Like Leaves On A Tree In Spring
"but christ
has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits
of those who have fallen asleep".
I Corinthians 15:20
One
of the things I like best about spring is seeing the leaves come back on the
trees in my backyard. Once you see that
first leaf, you know that many others are soon to come.
The first leaf of a tree can be
called the fistfruits. That means many other "fruits" or
leaves will follow. And that happens
each spring year after year. First one
leaf appears, then all the others.
That is what it's like when it comes
to Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead.
In the Bible verse above Jesus is called the firstfruits. That means many others will follow Him. Those many others are the people who believe
in Jesus. they are "like leaves on a tree in spring."
Life is often like the long dreary
winter season that people in cold climates go through. Often we are victims of the hatred of others
or of the selfishness which fills our own hearts. Often we are afraid of what the doctor will
find on our test or what will happen once we close our eyes in death. Often we wonder how we can make it through
one more day or how we can possibly make up for the wrongs we have done to other
people and to god. All these things can make us feel cold.
But Jesus can to make us feel the
warmth of spring. He allowed Himself to
die on the cross so He could take god's
anger away from us for our sins. And so
we can be sure of that, He didn't stay dead.
He came out of the grave three days after He had been placed there. The Bible says that makes Him the firstfruits.
That's why we don't have to be afraid
of dying or worry that God could never forgive the bad things we have
done. We can know that we will follow
Jesus like leaves on a tree in spring.
When we die, it's just like falling asleep for the winter. Jesus will come back on Judgment Day to take
us to live with Him in heaven for a spring time season that will never end.
I hope the next time you see the
first leaf of spring, it will remind you of Jesus, the
firstfruits of all who believe in Him. Because He lives, we shall live also. And the best thing is that in heaven we will
never have to worry about our lives being dark and dreary again. There will be no more tears or sadness, only
happiness and joy. It truly is a
wonderful thing to be one of the leaves on the tree of Jesus. It truly is wonderful to know that Easter
Sunday made Him the firstfruits.
Rev. David Kolander,
"The Living Word"
The
Man Who Died For Me
A mother living in a tenement
house went shopping for groceries. While she was in the store, a fire engine
raced by. She wondered, "Is the fire engine going to my home?" She
had left her baby asleep at home. Forgetting about the groceries, she ran toward
home. Her building had fire hoses aimed at it. It was burning like a matchbox.
Rushing to the chief, she cried out, "My baby is up there." He
shouted back to her, "It would be suicide for anyone to go up there now;
it's too late."
A young
fireman standing by volunteered, "Chief, I have a little baby at home, and
if my house were on fire, I'd want someone to go up to save my baby. I'll
go." The young fireman climbed the stairs; he got the baby, threw her into
the rescue net, and just as he did, the house collapsed and he was burned to
death.
The scene
is 20 years later at a graveside. A 20-year-old woman is sobbing softly. Before
her, at the head of this grave, is the statue of a fireman. A man stopping by
asks respectfully, "Was that your father?" She replies,
"No." "Was that your brother?" "No," she says.
"That's the man who died for me."
How
the Unchurched View Us
Their Seven Most Common Responses
from MissionNet
(Thom S. Rainer)
After spending four years with
the unchurched, my research team and I have gained
valuable perspectives on this group of non-Christian men and women. I recently
assimilated our interview material to glean a summary of an interesting issue.
The interview quotes we found were related to the unchurched
persons' view of Christians. Below are the seven most common responses we
received:
The unchurched generally have a favorable view of Christians.
Contrary to conventional wisdom and media myths, most unchurched
view Christians in a positive light. Kenneth M., an unchurched
28-year-old man from
Many times
Christians are reticent to engage in conversations with the unchurched
because we fear their reactions. Most of the unchurched,
however, view us very positively.
The unchurched think Christians are much more informed about
the Bible than we really are. Be prepared to hear a plethora of questions from
an unchurched person if you decide to enter into a
friendship with him or her. The unchurched of
The unchurched wonder
why Christians do not invite them to church. Our research team was
shocked to find that about seven of ten unchurched
persons have never been invited to church. Furthermore, the non-Christian
generally has a willingness, if not a desire, to
attend church.
