Message From Pastor Nancy
Dear Beloved Child of God,
One Lenten refrain comes from Psalm 103:8 and goes like this: “Return to the Lord, your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Within the month of April we finish our Lenten season. Holy Week culminates on Easter Sunday when we shout: Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! I invite you to ponder a theme that will take you from now until Pentecost. The theme is Bearing Fruit for Jesus. Let us pray: Dear God, we regularly fall short. Invite us, therefore, to return to you in repentance, sorrow, and gratitude that we may use the time you have given us to love others as you have loved us and to bear fruit for you. Amen. This prayer leads us to ponder: What might a fruit-bearing follower of Jesus look like?
Jesus demonstrates a deep love of children.
As a fruit- bearing Jesus follower, how are we to be with kids?
Jesus cares for the poor.
As a fruit-bearing Jesus follower, how are we to be with those who identify as poor?
Jesus often speaks up for those who are lost, last, lonely, left out, and described as the least of these (hungry, in prison, naked, sick, etc.) As a fruit-bearing Jesus follower, how are we to be?
In James 1:27 and Exodus 22:22 we read about caring for widows and orphans. Recently, I asked some of our many widows what they miss. “Someone to talk with. Hugs. Fellowship.” As fruit-bearing Jesus followers, how are we to be with widows and orphans?
What might fruit-bearing Christian character look like? Fruit of the Holy Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, generosity, gentleness and self-control. Guess what? No matter where we are in our fruit-bearing, there is still time to turn, more time to love, more time to give, more time to live into the way of relationship God intends. Let’s pray that Lenten refrain once more. Dear Lord, help me return to you. You first loved me with your gracious mercy, your slowness to anger, your abounding steadfast love. Help me receive your love and by the power of your Holy Spirit, love others through me. Amen.
One Lenten refrain comes from Psalm 103:8 and goes like this: “Return to the Lord, your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Within the month of April we finish our Lenten season. Holy Week culminates on Easter Sunday when we shout: Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! I invite you to ponder a theme that will take you from now until Pentecost. The theme is Bearing Fruit for Jesus. Let us pray: Dear God, we regularly fall short. Invite us, therefore, to return to you in repentance, sorrow, and gratitude that we may use the time you have given us to love others as you have loved us and to bear fruit for you. Amen. This prayer leads us to ponder: What might a fruit-bearing follower of Jesus look like?
Jesus demonstrates a deep love of children.
As a fruit- bearing Jesus follower, how are we to be with kids?
Jesus cares for the poor.
As a fruit-bearing Jesus follower, how are we to be with those who identify as poor?
Jesus often speaks up for those who are lost, last, lonely, left out, and described as the least of these (hungry, in prison, naked, sick, etc.) As a fruit-bearing Jesus follower, how are we to be?
In James 1:27 and Exodus 22:22 we read about caring for widows and orphans. Recently, I asked some of our many widows what they miss. “Someone to talk with. Hugs. Fellowship.” As fruit-bearing Jesus followers, how are we to be with widows and orphans?
What might fruit-bearing Christian character look like? Fruit of the Holy Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, generosity, gentleness and self-control. Guess what? No matter where we are in our fruit-bearing, there is still time to turn, more time to love, more time to give, more time to live into the way of relationship God intends. Let’s pray that Lenten refrain once more. Dear Lord, help me return to you. You first loved me with your gracious mercy, your slowness to anger, your abounding steadfast love. Help me receive your love and by the power of your Holy Spirit, love others through me. Amen.
Here are some brief messages you need: (From Council President, Ginny)
Your church council is preparing to spend a Saturday in late October developing a new Strategic Plan for Messiah’s mission in the next two years. These plans help us focus our efforts to accomplish God’s work. Our last plan helped us make progress in the areas of Stewardship, Evangelism, and Youth. Please pray for your council as we begin this important task, asking for guidance from the Holy Spirt.
