May 2018 The Monthly Newsletter of Faith Lutheran Church P.O. Box 87 109 Second Avenue North Isanti, MN 55040 Phone: (763) 444-9201 Heavenly Sunshine Preschool: (763) 444-7527 www.faithlutheranisanti.com Have no fear, little flock, for it is your Father s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. If you would like to receive our newsletter by e-mail, please contact Erin at office@faithlutheranisanti.com From Our Pastor If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? ~Jeremiah 12:5 Winter is a lot of work. Spring is a lot of work. Graduation parties, yard clean-up, dance classes, baseball practices these are all work. And, yes, a lot of it. As we move through the school-year-home-stretch of May and we steel ourselves for the hard work of our relaxing summer vacations, the last thing we want is another responsibility to weigh us down. Anything but another thing to do! Well, get ready to be disappointed, because here I come like the tax man, like that friend who refuses to have anything less than a twenty-minute conversation when you run into him, like that midnight nag in the back of your mind reminding you that there s a load of wet laundry in washing machine there s some stuff I need you to do. Summer is often a time when church attendance becomes less frequent for most families as they try to pack as many experiences into the warm months as they can. And I for one fully support people playing a little bit of ecclesiastical hooky for the sake of a family trip. This summer, though, the children of Faith have come up with some ideas and they are really excited about them. Specifically, the kids came up with the idea to have an old-fashioned ice cream social. They re planning it. They re running it. They also decided that we should have a church beach day. And as we talked about that idea it eventually became a 140 th Anniversary Outdoor Worship and Beach Day. There are details for these in this newsletter, and more to come later. So pick up the plow with me, if you will, play a little less hooky than you might otherwise, and show your support for the children of this place. When our kids pour energy into something, we ought to reward their efforts with a little attention. You might find that it s at least as much fun as another weekend at the lake. May God be with you in all your busyness, and may you find rest in him! Pastor Clifton Hanson Join us on Sunday, May 6! During the service, we will recognize our 2018 graduating seniors. After the service, there will be a potluck picnic and fun activities for all! For the potluck, if your last name begins with A-D: Please bring an entrée E-H: Please bring a dessert I-Z: Please bring a salad Ice Cream Social! Wednesday, May 9 at 6:00 p.m. This is a FREE EVENT! Compliments of Kingdom Kids Club Build your own ice cream sundaes! Games! Prizes! Face Painting! Come one, come all!
Remind Reminder! If you haven't already done so, please sign up for our text messaging group at www.remind.com/join/faithfams OR text @faithfams to 81010 from your cell phone and you'll be automatically signed up. Saturday, May 19, 9:00 a.m. All Hands on Deck! We will be cleaning our church inside and out! We are blessed to have a beautiful building and grounds where we can meet together as a church family. Let s all help keep it that way! Youth: Please plan to help with upcoming fundraisers! May 12: Bagging at Cub, to 6 pm Please contact the office to let us know what hours you can participate! May 14: Culver s in Cambridge, 4-8 pm! We will be bringing orders to tables, and will need to have everyone there to help! Church: Enjoy some great food at Culvers on Monday, May 14, served to you by our youth! Thank YOU for your support! Vacation Bible School: June 18-21! 5- (supper served at 5 pm) $5/child; $25/family max. Register at church or call the office! Adult and teen helpers needed! Save the Date! Outdoor Worship and Beach Day! Sunday, July 29, 2018 Fish Lake Stay Tuned for Further Details! Jeanette Peterson s 100th birthday is May 17th! Jeanette is the oldest member of our congregation! Her family is planning an open house birthday party for Sunday, May 20th from 1-4 p.m. It will be held at the newly opened care center at 1545 Riverhills Parkway NW in Cambridge. (All residents of Gables East & West will be moved to this new facility by May 9th.) Anyone from the congregation who would like to join us in celebrating her is invited. The party will be held in the Commons dining room, which is straight back from door 1545.
