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TRANSFIGURATION LUTHERAN CHURCH
11000 France Ave. S. - Bloomington, MN 55431
Office: (952) 884-2364 (Also 24-hour Pastoral Emergency Service)
Office Open Monday-Thursday, 9:00am to 4:00pm
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Sunday, August 29, 2021
Two Services: 8:30am & 10:00am
NOTE: This will change come September. See below!
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COVID Protocol
Wearing face coverings inside TLC is now required at all
services and indoor activities, regardless of vaccination status.
Singing is welcome. Social distancing optional.
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TLC Reducing Sunday Services to One
9:30am Worship Service
STARTS SEPTEMBER 12
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NEW! Sundays in September – beginning Rally Day, September 12
9:00am
Coffee and fellowship preceding worship: Coffee served indoors, fellowship tables available indoors (Covid numbers permitting) and outdoors.
9:30am Note the new worship time!
In-Person Worship Service in the Sanctuary (masks required) also Live-Streamed at www.TLCGO.Live
10:30am
Fellowship Time outside, provided by various TLC Ministry Teams.
11:00am NEW Outdoor “Connect Gathering”
An all-church fellowship time with light meal on the North lawn. Time for adult conversation and kids play, with live background music and a brief storytime—like our summer Community Nights only at mid-day. (Note: Connect Gathering is timed so that those who choose to worship online have time to make it over to church for the outdoor event.)
On Labor Day Weekend Sunday, September 5, there will be one in-person/live-streamed service only at 9:30AM. There will be no coffee hour or Connect Gatherings that day.
The above plan was created by TLC Staff with support and input from Church Council and the Covid Response Team in an effort to prioritize the following:
- Maximizing safe outdoor, fellowship time while the weather is beautiful.
- Continuing indoor worship (and live-stream) with masking and the possibility of social distancing.
- Planning month by month so we can keep what works, change what doesn’t, and be responsive to ever changing Covid realities.
***This plan has been formed with the awareness that Covid numbers continue to climb in our area and that an increasing majority of TLC members are again choosing to worship online, while outdoor events have been well attended in person.
If you have any questions, or if you wish to volunteer to help make these new events happen, please contact the church office.
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My TLC friends,
Due to Pastors' and Church Council policy and changes in communication strategies, I will no longer be designing and editing the TLC Weekly, effective Sunday, August 29, 2021. Beginning next week, the editor of the TLC Weekly, Hope for the Week, Pathways to Justice, Death Announcements and other pertinent news will be Pete Erickson. Please direct any questions or comments to Pete ( perickson@tlcmn.com) or Pastor Arthur ( amurray@tlcmn.com).
It's been a pleasure bringing church news, information, promotions, fellow columnists, ELC news and Kids Photo Club, recipes, quizzes, games, worship details and so much more every week since mid-2018 when it was called "Transmissions." You can still view all those publications up to the most current through our website (for now, anyhow) at tlcmn.com/tlcweekly.
I'm grateful to all of you for helping to support this crucial e-newsletter, as it often was and still is the only form of TLC communication reaching into many homes of our members and friends. And it also provided a quick click-thru to our online services each Sunday morning. I will remain at the helm of live-stream production for the short term.
Please encourage and support Pete Erickson in this additional responsibility under his functions as Director of Youth and Family Ministry.
My best to all of you,
Brad Nolte
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Rob Reid Director of Music |
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In Praise of God's Creation
Come to TLC this Sunday, August 29 at 8:30 and 10:00am, or join us on-line at TLCGo.LIVE, and help us celebrate the Wonders of Nature that God has created for us to enjoy. Our hymns and songs will be led by organist Carmen Englert and singers Jill and Rob Reid and Nancy Shemanek. We will sing "This Is My Father's World," "For the Beauty of the Earth," and the vocal ensemble will sing a lovely Danish hymn "The Earth Adorned in Splendor" for the Offering. During Communion the beloved hymn "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God" will be sung.
