GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL!
HAVE YOU?
May and June seems a good time for us to
focus on that question: Have you been faithful to your vows? And you might ask, “What vows are you talking about?” Well, within the framework of our church and
community of faith, we have four Holy Rites that include vows or commitments of
faith: Baptism, Confirmation, Church Membership, and Marriage.
First of all, let us remember that God is
gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Jesus reminds us of that in His marvelous
story of the Lost Son in Luke 15. When
the child comes to his senses and realizes how much better off he would be at
home with his father, even if he were only to be a slave, he does return home
and confesses, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no
longer worthy to be called your son.”
And even before he can make his confession (God knows what is in our hearts
– the confessions is what is good for us), the father embraces him and loves
him and brings him fully back into the family again. God loves us enough in Christ to give up His
life for us. God is ever faithful to
us. He has made a covenant with us, a
vow, and God does not, cannot break faith with us. The FACT of the Resurrection, of Easter,
should make that a certainty for us. The
certainty of God’s faithfulness to us should encourage, inspire and free us to
do the loving thing and be up front and responsible to those vows we have made
to God.
In Holy
Baptism, parents
and sponsors take a vow of faith on behalf of the child being baptized. They are given the charge that they will
“faithfully bring their child to the services of God’s house, and teach their
child the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments. As the child grows in years, they are to
place in his/her hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for instruction in the
Christian faith…so that he/she may lead a godly life until the day of Jesus
Christ.” The parents and sponsors are
asked: “Do you promise to fulfill these
obligations?” And they are to faithfully
respond, “I do.”
When that baptized child reaches the teen
years, and having been faithfully instructed by parents and the church in the
Christian faith, he or she is given opportunity to make a public affirmation of
his/her baptism, and “to assume greater responsibility in the life of our
Christian community and in the world.” During
this Rite of Affirmation of Baptism, the child is now asked to speak
for him/herself those words of faith and commitment: “Do you renounce all the forces of evil, the
devil and all his empty promises?” “Do
you believe in God the Father?” “Do you
believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?”
“Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?” “Do you intend to continue in the covenant
(promise) God made with you in Holy Baptism:
to live among God’s faithful people, to hear His Word and share in His
supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ Jesus through word and deed,
to serve all people following the example of our Lord Jesus, and to strive for
justice and peace in all the world?” To
all of these questions, the child responds with a vow, a promise: “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.” These same words of promise and commitment
are asked of ALL of us as members of
Christ’s
In the Rite
of Marriage, we
make a vow of commitment to our loved one, saying, “I take you to be my
wife/husband from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to
come, and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.” “I give you this ring as a sign of my love
and faithfulness.”
So, how are we doing with all of these very
holy and most important promises – as parents, as children, as adults, as
married partners? Are we being faithful to these vows? I think that we need to remember that we are not making
these promises and vows merely to some pastor or to a few people in a
particular church service that day. No,
these are promises that we are making to our most Sovereign God-to the King of
kings and Lord of lords. We had better
take these vows very seriously, or we risk putting ourselves in jeopardy.
With those baptismal vows, as parents, we
need to remember them in the context of Jesus’ teaching to us: “Let
the children come to me and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that
the Kingdom of heaven belongs” (Mt.
19:14).
With those vows of Confirmation
or Affirmation or membership, we are called upon to take them seriously, for as
Jesus’ brother James taught us, if our faith in Christ Jesus does not inspire
us to words and deeds of love for God and for other human beings, then it is a
dead faith and we are then in danger of an eternal separation from God.
With our marriage vows, we need to remember
that these are vows made not only to a loved one but also to God and to the
whole assembled community. If we break
faith with those vows, it is not merely a sing against our spouse, but against
God and against all in the community, and that is no small thing by any means.
To break faith in any of these vows, we are
not dealing, as Martin Luther would put it, with “puppy sins”. These are sins of great
magnitude, for these are key parts of our faith in God and our loyalty to the
Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
If we are not going to HONOR these vows
with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, then we had
better step back and take some time to think seriously about what we are doing,
and not just trivialize it all. Yes, in
Christ Jesus God has been faithful to us.
Let us seek, day by day, to ever be faithful to God, through Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Pastor John
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR HOLY COMMUNION
May 2 Fourth Sunday of Easter
(Confirmation
at Hayward
May 30 Day of Pentecost
THANKS FOR THE
SURPRISE!
Dear Members of
the Parish:
Just a word of thanks to all who joined
with Sharon in “the conspiracy” for my 60th birthday celebration on
April 18th. It was truly a
surprise, including the many cards and reflections I received from so
many. Sharon had even “snuck word” to a host
of family members and also people in
our former parishes. She arranged
for them to send cards to our son’s place in Mankato so that I wouldn’t “catch
on.” Thus, I was truly flooded with
cards and greetings from many dozens of people.