"I
have a neighbor named Frank who is an outgoing Christian," said Bill J. of
The unchurched look to Christians as models for healthy family
lives. We believers know the statistics that tell us that many Christian
families are struggling. In fact, the divorce rate among Christians is not
significantly different from that of the unchurched
world. Still, the unchurched persons around us think that we have our act
together in our family lives. And they look to us for hope and encouragement.
The unchurched believe that a Christian is more likely to
provide a lasting friendship than non-Christians. The unchurched
are likely to be desirous of friendships and lasting relationships. Many of
these men and women are very lonely. And while many Christians are reticent or
too lazy to get involved in the lives of unchurched
persons, such an effort may prove to be the eternal difference in their lives.
Repeatedly,
our research shows that the
unchurched are much more likely to believe in Christ
if a Christian will take the time to get involved in their lives.
The unchurched struggle with
inconsistencies in Christians' lives. Penny U., an unchurched person from
The unchurched wonder why Christians are often reticent to
share their faith.
Perhaps
the most eye-opening discovery we made about the unchurched
person's attitude towards us Christians is that most of them would like to hear
about Jesus Christ from us. Yet
the vast majority of the unchurched with whom we
spoke have never had a Christian share their faith with them.
What a tragedy... and what an opportunity.
That's
My Wife For You!
The story is told of an
American soldier who had drawn remote duty and had written home to his wife,
telling her of his seven new friends with whom he had developed a close
friendship. "I am so grateful," he said, "because in this
isolated and barren land a person could easily be driven to despair."
When his
next birthday rolled around, there was a large package in the mail from the
States. When he opened it, he discovered not one gift, but eight gifts. One for him and one for each of his seven friends. The
soldier looked at the eight presents and, with tears rolling down his cheeks,
exclaimed, "That's my wife for you! Yes sir, that's my wife!"
The wife
was revealed by her actions. That was the kind of thing she would do. That was
her nature. That's what she was like.
Today, as
we look back at the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter Sunday,
we recall the whole story of pain, suffering, darkness, death, and life again.
And as we gaze upon our King, crucified and risen, we
proclaim, "That's our God for you! Yes, that's what our God is like!”
The prolific Christian hymn
writer, Fanny Crosby, lost her sight as a young child. But it is obvious
through her hymns that she was a person who could see wonderfully with the
spiritual eyes of her heart. We see a touch of her insight in the following
poem:
"Oh,
what a happy soul am I!
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world,
Content I will be.
How
many blessings I enjoy
That other people don't,
To weep and sigh because I'm blind,
I cannot and I won't."
Someone
once said to Helen Keller, "What a pity you have no sight!" Helen
Keller replied, "Yes,
but what a pity so many have sight but cannot see!"
If Jesus Christ is God and
died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.
The
Turning Point
A number of years ago,
Newsweek magazine carried the story of the memorial service held for Hubert
Humphrey, former vice-president of the
Then a
very special thing happened, perhaps the only thing that could have made a
difference and broken the ice. President Jimmy Carter, who was in the White
House at that time, came into the room. Before he was seated, he saw Nixon over
against the wall, all by himself. He went over to him as though he were greeting
a family member, stuck out his hand to the former president, and smiled
broadly. To the surprise of everyone there, the two of them embraced each
other, and Carter said, "Welcome home, Mr. President! Welcome home!"
One president to another, from different parties, they understood what they had
in common, what burdens they had born in common, they were elected presidents.
Commenting
on that, Newsweek magazine asserted, "If there was a turning point in
Nixon's long ordeal in the wilderness, it was that moment and that gesture of
love and compassion."
Predictions That Didn't Exactly Come True!
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
--Pierre
Pachet, Professor of Physiology at
"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from
the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon."
--Sir
John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed
Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously
considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to
us."
--Western
Union internal memo, 1876.
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
--Lord
Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
--Charles
H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
--Thomas
Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
--Popular
Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science,1949
"But what ... is it good for?"
--Engineer
at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the
micro chip.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their
home."
--Ken
Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
--Bill
Gates, 1981
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.'
