Accent on Worship

Remember that you are Dust

     We begin this Holy season with the imposition of ashes: a vivid, tangible reminder of our mortality, our need for repentance, and our need for God’s grace.

     Ashes have long served this purpose for the people of God. When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition. We, along with Adam, Eve, and the people Israel, are to name our sin honestly and remember: “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”

     This ritual forces us to face what we can avoid so easily in our culture. In a society where we are told that we can medicate away our pain, overcome any flaw through self-help books, and will or work ourselves into perfection, we can easily deceive ourselves about the urgency of our condition. These ashes, by contrast, point us to the realities of our sin, our brokenness, our inevitable death.

     The ashen cross does not allow us to deny that we have failed to live as God intended: it’s as plain as the cross on our face.

     The very shape of this mark, however, also points us to the one who hung on the cross, to the one who lives beyond the grave.

     Both of these truths are marked on us so that we do not lose sight of either: what we have done/left undone and what God has done for us. Just as we are called to honestly acknowledge our sin, we are shown that our God has already fully dealt with it. We are pointed again beyond ourselves to the one who “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,” created human life from dust, gives a garland instead of ashes (Is. 61:3), makes crucifixion yield to resurrection, and brings life out of the ashes of death.

     So as we remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return, we are also reminded just what the Triune God can do with dust and ashes.

– Vicar Emily Beckering

Sunday Readings

March 9, 2014: First Sunday in Lent
 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
 Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
 Matthew 4:1-11
_____________________

March 16, 2014: Second Sunday in Lent
 Genesis 12:1-4a
 Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
 John 3:1-17

This Week’s Adult Forum 

March 9: “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis” (part 3 of a 4-part series), presented by Scholar-in-Residence, Prof. Earl Schwartz of Hamline University.  

Midweek Lenten Worship on Wednesdays
March 12 – April 9

• Noon: Holy Eucharist, followed by soup luncheon
• 7:00 pm: Evening Prayer, preceded by soup supper, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

An Invitation to Confession

     During the season of Lent I am making myself available at some regular times to hear individual confession and to offer absolution to any who desire it.  I will be in the chancel from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each Monday, starting March 10, and continuing through the Monday of Holy Week.  If you wish to come for confession, simply come to the altar rail.  There will be a worship book so we can follow the rite together.  If someone is already there, please wait near the back of the nave and when I’m free, come forward.  While waiting, even if I’m free and you want to prepare yourself, praying the psalms in the pew or reading Scripture is worth considering.

  Martin Luther, in the Small Catechism, says this about individual confession: “Before God one is to acknowledge the guilt for all sins, even those of which we are not aware, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer.  However, before the pastor we are to confess only those sins of which we have knowledge and which trouble us.”  (The Small Catechism is printed in our worship book, ELW, in the back; the part where Luther speaks of confession is on p. 1165.)  The value of this practice for Luther was the gift of being able to be honest before another about all sin that troubles us, that one might truly hear the absolution God gives.

  Though Luther was in favor of individual confession continuing, it has fallen out of practice in many Lutheran communities over the centuries since the Reformation.  However, our worship books have retained an order for this because of the wisdom in recognizing that at times people have need of a deeper assurance of their forgiveness which can come from a fuller, more open confession of sin.  My hope in the times I’ve scheduled it is that it might permit both those who are still working full time and those who are retired to have opportunity.  If you are not able to come at any of these times and would desire confession, I am always available as your pastor for that ministry, and not just in Lent.  Please just ask and we’ll set up an appointment.

  You, the people of God at Mount Olive, have called me as your pastor that I might hear your confession and declare God’s forgiveness.  It is my hope in offering these opportunities, in addition to any corporate confession we are accustomed to make in our liturgies, that I might thereby continue to be faithful to this call and in service to you, my sisters and brothers.

– Pr. Joseph Crippen

Pictorial Directory Update

By now you should have received word that Mount Olive’s online pictorial directory is available on a secure page on our website.  Instructions were sent last week via email for signing up to gain access to this page. This can be done at any time.

For those who requested a paper copy of the directory, they are now available for pick up in the church office.

A Farewell Celebration

March 14 will be Donna Neste’s last day as our Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.  Donna has served God and Mount Olive admirably for many decades and it’s time to bid her a fond farewell. There will be a meal and celebration after the second liturgy on Sunday, March 16.

Soup-Makers Needed!

     Soup makers are needed to provide soup and bread for our midweek Lenten meals. Soup and bread for the lunch following Wednesday midday Eucharist should feed 40-50 people, and for the supper before Wednesday Evening Prayer, we need soup and bread for about 10-12 people.

     If you can help by signing up to bring a meal (or two!), the sign up chart will be on the refreshment table at coffee hour on Sundays.

2014 Lenten Devotional Books

     Copies of Susan Cherwien’s  Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office, for your devotional use this Lent.

     Again this year, the devotional is also available online. Visit the blog and save it as a favorite, so that it’s easily accessible to you throughout the season of Lent.

March is Minnesota FoodShare Month!

     Donate cash or groceries to the local food shelf during Minnesota FoodShare month in March! A donation of money more than doubles the amount of food available to food shelves, because food shelves can purchase food at discounted prices.  If you choose to give in this way, make your check payable to Mount Olive and write Food Shelf on the memo line. If you prefer to donation non-perishable groceries, they may be brought to the cart in the coat room.

Introducing our new Interim Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator

     The Vestry is pleased to announce that we have hired Ms. Connie Toavs (pronounced “Taves” with a long A sound) as our new interim Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.

     Connie began her work with Donna Neste this week and will take over after Donna’s last day on March 14.

