st. matthew lutheran church · 2018. 4. 27. · st. matthew lutheran church may 2018 inside this...
TRANSCRIPT
St. Matthew Lutheran Church May 2018
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Pastor’s Message 2
Caring Ministry 3
Worship/Music 4-5
Children Min. 6-7
Looking Ahead 8
Church Life 9-10
Stewardship 11
Rev. 7:9-10 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice,“
Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Greetings Friends,
That is one of five places in the book of Revelation where we see some variation of the phrase “every nation, tribe and people and language.” Every time it is used, it is talking about heaven.
The picture is clear. In heaven there are no racial, cultural or ethnic barriers. They are gone, vanished, vanquished, knocked down by a Guy with a big wooden cross. But that is not the case on earth in May of 2018, is it? The barriers are present and powerful and full of sin.
For our Ascension Day service this year, we want to direct our eyes heavenward for a little while. That’s what the disciples did when Jesus ascended (Acts 1:9-11). We want to direct our hearts that way too.
So we are gathering on Wednesday, May 9 along with many others who share our building—David’s Christian Learning Center, Sudanese Christians, Liberian Christians and Ecuadorian Christians—to share a night of food and music. Everyone is invited to bring a food from their own culture to share. The musicians from each of our groups will each be teaching us a song or two from their culture. It will be heavenly!
Wednesday May 9, 6:00-8:00 PM in the St. Matthew Fellowship Hall
Ascension Day “Looking Heavenward” Dinner and Music
Bring a dish to share.
We will start serving food around 6:00
The music will start around 7:00.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bill Hugo
PAGE 2 From the Pastor
CARING MINISTERS
AVAILABLE
***If you or a loved one are hospitalized or have upcoming surgery, please notify the church office.
***Kathy Rosenberg, Parish Nurse, is available to offer you visits and 1:1 support to you and your family’s life of joys and challenges.
***Congregational BeFriender visits provide support for those in need of a listening, caring presence.
Please contact Pastor Hugo, Parish Nurse Kathy Rosenberg, or the church office for any caring needs.
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End of Life Choices and Funeral Planning
WHO COULD SPEAK FOR YOU
IF YOU ARE UNABLE?
If you would like discussion or help completing Health Care Directive forms
(to make your end of life wishes known before you
reach a crisis), please set up an appointment with
Parish Nurse Kathy Rosenberg, who can guide you through the steps,
answer your questions and help you complete this very important document. It is a great gift to your
family and loved ones. I recently received updated forms ad documents and would love to share
them with you - give me a call to set up a time 1:1 to meet together - Kathy
FUNERAL PLANS? If you’d like to pre-plan your funeral details, let Pastor Hugo know and he and Kathy will meet with you to discuss at your convenience.
Caring Ministries
GRIEFSHARE Our next session will begin in late August/early September - either evening or possibly daytime classes may be offered. If you have questions or are interest-ed in attending a GriefShare class or would like support to discuss your grief, please contact Parish Nurse, Kathy Rosenberg.
BeFriender Ministry has been a part of the St. Matthew communi-ty for more than 35 years. We have trained over 75 people to serve as BeFrienders in those 35+ years. A BeFriender is someone who calls or visits people who are in a life chal-lenge, health concern, or struggle. Perhaps this is in the hospital or in a nursing home.
Perhaps it is being with someone grieving the loss of a loved one or dealing with their own or a loved one’s illness or injury. A BeFriender offers a listen-ing presence to those who need one. We don’t cure or fix what is happening, but we care about the person who is going through these struggles.
If this sounds like a ministry you would like to be a part of, there will be a training session coming up in September. It will take place on the weekends of September 15 and 22. More de-tails will be made available to you as the year progresses, but for now, we just want you to be prayerfully considering whether God is calling you to be a part of this valuable ministry.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any member of the BLT(BeFriender Leader-ship Team) - Kathy Rosenberg (Parish Nurse); Louise Roberts, Sarai Kretschman, Jane Gergen or Pastor Hugo.
