FEBRUARY 2005
Friendship Sunday
Just a reminder that February 13 is
Friendship Sunday. This is a special day
where all members of
The example of a couple
of Jesus’ disciples is a good example for us also. In the Gospel of John chapter 1 we read that
the first thing Andrew did once he met Jesus was to find his brother Peter,
tell him that he had found the Messiah, and he brought him to meet Jesus.
Philip also found Nathanael, and told him about Jesus. When Nathanael
questioned how anything good could come from
There is no hint that
either Andrew or Philip hesitated to talk to someone they knew about the person
they had met, namely, Jesus. To those we
invite, we can, like Philip, simply say, “Come and see.”
We can trust that the Holy Spirit will be working in those whom we
invite to this special service.
John
Mueller, Outreach Committee Chairman
I Was There...Here I Am
I was
there. I stood on the very same beach on which dead bodies washed ashore. I
swam in the same sea that in a matter of moments became a grave for how many
people no one really knows. I couldn’t believe it. I was there.
Almost two
years ago to the day, I was on Koh Phi Phi, one of
Shacks
made of bits and pieces of aluminum, cardboard, and wood surrounded by debris
either from new construction or buildings that had been torn down but not
cleaned up formed little communities where islanders would gather for meals
late in the evenings after catering to the needs of the foreign tourists or
spending the day out on a fishing boat.
Are those
shacks still there? I don’t know. What about the shops, restaurants, and diving
schools? It’s hard to say. I know the hotels are gone, the boats are shattered
or buried in the sand and mud. What about the people? What about the tiny
children running around in bare feet? What about the hundreds of faces I saw
but don’t remember?
The
reporters standing on the beach talk about the horrible economic devastation
and the unbelievable loss of life, both of islanders and tourists, but do they
understand the loss of souls?
If the
reporters saw Phi Phi the way it was before the
tsunami, they would have seen on every corner a shrine to Buddha—fruits and bread
and other foods offered to a statue by those hoping to find approval and
acceptance from a god that doesn’t exist. They would have seen a large
population of stray cats and dogs, scrawny, flea-bitten, and sometimes rabid,
roaming the island because nobody wanted to offend Buddha and put down the
animals that were sick or dangerous. They would have seen foreigners, not there
to serve as missionaries or teachers or to offer humanitarian aid, but there to
be served.
The idea
of thousands of people being alive one minute and dead the next, of children
left as orphans and parents left childless, is really beyond comprehension, but
what is absolutely heart wrenching is knowing that many of those people died in
an instant without knowing Jesus as their Savior. The tsunami made people all
over the world stop and think about how fragile life is. And it made Christians
stop and think about how many people all over the world—and right outside our
front doors—are dying everyday without any hope of eternal life in heaven.
So what do
we do now? We can’t all fly to the far corners of the world to tell people
about Jesus. We can, however, pray for those Christian foreign aid workers who
have gone to countries devastated by the earthquake and tsunami—pray that they
have opportunities to show the love of Jesus in what they do, even if they
can’t speak it openly.
And we can
look around us.
A trap I
often fall into is thinking now that I’m back from China, my days as a
missionary are over, when the reality is that every Christian is a missionary
all the time, no matter where we are. We’ve heard it many times before, the
passage from Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
As easy as it is to write off “all nations” as every nation except the one
we’re living in, we know very well what Jesus means.
Unfortunately,
I don’t have any words of evangelism wisdom to share. I’m as afraid of talking
to those I work with and spend time with regularly about Jesus as the next
person. I don’t want to be rejected or made fun of. It’s a constant battle
between what I want to do and what
Jesus directs me to do.
Yet in my
struggle, God has been faithful. I recently came across a passage in the tiny
book of Philemon that I’d read before but never paid much attention to. It’s
kind of like last week when I was driving home from work. Hundreds of times
I’ve driven under an arched railroad bridge, and yet it wasn’t until last week
that I actually saw how interesting the bridge is. It’s actually a footbridge.
I thought, hmm, I’d really like to walk across it! This passage in Philemon was
God’s personal message to me. Here’s what it says: “I pray that you may be
active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of
every good thing we have in Christ.”
Isn’t it
cool? In sharing our faith, we realize exactly how much God has done for us.
