408 Ninth Street NW

Mandan, ND 58554

FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH

Phone: 701-663-3594

Fax: 701-663-6217

E-mail: jackie@firstlutheranofmandan.org

Building Faith and

Transforming Lives

in Christ.

www.firstlutheranofmandan.org

We’re on the web!

Happy

Valentine’s

Day from

the staff at

First

Lutheran

Church!

This month we mark the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. This is

the one day of the year we leave worship with a visible smudge on our

foreheads, reminding everyone we see that we have been to church. It is

also a day when the question arises about piety or faithfulness.

It is no comfort that the Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday is the Sermon

on the Mount, where “Jesus commends almsgiving, prayer, and fasting,

but emphasizes that spiritual devotion must not be done for show.” Then

right after hearing that not so comforting message from Jesus we all the

leave the church with a black cross on the forehead. So the Confirmation

youth would say, “Aren’t we hypocrites Pastor Chris?” After all what are

you supposed to do, wipe the ashes off before stepping outside? Do you

leave them on only to have the cashier at the grocery store say, "You've

got something on your forehead"?

Of course Jesus does not tell us to refrain from all acts of public piety.

What Jesus seems concerned with is the why, not the what. Why do you

pray in public? Why do you give alms? Why do you fast? If appearing

faithful is a way to build yourself up before others, then it is not

faithfulness but hypocrisy. On the other hand, if praying over a meal in a

restaurant is something you do because praying at meals is part of your

faith, by all means bow your head and pray.

As the season of Lent begins each year, God's people are invited to take

on three great disciplines: prayer, fasting, and alms-giving.

Jesus' words in the gospel remind us that our acts of faithfulness always

come as a response to God's gifts. Remembering this gives a note of

humility to all we do. Piety is not something to brag about. Piety is not

something to be proud of. Piety is but acknowledgment of the one who

first gave us everything.

So this Lenten season let us give thanks in all we do for the one who first

gave us everything.

Grace and Peace to you!

Pastor Chris

February 2015

Administrative Pastor

Rev. Lee Herberg

663-3594

Associate Pastor

Rev. Christina Martin

663-3594

Administrative Assistant &

Coordinator of Lay

Ministries

Jackie Schulz

663-3594 (o)

663-3082 (h)

Custodians

Ron & Mavis Watson

Financial Administration

Jennifer Scheet

First Lutheran Is A Mission

Partner with Camp of the

Cross Ministries

First Lutheran

Staff

First Lutheran Church

February Newsletter

PAGE 2 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH February 2015

The youth will be serving supper each Wednesday during Lent starting

on Ash Wednesday. The meals are served each week starting at 5:30

p.m. and the cost is a free-will offering. All the proceeds from the

Lenten suppers will go towards the Detroit Trip this summer. Come

and join us for good food and fellowship as we journey together through

Lent.

All 5th graders and their parents are invited to come and learn about the

Sacrament of Holy Communion. Parents and their children come to

class together to learn about communion and prepare for the 5th graders

First Communion on Maundy Thursday. There is a cost of $15 for the

chalice that each child paints and uses on Maundy Thursday. If you

plan to attend the classes, please call or email Pastor Chris

(christina@firstlutheranofmandan.org) by Wednesday, February 18th.

Lenten Supper Menu

5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday, February 18th: Knoephla Soup & Tangy Summer Sausage Sandwiches

Wednesday, February 25th: Loaded Baked Potatoes

Wednesday, March 4th: Sloppy Joes

Wednesday, March 11th: Homemade Cheese Buttons & Knoephla & Sauerkraut

with Sausage

Wednesday, March 18th: Super Nachos

Wednesday, March 25th: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO, the Souper Bowl of Caring began with a simple prayer from a single youth group:

“Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be

mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.”

Since that day, more than $98 million has been raised for local charities across the country through Souper Bowl of Caring. It has become a power-ful movement that is transforming the time around Super Bowl weekend in-to the nation’s largest celebration of giving and serving. Through this mis-sion, young people learn what it’s like to make a positive difference in the world – as they collect food, raise money and volunteer to work in charities that provide shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry and compassion to those in need. Be part of this movement that is sharing God’s love with those in need. Please give generously on Super Bowl Sunday. The money we collect from First Lutheran will go to Community Action’s Back-pack for Kids program, our 2015 Souper Bowl of Caring charity of

choice. We will take donations on February 1st at both services.

