Blog – Page 367

The Olive Branch, 10/2/13

October 2, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

During the celebration of the Eucharist in worship I sometimes do not sing but simply watch those going to the feast. It becomes clear to me that we are many but numbered as one when we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. Our worship together reminds me that we are God’s beloved called to love God’s creation and each other with a passion and trust that is as deep as the center of the earth. Perhaps this is what St. Paul meant in Colossians when he addressed the letter to the faithful brothers and sisters who are ‘in Christ.’

Our life together in Christ also brings me to the depth of despair due to the beauty and love I see and experience in worship, especially when we pass the peace to one another, but which is NOT lived out right here in Minneapolis and over the creation.

What I see and experience driving our culture is a community defined as ME – WRITTEN LARGE. I hear it in conversations as I walk the skyways and hear people in discussions which clearly reveal the lack of listening to each other but each swaying and persuading the other to their viewpoint or conviction. I see it on ads on TV selling us stuff, working to convince us that only with this stuff will we be happy.

I believe one of the “sins” we have fallen victim to, is greed, turning us from depth and purpose and power for good to looking out for number one, filling our “barns’ with as much as possible and overfilling them, thus deforming human desire into an insatiable drive for more. Increasingly when a small part of the people of God has the greatest wealth and the majority have the leftovers, the community created by God for life and joy erodes.

The ramifications of this are all around us which includes enormous spiritual hunger, for many today have no spiritual center or community which holds them in love and care but rather urges them on to self-satisfaction, self-preservation, and above all financial security. Trust in God’s care is foreign and meaningless to many today.

As I watch worshippers going to receive the food of God, I see trust in God’s care, seeking the common good, making of community, freedom of vulnerability, reveling in God’s ceaseless generosity, and trusting this even in the face of adversity.

Mount Olive is in a Visioning Process and Pastor Crippen has repeatedly used this phrase – “We must pray about this.” As God’s people we are a praying lot from whom come ideas, and direction and hope. I hope we can discuss this as part of asking “How does Mount Olive live in the world today and what is our mission/vision/hope/joy?

– Elizabeth Beissel

Sunday’s Adult Forum

• October 6: “What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say,” All of us have encountered conversations in which the news we hear is so tragic or shocking that we just don’t know how to respond. Allen Dundek, Chaplain and Clinical Pastoral Educator, will talk about the skill and art of compassionate listening from psychological and theological perspectives.

Book Discussion Group

Mount Olive’s Book Discussion group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at church. For the October 12 meeting they will discuss The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and for November 9, Parade’s End, by Ford Madox Ford.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
Blessing of Animals
This Friday, October 4 + 7:00 pm

Bring your pets and your friends (and your friends’ pets!) to this annual service of blessing.

New Members To Be Received This Sunday

New members will be received on October 6, 2013, during the second liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members, their guests, and Mount Olive members. If you are interested in becoming a member of Mount Olive, please contact the church office by phone (612/827-5919) or by email to welcome@mountolivechurch.org. You may also speak with Andrew Andersen, Director of Evangelism, or contact him at andrewstpaul@gmail.com or 763-607-1689. Pastor Crippen is also available to discuss membership. He can be reached at 612.827.5919 or via e-mail at pastor@mountolivechurch.org.

Notice of Congregation Meeting

The Fall semi-annual congregation meeting of Mount Olive Lutheran Church will be held after second liturgy on October 20, 2013, in the Undercroft. Included on the agenda will be a vote to approve the congregational budget for 2014, and updates on the Neighborhood Ministries Visioning Process and the Capital Campaign approved at the Spring congregation meeting. If you are a member of Mount Olive, please plan to attend.

Budget Preview Session
There will be a 2014 budget preview session after the second liturgy on Sunday, October 13. Copies of the proposed budget will be available a week before this session, so bring your coffee and come with any questions that you have about the budget. Members of the Vestry will be available to answer questions.

Freedom of the Christian: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings

The first Thursday Bible study series of this year began last Thursday, Sept. 19, and it runs for six weeks. Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Pr. Crippen is leading a study of the book of Galatians, one of Paul’s most vital and important letters. As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!

Mount Olive Greeting Cards

A set of three greeting cards with photographs taken around Mount Olive Lutheran Church have been designed by Paul Nixdorf and are available for purchase at church on Sunday mornings.

Single cards are priced at $2.50 each. For quantity of five or more the purchase price is $1.75 each. Pricing covers production costs. The cards are being made available through sponsorship by the Evangelism Committee.

Theology on Tap

Theology on Tap is a group at Mount Olive that meets once a month at local bars/restaurants to enjoy a good beverage and dialogue about faith and life (no preparation or book reading is required, only your personal insight). Everyone is welcome to join in the conversation! Contact Lisa Nordeen (brwgrl@gmail.com) if you would like to join us or have questions about Theology on Tap!

Upcoming Event Details:
Where: Mosaic Cafe, 3019 Minnehaha Avenue just south of East Lake Street
When: Thursday, October 3, 7:30-9:30pm
Discussion Topic: Prayer – scripted, contemplative, spontaneous…
Facebook: Mount Olive Theology on Tap – “Like” the page to get more updates!

Follow Mount Olive on Facebook and Twitter

Have you liked Mount Olive on Facebook yet? Are you following us on Twitter? If not, we encourage you to! We are now using these sites to spread the word about events, sermons, Bible studies, and other things happening at Mount Olive. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MountOliveMpls or on Twitter at twitter.com/MountOliveMpls.

The Snack Chart is Up

Way to Goals Tutoring Program has begun for this year, and the snack chart is up for those who would like to support our tutoring program by signing up to bring a snack and beverage for 25 students and tutors. You will find the chart on the Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board by Donna Neste’s office downstairs. If you have any questions, feel free to call Donna at church 612-827-5919.

Final Ten Days for Photos!

