Blog – Page 320

The Gift of Love

January 31, 2016 By moadmin Leave a Comment

When we use our gifts for the sake of the other, and act out of love, we embody the love that Paul describes in his letter to the Corinthians. With this love, anything is possible.

Vicar Anna Helgen
The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, year C
texts: Jeremiah 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“…For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.”

How often do we feel like Jeremiah? Inadequate, unprepared, and not ready for what God calls us to do. “But I’m only a boy!” says Jeremiah. If God said these words to me as a child, I’d come up with an excuse, too.
I’m only a kid!
I don’t know what to do!
I haven’t been trained for this!
I don’t have time!
Can’t you ask someone else?

The truth is that God calls all of us–the young and the old, the weak and the strong, the willing and the reluctant–to carry out God’s mission in the world. To go where God sends us and speak what God commands us. If you’re feeling a little unsure, like Jeremiah, find comfort in the fact that God knows us from the very beginning. Even before we are formed in the womb, God makes us holy, and equips us with gifts so that we might share God’s love with all the world. We might still have questions or hesitations, but we can trust that God works with us in our reluctance and uncertainty, helping us to discover who exactly God calls us to be in this time and place.

Through a family acquaintance, I learned the story of the Schuster family–a family that learned together how to answer God’s call and show God’s love to the world. The Schusters live near Bremerhaven in the northwest part of Germany. This mom, dad, and their 16-year-old son decided to volunteer to take in an unaccompanied refugee, a minor. It was an involved process–lots of red tape, background checks, education classes, and–most importantly–an agreement to accept the minor until he or she turns 18. They knew during this process that they’d have no say in the age or gender of this person. No say in anything about the person at all.

Finally, they were approved and soon after, the Schusters and this young refugee had a chance to meet one another and see if it would be a good fit. If either party was hesitant, then the process would not move forward. Thankfully though, that wasn’t an issue. The Schusters connected immediately with Sohrab, a 13-year-old boy originally from Afghanistan. After his father was killed, however, his family had escaped to Iran to flee the Taliban. Sohrab wasn’t allowed to go to school while living in Iran. So his mother put him into a refugee program so he would have the opportunity to continue in his schooling. He’d been living in Germany, awaiting placement, before he met the Schusters.

When the Schusters met Sohrab he could only speak Farsi and a few words in German and English. He didn’t have many of his own belongings, so the Schusters bought him new clothes and a smartphone, so he could feel at home and be able to contact his family in Iran. Together, the Schusters and their guest-son (that’s what they call Sohrab) use Google Translate, a smartphone app, so that they can communicate more effectively. Can you imagine the challenges of living with someone when you don’t know their language?

When Sohrab first arrived, he slept and ate. A lot. With all his traveling and time spent in refugee camps, he didn’t get much rest. Now that he’s arrived in his new home he’s catching up on sleep and eating like any other growing teenage boy. He has started to interact more with the family, too. He goes to a school with other refugees and is taking intensive classes in German, so his language skills are improving making it easier for him to communicate with others. He’s also playing soccer which he loves.

The biggest worry of these unaccompanied minors is that they’ll be sent back to the refugee center. But the Schusters have done their best to make Sohrab feel welcome. Some of their relatives in the United States bought Sohrab his own laptop, so he’d have something to use in school and could more easily keep in touch with his family. Sohrab loved the gift and couldn’t believe it that it belonged to him! His guest-mom also thought it helped him feel secure in his new home since his extended guest-family in the United States thought of him as a new family member and welcomed him with a gift.

The Schuster family likely didn’t know what taking in an unaccompanied refugee would mean for them. They had their doubts and likely wondered if they could handle this. Other friends and family probably had their doubts, too. But even in spite of these concerns, the Schusters practiced love. They used their gifts for the sake of the other.

When we use our gifts for the sake of the other, and act out of love, like the Schusters, we embody the love that Paul describes in his letter to the Corinthians. This isn’t sentimental love, or romantic love, but love made known through our actions. The Corinthians were a squabbling bunch. They argued over what spiritual gifts were best and lost sight of how to use them. Paul tells them, and us, that if love is not at the center of all that we do, then we are nothing. Then our actions are worthless. Unproductive. Futile.