PAGE 10 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH FEBRUARY 2015

Mark Your

Calendar…

4th: 7pm - Confirmation -

Large Group

5th: LAF-Sloppy Joes

11th: 7pm - Confirmation -

Large Group

12th: LAF-Sandwiches

18th: 7pm - Ash Wednesday

Worship

19th: LAF-Nachos

25th: 7pm - Lenten

Worship

26th: LAF-Hot Dogs

Upcoming Events

All 6th –12th graders you are invited to attend W.I.N.G.S.!!!

What is W.I.N.G.S ? Is the coming together of four local Lutheran churches

and our youth for a night of fun and fellowship along the lines of a traditional

youth group.

This month W.I.N.G.S will be meeting on February 8th from 6:00 to 8:30 P.M.

For our activity we will be going to be playing broom ball!! Please eat before

you come.

If you would like to come please contact Pastor Chris.

Rev Christina Martin

701-663-3594

Cell: 219-512-5517

christina@firstluthearnofmandan.org

Caramel Roll Sale

The youth will be selling homemade caramel rolls on Sunday, February 8th for coffee hour and also to go!

We are taking preorders as well as selling them the day of. We will PRESELL a dozen for $20.00. The day of,

we will be selling a dozen for $25.00, 2 for $5.00 or 1 for $3.00. There is a sign up sheet in the narthex. Please

include your name, phone number & the amount you will want to buy.

(we will call you the morning of Saturday, February 7th to pick up your pre-orders)

Make sure to pick up some extra ones and take them home to share with family and friends!

All proceeds will go to the ELCA Youth Gathering Trip

PAGE 4 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH FEBRUARY 2015

Sunday ~

8:30 am ~ Traditional

10:45 am ~ Contemporary

9:30 am ~ Coffee

9:30 am ~ Church School

Wednesday ~

6:00 pm ~ Transitional

6:00 pm ~ Church School

7:00 pm ~ Confirmation

Lenten Schedule beginning February 18th

5:30 pm ~ Lenten Suppers

6:00 pm ~ Church School

7:00 pm ~ Lenten Services

Worship Schedule

Special Thanks

Thank you to all the greeters, ushers, communion servers,

readers, communion set-up, coffee hour workers, and to all

who have supplied goodies for the last month. Your help is

greatly appreciated!

Baptisms:

January 4 Theodore Roger Hambrick

Weddings:

Funerals:

January 3 Richard A. Steffenson

January 20 Dorothy Zwarych

Memorial Fund

Pastoral Acts

In memory of Dale Kostelecky given by Russ & Jan

Grabinger.

In memory of Richard A. Steffenson given by his

family.

In memory of Harry Renken, Olivia Jerabek, Herb

Renken given by Hilda Renken & family.

Deadline for

articles for the

March Newsletter

will be February

13th.

February~ Mission of the Month

HIT Inc. – West River Head Start Items needed are non-perishable food items, tis-sues, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, new toys and books for pre-school kids. Please put the items in the boxes in the Narthex. Thank you.

Ash Wednesday is on February

18th. Service times on Wednesdays

during Lent will change to 7:00

P.M.

Easter Garden

Easter is right around the corner. As we prepare

to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, it

is also a wonderful time to beautify our church

and honor our loved ones. The youth of our

church are selling Easter Garden Flowers. They

will purchase a mix of Lilies and Mums to

decorate the Sanctuary for Easter. Flowers may

be picked up after the 11:00 A.M. Easter service.

Order forms will be available in the narthex

starting February 1st. Orders can be placed in the

offering plate or the church office. The price for each plant is

$13.00. Orders must be placed by Sunday, March 1st. (We can’t

place late orders!)

