NEWS FROM THE NORTH!

NEWS FROM THE NORTH! HUNGRY FOR GOD S WORD This last Sunday we took a look at Jesus offer for REST if we COME TO JESUS and follow His teaching, or as I said WALK WITH HIM. Jack Hildebrandt did a great job of providing us with an illustration when he picked up a concrete cinder block and tried to carry it to the back of the church. Remember what happened? He stumbled and almost fell with that huge block in his hands. If you were not able to witness this, he soon came back and took the other load I had offered for him to carry. It was a very small rock, not even a pound. THIS LOAD was beyond easy for Jack to pick up and stroll away with. Often in our lives we go our own way. We make decisions without considering God s will. We make judgments without considering God s love. Doing life our own way is the HEAVY LOAD that weighs us down and causes us to stumble, get hurt, fail, and even give up as we feel the weight of life on our shoulders. This is the heavy cinder block Jack stumbled with and couldn t carry anymore. Jesus calls you to come to Him and walk with Him, to let go of the HEAVY LOAD and pick up the EASY LOAD. It is a call to walk with Jesus, to know Him as more than just a name you hear in church on Sundays and have an intellectual belief in. You will hear me say this as long as I am among you: it is a relationship, with a living God who speaks to you through His Word (the Bible) and you speak to Him as one who talks with a friend (through prayer). I cannot stress how important it is that you pick up your bible today, and walk with Jesus in your life. It s a lot lighter load than not doing it, and it s easier than you think. Know and live in the REST He offers! Beginning this fall I will be preaching with a weekly focus on the Word of God. I pray that this series will grow in you a desire and hunger to know the Living God through His Word, and to find ways to make it a regular & normal part of your life and relationships. Want to help me? It starts with you, today. Pray this and pray it often: Father, give me a hunger for your Word. When you feel a prompting to pick up your bible, listen to it, that s God at work in you. Seeking Him, with You, Pastor Jesse Kneeland c. 763.445.9217 h. 218.897.5653 pastor@hopebethesda.org Visit our new website: www.hopebethesda.org

Bethesda Church Council meeting, July 8, 2014 The Bethesda Church council met after the July 8 joint church meeting. Member present: Karen Lorenzen, Marly Fraley-Hanosn, Anna Carlson, Marie Fraley, and Teener. The Secretaries report was accepted as read. Marlys handed out the treasurer's report, motioned Marie to accept the treasurer's report seconded Teener, all were in favor. OLD BUSINESS: Anna Carlson has step forward to take over the treasurer's position. Thank you Marlys for all your years of service to Bethesda Lutheran Church as the treasurer. NEW BUSINESS: There was discussion about the church mail, it currently has been going to Marlys, A motion was made by Teener to have the church rent a post office box at the Mizpah PO, Anna seconded. All were in favor. There will be a Christian Ed meeting on July 28 at 7pm at Hope. Pastor came into meeting and we gave him an update on what we were discussing. He did not realize that Bethedsa had meetings after the joint meetings. The Hope council has made a motion to reimburse the Pastor the insurance budget from the benefit package as the Pastor's family have their own insurance. A motion was made by Marie to also be in agreement to reimburse the Pastor budgeted insurance from the benefit package, seconded Anna. All were in favor. Next meeting will be August 19 at 7pm at Teener s. Being no further business, motioned Karen to adjourn seconded Marie. Carried. Hope and Bethesda Joint Council Meeting July 8, 2014 Present: Walter Breeze, Ralph Skoe, Pastor Jesse Kneeland, Marlys Fraley-Hanson, Karen Lorenzen, David Furuseth, Anna Carlson, Marie Fraley, Barb Kininger, Vernon Bloom, Betty Bloom, Sharon Pierson, Teener Swang Devotions Pastor Jesse Kneeland, Hebrews 13 vs 17. Applied to leaders on the council of Hope and Bethesda churches. We are accountable to watch over and help those in the congregation and watch over their souls and give an account for them. Minutes of the last joint council read by Dave. Sharon moved to accept and Karen to second. Issues from the last meeting: Table state license issue. Discussion of the wet basement in the parsonage. Possibly add drain tile and cover for egress windows. Table wet basement issues. Reports: PASTORAL REPORT: JESSE T. KNEELAND JULY 2014 Submitted: July 8th, 2014 Hope & Bethesda Lutheran Churches Northome, MN 56661 1. Message Series: We continue to follow the scheduled readings, keeping with the book of Matthew so far. 2. Hope Church attendance. Current Sunday morning attendance at Hope worship is 80. This is up from the average of 54 the previous five months. Continue to encourage visitors, returning non-active members, and invite your neighbors to come worship with us! 3. Bethesda Church attendance. I have not been tracking this yet. I estimate that Sundays range from 12 to 25 people. As I visit some of the non-attending members my hope is that they will be encouraged to return. 2

