Volume 23 Issue 6/7 Office 996-7706 e-mail: luther@mitchellfirstlutheran.org Fax 996-7727 June/July 2020

Mission Statement: First Lutheran is a Christian Community proclaiming Jesus Christ to the world as we worship, learn, and serve together.

JUNE/JULY FOCUS……………………………………

Congratulations to the 2020

scholarship winners at

First Lutheran!

FLCW Scholarship The 2020 recipients of the FLCW Scholarship were Liz Fossum, Regan Gerlach, Hannah Hetland and Grace Lentz

Prairie Rivers Scholarship A $300 Prairie Rivers Scholarship was awarded to Madison Hetland. This scholarship is renewa-ble for all four years to a student attending an ELCA college. Madison is an education major and will be a junior at Augustana University this fall.

Augustana University Parish and College Together (PACT) Scholarship

Five FLC students were the recipients of the Augustana College PACT Scholarship: Sam Mock, Madison Hetland, Thea Patrick, Cailey Scott and Liz Fossum

The July, August &

September Christ in Our

Home devotional is now

available. Copies can be

picked up in the Glass

Lobby or from the basket

in the Canopy entrance. If

you are unable to pick up

your copy from the

church contact Jodi in the church office

and she can mail you a copy.

Drive-By Peace

Parade

On May 16, some First Lutheran members provided a short parade for several of our homebound church members. In decorated cars and with signs of “God loves you,” the parade stopped in front of houses and retire-ment homes as the participants waved and shouted their greetings. This “socially distant” event brought smiles to many who waved back from behind their windows or stood on their front steps. Thank you to Jayne Ruhland who orga-nized the parade. Pictures can be found on the church’s Facebook page “First Lutheran Church-Mitchell” A similar event will be planned for the future.

COUNCIL MINUTES — May 12, 2020

Please note: these minutes have been edited for the newsletter. The full minutes are posted on the bulletin board in the office hallway

Roll Call – Present: Jeff Clark, Kathie Freeman, Rick Fuchs, Nancy Kogel, Pastor Lon Kvanli, Pastor Heidi Kvanli, John Lentz, Carrie

Mutziger, Kathy Otterby, Traci Patrick, Lee Sinkie, Wayne Witzel

Correspondence & Announcements: Pastors had forwarded a letter from the Bishop to council members regarding Covid19 and return-

ing to in-person services, and Jeff received a letter from Fischer Rounds saying that our insurance quote has lapsed.

Pastor’s Report: Alice Splitt died on April 8 at Countryside. The family is planning a memorial service in July. Pastors have a weekly meeting on Zoom (Tuesdays @ 9 am) with the Prairie Rivers Conference pastors. Pastor Heidi meets weekly on Zoom (Wednesdays @ 9:30am) with the SD Synod Worship task force as they discuss best practic-

es for Holy Communion during this time of disruption. Weekly meeting on Zoom (Wednesdays @ 3:30pm) with bishop, synod staff, and pastors of the SD synod. Pastoral Care/Check-In – The pastors continue to make phone calls to church members, with an emphasis on the elderly, those

living alone, and others. The Prayer & Care team members continue to make phone calls.

Ministry Reports: Worship: CDs of Lonnie Burns and June Johnson (Kathie Freeman’s mother) are being used for the online worship services Faith Formation – VBS has been canceled. Pastor Heidi hopes to work with Becky Ziegeldorf and Val Ferry to create a simple at-

home VBS to be available sometime this summer. Fellowship & Caring – The Heart and Sole Cancer Walk is planning a virtual walk. Nancy will find out more information as to how

we can raise money for this event. Stewardship – Rick reported that he and Pastor Lon are getting a team organized. Property

The bell tower repairs need to be finished. This will mean heavy equipment on the yard so we will wait to check the sprinkler system and clean up the mess in the front yard until this is done.

The corner at 5th and Sanborn still needs some work done by the city. Wayne will check with the city to remove the tree stumps at corner of 4th and Sanborn. At our June meeting we will discuss lightning strike repair costs not covered by insurance. There are some bills not yet

submitted to the church. Reception of the Treasurer’s Report: April 2020 income: $41,732.48 expenses: $30,112.40. Net gain for April: $11,620.08. YTD 2020 Income above expenses: $12,139.75. Unfinished Business:

Consideration of Every Sunday Communion was tabled until we can again gather together for worship. Lightning Strike repairs – Jeff will meet with Michelle to discuss unfinished items. We applied and were approved for the Payroll Protection Program. We received $20,000 and put it in a separate account.

New Business:

We will not return to in-person worship services in June. At the June council meeting the council will assess the situation.

Jeff received an email from Michelle stating the leak at the peak of the sanctuary will be repaired by JR & Company.

A new camera was purchased with a memorial that had been given for that purpose. There have been a few glitches but hopefully will be worked out by this Sunday.

Respectfully Submitted: Kathy Otterby, secretary

Church Council Highlights

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OFFERINGS: April 5 ...................... ....................... $12,581.79 April 12 .................... ....................... $15,377.07 April 19 .................... ......................... $3,650.35 April 26 .................... ......................... $9,237.70 April 2020 Offering $40,846.91

$34,347.00 is needed per month to meet monthly budget.

