May. 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. May 2018 Christ the King Lutheran Non-Profit Org. Postage PAID New Ulm, MN Permit No. 142 Return Service Requested 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 May 1, 2018 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved. Genesis 32:24-30 Sometimes people speak about the Trinity as an attempt to explain the unexplainable. In reality it is merely a presentation of the mystery of a God who is revealed in a way that none of us would have chosen. Ask any theologian, pastor or person in the pew and they would probably tell you that they don t understand the Trinity. The reason we speak of it at all, is that you cannot understand the God whose story is found in the Old and New Testaments without speaking of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the language of one God of Israel, almighty and creating, saving and redeeming his people, without division, who is also revealed in the Son, who comes from the Father and returns to the Father, who sends the Spirit who alone knows the deep things of God. It is not an explanation, but a wrestling. Like Jacob we are wrestling with that which cannot be fully explained, but known only by those who submit to the blessings that this God has to offer. This is good news, because it also forces us to look at one another, as images of this God who remain a mystery that we cannot control or possess. The dignity of the human person is caught up in the mystery of God, whose purposes and presence always seem elusive to us, but from whom we occasionally wrestle a blessing. How are we united one with another without being erased? That is the mystery of our unity that we share in the sacraments and in the hearing of God s Word. Peace, love, fellowship, humility, joy, kindness, gentleness are all words that imply a community of persons held together by the Spirit of God. Just as Jesus wrestles with what it is to be a Son and a Servant, God and human, Spirit and body, his will or the Father s so we do as well,. As we move through the month of May we wrestle with this God whom we can only believe and confess, not prove. Then again, even that is a blessing, since it reminds us that the Trinity is someone in whom we participate as the body of Christ filled with the Holy Spirit. This is why we begin our service with a greeting: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. And also with you is the gracious response, even when we don t mean it or can t. Here is the intimacy of a relationship with God as someone else has put it: There was something so mysterious about that closeness, and I was fascinated by that communion, and drawn to that fellowship that didn t make me feel small but rather made me feel included, a participant in the Mystery. Could God be this close? Could church be this intimate and familiar? That was as sacred to me as anything I experienced later in the great temples and basilicas of the world. Holy Trinity: Grace, Love and Communion, Fr. Cyprian May we be one as God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one That is what Jesus prayed for us. May the unity of the three and the distinction within the unity be shown in our lives together, for we are not lost in this fellowship with God and one another, but discover the mystery of who we really are wrestling together with this God. Pastor Tim

3 Worship Notes for May May 6 Sixth Sunday of Easter Readings and Psalm: Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17 Theme: Friendship with Christ, what is it and where does it lead us? You are friends chosen by Christ so that you may share what you have learned and love as you have been loved in witness to that relationship. May 13 Seventh Sunday of Easter Readings and Psalm: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19 Theme: Why are Christians hated by the world? Some would say it is because Christianity is at fault for its treatment of others. That would miss the reason that most Christians are persecuted today. In most places, they are not the majority where they live and the witness they bring is unwelcome. The world does not wish to hear what the church has to say and so the church receives the same welcome as her Lord. May 20 Pentecost Sunday Readings and Psalm: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 Theme: We groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. We are a forward leaning people, because the Spirit fills our sails and gives us a shove toward that for which we hope becoming the children of God that we by faith. Pentecost is the formation of the family into which we have been adopted through our own baptism and so we celebrate. May 27 Trinity Sunday Readings and Psalm: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17 Theme: When Jesus said that we must be born again, Nicodemus asked: How can this be? This is a good question that we still often ask, even as those who are born of water and the Spirit. What might this mean for us today? Adult Education Men s Bible Study will end for the summer on May 5 th. Putting 1 Corinthians 13 in Its Place We all know some, if not all, of the words of 1 Corinthians: If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. or Love is patient, love is kind We hear these words at weddings all the time, but is that where they find the true meaning? L Ambizioso Duo Coming to Christ the King! June 2 nd at 7:00 p.m. L Ambizioso Duo is comprised of two virtuosic brothers on piano and double bass, L Ambizioso Duo (Lahm-beetzi-oatzo) performs an exciting taste of classical music for audiences around the United States. L Ambizioso Duo is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts Council and the Mcknight Foundation. The result of this support is that the concert is free. You just come, listen and enjoy. Watch for more information. Please visit LAmbiziosoDuo.com to learn more. Graduate Recognition Sunday, May 20 th at 9:00 a.m. Service We celebrate our high school graduates at this time of excitement and accomplishment. Come join us and pray for them. **A reminder to graduates and parents: We would love to have you bring in two pictures if you are able: one of your baptism and a senior picture. We have also enclosed an information sheet. Please bring these items to the office so that we can prepare the display for the congregation to see. The deadline for those items is May 11 th. There will be a Youth Cookbook Fundraiser on May 6th during Fellowship hour. Youth will host the coffee fellowship and will be selling the cookbooks for $5. All of the proceeds going to the youth due to Thrivent sponsoring this event! The treats at fellowship hour will be recipes from the cookbook and there will be treats or other items from the cookbook available for a free will offering. Thank you again to Thrivent for sponsoring this event for our youth!

