Sharon Lutheran Church: May 2008 Newsletter

I was honored to have been able to represent Sharon Lutheran at the recent Eastern North Dakota Synod Assembly in Fargo. I’ve done this previously and have found it to be a good experience, usually educational, but never as awe-inspiring and spirit renewing as this gathering was.

Much of what happened was pretty typical. The usual business of the Synod occurred – the State of the Synod address by Shar Gumke, Synod Vice-President, resolutions focusing on, for example, Rural Revitalization in America, and approval of the budget for the upcoming year. However, those “business as usual” activities aren’t what really struck me and stayed with me since returning from the Assembly. So what were those awe-inspiring, faith-renewing events?

Well – first there was Bishop Rick Foss’s sermon about the messiness of life. When he is asked, “Do you have things under control, Rick?” he said he usually answers “Nope – but God does.” Wow! How reassuring for someone like me that feels like my life is rarely under control, but also instructive to once again be reminded of what I already know (but often forget!) – that God is in control. And then there was a sermon by Dr. Rollie Martinson, a professor at Luther Seminary, during which he told the story of the death of his two-year-old son some 40 years ago. His description of his own personal journey through grief brought consolation as I felt reassurance once again that even though that is a journey we all travel at some time in our lives, God is there as we are ministered to by others. A Synod vote to support the ELCA’s “Book of Faith” Initiative that invites us all to begin a regular practice of Bible study and prayer demonstrated our commitment to grow in the Spirit. Pastor David was named Synod Advocate for this initiative and our Parish Planning Council voted last week for us to become a “Book of Faith” parish. We will be hearing more about this.

A hi-light for me, and I suspect most attendees, was the election of a new bishop. This was a process that began with eight candidates who had been nominated at conference conventions around our Synod. The election process went from eight nominees, to seven, to three, to two and finally a new bishop was elected – Rev. Bill Rindy. Pastor Rindy currently serves at First Lutheran Church in Fargo. Between each ballot, the remaining nominees responded to questions focusing on a variety of topics such as their own faith journey, their style of leadership, or goals they would have for the Eastern North Dakota Synod. Prior to each paper ballot, after the remaining nominees had answered questions, there was a quiet time. A time of discernment...a time to reflect on who each of us felt could best lead the Synod in the next six years, a time to pray to God asking for wisdom as we voted, and a time to listen to God. This quiet time was followed by the assembly singing a pensive song prior to the actual casting of the ballot. Did this process of taking time to discern God’s wisdom make a difference in the outcome of the election? I believe it did. We were blessed as an assembly with eight excellent, highly qualified canddates, but one person had to be elected. By being provided the opportunity to pause, reflect, and listen for God, I believe we, the delelgates, were able to vote in a Spirit-inspired manner that has resulted in an excellent new spiritual leader for our Synod.

As I have continued to reflect about the Assembly since returning home, I keeping trying to pause more often, be still, and discern what God is saying to me. And Bishop Foss’s words of confidence that he knows “things aren’t under control” but that it’s OK keep rattling in head. But perhaps most of all, I feel great confidence that our Synod has a humble, faith-filled, theologically sound, committed new Bishop whom I trust will serve God and God’s people ably. But as he said when elected, he believes he is not fully qualified, but if we all work together, and with God’s help, he is confident great things can happen.

Last year, during the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, delegates from all over the United States voted to adopt the Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible initiative. Last month, in Fargo, at the Eastern North Dakota Synod Assembly, the people of this synod voted in favor of becoming a Book of Faith synod. Later in April, our Parish Planning Council voted in favor of becoming a Book of Faith congregation.

So what exactly does it mean to be a Book of Faith congregation? Below is an overview of the Book of Faith initiative taken from the Book of Faith web site. (www.elca.org/bookoffaith)

The Book of Faith is an initiative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Book of Faith initiative invites the whole church to become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of Scripture, in order that we might live into our calling as a people renewed, enlivened, empowered, and sent by the Word.

The Bible is the written Word of God that creates and nurtures faith through the work of the Holy Spirit and points us to Christ, the incarnate Word and center of our faith. The Bible invites us into a relationship with God, making demands on our lives and promising us life in Christ. The Bible tells the stories of people living their faith over the centuries and, through its demands and promises, forms us as a people of faith.

The language of Scripture is our first language of faith

The Bible teaches us about God, about the world, and about ourselves. We become renewed, enlivened, and empowered as the language of Scripture forms our hearts, our minds, our community conversation, and our commitments.

We have a calling as the people of God

We are renewed, enlivened, and empowered by the Word

As we live into our calling as people who are formed by Scripture, we become renewed in our faith, enlivened through the Spirit, and empowered through the cross of Christ to serve God and neighbor.