When I
think about my friends who don’t know Jesus, I know they wonder what will
happen when they die. I know they spend sleepless nights trying to make sense
of this world without really finding peace. I know I’m going to heaven. I know
this world is not all there is. I have
peace. In sharing Jesus with my friends, in saying out loud all that God has
done for me, the realization of how blessed I am hits me every time. It sinks
in. I belong to Jesus!
Isn’t it
incredible? In His command in Matthew 28, Jesus gives us a job to do, and yet
He uses that job to bless us. He
gives us “a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” It’s
kind of contagious, this full understanding. In sharing our faith, we realize
the extent of God’s gifts, which brings us great joy and an outpouring of
thankfulness. We have so much joy and thankfulness, in fact, we want to share
some more. People see the joy we have. They want that joy, too, and so they ask
questions. Aha! an opportunity to tell another person about Jesus! Amazing!
God’s work
is done differently through each of us. Some He has sent to other parts of the
world. Some He has kept close to home. Some are ministering to the people who
survived the disaster in
Keri J. Henkel
Landed On Top Of A Lamb
A
tourist visited a church in
He asked why it was there and was
told that when the church was being built, a workman fell from a high scaffold.
His co-workers rushed down, expecting to find him dead. But to their surprise
and joy, he was alive and only slightly injured.
How did he survive? A flock of sheep
was passing beneath the tower at the time, and he landed on top of a lamb. The
lamb broke his fall and was crushed to death, but the man was saved.
To commemorate that miraculous
escape, someone carved a lamb on the tower at the exact height from which the
workman fell.
Brett Blair
Our Misguided Goals
There's
an emptiness in pursuing anything less than God's call. Darrell Bock is one of
those baby boomers who has entered mid-life. A teacher at Dallas Theological Seminary,
he writes in Christianity Today how as a young, idealistic man, headed for
seminary, he thought being a successful Christian meant "being a winner
for God, taking control, and doing all I could for his kingdom...The essence of
our spirituality was to do all we could for God in the 40 or so years we
had."
Now, at mid-life, he has discovered
that such spirituality is empty. Much of it was influenced by American culture
with its bent toward independence and self-fulfillment. Darrell writes:
"Many pews on Sunday morning are filled with people seeking God, praying
like mad, studying the Word, but who still wonder why God seems so distant.
Maybe it is because our culture has
taught us to pursue goals that do not bring us closer to Him. Perhaps those
goals undermine the relationships we are to have with Him and with others.
What are some of our misguided goals?
"Where our culture says, 'Seek your place in the world!' our God says,
'Seek the
“When we perceive our existence as a
call from God--rather than as a search for self--we free ourselves from the
maelstrom of self-oriented ambition and find our ultimate purpose in
life."
That's where clarity is found--not in
knowing what we are looking for, but in answering Christ's call and abiding in
Him.
William J. Kemp
Trying To Please Everyone…
Can Lead To Carrying Your Donkey!
An old fable that has been
passed down for generations tells about an elderly man who was traveling with a
boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the
donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a
fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal's back.
When they
came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the
child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set
the boy on the animal's back and continued on his way.
In the
third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man
walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on
and they set off again.
In the
fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey
because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen
carrying the donkey down the road.
Traditional
There
were two unmarried sisters who had such a bitter fight that they stopped
speaking to each other. Unable or unwilling to leave their small home, they
continued to use the same rooms and sleep in the same bedroom. A chalk line
divided the sleeping area into two halves. The chalk divided rooms so that both
sisters could come and go and get her own meals without trespassing on their
sister's space. In the black of night, each could hear the breathing and
snoring of the foe. For years they coexisted in grinding silence. Neither was
willing to take the first step to reconciliation.
Then one night one sister got up to
go to the bathroom and fell, breaking her hip. The other sister awakened by the
fall and the scream of pain jumped out of bed crossed the chalk line and came
to her sister's side. After a few typical sister jabs at why she would do such
a foolish thing as trip on her own feet, the sister held her foe of the past
few years until the paramedics came and carried her to the hospital with her
sister at her side. In those moments of darkness came the truth and power of
love and light.
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall told this story with these words.
"The legal system can force open doors, and sometimes even knock down
walls, but it cannot build bridges. That job belongs to you and me."
Source Unknown
Don't Confuse Me
With The Facts
For years,
Emily had begged Tom to take her hunting. But he kept putting it off. He took
his hunting seriously and enjoyed his time alone in the woods. But finally he
gave in to his wife's pleading.
