“First Church”
Becoming a 1st Century Church in the 21st Century
A monthly newsletter of
First United Lutheran Church of Roseau
March 2015
What’s Up? – Pastor Don
Helping Others Possess Their “Promised Land”…
When Moses was finishing his role as Israel’s leader all the people were on the East bank of the Jordan River, ready to enter the “Promised Land”. It was at this point that two tribes (Rueben and Gad) requested to possess land on the East side of Jordan. In short, they liked the land they were on – they didn’t want to possess land across the river.
Moses went postal! He told the tribes of Rueben and Gad that they would discourage the other tribes by not crossing over Jordan to help possess the land. Rueben and Gad quickly calmed the situation by helping Moses understand that settling East of Jorden didn’t mean that they would “bail” on helping their fellow Israelites.
You can read about this in Numbers chapter 32. Note the words of Reuben and Gad in the verse below…
Numbers 32:18 NIV
We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance.
So… What does that have to do with us? Actually… Plenty!
Our culture can be pretty self-centered. The prevailing attitude is one of “me first”; as long as I get what I want (or need), others can take care of themselves.
If you “say” that you’re a follower of Jesus, it means that you choose to imitate the “servant attitude” Jesus demonstrated. If you read the Gospels, you’ll see that Jesus modeled what He taught. Jesus actually “noticed” people’s needs, and He DID SOMETHING about it.
A Community of Christians can be an awesome place to be when those who have a growing relationship with God help others to strengthen their connection with God.
Ask yourself – “Am I concerned about others receiving their inheritance in God’s Kingdom?” “Am I willing to be inconvenienced?”
It’s a good thing to help others to possess their “Promised Land”.
Youth at First
Easter Cantata
All singers are welcome to participate in the Easter Cantata. Practice beings at 5 PM.
Contact Barb Roseen for more information at 463-244 or .
Practice dates are as followed:
- March 15th – FULC
- March 22nd – Our Redeemers
- March 29th– FULC
The Easter Cantata, “Amazing Grace,” will take place at First United on Sunday, April 12th at 7pm.
Mission and Outreach at “First”…
Thank you for supporting our quilt raffle. We will continue selling tickets for the beautiful quilt on display as you enter the sanctuary, for the next three Sundays. Each Sunday we pick three names to be forwarded into the final drawing. Your last chance to buy tickets will be March 22nd. That will give us eighteen finalists and the winner will be announced on the 29th. This is a special effort for Feed My Lambs and will be used for continued language training for Travis.
Phil Heppner, representing the Gideon’s will be with us on Sunday, March 29th to explain some of the work they are doing. This is a great mission to support and we encourage you to support their cause.
We are working with Norm Hayes to provide an educational opportunity for anyone interested in learning some basics about financial record retention, asset ownership options, and estate planning. These are not necessarily things we like to talk about, but the information is important to people of all ages. We often don’t know how important it is until it is too late! Norm has volunteered to give a short presentation, and answer questions, on Sunday April 19th starting at 6:30, at FULC. There is no charge and, in the true Lutheran fashion, refreshments will be served!
WOW
The WOW is meeting the second Monday of the month, as usual. We are enjoying a video series from Lisa Chan.
On another note, the quilters are working up a storm! If you would like to help out, but cannot make it to the Courthouse, there are quilt ‘kits’ available for you to take home & sew. Just bring them back when you are finished sewing them. These are baby quilts, so it is not a huge project to do. Check them out! They are located on the top shelf of the coat rack in the fellowship hall.
That is about all I have to report this month. Stay warm!
Doreen Jensen
Ina Baumgartner
Church Financial Statistics for 2014
January / February / YTDContributions / $ 9,195 / $ 17,797 / $ 26,992
Expenses / $ 17,670 / $ 11,429 / $ 29,099
$ (8,475) / $ 6,368 / $ (2,107)
Lent Schedule
- March 115:30 pm Lent Soup Supper @ First United
6:00 pm“Ernie’s Quest” @ First United
- March 185:30 pmLent Soup Supper @ First United
6:00 pm“Ernie’s Quest” @ First United
- March 255:30 pmLent Soup Supper @ Roseau Community Church
6:00 pm“Ernie’s Quest” @ Roseau Community Church
- April 26:00 pmMaundy Thursday Service
- April 312:00 pmCommunity Good Friday Service at Moe Lutheran Church
Looking Ahead…
- 3/14 – LCMC Congregational Workshop in Fosston
- 3/22 – Roseau Manor Service at 2 PM
- 3/22 – Deadline for donations towards May Baskets
- 3/28 – eat, play, laugh with Bob Smiley – Roseau Community School
- Free childcare (registration required)
- 6 PM – Dinner
- 7 PM –Showtime!
- 4/2 – Maundy Thursday Service at 6 PM
- 4/3 – Good Friday Service – 12 PM at Moe
- 4/12 – Semi-Annual Meeting at 11:30 AM
- 4/12 – Easter Cantata, “Amazing Grace,” at 7 PM
Things of Interest (FYI)…
- Tuesday morning men’s JAG – 6:30 AM at Nelsons Café
- Bell Choir will be practicing on Tuesday’s beginning at 5:30 PM
- Wednesday morning women’s study – 9:30 AM at Brenda’s
- “You Make Me Crazy” Study at Pastor Don & Bonnie’s – Sunday’s at 7 PM (Through March 15th)
Page 1 of 3