It is with great joy that I accept the call to the position of Lead Pastor within your congregation.

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1 April 2014 Dear Mr. Borka, Ms. Kaderlik, and Members of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, It is with great joy that I accept the call to the position of Lead Pastor within your congregation. As I progressed through the call process, I was increasingly pleased by the professionalism, faithfulness and openness to the calling of God shown by your call committee. They worked efficiently yet thoroughly on your behalf, asking at every significant juncture how the proposed candidates would serve the needs of Our Savior's. I am grateful to have been selected by such an audacious group. Now, as I begin sharing ministry amongst you, I look forward to growing in my knowledge of those who did not reside on the call committee, yet have important information to share with me about what God is up to in this community of faith. My family and I would like to thank you for the abundant welcome we have received from the sections of the congregation to which we have been introduced (Call Committee, Council and Staff). I have also appreciated those of you who have reached out through letters, Facebook and to congratulate me and offer your well wishes. From all accounts, you have a gifted congregation and staff! I have heard many comments from people who know you well that ministry in your place is joy-filled and energetic. I also hear that you have invested yourselves in looking beyond your walls to the life of the larger community of Faribault. I look forward to exploring how my gifts will combine with yours for the good of God's Kingdom. I come to this community knowing that the work we will begin together proceeds from the labor of love of so many in the communion of saints: all of you who faithfully worship each week in Our Savior's pews and serve as God's hands each day in the world; attentive staff who have offered their gifts for the betterment of this community; your previous pastors, including Pr. Steve and Pr. Joanna, who were delightful people of faith; Pr. Wal Reat, whose story and ministry bears to you the fullness of the Sudanese people; and most recently, Pr. David and Pr. Dick, who have served as more than capable shepherds during this transition in leadership. Your congregation has been blessed with a rich history to which we will now add a new chapter. Thank you for inviting me into this invigorating work. Trusting in God, and calling on the name of Jesus Christ, we will journey together into God's future. As the sign says that resides in our family's home office, "We Fear Not Tomorrow, for God is Already There". I look forward to beginning my work amongst you in April! In Christ, Rev. Sarah Nietz I ns id e t his is su e: Congregational Life 2 Pastor Jorgensen 3 Holy Week 4 Missionary Update from Bethany and Stephen Friberg Great Food Challenge 7 Children s Ministry 8 Youth Ministry 10 Installation Service For Pastor Sarah Nietz Sunday, April 6 9:30 am There will be one service on April 6th at 9:30, followed by Brunch. Please contact the church office at or geo@oursaviorsfbo. org if you plan to attend the brunch. No Sunday School. 5

2 P a g e 2 C o n g r e g a t i o n a l L i f e First Communion On February 2 these children received their 1st Communion. Kailey Amundson Aiden Andersen Jax Bokman Brenden Drever Cole Dunn Nathan Eitel Sarah Engbrecht Cameryn Grunseth Kacie Hofuis Katie Johannsen Paige Koch Ethan Krogh Kaitlyn Limon Nathan Menard Myles Munoz Torri Muzik Hunter Nelson McKenzie Page Elizabeth Peterson Nathan Pientka Kaden Roiger Paige Ross Logan Schak Carter Sietsema Evy Vettrus Madison Wiggins Whitton Wolff March 9, 2014 Nash Robert Novotny Son of Samuel and Amanda Novotny Welcome to the family! Our Sympathy to: Karen and Dan Rasmussen In the death of Karen s Mother, Luella Dore. Ruthie Vettrus In the death of Her brother, Jeff Christenson. Marlene and Loren Balken In the death of Marlene s sister, Lorraine Hunter. May the promise of the resurrection into eternal life give you much hope and comfort in this time of loss. F a c t s a n d F i g u r e s f o r F e b r u a r y Y e a r C o m p a r i s o n F e b r u a r y O f f e r i n g $ 4 1, $ 4 3, $ 5 3, F e b r u a r y E x p e n s e $ 5 4, $ 5 7, $ 5 4, M a y G o d c o n t i n u e t o n u r t u r e o u r s p i r i t o f g e n e r o s i t y a n d b l e s s o u r l i f e - g i v i n g m i n i s t r i e s. L a m p l i g h t e r s A p r i l 1, : 0 0 p. m I n t h e A l l P u r p o s e R o o m K y m n A n d e r s o n F r o m t h e F a r i b a u l t C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e W i l l b e t h e G u e s t S p e a k e r. V i s i t o r s a r e a l w a y s W e l c o m e.

