Exciting work is beginning at Christ Church on May 15!

You will not be able to miss it, and you will not want to miss it. Your Second Century Capital Campaign money is being put to work. Thank you!

To name just a few of the extensive improvements that will be made: the courtyard will be dug out to repair decades of water problems; the step outside our main doorways to the court-yard will be eliminated for safety; the Japanese lilac tree whose roots are creating problems below ground will be replaced; courtyard pavement will be replaced with new, even pavement.

In order to do this major construction, the familiar entrances to the education building and the sanctuary will be closed for the summer. The courtyard and the fountain will be closed during construction. We invite everyone to come every Sunday and check out the progress.

The north entrance of the education building, the alley door, and the tower door will be our summer entrance and exit doors. Use what is most convenient for you. It will be very visible that the usual doors will not be accessible. Come a

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Welcome to the Light

May 2017Volume 60, No. 5

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little early on Sunday, May 21 to decide which entrance is best for you. If you park on 33rd Street, the tower door and the alley door will be closest. If you park on 34th Avenue, the north door of the education building will be closest. A doorbell

will be installed at the alley door and north education door to help with accessibility during the week. The doorbell will ring in the office and you will be let in.

On Sundays at the close of worship, the pastors will greet us at the front of the nave. So sit in the front and be the first to get your cof-fee and treats. The hallways in the edu-cation building will be accessible, how-ever we need to keep them clear of furni-ture for emergency exit code. Therefore, Sunday coffee will be

served in the lounge this summer. It will be air-conditioned and comfortable. Activities for children will be on the Kid Cart placed outside, where children can play on the lawn.

We will help each other find our way as we celebrate the preservation and restoration of our beautiful church being done with love for generations yet to come.

Our Summer Together

In this aerial view of the church you can see the main entrances on 34th Avenue South will be closed off. The yellow arrows indicate the three usable entrances: the tower door from 33rd Street (lower left—accessible for disabled people and parents with strollers), the north door to the Education Wing from 34th Avenue (lower right), and the main alley door (top—accessible).

Meanwhile, inside the church . . . The view toward the back of the church will soon (and tempo-rarily) be dramatically changing. The existing organ will be re-moved the last week of June. In preparation for that, the screen will come down sometime in late May or early June.

Once the organ is removed, work on the organ chamber will pro-ceed. In April the organ task force held a meeting involving John Panning from Dobson Organ Builders, Angela Wolf Scott, our architect from MacDonald and Mack, and involved persons from

the congregation. At this meeting we worked out most of the remaining details of the construction plan. The chamber must be solid to provide the best acoustics. Also, we want to minimize vibration. To accomplish these goals, we may need to reinforce the ceiling in the chamber, and the space between the walls will be filled with either sand or gravel to increase the density of the wall while still allowing moisture to pass through the wall.

Continued—see “Organ,” page 3

2

Christ Church Lutheran3244 34th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55406 612.721.6611

mail@christchurchluth.org christchurchluth.org

A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

A Reconciling in Christ Congregation

A National Historic Landmark

Office HoursMonday–Friday, 9:00am–2:00pm

Sunday WorshipEucharist 9:30am, followed by fellowship

May 7 (last day of Sunday school)Godly Play for children ages 3–6, 11:05am–noon

Spark! for children ages 7 and up, 11:05am–noon

Through MayAdult educational forum, 11:15am–12:15pm

StaffPastors Pastor Kristine Carlson Pastor Erik Haaland

Cantors Pastor Robert Farlee Pastor Martin Seltz

Office Stephanie Okoneski

Facilities Chuck Merrell

Courier Team Pastor Robert Farlee Mary Bode Pastor Kristine Carlson

Congregation CouncilPresident Matthew Courtney

Vice President Will Stark

Secretary Dan Mueller

Treasurer Melody Pauling

Council Members Sarah Brunsvold Kate Haugen Max Herzberg DeAne Lagerquist Marcus Nooney