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Electronic Giving (ACH)

Your giving can be done by direct de-posit. Giving can be done weekly, once a month on

the 1st or the 15th or bi-weekly. Forms can be

picked up in the office or mailed. Contact Jodi with any questions.

Online Giving You can make contributions

online by visiting the First

Lutheran Church Website,

www.mitchellfirstlutheran.org

and simply click the “Donate”

button.

Contact Jodi with any

questions.

From the Bishop’s Desk Lutheran Social Services in South Dakota (LSS SD) and the South Dakota Synod office have had a longstanding relationship for the sake of ministry to the neighbor. As I began my call as your Bishop, we were faced with flooding across the eastern part of the state, which followed a long winter, wet spring and summer. I reached out to LSS SD to see if we can partner to bring hope and tools to be a caring neighbor to the neighbor in our rural communi-ties. I especially asked about a tool that can be accessed from the comfort of one's home to empower the individual to be con-fident about reaching out with a message of hope and practical steps to a neighbor that might be hurting. LSS SD went to work and developed such a web-based tool, called Psychological First Aid. This is a web based self guided resource that allows lay people and rostered leaders alike to acquire new skills in times of stress and grief to walk alongside community members with confidence and hope. Please look for detailed instructions on how to access and utilize this tool to the well-being of your community in the coming weeks. Thank you LSS SD for your partnership in ministry and you, ministry site partner, for being a good neighbor. Well done, good and faithful servants.

Journeying with you in Christ,

Bishop Constanze

ELCA World Hunger: More than 820 million people in our

world today are undernourished. As

members of the Evangelical Lutheran

Church in America, we are called to re-

spond. Working with our neighbors in the

United States and in more than 60 coun-

tries around the world, we start by listen-

ing and learning about how we can accompany them to

help break the cycle of hunger and poverty — for good.

From water wells to animal husbandry, microloans to

health clinics, your gifts to ELCA World Hunger support

innovative solutions that get at the root causes of hun-

ger. And they don’t stop there. We engage Lutherans in

advocacy and hunger education to act and speak in

ways that can make a difference. We rely on your gifts.

ELCA World Hunger is funded solely by gifts from ELCA

members and congregations such as yours. Thank you

for making this work possible through learning, action,

prayer and giving. Visit https://elca.org/hunger for

ways to give and get involved.

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The Piecemakers need your help! Items for baby care kits are needed!

The Piecemakers are collecting the following gently used items:

• Baby Gowns

• Sleepers

• T-shirts

• Onesies (size 6-24 months)

• Hand towels

• Socks

• Gentle bar soap (Ivory) 3 ½-4 oz. bars

Please check rummage sales for these items. The

baby kits are sent to Lutheran World Relief

throughout the world.

Congratulations to First Lutheran’s 2020 High School Graduates!

Jaden Deuter will be attending South Dakota School of Mines & Technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering

Liz Fossum will be attending Augustana University majoring in Strategic Communications & Leadership, Environmental Studies and International Studies

Regan Gerlach will be attending Dakota Wesleyan University majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Psychology

Brady Hawkins will be attending South Dakota State University his major is undecided and he will play baseball

Hannah Hetland will be attending South Dakota State University majoring in Spanish

Kendra Jennings will be attending University of South Dakota majoring in Health Science

Grace Lentz will be attending South Dakota State University majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Leadership

Colby Oetken will be attending Florida Gulf Coast University majoring in Business Entrepreneurship/Marketing

Abby Swenson will be attending South Dakota State University majoring in Human Biology

Madison Vennard will be attending University of South Dakota majoring in Psychology

23rd

Annual 5K Run

Registration

Due to Covid-19, the 2020 Heart & Sole 5k will be virtual. Partici-pants are asked to com-plete their run before June 19. You can run the route of the previ-ous year’s Heart & Sole

5k run, or run one of your own favorite 5k route. Take a picture before and after your run, and your fitness tracker if you use one. Post it to your Facebook page, take Mitchell Heart & Sole in your post and use #heartsole5k. If you don’t use Facebook you can email us at info@mitchellheartandsole.com. You can mail you registration to Heart & Sole PO Box 236 or drop off at Sun Gold Sports by June 10, along with $20 and you will receive this year’s t-shirt in the size of your choice. Shirts can be picked up at Sun Gold Sports or shipped to you for an additional $7.

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Pastor’s Pen ON THE CHURCH’S RESPONSE IN THIS TIME OF PANDEMIC

We are tired of preaching to an empty church. We are more than tired of Zoom meetings. And we are frustrated by having to do ministry by phone calls rather than being able to be your pastors in person. The COVID-19 pandemic has been wearing on us

all.

For church councils across the nation, the last few months have been a great challenge. There has been an almost constant flow of complex issues regarding leading a congregation during the pandemic. The latest complex issue is perhaps the trickiest

yet: how to prudently resume in-person worship services.

There are all kinds of questions about resuming services:

How do we maintain safe social distancing?