Pastor Eva will preach, and has selected a beautiful sermon hymn "Faith Begins By Letting Go" which she found in the new ELCA Hymnal Supplement "All Creation Sings."
Pastor Melanie will present her final "Fruit of the Spirit" for her Time for Children, and will lead the Prayers and Creed, and will Preside over Communion.
Hope to see you at TLC this Sunday!
Peace,
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Changing Roles in Communication |
Beginning in September the following changes will take place in TLC communications:
Brad Nolte will continue to provide live-stream and video production services for TLC Sunday services, funerals, and other events.
Pete Erickson, Director of Youth and Family Ministries, will be compiling and editing the TLC Weekly and integrating our weekly email communications with TLC social media accounts and the TLC website on an interim basis. We intend to hire in this position in the near future.
Mike Klement, TLC member, has stepped forward to re-design and maintain our website on a volunteer basis. He will be working closely with Pete to integrate all our online communication. Stay tuned for the launch of the newly redesigned website in the coming weeks.
Michelle Reber, Church Administrator, and Marilyn Erickson will be working with Mike and Pete to ensure consistency between our print communications and online communications.
Many thanks to all our staff, vendors and volunteers for their ongoing faithful service to TLC. For TLC Weekly contributions and announcements, please contact Pete at perickson@tlcmn.com
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Pete Erickson
Director of Youth & Family Ministry
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TLC Confirmation Registration is OPEN! Kick-off is September 22nd
We are excited to walk alongside you as we start another interesting school year. Our plan is to meet in-person as much as circumstances allow. As staff and leaders, we want to be able to support families, providing what you need for spiritual growth, and connect you to intentional community in the safest, most responsible way.
Here a just a few things we know right now:
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September 22nd at 6:30PM, we will have an outdoor kick-off event with the Oasis Band, games, pizza and MORE!
- We will spend most of September training and equipping adult and student leaders for Youth Ministry. If you have interest in sharing your gifts occasionally, please connect with Pete Erickson (perickson@tlcmn.com). Check out the attached calendar to see more about the scope and sequence for confirmation this year.
- We will start regular communication to families the first full week of September. Stay tuned BUT before that…
PLEASE click on this LINK to sign your student up for confirmation. The fee for confirmation this year is $50 and can be paid through this LINK. If you did not receive a confirmation welcome email from Pete Erickson but are interested in registering your student for the fall, please reach out to Pete (perickson@tlcmn.com)
Youth Room Open House – September 22nd at 7:30PM
A committed group of high school students have work so hard over the last few months to renovate the youth room on the lower level at TLC. On September 22, you are invited to come and see the exciting results of their passion and work.
There will be snacks, music and karaoke – plus some conversation about the fall. Hope you can attend and honor the work of the people who helped make this room transformation possible. A special thanks to the Church Council, Michelle Reber and Keith Olson for all your support, work behind the scenes and financial commitment to make this possible!
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One can almost hear the dry, tan, lawns slurping up the rain today. Who knows, maybe some green will start a new trend in color...Wouldn't that be a nice ending to summer? I remember planting annuals in mud some springs, and having to kneel on my trusty old plastic tablecloth to do it. "Dry" was nice for a while, but turning into a lot of watering with the hose.
Not many summers give us sunny days for so long....I've been able to take a daily walk, and could have started out earlier to escape the 80 or 90 degrees. It'll soon be turning cooler and everyone will wonder why those sunny days were not more appreciated. There's a song lyric about not appreciating something until it's gone. The absence of mosquitos has been appreciated for sure.
About this time of year, grasshoppers become more plentiful, and also crickets, etc. My mom, who played our little church's organ for 37 years, could have attested to that. She was playing her prelude one Sunday and seemingly out of nowhere, a grasshopper decided to go down the front of her choir robe. What to do?? She reached in, grabbed the insect and tossed it somewhere. (where would one toss a grasshopper in the middle of playing, while already using both hands and feet?) Gotta be quick, so they don't go any further.
