Accent on Worship
Last week, I realized I have only four months left with you before internship ends. I think about when I started, excited but unsure what to expect. I think about my first Accent article, highlighting the many ways I had witnessed you loving each other, loving me.
Over these eight months, I have only added to that list. 1 John says, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action,” and I see this invitation lived out by all of you. I see “love in truth and action” as you strive to build community with our neighbors. I see love in the deep relationships between members who share rides to church each week. Love abounds as you welcome and create space for those new to Mount Olive, visitors, clergy, and staff alike. That love is evident as you offer practical help and hope to those experiencing illness and loss.
As we live into our Vision Expression, “In the presence of God, Being the presence of God,” we grow in our ability to embody God’s love in the world. And we come face to face with how diffi-cult it can be. Over coffee on Sun-day, one of you asked how to respond in love to the pain of friends who have lost their home, loved ones, everything, to the devastation of civil war, when the only thing that feels loving to them is violent revenge. Several of us wrestled with this, and found more questions than answers. How do you love one who has been hurt so badly? How do you love one who has hurt you? How would you respond?
I am fortunate to be with you this year, to learn and wrestle and grow and love together. I am grateful for the time we have had, and grateful that my time is not up, yet. Thank you for teaching me about love in truth and action. Thank you for being who you are!
- Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Sunday Readings
April 26, 2015: Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
I John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
May 3, 2015: Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:25-31
I John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
Sunday’s Adult Forum: April 26, 9:30 am
“Wisdom From the Desert: Stories from Women in the Early Church,” part 1 of a 2-part series presented by Prof. Sr. Mary Foreman, Assoc. Professor of Theology, St. Benedict University, St. Joseph, MN, and author of Praying With the Desert Mothers.
Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting to be Held This Sunday, April 26
The Semi-annual Congregational meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held after second liturgy this Sunday, April 26.
On the agenda is the election of Vestry Officers. The slate of candidates recommended by the Vestry for election are:
• President, Lora Dundek (1-year term)
• Secretary, Peggy Hoeft (1-year term)
• Vice President, Tom Graves (1-year term)
• Treasurer, Tim Lindholm (1-year term)
• Education Director, Steve Manuel (3-year term)
• Property Director, Art Halbardier (3-year term)
• Youth Director, Amy Thompson (3-year term)
Nominations for the Vestry may also be offered from the floor.
Other items of business are:
• Ministry Fair/Update on Vision process
• Mount Olive Foundation Presentation
All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend.
Encounters with Jesus: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year began last Thursday, April 16, and runs for five weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. The final session will end with the Holy Eucharist for the Feast of the Ascension on May 14.
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study focusing on five stories of encounters with Jesus from the New Testament. In addition to discussing the context and background, we will use the Ignatian meditation form, Praying with Imagination, as a way of entering into the stories.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!
The Ascension of Our Lord
Thursday, May 14
Holy Eucharist at 7:00 pm
Book Discussion Group Update
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome!
For the May 9 meeting, the Book Discussion group will read, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag. For June 13, The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones, and for July 11, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens.
Calling All Graduates!
On Sunday, June 14, we will honor our graduates at a reception following the 9:30 a.m. liturgy.
If you are graduating from high school, college, seminary, or another post-secondary school, or if you know of some-one else from Mount Olive who is graduating this spring, please take a moment to notify the church office. We want to be sure that all of our graduates are invited!
Amazing gRace Link Correction--Get Involved!
Apologies for last week's link troubles. Try this: https://www.firstgiving.com/team/293972.
Whether you donate through Mount Olive or directly to team member Anna, 100% of your support will go to LVC. Anna Dundek and Eric Bell are getting ready to race around the Twin Cities on May 2 as they visit Lutheran Volunteer Corps placement sites to learn about LVC and promote the work of LVC members for peace with justice across our area.
Check out the display case to see Anna and Eric and the places their gRace will take them.
When Anna and Eric win (!?!) they will have the opportunity to direct donations to a particular LVC placement site. What would you like to see the money support? Leave them a message on their donation site about your favorite LVC "peace with justice" work.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet 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, May 6, from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, 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.
New Members to be Received May 17
New members will be received on May 17, 2015, at the second liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy in the Undercroft.
Please contact Andrew Andersen at 763-607-1689, or call the church office at 612-837-5910, if you are interested in becoming a member at Mount Olive.
The brunch is open to all Mount Olive folk as well as families and friends. Plan to come to meet our newest members and welcome them!
Hospitality Help Wanted!
Could you help with a behind-the-scenes hospitality task? We are in need of two or three persons who would be willing and able to launder table linens after they are used at funeral receptions or congregation events such as the Easter Vigil.
Please call the church office at 612-837-5919 to volunteer or talk with Gail Neilsen, Carla Manuel, or Andrew Andersen.
Mark Your Calendars for the May Day Parade, Sunday, May 3, Noon
The May Day Parade and Festival has become a joyous annual rite of spring. More than 2,000 participants, along with amazing puppets and floats, parade down Bloomington Avenue telling a story and creating a moving theatrical performance. Thousands more line the streets to watch the parade and participate in day-long activities. Following the parade, a pageant and tree of life ceremony in Powderhorn Park ushers in the renewal of a new spring season. For more information or to get involved check the HOBT website: http://hobt.org/mayday/
(Find the Mount Olive crew to watch the parade at the corner of Bloomington Ave. & 28th St. at Noon!)
Minnesota Brain Tumor 5K
Inspired by Gene Hennig, the “Lean Mean Gene Machines” are raising research funds with the MN Brain Tumor 5K event on Sunday, May 17, 2015, at Lake Phalen in St. Paul.
We have set a goal of $5000. One hundred percent of tax-deductible donations support the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. Please visit our team fundraising page here: http://bit.ly/1OYNUAA.
All are invited to join us for the non-competitive, fun run/walk! Families and dogs are welcome, provided that their caretakers assume responsibility. We are working on some fun “extras” as a part of the event, too. Feel free to contact Emily Hennig at emilyhennig@gmail.com, or Kate Teece at k8teece@gmail.com with any questions. We hope you will join us!
- The Hennig family
Sign Up, Sign Up for Coffee!
Take a turn and sign up to serve Sunday coffee. There are plenty of openings on the chart, so find a day that works for you and sign up!
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In an effort to share about the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: Exodus Lending
It’s one of the things you may never have to think about, but for many people it’s the only thing on their mind – Payday loans. April has been a momentous month on the front of battling ‘predatory lending’ and efforts to confront this immoral, but not illegal practice. With the work of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, JRLC, and many others, Exodus Lending was launched as an alternative and a relief for those trapped in these loans that exist to take advantage of them. Although the bill in the legislature was not brought up in this session, there is still much progress being made, but much much more to do.
An excerpt from a Southside Pride article by Ashley Pederson.
“On April 1, 2015, the nonprofit Exodus Lending opened for business. Exodus Lending refinances payday loans, and then offers financial counseling and a savings program. Four clients were enrolled in the program on the first day. Director Adam Rao said that, “In our first week of operations, we refinanced over $2,800 in payday debt, saving those clients nearly $12,800 over the next year in finance charges and fees.” Exodus Lending is the first of its kind in Minnesota. It is funded by individual donations and grants.
If you want to enroll or donate, you can find more information at exoduslending.org or 612-615-0067.
In Need of a Few Extra Helping Hands!
Mount Olive will host dinner at Our Saviour’s Housing on Sunday, May 10, and a few more helpers are needed to host a lovely evening meal on this day, beginning at 6:45 pm.
If you are able and willing, please contact Lora Dundek at lhdundek@usfamily.net
Opportunities to BE Involved
Take part in the Congregation Meeting and Ministry Fair this Sunday, April 26, after the second liturgy. There will be a variety of ways to use your gifts and talents to share with your church and community.
Thank you for all that you do, and please consider where your energies may be well used!
Spanish phrase:
Part of sharing in community is understanding one another through language, culture, or experience. As we explore our community and get to know our neighbors, let's continue with some helpful language lessons.
English: “Where is your family from?”
Spanish: ”De donde es su familia?” (Day-dohn-day es sue fah-meel-ee-ah)
Review: “How can I help you?’”
Spanish: “Como le puedo ayudar?” (Coh-mo lay pooh-ay-doh eye-u-dar)
Go out and be fearlessly friendly folks!
National Lutheran Choir to Present Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week
The National Lutheran Choir brings Alexander Gretchaninoff's glorious Passion Week to the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 8pm
Basilica of Saint Mary (88 N 17th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 7pm
Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave. SW, Rochester, MN 55902)
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Students aged 17 and under FREE. For tickets or more information, call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.nlca.com
Twin Cities AGO May Members Concert
Friday, May 1, 2015, 7:30 pm
St. Michael's Lutheran Church
9201 Normandale Boulevard
Bloomington, MN 55437
The Twin Cities American Guild of Organists presents its 2015 TCAGO Members Concert. Resident Musician Jane Horn has invited us to visit St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Bloomington and share the sounds of the splendid 48-rank Reuter organ.
Performers in this concert will be: Jennifer Anderson, Matt Bacon, Kim Crisler, Chris Ganza, Stephen Hamilton, Samuel Holmberg, and Jane Horn.
They will play works of Widor, Dupré, Howells, Paulus, Chilcott, Ives, Pardini, Friedell, Bach, Kendrick, Drischner, Vaubourgoin, and Messiaen.
This concert is free and open to the public. A reception follows the concert.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
The Olive Branch, 4/15/15
Accent on Worship
Easter is not just a Spring Fling. There are seven Sundays in Easter—seven opportunities to unpack the Resurrection, fathom its depths, and ask what it means, both for our lives and for the life of the world.
The gospels use different forms for “talking Resurrection.” The simplest form is the story of the empty tomb. “He is not here; he is risen.” Of course, the “risen” part is an interpretation, since there are other ways for a tomb to empty.
The most common way to talk Resurrection is to say that the dead man appeared; but Hellenistic texts are full of stories about gods dying and rising, appearing and disappearing, even impregnating women in their sleep.
So, how do our Lord’s appearances differ? At first he comes and goes, through doors. He is un-recognizable and can be interpreted as a ghost. But this is balanced by his demonstration of his body, particularly his scars. That is what establishes continuity with the Jesus of Galilee. Then they know it is the Lord. Then they know it is their friend.
The gospels want to present us with more than a ghostly Jesus. This Jesus has triumphed over death and has restored our relationship with God. It is not just our being that matters, but our being in relationship, in family, in community with God and neighbor. We are not desperate souls, searching for a way out of a body doomed to die. We are children of God, born anew through Baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ. That life cannot wither because it has been made secure from God’s side.
So we are enabled to turn all our beloved dead over to God, all the loving relationships that we have treasured, all the special bonds we have known, believing that God will keep it for eternity.
- Interim Pastor Robert A. Hausman
Sunday Readings
April 19, 2015: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
I John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
April 26, 2015: Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
I John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
Sunday’s Adult Forum : April 19, 9:30 am
"Exploring Spiritual Gifts," presented by Vicar Meagan McLaughlin. What gifts has God given you to share with the world?
Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting to be Held April 26
The Semi-annual Congregational meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held after second liturgy on Sunday, April 26.
On the agenda is the election of Vestry Officers. The slate of candidates recommended by the Vestry for election are:
• President, Lora Dundek (1-year term)
• Secretary, Peggy Hoeft (1-year term)
• Vice President, Tom Graves (1-year term)
• Treasurer, Tim Lindholm (1-year term)
• Education Director, Steve Manuel (3-year term)
• Property Director, Art Halbardier (3-year term)
• Youth Director, Amy Thompson (3-year term)
Nominations for the Vestry may also be offered from the floor.
Other items of business are:
• Ministry Fair/Update on Vision process
• Mount Olive Foundation Presentation
All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend.
Encounters with Jesus: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starts Tomorrow!
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, April 16, and runs for five weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. The final session will end with the Holy Eucharist for the Feast of the Ascension on May 14.
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study focusing on five stories of encounters with Jesus from the New Testament. In addition to discussing the context and background, we will use the Ignatian meditation form, Praying with Imagination, as a way of entering into the stories.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. (The first meal is covered, and a sign-up sheet will passed around for the remaining weeks.)
All are welcome to this study opportunity!
For Your Information
• Continue the Conversation (about end of life decision making) workshop is scheduled for this Saturday, April 18, 10 am - noon at Mount Olive. You can register at the table in the reception area. You will see “sticky notes” with questions on the poster. If one or more states a question or concern you have, attach it to a 3 x 5 card along with your name for your registration for the event and put it in the bowl. Your family/friends are welcome; we just need to know how many people to plan for.