--Decca
Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
Still
in Tune and Still in Step
The Call to Worship had just
been pronounced starting Easter Sunday Morning service in an
Suddenly
the heel of one shoe sank into the hole in the register grate. In a flash she
realized her predicament. Not wishing to hold up the whole processional,
without missing a step, she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued
marching down the aisle. There wasn’t a hitch. The processional moved with
clock-like precision. The first man after her spotted the situation and without
losing a step, reached down and pulled up her shoe, but the entire grate came
with it! Surprised, but still singing, the man kept on going down the aisle,
holding in his hand the grate with the shoe attached. Everything still moved
like clockwork. Still in tune and still in step, the next man in line stepped
into the open register and disappeared from sight. The service took on a
special meaning that Sunday, for just as the choir ended with "Alleluia!
Christ arose!" a voice was heard under the church shouting… "I hope
all of you are out of the way ’cause I’m coming out now!" The little girl
closest to the aisle shouted down the register, "Come on, Jesus! We’ll
stay out of the way."
Daylight Lasts Longer
There
is a couple in
One April Monday, however, the day
after Daylight Saving Time went into effect, the boy was late coming home. When
he finally arrived, a few minutes before 6 p.m., his mother scolded him for
being late. "You know you are to be home by five," she said,
"and here it is nearly six."
Puzzled, the little boy pointed out
the window. "But the light," he protested, "the light; it's the
light that tells me when to come home."
Realizing what had happened, his
mother smiled and gently explained that the day before the time had been
changed, that everyone had reset their clocks and, now, the daylight lasted
longer.
The boy's eyes narrowed. "Does
God know about this?" he asked suspiciously.
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Tarapoto,
Upper Amazon
Missionary Terry Schultz
(This true story
demonstrates what can happen when young people - or anyone for that matter -
start to dabble in witchcraft. What with all the “casual” involvement with the
occult these days, from Ouija boards in dorm rooms to occult-themed video
games, TV shows, music videos, and especially movies, all that darkness and
evil is more accessible than ever. And talk about naiveté: How many people
think they can poke around at the edges of evil, fool around with diabolical
forces, and walk away unharmed. Christians of course know better. The victim of
the devil described in this story had repeatedly invited evil into her life. An
evil spirit was only too happy to oblige. The girl in this story becomes
possessed.)
Reading that last
line, some of you will probably immediately doubt the veracity of this account,
- a story so extreme. However the fact is, over the years I’ve passed on
more stories about the occult that I can count. What is described here
took place at a school in front of scores of junior high students, (that is,
before they all bolted for the classroom door to escape). About half a dozen
adults also witnessed many of the supernatural events. It all started in
the homeroom of the principal, none other than our Tarapoto
member and church musician, Ramon. He was the source of this truly
frightening account. There is no reason to doubt his story. For it all played out right before his eyes.
It was a
sunny, slightly windy day outside the junior high school. Inside the
classroom, the students were trying hard to concentrate on their writing
assignment. Only a few pencils were actually moving, while many of the
students could barely keep their eyes open. It was mid afternoon, still a
couple hours to go for the afternoon shift students.
Suddenly, with no
warning and for no apparent reason, a 17-year-old girl shattered the silence with
a piercing, blood-curdling deep-from-within scream that had both students and
teacher reflexively rising clear out of their chairs in fright. The class,
momentarily frozen by the unearthly, horrific sound, turned as one to see the
girl sprawled out on the floor, as if some invisible, outside force had simply
yanked her right out of her desk and literally flung her onto the cement
floor. Outside force indeed. Everyone in
the classroom immediately felt an instant, dreaded chill of recognition: The
girl now writhing and contorting on the floor in some kind of seizure, was the one who practiced witchcraft. A
dazed, split-second later, and every student bolted from their desk in a
frantic mad dash for the door.
The girl thrown to
the floor, (we’ll call her Lea) was the only one in this homeroom who actively
practiced witchcraft. However, within the school there were two other
boys and two other girls, all 17 years old, whom everyone knew were deeply
involved in the occult. Of course, as it was later revealed, the parents
of all 5 kids were completely clueless. Oh sure, the parents knew the
same 5 kids went out together at night. The one boy had access at least
one night per week to his dad’s motorcycle rickshaw taxi. The boy would
pick up the other four kids, and drive them way outside of town, 20 kilometers
away, to the foot of the mountains.
