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MAY / JUNE 2008
Ascension Service The Ascension of Jesus into heaven, until recently, was celebrated with special worship services in all our congregations. Sadly, most congregations have dropped this special worship opportunity because of poor attendance. We’d like to offer an opportunity for you to again celebrate this special event with your fellow Christians. This year’s service will be held May 1st, 7:00pm, at St. John’s in Northeast Minneapolis, (15 minutes from Mt. Olive.) About six congregations have been invited. Please plan to attend! Pie and ice cream will be served by the ladies of St. John’s following the service.
Concert At Christ Lutheran The members of Mt. Olive are invited to a special Worship Concert on Saturday, May 3rd, at Christ Lutheran Church in North St. Paul, beginning at 7:00pm. Featured will be soloists Mike Westendorf and Emily Ebeling, and pianist Patrick Behringer. The concert will be a service of our salvation as told through Scripture and the solos from Handel's Messiah.
Women's Guild Work Night On Thursday, May 8th, at 7:00pm, all members of Mt. Olive are invited to join together as we work on projects to be sent to Terry and Mary Schultz for their mission work in Peru. As many of you heard earlier this year, the MSELP (ELS in Peru) plans to build a kindergarten school building in the area hardest hit by the earthquake that hit Peru last August. Terry can use any and all items that we can supply him with. This includes cross-stitched crosses, laminated bible story pictures, completed craft projects that can be used for teaching and student gifts, etc. No matter what your skill level, we can use your help. If you can help with cutting, please bring a good pair of scissors that you feel comfortable using. We will try to have all other supplies that you will need on hand. We'll end our time together with a light snack and fellowship. Thank you! Linda Petersen and Pam Folkens
“Jesus Cares” Ministry Coming To Mt. Olive What: A meeting to plan and actually begin the work of our mission outreach to people who have a developmental disability, their families and community. When: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 7:00pm Where: At Mt. Olive Lutheran Church Fireside Room Who: Anyone who might be able to help: Teach a Bible story Help with a craft project Provide a caring smile Help an unsteady hand color Set up a room for simplified worship or a Bible class Make phone calls to group homes Go to tell someone about Jesus Cares Ministry
Congratulations Ed & Marcella An Open House will be held on Sunday, May 11th, in honor of Ed & Marcella Voss’s 90th birthdays and their 65th wedding anniversary. The celebration, hosted by their children, will be held from 2:00 to 5:00pm at the Heritage Place of Roseville, located at 563 W Country Road B. Members of Mt. Olive are cordially invited to stop by and share your memories and good wishes. (No gifts, please.) Parking is available both at Heritage Place and at the Mueller-Bies parking lot across the street.
Our Third Annual Great Give, Grow, and Grill Day What is this event? Its an opportunity for our congregation to say to our neighbors: We’re here! – We care! – And we’re not bad people either! It happens on Saturday, May 17th, from 9:00am until 3:00pm. It starts with Give: Give blood to give life to folks who need it. This is open to all members and to the people of our community. The first appointment begins at 9:30am. If you are physically able and qualify as a donor, please give blood! Then comes Grow. Our annual Plant Exchange has been an opportunity to meet the people of our neighborhood and provide a welcomed service. This year, because our date coincides with the Como area garage sale events, we anticipate even more visitors who will take plants home to grow in their gardens. Of course, the exciting G is Grill! From 11:00am until 2:00pm, free hot dogs, chips, beverages, etc., will be served to all who stop by. We’ll be on hand to greet visitors with a smile! A large tent will be set up in our parking lot for food and music. Plus: This year we are adding a “Kid’s Corner” consisting of face painting, crafts, fish pond, and a Bible story stage. This will serve as this year’s VBS, and will run from 9:30am until 12:30pm. So, as you can see, this Neighborhood Awareness Event will require much work and many hands. We need you to work in at least one area – from putting up and taking down the tent to welcoming and visiting with those who attend. We will be distributing brochures door-to-door on Monday, May 12th, at 6:30pm (rain date: Tuesday, May 13th, 6:30pm). Your help in getting the word out will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for whatever help you can give. Pray that the Lord bless our efforts!
