The Messenger Spring Garden Lutheran Church Lenten Schedule 2016 February 2016 Wednesday Schedule: 6PM Meal begins (Starts 7/17) 7PM CrossTrainers Table Talk 7:35PM Holden Evening Prayer - finish by 8PM February 10 Ash Wednesday Worship 7PM Date Theme Meal February 17 Prayer Sub Sandwiches Youth February 24 Service Baked Potato Bar Tanz. Scholarship March 2 Scripture Soup Nite Women s Ministry March 9 Worship Guatemala Meal Missions Team March 16 Fellowship Hot Dish Nite Congregational Life March 21 Palm Sunday Worship March 23 SEDER Meal with Holy Communion Class March 24 Maundy Thursday 7PM March 25 Good Friday 7PM March 27 Easter Sunrise and Festival Worship 6:30 & 10AM Baby Quilt Ministry Tuesday, Feb. 16 7-9 pm Anyone welcome - no quilting experience necessary! (this is a different day of the week than usual due to the Lenten schedule) Cherub Choir will be singing during the 10 am worship service on Sunday, February 14 Mom s Potluck Sunday, January 31 11:00 am - 12:30 pm We are going to try another Mom's potluck! Lots of people had conflicts in December and couldn't be there. Hopefully January is a better time. Bring a dish to share, send dad home with the kids and spend some time with other moms. This event is open to moms with kids age 0 - high school. We will discuss how to find a balance in life amidst all the demands on our time and attention. We will also discuss the future of a moms group at Spring Garden. I hope you can be there!!
Page 2 The Pastor s Article! By Nick Fisher-Broin Here at Spring Garden, we have been blessed by a Mission Statement that has defined us well: Building a Rural Family in Christ The Messenger I love the hands on feeling of it active, straight-forward, with Christ as our foundation. Its good stuff! Sometimes if you want to find out what a person or an organization is about, you pay attention to the verbs or the action words they use. In our mission statement, BUILDING is the action word. We build in many ways here we build family life; we build houses for Habitat; we build medical skills in Guatemala; we build children and youth into disciples and young leaders; we build quilts for babies and people in need; we build meals for the fellowship life of our church family; we build the worship life of the church with Choirs and Word and Sacraments. To build something often requires tools that help us do the work tools can multiply our labors. God is the architect and master planner for all we do but God has given us tools to carry out the Mission he has set before us. We invite you join us this Lenten season to discover the tools God has given us for this Mission. Faith s Tool Kit will invite us into conversation about the essential tools or building blocks that allow us to work along side Christ. Join us on Wednesday evenings for Lent. We ll begin with a meal lots of variety this year! Our Cross- Trainers will lead us in conversation and we ll end the evening with Holden Evening Prayer. Join us for our Lenten journey and consider the tools God has given you to continue to grow in faith! See our full Lenten schedule on the front page of this newsletter! Pastors Report - Dec. 3, 2015 - Jan. 7, 2016 - Nick & Cindy Fisher-Broin Pastoral Acts 29 Pastoral, Hospital, Shut in and Communion calls 6 Scheduled Meetings Wedding: Mark & Glenda Lindell Funeral: Hazel Anderson Pre-Marriage Preparation Class - met with 5 couples for 2016 weddings Twin Rivers Worship Worship and Music Planning meeting with Mary Kay Planning for Lenten Services Christmas Eve Children s Choir Practices and Worship Service Christian Education 7-9 confirmation classes Sunday School Program Sets, Props Women s Ministry - Cindy Morning Bible Study Mom s Potluck Youth Christmas Caroling Event - Lock-in part had to be cancelled due to bad weather; to be rescheduled Community/Synod Wide Ministry/Other Cannon Pastors Text Study Cannon River Pastors Conference ILAG Meeting
Page 3 Corner Empty pockets never held anyone back. It s only empty hearts that do it. Norman Vincent Peale Financial Facts December 31, 2015: Checkbook Balance: $22,022.03 Outstanding Loans, Memorial Committee: $5,940.00 ****Thanks to all who contributed to Our Rural Family in Christ Family Tree, the program was a tremendous success bringing in over twenty two thousand dollars. ****If you forgot to drop your offering in the plate on Sunday, just simply go to our website www.spring-garden.org click on the online giving tab and make your contribution that way. You will need to register and create a password, but once you have done that you can direct how much and how often you would like to give. We are having a really goods start to 2016!! Remember to keep bringing your offerings for the Walk for Water campaign!! We, here at Spring Garden, are really wanting to try and get a good number of kids to try and attend Good Earth Village camp this summer! We are one of the churches that support that camp and it would be great to being our numbers up again. You can check out their schedules and programs right now at www.goodearthvillage.org. There are a few weeks there where every program goes through it whether its an over night, a three night or a weeklong program. We d like to pick one of those which in the past has been the last week in June. There might also be financial help available to help with the cost. Please be looking for more information on this and a possible meeting for those wanting to learn more. Before we know it, Easter will be here and the three weeks leading up to it we will be having Rotational Sunday School with a Holy Week/Easter theme. We look for volunteers other than our current teachers to help with this. It s three weeks: March 6, 13 & 20. All materials and activities are given to you. We just need people to lead them. You ll have a different group of kids every week. If you would be willing and are interested in this, please let Kim Sjoquist know. If you are ever interested in joining our fun little Christian Education board, let one of us know! We d be happy to have you. Right now we are: Kim Sjoquist, Sue Safe, Tim Anderson, Jennifer Quade & Tammy Anderson. Have a fabulous February, everyone!!
