December 2011

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ASK THE PASTOR

Q: How do Lutherans understand conversion?

A:  That can be a very frightening topic for some!  Images of going door to door and asking if those who answer if they are saved can come to mind.  Or standing on a street corner with a sandwich board draped over your shoulders reading “The End Is Near”.  Perhaps its guilt from not wanting to do those things that causes you dread.  If anything like that came to mind be of good cheer!  We Lutherans deal with conversion in a simple way—conversion is God’s work, not ours. 

To grasp hold of that concept, it is important to know that Luther pushed the almightiness of God further than most other theologians were willing to go.  It appears Luther figured that if God can’t be all powerful, than who can?  A quick look at Luther’s writings on the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism bears witness to his stance on God’s might (ELW, p. 1162). 

In Luther’s explanation to the First Article on creation (I believe in God, the Father almighty…), Luther credits God with giving and preserving the entirety of his body including all of his senses and mental faculties, and then points to God for having all of his possessions including family, property, job, wellbeing, nourishment, and protection.  Normally, those are things that we take credit for ourselves, but Luther pushes us back to where all these things came from in the first place.  We have a generous God who provides through subtle ways.  These are ways God expresses might.   We are simply recipients of God’s blessings.

In the Second Article on redemption (I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord…), Luther starts to make connection to God’s work and our conversion.  Luther spends the entire explanation writing how Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves—that is redeeming our relationship with God.  It is Christ’s coming down and being human…coming down to the point of death on a cross that we are redeemed.  It is Christ’s completely becoming one with us—even in death—that we have nowhere that Christ isn’t.  As such we become recipients of belonging to God, living under God’s gracious rule, and serving God in righteousness, innocence and blessedness.  It may seem Luther was getting a bit far fetched at the end, but that is exactly Luther’s point—we can’t participate in our conversion.  And Luther finishes that argument in the Third Article.

I believe in the Holy Spirit… In explanation, Luther writes:  I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in true faith…  Luther finishes that where there is sin the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives, and will raise us from the dead on the last day.  Again, God is at work in daily life, and we are merely recipients of that good work.

The question remains—if God does all this for us (including much of what we take credit ourselves), what then is there left for us to do?  The answer is simple: go in the freedom of God’s mighty conversional care and share God’s goodness in both word and deed.  Such living will build incredible relationships and it is through those relationships that the Holy Spirit loves to continue to do that conversion work.  Conversion is God’s work, not ours, but we get to go along for the ride and occasionally see lives changes over and over again in wonderful ways. 

In Christ’s mission, 

Pastor Matt

Ask the Pastor

Do you have a question about religion, faith, the Bible, etc. that a pastor would have the answer to?  Look forward in future Callers for a regular feature entitled "Ask the Pastor".  Members are encouraged to submit their questions to Pastor Matt.  He will try to answer them in the Caller. 

Swan Song

This will be my last article in the Caller as your financial secretary.  After 13 ½ years in the position, I feel the time has come for me to hand the reins over to another in the new year.  It has been an honor and privilege to serve my congregation in this capacity for all these years.  Managing the financial books is a great responsibility that I never took lightly, and your trust in me was greatly appreciated.  All the bank accounts of the church, including the ones I manage, are audited annually.  I am proud to report that my accounts were always found to be accurate, complete and in order. I hope you give the person who replaces me all the support you gave me.  These are financially challenging times for the church, and that situation adds a lot of stress to the one in charge of paying the bills.  It’s not an easy job.  And to those of you who purchase items for the church, filling out the PTF forms are going to be more necessary than ever for the new financial secretary. Thank you for the opportunity to serve my Lord, through this position, for all these years.

Denise Cairns

  Lay Ministry Schedule for December

Altar Guild: Joan Uhlman, Kathie Howell

Counters: Larry Christopherson, Roger Johnson,

                 Lyn Johnson

Attention, Counters! 

The new envelope system we will begin using in 2012 necessitates a change in our counting form.  The new form may prove a bit tricky if you’ve never seen it before.  Therefore we will be holding a training session for the counters on Sunday, November 13 at 10:15 am.  It should only take around a half an hour.  Please plan on attending.   Please RSVP to Denise at finance@st-olaf before November 7.  Thank you.

UFF-DA

Our Sunday School is getting ready for another UFF-DA day.  UFF-DA stands for Uniting Faith and the Forty Developmental Assets.  We will meet on Sunday, November 13 during our education time at 10:15.  The entire family is invited to share some time together and learn more about our faith journey together.  Hope to see you there! 