He took her to one of his favorite
spots where deer were usually plentiful and instructed her on the rules of
hunting. He set her up where she could get a good clear shot at any deer that
came along. Then he trudged on, but before he could get into position he heard
two shots.
"Oh no!" he thought.
"If she gets a deer before me, I'll never live this down." Then he
heard his wife screaming, "Now, step back. That's my deer!" A he
raced through the woods he could see Emily aiming her rifle at a man whose
hands were raised above his head. She yelled again, "I said, step away!
That's my deer!" As Tom arrived at the scene the man yelled, "Okay,
Lady. You can have your deer. Just give me a minute and let me get my saddle
off of it." For this man at gunpoint, it was not a time to try to explain
the truth. Emily seemed to have her mind made up.
Have you ever been frustrated by someone who just doesn't seem
to see the truth, but doesn't want to hear the facts either? You try to tell them that the Bible is God’s
Word and all it says is true, but they just laugh. Since you can’t convince them with facts,
just continue to love them with acts. In
this way, show them that the Bible is true.
Jungle Journal
Missionary Terry Schultz, Lima, Peru, member of Mt.
Olive
Talk about receiving a bum steer: – We almost purchased
bad cows for our native school children no less than three times! As Jungle
Journal readers know, we received a generous outpouring of donations to
purchase cows for the Chayahuita
The children of Neuva Barranquita suffer from
severe malnutrition. The natives there do not grow vegetables and gather only a
few types of fruit. They can go days if not weeks with little protein, (especially
if Dad is unable to find a bird or monkey to shoot and doesn’t catch many
fish). Plus, the children are given way too much masato,
a fermented yucca-root drink, from the time they are babies. It is no
exaggeration to say that there is not one completely healthy child in the
entire village. All the children of Nueva Barranquita, not to mention the adults, could use a daily
glass of milk! After much more trouble than we ever imagined, we finally
purchased and transported 3 cows to the jungle village!
It is an
extraordinary and exhilarating fact that, the easiest part of this project was
raising the funds to buy and transport the cows! People and congregations responded to our request
for donations beyond our wildest expectations! The list of contributors is
huge. We send a huge, heartfelt thank-you to each and every one of you!!
Upon the advice of
various international aid workers and agronomists that we worked with, it was
decided to begin the dairy project with just two cows and one bull. (Both cows
will have calves very soon.) For the natives have no experience caring for cows
and need to be instructed. Fortunately, one of our Day School teachers,
non-native Segundo, had experience as a youth with dairy cows! Also, Pelejo church member and dairy farmer Homer will come to Barranquita initially for 3 weeks, then once a month to
teach the natives.
We also decided to
start with only 3 animals in order to make sure the cows had no trouble
surviving in this particular part of the Amazon jungle. For every area of
the jungle is slightly different from another area, when it comes to such
factors as heat, rainfall, unique (potentially noxious) jungle plants, snakes,
and predators.
The village began
preparing for the arrival of the 3 animals several months ago. A pasture had to
be prepared. Land right next to the village (already partially cleared) was
selected and sown with seed from a special type of grass that the cows will
love to eat. The cows will have access to a nearby running stream. A simple
barbed wire fence was placed around the pasture area. All that was left was the
arrival of the cows! Our native brothers and sisters could hardly wait!
Many factors were
also involved in the selection of the cows. Cows that are a cross between
So just how do you
transport 2 huge cows and a bull 1½ hours down a wide river, then nearly 3
hours down progressively smaller, shallower winding jungle rivers to a native
village deep in the Amazon jungle?
It all begins with
the careful selection and rental of an appropriate boat! A big homemade raft
would not work, as the skittish animals would not be controllable just standing
free on a large platform. We needed something that provided more of an
enclosure, --more like a small floating pen. The boat would also need to be
quite narrow in order to maneuver around the sharp twists in the small shallow
jungle rivers. Yet at the same time, due to the fuel and rental costs, we
wanted the boat big enough to transport all three cows in one trip, along with
our team of two cowhands, dairy farmer Homer, boat pilot Segundo, his boat
assistant, a video cameraman, and two in-over-their-heads Lutheran pastors. We
found pretty much what we were looking for in Yurimaguas.
It was a wooden boat shaped kind of like a big, oversized flat-bottom canoe,
about 20 meters long and 4 meters wide. It was powered by an 60 horsepower
outboard. With a few essential modifications, it would have to do.