Sunday, October 13 is the final day to have your photos taken for the new Mount Olive Online Pictorial Directory.

To make your appointment you can do one of the following:
1. Sign up on Sunday during the education hour and coffee hours.
2. Call Bonnie McLellan at 952/452-2049.
3. E-mail Elisabeth Hunt at elisabeth@hunt.org or Marty Hamlin at marcat8447@yahoo.com.

If you have special circumstances or needs that require attention, please call the church office at 612/827-5919, and leave a message for Andrew Andersen or Sandra Pranschke.

SMILE!

Twin Cities Choirs Stand with the Minnesota Chorale

The Minnesota Chorale, Kantorei, National Lutheran Choir, Oratorio Society of Minnesota, The Singers, and VocalEssence will offer preview repertoire from their upcoming 2013-14 Seasons in this free concert to be held this Sunday, October 6 at 4:00 p.m. at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

This concert is an expression of support for the Minnesota Chorale, whose 2012-13 and 2013-14 Season(s) have been impacted by the lockout at the Minnesota Orchestra. All of the participating choirs are donating their services. The Kantorei, the National Lutheran Choir, the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, The Singers, and VocalEssence will join the Minnesota Chorale in a program that features snapshot performances of selections from each choir’s 2013-14 season. A goodwill offering will be taken to offset costs Minnesota Chorale has incurred in producing the event.

TRUST Auction to be Held October 26

TRUST’s annual Auction will take place on Saturday, October 26, at 6 pm at Lake Harriet Methodist Church, 4901 Chowen Ave., Minneapolis. Plan to come to this annual event for the fun, the food, the goodies and the great entertainment!. Tickets are $20 in advance or with reservations; $15 for seniors 65+ /youth; $5 for those under age 10; and $25 at the door. All proceeds support the programs and ministries of TRUST: Meals on Wheels, Chore Program, Parish Nursing, CoAM Life Enrichment, TRUST Youth and much more. For reservations, call 612-827-6159 or email trustinc@visi.com.

Metro Lutheran Annual Dinner

All are cordially invited to attend the Metro Lutheran Annual Dinner, to be held on Sunday, October 13, at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church (50th & Knox Ave., Minneapolis). Social Time begins at 4:30 pm and Dinner and Program follow beginning at 5:30 pm. Keynote Speaker for the evening will be Tom Hegg, and the program includes the presentation of the 2013 Gold Pen Award to the Rev. Dr. Rolf Jacobson.

Tickets for this event are $25 each ($15/student), and deadline for reservations is October 5. For additional information, please call the Metro Lutheran office at 612/230-3281.

Glorious Company

September 29, 2013 By moadmin

The creation is far greater than we can sense or know, and the celebration of the gift of God’s angels, servants of God as are we, reminds us not only of the splendor of the Creator but is a promise of the work of the Triune God against evil through all the servants of God.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, feast of St. Michael and All Angels; texts: Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3; Psalm 103:1-5, 20-22; Revelation 12:7-12; Luke 10:17-20

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

“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.”

We live in a rational, scientific world where we believe things to be true that can be proven, studied, tested, examined, seen, touched, sensed in every way. Yet we come to worship the almighty, Triune God every week, something that in itself is not easily proven, if at all, by any evidence lifted from any of those methods. And it’s not just our faith in an invisible Deity who created and redeemed and inspires the creation that is outside that rational, scientific sense. Whenever we come here for worship we enter into a world of language that speaks of supernatural things, events, realities as if they are matter-of-fact, a world of images that many who do not claim to believe in God would call fantastical, mythological, fictional. We speak easily and hopefully of miracles, of a divine, Holy Spirit who comes to us, of a divine Word who literally took on our flesh, died, and rose from the dead, and we consider this all to be truth, reality, the core of our hope and our life.

This is something true about us: whatever the challenges of integrating our confidence in science and intellect and the human ability to study and understand, with our faith in God, whatever difficulty that incurs, it is who we are, it is what we do. Unafraid to use our minds, thrilled by the ability of humanity to learn and understand amazing things, we are also unafraid to open our hearts to what we cannot easily explain, what we cannot often see, what we only can trust is truth.

It’s important that we say this on this day. Because, after all, we do confess that “we believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.”

And on this day the Church says, remember that this God, then, is also maker of angels, heavenly messengers, spiritual beings. Things unseen. But of God’s creation. So if there is a part of us that winces at saying we believe angels are real – and for some that is never a concern, for others it is a very real concern – if there is a part of us that wonders if this is all fairy tale language, this talk of Michael and archangels and wars in heaven, this celebration of all the angels, if there is any of that in us, we might wish to remember that there are other far more wondrous and improvable things which we claim easily and without apparent difficulty.

Lutheran church historian Philip Pfatteicher has said, “As All Saints’ Day . . . is a reminder of the size of the one church in heaven and on earth, so this feast of Michael and the angels is a reminder of the breathtaking size of creation, seen and unseen. The feast teaches an understanding that there are aspects of reality beyond what can be grasped with the senses. Angels, like mortals, are children of the infinite imagination of God.” [1]

You see, it would be supremely arrogant for humanity to assume that we are the pinnacle of all the creation of the infinite Majesty, and that the vastness of creation’s reality is limited strictly to that which humans can study, explain and diagram. Celebrating the angels on this day puts us in our place, you might say.

But as the readings assigned for this feast indicate, there is a richer value for us in honoring God’s creation of the angels beyond simply making us mindful of God’s multifaceted creation and our smallness in it. The Church also remembers the angels and gives thanks for them because in their service to God they give us hope in a world which often seems rent by pain and hatred and wickedness. They provide a promise that we are not the only ones called to stand for God’s grace in the face of evil, we are not the only ones working for good, and we are certainly not the only ones praising God’s goodness and shining it into the universe.

From the beginning the Church has recognized that there are powers at work beyond what we can explain. Something we also understand.

