Gathering in Grace • Growing in Faith • Going Forth to Serve
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Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2020
Worship at 10:00am ~ Live-Stream Only
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THIS SUNDAY:
In years past, our 9th grade youth would have been celebrating their Rite of Confirmation this Sunday. But, due to current restrictions and safe health issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, Confirmation Sunday will be celebrated this fall. Is there any good news?? You bet, because this Sunday's service will feature several 9th grade youth taking part in the Liturgy. From a trumpet prelude by Carter Andrews, to God Moments by Stephen Nushann and Arielle Swanson; the Psalmody read by Kevin Krenik, and the Apostles' Creed/Prayers of the People spoken by Andrew English.
But wait, there's more!
Pastor Arthur is sporting a new look (shazam). Tune-in to the live-stream to find out what it could be. Or look further into this TLC Weekly for a clue. He's also hosting the Children's message that features the Murray family, including their dog. Arthur wants to remind everyone wishing to participate in communion during the live-stream to bring bread and some wine or juice to your viewing area.
Evan Collins will preach from the pulpit with a message that travels from John 10 to the Sith of Star Wars. Evan also tickles the ivories in the sanctuary with hymn accompaniments, as does resident organist/pianist, Carmen Englert, from her home piano room.
Additional hymns and songs are a pleasure to listen to and participate in as they are performed by Jake Pernsteiner and Solveig Orngard.
This isn't a rerun, folks. It's all new just for you! The live-stream for church starts at 9:55am this Sunday. And if you want, you can wear your pajamas. God is okay with that.
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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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Sunday Coffee Hour
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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All TLC
in-person
worship services, programming and activities
remain suspended
until further notice.
The TLC
office is closed
until further notice. Staff are working from home, monitoring emails & voice-mails. In addition, they are in the church office sporadically throughout the week accomplishing on-premise tasks. If you call the church office the auto-attendant will provide instructions on how to reach staff.
For pastoral care concerns, the pastors are readily available by phone, email and social media. We love hearing from you! Please don't hesitate to be in touch!
TLC office phone:
952-884-2364
Main Emails:
Office@tlcmn.com
Pastors@tlcmn.com
Council@tlcmn.com
Pastor Arthur: amurray@tlcmn.com
Pastor Ed: pastored@tlcmn.com
Pastor Grace: gpardunalworth@tlcmn.com
Deacon Renee Jefferson: rjefferson@tlcmn.com
Rob Reid: rreid@tlcmn.com
Marilyn Erickson: merickson@tlcmn.com
Michelle Reber: mreber@tlcmn.com
Other Connection Opportunities
Contact Marilyn
to help call or to receive a call as part of our phone chain ministry: merickson@tlcmn.com
Contact Erin
to find out about the mom’s online support group: epommeranz@hotmail.com
Contact Dan
to find out about the dad’s online support group: danlarkin11@gmail.com
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Information
from the
Church Council
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April 30, 2020--
TLC applied for and received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan. This government loan is to be used to retain employees through this period of “Stay at Home” and social distancing orders. The loan is
forgivable
, and essentially turns into a grant if it is used for payroll purposes.
Pastor Arthur has requested additional time at home to meet the needs of his family. Because of this PPP Loan and its requirements for payroll use, the Church Council has granted a Family Leave to Pastor Arthur until June 15
th
. He will be serving TLC in a half time capacity while retaining full salary and benefits.
Additionally, due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Intern Pastor Grace will be increasing her hours from 20 to 30 hours per week. This will allow her to speed up the fulfillment of her internship requirements. Her increased hours will be covered by the PPP loan.
The Council is confident that pastoral care is available to all who have need, and that TLC will continue to find ways to be in community, and to carry out our mission and vision.
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From Pastor Arthur - April 30, 2020
Dear TLC Family,
This past Tuesday I returned to the “office” after almost two weeks focusing on parenting and home schooling. As every family with younger children is experiencing at the moment, it has been a challenge. There are beautiful moments every day, and many really hard ones as well.
