Gathering in Grace • Growing in Faith • Going Forth to Serve
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Come in your car, truck, suv, or go-cart. Watch and participate using the bulletins handed out at the parking lot entrance. Listen to the audio on your FM radio.
Service will be in the west parking lot at
10:00am this Sunday, June 14.
The service will also be live-streamed as usual.
Pastor Ed will be presiding at the outdoor altar.
Rob Reid and the TLC "Sidewalk Musicians" will be performing.
What to know:
- Please arrive early. Parking lot "ushers" will guide you (sans rollerblades, sorry) to a parking space; vehicles will be facing towards the church west entrance.
- Enter parking lot thru the Harrison Avenue entrance.
- Tune your FM radio to: 87.9
- Bring your own juice and bread (crackers work) for Communion. We will not provide Communion.
- Bulletins will be available as you drive in by a gloved and masked usher. If you are not comfortable with this you can download and print your own bulletin from this issue of the TLC Weekly or view it on your media device.
- You are asked to remain in your car for the service or you may sit outside next to your car in a chair you bring, but if you do so please wear a mask and maintain a safe six foot distance from others.
- If you live close enough to walk, bring a lawn chair and sit a safe distance from others and wear a mask. Bring your own juice/wine, bread or crackers.
- IMPORTANT—restrooms will not be available and the office is not open.
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Altar flowers this Sunday are given by John Thomson
in loving memory of Elaine Thomson
from Dave and John.
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Remember... Coffee Hour
after the Sunday Service
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We have been having a fun and meaningful time connecting on Sundays via Zoom immediately following the 10:00am live-stream. Please join us this Sunday here:
https://zoom.us/j/9921615891
If you have not used Zoom before, you will need to download the free app when prompted. Bring a coffee and snack and join the fellowship!
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Live-Stream Viewer Data
Sunday, June 7, 2020
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Estimated viewers: 454+
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227 Media Devices Linked
to TLC Live-Stream
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Media Devices Used
46.9% Computer Desktop/Laptop (Apple & PC)
14.6% Smart TV/YouTube app
24.6% Mobile Phone (iPhone & Android)
13.9% Tablet (Apple & PC)
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Church Opening Update
Despite recent permissions for places of worship to partially re-open, TLC remains closed to all
indoor gatherings
for the immediate future due to the high number of vulnerable members of our community.
Please stay tuned for ongoing updates.
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Church Office Remains Closed
Please remember that the church office remains closed to the public until further notice. Even if there is an event or matter within the church requiring your attendance, for health and safety reasons, we ask that you refrain from "visiting" the church office without prior approval or appointment. In addition, face masks are required to be worn for any activity within the church. Thank you for understanding.
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JUNE 11, 2020 UPDATE
In-Person Gatherings at TLC
At the current time, there are no plans to gather for worship indoors at TLC prior to mid-July. The church office, though active, is closed to in-person visits.
TLC Staff and Council are re-evaluating on a month to month basis taking into consideration the latest recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health for Faith Communities. You may
read the recommendations here
to get a sense of the factors that are being considered.
While in-person gatherings remain on hold.
Active ministry continues
in a wide variety of forms. The church truly is not a building!
Small groups and ministry teams that have met or are meeting during this time include:
- Church Council – Zoom
- Stewardship Team – Outdoors
- Men’s Golf League – Dwan Golf Course (New location)
- TLC Staff – Zoom
- Mission and Outreach Team – Zoom
- Families with Small Children – in driveways and neighborhoods
- RIC Ally Team – Zoom
- Men’s Beer/Bible Group – Zoom
- Stephen Ministry Team – Zoom
- Worship Planning Team – Zoom
- Pastoral Care Team – Zoom
- New - Intern Pastor Grace’s Bible Study – Zoom
- Confirmation Small Groups – Zoom
- Peer Ministers and High Schoolers – Zoom
- Financial Team – Zoom
- K3P3 knitters – Parking Lot
- Library Team – Zoom
- Property Committee - Zoom
- TLC Faith, Fact, and Fiction Book Club - Zoom
- TLC Woodwinds - Google Duo
- TLC Handbells - Zoom
- TLC Chancel Choir - Zoom
- New - TLC Garden Group – Outdoors (Church gardens and landscaping)
- Addiction Awareness Team – Zoom
- Welcoming Diversity Team – Parking Lot
- Dad’s Support Group – Zoom
- Women’s Café Group – Zoom, Text, Parking Lot
- Boundary Waters Planning – Zoom
- Pastoral Visits – Driveways by request
- Drive-In or Walk-In worship – Parking Lot this Sunday!
