The Messenger June and July 2020 St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church 701 Broadway Street Thompson, ND 58278 (701)-599-2081 stmatthewslutheranchurch.org

The newsletter of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Thompson, ND| Vol. 5, Issue 6

Before becoming a pastor, I worked at a church in Iowa as a Youth and Family Ministry Coordinator. Part of my job involved helping plan and coordinate Vacation Bible School (VBS). VBS was always a highlight of my summers. Having worked as a camp counselor in college, VBS felt like a modified version of camp. I looked forward to it every year and it was always a blast.

One of the summers, we used the “Splash Canyon” VBS theme from Sparkhouse. As you can tell from the name, a lot of water was involved and we spent a lot of time outdoors playing water games, which was refreshing in the scorching heat of summer. We also sang a lot of water related songs. My favorite song from that summer was called, “We’re on the wild ride of life.” The chorus went something like this:

“We’re on the wild ride of life,

We’ve got a great God who’s on our side.

Whenever waters rise, Jesus is our guide,

On the wild ride of life”

Besides being a catchy and fun song, I loved the message I got from it. That, as I set sail and head into an unknown future, that I have a great God who’s on my side and that Jesus is my guide on this wild ride of life.

That is the same message for us today amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As we journey in life, as we grow and live, and as we see time go by, God is with us. In the good times and the bad, we have a God who promises to be with us.

There will come moments of sadness. Days of grief and sorrow. There will be sleepless nights filled with anxiety and worry. There will be situations that we have no control over, when it feels like we are in a sinking ship, stuck in a storm and the waves are too strong. There will be times like that when we will feel like God does not care for us.

But I want to assure you that God will never leave us nor forsake us, especially when the chaos of the world wants to engulf us.

In a few days, we plan on taking a bold step and reopen the building for in-person worship services. I am scared, anxious, and not really sure what will happen. But I know that we won’t be doing it alone because we have a great God on our side.

I will leave you with this verse from the VBS song:

“God’s always the same.

God will never change.

God’s promises are true for me and for you.

God will see us through when the storms will come.”

Blessings – Pastor Tawanda Murinda.

2 The Messenger | June & July 2020

To All the Seniors of 2020, Congratulations from the LYO Team!

LYO will resume at the beginning of the 20/2021 school year. We wish all the students that

were a part of LYO a great summer! Stay Safe!

LYO — Yo u t h G r o u p

W O R S H I P

Greetings from the Worship Team! I want to thank all of you that took part in Communion on May 10th. I hope it was a great experience...This will be our "NEW Normal" as they say but St. Matthew’s wants to fill your spiritual needs the safest way we can. Congratulations to the High School and College graduates! I hope that by Fall, your next steps can be a little closer to normal. Best of luck to you ALL. As you know, we are committed to live streaming all of St. Matthew’s services, and in that regard you will be seeing some upgrades to make the experience the best it can be. Please continue viewing and let us know how we're doing. Hopefully, you'll see changes by mid--June. As you see Wade and Paul Strande this summer, PLEASE thank them for all of the work they've put into getting and keeping us live. We're hoping to open the church on June 7th WITH a lot of social distancing. Please come, if you feel comfortable, and follow the quidelines that are sent by the CDC and St. Matthew’s. See you there. Until then - STAY SAFE, Valorie Uhlir 701-739-6282

Thompson Food

Pantry

The Thompson Food Pantry is

open on Tuesday, June 9th from

11am-1pm, and Tuesday, June

23rd from 6pm-8pm. The

pantry serves the communities of

Thompson, Buxton, and Reynolds.

For more information on the

pantry, talk to Kristie Adams at

701-741-7669.

We are looking for a few members to be a part of

St. Matthew’s Audio-Visual Team. These persons would

volunteer to help out with live streaming and slides on

the tv monitors during worship service. If you are

interested, please let Pastor Tawanda know and he will set

up a time for training.

Thank you for keeping St. Matthew’s Live!

MEN IN MISSION

St. Matthew’s men continue to gather “virtually” each Sunday morning for a chance to chat, drink coffee and learn together. Their topics of discussion vary, but new folks are always welcome to join them.

WELCA BIBLE STUDY This group takes turns hosting in homes for an evening of desert, coffee and Bible Study. They meet from September thru May.

