The Spirit FAREWELL TO PASTOR ALI & FAMILY POTLUCK DINNER PASTORAL VISTS. In This Issue

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1 The Spirit Eagle Lake Lutheran Church November 2018 As I sit down to write this article, I realize my time at Eagle Lake is quickly coming to an end. A mere 3 Sundays of leading worship left, one more council meeting, one more confirmation event, this is my last article for the Spirit and the list of lasts could go on and on. REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS ENDS NOVEMBER 4th This is has been a journey over the last 5 and ½ plus years. A journey where not everything has been perfect, but a journey taken together with a God who loves us more than we could ever know. A part of this journey is the awareness of how God has brought us all together for this period of time. God has held every day of this journey here, as God holds everyday of our lives on earth, in God s almighty and all powerful hands. This place and journey will forever play a role in who I am as a pastor and Eagle Lake will also hold a special place in our hearts because this is where our boys were baptized and where they first learned about their place in God s family because of those of you who have nurtured them over these years. I am grateful for what God has given us during this time and I will miss Eagle Lake and people here in ways you will probably never know. While these last days of my ministry here are filled with a lot of details and to do lists, they are also filled with an awareness and a commitment to seeing God in the midst of these last days. I am encouraged in knowing that God s hands hold us. And as we continue on our journeys wherever they may go, it is still in God s hands. We are surrounded by God s love and God s deep concern for God s people and God s mission in this world. It is God and our common bond in Christ that will connect us and strengthen us for all the journey in front of us holds. And in these days, that is where I take my strength and refuge...god s loving hands. In parting, I would like to encourage you to look for God in this world and in this place, to notice how God is in our journey, at work in this world and how your life and your journey is in God s hands. Farewell and God s speed, FAREWELL TO PASTOR ALI & FAMILY POTLUCK DINNER Sunday, November 11th will be Pastor Ali s last Sunday. There will be a Potluck Dinner following worship. We wish her the best in her new call. PASTORAL VISTS Please call the church office and let us know if you desire a pastoral visit especially if you are going to be hospitalized or having health issues. If it is an emergency feel free to call Pastor Ali (218) In This Issue Pastor s Letter WELCA News Treasurer s Report Council Minutes Election Day Stew Feed Care Packages Pastor Ali Living in Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we serve others. (Mission Statement of Eagle Lake Lutheran Church)

2 Larry s Letter When you receive this newsletter, church council and mutual ministry will have undertaken the task to fill the interim vacancy at Eagle Lake Church. Pastor Ali accepted a call to Hope Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls. I will miss her guidance, scripture-based messages and organization that helped keep all of us focused on the mission and ministry of our church. I want to thank Pastor Ali for her dedication and service to our church and wish her and her family the very best as they transition to another service field in God s kingdom. I encourage each of you to express your own feeling of gratitude for all she has done to help you along life s journey. By now, you have received a letter from church council stating our 2018 financial shortfall and asking you to consider an increase in your giving during the last two months of the year. Traditionally, year-end giving does increase, but even so, we project to have a shortfall of about $10,000 in contributions to cover 2018 expenses. We would appreciate your extra gifts to close this gap in the operating budget. We want to end the year in a strong financial position to enable planning for next year will be a year of transition as we seek to understand what kind of church we wish to be and to find the person to call to fill the pastoral vacancy. Together we can make a difference in fulfilling God s plan for this congregation. In Christ s service, Larry Congregation President Friends of Eagle Lake, Thank you all for the hospitality and fellowship during my visit recently - and thanks for the support of Haiti Medical Mission. We really appreciate it. Kevin Wallevand EDUCATION SCHEDULE 9:00 am on Sunday s November 4: Intergenerational Faith Formation (All ages) Bible Project November 11: Adult Forum (Bible Study) and Sunday School November 18: Adult Forum and Sunday School November 25: NO EDUCATION HOUR AFFIRMATION U SCHEDULE 6pm-8pm Wednesdays (7th, 8th and 9th graders only) November 7: 6-8 pm at Zion Amor pm at 1st