3 V o l u m e 1, I s s u e 1 P a g e 3 To my friends at Our Savior s Lutheran Church: As we look forward to the installation of Pastor Sarah Nietz on April 6, my time as Transitional Lead Pastor is drawing to a close. Although I have been open to the proposal that I stay on and assist Pastor Nietz in the continuing interim period as the congregation seeks a new associate pastor, it happens that I am in need of some surgery that I will now take care of. Although the surgery is not a crisis and is not alarming to me the indefinite nature of the recovery time is such that it seems to make sense to close the book on this chapter of our relationship. March 23 rd will be my last Sunday with you. Caryl and I will continue to live in Faribault, and we won t be strangers. We will always be friends of Our Savior s Lutheran Church. I have told Pastor Nietz and the Church Council that I am certainly willing to be of assistance in the future if the need arises. I really can t put into words how enjoyable and fulfilling it has been to serve among you. I am grateful for the open-hearted welcome I received from the congregation and the staff, and for my association with Pastor Beckstrom. I met with Pastor Nietz a few days ago, and I came away more convinced than ever that her call as Lead Pastor will be a wonderful and spirit-filled new beginning for Our Savior s Lutheran Church. Caryl and I hold you in our hearts. Pastor Dick Jorgensen Copies of Pastor Jorgensen s sermon, Let There Be Light: The Partnership of Faith and Science in the Search for Truth are available at the Welcome Center or in the church office. There are also copies of selections from Pastor Jorgensen s Adult Forum, Three Christian Poets at the Welcome Center and in the church office. Thank you Pastor Jorgensen for your leadership and friendship during the past 8 months. We wish you and Caryl the very best as you reclaim your retirement. Blessings and Godspeed.

4 April 13 Palm Sunday Worship Services 8:30 Traditional Worship 10:30 Contemporary Worship, led by Proclaim!!! April 17 Maundy Thursday Worship with Holy Communion 6:30 pm April 18 Good Friday Ecumenical Worship 12:00 noon Christ Lutheran Church Chaplain Tony Mustazza will be preaching. 5:00pm Good Friday Family Service Good Friday Evening Worship 6:30 pm with Our Savior s Singers April 20 Easter Sunday Worship Services 8:30 Traditional (Our Savior s Singers) 10:30 Contemporary (Free Spirit)

5 Dear Friends, One of my roles as a mission doctor in rural Tanzania is to link patients with medical systems that can deal with difficult problems. This includes surgery for cleft lip/pallet, cataracts, osteomyelitis, burn contractures, and trauma. Most of our patients would not get to specialized care without our help making the connections. Little 7 year old Elizabeth is a Maasai girl from Ketumbeine who underwent successful heart surgery to replace a mitral valve in November Rheumatic heart disease gradually destroyed her mitral valve and put her into serious heart failure. It is exciting that Tenwek, a mission hospital in Kenya, has started doing heart surgery at a very reduced price. Elizabeth's parents sold some of their livestock to raise half the cost of her $3,000 medical bill. We were given money to cover the rest. Elizabeth had angels watching over her. At the end of surgery her stunned heart developed ventricular fibrillation for 45 minutes. She had to be kept on bypass and her surgical team was uncertain if she would survive. Very slowly, her heart came back to normal function, she was walking in a few days, and discharged after 6 days. Her surgeon calls her a miracle. Mission doctors know it is God who does the healing and pray before every operation. Elizabeth comes for monthly checkups and now has normal heart function. Timotheo, a 3 year old Maasai boy, was in the hospital with Elizabeth. He had cardiac catheterization to open a very tight aortic valve. He was not growing and was too weak to play with the other kids. Immediately after valvuloplasty his father could see that he was breathing more easily. The next day he had new energy. Now Timotheo is growing and can run as fast as his friends. Looking ahead, our family will travel to USA in Aug after Nyika and Zaka graduate from high school in July. Please pray for our children's transition to USA. The boys will be taking a gap year working construction in Superior WI before starting college. Shalai will attend a public school in S. Mpls this fall for 7th grade. While in USA for six months we are looking forward to seeing you and visiting our supporting congregations. Thank you for making it possible for us to be here. Steve and Bethany Friberg

6 Page 6 Four years ago, the Maasai women of Naapok Bead Project in Ketumbeine, northern Tanzania voiced their dream for each one to have a home with a corrugated metal roof. To do this,they needed to turn beaded bracelets into bati. Bati is the Swahili word for a corrugated metal roofing sheet. 4,800 BRACELETS LATER.. plus a lot of work purchasing cedar poles, collecting branches for lath, plastering walls,and saving for doors, 57 women now have homes with metal roofs. All of you who purchased bracelets contributed to making this happen. ASANTE SANA! We rejoice in the Lord s faithfulness to these women, and that He chooses to come and make his home in each of them and each of us. Jesus said, All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. John 14:23 Seyan s new home