There, the 5 would
frolic in the midnight moon (no need for degenerate details) and call down upon
themselves the supernatural forces of darkness. Apparently they spent a
lot of time at it, doing it weekly over many months. The late-night group
would not lack in ceremonies and incantations to whip up out there,
unencumbered as they were by any civilized supervision. (Cheap guidebooks
on witchcraft are easily purchased in Tarapoto.)
Of course all the students at the junior high soon heard about the secret
midnight meetings with their dark, forbidden rituals. Besides, the little
coven of 5 flaunted their notoriousness in front of others more than a
little. However, their dance with the devil came to a crashing halt, the
day Lea became possessed in homeroom 23.
As Lea lay on the
floor, contorted and convulsing, Ramon first tried to slow down the students
who were stampeding for the door. Turning to Lea, he felt surprisingly
calm in the presence of the evil mayhem now visited upon her. Then again,
Ramon is secure in his knowledge that children of God have nothing to fear from
the evil spirits. He automatically felt deep pity for Lea, especially as
she was now going in and out of horrible scratching frenzies, clawing away till
blood trickled down her arms. Ramon waited a few moments to see if Lea’s
frantic convulsions would subside. He had already ordered a student to
have the nurse call the parents and the hospital. A few long minutes
later, and Lea was now simply rocking on the floor, softly moaning in agony,
having calmed just a little.
Some of the school
boys were now hovering just outside the classroom door, curious as to what
would happen next. Ramon turned to his boys, and calmly yet forcefully
told them to come back in the room and, as a group, carry Lea out to the
nurse’s office. There a taxi could be used if no ambulance showed up to
take Lea to the hospital.
The 6 boys looked at
each other, decided there was strength in numbers, and, along with Ramon
cautiously approached Lea. As the boys got their first close-up look at
Lea, they could barely suppress a startled scream. For, upon stealing a
glance at her face, the boys were shocked to see that Lea’s eyeballs had turned
completely back in her head. All that
showed were the whites!
Frightening as that
was, still, she was just a little girl. With the rest of the class
looking on from the doorway, peer pressure prevailed, and the boys decided to
go ahead and try to carefully pick Lea up to carry her out.
The boys reached for
the once-again screaming Lea, whose arms and legs were wildly flailing
again. With much effort, all 6 finally got hold of at least part of a
limb. Astonishingly, 6 junior high boys, lifting in unison, were unable
to pick the little 90 pound girl off the floor! She had somehow become
too heavy to lift! The boys looked across at each other in disbelief, then collectively freaked out. They immediately
dropped Lea’s limbs onto the hard cement floor and raced once again for the
door. Certainly any lingering doubts that an evil, supernatural force was
involved were now completely gone.
The students had all
backed further away from the doorway, and Ramon found himself alone in the room
with Lea. Without warning, Lea suddenly began emitting a garbled,
incomprehensible sound/talk in a low, unearthly male-type voice. The
voice obviously was not Lea’s and it sent a huge chill down Ramon’s back.
Ramon couldn’t make out what Lea was saying, though he believes he heard a
reference to “Satanas.” The sound itself
conveyed pure evil. A few undecipherable phrases later, and the evil
voice just suddenly stopped.
By this time, news of
the frightening homeroom disturbance had raced through the entire school.
Students were yelling that Lea, the little witch girl, was lying on the floor
flailing away and scratching herself bloody in some type of supernatural fit.
The news reached the school’s religion teacher, a pale, bookish gal who wasn’t
quite a nun, who taught the state-mandated Catholic religion classes.
The
religion teacher hurriedly made for homeroom 23, receiving startling info in
the hallway on her way to the possession-in-progress. She nodded to
Ramon as she entered his room with an “I’ll take it from here” kind of
attitude. (Ramon was not her favorite principal as he was more than happy to
excuse students from her Catholic course with a note from any pastor.)
The religion teacher
approached Lea with a grim yet determined look on her face. Directly
addressing the evil spirit in the girl, the instructor declared in a loud,
forceful voice, “In the name of Jesus leave this child.” The reaction from deep
in the child was immediate. The spirit responded with a low, eerie,
unearthly laugh. The religion teacher recoiled, having elicited a direct
response from the evil within. Now at a
complete loss on how to proceed, she quickly fled the room, making a passing
comment to Ramon that she would try some more to contact the parents. Ramon
didn’t say anything.