We don’t need much convincing to believe that there are forces of harm in the world far beyond our ability to see or understand. Forces that work through institutions, armies, mobs, governments to cause evil and pain which seem to be greater than the sum of poor human decisions.

Ideas which receive the “ism” ending often seem to carry a life and a power of their own, such as classism, sexism, racism. Or their cousins, ideologies of hatred and oppression, philosophies of power and domination. Groups act in ways that seem to magnify the power of the wickedness beyond the individual actions of the members.

It isn’t necessary for us to think of little demons running around in red to recognize these many powers which seem to be at large in the world and beyond our vision and our ability to stop them.

In the face of this reality, the Scriptures and the Church, as well as the Jewish and Muslim faith traditions, proclaim that God also has spiritual servants who have not fallen, who are not working evil, but in fact are doing God’s grace and will for us and for all. These varied but related traditions speak of God creating an order of spiritual beings who do God’s bidding, who do not have our physical bodies.

Jesus says that they watch over children, and throw parties in heaven when sinners repent. They watch over us, according to the psalmist, that we not stumble or fall. The Bible tells us they speak the mysteries of God to humanity, they witness great miracles, and they lead us in praise of the Eternal God.

In these readings today about one of those angels, Michael the archangel, great comfort is taken in the ability of the angels to defeat evil. Another angel, probably Gabriel, tells Daniel of his fellow angel Michael’s struggle with an angel assigned to protect another nation, but promises that Michael will arise in the end days to protect the people. And John the seer has a vision in Revelation of Michael leading the angels in war against the great Deceiver, the chief among the fallen servants of God. Even Jesus says that when the disciples were casting out demons he experienced seeing Satan fall from heaven at their work.

These readings are intended as comfort to those suffering in evil, difficult times. Do not be afraid, we are told: there may be powers at work to do harm, but God’s angels are also at work and they will ultimately prevail.

And there’s no mistaking that this is a comforting thought, God’s angels running roughshod over the powers of evil that befuddle, frighten and confuse us, powers over which we feel we have little or no control.

However, it might be needful to step away from the military, war-like imagery. In fact, we might not even be understanding the Revelation properly when we think of this struggle as we think of human war.

In the first place, the angels, just like humanity, are servants of the Most High God, who, when he took on human flesh explicitly refused to fight evil with power and strength. The Incarnate Son of God, in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal, refused the help of the heavenly armies. As Matthew tells it, Jesus said he had twelve legions of angels to fight for him, 72,000 spiritual beings, if he wanted it. But he had decided, the Triune God had decided, that only by the Son of God facing evil with his own being and letting it do its worst to him could it be defeated.

This is the center of our hope and life, this willing setting-aside of power that Christ Jesus does, for in dying he did not lose. Rather, he rose from the dead and emptied evil of all its ultimate power. But since this is the crucial center, literally, the center of the cross around which all our faith is shaped, we cannot then hope that God’s new plan is to have a huge heavenly battle to decide all. As thrilling as that might be, that’s not what Christ Jesus calls us to be, nor is it the way he modeled for us.

And it turns out, it’s not really what John saw in his vision, either. What John sees is that this defeat of Satan, the great Enemy, is accomplished by three things that are very different from swords and weapons of any kind.

First, they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, John says today. That is, they recognized that the victory was already accomplished in the sacrificial death of the Son of God and his subsequent resurrection to his eternal throne. It was that power-releasing willingness of Jesus to face the cross, John says, that was the downfall of evil. And the center of the whole book of Revelation is that picture of the Lamb who was slain, sitting on the throne of God.

And John says, second, it was the word of their testimony to this work of Christ that also conquered evil. The testimony of the angels, the testimony of the saints who have died, the speaking of the Good News of God’s victory over sin, death, and the devil, the proclamation of God’s reign of grace, this is what brings evil to its knees. Not weapons. Witness.

And last, John says, and we have to assume he means this to apply to the saints around the throne perhaps even more than the angels, they conquered evil by the fact that “they did not cling to life even in the face of death.” The willingness of the servants of the Crucified One to also offer their lives is the turning point in the struggle against evil.

When you do not fear dying, you can be a powerful force of good in the world. Consider the difference between those who in genocide and war hide their neighbors who are being slaughtered and those who inform on their neighbors and ensure their slaughter. The former are not willing to cling to life in the face of death, not when they can do good. The latter are afraid of death for themselves, so they sacrifice someone else.

But there’s one more thing. While the angels do their work, we are still needed to do ours.

You may have noticed in our consideration of Revelation that there was not only a sense of the angels’ struggle, but a gradual movement to our involvement.

As powerful as it can be to trust that God has created spiritual beings who are also working against evil in this world and who by their testimony to the blood of the Lamb and their willingness to lose in order to win will help God conquer evil, as good as that is, we must remember this: they have their jobs to do. We have ours.

There are spiritual forces of evil and God has spiritual servants to work against them.

And there are human forces of evil and God has human servants to work against them.

And with the same things we will be a part of defeating all evil: with the blood of the Lamb which has washed us and made us whole, and which saves all God’s children, with that surrounding us, with our witness to God’s Good News in Christ for all, and with our willingness to face death without clinging to this life, evil will stand no chance.

That’s the great gift of this Revelation: hope that there are others struggling for God is given to us so that we can be encouraged for our struggle.

And so today we celebrate this great unseen company, this glorious companionship we have with our angelic cousins in service to God.

All of God’s creation is needed in resisting the evil which would destroy all things. The wonderful good news is that we are not alone, and that they are struggling, standing against evil alongside us in ways we might never see.