Lutheran November 14: 6-8 pm at Zion Amor pm at 1st Lutheran November 21: No Affirmation U November 28: 6-8 pm at Zion Amor pm at 1st Lutheran DECORATING THE CHURCH FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON Your help is needed in decorating the church for Christmas. The Worship Committee has scheduled it for November 30th at 3:30 PM. We welcome church members to come help. A light supper will be served afterwards. THE SPIRIT ARTICLES ARE DUE IN THE OFFICE THE 20TH OF EACH MONTH Interested in being a part of the Eagle Lake Family? Are you new to the area or new to Eagle Lake Lutheran? Are you or someone you know interested in being a member of Eagle Lake Lutheran Church? If so, please contact the church office. OTC-LYO on Facebook! Are you a 7th-12th grader? Do you want to know what events are happening for OTC-LYO (our area youth group)? Check it out on Facebook in the OTC-LYO Headquarters group page. Scripture Readers for NOVEMBER November 4: November 11: November 18: November 25: Vonda P. Lois Ringquist Needed Doris Nill ALL SAINTS SUNDAY On November 4th, All Saints Sunday, we will honor the saints who have gone before us. During the worship service, the names will be read and a candle lit in memory of that person. NO BEER AND HYMNS in November. Join us on December 2nd for Carols and Spirits

3 NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY S WELCA NEWS WELCA Bible Studies: November 8th: 9:30 AM Janet Gast, Hostess Linda Green, Leader Think about attending our Bible sessions. Our lessons are from the Gather for Faith and Action. Extra copies can be picked up in the church office. Let s invite some of our new members and/or bring a guest. WELCA General Meeting October 15th We served 403 people at the Friendship Dinner and raised $4, after expenses. A discussion about the 150th Anniversary of Eagle Lake Church, which will be held in We recommend that the event be catered so that everyone could enjoy the celebration. WELCA will save money each year in preparation of the celebration. We are seeking 2 people to chair the Newborn Kits. Thanks to Carol Wahl and Claudia Loll for their time as chairpersons. Connie Brust has contacted the Good Samaritan Home to serve pumpkin cake to residents and friends on Tuesday, November 13th. She needs volunteers to bake 4 cakes and to assist in serving the treats. Doris has volunteered to host the Christmas Party as her home again this year. Circle the date of Thursday, December 6th at 6:30 PM. Martha Circle will be in charge of desserts and it was decided to bring an item for the Food Shelf in lieu of gifts to exchange. It was decided to spend $5,000 for benevolences this year. Most decisions have been made, but will check to see what needs the Battle Lake Child Care Center might have. The Election Day Stew Feed is coming up on Tuesday, November 6th. Call me with any questions and concerns. Deb Uselman, WELCA President Eagle Lake Church has a AED available if the need would arise. It is located on the east side of the Sanctuary doors. 1 Tim Sweazey 12 Gloria Flaten Alexa Last 13 Thomas Stewart 2 Mason Dalluge 14 Joel Gaarsland 3 Tanya Koski 16 Gail Meyers Jeremy Larson 20 Roger Hanson 5 Brenna Ward Sarah Wrenn Jordan Willgohs 21 Sandra Olson 6 Tyler Bengtson 23 Chrissy Osborne Barry Bergem 25 Emily Negrin 7 Brent Larson 26 Jessica Bengtson Neil Willgohs Madison Dorn Janis Bresson Diane Johnson 8 Karen Riba 28 Candi Davenport Chad Stoltenberg 29 James Kent 9 Michael Woodroofe 30 John Rose 10 Denise Arntson Aiden Obright Did we miss your birthday? Please let us know. Eagle Lake Lutheran Church ELECTION DAY STEW FEED November 6th, :00-7:00 PM Free Meal Donations accepted for local Charities 6 miles South of Battle Lake on Hwy 78 And 1 mile East on County Hwy 81 CARE PACKAGES The Outreach Committee is again taking donations (a few examples: micro wave popcorn, crackers, hot chocolate mix, granola bars, coffee, etc. but in single serving size, not full boxes) to send out Care packages to student members of our church who are enrolled in post secondary studies. There is a box in the narthex. We will be collecting items on the 4th and the 11th of November. If you have or know of a church member student who is currently enrolled in post secondary studies, please contact Pat Erickson at or Myrna at the church office with the name and mailing information. Memorials & Honorariums Quilters! The Eagle Lake Quilters group will begin working on quilts Monday, November 5th and 19th. We meet from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. We not only work on quilts but have fun, laughter and fellowship. The morning ends with lunch. Come join us. In memory of A deline Oscarson Holte General Memorials In memory of Marie Gunderson Music Fund Newborn Kits

