Mount Olive Lutheran Church

The Olive Branch, 11/27/13

By

Accent on worship

     This week as I considered the beginning of Advent, the church’s New Years’ Day,  perhaps a bit irreverently I found my mind going back to the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray. He played Phil Connors, a reporter sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to report on the festivities surrounding the celebrity rodent. In the movie, the twist is that when his alarm goes off the next morning, he begins a cycle of repeating the same Groundhog Day over and over again. Of course he is soon able to predict each occurrence that he encounters, because he had “been there” the day before.

     Doesn’t that sound like our church year, except we have a three-year cycle?

     Have you heard the phrase, “they always showed up”? It’s a phrase I hear as I check references related to someone I may consider hiring. It is, of course, intended to be complimentary. Who would say anything derogatory when asked to provide a reference? To my cynical, now senior-citizen ears, it sounds distinctly negative. I ask myself, did the person do or accomplish anything once they “showed up”? This empty affirmation is consistent with our current social consciousness, where we cannot accept anything but affirmation. (Have you noticed that in youth sports, there can no longer be winners or losers, and that everyone gets a trophy?)

     Does the promise of salvation through our baptism sometimes allows us a similar type of “no losers in this game” mentality?  All we have to do is “show up” (or not)! After all, we know the end of the story.

     Nothing sets us Christians at odds with the world like the season of Advent.  This year I saw the first signs of the approaching, “Holiday Season” the week after Labor Day! We Advent Christians drag our feet until Advent 4, and then hang the greens. We have our own “Black Friday”, it will be April 18 this year.

     So if Advent is all about preparation, for what are we preparing this year that we didn’t prepare for last year or the year before?

     The Church celebrates its New Year on December 1 this year. Perhaps when our alarm goes off, and we expect to start the same predictable Groundhog Day, we need to realize that this Incarnation invites a response from us, it requires far more of us than just showing up. Wachet auf! Preparation asks us to see December 25 through the eyes of the thief we heard about on Christ the King Sunday, and then to respond accordingly. Each moment of every day, preparation asks us to find, make, and LIVE that connection to our Incarnate Lord.

     Thank God for Advent!

    – Al Bipes 

Sunday Readings

December 1, 2013 – First Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 2:1-5 + Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14 + Matthew 24:36-44

December 8, 2013 – Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 11:1-10 + Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13 + Matthew 3:1-12

Thanksgiving Eucharist
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28
10:00 a.m.

     Bring non-perishable food items to help re-stock local food shelves. Monetary donations are especially welcome (for every $1 donated, food shelf personnel are able to buy about $9 worth of food!)
     The entire offering received at the Eucharist on Thanksgiving Day will be given to Sabbathani Community Center and Community Emergency Services.

Advent Procession to be Held This Sunday, December 1 – 4:00 p.m.

All are invited to this contemplative service of lessons and carols for Advent.

Please Note

Church offices will be closed this Friday, November 29 (the day after Thanksgiving).

Incarnation Icon

     Adam Krueger and Thomas Fenner have commissioned an Incarnation icon, which they are giving to Mount Olive in memory of Adam’s mother. The icon writer (or painter), Nicholas Markell (who also wrote the icon of the Ascension in Mount Olive’s columbarium), will present the icon to Adam and Thomas and will discuss the icon — its genesis, its symbolism, its meanings — at the Adult Forum on December 8 (rescheduled from December 1 as previously announced).



2014 Pledge Cards

     A letter and pledge card for 2014 was sent to Mount Olive members last week. The Stewardship Committee would like to have all pledge cards returned by this Sunday, December 1, either to the church office or placed in the designated box next to the coat area.

Thursday Evening Bible Study

     On Thursday evenings (except for Thanksgiving Day) through December 19, Vicar Beckering is leading a topical study on the Biblical witness to suffering and who God is for us in the midst of that suffering. This Bible study series meets in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Each gathering will begin with a light supper. All are welcome!

 Creche Needed

     Our Godly Play church school program is in need of a Christmas creche, preferably one made of wood that the children can handle.  If you have one you can donate or loan to us for a while, please bring it to the church office.  Thank you!

 –  Patsy Holtmeier and Carol Austermann

Mittens + Gloves = Warm Hands

     At the Community Meals in December (7th and 21st), mittens and glove will be given to our guests who need/want them. If you would like to donate mittens and/or gloves to this cause, please call Irene Campbell at 651/230-3927.

Book Discussion Group

     For December 14, The Book Discussion group will discuss The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty, and on January 18 (postponed one week due to the Liturgy Conference), we will discuss Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively.

How are you?

     “Just fine!” or some similar response is often our automatic reply.  If things aren’t really all that fine, we aren’t sure the inquirer really wants to know so we hesitate to elaborate further.  The fact is life brings changes to each of us and we are often surprised by how difficult and even painful these changes can be.  As Christians we know we can share the complications of life with each other, but often we aren’t sure how to go about it.

     Mount Olive Congregational Care group would like to open a conversation so that those of us who care for others can share experiences and insights, and in so doing, strengthen one another through shared faith.  A four-week structured group will be offered at Mount Olive on Fridays at 1:00 PM beginning December 27. Cathy Bosworth, Vicar Emily Beckering and Marilyn Gebauer will act as facilitators. Each week a brief educational component will be offered with equal time for each person to share personally in a confidential, supportive setting.

     If you have interest in attending, or have questions about this, please call Cathy Bosworth or Marilyn Gebauer. Cathy can be reached at 952-949-3679 or marcat8447@yahoo.com. Marilyn can be reached at 651-704-9539 or gebauevm@bitstream.net. If four or more people have interest in participating, each will be contacted to confirm the group will meet as planned.

To the Wearers of Albs

     As the season of Advent approaches and the worship assistants’ albs get more frequent use, please take a moment or two to check your alb to see if it needs to be repaired or replaced. Take a good, long look! Also, look for additional information on the alb closet door. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Carol Austermann at 612/722-5123.

