FLC Weekend Announcements

Worship Times:

Saturday: 5pm

Sunday: 8:15am & 10:15am

Wednesday: 6:15pm

All Worship Services are Live Streamed on Facebook Live.

https://www.facebook.com/

FLCBlair/

Office Hours

Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-4:30pm

Fridays: 8:30am-3:00pm

Phone Number

402-426-4073

Pastor Glen's focus for his message for

this upcoming weekend:

It is a great sin to be boring. And it’s not just teenagers who think that. We are addicted to excitement, drama, even chaos. Even if it’s bad – at least it’s exciting. Jesus is surely a source of thrills, of miracles and surprises. The crowds line up at his door, the disciples hunt him down when he goes missing. Is Jesus just another shiny object to distract us from our otherwise humdrum lives? Perhaps we should learn from him these two antidotes to our bias toward catastrophes: to spend time in quiet reflection and prayer, and to faithfully, even steadily, go on about our serving, just because that is why we are here.

Lutheran Family Services Ribbon Cutting

Join Lutheran Family Services on Friday, February 9^th, 2024, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon as we launch Dana Village, a new beginning for the beloved Dana College campus. This future destination community will be a transitional home for Nebraska youth again out of foster care, and much, much more. Remarks from Governor Jim Pillen and others. Refreshments and mini-tours. Inside the Sports Center, 750 Angels Share Drive, #100,

Blair, NE 68008.

"Courageous Conversations" is starting this Weekend!

When it was formed in 1986, the ELCA said that it would be a community where open, passionate, and respectful deliberation on challenging and controversial issues was not only expected but even encouraged. Meeting that lofty goal has not always been easy. But it is the right one. We are baptized to express the gift of our salvation in everything we say and do every day. We face hard and important questions in our daily lives. The church should be a place where we can work through those questions together. Too often we follow the ways of the world, and instead of being a community of mutual love and care the church has become torn apart by suspicion and enmity. No, talking about difficult topics does not come to us naturally. But we are the bearers of the Grace of God, filled with the Holy Spirit! Having “Courageous Conversations” well is why we exist; we need to show the world how it is done. In days defined by fear, we are the antidote to all that is wrong in the world. The health of our congregation depends on our ability to have these conversations. The depth of our faith depends on growing in understanding and love. The peace of the world awaits our example of how to live together in this complicated time.

"Courageous Conversations" are going to be after worship on Saturday, February 3rd, between services on Sunday, February 4th, and after worship on Wednesday, February 7th.

Lent Theme

The season of Lent is a time of reflection and preparation for the most amazing act of love – the love of God for us brought to reality in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But our journey should be purposeful. It should lead us to lives that embody the same love for others in our words and deeds. This season in our special midweek worships gatherings we will ponder particular stories of Jesus’ love – for the Woman at the Well, for Zacchaeus, for the Good Samaritan, for the Widow and for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And we will ask two questions of ourselves: Who do you love? and How will you love them? Join us each Wednesday evening at 6:15 pm for a time of prayer and hope as we make our way to Calvary.

Church Council Members

Here are the current Church Council Members approved

at the Annual Meeting:

Gail Persson, President

Scott Garder, Vice President

Deb Katt, Secretary

Ruth Jensen

Liz Soderberg

Greg Boone

Ashley Rasmussen

Angie Hemminger

Ann Hansen

Maddie Kempcke, Youth Member

Blythe Knight, Youth Member

Ash Wednesday is coming up on

Wednesday, February 14th!

Ash Wednesday will be February 14th this year. We will be having a 12:15pm and 6:15pm Worship with the

 Imposition of Ashes.

FLC Youth Garage Sale 2024!!

Yes, the time has come.

We are collecting items for our garage sale. Please bring your items to the elevator. If you have a large number of items or large sized items, please contact Erika to setup

a time for dropoff.

If you need to have your items picked up, we can try to arrange for that, but our abilities are limited with our kids' schedules. We'll do our best!!



Sale Dates: June 6 - 8, 2024

In the next several months it is our goal to educate the congregation on the

activities of the Committees at First Lutheran. We will plan to highlight the

activities of one of these committees each month. In doing this we will plan two separate activities for each committee. These include:

1. A presentation by the committee chair person or representative of the

committee to the Church Council regarding the committee’s activities. This

would include the goals of the committee, who makes up the committee,

what some of the activities of committee are, and how the Church Council

could assist the committee in their work.

2. Following the presentation to the Council, a short summary of the

committee’s activities will be included in the weekly E-Blasts sent to the

congregation.

The goal of this summary again will be to highlight the activities of the committee and hopefully increase the interest in the committees by the congregation and possibly help In the recruitment of the members to the committees.

This month's report is from the Women of First Lutheran Church. Please click button below to view the Women of First Lutheran Church Report.

