THE VISITORa publication of Morningside Lutheran Church

JUNE 2019 | VOL. 50 | NO. 6

“Therefore,sincewehavebeenjustifiedthroughfaith,wehavepeacewithGodthroughourLordJesusChrist,throughwhomwehavegainedaccessbyfaithintothisgraceinwhichwenowstand.”–Romans5:1-2

Paul’s words to the church in Rome are words that carry such powerful weight for you and me today. Just take a moment to reflect on the week that you have had. Did you do anything that we would regard as sin? I would guess just taking some time to think on that question brings a pit to your stomach realizing that just maybe there was a time this week when you blew it. You saw your neighbor needing help and you ran inside your house to avoid conversation. Maybe you shared something at work that in your mind you knew not to be completely true. Maybe you found yourself lashing out at the people around you for no real reason other than just being at a place of exhaustion. Wow, such an encouraging front-page right? Well if we are going to get to the heart of these couple verses, we need to understand that we often go our own way and mess things up. But thanks be to God who has given us the Gospel message! Let’s take a look at some good news we can draw from these couple verses.

The word Justified means to be made right. Those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ have been made right with God even on our worst days (see above for some examples)! Because God saw in you and in me beauty and something worth saving he sent Jesus to become an atoning sacrifice on our behalf so that we might be made right in his sight. What does this justification bring? It brings peace. I don’t know about you but when there are times in my life when things get out of balance, I find myself lacking peace the most. Paul reminds us that because of faith we are not only made right with God but he has given us peace. Finally, the peace that God gives us leads us to grace that gives us the power to stand back up when we get knocked down by sin. We can stand knowing that God sees us as justified in his eyes because of the finished work of Jesus. May you and I live more fully into that new life today and everyday. May we stand and walk with Jesus, the one who took our sin and gave us new life! - Paul Peterson

Worship at the River has begun! Join us each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at the Anderson Dance Pavilion. This service is open to all in the community - invite your friends and family, bring lawn chairs, and worship with us this summer!During June 9-August 18, the multicultural service (normally at 2:00 p.m.) will move up to 11:00 a.m. in the MLC Sanctuary.In the case of inclement weather, service location will be determined by 10 a.m. Text EZRIVER19 to 474747 to get notified by text message.

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upcoming at MLC:

Children's Summer Programming:• Day Camp / VBS is set for July 8-11! The theme this

summer is Press On Expedition. Registration is now open online under the 'children' tab on our website. Register before June 8 for a discount!

• Summer Blast is set for June 24-27 from 9 am - 11:30 am! We will be offering four camps: Sewing, Art, Theatre and Kid's Korner. You can get registered online under the 'children' tab on our website.

• You can help lead in many capacities (host home, day camp leader, snacks/kitchen help, decorating, etc) for both Day Camp and Summer Blast. If you are interested or have

questions about programming you can reach Garret at childrensministry@morningsidelutheran.com• Our Family Pool Party at Lewis Pool is set for July 21 from

6 - 8 pm. Join us for a great evening and invite a friend!

MLC 1st family meeting:You are invited by the Council and Transition Team to our first MLC Family Meeting on June 30th following the river service. The Parish Fellowship and Multicultural Teams will be hosting the lunch for everyone. The purpose of the meeting is to hear from you! We want to listen to your questions, concerns, or suggestions. Bring your lawn chair and join us for the 11:00 service at the Anderson Dance Pavilion, enjoy food and fellowship following!

Wednesday worship:Our Wednesday Evening 6:23 Service has come to an end, but we will still have a Wednesday Worship Service! Over the summer we will be putting a great deal of thought and prayer into what a Wednesday Evening Worship Service should look like. We will strive to develop a service that will meet the needs and desires of as many individuals and families as possible, and we will unveil that in the Fall. If you would like to give some input toward that, please feel free to do so! Pass your thoughts on to Pastor Jon, preferably in writing, and we will give it our consideration as we pray and plan. In the meantime, we will be having a very simple and unplugged worship service with Communion through the summer so as not to leave anyone without a Wednesday option. Our goal through the summer is to explore the goodness of God and His provision for our lives in ways that we believe will lead to new discoveries for many.

2019

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dad n' donuts:Celebrate your dad on Father's Day with donuts! Join us in the MLC foyer anytime between 8:45 - 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 16. We hope to see you there!

