st. barnabas lutheran church crosswindsapr 04, 2020 · april 5– a mother’s reckoning: living...
TRANSCRIPT
ST. BARNABAS LUTHERAN CHURCH
Inside this issue:
Crosswinds
April “Gift of Love” for COVID-19 Assistance
2
Transition Update 3
Pastor Amber to Take Sabbatical
3
Change & Thrive: A Sermon 4
Using Online Worship Materials at Home
6
News & Notes 7
The Marks of Discipleship
• Daily prayer
• Weekly worship
• Bible reading
• Service in and beyond the congregation
• Spiritual friendships
• Giving time, talents, and resources
April, 2020 Volume 36, Issue 4
Even While Apart, We Continue to Be Church It is a major understatement to say that our individual lives, our church life — indeed, all human society — have changed dramatically in the past two months. Our world has turned almost totally upside-down! As this is being written, Governor Walz has just asked us to “shelter in place” for at least two weeks — and maybe longer. For many of us this is a major inconvenience, but we expect to get through the next weeks okay. But for others of us, we are facing loss of employment and income or, because of existing health conditions, we fear becoming infected with COVID-19 could lead to hospitalization or even death. This is scary! As a community of faith, our first priority is taking care of each other. We want to ensure the health and safety of all those who engage with St. Barnabas, so we are taking the following steps to mitigate the possible transmission and spread of the virus within our community:
• Heeding Governor Walz’ directive of “shelter in place” for two weeks beginning March 27, all St. Barnabas activities are canceled through April 10. At that point, we (the State of Minnesota) will revaluate the situation and decide if this needs to be extended. Realistically, experience in other locations suggests that it will be extended, so we should begin accepting the likelihood that we will be observing the worship services of Holy Week and Easter Sunday (April 12) in our homes. That’s a major disappointment, but compared to what our health care workers and those who are ill are dealing with, it’s a small inconvenience. Whatever Sunday it is when we finally get to worship together again, THAT will be our Easter Sunday.
• Our staff will be working from home the next two weeks. Since he will be the only one in the building, Pastor Wayne will continue to be in his office most days from 9:00-3:00 so that he can continue to have access to the computers, answer the phone, and pick up the mail.
• Pastor Amber, Sue Megrund, Parish Nurse Rose Umland, and Pastor Wayne have taken on the project of making phone calls to the 300 households in the congregation, just to check in and see how people are holding up in this unusual situation. So far they have made over 220 phone calls. If you have not received a call yet, expect one in the next couple of days.
• We have several members who are willing to help our community if the need arises with
grocery deliveries and other potential situations. If you are in need of some help, big or small, DON’T BE RETICENT ABOUT ASKING FOR HELP! These volunteers want to help, so give them a chance. Just contact the church office at (763) 553-1239 or send an email to Pastor Wayne ([email protected])
• We will continue to provide resources for you to worship in your home on an ongoing basis. On Thursdays you will receive the usual Crosswinds email with general announcements and then on Saturdays you will receive an email with worship resources. This includes hymns, readings and a recording of the sermon. There are also family conversation guides, craft projects and coloring sheets. We will be developing online resources for the services of Holy Week and Easter
• We have purchased two subscriptions to Zoom software that allows us to hold meetings online. Pastor Amber is the contact for coordinating Lent small groups. Sue Megrund is using it to check in with our middle school and senior high youth each Wednesday. If you are part of a small group (i.e., book discussion, Moms’ or Dads’ Night Out) and would like to try an online meeting, contact Sue Megrund and she will help you get set up.
We have received many expressions of thanks for the Lent daily devotions that members of our community have written and are delivered by email each morning. Thank you to all the writers for contributing to this project! These are only scheduled to go through April 11, but if this “shelter in place” situation continues beyond that, we may look at extending our daily email devotions as well. No matter how uncertain and anxious these times are, remember that God is with us. We continue to be church, and we will get thru this! On our church sign, we have two alternating messages:
Grace Happens. Look for it.
Do not fear.
I am with you. I have called you by name.
