March 2018 Newport Lutheran Church Beacon Inside this issue: Easter Services 1 Pastor s Ponderings 2 Updated Directory 3 Lenten Services 3 Annual Easter Egg Hunt 3 Vacation 3 Thank you stories 4 January Expenses 5 Snow Tubing Fun 6 Thrivent 6 Cross-Generational 7 Donations and Volunteers 7 Youth and Family 8 Peep Diorama 8 Social Concerns 9 Fellowship 10 Morning Woodcarvers Men s Discussion Group Quilters Book Club Women s Bible Study Council 11 Palm Sunday March 25th at 9:00 a.m. The meaningful service begins with the waving of the palms and shouting Hosanna! Then things quickly turn from a celebration to the reality of what Jesus entry into Jerusalem really means as we journey with Jesus to the cross. Come and be a part of the crowd as we listen to a reader s theatre presentation of the last week of Jesus life. Maundy Thursday March 29th at 7 p.m. Traditional Service with Holy Communion. We will end this service with the stripping of the altar. Good Friday March 30 at 7:00 p.m. We will hear about Jesus final hours here on earth as the cross is carried into the sanctuary. We will then have a chance to take a flower or herb and add them to the cross signifying the brokenness in our world, yet reminded how Christ meets us in that brokenness with love an healing. The cross will then be wrapped and tied and carried out of the room waiting for the glorious resurrection of our Lord. Easter Saturday March 31st at 5:30 p.m. This service will begin in darkness and as we burn those concerns we nailed to the cross, the church will be transformed as light enters, the flowers appear, and we move into the joy of the resurrection. It will be a multisensory experience as we hear the music change from solemn to joyful, see the prayers as they rise to God in the smoke and smell the flowers as they adorn the sanctuary. Easter Sunday April 1st at 9:00 a.m. This will be a celebratory service as we joyfully proclaim He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! The Creation Choir will be singing, the trumpet will be playing, there will be a special children s message, and the mood will be uplifting as we celebrate Christ s resurrection. Announcements 11
Pastor s Ponderings What a year it has been. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in February of 2017. Now a year later I am in remission!!!! Prayer works miracles!!! I thought I would reflect back through pictures. Hope you can laugh with some of them. Thank you EVERYONE for all your prayers, love, care, and support. I cannot tell you how much it means. I truly love you all!! March 2017 When I Started! Today May 2017 Blessings, 2
Updated Directory June 14 th 16 th we will be taking pictures for a new pictorial directory. We want as close to 100% participation as possible. Beginning in April we will be forming a team to help promote this event, schedule appointments and work at the event. If you are interested in being part of this team, please contact Emily White or Pastor Sue by calling the church office at 651-459-2447. Many hands make light work!!!!! Mid-Week Lenten Services The theme for this year s mid-week Lenten services is healing. Each week after this we will have a different speaker tell their story of healing and/or learning to live with an illness and the service will include Holden Evening Prayer. Each service will begin at 7:00 p.m. March 7 th Dan Ward will share his story of recovery from a Meth addiction. March 14 th a student from the Union Gospel Mission will share their story of hope and healing through the UGM s programs. March 21 st We will have a speaker come and share what it is like to live with a mental illness. Annual Easter Egg Hunt Newport Lutheran Church s annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday March 31st at 10am. Tell all your neighbors, families, and friends. We will have an egg hunt with 1000 s of eggs, prizes, snack, and a visit from the Easter Bunny! Everyone is welcome! Vacation Sara will be on vacation March 23-30. The office will be closed. Please note all April Beacon items will be needed no later than March 15th. Thank you! 3
Thank You Stories of Changing Lives Dear Friends at Newport Lutheran, Thanks so much for your generous gift and faithful friendship. It s an honor to partner with you to serve the least of these in our community. Peace, Kelli Union Gospel Mission Thank you to everyone that helped fill out Valentine s Day Cards and who donated to the college students. This is such a great way to spread God s love to all! Dear Hearts at Newport Lutheran, We thank you for the nice Valentine bag of treats! Very nice and thoughtful of you. We miss you and think of you often! Love June and Ralph Brown I would like to thank everyone at NLC for your cards well wishes and most of all prayers over my two hospital stays. Thank you Kathy Garringer Dear NLC Family, Thank you so much for the Valentine goody envelope. What a day brightener. It has been a very gloomy year this year not many sunny days so this was a very cheerful gift. Blessings to all at NLC. I will see you in a couple weeks. xxx & ooo to all Carol Peterson I was so excited to receive another care package from NLC. I will be graduating in May and I am going to miss getting the boxes. Thank you so much for not forgetting about me while I was away at College! Love, Cassie Korpi Thank you so much for the Valentine s that you sent me. I loved them very much and put them where I sit a lot so I can look at them. Thank you much! Betty Wygant Thank you to Emily White and Church Council for stepping up and helping with the community meal. It was a greatly appreciated! Thank you Dave for all that you have been doing around Newport Lutheran Church. Your extra work has greatly appreciated! 4
