Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
12
Firs† News First evangelical Lutheran church
703 South Sibley Avenue • Litchfield, MN 55355
Address Service Requested
Non Profit Organization
U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit NO. 1
Litchfield, MN 55355
Program Staff:
Tom Evenson, Pastor
[email protected], Cell: 320-266-5366 Gary Cumings, Visitation Pastor
Sarah Jones, Christian Education Director
[email protected], Cell: 320-221-0055
Jackie Kraushaar, Office Manager
Amber Lee-Wolford, Bookkeeper
Jean Hoyer and Carol Heath, Financial Secretaries
Bea Devereaux, Organist, Senior Choir, & Bell Choir Director
Carol Dragt—Director of Music, Non-Traditional Service
Katie Hulterstrum, Kingdom Company Director
Scott Nelson, Custodian
Joel Ramthun, Custodian
First Lutheran Church Office: 320-693-2487
LIKE us on Facebook!
Firs† News
A monthly publication for the
members and friends of First
Evangelical Lutheran Church
January 2018
Our mission: First
Evangelical Lutheran
Church exists to
welcome people to faith
in Jesus Christ; equip
persons with a faith that
works in real life; and
send us in service into
the world in
Jesus’ name.
What’s Inside:
Pastor’s Article, Pg. 1
Church Council, Pg. 2
Churchwide Info. Pg. 3-7,
10-12
Stewardship & Finance/WELCA Pg. 8-9
Memorials & Gifts Pg. 6
For January calendar, birthdays, serving groups, ushers, and altar
guild information, see insert
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS:
Monday - Friday: 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.
WEBSITE: www.firstlitchfield.org
Time with Tom
A new year begins as we look for the birth of faith in ourselves and
others to reignite, and to blossom for those who have just experienced
the love of God for the first time. We see a light in their eyes and a
bounce in their step. We know that Jesus can give us a refreshing look
at life, if we just turn our lives over to the knowledge of salvation. We
can find the grace of God to be confusing and yet wonderful. The
revelation of a gift of reconciliation and forgiveness from the God of
all creation may be too much for us to take in all at one time.
We may need some time to absorb the wonder of his love. It is in the
words of a Christmas song “I am so glad each Christmas Eve” “the night of Jesus’ birth, a little child in Bethlehem he was a king indeed. He came down from heaven above to help a world in need. I love each Christmas Eve, and I love Jesus too; he loves me every day, I know so well is true.” These lines tell the story only in part but they remind us
of the kind of God it is that created all things. This is the kind of God
who is willing to come down to be with us and to become one of us, just
to help us find our way back to him. He becomes one of us so we will not
be afraid of him. He comes to be with us to share the great gift of
grace. This is the gift of which we are not worthy or deserving. God so
loved the world that he gave his only son so that the world could be
saved through him. God does not want to condemn the world because he
loves the world.
The celebration of Christmas each year gives us an opportunity to
renew our faith, and sometimes it works. God is good, all the time; and
all the time, God is good. Amen.
Agree with one another; live in peace and the God of Love and peace will
be with you. 2nd Cor. 13:11
Pastor Tom Evenson
WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday
8:30 a.m. Worship Service with Communion
9:30 a.m. Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Fellowship and
Coffee Hour 10:45 a.m. Non-Traditional
Worship Service with Communion
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. Worship Service with
Communion
2
First Evangelical Lutheran Church - Council Minutes Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 7:00 p.m.
Our Mission: FLC exists to welcome people to faith in Jesus Christ; Equip persons with a faith that works in real life; and Send us in service into the world in Jesus' name.
Council Membership:
2018: David Johnson, Dawn Doty, Gary Smith, Karla Rick
2019: Carolyn Christensen, Dick Farmer. Becky Estrada, Will Dolan
2020: Betty Allen, Vonnie Escen, Robert Gilberts. Bob Blomberg
Not Available at Press Time
Council Highlights
“GOD’S WORK. OUR HANDS.”
First Evangelical Lutheran
Church Council
2017
PRESIDENT:
Carolyn Christensen
VICE PRESIDENT:
Gary Smith
SECRETARY:
Dawn Doty
TREASURER:
Karla Rick
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES:
Christian Education/
Youth & Family:
Will Dolan
Dick Farmer
Stewardship & Finance:
Karla Rick
Betty Allen
Social Ministry/Evangelism:
Dawn Doty
Bob Blomberg
Endowment/Memorial:
Gary Smith
Robert Gilberts
Property:
Dick Farmer
David Johnson
Worship & Music:
Becky Estrada
Vonnie Escen
Personnel:
Carolyn Christensen
Will Dolan
ANNUAL MEETING — JANUARY 28, 2018
Please mark the date on your calendars. Also, a reminder to be working on your reports that will be included in the Annual Report. Deadline is January 10! Thanks!