Page 4 The Messenger BALANCE Remember last month I talked about starting a class to improve your flexibility and balance? Well, it will begin in April, weekly for 5 weeks. It will be led by Kim Wojck, a personal trainer from Red Wing. As I said the class will focus on improving flexibility and balance. As we age we tend to lose our sense of balance which can lead to a risk of falling resulting in injury. The class is for all ages. Here is a very simple exercise, one of the most important, to improve your balance: Start by standing behind a chair with a back. Place your hands on the back of the chair. Look straight ahead. Lift one leg and hold for 10 seconds. Do the same with the opposite leg. As your balance improves you may try this without your hands on the back of the chair. Now, stand behind your chair, place your hands on the back of the chair, now close your eyes and lift your leg and hold for 5 seconds, do the same for the opposite leg. Barrett s Esophagitis: What is it? Heartburn, many of us have this on occasion. It is caused by stomach acid refluxing or splashing up into the esophagus. Now when heartburn is severe or occurs frequently and over a long period of time it can be harmful. This is called GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. If untreated, there is a constant acid irritation to the lining of the esophagus and complications can occur. About 1 in 10 persons with GERD are found to have a condition called Barrett s Esophagitis. It can be serious and may lead to cancer of the esophagus. The cells lining the esophagus differ from those lining the stomach or intestine, mainly because they have different functions. Normally, there is an area at the end of the esophagus that marks the border between the cells of the esophagus and those of the stomach. Barrett s esophagus is the abnormal growth of intestinal type cells above this border into the esophagus. In time, the Barrett s cells may develop abnormal changes known as dysplasia. Over time the dysplasia may then progress to low grade then high grade dysplasia and finally cancer. Fortunately this happens only in about 5% of persons with Barrett's esophagus. Persons with Barrett's usually have symptoms similar to those produced by chronic GERD such as heartburn and reflux of stomach acid into the mouth also may have a hard time swallowing solid food. Barrett's is diagnosed by examination using an endoscope. The physician can examine the lining of the esophagus and stomach with this thin lighted scope. There are no medications to reverse Barrett s. However, it appears that treating the underlying GERD may slow the progress of the disease. Medications such as omeprazole are used to markedly reduce stomach acid. Other helpful ways to reduce acid reflux are: Avoid eating within 3 hours of bedtime. Avoid smoking and tobacco products as nicotine in the blood weakens the muscle ring between the stomach and esophagus. This ring remains closed only to allow food and liquid into the stomach. If weakened it can leak acid into the esophagus. Eat smaller meals and avoid tight fitting clothes and bending over after eating. Lose weight if overweight. This may relieve upward pressure on the stomach and muscle ring. Barrett s esophagus is monitored on a regular basis using an endoscopy to look for dysplasia or changes in the lining of the esophagus. Blessings to you all, Yvonne Salmonson, RN, Parish Nurse
Page 5 February: 17th: Lent begins. Youth are serving supper prior to worship Feb 24, Mar 2, 9, 16: Participating/leading portions of the lent services Spaghetti Supper: TBD. At the end of December we were snowed out of our complete Caroling and Lock-in night, but we did safely make it caroling to everyone. So, we are making up the movie and lock-in portion on Jan. 24-25 for the youth. February & March: Due to the way the calendar year falls this year we will be having a busy couple months coming up. The youth will be kicking off the Lenten services on Feb 17th and we will also be serving supper this night: Sub Sandwiches will be back and if you would like an additional order we will have some extra available that night. Then during the remaining Lent Season we will be helping lead a portion of the services. Service dates: Feb 17, 24, March 2, 9, & 16. Next we are working on an alternative date for the Spaghetti Supper night, to be announced and also we will then jump right into Flower Sales. Leadership Opportunity for Older Youth sponsored by Gustavus Adolphus College: This looks to be a great opportunity to develop leadership skills early. Please let me know if your child is interested I can get them registered. It would be great to find 5 interested youth! STEP UP We are excited to announce the creation of a new congregation resource called STEP UP, a leadership development resource for high school youth. STEP UP is a day-long experience that will introduce youth to college level concepts of leadership and will help them develop a stronger personal plan for continuing to grow as a leader. Upon completion of the event, participants will receive a certificate from Gustavus Adolphus College certifying the student s completion of the STEP UP leadership curriculum. Congregations can bring up to five students at each STEP UP training workshop. STEP UP is offered twice annually. During the 2015-16 academic year, the STEP UP training workshops will be held on: Thursday, November 5, 2015 (Registration deadline: October 26, 2015) Thursday, March 10, 2016 (Registration deadline: February 29, 2016) COST: $40/student (includes lunch and STEP UP t-shirt) WEBSITES: https://gustavus.edu/churchrelations/concertfiles/media/fallspire2015.pdf
Page 6 Spring Garden Council Meeting Minutes - January 7, 2016 The Messenger In Attendance: Bjorn Olson, Eric Lundell, Pastor Cindy Fisher-Broin, Sandy Hanson, Jody Sjoblom, Glen Lundell, Rob Lorentz, Kim Sjoquist, Mark Sjoquist, Katie Sjoblom, Lisa Miller Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Bjorn at 7:10 pm in the church social hall. Committee Reports: On file at the office. Secretary s Report: A motion was moved, seconded and carried to approve last month s minutes. Treasurer s Report: A motion was moved, seconded and carried to approve the Treasurer s report. Agenda Items: 1. Establish agenda for Annual congregational meeting 2. Annual reports due 1-7-16 3. Executive committee and Stewardship Chair meet to make any needed budget adjustments 4. Elect 2 SE MN Synod Assembly representatives (May 6-7) Eric & Maja-Lina Lundell 5. Elect 2 Cannon River Conference Assembly representatives (Feb 14 at SGLC) 6. Elect 2 Good Earth Village Assembly representatives (Feb TBD) Brittany Walrod-Lundell & 7. Elect 1 CCIC representative Pat Olson 8. Council & staff appreciation plans are in the works. 9. Update Pam s helper list 10. A motion was moved and seconded to spend $200 for One Note (licensing to reproduce music). The motion carried. 11. Membership transfer: A motion was moved to transfer membership for Greg & Charlotte Shea to Hope Lutheran in Hastings, MN. The motion carried. Pastors Report given. Parish Nurse Report included 7 visits, phone calls/texts 39; hours: 12.5 hrs.; 10hrs of texts. Board and Committee Reports: Worship and Music: Nothing to report Evangelism: Nothing to report Christian Education: Christmas program turned out great. There was a good turnout for the Chili/Soup supper. Rotational Sunday will be planned soon and VBS will be here this year. Youth Ministry: We did caroling but no lock in due to weather (as reported by Megan from Guatemala). Congregational Life: Undecorated the church. Church Property: Had the organ looked at. Charlie fixed some things on the boiler. We were able to purchase 2 new Christmas trees, a DVD player and some other things from the money given by Mission Endowment. Called in the professionals for mouse extermination! Kitchen committee will be reviewing plans. Stewardship: The family tree idea was a huge success and we have been blessed by members of our congregation that made this work. We took in $23,408.00, which makes it so much easier to make this Church run successfully. Missions Board: The next Guatemalan trip is set for Aug 7-15, 2016. Executive Committee: No meeting Memorial and Special Gifts Committee: Nothing to report Archives Committee: Nothing to report Mission Endowment Fund Committee: Met in December and gave $500 to Gustavus Adolphus College, $870 to Guatemalan mission trip, $700 to ILAAG Guatemalan project and $2000.00 to Spring Garden for Church improvements. Adjournment: A motion was moved, seconded and carried to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm. Sandy Hanson, secretary Agenda for Next Meeting Executive committee meets sometime during the year to review membership roster Date for Midsommar Festival; initiate a Midsommar Task Force Nominating Committee to begin search for candidates to fill upcoming vacancies for V. Pres, Worship & Music, Evangelism, Youth Ministry, Mission Endowment and Cemetery Association. Announcements: Annual congregational meeting: Jan 17, 2016 Next council meeting: Feb 4, 2016 (Sandy on vacation) All Board meetings: Jan 12, Feb 9 Pam s Helper for Jan: Bjorn; Pam s Helper for Feb: Kim Closing prayer next month: Kim
The Messenger Spring Garden Lutheran Church Church Council Members & Board Members President Bjorn Olson 263-7640 Vice-President Eric Lundell 651-442-0536 Secretary Sandy Hanson 258-4114 Treasurer Rob Lorentz 263-2384 Financial Secretary Pam Davis 263-5657 Worship & Music Lisa Miller 258-4341 Evangelism Bill Erickson 507-923-5457 Christian Education Kim Sjoquist 258-4834 Youth Ministry Megan Nerison 507-271-7491 Congregational Life Jody Sjoblom 258-4224 Church Property Glen Lundell 952-846-9672 Stewardship Mark Sjoquist 258-4123 Missions Board Katie Sjoblom 507-302-9167 Music Director Mary Kay Bougie 507-217-7552 Parish Nurse Yvonne Salmonson 507-951-7921 Custodian Sue Safe 258-4619 "Building a Rural Family in Christ" Administrative Asst. Kim Sjoquist 258-4834 Pastors Nick & Cindy Fisher-Broin 507-824-3216 P. Nick s Cell: 507-298-0416 P. Cindy s Cell: 507-298-0415 S p r i n g G a r d e n L u t h e r a n C h u r c h P.O. Box 237 Cannon Falls, MN 55009 Phone: 507-263-5532 E-mail: springgardenchurch@frontiernet.net Website: www.spring-garden.org US POSTAGE PAID Permit #69 Nonprofit Standard Mail Cannon Falls, MN 55009 Address Service Requested