F

ebru

ary

2017

Ash Wednesday March 1st - 6:30pm

Join us for At the Crossroads, a special series of services for the

season of Lent. Each service reveals in some way how Christ and

his cross lead us to decide the path of God’s will in our many

crossroads in life.

Our Ash Wednesday Service will find the psalmist David reaching

the crossroads of confessing his sins to the Lord. We are called to

confess our sins to Jesus and find forgiveness in him.

This service includes Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion.

Join us as we see the direction we must take at the crossroads of

confession.

AT THE

Crossroads

Sonya Nelson, Brett Baij, Nancy Buchcuski,

Larry Swartout, Damian Taff, Tracy Husing,

Jan Buckman, Tim Grunlund, Chuck Vercoe,

Geoff White, Eileen Anderson, Mark Kloss-

ner

Action

To accept the budget and present for

approval at the Annual Meeting along

with the following items discussed.

A. Funds for Companion Congregation

taken out of Int’l Outreach Fund.

B. Because of the need for new boilers a

recommendation to transfer $5,000

surplus from 2016 to Savings Account

Action for boiler. Remainder of

surplus, $6,909.45 to go into Savings

Account Action “Surplus 2016.”

Approved Jan Buckman and Julie LaCost

for nominees to the Endowment Com-

mittee.

Approved Vic & Joanne Seppi as nomi-

nees for Fortune Lake Camp delegates.

Approved as Nominating Committee:

Brett Baij, Jan Buckman, Damian Taff and

Geoff White.

Approved Kathy Kelm & Dodie Wagner

as Auditing Committee.

Approved the agenda for the 94th

Annual Meeting.

Approved the vault combination be

changed and combination given to Presi-

dent & Treasurer of Church Council,

Office Staff (Terri, Barb, Dawn) and

incoming Senior Pastor.

To keep security as is and have future

discussions on security protocol.

Approved sending $3,000 to Kijitonyama

for evangelism.

Approved sending an additional $1,000

from 2017 budget to Kijitonyama.

Approved Geoff White to preside over

communion.

Information

Determined who was bringing what food

items for Annual Meeting Luncheon.

Matthew Bible Study - Thursdays with

Pastor Stephen at 10:00am & 7pm.

Pastor Stephen is welcome at Council

meetings but not required to attend.

Request for standard procedures for

security purposes.

Insurance premiums reviewed with new

carrier.

Meeting at Kimberly parsonage to get ready for Pastor Cowen & Cindy.

Annual Reports due Wed., Jan. 11th.

First Communion Classes & Parent

Orientation - Sunday, Jan. 29th.

Van usage for LATI reviewed.

Mark Klossner to head the Technology

Team.

Council Secretary will continue taking

meeting minutes.

The con-

tracted search

firm, Vander-

bloemen

Search Group,

is pursuing

three inter-

ested candi-

dates. These candidates are required to

complete a 2 to 3 hour on-line portfolio

update on themselves. Once the portfolio is

complete and resumes submitted Vander-

bloemen will conduct telephone interviews.

If the telephone interviews go well they will

schedule a face to face interview.

Vanderbloemen will present to us, the OSL

Call Committee, those candidates they

believe have the qualifications we are look-

ing for. In summary, we are looking for a

pastor who; 1) loves the OSL congregation,

2) shows humility towards others and 3) is

grounded in the Bible both from a teaching

and practical stand point.

We are asking members of OSL to pray

every day for the right candidate to hear

God’s calling.

Bible Study A Journey with Matthew

Tuesdays in the Gathering Room

10:00am & 7:00pm

Our Bible Study with Pastor Stephen

continues on the book of Matthew as we

discuss what Matthew shares with us about

Jesus and his ministry.

Just Around the Corner

Our first Soup Supper of the 2017 Lenten

season will be held Wednesday, March 8th.

Delicious homemade soup, sandwiches,

apples, cheese & ice cream will be served

each Wednesday evening before our Mid-

week Lenten Worship Services. Serving starts at 5:30pm and continues until 6:15pm

with worship beginning at 6:30pm.

To make this event happen we need your

help in these areas:

5 people each week to bring their

favorite soup and serve it.

2 sandwich makers each week.

Serving & clean-up crews.

This would be a great servant event for

Confirmation groups, families or Cursillo

groups. Consider helping out one week

during Lent and give the office a call.

Lenten Devotional

Our deadline of Feb. 10th is fast ap-

proaching to turn in a Lenten devotion.

Either email to church at connect@

oslfamily.org or drop off in the church

office. We still need several to make this

devotional. Please take a moment to write

one.

Ed & Marge Simbob

We welcome back to Our Saviour’s Ed &

Marge Simbob. They were members at OSL

in the late 50’s, married here and Marge

was confirmed here also. They are both

retired and belong to the Finnish-American

“Raja Ryhma” Club.

