H
O LY
N
AT I V I T Y
TIDINGS
WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Worship on Sunday at 8:30 & 10:30am
Education for All at 9:30am (September—May)
Coffee/Fellowship 9:30am-11:00am
Communion Celebrated 1st and 3rd Sunday
of each month
Office Hours
Monday-Thursday
9:00am-5:00pm
Friday (September-May) 9:00am-3:00pm
Friday (June-August)
9:00am-1:00pm
Potluck and Congregational Meeting
Sunday, May 17th
11:30am Potluck
12:15pm Congregational Meeting
Come for the potluck, stay for the meeting!
Your presence is:

Needed

Requested

Desired
 ALL OF THE ABOVE!
Holy Nativity Spring Cleaning….outside
(weather permitting) AND inside! Saturday, May 23rd from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
Bring your ‘tools of the trade’
and take part in the care of our
building and property.
Many hands lighten the load!
CARE FOR THE KINGDOM
Please help with:
Weekly lawn mowing—need 2-3 people per
week to mow the church lawn (should be
done Thursday, Friday or Saturday to look
good on Sunday). Training available. Contact the office
if you are willing/able to help!
Weeding various areas (you pick the area!)
around the church building. Map and sign-up
sheet will be in the narthex.
OUR MISSION
~ to learn the Gospel
~ to serve the Gospel
~ and to share the Gospel!
ADOPT-A-PARK!!!
Come to our new event! Bring the entire family! HNLC has adopted Lion’s
Park in New Hope (38th and Maryland) and everyone is welcome to
participate in the three-times a year clean up.
This is a 2-year commitment for us and a plaque
will be installed with our name on it. Our first
clean-up day is Saturday, May 9th at 10:00am.
Just meet at the park playground and bring your
work gloves and any tools you feel necessary!
Waste bags are provided.
For all our gardeners, we are welcome to do any
planting we want so keep that in mind and we
can discuss!
Please sign up on the kiosk in the narthex if you
are interested.
MOVIE NIGHT FOR THE LADIES! (the sequel)
When: Thursday, May 7th
Time: 6:00pm
Where: Fellowship Hall / Annex
Bring: Snacks to share; beverages provided
Movie: ??? TBD
Sign up on the kiosk!
1
From the Pastor…
In the classic 1984 movie Ghostbusters, there is a scene where Dr. Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, is explaining to
the mayor and his staff what to expect when an anticipated disaster comes. He compares it to the biblical apocalypse, proclaiming that there will be “dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!” I can’t help but think about this scene when I
think about our upcoming summer worship schedule. You see, for the first time in many years, we are changing our worship
schedule for the summer. Which means that beginning on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, at 9:30am, we will have
8:30 people and 10:30 people worshipping together! I only hope that it won’t lead to mass hysteria. Though if it does, it
might help to keep in mind that our worship schedule will be back to normal by the time fall comes around.
As a reminder about how this decision came to be, last summer we tried one worship service at 9:30am on the Sunday of the
Fourth of July weekend. We told you this was an experiment meant to help us consider going to one service all summer for
2015 and asked for your feedback. The response we received was overwhelmingly positive. While a few of you would prefer to be at your “normal” worship time of 8:30 or 10:30, most were very receptive to change. I encourage you to be willing
to compromise with the chosen time that falls in between our two current worship times: 9:30am.
So why are we doing this? Primarily, we are doing it because worship attendance is naturally lower in the summer and we
have plenty of room for everybody to worship together. There are many benefits I can see to such a change. The primary
benefit is that we have a chance to get to know people from the “other service” whom we usually don’t interact with. When
a congregation has two or more worship services, it can become very easy to effectively be two separate congregations.
Worshipping together for the summer will give us a chance to realize our preferred worship service is not all there is.
In addition, we will be alternating liturgies for our one summer service, so those who usually only experience one liturgy on
Sunday mornings will have the opportunity to experience some liturgical variety. I’ll bet you didn’t even know that was a
thing – liturgical variety. I happen to find it very exciting, though maybe only a pastor would say that!
Finally, another benefit of one worship service over the summer is that the sanctuary will feel fuller than if we remain separate. With the normal summer decline in worship due to vacations, cabins, and such, attendance at each service can make
our sanctuary feel kind of empty. And even though worship doesn’t depend on more than “two or three gathered,” as Jesus
said, it can feel much healthier and more exciting when the space is fuller. This can be especially important when visitors
come to worship – encountering a fuller space makes people more comfortable and more excited about being in worship at a
new place.
I look forward to our new schedule, which will run from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. See you in worship!
