January is a time for new beginnings! Consider being part of LOTI’s new Bible Study beginning the end of January. To help us choose a day and time(evening), please contact Debra Gilroy: [email protected] regarding your interest and availability
We will be using Beth Moore’s Believing God: Experiencing a Fresh Explosion of Faith based on Isaiah 43:10. Beth explores what it means not only “to believe in God” but “to believe Him.” She encourages women to deepen their own trust in God and receive a fresh word from Him. Our first Bible study will last 10 weeks. The cost for materials is $16.00.
Lake of the Isles Lutheran has been a partner with Our Saviour’s Housing for several decades. On the first Friday of every month we provide a hot meal for the approximately 40 people who are staying at the shelter.
There are several options for your involvement:
- You can be responsible for cooking the meal and serving it at the shelter.
- Team up with another family or some friends to make and serve a meal one of the months.
- If cooking for a crowd seems intimidating, Cheri Moe will be willing to help prepare the meal at the church. You can then take it to the shelter to serve. Or Cheri will go with you to help out.
- Some people don’t have the time to cook the meal, but would be willing to help serve. We can use you too.
- You can donate funds designated for the Our Saviour’s meal.
At this time, all of the dates in 2015 are available. It would be good to have someone commit to January 2 as soon as possible. Recipes for cooking for a crowd are available. Contact Cheri Moe (952-431-5226 or[email protected]) to volunteer or for more information.
The children have been working hard preparing for their Christmas pageant which will be on Sunday, December 14 during worship. It will be sure to get all in the Christmas spirit as the story of Jesus’ birth is told through the eyes of our children with singing, reading and bell ringing – complete with costumes, of course!
Here is a look at the month ahead:
Saturday, December 13 (10:00-11:30): Final dress rehearsal for Christmas pageant
Sunday, December 14: Christmas pageant; children arrive at 9:00 on this day
December 21 and 28: No Sunday School
January 4: Sunday School resumes with a PJ Movie Day!
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, 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
There is a lot happening in the world of Children’s Ministry at Lake of the Isles! The children have been busy preparing to sing in worship on St Martin’s Day, November 9. They also made the lanterns they will use on that day too! Did you see the Martin Luther Seals they made for Reformation Sunday? This month we will begin our preparation for the Christmas program (on Dec 14) – yes, Christmas will be here before we know it!
Here are some things to note on your calendar for the month of November:
Nov 9: Sunday School children sing in worship. This is also the completion of our winter warmth coat drive.
Nov 23: “Family (Advent)’ures- Finding new family faith rituals from Thanksgiving to Christmas” (See article for more details)
November 30: Advent calendars (with chocolate!) will be distributed to children
Looking ahead: Christmas program is Sunday, December 14. Final Rehearsal will be the morning of Saturday, December 13.
New opportunity for families on Sunday, November 23!
“Family Faith (Advent)’ures -Finding new family faith rituals from Thanksgiving to Christmas”
We hope you can join us after worship on November 23 for a new event geared towards families with children from toddler age to elementary age children. We will gather in the library after worship for a hands-on experience that educates families on ideas and rituals to take home focusing on the season from Thanksgiving through the season of Advent.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask Diane LaMere, Children’s Ministry Director or Pastor Haug.
On Reformation Sunday, October 26th, the following young people celebrated their confirmation at the 9:30 a.m. worship service: Allison Sundeen, Jake Rand, Jack Messerli, Alexander Skold, Maddie Rondestvedt, Kiera Sundeen and Nicolas Amann.
The Isles Ensemble accompanied the LOTI choir on a cantata based on Luther’s hymn “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” by Dietrich Buxtehude.
Congratulations Confirmands!
In many Lutheran churches the Confirmation worship service is known as the Affirmation of Baptism. The name recalls the promises that were made by the parents and godparents at the time of a child’s baptism. They vowed that the Christian faith would be child’s one day, and that they would speak on behalf of the child until that day comes. The Rite of Affirmation is that coming of age for the young adult. It is also a day for a renewal of the faith through the laying on of hands and the giving of the Holy Spirit.
On Reformation Sunday, October 26th we will celebrate confirmation with Alexander Skold, Jake Rand, Jack Messerli, Nicolas Amann, Maddie Rondestvedt, Allison and Kiera Sundeen and our 9:30 worship service. The Isles Ensemble will accompany the LOTI choir on a cantata based on Luther’s hymn “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” by Dietrich Buxtehude.
It has been so much fun to welcome the kids back to Sunday School this past month! We have a wonderful teaching staff of both parents and high school youth to guide our children this year in Sunday School. Our high school youth make up two thirds of the teaching team this year! It is ministry in action by our very own youth. How awesome is that?
We have started the program year digging into some Old Testament stories about Joseph and will spend the next few weeks learning about Ruth. During our large group time together, we have been learning new and traditional songs using both our voices and sign language and have even learned a global song with roots in Zimbabwe! The kids are learning a lot about the church seasons and the traditions and rituals that go with each season.
Here are a few dates to note for the month of October:
Oct 5: Blessing of the Stuffed Animals. Children of all ages are invited to bring their most beloved stuffed animals for a special blessing after worship with Pastor Haug.
Oct 19: No Sunday School (MEA break)
This past Sunday we launched the Guardian Angel program. The children have prepared a communication to their Guardian Angels which will be delivered soon! As our program continues to grow, our need for Guardian Angels will grow too. If you would like to learn more about becoming a Guardian Angel, please contact Diane LaMere, Children’s Ministry Director at [email protected]
“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.”
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.