PAGE 9 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH FEBRUARY 2015

PAGE 8 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH FEBRUARY 2015 FEBRUARY 2015 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH PAGE 5

First Lutheran Church Council Minutes

Thursday, December 18, 2014 7:00PM

Present: Pastor Lee Herberg, Pastor Christina Martin, President Tammy Lapp-Harris, Vice-

President Brock Schmeling, Secretary Jill Miller, John Pake, Janet Reineke, Kris Elijah, Terryl

Gaebe, and Den Na Lee Fewson.

Absent: Dot Frank.

Devotions: President Tammy Lapp-Harris called the meeting to order. Pastor Lee led devo-

tions.

Approval of Agenda: Moved by Janet, seconded by John to approve the agenda as presented.

Motion passed unanimously.

Secretary’s Report/Review and Approval of the minutes: Moved by Janet, seconded by

John to approve the November 20, 2014 minutes. Motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report/Review: Total income through November of 2014 is down approximately

$1,800 compared with the same period in 2013 and expenses are up approximately $30,000 for

the same time frame. There were some high maintenance expenses this month, notably expens-

es related to ongoing issues with the boiler.

Unfinished Business:

Policy and Procedure Manual: Points of topic were whether or not to continue to have

language with mandates an audit sub-team every year. It was decided to add “As

deemed necessary by the church council no later than every 5 years.” to the policy manu-

al for auditing. There are still some sections to review before the manual will be final.

2015 Operating Budget: Council reviewed the budget for 2015. Clarification was request-

ed as to what composes the ‘Miscellaneous Revenue’ in the revenue accounts. Miscellane-

ous Revenue includes coffee hour money, funeral honorariums for the Kitchen Fund,

Thrivent Choice dollars, Confirmation and VBS registration fees and other small checks

received that do not have specific accounts assigned for them. The 2015 proposed budget

included columns with a 2, 3, and 4% increase for support staff salaries. In 2014, a 2%

increase was given, in 2013 a 2% increase was given, in 2012 no increase was given.

Moved by Kris, seconded by Den Na Lee to approve a 4% increase for church support

staff. Motion passed unanimously.

Doors for Education Wing: Leingang Home Center will still honor the original door bid,

but will need to know soon if they will be doing the door project so they can order the

doors and start the project. One other bid was received from Central Door & Hardware

for $3,285. The doors were half glass doors, which is not what code states they should be.

Central Door would not install the doors, which would mean trying to find a contractor to

install the doors. Moved by Den Na Lee, seconded by Janet to approve Leingang Home

Center’s door bid and the money will come out of the Contingency Fund from the Renova-

tion Account. Motion passed, with Brock opposing the motion.

NEW BUSINESS:

The annual meeting will be held Sunday, January 25th at 9:30A.M. in the church sanctuary.

REPORTS:

Pastor Lee’s report – 0 baptisms, 0 funerals, 0 weddings, communion service at nursing

home, still mentoring Bill Dodd, and started helping with the remainder of the 2014-15

confirmation sessions.

Pastor Chris’s report – 3 baptisms, 1 funeral, 1 committal service.

Special Events – No report.

Stewardship – Pledge cards for 2015 have been mailed and many have been returned.

Worship –No report.

Parish Education/Youth – Wednesday school had the Christmas program on December

17th and there has been a lot of positive feedback on the change in the program. Sunday

will be held December 21. Pastor Chris will send out reminders for the start dates of the

spring session that will start in January.

Evangelism and Outreach – No report.

Property and Management – No report.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Lutheran Social Services: Thank you for $5,000 for LSS Capital Campaign for furniture.

YTD giving total $7,310.13.

Golden Age Services: Thank you for the $114.74 donation for Home Delivered Meals pro-

gram.

Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Inc.: Thank you for our donation of $187.21 for

the

M-Club.

Kathleen Kelly, Family Outreach Coordinator Mandan Public Schools: Thank you

for a monetary donation for family in need with a medical crisis.

Motion to Adjourn/Lord’s Prayer: Moved by Brock, seconded by Terryl to adjourn the coun-

cil meeting. Motion passed. The meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Submitted by: Jill Miller

PAGE 6 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH FEBRUARY 2015