FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH “Partner Church with

Castillo Fuerte in Bogota, Colombia” 308 2nd Street NW—PO Box 358

Dodge Center, MN 55927 (507) 374-2174—www.faithdc.org

Lead Pastor—Pastor Justin Boeding Work—507-374-2174 pjboeding@yahoo.com Emergency—633-6177

Director of Youth & Family Ministries— Missy Tjosaas Work—507-374-2174 missytjosaas@gmail.com

Secretary—Shannon DeWitz Work—507-374-2174 or 507-676-4741 sld_dewitz@yahoo.com

Music—Nadine Langworthy Work—507-374-2174 npiano@kmtel.com

Custodian—Dawn Leppert Work—507-374-2174 dcorey@kmtel.com

Service Volunteers 8:00 10:00

Sunday, April 7 Ushers David Wahlstrom Corey Woxland Jeremy Wahlstrom Noah Woxland Acolytes Carson Johnson Jacob Glarner Calvin Johnson Alyssa Hallaway Reader Carol Johnson Fellowship Youth

Sunday, April 14 Ushers Dennis Midthun Deena Schley Patti Midthun Jacelyn Schley Acolytes Kylie Franko Dalton Otterbein Reader Jeremy Wahlstrom Communion Bob Christianson Kevin Peterson Tom Tweite Val Langworthy Colleen Tweite Stacy Wolf Fellowship Amy Woxland & Becky Knutson

Sunday, April 21 Ushers Grant Erler Zach Otto Barb Erler Mike Otto Acolytes Drew Kelly Brady Essig Colt Kelly Leah Pflaum Reader Jeremy Wahlstrom Communion Fellowship

Sunday, April 28 Ushers Bob Christianson Mike Justice Lyn Sowieja Carl Freyholtz Acolytes Kaitlin Oakland Quinten Cohenour Reader Sue Anderson Communion Duane Mussman Evonne Carlson Mary Lou Mussman Guy Carlson Quentin Kleinwort Amy Keller Fellowship Altar Care Mary Stoddard

April 2013 Volume 8, Issue 4

People of Faith,

It is a strange feeling when a person who earns his income and lives out his calling by speaking, cannot find the words to express his feelings. And yet, this is where I find myself today. For the last four weeks, I have been waiting to find the proper words to express what these nearly 10 years have meant to me. But after weeks of contemplation and effort, everything I write seems inadequate.

What do I say to people who have invited me into the most holy moments of their lives? How can I express what it has meant to me to preside at your weddings, to baptize your children, and to sit in your hospital rooms in life’s most uncertain moments? How can I ever repay you for the trust you have shown in me this past decade? You have trusted me through a building pro-ject and various staff arrangements to be sure but more importantly, you have also trusted me with your burdens and struggles, confident that some-how God was at work in me and in our conversations with one another. And you have allowed me to stand at the gravesides of your loved ones—spouses, friends, children, and parents—in order to speak a word of hope. There are simply no words in the English language capable of expressing the privilege this has been.

Words certainly cannot express what it has meant for me and Jayne to see Eli and Evie grow up as a son and daughter of Faith Lutheran Church, sur-rounded by friends as well as surrogate grandparents who have welcomed and encouraged them every moment of their lives. Finally, what do I say to the people who have taught me what it means to be a pastor? To be sure, I was blessed with some great pastoral role models and I received a fine seminary education but I did not know what it meant to be a pastor until I came to Faith Lutheran Church. You taught me what it means to be a pastor and in doing so, you have given me an identity I will carry with me and live out for the rest of my life.

No, words cannot express how grateful I am for all that you have done. So I am simply going to say “Thank You” and trust that you will realize how eter-nally grateful I am to have been your pastor In Christ, Pastor Justin

FEBRUARY 2013 FINANCIAL CORNER

General Income: $21,440.80 Year To Date: $34,055.78 General Expense: $13,988.64 Year To Date: $28,812.27

Building Income: $4,035.00 Year To Date: $10,429.15 Building Expense: $6,564.00 Year To Date: $13,128.00

Interested in helping with finances/missions?: You can help every week 1-2 hours, once a month 1-2 hours, or every 3 months 1-2 hours. Please

contact Jill Hukee at 374-2010.

How lucky I am to have something

that makes saying goodbye so hard.

- Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

SO WHAT COMES NEXT FOR FAITH?

