T HE MESSIAH MESSENGER

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1 T HE MESSIAH MESSENGER MAY 2017 Hebrews 12: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Happy Birthday, Messiah! 60 years old! We have been talking about this for months, and it is here! Our celebration on May 12 is unlike any other anniversary celebration we have done instead of focusing on having a banquet or something where we just recall where we have been, we decided to put the focus on this beautiful neighborhood we continue to be a part of. In recent weeks as I have thumbed through the archives and pictures of the history of this place, I found myself remembering lots of the things that have happened over Messiah s life with a variety of feelings. We had no shortage of difficult times. We also had some amazingly good times. We have good people here; we always have had. And the people that are no longer with us are part of a larger community that we all belong to the family of God. Here are some fun facts about Messiah (you will be able to see many mementos of Messiah s past on display in our Fellowship Hall over the next few weeks.) Messiah was initially formed as a mission church of the United Lutheran Church. Reverend Ralph Sandgren, who had been serving in Columbus, moved over to Billings as the mission developer in order to do the work of beginning this new church plant. He spent time visiting with near neighbors, though our original building (the little white building across the parking lot that now serves as an AA house through a private owner) was surrounded by more pastureland than homes and a big part of his job was making folks aware that a new church would be coming to the area. In the fall of 1956, interested people began gathering at Rocky Mountain College s Tech Building. The first worship service was at the end of September with 51 people in attendance. From there they moved from changing interest to commitment and on May 12, 1957, the church was chartered with the bishop of the Northwest Synod preaching in the morning and First English Lutheran s pastor, John Shannon, serving as guest speaker at the organizational Vesper Service that evening. Attendance was required in the morning service to be listed on the charter, and that service included reception of charter members by baptism, young people s confirmation, adult confirmation, transfers, and renewal of faith. Phew! Ground was broken for the building on June 30 th of that year. Messiah has had 15 different pastors (including a couple of interims) over the course of its history. Our current building was constructed in 1974 and dedicated in Plans for our Fellowship Hall began in 1998 and it has been pure blessing. As our congregation has aged, we are all grateful for not being in the basement for coffee hours and social events. It is impossible to make a full history of this community. So much has happened, and it appears we are not done yet. The goal is to look toward our future without longing for the over and gone past. What will Messiah be? How can we continue to live into the future and boldly proclaim our faith to those we encounter? For the past several years, the Montana Synod has had that as the number one goal for the congregations it serves: Meet the future boldly. That means taking risks for the gospel. That means not letting fear paralyze us, not letting it incapacitate us, not let it have the last say. (Bishop Crist) Looking at the future always occurs with some trepidation. We simply do not, cannot know what the future holds for any of us or the things, places and people near and dear to us. Messiah is near and dear to all our hearts. Continue to hold it in prayer as we journey forward in this not-yet-complete race we began 60 years ago. Jesus, still lead on til our rest be won. heav nly leader still direct us, still support, console, protect us, till we safely stand in the promised land. (verse 4, ELW 624) text: Nicolaus von Zinzendorf ( )

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3 If you have kids, grandkids or neighbors interested in attending Bible School this summer, check out Peace Lutheran s program we have participated in their program before and it is a great one. King of Glory also has a program that you can check on their website. Wendy Portman Nancy Schultz Eve Brusco Hal Haefer Ralph Moerer Lana Metesh Pat Kirkpatrick Don Kirkpatrick Knud Kaae Mildred Tombre Carolyn Dewey Lee Sherseth Several others with unnamed needs

4 Messiah s Monday Quilters finished 29 quilts for Lutheran World Relief this year. The quilts are being packed to send on May 13. Every other Monday at 1:00, these women gather to piece, back, sandwich and tie these gift offerings. Thank you, ladies! (Guys, you could do this too!) Each year we try to put together a few more no talent required, all are welcome! Please come join us. Check the calendar or call the church for schedule if you are interested in joining us. (This year, we sent 2 of our quilts went to the Rocky Boy Reservation in response to their appeal for twin size quilts for their cabins.) Special K Ranch will be selling their plants once again at the Billings Ace Hardware stores. Residents will be at the individual stores from 10-2 on these dates: Saturdays, May 6, 13, and 20 th at the Zimmerman and Laurel stores; May 27 at the Heights and Lockwood stores. Neighborhood Literature Drop for anniversary we plan to drop off flyers about our anniversary celebration to homes in the neighborhood surrounding Messiah. If you are willing to walk a few blocks, pick up flyers at the church and mark off on the map where you will be going. If you would like to join with someone else to do so, please visit with Karen Duncan. Left out of last month s newsletter: Baptisms on March 26th Raegan Stengel daughter of Beth and Tristan Stengel; great-grandfather: Dave Ballan Paxton Ballan son of Samantha Ballan