Please let us know if you are interested in connecting with other TLC’ers in any of the ways listed above, or let us know if you have an idea for safely gathering that we can help you put into action.
Also, if you know of an active group that is not listed above, please let us know and we will add to the list!
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“Today, Phase III of Stay Safe MN goes into effect, permitting in-person worship
with 50% capacity, no more than 250 people, a
nd strict adherence to protocols for disease prevention.
Today, with the support of the Synod Council Executive Committee, I urge you to refrain from indoor, in-person worship until the number of new cases declines to April levels.
As in every season, we live with a deep, God-given need
to be together
, to share the peace of Christ with a handshake or hug, and to gather together around table and font (and coffee pot). I praise God for that yearning. And, I know we will need to grow ever more creative in providing the spiritual encouragement and pastoral care that are needed as we respond to the pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism.
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However, I do not believe we are ready for indoor, in-person worship.
Rather, let us make June 10 the day in which we can say that every one of our 145 congregations has formed a “Pandemic Preparedness Team,” a group of diverse individuals who vigorously commit to study and keep up-to-date with accurate information from medicine and public health; a group that brings wisdom needed to guide us for that time we return to indoor, in-person worship.
I know that several congregations already have such a team in place, and that some congregations have found ways to safely gather for outdoor or drive-in worship. Yet, each congregational context is unique. And our planning will be ongoing. The ELCA has
excellent materials
to guide us.
Our synod staff is now preparing protocols to allow a maximum of 5 staff members to return to the synod office at a future date. Even those protocols are exhausting to compile. Imagine preparing for 250 people, while your leaders are still exhausted from the learning curves of preparing online worship services and building online networks for care and encouragement.
Consistently, we hear that COVID-19 spread is dependent upon three variables:
1. Time spent together
2. Distance between people
3. The unpredictability of the environment
When I think of in-person worship, I am especially mindful of the third variable. The habits of welcome and affection when we gather are almost impossible to resist. This was especially apparent to me while participating in the Clergy March last week.
There is much we are still learning about this virus. I urge you to watch
Living in a COVID-19 World
.
Presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota, it features ELCA member, Michael Osterholm, as well as Neel Kashkari, Sir Jeremy Farrar, Julie Gerberding, Larry Sommers, and others, and is moderated by Tom Brokaw. It addresses not only medical realities but economic issues.
I also urge everyone who participated in a march or mass gathering to protest the killing of George Floyd or in food distribution efforts in affected communities
to get tested this week
(or between 5 and 7 days after your participation). Testing is key to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
We are church together. And, we are doing the work of the church, even while physically distancing. We are worshiping and praying together, serving the neighbor, caring for the sick, and advocating for justice. We continue this vital work – always guided by the centrality of Jesus’ call to love God and neighbor, especially the most vulnerable among us.
Rev. Ann M. Svennungsen
Bishop
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Watch the Live-Stream starting at 9:55am Sunday Morning
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Visit
www.tlcgo.live
or click above at the time of broadcast to watch the
live-stream of the service. Programming starts at approximately 9:55am
Also find us on your Smart TV...