Caring Bridge

     Several have asked for a Caring Bridge web address for Gene Hennig. His daughter, Kate, has asked us to share the following, for those who want the latest updates on his surgery and recuperation: www.caringbridge.org/visit/genehennig.

Communion Ministry at Mount Olive

     We are looking to add some new Communion Ministers to our team.

      As an extension of Pastor Crippen’s ministry, each week Communion Ministers visit members of our congregation who aren’t able to attend a Sunday service because of a short-term recuperation or long-term illness. During our visits, we share the Eucharist, creating a connection to our weekly worship.

     Each year Communion Ministers make more than 200 visits, and we want make sure we meet the needs of congregation members as they arise.

     We typically ask Communion Ministers to visit 1-2 members one time per month, and while the visits are usually on Sundays, they can be scheduled for other days, too.

     If you are interested in becoming a part of this rewarding experience or would like more information about it, please contact Tom Graves and Ginny Agresti at 651-292-1685, or by email at thgravesmn@msn.com.

Fair Trade Craft Sale

     The Missions committee is hosting a Fair Trade Craft Sale during Advent. Purchase beautiful and unique Fair Trade items from SERVV International, handmade by disadvantaged artisans in developing regions around the world. With each purchase, you help artisans maintain steady work and a sustainable income so they can provide for their families.

     The crafts will be available for purchase after both services on December 1, 8 and 15 (cash and check only).  Fair trade coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate from Equal Exchange will also be available. This is not a fund-raiser, just an opportunity to buy good products for a good cause.

ELCA Disaster Relief: Super Typhoon Haiyan

     Gifts designated to “Pacific Typhoon Response” will be used by Lutheran Disaster Relief in full – 100 percent – to help with immediate and long-term need. Your generous offerings of prayer and financial support will help those affected as they journey to recover.

     If you wish to make a donation toward relief efforts, use your blue missions envelope or any other and mark it clearly for Typhoon Relief. This past Sunday, November 17, Mount Olive members contributed $2420 toward this effort. The need is great, and our continued donations help.

Field Trip!

     Interested in attending the largest choral music event in the world?  Ever seen the film “The Singing Revolution” or maybe have heard the recent concert of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir?  Ever thought of visiting Saint Saviour’s Church in Riga, Latvia that Mount Olive was instrumental in resurrecting (with Arden and Jana Haug) in the 1990’s?

     Join former Mount Olive Cantor Mark Sedio and his partner, Jeff Sartain as they lead a trip to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this summer from June 27 through July 7.  The group will visit three interestingly diverse capital cities: Vilnius (Lithuania – a gem of a city with stunning Baroque architecture and a center of Jewish learning), Riga (Latvia’s lovely capital – not only lots of red brick like Copenhagen but also a treasure chest of a peculiar brand of Art Nouveau), and finally Tallinn (Estonia – boasting one of the best preserved Medieval city centers in all of Europe).  The culmination of the trip is the All-Estonia LAULUPIDU (the Song Festival which happens only once every five years) in which 120,000 people join together in song. It is one of the largest choral events in the world!  All this, plus side trips to places like Cesis (Latvia) – a pristinely preserved Latvian town and the Estonian island of Saaremaa with its many windmills, mysterious crater lakes, and one of Europe’s largest stone Teutonic fortresses.

     Tour brochures are available in the church office. For more information, contact Mark at 612/767-9230 or msedio@centralmpls.org.

Seeing Christ

By

The vision of the other crucified convict is the vision we need to see God’s work in the world: to look at the dying Jesus of Nazareth and see the Christ, ruler of all things and the image of the invisible God.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Christ the King, Lectionary 34, year C; texts: Luke 23:33-43; Colossians 1:11-20

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

The sign was, in the end, unnecessary.  Everybody knew who the man in the middle was.  Still, it was the custom to hang a sign over each crucifixion, naming the convict and the charges against him.  So Pilate, the governor and judge of this case, had one made for Jesus.  “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  John tells us that the religious authorities protested that the charge should be “he claimed to be the King of the Jews.”  But all four evangelists agree that the crime, the charge laid against Jesus by the Romans, was that he was actually the King of the Jews.  A little bit of gallows humor, with the added bonus to the oppressor that the oppressed are offended by it.

But everyone knew who he was.  Jesus of Nazareth.  An itinerant rabbi from Galilee who’d been drawing big crowds for a couple years.  Rumors of healings and miracles were breathed, but most of his work was in the north country, where you can get hicks to believe anything, even that water can be changed into wine.  Those in the city, the sophisticates, likely doubted he was anything real.  But they knew of him.  Everybody did.  Every generation it seemed there was someone stirring up the people and raising hopes for freedom and restoration to Israel.  At the very least, he was the latest news.  And here he was, ending the way the rest of them always ended, on a Roman cross.

The title “king” was never really in question, except as a Roman joke, not to the crowds.  Even to those who might have heard him teach, might even have found hope in some of his words, this execution, this death was probably not a surprise.  No one really thought that he was a king of anything.  And who ever could be king in a world ruled by Caesar?

Except there is this: one man, strangely enough one hanging on a cross next to him, with his own name and crime above his head, one man looked at this dying teacher, this failed hope, and saw a king.  A real King, one who was somehow yet to inherit his kingdom, his reign.  Dying himself, this convict asked only one thing, to be remembered when this King entered his kingdom.

Look, everybody knew he was Jesus of Nazareth.  Everybody knew that the title King was either a big joke or an offense.

So answer this: how in the world did this convict see the Christ, the ruler of all things, when he looked at the dying Jesus?

That is the truth we must grasp, above everything else in this world, because until we see how this convict sees, we understand nothing about God.