Ed enjoys making unique items out of deer antlers, horse collar mirrors and antler &

driftwood lamps, etc.

Marge enjoys belonging to our Lydia Circle,

attending Bible Studies and Prayer at the

Altar on Thursday mornings. She encour-

ages others to join them for prayer time

too. Ed and Marge are glad to be a part of

this body of Christ again.

Sunday School

In Sunday School we have

been learning about Sam-

son. We learned that

Samson was close to God,

but then drifted away from him and tried to

do things on his own. Doing things on his

own did not work out so well for him. He

was tricked by someone he loved and her

name was Delilah. Delilah was tempted by

greed to find out what

Samson’s weakness was

and give it to his enemies.

We learned that even

when we turn away from

God we can always turn back to him and

that “We can ask God for Help” in every

situation, everyday by praying to him.

In our next rotation we will learn about

Samuel. Our 5th graders start First Com-

munion classes on January 29th. This will

allow us to introduce our preschoolers to

the different rotations. We are super

excited about this.

We also have good news!

Thanks to our generous and

loving congregation, our IPad

project is fully funded. We can’t

thank you all enough for your

loving, caring generosity toward our youth

ministry at Our Saviour’s. We are excited

to get them up and running.

God Bless,

Monica Chartier

God Club

“Let it snow!” was

our God Club

theme for the

month of January.

We learned about

how we are all

unique and beautiful

to God – just like

each snowflake.

We also learned

how snow can symbolize forgiveness…

“Come now, and let us reason together,

says the Lord:

though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow.”

Isaiah 1:18

We crafted snowflakes, snowmen, and snow

scenes. We even compared Frosty the

snowman to Jesus… ”Don’t you cry, I’ll be

back again someday.”

February will find us focusing first on Love.

We will start with The Greatest Command-

ment from Matthew 22:37-39

“…love the Lord your God with all your

heart, with all your soul,

and with all your mind…

love your neighbor as yourself.”

We will sing a Jesus Loves Me medley,

starting with the lyrics

“You can build a wall

or you can build a bridge.

It all depends upon the love you give.

If you build a wall the world is small,

But the bridge of love will conquer all.

We will also write and recite 1st John 3:18

“Little children, let us not love in word

or talk, but in deed and truth.”

On the Wednesday before Valentine’s Day

we will start with 1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now these three remain:

faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love.

We will read Jesus’ Feed My Sheep conver-

sation with Peter and make I Love EWE

sheep Valentines.

Finally, we will take

time in February to

say “God Bless

America!” We will

learn about Presi-

dents’ Day and

prayer for protection,

guidance, world lead-

ers, enemies, and

peace. We’ll sing some patriotic songs and

learn about the red, white and blue of the

flag – along with the red, white, and blue of

Jesus.

Remember, God Club meets in Our

Saviour’s Creation Station right after school

until 5:00 every Wednesday. Here all

students from grades 2 through 5 are

welcome to gather together to learn about,

practice, and celebrate God’s love. New

students are always welcome – so bring

your friends, too.

Miss Joy

1 Andrea Celello

2 Adam Buchcuski

Kevin Londo Ben Schroeder

3 Paul Edlebeck

Emma Ellis

Sandra Fontaine

Amy Ramme

Britt Slade

4 Brianna Peterson

5 Landon Heyrman

Angela Marchetti

Joanne Reid

6 Brad Ellis

Tyler Walimaa

7 Margaret Petrick

Colleen Sleik

8 Sarah Forstrom

Hugh Harris

Pat Wickman

9 Richard Anderson

Carol Bates Rebecca Hirthe

10 Julia Bowles

Steve Faust

Alayna Pietrantonio

Madison Raiche

11 Andrew Watkins

13 Judy Johnson

Pamela Larson

Connie DeGroot

14 Jim Meier

Katie Mendina

Colin Watkins

Hallie Wendt

15 Jack Bowles

Chris Harris

Donna Poupore

Georjeana Swartout

16 Seth Carlson

Matthew Richer

Brian Watt

17 Jacob Czerwan

Deena Lindeman

Lydia Ohlsen

Thomas Tomasi

18 Mike Berglund

Terry Grippen

Bob Johnson

Gabe LaFreniere

19 Katelyn Charette

Kyle Kruppstadt

Kerry Tushoski

Chuck Vercoe

20 Nathan Johnson

Ward Lindeman

Ethan Metras

Malin Pontbriand

21 Monica Chartier

Evelyn VanGuilder

2 Ryan Pepin

Bob Truscott

23 Daryl Nelson

Sonya Nelson

24 Susan Anderson

Lynne Reed

25 Cheryl Pugh

Caylee Shogren

Peter Yake 26 Amy Englund

Jorgen Klefstad

Al Westman

28 Lori Patterson

Josie Scott

The 4/5 year old class has been learning

about animal tracks. We have discussed ani-

mals that are out in the winter and learned

how to look for them. We also discussed

birds and what keeps the birds warm and

how they look for food in the winter. We

listened for birds and looked for animal

tracks when we went outside.

We are working on identifying the numbers

1-20 and one to one counting up to 20.

Students are taking turns taking home a

counting jar. They will put items in the jar

and students will estimate how many items

are in the jar.

We are learning about friendship with our

Bible focus on David and Jonathon. We

discussed how God gives us courage when

we are afraid.

Ms. Wanda

The 3/4 year old class learned in January

counting and identifying the numbers 0-10.

We have been working on not only identify-

ing the number but also assigning value. The

students have begun more independent

work with activities such as cutting out their own projects and spelling and writing their

names.

Our Bible lessons helped us learn about

Jesus after his birth. We heard how God

protected baby Jesus from King Herod,

about the visit from the three wise men and

how Jesus listened to God's word at the

temple with Mary and Joseph when he was a

young boy.

Ms. Sarah

Everyone enjoys a cup of coffee and a treat

between services. To keep this going we

need your help.

Fellowship hosts are needed each week to

bring treats and help serve. Coffee is on -

we just need it put into carafes. This can be

a fun thing for a family or a group to do. If

you would be willing to help call the church

office or see Barb Partanen on Sunday

morning.

We continue to collect

non-perishable groceries

for the First Lutheran

Food Pantry in the cart

outside of the Fireside

Room. If each person brings just one food

item to church with them each Sunday we

can fill the basket. Terry & Betty Kennedy

deliver the groceries to First Lutheran

when the basket is full by .

Every wedding anniversary is a special one

and we wish that God’s rich blessing and

love will continue to sustain and fill each

marriage.

35 Years - Feb. 6th

John & Pam Chiamulera

25 years - Feb. 15th

Mark & Lori Gregory

Sincere Sympathy to:

** The family & friends of Hettie Lindblom

Cole.

** Jon & Kate Hulkkonen & family on the

death of her brother.

** Jaime Kaski on the death of her grand-

mother.

Those Recently Hospitalized:

Mike Petrick

Pam Larson

Joyce Muterspaugh

Don Christiansen

If you would prefer receiving the

Connections through email, please call

the church office 774.2733 or send an

email to connect@oslfamily.org.

Cursillo Weekends

The Non-Roman Men’s & Women’s

Cursillos are just around the corner. The

Men’s is February 16 – 19th and the

Women’s is March 2nd – 5th. Everyone is

welcome to attend.

If you would like more information or are

interested in going, please call Terri in the

church office.

God’s Love Gift Wrapped

The February donation for our

Lutheran World Relief Health

Kits will be:

A sturdy wide tooth comb

Feb. 5th

All Righteousness,

All the Time

In his sermon, the Rev.

Scott Hoezee says we get so used to defin-

ing righteousness and the 'Christian way of doing things' to whatever it is we have

grown accustomed to that we are no

longer open to the surprises God has in

store for us. And the heart of God’s law

has all along been love.

Feb. 12th - Living Happily Ever After

The Rev. Russ Levenson explains that in

Deuteronomy, Moses tries to beat a bit of

truth into stubborn heads, essentially say-

ing 'you are not going to find your way to

happiness by ignoring the one who created

the concept—happiness and life are only

found in following him.' For Jesus, to be

righteous means being in a right relation-

ship with God, and that kind of relation-

ship bears the fruit of right actions, not the

other way around.

Feb. 19th - How Do You Love Thee?

Dr. Russ Levenson helps us understand what

love is, and is not, and how it is lived out.

And it’s not complicated: first, we’re called

to love God--our lives dedicated to hearing

and doing God’s will for us. Second, we’re

called to love our neighbors--and not just those in our inner circles. And third, we’re

called to love ourselves--often the hardest

to do.

Feb. 26th - Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-

Wimey Transfiguration

The Rev. Matt Rawle says that the Transfigu-

ration may be about knowing what goodness

really is: that goodness is the marriage be-

tween the mount of Transfiguration and the

hill of Calvary--the tension of glory and suf-

fering that is our faith.

Financial Report Attendance

Dec. Budget $ 28,383.80 Jan. 1 130

Dec. Receipts $ 40,654.83 Jan. 8 213

Dec. Expenditures $ 46,865.09 Jan. 15 248

Balance $ (6,210.26) Jan. 22 239

Jan. 29 229

Monthly Benevolence $300 Alpha Omega Local

Disbursed $948 AGAPE Fund

Woodland Elementary 6:30 - 7:30pm

Thursdays - Feb. 23 and March 2 & 9

The Great Start Drug Task Force and

United Way of Dickinson County are

proud to offer Parent Power, a new and

exciting connection for parents who have

young children.

