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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0

The Trinity Times

Published by Trinity Lutheran Church, Saint Peter, Minnesota, a congregation of the ELCA

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE:

The Pastor’s

Column

2

Adult Education 3

Children, Youth,

& Families

4

Calendar 6

General

Information

8

Church Council

& Committees

10

Contact

Information

12

Virtual

Arts

Camp

This summer, some of our Sunday school kids had a great time making art and learning about God! Together, we sculpted strange new animals as we learned about God’s crea-tive powers; we braided friendship bracelets and made cards to remind others that they’re loved; and we even wrote our own books! Our stories ranged from Jesus battling Pacman ghosts to pirates to grocery shopping mishaps. Throughout those exciting weeks of crafting and imagination, we smiled and laughed our way through God’s overwhelming love for all of God’s children and

felt that love a little more closely. Thank you to everyone who par-ticipated or helped prepare for this amazing program! The CYF Committee will consider bringing this program back at a later time.

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From Pastor Nikoli Falenschek

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Revved Up

Grace Street Bible Study is underway and you can still join us. This is available through Zoom! All you need is a computer or other device that allows you to have access to your email account or a telephone. Zoom is an interactive program that allows you to see and hear other participants and they will see and hear you, too! Please join us Thursdays at 10:30 am. All are invited to be part of this Bible study, whether or not you have participated in the past at Central Square Apartments.

If you are interested, please send an email to Pastor Joy at pastorjoy@trinitystpeter.org to sign up.

Associate Pastor

Nikoli Falenschek

763-482-1709

pastornikoli@trinitystpeter.org

Lead Pastor

Joy G. Ekstedt

507-317-7400

pastorjoy@trinitystpeter.org

Contact the Pastor

Bible Study August Featured Books in the Trinity Library

Nature HEALS…a walk in nature, walks the soul back home . . . be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.

The Day The Animals Came, (E 3125), by Frances Ward Weller and illustrated by Loren Long. A story of rapturous music and fellowship of St. Francis Day.

The Birds, OUR TEACHERS, by John Stott. This book also includes a dvd with unique and intriguing lessons on faith from the feeding of ravens, on repentence from the migration of storks, on freedom from the flight of the eagle and on joy from the song of the lark.

God’s Paintbrush, ( E Sas ), by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. Religious imagination of children…I heard the wind whistle, a bird chirp…If you sang a song to God, what would you sing?

What color would you paint the world today?

A STONE FOR A PILLOW, (5 L 2),by Madeleine L. Engle. This is her second volume in her Genesis trilogy of Jacob’s

Journeys.

A Swim through the Sea, ( E Pra ), by Kristin Joy Pratt. An inspiration for all environmentalists and an appreciation for

the diversity of life.

The Legend of the Three Trees, ( E Mcc ), a classic folk tale that touches and inspires each of us to understand God’s

dreams for us.

Adult E

ducatio

n

Racism Study - What Can I Do…?

What can I do to be part of the solution and not part of the problem of racism? Perhaps you’ve asked the question in the past and are asking the question again after the tragic and wrongful death of George Floyd. If you’d like to be part of a time for conversation, study, learning and growing please join Pastor Joy on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm via Zoom. Please RSVP by sending an email to pastorjoy@trinitystpeter.org.

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A Message to our Children, Youth & Families

It has been a crazy summer—we hope your family is healthy and safe! At Trinity Lutheran Church, we have deeply missed seeing your family in worship and what would normally have been a summer filled with fun activities. Instead, we have buckled down, too, and kept our physical distance from others. With the Covid crisis still in full swing, your pastors and Children, Youth, and Family Committee have been diligently exploring different ways to keep our families safe as we enter the fall programming year. We were hoping that Covid would have receded by this time—alas, it’s still clinging to our communities and stopping us from getting back to any kind of semblance of normal. We have decided to at least start the year with distance-learning only.

There are so many things going on in our world right now—even besides our pandemic, we’re also struggling through racial injustice, political campaigns, and all those issues that are regular for the high school ex-perience. This year, we’re go-ing to change up our focus to delve deep into exploring how

our faith intersects with these other aspects of life. God has something to say about these things—together, we’ll find ways to listen to that still, small voice so that we can bring our bap-tism with us in whatever space we find ourselves. Virtual Youth Group will begin on Sunday, September 13. Register today at www.trinitystpeter.org/youthgroup and be sure to watch our Facebook feed or check our website for updates.

Confirmation begins on Wednesday, September 16.

