Signs, logos, and websites OH MY!!!

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1 A Ray of Hope A Ray of Hope September January Volume 89 Number 1 Monthly Newsletter of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church 5728 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55417, Ministers of the Gospel: The Baptized 91 years in ministry Making Christ Known through the Spirit of Hope January 2019 ELEVATOR! Hope s elevator is in full operation going up and down!! All the work that was done came at a high cost total $19,000. One generous and grateful family donated $5,000 and the Choir Trips Reunion donated $500 to the elevator repair fund, leaving a balance of $13,500. Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church ELCA Annual Meeting, Part 2 January 27, 2019 following the 10am Worship Service in the Fellowship Hall All voting members of Hope Lutheran Church are requested to attend the second half of the Annual Meeting following worship on Sunday, January 27, Thank you in advance for your participation and commitment to Hope. If you would like to contribute it would be greatly appreciated. Charlie Olson, Property Committee Signs, logos, and websites OH MY!!! How do we communicate to others about Hope? There are lots of tools we use from the Ray of Hope to our Website, Facebook to our letterhead, bulletins to signs outside. As we enter 2019 we re looking to refresh the many ways we communicate the message of Hope to the world around us and we need YOUR help. Look for opportunities in the coming weeks to be in conversation about images that reflect who we are as a church. Ways that we can communicate the Spirit of Hope. Signs (literally) that are important to let people know we are here and that they are welcome. We ll be calling on you to play small and large roles in this process. And if you have a particular interest in this conversation, let Pastor Eric know.

2 September January 2019 2007 A Ray of Hope From the Desk of Pastor Eric Luedtke THE UNEXPECTED VISITOR Pastor Eric Luedtke Wait. What was that last one? A protester looking to create a scene.

2 2 September January A Ray of Hope From the Desk of Pastor Eric Luedtke THE UNEXPECTED VISITOR Pastor Eric Luedtke Wait. What was that last one? A protester looking to create a scene. We ve just come out of a season full of unexpected moments and visitors. Elizabeth wasn t expecting the baby in her womb to leap when Mary arrived at her door. Mary hadn t expected an angel to tell her she would bear a child. The shepherds were not expecting angels to encourage them to visit Bethlehem and Harrod hadn t expected Magi to stop by his place looking for directions. The world was anticipating the Messiah, but baby Jesus was not what they expected. As a church we should always be anticipating guests and visitors that we have never met before. It may be the neighbor who just moved in down the street, the widow(er) who doesn t want to be alone, the family looking to connect with a faith community, a traveler with a few hours before their flight, or a protester looking to create a scene Yes, you read that right. Unfortunately some of our neighboring churches have reported such people visiting their churches. With video cameras strapped to their chests, signs of protest, and words designed to antagonize there are people protesting our local congregations, particularly those that have made public statements that All Are Welcome, specifically those of the LGBTQ+ community. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where people feel the need to bully church members on their way to worship, but remember that protests are defended by the US Constitution as long as the protest is peaceful and the protesters stay off of private property. Those who protest churches are most interested in drawing negative reactions from the church members and capturing them on video in order to cast a negative light on the congregation. Should we ever be visited by protesters, here are a few guidelines: 1. Treat them with kindness. Smile, say good morning, invite them to join you for worship, bring them a cup of coffee. 2. Don t engage in verbal confrontation with the protesters. If they confront you, remain calm and kind and continue your plan to walk into the church building. 3. Don t physically engage them. Touching them in anyway provides them an opportunity to return physical contact and opens you to possible injury. 4. Seek your safety as top priority whether that is returning to your car or into the building where someone can contact police to assist with the situation. From what I have heard from local pastors, the protesters are generally peaceful, even though they are looking to antagonize people into a verbal or physical fight. Those that have walked on by and treated the protesters kindly have had no issues. To prepare ourselves for such encounters it is helpful to remind ourselves of Luther s explanation to the 8 th Commandment: We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light. (emphasis mine) May it be our challenge in the year ahead, whether we find ourselves confronted by protesters here at Hope, challenged by something a friend says, or aggravated by something we read, that we would interpret everything others do in the best possible light. Pastor Eric

A Ray of Hope September January 2019 2007 3 We welcome into the Lord s Family Eleanor Mei Erredge baptized December 30 Parents Bethany Thompson Erredge and Jon Erredge Grandparents Dorian and Terry

They will be a Sunday School pre-christmas project for next year. Thank you! Pat Killian EDUCATION Forum: 9:00am Everyone, 5th grade thru adult, are invited to join us Sunday in the fellowship hall.

