I n s ide th i s i s s ue :

Pastor Ashley 1

Pastor Sarah 2

Congregational Life 3

Summer Wednesday

Worship Schedule

4

Arise With Guys Event 5

Book Club and Food

Challenge Results

6

Kira Anderson 7

Mission Trips 9

Volunteers 10

Café Midweek 12

2016

Open ears. Open hearts. Open eyes. Signs that Easter has come. Signs that the res-urrection is real. Signs that new possibilities are before us as the people of God.

A Word from Pr. Sarah

A line from “Pilgrim of the Hours”:

Each morning

night’s curtain

opens on a new day.

You are invited

to join the great opening.

To open your ears.

To open your heart.

To open your eyes.

Macrina Wiederkehr

As the author suggests, each morning as we rise to greet a new day we see 24 hours before us that hold great depth of possibility: Possibility within relationships, possibility within commu-nities, possibility within work, family, discipleship and faith.

In many ways, within the Church, the Easter Season is like a “new day”. Beginning on Easter Sunday, “night’s curtain” is drawn aside, and we are invited anew to join God’s “great open-ing” to the world. When God chose death and suffering instead of grasping earthly glory, God opened the divine self to the world in a whole new way. And as God raised Jesus from the grave, God also opened for us new possibilities. Much more than 24 hours worth.

In this day and age it might seem quaint to cling to a story that many see as non-scientific and difficult to believe. But we keep believing that God has acted in this way because this story has the power to open us to whole new ways of living together as God’s people.

Here at Our Savior’s, we have been practicing living together in new ways. Some of this “living together” has pushed us beyond our comfort zones. Some of this “living together” has allowed us to steady one another with assurances of God’s steadfast love.

Most of all, I feel that the “living together” we have been practicing is opening us to the many possibilities of resurrection life in Jesus’ name.

As we stand at this Easter threshold, “living together” in resurrection, we are being invited to open ourselves again to God and to our neighbor; to one another as disciples and to all those we meet during each 24 hours to which we awake.

Open ears. Open hearts. Open eyes. Signs that Easter has come. Signs that the resurrection is real. Signs that new possibilities are before us as the people of God.

In Christ,

Pr. Sarah

A Word from Pr. Ashley

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable, can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know

that we are not alone.”

-Fred Rogers

A congregation member opened our time together at the Story Core training by sharing this quote from Mr. Rog-ers. She spoke to the role of the church as being a place where intentional conversations happened at different stages of her life. The training for Story Core consisted of table members learning more about the power of inten-tional conversations. These are the conversations that will take place during the months of April and May at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

I have been thinking about this quote quite a bit in preparation for Story Core. This quote truly sums up my hope for the Story Core initiative. My hope is that all people can learn that Our Savior’s Lutheran Church is a place filled with members that can be trusted to hold spaces of intentional conversation. We want to be a community where people know that they are not alone; we want to be a place where people feel a sense of belonging.

The purpose of the Story Core conversations is to better understand congregation members’ identities and pas-sions for the church and community, while building strong relationships.

Story Core conversations will not be specifically about ministry at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Instead, these conversations will be about listening to the life experiences of congregation members; listening to the moments in their life that shaped them, the worries they have for future generations, the hopes that sustain them. The Story Core conversations are taking time for one another and creating intentional community.

I want to thank the Root, Gather, and Spring Table Members who will be leading these conversations. These indi-viduals have spent time learning more about intentional conversations and have thoughtfully considered people they would like to have an intentional conversation with. Each member will have an intentional conversation with five congregation members, this means that we will have 115 people participating in Story Core. It would be won-derful to do this with every congregation member but we are not able to at this time. Our hope is that in the fu-ture we can continue these conversations so that every congregation member is invited into a time of intentional conversation and intentional listening.

We proclaim that God is at work in every part of our life, but often there is not enough time to share or listen to these stories of God in our midst. As a congregation, I believe that we can learn more about one another and more about God by hearing and sharing these stories of faith. Thank you for your willingness to share your story of faith and the many ways God is at work in your life.

