House of Prayer Lutheran Church

1470 S Washington, Bismarck ND 58504

From Michelle's Desk!

Friends in Christ,

This month has been wild! May brings so much change—change in weather, change in daily routines, change in the picture we see out our windows—green leaves and flowers are finally here again! May means Mother’s Day, the end of confirmation & Sunday School, Bible study is paused for a few months, it means the end of another school year. This brings many events; concerts, sporting events, awards ceremonies, end of the year parties, graduations of all kinds--kindergarten, 5^th & 8^th grades, high school and college.

As we experience the normal changes that May brings, there are bigger changes happening in some of the lives around us. Our nation is shook yet again by a school shooting. Some of us have lost loved ones, learned of a new diagnosis or declining health conditions or family dynamics have changed in some way. Some of the big changes may be positive; a new job, a wedding or a new baby—they’re exciting and great but can still be HARD. 

We all experience change and some are better at accepting it than others. As things change around us, one thing that never changes is God’s love for us. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the sun. Most of us don’t like change but nothing is static in life for long. We would rather stay on the positive side of things (laughing, loving, having peace, etc.). But as long as we live in a world of conflict, we must accept the fact that we cannot live with unchanging circumstances. However, these seasons of change should bring us hope because we know that God is in control, and everything is designed to be good in its season.

There can be so much beauty in change and even in letting things go. Even if an incredible moment ends and fades to a memory, God remains the same. And he promises that there will be more incredible moments ahead. 

Seasons will come and go, but God will always remain constant. He will remain constant in trials and suffering as well as in your joy and happiness. God has your best interest at heart. He is our rock on which we can stand, who strengthens us and steadies us as we look to Him (1 Peter 5:10).

God’s love is constant for us. How are YOU responding to that love? Do you give God the time of day he deserves? Strengthening your faith this summer will only help you understand and accept all the changes that are to come. In the midst of all the changes in your life, make God and regular worship at House of Prayer your constant—you’ll never regret it!  

Blessings, Michelle

Affirmation of Baptism

Congratulations to our House of Prayer 2022 confirmands

Congratulations to our House of Prayer 2022 Seniors 

Kayde Brandt, Leah Emineth, Braden Fritel,

Quinton Haaland, Autumn Ketterling, Judson Meschke,

Trina Neugebauer, Isaac Schell, Johanna Stromme,

Reece Vorachek

House of Prayer 

Rummage Sale  

June 10th & 11th 

8 am to 5 pm

• Thank you for all of the rummage sale donations that have been dropped off in May.
• Last day to drop off donations is Sunday, June 5th. All donations must be dropped off when the church staff is there to let you in & you must be able to unload the donations yourself. 
• Furniture donations need to be approved by Tracie and can be dropped off June 6-9. 
• Items we will NOT be able take are TV’s or large exercise equipment.  
• Volunteers will be needed.  
• June 5-9 for sorting and set up.
• Afternoons from 1-4 & Evenings from 5-9
• June 10th & 11th – Volunteers to work the sale 
• Morning Volunteers 7:30 - Noon
• Afternoon Volunteers Noon – 5:00
• All volunteer time is appreciated and is flexible. Even if you can only give an hour or two it helps. More hands make less work!!

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Dear Friends in Christ, 

Here is a review of House of Prayers financial status so far this year.

Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual Spending Plan:

Budget set for 1-1-2022 thru 4-30-2022 - $203,790.32

Total expenditures 1-1-2022 thru 4-30-2022 - $170,692.39

Total income 1-1-2022 thru 4-30-2022 - $154,154.80

Summary:

Our records show we are $34,209.00 below budget spending so far this year.

Our records show we are minus ($16,537.59) General Fund income.

Thank you all for being strong active, generous members of this Church in supporting Gods' Ministry the way you do.

Respectfully Submitted,

Treasurer, 

Keith Zhorela  

House of Prayer has been experiencing water seepage in the basement. After researching the problem, we have hired Innovative Basement Authority to make the proper repairs needed. The cost of these repairs will be $4,920.84 and will commence July 7th.

We have also purchased new LED lights for the church and will begin installing soon. Cost of the lights was $5,000. Cost to install them has still not been determined.

We have also obtained bids to redo the wood siding on the church. The timing of this has yet to be determined. The cost of this project will be $55,000.

The operations instructions for the church kitchen have been updated for the coffee maker and dishwasher.

We have decided that Sunday, June 5th will be the day of clean-up at the church. We will be serving pizza to the volunteers at 11:00am before we start work! 

Items we are looking at to be completed are as follows:

• Blow leaves and debris around building out into the lot and then have the

  lot swept.

• Clean the rain gutters.

• Wash windows on the outside.