3 A Ray of Hope September January We welcome into the Lord s Family Eleanor Mei Erredge baptized December 30 Parents Bethany Thompson Erredge and Jon Erredge Grandparents Dorian and Terry Thompson Uncle and Godfather Cody Thompson Recycle Your Christmas Cards! Bring them to church and place them in the Sunday school room in the fellowship hall. They will be a Sunday School pre-christmas project for next year. Thank you! Pat Killian EDUCATION Forum: 9:00am Everyone, 5th grade thru adult, are invited to join us Sunday in the fellowship hall. We always have coffee and week-old fried donuts!! Sunday School: 11:30 to 12:30 in the Sunday School room in the Fellowship Hall. JANUARY BIRTHDAYS 1 Xander Bayer Evie Kjer-Lackey 3 Julie Storlie 4 Russ Flaten 5 Chris Horn 8 Andrew Kjer-Lackey 13 Don Schwappach 14 Kathryn Schwappach Dione Brenna 21 Karin Ward 30 Elaine Horn 31 Michael Fernandez Although many of our members pitch in to help the congregation function on Sunday morning, many members also serve God by working at Hope throughout the week. But I hope to write a series of articles about members of Hope who serve God outside of what could be called church work. One such person is Joe Bayer. Joe has been a very active member of the American Legion since 1985 and has served as an officer by holding positions in both the local American Legion Post and at the district level. Through the post Joe is involved in a visitation program at the VA hospital. He visits patients regularly the first Sunday of every month. SERVING GOD He is active in ESGR (Employers Support of the Guard & Reserve). This program helps insure that veterans get their jobs back when they leave the military and return to civilian life. For two days last year he assisted in an American Legion program called Shop, Ship & Share, which supports our current military personnel. This program seeks donations of gifts for active military personnel and serves mostly those who are overseas and away from their families. Many of our members know Joe as the shopper, pancake batter maker and main pancake flipper at the grill for Wold Chamberlain s monthly Pancake Breakfasts. The moneys raised by this event go to support the charities and charitable work of the post. The District Commander always names a project they want to raise funds for or help out. Joe s project last year was helping Every Third Saturday, a program which Hope is supporting as well. This program works to help homeless veterans. Joe helped out this program by working to secure funds from the State for this project, plus he has gotten the Buildings & Trades Unions from both Mpls & St Paul to help work on the building they recently acquired. Doug Morton or dsmorton@juno.com

4 September January 2019 2007 A Ray of Hope Hope s Library Jan Nunn, Librarian Unconditional by Eva Marie Everson This novel was inspired by true events and was based on the popular film

Moral: There s enough love to go around, you just have to share it. Are you in need of prayer or would you like to pray for others?

To be included as one who prays for others, email or phone Ginny Olson at 612-729-5132 or cgolson@earthlink.net. She will add your name to those who receive requests and updates.

To the faithful in Minneapolis, Thanks so much for choosing to support H2O with your generous donation from One Great Hour of Sharing. Below is Adama Camara (center).

