SYMBOLS OF REDEMPTION Volume 25, Issue 8 August 2015 He will I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the LORD more than the watchmen for the morning, more than the watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 Greetings Redemption Lutheran, In the military, there is a lot of hurry up and wait. Supervisors, commanding officers, higher ranking personnel, all want you to hurry and get ready, but then when it is time to fulfill your mission, you end up waiting on someone else. It doesn t seem right or fair that we always have to hurry when we know that we will be waiting for someone else. Yet that is the nature of the beast. When you are working in a system where you are but a cog in the wheel you do what you are told. As Christians, we often forget our place with God. Thinking that we are entitled to something, anything. Yet even though God is gracious and generous whatever he gives us it is more than we deserve. There are times when we want things right now; perhaps a healing for ourselves or a friend from some pain, a new job opportunity, a relationship to the fixed or even begin, we ask for a lot of things from God. It s ok to ask for such things. God wants to hear our desires, concerns, hopes, dreams, problems, and frustrations. It is one of the benefits of having a relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of his very own Son, Jesus Christ. Yet even though God blesses us with so much we still get upset and discouraged because God doesn t answer us or give us what we desire quick enough or even at all. This is where patience comes in. Psalm 30 explains, our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. [Verses 20-22] We wait on the Lord because He is God! But we also trust God because he is our help and shield, one who sent his son to give us salvation and hope beyond all human comprehension. Our soul waits patiently for the LORD because we are but a cog in the great wheel of all things, yet we are called out and loved by the creator of all. We may not get answers and responses to everything we face when we want, but we wait for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning. Sincerely, Rev. Sol Grosskopf Redemption Lutheran Church 952-881-0035 www.redemptionmn.org Pastor Sol Grosskopf Director of Christian Education Jason Koosmann Symbols of Redemption 1
Youth & Family Ministry The St. Paul Saints have moved to their new stadium this season and we need to get there and see what all the fuss is about. We will be going to the game against the Sioux City Explorers on Thursday, August 20 at 7:05 p.m. As previously mentioned, there is a fuss going on and tickets have been going fast. This puts us likely in the standing-room-only crowd that may find some seating on the berm, a grassy area in the outfield. Tickets will be in the $10 range for this seating. Anyone from the congregation is welcome to join us as well. We will meet at church at 5:30 p.m. to carpool to the CHS Field. Looking forward Though there is still a month of summer left, and fall may seem far off, the regular activities of the school year will be here in just moments. With Labor Day being late this year, there are some things that will be starting that week of Labor Day and prior to Rally Sunday on September 16, including Praise Club and Confirmation, which will both begin on September 9. Jason Koosmann, DCE Music Notes I hope you all have been having a fantastic summer! It s August, so for the music leaders it means we turn our attention to September start dates as well as continuing to plan the first half of the music season. Some of the start dates are later this year mostly due to the fact that Labor Day weekend is later this year as well. Labor Day is the date we normally use to plot our start dates. Here are the start dates we have thus far: Alleluia Ringers starts on September 21. Celebration Choir and Praise Club start on September 9. Kingdom Kids will change into a fall seasonal format, which is to sing on special occasions. August also has us celebrating our 60th anniversary as a church so we are busy preparing special music for this service. One final note - in September I will be looking for soloists / small groups to play and sing during the traditional service - in much the same way we did last season. If you are interested, let me know, and we'll work together to get this in the service. Kathy Henson, Music Director Symbols of Redemption 2
Redemption Lutheran turns 60! On Sunday, August 9, we will be having a congregational potluck to celebrate our 60 years of being RLC! We will begin at noon! Last names ending A H are appetizers / salads, I P are main dishes, and Q Z are desserts. You may bring an outdoor chair to sit outside to eat if you wish. Hope to see you there! Becky Kritz, Congregational Life Cluster Leader Many thanks (times infinity!) for all the wonderful book / music / movie / games / puzzle (and so much more!) donations for this year s book sale! Whether you donated books, bought a luminaria, or just wrote a check, your contribution has helped us along the way, and it is very appreciated. During the past seven years, it has been my joy to see so many of my fellow members support and encourage my cancer fundraiser book sale, over and over again! It has been a true testament to the care and concern we