Blog – Page 381

February 1, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

The word of God is always pleasing in the abstract. “God is love,” God loves the whole world,” or even the words that Jesus read in his hometown synagogue from the book of Isaiah about all that God is going to do for them; make the blind to see, heal the lame, free the oppressed and all those other good things. When Jesus put down the scroll and challenged them to go beyond the edifying words of God, to truly love and be a comfort themselves to all who suffer, they were enraged. They did not accept that the words read were fulfilled in him, a human being.

To pray to God for all that is good and believe that God will do this without us is not biblical. To pray to God and to believe that all our efforts to comfort, heal, do justice and bring peace to this world are driven by God, is truth. God will not do it without us. The first reading for Epiphany 4 is a good example of this and a familiar story. God is calling the prophet Jeremiah and Jeremiah is resisting. Like many prophets before him, he listed his faults and weaknesses and I’m sure that he was questioning whether God had made some kind of mistake. God did not leave Jeremiah on his own, though. He put his very words in the mouth of the prophet.

God sent out a formal invitation to Jeremiah to do a hard and special thing, and God calls us too. “Who me?” we may ask. “I don’t know how to write a letter to my representatives in Washington about changing policy to help those who are poor and hungry in this nation and the world,” we may say to a God of justice who is calling us. However, like Jeremiah and all the prophets before him, God will not leave us on our own. God has called others to help you do just that through Bread for the World, a faith based national organization. A representative from Bread for the World will be at Mount Olive this Sunday during the Adult Education hour with everything you need to be a voice for justice.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians (in Sunday’s second reading) that if we believers do not have love, we have nothing. Love is not an abstract concept. It is divinely driven action that brings all that is good, and all that promotes peace and well-being to all of God’s creation. We are called to love.

– Donna Pususta Neste

Sunday Readings

February 3, 2013 – 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10 + Psalm 71:1-6
I Corinthians 13:1-13 + Luke 4:21-30

February 10, 2013 – Transfiguration of Our Lord
Exodus 34:29-35 + Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12—4:2 + Luke 9:28-36[37-43]

The Presentation of Our Lord
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Holy Eucharist at 7:00 pm

Upcoming Adult Forums

Sunday, February 3 – Bread for the World Offering of Letters, facilitated by Donna Neste.

Sunday, February 10 – As part of our Taste of Ethiopia observance, The Reverend Dinku Bato, a Ph.D. student at Luther Seminary in Congregational Mission and Leadership, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will talk about the history and current context of Christianity in Ethiopia and Lutherans in particular.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
Tuesday, February 12, 6–7 p.m.

All are invited! Please take a moment to sign up on the chart in the west assembly area so that we can get an approximate count for food preparation– or call your RSVP in to the church office.

We are in need of two volunteers to help with games at this event. If you are willing to help, call Beth Sawyer at 651-434-0666, or drop her an email at mikebethsawyer78@gmail.com.

From the Mount Olive Foundation

The Mount Olive Lutheran Church Foundation is excited to be able to fund an annual gift to the Church from the earnings of its endowment in the amount of approximately $26,000. The value of the endowment is now approximately $800,000, thanks to generous donors and those who have included the Foundation in their estate plans. The use of the endowment gift is restricted to activities that directly benefit Mount Olive, therefore no outside programs are eligible for the annual gift. The Foundation in the past has preferred gifts that are capital items or special programs not able to be funded out of the budget or through other Church funds. Please submit any ideas that you have to a Vestry member under whom the program or gift would fall. The Foundation has asked that the following questions be addressed: 1. Amount of funds requested. 2. How will the funds be used? 3. How will this request benefit the mission of Mount Olive? 4. If there is not enough money to fully finance this request, would less money be useful?

Please submit your ideas and answers to the four questions above to the appropriate Vestry member by February 8. Vestry Members are: Adam Krueger (President); Lisa Nordeen (Vice President); Elizabeth Beissel (Secretary); Kat Campbell-Johnson (Treasurer); Carl Manuel (Congregational Life); Brooke Roegge (Education); Andrew Andersen (Evangelism); Eunice Hafemeister and Carol Austermann (Neighborhood Ministries); Paul Schadewald (Missions); Brenda Bartz(Property); Dennis Bidwell (Stewardship); Al Bipes (Worship); and Beth Sawyer (Youth).

Taste of Ethiopia February 10

Mark your calendars for “Taste of Ethiopia,” on Sunday, February 10. The preacher and education hour leader will be The Reverend Dinku Bato, a Ph.D. student at Luther Seminary in Congregational Mission and Leadership, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. At the education hour, he will talk about the history and current context of Christianity in Ethiopia and Lutherans in particular.

After the second liturgy, please join us for a lunch of Ethiopian food, prepared by members of Mount Olive. The annual “Taste of” event, which highlights the culture, foods, and history of various areas of our global community, is a long tradition at Mount Olive.

Proceeds from this year’s “Taste of Ethiopia” will benefit two initiatives of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus–the Lutheran church partner in Ethiopia. (1) The Oromo Functional Literacy project teaches Oromo communities to read and write with the goal of empowerment and development. We were invited to support this program by representatives of the Lutheran World Federation. (2) The other initiative is a program that supports communities to care for children who have been orphaned due to AIDS. We have been invited to contribute to this program by the Bishop of the La Cross Synod of the ELCA, which supports this project through its sister synod relationship with Ethiopia.

Book Discussion Group

The Book Discussion Group will NOT meet in February because several members will be traveling at the usual meeting time. For the March 9 meeting we will discuss Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie. For the April 13 meeting we will discuss In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant. Looking ahead, in May we will discuss Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. This is the sequel to her novel The Sparrow which we read earlier.

Mark Your Calendars!

The next church clean-up day will be held on Saturday, February 23, from 8:30 am – 2:30 pm. Plan to come and pitch in – many hands make light work!

However, the volunteers serving the Community Meal are obviously otherwise occupied. This is where you come in. It is our hope that a Mount Olive group or individual would like to take on this service. There is interest among the guests particularly in playing board games, and doing craft activities. The social hour could be kicked off, for instance, with a game of Bingo. A social time such as this could help fill a need for people who are often isolated and seeking to form relationships.

