The Messenger - Faith Lutheran Church

The Messenger
God’s solid foundation stands firm.
2 Tim. 2:19
THE NEWSLETTER OF FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH
January 2015
Faith’s Mission – is to reach people, young and old, who need Christ in their lives,
and to help them know, love and serve Christ.
Beginning a New Year!
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I’ve tried.
The hard part, I’ve found is keeping them, or
even getting started. I once had a friend say,
“There’s nothing like getting up at 5:00 in the
morning, going for a run, and taking a hot
shower before breakfast.” I asked, “How long
have you been doing this?” My friend said, “I
start tomorrow.”
True change usually doesn’t come through
resolutions. In fact most of us fail miserably in
our attempts to change who we are and what we
do. But there is hope. By the grace of God, Jesus
Christ offers a new beginning, a changed heart
and mind, indeed, a new life. Make Jesus Lord of
your life and you shall be changed.
In 2015 let God make your new year a blessed one. Not by shielding
you from all pain and sorrow, but by strengthening you to bear it if it
comes. Not by making your path easy, but by making you strong
enough to follow wherever God may lead. Not by taking hardships
from you, but by taking all fear from your heart as you meet those
hardships. Not by making your life always pleasant, but by showing
you where you are needed most and by making you willing to be
there and willing to help. Not by keeping you from every battle, but
by reminding you that in all things you are more than conquerors
through Christ “Who loves you.”
God can use us all in a wonderful way in this New Year. Remember
that it is through acts of love, forgiveness, kindness, responsibility,
character and compassion that the true spirit of Christ can lead us
into the New Year.
May Christ rule in our hearts in this New Year.
Pastor Jim
***************************************************
An EXCITING
Year Ahead! Here’s a peek at some
of the events in the
New Year for High
School Youth Group:
Planning and fundraising for summer trips
IKEA trip to check out options for a new couch or two
Meal packing for Feed My Starving Children
Continued Sunday night gatherings going deeper in our faith with
Jesus
Care visits
“How can I support our youth?”
Has this question ever crossed your mind? Have you ever
wondered how you might be able to connect and come alongside our
dynamic, interesting, fun, energetic, delightful, funny, cool high school
students? If you’ve asked this question, my first answer is “AWESOME!”
My second response is to tell you to connect with me, associate pastor
Ellie McAllister ([email protected], 320.333.7459). I want to get
you connected to our young people and our young people connected to
you. We’ve welcomed a few of our adult members to our gatherings to
share life stories and fellowship and I’d love to get more of our members
connected with our youth in all kinds of ways and venues and events.
One of the really cool characteristics of the New Testament church
described in the Book of Acts in the Bible was that it was
intergenerational, meaning the church had a wonderful mix of young
people and old people working and serving alongside each other as they
followed Jesus in the world. I’d like to invite you to work at being more
connected with our young people. Here are a few ideas of ways you can
support and get connected to our youth:
Pray…and pray and pray and pray. Our young people need
prayer. They need prayer from their church family to cover
their lives and to help them navigate each day. They need
prayer for healthy families, friends, and relationships. They
need prayer to plan for their future. They need prayer to grow
closer to God. Please pray for our young people.
Talk to our young people when you see them. Introduce
yourself. Ask them questions. Crack a joke. Share a story. Be
real and authentically interested in getting to know our
students.
Volunteer your time. When there’s a need for adult volunteers
or chaperones for an event, be the first to step up. Ask me
what events you could help organize or lead. Let me know
when you could be available to help with an event, and how
and in what ways you’d like to serve.
Share your talents with our young people. Do you have a
talent or skill you could teach our young people? We love
learning new things and we learn the best when our teachers
are passionate about their talent!
Explore issues of faith with our young people. Talk to our
students about your faith. Share with them your struggles and
questions about your faith as well as moments where you
encountered God in rich or new ways. Tell them how Jesus is
your Savior and life leader. Let them know how to integrate
their lives with their faith.
Thank you, Faith Lutheran Church, for caring about our young people.
May we work together in the New Year to bless our young people and
come alongside them in new ways!
Peace in Christ,
Ellie McAllister, Associate Pastor
Church Council Minutes
December 16, 2014
Members present:
Pastor Jim Tetlie; Pastor Ellie McAllister; President, Jim Olsen; Vice President &
Stewardship, Todd Roberts; Secretary, Connie Lounsbury; Treasurer, Patrick
Zierden; Building, Rod Anacker; Worship & Music, Mike Olson; Youth & Family,
Gary Brant.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by President Jim Olsen and opened
with prayer by Pastor Ellie McAllister.
Pastor Jim presented his report. Motion to approve the report was made by Mike
Olson and seconded by Pat Zierden. Motion carried.
Pastor Ellie presented her report. Motion to approve was made by Pat Zierden
and seconded by Gary Brant. Motion carried.
Treasurer Pat Zierden presented the treasurer’s report. A decision was made to
donate $320 to Teen Challenge and $300 to HELPS International from the tithing
fund. Motion to accept the treasurer’s report was made by Connie Lounsbury and
seconded by Todd Roberts. Motion carried.
Todd Roberts, chair of the Stewardship Committee reported that plans are
underway to offer two new adult education classes at Faith. Alpha will be offered
again soon and Mike and Brenda Olson will be teaching Financial Peace class, a
class similar to Crown Ministry. The stewardship committee members will begin
attending new member classes with the pastors in order to better acquaint the
new members with other church members.
Todd reported that they had received five addresses for military members and
that the Sunday school put together 40 letters to send and the youth sent letters
to all five of the soldiers.
