Fellowship, Service, and Ministry Opportunities BIBLE STUDY
September 2020
BIBLE STUDY SCHEDULE
Men’s Bible Study - Thursday mornings @ 7:00am in the Fellowship Hall “Let’s Eat” Bible Study –Thursdays @ 6:30pm August 27th, September 10th and 24th @ Phil Johnson’s
“Come As You Are” Bible Study- Mondays 7:30pm (Currently reading the gospel of John) in Friendship Room @ Concordia
John’s Circle Bible Study- 1:30pm in the Friendship Room September 9th Matthew Circle Bible Study- on break for summer
Mark Circle Bible Study- on break for summer Healthy Conversations - on break for summer
WORSHIP TIME 9 AM September 2020
Sunday School Sept13-Dec 13 SUNDAY, September 6
9:00am Worship ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY, September 13
9:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY, September 20
9:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY, September 27
9:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
Save the Date: Christmas Program, Wed. Dec 16, 2020
WORSHIP TIME 11 AM October 2020
Sunday School Sept13-Dec 13 SUNDAY, October 4
11:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY, October 11
11:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY, October 18
11:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUNDAY, October 25
11:00am Worship 9:45-10:45am Sunday School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weekly Attendance & Offering 8/02/2020 23 People~$2,096.00 8/09/2020 18 People -$3,156.00 8/16/2020 30 People -$2,775.00 8/23/2020 24 People~$3,295.00 8/30/2020 -- People - ???
UPDATE ABOUT WORSHIP SERVICES: All four of our parish churches have resumed in-person Sunday worship services at this point. We are keeping with the regular schedule at this time, with Concordia & Grace at 9am, and Calvary and Ambrose at 11am (through August and September). The Concordia (9am) service is also livestreamed at www.facebook.com/NWULP and you do not need to have a Facebook account to view the service. We continue to not have congregational singing at this point. The Concordia Council has voted to refrain from in-person Holy Communion at this time for the safety of our congregation members. The At Home Holy Communion service, included in this newsletter, continues to be an option for your home to utilize. As of August 24th, worship services led by non-employees at the St. Luke’s Care Center have been cancelled. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Holy Communion Liturgy in the Time of COVID-19 Leader in Home: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. And also with you. When our congregation gathered for Holy Communion with all the saints from every time and place, we heard again the story of God’s mighty acts and the love shown us in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The holy meal of the Lord’s supper was shared. Now we share this word of life, and this bread and cup of blessing, that we may share in these same gifts and be strengthened by the Christian community, even though we gather separately for now. Words of Institution In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Communion Distribution Share the bread with each person, saying, “The body of Christ, given for you.” Then share the wine or grape juice with each person, saying, “The blood of Christ, shed for you.” Prayer After Communion Life-giving God, in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection you send light to conquer darkness, water to give new life, and the bread of life to nourish your people and free us from fear. Send us forth as witnesses to your Son’s resurrection, that we may show your glory to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.
8/11/2020 Members Present: Rod G., Brad V., Lee R., Bryan H., Brittany S., Lu Ann U. Also Present: Pastors Emily and Zach, Shari D., Absent: Jan J and Jane O Lee opened the meeting with amendments to the agenda adding furnace boiler info and cross repair under Property Management. Rod made a motion and Brad seconded it. Motion carried Devotions were read and discussed Prayers Council Covenant was read by all. Secretary’s report was approved by Rod seconded by Brad. Motion carried NW Chorus did not use the church for their meeting Treasurer’s Report – Lee and Shari met about the finances. Some discrepancies where brought forward. Lee and Shari will try to work on this for next month. At this point, we will not be approving the treasurer’s report. Bills were presented and approved by Lu Ann and seconded by Rod. Motion carried Food Pantry received an award for “Agency of the Year” by the Great Plains Food Bank of Fargo. CONGRATULATIONS!! A Big thank you to all who helped with VBS. The Counselors of UMM donated the curriculum and supplies. Worship Committee discussed Communion. The options were:
1. Not offering communion because of safety reasons. 2. Individual communion packets
Council decided to forego communion and continue to practice safety by not offering it at this time. You can partake of this in your home. Property Management: It will cost approx. $1,000 for the cross to be repaired. This would be for material and labor. Color will be white. Brad made a motion to cover the cross with custom bend steel in white with the cost being $310.00 for material plus labor. Lu Ann seconded it. Motion carried. Furnace – Brad brought a bid form HA Thompson & Sons for $122,780.00. It will also cost for the tanks - $6,100.00. The Mechanical Room would have to be cleaned before any of this happens. Bryce Haugenoe is also looking into it and will give us a bid soon. We will have to have a special meeting to decide this, as this is a big expense. We received a bill on the fire and safety inspection. Still waiting on the report from them. Old Business Constitution Bylaws – 16, 17, 18 & 19 New equipment is working well. Volunteers are still needed for livestream and slideshow projector. We need to come up with a plan for the livestream as this is how many people are worshiping. Jill Vassen is willing to train anyone that would like to learn. COVID update – DC cases have gone up. Discussed if more cases arise, should we discontinue having church. Executive committee will make the decision to stop services if this would happen.
