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

susanmelbye@edinarealty.com

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

Sunday School begins on Sunday, September 7th.  We are excited to get started and have the classrooms filled with children!  If you haven’t already done so, please register your children using the online form by clicking here.   Sunday School is offered for children who are age 3 (by Sept. 1) through those entering 6th grade.

Here are a few things to note for the month of September:

Thursday, Sept. 4:  Teacher training 7-8pm in the Christy Room.

Sept. 7:  Sunday School begins

Sept. 14: Bibles are presented to 3 yr olds, 3rd graders and new families

The complete schedule for the program year can be found on the website (www.loti.org)

Volunteers Welcome!  If you love working with children and would like to get involved in our Sunday School program, please sign up to volunteer as a teacher or substitute.  Adult volunteers click here to sign up. High school youth click here to sign up.  Adult volunteers will be required to complete a background check.  Training is provided for all volunteers on Thursday, September 4 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the Christy Room.

  Please contact Diane LaMere, Children’s Ministry Director with any questions at dlamere.loti@yahoo.com.

 May 26, 1917 – May 23, 2014

Dr. Frederic J. “Fritz” Kottke, long-time member at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, passed away on May 23, 2014 at Walker Methodist Home.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Astrid Kottke and a son, James.  He is survived by a sister, Harriet Sells, his daughters, Jane (Lau) de Vries, Mary Vincent and a son, Thomas (Leslie) Kottke, 6 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.  A memorial service will be held at Walker Methodist Home, 3737 Bryant Ave. South, Minneapolis, on Saturday, July 12 at 1:00 p.m.  Memorials to Habitat for Humanity.

Cards to the family can be sent to the address below:

Thomas E. Kottke, MD

571 Otis Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55104