Baptisms:Sullivan John Kreber, son of Nick & Tabitha

(Shepherd) Kreber, Emmett James Jacobs, son of Carmen Habeger & Matthew Jacobs, Hayden William

Anderson, Logan Joseph Anderson, & Olivia Ann Anderson, children of Troy & Jamie (Uden) Anderson

were brought to the Lord in Holy Baptism.

sympathy:We extend our sympathy to Mike & Patty Hanson

on the loss of Mike’s father, Kerry Hanson, to John & Judy Anderson on the loss of John’s brother, A.

Wayne Anderson, to Dan & Angie Rabbitt and family and Ruth Rysta on the loss of Janice Rabbitt, to Eugene Anderson & Darin & Stacy Hildahl &

Families on the loss of Lola Anderson, and to Donna Herzog and family on the loss of Dick Herzog.

Weddings:Shannon Miller and Christopher Stevenson were

joined in marriage at MLC on May 25, 2019.

Hospitalizations:Ruth Rysta, Henry Dannettel, Maxine Grubel,

Zackery Fredericksen

Men's Softball League:Playball! Morningside Lutheran is looking for 10 guys interested in playing in a church softball league Thursday nights in July. Cost is $30 per person to cover the league fees. We will play doubleheaders for six weeks giving a total of 12 games plus a possibility of an end of the year tournament.Interested? Contact Paul Peterson for more details.

Summer Singing Opportunities:The MLC choir will be taking a break from their normal schedule during the summer but they will sing once a month. If you would like to join in on those times we would love to have you. We will sing the 4th Sunday of each summer month - June 23, July 28th, and August 25th. We will be practicing for these on June 19th at 7:00 p.m. in the church chapel. If you have been wanting to give choir a try this is a wonderful opportunity to do so. Hope to see you!

lutheran men:The annual Father's Day Mission Appeal will be held on June 9th, one week ahead of Father's Day. Forms and envelopes will be included in the bulletin on that Sunday. Forms and envelopes will also be available at the Welcome Desk in the Narthex. Let us strive to meet our goal of 100 Buck-a-Month members and 30 Committee-of-100 members. These funds are used to support new mission churches in LCMC. Your continued support is appreciated.

sunday volunteers:We are in search of Sunday morning technology volunteers (high school age and up). You can help

with video, sound, or computer slides for any of our services. It's very easy to learn and training will be provided if needed! Contact Charity Koehler or Charity Peterson if interested.

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IMPORTANT TRANSITION INFO FOR US: CHANGE VS. TRANSITIONby Pastor Tim White

Every organization goes through times of transition. But for many people the concept of transition remains an enigma. Some people think that transition means change. They might even equate the two words. It will be tremendously helpful to us here at Morningside if we understand that there’s a difference between change and transition.

Change is situational. It’s what’s happening that can be defined in concrete, observable terms. A business is making a move to a new location. A club adopts a new set of requirements for membership. A church goes through a change of pastoral leadership. In each case there is the expectation of moving from the present situa-tion toward a new situation. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological and emotional. It’s what people go through because of change or changes being made. And there are three phases of transition identified by experts in the field of organizational change. Those who research change processes say the successful completion of a change will depend on how well people can negotiate these three phases.

1. The Letting Go Phase. Transition starts with an ending. There is a letting go that must happen in a time of transition because something has come to an end. Whenever a significant change occurs people must deal with loss – the loss of the old way of doing things, the loss of work relationships, the loss of a previous identity in favor of something new. People might go through a grieving process similar to that which occurs at the death of loved ones. They must be helped to handle their losses in the healthiest ways possible.

2. “The Neutral Zone”, or In-between time. This is a realization that the old is gone but the new doesn’t feel comfortable yet. People are making a mental and emotional adjustment to the new reality, but it’s in-pro-cess. It isn’t completed. (Pastor Darrin is gone, and we know there will be a new Senior Pastor.) This is a highly critical phase that must be negotiated successfully. The psychological and emotional adjustments have to made, or the third phase won’t happen.

3. The New Beginning. This third stage of transition is about embracing the change. The goal is to come out of “The Neutral Zone” with a renewed identity, new energy and a sense of purpose that will make the change work.

This is why you’ll be hearing a lot about “who God wants us to be as a congregation” here at Morningside, and uniting around what this means for us going forward in ministry. So you were asked to complete the Holy Cow survey. The going forward cannot be a “from the top” dictate. Morningside leaders need to hear what God is saying in the hearts of His people here.

