NOTICE: During these times of COVID precautions and temporary restrictions of in-person worship at Transfiguration Lutheran Church, this TLC Weekly e-newsletter is essentially your main (and often, only) source of news and information about the church, its members and activities. We ask that you take a moment to read or browse through it, as it has timely and important information beyond the upcoming Sunday service info & bulletin download.
If there's something you'd like us to consider adding or changing in the TLC Weekly, please email us here: tlcmedia@tlcmn.com
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Rob Reid
Director of Music
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The Baptism of Our Lord – and Our Baptism, too!
This coming Sunday is the day in the church year when we hear of Jesus’ Baptism and remember our own. Led by organist Karen Daniels and singers Kevin Erickson, Mary George, Rob Reid and Jill Reid (with Jill playing flute on several pieces as well), our hymns and songs will lead us to a wonderful remembrance of that special day: “Shall We Gather at the River,” “We Are Baptized in Christ Jesus,” “Borning Cry,” and “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light.” During communion, the group will also share a beautiful anthem called “Come, Beloved of the Maker,” which was composed by David Cherwien, the director of the National Lutheran Choir, setting words of his wife Susan Palo Cherwien (Hymn 306).
Since our January weather won’t allow us to enjoy our Second Sunday Drive-In Worship, we’ve included three pieces by the Praise and Worship Team to keep you and them feeling at least a bit “connected.”
Pete Erickson will share a Time for Children that helps us all get in touch with the watery nature of our Baptisms (!), and Pastor Arthur will preach, pray, and preside over communion.
Come and feel refreshed in Spirit by remembering Christ’s cleansing of each of us in our Baptisms!
Peace,
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Join your community at TLC during the season of Epiphany to experience the transforming love that is REVEALED in the light and life of Jesus.
The LIGHT REVEALS the promise of God in the most unlikely places.
The LIGHT REVEALS a world in need of people living in response to God’s promise.
The LIGHT REVEALS the dark corners where inequity is hidden.
The LIGHT REVEALS the divine nature of Christ born within us.
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Here are many opportunities to live in the light in the new year:
Worship Highlights:
Sunday, January 10
The Baptism of Our Lord: The LIGHT REVEALS the divinely, fleshly nature of Christ born within us – animating our spirit to live out our baptismal promises.
Sunday, January 17
Racial Justice Sunday and Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrance: The LIGHT REVEALS the dark corners where racial inequity hides. We will hear a special solo by Agnes Nushann and a Spoken Word by Stephen Nushann. Pastor Janice Gonoe from Liberia will share the message.
Sunday, January 24
Welcome Pastor Eva Sunday: The LIGHT REVEALS the promise of God in the most unlikely of places. Our Interim Co-Pastor, Eva Jensen, will preach the word for us for the first time.
Sunday, January 31
Annual Meeting Sunday: The LIGHT REVEALS a world in need of people living in response to God’s promise. Co-Pastor Arthur will preach and preside at this service that precedes our TLC Annual Meeting at 11:00am on Zoom.
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Live-Stream Viewer Data
Last Sunday, January 3, 2021
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350+ viewers of the worship service. |
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Extended Drop Off Deadline |
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TLC is collecting VEAP Birthday Bags in Epiphany.
Drop off at TLC no later than Thursday, January 14th!
One mission expression during Epiphany that goes with our Epiphany Party Celebration (above) is the collecting of “Birthday Bags” for families in need. Download the pdf of the Birthday Bag Program details here. It includes the list of celebration stuff that goes in a Birthday Bag. You need to drop off your bags at TLC in the west entrance doorways (10am-3pm) by this coming Thursday, January 14.
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Monday, January 18, 2021
Bloomington Area MLK Day
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
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What: Hybrid Virtual/Live Martin Luther King Day, Jr. Event
Date: Monday, January 18, 2021
Where: Around Bloomington
What: Families, Individuals, and small groups are invited to participate in a virtual scavenger hunt around the city of Bloomington to learn about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to learn how they can continue his legacy by engaging in social justice and peacemaking work. Groups will use a mobile app to engage in the scavenger hunt, and will be sent to locations, both indoor and out, where they will find clues, solve puzzles, and learn together, as well as receive the occasional warm drink and bathroom break!
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Church Anew provides a virtual worship service for Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, January 17.
As we lean into a year with further determination to combat racism in all its forms after the death of Mr. George Floyd, Church Anew will provide a virtual worship service that is free for any congregation to use on the Sunday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend, January 17.
Produced in partnership with several African American clergy and leaders in Minneapolis, this vibrant worship service will feature:
- Sermon by Rev. Paul Slack, Social Justice Advocate with Lutheran Services of Minnesota
- Music by Alyssa Schwitzer and the Redeemer Lutheran Church (N. Minneapolis) band
- Original spoken word poetry by Joe Davis
- Prayer, readings, and liturgy by Rev. Kelly Chatman, Rev. Babette Chatman, and more.
