Business Tagline or Motto Non September 2019 …...J.O.L.T. (Joy of Learning Together) We will...

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Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Annandale, MN Permit No. 1 331 W Harrison St, Annandale, MN 55302 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH ELCA 331 West Harrison St. Annandale, MN 55302 Office Phone: 320-274-8827 Office Fax: 320-274-7283 Precious Gifts Preschool: 320-274-9722 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stjohns-annandale.org Office Hours: Mon.- Fri., 8:00am-3:00pm Sunday Worship 8:15am—Traditional 9:30am—Education During the School Year 10:30am—Contemporary St. Johns Staff Dave Nelson, Lead Pastor [email protected] Alex Becker, Pastor [email protected] Andrea Beckman, Office Administrator [email protected] Aleah Edwards, Financial Administrator [email protected] Orma Lou Jacobsma, Organist Georgene Gravdal, Custodian Kris Bauer, Custodian Mark Nelson, Chancel Choir Director [email protected] Sunday School Director: Laura Eastling September 2019 From Pastor Dave… As we all know, there are ups and downs to this journey called life. There are great surprises, and there are huge disappointments. There are times when sailing is good, but there are other times when life is challenging and hard. Recently, I was informed that I was not selected as a Lilly Foundation Grant recipient. If you recall, the Sabbatical Team, myself, and other helpful people, earlier this year, worked hard completing the lengthy application process. The purpose of this grant was to fund some exciting Sabbatical opportunities not only for me, but also for you, as a congregation. Consequently, I am disappointed for both of us! But even though the grant fell through, I will still be having a Sabbatical. It just means now that the Sabbatical Committee and I will need to look at planning a “Pinto” version of a sabbatical rather than the “Cadillac” version we were hoping for. My theme/plan will remain the same – “Seeing With New Eyes” - but we will need to look for (pun intended) new ways of meeting my goals on a much tighter budget. Yes, sometimes life brings disappointments our way. On the 23 rd of this month I will be having cataract surgery on my right eye. That’s why I have been wearing my glasses. If you don’t know, I normally wear contacts – but wearing contacts changes the shape of your eyes. In order for my eye to return to its natural shape (so that they can measure me for the lens they will be inserting into my eye) they are asking that I refrain from wearing my contacts. At the time I am writing this, I have only been wearing my glasses a couple of days – but I miss my con- tacts. The good news, in all of this, is that after my surgery I will hopefully have 20/20 vision in my right eye (something I haven’t enjoyed since I was in elementary school). The bad news is that I will still need to wear a contact in my left eye. But the good news in that is that my contact costs will be cut in half. The bad news is that I will still need to use reading glasses. Yes, life if full of ups and downs, full of good news and bad news. Now, I am sure that each of you could share your own stories --- and that’s just the point I am trying to make. Life is full of ups and downs. Thus, none of us ever know what’s happening in another person’s life. We may be enjoying smooth sailing, while another person may be working hard to just keep their head above the rising waters. That’s exactly why we need to be kind to one another – we need to be quick to listen and slow to speak – we need to learn to be more compassionate and less judgmental. We need to be willing to sit with another person in their sadness, their disappointments; and resist the urge to try to fix the situa- tion or the other person. And in all the ups and downs of life – in those times of great joy and deep sadness – we need to remember that we have a God who is with us – through it all! Rejoicing with us when we rejoice and grieving with us when we grieve. We have a God, who in Jesus, experienced the very life we live – and thus knows what it’s like to experience disappointment and sadness, sits with us in our darkest moments, has compassion for us and promises us that nothing – absolutely nothing in life – not even death – can ever separate us from God’s amazing love. Siblings in Christ, it’s that incredible promise that enables us to keep going when the going is tough, and adds extra joy to our lives when all is good. For we are never alone. God is holding on to us – no matter what – and God, in Christ, will never, ever let us go! God’s peace, Pastor Dave

Transcript of Business Tagline or Motto Non September 2019 …...J.O.L.T. (Joy of Learning Together) We will...

