October/November 2015 1
Staff: Jim Demke, Pastor, cell 605-370-2206, parsonage-423-5349 Gwen Arneson, Lay Pastoral Assistant & Organist, 423-5280; cell 612-280-5987 Rhoda Schmidt, Office Assistant, 507-829-1426 Jon & Jeannette Myrvik, Custodians, c (Jon) 507-828-2401 c (Jeannette) 828-2407 there is no landline phone for Myrviks Our Website: www.christcottonwood.org Mailing Address: PO Box 166, Cottonwood, MN 56229 Phones: Office: 507-423-5100 Kitchen: 423-5118 e-mails: christlutheran@christcotton.com pastorjim3@gmail.com gwenarneson@yahoo.com jeannette.myrvik@schwans.com jjmyrvik@charter.net Congregational Officers President: Craig Aamodt Vice President: Greg Isaackson Chair, Board of Deacons Tracy Sterner Financial Secretary (Giving) Mary Schwisow Secretary: Cal Teske Treasurer: Jonathan Olson Chair, Board of Trustees Jessica Laleman Please let us know... ~ Your church family-the body of Christ, wants to bring you Christ s love in all the seasons of your life. Therefore, please notify Pastor Jim or Lay Pastoral Assistant Gwen Arneson when: There is a birth or adoption; There is a death in your family; There is a hospitalization in your family; Someone becomes homebound, moves to a care center or assisted living; Someone becomes unemployed; You move or get a new phone number; A child moves out of the house, attends college, graduates from college; There are other causes for sorrow or joy. 2
- Who We Are - CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH Mission Identity The people of Christ Lutheran Church are daily called into God s new creation, empowered by the Spirit, and sent to show the Good News of Jesus Christ bringing welcome, forgiveness, healing, renewal and hope to our neighbors here and in all the world Come meet your Savior in Worship! Sunday Morning Live!, our education experience for 3 Year Olds through 12th Graders on Sunday: 9 a.m. Sunday Worship: 10:15 a.m. Worship on Cottonwood Cable Access Channel 180: Sunday 11:45 a.m. and Monday 5 p.m. Fellowship, with Refreshments, served in heaping amounts before and after Worship! 3
~~ Thank You for Your Part in Our Shared Ministry ~~ People getting together to talk about the important things happening in their lives. Working at Esther s Kitchen in Marshall to provide meals to hungry people. Bringing a hotdish or meal to a neighbor. Sitting beside a lonely child in the lunch room at school. Gathering warm clothing for new immigrants facing the coming Minnesota winter. Watering or weeding the garden for an elderly neighbor. Learning a child s name and connecting with him/her on Sunday mornings or elsewhere during the week. This Is ALL Being Church Together! Praise God for the honor and privilege we have to serve! Thank you to all who helped with God s Work. Our Hands. Day, and to Linda Van Uden for coordinating all the efforts. Thank you to Greg and Anne Isaackson for sharing their slides and commentary of their trip to the Holy Land. Thank you to Jody Mohr and LeeAnn Boehne for their part in inscribing books or making Prayer Pillows as part of our Milestone Ministry event welcoming three year olds to Sunday Morning Live. Thank you to Jean Dahl for inscribing the Bibles presented during worship to our 2 year olds, second graders, and sixth graders. ~ Connued On Next Page 4
Thank you to Paul and Karen Geihl for hosting the Deacons meeting on their pontoon for a change of pace in September, and for hosting the council meeting at their home afterward. Thank you to those who served at Esther s Kitchen recently. Thank you for all who provided salads and helped serve at our successful Salad Luncheon in August. Thank you to the behind-the-scenes folks who water the prayer garden, and beautify the entry of our building with plants. Thank you to Jon Hoehne for creating a new banner standard that will hold a Welcome banner at our front entry. Thank you to Jean Dahl and Joyce Warnke for inscribing and embroidering the name patches sewn on our baptismal quilts and blankets by Alnora Pederson; and to Karen Geihl for making the baby quilts for baptism. Thank you to Larry Isaackson, Mike Lee, and Joe Hoff for continuing to make the baptismal faith chests throughout the years. Thank you to Mary Schwisow who comes to the church office regularly to record financial giving and works tirelessly to make certain all the gifts are recorded correctly. Thank you to all of you young and old who find ways to live out your baptismal calling to serve God and others in Christ s love. 5
