Mount Olive Lutheran Church

The Olive Branch, 2/18/15

By

Accent on Worship

     Growing up Catholic, Lent for me was always a time to “give something up.” Chocolate. Soda. TV. And on Fridays, meat, unless we forgot it was Friday, or forgot it was Lent. Still today, it doesn’t feel like Lent until I have put away the basket of candy that typically sits out in my office!

     Giving up little things can seem trivial, but the ritual of abstaining from something that I usually do or consume without thinking about it served, and still serves, an important pur-pose for me. It sets Lent apart from ordinary time, inviting the question that echoes through the Jewish tradition of Passover, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Why is Lent different from all other seasons?

     Lent is a time to be aware of things that get in the way of my relationship with God. When I honestly pay attention, I can see how sometimes the silliest little
things, like a TV show or chocolate, can go from being a treat to enjoy to something that prevents me from being fully present to God and those around me. Lent invites us to set these things aside and trust in God, knowing we are God’s people.

     Our Old Testament scripture readings during Lent call us to awareness of who we are as people of the covenant, as baptized children of God. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah, promising that God would never again flood the earth. God has promised to be faithful to us, even when we are not faithful. Our baptism is an outward sign of that unbreakable covenant.

     Whether or not you, or I, choose to “give something up” this year, Lent is a season set apart for reflection. There are many ways for us to take that time at Mount Olive as a community. I look forward to seeing you here!

-Vicar Meagan McLaughlin

Sunday Readings

February 22, 2015: First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
I Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15

March 1, 2015:Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Psalm 22:23-31
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38

Sunday’s Adult Forum: February 22, 2015:
“Crossing the Threshold: Liturgy as Transformational Journey,” presented by Susan Palo Cherwien.

Lenten Devotional Book Available

The Grain of Wheat, Susan Cherwien’s new devotional booklet for Lent, is free and available at church. Pick one up for use during Lent!

Vestry Listening Sessions

     This Sunday, Feb. 22, the Vestry Listening sessions continue. This is an opportunity for the congregation to discuss the Vision Expression statements introduced earlier this month. This week’s focus will be on Missions and Property.  Following both the first and second liturgies, Judy Hinck (Missions) and Brenda Bartz (Property) will be available in the East and West Assembly rooms to hear your ideas on the work of their committees.

     Grab your coffee and join the small group to talk. Each session will last 30-45 minutes, and you may move in and out as you wish.

Midweek Lenten Worship
Wednesdays, Feb. 25 – Mar. 25
• Noon: Holy Eucharist, followed by soup luncheon
• 7:00 pm: Evening Prayer, preceded by soup supper, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Meals for the Manuels

     The Manuel family would like to thank everyone who signed up and brought us wonderful meals during Julie’s treatments. We know it wasn’t easy with construction, road closures, and parking restrictions on top of a very torn up street. It meant so much to us to have the help of a meal each week. We’d also like to thank all those who showed support with kind words, listening, and talking to us.

     We are so thankful to be a part of the wonderful congregation that is called Mount Olive.

– Julie, Steve & Eric Manuel

Book Discussion Group Update

For the March 14 meeting we will discuss  The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho; for April 11, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; and for May 9, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag.

Thursday Evening Study Returns Feb. 26

     Starting Feb. 26, the Thursday evening study will begin meeting again in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

     Not strictly a Bible study this time, Pr. Crippen will lead a four-week series studying “The Use of the Means of Grace,” our church’s 1991 statement on our sacramental practices.  Presiding Bishop Eaton has asked all congregations to study and discuss this.

     As always, there will be a light supper.  If anyone wishes to provide the first week’s meal, please let Pr. Crippen know.

Granlund Exhibit at Mount Olive

     Mount Olive is currently hosting an exhibit of sculptures by the famed artist, Paul Granlund. Beginning in mid-February and going through mid-April, the exhibit is sponsored by Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts.

     Paul Granlund wanted his sculptures to be viewed and enjoyed from all angles and even touched.  The exhibit will be on display in the Chapel Lounge and assembly areas.  We encourage members to come and see it, and to invite guests to visit.

Soup-Makers Needed!

     Soup makers are needed to provide soup and bread for our midweek Lenten meals. Soup and bread for the lunch following Wednesday midday Eucharist should feed 40-50 people, and for the supper before Wednesday Evening Prayer, we need soup and bread for about 15-20 people.

     If you can help by signing up to bring a meal (or two!), the sign up chart is available at the serving window at coffee hour on Sundays.

Common Hope Vision Team 2016

     Would you like to learn more about a Mount Olive Vision Team to visit Common Hope in Guatemala in 2016? We will be an intergenerational team of 10-12 people, high school age or older. Common Hope will ask what skills/talents our team brings and design our visit to use our gifts. We will learn and prepare. We will be gone for eight days. The cost is $800 plus airfare. Fund raising is an option. Mount Olive Missions Committee is committed to supporting the $4,000 program donation.

     These dates are being considered: winter, possibly Jan.24-31, 2016; early summer, possibly June 19-26, 2016; and late summer, possibly July 31-Aug 7, 2016.  We would like to decide by Easter.

