Mindekirken

COMMUNICATOR No. 161 June 2017 Newsletter of the Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church - ELCA

The Communicator is published monthly (except for August) by the Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church 924 East 21st Street, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 www.mindekirken.org Office (612) 874-0716

KLØFTA SKOLEKORPS

Concert on Thurs., June 29 at 7:00 p.m. Donation $10 / students free

The Kløfta School Band was established in 1969 – the same year America put the first man on the moon. The school band offers children and youth an education within music, teaching them skills, musical and otherwise, that they will benefit from for the rest of their lives. In a school band there is no “bench”, and band members learn from the very outset that every instrument and every part is necessary to create harmony – not only musically, but also socially. Membership in the band is open to all youths in the local area aged 7 to 18 years old. Our band is organized into 4 different skill levels, ranging from new recruits to experienced main band

members. Members are grouped according to the level of proficiency and experience they have attained. Our band has doubled its membership in the course of the last two years – and now consists of around 85 members. Of these, around 35 play in the main band/orchestra. Our band’s repertoire is quite varied. It includes traditional marching band music, of course, but a school band is so much more than just a marching band that performs in the yearly 17th of May parade. Our repertoire also includes a wide variety of less-traditional material, including challenging orchestral arrangements and songs by modern pop/rock artists. Our band also likes to travel. — Kløfta Skolekorps

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From the Treasurer

On behalf of Mindekirken, I would like to pay our respects and offer a pub-lic thank you to Ruth C. Johnson. Ruth was active for many years at Minde-kirken, including serving as Congrega-tion President, on the Deacons, and the Klubb 500 board. Ruth passed away this spring. A number of years ago she as-signed a life insurance policy to Min-dekirken. This generous gift will now help Mindekirken build on its mission, with continuing benefits for many years to come.

From the President: As We Go Forward

Summer is upon us with a seemingly more relaxed sched-ule, but looking ahead, the time is filled with concerts, events, and welcoming guests from Nor-way. Please look through the rest of the Communicator for these events and happenings. Since Pastor Kristin Sundt has left us, we have invited three pastors to preach for us. In June we’ll have Tim Peterson and Kristofer Coff-man. Kristofer, who was our in-tern a few years ago, has agreed to help not only with preaching but pastoral care during June.

Beginning June 18, Pas-tor Jorunn Raddum, whom we know well from her previous stays in Minneapolis, comes from Norway to help us through the remaining summer Sundays. We are grateful for her volun-teering to help us.

The Call Committee has sent out the announcement that Mindekirken is looking to call a

Norwegian pas-tor to serve us. It may take time before we find one. Meanwhile, with the help of Kaia Knutson, our office man-ager, we expect things to contin-ue to run

smoothly. Please continue to pray for us as we go forward.

I want to personally ex-press my sympathy to the friends and family of Ruth C. Johnson, who died recently. Her bright smile and good humor were al-ways an encouragement. Alt-hough she was not able to be with us toward her end, she was a strong supporter of the congre-gation and we will miss her pray-ers and concern for the congrega-tion.

We are blessed to have faithful members who serve on

our boards. This month we wel-come Leif Larsen who agreed to fill the term of Robert J. Hanson who resigned for reasons of health. We will miss Robert’s sense for the work of the church and we bid him thanks as we wel-come Leif to our midst. We ap-preciate his willingness to serve.

In times like these, as we now face an interim without a pastor, it is easy to be anxious about the congregation and its work. There is great comfort in the words of Paul to the Philippi-ans, “In nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and sup-plication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understand-ing will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7

Continue to pray for the congregation and its leadership in this time. There is much to pray for and much to hope for. Bless-ings in the name of Jesus.

Gracia Grindal President

Mindekirken’s Mission Statement: Mindekirken is called to share

the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all people, empowering service to others.

Mindekirken practices its ministry through Norwegian traditions, culture and language.

Gracia Grindal

Thank you to everyone who has called 1-800-847-4836 to allocate your Thrivent Choice dollars to Mindekirken. To date, over $2,000 have been directed to Mindekirken this year from the Thrivent Choice program. Likewise, thank you to everyone who responded to last month's request to support this Communicator newsletter. We rely on this support to keep the Communicator dis-tributed to such a large group of people. If you would like to discuss giving to Mindekirken, including any estate planning, please feel free to call. Thank you to everyone for your generous support. Erik Pratt, treasurer

Erik Pratt

Pastoral Care this summer: If in need of emergency pastoral care, please contact the church office during the work day.

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Baptisms

Christina, Erika and I would like to thank everyone for sending us off with so much love. Thank you for cards, gifts, good wishes, visits, won-derful meals and the party held in our honor at church on Sun., May 7.

Mindekirken will always

have a special place in our

hearts and we will not forget

our time at Mindekirken in Minneapolis.

Takk for nå!

Kristin Sundt, Christina &

Erika Espey-Sundt

(above) Karsten John Mauritzen, son of Jessica and Thomas Mauritzen (on left), and grandson of Reidun Mauritzen (far right), was baptized on May 8. Karsten lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jessica’s sister Aman-da (2nd from right) traveled from Texas to attend this event.

(above) Mindekirken’s organist Jessica Schroeder and her hus-band Richard Carrick brought their daughter Silvia Eileen for baptism on April 23. They live in Saint Paul.

(left) Gunnar Pax Fercho was bap-tized on May 14 at the English ser-vice. He is with parents Kathryn Paulsrud and Robert Fercho who live in Gold-en Valley, Minn.

The baptismal font at Minde-kirken was given by Mindekirk-en’s early pastor Christian Mun-son and his wife as a memorial to his parents, Lau-rits and Ingerta Munson.

“Takk” from Pr. Kristin Sundt In Sympathy

Ruth C. Johnson, age 95, died on Mar. 3, 2017 at Coloni-al Acres Nurs-ing Home in Golden Valley. Ruth retired from a long career with the Mpls Public Library System. Ruth served as the President of Mindekirken for several terms in the late 1980’s, and later on the board of Klubb 500. Born of Norwegian parents, Ruth em-braced her Norwegian heritage, and was also an active supporter of the arts. Her funeral was held at Covenant Village, Golden Val-ley on April 22.

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Tuesday Open House on Summer Break TOH on Summer Break

Mange takk to all Tuesday Open House attendees. All good things need a break — and the weather also has something to do with our scheduled vaca-tion. Everyone one has worked hard and also many fun activities are possible with the improve-ment of our summer weath-er. Take time to enjoy the sights around your home and enjoy your neighbors. We have had a great year with good fellowship, interesting pro-grams, and good food in a spir-itual atmosphere We hope to see all of you in the fall but do not forget as we will have one sum-mer event on the 25th of Ju-ly. Then we will be on vacation until September 12th. The rest is essential for our most competent kitchen crew who have done a magnificent job this year. On the 25th of July we will have a special program given by Pr Jorunn Raddum. As you may recall she resided in the Twin Cities for two years and is an associate member of Min-dekirken. This summer she will be in Minnesota with her hus-band Per Dag Hole and two young children. Mindekirken will be privileged as she will be our volunteer pastor for the sum-mer. She has agreed to present a program about church activities in Norway.

Thank you to the TOH kitchen crew who have produced thousands of sandwiches and gallons of soup, and truckloads of waffles this season! (L to R back row): Bonnie, Charlotte (head cook) Eldbjørg, Mary M., Mary J., Betsy. (front row) Karen, Edith, and Gladys.

Special Summer Tuesday Open

House on July 25

The Northfield Youth Choir will provide the special music at the 11 a.m. Norwegian worship service on Sun., June 18. This choir will be leaving on tour to Norway this summer, which includes giving a concert at the church in Snåsa. Founded by Cora Scholz and Judy Bond in 1986, the Northfield Youth Choirs are 28 years old and going strong! Elizabeth Shepley, a conductor with the NYC since 2001, has led the organization as Artistic Director since 2005.

Guest Choir on June 18 at 11 a.m.

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FREE learning events by Thrivent

Tues., June 6 12:00-1 p.m. at Mindekirken Income Taxes and Retirement Retirement is a time of transition from one stage to another. Learn more about tax considerations such as tax diversification, taxation of capital gains and Social Security, health care insurance subsidies, and the financial impact of a spouse’s death. Presented in an easy-to-understand format. Tues., June 13 12:00-1 p.m. – at Mindekirken Your Legacy: Family, Church and Charity Ensure your legacy lives on. Uncover ways to enrich the futures of people or causes you care about. The workshop will discuss estate and giving strategies to help you. Light lunch will be served. Please RSVP to church office for lunch.

You are invited: Thursday Open House at Norway House

Thurs., June 8 11 a.m. Ingebretsen’s waffle lunch $7.55 12:00 p.m. Program “Share Your Nordic Treasures” Bring an object and tell your story and hear other people’s personal stories. Reservations suggested so we know how much to prepare. Please RSVP to Arlene Wilson by June 7 at 952-922-5384 Also, let her know if you will be bringing an item to talk about. Thurs., June 29 11 a.m. Ingebretsen’s waffle lunch $7.55 12:00 p.m. program “The Life of Norway’s Most Famous Composer – Edvard Grieg”, presented by William Halverson Please call Arlene W 952-922-5384 to RSVP Additional summer programs will be offered July 6, 13, and Aug. 3. Norway House is located at 913 E. Franklin, across the parking lot from Mindekirken in the blue brick building.