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Report on Addiction and Faith matching gift:
Many thanks to all who supported the $5,000 matching challenge of two TLC households towards The Center of Addiction and Faith. We are happy to report that $4,274 was received by Dec 31 in response to this challenge, leaving us only $726 short of a total gift of $10,000 as seed money to this new ministry founded by Pastor Ed Treat and birthed out of TLC. Any further contributions may be made directly to The Center of Addiction & Faith.
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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 select and view over 36 months of the TLC Weekly e-newsletter. 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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Minnesota Seniors is an amazing, FREE resource service for seniors as well as family caregivers who have questions and need answers. There is a wealth of information and help -- too numerous to list. [Click Here] and see for yourself.
It's something to do and you don't need to wear a mask while browsing.
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Did you ever suddenly lose your electricity? Last winter as we just finished our dinner when suddenly everything went black, and the furnace died too! I had to think of where the candles were, the matches, a flashlight, and even how to get to the kitchen. As the evening passed by, the house grew colder and colder. We sat watching where the TV should have been on, but we had to wear winter jackets and stocking caps! The whole neighborhood was dark and the lady next door had her kids come and bring her to their house just to stay warm.
When Epiphany comes right after Christmas it's a good time to talk about being a light ourselves. When I was in Sunday School 80 years ago now, we sang "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" and these days the kids sometimes sing "This Little Light of Mine." Kids sometimes don't understand completely what the words mean... One little guy was singing "This Little Light of Mine" and the group was doing motions to the words. He held up his little pointer finger, there was no light on the end of it, so he stopped singing.
The word Epiphany means a sudden burst of understanding... an "AH-HA" moment for sure. It came as Jesus was being revealed as Christ to the Gentiles. Now It is celebrated each year telling the story of the magi following the star to Bethlehem. On Sunday we heard "We Three Kings of Orient Are," and maybe you sang along. The message is for us to be a light also.
Years ago, when we went each month to do a sing along at Good Samaritan Home, we'd receive a simple gift at Christmas just for being a "light" for the residents all year. We would each be given a name and a gift suggestion for one of the residents, too. One year we received flashlights and I still have mine---it's pink! The nursing home was torn down, and at our final sing-along there were more of us singing than there were residents. Time to find a new place to be a light???
-Bloomington Bird Lady
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Why was the Bible
Written?
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Why was the Bible written?
There are a number of reasons.
The first 5 books (called the Pentateuch in theological circles) were written to remind the Israelites who they were, whose they were and how they were to conduct themselves as “priests” to the rest of all humankind. That is, they were to conduct themselves in such a way that their lives and behavior pointed to the God who made creation and everything that was in it. They were, then, to be ministers who would show what a gracious God their God was and would ultimately draw all of humanity this God of grace and love.
Origin stories are important. I think that’s why such an interest in genealogy has developed recently. It’s both a way of remembering where we have come from and also a way to emphasize how important that is. Otherwise, we’ll forget and become rootless and end up going the way that every wind will blow us.
The “begats” of Hebrew scripture did just that. It rooted Israel firmly in its past clear back to the time of creation. It also helped them to remember the founding parents of their faith: Abraham and Sarah, and the promise God gave to Abraham, who though childless at the time, was promised that his descendants would be as numerous the stars in the sky and grains of sand on the seashore. (Check out also the “begats” of Matthew 1: 1-17 in which he legitimizes the Messiah’s human and divine origins.)
Genesis can be divided into 4 parts: 1) the Hebrew version of creation through the Garden of Eden story, the first murder, the “Begats”, the flood and Noah and the Tower of Babel (Genesis 1-11); 2) the story of Abram (Abraham) and Sari (Sarah) Genesis 12-23 which includes the Call of Abram by Yahweh, Sodom & Gomorrah, the birth of Ishmael, the birth of Isaac and the death of Sarah; 3) the stories of Isaac and Rebekah and their two sons, Esau and Jacob and the stolen birthrights, Jacob, Leah and Rachel and their 12 sons (Genesis 24-36); and, 4) the story of Joseph who is sold into slavery by his brothers into Egypt, but becomes 2nd only in power to Pharaoh and is reconciled with his brothers who move the whole family to Egypt (Genesis 37-50) which completes the origin stories.
In the next article, I’ll fill in some of the blanks that have been glossed over in my very brief summary of Genesis.
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TLC's
Addiction Awareness Team
Update
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Mission: “This ministry exists to provide a safe environment for those seeking hope and restoration from addiction and codependency.” |
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Meditation For The New Year
In the new year, I will live one day at a time. I will make each day one of preparation for better things ahead. I will not dwell on the past or the future, only on the present. I will bury every fear of the future, all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all my dislikes, my resentments, my sense of failure, my disappointments in others and in myself, my gloom and my despondency. I will leave all these things buried and go forward, in this new year, into a new life.
Prayer For The New Year
I pray that God will guide me one day at a time in the new year. I pray that for each day, God will supply the wisdom and the strength that I need.
-Twenty-Four Hours A Day, by Richmond Walker
~ ~ ~
To learn more about this ministry, or if you or someone you care about is in need of support, please reach out to one of us.