• Can you Help? As noted previously in The Olive Branch, your Congregational Care Committee continues to “grow” this list. If you would like to be included, your name can be added now. Those of you who have signed on have not been forgotten. This is a developing program; more to come!
Book Discussion Group Update
For the May 9 meeting, the Book Discussion group will read, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag. For June 13, The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones, and for July 11, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens.
Support Our Amazing gRace Team!
This week a new Amazing Race starts on TV and goes for weeks and weeks. Our Amazing gRace is a one day event on Saturday, May 2, and YOU can support and celebrate our Mount Olive team.
Here are three ways to get involved:
1) Visit the team website and donate to the race: https://www.firstgiving.com/team/293972
All of the money will go to Lutheran Volunteer Corps sites--and when they win, Anna and Eric get to choose the site!
2) Be a Race Day Volunteer. The race runs all day, so you could help out for all or just part of the day. You could help get the race started, judge a station, get lunch for the teams, or help get ready for the big end of the race celebration. Email today to sign up: judyhinck@gmail.com.
3) Come to the end of the race celebration! Everyone is invited to cheer our team’s success. The celebration potluck is from 4-6 pm on May 2, at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church (100 North Oxford Street in St. Paul). Let's have a crowd to celebrate with Anna and Eric.
Need more information? See a Global Mission Committee member or send an email to Judy Hinck, judyhinck@gmail.com
Benefit for Our Saviour's Community Services
Caritas Vocal Ensemble will present a concert on behalf of Our Saviour's Community Services on Sunday, April 19, at 3 pm, at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, 2020 W. Lake of the Isles Pkwy. in Minneapolis. Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted to support the work of OSCS—ending homelessness and educating immigrants. Please come and bring your friends!
Capture Minnesota
Local photographer, Bill Donovan, shot three great photos in Mount Olive’s nave last week and entered them in the “Capture Minnesota” Photo a Day contest. All three of his photos were in the top 10 last week (out of about 500). Please click this link to the Capture Minnesota site to see Bill’s beautiful work. http://www.captureminnesota.com/photos/upcoming?page=1
Minnesota Brain Tumor 5K
Inspired by Gene Hennig, the “Lean Mean Gene Machines” are raising research funds with the MN Brain Tumor 5K event on Sun May 17, 2015 at Lake Phalen in St. Paul.
We have set a goal of $5000. One hundred percent of tax-deductible donations support the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. Please visit our team fundraising page here: http://bit.ly/1OYNUAA.
All are invited to join us for the non-competitive, fun run/walk! Families and dogs are welcome, provided that their caretakers assume responsibility. We are working on some fun “extras” as a part of the event, too. Feel free to contact Emily Hennig at emilyhennig@gmail.com, or Kate Teece at k8teece@gmail.com with any questions. We hope you will join us!
- The Hennig family
Sign Up, Sign Up for Coffee!
Take a turn and sign up to serve Sunday coffee. There are plenty of openings on the chart, so find a day that works for you and sign up!
Calling All Graduates!
If you are graduating from high school, college, seminary, or some other post-secondary school, or if you know of someone else from Mount Olive who is graduating this spring, please take a moment to notify the church office. We want to have all of our graduates invited and included in our graduation recognition this spring.
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In an effort to share about the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: YOUR Neighborhood
Sunshine makes us Minnesotans a funky type of ambitious. The warmth on our faces heats up our brain waves and we start planting endless gardens, going for innumerable bike rides, and stocking up weekend lake supplies. The real beauty of sunshine is that we SEE each other more (without our chins buried in our coats and eyes hidden from sideways snow gusts). We get out, walk, play, explore and much more.
This is all important in connecting more as well. In what ways are you interacting with your own neighborhood? How are you appreciating and participating in the life and function of the goodness going on right around you wherever you are? Are you being a good role model? This is just a reminder to be the change, be the one who smiles first, opens the door, picks up the extra trash, lets the driver in front, etc. As we’re inspired by the arrival of Spring, lets inspire others by our kindness and thoughtfulness in all places (yes, even in our cars where we think no one can hear us : )
Mark Your Calendars for the May Day Parade, Sunday, May 3, Noon
(Mount Olive friends who would like to march in the parade should meet at the corner of Bloomington Ave. & 28th St. at Noon!)
The May Day Parade and Festival has become a joyous annual rite of spring. More than 2,000 participants, along with amazing puppets and floats, parade down Bloomington Avenue telling a story and creating a moving theatrical performance. Thousands more line the streets to watch the parade and participate in day-long activities. Following the parade, a pageant and tree of life ceremony in Powderhorn Park ushers in the renewal of a new spring season. For more information or to get involved check the HOBT website: http://hobt.org/mayday/
Opportunities to BE Involved: Summer Acts
Summer ACTS is coming up!
This program will take place for 4 weeks, June 22–July 16, from 10:00 am-2:00 pm Monday–Thursday. Kids aged 9-14 will learn about service and responsibility by holding a summer job while participating in fun, meaningful projects. We will need mentors to work and play alongside them.
Please start to consider if this is an option for you and your family to be involved for two days during one or all of the weeks! Do you have children, neighbors, or grandkids that you think would like to participate? Keep them in mind and watch for an upcoming invitation. More info and sign-ups to come. Questions? Ask Anna at Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
Can You Help a Neighbor in Need?
The Community University Healthcare Center is looking for someone to help a single, disabled woman clean and organize her home near Lake Nokomis. Commitment could be spread out between 2-3 hours over 2-3 days. If you might be interested, please call or contact Anna, 612-827-5919, Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
National Lutheran Choir to Presents Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week
The National Lutheran Choir brings Alexander Gretchaninoff's glorious Passion Week to the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 8pm
Basilica of Saint Mary (88 N 17th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 7pm
Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave. SW, Rochester, MN 55902)
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Students aged 17 and under FREE. For tickets or more information, call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.nlca.com
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet 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, April 15 (this evening!), from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, 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.
Faith and Creation
Join Luther Seminary for the 2015 Rutlen Lecture, a bi-annual lecture series focused on faith and creation. This year’s lecture, “Creation, Sin and Sacrament in the Anthropocene,” will be given by Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Seminary.
The planet faces massive changes brought on by human beings. These likely include a new geological epoch, the “Anthropocene,” that challenges long-established ways of life. The base points of Christian faith are challeng-ed as well, from first things to last. This Rutlen Lecture probes the meaning of creation, sin and sacrament for a new epoch.
Congregation leaders are invited to “Integrating Green in Congregations” at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. A $10 buffet dinner will be available prior to the lecture at 7 p.m. that evening. After the lecture, Rasmussen will hold a book signing for “Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key.” He will also preach in chapel on April 22 at 11 a.m. All events take place in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary.
To find out more about Luther’s lecture series and to RSVP for the dinner, please visit: www.luthersem.edu/lectures/faithandcreation.
Easter Weekend Videos on YouTube
Thanks to Paul Nixdorf, who captured a couple of brief but wonderful moments at the Easter liturgies. Click the links below to see them.
Easter Vigil: http://youtu.be/qVYJktNXBv0
Easter Gospel Procession: http://youtu.be/tNLS36bCLiY
What do you like to do?
Write?
Cook?
Entertain?
Have fun?
Learn?
Socialize?
Talk about your faith?
Design things?
Hammer and saw?
Paint?
Sing?
Teach?
Spend time with kids?
Decorate?
Make things spotless?
What are your passions?
Service to the poor?
Equality and Justice?
Hospitality?
Learning?
Bible and Text Study?
Literature?
Music?
Worship?
Serving people inter-nationally?
Protecting the Environment?
Praying for others?
Web and Social networking?
Political advocacy?
Women’s issues?
We have an “Opp”(ortunity) for that!
Mount Olive Ministry Fair-April 26!
Easter is not just a Spring Fling. There are seven Sundays in Easter—seven opportunities to unpack the Resurrection, fathom its depths, and ask what it means, both for our lives and for the life of the world.
The gospels use different forms for “talking Resurrection.” The simplest form is the story of the empty tomb. “He is not here; he is risen.” Of course, the “risen” part is an interpretation, since there are other ways for a tomb to empty.
The most common way to talk Resurrection is to say that the dead man appeared; but Hellenistic texts are full of stories about gods dying and rising, appearing and disappearing, even impregnating women in their sleep.
So, how do our Lord’s appearances differ? At first he comes and goes, through doors. He is un-recognizable and can be interpreted as a ghost. But this is balanced by his demonstration of his body, particularly his scars. That is what establishes continuity with the Jesus of Galilee. Then they know it is the Lord. Then they know it is their friend.
The gospels want to present us with more than a ghostly Jesus. This Jesus has triumphed over death and has restored our relationship with God. It is not just our being that matters, but our being in relationship, in family, in community with God and neighbor. We are not desperate souls, searching for a way out of a body doomed to die. We are children of God, born anew through Baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ. That life cannot wither because it has been made secure from God’s side.
So we are enabled to turn all our beloved dead over to God, all the loving relationships that we have treasured, all the special bonds we have known, believing that God will keep it for eternity.
- Interim Pastor Robert A. Hausman
Sunday Readings
April 19, 2015: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
I John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
April 26, 2015: Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
I John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
Sunday’s Adult Forum : April 19, 9:30 am
"Exploring Spiritual Gifts," presented by Vicar Meagan McLaughlin. What gifts has God given you to share with the world?
Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting to be Held April 26
The Semi-annual Congregational meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held after second liturgy on Sunday, April 26.
On the agenda is the election of Vestry Officers. The slate of candidates recommended by the Vestry for election are:
• President, Lora Dundek (1-year term)
• Secretary, Peggy Hoeft (1-year term)
• Vice President, Tom Graves (1-year term)
• Treasurer, Tim Lindholm (1-year term)
• Education Director, Steve Manuel (3-year term)
• Property Director, Art Halbardier (3-year term)
• Youth Director, Amy Thompson (3-year term)
Nominations for the Vestry may also be offered from the floor.
Other items of business are:
• Ministry Fair/Update on Vision process
• Mount Olive Foundation Presentation
All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend.
Encounters with Jesus: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starts Tomorrow!
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, April 16, and runs for five weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. The final session will end with the Holy Eucharist for the Feast of the Ascension on May 14.
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study focusing on five stories of encounters with Jesus from the New Testament. In addition to discussing the context and background, we will use the Ignatian meditation form, Praying with Imagination, as a way of entering into the stories.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. (The first meal is covered, and a sign-up sheet will passed around for the remaining weeks.)
All are welcome to this study opportunity!
For Your Information
• Continue the Conversation (about end of life decision making) workshop is scheduled for this Saturday, April 18, 10 am - noon at Mount Olive. You can register at the table in the reception area. You will see “sticky notes” with questions on the poster. If one or more states a question or concern you have, attach it to a 3 x 5 card along with your name for your registration for the event and put it in the bowl. Your family/friends are welcome; we just need to know how many people to plan for.
• Can you Help? As noted previously in The Olive Branch, your Congregational Care Committee continues to “grow” this list. If you would like to be included, your name can be added now. Those of you who have signed on have not been forgotten. This is a developing program; more to come!
Book Discussion Group Update
For the May 9 meeting, the Book Discussion group will read, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag. For June 13, The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones, and for July 11, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens.
Support Our Amazing gRace Team!
This week a new Amazing Race starts on TV and goes for weeks and weeks. Our Amazing gRace is a one day event on Saturday, May 2, and YOU can support and celebrate our Mount Olive team.
Here are three ways to get involved:
1) Visit the team website and donate to the race: https://www.firstgiving.com/team/293972
All of the money will go to Lutheran Volunteer Corps sites--and when they win, Anna and Eric get to choose the site!
2) Be a Race Day Volunteer. The race runs all day, so you could help out for all or just part of the day. You could help get the race started, judge a station, get lunch for the teams, or help get ready for the big end of the race celebration. Email today to sign up: judyhinck@gmail.com.
3) Come to the end of the race celebration! Everyone is invited to cheer our team’s success. The celebration potluck is from 4-6 pm on May 2, at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church (100 North Oxford Street in St. Paul). Let's have a crowd to celebrate with Anna and Eric.
Need more information? See a Global Mission Committee member or send an email to Judy Hinck, judyhinck@gmail.com
Benefit for Our Saviour's Community Services
Caritas Vocal Ensemble will present a concert on behalf of Our Saviour's Community Services on Sunday, April 19, at 3 pm, at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, 2020 W. Lake of the Isles Pkwy. in Minneapolis. Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted to support the work of OSCS—ending homelessness and educating immigrants. Please come and bring your friends!
