In This Issue
- Message from Pastor Jim
- Easter Plants
- Lenten Contribution
- Community Prayers and Links
- Young @ Heart?
This Week's Scripture Links:
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Dear Friends,
I am honored to be your spiritual leader at this moment. I can't think of anyone I'd rather be serving than you as we face such uncertainty. These are trying times but not unprecedented (see Luther below). We are going through a very fluid time and will keep you updated frequently. God is still in control and is with us! We will come through this time stronger than ever.
We will not be gathering in one single place to worship for the foreseeable future. We are cancelling all church activities until further notice. The cool thing is we will discover other ways to be Church. Thank God for technology!
We plan to offer weekly Sunday worship online using the service called GoToMeeting.
You will need to download the app to your PC, Phone or Tablet- when you click on the link below you will be asked to download the app. Please do this ahead of time!
You can avoid that by calling in the phone number provided for audio only but you will miss out on video and chat. If you check in early, and see or hear nothing, please wait for us to go live. Chat will allow you to offer prayer requests to me. In addition to a live worship experience, we will record it and send you a link so you can view the recorded service.
March 22 Worship:
Sun, Mar 22, 2020 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM (CDT)
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
You can also dial in using your phone.
Access Code:
754-698-085
New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
I should be able to use Facebook Live in conjunction with GoToMeeting, but for some reason at this writing, I am not able to make it happen. I continue to work on that option for those who prefer Facebook.
Online worship will be abbreviated. We will have music to lift our souls. I thank Nicole for digging this out with us! We will offer drive-thru communion if you desire, 10:30 Sundays in the church parking lot on the second and fourth Sundays of the month beginning this Sunday- starting this Sunday. Do so at your own risk.
This time is a great opportunity for us financially.
We have the need to move more to online giving. I see this as an opportunity. We will offer a time within worship for you to make an offering through our website- a link will be provided in the chat area.
You can make an offering at any time simply by going to our website.
After clicking on the link provide in chat, you will see options to make a one-time or recurring gift. Needless to say, this will be a critical time for Rejoice Lutheran Church's finances. Some will have to reduce giving during this down time. Undoubtedly, there will be some whose income is affected by this social distancing, so if that includes you,
please do not feel any guilt if you cannot afford a gift
. God doesn't expect anyone to give more than they can afford. For those in position, please consider increasing your gifts; using your mandatory minimum IRA distribution; gifts of stocks, bonds, and other; and gifts in kind. Any questions, we will help you and set up your giving options.
I want to thank those who have contacted our 60+ participants to check in. If you know of anyone in need, please let me know, 715.441.8122. We have many waiting to help.
I'm looking forward to providing fellowship time via GoToMeeting, as well as, Bible study. We hunger for connection and spiritual food. Stay tuned for details.
In about eight weeks, we will also have an app for Rejoice that will make giving even more convenient and fast and connecting with one another simpler. Communication will be streamlined.
We have offered to be a public center for feeding our communities and school children. With our commercial kitchen, we have the means. As soon as we hear from our public officials on how we can help, we will mobilize.
As a believer in history's impact on the future, I offer the following excerpt from Churchwide Bishop Elizabeth Eaton on Martin Luther weighing in on pandemics:
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n 1527 the plague returned to Wittenberg, Germany. Two hundred years earlier the plague had swept across Europe killing up to 40% of the population. Understandably, people were anxious and wondered what a safe and faithful response might be. In answer to this, Martin Luther wrote "Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague." In it, he emphasized the duty to care for the neighbor, the responsibility of government to protect and provide services to its citizens, a caution about recklessness, and the importance of science, medicine and common sense.
To provide care for the neighbor, Luther recommended that pastors, those in public office, doctors and public servants should remain in the city. Luther himself remained in Wittenberg to care for his people. He recommended that public hospitals be built to accommodate those with the plague. He condemned those who took unnecessary risks that put themselves and others in danger of contagion. Luther also encouraged the use of reason and medicine, writing, "God has created medicines and has provided us with intelligence to guard and take care of the body. … Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence" ("Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague," 1527).
