AN OASIS IN THE CITY · 9/9/2014 · going to walk to the couch. So he did! Now, he did a...
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S S EPTEMBER EPTEMBER 2014 2014 So, have I told you I have a grandson? I think maybe I've said a little something about Cash Michael Beard. He just turned one year old on Tuesday, August 12th. Judy and I have been “assigned” a couple of days a week to watch Cash so his parents can go make a living. It took us a long time to decide if we would accept this assign- ment. Yeah, right. Well, Judy was on assignment about a month ago and she was look- ing up at Cash standing by the window, and then all of a sudden he just decides he’s going to walk to the couch. So he did! Now, he did a face-plant into the couch, but forget that (he did rather quickly)—he’s walking! And trust me, he’s been walking ever since. Here’s a couple of pictures of his walk of pride: I’m amazed at how often in Scripture we are told to “walk.” For instance, in Ephesians 4:1, Paul urges us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” And in Psalm 119:45, the psalmist praises God because he is walking in freedom. We are told in Galatians 5:17 to “walk by the Spirit.” What does this all mean? For the months of September and October, we are going to look at a number of these “walk” passages and make practical application to our lives. This series called “Walk!” will be good for all of us, and we will work hard to make application to all of our lives, whether you’re new to this whole Christian walk thing, or you’ve been walking with God for some time. This is also the kind of series that is user-friendly for your friends and neighbors or colleagues who are on a search of sorts—not necessarily for a church, but for some understanding of what it means to be a Christ-follower. Join us starting Kick-Off Sunday as we walk together! Dan Rotach, Lead Pastor Walk! ELIM CHURCH AN OASIS IN THE CITY Pastors’ Page
Transcript of AN OASIS IN THE CITY · 9/9/2014 · going to walk to the couch. So he did! Now, he did a...
SSEPTEMBEREPTEMBER 20142014
So, have I told you I have a grandson? I think maybe I've said a little something about Cash Michael Beard. He just turned one year old on Tuesday, August 12th.
Judy and I have been “assigned” a couple of days a week to watch Cash so his parents can go make a living. It took us a long time to decide if we would accept this assign-ment. Yeah, right. Well, Judy was on assignment about a month ago and she was look-ing up at Cash standing by the window, and then all of a sudden he just decides he’s going to walk to the couch. So he did! Now, he did a face-plant into the couch, but forget that (he did rather quickly)—he’s walking! And trust me, he’s been walking ever since. Here’s a couple of pictures of his walk of pride:
I’m amazed at how often in Scripture we are told to “walk.” For instance, in Ephesians 4:1, Paul urges us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” And in Psalm 119:45, the psalmist praises God because he is walking in freedom. We are told in Galatians 5:17 to “walk by the Spirit.”
What does this all mean?
For the months of September and October, we are going to look at a number of these “walk” passages and make practical application to our lives. This series called “Walk!” will be good for all of us, and we will work hard to make application to all of our lives, whether you’re new to this whole Christian walk thing, or you’ve been walking with God for some time. This is also the kind of series that is user-friendly for your friends and neighbors or colleagues who are on a search of sorts—not necessarily for a church, but for some understanding of what it means to be a Christ-follower.
Join us starting Kick-Off Sunday as we walk together!
Dan Rotach, Lead Pastor
Walk!