The various curricula will be made available online, so that the 5th grade through 9th grade students can complete the materials at their own pace. To minimize screen time, we’ll be putting together care packages for families to pick up monthly, which will include craft supplies, workbooks, and anything else you might need for the Confirmation curriculum. Weekly, we’ll have an opportunity for students to tune in to a virtual meeting space where they can talk to their peers about the last week’s lesson, ask questions of a mentor or pastor, and share about their week. Periodically, we’ll have opportu-nities for our 9th graders to gather with their class to talk through the Confirmation stoles and projects. Please register today at www.trinitystpeter.org/confirmation. Contact Pastor Nikoli if you have any questions.

The curriculum will be made available online, so that you and your child(ren) can complete the materials at your own pace. To minimize screen time, we’ll be putting together care pack-ages for families to pick up monthly, which will include craft supplies, worksheets, and anything else you might need for Sunday School at home. On Sundays, we’ll have an oppor-tunity for kids to tune into a virtual meeting space where they can talk to their peers about the last week’s lesson, ask ques-tions of a teacher, and maybe even do some singing.

Please register for Sunday School at www.trinitystpeter.org/sundayschool

Frolic Nursery Ministry

Frolic is an amazing curriculum for families with chil-dren 0-36 months old. When you register for this program, you’ll receive automatic emails that will cor-respond to the exact age of your child, to the month, to start raising them in the Christian faith and life. In addition to these automatic emails, we will also gath-er virtually once a month, where we can connect with other young parents. Together, we’ll play, pray, and discuss the joys and struggles of parenting. Please register today at www.trinitystpeter.org/frolic

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BACK TO SCHOOL CROSSWORD

Congratulations to Reese Portugue who was awarded the Trinity Scholarship of $500.

“Thank you Trinity Lutheran Church for the Scholar-

ship! I will be putting the money towards college.

I'm very excited to be attending UW– Lacrosse in

the fall, and entering the Pre-Occupational Therapy

Program. This money is going to help me greatly to

further my education!”

Thanks,

Reese Portugue

PAGE 6 Sunday Monday Tuesday

1 11:00 am Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 3:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 5:00 pm Executive Committee Meeting via Zoom TBD All Monthly Committee Meeting

Virtual Sunday School Begins 6 9:30 am Worship Service on Facebook and YouTube Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 10:30 am Virtual Fellowship Hour 2:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 7:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

Labor Day—Office Closed 7 5:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

8 11:00 am Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 3:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 5:30 pm Finance Committee Meeting via Zoom 6:30 pm Church Council Meeting

Virtual Sunday School Begins 13 Virtual High School Youth Begins Gods Work, Our Hands, Sunday 9:30 am Worship Service on Facebook and YouTube Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 10:30 am Virtual Fellowship Hour 12:15 am CYF Committee Meeting and Kit Assembly 2:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 7:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

14 5:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

15 11:00 am Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 3:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

20 9:30 am Worship Service on Facebook and YouTube Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 10:30 am Virtual Fellowship Hour

2:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 7:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

21 5:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

22 11:00 am Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 3:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 6:30 pm Green Team Meeting

27 9:30 am Worship Service on Facebook and YouTube Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 10:30 am Virtual Fellowship Hour 2:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 7:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

28 5:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

29 11:00 am Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast 3:00 pm Public Access (Channel 7) Broadcast

PAGE 7 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

2 9:30 am Staff Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm Racism Study-What Can I Do? via Zoom

3 10:30 am Grace Street Bible Study via Zoom 6:30 pm NO Health Response Team

Meeting

4 5

9 9:30 am Staff Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm Racism Study-What Can I Do? via Zoom

10 10:30 am Grace Street Bible Study via Zoom 6:30 pm Health Response Team Zoom Meeting

11 12

Virtual Confirmation Begins16

9:30 am Staff Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm Racism Study-What Can I Do? via Zoom

17 10:30 am Grace Street Bible Study via Zoom 6:30 pm NO Health Response Team

Meeting

18

19

23

9:30 am Staff Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm Racism Study-What Can I Do? via Zoom

24 10:30 am Grace Street Bible Study 6:30 pm Health Response Team Zoom Meeting

25

26

23

9:30 am Staff Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm NO Racism Study-What Can I Do? via Zoom

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Have You Remembered

Trinity Lutheran

When you make or revise your Will or Trust, or review your

life insurance contracts or retirement funds, please consider

naming Trinity Lutheran Church as one of your beneficiaries.