Sunday Worship And Picnic In Como Park Sunday, June 1st is the date for our annual Church Picnic. This year we are also having our Worship Service in the park with all kinds of special music for our 9:00am worship. As last year, we are having our worship and picnic in beautiful Como Park. We have rented the same shelter as last year, just a few blocks from our church. Worship begins at the usual time, 9:00am, and the Sunday School closing program and picnic will follow. There will be games for the children and the adults, and plenty of good times for all. Meat and beverages will be provided, but please bring a dish or two to pass. Join us – and bring a carload of friends, too!
Special “Homecomings” This Summer It starts on Sunday, June 22nd, when Ryan, Angela, and Derek Young will be “home” from New Mexico. Angela will be our guest organist that Sunday, during which Kathy Boggs, Sydney Marshall, and Erik Marschel will be confirmed. It will be great to have the Youngs “home” again! Then on Sunday, July 6th, we will welcome home Rachel Mueller from China. Pastor Ed Fredrich (E John’s father) from the Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine, will be our guest pastor that Sunday. Welcome home, Rachel! On Sunday, July 27th, Teacher E John Fredrich, Alex, Sean, and Eleora will be “home” from Antigua. They will give a presentation, following the worship service, of how the Lord is living out His life through them in Antigua. This will be followed by a picnic in the park. Do come! The next Sunday, August 3rd, Missionary Terry and Mary Schultz will be “home” at Mt. Olive from Peru. Missionary Schultz will preach for the 9:00am worship service, and he and Mary will give a power point presentation during the Fellowship Hour. A potluck dinner will follow. You are your family and friends are cordially invited to attend. It’s always a special treat – and honor - to welcome “home” those who are so near and dear to us. You’ll want to plan your summer accordingly.
Sunday School News & Notes Thank you to all those who made Christian Education Sunday a success. I particularly want to thank Kevin Marschel and Joel Meier for making the running of the Mount Olive Minute so much fun. Sunday School will be in session until the first Sunday in June this year. On that Sunday we will have a church service in Como Park followed by a short Sunday School program. There will be games for the children and a potluck dinner for all at which the meat will be provided. Watch the Parent Page for more information. I want to encourage all the parents to make regular Sunday School attendance a priority for the remainder of the Sunday School year. Please continue to review the weekly lesson at home and assist your child with memory work. In Jesus, Linda Henkel, Superintendent
Christian Life Ministries’ 14th Annual Plant Sale The Fourteenth Annual Plant Sale is planned for Saturday, May 10, 2008. The location is Christ Lutheran Church, 2475 E. 17th Avenue, North St. Paul, MN and benefits Christian Life Ministries. Hanging baskets, annual bedding plants and decorative plants for containers will be featured. Many of the items make wonderful Mother’s Day gifts.
CLM 3rd Annual Walk For Life Christian Life Ministries is hosting its 3rd annual Walk For Life on Sunday, May 18th, beginning at 3:00pm, at Casey Lake Park in North St. Paul. A potluck picnic will follow the Walk. Registration forms are available in the back of the church. Please help support the worthy causes of CLM by walking or sponsoring a walker in this event.
MLC Chapel Ground Breaking Martin Luther College (MLC) announces God’s blessing upon it as it plans for its new chapel. A Chapel Groundbreaking Service is scheduled for May 16th at 4:00pm. A reception will follow. A meal in the MLC cafeteria will be available for a modest fee. Attendees are encouraged to stay for the commencement concert at 7:30pm. See more information at http://www.mlc-wels.edu/home/newsworthy/ grndbreak
Camp Croix Camp Croix Youth Bible Camp offers a week long of fun and Christian fellowship in activities of devotion, Bible study, sports, swimming, canoeing, handicraft time and many other outdoor activities. Youth summer Bible camp is held 4 separate weeks for ages 9-14. Dates for camp: July 6-12, July 13-19, July 20-26, July 27-Aug 2. Registration forms are available in the church office. Volunteers are being sought to serve as counselors for one week of Camp Croix. Mature Christians ages 16 and older with a love for children may apply for one of the weeks. Applications are available in the church office also. Other available positions include lifeguards, cooks, and nurses for each of the four weeks.
LWMS National Convention The theme of this year’s convention is “Tell the Glory of His Kingdom”. The convention will be held in Tucson, AZ on June 26-29, 2008. The convention will be hosted by the Grand Canyon Circuit. If you are interested in attending, please contact Mae Schmidt. The 2009 LWMS National Rally will be held in Denver, Colorado, June 25-28.
