February 14 7:00 pm Ash Wednesday Worship Service Wednesday Lenten Service Schedule: 6:00-7:00 pm -- Supper (served by various groups)

Transcription

1 The Messenger February 2018 S p r i n g G a r d e n L u t h e r a n C h u r c h February 14 7:00 pm Ash Wednesday Worship Service Wednesday Lenten Service Schedule: 6:00-7:00 pm -- Supper (served by various groups) 7:00-7:45 pm -- Table Talk with Cross Trainers 7:45 pm -- Holden Evening Prayer February 21: The Church is... The People 1 st Peter 2:9-10 February 28: The Church is... The Healing Place 1 st Peter 2:21-25 March 7: The Church is... Building a Spiritual Home 1 st Peter 2:4-6 March 14: The Church is... Dying with Christ 1 st Peter 3:18-19, 4:1-2 March 21: The Church is... Rising Hope 1 st Peter 3:8-15 March 25: Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion Joy to Purpose March 28: SEDER Meal (5 th graders and families preparing for 1 st Communion) March 29: 7:00 pm Maundy Thursday The Body and Blood of Jesus March 30: 7:00 pm Good Friday Dying with Christ Baby Quilt Ministry Thursday, February 15, 7-9 pm Anyone welcome - no quilting experience necessary! Cherub Choir will be singing during the 10 am worship service on Sunday, February 11th! Congregational Life Planning for Midsommar will be starting soon! Volunteers are needed to help start making meatballs and lefse. We would like to start the process at the end of February/beginning of March. We would like for this to be a learning experience for youth as well. More information will be available soon! Please contact Maja-Lina Lundell if you are interested in volunteering.

2 The Pastor s Article - By Nick Fisher-Broin The Messenger Lent 2018 Becoming Church: Messages from 1st Peter What is the church? Since the time of Jesus, his followers have joined together as a gathering of people. Guided by scripture and prayer, a message for where life intersects with faith, and support for one another, this gathering of believers has changed the world! Our Wednesday evenings during Lent will open up the New Testament letter of 1 st Peter. The pastoral epistles, as they are known, show the early Christian community learning how to be church for the long haul a journey we are still on. In the building of the church family, the first believers learned what was essential. In a complicated and dangerous world, the first believers found strength in the Spirit of Christ that dwelled with them, and they backed each other up in the face of great challenges. You could say that in today s world, the church faces many of the same challenges. Maybe not persecution so much but surely distractions, materialism and a crisis of meaning. So we invite you to join us this Lent for a meal, for table discussion lead by our CrossTrainers and a time of worship and reflect with us on what it means to be the church to be Christ s people. See you Wednesdays in Lent! Pastor Nick February 14: Ash Wednesday Worship 7PM February 21: The Church is... The People 1 st Peter 2:9-10 February 28: The Church is... The Healing Place 1 st Peter 2:21-25 March 7: The Church is... Building a Spiritual Home 1 st Peter 2:4-6 March 14: The Church is... Dying with Christ 1 st Peter 3:18-19, 4:1-2 March 21: The Church is... Rising Hope 1 st Peter 3:8-15 March 25: Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion Joy to Purpose March 28: SEDER Meal (5 th graders and families preparing for 1 st Communion) March 29: Maundy Thursday The Body and Blood of Jesus March 30: Good Friday Dying with Christ 1st Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

3 Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous. -- Sir Thomas Browne ( ) Corner Financial Facts January 31, 2018 Checkbook Balance: $14, Outstanding Loans, Memorial Committee: $5, Thanks to all who supported our Help Keep Our Lights Shining Brightly On Our Work Here At Spring Garden" program. Just reminder you can text your contributions to the church now. ****If you forgot to drop your offering in the plate on Sunday, just simply go to our website click on the online giving tab and make your contribution that way. You will need to register and create a password, but once you have done that you can direct how much and how often you would like to give. All 576 boxes/124,416 meals were sent to Jamaica to our partner Food for the Poor. Food for the Poor serves 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. They focus on providing, food, housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief, micro-enterprise solutions, and so much more! To learn more about this organization, please visit The next Book Chatter Meeting is Thursday, April 26, 2018, at 7:00 pm, at the home of Mary Olson. We will be discussing The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. What an incredible impact these 576 boxes of food will have in Jamaica! With the 124,416 meals packed in Cannon Falls, 340 kids could eat a meal every day for an entire year! What an absolute blessing to those most desperately in need Baptized January 7, 2018 Born October 22, 2017 Violet Kate Sjoblom Daughter of Jeff and Katie Sjoblom Sponsors: Ben and Bekki Bakken Baptized January 28, 2018 Born December 15, 2017 Lydia Christine Pagel Daughter of Theron and Robyn Pagel Sponsors: Lisa Nelsen, Rebecca Kahle, Taylor Pagel

