“Built on a rock the church shall stand even when steeples are falling; Crumbled have spires in ev’ry land, bells still are chiming and calling.  Calling the young and old to rest, calling the souls of those distressed, longing for life everlasting.”

                                      ELW 652, vs 1

Dear Friends,

Outside of Northfield, there is a little country parish called Valley Grove where some of the first Norwegian Lutheran immigrants settled when they came to Minnesota.  They built a limestone church atop he hill to be their place of worship.   A small bell was placed into the belfry to call them to worship services. The immigrants worked hard to till the land and their children provided the labor.  When the families outgrew the stone church,  they built a new white clapboard church directly across the way from the original building. The two church doors were erected to face each other. The former stone church became the fellowship hall for the growing congregation at Valley Grove.  And the church bell which was used to call the community to worship,

to announce joyous occasions and to toll the years of life in mourning, was transferred from one church tower to the other.  Over the past century, the wooden pews in the church which were once filled with the farming community grew empty. The congregation closed its doors in the 1970’s, but the church bell of Valley Grove was never silenced. The two churches still stand as sentinels towering over the picturesque, rolling valley, and church bell continues to honor the joyous transitions of life and to toll the passing of the dead.

Church bells have been a part of Christian worship since 400 AD. Over the centuries, even the ringing and pealing of bells became more complex as sets of bells were placed into towers. Although there are new ways to call people to worship, bells continue to play an esthetic role in the life of the Christian community. In the last 20 years, several Twin Cities churches have added bells to their empty tower spaces. St. Mark’s Cathedral and St. Mary’s Basilica received bells as gifts, and Central Lutheran Church erected its new bell tower 75 years after the completion of the sanctuary.

Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church has a wonderful commanding spire which could accommodate a larger, more resonant bell. This All Saint’s Sunday onNovember 2nd, I invite you to consider a memorial gift to the LOTI Endowment Fund to help purchase a newly commissioned bronze bell for Lake of the Isles. A bronze bell weighing nearly 500 pounds, a state of the art mechanism for ringing, and installation is estimated to cost $15,000. The Endowment Fund will match this year’s All Saints Sunday gifts.

Consider the places that have been dear to you, and the people who have made a special mark on you, and honor their memory with your gift. And let the bell at Lake of the Isles continue to call “the young and old to rest.”

Peace, Pastor Arden Haug

Coming in October

Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church is pleased to announce the introduction of an electronic option for making regular offerings. Contributions can now be debited automatically from your checking or savings account or processed using your credit or debit card.  Our new electronic giving program offers convenience for you and much-needed donation consistency for our congregation.

If you are currently giving on a weekly basis, you will no longer need to write out 52 checks a year or prepare 52 envelopes. And, when travel, illness or other circumstances prevent you from attending services, this program will allow your weekly offerings to continue on an uninterrupted basis.

An authorization form and a “Frequently Asked Questions” flyer are available from the church office.

Conversation and Cuisine is a casual evening of getting better acquainted while enjoying a meal in our homes (or choice of a restaurant). Groups of 5-7 members and friends of Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church gather for three meals duringthe course of the year.   Four groups were formed this past year and from all reports, it sounds like they really enjoyed their time together. New groups will be formed so that everyone will have a chance to get to know some more Lake of the Isles members. If you would like to participate in the 2014-2015 groups, please let Janna Haug know by September 30th at the latest. You can talk to her during church coffee or contact her by phone (651-497-0099) or email ([email protected])

Shelter Meal – First Friday of the Month!

LOTI volunteers have served dinner the first Friday of every month for years!  This local outreach is a great way to get together with someone at church to help others in our neighborhood.  We serve about 40 people once a month at Our Saviour’s Housing, 2219 Chicago Ave. S.

 As you are thinking ahead to the upcoming school year and looking at your calendars, please consider serving a dinner with your family and friends at Our Saviour’s Housing as part of your Volunteerism this year. We have families signed up for serving in October, but need servers for the following dates:

Friday, September 5

Friday, November 7

Friday, December 5

Friday, January 2

Friday, February 6

Friday, March 6

Friday, April 3

Friday, May 1

Friday, June 5

If you have questions about how you can become involved, please call me at my number below. I would be happy to chat about the program.