     Get your input registered! Fill out a yellow interest form and leave it in the church office or with an usher, talk to a member of the committee (Lisa Ruff, Mark Pipkorn, Paul Schadewald, Mike Edwins) or contact Judy Hinck at judyhinck@gmail.com or 612-824-4918. Do it today!

TRUST Youth: Empty Bowls

     On Sunday February 8, TRUST Youth participated in painting bowls to be donated to the Empty Bowls Event to be held at a soup dinner in March. The youth went to Simply Jane’s Studio in S. Minneapolis where they had a lot of fun painting and having pizza. The Empty Bowls Event the youth donated their bowls to will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at 1111 Main Street, Hopkins. Hours are 11am to 7pm. The meal is a simple meal of soup and bread donated by local restaurants. Donations benefit ICA Food Shelf and ResourceWest.

Night On The Street

     April 17-18 is the annual Night On The Street (NOTS) event that TRUST Youth have participated in in recent years.  

     Youth in grades 6-12 spend a night in a cardboard box at Plymouth Congregational Church. Participants have gained a unique understanding in the difficulties that homeless youth have in Minnesota.

     Since Mount Olive Youth have participated, we have had very cold weather and also warmer weather with rain.

     The youth eat a soup kitchen meal and get a snack from the Fishes and Loaves truck from St. Joan of Arc Church. Programming for the evening includes testimonials from previously homeless youth and workers who help the youth, and information about where to find help.

     Donations for Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative will be received through April 16. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this important work, please contact Eric or Julie Manuel.

From the Church Library

     Approximately a month ago the Congregational Care Committee requested a list of books available in our library that might be useful for the “End of Life Concerns” seminar which was held at church on Saturday, February 7. A correlating display of the books listed has had a prominent place in our library since that time, but will remain available only one more Sunday. Because the full list is long, we are including here only the headings used for this list, which might help you know if something mentioned applies to you and your family at this time.

• Reflections on the Evening of Life
• Coping with Disabilities as We Age
• Living with a Life-Threatening Illness
• On Death and Dying
• Sorrow and Grief
• Widowhood
• The Bereaved Parent
• The Healing Power of Grief

        This quote from Charles W. Eliot is appropriate for us to remember at all times: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

– Leanna Kloempken

JRLC Day On the Hill

     Calling ALL people of faith! Consider participating in the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) Day on the Hill on March 10, from 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the RiverCentre in St. Paul and the State Capital.  This year’s theme is Dignity in Democracy.

     Use your gift of citizenship to speak out for the needs of the most vulnerable in Minnesota and make a difference.  The keynote speaker is Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Vice President for Catholic Relief Services. There will also be Issue Briefings and District Table strategy sessions before we shuttle via buses to the Capitol to meet with our elected officials. The Social Justice issues and background papers that people of faith will be invited to advocate for on March 10 can be found by visiting JRLC online at: http://www.jrlc.org/advocacy/legislative-goals.

     Register by Feb. 20 at www.jrlc.org/register-day-on-the-hill and the cost is $30, which includes breakfast, lunch and resources (after Feb. 20 the cost is $40). There is a flyer posted at the church for you to look at also.

     As an extra bonus to the day, arrangements have been made for the group from Mount Olive to meet with Mount Olive member, Senator John Marty in his office at the State Capitol.  Contact Connie Marty if you want to be included in this opportunity: conniejmarty@gmail.com;  651-633-8934.

     Brochures with more information about the event and important ways to contact your representatives are placed on the cabinet in the West Assembly area.

National Lutheran Choir Winter Concert:
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”

     Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 7pm
          Zion Lutheran Church, 1601 Fourth Ave., Anoka
     Sunday, March 1, 2015 – 4pm
          Woodlake Lutheran Church, 7525 Oliver Ave. S., Minneapolis

     Tickets: $25 for Adults; $23 for Seniors; $10 for Students (age 17 and under FREE!). For tickets or more information, visit www.NLCA.com.  or call (888) 747-4589.

News from the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman

     In effort to share in the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.

Profiles: Kenneth

     Quite a few of the men that come in to seek help are recently out of prison and trying to gain back a normal, healthy life. Kenneth has known the church for a while even before serving his time. Now out, he lives at Volunteers of America on E. Lake St. and just got a job working at Goodwill collecting the donations and separating them. He came in the office with relief and excitement to be so close to becoming independent. He just needed work boots and a bus pass. He relies on VOA to keep him on track and has taken seriously his responsibility to be able to move on. I appreciated his confidence and positivity and sense of achievement he was exuding.  Note: Minnesota recently passed a new expungement law that allows certain crimes on a record to be sealed, improving opportunities for employment. The Star Tribune article is posted downstairs or can be read at: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/289846451.html

Opportunities to BE involved:

• Register for early-bird rates for the JRLC Day on the Hill on March 10.

• Attend the Saturday March 14 presentation of “Bottom,” a student-written play on sex trafficking followed by a community discussion on our response at Minnehaha Academy (more info to come).

Getting to Know Our Neighbors

     Part of sharing in community is understanding one another through language, culture, or experience.

