THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LORD!

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1 The Voice of May May THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LORD! It is a joy to write this front page, because there is so much to be thankful for at Galilee Lutheran Church. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Thank you all for coming together to make Holy Week such a meaningful, beautiful celebration of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Thank you to Brenda and Dell for preaching and presiding, leading us along Jesus journey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Thank you musicians and Altar Guild for transforming the sanctuary for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Thank you parents for your hard work assisting our children in Easter Breakfast preparations and fun on the Saturday before Easter. Thank you all who bought tulips and lilies, and for the stunning spray of flowers on the wooden cross. The chancel looked like the Garden of Eden on Easter morning. Thank you all who made the effort to bring your extended families and to invite friends and acquaintances to church, to come and see that the Lord is good! Thank you property committee who put in many, many hours of hard work this spring to make this house of God so welcoming and in tip top shape. For all this I am grateful. Our partnership with our brothers and sisters of Minnesota Faith Chinese continues to be a way that God s Holy Spirit works through us, building us up in faith and love as one body in Jesus Christ. I am grateful that this month we praise the Lord together again in a combined bilingual service, followed by an agape feast and fellowship. We are grateful for the blessings of Adult Forums, Sunday School and Confirmation, all of which are soon coming to a close for the summer. God bless all who participated in multiple gifted ways to nurture our faith and increase our knowledge in the Gospel. Did you know it has been five years since we had a Confirmation at Galilee? Cameron Anderson celebrated his Affirmation of Baptism in Now coming up on the 21st of May we will Wayne Christensen cooks pancakes for Easter Breakfast be joyful witnesses of Louise Fehrman s Confirmation. Thanks be to God! GLOW is glowing thanks to the hard work of the GLOW Team. Our neighbors are coming for food, sports, fun activities in nature, making Mother s Day gifts, and for the adults this year we have computer classes. Spring has definitely sprung, and our Rice Street Community Garden is coming into full swing. God has created a real miracle through Galilee congregation s faithfulness, hard work and caring for the neighbor bringing hundreds of people together to grow food and flowers. I have to say it one more time. Thanks be to God. -Pastor Dana K. Nelson Jim Zrust serves sausages to Dan Nerud

2 THE SMALL CATECHISM CHALLENGE ACCEPT The Challenge... 1 The Ten Commandments 2 The Apostles Creed 3 The Lord s Prayer 4 Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16 (Holy Baptism) 5 John 20:22-23 (Holy Absolution) 6 The Words of Institution 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (Lord s Supper) The 3rd Article of the Apostles Creed I believe the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. ~Martin Luther, 500 years ago What does this mean? I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me though the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins- mine and those of all believers. On the last day, the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me, and all believers in Christ, eternal life. This is most certainly true. ~By Martin Luther, 500 years ago At our great celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ last month (Easter Sunday) I gave a children s message teaching our young people the meaning of two words that begin with A. Do you remember the two words? Alleluia and Amen. Alleluia means Praise God. And Amen means true. There are other ways we could translate Amen, such as So be it, or Yes. Notice that the Apostles Creed ends with the word Amen. True! So be it! Yes! Even Martin Luther s explanation begins and ends with such affirmations. I believe, and This is most certainly true. What sticks out most for me about Luther s explanation of the 3rd Article is that human beings, like me and you and our brother Martin, are not the main actors in our spiritual life. Rather the Holy Spirit of God is the source of faith and the one true actor in our lives. Because of the action of the Spirit we receive enlightenment, power, faith, discipleship, direction, trust in the Gospel and belief in Jesus Christ. What a comfort to know that we are not responsible for our own salvation. The Holy Spirit of God is. Amen and alleluia! Cut and take with you or hang in a place you ll see often/ The 3rd Article of the Apostles Creed I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. 2