Close Enough to Stay Burning! We had just returned to our campsite at Gooseberry Falls State Park with a bundle of wood. Denise and I were looking forward to being warmed and entertained by the dancing flames of a campfire. As I approached the fire ring, I noticed how the most recent occupants to enjoy this activity had not tended their fire. Around the outside of the area of charred coals were the ends of several logs that remained unburned. They had been left to languish too far away from the burning center, and had simply flamed out. I remembered from summer camp years ago being told how a campfire is a great example of how relationships work. They require a certain degree of closeness. A coal next to other coals will continue to burn hotly. But if you take that coal and set it at a distance away from the others, it will lose its heat and burn out. Faith is like that. Faith is not about knowing certain information. Faith is relationship. It s not something that can be kindled all alone. We need to be near others to pick up their glow and add our glow right back at them to help them glow more! Scripture is very clear on this communal nature of faith. From the charge in Deuteronomy 6 for parents to keep the Word in close proximity to themselves and their children, to the writer of Hebrews 10: let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another... Sounds a lot like how I stirred up the pieces of wood in the fire I built to maximize the flames! That s the primary reason we have opportunities to gather as people together in Christ s Church. We do not plan events just for a few individuals who feel a particular need to learn something (although, there s always a chance we might come away from a gathering knowing something new!) ~ Connued On Next Page 6
The call to gather goes out to all, regardless of what you feel you already know, and regardless of what you feel you ve already experienced. The question is not whether I know enough. The question is whether I am burning brightly enough. And not just for me, but for the others I should be rubbing coals with! Whatever our state of knowledge, or level of faith, we need to gather often so that the faith that was once kindled will remain alive and grow to burn more brightly for all ages and all new generations! As a congregation, let s do our best to gather ourselves together and stir ourselves up! And let s have concern for those ends that may be sticking out and are at risk of cooling down. We had a great fire that night at Gooseberry Falls State Park. No cold, unburned ends. All were gathered in and became part of a fire that gave lots of heat and light and warmth for our spirits. Let s do the same here as a congregation. Let s all be gathered close enough to burn brighter and brighter for each other Feeling the heat! Pastor Jim Affirmation of Baptism on October 25 th On Reformation Day Sunday, October 25 th, six of our high school juniors will affirm their faith during our worship service. Please keep Eli Dovre, Tessa Idso, Rylee Klocow, Nathan Lund, Mariah Schuler, and Coltan Varpness in your prayers as they continue to grow in faith. 7
Summary What a glorious gift of a day God gave us on September 13 th as we participated in our THIRD God s Work. Our Hands. Day of service! After being fed with the Word and the Lord s Supper in morning worship at 9:30, we dispersed for several areas of serving. People worked together to provide outreach from this community of faith as they: Tied Fleece Blankets (6 blankets) Sewed Burp Cloths for New Babies (13 cloths) Made Cookie Dough to Freeze and Distribute (17 dz.) Delivered Fresh Cookies to Shut-Ins and Others in Need (10 dz.) Made Freezer Meals to Distribute as Needed (14 meals) Sorted Clothing Donated to Hunter s Helping Hands Assembled Food Items for School Weekend Backpack Program Cleaned Up Branches and Brush Around Town Helped with Fall Clean Up at West Prairie Led Worship Services at Fieldcrest and West Prairie Apartments Some of these meals and fleece blankets, clothing and burp cloths have already been needed and distributed in our community! And we know that the other activities were well-received by those who enjoyed the worship services or fresh cookies! Thanks be to God for the opportunity to live out our faith in service to neighbor as service to God! 8
Let s all pitch in for this fellowship event! If you don t have a task for FFF, contact Jean Dahl, coordinator, at 530-2598 Carrots are needed: contact Jean Dahl (5302598) or Linda VanUden (530-6416) if you have some to share. Country Store Items: We would love to offer a great selection of craft items, artwork, baked goods, garden produce, and more!! Invite your family, friends, neighbor, coworker. Maybe you ve been wanting to thank someone for lending you a hand gifting this meal might be your answer! 9
