Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
From our
Senior Pastor When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him… This passage from Luke 24 describes an event that
took place later on the first day of resurrection. As two
of Jesus’ followers were leaving Jerusalem on Sunday
afternoon, heading to their home in the village of
Emmaus, Jesus begins to walk with them, but they do
not recognize him. They had been discussing the events
of the past few days, but when Jesus asked them what
they were talking about, their first response was this:
“They stood still, looking sad.” They firmly believed, as
everyone did, that they had been wrong about Jesus,
about him being the Messiah. On the rest of the seven miles of their journey, Jesus gives
them the Bible study of a lifetime, showing them how this all
had to happen the way it did. In spite of this, they still did not
recognize him.
When they were going to turn off the main road and go into
Emmaus, Jesus acted like he was going to walk on, but they
begged him to stay with them. At the table, Jesus did
something that they had seen him do on the previous
Thursday evening: “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and
gave it to them.” It was in that very moment that they finally
recognized him. Not only that, but they also understood on an
even deeper level how he had opened the scriptures to them
when they walked together.
The reason I recount this story is because it is intended to be
a template for our worship. We open the scriptures, and, in
the sermon, we attempt to deepen our understanding of God’s
Word, Jesus Christ. But in order to truly “recognize” Jesus,
we must take the bread, bless it, break it and share it with
each other. Word and Sacrament are surely the Means of
Grace, God’s chosen way of getting grace into us. This is the
way that God has provided for us to know him in the deepest
way possible. Word and Sacrament are intended to be held
together because they inform each other and each of them
causes the other one to shine brighter. This enables us to
experience the same joy of those who walked with Jesus on
the road that very first Easter Sunday.
That is why we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper every
Sunday during the season of Easter. We will follow the
pattern clearly laid out in Luke’s gospel so that we can
experience God’s grace in the deepest way possible. We
will dig into God’s word and we will dig into God’s
holy meal so that we may know the joy of the Lord
more fully.
I hope that you will make a special effort to worship
with us during this blessed season as we rejoice that
Christ is risen, indeed!
Yours in Christ, Pastor Darby [email protected]
From our
Associate Pastor Shortly after this Newsletter
arrives in your home, it will be
Mother’s Day. That should probably
be MOTHER’S DAY. If we put aside all the
commercialism attached to Mother’s Day there is still
plenty of reason to celebrate. We call it Mother’s Day,
but we could just as well call it Mary & Martha Day,
Ester Day or Hannah Day. On Mother’s Day, we
Christians honor and celebrate the women who have
nurtured us in faith using the gifts they received from
God.
We celebrate the kindergarten teachers who welcomed
us into classrooms and taught us that we could love and
trust more than one woman in our lives, because first we
are all loved by God.
We remember the Faith Formation and VBS teachers
who volunteered so many hours to teach us stories of
faith and shared their own faith on a weekly basis, so
that we in turn could tell the stories of faith to others.
We honor the various medical professionals who
calmed our parent’s fears while bringing health care to
us, so that with our healthy bodies we could serve God.
We salute the fire-fighters, law-enforcement officers,
driver’s education instructors and soldiers who protect
us and teach us how to protect ourselves so that we can,
in our turn, care for the weak, poor and lonely while
assuring them God has never forgotten them.
We respect the instructors and professors who taught
and trained us so we could raise and teach another
generation of independent, strong women who would
teach boys and girls that everyone is loved by God and
given skills to be used in God’s world.
On Mother’s Day we thank all the women who have
helped us become who we are, People who know they
are loved by God, and especially the ones who gave
birth to us.
Shalom,
Pastor Marie [email protected]
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward
from God.~ Psalm 127:3
Teach your children to choose the right path, and when
they are older, they will remain upon it. ~ Proverbs 22:6
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is
right. Honor your father and mother which is the first
commandment with a promise - that it may go well with
you and that you may have a long life. ~Ephesians 6:1-3
Keep your love for one another at full strength, because
love covers a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:8
About Your Kids We hope everyone
enjoyed the beautiful
Easter weekend. We are
now approaching the last
few weeks of Faith
Formation for the school
year. The children will
be working on their
musical performances for
the Congregation which
will take place on
Sunday, May 19 during the 10:30 a.m. Worship Service.