In some ways we have made a wall of separation between what we know and think happened at the cross and what we consider about God in our world today.

There’s no question we believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross, and was raised.  We debate about how this saves us, what needed to be made right that only Jesus’ death could do.  But we know that he died and he rose.

Yet, when we consider what the Triune God is doing in the world today, when we seek signs of God’s hand, of God’s will, somehow we separate this death of Jesus from that.  We ask where God is in suffering and death.  We ask what God wants of us and of the world.  We blame God for things we ourselves have caused, we abandon faith when challenges come.

We believe that Jesus died and rose, but we have segregated that event to having something to do only with what happens after we die.  We don’t consider that it might have something to do with everything in this world.

But the apostle Paul sees with the convict’s eyes.  He looks at the cross, at the dying Jesus, and sees Christ.  He looks at the cross and sees God’s ongoing action in the world.

This paean of praise at the entrance to Colossians is majestic in its beauty.  Paul claims that Christ is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;” “in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,” through him and for him.  And on top of it all, Christ is “before all things and in him all things hold together.”

This is a cosmic view of the lordship of Christ Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the ruler of all things.  But that’s only part of the hymn.  Paul also claims that in Christ “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”  Not only the image of the invisible God, Christ Jesus is the fullness of God, fully God.  Now we are into Trinitarian lands, speaking of whom we know as the Second Person of the Trinity, very God of very God.

But then Paul adds: “through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.”  Thump.  This exalted Christ, God from God, Light from Light, bled on a cross?  This fullness of God, this image of the invisible God, ruler of all, bled on a cross?  And through that bleeding, reconciliation with all things in heaven and on earth happened?  Peace with God happened?

This is the vision of the convict: to look at the bleeding, dying Jesus and see the eternal Christ and believe that he is, in dying, acting his kingship, beginning his reign.  This is a death and resurrection that is not for a single moment segregated from the rest of our theology, held in reserve for our hope in life after death.

This is not an image of a superhero disguised in rags who sheds them at the last moment and reveals his power and glory: this Son of God wears the rags into death.  This is a Christ ruling over the universe through his bleeding and dying, a Christ who is only recognizable to the world in that dying rabbi from Nazareth.  A Christ who cannot be understood or known apart from this death on the cross.

What the convict sees is that this is how God answers human evil and how God will continue to answer human evil: by entering it and dying to it in order to rule over all things.

We know from what Paul says here and elsewhere that the center of all of this is to see that this death is God’s way of bringing reconciliation to all things.  “Reconciling” is the key word, isn’t it?  Somehow, by the Son of God, existing with the Father and the Spirit before all time and now living in our flesh, somehow by God entering suffering and death, God breaks through our evil and hate.

We do not love God with our whole lives and our neighbors as ourselves.  God, since the Flood, has committed not to use power against us when we sin like that.  So the Triune God sets aside all power and lets us kill the Incarnate Son.  And somehow that reconciles all things, that God is willing to be killed by us.

This is mystery, but this is the truth that the Triune God shows us consistently throughout the Scriptures: the only way to win is to lose all; the only way to be free is to be a slave; the only way to live is to die.  The Son of God, in dying, shows forever God’s answer to the brokenness and pain of the world.

If we can look at the dying Jesus and see the Christ, the ruler of all, and say “remember me when you come into your kingdom,” only then will the world begin to make sense.

This is the path we find when we see like this and follow our Lord Christ: a path through death into life.

Looking for ways in the world for us to protect our rights, secure our safety, ensure our sense that we are right and others not, to find gain at whatever expense, this is not a path of Christ.

If we think that Jesus’ death and resurrection are only important because they get us to heaven we deny that they are in fact the path we are all called to walk.

God’s biggest problem with humanity wasn’t that we die.  God could stop that with a word.  The Son of God didn’t need to die and rise to stop death.  God’s biggest problem with humanity wasn’t that we sin and need forgiveness.  God could forgive us with a word – look at what Jesus says about those who crucify him.  The Son of God didn’t need to die and rise to forgive us.

The witness of Scripture is that the Son of God needed to die and rise because he was willing to make himself completely vulnerable to us, to reveal God’s love by setting aside all power.  Even if we killed him.  And he did this, he said, to show us the path to real life, the path God needs us to walk, the way he invited his disciples to walk.  That’s how we’re reconciled to God: we return to our created path.

Forgiven, yes.  Given eternal life, yes.  But the important thing was that God needed to die to show us the way to life.  True life, Jesus’ death tells us, is found in letting go of our need to control, of our need to win, of our need to be the center of our lives, of our need to grasp for power.

We will love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength when we let go of putting ourselves in the center of our hearts and lives.  We will love our neighbor as ourselves when we put our neighbor before us, before our needs.

We will find God’s answer to suffering in this world to continue to be in the suffering and death of Jesus as we take it on ourselves; in other words, God’s answer is that we enter the suffering of others and hold them in it, taking it on ourselves.  That we learn to suffer so others might find life, that we stand firmly in love in a world of evil and hold on to the good and the gracious, even if it costs us everything.

Our willingness to be Christ means our willingness to lose like Jesus of Nazareth.  That’s the fulfilling of the reconciliation God works on the cross: in our lives, our voices, our bodies, our hearts, laid out in the world.  In our willingness to lose ourselves, like Jesus, that we might be found in the heart of God and in the resurrection life God makes happen only in death.
 
To see the eternal Christ the way the convict sees is to see the life God is making in the death of this world, and the path we are invited to walk.

It means becoming comfortable with paradox and mystery.  That power is truly exercised when it is released and let go.  That weakness is the true strength.  That death – daily death – is the gateway to life.  This was not only true of Jesus, the Son.  It is the path he holds out before us now.

