Volume 57, Issue 9 SEPTEMBER 2019

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

‘God’s Work.

Our Hands’ Sunday ....... 1

Thoughts from

Pastor Mark .................... 2

Children, Youth &

Family .............................. 3

Worship & Music ............... 3

Child Care Book Fair ......... 3

Bible Study & More ........... 3

Backpack Program ............. 4

Missionary Circle-

Harbor Light Project ..... 4

Loaves & Fishes ................. 4

Flu Clinic ............................. 4

Breeze ................................... 5

‘Building Resilient

Communities’ ................. 5

Moments of Generosity .... 5

Chi Rho Center ................... 5

WCC-Chi Rho Summer ..... 6

About Our People .............. 7

‘Thank You’ from Sam ...... 7

Welcome Statement ........... 7

Office Information ............. 7

September Celebrations ..... 7

St. John’s Staff & Council . 8

Mission-Vision-Values ....... 8

The Messenger

10 A.M. WORSHIP

RESUMES

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

On September 8, St. John’s will participate in GOD’S WORK. OUR HANDS SUNDAY, an opportunity to celebrate who we are in ministry as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) - one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.

On that day:

Sunday School will begin a new year of study and activities at 9:15 a.m.

Worship Hour returns to 10:00 a.m. with the celebration of Holy Communion, baptism of Rita Amos, and Jaeden Micco’s confirmation.

Fellowship and ‘GWOH’ service activities for all ages will follow worship. Projects being planned include: - Birthday gift bag packing for ZOOM House children (funds for this

provided by a Thrivent Action Grant) - Stormdrain stenciling in partnership with Tangletown Neighborhood

Association - Fleece-tie blanket-making for LSS's Camp Noah campers - Shelve/inventory food donations for Justice Page Backpack program

If you would like to help lead or co-lead any of these activities, please contact Jennifer Burdick at Mattjen0625@msn.com or 612-226-5448.

You work every day to make your community a better place. Let’s do this work together!

THE MESSENGER PAGE 2

Thoughts from Pastor Mark...

I thank you for allowing me to travel to Scotland with my wife Connie and

my daughter Linnea, August 26-September 4. Linnea will be studying abroad

at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland during this Fall Semester. I also have

the remarkable opportunity to travel with the ‘Minneapolis Pop-up Choir’ to

sing for the Queen of England. In addition to moving Linnea into her college

and singing for the Queen, I will be exploring some religious sites and looking into Christianity’s

beginning in Great Britain. I am excited for this trip and to share my experiences with you upon

my return!

As we prepare for a new program year at St. John’s, here are some highlights of our summer life

together:

The St. John’s Church, Chi Rho Center, and Child Care Center have been in a state of

transition and change for several months: new chart of accounts, two new church office

staff, six (6) new Chi Rho employees, and goodbyes to Amy Mihelich and Sam Grace.

(Add to that my Andover house was finally sold after being on the market for 6 months –

and our search for a new house will continue upon our return). For the whole staff this

period has been exhausting, trying, and difficult. However, making these changes has also

been vitally important and seeing these changes be implemented has been life-giving,

and it is a true joy to see the positive effect these changes have made within the staff

system of your church.

St. John’s new Director of Worship and Music has officially started a regular routine in the

office. Kira Winter is employed by St. John’s part-time (up to 25 hours per week).

St. John’s Bookkeeper Sarah Sarset continues to refine our financial bookkeeping system

and has been a real gift!

Our relationship with Wayzata Community Church through the Chi Rho Center has been

fruitful and a huge success this summer. We together are currently working on another

one-year agreement while simultaneously pursuing what a “partnership” might look like.

(See WCC Pastor Rustin’s letter on page 6)

Dave Helm has done a superb job this summer, but is exhausted!

God’s Work our Hands Sunday will be held on September 8

Confirmation for Jaeden Micco will be during worship on September 8

Baptism of Rita Kay Amos will also occur during worship on September 8

I’ll see you in September!