You are mine.
Remember the parable of the starfish? In the parable, a little boy is throwing starfish who have been stranded at low tide back into the ocean to save them, one at a time. An observer mocks the boy for thinking he can help all the hundreds of starfish stranded on the beach. “What difference can you possibly make?” taunts the observer.
The boy looks down at the starfish in his hand and then flings it out into the ocean. He responds to the observer, “Made a difference for that one, didn’t it!”
The “Starfish” ministry at St. Barnabas provides assistance to individuals and families in need, helping with rent, gas, food, car repairs, etc. Because of the generosity of its members, over the last eight years, St. Barnabas has averaged giving over $20,000 in assistance each year.
Crosswinds
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ICOP Food Shelf & Starfish Fund Will be April “Gift of Love”
Our usual “Gift of Love” schedule has been to give to Minnesota FoodShare in March and the ELCA World Hunger Appeal in April.
Because of the extraordinary situation we find ourselves in because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are going to shift the World Hunger Appeal to May and designate the April “Gift of Love” to address local needs caused by the pandemic. The gifts will be shared with those in need either through the St. Barnabas Starfish Fund (see below) or the food shelf at Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners.
With people being encouraged to minimize leaving their homes, cash gifts are much preferable to actual groceries. For every $1 donated, Interfaith Outreach can source $9 worth of food through partnerships in the community. The food shelf support stretches lean budgets so families can pay for housing and other basic needs.
St. Barnabas’
Starfish Ministry
Thank you to the many members of the St. Barnabas have already taken steps to give their offerings by mail, credit card, or Electronic Fund Transfer (IFT)
Next week we will send out the 1st Quarter offering statements. This will be a few days early, so it will not show offerings received March 28-31, but it will be the means by which we can give you an offering envelope for April and a return envelope to put it in the mail.
You also may give through our website by credit card, debit card, or electronic fund transfer (EFT). Just click on “GIVING” at the top right-hand corner of the homepage.
Pandemic What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those to whom you commit your life. Center down.
And when your body has become still, reach out with your heart. Know that we are connected in ways that are terrifying and beautiful. (You could hardly deny it now.) Know that our lives are in one another’s hands. (Surely, that has come clear.) Do not reach out your hands. Reach out your heart. Reach out your words. Reach out all the tendrils of compassion that move, invisibly, where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love– for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, so long as we all shall live.
– Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
St. Barnabas Members Are Generous People! Or you can use your smartphone to access the online giving page by using this QR code. You can make a one-time gift or set up on a regular schedule.
For some, the easiest option is to contact Julie Hoyme in the office and she will set it up for you. During this “shelter in place” period, you may contact Julie by email: [email protected]
Book Discussion Group The next books being discussed
by the Book Discussion Group are:
April 16 -.Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail
Honeyman Host: Margaret Wold & Kay
Barhite at St. Barnabas May 21 - Virgil Wander by Leif
Enger June 18 - Less by Andrew Sean
Greer
Tome Explorers Tome Explorers read and discuss
works of non-fiction on the 1st Sunday of the month at 6:00 p.m. The next books being discussed by
the Tome Explorers group are: April 5– A Mother’s Reckoning:
Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold. Host
Charles & Janet Austin at Trillium Woods
May 3– The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander,
Newfoundland by Jim DeFede, June 7– Sisters in Law: How
Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the
Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman
July 5– Bad Blood by John Carryrou
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Sabbatical Leave Approved for Pastor Amber - Lisa Turnquist, president of the congregation
While it is difficult to definitively make any long-range plans in the midst of this pandemic, Pastor Wayne is planning on July 12 as being his final Sunday before entering into retirement. Holly Bayer has been working with Pastor Wayne on plans to make his last Sunday at St. Barnabas a memorable one. One idea that Pastor Wayne suggested is inviting people to contribute to a memory book of his 35 years at St. Barnabas. Should you wish to share a memory with him, each submission should be kept to one-page, though it may include both sides. You may include pictures, as well. Please send your submission to Holly at the following email address: [email protected]. She’s ready to receive them beginning now. If you don’t utilize email or would prefer to give her a typed or handwritten copy, you can mail or deliver them to Julie Hoyme in the church office to get to Holly. If you need a photo
scanned, Julie can help you with that, too. Submission deadline is June 1 so Holly has plenty of time to have the book bound and printed.
