Luverne United Methodist Church

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

It is a special time; we are entering a new decade…it’s 2020! When I reflect on that it seems almost unbelievable! Memories of past years flash through my mind and I realize I have been in ministry in one way or another for 25 years! I think of all the people I have been blessed with working alongside throughout the years and the special times we’ve shared, the friendships we’ve gained. Just recently, I reminisced about a youth trip way back in 1996 to Chicago and all the great memories of that time! Wow! I am humbled by the awesome responsibility I have been given and the ways God has used this path to create and accomplish many things!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Sunday, not too long ago, several of us stood at the altar of our church and prayed for God’s continued presence and direction. As we now do every Sunday, we ended this time of prayer with a very obvious and dedicated “AMEN!” It was then that some of us looked to
the back of our church and saw the fellowship, laughter, talking and connection that was happening. We felt blessed!

 

For those of you who enjoy research, you may be able to find reports that most church members would describe their church as friendly. But once you go deeper in that research, the guests would typically find those same experiences as unfriendly. In doing some checking into the same kind of research within our church, one would find many of the opposite things to be true. Most guests and new members would tell you that our church is of the warmest.

 

In Acts 2:42-44, God’s Word says,

 

Notice that when Luke wrote this account of the early church, he didn’t write, “See what great buildings they built.” He said, “See how
they love one another.” A recent author wrote that this is “a crucial mark of a world-changing church. A church that makes a difference in
its community is one that truly loves one another.”

 

Rick Warren writes, “when God has a bunch of baby Christians and soon-to-be baby Christians, he looks for the warmest incubator he can
find. God blesses a warm church with new believers because he doesn’t want them in the church of the Frigid-Air. He wants them in a warm environment where they can grow.”

 

In the beginning chapters of Acts, we keep hearing how the early church was unified…and we know the scripture that speaks about God
adding to their numbers everyday. Luke talks about heart and purpose and spirit….unity, and being united in thought throughout those
chapters….It is love and caring and concern that holds relationships together.

 

In spite of the more common concerns that most churches have, (concerns we will certainly take care of, thanks to the presence of God),
one thing we can hold up and embrace, is the relationships and love that is growing in our faith family. More than ever there is a unified
spirit among us…a spirit that strives to work together to bring us even closer to a God who loves us so…..Let’s keep celebrating the ways the Spirit is moving and how God is working among us…..

 

Way to go church….keep it up!

 

                                             Hugs,

                                                       

 

 

A five-year study that culminated a few years ago, revealed that “only 10-25 percent of the families in the church tithe.” If we would try to put a picture to that, we learn that out of the 247 million US citizens who claim Christianity as their religion, only 1.5 million tithes. The math tells us this is less than 1%.

 

We talk continually of what it takes to support our church and not only through money, but also in way of service, presence, prayers and witness, just like it says in our membership promises. But for some reason, we find ourselves cringing when it comes to talking about our finances. It is a real piece of this church and what we are doing.

 

Let’s think about this study and put our own words and pictures to this…We have approximately 175 active members, let’s say they average about $15,000 in an annual income and multiply that by 10%, which is the tithe that God calls us to, our church would receive $262,500 annually for their yearly budget. Say instead, there is an average annual income of $25,000 and they decide they can only give 5%, that gives us $218,750 for our annual budget. While the first amount offers money on top of our budget, both scenarios would support our current ministry, but you see the difference….and though the point is not so much about having enough, its more about the idea of giving back to God, who then works at providing ways for us to share his love in more ways.

 

Besides that, we know that often we fall below tithing. And often, we look at our giving to church differently than what the Bible tells us.

 

What if every member of our church tithed? Would we be able to make an even greater difference in our church, community and/or world if we were to give as God called us to? How many more people could be reached with the gospel if we had the means to share it even more? We already touch many, many people through the things in place now. We have added regularly to our membership for a bit now and this is not the norm in the United Methodist Churches, and we can thank Jesus for bringing people to us. Can you imagine if we were to continue to add to our membership? What a blessing that would be!

 

Many of you have all kinds of stories about how God has provided amazing moments of clarity and presence. This letter is written to try and prompt a thought process and call all of us to a deeper sense of prayer about how we support our church. There is not a doubt that we can raise a great deal more than the numbers provided here. Throughout the next three months, you are going to hear lots about giving and supporting your church, so please be prepared. We will also do several things to try to raise the money we need to meet our budget for the end of the year:

 

 

We are also going to collect notes and letters from people who are a part of this Faith Family in varieties of ways, in order to hear from others how they feel about what happens here. Please read this note and those to come in the manner they are written. Giving and supporting your church is one of the most difficult yet fulfilling and meaningful pieces of church life, and something very important to our ministry to all of God’s people. It is also important to note that many churches are struggling right now.

