October, 2020—Volume 56, Issue 10

The King’s Messenger Christ the King Lutheran Church, a caring community committed to

empower all people to know Christ and to make Christ known.

Celebrating 60 Years

Dear Congregants, By now, you know the news that we wait for the arrival of our new Senior Pastor, Melanie Wallschlaeger! We, the Call Committee, are thankful for many things at this time and praise God for all. First, we are thankful you selected us for an adventure that we could not have anticipated the breadth of the jour-ney. Second, we are thankful for your prayers. As we progressed through the days, weeks and months, we could feel your trusting presence and prayers. Third, we are thankful that you were inquisitive yet respectful of our work. Yet, we are thankful you recognized that much of what we were doing had to be done without you becoming aware of specifics and names. We are thankful of your patience. We are thankful for the many talented and wonderful candidates whom we considered. God has chosen many to his call of pastoral care who serve He and their congregations well. Some of these candidates have connections to our Church family. We are thankful that all concerned did not pressure us in any way seeking sup-port for their family member or friend. Finally, we thank God for giving us clear vision. We agree with you that God has prepared Pastor Melanie to lead us at this time with her ministry. Too, we remember that God has prepared us to partner with Pastor Melanie to further His kingdom on Earth; and, to provide ALL people with the opportunity to know God and Make God known.

God's Peace with you all, Todd Lundquist, Chairperson, Andrea Petzel, Vice Chairperson, Kate Hansen, Secretary

Amy Baack, Darcie Jacobs, Tyler Maas, Dan Rickbeil

Jim Hatleli, Alternate Di Storvick, Alternate

Nancy Patterson, Council Liaison

Dear Beloved of Christ the King,

Thank you for all your strong participation in the congregational

vote to call me as your senior pastor. As Lutherans, discernment of a call

is a communal thing. On Sunday, your Spirit-led discernment matched

my own. I gratefully accept the call to serve as Senior Pastor and as your

partner in Christ’s mission and ministry that we share.

I do plan to join you in November and will send an update as our

plans for moving unfold. I look forward to meeting you and getting to

know you.

Be well & God’s peace.

Pastor Melanie

Hello fellow CTK members,

What a great turnout we had for our special congregational meeting this past Sunday to vote on calling Pastor Melanie Wallschlaeger. Thank you to everyone who joined us via zoom and in person. I especially want to thank our call committee for the countless hours and dedication they put in to see this process through. No one could have predicted the year we had in store for us, but despite all the obstacles they faced, they carried forward and continued to follow God’s will for CTK and we are truly blessed to have found Pastor Melanie. I look forward to welcoming her in November and I pray you are as hopeful and excited about the future of Christ the King as I am.

I also wanted to share with you an

upcoming change to worship times starting this Sunday, October 4th. The council has met to discuss and a unanimous vote was passed at the last meeting. We will be starting to live stream our worship service on Sunday mornings at 8 am, followed by an outdoor service at 10:00am. The time change will allow us enough time to transfer from the live stream and get set up for the outdoor service. We have heard in the past that this was a desirable schedule, so the current situation gives us the perfect opportunity to try it out. This new schedule also allows a few other advantages as we continue to navigate during these unforeseen times. Live streaming on Sunday morning allows us to free up Thursday evenings for our staff and volunteer guests in which they

previously met to pre-record the streaming worship. As we move into cooler weather, we are beginning to look at Phase 2 and moving indoors beginning October 11th at our 8:00am worship service (we will continue to live stream at 8:00am as well). Please see page 7 for more information on this. Continue to watch for further updates regarding indoor worship as things continue to change during this unforeseen time.

Thank you to the Stay Safe Committee for their hard work in putting together a plan to keep Christ the King members and friends safe. Look for an updated plan which will be posted to the website as well as a hard copy in the church office soon.