Prayer Stations Put on Hold Praying as We Journey Through Change will not be hosting prayer stations again until concerns about spreading Covid-19 virus have been reduced. You can continue to look for the occasional email version, contact Glenna Whitmill with any questions.
Call Committee Continues Its Work The Call Committee is meeting with Pastor Craig Pederson from the Bishop’s office at the end of March to review a list of potential Lead Pastor candidates. They will then begin phone interviews to narrow the pool for second-round interviews.
Dear St. Barnabas Members,
The ELCA church and our congregation have a tradition of granting pastors time for study, renewal and reflection. Our synod states that congregations and pastors are strengthened “by providing opportunities for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations, but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for regaining the enthusiasm and creativity for ministry, for discovering what will make the pastor’s heart sing.” (Lilly Endowment).
Pastor Amber has requested sabbatical time for renewal and reflection. She will celebrate five years of service with St. Barnabas at the end of June. Synod guidelines suggest full-time rostered staff be eligible for sabbatical after five years of continuous service at one ministry site. While the timing is a bit early, Amber’s sabbatical will be best completed before Wayne’s retirement date rather than when our next Lead Pastor has just arrived.
Pastor Amber is planning the activities listed below.
• May 29 – 31: Attend the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission conference in Chicago, including a celebration of 20 years of YAGM ministry and 1,000 YAGM alumni. (Pastor Amber served as a YAGM for two years in London before starting seminary.)
• Reading stacks of ministry books on a wide variety of topics. Reading 1-2 books per week will make a significant dent in the backlog!
• Organizing ministry documents: Amber will celebrate another milestone this year – her 10th ordination anniversary. Including her seminary studies, YAGM service, two internships and two calls, she has nearly twenty years’ worth of documents (sermon planning notes, ministry files, continuing education notes and resources) that she would like to organize.
Pastor Amber’s sabbatical will begin Monday, April 13 and end Sunday, May 31. Amber will be with us through Easter Sunday then returning several weeks before Pastor Wayne’s farewell Sunday on July 12. During Pastor Amber’s sabbatical, leadership of Word for Women, Sunday Scripture Texts and the day women’s retreat will be covered.
While Pastor Amber is on sabbatical, her pastoral duties will be covered by selected congregants and staff. If you have any questions about Pastor Amber’s sabbatical, please contact me or Pastor Wayne.
We look forward to welcoming Pastor Amber back in June, renewed and restored.
Respectfully,
Lisa Turnquist, Council President
Have Questions About the Transition/Call Process?
Transition Project Manager Lisa Pole
Church Council President Lisa Turnquist
Call Committee Chairperson Emily McGarvey
Celebrations Chairperson Holly Bayer
Prayer Group Chairperson Glenna Whitmill
Transition Update
The April book discussion groups may not meet or may
meet by Zoom. But here’s the list of books for the next few
months if you want to get started on them:
Crosswinds
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There’s this problem that occurs nearly every time a person comes to church; have you noticed? … Maybe I should be more specific about the problem I mean, before things get out of hand as you brainstorm! The problem I’m referring to is this: so many of us come to church looking for calm in a troubled world, looking for peace in the midst of chaos, looking for stability in the uncertainty of our lives, and nearly every time we come to church, we are bombarded with calls to change. We come looking for comfort and instead we are challenged. And not only are we asked to change, but the calls to change have a particular urgency about them too; “change, and change now!”