RESPONSIVE PRAYER This gathering is on hold at this time. They usually meet at 7:00 am on Wednesdays in the Sanctuary. They spend time in responsive prayer and then enjoy a cup of coffee as well. They are then off to work by 7:30. Soon you’ll be able to come and join us as a great way to focus midweek!

WINE, WOMEN & THE WORD

This group is on hold at this time. We’re hoping that our next gathering won’t be too long in the future. This relaxed group of gals meets once a month for dinner, conversation, and bible study. New folks are always welcome to join us!

Ongoing Ministries

4 The Messenger | June & July 2020

In the summer, our lawn is kept up by

volunteers. Do you like to mow? Have

some spare time? If you are interested

or have any questions about mowing

or helping with other property projects,

call Duane @ 701-215-1809. The lawn

mower will be kept filled with gas, and

youth 16 and older are allowed to help

mow! Thank you for your help in

keeping our church property looking

great!

Pastor Tawanda welcomes visitors Mondays through Thursdays at the church office anytime during the day.

His day off is on Friday and he does have a standing appointment on Tuesday afternoons. Any other appointment times that he may be out of the office will be noted on the calendar.

Thank you to everyone for your helping hands. We

apologize if we missed anyone, know that you are all

appreciated!

Paul S, Kara W, Linda S and Amy B for reading

during worship the past month

For those that continue to keep our lawn looking

good.

Wade S for continuing to

keep us online

Shannnon and Steve H,

Valorie U and Paul S for

distributing communion

cups

Together we can do God’s Work with Our Hands!

THANK YOU to all of our Education Teachers and Helpers!

We are so thankful for the past year’s teachers and helpers—

Sarah Krogfoss, Grace Cooper, Kjersten Lopez, Jamie Bischoff,

Jessica Haugen, Stephanie Broyles, Trinity Bohlman, Derek

Plautz, Astacia Hansen-Oelrich, Ava Anderson, Jerod Lupien,

Dara Faul, Sara Munson, and Jill Schumacher.

Fa i t h F o r m a t i o n

From the Education Team Due to the current situation of our world, Vacation

Bible School through Park River Bible Camp has been

cancelled for this year. We look forward to a time

when we can once again enjoy the sounds of laughter

and praise from our little ones!

But the pandemic can’t keep us down! Fall planning has begun and we are looking for Sunday School and Confirmation Teachers for the fall!! Are you interested in teaching or team teaching our AWESOME kids or know someone who would be a great addition? If so, contact Bre at email breberberich@gmail.com

Congratulations to our Thompson High School Graduates

whose future plans include:

Eric Berthold—attend North Dakota State University—Finance

Jordyn Bohlman—attend University of North Dakota—Social Work

Pierce Cooper—attend University of North Dakota—Entrepreneurship

Chance Danner—attend University of North Dakota—undecided major

Ellie Schumacher—attend Mayville State University—Special Education

Alexandra Senger—attend University of North Dakota—Kinesiology/PreMed

Kaia Sorby—attend North Dakota State University—Business Administration

Wade Strande—attend North Dakota State College of Science—Agronomy/Precision Agriculture

Thank you to our readers this past year! Your

participation in our worship services is greatly

appreciated. While there are no “assigned” worship

assistant work group families during the months of June

and July, your willingness to continue to help out in the

summer months is always appreciated!

6 The Messenger | June & July 2020

2 Jennifer Haugen, Emily Overby, JoEllen McGauvran, Lucy Sutter-Hegg

3 Jace Strand 4 Vaughn Quern

5 Kevin Dobmeier 6 Derek Plautz

7 Thomas Stoe

8 Braeden Amborn, Dan Hovet, Wyatt Baron

10 Wade Strande

13 Jordan Barker, Leo Dearinger, Jaxon Fee, Diane Fugleberg, Makenna Mikelson

16 Troy Peterson, Adalee Foote

17 Brittany Monson, Hunter Praska, Jacob Zak

18 Wyatt Bergeron. Zac Haugen

19 Bo Fossum

20 Buck Arntz

21 Doris Cooper

22 Wyatt Dearinger, Kinley Plautz, Derek Sondreal

23 Ron Kornkven

24 Craig Bohlman, Bridget Pearson, Cole Sorby

25 Hayden Overby, Alicia Schumacher

26 Ashlyn Fossum,

27 Tim Sivertson

28 Gretchen Peterson

29 Tenley George

30 Jasmine Welke

31 Evie Haugen, Madison Sundberg

Happy Birthday in July!

