408 Ninth Street NW

Mandan, ND 58554

FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH

Phone: 701-663-3594

Fax: 701-663-6217

E-mail: jackie@firstlutheranofmandan.org

Building Faith and

Transforming Lives

in Christ.

ADDRESS LABEL

www.firstlutheranofmandan.org

We’re on the web!

Council E-mail:

cc@firstlutheranofmandan.org

May 2019

Associate Pastor

Rev. Christina Martin

663-3594

Parish Administrator

Jackie Schulz

663-3594

Sunday School Ministry

Coordinator

Kama Hoovestol

663-3594

Custodians

Ron & Mavis Watson

Financial Administration

Jennifer Scheet

First Lutheran Is A Mission

Partner with Camp of the

Cross Ministries

First Lutheran

Staff

First Lutheran Church

May Newsletter

PAGE 2 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH May 2019

Attention Senior Parents: We mailed a letter out to you on April

15th regarding the Senior Recognition Service that will be held on

Sunday, May 19th at the 10:45 A.M. service. Seniors will also need to

have your picture sent to the church before 5:00 P.M. on Friday, the

10th of May.

Please send the picture to jackie@firstlutheranofmandan.org.

We want to THANK everyone who has helped us with LAF (Lunch at

First) this school year. We have fed approximately 300-400 kids every

Thursday! This ministry is such an important part of our church, and

we are grateful to everyone who has helped us keep it going. We would

love to have you come check out this awesome event here at First

Lutheran. Come down any Thursday and join us!

A huge THANK YOU to all of our Church School teachers

and Confirmation leaders who gave of their time and

talents this year to bring the Gospel of our Lord to our

children of First Lutheran! You are a blessing to us all!

Pastor Christina

Kyushu Jogakuin. Recently, I received a request for information about a

graduate of our school from the 1940’s. It gave me the opportunity to dig into

the records of this school. Kyushu Jogakuin was founded by Martha Akard, a

missionary from South Carolina, in 1926. She continued as the principal of

the school until WWII broke out, when the staff and she decided it would be

safer for the school if she step down. She left the country during the end of the war, but

quickly returned for another 10 years until her retirement in 1955. In 2001, when I came to

Kumamoto, boys began to attend the school. The name Kyushu (the island we are on)

Jogakuin (private girls school) was retired and the name Luther was taken. In these 90 years,

the high school has been joined by a junior high school, a 4-year college and a kindergarten/

day care center (where Jun and Haru now attend). The pictures that I scanned and sent to

the person looking for information about his mother who finished at the school in 1944 are

now on my computer desktop and inspire me daily to work for the good of this school and these

students. Picture right, taken from the 70th anniversary publication: “All the students are

bowing deeply to the Emperor’s picture and the Imperial Decree on Education. Our school

was one of the schools that suffered severely under military training.” Martha Akard,

missionary from SC, is standing in the front of the chapel that our students

worship in every morning. Picture left: “In 1943, the graduates’ memorial

picture in `monpe` (wartime fashion)… Fifty-two out of fifty-four new graduates

were forced to serve as Girls’ Labor Service Group in the airplane industries.”

We continue to work for and pray for peace on this island and this continent.

May students never have to suffer the pain and difficulties that their smiles

must be hiding in this war-time picture.

Please pray for:

Erica, Jordan and Spencer who will begin teaching at Luther Gakuin when classes begin

on April 15th.

Erin who will begin teaching at our sister-school, Kyushu Gakuin.

Those who continue to have flash-backs, even after three years, to the Kumamoto

earthquake, April 14, 2016.

Peace in the region of Asia and around the world.

Christ’s Peace & Prayers,

Katie S. Narum Miyamoto

New Worship Time Starting in June...

For June, July & August our worship times will be Sunday’s at

9:30 A.M. & Wednesday’s at 6:00 P.M. We will not have coffee

hour during the summer months on Sundays.

NOTE: We will also have only one service on Sunday,

May 26th at 9:30 A.M.

April, 2019

Greetings from Kumamoto. The cherry blossoms were a little early this year and we have

enjoyed their beauty to its fullest. Now we start the school year and fiscal year (April 1) with

renewed vigor and excitement!

Thank you, Koizumi-sensei. On March 24th, the congregation of Kengun

Lutheran Church (where I am assigned) said goodbye to Pastor Koizumi and his

wife, Megumi. The JELC pastors are usually moved every 6-7 years with

assignments being given by “Tokyo.” However, Koizumi-sensei was allowed to

stay with us for 15 years! His children, Fu and Kai, grew up in Kumamoto and

attended Luther Gakuin’s sister school in Kumamoto, Kyushu Gakuin. They have

both been amazing to watch! Fu is finished with grad school from a prestigious

Christian college in Kyoto and headed to Canada. She is a representative from Japan to LWF

and was also selected as the youth representative from the Asia region. Kai is just finished

with high school and is headed to a Christian university as well. During his “gap year” (only a

few months in Japan) he took a trip to India with the JELA mission group to make prosthetics

for those who have lost limbs in land-mines and other reasons. (Picture top right with children

from the orphanage in the area.)