This service would require only a couple of hours on the Saturday that the community meal is served. If you or your committee or other group might be interested in carrying out this activity, please contact Carol Austermann (612-722-5123) or Eunice Hafemeister (612-721-6790) or speak to any member of the Neighborhood Ministries Committee.

Nave Seating

You will notice some ‘rearranged’ seating in the nave this Sunday. One of the pews near the front (pulpit side) has been exchanged for a shorter one from one of the upper galleries to provide additional wheelchair accessibility. This mirrors the open space already available on the lectern side. Please leave these spaces available for those who need them, including the section of pew directly next to them for companions. Thanks to the Vestry, the Property Committee and the Thursday C.P.R. team (Art and George) for making this possible, that Mount Olive might continue to be a place of welcome for all.

Servant Schedule Deadline

February 15, 2013 is the deadline for requests for the 2nd quarter Servant Schedule. The schedule for April, May and June of 2013 will be posted at the beginning of March. Please email requests to Peggy Hoeft @ peggyrf70@gmail.com by 2/15/13.

Theology on Tap

Have you ever wanted to get to know the people sitting next to you in the pews a little better? Do you enjoy a good beer while sharing stories with friends? Then come to Theology on Tap! Theology on Tap is a new group at Mount Olive that meets once a month at local bars/restaurants to enjoy a good beverage (beer/wine/soda? It’s up to you!), good food, and good conversation. Each week we’ll also dive into a dialogue about faith and life (no preparation or book reading required, only your personal knowledge and insight) as we explore Christianity in the 21st century. Contact Vicar Neal Cannon (vicar@mountolivechurch.org, 612-827-5919 x12) if you would like to join us for our first Theology on Tap!

February Event Details

Who: Anyone 21+ is welcome to join
Where: Herkimer Pub and Brewery – 2922 Lyndale Ave S., Mpls.
When: Thursday February 7, 7:30-9:00pm
Discussion Topic: Young Adults and the Church
Facebook Page: Mount Olive Theology on Tap
(“Like” the Page to get updates on Theology on Tap
Contact: Vicar Neal Cannon
(vicar@mountolivechurch.org)

A Note of Thanks

To all of our friends at Mount Olive:
Where do I begin to express my gratitude for all of the extraordinary talent, love, compassion, and caring shared during one of the saddest times of my life with my Mama Z passing away?
There are many angels on this earth and our church is filled with them.
I will say to all of you what I said to so many at Westwood Health Care Center: if I thanked each one of you several times each day until my last day on earth, it still wouldn’t be enough thanks for all of the magnificent things you have done for me and for us.
God bless you all,
Eric Zander & Dennis Bidwell

Lenten Bible Study: Practice Faith

Christian faith practices are widely accepted, but not broadly understood outside of a moral/ethical understanding. Of course we should be hospitable, of course we should give to the poor, and of course we should be in service to our neighbor. Other faith practices take on the sense of duty and obligation. We’re called to pray, observe Sabbath, share the gospel, etc.

But what is the Biblical root of these practices? Why are these things so important that they are mentioned over, and over, and over again in the Bible? What have Christians done in the past and what can we do now to keep these practices alive in our lives?
Come to a six-week Lenten Bible study starting February 14, from 6-7:30 pm in the Chapel Lounge to explore these topics in scripture and community.

February 14 – Hospitality and Welcome
February 21 – Tithing and Generosity
February 28 – Prayer
March 7 – Celebration and Sabbath
March 14 – Sharing the Gospel
March 21 – Serving our Neighbor

https://www.mountolivechurch.org/2013/02/01/1370/

Gladly Hear and Learn

January 27, 2013 By moadmin

God’s written Word, the Scriptures, shape us in the relationship the Triune God is creating in us through the life, death and resurrection of the Son. Ancient and strange as these words are, they lead us to our Lord Jesus and to life.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Third Sunday after Epiphany, year C; texts: Nehemiah 8:1-10; Psalm 19; Luke 4:14-21

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

We are a strange and peculiar people who do a strange and peculiar thing. I don’t know if you noticed it or not, but we just did it, right now. The difficulty is that we’ve seen it done so often we’ve come not to consider it odd. You and I heard three people read from an ancient Book. We gathered together today and asked three people, a lector, an assisting minister, and the presiding minister, to open and read from a book that in its newest part is nearly 2,000 years old, but in its oldest is closer to 4,000 years old. We also sang together a song from that book that has been sung pretty continually by human beings for nearly 3,000 years.

More to the point, we asked people to read these old words to us today because we have agreed amongst ourselves, and with people like us in the world, that these elderly texts are actually words from the God who made all things. We asked people today to read these words because we also have decided and believed, along with many like us in the world, that these ancient readings matter to our lives. And you have called me to the task of now speaking to you about these words, as if these words should and do matter to us in our lives.

But do we understand how strange and foreign this is? How unusual we are? We Christians are not people who find God by gazing at our navels. We don’t find God by using mind-altering substances. We don’t find God in the desires of our heart, even, or in our hopes and dreams. In fact, we Christians do not believe we even find God. We believe the God who made all things finds us, seeks us out, and does this in a large part through these ancient words. Though these words are millennia old, we believe they also were written for us.

And so, we are people of the Book, as are our Jewish and Muslim sisters and brothers. We are connected most tightly to the belief not that God is found anywhere, but that God, and God’s plan, and all we need to know about God, can be found in a two to four thousand year old book. And that is very strange. And unfamiliar to the secular world in which we live.

If we’re not able to stop for a moment and recognize how utterly different from the culture what we do here is, what we do when we open a Bible in our homes or study it, when we seek out preaching, we risk taking for granted that we actually believe these words will change us, move us, matter to us. And we risk losing the very truth to which these old words will lead us.

When we consider Ezra and Jesus, however, we see a familiar sight, and begin to understand once more.

In Nehemiah 8, the scribe Ezra stands on a wooden tower built over the people and reads to them from the law of God. (Which sounds a lot like what I’m doing right now.) This is after the exile, as we heard this morning, “the people of Israel [were now] settled in their towns.”