4 Jen Lorentz & Daniel Barber were married on 8/16/17 in Okinawa, Japan where they are both stationed in the US Marine Corps until They would like to invite you to a Blessing of Marriage ceremony being held on Saturday, February 10th, at 3pm, with food & fellowship to follow the ceremony in the church hall. The Messenger New Year s Greetings to you all! Although February is all about hearts and Valentine s Day I am going to defer to talking about the gallbladder. I have a personal reason for doing this as I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically on December 26th. I really didn't know much about the reason we have a gallbladder so thought I'd give you some information about it. The gallbladder sits just beneath the liver in the upper right side of the abdomen. Its job is to store and release bile which is a fluid made by the liver. Bile helps break down fat in the food you eat. Most of the bile is made by the liver and a small amount of bile is also sent to the gallbladder for storage. The gallbladder concentrates bile by removing water. When extra bile is needed, the gallbladder squeezes bile out thru the cystic duct. From the duct, it enters the duodenum which is just below the stomach and there it mixes with food and aids digestion of fats in the small Intestine. Problems arise when stone from the gallbladder get stuck in the ducts that lead to the duodenum. Stones develop from substances in the bile that crystalize and become solid. In my case I had a dying or gangrenous gallbladder. I had had about 3 gallbladder attacks in the last year that subsided after a few hours. In my case the attacks centered in my upper back across the shoulder blades and included tenderness just below the breast bone. The last attack which started December 25th late was different in that the pain in my upper back was severe and relentless. This attack sent me to the emergency room in Red Wing, where after things such as heart related issues were ruled out it was concluded that it was my gallbladder. The only medication that helped the pain was a high powered IV narcotic. I was sent home with instructions to come back for a gallbladder ultrasound in the morning. The pain drove me back to the ER early in the morning of Dec. 26th. After starting an IV and giving me pain medication again I had an ultrasound which confirmed issues with my gallbladder. I met with the surgeon and surgery was scheduled for later that day. I was admitted and had surgery that evening. I was fortunate enough to have the surgery laparoscopically so I was able to go home the next evening. Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is where the surgeon make several small incisions in the abdomen. Mine were in my belly button, a larger one just below my breast bone and 2 smaller ones off to the right side. Harmless gas is sent into the abdomen to inflate it to lift it away from the internal organs. The laparoscope is inserted thru one of the incisions, the surgeon can then view the gallbladder, small clips close off the bile duct and blood vessels. They help prevent bleeding and bile leaks. Once the clips are in place the gallbladder is detached from the liver. The gallbladder is put in a bag to prevent leaks and the top is raised thru an incision and the contents of the gallbladder are removed. Bile now flows directly from the liver to the small intestines. I had a minor amount of discomfort post operatively. I have had a few issues with digestion and this is normal but I have been assured that I will be able to eat pretty much anything I want in the future. I have had to pace myself which is difficult for me but I am healing well. Thank you all for your prayers. I could feel them.. Blessings, Yvonne Salmonson RN Parish Nurse

