February 20-Princess Brooke

Princess Brooke

In Sunday School we are learning the
Lord's Prayer.    We talked about God being our Father,  and God being a King,  and therefore since we are the children of God we are royalty.   Here is Princess Brooke.  Brooke is 6 and she will turn 7 on March 7.   She goes to Priest Lake Elementary School and likes to draw. 

February 14

Welcome.  We hope you enjoy your visit.

News:  There is no quilting this week as we decided that it was time to focus on worship together on Ash Wednesday.   Our service was at 3:45,  after school so the children were with us,  and before dark so that driving was safer when we headed home.    While we were waiting for church to start we decided to sing,  and the request was made for "Joy to the World."   Not the usual Lenten hymn,  but wonderfully appropriate,  with its "let every heart prepare"  and "no more lets sins and sorrows grow,  or thorns infest the ground."  Sometimes it is truly wondrous how children can bring us to do and see things we would entirely miss without their innocence and openness.   Our winter community being so small makes for an intimacy impossible otherwise,  and we had open time during our confession for people to make individual confessions,  aloud or silent.  We turned and knelt at the pews and it seemed the everyone was sincere in that silence and in what was shared before God and one another.  At the end of confession there is the imposition with ashes where the sign of the cross is made on the forehead with the words,  "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return"  and we were reminded of our frailty and dependence on each other.   This beginning of Lent worship did help us so much to understand once again what this time of year can mean and how we can be touched by God and brought forward toward the Resurrection by sharing the life of Christ in renouncing ourselves.  "More for God and less for me."      

Schedule:

February 17   First Sunday in Lent.  10:00 Sunday School  10:30 Worship.  Lunch Follows.
February 24  Second Sunday in Lent. !0:00 Sunday School 10:30 Worship.  Lunch Follows. 

Sure sign of Spring

Although we still have a normal amount of snow for this time of year, the warmer weather recently has enabled the snow to slide off the roof...

January 29 

Just a note to update readers on our Mission Quilting and Kits efforts. We tied two more quilts today.  It was mentioned that it would be good to put out the word that we need donations of sheets and blankets and that if those of you who are returning this spring have any extras it would be great it you could bring them home for us to use for Lutheran World Relief.  We also received another generous donations of items for school kits.   The flow of mercy and grace is abundant.  Please remember our ministry here as you plan time at Priest Lake.  

January 27

Welcome.

We are glad that you have come.  May you be blessed by your time with us. 

News:  The new calendar year is already almost 1/12 past and much continues to happen at Lamb of God and in our lives.   The church year is 1/6 past and as we measure time by what God is doing, we are immeasurably enriched.   The new people among us bring us to look again at how faith transforms lives and to see the Spirit move like the wind,  we know not whither it comes or whither it goes.   Having children in church every Sunday is truly a marvel and we give God thanks for sending them to us.  We are discussing the need for a Sunday School so that little ones and those who care for them can all learn who Jesus is and the whole story of salvation and what it means for us.   The highlights of the past few months include our caroling with members of other churches and the community on December 16,  a little Christmas Eve celebration on December 23 with music and dinner,  Epiphany and dinner on January 6, and all that the quilting days have brought us with new people joining us at different times and so many quilts completed now, the most we have ever done and we still have a lot of time before the Spring Ingathering.   There are 25 quilts gracing our sanctuary now.   The pictures above include Reformation Sunday and Chrismas and Epiphany.  The Creche on the altar was not completed until the wise men arrived from their travels around the church,  Epiphany being the day on which we observe their arrival.  The holy family and the shepherds were in place on the 23rd,  but the baby had to wait until Christmas had come.   We enjoyed moving the little wooden figures forward during Advent and 
not only the children but the adults joined in the journey to get them to the stable.  The creche is made of wood, especially designed to be safe for small hands to hold and to move and thus to have the story take life among us.    

We have new neighbors living in the trailer park next to us.  A family has moved in and we now have two sisters in high school catching the bus in front of the church.  We were happy to be able to give them boots to make it through the deep and sometimes wet snow in something more cold and water resistant than tennis shoes or house slippers which had been their previous footwear.    


 
Schedule 

January 29  10:00 Lutheran World Relief Quilting. Other quilting dates to be announced.  

February 3   10:30 Worship with Althea Sondahl 
                      Lunch following

February 10   10:30 Worship with Althea Sondahl 
                       Lunch following 

February 13  Ash Wednesday 
 

February 17  1st Sunday in Lent  10:30 Worship with Althea Sondahl   
                                                         Lunch following 

February 24  2nd Sunday in Lent  10:30 Worship with Althea Sondahl 
                                                          Lunch following 


Reflections:  Epiphany, January 6th, is a church observance that pre-dates Christmas.  Starting in the East, this day was chosen to celebrate both the birth and baptism of Christ.   Later on in Rome, after Christianity became the religion of the Empire,  Christmas was created to replace the pagan festival celebrated around the solstice relating to the sun god. Thus the birth of Christ came to observed on December 25th rather than with his baptism in January.   Then, in western Christianity,  the 6th of January came to be the date associated with the arrival of the magi to Bethlehem and the texts used for that day are now that story from Matthew.  The Baptism of Christ is now observed on the Sunday after the Epiphany, though the Eastern church still observes the baptism of Christ on Epiphany itself.  This year  the principal festival of Epiphany fell on a Sunday and so at Lamb of God we were able to rejoice in the tradition of the wisemen and the star.   In parts of the Lutheran church the Epiphany signals a time to focus on the mission of the church in evangelizing the world,  since Christ was revealed to the non-Jewish world as symbolized by the wise men from the east.   The Sundays after Epiphany have texts showing how Christ is made known.   At Lamb of God we are trying to revive that Lutheran tradition and make our mission of sharing the Gospel more clear as we reach out to those who are seeking Christ in their lives, not from foreign lands but from our neighborhood.      





