p. 1 “From Pastor Melinda”

Dates at a glance

Cancellation/postponements

p. 2 Message from

Bishop Finegan

p. 3 “About Faith Lutheran”

Homebound members

Office Notice

p. 4 Important dates

And reminders

From the Treasurer

p. 5 Council Minutes

p. 6 Daily Bible Devotions

Dates at a GlanceDates at a GlanceDates at a Glance

June 7, 2020June 7, 2020June 7, 2020 Holy TrinityHoly TrinityHoly Trinity

June 14,June 14,June 14, 2020,2020,2020, Flag DayFlag DayFlag Day

June 20, 2020June 20, 2020June 20, 2020 First day of SummerFirst day of SummerFirst day of Summer

June 21, 2020June 21, 2020June 21, 2020 Father’s DayFather’s DayFather’s Day

INSIDE

WELCA

We regret to inform you that the WELCA picnic that was scheduled for

Wednesday, June 3rd 2020, has been postponed

until further notice.

Please keep an eye on subsequent Pathfinders and weekly announce-

ments for further details.

WORLD HUNGER COIN BOXES

Due to the Coronavirus, the Synod does not have a set date that they would like to have this money in by. So we’d like you to continue to collect coins for as long as we remain in this current situation. If you don’t have a box and would like one, you can call the church office to schedule a contactless pick-up with Sean. Thank you for supporting such a great cause!

From Pastor Melinda

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, It is June! It some ways, the year seems to have dragged on. In other ways, I can’t believe it is summer! Please make it a point to get out and enjoy the sunshine! It has been wonderful to “see” many of you via Zoom over the past few weeks! Please let the Church Office or myself know if you would like to continue meeting via Zoom during the summer. With summer coming and people wanting to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible, we may suspend Zoom Gatherings for the summer. There is no new news regarding Pastor Rita or when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will resume processing religious worker visas. Please continue to pray for Pastor Rita and her son, Derrick, who are anxiously waiting to join with you! As you know, services and activities at the church are suspended until June 21st. I pray we are nearing the time when we will actually be able to gather together. Dear Lord, let it be so. Peace to you and your family ╬ Pastor Melinda

Worship in

the Park

Unfortunately our Wor-ship in the Park sched-

uled for July 19 has been cancelled this year. Due to the Coronavirus the city was unsure if the

Pavilion would even be available and given the uncertainty of any kind

of gatherings this Summer, especially those

that serve up delicious food, the Council decid-ed to cancel the Service

this year.

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ON-SITE VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR THIS SUMMER.

Instead of VBS this year we will be sending home packets of Bible games and activities for the children. Watch for more information as it becomes available.

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out – until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels” ~Exodus 40: 36-38

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Are we there yet? Any parent will tell you that they have heard this question called from the back seat of the vehicle any number of times, and not only on the longer car rides. Parents learn pretty quickly to prepare their children for the extended trip; gathering toys, games, and books, a favorite pillow, movies, whatever they can find to keep the children busy for the duration of the journey. Because without a sense of time or distance, children need to be given context, or other cues as in,

“We will not arrive before supper time” or “We will be there before dark.” Such preparation helps the children be more resilient to the demands of travel. Knowing they will be in the car for awhile helps them settle in for a longer journey.

I wonder, if the Israelites had been more prepared for their wilderness wanderings, if that would have helped. The book of Exodus is full of accusations of being a “stiff necked people” as they complain about the conditions of their journey and never getting an answer to their incessant question (which isn’t actually recorded, but may as well have been) “Are we there yet?”

The Israelites didn’t arrive for 40 years. And while the actual question is not explicitly recorded, what we do have is a record of their disobedience, their complaining and doubts, the challenges of leadership, the lack of acceptable food and water, the weariness of the journey, and how people had trouble getting along. And yet, in the midst of all of this, all the griping and angst, the overwhelming witness of the book of Exodus and what is interwoven throughout this journey story, is the immediate, close, and faithful presence of God.

God travels with the Israelites, guides them, even feeds them. During this journey, the Israelites enjoy a relationship of intimacy and care with God, unequalled anywhere else in the whole history of salvation. I think of Charles Dickens’ words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. It was worst because the people struggled and suffered. There was uncertainty. There was pain and death. But it was also the best of times as God’s presence was visibly and palpably with them. Despite all the complaining, never before or since were the people of God so utterly dependent upon God’s care and guidance. Their trust was out of necessity, but it was trust well placed.