The evening surprise was to have Sharon’s
brother and wife and their son, Jeff and family knocking on our door in the
late afternoon. Sharon had arranged for
them to stop by on their way back from another family event in Iowa so we could
have supper together and she had kept all of that hidden as well.
By the way, if you see a small metal garden
windmill in our back yard this summer, that was my other surprise gift for my
birthday.
Thanks to all, including my dear wife and
family, for a most wonderful day of celebration. There definitely were NOT any moments of
“gloom, despair and agony on me.”
Pastor John
LENTEN OFFERING DISBURSED
The Offering Received after expenses from
our Lenten suppers came to $800.49. This
was divided evenly between Salvation Army-Austin, Salvation Army-Albert Lea,
Nepal Social Service Fund and World Hunger,
OPEN TO ALL
A member recently
asked me about the scripture reference in Matthew (27), Mark (15) and Luke (23)
concerning that point in Jesus’ crucifixion and death when the VEIL of the
Temple is torn in two from top to bottom.
What was that all about? Why did
this happen?
To understand
this, we need to go back to Moses and the time of the Exodus and the wanderings
of the people of Israel in the wilderness.
During that time, God instructed Moses and the people to build a
portable Temple that was called “The Tabernacle of God.” This Tabernacle was like a huge tent – sturdy
wooden poles over which woven fabric was placed on the top and sides. Inside this tent the space was divided into
two rooms. The larger room was called
“The Holy Place,” and the smaller room was called “The Holy of Holies.” In the smaller room, the famous Ark of the
Covenant was placed. The Ark was a
rather elaborately decorated gold-covered wooden box that contained the two
tablets of stone upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. The people believed that this Ark symbolized
for them the presence of God in their midst.
This Holy Ark was
placed into the smaller room the Holy of Holies. Then a heavy fabric curtain was hung between
this room and the larger room. In
Exodus, this curtain or veil is described as having cherubim or angel-like
figures upon it. The curtain is blue,
purple and scarlet, made of fine-twined linen. It was hung by clasps from four pillars of
acacia wood. When the people moved to a
different place in the wilderness, the Tabernacle was taken down, packed up and
moved to the new site. The Veil was used
as a covering over the Ark during its transit.
Since this room was thought to contain the
very presence of God, it needed to be “veiled” or closed off from being seen by
the people, for no one could look at the very presence of God and survive,
except those specially designated priests of the tribe of Levi. Moses and Aaron were of the tribe of Levi.
Once the people
of Israel settled again in Palestine, the Tabernacle was no longer needed. Various Temples were built, and the Ark was
known to have been at the Temples of Gilgal, Bethel and Shiloh. King David eventually brought the Ark to
Jerusalem, with the intent of building a Temple there, but God did not let him
do that. After his death, David’s son
Solomon was given authority to build the first grand Temple of Jerusalem, where
the Ark was placed. After the
Babylonians invaded and destroyed Jerusalem in 587 B.C., the Ark was apparently
secreted away to Egypt for safekeeping, but then forever lost. But Temples built after that, including the
famous and glorious Temple built by King Herod, continued to have the Holy of
Holies, the room that symbolized the very presence of God. The Ark became an elaborate throne chair to
signify God’s presence.
By the time of
the building of Herod’s Temple, the practice was that only the High Priest
could enter the Holy of Holies, and only during the Jewish festival of the Day
of Atonement. The High Priest went into
the very presence of God as a representative of all the people, to receive
God’s declaration of forgiveness and of being put right or being made “at one”
with God. That Day also involved the
special sacrifice to God of two goats; one goat was killed and sacrificed to
God on behalf of the sins of all the people, but the other goat was set free to
go off into the wilderness, a symbol of the sins of the people being lost to
God. Thus, the term of the “scapegoat”.
If we understand
that the Holy of Holies in the Temple was the meeting place of God with man,
then we can understand better why it was so necessary that the VEIL of the
Temple be torn from top to bottom and split open, thus exposing this place of
God to the full view of all. The writer
to the Hebrews (10) reminds us that God has provided the perfect sacrifice for
the Rite of Atonement, and that is his own Son, Jesus Christ. Christ is the perfect Lamb (goat) who took
upon himself the sins of the whole world, then and now, and took them with him
into death. At that point, there was no
longer any reasons for any Veil or barrier between God and ourselves. The Veil had to go, for the meeting place of
God with all humans is now open to all.
Indeed, the Holy Temple of God is no longer in any geographic place but
is personified in Christ and is in our hearts as Christ Jesus is in our hearts
by God’s grace through faith.
PARENTS OF COLLEGE GRADUATES
If you have students who are graduating
from a Technical School or College, please inform the church office. Thank you.