Ezra and Nehemiah are among those scribes who are determined to help Israel correct the problems which led to Babylon’s destruction of their nation and their Temple. To do this, they need the people to hear God’s Word again, and since the people speak a different dialect or even language, and since they want all to be sure to understand, they intersperse the crowd with interpreters, other scribes and Levites, to help people know what’s going on.

The people are so overwhelmed by hearing God’s Word, they weep. But Ezra encourages a different reaction. He encourages them to be filled with joy, for they are hearing from God, and this joy should provide them great strength. Ezra wants them to hear and obey, and they do. But he also wants them to see the joy of having the Word of God read to them, and explained.

And look what happens when Jesus comes to his hometown, early in his ministry. He goes to synagogue on the Sabbath, as was his custom, Luke reminds. But notice this: at the synagogue, the people, his neighbors and friends, people who saw him grow to adulthood, do not ask, “Jesus, tell us about your view of the world. Tell us what you’ve been doing, your experiences. Tell us what you think of life.”

No. They give him a scroll, and say, “read it. Read it.” They ask him to give them the Word. They are Jews, after all. They say, “read this to us.” And so he does. And remarkably, like the people of Ezra’s time, they expect that it will be important to them. They wait afterward, like with Ezra, for preaching to come, for explanation, based on that Word. These ancient words are central to what they want from Jesus.

And so it is with you, and your expectations of me. You did not call me to come here and share my views of the world. To philosophize and share my wisdom. When you come here on Sundays, you don’t want me to read my latest essay on the human condition. There are lots of folks who write blogs on the Internet or essays in papers online and in print, people who say what they think about life and the world. Some are good, others not.

But that’s not what you have called me to Mount Olive to do. No, when I first came here, and now even today, you gave me a book. You gave me the Bible. You called me to be your pastor because I am ordained a minister of Word and Sacrament. And you said to me, and still say, “read this Book, this Word to us. Then, help us to know it better.”

We are people of the Book. God’s Book. Nothing bothers us more about preaching than when we hear a sermon where the pastor preaches with no reference to the Scriptures at all. We want to hear these ancient words. And then we want the preacher to help us understand them, like Ezra, like Jesus, because we believe they matter to our very life.

And that’s because, unlike any other words, we believe these words not only bring us life, they lead us to God.

This is very different from other words, new or ancient, and other readings.

Three years ago Mary and I visited Hannah in Nottingham, England, where she was studying for a year. We were able to join her and her other classmates from Luther at a production in the town of Stratford-on-Avon, at the theater of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a production of one of Shakespeare’s comedies. It was wonderful. These skilled actors spoke 500-year-old words and made them alive, they brought life and light to our evening, laughter and tears, joy.

This was a night we’ll remember for a long time. But though we heard these ancient words and found good in them, it was and is a very different thing from how we come before the written Word of God. Literature, essays, plays, movies, drawings, photographs, sculptures, many human creations and art forms inspire and move us. I’ve seen some beautiful art in my life, read some transformative works.

But while they teach us about the human condition, about ourselves, about life, even about good and evil, while they help us grow and become better people, while they challenge us in many ways, there is one thing that we do not claim about them. We do not claim or believe that they are God’s revelation to us which leads us to know definitively what God is doing in the world.

That, however, is what we claim about this book we call the Bible. There isn’t time here to fully consider why Christians, like our sisters and brothers of other faiths, attach such meaning to these particular ancient words. It’s worth a conversation, though, and worth our thought and consideration.

But for today, what we can say is that we continue in a line of believers that stretches back over 3,500 years or more, who have seen and experienced in these words the very voice of God. Who have claimed that the God of the universe speaks to us through these words and leads us to life and salvation, calls to us, challenges us, judges us, loves us.

We stand in the same line as Thomas Cranmer, whose collect from the 1552 Book of Common Prayer is appointed as our Prayer of the Day today, which says that God has given us these Scriptures for our nourishment and life. And so we ask God to help us “hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them.” That we take these words literally to heart, to our guts, to the core of our very being (for as the psalmist says they taste sweeter than honey), so that they might change us and shape us.

And the primary reason we need these words to do that is that it is these words which lead us to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God who saves us. Each of the books of the Bible works together with the others ultimately to show us what the Son of God was and is doing in the world for God’s creation.

There’s an old Communion hymn that didn’t make the cut from the green book to our new worship book, which begins “Here, O my God, I see thee face to face.” That’s why these words are different from any other for us. That’s why we gather week after week to hear them. That’s why we pick up our Bibles for study and daily prayer, something we never do with Shakespeare, beautiful as his writing may be.

Because here, in these words, as we encounter them daily, we see our Lord face to face and find his love for us, his grace, his invitation. These become words by which we live and die, words which change everything for us.

We are a strange people.

We are strange people, we with this book we call God’s Word. And though it may seem strange to the rest of our society, it is the place where we can find our Lord, just as the people of Nazareth saw him, revealed as the anointed One of God who brings healing and life to the world.

But now, of course, the real work begins. Knowing that we agree this is the Triune God’s voice for us, leading us to the Son, now we must read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest together. We will disagree at times about what we are hearing from God. We will not always understand. But such is the power of this written Word of God, this gift the Spirit helps us with, that when we do make mistakes of reading, of understanding, of interpretation, the Word continues to work in and among us and correct us, to bring us back to God’s path. It has done so often in the past, and will continue to do so with the help of the Spirit.

So we do this together, and with sisters and brothers in the Church around the world, and trust that our Lord the Living Word will open our hearts and minds to know what we need to know for life.

So strange as it may seem, this is why we do what we do. Because the God of the universe has spoken to us in these words, and led us to the Son of God who gives life to us and the world. There is nothing more important for us to know, to hear, to take in. It is our blessing to do this. It is our blessing to share this with the world. Thanks be to God for this gift!

