Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

An outbreak of severe spring storms has wreaked havoc across the southern United States. ELCA Disaster Response is already at work with local Lutheran congregations and the Southeastern Synod staff to assess what is needed. Only one ELCA congregation is reported to have severe damage from a tornado. Please keep in your prayers, Pastor Sandy Niiler and the people of Christ Lutheran in Cullman, Alabama.

This is one of several severe storms this spring. Communities across the Midwest have been fighting back flood waters. A dam in southeastern Missouri was overwhelmed earlier this week, flooding more than 100 homes. In recent weeks, tornadoes were responsible for widespread damage in Missouri and the Carolinas. The ELCA stands ready to respond in all areas affected. Our congregations are experts at serving in their communities—when and where it is needed most. Our first and best response to all disasters is prayer. Please pray for all those affected by these terrible storms.

Contributions can be made to ELCA Disaster Response designated for “U.S. Severe Storms.” All designated gifts will be used entirely (100 percent) in response to these disasters. These gifts will help families whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by these natural disasters. Thank you for your gifts and prayers!

Sincerely,

The Rev. Daniel Rift - Director, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal WAYS TO GIVE: Check or money orders can be sent to:ELCA Disaster Response
39330 Treasury Center
Chicago, IL 60694-9300Write “U.S. Severe Storms” on your check’s memo line.

You can also give by phone at 800-638-3522 or online at www.elca.org/springstorms

NORWAY GROVE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION NOTICE No monument or other material, trees, plants, objects or other embellishment of any kind shall be placed upon any grave. No exceptions unless waived in writing by the Cemetery Association. Flowers and shepherd’s hooks are acceptable, as are wreaths placed in the fall starting in November, and do not need approval. All other objects will be removed this spring. (Cemetery Association Board Members from Norway Grove Memorial are Bud Linde, Clif Erstad and Bob Bruegger)

T.S. Elliot began a poem with the line, “April is the cruelest month…” Here, the last day of March when the wind is mild but the air still holding cold I hope it does not prove true.For us, April brings to solemn climax the sorrow of our sin which hung Jesus on the cross that cruel day outside Jerusalem. The next day was not better. There was no Gospel, no good news. Jesus was not here. But the next day…. oh the next day wiped all cruelty away. He who was not, Truly Is. Our Lord lives. And so, the dull remains of snow seem less permanent, they’ll go and we’ll see the tender green fill bare trees again.April is not the cruelest month. No month is. Cruelty lives when we deny our sin in eagerness to pin the blame on something else or someone else. It’s not April’s fault at all. April simply holds thirty days for us to pray and watch, repent and weep and finally to rejoice and praise and praise again as Alleluias raise.Come and See.

Please note the opportunities for worship: Wednesdays April 6 and 13, we will eat together at 6:00 p.m. Confirmation and Kings Kids classes meet during that hour. Then at 7 p.m., it’s upstairs for worship and singing “The Holden Evening Prayer” service.Palm Sunday, April 17, celebrates Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem. And so begins the most solemn expression of our faith. There is no worship on Wednesday of Holy Week, but on Thursday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. we remember Christ gave us a new commandment that we love one another as he loved us. The next day is the worst day of all, yet we call it “Good”. Because it was for our good … because Jesus’ death was for our good. We have an extraordinary God who, rather than punishing us, allows our own actions to be punishment enough. This God remains faithful in love of us.  Easter Sunday, April 24, is proof of God’s love.Come and See.