Lo and Behold:  Sharing Christmas

What do two angels (named Lo and Behold) have to do with Christmas?  An awful lot.  They will be teaching us all about the Christmas story for this year's Christmas program.  Come, see and hear a humorous, inspirational retelling of the night Jesus was born at our Christmas program “Lo and Behold--Seeing is Believing!”  It will be held on Sunday, December 11 at 3 p.m.  Practices will be on Sunday, December 4th during Sunday School (and going a little later than usual) and on Saturday, December 10 from 9-11 a.m.  Please bring your children to Sunday School each week so we can learn the songs for the program.   After our program we will have the Seeing is Believing party for food and fellowship, so please join us.  This is an all church production, so if you would like to help in any way please contact Anne Hautala.  Let us celebrate the birth of our Savior together. 

What is the best gift you ever received?

 Whatever it was, it was probably given out of love. Love comes to us as a gift from God, and we are called to share it with others. The best gifts are those that deepen our relationships with one another. They are unexpected. They are filled with love. And, they are impossible to wrap. ELCA Good Gifts make great gifts for your loved ones and carry that love on to others, making a difference in their lives and the world. Take a few moments to explore the catalog, and discover the life-changing ministry we do together as a response to Christ’s love in our lives. You can give a gift right now to support the work of ELCA World Hunger.  With an ELCA Good Gift for World Hunger, you can:  provide fresh water for an entire community; give a goat to provide families with food, funds, and fertilizer; plant an orchard to bear good, nutritious fruit for years to come; offer a micro-credit loan to help a woman start a small business or help a child buy school supplies.  

You probably have some people on your list who already have everything they need.  Share God's love and give them a gift that helps others.  Visit elca.org and go to Good Gifts or check out the catalog hanging on the bulletin board by the mailboxes.  

2012 Envelope Changes

The new year will be here before we know it, and one thing we have to look forward to is switching to a different offering envelope system.  We are retiring the monthly packets of envelopes mailed directly to your home.  We are going back to an annual box of envelopes you will need to pick up at church in December.  This is a bit different from the boxed sets we’ve had in the past, however.  The new sets have a COMBINED single envelope with specific lines for the general and mortgage funds.  Now you will be able to contribute to both funds with just one check.  All you need to do is specify on the front of the envelope how you want your contribution broken down.  Keep in mind that we will once again need to renumber the membership so please pick up your new 2012 envelopes before the first of the year.  And please ONLY use your current 2011 envelopes in calendar year 2011 and your new 2012 envelopes ONLY in calendar year 2012 as you will have different member numbers in the different years.   Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Tired of fiddling around with envelopes entirely?  Go electronic.  St. Olaf’s has an electronic funds transfer program called Simply Giving that can be set up to automatically debit your checking account weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly, whichever frequency works best in your situation.  Many of you use EFT debits for other regularly recurring transactions, so why not use it for your church contributions?  With the popularity of cash back credit cards, more and more of us are using our credit cards for routine financial transactions.   Simply Giving can be set up to charge your Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express card.  Either way, Simply Giving is a great tool to help you stay on track with your stewardship intentions.  Sign-up is easy.  There are forms at the usher’s table and in the office.

Denise Cairns, Financial secretary

THANK YOU! 

A big thank you is given to the Birkels for donating the new flags now properly positioned at the base of the stairs leading to the sanctuary.

 ‘Tis the Season for Gift Cards

Christmas is on its way and so many gift cards are purchased each year.  This year why don’t you plan ahead and order the cards through the church.  It saves you a lot of running around and helps the church at the same time. 

There are hundreds of stores to choose from.  So pick up the new list and start shopping! 

We keep the following cards on hand, but with the holidays coming, we expect to sell a lot and might not have everything on hand. 

BP Gas $50                           Kwik Trip $25

Cabela’s $25                         Menards $25

Chili’s $25                              Pick ‘n Save $50/100

Domino’s Pizza $10             Home Depot $25

Piggly Wiggly $50, $100     Pizza Hut $10

I-Tunes $15                            Starbucks $10

Papa Murphy’s $10              Subway $10

Kmart $25                              Walgreen’s $25

Kohl’s $25                              Walmart $25

Using Your Time and Talents

Besides practicing financial stewardship through the collection plate, your time and talents have huge potential in supporting the ministry of St. Olaf's. One example was practicing good stewardship of the church land by raising a soybean crop this year.  God blessed us with an excellent crop and a good price.  The net profit to St. Olaf's from this year's crop is $3,339.  Thank Frontier Coop. in Mapleton for donating the seed and Gary Sielaff for donating the use of his no till drill.  WHAT TALENTS DO YOU HAVE THAT CAN BE CONVERTED INTO FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR YOUR CHURCH?  All it takes is a little thought and a little effort.  When you would like to increase your plate offering but just can't given the economic condition, turning your time and talents into financial support by doing things that you enjoy doing is the answer

News from the Leadership Team

The new church leadership team took office last May with a unified goal to build upon the good work of the previous team and make changes as necessary to improve our ministry and ensure a successful future for St. Olaf's.  Toward that end, we had to prioritize the many areas of improvement we saw as necessary.

