The Church Bell March 2018

Transcription

1 Salem Lutheran Church The Church Bell March 2018 Rooted in Christ, to Love, Grow & Serve WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY 4pm - 5pm We are currently reading and discussing the book Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. To purchase a book please contact the church office. RUTH CIRCLE (Women s Bible Study) Tuesday, March 13th 1pm at Salem Because of quilting, Ruth Circle s Bible Study has been changed to the 2nd Tuesday of March at 1 pm ALL women are welcome to join us at Bible Study. QUILTING PARTY Thursdays - 3:00pm March All women are invited. No experience necessary! Bring a dish to pass for the noon meal. Quilts are donated to Lutheran World Relief, Salem s H.S. Seniors, and others as needs arise. SUNDAY SCHOOL Sunday, March 4 11am - 1pm Lunch provided. Classes for 3 year olds - 6th grade students. HELP NEEDED Sunday School Lunch (make, serve & cleaning up) 11:30am 1st Sunday of Month If you can help with a lunch let the church office know or call Barb Anderson JOY GROUP A group of (still working, raising family, or newly retired) women desiring to grow stronger in their relationship with Jesus, Others & Yourself. Thursday, March 8th at At Salem Invite your friends! Please RSVP Pastor Trish so we know how many to plan for. 7th - 9th grade students NO class March 7 - March 28 Lenten attendance is expected of all confirmation students. WORSHIP Our friends from Longville Community Church will be joining us for Wednesday Lenten, March 7 - March 21 at Salem. VIA DE CRISTO a Spanish phrase meaning Way of Christ, is a highly structured three-day weekend designed to strengthen and renew the faith of Christian people and bring them to a new awareness of living in God's grace. If you have attended a Via de Cristo weekend and would like to see a renewal group started at Salem, or if you are interested in attending a weekend, please call Pastor Trish.

2 EMERGENCY WEATHER ANNOUNCEMENTS For notice of Salem s weather related cancellations and postponements please tune to: KLIZ (Walker) KTIG (Pequot Lakes) KBLB 93.3 (Brainerd) July 30 - August 3 SAVE THE DATE NEW MEMBER SUNDAY April 1, 2018 For more information about becoming a Member, Associate Member or Friend of Salem, please contact the church office or Pastor Trish. ALL ARE WELCOME HERE! CHANGE OF ADDRESS DONNA KOHANEK Bel Rae Donna Kohanek 2330 Mounds View Blvd Mounds View, MN MINNESOTA FOOD SHARE CAMPAIGN Friends, the statewide 2018 Campaign runs from Monday, Feb. 26 Sunday April 8. We are once again asking congregations in our area to join in the effort to support our local food shelf during this critical fundraising time. Many in our community our elderly, children, friends and neighbors continue to suffer from hunger and food insecurity. Your contributions no matter how small help us to wage the battle against hunger. This is the perfect time to donate to the food shelf. During the month of March, we are able to stretch your donations by leveraging additional dollars from Minnesota Food Share. This increases our purchasing power even more! The Longville Area Food Shelf budget is $65,000 for food costs in The vast majority of this money comes to us in the March Campaign. Remember 100% of your donation is spent on food purchases! ALL overhead costs (heat, electricity, phone, etc.) are covered by proceeds from Tossed & Found Boutique. Please send donations to Longville Area Food Shelf, PO Box 308, Longville, MN We remain grateful for your compassion and continued support. Toni Sausman, Manager SALEM S ANNUAL AUCTION We are in need of a lead auction person to go out and pickup items for the annual auction which is scheduled for August 11, 2018 & organize people to help set up the auction. Ron Wiehle will train. Donated items can be brought to church garage between March 1 and August 1, ST COMMUNION CLASS A First Communion Class for any aged baptized child or adult who would like to begin receiving or explore further the gift of Holy Communion will be held on Saturday, March 24th 10am - 12pm Celebration of First Communion will be arranged with Pastor Trish Please call Pastor Trish or the church office if you have any questions and to sign up. CARPET FUND Help replace Salem s worn out carpet by purchasing 1+ carpet tiles at $10 each. Note Carpet Fund in memo line of your check or mark on an envelope. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY

3 Message from Pastor Trish We are in the church season of Lent, a time in which we prepare for Easter morning; the resurrection of Jesus; a time in which we have been taught to reflect on our sinfulness and our relationship (or lack-there-of) with God; a time when we are to repent and return to the Lord. I grew up in the self-help era and believed Lent to be about changing ourselves in order to be less-of-a-mess in order to have a better relationship with God. But what if instead of pondering how awful we are and how much we disappoint God, we thought about who God is and God s incredible love for us as we are, not as we think we should be? When I admitted that I thought God was calling me to be a pastor, the most difficult part was coming to understand that God called me as I am not as I might be or as I think I should be. Now don t get me wrong...when I act in ways that hurt myself, others, God s creation, I certainly desire to change that behavior or attitude. But it doesn t mean I have hurt my relationship with God and this is difficult to understand. How can God keep loving me when I keep being a sinner? Yet, what I am really saying is that I feel unlovable even by God which limits my ability to feel God s love and to understand God s very being is love and that love is not limited to those of us who get it right but is poured out on all of us no exceptions. Brennan Manning writes in Abba s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging that we unwittingly project onto God our own attitudes and feelings toward ourselves But we cannot assume that He feels about us the way we feel about ourselves unless we love ourselves compassionately, intensely, and freely. 1 John 4 speaks of this compassionate, intense and freely given love of God, 7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn t know the first thing about God, because God is love so you can t know him if you don t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they ve done to our relationship with God My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us perfect love! (The Message) As we prepare for Easter, we make a couple of stops along the way, our Wednesday Evening services, Palm Sunday (March 25), Maundy Thursday (March 29) and Good Friday (March 30). With each of these stops we encounter the love of God in story, song, prayer, fellowship and the presence of God s own Spirit. Easter, worship, the Bible, faith and even church are means through which God unceasingly seeks to show His fierce love for us and desire for an authentic relationship with us. And as John writes, this love cannot be contained or hoarded as something for an elite and select few but as we love one another, God dwells deeply within and his love become complete in us perfect love! Teacher, Pastor and Spiritual Coach, Elane O'Rourke writes, God loves us because God created us and adopted us. Neither creation nor adoption have anything to do with our value or our efforts, any more than a newborn is responsible for her size, weight, hair color, or social status. God s creation, adoption, and love are interlinked. We reap the benefit. Imagine what your life would be like if you really believed that God loves you because you are God s treasured child. Imagine what you would do if you knew you could not lose God s love and affection. What would matter? What would stop mattering? (God Loves Me, Because I Am God s Treasured Child) Easter is a time of new life resurrection life. We are God s children, transformed by God s perfect love to live as the one who Jesus loves. (Manning) This love is not to be pondered as we gaze into the heavens, nor as we worship in song and in prayer, but is to be experienced and sought after with relentless hope knowing that God is as anxious to be with us and love us as is our hope that this is true. Imagine what your life would be like if you really believed that God loves you because you are God s treasured child. Imagine what you would do if you knew you could not lose God s love and affection. What would matter? What would stop mattering? (O Rourke) Easter Blessings Pastor Trish

4 1 Larry Nelson 2 James Limburg 4 Anastasia Miller 4 Faith Peterson 8 Abbie Lucas 9 Cheryl Kampa 10 Paul Hanson 11 Rachel Gross 11 Dorothy Weaver 14 Darold Moore 16 Jenny Nordstrom 17 Jim Lewis 17 Hope Olson 18 Alice Moe 19 Patty Lange 19 Tim Klosner 21 Beverly Baldwin 21 David Felton 22 T. Frank Daudt 22 Mark Nordstrom 23 Evan Foss 24 Stan Hawkinson 24 Ed Olson 24 Sara Felton 25 Joan Kickhafer 26 Don Waldera 26 Dennis Zuelke 27 Roger Bechtold 29 Ginny Muller 31 Jan Elliott 31 Diane Schires March Eileen Higgins, Chair Idelle Eide Elsie Hagen Norma Jansen Carol Neuenfeldt Doris Schmidt March Team Captain Doris Schmidt Sign up on our Hospitality Kiosk in the sanctuary to help usher, lay read, greet, or help serve communion or fellowship. 6 Reg and Kathy Callies 13 Dale and Sonja Foss 16 Bob and Ginny Muller 19 Larry and Doris Nelson We apologize if we missed your birthday or anniversary, please call the church office and let us know. Sundays at 9am Holy Communion 1st & 3rd Sundays of month All are welcome here! Maundy Thursday Help Needed We need your help with the following: Bake small loaves of various sweet breads Bake cookies for non-communion participants Setting-up & Clean-up of communion elements Setting-up Fellowship & Sanctuary areas Clean-up following worship Hand Washers & Assistants Host & Hostess to greet worshippers Special Music Singer(s) & Musician(s) Sign Up Sheets will be available in church office