People have more difficulty navigating the transition than they do making changes. Factory workers can make widgets a new way, but adapting to the new way psychologically and emotionally is what will determine wheth-er the change can be fully implemented. The same is true for a change of pastoral leadership in a church. This is why it’s essential that we not be in a hurry about convening the Call Committee. The Church Council, along with the Transition Team and the pastors, must have the time to take deliberate steps toward helping people make necessary adjustments. It’s not enough to just want the next pastor to be called, but to be entirely ready and enthusiastic about it, to be in love with the fellowship of believers at Morningside, united in purpose, and eager to go to work. It begins with the Morningside Staff and other ministry leaders, but it must extend from there to every congregation member.

We will take practical commonsense steps to establish a solid foundation for the next chapter at Morningside, remembering also that we are in a spiritual enterprise. It is ultimately the Holy Spirit who will accomplish what must happen in our hearts. It is Jesus Himself, through His Spirit, who creates the foundation of love and unity in His church. Please pray toward this end as we move forward.

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Parish fellowship:Parish Fellowship Team is looking for small groups, committee teams, prayer groups, or dedicated individuals to help with the coffee station on Sunday mornings. If interested, please contact Dan Bernholtz at 712-281-0337 or the church office. Thank you!

mission trip opportunity:There is a mission trip opportunity to Mexcio Beach, Florida from June 24-28 (does not include travel time) for Hurricane Michael Recovery. This opportunity is for adults, high school students, or middle school stu-dents with accompanying parent. Activities will include cleaning up trees, clearing roads of nails with magnets, assisting with food distribution, and more. If interested in participating in or supporting this mission, please contact Karl Seggerman at 712-441-4290 or lbpr12@gmail.com. Please pray for this trip and the people who are rebuilding their lives.Motivation for the trip: After the first responders to a disaster zone pack up and leave, communities are left to finish the work of cleaning up and rebuilding on their own. This can be an overwhelming task. For small communities like Mexico Beach, this can be especially so since they have limited resources and people. The trip is to provide support and hope for those left behind as they journey forward to rebuild their lives.

Prayer Ministry Training: Therefore … pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16 (ESV) Have you ever wanted to pray for others with great-er faith and confidence and boldness? I hope so, because that is what we are called to do as broth-ers and sisters in the family of God! And yet, as a pastor, I know that there are times when one of the scariest things that I can ask of someone is; “Will you lead us in prayer?” It should be easy. We belong to God. He is our good and loving Father who is delighted when we come to Him with our needs. And Jesus told His disciples the night before He went to the cross; Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24 (ESV). It should lead to joy, and yet it brings so much fear. Why? I believe it is because we simply haven’t been sufficiently equipped and trained to rise to our calling. We have not been taught how to reject the lies of the enemy telling us that we are not worthy or that we wouldn’t know what to say or how to say it, or what if we pray and nothing happens? Are you interested? If so, I have some great news! There is some Basic Training available that I believe will help you cross over those inner barriers to step out in faith and pray boldly, believing and trusting that God will hear your prays and respond on your behalf (though not always in the way or in the timing that we had on mind). Pastor Paul Anderson, our friend, who was here earlier in April, will be coming back June 21-23. He has written a very excellent book on Prayer Ministry and he will be here to do some very practical and empowering teaching on the sub-ject Friday evening, June 21 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. We would love to have men and women, young and older, couples, singles, moms, dads, sons and daughters, Prayer Warriors and others. Whether you are new to praying for others, or you’ve been doing it for decades, we invite you to attend. I guar-antee you that it will improve your prayer life and increase your faith. The Book is excellent and the teacher is exciting and engaging. And best of all, it won’t cost you anything but your time! If you are interested talk to me, Pastor Jon, and ask for a book, or sign up at the Information Desk.

Altar Guild:The Altar Guild is in need of new members. We are a group who prepares communion once a month and also prepares things for baptisms. Our group of ladies is very small and we would like to have some new younger members to help us out. If you are interested or have any questions, please call Claris at 276-2969.

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CARING & SHARING list:The following are those who are on the list for

July. You will be contacted if and when you are needed to help provide food. Thank you!