From Yurimaguas we rode the boat to Pelejo
(where the cows were waiting) in under 4 hours. Upon arrival, we immediately
knew we were in a little trouble. For everyone we met who knew we were there to
transport 3 cows would say, “Why are you using such a narrow boat?” (!!) The
answer was, it was the best boat we could find. Immediately Ronal and I began
wondering if the boat could easily capsize!
We spent the night in
a newly opened hostel, owned by the current mayor. At $3.75 a night, it is
obviously a step up from the $1.66 a night hostel we have used for so many
years. To combat the stifling heat, there are big, square, uncovered
window-type openings high in one wall of each room. Each bed comes with a
mosquito net already hanging over it. Before bedding down for the night, one
puts on a huge coating of repellent, turns candles and flashlights off as
quickly as possible, then dives in under the net. Huge buzzing insects
immediately began circling around the mosquito net. They’d be swirling around
the entire night. I actually put in ear plugs to try and sleep! No wonder
everyone was willing to get up at 5:00 in the morning to get out of there and
on with it!
We walked down to the
lagoon where our boat was parked. The two expert cowhands (their names escape
me) and the rest of our crew were busy modifying the boat, while the cows were
given time to eat their grassy breakfasts.
Several logs about 8
to 12 inches in diameter and about 10 ft. long had been cut and gathered by the
lagoon bank. The men were expertly lashing them down around the top edge of the
boat and across the width of the boat to form a crude, square, enclosed pen!
The logs were stacked two or three high on three sides. The fourth side of the
pen-like enclosure was left open for now so the cows could still lift their
legs over the edge of the boat to get in. Wood shavings were poured into the
bottom of the boat several inches deep. It was now time for the great (if
somewhat limited) cattle roundup! We walked down a dirt road about half a mile
beyond the lagoon to where the herd was grazing.
The cowhands and
Homer patiently took time to show Ronal and me the intricacies of rope
handling. This was extremely fun. To get that nice wide open lariat thing going
over your head is trickier than it looks. It is definitely all in the wrists.
The cowhands graciously let this bit of nonsense go on for a while (I felt like
Billy Crystal in City Slickers) then asked for their ropes back. After all, we
had a lot of miles on the old dusty river trail to put between us and sundown.
Time to cut the herd and bring those doggies home! The cowhands roped the two
cows and the bull. One cowhand then casually handed me the rope with the huge
bull on it! Now to you experienced dairy and cattle folks out there, that may
seem like old hat. To this greenhorn from
So how do you coax
startled, reluctant cows to actually step up into a boat on the river? Those
huge animals had no intention of climbing aboard! The first cow was led down
the dirt slope to the edge of the lagoon. Two men pulling on the rope around
the cow’s head and muzzle finally had her at the edge of the water alongside
the boat. However, she refused to pick up her front hoofs and step in. All
manner of pulling, pushing, poking and slapping, were of no avail. One cowhand
tried a stern kick in the rump several times. This was actually very dangerous.
He would kick the cow and then instantly jump out of the way to avoid a
powerful back-leg kick from the cow! (Homer actually had an arm broken and a
metal rod inserted years ago after being kicked by the back leg of a cow!)
Finally, with several
men on each side of the cow and the rope pulled tight, two other men each
grabbed a front leg and, straining hard, picked them up one at a time and set
the cow’s front hooves inside the boat. With the two front legs in and some
final pushing and pulling, the cow reluctantly stepped into the boat! The cow’s
head was tied close to one of the logs that formed the pen, and all was set.
It would take a lot
of time and effort to get the final two animals in the boat. The second cow
tried to run away, making a break down the dirt road while Ronal was still
holding on to her rope. Ronal got dragged down the road about 10 yards until a
cowhand dived on the rope and brought the cow to a halt.
The bull finally
stepped into the boat, but was in a completely agitated state. He simply refused
to turn and face the right way so there would be room for the third cow. The
frustrated cowhand got so exasperated, that he finally grabbed the bull’s tail
with both hands. And then, like something you’d see in a crazy cartoon, the
cowhand actually leaned forward and bit down hard on the bull’s tail!! The
startled bull bellowed out in pain and moved his rump around. The other cowhand
then scrambled around to tie the bull’s two front legs together. Then he tied
the two back legs together. Finally, the cowhand gently toppled the big animal
over. The bull would have no choice but to take the entire trip lying down!