January Expenses Our January giving, while it was good, it did not cover our expenses. Much of this is due to the increased Xcel bill. Our bill in January was $1,515. Our average bill is $875. In the summer our bills are between $550 and $600. The bill we received for February is over $2,000. It is expected that the bill for March and April will be high as well since they are billing for use the previous month. It has been a cold winter and our energy bills reflect this. We also have had an increase in postage expense. In order to continue to meet our expenses, we will need to have a great month of giving in February and March. I ask you to pray about what you are able to give to the mission of this church. Every amount helps! Thank you once again for your generosity. January Revenue $15,124.01 YTD Revenue $174,844.19 January Expenses (17,995.16) YTD Expenses (159,870.37) Jan. Loan Payment Principle 791.20) YTD Loan Principle pd. (7,529.58) Jan. Net Loss $(3,662.35) YTD Income $7,444.24 Debt: Loan (Parking lot & roof) $131,090.39 Principle Payment Dec. $791.20 Interest Payment Dec. 489.96 Add l Principle Payment 2,000.00 Total Loan Payment Dec. $ 3,281.16 Fundraising (Roof) @ 1/31/17 Memorials $9,917.96 ECFE Money 13,000.00 Thrivent Choice 2,500.00 Donut Fundraiser 467.25 God s Work Brunch (47.33) Brunch Fundraiser 5,121.45 Donations 39,007.50 Total @ 1/31/17 $70,061.49 5
Snow Tubing Fun Thank you to everyone that came out to enjoy this afternoon of winter fun. Also thank you to those who invited friends. Everyone really enjoyed themselves. Success!!!! Thrivent CONGRATULATIONS!! Since 2010, over $370 million has been distributed to thousands of churches, schools, and other nonprofits through Thrivent Choice. Based on member recommendations, Newport Lutheran Church received $4,494 in charitable outreach funding in 2017. If you have an annuity or insurance with Thrivent, and have not directed your Thrivent Choice Dollars it is not too late! They can be designated through March 31, 2018. It s easy to do and it doesn t cost you a thing!!!!!!! The money comes from Thrivent!!!! You can donate either online or your Thrivent representative can assist you. If you have questions, Arlene Myers at 651-458-5392 or your Thrivent representative. General questions can be directed to Pastor Sue. Thank you so much to those who have already directed their dollars for 2017. Your generosity is inspiring! 6
Cross-Generational Sunday School If you would like to help with a class everything you need is ready for you. Check out the bulletin board across from the office, sign up for a day, take the materials and off you go. Sara Korpi has been working hard to make it easy for you! If you have any questions or concerns please contact Sara in the office at 459-2447. Volunteers and Donation Needed We need donations for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. What we are looking for is: Chocolate Bunnies Pre-made Easter Baskets Wrapped candy that can fit in plastic eggs New Stuffed Animals Bubbles, Sidewalk Chalk, Jump Ropes, Basketballs, Baseball and Bats, Soccer Balls, Footballs, Nerf Balls, Beach Toys, Beach Towels Markers, Color Books, Play-Doh, Puzzles, Sticker Books Barbies, Hot Wheels Donations can be dropped in the bin located in the Narthex or in the church office. We will need people to help stuff eggs on Sundays. The station is located in the 5th grade classroom and directions on what to do is written on the white board. We will also need volunteers on March 31st at 9 am to help hide eggs. Please contact Sara in the office if you can help. Thank you 459-2447 7
Mission Trip Youth and Family June 24 29 th we will be going on a Mission Trip to Duluth. This trip is for youth who have completed 7 th 12 th grade. We will be painting and repairing homes and learning about issues facing the people of this community. We will also take time to do some hiking and sight seeing along the North Shore. Look for more information to come soon!!! The Confirmation students will be hosting the March 10th Community Meal. They will be having a Baked Potato Bar. They are asking for donations of desserts. The students would love to see you there! All are welcome! Peep Contest 8 We will be having our 2nd annual PEEP DIORAMA Contest! All dioramas are due no later than March 24th. Voting will take place and winners will be announced on April 1st. Diorama rules: It must have at least 1 peep. Your diorama has to be a Bible story or an Event that happens here at church (examples: Noah s ark, Daniel and the Lion, Blood Drive, Choir, etc.) Top 3 dioramas will win a prize. If you team up and win you will still only receive one prize. You can only submit one diorama Any age can do one! Please do not put names on your project. If you do put a name please make sure it is located on the bottom or where it can not be seen. You can leave your diorama in the office and they will be put on display March 24th. We will not except dioramas before March 18th. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Sara in the office. 459-2447. Have Fun and Happy Peeping!