Thanks for your consideration!

Susan Melbye|Realtor

Edina Realty|City Lakes Office

[email protected]

952-239-0379

Camp Amnicon is a high adventure camp affiliated with the ELCA and located on the south shore of Lake Superior.  During the summer small groups go out on various canoe and hiking trips with highly trained guides.  Amnicon has work weekends during the year to get the camp ready for the different seasons.  The summer camping season is over and the fall-winter-spring retreat season will soon start.  In exchange for your volunteer labor, you have a bed to sleep in (bunk rooms) and delicious meals.  No special talents are necessary and all ages are welcome.  There is also time to explore the 700 acres of wilderness.  Camp Amnicon depends on volunteer labor to make it possible for at-risk youth to attend camp, as well as to serve church groups from all over the country.  If you are interested or want to learn more, talk to or call Cheri Moe or Margaret Coleman.  Call Camp Amnicon to reserve beds.

Confirmation education for 7th and 8th graders will begin again on Wednesday evenings in the fall. The majority of the churches in the Twin Cities hold their youth programs on Wednesday evenings and try to avoid school programming conflicts. This year’s Confirmation worship service for our 9th graders will be held on Sunday, October 26th at 9:30. Please contact the church about registering for confirmation this fall. The first lass will be held on Wednesday, September 10th from 7:00- 8:00 pm in the Christy Room.

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Deuteronomy 11:19

On August 20th, I was standing in front of a class of new missionary teachers in Bratislava, Slovakia when I received the news. It came as a two part text message on my cell phone. I looked down for a second and saw on the screen that my wife Janna was writing to me in the dark hours of the night in Minnesota. As the class turned briefly to their other instructor, I opened the first message. In short it announced: “Your grandson was just born and is being transferred to St. Paul Children’s Hospital. His vital signs are good.”  I knew that my son and daughter-in-law were expecting, I also understood that their new born son was now three months premature. I didn’t make it to the second text message before I was asked by an anxious missionary another question about living in Central Europe.

Life changes in a heartbeat. Certainly there are pleasant, serendipitous moments that surprise and delight us. But it seems that life can also offer its fair share of unexpected, troubling moments. Of course, we learn to accept and address them, but in that moment it seems as if they take our breath away. The earth itself has shaken, and we wonder how it would have affected us if we only could have only been a bit more prepared.

The author of the book of Deuteronomy understood the reality of life’s unexpected joys and sorrows. In the words to the ancient Jewish people, he encouraged them to teach the values of the faith to their children where ever there was a possibility- “talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” For the ancient writer, every setting was the right place and time for discussing the faith.

3,000 years later, however, that is not the case. Today, we discover parents who are afraid to discuss their faith with their children. They forget that life can change in a heartbeat and that their children can’t wait for an answer during the next Sunday School class.

Rally Sunday is a wonderful way of reminding people that the programs and activities of the congregation are organized to help them through the week to find a way to discuss their faith when life changes. Congregational celebrations, Bible studies, choir rehearsals and service activities, all have a way of bringing people together to share their thoughts and experiences. Joining is important, not simply for you, but for what you can offer to others on their spiritual journey.

So join us on Rally Sunday, September 7th as we begin our renewed journey at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church. Come and celebrate Dixieland music with the Madson Family. Enjoy fresh pie, ice cream and cake. Register for Sunday School. Join the choir or prayer group. There are many ways to explore your faith and to experience the excitement of lives together in faith. And in all these ways, you will prepare yourself to for the times when life changes.

When I arrived home from Europe the first stop was at the St. Paul Children’s Hospital to see the 5-day old Ivan Robert Haug. He is small, but his vital signs are still positive. And, yes, he is growing. Standing over his lightened incubator, Janna, his mother and I prayed for little Ivan’s safe delivery, his continued growth, and the daily care he was receiving from the hospital staff. It was a poignant reminder of the importance of the preparation and encouragement that the church provides.   “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Peace, Pastor and Grandpa Arden Haug