Social Concerns Committee:



First Lutheran Church's 13th Annual Have a Heart for Hunger campaign will begin February 1st in support of the Washington County Food Pantry. This year's theme will be focused on collecting items for "Easter Dinner". As a part of this year's event, we will be collecting food items at Family Fare on Saturday, February 10th between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. Please consider volunteering to help with this event. A sign-up sheet is available on the welcome center. Watch for more details and a display in the narthex in the coming weeks.  

Volunteers are Needed for Recycling Effort at Recycling Center. First Lutheran Church volunteers should mark on their calendars Saturday, February 24th as the date to help at the Washington County Recycling Center. Volunteers can sign-up for two hours from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. or from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Or, they may work for the entire four hours. In the past, volunteers have found it to be a lot of fun plus provide a needed service to the recycling effort here in Washington County. A sign-up sheet will be soon available at the Welcome Center. 

Safety Note from Pastor Glen:

Safety is an act of love! As COVID remains a threat in our community, and as flu, RSV, and other infectious diseases are on the move let us resolve again to use safe practices for the sake of one another. There is hand sanitizer available at the various entrances to our building and we would ask that you use it every time you enter the church. We will also make masks available for anyone who would choose to use them. At this point we will maintain our current worship and fellowship practices, but please know that we will continuously review them as is necessary to fulfill our responsibility to each other. Thank you for your

sense of grace and mutual respect.

-Pastor Glen

Help FLC Kids with a Service Project!!



We will be gifting new/gently used books with homemade bookmarks to children at Open Door Mission, the Bridge, and more. Please drop your book donations in the church office no later than FEB 11th.

Thank you for helping our kids share love with our neighbors!!

In the last few months, we have noticed that some supplies around the church are being used up more quickly than usual, such as toilet paper, soap, ice melt, and the like. If you use these items, please let the office know so that we can make sure that we are fully stocked when needed and not be surprised when we run out. 

Thank you for helping us be good stewards of our supplies

at the church.

Reminder:

It is the policy of First Lutheran Church that if the Blair Community Schools is closed due to bad weather, then First Lutheran Church will also be closed.

Thank you! 

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

 ATTENTION High School Seniors and College Students: The Christian Growth Board is accepting scholarship applications for the 2024-2025 school year for post-secondary education. Any member of FLC that is currently a high school senior or college student may apply. Applications are available on the church website or by the Welcome Center. If you have any questions please call the church office at (402) 426-4073.

The deadline to submit an application is

April 14, 2024.

Monday morning Bible study

Anything but dull, was the time of Luther and the beginning of the Reformation. Politics. Peasant revolts. Wars. The Catholic church was the only church, and was determined to keep it that way. How dare this upstart Luther try to change the church by quoting scripture!  

Pastor Glen will be leading our study of the Reformation and the Augsburg Confession. He has experience in leading classes on the Reformation and with his depth of knowledge it will be interesting.   

Monday morning Bible study, for men and women, meets at 9:00 in the library. After Christmas break the first class is January 8. Contact Glen Andersen,

402-237-9775, Pastor Glen, or just show up on Jan 8.

Do you participate in our online worship services?

If you watch our services on Facebook or other sites, please like the post or leave a comment each time. This will help us improve our accuracy in attendance numbers at First Lutheran.

W.O.W. Meal is back on Wednesdays!

Rushed on Wednesdays? 

Let us do the cooking!

Join us for the W.O.W. Meal

in the Fellowship Hall from 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm

prior to Worship Lab.

** Free-will offering **

  Come at 5:30 to fuel your body and then

stay for Worship Lab at 6:15

to feed your soul.

WE NEED COOKIES/BARS

FOR FEBRUARY!

We are needing cookies for February!

Please help if you can!

The Mid Week Meal needs your help.

We serve 240 people EACH WEEK.  That's 20 dozen cookies/bars EACH WEEK.

Please sign up to provide a treat for these folks!! We are especially in need in February.

Signup here or call Erika

(402-533-0918):  https://signup.com/go/hfewWuF

Choir News

Could the Spirit be calling you to add your voice to the choir?

If so, we can promise with great certainty:

You will feel welcome, comfortable, and involved 

The choir began rehearsals on Tuesday, September 5th at 6:30 pm in the choir room (take the elevator to the second floor and turn left).

Regular attendance is encouraged but don't be discouraged if you can't make it each week.

You are welcome to join as often as you can.

For more information and questions, contact Vince at VKrysl@firstlutheranblair.org

Come, join us in making a joyful noise!

Women's Bible Study

The Friday Morning Women’s Bible Study will begin Season 2 of the series “The Chosen”. This study will combine the movie with eight sessions in a study guide. This Bible study meets on Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. in the Ark, which is in the lower level of First Lutheran. If interested in coming to this Bible study, contact Susie Pinquoch at (402) 426-8182 or spinquoch@gpcom.net.

Pastor Glen's contact information

Pastor Glen's email is pastorglen@firstlutheranblair.org and his cell phone number is (402) 740-6395

if you need to contact him. 

Wednesday, February

7th, 2024

We will be serving Creamy Chicken Casserole, fruit, and dessert.

WE REMEMBER IN OUR PRAYERS

Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers