FROM PASTOR NANCY - APRIL 2018

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Howard Fleming
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1 SVERDRUP LUTHERAN CHURCH APRIL 2018 NEWSLETTER Inside this issue: From Pastor Nancy 1 CONFIRMATION CLASSES 2 WELCA News April 14th Spring Meeting Southern Ave. E, PO Box 70 Underwood, MN Office Phone: Pastor s Cell: undlp@prtel.com Church Council Minutes 3-4 Thank You s 5 Sverdrup Bulletin Board, Word Find and Sunday School News 6 Upcoming Events Conf. 7 WELCA Gathering, New Member Sunday 7 STAY WARM! BE COOL! Furnace Fundraiser Pledge Card 8 April Calendar Dear members and friends of Sverdrup, insert FROM PASTOR NANCY - APRIL 2018 Recently your council made a commitment to methodically review the many safety measures we have in place, and some we may wish to put in place. Over the coming months, we will examine everything from fire extinguishers to facebook policy, money handling to food handling. Last Tuesday evening most of the council members took part in Automated External Defibrillator training and have placed a device on the coat racks in the narthex. The device, which cost about $1,300, was purchased with memorial funds. We ve examined and located all of our fire extinguishers and updated our first aid kits. At first blush, most safety conversations seem awfully boring. We prepare and train and try to anticipate things that we hope will never happen. Nevertheless, out of love and concern for each other we hope to make our church and everything we do as safe as possible for everyone. Members and visitors deserve an environment which is physically, emotionally, and spiritually secure. It s part of our welcome. It s part of loving one another. Admittedly, this conversation got started because of the recent mass shootings in schools AND churches. The unthinkable happened. People have died and been injured in places we would have thought were the safest of all places in our country. The sanctity of our churches, the safety of our schools is something we probably have taken for granted. Your council has decided not to take this for granted and prepare as best we can. I would like to suggest another measure of safety that we might consider as we move through these less secure times. Mass shootings have, of course, brought to the fore a national discussion about guns and the second amendment. Americans seem deeply divided on this subject. I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST OUR CHURCH AS A SAFE PLACE TO DISCUSS AND DISAGREE ABOUT IMPORTANT SOCIAL ISSUES OF THE DAY. Even this suggestion may turn out to be dangerous because people fear disagreeing or offending one another. But Martin Luther believed that Christians ought to be involved citizens because he believed that government was God s way of preserving order in the world. The challenging aspect of this for Christians is that we may deeply disagree about important social issues. The problem for Christians would be labeling those on the other side of the issues as either unpatriotic or unchristian. That s why I would like to suggest our congregation be a place of safety for discussion without fear of being labeled unpatriotic or unchristian. I would love to see Sverdrup be a safe place for all of us to learn from one another about our convictions, be shaped by faithful discernment of God s leading, and prepared for civic involvement as a part of our ministry in the world. We are not God s people for an hour on Sunday morning. We are God s people 24/7/365. Blessings on our conversations, Pastor Nancy

CONFIRMATION CLASS SCHEDULE Page 2 4/1/18 7 AM Braden Guy 4/1/18 9 AM Brooke Hovland 4/8/18 Braden Guy 4/15/18 Volunteer Needed 4/22/18 Volunteer Needed 4/29/18 Amber Frigaard 5/6/18 Volunteer Needed

4/4/18 Volunteer Needed 4/11/18 Volunteer Needed 4/18/18 Supper Hovlands 4/25/18 Volunteer Needed 5/2/18 Volunteer Needed 5/9/18 End of Year Celebration Ladies of the church, please check your church