     Connie is retired from a long career working in a variety of affordable housing initiatives at both the federal and local level.   In the words of her resume, her work has focused on:  Low income (affordable) Housing … with significant experience working directly with families living in public housing, with community agencies, and with public housing residents in the development of collaborations and partnerships to meet the evolving needs of public housing residents; always with a consistent emphasis on building self-sufficiency and resident leadership and always in an urban setting with great diversity of race, culture, age, language and abilities.

     Connie is a long-time active member of Holy Nativity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in New Hope.

     The search committee was impressed with her ability to articulate how her Christian faith has informed her life and work.   Connie will join us frequently on Sunday mornings, including this coming Sunday.

     Please seek her out to welcome her and get to know her!

Centering Prayer Group to Meet During Lent

Sue Ellen Zagrabelny, Mount Olive member and an oblate or lay associate at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, WI is hosting a Centering Prayer group this Lent. Centering prayer, a monastic discipline at the monastery, is an emptying of oneself in prayer in order to be accessible to the Spirit. This Centering Prayer Group will be offered at Mount Olive at two different times over a period of 5 weeks:  on Tuesdays, the group will meet after Bible Study, from 1:15 to 1:45 March 4, 11, 18, 25 and April 1.  On Wednesdays, the group will meet before the Lenten Supper at 5:30 to 6:00 on March 12, 9, 19, 26 and April 2. Both sessions will meet in the library.
   
     If you have questions, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or via email to skatzny@yahoo.com

Every Church a Peace Church

     The next regular bimonthly potluck supper meeting will be on Monday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 8400 France Ave. S. in Bloomington (952-831-4746, www.ststephen.net).

  The speaker for this meeting is Pr. Gwin Pratt.  Pratt is the senior pastor at St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Wayzata. Pr. Pratt will lead a discussion entitled, “Why Should Christians Care about Climate Change?”  The issue of global climate change is of immense importance. The health and economic well-being of literally billions of human beings is at stake.

  It is our hope that many skeptics on ALL sides of this matter will come and join in this discussion.

A Note of Thanks

     A heartfelt word of thanks is extended to all the coffee hosts for January and February.

     These folks helped to make our time of coffee and conversa- tion following Sunday liturgies possible – and more enjoyable!

Joy Obadiaru
Connie & John Marty
Marlene & Jim Sorenson
Mary Crippen and family
Walt & Judy Hinck
Audrey, John and Eleanor  
     Crippen
Paul Odlaug
Gail Neilsen
Lora & Allen Dundek
Sandra & Steve Pranschke
William Pratley & Deb
     Rodock
Donn & Bonnie McLellan
the Missions Committee
Carla Manuel

The Complete Rameau Concerti
Sunday, March 23, 2014, 4 pm
Mount Olive Lutheran Church

     Sponsored by Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts, Tami Morse, harpsichord, Marc Levine, violin, and Tulio Rondon, viol da gambe, will present a complete performance of the five Harpsichord Concertos of Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Spring Ahead!

Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday, March 9. Don’t forget to set your clocks accordingly!

Upcoming Reads

For their meeting on March 8, the Book Discussion Group will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster, and for April 12 they will read Elizabeth and Hazel, by David Margolick.

Adult Forum Earl Schwartz Videos

The four-part adult forum series with Earl Schwartz is being recorded on video and will soon be available to view online using a new Mount Olive Lutheran Church private channel on YouTube. Establishing that secure channel, uploading our videos, and making sure that accessibility for the Mount Olive community is easy, is requiring a bit more time than originally thought. The project is well underway and our team of experts hope to have the process working smoothly soon. Once that occurs we will send a link out to the entire congregation so you can begin viewing this first series of videos and many more in the future.

Accent on Worship

Alleluia, farewell

Hallelujah – praise ye the LORD.  Literally, “all of you, praise Yahweh.”  That’s what the Hebrew word Hallelujah means – “all of you praise the one who is named I AM WHO WILL BE”.  It’s such a short word that urges so much.  Latin didn’t pronounce it with or write the initial “h” so we also say, after the Latin, “Alleluia.”  Praise the Lord.

And this is the last Sunday for a long time that we will be able to say it.  For centuries it has been the practice of the Church to forego the singing or saying of Alleluia during the Lenten season.  We put aside the word of praise of almighty God that is so important to our worship, and we focus on our repentance.

It’s so helpful that our last day of Alleluia for a time is the Sunday of Transfiguration.  In some parts of the Western Church, namely among the Roman Catholics, Transfiguration is celebrated during the summer.  But our tradition places it here, the Sunday before Lent, and what is most helpful is that the experience of Jesus on the mountain of Transfiguration and what happened after is imitated by our singing Alleluia Sunday and then putting it aside.

Our Lenten discipline of setting aside Alleluia also reminds us of this truth: it’s often very hard to find a way to praise God in a difficult, painful, confusing, and often hostile world.  The psalmist in exile in Babylon said it this way in Psalm 137:  “On the willows there we hung up our harps, for how could we sing the LORD’s song, Yahweh’s song, in a foreign land?”  That, indeed, is often our question, isn’t it?  The reason we’re so enamored of Transfiguration, of this scene on the mountaintop, is that we can go long stretches of life without such beautiful inspiration, such wonderful confirmation of our faith.  The reason Peter wants to make tents for the three amazing personages is that he wants that moment to last.  And it never does.

Even so, we will leave the mountain, leave our Alleluias, for a time, that we might enter the wilderness of this world with our Lord.  We will set aside our fullest celebration for these forty days as we consider our lives and need for repentance.  We will take the song up again, yes.  We will once more learn to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.  For now though, after Sunday, we will listen for a different song, that the Spirit might continue to shape us into children of God through this journey, this discipline.