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Update on West Side TLC Garden Project
By Karen Daniels
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The West Side TLC Garden Project, begun in early May, is now complete and the individual garden beds are beginning to take on lives all their own. Lush perennials and colorful annuals are growing nicely and seem to like their new homes with each other. The entry pots have also been planted with a variety of summer annuals.
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This West facing area sees little shade and isn’t protected from harsh heat & humidity, cool & dryness, and wind & rain. As a result, some trial and error decisions about the correct plantings, especially concerning annuals, have been challenging. To help protect against temperature changes, conserve moisture, and control weeds, it was decided to add mulch to the beds. Many thanks to Jane Voss and Brenda Salem for completing this most recent part of the project as they, single-handedly. hauled and placed the mulch in all the garden areas. These women are amazing!
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Thanks to Luke McGuire for his expert help in adjusting, repairing, and setting the church TLC sprinklers to ensure proper watering. Diligent care and tending of the garden areas is being done by Sandy Stookes, Grethe Petersen, Mary Mahre, and one of TLC’s Music Couples.
Those who have worked on this project acknowledge that the gratification far outweighs the hard physical work needed to bring beauty and life to the TLC Garden Areas. As all gardeners know, “Gardens require lots of patience and hard work. They only thrive through much caring and time. And … if something doesn’t work, we dig it out and find a replacement.” (Anonymous TLC Member)
We hope the newly planted areas will continue to be a sign that TLC is here for everyone … providing hope and promise for whatever lies ahead.
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I know you've been watching at least some of the troubled times we are having... Burning, looting, over-zealous policing, and then finally the funeral of George Floyd in Minneapolis on June 4. If you missed all the fine singing, speakers telling of his life, messages from his high school days and telling of the love he was given as a good athlete, and his family right at the end of the long service, all crying together and hugging each other, it was hard to watch at times, so after almost three hours when the family left for the cemetery in Houston, we turned off the TV.
I did not see a single black person as a youngster growing up in our little
Scandinavian (mostly) town of Milaca, MN. When I graduated 70 years ago now, I went to “the cities” and found a summer job as a nanny for a family in south Minneapolis. They had a piano and were so kind to let me practice and take lessons at McPhail School of Music. Riding the streetcar into downtown was fun, and it was a whole new chapter in a rather boring teenage life.
This family had a nice lady who did their cleaning and ironing one day a week,
and so finally I met Ossie May Young. She really knew how to work efficiently and quite different from what I'd learned as a kid. I was used to seeing someone ironing with fast motions, going over and over the same place, and taking far too much time. Ossie May would stand there, patiently going slowly, and not getting tired from hurrying. The the pile of starched ironing would shrink, she could go on and do something else, and obviously knew what she was doing.
Not too many years ago now, I spotted Ossie May Young's obituary with a picture, and telling of the fine life she had led and all she had done for others. It brought back some fond memories.
So, as we digest the problems and discuss what in the world would be the best we
could do right now to keep the peaceful and well-meaning thoughts of so many of us continuing until everyone receives the same opportunities... the only fair thing that would make a difference. Remember the words from the Bible that say, “Seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.” Nice words, but how do we manage to do them well? Let's remember what those who are being installed in church work always say at the end: I will, and I ask God to help me.” Simple, and it works!
-Bloomington Bird Lady
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JOURNEY TOGETHER
No VBS - Now What?
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Dear Families,
This year, there will be no Vacation Bible school because of the pandemic. This Journey Together is offered as a way for families and extended families to have fun and learn together. You can choose one or more activities from each session. There are 12 different sessions (one for each week of summer—or however you choose to use them)
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Excerpt: Minneapolis StarTribune - June 5, 2020
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
FOR US?
-a continuing series-
By Pastor Al Dungan
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This was the banner headline on the front page of the June 5, 2020 edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
After seeing crowds of demonstrators in Minneapolis and St. Paul, in our country and around the world showing up day after day, night after night, I have come to the conclusion that the murder of George Floyd has that potential as does the COVID-19 pandemic.