But best of all we are not alone because, like the angels, we are surrounded by the strength and grace of the Crucified and Risen One who has overcome the world, overcome evil, overcome death – even if they don’t know it yet. And that’s all we need for the courage to stand the ground on which we are planted, in the name of the grace and love of the Almighty God who made all things, seen and unseen, and whose love will ultimately bring all creation to wholeness and life.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 9/25/13

September 25, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

I often disagree with the way my fundamentalist Christian friends think, but there is one concept they embrace that I do also. That concept is the idea of a spiritual war going on, unseen by the living. The Readings for St. Michael and All Angels makes this abundantly clear. Jesus himself states in the Gospel how he saw “Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” The angel who appeared to Daniel in the First Reading speaks of his struggle to reach him because of a twenty-one day spiritual battle in which he was assisted by Michael in order to get through with his message from God. And the Second Reading is about the spiritual war to end all spiritual wars in the Book of Revelation, in which Michael and his angels finally take down the dragon for good.

Evil is manifested in our physical world – war, hunger, poverty, crime, dishonesty, corruption, oppression, self-centeredness, greed, hurtful and violent behavior toward one another- but it begins in the spiritual world. I have witnessed so many good intentions go bad because of the spiritual evil to which human beings fall prey. Marxism, for instance, is at its basis a vision of fairness and sustainability for all people, those who labor and those who rule. But, because of the weakness of human desire to control the behavior of others, it turned into an oppressive and violent form of government in Communism. How could such an idealistic vision of fairness and justice go so bad? How can such an idealistic vision of freedom and self-determination in Capitalism go so wrong, with one percent of the population of the United States ending up owning sixty percent of the wealth leaving forty-five million citizens living in poverty? The only answer I could ever come up with is that evil is a spiritual force, ready to twist up good reasoning, attack good intentions, and cater to our weaknesses to have our way.

Though we know through Scripture that evil will eventually lose, we can also be assured that evil will not have its way with us today, because of our salvation in Jesus. Our relationship with God through prayer and reliance on Jesus is the most powerful way to win our battles with evil. I believe that our nation is finding another way to resolve the civil war in Syria, because of the power of prayer. Pope Francis’ call for a public gathering to pray and meditate for a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis turned the corner, but we must continually pray for peace in Syria and other hot spots. We must continually pray for human needs, the sustainability of our planet, and each other. Faith and prayer are the most powerful weapons we possess in the spiritual battle against evil.

– Donna Neste

Sunday’s Adult Forum

• September 29: “Julian of Norwich’s Vision: Transforming Love,” presented by Brad Holt
• October 6: “What Can I Say?” presented by Allen Dundek

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
Blessing of Animals
Friday, October 4 + 7:00 pm
Bring your pets and your friends (and your friends’ pets!) to this annual service of blessing.

New Members To Be Received October 6

At Mount Olive we welcome people who are at many different points in their Christian faith journey. That welcome is expressed in any number of ways. Some folks need a place to worship coming and going quietly. We provide that. Some seek friendship within a community of Christian believers with whom they share common faith convictions. We work at doing that. Some need to observe for a while to see if what is said about and within this community of faith is reality. That is just fine with us. Some desire a place where they can more fully share their faith and live lives of service. That is Mount Olive, too. To have a place to officially call my church” is important for many people of faith. Mount Olive is that. What works for you is fine with us.

If you are interested in becoming a member at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, please contact the church office at welcome@mountolivechurch.org or 612.827.5919. You may also speak with Andrew Andersen, Director of Evangelism, or contact him at andrewstpaul@gmail.com or 763-607-1689. Pastor Crippen is also available to discuss membership. He can be reached at 612.827.5919 or via e-mail at pastor@mountolivechurch.org.

Follow Mount Olive on Facebook and Twitter

Have you liked Mount Olive on Facebook yet? Are you following us on Twitter? If not, we encourage you to! We are now using these sites to spread the word about events, sermons, Bible studies, and other things happening at Mount Olive. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MountOliveMpls or on Twitter at twitter.com/MountOliveMpls.

Way to Goals Tutoring to Begin Soon

Tuesday, October 1st is the first day of our school year program, Way to Goals Tutoring, and we meet most Tuesday evenings after that until the last Tuesday in May. We begin at 7:00 p.m. with an hour of tutoring followed by a half hour activity and snack time, and ending at 8:30 p.m.

If you would like to help as a volunteer tutor of one or two elementary school students, call Donna Neste at Mount Olive for all the details.

Freedom of the Christian: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings

The first Thursday Bible study series of this year began last Thursday, Sept. 19, and it runs for six weeks. Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Pr. Crippen is leading a study of the book of Galatians, one of Paul’s most vital and important letters. As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!

Te Deum laudamus: Let us praise God: A Hymn Festival Celebration in Honor of Paul Westermeyer

Join Master of Sacred Music graduates as they come together to thank Paul, wish him well in his retirement, and celebrate the gift of music. This hymn festival will be held this Saturday, September 28, at 4:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Incarnation in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary, St. Paul.

Featured participants will be musicians James Bobb, Catherine Rodland, John Ferguson, and Mark Sedio, with reflections by Susan Palo Cherwien. Plan to come and sing, and bring your friends!

Mount Olive Greeting Cards

A set of three greeting cards with photographs taken around Mount Olive Lutheran Church have been designed by Paul Nixdorf. Cards will be available for purchase at church on Sunday mornings.

Single cards are priced at $2.50 each. For quantity of 5 or more the purchase price is $1.75 each. Pricing covers production costs. The cards are being made available through sponsorship by the Evangelism Committee.

Book Discussion Group
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at church. For the October 12 meeting they will discuss The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and for November 9, Parade’s End, by Ford Madox Ford.

Theology on Tap

Theology on Tap is a group at Mount Olive that meets once a month at local bars/restaurants to enjoy a good beverage and dialogue about faith and life (no preparation or book reading is required, only your personal insight). Everyone is welcome to join in the conversation! Contact Lisa Nordeen (brwgrl@gmail.com) if you would like to join us or have questions about Theology on Tap!