And in repeating the words of that convict, we are committing ourselves to walk that path with our Lord Christ, seeking only the grace of his remembering us, that he might turn to us and strengthen our hearts and our faith, and transform us in our dying and losing, that we, and all things in heaven and on earth, might faithfully walk this path which ultimately ends in life.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen

The Olive Branch

By

Accent on Worship

     My major in college was history.  I took a lot of European history classes and learned that most kings in history, even when they started out with much promise, were corrupted beyond belief by the time of their death.  Most held unlimited power in their kingdoms which, I believe, was their undoing and the cause of great hardship and suffering for their subjects.

     The image of God and God in Jesus as king is made clear in the readings for Christ the King Sunday, and it is quite the opposite of historical kings and their kingdoms.  God in Jesus is depicted in all three readings.  In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah describes him as a king who is wise, just, and righteous, the one who is coming and will put all things right.  “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”  Strong words are reserved for the string of kings who came and went in Judah during Jeremiah’s time. They were referred to as shepherds who allowed their sheep to be scattered and did not attend to them.

     The second reading, an inspired letter to the Colossians, tells of the one so powerful, through whom all was created and who rules over all dominions and powers.  Yet in him, we are rescued from the power of darkness, transformed, forgiven, and redeemed.  In these passages Paul paints a picture of Jesus, who is one with God from the beginning and who holds all power, yet because he willingly became so lowly through the blood of his cross, dispenses eternal mercy.  In God, who holds unlimited power over everything in heaven and earth, there is eternal mercy.

     This mercy is revealed in the suffering and death of Jesus, who offers his forgiveness and an invitation to be with him in paradise to the sinner on the cross beside him, who recognized the kingship and kingdom of Jesus and asked to be a part of it.

           – Donna Pususta Neste

Sunday Readings

November 24, 2013 – Christ the King, Sunday 34
Jeremiah 23:1-6 + Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20 + Luke 23:33-43

December 1, 2013 – First Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 2:1-5 + Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14 + Matthew 24:36-44

Thanksgiving Eucharist
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28
10:00 a.m.

     Bring non-perishable food items to help re-stock local food shelves. Monetary donations are especially welcome (for every $1 donated, food shelf personnel are able to buy about $9 worth of food!)

     The entire offering received at the Eucharist on Thanksgiving Day will be given to Sabbathani Community Center and Community Emergency Services.

Neighborhood Ministries Newsletter

     This Sunday, November 24, the ushers will distribute the fall issue of the Neighborhood Ministries newsletter, Greetings from Mount Olive Neighborhood Ministries.  If you will not be in church that day and would like a copy, they will be available to be picked up at the church, in the office or in the narthex.

Adult Forum
 • November 24:  “An Introduction to Matthew,” part 3 of a 3-part series, led by Pastor Crippen.

Thursday Evening Bible Study

     On Thursday evenings (except for Thanksgiving Day) through December 19, Vicar Beckering is leading a topical study on the Biblical witness to suffering and who God is for us in the midst of that suffering. This Bible study series meets in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Each gathering will begin with a light supper. All are welcome!

Book Discussion Group

     For December 14, The Book Discussion group will discuss The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty, and on January 18 (postponed one week due to the Liturgy Conference), we will discuss Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively.

Please Note

Church offices will be closed on Friday, November 29 (the day after Thanksgiving).

2014 Pledge Cards

     A letter and pledge card for 2014 was sent to Mount Olive members last week. The Stewardship Committee would like to have all pledge cards returned by Sunday, December 1, either to the church office or placed in the designated box next to the coat area.

Creche Needed

     Our Godly Play church school program is in need of a Christmas creche, preferably one made of wood that the children can handle.  If you have one you can donate or loan to us for a while, please bring it to the church office.  Thank you!

                        Patsy Holtmeier and Carol Austermann

Advent Procession
Sunday, December 1 – 4:00 p.m.
All are invited to this contemplative service of lessons and carols for Advent.

A Note of Thanks

     At Mount Olive, one would, of course, need to say that our spirits are fed by the Eucharist that we share every Sunday morning.   But we do food and drink for the body pretty well, too!  Many thanks to Gail Nielsen and her crew for Sunday’s wonderful NovemberFest meal and celebration!  It was a great time.

ELCA Disaster Relief: Super Typhoon Haiyan

     One of the most powerful storms ever recorded, Super Typhoon Haiyan, crashed across the central islands of the Philippines. With winds of over 200 miles per hour and torrential rains, it has caused massive destruction, loss of lives and forced millions of people to flee their homes.

    Our help is needed to make a difference in the lives of those affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan. Through partnerships and as a member of ACT Alliance, Lutheran Disaster Response is responding to the most urgent needs of food, water, clothing, shelter, sleeping material and medicine. Possible assistance may also include helping those whose livelihood of fishing or farming has been destroyed.

     Gifts designated to “Pacific Typhoon Response” will be used by Lutheran Disaster Relief in full – 100 percent – to help with immediate and long-term need. Your generous offerings of prayer and financial support will help those affected as they journey to recover.

     If you wish to make a donation toward relief efforts, use your blue missions envelope or any other and mark it clearly for Typhoon Relief. This past Sunday, November 17, Mount Olive members contributed $2420 toward this effort. The need is great, and our continued donations help.

The Art Shoppe

     For those who are new to Mount Olive, I would like to extend a special invitation to visit and shop at the Art Shoppe for the upcoming holidays.

     Three years ago, Mount Olive was invited to join A Minnesota Without Poverty in a micro-enterprise that would support local artists. A retail space in the Midtown Global Market, in the old Sears building one block from Mount Olive, was obtained for this purpose. The Art Shoppe faces Lake Street in the west corridor of the Midtown Global Market.

     There are now sixty artists involved who offer their work in a variety of forms: clothing, jewelry, pottery, photos, cards, glass-blowing, and woodworking.

     Are you looking for some one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts this year? Shop and support the artists at The Art Shoppe.