5 May May 12: May 14: May 15: May 21: May 28: May 29: June: June 1-4: June 1-3: June 4: June 8: June 10: June 11: June 18: June 24: June 25: Anniversary Celebration Bishop Crist preaches in honor of our 60 th anniversary/mother s Day Pastor s sabbatical begins with the Homiletics Festival in San Antonio Karl Guhn, guest pastor Larry Quanbeck, guest pastor Memorial Day office closed Synod Assembly in Great Falls 4 Winds quilting workshop in fellowship hall Catherine Card, guest pastor work day at church work day at church Catherine Card, guest pastor Tom Schlotterback, guest pastor Noennig memorial service at church open Hello from your preschool. It s fitting that it is spring, a time of growth and change. The students are anxiously awaiting the change of going to kindergarten or being a big kid here at school next fall. It is already our last month of preschool for the year. It s exciting and sad at the same time. We will see twenty of our students leaving us. Two are military families who are being stationed somewhere new. In May, we get to take a field trip with all of our graduates. We will spend the day together at Zoo Montana. We are also hosting a celebration brunch for our graduates (upstairs) on Wednesday the 24 th. In the fall, we will have returning students who finally get to be the big kids. We are already full in that class and about half full in our two day class. We would like to share a big thank you to Jessie Neimantsverdriedt for her three years with us. Jill Fitzgerald will be our full time help next fall as Jessie goes on to do her design work full time. Thanks to the mothers who stepped in to help us with all of our fun days or extra projects. We also need to thank the members of Messiah for blessing us with this space and your donations. As always, we thank you for your support and prayers each school year. It has been a terrific year of learning and growing together here at Messiah s preschool! Marianne

6 Tentative Guest pastor list and assorted summer details: July 2: Catherine Card July 4: Independence Day office closed July 6: Saint John s first summer concert: Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. Opening act at 6:00 July 9: Catherine Card July 13: St. John s concert: Diamonds in the Rough July 16: Karl Guhn July 20: St. John s summer concert: Parker Brown and the Bleedin Hearts July 23: Robert Leaverton July 27: St. John s Summer Concert: The Midlife Chryslers July 28-29: Anxuan Tran and Spencer Ball nuptials. Elisabeth Daniels presiding July 30: Bob Quam August 3: St. John s concert: Victor Wainright and the Wildroots August 6: Catherine Card August 13: Rob Nedbalek August 20: Pastor Kris returns/ Picnic at church August 25-26: Second Garage Sale August 27: Reformation 500 activity Beer and Brats at Atonement Lutheran

7 Messiah Lutheran will once again be in the Church Locator, a flyer sponsored by KURL 93.3 radio, that is found at the airport, in hotels, and various other locations around town so that visitors to Billings can check us out. Thanks to a church member for paying for this fine advertising. KURL S radio auction begins Saturday, May 20 th at noon. Check it out! Congratulations to our graduates: Brennan Whittmeyer, MSU; Mishayla Whittmeyer, West High. We also congratulate Brennan on his upcoming marriage in July. Welcome back to all our snowbirds!

8 May Mishayla Whittmeyer 5/5 Carl Kurokawa 5/10 Lee Sherseth 5/17 Valeri Kaae 5/28 June Edna Hedges 6/5 Elizabeth Stengel 6/12 Marilyn Bertsch 6/16 Reid Grayson 6/18 May June Charities Financial information for May and June: We will have complete information on offering and budget when Wendy returns from leave YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS President: Karen Duncan Vice-President: Valeri Kaae Treasurer: Wendy Portman* Secretary: Rob Walker Financial Secretary: Curtis Whittmeyer* Pastor Kris Mitzman A place of welcome where God s love is shared Barb Hagler/Lana Metesh We are here to serve you and help fulfill Messiah s call and mission. Ideas, thoughts, Rhonda Smith and concerns are always welcomed. (*) = not a council member with vote Messiah Lutheran Church, a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. God s work. Our hands Colton Blvd in Billings

9 MAY 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 1p LWR Quilting pm Council 7 8 1p Pinochle Church 60th Anniversary Celebration p LWR Quilting a Mangia Bishop Crist Pastor Kris s sabbatial begins p Pinochle Pre-school brunch Karl Guhn, guest Pastor p LWR Quilting Larry Quanbeck guest Pastor Memorial Day Office Closed

10 JUNE 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 4 Winds Quilting Synod Assembly in Great Falls 2 4 Winds Quilting Synod Assembly in Great Falls 3 4 Winds Quilting Synod Assembly in Great Falls 4 5 1p Pinochle Synod Assembly in Great Falls Work Day at Church Work Day at Church 11 Catherine Card guest Pastor 12 1p LWR Quilting p Pinochle Tom Schlotterback guest Pastor Noennig memorial service p LWR Quilting