Evangelical Covenant Church 251 Lake Street Dassel, MN 55325 Our mission is to glorify God, invite everyone to Accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, And equip each one to serve Him. Dassel Covenant Courier J u n e 2 0 1 6 Vitality: Being Fruitful The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, Psalm 92:12-14 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 As I noted in my article last month at a recent leadership meeting we were encouraged to understand that Vitality in Christ is defined by two very significant biblical themes Being Faithful and Being Fruitful. This month I would like to look specifically at the theme of being fruitful. As we continue to focus on the pathway of becoming a Healthy/Missional church it is important to remember that the scriptures continually encourage us to engage in a lifetime of devotion to Jesus Christ. The scriptural image for this is emphasized by the metaphor of bearing fruit. As I spent time looking at how the word fruit is used in God s Word, my first observation was simply that it is an extremely popular image used by almost every Old and New Testament writer. At times it is used to simply describe the natural biological process which God created. However, it also used to describe spiritual life and the results produced within a person s life as it relates to relationship with God and others. The Psalm above was written to be used on the Sabbath as a hymn of praise and thankfulness to God for all He provides for us. As it draws to a close we are reminded that a person who lives righteously throughout a lifetime will still be vital and flourish. The implication is that an intimate walk with God and paying attention to how He is at work in the world and our lives will create a lifetime of vitality and result in bearing fruit even as we age. A vital relationship with God will always refresh our souls to naturally be productive. There is so much more the scriptures say about the fruitful life God intends for us to have. Let me close by drawing your attention to Jesus words above. As He encouraged His disciples with the promise of God s continual presence He taught that they must stay engaged. The actual word is remain. Being missional as a believer or as a church can only happen if we stay connected and fully devoted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! By remaining in Him, Jesus promises that He will remain in us and we will bear much fruit. Pastor Keith Carlson
Graduation Open House Michael Asplin June 5th from 4:00-8:00pm At Michael s home 24164 726th Ave Dassel, MN 55325 2016 High School Graduates Erin Crayford Allie Packard Megan Harmening Caitlin Young Jase Witucki Michael Asplin
2016 Family Camping Weekend at Lake Beauty Bible Camp Mark your calendars! Dassel Covenant Church Family & Friends camping weekend at Lake Beauty Bible Camp, August 5-7. Check in at 3:00pm on Friday Check out at 2:00pm on Sunday Cost is $40 per site for the weekend. All meals are on your own, but we ll do a potluck supper on Saturday night. Activities include: the swimming beach, sand volleyball, Frisbee golf, hiking, campfire and relaxing with friends. Let Marcia Dischinger know if you want a site reserved for you! Evangelical Covenant Church 251 Lake Street Dassel, Minnesota 55325 tel-320-275-3315 Fax 320-275-3316 Pastor: Rev. Keith E. Carlson 320-275-2880 Youth Director: Ben Michel 952-212-5173 Email: office@dasselcov.com Web: www.dasselcovenant.org Ben Michel email: youth@dasselcov.com ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Sundays 10:00am Worship Service Mondays 9:00am RVICS (Retired Volunteers in Christ s Service) USHERS: Jim Hallquist, Ben Beckman, Al Olson, Marlene Blunt, Sheldon Hedin, Ron Hungerford Coffee After Worship 5 NEED VOLUNTEERS 12 NEED VOLUNTEERS 19 NEED VOLUNTEERS 26 Larry Oberg Greeters 5 Andy & Tracy Kraemer 12 Youth Sunday 19 Welcome Sunday 26 Paul & Amy Thostenson Welcome Center 5 Elders 12 Care & Life 19 Missions 26 Youth Commission Nursery during Worship 5 Hanson s 12 Heather Olson 19 Joelle Woetzel 26 Young s
