Blog – Page 368

The Olive Branch, 5/7/14

May 7, 2014 By moadmin

Sheep with a Shepherd

Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. Each year the readings for this Sunday focus on the shepherding care of the Triune God for us, and the Gospel readings are three different parts of John 10, the chapter where Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. Each year we sing Psalm 23, the beloved psalm of trust in the LORD God our Shepherd. We love this image of the Good Shepherd.

But do we really want to be called sheep? We’ve all heard sermons and Sunday school classes which told us that sheep are dirty, stupid, impulsive, smelly. They don’t mind, can be easily misled, and aren’t capable of taking care of themselves. Is this really a description we want to embrace for ourselves? It’s kind of offensive.

Isn’t it awfully passive as well? We don’t need to take responsibility for ourselves because, well, we’re sheep. We can’t help it. If we are seeking faithful discipleship, which I think we are, it’s hard to see how the metaphor of a sheep helps us at all.

Maybe it doesn’t in that part of our lives of faith. Maybe it has nothing to say about the way of discipleship and growth. But maybe that’s not the point. There are lots of places and ways Jesus and the writers of the New Testament call us to faithful discipleship, active growth and responsibility, to lives of love and service. There is much to which we are called that is beyond a sheep metaphor. Because no image can fully convey what we want to say.

What the sheep image does is really simple: it reminds us that ultimately we are not in control, of our lives or of the world, but that we are in the care of a Good Shepherd who is capable of taking care of us, and who loves us enough to die for us. “Sheep” doesn’t have to be our only self-image, and in fact it shouldn’t be.

Maybe we love the Sunday of the Good Shepherd because sometimes we are lost, afraid, we think we’re not very smart, we worry about a lot of things, and we can’t always find ways to care for ourselves. Not always, no. But sometimes. And in those times it’s very good news to know that we have a Good Shepherd who loves us, guides us in right paths, feeds us, walks with us in dark valleys, and leads us to life eternal.

A very good thing indeed.

Joseph

Sunday Readings

May 11, 2014: Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
I Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
___________________

May 18, 2014: Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
I Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

This Week’s Adult Forum

May 11: Mother’s Day Recital, presented by the youth of Mount Olive.

1 Thessalonians Bible Study

The final Thursday Bible study series before summer begins on Thursday, May 8 (tomorrow!), and runs for six Thursdays through June 12.

Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Vicar Emily Beckering will lead a study of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.

There will be a light supper when we begin. If you are interested in providing the supper for our first study, please notify Vicar Beckering. All are welcome!

The Ascension of Our Lord
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Holy Eucharist
7:00 p.m.

Meals on Wheels

Thanks to the following Mount Olive volunteers who delivered Meals on Wheels for TRUST during the first quarter of 2014: Gary Flatgard, Art & Elaine Halbardier, and Bob Lee.

New Members to be Received May 18

New members will be received at Mount Olive on May 18, 2014, at the 10:45 a.m. liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy.

If you are not a member and are interested in becoming more fully involved in the life of the parish, we invite you to let us know of your interest. You may call the church office to begin the process. If you prefer, you may contact our Evangelism Director, Andrew Andersen, at andrewstpaul@gmail.com, or you may contact Pastor Crippen by calling the church office (612-827-5919) or via e-mail at pastor@mountolivechurch.org

Supper for Study Needed!

We are still in need of a volunteer to provide the supper for the first session of Bible study together on 1 Thessalonians tomorrow, May 8. A very light meal is all that is needed. If you plan to attend the Bible study tomorrow evening and would be able to bring this first supper, please contact Vicar
Beckering. Thank you!

Action for Health in the Americas (AHA)—EPES—Karen Anderson

It isn’t often that we at Mount Olive get to be a part of improving health on two continents as once. That’s what we are doing with our mission support for AHA/EPES and ELCA missionary Karen Anderson as they take popular education for health to scale, sharing what was learned in Chile with community health care workers from Kenya. In February EPES hosted the fifth international health training course, training workers from over 15 countries.

In 2012, we met Karen Anderson and she spoke to us about her work in training community health workers in the heart of Santiago, Chile. She began her work 30 years ago as an ELCA missionary. She soon realized that health care needed to be locally based, not just internationally supported. She began training women to conduct health visits throughout the community. The model was so successful that her organization was asked to train others.

How is Mount Olive involved? We are involved in our regular mission budget in two ways.

First, beginning this year, we are directly sponsoring Karen Anderson as one of the two ELCA missionaries we support. (The other is Phillip Knutson in South Africa.)

The work is carried out by EPES (Educacion Popular En Salud, translated to Popular Education for Health). The funding arm for EPES in the United States is AHA—Action for Health in the Americas. EPES/AHA has been designated one of the seven budgeted mission projects that we support.

Mission giving at Mount Olive is wonderfully and beautifully complicated—we give 4% of our total annual budget for global missions. In addition we forward your “blue envelope” contributions directly to the missions you have designated, above and beyond the budgeted amount. It is exciting to be a part of a committee and congregation that so thoughtfully participates in the global Christian community.

Attention Needleworkers!

Do you have UFOs in your closet? Most needleworkers have at least one unfinished object lurking somewhere in the house.

Some of the prayer shawl makers have decided to rid themselves of the guilt and clutter of some of their projects. We will meet at Mount Olive on Monday, May 19 from 9 am to 3 pm to complete, or at least get a good start on completing some of those projects. We can work on our own and also help each other.

Bring a bag lunch and your crocheting, knitting, quilting, cross stitch, needlepoint – whatever project you have – and see if you can get one done!

A Note of Thanks

I wish to thank all who have helped me during my knee surgery and recovery; those who have prayed for me and also those who have helped me in hands-on sorts of ways. God bless you!
Mount Olive is truly a care-giving congregation!