It can be easy to overlook these calls to change because we normally keep them in more churchy language – “repent” we say, instead of “change.” But to repent means to change – to live differently, to change direction, to reform your life. And this call to repent – to change – is frequent. Repentance is a common theme
throughout the Bible, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Just about anywhere you look in Scripture, there is a set of shared assumptions underlying these calls to change: that all of us need to change, that the society we live in needs to change, and that change is possible. Even more than that, the message is often that there is something wonderful and worthwhile just on the other side of the change that needs to happen! The change will be worth it, we are promised. As one British theologian [Henry McKeating, professor and biblical commentator] has put it: “Repentance presupposes hope.”
Now, that’s not to say that knowing this makes change any easier. And the difficulties we face in making change aren’t unique to people of faith; difficulty changing is fairly universal. More than a decade ago, a journalist by the name of Alan Deutschman observed this fact and decided to do some investigating of how people do change. He looked at groups of people needing to make pretty significant and urgent changes, including
Change and Thrive — An Ash Wednesday Sermon Pastor Amber Ingalsbe
First Reading: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come. …
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the con-gregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy. Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the min-isters of the Lord, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the syna-gogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have re-ceived their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. …
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust con-sumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Speaking to the community of Israelites who had returned from exile, the prophet Joel proclaims that a plague of locusts, either literal or symbolic of an invading army, was God’s judgment on the people. Joel calls the people in Jerusalem to gather for a ritual of communal repentance and return to God, who will graciously
Jesus speaks of the three traditional practices of Lent — prayer, almsgiving, and fasting — in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount.
Crosswinds
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heart patients, repeat criminals, drug addicts, and even some corporations. He started with heart patients, supposing that people who are told “you need to change your behavior today – you need to change what you eat, and start exercising– this very hour, or you may not see tomorrow” would be most likely to quickly and convincingly change. And what Deutschman found was that when people receive an unambiguous, dire message from a credible expert – when people are told, “Change – or die”, then, 90% of people … still don’t make any change.
This certainly changed the focus of Deutschman’s research! In his book, titled Change Or Die, he looked first at the 90% of people and organizations who make no changes to find out what doesn’t work in creating change, and then looked at the 10% who successfully changed to find out what makes change possible.
Deutschman observed three factors that do not contribute to making change, though they are usually the first things we try and often the only things we try. Helpfully, all three start with the letter F. Three things that don’t help make change in ourselves or others are:
Facts – we wrongly assume that a lack of information is the real barrier, as though someone has never heard before that “good nutrition is important for a healthy body” or “appropriate exercise is essential for health” and if only we tell them that, change will most certainly happen. But more information does not create change.
Fear – sometimes we try to scare people into change, and while threats may work for a short while, being afraid of what will happen if we don’t change is not an effective or lasting factor in creating change.
Force – whether it’s physical force or using the weight of one’s authority or power, force also does not bring about effective change.
So if facts, fear, and force don’t help us reform our lives, what does? Deutschman found three things that worked to create significant and long-lasting change, and helpfully these three things all begin with the letter R:
Relate – New relationships help us live differently; new communities of relationship are even better. Imagine a person attending an AA meeting for the first time. There they find a community of people with whom they can relate, and many of them are further along the path of recovery and can help mentor the newcomer along the way, including by engaging them in social situations that don’t revolve around alcohol consumption.
Repeat – New practices foster change over time and across circumstances. Change isn’t a once and done activity, but a whole series of repeated choices that begin to form a new identity, a new sense of self, by creating different circumstances and different choices.
Reframe – New ways of thinking about yourself and your circumstances can go a long way to creating lasting change. A person repeatedly imprisoned might have previously believed “I’m a criminal so this is
how I live; this is how my life is going to go.” But change can happen and be supported when part of that change is a new way of thinking: “I used to make those kinds of choices, but that’s not the person I am anymore and that’s no longer how I choose to live my life.”
Relate, repeat, and reframe. I’m intrigued by Deutschman’s research, but even more than that I’m fascinated that the conditions he describes as making change possible are found throughout Scripture, including in our readings today from Joel and Matthew.