Blessing, Carrie Kijenski, CTK Council President

A Note From our Church Council President, Carrie Kijenski

Financial Update—from Chris Austin, Treasurer

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to take the food to go, along with other items such as: hand sanitizer, masks, bug spray, sun screen and snacks. Donations are always appreciated!

The Circle of Hope will continue

The Reach has been grilling out on Tues-days and Thursdays for the past couple of months. The youth have been able

to work remotely with The Reach until the end of the year. Lutheran Social Service is continually working on protocols, so that when they open back up, they will be able to keep everyone safe and healthy.

The Reach Update from Circle of Hope

Give electronically

here!

Partnership in the Gospel, by Pastor John 3I thank my God every time I think of you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my

prayers for all of you, 5because of our Partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among us will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. -Philippians 1:3-6

When I read Paul’s letter to the believers at Philippi, I often wonder what it was that caused him to be so thank-ful and so filled with joy whenever he thought of this church? Quite simply, but also quite profoundly – it was their partnership – their Partnership In the Gospel. I thank my God, says Paul every time I think of you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of our partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. This Partnership – it was their purpose – it was their mission. They had come to a place in their life together as a congregation where they not only recognized, but acknowledged God’s design and God’s desire for each of them individually and all of them together as followers of his son, Jesus Christ.

Koinonia – the term used by Paul for this Partnership – is a joint venture in which all parties actively participate to ensure the success of the mission. The word itself expresses intimacy with Christ and other believers. There is a sense of oneness among the members of this congregation. It is them, together with Christ living out God’s desire and God’s design for his Kingdom through them. And by God’s Grace and the power of the Holy Spirit they are now able to move this Partnership forward to its God intended goal.

Did the struggles and challenges go away – of course not. In some ways they only intensified. But the focus of this group of church members was not on any one of the challenges or issues – but rather on their life and work together in and for the sake of the gospel. It was that commitment that brought both Paul and the members of First Church of Philippi – joy and rejoicing. Their focus was on their partnership in the gospel and as long as it remained there, joy was the order of the day.

God’s desire and design for our life together here at Christ the King is no different than it was for the folks at Philippi. Just as it was for the Philippians, that design and desire includes gifts and ministries and bringing them together into a partnership whose focus is still the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of us receives a different gift so that the body of Christ has what it needs to spread this Gospel in which we are partnered – to all people.

Think of all the gifts that have come into this place since November 10, 1960. Think of all the love that has been shared as we have worked together in this Gospel Partnership. God is at work here. He has called us into Partnership with Him and with each other and has given us each gifts to use for the sake of this part of His Kingdom.

When I close my eyes and pray for our congregation – especially as I give thought to the spiritual leadership of a new senior pastor – I see a Partnership that has existed for 60 years – a Partnership in the Gospel that continues to grow right here from the first day until now and will continue until the day of Jesus Christ.

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Social Justice Conversations

Do you need a place to talk about racial inequalities? Do you want to explore the concept of retributions with others?

Are there other social injustices you want to discuss with other Christians?

The Justice and Peace Commission would like to invite members and friends to join us for Social Justice Conversations, Thursday, October 22nd from 7 to 8 pm. If weather allows, we plan to meet in the CTK courtyard

with propane heaters. Bring a chair and dress accordingly. If wet weather moves us indoors, we will plan to meet in the CTK chapel. RSVP for this event online as capacity is limited. Teens and young adults are welcome as well!

We Scare Hunger—We’re Not Afraid to Help!

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In September, 120 pounds of food and personal hygiene products were donated to ECHO. Our October Dignity Drive will be Sunday, Oct. 25. Feel free to drop dona-tions in the bin in the entry of the Pfau Street entrance any time. The need continues for donations of disposa-ble diapers (especially larger sizes and pull ups), feminine hygiene products, facial tissues, laundry detergent, hand soap and hand sanitizer. Thanks for helping!

