The Messenger GodвЂ™s solid foundation stands firm. 2 Tim. 2:19 THE NEWSLETTER OF FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH December 2014 FaithвЂ™s Mission вЂ“ is to reach people, young and old, who need Christ in their lives, and to help them know, love and serve Christ. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD Pastor Ellie and I have been planning a youth canoe trip for next summer. One possible side trip that I suggested is to visit the Tower Soudan Underground Mine. Far underground, at one point in the tour, the guide shuts off all the lights. It is at that moment that one discovers what the phrase вЂњpitch blackвЂќ means. Without any source of light, one cannot see even a hand in front of your face. Yet, the moment a match is struck or a flashlight turned on, that underground world is instantly illuminated and darkness is dispelled. Light always overpowers the darkness and brings with it the ability to see clearly again. There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one small candleвЂ¦ The Tower Soudan Mine is one of the safest underground mines in the world. But back in 2002, in Somerset, Pennsylvania, 9 men were trapped in a coal mine. Those men were threatened by poisonous gasses and a rising water level that would drown them. But on top of all these dangers, there was the utter darkness вЂ“ a thick darkness that kept them from seeing any way to safety. Thank God, there was a happy ending! Those men were rescued. How? Some other people risked their own lives to save them. They saved those nine men from darkness and death and brought them into the light and life. During these Advent and Christmas seasons we once again celebrate the coming of the Light. When we are surrounded by darkness, we desire light. When there is darkness inside of us, we need light. Jesus is our savior. He is the one who gave his own life to save us from the darkness of sin and death. He has safely brought us into the light of his presence. Dispelling the darkness, He has given us hope and certainty about our eternal destiny. Dear Lord, keep us humble in your presence and faithful in reflecting your pure light. Pastor Jim *************************************************** I canвЂ™t believe itвЂ™s been two months since I began my position as Associate Pastor! What a whirlwind two months itвЂ™s been! I thank you for the support, prayer, patience, cheerleading, grace and help youвЂ™ve given me. I ask for your continued support as we walk together caring for one another, learning how to follow Christ, and coming alongside our young people as they discern how to be a disciple of Jesus in this world. I want to update you on a few of the things IвЂ™ve been up to these past two months: The high school youth group has established a regular rhythm of meeting Sunday nights. WeвЂ™ve got a great group of young people coming! We check in with each other, eat some goodies (we like food!), have some fun (sometimes LOUD fun), explore the Word of God and ask some real questions about how we navigate and live out our faith in Jesus Christ on a practical level. WeвЂ™ve been watching a few video vignettes by Pastor Rob Bell called NOOMA that challenge us to be authentic with each other and in our faith. IвЂ™m truly honored to hang out with our young people! WeвЂ™ve been working on our youth space. WeвЂ™ve cleaned out the youth kitchen, moved out the old Ping-Pong table, done a little reorganizing and decorating (come check out our Christmas tree!) and now we are dreaming about a few new furniture additions to add some freshness and seating to the room. IвЂ™ve had the privilege of preaching a few Sundays these last two months. I prepared a two-part sermon series on youth. What a joy that was as the Spirit affirmed for us how Christ is alive and vibrant in the lives of our youth! IвЂ™m currently on track for Lutheran ordination. Ordination basically affirms me as an вЂ�officialвЂ™ pastor, meaning I have a congregation (Faith) and a denominational body (the LCMC) that says, вЂњYes, we support and affirm this person as a pastor.вЂќ I look forward to my ordination this spring here at Faith. One of the last steps in this process is fine-tuning my Lutheran distinctives. Pastor Jim is my mentor in this and he and I are meeting once a month to explore, discuss, and study some finer points of Lutheran theology. Ask me the next time you see me what weвЂ™re currently studying! What a gift to explore our Lutheran theological heritage with Pastor Jim! And for a personal update, my son Theo is 9 months old and cute, cute, cute, cute, cute (have I made my point?). He is getting more mobile now and keeps us on our toes just about every second. My husband Paul is lead pastor at a church in St. Cloud and theyвЂ™re currently in the process of hiring two additional pastoral staff, which is really exciting! GodвЂ™s peace to you this Advent season! Ellie McAllister, Associate Pastor *************************************************** Bake Sale~ Be sure to pick up some goodies at the Annual Christmas Bake Sale on Sunday, December 7th after each service! The sale benefits the PastorвЂ™s discretionary fund which allows pastor access to funds without approval from the church council. During the season of holiday meals, heating costs, and fuel expenses for travel to see loved ones, this fund provides assistance to many, people. Calling All Senior High YouthвЂ¦circle December 21st on your calendars so you donвЂ™t miss out on the Christmas party at 5pm. Watch the coming bulletins for some fun details to be revealed! *************************************************** вЂњMaybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesnвЂ™t come from a store.