Capture Minnesota
Local photographer, Bill Donovan, shot three great photos in Mount Olive’s nave last week and entered them in the “Capture Minnesota” Photo a Day contest. All three of his photos were in the top 10 last week (out of about 500). Please click this link to the Capture Minnesota site to see Bill’s beautiful work. http://www.captureminnesota.com/photos/upcoming?page=1
Minnesota Brain Tumor 5K
Inspired by Gene Hennig, the “Lean Mean Gene Machines” are raising research funds with the MN Brain Tumor 5K event on Sun May 17, 2015 at Lake Phalen in St. Paul.
We have set a goal of $5000. One hundred percent of tax-deductible donations support the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. Please visit our team fundraising page here: http://bit.ly/1OYNUAA.
All are invited to join us for the non-competitive, fun run/walk! Families and dogs are welcome, provided that their caretakers assume responsibility. We are working on some fun “extras” as a part of the event, too. Feel free to contact Emily Hennig at emilyhennig@gmail.com, or Kate Teece at k8teece@gmail.com with any questions. We hope you will join us!
- The Hennig family
Sign Up, Sign Up for Coffee!
Take a turn and sign up to serve Sunday coffee. There are plenty of openings on the chart, so find a day that works for you and sign up!
Calling All Graduates!
If you are graduating from high school, college, seminary, or some other post-secondary school, or if you know of someone else from Mount Olive who is graduating this spring, please take a moment to notify the church office. We want to have all of our graduates invited and included in our graduation recognition this spring.
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In an effort to share about the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: YOUR Neighborhood
Sunshine makes us Minnesotans a funky type of ambitious. The warmth on our faces heats up our brain waves and we start planting endless gardens, going for innumerable bike rides, and stocking up weekend lake supplies. The real beauty of sunshine is that we SEE each other more (without our chins buried in our coats and eyes hidden from sideways snow gusts). We get out, walk, play, explore and much more.
This is all important in connecting more as well. In what ways are you interacting with your own neighborhood? How are you appreciating and participating in the life and function of the goodness going on right around you wherever you are? Are you being a good role model? This is just a reminder to be the change, be the one who smiles first, opens the door, picks up the extra trash, lets the driver in front, etc. As we’re inspired by the arrival of Spring, lets inspire others by our kindness and thoughtfulness in all places (yes, even in our cars where we think no one can hear us : )
Mark Your Calendars for the May Day Parade, Sunday, May 3, Noon
(Mount Olive friends who would like to march in the parade should meet at the corner of Bloomington Ave. & 28th St. at Noon!)
The May Day Parade and Festival has become a joyous annual rite of spring. More than 2,000 participants, along with amazing puppets and floats, parade down Bloomington Avenue telling a story and creating a moving theatrical performance. Thousands more line the streets to watch the parade and participate in day-long activities. Following the parade, a pageant and tree of life ceremony in Powderhorn Park ushers in the renewal of a new spring season. For more information or to get involved check the HOBT website: http://hobt.org/mayday/
Opportunities to BE Involved: Summer Acts
Summer ACTS is coming up!
This program will take place for 4 weeks, June 22–July 16, from 10:00 am-2:00 pm Monday–Thursday. Kids aged 9-14 will learn about service and responsibility by holding a summer job while participating in fun, meaningful projects. We will need mentors to work and play alongside them.
Please start to consider if this is an option for you and your family to be involved for two days during one or all of the weeks! Do you have children, neighbors, or grandkids that you think would like to participate? Keep them in mind and watch for an upcoming invitation. More info and sign-ups to come. Questions? Ask Anna at Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
Can You Help a Neighbor in Need?
The Community University Healthcare Center is looking for someone to help a single, disabled woman clean and organize her home near Lake Nokomis. Commitment could be spread out between 2-3 hours over 2-3 days. If you might be interested, please call or contact Anna, 612-827-5919, Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
National Lutheran Choir to Presents Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week
The National Lutheran Choir brings Alexander Gretchaninoff's glorious Passion Week to the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 8pm
Basilica of Saint Mary (88 N 17th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 7pm
Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave. SW, Rochester, MN 55902)
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Students aged 17 and under FREE. For tickets or more information, call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.nlca.com
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet 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, April 15 (this evening!), from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, 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.
Faith and Creation
Join Luther Seminary for the 2015 Rutlen Lecture, a bi-annual lecture series focused on faith and creation. This year’s lecture, “Creation, Sin and Sacrament in the Anthropocene,” will be given by Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Seminary.
The planet faces massive changes brought on by human beings. These likely include a new geological epoch, the “Anthropocene,” that challenges long-established ways of life. The base points of Christian faith are challeng-ed as well, from first things to last. This Rutlen Lecture probes the meaning of creation, sin and sacrament for a new epoch.
Congregation leaders are invited to “Integrating Green in Congregations” at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. A $10 buffet dinner will be available prior to the lecture at 7 p.m. that evening. After the lecture, Rasmussen will hold a book signing for “Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key.” He will also preach in chapel on April 22 at 11 a.m. All events take place in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary.
To find out more about Luther’s lecture series and to RSVP for the dinner, please visit: www.luthersem.edu/lectures/faithandcreation.
Easter Weekend Videos on YouTube
Thanks to Paul Nixdorf, who captured a couple of brief but wonderful moments at the Easter liturgies. Click the links below to see them.
Easter Vigil: http://youtu.be/qVYJktNXBv0
Easter Gospel Procession: http://youtu.be/tNLS36bCLiY
What do you like to do?
Write?
Cook?
Entertain?
Have fun?
Learn?
Socialize?
Talk about your faith?
Design things?
Hammer and saw?
Paint?
Sing?
Teach?
Spend time with kids?
Decorate?
Make things spotless?
What are your passions?
Service to the poor?
Equality and Justice?
Hospitality?
Learning?
Bible and Text Study?
Literature?
Music?
Worship?
Serving people inter-nationally?
Protecting the Environment?
Praying for others?
Web and Social networking?
Political advocacy?
Women’s issues?
We have an “Opp”(ortunity) for that!
Mount Olive Ministry Fair-April 26!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Signs of the Resurrection
Resurrection does not have meaning for us IN SPITE of our wounds. Resurrection has meaning for us BECAUSE OF our wounds. Jesus rolled away the stone from the tomb, and as we share our wounds--and our hope--with others, they too can believe that resurrection is possible.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
The Second Sunday of Easter, year B
texts: Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133 (1), 1 John 1:1—2:2, John 20:19-31
My brothers and sisters in the risen Christ, grace and peace to you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A week ago, in this sanctuary, we came together as a community to celebrate Easter, in the way we do here at Mount Olive. Countless people contributed to the festival. Pews and floors and rails were shined and polished. A veritable garden of flowers was created. Assisting ministers, lectors, acolytes, and sacristans spent extra hours preparing for worship. We banished the darkness of Jesus’ death and the sanctuary glowed in candle light, as we shared stories of God at work in our history. And we gloried in the proclamation: “Jesus is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Thanks to our children, who found our banner for us last Saturday, and the choir and cantor, we sang Alleluia in great majesty. And then, as we do here at Mount Olive, we feasted together on food lovingly prepared for us, reveling in the joy and abundance of God.
A week ago, we celebrated Easter together, rejoicing in God who saves us, frees us, loves us, who in Jesus has overcome death. We celebrated joy and abundance and promise when we were together as a community on Easter Sunday. But today, we have moved beyond Easter Sunday, and we are called again to live as people of the resurrection every day. And sometimes, this just doesn’t seem possible. It can be really hard to grasp the resurrection, to have hope, when we ourselves feel wounded, buried, overcome by death.
We have all been hurt, we have all experienced loss, betrayal, shame, fear, and the pain is not erased on Easter Sunday. On Easter Monday, when everyone has gone home, the grief of losing a spouse, a parent, a child, settles back down around you like a heavy, dark, shroud. The hopelessness and despair and exhaustion of shame and depression are still daily companions. What does resurrection look like, when you are face-to-face with death, making plans for a loved one’s funeral, or your own, knowing that your remaining time here can be measured in months, or weeks?
And when the wounds are deep and the loss is great, despair sets in. We feel hopeless—we will never find our way out of the darkness. We feel cut off, from God and from everyone else. No one knows how much it hurts. It’s hard to breathe, even the air feels heavy. How do we celebrate the hope of the resurrection when we feel like we are in a tomb?
Thomas, like the other disciples, had experienced a profound loss. Jesus, his friend and mentor, had died, and with him had gone all the hopes they had placed in him. The despair, and grief, and fear Thomas felt could not be removed by simply hearing that Jesus had risen. A transfigured and glorious Jesus, as is presented in the Gospel of Matthew, would not give Thomas the courage to step outside of his own tomb of fear and grief to trust in the resurrection. The other disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Thomas was wounded, buried in despair and grief, and he had to acknowledge the reality of Good Friday before he could enter into Easter Sunday. He couldn’t move on to rejoicing without acknowledging the pain of what they had been through, the last few days. To believe that Jesus had risen, Thomas needed to know that this was the same Jesus he had lost, the one who had been taken away from them, tortured, murdered. Thomas needed to know that Jesus, if he was risen from the dead, knew his pain. Touching Jesus’ wounds was for Thomas a necessary proof of resurrection. Jesus, understanding this, invites Thomas to touch his wounds. Jesus’ wounds became a sign of the resurrection.
Like Thomas, we are beyond Easter Sunday, continually living into life after the resurrection, and like Thomas, we are still wounded, and believing in the resurrection may seem impossible. Touching Jesus’ wounds brought Thomas hope, and faith. What does that mean for us, as we face the darkness of the tombs in our own lives?
Wounded-ness is a sign of hope for us, too. If we don’t know that someone understands our pain, it is hard to believe they have been healed, and like Thomas, we often need to see another person’s wounds before we can believe in their resurrection. And we often need to believe in another person’s resurrection before we can hope in the possibility of our own.
The pain and darkness of our wounded-ness does not miraculously disappear on Easter morning, but Jesus has rolled the stone away, and we can see that God has been with us, in the tomb, all along. We are brought out of the tomb, into the light and air that, over time, will help us heal. The pain is still there, but as we share our story but we know we are not alone. God knows our pain. Someone else understands. In the midst of the darkness, hope begins to return.
The truth is that resurrection always follows time in the tomb. The freedom of forgiveness follows deep hurt and resentment. The new life of recovery often follows years of living in the prison of addiction. A return to joy in life follows sadness, despair, and grief at the loss of a loved one. Even creation reveals this truth, as rejuvenation of forests is made possible by the devastation of fire, and the warmth and green of spring follows long, dark, cold, winters.
The scars will always be there. Resurrection, far from taking our scars away, makes them visible for all to see. There is a hope born of this process that is not possible in any other way—the relief of coming out of the tomb, the knowledge that God is with us and we are not alone, the hope that if resurrection is possible for someone else, it is possible for us, and for our community. God knows our pain. Jesus is risen! And as we become vulnerable, and share our journey with others, Jesus continues to reveal the transforming promise of resurrection to everyone we encounter. Resurrection does not have meaning IN SPITE OF the reality of our wounds. Resurrection has meaning BECAUSE OF our wounds.
We have all been there, in different ways and times. We have been the disciples, seeing the empty tomb and proclaiming that Jesus is risen. We have been Thomas, carefully guarding our wounds, demanding to see the scars of another before we can believe, and hope, in the resurrection. And we have been Jesus, inviting others to touch our wounds, so that they too can believe that resurrection is possible. Where are you today, in this journey of wounded-ness and resurrection?
Without Good Friday, Easter means nothing to us, except another opportunity to celebrate together. With Good Friday, Easter means everything. Jesus knows our pain, and calls to each of us, by name: “Come out of your tomb! Touch my wounds, and know that I am risen.” We are called by God to share our brokenness with others, and witness to the pain—and the hope—we have experienced, so that our wounds can be transformed into sources of profound healing. By doing this, we affirm our belief that resurrection is possible, and with Thomas, we can proclaim, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed!
Thanks be to God!
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
The Second Sunday of Easter, year B
texts: Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133 (1), 1 John 1:1—2:2, John 20:19-31
My brothers and sisters in the risen Christ, grace and peace to you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A week ago, in this sanctuary, we came together as a community to celebrate Easter, in the way we do here at Mount Olive. Countless people contributed to the festival. Pews and floors and rails were shined and polished. A veritable garden of flowers was created. Assisting ministers, lectors, acolytes, and sacristans spent extra hours preparing for worship. We banished the darkness of Jesus’ death and the sanctuary glowed in candle light, as we shared stories of God at work in our history. And we gloried in the proclamation: “Jesus is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Thanks to our children, who found our banner for us last Saturday, and the choir and cantor, we sang Alleluia in great majesty. And then, as we do here at Mount Olive, we feasted together on food lovingly prepared for us, reveling in the joy and abundance of God.