Secretary s Scribblings Thank you to everyone who is providing meals, helping in the office, offering encouragement and support, and praying for our family. Chris (my husband) is working hard every day with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and many other helpful services at Courage Kenny. We are thankful for this opportunity for him to work on improving and adapting to his condition. It has been a long road for us to reach this point, and we know that it will not always be easy, but we are hopeful! Thank you for helping us keep the faith! Erin Olson YTD Finances as of 4/25/18 Total Income..36,734.13 Total Expenses...47,872.02 Net Income..-11,137.89 We give thee but thine own, Whate er the gift may be; All that we have is thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from thee. William W. How May Mission of the Month Softball Faith Lutheran has a team in the Dalbo Area Ministerial Softball League every summer. According to player Kim Olsen, We play hard and pray before every game. It is amazing to see the friendships between our Faith team and our competition. We have been blessed to continue to be active in this league with the support of our church. To contribute to the mission of the month, you can write MOM on your offering envelope or check. Here Comes a Thought Give until it gives you joy! Then you will know you are truly giving. Opportunities for Fellowship Lectionary in FLC library: every Wednesday at Coffee Hour: every Sunday after the 9:30 am service in the fellowship hall Fellowship Breakfast: second Saturday at 8 am Knit and Crochet in the FLC Library: 2nd Saturday at 9 am Community Dinner: third Thursday at 5:30 pm Friday Fun at the Creamery: third Friday at 9 am Martha Circle: Evening Bible/book study fellowship at Rendezvous Coffee in Isanti Date to be determined. Spring is here! Celebrate with friends! Council Meeting Minutes April 17, 2018 Pastor s Report: There have been 4 baptisms in the past month, and more are scheduled. Lenten services and Good Friday services were well attended. Attendance on Easter was 280, and the addition of an extra service helped allow for seating at the 9:30 service. Worship was cancelled on April 15 due to weather and safety concerns. Third year confirmation students visited KBEK with a focus on communication. Working with Gretchen on upcoming youth programs. Houston Trip planning is in process and youth are near reaching their goal. Narthex facelift is complete, and Revelation class has started. Finance Report: Net income down in March. Pastor is looking into the ELCA Stewardship for All Seasons program, in order to help increase giving at Faith. Heavenly Sunshine Preschool Report: Details on HSP page. CE/Youth/Scholarship: Several events are being planned, including church picnic May 6, Ice Cream Social May 9, VBS June 18-21, outdoor worship and beach party at Fish Lake July 29 (part of celebration of Faith s 140th anniversary), archery event September 15. Anyone interested in helping, contact the office! Social Ministry: March Mission of the Month brought in $1173 an 67 pounds of food for the food shelf. This included the offering from Good Friday joint service. Pancake breakfast netted $600, which was also matched by an anonymous donor. A Garden Dish Cook Off has been suggested and will be brought to the committee for consideration. Fall Fest is set for Sunday, October 7, 2018. Property: Garage door opener at parsonage needs to be replaced. Another hook is needed in the sanctuary for banners. Spring cleanup date is set for Saturday, May 19 indoor and outdoor cleaning. A checklist of tasks was suggested. Worship & Music: May 20 will be last time choir sings before summer. Additional members have joined the Praise Band, which may play during summer months. Recommendation brought to council to hire Mary Bye as pianist. Motion passed to offer Mary Bye position at same pay rate and terms. Old Business: - Columbarium: Larger niches will be needed to accommodate urns; change in columbarium style would raise the cost to near $40,000. Carol Kruse will put together a proposal for pre-selling niches that could be marketed to area churches and could cover the initial installation cost. - Building committee has been formed to solidify a plan and feasibility for an addition to the current building. Bruce Yerigan is getting information on building material costs, contractors; Pastor has spoken with the city regarding replatting lots and regulations; Erika will obtain input on preschool and child care facility design and code requirements, and possible grants. Grants may be available through the ELCA, and Dan Johnson will look at financing options. No plans will proceed until funding is in place, but the goal is to build on our success and continued outreach. New Business: Pastor was contacted in regard to the lot across the street; an individual is interested in purchasing a portion of the lot. Council agreed that the entire lot should be sold as one, if sale price and terms are agreeable. Next Meeting will be Tuesday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m.