4 New Ulm s Own Fair Trade * Art Celebrating Our First Anniversary! Special Events: May 2-12 Wednesday, May 2: Library Story Hour 6:30 p.m. From My Grandma s Trunk, How Ten Thousand Villages got started. Thursday, May 3: Program for 8 th grade students at New Ulm Middle School Monday, May 7: Connected by Coffee: Fair Trade and You Presentation by Paul Prew, Ph.D. Minnesota State University United Church of Christ, 301 S. Minnesota St., 7:00 p.m. Saturday, May 12: Make It and Take It 11:00-3:00 Make your own note card with an artist coach, New Ulm s Own, 212 N. Minnesota St. National Day of Prayer May 3, 2018 The National Day of Prayer mobilizes unified public prayer for America. To find out how you can become involved visit our website: nationaldayof prayer.org Gustavus Handbell Ensembles in Concert: Join the three handbell choirs at Gustavus and director Dr. Chad Winterfeldt for a concert on Sunday evening, May 13, 7:30 pm in Christ Chapel on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus. This free concert features sacred music as well as popular tunes from Disney movies and arrangements with flute and percussion. BlissStock! The family and friends of Bliss Kalk are throwing a fundraiser festival called BlissStock. The festival will be a celebration of life and love and will be familyfocused. The Festival will be held on June 17 at Turner Hall from 12 8 p.m. There will be live music all day, a silent and live auction, games for kids and much more. It will take quite a bit of help from volunteers to make it a success. If you would like to volunteer your time and/or have a (tax deductible) silent auction item you would like to donate at the festival, please contact Dan Kalk at blissstock2018@gmail.com. More information on the festival and what you can do to help coming soon. Thank you.

5 *Bonnie Hubert as she is recovering from a fall. *JoAnn Schmidt as she recovers from surgery. *Connie Hopp as she recovers from surgery. *Lisa Turbes as she recovers from surgery. *Jenny Peterson s father, Bruce Pfaff, as he heals. *Eileen Schauman as she has surgery. *Carl Zeidler as he recovers from surgery. *Kim Volk and family as they grieve the death of her mother. *Jackie Roesch s mother who is hospitalized. *Sharie Novak and family as they grieve the death of her mother, Elaine. *Vonnie Meyer as she recovers at home. *Veronica Zapata-Mae as she is hospitalized at Abbott. *Dan Quam, son of Don & Eunice Quam, as he is receiving cancer treatment. -Thank you to everyone who donated flowers for Easter! And a special thank you to Gail & Gene Luetke and Avery Wills for hanging the colored cloths and banners. -And a BIG thank you to all the musicians who added so much to the worship services from Ash Wednesday through Easter. -Thank you to Avery & Linda Willsfor all the work hanging the photos of our pastors. -Thank you Christ the King for granting me a scholarship. This will help so muchas I will be going to MSU for Medical Laboratory Schience. I just wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be successful in the next chapter of my life. Tyler Walls CtK Q&A Questions this month are from some of our Sunday School students! Why does the pastor always wear a robe? The alb (white robe) reminds us that Christ is pure and forgives our sins. However, if you see a pastor in all black, that is to remind us of the blackness of our sin. Usually the pastor will also wear a small white collar with the black clothing to symbolize Christ s purity. The long white robe is also very close to what the people of the bible would have worn. How long has this building been standing? The first part of our church (the north end) was built in 1986 with the first worship service held on May 5,1986. We broke ground for the new addition on May 21,1995. So part of our building is 32 years old and the newer part (south end) is 23 years old. Thank you students, for your good questions! IRA Distributions Did you know that you can avoid income tax on your annual minimum required distributions (MRD S) from an IRA after age 70 1/2? At age 70 ½ you are required to annually withdraw a calculated amount from any IRS s that you own. The IRS allows a direct transfer to charity and therefore avoid federal and state taxation. You can make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) directly from your IRA to the church, or charity of your choice and avoid paying income taxes on the amount transferred to the charity. Up to $100,000. Per person can be transferred directly to the charity of your choice and avoid any income tax! The BROWN COUNTY AREA CROP WALK for 2018 will be held Sunday May 6 th. Registration starts at 12:30pm with the walk beginning at 1pm. If you are unable to walk but would still like to donate, please place checks written to CWS/CROP in the offering plate between now and Sunday May 6 th. If you wish to collect donations from community members, pick up an envelope in the church office. BlissStock June 17 th An all-day event to support Bliss Kalk in her journey with cancer. Held at Turner Hall. Volunteers will be needed as well as donations. Go to blissstock2018@gmail.com for further details. Did you know Christ the King is on Facebook? Look us up and like us.

6 May 13- Amber Collins will be sharing about the Ivy House (Southern MN Crisis Nursery) during worship. The Ivy House/SMNCN drive will continue through May 20 th. This is the first year that the yard will be ready for the kids to play in! The goal of the Ivy House/SMNCN drive is to provide the outdoor toys & games to play with in the yard. We have a good amount of hula hoops and jump ropes, so w e are looking for other outdoor toys & games for the yard. If interested in donating to the drive, there is a posted list of possible ideas by the drop off bins in the Narthex and Sunday School Narthex. Thank you! May 20 Last day to bring in outdoor toys & games for the Ivy House drive! Last day of Sunday School! Join your friends and teachers to celebrate a year of learning and growing together in faith! May 25- Last day to have registration and payment in for Green Lake Bible Camp. We are able to contribute $225 for a week-long camp and $ for Half-Blast with funds raised for Campership and supported by the Church! Questions? Please check in with Geri Groebner or Margo Becker. Thank you to all that helped and donated to the Campership fund during the Green Lake Bible Visit/Cinnamon roll fundraiser. Thanks to your generosity, the $587 raised will go towards contributions for 2 children to attend week long summer camp and 1 child to attend Half-Blast camp. Teachers, Helpers, Substitutes, Special Event Volunteers! As we close the year, please take time to THANK OUR TEACHERS! We all play a vital role in the serving of our youngest members. Jr. High-100 yr+, please consider signing up for the upcoming Sunday School year as a Teacher, Helper, Substitute, or Special Event Volunteer. It takes a village. Please check in with Margo Becker by the beginning of August, , ctkyouthcoordinator@gmail.com Families of all ages of children, have facebook? Join Christ the King Youth! Stay up-to-date on local & church events available for our kids!

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