In the name of Jesus,

– Joseph

Sunday Readings

 March 2, 2014: Transfiguration of Our Lord
 Exodus 24:12-18
 Psalm 2
2 Peter 1:16-21
 Matthew 17:1-9
_____________________
March 9, 2014: First Sunday in Lent
 Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
 Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
 Matthew 4:1-11

This Week’s Adult Forum 

March 2: “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis,” part 2 of a 4-part series, presented by Scholar-in-Residence, Prof. Earl Schwartz of Hamline University.  

Lent Begins Next Week

     Wednesday, March 5 is Ash Wednesday. Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes will be celebrated at Noon and at 7:00 p.m. that day.

     During the season of Lent, midweek worship will be held on Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist at Noon and Evening Prayer at 7:00 p.m.

     A soup luncheon will follow the Noon liturgies, and a soup supper will precede Evening Prayer, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

     The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper will be held on Tuesday, March 4, from 6 to 6:45 pm.  Everyone is invited for an evening of pancakes, costumes, games and fun. At 6:45 pm we will observe the burning of the palms for the Ash Wednesday ashes.  Bring your dried palms from last year and leave them in the basket in the narthex.  Kids can wear costumes, and adults can dress festively in any way they choose!

     Help is needed from people 6th grade to 12th grade to assist with the pancake races.  If you are able to come and help with this event, please call or email Beth Sawyer at 651-434-0666 or mikebethsawyer78@gmail.com.  If you would like to help decorate the church basement on March 4 during the day, please also call Beth Sawyer to let her know.

Bring In Your Palms

  If you have a palm branch from last year’s Palm Sunday liturgies, please bring it to church. Last year’s palms will be burned following the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday liturgies.

Palm branches may be placed in the large labeled basket in the narthex.

Thursday Evening Bible Study Session Postponed and Rescheduled

The final session in the current Thursday Evening Bible Study was cancelled last week, due to inclement weather. That session has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 6, 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel Lounge, beginning with a light supper.

Lent Procession to be held Sunday, March 9, 4:00 p.m.

     All are welcome to this contemplative service of lessons and hymns for Lent. This service is offered as an opportunity to withdraw from the busyness of life to pray, sing, listen, smell, and to fully enter in to the season of Lent, a time to renew our lives as baptized children of God.

2014 Lenten Devotional Books

     Susan Cherwien has prepared another Lenten devotional booklet for our use during this upcoming season of Lent.

     Copies of Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office. Pick yours up soon! If you need a copy to be mailed to you, just contact the church office.

     Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5.

Centering Prayer Group to begin March 4

     Hello, my name is Sue Ellen Zagrabelny and I am a member of Mount Olive and an oblate or lay associate at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, WI. One of the monastic disciplines practiced at the monastery is centering prayer, an emptying of oneself in prayer in order to be accessible to the Spirit. A Centering Prayer Group will be offered at Mount Olive at two different times over a period of 5 weeks.

     A brief introduction of Centering Prayer will be provided and written material about the discipline will be made available.

     On Tuesday, the group will meet after Bible Study, from 1:15 to 1:45 March 4, 11, 18, 25 and April 1.  On Wednesday, the group will meet before the Lenten Supper at 5:30 to 6:00 on March 12, 9, 19, 26 and April 2. Both sessions will meet in the library.

     If you have questions, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or via email to skatzny@yahoo.com. Please join me in this meaningful discipline of Lent.

A Farewell Celebration

     March 14 will be Donna Neste’s last day as our Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.  Donna has served God and Mount Olive admirably for many decades and it’s time to bid her a fond farewell. We invite members of the congregation to donate to a gift in Donna’s honor. Please make checks payable to Mount Olive Lutheran Church (be sure to designate them “Donna’s Gift”), and bring or mail them to the church office by Friday, March 7. There will be a meal and celebration after the second liturgy on Sunday, March 16.  For questions, contact Carol Austermann or Kathy Thurston.

Friendly Calling Program

     Mount Olive began a Friendly Calling Program last May.  There are currently about 15 people called on a regular basis by trained Friendly Callers to offer companionship and support. We need another caller to complement the current group.  If you are interested in making one or two calls on a regular basis and are willing to attend a brief training session, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or by email to skatzny@yahoo.com.

To the Wearers of Albs

     Please sign your name and list your alb number on the chart provided on the inside of the alb closet door! We need to know which albs receive the most use to assure that we have enough of them in the appropriate sizes. Thanks for your help!

– Carol Austermann

New Event Tables

     Perhaps you have noticed the new event tables in the Chapel Lounge! These were purchased to help provide a place for people to set their refreshments on while they are visiting at coffee hour.

     Thanks to the awesome and generous members who contributed toward the purchase of all 12 tables, we did not need to use money from the budget for them. So many thanks to them for their generosity, and to Gary Pagel, who did the research and found the tables online.

     I am sure these tables will be well-used at coffee hour and in other fellowship activities.

– Gail Nielsen

Bread for the World Workshop

     One of three annual Bread for the World workshops will be held at Mount Olive this year this Sunday March 2, beginning 1:00 p.m.  A light lunch will be served in the Undercroft after the late liturgy for those who plan to stay for the workshop.  If you plan to attend please call Donna Neste at church so that the servers can plan accordingly.  More information about the workshop is written below.  There are also brochures available on the Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board directly below the stairs by Donna’s office.

Sign Up For Coffee!

     The coffee time following each Sunday liturgy is a great time to meet new friends and to enjoy conversation with friends already made. Coffee hosts make this happen and we need folks to sign up on the new sign up board. If you would like to host but want to serve with another person, contact Carla Manuel at 612-521-3952 or see her at coffee most any Sunday morning. Thanks from Carla and the Congregational Care Hospitality Team.

Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Banner

     In the parables, the shepherd finds the sheep and the woman finds the coin, however, the Neighborhood Ministries Committee has been unable to find Mount Olive’s banner for the May Day Parade. Have you seen it? It was last seen at church in its labeled bag, which is about 40 inches long. The banner is 36×120 inches, and has our name and church logo on it.
     This May, Mount Olive’s neighborhood celebrates the 40th anniversary of the May Day Parade. With our banner or without it, we plan to walk, wave flags, cheer, picnic, and have fun at this year’s May Day Parade. Plan now to join us!

Luther College Cathedral Choir Coming to Mount Olive  
   
     The Luther College Cathedral Choir (90 singers!) will  perform a tour concert here at Mount Olive on Saturday evening,  April 5, 7:00 pm.

     We will be looking for hosts to house these young singers,  so watch for detailed information about how you can help.  It is a large number of students to host, but it’s our turn, and I’m sure we can be successful helping them get warm rest and hospitality for that night!

– Cantor Cherwien

Accent on Worship

The Assembly

     In my adult forum a couple of weeks ago, I discussed my experiences in worship in other churches during my sabbatical.  I mentioned that I wanted to get a t-shirt that on the front said “I’m already IN” (Baptized, child of God – full benefactor of the Grace of God, just normally at a different company branch office!).  On the back I wanted it to say “Always have been” (as in, a member of God’s family, unconditionally loved).  Assumptions frequently get made about why someone may be in attendance at church, when there is really one thing we can and should assume, and that is that everyone at any given liturgy has gathered for one purpose:  to worship God and have God speak to them.  In God’s eyes,  it doesn’t matter who is a “member” or not,  who is local or not,  who is there for the first time or not,  God loves all the same,  and we are all there for the same purpose and do the liturgy at hand together.

     The ELCA began using a term when it went about preparing Evangelical Lutheran Worship:  “The Assembly”.

     I think this is the perfect way to say who is at worship.  It shows no distinctions between “inside” and “outside” a membership roster.  It gives no heed to frequency of attendance.  It’s simply, “this is who is here today, and all are here for the same things” and in God’s eyes,  we are all equal.
 
     Outside of the liturgy, all of us are called to be about hospitality, however.  We do need to keep our antennae up – to be aware of the needs each other has.  Someone may indeed be needing a greeting.  Someone may want to be left alone.  Someone may be looking for acceptance – for unconditional love.  Someone may need food.  Someone may need help getting through the liturgy – it is important to remain aware of all of these things.

     What happens outside the liturgy is the proof-in-the-pudding – did we mean what we said and did as an assembly doing the liturgy?  Do we love each other equally?

     Even if it’s someone we struggle to like, we stand beside them and praise God.  God always has loved both of us.  “God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good” (Matt. 5:45).  It’s our calling to turn our attitude around.  Rather than saying, “Glad you’re with us today,” we should be saying, “I’m glad to join YOU in this assembly today.”  That is the honor.  And for the one with whom we might struggle, or as the Gospel this Sunday says, “our enemies” – it is our calling to  a) love them,   b)  be with them in the assembly at worship,  and  c) pray for THEM!!

     It’s because we’re all IN.  Always have been.

– Cantor David Cherwien

Sunday Readings

 February 23, 2014: 7th Sunday after Epiphany

 Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
 Psalm 119:33-40
 I Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 Matthew 5:38-48
_____________________

March 2, 2014: Transfiguration of Our Lord

 Exodus 24:12-18
 Psalm 2
 2 Peter 1:16-21
 Matthew 17:1-9

This Week’s Adult Forum

February 23: “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis,” presented by Scholar-in-Residence, Prof. Earl Schwartz of Hamline University.  

Book Discussion’s Upcoming Reads

For their meeting on March 8, the Book Discussion Group will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster, and for April 12 they will read Elizabeth and Hazel, by David Margolick.

Centering Prayer Group to begin March 4

     Hello, my name is Sue Ellen Zagrabelny and I am a member of Mount Olive and an oblate or lay associate at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, WI. One of the monastic disciplines practiced at the monastery is centering prayer, an emptying of oneself in prayer in order to be accessible to the Spirit. A Centering Prayer Group will be offered at Mount Olive at two different times over a period of 5 weeks.

     A brief introduction of Centering Prayer will be provided and written material about the discipline will be made available.

     On Tuesday, the group will meet after Bible Study, from 1:15 to 1:45 March 4, 11, 18, 25 and April 1.  On Wednesday, the group will meet before the Lenten Supper at 5:30 to 6:00 on March 12, 9, 19, 26 and April 2. Both sessions will meet in the library.

     If you have questions, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or via email to skatzny@yahoo.com. Please join me in this meaningful discipline of Lent.

A Farewell Celebration

March 14 will be Donna Neste’s last day as our Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.  Donna has served God and Mount Olive admirably for many decades and it’s time to bid her a fond farewell. We invite members of the congregation to donate to a gift in Donna’s honor. Please make checks payable to Mount Olive Lutheran Church (be sure to designate them “Donna’s Gift”), and bring or mail them to the church office by Friday, March 7. There will be a meal and celebration after the second liturgy on Sunday, March 16.  For questions, contact Carol Austermann or Kathy Thurston.

Stories for the Journey:  Thursday Evening Bible Study

This Thursday is the final session in the current Thursday evening Bible study series. Pr. Crippen will conclude a series on the parables of Jesus and how they provide us a vision of God’s reign. As with all these Thursday series, they meet in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., beginning with a light supper.

 2014 Lenten Devotional Books

     Susan Cherwien has prepared another Lenten devotional booklet for our use during this upcoming season of Lent.

     Copies of Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office. Pick yours up soon! If you need a copy to be mailed to you, just contact the church office.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5.