Before I went on “vacation”, I asked the Council to consider what it might mean for me to go down to part-time on my return, at least until the end of the school year. I couldn’t see any other way to manage as both Laura and I work full-time and reducing hours for her is not an option in her current role. I offered to take a short term cut in pay to make this possible, figuring the church would need the savings in any case. The Council, in their wisdom, decided to wait on making a decision on this request until this week.
Then an incredible thing happened. Our Synod had earlier offered a training on the federal payroll protection plan (PPP), in the midst of Holy Week. Michelle Reber, Jerry Olson, Steve Jorschumb and I attended the Zoom training. We all realized immediately that this might be a good option for TLC. Michelle, with the help of Sue Brickley on the phone in North Carolina, worked tirelessly to submit the extensive application in the span of 24 hours. I can’t thank Michelle, Sue and Steve Jorschumb enough. While I was out of the office, TLC got word that we were one of the small businesses, churches and organizations who were granted a forgivable loan to ensure that all employees continue to be paid during this time, even if they are unable to work for Covid-related reasons.
The end result was that the Council decided to continue to pay me as usual, even though I am stretched very thin with my concurrent family responsibilities. I am beyond grateful to God, to Michelle, to the Council, and to the federal government for this provision as a reduction in pay would have created another set of stressors for my family at this time.
The benefits of this grant to the church extend well beyond providing for my own family. It ensures that, at least for the next two months, all of TLC’s dedicated, faithful employees will continue to be paid as usual, irrespective of Covid-related interruptions. Rob Reid has already advocated that we retroactively compensate our talented musicians who lost income due to cancellation of Lent, Holy Week and Easter services. This will be explored and seems a very possible and appropriate use of these funds.
Intern Pastor Grace has requested to increase her hours due to Covid-related changes in her life. This will also be possible due to the loan. She will increase to 30 hours per week beginning in June. Pastor Ed may be available to increase his time beyond the current half-time arrangement on a short-term basis should the need arise, though for now we believe that we remain sufficiently staffed.
Finally, we know that a number of members of the TLC community have either lost their employment or have been furloughed during this time. I know how hard it is for people of faith to consider reducing their tithes and offerings to the church, but for some of you it has been absolutely necessary. We understand that. I hope that the knowledge that the church has received this loan will be received as a word of grace to you. Your church will be OK. God is providing in a different way at this difficult time. Please let us know how we can be of help and support to you. We are all in this together.
That said, the support from the TLC congregation has been remarkably steady and consistent throughout this time. Though our Easter offerings were significantly lower due to a lack of a physical gathering for worship, the regular week-in-week contributions have been holding quite steady. We thank you. This forgivable loan helps us close the gap for a couple of months of payroll, but does not decrease the need, the bills or the ongoing building maintenance concerns. What it does do is allow us, your staff, to continue to serve Christ’s church without fear and anxiety. We want and need to be there for you during this time, and we feel confident that God is making this possible.
I remain incredibly grateful for you. Many of you have reached out to express your appreciation for the meaningful online worship offerings. Thank you for your words of support and encouragement. They mean the world to us and give us the energy to continue to find creative ways to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world at a time when it is most desperately needed.
Please keep in touch, stay safe, and stay strong in the faith. Christ is here with us now so that we can be Christ’s love for one another, for our neighbor and for the world.
With deep gratitude,
Pastor Arthur
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Tapestry: An inclusive community of faith, humbly sharing the love of Jesus with all people, and working together for the healing and restoration of the world t
hat God loves so much.
Ways Tapestry shares the love of Jesus through:
·
Music
: Our musicians play for our bilingual worship services, of course, and they also lead worship and share joy through their Latin and jazz rhythms at many of our partner congregations.
You are always invited to worship with us and then eat together the first and third Sundays of each month at 5:00 p.m. (7045 Lyndale Ave So, Richfield)
·
Education
: We began with a trial run last winter and now our Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are becoming more and more popular. We learn language and we share our cultures and learn from each other. We learn, laugh, eat and grow together in community. We even received our first non-church grant from the Richfield Foundation to support these classes!