     You may have noticed that in the Muslim community there are many men named Abdi. “Abdi” means “slave.”

     In the religious sense, “Islam” means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. Allah is known to have 99 different names (i.e. kind, merciful, almighty). Abdi is usually accompanied by one of these names so: Abdi Kareem means “slave – kind.”

     Now you know a little more!

The Cold Weather Continues …

     …and so does the need for hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, and coats.

     Please bring new and gently used cold weather gear to church for distribution to those who need them most. These items may be brought to the designated area in the coat room at Mount Olive.

     We will continue to collect these items as long as the weather remains cold.

     Thanks for whatever help you can offer.

End of Life Decisions:  The conversation continues – – –

     Forty people attended the February 7 workshop on End of Life Decisions, which followed the forum presentation the previous Sunday by Pastor Crippen.  (View at http://youtu.be/npRfQf8TTJg). Thanks to Pastor Crippen, Rob Ruff, and Kathy Thurston for presentations helpful in looking at how we as people of faith approach our deaths and the deaths of our loved ones.

     Health Care Directives served as a focal point for discussion and stimulated thinking about how such tools are not only helpful but also essential in making our wishes known to others about critical end of life decisions.  A tentative workshop is being planned for Saturday, April 18, from 10:00 AM – noon to specifically address the Honoring Choices Health Care directive.  How do we know what we want and what are the options?  How and with whom do we have the conversation with?  These and other questions will be discussed.  Help with completing the form will be available, as well as a notary to finalize any documents that are completed on that date.

     Scheduling this workshop is dependent upon the demand for it.  If you would like to participate, please let Marilyn Gebauer or the church office know in advance.  You can contact Marilyn at 612-306 -8872 or gebauevm@bitstream.net, or the church office at  (612) 827-5919.
     Some of the suggestions made for follow-up workshops include:

  • Estate planning – with or without an agent
  • Funeral planning – burial rites, “green funerals,” the Columbarium 
  • Writing a will
  • Assisted suicide – ethical and faith considerations 
  • Establishing a volunteer group at MO to serve as healthcare proxies for fellow members who are without close family, friends, etc.  
  • Near death experience

The Olive Branch, 2/18/15

By

Accent on Worship

     Growing up Catholic, Lent for me was always a time to “give something up.” Chocolate. Soda. TV. And on Fridays, meat, unless we forgot it was Friday, or forgot it was Lent. Still today, it doesn’t feel like Lent until I have put away the basket of candy that typically sits out in my office!

     Giving up little things can seem trivial, but the ritual of abstaining from something that I usually do or consume without thinking about it served, and still serves, an important pur-pose for me. It sets Lent apart from ordinary time, inviting the question that echoes through the Jewish tradition of Passover, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Why is Lent different from all other seasons?

     Lent is a time to be aware of things that get in the way of my relationship with God. When I honestly pay attention, I can see how sometimes the silliest little
things, like a TV show or chocolate, can go from being a treat to enjoy to something that prevents me from being fully present to God and those around me. Lent invites us to set these things aside and trust in God, knowing we are God’s people.

     Our Old Testament scripture readings during Lent call us to awareness of who we are as people of the covenant, as baptized children of God. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah, promising that God would never again flood the earth. God has promised to be faithful to us, even when we are not faithful. Our baptism is an outward sign of that unbreakable covenant.

     Whether or not you, or I, choose to “give something up” this year, Lent is a season set apart for reflection. There are many ways for us to take that time at Mount Olive as a community. I look forward to seeing you here!

-Vicar Meagan McLaughlin

Sunday Readings

February 22, 2015: First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
I Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15

March 1, 2015:Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Psalm 22:23-31
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38

Sunday’s Adult Forum: February 22, 2015:
“Crossing the Threshold: Liturgy as Transformational Journey,” presented by Susan Palo Cherwien.

Lenten Devotional Book Available

The Grain of Wheat, Susan Cherwien’s new devotional booklet for Lent, is free and available at church. Pick one up for use during Lent!

Vestry Listening Sessions

     This Sunday, Feb. 22, the Vestry Listening sessions continue. This is an opportunity for the congregation to discuss the Vision Expression statements introduced earlier this month. This week’s focus will be on Missions and Property.  Following both the first and second liturgies, Judy Hinck (Missions) and Brenda Bartz (Property) will be available in the East and West Assembly rooms to hear your ideas on the work of their committees.

     Grab your coffee and join the small group to talk. Each session will last 30-45 minutes, and you may move in and out as you wish.

Midweek Lenten Worship
Wednesdays, Feb. 25 – Mar. 25
• Noon: Holy Eucharist, followed by soup luncheon
• 7:00 pm: Evening Prayer, preceded by soup supper, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Meals for the Manuels

     The Manuel family would like to thank everyone who signed up and brought us wonderful meals during Julie’s treatments. We know it wasn’t easy with construction, road closures, and parking restrictions on top of a very torn up street. It meant so much to us to have the help of a meal each week. We’d also like to thank all those who showed support with kind words, listening, and talking to us.