4 EAGLE LAKE CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018 The meeting was called to order by President Larry Loll at 9:30 a.m. at the church. Opening devotions were led by Pastor Ali. Minutes of the September Meeting were approved. Treasurer's report delivered by Larry Loll. $8, income pledge decrease. Mortgage giving is up; however, we may still be short of projected income. A letter will be sent to the congregation from council detailing budget issues. Pastor's Report: Kevin Wallevand will present next Sunday, October 14. There will be a split for charities from the stew feed offering: The Battle Lake Food Shelter and the Battle Lake Day Care Center. Communications - Nominating Committee. Criteria for council members reviewed to include: 1. Gender balance. 2. Other issues - people living away during winter. First meeting of "Small gathering" groups completed. This was enlightening for all involved. Notes will be taken at these meetings, followed by consolidation of notes from all three meetings. Pastor Ali shared a Letter of Call from Hope Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls. She has accepted this call. Her final day in her office at Eagle Lake Church will be November 16. December 16 will be her first Sunday at Hope Lutheran. Interim pastoral coverage will be needed here as of December 1st. Pastor Ali's final Sunday preaching at Eagle Lake Church will be November 11. We will have a farewell dinner. WELCA will be in charge of this. Larry will contact the synod regarding an interim replacement for Pastor Ali. We'll need to purchase a new computer for the pastor. The current computer is six years old and not working properly. Jeff Olson made a motion that Pastor Ali can take her current computer with her when she leaves Eagle Lake since a new one needs to be purchased anyway. Motion seconded by Scott Larson. Motion passed. Security: Jeff Olson. Nothing to report at the current time. Bat issue: A property issue. Nursery: Someone is needed to be designated in charge of the nursery. Youth Gathering Extravaganza to be held in Florida. Tyler Wright of Luther Crest will attend as a continuing education workshop. Tyler has send a letter requesting funds. Our share (with other area churches) comes to $ MSP to provide these funds. Communion Assistants: Nov 4: Bruce Larson Next meeting: November 14 at 9:30 am Meeting adjourned at 10:55 a.m. Bruce Larson Nov 11: Scott Larson Did You Know? If you are age 70 1/2, you can make a contribution to a qualified charitable organization that will count toward your required minimum distribution, but is excluded from your taxable income? The following excerpt is from IRS Publication 526: IRS Publication 526 Qualified Charitable Distributions- A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a distribution made directly by the trustee of your individual retirement arrangement (IRA), other than a SEP or SIMPLE IRA, to certain qualified organizations. You must have been at least age 70 1/2 when the distribution was made. Your total QCDs for the year can't be more than $100,000. If all the requirements are met, a QCD is nontaxable, but you can't claim a charitable contribution deduction for a QCD. See Pub. 590 B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), for more information about QCDs. [TIP] A QCD will count towards your required minimum distribution, discussed earlier. [CAUTION] You cannot claim a charitable contribution deduction for any QCD not included your income. Some members of Eagle Lake Church have their financial institution forward checks directly to the church as a QCD and as part of their regular offering. You may want to consider this option and discuss this further with your financial advisor.

5 EAGLE LAKE CHOR CHRISTMAS CANTATA We are practicing the cantata Wednesdays. Regular choir practice will begin at 6:30 pm, followed by the cantata practice throughout November. The cantata will be presented at Eagle Lake Lutheran Church Saturday, December 8th at 7 pm & Sunday, December 9th at 10:15 am. Please invite other singers you may know to join us as we learn this cantata together. A Christmas Cantata All is Well for He Is Born by the Eagle Lake Church Choir will be presented at Eagle Lake Lutheran Church 5 ½ miles south of Battle Lake on Highway 78 & 1 mile east on County Highway 81 Saturday, December 8 7:00 pm Sunday, December 9 10:15 am Refreshments following both presentations If you re a Thrivent Financial member, you can lead a Thrivent Action Team to bring people together for a one-time project to help others be wise with money and live generously. You can coordinate an educational event, conduct a service activity, or organize a fundraiser. Thrivent will provide resources to help you plan the event, promotional items, including Thrivent T-shirts and a Community Impact Card with $250 of seed money. Thrivent Financial members can apply for 2 Thrivent Action Teams a year. We have lots of activities and ministries that we do together that would be eligible we just need to coordinate our efforts, for only one Thrivent member can apply per event, so if you plan to apply for grant please let the church office