Carol Austermann, 
  Neighborhood Ministries Director

How are you?

     “Just fine!” or some similar response is often our automatic reply.  If things aren’t really all that fine, we aren’t sure the inquirer really wants to know so we hesitate to elaborate further.  The fact is life brings changes to each of us and we are often surprised by how difficult and even painful these changes can be.  As Christians we know we can share the complications of life with each other, but often we aren’t sure how to go about it.

     Mount Olive Congregational Care group would like to open a conversation so that those of us who care for others can share experiences and insights, and in so doing, strengthen one another through shared faith.  A four-week structured group will be offered at Mount Olive on Fridays at 1:00 PM beginning December 27. Cathy Bosworth, Vicar Emily Beckering and Marilyn Gebauer will act as facilitators. Each week a brief educational component will be offered with equal time for each person to share personally in a confidential, supportive setting.

     If you have interest in attending, or have questions about this, please call Cathy Bosworth or Marilyn Gebauer. Cathy can be reached at 952-949-3679 or marcat8447@yahoo.com. Marilyn can be reached at 651-704-9539 or gebauevm@bitstream.net. If four or more people have interest in participating, each will be contacted to confirm the group will meet as planned.

Narthex Updating

     A big thank you goes out to Mount Olive members who helped with new upgrades and maintenance of the narthex.

     The changes have been subtle but over the last couple months you may have noticed a few changes in the narthex. It started with some tough scrubbing of the brick walls in the north stairwell to the balcony.  Many years of buildup on the walls had had turned the stairwell bricks a very dark color, accentuated by much lighter colored chips in the  brick.  Steve Pranschke, Bob Lee, John Meyer and Sue Ellen Zagrabelny applied a fair amount of elbow grease and heavy duty cleaner to brighten those brick walls. Thank you, Steve, Bob, John and Sue Ellen.
 
     A few days later, new carpet was delivered and as the carpet layers were removing the old carpet from the stairwells, they found that the floor boards on the first landing of the south staircase were dangerously decaying from an old water damage problem and needed to be replaced before the new carpet could be installed.  Who do you call in an emergency situation where some major floor repair is needed immediately??  Well, the dream team of Art Halbardier and George Oelfke appeared on a moment’s notice, and they cut out the decayed floor boards and replaced them with new flooring all in time for the new carpet to be installed without any delays.  Thank you, Art and George.

     Also over the last few weeks, new brighter lighting has been installed in the stairwells leading to the balcony and in the two stairwells leading to the undercroft.  Future plans call for painting the stairwells to the undercroft and more new lighting at the bottom of the stairwells.

     Lastly, Mark Pipkorn hand crafted new brighter globes for the four main lights in the narthex.  The original globes were installed in the early 1960s and were made of fiberglass that had darkened considerably, especially when larger, hotter light bulbs had been used and caused the fiber glass to discolor.  Thank you, Mark!

     Also a special thank you to Brian Jacobs for providing his decorative expertise and help in choosing and ordering and installing the carpet and lighting.

Mittens + Gloves = Warm Hands

     At the Community Meals in December (7th and 21st), mittens and glove will be given to our guests who need/want them. If you would like to donate mittens and/or gloves to this cause, please call Irene Campbell at 651/230-3927.

To the Wearers of Albs

     As the season of Advent approaches and the worship assistants’ albs get more frequent use, please take a moment or two to check your alb to see if it needs to be repaired or replaced. Take a good, long look! Also, look for additional information on the alb closet door. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Carol Austermann at 612/722-5123.


Communion Ministry at Mount Olive

     We are looking to add some new Communion Ministers to our team.

      As an extension of Pastor Crippen’s ministry, each week Communion Ministers visit members of our congregation who aren’t able to attend a Sunday service because of a short-term recuperation or long-term illness. During our visits, we share the Eucharist, creating a connection to our weekly worship.

     Each year Communion Ministers make more than 200 visits, and we want make sure we meet the needs of congregation members as they arise.

     We typically ask Communion Ministers to visit 1-2 members one time per month, and while the visits are usually on Sundays, they can be scheduled for other days, too.

     If you are interested in becoming a part of this rewarding experience or would like more information about it, please contact Tom Graves and Ginny Agresti at 651-292-1685, or by email at thgravesmn@msn.com.

Field Trip!

     Interested in attending the largest choral music event in the world?  Ever seen the film “The Singing Revolution” or maybe have heard the recent concert of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir?  Ever thought of visiting Saint Saviour’s Church in Riga, Latvia that Mount Olive was instrumental in resurrecting (with Arden and Jana Haug) in the 1990’s?

     Join former Mount Olive Cantor Mark Sedio and his partner, Jeff Sartain as they lead a trip to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this summer from June 27 through July 7.  The group will visit three interestingly diverse capital cities: Vilnius (Lithuania – a gem of a city with stunning Baroque architecture and a center of Jewish learning), Riga (Latvia’s lovely capital – not only lots of red brick like Copenhagen but also a treasure chest of a peculiar brand of Art Nouveau), and finally Tallinn (Estonia – boasting one of the best preserved Medieval city centers in all of Europe).  The culmination of the trip is the All-Estonia LAULUPIDU (the Song Festival which happens only once every five years) in which 120,000 people join together in song. It is one of the largest choral events in the world!  All this, plus side trips to places like Cesis (Latvia) – a pristinely preserved Latvian town and the Estonian island of Saaremaa with its many windmills, mysterious crater lakes, and one of Europe’s largest stone Teutonic fortresses.

     Tour brochures will soon be available in the church office. For more information, contact Mark at 612/ 767-9230 or msedio@centralmpls.org.  Hope you’ll consider joining us!