Opportunities for October and November God, help us to know the joy of standing in your presence as we come to worship together, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Sunday, October 4 Worship with Holy Communion at 10:15 AM Wednesday, October 7 F.I.R.E. Worship service at 6:30 PM Sunday, October 11 Worship at 10:15 AM with 4 year olds receiving Prayer Books (Followed by Fall Fellowship Fair) Wednesday, October 14 NO F.I.R.E. Worship Sunday, October 18 Worship with Holy Communion at 10:15 AM with Second Graders receiving Luther s Small Catechisms Wednesday, October 21 F.I.R.E. Worship service at 6:30 PM Sunday, October 25 Reformation Day Worship with Holy Communion/Affirmation of Faith (Confirmation) at 10:15 AM Wednesday, October 28 F.I.R.E. Worship service at 6:30 PM Sunday, November 1 All Saints Day Worship with Holy Communion at 10:15 AM Wednesday, November 4 F.I.R.E. Worship service at 6:30 PM Sunday, November 8 Worship at 10:15 AM Wednesday, November 11 F.I.R.E. Worship service at 6:30 PM Sunday, November 15 Worship with Holy Communion at 10:15 AM Wednesday, November 18 F.I.R.E. Worship service at 6:30 PM Sunday, November 22 Christ the King Worship Service at 10:15 AM Wednesday, November 25 NO F.I.R.E. Worship (Thanksgiving Break) Sunday, November 29 First Sunday in Advent Worship at 10:15 AM 10
Front Porch Community Meeting October 4 th On Sunday evening, October 4 th, a community gathering of people from a variety of walks of life will gather in the Christ Lutheran Church basement fellowship hall to have an intentional conversation around the question, What do you know that might be fruitful for the greater community to know? This concept has been brewing for many months, and is being brought to life as something called, Front Porch Community Gathering. It is not a church-sponsored event; however, it has been created out of the dreaming of several of our congregation s leaders as they planned for God s Work. Our Hands. Day dating back to summer of 2014. The rationale behind the title comes from the fact that, in earlier times, a home s front porch was a common gathering place for the residents, neighbors and passersby. It offered a prime location to keep their eyes and ears open to what was happening in the community. Through the years, our busy schedules, air conditioning, an ever-narrowing focus on our own lives and technological screens have all increased the likelihood that folks don t spend as much time on a front porch chatting with one another and watching the world around them as once was common. In fact, we build porches and decks that face the backyards of our homes so we can get away from the world and not be distracted by others activities. We plan to gather over a cup of coffee or cider and together scan the community: celebrating its assets and strengths, uncovering emerging needs; wondering about existing gaps or barriers; and perhaps brainstorming about possible opportunities to serve one another and the greater good. It seems unlikely that we would leave the conversation unchanged in how we think about our interdependence in this wild ride called communal life! If you are curious about the conversation, please feel free to come and listen in. If you have questions, please contact Gwen Arneson in the church office, 423-5100. 11
PIE Event Coming October 18 th at Christ Lutheran! PIE: A Recipe for Generosity is now nationally recognized by our ELCA for its ministry value to families! It is a 75 minute informative and inspirational presentation which begins with a FREE PIE BUFFET! God has created you to be generous as God is generous! At a PIE event we look at Psalms, story and best giving practices so you ll grow in gratitude and generosity. It s a great investment in your family legacy. Most importantly, PIE is about being told not sold! You will be told plenty that can help you in your generosity. Nothing is sold at this event. WHY COME? Perhaps you are part of a family system or know one where family members no longer speak to one another because of the way assets (both titled and non-titled) were shared at the death of a loved one. Unfortunately, those stories are plentiful in today s culture! Those sad stories, told by family members, nursing home chaplains, and pastors, make us believe PIE: A Recipe for Generosity will be meaningful to you, your family, and God s World in Christ! PIE addresses these matters head on by sharing tools to encourage generosity! Here s what to do: Mark your calendar for Sunday, October 18TH, from 4:00-5:30 PM, and be sure to come at 4:00-4:15 to choose your favorite piece of pie! The program will begin at 4:15. We encourage family units to come! You will grow in your family dynamics from this time together. Guaranteed! RSVP in these ways: Call the church office at 507-423-5100 to let us know you are coming, OR go online to our Christ Lutheran Website (www.christcottonwood.org) and RSVP online under current events. We want to have enough pie for YOU! If you know of others in the community or your circle of friends who would benefit from this event, please share the word and invitation to come. Christ Lutheran is the host congregation, but other ELCA congregations in the area are also being invited, as well. Please remember to RSVP so we know how much pie to have on hand! A couple of our members have previously attended one of these events, and would recommend it as a worthwhile investment of time! 12