New Business NW Chorus was cancelled due to COVID. Tuning of the piano will be done just once a year. They will check with Anne’s Piano’s to see when they think it should be done. Also, Rod will visit with Wendell on this. We renewed our yearly contract with Great Plains Food Bank. Lee signed this. Sound System – We are in need of an IPad which would cost around $400.00. Brad made a motion to purchase this and Bryan seconded it. This would come out of the Dedicated Church Maintenance Fund. Motion Carried. All meeting minutes should be to Shari by the 15th of the month. Adopt-a-Highway reapplication – We will continue with this. Good of the Church – VBA was very well received, good feedback from kids and parents. We were able to handle things ourselves. Next Meeting – Sept 9th @ 7:30 Lord’s Prayer Meeting Adjourned Respectfully Submitted Lu Ann Unhjem,, Secretary
Northwest United Lutheran Parish “We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the Lord”
September, 2020 Newsletter
Ambrose, Calvary, Concordia, Grace
Volume 5, Issue 6
I love to travel. It fascinates me how different places can be – and also how similar. It
speaks to God’s creativity and also reveals God’s fingerprint. And so I feel close
(closer?) to God. It catches my eye, and snaps me out of routine, helps me notice
things. It wakes me up.
But goodness, travel can also be exhausting. So much “new,” so many decisions,
trying to figure things out, navigating in a new place…so much unknown. What a mix
of invigorating new life and exhaustion!
The past several months have meant little-to-no travel. And yet they have also been
this way: revealing God’s creativity and fingerprint, God working in the world. Stirring
new action as we discern what life and ministry and work and all else looks like in this
present context. How can this new ‘place’ we are in speak to us of God’s creativity?
How do we see God at work in this present world?
And exhausting? Yes. This new ‘place’ is indeed exhausting. I imagine you’re feeling it.
So much new. So much unknown. So much on-again/off-again. So many decisions,
and such planning, contingencies, creative alternatives, obstacles. So many ups and
downs.
This can bear its toll on us in all sorts of ways. I remember the emotion I felt on a
particular walk during quarantine this spring. (Was it days into quarantine or weeks? I
don’t know – it’s all a blur.) But I remember the thrill inside as I saw other humans
walking around outside. We didn’t even cross the street to see them, and we didn’t
know who they were. And yet I was so excited! “Humans!” I said. I think I even
clapped and shook my arms in glee. (Hey, I’ll admit it: Isolation gets to me. Makes me
weird, sure. I believe we are made for connection, and when we disconnect too much
– we feel it.)
It’s amazing how sometimes all I want to do is finally get some alone time. And other
times I’m excited to see any human, even from across the street. Sometimes things
make me silly-happy, things that in other times I wouldn’t even notice. I experience
this as God’s grace. God’s mercy. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of
the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every
morning; great is your faithfulness.”
You who are beloved by God, how are you experiencing God’s mercy new in these
different days? Or in their sameness? There are so many ups and downs. I am truly
praying for you, and hoping you feel God holding you in the midst of all that you face.