                                     Mark Sedio

Incarnation Icon

     Adam Krueger and Thomas Fenner have commissioned an Incarnation icon, which they are giving to Mount Olive in memory of Adam’s mother. The icon writer (or painter), Nicholas Markell (who also wrote the icon of the Ascension in Mount Olive’s columbarium), will present the icon to Adam and Thomas and will discuss the icon — its genesis, its symbolism, its meanings — at the Adult Forum on December 1.

Eyes on Jesus

By

In his incarnation, death and resurrection our Lord Christ walks the same path he invites us and strengthens us to walk, and so we face fearful events and signs of tribulation without fear, witnessing by our walking as Christ walked and now walks beside us.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Time after Pentecost, Lectionary 33, year C; texts: Luke 21:5-19; Malachi 4:1-2a; Psalm 98

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

“There will be wars and insurrections, nation rising against nation.”  There will be genocide and civil war in Africa and Syria.  Slaughter in Afghanistan and Iraq.  “There will be great earthquakes and portents and signs from heaven.”  There will be typhoons in the Philippines, tsunamis in Southeast Asia, hurricanes in New Jersey and vicious tornadoes in Oklahoma.  “There will be plagues and famines.”  There will be AIDS and antibiotic-resistant germs, powerful influenza viruses, cancer seemingly everywhere the eye looks.  Tens of thousands starving to death daily.  Drought in once fertile places and melting ice caps.

Do not be terrified, our Lord Jesus says, these things will have to take place.  And along with this, you may also face personal struggles directly related to your discipleship: even arrest, persecution.

And though that part of Jesus’ words doesn’t seem to apply to us as strongly in this country (though it certainly does to Christians elsewhere), this yearly excursion into the apocalyptic warnings of Jesus that we have each end of the Church Year is distressing and confusing.  Far too many of our sisters and brothers in Christ focus most of their energy on proclaiming the end times and little on the grace of God Christ embodied for the world, and that troubles us.  Yet, like virtually every generation before us since our Lord said these words, it’s hard not to hear them and then look at our newspapers or the Internet and tremble a bit.

“This is not the end, yet,” Jesus says.  It won’t follow immediately.  But in response to our forebear disciples’ small-town admiration of the beautiful Temple and rich appointments of the buildings of Jerusalem, Jesus says that while the end isn’t necessarily here, we might be wise not to depend on the institutions and works of our hands in this world to last forever.  Stones do get thrown down upon stones, and human enterprise envisioned to endure for centuries can quickly become overgrown with grass and weeds.

What we must not forget, then, is the only thing that matters about all these words, these sayings, and that is just who it is who is saying them.  Taking little bits of the Scriptures each week to read in worship is the only way we can do it – we can’t read the whole Bible each Sunday – but it sometimes causes us to focus on the external details of readings and forget the deeper core, the center of God’s written Word.  And in these verses there is only one thing we need to look at, one idea to understand, one place we need to see: we need to turn our eyes to our Lord Jesus Christ, who speaks these words, and thereby changes their impact on us forever.

The lectionary preparers gave us the first hints that the most important thing in the face of apocalypse is the Incarnate, Crucified and Risen Christ who is with us.

You might have heard two such hints as we moved through our readings.

At the end of Malachi’s dire warnings of the flaming destruction of the wicked was a burst of the light of grace, a beam which Charles Wesley placed at the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  “But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.”  So says the LORD through Malachi.  “Hail the heav’nborn Prince of Peace!,” says Charles Wesley.  “Hail the Sun of righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, ris’n with healing in his wings.”  Hark, you herald angels indeed.

And then we have this curiosity: when the lectionary preparers were considering a psalm for Christmas Day, they said, “We know – let’s assign Psalm 98.  It’s perfect.”  And Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 98, known to us as “Joy to the World,” is also closely associated with the festival of the Nativity of Our Lord.

But then, when these same preparers of the lectionary considered this Sunday, these dire warnings from Malachi and Jesus, they also seem to have said, “We know – let’s assign Psalm 98.  It’s perfect.”  And so it is, and so they were correct.

Because God’s answer to the portents and disaster and tragedy and war and rampant disease and starvation and pain of the world is the coming of the Incarnate Son of God into that very chaos, that devastation.  The answer of the Triune God to this world’s pain and brokenness is not to overpower it, or avoid it, or even to pull the children of God out of it, but to enter that pain and brokenness and through losing, through dying to it, bring healing and restoration and life.

So when we sing “Joy to the World” on a day like today, do not the words “No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground; he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found,” do not these words sound different, feel different today than they do on Christmas morning?  Is this not exactly what our Lord is saying in these words from Luke today?  Is this not actually an Easter stanza, these words, as well as a Christmas one, and an apocalyptic one?

Our Eucharist each week is actually a living into and through the entire story of Christ embedded in the Church Year.  The whole work of Christ, birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, Pentecost, and life in the Spirit, all are present in this moment each time we gather.  We inhabit it all in this one moment, this open rift in time, and in that context we hear the various teachings and readings and Scripture passages assigned each week, and they never can be heard apart from this greater truth and reality.

So when this Incarnate One, the Son of God, turns to us today and says, “It’s going to be pretty bad out there at times for you, and for all,” he’s only saying what he already knows to be true himself, in his own body.  And we cannot hear his words without remembering everything else we know about him, the one speaking.

And do you see how that changes this whole reading, to remember it is our beloved Lord Jesus Christ who speaks this word?  That he calls us to endure what this world is as one who has already endured what this world is?  That he promises to strengthen us and give us wisdom as One who has already made his way through the chaos, and in rising from the dead has begun to heal it?

When we know who it is who is speaking to us, then we can hear the grace in his words and promise, even on days like today, words like today.

So his first word today is: there is only One whom you should follow, One to whom you should listen, and that is me, your Lord and Savior.

This warning he gives today about people speaking falsely in his name isn’t about wondering who the Antichrist is, as if it’s one person.  It’s about realizing there are many who will claim to speak on behalf of our Lord Christ who are not.