-Carol Austermann

Sign Up to Bring Tutoring Snacks

Check out the snack sign-up sheet for Way to Goals Tutoring in the lower level. Snacks for approximately 25 youth and tutors are needed on Tuesday evenings through May 27. Your help is very much appreciated!

Life Transitions Support Group to Begin May 14

Caregiver? Chronic Illness? Loss of home? Loss of loved one?
We each encounter a variety of losses throughout our lives. Have you wished for a familiar place where you could find some reassurance, share your story, discover a simple skill or two that could help in those moments when you feel overwhelmed?

Beginning May 14, join us for a four-week structured support group at Mount Olive. Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter will serve as facilitators for this group on Wednesday evenings. Each week a brief educational component will be offered with time for you to share personally in a confidential, supportive setting. Vicar Emily Beckering will offer guidance on the Lament Psalms, which we will use as a vehicle for prayer and healing. The group will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Youth Room.

If you are interested in attending, or have questions, please contact Marilyn Gebauer (612-306-8872, email gebauevm@bitstream.net) or call the church office.

Register Now for Bach Tage!
May 31-June 1, 2014

All are invited to register for the 8th annual Bach Tage! Singers and Bach enthusiasts from around the Midwest gather to learn, hear, sing, and present the music of J.S. Bach. This year, Kathy Romey will lead trumpets, timpani, strings, soloists, and choir for the exhuberant Cantata 172, Erschallet, ihr lieder.

Visit Mount Olive’s homepage and click on the brochure download, or pick up a brochure at church and register soon!

Spring Grounds Clean Up

Grab your rakes and gardening gloves and join us this Saturday, May 10, for the spring clean-up of the grounds of the church. We will clean up garden beds and get them ready for new mulch, pick up trash, and get the lawns ready for summer. Coffee will be available starting at 8:30 am and we will work until around Noon.

Come when you can and stay as long as your schedule permits. Please bring your garden hand tools, rakes, shovels, and whatever other gardening tools you might find helpful.

An Update From Jessinia

Hello Mount Olive! I am currently back in Minnesota. Thank you for all of your prayers. I have been serving and learning in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic with SCORE International for the past 8 months. If there is one word that would sum up my time it is ‘growing’. This is also quite fitting for the time of year. Thank you for holding on to winter a bit longer so I am now able to see the trees budding and tulips poking out of the dirt. Like springtime, this past year has been a time of growth in my life.

I was poured into by the teachers and missionaries in the Dominican Republic. Tuesday through Friday I attended Spanish and Bible classes. I can now say I am bilingual and close to fluent. I can also say that my faith has grown deeper, my roots growing deeper into the Word of God. I had classes such as apologetics, soteriology, Old Testament history, Genesis, 1&2 Peter and many others. I know who I am in Christ and what that means for my life now.

On Mondays I traveled to the nearby village of San Jose where a missionary family has planted a church, clinic and school. I have seen their ministry grow as they now are planting another church in a different village. While there, I worked with the preschool. The teacher, Evelyn, is the first and only college graduate in the village and came back after school to start this preschool. Two other girls and I worked with Evelyn to help plan activities as well as establish a schedule and a disciplining system. We worked closely with another missionary who has a teaching background, and she helped us guide Evelyn to create an effective place of learning for these children. Evelyn will now help train another woman to start a new preschool in the village where the new church plant will be happening soon. It was (again) a growing experience to work with Evelyn and the preschool students. This has been a wonderful experience for me. I have fallen in love with the Dominican culture, the Spanish language and missionary work. I will be returning to the Dominican Republic on May 27th to do a 2 month internship with the child sponsorship program. This program takes all of the children in the two orphanages and the feeding/after-school center and allows them to be supported financially by Americans. I will work alongside Adrienne, an American missionary and director of child sponsorship, to help her with whatever she needs. Most likely that will look like translating letters from sponsors, taking pictures of the kids, updating their stories, and working on the website. I will be living in Quisqueya in the living quarters of the feeding/after-school center named Emanuel House.

I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to live in the DR for a little while longer and work in a different part of the country. Thank you to those who have kept me in their prayers. Here are some specific prayer requests: For the town of Quisqueya and those I may come into contact with there. For the children I am working with, that they may each have sponsors to support them financially and spiritually. For my Spanish to continue to improve through translating and conversations. For the relationships I am building there; that they may encourage and build me up and vice versa. For the continued growth of my faith and reliance on God for my strength. That the light of Christ will shine through me.

Blessings,
Jessinia Ruff
(daughter of Mark and Lisa)

TRUST News

CoAM Life Enrichment Series
CoAM (Cooperative Adult Ministry) offers a Life Enrichment Series for Lifelong Learning, providing learning and social opportunities for adults in the South Minneapolis area. The current series is on Mondays (through May 19), from 9:30-11:50 am at Bethel Lutheran Church, 17th Ave. and 42nd St.). Brochures about the series are available on the table in the church office.

TRUST Annual Plant Sale & Swap
This Saturday, May 10, 8:00 am – Noon, Bethlehem Lutheran Church parking lot (4100 Lyndale Ave. S.)
• Swap your plants for new ones – bring in by 10:00 am & receive a discount on new plants (not available for Pletscher’s plants);
• Buy homegrown perennials, annuals, and groundcover;
• Get advice from Master Gardeners;
• Raise money for TRUST’s programs.

Questions or want to donate plants? Call TRUST at 612-827-6159.

Meeting on the Road

May 4, 2014 By moadmin

Together in our journey we meet Jesus – in worship and in each other and everywhere we journey in our lives in the world – and our eyes are opened to God’s way in the Scriptures and to God’s presence among us. And we are changed.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, the Third Sunday of Easter, year A; texts: Luke 24:13-35; Acts 2:14a, 36-41

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

Two disciples are walking the seven or eight miles from Jerusalem to their Emmaus home, talking about the incredibly strange events of this day, following a deeply painful week. A walking journey of that distance with that burden to bear is lightened by such companionship.