4. In the Paper: I submitted an introduction article and picture to local newspapers. A reporter is coming from Blackduck / Bemidji to do a feature story on our coming to town. 5. Tech Talk: A wireless extension has been setup at Hope. However, a cable will need to be run from the sound booth to the copier so that it can be networked. 6. hopebethesda.org: The basics of the website are done. The council will get a sneak peak tonight. I will make it public this week, after some review and editing. 7. Community Service: The service is being planned for the fairgrounds on the 10th of August by Ralph Skoe. I will be bringing the message. Teener has mentioned offering praise and worship from our youth group. 8. Notes: The AFLC pastor s and wives convention in Wisconsin is now in September. I will be there the week of the 15th. Vacation days used: 1. Upcoming Vacation days: Sunday, August 3rd through the 7th (5 days). I have a speaker I will be talking with to fill the pulpit that weekend. CONGREGATION AND MINISTRY REPORT, JULY 2014 Sunday, June 8 Fruit of the Spirit Acts 2:1-21, JT Kneeland, Attendance: (81) Sunday, June 15 Make Disciples Matthew 28:16-20, JT Kneeland, Attendance: (94) Sunday, June 22 True Disciples Matthew 7:15-29, JT Kneeland, Attendance: (78) Sunday, June 29 He came for Sinners Matthew 9:9-13, JT Kneeland, Att: (63) *Sunday, July 6 Mark 11:20 26, AFLC President Lyndon Korhonen, (86) *Installation Sunday Ministry Contacts: Teaching: 0; Member visits: 17; Outreach visits: 7; Hospital calls: 0; Spiritual Guidance sessions: 0, Consulting contacts: 2; Discipleship visits: 1. Ministry mileage for June 2014: 118 miles Deacons: Devotions by Jesse Kneeland, 1 Timothy 3:8-15. Deacons will meet every other month before the council meeting. Youth Report: Next week is Sonshine Festival, 5 youth will go. They meet every other Wednesday @ Hope. Youth will sell watermelon at the fair. Education: Nothing this summer. Bethesda does not anticipate any new students this coming year. There will be an Education meeting on July 28 th @ 7:00 PM. Old Business New Business: We discussed some ideas for what to study in Bible study, youth group, confirmation, visitations, pastoral counseling. What are things that will help people grow? Many would like the pastor to have a Bible study. Wednesday has been suggested for Bible study. We listed studies that have been done. It was thought that Wednesday at 6:30. Ralph will continue to do the Bible studies he is doing. Sharon moves to have Bible study under the direction of Pastor Jesse, Seconded by Marie. Motion passed. Another idea is to have leaders trained to lead Bible studies and have them on their own. This is working well with Teener and Pastor Jesse. Pastor attends and adds Biblical perspective to the study. Confirmation: Sermon notes have been required of our students in the past. Pastors, in the past, have set criteria for their confirmation instruction. Pastor Jesse thinks Christian Ed should help in setting criteria for confirmation and wants Christian Ed. To meet regularly and help with establishing the agenda and requirements. There were many suggestions made for confirmation. Youth Group: Teener would like to encourage a music ministry with the youth. This could be used for Sunday services. 3

Prayer ministry: What are some ideas for prayer ministry? It was suggested that more prayer could be used to pray for the pastor and each member of the congregation. Pastor suggested having at least Deacons meet to pray before a service for the speakers and leaders of the church. Visitation: Teener suggested pastoral visits should be made to all members. Hospital visits would be nice too. Cottage meetings: What would be the reason, or goals, for such meetings? We will think about this more. Pastoral counseling: Pastor would like it to be called spiritual guidance since he is not a licensed counselor. What do we expect before marriage, baptism, or other event? Pastor will be allowed flexibility in deciding about a marriage he will bless following an interview with those involved. We think a meeting before baptism would be beneficial as well. Baptism is an act of God s grace. Problem with copier: Cost of repair is close to $1000. A loaner could be leased for $86.48/mo. At the end of five years we could get a different copier. The cost of a copy will be.012 cents per copy. This includes ink and repairs. There is a $65 one time fee. Pastor would like to go with a colored copier even though the lease would be more and the color copies more expensive. Motion made by Anna Carlson to lease this black and white copier and upgrade later if we choose, seconded by Vern and motion past. Fall Rally Day: We will have a joint service. Ralph would like to see the date moved up to an earlier time in September. He would like to see it be on Sept. 7 by recommendation of the deacons. Ed Committee will meet and solidify a date. Constitution: Pastor Jesse would like a constitution meeting. We selected a date of July 29, Tuesday at 7PM at Hope church. Call to worship music: Motion made to keep the call to worship music five minutes before the service by Sharon and seconded by Walt. Good Samaritan money will be up to the discretion of the pastor up to $100 when he will ask the council. Communion: Administration of communion will follow the constitution. Next meeting will be September 9 at 7PM. Devotions by Ralph and Karen will do treats. Close with prayer Hope council for July 8, 2014 Present: Barb Kininger, Walt Breeze, Vern Bloom, Betty Bloom, Ralph Skoe, Sharon Pierson, Dave Furuseth, and Pastor Jesse Kneeland. Ralph asked to suspend the discussion of minutes, treasurer s report, and other reports. Motions were made and seconded to do so, all passed. The insurance report was given by Walter. The insurance has been purchased with very comparable coverages through Brotherhood Mutual Ins. Co. The old policy has been canceled. Next meeting August 12 at 7PM. Devotions by Dave. Snacks by Barb. Ed committee will meet as soon as possible. The meeting will at 7PM on July 28 th. The minutes reflect that committees should meet before the main council on a regular basis. Barb moved to adjourn and Vern seconded, motion passed. 4