5 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 Executive Management Team (EMT) 3 Learning Ministry Team (LMT) at Anchorage 4 Communion 10:00am Fellowship 11:00am Sunday School 5 Busy Needles 6 2:00pm Pastor s Text Study 7 Technology Team 4:00pm Adult Bible Study 5:00-6:00pm WATW Meal Lenten at Salem 8 JOY Group :00am Fellowship 10:15am Blended Practice 12 Busy Needles 13 Endowment Team Serving Ministry Team (SMT) Ruth Circle 2:00pm Pastor s Text Study 14 Ministry Team (WMT) 4:00pm Adult Bible Study 5:00-6:00pm WATW Meal Lent at Salem 15 5:00pm SLC Fellowship 5:15pm Servant Leadership Council (SLC) 16 Finance Team 17 Pr. Trish Vacation - March :30am Blended Practice Communion 10:00am Fellowship Newsletter Deadline 19 Busy Needles 20 2:00pm Pastor s Text Study 21 4:00pm Adult Bible Study 5:00-6:00pm WATW Meal 6:00pm Choir Rehearsal Lent at Salem am - 12pm 1st Communion Class Pr. Vacation 25 Palm Sunday 10:00am Fellowship 26 Busy Needles 27 2:00pm Pastor s Text Study 28 4:00pm Adult Bible Study 5:00-6:00pm WATW Meal 5:00pm Youth to Harlem Globetrotters Choir Rehearsal 29 7:00pm Maundy Thursday 30 7:00pm at Longville Community Church 31

6 Servant Leadership Council Meeting February 16, 2018 Unapproved Minutes Present: Trisha Jorgenson, Don Falls, Steve Hanson, Barb Anderson, Tim Peterson, Dennis Zuelke (by phone), Dave Trampe, Lori Daudt, Beth Tobiason Excused: Jan Stadtherr 1. Called to order at 5:25pm by Pastor Trisha 2. Opening Prayer - Devotions Matthew 14: Approve Agenda - Motion: Approve the agenda with modifications: Add line items 9 e-j under new business - Hanson/Tobiason/passed. 4. Appoint Tim Peterson to council - Motion: Appoint Tim Peterson to the Servant Leadership Council - Hanson/Tobiason/passed 5. Elect Tim Peterson as secretary - Motion: Elect Tim Peterson as secretary of the Servant Leadership Council - Hanson/Trampe/passed 6. Ministry Team Highlights and concerns: a. EMT (Executive Management Team) - Reviewed the time off requests that were approved by Steve Hanson. See item 9-b below. Visiting Pastor Bob Dennis, from Hope Lutheran Church, will be performing the service on 3/18/2018. Don Falls will meet Pastor Dennis at 8:30am on 3/18/2108 at the church. Don Falls will contact retired Pastor Larry Nelson to see if he can perform the service on 4/15/2018. b. LMT (Learning Ministry Team) - Beth Tobiason presented the LMT minutes for February. Dennis Zuelke pointed out that there was a spelling mistake in that Glove should be Globe. Beth noted the change to be made. c. RDMT (Resource Development Ministry Team) - Dave Trampe presented the RDMT minutes for Feb. No issues noted. d. SMT (Serving Ministry Team) - No meeting notes this month. e. WMT ( Ministry Team) - Pastor Trisha presented the WMT minutes. No issues noted. 7. Pastor s Report - Visitations are going well. Looking for volunteers to perform skits over lent. Discussed her impending surgery. She indicated that the surgery and therapy would be scheduled during her off hours to the greatest extent possible. 8. Old Business a. Emergency preparedness - No update b. Using outside resources to enrich the congregational experience. The WMT is working on it. Pastor Trisha is doing the coordination and contacting perspective resources. The goal is to have someone participate in the Sunday service every other month. 9. New Business a. Focus for Rooted in Christ to love, grow and serve. Not discussed b. Time off requests /16/ /18/ /10/ /15/2018 Approved by EMT / Steve Hanson. See 6-a above. c. Sabbatical Request - Discussion around Pastor Trisha s pending Sabbatical. She would like to take 6 weeks off. There is a Lily grant available, but it is for Sabbaticals in Barb Anderson and Pastor Trisha will continue to look into this grant and call a special meeting if necessary. No action will be taken until Pastor Trisha decides what she wants to do. d. Resource and Experience database - Tim Peterson presented his idea to create a database of expertise within the congregation. Any action has been deferred. e. 100 year celebration - Barb Anderson pointed out that 2020 will mark the 100 year anniversary of the formation of Salem Lutheran Church. No action taken at this time. f. Easter morning breakfast - Don Falls will contact Mike Czeck to see if he will do it. g. Endowment fund activity - The Endowment Fund committee is looking to move $6,000 from the current CD that pays.08% annually to a different one that pays 2.0% annually for a five year period. Motion: Allow the endowment team to move $6,000 from the current certificate of deposit to a new one that pays at least 2.0% annually for a period of 5 years - Peterson/Tobiason/passed Continued on next page

