Luverne United Methodist Church

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, we have been blessed with some awesome weather to give us a breath of fresh air. I am always thankful for those moments
as Spring approaches and we get a tease of what’s ahead. I still remember the May Day Event when we were watching the snow
pile up in the basement window wells while we celebrated the special day. We ended up with six inches that day!! Thank you,
Lord, that we are hearty Minnesotans and adjust as Mother Nature provides!

 

I think we have all learned some adjusting as it relates to COVID19 as well. For almost a year now, our lives have been at
the will of those in professional positions making decisions fitting of the science they know well. We have the awesome responsibility
to respond to those offering guidelines and directives based on their professional opinions. All of it has created a need to be very
thoughtful with every step we take.

 

Certainly, the need for added prayer has been created and even energized us in many ways. And hopefully, we have all learned the

need for added depth and commitment in our faith lives. I have always loved the verse in Psalm 23 that goes…

 

and I do because it talks about walking through that valley. While we might hear that scripture mainly at a time when we are surrounded by death, it is fitting to note that the scripture speaks to a person walking THROUGH such a time.

 

We might pray to God for an end result, when in reality, God wants to be in the walk, in the through, in the process of that
which we are find ourselves challenged. God doesn’t always want to answer us by granting our request, but often seeks to
know if we hold his hand and TRUST in Him while going through it. And honestly, we do learn more in that part of the walk
then we really do in the results.

Remember, we don’t know what tomorrow might hold, where tomorrow might take us…But if we trust God is with us in the
process, it sure makes a difference! Hold on now…don’t always pray for tomorrow…God wants to be in your life today! Be
blessed by that…deepen your faith!

 

 

 

Dear Friends!
We have been on quite a journey this last year with COVID! It has challenged us, changed us, shook us, scared us, and encouraged us to think about things in many a different way! It has also taught us that we are very much able to adjust and adapt, hasn’t it? Some of us thought that was not possible!

In Colossians, there is scripture (honestly there are several throughout the Bible) which teaches and encourages us by way of building our
relationship with Jesus and deepening our roots in him by growing our faith and walking in his love. (See picture). And it goes to reason that as we deepen our roots in him, our wings are reaching and strong. Which means we have even a greater ability to accomplish mighty things!

Sometimes struggles and challenges help us to contemplate who Jesus is to us, they might help us to step back and evaluate what our faith means to us, and it might even help us to realize that we might have been neglectful of our relationship with Jesus.

We have been searching and talking about some of the promises in the Bible and how they remind us of just how much God loves us and all the things God has made available to us. Many of us have been striving for a stronger foundation. We have been craving another level of peace and even trying to learn more about what it means to simply just surrender. God is always about helping us to transformation!

But, surrender is difficult and it relies completely on the faith you have nurtured. When you have the ability to give it to God, God lifts you up with scripture, like in Isaiah 41:10:

 

 

 

It is remarkable to reflect on our present times, mainly because one would never have thought it possible our world would be enduring in such a way as we are with COVID19. It has changed the way we do life as we know it and has for quite some time. As a pastor who craves human interaction (as I’m sure a great deal of people do), such a time as this has created a whole host of thoughts and dilemmas. As we now enter the Advent Season, those thoughts and dilemmas are magnified as the holiday season is one of togetherness, it is a time of love, a time of family and of faith.

 

We will be stepping aside our path of promises through the Old Testament to talk about the promises brought to us through Jesus
during this special season. It is precisely the promises given to us that remind us we have everything we need to get through a time such as this. In fact, in the Second Book of Peter, he gives us the words to remember this specifically….

 

 “ 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 

 

Are we not challenged in these times to possess many of these attributes, I mean, perseverance is a given…self-control is somewhat
difficult….and if we allow, we can be moved to godliness, which allows
us mutual Affection, which moves us to love.

 

Something which can be totally profound! “He has given us very great and precious promises….” This is how we survive, on the promises of God, given to us through Jesus. “He has given us very great and precious promises….” Which Peter then tells us they help us to participate in the divine nature….which can be interpreted to mean that we can walk hand in hand with our God…we can step aside from what the world offers, even the struggles…we can be filled with Joy, Hope, Peace….Love! The gifts of Advent!

 

So the meat as to what we’re getting at is that for us to navigate this time well, leaning on the promises of Jesus, focusing on the gift of His
life becomes necessary and central to living a life of faith, of developing deep relationships in Christ, which take us to LOVE. We are not only challenged to embrace such attributes, but the struggle of these times almost feed our ability to lean in on them, rely on them.
While we may not understand what is happening, while we may find ourselves full of emotions and questions, we can relate to the people
in our biblical history and take their guidance.

 

As we navigate these times, let us also be thankful for the gifts of these times and their ability to move us to love. Standing on the promises…May God guide us every day!

 

 

 

Greetings dear faith family,
As we continue through this very interesting time, which is challenging us in many ways, we also continue to lean upon our God who has made numerous promises. And though it seems like we turn around and another branch of this time takes our breath away. We continue to pray and hope, using this time as an opportunity to grow in our faith.