Scholar In Residence

Beginning on February 23 and continuing through March 16, Professor Earl Schwartz of Hamline University will make presentations to the Adult Forum as the first Mount Olive Scholar in Residence. He will engage the Forum with presentations he has titled “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis.” Professor Schwartz has led Bible studies for the Adult Forum in the past, and he never fails to excite, inspire, and educate. The Scholar-in-Residence program is made possible by a generous grant from the Mount Olive Foundation. We will all be grateful to the Foundation for this grant and to Professor Schwartz for his contribution to the knowledge and spiritual formation of those who hear him.

100th Birthday Celebration

 This Sunday, February 23, all are invited to join Paul and Ted Odlaug and their families for coffee and cake as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dorothy Odlaug.  Dorothy’s birthday is February 22, President’s Day.
 
     The reception will take place in the Chapel Lounge after the second liturgy.  We know that Dorothy is eagerly looking forward to seeing all of you at this time as she has been unable to be among you now for almost a year.  Please, no gifts.  Cards or just greetings would more than welcome.

Thank you,
Paul & Ted Odlaug

Friendly Calling Program

     Mount Olive began a Friendly Calling Program last May.  There are currently about 15 people called on a regular basis by trained Friendly Callers to offer companionship and support. We need another caller to complement the current group.  If you are interested in making one or two calls on a regular basis and are willing to attend a brief training session, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or by email to skatzny@yahoo.com.

Gift Giving

     The Board of Directors of Mount Olive Lutheran Church Foundation soon will meet to recommend the designation of its annual gift to the congregation.  It appears that this gift again will break another record, allowing more to be done in and for our church.

     The Foundation Board actively solicits gift designation suggestions from the Pastor, Cantor, Director of Neighborhood Ministries, and every member of the Vestry.  Individual congregation members also can be part of this process.  If you know of a worthy project or need at Mount Olive, please speak with the Vestry member whose program area applies to your suggestion.  He or she will share your recommendation with the Foundation board for consideration.

     Since its 1972 inception, the Mount Olive Foundation has distributed over $300,000 to benefit our church.  It is our privilege and joy to further Mount Olive’s meaningful mission, now and far into the future.

– Keith Bartz, President

To the Wearers of Albs

     Please sign your name and list your alb number on the chart provided on the inside of the alb closet door! We need to know which albs receive the most use to assure that we have enough of them in the appropriate sizes. Thanks for your help!

– Carol Austermann

Sign Up For Coffee!

The coffee time following each Sunday liturgy is a great time to meet new friends and to enjoy conversation with friends already made. Coffee hosts make this happen and we need folks to sign up on the new sign up board. If you would like to host but want to serve with another person, contact Carla Manuel at 612-521-3952 or see her at coffee most any Sunday morning. Thanks from Carla and the Congregational Care Hospitality Team.

Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Banner

     In the parables, the shepherd finds the sheep and the woman finds the coin, however, the Neighborhood Ministries Committee has been unable to find Mount Olive’s banner for the May Day Parade. Have you seen it? It was last seen at church in its labeled bag, which is about 40 inches long. The banner is 36×120 inches, and has our name and church logo on it.

     This May, Mount Olive’s neighborhood celebrates the 40th anniversary of the May Day Parade. With our banner or without it, we plan to walk, wave flags, cheer, picnic, and have fun at this year’s May Day Parade. Plan now to join us!
   

From the Church Library

Stop in to our main library soon to see the book and bulletin board displays regarding Black American History Month, observed annually in February.  The bulletin board near the check-out desk provides a chronology of black history and people from the early days of slave trade through the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which abolished slavery) and was adopted by the 38th Congress in 1865.  The books on display include:

• George Washington Carver (The man who overcame), by Lawrence Elliott
• My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr., by Coretta Scott King
• Handyman of the Lord (The life and ministry of The Rev. Holmes Borders), by James W. English
• Cecil E. Newman, Newspaper Publisher, by L.E.Leipold
• The Emancipation of Robert Sadler, by Robert Sadler and Marie Chapian
• Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Straight From the Heart, by Roger D. Hatch and Frank E. Watkins, editors
• Just Mahalia, Baby (The Mahalia Jackson Story), by Laurraine Goreau
• I Touched a Sparrow — Ethel Waters, by Twila Knaack
• Black, White and Gray (21 points of view on the Race Question), edited by Bradford Daniel
• The American Presidents (Biographies of the Chief Executives, from George Washington through Barack Obama), by David Whitney (Rev. and Updated 11th edition)

 A new bookmark available in our library, to take for free, has these suggestions for “What Good Readers Do” such as:
        Good Readers have a purpose for reading,
        Good Readers think about what they already know,
        Good Readers make sure they understand what they read,
        Good Readers look at pictures also when possible,
        Good Readers predict what will happen next
        Good Readers form pictures in their mind, and
        Good Readers practice that trait often!

– Leanna Kloempken

Bread for the World Workshop Coming to Mount Olive in March

One of three annual Bread for the World workshops will be held at Mount Olive this year on Sunday March 2, beginning 1:00 p.m.  A light lunch will be served in the Undercroft after the late liturgy for those who plan to stay for the workshop.  If you plan to attend please call Donna Neste at church so that the servers can plan accordingly.  More information about the workshop is written below.  There are also brochures available on the Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board directly below the stairs by Donna’s office.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

     The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper will be held on Tuesday, March 4, from 6 to 6:45 pm.  Everyone is invited for an evening of pancakes, costumes, games and fun. At 6:45 pm we will observe the burning of the palms for the Ash Wednesday ashes.  Bring your dried palms from last year and leave them in the basket in the narthex.  Kids can wear costumes, and adults can dress festively in any way they choose!

