AUGUSTANA LUTHERAN CHURCH

Transcription

1 THE EPISTLE AUGUSTANA LUTHERAN CHURCH Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1025 Second Avenue P.O. Box 5 Cumberland, Wisconsin Phone: Fax: Pastor Randy Skow-Anderson Cell Phone: pastor@augustanachurch.com Brad and Jackie Novak, Custodians Home Phone: custodian@augustanachurch.com Jene Morey, Office Manager Home Phone: office@augustanachurch.com Website: Like Us on FACEBOOK NOVEMBER 2017

2 FROM THE PASTOR Dear friends in Christ, Grace to you and peace in the name of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. Amen So, how are you? I m grateful. It has been a year since many of us have been responding this way. How has it felt to you? Has it changed how you look at life? Do you see the glass of water as half full or half empty? What do you see? What do you look for? Can you choose to be grateful? On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! When he saw them, he said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? Then he said to him, Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well. Luke 17:11-19 There were ten lepers that approached Jesus crying out for mercy. They were outcasts because of their illness. Jesus responds to their cry and as they go all were made clean. All were healed, but only one turns back to give thanks to the one who healed all of them. He was grateful. I invite you to take time each day and count your blessings. Maybe this will help us see God s gracious activity happening all around us. Give is a try. See what happens. In Christ, Pastor Randy

3 CHURCH IN SOCIETY Celebrate Jesus Live the Love November's noisy offering will be given to Cumberland Food Pantry. Augustana quilts and kits were taken to the ingathering at Bethany Church in Rice Lake on October 14 and placed in a semitrailer along with many other donations from churches in this area. That filled semi-trailer was then driven to the Lutheran World Relief warehouse in Minneapolis. Augustana provided 118 quilts and 83 school kits to Lutheran World Relief. There were also 60 quilts given to Chetek tornado victims earlier this spring. THANK YOU AUGUSTANA!!! The Young Adult in Global Mission who Augustana will sponsor this year is Lars Anderson, from Duluth, Minnesota. Lars is serving in Jerusalem this year. Carol Halverson Church in Society Pay It Forward We can t pay God back for what God has done for us, we can only PAY IT FORWARD. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 3:23 Thank you to the many who have responded! Your generosity in service of time, prayers and money will enable Augustana to continue our mission and ministry to our community and the world. If you have not yet returned your pledge sheet and time and talent sheet, there is still time; please mail or drop them off at the church office as soon as possible or simply drop them in the offering plate at worship this Sunday. Thank you, Your Stewardship Team. Janice Ahneman Kate Hedke Karyn Hullinger Mervin Olson

4 Task Force Update The Church Council established a task force to enlist every voice of the congregation in an assessment which will provide in-depth insight and perspective for our future. We believe in the importance of giving everyone a voice in the important decisions we face. The Congregational Assessment Tool (CAT) will provide us with evidence to make better decisions, in less time and with more confidence. From now until November 12, the CAT link, Is available to all household members age 16 and older. If you need assistance or online access, please contact a task Force member or the Church Office. Opportunities will be set up to make it possible for everyone to complete the CAT at the church or in their home. The goal is to have 120 responses and about half have completed the assessment. Remember, the assessment will close on November 12 th. Pastor Kurt Jacobson who is administrating the CAT will then meet with the Church Council and Task Force to discuss the result on November 30 th. Shortly thereafter the Council will be sharing this information with the congregation as we use what we learn to move our congregation into the future. Thank you for completing the CAT as soon as possible. Many thanks, Augustana Task Force Jackie Berg Alan Carlson Dave Evenson David Ficocello Barb Garling Pauline Hartman Karyn Hullinger Keith Johnson Bruce Jungerberg Bob Lundquist Jeanette Rydberg