The use of the following language ensures that your gift will

be directed appropriately:

“I bequeath _____ % of my estate

(or $______ / amount) to

Trinity Lutheran Church, located at 511 South Fifth

Street, Saint Peter, MN, 56082, designated for the

Trinity Lutheran Church Endowment Fund.”

All gifts of $5,000 or greater will be distributed according to

the provisions of Trinity’s Major Gifts Policy (copies available

at the Church Office), unless the donor otherwise restricts

his/her gift. For further information, speak with Pastor Joy

Ekstedt or Jennifer Hubrig in the office.

Virtual Coffee Fellowship

Coffee time and conversation are happening at TLC! After

the 9:30 am Facebook worship service on Sunday mornings,

grab a cup of coffee (or milk or juice), a treat from your very

own kitchen, click into the Zoom link that will be provided in

the comments, and visit with your TLC

friends and neighbors. See you then!

CHOIR UPDATES As much as we enjoy the fellowship and comradery of working together to make beautiful music, singing together in one physical place is not a safe option at this time. However, we still have the option of making music virtually!

Currently, Trinity’s Virtual Choir has been recording the hymns for our Sunday morning worship services. Many thanks to all of you who are participating in this wonderful opportunity! Al-so, many thanks to Al Behrends for putting the recordings to-gether to add them to the service! MORE SINGERS ARE AL-WAYS WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE! If you have any inter-est in joining this group of singers, contact Annette Meeks and she will get you on the email list. You DO NOT have to be a member of the Celebration Singers to join this group!

Celebration Singers will not be meeting together physically until it is determined to be safe to do so. However, a plan is being worked on to put together virtual performances of an-thems. WATCH FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THIS FUN OPPORTUNITY!

Questions should be directed to Annette Meeks at ameeks@hickorytech.net or at 507-934-1274.

Stay safe and healthy!

It’s September

Red Apples Blue Sky

It’s September Falling Leaves It’s September Opening doors Opening books Opening hearts It’s September

Time of Wonder Time of Growing

Timeless treasures It's September

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It is important for us to maintain our levels of offerings during this time when we are not worshipping in person. If you usu-ally give weekly while at church please mail your offering to Trinity.

Here are some other options:

Text: send message to 844-373-8817 with the amount you would like to contribute (example: 25).

App: download GivePlus through your app store.

Web: click on the Give button on our website.

Thank you for supporting the mission and ministry of TLC.

Join us for Worship

Online Sunday morning at 9:30 am on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TrinLuth/

Anytime on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/

UCBL49iFLQ0YNGy01kZAMEIg?view_as=subscriber

St Peter Public Access Channel 7 Sundays at 9:30 am, 2:00 pm, & 7:00 pm

Mondays at 5:00 pm Tuesdays at 11:00 am & 3:00 pm.

General In

form

ation

End of July 2020

Spending is $21,895 under budget

Offerings are $9,119 below spending

Offerings are $31,104 below budget

Financial

Update

Kayla & C.J. Siewert 48355 Red Iron Rd Kasota, MN 56050 Ruth Weiss (507) 621-2927

Have you had a change of address or phone number? Please let us know.

Offering Options

Any committees or individuals that have

information for the October newsletter need

to have it turned in no later than Sunday,

September 20. Please use the Publishing

Request Form which is available in the

church office and send the information to:

editor@trinitystpeter.org. Thank you!

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Church Council Meeting Minutes— August 11, 2020 Minutes are abbreviated, please visit website for complete ver-sion Present: Bob Broeder, Cathy Carlson, Jim Christenson, Carolyn Dobler, Andrew Elofson, Doug Minter, Sarah Nelsen, Mary Oberlander, Bev Pillers, Barbara Simpson, Pastor Joy Ekstedt, Pastor Nikoli Falenschek

Absent: none

Approval of the July minutes by unanimous consent.

A. BUSINESS DISCUSSED 1. Pastor Joy’s Report: Pastoral Care – Made calls to members on our home visit list.

This Companion system is working very well. Emily Bruflat, invited me to be part of a celebration of women

in ministry event that will premiere on Facebook Sunday, August 9.

I continue to attend and participate in Zoom meetings with SW MN Synod Staff and colleagues in the synod.

Grace Street Bible Study took a break for a few weeks and will resume meeting on August 4.

What Can I Do?! continues to meet weekly. Thank you to Carolyn Dobler for hosting the Zoom meeting while I was on vacation.