They had left the main group of disciples in Jerusalem, in the upper room, struggling to comprehend what some of the group – some of the women disciples – had claimed, that their master Jesus was raised from the dead. A spiritual journey of faith and doubt of such import is lightened by such companionship.

When Jesus was talking to his disciples about life in the community, he said, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matt. 18:20) In a little house in Emmaus that was literally true, though the couple didn’t see it until he broke the bread. In the upper room in Jerusalem that was also literally true.

We can easily see how this story of Emmaus is a story that encapsulates our worship life. We gather together to worship and our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, comes to us. He opens our eyes to God’s Word, we have fellowship with him and each other, we speak to him in prayer, and in his Meal he opens our eyes to the grace and presence of the Triune God in our midst. We see him, literally, in the breaking of the bread. We embody his promise that where two or three, or two or three hundred, are gathered in his name, he is there. Each Eucharist here is our Emmaus story, every week.

What I wonder is this: are we neglecting the rest of our lives when we consider this hope, this promise, and limit it to this nave, this chancel, this holy ground? We come here expecting that our Lord will be with us in this gathering, hoping to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, our hearts’ eyes opened, trusting that we will be fed by the Bread of Life.

But we have much of our life’s journey, our faith journey, that happens away from this sacred space, these holy things. It turns out we are more like the Emmaus couple than we might know, then. They weren’t at worship or going to worship. They were walking a familiar road to get to their home. They were talking with each other, and then with this stranger on the road. As evening fell they invited him in, and so learned it was their Lord. But essentially, they were living their lives.

And that’s where Jesus met them. Into the midst of their life came the Son of God. What might our lives be like if we were looking for this beyond what happens here every Sunday morning? What might it do for our lives if we took seriously the promise that wherever we are with even one other believer, our Lord meets us there?

We are all on a journey in faith and life, and we need each other.

This has been a mark of the Church since the beginning, and it’s essential.

It’s no accident that the disciples gathered together in the upper room. And look what happened. They gathered for mutual support and comfort. But then Jesus came to them. And Thomas missed it because he was by himself. He wasn’t with the others. Until the next week.

And then they kept coming together, and one day, fifty days after Jesus rose, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all of them, together. Then, when they went out as witnesses, they went together. And our Emmaus friends, they took this long walk together.

In our journey of faith, as we seek to be disciples, companionship is absolutely essential. We need sisters and brothers on our faith journey to support and encourage us.

We need them to speak the truth to us so we can grow and confess and become new people. We need them to help us listen to God and look at our paths so we can choose paths of life and not death.

If we are ever going to grow and deepen as disciples, we will do it with each other. And that’s because when we gather together with others, Jesus comes to us. This promise of “two or three” is a profoundly important promise.

Jesus is not saying God will not fill our hearts when we are alone, of course not. Certainly the Spirit moves in us always and in all places.

But what Jesus has said is this promise: that if we have even one companion to help us in our faith and life, he will guarantee that he will be with us. We will meet Jesus on our journey when we journey together. That’s a promise. And it’s not just a promise of when we come together here for worship.

So when we meet Jesus together, what happens? He opens our eyes, feeds us, is with us.

It was with the two on the road that Jesus opened the Scriptures to them so they could understand why this cross and resurrection was God’s path all along. And it was with the whole group of disciples in the forty days after Easter that Jesus continued his teaching and eye-opening.

So it is today. When we gather together, we listen to God’s Word better. And our Lord opens our eyes and hearts.

But not just in this room. When we are with each other on our roads, the same thing happens. Together we can correct and guide each other in God’s Word in ways we can’t do by ourselves. Together we can help understand and explain. At any given time any one of us can be confused, and having another sister or brother to help is immeasurably important. And because our Lord comes to us when we gather, we have the added blessing of the presence of Christ in our midst, guiding, teaching, leading. Wherever we are.

And it was also when the disciples were together that Jesus fed them with love and life. At Emmaus he broke the bread, and they saw him. In the upper room he ate with them and they knew he was truly alive again. On the shore of the Sea of Galilee he made breakfast for them and showed them his love and grace for them.

And so it is with us, that when we are together we are fed by the grace and love of God. Certainly as we gather for the Eucharistic meal each week.

But on our ordinary roads, too, we are fed when we meet together. As we meet each other’s needs, we feed each other. As we embody the love of the Triune God for each other, we feed each other. It’s much harder to sense the nourishing love of God without another person there to embody it, and together that gift is given us. Wherever we are with each other.

But remember what also happens after meeting the risen Christ: everything changes.

The Emmaus couple are getting ready for the end of the day. After Jesus, they run eight miles to tell others. The same thing happens to all of the disciples.

Mary Magdalene’s weeping at a tomb. She meets the risen Christ with her sisters and they all run to tell others. The disciples are locked in a room. They meet the risen Christ and go out to proclaim the Good News. Again and again, after meeting the Lord, disciples leap up and go out to change the world.

But notice that these are all changed, too, not just sent out. Their experience of meeting Christ together changes them. They are no longer fearful, but bold and joyful witnesses. They lose their old habits of distrust and caution and live lives trusting God’s grace in all circumstances. They change how they live with each other, how they act in the world, how their community is formed, how they go out into the world to bring God’s grace and love.

Look at the Acts story today: people are convicted by Peter’s sermon and ask what they should do. Repent and be baptized, Peter says, be changed. And 3,000 do just that. And the Church explodes into existence. They are, Paul will say twenty years later, new creations.

And so it will be for us as well, if we take this seriously.

What we have been longing for for so long is a connection between our Sunday worship and our daily lives. The connection has always been there: that as we gather together, journey together, we meet our Lord and are changed.

And the whole world becomes God’s house, where we constantly expect to meet our Lord. As we walk our faith journey together, looking to be met by our Lord, we begin to see everything as holy, all ground as sacred, all things as vessels of God’s grace.