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Christ is risen! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA! As I look out the window this morning (Monday, April 16
th), it looks more like December
than it does April. We were able to worship yesterday morning during a lull in the blizzard, but I felt like “Cold December Flies Away” might be more appropriate than “He’s Risen! He’s Risen!” as one of our 8:00 a.m. hymns! The difficulties of the snow aside, the world today is clothed in a pristine white against a bluer than blue sky, and it reminds me of the wonderful picture of promise and praise in Revelation, chapter 7:
I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing: Salvation to our God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb! All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals—fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing: Oh, Yes! The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, the honor and power and strength, to our God forever and ever and ever! Oh, Yes! Just then one of the Elders addressed me: “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?” Taken aback, I said, “O Sir, I have no idea—but you must know.” Then he told me, “These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That’s why they’re standing before God’s Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes.”
As we continue to celebrate Easter through mid-May, I pray that God is bringing you many opportunities (and the courage) to share the good news of Christ’s conquering of sin, guilt, fear, death, and the grave. I pray that God blesses those interactions so that the white-robed heavenly choir includes the people who heard the Good News from you!
Carol Blase, music coordinator 763-788-9427 [email protected]; [email protected]
Coming soon:
Summer Worship Schedule Sat., May 26 - Sun., September 2
Saturdays:
Worship 5:30pm
Sundays: Education for all 9:00am
Worship 10:00am Fellowship 11:00am
Our Lent, Holy Week and Easter celebrations were filled with thought-provoking and faith-building music. Many thanks to those who worked hard during many and various rehearsals to make this happen:
Various cast members from our upcoming production of “Joseph….Dreamcoat” who added music to our midweek Lenten series, “The Power of One”: Brenda Anderson, Emily Anderson, Mike Anderson, Erin Blase, Tricia Carlson, Renee Chizek, Abby DePew, Adahlia Eames, Charlotte Eames, Ben Hugo, Brenda Hugo, Janelle Karlsrud, Christina Kullman, Anissa Lubbers, & James Walling;
The Kindersong and Children’s choirs who led palm processionals and sang their hosannas at both of our Palm Sunday services;
Brenda Hugo and Ben Hugo for their duet, “How Beautiful”, sung on Maundy Thursday;
Soloist Sydney Naber, who sang “What Grace Is This!” during the community Good Friday service, held at St. Matthew;
Festival Choir members (Craig Affeldt, Bruce Blase, Judie Colaianni, Kiah Gordon, Ben Hugo, Brenda Hugo (trio), Will Hugo (trio), Sydney Naber, Mary Nehring, Deb Santillo, Andrew Wagner (trio & clarinet), and Michelle Wermerskirchen who added choral music to our Good Friday Tenebrae service, as well as Erin Blase (flute), Karrie Kikeh (piano), and readers Jim Geslin, Renata Kikeh, and Bob Lundholm;
Music Team members (Chris Allen, Cheryl Fristad, Ben Hugo, Karyn Naber, Scott Neaderhiser, Josh Nehring, Mary Nehring, Louise Roberts, Deb Santillo, Andrew Wag-ner), who led worship with voices, hand bells,
and readings during our Easter Vigil service, as well as at the 11:00 a.m. East-er festival service;
Trumpeter Will Hugo and guitarist Cheryl Fristad, who led music at our sunrise worship opportunity at Hillside cemetery;
Easter Band members – trum-pets: Jesse Davies, Will Hugo, Charles Kikeh, & Andrew Wagner, alto saxes: Sydney Naber & Max Rewitzer, flute: Erin Blase, viola: Renata Kikeh, clarinet: Kelsea Peete, tenor sax: Karyn Naber, trombone: Ted Landwehr, director: Brenda Hugo, who led hymns at our 8 & 9:30 Easter services;
Festival Choir members (named above) who also led hymns at the 8:00 & 9:30 Easter services and presented a rousing rendition of “Cornerstone” (with soloist Craig Affeldt, quartet Michelle Wermerskirchen, Brenda Hugo, Andrew Wagner, & Craig Affeldt, duet Kiah Gordon & Deb
Santillo) and instrumental accompaniment for Luis Bojos’ “Alleuia! Christ is Arisen” by Will Hugo (congas), Cheryl Fris-tad (guitar), and Andrew Wagner (percussion). Thank you to those who assisted with stripping of the altar at the end of the Maundy Thursday service: Charlotte Eames, Cheryl Fristad, Karyn Naber, Lisa Neaderhiser, Josh Nehring, and Mary Nehring.