Koizumi-sensei has been a crucial part to the out-reach of Kengun

Lutheran Church and has been a joy to work with for the last 15 years.

He will be sorely missed in Kumamoto, but he will be a blessing to the

congregation he will begin working with in Hokkaido. (Picture left:

Pastor Koizumi on his last day, taking a momento picture immediately

after worship at Kengun.) (Picture right: the new picture collage of all

the pastors who have served God at Kengun Lutheran Church, including the

missionary from South Carolina who started the congregation approximately 80 years ago, a

blind pastor who started the ministry which continues today to the blind, and most recently

Koizumi Motoi.)

(Continued on next page)

PAGE 10 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH MAY 2019

Mark Your

Calendar…

2nd: LAF - Hot Dogs

9th: LAF - Chef's Choice

16th: LAF - Grilled Hot

Dogs (Served outside ~

weather permitting)

Special thank you to the

Dakota Community

Bank and Trust for

providing, preparing &

serving the LAF meal on

May 16th!

Upcoming Events

Join us at the Mandan Depot!

The youth will be serving at the

Mandan Depot on May 4th from 4 P.M.

to 10 P.M. Mandan Depot serves a

variety of German food, and has a fun

atmosphere. So come and enjoy some

good food served by your favorite

youth.

Happy Mother’s

Day to all the

women of our

congregation!

We Need Your Hospitality!!!

We are looking for places for Camp of the Cross staff to stay. You would provide them with a place to sleep and breakfast. I am hoping to get at least two homes. The dates are June 3rd-7th.

Sunday night through Thursday for lodging.

I am looking for four different families to provide Camp of the Cross counselors dinner. You would sign up for one night's dinner during the week. It could be a home cooked meal, a crock pot meal at church, or you can take them to eat at your favorite local place.

The meals would be for Monday through Thursday.

Please contact Pastor Chris if you have questions or are interested.

Join us for Vacation Bible

School!

Come and join us for a week of fun!

Counselors from Camp of the Cross

Ministries will be here to help us learn

and grow in Christ.

All K–6th graders are invited to join us

Monday, June 3rd through Thursday,

June 6th from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM and

Friday, June 7th from 8:00 AM - Noon.

The cost is ONLY $10 per child.

Register online at

https://firstlutheranofmandan.org/registration-form/

PAGE 4 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH MAY 2019

Sunday ~

8:30 am ~ Traditional

10:45 am ~ Contemporary

9:30 am ~ Coffee

PLEASE NOTE: We will have only one

service on Sunday, May 26th at 9:30 A.M.

Wednesday ~

6:00 pm ~ Transitional

Worship Schedule

Special Thanks

Thank you to all the greeters, ushers, communion servers,

readers, communion set-up, coffee hour workers, and to all

who have supplied goodies for the last month. Your help is

greatly appreciated!

Baptisms:

April 7 Roman Edward Jerald Rietz

April 12 Charley Jo Fink

April 14 Axel Jon Ohman

Funerals:

March 29 Cheryl Lundstrom

April 20 John Hermanson

April 23 Lester Toman

April 26 Raymond Bliese

Memorial Fund

Pastoral Acts

In memory of Cheryl Lundstrom given by National

Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), Mark & Barb

Evanger.

In memory of Pete Peterson given by Rebecca Peterson,

Neil & Jan Effertz. (For LAF)

Deadline for

articles for the

June/July

Newsletter will be

May 22nd.

May ~ Mission of the Month

Camp of the Cross Ministries

Items needed are Food, Crafts, Paper Goods, Office

Supplies, & Miscellaneous Items. You may put

your items in the boxes in the Narthex. Thanks!

PAGE 9 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH MAY 2019

PAGE 8 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH MAY 2019 MAY 2019 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH PAGE 5

First Lutheran Church Council Minutes

Date: March 21, 2019

Members Present: Pastor Christina Martin, President Kevin Fishbeck, Vice President Wayne

Friesz, Secretary Jeff Bradford, Mike Hatzenbuhler, Ron Webb, Cody Miller (Non-Voting), Jen

Scheet (Non-Voting)

Members Absent: Pastor Lee Herberg, Carol Nitschke, Tony Michlitsch

Devotions presented by Pastor Christina Martin

Call Process Conversation - Bishop Mark Narum and Deacon Beth Anderson from the

Western North Dakota Synod Office are our guests this evening.

The Bishop and Deacon Anderson laid out a path for the church to transition as Pastor Lee

retires. Call Committee formation has begun by taking names of interested parties. Other

details will develop in the next month.