7 P a g e 7 The Great Food Challenge of 2014 The Feeding of the 5,000 Taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. Luke 9:16-17 When Jesus was out teaching in the community he looked out at the great crowd of people and he had compassion on them. He saw their needs, he saw their hunger. His disciples first instinct was to send them home and let them figure it out themselves. But Jesus answered them, You give them something to eat. We have been called not to ignore the hungry people in our midst and instead have compassion and give them something to eat. Hunger continues to be a real problem in our world and it impacts our community. The Great Hunger Challenge. Our Savior s and First English have competed four years in a row to see who could collect the most food and dollars for our local food shelf. Last year the winner was...our Savior s Lutheran Church!!! We give thanks for First English for a wonderful competition. Challenge Results as of March 16: First English 1729 Our Savior s Totals: First English 2710 Our Savior s 6274 We are hoping in 2014 we will not only win the battle against First English but we will win the battle against hunger! In our minds the goal is to raise as much monetary funds as possible as the food shelf is able to purchase much more food with $1.00 than we are able to. This year instead of $1.00 donation = 1 lb of food it will = 5 lbs of food. The church that raises the most pounds/dollars will be treated to an Ice Cream social hosted by the other congregation. The Great Food Challenge began on Ash Wednesday, March 5 and will end on Sunday April 13th. Bring food donations to the church lobby or consider giving a special offering specifically designated for the food challenge. During this difficult economy more people than ever are hungry. Together I believe that we can feed the hungry and make a difference in this community. Thank you for your help!

8 V o l u m e 1, I s s u e 1 P a g e 8 C h i l d r e n s M i n i s t r y Wednesday School Lent Schedule APRIL 16 th HOLY WEEK No WEDNESDAY SCHOOL April 18 th GOOD FRIDAY Family Service at 5:00pm Join us in the Sanctuary as we walk through the Passion Story using a family friendly interactive Drama. April 20 th Easter Sunday, join us for worship at 8:30 or 10:30 For Summer Camps the dates to remember are; Vacation Bible School2014 Weird Animals; June 23 rd -27 th 8:30-11:00am (3 yrs old through completed Kindergarten) June 23 rd 26 th 6:30 8:00pm (Completed 1 st through 5 th grade) On the Road aka Day Camp 2014 Good Earth Village July 13 th (Sunday Evening Worship and Registration) July 14 th 17 th 9:00am-4:00pm (Kindergarten through completed 5 th Grade) On the Road G.E.V. The registration is already on line at the Good Earth Village website. Check it out at; You may register your child directly on line through Good Earth Village. The cost is $75payable to Good Earth Village. On Sunday night of registration we are asking each camper to pay an additional $5 payable to the church to cover the cost of the child s lunch for the week. We are looking for housing and food for the 11 counselors that are coming to lead the programing for our kids. If you are considering sending your children to camp for the week, please also consider housing one or more counselors. We will also need to provide some meals for them, so if anyone is willing to provide meals for them please let me know. NO SUNDAY SCHOOL Sunday, April 6. There will be one worship Service that morning. Pastor Sarah Nietz will be Installed as Our Savior s new Lead Pastor. Last Day of Sunday School is Sunday May 4 th Last Day of Wednesday School& Confirmation is Wednesday May 7 th ****REGISTRATION**** Please watch for the Sunday and Wednesday School Registration for the school year. I will have Registration forms on the table outside the Fire Works room starting in April. The Road Map will not be coming out until August this summer, watch for it to plan dates for the upcoming school year

9 P a g e 9 VBS 2014 Weird Animals God filled the world with a lot of crazy creatures...including you! When kids feel weird, different, or even lost in a crowd nothing compares to the extraordinary love of Jesus. Each day the Bible Points and Stories come to life in Bible Adventures, Games, Theatre, Food and Imagination Creations. Last year we added a 1 st 5 th Grade group which was a success, so we are doing it again this year. The Pre K kids will learn their stories in the morning, while 1 st -5 th graders will learn theirs in the evening. The kids will be participating in activities and stations tailored to their age group. I am looking for several volunteers for both the morning and evening sessions, your children do not need to participate in order to volunteer. Please consider helping in the following area: (check what you are interested in) Small group helper Game coordinator Help supply snack items Chadder coordinator Craft coordinator Open to helping anywhere EVERYONE is welcome to help out!!!!!