You are welcome to join us as a student or a volunteer.
·
Food
: We have so many wonderful cooks! We share meals after worship and during special events we host such as
Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead)
and a benefit worship we hosted where we raised more than $10,000 for disaster relief in Mexico and Puerto Rico. We believe the Spirit is leading us to new places through our food ministry and we look forward to new opportunities on the horizon.
Come, share a meal with us!
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Last Sunday we asked readers to host their own "virtual" Pancakes with a Purpose breakfast at home and take a few pictures to share.
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Above, Max takes part in making the pancake batter, creating a greater appreciation of its delicious taste. But, "Shhhhhh, don't tell anybody. I don't want to share," he says in the photo on the right.
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Dad Joe, son Frankie (leaning over) and son, Dominic, all involved in the making of pancakes.
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Dominic played the part of a Dyson vacuum when consuming pancakes.
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Frankie had enough milk left to accompany that final 1/2 pancake.
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Arthur's children, Richenard and Pierre Richard with family friend, Stephen Nushann. Good posture, kids!
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- complete home haircut
- miss your barber/hairdresser
- donate the savings to your barber or a business/organization of your choice
- post the evidence and challenge 3 friends
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VALUE-BASED BUDGETING
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 7:00pm
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You are invited to attend this 45 minute finance 101/budgeting workshop on Zoom. The workshop will cover the basics of budgeting and how to work toward important financial goals. Thrivent Financial Professional, Durk Peterson, will lead the workshop.
FREE: No need to pay for a zoom account. Simply go to
www.zoom.us/join
and enter the meeting ID
819 251 7181
and password
393992.
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It's raining today... the grass will now turn even greener and the hostas will
pop up so we know where they are. We even dug up the soil under the bird
feeders and put down some grass seed... Found out the mourning doves like
to eat grass seed---who knew?
Do you feel apprehensive about reading the paper? So much bad news about
how many people are getting sick and how many are dying without even
being able to see their families for a last visit. Sometimes it's easier to just
skim over the statistics, and read the editorials or the funnies.
Lately the papers mentioned St. Therese Home up in New Hope. I used to
visit my dad's cousin, Hazel, when she lived there. I would drive up to
New Hope on Highway 100 twice a week, and having no female relatives
left, she appreciated my visits. By the way, that highway was being worked
on back then too. It seems like a never-ending project.
I can relate a couple of observations about St. Therese, a rather typical nursing home where residents would complain about aides not showing up very fast, etc.. I would regularly go to the nursing station and pick up Hazel's hearing aid batteries, so she could at least hear what was going on. I got to know some of the nuns, and a lot of the aides, too. It's hard to always be on call like they were, and treat everyone equally. Now with so much sickness in our nursing homes, I suppose I would not have been allowed in at all. One Halloween afternoon I was visiting and saw a little girl dressed in a nun's habit, looking so cute. I mentioned that to the nun who was saying goodbye as I left. She had
a whole different take on that costume... thought it was very disrespectful!
I hope if you have relatives that are needing a visit, you can get to see them. It's really sad when someone dies and the aide was the last one to say goodbye, not their family member.
Hang in there everyone. This seems to be a longer Stay Home than we thought, but if it does some good at bringing the virus cases down, so be it.
Bless you all. Stay well.
-Bloomington Bird Lady
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Four Menu Choices: Live - On Demand - 24/7 Stream - TLC Website
Did you know there's TLC TV running right now on the [24/7 Stream] menu selection? It's on all day and all night.
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
FOR US?
-a continuing series-
By Pastor Al Dungan
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A tiny snowball or a sharp sound can cause a terrific avalanche.
The snow is just lying there on the mountainside having piled up and piled up with successive snows until just the least little thing will cause it to start moving, little by little, faster and faster until it sweeps everything out of its way.
A baby was born in Egypt to a slave woman and the man who that baby became, Moses, caused the power of Egypt to be swept away in the plagues and the waters of the Sea of Reeds and a slave people were freed.