Pastor Mark

THE MESSENGER PAGE 3

SEPTEMBER

LECTIONARY

September 1 Pentecost 12

Proverbs 25:6-7 Psalm 112

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Luke 14:1, 7-14

September 8

Pentecost 13

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Psalm 1

Philemon 1-21 Luke 14:25-33

September 15 Pentecost 14

Exodus 32:7-14 Psalm 51:1-10

I Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10

September 22 Pentecost 15

Amos 8:4-7 Psalm 113

I Timothy 2-7 Luke 16:1-13

BIBLE STUDY & MORE with Pastor Mark will resume for the fall on Wednesday, September 11 at 6:30 p.m. and Thursday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m. (no sessions the first week of September). All are welcome to join in continuing to explore key teachings, worship patterns and practices, and other aspects of main religious traditions in our country today with discussion based on the study Honoring Our Neighbors’ Faith: A Lutheran Perspective on Faith Traditions in America .

September 29 Pentecost 16

Amos 6:1a, 4-7 Psalm 146

I Timothy 6:6-19 Luke 16:19-31

September Wednesdays: Rehearsals with Kira

St. John’s Bells—6:00 p.m. Sept. 11

St. John’s Brass—6:45 p.m., Sept. 18

St. John’s Choir - 7:30 p.m., Sept. 4, 11, 18, 25

We’re looking forward to a wonderful year of music-making at St. John’s! All are welcome and encouraged to join. Contact Kira with thoughts or questions—kwinter@stjohnsmpls.org

CHILDREN, YOUTH, & FAMILY

Welcome to fall!

Sunday School for ages 3 through 5th grade will be starting up again on Sunday, September 8th. Please join us in the upstairs Sunday School room at 9:15 to hear God's word with other St. John's kids. All are welcome--bring a friend!

Even though we said goodbye to Amy this summer, we are hoping to continue her Friday Night Fun legacy. "Pizza in the Park" will be from 5:30-7:00 p.m at Fuller Park (48th & Grand) on Friday, September 13th. Bring lawn games or a soccer ball, and plan to enjoy a late summer even-

ing with your church family. Friday Night Fun is for all ages, and guests are always welcome. Please RSVP to the church office so we know how much pizza to order. If you have an idea for Friday Night Fun or you want to plan a month, please let Dustin Olson or Anne Nervig know!

WORSHIP & MUSIC

CHILD CARE St. John’s Child Care Center’s Scholastic Fall Book Fair:

Tuesday, September 24 — Thursday, September 25.

Join us in sharing a love of reading with our students at the Book Fair—it’s a great way to connect kids you know with books they want to read!

You can: *Visit our Fair to make your selections in person. *Consider purchasing a book for one of our classrooms. Teacher “Wish Lists” will be posted at the fair.

We appreciate your dedication to creating lifelong readers. See you at our Book Fair!

THE MESSENGER PAGE 4

COMMUNITY & NEIGHBORHOOD

YOUR GENEROSITY FEEDS THE HUNGRY!

Please help fill the first 15 food backpacks of this 2019--2020 school year for families at Justice Page Middle School.

Baskets have been placed at the St. John’s office lobby entrance and in the narthex for our food donations to the Backpack Program.

Items needed for September are:

New or used 19-inch backpacks

Cereal: Cheerios, Rice Krispies and Mini Wheats

peanut butter

tuna and chicken

chunky soup/stew, ravioli

boxed dried noodle soup

canned fruits and vegetables

applesauce

pudding snack packs

mac and cheese

brown rice

Cash donations to ’Backpack Program’ and Cub or Aldi gift cards are needed to purchase fresh fruit, yogurt and cheese, and can be placed in the offering ates or left in the church office.

Because the Church has decided that all food donated will go to the Backpack Program this school year, Missionary Circle has decided to help Harbor Light Shelter. They have requested towels and other articles that are in great need. For that reason, we will be re-questing the congregation to donate items each month using the schedule on the right.

We will continue to support three children in India and organizations in our community we have in the past. But we would appreciate the help of the congre-gation in helping Harbor Light Shelter.

Thank you.

Missionary Circle

Missionary Circle

Loaves & Fishes

Volunteers from St. John’s are needed to prepare the evening meal for Loaves & Fishes 2:30 p.m., Monday, September 23.

TRUST congregations join together to prepare and serve meals at Loaves and Fishes at St. Stephen’s Church on Clinton Avenue.