Pastor Jesse will be on vacation Aug. 2 nd Aug. 8 th To tell the truth To prepare for a sermon on honesty, a pastor asked church members to read Joshua 25. The next week, he asked, How many of you read it? Half the hands in the church went up. Great, the pastor said. You re the ones I want to talk to because Joshua has only 24 chapters. From The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll 5

Hope Lutheran WMF July 8, 2014 We met at the church with nine ladies present. As neither President Judy Malterud nor Vice-President Barb Kininger was present Angie Cilek opened with prayer and conducted the meeting. The secretary and treasurer s reports were read and approved. A BIG thank you was given to Mary Lukenbill for the candy bars for Father s Day. The North Central Minnesota WMF Women s Retreat at Bethany Bible Camp on July 10, 2013 was discussed. We will meet at the church at 8:15 A.M. on Thursday to attend. All women from Hope and Bethesda are welcome. The guest speaker will be Joy Nordby. Marlys and Ardell Hanson would like to serve cake at the church picnic on July 20, 2014. This will be in honor of their 46 th wedding anniversary. The Fall Rally will be held at Hope on September 27, 2014. The theme for the Rally will be We gather together to ask the Lord s blessing Mary Lukenbill led Lesson 6 in our study books. We closed with the Lord s Prayer and Table Grace. Delores Jaeger served a delicious lunch. Delores will lead Lesson 7 in August and Gail Wilding will serve. Kay Logdahl For Gail Wilding, Secretary Bethesda WMF July 10, 2014 8 members from Bethesda & Hope along with the Kneeland girls traveled to our Bethany Bible Camp for our North Central MN District WMF Women s Retreat. Lucy Schuster our district Vice President planned the occasion with other members taking part. We opened by singing chorus songs accompanied by Jonette Anderson on the keyboard. Jan Hauseman led us in devotions. Joy Nordby from Brainerd was our guest speaker. She spoke and shared about the Joy of the Lord. We ended our retreat with a bountiful potluck lunch with 48 enjoying the beautiful day and location. Marlys Fraley-Hanson Secretary Bethesda will not have a meeting in August Ladies, mark your calendars for the: WMF Fall Rally It will be held at Hope Lutheran Church September 27, 2014 This years theme is: We gather together to ask the Lord s blessing 6

The Youth Group will be selling watermelon again this year at the Bear Fest. Look for our Watermelon Stand! Sonshine Festival 2014 On July 15 th, Teener & I took the Youth Group to the Sonshine Festival in Willmar, MN. Those that went were Sadie Fraley, Sonna Bergloff, Sky Richie, Jackie Pierson and Scott Pierson. It was an amazing experience.we slept in tents for 4 nights. (Boy, was that an experience.) Every evening we had a guest speaker that would give a short sermon. We got to see the movie God s Not Dead. This is a movie that I highly recommend. There were about 100 different bands there. Every artist had a story about how God had touch their lives. Some of the testimonies were: You have to give all of your heart, not just part of it. Another had his 4 year old son ask him if he was a Rock Star. He didn t want his son to look at him as a Rock Star. His reply was No son, I m not a Rocl Star, Jesus Christ is the Rock Star! A 22 year old had told us that she had never dated because she knew that God had the right person for her. Why go looking for someone, when all we have to do is be patience and wait on God. Another had said that there are no shortcuts in life. Everything will happen on God s time. As christians we need to learn to be patient. I know this is hard for us because when we want something, we want it now. Usually when we try to rush things that God is not ready for us to do, they usually go wrong. I really enjoyed my time there and would do it again. 7

Bethesda Worship @ 9:30 a.m. August 2014 Hope Worship @ 10:30 a.m. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 COMMUNION Message: Scott Pierson Reader:Sky Richie Usher: Donald Lindquist Pastor will be on vacation this week 4 5 6 6:00 men s Breakfast 8:30 prayer time 6:30 Youth Group 7 8 BEAR FEST 9 BEAR FEST 10 COMMUNITY SERVICE @ FAIRGROUNDS-9:00 AM 11 12 1:30 WMF @ Hope 6:00 Deacon s meeting 7:00 Council Meeting @ Hope 14 15 16 17 Reader: Usher: 18 19 7:00 Bethesda Council meeting @ Teener s 20 6:00 men s Breakfast 8:30 prayer time 6:30 Youth Group 21 22 23 NEWSLETTER ITEMS DUE 24 Reader: Scott Pierson Usher: Scott Pierson 25 26 27 8:30 prayer time 28 29 30 31 Reader: Usher: Reminder: There will be NO Bible Studies this month Bethesda: Usher: Altar/Clean:Kay & Sylvia Hope: Delightful Doers