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A baby was born to a heretofore childless woman (Hannah) and that son, Samuel, became the Judge, Prophet and Anointer of the kings of Israel one of whom was David.
A baby was born to a young woman from Nazareth (Mary) and that baby was Jesus who caused the greatest revolution the world has ever seen through God raising from him from the dead after he was crucified and buried behind a huge boulder.
Why does God use babies to make such powerful things happen? Babies, after all, are the weakest, the most vulnerable of human creatures. And, yet, God continues to use babies to make great and powerful things happen.
Babies are, you see, the snowball or the sharp sound (if you don’t believe me on this, ask any parent who is awakened from a deep sleep by the wail of a hungry or diaper needed changing baby) that make huge differences in this world.
With the resurrection the snowball effect began. First the women, then Peter and John, then the 11 disciples huddled in their “shelter in place” upper room, then the people at Pentecost, then…, then…, then. And that avalanche hasn’t stopped to this day.
People are still getting swept up and swept away by the power of the Good News that death is only a doorway to new life—new life here and now, as well as the future. And the One who made it so is the One we worship during this Easter season.
Death, Jesus taught us, is not the end and his resurrection proves it to be so. So we can look death in the eye and say no matter how bad things may look now in our lives, the avalanche begun by Jesus’ resurrection will sweep us away into the present and coming Kingdom of God.
And let’s hear a loud AMEN to that, people of God. AAAAAAMENNNN!!
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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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Six Cup Salad
By Mrs. Orville Towle
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- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup mandarin oranges (drained)
- 1 cup diced pineapple (drained)
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 cup commercial sour cream
- 1 cup fruit cocktail
Mix together. Chill in refrigerator. Serve.
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PAID AMERICORPS POSITIONS AT VEAP
VEAP is currently recruiting candidates for 2 different paid AmeriCorps opportunities:
- 2020-2021 AmeriCorps Community Outreach & Engagement Coordinator VISTA position (full-time, 12 month position, flexible start date)
- Five MN AmeriCorps Emergency Response positions (35 hours per week, June 8 to August 15) – Applications due May 20
AmeriCorps Community Outreach & Engagement Coordinator VISTA
We are looking for a passionate leader who will spark hope and support stability for people living in poverty. This person will shape the future of VEAP by diversifying our volunteer corps and deepening partnerships with multicultural communities.
- Serve full-time for 12 months, flexible start date 2020
- Hold part-time outside employment and participate in part-time coursework during service with approval from your supervisor
- Receive a pre-tax monthly living allowance of $944 during service
- Option of $1,800 post-service stipend or $6,095 education award after completing your year of service
- Relocation assistance is available for members moving more than 50 miles to serve
- As an AmeriCorps VISTA you will receive your certification in volunteer leadership, attend professional development opportunities, learn about the evolving field of volunteer engagement, and network with local and national leaders in this field.
For more information or to start the application process for this Community Outreach & Engagement Coordinator VISTA position, contact Courtney Flug at
courtneyf@veap.org
or 952.955.8325.
MN AmeriCorps Emergency Response positions
This summer, VEAP is excited to be a part of the AmeriCorps Emergency Response Initiative! This new, statewide program has been created to help meet the urgent and emerging community needs related to COVID-19. VEAP has the opportunity to hire 5 people to assist with our core operations including: 2 with our food pantry team to assist with warehouse and distribution duties; 2 with our social services team to assist with general duties to support client assistance; and 1 with our volunteer department to assist with volunteer engagement and scheduling. The positions are 35 hours a week from June 8 - August 15 and also include:
- A stipend of $650 every two weeks
- Individual health insurance (monthly premium 100% paid)
- An additional $1,289.95 for tuition or student loans
With a tight turnaround on the Emergency Response positions, time is of the essence. In order to begin serving in June,
candidates need to apply by May 20
. To learn more or apply, please visit
bit.ly/MNResponse
.
If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about these opportunities, contact Courtney Flug at
courtneyf@veap.org
or 952.955.8325.
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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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