5 MEGAN NERISON / MNERISON13@GMAIL.COM Sun. 11th: Pancake Breakfast. See sign up genius to sign up to help (Feb/Mar) if you haven t yet. Feb 21st Starts Wed Lent Services cross trainers be ready to show up and help out! Feb 25th 4-6pm: Location TBA. 2nd C.F. Gathering for Change. Open to all 8-12th. (trip participants plan on attending) We held our first Pancake Breakfast on Sunday the 14th and although it was freezing and windy we had almost everyone in attendance stay and enjoy some breakfast! We served around people. Thank you for the support and we are looking for to starting a new tradition at Spring Garden! This year we are collaborating with the other Cannon Falls Churches with monthly Gathering for Change on a rotating basis. This is a monthly youth ministry for all Cannon Falls ELCA church youth. We will gather for music, games, food, activities and discussion. This is two fold to prepare those going on the national youth gathering, BUT also for us to create a unified ministry here in our community for the youth. Spring Garden is hosting one of the summer dates, so we will need some parents to help out with getting the outdoors ready and providing and serving food! Future dates for this event are: 4-6pm on: Sunday Feb 25th, March 18 (Urland), and April 22nd 6-8pm on: Wednesday May 30th and June 20th Easter rotational Sunday School will be the 3 Sundays leading into Easter -- March 11th, 18th, and 25th. 5th grade Seder Meal is March 28th. May 20th will be the last day of Sunday school for the year. Vacation Bible School will be held at Spring Garden this year. The dates will be June 4th, 5th, and 6th. There is a Medical Scholarship available for anyone of any age pursuing education in the medical field. Please contact Tim Anderson for details. The next Christian Ed Board meeting will be February 7th at 6:30 pm. We are always looking for additional people to be a part of the Christian Ed Board. Even if you don't want to commit to being on the board, any help with the different things going on would be great. So, if you have any interest in helping out with all the things coming up with the kids, please contact Becky Haugen or Kim Sjoquist.

6 The Messenger Continued on next page...

7 Continued from previous page...

8 Spring Garden Cemetery Association Annual Meeting minutes January 21, 2018 Chairman Darryl McClain called to order the meeting of the First Annual Spring Garden Cemetery Association at 11:45 am in the Spring Garden Church sanctuary. There were 60 members in attendance. Opening prayer was given by P Nick. Secretary Dennis Benson gave the Secretary s report; as this is the first annual Spring Garden Cemetery Association meeting, there is no report. Treasurer s report again there is no report. Financials from 2015 are in the Spring Garden Lutheran Church s annual meeting packet. A member commented that it is better to provide more information than less, in order to clear the air of distrust. Another member commented that maybe the distrust has been misplaced. And another member spoke in support of the Cemetery Association and all that they do, as well as reminded all that they have strict rules that they operate under, and are only able to spend certain funds according to their by-laws. Treasurer Larry Olson explained that Thrivent gives them a balance. Ratify the Spring Garden Cemetery Association By-Laws: Before the Chair called for a motion, a member asked that he inform members of the change to their by-laws. Chair Darryl said that under Article 3. Association Membership all confirmed members of Spring Garden Lutheran Church was changed to all members. A motion was moved and seconded to ratify the proposed by Spring Garden Cemetery Association By-Laws. The motion carried. New Business Elections: Board members up for elect/re-election: Tim Magalis Tom Nelson A motion was moved and seconded to cast a unanimous ballot. The motion carried. Adjournment of meeting. A motion was moved, seconded and carried to adjourn at 11:53am. Dennis Benson, secretary

9 The Messenger Spring Garden Council Meeting - January 11, 2018

10 The Messenger Spring Garden Lutheran Church Church Council Members & Board Members President Jenny Jandro Vice-President John Olson Secretary Sandy Hanson Treasurer Rob Lorentz Financial Secretary Pam Davis Worship & Music Lisa Miller Evangelism Bill Erickson Christian Education Becky Haugen Youth Ministry Megan Nerison Congregational Life Maja-Lina Lundell Church Property Glen Lundell Stewardship Mark Sjoquist Missions Board Katie Sjoblom Parish Nurse Yvonne Salmonson "Building a Rural Family in Christ" Music Joshua & Allison Wyatt Custodian Sue Safe Administrative Asst. Rachel Benson Pastors Nick & Cindy Fisher-Broin P. Nick s Cell: P. Cindy s Cell: Spring Garden Lutheran Church P.O. Box 237 Cannon Falls, MN Phone: springgardenchurch@frontiernet.net Website: US POSTAGE PAID Permit #69 Nonprofit Standard Mail Cannon Falls, MN Address Service Requested