May Birthdays5/2 Cliff Siewert

5/3 Kara Middleton

5/10 Annalies Messner

Tillie Wiklander

5/12 Elias Selden

Patricia Solie

5/15 Eb Revsbeck

5/16 Naomi Bruesehoff

5/18 Anders Carlson-Wee

Shay Roberts

5/20 Carmen O’Halloran

5/21 Birgitte Christianson

5/26 Stephanie Gustafson

Carlton Hunke

MariLu Peters

5/27 Zack Carroll

Ken Koense

5/28 Robyn Nooney

5/29 Sergei Lenskii

5/30 Kyle Swanson

Chad & Marlyse Blihovde

Jan & Gene Bruss

Phyllis Dunstone

Kate Haugen & Carlton Hunke

Michael Jefferis

Dave Kutzbach

Lynn & Kevin Larson

Kevin Reuther & Gerry Tyrrell

Samantha Rice

Ute & Bob Swenson

Dick Thompson

Evelyn Wermager

Brook & Nate Williams

Helping Hands May / June

Each member is part of Helping Hands. You may be asked to help with Sunday Coffee and other hospitality related events as needs arise. Mary Bode and Joanne Seltz, coordinators.

A Unique GiftCheck out the hand crafted stationery by the women of Christ Church. A table is set up by the Yellow Room in the education wing each Sunday. Buy cards to send, or give a package of cards as a gift. On the left is a sample of the beautiful work done by our stationery crafters.

Christ is risen indeed!Alleluia!

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Lectionary Readings May 2017Sunday, May 7Fourth Sunday of EasterActs 2:42-47Psalm 231 Peter 2:19-25John 10:1-10

Sunday, May 14Fifth Sunday of EasterActs 7:55-60Psalm 31:1-5, 15-161 Peter 2:2-10John 14:1-14

Sunday, May 21Sixth Sunday of EasterActs 17:22-31Psalm 66:8-201 Peter 3:13-22John 14:15-21

Sunday, May 28Seventh Sunday of EasterReadings for Ascension DayActs 1:1-11Psalm 47 or Psalm 93Ephesians 1:15-23Luke 24:44-53

Educational Forums Sundays 11:15am

May 7—Fourth Sunday of Easter Beacon Interfaith Housing CollaborativeDebra Rodgers, Associate Director of Congregational Organizing at Beacon Interfaith

Beacon is an interfaith collaborative of congregations seeking to end homeless-ness through housing, shelter and advoca-cy. A portion of our Second Century Cap-ital Campaign gifts are going to support one of Beacon’s newest developments, Great River Landing in downtown Min-neapolis, which will provide housing for men coming out of incarceration. Come and learn about Beacon’s good work in our community, and how we are connect-ed to it.

May 14—Fifth Sunday of EasterGathering a New Church Rev. Marissa Sotos, Mission Developer, Tree of Life Lutheran

Come learn about a brand new local mission start, Tree of Life Lutheran. Tree of Life is in its first year of becoming a Sunday evening worshiping community in the North Loop, a downtown neighborhood with many people but few churches. Mission developer Pastor Marissa Sotos will talk about the origins of forming a new faith community, the cultural questions involved, what’s happening right now, and how you can get involved. Bring your ideas, insights and questions on what it means to gather a new church here and now!

May 21—Sixth Sunday of EasterLife, Work, and Worship in CopenhagenJohn and Birgitte Christianson

Christ Church members John and Birgitte Christianson recently spent six and a half months living in Copenhagen. Come and learn about what life was like for them while they were there. Birgitte and John plan to talk in particular about their experiences of the church in Denmark.

Forums will resume in the fall.

Do You (or Did You) Play an Instrument?Near the end of June, our organ will be removed, and we will worshiping without it for nearly a year. How will the music be led during that time? By our cantors, in a number of ways. We have our beautiful Yamaha grand piano, which will be moved near the front of the nave for the time be-ing. And we will be trying out some differ-ent ways of singing together—some of it without paper in front of us.

But we would also like to take the oppor-tunity to feature more of the musicians among us. Do you play an instrument? (Or would you like to get those dormant abilities back in shape?) Would you be willing to share your talents with our wor-shiping assembly? It can be as simple or as elaborate as you would like—playing along with the piano on a hymn; playing a little piece before or during the service; joining with others in playing together. The cantors are happy to help you out! Talk to Pastor Farlee or Pastor Seltz, and we’ll get you on the schedule.

Also, other issues such as climate control and lighting in the chamber are being ad-dressed.

Let’s say thanks to Darrell Anderson, who has put in much time and lent his considerable expertise to the plans for preparing the chamber behind the screen for the new organ.

Additional information regarding the contract for the organ chamber work can be found in the Council Report on page 4. The new organ is scheduled to be finished in mid-April 2018.

Organ, continued from page 1

Christ Church Lutheran Finances (as of 3//31/17) ACTUAL BUDGET (3 mo.) DIFFERENCE

Member Giving/ Envelopes 69,363.66$ 74,500.00 (5,136.34)$ Other Income 28,595.10$ 25,466.25$ 3,128.85$ Total Income 97,958.76 99,966.25$ (2,007.49)$ Total Expenses 97,207.27$ 100,641.22$ (3,433.95)$

Total Surplus (or Deficit) 751.49$ (674.97)$ 1,426.46$

Treasurer’s ReportWe’ve made up ground in our member giving deficit, and in our income versus expenses deficit. Thanks for that! We’re doing better than last month, so we’re headed in the right direction!

On April 23, Gretel Ruth Byers was baptized at Christ Church. Here she is afterward with her mother Betsy, brother Gus, and father Matt.

4

Celebrating a Birthday

Church friends celebrate Mary Lou Doll’s 90th at Augustana Apart-ments, in the wonderful Party Room up on the 7th floor—Elayne Strom, Pastor Carlson, Phyllis Dunstone, and Mary Lou. In the back-ground, Dick Strom looks out the windows on the city he once patrolled as a Minneapolis City police officer. Happy birthday, Mary Lou!

Artists Among UsAgain this year we were pleased to feature art by members of Christ Church on the covers of the Triduum and Easter service folders. Originals will be on display in the atrium of the Educa-tion Wing, beginning with Jeff Weispfenning’s.

Jeff Weispfenning created a new painting for the Triduum bulletin. Jeff was born September 11, 1966 in Moorhead, Minnesota, the young-est of five children. He attended Minne-sota State University, Moorhead, gradu-ating in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree – Painting; also studying Print-making and the Graphic Arts.

Weispfenning paints in a basement stu-dio, dubbed “The Artcave” at his home in Minneapolis’ Longfellow Neighborhood where he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son Freddie, and one tuxedo cat. Every year he participates in the local LoLa Art Crawl in the Longfellow neighborhood.

Since 1993 Jeff has entered the annual “Midwestern Invitational Exhibition” at the Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, Minnesota, where he worked for five years. He was one of the original artists exhibiting at the GK Art Gallery, Cooperstown, North Dakota,

once “live-painting” at an opening. He has twice painted in the White Bear Lake, MN, “Open Canvas” event. Jeff had a one-man exhibition at the Rourke Art Gallery, summer 2012. He was the Featured Artist at the Uptown Gallery in Fargo, ND, in June 2015.

The painting Jeff creat-ed for the Triduum bul-letin is titled “The Risen Christ.” Yet it clearly shows the effects of the

suffering he endured. As Weispfenning says, “He gazes directly at the viewer with a knowing, serious look, but not judgmental.”

Anna Mason contributed a painting to grace the cover of the Easter bulletin. Anna grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from St. Olaf College where she majored in Studio Art with a

focus in painting and photography. After graduation, she worked in elementary schools assisting children with special needs. She went on to pursue a Masters of Education degree at the University of Minnesota, specializing in teaching stu-dents with Learning Disabilities. Anna taught Special Education for nine years in Richfield, Minnesota. Anna lives in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis with her husband and two children.

Anna uses watercolor to make abstract landscapes, inspired by lakeshore views. In recent years, Anna has focused on making watercolor paintings of the aerial view of Minnesota lakes, rang-

ing from small paintings of obscure lakes hidden in northern Minnesota to large scale paintings of Lake Superior. She has shown her work at the Northrup King building during Art-a-Whirl, the annual open stu-dio art crawl in Northeast Minneapolis. In the sum-mer of 2016 she participat-ed in a two-person art show at Crossings gallery in Zumbrota, MN. In the fall of 2016 she participated in the Longfellow neighbor-hood art crawl (LoLa), and her paintings were on dis-play at the Riverview Café.

