March 2015 - Christ Church Lutheran
The COURIER March 2015 Volume 58, No. 3 Welcome to the Light Lenten Vespers Sunday 8 March | 4:30pm 2015 COMMUNITY PARTNER Lutheran Summer Music Scholarship Fund The Elm Ensemble & Christ Church Choir Paul Westermeyer, guest conductor On the third Sunday in Lent, we gather in a service of evening prayer to sing a timeless liturgy and hear a performance of Bach’s Cantata 12, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen. Clara Osowski alto | Roy Heilman tenor Aaron Larson bass The Elm Ensemble performs the music of early Lutheranism in liturgical contexts. Paul Westermeyer is Professor of Church Music Emeritus at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, where he directed the Master of Sacred Music degree program. He was Visiting Professor of Church Music at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music and Editor of The Hymn. A freewill offering for the Lutheran Summer Music Scholarship Fund (see right) will be received during the service. Molly Boes, who worships at Christ Church, works with this wonderful program—a way for us to help make a difference in the lives of talented young people. Founded in 1981, the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival (LSM) is a four-week residential training and performance program for gifted high school students. Each summer, LSM brings together over 150 band, orchestra, choir, and keyboard students from the US and abroad in a supportive, intentional community. Students in grades 8–12 live together on a college campus and focus on musical excellence, faith formation, and personal growth. Financing a young musician’s journey to LSM is no small endeavor—tuition for LSM 2014 was $3,195. Last summer, LSM awarded more than $145,000 in need-based assistance and merit-based scholarships to more than 80% of its students. Learn more about this important ministry at www.lutheransummermusic.org. Midweek Lenten Worship Show me your ways, O Lord Wednesdays, March 4, 11, 18, and 25 Paul Westermeyer 11:30am Morning Prayer in the chapel followed by lunch at noon 7:00pm, Evening Vespers in the chapel preceded by supper at 6:00pm Christ Church Lutheran Announcements 3244 34th Avenue South Retirees Minneapolis, MN 55406 No regular meeting this month. Come to Lenten midweek service at 11:30am Wednesday 25 February followed by soup lunch. 612.721.6611 [email protected] www.christchurchluth.org A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America A Reconciling in Christ Congregation | A National Historic Landmark Office Hours Monday–Friday 9:00 am–2:00pm Funeral Long-time member Edna Bull passed away Wednesday 28 January. The family is planning a spring memorial service. Worship Sunday 9:30 am, followed by fellowship Educational forum 11:15am–12:15pm September through June Staff Pastors Pastor Kristine Carlson Pastor Erik Haaland Cantors Pastor Robert Farlee Pastor Martin Seltz Office Stephanie Okoneski Facilities Chuck Merrell Courier Editor Josh Messner Council Officers President Bob Victorin-Vangerud Vice President Hilary Gebauer Secretary Pat Baehler Treasurer Colin Watkins Council Members Marcus Nooney Kevin Reuther Luann Skrivseth Will Stark 2 Helping Hands March/April John & Birgitte Christianson Daniel Holmgren Harvey & Cheryl Leuning Melody Pauling Howard & Erla Polsfuss Joanne & Martin Seltz Cliff Siewert Gary & Luann Skrivseth and family Dick & Elayne Strom Robert Swanson Gary & Janice Wahlstrom If you are named in the above helping hands chart, please help with Sunday morning coffee fellowship in the form of set up, clean up, or treats. Contact Mary Bode or Joanne Seltz for details. [email protected] | [email protected] Finances Update The finance committee wants to provide you with the most current information about our congregation’s finances. In addition to other communications, we will provide a quick report on the state of our operating budget in each issue of The Courier. The biggest news in the world of Christ Church finances this month is the installment of a new treasurer, Colin Watkins. He was installed on 15 February but has been working behind the scenes with outgoing treasurer Melody Pauling for the preceding six months to ensure a smooth transition. Be sure to say thank you to Melody for her dedicated service and introduce yourself to Colin if you haven’t met him yet. as of January 31, 2015 Member Giving/Envelopes Other Income Total Income Total Expenses Total Surplus (or Deficit) ACTUAL BUDGET (1 mo.) DIFFERENCE $20,695.00 $25,000.00 ($4,305.00) $2,158.38 $6,623.82 ($4,465.44) $22,853.38 $31,623.82 ($8,770.44) $28,968.52 $31,625.20 ($2,656.68) ($6,115.14) ($1.38) ($6,113.76) Mardi Gras jazz concert a success. More on page 6. 