We will have the opportunity once again to celebrate the dramatic appearance of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost as we worship May 19-20. All of the choirs and the music team will be
leading special music for the day; please wear red to add to the “fire!”
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Thank you to our April Sunday School Leaders and Wednesday
leaders helping to guide young feet in faith!! EL class: Lynn McDonald Younger Workshop Rotation group: Candy Nelson, Mikayla Estevez Older Workshop Rotation group: Karrie Kikeh, Jesse Davies Workshop Leaders: Lisa Neaderhiser, Patti Seitz, Brenda Hugo, Sarai Kretschman, Katie Landwehr Grades 5/6 – Mike Alm, Jesse Davies Wednesday Gym: Jesse Davies, Sr., Brad and Ashley Cornelius, Faustina Allen, Brenda Hugo, Pastor Bill Hugo Wednesday Meals: Lisa Neaderhiser, Samantha Roberts, Sarai Kretschman Wednesday Confirmation Classes: Mary Nehring, Pastor Bill Hugo Wednesday Hand in Hand: Teresa Anderson, Lisa Neaderhiser, Jesse Davies
Children’s Ministries
One of the goals of the Children’s Ministries Program is to reach the hearts and minds of the children with the love of Jesus, and that they are moved to reflect that love by serving others. Please remember the Sunday school workshop leaders, Sunday school ‘shepherds’, Sunday school assistants, Hand in Hand leaders and VBS lead-ers in your prayers that our goal will be reached through their witness.
Wednesdays! ‘Set 3’ will conclude with the last session on May 2.
Lessons will resume in September!!
Missions – Sunday School Offerings Update: Blessings Bags – Stop by the office and take a Blessings Bag or two with you in your car, to give to someone in need. We accept donations toward Blessings Bags at any time in anticipation of a future packing event (date tbd). New Project! Financial offerings will go toward our summer VBS project!
The St. Matthew community is invited to augment the Sunday school mission offerings.
Easter Season - Sunday School What a joyful season of celebration!! See pics below and on the next page from some Sunday School classes, a Palm Sunday Children’s message, and the Good Friday Emoji Easter Worship and Family Event.
Easter Season - Sunday School PAGE 7
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Mark your calendars for June 24 – 28, VBS! People are needed for Servant Leadership and Assistant Positions: Check the list on the wall opposite the Welcome Desk, pick up an infor-mation packet (which has an application form at-tached) and contact Brenda with questions.
Donations are now being accepted for this mission outreach event via special envelopes avail-able at St. Matthew. Goal: 140 donations of $25 each = $3500
Donate/Loan items: In late April/early May, watch for the tear-off tags for items you can donate or loan to help support the VBS program (main of-fice window wall). These items are NOT figured in-to our budget. Participant Registration: Keep an eye on the St. Matthew website for participant registration which will open in late May.
VBS at St. Matthew:
June 24-28,
evenings
Summer Sunday School is right around the corner! Starting June 3, children will be shifting age groups for two different Summer Curriculums.
Children finishing grade 3 and younger will discover ‘Incredible Faith’ – how God worked through the faith of people in the Bible – Biblical Superhe-roes! - and how God can work through the faith he has given YOU. The first 12 children in the door each Sunday get to wear a superhero cape during the lesson!!! This series of lessons is a great way to close out our ‘Living by Faith’ educational year.