Page 1: Business Tagline or Motto Non September 2019 …...J.O.L.T. (Joy of Learning Together) We will resume our Sunday morning JOLT classes on September 15th. Our classes meet in the library

Business Tagline or Motto

Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Annandale, MN

Permit No. 1 331 W Harrison St, Annandale, MN 55302 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

ST. JOHN’S LUTHERAN CHURCH ELCA 331 West Harrison St. Annandale, MN 55302 Office Phone: 320-274-8827 Office Fax: 320-274-7283

Precious Gifts Preschool: 320-274-9722

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.stjohns-annandale.org Office Hours: Mon.- Fri., 8:00am-3:00pm

Sunday Worship 8:15am—Traditional 9:30am—Education

During the School Year

10:30am—Contemporary

St. John’s Staff Dave Nelson, Lead Pastor [email protected] Alex Becker, Pastor [email protected] Andrea Beckman, Office Administrator [email protected] Aleah Edwards, Financial Administrator [email protected] Orma Lou Jacobsma, Organist Georgene Gravdal, Custodian Kris Bauer, Custodian Mark Nelson, Chancel Choir Director [email protected]

Sunday School Director: Laura Eastling

September 2019

From Pastor Dave… As we all know, there are ups and downs to this journey called life. There are great surprises, and there are huge disappointments. There are times when sailing is good, but there are other times when life is challenging and hard. Recently, I was informed that I was not selected as a Lilly Foundation Grant recipient. If you recall, the Sabbatical Team, myself, and other helpful people, earlier this year, worked hard completing the lengthy application process. The purpose of this grant was to fund some exciting Sabbatical opportunities not only for me, but also for you, as a congregation. Consequently, I am disappointed for both of us! But even though the grant fell through, I will still be having a Sabbatical. It just means now that the Sabbatical Committee and I will need to look at planning a “Pinto” version of a sabbatical rather than the “Cadillac” version we were hoping for. My theme/plan will remain the same – “Seeing With New Eyes” - but we will need to look for (pun intended) new ways of meeting my goals on a much tighter budget. Yes, sometimes life brings disappointments our way. On the 23rd of this month I will be having cataract surgery on my right eye. That’s why I have been wearing my glasses. If you don’t know, I normally wear contacts – but wearing contacts changes the shape of your eyes. In order for my eye to return to its natural shape (so that they can measure me for the lens they will be inserting into my eye) they are asking that I refrain from wearing my contacts. At the time I am writing this, I have only been wearing my glasses a couple of days – but I miss my con-tacts. The good news, in all of this, is that after my surgery I will hopefully have 20/20 vision in my right eye (something I haven’t enjoyed since I was in elementary school). The bad news is that I will still need to wear a contact in my left eye. But the good news in that is that my contact costs will be cut in half. The bad news is that I will still need to use reading glasses. Yes, life if full of ups and downs, full of good news and bad news. Now, I am sure that each of you could share your own stories --- and that’s just the point I am trying to make. Life is full of ups and downs. Thus, none of us ever know what’s happening in another person’s life. We may be enjoying smooth sailing, while another person may be working hard to just keep their head above the rising waters. That’s exactly why we need to be kind to one another – we need to be quick to listen and slow to speak – we need to learn to be more compassionate and less judgmental. We need to be willing to sit with another person in their sadness, their disappointments; and resist the urge to try to fix the situa-tion or the other person. And in all the ups and downs of life – in those times of great joy and deep sadness – we need to remember that we have a God who is with us – through it all! Rejoicing with us when we rejoice and grieving with us when we grieve. We have a God, who in Jesus, experienced the very life we live – and thus knows what it’s like to experience disappointment and sadness, sits with us in our darkest moments, has compassion for us and promises us that nothing – absolutely nothing in life – not even death – can ever separate us from God’s amazing love. Siblings in Christ, it’s that incredible promise that enables us to keep going when the going is tough, and adds extra joy to our lives when all is good. For we are never alone. God is holding on to us – no matter what – and God, in Christ, will never, ever let us go! God’s peace, Pastor Dave

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Sunday Scripture Readings We will wrap up our Summer Preaching Series: “Questions God Asks Us” on September 1st September 1 - Which One Was a Neighbor? - Luke 10:25-37 Beginning on September 8th, we will return to the Narrative Lectionary – which will lead us through some of the stories of the Bible in chronological order. September 8th – Genesis 2:4b-25 Garden of Eden September 15th – Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Isaac Born to Sarah September 22nd – Genesis 32:[9-13], 22-30 Jacob Wrestles God September 29th – Exodus 1:8-14; 3:1-15 Moses and God’s Name

Coffee and Conversation You are invited to stop by McDonald’s on Thursday afternoons. Pastor Dave will be “hanging out” there from 3-4:30pm each Thursday in September EXCEPT September 5th (unless a Funeral or some other kind of emergency arises). You are encour-aged to stop by and visit (it can be about something at church, or what God is up to in your life, or anything at all). Just to be sure, you can call the church to find out if Pastor Dave will indeed be there on a given Thursday or not.