     Help is needed from people 6th grade to 12th grade to assist with the pancake races.  If you are able to come and help with this event, please call or email Beth Sawyer at 651-434-0666 or mikebethsawyer78@gmail.com.  If you would like to help decorate the church basement on March 4 during the day, please also call Beth Sawyer to let her know.

Accent on Worship
Pastor Joseph Crippen

Seeing Truly

Monday, over the lunch hour at the Midtown DMV, I bought the license plate tabs for the car Martha drives, but we own.  Her tabs expired in January.  It is February.  The tenth of that month.  I walked over to Midtown Market with some trepidation, knowing that I was in violation of the law, suspecting that the people at the DMV would likely be a little harried, and intent on being as pleasant as I could be that I might avoid a scolding.

Now, my mother, of blessed memory, would doubtless say with irony, “It’s too bad that the DMV sent the renewal form in February so that you had to be late getting these.”  Of course, the truth is otherwise.  The renewal notice has been on my desk at home for some weeks now, and I’ve been “meaning” to get to it.  The point is, one of our vehicles was in violation of state law, and I am the only one responsible for that violation.  I knew that accounting must be made.

This month in our Sunday liturgies, we might carry some of the same trepidation into our hearing of the Gospel readings.  Jesus is in full Sermon-on-the-Mount preaching, and he’s saying hard things about how we live, how we think of others, how we show ourselves in the world.

There is no room for us to wiggle, either.  As with my tabs, we know that these standards he sets – hatred of others is like killing, thinking of sins is like doing them, no law of God is to be  set aside –we know that we regularly do not meet them with our lives.

     What makes everything different for us is that it is our Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, whose love for us is profoundly greater than we ever could have imagined, in whose death and resurrection we live and hope, it is our Lord Jesus who is saying these things.  This gives us two reasons not to fear.  First, we rest wholly in the forgiveness and grace of God the Son of God reveals to us.  We don’t need to come in with trepidation.  Second, Jesus isn’t trying to make things harder for us, he’s simply telling the truth about our lives and showing us the way of living that is life in God’s kingdom.

     It is that second one in which we want to live for awhile, pondering, thinking.  Just as I know that our car needs up-to-date licensing, regardless of whether or not I take care of it, regardless of whether or not I want to take care of it, we also know that our lives are best lived fully as God intended and designed, regardless of whether or not we do it, regardless of whether or not we want to do it.  These words in the Sermon on the Mount, were we to live them fully, would create a world of beauty and grace, of life, not death.  They are the gift of God to us, were we to live them fully, because they show a life and a world as God made them to be.

     There’s no reason for us to fear Jesus this month, but let’s at least try to see that he’s only telling the truth about our lives, and how we live them.  Denying one is outside the law when the opposite is true is just foolish.  Rather, we could try listening to Jesus, accepting the truth of our situation, seeking his grace and help to live as he is inviting, even while we ask forgiveness for our shortcomings.  The path of wisdom lies in seeing the truth our Lord reveals and moving toward that truth, not denying it.
In the name of Jesus,
 
Joseph

Sunday Readings

February 16, 2014: 6th Sunday after Epiphany
 Deuteronomy 30:15-20
 Psalm 119:1-8
I Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37
_____________________

February 23, 2014: 7th Sunday after Epiphany
 Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
 Psalm 119:33-40
I Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
 Matthew 5:38-48

This Week’s Adult Forum 
February 16:  “The Lament Psalms in Prayer and Devotional Life,” presented by Vicar Emily Beckering.
 

A Farewell Celebration

March 14 will be Donna Neste’s last day as our Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.  Donna has served God and Mount Olive admirably for many decades and it’s time to bid her a fond farewell. We invite members of the congregation to donate to a gift in Donna’s honor. Please make checks payable to Mount Olive Lutheran Church (be sure to designate them “Donna’s Gift”), and bring or mail them to the church office by Friday, March 7. There will be a meal and celebration after the second liturgy on Sunday, March 16.  For questions, contact Carol Austermann or Kathy Thurston.

Taste of Mardi Gras Thank You!

     Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of “Taste of Mardi Gras: A Celebration for Lutheran Volunteer Corps.”  Thank you to all the people who cooked, decorated, invited guests, and enjoyed themselves. It was a fun time.

     Our partners from Lutheran Volunteer Corps and guests from Luther Seminary enjoyed themselves. We learned more about LVC and gave their good work a boost financially.  Remaining food was offered to the Lutheran Volunteer Corps members and served at Our Saviour’s Shelter during the evening meal.
     We’ll have more details about the Taste of Mardi Gras and our contribution to Lutheran Volunteer Corps in a forthcoming Olive Branch.  Stay tuned.    

     (Remember: If you prepared and brought a dish, please remember to pick up your personal pots, pans and serving  dishes from downstairs.)

Scholar In Residence

Beginning on February 23 and continuing through March 16, Professor Earl Schwartz of Hamline University will make presentations to the Adult Forum as the first Mount Olive Scholar in Residence. He will engage the Forum with presentations he has titled “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis.” Professor Schwartz has led Bible studies for the Adult Forum in the past, and he never fails to excite, inspire, and educate. The Scholar-in-Residence program is made possible by a generous grant from the Mount Olive Foundation. We will all be grateful to the Foundation for this grant and to Professor Schwartz for his contribution to the knowledge and spiritual formation of those who hear him.

100th Birthday Celebration

 On Sunday, February 23, all are invited to join Paul and Ted Odlaug and their families for coffee and cake as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dorothy Odlaug.  Dorothy’s birthday is February 22, President’s Day.
     The reception will take place in the Chapel Lounge after the second liturgy.  We know that Dorothy is eagerly looking forward to seeing all of you at this time as she has been unable to be among you now for almost a year.  Please, no gifts.  Cards or just greetings would more than welcome.