вЂќ -Dr. Suess Christmas Eve Candlelight Services 3:00, 5:00 & 11:00 pm Christmas Day Worship Service 10:00 am SUMMER 2015 YOUTH MISSION OPPORTUNITIES Our young people care about service! They care deeply about serving folks. They want to make a difference for good in this world in JesusвЂ™ name! This summer our high school youth have two exciting trips in the works to share the Love of Christ. TeenServe is the name of the organization that runs the mission trip weвЂ™ve attended with Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Maple Lake for a few years. This summerвЂ™s trip is being led by their stellar youth liaison, Kim Kaiser, and we will be traveling to Michigan for a week of residential service. Week of Hope is the second mission trip opportunity for 2015 led by me, Ellie McAllister. Week of Hope is run through an amazing youth missions organization called Group and one of the Week of Hope locations is our very own Twin Cities. Please check out the chart below for some вЂ�fast-factsвЂ™ about these two trips. Let me know if have any questions about these trips. Also, I ask you to join us in prayer as we take our first steps in organizing and planning. Please partner with us in the days ahead as we plan, fundraise and dream about these exciting, life-changing experiences! TRIP DATES LOCATION COST LEADER WEBSITE D E S C R I P T I O N B E N E F I T S TeenServe June 20-27, 2015 Plainwell, Michigan $425/student Leader: Kim Kaiser Holy Cross Lutheran Church www.teenserve.org/2015plainwell-michigan/ Main focus will be repairing local residentsвЂ™ homes. Youth will travel to a worksite each day with their work camp crew. Work will include basic to light construction, house maintenance and repair. Youth will stay at a school (sleep, shower, fellowship, etc.). Large group worship evenings with powerful speakers. TeenServe devotional. Navigating how to serve in JesusвЂ™ name Lots of fun car travel Meeting new people at worksite Meaningful relationship built with resident(s) Powerful worship, speakers and testimonies Great relationship with Holy Cross youth and leaders Week of Hope July 12-17, 2015 Minneapolis, MN $256/student Leader: Ellie McAllister Faith Lutheran Church http://groupmissiontrips.com/week-of-hope/ Main focus will be serving urban poor through practical acts of service. Youth will work with adults and children with disabilities, provide elder care, host camps, restore outdoor spaces in urban center, perform house maintenance for low income or disabled people, and pack meals. Youth will stay at a large local church and clean up at an area school. Evening activities vary but include meals, fun, worship, fellowship, exploring MSP. Specific devotions and Bible study prepared by Ellie. Literally serving the poorest of the poor Navigating how to serve in JesusвЂ™ name Being challenged to serve and interact with folks very different than us Opportunity to connect with youth group members on a deep level Sense of achievement and connection in supporting local ministries Church Council Minutes November 18, 2014 Members present: Pastor Jim Tetlie; Pastor Ellie McAllister; President, Jim Olsen; Vice President & Stewardship, Todd Roberts; Secretary, Connie Lounsbury; Treasurer, Patrick Zierden; Building, Rod Anacker; Worship & Music, Mike Olson; Youth & Family, Gary Brant. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Jim Olsen, followed by prayer led by Pastor Tetlie. New Business: Chuck Bray appeared before the council to discuss what we can do as a congregation to provide food to the needy in answer to Pastor TetlieвЂ™s sermon challenge to bring heaven to earth. He indicated that for every one dollar donated, three or four dollars of food can be purchased by the food shelf. He asked for input and ideas from the council. Much discussion took place and Treasurer Zierden presented financial records showing that Faith Lutheran Church has given $5,242 to Monticello Food Shelf and $5,327 to the Clearwater Food Shelf in the past five years from the churchвЂ™s tithing fund. In addition, Faith has a monthly food shelf drive in place with a different category of food designated each month. The Boy Scouts do a huge drive for the food shelf every spring. The Lions and the Rotary Club donate backpacks filled with food to the school children. The council assured Bray that Faith will continue to support the food shelves. Nevertheless, the need is still greater than the donations. About 1,000 people use the food shelf in Monticello each month. Forty-four percent of them are children. The council thanked Bray for his care and concern, and encouraged him to be creative and put together a campaign of some type perhaps midway between Christmas and spring when the need may be the greatest. A discussion continued regarding possibly presenting a video from the food shelf to the congregation and making a display of all the thank-you cards received from the food shelves in the past. Pastor Jim Tetlie presented his report. Mike Olson moved to accept the report, seconded by Todd Roberts. Motion passed. Pastor Ellie McAllister presented her report including plans for her LCMC ordination at Faith next spring. Jim Olsen moved to accept the report, seconded by Mike Olson. Motion passed. Treasurer Pat Zierden presented the treasurerвЂ™s report. Gary Brant made a motion to donate $500 out of the tithe fund to Faith By Hearing to provide Bible sticks to soldiers. Todd Roberts seconded the motion. Motion passed. Todd Roberts reported on the Stewardship Committee activity. Brenda Olson had introduced a new