Accent on Worship
All Saints Sunday
In the adult forum some weeks ago, I recalled a scene from the movie “Places in the Heart” – a story full of terrible things people did to each other in 19th century rural America: murder, prejudice, stealing, and at the same time, grace. It begins with the death of a farmer. The presumed murderer was a black slave who was immediately brutally murdered as well. The movie continues with the farmer’s wife trying to run the farm, with the help of an escaped slave she takes in, neither given respect by society. It was tough.
The ending scene is one that I get chills even thinking about: it’s a Eucharist, where people are passing the bread and wine to each other on trays. Men, women, Black, White, young, older, those who were dead passing to those still alive who had murdered them, folks still alive once again dining with their loved departed partners.
It’s a scene of the fullness and equal nature of souls, a scene of forgiveness, of grace, and of the wide and equal inclusiveness of that love of God.
To me this is a beautiful depiction of the Eucharist, and is a scene that All Saints Sunday especially brings to mind.
All Saints Sunday reminds me that the Holy Meal is one at which we sing and eat with a much larger picture of God’s people. Those who have passed sing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” too, and also eat the bread and wine of our Lord along with those of us still alive “on earth” as we say, still in need of physical sustenance (food and water). “So with all the saints, with the choirs of angels and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy...”
We ... join them!
It reminds us who is really the host of this meal, and reminds us of an extended family as diverse as it can be with time AND space. And it is all-inclusive.
This year we have experienced the death of loved family, friends and colleagues, spouses of friends, parents and grandparents, friends themselves. We grieve, and we gratefully remember. At our house, Susan puts out pictures of friends and family who have died along with votive candles. All week we remember stories from the intersection of our lives with these people.
This Sunday, All Saints Sunday, come early and light a candle, and leave it by the Baptismal font or in the Columbarium in their memory, in thanks for our having intersecting journeys with these people and in thanks for their gifts to us and God. This collage of flickering lights illustrates again that we share in the baptismal promise that death is not the last word. Drops of water are sprinkled on all of us and send that chill of remembrance: “You are mine,” God says, “along with all these others here with me.”
Then we sing and eat with them in the Eucharist.
I look forward to singing and eating with everyone again this Sunday.
- Cantor David Cherwien
Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend!
Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour on Saturday night.
Sunday Readings
November 2, 2014: All Saints Sunday
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
I John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
______________________
November 9, 2014: 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Lect. 32 A
Amos 5:18-24
Psalm 70
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
There will be no Adult Forum
this Sunday, November 2.
All Saints Sunday, November 2
During this Sundays' prelude, as we gather to remember the saints who have gone before us, everyone will be invited to light a candle in memory of loved one.
If you wish to light candles in memory of loved ones, please come to the columbarium in the north transept or to the baptismal font either before or during the prelude. An assistant will be on hand to help you. The candles are lighted and placed in recognition of the eternal life promised to all the baptized in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reformation Commemoration
On Thursday, October 30 (Reformation Day eve), one hundred singers from St. Olaf College will join the Cathedral Choir of the Basilica of St. Mary to lead a service based on the Lutheran Liturgy of Vespers. The combined choir will present a number of anthems which will be interspersed with hymns and psalms and meditations read by author and poet, Susan Palo Cherwien.
This service will take place at 7:30 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, and it is free and open to the public.
Plan to join in this celebration of common faith in an amazing space.
Thanksgiving Day Eucharist
Thursday, November 27, 10:00 a.m.
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on November 8 the Book Discussion Group will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, and for their meeting on December 13, they will read Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
Crafting Project with a Purpose
Strands of Hope is a beading project, done in community education. Each participant follows easy directions to create a necklace from a kit. Each contains everything you need to make a finished necklace to keep for yourself or give away as a heart to heart connection. The beauty of the project is that the necklace you make is meant to be given away. During the beading hour, your hands are working while your heart is connecting to the person to whom you will give the necklace. Some beaders have given it to a person in need of support while going through hard times of illness or grief. Sometimes a necklace is given in celebration! The person and the way you wish to give it away is up to you.
Mount Olive member Connie Marty, along with 2 friends, created this small business from an idea over breakfast seven years ago. The mission is to connect hearts and build hope, hence the name, Strands of Hope. Our faith gives us hope.
The time spent together beading with friends is social and community building. Connie will be available to assist as needed. Please visit her website at www.strandsofhope.com for more information or a look at the necklaces and colors.
You are invited to bring a friend, a neighbor, or relative. Each kit is on sale for only $14, cash or check, to be paid as you arrive. No credit cards. There will also be a basket for donations should you wish to contribute to the fund for extra necklaces to be presented to Mount Olive members who might need one in the future. You will then choose a kit. There are many color combinations to choose from. Connie will give instructions and be there to help us.
We will meet Friday, Nov. 21, 6:30 -8:30 pm in the East Assembly Room at church. Wine, soft drinks and a light snack will be provided. Bring a snack or treat to share.
Since Connie and her colleagues will close down this business at the end of the year, this might be the last chance to participate in a Strands of Hope event. Please RSVP or send questions to Julie Manuel at julie.a.manuel@gmail.com so that we can have enough kits and refreshments. We hope to see you there!
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include: Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien.
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm
Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Gloves and Such
IT'S COMING!
Cold weather is on its way to Minnesota, and you can help keep precious hands and ears and bodies warm. Please bring new or gently used (and clean) hats, gloves, and scarves to the collection box outside the upstairs kitchen. There is also a great need for winter coats before it gets unbearable. The nearest Coats for Kids drop-off is at: Salvation Army, 1604 East Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55407 (612-721-1513) or any Kowalski's or Cub Food Store.
You may also bring coats to church and drop them off in the corner near the grocery cart for food donations. Thank you.
Neighborhood Participation Opportunity: Empty Bowls
Friday, November 7, 2014
11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Powderhorn Park Building (3400 15th Avenue S)
Empty Bowls is a local project that gathers neighbors and community members to help end hunger. Come and choose a hand-made artisan bowl, fill it with homemade soup and bread, and share in a meal in recognition of those whose bowls are empty.
Proceeds from Empty Bowls go to support local food shelves. The suggested donation for regular bowl is $20, but any donation is accepted and appreciated. Gather some friends, family or neighbors and support this effort in our neighborhood! I'll be there myself around 4pm if you want a buddy.
For more information, visit the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association’s website at
http://ppna.org/peb/
- Anna Kingman
The Book of Esther: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starting November 6
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, November 6, and runs for six weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. (Note that we will skip Thanksgiving.)
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study on the Book of Esther, exploring the historical context and many issues raised in this book, including justice, violence, power and privilege, the role of women, the presence of God, and what it means to be called “for such a time as this.”
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. If anyone wishes to provide the first meal, please let Vicar McLaughlin know.
Bowing to the Holy: Reverent Worship and Justice in an Irreverent Age
Saturday, November 22, 2014, 9:00am - 4:30pm, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, St. Paul, MN
This one-day event is an ecumenical conference celebrating the organic connection between liturgical worship and communal justice organized by Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (St. Paul) and her three daughter churches: Lutheran Church of the Resurrection (Roseville), Pilgrim Lutheran (St. Paul), and Mount Olive Lutheran (Mpls.). The keynote presenter will be The Right Reverend Melissa Skelton, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, British Columbia.
Share the warmth: share your clothes with Minneapolis homeless
Those who had gathered to hear him at the river asked John the Baptist, “what should we do?” He told them if they had two coats they should give one to someone who had no coat.
This past month Mary was clearing out closets, partly to prepare for fall, and partly to set aside clothes no longer used to be given away. This time, instead of dropping them off at Goodwill, where they are sold, even to wealthy people, we took them to Central Lutheran Church, our sister congregation in downtown Minneapolis.
Central is running a deeply important and vital ministry called The Restoration Center for the homeless of Minneapolis. They offer fellowship, worship, and Bible study opportunities, do job-interview training, and provide free clothing. They have health care and financial services, and provide computer access. One of their inspirations is to have a separate room of dress clothes specifically for people they’re coaching for interviews, so they can shower at the church and then dress up well for their interview. If you have dress clothes you no longer use, this is a wonderful way to help someone find a path out of homelessness with a job. But they also give all kinds of clothing away for free, so the closets and dressers are all fair game!
It’s very simple to give; just drive up to their entrance off of Third Avenue, and right inside the entrance, in the gathering area, are large bins for donations. The person at the desk can give you a receipt. It couldn’t be easier, and more importantly, starts moving toward John’s vision of the kingdom.
- Pr. Crippen
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
The Truth Shall Make You Free
Jesus promised his followers, and promises us today, that we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. When we embrace the truth of our human limitations, and recognize our dependence on God, the slavery of our fears, addictions, and sin will die and we can live in freedom as children of God.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Reformation Sunday
Texts: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 46, Romans 3:19-28, John 8:31-36
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I was sitting in a restaurant, eating dinner, when I heard several thunks. I turned and saw a bird flying around inside the restaurant, banging into windows in her frantic attempt to get outside. When she landed on the floor, exhausted, I laid my jacket gently over her and carried her through the door. I opened the jacket cautiously, expecting her to burst out, but she clung for dear life, her tiny talons hooked into the lining, afraid to let go and be free. As I held her, I wondered, how often do we do that? Struggle to be free from that which confines us, and then cling to our cage when we are freed? What does it really mean to be free, and why are we, when we are really honest with ourselves, terrified of it?
We in the United States pride ourselves on being a free country, and in many ways we are free, especially those of us with good health, steady income, solid education, and the privileges that come along with being white, middle-class, American-born. We can travel, study, walk our neighborhoods without fear, eat knowing we will have enough food for another meal, send ourselves and our loved ones off for the day with the belief that we will all come home safely. Most of the time, we have the luxury of living in the illusion that we are in control of our lives, even if it is only through the false security of believing we know what our future holds. Jesus in Matthew promises freedom, and his followers protest, saying they are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone, and we might well make the same claim. We live in a free country, slavery was abolished almost 150 years ago! What do you mean by saying “You will be made free?”
Jesus’ reply to his followers is for us, too: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” 19th century Lutheran theologian Rudolph Bultmann defines sin as the brokenness that comes from dependence on worldly things instead of God. By relying on our own efforts or on what we can take from the world for our well-being, we forget our ultimate dependence on God; in other words, we forget what our true relationship with God is. Because of this we feel anger, jealousy, and judgment, and as Bultmann says, the “slavery of anxiety that oppresses all of us (Romans 8:15)—the anxiety in which we each seek to hold on to ourselves and what is ours in the secret feeling that everything, including our own life, is slipping away from us.” [1]
We are free in one sense, but at a much deeper level, we are all slaves to our own brokenness. As a nation we spend a great deal of time obsessed with how to keep ourselves safe—closing our borders, taking off our shoes at the airport, debating who is to blame for Ebola coming to this country. We labor under the illusion that we can create perfect safety. If the danger is far enough away, and we can build a high enough wall, we feel separated, and protected. When the threat comes too close, we are afraid. Afraid of change, of those we don’t understand, of death. And when we depend on these actions to protect us, and ground our hope in our own efforts instead of trusting in God, we go beyond reasonable steps to take care of ourselves, and build walls that not only separate us from our neighbors, but from God.
On a personal level, we exercise and eat well expecting that this will guarantee our health, to the point where we feel surprised and angry when are sick. We are slaves to addictions that tell us the lie that everything will be OK if only we have enough alcohol, or sex, or food. We buy in, without even being aware, to the idea that growing old, rather than being a normal part of the cycle of life, is something that can and should be prevented, or at least slowed down, with the right lotions or vitamins or procedures. We act out of the illusion that life is a competition for success, love, and resources that only a few will win, and work furiously to be sure we will be one of them, secretly convinced that we are not good enough. We remain confident in the idea of our own power and ability to control our lives, until unexpected events wake us up, and we begin to understand the truth. We are slaves to our own brokenness, and we, like the bird, find ourselves trapped by our own fears, exhausted from our efforts to escape a prison we cannot even see.
We are slaves to our own brokenness, but Jesus made his followers a promise—makes us a promise today. “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” And the truth that Jesus talks about, the truth that will free us, is precisely why we are so afraid of freedom. The truth, as Paul proclaims it, is simply this: we have all sinned, and we all fall short of the glory of God. Every one of us, without exception. What terrifies us about this truth is that when we embrace it, it takes us completely out of the driver’s seat. We can no longer cling to an illusion of safety that is built on our own efforts or beliefs that we are in control. We are vulnerable, exposed for who we are, face-to-face with our own humanity. This is the truth that leads to freedom, the freedom to be exactly the people God created us to be.
We are freed by this truth, because grounded in our own humanity, we can understand Martin Luther’s claim that we are simultaneously sinner and saint. The very truth of our own weakness reveals our need for God, and our place as God’s children. The promise of the covenant Jeremiah talks about is our promise. God’s law has been written on our hearts, God is our God, and we are God’s people. In the core of who we are, God has written the law of love, faithfulness, forgiveness. And as our illusions, addictions, and sinfulness die in the light of this promise, we can see that we have been enslaved. And we can see that we are free.
Like the bird with its talons hooked into my jacket lining, we tend to cling to what we feel sure of, certain that there is nothing to catch us if we let go. The psalmist describes in vivid images the chaos we sometimes feel in this unpredictable world—earthquakes and roaring waters, nations at war. The chaos, as the psalmist sings it, does not go away. Illness, job loss, wars, death, are all a part of this life we live. Promise and hope and certainty come from the presence of a loving God who never abandons us, regardless of the circumstances. “God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. . . . . The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. . . . Be still and know that I am God.”
By seeing clearly the truth of our own powerlessness, our own brokenness, our own humanity, we are freed from our illusions. We live as people of the covenant, knowing that we belong to God, and we can do that because God has written God’s promise on our hearts. We know the truth. God is our refuge, and will be with us, no matter what may come. Jesus calls us to embrace the truth, and by doing this, we can, like the bird, unhook our talons from the lining of the jacket, and live in freedom.
[1] Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology and Other Basic Writings, trans. Schubert Miles Ogden (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 17
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Reformation Sunday
Texts: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 46, Romans 3:19-28, John 8:31-36
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I was sitting in a restaurant, eating dinner, when I heard several thunks. I turned and saw a bird flying around inside the restaurant, banging into windows in her frantic attempt to get outside. When she landed on the floor, exhausted, I laid my jacket gently over her and carried her through the door. I opened the jacket cautiously, expecting her to burst out, but she clung for dear life, her tiny talons hooked into the lining, afraid to let go and be free. As I held her, I wondered, how often do we do that? Struggle to be free from that which confines us, and then cling to our cage when we are freed? What does it really mean to be free, and why are we, when we are really honest with ourselves, terrified of it?
We in the United States pride ourselves on being a free country, and in many ways we are free, especially those of us with good health, steady income, solid education, and the privileges that come along with being white, middle-class, American-born. We can travel, study, walk our neighborhoods without fear, eat knowing we will have enough food for another meal, send ourselves and our loved ones off for the day with the belief that we will all come home safely. Most of the time, we have the luxury of living in the illusion that we are in control of our lives, even if it is only through the false security of believing we know what our future holds. Jesus in Matthew promises freedom, and his followers protest, saying they are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone, and we might well make the same claim. We live in a free country, slavery was abolished almost 150 years ago! What do you mean by saying “You will be made free?”