     We are so thankful to be a part of the wonderful congregation that is called Mount Olive.

– Julie, Steve & Eric Manuel

Book Discussion Group Update

For the March 14 meeting we will discuss  The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho; for April 11, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; and for May 9, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag.

Thursday Evening Study Returns Feb. 26

     Starting Feb. 26, the Thursday evening study will begin meeting again in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

     Not strictly a Bible study this time, Pr. Crippen will lead a four-week series studying “The Use of the Means of Grace,” our church’s 1991 statement on our sacramental practices.  Presiding Bishop Eaton has asked all congregations to study and discuss this.

     As always, there will be a light supper.  If anyone wishes to provide the first week’s meal, please let Pr. Crippen know.

Granlund Exhibit at Mount Olive

     Mount Olive is currently hosting an exhibit of sculptures by the famed artist, Paul Granlund. Beginning in mid-February and going through mid-April, the exhibit is sponsored by Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts.

     Paul Granlund wanted his sculptures to be viewed and enjoyed from all angles and even touched.  The exhibit will be on display in the Chapel Lounge and assembly areas.  We encourage members to come and see it, and to invite guests to visit.

Soup-Makers Needed!

     Soup makers are needed to provide soup and bread for our midweek Lenten meals. Soup and bread for the lunch following Wednesday midday Eucharist should feed 40-50 people, and for the supper before Wednesday Evening Prayer, we need soup and bread for about 15-20 people.

     If you can help by signing up to bring a meal (or two!), the sign up chart is available at the serving window at coffee hour on Sundays.

Common Hope Vision Team 2016

     Would you like to learn more about a Mount Olive Vision Team to visit Common Hope in Guatemala in 2016? We will be an intergenerational team of 10-12 people, high school age or older. Common Hope will ask what skills/talents our team brings and design our visit to use our gifts. We will learn and prepare. We will be gone for eight days. The cost is $800 plus airfare. Fund raising is an option. Mount Olive Missions Committee is committed to supporting the $4,000 program donation.

     These dates are being considered: winter, possibly Jan.24-31, 2016; early summer, possibly June 19-26, 2016; and late summer, possibly July 31-Aug 7, 2016.  We would like to decide by Easter.

     Get your input registered! Fill out a yellow interest form and leave it in the church office or with an usher, talk to a member of the committee (Lisa Ruff, Mark Pipkorn, Paul Schadewald, Mike Edwins) or contact Judy Hinck at judyhinck@gmail.com or 612-824-4918. Do it today!

TRUST Youth: Empty Bowls

     On Sunday February 8, TRUST Youth participated in painting bowls to be donated to the Empty Bowls Event to be held at a soup dinner in March. The youth went to Simply Jane’s Studio in S. Minneapolis where they had a lot of fun painting and having pizza. The Empty Bowls Event the youth donated their bowls to will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at 1111 Main Street, Hopkins. Hours are 11am to 7pm. The meal is a simple meal of soup and bread donated by local restaurants. Donations benefit ICA Food Shelf and ResourceWest.

Night On The Street

     April 17-18 is the annual Night On The Street (NOTS) event that TRUST Youth have participated in in recent years.  

     Youth in grades 6-12 spend a night in a cardboard box at Plymouth Congregational Church. Participants have gained a unique understanding in the difficulties that homeless youth have in Minnesota.

     Since Mount Olive Youth have participated, we have had very cold weather and also warmer weather with rain.

     The youth eat a soup kitchen meal and get a snack from the Fishes and Loaves truck from St. Joan of Arc Church. Programming for the evening includes testimonials from previously homeless youth and workers who help the youth, and information about where to find help.

     Donations for Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative will be received through April 16. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this important work, please contact Eric or Julie Manuel.

From the Church Library

     Approximately a month ago the Congregational Care Committee requested a list of books available in our library that might be useful for the “End of Life Concerns” seminar which was held at church on Saturday, February 7. A correlating display of the books listed has had a prominent place in our library since that time, but will remain available only one more Sunday. Because the full list is long, we are including here only the headings used for this list, which might help you know if something mentioned applies to you and your family at this time.

• Reflections on the Evening of Life
• Coping with Disabilities as We Age
• Living with a Life-Threatening Illness
• On Death and Dying
• Sorrow and Grief
• Widowhood
• The Bereaved Parent
• The Healing Power of Grief

        This quote from Charles W. Eliot is appropriate for us to remember at all times: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

– Leanna Kloempken

JRLC Day On the Hill

     Calling ALL people of faith! Consider participating in the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) Day on the Hill on March 10, from 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the RiverCentre in St. Paul and the State Capital.  This year’s theme is Dignity in Democracy.

     Use your gift of citizenship to speak out for the needs of the most vulnerable in Minnesota and make a difference.  The keynote speaker is Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Vice President for Catholic Relief Services. There will also be Issue Briefings and District Table strategy sessions before we shuttle via buses to the Capitol to meet with our elected officials. The Social Justice issues and background papers that people of faith will be invited to advocate for on March 10 can be found by visiting JRLC online at: http://www.jrlc.org/advocacy/legislative-goals.

