Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer
From Marc Ostlie-Olson
Dear Members and Friends of LCCR,
Already Labor Day is upon us. The State Fair is about to end. All of the classic indicators of the seasonal shift from summer to fall seem to be arrayed unmistakably. I find myself purchasing school supplies and haircuts for Sigurd and Dane, moving our family one more time, and preparing one final sermon for my summer season as your preacher. I’m like the relief pitcher winding up for his last innings of the late season, when playoff aspirations have faded, and the stands are only half full. Our starter, Mary Albing will return to her place on the mound September 6th, doubtless full of fastballs and sinkers and stories enough to keep us warm through the winter.
I write a blog sometimes, and when I announced last spring that Mary had asked me to step into her office while she pursued the opportunities offered by her Lily grant, I wrote that I had plans to return this congregation into her hands “largely intact.” I’m not sure if I have succeeded in this goal.
The fact is, we have been touched - even bruised and battered a little. Illnesses have cropped up within our community - lives have altered in unpredictable ways. Kathryn’s cancer cut a swath through our summer. We lost Amelia Light and Jim Adams in August; two deaths in a congregation that sometimes goes years between funerals. But, as Alberta spoke from her place before us last evening, “God does not leave us comfortless.” The community which God calls into being again and again finds us, sometimes with a word and a witness, sometimes with a meal and a prayer, and sometimes with tears and a shoulder beneath us.
We have been touched by God in amazingly joyful ways as well - poked awake by providence and called into God’s gospel work. We helped reunite the Kuegah-Chouchouda family in July, and will welcome Erik and Erika and Sylvanus Atson-Tsevi into our country and our lives in October. We celebrated the baptisms of Eiko and Karina Sieber. And week after week we gathered around the table to take into our bodies the news of forgiveness and the sweet taste of God’s grace. We welcomed more than 40 visitors to our worship this summer, and made a place for them at the table.
Thank you for calling me into this role for the past months. You have been for my family and me an important source of support and encouragement throughout our years at the seminary, even as my education took us all over the map. Please know that I have been honored to stand among you as a leader of prayer and preacher of the word, humbled by your generosity and compassion, and touched by your grace.
In Christ,
Marc Ostlie-Olson
LCCR EVENTS
Pastor Albing will be back and leading worship September 6/7
Rally Sunday -- September 14, 9:15 a.m.
Rally Sunday
will be September 14th at 9:15am in the fellowship hall. Every family
with Sunday School age children - ages four through senior year of high
school - is invited! After refreshments, the "older kids" will head
upstairs to meet with their teachers, while the younger kids will gather
for singing and activities. This day will help children (and parents)
get started for the Sunday School year - so please come!
Ice Cream Social to Say “Thank you” and “Welcome back” - Sunday,
September 14
All are invited to an ice cream social, following worship. This will be an opportunity to say “Thanks” to Marc Ostlie-Olson for his pastoral ministry this summer, and “welcome back” to Mary Albing and Jane Lien following Mary’s sabbatical.
High School Youth Meeting – Sunday, September 14
All high school youth meet after church for about an hour to learn more about the ELCA Youth Gathering, July 22 – 26, 2009 in New Orleans. Your decision will need to be made within about 2 weeks as we will register in early October. Questions, give me a call at 612-874-8460.
If you can’t make this meeting there will be another at Central Lutheran on Sunday, Sept. 28, 12:30 pm.
Adult Forums
The Adult Education Committee has planned a full schedule of Sunday Morning education opportunities for fall. Plan to attend sessions starting September 14.
September 14: “Faith Questions of the Faithful,” Pr. Mary Albing
September 21: “Northside Peace Foundation and LCCR,” with Sandra Samuels and possibly more North Side leaders
September 28: “What in the world am I doing?” Bill Hudson, Jim Plourd, and Sarah Wuest will share their callings in the work world.
October 5: “Faith Questions of the Faithful,” Pr. Mary Albing
October 12 & 19: “What is a caring community?” arranged and presented by the Community Care Committee
at LCCR
October 26, Reformation Sunday: “Martin Luther: Bible Believer with a Difference,” Professor Sherry Jordan, University of St. Thomas
November 2, All Saints Sunday: “Argula von Grumback: Who Was She and Why Should Lutherans Give a Hoot?” Professor Sherry Jordan, University of St. Thomas
Music at LCCR – So much to sing about!