To embody this love in the world, we might have to take a risk, like Jesus. Jesus describes to the crowds in his hometown what this gospel-love looks like in the world. And he upsets them! Because this love propels us out of our hometowns–the places where we are most comfortable–and towards the other, into the unknown. It breaks down the barriers that place us against each other so that we can get to know one another and learn together how to live in community with all.

This kind of radical love is the purest expression of the gospel and is most fully revealed to us on the cross. It’s surprising and acts in ways we might not expect. It allows for disagreement, but does not create division. When this love flourishes and is practiced by a community, the gospel is made known to all. This is how love anchors us as a community of faith. There are no insiders and no outsiders. But all are united and included in the body of Christ.

When you doubt your place in the world or wonder if you have the gifts to share God’s love with others, remember what this gospel-love is like. With this love at the center, anything is possible.

In the words of Eugene Peterson:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Thanks be to God for this love made known to us through Jesus Christ.
And thanks be to God for you as you share this love with all the world.

Amen.

The Olive Branch, 1/27/16

January 28, 2016 By Mount Olive Church Leave a Comment

Accent on Worship

On the 17th of January I took on the challenge of discussing panhandling and the Christian response during the adult education hour. It was very interesting, conflicting, and complicated, but a valuable attempt at further understand-ing how God calls us to live and move in the world. Though I cannot repeat this discussion verbatim, I am going to do a two part series on a few of the highlighted pieces.

Part 1

Much research went in to this topic, but the most valuable piece was an interview with Monica Nilsson, the Director of Community Outreach at St. Stephens Human Services – a ministry focused on ending homelessness. Monica has deciphered four main cate-gories for why people begin panhandling. 1) They have untreated trauma/mental illness; 2) they are broke; 3) they have a chemical depend-ency; 4) they are lonely. For the many reasons why people start panhandling, every cardboard sign reads the same message of “I need help.” The most critical help is relationships and a sup-port network to help them start meeting their more complex needs besides just the few dollars a day for xyz. That’s where information is helpful and acknowledgement that what they’re going through, whatever it may be, is difficult.

Monica and the St. Stephens’s staff do not recommend directly giving panhandlers tangible items (money, socks, tooth-brushes), she does however say that everyone deserves to be acknowledged and respected. When she encounters someone on the street, she does not give money, but she will ask their name and say, “I wish you well,” and may ask if there’s any information or resources that they need.

Resources available at Mount Olive:

– The St. Stephens Street Outreach booklet gives all the shelter and other immediate need info. These are posted on the kiosk or I can get you any if you want copies to keep in your car (see page 5);
– The Handbook of the Streets is a complete listing of most/all resources available in South Minneapolis;
– A short list of nearby food shelves, free meals, shelters, etc. is posted on the kiosk and the bulletin board downstairs. Take pages, make copies, and give them away to those that need them;
– Anna Scott, Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry;
– You. Your compassion. Your willingness. Your care and concern and action.

– Anna Scott
Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach & Ministry

Sunday Readings

January 31, 2016: 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
I Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30

February 7, 2016: Transfiguration of Our Lord
Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12—4:2
Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]

The Presentation of Our Lord
Tuesday, February 2
Holy Eucharist
at 7:00 pm

Thursday Evening Study on the Book of Daniel

“Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land” is the title of the current Thursday Bible Study, exploring the book of Daniel. Written in a time of national tribulation and set in another such time, the book explores how God’s faithful live faithful lives in a threatening world. As always, the study begins with a light supper at 6, followed by the study. All are welcome!

Book Discussion Group

Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the February 13 meeting, they will read God’s Hotel, by Victoria Sweet. For March 12 they will read In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson.

Attention Worship Assistants

The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2016 (April – June) will be published at the beginning of March 2016. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 10, 2016. Please email your requests to peggyrf70@gmail.com.
Thanks!

– Peggy Hoeft

Coffee Hosts Needed!

There are currently very few hosts signed up for the coffee hour served between liturgies. If you’d like to help in some way, but don’t want to serve, consider making an extra batch of bars, cookies, or cake the next time you bake. You can bring the extra to church to be frozen for those days when no one signs up. Carla is glad to serve the treats, but would welcome help with the baking. Thank you for considering this important ministry of fellowship.