Newsletter Deadline Items for the September newsletter are due by September 16th. Early submissions are greatly appreciated! Thank you, Andrea Beckman

Sunday Worship Schedule Change There are TWO changes in our worship schedule this month: 1. We will once again be celebrating “Unity Sunday” on Sunday, September 8th with ONE service at 9:30am – followed by

lunch, games, ministry fair, etc. 2. The following Sunday (September 15th) we will resume our school year worship schedule with a traditional style of worship at 8:15am and a more contemporary style of worship at 10:30. Coffee and Refreshments will be served BETWEEN services each Sunday. Please pass the word!

Wednesday Worship We will once again be offering a 7:05pm Wednesday evening worship service (40-45 minutes in length) beginning on Sep-tember 18th. This service will be held each Wednesday when D-Way is scheduled.

J.O.L.T. (Joy of Learning Together) We will resume our Sunday morning JOLT classes on September 15th. Our classes meet in the library from 9:30 to 10:15am. September 15 – Reflections on the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly with Mark Nelson, Voting Member – and discussion of the Assembly’s decisions. New Series: Christianity and World Religions – based on materials by Adam Hamilton with additional references to Barbara Brown Taylor’s book: Holy Envy September 22 – The Wise Men September 29 - Hinduism October 6 - Buddhism October 13 – Judaism October 20 – Islam

D-Way Resumes September 11th – D-Way Parents Meeting at 6:30pm; D-Way Guide Training at 7:15pm September 18th - D-Way Supper at 5:15pm; Large Group/Small Groups at 5:55pm and Wednesday Worship at 7:05pm September 25th - D-Way Supper at 5:15pm; Large Group/Small Groups at 5:55pm and Wednesday Worship at 7:05pm

Unity Sunday Join us on September 8th for Unity Sunday, where we will gather together for one worship service at 9:30am. After we worship we will have a congregational lunch, games, bounce houses and other fun events for our youth. Finally, we will have a ministry fair before and after our unity service. This will be an opportunity for the many ministries of St. John’s to share what they are up to, and give people the option of signing up for different ministries and events. We hope that St. John’s is busy and packed on the 8th and throughout the entire year. Keep your eyes open for more specific details in the coming weeks

D-Way Guides needed Do you enjoy working with youth? Do you enjoy being a part of a young person’s faith journey? Well, you are certainly needed! D-Way (St. John's confirmation program) will be starting this fall and is in need of Guides . There is a sign up in the gathering space . If you have any questions, let Pastor Alex know.

Page 7 St. John’s Lutheran Church Council Meeting Date: 8/19/2019 Start: 7:00pm End: 9:20pm Present: Linda Dircks, Diane Barkley, Steve Miller, Jason Eastling, Patty Behrends, Hope Sykora, Lonnie Baack, Pastor Dave, Alyssa Domagala, Mary Iverson, Parker Klum, Pastor Alex Absent: Matt Honsey, Derek Groth,

Topic Discussion Ac-tion

Faith Talk: Patty Behrends N/A Scripture & Prayer Pastor Dave N/A Call to Order Linda called to order at 7:20pm N/A Approval of Agenda MOTION- Patty B. SECOND- Mary I. PASS- Unanimously N/A

Secretary’s Report Motion to Approve the July Minutes M/S/P Diane

B/Mary I

Treasurer’s Report –

June Motion to Approve the July Report

M/S/P Alyssa /

Hope

Executive Committee

Diane Barkley will be conducting an Exit Interview with Robin Jacobson Pr. Dave will conduct Andrea’s 90 Day Review. The Personnel Committee has approved a 3% increase September 10th meeting will be at 3:30.