Thank you,

Pr. Ashley Osborn

P a g e 3

C o n g r e g a t i o n a l L i f e

Our Sympathy to:

Lori Braun Davies and Barry Davies Family

In the death of Lori’s mother,

Arlene Huss.

May the promise of the resurrection into eternal life give you much hope and comfort in this time of loss.

March 16, 2016

Luca Guthrie Sorensen

Son of Nathan Sorensen and Dawn Sorensen.

Welcome to the family!

March 23, 2016

Landon Borka Kyle Cox

Meredith Decoux Sara Dobson

Avery Dressen Olivia Dunn

Jonathan Finke Kaylee Finstuen

Liam Gregersen Cole Houge

Lucas Klokonos Parker Mathiason

Miller Munoz Chloe Page

Sydney Putrah Mason Ruehling

Rylee Sietsema Olivia Smith

Benjamin Stoessel Meredith Umbreit

Luke Weng

Welcome to the Lord’s Table!

F a c t s a n d F i g u r e s f o r

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6 3 Y e a r C o m p a r i s o n F e b r u a r y O f f e r i n g 2 0 1 6 $ 5 6 , 3 4 5 2 0 1 5 $ 5 0 6 3 5 2 0 1 4 $ 4 1 , 7 6 2 F e b r u a r y E x p e n s e 2 0 1 6 $ 5 1 , 9 2 1 2 0 1 5 $ 5 9 , 8 7 4 2 0 1 4 $ 5 4 , 2 6 5

Y e a r t o D a t e 3 Y e a r N e t C o m p a r i s o n

2 0 1 6 $ 1 2 , 3 7 6 2 0 1 5 ( $ 2 6 , 1 2 1 ) 2 0 1 4 ( $ 2 3 , 4 6 5 ) T h a n k y o u f o r y o u r f a i t h f u l g i v i n g a n d f o r b e i n g w i l l i n g t o w o r k t o w a r d s f u l l f i n a n c i a l h e a l t h a t O u r S a v i o r ’ s !

Update on handicap accessibility:

Through the generosity of the congregation we have raised the funds needed to move forward with the Handicapped Accessibility Project. The church council voted unanimously to award the bid for the work to Met-Con Construction. Met-Con has ordered the ma-terials and anticipates the work will done in April. The handicapped door openers will be installed on the Main Entrance doors on the east side of the building and on the restroom doors in the education building next to the Main Office. Thank you to every-one who has contributed to this very important pro-ject.

Our Savior’s Quilters

The Our Saviors Quilters would like to in-vite interested sewers to join us on our workdays, the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month between the hours of 9am and 2 pm. You do not need to be an expe-rienced quilter…we have members who are willing to help you learn! Our purpose is to provide quilts or other sewn items for charity and to provide a social opportunity for our participants. We have been work-ing on twin size quilts to donate to Ruth’s House as they have an on-going need for bedding for their clients.

Questions, call Linda Staab @ 332-7804. We would love to have you join us to work on the twin size quilts or you can bring a project of your own!

Summer Wednesday

Worship Schedule

May 25

June 22

July 27

August 24

Mark these dates on your calendars for Wednesday Worship during the Summer.

Services will be held at 6:15pm. More de-tails will be announced as plans are made.

April Lamplighter’s Meeting

April 5, 2016

1:00pm

In the All Purpose Room.

Visitors are always welcome!

P a g e 5

We are excited to extend an invitation to "Arise with the Guys" as a Faith Formation Event for Men. Mitch Anderson attended the event with his brothers last year, and looks forward to attending again this year. He would like to extend the invitation to any other men that would like to join him. Tony Dungy had a great message last year, and he looks forward to hearing from the Uncommon Award winner this year, Thomas Davis (Linebacker for the Carolina Panthers).

Please see the flyer below for event information. Every attendee would pay for reservations on their own but we will organize a carpool to attend the event. Please RSVP to Kira by April 3rd once you have pur-chased your tickets. Please let Mitch or I know if you have any questions! Thanks!

P a g e 6

Attention Our Savior’s Book Readers:

Join us on April 18th when we will be discussing the book Caleb’s Cross-ing by Geraldine Brooks. We meet at 7:30 in the library and everyone is welcome.