3 They ll know we are Christians by our FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR There was a song written in the 1960 s that Christians have sung a lot over the years at their gatherings: They ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love. It s a song with a powerful message, and I love the idea that we are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. The thing is, Christians don t have a corner on love; there s lots of love around that comes from people regardless of any faith they may have or not have. So, what do Christians have that is unique? How can they know we are Christians? I think it s the way we worship, especially when we partake of the Eucharist. To me, that is the most important part of our gather[ing] people together to hear God s love in Jesus Christ (a part of Galilee s mission statement). Our liturgy contains many precious verses of scripture, we sing inspiring words, and we hear the Word interpreted. All this leads up to Communion, which is a beautiful way that we can be reminded of God s love for us in Christ, in the bread and the wine. It doesn t exactly fit with the melody, but They ll know we are Christians by our worship is a way to think about who we are as we serve God and tell the Good News to all who will hear it! Thanks be to God! Jo Ann French Thoughts from the Worship and Music Team This team is grateful to serve our Lord and Galilee by working together with the leaders in the church and the congregation to build and enhance our worship service. We are thankful for all who participate in, or support by prayer, this ministry by giving of your gifts in support of God s work. A special shout out to all the teams that work behind the scenes, such as the awesome Altar Guild Team. It is now May and we have gone through the Lenten season and Easter s celebration of the resurrection of Christ. This is the 3rd year we have partnered with North Emanuel and Christ Lutheran on Capitol Hill for our Wednesday Lenten services. Our team would greatly appreciate any feedback on what you think about the Lenten and Easter services. For instance, combining Wednesday services, what did you enjoy most; what was most meaningful; what would you like to see enhanced or changed; any other thoughts you have. Please provide your input to any member of the team, which are listed below. Note our next special service will be on May 7 for our combined service with Minnesota Faith Chinese Lutheran Church. We look foward to this meaningful and joyous service. Worship and Music Team: Lori O Keefe, Jo Ann French, Teresa Shores, Jackie Nerud, Brenda Boogren, Pat Craft and Pastor Dana Growing Sunday School We are so grateful to God this spring that our Sunday School program has grown. We added an extra class to tend to new little children who are ages 4 and under. Thank you to our seminary student (Christian Pulbic Leader) Brooke Danczyk for teaching them. And God blessed our Sunday School with new Nepali friends. Welcome to all! 3

4 AROUND OUR CHURCH Young at Heart May brings flowers, Mother s Day, and the end of Sunday school and Adult Forum (for the summer), but Young at Heart continues for the social group at Galilee when we gather together for lunch and socializing the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. So if you are able, we invite all adults to join us on Tuesday, May 9 and again on May 23 at noon for a potluck and an afternoon of fun. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Karen at BIG Youth News! Hey youth who are currently in 7th grade through 12th grades (8-12th grade at the time of September registration), SAVE THE DATE in your calendars for next year, June 24 July , We are going to Houston, Texas! June 27 - July 1, 2018 we will be gathering in Houston for the ELCA Youth Gathering. Every three years, 30,000 high school youth and their adult leaders gather for a week of faith formation known as the ELCA Youth Gathering. Through days spent in interactive learning, worship, Bible study, service and fellowship, young people grow in faith and are challenged and inspired to live their faith in their daily lives. 30 Days of Gratitude! 10 What memory are you grateful for? 5 What family member are you grateful for today? 20 What teacher are you grateful for? 15 What silly moment are you grateful for? June 24-27, the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event is a pre-event to the Gathering. It empowers young people of color and those whose primary language is other than English to claim their story as a part of God s story. 25 What happened today that you are grateful for? 30 What promise are you grateful for? 4

5 In July 2011, South Sudan became an independent nation. With this independence came the opportunity to share the good news with a people of many tribes, languages and traditions. HOW WE ARE HELPING Since the country gained its independence, it has been dealing with immense internal conflict among its many tribes. There is ongoing displacement of families due to the armed conflict. Men and women, and youth in particular, flocking to the urban centers are seeking a place for trauma healing to become productive workers and members of society. Local partners in South Sudan, including ELCA Sudanese congregations, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the South Sudan Council of Churches, feel the establishment of a Lutheran church and presence would contribute to the efforts underway to create peace and reconciliation between those of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. These partners have proposed an exciting new initiative in partnership with the ELCA through its Global Ministries program. With the support of ELCA members and congregations (us!), together, we can raise $1,225,000 to establish the Evangelical Lutheran Church Africa Mission in South Sudan. The project includes building a new Lutheran Center and clinic in Juba (see photo on right), training mission leaders, conducting outreach programs and, ultimately, raising up an ethnically and culturally diverse church. In addition, based on an evangelism strategy found effective in other African nations, the Lutheran Center hopes to offer information technology and English-as-a-second-language courses, contributing to youth employment. mission personnel facilitating and coordinating outreach and proclamation in the emerging Lutheran church in the new nation of South Sudan. Please continue to pray for his service. Our Community Center and Clinic in South Sudan In November of 2016, the ELCA (with our GLOBE offering help) broke ground on a Lutheran center and clinic in Juba, in an area that lacks basic health and education services. The center will be a place for the community to find hope by providing classes, including computer training, and a health clinic which will be the country s first and only place for fistula surgery for women and girls. For many South Sudanese adults, this will be their first educational experience. Our GLOBE goal is $1000 this year. We are at $ Thank you to all who help with this project. No matter how much you feel called to give, your generous donation makes a difference in the lives of the people of South Sudan. With our help, we are making this possible to establish the Evangelical Lutheran Church Africa Mission in South Sudan. OUR ELCA MISSIONARY IN SOUTH SUDAN Many Galileans met the Rev. Mawien Ariik during his visit to our church last summer. Mawien serves as ELCA 5