Connections Shelter Update by Nancy Patterson Connections Shelter is scheduled to open for the season at First Presbytarian Church on October 13. A special thanks to all who donated their time or money to spruce up the two main men’s bedrooms. They are coming together nicely (we will post some pictures once every-thing is complete). The contractors are finishing up the new warming kitchen and all gender restroom. On-site volunteers will need to have a background check

completed which will be coordinated and paid for by the Connections Ministry. I hope to have our sign-up for our first week of service, October 26 - November 1, out soon so we have plenty of time to get everything coordinated. I am looking forward to another great year of serving people experiencing homelessness in our community with you. If you wish to be place on the Connections volunteer list, please contact Amy in the church office.

CTK Blood Drive Sign up for our next blood drive, scheduled for

Monday, November 16th. 1-800-RED CROSS

Email Prayer Chain

With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Pastor Donohue With Christ in the School of Prayer – by Andrew Murray – 19th Lesson (pages 137-143)

Chapter title: I Go Unto the Father or Power for Prayer and Working

Scripture: “Very truly I say unto you, the one who be-lieves in me will also do the works that I do, and in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-13)

Andrew Murray writes: In His closing address (in the Gospel of John) He speaks to disciples whose training time is now come to an end and who are ready as His messengers to take His place and His work. They are now His friends to whom He has made known all that He has heard of the Father; His messengers, who have entered His plans, and into whose hands the care of His work and kingdom on earth is to be entrusted. They are now to go out and do His works, and, in the power of His approaching exaltation, even greater works; prayer is now to be the channel through which that power is to be received for their work. With Christ’s ascension to the Father, a new epoch commences for both their working and praying.

Christ the King has had a strong prayer circle for many years.

Those on our email prayer chain are an important part of our church’s prayer ministry.

We would love for you to be a part of this group of pray’ers!

You’ll receive by email prayer requests received from parishioners or friends usually 1-2 times a week.

If you would like to join, please contact Amy in the church office.

If you have a prayer request, please let us know so our prayer warriors can begin praying for YOU!

Property Committee

The Property and Building Committee would like to thank the many volunteers and staff who have been spending many hours working around our church and grounds cleaning, power washing, organizing, repairing, and painting. We have been using this time with ‘not many of people around’ to work on several projects that needed attention. We have

identified several areas that need refreshing and updating and will be continuing to pursue those projects as time and budget permit. We greatly appreciate everyone’s efforts! -Kathy Bruss, Committee Chair

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Congratulations to our Men’s Softball Team!

The stockings are collected and our stocking stuffer collecting is nearly complete! You have helped us collect books, hygiene products, and some small school supplies; our stocking are almost ready to be stuffed!

During the month of October, we will be hosting a Toy Drive to ensure that each stocking recipient will receive something fun in their stocking. Small toys, trinkets and other small gifts for kids of all ages. Things like Matchbox cars, small dolls, card games, ear buds, small Lego sets, baby rattles/teething toys, and even gift cards and things different aged children and teens might be excited to see in their stocking on Christmas morning. Bring your donations by the CTK office Monday-Thursday 9am-3pm or any worship service time!

Are you a Thrivent member?

Did you know as a Thrivent member you can apply for money from Thrivent to support causes each year? We would LOVE to partner with you to get a gift card from Thrivent to purchase gifts for our Christmas stocking toy drive! Contact Deacon Billie Jo or Wendy to learn more!

Congratulations to our Christ

the King softball team for

earning the championship title

in last night’s game! Way to go!

From left to right

Erv Johnson, Jake Miller, Mike

Johnson, Mike Chamberlain,

Nick Sohre, Travis Shafer,

Brennan Ensted, Don Sohre,

Brent Wood, Steve Mork, Jason

Fette, Sid Brown,

Aaron Anderson.

Not pictured: Turner Johnson,

Lance Raymo, Mike Much,

and Walker Pearson.

Toy Drive—Operation “Stockings Are Hung”

Shop gift cards from more than 750 top brands—right from your phone. Whether you’re at home or at the store. Get started with on-the-go fundraising that earns money for Christ the King at no extra cost to you.