HAYWARD-TRONDHJEM
JOINT COUNCIL MEETING
April 7, 2004, 7:00 p.m.
The Parish Joint Council meeting was held
Wednesday, April 7, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the parsonage.
Present:
Obert Haldorson, Pat Frydenlund, Vickie Storlie, Steve Kraushaar, Keith
Iverson, Dean Lukes, Sheldon Lukes, Randy Eggum, Doug Thompson, Pastor John.
Randy Eggum called the meeting to
order. The agenda was discussed and
approved.
Secretary’s Minutes:
Obert Haldorson
made a motion to accept the Minutes from the December 17, 2003 Joint Council
meeting. Randy Eggum seconded the
motion. Motion carried.
ITEMS TO CONSIDER:
I.
CALENDAR:
1.
April 23-24 – Synod Assembly at
the Rochester Civic Center.
2.
May 30th starts the
Summer schedule: Hayward Lutheran at
8:30 a.m. and Trondhjem Lutheran at 10:00 a.m.
3.
June 16th – Joint
Council meeting at Hayward. Cookout at
6:00 p.m. Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Families included in the meal.
4.
June 21-29th – Pastor
John and Sharon on vacation trip to New York for family reunion. June 27th worship leader will be
Ms. Rachel Oldfather, Seminary student.
5.
July 7th – Hayward
Church Council meeting, 7:00 p.m.
6.
July 11th – Parish
joint worship outdoors at
7.
July 11-16th – Hayward
Day Camp with Oakland-Moscow parish.
8.
July 12-17th – Pastor
John on vacation
9.
July 18th – Worship
leader, Ms. Rachel Oldfather
10. July 18-23rd – Pastor will be with the Hayward LYO at Camp
Amnicon for canoe trip
11. July 24-30th – Pastor on vacation
12. July 25th – worship leader, Ms. Rachel Oldfather
13. August 2-6th – Pastor John and Sharon at Continuing
Education Event – Mt. Carmel. Focus on
the Gospel of John with Prof. Marva Dawn.
14. August 15th – Sunday – Trondhjem Lutheran Council meeting
after worship
15. August 18th – Wednesday – Hayward Lutheran Council meeting
at 7:00 p.m.
16. August 22nd – Hayward Lutheran at 8:30 and Trondhjem
Lutheran possibly worshiping at Myrtle.
17. September 12th – Fall Schedule begins: Trondhjem Lutheran at
8:45 a.m. and Hayward Lutheran at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday School Rally Day.
Trondhjem Lutheran has Ice Cream Social at 5:00 p.m.
II.
PARSONAGE:
1.
Driveway. We will work around Severtson’s schedule to
work on the parsonage driveway. Possibly
be done in June.
2.
Windows. Will have the Parsonage Committee look into
obtaining bids for the windows.
3.
Refrigerator. Is 30+ years old; is making noises.
III.
OTHER ITEMS:
1.
The Lenten Offerings were dispersed. $200.12 was given to each of the
following: Austin Salvation Army, Albert
Lea Salvation Army, NEPAL, and World Hunger.
2.
Some more discussion on posting
signs regarding banning fire arms on church premises.
The meeting was
adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Dessert was
served by Pastor John and Sharon following the meetings.
Respectfully
submitted,
Vickie Storlie,
Council Secretary
SYNOD ASSEMBLY REPORT
The 2004 Southeast Minnesota Synod Assembly
of the ELCA was held April 23 & 24th at the Mayo Civic Center in
Rochester. The theme was “Called into
God’s Marvelous Light.”
The Assembly opened with a worship service
with Holy Communion for a group of about 600 delegates and guests, of which we
were honored to be ushers.
Bishop Harold Usgaard opened the Assembly
with an outline of a strategic plan for the future goals of the Synod. “We are excited,” he said. “We are looking forward to these coming
years, discovering what God has planned for us.”
Containing three visions, the strategic
plan calls synod members “to be joyful witnesses”, “to be Christ-centered
disciples”, and “to be strong leaders.”
The keynote speaker was Carmala Aderman,
who is the Assistant to the Bishop of the NW Synod of Wisconsin. She said the U.S. is the third largest
mission field in the world and that churches in the 21st century
will be more like the churches of the 1st century than the 20th
century because of the great diversity of the membership. She said that while businesses, schools and
governments used to coordinate their activities with the churches, that is no
longer the case. An estimated 25 percent
of Americans now work on Sundays and a full 75 percent of the population is
functionally unchurched. She added that
worship should be inspiring but beyond that, churches should be known for their
hospitality and accessibility. She noted
that congregations should not be deterred if some things, like printed worship
guides, cost money. “Good, old-fashioned
Midwestern hospitality costs something,” she said. “But you put out your best when company’s
coming.”
All the churches agreed that they were
experiencing declining membership and were looking for solutions.