Thank you,
Paul & Ted Odlaug

2014 Lenten Devotional Books

     Susan Cherwien has prepared another Lenten devotional booklet for our use during this upcoming season of Lent.

     Copies of Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office. Pick yours up soon! If you need a copy to be mailed to you, just contact the church office.
     Lent begins March 5.

Gift Giving

     The Board of Directors of Mount Olive Lutheran Church Foundation soon will meet to recommend the designation of its annual gift to the congregation.  It appears that this gift again will break another record, allowing more to be done in and for our congregation.

     The Foundation Board actively solicits gift designation suggestions from the Pastor, Cantor, Director of Neighborhood Ministries, and every member of the Vestry.  Individual congregation members also can be part of this process.  If you know of a worthy project or need at Mount Olive, please speak with the Vestry member whose program area applies to your suggestion.  He or she will share your recommendation with the Foundation board for consideration.

     Since its 1972 inception, the Mount Olive Foundation has distributed over $300,000 to benefit our church.  It is our privilege and joy to further Mount Olive’s meaningful mission, now and far into the future.

– Keith Bartz, President

Stories for the Journey:  Thursday Evening Bible Study

The Thursday evening Bible study meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. continues this week.  Pr. Crippen is leading a series on the parables of Jesus and how they provide us a vision of God’s reign. As with all these Thursday series, there will be a light supper when we begin. The series runs through February 20.

Attention Worship Assistants

     The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2014 (April – June) will be published at the beginning of March. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 14. Please send your requests to me at peggyrf70@gmail.com.

-Peggy Hoeft

Book Discussion Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on March 8, the Book Discussion Group will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster, and for April 12 they will read Elizabeth and Hazel, by David Margolick.

Bread for the World Workshop Coming to Mount Olive in March

One of three annual Bread for the World workshops will be held at Mount Olive this year on Sunday March 2, beginning 1:00 p.m.  A light lunch will be served in the Undercroft after the late liturgy for those who plan to stay for the workshop.  If you plan to attend please call Donna Neste at church so that the servers can plan accordingly.  More information about the workshop is written below.  There are also brochures available on the Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board directly below the stairs by Donna’s office.

Bread for the World Workshop

  “Hunger-No More!! Hunger-Know More!!” is the title of the series of Bread for the World metro area workshops this year. They start with an abbreviated workshop from 7 to 9 pm on Monday, February 24, at the Eastlund Room of Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive in Arden Hills. Amelia Kegan of the Washington, DC, Bread for the World National Staff will be the keynote speaker on Saturday, March 1, from 9-Noon at Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville (southwest corner of Fairview Avenue and County Rd. B), and on Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at Mount Olive Lutheran on 31st and Chicago in Mpls. She will talk about hunger globally and in our own country. Anyone concerned about hunger and about learning effective methods of response will benefit.  Registration is 15 minutes prior to the start. A freewill offering will be received.  No pre-registration required.

National Lutheran Choir to Host City-Wide Hymn Festival

On Sunday, February 23, at 4 p.m., the National Lutheran Choir will join forces with hundreds of Twin Cities’ church choir members for a City-Wide Hymn Festival to be held at Central Lutheran Church (333 South 12th St., Mpls.). Mark Sedio, Cantor at Central Lutheran, will conduct the massed choir. David Cherwien and the NLC will lead and perform.

Tickets for this event are $25/adults; $23/Seniors; and $20/Students, and can be obtained by calling the NLC office at 612-722-2301 or by visiting them on the web: www.nlca.com.

Accent on Worship

Salt and Light

     You are the light of the world.

This is what we will hear from our Lord this Sunday.
We do not hear: “You might be the light” or “If you ___(fill in the blank)____, then you are the light” or “You will someday in the future be the light,” but “You are the light.” Here. Now. Today.

     You are the light of the world and you are the salt of the earth because the Word of God makes it so. As Jesus speaks this to us, we are made into the salt and the light. This being made into the salt and the light of the world is a gift.

     The gift is a call.

     Neither light nor salt exist for themselves, but for very specific purposes. Salt disinfects, heals, purifies, preserves, and adds flavor. Light shines, not in order to be seen, but to let things be seen as they are. This is the very nature of salt and light. We are made the light and salt of the world, not for ourselves, but for the sake of a dark and hungry world.

     Jesus says, “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.” In the same way, none of us, in a power outage would turn on a flashlight just to put it back into the drawer or box from whence it came. Neither would we buy salt just to let it sit on the shelf or to throw it straight into the trash. We buy it to make our food tasty! We point the flashlight where we need to see.

What does it look like to be the salt and light? What we will hear from Isaiah on Sunday gives us a pretty clear clue: “to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them…then your light shall break forth like the dawn.”

Neither Isaiah nor Jesus say that we become the light when we do good works but that we who are already the light, shine—that is, do what light does—when we live a life of love, forgiveness, mercy, and
caring for our neighbor. The gift is a call.

You are the light of world, so shine.

 – Vicar Emily Beckering

Sunday Readings

 February 9, 2014: 5th Sunday after Epiphany
 Isaiah 58:1-12
 Psalm 112:1-9
 I Corinthians. 2:1-16
 Matthew 5:13-20
_____________________

February 16, 2014: 6th Sunday after Epiphany
 Deuteronomy 30:15-20
 Psalm 119:1-8
 I Corinthians 3:1-9
 Matthew 5:21-37

This Week’s Adult Forum 

February 9:  As part of the Taste of Mardi Gras celebration, representatives from Lutheran Volunteer Corps will be with us to share information about their work.

