Outdoor Worship
(Livestream Available)
Sunday 9:30 a.m.
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Pastor Reggie
Preaching This Sunday
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"Washing the Unclean"
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
We are excited to see you in person!
If you plan to attend Outdoor Worship, please read our guidelines and register here by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 12. More information can be found on our website under the Events tab.
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Log onto our YouTube channel at 12:05 p.m. today for a brief devotional by Gretchen! We will be offering this devotional every Thursday through the month of August. If you have any questions, contact Pastor Reggie or Pastor Laura!
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Masks For Music Ministry Fundraiser |
We are selling homemade cloth masks to raise funds to purchase outdoor sound equipment to help improve our sound quality during worship services.
Need a new mask during this pandemic time? Try one of ours, carefully made by our Faith Knotters! Each mask has an elastic band so there are no strings to tie. There are sizes for adults and children with some of your favorite colors and patterns - see examples below! Purchase one for everyone in your family to help support a good cause. Please click here to fill out the order form.
Masks will be available for pick up on Sunday, August 16 during outdoor worship. The cost of each mask is $5.00. For more information about this fundraiser please contact Pastor Reggie. Thank you for your support.
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Plant and Flower Transplant Project: Postponed |
It has come to our attention that the rain run off near the back patio garden needs to be diverted away from the base of the building. After some investigation and carefully planning, we are moving forward with the installation of two French drains in the patio garden.
We are in the process of obtaining bids for this project, and will update the congregation when we have more information.
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Offering and Electronic Giving |
Please consider continuing your weekly offering during these times when we are not gathering, as our congregation will still have our regular financial obligations. Thank you for considering one of the following ways:
- Mailing your offering to our address at 1141 Cardinal Street Chaska, MN 55318.
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Getting signed up for Simply Giving, an automated giving option, by filling out this form and sending it to our Director of Finance, Ashley Pederson.
- Trying “Text to Give” by sending a text to our secure account at 833-497-3991.
Please scan our QR code to be taken to our giving page or click here to learn more. Thank you.
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SPARK Sunday School and Connect: Moving Forward |
We at Crown of Glory are beyond grateful for all that Gretchen Pierskalla offered the children and youth of this congregation during her time as Director of Children’s Ministries. We wish her all the best as she takes this next step in her journey of becoming an ordained pastor in the ELCA!
As we move forward into the Fall, we will be entering into a time of discernment for calling someone new to fill the position of Director of Children’s Ministry. At this time, we do not have a specific date for when this position will be filled. Families will be contacted in the future about participating in a round table discussion about this position and what the needs are for the children and youth of Crown of Glory. Be sure to watch for more information about this in the future!
In this interim time, Pastor Reggie will be leading Connect and Pastor Laura will be leading SPARK. All lessons for SPARK, Connect, and Confirmation will be done virtually for the foreseeable future, with additional learning elements included as is needed (take-home bags for SPARK lessons, service projects for Connect and Confirmation, etc.). More information regarding these details will be communicated soon!
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Growing in Faith Together |
In Matthew 15:10-28, we see another example of the parables coming to life in the narratives of those who follow Jesus. It begins with a discussion of what activities make one defiled or unclean. The Pharisees take offense that their diligence for purity from sin in all they do does not seem to make a difference with Jesus. They want their actions to measure up and make them noticed and favored by God and before others. Here, the Pharisees are as “weeds among the wheat” and Jesus leaves them to grow in the field of the Beloved Community instead of treating them with Round-up.
Here we see Jesus begin to unwind categories of “unclean” and “sinful” that were given in the ancient law as separate categories but which had been merged and distorted in what is considered common knowledge and practice. Clean or unclean is one category, sinful and righteous is another. This blending is a confusion of categories which taints the worldview and hearts of the Pharisees and the disciples.
The Canaanite woman is perceived as other, an “outsider” therefore unclean and sinner. In this shared distortion, the expectation is that the woman and her daughter are outside of the realm of God’s mercy and care. We know and share this implicit bias because it offends us and we feel uncomfortable hearing Jesus speak the harsh words to the Canaanite woman! As readers of this text we find ourselves uncomfortably on the page! We have not so evolved from the early followers of Jesus by knowing of his resurrection and so many years of “progress”. We are pierced by discomfort as the Pharisees were. Stay with me, and take heart there is good news to be found in this discomfort!
By faith, we too, like this “outsider” know Jesus better then the followers on the page. We know Jesus to be God’s agent of mercy, forgiveness, help, and healing for all people in the whole world; yet, we would keep it for ourselves, locked in Christendom and withhold it from those we consider outside the Beloved Community. She demonstrates faith in Jesus and a knowledge of who he is for her that the disciples for all their closeness to Jesus have not yet grasped.