You remember my friend, Louise, a former Parisian gal who came to Minnesota and loves it here, is now 95 and really doesn't have much to do, as her son, who lives with her, does "everything." I asked her if she had anything to keep her busy. "No, I just sit here on my derriere all day, watching TV." She had previously told me she loves to knit, so I said, "Why don't you knit something? Check out your yarn supply."
Two days ago, a box arrived by mail, and inside was this beautiful, hand-knitted scarf in two shades of blue. She had decided to take me seriously and "do something." Well, it's too pretty to put with the winter things in the coat closet, so the scarf is hanging on the back of a chair, just waiting for colder weather. I will be happy to wrap it around my neck in winter, and maybe you will get to see it too.
Did any of you get to greet Irene Amon two Sundays ago? I was so surprised when suddenly she was reading from the pulpit, and I'd thought she was out in California. That nice gal gives the best hugs ever. They are firm, and last a while too. I hope some of you have experienced her "love for friends" this way. I have missed having her in our midst, and it was so good to see her again.
Take care, everyone. The Delta variant is out to get us, so be extra careful. The State Fair is here, and it would be too bad not to have crowds because we are nervous about catching something. Don't let the virus win this round... Just keep up the good work with the masks and handwashing. If you are not vaccinated (dare I say this again?) please go and get two shots...they are free.
-Bloomington Bird Lady
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Reverend Al Dungan is a retired Lutheran pastor. |
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Thoughts by
Reverend Al Dungan
~ ~ ~
Who Wrote the Bible?
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Joseph plays “gotcha” with his brothers.
Thinking they had dodged a bullet when the powerful Egyptian official allowed them to leave Egypt, I’m sure they wiped the sweat from their foreheads and tried to put as much distance between themselves and him. It continued to puzzle them how they had been seated at the banquet according to their ages and why Benjamin had been given 4 or 5 times the food and attention that they had.
But…they were just glad to be on their way home when disaster struck again!
Unbeknownst to them, Joseph had once more put the money they had brought the two times they had come to Egypt to purchase food. And, to sweeten the pot just a little more, Joseph had a servant place his silver drinking cup in Benjamin’s sack.
They had only been on their way for a short time when Joseph’s guards caught up with them and stopped them, accusing them of stealing a very special drinking cup from their powerful master.
Denying this vociferously, the brothers then challenged the guards to inspect their sacks of grain saying that if anyone of them had done this, they would agree to be enslaved by this powerful Egyptian official.
One by one the sacks were inspected. Again, the brothers couldn’t explain how the money got into the sacks. And, then, to their horror, the cup was discovered in Benjamin’s sack. When Benjamin was placed in chains and dragged off to “face the music” the brothers came with the guards to try to get the powerful Egyptian official to take one of them into slavery instead.
“Please,” they pleaded. “We can’t go home and leave our youngest brother here as a slave. It will kill our father if he doesn’t return. He’s the only surviving son of his favorite wife who is now dead. Let any one of us take his place.”
When Joseph saw their real concern for Benjamin he had to go off by himself to weep copiously. Then, washing his face to cover the fact that he’d been crying, he revealed himself to his brothers.
Once again, the brothers were horrified. The brother they had condemned to slavery and/or death now stood before them as the second most powerful man in the land. What would he do to them? Nothing too horrendous would be in his power to visit his desire for revenge.
What would he do to them now?
And that’s what we’ll look at next time.
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Transfiguration Lutheran Church
Addiction Awareness
Team
-Our Mission-
This ministry exists to provide a safe environment for those seeking hope and restoration from addiction and codependency.
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We are aware that Scripture tells us “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself”.
We live in a time in which there is much divisiveness between people for one reason or another; and, I believe, that while most Christians will acknowledge acceptance of the first part of that command of both the Hebrew Scriptures (often called the Old Testament) and the New Testament they often don’t really understand and incorporate the second half into their lives. This, I believe, is what lays at the root of the problem.