4 4 September January A Ray of Hope Hope s Library Jan Nunn, Librarian Unconditional by Eva Marie Everson This novel was inspired by true events and was based on the popular film "Unconditional. After may years, Sam and her school pal, Joe, unexpectedly meet each other again. They help each other heal and together they help many others heal. Moral: There s enough love to go around, you just have to share it. Are you in need of prayer or would you like to pray for others? Connect to the prayer chain of Hope Church and join in sharing the Spirit of Hope through the ministry of prayer. To be included as one who prays for others, or phone Ginny Olson at or cgolson@earthlink.net. She will add your name to those who receive requests and updates. To request prayers, phone or send them by to Pastor Eric Luedtke or Ginny Olson. Please indicate if you would also like to be included in public prayer during worship. To the faithful in Minneapolis, Thanks so much for choosing to support H2O with your generous donation from One Great Hour of Sharing. Below is Adama Camara (center). She lives in Bamba Colong, The Gambia, West Africa. A widow with several children, she used to fetch her water from a neighbor (whom we drilled a well for) and prior to that, a community open well where the water was contaminated. Now, through supporters like yourselves, she has access to clean water right at her own home. The impact of this is life changing. No more time spent fetching water, the ability to grow a small garden on her compound and clean water for her and her children. She wanted to make sure I passed on her, Jarama (thanks), to all who made this possible. Thanks so much for partnering with us to bring hope to others, Dave Reierson Editor s note: Dave Reierson is Barb Nelson s brother Adama Camara (center) in Bamba Colong, The Gambia, West Africa Thanks so much for allowing us to use the fellowship hall for our monthly meetings. It works out great for us. Best wishes for the coming year. Bill Cedarleaf, Minnesota Decoy and Wildfowl Carving Club Dear Members of Hope, On behalf of the Choir Trips Project committee, we want to thank you, once again, for the use of your space for our Choir Trips Reunion. We are enclosing a check for $500 as a donation to Hope Lutheran Church. We would like the entire amount to go toward the elevator repair fund. Thank you! Sincerely, The Choir Trips Committee Helen Applequist, Chris Horn, Duane Horn, Warren Elness, Liz Fedde, Janelle Hallgren, Charlie and Ginny Olson, and Ralph and Mary Peterson

5 A Ray of Hope September January Council Mini Minutes December 6, 2018 Pastor Eric started our Visioning discussion by reminding us of a video he first showed us from 1 st Lutheran English Church in Columbus, OH where they went all in. At Hope our discussions and decisions have all been based on the will we still be here in 3 to 5 years statement. Instead of stretching dollars, should we be thinking like the church in Columbus and saying let s go all in and do something radical that will make a difference in this church and our community? Can we start basing our decisions on being here in 20 years? If people are not interested in coming to church, but enjoy events, should we shift our focus to what else do we do, or can we do, that people would enjoy participating in? How do these events show God s love? Pr. Eric also discussed Culture Keeper. It reminds us why we are here. It makes it easier to invite others to participate when you know why you are here. There are very valid and solid reasons why God us brought us together and to be here. The elevator is up and running thank you Charlie! Charlie will be making a plea to the congregation for donations to cover the elevator expense. Total bill was approximately $19,000. What is not covered by special donations will be taken from Undesignated Memorials. Mary Peterson received an from Scott Dahlquist at Woodlake Lutheran. They are thinking of doing a Feed My Starving Children event in February and wanted to know if Hope would like to partner with them. The plan is to donate their time at FMSC and then go back to Woodlake for a potluck. Mary will not be available in February to coordinate the event. She will let Scott know who to contact at Hope. Ginny reported that all gifts had been delivered for the Sponsor a Family. We had a family of eight. The first Sunday all but 4 of the tags were taken and by the second Sunday the balance of tags were taken. They delivered four large bags of blankets, jackets, shoes, etc. to the family. Thank you members of Hope! The council elected Dorian Thompson as Council President, Deb Christensen as Vice President and Dave Fernandez as Financial Secretary. At Part I of the annual meeting, the congregation chose four recipients to receive the tithe from the sale of the Education Building. Unfortunately, one of the recipients (MACC) is a for profit business and is therefore, not eligible to be a recipient. The council recommended the congregation vote at Part II of the annual meeting for a fourth recipient. The four options will be Compas, College Possible, Teach America and Roosevelt Foundation. Next Council Meeting January 10. As with all council meetings, all congregation members are welcome. Treasurer s Report November 2018 Activity Summary Beginning Transfers or Ending Account Balance Receipts Expenses int/gain/loss Balance Operating Account (21,965.27) 11, , (25,617.29) Flow Thru 89, , , Preschool/Day Care 18, , Special Funds 39, , Endowment Fund 114, , US Bank Investments 288, , Preschool Deficit FY 2017 (14,895.94) (14,895.94) Total Funds 513, , , , Figures from the Treasurer s Report

6 September January 2019 2007 A Ray of Hope Feed My Starving Children November 17 a group of 19 Hope members packaged meals for Feed My Starving Children.