I remain steadfast in faith and readiness to respond to pastoral needs. I will isolate myself, as much as possible, to be available for emergencies. May you find peace in knowing what Psalm 46 says, to be still and know that God is our God. Though the earth should shake, we will not be moved because God is our God.
In peace,
Pastor Jim
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Pretty Plants
Let’s beautify our church sanctuary this Easter by purchasing potted flowering plants and potted bulb gardens in memory and/or in honor of loved ones. The plants and bulb gardens will be from Southway Greenhouse & Floral in St Cloud.
There will be 4 varieties of potted flowering plants in assorted colors:
- Daisy Mums
- Cyclamen
- Kalanchoe
- Begonias
- Bulb garden - variety of bulbs
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Lenten Contributions
“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” Acts 2: 44-47
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Uncertain Times
As we deal with health issues and recommended community guidelines for the coronavirus pandemic, we are unable to predict what will happen with the April Young @ Heart meeting. Check the website for updates at
reoicelutheranchurch.org
or call our coordinator, Karolyn Boucher at 320.293.2242.
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f you have a loved one or friend in need of prayer, fill out a
prayer request
or use one of the prayer concern requests located on the Interest table and in the sanctuary welcome pads. The star(*) in front of a name denotes a Rejoice member. This is a dynamic list. Requests will be printed for up to four weeks; call the church office at 320.558.6851 to extend listing. If a name of a friend or loved one has been omitted please resubmit the name and/or concern using one of the prayer concern forms found in the red Welcome Pads in the worship area.
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Receiving Treatment for Cancer:
Judy Evans (friend, Betty Loehr)
Nancy Hilla (friend, Bill & Rhoda Senkler)
Judy Schill (mother, Chris Schill)
Terri (mother, Jill Charboneau)
Kari Hilden (friend, Lori Lanes)
Christy Dorris (great-niece, Duane & Darlene Johnson)
Rev. Scott Gustafson (cousin, Linnea Lindquist)
Marlene Anderson-Woods (friend, Linda Agre)
*Pete Lidberg
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Others:
Rick Willumsen (brother-in-law, Sue Severson)
Brian (nephew, Scott & Doris Scharmer)
Lee Fredrickson (mother, Todd Brzinski)
Ryan, son of Layne & Julie (friend, Lori Lanes)
Marge Holmgren (sister-in-law, Lynn & Ron Schneider)
Linda O’Dell-Cowles (family friend, Leigh Holman)
Carmen Schmoll (friend, Wally Westerberg & Mary Bergeron)
Kent Petersen (brother, Rhoda Senkler)
Justine Honor Pridgeon (granddaughter, Lisa & Ryan Pridgeon)
MJ Havlicek (friend, Lori Lanes)
Don Miller (friend, Karolyn Boucher)
*Martha Johnson
Karen Kroska (friend, Ray & Mary Wilson)
Elsa Petersen (mother, Rhoda Senkler)
Rachel Randall (sister, Duane Johnson)
Connie Nelson (sister-in-law, Gladys Steiger)
Nancy Nicoloff (friend, Lori Lanes)
Lester Dupont (father, Linda Painter)
*Dick Swanson
Sandy Swanson (daughter-in-law, Dick Swanson)
Ron Dettman (friend, Linda Agre)
Marlene Vogel (mother, Joni Hagstrom)
Michael Johnson, (son, Charlie & Edie Johnson)
Ron Wolfbauer (nephew, Carolyn & Ron Stensby)
Walker James Vreeland (grandson, David & Cindy Kirchoff)
Baby Henry Opatz (friend, Tina Bunting)
Tom Ahrenholz (brother, Mark Ahrenholz)
*Jerry Jagadzinski
*Bev Hugo
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Deployed or Returning from Active Duty:
Pastor Daryl Thul (Pastor at South Santiago Lutheran Church) and members of the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade
Justin Neisen (nephew, Lisa Pridgeon)
Jon Fisher (brother, Joe Fisher)
Tyler Sunder (son of Karie Monk-Gohman's co-worker)
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