Jesus’ reply to his followers is for us, too: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” 19th century Lutheran theologian Rudolph Bultmann defines sin as the brokenness that comes from dependence on worldly things instead of God. By relying on our own efforts or on what we can take from the world for our well-being, we forget our ultimate dependence on God; in other words, we forget what our true relationship with God is. Because of this we feel anger, jealousy, and judgment, and as Bultmann says, the “slavery of anxiety that oppresses all of us (Romans 8:15)—the anxiety in which we each seek to hold on to ourselves and what is ours in the secret feeling that everything, including our own life, is slipping away from us.” [1]
We are free in one sense, but at a much deeper level, we are all slaves to our own brokenness. As a nation we spend a great deal of time obsessed with how to keep ourselves safe—closing our borders, taking off our shoes at the airport, debating who is to blame for Ebola coming to this country. We labor under the illusion that we can create perfect safety. If the danger is far enough away, and we can build a high enough wall, we feel separated, and protected. When the threat comes too close, we are afraid. Afraid of change, of those we don’t understand, of death. And when we depend on these actions to protect us, and ground our hope in our own efforts instead of trusting in God, we go beyond reasonable steps to take care of ourselves, and build walls that not only separate us from our neighbors, but from God.
On a personal level, we exercise and eat well expecting that this will guarantee our health, to the point where we feel surprised and angry when are sick. We are slaves to addictions that tell us the lie that everything will be OK if only we have enough alcohol, or sex, or food. We buy in, without even being aware, to the idea that growing old, rather than being a normal part of the cycle of life, is something that can and should be prevented, or at least slowed down, with the right lotions or vitamins or procedures. We act out of the illusion that life is a competition for success, love, and resources that only a few will win, and work furiously to be sure we will be one of them, secretly convinced that we are not good enough. We remain confident in the idea of our own power and ability to control our lives, until unexpected events wake us up, and we begin to understand the truth. We are slaves to our own brokenness, and we, like the bird, find ourselves trapped by our own fears, exhausted from our efforts to escape a prison we cannot even see.
We are slaves to our own brokenness, but Jesus made his followers a promise—makes us a promise today. “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” And the truth that Jesus talks about, the truth that will free us, is precisely why we are so afraid of freedom. The truth, as Paul proclaims it, is simply this: we have all sinned, and we all fall short of the glory of God. Every one of us, without exception. What terrifies us about this truth is that when we embrace it, it takes us completely out of the driver’s seat. We can no longer cling to an illusion of safety that is built on our own efforts or beliefs that we are in control. We are vulnerable, exposed for who we are, face-to-face with our own humanity. This is the truth that leads to freedom, the freedom to be exactly the people God created us to be.
We are freed by this truth, because grounded in our own humanity, we can understand Martin Luther’s claim that we are simultaneously sinner and saint. The very truth of our own weakness reveals our need for God, and our place as God’s children. The promise of the covenant Jeremiah talks about is our promise. God’s law has been written on our hearts, God is our God, and we are God’s people. In the core of who we are, God has written the law of love, faithfulness, forgiveness. And as our illusions, addictions, and sinfulness die in the light of this promise, we can see that we have been enslaved. And we can see that we are free.
Like the bird with its talons hooked into my jacket lining, we tend to cling to what we feel sure of, certain that there is nothing to catch us if we let go. The psalmist describes in vivid images the chaos we sometimes feel in this unpredictable world—earthquakes and roaring waters, nations at war. The chaos, as the psalmist sings it, does not go away. Illness, job loss, wars, death, are all a part of this life we live. Promise and hope and certainty come from the presence of a loving God who never abandons us, regardless of the circumstances. “God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. . . . . The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. . . . Be still and know that I am God.”
By seeing clearly the truth of our own powerlessness, our own brokenness, our own humanity, we are freed from our illusions. We live as people of the covenant, knowing that we belong to God, and we can do that because God has written God’s promise on our hearts. We know the truth. God is our refuge, and will be with us, no matter what may come. Jesus calls us to embrace the truth, and by doing this, we can, like the bird, unhook our talons from the lining of the jacket, and live in freedom.
[1] Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology and Other Basic Writings, trans. Schubert Miles Ogden (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 17
Thursday, October 23, 2014
The Olive Branch, 10/22/14
Accent on Worship
Just in the last week, every-where I turn, brilliant color is pouring out of the trees, greens giving way to reds, oranges, yellows. The world has a newness about it, life emerging brightly and boldly from what is in comparison monochromatic summer. Paradoxically, the vibrancy of fall’s colors is actually a harbinger of death, a sign of the coming winter that will banish all visible plant life, for a time, necessary preparation for spring buds and flowers.
In Jeremiah, the LORD proclaims a new covenant, one that, unlike the old covenant, will not be broken. The LORD promises to put the covenant within us, to “write it on our hearts,” making it core to who we are as God’s people. God promises that we will know God, because God will forgive all our sins. Because God forgives our iniquities, we know God. God will be our God, and we will be God’s people, the living cove-nant within us. As with the changing leaves, there is a letting go, a kind of death, inherent in welcoming the new covenant. We surrender the old covenant—slavery, sin, broken-ness, unfaithfulness—and embrace who we are as children of God, with the covenant written on our hearts. We are all, as Paul proclaims, sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory. And, our sins have been forgiven, and we are claimed as God’s children, not through any efforts or virtue of our own, but through the grace of God.
Fall brings death and change as the leaves drop, leaving a landscape of barren trees and brown grass that will soon be frozen and covered with snow. Hidden deep in that dying process is the life that will emerge in the spring as green buds, grass, and flowers. God promises us that the new covenant is laid on our hearts, so that as sin and brokenness die, faithfulness and love are born within us and we live as children of God.
- Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Sunday Readings
October 26, 2014: Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
______________________
November 2, 2014: All Saints Sunday
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
I John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 2, members are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be one more opportunity to write these names this Sunday, or you may simply contact the church office with the names. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.
Meals for the Roegges
While the birth of a child is always a time of joy and celebration, it is also a time of adjusting to new routines - and sometimes getting a meal on the table can be challenging. If you are so inclined to offer a welcome, dinner might be just the ticket.
Meals are most definitely welcomed by the Roegge family; thanks to those who have inquired about scheduling a delivery. There is no pre-determined schedule so it is suggested that contact be made directly with Brooke and Matt at 612-332-2856, to see what works best for them. When you agree on a date, please call Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306-8872 or contact her via email to gebauevm@bitstream.net so a calendar entry can be made for purposes of future planning.
The Roegge's are vegetarians but eat fish, eggs, cheese etc. (word has it that they aren't picky at all!) Matt and Brooke live in St Paul at 1604 Beechwood Ave.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Please note the following change in time and location for our next meeting. The next session meets on Saturday, November 22, 9:00 am at 3120 E. Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
Meals for the Manuels Schedule Update
The calendar to date is filled through to December 5. If you can bring dinner on December 12 or on any Friday from that date on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
Reformation Commemoration
On Thursday, October 30 (Reformation Day), one hundred singers from St. Olaf College will join the Cathedral Choir of the Basilica of St. Mary to lead a service based on the Lutheran Liturgy of Vespers. The combined choir will present a number of anthems which will be interspersed with hymns and psalms and meditations read by author and poet, Susan Palo Cherwien.
This service will take place at 7:30 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, and it is free and open to the public.
Plan to join in this celebration of common faith in an amazing space.
Wedding Invitation
In gratitude for the community that is Mount Olive, we invite you to join us in celebrating the marriage of our daughter, Siri Rebecca Hellerman, and John Michael Guari, and for light refreshments in the Chapel Lounge, following the liturgy.
This Saturday, 25 October 2014, 2:00 pm.
- David and Diana Hellerman
Crafting Project with a Purpose
Strands of Hope is a beading project, done in community education. Each participant follows easy directions to create a necklace from a kit. Each contains everything you need to make a finished necklace to keep for yourself or give away as a heart to heart connection. The beauty of the project is that the necklace you make is meant to be given away. During the beading hour, your hands are working while your heart is connecting to the person to whom you will give the necklace. Some beaders have given it to a person in need of support while going through hard times of illness or grief. Sometimes a necklace is given in celebration! The person and the way you wish to give it away is up to you.
Mount Olive member Connie Marty, along with 2 friends, created this small business from an idea over breakfast seven years ago. The mission is to connect hearts and build hope, hence the name, Strands of Hope. Our faith gives us hope.
The time spent together beading with friends is social and community building. Connie will be available to assist as needed. Please visit her website at www.strandsofhope.com for more information or a look at the necklaces and colors.
You are invited to bring a friend, a neighbor, or relative. Each kit is on sale for only $14, cash or check, to be paid as you arrive. No credit cards. There will also be a basket
for donations should you wish to contribute to the fund for
extra necklaces to be presented to Mount Olive members who might need one in the future. You will then choose a kit. There are many color combinations to choose from. Connie will give instructions and be there to help us.
We will meet Friday, Nov. 21, 6:30 -8:30 pm in the East Assembly Room at church. Wine, soft drinks and a light snack will be provided. Bring a snack or treat to share.
Since Connie and her colleagues will close down this business at the end of the year, this might be the last chance to participate in a Strands of Hope event. Please RSVP or send questions to Julie Manuel at julie.a.manuel@gmail.com so that we can have enough kits and refreshments. We hope to see you there!
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include: Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien.
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm
Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Gloves and Such
IT'S COMING!
Cold weather is on its way to Minnesota, and you can help keep precious hands and ears warm. Please bring new or gently used (and clean) hats, gloves, and scarves to the collection box outside the upstairs kitchen. There is also a great need for winter coats before it gets unbearably cold. The nearest Coats for Kids drop-off is at:
Salvation Army
1604 East Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-721-1513
If you like, you may bring coats to church and drop them off in the corner near the grocery cart for food donations. Thank you!
Neighborhood Participation Opportunity: Empty Bowls
Friday, November 7, 2014, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Powderhorn Park Building (3400 15th Avenue S)
Empty Bowls is a local project that gathers neighbors and community members to help end hunger. Come and choose a hand-made artisan bowl, fill it with homemade soup and bread, and share in a meal in recognition of those whose bowls are empty.
Proceeds from Empty Bowls go to support local food shelves. The suggested donation for regular bowl is $20, but any donation is accepted and appreciated.
For more information, visit the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association’s website at http://ppna.org/peb/
The Book of Esther: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starting November 6
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, October 6, and runs for six weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. (Note that we will skip Thanksgiving.)
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study on the Book of Esther. We will explore the historical context and many issues raised in this book, including justice, violence, power and privilege, the role of women, the presence of God, and what it means to be called “for such a time as this.”
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. If anyone wishes to provide the first meal, please let Vicar McLaughlin know. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
Just in the last week, every-where I turn, brilliant color is pouring out of the trees, greens giving way to reds, oranges, yellows. The world has a newness about it, life emerging brightly and boldly from what is in comparison monochromatic summer. Paradoxically, the vibrancy of fall’s colors is actually a harbinger of death, a sign of the coming winter that will banish all visible plant life, for a time, necessary preparation for spring buds and flowers.
In Jeremiah, the LORD proclaims a new covenant, one that, unlike the old covenant, will not be broken. The LORD promises to put the covenant within us, to “write it on our hearts,” making it core to who we are as God’s people. God promises that we will know God, because God will forgive all our sins. Because God forgives our iniquities, we know God. God will be our God, and we will be God’s people, the living cove-nant within us. As with the changing leaves, there is a letting go, a kind of death, inherent in welcoming the new covenant. We surrender the old covenant—slavery, sin, broken-ness, unfaithfulness—and embrace who we are as children of God, with the covenant written on our hearts. We are all, as Paul proclaims, sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory. And, our sins have been forgiven, and we are claimed as God’s children, not through any efforts or virtue of our own, but through the grace of God.
Fall brings death and change as the leaves drop, leaving a landscape of barren trees and brown grass that will soon be frozen and covered with snow. Hidden deep in that dying process is the life that will emerge in the spring as green buds, grass, and flowers. God promises us that the new covenant is laid on our hearts, so that as sin and brokenness die, faithfulness and love are born within us and we live as children of God.
- Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Sunday Readings
October 26, 2014: Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
______________________
November 2, 2014: All Saints Sunday
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
I John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 2, members are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be one more opportunity to write these names this Sunday, or you may simply contact the church office with the names. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.
Meals for the Roegges
While the birth of a child is always a time of joy and celebration, it is also a time of adjusting to new routines - and sometimes getting a meal on the table can be challenging. If you are so inclined to offer a welcome, dinner might be just the ticket.
Meals are most definitely welcomed by the Roegge family; thanks to those who have inquired about scheduling a delivery. There is no pre-determined schedule so it is suggested that contact be made directly with Brooke and Matt at 612-332-2856, to see what works best for them. When you agree on a date, please call Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306-8872 or contact her via email to gebauevm@bitstream.net so a calendar entry can be made for purposes of future planning.
The Roegge's are vegetarians but eat fish, eggs, cheese etc. (word has it that they aren't picky at all!) Matt and Brooke live in St Paul at 1604 Beechwood Ave.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Please note the following change in time and location for our next meeting. The next session meets on Saturday, November 22, 9:00 am at 3120 E. Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
Meals for the Manuels Schedule Update
The calendar to date is filled through to December 5. If you can bring dinner on December 12 or on any Friday from that date on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
Reformation Commemoration
On Thursday, October 30 (Reformation Day), one hundred singers from St. Olaf College will join the Cathedral Choir of the Basilica of St. Mary to lead a service based on the Lutheran Liturgy of Vespers. The combined choir will present a number of anthems which will be interspersed with hymns and psalms and meditations read by author and poet, Susan Palo Cherwien.
This service will take place at 7:30 pm at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, and it is free and open to the public.
Plan to join in this celebration of common faith in an amazing space.
Wedding Invitation
In gratitude for the community that is Mount Olive, we invite you to join us in celebrating the marriage of our daughter, Siri Rebecca Hellerman, and John Michael Guari, and for light refreshments in the Chapel Lounge, following the liturgy.
This Saturday, 25 October 2014, 2:00 pm.
- David and Diana Hellerman
Crafting Project with a Purpose
Strands of Hope is a beading project, done in community education. Each participant follows easy directions to create a necklace from a kit. Each contains everything you need to make a finished necklace to keep for yourself or give away as a heart to heart connection. The beauty of the project is that the necklace you make is meant to be given away. During the beading hour, your hands are working while your heart is connecting to the person to whom you will give the necklace. Some beaders have given it to a person in need of support while going through hard times of illness or grief. Sometimes a necklace is given in celebration! The person and the way you wish to give it away is up to you.
Mount Olive member Connie Marty, along with 2 friends, created this small business from an idea over breakfast seven years ago. The mission is to connect hearts and build hope, hence the name, Strands of Hope. Our faith gives us hope.
The time spent together beading with friends is social and community building. Connie will be available to assist as needed. Please visit her website at www.strandsofhope.com for more information or a look at the necklaces and colors.