Sunday Morning Live!, the title we have given to our education experience for 3 year olds through 12 graders, is held at 9:00. September and October Offerings will be given to Loaves & Fishes (Esther s Kitchen). SML will not be held on Fall Fellowship Fair day, October 11. Christmas Proclamation is December 20 (Sunday) Remembering members in our Christ Lutheran Community of Faith Called to Eternal Glory: Janice Ann Johnson; service and burial was held September 14. Received into God s Kingdom of Grace through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism: Thorbjorn Alton Thompson, son of Keely Huso and Kenny Thompson, on September 6. Welcomed to CLC community of faith: Michelle Moseng, Ferman and Eunice Woodberry, Mary Kay (Plath) Plotz. Welcomed by other communities of faith: Kelli, Emma, Quinlan Helm to Trinity Lutheran/Lucan. United in Marriage: Mary Kay Plath and Curt Plotz; Nissa Jaspersen and Dan Woitaszewski; Jasmine Schroer and Brook Hurt. 13
F.I.R.E. On Wednesdays Nights F.I.R.E. is how Faith Is Reaching Everyone. F.I.R.E. is how Christ Lutheran is responding to our changing needs. F.I.R.E. is a great way to be church together into the future! Expectation is growing already as we look forward to a new year of F.I.R.E., our Wednesday evening meal, worship, and Christian education time for all ages. For over two years, F.I.R.E. has been a fun way to nurture faith in our younger generations, something done most effectively through the presence of our more experienced generations. Likewise, it s been a great time for our more experienced generations to be inspired by our youth! Each week there are new stories of aha moments and humorous quips and faith deepened. Be a part of igniting F.I.R.E. once again this September! We begin with a meal that is provided and served from 5:45 to 6:30, then worship around the tables from 6:30 to 7:00, and move to adult and teen discussion and Sunday School for kids and youth from 7:00 to 7:45 (NOTE: F.A.J. dismisses at 7:45). Come as you are and walk up to a meal already prepared for you. Relax around a table with friends and other interesting people. Enjoy worship around the tables that reconnects life to faith and to one another. Get nourished in body and spirit. Come for yourself, and come for others who need YOU! 14
SEWING Days for October and November Tuesdays: Oct. 29; Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. To find out what types of projects are available to work on, contact Nellie Bjornebo (423-5114), Anne Isaackson (423-5273), Rose Wisdorf (423-6603), or Barb Crouse (423-6249). Even if you re not good with a needle, there may be other ways to help. ~~ Esther s Kitchen/Loaves & Fishes ~~ Our OCTOBER serving date is THURSDAY, the 22nd. Our NOVEMBER serving date is Monday, the 23rd. Esther s Kitchen is located in Marshall at Christ United Presbyterian Church, 400 W. Lyon Street (north of Wells Fargo Bank). You are invited to sign up online at our website, (christcottonwood.org), OR, by using the sheet at the rear of the Sanctuary. The serving time is between 3:30 and 7 p.m.; many thanks for your assistance at any point during that timeframe. We need about 6-7 volunteers. Also, Christ Lutheran has also made a commitment to support the project of feeding the hungry by asking its members to give a freewill offering that will be used for providing food for the meals that are served. A container is located in the back of the sanctuary dedicated to receiving monies that will be given to Loaves & Fishes; checks can be made out to Loaves & Fishes. 15
What Are the Gifts You Bring to This Faith Community? Why Were You Given these Gifts? At a recent retreat of your Southwestern Minnesota Synod Council at Green Lake Bible Camp attended by Gwen Arneson who serves as the Synod Vice President, Pastor Peter Rogness (former bishop in St. Paul Synod and Milwaukee Synod), led our Synod s leaders in Bible Study based on Ephesians 4:1-17. This Scripture text talks about unity in the Body of Christ, and about how we each are gifted by the Holy Spirit. It describes just a small portion of those gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers You all possess Godgiven talents and special callings, as well, even if you don t consider yours to be in the list above! At the retreat, we were encouraged to list the gifts we feel we possess, or those that others see in us. We were also asked to think of HOW we came to realize we had those gifts Who identified them in us? Who encouraged us? Who taught us to use the gifts? We drew a simple stick figure that represented ourselves, and had arrows going out from that stick figure to other people. This helped us to see that those gifts we possess were used to serve others. We also had arrows coming toward the stick figure on the other side indicating that we have in the past, and yet today still need to receive the blessings of other peoples gifts. 16 ~ Connued On Next Page