Coat Confusion?

A light, longish khaki-colored trench coat has been languishing in my closet for lo, these many months (since spring?). With the advent of cooler weather I got it out to wear to church and discovered the coat in my closet is not mine! Is someone missing a woman’s coat of this description? I have since returned this coat of mistaken identity to the church coat room.

And has anyone made the same mistake I did? Mine is a short coat of the above description with a hood. If it were to miraculously appear in the church coat closet, I would be most thankful and happy.
– Eunice Hafemeister

The Snack Chart is Up

Fall is here and on October 1 the Way to Goals Tutoring Program will begin for this year. The snack chart is up for those who would like to support our tutoring program by signing up to bring a snack and beverage for 25 students and tutors. You will find it on the Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board by Donna Neste’s office in the Undercroft. If you have any questions feel free to call Donna at church 612-827-5919.

An Afternoon of Music

Recently, our Flentrop chamber organ has been installed in its new home, The Baroque Room in Lowertown, St. Paul. The organ has recently been voiced to baroque chamber pitch by The Dobson Organ Company.

All are invited to a gala opening afternoon of music on Sunday, October 6, beginning at 3:00 pm. Featured artists include Jacque Ogg, Henry Lebedinsky, Asako Hirabayashi, Paul Boehnke, Bruce Jacobs, Don Livingston, and Tami Morse. A reception will follow the music.

The Baroque Room is located on the second floor of the Northwestern Building in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood at 275 E. 4th St., Suite 280, St. Paul, MN 55101.
– Elaine and Art Halbardier

Please Schedule Your Photo Session Appointment

We have now complete photo sessions for about 30% of the households at Mount Olive. Thank you for your response so far!

We want to encourage you if you have not yet signed up, to call in the next week to make your appointment to have your photo taken before October 15, 2013. You may also sign up this coming Sunday after both liturgies.

If you cannot locate your letter or the e-mail regarding the procedure, please call the church office or send an e-mail to welcome@mountolivechurch.org, and we will direct you to the appropriate person to help with scheduling your photo session.

Behind the Scenes at Mount Olive

A major THANK YOU from the Property Committee and the Aesthetics Committee for some major work that has been done recently to restore, repair and beautify Mount Olive. If you ever wander through the back hallways, entries, and stairs of Mount Olive you will see the beginning of some much needed work to repair and upgrade those not so visible parts of our building. Members of Mount Olive and our guests are moving throughout our building and often we forget that the passageways need to be kept looking as inviting as our main meeting areas.

1. Mark Pipkorn led a team including John Gidmark and Tim Pipkorn in a major project of resurfacing and refacing the large back entry ramp and steps. This was no simple project and while enduring high heat and humidity they have brought that important entry to our building totally up to date and made an inviting portal to Mount Olive.

2. Over the next few weeks you will see work proceeding on transforming the Narthex into a brighter more inviting space. New carpeting to the balcony and lighting will soon be installed. Thanks to Brian Jacobs for his help in ordering materials and coordinating installations for this project. In anticipation of the new carpet, Steve Pranschke, Bob Lee, John Meyer, and Sue Ellen Zagrabelny took on scrubbing down the years of accumulated dirt and grime on the walls leading upstairs to the balcony. Thank you!

3. The back passageway leading from the East Assembly room to the main church had been painted a dark orange color, possibly from when the Education building was added in the mid 1950’s. That was until Victor “Michelangelo” Gebauer transformed this dark and ominous space into a bright, vibrant passageway. Thank you, Victor!
4. In a not-so-behind-the-scenes project, you may have noticed that Mount Olive now owns, thanks to the Foundation, a large 55” flat screen TV on a convenient stand with an upgraded sound system and it’s own laptop so anyone can use the large monitor for presentations. Thank you to Andrew Andersen for getting the entire unit assembled and to David Molvik for programming and setting up the computer.

We also owe thanks to the Mount Olive Foundation and the Mount Olive members who helped to put in place other recent additions: hanging the Christina Habibi art exhibit mounted in the Chapel Lounge and west reception area, and new artwork in the Office, and also the bicycle racks installed near the Chicago Avenue entrance. Special thanks to Paul Nixdorf for acquiring and mounting the beautiful artwork.

We hope you will take an opportunity to check out these projects! Thanks again to everyone who gives so much time to help keep Mount Olive a beautiful and prayerful worship space.

Turning our Minds, Hearts

September 22, 2013 By moadmin

Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, became one of us to turn us to the way of God in the world, a way which is diametrically opposed to the way of the world; we cannot live in both ways.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Time after Pentecost, Lectionary 25, year C; text: Luke 16:1-13

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

Well, that’s a strange one, and no mistake. That might be the oddest and most confusing parable Jesus tells.

Before we can talk about this parable, though, we need to remember a little bit about Jesus.

We can just stay with what Luke says, to keep it simple, since he’s the Gospel the lectionary for this year is using, and the one who relates to us today’s parable by Jesus.

Luke from the beginning tells us that Jesus is the Son of God, the anointed one of God. Jesus is filled with the power of Holy Spirit from before his birth, and certainly during his life and ministry. And he has come to save us.

And from the very beginning of this story, we are told his coming was intended to overturn the way of the world in favor of the way of God. The proud will be scattered and the lowly lifted up. The hungry will be filled and the rich sent away empty. This Son of God came with a radical overturning of the way this world works, and invited all to join him.

In fact, for Luke, that’s central. As much as Jesus is God-with-us, filled with the Spirit, turning the world upside down to reflect God’s true values, so much so are we called to share that role, also filled with the Spirit.

Let’s also then remember some other key things about Jesus’ ministry in Luke so far. He has healed many, even of demon possession. He has forgiven people of their sins as if he had God’s authority. He has spent time with people whose sinful lives were public knowledge and scandal, and even sought them out. He’s declared that God’s blessing and new life, this overturning which leads to the salvation of the world, is for all people, both Jews and Gentiles.