You are invited to bring a friend, a neighbor, or relative. Each kit is on sale for only $14, cash or check, to be paid as you arrive. No credit cards. There will also be a basket
for donations should you wish to contribute to the fund for
extra necklaces to be presented to Mount Olive members who might need one in the future. You will then choose a kit. There are many color combinations to choose from. Connie will give instructions and be there to help us.
We will meet Friday, Nov. 21, 6:30 -8:30 pm in the East Assembly Room at church. Wine, soft drinks and a light snack will be provided. Bring a snack or treat to share.
Since Connie and her colleagues will close down this business at the end of the year, this might be the last chance to participate in a Strands of Hope event. Please RSVP or send questions to Julie Manuel at julie.a.manuel@gmail.com so that we can have enough kits and refreshments. We hope to see you there!
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include: Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien.
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm
Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Gloves and Such
IT'S COMING!
Cold weather is on its way to Minnesota, and you can help keep precious hands and ears warm. Please bring new or gently used (and clean) hats, gloves, and scarves to the collection box outside the upstairs kitchen. There is also a great need for winter coats before it gets unbearably cold. The nearest Coats for Kids drop-off is at:
Salvation Army
1604 East Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-721-1513
If you like, you may bring coats to church and drop them off in the corner near the grocery cart for food donations. Thank you!
Neighborhood Participation Opportunity: Empty Bowls
Friday, November 7, 2014, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Powderhorn Park Building (3400 15th Avenue S)
Empty Bowls is a local project that gathers neighbors and community members to help end hunger. Come and choose a hand-made artisan bowl, fill it with homemade soup and bread, and share in a meal in recognition of those whose bowls are empty.
Proceeds from Empty Bowls go to support local food shelves. The suggested donation for regular bowl is $20, but any donation is accepted and appreciated.
For more information, visit the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association’s website at http://ppna.org/peb/
The Book of Esther: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starting November 6
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, October 6, and runs for six weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. (Note that we will skip Thanksgiving.)
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study on the Book of Esther. We will explore the historical context and many issues raised in this book, including justice, violence, power and privilege, the role of women, the presence of God, and what it means to be called “for such a time as this.”
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. If anyone wishes to provide the first meal, please let Vicar McLaughlin know. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Beyond All Testing
The God beyond all knowing, all human testing, has come into this world in Christ Jesus and called us to a way of life that is our worship; beyond that, there is much we cannot know about God and what God is doing, and that’s OK.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 29 A
texts: Isaiah 45:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
“Here be dragons.”
Supposedly when old mapmakers got to the end of what they knew to draw, that’s what they wrote on the edge of their maps. Meaning: beyond here we don’t know, but it’s dangerous. According to The Atlantic (Dec. 2012), however, no known ancient maps actually have that phrase, though one globe from the early sixteenth century does. But such a warning is helpful. It’s good to recall there are limits to our knowledge, edges to our certainty. We know some things. Much we do not.
We should keep this in mind when speaking of God. There are definite limits to what we can know about God. Beyond is real danger trying to speak definitively. Plenty of people of faith are willing to fight, even to kill, to defend firm convictions about God.
Christian faith doesn’t let us do that. It is central to our faith in Christ that we place serious boundaries around what we claim to know about God’s action and life in the world. Tom Wright has said, “Because of the cross, being a Christian, or being a church, does not mean claiming that we’ve got it all together. It means claiming that God’s got it all together; and that we are merely, as Paul says, those who are overwhelmed by his love.” [1]
Beyond that there be dragons. But if we believe the Triune God is who Jesus revealed, and works as Jesus claims, that’s just fine. God will handle the dragons, and we can focus on what we’re really called to be as followers of the crucified and risen One.
Our readings today ask what God is up to in the world. There’s disagreement amongst them.
Israelites returning from exile saw God’s hand in a foreign general, Cyrus of Persia, who destroyed Babylon’s power and sent them home. Isaiah claims the LORD God of Israel, the one, true God, anointed Cyrus to save Israel. Anointed him, made him Messiah.
Cyrus doesn’t even know the God of Israel. He was just taking down the current empire and setting up his own. Yet Israel believed this was God’s doing. Even if, as we heard today, it meant God having to do a meet and greet with this pagan emperor first. These people of faith knew their theological limits and were willing to see God’s hand acting in a way outside their boundaries.
The Pharisees struggle with such limits.
To be fair, their job was to interpret God’s law, and they were good at it. Israel had a core belief that the God of all time was also the LORD, the God of Israel, and had given them laws to live by to make this world a place of healing and life. The Pharisees defended that law.
This rabbi from Nazareth played a little too fast and loose with it, they thought. Had they the openness of their exilic ancestors, they might have seen Jesus as the true successor to the prophets of Israel. Even his summing of all God’s law into love of God and love of neighbor was taken straight from the Torah.
But he did challenge their interpretation, question their authority. So in these last weeks of his life, they tested him again and again.
It’s an odd switch. Their ancestors, with little evidence other than their rescue and new life back home, called a foreigner the Messiah of God. They, with all sorts of evidence, called the true Messiah of God a blasphemer.
Here be dragons indeed. They, like us, wanted to draw to the edges of the map of reality and claim knowledge and certainty about it all. The Triune God, though, seems to enjoy messing about the margins doing whatever pleases God, even if it doesn’t fit our boxes.
Paul wrote: “In every place your faith in God has become known, how you turned to God from Idols, to serve a living and true God.”
That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Caesar or God, Cyrus as Messiah, Greek pantheon or the Triune God, it’s a question of who the true God is, what the true God is doing.
As followers of the crucified and risen Christ Jesus, we center our life and worship around serving this true and living God, just like Paul’s friends. Because of the cross, our whole life is worship of God, as we offer ourselves in service to the world as embodiments of Christ’s love.
Beyond that, though, God will keep doing whatever God wants to do. That’s OK for us, for because of the cross, we claim God’s got it all together, not us, and we’re only those who are overwhelmed by God’s love, who know we don’t control where and how God gives that love.
That’s the difference between the true God and idols: who’s in charge.
The one true God stands outside human endeavor and speaks into our lives. We do not make a true God, nor can we tell God what to do. Idols, set up by us, do what we want because we make them, we create them, we shape them. In ancient times, idols were made in human images, animal images; today they are reflections of our wants, our desires. Reflections of us.
The witness of the Scriptures is that the one true God isn’t made in our image, though, we are made in the image of God. So our faith doesn’t create God, shape God; God shapes us, creates us through our faith.
It is the very existence of boundaries beyond which we cannot know that reveals our connection to the true God. If we create our gods, there’s nothing we don’t know about them, nothing we can’t explain or control. But the true God creates us, comes to us from the outside, and has much that is unknowable, uncontrollable.
That’s how we know God is true.
God is beyond us, except when God comes to us. That’s what we cling to.
We have seen and believe for ourselves what others have witnessed to us, that God has entered our world. We have encountered our Lord Jesus at the cross and have seen God there. We have seen the shape of the true human life to which he calls us, have experienced his risen presence in this world, in our hearts, in our worship. We trust in the Triune God he has revealed to us. We live in God’s presence now; we await a life to come where we’re even more fully alive in that presence. That’s what we know.
Now, like most people, we long for absolute certainty, argue for it with others. We don’t wish to kill for it, but we recognize a similar discomfort when others describe God in ways we can’t explain or understand. We convince ourselves we have a say in who God is, or if we think the right things we’ll be saved.
The truth is we are not saved by our thoughts anymore than by our works, we are saved by the cross-shaped love of the Triune God. That’s our place of wonder and joy and faith, like Psalm 8, that a God who is so beyond us has come to this world to bring hope and life and grace.
We claim that in the cross and resurrection of Christ Jesus the true God is re-making the world and bringing life to all.
We claim that our life in Jesus’ resurrection is the cross-shaped life of Christ to which he calls us, so we live that for the sake of the world. We love God and our neighbor with all we have, because that’s the life our Lord lived, that’s the gift his resurrection empowers in us. We tell others about this God so they, too, can know and rejoice.
Beyond this, we don’t always know what else God is doing.
We might want to keep our eyes open, though. God is almost certainly doing far more interesting things than dragons out there if we’re open to seeing it.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 29 A
texts: Isaiah 45:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
“Here be dragons.”
Supposedly when old mapmakers got to the end of what they knew to draw, that’s what they wrote on the edge of their maps. Meaning: beyond here we don’t know, but it’s dangerous. According to The Atlantic (Dec. 2012), however, no known ancient maps actually have that phrase, though one globe from the early sixteenth century does. But such a warning is helpful. It’s good to recall there are limits to our knowledge, edges to our certainty. We know some things. Much we do not.
We should keep this in mind when speaking of God. There are definite limits to what we can know about God. Beyond is real danger trying to speak definitively. Plenty of people of faith are willing to fight, even to kill, to defend firm convictions about God.
Christian faith doesn’t let us do that. It is central to our faith in Christ that we place serious boundaries around what we claim to know about God’s action and life in the world. Tom Wright has said, “Because of the cross, being a Christian, or being a church, does not mean claiming that we’ve got it all together. It means claiming that God’s got it all together; and that we are merely, as Paul says, those who are overwhelmed by his love.” [1]
Beyond that there be dragons. But if we believe the Triune God is who Jesus revealed, and works as Jesus claims, that’s just fine. God will handle the dragons, and we can focus on what we’re really called to be as followers of the crucified and risen One.
Our readings today ask what God is up to in the world. There’s disagreement amongst them.
Israelites returning from exile saw God’s hand in a foreign general, Cyrus of Persia, who destroyed Babylon’s power and sent them home. Isaiah claims the LORD God of Israel, the one, true God, anointed Cyrus to save Israel. Anointed him, made him Messiah.
Cyrus doesn’t even know the God of Israel. He was just taking down the current empire and setting up his own. Yet Israel believed this was God’s doing. Even if, as we heard today, it meant God having to do a meet and greet with this pagan emperor first. These people of faith knew their theological limits and were willing to see God’s hand acting in a way outside their boundaries.
The Pharisees struggle with such limits.
To be fair, their job was to interpret God’s law, and they were good at it. Israel had a core belief that the God of all time was also the LORD, the God of Israel, and had given them laws to live by to make this world a place of healing and life. The Pharisees defended that law.
This rabbi from Nazareth played a little too fast and loose with it, they thought. Had they the openness of their exilic ancestors, they might have seen Jesus as the true successor to the prophets of Israel. Even his summing of all God’s law into love of God and love of neighbor was taken straight from the Torah.
But he did challenge their interpretation, question their authority. So in these last weeks of his life, they tested him again and again.
It’s an odd switch. Their ancestors, with little evidence other than their rescue and new life back home, called a foreigner the Messiah of God. They, with all sorts of evidence, called the true Messiah of God a blasphemer.
Here be dragons indeed. They, like us, wanted to draw to the edges of the map of reality and claim knowledge and certainty about it all. The Triune God, though, seems to enjoy messing about the margins doing whatever pleases God, even if it doesn’t fit our boxes.
Paul wrote: “In every place your faith in God has become known, how you turned to God from Idols, to serve a living and true God.”
That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Caesar or God, Cyrus as Messiah, Greek pantheon or the Triune God, it’s a question of who the true God is, what the true God is doing.
As followers of the crucified and risen Christ Jesus, we center our life and worship around serving this true and living God, just like Paul’s friends. Because of the cross, our whole life is worship of God, as we offer ourselves in service to the world as embodiments of Christ’s love.
Beyond that, though, God will keep doing whatever God wants to do. That’s OK for us, for because of the cross, we claim God’s got it all together, not us, and we’re only those who are overwhelmed by God’s love, who know we don’t control where and how God gives that love.
That’s the difference between the true God and idols: who’s in charge.
The one true God stands outside human endeavor and speaks into our lives. We do not make a true God, nor can we tell God what to do. Idols, set up by us, do what we want because we make them, we create them, we shape them. In ancient times, idols were made in human images, animal images; today they are reflections of our wants, our desires. Reflections of us.
The witness of the Scriptures is that the one true God isn’t made in our image, though, we are made in the image of God. So our faith doesn’t create God, shape God; God shapes us, creates us through our faith.
It is the very existence of boundaries beyond which we cannot know that reveals our connection to the true God. If we create our gods, there’s nothing we don’t know about them, nothing we can’t explain or control. But the true God creates us, comes to us from the outside, and has much that is unknowable, uncontrollable.
That’s how we know God is true.
God is beyond us, except when God comes to us. That’s what we cling to.
We have seen and believe for ourselves what others have witnessed to us, that God has entered our world. We have encountered our Lord Jesus at the cross and have seen God there. We have seen the shape of the true human life to which he calls us, have experienced his risen presence in this world, in our hearts, in our worship. We trust in the Triune God he has revealed to us. We live in God’s presence now; we await a life to come where we’re even more fully alive in that presence. That’s what we know.
Now, like most people, we long for absolute certainty, argue for it with others. We don’t wish to kill for it, but we recognize a similar discomfort when others describe God in ways we can’t explain or understand. We convince ourselves we have a say in who God is, or if we think the right things we’ll be saved.
The truth is we are not saved by our thoughts anymore than by our works, we are saved by the cross-shaped love of the Triune God. That’s our place of wonder and joy and faith, like Psalm 8, that a God who is so beyond us has come to this world to bring hope and life and grace.
We claim that in the cross and resurrection of Christ Jesus the true God is re-making the world and bringing life to all.
We claim that our life in Jesus’ resurrection is the cross-shaped life of Christ to which he calls us, so we live that for the sake of the world. We love God and our neighbor with all we have, because that’s the life our Lord lived, that’s the gift his resurrection empowers in us. We tell others about this God so they, too, can know and rejoice.
Beyond this, we don’t always know what else God is doing.
We might want to keep our eyes open, though. God is almost certainly doing far more interesting things than dragons out there if we’re open to seeing it.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
[1] N. T. Wright, For All God’s Worth, p. 20, italics sic; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI; © 2007.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The Olive Branch, 10/15/14
Accent on Worship
Idols and Traps
Sunday we witness Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees over paying taxes. Hoping to trap him either into declaring himself a revolutionary by rejecting Roman taxes, or declar-ing himself against the people by supporting such taxes, they ask if it is lawful to pay Roman tax. Were Jesus a modern politician, one of his aides would now whisper into his ear “avoid the tax question!”
“Give to the emperor what belongs to him,” Jesus says, “and to God what is God’s.” Like-wise, Paul declares the question of human v. divine rule over our lives is always a God question. He praises the Thessalonians for “turning away from idols to serve a living and true God.” That is the central question of our lives as well: what belongs to whom?
We keep our heads straight over whom we serve and how, with our worship life. We gather weekly to worship the Triune God, taking time out of our schedules not for us but for God, and plant anchors in our hearts and minds. These anchors strengthen each time we worship, reminding us even in a self-centered world with our self-centered minds that we belong not to ourselves but to God. Our worship keeps us from falling for our trap of thinking there are parts of our lives that have noth-ing to do with God.
Sunday we will gather once more around the means of God’s grace, Word and Sacrament, as we always do. We will, as we always do, find we not only are fed by the life and healing love of the risen Christ, we are pulled off ourselves as center of our lives and recentered on the Triune God. We are, like the Thessalon-ians, moved from idols to serving the living and true God. No traps. No idols. Simply the grace of having our lives drawn into the heart of God’s death-ending love and life, and the joy of seeing that grace transform us and the world.
Joseph
Sunday Readings
October 19, 2014: 19th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 29A)
Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96
I Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
______________________
October 26, 2014: Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
Sunday’s Adult Forum: October 19
Conversation with the New Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at Mount Olive, Anna Kingman
Congregation Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of the Mount Olive congregation will be held this coming Sunday, October 19, after second liturgy. Items for discussion include:
• the 2015 budget (needs congregational vote and approval)
• updates from the Visioning Committee
• a preview of on-going Stewardship work
• news from the current Capital Campaign to replenish our designated accounts and cash reserves.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Please note the following change in time and location for our next meeting. The next session meets on Saturday, November 22, 9:00 am at 3120 E. Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
The Great TRUST Auction
The annual TRUST auction will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014, beginning at 6:00 pm at Lake Harriet Methodist Church, 4901 Chowen Avenue S. in Minneapolis. This year’s auction features the Metropolitan Boys Choir!
The cost is $20 for adults (in advance or with reservations),
$15 for seniors (65+), and youth under 10 are free;
$25 at the door. For reservations or additional information, call 612-827-6159, or email trustinc@visi.com.
Reserve a table of eight for your group!
CareerWalk
Looking for a job? Whether unemployed, under-employed, misemployed or just thinking about doing something different, please join us for the fall CareerWalk program. Learn new skills, gain new networking contacts, feel refreshed and supported, explore new interests and land jobs. CareerWalk is open to everyone and there is no charge. Come for all sessions or those that are of interest. Find specific session information and register there.
CareerWalk is held on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 pm at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
Getting to Know You …
The new members received on October 5 were asked to submit a brief introduction about themselves for publication in The Olive Branch. We will publish these introductions as they are received.
Robin Rayfield
I was born in Minneapolis, baptized in Door County, Wisconsin, and I grew up a couple of blocks away from Mount Olive. Except for maybe once, I had never set foot inside Mount Olive until I had an email exchange with Pr. Crippen. A fundamentalist preached that the rapture was about to happen, and I emailed the pastor of the church I knew about, asking about it. Pastor Crippen responded, telling me about God’s love, and that I had nothing to fear. I decided to visit Mount Olive and found something wonderful. I’m also now a co-administrator of a Christian group called Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented. We bring hope and healing to people that have been hurt by the actions of many Christians. Currently, I’m a struggling musician, and I play several instruments including guitar, piano, accordion, and Appalachian dulcimer.
Victor Gebauer
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1938, Victor arrived to the USA in 1942 and grew up in Illinois. A graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, he also spent over thirty years on the faculty of Concordia University, Saint Paul, before finishing his career as executive director of Lutheran Music Program. Victor and his wife, Marilyn, actually were members of Mount Olive in the 1960’s and l970’s. They were married here, began a family, and are now returning to the church where their relationship as family and fellows in faith first began.
Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Nov. 2, members are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be an opportunity to write these names this Sunday and in the remaining weeks of October, or simply contact the church office. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.
Thanks!
Thanks to Lora Dundek, Patsy Holtmeier, Carla Manuel, Gail Neilsen, Connie Olson, and Sandra Pranschke for providing treats and coffee for the Congregational Meeting this past Sunday.
There are lots of empty slots on the coffee sign-up chart, and we invite you to bring cookies or bars for coffee after either liturgy. Please let Carla Manuel know if you can help out in this way. She can be reached at 612-521-3952.
The Roegges Welcome a New Baby Girl!
While the birth of a child is always a time of joy and celebration, it is also a time of adjusting to new routines - and sometimes getting a meal on the table can be challenging. If you are so inclined to offer a welcome, dinner might be just the ticket.
Meals are most definitely welcomed by the Roegge family; thanks to those who have inquired about scheduling a delivery. There is no pre-determined schedule so it is suggested that contact be made directly with Brooke and Matt at 612-332-2856, to see what works best for them. When you agree on a date, please call or email Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306-8872 or gebauevm@bitstream.net so a calendar entry can be made for purposes of future planning.
The Rogge's are vegetarians but eat fish, eggs, cheese etc. (word has it that they aren't picky at all!) Matt and Brooke live in St Paul at 1604 Beechwood Ave.
Meals for the Manuels to be Continued
Thanks to all who have generously signed up to bring Friday dinners to the Manuel family. The calendar to date is filled through to November 7, with the exception of Friday, October 31. If you can bring dinner on that date (Halloween) or on any Friday from November 14 on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
“Bowing to the Holy”
Mount Olive is partnering with The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection , Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and Pilgrim Lutheran Churches in St. Paul to present a one day worship conference on Saturday, November 22, at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
Information on the conference, “Bowing to the Holy,” is available at church. If you would like a brochure to be mailed to you, just call the church office.
Chosen: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
Meeting in the Chapel Lounge on Thursday evenings through October 23 (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Pr. Crippen is leading a study titled “Chosen.” This is an exploration of the biblical witness to Abraham and Sarah and their family, with a focus on what the Bible means by "chosen people,” and how that continues in the present both as our calling and also a challenge in a pluralistic, often violent world.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
Wedding Invitation
In gratitude for the community that is Mount Olive, we invite you to join us in celebrating the marriage of our daughter Siri Rebecca Hellerman and John Michael Guari, and for light refreshments in the Chapel Lounge, following the liturgy. Saturday, 25 October 2014, 2:00 pm.
- David and Diana Hellerman
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on November 8 the Book Discussion Group will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, and for their meeting on December 13, they will read Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include:
Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and
The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm
Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Idols and Traps
Sunday we witness Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees over paying taxes. Hoping to trap him either into declaring himself a revolutionary by rejecting Roman taxes, or declar-ing himself against the people by supporting such taxes, they ask if it is lawful to pay Roman tax. Were Jesus a modern politician, one of his aides would now whisper into his ear “avoid the tax question!”
“Give to the emperor what belongs to him,” Jesus says, “and to God what is God’s.” Like-wise, Paul declares the question of human v. divine rule over our lives is always a God question. He praises the Thessalonians for “turning away from idols to serve a living and true God.” That is the central question of our lives as well: what belongs to whom?
We keep our heads straight over whom we serve and how, with our worship life. We gather weekly to worship the Triune God, taking time out of our schedules not for us but for God, and plant anchors in our hearts and minds. These anchors strengthen each time we worship, reminding us even in a self-centered world with our self-centered minds that we belong not to ourselves but to God. Our worship keeps us from falling for our trap of thinking there are parts of our lives that have noth-ing to do with God.
Sunday we will gather once more around the means of God’s grace, Word and Sacrament, as we always do. We will, as we always do, find we not only are fed by the life and healing love of the risen Christ, we are pulled off ourselves as center of our lives and recentered on the Triune God. We are, like the Thessalon-ians, moved from idols to serving the living and true God. No traps. No idols. Simply the grace of having our lives drawn into the heart of God’s death-ending love and life, and the joy of seeing that grace transform us and the world.
Joseph
Sunday Readings
October 19, 2014: 19th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 29A)
Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96
I Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
______________________
October 26, 2014: Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
Sunday’s Adult Forum: October 19
Conversation with the New Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at Mount Olive, Anna Kingman
Congregation Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of the Mount Olive congregation will be held this coming Sunday, October 19, after second liturgy. Items for discussion include:
• the 2015 budget (needs congregational vote and approval)
• updates from the Visioning Committee
• a preview of on-going Stewardship work
• news from the current Capital Campaign to replenish our designated accounts and cash reserves.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Please note the following change in time and location for our next meeting. The next session meets on Saturday, November 22, 9:00 am at 3120 E. Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
The Great TRUST Auction
The annual TRUST auction will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014, beginning at 6:00 pm at Lake Harriet Methodist Church, 4901 Chowen Avenue S. in Minneapolis. This year’s auction features the Metropolitan Boys Choir!
The cost is $20 for adults (in advance or with reservations),
$15 for seniors (65+), and youth under 10 are free;
$25 at the door. For reservations or additional information, call 612-827-6159, or email trustinc@visi.com.
Reserve a table of eight for your group!
CareerWalk
Looking for a job? Whether unemployed, under-employed, misemployed or just thinking about doing something different, please join us for the fall CareerWalk program. Learn new skills, gain new networking contacts, feel refreshed and supported, explore new interests and land jobs. CareerWalk is open to everyone and there is no charge. Come for all sessions or those that are of interest. Find specific session information and register there.
CareerWalk is held on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 pm at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
Getting to Know You …
The new members received on October 5 were asked to submit a brief introduction about themselves for publication in The Olive Branch. We will publish these introductions as they are received.
Robin Rayfield
I was born in Minneapolis, baptized in Door County, Wisconsin, and I grew up a couple of blocks away from Mount Olive. Except for maybe once, I had never set foot inside Mount Olive until I had an email exchange with Pr. Crippen. A fundamentalist preached that the rapture was about to happen, and I emailed the pastor of the church I knew about, asking about it. Pastor Crippen responded, telling me about God’s love, and that I had nothing to fear. I decided to visit Mount Olive and found something wonderful. I’m also now a co-administrator of a Christian group called Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented. We bring hope and healing to people that have been hurt by the actions of many Christians. Currently, I’m a struggling musician, and I play several instruments including guitar, piano, accordion, and Appalachian dulcimer.
Victor Gebauer
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1938, Victor arrived to the USA in 1942 and grew up in Illinois. A graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, he also spent over thirty years on the faculty of Concordia University, Saint Paul, before finishing his career as executive director of Lutheran Music Program. Victor and his wife, Marilyn, actually were members of Mount Olive in the 1960’s and l970’s. They were married here, began a family, and are now returning to the church where their relationship as family and fellows in faith first began.
Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Nov. 2, members are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be an opportunity to write these names this Sunday and in the remaining weeks of October, or simply contact the church office. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.
Thanks!
Thanks to Lora Dundek, Patsy Holtmeier, Carla Manuel, Gail Neilsen, Connie Olson, and Sandra Pranschke for providing treats and coffee for the Congregational Meeting this past Sunday.
There are lots of empty slots on the coffee sign-up chart, and we invite you to bring cookies or bars for coffee after either liturgy. Please let Carla Manuel know if you can help out in this way. She can be reached at 612-521-3952.
The Roegges Welcome a New Baby Girl!
While the birth of a child is always a time of joy and celebration, it is also a time of adjusting to new routines - and sometimes getting a meal on the table can be challenging. If you are so inclined to offer a welcome, dinner might be just the ticket.
Meals are most definitely welcomed by the Roegge family; thanks to those who have inquired about scheduling a delivery. There is no pre-determined schedule so it is suggested that contact be made directly with Brooke and Matt at 612-332-2856, to see what works best for them. When you agree on a date, please call or email Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306-8872 or gebauevm@bitstream.net so a calendar entry can be made for purposes of future planning.
The Rogge's are vegetarians but eat fish, eggs, cheese etc. (word has it that they aren't picky at all!) Matt and Brooke live in St Paul at 1604 Beechwood Ave.
Meals for the Manuels to be Continued
Thanks to all who have generously signed up to bring Friday dinners to the Manuel family. The calendar to date is filled through to November 7, with the exception of Friday, October 31. If you can bring dinner on that date (Halloween) or on any Friday from November 14 on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
“Bowing to the Holy”
Mount Olive is partnering with The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection , Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and Pilgrim Lutheran Churches in St. Paul to present a one day worship conference on Saturday, November 22, at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
Information on the conference, “Bowing to the Holy,” is available at church. If you would like a brochure to be mailed to you, just call the church office.
Chosen: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
Meeting in the Chapel Lounge on Thursday evenings through October 23 (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Pr. Crippen is leading a study titled “Chosen.” This is an exploration of the biblical witness to Abraham and Sarah and their family, with a focus on what the Bible means by "chosen people,” and how that continues in the present both as our calling and also a challenge in a pluralistic, often violent world.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
Wedding Invitation
In gratitude for the community that is Mount Olive, we invite you to join us in celebrating the marriage of our daughter Siri Rebecca Hellerman and John Michael Guari, and for light refreshments in the Chapel Lounge, following the liturgy. Saturday, 25 October 2014, 2:00 pm.
- David and Diana Hellerman
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on November 8 the Book Discussion Group will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, and for their meeting on December 13, they will read Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include:
Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and
The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm
Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Let Us Be Glad
God’s deepest desire and firmest promise is to hold a feast for all peoples where death and pain is no more, where all have enough to eat, where all, all are welcome; our only question is why we’re so reluctant to come to the party.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 28 A
texts: Matthew 22:1-14; Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
You realize there’s no reason we can’t stop the Gospel reading after verse 4, don’t you?
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’”
The end. The party is ready, the food’s on the table, all are invited to the royal wedding. Come and have a feast, a celebration, a party. This could be the end of the story, the beginning of the joy.
The rest of this parable – the reaction, the killing, the horrifying consequences to the rejected invitation, the casting out of one guest – none of that has to happen.
Imagine all we heard from Scripture today was Isaiah’s vision of God’s feast, David’s joy in the Shepherd’s table, Paul’s exhortation to rejoice, and those first 4 verses of Matthew 22. This would be a day of celebration.
You do realize there’s nothing preventing that, don’t you? Nothing keeping us from stopping after 4? We’re forcing the other ending.
If we did stop there, we could recognize important things about this feast God wants to have.
We could realize God’s feast is inclusive of all.
Certainly Jesus’ story shows the kingdom of heaven as a feast opening its doors to the many. By the end, all are brought in, “both the good and the bad.” Isaiah more powerfully promises a time when the Lord of hosts will “make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines.” It sounds marvelous.
And it’s for all peoples. It’s inclusive because God is inclusive: no one is left out. All peoples, even, presumably, our enemies, will be at the feast.
David sang of God making us a table in the presence of our enemies. Maybe we’ve misheard that, thinking it’s trust that we can bravely eat with God while our enemies howl at us. What if David meant what Isaiah said? The feast is for all peoples, so the Good Shepherd’s gift is that enemies are made companions, sharers of bread, fellow feasters.
That’s what this feast could be for us and for the world, if we want it.
We could realize God’s feast is restorative, too.
That vision, that even enemies are changed to friends and eat with us at God’s table, is magnificent in its hope for a new world unlike anything we experience. This feast God provides, by bringing in all people, gives life and restoration to a world of death and brokenness. “You restore my soul,” David sings. Surely that happens when the table is spread in the midst of our enemies and all eat together.
The restoration goes even deeper: in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, the feast God spreads for the peoples of the world is a healing gift of forgiveness and grace, where all – good and bad – are welcomed, where reconciliation is offered, where new life begins.
This restoration is actually complete: Isaiah declares a feast paired with the death of death. The funeral pall covering this earth, pulled over the face of the world as a medical examiner might do at the scene of a crime, that sheet is now ripped away, destroyed, that all might live. Tears are wiped away, with no need for new ones, unless they are tears of joy at this life. At this feast all anyone can say is, “This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
That’s what this feast could be for us and for the world, if we want it.