The Health Response Team is working on a video to help orient people to the new reality of in-person worship.

I along with Doug (VP of Council and Chair of Personnel Com-mittee), Pastor Nikoli, and others will soon be preparing for interview with candidates for the CYF position.

The Fall Theological Conference will be held for pastors and other rostered leaders via Zoom this year.

I will be on vacation the end of August-first part of September.

Bob asked that we form the Welcome Back commit-tee with Jim Christenson, Mary Oberlander, Pastor Joy and Pastor Nikoli to continue working on details.

2. Pastor Nikoli’s Report: Position Search: Interviews for the new Children/

Youth Program Director position are imminent. CYF Programming: Our committee has agreed to

stick to an online presence, at least at the start of the year.

Worship: I continue to be the point person for gener-ating the videos for Sunday mornings. However, we are going to explore some other options

Anti-Racism: I have been engaging in learning and action for racial justice and am committed to being an ally and anti-racist, especially from the pulpit as a pastor.

New Members: Pastor Joy and I have both been contacted by a number of people hoping to join our TLC family as full members.

Visitation: Both Pr Joy and I have been to visit peo-ple who have experienced recent changes to their health or situations. C

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Vacation: I was scheduled to take a weekend vacation in October for a family wedding. That event has been post-poned, so I don’t know when/if I’ll take more vacation this calendar year.

Continuing Ed: I’ve been sponsored by Continuous Growth Pathways (Gustavus program) to participate in a weekly continuing ed opportunity on Monday nights.

Spiritual Direction: I have also been using my continuing ed allowance to fund spiritual direction, which has proven partic-ularly helpful for my own spiritual, emotional, and mental health.

3. Treasurer’s Report: General offerings for July 2020 were down from 2019 General offerings for 2020 YTD were down from 2019 Total spending for 2020 is under budget Bank balance on July 31, 2020 was $87,038. Controlled savings balance on July 31, 2020 was $123,684. If we look at envelope giving we’re down about $3,000.

Some expenses are down as well, so we’re holding steady at the moment.

M/S/P to accept the Treasurer’s report by unanimous con-sent.

4. Committee Reports: Endowment Committee: The Committee observed quite a

bit of loss in investments in the first quarter of 2020 but most of it has been regained. They may want to rebalance the portfolio in October. The Endowment Committee met and made a recommendation to be acted on by the Council re-garding disbursement of gifts. See Action Item 1 below

Personnel Committee: The cleaning company is revising the bid to account for a change from 4 days of cleaning per week to 2 days. The position for the Programs Director was advertised in April for a 30 hour/week position with benefits but the search was put on hold. The Personnel Committee recommended we start the process again, but revise to 20 hours/week with the benefits of 30 hours/week with the op-tion of increasing the hours to 30 hours as needed in the fall. See Action Item 2 below.

Property Committee: No report at this time. Community Life: Meeting next week to put the Graduate’s

gift packages together along with a blanket made by the Quilt group. Pastor Nikoli is posting online the Grad video next week. Will collaborate with those musically inclined to present a Christmas Carole put together for online presenta-tion with music intermixed with readings.

Children, Youth and Family: They are formulating what Sunday School and Confirmation would look like in the fall. There is concern that kids are adjusting to a lot of online activity with schools this fall and the social isolation. See Action item 3 below.

Worship, Music and Arts: The Committee is concerned that Communion has been absent for so long. Pastor Nikoli wants to discuss with the Committee and Pastor Joy options to resume Communion. Pastor Joy will work with them on a plan.

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COMMITTEES

FINANCE COMMITTEE: Marc Bachman, James Brandt, Scott

Borgstahl, Joel Darge, Scott Fichtner

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: Dave Arpin, Wendy Bachman,

David Detlefson, Casey Dunker, Deb Fichtner, Jennifer Lammert

ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE: Marc Bachman, Roger Bakken,

Al Hewitt, Darrell Jodock, Jim Kruger

NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Paul Albers, Joan Davis, Tom Frey,

Sandy Grochow, Bob Lambert, Meredith Young

ADULT EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Eugene Grack, Nancy Hanson,

Laura Hulsebus, Andy Lo, Jim Timmerman

CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES COMMITTEE: Caroline Guth,