We were finally ready
to pull out of the Pelejo lagoon and head for the
huge Rio Huallaga, one of the three main tributaries
of the mighty
In the first few
minutes of boat travel, several adjustments were quickly made. One of the cows
began jostling around. Then the second one began stomping madly. Even though
her head was tied down, her back legs were kicking wildly clear up the sides of
the narrow hull, tipping the boat back and forth! We could capsize!!
A cowhand quickly
scampered along the top edge of the boat to the cow. Still standing
precariously on that thin top edge of the boat\pen, he reached over and grabbed
the cow’s tail. He got both hands on the tail and leaned back way over the edge
of the boat like some crazed cow-transporting Hawaiian counter-balancing an
outrigger. It was one of the most bizarre sights I have ever seen!! Those two
hands holding onto the cow tail were all that kept the cowhand from falling off
the edge of the boat and into the river!
All that pulling on
the tail had the desired effect, as the rambunctious cow moved back to the
center of the boat. The cowhand was able to carefully sit down on the edge of
the boat, cow tail still in hand, and ride that way for some time. Later, in
order to join his friend near the front of the boat, he actually tied a rope to
the cow’s tail, so he could pull on the rope whenever the cow’s back legs moved
too far from the center of the boat. An hour and ½ of this later, and we were
finally able to turn off the huge river onto a smaller river branch.
Segundo cut the
outboard way back, as we slowly entered the much calmer river. But in those
first few moments, as we slowly motored down the narrow river, all 3 cows went
completely berserk! They were thoroughly spooked from head to hoof, violently
straining at the ropes to get free. Segundo stopped the boat completely, but by
now the boat was rocking so badly we all feared that it would capsize. Water
was splashing in on everyone and everything, as the two cowhands frantically
worked to calm the cows down. After what seemed like minutes, (though it was
really only seconds) the cows finally stopped stomping and snorting. One
cowhand turned to me and offered the simple explanation of why the cows had
gone mad:
The shallow, brown
river we turned onto was of course full of rotting leaves, trees, and plants,
even dead, rotting fish. The cows had never encountered these strange smells in
their entire animal lives, so they flipped out. Only after having a few moments
to see that no harm was coming their way, were the animals able to calm down.
Meanwhile, we took a
quick assessment of the minor water damage to our bags and packs of food. The
only real damage was to Ronal’s father-in-law’s unprotected acoustic guitar.
Ronal held the guitar over the edge of the boat and poured a gallon of water
out of the sound hole. That guitar would certainly never sound the same!
Finally, over 5 hours
from the time we pulled out of the lagoon and headed up river, we arrived at
the point on the shallow river closest to Nueva Barranquita. From this point, all that would be left was a
45 minute walk to the village. There were over a dozen natives from Barranquita waiting for us at the river bank. At first it
was hard for me to read their reaction to our arrival. Their response to seeing
us and the cows seemed to be not so much one of extreme excitement as one of
huge relief. Were they surprised that we had finally made good on our promise,
made many months ago, to bring 3 cows to the village? Were they surprised that
we actually got them there safe and alive? A little while later Segundo filled
me in on the reason for the natives’ somewhat subdued response:
Months ago Segundo
(who is from Yurimagaus but now teaches at the Barranquita School) had left the village, promising to
return with the 3 cows and Ronal and me. But when the cow purchase deal had
fallen through, Segundo had to return to the village without the promised cows
and without Pastors Ronal and Terry. This happened no less than three times, as
dishonest farmers kept trying to sell us inferior cows. However, the timid,
often suspicious-of-outsiders natives reached their own obvious conclusion. The
natives figured that on each trip when Segundo left the village to pick up the
cattle, he was in fact eating one of the cows. Three trips, three promised
cows, - it all added up! Now at the sight of the cows, the natives were more in
a state of disbelief than anything!
Unloading the cows
was much easier than loading them, except once again for the bull! After 5
hours, the bull now preferred to stay on the boat. All manner of tugging and
pushing were of no avail, so it was the same story once again: Man bites cow in
the tail!
The trip down the
well-worn jungle path to the village was, thankfully, uneventful. When the
animals arrived at the village, the children, many of whom had never seen a
cow, became extremely excited. Homer had the cows tied to palm trees, and
immediately gathered the elders for a quick workshop on how to care for the
cows.
Few were quite as
excited about the whole event as Pastor Ronal, who has a tremendous love for
our natives of Barranquita. He wanted our video
cameraman to film him thanking the many contributors from the
“…the gifts you
sent…they are a fragrant offering, and acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”
Phi.4:18b.