2 CONFIRMATION CLASS SCHEDULE Page 2 4/1/18 7 AM Braden Guy 4/1/18 9 AM Brooke Hovland 4/8/18 Braden Guy 4/15/18 Volunteer Needed 4/22/18 Volunteer Needed 4/29/18 Amber Frigaard 5/6/18 Volunteer Needed 5/13/18 Braden Guy Sunday Acolyte Schedule Confirmation classes are 5:30 Sverdrup Lutheran Church. 4/4/18 Volunteer Needed 4/11/18 Volunteer Needed 4/18/18 Supper Hovlands 4/25/18 Volunteer Needed 5/2/18 Volunteer Needed 5/9/18 End of Year Celebration Ladies of the church, please check your church mailbox for the new 2018 WELCA Membership booklet. Inside you ll find information about activities exclusively for the women in our congregation, a listing of special projects and the membership group or specific individuals in charge of getting them done. Also, there are pages listing the dates and times for WELCA events in our church and conference area, a couple pages of the WELCA members and their contact numbers. Please look through it to find out what we are up to and consider yourself to be ALWAYS WELCOME! Monday, April 9 th at 4:30 pm the Conference 7 women of the ELCA will meet at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 102 W. Junius in Fergus Falls for dinner, business meeting and news reports and a program by Singer-Songwriter-Speaker-Fashionista Taunya Todd, of Hawley, MN. You can find her on Facebook and learn all about her, read her blog, listen to some of her music, look at pictures of her family and band members and get to know her! Her program at the April 9 th meeting is entitled Dispatched: First Responder Friends, and its about friends who help when you re in crisis and being that kind of a friend to others. Please contact Myrna Martinson or myself ASAP if you want to attend this event the cost is $10.00 and registration deadline was March 23 rd. The next event is a regular WELCA meeting on Saturday, April 14 th at 9:30 in the fellowship hall at Sverdrup. We ve invited Don & Sandy Klaksvik, rural Underwood residents that many of you may already know, to come and tell us about a program that is very special to them and that is an organization called PADS Patriot Assistance Dogs. This is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors that connects military veterans with specially-trained dogs who can help them with PTSD, TBI, medication reminders and more. Don is a U.S. Navy veteran and completed training with his dog Mason, in December Please join us for the program and refreshments to learn about this wonderful program. Men are welcome to attend this program also! I hope you ll join us for one or both of these programs you won t regret it! I look forward to working together with all of you to accomplish the many projects we have planned for this year so we can carry out the vision we have for mission in our local community, region and world. Sincerely, Karen WELCA NEWS FROM KAREN THOMPSON, 2018 SVERDRUP WELCA PRESIDENT

3 SVERDRUP LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING: THURSDAY 7:00 PM President Lew Obright called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. Present: Pastor Nancy Monke, Lew Obright, Sue Jensen, Stacy Hammes, Else Andersen, Linda Martinson, Virgil Martinson, Lissa O Donnell, Jim Andersen and Alan Thompson. Absent: Steve Schultz, Bert Kinzler, Krista Fix, Alan Sundby, Zinta Sundby, Savanna Shebeck, Kasey Lindstrom and Sharon Heifort. Approval of Agenda: MSP: Virgil Martinson/Else Andersen to approve Agenda as printed. Opening Devotions and Prayer: Stacy Hammes; Lent; what is it good for? Pastor s Report: Pastoral Visits: 13 Funerals: Juniece Rostad (Tingvold), Helen Richter (Tingvold) Weddings: (Michelle Seidel scheduled for June 2018) Thank You s: To the Life and Fellowship Committee and Tereasa for all the work on the directory. Thanks to Jim Andersen for fixing the parsonage garage door and the mailbox. Youth Ministry: The program that we have with Luther Crest is great, but they are having a hard time finding a replacement for Troy. Should we consider continuing with the OTCLYO or should we consider going it alone and find a person to take this on, either from the congregation voluntarily or otherwise? Upcoming events: Feb. Ski Trip, Mar. Food Volunteering, April Movie Night. Furnace Replacement: I would like to convene the Fundraising Committee immediately after this meeting for a few minutes. New Members: We will need to have another New Member Sunday this spring. New members are Stacy and Colt Edin and Alton, Mitch and Carolyn Anderson, and Devon and Jess Hammer Haylee, Mason and Easton. Computer: There was an issue with the computer which has been resolved through Schultz On-Site Computers. Safety: Pastor has obtained safety policies from First Lutheran and Zion Lutheran to use as references; we will address this at the March meeting. May: I have found a leadership seminar for two days at Luther Seminary that I will be signing up for called Leadership from Within. I would also like to spend some time working through the safety materials. I would also like to set aside some time at our next two meetings to set goals for 2018 and will do some reading regarding those goals. Communion Preparation: We have 3 students. They will be meeting on Wednesdays from 4:15-5:15 during April. Would it be possible to have communion on Sunday, April 29 th (a fifth Sunday of the month) for their First Communion? MSP: Pastor Nancy/Else Andersen to have an additional communion on Sunday, April 29 th. Conference Meeting: Sunday, February, 18 th at 1:30 at New Life Lutheran in Rothsay. Secretary s Report: MSP: Virgil Martinson/Linda Martinson to approve the minutes as printed. Financial Secretary s Report: The 2018 budget is $164,720.92, a 4.39% increase over That is $3, needed weekly. The Furnace fund is receiving money weekly, giving and attendance have been good. Tingvold YTD is $4, Treasurer s Report: We have a current checking balance of $34, Next week I will be transferring $12, from the Building and Memorial Funds to checking to cover the down payment paid on the furnace. The Furnace Fund we have received $3, so far. We have $6, left to pay on the Parsonage. The balance left on the Furnace loan to OTP is $29, MSP: Stacy Hammes/ Alan Thompson to approve the Financial Secretary s and Treasurer s report. Committee Reports: Executive: We met and reviewed our policies to put them in line with the NWMN Synod guidelines. Property & Management: Furnace replacement is complete. Bert Kinzler is the new member of the P&M committee. Page 3