I am certainly seeing God in you, and being encouraged by you. I hope you are
Come as you are – Mondays @ 7:30-8:30pm in Friendship Room @ Concordia Bible study (Calvary)- Wednesdays @ 10am
Men’s Bible Study (Grace)- Wednesdays @ 7am @ Grace Lutheran Church
Men’s Bible Study (Concordia, ecumenical)– Thursdays @ 7am in Fellowship Hall @ Concordia
Women of Grace – Wed, September 2nd @ 2pm @ Grace Lutheran Church
“Let’s Eat” Bible Study –Thursdays @ 6:30pm September 10th and 24th @ Phil Johnson’s
John’s Circle Bible Study- Wednesday @1:30pm September 9th in the Friendship Room
Matthew Circle Bible Study- Break for summer
Mark Circle Bible Study- Break for summer
Narrative Lectionary Schedule: NL301: Creation and Fall, Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8, Pr. Emily, 9/6 south, 9/13 north NL302: God's Promise to Abraham, Genesis 15:1-6, Pr. Zachariah, 9/13 south, 9/20 north NL 303: God Works through Joseph, Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-22, 26-34, 50:15-21, Pr. Emily, 9/20 south, 9/27 north
Thank you notes: Thank you so much for the baby care package. It was much appreciated! ~Kassie, Levi, Grace, and
Charlie Motl
Your generosity is overwhelming! Thank you so much! My weighted blanket is wonderful. It’s very
comforting for my nerve damage due to surgery. ~Thank you, Sheila Dolan
Thank you so much for the going home gifts. The blanket is beautiful. ~ The Welks – Myron, Tabitha.
& baby. (Born July 13, 2020)
Save the dates September 13th – Sunday school at Concordia starts at 10am September 16th – Confirmation Parents meeting @ 6:30pm in the Fellowship Hall @ CLC Confirmation Classes Parents Meeting: Wednesday, September 16th, 6:30pm, Fellowship Hall The pastors will meet with parents of students in 7th-9th grade to discuss options for confirmation classes this fall. We will share our ideas and gather input from families. Student attendance at the planning meeting is optional, but they will have an opportunity to speak as well if they'd like. A letter will be sent to confirmation families in early September with further details. Please contact the pastors if you would like to be included on this list.
Narrative Lectionary: We have been enjoying the creativity of the open schedule in the lectionary this summer. As pastors we've been choosing scripture texts that seem particularly meaningful in this place and time. Now that September is upon us again, we'll be transitioning into the Narrative Lectionary. This means a prescribed reading schedule, and discerning how God is speaking to us in this time and place from specific texts. The rhythm will be Old Testament texts until the 4th Sunday in Advent (before Christmas), and then we'll transition to the New Testament as we celebrate Jesus' birth. We will be in the gospel of Luke through the 2nd Sunday of Easter. We have also decided to try something different this fall, and stagger our preaching rhythm at our south and north churches: Grace and Calvary will be starting the lectionary on September 6th, and Concordia and Ambrose will start the lectionary on September 13th. The pastors will rotate churches weekly and share the message first in the southern churches, and then the following Sunday in the northern churches. We will re-align in time for Advent. We hope this allows for continuity in the parish, continues to build relationships as we share together, and enables additional ministry opportunities. In this time of flux it also will open doors for creativity between Pr. Zachariah and Pr. Emily in navigating the uncertainties of fall ministries. We look forward to seeing how this goes, and continuing to grow with you all!
Stewarding the Common Good Jesus taught, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” –Matthew 22:38 In Genesis 4, God asks Cain the whereabouts of Abel, his little brother whom Cain has just murdered in a jealous fit.
Answering God’s question, Cain snarkily retorts, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The correct answer for Cain is, “Yes, you
are your brother’s keeper.” And the principle applies to us, too.
Woven through Scripture is God’s clear priority that we love and care for one another. The imperative finds clearest
expression in the life and words of Jesus, who repeatedly teaches us to love everyone – friend, family, neighbor – even
enemy. No exceptions.
Love for neighbor is a stewardship issue because we are responsible to care for all that God has entrusted to us,
including community, relationships, and the welfare of others. Stewarding the common good is an essential component.
As North Americans, we have not done a very good job of stewarding the common good because our culture teaches us
to “look out for number one,” as opposed to looking out for everyone. Consider how much of our political division and
brokenness in criminal justice, education, healthcare, economics, and government results from our thinking “what’s
good for me,” rather than “what’s good for everybody.”
Stewarding the common good often involves giving up some measure of what would be good just for us. We sacrifice
out of love to provide what is good for our neighbor. Is anything more Christian?