The first year of the Book of Faith initiative centers on inviting everyone to join the conversation, to make a commitment, and to become part of the initiative.

I am both humbled and honored to let you know that I have been asked to serve as our Synod Advocate in this initiative and have accepted. This means that I will serve as the synodical point person, a link between churchwide Book of Faith staff and our synod with all of its congregations and organizations. It will mean encouraging everyone to commit to the initiative moving toward the primary goal of 75% participation of our congregations and organizations. It will also mean planning and coordinating for teacher training events in 2009 to equip pastors and lay people to teach and lead Bible studies. I am delighted that the ELCA, our synod and this congregation have decided to make a deeper engagement with the Bible a renewed priority and I look forward to traveling with all of you on this journey as we explore what it means for Sharon Lutheran to be a Book of Faith congregation.

I hope you have had an opportunity to read the Quarterly Financial Report from our Finance Committee in this newsletter. In fact, if you have not read it yet, I ask you now to please stop reading this and come back and continue once you have read the Finance Committee’s report.

First let me begin by saying what a gift this committee has been to the life and ministry of this place. The men and women serving on the Finance Committee care deeply about the mission of this congregation and have leveraged their gifts of business experience and financial know-how toward the goal of keeping this place not only spiritually healthy, but fiscally healthy as well. I believe their vigilant oversight of Sharon’s financial situation is one of the factor’s that will prevent us from repeating history and reliving the crisis conditions we experienced a little over a year ago.

However, as I said, the work of the Finance Committee is only one factor. Another factor in this equation rests on the commitment of all of you to continue your support of the mission and ministry of this congregation. Your overall generous response to our Fulfilling the Dream capital campaign lets me know that you believe that God has called us to do powerful ministry in this community and that you want to be a part of it. Keep in mind that the $857,000 pledged toward the Fulfilling the Dream capital campaign will come in over a three-year period, are earmarked for projects and goals that go above and beyond the annual budget, and cannot be used to cover deficits in general fund revenue. Without the ongoing, week in/week out, financial support of the life of Sharon Lutheran, the goals accomplished by the capital campaign will lose their impact.

You will notice that I did NOT include careful attention to spending by our leaders – pastors, staff, board members, etc. – as one of those factors that will keep us in a place of financial health. This is not because I do not believe that fiscal responsibility by our leaders is important, far from it. No, my reason for this is simple; our leaders have already done and are continuing to do everything we have asked them to do with regard to careful spending. In fact, over the last couple of years, out of financial necessity, we have, in effect, asked them to seriously hinder their own efforts and desires to truly fulfill the mission we believe God has called us to. Words like frivolous, frills, extravagant, etc. have no place in the vocabulary of Sharon Lutheran with regard to the way our leaders have been utilizing the resources provided them.

I long to see a time, and I hope it is sooner than later, when each of us can truly embrace the reality of God’s generosity and abundance. This is the reality we are called to live in, to thrive and grow in, and to do ministry in. Given the Finance Committee’s report, it is clear that we are not quite there yet.

This open letter is for everyone here at Sharon, regardless of where you think you land on the spectrum of commitment and support. If you are already doing all you can to support the mission and ministry of Sharon Lutheran, thank you. If, because of your current situation, you have found yourself needing to cut back on your financial support of Sharon Lutheran, thank you for everything you have done and may we be for you a place of comfort and renewal through difficult times. If you have not yet fully embraced your understanding of yourself as a steward of God’s abundant gifts, may Sharon be a place where you might grow in faith and wisdom and courage to live out your vocation as one of God’s beloved children. Whatever your situation, please keep this congregation in your prayers, asking that God’s will be done in all things, trusting in the promise of Jesus Christ that, “If in my name, you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

Summer Worship Schedule begins May 25th! Sunday Worship: 9:00 a.m. Traditional, 9:00 & 10:30 a.m. Contemporary Service. Wednesday Worshp: 6:15 p.m.

The financial report for the first quarter of 2008 has prompted some concerns from the Finance Commit-
tee. In developing the income and expense budgets for 2008, Sharon Lutheran included a modest cost of living salary increase and a corresponding modest increase in giving. The results of the first quarter of 2008 show that we haven’t experienced the increase in giving that we had hoped.

The results show Sharon Lutheran is approximately $44,000 short of budgeted income through the first quarter. The result is deficit spending of approximately ($13,800). The deficit number would be larger if
not for less than budgeted expenditures through the first quarter. The Finance Committee was looking to cover our expense budget and experience a surplus of $20,000 for the first quarter. The hope was that the surplus of the first quarter would help carry us through the traditionally lighter giving months of the summer.

