A few times a year when I drive into the Salem parking lot, I discover that someone has parked a vehicle in the middle of the lot facing east and west, which is perpendicular to the way parking is set up in our lot. Unless it’s Sunday morning, it’s usually only a minor annoyance and the person moves the vehicle at some point during the day. One Friday morning in July, a big ol’ pickup and trailer combination was parked right smack in the middle of the Salem parking lot, facing east. At first glance, I was mildly irritated, but then I saw that the trailer had the words “SALEM” printed on the side and thought it would make a great photo. ank you to Ally for snapping the picture! With a chuckle, I imagined the trailer fitted with an altar, pews, baptismal font, organ and me behind the wheel bringing our worship service to some beautiful lakeside location on a Sunday morning. is would certainly offer a solution to the drop in summer worship attendance that churches like Salem experience as a normal part of summers in Minnesota. Summer weekends are precious; we only get about twelve of them and not all of them with nice weather. ere is no single location to which I could drive this imaginary Salem Lutheran Trailer-Church where everyone would be willing and available to gather on a summer Sunday morning. is would even be more of an issue on holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day, and when the Fourth of July falls near a weekend. What makes this even more interesting is earlier that same week, I had received word from our Worship and Music Committee that they were in favor of trying something different – moving Labor Day Weekend’s Sunday worship service to the Wednesday prior. I was delighted to hear this! is idea has been considered and discussed before, and I want to thank members of the Worship and Music Committee for their willingness to give it a try. I think the willingness to change the day of weekly worship, even for one week, represents a forward thinking approach to how we “do church”. e ird Commandment is in Exodus chapter 20: “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. SLC NEWS 320-269-7624 • [email protected]AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS • Vacation Bible School Aug. 1-4 • Council Resumes Aug. 17 • Mission Projects Kick-Off Continued on pg. 5
Transcript
A few times a year when I drive into the Salem parking lot, I discover that someone has parked a vehicle in the middle of the lot facing east and west, which is perpendicular to the way parking is set up in our lot. Unless it’s Sunday morning, it’s usually only a minor annoyance and the person moves the vehicle at some point during the day. One Friday morning in July, a big ol’ pickup and trailer combination was parked right smack in the middle of the Salem parking lot, facing east. At first glance, I was mildly irritated, but then I saw that the trailer had the words “SALEM” printed on the side and thought it would make a great photo. Thank you to Ally for snapping the picture!
With a chuckle, I imagined the trailer fitted with an altar, pews, baptismal font, organ and me behind the wheel
bringing our worship service to some beautiful lakeside location on a Sunday morning. This would certainly offer a solution to the drop in summer worship attendance that churches like Salem experience as a normal part of summers in Minnesota. Summer weekends are precious; we only get about twelve of them and not all of them with nice weather. There is no single location to which I could drive this imaginary Salem Lutheran Trailer-Church where everyone would be willing and available to gather on a summer Sunday morning. This would even be more of an issue on holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day, and when the Fourth of July falls near a weekend.
What makes this even more interesting is earlier that same week, I had received word from our Worship and Music Committee that they were in favor of trying something different – moving Labor Day Weekend’s Sunday worship service to the Wednesday prior. I was delighted to hear this! This idea has been considered and discussed before, and I want to thank members of the Worship and Music Committee for their willingness to give it a try. I think the willingness to change the day of weekly worship, even for one week, represents a forward thinking approach to how we “do church”.
The Third Commandment is in Exodus chapter 20: “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.
Happy Birthday/Happy Anniversary from Salem to you!If you notice any errors or missing dates, please contact Salem’s office so we can make those changes. We are still in the
process of updating our member information with Church 360 and apologize for any errors or missing information.
HomeBouNd viSitS
If you are interested in visiting our homebound, others who would like a visit, or if you would like an in-home visit, please contact Robyn Schwaegerl at 269-7596 or Meredith Brown at 269-5676.