ELIM CHURCH
AN OASIS IN THE CITY
Pastors’ Page
The Forecaster
Elim Church
Dan Rotach Lead Pastor
Ext. 106 [email protected]
Becky Hanson
Pastor of Community Care Ext. 108
Chuck Fleming Pastor to Seniors
Ext. 109 [email protected]
Conner Simms
Student Ministries Pastor Ext. 107
Mayme Simms Children’s Pastor
Eric Fleming Office Manager
Melanie Eslinger Worship Coordinator
Leadership Team Communication:
Hope Ave Ext. 108
Elim Preschool
Jill Jezierski Elim Preschool Director
612-789-1063 [email protected]
Website:
www.elimpreschool.org
Facebook: ElimPreschoolMinneapolis
Page 2 September 2014
Leadership Team Update Brian Turnquist
We all receive letters requesting financial support from aid organizations and from missionaries. We know there are children needing adoption and medi-cal care overseas, and that there are countless numbers of people who have never heard the gospel. We may have a lonely friend or relative who would like us to visit more often. When we do nothing, our implicit answer to that need is “no” and we may experience some guilt about it. And yet we tell ourselves that we cannot “do it all” and this is true. As believers we must learn to see both our “no” and our “yes” as being formed and guided by God's will and God's unique purpose for us. The same is true for Elim. There are so many needs that the Leadership Team discusses each month. Both our “yes” and our “no” require faith. The difficulty in saying “yes” is that we are committing our limited human and financial resources to something new when we already feel overtaxed. When we say “yes” we must trust that God will increase our capacity to meet that need through the people called to be his hands and feet in our midst. The answer of “no” requires even more faith. When we say “no” we must believe that a need we see will be met by someone else. We must also accept that our “no” means that the need might not be met by someone else and that even this may be in accordance with God's desires, though it may be contrary to our own human wisdom. Elim Church is an Oasis in the City, as Pastor Dan reminded us and our visi-tors during a recent worship service. We have a statement of values (www.elimchurch.com) that was forged by our own congregation to help us understand and affirm our unique calling and purpose. Decades ago this call-ing in Northeast led to the founding of a Christ-centered preschool at Elim and we continue to give sacrificially to its ministry. That same sense of calling led us eight years ago to saying “yes” to feeding and clothing the homeless. In recent months, we have discussed the ministry of caring for the sick and whether Elim could provide basic diagnostic and medical care for people in need within our community. The same rationale that tells us that the Elim Preschool and Hope Avenue are part of our calling leads us to think that this kind of medical care fits within the scope of our purpose in Northeast. But as we talked about it, numerous questions arose: How do we store and se-cure medical supplies and drugs? What is our legal liability? How do we pro-cess insurance payments? Can we afford it? Our feeling at recent meetings has been “This could be wonderful for Northeast, but it's impossible.” At our last meeting, we met with a Minneapolis-based mobile medical clinic. Their founder and his assistant talked with us in the Pastors Lounge and gave us a tour of their mobile clinic parked out on 13th Avenue. Out of this vehi-cle, they can offer all of the services that a general practitioner provides in a traditional clinic. They carry their own insurance and are fully stocked with all the medications and equipment of a traditional clinic. They can arrange for on-site x-rays and they directly bill insurance at no cost to us. They have experience providing home health care visits for the elderly and housebound and also at homeless shelters, and they offered to be at Elim on Sunday af-ternoons monthly or weekly as needed. No decision has been made, but we left the meeting reminded that nothing is impossible with God. We will keep you informed as we continue the discernment process in the coming weeks.
Page 3 The Forecaster September 2014
Introducing… ELIMCARES
ElimCares is a new ministry, aimed at putting volunteers to work helping those in our congregation with need.
HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED? Volunteers are needed to serve in a variety of ways. You determine your availability and can serve as of-ten as you’d like. Your help is needed as an individual or couple, a family or a group.
HELP NEEDED: • Friendly visiting (training will be provided)
• Household help which could include housecleaning tasks, meal preparation, mail management/ home office help, or laundry
• Outdoor chores which could include mowing, raking, general yard help, or snow removal
• One time projects such as home repairs, moves, hauling
• Transportation for errands or medical appointments
HOW DO I SIGN UP TO HELP? Join the team. Love one another. Please contact the church office with your interest, or express your
willingness to sign up on the comment section of the green comment card and place it in the offering plate. Laurie Damberg, Rick Dischinger, or Pastor Becky will contact you to get you started.
Kickoff Sunday Fall Sunday School (for youth and adults) and Pastor Dan’s new teaching series will begin on September 14 instead of September 7 as originally scheduled. ECK/ECY will also begin one week later as well, on Wednesday, September 17. There will be no Sunday School on September 7, except for Pastor Chuck’s class for adults, at 9:00 am, in Room 403.
Newly Dedicated To The Lord! On Sunday, August 24, Olivia Grace Frye and Charlotte Piper Frye were joyfully dedicated to the Lord by their parents, and by our congregation. Pastor Mayme Simms performed the dedication. Many blessings to the family of Olivia and Charlotte, born August 12, 2013, to Derek and Nicole Frye.
All-Church Lunch To celebrate our Fall program-ming kickoff, there will be an all-church lunch in the Dining Room following worship on Sunday, September 14. Everyone is invit-ed to share in the meal.
There will be no program.