Friday afternoon there were various
workshops to attend. Some of the ideas
given to revitalize the church were:
Be
ready for change – Be visible in the community – Value people and their gifts –
Pass on the leadership to younger people in the congregation – be kid friendly
– Reach out to the youth – Act on things instead of “studying them to death” –
The use of new materials-The ELCA is creating a new hymnal called Renewing
Worship.
Saturday consisted of Conference Caucuses
and election of persons going to the National Convention in 2005, Linda Kraushaar of Trondhjem Lutheran is a
delegate from the Blue Earth Conference.
Resolutions were also adopted.
One resolution of note that was passed was that congregations would try
to send one delegate under 30 years old to the Assembly each year to get
younger ones involved and new ideas brought to the Assembly.
More
information about the Assembly, including the Habitat For Humanity house that
was being worked on and was blessed after the Assembly ended Sat., can be found
on the website www.semnsynod.org.
Respectfully submitted,
Doran &
Shirley Gray
TRONDHJEM NEWS
MAY
ASSIGNMENTS
Altar
Guild
Shirley
Kraushaar
Coffee
Servers
May
9 Sunday School
May
23 John & Sandi
Chapek
Communion
Assistant
Shirley Kraushaar
MAY ACOLYTE/USHER
ASSIGNMENTS
May 2
Sean Kraushaar &
Andrew Reese
May 9
Zach Kestner &
Matt Reese
May 16
Jessica Naatz &
Megan Thompson
May 23
Brad Thompson &
Cameron Kolbe
May 30 (10:00 a.m.)
Scott Kraushaar &
Kyle Thompson
TRONDHJEM
MEMORIALS
General
Fund:
In memory of Marvin
Egerdal by M/M Jim Benesh Sr.
In memory lf Elaine
Benesh by Emily Cech
In memory of Mitchell
Berhow by M/M Roger Krause
In memory of Lillian
Rayman by M/M Jim Benesh Sr.
Building
Fund:
In memory of Elaine
Benesh by M/M Emil Prantner
In memory of Elaine
Benesh by Barb Prantner
In memory of Elaine
Benesh by Mary Cox
Altar
Guild:
In memory of Lester
Bothum by Gilma Bothum & family
In memory of Ed
Prantner by Barb Prantner
MAY
BIRTHDAYS
May 4 Bette George
May 8 Linda
Kraushaar
May 13 Reed Thostenson
May 20 Scott Kraushaar
May 26 Elaine Lukes
May 28 Ruth Lukes
Emily
Brekke
May 30 Maxine Amacher
May 31 Elna Severtson
Ethan
Severtson
MAY ANNIVERSARIES
May 18 Irene & Jim
Benesh, Sr.
May 26 Brenda &
Orin Krause
LISA GRADUATES
Congratulations to Lisa
Kraushaar upon receiving her two-year Associate of Arts Degree from Waldorf
College, Forest City, Iowa, on April 17, 2004.
KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN HOSPITALIZED
Jim Skaar at
Rochester
TRONDHJEM WELCA TO HAVE
MOTHER-DAUGHTER LUNCHEON
Mark your calendar for
Saturday, May 1st, 12:00 Noon.
The women of Trondhjem WELCA invite you to a Mother-Daughter Luncheon on that day.
The speakers at the luncheon
will be Georgia Jech and her daughter, Jean.
Georgia is from Elkton and Jean is from the Twin Cities area.
Georgia and Jean will share
the experiences they had while spending Christmas in Thailand.
Come and join us for
fellowship, a delicious lunch, and a
very informative and interesting program.
HAYWARD NEWS
MISSION
STATEMENT
We the people of
VISION STATEMENT
As a community of faith in Jesus Christ, we
will demonstrate care and compassion for one another and also to a world in
much need. God’s Word and the Holy
Sacraments are central to our life of faith.
As we grow and are nourished by these, we will bring the good news of
God’s forgiveness, life and salvation to those around us.