Thank you for your patience as we struggled through some quality issues with our film transfers. We found a new vendor and they did a great job.

6 6 September January A Ray of Hope Feed My Starving Children November 17 a group of 19 Hope members packaged meals for Feed My Starving Children. Boxes packed: 233 Meals: 50,328 Kids Fed for A Year: 137 Cost: $11, Hope Choir Trips Archive Now Available on DVD Great news! The entire Hope Choir Trips Archive is now available digitally. Thank you for your patience as we struggled through some quality issues with our film transfers. We found a new vendor and they did a great job. If you have any questions or would like to place an order, please contact Chris Horn at hopechoirtrips@gmail.com or Each trip is on its own DVD and the cost is $5.00 per DVD. It will come with a data DVD which includes all of the scanned slides and photos along with the reunion photos. If you would just like a copy of the data DVD with the slides and photos the cost is $1.00. Once your order is ready a pick up schedule can be set or if necessary shipping costs can be determined. A set of the archived DVDs will also be available to check out from the Hope Library after the first of the year.

7 A Ray of Hope September January

8 86 A Ray of Hope September January 2019 2007 Hope Lutheran Church Contact Persons PASTOR Eric Luedtke pastor@hopempls.

8 8 86 A Ray of Hope September January Hope Lutheran Church Contact Persons PASTOR Eric Luedtke pastor@hopempls.org church (612) ext 13 cell (510) PASTORAL ASSOCIATE Doug Morton DIRECTOR OF MUSIC Mark Hedman home (612) church (612) ext 15 cell (952) CUSTODIAN Russ Utoft church (612) COUNCIL PRESIDENT Dorian Thompson home (952) NEWSLETTER EDITOR Ginny Olson home (612) cgolson@earthlink.net ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Tina Raasch church (612) ext Church Council President Dorian Thompson Vice President Debbie Christensen Secretary Open Treasurer Clair Brenna Financial Secretary Dave Fernandez Business Mgt Dorian Thompson Education Pat Killian Evangelism (Hospitality) Open Finance Dave Fernandez Pastoral/Social Ministry Mary Peterson Property Charlie Olson Recreation/Fellowship Pat Killian Stewardship Ginny Olson Worship/Music Deb Bayer Youth Open HENRY W. ANDERSON EARLY DAY CARE Michaelle Flaten rd Ave S Minneapolis MN Over 32 years experience Michaelle Flaten, member of Hope MORTUARY ~CLASSIC FUNERALS ~CREMATION ~PRE-PLANNING FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1931 MINNEAPOLIS APPLE VALLEY rd Ave So (612) Garrett Ave (952) Church Office Hours Monday Thursday 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Hope has available Equal Exchange Coffee and Tea in the cabinet in the fellowship hall. Please call regarding Pastoral Visits, Hospitals, and Care Centers If you or a family member would like to have a visit from the pastor during a hospital stay, please notify the church office. If you or a family member are moved to a care center, please notify the church office. We want to stay in contact with you and continue our ministry of presence and prayer. Due to privacy rules, hospital and other care facilities are not allowed to share that information when we call. We depend on you administration@hopempls.org January Service Opportunities Ushers: Bonnie Brenna, Rick and Julie Storlie, Charlie and Ginny Olson Fellowship & Service Groups: Members are assigned to one of the 4 monthly service groups. If your name appears below, you may be called on to volunteer your time to serve coffee and donuts this month. Thank you!! Caller: Eileen DePoe Servers: Earl and Bunny Anderson, Deb Christensen, Eileen DePoe, Rich Donnelly and Dorothy Knutson, Carol Farnham, Dianne Kaatz, Julie and Rick Storlie Stewardship "Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Our Wednesday Lenten Journey to Easter

Our Wednesday Lenten Journey to Easter A Ray of Hope A Ray of Hope September February 2018 2007 1 Volume 88 Number 2 Monthly Newsletter of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church 5728 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55417, 612-827-2655 www.hopempls.org