LOG Jan & Feb 2014
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January/February 2014 Quick! Quiz time! Do you remember the mis sion statement for Red Oak Grove? [insert Jeopardy music] If you said this: Gathering in grace, growing in faith, going forth to serve … then you are correct! Last year, we were all about gathering in grace. We hosted a free communit y meal. We opened our building to 4H groups and Cub Scouts. We invited people to gather with us at events like the polka worship service, Strawberry Festival, the cowboy worship service, auction, and WELCA guest day. We gathered in worship and fellowship every Sunday. We are a congregation that loves to gather, to greet one another, to be together. As we enter a new year, we don’t forget about what it means to gather in grace. It’s a part of who we are and we continue to do just that, just as w e will always go forth to serve. But, this year, we will focus on what it means to grow in faith. Perhaps here it would be helpful to have a working definition of faith so we know wha t it is exactly we are growing in. According to Hebrews 11, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. According to the dictionary, faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something ; also, a strong belief in God or in the doctrine s of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof . And, according to Martin Luther: Faith is a living daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times . Martin Luther is also quoted as saying that faith is a living, busy, a ctive, mighty thing . Whichever of those definitions hit closest to home for you, how will you grow in faith? How will that living, busy, active, mighty thing shape your everyday life? How will we together as a community grow in faith? What would Red Oak Grove look and feel like at the end of the y ear if we dedicate ourselves to growing in this living, busy, active, mighty thing? How would our lives differ if we, together, committed to growing in faith? Let’s find out. I’m excited for another year of ministry with all of you, exploring what God is up to in our midst! Pastor Lindsay
Transcript of LOG Jan & Feb 2014
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January/February 2014
Quick! Quiz time! Do you remember the mission statement for Red Oak Grove?
[insert Jeopardy music]
If you said this: Gathering in grace, growing in faith, going forth to serve
… then you are correct
Last year, we were all about gathering in grace. We hosted a free community meal. We opened ourbuilding to 4H groups and Cub Scouts. We invited people to gather with us at events like the polkaworship service, Strawberry Festival, the cowboy worship service, auction, and WELCA guest day.We gathered in worship and fellowship every Sunday. We are a congregation that loves to gather, togreet one another, to be together.
As we enter a new year, we don’t forget about what it means to gather in grace. It’s a part of who weare and we continue to do just that, just as we will always go forth to serve. But, this year, we willfocus on what it means to grow in faith.
Perhaps here it would be helpful to have a working definition of faith so we know what it is exactly weare growing in. According to Hebrews 11, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction ofthings not seen. According to the dictionary, faith is complete trust or confidence in someone orsomething ; also, a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritualapprehension rather than proof . And, according to Martin Luther: Faith is a living daring confidence inGod’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times . Martin Lutheris also quoted as saying that faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing .
Whichever of those definitions hit closest to home for you, how will you grow in faith? How will thatliving, busy, active, mighty thing shape your everyday life? How will we together as a communitygrow in faith? What would Red Oak Grove look and feel like at the end of the year if we dedicateourselves to growing in this living, busy, active, mighty thing? How would our lives differ if we,together, committed to growing in faith?
Let’s find out. I’m excited for another year of ministry with all of you, exploring what God is up to inour midst!
Pastor Lindsay
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Red Oak Grove Lutheran ChurchCouncil Minutes – December 15, 2013
A meeting was called to order by President Diane Maxwell.
A short list of items needed to be addressed.
Follow up on the elevator, having received an estimate from a company in St. Ansgar, trustees willcontinue to work on a resolution, checking with members that worked on the original committee whenthe elevator was installed.
The speaker in the nursery – can the volume be turned down?
Thank you to the WELCA for the donation to the church budget.
The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as read.
No further business was discussed, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Laura Tjomsland , Council Secretary
The Annual Meeting for Prairie Manor Inc.
dba Prairie Manor Care Center and Heather Hauswill be held at 7:00 p.m. on January 21, 2014 in the Chapel.
For Sale: Two steel doors, in good condition, from the Sunday School wing. Make an offer. If youhave questions, contact Bob Kittelson.
If you have a report to be included in the Annual Report, please leave it in the office by January 19,2014. Thank you.