We live in this land of promise freely, it is a tremendous gift. And the best part of this gift is that, as we receive it, as we embrace it and as we learn from it, we go deeper in the knowledge that we have a God who loves us so much that he has provided everything we need to survive in the here and now, while also securing eternal life for us.

In our recent services, we have spent time with Noah, learning that trust was essential in the request God made to Noah. We found it interesting that Noah, nor anyone, had ever heard of rain. This made it even more fascinating that Noah followed God’s direction to the letter. God had rendered Noah faithful and worthy to take on the task. Noah, and all of us were given a promise through a rainbow that we would never face death by a flood from God’s hands again.

Abraham came on the scene when he was 75 years old, but we know little about him. God chose him because he believed. He wasn’t perfect, but he agreed to follow God’s direction to leave his home and go for a land God directed…but the most significant piece of this was that Abraham believed. Period. He even got a little testy at one time…we get this don’t we?

 

It’s not easy limiting our social experiences. But despite this, his belief was solid, that’s why God chose him…and he went on to be the father of many nations, filled with promise. And as such as God has made it possible, we, too, are heirs of this promise. The promises of God are many, it is hard to put the words to all that God expected of us, but jumping in and learning…going deeper…embracing the history…taking the time and giving value to all that he left us, makes a tremendous difference not only in our faith, but in our lives.

We might not feel confidence in what our tomorrows hold right now, but in the promises of God, we have more hope than we could ever find anywhere else. Join us on Sundays for a while and learn about some of these promises and what they mean for us.

 

Be blessed dear faith family…

 

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings Dear Faith Family,

 

I would like to share with you from the book…

 

This book of prayer has been an inspiration and a Godsend in many ways, the words touching my spirit especially in ways I needed most. I share with you “The Healing Power of Joy”.

 

 

Say not within your self, “Where is God?” for I am within you, yes, even in your heart, and my hand is upon you. You have looked in vain for Me because you have sought to see me in circumstances and in people and have said, “I cannot find him.”

 

Oh, my child, Look to Me directly, and rest your heart in me. Do so with as little distraction as would be easy to do if you were the only human being in the world and therefore would have no one else to look upon and no one else with whom to converse.

 

Praise Me. This I ask of you in times when it seams indescribably difficult to do so. I ask it of you in love that is stern at this point because I know unequivocally that praise is your only hope for survival.

Distress of soul and grief of heart can only bring on destruction of body. Joy alone is a healer, and you can have it in the darkest hour if you can force your soul to rise to Me in worship and adoration. I have not failed you and you have not failed Me. It is only that you have failed yourself or the disappointment has come on the human plane, not on the divine. Why should you allow any human experience to alter or affect your divine relationship with your Father?

 

Bring me your sorrow, and watch for the sunrise of the resurrection. Yes, truly there comes always a resurrection—a morning when hope is reborn and life finds new beginning. Wait for it as tulip bulbs anticipate the Spring. The rarest blooms are enhanced by the coldness of winter. The snow plays her part in producing Spring’s pageant. But when the blossoms break through, we do not then turn back to thoughts of winter, but instead we look ahead to the full joys of the coming summer.

So you must do also. Your God is your Maker. He is your defender. And He is mighty to save. Yes, he is might to save not only from sin, but He is mighty to save your from despair, from sorrow, from disappointment, from regret, from remorse, from self castigation, and from the hot, blinding tears of rebellion against fateful circumstances. He can save you from yourself, and He loves you when you find it hard to love yourself.

Let his peace flow in you like a river, carrying away all the poison of painful memories, and bringing to you a fresh, clear stream of pure life and restoring thoughts.

This is not the end. Press On. The goal line is out ahead, and you yet may be a winner in the race of life.

 

                              Be Blessed!

                             

 

 

 

 

 

I pray for each and every one of you during this continued time of separation.We are currently trying to discern the best way to move forward and with each step we take, we keep you in mind!  We will have an outdoor service and will use this time to be together and talk!  We haven’t gotten to do this as a faith family very much and I look forward to seeing you and talking about what it’s been like for
you, the things you have learned, and how you might see us move forward. It would be good for us and I think, in a sense, we need it!  We have quite a special space in our backyard and it will be perfect for us to gather!

“The New normal” is getting to be the catch phrase recently and I wonder if anybody has really thought about what “normal” might look like in our future. For me, in the ups and downs of what has been for the last three months, I have discovered that my “new “normal” continues to be my relationship with Jesus and, if anything, it has moved deeper and gained strength. I am grateful for that, which reminds me how I have learned to be more grateful for my own normal and doing that normal with Jesus.

 

I have realized more so than ever that this normal with Jesus allows for consistency and stability, no matter the storm, just as Jesus has
taught us. I pray that each of you, too, have grown closer to Jesus and you have discovered in your own way how important it is to be
close to Jesus, to walk in relationship with Him, striving to make Him your best friend and keeping Him at the CENTER of your lives.