We could also realize God’s feast is now, and it is a foretaste.
Isaiah sings of a coming time when death is no more. David sings in the valley of the shadow of death. Both sing of a great feast hosted by God.
Recognizing this about God’s providing, God’s feasting, Paul encourages the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. Again, he repeats, I say rejoice. He sees this feast of God not only in our future, but alive in our present. So alive we can let go of all our anxiety, praying all things with thanksgiving knowing God answers with abundance.
The meal the risen Christ spreads before us of his Body and Blood, this Table of life at which we eat here, we call a foretaste of God’s great feast to come. It’s also a sign of this present joy: at this table, around the world, gather friends and enemies, all to receive life and forgiveness and salvation. It isn’t yet inclusive of all; it’s not the full feast God intends for the whole creation. We wait for the time yet to come for that fullness.
But it is a sign of this greater feast of God that is beginning even now.
That’s what this feast could be for us and for the world, if we want it.
The king says: All is ready, come to my feast. What’s keeping us?
Well, life is busy and complicated. As with some in Jesus’ story, we might have business to attend to, life to live, work to be done. We can’t stop such important things. Like some in the parable, we might also “make light of it,” deciding this “feast” is just pie-in-the-sky unrealistic dreaming, focusing our attention on the “real” life. Either way, we can’t be bothered to come to God’s feast.
We might struggle with our abundance. As last week’s parable said, we live in a garden we did not make, with a harvest we don’t deserve; letting go of that isn’t easy. We might not come to God’s feast if we have to share with others.
We may have something in common with the ill-dressed wedding guest. The host provided wedding garments for everyone; he didn’t want to wear it. Did he think his own clothes were nice enough, he didn’t need to wear someone else’s? Do we also fool ourselves into thinking we deserve to be at God’s feast in our own right, by who we are, by what we’ve done, clothed in our own rightness, not clothed by God in the goodness of Christ Jesus?
This feast could be life for us and for the world. Somehow, we’re the ones who keep us from living that.
My friends, listen to what our brother Paul says: Rejoice! Rejoice!
There is no need for you or anyone to live outside God’s gracious providing. The Lord is near, and you can pray with thanksgiving for all you need. So keep your mind on the feast God is offering: “Beloved,” Paul says, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Think about these things and rejoice. Set aside your worries, and trust in the Triune God, who, in Christ Jesus, has made all things new, true, just, honorable, worthy of praise, and is making a feast for all peoples to live in God’s abundant life.
This is the feast God is doing in the world, for us and for the world, if only we want it. So we return to the prayer with which we began this morning:
“Call us again to your banquet, Lord of the feast.”
Ask us once more, gracious God. We have held back, for many reasons, but we see now you dream for abundant life among all peoples; we want to be a part of that. We want to come.
This feast God provides is found in its fullness in the time to come, yet even now God makes it in this world of evil and pain. It’s a potluck feast, where everyone brings what they have for all. Those with material abundance bring that to share; those with spiritual abundance bring that to share; those who think they have nothing still discover gifts they can place on God’s table for all to enjoy.
We know this: God’s hope and desire is to bring all peoples together, even in this life, in a feast of life and grace and love. There’s absolutely no reason for us not to accept this invitation and step forward ready to work with God to make it a reality in this world. No reason for us not to say with joy and hope: “This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 28 A
texts: Matthew 22:1-14; Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
You realize there’s no reason we can’t stop the Gospel reading after verse 4, don’t you?
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’”
The end. The party is ready, the food’s on the table, all are invited to the royal wedding. Come and have a feast, a celebration, a party. This could be the end of the story, the beginning of the joy.
The rest of this parable – the reaction, the killing, the horrifying consequences to the rejected invitation, the casting out of one guest – none of that has to happen.
Imagine all we heard from Scripture today was Isaiah’s vision of God’s feast, David’s joy in the Shepherd’s table, Paul’s exhortation to rejoice, and those first 4 verses of Matthew 22. This would be a day of celebration.
You do realize there’s nothing preventing that, don’t you? Nothing keeping us from stopping after 4? We’re forcing the other ending.
If we did stop there, we could recognize important things about this feast God wants to have.
We could realize God’s feast is inclusive of all.
Certainly Jesus’ story shows the kingdom of heaven as a feast opening its doors to the many. By the end, all are brought in, “both the good and the bad.” Isaiah more powerfully promises a time when the Lord of hosts will “make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines.” It sounds marvelous.
And it’s for all peoples. It’s inclusive because God is inclusive: no one is left out. All peoples, even, presumably, our enemies, will be at the feast.
David sang of God making us a table in the presence of our enemies. Maybe we’ve misheard that, thinking it’s trust that we can bravely eat with God while our enemies howl at us. What if David meant what Isaiah said? The feast is for all peoples, so the Good Shepherd’s gift is that enemies are made companions, sharers of bread, fellow feasters.
That’s what this feast could be for us and for the world, if we want it.
We could realize God’s feast is restorative, too.
That vision, that even enemies are changed to friends and eat with us at God’s table, is magnificent in its hope for a new world unlike anything we experience. This feast God provides, by bringing in all people, gives life and restoration to a world of death and brokenness. “You restore my soul,” David sings. Surely that happens when the table is spread in the midst of our enemies and all eat together.
The restoration goes even deeper: in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, the feast God spreads for the peoples of the world is a healing gift of forgiveness and grace, where all – good and bad – are welcomed, where reconciliation is offered, where new life begins.
This restoration is actually complete: Isaiah declares a feast paired with the death of death. The funeral pall covering this earth, pulled over the face of the world as a medical examiner might do at the scene of a crime, that sheet is now ripped away, destroyed, that all might live. Tears are wiped away, with no need for new ones, unless they are tears of joy at this life. At this feast all anyone can say is, “This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
That’s what this feast could be for us and for the world, if we want it.
We could also realize God’s feast is now, and it is a foretaste.
Isaiah sings of a coming time when death is no more. David sings in the valley of the shadow of death. Both sing of a great feast hosted by God.
Recognizing this about God’s providing, God’s feasting, Paul encourages the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. Again, he repeats, I say rejoice. He sees this feast of God not only in our future, but alive in our present. So alive we can let go of all our anxiety, praying all things with thanksgiving knowing God answers with abundance.
The meal the risen Christ spreads before us of his Body and Blood, this Table of life at which we eat here, we call a foretaste of God’s great feast to come. It’s also a sign of this present joy: at this table, around the world, gather friends and enemies, all to receive life and forgiveness and salvation. It isn’t yet inclusive of all; it’s not the full feast God intends for the whole creation. We wait for the time yet to come for that fullness.
But it is a sign of this greater feast of God that is beginning even now.
That’s what this feast could be for us and for the world, if we want it.
The king says: All is ready, come to my feast. What’s keeping us?
Well, life is busy and complicated. As with some in Jesus’ story, we might have business to attend to, life to live, work to be done. We can’t stop such important things. Like some in the parable, we might also “make light of it,” deciding this “feast” is just pie-in-the-sky unrealistic dreaming, focusing our attention on the “real” life. Either way, we can’t be bothered to come to God’s feast.
We might struggle with our abundance. As last week’s parable said, we live in a garden we did not make, with a harvest we don’t deserve; letting go of that isn’t easy. We might not come to God’s feast if we have to share with others.
We may have something in common with the ill-dressed wedding guest. The host provided wedding garments for everyone; he didn’t want to wear it. Did he think his own clothes were nice enough, he didn’t need to wear someone else’s? Do we also fool ourselves into thinking we deserve to be at God’s feast in our own right, by who we are, by what we’ve done, clothed in our own rightness, not clothed by God in the goodness of Christ Jesus?
This feast could be life for us and for the world. Somehow, we’re the ones who keep us from living that.
My friends, listen to what our brother Paul says: Rejoice! Rejoice!
There is no need for you or anyone to live outside God’s gracious providing. The Lord is near, and you can pray with thanksgiving for all you need. So keep your mind on the feast God is offering: “Beloved,” Paul says, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Think about these things and rejoice. Set aside your worries, and trust in the Triune God, who, in Christ Jesus, has made all things new, true, just, honorable, worthy of praise, and is making a feast for all peoples to live in God’s abundant life.
This is the feast God is doing in the world, for us and for the world, if only we want it. So we return to the prayer with which we began this morning:
“Call us again to your banquet, Lord of the feast.”
Ask us once more, gracious God. We have held back, for many reasons, but we see now you dream for abundant life among all peoples; we want to be a part of that. We want to come.
This feast God provides is found in its fullness in the time to come, yet even now God makes it in this world of evil and pain. It’s a potluck feast, where everyone brings what they have for all. Those with material abundance bring that to share; those with spiritual abundance bring that to share; those who think they have nothing still discover gifts they can place on God’s table for all to enjoy.
We know this: God’s hope and desire is to bring all peoples together, even in this life, in a feast of life and grace and love. There’s absolutely no reason for us not to accept this invitation and step forward ready to work with God to make it a reality in this world. No reason for us not to say with joy and hope: “This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Thursday, October 9, 2014
The Olive Branch, 10/8/14
Accent on Worship
A few Sundays ago I stood along with many of you, hymnal in hand, the organ leading us, as fervent voices lifted up in energetic praise a song of worship. I could sense, feel, and share in that almost touchable offering that was flowing through the pews and up into the sky. It was that Sunday that I decided that yes, indeed, this is a place I could work with and worship with.
The following weeks meant more interviews and a job offer from Mount Olive to begin as the Coordinator of Neighbor-hood Outreach and Ministry. Through the hard work of the Visioning committee and interview team, they had created a vivid and inspiring picture of the possibilities and hopes for what can be done through this position. I was encouraged along the way to hear that there is a deep-seated history of pursuing social justice issues and service, and that the people that make up this place are ready and willing to continue that work.
As I step into this role and learn from its past and present, I am both impressed and fortified that there is still much, so much, to be done. Through deep listening, open conversa-tions, and active involvement, my role will be to see and guide the efforts of this congregation to fully participate and BE a part of the neighborhood and its people’s lives so that we may all experience God’s presence and blessing.
I am reminded of the verses that sustained me through my 2 years in a tiny mountain town in Peru as I served in the Peace Corps: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strength-en you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”
Let us dare to hope and dream and love with the know-ledge that it is God who is at work ahead of us, beside us, and within us.
- Anna Kingman
Sunday Readings
October 12, 2014: 18th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 28A)
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
______________________
October 19, 2014: 19th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 29A)
Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96:1-9 [10-13]
I Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
Sunday’s Adult Forum: October 12
"Music for Occasional Services," presented by Cantor David Cherwien.
Marriage and funeral rites take place within the context of a liturgy of communal worship. How does this fact shape the selection of hymns, anthems, solos, and other music for these liturgies?
2015 Budget Preview Meeting
The Vestry's proposed 2015 budget will ask us to stretch ourselves to invest in and support our rostered staff, improve our building, and increase our commitment to live as Christ's followers in the world.
A copy of the proposed budget is attached/included with this newsletter.
Come learn more at the budget preview after second liturgy this coming Sunday, October 12, beginning at approximately 12:30, and then attend the semi-annual congregational meeting on October 19 at Noon.
Congregation Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of the Mount Olive congregation will be held on Sunday, October 19, after second liturgy. Items for discussion include:
• the 2015 budget (needs congregational vote and approval)
• updates from the Visioning Committee
• a preview of on-going Stewardship work
• news from the current Capital Campaign to replenish our designated accounts and cash reserves.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Please note the following change in time and location for our next meeting. The next session meets on Saturday, November 22, 9:00 am at 3120 E. Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
Installation of Anna Kingman October 12
Note the schedule change for the day:
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:30 a.m. Education Hour
10:45 a.m. Eucharist and Installation
12:00 p.m., after liturgy: refreshments and fellowship with Anna Kingman
12:30 p.m. or so, 2015 Budget Preview Forum
This Sunday, October 12, we will install our new Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry, Anna Kingman.
Anna’s been working with us since Sept. 23. Her hiring is the beginning of a new time in the life of Mount Olive congregation. She will continue to do many of the things Donna Neste was doing, but in addition, her new job description includes a deep involvement in the life and work of this congregation. We asked her to join us as a member, which she did last Sunday, Oct. 5. She will work with us to help us better understand our mission and ministry in this neighborhood and in our neighborhoods. She will dream with us and help us not only to hear God’s call but also help us to put hands and feet to what we hear. We’ve asked her among us to help us get to work!
When the pastor and cantor of this congregation are installed, a special worship schedule for the day is used, and in light of the importance of this new position and what we hope for Anna to do in leadership among us, we will celebrate her installation the same way. This Sunday, Oct. 12, we’ll have Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m., regular Education Hour at 9:30 a.m., and then Eucharist and Installation at 10:45 a.m. This way the whole congregation can gather at once in God’s grace and presence as we commit to our work together with Anna.
A couple other notable things related to these days: This Sunday, Oct. 12, there is a time of fellowship and refreshments with Anna after second liturgy. Following that, there will be a forum introducing the 2015 budget. This is in preparation for the October Semi-Annual Meeting of the Congregation, set for Sunday, Oct. 19, after second liturgy (see page 2 for more information).
Lastly, Anna will lead the Adult Forum on Oct. 19, to introduce herself and the ministry she’s beginning with us.
First Music & Fine Arts Event of the Season to be Held This Sunday
On Sunday, October 12, at 4:00 pm, Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts is pleased to present a recital by organist Aaron David Miller. He will play works of Bach, Sweelinck, Gigout, and improvisation.
Aaron is Music Director and Organist at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. He is known as one of the finest organ improvisers in the country, having won several international awards and given concerts across the nation. The improvisation for this concert will be an on-the-spot creation, using themes gathered from the audience! Don’t miss it!
A reception will follow.
Brain Power Needs Treat Power!
Please help us in providing our tutoring program kids with some re-fueling treats through-out the school year!
We are looking for a snack and beverage for each Tuesday after the tutoring program to send kids home smart and happy.
There are sign-up sheets downstairs by the Community Events bulletin board, or you may contact Anna Kingman, Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at 612-827-5910, or by email to neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org. (Email is the best and fastest way to reach me!)
We are also in need of more substitute tutors to be on-call for the year. We hope to serve many kids and want each one to get the attention they need.
Let me know if you are interested.
- Anna Kingman
Support Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts!
Members of the Music & Fine Arts Committee will be on hand between the liturgies this Sunday, October 12, to receive your donations to support this year’s series!
2014-2015 brochures were sent electronically with last week’s Olive Branch. If you would like a hard copy of the brochure mailing, you may either pick one up at church or contact the church office and we will be happy to mail one to you.
Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Nov. 2, members are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be an opportunity to write these names this Sunday and in the remaining weeks of October, or simply contact the church office. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.
Mount Olive Directory Photos Fall 2014 Schedule
If you did not get your personal, couple or family photos taken last fall there will be a time to get your photos taken in October and included in the updated directory.
We invite folks who have been worshiping regularly but are not members at Mount Olive to also have their photo(s) taken to include in the directory so that others can put names and faces together.
Below are listed the time slots available to have your photos taken. Select the day and approximate time(s) that work best for you and call or email the church office to sign up (612-827-5919/welcome@mountolivechurch.org).