About the book: Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha's vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. At age twelve, she meets Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret bond that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's father is a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag, and Caleb becomes a prize in the contest between old ways and new, eventually becoming the first Native American graduate of Harvard Col-lege. Inspired by a true story and narrated by the irresistible Bethia, Caleb’s Crossing brilliantly captures the triumphs and turmoil of two brave, openhearted spirits who risk everything in a search for knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance. (Barnes and Noble Review)

The friendly food collection challenge with

First English Lutheran ended on

Palm Sunday, March 20th.

Congratulations to First English who wins

the challenge again this year!

Final Totals

Our Savior’s - 28,329

First English - 30,181

This food drive benefits the Faribault food shelf - mean-ing that the true winners are the hungry people of Fari-bault! We are grateful for your generosity!

F a i t h F o r m a t i o n E v e n t s

P a g e 7

Stepping Stone Events

5th Grade – My Body, God’s Gift Our fifth grade Stepping Stone is entitled, “My Body, God’s Gift.” Our goal in offer-ing this stepping stone is to give our students an understanding of what they are/or will soon be experiencing, to give them some “tools” to make healthy choices, and to build their self-esteem. We also hope to equip parents in talking about issues of sexuality; how it is a gift from God and how to affirm their kids being comfortable with who God designed them to be.

The stepping stone, My Body, God’s Gift will take place on Wednesday, April 6th & 13th at 6:15 -7:30 pm . It will take the place of our regular Wednesday evening clas-ses. We will meet in the Chapel each week. At our first session we will talk about the changes occurring within one’s body during adolescent years. We will also talk about our differences, building self-esteem, and making healthy choices. Our sec-ond session will include looking at ways the media encourage unrealistic expecta-tions for our bodies. We will also talk about healthy relationships and how best to accept and take care of our bodies and ourselves.

Your child will be presented their stepping stone gift on Wednesday, April 20th dur-ing Wednesday Worship. Please let Pastor Ashley or Kira know if you have any questions!

Last Day of Wednesday School and Confirmation is May 4th

The last day of Sunday School is Sunday, May 8th

*******REGISTRATION*******

Please watch for the Sunday and Wednesday School Reg-

istration for the 2016-2017 school year, the Road Map and

all Summer Registration forms starting in April.

SUMMER DATES TO

WRITE DOWN

Confirmation Camp

June 5—10 6th—8th graders

Day Camp “OTR”

June 12-16 For students who have

completed K-5th grade.

This summer OTR will be

hosted by First English.

VBS

June 20-24 For children 3 years old

through completed

Kindergarten.

Middle School

Mission Trip

July 8-10

High School

Mission Trip

July 30—August 6

VBS – Expedition Norway

This year we are excited to involve our whole congregation in “EXPEDITION NORWAY” !! The kids will spend time learning about how God is so good! Watch for the registration sheet with the Road Map!!

Monday through Thursday the kids will hear stories about how Daniel was taken to Babylon, how he faced a den of lions, how Jesus died and came back to life and how he made a beachside breakfast for his friends. They will be spending time learning songs and playing activities and games.

VBS- Faith Formation Event

On Friday, June 24th from 9:00-10:30am we are inviting members of our congregation to help make authentic Norwe-gian food to share with the students and their families. We are asking members of the congregation if you would be willing to teach our VBS students how to make the authentic food for the hour and a half and let them share in the activity of making the food! If you are interested in helping at this event, please let Kira know!

We will end the VBS week with a program at 10:30am. All of the families that attended the Faith Formation event are invited to see the kids from our VBS week perform a little program! They will show you what they learned during the week and sing some of the songs!

As always with VBS, I love to decorate to help create a true feeling of the scene the kids are in! IF you have any Nor-wegian decorations or items you would like to donate for the week, please let Kira know! All items will be returned after VBS!

On the Road aka Day Camp 2016 – Good Earth Village

June 12th (Sunday Evening Worship and Registration)

June 13th – 16th 9:00am-4:00pm (Kindergarten through completed 5th Grade)

On the Road G.E.V.

