GOODHUE LUTHERAN MESSENGER — September 2020

USING GOD’S WORK-AROUNDS

If an electrician is wiring your new addition, and he finds that the place he planned to bring the wires through is filled with 18” of solid brick and mortar that was hiding behind the drywall, he will probably do a “work-around”- stop trying to drill through the wall there, and bring the wire through in a different place than originally planned. Sometimes, the “work-arounds” turn out better than if you had been able to do the original plan. For example, the place the electrician brings the wire through the wall may make it easier for him to add an extra outlet in your addition in a place where later it turns out is just the right spot for plugging in a certain appliance.

God sometimes lets a similar thing happen with our plans for life, including our plans for how we will serve him.

This happened with the Apostle Paul. He had made three mission journeys, and God had blessed him with great success in bringing many souls to faith in Christ, and starting new Christian congregations in many parts of the world. He was planning to make more mission journeys, including eventually to travel to Rome. He wasn’t planning to be put in prison for month after month and so be unable to travel around preaching, as he was used to doing.

But that’s what God let happen. Some enemies of Paul’s preaching falsely accused him; he was arrested to save him from being killed by a mob; but then he was kept a prisoner as a favor to his enemies, and in the hopes that he might give the one who kept him in jail a bribe, though he had done no crime. And the weeks turned into months, and perhaps years. Why would God let that happen, when there were so many people who needed to hear the good news of Jesus that Paul was preaching? Well, God had a work-around- actually- several work arounds, in mind.

Listen to what Paul wrote about this to some fellow Christians while a prisoner. Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. – Philippi-ans 1:12-14 (NIV) With God’s work-arounds happening, putting the greatest Christian missionary in prison wasn’t stopping the spread of the gospel, it was advancing it! Other Christians, who otherwise wouldn’t have been so bold, were thinking, “Since Paul is in prison and can’t go around preaching, it’s all the more important that I go around telling my friends and neighbors about Jesus,” and “If Paul was willing to keep preaching Christ, even when it got him thrown in jail, then I should be willing to share the news of Christ, even if they do something like that to me for it.” And instead of just one great missionary preaching, God got a whole bunch of new missionaries preaching. Plus the great missionary still got to preach, even while a prisoner, in a couple ways. The people who had to listen to him because it was their job to guard and care for him- the palace guard- got to hear why Paul was in prison and what he was preaching about- Jesus Christ. On top of that, Paul was still allowed to write letters and get them sent out, and he wrote the books of Philippians, Colossians and Philemon, which got the word of Jesus to many people in Paul’s day, and have been getting the word of Christ to many more people ever since, as part of the New Testament Scriptures. The COVID-19 restrictions have probably made you have to change any number of plans for your life and your children’s lives, including plans for worship, and how you will teach them God’s word. But just like with Paul, you can expect God to provide some “work-arounds” that may bring greater blessings than if you never had to use these different ways you hadn’t originally been planning on. One example: because of COVID-19 our church started posting its services online on website and facebook, and we have probably reached many more people that way, which we wouldn’t otherwise have reached, than if COVID-19 never came along and we hadn’t started doing that. This fall, at Grace and St. Peter’s, because of space, staffing and timing issues caused by COVID-19 precau-tions, we won’t be starting the year with regular in-person Sunday School classes: Instead, we will give parents the needed materials to use in teaching their own children, and our Synod’s Northwestern Publishing House is making vid-eos of trained teachers teaching the lessons, which parents can download and watch with their kids for free. (We will let the parents know what the links are to access those video lessons), and I will try to include parts in all the services (both in a song the kids can learn and enjoy; and in either the lesson or the sermon) that are aimed at the children, to make church itself more engaging for them. (The shorter 45 minute service length may make it easier for them to sit through the whole service as well.) God may yet show us some additional “work arounds” we can use to help parents teach their children about their Savior. It won’t be the same as being in a class with other kids your age, taught by a trained Sunday School teacher. But God will probably give some neat blessings through it that wouldn’t happen if we didn’t have to do the work-around- like making parents spend more time talking to their own kids about Jesus, which would be wonderful for both parents and their children! So whenever God lets a monkey wrench get thrown in your plans, remember; God knows how to bless you through the work-arounds he provides, even better than if things went as planned. God’s blessings on your month and the new school and Sunday School year! - Pastor Weigand