We felt that improving communications and interaction within the church and with the community we serve was the firm foundation that was needed on which to support the rest of our planned improvements. 

Improving communications required an evaluation of our existing technology to see if it would support what we wanted to do.  it would not do what we needed it to do to improve our communications, track our data, sell ourselves to the community, etc.

New technology options were evaluated as to what they would do for us and their affordability.  Affordable replacement technology was found which will not require an outlay of funds from the general fund.  The congregation will begin to see the fruits of this labor shortly when a secretary comes on board to operate the systems and use them to communicate and coordinate the activities of St. Olaf's.   

Another high priority of the leadership team is the start of a Pastor/small group visitation program beginning with the home bound, hospitalized, ill, and injured.  We want a communication/notification system where no one is missed or slips through the cracks.  Our new technology and secretary will be instrumental in this effort.

We feel that small groups of people who are truly interested in certain projects are the answer to moving forward on the suggestions and good ideas submitted to church leadership.  The first example was the establishment of a promotion / publicity small group that can assist committees and other small groups with the promotion and publicity for their projects.

It is the intent of the leadership team to keep the congregation informed through the Caller, announcements, and the new technology being implemented.

Suggestions and Ideas are welcome

The leadership team welcomes suggestions and ideas from the congregation.  It is committed to responding to the submitter and either seeking a way to act on the idea, keep it on file for future action, or explain to the submitter why it can not be accepted.  Remember though that it takes people to move ideas forward.  Submit to Ron Egelseer, June Sumnicht, Roger Johnson, or Mark Larson.

Have you thought of Simply Giving?

Can't make it to church next Saturday or Sunday?  Your plate offering is needed when you can't attend.  The Simply Giving program might be the answer for you.  It certainly is the answer for your church.  Even a portion of your planned regular giving would help a great deal to pay the bills.  See Denise Cairns for details and an application.  Giving through the Simply Giving program is easy, and those who use Simply Giving are glad they do.

Keep saving all that change!

The church now has a mortgage interest rate of 4.5%.  There is no guarantee that the interest rate will be this low again when we have to refinance in a few years.  When the interest rate goes up, less of our contributions to the mortgage fund will go toward the principal. 

The large battery bank was placed just outside the sanctuary in October 2008 by the Finance Committee in an ongoing campaign to recharge the mortgage fund while the interest is low.  For the first four months after it was placed there, spare change contributed by the congregation was averaging $250 / month.  Spare change contributions have since diminished to an average of $40 / month. 

Even though the mortgage fund has so far received a $4,300 boost through the battery recharge campaign, we could do so much more if more St. Olaf's families participated in this simple and painless way to support their church. 

It may seem like a nickel and dime idea, but there is power in numbers.  If only half of St. Olaf's families would take home one of the small battery banks and drop in their spare change, it would result in a $12,000 / year boost to the mortgage fund.  Just think what a dent we could make in paying off our mortgage if every family participated! 

Using our Thrivent Choice Dollars

Last year Thrivent instituted a new policy for directing funds to Lutheran programs, such as schools and churches. They no longer offer a matching funds program for projects as they have in the past. If you have a policy of $20,000 or more or pay $800 per year in premiums, you qualify for choice dollars. YOU get to decide where those dollars go; a Lutheran school or church (hopefully, you will choose St. Olaf Lutheran Church--it's one more way to help our church financially and does not cost you anything).

If you have not already updated your information with Thrivent, such as the church you attend, please contact Thrivent and do so. You may contact them either via the internet at Thrivent.com, or you may telephone Thrivent directly and talk to a real person.

To direct your Thrivent Choice Dollars by phone:

1. dial 1-800-847-4836

2. at first prompt, say "Thrivent Choice"

3. at next prompt, say "Choice Dollars"

4. you will be given two choices; select 1 or 2

5. have your date of birth and the last four digits of your social security ready

6. Representative will tell you whether you qualify to direct dollars (if you qualify,

    please consider directing your dollars to St. Olaf)

I also have some brochures available to explain how to register on Thrivent.com. I will have them at church the weekend of November 5 and 6. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about Thrivent's programs.