In the name of Jesus. Amen

January 25, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

For “Accent on Worship” this week, I’d like to reprint the reflection from the conference on liturgy’s hymn festival, written by Paul Westermeyer. The hymn festival was about “Images of Creation: the Earthiness of Liturgy.” This reflection was about smoke, and it preceded the hymn “Isaiah in a Vision Did of Old.”
– Cantor David Cherwien

Isaiah had a vision that the whole earth was full of the glory of God. So did Ezekiel. Ezekiel perceived God to be so holy that all you could see was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God [Ezekiel 1:28]. God was protected by glory which was in turn protected by the appearance and the likeness of the glory. For Isaiah God was also protected by glory; and the glory of God was itself so holy that you could only approach it through smoke [Isaiah 6:4].

But in Christ God became flesh. Now we see God’s glory in Christ, full of grace and truth [John 1:14]; and we sing, “Holy, holy, holy” with a new vision. Both Isaiah’s vision and the one in Christ lead us to serve the earth and its creatures. When the smoke settles and the tomb is empty God asks, “Whom shall I send?”
The message God gives us is no picnic because it is full of grace and truth. The holiness of God’s anger has been kindled against a people who have wreaked injustice on the earth. There is no smoke now. God tells Isaiah to say to the people: “Hear, but don’t understand if you won’t. See, but perceive nothing if you won’t” [Isaiah 6:9]. Isaiah asks, “How long, O Lord?” God answers, “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate” [Isaiah 6:11]. It is a message of doom.

Second Isaiah is coming, to be sure, with a word of comfort, valleys lifted up, hills made low, and the glory of God to be revealed. But God still comes with justice, and the nations are as a drop from a bucket [Isaiah 40:15]. The glory of God is revealed in Christ, to be sure, but in Christ the justice we are called to do on the earth is, if anything, even more heightened.

We continually need to get two things straight. First, the holiness of God is holy indeed, and we are right to point to it through smoke since even when we see it in Christ it is veiled in flesh beyond our understanding. Second, the holiness of God has implications for how we are to treat the earth which is charged with the grandeur of God. We usually get it backwards. We mistakenly think that by removing the smoke and tinkering with our worship we by our works can make God clear. Then, we think that is all we need to do, when in fact it is not only impossible and wrong; it is yet another clever way to avoid our calling to serve and care for the earth and all its creatures.

“Holy, holy, holy,” says the Sanctus. The beams shake, the house is filled with smoke, and God says, “Go.”
– The Rev. Dr. Paul Westermeyer

Sunday Readings

January 27, 2013 – 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 + Psalm 19
I Corinthians 12:12-31a + Luke 4:14-21

January 20, 2013 – 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10 + Psalm 71:1-6
I Corinthians 13:1-13 + Luke 4:21-30

Upcoming Adult Forums

Sunday, January 27 – A presentation by the Minnesota Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH).
Sunday, February 3 – Bread for the World Offering of Letters, facilitated by Donna Neste.

The Presentation of Our Lord
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Holy Eucharist at 7:00 pm

From the Mount Olive Foundation

The Mount Olive Lutheran Church Foundation is excited to be able to fund an annual gift to the Church from the earnings of its endowment in the amount of approximately $26,000. The value of the endowment is now approximately $800,000, thanks to generous donors and those who have included the Foundation in their estate plans. The use of the endowment gift is restricted to activities that directly benefit Mount Olive, therefore no outside programs are eligible for the annual gift. The Foundation in the past has preferred gifts that are capital items or special programs not able to be funded out of the budget or through other Church funds. Please submit any ideas that you have to a Vestry member under whom the program or gift would fall. The Foundation has asked that the following questions be addressed: 1. Amount of funds requested. 2. How will the funds be used? 3. How will this request benefit the mission of Mount Olive? 4. If there is not enough money to fully finance this request, would less money be useful?

Prayer Shawl Ministry News

The members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry will meet following the second liturgy this Sunday, January 27. They will meet downstairs in the Undercroft. The purpose of this meeting is to further define and plan our ministry to the people of Mount Olive. Feel free to join the group, and bring your knitting/crocheting if you like. Please contact Peggy Hoeft with any questions about this group: 952-835-7132, or by email to peggyrf70@gmail.com.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
Tuesday, February 12, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
All are invited!

Taste of Ethiopia, February 10

Mark your calendars for “Taste of Ethiopia,” on Sunday, February 10. The preacher and education hour leader will be The Reverend Dinku Bato, a Ph.D. student at Luther Seminary in Congregational Mission and Leadership, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Between 1998-2009 Pastor Bato was the national coordinator of the Mekane Yesus University Student Ministry (EECMY-USM) in Adddis Ababa. He will be joined at Mount Olive by his wife Mergitu and three sons: Amen (13), Ketim (9), and Melala (8). At the education hour, he will talk about the history and current context of Christianity in Ethiopia and Lutherans in particular. After the second liturgy, please join us for a lunch of Ethiopian food, prepared by members of Mount Olive. The annual “Taste of” event, which highlights the culture, foods, and history of various areas of our global community, is a long tradition at Mount Olive.

The Missions Committee is in need of volunteers who would be willing to cook a dish at home and bring to church on Sunday, February 10. The Missions Committee has the recipes. This is a wonderful chance to contribute to the event and to learn a new cuisine. We are also in need of volunteers to help prepare decorations for the event on Saturday, February 9. If you are interested in preparing one recipe at home and bringing it to church or in helping with decoration or set-up, please contact Paul Schadewald at pschadew@yahoo.com or 612-237-8517.

Book Discussion Group

The Book Discussion Group will NOT meet in February because several members will be traveling at the usual meeting time. For the March 9 meeting we will discuss Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie. For the April 13 meeting we will discuss In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant. Looking ahead, in May we will discuss Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. This is the sequel to her novel The Sparrow which we read earlier.

A New Opportunity to Serve

Noticing that many of the guests linger after the Community Meal, the Neighborhood Ministries Committee took a survey to determine whether there was interest in staying for a social hour after the meal. There was enough favorable response so that we are considering providing a social time. However, the volunteers serving the Community Meal are obviously otherwise occupied. This is where you come in. It is our hope that a Mount Olive group or individual would like to take on this service. There is interest among the guests particularly in playing board games, and doing craft activities. The social hour could be kicked off, for instance, with a game of Bingo. A social time such as this could help fill a need for people who are often isolated and seeking to form relationships.