You will be contacted the week before the sessions with a specific time for your photo session. Photos will be taken in the lower level of the education building.
• Wednesday, October 8 - 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
• Thursday, October 9 - 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Saturday, October 11 - 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Sunday, October 12 - 12:30 to 1:30 PM following the liturgy
Once you have signed up for a date and approximate times that work for you, we will combine all of the requests and set up a schedule to take all those requesting that specific day. If you have further questions please contact Paul Nixdorf (photographer) by phone at 612-296-0055, or by email to pn@paulnixdorf.com.
Welcome to Matt and Brooke Roegge's new baby girl!
While the birth of a child is always a time of joy and celebration, it is also a time of adjusting to new routines - and sometimes getting a meal on the table can be challenging. If you are so inclined to offer a welcome, dinner might be just the ticket.
Matt & Brooke are vegetarians, but they eat fish, eggs, cheese, etc. (word has it that they aren't picky at all!) If you’d like to provide a meal, you can call or email Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306-8872, or gebauevm@bitstream.net to schedule a date. The Roegges live in St Paul at 1604 Beechwood Ave.
“Bowing to the Holy”
Mount Olive is partnering with The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection , Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and Pilgrim Lutheran Churches in St. Paul to present a one day worship conference on Saturday, November 22, at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
Information on the conference, “Bowing to the Holy,” is available at church. If you would like a brochure to be mailed to you, just call the church office.
Meals for the Manuels to be Continued
Thanks to all who have generously signed up to bring Friday dinners to the Manuel family. The calendar to date is filled through to November 7, with the exception of Friday, October 31. If you can bring dinner on that date (Halloween) or on any Friday from November 14 on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include: Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and
The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien.
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm, Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Chosen: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
Meeting in the Chapel Lounge on Thursday evenings through October 23 (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Pr. Crippen is leading a study titled “Chosen.” This is an exploration of the biblical witness to Abraham and Sarah and their family, with a focus on what the Bible means by "chosen people,” and how that continues in the present both as our calling and also a challenge in a pluralistic, often violent world.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
Wedding Invitation
In gratitude for the community that is Mount Olive, we invite you to join us in celebrating the marriage of our daughter Siri Rebecca Hellerman and John Michael Guari, and for light refreshments in the Chapel Lounge, following the liturgy. Saturday, 25 October 2014, 2:00 pm.
- David and Diana Hellerman
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on October 11, the Book Discussion group will read The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid. For the meeting on November 8 they will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver.
The Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly area at church. All readers are welcome!
A few Sundays ago I stood along with many of you, hymnal in hand, the organ leading us, as fervent voices lifted up in energetic praise a song of worship. I could sense, feel, and share in that almost touchable offering that was flowing through the pews and up into the sky. It was that Sunday that I decided that yes, indeed, this is a place I could work with and worship with.
The following weeks meant more interviews and a job offer from Mount Olive to begin as the Coordinator of Neighbor-hood Outreach and Ministry. Through the hard work of the Visioning committee and interview team, they had created a vivid and inspiring picture of the possibilities and hopes for what can be done through this position. I was encouraged along the way to hear that there is a deep-seated history of pursuing social justice issues and service, and that the people that make up this place are ready and willing to continue that work.
As I step into this role and learn from its past and present, I am both impressed and fortified that there is still much, so much, to be done. Through deep listening, open conversa-tions, and active involvement, my role will be to see and guide the efforts of this congregation to fully participate and BE a part of the neighborhood and its people’s lives so that we may all experience God’s presence and blessing.
I am reminded of the verses that sustained me through my 2 years in a tiny mountain town in Peru as I served in the Peace Corps: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strength-en you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”
Let us dare to hope and dream and love with the know-ledge that it is God who is at work ahead of us, beside us, and within us.
- Anna Kingman
Sunday Readings
October 12, 2014: 18th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 28A)
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
______________________
October 19, 2014: 19th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 29A)
Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96:1-9 [10-13]
I Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
Sunday’s Adult Forum: October 12
"Music for Occasional Services," presented by Cantor David Cherwien.
Marriage and funeral rites take place within the context of a liturgy of communal worship. How does this fact shape the selection of hymns, anthems, solos, and other music for these liturgies?
2015 Budget Preview Meeting
The Vestry's proposed 2015 budget will ask us to stretch ourselves to invest in and support our rostered staff, improve our building, and increase our commitment to live as Christ's followers in the world.
A copy of the proposed budget is attached/included with this newsletter.
Come learn more at the budget preview after second liturgy this coming Sunday, October 12, beginning at approximately 12:30, and then attend the semi-annual congregational meeting on October 19 at Noon.
Congregation Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of the Mount Olive congregation will be held on Sunday, October 19, after second liturgy. Items for discussion include:
• the 2015 budget (needs congregational vote and approval)
• updates from the Visioning Committee
• a preview of on-going Stewardship work
• news from the current Capital Campaign to replenish our designated accounts and cash reserves.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Please note the following change in time and location for our next meeting. The next session meets on Saturday, November 22, 9:00 am at 3120 E. Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
Installation of Anna Kingman October 12
Note the schedule change for the day:
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:30 a.m. Education Hour
10:45 a.m. Eucharist and Installation
12:00 p.m., after liturgy: refreshments and fellowship with Anna Kingman
12:30 p.m. or so, 2015 Budget Preview Forum
This Sunday, October 12, we will install our new Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry, Anna Kingman.
Anna’s been working with us since Sept. 23. Her hiring is the beginning of a new time in the life of Mount Olive congregation. She will continue to do many of the things Donna Neste was doing, but in addition, her new job description includes a deep involvement in the life and work of this congregation. We asked her to join us as a member, which she did last Sunday, Oct. 5. She will work with us to help us better understand our mission and ministry in this neighborhood and in our neighborhoods. She will dream with us and help us not only to hear God’s call but also help us to put hands and feet to what we hear. We’ve asked her among us to help us get to work!
When the pastor and cantor of this congregation are installed, a special worship schedule for the day is used, and in light of the importance of this new position and what we hope for Anna to do in leadership among us, we will celebrate her installation the same way. This Sunday, Oct. 12, we’ll have Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m., regular Education Hour at 9:30 a.m., and then Eucharist and Installation at 10:45 a.m. This way the whole congregation can gather at once in God’s grace and presence as we commit to our work together with Anna.
A couple other notable things related to these days: This Sunday, Oct. 12, there is a time of fellowship and refreshments with Anna after second liturgy. Following that, there will be a forum introducing the 2015 budget. This is in preparation for the October Semi-Annual Meeting of the Congregation, set for Sunday, Oct. 19, after second liturgy (see page 2 for more information).
Lastly, Anna will lead the Adult Forum on Oct. 19, to introduce herself and the ministry she’s beginning with us.
First Music & Fine Arts Event of the Season to be Held This Sunday
On Sunday, October 12, at 4:00 pm, Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts is pleased to present a recital by organist Aaron David Miller. He will play works of Bach, Sweelinck, Gigout, and improvisation.
Aaron is Music Director and Organist at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. He is known as one of the finest organ improvisers in the country, having won several international awards and given concerts across the nation. The improvisation for this concert will be an on-the-spot creation, using themes gathered from the audience! Don’t miss it!
A reception will follow.
Brain Power Needs Treat Power!
Please help us in providing our tutoring program kids with some re-fueling treats through-out the school year!
We are looking for a snack and beverage for each Tuesday after the tutoring program to send kids home smart and happy.
There are sign-up sheets downstairs by the Community Events bulletin board, or you may contact Anna Kingman, Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at 612-827-5910, or by email to neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org. (Email is the best and fastest way to reach me!)
We are also in need of more substitute tutors to be on-call for the year. We hope to serve many kids and want each one to get the attention they need.
Let me know if you are interested.
- Anna Kingman
Support Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts!
Members of the Music & Fine Arts Committee will be on hand between the liturgies this Sunday, October 12, to receive your donations to support this year’s series!
2014-2015 brochures were sent electronically with last week’s Olive Branch. If you would like a hard copy of the brochure mailing, you may either pick one up at church or contact the church office and we will be happy to mail one to you.
Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Nov. 2, members are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be an opportunity to write these names this Sunday and in the remaining weeks of October, or simply contact the church office. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.
Mount Olive Directory Photos Fall 2014 Schedule
If you did not get your personal, couple or family photos taken last fall there will be a time to get your photos taken in October and included in the updated directory.
We invite folks who have been worshiping regularly but are not members at Mount Olive to also have their photo(s) taken to include in the directory so that others can put names and faces together.
Below are listed the time slots available to have your photos taken. Select the day and approximate time(s) that work best for you and call or email the church office to sign up (612-827-5919/welcome@mountolivechurch.org).
You will be contacted the week before the sessions with a specific time for your photo session. Photos will be taken in the lower level of the education building.
• Wednesday, October 8 - 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
• Thursday, October 9 - 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Saturday, October 11 - 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Sunday, October 12 - 12:30 to 1:30 PM following the liturgy
Once you have signed up for a date and approximate times that work for you, we will combine all of the requests and set up a schedule to take all those requesting that specific day. If you have further questions please contact Paul Nixdorf (photographer) by phone at 612-296-0055, or by email to pn@paulnixdorf.com.
Welcome to Matt and Brooke Roegge's new baby girl!
While the birth of a child is always a time of joy and celebration, it is also a time of adjusting to new routines - and sometimes getting a meal on the table can be challenging. If you are so inclined to offer a welcome, dinner might be just the ticket.
Matt & Brooke are vegetarians, but they eat fish, eggs, cheese, etc. (word has it that they aren't picky at all!) If you’d like to provide a meal, you can call or email Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306-8872, or gebauevm@bitstream.net to schedule a date. The Roegges live in St Paul at 1604 Beechwood Ave.
“Bowing to the Holy”
Mount Olive is partnering with The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection , Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and Pilgrim Lutheran Churches in St. Paul to present a one day worship conference on Saturday, November 22, at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
Information on the conference, “Bowing to the Holy,” is available at church. If you would like a brochure to be mailed to you, just call the church office.
Meals for the Manuels to be Continued
Thanks to all who have generously signed up to bring Friday dinners to the Manuel family. The calendar to date is filled through to November 7, with the exception of Friday, October 31. If you can bring dinner on that date (Halloween) or on any Friday from November 14 on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
National Lutheran Choir All Saints Concerts: “The Souls of the Righteous”
This All Saints weekend, the National Lutheran Choir invites you to honor the saints in your life by gathering to reflect through song and prayer. Prior to our two concerts, guests are encouraged to add the name of a friend or family member that has passed away to the Book of Names (also available online at www.nlca.com). Candles will be lit in remembrance, and the Book of Names will be read aloud throughout the concerts. Artistic Director, David Cherwien, conducts.
Musical highlights include: Funeral Ikos by John Tavener, When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes, O Tod, wie bitter bist du (O Death, how bitter are you) by Max Reger, This is My Father’s World and Stars by Eriks Esenvalds, Angels Hovering Round by Kevin Siegfried, and
The Souls of the Righteous by David Cherwien.
When & Where:
• Saturday, November 1, 2014 – 7pm, Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN 55436)
• Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 4pm, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN 55115)
Tickets: $25 Adult | $23 Senior | $10 Student | 17 & under – FREE. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nlca.com or call 612-722-2301.
Chosen: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
Meeting in the Chapel Lounge on Thursday evenings through October 23 (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Pr. Crippen is leading a study titled “Chosen.” This is an exploration of the biblical witness to Abraham and Sarah and their family, with a focus on what the Bible means by "chosen people,” and how that continues in the present both as our calling and also a challenge in a pluralistic, often violent world.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
Wedding Invitation
In gratitude for the community that is Mount Olive, we invite you to join us in celebrating the marriage of our daughter Siri Rebecca Hellerman and John Michael Guari, and for light refreshments in the Chapel Lounge, following the liturgy. Saturday, 25 October 2014, 2:00 pm.
- David and Diana Hellerman
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on October 11, the Book Discussion group will read The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid. For the meeting on November 8 they will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver.
The Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly area at church. All readers are welcome!
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Heirs of the Beloved
We are heirs of the Beloved! Jesus invites us to be heirs of God’s kingdom, an abundance we cannot begin to imagine. It is given to us freely, and in response, we are called to receive the gifts of God, tend them, and share them with everyone around us.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 27 A
Texts: Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:7-15, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I don’t know about you, but from the time I was a child, I was taught to secure my future by working hard, dressing well, saving money, getting a degree from a “good” school, earning the right title in the right organization. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing inherently wrong with these things, and I knew I was loved, but I always felt somehow that I would be loved a little more, be a little more successful, if I could just master these basic credentials. And as I reflect on this experience, I recognize that I adopted an underlying belief that all good things in the world, even love—perhaps especially love—were a scarce commodity that needed to be earned, and once earned, defended. I suspect that this is a common perspective among those of us who have grown up in middle-class America, who have been taught that you get what you deserve, that there is “no free lunch.”
The readings for today paint a very different picture of God’s kingdom. In the passage from Isaiah, we hear a song to the Beloved who has created a place of abundance for us—a vineyard on a very fertile hill, cleared of stones, planted with choice vines. There is a watchtower, a winepress, all that is needed for a full life. It is a gift freely given by God to God’s people, before they have done anything to earn it. Matthew echoes this image, describing almost identically a lush vineyard in which God’s people live, in which they—we—can bear the fruits of the kingdom, or as Isaiah puts it, produce grapes instead of wild grapes. We are given all we need to live a fruitful life.
Most of us probably haven’t spent a lot of time in a vineyard, but hopefully all of us can imagine a place of great love and abundance. A place where there is always room for us. All needs are met. We are loved without condition, without measure. Close your eyes for a moment. (Come on, close them!) Where is this place for you? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Who is there? What food is served? What happens when new people come, asking to share in the love of this place? How do you feel when you are there? This is what Isaiah, and Matthew, and the psalmist, are talking about—this is what God has promised us. We are heirs of Isaiah’s Beloved, the God who loves each of us abundantly.
Unfortunately, the tenants in Matthew’s vineyard don’t seem to experience this promise. When the landowner sends messengers to ask for a share of the produce, they have forgotten that the land is a gift from a God of extravagant abundance, and that there is enough for all. They react by defending their territory, casting the messengers out of the kingdom, even killing them, because they are afraid. They believe that the only way to be sure they will have what they need is to defend it, by violent means if necessary. And when the vineyard owner sends his son, they kill him too, sure that this will guarantee their future. They have claimed the vineyard as their own property, forgotten that it belongs to God. Rather than receiving the gift, tending it and sharing it, they mistakenly think that they have earned it and must defend it. And in the very process of defending it, they lose the inheritance they sought to keep for themselves.
Before we let ourselves off the hook, though, claiming that we have not killed anyone to defend what we have, it is important that we acknowledge that violence does not always mean physical death. There is a violence inherent in the systems — racism, classism, ableism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism—that protect those of us in privileged positions, ensuring that we will have more than we need while others in less privileged positions don’t have enough. 17th century German preacher Franz Hunolt quotes Augustine as saying, “He who refuses to share his superfluous wealth with the poor is evidently guilty of keeping what belongs to another.” Keeping what belongs to another. What we have is not our own. It belongs not just to us, but to all the heirs of the Beloved. When we ignore these systems, and hold on to what we have while others go without, we are acting as the tenants did. We will inevitably cease producing fruit, and we will lose the kingdom.