So here is our test: if anyone tells us an answer from God to the suffering and pain of this world that does not involve entering it fully and transforming it, even losing, in order that life might come through it, they are not of Christ.  The world always looks for an easy path, but it does not exist.  Our Lord walked the path he now reveals lies before us, and no one truly of Christ can tell us there is another.

And if anyone tells us that in the apocalyptic destruction that may be at the end of the world, and in the devastating pain and suffering that certainly are in these days there are some who are blessed by God and who will avoid such things because of that, they are not of Christ.  The world always looks to those who suffer and seeks to blame, to explain, and to claim that those who do not suffer are the blessed ones.  Our Lord, the blessed, Incarnate One, the Son of God, entered the chaos of the world on our behalf, suffered its worst, and permanently blessed all who likewise suffer, and if we’re going to follow this True One, we’re going to have to go there, too, as vulnerable as the Christ Child, as willing to lose as Jesus on the cross.

So be careful, he says, whom you listen to, whom you follow, especially if they say they’re from me.  They might lead you astray.

But his second word to us today is: don’t be terrified.

Yes, this way of facing the pain and brokenness of the world with our lives and our work and our heart and our love and our bodies is a frightening way to consider, to live.  But don’t be terrified, he says.  Don’t be terrified, because none of this can ultimately harm you, for I am with you always.  Don’t be terrified, because as he said in John’s Gospel: “take courage, I have conquered the world.”  (John 16:33)

The Son not only was born among us, entering this broken world, not only died facing it, he is risen and gives life: he has overcome the world in this.  So we need not fear, though the earth shake and the mountains fall into the sea, though the nations rage.  Christ has conquered the world.

His third word to us today is: this all will be our opportunity to testify, literally, to martyr, to witness.  Our trust in the Incarnate, Crucified and Risen One who leads us through this wilderness, this world of destruction, not only gives us strength in this journey.  It is a witness.  We can become people who testify by our very selves that Christ has come and conquered the world, even if it is hard to see now.

Our grace under stress, our trust in the Lord, our willingness to be with others in their pain and suffering as the very grace of God, our courageous placing ourselves into the face of evil and holding the light of love high, this is our witness.  Our testimony to the risen Christ who offers life to all.

Our Lord says to us, instead of fretting about how hard it is to live in this painful world, instead consider what a witness you can be when you do, the opportunity to be the word of grace from God in the midst of a broken world, the one who helps others see the Son of God in our midst, healing all.

And his last word to us today is: don’t worry about what you will say (or do), I will give you what you need.  We don’t need to think about what we say, worry about not being brilliant speakers or gifted evangelists, fear that we aren’t brave enough or strong enough.

We have an opportunity every day to witness to the truth about what God is doing in this broken, suffering world, and God will give us what we need to do this witness.  The words we need.  The wisdom we lack.  The strength we cannot find in ourselves.  The courage that comes from the Spirit of God in our hearts.

This is our hope, always: we belong to Christ Jesus, and in that love nothing can separate us.

We need to hear these honest words each year which name the destructive reality that a world torn apart by sin is: wars, disasters, tragedies, disease, devastation.  We would be liars if we denied this truth, and our part in making it.

But today we remember that we cannot talk about any of these things as if they exist apart from the reality that the Triune God has entered this world to redeem it from within, and we hear none of this except in the voice of our Lord who loves us enough to die for us, and in rising gives us new life, life that will one day fill the whole world.

It is a hard world, a frightening world.  But we keep our eyes on Christ Jesus, who’s right in the middle of it already, holding out his hand that we might walk with him, and in our witness to others, lead the rest of the world to this life he is bringing.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen

The Olive Branch, 11/13/13

By

Accent on Worship

     “Such times we live in,” the saying goes.  And if the old Chinese blessing has any merit (“May you live in interesting times.”), we must be blest indeed!

     For Christians, the experience of time is a very blessed and hallowed reality, as we live into God’s New Creation. In worship especially, our participation in Christ’s body has one foot planted in our experience of time, and one foot in the timeless eternity of God’s kingdom, where we sing with saints and angels. For our Orthodox sisters and brothers, liturgy is the one place in this life where we get to step out of our temporal lives and enter into this new creation of God’s making. Though we cannot grasp anything other than our experience of passing time, faith allows us to see in a mirror, dimly, a different reality—a simultaneous reality—a continuum within which our lives are held fast.

     I had an uncle who taught at Luther Seminary while I was a student there. I remember a classmate who thought my Uncle Bob’s ideas were terribly dated and old fashioned, and in class one day, this student accused him of “having one foot in the grave.”  My Uncle Bob sighed, and said: “the minute the church no longer has one foot in the grave, it is in dire trouble.”

     So in these last Sundays of the church year, these last Sundays of “Ordinary Time,” we focus on time itself, and the nature of God’s reign among us. We are reminded that we have one foot in the grave, even as we “live, and move, and have our being.”

     For the secular world, time is a cruel and ruthless master and serves-up a sentence that continually reminds us of our death. Thanks be to God for our life in Christ, who transforms this death-sentence into life itself, right through the center of every moment. Gone is the futile feeling that history is “just-one-damned-thing-after-another” (Arnold Toynbee).  In Christ’s new creation each moment of time is blasted open into eternity itself, leading on to God instead of death.  This, to me, is what these “end-time” Sundays at the end of the church year are all about. They are, to be sure, Sundays in “Ordinary Time,” yet the message is clear, and hope-full, and indeed, extraordinary!

– William Beckstrand, Interim Cantor

Sunday Readings

Nov. 17, 2013 – Time after Pentecost, Sunday 33
Malachi 4:1-2a + Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 + Luke 21:5-19

Nov. 10, 2013 – Christ the King, Sunday 34
Jeremiah 23:1-6 + Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20 + Luke 23:33-43

NovemberFest!

