You may have noticed on our calendar that we have OWLs meeting on Monday mornings at the DeForest Family Restaurant. Actually, OWLs is a distinguished group of members (our seniors) that meet for breakfast and fellowship. OWLs stands for Older Wiser Lutherans. If you would like to join other OWLs for breakfast - please gather with us at 8:30 a.m. Mondays. Hoot!
CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!We are Easter people, people of the Resurrection, meaning that we believe we are living with the God who restores, replants, renews us and all things. This Holy Spirit reminds and redirects us, making us ready to forgive others as well as ourselves, instilling in us an awareness of God’s love for us as well as the people around us. And so we set out with hope and confidence and joy because Christ is Risen… He is Risen Indeed.This month of May is not yet warm. I want to complain but am quickly reminded that our towns have not been blown away by tornadoes; we are not under water or in danger of floods or a nuclear explosion. I will not complain about the temperature.We had a wonderful Easter Day with trumpets and songs and a clean sanctuary and beautiful flowers and a good breakfast and lots of cheerful folks, little boys in vests and ties and little girls in pretty dresses and new shoes. It was grand. And Easter is not over. We celebrate the risen Christ every time we worship together and every time we give thanks and pray for help and wait for answers. The Church celebrates Easter until the Day of Pentecost when we celebrate the empowerment of belief, faith taking actions, leaving locked rooms and fear and boldly telling the Good News that Jesus, The Christ, had risen from the dead. Death was not the end. Life was not to be lived in fear of death but in love with life and grace and hope, trusting goodness and forgiveness, obeying God because to obey was not a burden but a comfort and consolation.And my morning paper announced in a bold headline that Osama bin Laden had been killed. As Christians we feel more sadness than any joy. The last ten years have seen too much death and fear. We have buried too many soldiers and seen too many wounded people trying to put their life back together. Some wise one said, “We are Easter people living in a Good Friday world” and we are. This world is not heaven. We are earth bound people of faith who see in Christ the connecting bridge between earth and heaven. In Christ and through Christ is the will of God, our hope for wars to cease, killing to end and a love starved world to know the Peace of God. Or just the simple security of a job that provides a sense of satisfaction that we contributed to the common good at the same time receiving the necessary paycheck to cover the cost of living as well as enough left over to share and give joy to others as well as ourselves. Because we are blessed to live and not afraid to die.So, it is rather cool for May. But the flowers come up anyway.Christ’s Love, Peace, Joy and Enticement.
Pastor JoAnn … Interim Pastor
The choir and tone chimes season draws to a close this month. We will be taking a break from rehearsals and performances until fall, although I hope to get some groups together during the summer to present special music during our worship.I am so proud of the seven Sunday School children who have participated in the youth tone chimes group this year! They have learned how to hold and play the chimes, have learned some of the special techniques that the adult chimers use, and are beginning to read music. We have a long ways to go, but I have seen improvement in each one of these kids, and I would like to congratulate them and give them recognition: Ryan Chatman, Sarah McGoveran, Natalie Henson, Sydney Henson, Michaela McFall and Emma McFall. Jamison Jaeke-Meier (my granddaughter) recently joined us, so she has some catching up to do, but I’m very glad to have her there. I hope next year will be another good one where we can continue to learn to read more complicated music and to perform more often.I would also like to thank the members of the adult chimes group for their dedication, hard work, and talent. These chimers have learned music quickly, put up with my constantly changing mind, and come through every time! This year’s adult chimes group includes: Laura McGoveran, Julie McGoveran, Kris Urban, Brad Urban, Ginger Pippert, Vickie Adkins, Jan Kuchar, Jill Buchheim and Jennifer Johnson. Pastor JoAnn recently gave us a bell/chimes piece that she had written several years ago. Hopefully we can play it in church before her time with us is finished.Lastly, I can’t thank the adult choir enough for a year of great music. We were able to present a Christmas mini-cantata again, and are currently working on some really fun gospel pieces. I’m looking for another cantata for next year, either for Christmas or in the spring, and I hope others of you will consider joining us for this special event. Thanks to choir members Sandy Osterman, Jan Kuchar, Jean Kiefer, Sue Iverson, Mary O. Weber, Jill Buchheim, Ginger Pippert, Betty Koenig, Evonne Linde, Veronica Eicher, Steve Eicher, Tom Brennan, Kathy Erstad and Lou Schweppe.Norway Grove has been blessed with talented musicians since I became a member over 25 years ago. We do truly “make a joyful noise to the Lord”.
Elaine Jaeke, Tone Chimes and Chancel Choir Director
A cry room is available if you should need to use during worship services. It is located just off the Fellowship Room, in the back part of the sanctuary – ushers will guide you if needed. Speakers have been installed, so you can listen to the worship service. Toys can be found in the bench storage seats. This room has been designated as “The Living Room”! This room is also used as meeting space for our Adult Forum.