As work on the downstairs/fellowship areas progresses, we will need to make decisions about whether or not coffee fellowship is do-able on a week-by-week basis. Please be patient with the process! We sorely miss the time to gather together and learn about one another’s lives. Every effort is being made to continue this fellowship time whenever and however possible!
If you read August council minutes, you will see that we were of the mind that we should try to hold our annual Lutefisk/Meatball Dinner at a different location this December since our construction will certainly prohibit us from holding it at Messiah. On speaking with several groups of people since last month’s meeting about this, there has been a concensus that it might be a better idea to postpone the event until February when we can use our own kitchen again. If you have opinions about this decision, please contact a council member. Thanks!
Lastly, mark your calendars for Sunday, October 14th, when Troy Schmitke will be speaking to us following worship on the progress of the building project to date. Much is happening already and much more will be in store in the near weeks ahead. This will be a good opportunity to learn and to ask questions. Thanks, Troy, for your faithful efforts!
Thanks be to God!
Ginny
Your church council is preparing to spend a Saturday in late October developing a new Strategic Plan for Messiah’s mission in the next two years. These plans help us focus our efforts to accomplish God’s work. Our last plan helped us make progress in the areas of Stewardship, Evangelism, and Youth. Please pray for your council as we begin this important task, asking for guidance from the Holy Spirt.
As work on the downstairs/fellowship areas progresses, we will need to make decisions about whether or not coffee fellowship is do-able on a week-by-week basis. Please be patient with the process! We sorely miss the time to gather together and learn about one another’s lives. Every effort is being made to continue this fellowship time whenever and however possible!
If you read August council minutes, you will see that we were of the mind that we should try to hold our annual Lutefisk/Meatball Dinner at a different location this December since our construction will certainly prohibit us from holding it at Messiah. On speaking with several groups of people since last month’s meeting about this, there has been a concensus that it might be a better idea to postpone the event until February when we can use our own kitchen again. If you have opinions about this decision, please contact a council member. Thanks!
Lastly, mark your calendars for Sunday, October 14th, when Troy Schmitke will be speaking to us following worship on the progress of the building project to date. Much is happening already and much more will be in store in the near weeks ahead. This will be a good opportunity to learn and to ask questions. Thanks, Troy, for your faithful efforts!
Thanks be to God!
Ginny
The apostles said to Jesus, “Make our faith greater.”
And Jesus answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:5,6.
In April, Messiah learned that the ELCA was accepting applications for “Outreach Grants.” Congregations were encouraged to develop a plan for serving their communities in ways consistent with Jesus’ teaching. The church council asked council member, Bob Leis, if he would be interested in considering this opportunity. As a leader of Heaven’s Helping Hands, Bob was aware that hunger is a real concern within our community. At several times each year, HHH provides meals, money, and organizational support to feed hungry families. Bob learned that local children who receive “free and reduced lunch” at school lose that program once summer school ends. So Bob decided to develop a program to continue to provide food boxes to several families over the summer months. He applied for $1,000 from the ELCA with the understanding that our church would need to match that dollar amount. Bob believed that if the application was accepted there would be a way to raise that matching amount. He sent in the application. He had faith.
April & May came and went. Bob and his team contacted the school, contacted families, and began planning for mid-June when summer school would end. In the meantime, there was no word from the ELCA on whether Bob’s grant proposal would be accepted. But Bob had faith.
In June the delivery system was in place. As soon as the summer school program ended, Bob’s team began to provide much needed food boxes for local families. Bob applied for a Team Action Grant from Thrivent to kick-start the program and he also relied on monetary gifts that came from Messiah members who were aware of this effort. There was no clear understanding of where the continued funding might come from. But Bob had faith.
As July began, the families continued to receive food boxes each week. Still no word from the ELCA. Bob was beginning to think he might need to find more support for this program locally. And then….
On July 18th Bob got a call from an ELCA representative congratulating him on receiving the full amount that his grant had requested: $1,000. Praise God!