The prophet Joel declares new relationships and new practices, as he calls not just priests but also the aged, children – even infants, and those in the midst of milestone events in life, to worship and fast together as a whole community. “This is going to take all of us worshiping together, not just the experts!” And he reframes the people’s relationship with God – they gather not to manipulate an impersonal God into doing what they want, but to return to God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. They are going to live differently, to worship differently, to obey God with a new understanding – and they are going to do all of that together.
In Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reframes discipleship by telling his followers to focus on their relationship with God in their faith practices, and not on those they’re wanting to impress. Fasting and prayer and charitable works are outpourings from one’s relationship with God, not acts performed in order to get people to admire you. To be a disciple is to follow Jesus and learn with other disciples in community how to behave differently, including by understanding differently the key practices of praying, fasting, and charitable giving. And these are the very Lenten disciplines to which we will be invited in just a few minutes, reminding ourselves that we can do these things more faithfully together, as a whole community, and that in these faith practices we discover anew who God is and who we are as God’s people.
Change Or Die. Near the end of his book, Deutschman admits this title may be a little overly dramatic. He suggests that a better title might be Change And Thrive. I don’t know that either of these alone really gets at what is meant by the invitation – or command - “Repent.” Perhaps it’s most accurate for us to hold them together: “Change or die; change and thrive.” Or to remember that repentance is tied to discipleship and to baptism; “Change is possible because you have already died,” we might say.
In this sense, the ashen cross we receive on our foreheads today might be the simplest and yet most profound way we hold these two realities at the same time. It is a reminder of our mortality, yes, but also of our belovedness by the One who created us from dust and breathed life into us in the first place. It’s a reminder of our need to change, and also of our ability to do so. It’s a reminder both of the reality of death and the reality of the hope that is ours through new life given in Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God!
Factors that DO NOT contribute to
making change:
Facts Fear
Force
Factors that DO work to create
long-lasting change:
Relationships Repetition Reframing
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From Mary Wenaas:
Church was held at the Wenaas house at 10:05am today. The parishioners were slow to take their seats! Church lasted an hour and we used the children's material for the readings and sermon. Aaron and I look forward to listening to the real sermon when the kids are sleeping ... Yay for actually hearing a sermon!!
Thank you for the work put into the bulletin, music and kids' stuff. Today felt like a normal Sunday .... Squirrelly kids while praying, singing familiar songs (the kids recognized the gathering song, Pastor Wayne!).
The kids played in the nursery still...
Offering, Starfish jar, communion and Mara's baptism candle (whose baptismal anniversary was March 24)
We had low attendance this week...
Sarah Eilderts reports that they used the worship service printed in the bulletin and Heidi (5th grade) chose to be the pastor. They used tortilla shells and
sparkling grape juice for communion.
Worshiping Together While We Are Apart Here are some examples of St. Barnabas families using the worship materials provided online during the pandemic.
A new one for this morning was asking the kids not to wrestle in the sanctuary! Now on to coffee hour while the kids run around and wouldn't you know.. It is freezer Sunday... Gotta pull a treat out of the freezer!
Thank you for instilling liturgy in us... It may be a saving Grace until church resumes!