This year, especially as politics and division has embroiled and divided our country, study how the theme of loving our
neighbor and stewarding the common good is woven through Scripture. What does it mean for you and the church?
RSVP, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, is a federal program that networks with local agencies in need of volunteers by recruiting and placing volunteers within communities. Volunteers 55 and older give their time and experience to improve the lives of others and to help communities become more resilient and self-sufficient. RSVP matches individuals with volunteer opportunities in non-profit organizations and government agencies throughout North Dakota. Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota facilitates the statewide RSVP program. RSVP projects within our communities include: food delivery, distribution, and collections; transportation and companionship to older adults and/or those with disabilities; etc. Please reach out to our RSVP team leads for more information or to volunteer: Western North Dakota: (833)660-9739 Eastern North Dakota: (833) 764-8644 Read more about our RSVP volunteers on our lssnd.org blog: lssnd.org/post/from-mask-making-crusaders-to-tator-traffic-controllers-rsvp-volunteers-respond-where-needed “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” 1 Peter 4:10 LSSND is committed to serving you – our neighbors. Your donation gives people the help they need to overcome adversity and be well. Donate today at: www.lssnd.org/donate or by mail to: LSSND, P.O. Box 389, Fargo, ND 58107 God’s peace be with us. Jean Quigley LSSND Church Relations [email protected]
Lutheran World Relief Today, we learned that in addition to the devastating loss of life, injuries and widespread damage caused by the Beirut explosion, three containers of LWR Quilts and Kits – amounting to more than 47,000 items – were also destroyed. These items were at the port of Beirut, on their way to families hit hard by the increasingly dire economic situation in Lebanon — including refugee families who fled conflict in Syria. As someone who has sent gifts of love to our neighbors around the world, I know you are keenly aware that we lost much more than mere physical items. For the families who were to receive these items, the loss of a quilt will mean a colder winter. The loss of a kit means fewer resources to keep families — and especially children — healthy and safe in difficult circumstances. We don’t know yet how we will be able to replace these valuable items, but we are committed to finding a way — while also responding to the urgent needs of families suffering in the aftermath of the explosion. Your love will be a lifeline to families living through this crisis. Please give what you can today.
Your gift to our World of Good emergency response fund will do so much. You’ll provide food and shelter for desperate families in Beirut, and get quilts and kits into the hands that need them in Lebanon. This is a difficult time in the world, but God’s love is faithful and so are you. Please give your best gift today so that we can work to make sure your love reaches every neighbor. In Christ's Love,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Great Plains Food Bank names 2019 Agency of the Year Award Winners
FARGO: Great Plains Food Bank announced on Tuesday a trio of hunger-relief organizations in its 2019 Agency of the Year Award winners. The Divide County Food Pantry in Crosby, Hope Center in Devils Lake and Faith Food Ministry in Fargo have been recognized as recipients of the award for their efforts serving those battling food insecurity in their communities and each day living out the Great Plains Food Bank's value of passion, service and innovation.
The Agency of the Year Award is the highest honor given to the Great Plains Food Bank's network of more than 300 partner food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens serving those in need across North Dakota and western Minnesota. This is the first time in the nine-year history of the award that it has been given to more than one agency.
Understanding and Honoring Anger by Melody Stanford Martin It can feel disorienting and overwhelming to find ourselves in a moment of anger, especially when that anger is on a grand scale, like political unrest.
Understanding anger is challenging, let alone experiencing the emotion in the first place.
Whether we are on the frontlines or the sidelines of social change, we feel the boiling-over. We feel the deep sense that the world is not as it should be.
Anger is treated with a love-hate relationship in the U.S. context. Some of us respond well to anger; it’s an integrated part of the way we move around in the world. Others of us believe anger is destructive and counterproductive; we shy away from expressions of it because we believe it’s somehow flawed.
Understanding Anger in Cultural Contexts
Our view of anger is often culturally based. I grew up in a white pastor’s family where anger did not have much of a place. It was equated with being “mean.” We were commonly told to reframe the ways we spoke so we would sound less angry. We were taught, as it says in the Bible, that “a soft answer turns away wrath.” The subtext of these beliefs was that anger was the opposite of being
rational, and expressing anger undermined our credibility. So I learned to stuff my anger down, and ignore it, and doubt it, and re-code it, and fear it. And I was taught to ignore people who were expressing anger because surely that meant they were doing something wrong.
