gathering will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead, on Thursday April 23rd at 5:30pm. Mother/ DaughterOther Breakfast will be May 9th at 10am. The speaker will be Tauyna Todd. Stewardship Marie Skoblik nothing to report Endowment Mark Miller Scholarship application deadline is June 15th. Applications need to be in the office at Faith Lutheran by then Decorating Pat Frietag nothing to report Other Old Business North Entrance The second round of bids are in and are higher than the first bids received last year. The Committee is coming up with another plan. Possibly doing most of the work ourselves with contractors helping with some of the work. The committee will meet before the next council meeting and report to council what they recommend on how to proceed with the project. Cleaning Person 2 applicants applied for the cleaning position. The two applicants would like to do the job together. Bev and Lisa will meet with the applicants and explain the job expectations and salary to see if this is something they would be interested in. Previous cleaning companies that bid the job were contacted and were not interested in the job. Bev will report back to the council in May and the council will decide from there whether to accept the applications. Lawn Mowing will be provided by the Erickson boys again this year. New Business Need Synod Assembly Delegate for May Bev & RC will continue to contact members of Faith to see if someone can take Bev s place for the Synod Assembly. RC plans to attend, we need another delegate from Faith Lutheran. Senior Sunday May 3rd (gifts) Marie Skoblik will pick up gifts for Senior Sunday. Brady Johnson, Jacob Lucke, Jessica Church and Savannah Paulson graduate this year. Appoint Council Member Marie Skoblik will be resigning her position on council due to her moving away from the area. She will contact members of Faith Lutheran to see if someone will fill her position until December s annual meeting. American Legion has asked to use the church on May 3rd in the evening for their Spring meeting. Motion by Chad Erickson, second Bev Israelson. Motion approved. Communion Wine It was brought to the councils attention that there was concern over the left over wine after communion being poured back into the wine bottle. The council is recommending to the Altar committee to discard any unused wine, left in the small cups after communion, in the sink in the kitchen. Council meetings Motion by Pat Frietag, second Chad Erickson, to move the council meetings to 7pm instead of 8pm. Motion approved. Adjourn Lord s Prayer FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Meeting Minutes April 15, 2015 NOT APPROVED Members Present: Mark Miller, Chad Erickson, Marie Skoblik, Mike Aigner, Linda Lucke, Pat Frietag, Bev Isrealson, Scott Smith, Pastor Ellingson Others Present: Back Door Ministry Committee Members; Dave Matz, Cindy Nord Members Absent: RC Stein, Purpose: The Back Door Ministry Committee met with Council to discuss the overview of the current plan for the North Entrance, discuss current bids received and how to proceed with the project. Discussion; Current bids came in considerably higher than last years bids, and finding contractors to do the work have become difficult. In 2013 bids came in at $60,000, in 2014 bids came in at $190,000 and in 2015 bids came in at $206,000. BDM has suggested scaling back the project on the north entrance to include; new windows, new lighting, new doors, stucco on outside of building, insulation, some electrical, new heater in stairwell. Also suggested was that we do some of the work ourselves. The BDM Committee would like to know how the council wants to proceed with the project. Motion by Pat Frietag, second by Scott Smith; to follow the recommendations of the BDM Committee to discontinue the original North Entrance building plan. Motion - approved Motion by Chad Erickson, second by Bev Israelson; the BDM Committee will continue to search for bids on the improvements Faith Lutheran Church needs to do. Adjourn Lord s Prayer

9 Faith Lutheran Church 302 1st Street PO Box 175 Wolverton, MN Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 3 9:00 am Sunday school 10:00 am Worship with communion Senior Sunday 11:00 am Fellowship / Coffee 10 HAPPY MOTHER S DAY 9:00 am Sunday school (LAST DAY) 10:00 am Worship - Kids sing 11:00 am Fellowship / Coffee 17 10:00 am Worship with communion 11:00 am Fellowship / Coffee Synod Assembly 24 10:00 am Worship 11:00 am Fellowship / Coffee 31 10:00 am Worship 11:00 am Fellowship / Coffee Altar Committee (April June) Gayle Matz Cindy Nord Linda Lucke May Ushers Nils Hanson Greg Freitag Kirk Lindblom :00 pm Church Council 7 7:00 pm Faith :00 am Mother Daughter Other Brunch Synod Assembly Memorial Day

10 FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH PO BOX ST STREET WOLVERTON, MN Return Service Requested NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 001 Wolverton, MN May Schedule Faith Lutheran Church will return to our summer schedule of 9:30 worship in the month s of June, July, and August. May 3: Senior Sunday, Last day of Sunday school Saturday, May 9: Mother Daughter Other Brunch (10:00) May 10: Mother s Day kids sing, dedication of quilts May 25: Memorial Day Service at Salem Cemetery at 10am Potluck to follow May 31: Lay Service