Grace & St. Peter’s Sunday School Corner

As we move forward making adjustments as needed during the COVID-19 Pandemic for sure there are concerns about how are we going to be teaching Sunday School. What a great feeling to know that Grace and St Peter’s have a combined 72 possible chil-dren for Sunday School if all would attend. We desperately want these children to hear the message that can provide a foun-dation for their lives through the assur-ance of the forgiveness in Christ. It’s struggle to get volunteers who want to teach and want to send their children into group settings with the risks of COVID-19. We have decided to use the NPH Christ-Light Remote Learning program for Sunday School this fall. We may change to in per-son Sunday School after the fall series if we have volunteers willing to teach. The lessons every week will be provided on a YouTube video, taught by a WELS-trained teacher teaching the lesson and then transition to an activity for kids and their parents on the printed lesson sheets. Shelley is busy preparing a packet for each of our children. It will be a simple vid-eo and a simple activity for the student at the end. How wonderful it will be for our families to sit together and hear the les-sons and have a spiritual discussion on a regular basis. Videos for grades Pre-K, 1-1,and 3-4, will be about 10-12 minutes long. Grades 5-6 will run about 25 minutes. You will be able to link to these videos on the Sunday School Tab on our Website. We will be setting this up when the video’s are available, lessons available the Friday before. We pray that this helps you reach your children with the spiritual care they need with the gospel of Jesus.

If the Covid-19 Pandemic is keeping you away from church or you are vacationing, remem-

ber our services are available to watch on our web page. Go to gracestpeters.org and choose

“pulpit media” on the top tool bar. If you are a Facebook user it is also posted on our Face-

book page. Go to Grace St Peters Goodhue. We are all welcome to visit other WELS services

on line as well.

Coming Up in Bible Class

Men’s Bible Breakfast will resume with a meeting at Grace on Saturday, September 19, at 8:30 a.m.

(Pastor Engel will be teaching).

A new Women’s Bible Study began in August and will meet again on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 9:30 a.m., at Call for location. Debbie Weigand is leading a class: “Coffee with the Savior”. This is for wom-en from all three of our congregations, and more

ladies are welcome.

Joint Midweek Bible Class has been enjoying good attendance, and continues on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s. Pastors Weigand and Engel

take turns teaching.

Sunday Bible Class at St. Peter’s will resume on September 13, meeting downstairs between the ser-

vices at 10 a.m. Steve Hinsch will lead study on selected Bible portions. 7th and 8th Graders are

invited to join their parents in attending.

Sunday Bible Class at Grace will resume on Sep-tember 13, meeting between the services at 9 a.m.

Darwyn Tri will lead study.

Selected Christ Light Selections. 7th & 8th Graders are invited to join their parents in attending.

The Quilting and Bible Study Group that meets on Wednesday Mornings at St. Peter's will wait until October to, God-willing, resume their meetings. A number of the ladies talked and felt that with the COVID-19 situation and current mask mandate, it would be better to wait a month, rather than try to resume in September. If you are interested in the group and what it does, please contact Joyce Hin-richs at 651-347-2994.

Grace Council Meeting – 8/11/2020

President Ed Gadient called the meeting to order with Bo, Tim, Markus,

Todd, Pastor, and Brandon present. Pastor opened with prayer. The Sec-

retary’s Report was read and approved. Markus presented the Financial

Secretary’s Report. It was noted that as of the last count, $4,271 of the

$6600 goal has been received for the Christian Education Fund. (Update:

as of 8/23, we were at about $5775 in the fund.) A motion passed to

approve the report. The Treasurer’s Report was also presented and ap-

proved. Pastor reported church attendance both in person and online has

been good. He feels the current schedule is working well giving members

different options to attend, while complying with COVID19 requirements.