Alie Hermanson, Kelsey Janni, Jay Link, Will Nelsen, Kristi Portugue,

Joni Seitzer

COMMUNITY LIFE COMMITTEE: Lynn Burg, Kristie Gurrola,

Corinne Kreft, Nancy Kruger, Mary Snyder

MISSION COMMITTEE: Deb Fichtner, Justin Francis, Pei-loh Lo,

Margie Nelsen, Meredith Young

PROPERTY COMMITTEE: Mike Keller, Duane Krenz, Tom

Kretschmer, Chuck Puchta, Brad Sykora

STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE: Bridget Cooke, Brenda Dent,

Brian Fell, Tim Kennedy, Mark Oberlander

WORSHIP, MUSIC & ARTS COMMITTEE: Linda Grack,

Sandi Minter, Cindy Steiner, Janell Stock, Nick Sykora

Church

Council &

Com

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es

CHURCH COUNCIL

Bob Broeder (President)

Doug Minter (Vice President) Personnel Committee Chair

Bev Pillers (Secretary) Nominating Committee Chair

Carolyn Dobler (Treasurer) Finance Committee Chair

Barbara Simpson Adult Education Committee Chair

Sarah Nelsen Children, Youth & Family Committee Chair

Mary Oberlander Community Life Committee Chair

Andy Elofson Mission Committee Chair

Jim Christenson Property Committee Chair

Sandi Francis Stewardship Committee Chair

Cathy Carlson Worship, Music & Arts Committee Chair

Pastor Joy Ekstedt: Oversees Finance, Community Life, Adult Ed, Stewardship, Endowment, Personnel, Nominating, and Worship, Music & Arts Committees

Pastor Nikoli Falenschek: Oversees Property, Mission, Children, Youth & Families, and Worship, Music & Arts Committees

Mission: The Committee discussed more ways to be relevant in the community and beyond. They are looking for things that can be done locally, such as the St. Peter Food Shelf.

Adult Education: The theme this year for their classes is Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus. They would like to start when it’s appropriate. It will be a small group that can social distance in the library.

Stewardship: The Committee is brainstorming on what to do for Commitment Sunday. They are looking into Thrivent workshops and seeing what can be done online.

5. Health Response Team: The HRT is asking Council to approve the Phased Plan, consisting of a range of three levels of criteria to determine when it’s safe to have ser-vices in the building. The plan is based on the State Board of Education plan to reopen schools based on the number of cases per 10,000 in the County over a 14 day period. HRT recommends 25% occupancy at mile-stone events. HRT is meeting weekly and can quickly respond to current numbers of cases and when to open up to services. See Action Item 4 below.

B. Actions Taken: 1. Motion M/S/P to adopt the “Policy Regarding

Amending or Ending Gift Restrictions” created by the Endowment Committee regarding funds given to the Endowment Fund when their purpose is no longer apropos as to how they would be directed and how they should be disbursed.

2. Motion M/S/P to approve the recommendation by the Personnel Committee to interview for the Pro-grams Director position for 20-25 hours per week, raising the number of hours to 30 hours per week in the fall when needed, and to include benefits for the 30 hours per week position.

3. Motion M/S/P to approve the recommendation by the CYF Committee and the Health Response Team to hold CYF events and Sunday School virtually online until health conditions improve.

4. Motion M/S/P to accept the Phased Plan with met-rics determined by the Health Response Team and to allow 25% capacity of the building for milestone events.

C. Responsibilities Assigned: none

D. Next meeting: September 8, 2020 at 6:30 pm.

Pastor Joy closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Meeting adjourned 8:00 pm.

PAGE 12 Trinity Lutheran Church

511 S Fifth Street,

Saint. Peter, MN 56082

Conta

ct Info

rmat

ion

Lead Pastor: Joy G. Ekstedt 507-519-1004 pastorjoy@trinitystpeter.org

Associate Pastor Nikoli Falenschek 763-482-1709 pastornikoli@trinitystpeter.org

Church Secretary: Kristen Thomas 507-934-4786 office@trinitystpeter.org

Financial Sec./Admin. Asst: Jennifer Hubrig 507-934-4786 finance@trinitystpeter.org

Custodian: Barry Wood 507-351-2205 property@trinitystpeter.org

Organist/Pianist: Judy Maharry 507-934-4786 music@trinitystpeter.org

Celebration Singers Director: Annette Meeks 507-934-4786 music@trinitystpeter.org

JOY! Choir Director: Nancy Sizer 507-934-4786

Stamp

Office Hours

Monday - Thursday

8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Friday

8:30 am to

12:00 pm

507 - 934 - 4786

office@trinitystpeter.org

www.trinitystpeter.org

Address label