• Bach, Millie• Baker, Dottie• Beaver, Terri• Blackmore, Vena• Boggs, Rachel• Book, Leah• Bos, Beverly• Carlson, Sheila• Corporon, Jennica• Ferdig, Carol• Frey, Barbara• Gamble, Christy• Grom, Amanda• Harmeier, Kristi• Herbold, Cindy• Hill, Irene• Hollenkamp, Katy• Hullinger, Marci• Kroll, Sue• Lacek, Diane• Lake, Laurie• Leekley, Sherry

• Lindgren, Anna• Massey, Christine• Michaelis, Dianna• Miller, Norma• Nelson, Nicole• Oakland, Maxine• Pease, Carmen• Puoch, Pathjal• Rabe, Cora• Rahn, Kelli• Reynders, Sandi• Riordan, Karyl• Rodman, Christa• Roffman, Georgean• Sanford, Jeanette• Schaefer, Jeanette• Schermann, Judy• Schoenrock, Ashley• Schoenrock, Diane• Sponder, Maryl• Streck, Lisa• Walker, Shelly 7

Bible Study Fellowship:Bible Study Fellowship Men's Group wrapped up its second year at MLC. They met Tuesday nights from September until early May. They are very thankful for MLC hosting. The group that met at MLC was part a group of 550 men that met in Sioux Falls, Des Moines, Lincoln, and other locations. We had about fifty men participating in Sioux City. Of the 550 men, they came from 138 different churches. Of the fifty men in meeting in Sioux City, we had people from about fifteen churches. Great to see the unity in the body of Christ. Thanks for supporting this group!

ACTIVE YOUNG AT HEART/elderversity:• Pickle Ball, Gym. Monday 7:00-9:00 p.m. (7/1, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29) Tuesday 8:00-10:00 a.m. (7/2, 7/16, 7/23, 7/30) Thursday 2:00-4:00 p.m. (7/11, 7/18, 7/25)• Elderversity Board Meeting, Fireside Room. Wednesday, July 3 @ 9:30 a.m.• Trip to Okoboji - Thursday, July 18. Ride on

the Queen while enjoying a Nutty Bar. Visit the Okoboji Museum or just walk around the park. The cost is $25 which includes round trip transporation and everything in between.

• "Cooking with Tom" - Early August. More information to come!

"knox" by susan may warren:The Montana Marshalls Series - Book 1At 30, Knox Marshall feels his exciting days are behind him. Giving up the rodeo to run his family's ranch is disappointing. Breeding bucking bulls like Hot Pete is expected to rake in more this year than last. Kelsey Jones leads a double life. A singer with the Jankee Belles is performing at a Bullriders Expo Event. She is vivacious onstage but offstage is haunted by her past. Knox and Kelsey's paths collide when an explosion at the Expo Event traps them in the rubble. They survived but Hot Pete, a big money maker, did not. Knox is a natural protector, but is their relationship doomed from the start? (F800)

open council meetings:Did you know? Council meetings are open to the congregation from 7:00-7:15 p.m. for questions, comments, and concerns. Council meets the 2nd Monday of each month. Join us!

Morningside Lutheran Church700 South Martha StreetSioux City, Iowa 51106Address Service RequestedReturn Service Requested

MAILING LABEL

Tim WhiteTom LoVanJon GerdtsBarb BakerCharity KoehlerCharity PetersonPaul PetersonGarret EhlersAriel ClabaughJudy KaneScott LarsonTaira SchoonoverJulie Larson

Phone: 712.276.2511Fax: 712.276.5459Email: mlc@morningsidelutheran.comWeb: www.morningsidelutheran.comOffice Hours: Monday - Friday 8am-5pm

Interim Senior PastorAssociate PastorAssociate Pastor

AdministratorDirector of Music Ministries

Contemporary Music CoordinatorStudent Ministry Director

Children’s Ministry DirectorCommunication Specialist

Administrative AssistantCustodianCustodian

Preschool Director

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CHURCH STAFF:

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Submission deadline for the next issue of“The Visitor” is July 5th.

Send articles to Ariel atarielc@morningsidelutheran.com

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Penny a Meal:We would like to share a very heart felt thank you to our congregation for their out pouring of love and generosity to our Penny a Meal Campaign. This year, our main Social Concerns Committee fund raiser collected a total of $1972.29. $134 of that total was given by our children as a lenten project. Many hearts and lives will certainly be touched by the love of Jesus because you gave generously. With deep appreciation ~ Socials Concerns Committee