6 WORSHIP & EDUCATION Sunday School Sundays at 11 a.m. through May 14. Confirmation Sundays at 11 a.m. through May 14. Bible Study Thursdays at 11 a.m. GLOW GLOW, Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. Adult Forums In the library Sunday, May 7 Faith/Galilee Joint Service, no Adult Forum, potluck luncheon! Sunday, May 14 Garden Tour, It s Mother s Day! Celebrate with a garden tour. Last day of Sunday School and Confirmation classes. Sunday, May 21 Confirmation Celebration! Join us in celebrating Louise Fehrman s Confirmation and to thank all Sunday School teachers! Potluck luncheon! Sunday, May 28 Memorial Day Weekend. No forum. Prayer Requests Chaka Adams (friend of Pamela Beverly) Janis Behrens (needs a kidney) Lois LaVon Brase Rick Eagan (friend of Dawn Babin) Earl Eberhardt Betty Link Ettel Dr. Roger Ettel Pat and Joyce Frattalone (friends of the Christensens) Lyn Grunewald Dan Hayne Lorrie Hayne Ian (friend of Joyce Solberg) Linda (sister of Sandy Ebert) Haley Steffen (family of the O Keefes) Ron Thunhorst (Deb Anderson s father) Family and friends of Bob Troutman (relative of the Petersons) Our sister church in Uhominyi, Tanzania Missionaries in South Sudan and Romania May Birthdays 3 Jerry Brown 3 Kaja Westegaard 4 Caroline Herman 5 Jeanette Uran 6 Terry O Keefe 7 Eleanor Nagel 14 Jean Schneider 17 Joyce Solberg 20 Sonia Vicuña 23 Howard French 26 Roger Ettel 31 George Johnson Worship Volunteers ACOLYTE MAY 7 Anthony Ososki 14 Monique Taylor Tana Ososki ALTAR GUILD MAY 7 Karen Groebner Karen Groebner 28 COMMUNION ASSISTANT MAY 7 Joint Service 14 Sheika Taylor 21 Brenda Boogren 28 Miriam Peterson LECTOR MAY 7 Joint Service 14 Liana Taylor 21 Teresa Shores 28 Jo Ann French REFRESHMENTS MAY 7 Joint Service Potluck 14 Darla Nelson 21 Potluck Luncheon 28 USHER MAY 7 Jim Zrust & Abe Watson 14 Henry Taylor & Sonia Rivas 21 Karen & Steve Groebner 28 Lori & Teri O Keefe Decorating for Easter Breakfast! 6 Pictured clockwise: Nijah, Kendra, Ethan, Liana, Autumn, Tana, Anthony, Dashawn, Adrian, Jeremy, Louise.