Word was sent to
Ramon that the parents could still not be reached, but that psychologists were
on the way. Once again Ramon found himself alone in the room with Lea.
Hours had passed and
Lea, lying in a pool of sweat tinged red, was now only periodically going into
convulsions. At one point, in a weak, pitiful voice (at least it was her
own) Lea asked Ramon for paper and a pencil, as if she needed to write
something down. Ramon immediately fetched the items and handed them to her.
Concentrating hard, Lea made crude drawings of her 4 close friends of the
midnight clan. Then, without warning, she began furiously stabbing with
the pencil at her friends in the drawing. Ramon immediately struggled to
get the pencil and paper away from her.
What had all started
in late afternoon around 4:00 (when the second shift of Junior High is
finishing) had now become early evening. Still no
contact with the parents. It was during this time that Lea had the
most terrifying moments of her entire ordeal. She later recounted the
event to Ramon:
“I remember for a
while sensing that I was here, lying on the classroom floor, but then in an
instant I was somewhere else. I was still lying down, but I was in some
dark place. I was first looking straight up and there was nothing at all
but black space. But then I started to realize that I was actually lying
in the middle of a big, perfect circle of lit candles. And, there was
something present beyond the candles. Standing just outside of the circle
of candles were some kind of tall, dark-robed creatures. Their heads were
like large heads of goats, except they had antlers. Not horns like rams have,
but small, perfect, pointed antlers. These evil creatures just stood
there, making no sound, making no movement.
“But then, bent right
over me, looking right into me, was like the chief of
these goat-headed evil spirits. I was so frightened I wanted to scream
and get away, but no sound would come out of my mouth. And, I had no
power in my body to be able to move. This leader of the evil spirits
kneeling over me kept gazing at me like he was trying to look into my heart.
And, he was saying to the other evil spirits in the circle that I should be
allowed to join them and become one of them! I was so terrified of this I
tried to scream and tell the leader no, but I couldn’t make any sound.
The leader kept asking the circle of goat-headed spirits to accept me as one of
them, as if it was up to them. I don’t know how long this went on, but it
was the scariest moment of all. I knew if the circle said yes I could
join them, I would be turned into one of them forever.”
It wasn’t until after
two in the morning that someone from the school finally got hold of the
parents. (Is it any wonder the girl had run wild in the
mountains all those nights without her parents knowing it?) Mom
and Dad came, and around 3 in the morning, paramedics were finally able to load
Lea into an ambulance for a short ride to the hospital.
A night of relative
calm later, and Lea was declared fit to be released from the hospital. But what to do with her now? The parents, aware that
Lea’s problems were in the spiritual realm, nonetheless were not open to
Ramon’s Christian message, or he would have gladly given them advice and
direction. Instead, the non-practicing Catholic parents, fearful of a
possible relapse, had improvised their own “spiritual” solution to Lea’s
condition.
Upon Lea’s release
from the hospital, the parents drove straight home where they quickly helped
Lea pack up a few clothes and personal items. Immediately, they hustled
her right back into the car. After a long drive, they arrived at a small,
isolated town.
It had all been
prearranged. Just beyond the town, the parents dropped Lea off at a
monastery run by the brothers of the order of the Rosicrucian. Like some
residential treatment center for the spiritually insane, Lea was to be kept
inside the monastery for 3 months.
Lea never told Ramon
what happened to her inside the monastery those 3 months. But when she
was released she was hardly the image of a bouncy Christian girl secure in the
love of Jesus. Fact is, there was no evidence at
all that she had found her Savior during that time. Instead, a sallow,
spent-to-the-extreme shell of a teen was picked up by the parents and taken
home.
The girl is now back in school, as it is the only public junior high school
in the district. Back in school despite
the strenuous, objections of many parents. Lea has only one or two
friends who will talk to her at school. Most of the students are afraid
of her. Often, students will worriedly complain to Ramon that Lea is
staring at them, as if to put a spell on them. Ramon kiddingly
tells them to just stare right back. Or, if they are too afraid to, he offers
to stare back at her for them when he has time. In reality Ramon feels
sad for Lea, who is obviously not enjoying a normal social life at
school. When the opportunity arises, Ramon individually counsels the
students to learn from what they had seen. He recalls to them the warning
God gave to poor lost Cain: “But if you do not do what is right, sin is
crouching at your door; it desires to have you...” Ge.4:7a.