This service would require only a couple of hours on the Saturday that the community meal is served. If you or your committee or other group might be interested in carrying out this activity, please contact Carol Austermann (722-5123) or Eunice Hafemeister (721-6790) or speak to any member of the Neighborhood Ministries Committee.

Haug Family Ending Mission Work in Slovakia

The ELCA just contacted the Missions Committee to let us know that the Haug family has ended its mission to Slovakia/Eastern Europe. Pr. Arden Haug has taken the position of pastor at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church here in Minneapolis. We pray that their transition goes well.

Upon the recommendation of the Missions Committee, Mount Olive had allocated $2,000 in the 2013 budget to support the Haug family, as part of the 4% congregational support to missions. The ending of this particular mission offers new possibilities. The Missions Committee will take time to examine how these funds should be used in 2013 and into the future. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, please contact Paul Schadewald, Missions Committee Director, at pschadew@yahoo.com.

Nave Seating

You will notice some ‘rearranged’ seating in the nave this Sunday. One of the pews near the front (pulpit side) has been exchanged for a shorter one from one of the upper galleries to provide additional wheelchair accessibility. This mirrors the open space already available on the lectern side. Please leave these spaces available for those who need them, including the section of pew directly next to them for companions. Thanks to the Vestry, the Property Committee and the Thursday C.P.R. team (Art and George) for making this possible, that Mount Olive might continue to be a place of welcome for all.

Reconciling in Christ Festival Worship

The Reconciling in Christ Program of ReconcilingWorks Twin Cities welcomes all people to join in their eighth annual Metro Area Festival Worship on Saturday, January 26, 2013, 4:30 p.m., at First Lutheran Church (463 Maria Avenue, Saint Paul). The service of Word and Sacrament celebrates the welcoming ministries of Metro area Lutheran churches. Rev. Anita Hill will preach.

The RIC program rosters Lutheran congregations that welcome and affirm LGBT persons in their full sacred worth. Both the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods are RIC Synods and together include dozens of RIC worship communities. A light supper will follow the service. All are welcome!

Vestry Meeting Updates
Submitted by Lisa Nordeen, Vestry Vice President

From the December, 2012 meeting

The December 10, 2012 meeting of the Vestry centered primarily around end of the year wrap-ups for many of the different areas represented on the board. First on the agenda was a discussion about restricted accounts and their general oversight and viability. Kat Campbell-Johnson presented an overview of all of the accounts and their standing as a starting point for a review of the accounts.

As we look forward to 2013, the Stewardship committee would like to remind the congregation to turn in their pledges for the upcoming year. Pledge cards can be placed in the collection plate at Sunday services.
William’s recovery has been progressing and we would like to thank all of you who have stepped in to help with the upkeep of the church during these past few weeks. The Properties committee also welcomes everyone to participate in the winter clean up which will take place in January after Epiphany. Watch for details in the Olive Branch.

The past month has been an extremely busy one at Mount Olive. Pastor Crippen and Cantor Cherwien have been busy with several funerals as well as preparing for Advent and Christmas. Congregational Life has worked the funerals and also served a well hosted an Advent luncheon for senior members of the congregation and a luncheon for synod pastors.

The Tithe Task Force will present their recommendations to the congregation after the second service on Sunday, December 16. All are asked to attend to approve the suggestions.
Missions will once again be hosting a “Taste of…” meal on February 10, 2013. This year Ethiopia will be the focus and that Sunday will include preaching from an Ethiopian pastor and delicious foods to be sampled after the service. Look for details in a future Olive Branch.

From the January, 2013 meeting

The first Vestry meeting of the new year was held on January 14 and was a positive one on many fronts. As we look forward to the coming year there are several items to note. Mount Olive is a generous congregation and many organizations have offered thanks for gifts they have received from us. Thank you letters have been received from the Capital Campaign Tithe grant recipients and those letters, along with more information about the organizations, will be posted in the near future. In addition, December giving was very strong and allowed us to pay off several commitments and end 2012 with a slight positive balance, and with an overall increase in member giving of 12% over 2011.

A number of people will be working to promote sustainability and green living. Also, Judy Hinck has been appointed as a new member of the Missions committee.

In the coming weeks look in The Olive Branch for a request for ideas that can use funding from the Mount Olive Foundation. Last year’s application process was a great success and Vestry Directors will gather ideas to bring to the Foundation.

Pastor Crippen and Cantor Cherwien both wrapped up a busy Advent and Christmas season. As they shared in their reports, when you add it up the numbers can be surprising. For example, Cantor Cherwien presented 90 hymns throughout the season and Pastor preached six sermons in 11 days during the Christmas season.

In the next few weeks look in The Olive Branch for details of some of these upcoming mission events. On February 10, the Missions Committee will host Taste of Ethiopia. Reverend Dinku Bato will be preaching that day and will also be a part of the adult forum. An Ethiopian meal will be served after second service. The following week, Lisa Ruff will lead an Adult Forum on their family’s work with Common Hope. She will be joined by representatives of Common Hope who wish to thank the people of Mount Olive for the gift they received from our Capital Campaign tithe.

The Stewardship Committee has noted pledges for $409,115 this year, which is about $3,000 less than last year. Approximately 1/3 of the congregation has submitted pledges to date. If you want to submit your pledge there is still time to do so.

https://www.mountolivechurch.org/2013/01/25/1372/

Recognizing the Good Stuff

January 20, 2013 By moadmin

The abundance of God’s grace is revealed to the world in the Incarnate Son of God who first reveals that abundance in the changing of water into wine, the bringing of the extraordinary joy of God’s presence to the ordinary things of our lives.