have within our RLC family. Truly humbling. As I am writing this, our sale is this coming weekend and hopefully will be our best one yet, because the storage room is busting out with bags and boxes of donations! I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for seven years of support for this fun event! I couldn t do this with you all! Thank you as well to Carrol Stuber for her patience, kindness, continued support, and Becky s Believers Book Sale encouragement throughout our Thrivent matching over the years! Thank you also to Jason and the youth for their donations and commitment to feeding us over the past several years as well. Thanks also to my folks and Jamie, for their love and support! Over the past seven years (not including this year) my team has raised over $35,000 for the American Cancer Society! WOW! That money is used to help with services provided to cancer patients like the Look Good Feel Better class for women, transportation to and from treatment if needed, to help support Hope Lodge (where out-of-town cancer patients can stay for free during their treatments!), and so many other services and programs. The money is also used for grants to help find a cure for this dreaded disease. We WILL get there - with your help! Thank you, thank you from Team Becky s Believers! God bless you all. Becky Kritz (7-year colon cancer and 13-year skin cancer SURVIVOR!!) We have the final numbers on this year s Quilt Auction! We were able to support Trinity First Lutheran School in the total amount of $8,694.24. This includes the $1,200 match from Thrivent. That brings our five-year grand total donated amount to $37,538.69! A big "THANK YOU" to everyone who helped with this event: silent auction and quilt donors, salad donors, event workers, event attendees to enjoy lunch, and all those wonderful bidders! Believe it or not, some work has already begun for next year s event "Come Sail Away. Symbols of Redemption 3
Redemption Lutheran Church Leadership Committee Tuesday, July 21, 2015 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Lyle Peters, Bob Schneider, Becky Kritz, Mark & Michelle Borchardt, Susan Sasse Mark called the meeting to order. Susan presented devotions. June minutes were approved. Michelle reported they are closely monitoring our financials. We are registered for the Heritage Days parade on September 19. Final numbers from this year s Quilt Auction $8,694.24 to support Trinity First Lutheran School! Becky would like to thank everyone who helped and donated to the book sale. Book collections will resume in January. She is working on Back to School bulletin board and new member of the month. Rally Sunday will be September 13. On Sunday, August 9, we will be having a congregational potluck to celebrate our 60 years of being RLC! We will begin at noon! Last names ending A H are appetizers / salads, I P are main dishes, and Q Z are desserts. Bring a chair to sit outside. Jason reported 68 kids attended VBS. Lyle reported we placed an order for a new mower. Bob reported good convention and speakers. Dean Nadasdy was elected for second term, plus four Vice Presidents. It is important to attend the convention, otherwise congregations lose exposure with the District. Mark reported we were turned down from the City of Bloomington for the Verizon tower and we need to start over. A group is renting space for a bible study one night a week. Mark presented the closing prayer. Next Meeting will be August 18 at 7:00 p.m. Tim S. will present the devotions. Respectfully submitted, Susan Sasse Congregational Secretary Symbols of Redemption 4
Vital Statistics August Birthdays August 1 Rachael McCabe Rhoda Bork August 3 Shayla Felling August 5 Diane Henderson August 6 Nathan Lutterman August 11 Kylie Borchardt August 12 Dylon Maple Amy Suckow August 13 Ricky Draves Sherry Hostutler Eldon Ross Richard Schalo August 18 Suzanne Lecy August 19 Mary Jane Drews August 20 Rafael Tatarek Rosemary Tronnes August 22 Clarence Gosewisch August 25 Burnie Lynne August 26 Garrett Anderson Sam Ribar August 27 Virginia Nelson August 28 Helen Blum August 7 Joel Bratsch August 8 Nancy Bakker Virginia Bevers August 9 Ron Johnson August 15 Allison Roberts Brett Shelanski August 17 Ellie Halvorson August 23 John Kroenke Roger Lynne August 24 Autumn Listberger Brandon Maple August 30 Jean Harlicker Susan Kludt William Nesbitt August 31 Fred Krummel August Wedding Anniversaries August 1 Dennis and Sharon Gellert August 11 Dennis and Doris Bahn August 12 Eldon and Doris Ross August 14 Donald and Barbara Rebertus August 21 Mark and Michelle Borchardt Directory Changes Jamie Prescott 6315 Lyndale Ave. S. #110 Richfield, MN 55423 Kyla Kackman Mason Kackman 13017 Oliver Ave. S. Burnsville, MN 55337 Symbols of Redemption 5
VEAP ITEM OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST: Condiments Ketchup, Mustard, Salsa Our new website: www.redemptionmn.org Save the Date: Bloomington Heritage Days: parade and festival are on September 18 and 19 this year! The festival begins at 6 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the parade begins at 10:30 a.m., and the festival begins at 1 p.m. We are walking in the parade again Saturday morning, September 19! Redemption Lutheran Church 927 East Old Shakopee Road Bloomington, Minnesota 55420 Symbols of Redemption 6