Children finishing grades 4 and 5 will study a DVD based curriculum – Patterns of Evidence for Young Explorers – which will challenge students to search their Bibles for the original historical record, and study archeo-logical and scientific evidence for Biblical events during the lives of Abra-ham, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua.
Children finishing grades 6 and 7 will move downstairs to the Teen room for classes.
Leader and assistant positions are available for both age groups. Contact Brenda ([email protected] OR 763-788-9427) if you are willing/able to help out for a Sunday or two (no summer-long commitments).
St. Matthew Church Campout will be Aug. 3-5th at Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain. We have re-served electric sites please let Faustina Allen know your intentions. $64 Electric/$54 Non-Electric
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St. Matthew Community Theater Presents
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Lyrics by Tim Rice Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Thursday-Friday, April 26-27 at 7 pm Saturday, April 28 – Dinner at 5:45; show at 7 pm
Sunday, April 29 – 2 pm
Thursday-Friday, May 3-4 at 7 pm Saturday, May 5 – Social Hour at 5:45; show at 7 pm
Sunday, May 6 – 2 pm
Tickets on sale now $10 reserved seating; dinner/social hour tickets $10 each
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is presented by arrangement with The Musical Company, LP, 214 Sullivan Street, Ste. 4, New York, NYÂ 10012-1343 www.themusicalcompany.com; Phone: (212) 598-2204; Email: [email protected]
St. Matthew Community Theater is sponsoring a Dine-to-Donate fundraiser at our local Applebee’s, 5277 Central Ave. NE, May 8-10. Donation flyers will be available at church. Our community theater will receive a percentage of food sales during those dates. Thanks in advance for participating!
Mayor Donna Schmidt has proclaimed April 26, 2018 as St. Matthew Community Theater Day in Columbia Heights At a regular monthly meeting of the Columbia Heights City Council on April 9, 2018, Mayor Donna Schmidt presented our director, Vanessa Horrocks Powers, with a proclamation declaring our opening night, April 26, 2018 to be St. Mat-thew Community Theater Day in Columbia Heights. All present at the meeting heard the mayor say these things about St. Matthew Community Theater: Twenty-five years ago, a small band of singers and actors from St. Matthew Lutheran Church present-ed their first spring musical, a show written and directed by local middle school teacher, Keith Roberts. As the word spread about this effort, the group grew to include children and teens from local schools, adults from the community, and within two years, Broadway musicals were being staged. Today, the St. Matthew Community Theater has upwards of 80 people auditioning for yearly shows, draws partici-pants from the Twin Cities and beyond, and includes a wide range of ages, from kindergarteners into those age 70 and beyond. Our goal is to offer family-friendly shows for our community. Through these productions, many people have their very first stage experience, and can gain confidence in act-ing, singing, dancing, and technical work with sound, lighting, building and painting. Performance skills are sharpened in a warm and welcoming environment, and “community” is built as people not only work together, but are also cared for throughout the rehearsal process. Service to the larger communi-ty is also organized with weekly non-perishables collected for SACA (the local food shelf) as well as food packing events with Feed My Starving Children. We at St. Matthew praise God for all that He has done for us over the past 25 years. Through cast, crew and audience thousands of people have come through our doors, countless relationships have been made (including one that resulted in a wedding earlier this year), people have been cared for in crisis, God-given skills have been discovered and used for His glory, and we have just had a whole lot of wholesome fun doing this! So to God be the Glory!
BEFRIENDER MEETINGS IN MAY
Sun., May 13th 9:15am
Wed., May 9th 1:00pm or **5:15pm
**Note time change due to Ascension Celebration
Yogadevotion is the practice based on breath, prayer and movement. Classes are on Thursdays 6:30-
7:30pm in the Willer Room. Sign up on the bulletin board in the Narthex. Bring a yoga mat or you may use a chair. All levels welcomed. Talk to Kathy, Rose, Louise, or Ruth if you are interested in signing up for a class or have questions.