Adult-Mixed Choir – everyone is invited to partake in these ‘one-time’ rehearsals and then sing on the following Sunday:
RALLY DAY choir: Multi-cultural music (Cameroon/Zimbabwe)
Rehearse: Sept 10, Wednesday, 7-8:30pm Sing: Sept 14, for Rally Day worship, warm-up at 10am
ALL SAINTS choir: Mass in G (German Folk Mass), Franz Schubert
Rehearse: Oct 29, Wednesday, 7-8:30pm Sing: Nov. 2 for All Saints Sunday
Women’s Choir: Women of the congregation are invited to weekly choir - Wednesdays, 7:45-8:30pm, beginning Sept 17
Youth Choir: Formerly known as the Junior Choir, open to all youth, 3rd grade and up
Rehearse Sunday mornings, 8:45-9:15am, beginning Sept 14!
Sunday School Music for all children – every Sunday at 9:15.
Be on time to S.S. and make sure your kids are a part of the church’s song!
There’s more than just singing!
Handbell Choir – rehearses Wednesdays, 6:45-7:45pm, beginning Sept 17.
NEW! Percussion Ensemble – a few “rhythmic “ people are needed; youth and adults welcomed!
We’ll schedule a couple of rehearsals to get familiar with our percussion instruments and then play as needed on Sundays throughout the year. Instruments include: our new djembe (African drum), bongos, hand drum, tambourine, maracas…
Contact John Schlobohm if you are interested in joining any of these groups: #952-846-9978.
All Committee Planning Meeting – Sunday, October 5, after Worship
Mark your calendars... More details will follow, but please plan to stay after worship that day to see what all the committees are planning for the year. If you don't yet belong to a committee, this would be a great time learn more about the work these groups do, give input about things you’d like to see happen at LCCR and either join one of the committees or offer to help with a project/event or two. Members are still needed for Facilities Management, Children's Education, and Mission Support Committees.
LCCR Adult Retreat – October 24/25
The annual LCCR adult retreat will take place on October 24-25 at the ARC Retreat Center in Stanchfield, Minnesota. This year’s topic is “Taking Control of Our Lives in a Culture of Corrupting Consumerism.” The presenter, the Rev. Dennis Ormseth, served until February, 2005 as pastor of Lutheran Church of the Reformation in St. Louis Park, a congregation that emphasizes care of the earth as part of its mission. In retirement, he serves on the executive committee of Congregations Caring for Creation, an interfaith network that promotes care of the earth as integral to spirituality and social justice in Minnesota congregations of faith, and on the organizing committee for the Lutheran Earthkeeping Network of the Synods, Minnesota. Holding a Ph. D. from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, Dr. Ormseth is also a graduate of St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary in St. Paul. He taught religious history and the history of Christian thought at Luther Seminary and Holy Cross College in Worsester, Massachusetts, and served as campus pastor of Lutheran students at Purdue University in Indiana. Dr. Ormseth lives with his wife, Turid Aavik Ormseth, in St. Paul. They have three adult sons and three grandchildren.
Registration and further publicity for the retreat will begin on September 6, so set aside the fourth weekend in October for fun, fellowship and learning at ARC.
Coming This Halloween – Magic with a Message
As an internationally recognized stage magician and illusionist, Bob Fellows uses the skills he has honed over thirty years as an entertainer to create educational presentations that are experiential and memorable. Bob Fellows has received widespread media attention, with appearances on national television shows including "Phil Donahue," "Leeza," "The Home Show" (twice each), "David Letterman," "The American Experience" on PBS, "Mysteries of Magic" on TLC, "Masters of Illusion XV," "Canada AM," and "Good Morning Australia." His work has been the subject of feature stories in numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Denver Post, and USA Today.
This TRUST event to be held at LCCR will be a fundraiser for TRUST Parish Nursing. Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Watch for information about obtaining tickets as space is limited and all the TRUST churches will be offering tickets.
NEWS
Building Fund Update
We are now approaching the end of our first three-year Capital Appeal to raise funds for the recent improvements to our facilities. These improvements have provided a new narthex, patio, and downstairs meeting space, as well as enhancements to our worship space, kitchen and fellowship hall. To date, 80% of the money that was pledged has been received along with unpledged gifts of $32,000. What a remarkable response to this initial campaign! These funds have enabled the congregation to support the monthly loan payments and make a $17,000 payment directly toward the repayment of the loan principal balance. That payment resulted in a 19-month decrease in the length of the loan and a savings of $56,644 in interest!
Giving statements were recently provided to all members of the congregation who made a pledge to the Building Fund. We hope to receive the remaining pledges of approximately $45,000 by the end of this appeal in December. The receipt of these gifts will ensure our ability to fund the monthly loan payments well into the future, plus provide for another large payment to further reduce the loan principal and the amount of interest paid.