11
FOOD SHELF
DONATIONS
The shopping cart is located
in the Narthex for your
non-perishable donations for the
Food Shelf. The needs are great
within our community and your
contributions are
greatly appreciated.
Churchwide
PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN THE
MILITARY: *Our members known to be in the military are:
Cmdr. Joseph Vandelac, Foreign Engagement at the Pentagon,
son-in-law of Janice and Cecil Fawcett; Sgt. 1st Class, Special
Forces Ryan Oldenburg, Fort Bragg, NC, grandson of Edna and
Martin Oldenburg; Staff Sergeant Austin Kleinschmidt, Great
Falls, MT, son of Kipp and Lynette Kleinschmidt; Cmdr. Debra
(Freitag) Baker, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA,
daughter of Jerry and Judy Freitag; Staff Sgt. Matthew
Wiechmann, son of Virgil and Jamie Wiechmann, stationed at
Fort Drum, New York; Major Troy Thomas, nephew of Mike
and Gaylene Thomas, and Valda Thomas, Severance, CO;
Specialist John VanOrt, Fort Hood, TX, grandson of Arloueen
Van Ort; Eric Kammermeier, active duty United States Navy,
son-in-law of Mike and Beth Boyle; Airman 1st Class,
Jonathan Negron, Vacaville, CA, son of Margaret Schlisner;
and Staff Sgt. Seth Erickson, home, Clarksville, TN, nephew of
Margaret Schlisner.
Welcome Home! to those of you who now have returned to the
States. Thank you all for your service.
*Please let the office know if titles, locations, and/or addresses have changed for any of the above.
Please keep our shut-in members in your prayers:
Meeker Manor: Opal Allen, Ellen Beckstrand, JoAnn Costigan,
Maggie Fenton, Doug Hess, Celia Defries,
Betty Jorgensen
Emmaus Place: Arlene Poirier, Stan Mortenson
Gloria Dei: Mae Wertz, Willard and Diane Maahs
Bethany Memory Care: Kathy Zeppelin
Bethany Assisted Living: Grace Kranz
Litchfield, in own home: Marian Kronbeck, Ardella Voigt,
Luella Anderson
Hutchinson: Lynette Peterson
GLOBAL MISSIONS
OFFERING
On the First Sunday of the month,
JANUARY 7, 2018
a second offering will be taken, where a
globe will be passed.
This month, the second
offering will go to:
AMERICAN RED CROSS
Baptisms at First
Kyren Thomas Peterson
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Parents: Jesse and Samantha
Peterson
Sponsors: Josh Fett
Amanda Magedanz
This baptism is the start to a wonderful and long lasting faith.
Congratulations on this milestone!!
10
Churchwide
JANUARY WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Firs† News is a monthly publication of First Evangelical Lutheran Church,
703 S. Sibley Ave. Litchfield, MN 55355 Please send submissions to: The Church Office by JANUARY 15th
For the NEXT ISSUE: February 2018
Email: [email protected]
January
15th
MOVIE NIGHT
Saturday, January 20, 2018
5:00 P.M.
Holy Word Theater
Featuring:
Simon Birch
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 6:30 p.m. - Worship with Communion
Sunday, January 7, 2018 8:30 a.m. - Worship with Communion
9:30 a.m. - Sunday School
9:30 a.m. - Fellowship and Coffee Hour
10:45 a.m. - Non-Traditional Worship w/Comm.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 6:30 p.m. - Worship with Communion
Sunday, January 14, 2018
8:30 a.m. - Worship with Communion
9:30 a.m. - Sunday School
9:30 a.m. - Fellowship and Coffee Hour
10:45 a.m. - Non-Traditional Worship w/Comm.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018 6:30 p.m. - Worship with Communion
Sunday, January 21, 2018
8:30 a.m. - Worship with Communion
9:30 a.m. - Sunday School
9:30 a.m. - Fellowship and Coffee Hour
10:45 a.m. - Non-Traditional Worship w/Comm.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 6:30 p.m. - Worship with Communion
Sunday, January 28, 2018 8:30 a.m. - Worship with Communion
9:30 a.m. - NO Sunday School, but Kids Activities
will be available
9:30 a.m. - Annual Meeting
10:45 a.m. - Non-Traditional Worship w/Comm.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 6:30 p.m. - Worship with Communion
HOSPITALIZED?