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

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

There is sometimes a spirit among the people of the United States (and perhaps other peoples, but this is where we live and have experienced it) that seems to be afraid of not having enough. Perhaps it comes from the shaping of the Great Depression, but we seem too easily to step into the trap of thinking we’re tight on what we need, that things are short, and we’d better look out for ourselves, despite our having so much more than the majority of our fellow human beings. This spirit shows itself in a fierce hatred of taxes among some, even if those taxes make life better for all citizens (building roads and schools, for example), and especially if those taxes help others in deeper need than we ourselves. It shows itself in a meanness of self-centered concerns in voting, in a selfish withholding of grace and forgiveness to others, as if we diminish the supply if we pour it out on people we don’t think deserve it, and in a fear of losing what we have so that we cling to our ways and our things with white-knuckled hands.

Yet others, even many among us in our country and in our midst, somehow have a sense of abundance, even in times of want. These are people who amaze and astonish us with their graciousness, their open-handedness, in material and spiritual things. People who always seem to have something to share with another person, even if they themselves seem deprived. People whose joy at being forgiven and loved compels them to love others no matter what. These people inspire us to consider that perhaps, with a different way of seeing and thinking about our lives and our world, we, too, could know such joy and peace.

Today we celebrate the third manifestation of Epiphany, a manifestation the Church has long linked to the other two we’ve celebrated the past two weeks, which is why we decided to extend our Epiphany white an extra week into the green season. In this manifestation the adult Son of God reveals his glory. In making a party more abundant. In making sure there’s enough wine to extend the joviality and festivities. There are many who wish to dismiss this action as trivial, trying to understand why Jesus would do such a thing, for in the big picture of the suffering of life, who cares about having enough wine? But John the Evangelist says this is pivotal, this is the “first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and [he] revealed his glory.” John suggests we pay close attention to this raucous party, and particularly to our Lord’s participation in it.

There’s a lovely moment in this story when the steward says about this new wine, “this is the good stuff.” Perhaps that’s what our Lord invites us to see as we encounter this, the first revelation of his glory. Perhaps our Lord needs us to see the “good stuff,” the abundance that God has given us and the world, rather than continue to grumble that we might run out of what we need some day.

John seems to be speaking of more than just the first sign among many miracles when he says, “this was the first.” Because in John’s Gospel, when the Incarnate Son arrives, abundance flows, and it’s always far from unimportant.

At Cana, this first sign is excessive and beyond what is needed: even if a party is running out of wine, even if it is, as were wedding feasts in those days, a three day affair, would they really need between 120 and 180 gallons of wine? And wonderful wine at that?

But that’s the best part of the story, isn’t it? (Well, apart from the wonderful give and take that Mary and her son Jesus have.) But this is the glory of this sign: the groom and his family need more wine so as not to be embarrassed before their neighbors and friends. Jesus gives them more wine than they could begin to consume in weeks of celebrating. So the glory revealed here is that when the Triune God, Incarnate in the Son, comes to a party, there’s not only enough for all. There’s beyond enough. And it’s all good stuff, fine vintage.

But such abundance anchors the entire Gospel of John, beginning, middle and end. Central to the story of Jesus’ ministry in John is the story of the feeding of 5,000 plus, a story all four Evangelists tell, but one which only John expands into a deep, critical meditation on the gift of Jesus himself.

But to start with, it’s a Cana party, all over again. There’s no food, well, except for a little boy’s lunch, and many are hungry. The disciples, in the role of Mary, ask Jesus what is to be done. And just as at Cana, Jesus acts as if he doesn’t know what he will do, here questioning Philip as to what he thinks should be done. But then he has the disciples seat the people, and feeds them from five loaves and two fish.

Nothing is said about the quality of the sandwiches, as was said at Cana about the wine, but as at Cana, there’s not just enough for all. There’s far more than enough. Twelve baskets are filled with the leftovers. These are hungry, poor people. If there are that many leftovers, it is only because they were satiated, satisfied, filled. And once more, the glory revealed here is that when the Triune God, Incarnate in the Son, comes to a picnic, there’s not only enough for all. There’s beyond enough.

When we move to the end of the Gospel of John, once more we see a sign like this, after Jesus’ resurrection. Seven disciples have left Jerusalem and returned to Galilee, for reasons John doesn’t explain. They fish all night, at Peter’s insistence, and catch nothing. Luke tells a similar story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. But John says the same thing happened here.

Because when they start rowing to shore in the morning, with empty nets, they see Jesus on the shore (though they don’t know it is he.) And he once more acts as if he doesn’t know what will happen, and asks them if they’ve caught anything. When they say no, he invites them to try the right side of the boat. And they catch so many fish they aren’t able to haul the net in.

When they come to shore, Peter having swum in since he now knows it’s Jesus, they have breakfast with their Lord, using these fish they caught. But John adds a detail which I used to think odd: he says they caught 153 large fish. Why, I have wondered, does the number and size matter?

But in the light of Cana, and the feeding of 5,000, I think I understand: once again we not only have enough, we have more than enough. Eight people for breakfast, 153 large fish. That’s what the Son of God does. Once again, the glory revealed here is that when the Triune God, Incarnate in the Son, comes to a fishing expedition, there’s not only enough for all. There’s beyond enough.

So if, in spite of this abundance of stories about God’s abundance, we still have that sense that we don’t have enough, maybe that’s because we aren’t seeing properly.

In all three of these revelations of abundance, there are people who can’t see what’s happened.
Only the disciples and the servants know the truth about the wine, not the bridegroom, nor the steward, nor the wedding guests.

In John 6, Jesus spends a great deal of time talking about the feeding of the 5,000 and it’s clear that even the disciples don’t really realize what happened there, and certainly not Jesus’ opponents.

And whatever the seven disciples in Galilee thought about the breakfast on the beach after Jesus’ resurrection, I never fully understood the 153 fish until now, in spite of the fact that this encounter is one of the stories that norm and shape my faith and life. It just seemed an odd detail to include.

So the question in our lives seems to be not “do we have enough,” but “are we actually sure we’re seeing clearly what we have?”

And our vision is related to our expectations.

If we have an idea of how much money we need in the bank to be secure, and we don’t have that much, we will be insecure. If we, however, can see how to get by on much less than we normally would think, then we have a completely different vision along with a different attitude.