Approval of the Agenda:

Moved: Ron Webb

Seconded: Wayne Friesz

Motion Passed

Approval of Secretary’s Minutes:

Moved: Jeff Bradford

Seconded: Mike Hatzenbuhler

Motion Passed

Financial Report:

Given by Jen Scheet, Financial Manager

Income for February 2019: $27,913

Expenditures for February 2019: $39,431

Cash on Hand: $132,333,87

Building Fund: $33,568.60

It was agreed upon that moving forward, Cash on hand would be reported with a breakout by

account. It was also agreed upon that it was not necessary to open a new checking account for

the building fund as the extra work to split deposits from offerings outweigh the benefits.

Unfinished Business:

Ceiling fans in Sanctuary…middle one has failed: Wayne will contact Lillis Electric

about replacement.

Education/Youth Support Staff Position: Kama Hoovestol has agreed to terms for

employment and has continued her work with the Sunday School.

Leadership for Faithful Innovation: No Updates

Sanctuary Choir Director/ Contemporary Worship Coordinator positions: No

update besides Kathy Brandvold and Cathy Long have received extra compensation for all of

the extra hours that they have been contributing to the music program. The council is very

grateful for their help.

There will be a special congregational meeting this Sunday at 9:30A.M. in the

Sanctuary for the purpose of electing Mike Held and Cody Miller to church

council. We will need 50 people in order to have a quorum: No discussion

New Business:

The regularly scheduled meeting for church council is the 3rd Thursday of the

month. In April, the meeting date will fall on Maundy Thursday. What date do

you want to meet in April? The meeting will have to be later than the 12th of the

month in order for Jennifer Scheet to have the financials prepared: The next

council meeting will be on Monday April 22 at 7:00pm.

Reports

Pastor Lee: 1 Baptism, No Weddings, 1 Funeral. Presided at communion services at Sunset

Drive and Miller Pointe – Prospera on Wednesday March 13. Met with Bishop Mark Narum

on March 15 to submit application for retirement which he needs to sign and submit to the

ELCA.

Pastor Chris: No Baptisms, No Weddings, No Funerals. Had a Leadership for Faithful

Innovation Zoom meeting. Rostered Leaders Lunch for Missouri Slope. Participation in

Bismarck-Mandan Pastor Exchange for Lent

Stewardship: No report

Worship: No report

Parish Education / Youth: 29 5th graders are preparing for First Communion. Kama is

organizing that the youth sing at the 8:30 and at the 10:45 services on Palm Sunday. This

year, there will be Palm Crosses for the youth in addition to Palm Fronds. Youth will be

serving a fundraiser at Station West all day on March 30.

Evangelism and Outreach: LAF is going well. Last one will be May 9. Dakota

Community Bank will serve the one on May 16.

Property and Management: Wayne is working on a solution for the water issues on the

roof. If elected to the council, Cody Miller volunteered to be a part of this committee.

Correspondence:

Golden Age Service: Thank you for $90.80 to Home Delivered Meals Program

Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center Foundation: Thank you for $153.23 to the M-

Club

Motion to Adjourn:

Moved: Ron Webb

Seconded: Wayne Friesz

Motion Passed

Closed with the Lord’s Prayer

PAGE 6 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH MAY 2019 How will you pass on your Lutheran Legacy?

Just as we plan to ensure financial health for our families, we must plan for the health of our “faith families.” Your planned gift to our Endowment Fund at First Lutheran Church will provide financial support for generations to come. It’s a wonderful way to steward your finances and pass along your faith and love for First Lutheran Church. You have a wonderful Lutheran Legacy - Pass in On! To learn more about the advantages of making a planned gift to The First Lutheran Mission Endowment Fund for the benefit of our church, please contact Kristi Entzi (400-6900), Michelle Radke (400-9687), Heather Heinle (226-4956), Terry Bohn (471-7725), or Dave Anderson (400-5081) or call the church office for more information on how you can contribute (663-3594).

As the month of April comes to an end, First Lutheran of Mandan will be going through some staff changes. First and foremost, I invite all of you to celebrate with us April 28th after the 11:45 service. As Pastor Lee Herberg has decided to retire, we will be thanking him for his years of service at First Lutheran and the ministry he has provided for us. I use the word “Celebrate” as we will continue to thank God that Pastor Lee gifted all of us with his presence when he answered the call to First Lutheran. Pastor Lee and his daughter Mikaela have become not only members of our church but our community as well. Their gifts went beyond the walls of the church. You are welcome to bring a dish to pass as council will be providing pulled pork sandwiches.

Pastor Eugene Anderson has been appointed as Interim Pastor at First Lutheran and will begin his ministry May 1st. Pastor Anderson has been an Interim Pastor for many churches and he will help guide us through our call process for a new Administrative Pastor at First Lutheran. Pastor Chris will also continue her ministry with us and give us some stability as she now has some years of service at First Lutheran. Pastor Chris, along with Jackie, can help show Pastor Gene the ropes. Our congregation will be in good hands.

May God’s blessings fall upon our congregation.

Your council president,

Kevin Fishbeck