Was not that ordinary road to Emmaus holy ground, as Jesus opened their hearts and minds? Their hearts were burning within them as he spoke. And they weren’t even in a church! And wasn’t their little kitchen sacred space as he broke bread and blessed them? Their eyes were opened to the presence of God in their midst.

And in their companionship, and the companionship of the disciples in the upper room, they met the Lord together on the road, found sacred ground together, and were changed.

Because Christ is risen, we are always on holy ground, in sacred space, with holy things. When we listen to each other and speak truth to each other in our journeying, we open each other’s eyes to God’s Word and God’s way, and our hearts burn with the light of the Spirit. Everything is holy now, now that Christ is risen and has sent the Spirit into the world. And we, together, live in that holy space where our Lord always comes to us, wherever we are together.

And we are changed on this journey for the better, for the good, for life.

We find the keys to our locked rooms together so we, too, can burst out and live these new lives, unafraid, filled with the joy of life in God. We find the strength and energy together to get up and go out of our homes and run the road so we can tell others “we have seen the Lord,” we can witness to God’s love that has changed us.

Everything we need to become we find together as we journey together, because we meet our Lord together. This is how what we know in our worship here each week becomes what we live and believe in our daily lives in the nave that is the world.

This is the grace of our Emmaus journey, that we walk this together and with the Spirit’s grace help each other’s eyes open and hearts burn.

But it would be worth a word of warning here: if you don’t want to be changed, if you don’t want to see the world differently, if you don’t want to be called to make God’s kingdom and justice happen in the world, if you don’t want to become someone new, stay away from the risen Christ, and for goodness’ sake stay away from his friends. Don’t invite him or them into your home for supper, or you might find yourself transformed and going out into the world with life and grace. Don’t ever let him or them into the locked rooms of your heart because you might be blessed not only with the peace of God but also the Spirit of God and you’ll find yourself turning into an actual disciple and witness in the world to God’s love.

If, however, that’s your dearest and deepest hope and desire, as frightening as such a thing might be, then this is very good news indeed. For Christ is risen, and he’s here for certain. But he’s also walking out on the roads of your life, looking to meet you, meet me, and change us, together.

Let us go from here in joy. Because everything’s holy now. And wherever we go together, we will meet our Lord, that’s a promise. And together we will be led into new life.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 4/30/14

May 1, 2014 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

Cut to the Heart

John Wesley once recorded the following journal entry: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
The Holy Spirit was at work in John Wesley that evening, warming his heart, bringing him to faith.

Those who gathered to hear Peter’s speech in Acts 2, this Sunday’s first reading, had a similar experience. After hearing from Peter that “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified,” (2:36), they are “cut to the heart”—an indication of their deep anguish and distress.

It is striking that in this first reading, as well as in the second reading, and the Gospel for this coming Sunday, God reaches people through their hearts. Their hearts are cut (Acts 2:37) and warmed (Luke 24:32), and they are called to respond through their hearts as well: by repenting (Acts 2:38)—by having a change of heart—and by loving one another deeply from that same heart (1 Peter 1:22).

The Word of God speaks not only to our ears and minds, but also to our hearts, which signifies not only our emotions, but our most inward parts: our inward nature. This is often how the Holy Spirit works in the world: by cutting hearts—reaching us in our inmost being—in order to open eyes to God’s work and our hearts to one another. In this relationship with the Trinity, our whole selves are sought after and invited in.

The Holy Spirit’s encounter with us, however, might not always be as vivid as the experiences of John Wesley or the crowd gathered in Acts 2. We will not always feel or initially recognize the Holy Spirit’s work: the disciples on the road to Emmaus only connect the burning of their hearts with Jesus’ presence after their eyes have been opened to recognize him.

Since we will not always feel the Holy Spirit’s work in us, we trust instead the expansive promise offered in Acts 2:39: “we, together with our children, all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him,” are promised that the Holy Spirit has been given to us in our baptisms. So we trust with our inmost being—with all of our hearts—that the Holy Spirit is at work in us and in the world, opening our eyes to see Christ in our midst and opening our hearts to one another and to those whom the Triune God is still seeking and desires to cut to the heart.

– Vicar Emily Beckering

Sunday Readings

May 4, 2014: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
I Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35
___________________

May 11, 2014: Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
I Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10

This Week’s Adult Forum

May 4: “Living, Loving, and Listening Together,” the second of a 2-part series led by Vicar Emily Beckering.

Palm Plants Available

If you would like to have one of the large palm plants which were used to decorate the nave for Palm Sunday and Easter, they are free for the taking on a first come, first served basis. Help yourself!

1 Thessalonians Bible Study

The final Thursday Bible study series before summer begins on Thursday, May 8, and runs for six Thursdays through June 12.

Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Vicar Emily Beckering will lead a study of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.

There will be a light supper when we begin. If you are interested in providing the supper for our first study, please notify Vicar Beckering. All are welcome!

The Ascension of Our Lord
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Holy Eucharist
7:00 p.m.

Summer Worship Schedule Begins May 25

From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, Mount Olive worships on Summer Schedule. During the Summer, we celebrate on Sunday Eucharist at 9:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship

Regular (2 liturgy) Schedule will resume on Sunday, September 7, 2014.

Come One, Come All to the May Day Parade!

For many years the Mount Olive Neighborhood Ministries Committee and several other Mount Olive members have made a point of participating and marching in this wonderful annual neighborhood event. If you have never watched the parade, then you have no idea what you are missing. It is unlike any other parade you have ever seen!

This year we are focusing on getting more people involved. We are not marching this year, BUT will have a dedicated Mount Olive observation area reserved so that a whole bunch can watch the parade this year.

Plan to come to the parade on Sunday May 4 after the second liturgy. We will meet in the undercroft where a simple lunch will be provided that can be taken with you to the parade. Vans/cars will be available to shuttle to the Mount Olive observation area on the parade route. We’ll even have extra chairs and blankets so people don’t have to carry anything with them. We will also provide a simple map with directions with where to park and how to find the observation area if people prefer to drive on their own that day.