Next Yogadevotion dates: May 3 - June 14, 7 weeks, $56
As the weather warms up, it is time to begin thinking about our beauti-ful Memorial Garden in the front of the church. We will be ordering engraved pavers again in the Spring. If you would like to com-memorate a loved one, please pick up an order form at the Welcome Desk and return it to Ruth. Cost of an engraved paver: $150.
GOLDEN AGERS: All senior adults, are encouraged to join our fun gatherings (now four times a year - not monthly). We meet next on June 12, be-ginning at noon for pizza and fun with the DCLC children, along with devotion, fellowship, prayers, and fun. Also let Kathy know if you would like a 1:1 Parish Nurse visit at your home to discuss any health concerns or aging issues you may be navigating– call to arrange a Tues, Wed, or Thurs visit time with Kathy at 612-296-1812.
MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Weekly Bible study led by Pastor Hugo.
Tuesday mornings; 6:30 a.m.
Community Grounds 560 40th Ave. NE
Our 2018 Haiti Mission Team is making final plans for their June 8-16 trip. Could you remember to include the group in your daily prayers, asking for God’s protection, for many opportunities to share Christ’s love while we are in Haiti and while we are travelling, and that God would be praised in everything? Members of the team are:
Faustina Allen, Jack Bialke, Carol Blase, Renee Chizek, Kennedy Kikeh, Sydney Naber and Greggory Seline
Friday May 18th
6-10pm
at St. Matthew Join us for a Youth night for teens to participate in:
a service event project we’ll be packing togeth-er for kids in need
fun youth games food prayer
Blessings Bags Stop by the office and take a Bless-ings Bag or two with you in your car, to give to
someone in need. We accept do-nations
toward Blessings Bags at any time in anticipation of a future
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It’s no secret I like to belt-out the old familiar hymns. As I think about giving, my inspiration can be summed up in the shortest hymn in the Lutheran Worship book; “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (#461). I can’t count them; I can’t repay them; I don’t deserve them. Nonetheless, God provides them. I’m kind-of an ex-military, by-the-book, logical guy. It only makes sense to me to give back to Him that which is rightly His. As Cheryl and I raised our young family (we’re going back a few years now), we made the decision to have her stay at home and raise the kids until they were of school age and live off of my income alone. Aside from me grumbling about never getting the few thousand dollars of credit card debt paid off, we never went without. We always had a good home, cars that worked, and sufficient extra to raise our kids and enjoy family life. When faced with a $600 car repair, we’d get by with charging on the credit card until an insurance rebate or tax refund arrived. We never missed a mortgage payment or a meal. We always attributed our blessings to Him from whom all blessings flow.
One of my go-to verses, Matthew 6:25-34, encouraged us when times did get tough and money tight; “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a sin-gle hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these…”. And, my blessings haven’t been limited to money. A few years ago Pastor Hugo mentioned the tithing of “time”. I hadn’t thought about tithing that way; 10% of 168 hours in a week? I guess I fall short of that, but I do recognize there are plenty non-monetary ways to serve the Lord as well. As Luke reminds us, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”, (Luke 10:2). A lot to think about; but more for which to be thankful. Yours in His name, Brian
By Brian Maxwell
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Praise God, from whom all blessngs flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, O heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
ST. MATTHEW LUTHERAN CHURCH
4101 WASHINGTON STREET NE COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MN
55421
763-788-9427 www.stmatthew-ch.org
The most current St. Matthew news and calendar are online at
www.stmatthew-ch.org
Church Staff
Bill Hugo, Pastor
Carol Blase, Music Coordinator
Brenda Hugo, Director of Children’s Ministries
Kathy Rosenberg, Parish Nurse
Faustina Allen, Director of Teen Ministry
Ruth Petersen, Office Manager
Julie Sventek, DCLC Director
Discipleship Vision Board
Craig Affeldt [email protected]
Lisa Glaser [email protected]
Cheryl Fristad [email protected]
Pastor Bill Hugo [email protected]
Discipleship Vision Board
Brian Maxwell [email protected]
Tim Naber [email protected]
Lisa Neaderhiser
Louise Roberts (President)