A week ago, we celebrated Easter together, rejoicing in God who saves us, frees us, loves us, who in Jesus has overcome death. We celebrated joy and abundance and promise when we were together as a community on Easter Sunday. But today, we have moved beyond Easter Sunday, and we are called again to live as people of the resurrection every day. And sometimes, this just doesn’t seem possible. It can be really hard to grasp the resurrection, to have hope, when we ourselves feel wounded, buried, overcome by death.
We have all been hurt, we have all experienced loss, betrayal, shame, fear, and the pain is not erased on Easter Sunday. On Easter Monday, when everyone has gone home, the grief of losing a spouse, a parent, a child, settles back down around you like a heavy, dark, shroud. The hopelessness and despair and exhaustion of shame and depression are still daily companions. What does resurrection look like, when you are face-to-face with death, making plans for a loved one’s funeral, or your own, knowing that your remaining time here can be measured in months, or weeks?
And when the wounds are deep and the loss is great, despair sets in. We feel hopeless—we will never find our way out of the darkness. We feel cut off, from God and from everyone else. No one knows how much it hurts. It’s hard to breathe, even the air feels heavy. How do we celebrate the hope of the resurrection when we feel like we are in a tomb?
Thomas, like the other disciples, had experienced a profound loss. Jesus, his friend and mentor, had died, and with him had gone all the hopes they had placed in him. The despair, and grief, and fear Thomas felt could not be removed by simply hearing that Jesus had risen. A transfigured and glorious Jesus, as is presented in the Gospel of Matthew, would not give Thomas the courage to step outside of his own tomb of fear and grief to trust in the resurrection. The other disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Thomas was wounded, buried in despair and grief, and he had to acknowledge the reality of Good Friday before he could enter into Easter Sunday. He couldn’t move on to rejoicing without acknowledging the pain of what they had been through, the last few days. To believe that Jesus had risen, Thomas needed to know that this was the same Jesus he had lost, the one who had been taken away from them, tortured, murdered. Thomas needed to know that Jesus, if he was risen from the dead, knew his pain. Touching Jesus’ wounds was for Thomas a necessary proof of resurrection. Jesus, understanding this, invites Thomas to touch his wounds. Jesus’ wounds became a sign of the resurrection.
Like Thomas, we are beyond Easter Sunday, continually living into life after the resurrection, and like Thomas, we are still wounded, and believing in the resurrection may seem impossible. Touching Jesus’ wounds brought Thomas hope, and faith. What does that mean for us, as we face the darkness of the tombs in our own lives?
Wounded-ness is a sign of hope for us, too. If we don’t know that someone understands our pain, it is hard to believe they have been healed, and like Thomas, we often need to see another person’s wounds before we can believe in their resurrection. And we often need to believe in another person’s resurrection before we can hope in the possibility of our own.
The pain and darkness of our wounded-ness does not miraculously disappear on Easter morning, but Jesus has rolled the stone away, and we can see that God has been with us, in the tomb, all along. We are brought out of the tomb, into the light and air that, over time, will help us heal. The pain is still there, but as we share our story but we know we are not alone. God knows our pain. Someone else understands. In the midst of the darkness, hope begins to return.
The truth is that resurrection always follows time in the tomb. The freedom of forgiveness follows deep hurt and resentment. The new life of recovery often follows years of living in the prison of addiction. A return to joy in life follows sadness, despair, and grief at the loss of a loved one. Even creation reveals this truth, as rejuvenation of forests is made possible by the devastation of fire, and the warmth and green of spring follows long, dark, cold, winters.
The scars will always be there. Resurrection, far from taking our scars away, makes them visible for all to see. There is a hope born of this process that is not possible in any other way—the relief of coming out of the tomb, the knowledge that God is with us and we are not alone, the hope that if resurrection is possible for someone else, it is possible for us, and for our community. God knows our pain. Jesus is risen! And as we become vulnerable, and share our journey with others, Jesus continues to reveal the transforming promise of resurrection to everyone we encounter. Resurrection does not have meaning IN SPITE OF the reality of our wounds. Resurrection has meaning BECAUSE OF our wounds.
We have all been there, in different ways and times. We have been the disciples, seeing the empty tomb and proclaiming that Jesus is risen. We have been Thomas, carefully guarding our wounds, demanding to see the scars of another before we can believe, and hope, in the resurrection. And we have been Jesus, inviting others to touch our wounds, so that they too can believe that resurrection is possible. Where are you today, in this journey of wounded-ness and resurrection?
Without Good Friday, Easter means nothing to us, except another opportunity to celebrate together. With Good Friday, Easter means everything. Jesus knows our pain, and calls to each of us, by name: “Come out of your tomb! Touch my wounds, and know that I am risen.” We are called by God to share our brokenness with others, and witness to the pain—and the hope—we have experienced, so that our wounds can be transformed into sources of profound healing. By doing this, we affirm our belief that resurrection is possible, and with Thomas, we can proclaim, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed!
Thanks be to God!
Thursday, April 9, 2015
The Olive Branch, 4/8/15
Accent on Worship
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s 2015 Easter Message
The gospel of Mark ends abruptly. The women came to the tomb to care for the body of their friend and Lord. They expected death. Seeing the stone rolled away, they entered the tomb – they entered into death. They didn’t find Jesus. Instead, they saw a young man who told them not to be amazed, that Jesus had risen. This same stranger told them to tell the disciples and then head to Galilee.
Is it any wonder that terror and amazement seized them?
We are on the other side of the first Easter. We have grown used to the story of the resurrection. The Good News brings hope and comfort. It brings freedom and joy. But I don’t think it causes terror and amazement. Maybe we are missing something.
The Greek word for amazement, “ekstasis,” literally means, “change of place.” And that is what has happened to us and to all of creation because of the resurrection.
Before Easter, we stood in a place of sin and death. After Easter, we stand in a place of forgiveness and life. Everything is changed. We are not the same. The world is not the same. The deadly, but familiar way of the world can no longer be counted on.
This new reality of forgiveness, life, and salvation is and should be unsettling. Terror and amazement, indeed!
The world is turned upside down. It might look the same, but we are standing in a different place. Christ is risen. We are risen. Alleluia!
Sunday Readings
April 12, 2015: Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
I John 1:1—2:2
John 20:19-31
April 19, 2015: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
I John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
Sunday’s Adult Forum : April 12, 9:30 am
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer: On the 70th Anniversary of His Death," presented by John Matthews, Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, and author of Bonhoeffer: A Brief Overview of the Life and Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting to be Held April 26
The Semi-annual Congregational meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held after second liturgy on Sunday, April 26.
On the agenda is the election of Vestry Officers. The slate of candidates recommended by the Vestry for election are:
• President, Lora Dundek (1-year term)
• Secretary, Peggy Hoeft (1-year term)
• Vice President, Tom Graves (1-year term)
• Treasurer, Tim Lindholm (1-year term)
• Education Director, Steve Manuel (3-year term)
• Property Director, Art Halbardier (3-year term)
• Youth Director, Amy Thompson (3-year term)
Nominations for the Vestry may also be offered from the floor.
Other items of business are:
• Ministry Fair/Update on Vision process
• Mount Olive Foundation Presentation
All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend.
Encounters with Jesus: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starting April 16
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, April 16, and runs for five weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. The final session will end with Worship for the Feast of the Ascension.
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study focusing on five stories of encounters with Jesus from the New Testament. In addition to discussing the context and background, we will use the Ignatian meditation form, Praying with Imagination, as a way of entering into the stories.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. (The first meal is covered, and a sign-up sheet will passed around for the remaining weeks.)
All are welcome to this study opportunity!
For Your Information
• Continue the Conversation (about end of life decision making) workshop is scheduled for April 18, 10 am - noon at Mount Olive. You can register at the table in the reception area. You will see “sticky notes” with questions on the poster. If one or more states a question or concern you have, attach it to a 3 x 5 card along with your name for your registration for the event and put it in the bowl. Your family/friends are welcome; we just need to know how many people to plan for.
• Can you Help? As noted previously in The Olive Branch, your Congregational Care Committee continues to “grow” this list of caring folks. If you would like to be included, your name can be added now. Those of you who have signed on have not been forgotten. This is a developing program; more to come!
Book Discussion Group Update
For the April 11 meeting, the group will read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; and for May 9, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag. This group meets at 10 am on the second Saturday of the month, in west assembly area.
We Have a Team Racing!
On Saturday, May 2, Mount Olive will have a team participating in the Amazing gRace. What is that? Who is the team? How can we cheer and support?
The Amazing gRace is sponsored by the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, one of Mount Olive's Global Mission partners. The LVC "unites volunteers with financial supporters, nonprofit organizations, and ministries to work for peace with justice across the nation." You might remember learning about LVC at our 2014 Taste of New Orleans.
The Amazing gRace combines brain-twisting challenges, service work, community outreach, and social justice education. Teams of two people compete against each other to solve a number of challenges spread out across the city. For instance, they might make their way to a food shelf and shelve food as quickly as possible or they might need to locate an historical social justice site. Who knows what challenges this year’s race will bring?
Our team is Anna Dundek and Eric Bell. Anna and Eric are up for the challenge and need your support!
Did we get you interested? Watch for more info in the coming weeks!
Koester Presentations Now Available Online
The lectures on the book of Revelation from the recent Adult Forum series presented by Dr. Craig Koester are now on YouTube!
First lecture: https://youtu.be/gA-tRFB1FKk
Second: https://youtu.be/vxBgAjuhi3I
Third: https://youtu.be/ni_sqpJQLok
Fourth: http://youtu.be/NefjHa0DWdo
Easter Paschal Garden Contributors
Thanks to the following persons who donated flowers to beautify our church for the celebration of Easter: Joe & Elizabeth Beissel; Marlene & Jim Sorenson; Christina Harrison; Tom Graves & Ginny Agresti; Mary Rose Watson, Judy & Walt Hinck; Art and Elaine Halbardier, in memory of Susan Cheshire; Louis & Kay Krohnfeldt; Steve & Sandra Pranschke; Leanna Kloempken; Robert Gotwalt; Bruce & Linda Wagner; Larry Duncan; Dennis Bidwell & Eric Zander; Evelyn Royce; Melba Smrcka; Katherine Hanson; Cathy Bosworth & Marty Hamlin; Carol Austermann; Ken Siess; Ann Bruggeman; Tim & Samantha Pipkorn; Judy Graves; Adam Krueger & Thomas Fenner, in memory of Alfred Krueger; Donn & Bonnie McLellan; Mike Edwins, in memory of Steve Edwins; David & Susan Cherwien, in honor of their parents; Rob & Lynn Ruff family; Beth & Neil Hering, in honor of their parents; Allan & Margaret Bostelmann, in honor of Lucy Hulme; Brenda Bartz; Walter & Marian Cherwien; George & Marlys Oelfke; Bill & Nan Wilson; Carol Martinson; Annette Roth; Leila Froehlich; George Ferguson; Paul & Melissa Stone, in memory of John W. Sears; Allen & Lora Dundek, in memory of loved ones; Al Bipes; Janet Moede; Don Johnson; Tom Olsen, in memory of Harry & Gen Olsen and in memory of Jim & Grace Tomson; Joseph & Mary Crippen; John, Audrey, and Eleanor Crippen; Don Luther & Heather Halen; Beverly Shupe; Kathy Thurston & Dwight Penas; Andrew Andersen; Dan & Julia Adams; and Larry & Janet Crosby.
Night On the Street
On Friday, April 17, TRUST Youth will once again participate in raising awareness and funds to help alleviate youth homelessness. Sponsored by Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, hundreds of youth from around the Twin Cities will participate in an overnight in the parking lot of Plymouth Congregational Church near downtown Minneapolis. The youth (and chaperones) will get their own cardboard box to sleep in for the night, have a soup line meal, and learn from former homeless youth and those that help them what can be done to help.
Donations (which are tax deductible!) from Night on the Street go to help fund the interim housing facilities run by Beacon Interfaith. You can make a tax deductible donation to this effort through April 16. Please make checks payable to “Night On the Street” and give your donation to Julie or Eric Manuel or leave it in the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Julie or Eric Manuel.
Benefit for Our Saviour's Community Services
Caritas Vocal Ensemble will present a concert on behalf of Our Saviour's Community Services on Sunday, April 19, at 3 pm. It will be held at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, 2020 W. Lake of the Isles Pkwy. in Minneapolis. Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted to support the work of OSCS—ending homelessness and educating immigrants. Light refresh-ments provided. Please come and bring your friends!