Page 4 Worship and Stewardship: The committee met and discussed some changes in the worship plan and different liturgy music. Starting in March we will use the LBW Setting One.

Monthly plan: 1st Sunday LBW Setting One, 2nd Sunday Worship Band (Old Gospel style), 3rd Sunday - Now the Feast and Celebration, 4th Sunday Possibly contemporary worship music with a band other than

4 Page 4 Worship and Stewardship: The committee met and discussed some changes in the worship plan and different liturgy music. Starting in March we will use the LBW Setting One. We are also looking at Marty Haugen s Now the Feast and Celebration. Monthly plan: 1st Sunday LBW Setting One, 2nd Sunday Worship Band (Old Gospel style), 3rd Sunday - Now the Feast and Celebration, 4th Sunday Possibly contemporary worship music with a band other than the current. We scheduled council members for the Communion server list. Education: Pastor mentioned that all of the confirmation students are making appropriate progress. Life & Fellowship: We were contacted by the Unitarian church to see if we would help them with their annual Chili Feed which raises money for the Senior Dining program. It will be March 23rd at the Community Center. We will have a minimum of 5 members helping. Feb. 25th is the last day for directory photos. Softball sign-up and registration is due in April. AED defibrillator info was presented by Sue Jensen and costs and training were discussed. MSP: Else Andersen/Lissa O Donnell to proceed with purchase of a defibrillator unit ($1,335.00) with monies from the Memorial Fund and set up a training session at 6:30 before the next council meeting. Old Business: SLC Policy Changes and Additions: The council went over the policy changes and additions made by the Executive Committee to the SLC constitution. MSP: Else Andersen/Pastor Nancy Monke to amend the sick leave days from 10 days to 5. MSP: Else Andersen/Lissa O Donnell to approve the changes to the constitution as amended. New Business: Emergency Services Agreement with Good Samaritan of Battle Lake: President Lew read an from Good Samaritan in Battle Lake requesting that we consider an emergency services agreement with them to be designated as a staging facility for them in case of an emergency evacuation. MSP: Else Andersen /Lissa O Donnell to proceed with the agreement. Changing Council Meeting Dates: We will change the council meeting dates for MSP: Stacy Hammes/Else Andersen to change the meeting times for May through August to the third Wednesday at 7:00 pm, and September through April to the third Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Library Shelving: Lissa O Donnell stated that WELCA has money for additional bookshelves in the library. Steve Schultz will build the shelves for cost of materials. MSP: Pastor Nancy Monke/Sue Jensen to proceed with bookshelves. MSP: Lissa O Donnell/Stacy Hammes to adjourn. The meeting ended at 8:23 and we closed with the Lord s Prayer. Next meeting is Tuesday, March 20, Alan Thompson, Secretary **************************************************************************************** PRAYER CHAIN If you have prayer request, we will add them to our Prayer Chain. Please sverdrupprayers@gmail.com or call Laurie Bauck at Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN TUNE IN? SING FOR JOY KBRF 1250 am Radio 7:00 am For excellent ELCA music, scripture and weekly lessons. MORNING WATCH KBRF 1250 am Radio 8:45 a.m. Join Pastor Nancy the first Wednesday of each month. Sverdrup Lutheran Church Mission Statement The mission of Sverdrup Lutheran Church is to be a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in which believers minister to the Spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of the congregation, community, and world. Sunday Worship: 9:00 am followed by Fellowship 10:00 am Office Hours: 8:00 am - 12:00 noon Tuesday - Friday