Crosswinds
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April Birthdays
1 Gary Boehler Randy Johnson
Beth Meissner Laurie Robarge
Daniel Tullberg
Lynn Walters
2 Gregg Nafstad
James Redelsheimer 3 Ezekiel Biancardi Isabelle Meissner 4 Sandra Halvorson
6 Meghan Jette
7 Kathy Burkett Janet Conley
8 Amanda Buell Glenice Cannon
Wayne Frederickson
Jessica Gaedke
8 Jill Nafstad
Mark Snyder
9 Charles Austin
10 Ann Harless
Robert Larson
Paul Senne
11 Jean Berg
12 Janet Austin
13 Jonathan Hoff Martha Wells
14 Twyla Bergh
Heidi Mandt 15 Wiley Davis
Cindy Dogan
Eleanor Parker Matthew Parker 17 Arnold Hanson
Kathlynn Johnson
17 Kevin Tullberg
18 Marilyn Hein
19 Daniel Endean
Matthew Phillips
April Baptismal Anniversaries
3 Gisela Biancardi Jakob Haway
Pia Leiseth
4 Cameron Bring
Julie Hanson
David Kelzer Jackie Peterson
5 Bruce Hein
Linnea Johnson
Dean Linnell Nolan Running
6 Finlay Carter Daniel Freese
8 Candice Biancardi Shelly Davis
9 Emma Turnquist 11 Robert Arndt Mason Vickers
12 Robert Bjornlund
Duane Cox
Shane Kerska
Emily McGarvey
Roberta Sognesand
13 Kevin Tullberg
14 Alissa Hoyme
15 Robert Niemiste
David Robarge
16 Martha Felland
John Zurek
17 Barbara Johnson
18 Kathleen Barhite
Jamie Johnson
George Kelby
19 James Khoruts
Jeff Whitmill 20 Tristan Farrey
22 Shawn Rasmussen
23 Krista Loop
24 Norman Anderson
Kala Keefe
Dorothy Pryor Karen Roycraft 25 Marshall Dew
26 Charlene Alexander Joel Scalzo
27 Alexander McGarvey
29 Michael Allen
Jorand Braford
Connie Cook
30 David Dornfeld
Clifford Larson
News & Notes With worship, small group ministries, Que Tal Spanish classes, jazz concerts all canceled the past ten days, it has been very quiet around the St. Barnabas building. But we have putting this quiet time to good use!
Extra Cleaning Karl Smith has been coordinating extra cleaning of the building during this time. Two Que Tal staff members have offered to help with building maintenance. Thus far they have cleaned all the carpets on the Lower Level and have now started on the Upper Level. Rob Merry has been laid off from his job at the Carlson Towers cafeteria, so has been here more frequently. He has been giving extra attention to cleaning door handles with Lysol wipes. Martha Felland (with an assist from Cal Gaedke) ran all the hard plastic toys in the nursery through the dish washer and got them sanitized. It’s been a long time since the building is as clean as it is right now.
New Computer System Julie Hoyme has been coordinating the installation of a entirely new computer system. We had started the process of getting bids on a new system last summer, but didn’t make a decision on the vendor, Cadan Technology, until December. All of our old computers (the newest was six years old) were running on Windows 7, which Microsoft stopped updating in January. We had hoped the new system would be installed in January, but designing a whole new network takes time, so it ended up that the seven new computers and server were ready to be installed just when the pandemic shut down most activities. That delay actually ended up being a
blessing, because staff did not have to be at their computers with a normal workload. The cost of the new system is a little over $7,000, all of it being covered by memorial gifts. The largest share of the cost is covered by memorial gifts for Sandy Runner, aunt of Jennifer Martinez. The original computer network had been set up by Paul Sholtz in 2006, and it is appropriate that $700 remained of money given in memory of Paul that helped pay for the new system.
Now all our computers are backed up offsite and are running Windows 10 and Microsoft Office 365. This transition from Word and Publisher 2003 to the new versions is proving frustrating at times for Pastor Wayne and Julie, and words seldom heard during worship can sometimes be heard in the hallway outside their offices. Pray for them…
Other News... • Pastor David Helgen is now in hospice care,
and because of the pandemic, his nursing home is closed to visitors, David’s eyesight remains good, so if you would like to send him a card sharing a memory or thanking him for his ministry, he would certainly appreciate that. His address is:
Augustana Chapel View Health Care Center 615 Minnetonka Mills Rd,
Hopkins, MN 55343 • We were sorry to learn of the death of Dan
Johnson on March 7. Dan was 89 and part of the St. Barnabas community for 15 years. He had been a resident of North Ridge Care Center for the past three years. A private family service will be held at the St. Barnabas columbarium later this spring.
• Just as this was being written, we learned that Lisa Turnquist’s mother, Gloria Zellmer, died last night, March 25. We extend our sympathy to Lisa, Brett, Emma, & Connor. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Spring Women's Day Retreat Saturday, May 2
We might actually be able to gather in groups again by
then, so save the date!