The registration is already on line at the Good Earth Village website. Check it out at;

http://www.goodearthvillage.org/summer-camp/on-line-registration/

We are excited to share in the hosting of Day Camp and the camp will be hosted by First English this year! They will provided all of the housing for the counselors this year. You may register your child directly on line through Good Earth Village. On Sunday night of registration we are asking each camper to pay an additional $10 per child payable to First English to cover the cost of the child’s lunch for the week.

MISSION TRIP NEWS

Adirondack Mountain Mission Trip

July 29– August 7

Thank you ! To everyone who supported the High School Mission Trip by “sponsoring” a student. All of the participants of the Mission Trip have been “adopted” by members of Our Savior’s. Your generosity is appreciated very much.

The fundraising continues through the winter and spring. Here are some more opportunities to support the High School Mission trip:

Sunday, April 3rd—Mission Trip Sunday

High School youth will be leading worship. During worship, Pastor Sarah and Pastor Ashley will be invited to collect cash donations in offering jars to AVOID having their yards FLOCKED with pink, plastic flamingos! If Pastor Ashley collects more cash (checks are welcome), then Pastor Sarah’s yard will get flocked. If Pastor Sarah collects more cash (checks are welcome), then Pastor Ashley’s yard will get flocked. (Dan Nietz and Jon Osborn, get out your spare cash)! All proceeds will benefit youth mission trip participants and help defray the costs for the mission trip.

Kiosk Supply—April 3-April 25 (or until all the supplies are funded).

“Did you miss the Youth Pancake Breakfast” and Soup Suppers?

Here’s another way you can participate in supporting our High School Youth as they plan for their August Mission Trip Experience in the Adirondack Mountains. Pick a picture of a non-perishable item off the kiosk and bring that item to church before July 1st. If you prefer to make a cash dona tion to support the high school mission trip you may do that also.

Every donation will provide the “extras” that some student may not be able to afford.

YOU can make a difference!

April Volunteers

Ushers

Team 6 Cindy Schuenke © Rick Bartness ©

Stewart Schuenke Dave Henry

Sheila Roehrick Cheri Sterling

George & Shirley Galvin Jan & Shirley Luikens

Duane & Janice Reichl Lori Tuff

Welcome Center Greeters

April 3 Robert Hetzler

April 10 Sandra Rost

April 17 Sheila Roehrick

April 24 Mary Ellen & Paul Bondhus

Attention Welcome Center Greeters: We would like to place the greeters in the new narthex behind or by the Wel-

come Counter. This will give the greeters a central place for new people to find them for information and to welcome

them to Our Savior’s as they enter the church building. Please be at the Welcome Counter 15 min. before service and

right after service for about 15 min. Thank you.

Communion

April 3 & 17

April 3 April 17

Comm. Prep Barb Condit Ruth & Lyle Olson

Servers Barb Condit & Kacie Hofius Donn & Ardys Johnson

Amy Stadler Marv & Mary Tatge

Troy & Tara Dunn Jim & Barb Zahn

Joyce Elsen

Readers

April 3 Karen Huberty

April 10 Mary Zentner

April 17 Kelly Jensen

April 24 Peggy Paulson

Sound & Tech Team

Sound / Media Shout & Lights

April 3 Roger Meyer / Dick Lawson

April 10 Mark Zentner / Ken Butzow

April 17 Curt Danielson / Georganne Danielson

April 24 Roger Meyer / Dick Lawson

V i s i t u s o n t h e w e b !

w w w. o u r s a v i o r s f b o . o r g

O u r S a v i o r ’ s L u t h e r a n C h u r c h 1207 Prairie Ave South

Faribault, MN 55021

Nonprofit Or.

Bulk Rate

U.S. Postage Paid

Faribault, MN 55021

Permit No. 81

Change Service Requested

Serving is from

5:00-6:00pm

Café Midweek

Cost is $3.00

per person

with a family

maximum of $15.00.

Come enjoy great food

and fellowship with your

Our Savior’s family!

C a f é M i d w e e k A p r i l M e n u

April 6

Pizza

April 13

Beef and Chicken Tacos

April 20

Lasagna

April 27

Tater Tot Hotdish