In God’s amazing grace, Pastor Jason
Good People of Holy Nativity,
Thank you all so much for your help and support at the Silent Auction on Palm Sunday, March 29th and
the Live Auction, Sunday, April 19th. The Silent Auction raised $4200 and the Live Auction $4800! Thanks to
you we have reached the amount we need to send every youth to the National Youth Gathering and Camp Wapo
this summer! Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. I was truly amazed at the incredible show of
support. God’s love clearly shone forth through you!
Special thanks to Kristin Jorenby, Kim and Michel Boursier, Ed Hartman, Dale Wilson, and the Holy Nativity Quilters for donating items for the Live Auction; as well as Pastor Jason and Pastor Ashley for offering their
homes and cooking skills as bidding items; and those who donated wine and offered to make desserts of the
month. And thank you all—too many to name—who donated items for the Silent Auction. Thank you also to Tina Haugstad and Nancy Dickinson for cooking and donating lunch at the Live Auction and to Chris Daniels for
MC’ing the Live Auction. A big thank you to Wendy Grimes and the entire youth ministry team for doing such an
excellent job organizing both auctions. And thank you to our youth and their families who diligently worked both
events. Finally, thank you to all who bought items and donated money—it is your enormous generosity that has
made these summer trips possible for our youth. The incredible support this congregation has for its youth has
been both humbling and inspiring. God bless you all and thank you so much!
Peace, Youth Intern Brian
Be sure to check the “Lost and Found” box in the closet-area at the north end of the narthex. Any items still there June 1st will
2
be donated to the church garage sale.
Holy Nativity Lutheran Church Council Meeting Minutes - Tuesday, April 21st, 2015
Call to Order: 7:00pm by Dennis Dalen
Devotions: Mary Lazerine
Secretary’s Report: March 2015 Minutes, M/S/Approved.
Communications Received: Thank you’s from LSS of MN and PRISM.
Treasurer’s Report:
March Plan
March Actual
March
Difference
YTD
Plan
YTD
Actual
General Fund Giving
Operating Fund Income
Operating Fund Expenses
Operating Surplus/Deficit
34,780
38,970
-43,338
-4,368
33,821
38,621
-43,482
-4,861
-959
-349
-144
-493
96,690
134,460
-128,613
5,847
90,941
129,034
-121,836
7,198
General Savings Account
Balance
6,900
YTD Difference
-5,749
-5,426
6,777
1,351
M/S/Approved to send the Living in the Promise / Liberia Support funds of $1,962 to an ELCA support ministry
in Liberia. M/S/Approved to accept Treasurer’s report.
OLD BUSINESS: Building Use Committee – continues. Church Marketing Team – collecting data through
surveys and get-to-know Pastor Ashley gatherings; Wildfire is performing interviews within the congregations
and within the community (“Inreach/Outreach”). Full church inventory – coming along.
NEW BUSINESS: May Congregational Meeting – M/S/Approved to set for Sunday, May 17th – potluck at
11:35am, meeting at 12:15pm. Nominating Committee - Jason as Senior Pastor, Dennis as President and departing member. Open seats: One council seat (to replace Dennis as President), One youth seat (nominated by youth
committee). Returning members: Kristin Daniels, Mark Eggert, Rick Grimes.
PASTOR REPORTS: Pastor Jason: Synod Assembly May 15th-16th, Sunday worship at 9:30am Memorial
Day through Labor Day. M/S/Approved. Thank you to Dennis for his leadership. Pastor Ashley: Getting settled in! Installation is this Sunday.
MINISTRY TEAM REPORTS: WAM: Blessing of the Bikes – May 31st. Chalk Art Festival – June 20th.
Outreach: Possibility of Super Adults with Wildfire congregations. Habitat week is June 15th-19th.
Closing prayer by Pastor Ashley at 7:55pm. M/S/Approved to adjourn.
THRIVENT BUILDS WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND HOLY NATIVITY
“Everyone deserves decent, simple, affordable housing”
It’s that time of year again! We are gearing up for another exciting Habitat for Humanity project this summer. We will be building a single
-family home at 3208 Grimes Ave. N in Robbinsdale. Holy Nativity is working the week of June 15 th-19th. Thrivent Financial will pay 50%
of the cost of this home, 40% will be paid by Habitat for Humanity and the remaining 10% will come from individual donations from local
congregations such as Holy Nativity.
Here is how you can become involved and help make a family’s dream of home ownership come true.
Volunteer to help build at the worksite
Volunteer to help prepare and serve lunches
Give monetary donations to help meet the local church’s goal of raising 10% of the cost.
