On Feb 5-6 many of our Gethsemane teenagers will be voluntarily fasting for more than a day as participants in the "30-Hour Famine." During this event they will be learning about the causes of world hunger, packing meals to be sent overseas, and raising money to help World Vision eliminate deaths from starvation and malnutrition. If you want to support their work with a $10 pledge, please contact Bob Windels, and he will connect you with a fasting teenager!
During this 30-hour fast, which begins Friday at 1 pm and ends at 7 pm Saturday, we are also looking for prayer partners to help our students endure their growling stomachs and grow in their faith while you are home talking to God on their behalf. You can sign up for a specific one-hour prayer assignment on Access Gethsemane, or in the Friendship Folder and Bob Windels will call to schedule you. Then the names of these fasting kids and more specific details on our event will be sent to you.
Insomniacs wanted! Those middle-of-the-night shifts are tough to fill… But if you’re usually awake at 4 am anyway, help us out!
20 years and 50 million dollars ago, a church youth group in South Carolina addressed the issue of hunger in their community with this Super Bowl Sunday prayer: “Lord, as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us to be mindful of those without even a bowl of soup to eat.”
That prayer inspired this single church to invite other congregations to make a difference with them and address local hunger. Thus began the “Souper Bowl of Caring” that is hosted at thousands of churches each year. At worship on Sunday, Feb 7, our Gethsemane youth will again be receiving your donations of money and/or non-perishable foods to be delivered directly to the ICA Food Shelf. They hope to collect at least one dollar of support from each worshipper that day, so mark your calendar and bring your checkbook or wallet!
Gathering with one another for mutual support, prayer and conversation is an essential element for a Living Faith. We have created several opportunities for you to participate in a spiritual friendship group around the theme of Surprise Me, God during Lent.
Each Sunday morning during the education hour small groups will gather for an encounter with the Bible before breaking out into committed small groups for discussion.
- Existing groups (choir, council, confirmation guides, youth) can study together.
- Small groups will be formed for before/after Wednesday Lenten services.
- Additional small groups will be formed during the week as leaders and interest demand.
There will be a leader training February 9 at 7:00 pm in the gallery for anyone interested in leading a spiritual friendship group. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to meet with others for conversation and prayer around an exciting book on faith. Possible discussion topics and formats will be provided for you. If you are available to lead a group please contact Pastor Sarah.
Lenten worship is held Wednesdays at 7 pm, Feb 17 - Mar 24.
Join us for a spiritual adventure as we open ourselves up to how God is working in our lives and in our world.
During the Lenten season we will gather each Wednesday at 7 pm for worship with Holden Evening Prayer and a message from a Gethsemane Member on how God has surprised them in life. We will hear stories of healing, forgiveness, belonging, and more.
The congregation is invited to read the book, Surprise Me: A 30-Day Faith Experiment, by Terry Esau, which can be purchased through the church office. We will be holding discussion small groups at various times and days for the six-week Lenten season and invite you to sign up for one.
To support summer youth ministries, including Mission Trips, backpacking, canoeing and Bible Camp, we are once again looking for whole-congregation involvement in a meal and fellowship on Friday, March 5, from 6 - 8 pm (food served until 7:30.) You can help us raise thousands of dollars from inside and outside the congregation by contributing to:
Our Silent Auction
Here are some ideas of things you could offer that might be valuable to somebody else:
Valuable stuff that you no longer want to keep but hate to sell at a garage sale or pawn shop:
souvenirs (signed pro athlete jersey)
coin collection
Rod Carew rookie baseball card
Services you might be qualified to perform:
lawnmower tune-up
an hour of help with your income taxes
a weekend of babysitting
monthly delivery of a home-made pie
a day of garage-cleaning or garden-weeding
lovingly-carved sculpture or sign for lake property
“Intro to Computers” tutorial
a golf or tennis lesson
painting of a tool shed
sweater or baby blanket made to order
Favors that won’t cost you anything:
those guest passes to your health club
tickets for a game or show you can’t use yourself
temporary use of your canoe, lake place, camper-trailer or Florida time-share condo
Hospitality that would be fun for you, too:
cooking a gourmet dinner for 10 at your house
bringing 3 guests for golf at the country club
hosting a 4-hour cruise on Lake Minnetonka
family pool party at your apartment complex
Our International Menu of Foods from Your Kitchen
We’d like to see several continents represented in the dishes served in our Fellowship Hall. Perhaps you have a great family recipe or an interest in learning to make and ethnic dish such as: jambalaya (Cajun), falafels (Middle Eastern), Tandoori chicken (Indian), cabbage rolls (Russian), potato dumplings (Swedish), souvlaki (Greek), conch fritters (Caribbean), enchiladas (Tex-Mex) or other ethnic classics.