Happy Birthday

in June! 3 Ursula Hovet

4 Blake Bischoff, Ridge Mayer

5 Susan Sondreal

7 Cynthia Prom

8 Kenneth Dobmeier,

Valorie Uhlir

10 Lola Anderson, Robyn Bohlman

11 Darin Praska

12 Marlyce Peterson

13 Katelyn Kuster

14 McKenna Amborn,

Lilly Fretheim, Dean Larson

15 Astacia Hansen-Oelrich,

Mary Mitchell

16 Devan Praska, Halle Bohlman

17 Ryan Fretheim, Kali Shaul,

Whitney Kornkven

18 Adam Ackerman, Heather Foote

19 Mavrik Peterson

21 Willa Monson

24 Cindy Eliason

25 Allison McGauvran,

Bill Mitchell, Kjersten Lopez

28 Marcus Benoit, Larin Ivesdal

29 Emma Haugen

We are happy to announce that we have set Sunday, June 7th as the tentative date for resuming in-person worship services. The service will start at the usual time at 10 am. We will continue offering online worship services which will be broadcasted live on our YouTube Channel. We are in the process of upgrading our equipment including installing a mounted HD camera and improving the sound quality.

While we are resuming these in-person gatherings, we are still encouraging all our members to take serious precautions and help safeguard the health of our community. We have set up some safety measures and guidelines which include the following:

• We will be reorganizing our worship space seating to allow for worshippers to sit at least six feet from each other. Family members from the same household can sit together.

• Until there is new substantial information, we ask all worshippers to wear face masks/coverings inside and outside the building.

• We continue to ask that everyone practices good hygiene. We will provide hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes. These can be found near the entrances and at multiple locations in the worship space.

• During worship times, all other areas of the church building will be closed. This includes offices, classrooms, nursery, gathering areas, and the fellowship hall. The only spaces open will be the sanctuary and bathrooms. When in the bathroom, we ask that people practice social distancing and we ask parents to accompany their children.

• There will not be any food and refreshments provided including coffee. Members can bring their own coffee in a spill-proof container.

• To limit the spread of aerosols, we will not be singing or saying unison prayers (like the Lord’s Prayer) together. We ask worshippers to meditate and reflect on the words rather than saying them out loud.

• We will have an offering station by the entrance to the sanctuary. Members can drop off their offering there or they can mail it in or use our online giving options.

• Communion elements can be picked up at the same station, when we do have communion. At the moment, we are looking at having communion every other week or even once a month until the situation improves. Members can commune themselves from their seats.

If you are sick, we ask that you stay at home to protect others.

Other safety information will be available on posters throughout the building or you can contact the church office with questions and concerns.

We understand that there are a lot of our members who will decide to stay home and continue to participate via our online options. We honor that decision and we want to assure you that we are working very hard to improve the quality of our online options. We hope that no one will feel pressured to come to the building. During this time of the pandemic staying home is the safer choice.

On behalf of the St. Matthew's Church Council,

Rev. Tawanda N. Murinda Interim Pastor St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church

8 The Messenger | June & July 2020

May council minutes, May 17, 2020 via Google meet

Present: Paul Strande, Scott Kuster, Bre Berberich, Angie Muhs, Steve Hancock, Kevin Cooper,

Brook Fretheim, Pastor Tawanda, Chelsea Lupien, Valorie Uhlir

Absent: Duane Naas

Meeting called to order at ­­11:39 AM. Val motioned to begin meeting.

Opening prayer provided us by Pastor Tawanda.

Bre motioned to approve agenda, Steve seconded, MPU.

Minutes from April council meeting were shared and reviewed.

Brook moved to approve the minutes as written, Scott seconded, MPU.

Financial Report:

As of latest report, General Checking has $ 21,371.29, Special Funds Checking has $ 28,642.66. Line of

credit balance is $0. Total Expenses were $ 14,287.62, leaving a net income of $24,445.04. YTD Net income

of $24,304.46, which includes $21,600 for the PPP SBA Loan.

St. Matthew is ahead of budget with the generosity of our members and help from the Care’s Act.