We are fortunate that Sharon Lutheran does have cash reserves that were built up through a terrific effort in 2007. The area of concern is that Sharon Lutheran will tax these reserves through the summer even if we hit our budgeted income numbers. The Finance Committee wants to keep a close eye on the next couple of months to ensure that we don’t lose the momentum that we carried through 2007. It is very important to maintain the discipline of supporting the current year expenses with current year revenues.

There is new and easy way to raise money for Sharon Lutheran just by searching the Internet with GoodSearch.com. Last year, search engines generated close to $6 billion in revenue from advertisers. With GoodSearch part of this advertising revenue will now be directed to Sharon.

We hope that not only will you use GoodSearch as your main search engine from here on out, but will also pass this message on to your friends and family. The more people who use this, the more money will go to support our ministry. We recently received our first check for $273.89!

GoodSearch donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities selected by its users. The pennies quickly add up. For example, if 1,000 people searched just twice a day, we would receive an estimated $7,300 per year.

What’s great is that you use GoodSearch just as you would any search engine. Again, it’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get proven, high quality results.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Sharon Lutheran as the charity you want to support. The more people who use this site, the more money we’ll earn so please spread the word!

Sharon Lutheran now offers Electronic Giving from your credit card or debit card. The procedure is similar to Simply Giving and will also be available through our web site. For more information or to get set up, call Joan in the church office, 772-3122.

Thanks to all who participated in the Lenten Project, “This is the House that Sharon Helped Build”. Participation occurred in two ways, donating to the Grand Forks Thrivent Builds/Habitat for Humanity project and volunteering to help build the house in June. $1,376.12 was donated and over 50 members volunteered to help.

The number of New Americans in the Grand Forks area is growing by leaps and bounds. Therefore the needs are growing. The Board of Church in Society is involved in a project to gather some needed items. Items include children’s books for ages 0 to 15 years, supplies for three different kinds of totes (kitchen tote; cleaning supplies and bathroom tote; and linens, bathroom and other household items tote), and specific new and used furniture items. If you are interested in participating in this project, more information can be found on the Board of Church in Society kiosk in the narthex.

The Board of Church in Society is in the midst of making plans for Sharon’s participation in the Habitat for Humanity home that is scheduled to be built between the dates of June 2 and June 16. The three dates that Sharon chose to help are June 2, June 7, and June 13. We will need volunteers to help with the building these days as well as provide food for the volunteers. Letters have been sent out to those who signed up to help. If you are interested in helping in any way please call Karen Axvig.

God gave each of us special gifts to use to further Christ's work. Whether for teaching, preparing and serving food or providing comfort, use them to glorify God and serve others. Please prayerfully consider saying “yes” when invited to volunteer. God gives you a gift, it’s up to you to nurture, strengthen and use it wisely.

Sharon Lutheran Church Rummage Sale & Auction May 16 and May 17. Volunteers are needed for Rummage Sale set-up which begins the week of May 12th and cashiers for the days of the sale as well as take-down after the sale. Sign up sheets are available in the narthex. Your assistance is greatly appreciated! We will accept donations for the sale at Sharon Church beginning May 12. If you need any larger items picked up call the church office. Auction @ NOON on Saturday, May17.

“Grace Matters” is a weekly radio program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Pastor Peter Marty hosts this program which airs on Sunday mornings at 7:00 a.m. on the local radio station KCNN, 1590 AM. The program is sponsored by six local ELCA congregations along with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Sharon Lutheran is one of those sponsoring congregations. The funding for that sponsorship ($50/month for Sharon) will be paid by memorials given in honor of or in memory of someone. A poster near the church office lists the months of the year with blanks for members to indicate they would like to provide the sponsorship for that month. The $50 may be given to Sharon and specified as “Grace Matters”. Each month that memorial will be included in the Sharon newsletter. The sponsorship for the month of February is given by Keith and Ginger Trzynka.

Church in Society: Karen Axvig, Director

Watch for Regugee Resettlement Tote & Book Project

Thrivent Habitat for Humanity building dates for Sharon are June 2, 7 & 13

Watch the bulletin for information about Estate Planning Seminar co-sponsored by Lutheran Social Services and the Board of Stewardship to be held in May.

Church Properties: Stan Vistad, Director

Preparing for Annual Church Rummage Slae & Auction to be held May 16 & 17 at the church.

On May 4th come to worship and check out 144 envelopes

Lay Ministry: Alice Senechal, Director

Reviewing copier & computer needs in office

New welcome/communications cards at worship

Faithfully Fit Forever exercise sessions will conclude on May 8th. Thank you to Sherryl Weisenberger and her assistant, Karen Nygaard. They have been faithful in leading two groups for the past nine months. We are grateful and appreciate their dedication to this part of the Health Ministry program.

