In the movie, “Facing The Gi-

ants,” there is a part of the film

where the coach tells his football

players, “Your attitude is the

aroma of your heart. If your atti-

tude stinks, it means that your

heart’s not right.” Our attitude is

a reflection of what is inside of

us. When our attitude isn’t right

that means something else isn’t

right as well. We can’t control a

lot of what happens in life but we

can control our attitude. For

better or worse, our attitude is a

reflection of our heart.

In Philippians 2 Paul says “Your

attitude should be the same as

that of Christ Jesus: Who, being

in very nature God, did not con-

sider equality with God some-

thing to be grasped, but made

himself nothing, taking the very

nature of a servant, being made

in human likeness. And being

found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself and became

obedient to death—even death

on a cross!” And I’ve had trouble

sometimes when they got my

order wrong at a restaurant con-

trolling my attitude. It definitely

puts things in perspective when

you look at Jesus’ attitude and

circumstances. How do you

even quantify that? How would

your attitude be if you become

an ant?

As we approach Thanksgiving,

it’s a great time to check our-

selves and evaluate our attitude

to see how thankful, gracious,

and pleasant we have been. So

this next month we will not only

talk about how important it is for

us to steward our attitude, but

we will also talk about how to try

and change our attitude to be

the same as Christ Jesus. With

the right attitude you will be

filled with more joy, able to ac-

complish more, and you will have

peace regardless of your circum-

stances.

Charles Swindoll said that he is

convinced that life is 10% what

happens to him and 90% how he

reacts to it. That doesn’t mean

that you deny your reality if less

than favorable circumstances

present themselves. It simply

means that you don’t let those

circumstances define you and

you may ignore them, change

them, or overcome them and,

most importantly, bring them to

God. Rain doesn’t bother a

duck, because the duck is built

to deflect it, thus the expression

“water off a duck’s back”. As

followers of Christ, we don’t let

adverse circumstances bother

us, because we are built to over-

come them. As we study this

month about having a better

attitude, come and learn how to

ignore, change, and overcome

any negative circumstances in

your life.

Pastor Jeff

O U R A T T I T U D E I S A R E F L E C T I O N O F O U R H E A R T

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8 F U L L Y A L I V E !

Fully Alive! I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

A D V E N T W O R S H I P

S C H E D U L E

2

S P E C I A L C O N -G R E G A T I O N A L

M E E T I N G

2

G I V I N G T R E E 3

T H E I S A I A H P R O J E C T

U P D A T E

3

N A T I O N A L Y O U T H

G A T H E R I N G

4

Y O U T H G A R D E N 4

WO R K C A M P M I S S I O N 2 0 1 9

S E T

5

I S A I A H P R O J E C T

W O R K S H O P S

6

C OMM U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

Hope, love, joy, and peace

sound wonderful, but do you

believe they are possibilities for

you? These gifts might seem

really out of reach. You feel all

the hurt, the disappointments,

and the struggles that you’ve

dealt with throughout the year,

but the story of Christmas is all

about experiencing the unex-

pected.

Family of Christ Lutheran Church Family of Christ Lutheran Church Family of Christ Lutheran Church Family of Christ Lutheran Church

invites you to four Worship Gath-invites you to four Worship Gath-invites you to four Worship Gath-invites you to four Worship Gath-

erings on Wednesdays erings on Wednesdays erings on Wednesdays erings on Wednesdays

during the season of Ad-during the season of Ad-during the season of Ad-during the season of Ad-

vent.vent.vent.vent. These evenings will be

held in Holy Cross’ Parish Hall

on Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12, and 19.

The schedule for the evenings

will include:

5:30 – 6:00p - Meal

6:00 – 6:45p – Worship

7:00 – 8:00p – Breakouts for

Youth, Young Adults,

Confirmation (possible Adult

breakouts TBD)

Page 2 F U L L Y A L I V E !

R E A D Y F O R T H E U N E X P E C T E D ?

We are pleased to welcome

Pastor Jeff Niederstadt and his

family to our congregation!

Pastor Jeff is head pastor at

Family of Christ, a sister con-

gregation in Rochester, and

will take over preaching and

Bible Study at Holy Cross on

Sundays. He will also extend

his work with the Confirmation

classes of both congregations,

which have been combined for

the past year.

We are also grateful for the

people of Family of Christ and

their decision to move their

worship time to Saturday even-

ing in order for this to occur.

At the same time, they have

chosen to begin their Saturday

evening services in the Parish

Hall at Holy Cross. Please

extend the warm hand of fel-

lowship to these brothers and

sisters as you see them. While

each congregation will retain

its individual mission and iden-

tity, people are welcome to

join the other in worship as it

best fits their schedule.

As noted above, we are also

entering the Call process, in-

cluding establishing a Call

Team at Holy Cross to manage

the activities required to evalu-

ate and recommend to the

congregation a name (or

names) to consider for our

next pastor. The Executive

Council is charged with this

duty and expects to identify

members of the Team by the

start of November.