Please remember to call the church Office or Pastor Tom if you or a loved one is hospitalized and you would like a call or a visit. We do not have access to patient lists and without your call we have no way of knowing if you are in the hospital. Due to the law the medical facilities are no longer able to provide that information.
Thank you!
PRAYER SHAWLS
Prayer Shawls are available in the church office
when needed for yourself or someone in need of comfort and prayers. Please help—if you
know of someone who is in need of prayers and a shawl, stop by the
office and pick one up!
3
Churchwide
A Penguin “Parable”
During storms, emperor penguins huddle for warmth, taking turns at the center and on the pe-rimeter of the group. While incubating eggs, up to 6,000 male penguins have been observed clustering for shelter against the harsh Antarctic winter. Partial-ly grown chicks gather in protective “crèches” (French for “cribs”); often surrounded by a colony of adults, these groupings ward off preda-tors and cold. In stormy times, humans also need supportive
groups; we can’t survive alone. A church family allows us to take turns giving and receiving care. Amid social upheaval, injustice, illness, natural disaster and any loss or crisis, God in-vites us to gather for protection and warmth. In the church community, we support and strengthen one another and are empowered to go out again into the less-sheltered world.
Winter gift
“God … does great things beyond our knowing. He says to the snow, ‘Fall to the earth’; likewise to his heavy, drenching rain. He shuts up all humankind indoors, so that all people may know his work” (Job 37:5-7, NABRE). Snow, ice and cold can make winter a hassle. “Snow days” due to a blizzard may thrill students but usually inconvenience parents. But now and then, winter blankets the earth so heavily that it seems to quiet everything. We’re granted permission to hunker down at home, snuggle close with family or pets, enjoy a book or movie, make cocoa or cookies, and rest. It’s like a surprise sabbath — the gift of grace-time — when no one’s expected to get out the door or the driveway. Perhaps indeed, as Job declared, God sees fit on such days to put our busyness on hold and shut us all indoors so we pause and remember his work — his place — in our lives. Praise God for snow days!
—Heidi Mann
4
CHURCHWIDE
2018 Equipping
Congregations Day
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Vinje Lutheran Church and Bethel Lutheran Church, Willmar, MN
All are welcome! Congregation Members, Council Officers, Christian Educators,
Worship & Youth Leaders, Pastors…… Everyone!
Continued on next page———————>
Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will be our keynote speaker for the day, speaking on the theme of Everyday Reformers.
Elected as the ELCA's fourth presiding bishop at the 2013 ELCA Church-wide Assembly, The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton earned a Master of Divinity de-
gree from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Music Education from the College of Wooster.
Ordained in 1981, Eaton served three different congregations in Ohio as
assistant pastor, interim pastor and pastor before being elected bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod in 2006 and re-elected in May 2013.
Click here to read Presiding Bishop Eaton's complete biography and to
view the Presiding Bishop's messages and statements.
The Rev. Elizabeth
A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop of the ELCA
Your Bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod, The Rev. Jon V. Anderson, will share stories of everyday reformers in your SW MN Synod. He will reflect light toward some of the bright spots across our synod.
9
A Cup of Christmas Tea
One of the beautifully set
tables for the WELCA
Christmas Tea.
8
Stewardship & Finance
General Fund: Total Income for the month of November 2017: $30,981 Less total Expenses for the month of Nov. 2017: $23,684
Year to Date: Income as of November 30, 2017: $286,005 Expenses as of November 30, 2017: $300,936
Women of the ELCA (WELCA)
WELCA NOTES, DECEMBER 21, 2017
WELCA met for a Christmas Tea on December 21, 2017, at 1:30 pm in Chilstrom
Hall.
Betty called the meeting to order and introduced Lexi Cumings, our guest
speaker, who treated us to a reading of “A Cup of Christmas Tea.”
Following the program, Joan gave the devotions. The purpose statement was recited and two Christmas hymns were sung with piano accompaniment by Marge
Hellzen.
The secretary and treasurer’s reports were approved as printed.
New business: Church inventory is December 27 from 9 to noon. WELCA volunteers are
needed to do an inventory of items in the kitchen. ● January 10th Betty and Dianne will meet with a rep to find out what is needed
from us for hosting the Crow River Spring Conference here in April. ● Feb. 13th volunteers are needed to host and serve the birthday party at the
nursing home. ● A signup sheet was passed around to sign up for serving WELCA in 2018.
● Betty will check to see if the circle shut-in list is up-to-date.
The meeting ended with the Lord’s Prayer and singing the Table Prayer.
Thank you to JoAnn for Greeting, Joan for Devotions, Marge for playing,
and Norma, Marlys, Joan, and Valda for serving the delicious Christmas Tea.
Sue Lemmer Secretary
Please see page 9 for pictures from the WELCA Christmas Tea.
WELCA January Meeting
Thursday, January 18, 1:30 p.m. At First Lutheran
5
Attend your choice of 3 of the following workshops: Becoming an Effective Treasurer Moving Forward Through Grief and Loss
Developing a Congregational Culture of Generosity
Love Thy Neighbor
Music that Makes Community
Fandoms: A Model for the Future Church?
And Who Is My Neighbor
Whose Job is it Anyway?
The New Rules of Money
Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences: Building Resiliency and Self-Healing Communities
Cultivating Healthy Church Leaders
From Somalia to Snow
Top 10 Conversations Every 21st Century Church Must Have
Death and Dying: Ministry at the End of Life
Digital Engagement for Ministry
Taking a Group to Houston - ELCA Youth Gathering
Living With Your Best Intentions in Your 60s, 70s, 80s and Beyond
Smart Practices for Everyday Well-being
Insurance Issues Facing Today's Church
More workshops to come!
CHURCHWIDE
Please contact the Church Office if you are interested in attending these Workshops! Call 320-693-2487 to sign up.
Resolve to “be there”
Let our New Year’s resolution be this: We will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.
—Goran Persson
6
From the Correct Perspective
A child sat at his grandmother’s feet as she embroidered. Looking up, he saw a mishmash of threads and ugly knots but no discernible picture or words. “Nana,” he said with concern, “that’s not very pretty.” “Come up here,” Grandma invited, “and look at it from this side. You have to see it from my perspective.” “Oh!” the boy exclaimed then. “It’s beautiful!” Seeing the world from our human, earthly viewpoint, we can’t grasp the masterpiece that God is completing. But when we finally see it from his perspective, we’ll discover that the threads and knots all contribute to a beautiful work of art. That work won’t be finished until Jesus returns, but in the meantime, may God grant us an occasional glimpse of the work in progress — from God’s side!
county transit bus: The transit bus will pick up anywhere within city limits and will deliver to First
Lutheran Church on Sunday morning. The bus is paid for through the Endowment Fund and it is FREE to riders on
Sunday mornings.
Each individual needs to call 693-7794 to schedule their ride by Friday for pickup on Sunday.
gifts have been given to the Chapel Chair Fund and the Quilting Fund in memory of Kyle Birkemeyer, by Rand
and Dianne Thorp, Chuck and Karen Eberhard, and Dorothy Euerle.
A gift has been given to the AC. Boiler, Window Fund in memory of Kyle Birkemeyer, by Bob Kadelbach.
A gift was given to the Boiler, AC, Windows Fund in memory of Linda Moske, Brenda (Dan) Johnson’s sister,
by Paul and Sue Lemmer, and Jerry and Lana Johnson.
gifts have been given to the General Fund, Giving Cross, and Lifeline in memory of Linda Moske, Brenda (Dan)
Johnson’s sister, by DeWayne and Iona Albright, Margaret and Mick Schlisner, Hal and Lavonne Huso, Rand and
Dianne Thorp, Doug and Joanne Miller, Winton and Kris Nelson, and John and Shirley Lekander.
Memorials & Gifts
ANNUAL MEETING — JANUARY 28, 2018
Please mark the date on your calendars. Also, a reminder to be working on your reports that will be included in the Annual Report. Deadline is January 10! Thanks!
Special Thanks
Thank YOU for the cards, thoughts, and prayers during my recent heart surgery. My recovery is
right on track and will see you soon.
Darlene Meidal
7
Acolyte Schedule for January, 2018
Sunday, January
7th
8:30 Ryan Schutz
Winky Estrada
10:45 Lauren Block
Lukas Christians
14th
8:30 Greta Hulterstrum
Ben Blomberg
10:45 Cami Gabrielson
Taylor Draeger
21st
8:30 Casey Hoff
Justin Thoma
10:45 Gavin Nelson
Riley Defries
28th
8:30 Jack Kuechle
Braxton Kerstein
10:45 Emma DeWolf
Kelsey Ballard
Epiphany Wonder
Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see:
heaven on earth, earth in heaven, humanity in God, God in
humanity, one whom the whole universe cannot contain
now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look ... their symbolic
gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh
for one who is to die.
—Peter Chrysologus (5th century)
CHURCHWIDE / YOUTH
