 |
|
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
|
"Remembering We Are Dust"
Dear Members & Friends of Our Savior's Lutheran Church,
During the committal service at gravesides we hear the words, "In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to almighty God our sister/brother, __________, and we commit her/his body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
Most of us at these times naturally reflect on our own mortality as we consider all that it means to lay to rest our loved ones. A friend with a terminal diagnosis recently said to me, "We all know we are going to die, but now I KNOW I am going to die." This is a sudden and stark reality that causes much reflection on living and dying.
Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. Ash Wednesday is our annual reminder of the stark reality of sin and death that invites us too, to reflect on our own daily living and ultimate dying. We have two opportunities for you to come to worship (11:30 am or 7:00 pm) and reflect on your own mortality. Yes, we all know we are going to die, but Ash Wednesday reminds us that we ARE going to die. Ash Wednesday reminds us from where we came (dust) and to where we will end up (dust). This life of ours as we know it is temporary. We are earthen vessels, clay pots, fragile in nature yet strong in spirit. It is important to be reminded of this reality every Ash Wednesday with the bold, black mark of the cross on our foreheads for all to see. It's important so that we can trust even more fully in the other reality that we are reminded of at every graveside service - the first part of the committal, "In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of a forty-day journey through our own wilderness of life and death and joy and sorrow. We call this annual pilgrimage, Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday by reminding us of our own mortality and it ends on Easter Sunday by reminding us of the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lenten blessings on your journey,
Pastor Dale
|
WORSHIP & FAITH FORMATION SCHEDULE
Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018
11:30 am Worship in sanctuary followed by lunch
5:30 - 6:30 pm Soup Supper
7:00 pm Worship in the CLC
Special Music: Kingdom Choir
Confirmation Mentors & Students meet
8:00 pm Kingdom Choir
Sunday, February 18, 2018
8:00 am Worship in the Sanctuary
Special Music: Liturgical Singers
9:15 am Adult Education
10:30 am Worship in the CLC
7:30 pm AA
Click HERE to sign-up and volunteer
during a Sunday Worship Service!
|
|
|
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED DURING LENT
Lenten Soup Suppers
People with servant hearts are needed to assist with our Lenten evening meals beginning Wednesday, February 14. Please sign-up on the poster in the Gathering Area or NOW online if you can bring a crock pot of
soup, dessert or if you are willing to help clean up.
Lenten Worship Volunteers
Ushers and communion servers are needed during our evening mid-week services during Lent from February 14 (Ash Wed.) - March 30 (Good Friday). Please sign-up NOW online or let the church office know if you are able to help. Thank you!
|
|
Children, Youth & Family Ministry
|
|
First Communion Retreat
At Our Savior's, we have empowered parents to decide when their child is ready to receive instruction to receive Holy Communion.
Who:
1st - 6th graders and a parent / guardian
Date:
Monday, March 26 from 6-8 pm (eat before you come)
What to bring:
Your Bible
Sibling childcare will be available.
|
Faith Formation Reminders
|
Baby It's Cold Outside -- Blanket Drive!
Warm up from the inside out by donating your gently used or new blankets! Drop off your blankets between February 11-February 25 at OSLC and help a person in need stay warm this winter. Blankets will be delivered to Bridging, an organization helping people transition from homelessness. Bridging provides a blanket to over 240 individuals each week. They are expressing an immediate need for blankets! Any size is accepted including throw blankets. Please make sure blankets are clean and not damaged. Questions? Please contact
Catherine Solheim or Stacy Meyer, Parish Nurse.
|
Join the Orchestra for Easter!
Calling all experienced woodwind, brass and string players to join us in enhancing Easter worship at the 8:00 and 9:15 am services. We will begin rehearsing March 11. Please let Michael know if you are interested by February 28. If you play an instrument, why not play for God's glory?
|
Gratitude Containers
The women of Our Savior's Lutheran Church invite our church family members to share with others as we remember our own blessings and express gratitude when collecting coins throughout the year. For the next few Sundays will have some re-purposed and decorated cans available that you can take home for your collections. Or, use a special container that you have at home to collect that loose change. In November we will ask that you return your contributions to the church so that we can share with others in need. We thank you for your past donations and are grateful for your continued support of this annual opportunity. Last year's offerings of $739.67 were shared with Lutheran Disaster Relief to help others who have experienced significant losses from the many natural disasters that were experienced last year.
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever." - Psalm 136:1
|
Relay for Life Team!
PICTURE a warm, June night, star filled sky, cold beverage, chatting with old friends and making some new friends and raising money for a fabulous charity - all a part of being a member of a Relay for Life Team. Sandy Roslin is looking for members to be a part of her 'Pirates of the Cure-ibbean' Relay for Life Team. Be a team member, sponsor a team member, purchase raffle tickets or luminaries; there are many ways you can contribute. More information to come or you can talk to Sandy Roslin or Sue Ortman for further details.
|
Help Feed a Family!
During the month of March, Valley Outreach sponsors the "Help Feed a Family" drive. This is the biggest, community-driven food and fund drive of the year for Valley Outreach. You can help by donating non-perishable food items or cash. Cash donations allow Valley Outreach to purchase more food from the local food banks than we can purchase at the grocery store. Look for drop off locations at OSLC beginning March 1st.
|
Girls Time Out!
Thank you to all who joined the fun of our first painting event during the January Girls Time Out. Many photos captured the fun we had that evening, and are posted on the Women's Bulletin Board in the hallway off the office.
|
Request for Prayers and Support
Everyday joys and sorrows...Once in a lifetime joys and sorrows. Your brothers and sisters at Our Savior's want to support you. Email or call our
Pastor Dale Stiles or Parish Nurse,
Stacy Meyer, with any of your needs.
|
|
Ecumen Update
Members of the Ecumen Task Force, Pastor Dale, and President Ray Valley had a conference call with Anne Stanefield and Julie Murray at Ecumen on Thursday, February 1, 2018 to discuss the status of the closing date for the OSLC land sale and timing of ground breaking for the project. Ecumen reaffirmed it's intentions to close on schedule on March 31st of this year. However, ground breaking will not occur this spring as originally intended. Ecumen shared that they are currently engaged in a full project review and a reevaluation of the market in light of the current building project by the Goodman Group who is building senior living just west of OSLC by Rutherford Elementary. Further, Ecumen is evaluating whether codes and licensing will impact the project due to new Governor initiatives. Although Ecumen was not able to share many more details about groundbreaking timelines, they reaffirmed their commitment to the project. We agreed to convene again in a month to get another update. If you have any questions, please contact
Joel Frost, T
reasurer,
Ray Valley, President, or
Pastor Dale Stiles.
|
Simply Giving
A more convenient way to give! In a few short minutes, you can make a one-time gift or set up a donation that will process automatically on a recurring basis. Recurring donations are convenient and provide our church with much needed consistent support throughout the year.
To give online, visit our church's website and get set up!
|
Stewardship is about love:
serving others through our time, talent, and treasure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