As I mentioned in the devotional I wrote for members of the TLC community this past week, as an 83 year old retired Lutheran minister, I found myself at a loss as to how I might become engaged in all of this.
This has troubled my soul for much longer than either the appearance of the virus or the current demonstrations, but they have, finally, brought it to a head in my life.
When I’m wrestling with a problem, God usually gives me time to begin to working through such times in my life. This one was no different. As then often happens, God wakes me up at 3:00 a.m. and the ideas begin to flood into my consciousness. And, I’m not allowed to go back to sleep until I have formulated a basic outline of how I’m going to address the issue I’ve been struggling with.
So, dear friends in Christ, I will begin sharing with you where I am in all of this and how I intend to address this.
First, I have become painfully aware that it will be impossible to try to go back to where we were as the church before the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.
My father said to me many times, “God uses evil for good purposes.” I believe he was right to say this.
Initially, I could see nothing good coming from either the physical pandemic or the spiritual pandemic generated by Mr. Floyd’s murder.
But now I have.
If you want to know more, tune in the following weeks.
No more today as I’ve written more than my allowed 300 words. :-)
[Editor’s note: There is a suggested limit of 400 words, so Pastor Al is due a lay-away credit of nearly 1,000 extra words in a future article. Look out!)
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THANK YOU!
Since TLC's worship services have gone exclusively online, many of you have signed-up for online giving. . Besides being a great convenience for you, it supports and regulates the church budget.
If you have moved to online giving and normally receive envelopes, please let the church know so we can stop forwarding envelopes.
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Committees
and
Small Groups
During this time of social distancing ministry is still happening and we want to hear from you! Let's share your stories with the community of TLC. Are y'all meeting? How have you adapted your meetings to keep everyone safe? What projects are you working on? Send a brief description and some photos to
tlcmedia@tlcmn.com
and we will share your committee's news on The Weekly.
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5 Keys to Retiring Fearlessly
Tuesday, June 23, 12 noon
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Building Your Retirement Foundation
Sunday, June 28, 2 pm
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5 Keys to Retiring Fearlessly-
You are invited to attend this 40 minute seminar on retirement preparation.
Discover five ways to unlock a retirement with confidence in your ability to achieve your goals.
To join the workshop, simply go to
www.zoom.us/join
and enter the code
819 251 7181
and password
393992.
Thrivent Financial Professional, Durk Peterson, will lead the workshop. If you have any questions about zoom access or the workshop, please call him at 612-702-5509 or
Durk.Peterson@thrivent.com
. No products will be sold.
Building Your Retirement Foundation-
Wondering how much you should save and what type of accounts you should have? Be confident in how you’re saving for retirement by learning how to build a strong, adaptable financial strategy.
Join this workshop, simply go to
www.zoom.us/join
and enter the code
819 251 7181
and password
393992.
Thrivent Financial Professional, Durk Peterson, will lead the workshop. If you have any questions about zoom access or the workshop, please call him at 612-702-5509 or
Durk.Peterson@thrivent.com
. No products will be sold.
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Do you ever need an extra prayer for yourself, a loved one, or a dear friend? TLC has a prayer team that prays often for members, their families and friends of the congregation. Send your prayer requests to
merickson@tlcmn.com
or on the
TLC website here.
Your prayer needs are sent on to the Prayer Team and kept confidential – just between you, the pray-ers, and God. If you would like to be a member of the prayer team, please sign up on the yellow Life@TLC bulletin insert.
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Seafood Supreme
By Mrs. James Anderson
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What You'll Need:
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 med. sized onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 can crab meat
- 2 cans shrimp
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1&1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
Directions:
Mix and bake in 1&1/2 quart baking dish.
Cover with buttered bread crumbs.
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.
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Congratulations to Bloomington Meals on Wheels for 50 years of service to the community!