Checks should be made out to (TWIN CITIES HABITAT FOR HUMANITY) with the site address on the memo line
{3208 Grimes Ave. N}
Kick-Off Sunday is on May 10th. Please visit the display in the narthex to see the house plan, photos, information, donation envelopes
and sign- up sheets. Any questions please see Dave Folkerds or call him at 763-545-4429.
Check out the new Property and Custodian Request forms! You will find them in the Narthex in the wall holder. If you know of
something that either the custodians or property team need to do, simply fill out a form and drop it in the office. Examples:
3
“out of toilet paper in the men’s room” or “need help setting up tables for the Salad Supper”. It’s that easy!
The annual GARAGE-PARKING LOT-UNIQUETHRIFT SALE will be making its appearance again in
2015!! The income will be supporting the Men’s
Group and the Youth Ministry.
Drop off beginning May 31st. Sale
set-up will be June 1st, 2nd and 3rd
and the SALE will be Thursday,
June 4th and Friday, June 5th from
8:00am—5:00pm
and
Saturday,
June 6th from 8:00am to noon.
Please...NO televisions, computers,
microwaves, tires, printers, paints/chemicals or Nordic
Tracks.
Call the office (763-545-1647) for more information or
if you have items to be picked up.
If you personally
have experienced
the death of a
loved one or a friend, you are invited to attend the
upcoming GriefShare ministry seminar series.
GriefShare is a 12 week course that uses a series of
videos to stimulate conversations to help participants work through their grief. GriefShare seminars
are sponsored by Bonfire Ministry and are open to
anyone who is experiencing grief. The GriefShare
ministry seminars are held at St. James Lutheran
Church on Sunday afternoons, from 4:00 pm – 6:00
pm. The next GriefShare series begins on Sunday,
May 31, 2015. There is a $10.00 fee for the GriefShare seminars, and scholarships to cover this fee
are available. For more information and/or to register for this upcoming session, please call Debbie
Haney, the Bonfire Ministry Parish Nurse @ 612408-2049.
Have you ever had a brilliant idea (or
two!) about something Holy Nativity
should be doing as a fun event?
Well then, please consider joining the Parish Life Ministry team! Parish Life is responsible for the Rally Day
carnival, movie nights, Advent event, Bike to Church
Sundays, Game Night, Twins games, theater outings
and more! The team meets the second Tuesday of
every month at 7:00pm (child care is provided) and
we would love to have you join us. The more people
we have, the more events we can plan, put on and
enjoy! Someone from Parish Life may be contacting
you personally, so please be ready to say YES!
PASTORAL ACTS IN APRIL
Baptism: 4/26
Gabriella Karen Gaasland
The 2015 flower chart is posted across from the
office. Please consider contributing Sunday altar flowers. $25 for flowers or plant. Please
sign up! Only a few dates left!
The Outreach Committee would like to thank everyone
who donated to the Crisis Nursery. We received clothing,
diapers, toothbrushes, and batteries (to name a few). An
additional thanks to the Quilting Club for the donation
of quilts; these quilts are given to children to take home
with them. Thank you again for helping make the Crisis
Nursery Drive a success!!
“To my Holy Nativity Family: I would just like to say
Thank You for all the prayers, concerns and acts of kindness you have sent to Pete and myself. And the Christmas card, Valentine, Easter card and Easter lily all meant
so much. I miss you.”
~ ~ Judi Senty
“A prayer of thanks for the wonderful people of Holy
Nativity who were so supportive with prayers, cards, calls
and visits during my recent surgery.”
~ ~ Pastor Warren Jorenby
Thanks to the following people who helped with the inventory: Mike Boursier, Wendy Birkholz, Theo Birkholz,
Jon Peterson, Bill Hartman, Gaylen Bunce, Ray Johnson,
Wayne Frederickson, Jerry Gaasland, Kirby Miller, Doris
Brateng and Caroline Haase. We knew we could count
on you!
Game Night on Friday, May 15th
Come join your adult friends for an evening of
socializing and fun with your friends. Coffee is
provided and please bring a snack to share. We
play cards (bridge, 500), dominoes, cribbage,
rummy cube or bring your favorite board game.
The activities begin at 7:00pm and usually end
about 9:00pm. PLEASE JOIN US!
Call Barb Johnson (763-536-1413) or the church office
with questions.
This will be the last game night until fall. Watch the newsletter for the exciting new format!
The next KidPack bag packing is Tuesday,
K
May 26th at 4:00pm. Please join us!