Our religious tradition is thick with wilderness stories and analogies. Wilderness times are marked by uncertainty and pain even as they are synonymous with complete dependence on God, and a deepening of that relationship, borne of des-peration yes, but do we not cling to God all the more fiercely when our need is greater? The season of Lent is often lik-ened to a wilderness time. Or the journey of grief. Or a time of healing from an illness, or any other time of trial and trib-ulation.

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness 40 years. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness 40 days. I suggest that this time of pandemic is also a wilderness time and a journey that is blessed with trust and dependence on God.

Like any wilderness story, our current time is marked with uncertainty. And as people of faith, we are blessed to once again and always depend upon the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus to sustain and guide us, weary travelers that we are.

Because the difficult truth is, we are not going to “arrive” for some time. We would do well to prepare ourselves and our children, our congregation members and our neighbors, to understand what it will mean to learn to live with this new vi-rus until a vaccine is readily available, or until 60% to 70% of the population is immune. Such preparation creates resili-ency. And we will need to be resilient to the demands of this journey else we start to gripe and complain and not get along well with each other.

The lifting of government restrictions does not mean that the virus is no longer a threat. Nor does it mean that life, and worship, can return to pre-pandemic rhythms. Even as we are legally allowed to gather in groups of less than 10 and then less than 50, we and those we love are still at risk and precautions must be taken to protect the most vulnerable among us.

Watch for the cues: We will arrive when widespread testing is available, when tracking is possible, and ultimately, when there is a vaccine. Like the Israelites, we do not have a map. Like the Israelites, our arrival time is still far off. And like the Israelites, we will arrive a different people than when our journey began.

But we are a resilient people, striving for patience and faithfulness in these wilderness days. Know that God travels with us, guiding us, sustaining us in our weariness.

Again, I ask you to seek out the blessing that is in these days. God is ever present, ever faithful, and will bring us to that day when there is an answer to the question, “Are we there yet?”. For now, the answer is no, not even close. Settle in for a longer journey. But we’ll get there, and we’ll get there together.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Katherine Finegan

Page 2

Faith Lutheran Church

is a member congregation of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Synod website: nglsynod.org

Denomination website: elca.org

Beverly Tankersley– Medilodge– Rm B15

1011 Meridian St. SSM, MI 49783

Alice Isaacson– PO Box 1858

SSM, MI 49783 (906)259-0402

Copper Garrett- 5036 W. Five Mile Rd.

SSM, MI 49783 (906)632-8727

Linda Doran- 590 Three 1/2 Mile Rd.

SSM, MI 49783 (906)632-6483

Eva Mohr– E 5040 State Highway M35

Escanaba 49829 (906)789-0423

Ruth Ronquist- Merlin Home– 1703 Hyde St.

SSM, MI 49783 (906)253-2331

Walter Pell- 605 W. Portage Ave.

SSM, MI 49783 (906) 635-6002

Diane Borrousch- 2023 W 4th Ave. SSM, MI 49783 (906) 635-9606

Our homebound and nursing home members are often so isolated that your phone call, visit, even a card can mean the difference between

lonely existence and continued life in our faith community. What can you do? Please reach out to those who have been such a vital part of our congregation and give back.

The Pathfinder is the monthly

newsletter of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America community at :

Faith Lutheran Church, 1600 Park Street,

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. (906) 632-7246

The deadline for the Pathfinder is

the 15th of each month.

Please send articles, comments, news items

c/o Pathfinder Editor, 1600 Park St. Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 or e-mail to faithlc1966@att.net

Interim Pastor: Rev. Melinda VanderSys

Church Office Administrator/Editor: Sean Uhrig

Congregation Council: Will Karr,

Sandy Lawson, Vicki Luoma, Wayne Olsen,

Stephanie Miller, Ese Osumili, Catherine Tibbett,

and Steve Sanderson

Church Office Notice:

The office at Faith Lutheran Church is closed except to the Office Staff, Church Council, Church Treasurer, CCR (as re-quested) and Janitorial Staff. Sean is available only by telephone at (906) 632-7246 during normal business hours. If you have something for the church, please mail it to:

Faith Lutheran Church 1600 Park Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783

Pastor Melinda is conducting church busi-ness from the office at Our Redeemer Lu-theran Church in Newberry. Please feel free to contact her at (906) 291-0897 or at orlcrev@att.net Stay Safe, Stay Home Peace+

Page 3

Please continue to send in your contributions. Thank you.