     This Sunday, November 17, the Congregational Life Committee will hold a NovemberFest Fundraising Dinner. This event will be a fun opportunity for Mount Olive members and friends to visit with each other and guests, eat a wonderful meal of German food prepared by members of our church, play some games (led by Hans Tisberger), all to help raise money for new ovens for the Undercroft kitchen.  A freewill offering will be received. If you want to come and haven’t signed up, call Gail Nielsen at 612/825-9326 to RSVP, so we know how much food to prepare.

Theology on Tap

Faith journey conversations for folks 21 and up
When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 7:30pm
Where: Longfellow Grill, 2990 W. River Pkwy, Mpls
Topic: That “small, quiet voice”– how and when do you hear it, what does it tell you, what gets in the way?
Contact: Bob Anderson, 952-937-8656

Thanksgiving Eucharist
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28
10:00 a.m.

     Bring non-perishable food items to help re-stock local food shelves. Monetary donations are especially welcome (for every $1 donated, food shelf personnel are able to buy about $9 worth of food!)
     The entire offering received at the Eucharist on Thanksgiving Day will be given to Sabbathani Community Center and Community Emergency Services.

Adult Forum 

• November 17: “An Introduction to Matthew,” part 2 of a 3-part series, led by Pastor Crippen.

• November 24:  “An Introduction to Matthew,” part 3 of a 3-part series, led by Pastor Crippen.

Thursday Evening Bible Study

     On Thursday evenings (except for Thanksgiving Day) through December 19, Vicar Beckering will lead a topical study on the Biblical witness to suffering and who God is for us in the midst of that suffering. This Bible study series will meet in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Each gathering will begin with a light supper. All are welcome!

Attention, Bakers!

     We will again bake communion bread for our liturgies from Advent through Holy Trinity.  There is currently a regular group of five bakers, but additional bakers are always welcome. If you are interested in baking communion bread, Please contact John and Patsy Holtmeier either by email to jpholt67@gmail.com, or by phone: 952-582-1955.

Book Discussion Group

For December 14, The Book Discussion group will discuss The Optimist’s Daughter, by Eudora Welty, and on January 18 (postponed one week due to the Liturgy Conference), we will discuss Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively.

Please Note

Church offices will be closed on Friday, November 29 (the day after Thanksgiving).

Families with Kids, Please Note!

    Families with children and teens are invited to assist with the noon meal this Saturday, November 16.  Come at noon for the meal and help bus tables, visit with guests and make Thanksgiving cards for Meals on Wheels recipients.  Call Beth Sawyer with any questions.  651-434-0666

Every Church a Peace Church

Thursday, November 14, 7-8:30 p.m. at
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
1895 Laurel Ave., St. Paul

     Every Church a Peace Church, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Veterans for Peace and Fellowship of Reconciliation invite you to an evening with Fr. Michael Lapsley on November 14.

     Father Lapsley became chaplain of the African National Congress in 1976. He survived an assassination attempt by the South African Apartheid government. It destroyed both of his hands, one eye and his eardrums. Fr. Lapsley believed God was with him and he was able to move from victim to victor. During his lengthy recovery he became a staff member of the Training Center for Survivors of Violence and Torture and later was involved with Bishop Desmond Tutu in the Truth and Reconciliation effort in South Africa. Fr. Lapsley helped develop the Healing of Memories (HOM) American. He leads HOM retreats in Minnesota for returning veterans.

CoAM Fundraiser

     CoAM (Cooperative Adult Ministries) will have a fun fundraiser on Monday, November 18, beginning at noon, at Bethel Lutheran Church (4120 17th Ave. S.). The musical group From the Heart will perform songs from the Great American Songbook. Plan to come, share a meal, and listen to the music! For reservations, call the CoAM office at 612/721-5786. CoAM is a program of TRUST, of which Mount Olive is a part (TRUST sponsors our Meals on Wheels program).

ELCA Disaster Relief: Super Typhoon Haiyan

     One of the most powerful storms ever recorded, Super Typhoon Haiyan, crashed across the central islands of the Philippines. With winds of over 200 miles per hour and torrential rains, it has caused massive destruction, loss of lives and forced millions of people to flee their homes.

    Our help is needed to make a difference in affected areas. Through partnerships and as a member of ACT Alliance, Lutheran Disaster Response is responding to the most urgent needs of food, water, clothing, shelter, sleeping material and medicine. Possible assistance may also include helping those whose livelihood of fishing or farming has been destroyed.

     Gifts designated to “Pacific Typhoon Response” will be used by Lutheran Disaster Relief in full – 100 percent – to help with immediate and long-term need. Your generous offerings of prayer and financial support will help those affected as they journey to recover.

     If you wish to make a donation toward relief efforts, use your blue missions envelope or any other and mark it clearly for Typhoon Relief.

Lynn Dobson in the News

     The most recent issue of The American Organist features Lynn Dobson’s new organ at Merton College in Oxford, England. Several from Mount Olive will travel to Oxford in April for the dedication of this fine instrument. Stop in the church office and pick up a copy of the article which features Lynn and the work of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, and this exceptional organ.

Special Request from CES

     Community Emergency Services has informed us of some current special needs: computers, a 2-stage snow blower, shopping carts, fans, and a vacuum cleaner. The most important need, however, is people! The need volunteers for their mail crew, clerical assistance, drivers, and painters. If you can help, please contact CES at 612/870-1125. CES is the local recipient of our food shelf donations.

2014 Pledge Cards

     A letter and pledge card for 2014 was sent to Mount Olive members this week. The Stewardship Committee would like to have all pledge cards returned by Sunday, December 1, either to the church office or placed in the designated box in the narthex.

MOUNT OLIVE LUTHERAN CHURCH
3045 Chicago Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Map and Directions >

612-827-5919
welcome@mountolivechurch.org


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