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1968-1969: The Seed of Volunteerism is Planted
Volunteer home delivery of hot meals began on a small scale in Hennepin County when two Bloomington churches, Oak Grove Presbyterian and St. Luke’s Lutheran, provided meals prepared in a local restaurant. Soon, St. Stephen’s Lutheran and St. Edward’s Catholic churches joined in a task force which laid the groundwork for a structured home-delivered meals program. Their work led directly to the creation of the Bloomington Meals on Wheels program and the seed was planted for community-based, non-profit, volunteer MOW programs throughout the metro area.
1970-1971: The Seedling Takes Root and Meals on Wheels Emerges
The first formal Meals on Wheels program structured as the all-volunteer, community based effort we know today began March 19, 1970 when the Bloomington Meals on Wheels program started delivering meals two days a week to seven clients. Transfiguration started supporting MOW with volunteers and funding in 1971. We can be proud of TLC’s contributions of drivers and funding over the years. What a great legacy!
If interested in becoming a volunteer driver, contact:
Ingrid Swanson 952-944-5696
Nancy Dahlof 952-831-1961
Jo Benson 952-884–9881
Learn more: Phone: 952-835-1665
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Resumes Wednesday nights with Pastor Grace.
Continues each week at 7:00pm
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Join Intern Pastor Grace as she re-Zooms Wednesday night Bible Study. Bring your own bibles and let's learn about the interesting and often overlooked characters in our book of faith.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 960 1654 7916
Password: 891335
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Back Issues of the TLC Weekly
including this issue (Today!)
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[CLICK HERE]
to visit the TLC web page where you can choose to read from the past 16 months of weekly E-newsletters from Transfiguration Lutheran Church. This is also a great way to share TLC Weekly with those that don't receive it in email. Tell them to visit
tlcmn.com/tlcweekly
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ELECTRONIC GIVING HELPS SUPPORT TLC
It’s important to know that we can depend on financial support from TLC members. Electronic giving is fast, secure, and reduces administrative costs, allowing more of every dollar to support the important work we are called to do. You can give anytime, anywhere to specific funds with our GivePlus Mobile app (free from the app store). You can also schedule and manage recurring donations by visiting our website and clicking on TLC ONLINE GIVING icon at the bottom of any page, or
[Click Here] to start the process, or contact the church office.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
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Please help?
The Coronavirus has clearly upset life in Minnesota and around the world. As you know, even TLC is feeling the impact. Our church services and meetings are all on hold for now and only staff is left in the building, but our mission continues. Without the ability to gather for worship, we have no offering baskets being circulated to collect weekly offerings. In the mean time, bills still have to be paid and we need the continued financial support of our members.
If you normally submit your offering in the offering baskets during service, we ask you to mail your offering to TLC at your normal interval while services are suspended.
If you haven’t done so already, please consider signing up for automated giving through the Online Giving link at the top of every page on our website
www.tlcmn.com
.
Or click here to begin your donation.
This easy to set up program allows you to schedule your offering payments at an interval convenient for you so your support is given whether you can make it to service or not - and whether we are able to hold services or not!
We realize that some of you may have suffered loss of your job or income during his crisis and are unable to fulfill our offering pledge at this time. If this is the case with you, please let us know and we will keep your in our prayers.
Like other crisis’ before it, the Corona virus will eventually pass and our lives will return to near normal. It’s times like these that can really test our faith. Take care of each other and yourself. We will get through this together. And, please don’t forget to support TLC in the mean time.
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Free Subscriptions, sign up to be a volunteer, request care ministry and more!
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Subscribe a friend to this newsletter, TLC Weekly, or subscribe yourself and others to the TLC publication, Transcripts. Interested in TLC membership? Sunday school? Our renowned TLC music program, volunteering and more are choices on this easy online TLC Request Form. Just
[Click Here]
or the "Sign Me Up" button on the left.
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A Reconciling in Christ Congregation
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A Culture of Diversity and Inclusion
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