3 of sturdy hand rails at the main church doors. They are designed as temporary solutions to help us discern a more permanent installation. We want to know what you think. Please talk to a member of the preservation committee or project management task force about your thoughts on the location, size and design of this new addition. Many thanks to Bob Davis for arranging for the fabrication of temporary hand rails. The finished product will be funded by the Second Century Campaign. From the February 17 Council Meeting This was the first meeting of the 2015 church council. New members are Marcus Nooney and Colin Watkins. We began with devotions, using the devotion for Ash Wednesday from the Grace and Peace Lenten devotional book that is available to all households in the congregation. It was suggested that when attending to any Lenten discipline like devotions, we keep in mind that others among us are also keeping the discipline. Committee members: Aaron Amosson, Mary Bode, Bob Davis, Jody McGuire, Joanne Seltz, Rita Schoenike, Will Stark, and Bob Victorin-Vangerud. We discussed our recent retreat and what we learned. We read together chapter 12 of our church constitution, outlining the responsibilities of the congregation council, one of which is establishing goals for the congregation. In light of that responsibility we spent a little time discussing goals. We identified two at this point: (1) integrate new members as fully as possible into the life of the congregation and (2) make our communication even more nimble and up to date. This last goal includes communicating within the congregation about opportunities to be involved as well as communicating to the broader community about who we are and what is going on here. We will continue this conversation at future meetings. Bottom The council voted to set up a task force with the purpose of developing a plan for a music program for children. This task force would investigate such programs in other congregations and discuss with parents here what they would like to see happen and what kind of format would work with family schedules. A Play about Sex Trafficking in Minnesota Saturday, March 14 at 7:00pm Minnehaha Academy, 3100 West River Pkwy Written by members of Blank Slate Theatre in partnership with the Interfaith Children’s Advocacy Network If the demand for sex trafficking were to end, would the supply end too? Recently defected from a sex trafficking ring, Amber Cregg has immunity and a story to tell. Will she cooperate and aid the side of justice, or will she continue her deep allegiance to her former pimp? We received reports from our pastors and from various committees and task forces. There is much good work going on. We adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer. Something New at Our Front Door The production of this play is sponsored by Christ Church Lutheran along with neighboring congregations, the Longfellow Faith Forum, and the Longfellow Community Council. Learn about this important issue affecting our community. The play is free and open to the public. Freewill donations will be accepted. A panel discussion featuring experts on the issue of human trafficking in Minnesota will follow the performance. We don’t want stepping into our sanctuary’s front door to be an obstacle. We have heard from some long-time members who find making the one step up or down from the main sanctuary doors to the arcade to be a challenge without the aid of handrails. We’ve also watched visitors who are unfamiliar with our building stumble at the surprise step. In the coming weeks you will see our attempts to remedy this problem by the installation 4 2015 Minnesota Foodshare March Campaign Once again, the mission committee will sponsor a March foodshare drive for Community Emergency Service (CES). This year we are collecting food, hygiene products, baby supplies, and cash donations. Look for details in upcoming bulletin announcements. From the CES website: CES served over 70,000 client visits last year giving over half a million pounds of food. But the need continues. Hunger is hidden: seniors quietly skip meals so that they can buy life-sustaining medications, parents quietly skip meals so their children can eat, and hungry children struggle in school. One in ten Minnesotans—more than 500,000 residents—experience food insecurities on a regular basis. Congratulations, Rita Schoenike After working at the VA Hospital for twenty-seven years—most recently managing the Workers Compensation Program—Rita retired on January 31, 2015. In last year's March campaign, 19,946 pounds of food and hygiene items were collected and $81,869 was raised. This year our goal is to collect 25,000 pounds of food and hygiene items and raise $100,000. Rita is a lifelong member of Christ Church Lutheran. Best wishes for a happy retirement. —Mission Committee Sermon on the Steps, 8 February 2015 5 the concert, allowing all of the offering collected to go to LSS. In addition, we had media sponsorship from Jazz 88 FM and special promotion by the Longfellow Market. Thanks to all these generous sponsors. Thanks to all our volunteers—especially Roger Gomoll, who had the vision for this event and worked tirelessly to make it happen. Mardi Gras Concert a Success Thanks to all who helped make the Mardi Gras Jazz Concert on 15 February such a wonderful success. Despite the cold weather, we had a great turnout with many new people visiting from the neighborhood and beyond. The program featured some of the best jazz musicians in the area—and we raised over $3,600 for Lutheran Social Service Metro Homeless Youth Services! Finally, thanks to Mary Brown, Luther Johnson, LSS Congregational Relations, and the Christ Church Mission Committee for putting together a fabulous Mardi Gras reception—including New Orleans-style King Cake! Because of the