• Clean up branches, pallets, old wood around shed.

We still have an opening for a custodian for our church. It will entail dumping of garbage, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing the floors, cleaning inside windows. Anyone interested or if you know of anyone contact Reinie Kembel at 701-391-8892.

Thank You,

Reinie

Did you know? A portion of the financial gifts you give to House of Prayer goes to Mission Support to grow the Lutheran Church and addresses issues around the world?  

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

It is the offering of our hands, feet, voices and financial resources that empower us to navigate, adapt, and change in ways that bless those God calls us to serve. God is present, still active and calling us into mission and ministry together as the church! And everything we have done, are doing, or will do is done in the name of our Lord Jesus.  

Thank you for your part in this holy and sacred work through mission support in 2021 in the Western Synod--ELCA!  HOP gave over $41K in 2021 alone--THANK YOU!!

For more information and Stories of Faith in Action, check out this link:

Thank you for being a part of God’s mission at House of Prayer! Just the fact that you are reading this demonstrates your desire to be a part of God’s kingdom.

As we begin to embrace stewardship, I thought it would be appropriate to share what stewardship is, as there is certainly some apprehension and misconception out there. I think Charles Lane lays it out nicely in the book “Embracing Stewardship.”

“Stewardship is a wonderful word that describes how a follower of Jesus Christ faithfully travels through this life. Contained in this one word are three important biblical teachings. First, God is the creator and owner of all that is. Second, God loves us so much that God has entrusted some of what God owns into each person’s care. And third, how God’s people manage what God entrusts into their care both flows from their relationship with God and impacts that relationship.”

Stewardship is not about paying the bills. It is about using what God has blessed us with to bless others. Everything we have is a trust from God, placed by God into our care and management. When we recognize that God is the creator and owner of all things, our guiding question shifts from “What do I want to do with this?” to “What would God have me do with this?”

From Deuteronomy 8: “Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth” (vv. 17-18). It all belongs to God. We are called to be good stewards of His gifts. Kadon Hintz & Jarred Roloff

House of Prayer Quilters had a very successful spring of quilt distributions. We sent 55 quilts to Lutheran World Relief and distributed 61 to 6 local charities. We would like to thank those that have donated material and sheets so far this year, it is very much appreciated. 

House of Prayer Quilters

MEMORIAL SERVICE COMMITTEE

First and foremost, a big thank you goes out to each of you who have stepped up to provide food or help in the kitchen when we serve for funerals. You're terrific!

However, we need to update our volunteer lists. We've been unable to reach several existing volunteers because the phone number has changed. Also, we have many new members and those whose schedules have changed so they may want to offer their help.  

Briefly, our committee provides sandwiches, dessert bars, and sets up the kitchen for most funerals held at House of Prayer. . If you would like to be a part of our group, or have questions, please call Alice Nelson at 701-224-1268 or Margo Dietz at 701-400-3416.

We will be taking our old church directory into the modern age! Sitting safely in the cloud, the powerful database will provide 24/7 access to up-to-date member information from any computer or mobile device.

Start saving your best summer photos to upload and send when I give the word. No summer photos...use whatever good photo you want for the directory. They can be changed out at any time. The wonder of modern technology. 

I am looking for 1 or 2 people to help with the process of getting the directory loaded with all the information. If you are interested in being a part of the process and are good at data entry, please contact me.  

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION! Vera

September 8th!

Shawn Reynolds is an international comedian, dad of SIX, the founder of Stand-Up for Adoption, a comedy benefit that has raised has raised thousands for families trying to adopt children with special needs. He's won numerous awards for his "clean comedy" and he's coming to HOP on September 8th for a fun night of comedy for couples. 

Check out his website to learn more:  

Putting the Ha in Hallelujah

TOO MUCH PRAISE

A Christian guy named Bill saw an ad online for a Christian horse, so he went to check it out. The horse’s owner said, “It’s easy to ride him. Just say ‘Praise the Lord!’ to make him go and ‘Amen!’ to make him stop.” Bill got on the horse and said, “Praise the Lord!” Sure enough, the horse started to walk. “Praise the Lord!” he said again, and the horse began to trot. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” he yelled, and the horse broke into a gallop. Bill was enjoying his ride so much that he almost didn’t notice the cliff he and the horse were about to go over. Bill shouted “AMEN!” at the top of his lungs, and the horse stopped right at the edge of the cliff. Relieved, Bill said, “Phew! Praise the Lord!” —Submitted by Z.S. via rd.com

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A woman invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the little girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the mother said.

The little girl bowed her head and said: "Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

— via Charles Laine

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...and in honor of Father's Day

“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”  

2 Corinthians 9:11