V A C A N C Y U P D A T E

S P E C I A L C O N G R E G A T I O N A L M E E T I N G

On November 4, at 6:00 pm in

the Parish Hall, a special congre-

gational meeting per our Bylaws

Article VIII, Section 1(b) will be

held to share with you an over-

view of the Call process. A rep-

resentative from the District

and/or Circuit will be present to

lay out the steps leading to a

Divine Call, and the roles of vari-

ous parties. A vote may be taken

regarding certain aspects of the

process.

We’d like to make this also a

time of fellowship, and invite you

to bring an appetizer or dessert.

Drinks, plates and silverware will

be provided. Help with setup and

takedown will also be appreciat-

ed.

We look forward to seeing you

on November 4!

For more information, go to www.familyofchristrochs.com

Pastor Jeff & Michelle Niederstadt & family

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord

is on me,

because the Lord has

anointed me

to proclaim good news to the

poor.

He has sent me to bind up the

brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the

captives

and release from darkness

for the prisoners.

Isaiah 61:1

As communicated previously,

the Isaiah Project is the process

of updating the long-range plan

for Holy Cross, with a key initial

outcome being the clarification

of our vision for the ministry

here. “Who We Are” and “Who

We are Called to Be” have be-

come the key focus of activities

in recent weeks.

To reiterate the steps we’ve

taken: Our work initially fo-

cused on preparing a Current

State Assessment, which many

of you participated in via our

Seeking Wisdom survey and

Focus Groups. This step also

included gathering information

on the community and state of

the church and attitudes toward

religion in our nation. This led

us to identify our top Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities,

and Threats (SWOT), which we

then brought to bear on the

questions, “Who are we called

to be” in ministry at Holy

Cross?” and “How do we pic-

ture our future?” The culmina-

tion of work included a final

workshop to identify objectives,

strategies, and actions to take

us toward this future.

The information from this work

is important not only to guide

our daily work, but also to help

us identify the type of pastoral

leader we should call. It may

also provide ideas to consider

regarding how we organize our

ministries as we attempt to

impact others with the Gospel

message.

Details have been shared in

venues such as the Town Hall

on October 21, and will contin-

ue to be provided via another

Town Hall in November and

other means. Feel free to let

Mark Matthias, Carole Cochran,

Roger Lindahl, or Jo Dean know

if you have questions or input to

the process. God bless his

people at Holy Cross as we

seek to carry out our mission,

“Helping People Become Fully

Alive in Jesus!”

T H E I S A I A H P R O J E C T U P D A T E

See pages 6 and

7 for more on

the Isaiah

Project

Workshops

Page 3 C O MM U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

Each Christmas season at Holy

Cross, our Missions & Evange-

lism Board sponsors a Giving

Tree. The tree will be set up

after Thanksgiving in our front

entrance and decorated with

gift tags. Each tag represents a

gift that is needed and will be

given to someone who truly

needs to know and experience

God’s love for them at Christ-

mas. The way it works is this:

1) Select one or more gift tags

from the tree. 2) Purchase your

selected gift(s). 3) Bring your

gift(s) either wrapped or un-

wrapped WITH the gift tag on

the gift. 4) Place it under the

Giving Tree or in the designated

gift box. 5) Say a prayer for the

person who will receive your

gift.

It’s that simple! This year our

gifts of love will go to:

• Residents at the Rochester

Women’s Shelter

• Residents at MN Adult/Teen

Challenge

• Holy Cross Good Samaritan

Fund which provides emer-

gency support for members

and others in times of critical

need.

God bless you as you give!

T H E G I V I N G T R E E C O M I N G S O O N ! !

S C H A U D E R ’ S N E W A D D R E S S

Pastor Steve and Jane Schauder

N2665 Rustic Drive

Clintonville, WI 54929

Held every 3 years since 1980,

the LCMS Youth Gathering

provides thousands of youth

and adults the opportunity to

come together as a community

of God’s people to learn more

about Jesus Christ, the Chris-

tian faith and their Lutheran

identity. The next Gathering

will be held on July 11July 11July 11July 11----15, 15, 15, 15,

2019 in Minneapolis, MN2019 in Minneapolis, MN2019 in Minneapolis, MN2019 in Minneapolis, MN.

During the five days of the

Gathering, youth spend time

together in God’s word, wor-

ship, service, and fellowship

with others from across the

synod. This event is organized

by LCMS Youth Ministry in

Saint Louis, MO.

In 2019, Holy Cross will be

joining forces with Family of

Christ to provide youth an op-

portunity to attend! Youth

currently in grade 8 or older,

but not yet 20 years old by the

time of the gathering may at-

tend.