Annual “Taste of” Festival This Sunday

“A Taste of Mardi Gras celebrating Lutheran Volunteer Corps” will be held this Sunday, February 9.
The Adult Forum will feature guests from Lutheran Volunteer Corps, sharing the history of LVC, its impact, and its current mission and initiatives.  Guests will include the Regional Director of Lutheran Volunteer Corps, the Development Director, and several current volunteers who are serving in the Twin Cities.  Following the second liturgy, join us for a Mardi Gras celebration with gumbo, jambalaya, slaw, dirty rice, macaroni and cheese, and bread pudding–all prepared by Mount Olive members. Feel free to invite others.
In places like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated over the weeks ahead of “Fat Tuesday.” So let’s kick off Mardi Gras right (and this event will be a good bookend for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, planned with our youth.)

 Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC), is one of the supported missions of Mount Olive through our congregational giving. Each year, the Lutheran Volunteer Corps provides opportunities for young adults and others to complete a year of full-time service work at select nonprofits in cities across the country, including Minneapolis and St. Paul.  During their year of service, participants live in community and have opportunities to reflect on their commitments, their spiritual journeys, and the ways they hope to put their values into practice.

Book Discussion Group Upcoming Reads

For its meeting on February 8, the Book Discussion group will read and discuss The Bell, by Iris Murdoch. For March 8 they will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster.

Neighborhood  Ministries Newsletter

     The final edition of Greetings from Mount Olive Neighborhood Ministries is now printed and will be available this Sunday, Feb. 9.  The ushers will distribute them after each liturgy, and they will also be available for pick up in the church office.

Stories for the Journey:  Thursday Evening Bible Study

The Thursday evening Bible study meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. continues this week.  Pr. Crippen is leading a series on the parables of Jesus and how they provide us a vision of God’s reign. As with all these Thursday series, there will be a light supper when we begin. The series runs through February 20.

Attention Worship Assistants!
Schedule Request Deadline

The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2014 (April – June) will be published at the beginning of March 2014. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 14, 2014. Please e-mail your requests to me at peggyrf70@gmail.com.

-Peggy Hoeft

100th Birthday Celebration

On February 23, all are invited to join Paul and Ted Odlaug and their families for coffee and cake as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dorothy Odlaug.  Dorothy’s birthday is February 22, President’s Day.

     The reception will take place in the Chapel Lounge after the second liturgy.  We know that Dorothy is eagerly looking forward to seeing all of you at this time as she has been able to be among you now for almost a year.  Please, no gifts.  Cards or just greetings would more than welcome.

Thank you,
Paul & Ted Odlaug

A Farewell Celebration

March 14 will be Donna Neste’s last day as our Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.  Donna has served God and Mount Olive admirably for many decades and it’s time to bid her a fond farewell. We invite members of the congregation to donate to a gift in Donna’s honor. Please make checks payable to Mount Olive Lutheran Church (be sure to designate them “Donna’s Gift”), and bring or mail them to the church office by Friday, March 7. There will be a meal and celebration after the second liturgy on Sunday, March 16.  For questions, contact Carol Austermann or Kathy Thurston.

Godly Play Needs and Opportunities

Godly Play, our Sunday morning program with children that takes place between liturgies, is in need of people to assist on Sunday mornings by helping the children “get ready” to enter the Godly Play classroom (where we “talk more quietly and walk more slowly”) and to help with our work time and feast.  Training will be provided.  Please consider whether you might be able to serve in this wonderful ministry. Your service would be needed only once every 4-6 weeks.  For more information, or to express your interest, please contact me at diana.hellerman@gmail.com or at 612 581 5969.

In addition, the pre-school class is looking for Arch Books Bible Stories.  Do you some at home you’d like to donate? Please bring them to church.

It is a pleasure to spend Sunday mornings with the children of Mount Olive. Together with Patsy Holtmeier, Carol Austermann and Marilyn Gebauer, I thank you for this blessing and privilege and I invite you to come and be a part of this.

– Diana Hellerman

Bible Study at Becketwood

Vicar Emily Beckering is offering a second run of the six- week Bible study on human suffering at Becketwood Cooperative on five Tuesday afternoons (January 7 through February 11) from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm. This study examines the Biblical witness to suffering and who God is for us in the midst of that suffering.  All are welcome!

2014 Lenten Devotional Books Now Available

     Susan Cherwien has prepared another Lenten devotional booklet for our use during this upcoming season of Lent.

     Copies of Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office. Pick yours up soon! If you need a copy to be mailed to you, just contact the church office.

     Lent begins March 5.

Synod Voting Members Needed

Mount Olive is entitled to send two lay voting members (one woman and one man), in addition to Pr. Crippen, to attend the 2014 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly May 2-3  at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ramsey.  This is the event that deals with the business of the ELCA on both a local level and beyond.
The theme this year is “Sent Forth By God’s Blessing.”  If you are interested in attending – even if you’ve never done so before – please speak to Pastor Crippen or Lora Dundek (651/645-6636 or lhdundek@usfamily.net).  The congregation pays registration fees for voting members.

National Lutheran Choir to Host City-Wide Hymn Festival

On Sunday February 23, at 4:00 p.m., the National Lutheran Choir will join forces with hundreds of Twin Cities’ church choir members for a City-Wide Hymn Festival to be held at Central Lutheran Church (333 South 12th St., Minneapolis). Mark Sedio, Cantor at Central Lutheran, will conduct the massed choir. David Cherwien and the NLC will perform with the help of the mighty Casavant organ.

Tickets for this event are $25/adults; $23/Seniors; and $20/Students, and can be obtained by calling the NLC office at 612-722-2301. or by visiting them on the web: www.nlca.com.