Social Concerns Our church's mission recipient for this month is to LOAVES AND FISHES TOO. This organization was formed in 1981 and they provide food, encouragement, hospitality, and assistance to over 1,900 people every day at 20 year-round sites in the Twin Cities area, in addition to a new one in Marshall, MN. NLC has been actively involved in this organization for over 23 years, cooking and serving meals every other month. NLC's monetary offerings (nine dollars from every ten dollars that is contributed) goes back to the organization, along with that from other churches, synagogues, organizations, and individual groups who want to help, helps to pay for the administrative and maintenance costs at the various locations, including rent, cleaning supplies, etc., in addition to the cost of the food. Mission Sunday is March 11th and your support of this ministry will be very much appreciated. Please continue on helping us collect shoes for the families in the community. We will continue collecting until mid August. Currently we have 42 pairs of shoes, 15 packs of underwear and 3 packs of socks. A way you could help is ask some friends to donate a new pair of shoes. If we had 20 people have 5 friends donate a pair we would have 100. Thank you in advance! We have had someone from So.Washington County asking if we be interested in helping them collect some snacks for the local schools. A lot of students are not able to bring snacks and in some cases teacher are sending snacks home with students that they know do not have a lot of food in their homes. Here is what they are looking for: *Snacks that are peanut free and individually wrapped* Some examples are: * Fruit Roll-ups, Fruit Snacks, Apple Sauce or Fruit Cups, Pudding Cups, Cheez-its, Veggie Straws, Nutrigrain bars, Pretzels, Popcorn, etc. Items can be left in the office to be delivered by March 5th. Thank you for supporting our community! Loaves and Fishes - Thursday, April 5th. Nancy Lienhard would be happy for you to volunteer. Call her at 459-6339. 9
Morning Woodcarving Wednesdays, 8-11 am Wednesdays from 8-11 a.m. in the Fireside room. Come and join our group for a fun filled morning of carving, fellowship and coffee. WOMEN'S AFTERNOON BIBLE STUDY group will meet on Monday, March 12th at 1pm at Judy Whalen s house. If you have questions please call her at 436-6894. All women are welcome to join! Please note that all Beacon items for April must be to Sara by March 15th. Fellowship Join the men of Newport Lutheran to discuss the issues of the day and discover how the Bible is relevant to the issues we face in the 21st century. Join us for refreshments, Christian fellowship, stimulating discussion and life long friendships. We meet on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 8:00 9:00 am at Newport Lutheran Church. Call Gordy Urdhal (651) 459-4964 or Neal Wells (651) 739-6144 with questions. Women s Morning Bible Study will meet Tuesday, March 13th at 9am at Church. All women are welcome! BOOK CLUB NEWS Book club is on winter hiatus. Keep reading and watch for the next title in 2018 Quilters Quilters meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month from 9-11am. All are welcome! Creation Choir Wednesday night 6:15-7:15pm. If you are interested in joining contact Deb Dudley at 651-459- 6673 10
Council Members President: Emily White, white.emily@comcast.net, 651-459-3066 Vice President: Kalee McKusky, kmckusky@yahoo.com, 651-786-9101 Pastoral/Staff: Lin Gisselquist, lgisselquist1@gmail.com, 651-458-5313, cell 612-224-5406 Property: Dave Partch, 651-330-5997, cell 651-341-7998, dpartch67@gmail.com Secretary: Vicki Gardner, vicki.gardner68@gmail.com, 651-459-0148 Social Concerns: Brett Arnold, hazelridgefarm@aol.com, 612-816-7150 Stewardship and Finance: Kristin Anderson, andernutz@me.com, 612-770-2671 Worship and Music: Ben Winkler, benwinklermusic@gmail.com, 651-216-5597 Youth and Family Ministry: Brian Klinga, klingas@comcast.net, 651-253-5214 Announcements From the Treasurer To request a copy of the Treasurer s Report, email Treasurer at treasurer900@comcast.net Beacon Items for the Beacon are due in the church office by the 20th of the month. Any items you want in Sunday s bulletin are due by Tuesday of that week. Life Lines Prayer Requests To be part of or to make prayer requests on the email prayer chain, contact Vicki Gardner at (651)459-0148 or vicki.gardner68@gmail.com Christian Sympathy to: The family of Jan Griffin on her death. Jennifer McCrory on the death of her mother. 11
Newport Lutheran Church 900 Fifteenth Street Newport MN 55055 Address Service Requested Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Permit # 1 Newport, MN 55055 Our Mission Newport Lutheran Church We are a caring community that shares faith, shows love, and lives as disciples of Christ. Pastor Susan Gravelle Phone: 651-459-2447 E-mail: newportlutheran@comcast.net Web Address: www.newportlutheran.com Office Hours Tuesday-Friday 9:30-12:30 Worship Saturday 5:30 p.m. Sunday: 9:00 a.m. Holy Communion Served: 1st & 3rd Weekends 12