The result was that my muscles of tolerance for angry-sounding speech were not developed: when I heard anger expressed, I could only hear tone, and not meaning.
I can say from personal experience that if you don’t have a healthy relationship with anger, you risk misunderstanding people who are in pain. You risk misunderstanding situations of injustice. You risk failing to empathize.
As I’ve grown up and learned about activism, I’ve come to realize that anger is a powerful tool in the hands of the righteous. I’ve learned that in many communities—for example, in Black communities—anger is commonly seen as a normal part of life. It is seen as an appropriate, rightful, and highly rational response to situations of abuse, injustice, powerlessness, or trauma. Poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde famously said, “My response to racism is anger. … That anger has eaten clefts into my living only when it remained unspoken. … Black women are expected to use our anger only in the service of other people’s salvation or learning. But that time is over.”
The cultural differences around anger can be astounding. They can run deep, but they are not born in a vacuum. Anger for anger’s sake is not the point; it is not a cultural value on its own. Anger is the result of historical realities like systemic racism, white supremacy, and powerlessness. Anger is a natural source of energy for the fight for justice. It protects, it motivates, it moves us to act.
Expressing and understanding anger, in some communities, is a part of love. If you love someone, if you love your country, if you love yourself, you will get mad when you witness or experience unnecessary harm. You will speak up on behalf of the wounded to make things right. That is a normal and healthy human response. It is not a healthy response to ignore or punish people for expressing anger. Anger is always a symptom of something deeper.
Learning about these different ideas of anger has made me want to dig into anger and into the ways I was taught to view it. Most importantly, it has made me ask: What is the rightful place of anger? When anger is healthy, what does it do? What does it look like? When is it right to make space for anger?
Four Types of Anger
Understanding anger can be difficult. It helps to think of anger as having four different qualities that can overlap.
• Short anger is the experience of the immediate, physical anger that is connected to our fight-or-flight system. It’s part of our body’s ability to protect itself; it mobilizes us to take immediate action. It flares up and winds down quickly.
• Long anger is a profound and ongoing sense that the world is not what it should be. It is connected to our meaning-making ability, our natural process of grief. It is sustained over time, as long as the injustice or wrongfulness continues.
• Hot anger is the rush of rage, as in a public outcry; it has an explosive or destructive quality. It is a natural and rightful response to injustice. It acts like a volcano, boiling over.*
• Cold anger is anger that has been cooled and put to use. It is directed toward something productive and positive, like changing laws, leadership, and culture, or healing broken relationships. If hot anger is a volcano, cold anger is a river that cuts through stone and, over time, does the impossible. It transforms us.*
* (The idea of hot and cold anger is not mine; it comes from the world of community organizing.)
When the four types of anger intersect, we can start to map out the actions and attitudes that are associated with anger.
• Short-hot anger is the knee-jerk reaction. It is when our tempers flare in the immediate, and because they are not directed at anything productive, they just stay explosive. Often this anger dies down quickly because short anger is not rooted in larger systems of injustice or grief. We can experience this kind of anger when we are embarrassed, for example, or if someone is making fun of us.
• Short-cold anger is the realm of self-protection and mobilization. It can inspire us to negotiate, defend, and de-escalate. It is positive action in-the-moment that is not planned or strategized ahead of time.
• Long-hot anger can be incredibly destructive or self-destructive. It is the buildup of a lot of grief and pain, but it doesn’t have anywhere to go. At its peak, it can express and drive a breakdown of social order or relationships that are no longer tenable. As long-hot anger starts to “cool” it can start to be put to use in healthy ways: it can help us express pain and injustice, and can move us to protest things in our communities or societies that are not right. In the below graphic, the shaded blue area shows what happens in the “cooling” process.
• Long-cold anger is the most productive intersection of anger. It’s the process over time of enacting change so that unjust situations won’t happen again in the future. This change is how we begin to heal unhealthy patterns. Long-cold anger mobilizes and sustains positive actions. Long-cold anger also helps us reconcile with painful pasts by ensuring the future will be filled with more justice. If we can transform our anger to this space (lower-right, shaded blue area below), we can create the most meaning from our anger.
