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.

Accent on Worship

In the Gospel reading for the Presentation of Our Lord, Mary and Joseph go to the temple in Jerusalem in order to present Jesus to the Lord as their first born son.

Though all the characters in this story are quite compelling, like Simeon, who would probably be considered the main character and is the one who gave Mary the bad news about how she is going to suffer, the persons who most capture my imagination in this narrative are the women, Mary and Anna.

What draws a person like Mary to say yes to God?  Truly it was her willingness to serve, but was she also not just a bit flattered that she was chosen for the task, not realizing how hard it was going to be? Remember how excited she was when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth? The Spirit gave her only the vision of the end results. I would like to think that Mary was like many of us who are often excited and flattered into taking on the lead role in a noble venture, (one we feel called by God to do) and in the midst of it regretting our decision more times than we care to admit.  But, in the end we are glad we did it and like Mary, glad we put our trust in God and said yes.  The Gospel tells us how amazed Mary and Joseph were to hear the praise for Jesus and the prophecies of his greatness.  The mother in Mary would dwell on those things rather than on her own suffering.

Anna is the other fascinating person in this Gospel story.  I am assuming that, like most women of her time, she was a teenager when she married.  Therefore, she would have been in her early twenties when she entered the temple as a widow and never left.  I feel that Luke mentions her father and her tribe in order to make a statement about her ability to make such a decision of her own free will.  She was not a widow who went to the temple in order to be cared for.  She had family.  Therefore, it was her decision and hers alone to take on a life of prayer and fasting.  She was recognized as a prophet, which is pretty remarkable for a woman of her time.  Anna is one of only six women in both Old and New Testaments recognized as a prophet, six among forty eight male prophets, sixteen of whom have their own books in the Bible.  However, only two prophets held the Messiah and she was one of them.

– Donna Neste

Sunday Readings

February 2, 2014: Presentation of Our Lord
Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm 84
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40
_____________________

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

This Week’s Adult Forum 

February 2:  “Postures of Prayer: How our Bodies Shape and Reveal our Faith,” presented by Dwight Penas.

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.

Website Mapping Event

Do you think Mount Olive’s site could be better organized? Here’s a chance for you to offer your two cents. This Sunday, Feb. 2 between liturgies, come to the Undercroft to participate in a website mapping exercise and discussion about Mount Olive’s site. Questions? Contact bethgaede [at] comcast [dot] net.

Annual “Taste of” Festival Set For February 9

Mark your calendar for Sunday, February 9!   This year’s annual celebration will be “A Taste of Mardi Gras celebrating Lutheran Volunteer Corps!”

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.

Questions? Please e-mail Paul Schadewald at pschadew@yahoo.com.

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 second quarter of 2014 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.  Thanks!

-Peggy Hoeft

Neighborhood Ministries Interim Position News

As previously announced, Mount Olive will hire an interim person to be the Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator from the time of Donna’s departure in March until a permanent replacement is hired in the fall.  A position description for this interim position is being finalized and will be ready for distribution next week.  If you are interested in the position or know of someone who would be interested, please contact the church office ASAP.   Cha will take names and contact information, including email if possible, and then send out the position details next week. This is work that would be eligible for job-sharing.  For any questions, contact Lisa Nordeen.

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!

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.

A Good Time – A Great Cause

A very good time was had by all the guests who came to the wedding shower for Cathy Bosworth and Marty Hamlin, held at the home of Tom Olson and Maury Anderson on January 19.  Cathy and Marty were married at Mount Olive this past Saturday, January 25.

Their wedding shower was a tremendous blessing for the Diaper Depot! Instead of gifts, Cathy and Marty requested diapers!  On Tuesday morning, the day after the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, thousands of diapers representing hundreds of dollars were waiting to be unpacked and put on the shelves of the Diaper Depot.

Thank you to all the guests who celebrated the union of Cathy and Marty in such a generous way!

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.

Accent on Worship

The people who walk in darkness…

     The first reading for this Sunday’s lectionary took me to a topic which was quite prominent both at our Conference on Liturgy January 11, and the workshop I led this past weekend for the American Guild of Organists in Tucson, Arizona.  
     Here in Minneapolis, the topic was the psalter – and the issue of “memory” came up often.  Rather than change translations we use too often, we need to recognize the value of memorizing the psalms so that we have these songs when we need them.  Staying with the same translations aids this process.