N/A

Pastor Dave’s Report

Update on the White house, current renter situation and management company. Update on the meditation area and paver project. One quote is in and another will be gotten. Suggestion to check with Clean Cut Turf out of Annandale. Update on funeral policy work. Pastor Dave will bring suggestions for Christmas Eve service to the Service/Worship Committee in the upcoming week for review and suggestion. Pr. Dave did not receive the Lilly Grant for his Sabbatical. He has a phone meeting in the near future to go over the application/grant. Sabbatical committee will be meeting in the near future to plan. Pastor Dave explained what sanctuary denomination means for the ELCA. Members received a handout from the ELCA in America on the topic.

N/A

Pastor Alex’s Report

Summer recap for Pr. Alex and his family Update for CYF and ministries Looking for DWay guides Looking into upcoming mission trip for 2020 ideas, hope to have an informational meeting mid September Pastor Alex talked about offering the BWCA to the whole congregation and be multi generational.

The base camp had lots of opportunities for everyone

N/A

Old Business

Safety Plan Team-Pastor Alex and Derek Groth. Not many updates at this point. Do not have a female on the team at this point and a planned meeting will be scheduled for September Future Facility Plans-building consultant from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund will be with us in

September at 6:00pm Grow Even Stronger Strategy moving forward ○ We have a CYF job description. This will be reviewed at our next meeting. ○ Pr. Dave is continuing to work on Parish Nurse with Sue Nelson ○ We will be moving forward with these goals. Motion to hire a CYF coordinator at 20 hours a week at an annual salary of 20,000 Amendment to the Motion to change wording NEW MOTION: Motion to hire a part time CYF coordinator God’s Work, Our Hands ideas: Consensus to table this discussion until next month

M/S/P Jason / Alyssa

New Business

Unity Sunday ○ Budget See Alex’s report for breakdown of money for costs. ○ Motion to approve spending up to 500.00 for Unity Sunday (Motion Diane B Second Steve M. Pass Unanimously) Motion to suspend Precious Gifts Preschool based on no qualified teacher being able to be found

for the 2019-2020 school year with the intention of exploring needs and options with the goal to reopen the Preschool for the 20-21.

(Motion Hope S. Second Mary I. Pass Unanimously) Motion to compensate Trisha Woods for her work at preparing the preschool one month severance

coming from the Precious Gifts Funds in Precious Gifts p508.80 plus hours worked in August (MOTION Jason E. Second Steve B. Pass Unanimously)

Council Reminders

No Faith Talk for September due to meeting with the consultant Offering sign up N/A

Next Executive Meeting September 10th at 3:30pm - This will be our last early meeting N/A

Next Council Meeting September 16th, at 6:00pm to meet with the consultant N/A

Adjournment Motion to Close meeting at 9:20pm M/S/

P Patty / Mary

Closing Lord’s Prayer N/A

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Page 6 Good News Monthly Treasurer’s Monthly Income Monthly Expense General Fund Balance

General Fund August

2019 37,645.92 $33,147.33 $18,883.45

Monthly Average

2018 $37,137.60 $38,165.40

Building Fund Monthly Income Monthly Expenses Building Balance

$9,318.96 $9,618.29 $19,069.80

Precious Gifts Preschool

PG Income PG Expense PG Balance

$113.20 $1,341.13 $9,735.11

Notes:

1. The General Fund had $4,498.59 more in income than expenses during July, 2019. Year-to-date, we still have a General Fund deficit of $ (2,483.12). During June the General Fund was reduced because we expended $ 2,834.83 to replace the coffee brewing system. This was reversed during July, with Thrivent Choice dollars. 2. We maintain a positive balance, our next mortgage payment will be $9,587.00. 3. Precious Gifts Preschool Fund balance is positive, and declined during July, 2019.

Remember our mission at St. John’s is supported by your talents and generous gifts. THANK YOU!

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Communion Service at Annandale Care Center Our monthly service of Holy Communion will be September 6th at 1:30pm While this worship service is intended for all St. John’s members who are residents at the Care Center and Centennial Villa apartments, it is open to ALL (both residents and family and friends). Pastor Dave will also be leading Sunday worship at the Care Center on Sunday, September 15th.