project to the committee that the Ladies of Faith are working on called Sole Hope. One of the biggest health problems in Africa is parasites that get into bare feet and lay their eggs in the feet and begin to eat the flesh of the foot. To prevent this problem the people need to wear shoes. In order to provide inexpensive shoes, Sole Hope asks people to cut out flat denim shoe bodies that will be sent to Africa along with a $10 donation per pair. Shoemakers in Africa will earn money by sewing these cloth shoe bodies onto a shoe sole, thus providing income to some of the African people as well. If you can cut out denim, come to Ladies of Faith meetings on every second and fourth Tuesday evening from 7-8:30 and Wednesday morning from 10 to noon. Another activity suggested by Ralph Mason is sending Christmas cards and care packages to our military men and women. Jana will send out an email blast asking for names, addresses, and email addresses. More information will be forthcoming. Rod Anacker reported that the exterminator came to the church on the 30th to spray bugs and bait mouse traps. We are hopeful that this is taking care of the problem. Mike Olson reported that he intends to call a meeting of the Altar Guild soon to update tasks. New Business - A budget meeting was scheduled for the council on Tuesday, Dec. 9th at 7:00 p.m. at the church. The next council meeting will be December 16th. Gary Brant moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Rod Anacker. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. followed by prayer led by Pastor Tetlie. Respectfully submitted, Connie Lounsbury, Secretary PastorвЂ™s Report for November: 6 Sunday services 1 church council meeting 4 home visits 1 Pastoral care sessions 3 renewal group meetings 7 Crossways classes 3 See Through the Scripture classes 2 Life Worth Living classes 8 Confirmation classes 3 staff meetings 1 hospital visits 1 Friendship dinner 1 baptism вЂ“ Caleb Leroy Ludwig ~Thank you for your continued prayers & support I n C as e o f Emergency вЂњAsk, and you will be given what you ask for, Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives.вЂќ Matthew 8:7-8 Would you believe that I C E could save your life? When used as an acronym for вЂњin case of emergency,вЂќ it can. When paramedics or emergency personnel try to care for patients who are unconscious or in shock, they may not even be able to identify that patient, let alone obtain an accurate picture of his medical status or allergies. Often, very ill or severely injured people cannot provide health care professionals with their basic health history. Health care workers who are trying to save lives waste precious time and energy trying to figure out what health conditions a patient in crisis may have. Access to the phone numbers of family or friends by medical personnel can make the difference between timely treatments for a medical condition and death. person, you can list them as ICE2, ICE3, etc. If you do not own a cell phone, or donвЂ™t normally carry it with you, consider making up an information card that contains this data. Make it a habit to carry a list of the medications you take, including vitamins and herbals. This is a real eye opener for health care workers. For instance, if a person normally takes medication for high blood pressure and/or diabetes, then emergency personnel have important clues into the health problems they are dealing with, saving time and lives. Give these important issues some thought. Do you normally carry I.D. with you if you are out walking or in the mall? Do you carry emergency contact information? How might you carry this information so a medical professional could find it easily? A few simple steps now could help you immensely in case of a true emergency. Info from: www.ice4safety.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_case_of_emerg ency There is currently a campaign in the health care community to help identify the family member of a sick or injured person who is unable to provide this information. The goal is to have every cell phone user put an entry into their phoneвЂ™s address book under the heading вЂњICE.вЂќ The phoneвЂ™s owner lists any and all people they would like to have notified in case of an emergency. It is a simple idea and costs absolutely NOTHING! Yet it could, at the very least, let a family member know that В© J Witucki, BSN 2014 someone has been injured or is ill, and where they have been taken. With I C E, the emergency staff can easily reach someone who knows and NOTE: Our Parish Nurse, Kay Sime, has the cares about you and your medical history. File of Life refrigerator magnets which contain the homeownersвЂ™ medical information and While not everyone carries a cell phone, as of emergency contact. They are very easy to fill 2011, over 327 million Americans did! So, this out and could save oneвЂ™s life in an simple idea could impact a large number of people emergency. She will bring some each Sunday in a positive way. If you want to list more than one and hand them out or you can ask her for one. 18- Tim & Kim Landecker 20- Josh & Jordayna Ordorff God bless you on your special day! If you see a mistake or an omission, please contact the secretary so she can update the records: 763.878.2092 or [email protected]. Thanks! 1- Ian Brant 7- Riley Maus 7- Viola Rajendren 8- Kayla Cox 8- Olivia Gramsey 11- Cody Hamson 13- Randy Schwartz 15- Jerry Foote 15- Mike Jarmuzek 19- Nate Krohn 20- Rick Kramer 27- Kay Brevik 31- Anne Larson There is no designated food shelf item this month. Share whatever you like and THANK YOU for your continued support of this program!