Until next time
Amigos,
Terry
The Lutheran Home Association Annual Meeting
The
Annual Meeting of The Lutheran Home Association (TLHA) was held on January
18th, 2005 at The Lutheran Home, Belle Plaine,
MN. Michael Klatt,
President and Chief Executive Officer opened the meeting at 1:10 PM, welcoming
all those in attendance. The meeting
then began with a devotional service lead by Pastor Dallas Miller, The Lutheran
Home Chaplain, with Mrs. Barbara Vatthauer at the
organ. Pastor Miller used a variation of
the Jesus Cares Worship Service. Hymn #432 (CW) “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb” was
sung at the beginning of the service.
Following the service, Mr. Michael Klatt gave a power point presentation titled “We Are A
Ministry – A Vision for the Decade and Beyond”.
This gave an overview of current nursing homes and programs being served
by The Lutheran Home Association and some insights into the hopes and plans for
the future.
Following the presentation, Pastor
David Ponath, Chairman of TLHA called the meeting to
order, followed by Mr. Terry Neubarth, TLHA Board
Vice-Chairman reading the Mission Statement of The Lutheran Home Association.
The registration report was given: 17
pastors, 23 delegates and 33 guests were in attendance.
Pastor Ponath
asked for approval of the agenda, which was approved. Pastor Matthew Rauh, Secretary, read the minutes of the previous meeting.
The minutes were approved as read. As there were no new applications for
membership, the membership stands at 217 congregations as of January 1, 2005.
Pastor David Ponath
gave the introduction to the Annual Report and the following reports were
presented and discussed:
The Care of the Soul, by Pastor
Dallas Miller, TLHA Chaplain
Our Financial Health, by Ms. Kay Inglett, Corporate Controller
Nominating Committee Report &
Elections;
Pastor David Ponath,
Incumbent for Board Member - Pastor
Pastor Elroy Conradt,
Incumbent for Board Member – Pastor
Mr. Stephen Loehr,
Board Member – Layman
There were no nominations from the
floor. The incumbent board members were
re-elected by unanimous vote.
There was no Old Business.
New Business included:
Greetings from Rev. Ronald Muetzel, Department of Development,
A “Care of the Soul” Leadership Award
plaque was presented to Mrs. Julie Luetke for her
work in the Jesus Cares Ministry.
Greetings by Rev. Carl Ziemer, Administrator, WELS Special Ministries and he spoke
on the need to get chaplains into war zone areas.
The Lutheran Home Foundation, by Mr.
Norm Lindberg, Chairman of the Board of Regents.
With no further business, the meeting
was adjourned at 3:14 P.M with a blessing.
Following adjournment and a brief
recess, there was a brief education session titled: “Not One Lamb Left Behind”
by Bill Truebenbach, JCM Coordina-tor.
The meeting was attended by Pastor
Henkel and Harold and Jean Brown. If anyone is interested in any further
details of this meeting, please contact Harold Brown.
Harold Brown,
Spiritual Renewal Weekend For Women
April
15-17, 2005, Kahler Grand Hotel,
Join is
for a weekend of Bible study, worship, and prayer; fun, fellowship, and rest
from life's pressures.
The registration form for the 2005
Spiritual Renewal Weekend for Women is available online. Please follow
registration instructions carefully. The web address is http://home.earthlink.net/~jabakken
We hope to see you in April! Please
gather your friends and plan to attend.
Deb Bakken, Retreat Committee
1. Mt. Olive Altar Guild is seeking help with care of the
permanent green plants kept at church.
The guild members and friends-of-the-guild that have taken this duty on
for the past several years are no longer able to do so on a weekly basis. We
are seeking a full-time person (or team of persons) who will take on the
responsibility of pruning, transplanting, “feeding,” watering, etc. the plants
in the stairwell and outside of the Fireside Room. Full-time in this case does
not mean 40-hours-week, but does mean a weekly commitment to insure the well
being of the plants. If you have the skills and knowledge for this task, or
just the desire to help, please speak to one of the guild members as soon as
possible. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
2. We are missing one of our black ceramic vases. It
is a column vase about 10” high and 3 inches in diameter. It is one of a set,
and it would be nice to have both of them available again for Sunday flower
arranging. If you were given flowers to take home in a vase, especially one
fitting this description, please return it to the Altar Guild room at your
convenience.
