February Christ the King. CtK Staff CtK Council Members Christ the King s

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1 1515 North Garden Street New Ulm, MN (507) or (888) Emergency cell phone: Christ the King website Worship Services Saturday 5:33 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:15 a.m. Christ the King Lutheran Non-Profit Org. Postage PAID New Ulm, MN Permit No. 142 Return Service Requested February 2019 Christ the King CtK Staff CtK Council Members Christ the King s Pastor - Timothy Anderson Teri Arnoldt-Personnel Committee Mission Statement Finance/Office Manager-Laura Patterson Jen Dauer-Outreach/Social Ministry Communication Sec. - Ann Ayer Laura Gaylord-Youth/Education A Family of Christians Custodian - Rita Beltz Sam Jacobs-Finance welcoming all as we journey Music Coordinator - Connie Jacobs Bobbi Jensen-Scholarship with God to teach, love, and Visitation Ministry Coordinator Mike Oetken-V.Pres./Worship serve others. Helen Christenson Sharon Olson-Secretary Youth Ed. Coordinator- Margo Becker Stan Sheie-Property Youth Ministry Coordinator- Geri Groebner Carl Zeidler-President

2 King s Messenger Pastor s Page February 1, 2019 But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27-28 Why does the phrase love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you seem so hard and near insane to the world in which we live. It is one of the things that Jesus says that is easy for people to reject or that they might use to point out that Christians don t live up to it, so why should we? I agree with the theologian Stanley Hauerwas that part of the problem is that we have spent too much time trying to make the good news of Jesus Christ and his kingdom tolerable in the world. We tame it, domesticate it, so that it doesn t hit full force, but sounds more like something we could accept without a change of how we live and speak without it. Hauerwas put it this way: Christians in modernity thought their task was to make the Gospel [make sense] to the world rather than to help the world understand why it could not be intelligible without the Gospel. Desiring to become part of the [the present moment], preachers and theologians accepted the presumption that Christianity is a set of beliefs, a worldview, designed to give meaning to our lives. Christianity is a declaration of war against the world and its ways, because the world s ways are at war with God. There is no neutral ground in a war, because you and I are the battle ground. How might our lives and our speech as Christians reveal the world for what it is? That is part of what Epiphany/revealing works. When Jesus went to his hometown, he spoke and his words made people want to kill him. When Jesus went to Jerusalem he found opposition and finally death. The world wants nothing to do with the church, because it wanted nothing to do with the God who is revealed on the cross. The cross is where the world puts its enemies. The cross teaches us that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are struggling to find our footing in the world precisely because we have found the world neither wants nor thinks it needs the Gospel or Jesus to be good or make sense: Hauerwas writes further: One hopes that God is using this time to remind the Church that Christianity is unintelligible without enemies. Indeed, the whole point of Christianity is to produce the right kind of enemies. We have been beguiled by our established status to forget that to be a Christian is to be made part of an army against armies. I think that this is what we ought to have learned from someone like Martin Luther King Jr. Non-violence is not about being a pacifist, but about revealing the world s -- and possibly repenting of our own -- violence. What is the purpose of the church in the world? It is to show us a real world, not one that is an illusion that we call the real world. For too many people, it is impossible to imagine a world where violence would be alien: The church occupies the space [God] has made so that the world may see what a people look like who are not determined by the destructive fantasy that we can secure our lives through violence. (Hauerwas) Pastor Tim