Dear WELCA, Thank you once again for your generous gift of the valentine s box.

to everyone for participating in the recent 40 KITS IN 40 DAYS Lutheran World

5 Dear WELCA, Thank you once again for your generous gift of the valentine s box. It has been something that I have looked forward to every year throughout my college career. I also wanted to thank you and the rest of the congregation for your outpouring of support following Grandpa s passing. He was an incredible role model for me, and a staple of the community, and he will be sorely missed. Thank you again, Chad Peterson, Criminal Justice Class of 2018 Page 5 Thank you to everyone for participating in the recent 40 KITS IN 40 DAYS Lutheran World Relief project. With your help and generosity, we exceeded our goal and provided 47 completed Personal Care Kits for LWR. Thank you again for helping support our ministry to those in need around the world. Sverdrup WELCA and the Sewing Circle

Page 6 SVERDRUP BULLETIN BOARD When mailing letters or packages to Sverdrup Lutheran Church, our

Thanks! Sverdrup Lutheran Church, 209 Southern Ave. E.

an AED device and is currently participating in training of it s use.

Until a permanent place is found, our AED is on the top shelf in the Narthex hall by the phone.

device. SUNDAY SCHOOL IS AT 10:15 A.M. EACH SUNDAY.

6 Page 6 SVERDRUP BULLETIN BOARD When mailing letters or packages to Sverdrup Lutheran Church, our Post Office is asking that everyone please be sure to include our PO Box number in the address. Thanks! Sverdrup Lutheran Church, 209 Southern Ave. E., PO Box 70, Underwood, MN SVERDRUP SEWING CIRCLE: We will be meeting April 17th & 18th from 8:30 to 11:30 at the church. LEARN THE LOCATION OF OUR NEW AED (Automated External Defibrillator) SLC Council recently purchased an AED device and is currently participating in training of it s use. YOU CAN HELP BY KNOWING WHERE THIS DEVICE CAN BE FOUND! Until a permanent place is found, our AED is on the top shelf in the Narthex hall by the phone. This is NOT to be moved or handled unless there is an emergency and a responder has asked for the device. SUNDAY SCHOOL IS AT 10:15 A.M. EACH SUNDAY. (Unless noted otherwise below) 4/1/18 EASTER SUNDY NO SUNDAY SCHOOL 4/8/18 Normal Sunday School and Practice 4/15/18 Normal Sunday School and Practice 4/22/18 Normal Sunday School and Practice 4/29/18 Normal Sunday School and Practice 5/6/18 LAST DAY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL. church by 8:45 for singing. Fun and games following church. WORD FIND

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA Beer & Hymns Sunday April 8

NEW MEMBER SUNDAY APRIL 22, 2018 Colt & Stacy and Alton Edin Mitch & Carolyn Anderson

7 Page 7 UPCOMING EVENTS Sverdrup Saints Softball Team Sign up for summer softball! Who: Youth (age 14 and over) and adults When: Tentatively beginning week of May 7th, Tuesday evenings -7 p.m. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND Deadline to Sign Up: April 1 See Sharon Heifort for details Sign Up Sheet is posted on the bulletin board in Narthex. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA Beer & Hymns Sunday April 8 6:30 8:00 p.m. The Rusty Nail Battle Lake All Are Welcome! NEW MEMBER SUNDAY APRIL 22, 2018 Colt & Stacy and Alton Edin Mitch & Carolyn Anderson Please let Pastor Nancy or Tereasa know if there are others wishing to join SLC at this time. WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY GROUP 12-Week Bible Study with Zinta Sundby and Donna Wold Two Sessions beginning February SLC (see sign-up sheet): Evening Group (Thursdays): 4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 5:30 p.m. Afternoon Group (Mondays): 4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 2:00 p.m. What women want is an intimacy with God, not a list of one more thing to do.

8 STAY WARM! BE COOL! FUNDRAISER FOR FURNACE FUND Page 8

FROM PASTOR NANCY - MAY 2018

FROM PASTOR NANCY - MAY 2018 SVERDRUP LUTHERAN CHURCH Inside this issue: MAY 2018 NEWSLETTER 209 Southern Ave. E, PO Box 70 Underwood, MN 56586 Office Phone: 218-826-6919 Pastor s Cell: 701-866-9982 Email: undlp@prtel.com From Pastor