From the April 10th, 2011, CONGREGATIONAL MEETING: In the last few months a lot of effort has gone into assessing the building and maintenance needs of Norway Grove Memorial Lutheran Church. A big thank-you to Jon Meyer, Bud Linde and Tom Nelson for all their help. My report covers three main issues. Short and long term maintenance/repair issues and the need to update our church inventory for insurance purposes. SHORT TERM ISSUES WITH ESTIMATED COSTS1. Flat roof above Cry Room/The Living Room is leading, water damage to ceiling tiles. $3002. Install GFI circuits in Cry Room/The Living Room. Materials and labor will be donated.3. Late last winter, ice fell from the roof and swept the electric meter off its base. Next to the meter are our four air-conditioning units and we have been lucky no ice has damaged these. Nee to build a lean-to to cover all these units. $5004. Repair dry wall next to the first window in the sanctuary, south side of church. $1755. Widen sidewalk by three feet from lower parking lot to church basement to allow vehicles to back up for unloading. There is an emergency exit door as you walk down to the basement that does not have an outside stoop, only small stones. The drop is way below the level required by code. We will install a 3X3 foot cement slab. $600 – cost of cement only.On the south side of the church, to the right of the basement entrance, there are two corners of the building that need brick replacement and tuck point work done. This is caused again by ice damage. An outside contractor estimated repair costs at $3000.Items 1 through 5 are material costs only and we will rely on volunteer labor to complete these projects. Before we start items 1,3 and 6, we will be taking a real close look at the condition of the gutters and eave troughs for this may be the real root of some of our problems.
Our church has six furnaces that were installed in 1994, which allow us to have one heating. One furnace is not working and a second is not functioning properly. Our goal is to get these looked at to make it through another year or so. We do not have estimates yet. In the near future, we will be faced with replacement costs. Our church was built 60 years ago in 1951. We have 17 windows in the older section that various members over the years have scraped, painted, caulked etc. All the sills are rotten, paint no longer sticks to the wood and a lot of the caulk is falling out. Our least expensive replacement cost which includes installation is approximately $3000 per window. Total $51,000. We can get by a year or two but these window definitely need to be replaced.The rough condition of the driveway has been an issue with our church for many years. We have not addressed repair or replacement costs at this time. We have determined that our lower parking lot is not church property and belongs to the Cemetery Association.
Currently the church building is insured for $1.5 million. The contents are insured for $285,000. With the addition of our piano, tone chimes, sound system, etc. our concern is that the $285,000 figure is not enough. We thank Don Staniforth for taking the lead on this project. The contents of the church will be digitally documented and saved.The church council has approved the property committee to start on all short term projects. The council needs congregational approval for over $5000. We currently need a minimum of $4700 to cover the majority of our anticipated costs, but we do not have this amount in the church budget to even begin our needed repairs.
WE NEED YOUR HELP. We have established a church maintenance fund and we ask for you to find it within your hearts to contribute to this fund so we may begin this summer to fix these short term needs. Mark your donations ‘maintenance fund’ on your envelope or check. Thank you for your consideration and may God bless Norway Grove Memorial!
Respectfully submitted, Gary Homuth, Property Committee Chair
Growing Up
“Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith towards God …” Hebrews 6:1Some people give God the same “dollar a week” in the Sunday offering that they gave years ago. Why is that? How does that happen? Perhaps you have heard about the boy who fell out of bed. His mother asked, “What happened, son?” He answered, “I don’t know. I guess I stayed too close to where I got in.”It’s easy to treat our faith in the same way, to stay where we got in and never move. We often see people whose faith seems not to have changed much over the years. We know many who exhibit little or no desire to grow in their faith. Sometimes we may not be motivated to grow in our own faith.Growth is required to live. Look at nature. We must remember Jesus is with us as we grow. For instance, Paul’s letter to young Timothy speaks of the new believer in Christ as being like a baby who needs milk. Later, a more substantial feeding in God’s Word is needed in order to mature—being a disciple calls for maturity.For many disciples leadership in financial matters occurs after substantial growth and maturity. It includes learning to manage one’s money wisely, as well as growing in giving away one’s money and one’s self. However, spiritual maturity is not the same as giving away a lot of money. Money leadership is not about how much money one gives. What is relevant to money leadership is how each of us grows in our giving from year to year.Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there you heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). If you grow in giving, it seems you will grow in faith. Of course, this is not without struggle. Earlier devotions in this series have addressed some of these struggles. Whatever the level of giving, everyone can count on some distractions and temptations. But God tells us the struggle is worth it. It leads to a blessing, not because of something you did, but because of what God does in you.Pick a time from your past, any time. How does your prayer life now compare with your prayer life then? How about your giving? Have both the amount and the joy increased? What about Bible study? Are you learning to learn? Are you enjoying worship more every year? Remember, don’t stay too close to where you got in. It’s risky resting on the edge.Most everyone is familiar with the song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” How does this song comfort you to the point where you are willing to step away from the edge and accept the challenge to grow in faith? Where have you found joy in doing so?Prayer: Lord God, create in me the clean heart for money leadership, and renew a right spirit of generosity within me. Lead me in the paths of righteousness for your name’s sake. Help me to carry everything to God in prayer. Connect my heart with the faith to give that leads to the faith to live. Amen.
Money Leadership devotions are developed by the Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit of the ELCA.
Our 8th grade group decided to brave the audience and put a skit on Saturday night. Ask them about their pet “Centi” sometime. Some of the best time was spent bonding with our groups. We hit the water slides, threw balls in the ball pit, feasted on pizza, spaghetti and pancakes as a group. The Ninga stars kept the boys busy, while the girls preferred hair braiding. My favorite times were the late night chat sessions over pretzels as we discussed our day. Helen and Don Brausen donated matching shirts for all participating kids. Lodging was donated by Jim and Renae Buchheim.