generosity of many at Christ Church (including a gift from the Friends of Christ Church Lutheran) we were able to fully cover the expenses of 6 Godly Play Here are Chloe, Tatum, Matias, and Isis in the Godly Play class on Sunday 22 February. Donna Lindberg was the storyteller. She told the children the story of the Holy Family. Donna said that, after listening to the story, “the children got out pieces from other Bible stories— the Ur and Haran blocks, the chain from the Exodus, some stones and also some of the people of God—and had a wonderful exchange going about burying people in the desert and building statues with rocks and Mary having a baby and donkeys and sheep and Christ dying on the cross. It was amazing.” Yi-ru ChenSarkanen was the doorkeeper that Sunday. We are grateful for the way our children and teachers are taking these Bible stories to heart—and their relationships with one another, too—and forming a really fine Godly Play experience. March Birthdays 3/7 3/8 3/9 3/10 3/11 3/12 3/13 3/14 3/16 3/18 3/19 Julia Boser Gloria Sutherland Joel Eisfelder Shirley Miller Michael Bergquist Jason Wyatt Ted Buegel Greg Madson Denise Morelock Jody McGuire Renee Bergquist Wendy Noakes Margaret Graebner Pat Baehler Loralei Brekhus 7 3/30 3/21 3/22 3/23 3/24 3/26 3/27 3/28 3/30 Kristine Browder Christine Bier Vivian Bartsch Ann Davis Pete Gawreluk Virginia Buegel Howard Polsfuss Sally Messner June Woestehoff Max McGlothlin Phyllis Mattill Mary Lou Doll Andrew Hokkanen Avis Swenson Welcome, New Members Betsy Ruth Byers was born in Shakopee in September of 1979. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies with an emphasis in painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a BA from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, and her k–12 Art Education Licensure from Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul. Betsy is currently an Assistant Professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter. Before arriving at Gustavus, she taught at MCAD, Saint Catherine University, and Saint Cloud State University. Betsy’s abstract paintings have been shown both nationally and internationally. She has exhibited at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, De Vos Art Museum, Hillstrom Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Intermedia Arts, University of Wisconsin River Falls, the Soap Factory, Burnet Gallery, Augsburg College, and the University of Minnesota–Morris. Betsy was featured in the film Painting the Place Between, produced in 2013 by Carbon Mouse Studios and is represented by the Kolman and Pryor Gallery. Other than painting, her passions include spending time with her son and husband, as well as hiking, traveling and being “up north.” Betsy, Gus, and Matthew Byers Matthew Byers is a practicing architect and principal at PLAAD, llc, a multidisciplinary design firm based in Stillwater. Prior to helping found PLAAD, Matt worked at a number of architectural firms in Minneapolis, including Architectural Alliance, 20 Below Studio, and James Dayton Design. Matt serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Environmental Fund and as an adjunct instructor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Architecture, teaching design studio and courses in furniture design and the history of ornament. Matt graduated from the Yale School of Architecture in 2006 and, after a 14,000-mile summer road trip with his wife, Betsy, visiting many of our great nation’s national parks, moved to Minneapolis with Betsy so that she could pursue her Master of Fine Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Matt studied physics and swam at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Matt and Betsy met while studying in Florence and London and later worked together as summer camp counselors at Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp in Amery, Wisconsin. Born in Englewood, Colorado, in 1979, Matt has also lived in Eugene, Oregon, and Mukilteo, Washington, a small town north of Seattle. Matt has a passion for backcountry backpacking, hiking, camping, skiing, swimming, collecting rocks and minerals, carpentry and woodworking, and weekend coffee and walks with his wife and son. Carmen O’Halloran, Jason Weber, Alvin Weber Raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Carmen came to Minnesota to attend Macalester College and then the University of Minnesota Law School. She now works for the State of Minnesota as a law clerk to a judge at the 8 Hennepin County Juvenile Justice Center. In her spare time, Carmen is an improviser with a group called the Theater of Public Policy. Second Century Hailing from Elkader, Iowa, Jason attended Central College in Pella. He is a computer programmer at Thrivent Financial. Jason enjoys officiating high school and college sports, particularly football. Campaign Kick-Off Pancake Breakfast Sunday 1 March after worship in the gym reservations requested learn about the campaign Jason and Carmen were married in August 2013 and became parents of Alvin Weber on 1 July 2014. The family lives about a mile west of Christ Lutheran. Jason and Carmen first heard about Christ Church last summer through the church's outreach booth at the Midtown Farmers' Market. They decided to join because of the