Lea is still
lost. Ramon, and those of us who know her story
pray for the isolated little girl. For even though her
horrific, harrowing ordeal of being bodily possessed is over, Lea still walks
in darkness.
Terry
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Notes From
MLC Spring Meeting
The St Croix Area Spring Meeting of the Martin Luther College
(MLC) Ladies Auxiliary met Saturday morning, March 12th at Holy
Trinity,
Pastor Dennis Klatt began the opening devotion with words from 3 John 1:5 “Dear friend, you
are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are
strangers to you.” Pastor Klatt paralleled our paying of taxes (money required of us)
and not knowing where the money will be spent with the support of the Auxiliary
(money given in love) to provide non-budgeted items to the students at MLC,
many of whom we will never meet.
Pat Parker, Forest
Lake Lutheran, the Second Year Area Representative to the Auxiliary conducted
the business meeting. She introduced herself, and the current First Year Representative – Doris Belsaas from Pilgrim,
Pat reported on the
mailings sent to conference contact ladies/pastors with the minutes from the
MLC 2004 Annual Meeting and the Auxiliary Board meetings in New Ulm. She explained
the duties of the area representatives and asked for a volunteer from the floor
to become the new first year representative, explaining that several of the
women they had contacted agreed to do it in the future, but not at this
time. Since no one volunteered, Pat
announced that she would serve another two year term becoming the new first
year representative and that
The eight proposed projects
that would be on the ballot at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Auxiliary in
October were presented. We were to vote for six projects. The result of our voting plus the results
from other area meetings determine the order on the annual meeting ballot. Pat reminded the group that each year $2,000
is given for Scholarships and $1,200 to the MLC Library. An offering was taken
for the work of the Auxiliary.
Phil Leyer, Vice-Pres. for Enrollment at MLC, was introduced. He
showed the new recruitment video which has a computer instant messaging format
to learn more about MLC and remarked that maybe the ladies would have a
difficult time relating to the video, but high school students loved it. He
then spoke on changes at MLC and especially how the extreme budget cuts by
synod affected the college, expressing the opinion that although these are
“tough times” for the college, the Lord has forced us to look at new ways to
educate and support His workers in the ministry. He updated the progress of the
chapel, the new masters program at the college and announced that a two-year
degree in Early Childhood is being considered.
More Early Childhood Centers operate in our congregations than
elementary schools. During the
question/answer time that followed he pointed out how one graduate two years
ago that had not received a “call” had submitted his resume to the three
fastest growing public school districts in the US. Every one of them offered him a contract,
without even asking for an interview. He
is now working as a public school teacher in
Following the
presentation, Pat announced that the order of projects selected by the group
were 1) Balance Fun Play Equipment for the Early Childhood Day Care 2) Greek
Dictionaries for Pastor Track Seniors; 3) English Literature Videos; 4) CD
Cassette Player for Early Childhood; 5) New Chairs, Tables for 2nd
Floor of Centennial Hall; 6) A Smartboard computer
for the Math Dept; 7) Dumbbells for the Fitness Center and 8) Commissioned Work
for the College Choir. At the annual
meeting, it will be interesting to see how our selections match those of the
other area meetings.
The offering amounted
to $315 from the 13 people in attendance representing seven congregations and
one congregation not in attendance.
Since the area petty cash fund still had enough funds to cover mailings
in the next year, it was decided send the entire offering to the auxiliary
treasurer.
Professior Leyer
thanked the churches that had brought items for the married student food shelf;
adding that they are very much appreciated.
Pastor closed the meeting with prayer and we enjoyed a delicious lunch
served by the ladies of Holy Trinity.
Although Mt Olive did
not have an “organized collection” for the food shelf, several people donated
and six bags were taken to the meeting included a couple from St John in St
Paul.
Jean Brown, Contact,
MLC Ladies Auxiliary
International Christian
Literature Distributors
For
several years,
In a recent letter, they
have noted:
“Our supply of Bibles, Bible Commentaries, Bible Dictionaries,
Theological Textbooks; Bible Study Guides, Monthly Devotionals, Sunday School
Materials, and other Christian literature is getting very, very low. For some
reason, materials such as those listed above have not been coming into our
warehouse in the quantities we need in order to respond to the hundreds upon
hundreds of requests we receive from all over the world. There is a continuing
and, we sense, a desperate need
for this material, as evidenced from the tone of the letters we read from
pastors and other Christian leaders from third world countries, and we want to
be able to respond as soon as possible.”