3. Does anyone have knowledge of a company in the area that does silver
plating? Some of our communion ware needs some work, and we have not been
able to secure a company to do the necessary repairs. We would appreciate any
information you might have.
If it is more convenient, feel free
to e-mail Linda Petersen at lkp@cnaengineers.com
with information on any of the topics listed above.
Thank you!
Movie Night
The Martin Luther video will be shown at the
congregational movie night Friday, March 11, 2005 at 7:00pm. Bring your family and relax from a busy week
and bring your favorite movie snack to share.
All are welcome! If you have any
questions or transportation concerns, please call Nicole Burkhardt
at 763.862.8009.
Nicole Burkhardt
Catch The Fever! (Cabin Fever
That Is!)
Don’t
forget, Saturday March 12 marks the date for the 13th annual St.
Croix Lutheran High School Silent and Live Auction. We already have a fantastic
array of donated items for this year’s auction, but we can use more. If you’ve
been waiting until the last minute to make your donation, the time has come!
The strict deadline being enforced this year for auction donations is February
21st. Please call either Lee or Linda Petersen or Mae Schmidt for
information or donation pick up as soon as possible.
Also, make plans now to attend this
year’s auction. You won’t regret it! A good time is always “had by all!” Below
are samples of actual items up for bid at the 2005 auction.
1200
13th Annual Auction
Friday, March 11, Preview Night, 6 – 9 p.m.
Silent Auction, Bake
Live Auction, Lunch Served, Kids’ Fish Pond
Greg
Moyer
Moyer Auction Services
651-345-6419
MLC Spring Meeting
The
St Croix Conference area spring meeting of the Martin Luther College (MLC)
Ladies Auxiliary will be at Holy Trinity in
The MLC Ladies Auxiliary goal is to
inform women about the college. Each
year the Auxiliary provides $2,000 in scholarship funds. As an incoming
freshman, a student is named provided with $500. That student will receive $500 each of the four
years they are in school. Each year the
Auxiliary also provides $1,250 to the college library to buy new
materials. Usually each year the
Auxiliary provides an additional $7,000 for projects that benefit students, but
are not in the budget of the college. In recent years that included exercise
equipment, new gowns for the college choir, tuxedos for concert band and books
for the Early Childhood training program.
Anyone wanting more information about
the spring meeting and/or a ride to attend this meeting can contact Jean Brown.
Jean Brown
Sunday School News & NotesThis is the time of when we see a drop in regular attendance at Sunday school. I would like to encourage all the parents to strive to worship with your children every Sunday and stay with them for the Education Hour that follows. The adults are studying Matthew while we continue on our journey into the New Testament. We are trying to use different ways to present the lesson each Sunday and have some neat crafts to do and songs ready to learn and sing.The staff is ready and waiting to share Jesus with your children. We just need you to bring them.
There are two opportunities for your children to sing praises to our Savior in the next two months. On February 13th, the congregation is urging everyone to bring a friend to church. The children are being asked to bring a friend to Sunday School that same day. We will be singing for the church service on the 13th as well. The children will sit with their parents and come to the front when it is time to sing. The words for the song have been sent home so please work with your child to learn the words.This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to share the love of Jesus with a friend. Please help and encourage them to do so.Lent begins on Ash Wednesday which is February 9th this year. The children will sing for a Lenten service on MARCH 9th. The services are preceded with a Lenten supper at 5:30 p.m. The service begins at 6:30 p.m. so that children can attend and still get to bed on time. Please mark this date on your calendar now and plan to attend the supper and the service with your child.Christian Education Sunday will be observed in April this year. The Mt. Olive Minute race will be run at that time. Continue to watch News and Notes for more information.In Jesus,Linda Henkel, Sunday School Superintendent
Thrivent Financial For Lutherans
Thank you very much to the 21 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans voters who voted in the
local chapter election. $100 from Thrivent was put in the general church fund.
An
$800 grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for Care
In Communities for Mt. Olive Church November Food Shelf was approved by the
South Ramsey County Chapter. Ryan
Jacobs, leader of the Mt. Olive Youth Group, went with the Youth Group and
purchased the food from Rainbow. Sally Worku helped deliver the food shelf items to Merriam Park
Food Shelf.
Mae Schmidt,Thrivent
Congregational Coordinator
Special Note Of
Thanks