     Register by Feb. 20 at www.jrlc.org/register-day-on-the-hill and the cost is $30, which includes breakfast, lunch and resources (after Feb. 20 the cost is $40). There is a flyer posted at the church for you to look at also.

     As an extra bonus to the day, arrangements have been made for the group from Mount Olive to meet with Mount Olive member, Senator John Marty in his office at the State Capitol.  Contact Connie Marty if you want to be included in this opportunity: conniejmarty@gmail.com;  651-633-8934.

     Brochures with more information about the event and important ways to contact your representatives are placed on the cabinet in the West Assembly area.

National Lutheran Choir Winter Concert:
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”

     Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 7pm
          Zion Lutheran Church, 1601 Fourth Ave., Anoka
     Sunday, March 1, 2015 – 4pm
          Woodlake Lutheran Church, 7525 Oliver Ave. S., Minneapolis

     Tickets: $25 for Adults; $23 for Seniors; $10 for Students (age 17 and under FREE!). For tickets or more information, visit www.NLCA.com.  or call (888) 747-4589.

News from the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman

     In effort to share in the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.

Profiles: Kenneth

     Quite a few of the men that come in to seek help are recently out of prison and trying to gain back a normal, healthy life. Kenneth has known the church for a while even before serving his time. Now out, he lives at Volunteers of America on E. Lake St. and just got a job working at Goodwill collecting the donations and separating them. He came in the office with relief and excitement to be so close to becoming independent. He just needed work boots and a bus pass. He relies on VOA to keep him on track and has taken seriously his responsibility to be able to move on. I appreciated his confidence and positivity and sense of achievement he was exuding.  Note: Minnesota recently passed a new expungement law that allows certain crimes on a record to be sealed, improving opportunities for employment. The Star Tribune article is posted downstairs or can be read at: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/289846451.html

Opportunities to BE involved:

• Register for early-bird rates for the JRLC Day on the Hill on March 10.

• Attend the Saturday March 14 presentation of “Bottom,” a student-written play on sex trafficking followed by a community discussion on our response at Minnehaha Academy (more info to come).

Getting to Know Our Neighbors

     Part of sharing in community is understanding one another through language, culture, or experience.

     You may have noticed that in the Muslim community there are many men named Abdi. “Abdi” means “slave.”

     In the religious sense, “Islam” means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. Allah is known to have 99 different names (i.e. kind, merciful, almighty). Abdi is usually accompanied by one of these names so: Abdi Kareem means “slave – kind.”

     Now you know a little more!

The Cold Weather Continues …

     …and so does the need for hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, and coats.

     Please bring new and gently used cold weather gear to church for distribution to those who need them most. These items may be brought to the designated area in the coat room at Mount Olive.

     We will continue to collect these items as long as the weather remains cold.

     Thanks for whatever help you can offer.

End of Life Decisions:  The conversation continues – – –

     Forty people attended the February 7 workshop on End of Life Decisions, which followed the forum presentation the previous Sunday by Pastor Crippen.  (View at http://youtu.be/npRfQf8TTJg). Thanks to Pastor Crippen, Rob Ruff, and Kathy Thurston for presentations helpful in looking at how we as people of faith approach our deaths and the deaths of our loved ones.

     Health Care Directives served as a focal point for discussion and stimulated thinking about how such tools are not only helpful but also essential in making our wishes known to others about critical end of life decisions.  A tentative workshop is being planned for Saturday, April 18, from 10:00 AM – noon to specifically address the Honoring Choices Health Care directive.  How do we know what we want and what are the options?  How and with whom do we have the conversation with?  These and other questions will be discussed.  Help with completing the form will be available, as well as a notary to finalize any documents that are completed on that date.

     Scheduling this workshop is dependent upon the demand for it.  If you would like to participate, please let Marilyn Gebauer or the church office know in advance.  You can contact Marilyn at 612-306 -8872 or gebauevm@bitstream.net, or the church office at  (612) 827-5919.
     Some of the suggestions made for follow-up workshops include:

  • Estate planning – with or without an agent
  • Funeral planning – burial rites, “green funerals,” the Columbarium 
  • Writing a will
  • Assisted suicide – ethical and faith considerations 
  • Establishing a volunteer group at MO to serve as healthcare proxies for fellow members who are without close family, friends, etc.  
  • Near death experience

Clearing the Clutter

By

Noah experienced a radical housecleaning by the waters of the flood that carried him in the ark. When the clutter of corruption and chaos in his old world was washed away, God’s covenant of love and faithfulness became clear. God’s covenant is revealed to each of us in the waters of our baptism.

Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
   First Sunday in Lent, year B
   Texts: Genesis 9:8-17, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We moved into our house in the Longfellow neighborhood in the heat of summer, and immediately began to take advantage of the bike trail along the River Parkway. My favorite part of the ride into downtown is the stretch from Franklin Ave to the Bohemian Flats, because I love the feeling of flying down the steep hill on my bike, and just as you get to the bottom, the river seems to appear almost out of nowhere, as if you hadn’t been riding alongside it the whole way. The trees on the river banks up to that point are so thick with leaves, you can easily forget the river is even there!