Mason’s watercolor for the Easter bulletin is a semi-abstract titled “Giant Pink Clouds.” Its forms and colors capture the exuberant joy of Christ’s resurrection. And as Pastor Carlson noted, the blues connect heaven and earth, while also suggesting Christ with his arms open wide in welcome.

A continuing goal for Christ Church Lutheran is to become a center for arts of all kinds, especially as they relate to our life in Christ. We enjoy riches in architecture, music, poetry, cooking, and increasingly in the visual arts. Thank you, Anna and Jeff, for sharing your great gifts with us!

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Experience The WolfGangNext in Music from Christ ChurchOn Saturday evening, May 13th, at 7:30pm, The Wolf-Gang returns to Christ Church Lutheran for another magical evening of Mozart. The program will include new transcriptions for The WolfGang (by Paul Jacobson) of the overtures to The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni and Mozart’s ethereal “Grand Partita.” A reception will follow the concert in the Luther Lounge.

The musicians of The WolfGang – Paul Jacobson, traverso (18th century flute)Stanley King, oboeMary Sorlie, violinJennifer Kalika, violaLaura Handler, violoncelloGail Olszewski, fortepiano

Retirees – The Life and Importance of Martin LutherThe Retirees group meets on Wednesday, May 31, at 11:00 a.m. in the Concordia Room. After a presentation

by Cantor Robert Farlee, a potluck lunch will follow. Please bring cold foods for the warm weather. All are welcome to attend.

Pastor Farlee recently retired from his “daytime” job as an editor at Augsburg Fortress, the ELCA pub-lishing house. During his last couple of years there he was deeply in-

volved in preparing resources for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation. He will present a PowerPoint address focusing on reformer Mar-tin Luther.

Jody McGuire receives architecture awardThe American Institute of Architects–Minnesota recently announced that Christ Church member Jody McGuire was awarded the 2017 Emerging Talent of the Year Award.

McGuire is currently an associate at SALA Architects in Min-neapolis. She earned a master of architecture degree at Yale University and worked in New Haven, CT, and Osaka, Japan, among other places, before joining SALA.

Jody is an adjunct professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota and a member of AIA Minnesota.

Jurors remarked that McGuire’s work shows “playfulness and adventurousness” while also being well-organized. They felt her work represented an architect who is developing her own, strong voice.

Congratulations, Jody!

Second Century Campaign UpdateIt’s going to be a mess around here . . . for a little while.

Major construction projects are about to begin on Christ Church as planned for by our Second Century Campaign. The costs of repair and restoration are expected to ap-proach $2,000,000.

We launched the Second Century campaign in 2015 to run through 2019, with the purpose to repair and preserve our landmark building and replace our ailing pipe organ. Members and friends of the congregation pledged their support in a variety of ways: one-time gifts, pledges to be paid over a 3- to 5-year period, and donated stock. Here is where we currently stand with pledges received and pledges still to come in:

$1,552,382 total pledges $1,323,258 total payments received to date

$229,124 pledges yet to be paid on a planned schedule

We were fortunate to receive Legacy Grant funding to re-place the Education Building roof. The preservation work on the courtyard area will begin on May 15th. Work on the new pipe organ will begin at the end of June. These projects will be largely funded by campaign contributions from individuals like you, and additional grant funding that we have already received, and more that we hope for.

“Now it’s our turn,” the slogan for this campaign, says it well. • If you pledged, thank you. • If you have paid off your pledge, THANK YOU! • If you still paying your pledge, thanks for keeping on track.• If you are able, consider making an additional gift to this campaign.• If you are not already part of this exciting campaign, we invite you join us!

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Closeup is a Courier feature to help us get better acquainted with one another. If you would like to share your story in Closeup, call Donna Lindberg at 651.552.8499.

This month Closeup interviews Pat Baehler, who will become chair of the Altar Guild in May, and Lucille Buelow, who has been an Altar Guild member for 35 years and chair for 24 years.

Lucille BuelowWhy did you choose to join the Altar Guild?I joined in 1982 and became chair in 1993.