We are making it as easy as possible for all to come! Please set the time aside now for this Sunday, May 4.

Youth Fundraiser for Community Emergency Services

The Mount Olive Youth are doing a fundraiser and hosting coffee hour this Sunday, May 4. They are collecting donations of toilet paper and cash for C.E.S. (Community Emergency Services).

Community Emergency Service (CES) has provided high-quality direct service to people in need. Through direct aid relief, advocacy, referral, guidance and prayer support, if desired, CES seeks to strengthen families and individuals. The goal of CES is to move them beyond crisis to financial stability, as well as emotional health, personal growth and spiritual depth.

Community Emergency Services is one of the organizations which is supported by Mount Olive’s local missions dollars.

New Members to be Received May 18

New members will be received at Mount Olive on May 18, 2014, at the 10:45 a.m. liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy.

Sign Up to Bring Tutoring Snacks

Check out the snack sign-up sheet for Way to Goals Tutoring in the lower level. Snacks for approximately 25 youth and tutors are needed on Tuesday evenings through May 27. Your help is very much appreciated!

Life Transitions Support Group to Begin May 14

Caregiver? Chronic Illness? Loss of home? Loss of loved one?

We each encounter a variety of losses throughout our lives. Have you wished for a familiar place where you could find some reassurance, share your story, discover a simple skill or two that could help in those moments when you feel overwhelmed?

If you are interested in attending, or have questions, please contact Marilyn Gebauer (612-306-8872, email gebauevm@bitstream.net) or call the church office.

Spring Grounds Clean Up

Grab your rakes and gardening gloves and join us on Saturday, May 10, for the spring clean-up of the grounds of the church. We will clean up garden beds and get them ready for new mulch, pick up trash, and get the lawns ready for summer. Coffee will be available starting at 8:30 am and we will work until around Noon.

Come when you can and stay as long as your schedule permits. Please bring your garden hand tools, rakes, shovels, and whatever other gardening tools you might find helpful.

Register Now for Bach Tage!
May 31-June 1, 2014

All are invited to register for the 8th annual Bach Tage! Singers and Bach enthusiasts from around the Midwest gather to learn, hear, sing, and present the music of J.S. Bach. This year, Kathy Romey will lead trumpets, timpani, strings, soloists, and choir for the exuberant Cantata 172, Erschallet, ihr lieder.

Visit Mount Olive’s homepage and click on the brochure download, or pick up a brochure at church and register soon!

TRUST News

TRUST Annual Plant Sale & Swap
Saturday, May 10, 8:00 am – Noon, Bethlehem Lutheran Church parking lot (4100 Lyndale Ave. S.)
• Swap your plants for new ones – bring in by 10:00 am & receive a discount on new plants (not available for Pletscher’s plants);
• Buy homegrown perennials, annuals, and groundcover;
• Get advice from Master Gardeners;
• Raise money for TRUST’s programs.

Questions or want to donate plants? Call TRUST at 612-827-6159.

National Lutheran Choir to Present “Exalt” This Sunday

This Spring’s “Exalt” program showcases the artistic excellence of the National Lutheran Choir with works for choir and organ alongside unaccompanied choral pieces.

Nationally-renowned organist, Aaron David Miller, joins the NLC for a program that is both affable and energizing. Some of the works on the program include: Benjamin Britten’s Te Deum; a world premiere of a commission by Zachary Wadsworth, Great or Small; and Frank Martin’s Mass for Unaccompanied Double Chorus.

Organ pipes and choral pipes join together for a unique experience that will leave the listener inspired and revitalized. NLC Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.

When: Sunday, May 4 , 4pm
Where: St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115
Tickets: $25 Adult, $23 Senior, $20 Student
Contact: visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.

By His Wounded Body

April 27, 2014 By moadmin

The risen Christ bared his wounds so that Thomas could believe. As the body of Christ, we are now sent to witness by bearing our wounds so that we and the world may see how the Triune God is at work, bringing all to faith by Christ’s wounded body.

Vicar Emily Beckering; Second Sunday of Easter, year A; texts: John 20:19-31; 2 Corinthians 4:7, 10-11

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Poor Thomas; he gets such a bad reputation. His very nickname labels him according to his weakness: Doubting Thomas. No one remembers Thomas as the one who, when Jesus told them that he was returning to Judea, proclaimed to the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Instead, we remember Thomas only as the one who doubted: the one who needed to see and to touch his Lord for himself.

Yet, what Thomas offers us in this is a great gift. He openly admits that he is hurt: the loss of his Lord to crucifixion has wounded Thomas deeply. He finds it difficult to trust; he cannot believe unless he touches his Lord’s wounds. Because Thomas shows his wounds by telling his friends that he could not believe unless he encountered Jesus, those first disciples—together with the whole church—get to hear what Jesus does for Thomas, and for us all.

Despite our common characterization of this story, its emphasis ought not to be on Thomas’ doubt, but on Jesus’ consistent appearance to those who are in need of him.

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe,” which he says for our sakes. Yet, as he did for Thomas, Jesus does find ways for us to see him. He does this most often through wounds: by encountering us in our pain.

Throughout the entire gospel of John, Jesus reveals himself to those who are hurting, to the wounded, and the way in which he encounters them is in direct response to that woundedness. He meets them in their brokenness and offers them what they most need.

We see this in each of the gospel stories that we heard during this past Lent.

Jesus first reveals himself as the Messiah, the Son of God, to the Samaritan woman at the well: he knows the depths of her wounds, the history of relationships, her disappointments and weariness. All of those things about herself that she might rather hide, Jesus brings to the forefront, so that he may show her that he is offering what she most needs: a relationship with her savior.