Biking or walking along the Parkway in the late fall or winter is an entirely different experience. Once the leaves have fallen from the trees, the view is clear from the trail to the river below, and the first time I walked there in the fall, I was really surprised to realize that the river had been there, that close, all along. When the leaves are gone, I can see what was hidden before.

The same thing happens when I take time to clear away the “leaves” in my own life. In preparation for doing taxes this year, I spent a couple of hours one morning going through files, and cast away a few trees worth of paper in the process. The feeling of lightness and clarity that came out of that was liberating! Suddenly, the clutter was gone, there was space between files in the drawer, and we actually know what is in there.

Noah experienced a radical housecleaning when the flood swept away everything he knew, leaving only his family and two of every animal in the ark. When the waters receded, and the ark landed, God showed Noah the foundation of their life on the renewed land. The clutter of corruption and chaos in Noah’s old world was washed away, and the promise of God was made clear. God established a covenant with Noah to protect and provide for him. God promised to be faithful.

God’s covenant was not just with Noah, but with Noah’s descendants and every creature of all flesh. God promised that God will never again destroy the earth, and gave the earth to us all as a place of abundance. God promises to protect us and provide for us.

And the best part is, God’s covenant with us comes with no conditions. God makes this covenant with us out of love. The Gospel of Mark tells us that when Jesus was baptized, God spoke to Jesus, saying “You are my son, my beloved.” This is the basis for God’s covenant with Noah, and it is the basis for the covenant that each of us are baptized into. Our baptisms are a sign of God’s promise to us. We are all God’s children, beloved of God. You are God’s child, beloved of God. You can’t earn that. And you don’t have to. It is simply there, like the river is always running at the bottom of the cliffs next to the Parkway. We just can’t always see it.

The truth of God’s promise, and who we are as God’s children, gets hidden in the clutter of many things in our lives, and we can even forget God is there. We get easily wrapped up in the “doing” of our daily lives, and in the midst of the busyness we are not aware of God who makes our “doing” possible. The truth of who we are is buried under messages of doubt, and judgment, and shame, until we can’t see the love and call of God for us, and if we can see it, we don’t believe it. We get caught up in striving for whatever we think will make us happy or satisfy us, be it the approval of other people or financial success, or addictions to alcohol, or food, or drugs, and we forget that the one thing that truly gives meaning to our lives is right in front of us.

Just like the dying of the leaves each fall clears the view to the river below, and makes new growth possible in the spring, we all need to take time to clear the clutter from our own lives. It is a natural part of the cycle of the life we live as children of God. There are times of growth and abundance, and there are times when what is not needed, what is destructive to us and our relationships, what is not true about our God, needs to be washed away.

Sometimes this can feel like we have entered the ark in the midst of the flood—we are awakened suddenly by a change in our lives, and overwhelmed by awareness and emotion as we adjust to the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or even the birth of a child. We are changed as all the things that distracted us before are swept away, and we can see what is really important. In the midst of this experience, we realize we have no control over this journey. Like Noah, we are just along for the ride. Over time, as we look back, we can see the hand of God, who guides in our journey, leading us through the flood. The waters that seemed to threaten to wash us away become a reminder of the promise God made to us in the waters of our baptism: no matter what happens, God will never abandon us.

Other times, our experience of clearing out the clutter of our lives may feel more gradual—perhaps more like Jesus’s journey through the wilderness after his baptism. For no particular reason, it may seem, our perspective shifts, we recognize things in our lives that are blocking our relationship with God, and feel moved to let go of them. The process of letting go can leave us feeling somewhat empty or dry, even as our awareness of God in our lives slowly grows to fill the space that has been created in us.

However it happens, whatever it is that brings us to a place of reflection and awareness of our “clutter,” looking honestly at ourselves is not easy. It can be uncomfortable as we begin to change and see things in new ways, and it can be painful when we attend to places of shame, grief, and wounded-ness that we hold within us. The covenant of God’s love and presence with us stands firm, even then. Especially then. God is present with us, and has put us here together so that we never need to walk through this life alone. And God works in us through these times of spiritual housecleaning to make it possible for us in all our humanness to grow in our relationship with God, and be fully present to whatever God calls us to do in this world.

In the season of Lent we take time as a community of faith to remind ourselves and each other of our humanness, of the reality that we will never be finished changing and growing. Lent invites us to pay attention to the things that block our view, that stand between us and our God, and to ask God to clear that clutter from our lives so that we can better serve God and each other. We remember God’s faithfulness and love, and that, along with Noah, we are all people of the covenant. And when the leaves of our lives have fallen from the trees, we will realize once again that God has been, and will be, with us all along.

Thanks be to God!

Death Notice

By

We are all dying, and today we face that so that we never forget it in the days to come; in that truth we discover the deeper truth of God’s life and grace that, in the cross, raises us now and always into God’s eternal love.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
   Ash Wednesday
   text:  2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10

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

So, how quickly will you wash off the cross of ashes from your forehead?