Grieg Society Concert

Sat., June 3

3 p.m. Mindekirken by winners of the

String Competition

The Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota inaugurated a new contest this year to promote and encourage young string players to explore and study the music of Edvard Grieg and other Nordic composers. Each performer was asked to pre-pare an entire Grieg Sonata, a Grieg miniature or transcription, and a piece or movement by another Nordic com-poser. The competition will take place the morning of Sat., June 3, before a panel of three judges. Following the competition, a 3 PM prize winners' concert will take place at Mindekirken, featuring a vari-ety of these works performed by all our finalists. (donation of $5) Please join us in congratulating our winners! The grand prize winner will perform in Bergen, Norway in late October of 2017 in connection with the seminar, "Romantic Piano Meets the Hardanger Fiddle: Edvard Grieg’s Chamber Works and Solo Pi-ano Music," taking place at Grieg's home, Troldhaugen, near Bergen, October 26-29, 2017.

New this Summer at Norway House: Thursday Open House!

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MNLCP programming is wind-ing down for summer and will be back in full swing in the fall. In the meantime, mark your calen-dars and consider joining us for one or more Sommer samtal-estunder! SOMMER SAMTALESTUNDER Samtalestunder (conversation sessions) provide learners of all levels with opportunities to inter-act på norsk in fun and meaning-ful ways. Participants will ex-plore the theme sommerferie and sessions will be designed using a theme-based, immersion style learning approach that challenges participants to boost their speak-ing and listening skills. Learners of all levels welcome!

The Communicator is posted in full color on the church

website www.mindekirken.org (News & Media tab)

Sign up on-line to receive a weekly schedule and updates

by e-mail, for free.

SOMMER SAMTALESTUNDER Wednesdays 6 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. July 12, July 26, August 9, August 23 Instructors: Sessions will be facilitated by a variety of MNLCP instructors! Cost: $70 for four, two-hour ses-sions or $20 for individual ses-sions Fall classes will kick off on Saturday, September 9, 2017.

Vil du lære norsk? Learn more about our program and register online for classes at http://www.mnlcp.org Liker du MNLCP og det vi står for? Become our fan on Facebook. We always welcome new students regardless of your prior knowledge or experiences. Velkommen skal du være! Krista Marie Schweppe Program Administrator norsk@mnlcp.org http://www.mnlcp.org

Report from the May 2017 Synod Assembly

Scandinavian Summer Fest Sunday, June 25, 2017 At Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis

Combining Norway Day and Svenskarnas Dag as a tribute to the culture and herit-age of the largest groups of Norwegian and Swedish Americans in the USA

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Food, crafts, information booths and entertainment

Swedish Trio doing Music before church service at 10:30 a.m. Barnetog parade and dancing around May Pole at 11:30

Norwegian Glee Club & Swedish Men’s Choruses at 1 p.m. Swedish Girls Choir and Dance Groups / LeRoy Larson & Art Bjorngjeld, Music

Drawings for Prizes / Svenskarnas Dag Queen Coronation

The 2017 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly was held on May 5 and 6th in Ramsey, Minn. Pastor Sundt, and Mindekirken members Russ Erickson, and Linda Bråthen attended. The theme of this year's Assembly was "Real Presence: In our neighborhoods, with our neigh-bors." This theme was highlight-ed through preaching, Bible teaching and keynote speech-es. A resolution was passed to

become more aware of our Islam neighbors' faith. It was mentioned at the As-sembly that we in the Lutheran Church are not particularly good at talking about our faith and we may have some difficulties see-ing God at work among us out-side the walls of the church. It is not easy for us to find the words to give testimony to our faith, like other people in other Chris-tian denominations seem to do with more ease. Linda Bråthen, delegate

Den Norske Lutherske Mindekirke, ELCA 924 E 21st St., Mpls MN 55404-2952 (Located 1 block south of E. Franklin & 10th Ave. S.)

office phone: (612) 874-0716 E-mail: office@mindekirken.org Web page: www.mindekirken.org

Pastor: Jorunn Raddum will be acting pastor June 18—Aug. 27

Office Secretary: Kaia Knutson office@mindekirken.org Open Office hours: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Tues - Fri

Bookkeeper: Herb Nelson bookkeeper@mindekirken.org

Choir Director: John De Haan choirdirector@mindekirken.org

Organist: Jessica Schroeder organist@mindekirken.org

Custodian: Joe Jensen, Jr. Kitchen Coordinator: Terry Parker kitchen@mindekirken.org

Tuesday Open House chair: Marilyn Sorensen tuesdayopenhouse@mindekirken.org

Communicator Staff: Kaia Knutson Deadline: 15th of June for July/August combined issue

No subscription fee – suggested $25 per year supported by your donations.