But now Bob had a new concern. One of the families which had several children had moved away. Now Bob had more money than was actually needed to complete his grant project! He decided to call the ELCA and describe his problem. Would they withdraw his grant? Would they reduce his award? Bob knew that the program was a success. Children were being fed. This was certainly consistent with Jesus’ teaching! What would the ELCA decide?
With a faithful heart, Bob made the call. He described his problem and suggested a possible solution. The grant application had been for the summer months only. But there are other times during the year when hunger is a problem. Might the grant’s parameters be extended? Could the funds apply to food boxes during school holidays? Or at other times of need? The ELCA responded, “No problem, Bob.”
Could this be the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach the apostles?
“If you had faith as big as a mustard seed…”
Because he had faith, Bob applied for the grant. Because he had faith, he began the food program even before he knew whether the grant would be accepted. Because he had faith, Bob and his team were able to feed children in need this summer and will be able to plan for future needs of these and other local families. Faith.
Of course, that $1,000 from the ELCA still needs to be matched by Messiah. Where will that money come from? Some will come from Heaven’s Helping Hands’ treasury. Money that they have raised in the past in order to show God’s love by their deeds. But maybe some donations will come directly from other members of our congregation. Bob has faith. ~submitted by Ginny Pederson
And Jesus answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:5,6.
In April, Messiah learned that the ELCA was accepting applications for “Outreach Grants.” Congregations were encouraged to develop a plan for serving their communities in ways consistent with Jesus’ teaching. The church council asked council member, Bob Leis, if he would be interested in considering this opportunity. As a leader of Heaven’s Helping Hands, Bob was aware that hunger is a real concern within our community. At several times each year, HHH provides meals, money, and organizational support to feed hungry families. Bob learned that local children who receive “free and reduced lunch” at school lose that program once summer school ends. So Bob decided to develop a program to continue to provide food boxes to several families over the summer months. He applied for $1,000 from the ELCA with the understanding that our church would need to match that dollar amount. Bob believed that if the application was accepted there would be a way to raise that matching amount. He sent in the application. He had faith.
April & May came and went. Bob and his team contacted the school, contacted families, and began planning for mid-June when summer school would end. In the meantime, there was no word from the ELCA on whether Bob’s grant proposal would be accepted. But Bob had faith.
In June the delivery system was in place. As soon as the summer school program ended, Bob’s team began to provide much needed food boxes for local families. Bob applied for a Team Action Grant from Thrivent to kick-start the program and he also relied on monetary gifts that came from Messiah members who were aware of this effort. There was no clear understanding of where the continued funding might come from. But Bob had faith.
As July began, the families continued to receive food boxes each week. Still no word from the ELCA. Bob was beginning to think he might need to find more support for this program locally. And then….
On July 18th Bob got a call from an ELCA representative congratulating him on receiving the full amount that his grant had requested: $1,000. Praise God!
But now Bob had a new concern. One of the families which had several children had moved away. Now Bob had more money than was actually needed to complete his grant project! He decided to call the ELCA and describe his problem. Would they withdraw his grant? Would they reduce his award? Bob knew that the program was a success. Children were being fed. This was certainly consistent with Jesus’ teaching! What would the ELCA decide?
With a faithful heart, Bob made the call. He described his problem and suggested a possible solution. The grant application had been for the summer months only. But there are other times during the year when hunger is a problem. Might the grant’s parameters be extended? Could the funds apply to food boxes during school holidays? Or at other times of need? The ELCA responded, “No problem, Bob.”
Could this be the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach the apostles?
“If you had faith as big as a mustard seed…”
Because he had faith, Bob applied for the grant. Because he had faith, he began the food program even before he knew whether the grant would be accepted. Because he had faith, Bob and his team were able to feed children in need this summer and will be able to plan for future needs of these and other local families. Faith.
Of course, that $1,000 from the ELCA still needs to be matched by Messiah. Where will that money come from? Some will come from Heaven’s Helping Hands’ treasury. Money that they have raised in the past in order to show God’s love by their deeds. But maybe some donations will come directly from other members of our congregation. Bob has faith. ~submitted by Ginny Pederson