Luther s Small Catechism

Transcription

1 Volume 20, Issue 7 July August 2017 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 Worship 9:30 a.m. Holy Communion on the first and third Sunday of the month. Coffee Fellowship 10:30 a.m. July Food Pantry Item: Cereal From Our Pastor- Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ; As we continue to reflect on the impact of the Reformation on the world, one of the great writings that came out of that time and that is still central to our faith development is the Small Catechism. In the preface to the Study Edition of the Small Catechism commemorating the 500 years of Reformation are these words: Luther wrote the Small Catechism for the home, so that parents could explain to their children in simple terms the most important things in the Christian faith. For Luther the household is a house church. What a gift the Catechism has been to the church and the home down through the years. Peace, Pastor Ellingson Luther s Small Catechism Of all the things Martin Luther wrote, he is probably best known for two things: the hymn A mighty fortress is our God and the Small Catechism. Interestingly, Luther himself was ambivalent about the lasting value of most of his writings, with two exceptions and one of them was this little pamphlet, the Small Catechism. And this from someone whose writings changed the whole landscape of the Western religious world. Most of us know the Small Catechism well. Many spent hours memorizing it as teens. But how did it come to be, and what is it that makes it so helpful? In 2017 we are observing the 500th anniversary of the Reformation s start, when Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses. If that was the act of a passionate young man, a decade later he was facing the needs of the church he was reforming. If it was no longer enough just to go through the motions, following the lead of a Latin-rite priest, then what was at the heart of what people needed to know and how were they to learn that? To meet that need, Luther the pastor and teacher created two catechisms the Large (primarily intended for pastors) and the Small (for use in the home). August Food Pantry Item Powdered Beverages A catechism is a document that lays out the basic ideas of religion in a simple question-and -answer format. For the Small Catechism, Luther chose to open

2 up some of the basics of Christian faith: the Ten Commandments, the Apostles Creed, the Lord s Prayer, the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, and the Office of the Keys and Confession. It s worth noticing that he based this teaching document on what already existed rather than starting from scratch and inventing a whole new system. Luther was committed to the church catholic. His genius is shown in the way he opened up these statements of faith. The famous question in each case was, in German, Was ist das? In English, most of us know this as What does this mean? but a literal translation would be What is that? And then he proceeded to tell, in beautifully simple language, what each commandment, each part of the creed, each petition of the Lord s Prayer, tells us about God and about us as God s children. These explanations set out a God who is not the stern judge of Luther s own childhood, but a loving parent who offers us unconditional grace and only then invites us to live accordingly. How profound was Luther s achievement in writing the Small Catechism? A mark of it can be seen in the simple fact that nearly five hundred years after its first publication in 1529, and after being translated into hundreds of languages, it is still one of the most effective tools for learning and teaching what the Christian faith is all about. From a 1550 edition Copyright 2016 Augsburg Fortress. Permission is granted for congregations to reproduce these pages provided copies are for local use only and this copyright notice appears. Faith Share and Care BAPTISM: Sadie Anne Bohner, daughter of Kirk and Sara Bohner was baptized at Faith Lutheran on June 18. Sadie was born on January 10, FUNERAL: The funeral for Effie Weik will be Friday, June 30 at 10:30. Effie passed away June 23 at the age of 91. Jane Buchholz Sheyenne Crossing Long Term Care West Fargo, ND Barney Edwards Eventide, Moorhead, MN Louie Gruenberg River Pointe Moorhead, MN Marion Israelson Eventide Senior Living Moorhead, MN Rose Hanson Bethany Grace Pointe Fargo, ND Elaine Johnson River Pointe Moorhead, MN Linda Lucke at home Wolverton, MN Arlene Nelson Eventide Senior Living Moorhead, MN Keith Nelson at home Wolverton, MN Myrtle Nord St. Francis Breckenridge, MN 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. Organ Informational Meeting A Congregational Information Meeting was held at Faith on June 4 to discuss the options of replacing the organ. Two options were presented Pipe/digital organ installed by Nelson Organ Digital Organ by Rodgers Organs Copies of the written proposal are available in the church office. Another organ informational meeting has been set for September 24, 2017 after worship. Service Schedule during Pr. Ellingson s Vacation Pr. Arland Jacobson will lead the service on July 16. Merrill Piepkorn and Roy Larson will provide lots of special music during the July 23 worship service. This lay service will be lead by RC Stein. The July 30th service will be lead by Dave Matz.