If you are behind on your pledge, this is a great time to catch up. If you have become a new member in the past three years and have not pledged to the Building Fund, we invite your gifts to this special fund.
Thank you for your generous and faithful stewardship in support of the ministries of LCCR.
Mission Support Committee
Teachers Invited for Sunday School
We welcome new and returning teachers for the coming
Sunday School year! We will be using a new curriculum, called "Living
the Good News," which is based on the Gospel story for each week.
"Living the Good News" is low-preparation and full of material - but
also flexible if you'd like to include a game, craft, activity or song
of your own!
We will rotate teachers - so if you like, you will teach
every other or every third week. We're happy to work around choir
schedules, vacations, bell ringers, and everything else - if you are
interested, then we will make it work! The children will be grouped
into Preschool and Kindergarten, Grades 1-3, Grades 4-6, Grades 7 & 8,
and Grades 9-12. If you are interested in teaching, please let Emmy
know - you can call her at 651-246-1013, or email her at
emmy.kegler@gmail.com.
Funds Flow So Bell Will Toll
Money gifts are mounting for
LCCR’s Memorial Bell Tower. The Congregation Council in June authorized
a fund appeal for construction of the tower. To be built on the knoll
between LCCR’s new front patio and the parking area, the tower will be
erected in memory of persons who have entered their eternal rest. Among
the memorialized ones are both former members and friends of the
congregation.
The tower will house a rare bronze bell cast in St. Louis nearly 130
years ago. The 1879 bell is marked “Evangelische St. Johannis Gemeinde...Richardson
Co., Nebr.” The German-American congregation for which it was cast no
longer exists. Marilyn and Mike Miller purchased the bell and donated it
for LCCR use.
It is considered fitting to dedicate the bell tower to the memory of
departed saints, since traditionally church bells toll to notify the
living about the death of a community member. Church bells also, of
course, call the living to community gatherings, and LCCR’s will surely
be thus used. The 1879 bell has two distinct tones—one for tolling at
time of death, one for calling the living to gather.
Posted near the completed tower will be a plaque with the names of
those being memorialized, for future generations to review and remember.
Thus far, gifts have been received in memory of more than a dozen
saints, among them Sylvia Fredrickson, Pr. Mary Albing’s mother, who
died within the past year.
Persons wishing to consider a memorial gift are encouraged to
contact Chuck Lutz for details: 612-861-6648 or
lutzch@comcast.net.
Total cost for the tower will be $28,000. By late August, about half
of that amount had been donated or pledged. Individual gifts have ranged
from $200 to $5,000. Construction of the tower will not be undertaken
until all needed funds are available. Congregation Council’s hope is
that the tower may be up and the bell ringing before winter arrives.
—Chuck Lutz, funding coordinator, Memorial Bell Tower
FROM THE YOUTH MINISTER Tim Marburger
Well we’ve returned, safe and sound. What a great experience at the Heifer Project International Ranch! I can say this for several reasons:
1) Our youth were fantastic. They worked, learned and played hard throughout the week, meeting all my expectations. Thank you Hannah, Grace, Dane, Audrey, Emma, Alex, Kayla, Jake and Nathaniel. I hope you enjoyed the week as much as I did.
2) Loving, supportive families that helped get the youth to pre-events and car washes. Families who were there when I had a questions or concerns. Parents and families who deeply love their children and want what is best for them.
3) Working with the other TRUST leaders was fun and each person was there for the youth, not just theirs, but the entire group. Thank you Kevin, Leah, Amanda, Clay, DeEtte, Allison, Peter and Nathan.
4) The support of our congregation with finances and a multitude of prayers. (Don’t forget the Stockholder’s Dinner on September 27, 2008, 6 – 8:30 pm at Central Lutheran).
5) The awesome support of Pat and Nancy at TRUST and our fellow TRUST congregations, who continue to believe in this very important ministry with the youth.
6) The many educational and hands-on experiences that Heifer Ranch provided, including the Global Village experience.
I have asked the youth to contribute a paragraph about their experience in Arkansas. Please check out some pictures either on the LCCR website or on the Youth bulletin board on the lower level. Please ask any of us any questions about them.
Being on the heifer ranch for a week with the trust group was an amazing experience, I stepped out of my comfort zone and did some things that I will never forget. The staff there helped me open my eyes and see the big picture, and taught me a lot of things I didn’t know about this world with what we have and what we waste. I'm so glad this group got to share these experiences together.