 

We have made a difference in many lives and we can make a difference in even more people’s lives with your help. And remember, that is more than just dollars and cents! We need you as well! You are sometimes the only Bible some people will meet.

We need to continue building our strength to do so…

isn’t that a great thing!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings everyone,
We are swiftly moving through the summer and it has really been a special season! It has been busy and fun and filled with so many
blessings!

 

We have had baptisms and special events and worship! Our time at The Lake was great! What a beautiful day!

 

 

it! And guys…there were dinosaurs on the ark!

 

Oh, I know, there is still this struggle to let yourself go there, isn’t there? But, I promise you, allow yourself to walk along the decks of The Ark, read the information, take it all in….and it’s hard to not see how we can validate much of the things we know that exist in the Bible…it is so great!

 

We saw displays which reflected just how much detail had to go into the building of this massive boat. It took Noah about 75 years and he not only built the ark, but he also studied animals and their habits, experimented with various ways of storage, ways of caring for animals, how do you bring light into the ark, provide for waste, etc. Noah’s wife and the other wives offered diversity in several ways, including bringing a mixture of DNA to the world following the flood.

 

Which one of our attendees finds very interesting as we all have DNA of the different ethnicities in our bodies, meaning we need not argue about racism as we are all of the same race…interesting thought, isn’t it. We read details about how science theories vary on the age of the earth, in reference to fossils and the different ways we view the layers….how the Tower of Babel caused us to view each other as different, but yet the same….it really does go on and on…..

 

We didn’t get to spend half the amount of time we could have there.. It was awesome! I will go back there again! And I will get more information in a way we can share some of this with all of you! But the highlight, we continued to bond as a faith family and realize the significance and depth it brings to what we do and who we are! We will continue to plan more events such as these and pray that you will feel lead to join us in this special time together. In fact, we are already at work planning our next gathering!

 

Most importantly, Jesus is our Lord and Savior! And he wants to walk with us in this path of life and help us understand just how much he loves us! I encourage you to talk with those who went along and hear from them the impact that was made on each of them…they all have special things that touched them!

As we continue to move forward and surround ourselves with the Spirit for nourishment and guidance, I pray all of you will come to know more deeply this Savior who strives to walk with you. I also pray you will be touched through the growth and love of our faith family.

 

                         Blessings,

                                                  

Has someone ever asked you how you know there is a God?

 

I love the story of the little boy who was out flying a kite. It was a fine day to go kite-flying, the wind was brisk, and large billowy clouds were blowing across the sky. The kite went up and up until it was entirely hidden by the clouds.

 

“No,” said the little boy, “I can’t see it, but every little while I feel a tug, so I know for sure that it’s there!”

 

Don’t take anyone else’s word for God. Find Him for yourself, and then you too will know by the wonderful, warm tug on your heartstring, that He is there, for sure.

 

What’s important for us to know, not everyone has some of the same knowledge and/or experiences of God as you do! If you look around, sometimes it is really difficult to see God. For me, it has been a common thought for me. Our family has gone through so much over the last 19 months or so and even though I have faith in knowing God is there, I still cry out for God to make himself known. And the best part of all, is that God does make himself known. (Sorry for the pronouns.) Someone might have the perfect words for me at the most awesome time, an obvious and needed answer to prayer makes itself known, a wall comes crashing down in a relationship, a hug is offered, you now what I’m talking about and what those things do to your spirit. I share this because we are all called to be the hands and feet of God.

 

To provide those moments of making God visible in the most appropriate and important moments. And often, we don’t take those moments seriously enough…God is always nudging and encouraging us to step out of our comfort zone and share, uplift and care for each other.

 

In the midst of some of this journey of the last months, someone shared this picture with me…..at a time when I really needed to know that God was present in the midst of all that was happening around us and that it was going to be okay. We don’t always know what okay is going to look like, but seeing God at least gives us peace in knowing he’s close enough to care. In a world that doesn’t offer a lot of hope sometimes, our ability to share God is soooo important…how are you able to share when the need arises?…maybe it’s time to think about that…

 

God’s love,