Music & Fine Arts News
Sunday, January 31, 4:00 p.m.
“A Winter Tapestry”
From Age to Age Choral Ensemble

Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts is pleased to welcome From Age to Age choral ensemble for the first time on their concert series. From Age to Age brings a program that will warm your heart as you listen to an eclectic mixture of repertoire representing all musical eras, and the standard of excellence that resounds the mission of our ensemble.

A reception follows the concert in the church’s Chapel Lounge.

Lent is Coming: Mark Your Calendars!

The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held on Tuesday, February 9, beginning at 6:00 pm.
Plan to come for a night of fun and fellowship for the whole congregation!
If you are willing to help with this event, please contact Amy Thompson via email to:
Amy.B.Thompson@wellsfargo.com

– Sponsored by the Mount Olive Youth

Stewardshift!

Sitze will lead February 6 “Stewardshift!” workshop

Bob Sitze, author of Stewardshift: An Economia for Congregational Change (Morehouse, January 2016), will lead a “Stewardshift!” workshop Saturday, February 6, for Mount Olive leaders and others who want to deepen and broaden their understanding of stewardship for congregational mission and daily life. The workshop, in the Chapel/Lounge, will start at 10:30 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., with participants joining Mount Olive’s Community Meal at noon.

Sitze (pronounced sights) says participants in the interactive workshop will wrestle with questions about the present and future of stewardship. They’ll examine the meaning of stewardship as the church and the secular world have understood it. Using ideas detailed in his new book, Bob will challenge common stewardship beliefs and practices, arguing that some may have run their course in the life of the church. He proposes a “shifted stewardship”—simultaneously more biblically centered and more secular—to more effectively shape and serve personal identity and congregational purpose. Bob’s workshops incorporate discovery-based methods, intellectual and emotional honesty, and what he calls “Lutheran levity.” Advised that Mount Olive people are not shy about asking questions and sharing opinions, Bob responded that he welcomes that prospect.

Bob Sitze is a former teacher and director of Christian education in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. He worked for many years—until his recent retirement—in the ELCA’s national offices as a resource developer and workshop leader in the areas of stewardship, Christian education, hunger, and ministry in everyday life. Four of his previous books, all focused on congregational dynamics, were published by the Alban Institute. Bob and his wife, Chris, live in Wheaton, Illinois.

To help estimate the need for seating, tables, and handouts, please let us know you’re coming by leaving a note marked “stewardship” in the church office or a message for Donn at agathach@bitstream.net or 952-452-2049.

—Donn McLellan, Director of Stewardship

Hungry Children?

Last week, you read about Jefferson elementary school, just a few miles from Mount Olive:
92% of children at Jefferson receive free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. But, on weekends,these children often have little to eat:

• 17% are homeless or “highly mobile;”
• children are often alone at home on weekends, because parents are at work. Imagine the feeling of arriving for school on Monday hungry. How hard it is for these children to begin
the week prepared to learn in the presence of gnawing hunger, because there was little to eat over the weekend.

The SHERIDAN STORY exists to fill that “food gap” between Friday and Monday. Studies have shown that children who receive adequate food on weekends experience increased self-esteem, improved behavior at school, better academic performance, significant improvement in standard-
ized test scores, increased interest in school, and better relationships with school personnel.
We’re going to learn how we can personally be part of THE SHERIDAN STORY. Keep watch on this space in coming weeks for more information.

St. Stephen’s Outreach

St. Stephens is a resource if you are concerned about someone on the street and would like an outreach team to make contact with them. The smaller booklet is for immediate needs and helpful in explaining how to enter a shelter. The Handbook of the Streets is a comprehensive collection of most types of aid in the Minneapolis area. Calling 2-1-1 will connect you with United Way and give you access to personal advice and contacts and is the fastest source of up-to-date information.

It’s a Clothing and Seed Swap!

Mount Olive will host the Do It Green Clothing Swap this Saturday, January 30, from 2-4 p.m.