Bible class has also been well attended. Shut-ins continue to be seen,

including residents of nursing homes. Pastor is making sure to take all

necessary COVID19 prevention measures during the visits. Pastor is

working to develop a plan for Catechism. With 20 prospective students,

he feels it would be best to divide students into two equal size groups

and meet at two separate times. He will also offer an online option if

parents feel more comfortable with that avenue. He will meet with all

families prior to class starting to discuss the plan. Planning is also under-

way for Sunday School. A couple options are available that will be evalu-

ated at the next staff meeting. A couple options for fascia and gutter

repair was discussed. More information will be brought to a future coun-

cil meeting. Ty Schultz completed a financial audit. After review, he re-

ported everything looks good. A dual parish meeting is scheduled for

September 15. The meeting will include Pastor and Staff evaluations, as

well as pay and benefit package recommendations. A motion passed to

classify the regular organist/pianist as a church employee. Their wages

will now be handled through church’s payroll service. Mary reported

electronic giving is not being utilized, and a monthly fee is now set to

begin. Motion to discontinue electronic giving was made and passed.

Motion was made to Adjourn.

Submitted,

Brandon Lunde

St Peter’s Council Meeting on August 11, 2020 Meeting opened with prayer by Pastor Martin Weigand. Present were Larry, Lonnie, Mark T, Mark L, Curt, and Pastor Weigand. Secretary’s report read and approved Treasure’s report read and approved Christian Education Fund $1,038.26 Checking Account $6,196.44, Ag Partners Building Fund $1,436.13. Church has been well attended. July average 41 per week. Online Website- July-29 Online Facebook- July 69. Current Church Schedule is working very well. Mid-Week Bible Class Resumed; Weigand and Engel taking turns. Av. July-12 Youth Confirmations are all done. Shut-in visits: All are being seen including the nursing homes. Ministry Goals for August are to meet with the catechism students parents. 20 perspective students. Discussion will include how the catechism classes will be offered. Joint Sunday School: Will possibly use the Northwestern Publishing House Videos of trained teachers to teach the lessons. Parents will use this as a way of presenting the lesson to their children. Old Business: Larry will schedule a meeting with the Grace Elders before Septem-ber 15 to go over the Pastor/Staff Evaluations. Larry will try to get the SIM Sound Rep here to see what we have to livestream online services and if he can set it up with our system. Mark T will coordinate with Travis the concrete for the sidewalk. New Business: Marilyn Luhman and family gave a Shepherd Picture for a memorial gift. Lonnie will install it on the south wall of the Church Entry. Motion made to deny the use of the church basement for dance class. Dance class is for profit and not a school sponsored event. Meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer. Men’s Bible Breakfast, Saturday, September 19, 8:30a.m. at Grace. Next Council Meeting September 15, at Grace at 6:30p.m. Grace Council at 6:30p.m., Dual Parish Board at 7:15p.m. St Peter’s Council at 8:00p.m. Respectfully Submitted Curt Callstrom, Church Secretary.

Are you Bored? Haven’t gone anywhere because of COVID-19? Have some family time but run-ning out of ideas? I personally would like to invite you and your kids to send a homemade card, a picture you’ve hand drawn, a favorite bible verse, or a letter to one of our shut-ins. I know first hand how horribly lonely those in nursing homes and care centers are because of COVID-19. Not only do the residents like to get mail, but they can save it and enjoy it again and again. It is a gen-erous thoughtful reminder that someone cares about them. I hope that some of you will choose to encourage someone you know is lonely with a personalized note or card. I know how rare it is for people to send cards with social media being quick and so instant. Most of our shut-ins are not on social media & don’t even own a computer or smart phone. I would love to provide you with members’ addresses if you would like to send some of our people some kindness in the mail. Thank you for helping lift the loneliness for our fellow church members. - Grace/St Peter’s Secretary Mary Tri

P.S. I say “AMEN!” to this idea. I hope many of you will do this. It would mean so much to our shut-in members! - Pastor Weigand

We received $72,925 towards our Taste and See offering! Thank you! As of Friday, July 24, $72,925 has come in from various individuals and groups to replace the thank offerings that would have been collected during worship services at LWMS convention in Athens, GA. Praise God for the many people who sent in their offerings to support our goal! This thank offering will go to support mission work in Mexico (World Missions) and Hispanic out-reach in North America (Home Missions).