Pastor Justin’s Farewell Party: Join us on Sunday, April 14th at 11:30am for a Farewell Roast in honor of Pastor Justin as he and his family prepare to move to Red Wing. We will have a lunch at 11:30 followed by a “Roast” at Faith. Please RSVP by April 7th so that we have a food count. What is a roast? An individual (Pastor Justin) is subjected to a public presentation of comedic insults, praise, outlandish true and untrue sto-ries, and heartwarming tributes, the implication being that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and therefore, show his or her good nature. It is seen by many as a great honor to be roasted, as the individual is sur-rounded by friends, fans, and well-wishers.

Going Away Gift: Anyone wishing to donate towards a going away gift for the Boedings should send a check to the office by April 7th (attn: Shannon/Missy and mark it as “going away gift”). Also, everyone is encouraged to write Pastor Justin a note – a memory, some advise, wish him well, let him know how much he is loved and will be missed. Write your note on cards we have pro-vided (outside of sanctuary) or on one of your own. Re-turn the completed cards to Missy/Shannon in the church office by the morning of April 14th. The cards along with a keepsake box for them will be presented to Pastor at his farewell party.

FAREWELL

April Directory Picture Schedule: Our April picture tak-ing time slot with Lifetouch will be here before you know it. If you did not have your picture taken in January, please sign up asap to have your picture taken during our April 25-27 dates (note another date – April 27th has now been added). You can sign up on our church web-site (www.faithdc.org) or call the church office at 374-2174 to schedule your picture time. All families will re-ceive $10 off their order and if you bring a food item for the food shelf you will receive an extra $5 off. There is no sitting fee and every family will receive a complimen-tary 8 x 10 picture along with a free church directory. Please sign up ASAP. If these dates do not work for you, please consider submitted a family photo that you may already have at home. Professional pictures need to be submitted with a release form. Contact Jill Hukee (374-2010) or Shannon (sld_dewitz@yahoo.com) with ques-tions.

Directory Volunteers: We welcome volunteers to help on the date that photos will be taken. Please contact Jill (374-2010) to volunteer April 25-27 getting people signed in. We also are looking for a small group of volunteers to help organize the directory format too – it is all computer based.

DIRECTORY

Stage 1 Saying Good Bye: My last Sunday will be April 14th. There will be a congregational lunch of pulled-pork sandwiches and special-k bars beginning shortly after the 10:00 service. Following lunch, everyone is invited to at-tend a program in the sanctuary where a few members will be taking turns ‘roasting’ me. It promises to be a fun and meaningful time. Prior to the 14th, I will continue to available for formal and informal conversations with whomever would like to chat.

Stage 2 Mourning: After a pastor who has served ten years leaves, most congregations experience a period of mourning. Please know this is natural! Sadness following a loss is our way of knowing that the relationship was im-portant to us. During this time, Faith will have the opportunity to interview and ultimately call an Interim Pastor to serve the church. The Interim Pastor’s job is to steady the congregation during this time of transition and assist the congregation as you walk through the call process. As of press-time, the Church Council has received names of two respected Interim Pastors for consideration.

Stage 3 Dreaming: As Christians, we see the world through the lens of Christ’s death and resurrection. After death—any sort of deep loss—we grieve but then look towards the future with hope. This will happen at Faith Lu-theran as you begin the call process. To be clear, the call process is far more work than most people comprehend. There will be a significant amount of congregational self-study which includes cottage meetings, statistical analysis, and an election of a call committee who will be entrusted with interviewing potential pastors.

Stage 4 Deciding: Eventually, the Call Committee will find “the one.” It will likely take months but it will be worth the wait. Your next pastor will not be perfect—we pastors never are—but he or she will be the perfect pastor for you at this point in Faith’s history. I can also say confidently that Faith will be a congregation pastors will want to serve: a dynamic congregation with a diversity of ages, two different styles of worship, a new building, and an exceptional staff—you will be a congregation good pastors will want to serve.

Stage 5 Moving Forward: Your new pastor will be called and together, you will move forward in living out Christ’s Mission in new and exciting ways.

As you go through these important but sometimes difficult stages, it will be important to remain faithful in your wor-ship attendance, financial stewardship, and prayer life for the mission of Faith Lutheran Church. Just as I trust God to lead you through this process to even greater heights than ever before, I trust you to remain as faithful, generous, and active as you have been.

El Rincón Colombiano: Faith has a partnership with Castillo Fuerte, a Lutheran congregation in Bogotá, Co-lombia, South America. "Castillo Fuerte" means "Mighty Fortress." The "a" in "Castillo" sounds like the "a" in the English word "father." The "i" sounds like the "ee" in the word "feet." The "llo" is pronounced "yo." For the word "Fuerte," the "uer" sounds like the word "where" and the final "e" like the English letter "a," like in the word "pay." Practice that a few times and you'll know a little Span-ish!