AC Contact Deborrah Mickelson (763-559-7665) or
P
D
Dorothy Jorenby (763-315-0220) with any quesKI
tions.
A Summer Special Music Sign-up Sheet is
on the kiosk. Please sign up to sing or play
special music this summer! Contact Iver if
an accompanist or other assistance is needed.
4
PRISM FOOD SHELF, AND CLOTHING
PRISM—People Responding In Social Ministry
730 Florida Ave So, Golden Valley, MN 55426
PRISM FOODSHELF, CLOTHING and so much more!! Check
out the PRISM website www.prismmpls.org, or "like" PRISM's
Facebook page or contact Pat Harwell @ 763-544-7186
or [email protected]
MN FOODSHARE - PRISM received 56,675 pounds of food and
$143,349 during the March drive! Thanks again for your support.
MAY - MOVE-IN KITS PRISM's housing program is helping
families find stable homes at a rapid pace. This month we will
collect items to help these families get started. Please consider a
donation of: laundry and dish soap, toilet paper, paper towels, all
purpose cleaner, sponges, toilet brushes, towels, shower curtains
and rings, bathroom rugs, brooms and dustpans, mops, buckets,
laundry basket, wall clock with batteries.
REMEMBER THE SHOP FOR CHANGE - The thrift shop at
PRISM is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so stop in for a look next time
you are in the area (just a couple blocks east of Menards on 394).
Also remember to donate your "good stuff" like newer clothes and
lightly used household goods.
DID YOU KNOW??? PRISM has a FREE employment program
that meets Mondays at 6:00pm at PRISM, with a rotation of topics
like Resume Writing, Interviewing Skills, Linkedin/Online Help,
Networking Skills. This is a place for PRISM participants and
other members of the community to get specialized assistance
with volunteer job coaches. Call 763-529-1454 for more information.
2nd ANNUAL TASTE OF THE BURBS GALA - MAY 28 again
at the Metropolitan in Golden Valley. Holy Nativity will be donating a "We Love Campfires" Basket for the Silent Auction at the
Gala. Please contact Pat Harwell (763-544-7186) if you would be
willing to donate: portable bonfire, marshmallow roasting sticks,
duraflame logs, firestarters, book of campfire songs, etc.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - Volunteers are always needed
in the Food Shelf and Shop for Change, especially as PRISM tries
to increase its service hours. Do you have business experience?
Volunteer to help with the Employment Program. Contact Eleanor
Trenary (763-432-4210, [email protected]) and she will
find just the right spot for you!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The following members have recently had a change of
address/phone number/e-mail:
Jan Hausman, Iver & Cresta Hubert, Mary Lou Saari.
Please contact the office to get their updated information.
BOOK LOOK!
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near
the Museum of Natural History, where he works
as the master of its thousands of locks. When
she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize
it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is
twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris. The father and daughter
flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo where MarieLaure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the
sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s
most valuable and dangerous jewel.
In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows
up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they
find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing
these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a
place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special
assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of
the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through
the heart of the war and, finally into Saint-Malo, where his
story and Marie-Laure’s converge.
“Does the world need yet another novel about WWII? It
does when the novel is as inventive and beautiful as this
one….the author’s focus is on the interior lives of his two
characters. Beautifully written, with the pace of a thriller,
Doerr imagines the unseen grace, the unseen light that, occasionally, surprisingly, breaks to the surface even in the
worst of times.” (The New Yorker)
GO GREEN AND GET HEALTHY!
“BIKE TO CHURCH SUNDAYS” are May 31st,
June 28th, July 26th and August 30th. May
31st will also have a blessing of the bikes during worship!
The Treble Tones Celebrate 50 Years!
50 years ago a group of women from the northwest metro
area began meeting to enjoy time singing together. This
group became known as the Treble Tones. The group has
grown from mom’s supporting each other in song, to inviting
all women to sing together giving joy to others at community
events, and entertaining at assisted living centers.
Each spring we entertain family, friends and the community
with a variety of music brightening their day. For the past
several years Treble Tones have donated proceeds from
our shows to SafeJourney, a domestic abuse advocacy program affiliated with North Memorial Hospital.
Treble Tones will perform Fifty Years Strong! AwardWinning Songs, on Saturday, May 9th at 7:00pm at Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 State Highway 7, Hopkins,
MN. Tickets are $15 at the door, children ages 5-12 are
$7. Pre-sale tickets are available from any Treble Tones
member for $12. See us at www.facebook.com/trebletones.5
Sunday Forums for May
5/3: Behind the Pastor: Pastor Ashley!