20 Elliana Borja
Abigail Reynolds
Ronald Torp
22 Marsha Gronneberg
Darryn McGarvey
23 Gretchen Noordsy
24 Susan Hagen
Clara Hibbits
25 Betsy Asher 26 Bruce Hein
27 Lisa Oelfke
28 Ella Johnson
29 Raphael Langenfeld
Cindy LaChance-Lindberg MA, LMFT, RPT
612-564-3620 [email protected]
Melissa Weinhandl MA, MA, LAMFT
Family Resource Center at St. Barnabas
The Family Resource Center at St. Barnabas (FRC) is a community-based counseling and therapy
resource to serve the surrounding community. Sliding fee scale.
More information at www.frcstbarnabas.org
ST. BARNABAS IDENTITY
STATEMENT
St. Barnabas Lutheran Church is a part of the Body
of Christ and a member congregation of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The source of our life together is the Word and Sacraments, celebrated in our worship.
We name ourselves after St. Barnabas, a New
Testament apostle. He was called “Barnabas”, meaning
“son of encouragement”, because he joyfully shared the “good news” of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He faithfully supported the work of the Church with his talents, prayers, and offerings.
MISSION STATEMENT
Sent by Jesus, we set our sails to be filled by God’s Spirit,
inspiring us to praise, grow and serve.
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID Twin Cities, MN
Permit No. 2595
Phone: 763-553-1239 Fax: 763-553-7839 Website: www.stbarnabaslutheran.org
Ministry Team Wayne Peterson, Pastor Amber Ingalsbe, Pastor Dr. Sue Megrund, Dir. of Children, Youth & Family Rose Umland, Parish Nurse Karl Smith, Lay Minister for Property Julie Hoyme, Parish Assistant Jeff Whitmill, SB Center for the Arts Mark Rodriguez, Parish Musician Cheryl Oie, Handbell Choir
ST. BARNABAS
LUTHERAN CHURCH
Back in the days before sound systems, a young pastor took his place in the pulpit to preach his first sermon. He was so frightened that he could hardly speak, but he had written a long sermon, so he just kept plodding on through it. “Speak up!” a man yelled from the back of the church. “We can’t hear you back here!”
The young man tried to speak louder, but in a little while the man called out again, “We can’t hear you!”
The novice pastor tried a little harder, but his anxiety grew by the minute. Finally, in great frustration, the man in the back stood up. “We can’t hear a thing you are saying!”
Someone sitting in the front row stood up, turned around and responded, “What are you complaining about? I CAN hear what he is saying and I would be more than happy to switch places with you.”
15600 Old Rockford Road
Plymouth, MN 55446
Return Service Requested
Barney’s Blarney
Are You Receiving (and Reading) the St. Barnabas E-mails? One important (but simple) way to help our St. Barnabas community during this “shelter in place” period is to read the St. Barnabas emails! If you have not received any St. Barnabas emails in the last two weeks, that means either
1) we do not have your correct email address, which can easily be remedied if you would just send an email to Julie Hoyme ([email protected]), or
2) your email software is diverting them to a spam or junk folder. You can remedy this by add-ing “stbarnabaslutheran.org” and “stbarnabaslutheran.ccsend.com” (used for the Constant Contact emails) to your Safe Senders list. If you are not sure how to do this, contact Pastor Wayne or Julie Hoyme.
Easter Flowers We may not be able to celebrate Easter Sunday together on April 12, but we can still bring a bit of Easter into our homes. Several weeks ago we placed the order for lilies, mums, and hydrangeas to decorate the sanctuary for Easter morning. For the good folks that operate our nurseries, it seems right that we honor that order. We encourage you to order a plant “in memory of” or “in honor of” someone you love. Lilies (22) and mums (8) are $10, and hydrangeas (22) are $15. The plants will be delivered to St. Barnabas on Friday, April 10. You may stop by the church on Saturday or Sunday to pick up your plant (we will post certain hours) or we can have a volunteer deliver them to your home. To order, call the church office at 763-553-1239 or email Julie at [email protected].