Anger must be honored. It needs to be heard, or it becomes hotter and more destructive. Making healthy space for anger starts with listening and recognizing that anger is an important part of life, an ability we possess to unearth hidden sickness and injustice. Without anger, we can’t move forward; we can’t move at all. So we need to make space for anger.
1. The first step in making space for anger is simply to hear it. When we sense anger in ourselves or in others, we invite people to express their anger. We create intentional times and places to listen to it and not judge it. Let people talk about their pain. Hold what you hear. Value it. Give it credence. Believe the best about the person expressing anger. Hear the message beneath the tone. Understand they are being vulnerable and brave in this moment and that takes a lot of trust. They are trusting you to hear them.
2. Once we listen to anger, we start to unpack We investigate it and the things that are causing it. Understanding anger means taking time to process and examine, to the best of our ability, the entire chain of events, beliefs, rules, policies, laws, and actions that the anger is responding to. Unless we take this step, we can’t start to mobilize our anger in healthy ways. It’s important to remember that anger can move and shift. It can go from short to long, and from hot to cold. We can also misidentify it and think we are dealing with short anger—for example, someone is making fun of us—but really we are dealing with long anger—if the person making fun of us has a pattern of disrespect and doesn’t seem to value us. So the unpacking phase is really important in order to understand the true source of what’s going on.
3. Once we unpack the anger, we identify leaders. Who does the work of cooling anger? It’s the responsibility of all of us to make sure anger doesn’t consume us and break us down. But the process
does require leadership and intense strategy. The role of community organizers and activists is to take hot anger and turn it into cold anger, to take anger that is eating the community and help it become useful and helpful to the community. Remember that the main source of authority, and the leadership of creating the plan, needs to be the people who have experienced injustice and anger the most. They are the primary stakeholders, and any actions taken will impact them the hardest.
4. Once we identify leaders, we can make a plan of action. Plans of action are when the cooling process happens, when hot anger can be turned into something productive. Plans of action must be a) strategic b) sustainable c) measurable d) substantive and e) time-bound or they will be too ambiguous or weak to succeed and the cause of the anger will just rear its ugly head all over again. Understand that people can only see plans of action fail so many times before they lose faith in the cold-anger process—they start to lose faith that they have a voice, they lose faith in democratic process, they lose faith in community, they lose hope. Every time a plan of action fails, it becomes harder and harder to cool anger down. So the stakes are high to do this well and effect substantive change.
5. Finally, we act on the plan. Creating plans and not following through is a surefire way to make anger boil over and consume us. Acting on the plan requires organization, intention, and commitment. Understand also that the people who have been the angriest for the longest are probably exhausted, and they need allies to help get the plan done.
When we learn to appreciate and understand anger for its important role in our lives, we can grow in our ability to transform conflict from animosity to collaboration, from perpetuating cycles of violence to making justice roll down like water.
Written by Melody Stanford Martin
Melody Stanford Martin is a social ethicist and communications expert helping people of all ages develop skills of courageous dialogue and conflict transformation. She is the Founder and CEO of Cambridge Creative Group, an organization specializing in nonprofit messaging and outreach, and a founding co-host of Irenicast, a podcast on faith and culture. She is a graduate of the Religion and Conflict Transformation program at Boston University School of Theology. Stanford Martin lives in Portland, Maine, with her husband, Corey, and their dog, Benedict Cumberbatch.