Jesus does the same for the man born blind. Jesus returns to the man a second time when he discovers that the man has been driven out from the community. In the midst of his pain of being rejected and his witness not being taken seriously, Jesus goes to him and confirms the man’s witness by revealing that he is the Son of Man, the one promised to this man and to all of Israel.

Then we heard of Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus. Jesus meets Martha in the midst of her pain of losing her brother to death and reveals himself as the resurrection and the life; he weeps with Mary, and he raises Lazarus from the dead.

In each of these cases, and every single time that Jesus uses an “I am” statement in the Gospel of John in order to reveal himself as God—“I am the bread of life,” “I am the good shepherd,” “I am the vine”—each of these revelations are directly related to what the witness most needs. One who is thirsty needs everlasting water. One who cannot see needs light: the light of the world. One who is dead needs resurrection and life. By their wounds, Jesus encounters them. By their wounds, they know who he is for them.

The same pattern continues even after Jesus’ resurrection. Each of the witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection gets their own intimate encounter with their risen Lord based on what they most need, and he comes to them precisely when they are hurting.

As Mary weeps over the loss of her Lord, Jesus comes to her, calls her by name so that she can recognize him, and gives her what she is most longing for: to be with him again.

Jesus comes to the disciples while they are locked away in fear and doubt. These followers, who had begun to fear that everything that they had believed in, hoped for, and trusted in was now false, need peace, peace that only comes from being in their Lord’s presence again. Jesus knows this, and this is what he offers.

When Peter is hurting out of guilt for having betrayed Jesus, Jesus cooks him breakfast, welcomes him back in, and offers him the forgiveness that Peter most needs.

So it makes sense then that when Thomas is the one who needs Jesus, Jesus comes back just for him so that he may encounter his risen Lord as well.

Jesus knows each of these witnesses: their brokenness and their deepest needs.

What they and we all most need is Christ himself, which he has given wholly and completely to all on the cross.

It is no insignificant detail that the resurrected body of Jesus still bears wounds; we can only know him as the crucified and risen Lord. The healer became the wounded, and by his wounds, we are all healed.

The cross is where we know who God is for us: our God is this Jesus, who on that cross, set us free from sin and death, offers forgiveness and life in a never-ending relationship with the Triune God, and now reveals himself to Thomas and to us all in the midst of our woundedness, bearing his own wounds so that we might be healed and believe.

It is by these wounds that we and the disciples recognize him, by these wounds that God is revealed, and by these wounds that all will come to believe.

It was by these wounds that Kiana came to believe.

In the summer of 2007, I had a camper named Kiana. Nine-year-old Kiana wasn’t really sure what she “believed” about God. She went to Sunday school, and she came to Bible camp because her mom said that she should, but she had a really hard time believing what she heard there. During the week, it became clear that Kiana did not really want to talk about God. She wanted to talk about her dad. She had never met him, she missed him, and she was jealous of her friends who had dads. “Do you think he maybe still loves me?” she asked me.

That Thursday evening at worship, Jesus gave Kiana what she most needed, and he came to her through the wounds of the preacher, Samuel. Samuel shared his own pain of growing up without his father: the wounds of feeling unwanted, unloved, and cast aside, how he longed for his father, hoping that he would return. Then he witnessed how through Jesus, he met his heavenly Father, the God who loved him, wanted to be with him, and came to earth as Jesus Christ so that he could know this God and died so that Samuel might never be separated from or doubt that love again.

After hearing this, Kiana looked up at me through a teary smile and said: “I never knew that Jesus came for me. Me! I never knew that God wanted to be that close to me, as close as a dad. I want that too. Jesus is real, Emily! It was like that man spoke just for me because Jesus knew I needed him.”

Because Samuel was willing to share his pain, how Jesus had been wounded for him, and how Jesus met Samuel in his own wounds, Kiana was able to see how Jesus was at work for her.

That night in worship, Jesus came to her through Samuel’s wounds, and through her own to meet her deepest needs saying, “Kiana, come. Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

When Jesus became real for her, when she knew that God wanted this relationship with her, she shared it with me. And because she shared her wounds with me and how Jesus met her in them—because of her witness—I could say, “Ah, that’s where God is at work. There you are my Lord and my God.”

Kiana, Samuel, Thomas, and Jesus himself all witness to us today that God can take our most painful wounds and use them as some of our most fruitful places of witness.

We are called to face death, to share our pain, to show our wounds, expecting that the risen and wounded Lord will meet us there because we know from the cross that the Triune God is with us in our suffering and encounters us in death, in despair, in wounds. God is made known in the brokenness of the body of Jesus.

Now we are that body, the body of Christ, and through our brokenness, Christ will make himself known, for he tells us, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

There are daily deaths, daily losses in our own lives: we still sin, we have weaknesses. As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “We have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us…[we are] always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.”

We are the clay jars, broken and fragmented, worn by time, and weathered by storms. We are Christ’s body, wounded, yet carrying this good news of the resurrected Christ who sets all people free and offers life to all.

As long as we pretend that we have it all together, and hide our wounds, we keep ourselves and the good news locked away behind closed doors. We deny that the crucified and risen Lord has power to bring healing out of brokenness, hope out of suffering, and life out of death.

Even the resurrected body of Christ had wounds: this tells us that we can finally stop pretending to be invincible and instead be vulnerable like our Lord, who, though equal with his Father, emptied himself, came as a baby and ultimately poured himself out for us on the cross.

Rather than hide our wounds in embarrassment, thinking that they make us less-than, we may share them openly and honestly, trusting that the Triune God will transform our wounds, us, and all of our relationships as we encounter Christ together in our brokenness.

That is how we bear Christ’s death as his body. If we will dare to share our deepest wounds with one another, if we will be willing to face deaths by giving of ourselves in order to freely care for and love those in our lives, then we will have our eyes opened and discover that our Lord has been there all along, working in the midst of those wounds, working for healing, working to be revealed. God is bringing life out of these deaths so that more may believe and have life in Christ’s name.