So that’s where we stand now as we hear this story Jesus tells. We understand that Jesus is God’s definitive message to us, God’s very presence among us, and he is declaring a way of life that is completely opposite the way of the world.

And he’s inviting people to follow him in that way, completely. It is a way where we win by losing. A way of love over hate. A way of giving, not taking. A way that doesn’t count wealth by money but by trust in God. A way of grace instead of judgment. A way where enemies are loved not feared. A way where dying leads to life.

And now we’re ready for Jesus’ brilliant parable that is very confusing unless we understand that context.

One more piece of context to remember: Luke has placed this parable immediately after chapter 15, the three great parables of grace, the parables of the lost being found. And the last image we have from chapter 15 before we hear this story is the elder brother and the father standing eye-to-eye, but not seeing in that way at all.

And then Luke relates this parable of Jesus.

It tells of a dishonest manager who works the system to make sure when he’s fired he still lands on his feet. And what seems to confuse everyone who reads or hears this parable is that there are no redeemable characters in it, and there is this incredibly strange commendation at the end: the cheating manager is commended for his shrewdness, by his master, and by Jesus’ comment which follows.

But listen to what Jesus actually says: He says, “the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”

Do you see? No? Then look at the parable once more: The manager is cheating his owner and is caught. He has to give an accounting. He’s scared – too proud to beg and too lazy to dig ditches – so he cooks up a plan. He connives with people who owe his master money and re-writes their debts. All so that when he’s fired, these grateful people will welcome him into their homes.

And his master commends him for his cleverness. But that’s not really all that odd.

Commending someone for their cleverness doesn’t mean you approve of what they did. Consider any movie or book you’ve experienced and enjoyed where the hero of the book is the classic archetype of a rogue thief or charming criminal. Of course we don’t condone their thievery or whatever crimes they commit. But when the person is clever, and works the system, and has a little panache, we at least have a bit of admiration for their skill and focus, if the story’s told well.

That’s what’s happening here. The master is impressed: he thought he had this guy on the ropes, and he figured a way out. It doesn’t mean what the manager did was right.

But there’s still Jesus’ commendation to consider. Why is he telling this story at all?

The answer is in what we’ve already said about the way of God he has come to lead us into. From the Pharisees to the confused and half-committed disciples, Jesus constantly is running into people who are attracted to what he’s saying but aren’t ready to commit to it whole-heartedly.

So earlier he tells parables of seeds that start to grow but fall away because of cares and concerns of the world. He tells of servants who fail to be at their work when the master returns. He tells of people who want to follow him but keep turning back to their affairs.

Then he tells this parable, about a man who never turns back from his vision, his way of life, his code. The manager knows what his priorities are and he constantly works for them. He will be comfortable and happy, that’s his goal. So he cheats his owner, and when caught, cheats him some more to make sure someone else will care for him. He knows how the game is played and he plays it fully, no holds barred.

And Jesus says, “why can’t the children of light be that shrewd?”

Do you see? He’s saying that the people of the world know where their bread is buttered and they do everything they can to make sure they get their butter. From Wall Street to Main Street, if you are living by the rules of the world, by the rules of making money, by the rules of winner take all, you follow those rules faithfully.

But Jesus keeps finding people who seek the way of God, but not fully. They still want to keep one foot in the way of the world. They divide their focus. The world never does, Jesus reminds us.

Jesus keeps encountering elder brothers who are staring into the face of pure grace, pure forgiveness, the face of a father who says, “Everything I have is yours, and I am always with you,” and still want to play by the rules of “Those who do the right thing should be blessed and those who do not should suffer.”

Jesus is saying to the disciples, to the elder brothers, to us, “Follow me and live. But take a cue from the world: commit your everything to this. You can’t be partially in my way and partially in the way of the world.”

He throws in a little ironic statement in verse 9 to make this point: “Make friends for yourselves by dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes,” Jesus says. In other words, live by the world’s ways if you want. But good luck if you expect the world to save you. They’re not going to be able to give you eternal homes, that’s for sure.

Remember Jesus’ previous parable, as proof: the younger son found no welcome from the friends he made with his wealth once it ran out. He only found welcome in the arms of his astonishingly loving father who loved him without condition or hesitation.

You cannot serve both God and wealth. That’s Jesus’ last word today, and his main point.

And it is about money, in part. The rest of this chapter tells that.

From another confrontation with the Pharisees, again over money, to the story of the rich man and the poor one who sat at his door with the dogs eating scraps which concludes this chapter, Jesus points out that God’s way is not the world’s way of seeking security and wealth.

Trying to follow Christ but still trying to make ourselves secure by the way of the world – by gaining more wealth, by gaining more status, by having all sorts of rules about who’s in and who’s out, by caring more about institutions than people, by trying to limit where the Triune God can and cannot move – all of this is a vain hope.

Only when we lose everything, all sense of our status, all our sense that we’ve earned anything, all our belief that we have some rightness to bring to this party, only when we lose everything can we see the face of the Father looking at us in love saying, “all that is mine is yours, and I am always with you.”

If we are going to try and live by the way of the world, and cling to the things we think make us secure, be they material or emotional or spiritual things, and then also try to live by the way of Christ, we will find we cannot do both.

You cannot go both east and west in the same walk. And you cannot serve two masters.

This is not easy for us. It never has been. Pretty much every follower of Jesus has had to face this struggle, we see that even in his first followers.

But in the end, we know where we need to be. We need to be with the One who seeks us forever, no matter how lost we are. The one who himself died that he might take up his life again and offer it to the world. The one whose love will always welcome us home.