Faith Formation’s mission project this year has been
the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. For our
final project, we are making butterfly snack mailbox
stuffers for the children staying at RMH. The Kindness
Store opened for one last time so the children could
spend their well-earned kindness shekels.
We want to recognize our amazing mothers on their
day and the kids will be working on a special gift for
them the first couple of Sundays in May. Speaking of
amazing, we had an awesome group of volunteers this
year helping with Rally Day, Faith Formation classes,
and the Christmas program. It would be hard for us to
function without the tremendous help of our volunteers.
THANK YOU!!!! Hope to see many of you at
Vacation Bible School in August!
If you are thinking of summer camps for your children,
there is great information available on the table before
entering the Sanctuary, as well as forms to apply for a
scholarship to help with camp expenses.
A reminder of the upcoming Youth Education Meeting
on Wednesday, May 8 where we will be discussing
plans for Vacation Bible School. Anyone is welcome to
attend the meeting and new ideas are always
appreciated. Please note the dates for VBS below. A
table with registration forms has been set up in the
Fellowship Hall and your children can grab some
ROAR animal crackers for the road.
Dates to Remember:
Sunday, May 5 – Opening Day of the Pray Ground
Wednesday, May 8 - 7:00 p.m. - Youth Education
Meeting at Trailhead Grill and Lanes
Sunday, May 19 - Faith Formation Special Music at the
10:30 a.m. Worship Service – LAST DAY OF FAITH
FORMATION
Sunday, August 11 through Thursday, August 15 –
Vacation Bible School at Saint Paul’s
Don’t forget to check out Saint Paul Lutheran Church
Faith Formation Facebook page for news, pictures and
updates.
Ashly and Cindy
We couldn’t be more excited to share with you, a
project that has been in the works for over a year! A
PRAY-GROUND! We will start with a 3 month trial
period, beginning in May, to see how this set up works
for Saint Paul’s. I am sure you are very curious and
have quite a few questions! Please read below
What is a pray-ground? It is an area for small children
to get their wiggles out quietly while their parents are
able to sit near them to listen to the service.
Who is the pray-ground for? The pray-ground is for
children-newborn to preschool.
What toys/activities will be in the pray-ground?
There will be a few fabric baskets under the pew for the
children to pull out that will consist of fabric books,
foam blocks and puzzles, coloring sheets, etc. There
will hopefully be a bumbo (activity seat for a baby) to
sit up in.
Where will this pray-ground be in the sanctuary?
Currently, our plan is to put it near the back on the
pulpit side. We will be removing 2 pews, leaving only
one in the very back for the parents to sit.
What about Weddings? Funerals? Christmas/Easter
Services? This will be up to the family/pastor. It’s easy
to take down and put chairs up in its space.
Who will clean the toys/area? Ashly Matzek will be
cleaning this area weekly.
Who will enforce the rules? The rules will be posted
near the pray-ground. It will also be in the bulletin. The
parents are to enforce the rules. If the rules cannot be
followed, the pray-ground will be taken down.
How will the child know not to run around during
the service? There will be a matted area that is the
child’s boundaries. It is also between 2 pews.
If you still have questions—please email Ashly at
Pastors Office Availability Our pastors will be available for drop-in visits during
these posted hours: Pastor Darby – 9:00 am-noon on
Mondays, Pastor Marie – 1:00-4:00 pm on Thursdays.
Other times by appointment.
Please understand that at times there may be
unforeseen circumstances that prevent them from being
in the office during their posted hours.
Kitchen Cleaning: Each month's service group
leaders should check kitchen for towels to wash
periodically and especially after planned events.
Please clean the kitchen at the end of the month.
April – Group 3 – Carolyn Blankenship & Barb Marti
May – Group 2 – Joanne Sanborn & Rhonda Sellnow
*May Circle meeting:
The Elizabeth and Lydia Circles will meet together
on Tuesday, May 7 at 1:30 pm for Bible Study. New
members are always welcome! The Bible Study from
the Gather magazine is used, and there are two extra
issues in the church’s library.
Mission Quilting On Sunday, April 28, we displayed and blessed some
of the many quilts that our Tuesday morning Mission
Quilters made for various organizations in need. Since
last September they have given 30 quilts to Lutheran
World Relief, 18 to the Hastings Veterans Home, 50 to
the LOVE Project, 15 to Family Promise Rochester, 15
to the Salvation Army, 15 to Ronald McDonald House,
and 15 to Pine Island Civil Defense.