It’s always the question, isn’t it?  Will you be where you don’t want people looking at it?  Do you care?  Our children always had an eagerness to get washed off pretty soon after church.

I’m not sure it matters.  But this does: how quickly will you forget that you had a cross of ashes on your forehead?  How soon will “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” be shunted to the attic of your brain, not to be thought again?

Our world is terrified of that truth.  So terrorists have power over whole nations: we’re afraid to die and they threaten us with death.  So billions of dollars of profit are made by companies all over the world promising pills or creams or foods or clothes or cars they say will make us young, invincible.

Yet we come here today and have burnt ashes drawn in the shape of a torture device on our foreheads.  How strange is that?  We come here today to be told we are dust, we are going to die.  We don’t think like the world.

Unless we wash this out of our minds as quickly as off our foreheads as soon as we get home.  Our challenge is to understand and embed in our hearts and lives what it is we do today, why that cross, those words, need to stay with us as if they were permanently visible not only to us but even to others.

The world considers such talk of death morbid.  It’s really the opposite.

Living in a culture and society where every single person will die one day, every one, yet where our emotional, financial, physical, and mental energy is expended in vast amounts to deny that reality, that’s morbid.  If you’re on the Titanic and it’s going down, it’s not morbid to recognize something’s amiss.

For us, there is joy and hope in what we do today.  To look at a little child with a cross of ashes on her forehead next to an octogenarian with the same is to see that both share a humanity, a life, that is finite.  That’s truth.  But to look at those two together is also to see in that cross shape that this life they share is grace and light.

Placing a cross of ashes on ourselves doesn’t make us mortal, it reminds us we are.  Facing or not facing our mortality isn’t an option, whether we die young or old, of natural causes or violent tragedy.  We are going to die.  There is great freedom accepting this truth.  Then we can learn how to live with it.

Paul talks of reconciliation with God: our acceptance of our mortality is also reconciliation with truth.

Whether or not the Triune God came to the world in Christ Jesus and ended the power of death, death has always been reality.  It’s part of God’s creative process: things live and die and return to the earth to feed other things that live and die.  Denying this only leads to anxiety, frustration, fear.  Today we reconcile ourselves to the truth that we are mortal, we die, and we accept that.  We began in dust, we return to dust.

Yet we belong to the Triune God, creator of all that is, who knows what to do with dust and ashes, who creates life out of dust and ashes from the beginning.  In the reconciliation Paul talks about, this God did enter our deadly existence, took on our reality, dust to dust.  Ashes to ashes.  When Jesus was born he was born into our death, well before the cross.

But our great mystery is the cross, the shape of the ashes on our forehead.  In willingly taking on an evil death, God somehow killed death.  That’s what we realize at the empty tomb: our truth is still there, we die.  But it is all changed now.  Jesus takes our mortality, our sin and brokenness and death, and dies with it.  When he rises from death, he brings us, too, joining us to the immortality of the Triune God.

We still die.  But we die as people joined to the eternal life of the Triune God forever, so death isn’t an end but a beginning.

That’s our joy today.  Knowing the whole truth, we can live.

We are marked with a cross of ashes in the same place we received a cross of oil at the font, the same place we mark a cross of water each time we remind ourselves of our baptism.

This cross marks our whole lives, not just our foreheads: in ashes, for we are dying.  In oil, for we belong to the Triune God.  In water, for we are washed and made new.  And everything’s different.

Paul describes the suffering and difficulty the believers have faced: afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, sleepless nights . . . it’s a long list.  Yet in this reconciliation in Christ’s death and resurrection, we live that list very differently.  We face the same pains and tragedies anyone does.  But we face them as people willing to accept them, as people who know these are not the final truth about us.  They have no power over us.

We are seen as impostors, then, Paul says, as people who live as if there is a greater truth others can’t see.  And there is, so we are not false but true.

We are unknown to the world, Paul says, confusing, odd, because we live both in the truth of our mortality and in the truth of God’s eternal love.  But we’re well known to God.

We look as if we have nothing, yet we have everything; we face sorrow head on but are rejoicing.

And we are dying, we claim it, accept it, but we are really alive in God now and always.

The cross is always on our forehead, on our bodies, on our lives.

There’s a story, I don’t know if it’s true, that some church used lighter fluid to burn palms for their ashes, and the petroleum residue gave slight burns to the people’s skin, so that even after they washed there was a bright red cross for a day or so.

We won’t have that bright red mark after we wash.  But the cross on us is just as indelible.  It reminds us that our journey of faith travels through suffering and hardships, even to death, with God’s grace and hand supporting us, giving us life.  Our cross reminds us that the cross of Christ transforms our deadly truth, so we find hope in despair, light in darkness, life in death.

This cannot be washed off of us, thanks be to God.  The waters of baptism have covered us forever in this life in the midst of death, this green shoot out of our ashes.

So we rejoice, and hope, and live.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen

Death Notice

By

We are all dying, and today we face that so that we never forget it in the days to come; in that truth we discover the deeper truth of God’s life and grace that, in the cross, raises us now and always into God’s eternal love.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
   Ash Wednesday
   text:  2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10

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

So, how quickly will you wash off the cross of ashes from your forehead?