The clarity of purpose we seek as his followers is that we see as he sees, we live as he lives. Risking all, not worrying about anything, but trusting always that we are in God’s hands. Loving all, not trying to put limits on it, but trusting always that it is the truth that we are so loved by God. Offering this new way to the world as our mission, and inviting all to follow Christ into this life as well. So that the world might actually be saved.

In the end, our Prayer of the Day has it right, though: we can only ask God to make this so among us.

It’s part of that paradox of losing means winning that we can’t secure ourselves in this way of God, either. But we can pray, as we did, that God “turn our minds to your wisdom and our hearts to the grace revealed in your Son.” We can pray that the Triune God so fill us with the Spirit that we, children of light that we are, can be as shrewd about living in the way of Christ as the people of the world are in living by the rules of the world.

Because God has come to be with us, to show us the way of life, and to walk alongside us in that way. Why would we ever want to go a different direction?

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 9/18/13

September 18, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

Individuals have distinctive character; so do communities. What is that distinguishes Mount Olive? What is the core of that distinctiveness?

Consider recently joined members. The attraction of Mount Olive appeals not to just the young, the elderly, or other group.

My admittedly unscientific surveying has received responses such as:

• “I felt welcome here from the beginning.” That was our experience, as visitors seven years ago. Many folks approached Elaine and me, introducing themselves and inquiring about us. Very soon, we felt very welcome.
• “The liturgy is reverent, and beautiful. Nothing distracts from God during worship.”
• “The singing. It’s amazing!” Not everyone here is a graduate of a college choir. But when the song of the people begins, even the least talented voices can become caught up in it and find their part.
The responses echo our familiar three-word motto: “Musical. Liturgical. Welcoming.” It sums up what is distinctive about Mount Olive. But which is the core of that distinctiveness?
• The Welcome? Do we sing as we do because we all feel so close to one another, like harmonizing ”Kum ba yah” with friends around the campfire?
• The Liturgy? Do we warmly welcome and sing so heartily together because we all were bred high-church, the smell of incense in our nose calming infant colic or the discomfort of a damp diaper? Not likely.
• Or, is it the singing? I wonder…

This past summer, National Public Radio broadcast a piece titled “When Choirs Sing, Many Hearts Beat as One.” Researchers in Sweden attached pulse monitors to individual singers, to measure choir members’ heart rates as they sang together. What struck Bjorn Vickhoff, who led the project, was that it took almost no time at all for the singers’ heart rates to become synchronized. The readout from the pulse monitors starts as a jumble of jagged lines, but quickly becomes a series of uniform peaks. The heart rates fall into a shared rhythm guided by the song’s tempo.

Quoting now from the broadcast:
“The members of the choir are synchronizing externally with the melody and the rhythm, and now we see it has an internal counterpart,” Vickhoff says.

This is just one little study, and these findings might not apply to other singers. But all religions and cultures have some ritual of song, and it’s tempting to ask what this could mean about shared musical experience and communal spirituality.

Is this a clue to the core of Mount Olive? Is it something beyond ourselves that inspires us to welcome, to worship with a liturgy of communal responses and movements and rhythms? Is it the singing, the gift of a unique and spirit-filled individual named Paul Manz, who inspired this congregation and so many others of us to the pure joy of singing? Which the Holy Spirit continues to use?

Once again, from the broadcast:
“When I was young, every day started with a teacher sitting down at an old organ to sing a hymn,” Vickhoff says. “Wasn’t that a good idea — to get the class to think, ‘We are one, and we are going to work together today.’ “

Hmm…In the bad old days of the 1970’s, congregations across the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod were fracturing over supposed “doctrinal differences”, At Grace, River Forest, IL, partisans on each side had worked with vigor to rally members to their position, and to attend the meeting for the vote, Before the ballot, someone called for a prayer. But, who would be an acceptable voice in this divided assembly to lead the prayer?

While leaders and pastors conferred, Paul Bouman, their beloved musician, went to the organ and introduced, “The Church’s One Foundation.” And, the people began singing. And as the singing continued, and grew, many voices choked with emotions, tears flowed from many eyes.

I suspect many were thinking, “What are we about to lose in this vote? Is this worth the cost?” The congregation survived that night. Was it the singing?

The song goes on at Mount Olive, now with our third cantor and fifth pastor since the days of Dr. Manz. As our future unfolds, above all, let’s keep on singing.

– Art Halbardier

Sunday Readings

Sept. 15, 2013 – Time after Pentecost: Sunday 24
Exodus 32:7-14+ Psalm 51:1-10
I Timothy 1:12-17 + Luke 15:1-10

Sept 22, 2013 – Time after Pentecost: Sunday 25
Amos 8:4-7 + Psalm 113
I Timothy 2:1-7 + Luke 16:1-13

Freedom of the Christian: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Begins Tomorrow!

The first Thursday Bible study series of this year begins tomorrow evening, Thursday, Sept. 19, and runs for six weeks. Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Pr. Crippen will lead a study of the book of Galatians, one of Paul’s most vital and important letters. As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!

Adult Forum Offerings for September

• September 22: “Celtic Vision: The Trinity in Daily Life,” presented by Brad Holt

• September 29: “Julian of Norwich’s Vision: Transforming Love,” presented by Brad Holt

Book Discussion Group

New Members To Be Received October 6

At Mount Olive we welcome people who are at many different points in their Christian faith journey. That welcome is expressed in any number of ways. Some folks need a place to worship coming and going quietly. We provide that. Some seek friendship within a community of Christian believers with whom they share common faith convictions. We work at doing that. Some need to observe for a while to see if what is said about and within this community of faith is reality. That is just fine with us. Some desire a place where they can more fully share their faith and live lives of service. That is Mount Olive, too. To have a place to officially call my church” is important for many people of faith. Mount Olive is that. What works for you is fine with us.

If you are seeking a place to call your church home, we welcome you at Mount Olive. New members will be received on October 6, 2013, during the second liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members, their guests, and Mount Olive members.