They will be quilting through May 21, and then take a
break until fall. Anyone who is interested in helping is
invited to join the group on Tuesday mornings, or even
sew tops at home! Contact Barb VanDeWalker or Diane
DeBoer if you have any questions.
ELCA Disaster Response Thank you for your generous donations for the victims
of the devastating Midwest flooding. When we give
through the ELCA Disaster Response, 100% of your
gifts go directly to help the victims. Nothing is used for
Administrative needs. Because of you, we were able to
send $422 to the ELCA to be distributed to the flooding
victims.
Goodhue County Habitat
for Humanity During April, we had a Blessing Board at Saint Paul
Lutheran for the Goodhue County Habitat of Humanity
build. We asked you to sign the board, which will be
used in the remodeling of a home for someone in need,
as well as consider making a donation to this
worthwhile organization. Thanks to your generosity, we
sent $277 to our local Habitat of Humanity.
New Members In March we welcomed the
following members to Saint
Paul Lutheran Church:
Jessica & Josh Anderson,
Elise & Lauren
Steven Clementson & Bruce
Linda McGraw
Laura & Ryan Ruchotzke, Brayden & Parker
Please introduce yourself and make them feel
welcome!
Election of Bishop Update As a result of conference assemblies voting on March
24, seven potential bishop nominees will be invited to
participate in the May discernment conversations on
May 13, 14 and 16, 2019. These seven are Emily
Carson, Heather Culuris, Sean Forde, Regina
Hassanally, Glenn Monson, Kristen Venne, and John
Weisenburger.
The discernment conversations are open to everyone
in the synod and will take place on: Monday, May 13 from 6:30PM-8:30PM at St.
John’s Lutheran Church in Waseca
Tuesday, May 14 from 6:30PM-8:30PM at
United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota
Thursday, May 16 from 6:30PM-8:30PM at
Zion Lutheran Church in Stewartville
Church Policy for Canceling Worship due to Weather
This decision will be made by 3 members of the executive committee: * The decision will be made by noon for a weekday worship service. * The decision will be made by 6:00 pm on Saturday for Sunday worship. * Cancellations will be posted on: – local channel 7 TV if mid-week – this website – our church answering machine (507-356- 8925) – our Facebook page – the 2 Rochester TV stations (KTTC and Fox 47)
NEWSLETTER Saint Paul Lutheran Church
214 Third Street SW, PO Box 708
Pine Island, MN 55963
Address Service Requested
Staff – Darby Lawrence, Senior Pastor
Marie AK Anderson, Associate Pastor
Website: saintpaulpi.org 507-356-8925
Worship Schedule
Sunday Worship – 8:15 & 10:30 am
Coffee fellowship following Sunday worship
Communion Served on 1st, 3rd and 5th weeks
Wednesday Evening Oasis –
Meal served - 5:15-6:00 pm
Worship with communion - 6:15 pm
7th & 8
th grade Confirmation class - 7:00 pm
Faith Formation (formerly Sunday School) –
Sundays at 9:30 am (for all children 3-years-old
through 6th grade) – Last Sunday is May 19
_______________________________________
April 30, 2019 - God’s work. Our hands.
___________________________________________
Youth
Information
The next Youth Board
meeting will be held on
Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 pm.
Youth Works Mission Trip – Group Meeting
Wednesday, May 15, 7:00 pm
This is for everyone attending the trip to Philadelphia in
July. It is a planning/team building meeting.
Pie Stand
May 31 – 5:00-8:00 pm
June 1 – 1:00-8:00 pm
June 2 – 2:00-5:00 pm
We need pie donations and volunteers to work! Please see the table in the fellowship hall for sign-up
sheets!
Sunday, May 5 is Condiment Sunday for the PI Sharing Shelves. Also on that day our Mission Coffee hour offering will be given to Family Promise Rochester.
Lent/Easter Donations Due to your generous donations, the following
amounts have been sent to their respective areas of
giving:
PI Sharing Shelves - $1823 and 440 pounds of
nonperishable items
Campership Scholarships – $115
Senior Quilt Project - $105
Global Barnyard - $840
Thank you, members of Saint Paul’s!
Non-profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Pine Island, MN 55963
Permit # 17
Spring Garden Party – Sat., May 4 9-11 am
This is a working event to get our landscaping ready for the summer season.
Please join us! Many hands make light work!