The problem that too many have is the difficulty in loving the neighbor because they have never really learned how to love themselves.
I know that was true of me for almost half of my life because until I was blessed with recovery through the Twelve Steps of Al Anon I had never really learned how to love ME.
Oh, I thought I did, but I didn’t have a clue about what that passage of Scripture really meant until I began to follow, and incorporate, the Twelve Steps of Al Anon.
Twelve Step programs have been called very selfish because the focus is so much on the individual until the final Step which says, “Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps (which kept the focus on a very hurting me who needed to heal), we tried to carry this message to others (which puts the focus on others) and to practice these principles in all our affairs”.
This program recognizes how spiritually sick and hurting we really are as individuals. And, until we address this issue, we will never really learn to love others in the way God means us to love.
Now I’m not saying that everyone should run right out and find an Al Anon meeting. What I am saying is that if we are going bring healing to a hurting world and, whether we admit it or not, our hurting selves, we need to find a way to learn what it means to really, really love ourselves. Because until we do this, we’ll never really learn how to love others as Scripture encourages us to do.
Al Anon changed my life by helping me to heal my spiritual self and, in so doing, taught me how One Day at a Time, to love you who read this article.
Before it was a really good counterfeit. Now it’s very real. And I can thank the Twelve Steps for making my daily reality possible.
-Anonymous
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If you are new to recovery or are just interested in finding out what AA or NA meetings are all about, and would like for someone to attend a meeting with you for the first time, please contact our group. We are here to support and guide you!
- Chris Campo
- Dave Dickson
- Al Dungan
- Mary George
- Griffin Myslivecek
- Louise Olson
- Beth Rahn
- Rick Zeidler
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MEN'S BIBLE STUDY RETURNS
Starts September 9
Hurrah! The Gibb Lee Memorial Men's Bible Study will resume on Thursday, September 9th. We will meet in the downstairs Adult Ed. Room, and starting time will be at 9:00am. (Notice the time change)
Our Bible reading will be Revelations, chapter one; Psalm 16:1-9; and Mark 8: 27-38.
Please enter through TLC's West Entrance, turn right to the stairs or elevator and head downstairs. Wearing face coverings inside TLC is now required at all
services and indoor activities, regardless of vaccination status.
SEE YOU ON SEPTEMBER NINTH!
-Roy Shemanek
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The Racial Justice team is sponsoring an excursion to hear Joe Davis perform at the University of Minnesota Northrop auditorium. The event takes place on Thursday, September 2 at 12:00 PM. If you wish to join a carpool to the event as driver or rider, please contact Jerry Olson gerardolson@hotmail.com or 651-756-0540).
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More than 300,000 children in Minnesota live with food insecurity. When these children don’t have access to the free and reduced meal programs at school, they don’t have access to reliable food and the risk of hunger is very real. Every Meal works to fight hunger in our community by filling the gaps in food access that children face during weekends, summers, and extended breaks.
CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE
Since March 2020, Every Meal has responded to the skyrocketing increase in food insecurity in our community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic by adapting our food gap programs to get food to children and families who need it most. To provide more meals to more children in our community, we need to raise more funds to expand our program to 550 schools, which account for 47% of school-age children in the state.
Thanks to community support, Every Meal has provided OVER 4.1 MILLION MEALS. We continue to adapt our work to meet the rising demand and need your continued support.
Every Meal will be there for children through the ongoing disruptions caused by COVID-19 and long after to help stabilize families.
NOTE: Through the generosity of TLC’s 1 + 1 Mission Campaign, a check for $7,000 has been given to Every Meal (formerly The Sheridan Story).
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TLC is Hiring
We are currently in need of a part-time Administrative Associate to work in the TLC office.
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This information is also on the TLC Website (for now) under the Documents menu.
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