God’s Love,

Pastor JoAnn … Interim Pastor

  “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”             ~ Colossians 3:16 I have been enjoying the familiarity of performing the three liturgical service settings we have rotated during Sunday morning services since this fall. Ray Makeever’s “Make A Joyful Noise” has been familiar to Norway Grove for more than 20 years and works well as a piano-led or praise band-led service. We created the “ELW Morning Blend” service by picking our favorite parts from the various ELW liturgies and Marty Haugen’s “Now the Feast and Celebration” and piecing them together into an enjoyable worship experience. Our third liturgy, Dakota Road’s “The Journey”, nicely compliments our blended-style of worship. Each of the three settings seems to fit our various styles of worship, and our hope is that we have offered a little something for everyone these past months.This Lenten Season we are re-introducing Marty Haugen’s “Holden Evening Prayer” during our Midweek services. The “Holden Evening Prayer” is a musical setting of the traditional evening service vespers.  Haugen composed the folk-like score in ’85-’86 while he was musician-in-residence at the Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State. This service was written during the winter when the community at Holden Village was almost completely in darkness for much of the day, and this musical setting embraces bringing in light from the darkness using a traditional form with modern language. From the first note of the Procession to the closing “Amen” in the Final Blessing, this is a wonderful service. It is being used in many Lutheran churches today for evening worship, and we hope it becomes a new Lenten tradition for Norway Grove.The ELW hymnal contains ten liturgical settings, and we are currently familiar with Setting 3 (Setting 1 from the LBW), Setting 4 (LBW Setting 2), parts of Setting 8, and Setting 10. Following the Lenten/Easter season we are excited to introduce a new ELW liturgical setting that we’ll continue to use throughout the summer.  ELW Setting 6 is a jazz/gospel setting accompanied by piano. This setting originates from This Far by Faith, the African American worship resource that was published by Augsburg Fortress for use in ELCA churches in 1999, and is known as the “Liturgy of Joy”. It is a rich and spirit-filled expression of faith that compliments other communion settings from the ELW. The music, in places, is more challenging than other settings, but once learned it lends itself to a worship experience of celebration and rejoicing, a great choice for Norway Grove! The Chancel Choir has begun taking a look at it and will assist us as song leaders as we learn this new service together.I value your opinion and appreciate your input as we begin incorporating these new liturgies to our services.  We are also always looking for willing participants to be a part of our musical groups and to help serve as musical worship leaders when needed.Musical blessings,

Jill Buchheim, Music Director

Dear Congregation:  I want you to know about a 4 day gathering that I attended called Via de Cristo.  I first need to tell you that this is something my brother Fran (and some of you know my brother) wanted me to attend for the last 2 years and have always come up with an excuse as to why I can’t attend.  He never pushed very hard on me to attend this, but would bring it up from time to time when a new Via De Cristo was going to take place.   Well the next one came up and I couldn’t give him a reason why I couldn’t attend, so reluctantly I went.  I attended the week of March 3^rd through March 6^th at

 It started off like any typical retreat that I have attended in the past or have given.  I wasn’t really moved or touched by it through Friday and than something happened.  The Holy Spirit took a large pancake on Saturday morning and slapped me across the face with it and told me to wake up and embrace what is happening here.  The only thing I can really share with you about the experience is that I’m truly humbled before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that this is a journey with him, that he wants us all to take and be a part of. I feel I have made a renewed connection with Christ and I want to share this journey and experience with all of you.  Via de Cristo is:

• A weekend spent renewing the basic Christian ideas and the Gospel message, through prayer, study  and action.
• Deepening of your faith - The kind that is quiet and real - and the kind that takes you by storm.
• A means of making true Christian community possible in neighborhoods, parishes, workplaces and families - where life is lived.
• Presentation of an authentic and natural way of living the Christian life in the real world.

The next Via De Cristo is October 20^th – October 23^rd for Men or October 27^th – October 30^th in

Your Brother in Christ,

Tom Hewuse

From Pastor Bud …  I did my weekend (Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon) in the 70’s when I was bishop. In its early history, it was a Catholic retreat weekend called “Cursillo.”  Iowa, especially western Iowa, is a strong Via de Cristo (Way of Christ) area. They have been especially strong in prison ministries and now have an established congregation at Rockwell Prison. In Iowa, I served on staff for two weekends, both in prison, one at Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant. In addition, I have been spiritual director 6-7 times while living in Arkansas.

It has been my experience that this movement takes seriously its mission statement which reads: “By grace, with the Holy Spirit, we challenge leaders to discover and achieve their personal calling, assisting them to influence their environments with the Gospel.” It is a movement within the influence their environments with the Gospel.” It is a movement within the church, not a competitor. Via de Cristo participants can be a great help to a pastor and congregation. I have become an avid supporter of this renewal effort because it has proven to be effective and equally important — it is lay directed.

“The most important decision facing your church today is the decision to shift the focus of your church from the ministry of the clergy to the ministry of the laity.” — Robert Slocum, a lay person and an atomic physicist. Slocum goes on to say, “I am convinced that the effective church for the 21st century will be the church that mobilizes, equips, empowers and supports ordinary Christians in ministry.” Via de Cristo is about that business.  John Wesley said, “We are not as smart as the laity think we are and they are not as dumb as we think they are.”  — Bud Buchheim

(Please see the letter submitted by Tom Hewuse elsewhere on this website, you can read about Tom’s experience in a recent Via de Cristo weekend, but even better, talk to him!)

Having prayer in your life means that you have peace and comfort in your heart as you walk down any pathway life has to offer. It means you can talk to a caring and compassionate Father who always has the time to listen and who never fails to understand the depths of your soul.

Having prayer in your life means having the assurance that nothing can ever come your way which you and God, united together, cannot deal with, and ultimately overcome. He has His hand in everything, and things will always work out for your good.