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Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) was founded in 1987 and is a Christian non-profit that provides nutritionally complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children in over 70 countries throughout the world.
TLC has supported FMSC efforts over the last several years through benevolence giving and volunteering. FMSC offers volunteers a one-of-a-kind experience. You’ll hand-pack rice, soy, dried vegetables and a nutritionally complete blend of vitamins and minerals into bags which are then sealed, boxed, placed on pallets and shipped to our incredible partners, working hard to reach the neediest children around the world.
Want to get involved? Come pack with us! Watch for sign-up dates in the TLC bulletin insert, Life@TLC and the website, www.tlcmn.com in 2021 as COVID allows us to again do group packing.
While packing is possible, it should only be done as a family group due to the close proximity of the packers. Click here to contact the FMSC and schedule your family.
We pack at the Eagan site (990 Lone Oak Rd #136, Eagan, MN 55121).
Meet in TLC’s West Parking Lot a half-hour prior to start time if you want to carpool.
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My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies |
Available for purchase at the TLC office, $15.00 while supply lasts.
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“The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. In this groundbreaking work, therapist and book author, Resmaa Menakem, examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of body-centered psychology. He argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn’t just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police.
My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.”
Join Transfiguration Lutheran Church on Sunday, January 17 at 11:00am on Zoom to learn more about the opportunity to experience My Grandmother's Hands together, through a community book study. A link for the Zoom meeting will be posted here in next week's TLC Weekly. We invite interested folks to purchase a copy of My Grandmother's Hands ahead of the 1/17/202 meeting. The church office has copies of the book available for $15.00 while the supply lasts.
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THE THING ABOUT DONATING FOOD TO VEAP IS:
it's never done!
There are always men, women and children going hungry in our neighborhood!
Please add some of these most needed items to your grocery list if you are able and deliver to VEAP:
Diapers, size 5 and 6, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, shaving cream, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins. Gluten free whole grains: brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, corn meal, nuts, flours, rice crackers, (whole grain) cereals: Chex, Shredded Wheat, Kashi, etc. And-paper grocery bags.
VEAP
9600 Aldrich Avenue South, Bloomington
Drive through, Mon-Fri 9:00am-4:30pm
952.888.9616
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A great gift Pastor Grace shared with TLC was her “Hope for the Day” devotional. I for one found it very enlightening and healing during this Pandemic. I found myself looking forward to receiving and reading it daily. I so enjoyed the different writings penned by different TLC family members!
I have been asked by Pastor Arthur to keep a form of this devotional going. We have agreed to make it a weekly [e-mailed] publication called “Hope for the Week”, which is sent to your email every Tuesday at 6:30am.
If you would be willing to share an inspired devotional(s) going forward with your TLC family, please contact me at weeyin57@aol.com. I’d love to hear from you! Blessings,
Norma R. Macdonald-Ockwig
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Hello fellow TLC members! Allow me to introduce “Pathways to Justice,” a new weekly short article e-mailed every Thursday morning. Pastor Arthur has asked me to take the lead with members from the Racial Justice and RIC teams assisting with writing. We will tackle and explore -in small chunks- ideas that may be new to some of us. In doing so, we will be allowed opportunities to ask ourselves and each other how we really actively can, as Micah 6:8 states, “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.” Please feel free to let me know if there are any topics that you would like addressed and please do consider contributing your own thoughts on what it means to be on a Pathway to Justice. I look forward to hearing from you!
Shelley Smith
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The Church office is staffed with Marilyn Erickson and Michelle Reber available Monday through Thursday, 9:00am - 4:00pm. You need to call ahead for an appointment, wear masks, use hand sanitizer (available at the entrance to the office) and practice social distancing during your visit.
Please call: (952) 884-2364
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Committees - Ministries - Small Groups
WRITE YOUR OWN ARTICLE
FOR THE TLC WEEKLY
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Thanks to the Faith, Fact and Fiction Book Club, the K3P3 group, Stephen Ministry, Welcome Diversity Team, Global Health Ministry, Coffee and Conversation, and the Nutty Knotters (TLC Quilters) for submitting photos and stories to the TLC Weekly.
Other committees, groups and ministries, we want to hear from you! Share your stories with the TLC community.
Are you meeting?
How have you adapted your meetings to keep everyone safe?
What projects are you working on?
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Send a story and some photos to tlcmedia@tlcmn.com and we will share your news in the TLC Weekly. Be sure to provide names of people in your photos.
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Do you ever need an extra prayer for yourself, a loved one, a world situation or a dear friend? TLC has a prayer team that is waiting to pray with and for you. Your prayer needs are sent on to the Prayer Team and kept confidential – just between you, the pray-ers, and God. If you have a prayer request, or if you would like to join the prayer team, please contact Marilyn Erickson at merickson@tlcmn.com or on the TLC website here.
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ONLINE GIVING HELPS SUPPORT TLC
It’s important to know that we can depend on financial support from TLC members. Online 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 top of any page, or [Click Here] to start the process, or contact the church office. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
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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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