The picture here shows some of the congregation in front of their building in Bogotá. The sign identifies it as a congre-gation of the Evangelical Lu-theran Church of Colombia and indicates that the congre-

gation obtained legal status on February 20, 1998. Please keep the people of Colombia, especially the people of Castillo Fuerte, in your prayers as we walk with them in faith. Almighty God, we pray for each of the individuals pictured here. Bless them, their families, and the rest of their congregation. We ask that you help us to remember them as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

EL RINCON COLOMBIANO

FELLOWSHIP

Bullying In Our Midst Workshop: Join us Sunday, April 14th from 2-5pm at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kasson for a workshop (Bullying Prevention & Preparation for Par-ents, Cyber Bullying, Young Voices for Change, What Can Compassionate Adults Do When Kids Call Other Kids Gay?, Strong Communities Stand Together In Crisis, A Not So Little Secret: Bullies in Church & Keynote Presen-tation: Analyzing the Bully. Registration deadline is April 7th. Cost is $10 Individual or $30 Congregation - more in-formation at semnsynod.org/bullying-in-our-midst, gie-seke@semnsynod.org, 507-280-9457, or 800-426-6376.

Breakfast With the Bishop: Men of all ages are invited to attend the 11th Annual Breakfast with the Bishop event at Cabela’s in Owatonna on April 27th at 8am. Bishop Us-gaard will be present to lead devotions We will have a great presentation by Doug Haugen, Executive Director for Lutheran Men in Mission, titled “Rooted and Growing in Christ”. He will talk about men’s ministry and personal growth in faith. The cost for breakfast is $10 per person, this includes the meal and speaker. Sign up by April 14th in the Narthex.

COMMUNITY

Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Appreciation Dinner: Tuesday, April 9

th at 6:00pm at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church

(2830 18th Ave NW, Rochester). Join us for fun, fellowship,

recognition and dinner! Please RSVP by April 1 to 507-252-0849 x 4 or volmgr@rahh.org).

Habitat for Humanity Volunteers: Faith is looking for volun-teers to serve on the local Habitat for Humanity project. Please note—this is UNSKILLED labor—if you have an able body and a willing heart, YOU ARE QUALIFIED! Please fill out an orange volunteer form located in the narthex and put it in Shannon’s mailbox or the offering plate or call the church at 374-2174.

Habitat for Humanity Craft & Bake Sale Fundraiser: The women of WOW have rescheduled the Habitat Fundraiser for Saturday, April 6th. Mark your calendars! The craft sale will be from 9:00-4:00 here in the fellowship hall with a free will offering BBQ lunch served from 11:00-1:00. We are in need of people that are willing to donate items for the craft sale. We’ll be extending the invitation out to other churches in town also, since Habitat for Humanity is a community wide project. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up to help for a couple of hours at a time to make this day go smoothly. Any questions/concerns/donations or to help out please contact Marian Ketchum (374-6049) or Mary Norstad (374-2642) or any member of the WOW group. Thank you in advance!

Silent Auction to Benefit Habitat for Humanity: We are looking for volunteers who would like to put together a basket for a silent auction with proceeds going towards the Habitat project here in DC. If you and/or your group are interested, please contact the church office sld_dewitz@yahoo.com or 374-2174. Thank you for being a part of this community fundraiser for Habitat!

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Book Club: All are welcome to join Faith's book group! We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Faith. Come for one or join us every month! Bring a friend. April 9

th we

will discuss the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Meet Ma Ramotswe, the endearing proprietress of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, the first and only detec-tive agency in Botswana. With persistent observation, gentle intuition, and a desire to help people with the problems of their lives, she solves mysteries great and small.

OPPORTUNITIES

Luncheon: Faith women, you are cordially invited to attend the 2nd "Celebrations of Life" luncheon on May 11th from 9am-12 noon at our church. The event will require 20 women to act as hostesses for a table of 8-10 persons. Each hostess will sell their table seatings at a ticket cost of $10/ea. You are then re-sponsible for decorating/table setting your life celebration themed table. Our first event was so successful and absolutely beautiful with many unique and gorgeous place settings to view. You do not want you to miss this opportunity for fun and fellowship. It is time to use the china, use the corelle, use the paper products - whatever you decide as the theme for your ta-ble. The organizing committee will have table displays for you to view prior to the event and pictures from last year will be dis-played. We hope you will consider creating a "themed" table for this event. Our program entertainment is yet to be confirmed but a morning you don't want to miss is promised. Set up will be Fri-day, May 10th 11-6pm. Church doors open on Saturday at 9am for viewing the spectacular transformation of our fellowship room with program beginning at 10 and lunch at 11. Please con-tact Charleen Louks, Vernice Engelken, Marie Head or Sue Anderson to volunteer as a hostess. More information will be given to you at that time. Ticket reservations are required by May 1, due to limited seating. Faith men, we are also in need of 12 volunteers for serving as waiters for this event. Minimal clean up is required and a meal will be provided as our thanks to you. Chef Ray Malsom will again assist with coordination of the meal preparation. We look forward to hearing from you.