Deaths in the Elim Family Doris Osborne: Doris passed away on Monday, July 21. Her funeral was held on July 28, at Waverly Gardens. She was 87 years old.
Carl Peterson: Carl passed away on Sunday, July 27. His funeral was held at Elim on August 2. He was 96 years old.
Vernon Lindberg: Vern passed away on Tuesday, August 19. His funeral was held at Elim on August 27. He was 80 years old.
Page 4 September 2014 The Forecaster
Below is information we give to our prospective parents… Thought our Elim Church Family might like to know!
Why Choose Elim Preschool?
1. Our lead teachers have four-year college degrees in Early Childhood or a related field. Our as-sistant teachers qualify as lead teachers, based on the licensing requirements of the MN Depart-ment of Human Services.
2. Our teachers offer creative, fun, educational, and developmentally appropriate activities for pre-schoolers ages 3-5.
3. All Elim Preschool staff have up-to-date background checks, Pediatric First Aid & CPR Training. 4. We offer a gentle faith-based program embedding Biblical values into our curriculum, praying
with the children every day, and teaching about God through the use of Bible stories and month-ly memory verses.
5. Our teacher-child ratio is 1/9 - lower than what is required by the MN Department of Human Services.
6. We have large classrooms with an abundance of educational supplies and fun toys, as well as three indoor large muscle spaces—including a full gym. We also have daily use of an outdoor park and playground just across the street.
7. We have two teachers who speak fluent Spanish and introduce all preschoolers to the Spanish language in developmentally appropriate ways.
8. We offer an average of four field trips and/or in-house events each year. 9. We have several events each year where families (including grandparents) can meet and connect
with one another. During these events, the preschoolers are invited to share what they are learning at school with their families.
10. Although we offer a top-notch, NAEYC Accredited, Parent Aware 4-Star program, our fees re-main reasonable compared to local preschools.
11. Your child will be in the same classroom with the same lead teacher, no matter which days you choose, all year long.
12. We offer a traditional ½ day AM & PM preschool program as well as a Full Day option. An addi-tional hour of before and/or after school care is available for families needing that flexibility.
13. Our staff includes a trained Teacher Mentor, Curriculum Coordinator, Parent Educator who: mentors teachers in the use of the Core Knowledge Preschool Curriculum Sequence assists the director and all staff in sustaining NAEYC Accreditation prepares parent education literature and is available as a resource to families
Elim Preschool News Jill Jezierski, Preschool Director
Student Ministries Pastor Update
Pastor Matt McCoy announced his resignation as Student Ministries Pastor as of the end of August. He joined Elim’s pastoral staff in the fall of 2011, and his relational gifts, love for our youth, and sense of humor have been a blessing to our congregation. He will be missed. Conner Simms will serve as Interim Pastor of Student Ministries beginning September 1st. Conner graduat-ed with a B.S. in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and received his Master of Divinity at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has worked as a Site Director for YouthWorks and as Director of Stu-dent Ministries at New Life Church in Yorkville, Illinois, and is currently finishing his chaplain residency at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital.
Page 5 The Forecaster September 2014
Elim has made it through another summer without a major or costly repair and for that we are thankful! Currently we are in the process of hiring a full-time custodian to re-place Sam Howell and Myron Poley who have served us well this past year! We are grateful for their service and wish them well. September is a busy month in the life of the church and we hope to have a seamless transition with the new custodian.
Parking is always at a premium at Elim on Sundays and we want to remind folks who drive in and are able to park a distance away to do this. This allows seniors and others who have difficulty getting into church to use the parking lots. Our small lot has three reserved spots for Elim vans and we have allowed one spot for a Strong Tower Parish van. The remaining parking spots can also be used for seniors. We lost one parking spot for the trash and recycle containers. We are looking into getting the lots resurfaced soon.
Another recurrent building issue is the doors. The latches and hinges are often in disrepair and we want to be able to secure the building appropriately. One practice that is hard on the door hinges is using the wedges to prop the doors open. Please refrain from doing this. The doors rarely need to be propped open, only when making deliveries alone. If you are having a meeting at church, please wait at the door until all have arrived and keep the door shut and locked. During Sunday service hours, outside doors are kept unlocked. If you notice a door is not closing or the latches are bent or broken, please alert the office or someone from the Stewards Board. Thank you.