When we dare to admit how we have been wounded and how we have wounded one another, the Triune God opens doors for people to see Jesus at work in our wounds and in their own.

Doubting Thomas witnesses to how Jesus brought him to faith. When our Lord sends us to give ourselves away in love by showing our wounds, we witness to just what God can do with a broken, wounded body. Then together, all may say, “Ah, there you are, my Lord and my God.”

Amen.

The Olive Branch, 4/23/14

April 24, 2014 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

2014 Easter Message from the Presiding Bishop

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). – John 20:16

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

My favorite story in Scripture is the account in John’s Gospel of Mary Magdalene going to the tomb. It was the first Easter but Mary didn’t know that. She expected death. In her profound grief she couldn’t recognize Jesus. It was only when Jesus called her by name that she was able to see the risen Lord.
Jesus saw Mary. Jesus knew Mary. Jesus spoke “Mary.” It was being completely seen, utterly known and lovingly called that opened Mary Magdalene to the hope of the resurrection and into a deeper relationship with Christ. Because she was seen she could see.
This is Easter vision. We have been seen, known and called by God through the crucified and risen Savior and, having received the Spirit through baptism, we all can now see. We can see Christ and we can see Christ in our neighbor. No one is invisible to God and no one is invisible to us. What wondrous love is this!
So beloved, with newly opened eyes let us be bold to say, “Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Hallelujah!”

Blessed Easter,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Sunday Readings

April 27, 2014: Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
I Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
____________________

May 4, 2014: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
I Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35

This Week’s Forum

April 27 and May 4: “Living, Loving, and Listening Together.”
Vicar Emily Beckering will lead a 2-part series on caring for one another and our-selves through interpersonal communication, empathy, and self-empathy as a follow-up to the Midweek Lenten focus on our life together as a servant community.

Easter Paschal Garden

Thanks to those who helped to beautify Mount Olive’s nave by contributing to this year’s Easter Paschal Garden:

Al Bipes, in memory of parents and grandparents; Evelyn Royce; Melba Smrcka; Allen & Lora Dundek; Annette Roth; Eric Zander & Dennis Bidwell, in honor of their parents; Leila Froehlich; Michael Edwins, in memory of parents Sam & Mildred Edwins; Carol Austermann, in honor of her family; Walt & Judy Hinck; Tom Graves & Ginny Agresti; Elaine & Art Halbardier, in memory of Donna Passentino; John Rice; George Ferguson, in memory of Anita Allen; Christina Harrison, Mabel Jackson, Geri & John Bjork; Ro Griesse, in memory of Rev. Robert Griesse; Marty Hamlin & Cathy Bosworth, in memory of their parents; Kathy Thurston & Dwight Penas; Louis & Kay Krohnfeldt; Bruce & Linda Wagner, in memory of Nathan Joseph Wagner; Rob, Lynn & Adam Ruff; Brenda Bartz, in memory of her parents Laura & Bill; Mary Rose Watson; Marian & Walter Cherwien; George & Marlys Oelfke; Janet Moede, in memory of loved ones; Joseph & Mary Crippen and family, in memory of Nancy Crippen; Leanna Kloempken; Dan & Julia Adams; Mark, Lisa, Jessinia & Kaiya Ruff; Linda & Brad Holt; John, Audrey, and Eleanor Crippen; Larry Duncan; David & Susan Cherwien; Judy Graves; Beverly Shupe; Walt & Jacqui Blue; Robert Gotwalt; Don Johnson; Ken & Ellie Siess; Naomi Peterson; Donn & Bonnie McLellan; Stan & JoAnn Sorenson; Bob Diercks; Alex Treitler, in memory of Ruth Dikman; David Bryce, in honor of best friends the Timms and Anders Mattson; Jonathan Siess, whose son, Andrew, was baptized on this day, 1990; Catherine Lange, in memory of Clemens Lange; Sedona Crosby; Austin Crosby; Lillian Olson, Katherine Hanson; and Allan & Margaret Bostelmann.

Capital Campaign Corner

Check out the display case near the Narthex. You can learn more about the projects that the capital campaign will support.

Goal: $182,000
Pledges and donations recorded: 28
Raised/Pledged as of 4/22: $46,790.00 (26% of our goal)

New Members to be Received May 18

New members will be received at Mount Olive on May 18, 2014, at the 10:45 a.m. liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy.

If you are not a member and are interested in becoming more fully involved in the life of the parish, we invite you to let us know of your interest. You may call the church office and Cha will start the process. If you prefer, you may contact our Evangelism Director, Andrew Andersen, at andrewstpaul@gmail.com, or you may contact Pastor Crippen by calling the church office (612-827-5919) or via e-mail at pastor@mountolivechurch.org

Mount Olive has made a commitment to keep the first Sunday in May free of other afternoon events so that all of us can join with our neighborhood in this annual celebration the first Sunday in May every year. This year we are focusing on getting more people involved. We are not marching this year, BUT will have a dedicated Mount Olive observation area reserved so that a whole bunch can watch the parade this year.
Plan to come to the parade on Sunday May 4 after the second liturgy. We will meet in the undercroft where a simple lunch will be provided that can be taken with you to the parade. Vans/cars will be available to shuttle to the Mount Olive observation area on the parade route. We’ll even have extra chairs and blankets so people don’t have to carry anything with them. We will also provide a simple map with directions with where to park and how to find the observation area if people prefer to drive on their own that day.

We are making it as easy as possible for all to come! Please set the time aside now on Sunday, May 4, and watch for more details as the day approaches.

Palm Plants Available

If you would like to have one of the large palm plants which were used to decorate the nave for Palm Sunday and Easter, they are free for the taking!

The plants are currently in the East Assembly room – help yourself!