3 Save the Date October 29 Recognition of 500th Anniversary of the Reformation 125th Anniversary of Wolverton Norwegian 50th Anniversary of Faith Lutheran 25th Anniversary of Pr. Ellingson ordination and Confirmation Faith Lutheran celebrates with the Ellingson Family by recognizing that Pr. Ellingson was ordained in years ago. He has served as Faith Lutheran s minister for 18 years. Anniversaries Recognized at Assembly At the Northwest Minnesota Synod Assembly in June, Faith Lutheran Church was recognized as celebrating a 125th Anniversary. In addition, Pr. Clay Ellingson was recognized for 25 years of ministry of word and sacrament. In 1892, the Wolverton Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed. It built its first church on land donated by Charles Nord north east of Wolverton in That site is home to the Faith Lutheran Cemetery. In 1931 the current church structure was built in Wolverton and has since been added on to in 1971 and In December of 1966, it consolidated with the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Salem Church which formed in Faith Lutheran Church is celebrating two anniversaries; 125 years since the Wolverton Norwegian organized and 50 years since the consolidation of Salem Lutheran and Wolverton Norwegian. We will be celebrating all of these anniversaries along with confirmation on Sunday, October 29 as part of Faith Lutheran s recognition of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. More information will be in the September newsletter. Family picture taken at Pastor Ellingson ordination in October Birthdays and Anniversaries July Birthdays 1 Erica Halverson 2 Lois Picotte 4 Chloe Nord 6 Carter Erickson 8 Harlie Nord 9 Mike Byars 10 Jordan Annette 10 Jeremy Maesse 10 Tania Merritt 13 Tony Emerfoll 14 Marie Skoblik 15 Kyle Affield 15 Madison Nord 15 Kaitlyn Israelson 17 Ben Krump 19 Elijah Beyer 19 Maren Cassidy 20 Adrianne Tucker 21 Colton Mastin 21 Mason Tucker 23 Randy Emerson 23 Brendon Skoblik 24 Elizabeth Aigner 24 Kirk Lindblom 24 Kaden Schroeder 25 Nancy Israelson 25 Lisa Miller 25 Ron Wilner 28 Boden Schroeder 29 Jessica Mastin 29 Lexi Hoeft 30 Chad Erickson 30 Natalie Nelson 30 Darin Smith July Anniversaries 9 Spencer and Lanette Nord 17 Jay and Cindy Nord 19 Calvin and Tammy Annett 28 Clay and Sue Ellingson August Birthdays 1 Barb Wise 2 David Matz 4 Kristi Edwards 4 David Israelson 6 Sheyenne Dockter 8 Sage Tuel 9 Dennis Bohner 9 Jim Lucke 11 Scott Blilie 11 Jessica Nelson 11 Zayden Smeby 12 Dallas Israelson 15 Tammy Dockter 15 Eric Stark 15 Nev Tracy 16 Riley Kappes 17 Adrie Israelson 19 Amanda Nelson 20 Clay Ellingson 21 Claire Aigner 22 Kiyara Jinadasa 22 Candace Johnson 23 Karen Thompson 26 Mandy Schroeder 27 Grant Israelson 28 Carley Stark 29 Anton Smeby 30 Beverly Israelson 31 Marlow Cassidy 31 Delmar Nord August Anniversaries 12 Amy and Raymond Traut 16 Jeff and Sue Rasmussen 21 Erick and Ellen Stark 22 Bradley and Vicky Nelson 25 John and Jessi Kappes 26 David and Gayle Matz 31 Karl and Karen Thompson