Health Trip 2008: 26 members signed up to complete this year’s trip which was designed as an Alaskan Iditarod Trail. This adventure kept our members fit from January through April. The last span was complete April 30.

If you know the address of any of the men and women on our prayer list would you leave a note or send an e-mail to the church office with that information. We are trying to expand our support to these people in some tangible ways. Thank you.

The blessing of summer travel and good weather often takes people away from the church resulting in a ‘summer slump’ in offerings received. As one way to help Sharon through this time, consider participating in Adopt a Bill. Just take an envelope from the display, enclose the amount indicated and return it in the offering or to the church office. Thank you for blessing the ministry of Sharon with your gifts.

We have been hearing some concerns from some of our members who have tried to get their Sharon News online via the Sharon Sharings Google Group. After subscribing and receiving the Calendar, Sharings and Newsletter for a while, some people have told us that they suddenly stopped receiving them or never received any at all.

If this is the case for you, or if you know someone who has had similar complaints, we want you to know that we are looking into the problem.

Our first suggestion is that you simply unsubscribe (by sending an e-mail to SharonSharings- unsubscribe@googlegroups.com) and then subscribe again (by sending an e-mail to SharonSharings- subscribe@googlegroups.com).

If that doesn’t work, here are a couple of possible causes and suggested remedies:

1. One possibility is that your internet service provider, your mail program or the network your computer is connected to could be incompatible with Google Groups. The only suggestion we have for solving this is to consider subscribing on a different computer or network (for instance, your home computer if you currently subscribe at work, or vice versa).

2. If you have not entered the Google Groups address in your address book, your mail program may be putting all of your Sharon News directly into your junk folder. If this is the case, simply enter SharonSharings@googlegroups.com into your computer’s e-mail address book and your computer will no longer mistake Sharon news for junk.

Please let us know if you, or someone you know, are not getting the online news from Sharon you subscribed to. We will continue working toward finding a solution to this problem.

In the meantime, you can still access the entire newsletter by going to Sharon’s web site (www.sharonlutheran.org) and clicking on the button labeled ‘Newsletter’

Staff and leaders of Sharon are responsible stewards of all the resources of this congregation. We appreciate the care and concern that has been shown by many as we are moving to become a stronger and healthier community of faith. The challenges are many, but the blessings are greater. Thank you for your continued support as together we grow in faith, love and obedience to the will of God.

Regular, sustained giving – As people of faith, Scripture teaches us to give regularly, proportionately and first to God (first fruits). Participating in Simply Giving provides that opportunity. Your offering can be made to Sharon Lutheran through an electronic transfer of funds. Weekly, once or twice a month you can offer first to God. It is a wonderful way to grow in consistent faithful offering and it is a blessing to the church in its reliability. Forms are available at the church or contact the office.

The Sacrament of Baptism marks a significant moment in the life of an individual as well as the family and the congregation as God joins us to Christ and declares us to be children of God. Sharon Lutheran Church highlights this sacrament in some very specific ways. One is by offering a “Welcome to Baptism” orientation on the first Sunday of each month at 2:30 PM. This one-hour class, led by a pastor, offers information on the theology and practical aspects of baptism for the family anticipating a baptism.

The second method of highlighting the sacrament is by focusing on baptism the second Sunday and the following Wednesday of each month. Baptisms may be scheduled at any of the services that day, and adequate time and emphasis will be devoted to the sacrament. Occasionally, because of family circumstances, a baptism may be scheduled at another church service during the month, but the encouragement is to plan ahead, in consultation with the pastors and church office, to schedule the baptism celebration on the second Sunday (or following Wednesday) of the month. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the pastors or church office.

To prepare for the celebration of Baptism. These important helps are offered on the first Sunday of each month from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. for those anticipating a baptism (scheduled or not yet scheduled).

“Welcome to Baptism” is designed to answer common questions about baptism including:

"Welcome to Baptism” will be led by Sharon Lutheran pastors. If a baptism in your family has already happened, those involved are also welcome to participate.

04-13-08 TEGAN MALYSSA COLTON; Randy & Laurie Colton

04-13-08 TUCKER LARRY OMDAHL; Brett & Kerry Omdahl

04-13-08 OWEN MICHAEL BERGLUND; Matthew & Lisa Berglund

04-13-08 BROOKE KATHERINE GRZADZIELEWSKI; Tom & Kristi Grzadzielewski

In Memory of: Carolyn Gilmore by Vidette Knain; Naomo Cutler by Nels & LaVera Strande; Gladys Loyland by Karin Walton