Narrow your search with categories that fit your everyday shopping needs, add brands you love to your Favorites for faster shopping. Manage your gift cards in one place: your Wallet.

Say you’re at Wal-Mart and have about $90 worth of groceries and goods in your shopping cart, you can open the app, purchase a $100 mobile gift card, and save the $10 remaining in your wallet for your next trip. You can also add funds to that gift card at any time for your next trip.

Once you download the app, enter this enrollment code to begin donating to Christ the King each time you shop! Enrollment Code: 6DFF572F34337

Scrip Gift Card Fundraising Introduces the RaiseRight App!

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Parish News We congratulate the following children who were baptized in faith during the month of September… Vincent Thomas Tucker, son of Ryan and Maggie was baptized on September 27th. Greta Kristine Brozik, daughter of Matt and Lisa was baptized on September 27th.

Sincere Christian Sympathy to… The family of Roberta Gjerstad, who passed away on September 8th. Tony, Elena, Jordan, and Paityn Olson and family upon the death of their mother/grandmother, Wendy Lee,

who passed away on September 9th. Wendy is the brother of Al (Carolyn) Lee. Jakki, Cohen, and Crew Laughter and family upon the death of their husband/father, Scott, who passed away

September 11th. Scott is the son of Ed & Lisa Laughter and brother of Ryan (Sarah) Laughter. Harvey and Sue Serr upon the death of Sue’s mother, Delores Guenther who passed away on September 13th

at the age of 100. Harlan Compton and Debby Tennant and family upon the death of their wife/mother, Nancy, who passed

away on September 20th. The family of Ada Harris who passed away on September 26th. Ada was a custodian at CTK for 31 years.

Download Our Church Life Mobile App

If you have already signed up on our website for myCTK (if not, do so today!), you can download the Church Life app in order to take advantage of all of the capabilities of our online portal. The app provides a complete church directory, real time church calendar with the ability to view event details and an easy method for online giving directly from your mobile device. Members will no longer need to call the church office for phone numbers/addresses! Download the free app from your app store. Type in ACS Church Life and once downloaded follow the prompts to sync with Christ the King’s database.

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222 Pfau Street

Mankato, MN 56001

Phone: 507-345-5056

Fax: 507-345-6115

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Permit No. 252

Mankato, MN 56001

Visit us online!

www.ctkmankato.org

Contact the Staff Christ the King’s Phone Number: 507-345-5056

Pastor John Petersen: ext. 24

Billie Jo Wicks, Deacon of Faith Formation : ext. 19

Accounting Office: ext. 22

Al Lee, Technology Arts Director: ext. 36

Amy Olsen, Communications Director: ext. 21

Chuck Hoogland, Organist: ext. 25

Garrett Steinberg, Music Director: ext. 37

Wendy Paulson, Director of Children’s Ministries: ext. 20

John (Mark) Thompson, Custodian

Weekly Worship Schedule

Sundays Online 8:00am

(Indoor & Online beginning 10/11)

Outdoor 10:00am

Wednesdays Online/Outdoor 6:00pm

(Online only if inclement weather)

Communion

1st, 3rd, 5th Weeks Drive-Thru

Sundays from 10:30-11:00am ————

Worship services are broadcast on

Spectrum channel 181 and

Consolidated Communications

channel 7

Sundays at 3:00pm and Tuesdays at 10:00am

Deadline for Newsletter Articles Next Issue: Monday, October 26th

New October Worship Schedule! Sundays

8:00am Online (Online & Indoors beginning October 11th)

10:00am Outdoor

Wednesdays 6:00pm Online & Outdoor

Office Hours 9:00am-3:00pm M-TH

September 2020

Grades 5 & 6

Families with 5th and 6th graders have the option to get together in person! (Safely of course: masks and social distancing required)

Register online...space is limited. Each grade will meet one Wednesday per month.