Easter Weekend Videos on YouTube
Thanks to Paul Nixdorf, who captured a couple of brief but wonderful moments at the liturgies this past weekend – one from Easter Vigil, and one from Easter Day. Click the links below to see them (if you haven’t already seen them on Facebook).
Easter Vigil: http://youtu.be/qVYJktNXBv0
Easter Gospel Procession: http://youtu.be/tNLS36bCLiY
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In an effort to share about the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: The Crisis Fund
I’ve been able to share some stories recently about the people that come to Mount Olive in need of some assistance, whether that is spiritual, material, financial, or all those things. You’ve heard about Rodney, Istarlin, Bradford, and Hilda, to name a few. These are neighbors of Mount Olive who have found themselves being tossed in the waves by the trials in their lives and they need some help to feel solid ground beneath their feet.
So often I get to have conversations with people not only about their struggles, but also about their hope. Their effort alone is evidence to the spark of hope that lingers through trials. Because of the generosity of those that give to Mount Olive, we are able to help meet their needs in a small financial way, without the red tape and strings attached that many other organizations have. The Crisis Fund budget is about being a means of grace and hope on the corner of Chicago Ave. It’s not a perfect solution, but for many whose stories I’ve shared, it’s the blessing they need and God provides through you. From those who have received those gifts, thank you for supporting that ministry in so many ways – in food donations, hygiene supplies, your gifts, prayers, words, and actions in caring for our neighbors.
Mark Your Calendars for the May Day Parade, Sunday, May 3, Noon
(Mount Olive friends who would like to march in the parade should meet at the corner of Bloomington Ave. & 28th St. at Noon!)
The May Day Parade and Festival has become a joyous annual rite of spring. More than 2,000 participants, along with amazing puppets and floats, parade down Bloomington Avenue telling a story and creating a moving theatrical performance. Thousands more line the streets to watch the parade and participate in day-long activities. Following the parade, a pageant and tree of life ceremony in Powderhorn Park ushers in the renewal of a new spring season. For more information or to get involved check the HOBT website: http://hobt.org/mayday/
Opportunities to BE Involved
Summer ACTS is Coming Up
Summer ACTS (Adults and Children Teaming to Serve) will take place at Mount Olive for four weeks, June 21 – July 16, from 10 am-2 pm (Monday through Thursday).
Kids ages 9-14 will learn about service and responsibility by holding a summer job while participating in fun, meaningful projects.
We will need mentors to work and play alongside them. Please start to consider if this is an option for you and your family to be involved for two days during one or all of the weeks!
More info and sign-up information is coming soon.
Questions? Contact Anna at Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
Can You Help a Neighbor in Need?
The Community University Healthcare Center is looking for someone to help a single, disabled woman clean and organize her home near Lake Nokomis. Commitment could be spread out between 2-3 hours over 2-3 days. If you might be interested, please call or contact Anna, 612-827-5919, Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
National Lutheran Choir to Presents Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week
The National Lutheran Choir brings Alexander Gretchaninoff's glorious Passion Week to the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 8pm
Basilica of Saint Mary (88 N 17th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 7pm
Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave. SW, Rochester, MN 55902)
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Students aged 17 and under FREE. For tickets or more information, call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.nlca.com
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet 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, April 15, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, 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.
Faith and Creation
Join Luther Seminary for the 2015 Rutlen Lecture, a bi-annual lecture series focused on faith and creation. This year’s lecture, “Creation, Sin and Sacrament in the Anthropocene,” will be given by Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Seminary.
The planet faces massive changes brought on by human beings. These likely include a new geological epoch, the “Anthropocene,” that challenges long-established ways of life. The base points of Christian faith are challenged as well, from first things to last. This Rutlen Lecture probes the meaning of creation, sin and sacrament for a new epoch.
Congregational leaders are invited to “Integrating Green in Congregations” at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. A $10 buffet dinner will be available prior to the lecture at 7 p.m. that evening. After the lecture, Rasmussen will hold a book signing for “Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key.” He will also preach in chapel on April 22 at 11 a.m. All events take place in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary.
To find out more about Luther’s lecture series and to RSVP for the dinner, please visit: www.luthersem.edu/lectures/faithandcreation.
Palm Plants Free for the Taking!
Would you like to have one of the palm plants from our Holy Week liturgies last week? Help yourself! They are in the East Assembly Room, and are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
About Those Green Cards
You may have noticed the new ticket-sized green cards that peek up from behind the visitor cards in the pews. They’re a response to what some have called the “empty plate problem”—collection plates with little in them as they’re passed through, say, the seventh row and not close to full when they reach the back of the nave. Stated more positively, the cards—now used in many congregations—are intended to give the growing number of worshipers who give electronically or write fewer, larger checks a way of sensing their participation in the offering when it is presented in the liturgy.
As it says on the card: “When the offering is gathered, you may use this card to represent your gifts through Simply Giving® or another form of direct deposit or early gifts that fulfill your intended giving for a month, quarter, or other period.”
Use of the green cards should represent actual giving, but how a person may choose to use them is flexible. If, for example, my Simply Giving transaction is set up to take place on the twelfth day of each month, can I use a green card every Sunday of the month? Do whatever to you feel is appropriate.
To enroll in Simply Giving or another form of direct deposit, contact the church office (612-827-5919 or welcome@mountolivechurch.org).
Is this a “push” to get more of us to give electronically? No. It’s simply recognizing that the ways we make financial transactions in our society are changing and that more and more of us are opting for electronic ways to use money. We now have thirty-one households using Simply Giving.
Because the cards are at the ends of the pews, take one as you’re entering the pew if you intend to sit near the middle of the pew. Don’t write your name or gift amount on the card; they get recycled back to the pews.
We hope the cards will help all of us, individually and as a worshiping community, sense more fully our participation in the offering.
- Stewardship Committee
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s 2015 Easter Message
The gospel of Mark ends abruptly. The women came to the tomb to care for the body of their friend and Lord. They expected death. Seeing the stone rolled away, they entered the tomb – they entered into death. They didn’t find Jesus. Instead, they saw a young man who told them not to be amazed, that Jesus had risen. This same stranger told them to tell the disciples and then head to Galilee.
Is it any wonder that terror and amazement seized them?
We are on the other side of the first Easter. We have grown used to the story of the resurrection. The Good News brings hope and comfort. It brings freedom and joy. But I don’t think it causes terror and amazement. Maybe we are missing something.
The Greek word for amazement, “ekstasis,” literally means, “change of place.” And that is what has happened to us and to all of creation because of the resurrection.
Before Easter, we stood in a place of sin and death. After Easter, we stand in a place of forgiveness and life. Everything is changed. We are not the same. The world is not the same. The deadly, but familiar way of the world can no longer be counted on.
This new reality of forgiveness, life, and salvation is and should be unsettling. Terror and amazement, indeed!
The world is turned upside down. It might look the same, but we are standing in a different place. Christ is risen. We are risen. Alleluia!
Sunday Readings
April 12, 2015: Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
I John 1:1—2:2
John 20:19-31
April 19, 2015: Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
I John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
Sunday’s Adult Forum : April 12, 9:30 am
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer: On the 70th Anniversary of His Death," presented by John Matthews, Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, and author of Bonhoeffer: A Brief Overview of the Life and Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting to be Held April 26
The Semi-annual Congregational meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held after second liturgy on Sunday, April 26.
On the agenda is the election of Vestry Officers. The slate of candidates recommended by the Vestry for election are:
• President, Lora Dundek (1-year term)
• Secretary, Peggy Hoeft (1-year term)
• Vice President, Tom Graves (1-year term)
• Treasurer, Tim Lindholm (1-year term)
• Education Director, Steve Manuel (3-year term)
• Property Director, Art Halbardier (3-year term)
• Youth Director, Amy Thompson (3-year term)
Nominations for the Vestry may also be offered from the floor.
Other items of business are:
• Ministry Fair/Update on Vision process
• Mount Olive Foundation Presentation
All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend.
Encounters with Jesus: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starting April 16
The second Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, April 16, and runs for five weeks in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00-7:30 pm. The final session will end with Worship for the Feast of the Ascension.
Vicar McLaughlin will lead a study focusing on five stories of encounters with Jesus from the New Testament. In addition to discussing the context and background, we will use the Ignatian meditation form, Praying with Imagination, as a way of entering into the stories.
As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. (The first meal is covered, and a sign-up sheet will passed around for the remaining weeks.)
All are welcome to this study opportunity!
For Your Information
• Continue the Conversation (about end of life decision making) workshop is scheduled for April 18, 10 am - noon at Mount Olive. You can register at the table in the reception area. You will see “sticky notes” with questions on the poster. If one or more states a question or concern you have, attach it to a 3 x 5 card along with your name for your registration for the event and put it in the bowl. Your family/friends are welcome; we just need to know how many people to plan for.
• Can you Help? As noted previously in The Olive Branch, your Congregational Care Committee continues to “grow” this list of caring folks. If you would like to be included, your name can be added now. Those of you who have signed on have not been forgotten. This is a developing program; more to come!
Book Discussion Group Update
For the April 11 meeting, the group will read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; and for May 9, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag. This group meets at 10 am on the second Saturday of the month, in west assembly area.
We Have a Team Racing!
On Saturday, May 2, Mount Olive will have a team participating in the Amazing gRace. What is that? Who is the team? How can we cheer and support?
The Amazing gRace is sponsored by the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, one of Mount Olive's Global Mission partners. The LVC "unites volunteers with financial supporters, nonprofit organizations, and ministries to work for peace with justice across the nation." You might remember learning about LVC at our 2014 Taste of New Orleans.
The Amazing gRace combines brain-twisting challenges, service work, community outreach, and social justice education. Teams of two people compete against each other to solve a number of challenges spread out across the city. For instance, they might make their way to a food shelf and shelve food as quickly as possible or they might need to locate an historical social justice site. Who knows what challenges this year’s race will bring?
Our team is Anna Dundek and Eric Bell. Anna and Eric are up for the challenge and need your support!
Did we get you interested? Watch for more info in the coming weeks!
Koester Presentations Now Available Online
The lectures on the book of Revelation from the recent Adult Forum series presented by Dr. Craig Koester are now on YouTube!
First lecture: https://youtu.be/gA-tRFB1FKk
Second: https://youtu.be/vxBgAjuhi3I
Third: https://youtu.be/ni_sqpJQLok
Fourth: http://youtu.be/NefjHa0DWdo
Easter Paschal Garden Contributors
Thanks to the following persons who donated flowers to beautify our church for the celebration of Easter: Joe & Elizabeth Beissel; Marlene & Jim Sorenson; Christina Harrison; Tom Graves & Ginny Agresti; Mary Rose Watson, Judy & Walt Hinck; Art and Elaine Halbardier, in memory of Susan Cheshire; Louis & Kay Krohnfeldt; Steve & Sandra Pranschke; Leanna Kloempken; Robert Gotwalt; Bruce & Linda Wagner; Larry Duncan; Dennis Bidwell & Eric Zander; Evelyn Royce; Melba Smrcka; Katherine Hanson; Cathy Bosworth & Marty Hamlin; Carol Austermann; Ken Siess; Ann Bruggeman; Tim & Samantha Pipkorn; Judy Graves; Adam Krueger & Thomas Fenner, in memory of Alfred Krueger; Donn & Bonnie McLellan; Mike Edwins, in memory of Steve Edwins; David & Susan Cherwien, in honor of their parents; Rob & Lynn Ruff family; Beth & Neil Hering, in honor of their parents; Allan & Margaret Bostelmann, in honor of Lucy Hulme; Brenda Bartz; Walter & Marian Cherwien; George & Marlys Oelfke; Bill & Nan Wilson; Carol Martinson; Annette Roth; Leila Froehlich; George Ferguson; Paul & Melissa Stone, in memory of John W. Sears; Allen & Lora Dundek, in memory of loved ones; Al Bipes; Janet Moede; Don Johnson; Tom Olsen, in memory of Harry & Gen Olsen and in memory of Jim & Grace Tomson; Joseph & Mary Crippen; John, Audrey, and Eleanor Crippen; Don Luther & Heather Halen; Beverly Shupe; Kathy Thurston & Dwight Penas; Andrew Andersen; Dan & Julia Adams; and Larry & Janet Crosby.
Night On the Street
On Friday, April 17, TRUST Youth will once again participate in raising awareness and funds to help alleviate youth homelessness. Sponsored by Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, hundreds of youth from around the Twin Cities will participate in an overnight in the parking lot of Plymouth Congregational Church near downtown Minneapolis. The youth (and chaperones) will get their own cardboard box to sleep in for the night, have a soup line meal, and learn from former homeless youth and those that help them what can be done to help.