We miss out on the abundant blessing of the kingdom when we claim ownership of that abundance by virtue of our own credentials, our degrees, accomplishments, even religious affiliation. Our attempts to earn or prove our place generate only exhaustion, and inevitably fail. Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Philippians, saying that if anyone can claim to belong to God’s kingdom based on their own merit it is he, and then lists an impressive resume . . . circumcision, heritage, religious connection, righteousness under the law, even persecution of the church that some believed to be a threat to Judaism. Paul goes on to say that all of this is counted as loss—he actually uses the word “dung”—in comparison with knowing Jesus, being in relationship with the Beloved.
The abundance of the kingdom of the Beloved extends far beyond monetary wealth. We all have gifts and passions we have been given, for the purpose of sharing them. We take the role of the tenants when we hold ourselves back, believing that the gifts we have are not good enough to be shared with others, fearing that we might be rejected, afraid that somehow we might not get what we need. We bring death to ourselves as well as those around us by not sharing the abundant life and love our Beloved has created within us.
So, then, how shall we live? When we are aware that what we have comes from God, the Beloved, we live in abundance and not in scarcity. Rather than trusting in our own efforts or credentials, living in fear that we will not have enough or that what we have will be taken from us, we will bear the fruits of the spirit—love, joy, peace, patience . . . . We will share ourselves and what we have freely with those around us. And when we see systems or circumstances that keep others locked in oppression, that prevent our neighbors from being able to fully participate in the abundance of this world, we will courageously work to ensure that everyone can take their place as heirs of the Beloved. And we will tend the kingdom by caring for ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and allowing others to care for us as we care for others.
None of this is easy, because it is not what the world around us teaches, and because it requires us to surrender, a challenging task for those of us who like to feel that we have some measure of control. As with everything in the spiritual life, we are to live into the promise—and the call—knowing we cannot do it without God. Paul says, “Not that I have already attained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Because Jesus has claimed us, we can claim the kingdom, not solely as future promise, but also here, in this moment, as a present reality.
Jesus invites us to be heirs of God’s kingdom, an abundance we cannot begin to imagine. We do not have to earn it; in fact, we can’t. It is given to us freely, as a gift. And in response, we are called to receive the gifts of God, tend them, and share them with everyone around us. We are heirs of the Beloved! With whom will you share your abundance today?
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 27 A
Texts: Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:7-15, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I don’t know about you, but from the time I was a child, I was taught to secure my future by working hard, dressing well, saving money, getting a degree from a “good” school, earning the right title in the right organization. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing inherently wrong with these things, and I knew I was loved, but I always felt somehow that I would be loved a little more, be a little more successful, if I could just master these basic credentials. And as I reflect on this experience, I recognize that I adopted an underlying belief that all good things in the world, even love—perhaps especially love—were a scarce commodity that needed to be earned, and once earned, defended. I suspect that this is a common perspective among those of us who have grown up in middle-class America, who have been taught that you get what you deserve, that there is “no free lunch.”
The readings for today paint a very different picture of God’s kingdom. In the passage from Isaiah, we hear a song to the Beloved who has created a place of abundance for us—a vineyard on a very fertile hill, cleared of stones, planted with choice vines. There is a watchtower, a winepress, all that is needed for a full life. It is a gift freely given by God to God’s people, before they have done anything to earn it. Matthew echoes this image, describing almost identically a lush vineyard in which God’s people live, in which they—we—can bear the fruits of the kingdom, or as Isaiah puts it, produce grapes instead of wild grapes. We are given all we need to live a fruitful life.
Most of us probably haven’t spent a lot of time in a vineyard, but hopefully all of us can imagine a place of great love and abundance. A place where there is always room for us. All needs are met. We are loved without condition, without measure. Close your eyes for a moment. (Come on, close them!) Where is this place for you? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Who is there? What food is served? What happens when new people come, asking to share in the love of this place? How do you feel when you are there? This is what Isaiah, and Matthew, and the psalmist, are talking about—this is what God has promised us. We are heirs of Isaiah’s Beloved, the God who loves each of us abundantly.
Unfortunately, the tenants in Matthew’s vineyard don’t seem to experience this promise. When the landowner sends messengers to ask for a share of the produce, they have forgotten that the land is a gift from a God of extravagant abundance, and that there is enough for all. They react by defending their territory, casting the messengers out of the kingdom, even killing them, because they are afraid. They believe that the only way to be sure they will have what they need is to defend it, by violent means if necessary. And when the vineyard owner sends his son, they kill him too, sure that this will guarantee their future. They have claimed the vineyard as their own property, forgotten that it belongs to God. Rather than receiving the gift, tending it and sharing it, they mistakenly think that they have earned it and must defend it. And in the very process of defending it, they lose the inheritance they sought to keep for themselves.
Before we let ourselves off the hook, though, claiming that we have not killed anyone to defend what we have, it is important that we acknowledge that violence does not always mean physical death. There is a violence inherent in the systems — racism, classism, ableism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism—that protect those of us in privileged positions, ensuring that we will have more than we need while others in less privileged positions don’t have enough. 17th century German preacher Franz Hunolt quotes Augustine as saying, “He who refuses to share his superfluous wealth with the poor is evidently guilty of keeping what belongs to another.” Keeping what belongs to another. What we have is not our own. It belongs not just to us, but to all the heirs of the Beloved. When we ignore these systems, and hold on to what we have while others go without, we are acting as the tenants did. We will inevitably cease producing fruit, and we will lose the kingdom.
We miss out on the abundant blessing of the kingdom when we claim ownership of that abundance by virtue of our own credentials, our degrees, accomplishments, even religious affiliation. Our attempts to earn or prove our place generate only exhaustion, and inevitably fail. Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Philippians, saying that if anyone can claim to belong to God’s kingdom based on their own merit it is he, and then lists an impressive resume . . . circumcision, heritage, religious connection, righteousness under the law, even persecution of the church that some believed to be a threat to Judaism. Paul goes on to say that all of this is counted as loss—he actually uses the word “dung”—in comparison with knowing Jesus, being in relationship with the Beloved.
The abundance of the kingdom of the Beloved extends far beyond monetary wealth. We all have gifts and passions we have been given, for the purpose of sharing them. We take the role of the tenants when we hold ourselves back, believing that the gifts we have are not good enough to be shared with others, fearing that we might be rejected, afraid that somehow we might not get what we need. We bring death to ourselves as well as those around us by not sharing the abundant life and love our Beloved has created within us.
So, then, how shall we live? When we are aware that what we have comes from God, the Beloved, we live in abundance and not in scarcity. Rather than trusting in our own efforts or credentials, living in fear that we will not have enough or that what we have will be taken from us, we will bear the fruits of the spirit—love, joy, peace, patience . . . . We will share ourselves and what we have freely with those around us. And when we see systems or circumstances that keep others locked in oppression, that prevent our neighbors from being able to fully participate in the abundance of this world, we will courageously work to ensure that everyone can take their place as heirs of the Beloved. And we will tend the kingdom by caring for ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and allowing others to care for us as we care for others.
None of this is easy, because it is not what the world around us teaches, and because it requires us to surrender, a challenging task for those of us who like to feel that we have some measure of control. As with everything in the spiritual life, we are to live into the promise—and the call—knowing we cannot do it without God. Paul says, “Not that I have already attained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Because Jesus has claimed us, we can claim the kingdom, not solely as future promise, but also here, in this moment, as a present reality.
Jesus invites us to be heirs of God’s kingdom, an abundance we cannot begin to imagine. We do not have to earn it; in fact, we can’t. It is given to us freely, as a gift. And in response, we are called to receive the gifts of God, tend them, and share them with everyone around us. We are heirs of the Beloved! With whom will you share your abundance today?
Thursday, October 2, 2014
The Olive Branch, 10/1/14
Accent on Worship
You might have noticed…
Sometimes there are unspoken practices or gestures that become a part of the liturgy in a community. They are not a part of the rubrics (rubric- from the word for red, meaning the directions in red in the worship book). They are sometimes individual acts of worship, sometimes done by many, or, sometimes, most, of the worshipers. No actions are mandated; if they were in the rubrics, the rubric would probably say "The congregation may…". Nor do these practices have only one meaning or significance: that meaning may vary from person to person. But it just might be helpful from time to time to hear what thoughts are behind some of these acts of worship.
• Sign of the cross (on forehead and chest): this is a gesture which reminds the observer of their baptism – the same sign made on the forehead at baptism with the words naming the Holy Trinity: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Some worshipers sign a small cross on their forehead, lips, and heart at the announcement of the Gospel to signify the desire to receive it with an open mind, proclaim it with our lips, and cherish it in our heart.
• Bowing to the cross in procession: as a reverent acknowledgement of the presence of the Risen Christ.
• Standing for the final stanza of a hymn: when the last stanza of a hymn includes naming the Trinity - “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” - or, is a stanza of doxology (praise) naming the Trinity, many will stand, if the congregation is not already standing, as a posture of reverence and full praise. The zimbelstern on the organ may sound to indicate this reverence, as well. The zimbelstern also usually sounds at the Sanctus ("Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might") of the eucharistic liturgy.
• Three-stanza hymns without alternation instructions. Quite often the middle stanza is sung in harmony, as the congregation corporately chooses. If I, as the organist, am using a different harmonization and hear harmony being sung, I try to immediately switch to the harmony being sung by the congregation.
• Odd-numbered verses in the psalmody, but a double tone. When a double tone is used (which spans two verses) for singing the verses of the psalm, and there is an odd number of verses, the last lone verse is sung to the last two measures of the tone.
• At the last line of the opening of the Great Thanksgiving many people sing “It is right to give God thanks and praise” instead of the words in the book “It is right to give our thanks and praise.” This is a conscious effort on the part of those who sing the first example to keep our language centered on God and not on us.
• Subtle hospitality. Some worshipers open their hymnals to the pages of the liturgies even if they know them from memory. Some people intentionally sit in front of a person who may be unfamiliar with the liturgical practices in this place, in order to alleviate uncertainty as to when to stand or sit or kneel or where the liturgy or hymn is in the worship book.
This list is just a beginning. Within the body of Christ's church that worships in this place, there is a variety of gifts, a variety of understandings. It has to do with which observances actually bring you more deeply into the presence of God and each other.
- Cantor David Cherwien
Sunday Readings
October 5, 2014: 17th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 27A)
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:7-15
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46
______________________
October 12, 2014: 18th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 28A)
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
Sunday’s Adult Forum: October 5
"Restorative Justice: An Alternative to Imprison-ment," presented by Amy Levad. Amy teaches moral theology at the University of St. Thomas and is the author of Redeeming A Prison Society: A Liturgical and Sacramental Response To Mass Incarceration and Restorative Justice: Theories and Practices of Moral Imagination.
2015 Budget Preview
On Sunday, October 12, following the second liturgy and a welcome celebration for Anna Kingman, the Vestry will host a brief opportunity to preview the 2015 budget. This is a good time to ask questions, get clarifica-tion, and hear the Vestry’s think-ing about 2015 and our work moving forward. Copies of the budget will be available via email from the church office, and hard copies will also be available in the office.
Congregation Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of the Mount Olive congregation will be held on Sunday, October 19, after second liturgy. Items for discussion include:
• the 2015 budget (needs congregational vote and approval)
• updates from the Visioning Committee
• a preview of on-going Stewardship work
• news from the current Capital Campaign to replenish our designated accounts and cash reserves.
Installation of Anna Kingman October 12
Note the schedule change for the day:
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:30 a.m. Education Hour
10:45 a.m. Eucharist and Installation
12:00 p.m., after liturgy: refreshments and fellowship with Anna Kingman
12:30 p.m. or so, 2015 Budget Preview Forum
On Sunday, October 12, we will install our new Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry, Anna Kingman.
Anna’s been working with us since Sept. 23. Her hiring is the beginning of a new time in the life of Mount Olive congregation. She will continue to do many of the things Donna was doing, but in addition her new job description includes a deep involvement in the life and work of this congregation. We have asked her to join us as a member, which she will do Sunday, Oct. 5. She will be working with us to help us better understand our mission and ministry in this neighborhood and in our neighborhoods. She will be dreaming with us and helping us not only to hear God’s call but also helping us to put hands and feet to what we hear. We’ve asked her among us to help us get to work!
When the pastor and cantor of this congregation are installed, a special worship schedule is done, and in light of the importance of this new position and what we hope for Anna to do in leadership among us, we will celebrate her installation the same way. On Sunday, Oct. 12, we’ll have Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m., regular Education Hour at 9:30 a.m., and then Eucharist and Installation at 10:45 a.m. This way the whole congregation can gather in God’s grace and presence as we commit to our work together with Anna.
A couple other notable things related to these days: On Oct. 12, there is a time of fellowship and refreshments with Anna after second liturgy, following that, there will be a forum introducing the 2015 budget. This is in preparation for the October Semi-Annual Meeting of the Congregation, set for Sunday, Oct. 19, after second liturgy (see page 2 for more information).
Lastly, Anna will lead the Adult Forum on Oct. 19, to introduce herself and the ministry she’s beginning with us.
Brain Power Needs Treat Power!
Please help us in providing our tutoring program kids with some re-fueling treats through-out the school year!
We are looking for a snack and beverage for each Tuesday after the tutoring program to send kids home smart and happy.
There are sign-up sheets downstairs by the Community Events bulletin board, or you may contact Anna Kingman, Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at 612-827-5910, or by email to neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org. (Email is the best and fastest way to reach me!)
We are also in need of more substitute tutors to be on-call for the year. We hope to serve many kids and want each one to get the attention they need.
Let me know if you are interested.
- Anna Kingman
Support Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts!
Members of the Music & Fine Arts Committee will be on hand between the liturgies this Sunday, October 5 and next Sunday, October 12, to receive your donations to this year’s series!
First Music & Fine Arts Event of the Season to be Held on October 12
On Sunday, October 12, at 4:00 pm, Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts is pleased to present a recital by organist Aaron David Miller. He will play works of Bach, Sweelinck, Gigout, and improvisation.
Aaron is Music Director and Organist at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. He is known as one of the finest organ improvisers in the country, having won several international awards and given concerts across the nation. The improvisation for this concert will be an on-the-spot creation, using themes gathered from the audience! Don’t miss it!
A reception will follow.
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on October 11, the Book Discussion group will read The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid. For the meeting on November 8 they will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver.
The Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly area at church. All readers are welcome!
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community. The next session meets on Wednesday, October 1 (tonight!), at 6:30 pm in the Youth Room (lower level), and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
A Note of Thanks
I want to thank all of you for your care and support over the last seven months while I worked with you as Interim Coordinator of Neighborhood Ministries. Worshipping with you and working alongside many of you as been a blessing for me in so many ways.
Thank you for a very meaningful Farewell and Godspeed and a wonderful reception. I look forward to worshipping with you from time to time and know that you will work with the new Coordinator as you move forward with your vision for Mount Olive in this community. I will miss you.