June YOUTH ANNOUCEMENTS 6/11 Nerf War. Come to church for the last Nerf War of the year. We will start at 7:00pm and end at 9:30pm. Come play! 6/14 Basketball. Come to church at 1:00pm to play some basketball. We will play until 2:30pm 6/28 Bike Ride. Meet at church at 1:00pm and bring your bike. Also bring some money, we will be biking to DQ and back, We will be back by 2:30pm
Youth Calendar June 2016 Let s join together and pray for our youth who will be attending camp this summer. Frontier Kids (1st-3rd grade): July 5-7 Jr High (6th-8th grade): July 10-15 Trailblazers (3rd-5th grade): July 17-21 Sr High (9th-12th grade) July 31-August 5 Watch for a list of students attending in the bulletin and future Newsletters. SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Basketball at Church 1:00pm-2:30pm 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Bike Ride 1:00pm-2:30pm Nerf War 7:00pm-9:30pm
June Birthdays 1 Jeremy Heid Andrea McCain 2 Brian Anderson 4 Lisa Hendrickson 6 Aleda Swanson Ellie Dille 7 Rachel Ardoff 8 Nicholas Dille Rachel Beckman 9 Derek Johnson 10 Lorraine Pratt Skylar Posusta-Chrast 11 Ann Hoffke 12 Rori Carlson James Schmieg 13 Sarah Huebener David Koehler Kayla Benson 15 Sue Carlson Dale Eng Ben Beckman John Bengtson 16 Sandy Ward Jessica Hohenstein (Nelson) Marit Thostenson 17 John Nelson Gordon Nelson Arlene Satterlee 18 Karen Grosseider 19 Diane Anderson Derek Johnson 20 Jessica Hastings Aidan Klemmer Jazmine Solomon Wayne Jorgenson 22 Rachel Fusari 23 Aryn Peterson Lauren Hallquist Jay Asplin Katlin Johnson 24 Pia Restrepo Fabrianne McGaw Greg MacLeod Deb Seaberg 25 Ruth Block Dan Revard 26 Lois Dahl Peder Thostenson Larry Oberg 28 Heather Taina Luke Kraemer 29 David Wuotila 30 Janet Latt Bryan & Jeanne Voelker June 7, 1969 Mike & Wendy Johnson June 10, 1995 Mike & Deb Seaberg June 19, 1993 Brent & Renee Swanson June 20, 1980 Howard & Peg Anderson June 20 Dan & Karen Latt June 21, 1986 Willard & Ruth Block June 29, 1979 *Wes and Harriet Olson June 29, 1951 CHIC Mark your calendars and start cleaning house!!! The CHIC garage sale will be held over the Labor Day weekend. We are starting to plan/organize...stay tuned for more details. If you have questions, please see Wendy Johnson or Deb Seaberg
FINANCIALS Evangelical Covenant Church of Dassel Financial Summary April 2016 Month Ended YTD General Operating Income 26,978 86,525 Actual Expenses 22,785 88,051 Total Income Less Expense 4,192 1,526 Giving to General Fund YTD Last Year 2014 76,228 Building Fund Beginning Balance 1/1/2016 12,540 This Month YTD Contributions: Building Fund contributions 4,525 11,730 Designated Memorials 10 35 Payments: Payments to NCP 2,600 12,800 Payments to Other 1,092 1,092_ Current Building Fund Balance 7,813 Building Loan 1/1/2016 360,859 2016 Principal Payments-Regular Giving 1,254 10,044 Principal Payments-Memorials 0 Current Loan Balance 350,815 BOOK CLUB: The book club will meet June 28th, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.. The Book Club selection is Leota s Garden by Francine Rivers
Join us for a Bridal Shower honoring bride-to-be, Carolee Katzung, fiancé of Ben Michel. Monday, June 20th at 7:00pm The couple is registered at Target, Macy s Menards and Amazon. Church Softball will be starts June 12th!!! The schedule will be available in the next week. See the bulletin for game time. All games are at D-C HS/MS 4-plex. Players must be 13 years old and older. Spectators are welcome!! If you would like to be a hostess, please sign up in the Narthex. The hostess meeting is June 12th following worship. If you would like to donate towards a group gift, please make your donation in the office. See Gwen Hallquist with any questions.