MAY
ASSIGNMENTS
Altar
Guild
Sally Anderson & Carole Eggum
Coffee
Servers
May 2 Confirmation – No Coffee
May 9 Paul & Barb Miller/Sandra Jimenez
May 16 Kendall & Lila Johnson/Faye Nelson
May 23 Nick & Jeanne Schermer
May 30 Vern & Pat Frydenlund/Camilla Frydenlund
Ushers
*Dean & Kellie
Anderson
James & Judy Becker
LaVonne Williams
Terry & Debra Bolinger
Randy, Tammy, Casey &
Cody Eggum
Communion
and Offering Duty
Pat Frydenlund & Keith
Iverson
MAY ACOLYTE/USHER SCHEDULE
May 2 Chelsea
Hill & Caylee Tennis
May 9 Michelle
Learn & Dahna Wright
May 16 Zoe
Hill & Samantha Anderson
May 23 Cecilia
Hill & Josselyn Hill
May 30 (8:30 a.m.) Julie Erickson & Lacy Wright
MAY
ANNIVERSARIES
May 1 Jack &
May 4 Paul &
Diane Ladlie
May 5 Darrell &
VickieStorlie
May 9 Brian &
Nancy Berhow
May 14 Scott & Kim
Woitas
May 23 Dale &
Millie Westland
MAY BIRTHDAYS
May 1
May 3 Mark Bolinger
Alexa
Christensen
May 5 Kay Smith
Mike
Larson
Richard
Olson
May 8 Bob Hill
Kim
Woitas
Joshua
Martin
May 12 Lowell Nelson
May 15 Jacob Berhow
May 21 Carolyn Matson
May 22 Barbara Schroeder
Zoe
Hill
May 23 Cammie Tennis
May 24 Cecilia Hill
May 25 Vern Frydenlund
May 27 Tristan Tufte
Laurel
Heimsness
May 28 Kathie Hanson
May 29 Vickie Storlie
May 30 Doris Westland
Curt
Larson, Jr.
Tammy
Eggum
May 31 Thomas Westland
THANK YOU to Harry and
Beverly Buss-Dunn for the gift to the Building Fund for the purchase of new
thermostats for the church building.
THANK YOU to Kaye
Tufte, Vickie Larson and Louie Larson for sharing their talents in redecorating the
Nursery Room in the Education Unit of the church. Be sure to go down and have a look. It definitely looks like spring in there!
ALTAR
GUILD
NEWS
WOULD
YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE FRESH
FLOWERS?
Fresh flowers for the altar are a beautiful
addition to our worship service. If you
wish to furnish flowers, all you need to do is call the Altar Guild president,
Marlene Thompson (373-3895). The Guild
will purchase and display the flowers for you, and if you wish, will put an
acknowledgement in the Sunday bulletin.
Cost of the flowers is usually about $15. Your generosity and support are greatly
appreciated. Thank you.
FLOWERS
GIVEN BY THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR
WORSHIP ON EASTER SUNDAY
By: In
Memory Of:
Bertha Frydenlund Loved
Ones
Faye Olson Rudy
Olson
Bill, Lucille & Rosalyn Lyle Alan
James Lyle
Noona Barnick Bob,
Chuck & Donnie
Kendall & Lila Johnson Ted
& Floy Bothum
Koren
& Vangie
Johnson
Gwyneth Nelson Curt
& Grand-
daughter,
Kim
Merle Anderson Loved
ones
Polly Noland Loved
ones
Lila Esse Carlyle
Esse
Scott Woitas Family Loved
ones
Vicki & Mike Larson Loved
ones
Bev & Jerry Noland Max
Noland &
Harlan
Wegner
Paul & Barb Miller Dusty
& Sheryl
Rhodes
Dave & Marlene Thompson Loved
ones
Art Sherman & family Hazel
Sherman
Vern & Bev Lunde Loved
ones
LaVonne Williams Loved
ones
Greg & Carolyn Matson Loved
ones
Jean &
Camilla Frydenlund Vic Frydenlund
Paul & Edith Samuelson Loved ones
Lola Matson Loved ones
HAYWARD MEMORIALS
LIFT FUND
In memory of Dorothy Johnson
In memory of Lornie Stots
CEMETERY
FUND
In memory of Marvin Egerdahl
GENERAL
FUND
In memory of Elaine Benesh
BUILDING
FUND
In memory of Andrew and
Indiana Sorenson-Sanderson, Mikael & Doras Christopherson and Irene
Reynolds by Harry & Beverly Buss, Dunn
HAYWARD CHURCH COUNCIL
April 7, 2004,
8:00 p.m.
The
Present: Randy Eggum, Pat Frydenlund, Keith Iverson,
and Pastor John. Absent:
Secretary’s
Report:
Keith Iverson made a motion to accept the Minutes from the March 14th
Council meeting. Pat Frydenlund seconded
the motion. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s
Report:
The Treasurer’s report was discussed.
Randy Eggum made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report. Keith Iverson seconded the motion. Motion carried.
OTHER
ITEMS:
1.
Social Hall Roof. Larson Contracting has been contacted to
check the condition of the roof and give us a report. They should be checking the roof within the
next 2-4 weeks.
2.
Thermostats. No further report at this time.
3.
Bank Loan. The first payment was made on the loan at
Americana Bank for the lift.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Vickie Storlie, Council
Secretary
PAYMENT MADE ON LIFT LOAN
The Congregation Council
wishes to report to HLC members that our current loan with Americana Bank was
established at $29,310.00 for a period of three years. On April 5th a payment was made
for $10,485.93. The current balance
remaining on this loan is now $18,824.07.
On June 1, 2005 a payment of $10,000 will come due. We hope to continue to make periodic payments
on this loan during the coming year so that the amount of the interest payments
is also reduced.
A hearty word of thanks and
commendation is due to all HLC members and friends for your gifts and support
for this project. We currently have
$12,051.00 in pledges outstanding yet to be paid over the next year or
two. With those gifts, along with
memorial gifts and other giving, we should easily reach our goal of paying off
this loan on or before June of 2006.
LOOSE OFFERING DESIGNATED
At the February 15, 2004
Congregation Council meeting the decision was made to designate the loose offering received on Sunday,
May 30, 2004, to the Connecting
with the Spirit campaign for Good Earth Village.
HAYWARD LUTHERAN
OUR STEWARDSHIP FOR 2004
Month Where we Actual
Should be
January $8,358 $7,286.42
February $16,716 $14,786.34
March $25,074 $22.681.34
April $33,432 $30,360.34
LIBRARY
NEWS
CHURCH LIBRARY
RE-ORGANIZING
We are in the process of
re-organizing the Library books. We are
listing all the books on the computer and organizing them in proper categories. Please excuse the “disorder”. Sometimes there has to be “disorder” before
there can be order.
Saturday, April 24th
we purchased books from the Christian Book Store with the $75 in stamps that
was available to us.
WELCA NEWS
WELCA TO HAVE TEA PARTY
You are invited
to a Tea Party on Saturday, May 1 at 2 p.m. in the Hayward Lutheran Fellowship
Hall. Please come and bring guests. Following the program, a light lunch will be
served, including tea, lemonade and coffee.
WELCA SHARES
QUILTS
The Hayward WELCA shared two
of the quilts that they made during quilting days, to the Alan Knutson’s, whose
home was damaged by fire recently.
YOUTH NEWS
DOES YOUR CAR NEED A WASH?
On Saturday, May 22, the
Hayward LYO will be set up in the church parking lot for a Car Wash from 9:30
a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
This is a good chance for you
to get your car all shined up as well as
a chance to support the youth of HLC.
A THANK YOU
FROM THE YOUTH
The Hayward LYO would like to
thank everyone who came to the Breakfast on Easter Sunday. The youth group appreciates the support of
the congregation very much.
SUNDAY
SCHOOL NEWS
KIDS!
SIGN UP FOR DAY CAMP!
Please mark your calendars
for DAY CAMP, which will be held JULY 12 –
16, 2004 here at
There is sign-up sheet in the Narthex where
children may sign up for Day Camp.
Please sign up so that we know how many to plan for.
There
also is a sheet in the narthex listing the various items that will be needed
for Day Camp. If you can contribute in
this way, it would be greatly appreciated.
The Sunday School Board would like to thank everyone who
participates in this wonderful event.
SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD HOSTING PORK
DINNER
The Sunday School Board will be hosting a
Pork Dinner the last day of Sunday School, May 23rd, following the
worship service. This will be a Fund
Raiser for the Day Camp. A free will
offering will be received.
During the worship service that day the
children will be sharing their memory work with the congregation.
If you have any questions regarding Day
Camp or the dinner, please contact Kellie Anderson (373-8966/373-1555) or Nancy
Berhow (373-0138).
COME AND SUPPORT OUR YOUTH!
REMEMBER THE
“STOP AND GO”
LIGHT
The “Stop &
Go” Light in the hallway by the Sunday School rooms is filling up. Please continue to bring your pennies and
coins every Sunday for children who are hungry. We will send the accumulated money to ELCA
World Hunger.
The loose coins
in the offering each Sunday will also be added to the “Stop & Go” Light for
ELCA World Hunger. So PLEASE help us
feed the hungry children by bringing your coins!
GOOD EARTH VILLAGE NEWS
GOOD EARTH HAS WORK DAY
Good Earth Village will have
their Work Day on Saturday, May 1, 2004.
Projects include: Planting
flowers & other yard work, sanding/staining/varnishing benches, building
animal shelters for farm, building outdoor garbage containers,
cutting/splitting/stacking wood, staining garage, tilling the garden, moving a
small shed, bridge repair, brush cleanup, and building a deck.
Bring your work gloves, work
clothes, tiller (camp does not have one), and chainsaw. Coffee at 8:30 a.m. Work begins at 9:00 a.m.
COME TO FAMILY DAY CAMP!
Join us for a weekend of fun,
fellowship and faith on a family camp weekend.
They will be held July 306, July 7-10 and July 30-August 1. For more information, contact Good Earth
Village – 507-346-2494 or goodearth@deskmedia.com.
THANK
GOD FOR MOTHERS
The young mother set her foot on the path
of life. “Is this the long way?” she
asked. And the guide said, “Yes, and the
way is hard. And you will be old before
you reach the end of it. But the end
will be better than the beginning.”
But the young mother was happy, and she
would not believe that anything could be better than these years.
So she played with her children, she fed
them and bathed them, and taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a bike
and reminded them to feed the dog, and do their homework and brush their teeth.
The sun shone on them, and the young Mother
cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.”
Then the nights came, and the storms, and
the path was sometimes dark, and the children shook with fear and cold and the
mother drew them close and covered them with her arms, and the children said,
“Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come.”
And the morning came, and there was a hill
ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, “A
little patience and we are there.”
So the children climbed, and as they climbed
they learned to weather the storms. And
with this, she gave them strength to face the world. Year after year, she showed them compassion,
understanding, hope, but most of all – unconditional love.
And when they reached the top they said,
“Mother, we would not have done it without you.”
The days went on, and the weeks and the
months and the years, and the mother grew old and she became little and
bent. But her children were tall and
strong, and walked with courage. And the
mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said, “This is a
better day than the last, for my children have learned so much and are now
passing these traits on to their children.”
And when the way became rough for her, they
lifted her, and gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers.
One day they came to a hill, and beyond the
hill, they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.
And mother said: “I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the
beginning, for my children can walk with dignity and pride, with their heads
held high, and so can their children after them.”
And the children said, “You will always
walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.” And they stood and watched her s she went on
alone, and the gates closed after her.
And they said, “We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. “She is a living presence.”
Your mother is always with you. She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk
down the street, she’s the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you
pick and perfume that she wore; she’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re
not feeling well. She’s your breath in
the air on a cold winter’s day. She is
the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow. She is Christmas morning.
Your Mother lives inside your
laughter. And she’s crystallized in
every teardrop. A mother shows every
emotion…happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness,
excitement, joy, sorrow…and all the while, hoping and praying you will only
know the good feelings in life. She’s
the place you cam from, your first home, and she’s the map you follow with
every step you take.
She’s your first love; your first friend,
even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space…not even death!
FROM
THE BISHOP
“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young
man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were
alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be
alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he
is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see hi, just as he told you.’”
(Mark 16:5-7)
For many today, the future seems to hold no
hope. Time moves on, yet our lives feel
immobilized by the weight of suffering and sorrow. We long for a sense of direction but are
uncertain of whom to follow and where to go.
Could it have been so for the women who went to Jesus' tomb that Easter
morning?
Not long before, they had left familiar
Galilee to follow Jesus. Inspired by his
words, astonished by his deeds, filled with hope, yet increasingly alarmed by
his talk of coming suffering and death, they followed as day after day Jesus
pressed ahead. They had come to what
seemed the end of the road – a final resting place for both Jesus and their
hopes, a cold stone chamber built for tears and silence.
But the grave is alarmingly open. A mysterious messenger speaks. The tomb rings with good news and promise! Their journey is not over after all. Once again Jesus is ahead, still leading the
way. The women are sent to call the
other disciples to follow anew, this time to Galilee – a homeland no longer
familiar but suddenly strange, awash in resurrection light.
The Crucified and Risen One also goes ahead
of us. Even now Christ unsettles us with
the call to the way of the cross, leading us not out of the world but straight
to the heart of its brokenness and suffering.
Even now Jesus unsettles us with the news that death has not had the
last word, that the Resurrected One is on the loose and that he calls us to
follow.
How differently every day and every corner
of the world appear when we see them as places where Christ has already
been. Every sorrow, wrong and injustice
leap out of the shadows into sharp and painful focus: here, precisely here, we see
the Crucified one. But the light in
which we see Christ’s presence is that of Easter’s dawn – full of promise,
charged with life, blazing with the very love of God who makes all things new. We are gifted with a world rich with
significance and with lives that are holy callings.
For the Crucified One is risen. Christ bids us follow!
Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding
Bishop
Evangelical Church in America
Chicago, Illinois
WEEPING
AND REJOICING WITH AFRICA
By
The Rev. Eric Shafer, director
ELCA Department for Communication
I was fortunate to lead a group of ELCA
communicators on a “Stand with Africa” trip to east Africa February 2-14,
2004. We saw the ELCA World Hunger
Appeal funds at work in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, addressing HIV/AIDS and
combating hunger and starvation.
As I reflect on this visit some weeks
later, I think more of our time as “weeping and rejoicing with Africa” rather
than “standing with Africa.” I am also
proud to say that ELCA World Hunger Appeal funds are working wonders in east
Africa, saving and changing lives.