When you pray, you can be assured with no uncertainty, that you will be given the strength to endure anything that happens to you, and you will become a better person.

Through prayer, God quenches our thirsty souls, revives our parched hearts, and leads us to a higher place where peace and joy and love will be ours forever.

“Don’t worry about anything: instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”  Philippians 4: 6-7

Blessings,
Veronica Eicher and the Prayer Team

Forming A Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence and Power” By N. Graham Standish

What was the defining moment of the Christian Church, the moment that gave it birth? It was not Christ’s birth. His birth gave us God’s revelation in a person rather than through a person. Jesus revealed that God is among us, and he taught us how to live in God’s kingdom and presence. But it was not Jesus’ birth that defined the Christian church. Nor were Jesus’ death and resurrection the defining moments. They revealed that God’s love is the greatest force in the universe, and they define the Christian faith, not the church.
The defining moment of the Christian church was the day of Pentecost, a day too many Christians neglect. Jesus told the disciples that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit after he had ascended. Through the power of the Holy Spirit Christ’s followers now had the living and transforming Christ alive within them, allowing them to become the living, breathing body of Christ in the world. Without the day of Pentecost, without this “being filled” by the Holy Spirit, the Christian movement would have died.
Quotes from Chapter 2 - Setting a Spiritual Foundation
1. For a church to be healthy, we need to integrate and balance the spiritual, mental, physical and relational  dimensions of life. Integration begins with the spiritual dimensions of life, which is concerned with living in harmony with God and God’s will. When we are open to the spiritual dimension, we increasingly seek God’s will. When our spiritual dimension is strong, we aspire to what God wants  and become inspired by God.  The stronger the spiritual dimension is in our lives and churches, the more God’s will and ways seem to flow through our thoughts, plans and relationships.
2. A healthy church is organized and has ambitions, but the leaders care most about humbly seeking God’s guidance in prayer rather than pridefully attempting to achieve what they want. For a leader, being spiritually integrated may mean helping the church achieve or accomplish something that leaders have discerned in prayer. What matters most is loving God with everything it has, loving others as ourselves, and not reflexively conforming to or rebelling against certain traditions  and customs because of fear, anxiety, and confusion about what to do to survive.
3. Becoming a spiritually vibrant blessed church means becoming a church that cares deeply about being centered in God’s will in everything, so that God’s blessings flow through meetings, worship, program, mission and every part of the church’s life. It means becoming a church that is prepared to be blessed by God to do what God is blessing.
Next month, I will briefly share what it means to be “Grounded in God’s Purpose”.  Becoming a Blessed Church means becoming awake, aware and alive to the fact that Christ is in our midst, giving us guidance, life and love.     
May the Holy Spirit be with you,
Veronica Eicher

Encouraging and attitude of gratitudeNow may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.     2 Thessalonians 2:16Mary and Martha both did good things. Martha was busy in the kitchen, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and poured valuable oil on them. “Why, Lord,” asked Martha, “don’t you tell Mary to help me? Don’t’ you care that my sister has left me to do all the work?”We all like to be encouraged, The person who encourages others will always have a welcome audience and an open ear. Mary was encouraged, not Martha. Why? What Martha did was helpful and good, but her attitude revealed a critical spirit. Martha’s life was cluttered. Her stewardship was lacking in self-care. She needed a break. Jesus does not sympathize with her workload. He says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Only one thing,” continues Jesus, “is important. Mary has chosen it.”What had Mary chosen? She had chosen to sit at Jesus’ feet. She too was a servant, a servant with an awareness of a God-pleasing attitude. Attitude matters. Max Lucado writes, “God is more pleased with the quiet attention of a joyful servant leader with good money leadership priorities that the noisy industry of a sour servant. A bad attitude spoils the gift we leave on the altar for God” (from the book He Still Moves Stones). Guard your attitude about giving.Khalil Gibran says, “Bread baked with bitterness feeds but half man’s hunger” (from the book The Prophet). Bread baked with bitterness is sin. Remember how God rejected Cain’s offering? Do you recall how the offerings of both Ananias and his wife were fatal? Jesus acknowledges the offering of the widow who gave two small coins, “This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44). Her attitude of gratitude was greater than the grandest financial gift.

Recall the hymn “We Give Thee But Thine Own.” What is it that God has given you that you want to return? Where have you found joy in God’s blessings?

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for your example of love in giving your all, your Son, for the sake of all your children. You have given us many things. Give us one thing more—a grateful and joyful heart. Amen.

Money Leadership devotions are developed by the Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit of the ELCA.