warm and welcoming people they have met here. all are welcome! Lori Rosenkvist Lori Rosenkvist lives in Saint Paul’s Midway district and enjoys the proximity to the Minnesota State Fair and occasional view of the fireworks. Lori is an editor for Logos Productions, which develops resources for worship and faith formation. Her adult daughter, Claire, lives in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of Saint Paul. S e c o n d Century Campaign 9 Upcoming Educational Forums Sundays 11:15am Lectionary Readings March 2015 Sunday 1 March Second Sunday in Lent Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:23-31 Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38 Sunday 8 March Third Sunday in Lent Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm 19 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 Sunday 15 March Fourth Sunday in Lent Numbers 21:4-9 Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 Ephesians 2:1-10 John 3:14-21 Sunday 22 March Fifth Sunday in Lent Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 119:9-16 Hebrews 5:5-10 John 12:20-33 Sunday 29 March Sunday of the Passion Mark 11:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 Mark 15:1-47 Editor Wanted The communication committee is seeking an editor for The Courier, a monthly communication of our rich life together at Christ Church Lutheran. Familiarity with InDesign is helpful. If you are considering this volunteer position, contact Pastor Carlson. 1 March Second Century Campaign Kick-Off Brunch Celebrate the launch of our new capital campaign with a pancake brunch immediately following worship. It is an invitation to the whole congregation to celebrate our upcoming fundraising efforts for the new organ, for our building, and for mission projects. Receive important information and celebrate the beginning of this community-wide endeavor. 8 March Bach’s Cantata 12 Paul Westermeyer Ahead of this year’s signature Music Series event—Lenten Vespers including Bach’s Cantata 12, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen— come to this forum exploring Bach’s music. Dr. Paul Westermeyer, who will conduct Cantata 12 that evening, will lead us through Bach’s texts and music, with special attention to Bach’s deep theological insights. In addition, Molly Boes will speak briefly about the Lutheran Summer Music Scholarship Fund, the recipient of this event’s freewill offering. 15 March Breaking Free On Saturday 14 March, Christ Church joins neighboring congregations and the Longfellow Faith Forum in sponsoring a local production of Blank Slate Theater’s “Bottom,” a play about sex trafficking in our communities. As a companion learning opportunity, join us for this forum led by Teresa Forliti of Breaking Free, an organization in Saint Paul that works to help women escape this form of modern day slavery. A difficult but important topic with local and state-wide significance. 22 March Images of the Cross Robert Brusic and Tom Mundahl The cross in Christian theology is an object of reverence and beauty. Tom Mundahl and Robert Brusic explore the art of the cross in an illustrated talk called “The Paradox of the Cross— Beauty and Wonder.” Mundahl is a retired Lutheran pastor. Brusic is pastor emeritus of Luther Seminary. 29 March The Psalms of Holy Week Daniel Rinehart The Psalms are the ancient book of prayer and song for both Christians and Jews; when we pray them, we join with the church and synagogue all the way back to the time of Jesus and beyond. Daniel Rinehart, a senior at Luther Seminary, will lead a study of some of the psalms that Jesus and his disciples prayed during Jesus’s last days and hours and that now help to shape our worship during Holy Week. Upcoming Godly Play Our Sunday School program for children ages 3–12 will run Sundays 8, 15, 22, and 29 March at 11:05am. On Sunday 1 March, please come to the Second Century Campaign Kickoff Brunch. 10 11 12 Phyllis Mattill Lucille Buelow Sarah Brunsvold Donna Gawreluk Pat Baehler Pat Baehler Phyllis Mattill Jan Radloff Chuck Merrell Mary Bode Phyllis Mattill Jason Bergquist Lucille Buelow Jason Bergquist Chuck Merrell Jan Radloff Jason Bergquist April 5 April 4 Phyllis Mattill Chuck Merrell Sarah Brunsvold Simo Sarkanen Jason Bergquist Pat Baehler Vigil of Easter - 8:30 pm April 3 Donna Gawreluk Donna Gawreluk Mary Bode Good Friday - 7:00 pm April 2 Maundy Thursday - 7:00 pm March 29 March 22 March 15 Phyllis Mattill Pat Baehler Donna Gawreluk Jan Radloff March 9 Phyllis Mattill Simo Sarkanen March 1 Acolytes Assisting Ministers Date Volunteer Schedule Gene Bruss Melody Pauling Cathy Sieving Max Herzberg Clayton Smith Daniel Holmgren Melody Pauling Crucifer Daniel Holmgren Simo Sarkanen Mary Lou Doll Daniel Rinehart Clayton Smith Sarah Brunsvold Lynn Larson Max Herzberg DeAne Lagerquist Lectors Bob Davis Dick Thompson Dave Kutzbach Michael Jefferis Gary Wahlstrom Dan Mueller Greg Madson Bob Davis Jeff Weispfenning Gary Skrivseth Dick Thompson Dave Kutzbach Gary Wahlstrom Dan Mueller Head Ushers Naomi Bruesehoff Mary Bode Luann Skrivseth Samantha, Chloe Rice Bob & Ute Swenson Mary Bode Luann Skrivseth Kevin Olsen Will Stark Dick Bruesehoff Naomi Bruesehoff Greeters Sunday Worship Services - 9:30 a.m.
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