Please let Mae Schmidt know if you
can help.
Baby Bottle Project
Thank you to all who participated in the recent Baby
Bottle Project. As a result of Christian Life Sunday and the distibution of bottles, a total of $414.23 was taken to the
Christian Life Ministries office March 17th. If you still have a
baby bottle in possession please return to me, filled or unfilled, so that they
may be returned to the Christian Life Ministries office. Please place them on
the small table in the narthex. Many thanks to all who so
generously responded to this ministry.
Marcella Voss, Contact Person
It is time to vote again for National President-Elect,
Treasurer, Spiritual Growth Woman, Spiritual Growth Pastor, and Mission
Offering Projects.
Every woman
of Mt. Olive Lutheran Congregation is a member of LWMS and can vote. Mae
Schmidt will have voting set up in the Fellowship Hall on April 10th
following the church service. Please vote!
Don’t
forget the LWMS Convention June 23-26, 2005. Registration information is
available from Mae Schmidt,
Last
fall, a grocery bag was found on the desk in the Fireside Room containing some
large pieces of material. The writing on
the outside of the bag said “FOR BRIDES DRESSING”.
Do you know anything about it? It is
a mystery we are trying to solve. If
it’s yours, contact the church office.
Volleyball Fun!
On March 19th,
Milcah and Elise were very supportive, yelling "Go, Dad!”, whether or not their dads were currently playing or even
in sight.
The team
and fans had a good time playing and hanging around between games. Thanks to
all who participated. Let's do it again next year.
Housewares Needed
MISSION WEARHOUSE THRIFT STORE
is in need of housewares such as dishes, pots and
pans, glassware and linens. We are also
in need of volunteers. Work as little as
two hours a month. Call 651.917.4149 for more information. Thank you in advance for your donations.
Outreach Committee Update
First, a belated thank you to all of you who were involved in
this winter’s two main outreach events, Friendship Sunday and the English Tea.
Even if you were not able to personally bring someone, your prayers and
support help were instrumental in making these events successful. It’s exciting
to see new people coming into our church, especially those who have never been
to our church before. When people hear
the Law and Gospel, the Holy Spirit is at work. Our God reassures us through
the words of the prophet Isaiah, that His word will not return empty, but will
accomplish that which He purposes (Isaiah 55:10-11).
As many of you are now aware, we have
enlisted the services of E. John Fredrich to assist
in visitor follow-up, neighborhood canvassing, and to help us build a better
outreach program. We are grateful that
E. John is able to offer his time and talents to help with these important
outreach efforts.
Friday night, March 11th,
the Fireside Room was transformed into a mini theater, where we had the
opportunity to watch the movie “Luther,” while enjoying some tasty snacks.
Thank you, Nicole Burkhardt, for coordinating this
memorable evening.
With the coming of spring comes not
only warmer weather, but for gardeners, the chance to once again exercise green
thumbs by planting seeds that will grow into an endless variety of plants. The
Outreach Committee will again be coordinating a plant sale for the church
neighborhood later this spring, - tentatively Saturday, June 4. Be on the lookout for more information in the
coming weeks on how you can help make this plant sale a successful outreach
event.
There
will be an open house baby shower on Saturday, April 16th for Becky Karpenko Fulwider and baby Elise.
All ladies of the congregation are invited to attend. Many of you remember
Becky's mother, Ann Karpenko who directed the Trinity
choir for many years.
Please join us for an afternoon of
fun in the Fireside Room.
Time For
Bowling!
We will be having a church bowling outing on Sunday April 17th at
Flaherty's. We'll meet there at 2:00pm.
The cost per person will be either $4 per game or we can rent a lane for $20
per hour (we'll decide which is cheaper when we see how many people come). Shoes are $2.00. Please sign up on the sheet
in the narthex as soon as possible so we know how many lanes we should reserve.
Directions: From Highway 36 & Snelling (where
So dig out your bowling socks,
pack up the kids and neighbors and let's have some fun!