It is a sacramental moment for this mercy contains the means of grace which is the gift of God. Jesus agrees, even the dogs, the ones who are given no regard or status by everyone else seated at the Lord’s table are also within the household of God, and are included as known, housed, cared for, and fed by God. She receives mercy for her daughter and for herself.
This is the grace and mercy For you. For me. For no matter who has told you that you are sinful and unclean therefore outside of God’s mercy and love is as wrong as the Pharisees. No matter who you try to vote off the island of all that is good, Jesus sees and cares for, much to your own discomfort. Jesus gives mercy to forgive sinners and wash the unclean! Discard your discomfort and be clothed by the gospel’s good news. Hear and receive the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism in the feeding and washing and inclusion in the images and action of this text! Receive this merciful grace into your bodies and digest it! Let God’s inclusive mercy marinate your membranes and become part of you! Then go out into your life to follow Jesus in giving mercy to others in all walks of life. This is how the Beloved Community grows into the mustard field that provides shelter for all, and is the little bit of yeast that give rise to the whole and feeds the world. Thanks be to God! And P.S. Thank you for your powerful listening!
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Do you know a 4th or 5th grader?
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It is time to register for Connect! Connect is a pre-confirmation class for 4th and 5th graders. Each week we explore scripture stories and make connections to our daily life around themes that relate to kid’s experiences. We are planning for online learning and onsite in-person learning when possible.
This year’s lessons focus on the Old Testament and we begin with Genesis! We will also explore ways to incorporate service learning and large group social elements with our on line learning and will gather in person when possible, anticipating this will be a year of hybrid learning.
Connect Bibles will be ordered for children new to this program, so they will have their own text to use for Connect and Confirmation studies. Sign up here. Please email Pastor Reggie for more details.
Seeking Guides for Connect!
Connect meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-6:45 p.m. Guides will help facilitate small group discussion by sharing highs and lows, prayer, reading scripture together and discussing how it connects to your life, and end class with a closing prayer and blessing. Guides will facilitate groups online and onsite when possible.
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SPARK lesson: The Canaanite Woman’s Faith in Jesus and the Mercy of God. Kids have experienced what it’s like to be left out. People are good at drawing lines between who is acceptable and who is not. In this story it seems even Jesus has trouble seeing beyond his own people. This story shows that those boundaries and dividing lines can be erased by relationships of mutual recognition, and are indeed eliminated by mercy.
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Hi Nursery Buddies and Parents!
Last week we started our challenge of memorizing Isaiah 43:5. Let's keep going! Here's some games that can help you:
- Word Wipe Out: Write the verse on a chalk board or dry erase board. Say it together. Erase one word. Say it again. Keep going until the whole verse is erased.
- Verse Shuffle (This is a great one for giving an example of how to do it, and then letting kids continue to figure it out on their own.): Write the verse or passage on index cards (or pieces of paper) - one word per card. Shuffle the cards. Take turns putting the verse together in order.
- One-Minute Pit Stop (A helpful activity for auditory learners.): Gather the kids for a speedy pit stop to refuel with God's Word. Using a timer, each child gets one minute to practice their memory verse out loud while the others listen.
Here is the verse again: "Do not be afraid for I am with you." Isaiah 43:5.
Jenni Payne
Nursery Coordinator
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Building Use:
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In response to the Governor’s “Stay Safe MN” order, Crown of Glory is extending the closure of our church building, and all in-person worship and ministries until further notice. Our reopening plan can be found here. Thank you for your support during these times.
- DS West Driving School instructors and students have resumed using the church parking lot for behind the wheel instruction.
COVID-19 Update: Mask Mandate
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Please click here to read our response to Executive Order 20-81.
Sustaining Fund Summary - Year through July 31, 2020:
- Expenses: $433,419
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Revenue: $427,460
- Balance: (-$5,959)
Fare For All:
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The next FFA is on October 1st. Please email Kanitta Rentfrow, FFA volunteer coordinator, if you are able to volunteer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FFA is encouraging those at risk to refrain from volunteering at this time. Thank you.
Carver County Resources:
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COVID-19 Website: www.co.carver.mn.us/covid-19
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@CarverCounty) for daily updates
- Need Help Coping? Call First Street Center at (952) 442-4437
- County’s Community Resource Response - Link to resources such as employment, business support, child care, transportation, food access, domestic violence, housing, mental health and more:
Pastors:
- Pastors will be available by phone in case of an emergency or for any other pastoral care needs. To reach one of our pastors directly please call the church office at 952-448-3230 and select the appropriate extension. The office phone system will forward the call directly to the pastor’s personal cell phone every time you call.
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August 2, 2020
9:30 a.m.: 56 Views
Next Day: 88 Total Views
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Prayer Requests
Please E-mail
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"Where Family and Friends
Grow Together in Faith"
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