7 MAY 2017 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY NOTE! Worship at 10:30 a.m :30a Garden Mtg 9a Staff Mtg 7p Worship & Music Mtg 9a-9p Pastor s 5:30p GLOW 6p Bells of Galilee 7:15p Galilee Choir 11a Bible Study 1p Healing Touch (by appt) 6p Property Team Mtg 6:30p Powder Puff Clown Club 6p MFCLC Bible Study 6a Chinese Prayer 9a-1p SPRING CLEANUP DAY! 11a ICFC Choir - DS 9a Prayers for Healing 10:30a Galilee/Faith Joint Worship 11:45 Joint Potluck Luncheon 12:15p St. Paul Friend s Church -DS 2:30p La Hermosa Gathering :30a Garden Mtg 6p Healing Touch Exchange 9a Staff Mtg 12p Young at Heart 11a Bible Study 6:30p St. Paul Clown Club 6:30p Congregational 6a Chinese Prayer 9:30a Garden Work Day at Garden 11a ICFC Choir - DS Council 9a-9p Pastor s 1p Villa Park Devotions 5:30p GLOW 6p Bells of Galilee 7:15p Galilee Choir MOTHER S DAY! 9:30a Galilee Worship 10:30a Fellowship Time 11a Sunday School, Confirmation, Adult Forum 11a MFCLC Worship 12:15p St. Paul Friend s Church -DS 2:30p La Hermosa Gathering VOICE ARTICLES DUE 9:30a Garden Mtg 9a Staff Mtg 11a Bible Study 6p MFCLC Bible Study 9a-9p Pastor s 6p Bells of Galilee 7:15p Galilee Choir 6a Chinese Prayer 9:30a Garden Work Day at Garden 11a ICFC Choir - DS :30a Galilee Worship 10:30a Fellowship Time 11a End of Year & Confirmation Celebration Potluck Lunch 11a MFCLC Worship 12:15p St. Paul Friend s Church -DS 2:30p La Hermosa Gathering 9:30a Garden Mtg 9a Staff Mtg 12p Young at Heart 9a-9p Pastor s 5:30p GLOW 6p Music Ministry Party 11a Bible Study 12a ICFC Prayer Vigil 6a Chinese Prayer 9:30a Garden Work Day at Garden 11a ICFC Choir - DS 9:30a Galilee Worship 10:30a Fellowship Time 11a MFCLC Worship 12:15p St. Paul Friend s Church -DS 2:30p La Hermosa Gathering MEMORIAL DAY 9a Staff Mtg 9a-9p Pastor s 7:15p Galilee Choir Location Key: DS - Downstairs S - Sanctuary FH - Fellowship Hall 7

8 Galilee Evangelical Lutheran Church May McCarrons Blvd N (at Rice Street) Roseville, MN Phone: Sunday Worship: 9:30 a.m. Office Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays 8 a.m. noon Thursdays 8 a.m. 3 p.m. For the lastest pictures and more, find us on Facebook! Congregational Council Joyce Solberg, President Pat Craft, Vice-President Barb Strenge, Treasurer Miriam Peterson, Financial Secretary Sharell Babin, Secretary Pastor Dana Nelson Deb Anderson Joe Juneau Bob Ebert Darla Nelson Dora Taylor Veniessia Taylor Staff Pastor: Dana Nelson dnelson.galilee@gmail.com Music Director: Jo Ann French jfrench.galilee@gmail.com Organists: Raymond Nottidge & Tim Rand Bells of Galilee: Cynthia Erickson cynthia.erickson@minnmicro.com Administrative Assistant: Anne Rykken office.galilee@gmail.com Galilee s Mission Statement To gather people together to hear the story of God s love in Jesus Christ, to be nurtured in faith and knowledge, and to share the Good News through word and deed. Announcements 1.) We are in need of a new volunteer coordinator for Galilee s Sunday School. It is a one year commitment. Could also be co-lead. Are you interested? Do you want more information? Please talk to Pastor Dana. We are so grateful for Jay Fehrman, who faithfully led our Sunday School program for the past four years! Thank you Jay. 2.) There are more garden plots available at the Community Gardens across the street! Plots have already been allocated/assigned at the end of April, and there are extra! The cost is $20 for the whole year. Limit of one plot per household. Let the Community Garden Committee know ASAP! i.e. Ron Peterson, Pastor Dana Nelson or Sherry Sanders of the Lake McCarrons Neighborhood Association. 3) Two sign up sheets are in the kiosk for the upcoming pot lucks, May 7 and May 21. We share the air. At Galilee, we STRIVE to be fragrance-free! To submit information for publication in the monthly VOICE newsletter, to be posted on our website, or to receive the VOICE newsletter by , send information and/or address to the church office at: office.galilee@gmail.com. Articles must be received by the 15th of each month.