Executive Committee 2017: President: Gracia Grindal Vice President: Jeannette Henrikssen Secretary: Mandi Kay Berndt Treasurer: Erik Pratt Chair of Deacons: Harald Huglen Chair of Trustees: Bob Worrall

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Heartfelt appreciation goes to Robert Hanson for his excellent work, over a long period, on the board of Trustees. He stepped down a while ago and in his place we welcome Leif Larsen, who will take Robert’s chair until the next election of council mem-bers. We’re looking forward to working together on the challenge of managing the church finances, building and grounds. We have a special opportuni-ty for helping to fund some new kitchen equipment. Chiefly, we are in need of a new oven. The old one is needing substantial repair now and it seems wise to put that money instead toward a new oven that is more user-friendly. A gift of any size is greatly appreciated for this wor-thy project. Please designate your contribution to “the new ov-en”. I can almost smell the bread baking already! - Bob Worrall, Board of Trustees, Chair

Female members/friends of Min-dekirken have the opportunity to attend the “All Anew” WELCA 10th Triennial Gathering at the Minneapolis Convention Center this summer. This is a gathering of thousands

June Mission of the Month: Lutheran World Relief in Syria

Mission of the Month June 2017 The infrastructure of Aleppo and its surrounding communities has been destroyed. Roads are im-passible. Hospitals have been shelled and food markets lay in rubble. Meanwhile, those who remain must provide for their household needs using what few resources they have. High on the list of needs is a staple in the diet of every Syrian: bread. Most of the bakeries were de-stroyed or heavily damaged in the war, and shortages of flour and power blackouts have hampered the operation of the few still func-tioning.

Lutheran World Relief is work-ing through a local partner to re-pair and renovate two bakeries in the towns of Akhtarin and Sawran in the Aleppo district so they can resume bread produc-tion. Equally important, the pro-ject will provide the raw materi-als for making bread, the key in-gredient being flour. The bakeries will provide desper-ately needed employment for 30 people in a city where jobs are scarce, and are expected to pro-duce up to nine tons of bread dai-ly, providing more than 80,000 people with access to affordable pita bread.

Your financial contribu-tions for Lutheran World Relief, the Mis-sion of the Month at Mindekirken, help to support this project.

Note from the Trustees:

WELCA “All Anew” Triennial Gathering in July 2017 Scholarships Available

of women coming together in community to rejoice, to serve and to give. For a limited num-ber of participants, the $175 reg-istration fee will be covered by a Mindekirken Foundation grant for attending one all-day session on either Friday, July 14th or

Saturday, July 15th. For more information about the event, go to http://www.welcatg.org/ and for more information about the scholar-ship, contact the church office. Priority will be given to full members of Mindekirken.

2nd Tuesday— June 13 6:00 p.m. Deacons / Trustees 7:10 p.m. Cong. Council Norwegian Language & Cul-ture Classes www.mnlcp.org p. 6 Newsletter Assembly (tentative) by volunteers Tues., June 20 at 10 a.m. — Please call to confirm this date when the time is closer. Volunteers are appreciated! Join us for an hour or two to help fold and label the July/Aug mail-ing. Coffee served—you may bring your lunch. Thanks! The Mindekirken Choir is on summer break

Worship schedule—Everyone is welcome! English transcripts provided for the Norwegian service Other Meetings

June 2017

Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church MINDEKIRKEN 924 E 21st St Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952

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Nursery care provided during the 11:00 services

Sun., June 4 Pentecost Pr. Tim Peterson 9:00 a.m. English Worship with Holy Communion 11:00 a.m. Norwegian Worship with Holy Communion Sun., June 11 Holy Trinity Pr. Kristofer Coffman 9:00 a.m. English Worship 11:00 a.m. Norwegian Worship Service Sun., June 18 Pentecost 2 Pr. Jorunn Raddum 9:00 a.m. English Worship with Holy Communion 11:00 a.m. Norwegian Worship with Holy Communion Music: Northfield Youth Choir Sun. June 25 Pentecost 3 Pr. Jorunn Raddum 9:00 a.m. English Worship 11:00 a.m. Norwegian Worship Service

Velkommen!