Lutheran Home Job Opportunities The Lutheran Home Association in Belle Plaine announces employment opportunities at its newest Belle Plaine Campus project, Kingsway Retirement Living. This project will open its doors in June 2008, and applications for employment for a variety of positions in a Christian environment are currently being sought. A posting of the various positions available, as well as application deadlines and contact information, is available on the church bulletin board or by calling Kingsway Retirement Living at 952-873-2022.
Want An Additional Way To Support Mt. Olive? An easy way is through an internet search engine powered by Yahoo! called GoodSearch. It doesn’t cost you a thing - the money comes from the advertisers and the stores. The more people who use this site, (which can be accessed through our Mt. Olive website home page,) the more money we collect. Give it a try if you aren’t already doing so. And while you are on our website, click on two new buttons: “Camp Croix” and “The Bridge.” These videos were just added recently.
Witness Website WhatAboutJesus.com, produced by the WELS Commission on Evangelism, is your outreach tool! Visit it yourself or point your unchurched friends, relatives, co-workers, and neighbors to learn about Jesus. Features include: daily devotions, Sunday worship helps, Q & A for those learning about Jesus, and numerous articles and Bible studies on many diverse subjects. Come take a look for yourself! Daily Devotions is a free service provided by the WELS Commission on Evangelism through its WhatAboutJesus.com website. The devotions are distributed every weekday by email. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays they normally focus on the appointed Scripture lessons of the past Sunday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is a series on a specific book of the Bible. You can subscribe to have the devotions sent to you, joining nearly 10,000 people who are receiving them daily. These devotions are also available as a downloadable audio file, so you can listen to them at your computer or on an iPod. Go to www.whataboutjesus.com and click on “Daily Devotions.”
Time of Grace TV Broadcast Tune in Pastor Mark Jeske each Sunday morning at 6:30am, on channel 9, FOX-TV. Weekly viewership throughout the country now numbers well over 100,000. In addition, the last four programs are being streamed over their web site: www.timeofgrace.org. This is especially appreciated by armed forces, college students out of area where we have a church, and WELS members on extended vacations and business trips. 6:30am doesn’t work for you? If you have DSL internet service, try another time of day or week.
Youth Rally The Minnesota District Youth Rally is being held on July 13-15, 2008, at the Duluth DECC and Holiday Inn. “All Hands on Decc” is the theme. Much more information as well as registration forms are available online at our WELS youth website: www.livingbold.com. Check out the site often. The next International Youth Rally will be held in 2009 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Tour The Holy Land In November Pastor Jim Aderman will lead a tour of the Holy Land November 8-19, 2008. Explore key biblical sites in Israel and Jordan. Visit Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem. Wade in the waters of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. Explore ancient Jericho, Petra, and Hebron. Stand on Mount Tabor, Mount Carmel, and the Mount of Olives. You can even extend your tour to Egypt for an additional four days (November 19-22). For information contact Pastor Aderman at 121 North 66th Street, Milwaukee 53213; 414/403-6224 or Israel08@ aderman.net. The tour's web site is www.aderman.net/Israel_ Tour08. html.
Treasurer’s Report The Financial Report for March shows a higher than average amount of total receipts. This is due to the Lenten services and the special envelopes for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter which are recorded in the escrow and trust receipts. The expenditures for March were also higher than normal. The Child-Youth-Family category shows the normal amount for grade school tuition and the St. Croix Lutheran High School support. The Member Ministry is higher because the organist salaries are only paid on a quarterly basis. The Personnel category contains the Worker’s Compensation annual premium of $606. The Property and Grounds expenses were higher because of several factors: The quarterly property insurance was due in the amount of $1,170; the semi-annual service contract for the elevator amounted to $225; the replacement of the August storm damaged light fixture and the canopy poles was $600. The Good Friday trust offering for “Time of Grace” TV program of $335 was sent, but the Easter offering for “Friends of China” for $960 was not sent until April. The synod commitment for March of $1,135 was not met either. The Maundy Thursday escrow offering of $443 was transferred to the High School Scholarship Fund. The Coordinating Council decided to put that offering in the high school fund because the college fund has a much higher balance. The synod support should be paid in April but will probably not be caught up to date. Please keep this in mind as we consider our stewardship in the coming months. As we reflect on the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and the renewal of life in the spring, may we also have renewed zeal to honor our Savior in our commitment to Him in all aspects of our lives. Harold Rufledt, Treasurer
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