Do we limit the number of people to assure proper distancing?

Do we take everyone’s temperature as they come in the door?

Do we ask if they’ve been feeling well?

Do we require face masks or not?

Do we sing or not?

Do we speak together parts of the liturgy – the confession, creeds, Lord’s Prayer, etc.?

How do we best protect and care for the most at-risk among us – the elderly and those with under-lying health issues?

The infection rate in South Dakota is still rising. What does that mean for safe gatherings such as worship?

There are a wide variety of very strong convictions on these questions. Some members want to resume in-person worship this

Sunday. Other members want to wait until the end of June or the end of summer. And many are somewhere in between.

What should the church and its leaders do?

At the May congregational council meeting (via Zoom, again!) the council members discussed many of the above questions and more. They learned Bishop Constanze is strongly recommending against opening too soon. In the end, there was unanimous agreement to continue live-stream only worship services through the end of June; and at the June council meeting they will re-

assess the situation and make a decision about July.

Some members will approve this decision… and others will be angry. Some will think this decision is silly or cowardly. Others will be tempted to mock the bravado of those who want to resume in-person worship. In the Bible the Apostle Paul warns us all: “Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead to never put a stumbling block or hinderance in the way of another” (Romans 14:13). And also: “take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling

block to the weak” (1st Corinthians 8:9).

As Christians, we should also be following the advice of James to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). This means none of us should assume we have all the answers on this pandemic. As Christians, we should act with hu-

mility – admitting that everything is not obvious, and we are all trying to do the best we can in this unprecedented time.

In this time and in all times, the church remains committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. By the grace of God and with the pow-

er of the Holy Spirit working to unify us, the opportunity is here for us to be a model of grace and love for the rest of the world.

In Christ,

Pastors Heidi & Lon

P.S.: Please know that you are in our prayers, and we ask that you continue to keep us, our congregation council, and our

nation’s leadership in your prayers.

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For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principali-ties, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Titles for Book Club

• April: Beneath the Same Stars by Phyllis Cole-Dai • May: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah • Friday, June 19: Becoming by Michelle Obama • Friday, July 17: Before and After by Judy Christie

and Lisa Wingate • Friday, August 21: Lighthouse Keepers Daughter

by Hazel Gaynor • Friday, September 18: The Huntress by Kate Quinn • Friday, October 16: A Life Without Water by Marci

Bolden

Book Club will not be meeting until further

notice. Use this time to read!

Containers Please continue to save other containers small and large, especially the deli containers like the flat trays with dome tops or oblong clamshell containers. We have plenty of berry containers, but please continue to save other containers, small or large. Containers may be dropped off in the kitchen or the storage room across from the elevator.

Thank you to

the support

of the con-

gregation, as

well as non-members, for the 5th

consecutive year, FLCW scholarships

were awarded to graduating seniors.

Amounts awarded depend on the money

raised, the number of applicants, and

church involvement. Seniors planning

to attend any accredited post second-

ary school are eligible to apply.

The FLCW

Board Meeting

is tentatively

scheduled for

Tuesday, August 4 at 11:30 a.m.

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The Piecemakers will be collecting school supplies again this year starting in August, so looking ahead the following items are needed: Spiral notebooks

Blunt scissors

12” rulers

2 ½” erasers

Black & blue ballpoint pens (no gel pens, please)

Boxes of 16 or 24 crayons

The tote for these supplies will be in the Glass Lobby starting in August.

The ELCA has two great opportunities available for

youth and young adults ABIDE: All who are 18 - 35 are welcome to be a part of this small

group community for 1 hour / week!

Registration will be open until May 27.

Group meetings start June 1. If you miss out on summer

registration, stay tuned for more opportunities to connect.

Groups will use published abide videos, and previous par-

ticipants are welcome to join again or sign up to be small

group leaders! Learn more by connecting with the ELCA

Young Adults on social media @ELCAYoungAdults.

PASSAGE: A sister program to ABIDE, PASSAGE will

connect graduated high school seniors

to young adult small group leaders.

Based on Isaiah 43, PASSAGE will be

centered on mutual support and wrestling with faith and

life in times of transition.

Registration for graduated seniors opens May 27!

Groups meet June 15 - July 31.

Learn more at elcayouthministry.com/passage/

Scripture Readings and Psalms for the Months of June & July

June 7, The Holy Trinity Genesis 1:1-2:4a Psalm 8 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20

June 14, Second Sunday after Pentecost Exodus 19:2-8a Psalm 100 Romans 5:1-8 Matthew 9:35-10:8

June 21, Third Sunday after Pentecost Jeremiah 20:7-13 Psalm 69:7-18 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39

June 28, Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Jeremiah 28:5-9 Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42

July 5, Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Zechariah 9:9-12 Psalm 145:8-14 Romans 7:15-25a Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

July 12, Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 55:10-13 Psalm 65:1-13 Romans 8:1-11 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

July 19, Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 44:6-8 Psalm 86:11-17 Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

July 26, Eighth Sunday after Pentecost 1 Kings 3:5-12 Psalm 119:129-136 Romans 8:26-39 Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

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