7 h. Facility Use Form - A revised facility use form was reviewed. The following recommendations for change were made. 1. Add a no liability clause for food preparation. 2. No smoking or alcohol allowed. 3. Add a title to the form. 4. Make the following changes to the wording: 1) To be liable for damage to the facility and for breakage, loss or theft of any Salem equipment used during the event. 2) Neither Salem Lutheran Church nor its staff or members, will be held responsible for any accident or injuries that may occur from the use of the facilities or equipment. 3) Salem Lutheran Church will not be liable for any food preparation issues. The Church is pleased to allow the use of its facility and equipment. Your signature below ensures that you have read, understand and agree to all terms listed above, respectful use of Salem s facility and equipment, and you will leave the facility and equipment in the condition in which you found it. If custodial services are requested or necessary due to the condition of the facility after you and your organization have completed event a fee of $100 will be billed to you or your organization. Motion: Accept the new Facility Use Form with revisions - Tobiason/Daudt/passed i. Church position on gun control - Pastor Trisha will review ELCA position of gun control and report back. j. Blue Whale discussion - Pastor Trisha led a discussion about the Blue Whale online game. She wants to send a letter out to local law enforcement officials and school leadership to warn them of the game. She is also requesting that the letter be sent on church letterhead. Dennis Zuelke expressed concerns regarding legal issues of using the church letter head. Motion: Support Pastor Trisha in sending the letter, on church letterhead, based on law enforcement recommendations - Peterson/Trampe/passed 10. Approve and review a. Approve last meeting minutes - Dennis Zuelke noted that Dave Halver s name was spelled incorrectly in the minutes. Motion: Approve the corrected minutes of the 1/18/2018 Salem Leadership Council - Peterson/Tobiason/passed b. Accept monthly financial reports - Barb Anderson presented the financial report for January, Dennis Zuelke pointed out two instances of incorrect labeling in the expense report. Barb indicated that is an issue with the software and that she would look into finding a solution. Motion: Accept the January, 2018 Financial report with corrections - Peterson/Daudt/passed. c. Review objectives for this meeting - With the exception of 9-a Focus for Rooted in Christ to love, grow and serve, all objectives were met. 11. Adjourn with the Lord s Prayer at 8:31pm Motion: Motion to adjourn - Daudt/Trampe/passed. Respectfully Submitted, Tim Peterson, Secretary Our Monthly Financial Report As of January 31, 2018 General Fund Beginning Balance 1/1/18 $ 17,635 Receipts 1/1/18-1/31/18 $ 12,323 Disbursements 1/1/18-1/31/18 $-18,773 General Fund Balance 1/31/18 $ 11,185 REMINDER: $4707 is needed weekly to support the 2018 budget approved at the 2017 Annual Congregational Meeting. With God s Blessing, Barb Anderson, Church Treasurer THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS GIVING

8 PLEASE SAVE YOUR STAMPS Did you receive a letter or card today? Did it have a regular postage stamp on it? Did you know that postage is valuable? Used stamps are collected and sent to a church in Washington, DC where they are sent for processing in hospitals and other centers. They are then removed from the paper, sorted, packaged and sold to collectors. This provides an income, and for some it s a therapy. From one Hospital in Germany that cares for patients with Epilepsy, we received a report that there were enough stamps processed to care for 4 nurses in Africa for 1 year. Carefully tear, or cut, the stamp from the envelope leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (at least) and place them in the basket in back of the church. Please let s fill that basket often. Thank you. Dorothea Felton & Doris Schmidt, Coordinators BLESSED & HAPPY EASTER with us Easter Sunday April 1st 7am & 9am SALEM MINISTRY TEAMS Servant Leadership Council (SLC) Don Falls, President Steve Hanson, Vice President Tim Peterson, Secretary Lori Daudt Beth Tobiason Dave Trampe Jan Stadtherr Dennis Zuelke Trish Jorgenson, Pastor Treasurer Barb Anderson Executive Management Team (EMT) SLC President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer & Pastor Learning Ministry Team (LMT) Beth Tobiason, Council Liaison Resource Development Ministry Team (RDMT) Dave Trampe, Council Liaison Serving Ministry Team (SMT) Lori Daudt, Dennis Zuelke, Council Liaisons Ministry Team (WMT) Jan Stadtherr, Council Liaison ALL are welcome to join any of our ministry teams. Please contact one of the team leaders or church office. SALEM CHURCH STAFF Rev. Trisha Jorgenson, Pastor Cell Number: pastortrish1968@gmail.com Carol Raines, Secretary / Bookkeeper Office Phone: Office salem@arvig.net Jan Elliott & Eunice Benson, Organists Charlene Olson, Choir Director Joan Kickhafer, Custodian Salem Lutheran Church Website Office Hours Monday - Thursday - 5:00pm Friday - 3:00pm Salem Lutheran Church 1340 County Road 5 PO Box 136 Longville, MN Rooted in Christ to Love, Grow & Serve