We currently have 9 youth and

2 adults signed up to go! We

could possibly fit in a couple

more; talk to Curt Boger or

Pastor Jeff if you are interest-

ed. Your cost is $150 plus

fundraising work. Current

Grade 8 up to age 19 are wel-

come.

We have all bills paid from

Workcamp Mission ‘18!

Gross income from the garden

and apiary this calendar year

now exceeds $7000. It has

been a very good year, but we

are not done!

Hundreds of pounds of honey

remain, plus potatoes, onions,

jams, squash, and pie pump-

kins.

Proceeds now will go toward

2019 gathering and mission

trips.

If you would like some bottled

honey or jam to give away as

gifts, let Curt know and we can

package without a price tag.

The new tractor is a huge bless-

ing, thanks for all your dona-

tions to make that possible!

N A T I O N A L Y O U T H G A T H E R I N G — M I N N E A P O L I S !

F R U I T S O F T H E S P I R I T Y O U T H G A R D E N

P R E T E E N S 4 5 6

As part of Kidz Alive, our group

for 456 has been having some

great attendance and good

times. We have been digging in

to the life of Jesus and learning

a lot about each other. And

eating.

Connect with us in the Parish

Hall after worship, where we

gather before heading back to

the Youth Café area.

Mariah Tweed, a young woman

who has been actively involved

in our Young Adult Ministry

group has been joining us as a

leader, and she is great!

See you on a Sunday soon!

- Curt and Mariah. And

Sometimes Kenzie.

A preteen

ministry is a

space where

emerging

adolescents can

be the no-longer-

a-kid-yet-not-

quite-a-teen that

they are.

Page 4 F U L L Y A L I V E !

Dates and destination for the

2019 mission trip have been

set!

After sending out surveys to

collect available dates, June 13-

23 were selected based on most

availability and most favored

location.

Where

Chattanooga, like many commu-nities, is primed for a makeover. Many small homes owned by long-term residents need a face-life of paint, porch repairs, and

access via ramps so that resi-dents can enjoy their home safe-

ly.

Our Partner

Our partner is a faith-based organization centered right in the neighborhood you will serve. As a long-time anchor in the community, we are helping them meet their goal of stepping up service to folks with home repair needs. Now they can continue to expand this program with an influx of volunteers and continue to positively impact homeowners

into the future.

Registration is now open! Go to the Holy Cross web site and click on Minis-tries/Youth/Workcamp 19, then click the big

Register Button.

Open to anyone currently in grade 8 or older; in fact, we could use several new

adults to join the team!

WO R K C A M P M I S S I O N 2 0 1 9 S E T — C H A T T A N O O G A , T N

W O R K C A M P M I S S I O N 1 8

In 2018, we joined together with

youth from Family of Christ Lu-

theran and Plainview Church of

Christ to serve in Hurricane-

affected areas of Houston Tex-

as. Here are some thoughts from

one of our team members.

Page 5 C O MM U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

Mission 18 Team in Texas

I S A I A H P R O J E C T W O R K S H O P S I N P I C T U R E S

Page 6 F U L L Y A L I V E !

Workshop I: Current State Assessment Workshop I: Current State Assessment Workshop I: Current State Assessment Workshop I: Current State Assessment (September 29) What do we know about ourselves and the environment around us?

Tim Heroff presented

Rochester Community

information, projec-

tions, and some

national research.

Mark Matthias facilitated the Workshop

SWOT Analysis Work: Listing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

From compiled results: staff, executive council, all church survey, small focus groups, and external research.

Sharing Results

Defining, Comparing, and Reflecting

Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17

O U R F I N A N C I A L S T E W A R D S H I P

Workshop II: Casting the Vision (October 13) Who is Holy Cross called to be? How do we picture our future?

Page 7 C O MM U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

Mark encouraged us to get creative, to draw our vision of who we see Holy Cross is and where do we want to be.

Our Vision: “How big should it be? It’s not about us (think outside our walls). It must inspire action.”

We are a People of Grace. We are grounded in the Word. We do Life Together in Christ.

We value partnerships in Mission and Ministry. Come as you are.

November Issue of Fully Alive!

2703 9th Avenue NW

Rochester MN 55901

Phone: 507.289.1354

Fax: 507.289.4815

Email: info@holycross-church.org

Website: www.holycross-church.org

H O L Y C R O S S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 264

Rochester MN 55901

Come gather for a Special Worship Service of Thanksgiving!Come gather for a Special Worship Service of Thanksgiving!Come gather for a Special Worship Service of Thanksgiving!Come gather for a Special Worship Service of Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 21, at 6:30 pm.

Please bring an offering of non-perishable food items to help feed the hungry of our community (last year we gave nearly 50

bags of groceries to Channel One). If you not be able to attend worship that evening you may bring your food offering on

Sunday, November 18.

What can I offer the Lord for all He has done for me?

I will bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord! (Psalm 116)