The date on the Ecuador Mission Team meeting is Tuesday, May 31, at 7:00pm Supplies needed! Ecuador Mission Trip The Covenant has recently opened a medical clinic north of Quito, in the area close to our work project. Our missionaries also conduct medical caravan teams that reach out to small villages to offer them medical attention where it is normally unavailable. We would like to bring some much needed medical items to Ecuador for their use. Here is what they can use: Childrens vitamins: chewable NOT gummy. Pre natal vitamins Iboprofin - pills and liquid Tylenol - pills and liquid Antibiotic cream - Neosporin and Triple Antibiotic Cream Empty pill bottles: allows them to send pills with the patient when they can't send the entire bottle. We will have collection boxes for these items. We will be taking them to Ecuador in October, so you have time to buy a bottle here and there throughout the summer. We have finished taking pictures for the new photo directory. You can still submit photo s to the church office by e-mail or bring your photo into the office. Photo s will be collected until June 30th. Childrens Clothing needs: We are also going to be packing clothes to be used in the Santiago Project home for displaced children. The government will allow them to have children ages 2-18. That is a large age range, but all types of new or gently used clothing is needed. No stains or holes please. Shoes and rain boots are also needed. Think of Minnesota weather in spring and fall for types of clothing. Anything you can contribute will be used. Quilts for the Kids: The Santiago Project Home for Displaced Children can use quilts. We will be organizing this effort over the summer months. If you would like to contribute bright cotton fabric ( from your stash) or money to buy fabric, please consider doing so. We brought down 2 quilts last year on the Vision Trip. This year we would like to bring down 8 more so that every bed will have a bright cheery quilt to keep them warm. The mountain nights can get quite chilly!
Council meeting, March 2016 Following are highlighted remarks from the reports presented. Pastor Keith confirmation class had pizza and movie night. Awana had their closing program and served around 200 for dinner. Awana had 80 students and 50 volunteers this year. Had confirmation Sunday with Lake Jennie. Ben: Attended MOVE which is the Northwest conference event for senior high. Did Food for Kids with Gethsemane Lutheran. Care and Life: Are still working on pictorial directory. The church summer picnic will be tentatively July 17. Missions: Two of the three missionaries we have been sponsoring are retiring this year. Would like to still support 2-3 missionaries so Bonnie is checking with Barbara Fiske for a list of possibilities. Served approximately 90-100 at the Place of Hope. Property and Maintenance: Mowing schedule is done. Have purchased new ladders. Are still working on the valley leak issue this spring. Stewardship and Finance: Are working on the credit card procedure. The credit loan balance is $350,815 Visitation: June is our turn to deliver meals on wheels. July 12 is our turn to do birthday coffee at Lakeside Worship and Music: The electronic drum kit has been purchased. Still need to purchase and install a monitor system with that. Still working on best option for recording house and congregation sound. Growth and education: working on summer VBS Women Ministry: Becky Hungerford will take over the Education Chair position through end of year. Served around 150 at the Salad Luncheon. The next Daughters of the King meeting will be held on July 18 which will be a Tea Party and Spring Hats theme. Elders: The elders will be assisting with worship service on confirmation Sunday. Our next serving opportunity at Place of Hope is Sunday, June 26. We have moved it back a week in order to avoid serving on Father's Day. Please sign up in the narthex if you are able to serve. June is strawberry month! I you have a favorite strawberry recipe, would you be willing to make it to share at Place of Hope? we need 8-10 desserts ( 9 x 13 size) to feed everyone. Sign up on the clipboard in the narthex. A big THANK YOU to all of the cakes and brownies that were donated for our serving in May. It is so heartwarming to see their eyes light up as they see the desserts and try to decide which one ( OR which ones) to try! Your generosity allows us to indulge them a couple of different desserts each time they come through the line - which may be two or three times! If they are only eating one meal a day, we want to fill them up!! Thank you again!!'