If you are interested in becoming a member at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, please contact the church office at welcome@mountolivechurch.org or 612.827.5919. You may also speak with Andrew Andersen, Director of Evangelism, or contact him at andrewstpaul@gmail.com or 763-607-1689. Pastor Crippen is also available to discuss membership. He can be reached at 612.827.5919 or via e-mail at pastor@mountolivechurch.org.

Mount Olive Greeting Cards

A set of three greeting cards with photographs taken around Mount Olive Lutheran Church have been designed by Paul Nixdorf. Cards will be available for purchase beginning this Sunday, September 22.

Way to Goals Tutoring to Begin Soon

Tuesday, October 1st is the first day of our school year program, Way to Goals Tutoring, and we will be meeting most Tuesday evenings after that until the last Tuesday in May. We begin at 7:00 p.m. with an hour of tutoring followed by a half hour activity and snack time, and ending at 8:30 p.m.

If you would like to help as a volunteer tutor of one or two elementary school students call Donna Neste at Mount Olive for all the details.

God’s Work. Our Hands.

On September 8, Mount Olive families worked at Community Emergency Services in Minneapolis. The children and adults cleaned, shelved and organized food, worked in the garden, and helped make a mosaic from tile. We did this in celebration of God’s Work Or Hands Sunday, and also to establish a working relationship with Community Emergency Services. We hope to continue work with this organization by making Thanksgiving cards for Meals on Wheels recipients and holding a hygiene item drive this fall.

Families, please mark your calendars for our next event on October 13. We will prepare food for the evening meal at Our Savior’s shelter after the late service. Plan to stay for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. The meal will be served by Mount Olive members later that evening.

Community Emergency Services would also like to invite Mount Olive members to a fundraising concert on Sunday afternoon September 22 at 3pm. There will be a brief reception prior to the concert at 2:30. The concert will feature the Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church choral and bell choir. It will be held at CES, 1900 11th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404. www.cesmn.org.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
Blessing of Animals
Friday, October 4 + 7:00 pm
Bring your pets and your friends (and your friends’ pets!) to this annual service of blessing!

Prayer Chain Ministry

Mount Olive Prayer Chain members pray for confidential prayer requests made by congregation members. This ministry is separate from the prayer requests listed in the Sunday worship folder and The Olive Branch. There are currently twelve members – and no formal meetings. Members simply make a commitment to pray for the received requests and to keep all requests confidential. If you would like to become a member of the prayer chain, or if you have a prayer request call Naomi Peterson at 612-824-2228.

Te Deum laudamus: Let us praise God:
A Hymn Festival Celebration in Honor of Paul Westermeyer

Join Master of Sacred Music graduates as they come together to thank Paul, wish him well in his retirement, and celebrate the gift of music. This hymn festival will be held Saturday, September 28, at 4:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Incarnation in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary, St. Paul.
Featured participants will be musicians James Bobb, Catherine Rodland, John Ferguson, and Mark Sedio, with reflections by Susan Palo Cherwien. Plan to come and sing, and bring your friends!

A Note of Thanks

Thanks to Steve and Sandra Pranschke, Cynthia Prosek, Bonnie McLellen, Tom Olsen, and Peggy Hoeft for spending their Saturday afternoon this past weekend cleaning and polishing to make the altar and chancel furnishings shine.

Meals on Wheels Keeps on Rolling

Many thanks to those from Mount Olive who are delivering Meals on Wheels for TRUST during the third quarter of 2013: Gary Flatgard, Art & Elaine Halbardier, Bob & Mary Lee, and Connie & Rod Olson.

An Afternoon of Music

Recently, our Flentrop chamber organ has been installed in its new home, The Baroque Room in Lowertown, St. Paul. The organ has recently been voiced to baroque chamber pitch by The Dobson Organ Company.

The Baroque Room is located on the second floor of the Northwestern Building in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood at 275 E. 4th St., Suite 280, St. Paul, MN 55101.

– Elaine and Art Halbardier

Church Library News

After a more relaxing summer, we are glad to bring you some welcome news in that a new display of children’s DVDs is now available for your check-out. They will be in one of our usual display spots first, and then they will gradually be moved to the revolving DVD rack, so look for them in either of these two locations. Included are the following DVDs:

• Veggie Tales — The Little House that Stood (The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders) — a Lesson in Making Good Choices
• Veggie Tales — Gideon — Tuba Warrior –a Lesson in Trusting God
• Veggie Tales — Where’s God When I’m S-Scared? — a Lesson in Handling Fear
• Veggie Tales — Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella — a Lesson in Confidence
• Veggie Tales — Princess and the Pop Star — a Story of Trading Places — a Lesson in Being Yourself
• Veggie Tales — Abe and the Amazing Promise — a Lesson in Patience
• Veggie Tales — Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men — a Lesson in Handling Hurt
• Veggie Tales — Moe and the Big Exit — a Lesson in Following Directions
• Veggie Tales — Bob Lends a Helping Hand — the Importance of Helping!
• Veggie Tales — Lyle, the Kindly Viking — a Lesson in Sharing
• Sheila Walsh’s Gigi — God’s Little Princess Series (God Made Princesses in All Shapes and Sizes)
• Sheila Walsh’s Gigi — God’s Princesses Can Always Trust the King
• Hachi — a Dog’s Tale (based on a true story)
• Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

This summer I stopped at two of the Little Free Library boxes stationed in neighborhoods all across our city. I left a few books that I thought might be useful in those locations. You may remember that I wrote about this project in a prior column. There are perhaps 10,000 Little Free Libraries scattered across the nation, even though the effort was only started some 3-4 years ago. Look for one of these special places in or near your own neighborhood and stop by to visit before the “snow flies.”

Plan to visit your church library soon, especially to view the new children’s DVD section. Start off the Fall right — make a splash — read!

– Leanna Kloempken