5 Church Council Meeting September Council Minutes October 1, 6:00 p.m. Members present: Diane Carlson, Julie Donatelle, Leah Hullinger, Deb Johnson, Barb Landstrom, David Ficocello, Sheri Johnson, Curt Johnson, Tom Hodgson and Kate Hedke. Also present: Pastor Randy Skow-Anderson, Barb Garling and Dave Evenson. The meeting was called to order by Vice President Deb Johnson. A motion was made by Barb Landstrom, seconded by Diane Carlson to approve the agenda. Pastor Randy led a prayer. A motion was made by Tom Hodgson, seconded by David Ficocello to approve the minutes of the August 30 meeting. The resignations of Dean and Pam Bergstrom from the council were accepted, with sadness and thanks for their service to the council, their respective committees, and Augustana. Dave Evenson and Barb Garling were appointed as council members to fulfill the terms of Dean and Pam Bergstrom. Their terms will expire in January. Dave Evenson was appointed as the council liaison to the Church in Society committee, and Barb Garling was appointed as the council liaison to the Congregational Care Committee. Thank you notes will be sent to Dean and Pam Bergstrom for their council service. The council heard an update on the Task Force's progress from David Ficocello. At the most recent Task Force meeting before the council meeting, Bishop Hoyme attended, and it was clear there wasn't enough information in the comments from the special meeting to make a decision on any of the issues assigned to the Task Force. Bishop Hoyme suggested the Task Force use an assessment tool to get more validation from the congregation on what the future of Augustana should be. David Ficocello met with Kurt Jacobson of Mustard Seed Consulting, and was told about an 85-question online assessment tool that will provide hard data regarding the congregation's overall satisfaction with the church. 5

6 The concern with using this tool is that it could be daunting for those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with computers. The tool is available through an ed link that will be sent to members, non-members who attend, and others who may be part of Augustana but not necessarily members. Start to finish, the process will take about 3-4 weeks, and would cost approximately $1,700. An anonymous donor has come forward to cover the cost of the assessment, and the Task Force will begin communicating with the congregation about the tool to ensure as many people as possible participate to get the most data possible. A motion was made by Leah Hullinger, seconded by David Ficocello to enroll Augustana in the assessment. The pastor's report, and committee reports were heard. The council also approved the use of $ from the Church and Society budget and noisy offering to support a missionary. Tom Hodgson gave the financial report. He then informed the council this would be his last meeting, as he was resigning from the finance committee and the council. The next meeting was scheduled for October 22 at 6:00 p.m. A motion was made by Deb Johnson, seconded by Julie Donatelle, to adjourn. NEW MEMBER SUNDAY WILL BE DECEMBER 3 rd. An orientation will be at 8:00 a.m. and cake will be served after church to welcome our new members. If you are interested in becoming a member of Augustana, please contact the church office. FIRST COMMUNION WILL BE HELD SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 rd. First Communion classes will be Sunday, November 19 th at 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. If you have a child that you believe is ready for First Communion, please contact the church office or Pastor Randy. 6

7 November Birthdays and Anniversaries Happy Birthday to 2 George Leopold 4 Dave Evenson, Aiden Mullikin, Betty Nyseth 5 Larry Anderson, Don Donatell, Jesse Garling, Kylah Gosda, Megan Harding, Edna Hines, Carol Leopold 10 Gary Nyseth, Elaine Warwick 11 Sarah Lundquist, Matthew Nickell 12 Alan Carlson, Roy Green, Todd Sandman 13 Shannon Johnson 15 Dylan Barker, Tatum Hedke, Jeff Walters, Owen Werner 16 Ruth Shoemaker 17 Cole Donatelle 20 John Hall 21 Pam Bergstrom 21 Autumn Donatell, Alyx Feidt 22 Cori Hallgren, Edward Hazelton 25 Courtney Lussier 29 Nicole Donatell, Tristan Hedke, Gary Lundquist, Terri Ruppel Greg Taft 30 Tim Jergenson Happy Anniversary To.. 4 Lloyd and Jackie Berg (50) 8 Carroll and Vonnie Schell 12 Butch and Val Sutherland 15 Harold and Lennie Hart-Hawkins 16 Bob and Fran Chubb 18 Todd and Kirsten Sandman 22 Gary Johnson and Liz Alberg 27 Bill and Janet Neff 7