3 WORSHIP NOTES FOR FEBRUARY February 3 Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany Readings and Psalm: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30 Theme: The love of God is powerful and glorious, but it is a force that is often resisted. Why? Paul wrote: Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. God s love reveals that we are limited in our living and understanding, it is relentless and therefore a threat to the world s ways. February 10 Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Readings and Psalm: Isaiah 6:1-13]; Psalm 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 Theme: Who will go for us? queries the voice of the Lord. It always seems that God chooses the unlikely or the unworthy, such as: A man of unclean lips, a former persecutor of the church of God, and three fishermen who couldn t catch a thing. More surprising still, perhaps, is the fact that we are also called. February 17 Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany Readings and Psalm: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26 Theme: We don t mind talking about blessings, but curses are another matter. We definitely believe in them, but they must be dressed up and civilized so they often don t appears to be so harsh. Jesus has no problem with announcing both blessing and cruse, therefore we ought to pay attention. February 24 Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany Readings and Psalm: Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 Theme: Love your enemies as Christ loves you. These words stand as both the sign of God s righteousness and human failure. Even the best of us is good at this only part of the time. COUNCIL CORNER the council s complete minutes are on the church s website. Please also keep in mind that the minutes from December council meeting are approved at the January meeting and then published on the website in February, there will always be a 2 month lag in reporting the council minutes. The Church Council met on December 18 th and following are highlights from that meeting (see CtK website for full minutes of the meeting): *Pictorial Directory Proof has been submitted for printing. Final copies will be here the first part of February. *Budget for 2019 is in the works *Youth and Sunday School have been working on the 2019 summer; including a mission trip, Green Lake Camp and vacation bible school.

4 CHRIST THE KING S ANNUAL REPORT IS AVAVILABLE IN THE CHURCH S NARTHAX FINANCIAL REPORT Given in December $ 34,756 Budget for December 54,681 Given this year to date 342,792 Budgeted this year to date 366,749 WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER The Women s Bible Study of Esther began on January 21 st and will continue through February. We meet at 6:30 p.m. on Mondays. ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL THRU FEB 17 TH AT 10:15 A.M. Our Study of Exodus will continue during the Sunday School hour until February 17 th, when Pastor Tim must take a break to teach first communion to some of the 3 rd grade class. We will resume in March. MEN S STUDY CONTINUES ON SATURDAYS AT 8:00 A.M. Genesis: The Beginning of Wisdom. We move through the stories of God s faithfulness and the calling of a new people in a rebellious world. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY Many of you have been blessed with a prayer shawl from our Prayer Shawl Ministry. This has been a part of CtK s ministry for over 10 years. We are very thankful for the women who have been knitting/crocheting these shawls. If you would like to join the group or learn to knit or crochet please come join us on the 1 st & 3 rd Monday evenings of each month at 6:30 p.m. If you know of someone who needs a prayer shawl please call the church office Keith Booker, Charlotte Kamrath, and Jackie Roesch who are now home recovering after being hospitalized. Dave & Eileen Schauman and family as they grieve the death of Dave s father. Michelle Franklin and Brittany Franklin as they grieve the death of Charlie. Lloyd & Helen Christenson as they grieve the death of Aladeen Noren, Lloyd s mother-in law. We want to thank the project group for all their help with beautifying the church for Christmas and taking all the decorations down. Also for refunishing the Quiet Bags used by the children during worship. All the families that dedicated to the Helping Hands Funds, Thank You! Many families were helped during Christmas and the winter season.

5 Upcoming Dates: Feb. 3 Sunday School Feb. 10 Sunday School Feb.17 No Sunday School Feb. 24 Sunday School, CAFE: Faith & Reading Buddies across age groups, 3rd graders not attending First Communion Retreat: Meet with Pastor Tim (Class 1/3) GLLM SUMMER CAMP Be registered before Feb.15th, 2019 and receive an additional $40 discount towards camp! DINE TO DONATE AT APPLEBEE'S ON FEB. 26 TH This is a youth fundraiser to continue raising funds for camp scholarships and mission trips. Watch for fliers to be coming out in February closer to the date. DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM A KIND WORD? The youth continue to sell cards in the narthex. Feel free to look through them and find some cards for a variety of occasions. The suggested donation is listed. Thank you to Bruce Jacobs for donating more cards for a wide variety of occasions. Easter Vigil Saturday, April 20 th Worship 5:33 p.m. Easter Sunday, April 21 st Worship 9:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. (choir singing) Wednesday, March 6 th Ash Wednesday Worship at UCC 7:00 p.m. (choir singing) Wednesday s March 13 th April 10 th Lenten Meal 5:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. Worship Palm Sunday, April 14 th Scholarship Breakfast 8:00 a.m. & Worship 9:00 a.m. (Sunday School children singing) Maundy Thursday April 18 th Worship 7:00 p.m. (choir singing) Good Friday April 19 th Worship noon & 7:00 p.m. (choir 7)

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