GENERAL OFFERING TITHE.LY GENERAL TITHE.LY DEDICATED
$ 20,078.00 $1539.24
$0.00
Total TITHE.LY 1539.24 TITHE.LY -$0.00 LOOSE INCOME $5,540.57
TOTAL INCOME $ 27,157.81
TOTAL JULY EXPENSES $ 12,730.51
BALANCE 07-31-2020 $51,503.11
JULY INCOME $ 27,157.81 2020 INCOME TO DATE $ 98,478.81 JULY EXPENSES $(12,730.51) 2020 EXPENSES TO DATE $(103,404.66) GAIN/LOSS $ 14,427.30 2020 BALANCE TO DATE $ -4,925.85
BANK OF TIOGA
BALANCE 07-01-2020
$ 36,845.08 JULY CREDITS $ 27,647.81 JULY DEBITS $ 14,250.48 BALANCE 07-31-2020 $ 50,242.41
Monthly Bills June 2020 Statements
Monthly Bills July Bills to be approved
VBS Report August 2-5th, 2020
Bible School was held on August 2nd- 5th. Grades 1st-6th started Sunday, August 2nd from 1-5 pm and the Pre-K & Kindergarten attended Monday, August 3rd to Wednesday from 9 am-12 pm Upper Missouri Ministries decided not to send their counselors outside of the Epping camp area due to raised concerns over COVID-19. This gave our local volunteers a chance to come together as a team! UMM’s Day director and outreach director came to train a group of our high school volunteers. We were blessed to have Kyrian Johnson, Ally Grote, Devon Haugen, and Emmy Bydal attend the session with UMM. Our other wonderful volunteers were Addyson Eriksmoen, Jill Vassen, Nikita Swanson, Lee Svangstu, Suzie Jacobson, Shari DeJardine, Amanda Hubble, Kynnadi Smith and Sharaden DeJardine. It was a very successful week. In 2019, we paid $3,475 to UMM for their services including counselors. This year, they were nice enough to not only come up and help our volunteers figure out a plan and train, but also left their curriculum and most materials needed in order to utilize their curriculum, games, etc. It is our understanding that a bill will not be sent from UMM for these services. As a committee, we decided it would only be appropriate to reimburse them for travel, curriculum, and the materials they provided us. As of today, we do not have that total available. All volunteers pitched in with their ideas. We were a little limited with music as we could only sing outdoors. We did have music videos with actions in out pre k room. The songs were focused all on Jesus’ love. A few silly songs where available for the older kids to learn outside. Pastor Zach, did offer to help in the future if needed with music. Everyone felt the kids had lots of fun, and that is ALWAYS a good sign! We have received great feedback from many parents. We, of course, had a few hiccups here and there, but we all felt we did very well putting the camp together in such a short time frame. It was great to just spend time together in the Lord’s house. We are so thankful for all the love we received from the congregation the monetary donations feed our volunteers, filled the coolers with snacks for the kids (and lots of water and Gatorade.) We were very fortunate to have been able to have Day Camp this year and were blessed with a great turnout of over 40 kids this summer. God is good!
Pastor's Report
• We have heard from some people that they would like to have communion again. We brought this up at the worship committee meeting and it is included in their report.
• Livestreaming is up and running with the new equipment - still need volunteers to run (it is quite easy!). We are still working out some kinks with the livestreaming and the sound system, but it should be running correctly now.
• Thank you to all the people who made VBS possible this year!
• Music Makers have been allowed back into St. Luke's, so Pastor Zachariah is going to begin playing there again on Tuesdays at 3:15pm
• We are in the process of discerning what Confirmation will be like this year with COVID-19 and how we can have a program that is both engaging and meaningful while keeping people safe.
Worship Meeting 8/6/2020
People present: Pastor Emily, Pastor Zachariah and Lee Rindel Items Discussed:
• Communion options – After discussion the following two options is what we arrived at for discussion during next council meeting.
o Continue to practice safety by not offering in person communion and encouraging members to partake in their own home with their own supplies.
o Try to prepare individually wrapped communion packets, bread only for the time being. • Stance on In-Person services – discussed what the future may look like and came up with the following for
discussion: o How many cases in Divide County before we discontinue live services
This number does not need to be mentioned publicly but would be nice if we (the council) could arrive at an agreement.
If cases spike between meeting the executive committee, could make the decision. • General worship flow and volunteers
o Getting things figured out with new equipment for live feeding worship. Need to replace IPad that controls the speaker system as it is literally slowly blowing up.