10 P a g e 1 0 Youth Ministry Update Brand NEW Mission Trip Experience Mission Trip Location: Lawrence, Kansas Date: July 27- August 2 nd The mission trip for this coming summer was locked in back in December. Instead of taking two trips this summer both a middle school and high school trip, I have decided to combine the two groups and take one mission trip this summer. Also, new this year instead of running our mission trip through an organization, we will be partnering with a church and their youth group from FCC Lawrence to serve the surrounding area. This is a church that we met on our middle school trip last year and have stayed in contact with throughout the year. This year s trip registration is already FULL!!! We have 50 Students and 10 Adults who will be heading down, ready to serve. I would appreciate your prayers as we continue to plan for this up coming trip. THE BIRDS HAVE ARRIVED!!! Place your order today to hire the youth group to place pink flamingos in the yard of your choice. The prices are the same as last year! ($15 for a Small Flock...about 25 birds) ($30 for a Large Flock birds) For an additional $5 you can stay anonymous and insurance can be purchased for $20 if you do not want these birds to land in your yard. I hope you enjoy this fundraising opportunity. For more information check in at the youth table outside of the Sanctuary. Fundraising Has Begun On Sunday, February 9 th we kicked off our fundraising efforts to help with the cost of this years mission trip. Students going on this years trip will have a table set up outside of the Sanctuary selling Kwik Trip gift cards and collecting orders for the pink flamingos. Here is also a great opportunity for you to talk with some of the students involved and ask them questions about past mission trips and why they are going this year. Lent Suppers (March 5th-April 9 th ) During the season of Lent students are serving soup prior to the Lenten services. With how cold the winter has been this year what a great way to warm up before the service. The meal will be served between 5:00-6:00 PM. Here is another great way to connect with students. Hope to see all of you there!!! I hope everyone has had a great start to Thank you for all your support of the youth programming here at Our Savior's. Blessings, Tim Slinger Youth Director

11 P a g e 1 1 April Volunteers Ushers Team 6 8:30 am 10:30 am Cindy Schuenke Rick Bartness Stewart Schuenke Dave Henry Sheila Roehrick Bernie Feidt Jan & Shirley Luikens Duane & Janice Reichl Linda Mueller Troy & Alex Dunn Cheryl Sterling Welcome Center Greeters 8:30 10:30 April 6 (one service at 9:30) Betty Lou Ahlman and Deb & Andy Broughton April 13 Sandra Rost Jena & Brad Lombard April 20 Roger & Phyllis Erickson Carol Fahrenholtz April 27 Mary Ellen & Paul Bondhus Volunteer Needed Attention Welcome Center Greeters: We would like to place the greeters in the new narthex behind or by the Welcome Counter. This will give the greeters a central place for new people to find them for information and to welcome them to Our Savior s as they enter the church building. Please be at the Welcome Counter 15 min. before service and right after service for about 15 min. Thank you. Communion April 6 & 20 (one service at 9:30 on April 6th) 8:30 10:30 Comm. Prep Dave & Shari Augustin Mary L. Osborne Servers James & Thelma Nelson Mary L. Osborne Jim & Barb Zahn Ellen Bisping Barb Karli Fred & Barb Grote Becki Bender Dan & Karen Rasmussen Pastor Wal Reat

12 V o l u m e 1, I s s u e 1 P a g e 1 2 Sound & Tech Team Sound / Media Shout & Lights 8:30 10:30 April 6 (one service at 9:30) Dick Johnson / Carl Malecha Dick Johnson / Mitch Anderson April 13 Dick Johnson / Dick Lawson Roger Meyer / Dick Lawson April 20 Curt / Georganne Danielson Troy / Carol Caron April 27 Dick Johnson / Dick Lawson Roger Meyer / Dick Lawson Brew Master Ministry **There is a volunteer sign-up board located on the wall in the narthex by one of the coffee stations. April 6 April 13 April 20 April 27 Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Nursery 8:30 10:30 April 6 (one service at 9:30) The Grinde Family Amy Mathiason April 13 The Voracek Family Ashley Wagner April 20 Morgan & Hannah Volunteer Needed April 27 Mindy Whitney Amy Mathiason 8:30 Interpreter April 6 (one service at 9:30) Donna Reuvers April 13 April 20 April 27 Donna Reuvers Donna Reuvers Debbie Timmers

13 O u r S a v i o r s L u t h e r a n C h u r c h 1207 Prairie Ave South Faribault, MN Nonprofit Or. Bulk Rate U.S. Postage Paid Faribault, MN Permit No. 81 Change Service Requested V I S I T U S O N T H E W E B! W W W. O U R S AV I O R S F B O. O R G Soup Suppers Serving from 5:00-6:00pm Cost: Adults: $5.00 Children (10 3) $2.00 Children (3-under) Family Max: $15.00 Café Midweek Cost is $3.00 per person with a family maximum Of $ Come enjoy great food and fellowship with your Our Savior s family! Free Soup Suppers are served by the youth participating in this summer s mission trip. M a r c h S o u p S u p p e r M e n u April 2 Chili and Chicken Wild Rice April 9 Zesty Chicken Chili and Loaded Baked Potato April 16 No Meal (Holy Week) Café Midweek April 23 Sloppy Joes April 30 Pizza