Where: Chapel and Courtyard (we’ll be inside and outside so dress accordingly!)

Begins: October 11: 6th Grade / October 21: 5th Grade

(November dates: 4th = Grade 6 / 11th = Grade 5. December dates: 2nd = Grade 6 / 9th = Grade 5)

Time: 6:45-7:30pm

Please feel free to contact Wendy with any questions or concerns: text 507-382-2125, email wendyp@ctkmankato.org or call 507-345-5056, ext 20.

Family Mealtime Ministry

What’s for dinner? Put quality family time on the menu! Prep and cook together, teach table manners, have lively talks and a sense of sharing. Reap the benefits for your kids that studies show: more likely to succeed in school, eat more healthfully, less likely to use drugs, gives a bet-ter sense of well-being.

REGISTRATION: Registration is now open online at ctk-mankato.org.

STARTER KIT: This kit will be available the week of October 11th, and you will need to have this kit for the Zoom Mealtime kick-off workshop.

ZOOM KICK-OFF: Join a Zoom workshop on one of the following dates and to-gether we’ll explore the mealtime curriculum to help you get started on this faith journey as a family.

Zoom Workshop dates: Oct 18— 9:15-10am; Oct 21—5:45-6:30pm; Oct 25—9:15-10am; Oct 28—6:45-7:30pm.

WEEKLY STUFF: Either email or in-person pickup of the weekly activities to enjoy around the table. You choose which way you’d like to receive materials.

CHECK-IN: Occasionally, we’ll check in over Zoom to see how things are going.

At this time, we will not be meeting in person for JAM and Kids Klub or Rainbow Room. Instead, families have the opportunity to participate in a COVID-friendly, family friendly, faith formation suitable for pre-school through 6th grade.

HYBRID: IT'S THE NEW CLUBIn this weird pandemic world we find ourselves living, CLUB, like school, has gone hybrid! CLUB (Confirming Lutheran Understandings and Belief), CTK'sconfirmation program for grades 7-10 hasindependent online learning AND in personsmall groups this fall. AT HOME: Each month, students can accessour CLUB Bitmoji class for monthly content. This content can be done by students athome over the course of the month or in onesitting. The choice is theirs. Each month,students will be able to interact with contentcentered around a monthly theme. They willalso find links to record worship responsesand a google form to complete to help trackparticipation.IN PERSON: About once a month, studentswill gather at CTK for face-to-faceconversations with their small group cohorts. Weather permitting, conversations willhappen in the CTK parking lot (nearMcConnell street) around a fire. Whenweather forces us indoors, we havedesignated indoor locations to meet. Thesegatherings will take place after 6 pm worship(about 6:45) and go until 7:30. October 7-CLUB 8 Campfire ConversationOctober 14-CLUB online onlyOctober 21-CLUB 7 Campfire ConversationOctober 28-CLUB online onlyNovember 4-CLUB 9 Campfire ConversationNovember 11-CLUB 8 Campfire ConversationNovember 18-CLUB 7 Campfire ConversationNovember 25-CLUB online only

CLUB REMIND THREADCLUB students and parents canstay connected on all thingsCLUB by signing up for ourremind thread. Get updateswhen new content is ready,who’s up for CLUB campfire,and more. Here's how:o https://www.remind.com/join/ctkclub

o Or text @ctkclub to thenumber 81010Parents and students arewelcome to join the remindgroup!

CTK YOUTH

CLUB 10: CONFIRMATIONDAY!10th graders: your day is nearly here!Sunday, October 11th at 1 pm, youhave the opportunity to affirm youfaith! Be sure to check your email fordetails and complete the RSVP googleform to help us plan.

This years event will be limited tofamily only, so we can reduce the sizeof the event. But don't worry, we willhave public recognition of the event inour October 25th worship services.

10-31 NO CLUB

Check Here to See What's What for Youth Grades 6-12

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR CLUB THIS FALL?

O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0