Do It Green Minnesota is a non-profit organization committed to educating Minnesotans about making sustainable and green choices to better their lives and their community.

These clothing swaps provide a place for people to exchange clothes free of charge, which prevents waste, encourages reuse, and provides access to clothes to those who might not be able to afford them.

The event is free and open to the public. Bring clothes and seeds to share with others!

Winter Gear Drive Continues

Neighborhood Ministries is receiving donations of winter gear for children and adults.

New or gently used items (hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, and coats) can be donated in the box near the coat room. There is designated space for coats in the coat rack area. Items will be given away at the Community Meal throughout the winter or brought to the Central Lutheran Free Store.

Thank you!

Psalms & Spirituals with the National Lutheran Choir

Saturday, February 27, 2016 – 7:30pm
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley

Sunday, February 28, 2016 – 4pm
St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth

Tickets: Adult $25 | Senior $23 | Student $10 | 17 and under FREE
Call Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006 or order online at www.NLCA.com.

Church Library News

Reminders — We would like to remind all patrons of our church library to search their homes for books or other media that belong to the main church library (or the Courtyard library) and somehow haven’t been returned on time. Please do it soon and return those items, thus giving you peace of mind (no fines, no questions) and we will be happier too, and able to function more efficiently!

The second reminder involves bags of books that seem to appear at our library door or on our check-out desk; no doubt left as a kind donation, but with no identification as to just who left them for us! First, we would like to know who you are when you leave bags of books for us. Second, if these items are old or in poor shape, please don’t assume we are going to want them either. We have to be selective, not only because of limited room, possible duplication, or even usefulness of topic etc. If we decide not to use them, we would like to have your name so that we can offer them back to you or offer further suggestions.

An appropriate quote for the beginning of a new year: “A truly great book teaches me better than to just read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on it’s hint; what I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” – Thoreau

Resolve to come in and use the library resources often — we are looking for you and want to welcome you warmly!

– Leanna Kloempken

Today

January 24, 2016 By moadmin Leave a Comment

We are anointed, we are Christ; let’s stop avoiding the obvious and trust that the Spirit is filling us to bring Good News in all we say and do to those on the margins, those for whom God is most concerned.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Third Sunday after Epiphany, year C
texts: Luke 4:14-21; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

That’s a great way to begin a sermon. Unfortunately, Luke only gives us the start, what Jesus “began to say.” In the next verse, which we’ll hear next week, we’re already on the crowd’s response.

Jesus makes a powerful claim, but Luke already made it. Today he introduces Jesus after his temptation as “filled with the power of the Spirit.” So we readers already know the Spirit is upon him. We expect he will do all these wonderful things.

Still, it’s a great sermon we never get to hear. Except we do. If we read Luke carefully, Jesus’ chosen text is woven into everything he did and taught. This really was fulfilled in their hearing, in this person who brought God to us. And if we read the sequel, Acts, we’ll find much interesting about us.

But let’s start with the Scripture he read. We’ve neglected these words too long.

Somehow this monumental declaration of the point of his ministry didn’t catch on with the Church as much as his words at the ascension.

The Church called those words in Matthew 28 “the Great Commission” and ran with them for centuries. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded.” These have shaped Christian mission and theology since the beginning.

But what Jesus says today has been largely ignored by the Church’s power structures for most of the Church’s life. Yet this declaration is much more embedded in Christ’s teaching and theology than Matthew 28. It’s central to his understanding of his role as God’s anointed, and to his view of his followers’ role.

At the dawn of his ministry, Jesus says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus claims these words from Isaiah 61 are fulfilled in him and he does live them. He is good news to the poor, he gave the blind their sight, he freed many from oppressive lives, he declared the Good News of God’s favor and love for the world.

So far so good. Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah, and is filled with the Spirit. We believe this. But we’ve not been eager to follow Jesus’ path ourselves.

Making disciples is fine. But how did we decide these words didn’t apply to us?

Here’s what we miss: Luke believes as it goes with Jesus, so it does with us.

Read Luke and Acts side by side. In Luke, this is the first great scene we have in Jesus’ ministry, and he begins his ministry filled with the Holy Spirit and sent out to proclaim the Good News. In Acts, the first great event is when the Church begins its ministry by being filled with the Holy Spirit and sent out to proclaim the Good News.