Our next
Scrap & Stamp Saturday will meet on Saturday, April 23, beginning at 9:00am. Here are
the top five reasons to join us:
5. You can't work on your scrapbook or
stamp cards at home because your cat tries to eat and/or sit on your work.
4. You've always wanted to make a
scrapbook out of the hundreds of boxes of pictures you have stuffed under your
bed.
3. You want to help out the LWMS by
making cards for people to send to missionaries.
2. You want to share
supplies with others stampers and scrapbookers
instead of buying them all yourself.
1. You love the idea of working on your
favorite project while enjoying the company (and brilliant ideas!) of your
friends from church.
Call Keri at
651.488.2362 with any questions. See you Saturday!
Keri
Henkel
Sunday School
News and Notes
April
brings Christian Education Sunday. This year our special Sunday is April 24th.
The Sunday School children will be singing for the
9:00am service. That will be followed by fellowship time and the Sunday School
Open House.
We are encouraging all parents to
join us for the Open House to observe our new way of conducting Sunday school.
The Mount Olive Players will present the lesson that day and we will have a
sing-a-long of favorite hymns during our music time.
Following Sunday School,
there will be a potluck dinner and the annual running of the Mount Olive
Minute. The children will be receiving their cars very soon and Kevin Marschel has scheduled work nights to assist you in making
the cars.
We
hope to have 100% attendance for this special day. Please mark it on your
calendars now.
Linda Henkel,
Sunday School Superintendent
Mt. Olive Minute
Mt Olive Lutheran Church is once
again very excited to host our 5th Annual Mt. Olive Minute Pinewood
Derby Race. This event is open to all who would like to participate. All you
need to do is get your cars ready to race on Sunday, April 24th. We will have three
divisions:
The Go-Carters
Grades Pre K–3
The Speed Demons
Grades 4-8
The Sunday Drivers
Adults, infants,
& all others
God is Great
Everyone is a winner
Follow directions provided with car
Car weight may not exceed 5 ounces
Please only handle your car, do not
touch other cars
Only dry lubricants allowed
If car jumps track we will re-race
April 3rd –
Begin Project, Pick up cars at Church
April 13th 6:30
–
April 21st 6:30
–
April 24th 12:00
– Race Day Registration
April 24th 1:00
– Race Begins
Kevin Marschel
Home: 651.765.8015
Work: 612.326.2134
Email: kevin.marschel@hp.com
Get
ready for a faith-growing opportunity with the Mt. Olive Plant Sale!
LWMS Convention
As you have heard, the National Lutheran Women's
Missionary Society Convention this year will be held in our area in
Because of the accessibility and the wondeful spiritual experience it is to attend one of these
conventions, the Women's Guild would like to pay the $50.00 registration fee
for any lady member of our congregation attending for the very first time. Anyone
interested, please contact Marlene Struwe at
651.489.1086. Transportation to and from
Sincerest
thanks for the following memorials to our Building and Maintenance Fund in
memory of Short Fuller from…
Dean Mahlke
Jan
Harris
Linda
& Robert Whyte
Ed
& Marcella Voss
Darryl
& Pam Folkens
Mae
Schmidt
George
& Marlene Semling
Jean
& Harold Brown
Marlene
Struwe
Elvera Baran
Ted
Lau
Bob
& Berdella Cooper
Lee
& Linda Petersen
Bill
& Harriet Larkin
Bert
& Barb Root
Judy
& Bob Beneke
Betty Crossfield
Tim Bauernfeind
Emma Filiowich
Evelyn
Dose
Don
& Lavelle Habig
Dick
& Sharon Wallace
Richard
& Barbara Hough
Louise
Vickers
Coordinating Council Meetings
(February 13, 2005)
Harold
Rufledt has extended the heating duct in the hallway
between the Educational Wing and the Fellowship Hall. This has warmed the hallway.
A contractor was contacted to see if
the ceiling of the church could be insulated.
The contractor estimate is in the $30 to $40,000.00 range. The only concern is that the appearance would
be significantly changed. It was also suggested that we have the paneling in
the altar area of the sanctuary replaced at the same time the ceiling work
takes place.
Other committee
highlights are as follows:
· The 2005 Usher & Communion Assistant schedules were dist