4 Build a Burger with Jesus! V B S FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL Meeting Minutes June NOT APPROVED Members Present: Mike Aigner, LaDawn Turner, Chad Erickson, Mark Miller, Ross Aigner, Dave Matz, Debi Byars and Robert Stein Members Absent: Scott Smith Other Present: Pastor Ellingson Prayer: Pastor Ellingson Opening Devotions: Debi Byars July Devotions: Dave Matz Communion Assistant June 18 th : Debi Byars Communion Assistant July 2: Dave Matz Offering Counter: All of Council Food Pantry Item for July cereal August powdered beverages Secretary s Report: Approved with no changes. Treasurer s Report: Approved with no changes Leadership Development RC Stein Committee Reports: Finance - Scott Smith no report Property and Maintenance- Wally is working on getting someone to do the panels in fellowship room in basement. Wally has replaced the light bulbs in the side lights in the sanctuary. Motion made and second for property and maintenance to purchase and install a new hot water heater without a rod for the kitchen-passed. Motion made and second to get a condition report on the church roof from Doug Ness and Krueger Roofing-passed. Motion made and second to get an estimate of cost for the electrical hook ups to put hook up a generator and the cost to install a usable generator. Passed Education - Chad Erickson: VBS is June 20 th Music and Worship Debi Byars: nothing to report Youth - Mike Aigner: LYO went to Mexican Village and Thunder Road Faith Women and Decorating- LaDawn Turner: Mother Daughter Tea was a great success Stewardship and mutual ministry: Ross Aigner A work in progress. Endowment - Mark Miller: meets in July. Old Business: Organ Replacement Informational meeting June 4 th was very well attended and many good questions. Next informational meeting is set-up for Sept. 17th with the 24 th as a backup. New Business: Report on Equipping congregation: Report from RC and LaDawn. Report on Conference Meetings: Report from RC Constitutional Amendment tabled to July meeting Kickball Thursday nights in Wolverton everyone is welcome!! Motion and second to supply ice cream bars Thursday June 15 th from Faith Lutheran. Passed Debi Byars will pick them up. Adjourn The Lord s Prayer Submitted by Debi Byars

5 WELCA 101: What does WELCA even mean? Have you wondered what is Faith Women all about and how does it differ from WELCA? What is WELCA stand for? Faith Women is the women s organization here at Faith Lutheran Church. They meet about five times a year, create quilts together for missions and for high school seniors, serve funerals and other meals, gather for book reviews, host the Mother Daughter Other Tea, and hold an annual church auction where the proceed benefit area organizations as well as our church. WELCA stands for Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Faith Women is Faith Lutheran s WELCA organization. In the Winter publication of the SNOW newsletter (Northwest MN Synodical Women s Organization s newsletter), a list of glossary terms appeared that helps us not so familiar with the women's organization of our church make sense of the verbiage used. Glossary of Terms Assembly term for convention by the ELCA. Churchwide designation for the national ELCA Conference a division of a Synod; I.e., Northwestern Minnesota is divided into eight conferences 1-Roseau, 2- Thief River Falls, 3-Crookston, 4-Bemidji, 5-Moorhead, 6-Detroit Lakes, 7-Fergus Falls, 8- Alexandria. Congregational unit Local women s group, WELCA, Ladies Aid, or as we at Faith Lutheran call our group Faith Women Convention CWO NW MN A meeting where governing decisions are made for an organization by elected delegates (voting members) Churchwide Women s Organization, or the national ELCA Women s Organization Northwestern Minnesota NW MN SWO Northwestern Minnesota Synodical Women s Organization ELCA Gathering Evangelical Lutheran Church in America a meeting for informational purposes Region an area comprised of a number of Synods or Synodical, i.e., NW MN is part of Region 3. Participant SQWO Synod Synodical Triennial Voting Member WELCA non-voting attendee a t a convention, an observer Synodical Women s Organization designation for an area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Faith is in the Northwest MN Synod designation for the Women s Group within an area Meeting held every third year, i.e., 2011, 2014, 2017, etc. This year s is in Minneapolis in July. preferred term for delegate Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America UPCOMING DATES Faith Women meets next on September 10 after worship. All women of Faith Lutheran are encouraged to attend. The next book club will be October 4 at 9AM. Michelle DeRusha s book The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk: Katharina & Martin Luther will be reviewed. All are welcome.

6 FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH PO BOX ST STREET WOLVERTON, MN Return Service Requested NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 001 Wolverton, MN Faith Lutheran Church s Summer worship schedule 9:30 worship in the month s of June, July, and August. July Schedule July 4 Happy Independence Day! July 5 Church council 8PM July 16 Rev. Arland Jacobson July 18 Endowment 7:30PM July 23 Lay Service (RC Stein) with special music by Merrill Piepkorn & Roy Larson July 30 Lay Service (Dave Matz) August Schedule August 2 Church Council Meeting at 8 PM August 8 Music and Worship Meeting at 9:30AM July Ushers Randy Emerson Dave Matz August Ushers Robert Nord Wayne Krump July September Altar Committee Judy Getz Leone Nelson Lois Picotte