Stewards’ Update Rick Dischinger, for the Stewards
Pastor Mayme Simms, Children’s Minister
As we prepare to begin fall programming, I wanted to share a few updates that will be happening and influencing Children’s Ministry, in terms of safety & security.
Safety is an important topic in any church setting as it is our responsibility to be aware of, and at all times intentional about, protecting those most vulnerable in our midst. Children are most definitely a part of those “most vulnerable” as they are physically small, comfortable and at times naïve. Our specific context of ministry, in an urban setting with a population of people from varying backgrounds and histories, only increases our need for intentional practices and procedures in the name of safety.
Here are a few changes you’ll notice in ECK, beginning September 14, 2014:
New signage will be posted at the top and bottom of the main staircase leading to the Kids Park area, clearly stating what happens in that space and directing the appropriate people to it.
Doors at the 13th Avenue and parking lot stairwells will be locked and secure. A check-in desk will be located at the bottom of the stairs and will be staffed with an ECK volunteer
to check children into their appropriate classrooms. Only children and ECK volunteers (who will be identified with nametags) will be allowed past the
check-in desk in order to ensure the appropriate people are in that area. A check-in software program will be used to print nametags for children and a coordinating tag will be
printed for parents. Parents will need to pick their children up at 10 am with that coordinating tag. Preschool children are allowed to stay downstairs during fellowship time; elementary-aged children should be picked up and taken upstairs.
An alert system to be utilized during worship, to notify parents that they are needed to come attend to their child, will be implemented at some point this fall as well.
If you have any questions, comments or ideas about how to continue to make Elim a more safe, secure and welcoming place for people of all ages and life stages, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
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Life Group Gatherings Seniors’ Lunch — Tuesday, September 2, at Noon Our guest in September will be Marvin Howard, a Christian comedian. Bring a friend who likes to laugh, and food to share with the group.
Mariners’ Breakfast — Tuesday, September 9, at 9 am Breakfast will be at Perkins Restaurant (at 696 West County Road D, in New Brighton).
MerryMakers’ Outing — Wednesday, September 10, at 9:45 am (meet at Elim at 9 am to carpool) In September we’ll take a tour of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. Cost is $12.00 per per-son. First is a walking tour at 10:30 am, then a 3-mile driving tour. We’ll finish with lunch at the Arbore-tum Café at noon. There are tram tours available for an additional $5.00, at noon, 1:30 and 3:00 pm. If you are interested in carpooling to the Arboretum, please call LeRoy & Carol Erickson or Rod & Ruth Tyberg.
The Forecaster September 2014
The Unlimited / Kidz Klozet The Unlimited is now accepting donations of gently-used, stylish, AUTUMN clothing—clean and on hangers. We can also use shoes and accessories. Kidz Klozet is looking for clothing for kids of all ages, along with shoes, coats, hats, backpacks… anything kid-appropriate, we can use!
You may drop off donations on Sundays at the clothes rack in the old entry, behind the sanctu-ary. During the week, the office accepts donations during regular office hours. We are always in need of grocery or shopping bags. The Unlimited and Kidz Klozet are open the first Thursday of the month, from 9:00 am-Noon.
Clothing Ministries Paula Walden
Current needs: School pants and back to school clothes for boys and girls; Men's pants, jackets, winter coats and boots (cold weather is just around the corner)
Did you know? Kidz Klozet accepts donations of used toys. If you’re tired of too many toys cluttering up your house and wish you could give them to someone who would use them, think of us. We love having a few toys, games and puzzles on our toy shelf for kids and families when they come to shop. It's just an extra little thing that we do for families to show them we care.
Thank You From Kaye Stickler
Thank you to all who came to my 90th birthday party and to those who sent cards and gifts. It was a won-derful day to remember and your love and good wishes with always be cherished.
I love you all. —Kaye Stickler
Art Show Elim’s art show for Sep-tember and October showcases the stunning work of our own Jon Mortenson. Be sure to check out his work in the Dining Room!