CONFIRMATION WORSHIP

Sunday, April 7 @ 2:00 pm

We are moving our Confirmation Worship Service to April 7 @ 2:00 pm. We will have a

reception for these students after worship at 3:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Come and celebrate

this milestone in the lives of these 12 young people as they Affirm their Baptism and begin a new

path on their faith journey. Keep these young people in your prayers:

Chandler Buckhalter

Gabby Brocker

Morgan Franko

Maddox Fritz

Mackenzie Hickey

Carson Johnson

Collin Johnson

Kaitlin Oakland

Kyrielle Peterson

Haley Moe

Greta Rhodes

Jacelyn Schley

Prayer Pillows for 3 year olds Sunday, May 5, 2013

As a congregation we will be giving our 3 year olds very special pillows that

have a pocket for prayers in them. These pillows have been made with love and

prayer by members of our congregation for these young members who will be starting Sunday school

in the fall. Please join us at either the 8 am or 10 am worship service to celebrate this milestone with

these children and their families.

Senior Recognition and Breakfast Sunday, May 12, 2013

We will be celebrating with our students as they prepare to graduate

from High School and begin on a new path of their journey. We will be serving

breakfast in honor of these students and their families at 9:00am with a special

recognition at the 10 am worship service. Come and celebrate this very special

day with these young people and their families.

missytjosaas@gmail.com

Birthday Boxes: Will be assembled again this year. It is our 4th or 5th year! It is well received at the Food shelf, and helps the youth have a special day. Items will be col-lecting starting April 1st. Boxes of candles, cake mix, frosting, small gifts/gift cards (up to $5 value), and large shoe boxes will be needed.

Sunday School Dates to Remember: · May 5— Bible Story Trivia Day · May 12—Celebration Day: Last day of Sunday School

Sunday School

Vacation Bible School Opportunities

This summer there are 3 opportunities to participate in different Vacation

Bible School events. Registrations and more detailed information will

begin on Sunday, May 5 in the Narthex. You will also be able to access

registration forms and information after May 5 on our website at

www.faithdc.org

July 7– July 11, 2013

Daycamp with Sugar Creek Kindergarten – 5th grade students (just completed)

Counselors for Sugar Creek Bible Camp in

Ferryville Wisconsin will lead a week of day camp.

We will begin by welcoming the staff to worship

on Sunday morning, July 7 with a family event

that afternoon and then begin daycamp on

Monday morning at 9:00—4:00 pm. The week

will end with a worship led by the kids on

Thursday afternoon. We will need housing for our

counselors and evening meals for them. More

details to come.

Contact Missy and let her know in what ways

you can help out. Call the church office at

374-2174 or e-mail at missytjosaas@gmail.com

August 4-8, 2013

Backyard Bible Camp Pre-K –4th grade (just completed)

We will begin with a family event on

Sunday afternoon and then Bible school will

begin on Monday morning from 9:00-12:00

through Thursday. There will be a meal and

student led worship on Thursday evening to

share what we have learned.

August 6-7, 2013

23-Hr Mystery Event 5-6th graders (just completed)

This event runs from Tuesday 8:00am

to Wednesday at 7:00. We will be on the go

for a big share of this event. We will be

sleeping during the night. Our destinations

will be a surprise as we go along.

Prayers for our Traveling Youth

Please keep our youth and their families in our prayers as they travel

throughout the summer months. We have two groups of youth traveling from Faith

this summer . Our first group is a small group of 6-7th grade students who are going along

with Missy to Confirmation camp at Sugar Creek Bible Camp in Ferryville, Wisconsin from June 9-

14, 2013.

Our second group is 16 youth in grades 8-12 and their chaperones are heading to Raleigh County, West

Virginia for their mission trip from June 28– July 5, 2013. Keep them in your prayers.

308 2nd Street NW

PO Box 358

Dodge Center, MN 55927

We’re on the web!

www.faithdc.org

Phone: 507-374-2174

E-mail: faithdcmn@gmail.com

“Celebrating Faith in Christ by worshiping together and reaching out in love to all God’s people.”

Faith Lutheran Church

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