     The topic this past weekend in Arizona was the “future of the church.”  They had many more in attendance than they expected.  This is because folks are worried about the future of the church.  (Thank goodness it wasn’t only one age demographic present).  One thing was clear there: people who had been deeply a part of the church are feeling pushed out!  Memory played a huge part of that discussion as well, perhaps in a slightly different way.

     Sunday’s reading from Isaiah (Is. 9:1-4) took me there again because I thought of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s.  I can’t imagine a darkness as extreme as this.  People appear to become bodies void of a soul.  Yet I’ve heard story after story about when hymns are sung to an Alzheimer’s patient,  they perk up,  and perhaps even sing along.  Don Saliers (our main speaker at the Conference on Liturgy this year) thought song-memory, including psalms, is one of the last things the mind loses. It can perhaps be through hymns and psalms (another form of song) that we can remember Christ as our light, even in this darkness.

     This can be instructive to us in a number of ways.  We can/should perhaps work harder at memorizing what we can while we can, and scrutinize that which we do commit to memory.  That is why I don’t encourage jumping from translation to translation (even if a newer one is good!) unless we’re confident the new one will be around long enough for us to go through the work of learning its new version. “Praise to the Lord” is printed with two translations:  ELW 858 (the former) and 859 (a new inclusive language version).  We sing 858 to nurture that as memory, because we should know that 859 is going to stick around before going through the work of revising our memory.  

     This is not to say that inclusive language is not important. There is an imbalance in our hymnic imagery of God.  We have plenty of God/Father and God/King hymns – we need other images represented in scripture which are equally helpful to create a better balance.  

     Memory is something we need to take seriously.  When the church – either churchwide or local congregation – denies its memory, its past, its journey along with the contributions of each era and place,  it becomes a church of Alzheimer’s.  A body without soul.

     It is important to “remember the future” (as Susan put it in hymn 548, Rise, O Church).  We need to keep the future connected – keep its “membership”; it’s connection to its past.  We are a reforming church, and reforming children of God through baptism, not something without a past in our path, not something we’ve completely reinvented from scratch.  And as individual souls of God, we need to remember from whom we get light – in spite of darknesses.  It turns out darkness is not something to fear.  Let the songs help us remember!

– Cantor David Cherwien

This Week in Adult Education

January 26: Cantor Cherwien will offer a report on his recent sabbatical

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. 

Bible Study at Becketwood

     Vicar Emily Beckering will offer a second run of the six- week Bible study on human suffering at Becketwood Cooperative on five Tuesday afternoons (January 7 through February 4) 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. The meeting room at Becketwood changes each week, so announcements will be made at the study regarding the location of the following week. All are welcome!

Wedding Invitation

     Because you welcomed us, celebrated with us, loved and encouraged us, we, Marty Hamlin and Cathy Bosworth, invite you to join us as we exchange our marriage vows. 

     The service will take place here at Mount Olive this Saturday, January 25, at 3:00 p.m. A reception follows immediately in the Undercroft.  

     Please, no gifts.

Neighborhood Ministry Position News

     As previously announced, Mount Olive will hire an interim person to be the Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator from the time of Donna’s departure in March until a permanent replacement is hired in the fall.  A position description for this interim position is being finalized and will be ready for distribution next week.  If you are interested in the position or know of someone who would be interested, please contact the church office ASAP.   Cha will take names and contact information, including email if possible, and then send out the position details next week. This is work that would be eligible for job-sharing.  For any questions, contact Lisa Nordeen.

2013 Contribution Statements

     Year-end contribution statements for 2013 were mailed to all contributors last week.  If you have not received your statement, please contact the church office and another will be sent or emailed to you.

Book Discussion Group

   For its meeting on February 8, the Book Discussion group will read and discuss The Bell, by Iris Murdoch.

Annual “Taste of” Festival to Be Held February 9

     Mark your calendar for Sunday, February 9!  This year’s “Taste of” will take us to New Orleans for a Mardi Gras celebration for Lutheran Volunteer Corps.  In places like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated over the weeks ahead of “Fat Tuesday.” So let’s kick off Mardi Gras right with gumbo, jambalaya, slaw, dirty rice, and other fare.  (And this event will be a good bookend for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, planned with our youth.)

     We will celebrate and learn about the work of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC), 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.

     We will be joined during the adult forum by the Regional Director of LVC, the Development Director, and several current and past volunteers.  Then after the second service, head downstairs for the Mardi Gras meal.  

     The Missions Committee is still looking for people to cook an item and bring it to church for the meal on Sunday, February 9, and we are still looking for help in decorating and setting up the day before “Taste of.”  If you can help, please e-mail Paul Schadewald, at pschadew@yahoo.com

     All are welcome at “Taste of Mardi Gras.”  Bring friends!

Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Festival Worship

     The RIC Team of Reconciling Works-Lutherans Concerned/Twin Cities invites all people to join with members of RIC churches across the metro area for our ninth annual Metro Area Festival worship on Saturday, January 25, 2014, 4:30 p.m. at Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church, 5011 31st Ave S., Minneapolis. The Rev. Jen Nagel 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 along with dozens of RIC worshiping communities.  Please join us in this Word and Sacrament celebration of the welcome we extend to the whole people of God. A light supper will follow the service.  All are welcome!

National Lutheran Choir to Host City-Wide Hymn Festival: “Gather”

     On Sunday February 23, at 4:00 p.m., the singers of 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 S. 12th St., Minneapolis). Mark Sedio, Cantor at Central Lutheran, is set to conduct the mass 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.

A Note of Thanks from TRUST

     Thanks to the following volunteers from Mount Olive who delivered Meals on Wheels for TRUST during the fourth quarter of 2013: Gary Flatgard, Art Halbardier, Elaine Halbardier, Bob Lee, Connie Olson, and Rod Olson.

     All of us at TRUST are grateful for their dedicated service.

Accent on Worship

What’s Next?

     Come Sunday our worship life enters another quiet spell, Sundays with green paraments and no incense, Sundays where we don’t process the Gospel into the middle of the nave for the reading.  It is the season after Epiphany, and it’s a little welcome after a run of festivals which began in November, with only Advent to break it up a little.

     But what will these weeks be like for us when we don’t have feast days to celebrate, when we have a simpler Eucharistic liturgy?  The season of Epiphany is one which focuses on vocation, on the call of disciples, on our call as disciples.  It’s a season which begins at the shore of the Sea of Galilee and ends on the mountain of Jesus’ transfiguration.  We have a long Epiphany this year, since Easter is so late, and that means we’ll also start getting into readings like the summer readings, Gospels which introduce the teaching of Jesus.

     We’re in Matthew’s year, so after the next two weeks of call stories, we move into several weeks of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus will call us to be a light to the world, salt to season the world.  He will challenge us to live by the spirit of God’s law, to follow the commandments to their fullest intent, to the thoughts of our hearts and minds.  Jesus will command us to love our enemies and all who hate us.  In short, we will be learning that this life as a disciple isn’t easy, that it asks a great deal of us.  Alongside Jesus, Isaiah, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus will repeat both our call as children of God and what our lives of faith will look like, doing justice, caring for the poor, obeying God in all things.

     This might seem daunting, but in fact we should be grateful.  Were we only to hear of the call of the disciples and never what the life of the disciple is meant to be in God’s eyes, we’d be in danger of being misled.  We will have ample opportunity to consider the “truth in advertising” that our Lord Jesus provides as we worship during these weeks.  As we consider our call, our vocation, it will be good to hear what that will mean, lest we commit without true willingness to follow through.

     But we also remember this: considering our vocation is the annual work of the Epiphany season, but the Epiphany season begins with, well, Epiphany.  Our call as disciples, our life in Christ envisioned by Christ himself and supported by the prophets, all this begins and is centered on the astonishing Light God has shined into the darkness of our world, all this is grounded in our awareness that in Christ God has come to be with us.  This life to which we are called, challenging as it is, is a life lived in light, not darkness, in love, not hate, and as such is a life lived in God’s grace and presence, where we’re given the power, the ability to become children of God ourselves.  It’s life worth living, challenge or not.  That’s the true grace of these green weeks.

     Oh, and should any be missing our festivals, this year Presentation of Our Lord (Feb. 2) falls on a Sunday, so in the midst of the green we’ll put on the white once again and celebrate.  But let’s pray that the green of this season truly signifies the life in Christ to which we are invited and which we most earnestly hope to see come to pass in our lives.

In Christ,
– Joseph
 

Sunday Readings

January 19, 2014 – Second Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 49;1-7 + Psalm 40:1-11
I Corinthians 1:1-9 + John 1:29-42

January 26, 2014 – Third Sunday after Epiphany
 Isaiah 49:1-7 + Psalm 40:1-11
I Corinthians 1:1-9 + John 1:29-42

Stories for the Journey: Thursday Evening Bible Study Returns January 16

     Starting January 16 and running for six weeks, there will be a Thursday evening Bible study meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Pr. Crippen will lead 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.  If anyone wishes to provide the first week’s meal, please let Pr. Crippen know.