BiBLe Study
The Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study is an open men’s group that meets on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 a.m. at The Rivers in Montevideo. Together, they eat breakfast, have conversation and then Bible Study. The Bible Study, led by Pr. Matt, is usually about the Bible text for the upcoming Sunday with conversation about how it applies to current events and daily life. August’s Breakfast will be on August 4 at 6:30 a.m.
The Women’s Luncheon and Bible Study is an open women’s group that meets on the second Wednesday of each month at noon in the Social Hall of Salem. Lunch is provided for a small donation and is followed by Bible Study and discussion with Pr. Matt. August’s Luncheon will be on August 10 at 12:00 p.m.
SALem PrAyer CHAiN
The Salem Prayer Chain is a group of Salem members who pray by request for various things. Prayer requests may be for yourself or others with health or other concerns. Requests can remain anonymous or with details, whichever is preferred. Privacy of individuals is always respected. If you have a prayer request, please contact Ruby Flickinger at 269-2220/226-8591, or Arlys Tilberg at 269-8440. You may also contact
Pastor Matt, and he can pass along the request. The Sunday Prayers that appear in the
bulletin are a separate request and the two are not related. If you ask
to be on the prayer chain, it is not assumed that you want it out there for others to know about. If you want a request shared on
Sunday, please talk to Pastor Matt for this to be included.
August’s Community Breakfast Will Be On:
Saturday, August 27th From 8:30-10 a.m.
wHo to CoNtACt iN tHe CASe of AN emergeNCy wHiLe Pr. mAtt iS AwAy
Pastor Matt will be away for continuing education on July 28-August 4. In the event of an emergency, Pastor Matt will be available for phone calls (320-226-7340). Salem’s Office Administrator, Allysan Buseman, will also be available at Salem during office hours (320-269-7624) or directly (320-905-2875).
SALem ANNouNCemeNtS
Salem’s Council Resumes August 17, 8 p.m.
We have received notice that cable access channel 180 can once again broadcast our worship services beginning on August 1, 2016! Salem’s new times will be Mondays at 2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.
Channel 180 has also increased the allotted time for church services to 90 minutes. While Salem worship services rarely last that long, services that last longer than 60 minutes will now be shown in full and no longer cut short as in the past. On Mondays when the City Office is closed such as for a holiday, the Monday broadcast will be a repeat of the previous week’s service. When this happens, you will need to tune in on Wednesday to see the most recent Sunday worship service.
Salem Services Back on Channel 180
Salem’s Grounds Look Great!The members of Salem want to express a big “Thank You!” to Matt Lens and Lens Landscaping for their gift of labor in removing the old landscaping blocks and rebuilding of the landscaping around the flower bed by the lighted sign. And thank you to Aaron and Amanda Blom for their gift of building materials to replace this landscaping. It is a beautiful addition to the corner of our property. We also thank those who have been taking care of the lawn and garden maintenance this summer. Your hard work is recognized and much appreciated!
Continued... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.”
If you want to get literal about which day is actually the Sabbath, it’s technically Saturday. Christians worship on Sundays because Jesus’ tomb was found empty on the first day of the week, or Sunday. There was a time when everybody was around on Sunday and came to church. Those days are over and I do not expect them to return. As churches, we need to start thinking outside the box, because that’s often where God is at work anyway.
In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther’s explanation of the Third Commandment reads: “We are to fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching or God’s word, but instead keep that word holy and gladly hear it and learn it.” God commands for us to take a day of rest, and for most people, Sunday is indeed a day of rest and recreation, which is really a gift within a command. I know that the majority of Salem members do their best to attend worship on Sundays, even in the summer. Attendance at Sunday worship in the summer
is challenging, not because we don’t want to worship, but because the weekend is our time to get away.
If in our hearts we want, as Luther wrote, to: “Keep that word holy and gladly hear and learn it”, then as members of Salem, why not have weekly worship at a time that allows for a maximum number of members to attend? The idea of having worship on Wednesday evenings in the summer rather in place of Sunday puts worship in a better place on more peoples’ schedules, allowing us all to set aside that holy time as God commands.