WEEPING
WITH AFRICA
How does one tell the story of how our
hunger appeal funds help children to have a good death? That is not the usual hunger appeal success
story we tell, but it is a “success” story nonetheless. Supported by funds from the ELCA Division for
Global Mission and the World Hunger Appeal, staff of the North West Diocese of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania supports families caring for children
orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Some of these
children are also HIV positive themselves and the program gives them funds for
school uniforms so that they can attend school as long as they are able and
medicine to ease their pain. We visited
families living in the countryside outside of Bakoba, Tanzania. These families lived in the poorest
conditions, mud homes with dirt floors.
They spread fresh hay on the floor for our visit. One mother ran after us as we left to give us
a gift of fruit. Another asked me why
her one grandson was dying of AIDS while her other grandson was not and, before
my halting response could be translated, asked me to pray with her. We wept with Africa that day.
Later in our trip, we visited a relief
station near Wenenata in southern Ethiopia.
Their staff of the South Central Synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical
Lutheran Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) coordinates food donations to 300 – 400
people each day. This year the EECMY
will feed 54,000 Ethiopians in six relief centers like the one near
Wenenata. These efforts are supported by
our ELCA World Hunger Appeal funds through the Lutheran World Federation. The good news is that because of better
rainfall thus far in 2004, this number has decreased from 94,000 in 2003. The bad news is that famine in Ethiopia has
continued there for nearly 30 years and shows no sign of ending soon.
I wept after visiting this relief
station. I wept for the injustice of
nearly 30 years of starvation. And, I
wept as I thought of how decreasing amounts of church wide budget support further
restricts the help that the Division for Global Mission can give to the EECMY
for similar projects.
REJOICING
WITH AFRICA
Despite my weeping, there is much to
celebrate in Africa and many amazing projects supported by the ELCA World
Hunger Appeal through the Division for Global Mission and companion churches,
the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran World Relief.
In Uganda, we spent a day with the women of
the Katosi Women Fishing and Development Association (KWFDA), a project
supported by World Hunger Appeal funds through Lutheran World Relief. Begun as a fishing and fish marketing project
for women in the town of Katosi, this work has expanded into micro-loans for
small businesses, organic farming, safe water, home and latrine construction
and much more. There is no way I can
capture the enthusiasm and determination of these women, some of whom are
HIV/AIDS widows with children.
Also in Uganda, we visited the Kiteredde
Vocational Institute, begun more than twenty years ago to educate Ugandan civil
war orphans and more recently dramatically expanded to serve HIV/AIDS
orphans. Supported by our ELCA World
Hunger Appeal funds through Lutheran World Relief, the Kiteredde Vocational
Institute has more than doubled its student body, many of whom live on campus
in buildings they have built themselves.
Most graduates are able to find employment, even in the desperate Uganda
economy.
I was pleased to make this journey with
eight ELCA colleagues: Deb Bogaert,
Aaron Cooper, Paul & Sue Edison-Swift, Bob Fisher, Marcia & Mark Holman
and Nathan Ruby. Our trip was partially
supported by a grant from the ELCA Ministry Among People in Poverty immersion
funds.
To support the ELCA World Hunger Appeal
make a gift through your congregation or send your check, payable to the “ELCA
World Hunger Appeal”, to P.O. Box #71764, Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764 or, to pay by credit card,
telephone 800-638-3522 or go online to www.elca.org/hunger.
DREAMS
The first day of this particular class at
the college, our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know
someone we didn’t already know. I stood
up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little
old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of
course you can!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.
“Why are you in college at such a young,
innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly
replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of
kids.” “No, seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated
her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting
one!” she told me.
After class, we walked to the student union
building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every
day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk
nonstop. I was always mesmerized,
listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with
me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a
campus icon, and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the
attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester, we invited Rose
to speak at our football banquet. I’ll
never forget what she taught us. She was
introduced and stepped up to the podium.
As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her
three-by-five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and
simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery.
I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back
in order so let me just tell you what I know.”
As we laughed, she cleared her throat and
began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing. There are only four secrets to
staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a DREAM. When you lose your dreams, you die. You have so many people walking around who
are dead and don’t even know it! There
is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed
for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty-years
old. If I am eighty-seven years old and
stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the
opportunity in change. Have no
regrets. The elderly usually don’t have
regrets for what we did, but rather for things we didn’t do. The only people who fear death are those with
regrets.
She concluded her speech by
courageously singing, “The Rose.” She
challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily
lives. At the year’s end, Rose finished
her college degree that she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation, Rose died
peacefully in her sleep. Over two
thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to this wonderful
woman who had taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can
possibly be.
PARISH NEWS DEADLINE
The
deadline for turning in articles and calendar information for the Parish News
is the 20th of each month.
Thank you for your cooperation.
ADDRESS CHANGE?
If
you or someone you know has had a change of address or phone number within this
past year, please inform the Church Office as soon as possible. Thank you for your help!