For Luke, the Church is the Christ. The Spirit is upon us, and we are anointed to do these things. We’re very comfortable seeing Jesus in this role. But we have not done very well to live as Church into the same role.

We don’t get any help in our avoidance from Paul, either.

Paul agrees with Luke: in the one Spirit we were baptized into one body, he says.

And we are all given gifts for the sake of the whole body, for the sake of the world. It’s a powerful description of the varied gifts each of us has, and how important they all are to the calling we have to serve each other and the world.

But again, we seem to miss the big picture: we are all baptized in the one Spirit, Paul says, into one body. The body of Christ. We are, once again, Christ. The anointed. The ones who are now called to bear Christ’s ministry into the world.

We all have different roles in that ministry, that body. But we can’t avoid that in our baptism we are not what we were, we are now all anointed, together, to be Christ in the world.

Why is it easy to imagine Jesus full of the Spirit and doing these things, but not us?

Why do we seem to regard Pentecost as a past event, unrelated to us?

Is it fear? Are we afraid of reaching out in the world to change real problems, to work on God’s greatest concerns? God cares about the poor, the oppressed, the captives, the sick, and calls us to do something for them, to declare in our bodies, voices, hands, that God has come to set them free. Are we afraid that we might fail?

Or is reluctance? Maybe we just don’t want to do these things. We’re happy to give them to Jesus, to pray for the healing of the world. But believing that we have been anointed, together, made Christ, together, that we might bring good news to the poor and oppressed, the captives and the blind, is that just something we don’t want to do?

We don’t have much wiggle room to avoid this if we call ourselves Christian, though.

The words of Isaiah Jesus repeats are clear: the Spirit is given us for a specific purpose. To do these things. Jesus said, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Spirit has anointed me to do these things.”

The Spirit’s gifts are given for a purpose. That we follow Jesus’ great mission here in Luke 4 and change the world. There’s no point in talking about gifts of the Spirit without also talking about and remembering they are given so they can be used to heal the world God loves so much.

This is who we are, Spirit-filled, this is our job. To bring good news to the poor. To proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. To let the oppressed go free. To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Because we are anointed, we are Christ.

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing.”

What would it take for each of us to say that today? What do we need to know to say it? What do we need to remove that is blocking us?

We should ask such questions, but let’s not waste too much time on them. Better to simply say what Jesus said and see what God does. To say out loud to each other: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, upon me, for the purpose of bringing Good News to the poor, and oppressed, and blind, and captive.” And then to say, out loud: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing.”

Then we’ll see what the Spirit is up to. Because she’s already been giving birth to this in us. Pentecost is an ongoing reality in our lives. Claiming it, declaring it, opens our eyes to see it is true. That it is fulfilled in us, today. The more we look, the more we’ll see this fulfillment.

And the world will never be the same. Neither will we.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 1/20/16

January 21, 2016 By Mount Olive Church Leave a Comment

Accent on Worship

Gathering Rite: Preparation

When does this preparation for the liturgy happen for you? Some might say when we set
the alarm clock on Saturday night. Others might say when we dress. What we wear can say something about how we regard the activity we’re dressing for. Some can say even that what we wear has an effect on our behavior. Tuxedos just make me stand with better posture! Jeans and old pull-overs, well…posture is definitely different than when in a tux.

What are we preparing for? Folks may answer that question differently, but let’s start with
this assumption: we are preparing for an encounter with God, alive in this place, and in each other. Since there is no place that God is not, it is WE who take on this conscious focus when we come. In that en-counter we get to express how important God is to us, we will hear the Word of God which will challenge us for the part of the service that takes us out of this place back into the world, and we will partake in the sub-stance (bread and wine) that literally keep us a part of the Body of Christ. Through all these things we are strengthened as we are sent.