Parents can attend 1, 2 or all 3 education

groups. Friday, March 17th all Parent

Power participants are invited to a special

Family Celebration Event hosted at the

YMCA featuring a dinner, celebration

program and open YMCA facility time!

If interested sign-up in the Woodland Main

Office or for more information call

Jonathan Ringel with Great Start/YMCA

734.474.8597

or

jonathan.

ringel@

frontier.com

Pastors Link

God's Valentine!

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only Son, that whoever

believes in him should not perish but

have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV)

In the above verse we encounter God's Val-

entine to us. "He so loved the world ..."

The Greek word for world (kosmos) is

defined as “the ungodly multitude; the whole

mass of mankind alienated from God and

therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.”

This is the world that God loved. It doesn’t

say that God loved all the good guys. Or

that God loved all the Jews. Or that God

love all the saints. It says, “For God so

loved the world.”

Were we to imagine a pristine world, fresh

from the hand of the Creator and uninfected

by evil, we could more easily comprehend

God’s desire to save it. But, a wayward

world which not only failed to recognize its

maker (John 1:10) but openly hated His

approach to it (John 15:18), would seem a

poor choice for love.

So God’s love clearly isn’t based on our

spiritual condition or our moral standing. It

isn’t based on our behavior or our attitude

toward him. He sends His Valentine to

everyone.

So God’s love for us is unconditional. It is as

Philip Yancey once wrote: “There is nothing

we can do to make God love us more.

There is nothing we can do to make God

love us less.”

God’s love, His Valentine, is not merely

some abstract concept. It isn’t just a philoso-

phy or a theological idea. God’s love was

sent in this world through the person of Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father.

A child was once trying to quote from John

3:16 in the King James Version, which says,

“his only begotten Son.” But the child mis-

quoted it and said, “his only forgotten Son.”

It was one of those slips of the tongue that

carried more truth than we would care to

admit. For by most people in the world

today, Jesus Christ is truly forgotten. His life is forgotten. His love is forgotten. His sacri-

fice is forgotten. It is our job as Christians –

as God’s ambassadors – to help them

remember.

Max Lucado writes: There are many rea-

sons God saves you: to bring glory to him-

self, to appease his justice, to demonstrate

his sovereignty. But one of the sweetest rea-

sons God saved you is because he is fond of

you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the

pike in quite a while… If God had a refrig-

erator, your picture would be on it. If he had

a wallet, your photo would be in it. He

sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise

every morning. Whenever you want to talk,

he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the uni-

verse and he chose your heart. And the

Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem?

Face it, friend. He’s crazy about you!

Years ago a young man who had quarreled

with his father left home. He continued to

keep in touch with his mother and wanted

very badly to come home for Christmas, but

he was afraid his father would not allow him.

His mother wrote to him and urged him to

come home, but he did not feel he could

until he knew his father had forgiven him.

Finally, there was no time for any more let-

ters. His mother wrote and said she would

talk with the father and if he had forgiven

him, she would tie a white cloth on the tree which grew right alongside the railroad

tracks near their home, which he could see

before the train reached the station. If

there was no white cloth, it would be bet-

ter if he went on.

So the young man started home. As the

train drew near his home he was so nerv-

ous he said to his friend who was traveling

with him, “I can’t bear to look. Sit in my

place and look out the window. I’ll tell you what the tree looks like and you tell me

whether there is a white cloth on it or

not.” So his friend changed places with him

and looked out the window. After a bit the

friend said, “Oh yes, I see the tree.” The

son asked, “Is there a white cloth tied to

it?” For a moment the friend did not say

anything. Then he turned and in a very gen-

tle voice said, “There is a white cloth tied

to every limb of that tree!”

In some sense, Jesus Christ is the white

cloth our heavenly Father tied to the tree –

to the cross of Calvary

– signaling that it was

safe for us to come

home to his love.

God's Valentine to you

and me ... and to the

whole world!

Happy Valentine's Day,

Pastor Stephen

Church Phone: 774.2733

Church Fax: 774.4069

E-Mail: connect@oslfamily.org

Website: oslfamily.org

Tuesday, February 28th 5:00 - 6:30p-m

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Pancakes, sausage, applesauce and beverage will be

served from 5:00 – 6:30pm. Mark your calendars.

Cost is $4 - adults, $2 – children under twelve or

$12 per family. Proceeds will go to First Lutheran’s

Backpack Ministry. Confirmation Youth will be

serving.

——————————————————————————————–——————————————

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

1210 S. Kimberly Avenue Permit #54

Iron Mountain, MI 49801 Iron Mountain, MI 49801

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED