American Lutheran Church LCMC
215 9TH St SE Long Prairie, MN 56347 320-732-2932 [email protected]
americanlutheranchurch.org
ALC Newsletter
In this Issue: A Place to Come Home To…
From the Pastor…. Sunday, June 2nd is Ascension Sunday. It’s the day we commemorate Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. It’s the day
when the disciples saw Jesus go up from the Mount of Olives and return to Heaven
One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that we were not meant for this world alone. We were meant for Heaven – and Heaven is our ultimate home.
But what exactly is Heaven? What is it like, and what will we be doing there? Is Heaven something that only affects our future, or should Heaven make a difference in the way we live
right now? Most importantly, how can we know we will go there when we die?
These are questions every thoughtful person asks, and God has revealed the answers to them in His Word., the Bible.
Jesus mentions Heaven about 70 times in the Gospel of Matthew alone. It appears from the very first verse in Genesis
– “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth:” – to the last reference found at the end of Revelation – “(He) showed me the great city…descending out of heaven from
God” (Revelation 21:10). In fact, 54 of the 66 books in the Bible mention Heaven. Remember, the Bible is our only authoritative source about Heaven.
Shortly before Jesus was arrested and crucified on the cross, He told His disciples that after His death they should
not be discouraged because He would live again. He then assured them he would return to His Father in Heaven to prepare an eternal home for all who would believe in Him. He
said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you.” Then He left this promise: “I am going
there (to heaven) to prepare a place for you…that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).
Pastor Bill From the Pastor
Summer Worship Schedule 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan Chaplaincy Golf Scramble Chaplaincy Brats & Hotdog
Feed
Youth & Family Upcoming Events
Drive-In Movie Night
Summer Mission Trip Vacation Bible School
ALCW Events
Summer Salad Supper
August Women’s Outing
ALCW Missions
New 2 U Sale
Summer Shoebox Searches
Regular Features Mission Focus
Service Group
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Calendar
JUNE 2019 Pastor Bill Bakewicz
From the Pastor (Continued)
The Old Testament prophets wrote about Heaven. The Book of Psalms mentions Heaven more than any other book
in the Old Testament. The apostles spoke of Heaven from divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything we would like to know about Heaven, but it
tells us everything we need to know about Heaven while we are here on earth. We should believe what the Bible says
about Heaven and take comfort from its promise that we can spend eternity with Jesus Christ in His heavenly dwelling. If someone asks you about Heaven, you can say with
assurance, “We know that if the earthly tent (body) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house
in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1) What a promise! What a destiny! Heaven is the place where God dwells – it is God’s holy
habitation. He created it, He lives there, and, some day so shall all believers. Moses prayed that God would “look down from heaven,
your holy dwelling place” (Deut. 26:15), and Jesus opened our hearts to the reality of Heaven when He lifted His eyes
and prayed, “Our Father Who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9) Heaven is occupied by the presence of Almighty God. This makes Heaven the supreme destination for those who long to
worship Him as their Creator, God, Lord, King, Father and Savior.
“Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction…Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a
Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:18-20).
Sincerely,
Pastor Bill
Sundays at 9:00 a.m.
Thursdays at 5:45 p.m.
The 10th Annual Golf Classic fund raiser for the Todd County Chaplaincy
will be held Saturday, July 20th. This will be an 18 hole scramble foursome and the
cost is $60 per golfer, which covers your cart and dinner.
Registration will be at 10:00 am and the shotgun start is at Noon. Dinner at 5:00 pm.
For more information, contact Chaplain Dave
Greaver at 320-304-1052 or Mike Meagher at 320-760-9753.
High5 / Youth & Family
Coming Up: June 1st: Prairie Days Bean Bag Toss 10-5:30; Parade at 6:00pm June 2nd: Youth & Family committee meeting following the 9am worship service June 11th: Summer Salad Supper @ 5:45 June 27-30: Todd County Fair July 15-19: Vacation Bible School July 24th: Drive-In Movie Night
How’s life? Want to talk
about it? Feel free to
contact me…..
Kari Christians (320)533-3021 [email protected]
Save the date!
The annual community churches drive in event will be July 24th @ 7:00pm
at the Long Prairie Drive-In.
Plan to join us for dinner, games, worship, and a movie!
.
Join us in prayer as we prepare for our Summer
Mission Trip to Oklahoma City, OK; July 27-August 4
Are you on Instagram?
Follow along at nextstep_oklahoma
to meet the community
members we will partner with during our time in
Oklahoma
Please pray for the partners in Oklahoma, the Next Step Ministries staff, & these missionaries from ALC:
Ashlyn Christians Gavin Hasse Emma Drum Carlie Pesta
Lara Drum Kari Christians Connor Flan Pastor Bill Bakewicz
Mission Focus
Todd County Fair Stand
Our mission focus for the month of July is our own Todd County
Fair Stand, to be held this year June 27-30. Did you know that American Lutheran Church has been feeding
folks at the Todd County Fair Food Stand since as early as 1967? What an amazing ministry opportunity we have had for so long a time here at ALC.
The mission of the Food Stand is not only to serve food for the body to those at the Todd
County Fair, but to feed the soul as well. The stand serves as an opportunity for each of us to “become fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19) as we are told to do in the book of Matthew, as we also feed the hungry. We have even been able, over the years, to touch the souls of many fair goers
with God’s Word through the open distribution of Bibles, inspirational tracts, and personal witnessing.
If our Food Stand is to continue on into the future, it needs to be supported by the congregation in the form of enough people working different shifts as well as enough people
helping with food donations. A major benefit to our own youth has been the continuous resource of finances from the
fair stand profits to send our youth to summer camps and on mission trips. It has been a wonderful way to “invest in” the lives of our youth.
Since 1967 we have been able to gather the entire American Lutheran Church family
together as a full body in Christ to take our turn sharing together in work and fellowship and, for
many, to meet other members for the first time in a wonderful sharing time of ministry together.
The annual Todd County Fair food stand has served our Lord well as we share in this
ministry to His flock over food for both the body and soul. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to
serve in this wonderful long standing ministry to our fellow Todd county neighbors and for the
benefit of our own ACL youth.
ALCW EVENTS Summer Salad Supper
ALC Ladies the Supper is coming up quickly. Be sure your calendars are marked for Tuesday, June 11 at 5:45 pm.
The signup poster will go up before Memorial Day weekend. Please come and we would appreciate your willingness to bring a salad and/or also help where you
are interested and able. It is so very helpful to the busy committee people if you sign up on the poster so we don’t
have to make time to call and ask you. We would like a good attendance of ALL ages of our ALC women to join in welcoming the women of our community to our church. Be sure to invite friends to join you.
The evenings theme is When Life Gives You Lemons, Throw Them Back and Ask for Chocolate. Lemon or Chocolate? Life can either be sour and sad or it can be sweet and supernatural. You
are going to have so much fun with us that night. You’ll be encouraged to be delighted in Christ! Marnie Swedberg from St. Petersburg, FL; formerly of Minnesota having lived in Warroad the past 3o years is the featured speaker. Marnie is an international leadership mentor, the author
of 13 books, the host of her own radio talk show, a media expert, and a keynote speaker for government, community, business and religious organizations around the world. Fun and fast-paced, yet peaceful and approachable, her history includes fires, floods, a tornado,
car wrecks, business set-backs, burglaries, sinking boat, lightning strike, ambulance rides and more. She models come-back behavior, possibility thinking, and profound faith.
As the founder and director of www.WomenSpeakers.com, the largest online directory of Christian Women Speakers in the world, she connects event planners with speakers from every experience level, fee range, and denomination.
As a public speaker, she presents for large corporations, non-profits and for Christian women’s retreats, conferences, and other programs around the world. As a media personality, she hosts
a #1 ranked Blog Talk Radio talk show and is frequently interviewed for new articles. Learn more at www.Marnie.com.
August Women’s Outing
The ALCW is having an outing Wednesday evening, August 7. All
ALC women are invited, but there are only 20 reserved tickets! We will go to Theatre L’ Homme Dieu for the Plymouth Playhouse production of The Church Basement Ladies, You Smell Barn at 7:30
pm. Tickets are $22.50 each. We will have dinner at Pike and Pint in Alexandria at 5:15 pm. You will be ordering off the menu. The
signup poster is up at church. Ticket money should be given to Jane Olson the ALCW treasurer. Sign up by the end of May. Please indicate if you are willing to be a driver and how many passengers
you can take. We will gather and leave from church at 4:30 pm.
Summer Salad Supper
ALCW MISSIONS
New 2 U Sale
Summer Shoebox Searches
As we continue looking forward to 2019
collection & packing, here are some ways
in which you can make an impact
Don’t wait until October! NEEDED HAVE 400 SOAPS IN WASHCLOTHES 200
100 additional BARS OF SOAP
150 additional WASHCLOTHES
400 TOOTHBRUSHES 160
400 COMBS/HAIRBRUSHES 320
300-400 “STUFFIES” 214
SCHOOL SUPPLIES:
500 pencils MANY scissors
Many pencil sharpeners Many notebooks
Many colored pencils, crayons & markers
(Have enough erasers, pencil bags)
CLOTHING ITEMS 800 (have some already)
shirts, pants, shorts, skirts, hats, larger socks
FLIPFLOPS 26
TOYS:
balls, jump ropes, color books, small cars, yoyos
harmonicas,
SPECIALTY ITEMS:
jewelry, hair decoration, craft kits, manicure sets
sewing kits, fishing kits, tools
An Operation Christmas Child collection box will
be in the narthex at church from now until
November in which you may deposit any donations.