The Gathering rite is indeed an important part of our conscious and thoughtful participation in liturgy. It begins with all of the things mentioned so far – from plans to be here, a rehearsal on Wednesday, baking bread, ironing linens, setting the alarm clock, dressing, getting here, lighting candles, all the way through to the prayer of the day. Sometimes we corporately approach God through confessing our brokenness, or remembering whose we are in remembering our Baptism. We greet God with praise. We sing as one voice – a hymn or psalm, perhaps the Kyrie (sung prayer), and perhaps sing a Hymn of Praise. This “gathering” is actually quite vast and varies Sunday to Sunday, liturgical season to season.

For many, once arriving here, before the liturgy formally begins, thoughts turn to prayer. We set aside the nave for liturgies – prayer, praise, proclamation, celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We may greet some people in the narthex or in the lounge, but once entering the nave,
you may notice how many people prepare silently for what is about to take place. Some kneel in prayer. Some look through the service folder to see what has been planned for us to do, some look up the hymns and readings for a precursory look, perhaps marking them with the ribbons. Generally, it is quiet focus on God and mentally getting ready for what is to come, whether there is prelude music or not. It is important to respect that silence for those who value this preparation.

Not all congregations regard their space in this way. For some, it’s about the people. In that way of looking at things, it’s more like a reunion room. People great each other when they first arrive, happy to be reunited. For many here it’s a little different. Our time for “reunion” and greeting, also important, comes following the liturgy in the Chapel Lounge over coffee and treats! We are strengthened by our encounter with God, and now turn to each other for our mutual love and support before we return to “the world” so to speak.
What are you doing Sunday?

– Cantor David Cherwien

Sunday Readings

January 24, 2016: 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
I Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21

January 31, 2016: 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
I Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30

The Presentation of Our Lord
Tuesday, February 2
Holy Eucharist at 7:00 pm

Thursday Evening Study on the Book of Daniel

Book Discussion Group

Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the February 13 meeting, they will read God’s Hotel, by Victoria Sweet. For March 12 they will read In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson.

Sunday’s Adult Forum: January 24
“Luther and the Jews, presented by Darrell Jodock, Drell and Adeline Bernhardson Distinguished Professor of Religion Emeritus, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, and founder of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College.

Coffee Hosts Needed!

There are currently no hosts signed up for the coffee hour served between liturgies. If you’d like to help in some way, but don’t want to serve, consider making an extra batch of bars, cookies, or cake the next time you bake. You can bring the extra to church to be frozen for those days when no one signs up. Carla is glad to serve the treats, but would welcome help with the baking. Thank you for considering this important ministry of fellowship.

Music & Fine Arts News

Sunday, January 31, 4:00 p.m.
“A Winter Tapestry”
From Age to Age Choral Ensemble

A reception follows the concert in the church’s Chapel Lounge.

Lent is Coming: Mark Your Calendars!

The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held on Tuesday, February 9, beginning at 6:00 pm.
Plan to come for a night of fun and fellowship for the whole congregation!

If you are willing to help with this event, please contact Amy Thompson via email to:
Amy.B.Thompson@wellsfargo.com

– Sponsored by the Mount Olive Youth

Sitze will lead February 6 “Stewardshift!” workshop

—Donn McLellan, director of stewardship

Creation Awakes

Please join the new Holden Village Co-Executive Directors Peg Carlson-Hoffman + Chuck Hoffman as they share images and information about the impact of the Wolverine Creek Fire on Holden Village. These free events are opportunities for the Holden community to come together in familiar rhythms of teaching sessions, coffee break, and worship. The Directors will provide insights on plans for 2016 and beyond. Full Narnia (childcare) programming is available, so the whole family is welcome.

This event will be held on January 23, 2016, 2:00–5:00 pm, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Ave. S., in Minneapolis. Mount Olive member Senator John Marty is part of the teaching staff for this forum. His presentation is entitled, “Moving to a Fossil-Fuel Free Future; Addressing Climate Change Because There is No Planet B.” To register, please visit https://holdenvillage.thankyou4caring.org/creation-awakes

News from the Neighborhood
Anna Scott

Listen for A Change

Trinity Institute National Theological Conference presents: “Listen for a Change – Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice,” January 21-23, 2016. Hosted by Central Lutheran Church, this event is free, but registration is requested. For more information or to register go to: www.centralmpls.org & click on Events & News or talk to Anna Scott.