It’s always the question, isn’t it?  Will you be where you don’t want people looking at it?  Do you care?  Our children always had an eagerness to get washed off pretty soon after church.

I’m not sure it matters.  But this does: how quickly will you forget that you had a cross of ashes on your forehead?  How soon will “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” be shunted to the attic of your brain, not to be thought again?

Our world is terrified of that truth.  So terrorists have power over whole nations: we’re afraid to die and they threaten us with death.  So billions of dollars of profit are made by companies all over the world promising pills or creams or foods or clothes or cars they say will make us young, invincible.

Yet we come here today and have burnt ashes drawn in the shape of a torture device on our foreheads.  How strange is that?  We come here today to be told we are dust, we are going to die.  We don’t think like the world.

Unless we wash this out of our minds as quickly as off our foreheads as soon as we get home.  Our challenge is to understand and embed in our hearts and lives what it is we do today, why that cross, those words, need to stay with us as if they were permanently visible not only to us but even to others.

The world considers such talk of death morbid.  It’s really the opposite.

Living in a culture and society where every single person will die one day, every one, yet where our emotional, financial, physical, and mental energy is expended in vast amounts to deny that reality, that’s morbid.  If you’re on the Titanic and it’s going down, it’s not morbid to recognize something’s amiss.

For us, there is joy and hope in what we do today.  To look at a little child with a cross of ashes on her forehead next to an octogenarian with the same is to see that both share a humanity, a life, that is finite.  That’s truth.  But to look at those two together is also to see in that cross shape that this life they share is grace and light.

Placing a cross of ashes on ourselves doesn’t make us mortal, it reminds us we are.  Facing or not facing our mortality isn’t an option, whether we die young or old, of natural causes or violent tragedy.  We are going to die.  There is great freedom accepting this truth.  Then we can learn how to live with it.

Paul talks of reconciliation with God: our acceptance of our mortality is also reconciliation with truth.

Whether or not the Triune God came to the world in Christ Jesus and ended the power of death, death has always been reality.  It’s part of God’s creative process: things live and die and return to the earth to feed other things that live and die.  Denying this only leads to anxiety, frustration, fear.  Today we reconcile ourselves to the truth that we are mortal, we die, and we accept that.  We began in dust, we return to dust.

Yet we belong to the Triune God, creator of all that is, who knows what to do with dust and ashes, who creates life out of dust and ashes from the beginning.  In the reconciliation Paul talks about, this God did enter our deadly existence, took on our reality, dust to dust.  Ashes to ashes.  When Jesus was born he was born into our death, well before the cross.

But our great mystery is the cross, the shape of the ashes on our forehead.  In willingly taking on an evil death, God somehow killed death.  That’s what we realize at the empty tomb: our truth is still there, we die.  But it is all changed now.  Jesus takes our mortality, our sin and brokenness and death, and dies with it.  When he rises from death, he brings us, too, joining us to the immortality of the Triune God.

We still die.  But we die as people joined to the eternal life of the Triune God forever, so death isn’t an end but a beginning.

That’s our joy today.  Knowing the whole truth, we can live.

We are marked with a cross of ashes in the same place we received a cross of oil at the font, the same place we mark a cross of water each time we remind ourselves of our baptism.

This cross marks our whole lives, not just our foreheads: in ashes, for we are dying.  In oil, for we belong to the Triune God.  In water, for we are washed and made new.  And everything’s different.

Paul describes the suffering and difficulty the believers have faced: afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, sleepless nights . . . it’s a long list.  Yet in this reconciliation in Christ’s death and resurrection, we live that list very differently.  We face the same pains and tragedies anyone does.  But we face them as people willing to accept them, as people who know these are not the final truth about us.  They have no power over us.

We are seen as impostors, then, Paul says, as people who live as if there is a greater truth others can’t see.  And there is, so we are not false but true.

We are unknown to the world, Paul says, confusing, odd, because we live both in the truth of our mortality and in the truth of God’s eternal love.  But we’re well known to God.

We look as if we have nothing, yet we have everything; we face sorrow head on but are rejoicing.

And we are dying, we claim it, accept it, but we are really alive in God now and always.

The cross is always on our forehead, on our bodies, on our lives.

There’s a story, I don’t know if it’s true, that some church used lighter fluid to burn palms for their ashes, and the petroleum residue gave slight burns to the people’s skin, so that even after they washed there was a bright red cross for a day or so.

We won’t have that bright red mark after we wash.  But the cross on us is just as indelible.  It reminds us that our journey of faith travels through suffering and hardships, even to death, with God’s grace and hand supporting us, giving us life.  Our cross reminds us that the cross of Christ transforms our deadly truth, so we find hope in despair, light in darkness, life in death.

This cannot be washed off of us, thanks be to God.  The waters of baptism have covered us forever in this life in the midst of death, this green shoot out of our ashes.

So we rejoice, and hope, and live.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen

MOUNT OLIVE LUTHERAN CHURCH
3045 Chicago Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Map and Directions >

612-827-5919
welcome@mountolivechurch.org


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