 

If I have learned anything, I have learned that the world around us is not consistent and stable, we will always face something.
Hopefully not ever as serious as the storm of which we are in the middle. But how do we know? Can we be sure? Paul encouraged
us to be IN the world, but not OF the world…very appropriate for our here and now…he goes on to say that we should be transformed
by the renewing of our mind.We renew our mind by being in relationship with Jesus and learning from him and being nourished by Him in doing so.

One of the ways I do this is by reading this wonderful devotional called, “Come Away My Beloved,” and it was given to me by someone very special!The words, on a regular basis, feed me and nourish me. I would like to share one of the paragraphs from this book…

“Behold, I have sent you out alone, but I have gone ahead to
prepare your way; yes, through the darkness to bear a light. I ask
you only to follow Me for I will surely lead you on a safe path,
though dangers lurk on every hand. Yes, I will be your protection. I
will be your comfort. I will be your joy.”
~ Come Away My Beloved

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who would have thought…You know, I have said that and typed that more often than I would have liked to over these last weeks…But it’s

Manny and I and some of our youth just returned from a youth trip in Des Moines when everything began to get very serious, in fact; we were learning about school dismissing for two weeks on Sunday morning when we were getting ready to head home. The kids, of course, were animated and it sat us down to talk about the COVID 19 virus and what it could mean for life as we knew it. But I have to say, we never imagined it would have turned into what has now become the day to day life before us.

When we go away on youth trips such as this, it becomes our habit to take turns praying at appropriate times, giggle at appropriate times,
discuss biblical topics, laugh out loud at appropriate times, share the things we have learned throughout our day, smile and poke fun at
appropriate times, and put our day in motion with the things God expects of us. And oh yeah…the food…very important!

 

And in the midst of these things, as we were discussing some of the things we had learned throughout the day, one of the kids just happened to say something profound…and yes, profound because of its impact… but even more profound because of what is now our day to day life.

 

Obviously, this became our theme for much of what was left of our time and will become something so significant, they just might not get
the depth of that single statement for a long time to come.

Today, we maybe just don’t understand what this is all about, but one day we will. The important part is that we know God has us in the
palms of hands…watching out for us, working out the tomorrows ahead of us…we are called only to trust!

Wow, kids…how cool is that? Thank you for reminding me, that this is all in the hands of God! And someday…well, someday it will all make
sense!

AMEN! Hang in there….we will get through this! God promises!

 

 

We are already approaching March…will it come in like a lion or a lamb. Don’t forget we are now in the Lenten Season and our Wednesdays and Sundays will be full of activities. And hopefully we will be welcoming some great weather along the way. Stay connected to all that happens here with our website, our phone app, bulletins and newsletters.

 

As we continue our series on learning about the administrative work of our church, we will venture a little deeper into the role of those on the Church Council. As we shared last month, the Church Council is made up of Chairpersons from the various committees represented on the Council. It is there that the Chairpersons bring the activity and decisions their committees have been involved in for the last period of time.

 

The Church Council is to be the formal place committees go for final approval for their actions. As an example, the Trustees put in the work of determining the need and best way to move forward with the decision of doing the heating and cooling project, but before they could move forward, the Church Council needed to give its final approval and recommendation.

 

Currently we have Chairs and Representatives from the Trustees, the Staff Pastor Parish Relations, Worship and Music, Membership and Missions, Schwartz Scholarship, Endowment, Memorial Committees. We also have a Website and Technology leader, two young adult representatives and three representatives for the Education area. We have a Lay Member of Annual Conference and a Lay Leader, as well as two members at large.

 

As we move through this series, we will describe all these areas in detail. The Chairpersons of the above committees are in charge of planning meetings and activities specific to their work area, including the dissemination of information. If anyone has any questions about
the work of the chairpersons or specific work areas, please feel free to ask. We will begin to share information about the various committees and their work in the coming months.

 

Hello Everyone,
As part of the new year, we have decided it appropriate to share about how our church works. For the next few months we will be sharing
about the structure of our church. This month we will focus on our Church Council.

Basically, it is the Church Council’s job to coordinate its business of the church in the following ways: its committees, hearing reports,
encouraging direction and supporting recommendations in an effort to keep the church flowing in its vision.

The Church Council:
• Plans and administrates the organizations of the church.
• Empowers the vision and programming of the church
• Meets at least quarterly.
• Sets goals, authorizes actions, determines policy, receives and accepts/rejects motions presented to the council.
• Validates budget, sets financial plans.
• Members present and voting at any duly announced meeting constitutes a quorum.

 

All committees are responsible to the church council; including Reporting, planning, financial approval and final acceptance of recommendations.

 

Below is a demonstration of the basic organization of a local United Methodist Church. The diagram shows which member or committee
is responsible to answer or report progress, concerns or any church based recommendations to.

 

 

I hope that this will shed some light on what it is the Church Council is here for and how it works to keep our faith family growing and working together efficiently to do so.