For young children and others with less-adventurous appetites, we’ll also lay in a supply of salad greens, tater tot hot dish and grilled cheese— because we really do want everybody to come!
So please prayerfully consider ways you might support and/or benefit from this Mega-Event, and contact Bob Windels for more information!
Deliver silent auction items to the Youth Guy’s office or the reception desk. Describe your donation, the approximate value or suggested starting bid, and the conditions for use that are comfortable for you. We need to receive all gifts by Sunday, Feb 21, so we have time to catalogue and display them.
The Saturday Night Club features entertainment and a delicious dinner starting at 5:30 pm. Everyone is welcome! Reservations are required—call Dorothy Siedler at 952-938-5858 by 8:00 pm on the Tuesday prior to the event.
Feb 27: The Kensington Runestone
Compelling new evidence presented by Scott Wolter
March 20: Christine Rosholt sings familiar tunes in a sassy and sweet manner
Thank you to the 150+ people who completed surveys related to our search for an associate pastor. A tally of your responses indicated we should be looking for: A compassionate person (64%); able to relate to all age groups (68%); good leader/teacher (62%); outgoing with sense of humor (57%); team player (52%); best candidate, male or female (59%).
Using this information with several of your suggestions to formulate questions to ask candidates, and guidelines offered by the Synod, the Call Committee is proceeding with the search for a good fit for associate pastor at Gethsemane.
We have reviewed 11 candidate profiles and are in the process of setting up and interviewing the candidates that come closest to meeting the criteria we feel necessary to fill this important position. We are working hard to finish the first round of interviews by the end of January.
Please continue to hold the Call Committee in your thoughts and prayers!
Call Committee Members
Deb Davis
Beth McCarthy
Chris Rackliffe
Bob Shebeck
Angie Sundell
Bob Wick
Pastor John Nelson
Good books, great discussions, third Tuesdays in the Gallery, 7-8 p.m., open to all. Those are the basic facts, but the Book Group is so much more. You’ll discover that if you Read and Come! Here’s the schedule for the next few months:
Feb. 16: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This unique novel has a dog as narrator. It’s both heart-wrenching and deeply funny.
March 16: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. This classic, first published in 1940, became an immediate literary sensation. It is just as powerful and timely today.
April 20: A Special Conversation about the Future of Books with Allan Kornblum, Founding Editor of Coffee House Press. Men encouraged to join in this dialogue. Much more information coming.
Thank you to all of you who have made a commitment to our 2010 Ministry Support. As of 12/22 we are at 77% of our goal of $670,000. Click here for a 2010 Goal for Giving card.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7
Since it began over 20 years ago, the ELCA has been committed to being a welcoming, diverse denomination, and its goal is for at least 10% of its membership to be persons of color or whose language is other than English. Each year, along with statistics about attendance and finance and educational programs, the ELCA asks congregations to report their racial/ethnic make-up in order to measure progress toward that goal.
In the past the GLC staff has estimated this information. But Gethsemane’s ethnic make-up has been changing and we believe that gathering this information in a more accurate, meaningful way will help us understand who we are as a congregation and be respectful of our diversity.
We now have a place in our membership database to record members’ race/ethnicity. We need each member to let us know how they identify themselves. You can do that by going to your Personal Profile in Access Gethsemane and choosing the Race/Ethnicity category that best describes you. Parents, please enter this information for your children as well. You can also check the rest of your information for accuracy, change the Newsletter Options to choose to get your newsletter by email , and complete the Attributes section of the Serving tab to tell us more about your interests and abilities. If you don’t have access to a computer you can contact Karen Eckenrode in the church office and she can record your information.