Rod Anacker, chair of the Building Committee, reported that all the emergency
and exit lights in the church are out and he will be purchasing LED lights to
replace them immediately. Todd Roberts volunteered to donate his time to help
install them. Rod Anacker’s plan is to eventually replace all the church lights with
LED for a substantial saving. After the New Year, Mike Olson and Todd Roberts
will do a cost savings analysis for that project.
Mike Olson, chair of the Worship Committee, reported that Gary Brant had
donated a camera but we still need a screen in order for services to be shown in
the Narthex during heavy attendance. He said that response for the Christmas
caroling next Sunday has been good so far. A decision was made by the council
to purchase an electronic piano valued at $4,000 for $500 offered by a friend of
Kerry Johnson. The cost will be paid from the Prayer Chapel Fund donated by
Jim and Lorraine Forar for the purpose of a sound system in the old sanctuary.
Gary Brant, chair of Family and Youth Committee, reported that 17 children took
part in the Sunday school Christmas Program on Sunday and that it had received
much praise and appreciation from the large audience. He credited Roxanne Van
Culin with the great job she did with the non-traditional type of program that
maintained the true meaning of Christmas.
There was no old business.
New business: The annual meeting was set for January 25th at 12:30 p.m.
The next council meeting will be January 27, 2015 at 7 p.m. The change in
schedule is due to the annual meeting date.
Gary Brant moved to adjourn the meeting and Jim Olsen seconded the motion.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Connie Lounsbury, Secretary
Pastor’s Report for November:
8 Sunday services
1 church council meeting
7 home visits
2 Pastoral care sessions
4 renewal group meetings
7 Crossways classes
2 See Through the Scripture classes
4 Life Worth Living classes
6 Confirmation classes
3 staff meetings
7 hospital visits
1 Thanksgiving eve service
1 baptism – Reid Anthony Hessig
2 new member sessions
1 New Member Sunday
~Thank you for your continued prayers
& support
Congestive
Heart Failure
“You know what is in everyone’s heart. So from your home in heaven answer their
prayer according to the way they live and what is in their hearts.” 1 Kings 8:39
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is heart condition
that is frequently misunderstood. Our heart is a
pump that pushes the blood through our body.
When a person has CHF, their heart is unable to
do a good job of pumping the blood, and it gets
backed up into the lungs and legs. This back-up
can cause trouble breathing and swelling.
CHF can be caused by many things. The heart
can be weaken by a heart attack, or a disease of
the heart muscle itself. Also, faulty heart valves,
treatment for cancer, or drug abuse can weaken a
person’s heart.
Symptoms vary from person to person, and can
include shortness of breath, swelling of the legs or
stomach area, and a lack of energy. Blood and
fluid can collect in the lungs, making it very hard to
breath. Fluid often causes swelling in the feet and
legs, and fatigue is a common problem. Because it
is easier to breath while sitting up, a good night’s
sleep may be very difficult.
having trouble breathing. Contact your doctor
right away if these symptoms occur, because
catching a condition early makes it simpler to
treat, with a quicker turn around. Commonly a
doctor will prescribe a diuretic, or “water pill”,
to pull the extra fluid out of your system.
Luckily, there are many treatments for CHF,
depending on how severe it is and what the
main cause of the condition is. There are
lifestyle changes that are easy to do, which
can help control the symptoms and improve
the quality of life greatly. Anyone with CHF
can improve their health by limiting the
amount of salt and fluid they consume. Read
labels to see how much salt is in your food,
and don’t add any table salt. There are so
many herbs and salt-less seasonings
available to add flavor to food, we simply
need to do a little research and pay attention
to what we eat. Get an idea from your doctor
as to how much fluid you should drink a day,
and stick to it! Another weapon against CHF
is regular exercise. Everyone has the
tolerance for some form of activity, from
walking to yoga. Done properly and with a
doctor’s OK, it can strengthen your body and
improve your overall health. Today, there are
many medications that can help the heart
beat stronger, and keep the extra fluid from
building up. Take them regularly, along with
lifestyle changes, for the best quality of life.
Diagnosing CHF starts with a good medical
history, looking at things like a previous heart
attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, and physical
symptoms such as shortness of breath and
swelling of the legs. Listening to the heart is
important, as well as an echocardiogram to
actually see the heart in action. An
echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart,
which is a painless test that can tell the doctor how
well your heart is pumping. There may be other
tests the doctor wishes to have done to confirm a Take charge of your health and enjoy living!
diagnosis.
More info:
It is very important to pay attention to the body’s http://www.onhealth.com/congestive_heart_failure
clues that CHF is getting worse, such as gaining 2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesor 3 pounds in just a couple days, leg swelling, or conditions/heart-failure
©J Witucki, BSN 2014
26- Mike & Linda Bregenzer
God
bless you
on your
special
day!
If you see a mistake or an
omission, please contact
the secretary so she can
update the records:
763.878.2092 or
[email protected].
Thanks!
1- Jeremy Kemmetmueller
5- Tami Foote
7- Brenda Olson
10- Tim Cotter
12- Gloria Triebwasser
13- Nate Landecker
14- Ray Knutson
14- Kathy Van Schepen
17- Logan Hiemstra
20- Rebekah Hasbrouck
21- Harlan Hamson
21- Tim Landecker
25- Lynsey Kissinger
26- Brooke Bublitz
27- Duane Van Culin
28- Owen Holm
January 25th at 12:30pm
Annual meeting time means writing
reports for some of you lucky
folks…the
Treasurer,
Pastor,
Associate Pastor, Parish Nurse,
nominating committee, Sunday
School, VBS, Altar Guild, Ladies of
Faith, Fall Festival, & audit
committee. Please have them to the
secretary by Monday, January 19th.
You can either email them to
[email protected] or leave them
in her box outside her office door.
Food Shelf
Donation for
January is
canned
vegetables