TI2016 is for anyone who is interested in a theological perspective on racial justice and a fuller understanding of present realities and ways to transform them. It’s not just for clergy – anyone interested is invited to attend. TI is also perfect for seminarians, students, activists, and young church leaders looking for new insights from thought leaders and change agents and all who are dedicated to or interested in striving for racial justice.

Oh My Lord, What Can I Do?

It breaks one’s heart to know: over 100,000 children in the Twin Cities live in “food insecurity,” a polite term for a child not knowing when they will get their next meal. On weekends, without the meal programs at school, hunger is their frequent reality, and for their family as well.

In this nation of abundance how can this happen? At an elementary school near Mount Olive:
– 92% of children receive free/reduced cost lunch because their families cannot afford to pay;
– 17% of children are homeless or “highly mobile;”
– 50% of children know little or no English.

It breaks one’s heart to think of hungry kids. What can I do? What can we do? Here is one answer. Watch The Olive Branch in coming weeks for more information on The Sheridan Story.

It’s a Clothing Swap!

Mount Olive will host the Do It Green Clothing Swap on Saturday, January 30, from 2-4 p.m.

Do It Green Minnesota is a non-profit organization committed to educating Minnesotans about making sustainable and green choices to better their lives and their community.

The event is free and open to the public.

Winter Gear Drive Continues

Neighborhood Ministries is receiving donations of winter gear for children and adults.

Thank you!

Hymn Festival: “One Body, Many Members”

David & Susan Cherwien will lead a hymn festival this Sunday, January 24, 4:00 pm at The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Roseville (3115 Victoria St. N., Roseville).

All are invited!

Who exactly is the Synod? Well, We Are

Sometimes when Lutherans speak of “the synod,” what they really mean is the synod staff. In fact, the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA is all the 155 congregations, other institutions, and all the nearly 190,000 members. We are the synod. We have a staff, too. Bishop Ann M. Svennungsen and twelve others work out of the synod’s office in the Minnesota Church Center at 122 West Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis and provide both service and leadership to congregations. But they, like the staff of Mount Olive, are there to serve the greater group.

As part of that greater work together with our sisters and brothers, Anna Scott, our Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry, was just named Vice Chair of the synod’s Public Voice Committee. This is the synod committee that works on how the many congregations of this synod speak in the public square and work in our neighborhoods for the good of the people of this city and world. But Anna is not alone in serving from Mount Olive. Two Mount Olive members serve on the Synod Council, the governing body of our synod between assemblies: Pr. Crippen, and Ty Inglis, who serves as synod treasurer, elected in 2015. Adam Krueger is co-chair of the synod’s Candidacy Committee, responsible for working with seminarians from Minneapolis as they navigate through the approval process. Through these, this is one way Mount Olive lives out our part as one of many that make up the “synod.”

Also Invited

January 17, 2016 By moadmin Leave a Comment

Inviting Christ to our lives, along with his friends, is the only way to begin to see the glory of God’s healing life for us and for the whole world.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Second Sunday after Epiphany, year C
text: John 2:1-11

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Apparently it matters whom we invite to our parties.

At least if we want enough food and drink to satisfy our guests for a three day village wedding. Having one who can make fine wine out of water is handy.

This must be a family friend or relative of Jesus getting married, since Jesus’ mother is also on the guest list. Jesus’ disciples were also invited. We’ve only met five so far in John, but you’d have to like Jesus a lot to answer yes to: “is it OK if I bring along five guys who are following me around?”

This may be a grace point in this story, though, a place we can enter and see our lives and God differently.

Maybe it really does matter whom we invite into our story, whom they bring with them, what we expect of them, and what they ask of us.

First, we want to put Jesus on our life’s guest list.

This miracle wasn’t really world-changing. No disease was cured, no demon sent away. Jesus just made sure the hosts of the party weren’t embarrassed. Maybe their guests were heavy drinkers; maybe the family was poor. But it would be humiliating.

But God’s Christ was there, a guest. And even the little details of our lives matter to him. He blessed them with the abundance of God, changed what was ordinary into extraordinary. That’s what happens when Jesus is at the party.