Donations (which are tax deductible!) from Night on the Street go to help fund the interim housing facilities run by Beacon Interfaith. You can make a tax deductible donation to this effort through April 16. Please make checks payable to “Night On the Street” and give your donation to Julie or Eric Manuel or leave it in the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Julie or Eric Manuel.
Benefit for Our Saviour's Community Services
Caritas Vocal Ensemble will present a concert on behalf of Our Saviour's Community Services on Sunday, April 19, at 3 pm. It will be held at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, 2020 W. Lake of the Isles Pkwy. in Minneapolis. Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted to support the work of OSCS—ending homelessness and educating immigrants. Light refresh-ments provided. Please come and bring your friends!
Easter Weekend Videos on YouTube
Thanks to Paul Nixdorf, who captured a couple of brief but wonderful moments at the liturgies this past weekend – one from Easter Vigil, and one from Easter Day. Click the links below to see them (if you haven’t already seen them on Facebook).
Easter Vigil: http://youtu.be/qVYJktNXBv0
Easter Gospel Procession: http://youtu.be/tNLS36bCLiY
News From the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In an effort to share about the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: The Crisis Fund
I’ve been able to share some stories recently about the people that come to Mount Olive in need of some assistance, whether that is spiritual, material, financial, or all those things. You’ve heard about Rodney, Istarlin, Bradford, and Hilda, to name a few. These are neighbors of Mount Olive who have found themselves being tossed in the waves by the trials in their lives and they need some help to feel solid ground beneath their feet.
So often I get to have conversations with people not only about their struggles, but also about their hope. Their effort alone is evidence to the spark of hope that lingers through trials. Because of the generosity of those that give to Mount Olive, we are able to help meet their needs in a small financial way, without the red tape and strings attached that many other organizations have. The Crisis Fund budget is about being a means of grace and hope on the corner of Chicago Ave. It’s not a perfect solution, but for many whose stories I’ve shared, it’s the blessing they need and God provides through you. From those who have received those gifts, thank you for supporting that ministry in so many ways – in food donations, hygiene supplies, your gifts, prayers, words, and actions in caring for our neighbors.
Mark Your Calendars for the May Day Parade, Sunday, May 3, Noon
(Mount Olive friends who would like to march in the parade should meet at the corner of Bloomington Ave. & 28th St. at Noon!)
The May Day Parade and Festival has become a joyous annual rite of spring. More than 2,000 participants, along with amazing puppets and floats, parade down Bloomington Avenue telling a story and creating a moving theatrical performance. Thousands more line the streets to watch the parade and participate in day-long activities. Following the parade, a pageant and tree of life ceremony in Powderhorn Park ushers in the renewal of a new spring season. For more information or to get involved check the HOBT website: http://hobt.org/mayday/
Opportunities to BE Involved
Summer ACTS is Coming Up
Summer ACTS (Adults and Children Teaming to Serve) will take place at Mount Olive for four weeks, June 21 – July 16, from 10 am-2 pm (Monday through Thursday).
Kids ages 9-14 will learn about service and responsibility by holding a summer job while participating in fun, meaningful projects.
We will need mentors to work and play alongside them. Please start to consider if this is an option for you and your family to be involved for two days during one or all of the weeks!
More info and sign-up information is coming soon.
Questions? Contact Anna at Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
Can You Help a Neighbor in Need?
The Community University Healthcare Center is looking for someone to help a single, disabled woman clean and organize her home near Lake Nokomis. Commitment could be spread out between 2-3 hours over 2-3 days. If you might be interested, please call or contact Anna, 612-827-5919, Neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org
National Lutheran Choir to Presents Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week
The National Lutheran Choir brings Alexander Gretchaninoff's glorious Passion Week to the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 8pm
Basilica of Saint Mary (88 N 17th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 7pm
Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave. SW, Rochester, MN 55902)
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Students aged 17 and under FREE. For tickets or more information, call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.nlca.com
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet 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, April 15, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, 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.
Faith and Creation
Join Luther Seminary for the 2015 Rutlen Lecture, a bi-annual lecture series focused on faith and creation. This year’s lecture, “Creation, Sin and Sacrament in the Anthropocene,” will be given by Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Seminary.
The planet faces massive changes brought on by human beings. These likely include a new geological epoch, the “Anthropocene,” that challenges long-established ways of life. The base points of Christian faith are challenged as well, from first things to last. This Rutlen Lecture probes the meaning of creation, sin and sacrament for a new epoch.
Congregational leaders are invited to “Integrating Green in Congregations” at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. A $10 buffet dinner will be available prior to the lecture at 7 p.m. that evening. After the lecture, Rasmussen will hold a book signing for “Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key.” He will also preach in chapel on April 22 at 11 a.m. All events take place in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary.
To find out more about Luther’s lecture series and to RSVP for the dinner, please visit: www.luthersem.edu/lectures/faithandcreation.
Palm Plants Free for the Taking!
Would you like to have one of the palm plants from our Holy Week liturgies last week? Help yourself! They are in the East Assembly Room, and are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
About Those Green Cards
You may have noticed the new ticket-sized green cards that peek up from behind the visitor cards in the pews. They’re a response to what some have called the “empty plate problem”—collection plates with little in them as they’re passed through, say, the seventh row and not close to full when they reach the back of the nave. Stated more positively, the cards—now used in many congregations—are intended to give the growing number of worshipers who give electronically or write fewer, larger checks a way of sensing their participation in the offering when it is presented in the liturgy.
As it says on the card: “When the offering is gathered, you may use this card to represent your gifts through Simply Giving® or another form of direct deposit or early gifts that fulfill your intended giving for a month, quarter, or other period.”
Use of the green cards should represent actual giving, but how a person may choose to use them is flexible. If, for example, my Simply Giving transaction is set up to take place on the twelfth day of each month, can I use a green card every Sunday of the month? Do whatever to you feel is appropriate.
To enroll in Simply Giving or another form of direct deposit, contact the church office (612-827-5919 or welcome@mountolivechurch.org).
Is this a “push” to get more of us to give electronically? No. It’s simply recognizing that the ways we make financial transactions in our society are changing and that more and more of us are opting for electronic ways to use money. We now have thirty-one households using Simply Giving.
Because the cards are at the ends of the pews, take one as you’re entering the pew if you intend to sit near the middle of the pew. Don’t write your name or gift amount on the card; they get recycled back to the pews.
We hope the cards will help all of us, individually and as a worshiping community, sense more fully our participation in the offering.
- Stewardship Committee
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Known
The risen Christ knows you by name, knows about death, knows how to give life, and draws you into the love of the Triune God forever: you don’t need to know much when such a God knows us and loves you.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Resurrection of Our Lord, year B
text: John 20:1-18
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
He called her “Mary.”
That’s when she knew. She knew her world had changed again.
Before he spoke, there was so much she didn’t know anymore. She didn’t know the tomb was going to be open. She didn’t know why his body wasn’t where she saw it buried. She didn’t know how she would live without this person of God who knew her, loved her, had given her her true self.
In the devastating hours since Friday afternoon, Mary Magdalene was overwhelmed by what she no longer knew. It was like those terrifying days before she met him, those days of her possession, when she didn’t know who she was, couldn’t control her thoughts, wasn’t able to live or function. When there were so many other voices in her head there was no room for her voice anymore.
That day when she first heard his voice, when it called to the depths of her soul and found her, the real her, called her back to herself, sent away the voices, drew her out into her life: that day was the beginning of life. That was birthday. Friday’s unspeakable horror destroyed everything. Now she was back to knowing nothing, standing by an empty grave, because the one who knew her, the one who brought God to her, was murdered.
Then he said, “Mary.” That unknown man in the garden spoke, and she knew. And once again she was born.
Listen: our hearts are not far from Mary’s.
We long to be known for who we are, really known, really loved. We often have competing voices inside us that devalue us, challenge us, confuse us, even if we wouldn’t go so far as naming it possession. At our core we desire to have someone call us to our true selves. We dread not being known and loved; we fear it might not be possible if our truths were known.
Sometimes we have sensed that God knows us, loves us. We have found ourselves in God’s love. Sometimes others have told us of this, they have known us on behalf of God, they have been God’s loving presence to us. Sometimes we have known what it is to be known by God, and it was new life.
There are other times, though. When we face our internal pain, our fears, our worries. When we deal with shame and what we’ve failed. Times when death seems far more powerful a reality than God to us. We have dark nights of the soul when we doubt God could love us, we fear God is absent and is not coming back. When we know nothing about anything, but that we are alone.
Maybe this is a comfort: “Not knowing” seems to be the normal for disciples of Jesus.
Before the cross, the disciples constantly don’t know. To hear John today, nobody knows anything after Jesus dies, either. Twice today Mary says she doesn’t know where Jesus’ body is. John and Peter run to the tomb, and all they know is it’s empty, grave cloths lying where his body was. They don’t know about the resurrection. Later this evening, Thomas doesn’t know Jesus is risen because he didn’t see him himself.
There’s so much we don’t know, too, about life, about death. There is so much we don’t understand, about ourselves, about the world, about others, so much beyond our control. So we are afraid. We lock up parts of our hearts as surely as the two disciples ran back and locked themselves into their upper room.
There’s so much we don’t know about God, especially when we’re struggling in darkness. So we are afraid. What if we aren’t good enough? What if God has abandoned us? What if death really is the end? We go to those places in our hearts where there is pain and death and sadness and we stand there, like Mary at the tomb, wondering what’s next.
As we stand with them, locked away, or looking at the tomb, we come here to listen to God’s Word today and we hear a voice speak.
We hear a voice that is familiar to us, a voice that comes through the locked doors of our hearts, and to our side at the gravestones of our lives. We hear the voice of Christ here, risen from the dead, and calling us by name. Knowing us.
We don’t know many things, and we fear them all. But Christ has faced them all – suffering, betrayal, sadness, abandonment, pain, death – and knows them intimately. And this morning we are told once again that none of them, none, have any power over Christ, the one who knows you, who calls you by name.
Listen . . . listen: nothing, nothing, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not life, not death. Not the present, not the future. Nothing.
So we don’t need to be afraid anymore. This day is birthday for us, today we come to life.
But Christ Jesus says another thing: this life, this knowing, is his to give, not ours to control.
Mary wants to hold on to him, I’m sure hug him, hold his hand, and probably in her mind she thinks, “this time I won’t let him go.” But he says, “Don’t hold on to me.” He needs to go places, do things. Christ needs to ascend to the Father. He needs to go to meet other disciples, in locked rooms, on lonely roads leading out of town, on sandy lakeside beaches. The Christ knows others, has others to reach, others to love.
Peter learned this too. “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,” he says in an Easter sermon today. Despite what Peter thought he knew, Christ Jesus is reaching out to all people, not just those first chosen. Even Gentiles are welcomed into the love of the risen Christ. No partiality. Christ knows all who need to be found.
We can’t hold on to Christ Jesus as if we own this life, as if we own God. We can’t cling as if we can control when we sense the presence of the Triune God or not. We have to learn to trust, like Mary and Peter, that we, too, are known, and loved. Christ will come to us again, always. But we don’t control wherever else our God is going to know and love people.
He called her “Mary.”
That’s when she knew. So it is for us this Easter morning, as Christ calls us by name. We meet the risen Christ in this place, hearing God’s Word alive in our midst, meeting our Lord in this meal of life, seeing all these who are also known by Christ, who embody God’s loving grace and presence for us, who call us by name.
Most days we don’t know much else. But we are known by the Triune God and loved forever, with a love that is going to bring life out of death for all the people of this world.
That’s really all we need to know. Ever.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Resurrection of Our Lord, year B
text: John 20:1-18
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
He called her “Mary.”
That’s when she knew. She knew her world had changed again.
Before he spoke, there was so much she didn’t know anymore. She didn’t know the tomb was going to be open. She didn’t know why his body wasn’t where she saw it buried. She didn’t know how she would live without this person of God who knew her, loved her, had given her her true self.
In the devastating hours since Friday afternoon, Mary Magdalene was overwhelmed by what she no longer knew. It was like those terrifying days before she met him, those days of her possession, when she didn’t know who she was, couldn’t control her thoughts, wasn’t able to live or function. When there were so many other voices in her head there was no room for her voice anymore.
That day when she first heard his voice, when it called to the depths of her soul and found her, the real her, called her back to herself, sent away the voices, drew her out into her life: that day was the beginning of life. That was birthday. Friday’s unspeakable horror destroyed everything. Now she was back to knowing nothing, standing by an empty grave, because the one who knew her, the one who brought God to her, was murdered.