Update on Give+. Members are using this app, which has aided in maintaining our budget. Increased giving is

observed from many members. As a result, line of credit has not been needed.

Transfer one expense for graduate gifts from education expense item to youth expense.

Bre made a motion to approve the financial report. Chelsea seconded it. MCU.

Calendar Review:

Online services will continue at this time.

Pastor’s Report:

Pastor Tawanda provided his Pastor’s report. The full report will be posted in the church binder at

St. Matthew’s.

Men’s Club Report: Scott – No updates

WELCA update: No updates

Vitality team- Kevin- Attempts to reconvene via zoom.

Team Reports:

Exec- Paul – Met via zoom to begin discussion around opening up the church. Will be talked about at length

during new business.

Education-Bre – No bible camp this summer and therefore, no VBS. Education team will work together to

develop an alternative option. Requirements for confirmation and expectations/totals was messaged to all

confirmands and their family.

Fellowship- Chelsea. No new updates.

Outreach- Brook- No new updates.

Food Pantry- March: 14 families served with 706lbs of food. April: 11 families for 440.5lbs of food donated.

Easter potluck ham was donated to the food pantry, as it was not used in for church.

Property- Duane – Getting pricing for carpet at church. He is creating a list of mowing needs for church this

summer.

Worship- Val – Will need to discuss how to have communion moving forward. Discussion needs to be held

regarding July’s outdoor worship. Hope is to also connect with rural parishes.

Youth- Steve – Recognized all LYO seniors including 9 from St. Matthew and 4 other seniors with gifts.

Old Business 1. List of congregation members to check up on a. Will need to use information to update current list of members/contacts. b. Pastor’s Lease – Bought out the last 3 months at 50%. Pastor will get his deposit back in May. Return was sent on the 15th of May per lease company of $1450. It has not arrived as of this meeting, but should be shortly.

1 New Business 1. Duane thinks we should add a possible donation choice to the envelopes for new church carpeting to build up a fund for replacement in the next few years. Tabled until June so that we have cost for carpet. 2. Upgrade camera and add a computer to be able to offer a better setup for online services a. Pastor Tawanda met with HB sound and light for an estimate/bid for installation of improved technology so that our online services can continue. b. Friend of Pastor Tawanda has donated her stimulus check to our sound/technology fund in the amount of $1100. c. Cost will be around $4500, which would include HB bid, electrician, and an HD computer. d. Steve made the motion to order the camera system as well as adding to Give+ as a specific donation location. Chelsea seconded. Discussion occurred with clarifying questions. All of the components will be able to upgrade/expand as needed. MPU

10 The Messenger | June & July 2020

e. Plan for opening up the church. We need to decide when and how. We have items that exec. Team has talked about. f. Pastor Tawanda has been in contact with other ELCA church leaders regarding re-opening. St. Matthew’s members were surveyed regarding reopening. a Many wanted to continue online services, which we will do. b 82 responses: 35 comfortable with opening, 30 somewhat comfortable, and 18 uncomfortable. c. Reopening: Need to think about insurance and pastoral points of view. d. Goal is to follow ND and CDC guidelines, while also making sure the needs of our members are met. e. Paul made motion to open church beginning on June 7, 2020 following social distancing needs and ND/CDC guidelines. Council has the right to make changes based on needs and trends in our local area. Brook seconded motion. Seven members voted yes and three members voted no. Motion passed. f. Ministry Site Profile is now complete. Need approval for call committee to proceed. Val made motion to approve site profile with small change. Steve seconded motion. MPU

Meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer at 1:18 PM

Val made motion to adjourn, Steve seconded. MPU

Next Meeting May 27, 2020 @ 7 PM via Zoom.