May 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 129 Easter Service/ Sunday! Sunrise Communion Service 9:30 am 6:30 a.m. Services Coffee Hour 8:00 10:30 & am 9:30 a.m. Baptism Class: Revelation 9:30 Easter and the Egg End Hunt of 10:30 All Things am 10:40 am 86 Service/Baptism 9:30 am 9:30 with recognition am Coffee graduating Hour 10:30 seniors, am then Class: Potluck Revelation Picnic! and No Revelation the End of All class. Things 15 13 Service/ Mother s Day Baptism/ Service 9:30 am Communion 9:30 Coffee am Hour 10:30 am Coffee Hour 10:30 Class: am Revelation and the End of Class: All Things Revelation and 10:40 the am End of All Things 230 31 Office Closed No Social Preschool Ministry No Preschool No and Social Property Ministry Committees Committee Property Committee 97 10 8 Youth Ministry Team 6:00 pm Finance 6:30 pm 16 14 17 15 ELCA Youth Council Gathering: fundraiser at Culver s in Cambridge 4-8 pm 42 Youth Last Day Programs of 6 Youth pm Programs 6 pm Choir No Choir 11 9 Youth Ice Cream Programs 6 Social pm 6 pm Choir Choir pm 18 16 Youth Choir Programs 6 pm HSP Graduation Choir Ceremony 53 Worship Parent Aware & Music Class 6:30-8:30 pm Worship & Music 12 10 19 17 Community HSP Bridging Dinner Ceremony 5:30 pm 11 am 7 Community pm Dinner 5:30 pm 64 75 13 11 14 12 Also on May 12>> Fellowship No Fellowship Isanti Ambassa- Breakfast fishing dors in Fellowship 8 opener! am Hall, -2 pm Knit & Crochet in Piano Recital in FLC 9 am library 9 am sanctuary/narthex, ELCA Youth 11 am 1 pm Gathering: Cub bagging -6 pm 20 18 Friday Fun at the Creamery 9 am 219 22 20 Service/ 9:30 am Coffee Communion Hour 10:30 9:30 am am Class: Coffee Revelation Hour and 10:30 the am End of All Class: Things Revelation 10:45 and the am End of All Things 23 21 Rum River VFW Post & Auxiliary 24 22 25 23 in Fellowship Hall 6-8 pm Faith Choir Families meal together at 5 pm! Youth Programs & Parent Meeting 6 pm Choir 26 24 27 25 28 26 Blood Drive in Fellowship Hall, 12:30-6:30 pm 29 27 Service 9:30 am Coffee Hour 10:30 am Class: Revelation and the End of All Things 30 28 Memorial Day 129 (May) Social Ministry and Property 230 Committees Youth Choir Programs 6 pm Choir 331 Worship & Music 41 (June) 52 2018 Senior Recognition and Church Picnic will be on Sunday, May 6! Acolytes: Keagann Olson and Alexa Oliver Communion Assistant: Harold Pedersen
Heavenly Happenings at Heavenly Sunshine Preschool 763-444-7527 What a busy month! We really enjoyed playing on our snow mountain in the parking lot, and one day the mayor of Isanti even stopped by to play! We also had fun bowling, were so excited to watch our chicks hatch, and now we LOVE being able to play in the warm weather and sunshine! Graduation is right around the corner! Our kindergarten-bound students will celebrate graduation on Wednesday, May 16 at. Our younger students will participate in a bridging ceremony on Thursday, May 17 at 11 am. Due to the number of families who have asked to register children for next year, we will be adding an additional staff member. We will have six classes, and registration will be full! Thank you for your continued prayers and support! Watching chicks hatch is amazing! Bowling fun for everyone! Can you spot Isanti Mayor George Wimmer? (Hint: He s not wearing a coat. ) Thank You! With all the recent baptisms, we are reminded to thank everyone who shares their time and talent to help make baptism at Faith a special event for families. Debbie Bray, who owns Embroidery & Ink in Isanti, has been creating and donating our baptism cloths with an embroidered shell and water design. These are used during the baptism, and then given to the family as a reminder of the day of baptism. The Knit & Crochet Ministry continues to make lovely blankets to give each person who is baptized. The Altar Guild makes sure that everything is prepared for baptisms, including the baptismal font and special banners with the name of the person being baptized. Baptized in the Faith April 1 Hailey Ann Hubers April 15 Kenzley Mae Louise Piescher April 22 Vivienne Rose Kampa
Faith Lutheran Church Home of Heavenly Sunshine Preschool 109 Second Avenue NW P.O. Box 87 Isanti, MN 55040 (763) 444-9201 www.faithlutheranisanti.com office@faithlutheranisanti.com Non Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 3 ISANTI, MINN Current Resident Sunday Services 9:30 a.m. Coffee Fellowship 10:30 a.m. Graduating Senior Recognition and Church Picnic on Sunday, May 6! Wednesday, May 9 at 6 pm! Free Event! All are Welcome! Compliments of Kingdom Kids Club ELCA Youth Gathering Fundraiser: Monday, May 14 at Culver s in Cambridge, 4-8 pm! Did you know? You can listen to Pastor Cliff s sermons, and find all kinds of helpful information, by visiting www.faithlutheranisanti.com You can also find us on Facebook! Facebook.com/faithlutheranisanti