Then he said, “Mary.” That unknown man in the garden spoke, and she knew. And once again she was born.
Listen: our hearts are not far from Mary’s.
We long to be known for who we are, really known, really loved. We often have competing voices inside us that devalue us, challenge us, confuse us, even if we wouldn’t go so far as naming it possession. At our core we desire to have someone call us to our true selves. We dread not being known and loved; we fear it might not be possible if our truths were known.
Sometimes we have sensed that God knows us, loves us. We have found ourselves in God’s love. Sometimes others have told us of this, they have known us on behalf of God, they have been God’s loving presence to us. Sometimes we have known what it is to be known by God, and it was new life.
There are other times, though. When we face our internal pain, our fears, our worries. When we deal with shame and what we’ve failed. Times when death seems far more powerful a reality than God to us. We have dark nights of the soul when we doubt God could love us, we fear God is absent and is not coming back. When we know nothing about anything, but that we are alone.
Maybe this is a comfort: “Not knowing” seems to be the normal for disciples of Jesus.
Before the cross, the disciples constantly don’t know. To hear John today, nobody knows anything after Jesus dies, either. Twice today Mary says she doesn’t know where Jesus’ body is. John and Peter run to the tomb, and all they know is it’s empty, grave cloths lying where his body was. They don’t know about the resurrection. Later this evening, Thomas doesn’t know Jesus is risen because he didn’t see him himself.
There’s so much we don’t know, too, about life, about death. There is so much we don’t understand, about ourselves, about the world, about others, so much beyond our control. So we are afraid. We lock up parts of our hearts as surely as the two disciples ran back and locked themselves into their upper room.
There’s so much we don’t know about God, especially when we’re struggling in darkness. So we are afraid. What if we aren’t good enough? What if God has abandoned us? What if death really is the end? We go to those places in our hearts where there is pain and death and sadness and we stand there, like Mary at the tomb, wondering what’s next.
As we stand with them, locked away, or looking at the tomb, we come here to listen to God’s Word today and we hear a voice speak.
We hear a voice that is familiar to us, a voice that comes through the locked doors of our hearts, and to our side at the gravestones of our lives. We hear the voice of Christ here, risen from the dead, and calling us by name. Knowing us.
We don’t know many things, and we fear them all. But Christ has faced them all – suffering, betrayal, sadness, abandonment, pain, death – and knows them intimately. And this morning we are told once again that none of them, none, have any power over Christ, the one who knows you, who calls you by name.
Listen . . . listen: nothing, nothing, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not life, not death. Not the present, not the future. Nothing.
So we don’t need to be afraid anymore. This day is birthday for us, today we come to life.
But Christ Jesus says another thing: this life, this knowing, is his to give, not ours to control.
Mary wants to hold on to him, I’m sure hug him, hold his hand, and probably in her mind she thinks, “this time I won’t let him go.” But he says, “Don’t hold on to me.” He needs to go places, do things. Christ needs to ascend to the Father. He needs to go to meet other disciples, in locked rooms, on lonely roads leading out of town, on sandy lakeside beaches. The Christ knows others, has others to reach, others to love.
Peter learned this too. “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,” he says in an Easter sermon today. Despite what Peter thought he knew, Christ Jesus is reaching out to all people, not just those first chosen. Even Gentiles are welcomed into the love of the risen Christ. No partiality. Christ knows all who need to be found.
We can’t hold on to Christ Jesus as if we own this life, as if we own God. We can’t cling as if we can control when we sense the presence of the Triune God or not. We have to learn to trust, like Mary and Peter, that we, too, are known, and loved. Christ will come to us again, always. But we don’t control wherever else our God is going to know and love people.
He called her “Mary.”
That’s when she knew. So it is for us this Easter morning, as Christ calls us by name. We meet the risen Christ in this place, hearing God’s Word alive in our midst, meeting our Lord in this meal of life, seeing all these who are also known by Christ, who embody God’s loving grace and presence for us, who call us by name.
Most days we don’t know much else. But we are known by the Triune God and loved forever, with a love that is going to bring life out of death for all the people of this world.
That’s really all we need to know. Ever.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Friday, April 3, 2015
The Olive Branch, 4/1/15
Accent on Worship
After the Sabbath
Mark and Matthew begin their accounts of Jesus’ resurrection saying it was after the Sabbath was over that the women went to the tomb. Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection were all affected by the Sabbath. He was executed on Friday, before Sabbath began, and needed to be off the cross and buried before sundown. When he rose from the dead, the Sabbath was over. In the Sabbath rest of his death the whole universe was changed. The change was so profound the Church moved our observance of Sabbath to Sunday, to coincide with the beginning of resurrection life for the world in Christ.
This Sunday when we celebrate the Sabbath we will celebrate once more that world-shifting morning when the women realized they hadn’t begun to imagine what God would do with death or who this Jesus really was. We are so eager for this Good News, we will keep Vigil in the dark of night on Saturday, when, as then, the Jewish Sabbath is already over. We will watch and wait for the coming of God’s Light into the world once again.
Our Sabbath is always a little Easter; this weekend it’s the real deal. Every year I look forward to sharing in the worship of the Great Three Days with you, my sisters and brothers. I am so ready for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and our grace from the Triune God we will share together in those liturgies. I am so ready for the explosive delight of our Easter morning Eucharist.
Then I will take a Sabbath rest of my own. The idea of sabbatical for pastors, that we take time away from our call for rest and re-creation and reflection, is a great gift for those who receive it. I am looking forward to this time and am deeply grateful for your gift of this to me. But I will miss you all so much in this time away. That’s what I want to say in this last Olive Branch article before I go. I will be glad for a rest from the duties of my call, from work. I’m chomping at the bit to get at the writing and thinking and reading I’m planning to do on preaching during this time. My family is looking forward to a little more time with me. The only part of this that I am not happy about is that I will be away from you, my sisters and brothers, for what seems a long time.
All will be well with you, I’m sure of that. God will be with you, as always. Rev. Hausman will be a good pastor to you, and all the other leaders and staff are their usual tremendous selves. I will be well, too. I will just miss you. I will miss worshipping with you before almighty God. I will miss the grace you all are in my life in more ways than I can ever enumerate.
That’s probably a good thing, and a good reason for pastors to take sabbatical break. I don’t need to be reminded how important our life together is for my walk of faith and my ministry. But perhaps it’s good for me, and for you all, nonetheless, to have this time apart so that when we are together again, in God’s good will, we are re-energized for more years of Spirited ministry together as Christ in this place.
Then, in a nice coincidence, we will see together what happens “after the Sabbath.” When my Sabbath is over, we will come together again on our walk of faith, and journey in the resurrection life of Christ as pastor and people. Until then, we trust our lives into the hands of the Triune God, in whom none of God’s children are ever apart.
But now, let’s walk with Christ Jesus and each other through these great days of God’s love for the world, that we might know and be filled once more with the life of Christ.
In Jesus’ name,
- Joseph
Triduum and Easter at Mount Olive
Maundy Thursday, April 2:
Holy Eucharist at Noon;
Holy Eucharist, with the Washing of Feet, 7 p.m.
Good Friday, April 3:
Stations of the Cross at Noon;
Adoration of the Cross at 7 pm
Holy Saturday, April 4:
Great Vigil of Easter at 8:30 pm,n followed by a festive reception
The Resurrection of Our Lord, Sunday, April 5:
Festival Eucharist at 8 & 10:45 am
Easter Brunch at 9:30 am
Sunday Readings
April 5, 2015: Resurrection of Our Lord
Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Acts 10:34-43
John 20:1-18
April 12, 2015: Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
I John 1:1—2:2
John 20:19-31
There will be no Adult Forum
on Easter Day, April 5.
Classes resume on April 12.
End-of-life decisions: The Conversation Continues!
Saturday, April 18, 10:00 am – Noon
Chapel Lounge
Kathy Thurston and Heather Halen will facilitate this session.
We anticipate doing a step-by-step review of the Honoring Choices Health Care Advance Directive; thinking about how, when, where you have the conversation, and how you choose an agent.
Additional questions and concerns are being solicited from the February 7 End-of-Life Planning participants.
Refreshments will be provided.
If you have questions, or would like to participate, please contact Marilyn Gebauer at 612-306 -8872, or by email to gebauevm@bitstream.net, or call the church office at 612-827-5919.
Book Discussion Group Update
For the April 11 meeting, the group will read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; and for May 9, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag.
Can You Help?
Mount Olive’s Congregational Care Committee wants to help what has been a “naturally occurring experience” become more inclusive and available to all of its members. The goal is to increase awareness and responsiveness to needs such as:
• A new baby in the family. (A few starter meals can ease the adjustment.)
• A spouse suddenly alone. (A meal, coffee or lunch out, and/or companionship can ease the loneliness.)
• An unexpected illness in the family. (Meals to drop off or share can provide a needed break for caregivers.)
• The loss of job and income. (Meals, a listening ear, and supportive conversation may help lessen feelings of discouragement.)
• A single person experiencing a significant life change. (Help with meals, transportation, etc. can support continued independence.)
How will this work? The hope is to develop a list of people who would be willing to bring a meal, take someone out for lunch, and to participate in the sharing of food and conversation. Think about it! The opportunities are wide open.
Can you help? Please call or email Marilyn Gebauer (phone: 612-306-8872, email: gebauevm@bitstream.net).
Night On the Street
Need a Tax Deduction for next year? Donate to Night On the Street! On Friday, April 17, TRUST Youth will once again participate in raising awareness and funds to help alleviate youth homelessness. Sponsored by Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, hundreds of youth from around the Twin Cities will participate in an overnight in the parking lot of Plymouth Congregational Church near Downtown Minneapolis. The youth (and chaperones) will get their own cardboard box to sleep in for the night, have a soup line meal, and learn from former homeless youth and those that help them what can be done to help.
Donations (which are tax deductible!) from Night On the Street go to help fund the interim housing facilities run by Beacon Interfaith. If you would like to help make a difference, you can make a tax deductible donation through April 16. Please make checks payable to “Night On the Street.” You can give your tax deductible donation to Julie or Eric Manuel or leave it in the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Julie or Eric Manuel.
Proofreader Needed!
Ethiopian Pastor and Luther Seminary student Dinku Bato is almost finished with his dissertation and needs a proof-reader before his oral defense. Dinku Bato helped lead the "Taste of Ethiopia" activities at Mount Olive three years ago and has maintained a relationship with us.
He is asking whether someone from Mount Olive would be willing to help proofread his dissertation--or even a part of it. He would need the proofreading finished by April 4. His total dissertation is 220 pages but someone could agree to tackle a section and help him reach the finish line. If you are interested, please contact Dinku Bato directly at dbato001@luthersem.edu
Benefit for Our Saviour's Community Services
Caritas Vocal Ensemble will present a concert on behalf of Our Saviour's Community Services on Sunday, April 19, at 3 pm. It will be held at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, 2020 W. Lake of the Isles Pkwy. in Minneapolis. Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted to support the work of OSCS—ending homelessness and educating immigrants. Light refresh-ments provided. Please come and bring your friends!
Caritas Vocal Ensemble is a non-profit choral group with a special mission: to share their music with the community for the purpose of raising money and awareness for people in need. You’ll experience a concert of exquisite a cappella chamber music from virtually every genre—madrigals and folk tunes, sacred, pop, and international. Great for all ages!
Through two distinct programs—Our Saviour’s Housing and the English Learning Center—OSCS provides dignified shelter and housing for those without a home and free English classes to immigrants and refugees.
Getting to Know Our Neighbors: Celebrating Easter
“Easter is bigger than Christmas here,” our taxi driver in Belize told us. Latin America is a largely Catholic portion of the world, and their cultural celebrations reflect that religious tie. Semana Santa (Holy Week) is typically the biggest celebration of the year. In Peru, Ayacucho is the city renowned for its Semana Santa festival. I was there during Pascua (Easter) 2013 to witness the swarming streets mixed with devoted followers and fun-seekers alike. It’s a giant, holy party. There was a running of the bulls, a live action walk through the Stations of the Cross, giant firework towers, endless parades of each Parish through the central plaza, and much more. The event culminated in a city-wide all-night vigil in the plaza with fireworks showering sparks over the crowd throughout the night, until just at dawn an enormous paso, (float) in glittering silver and light depicting the risen Christ emerges from the Cathedral carried on the shoulders of hundreds of men. The crowd follows around the plaza in contemplation and celebration. It is truly a powerful experience to be wrapped in the full expression of Semana Santa in a place so far away, but sharing in the same Christian tradition.