1 Thessalonians Bible Study

The final Thursday Bible study series before summer begins on Thursday, May 8, and runs for six Thursdays through June 12.

Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Vicar Emily Beckering will lead a study of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.

There will be a light supper when we begin. If you are interested in providing the supper for our first study, please notify Vicar Beckering. All are welcome!

Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads

For their meeting on May 10, The book discussion group will read, The Small Hand and Dolly, Susan Hill. For their June 14 meeting they will discuss The Orphan Master’s Son, by Adam Johnson.

TRUST News: Caritas Benefit Concert

Caritas Vocal Ensemble will present a concert entitled, “Wrap Me in Song,” to benefit the TRUST Parish Nursing program. This concert will include the premier of a new piece written especially for them by local composer J. David Moore.

The concert will be held on Sunday, April 27, 4:00 pm, at St. John’s Lutheran Church (4842 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis). Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for students and seniors, and may be purchased at the door.

Church Library News

Stop in the church library soon to see the books on the display across from the check-out desk. Now that spring has decided to stay around, there are more possibilities for reading on our decks, during a coffee break, or eventually even out relaxing at the beach. The books on display include the following:

• Celebrate Joy! (a delightful book to brighten your day), by Velma Seawell Daniels
• Roads to Reality (deeper life experiences from famous Christian women), by Joyce Blackburn
• Life’s Growing Years (a book of inspiration), by D. Verner Swanson
• A Touch of Wonder (a book to help people stay in love with life), by Arthur Gordon
• God’s Work in Our Lives (true stories of God’s touch – a Guideposts Book, Volumes I and II)
• Frederick Buechner: Novelist and Theologian of the Lost and Found, by Marjorie Cassbier McCoy
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer — Makers of the Modern Theological Mind, by Dallas M. Roark, ed. by Bob Patterson
• Time Out! A Man’s Devotional (featuring some of today’s best-selling authors), compiled by Clint & Mary Beckwith
• Uncompromising Faith (one man’s notes from prison), by Pavel Uhorskai

Someone left at the library door a four volume VHS video set of The Visual Bible (Acts) — the only dramatization using the actual scriptures from the NIV Bible, but with no note to identify the donor. Please let me know if that was your gift!

I recently read an article by Meganne Farbrega of the National Book Critic’s Circle, who writes about “The End of Your Life Book Club” (by Will Schwelbe, published by Alfred A. Knopf). This book is about a mother who is dying with a terminal illness and a son who remembers a childhood spent in his parent’s home where reading was encouraged and good books were always available to enrich their lives. The book further details the great rewards that both mother and son felt as they decided to re-read and discuss many books together as the end of her life approaches. Perhaps others in a similar circumstance might find this book and this idea of immeasurable help! The other resounding message that comes through the text is that “there are so many books and so little time!”

– Leanna Kloempken

Life Transitions Support Group to Begin May 14

Caregiver? Chronic Illness? Loss of home? Loss of loved one?

If you are interested in attending, or have questions, please contact Marilyn Gebauer (651-704-9539, email gebauevm@bitstream.net) or call the church office.

The Ascension of Our Lord
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Holy Eucharist
7:00 p.m.

Restorative Justice Community Action (RJCA)

At Mount Olive, living a life in Christ means that we worship in all aspects of our life. I am privileged to be working in a profession of restorative work where adults and youth who have made mistakes are able to resolve their situation with dignity. Restorative justice creates a safe space, a sacred space, where people who have committed wrong doing meet face-to-face with community members and direct victims to talk about what happened, the impact it has, and create a way to make amends. It is a blessing to see criminal activity resolved in a non-adversarial way which allows for healing by bringing people together to make things right.

RJCA is honored to receive 9 visitors from south and central Asia hosted by the US Department of State on April 24th . Their visit is around Human Rights Advocacy and Awareness and they are coming to learn about how RJCA helps empower Minneapolis neighborhoods to enhance offender accountability for certain crimes by empowering local citizens and communities to participate directly in the justice process.

Mount Olive supports RJCA through funds and volunteers. I would like to invite you to learn about us at our annual fundraiser, “Is there justice in hell?” at Hell’s Kitchen on Monday, April 28th 6-9PM in downtown Minneapolis. $20 at the door goes directly to RJCA. City Attorney Susan Segal will be the guest speaker, cabaret entertainment by Denise Prosek and friends, testimonials, silent auction, and fun are to be had. Please come, check out our website, www.rjca-inc.org or stop me in church for a conversation. Let our worship be in all we do!

Cynthia Prosek

Travel to Italy!

Walt Blue will host a trip to Italy next fall (October 6-20) under the aegis of the OLLI Program (University of Minnesota).

The group will visit (briefly) Milan, Cremona, Bologna and Ravenna, and will spend over a week in Florence, with multiple day trips to the regional cities of Pisa, Siena, Lucca, and San Gimignano. The cost of the trip is $4,700, and it includes airfare, accommodations, meals (all breakfasts, five group dinners), ground transport, sightseeing, porterage, local guides, gratuities and taxes. For more information, contact Walt Blue at 651-646-3355, or via email to wagane@gmail.com. You may also contact Group Travel Directors (952-881-7811 / groups@gtd.org).

National Lutheran Choir to Present “Exalt.”

This Spring’s “Exalt” program showcases the artistic excellence of the National Lutheran Choir with works for choir and organ alongside unaccompanied choral pieces.

Nationally renowned organist, Aaron David Miller, joins the NLC for a program that is both affable and energizing. Some of the works on the program include: Benjamin Britten’s Te Deum; a world premiere of a commission by Zachary Wadsworth, Great or Small; and Frank Martin’s Mass for Unaccompanied Double Chorus.

Organ pipes and choral pipes join together for a unique experience that will leave the listener inspired and revitalized. NLC Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.

When: Sunday, May 4 – 4pm
Where: St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115
Tickets: $25 Adult, $23 Senior, $20 Student
Contact: visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.