Wednesday Prayer Group Elim’s Wednesday Night Prayer Group is starting up again after a summer break. Prayer Group meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 6:30-7:15 pm in the Prayer Room, starting on Wednes-day, September 3. The group is open to everyone, for all or part of the prayer time, so come and stay as long as you want. Our mission is to lift up individual, Elim-wide, and community concerns in prayer togeth-er. If you have any questions, please call Janice Schreck
Page 7 September 2014 The Forecaster
MerryMakers Sunday School
“Near To The Heart Of God” I sing that song to my grandson—did I mention I have a grandson?—when I put him down for a nap or when I put him down for the evening. “There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.” We all want that quiet rest, don’t we? We all want to be near to the heart of God, don’t we? In the fall, it will be my privilege to teach the MerryMakers class and together we will try to understand, and apply, what it means to be near God’s heart. You’ve heard me mention a number of times from the talks on Sunday mornings about the spiritual pathways. Here they are: Intellect … Relationships … Service … Worship … Activism … Contemplation … Creation In the MerryMakers class we are going to study each of these spiritual pathways and empower each of the participants in the class to figure out their spiritual pathway(s). We will be studying God Is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg together. So, join us as we draw near to the heart of God… together. The MerryMakers class meets Sunday morn-ings at 9:00 am, in Room 403, beginning September 14.
—Pastor Dan Rotach
Misfits Sunday School
You are welcome to join the Misfits! We are open to all adults with a wide range of ages, including college students. We use feature-length films as a springboard to discussions of spiritual issues. We typically spend 25 minutes in Bible study and 25 minutes watching the next segment of an ongoing film. Starting on September 14, The Mis-fits class will meet in the Lounge at 9:00 am, and will be led by Kyle Marsh and Brian Turnquist.
This year we start our series with the theme of Identity: How do we view ourselves? How do others see us? Who does God say we are? Jim Carrey stars in The Truman Show as Truman Burbank, a man who is questioning his identity and begins to doubt who he is and how others see him. Next we'll enjoy the 2014 Academy Award winning documen-tary 20 Feet from Stardom as we listen to the words and music of professional background singers struggling with their identity living in the shadow of megastars like Sting, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, and Ray Charles.
—Brian Turnquist and Kyle Marsh
Mariners/Seniors Sunday School Pastor Chuck Fleming The Mariners/Seniors class is taught by Pastor Chuck Fleming, who leads the class through in-depth studies of various books of the Bible. The class will begin on September 14, by finishing the study of 2 Corinthians it started in the spring. We will pick it up at chapter 10. In this book, Paul defends his apostolic ministry, dis-cusses the hardships he encountered, and expresses his concern for the Corinthian church, and the church at large. All interested persons are invited to be part of the class, which meets at 9:00 am in Room 402.
September Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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Seniors’ Lunch Noon
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Senior Women’s Bible Study, 9 am, Lounge
Seniors’ Bible Study, 1 pm, Dining Room
Prayer Group, 6:30-7:15 pm, Prayer Room
Jesus Calling, 6:30 pm, Prayer Room
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Kidz Klozet / Unlimited open 9 am-Noon
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Men’s Group 6:30 am, DR
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7 COMMUNION SUNDAY
Hope Avenue 8:00-10:30 am
Sunday School 9:00 am ***
The Gathering 10:00 am
Worship 10:30 am *** Pastor Chuck’s class only
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Mariners’ Breakfast 9 am
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MerryMakers’ Outing, 9:45 am **
Jesus Calling, 6:30 pm, Prayer Room **If you’re interested in carpooling to the Arboretum, call the Ericksons or Tybergs.
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Men’s Group 6:30 am, DR
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14 KICKOFF SUNDAY
Hope Avenue 8:00-10:30 am
Sunday School, 9:00 am
The Gathering 10:00 am
Worship 10:30 am
All-Church Lunch, 11:45 am
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Book Club 7:00 pm Lounge
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Senior Women’s Bible Study, 9 am, Lounge
Seniors’ Bible Study, 1 pm, Dining Room
Prayer Group, 6:30-7:15 pm, Prayer Room
Jesus Calling, 6:30 pm, Prayer Room
ECK/ECY, 6:30 pm
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Men’s Group 6:30 am, DR
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Hope Avenue 8:00-10:30 am
Sunday School 9:00 am
The Gathering 10:00 am
Worship 10:30 am
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Jesus Calling, 6:30 pm, Prayer Room
ECK/ECY, 6:30 pm
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Men’s Group 6:30 am, DR
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Hope Avenue 8:00-10:30 am
Sunday School 9:00 am
The Gathering 10:00 am
Worship 10:30 am
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Elim Church 685 13th Avenue NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 612.789.3591 www.elimchurch.com
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