know so we can make full use of this opportunity. Learn more at The Peoples Church in Bemidji This is an update on The Peoples Church in Bemidji. This past summer they changed the focus of their mission. During the summer they housed five elderly homeless people with physical and mental disabilities. Then beginning on October 4 they again began accepting overnight homeless persons. However, they will be catering mainly to the somewhat older population and will no longer be taking people with alcohol and other addiction problems. They will be accommodated by another facility in Bemidji. Because they no longer have enough staff to distribute all types of clothing and household items, they will not accept any of these items. In addition to meat and other groceries they will let us know each time they have other requirements. For this fall and early winter, they would like to have winter coats and jackets, winter boots, mittens and gloves, scarves and stockings only. A trip is being planned to the Church sometime before Thanksgiving. As in the past, we would like to be able to take 5 or 6 turkeys for their Thanksgiving Feast. We will keep you posted as to the date of the November trip, Thank you for your past support of The Peoples Church. GRIEF SUPPORT There are several grief support options in the Battle Lake/Fergus Falls area for those who in need of support. Grief Support Group meets at the Lakeland Hospice Office (805. E. Channing, Fergus Falls) on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 1:30-2:30 and 4th Tuesday of each month, 5-6pm. Grief Support Group meets at First Lutheran Church, Battle Lake on the 2nd Thursday of each month, 1-2pm. Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group meets in the Lake Region Healthcare Medical Staff Meeting Room on the 3rd Wed. of each month, 67:30. The Beginning Experience Support Group is a Christian based ten-week session dealing with the grief of a lost love relationship. The Fergus Falls area group is for those separated, divorced or widowed. For more information and dates and times please call EAGLE LAKE CHURCH IS ON FACEBOOK! Be sure to like us on Facebook. You can find us under Eagle Lake Lutheran Church. Check it out! November Anniversaries Roger & Phyllis Hanson Jack & Karoline Bagent Ron & Ruby Moen Steve & Verona Bell Did we miss your anniversary? Please let us know.

6 Eagle Lake Treasurer s Report September 2018 INCOME Sept 2018 YTD 2018 Pledged Income ELCA Pledge Income $12, $ 106, Non-ELCA Mission $ $ 2, Loose Offering & Gifts $ $ 1, Lenten Offering $ - $ 1, Vacation Bible School $ - $ - Flowers/Plants $ - $ Total Pledged Income $13, $ 112, Designated Funds Misc. Designated $ $ 1, Thrivent $ - $ 1, Outreach Fund $ - $ - Parking Lot Fund $ 2, $ 3, Scholarship Fund $ $ Mortgage Fund $ 2, $ 29, Debt Reduction $ $ Total Designated Income $ 5, $ 38, Total Pass-thru Income $ $ 4, Total Income for Sept 2018 $19, $ 154, EXPENSES Benevolence/Mission Support $ 3, $ 12, Outreach/Stewardship $ - $ Worship $ $ 2, Conventions/Youth Gathering $ - $ Education $ $ 1, Office $ $ 4, Insurance/Utilities $ $ 10, Property Repair & Maint $ $ 4, Salaries & Benefits $10, $ 94, Misc. (Council Discretion) $ - $ Total Expenses for Sept 2018 $16, $ 131, Consolidated Savings Balances Sign Fund $ 16, Music Amplifier $ Pall Fund $ - Parking Lot Fund $ 1, Global Missions Fund $ Love Fund $ General Memorial Fund $ 4, Outreach Ministry Fund $ Music/Organ Fund $ 3, Praise Team Fund $ - Stephen's Ministry Fund $ General ELLC Savings $ 4, TOTAL $32, Submitted by: Eric Gaustad, Congregational Accountant LAFEN and Affirmation U offers people of all ages the opportunity to gather for education, faith development and mutual growth kids, parents, grandparents, friends. It is also a great opportunity to connect with people from other congregations. Affirmation U is also the core of our confirmation ministry which offers flexibility and choice of study topics and class times. EVERYONE IS INVITED! Battle Lake High School Presents Grease Showtimes: Thursday, November 15 th 7:00 PM Friday, November 16 th 7:00 PM Saturday, November 17 th 7:00 PM Sunday, November 18 th 2:00 PM Tickets are available in advance at the school (Check the BL Review for times of sale) Or available at the door Courses begin after Thanksgiving and registration is open now! If you are interested in taking one of the courses, please pick up a course information book and registration form from the church office. Courses happening between Thanksgiving and Christmas include the topics of the Season of Advent, Birth Narratives from the Gospels and the Small Catechism. LAFEN also offers the opportunity for people besides the pastors to teach courses and there are all kinds of possibilities for topics. If you are interested to teaching a course (each course is 4 contact hours scheduled by the teacher), contact Pastor Ali. We hope you will join us as we all seek to learn more and deepen our discipleship!