Bible Study at Becketwood

     Vicar Emily will offer a second run of the six- week Bible study on human suffering at Becketwood Cooperative on five Tuesday afternoons (January 7 through February 4) 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. The meeting room at Becketwood changes each week, so announcements will be made at the study regarding the location of the following week. All are welcome!

Wedding Invitation

     Because you welcomed us, celebrated with us, loved and encouraged us, we, Marty Hamlin and Cathy Bosworth, invite you to join us as we exchange our marriage vows.

     The service will take place here at Mount Olive on Saturday, January 25, at 3:00 p.m. A reception follows immediately in the Undercroft.

     Please, no gifts.

Neighborhood Ministry Position News

     As previously announced, Mount Olive will hire an interim person to be the Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator from the time of Donna’s departure in March until a permanent replacement is hired in the fall.  A position description for this interim position is being finalized and will be ready for distribution next week.  If you are interested in the position or know of someone who would be interested, please contact the church office ASAP.   Cha will take names and contact information, including email if possible, and then send out the position details next week. This is work that would be eligible for job-sharing.  For any questions, contact Lisa Nordeen.

2013 Contribution Statements

     Year-end contribution statements for 2013 are being mailed from the church office to all contributors this week.

     If you do not receive your statement, please contact the church office and another will be sent or emailed to you.

Book Discussion Group

   On January 18 (one week late due to Liturgical Conference) the Book Group will discuss Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively, and on February 8, The Bell, by Iris Murdoch.

Church Library News

    For many, a new year provides a new beginning, a new challenge or focus with many assurances that our Lord is there to guide and support us each step along the way.  This means we can live with a sense of spontaneity and tranquility — what a blessing!  However, there are others who do not find a new year to be especially happy or peaceful.  They may be facing a myriad of difficulties, including illness, depression, loneliness, and for those who are long-time caregivers (I remember those days/years well) a very real sense of weariness.  It is for those particularly that our newest display of books in the library was developed but everyone is encouraged to stop in soon to browse.  Included are:

• Anatomy of An Illness (as perceived by the patient), by Norman Cousins
• Make Your Illness Count (a hospital chaplain shows how God’s healing power can be released in your life), by Vernon J. Bittner
• Christian Caregiving: A Way of Life, by Kenneth C. Haugh
• Caregiving for Your Loved Ones, by Mary Vaughn Armstrong
• Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired, by Philip L. Hansen
• Emotions: Can You Trust Them?, by Dr. James Dobson
• Living With Cancer, by Mary Beth Moster
• Journey Through Cancer (My Story of Hope, Healing and God’s Amazing Faithfulness), by Emilie Barnes
• We Lived With Dying, by Margaret Woods Johnson
• Meeting Life’s Challenges, edited by Ted Miller
• Being a Caring Father, edited by Ted Miller

    The closing quote this time is by Rita Dover — “The library is an arena of possibility, opening both a window into the soul and a door onto the world.”
– Leanna Kloempken



Annual “Taste of” Festival to Be Held February 9

     Mark your calendar for Sunday, February 9!  This year’s “Taste of” will take us to New Orleans for a Mardi Gras celebration for Lutheran Volunteer Corps.  In places like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated over the weeks ahead of “Fat Tuesday.” So let’s kick off Mardi Gras right with gumbo, jambalaya, slaw, dirty rice, and other fare.  (And this event will be a good bookend for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, planned with our youth.)

     We will celebrate and learn about the work of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC), 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.

     We will be joined during the adult forum by the Regional Director of LVC, the Development Director, and several current and past volunteers.  Then after the second service, head downstairs for the Mardi Gras meal.

     The Missions Committee is still looking for people to cook an item and bring it to church for the meal on Sunday, February 9, and we are still looking for help in decorating and setting up the day before “Taste of.”  If you can help, please e-mail Paul Schadewald, at pschadew@yahoo.com

     All are welcome at “Taste of Mardi Gras.”  Bring friends!

Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Festival Worship

     The RIC Team of Reconciling Works-Lutherans Concerned/Twin Cities invites all people to join with members of RIC churches across the metro area for our ninth annual Metro Area Festival worship on Saturday, January 25, 2014, 4:30 p.m. at Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church, 5011 31st Ave S., Minneapolis. The  Rev. Jen Nagel 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 along with dozens of RIC worshiping communities.  Please join us in this Word and Sacrament celebration of the welcome we extend to the whole people of God. A light supper will follow the service.

     All are welcome!