If we have an idea that all things need to be good and happy and whole for us to be happy and fulfilled, then when things are hard or broken or painful, we will feel miserable. If, however, we recognize the promise that God is with us always, even in our hard times, our painful times, then whether we are rich or poor, whether all things are going well or all things are falling apart, “whether we live or whether we die,” as Paul says, we realize we are the Lord’s.

If we have an idea of what the “good stuff” is that is based on the world’s evaluation – the best of things money can buy, the finest things in the world – then if we aren’t able to have such things we will be dissatisfied with our life and our lot. But when a man dying of thirst in a desert finds a pool of brackish water that most would consider unfit to drink, it tastes like the finest spring water, cool and refreshing. It’s all about one’s point of view. What God provides us is far more than brackish water. But if we are expecting the world’s standard of “good stuff,” we might miss the incredible abundance of riches God actually gives.

What Jesus’ manifestation at Cana invites us to do is see God’s action differently, and begin to lose our fear.

And so as we gather here once more to worship the Triune God, we gather to be fed with an embarrassment of abundance. To be blessed by the gracious Word of God in speech, song, and prayer, filling us with the good news of God’s love for us and the world. A good news which transforms our lives forever.

We gather to be blessed by the Meal of Life our Lord gives us, filling us also with the good news of God’s love for us and the world. Once more, Jesus transforms the ordinary, this bread and wine, into the extraordinary grace of his crucified and risen life, his forgiveness, life and love that is ours and the world’s in this meal.

We gather to be blessed by the presence of our Lord himself as promised in these people around us, yet again filling us with the good news of God’s love for us and the world. That the abundance of God’s love and grace abide in us and in each other and that we are sent, filled, graced, loved, to fill, grace, and love the world in God’s name, abundantly and eternally.

And when we see God acting in such abundance, abundant grace, abundant goods, abundant life, we also begin to live as if there will always be enough, instead of fearing we are falling short. We learn to rejoice at the many ways God cares for us and the world, and learn to see abundance where it really is. And let our fears subside by opening our hands to share. And so we become part of God’s abundance in our fearlessness.

So we see that in each of these abundance stories, the people bring something to God, share something, which is then blessed to expand in dramatic, ridiculous ways.

Jars are filled to brimming with water, the stuff of life, and Jesus transforms it into glorious wine, flowing beyond belief.

A boy has a small lunch to share, nothing, really, but the stuff of life for him, and Jesus transforms it into food for all, and more to spare.

The disciples work all night and catch nothing, but offer their work one more time at Jesus’ instruction, and Jesus transforms an empty net into a net bursting with goodness and food, more than they could begin to eat.

And so it is with us, when we have learned to trust God to provide, we offer what we have to let God so transform it that the world is filled to the brim with God’s goodness. We are a part of God’s astonishing abundance by wasting less, taking less, learning to share with our sisters and brothers so that all might have enough, learning not to be afraid, beginning to see God’s abundance for all. Through our new vision and lack of fear, God works not only to fill us to the brim, but to fill others as well, that all might live.

The “Good Stuff” is everywhere when the Triune God, Incarnate in the Son, is among us. That’s what we see today and always.

May God open our eyes to see this revelation, this manifestation which continues in our midst, that we might see the abundance God has poured out on us and on the world. And may the Spirit of God so empower us that we become signs of that foolish, frivolous, and life-giving abundance to all we meet and see, signs of the love of the Incarnate Son among us, who, when he comes to a party makes it so there’s not only enough for all. There’s beyond enough, astonishingly so.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

January 18, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

What’s With the Wine?

Sunday we have the third epiphany the Church celebrates in early January, the third manifestation of God’s glory in the world in Jesus. Because of the way the calendar works this year, we have all three on successive Sundays: Epiphany, Jan. 6, was a Sunday this year, and this Sunday’s Gospel only is used every three years, but it all came together in 2013.

The three manifestations, which the Church has long linked together, are the coming of the Magi to see the infant Jesus, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, and the miracle Jesus performed at a wedding in the village of Cana (our Gospel this Sunday.) In the first, God’s incarnate Son, an infant, is revealed to the outside world; in the second, God’s incarnate Son, now an adult, is named publicly by the Father and visited by the Spirit, thus being the first time the Trinity is revealed and proclaimed in the world; and in the third, God’s incarnate Son himself reveals his glory, his divinity, by transforming water into wine to help a party move along properly.

Some Christians have found this third epiphany anti-climactic, given the others. Why would Jesus’ first miracle be making water turn into wine? For those who believe Christians never should consume alcohol, it’s even more uncomfortable to see this story. The point made is that with all the problems people have, sickness, death, suffering, surely Jesus’ first miracle could have been more than this trivial thing, making a party, well, a real party.

But consider what Jesus did here. He had compassion on a family who was going to be embarrassed, humiliated before their friends and family, by not having enough refreshments for their wedding. Sure, such humiliation only lasts until the next local scandal, but if you’ve ever worried that your party was failing, or that you didn’t provide enough, you know how anxious that can be. It might seem trivial to others, but to you it’s important. Jesus honors that, has compassion, and helps out. He makes the party continue, and the host to look good.

Perhaps that’s an important thing of this third manifestation, this third epiphany. Perhaps what Jesus is doing is telling us that he has come to be with us in all things, even things which others consider unimportant. He cares about our every need, and wants to bless them with his abundant grace and love. Maybe to others our cares and concerns seem minor, not worth bringing to Jesus. But at Cana, Jesus’ mother Mary shows us the way, that we can and ought to bring our concerns to our Lord.

So for me, I’m going to trust the Jesus at this party and at least mention my concerns to him, because I know they will matter to him. And like Jesus’ mother, I have confidence he will come to me in grace, abundant grace. That’s the joy of this epiphany that is ours and the world’s, always.

– Joseph

Sunday Readings

January 20, 2013 – 2nd Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 62:1-5 + Psalm 36:5-10
I Corinthians 12:1-11 + John 2:1-11

January 27, 2013 – 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 + Psalm 19
I Corinthians 12:12-31a + Luke 4:14-21

Upcoming Adult Forums

Sunday, January 20 – “Authentic Sound: Culture in Expression,” presented by The Rev. Marilyn Witte.