If you prefer to make a money donation to help
with shipping & “Greatest Journey” costs, you may
give Jane Olson or Blanche Tirk a check made out
to Samaritan’s Purse at any time during the year.
Be sure to pray for the blessings of a
successful Shoebox season! Sunday School Packing day ~ November 10
EVERYBODY PACKS ~ November 11
NEW 2 U "In-gathering" will be Saturday July 20 through July 27 this year, unless otherwise
arranged, well in advance with a chair-person. Please put your
donations in the designated Sunday School rooms. For easiest access: drop off your gifts during
regular church office hours [office closed Monday's] or call: Deb to
arrange "after hours" donation drop off. 732-4184. Please remember
we can NOT accept: TVs, computers or their components, encyclopedia
sets, large appliances! [DAV has changed their rules and can only accept our left-over: clothing and soft
items now.] As before, we appreciate your gifts of
gently used current style clothing, small kitchen appliances, decorator items, etc.. All "gifts" should be in
working order please! Your TIME and prayers are greatly appreciated as well! Watch for sign up
sheets in the church lobby, to see how you can serve and be involved. As in
the past: ALL pre-sales must be arranged with a chair-person. Please don't hesitate to make contact if
/with any questions, suggestions or concerns. Thank you for YOUR support, which benefits many ALCW
outreach mission projects!
5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan
Got 5 minutes? Invest them in reading your Bible! The “5 x 5 x 5 New Testament
Reading Plan” is designed to encourage everybody at American Lutheran Church (who is old enough to read!) to spend 5 minutes a
day, 5 days per week to the Lord by reading His word. (The other 5 in the name is for the “5 Ways to Dig Deeper” you can use to reflect
on what you’re reading.) If you have found Bible-reading difficult in the past, we encourage you to try again – maybe try a more modern
translation, such as “The Message” which many people find to be in their “heart language”. Or maybe try an audio Bible – available from
many sources. You are welcome to join the group which meets the 2nd Sunday evening of each month to talk about what we’ve read in
the last month (and eat dessert!). This month we’ll meet on Sunday, June 9 at 7:00 PM at church. Copies of the “5 x 5 x 5 Reading
Plan” are available on the table near the office, and you can start anytime during the year – but the sooner the better – the Lord is
waiting for you to listen to Him!
Todd County Chaplaincy Fund Raiser
Todd County Chaplaincy
Brats & Hotdog Feed
Bring the whole family!
All donations go to the help the
Central MN Chaplaincy Program Saturday, June 8th from 1 am – 5 pm
at Coburn’s Grocery in Long Prairie
Bring a donation for Hot Dogs, Brats & a Pop Visit with Chaplain Dave Help the Chaplaincy Program by joining the prayer and/or financial support team in our 12th year.
For any questions about this event call Fran Thomas at 218-851-2377
Our Mission: To be a beacon of God’s love, light, and hope in dark and difficult situations.
Vacation Bible School
hover to zoom
July 15th – 19th 8:45 a.m. – Noon
Ages 4 – entering 6th Grade Register in the Narthex
Service Group 3 – May - June
Service Group Responsibilities:
• Serve for funerals on a rotating basis every 7th Funeral.
• Serve for special events occurring during the two month period.
Group 3 Leaders: Betty Oliver……………. 320-732-3437 Joretta Hinrichs………. 320-732-6025 Group 3 Members: Arenson, Karl &……………………………………..320-815-4663 Beth……………………………… (Cell) 320-500-0904 …………………………….(Home) 320-732-2465 Berscheit, Adam &………………………………….320-533-1382 Ashley…………………………………....320-533-1628 Bodle, Julie…………………………………………..320-808-4957 Bodle, Kyle & Kate………………………………….320-874-0334 Dalton, Connie………………………………………320-533-3232 Drum, Kyle & Toni………………………………….320-732-3974 Duguay, Kari…………………………………………320-491-7025 Fevig, Jon &………………………………………….701-866-3715 Laurie…………………………………………320-859-6901 Hillman, Stan &……………………………………..320-732-6489 Joanne……………………………………..320-766-2793 Hinrichs, Brad & Brenda………………………….320-732-2447 Holmquist, Eugene &………………………………320-766-5678 Amy……………………………………..320-766-5687 Hotzler, Rhea……………………………….…(Cell) 320-808-7086 …………………………….....(Home) 320-732-3311 Klinder, Marlyne…………………………………….320-852-7478 Kuehne, Tom & Bonnie……………………………320-285-3056 Rach, Jeff & Roberta……………………………….320-491-2272 Schoenrock, Dick & Carole……………………….719-371-1226 Warzecha, Shaughn………………………………..320-808-3205 Westerberg, Chris…………………………………. 320-808-8389 Wiegers, Sharon…………………………………….320-732-2663 Young, Jonathan & Joni…………………………..612-270-0268
June
Happy Anniversary 1st Greg & Jammie Hedlund 2nd Pastor Bill & Karen Bakewicz 12th Harlan & Lu Darkenwald 12th Larry & Jodi Eckel 13th Scott & Becky Hillig 14th Bill & Barbara Blair 14th Dave & Christie Ruda 15th David & Liza Hasse 15th LaMoine & Linda Hatton 16th Russ & Jen Olson 17th Larry & Bonnie Alsleben 20th Al & Blanche Tirk 20th Karl & Beth Arenson 21st Larry & Peg Drevlow 21st Gary & Gloria Larsen 21st Stu & Mary Ann Sander 24th Bob & Norma Fox 24th Darrel & Marlyne Klinder 25th Sy & Janie Thole 25th Mike & Lorraine Winge 26th Brad & Sherri Evenson 29th Dennis & Sue Kaneski 30th Leo & Marge Morgan
Happy Birthday 2nd Brandon Roering 4th Dennis Kaneski 5th Adam Berscheit 6th Nettie Pederson 7th Marvin Poegel 11th Jim Ostendorf 12th Cody Marcyes 13th Kim Dols 13th Brenda Hinrichs
13th Justin Paulson 14th Stan Hortness 14th Amanda Kramer 17th Mark Pachan 17th Austin Parker 20th Sira Christians 21st Deidre Flan 22nd Emily Steinert 24th Bernice Petrie 25th Aaron Fearing 25th Julie Schultes 27th Jim Flan 29th Pat Holman
ALC CALENDAR – JUNE 2019
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Prairie Days 11:00am – 5:30 pm Bean Bag Toss Workers
2:00pm – 2:45 pm Dunk Tank with Pastor Bill
6:00pm Prairie Days Parade with American Lutheran Church Float
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8:00am Praise Team Practice 8:45am Children's Nursery 9:00am Worship Service with Communion
10:15am Youth & Family Committee Meeting
7:00pm Fair Stand Committee Meeting
7:00pm Sarah Circle Nursing Home Birthday Party
9:00am Staff Meeting 10:00am Music Ministry at Valley View
5:30pm Worship Team Practice
7:00pm Trustees Meeting
7:00pm Deacons Meeting
9:30am Food Shelf Committee Meeting
5:45pm Summer Evening Worship Service
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
8:00am Praise Team Rehearsal 8:45am Children's Nursery 9:00am Worship Service with Baptism
10:15am Missions Committee Meeting
7:00pm 5x5x5 Bible Readers Meeting at the church
9:00am – 9:00 pm Prepare, Serve and Clean Up for Salad Supper
9:00am Staff Meeting 10:00am Music Ministry at Valley View
5:45pm Summer Salad Supper
7:00pm Church Council Meeting
9:30am Chapel at Nursing Home
10:15am Chapel at Assisted Living
5:45pm Summer Evening Worship Service with Communion
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
8:45am Children's Nursery 9:00am Worship Service with Communion
10:15am Board of Education Meeting
6:45pm Sarah Circle Valley View Hymn Sing
7:45pm Sarah Circle Bible Study
9:00am Staff Meeting 10:00am Music Ministry at Valley View
4:30pm Audio-Visual Committee Meeting
5:30pm Worship Team Practice
9:30am Esther Circle
11:00am Newsletter Articles Due
5:45pm Summer Evening Worship Service
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
8:00am Worship Team Rehearsal 8:45am Children's Nursery 9:00am Worship Service
9:00am Staff Meeting 10:00am Music Ministry at Valley View
3:30pm Vacation Bible School Planning Meeting
Noon – 9:00 pm Todd County Fair Food Stand
5:45pm Summer Evening Worship Service with Communion
11:30am – 11:30 pm Todd County Fair Food Stand
11:30am – 11:00 pm Todd County Fair Food Stand
30
8:45am Children's Nursery 9:00am Worship Service with Communion
Noon – 4:00 pm Todd County Fair Food Stand