We are thankful to God for the countless individuals who have given their time, talent and treasure to support this first-of-its-kind event. We are truly humbled to see this incredible outpouring of gifts and encouragement. Many thanks to all!

We plan to keep the website available for at least a year, so please continue to watch the videos and share with friends and family. We pray that together we can be bold and tirelessly tell others about the love of Jesus.

“Taste and See that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8)

Love is the answer

Haris (named changed for his protection) spearheaded an effort in a large Midwest city to distribute food and face masks in the midst of COVID-19. We are also not disclosing the name of this city for his protection. Ha-ris is originally from a Muslim nation in South Asia and now lives in America. He is enrolled in our WELS Pas-toral Studies Institute (PSI). Haris shares:

When the coronavirus started, I was thinking. . . how can we reach out to the large Muslim population in our commu-nity to show the love of Christ? I was talking to my friend, and he said, "I know of WELS churches that are making face masks! They will make masks for you to share with the Muslims." So we started distributing food to our Muslim neigh-borhood along with the face masks. People in the community donated groceries and money to buy food. We delivered food and masks on more than 20 different occasions. People drove up in their cars, and we put the groceries in their vehicles. We also dropped off food on people’s porches. Counting only the early drive-thrus, we helped 504 families and assisted 64 families who had a family member with coronavirus.

We made so many friends, and received a lot of feedback from the community. They said, "You risked your life and distributed food and masks even in the rain and snow." Everyone knows I am a Christian, and they know this help comes because of the love of Jesus for all people. I told the mayor of this community, "These Christians made these masks. They did this because they care for these people. The people who live hundreds of miles away don’t know who will be getting it. It is impossible. Only the love of Christ causes them to do this."

One WELS District President wrote to the churches in his district about this opportunity. Several churches and many individu-als responded. One family made 2,000+ masks for relatives, neighbors, and for Muslims in this large city. Some of the face masks had Bible verses inside the plastic bags. A pastor at one of our rural WELS churches said, “Our people understood that this was an opportunity to reach out to others in a time of crisis. They wanted to serve their fellow man and to serve Christ as he served them.”

During the pandemic, four close friends of mine (not involved in the distribution effort) died from the coronavirus. All four had converted from Islam to Christianity in the last few years and were assisting me in ministry to the Muslim community. One was a former economics professor from Asia, another was a young father with a wife and two children, another was a young man at a nearby university who assisted with apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith), and the last was a very close friend who had lost everything when she converted to Christianity. Her new family was my family. My wife and this woman were as close as sisters. While sorrow grips our hearts, we have the assurance that our friends are now with Jesus.

Love was the answer for reaching out to our community–and love was the answer for conquering death and hatred. “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35).

LWMS Update from Jule Majerus. Fall LWMS is cancelled. Updates to follow.

St Peter’s Ladies Aid

Will meet on Sunday, September 20th at 10a.m. in the church basement.

If you have questions on the agenda please talk to Ronnelle.

Greeting cards, and Anniversary Cookbooks always for sale in the basement. There is a box for your payment.

Ruby’s Pantry

The First Wednesday of Each Month

~September 2nd

5:00-6:30p.m., held at

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Zumbrota

$20 Cash Donation

Stretch your grocery dol-lars, no income/

residency requirements. No pre-registration re-

quired. All are welcome to participate. Additional

information at zumbrota-

rubys@gmail.com

Please keep Gayle Krause, wife of Pastor Andrew Krause in your prayers as she heals from surgery and treatment for stage 4 cancer. Her caring bridge page is under Gayle Krause. Her mailing ad-dress if you choose to mail a card is: Gayle Krause 2407 35th Ave South Fargo North Dakota 58104-6508 Please keep Troy Watne, husband of Heidi(Amundson) Watne in your thoughts and prayers. His caring bridge page is under Troy Watne. His mailing address is 1061 Quincy Ave Belmond, Iowa 50421 Please contact Pastor Weigand or Pastor Engel or our Church secretaries: Mary Tri (Grace & St. Pe-ter’s) or Jessie Holst (St. John’s) if you have visit or prayer requests. May God continue to shower you with his strength and his love. Be Safe! Be Well! God is Good!

Lutheran Chapel of the Air Update

Early in July we made an appeal for funds to support our Sunday morning radio broad-casts and the Lord has blessed us with many gifts. Nearly $5,000 has been received in just a month's time from 25 congregations, individuals and families. That amount will cover an entire year of recording and broadcasting. We want to thank everyone that has given a gift to support this ministry that is reaching out especially to those who are not able to attend worship at this time. Thanks and Lord's blessings on your week, Peter

LWMS Fall Rally Postponed—The rally that was scheduled to be held at Our Savior’s in Kasson, MN is instead to be held there in the Fall of 2021. Our regional leaders are arranging for a video presentation by the planned speaker (on Mission work in Nepal) that could be shown in churches or at Ladies Aid meetings, or watched online by individuals at home. (St. Peter’s is scheduled to host the regional rally in the spring of 2021.)

Wise Penny Hours are Monday-Saturday 12-4. Donations will be accepted Monday-Thursday

12-4 only. Any questions call LuRene at

380-0480 or Ronnelle at 212-0483

Wise Penny Annual Meeting will be Sunday, October 4th at 1:30p.m. at St John’s Lutheran Church in Red Wing.

Trust God

He knows you by name. Isaiah 43:1

He will fight for you. Exodus 14:14

He thinks about you. Psalm 139:17

He has plans for you. Jeremiah 29:11

He is your refuge. Psalm 62: 6-8

He is always with you. Matthew 28:20

September 2020 Newsletter

Jesus Lives! I Can! Philippians 4:13 (EHV) I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. I can… be a pineapple!

Perhaps you have seen this before. There are many good ideas found in this picture. Teachers may have been using this in their classrooms to encourage good character. Mom used this in their nurse-ries to encourage their little ones. But what does it mean? Stand tall - Be confident in who you are. When the world knocks you down, brush yourself off,

get up, and keep going. In baseball - rub some dirt on it. Keep going. In Egypt, Moses needed to be a pineapple. He was run out of Egypt because of a murder he committed. Later on, he led the Israelites out of Egypt with the Egyptians in hot pursuit. In Exodus 14:13,Moses speaks,“Do not be afraid. Stand firm, and see the salvation from the Lord, which he will perform for you today. For the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You must wait quietly.” In the world’s perspective, standing tall means to be quietly confident in who you are. God says be confident knowing He will fight for you. Just be still.

Wear a crown - No, I am not suggesting to treat children like kings and queens. They are humble people that need to be treated respect-fully. Everyone is a leader when they are faithful to God. In Revelation 2:10 (EHV) God promises “Do not fear anything that you are about

to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will suffer for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Opening this school year may be fearful to some people. Fear is Satan’s prison. But we are ex-amples of faith. Be compassionate and courageous. We wear the crown of eternal life. Be humble.

Be sweet on the inside - Be kind. Like the pineapple, you may have a rough outside, but on the in-side, stay sweet. The world may say you can be kind. God gives us the understanding of what it means to stay kind. God says in Ephesians 4:32 (EHV) “Instead, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven us.” Because Jesus Lives, we are kind to everyone because Jesus died for everyone. The world may say do unto others, but God says to love with no reason. Just be sweet.

St. John’s Lutheran School will open the doors Monday to Friday as normal. Of course we will follow health protocols, wear masks, social distance, and wash our hands a lot. We will clean. We will get to see our Christian brothers and sisters again. It is good to be a pineapple knowing that our loving Savior will be there everyday with us - to fight for us, to keep us faithful, and to for-give our mistakes. God’s blessing on the start of the school year.