In Need Of Prayer People at St. John’s are ready to pray for and with you in times of joy, and in times of need. To activate this Prayer Ministry please contact the church office. Only the information you choose to share will be passed on to the Prayer Ministry participants. Please understand that if you are calling on behalf of another person, in order to respect the right of privacy, and for the sake of confidentiality, you must have that individual’s permission before we can activate the prayer ministry and pray for them by name. Also, please know that our prayer ministry is ALWAYS open to additional participants. If you would like to be included in either the Prayer Chain (where you would receive a telephone contact) or the email prayer group – please contact the church office.

Pastoral Visits Please call the church office and let us know if you desire a pastoral visit, especially if you are going to be hospitalized.

Endowment Committee News Each year we are able to provide helpful support to congregational, local and church wide ministries thanks to the generosity of those who have given gifts to our Endowment Fund. A gift to our Endowment Fund IS a gift that keeps on giving. Have you included the St. John’s Endowment in your estate plan? There are a variety of options available to you. To learn about the many ways to make a planned gift, please contact the In Faith Community Foundation at 800-365-4172 (where our St. John’s Endowment is held) and they would be happy to explain them to you. Gifts and memorials are also another way you can support our Endowment Fund. Please know that we are grateful for each and every gift given to the St. John’s Endowment – no matter the size – whether it’s through your estate or as a gift in memory or in honor of someone.

Giving away an appreciated asset Most Americans make their contribution to charity by writing checks or even setting up automatic payments from checking accounts or through credit cards. St. John’s is happy to receive your gifts however you choose to make them. If you have any appreciated stock or mutual funds, you can likely benefit tremendously by gifting the appreciated asset directly to the church. As a church, we do not pay capital gains taxes. You, the donor, get the opportunity to deduct the value of the stock on the date you give it to the

church if you are able to itemize your deductions. Of course, you should check with your tax advisor to discuss your per-sonal situation to determine if this scenario works for you. We are able to receive your stock gifts here at the church. Con-tact St. John’s to learn how to transfer the stock directly to the church (unless your giving away a capital loss, you should likely not sell the stock yourself. Instead it should be transferred from your account directly to the church account.)

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First Communion September 15th – Parents who desire their children to participate in Holy Communion are asked to see Pastor Alex and the Education Building during the Sunday School Open House to pick up their materials and instructions. Here at St. John’s we believe that all are welcome to the Table – so there is no set age for First Communion – though we would hope that all chil-dren are fully participating no later than 2nd or 3rd grade. But participation can begin at any age. October 5th – First Communion Gathering for all youth and parent(s) from 9-11am. At this gathering the youth will make unleavened bread and review with the pastors what they have learned in reading through the materials with their parents. Following the Gathering, families will decide what Sunday they will celebrate their child’s First Communion. We hope that they will select a Sunday when family members and baptismal sponsors can be present to help celebrate this milestone of faith. Any questions can be directed to either of the pastors.

Preschool Update At our last Church Council meeting, the Council voted to suspend our Preschool for this school year. Why? Well, about a month ago, we received the resignation of Robin Jacobson as our Precious Gifts Preschool Director/Teacher. Robin had been working another part-time job in addition to the Preschool, and she was offered to go “full time” at that other job – and so, while it saddened us to lose her, we totally support her decision and wish her the very best. With Robin’s resignation, the Preschool Board (in cooperation with our Personnel Committee) posted the position – but we did not receive any qualified applicants. With the start of another school year quickly approaching, the difficult decision was made to suspend the Preschool for this school year. So, what’s next? The coming year will be a time of discernment. We have, at this time, every hope of re-opening the Preschool come next fall; but over the course of this next year we will seek to discern what is the great need within our community when it comes to caring for young families and children. We would ap-preciate your feedback, ideas, and suggestions as we move forward. You can address those to the members of our Preschool Board: Marilyn Hallstrom, Hope Sykora, Ardis Nelson or Meggan Caird; to any members of the Church Council, or to either of the pastors. ~ Pastor Dave Nelson

Caring Friends A number of individuals attended some gatherings we had last fall – as we sought to launch a replacement for our BeFrienders program. This new ministry was to be called: “Caring Friends.” We envisioned a group of people (men and women, young and old) who would be willing to be “caring friends” for individuals who were shut-ins, residents at our Care Center, or people who just need a friend to support them through a life challenge. Well, for a whole variety of reasons, this ministry never got launched. This year, we want to change that! We will be contacting those who expressed an interest last year to see if you are still interested in being part of this caring ministry, but we also hope that there will be others who will have a desire to participate. If you would like to be part of this new ministry – please contact the church office, or sign up in the Gathering Area. We will then schedule another training time so that we can get this ministry up and running. If you have any questions – please contact either of the pastors.

Tenth Grade Gatherings All Tenth Graders preparing for Confirmation will gather at 8pm on September 25, October 2 and October 9.

VBS VBS was a huge success this year, with over 75 volunteers and 145 kids. We had a lot of FUN, and the church was BURSTING as the seams, it was wonderful! We give thanks to Emily Combs, our VBS director, for her leadership. An-other exciting addition to VBS was Spilled Grain’s decision to designate St. John’s VBS the recipient of their “SPILL IT FORWARD” program. We received a gift of over $1,500 to help keep VBS a free ministry for the entire Annandale Community. Thank you for your support of this important ministy , and we look forward to the ways it will grow next year.

LIFE GROUPS We believe God created us to live in relationship with others so that we can grow in our faith, walk with each other in the many seasons of life, and to serve others. That’s why Lifegroups exist—to make these life- changing connections rele-vant and accessible to you. Lifegroups meet at all different times, days, and locations and there many different groups to choose from. But maybe, just maybe, you feel called to start your own? We are in need of people willing to be the point person for their life group. You'd pick the day and time that would work best for you and then on September 8th, the day of our Unity Sunday, people can sign up. If interested or if you have questions, please contact Pastor Alex.

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One of the many Ministry teams at St. John’s is Outreach.

Outreach has 2 primary tasks:

1. Hospitality

2. Outreach to our community near and far

I thank you, Lord, that spring has arrived. I have a list of spring cleaning tasks I ought to do. I should sweep

tasks. Let your Spirit nudge me into sweeping out the cobwebs of regret and guilt and sadness. Remind me that I have been washed clean by your promise of forgiveness. May the work of spring cleaning brighten my household and leave me feeling refreshed and grateful for the chance to begin anew.

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Joyful Jar The Joyful Jar has been a great addition to our worship life here at St. John’s. It has been so much fun watching the young ones of our congregation bring forward the gifts of so many people. Thank you to all who continually give and flag down young people to give them something to put in the jar. It is teaching some amazing things about giving. Not only are our young people and adults being impacted, but also the organizations that receive the gifts at the end of each month. Here is a list of what organizations have received support from the Joyful Jar so far, and those that will in the coming months. October: Angel Fund (School Lunch Support) - $509.64 April: Food For Kidz - $ 1645.13 November: Share Your Christmas - $401.88 May: Summer Camp Scholarships - $225.22 December: Annandale Food Shelf - $361.21 June: Companion Synod: $498.32 January: AES Nurses Fund - $361.21 July: Youth Activity Fees: $299.45 February: Youth First - $318.39 August: AES Backpack Program $511.11 September: Annandale Free Store

Greetings to all of the Women of the ELCA The next Crow River Conference WELCA event will be our Fall Gathering at Bethel Lutheran Church 77 Lincoln Ave. N., Lester Prairie, MN. Our Gathering will be on Saturday, September 28. The format will be much like our Spring Gathering with registration running from 8-8:30AM. Brunch will be served at 8:30. The meeting and program will begin around 9:30 and we should be done by 11:30. Deb Hadley is our keynote speaker. Her title is "My Amazing Life - Finding God in the Midst of the Storm". Please encourage your women to attend. The “in kind” offering for this event will be: School Kits. Please see the lists posted on the bulletin board located near the restrooms.

Annandale Christian Women Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend September 12th 2019 at 9:30am - $9.00 Special Feature: Miller Jewelry —Jan Ostroot Music: Judy Johnson Speaker: Carolyn Cappell, Yankton, SD “I’m Ready to Go Home” For Reservations call: Ardelle @ 320-274-8336 or Betty @ 320-274-5419

Reflections on our ELCA Churchwide Assembly The 2019 Church-wide General Assembly took place in Milwaukee, WI on the dates of August 5 to 10. I was elected in Spring of 2018, by the Crow River Conference, our conference, as a Voting Member for the 2019 Assembly. I flew to Milwaukee on Monday morning, August 5. We started the Assembly with a Monday Worship Service at 3 pm. We did a Worship Service each day of the Assembly. The usual schedule was Worship happened at 11:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday’s Worship was held at 8:30 am. Each of the worship services were very nice. A team of professional musicians accompanied the singing. They were fine singers and instrumentalists. Worship did have a variety of languages, liturgies and preachers. Bishop Jon Anderson asked each voting member of the SW Minnesota Synod what we would say of our experience at the General Assembly. My answer was something like “It was very nice seeing our church act like it is supposed to act.” Those feelings were a reflection of the many Plenary sessions we had and motions we enacted. We had Plenary Ses-sions Monday evening, then twice a day through Friday, and one more. That is a total of 10 Plenary Sessions, where the voting members all sit in the large Milwaukee hall and listen to points of view, or stand at a mic and give input to a dis-cussion, and eventually vote on each motion, that is put before the voting members, to ratify each motion. We did that process many times. Often when a vote came, we agreed by 80 to 90% voting members to pass the motion. Each day’s activities started at 8:30 am. We would have time off for lunch and supper, each time about 1 & ½ hours. Otherwise we were busy from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm Tuesday to Friday. So what did we accomplish as the ELCA General Assembly? Here is a list of several items: Reelect ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton to a six-year term by 81% of voting members. Approved a Declaration of Apology to our siblings of African Descent, which was received by the African Lutheran

Association with thanks and a call for accountability and living into the words shared. Approved resolution declaring the ELCA a “Sanctuary Church Body”. We are encouraged to do the work that Jesus

taught us: Love all neighbors and migrant children. Approved support for the World Council of Churches “Thursdays in Black”, awareness movement for a world with-

out rape and violence. Many voting members did wear Black on Thursday. Elected Deacon Sue Rothmeyer ELCA Secretary to a six-year term. She has served assistant to the Secretary for several years currently.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the ELCA General Assembly, and my experience attending the Assembly. Do ask me for a clarification if some item above inspires you to a discussion. Peace to you all! Mark Nelson

Many Thanks

To those serving on our summer “mowing teams” – thanks for keeping our property look so good! To our “Garden Team” for caring for the garden areas in the front of the church. To all who provided bars or helped serve the lunch after the funeral of Lorraine Johnson. To all who participated in our Fourth Thursday “Bible Camp Style” Worship services. To all who have provided special music in worship: Mark and Ardis Nelson, Dave and Toni Boie and Robin Reichel. To Steve Beckman for replacing the tile in the front entryway of the church To all who donated School Supplies – or contributed through our Joyful Jar in August. To all who have agreed to teach Sunday School, have stepped forward to serve as a D-Way guide, or to as-

sist our CYF Ministries in any way. To Mark Nelson for serving as Voting Member to our 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Page 5 Good News Monthly

September 4th – Chancel Choir Rehearsals Resume – 6:00pm September 6th – Care Center Communion Service at 1:30pm September 8th – Unity Sunday – one Worship Service at 9:30am followed by lunch and games. September 11th - D-Way Parents Meeting – 6:30pm September 11th - D-Way Guide Training – 7:15pm September 15th – Rally Sunday: Fall Worship Schedule Begins at 8:15am - 10:30am Coffee Fellowship from 9:15am - 10:30am Sunday School and JOLT at 9:30am September 18th – D-Way Begins at 5:55pm and Wednesday Worship at 7:05pm September 29th – Healing Prayers October 5th – First Communion Gathering October 23rd – 10th Grade Confirmation Banquet October 27th – Reformation Sunday/ Confirmation Sunday October 31st – Chamber Halloween Event

Holiday Fair

The Holiday Fair will be here before you know it! Mark your calendars Saturday, December 7th! Start thinking of things to bring! There will be a meeting

September 23 at 6:00 in the library if you're interested in helping out! For more info contact

Donna Jacobson 320-261-5211 or Cassie Egerer 320-236-5888