5/10: “Sex Trafficking 101”
Presentation from Breaking Free’s
Outreach Director, Joy Freidman
(Breaking Free is one of the nation’s
leading organizations working
with victims and survivors of sex
trafficking and prostitution.)
Congratulations to this year’s Confirmands!
Eva Birkholz
Isaac Boehmer
Ally Hainlin
Emily Houle
Courtney Howe
Macenzie Kopka
Macy Norberg
Anabela Torres
These students will be confirmed at the Affirmation of Baptism service on May 3rd, at
12:30pm. All are welcome!
May 10th is the last day of Sunday Forum until next fall.
Confirmation Notes:
Youth Forums for May
Here is the class schedule for the remainder
of the year:
5/3: Christian Ponderings
5/10: “Sex Trafficking 101”
Presentation from Breaking Free’s
May 10th is the last day of Youth Forum until
next fall.
No Plant Sale This Year!
We will not be having a Youth Plant
Fundraiser this year. We are so
thankful and humbled for the generosity from everyone at Holy Nativity, we thought we would let the
congregation take a fundraiser
break!
Senior High Stuff!
5/10: Coffee at Caribou w/Brian! (9:30)
5/31: Brunch w/Brian (10:30 @ Bruegger’s)
Final Coffee and Brunch of the year (Pastor
Ashley will be at the May 31st brunch!).
Sunday School Notes:
May 10th is the last day of Sunday School—
thanks to all the teachers, parents, and kids
for another great year!
Also, a big thank you to Kara Holt for accompanying our music this year!
Sunday, May 3rd, 12:30pm:
Affirmation of Confirmation Service
(9th grade class is confirmed!)
May 6th: Final Wildfire Event will take place
at Cross of Glory (5929 Brooklyn Blvd,
Brooklyn Center).
Details are still being
worked out; Kari will email information as
soon as it becomes available
Thanks to all the Confirmation leaders and
kids for another fantastic year!
Choristers in May!
5/13: Rehearsal 6:30-7:30pm
5/17: Sing at 8:30am and 10:30am services
Choristers will not meet over the summer.
Please bring in your Box Tops and
Soup Labels as soon as possible
so they can be handed out before
school lets out for the summer! Thanks!
VBS July 27th-31st!
This year’s Vacation Bible School week is July
27th-31st.
Information/Registration forms are available
in the Narthex and online. We will need
class leaders and helpers for the Preschool
class, as well as help during the lunch hour
with the grade school kids. Please contact
Kari Johnson if you have questions or are
able to help ([email protected]).
6
AD
PAGE
7
Holy Nativity Lutheran Church, ELCA
3900 Winnetka Avenue North
New Hope, Minnesota 55427
(763) 545-1647 Fax: 763-545-8339
Email: [email protected]
Web site: www.holynativity.net
May 2015
Volume 58 (Issue 5) Issued Monthly
Celebrating 50+ Years!
NON PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Twin Cities MN
Permit No. 2285
MAY MISSION
OFFERING IS DESIGNATED TO
PINE RIDGE INDIAN
RESERVATION
Mission offerings for Pine Ridge help to
defray the costs for the mission trip to
Pine Ridge.
HOLY NATIVITY STAFF
Senior Pastor Jason Wahlstrom
(H) 763-767-3051
[email protected]
Associate Pastor Ashley Updegraff-Balow
[email protected]
Iver Hubert
Director of Music Ministry
[email protected]
Lisa Baker
Organist & Administrative Asst.
[email protected]
Linda Lien
Coordinator of Parish Life
[email protected]
Kari Johnson
Christian Ed. Director
[email protected]
Kara Holt
Financial Coordinator
[email protected]
Brian Johnson /Tom Wiblishauser
Custodians
Kelli Hovland
Nursery Coordinator
[email protected]
Brittany Anderson
Childcare Director
(HNCCCC Office) 763-591-0681
[email protected]
General Message
[email protected]
Our thoughts and prayers go out to:
~ Caroline Haase and family upon the death
of her sister Marcelline Bietelspacher
~ Alice Loddigs and family upon the death
of her brother David Hofstad
~ Roger Peterson and family upon the death of his sister Estelle Merriman
~ Jayne Younghans and family upon the death of her
mother P. Gene Johnson
“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be
comforted” ~~ Matthew 5:4
Our thoughts and prayers continue for
those in military service overseas:
Alex Bjorkstrand, Michael Ditty, Matt
Eittreim, Lucas Gates
Please call the church office with updates, or to add a
loved one serving in the military to this list.
8