– Anna Kingman
Faith and Creation
Join Luther Seminary for the 2015 Rutlen Lecture, a bi-annual lecture series focused on faith and creation. This year’s lecture, “Creation, Sin and Sacrament in the Anthropocene,” will be given by Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Seminary.
The planet faces massive changes brought on by human beings. These likely include a new geological epoch, the “Anthropocene,” that challenges long-established ways of life. The base points of Christian faith are challenged as well, from first things to last. This Rutlen Lecture probes the meaning of creation, sin and sacrament for a new epoch.
Congregational leaders are invited to “Integrating Green in Congregations” at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21. A $10 buffet dinner will be available prior to the lecture at 7 p.m. that evening. After the lecture, Rasmussen will hold a book signing for “Earth-honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key.” He will also preach in chapel on April 22 at 11 a.m. All events take place in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary.
To find out more about Luther’s lecture series and to RSVP for the dinner, please visit Luther’s website: www.luthersem.edu/lectures/faithandcreation.
Transitions Support Group
All are welcome to visit the Transitions Support Group meetings if you've been hoping to find new ideas or encouragement to meet 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, April 15, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, 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
A heartfelt THANK YOU to the following people who participated in the pre-Easter special altar cleaning sponsored by the Mount Olive Altar Guild: Bonnie McLellan, Beth Gaede, Beth Hering, Peggy Hoeft, Jo Ellen Kloehn, Mary Dorrow, Gene Janssen, Katherine Hanson, Steve Pranschke, Jan Crosby, Matt Crosby and Eunice Hafemeister. We had a lively, enjoyable morning working side by side to accomplish our goal.
Thanks also to Altar Guild members Tim Lindholm and Timm Schnabel for polishing all the of the chancel and altar woodwork on March 7th. It was an ambitious project and well done!
National Lutheran Choir to Presents Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week
The National Lutheran Choir brings Alexander Gretchaninoff's glorious Passion Week to the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis and Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester.
Each year, Christians around the world remember and re-experience the seven days leading up to Easter Sunday through worship and music. Gretchaninoff developed his Passion Week, a magnificent representation of 13 sacred musical settings, for this ‘Great and Holy Week.’ Join us for a transcendent journey of the soul that you won't soon forget.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 8pm
Basilica of Saint Mary (88 N 17th St., Minneapolis, MN 55403)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 7pm
Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave. SW, Rochester, MN 55902)
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Students aged 17 and under FREE. For tickets or more information, call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.NLCA.com
Koester Presentations Now Available Online
The lectures from the Adult Forum series presented by Dr. Craig Koester are now on YouTube!
First lecture: https://youtu.be/gA-tRFB1FKk
Second: https://youtu.be/vxBgAjuhi3I
Third: https://youtu.be/ni_sqpJQLok
Fourth: http://youtu.be/NefjHa0DWdo
Thursday, April 2, 2015
What Has Been Handed Down
In his final hours, Jesus wants us to know just how intimately God loves us. This has been handed down to us. How will we hand it down to those who come after us?
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Maundy Thursday
Texts: Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35
My brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace and love to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What traditions or wisdom have been handed down to you? I learned how to make popcorn from my grandmother. I use a big pan—the kind with two handles on it—and put in just enough oil to cover the bottom. Add exactly three kernels of popcorn, put it on medium heat on the stove, and when the third kernel pops, add the rest of the popcorn. Shake occasionally, and when the popping slows, remove from the heat, and when all the popping has stopped, pour the popcorn into the bowl. Add real melted butter and salt—don’t skimp!
Over the years, I have tried many ways of making popcorn, from air poppers to oil poppers to kettle corn makers and even microwave, and none have ever measured up. A big part of it is the taste, of course, but more important than that is the connection I feel to my grandmother. Sure, I use olive oil instead of Wesson oil, and Kosher salt instead of regular table salt, but in all essentials, each time I make popcorn on the stove, I am participating in what my grandmother handed down to me. What has been handed down to you?
Jesus knew the hour had come for him to depart from this world. Jesus knew that this was the last time he would sit with his disciples, share Passover with them. It was his last opportunity to hand down his most sacred thoughts before he died, his last chance to show them, and us, what is really important.
Tonight we celebrate Maundy Thursday, and so we begin the most sacred days of the Christian church year. This is a time set aside for us as a community to remember. We have come before our God, acknowledged our sin, and received God’s love and forgiveness. We have prepared ourselves, and now we begin this journey. Over these days, we remember the extravagant, redemptive, love of God for us and for all of creation revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We share stories of God’s loving work throughout all of history. And tonight, we remember what our dear friend, Jesus, handed down to us in the final hours before he died.
Jesus and his friends were celebrating Passover together that night. Just as we gather today to remember, they gathered to remember how God saved them. They were following an ancient command that had been handed down to them to tell and retell the story of how God brought them out of slavery and led them to freedom.
Jesus wants us to remember, too. When we are bound in shame, and the fear that we are not good enough, and we can’t see how God—or anyone else—could ever love us, Jesus wants us to remember. When we are ensnared in problems of our own making, when we have hurt those we love the most, when we have sinned and feel beyond forgiveness, Jesus wants us to remember. When our bodies and minds are falling apart, when we feel trapped and useless, Jesus wants us to remember. Even death cannot hold us forever. God freed the Israelites. God frees us from all that enslaves us. The command to remember has been handed down for centuries, and it is ours now.
On that last night, sharing a final meal with his friends, Jesus wanted us to know that God frees us. And he wants us to know how far and deep that freedom goes. Jesus wanted his friends to know that in spite of what would happen later that night and the next day, no matter how much grief and despair they would feel, Jesus’s death would not be the final word. Jesus would rise again, and death would be overcome. Jesus tells us to share the Eucharist as a remembrance of his death and promise of resurrection, and every time we celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus shares his very life with us.
When we face death and grief and despair, Jesus wants us to remember that the promise of the resurrection is that God can overcome even death. We celebrate the Eucharist and we are nourished, body and soul, as our bodies are fed and our spirits filled again with the promise of life and forgiveness. Paul says, “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” And so it has been handed down to us.
After Jesus and his disciples had finished eating their final meal before his death, knowing that words would not be enough, Jesus knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples. It was, of course, an act of humility and service. But more than that, washing another person’s feet is incredibly vulnerable, intimate, full of love.
Jesus was telling his friends, “I know you. I know those parts of you that you keep hidden. I know your dirt, your sweat, your warts, your pain, your exhaustion. And I love you.” On the night before he died, at the last meal he would share with his friends, Jesus showed them how intimately God loves us, warts and all. There is no part of you that God does not know, intimately. And there is no part of you that God does not love.
And then Jesus says, “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” We are called to know and love one another that way, actively, humbly, intimately. We are called to see one another’s warts, and love them. We are called to allow God, and others, to see our warts, and let them love us. This vulnerability is terrifying . . . and it is precisely how God heals and frees us to be the people we were created to be. And it is how God works through us to heal and free others. This kind of love will not be contained. It must be handed down, and down, and down.
As we gather to remember, and as we wash one another’s feet tonight, we are reminded by the water used to wash our feet of the waters of our baptisms, and the promise of God’s radical, unconditional love and forgiveness. We are called to remember that God overcomes even death. We are called to remember that no matter what has us enslaved, God has set us free. This is what has been handed down to us, and this is what we are called to hand down to those who come after us.
Tonight we come together to carry on sacred traditions handed down to us, and as happens each time I make my grandmother’s popcorn, we are carried beyond ourselves, beyond this moment in time. This is about us, but it is not just about us. As we wash one another, share the Eucharist, and tell the stories, we are profoundly connected to God, to one another, and to our whole Christian family around the world, going back generations and generations. We remember who we are, who we are called to be, as children of God. This is what has been handed down to you. How will you hand that down to those coming after us?
Amen.
Vicar Meagan McLaughlin
Maundy Thursday
Texts: Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35
My brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace and love to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What traditions or wisdom have been handed down to you? I learned how to make popcorn from my grandmother. I use a big pan—the kind with two handles on it—and put in just enough oil to cover the bottom. Add exactly three kernels of popcorn, put it on medium heat on the stove, and when the third kernel pops, add the rest of the popcorn. Shake occasionally, and when the popping slows, remove from the heat, and when all the popping has stopped, pour the popcorn into the bowl. Add real melted butter and salt—don’t skimp!
Over the years, I have tried many ways of making popcorn, from air poppers to oil poppers to kettle corn makers and even microwave, and none have ever measured up. A big part of it is the taste, of course, but more important than that is the connection I feel to my grandmother. Sure, I use olive oil instead of Wesson oil, and Kosher salt instead of regular table salt, but in all essentials, each time I make popcorn on the stove, I am participating in what my grandmother handed down to me. What has been handed down to you?
Jesus knew the hour had come for him to depart from this world. Jesus knew that this was the last time he would sit with his disciples, share Passover with them. It was his last opportunity to hand down his most sacred thoughts before he died, his last chance to show them, and us, what is really important.
Tonight we celebrate Maundy Thursday, and so we begin the most sacred days of the Christian church year. This is a time set aside for us as a community to remember. We have come before our God, acknowledged our sin, and received God’s love and forgiveness. We have prepared ourselves, and now we begin this journey. Over these days, we remember the extravagant, redemptive, love of God for us and for all of creation revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We share stories of God’s loving work throughout all of history. And tonight, we remember what our dear friend, Jesus, handed down to us in the final hours before he died.
Jesus and his friends were celebrating Passover together that night. Just as we gather today to remember, they gathered to remember how God saved them. They were following an ancient command that had been handed down to them to tell and retell the story of how God brought them out of slavery and led them to freedom.
Jesus wants us to remember, too. When we are bound in shame, and the fear that we are not good enough, and we can’t see how God—or anyone else—could ever love us, Jesus wants us to remember. When we are ensnared in problems of our own making, when we have hurt those we love the most, when we have sinned and feel beyond forgiveness, Jesus wants us to remember. When our bodies and minds are falling apart, when we feel trapped and useless, Jesus wants us to remember. Even death cannot hold us forever. God freed the Israelites. God frees us from all that enslaves us. The command to remember has been handed down for centuries, and it is ours now.
On that last night, sharing a final meal with his friends, Jesus wanted us to know that God frees us. And he wants us to know how far and deep that freedom goes. Jesus wanted his friends to know that in spite of what would happen later that night and the next day, no matter how much grief and despair they would feel, Jesus’s death would not be the final word. Jesus would rise again, and death would be overcome. Jesus tells us to share the Eucharist as a remembrance of his death and promise of resurrection, and every time we celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus shares his very life with us.
When we face death and grief and despair, Jesus wants us to remember that the promise of the resurrection is that God can overcome even death. We celebrate the Eucharist and we are nourished, body and soul, as our bodies are fed and our spirits filled again with the promise of life and forgiveness. Paul says, “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” And so it has been handed down to us.
After Jesus and his disciples had finished eating their final meal before his death, knowing that words would not be enough, Jesus knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples. It was, of course, an act of humility and service. But more than that, washing another person’s feet is incredibly vulnerable, intimate, full of love.
Jesus was telling his friends, “I know you. I know those parts of you that you keep hidden. I know your dirt, your sweat, your warts, your pain, your exhaustion. And I love you.” On the night before he died, at the last meal he would share with his friends, Jesus showed them how intimately God loves us, warts and all. There is no part of you that God does not know, intimately. And there is no part of you that God does not love.
And then Jesus says, “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” We are called to know and love one another that way, actively, humbly, intimately. We are called to see one another’s warts, and love them. We are called to allow God, and others, to see our warts, and let them love us. This vulnerability is terrifying . . . and it is precisely how God heals and frees us to be the people we were created to be. And it is how God works through us to heal and free others. This kind of love will not be contained. It must be handed down, and down, and down.
As we gather to remember, and as we wash one another’s feet tonight, we are reminded by the water used to wash our feet of the waters of our baptisms, and the promise of God’s radical, unconditional love and forgiveness. We are called to remember that God overcomes even death. We are called to remember that no matter what has us enslaved, God has set us free. This is what has been handed down to us, and this is what we are called to hand down to those who come after us.
Tonight we come together to carry on sacred traditions handed down to us, and as happens each time I make my grandmother’s popcorn, we are carried beyond ourselves, beyond this moment in time. This is about us, but it is not just about us. As we wash one another, share the Eucharist, and tell the stories, we are profoundly connected to God, to one another, and to our whole Christian family around the world, going back generations and generations. We remember who we are, who we are called to be, as children of God. This is what has been handed down to you. How will you hand that down to those coming after us?
Amen.
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