If you are available the fourth Monday of the month 6 times a year, can work between 3 and 6:30 p.m. (or part of that time), and like to meet people, please contact Marlene Holden at 612-927-6369 to serve with St. John’s or the TRUST office at 612-827-6159 if you would like more information. There is some-thing for everyone, from buttering bread to lifting heavy roasters of food.

Each church recruits a team that either cooks, serves or cleans up. Judson Baptist, St. John’s Lutheran, Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, Linden Hills UCC, and Living Spirit UMC are the current Loaves and Fishes congregations.

Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Harbor Light Project Schedule:

September 2019 – new or clean used towels

October 2019 – toothpaste, toothbrushes, toiletries

November 2019 – socks

December 2019 – new or used blankets and sleeping bags

January 2020 – new or clean used towels

February 2020 – toothpaste, toothbrushes, toiletries

March 2020 – socks

April 2020 – new or used blankets and sleeping bags

May 2020 – new or clean used towels

June 2020 – toothpaste, toothbrushes and toiletries

MISSIONARY CIRCLE will meet in the church lounge on Wednesday, September 4 at noon. Everyone is welcome; please come and join us as we plan the year. Bring your lunch, dessert will be provided.

The TRUST/MVNA FLU CLINIC at St. John’s will be on Sunday, October 27 from 11 a.m. - noon this year. Full schedule of 2019 flu shot clinics at var-ious TRUST churches will be posted on our bulletin boards.

THE MESSENGER PAGE 5

CHI RHO CENTER

September Highlights:

September has a trickle of groups coming through Chi Rho Center.

The Toso Family Reunion stays into early September, moving from the 4th of July after around 20 years. Now they are happy to take over another holiday weekend to be able to take advantage of continuing their tradition at Chi Rho.

TylöHelo (formerly SaunaTech), a company well known in the Midwest, comes out for an evening of dining on the 17th. They set up a week or so before with a model Sauna and break down as soon as the model is sold. They have a business meeting and gathering with others from around the world discuss-ing the future of the company primarily based in Sweden. The local company is located in Cokato, MN. TylöHelo has been here about 15 years in a row. A great bunch of folks enjoying the evening.

On September 27-29, ‘Listen and Learn’ return for nearly the 20th year. This group of ladies from the Minneapolis area have been involved for years, having discussions and taking in the nature of the area together.

Chi Rho Center activities in September!

David Helm, Manager, Chi Rho Center, Annandale, MN

STEWARDSHIP...

MOMENTS OF GENEROSITY

The Stewardship Committee extends sincerest gratitude to our Church Basement Ladies and Gentlemen for graciously maintaining orderliness, cleanliness and calm in fellowship hall. The countless hours of service include prep, serving and cleanup for Sunday fellowship hour, funerals, church meals throughout the year, Chi Rho Easter Breakfast, etc. Thank you for expressing gener-osity through sharing your time and talents! You make it possible for St. John's to live out the Welcoming Hospitality part of our mission.

Breeze, our new church membership system, will be introduced to members of St. John’s in a Sunday forum in Fellowship Hall following worship on September 15. In this forum, we will demonstrate how to access Breeze and use the online directory. Follow-up assis-tance will be available during fellowship on September 22 and 29 as well. In the future we will also be learning about opportunity for electronic giving through Breeze.

MEMBERSHIP...

Building Resilient Communities: A Monday Night Mental Health Speaker Series

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities (Minneapolis campus) and St. Joan of Arc Catholic Community host a monthly mental health presen-tation with varying topics/speakers on the 2nd Monday of every month. A light supper is served at 5:45 pm followed by the presentation from 6:30-8:00 pm. All are welcome to attend! No registration necessary. Partici-pant certificates for 1.5 hours are available for mental health professionals and students.

This Building Resilient Communities series will focus on cre-ating a shared understanding of mental illness, personal and community resilience, and how we can respond and support indificuals living with mental illness, chronic stress, or facing overwhelming experiences. A resilient community is one that promotes hope, healing, and wellness in all its members.

MONDAY: Sept. 9, 2019 Building Resilient Communities—speaker, Tracey Wilkins, MSW, LICSW from Willow Tree Healing Center @ Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale

MONDAY: Oct. 14, 2019 Mental Health in Our Communities: Supporting Youth & Families—speaker, Carol Hornbeck, MA, LMFT, Westminster Counseling Center @ St Joan of Arc Catholic Community, 4537 3rd Ave S

THE WHOLE CHURCH

Our yearly

sauna visitors!