We’re in the afterglow of our celebration of the birth of Christ, and this story reminds us what it means that God has become one of us. In Christ, God lives in our lives, cares about our needs, even ones that seem unimportant to others. Christ Jesus is someone we want actively involved in our lives, with us.

As annoying as they can be, we also want to be sure to invite Jesus’ friends.

Wherever Jesus goes, he brings his friends along. Even to a wedding. They’re not the brightest, they often miss his point, act in ways Christ would prefer they didn’t. They need correction, guidance, help.

But Christ’s friends are vital for us. At Cana, they’re the witnesses of God’s glory in Jesus. So they are for us. Jesus’ friends are the ones who sit next to us in the pew, who talk to us at the coffee time, who know when we need them. They’re the ones who help us see what God is doing in our lives and in the world. Christ’s friends are the ones who stand with us in our faith and doubt, who witness so we might also believe.

Many of those who bear the name Christ can be annoying or problematic. Sometimes we’d rather focus on our faith by ourselves. But we need the friends of this Christ in our lives. We couldn’t see or believe without them.

There’s another on the Cana guest list who needs to be on ours, too.

“The mother of Jesus was there,” John says. And she’s crucial. She’s the one who notices the problem of the wine. She’s the one who comes to the only one who could do something, her son. She’s the one who ignores his resistance and tells the servants they should do whatever he says. Without her at this wedding, would Jesus have acted?

We need people like her in our life. We need to invite people into our life who know the truth about us, who can see what needs we have. But who also know God well enough to bring God our needs and ask for help. Even wrestle a little, argue for our cause, not take no for an answer.

These are the people of faith who are so important to us, who trust God when we struggle to, who pray in confidence when we doubt, and who will speak on our behalf to God, even if we could have spoken ourselves. (Remember, the bridegroom could have come to Jesus. That’s not the question. Sometimes we need someone to speak up for us.)

We want people like Jesus’ mother in our life.

But isn’t this miracle kind of insignificant?

In the huge problems of the world, Jesus’ action was small potatoes. Much of what we hope for from God feels the same to us. We struggle to know what we can bring to God for healing, for hope, for change. We don’t want to be selfish, we know there are bigger, worse problems that lots of other people have. We might only be running out of wine, not dying of hunger or unjustly locked up in a jail. Who are we to ask the Incarnate Son of God to come to our lives and help us?

But Jesus did this small little thing. He learned of a need and met it. He didn’t say, “What about those people over there that have nothing? Your problems aren’t important.” He made the wine.

Oh, but also: “this was the first of his signs, and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him,” John says. This was only the beginning. After Cana, Jesus would do much more – heal the sick, raise the dead, die on the cross, rise to new life – but this little miracle in an out-of-the-way village was the first sign of what was to come.

That’s the hope. Christ in our lives means we will see signs of God’s glory in our own small needs, our own small lives. And they will be signs that God is even now working in the world for healing. Signs of the much greater things God is going to do. And like the disciples, we believe.

There’s one more thing: whatever he tells you, do it, his mother said.

We need to hear what she said to the servants. Filling a jar with 30 gallons of water by carrying buckets from a well surely didn’t look miraculous. Nor did repeating it five more times. But out of their obedience came rich, abundant grace.

Pay attention to this. When Christ is in our lives, he’ll have things he needs us to do. Inviting him to our life isn’t a passive thing. So when Jesus tells us to do something, however small or unimportant, we would do well to do it. Love your neighbor as yourself, he said. Maybe that’s not going to change our society or world, or stop war, or end hunger. Maybe it’s going to be annoying and inconvenient, as tedious as endlessly carrying buckets to stone jars. But if Christ has asked us to do this, to love as we are loved, there is bound to be a grace, a miracle, a transformation in his plans. Our part is needed, even if we don’t see how.

Whatever he tells you, do it. That Mary sure knew her son.

It’s time to make the guest list of those whom we’re inviting to our lives.

We’ll invite Jesus, the Son of God, the Anointed. We’ll invite his friends, too, all of them, and especially one or two who know him well and will speak for us when we can’t.

And we’ll be ready for our jobs when we get them.

Because you never know what God can do with just a little thing like water. Or like us.

In the name of Jesus. Amen