If you would like a copy of your Contribution Statement for 2013, please let the church office know.
There are still some 2014 offering envelopes in the narthex to be picked up. Be sure to take yoursand distribute any family members envelopes that are still there. Thank you.
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This year, through the LOG and other avenues, we together will explore stewardship and what itmeans to be stewards of God’s creation. Being stewards of God’s creation is about grow ing in fai th and growing in our lives as disciples. We begin with a word: generosity.
I looked generosity up in the dictionary. The quality of being kind and generous. Okay, that doesn’tquite get to the root of it … so I looked up generous. (of a person) showing a readiness to give moreof something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. Yes! That’s the definition Iwas looking to find. I want to start here, with generosity, because as the year of 2013 ended, that isthe word consistently came to mind.
I want to thank you for your continued generous giving to the church.
For the giving you put in the offering plate and for the food you piled in our shopping cart. For thecoins in the Noisy Coin bucket each month and the soap for health kits. For the time spent sewingquilt tops and the handmade Christmas cards for our homebound members.
One particular way I was struck by generosity camecompletely unexpectedly. I received an email onemorning from Lisa Reese, a member of ROG and agentat AgStar. She said she had a surprise for the churchand wanted to drop it off that afternoon. That surprisewas a $750 check from AgStar! AgStar generously dedicated money for each of their agents to designate to
local, community organizations and Lisa generously chose the Red Oak Grove youth fund. What a gift!
Over the past year, there was much more generous giving that happened than could ever be listed here. Didyou know that because you designate your Choice
Dollars, the generous people of Thrivent gave $3,198 to Red Oak Grove last year? It’s not onlyfinancial either. Generosity takes many other forms. Those of you who plow the parking lots; thoseof you who teach Sunday School; those of you are available with a phone call to come meet withconstruction crews, paint a wall, or help with unexpected church maintenance; those of you whoorganize our Sunday mornings together by finding volunteers; and so much more.
Those of you who continue to give generously to Red Oak Grove and its ministry tell an importantstory with your giving and your actions: what we do together is important. What we do both in andoutside of these doors is important ministry. It’s really not about paying the bills; it’s about growing inrelationship with Jesus. It’s about being disciples and sharing the love of God. Thank you for yourreadiness to give more of something, as money or time [or food for the food shelf or skills or love forour children/youth], than is strictly necessary or expected. Thank you for your generosity.
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Will you share your faith?
This Lent, one of the ways we will focus on the second part of our mission statement is by invitingeveryone to grow in faith together through devotion. Beginning now, the office will be collecting yourown reflections on faith and your own faith stories. We will compile such reflections and stories into adevotional booklet. This booklet will be available to all of you before Lent begins, available for all ofus to journey through Lent, growing in faith together. Are you interested in sharing your faith by
writing a reflection for a day of the Lenten season? If so, talk to Pastor Lindsay. We’d love to hearyour story.
Red Oak Grove Church – Thank you for the beautiful quilt you donated to Nick’s end ofradiation party! We are very thankful for all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes we have
received while fighting this. Thank you, Nick and aurie Smith
Thank you to all for the kind Christmas cards and gifts! Thank you also for the money toput towards my student loans; it helps immensely! When I write about generosity, I think
also of how generous you are to me as your pastor! Pastor Lindsay
Thank you to all who filled the cart with food at the end of last year. Half of the food wasdonated to the Salvation Army in Austin; half to the Steele County Food Shelf in Owatonna.Together, we collected over 100 items. Thank you for your participation in filling the cart!
Current 8th graders thru 11th graders: mark your calendars! The ELCA National Youth Gathering[which happens every three years] will be held in Detroit on July 15th – 19th, 2015. In the comingmonths, watch for more info. If you are interested in attending, we will begin serious discussion aboutthe trip early this summer!
Confirmation: PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATES ON THE CALENDAR. We WILL haveconfirmation on January 15th and will NOT have confirmation on the 29 th. [PL will be out of town.]
The Confirmation youth rang bells for the Salvation Army one Wednesday in December. A letter wereceived at the church read like this: Your group raised a total of $104.05 for this year’scampaign . I want to extend a great big thank you from all of us at the Austin Salvation Army.Thanks, confirmands, for being involved in that service project!
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