- Connie Toavs
Mount Olive Directory Photos Fall 2014 Schedule
If you did not get your personal, couple or family photos taken last fall there will be a time to get your photos taken in October and included in the updated directory.
We invite folks who have been worshiping regularly but are not members at Mount Olive to also have their photo(s) taken to include in the directory so that others can put names and faces together.
Below are listed the time slots available to have your photos taken. Select the day and approximate time(s) that work best for you and call or email the church office to sign up (612-827-5919/welcome@mountolivechurch.org).
You will be contacted the week before the sessions with a specific time for your photo session. Photos will be taken in the lower level of the education building.
• Sunday, October 5 - 12:30 to 1:30 PM following the liturgy
• Wednesday, October 8 - 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
• Thursday, October 9 - 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Saturday, October 11 - 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Sunday, October 12 - 12:30 to 1:30 PM following the liturgy
Once you have signed up for a date and approximate times that work for you, we will combine all of the requests and set up a schedule to take all those requesting that specific day. If you have further questions please contact Paul Nixdorf (photographer) by phone at 612-296-0055, or by email to pn@paulnixdorf.com.
Pastor’s Sabbatical
Pastor Crippen is working with the Vestry on initial planning for his upcoming sabbatical. The sabbatical will be from April through June of 2015, beginning on the Monday after Easter.
At this point there aren’t many details to share, but as more is known, it will be published in The Olive Branch. The budget being presented by the Vestry for 2015 will reflect the costs of the sabbatical.
Meals for the Manuels to be Continued
Thanks to all who have generously signed up to bring Friday dinners to the Manuel family. The calendar to date is filled through to November 7, with the exception of Friday, October 31. If you can bring dinner on that date (Halloween) or on any Friday from November 14 on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
MOGAL-NOW sponsors a Mid-Century Modern Parade of Homes tour and Potluck Dinner
This coming Sunday, October 5, at 4:00 pm, MOGAL-NOW invites members of Mount Olive to visit two mid-century modern homes that are listed on the 2014 national tour of MCM homes.
Lynn Dobson and Tony Thoe have invited us to their home at 278 Stonebridge Blvd., St Paul. Their home, along with the home of Geri and John Bjork, 316 Stonebridge Blvd, is listed as part of the Docomomo national tour the following weekend. We get a preview tour a week early, plus dinner and great conversation. (Visit http://www.docomomo-us.org/tour_day_2014_minnesota to view the website about the Docomomo tour. Their home is pictured on this site).
We will gather there at 4:00 pm on October 5 to check out the interesting architecture and landscaping at their home, and also walk three homes away to Geri and John Bjork’s home. Around 5:15 pm Lynn and Tony will begin grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and we will set out our potluck items and enjoy a meal together. We will also have a short discussion about upcoming MOGAL-NOW events. The evening will end with ice cream sundaes.
If you can join us for our Parade of Homes event please RSVP by calling the church office at 612-827-5919, or by dropping an email to welcome@mountolivechurch.org. When you email please indicate how many will be coming and also what you plan to bring for the potluck dinner that will go with hamburgers and hotdogs. Also plan to bring beverages (adult and otherwise).
MOGAL-NOW is the new and up to date version of the MOGAL (Mount Olive Gay and Lesbian) group. MOGAL-NOW is inclusive and of course, “straight friendly”. MOGAL-NOW plans to sponsor a series of social, informative and of course fun events throughout the year bringing together the entire Mount Olive community.
Chosen: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
Meeting in the Chapel Lounge on Thursday evenings through October 23 (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Pr. Crippen is leading a study titled “Chosen.” This is an exploration of the biblical witness to Abraham and Sarah and their family, with a focus on what the Bible means by "chosen people,” and how that continues in the present both as our calling and also a challenge in a pluralistic, often violent world.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
You might have noticed…
Sometimes there are unspoken practices or gestures that become a part of the liturgy in a community. They are not a part of the rubrics (rubric- from the word for red, meaning the directions in red in the worship book). They are sometimes individual acts of worship, sometimes done by many, or, sometimes, most, of the worshipers. No actions are mandated; if they were in the rubrics, the rubric would probably say "The congregation may…". Nor do these practices have only one meaning or significance: that meaning may vary from person to person. But it just might be helpful from time to time to hear what thoughts are behind some of these acts of worship.
• Sign of the cross (on forehead and chest): this is a gesture which reminds the observer of their baptism – the same sign made on the forehead at baptism with the words naming the Holy Trinity: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Some worshipers sign a small cross on their forehead, lips, and heart at the announcement of the Gospel to signify the desire to receive it with an open mind, proclaim it with our lips, and cherish it in our heart.
• Bowing to the cross in procession: as a reverent acknowledgement of the presence of the Risen Christ.
• Standing for the final stanza of a hymn: when the last stanza of a hymn includes naming the Trinity - “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” - or, is a stanza of doxology (praise) naming the Trinity, many will stand, if the congregation is not already standing, as a posture of reverence and full praise. The zimbelstern on the organ may sound to indicate this reverence, as well. The zimbelstern also usually sounds at the Sanctus ("Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might") of the eucharistic liturgy.
• Three-stanza hymns without alternation instructions. Quite often the middle stanza is sung in harmony, as the congregation corporately chooses. If I, as the organist, am using a different harmonization and hear harmony being sung, I try to immediately switch to the harmony being sung by the congregation.
• Odd-numbered verses in the psalmody, but a double tone. When a double tone is used (which spans two verses) for singing the verses of the psalm, and there is an odd number of verses, the last lone verse is sung to the last two measures of the tone.
• At the last line of the opening of the Great Thanksgiving many people sing “It is right to give God thanks and praise” instead of the words in the book “It is right to give our thanks and praise.” This is a conscious effort on the part of those who sing the first example to keep our language centered on God and not on us.
• Subtle hospitality. Some worshipers open their hymnals to the pages of the liturgies even if they know them from memory. Some people intentionally sit in front of a person who may be unfamiliar with the liturgical practices in this place, in order to alleviate uncertainty as to when to stand or sit or kneel or where the liturgy or hymn is in the worship book.
This list is just a beginning. Within the body of Christ's church that worships in this place, there is a variety of gifts, a variety of understandings. It has to do with which observances actually bring you more deeply into the presence of God and each other.
- Cantor David Cherwien
Sunday Readings
October 5, 2014: 17th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 27A)
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:7-15
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46
______________________
October 12, 2014: 18th Sunday after Pentecost (Lect. 28A)
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
Sunday’s Adult Forum: October 5
"Restorative Justice: An Alternative to Imprison-ment," presented by Amy Levad. Amy teaches moral theology at the University of St. Thomas and is the author of Redeeming A Prison Society: A Liturgical and Sacramental Response To Mass Incarceration and Restorative Justice: Theories and Practices of Moral Imagination.
2015 Budget Preview
On Sunday, October 12, following the second liturgy and a welcome celebration for Anna Kingman, the Vestry will host a brief opportunity to preview the 2015 budget. This is a good time to ask questions, get clarifica-tion, and hear the Vestry’s think-ing about 2015 and our work moving forward. Copies of the budget will be available via email from the church office, and hard copies will also be available in the office.
Congregation Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of the Mount Olive congregation will be held on Sunday, October 19, after second liturgy. Items for discussion include:
• the 2015 budget (needs congregational vote and approval)
• updates from the Visioning Committee
• a preview of on-going Stewardship work
• news from the current Capital Campaign to replenish our designated accounts and cash reserves.
Installation of Anna Kingman October 12
Note the schedule change for the day:
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:30 a.m. Education Hour
10:45 a.m. Eucharist and Installation
12:00 p.m., after liturgy: refreshments and fellowship with Anna Kingman
12:30 p.m. or so, 2015 Budget Preview Forum
On Sunday, October 12, we will install our new Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry, Anna Kingman.
Anna’s been working with us since Sept. 23. Her hiring is the beginning of a new time in the life of Mount Olive congregation. She will continue to do many of the things Donna was doing, but in addition her new job description includes a deep involvement in the life and work of this congregation. We have asked her to join us as a member, which she will do Sunday, Oct. 5. She will be working with us to help us better understand our mission and ministry in this neighborhood and in our neighborhoods. She will be dreaming with us and helping us not only to hear God’s call but also helping us to put hands and feet to what we hear. We’ve asked her among us to help us get to work!
When the pastor and cantor of this congregation are installed, a special worship schedule is done, and in light of the importance of this new position and what we hope for Anna to do in leadership among us, we will celebrate her installation the same way. On Sunday, Oct. 12, we’ll have Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m., regular Education Hour at 9:30 a.m., and then Eucharist and Installation at 10:45 a.m. This way the whole congregation can gather in God’s grace and presence as we commit to our work together with Anna.
A couple other notable things related to these days: On Oct. 12, there is a time of fellowship and refreshments with Anna after second liturgy, following that, there will be a forum introducing the 2015 budget. This is in preparation for the October Semi-Annual Meeting of the Congregation, set for Sunday, Oct. 19, after second liturgy (see page 2 for more information).
Lastly, Anna will lead the Adult Forum on Oct. 19, to introduce herself and the ministry she’s beginning with us.
Brain Power Needs Treat Power!
Please help us in providing our tutoring program kids with some re-fueling treats through-out the school year!
We are looking for a snack and beverage for each Tuesday after the tutoring program to send kids home smart and happy.
There are sign-up sheets downstairs by the Community Events bulletin board, or you may contact Anna Kingman, Coordinator of Neighborhood Outreach and Ministry at 612-827-5910, or by email to neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org. (Email is the best and fastest way to reach me!)
We are also in need of more substitute tutors to be on-call for the year. We hope to serve many kids and want each one to get the attention they need.
Let me know if you are interested.
- Anna Kingman
Support Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts!
Members of the Music & Fine Arts Committee will be on hand between the liturgies this Sunday, October 5 and next Sunday, October 12, to receive your donations to this year’s series!
First Music & Fine Arts Event of the Season to be Held on October 12
On Sunday, October 12, at 4:00 pm, Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts is pleased to present a recital by organist Aaron David Miller. He will play works of Bach, Sweelinck, Gigout, and improvisation.
Aaron is Music Director and Organist at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. He is known as one of the finest organ improvisers in the country, having won several international awards and given concerts across the nation. The improvisation for this concert will be an on-the-spot creation, using themes gathered from the audience! Don’t miss it!
A reception will follow.
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on October 11, the Book Discussion group will read The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid. For the meeting on November 8 they will read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver.
The Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the West Assembly area at church. All readers are welcome!
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to drop in and visit the Transitions Support Group to see if this is a place where you might find some solace and reassurance for the challenges or uncertainties that are before you.
This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community. The next session meets on Wednesday, October 1 (tonight!), at 6:30 pm in the Youth Room (lower level), and will be facilitated by Amy Cotter and Cathy Bosworth. If you have questions, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144 or marcat8447@yahoo.com.
A Note of Thanks
I want to thank all of you for your care and support over the last seven months while I worked with you as Interim Coordinator of Neighborhood Ministries. Worshipping with you and working alongside many of you as been a blessing for me in so many ways.
Thank you for a very meaningful Farewell and Godspeed and a wonderful reception. I look forward to worshipping with you from time to time and know that you will work with the new Coordinator as you move forward with your vision for Mount Olive in this community. I will miss you.
- Connie Toavs
Mount Olive Directory Photos Fall 2014 Schedule
If you did not get your personal, couple or family photos taken last fall there will be a time to get your photos taken in October and included in the updated directory.
We invite folks who have been worshiping regularly but are not members at Mount Olive to also have their photo(s) taken to include in the directory so that others can put names and faces together.
Below are listed the time slots available to have your photos taken. Select the day and approximate time(s) that work best for you and call or email the church office to sign up (612-827-5919/welcome@mountolivechurch.org).
You will be contacted the week before the sessions with a specific time for your photo session. Photos will be taken in the lower level of the education building.
• Sunday, October 5 - 12:30 to 1:30 PM following the liturgy
• Wednesday, October 8 - 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
• Thursday, October 9 - 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Saturday, October 11 - 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Sunday, October 12 - 12:30 to 1:30 PM following the liturgy
Once you have signed up for a date and approximate times that work for you, we will combine all of the requests and set up a schedule to take all those requesting that specific day. If you have further questions please contact Paul Nixdorf (photographer) by phone at 612-296-0055, or by email to pn@paulnixdorf.com.
Pastor’s Sabbatical
Pastor Crippen is working with the Vestry on initial planning for his upcoming sabbatical. The sabbatical will be from April through June of 2015, beginning on the Monday after Easter.
At this point there aren’t many details to share, but as more is known, it will be published in The Olive Branch. The budget being presented by the Vestry for 2015 will reflect the costs of the sabbatical.
Meals for the Manuels to be Continued
Thanks to all who have generously signed up to bring Friday dinners to the Manuel family. The calendar to date is filled through to November 7, with the exception of Friday, October 31. If you can bring dinner on that date (Halloween) or on any Friday from November 14 on, please let Marilyn Gebauer know at gebauevm@bitstream.net or 612-306-8872.
Julie’s treatment will continue for at least the next several months. The family is very grateful for the support of prayers and meals during this difficult time.
MOGAL-NOW sponsors a Mid-Century Modern Parade of Homes tour and Potluck Dinner
This coming Sunday, October 5, at 4:00 pm, MOGAL-NOW invites members of Mount Olive to visit two mid-century modern homes that are listed on the 2014 national tour of MCM homes.
Lynn Dobson and Tony Thoe have invited us to their home at 278 Stonebridge Blvd., St Paul. Their home, along with the home of Geri and John Bjork, 316 Stonebridge Blvd, is listed as part of the Docomomo national tour the following weekend. We get a preview tour a week early, plus dinner and great conversation. (Visit http://www.docomomo-us.org/tour_day_2014_minnesota to view the website about the Docomomo tour. Their home is pictured on this site).
We will gather there at 4:00 pm on October 5 to check out the interesting architecture and landscaping at their home, and also walk three homes away to Geri and John Bjork’s home. Around 5:15 pm Lynn and Tony will begin grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and we will set out our potluck items and enjoy a meal together. We will also have a short discussion about upcoming MOGAL-NOW events. The evening will end with ice cream sundaes.
If you can join us for our Parade of Homes event please RSVP by calling the church office at 612-827-5919, or by dropping an email to welcome@mountolivechurch.org. When you email please indicate how many will be coming and also what you plan to bring for the potluck dinner that will go with hamburgers and hotdogs. Also plan to bring beverages (adult and otherwise).
MOGAL-NOW is the new and up to date version of the MOGAL (Mount Olive Gay and Lesbian) group. MOGAL-NOW is inclusive and of course, “straight friendly”. MOGAL-NOW plans to sponsor a series of social, informative and of course fun events throughout the year bringing together the entire Mount Olive community.
Chosen: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
Meeting in the Chapel Lounge on Thursday evenings through October 23 (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Pr. Crippen is leading a study titled “Chosen.” This is an exploration of the biblical witness to Abraham and Sarah and their family, with a focus on what the Bible means by "chosen people,” and how that continues in the present both as our calling and also a challenge in a pluralistic, often violent world.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
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