Respectfully Submitted by:

Angie Muhs

ST. MATTHEW’S LEADERSHIP

Tawanda Murinda Interim Pastor pastor@stmatthewsthompson.org

Vione Jordheim Admin. Assistant stmattsvione@gmail.com

Jamie Bischoff Bookkeeper stmattsbookkeeper58278@gmail.com

Paul Strande Council President stmattspresident@gmail.com

Scott Kuster Council Vice President scottkuster@gra.midco.net

Angie Muhs Council Secretary bamuhs@yahoo.com

Kevin Cooper Council Treasurer kevin.j.cooper@outlook.com

Brook Fretheim Outreach Team brookweber@hotmail.com

Chelsea Lupien Fellowship Team chelsea.lupien@und.edu

Duane Naas Properties Team dnaas@sterlingcarpetone.com

Bre Berberich Education Team breberberich@gmail.com

Steve Hancock Youth Team shannonandsteven@gmail.com

Valorie Uhlir Worship Team valuhlir@yahoo.com

Saint Mathew’s Lutheran Church 701 Broadway St, Thompson, ND 58278 (701) 599-2081

Please note that as the days and

weeks progress our calendar

will change also. For that

reason we are not including the

June and July calendars. Please

check the calendar page on our

website at

stmatthewslutheranchurch.org

for the most updated

information.

June 2020 Call Committee Update

After conducting surveys of the Congregation and after engaging in numerous individual and group

discussions with its members, the Call Committee has completed St. Matthew’s Ministry Site Profile. The

Profile was approved by the Council on May 17th and will be available to any candidate who is interested

in serving as pastor at St. Matthew’s.

Based upon our survey of the Congregation and our various discussions, the top five ministry tasks for our new Pastor will be:

children’s ministry; youth and family ministry; pastoral care and visitation; spiritual formation and preaching and worship

leadership. Following the direction of the Congregation, the Call Committee is looking for a Pastor who will, among other things:

be effective in working with children and youth; be an effective communicator; help people develop their spiritual lives; and help

build a sense of community.

With the completion of the Profile, we enter the next phase of identifying the candidate who best meets the leadership needs of

St. Matthew’s. We will continue to work closely with the Eastern North Dakota Synod as we look for our next pastor. Please

remember the Call Committee, St. Matthew’s and potential candidates in your prayers.

Kristie Adams, Jon Hjelmstad, Bethany Kurz, Scott Landa, Ellie Schumacher and Ryan Welsh

Dear St. Matthew’s Members,

I hope you are all staying safe and getting back to a more normal way of life. The nice weather is

certainly a blessing. I wanted to share a couple things with the congregation. Our church has been blessed

by the generosity of our members during this time when we haven’t been able to meet in-person. Whether

mailing in offerings or using the Give+ app., we have been able to pay our bills and not need to use our line

of credit. We were also able to secure a loan through the Payment Protection Plan as part of the Cares Act.

Combining your generosity with the loan, we feel like we are on solid financial footing going into the

summer. That being said, it is very important for our congregation to continue using Give+ for offering as we move into the

summer. We tentatively plan to start in-person service on June 7th, but we also know traditionally our church sees a significant

drop in offering for the summer. Like everyone, we still have expenses and using Give+ will enable us to meet our obligations

during the summer. Here are some major benefits of using the Give+ app:

*Save the church money by reducing envelope and printing costs.

*By using the app, you can set up a recurring donation so if you are unable to attend church your offering continues.

*As we all worry about germs and spreading them, not passing around the offering plate will help reduce transmission

of these germs.

Lastly, many members have expressed the desire for St. Matthew’s to continue live streaming our services. We plan to

continue live streaming every service so those on vacation, at the lake or under the weather can still watch our service. While the

current technology has worked fine with an empty church, it is not going to work once we re-open. The camera is lower quality

and is just in the way once we have people moving around the sanctuary. We have received a bid from HB Sound and Light for a

wall-mounted HD camera system that will allow us to upgrade our video and sound at the same time. We also need to add a

computer and some wiring to complete this project. Total cost is expected to be in the $4,500 price range. The council approved

the purchase and has initiated the process of getting the camera ordered. The council has approved the setup of a special account

titled Camera System for members to donate toward the purchase of the system. This donation choice has been added to the

Give+ app. You can also mail in an offering or special gift towards this fund. If you have enjoyed the online services, please

consider offering to this fund to help ensure that we can live-stream our services going forward.

If you have any questions, please feel to reach out to any member of the council.

Sincerely,

Paul Strande

12 The Messenger | June & July 2020

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church 701 Broadway St. Thompson, ND 58278 (701) 599-2081 | stmatthewslutheranchurch.org

Welcome to worship Sundays at 10:00 a.m.

Address service requested

Join us for summer worship in-person or online!

Sunday mornings at 10:00 am in person

OR

on our YouTube Channel.

Have a great Summer!