THE MESSENGER PAGE 6

CHI RHO VISION….

This is an article written by WCC’s Pastor Rustin regarding their experience at the Chi Rho Center.

Over 500 campers, which included 3 high school camps, 3 middle school camps, 2 children’s

camps, & 1 family camp, were blessed to be hosted at Chi Rho Center this summer in a part-

nership between Wayzata Community Church and St. John’s Lutheran Church. There were 23

WCC camp staff members and 8 Chi Rho staff ready to give all of themselves to all of these

children of God.

How do you sum up an experience like camp? I’ve failed to do it for years, but I’m gonna try,

because what I want more than anything is to share what we all felt & learned at camp this

summer.

I suppose the best way to express what it’s like to be at camp is with a question - Have you

ever had a time in your life where you felt like your true self. Like, your 100% unfiltered self? A

time where you have no masks... you’re not trying to impress anyone... you’re not worried

about what other people are thinking...and you’re living with unapologetic joy.

I think it’s pretty rare these days to have that feeling with the amount of societal pressures. I

don’t care how old or young you are, how much life or work experience you have, we all have

moments where we feel like we can’t put our guard down. It’s as though we need someone or

something to give us permission to put our guard down. At camp, students and leaders get to

experience that feeling of being their true self. We concluded our summer by asking each

camper to do their best to bring their beautiful true selves home with them - and to share it

with everyone they meet...to go and light the world with what makes them shine.

That environment doesn't just happen. It’s incredibly hard work to create a place that’s physi-

cally, emotionally, & spiritually safe - along with endlessly fun. It requires each of the staff to

give all of themselves, literally 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. That’s not a normal job, and we

don’t pretend like it is. ‘Cause when you’re in the business of changing lives, it requires all of

yourself. This is easily one of the most demanding and rewarding jobs out there.

Together in partnership WCC, Chi Rho Center and St. Johns created a remarkable team that

partnered together for a remarkably successful summer. We are so proud of the collective

staff and we are so grateful to St. John’s and Dave for their amazing hospitality and partner-

ship in this profoundly important summer. It was a very successful summer - and we all de-

serve to celebrate this ministry. Chi Rho feels like home immediately, and we are excited to

continue a healthy dialogue about the exciting future of camp. Camp has a thriving momen-

tum that isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Pastor Rustin Comer

THE MESSENGER PAGE 7

About Our People...

We pray for:

Ones in need of healing, comfort, encouragement or sustaining care: † Amy Arens, Margery Arens, Jeff Carlson, Taichi Chen, Darrell & Barb Christoferson, Dharampaul, Vicky Ercolani, Shirley Foerster, Nancy Hacker, Debra Jacobs, Anna Koosman, Sharon Kunz, Ken Marsh, Jane McDonald, Jane McNaughton, Violet Raymond, Sara Reineke, Diane Ristrom, Mike Schlagel, Norleen Schmidt, Diane Shea, Susan Stagg, Rhonda Stanley, Oly Stromberg, Gloria Swanson, Margaret Thompson, Bruce Walker, and others held in our hearts and known by God.

Ones mourning loss: † Elaine Taylor and family—Elaine’s niece, Betsy Bernhard, passed away on August 11 in Ohio. † Tamara Gebhardt and family—Tamara’s grandmother, Ella Metzger, passed away on August 13 in South Dakota at the age of 101.

Ones celebrating new life together: † Lia Gambucci and Adam Hardtke were married at St. John’s on Sunday, August 18, 2019.

Please let the church office know if you would like to share information with the congregation.

Callers to St. John’s have the option to talk with or leave messages for individual staff, Child Care or Chi Rho by choosing one of these eight prompts:

1. Church Office/Ann Paulson 5. Joseph Sahai 2. Pastor Mark 6. Sarah Sarset, Bookkeeper 3. Kira Winter 7. Dave Helm, Chi Rho Manager 4. 8. Tina Shear, Child Care Director

Note: there have been some changes to the order of prompts now with our new phone system.

Happy Birthday!

1 Jaeden Micco

Memphis Yard

5 Gus Nordstrom

6 Matthew Burdick

Katherine Wacker

Henry Dosdall

7 Dannell Nordstrom

Julie Stromberg

8 Sarah Tellijohn

9 Jim Collins

Jane McDonald

13 Susan Herridge

19 Allison Falk

22 Mark Tiede

24 Robert Slifer

26 Ron Conrad

27 Jennifer Belz

Drew Eid

29 Whitney Koliha

Happy

Anniversary!

7 Mark & Connie Tiede

13 Kevin & Julie Hurbanis

14 Warner & Idamae Northrup

15 Steve & Ellen Dosdall

18 Jim & Dona Collins

Eric Willette & Elizabeth Roe

22 Bill & Louise Matson

If your birthdate and/or anniversary has been

inadvertently omitted or is incorrect, please forgive us, then call the church office

at 612-827-4406. Thank you!

St. John’s is a Reconciling in Christ congregation that celebrates and cares for all people.

As followers of Christ, who calls us to reconciliation and wholeness through baptism, the members of St. John’s Lutheran Church welcome all who are seeking God. We affirm that this

reconciliation extends to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. We welcome members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as those who may have been excluded because of

other human distinctions. We strive to live as a welcoming people in our life together and our outreach to the community. Our doors are open. Come as you are. You belong.

You can reach the church office at 612-827-4406 or communications@stjohnsmpls.org Email Pastor Mark at pastortiede@stjohnsmpls.org

To the members at St. John’s,

It was my greatest pleasure to serve as your worship and music director these past four years. God is doing incredible things through your service, and I will continue to hold you all in prayer. Your generous gift was completely unex-pected, but we wanted to share our profound gratitude for thinking of us. We also wanted to thank you for such a beautiful send-off and party. So many people were involved, and we are so grateful for the love and support! Please keep in touch—we will do the same. Indiana has been great so far. Love to all of you.

Sam, Megan, & CJ Thank you...again and again!

September

Celebrations

Information Church Office .................. 612-827-4406 Church Office Fax ......... 612-827-0574 Child Care Center .......... 612-827-1237 Chi Rho Center .............. 320-274-8307 Church Office email: communications@stjohnsmpls.org Website: www.stjohnsmpls.org Facebook: .www.facebook.com/ StJohnsMpls

Parish Staff

PASTOR Mark Tiede

DIRECTOR OF WORSHIP & MUSIC MINISTRY Kira Winter

ASSISTANT FOR MINISTRY Ann Paulson

ORGANIST Peder Flaten

BOOKKEEPER Sarah Sarset

CUSTODIANS Joseph Sahai (day) Larry Fraser (summer Sundays/events) Ben Gebhardt (Sundays/events) Mill City Cleaning (Child Care)

CHILD CARE DIRECTOR Tina Shear

CHI RHO CENTER MANAGER David Helm

Church Council Lori Johnson, President Jennifer Burdick, Vice President Patrick Coveney, Secretary Jim Gambucci Tamara Gebhardt Bea Hasselmann Ann Paulson Jeanne Tuvey Clara Willette Susan Zabel, Treasurer

THE MESSENGER

St. John’s Lutheran Church 4842 Nicollet Avenue

Minneapolis, MN 55419

St. John’s Lutheran Church A Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Our Mission:

Fueled by Christ’s redeeming love, St. John’s is called into a joyful life of welcoming hospitality, grace-filled worship, transformational relationships, and Gospel-driven service in the world.

Our Core Values:

Welcoming Celebrating and caring for all people. Our doors are open.

You belong. Come as you are.

Worshiping Gathering together to joyfully thank God in prayer and praise for Jesus, who calls us, centers us, and sends us into the world. Healing Reflecting God’s unconditional grace and love by walking

together through the joys and pains of life.

Serving Gratefully responding to the needs of the world with the

abilities God has gifted us. Our Vision for the Future: A vibrant community living faith boldly

Summer Worship Hour 9:30 a.m., Sept. 1 only

Worship Hour 10:00 a.m. beginning Sept. 8

Nursery care is provided.

Traditional worship that is joyful and welcoming to all.

ELCA Presiding Bishop: Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

Minneapolis Area Synod Bishop: Bishop Ann Svennungsen