Page 4

1st Gregg Bush

12th Barry Levine

12th Dixie Picotte

12th Bradley Robinson

13th Adam Mohagen

16th Lorraine Cobb

17th Kristen Trinkle

19th Jennifer Mohagen

21st Randy Obermiller

26th Jill Lawson

26th Summer Bachand

26th Joy Lake

27th Debrah Norton

27th Alvin Picotte

28th Garrett Carr

28th Elysha Vincke

29th Linnea Kelly

29th Landon Reighard

30th Derek Bush

Bill & Joanne Markstrom

06/11/1955 65 years

Bill & Janet Robinson

06/28/1968 52 years

Bill & Nancy Skidmore

06/10/1972 48 years

Debby & Marc Carr

06/11/1983 37 years

Kevin & Jill Weber

06/25/2011 9 years

Holy Trinity

June 7th June 21st June 20th

Faith Lutheran Church

Summary Income Statement

For April 2020

Month of April April Year-to-Date

General Fund Revenue $7,301.00 $28,331.75

$5,532.78 $31,889.06

Revenue over(under) Expenses $1,768.22 ($3,557.31)

Cash Balance as of April 30, 2020 $7,003.23

Estimated Operating Expenses for May $5,600.00-$6,500.00

Faith Lutheran Church Council Meeting April 21, 2020

The meeting was called to order by President Cathy Tibbett at 7:19 p.m. by Zoom. Members present: Will Karr, Stephanie Miller, Wayne Olsen, Pastor Melinda VanderSys, Vicki Luoma, Sandy Lawson, Cathy Tibbett, Steve Sanderson, Ese Osumili Devotions: Cathy Tibbett gave devotions. Devotions for May – Steve Sanderson. Previous Minutes: Steve Sanderson made a motion to accept the minutes of March 17, 2020. Seconded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried. Future meetings: Special Council meeting – Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Council meeting - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Counters: April – Sandy Lawson, Wayne Olsen May – Will Karr, Ese Osumili

Old Business Each council member was assigned to a committee. A list will be made and provided to each Council member. New Business

Health Department Foot Care Clinic: A motion was made by Sandy Lawson to allow the Health Department to hold a Foot Care Clinic at Faith Lutheran at no charge to the Health Department. Seconded by Stephanie Miller. Motion carried. Three Lakes Conference meeting: The Three Lakes Conference meeting will be held at Faith Lutheran Church on October 24, 2020. CCR - This group has been making phone calls to church members. Kathy Flickinger has a supply of face masks. Callers will find out if people need a mask, and they will be mailed to those that need them.

Pastor’s Report – Pastor Melinda gave her report. Committee Reports Christian Education –Vacation Bible School materials are here. Vacation Bible School may be held later in the summer, but is on hold for right now. Come to the Table – No Report Endowment – The amount from the Endowment for this year is $4349. Fellowship – No Report Worship and Music – The next meeting will be May 6, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Membership – No report Outreach – The original tentative dates for the Soup Kitchen is May 17th and the Church Picnic at Sherman Park is July 19th. Stewardship – No Report Finance – Wayne gave the financial report. Property – The projects for spring are the pillars and the cross. Memorial – No Report Campus Ministry – No Report WELCA – No Report Staff Support – No Report

A motion was made by Will Karr to accept the committee reports including the pastor’s report. Seconded by Steve Sanderson. Motion carried.

Special Council meeting – A special Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss health and safety precautions that need to be in place before opening the church to services.

Motion to adjourn: Steve Sanderson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Sandy Lawson. Motion carried. Pastor Melinda ended the meeting with a prayer and concluded with the Lord’s Prayer. Respectfully submitted,

Vicki Luoma, Council Secretary

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FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH

1600 PARK STREET

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI 49783

PATHFINDER

FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH*

YEAR OF MATTHEW

JUNE 2020

PENTECOST