Good Shepherd Free Lutheran Church VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3 APRIL 2016 Mission Statement: We, the Congregation of Good Shepherd Free Lutheran Church (AFLC), declare that God the Father is all powerful and eternal, that His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the Living Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we aspire to live our lives according to the Word of God and to proclaim His truth to a lost and hurting world around us. Ministerial Acts for March Funerals Jane Swartz Baptisms Weddings If you have any prayer requests, please call Melissa Nissila at 865-4769 or 780-6378, she is in charge of the prayer chain. Inside this issue: Program Updates 2 Volunteer Schedule / Keep in Your Prayers / Birthdays & Anniversaries 2 Monthly Activities 3 Monthly Calendar 4 Church Attendance February 28 55 March 6 51 March 13 51 March 20 104 March 27 102 Lenten Services w/ Supper March 2 25/27 March 9 22/25 March 16 22/27 March 24 35/40 Pastor Norr s Page WALKING IN OBEDIENCE After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, We will also come with you. They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore said them, Children, you do not have any fish, do you? They answered Him, No. And He said to them, Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch. They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. John 21: 1-6 An angel instructed the women at the empty tomb to go and tell the disciples and Peter to go to Galilee and meet Jesus there. The disciples waited a week before leaving Jerusalem to go to Galilee. When they arrived Jesus was not there, at least they didn t see Him. Jesus always keeps His promise. But remember the disciples and Peter were not walking close to Jesus at this time. They had said they didn t know the man, when He was arrested. They didn t stand at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. Only John stood there with his Jesus mother Mary. When they arrived in Galilee and didn t see Jesus, Peter should have said, Let us bow down and pray. If they had done that, Jesus would have appeared in their midst. But they didn t, Peter said I m going fishing, the others said we will come with you. Every Christian should be in church every Sunday, how many will say, especially in the summer, I m going fishing, or I m going to the ball game, or I m going to clean the house, or do something with the family, or go on a picnic instead of going to church! The disciples fished all night and didn t catch one fish. The next morning Jesus stood on shore and asked them if they had any fish? They said no, He said put you net on the other side of the boat, they obeyed and caught so many fish they could hardly get them in the boat. The lesson, walk in obedience to God s word, and you will have peace and joy inexpressible. If you skip church you are not going to fully enjoy whatever you replace church with!
PAGE 2 PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS.. Helvi Ahola Al Bedard Kim Gerzina Susan Haavisto Tim Hunter Minerva Imberg at Edgewood Vista Assisted Living Marvin Johnson Daphne Koski Amanda Larsen Art Lee Grace Lee at Essentia Convalescent Care Tyne Lothberg at Edgewood Vista Assisted Living Lorna Mattila at Edgewood Vista Memory Care Dale & Sue Mott Mary Peterson Donna Simmons Ty, Carolyn, Jaxon and Ellia Stewart in Belgium Willow Sullivan Arthur Tuominen Fred Turk Adult and Teen Challenge All our servicemen & women GOOD SHEPHERD FREE LUTHERAN CHURCH Celebrating Birthdays & Anniversaries Tim & Deb Hunter April 16 Jeff & Cindy Forseen April 20 Pete Garman April 22 Todd Niemi April 28 Activities abounded in March: four Soup / Lenten Services, Men s Wild Game Feed, Saturday Night Alive, Palm & Spirit Sunday with the Adult and Teen Challenge group from Duluth and then the Easter Service. Bob Ehli from Bemidji Adult & Teen Challenge Volunteer Update April 3 April 10 April 17 April 24 Greeters Deb Hanela Tim & Deb Hunter Tim & Deb Hunter Joyce Rude Ushers Gordy & Melissa Nissila Art Lee & Don Genung Deb Hanela & Lisa Inman Tim & Deb Hunter Acolytes Arthur Tuominen Kirsti Saranen Reese Jorgensen Janelle Saranen Offering Counters Linda K. & Melissa N. Melissa N. & Tammy B. Kathy C. & Sherry J. Sherry J. & Lisa I. Readers Tammy Bechtold Dave Stewart Sandra Tuominen Barb Thompson Kitchen Clean-up Jacqueline Peters Sheri Peterson Patti Ranfranz Joyce Rude Laundering Linens for the Month: Sheri Peterson WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! MATTHEW 25:23
Thank you for the Soup Thank you for making soup during the seven Lenten services. Our taste buds were greatly Providers of the soup: Tammy Bechtold Kathy Carlson Jeff Forseen Lisa Inman Sherry Johnson Bob Kolocek Paul Naland Lynn Ostervich Sheri Peterson Barb Stewart Marcy Zallar Please accept our apologies if we forgot to mention someone. Easter Lilies decorate the Altar Easter Sunday Children s Sermon Questioned for Christ Drama Skits for Lent Saturday Night Alive Barabbas A full crew of performers on March 19th, our own praise band Lifted Hands along with the Staudahar boys, singing and playing their guitars and violins. Duets were heard by Angelia Tuominen and her friend, and Hannah Lambrecht and her friend. Members of the congregation also made their way up to the stage to sing along with the praise team. After all the singing was completed, we headed down stairs for munchies and fellowship. A great time was had by all! John
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 3 9:00 am Sunday School 10:00 am Worship / Communion Service 10 9:00am Sunday School 17 Spirit Sunday 9:00am Sunday School 24 9:00 am Sunday School 4 11 18 25 5 5:00 pm Deacon Meeting 12 7:00 pm Church Council Meeting 19 26 April 2016 6 13 12:00 pm Ladies Luncheon at Whispering Pines 20 27 7 10:30 am Edgewood Vista Service 12::00 pm Soup Kitchen 12 noon VAMA mtg. 14 21 28 1 8 7:00 pm Holden Peters baptism 15 10:30 am Edgewood Vista Memory Care Service 22 29 2 11:00 am Bernie Lamppa funeral 9 9:00 am Men s Monthly Breakfast @ Northgate 16 7:00 pm Saturday Night Alive 23 9:30 am Ladies Retreat 30
If you have any news, concerns, or requests, you can contact Sherry by phone, text, or email. If you prefer to receive this newsletter in email format, let Sherry know. Cell phone # 218-780-0659 e-mail: sherry.johnson222@gmail.com Ladies Retreat April 23rd 9:30 am 3:00 pm OVERCOMING: Biblical Tools for Plugging into Christ s Power Good Shepherd Free Lutheran Church PO Box 229 230 3rd Street South Virginia, MN 55792 W E RE ON THE W EB W W W.GSLVIRGINIA.ORG