Sunday, January 27 – A presentation by the Minnesota Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH).

Conference on Liturgy to Be Held This Weekend

This year’s Conference on Liturgy will be held January 18-19, 2013. The theme of this year’s conference is, “The Green Altar: Liturgy as Care for the Earth.”

There is still plenty of room! If you would like to attend this year’s conference, please register at the door this Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The cost to Mount Olive members is $35.

Hymn Festival Tonight at Mount Olive!

The Conference on Liturgy begins with a hymn festival which will take place on Friday, January 18, 2013 (tonight!), at 7:30 p.m. Leadership for the hymn festival this year will be by the Mount Olive Cantorei and Cantor David Cherwien.

Thursday Evening Bible Study

“Captive Conscience” is the title of a six-week Bible Study being held on Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30 p.m. This Bible Study focuses on reading the Bible, how we are shaped by God’s Word, and what lenses we use as we read the Scriptures.

Though each of the sessions builds upon information from the previous sessions, they are also complete in themselves. So if you missed the first couple of sessions, there is still much to learn by coming to subsequent sessions, even if you can only attend one or two. All are invited.

The study begins with a light supper. If anyone wishes to provide one week’s meal, please let Pr. Crippen know. Looking ahead, in Lent Vicar Cannon will lead another six-week study.

2012 Year-End Contributions Statements

Contribution statements for 2012 are printed and available to be picked up at church, near the coat room. Please call the church office if you would like your statement mailed to you.

If you have any questions about your statement, or if you require a detailed amortization of your contributions, simply call Cha at the church office.

Prayer Shawl Ministry News

The members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry will meet following the second liturgy on Sunday, January 27. They will meet downstairs in the Undercroft. The purpose of this meeting is to further define and plan our ministry to the people of Mount Olive. Feel free to join the group, and bring your knitting/crocheting if you like. Please contact Peggy Hoeft with any questions about this group: 952-835-7132, or by email to peggyrf70@gmail.com.

The Presentation of Our Lord
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Holy Eucharist at 4:00 pm

Taste of Ethiopia, February 10

Mark your calendars for “Taste of Ethiopia,” on Sunday, February 10. The preacher and education hour leader will be The Reverend Dinku Bato, a Ph.D. student at Luther Seminary in Congregational Mission and Leadership, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Between 1998-2009 Pastor Bato was the national coordinator of the Mekane Yesus University Student Ministry (EECMY-USM) in Adddis Ababa. He will be joined at Mount Olive by his wife Mergitu and three sons: Amen (13), Ketim (9), and Melala (8). At the education hour, he will talk about the history and current context of Christianity in Ethiopia and Lutherans in particular. After the second liturgy, please join us for a lunch of Ethiopian food, prepared by members of Mount Olive. The annual “Taste of” event, which highlights the culture, foods, and history of various areas of our global community, is a long tradition at Mount Olive.

Book Discussion Group News

The Book Discussion Group will NOT meet in February because several members will be traveling at the usual meeting time. For the March 9 meeting we will discuss Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie. For the April 13 meeting we will discuss In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant. Looking ahead, in May we will discuss Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. This is the sequel to her novel The Sparrow which we read earlier.

A Note of Thanks

On behalf of the Vestry I want to say thank you to the members and friends of Mount Olive for once again responding in sacrificial and loving ways. Last month I shared with you a cash shortfall situation as we approached the end of the year and the response was incredible. I am pleased to inform you that the year ended very well, with a final giving total for the month of December of $91K, resulting in an overall giving increase of 12% over 2011. Because of this, our line of credit is fully paid off and all mission commitments and other year end disbursements were fulfilled without additional borrowing. Additionally, we are starting the new year with good, positive momentum. To God be all glory!

– Adam Krueger, President, Mount Olive Vestry

Olive Branch Deadline

Please note that The Olive Branch is prepared each week on Wednesdays (so that those who do not have email can receive the information at roughly the same time as those who do have email). The deadline for articles or announcements to be published is each Wednesday at noon. If you have information to share with the church community and want it to be published in the newsletter, please be sure it is submitted to the church office by Wednesday of the week you would like it published. It is also helpful to note how many weeks you wish your article or information to be included.

TRUST News

Two items of note from TRUST:

1. Martin Luther King celebration to be held this Sunday!

Join us this Sunday, January 20, at 5:00 PM for TRUST’s 26th annual Martin Luther King celebration. It will be held at Living Spirit, 4501 Bloomington Ave. S. Featured at this event will be:
Sondra Samuels, CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ); Tonia Hughes, local singer who has garnered critical acclaim for her leading roles in musical and theatrical productions; and the TRUST Youth will provide music and liturgy for this event.

2. The Gathering – The Gathering is a group respite program currently comprised of seven TRUST congregations. It is for people in early to mid-stage memory loss and it takes place at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. We are planning to open weekly beginning January 17, 2013! (We’ll expand our current 2nd and 4th Thursdays to include 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Thursdays – but will not meet on 5th Thursdays). Please call 651-414-5291 if you are interested in having a family member attend this group respite, or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer.

The Minneapolis Consortium of The Gathering began with TRUST congregations in 2009. Current members are Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Judson Baptist, First Universalist, St. John’s Lutheran Church, St. Joan of Arc, Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, and Lynnhurst Congregational Church. Additional congregations and community members are always welcome.

The Gathering is looking for individuals and volunteer groups from area churches who might be willing to prepare and serve a meal. If this is an opportunity you might consider, please call Julie at 612-312-3366, or Carolyn at 952-261-5235.

Reconciling in Christ Festival Worship

The Reconciling in Christ Program of ReconcilingWorks Twin Cities welcomes all people to join in their eighth annual Metro Area Festival Worship on Saturday, January 26, 2013, 4:30 p.m., at First Lutheran Church (463 Maria Avenue, Saint Paul). The service of Word and Sacrament celebrates the welcoming ministries of Metro area Lutheran churches. Rev. Anita Hill will preach.

https://www.mountolivechurch.org/2013/01/18/1374/