The most important question in that exercise was, WHY do you think God gave you the gifts you have been given? In other words, for what purposes will you use them? Think about it and if necessary, get out your pencil and start drawing stick figures and arrows! We all stand indebted to those who have in the past shared their gifts with us in this congregation, and dream about the legacy and encouragement we each might offer in the days and years to come with all that we have been given: time, talents, and treasure. We lift our voices, we lift our hands, we lift our lives up to you: we are an offering. Lord, use our voices, Lord use our hands, Lord use our lives, they are yours: we are an offering. All that we have, all that we are, all that we hope to be, we give to you, we give to you. We lift our voices, we lift our hands, we lift our lives up to you: we are an offering, We are an offering. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #692) 17
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Beginning Experience of SW MN, is offering a Weekend Retreat that provides an individual with the opportunity to encounter self and to grow with a purpose to achieve inner peace. The experience is to help close the door gently on the past and move on with renewed hope and purpose. The weekend retreat will be held at Shetek Lutheran Ministries and is scheduled for October 16th to 18th. Deadline for registrations is October 9th. Please contact Anna H. at 507-530-2639/ hawk33@charter.net; Kevin A. at 507-227-1116/ aanenson@msn.com; Tammy B. at 507-227-1625/ tbhappiernow@hotmail.com Workers in Mongolia Supported by Christ Lutheran Church: Charles and Anita Jackson Joint Christian Services Int. PO 51 Box 189 BZD Ulaanbaatar 13343 Mongolia e-mail: sonrose.anita@gmail.com sonrose.charles@gmail.com Missionary Support by Christ Lutheran Church Robin s Nest Children s Home in Jamaica: Mailing address: P.O. Box 122, Lake Elmo, MN 55042 Kikatiti Secondary School (Tanzania) c/o Bill Koeckeritz Our Savior Lutheran Church 1400 S. State Street New Ulm, MN 56073 Headmaster at school: Tareto Elia Nassari Kikatiti Secondary School PO Box 262 Usa River 19
~~ October and November Birthdays October 1 - Ellen Lenz 1 - Gary Morken 1 - Conner Moseng 2 - Jeremy Bahn 2 - Jeff Varpness 3 - John Lenz 4 - Tim Falkum 6 - Eli Dovre 6 - Jeannette Myrvik 6 - Erica Roe 7 - Janet Gniffke 8 - Elijah Schwarz 9 - Stacey Broberg 10 - Lois Kolhei 11 - Sandy Dovre 11 - Samantha Javens 11 - Ferman Woodberry 14 - Gavin Payne 15 - Rachel Boe 18 - Shawn Jones 20 - Sarah Elston 20 - Brenda Hoehne 20 - Jessica Wagner 21 - Brady Boe 21 - Mark Bjornebo 23 - Luke Yost 24 - Robby Pantoja- Bockelmann 27 - Candice Kolhei 28 - Kathy Johnson 28 - Carolyn Olson 29 - Marge Gigstad 30 - Judy Golberg 31 - Ann Orren Please contact Rhoda at the church office if you are not on the list or if we have a wrong date: 507 423 5100; christlutheran @ christcotton. com Thanks! November 1 - Wayne Mack 1 - Milton Rebers 2 - Tanner Alm 2 - Terrance Alm 2 - Gwen Arneson 2 - Irene Evers 2 - Michele Moseng 4 - Darrell Schwartz 6 - Wendy Fischer 6 - Whitney Lundberg 7 - Marvin Kremin 8 - Lance Kolhei 8 - Michelle Milner 8 - Lucee Olson 11 - Kathy Martin 12 - Mary Lund 12 - Darla Morken 14 - Aaron Dahl 15 - John Hokanson 16 - Chris Timm 19 - Lauren Boe 19 - Brennen Jarcho 19 - Kathy Loe 20 - Jeremy Schwisow 20 - Jordan Tome 21 - Don Johnson 21 - Katrina Schultz 22 - Alyssa Lund 28 - Jacob Buysse 28 - Anna Olson Meyer 30 - Jim Runholt 20
ELCA Giving Opportunities We are grateful and blessed to receive the generous offerings of all the brothers and sisters in Christ who find Christ Lutheran Church to be a place to grow in faith as the Gospel is proclaimed and the body is strengthened for service through Word and Sacraments. Because of your generosity in giving, ministry happens. Because of your generosity, lives are changed. Because of your generosity, Christ s light shines into some very dark corners through all those people God has equipped to do so even here in Cottonwood and southwestern Minnesota. Your offerings are stewarded carefully to do God s work with our hands THROUGH this our Christ Lutheran congregation to make a difference in the world. Our congregation s annual operating budget does not include any line item of support to our Southwestern Minnesota Synod s work and mission, nor to our denomination s (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) work and mission. Any financial support that is forwarded on to our local synod or the larger denomination comes solely from the designated gifts of our members. We invite you to consider such a designated monetary gift to the work and mission we share in Jesus name to support the ministry done THROUGH our Synod Office in Redwood Falls, or the ministry done THROUGH our ELCA offices in Chicago. If you feel called to do this, please indicate clearly on the memo line of your check that it is for the SW MN SYNOD/ELCA. You may also give online at christcottonwood.org 21
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