Coming soon... Well, Guess what folks, winter is over and now the season of ticks and mosquitoes is here. Diseases transmitted by Mosquitoes: West Nile Virus- transmitted to people, horses, and birds and is the most common reported in Minnesota, Most people show no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms, such as chills, fever, headache nausea or vomiting. LaCrosse Encephalitis- transmitted by the Tree Hole mosquito, an average of 4-5 cases are reported each year, primarily children. Travelers need to take extra precaution, they are in danger of contracting malaria, dengue, yellow fever and the newest is Zika virus. Bring along mosquito netting and DEET. Diseases transmitted by Ticks: Lyme Disease is by far the most prevalent and serious. Remember the classic symptom is a bulls-eye rash around the bite site. Fever, headache and muscle aches as well as flu symptoms. Contact your physician if these symptoms start after an outing. Human Anaplasmosis- transmitted by the same tick. Rocky mountain spotted fever. Mostly in the northwest but has been reported in MN. There are several others that travelers need to worry about. When hiking in the woods, tuck pant legs into socks and wear long sleeve shirts. Be sure to check for ticks immediately upon return. Some of the DEET products are effective in repelling ticks. Psalm 60:12 Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Worship Team Help Needed: If you have any ability to sing, play violin, guitar or bass guitar we could use your help. We are also in great need for one more sound tech and one more projection person. See Bill Ward or Sarah Cady. Morning Circle May Morning Circle will be held on Thursday, June23rd at 9:30am hosted at Janet Latt s home The Kitchen Committee will meet every 4th Wednesday at 9am. Volunteers needed to serve as ushers. If you are interested, see Tom Weseloh. Library HELP WANTED: I am looking for a few people (Jr/Sr High schoolers welcome) to help with VBS for children 2-5 years old. Date and time for VBS are open for discussion. If you are interested in helping, please contact Amanda Fusari
We would like to thank the women that provided salads and set up for the salad luncheon. You did a wonderful job, we couldn't have done it without you. Candy Paulson, thanks for lining up the entertainment. Bellicose Euphony was wonderful, as was Donette' testimony. Warm regards, Renee Swanson and Debbie Koehler I want to share some encouragement with all of you. As you know, we had many visitors in church yesterday. I received many words of thanks for the music ministry during the fellowship time. Among the feedback, I heard from two different women who shared with me that the worship time brought them to the verge of tears. One of them explained that she couldn't even really describe in words what it was that was so moving to her. She was so grateful and joyful. I can't tell you how powerful it was to hear this and how it really made my day. It should never surprise us that Holy Spirit shows up and works through our efforts but we don't always hear about it so directly. It made me think of a comment that Carlynn shared at the last commission meeting--she was assuring us that even if people are sitting in the far reaches of the choir loft--that hearts are being moved and that Spirit is at work in our services. Join us for Fitness classes on: *Tuesday s 7pm (Aerobics, fitness videos) *Thursday s from 10-11am (Seated fitness) *2 indoor walking paths are also available. Each path equals a mile. You can also join the Walking Club! Chart and track your miles and see how far you can go! If you have a suggestion for a class or would like to lead a class, please contact Amanda. ALL are welcome, kids too! Come ready to have fun and get fit! Praise God for the talents that each of you are willing to share to give Him glory and expand his kingdom, one heart at a time! Have a wonderful week, Sarah
June 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 7pm Baccalaureate 2 10am Seated Fitness 3 4 7am Men s Bible Study 5 10am Worship (Communion) 2pm DC Graduation 6 9am RVICS 7 1pm Visitation 2pm Spirit Sisters 7pm Missions WM Board Fitness w/ Tami 8pm Elder Board 8 9 10am Seated Fitness 10 2pm Communion at Lakeview 3:30pm Communion at Lakeside 11 12 10am Worship Bridal Shower meeting following Worship 13 9am RVICS 14 2pm Spirit Sisters 6:30pm W&M 7pm G&E Fitness w/ Tami 15 7pm S&F 16 9:30am Morning Circle at Janet Latt s home 17 18 7am Men s Bible Study 9:30am Daughters of the King High Tea & Hats 19 10am Worship Happy Father s Day! 20 9am RVICS 7pm Bridal Shower 21 2pm Spirit Sisters 7pm Fitness w/ Tami 22 9am Kitchen Committee 23 10am Seated Fitness Cov. Annual Meeting 24 Cov. Annual Meeting 25 Cov. Annual Meeting 26 10am Worship Benefit Breakfast for Rachel Ardoff 1:30pm Place of Hope 27 9am RVICS 28 2pm Spirit Sisters 7pm Fitness w/ Tami 29 30 10am Seated Fitness