Hannah Plourd
What I learned at Heifer ranch was that there are a lot of little things that we can do to slow global warming. For example we in the TRUST group went about a whole week without electronics. Also, that we can compost and recycle most of our waste. Lastly, we don’t need everything new, we can get clothing slightly used and if we have clothing that doesn’t fit any more we can donate to ARC or another organization. Nathaniel Koch
One night at Heifer International we simulated what it would be like to live in a refugee camp. Food wasn't provided so the rest of the people I stayed with and I all had to go and barter with other camps like the slums, Guatemala, big Thai family, little Thai family, Appalachia, and Africa. We started out with no food to trade with but thankfully some people gave us food out of the kindness of their heart. Eventually we had seven onions, two eggs, one large carrot, a bowl of cornmeal, and two potatoes. With that we made onion soup that was actually very good. The sleeping conditions for refugees are very hard. For us it was a wood floor with a tarp over it for protection against precipitation. It was so hot inside of the tent so I slept outside on the grass with some people. It was very interesting to experience was it would be like to live in a refugee camp. I would definitely not want to live in a refugee camp. Because of this experience I want to help more people. Grace Fiedler
Our trip to Arkansas was interesting in different ways. We learned a lot about water, food, etc., but we also had lots of fun, like playing Capture the Flag and climbing the rock wall. My personal favorite part was milking the goats because that’s something you don’t get to do every day. Alex Hilden
I had an okay time at the Heifer Ranch. The Global Village was pretty good; my group at Thailand ate pretty well. I was in a pilot class for a new class to teach kids about Guatemala. We made food from there and played cultural games. I did some fence building service that was pretty tiring and dirty. I made some new friends and also reconnected with older ones. Overall the mission trip was decent. Jake Fiedler
I did a lot a lot of fun things on the mission trip. The Heifer Ranch taught us to use new ways to conserve natural resources. All the food we ate on the ranch was grown from the garden there. One day, my class learned how to make a homemade pizza so we had to make the dough and the cheese. To make the cheese we had to get it from a goat. Everyone got a chance to milk one and I was happy because that was one of the things I was looking forward to. I had a lot of fun with my friends and got to meet a lot of new people. I’m glad I got to have that experience. Emma Helgen
Going into the mission trip we thought we would hardly be able to survive the road trip, let alone the summer heat. Well… we made it, and we really had a great time. Kayla’s favorite part was when her class made pizza all by hand. She thought it was really interesting, fun, and delicious. Audrey really liked working in the garden and picking food for the salad bar at lunch. Although it was hot, it was a lot of fun, and really cool to see where all your food comes from. We both actually enjoyed the road trip and getting to make new friends, and getting to know the old ones a littler better. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the stockholders dinner and we are very thankful for the people that supported us to go on this trip. Audrey and Kayla Wuest
Reminder – Sunday, September 14 – All high school youth meet after church for about an hour to learn more about the ELCA Youth Gathering, July 22 – 26, 2009 in New Orleans. Your decision will need to be made within about 2 weeks as we will register in early October. Questions, give me a call at 612-874-8460. If you can’t make this meeting there will be another at Central Lutheran on Sunday, September 28, 12:30 pm.
EVENTS ELSEWHERE
The Aliveness Project Invites You
Please join us at our 2008 Red, White & Black Masquerade Ball, October 31, 2008, for an evening of costumes, desserts, entertainment, silent auction and TONS OF FUN at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis!! Contact Tim Marburger for more information.
CALENDAR
September 2008 at LCCR
3 - Knitting at Helen Nelson’s home – 2:00 p.m.
4 - Mission Support Committee – 7:00 p.m.
9 - Community Care Committee – 7:00 p.m.
10 - Breakfast Group – 9:00 a.m. at Currans’, 42nd and Nicollet (Note change)
11 - Worship Committee – 7:00 p.m.
13 - Middle East Now – 9:00 a.m.
14 - Ice Cream Social – following worship
- Meeting of High School Youth – following worship
16 - Congregation Council – 7:00 p.m.
20 - Knitting – 2:00 p.m. at Joyce Naumann’s home
22 - Loaves and Fishes Cooking – 3:00 at St. Stephens, 22nd and Clinton
23 - Connections – 7:30 p.m. at Dorothy Rossing’s home
25 - Men’s Group – 6:30 p.m. at a location to be announced
27 - Mission Trip Stockholders’ Dinner – 6:30 at Central Lutheran Church