In His service, Albert Karnopp

www.stjohnsgoodhue.com or facebook @StJohnsGoodhue

SERVING AT ST. JOHNS IN SEPTEMBER

Pastor Todd Engel

ST. JOHN’S ELDERS:

Kenneth Schrimpf, Tim Hinrichs & Jesse Luhman

ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL BOARD:

Trevor Ryan, Derek Weckerling & Jake Diercks

St. John's Church Council

Council Meeting August 11 2020

Minutes were read, with motion made, second and carried to approve them

St. John’s students catechism 10-11 am, public school students 3:30 on Wednesday's.

Sunday school will proceed with in person classes

Chapel time is 2:30 on Wednesday's.

Sinks are in for upstairs classrooms, flooring waiting on quotes.

Parish hall, still looking for a quote for finishing floor.

Meeting ended with prayer.

Baptized August 1, Kirby Ronald Breuer, son of

Craig and Karla Breuer, born on June 29th.

Baptized August 14, Kyla Elaine Possehl, daugh-

ter of Katie Possehl, born on July 21st.

Baptized August 22, Lance William Matthees, son of Scott and Molly Matthees, born on

August 7th.

Confirmation Classes

set to begin in September:

Confirmation classes are set to

begin September 10th for LES students and

on September 9th for public school stu-

dents. Confirmation classes in the LES

will have class as part of their school day

on Monday and Thursday mornings at

10:30. Public school confirmation classes

will meet on Wednesdays from 3:30 until

5:00 p.m. at the St. Peter’s parsonage base-

ment. Students will need a Catechism,

workbook, and a Bible for class. All can

be purchased from the church office

(Catechism $20; Confirmation workbook

$10; Bible $23). Please contact Pastor En-

gel if you have any questions.

On Wednesday, August 12th St. John’s Lu-

theran Church extended a call to Pastor Gun-

nar Lederman. Pastor Lederman is 32 years

old. He is married to Marinda and has two

children. Pastor Lederman currently serves

at Divine Peace Lutheran Church in Rockwall,

Texas (Dallas area). Please pray for the Holy

Spirit’s guidance for Pastor Lederman.

E-GIVING NOW AT ST. JOHN'S -- Our congregation now offers electronic giving! Go to easytithe.com/stjohnswels and follow the easy instructions to set up, or text GIVE and an amount to 1-218-304-7066 (ex: GIVE 250.00) and follow the easy directions. Address to mail: 36620 Co 4 Blvd Goodhue, MN 55027

SCRIP Order Due

September 8th, 2020

Call, Text, or Email Abigail Brinkman

at abbyrapp@gmail.com

or 507-302-9093

We are encouraging online purchases through

ShopWithScrip and PrestoPay.

www.shopwithscrip.com Enrollment code:

F9188BDF28187

Please contact us if you have questions or need

help logging in.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP THE SCHOOL

AMAZON SMILE

Box Tops (App)

Coca Cola codes

Family Fare Receipts

Wise Penny Store

Attention College Students:

Please send college addresses and contact infor-

mation to the church email,

stjohnsoffice4773@gmail.com

Family Fun and Fellowship September: Chris Driesbach Concert: Friday, Sept. 11. Picnic

Supper served by CEA at 6 p.m., Concert at 7 p.m. Enjoy Chris’ great Christian music, (See chrisdriesbach.com for a sample)

then stay for S’mores and fellowship around the fire pit after-wards.

It is exciting to welcome the children back to Sun-

day School this fall! The first day of Sunday

School will be on September 13th following the

Church service (9:45 or whenever church is

done). This year we will be using the Christ Light

lessons, focusing on one bible story every

week. Christ Light has also started an online les-

son for anyone that is interested in the oppor-

tunity to complete the lesson at home. Thanks to

the parents who volunteered to teach and to the

families for sending your children to Sunday

School. We look forward to seeing our previous

students and welcome any new children!

I will start email communication with families soon....

Ashley Agenten, Sunday School Director& Sunday

School Teachers