Since it’s not interfering with weekend plans, please make it a priority to attend worship on Wednesday, August 31, at 6:30 p.m. and be free to enjoy the “rest” of your Sabbath gift on the weekend. If you haven’t been in worship much this summer, here’s your chance to make it. If you don’t like the idea because you can’t stand change or because Sunday is not a problem for you, be a good sport and please come give it a try.
Blessings,Pr. Matt
miSSioN ProjeCtS
Global Health Ministries Hospice Kits
The Banquet: Sioux Falls on November 19The mission of “The Banquet” is to provide a welcoming place where people can gather, receive nourishment and experience love in action and to assist volunteers in providing food and fellowship to those served through the ministry of The Banquet. To learn more about The Banquet, please visit their website: www.thebanquetsf.org.
Salem will be serving a Banquet meal in Sioux Falls, SD on Saturday, November 19th. Please save the date and we will be providing more information in upcoming bulletins and newsletters. If you would be interested in volunteering for this event, please contact Mary Saeger ([email protected]) or Rick Mohagen ([email protected]).
It’s that time of year to get ready for back to school! Like in years past, we will be collecting school supplies for children in mission field schools during the months of August and September to put together “school kits.” Once complete, the school kits are sent out through Lutheran World Relief. Read more about it here: www.lwr.org/get-involved/build-kits-of-care/school-kits. Last year, we were able to send 15 kits! We would like to top that this year with our goal being at least 20 kits. Please help us reach that goal! Containers to collect the school supplies will be in Salem’s main entrance. Below is a list of the items that are needed:
• Blue or Black Pens • Pencil Sharpeners• Blunt-End Scissors • Rulers• Boxes of 24 ct. Crayons • 70-Sheet, Wide or College Ruled Notebooks
Global Health Ministries is “Helping the Hands that Heal” by supporting Lutheran efforts of healthcare in mission hospitals globally. Learn more about Global Health Ministries on their website: www.ghm.org. GHM assembles
many different kinds of kits to be sent to mission hospitals, and this year, Salem has chosen to help by assembling the much needed “hospice kits” and rolled bandages. Each kit offers comfort and basic supplies to vulnerable people. Please help us assemble as many kits as possible by donating any of the supplies listed below. Containers to collect these items will be in Salem’s main entrance.
• Regular Sized Bath Towels (no longer than 48”/not white) & Washcloths (not white)
• Wrapped, Unscented Bars of Soap (such as Dove unscented/for sensitive skin)
• Petroleum Jelly (such as Vaseline/4 oz. or larger) • Household Gloves (Heavy Duty/Sz. M)
Hymn Sing ServiceSalem had a Hymn Sing Service on Sunday, July 3rd. This was an all-music service where we sang favorite, classic hymns and readers told us stories and experiences of the people inspired to write such beautiful and timeless expressions of faith. Thank you to Arlys Tilberg for leading the planning on this service!
Salem’s annual Pie Day event at Luther Haven and Copper Glen was on Tuesday, July 19th. Serving began with Luther Haven at 2:30 p.m. and then Copper Glen at 3:00 p.m with music entertainment provided by Pr. Matt. A big thank you to those who organized the event, those who volunteered to serve, those who donated pies or donated in other ways and to Pr. Matt for his guitar performance.
The 2016 Green Lake Lutheran Ministries (GLLM) Quilt Auction took place on July 23rd at Green Lake Bible Camp in Spicer. It was a successful event with the sale of approximately 150 handmade quilts and a handful of other specialty items
in the silent auction. Two Salem quilts were entered into the auction; one made by Kathy Leindecker and the other by Ardy Eekhoff. Kathy’s quilt, “It’s Good to be Square,” sold for $700 and Ardy’s quilt, “Butterfly Garden,” sold for $185! Congratulations to them and thank you for your contribution to the auction!
Stewardship Report Through June 30Year to Date Income: $68,705.54 Year to Date Expenses: $78,370.60 Year to Date Budgeted Income: $81,886.00 Year to Date Budgeted Expense: $82,449.64Building Fund Income: $1,315.00 Building Fund Expenses: $1,470.23
A full financial report is available in the Church Office
Salem Lutheran Church631 North Seventh StreetMontevideo, MN 56265
