October 2016
One in Faith Parish
St. Paul 8:30 a.m. St. Sebald 8:30 a.m.
Hope 10:30 a.m. St. John 10:30 a.m.
Pastor Margaret Yackel-Juleen
Home Phone: 563-245-2006 Cell Phone: 563-329-1366
Email:
Vicar Clark Baldwin
Cell Phone: 563-929-6029 Email:
Parish office: (563) 633-3885 Secretary: Dorothy Eckheart
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But now thus says the Lord,
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And through the rivers,
they shall not overwhelm you;
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43: 1-4 (selected verses)
So…..have you started building your ark yet? Been wearing your rubber boots everywhere?
Last night Mark and I had some great time together….not watching a movie or going out for dinner but mopping up several inches of water up off our basement floor….for the fourth or fifth time this summer!
While we mopped in the middle of the night, and as water continued to seep through our basement walls this passage from Isaiah came to mind. It’s a passage I’ve shared several times this week with people from our parish who’ve been hospitalized and are anxious about their health and the future. It’s a passage I love and that has spoken to me numerous times in my adult life as I’ve gone through tough times.
With flooding going on in our communities and communities around us, violent protests in the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina over police shootings, continued war in Syria and the middle east and all the difficult stuff that goes on in our lives day to day, sometimes it’s easy to lose heart, isn’t it? Even at the end of last month with the angry brown waters of the Turkey River expected to rise above the 2008 flood level, I noticed my pulse rising along with my anxiety level as I listened to the forecast. But then we joined the huge group of folks gathered on main street Elkader to fill and stack the tons of sandbags that hot, humid day and l I remembered…. “oh yeah, God’s here. I’m God’s kid and loved. The river won’t overwhelm us” and I started to relax. Especially while joking around with my neighbors and new friends and feeling the great comradery as we worked together to keep the town safe and dry.
Sometimes it truly feels like God’s abandoned us but as the prophet Isaiah reminds us….God’s got us. God’s not going to leave us or let us be washed away by anxieties or fears if we hold up our end of the relationship…if we put our trust in God, lean on God.
The psalmist says, “Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help, whose hope is in the Lord their God; who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps promises forever.” Psalm 146: 5-6
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ….may you put your trust in the God of Jacob…the God of the universe….and may you not fear knowing that God’s got you ….always…promise!
Peace,
Pastor Margaret
Report to the One in Faith councils and parish board
September, 2016
I. Worship and Music
· The organists and I have met again and have chosen hymns through the Pentecost season. We’ll begin using the 3rd setting in the LBW again and learning a new Kyrie and Hymn of Praise.
· There will be an all parish worship at 10am at Johnsons in Elkader October 30th. Bethany in Elkader will be joining us and Pastor Susan, Clark and I will lead the service together. This will be followed by a catered meal at the restaurant. Tracy Yelden and I have met with Terry Johnson and have chosen a two meat menu. Cost is $11.95 per person. Children 10 and under are half price, children under 5 are free. (Max. seating there is 120 at round tables, 200 at long tables) They need numbers two weeks ahead of the date.
· Mark Anderson from the NE IA synod office preached and led worship at St John and St Sebald on the 11th of September.
· Confirmation at St John will be the 16th of October.
· Confirmation at Hope will be the 23rd of October.
II. Pastoral Care
· I will officiate at the baptism of Avery Matthew Fleming on the 9th of October at Hope.
· I will officiate at the baptism of Violet Rayne Genthe this fall at Hope.
· I officiated at the funeral of Gene Aylsworth on August 22nd at St John.
· I officiated at the funeral of Janice West on September 2nd at Hope.
· Starting the first week of October, Vicar Clark will be starting to make the rounds of visits in the parish with me so that I can introduce him to everyone. J J
III. Discipleship
· I have begun meeting with our 5 confirmands (Joe Abitz and Lexi Clinton from Hope, Henry Hamlett, Derek Becker and Graham Schuchmann from St John) a series of 5 times before confirmation this fall. We’ll be getting ready for confirmation and studying what it means to be Lutheran (studying Luther’s catechism, etc).
· Clark and I have 22 potential students in 7-8th grade confirmation this fall (12 students and their parents were in attendance at our initial meeting last Wednesday). We’ll be studying the New Testament. We’ll change our meeting location to St Paul at 6:30 on Wednesday evenings due to comfort of the room and ability to break up into two groups.
· B.Y.O.B. – Bring your own Bible study met at my home on Thursday, September 15th. We had 16 people in attendance. We’ll continue meeting on the third Thursday of every month. Next month I hope to have a study on Islam.
· I led the women’s Bible Study at St John (for the whole parish) on September 15th at 12:30.
· New “Come to the Castle” meetings have been scheduled at Wartburg Seminary for the fall. They are: September 30th, October 28th and December 2nd (all Fridays). Cost is $10 per person if we have 4 or more people going (with me). Bible Study for the September class is “Women of Genesis and Their Men.” Registration for September class is due in by September 26th so let me know by then if you’re interested in going!
IV. Youth & Family
· I’ll be meeting October 23rd at 1pm at St Paul with the youth and parents interested in setting up some fun events (roller skating, bowling, etc) as well as discussing a servant trip next summer – perhaps to an Indian Reservation through Youthworks.
V. Administration
· Clark Baldwin from camp EWALU is in the candidacy process in our synod and will be THE FIRST TEEM candidate ever in this synod! He will be installed at our joint service on Reformation Day.
· A group of folks from One in Faith, Bethany and Emanuel met at Hope this last Sunday (9/18) along with Pastor Susan, Pastor Joelle Colville-Hanson and myself to continue our shared ministry conversation. We decided to work together to have an afternoon or evening of Christmas caroling at the Strawberry Point and Elkader nursing homes sometime in December. Stayed tuned for further details.
· A committee has met and is working on finalizing the pictorial directory for the parish.
VI. Work in the Community and in the wider church
· I volunteered to be in the pit band for the Elkader Opera House production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Dates of the production are the first and second weekends of October. Clark is helping to cover confirmation classes during the weeks of rehearsal.
§ I’ll be the speaker at the Shechem conference Women’s gathering at Beulahland on the 8th of October. The theme is “Gathered at the Cross.”
§ I was asked to preach at the Shepherd of the Hills All Saints Worship on the 6th of November at St Joseph’s in Elkader.
§ I will be attending our Synod’s Fall Theological Conference in Dubuque October 9-11.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rev. Margaret Yackel-Juleen
Young people in grades 7-12
and parents
We'll be meeting Sunday, October 23rd at 1pm at St Paul to discuss a possible servant trip with Youthworks this coming summer as well as plan for some fun events together throughout the coming year. Put it on your calendar and plan to attend.
Meeting of the
One In Faith Parish Board
September 7, 2016
at Strawberry Point Civic Center
Present: Brad Bockenstedt, Jim Hoth, Kris Morarend, Tracy Yelden, Dennis Nus, Bonnie Nus, Roger Bushkofsky, Dee Coan, and Pastor Margaret Yackel-Juleen and Clark Baldwin. Also present was Roger Knehans.
Call To Order: Dennis Nus called the meeting to order. Pastor Margaret shared devotions and a prayer.
Minutes from Previous Meeting: Tracy Yelden made the motion to accept the minutes as presented. Seconded by Jim Hoth, the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report: Dee Coan made the motion to accept the treasurer’s report as presented. Seconded by Brad Bockenstedt, the motion carried.
Pastor’s Report: Pastor Margaret shared her written report. Special notes were:
Confirmation began today, 12 seventh and eighth grade students were in attendance with their parents. Confirmation will be held at St. John on October 16th and at Hope on October 23rd for the 9th graders.
Bible Study will begin on September 15 at Pastor’s home.
Old Business
Fifth Sunday Service – October 30: Our service will be at Johnson’s Restaurant in Elkader for this Reformation Sunday Service with a meal following. The cost per person will be $11.95 per person. Children 10 and under are half price, children under 5 are free. There will be signup sheets for the meal sent to each church with bulletins within the next few Sundays. Arrangements are being made to have an installation for Clark at our service that day. Each church should plan on bringing an item to represent the church that will be put at the front of the stage during the service.
Life Touch Church Directory Update: A committee will be meeting in the near future to determine what needs to be done to complete this project.
Agreement with Clark Baldwin and EWALU: Roger Bushkofsky made the motion to change the number of Sunday’s in the agreement to 35 and delete the section on financing education since the Synod will be funding that. The amended contract will be printed and presented to EWALU and all Councils. Jim Hoth seconded, the motion carried. Clark will be taking the updated contract to EWALU to be signed. Then it will go to each of our four churches for signatures.
2017 Budget: Discussion was held on the proposed budget. Jim Hoth made the motion to add $2500 extra to the supply pastor line. Dee Coan seconded, the motion carried. Roger Bushkofsky made the motion to approve the amended budget. Dee Coan seconded, the motion carried.
New Business
It was noted that the Gernand Center might, in the future, need a pastor for Saturday night services. Some lists will be put together and possible pastors to contact. And we’ll discuss this at our next meeting.
Our next meeting is set for Wednesday, November 16, at 7:30 pm after confirmation class. Location will be determined and board members will be notified where the meeting will be.
Meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Bonnie Nus, Secretary
Confirmation at St. John
Sunday, October 16, 10:30 a.m.
Derek Becker
Son of Chad & Billi Jo Becker
Henry Hamlett
Son of Mark & Jenny Hamlett
Graham Schuchmann
son of Steve Schuchmann and Ursula Schuchmann
Confirmation at Hope
Sunday, October 23, 10:30 a.m.
Joe Abitz
Son of Jason & Tina Kuehl
Lexi Clinton
Daughter of Richard & Lisa Clinton
Strawberry Point Food Pantry
Since we aim to distribute a week's worth of groceries and we are now serving 14-15 households a month, we need:
Canned fruits and vegetables, pork and beans, peanut butter, honey, flour and sugar, canned and boxed meals and soups, salad or cooking oil, kleenex, dish soap and laundry detergent.... maybe watch the sales and pick up and item or two with your groceries??? We use cash donations to purchase items we need to stock shelves. We do take excess items to Clayton County Food Shelf in St. Olaf.
We distribute from 3- 6:30pm every third Wednesday in conjunction with the Community Meal or between times by appointment by calling St Mary's parish office 933-6166 or Marcia Hanson 933-6477.
Thanks for your support. Marcia
Pastor Margaret is playing in the pit band for the Elkader Opera House production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and Pastor Mark is playing Grandpa Joe on September 30 & October 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m. and September 29 & October 2nd at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available at Moser Pharmacy, Elkader or call 563-873-2378 or .