Cindy J. Schlieve,

Thrivent Congregational Representative

920-474-7134

Taking Faith Home

By Marilyn Sharpe (TYFI.org)

Doing Things Differently This Year

         It began before Halloween – Christmas trees appeared in the stores, red and green decked all of the commercial halls, displays and catalogs began their siren song of “buy me, buy me.” Anxiety washed over most adults and we girded ourselves for the Christmas marathon. We know we will spend too much, sleep too little, eat food that isn’t good for us, entertain people we aren’t crazy about, try to please everyone, without much success. As Christians, we know this is a holy season, not a commercialized, consumerist nightmare, and yet... Could it be different?

         What would happen if you chose to do Christmas differently this year? But isn’t it too late to change? Won’t people protest? Won’t people be disappointed? And where would we begin?

Have a goal. Years ago, when Christmas had gotten utterly out of control and did not bring me much joy, I decided that on the 26th of December, I wanted three things:

·   To have experienced the gift of Jesus’ coming

·   To have been delighted and felt joy

·   To have my family still happy to be related to me

That has been my North Star, the goal that guides my planning and experience and assessment. Has it always happened this way? Heavens, no!

Prioritize. Begin today by asking your family this question: What is the one thing that you need to see, hear, read, sing, eat, do or experience this Advent season to make it feel as though Christmas has really come for you? Then, let that be the focus of your Advent and Christmas season. This is a wonderful way to simplify.

Delegate. One person can’t do it all. Decide who will do what, and include everyone.

Collaborate. Have a family wrap-a-thon or make cookie baking a group activity. Put on carols. Enjoy one another, as well as

accomplish what you have chosen to do.

Delete. Without apology, decide what you will not do this year. What are those things that drain the life and delight out of you. Decide not to do them. It makes space for those things that give you life and delight.

Do it differently. If you host Christmas Eve dinner, instead of slaving over a hot stove, consider serving a purchased lasagna, potluck, or make something ahead and freeze it.

Tell others what you are doing and why. Invite them to join you in a simpler, more joyous Christmas season.

SAVOR!

FAMILY ACTIVITIES:

1.Have the family conversation about what is really important to experience this season; then, focus on that.

2.Create a family Christmas calendar, with all of the planned activities AND quiet time to enjoy one another and to savor the spiritual.

3.What is the gift that you will give the Christ child this year? Plan a service project that you will do together.

4.Have an evening of storytelling. Parents, grandparents and beloved adults, tell the children what it was like for you as a child at Christmastime.

5. Remember those who are not with you this season. Light a candle in their honor.

Lutheran World Relief Changes

There will be some changes in the contents of the kits that we put together for Lutheran World Relief.  The names of some of the kits have also changed.  This information is also available at lwr.org and on the bulletin board near the mailboxes.  

Personal Care Kits (formerly Health Kits)

¨      One light- to medium-weight, bath-size towel (approximately 52” x 27” or smaller, dark color recommended

¨      Two bath-size bars (4 to 5 oz.) of soap

¨      One adult-size toothbrush

¨      One sturdy comb, remove packaging

¨      One metal nail clippers (with or without file)

Baby Care Kits (formerly Layettes)

¨      Two lightweight cotton t-shirts

¨      Two long- or short-sleeved gowns or sleepers (without feet)

¨      Two receiving blankets, medium-weight cotton or flannel, or crocheted or knitted with lightweight yarn, up to 52” square

¨      Four cloth diapers, flat fold preferred

¨      One jacket, sweater or sweatshirt with a hood, or include a baby cap

¨      Two pairs of socks

¨      One hand towel, dark color recommended

¨      Two pairs of socks

¨      One hand towel, dark color recommended

¨      Two bath-size bars (4 to 5 oz.) of gentle soap, in original wrapping

¨      Two diaper pins or large safety pins

School Kits

¨      Four 70 sheets notebooks of wide-or college-ruled paper approximately 8”x10 ½”, no loose-leaf paper. 

¨      One 30-centimeter ruler, or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other

¨      One pencil sharpener

¨      One blunt scissors (safety scissors with embedded steel blades work well)

¨      Five unsharpened #2 pencils with erasers; secure together with a rubber band

¨      Five ballpoint pens (no gel ink); secure together with a rubber band

¨      One box of 16 or 24 crayons

¨      One 2½” eraser

¨      One sturdy drawstring backpack-style cloth bag approximately 14” X 17” with shoulder straps (no standard backpacks)