o Volunteers – we need more to help as everyone agrees sharing the service over the internet is a positive for our congregation. Difficult to find volunteers that are willing to run projector and camera. Possibly set up a time to train more people in to run, manage the equipment.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Divide County Food Pantry Report
Great Plains Food Bank names 2019 Agency of the Year Award Winners Great Plains Food Bank announced on Tuesday a trio of hunger-relief organizations in its 2019 Agency of the Year Award winners. The Divide County Food Pantry in Crosby, Hope Center in Devils Lake and Faith Food Ministry in Fargo have been recognized as recipients of the award for their efforts serving those battling food insecurity in their communities and each day living out the Great Plains Food Bank's value of passion, service and innovation. The Agency of the Year Award is the highest honor given to the Great Plains Food Bank's network of more than 300 partner food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens serving those in need across North Dakota and western Minnesota. This is the first time in the nine-year history of the award that it has been given to more than one agency. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Confirmation Classes Parents Meeting: Wednesday, September 16th, 6:30pm, Fellowship Hall
The pastors will meet with parents of students in 7th-9th grade to discuss options for confirmation classes this fall. We will share our ideas and gather input from families. Student attendance at the planning meeting is optional, but they will have an opportunity to speak as well if they'd like. A letter will be sent to confirmation families in early September with further details. Please contact the pastors if you would like to be included on this list. _______________________________________________________________________________
LUTHERAN RELIEF KITS It is time to start gathering items for Lutheran Relief Kits for the Fall shipment. If you are able to donate any of the following items it would be greatly appreciated. The items may be left in the baskets in the Narthex. Personal Care Kits Fabric Kits 1 towel, approx 27 × 52 in. 3 yards of 44 in fabric or 2 ¼ yards of 60 in fabric 2 - 4 or 5 oz bars of soap 2 – 250 to 300 yard spools of matching or neutral 1 toothbrush colored threads 1 fingernail clippers 1 sturdy comb
Our offering Drop Box is still available!!
We Welcome you Back to Church, but realize you may not be
ready for in-person worship! Remember you can attend worship online @
Crazy to think that after just over a year in North Dakota working on support raising, Bible classes, and language,
views like this will soon be called home.
Please Pray!
• Continue to pray for East Asia borders to open soon, and for the faith of believers in country.
• Pray for God to begin preparing students in the Middle East to hear and respond to the truth of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!
• Pray for me as I begin preparing to leave the country! Pray that I would say good-byes well and use my time in the US wisely.
• Pray that I would strive to love God above all else, and that my future leadership responsibilities will be an outflow of my relationship with God.
Kayla’s Big Move To …“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. … And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:6, 9-10
I’m moving! Wow, I truly did not think I would be typing those words anytime soon. This summer East Asia staff joined together in a 40 day prayer commitment called, “My Father is Working.” The intent was to expectantly position ourselves to hear from the Lord, asking what He is doing and what He would have from us. I enjoyed sweet time with God in surrendering to Him expectations I had for this fall and asking Him to help me believe His plan is indeed good.
East Asia leadership wisely decided that if by July 20th borders to EA were still closed, we would move forward with different, temporary fall placements with the hope of borders opening and us re-entering by January 31, 2021. As July 20th came and went and borders to our EA home remained closed, I was thankful for the 40 days of prayer to help prepare my heart in mourning the loss of my fall plans, but also in moving forward with open hands knowing my current location and circumstances are the exact place God would have for me in this moment.
I can already hear what you’re thinking. “OK Kayla, so borders are closed, but where are you moving to?!” I am very excited to announce that I will be co-leading a team of 10 to the Middle East this fall! Never in my wildest
dreams did I think I would have the opportunity to serve internationally this fall, so I am excited to see what God has in store!
This Middle East location is also an area we send our East Asian students and staff on mission. Our team will be serving alongside brothers and sisters from our area in East Asia. This location is strategic as it serves as a bridge between east and west locations and cultures. We believe that as this nation is transformed by the gospel, it will bring more and more of the surrounding nations the hope of Christ. This will be a sweet way to join arm in arm in discipling the nations!
We hope to re-enter East Asia in January 2021 so I’m needing to raise some funds for both a short-term assignment in the Middle East and my long-term move to East Asia in the spring! To make this happen, I need to raise $20,000 in additional expenses to cover airfare, settling in expenses, language school (yes, a third language is on my horizon… pray for me!), and visa costs. I am trusting the Lord will provide a way, and am asking if you would pray about giving a special gift of $250, $500, or some other amount towards this goal? If you believe God is leading you to give in this way, you can give online at give.cru.org/0930085 or send a check made payable to “Cru” to the address at the bottom of the page. I also ask you would pray for me as I prepare for this move and minister to students in the Middle East!
Thank you for considering my needs and praying for the rollercoaster that is ministry. I am thankful to have you on my team! Please always feel free to contact me with any questions or prayer requests!