What are the duties of the Altar Guild?As part of the Worship Committee, the Altar Guild is concerned with the care of the worship spaces and placement of the fur-nishings and appointments used in worship.

What advice would you give Pat as she assumes these duties? The responsibilities of the chairperson are made much easier with the help of the other Guild members.

Do you have any interesting stories to tell about the Altar Guild?At one time all of the Altar Guild members were men. Currently, we have one man, Bob Swenson.

When did you become a mem-ber of Christ Church Luther-an and what brought you to our church?In 1959, several women at the Minneapolis VA Hospital where I lived and worked attended Christ Church Lutheran and I started joining them.

How does Christ Church Lutheran help you live and share your faith?Being a member of the Altar Guild has increased my under-standing and faith in the various aspects of the worship service.

What can you tell us about yourself that we may not have known?I worked in the health care field for 41 years. The last 18 years I was Division Manager of Health and Services at St. Paul College and Dean the last two years.

Do you have anything else to share?I enjoy traveling and have visited countries in every continent. I now travel to visit family in other states.

Pat BaehlerWhen did you join the Altar Guild? Shortly after I joined Christ Church in 2009. I enjoy the way members help each other and the happy atmosphere of the sac-risty.

Has Lucille given you any advice about becoming chair?Lucille has been a kind, faithful, and thoughtful leader. I couldn’t ask for more support as I begin this important work.

Why did you choose to take on this responsibility?The Altar Guild is a quiet ministry, but vital to our life together. In this role I feel I can give back to the faith that has given me so much.

Do you supervise others or coordinate volunteers in this capacity?This is all about coordination and continuing Lucille’s efforts to recruit new volunteers.

When did you join Christ Church Lutheran and why?When I moved to the Twin Cit-ies from Chicago I visited Christ Church and felt at home almost immediately. I loved the wor-ship, the preaching, the care that went into every service. I am grateful every day for our community here.

How does Christ Church Lu-theran help you live and share your faith?Christ Church challenges me to think differently about God, about faith, and about our world.

This place makes sharing my faith much easier. I know even my agnostic or atheist friends will be welcomed at events or services here.

What can you tell us about yourself that we may not have known?My sister, who looks a lot like me, was at St. Olaf College while Pastor Carlson was doing her seminary internship there. When I came to Christ Church twenty years later, Pastor Carlson made the connection just by looking at me!

Do you have anything else to share? As S. Anita Stauffer said in her book Altar Guild and Sacristy Handbook, “Members of the altar guild are grateful servants: ministers of God, ministers of God’s people, ministers of the lit-urgy, and ministers of the worship space.”

Courier Closeup – Lucille Buelow and Pat Baehler

Pat Baehler (left), Lucille Buelow (right)

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Meals on Wheels Monday-Friday

2

7:00pm Preservation

3

1:00pm Staff

4

6:30pm Children’s Ministry

7:00pm Choir

5

1:00pm Sheridan Story

6

7 Easter 48:30am Altar Guild

9:30am Eucharist

11:05am Sunday School

11:15am Forum

3:30-5:30pm Spring Fling / End of Sunday School Party

8 9 10

10:00am Stationery

11

LSS Safe House Meal

7:00pm Choir

7:30pm Project Management

12 13

7:30pm The WolfGang Concert

14 Easter 5 Mother’s Day 9:30am Eucharist

11:00am Building Tour

11:15am Forum

15

Courtyard Construction Begins

Courier Deadline

16

7:00pm Council

17

1:00pm Staff

18

7:00pm Choir

19

10:00am Sheridan Story

The Shelter Meal

20

10:00am Baptism Celebration - Nurturing Faith

21 Easter 6

9:30am Eucharist

11:15am Forum

22 23 24 25 26 27

28 Ascension Sunday

9:30am Eucharist

29 Memorial Day

Building Closed

30

7:00pm FCCL Board

31

11:00am Retirees

May 2017

Synod Assembly

Dates to Note:Sunday May 7, 3:30—5:30pm Last Day of the Sunday School Year Spring Fling. Fun, games, and taco bar. All are welcome.

Saturday, May 13, at 7:30pm, The WolfGang returns for another magical evening of Mozart. All are welcome. Free-will offering.

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