    

November 30 St. Andrew's Day

  Welcome.

We are glad that you have come.  May you be blessed by your time with us. 

News: The Lutheran World Relief Quilting for November was highly productive and each time 
brought us  together in the faith we share.  The hymn "Blest be the Tie that Binds" comes to mind as we visit and sing and pray when we gather and where."we share our mutual woes,  our mutual burdens bear,  and often for each other flows, the sympathizing tear."  This month a phone call came during our quilting time that a sister was entering into emergency surgery for brain aneurysms and the outcome was very unsure.  So everything stopped, for tears and prayers.  Our dear Food Bank friends joined us in this to our great encouragement and blessing.  Also this month another one of our quilters who had not been with us due to surgery was able to visit and work with us for awhile, again to our great encouragement and blessing.   Our Canadian sister in Christ was with us for two Sundays and one Quilting Day,  and much good was accomplished in that time. The light bulbs in the kitchen got changed while she was here with the industry and the height to do it,  the best bran muffins along with other generous dishes were served, more quilts were speedily finished,  new material was given and much love and gratitude were squeezed into that visit.  The support from Canada is a wonder to behold.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Another special things that has happened is that during our prayer time with some of our new quilters we learned of musical talents and we were sung to, with much feeling, both then and on a Sunday morning, with a solo of Amazing Grace. There are 11 very beautiful quilts now done.  The process is helped along by those who bring tops and bottoms all ready to be tied, and also by those who donate batting. The materials we need continue to be provided so generously that it is hard to comprehend the giving that flows to and through us.  The quilting days have been moved around during November to accommodate various needs.  Hopefully in December we will be able to meet on Wednesdays and have our Advent Prayer Service midweek also.  It has been wonderful to watch our group grow, to see so many quilts come together and to also know that we come together for those who need help most.   Please visit the Lutheran World Relief website at lwr.org
to learn more about their work and in which we share. 

 Another thing that is happening on Wednesdays is that the piano at the church is serving in a new ministry,  as the instrument for making a little girl into a pianist.  She wrote a note on Sunday, "Playing piano is good.  I am good."  Highly motivated and inspired by  the sheer desire to learn to play,  this little girl has turned down a road of wonders and taken obliging adults with her. On Wednesday she had her second lesson,  this time with the newly purchased book "Teaching Little Fingers to Play"  which was recommended by the venerable instructor and classical pianist in our congregation.   The book taught the seven year old a song; "Stepping up, Stepping down, Now a Skip".   If you come to church I am sure she will be happy to play it for you and you can learn the delightful little tune and sing along.  

The little girls who are worshiping with us have created many memorable moments.  Last Sunday two of them shared in putting out the candles,  beautifully each taking one in turn and bowing before the altar as they have been taught.  So we become endeared to one another by seeing others learn and share our faith.  We do hope that their mother is not getting lonely during church as the girls sit with other adults of their choice.  "I want to sit with             !" was heard across the room last Sunday morning and "May I call you 'Grandma'? has reached other ears in a whisper.  

  
Reflections: Today being the feast of St Andrew, we remember this disciple as one of the first to follow Jesus.  The color of the day is red, recognizing St.  Andrew's death as a martyr, inspired by the Holy Spirit to give his life for his Lord.  The feast days of the saints are usually observed on the date associated with their death, as these days are, as the ancient church taught,  their true "birth days" into life everlasting.  The Prayer of the Day for festival is; "Almighty God, as the apostle Andrew readily obeyed the call of Christ and followed  him without delay, grant that we, called by your holy Word, may in glad obedience offer ourselves to your service; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen."  The hymn in the Daily Office is "Jesus Calls Us" with its lines about Saint Andrew.  The texts are Ezekiel 3:16-21, Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 10:10-18 and John 1:35-42.   

Advent is set to begin on the closest  Sunday to St. Andrew's Day,  which is also always four Sundays before Christmas.  The color for Advent is blue.  This is a change in the tradition for many of us who lived through royal purple Advents most of our lives, but blue was chosen as the liturgical color of  hope and it has been assigned to the season for many years now.  Advent originated as a time of preparation for Baptism on January 6.   This  year at Lamb of God we are hoping to focus the preaching on beginning a new life in Christ during Advent and thus return in some ways to the more ancient tradition of the season.  Advent also begins the new church year. 
The word "advent" is a latin word and it connotes "coming". In Advent time the Sunday texts focus on God's coming, at the final judgement and also his coming into our world in our flesh and  his coming now,  into our hearts.  

 May it be so,  that God comes to you in this season even as you hear the Word;  " Watch!" 
   
Schedule 



December 2 1st Sunday in Advent  10:30 Worship  with Steve Egland.  Lunch Follows. 
                     We light the first candle for hope. 
December 5  10:00 Lutheran World Relief Quilting
                        3:00 Advent Prayer Service
December 9 2nd Sunday in Advent 10:30  Worship with Althea Sondahl.   Lunch Follows  
                       We light the second candle for peace.
December 12 10:00 Lutheran World Relief Quilting
                       3:00 Advent Prayer Service 
December 16 3rd  Sunday in Advent 10:30 Worship with Steve Egland 
                       We light the third candle for joy.  Pink is the liturgical color for joy.  
                        Possible Christmas Caroling Date 
December 19 10:00 Lutheran World Relief Quilting
December 23  4th Sunday in Advent 10:30 Worship with Althea Sondahl 
                        We light the 4th candle for love.  
                        Possible Guitar Concert with Kenyon and Brad 
                        4:00 Tentative Little Little Christmas Eve Service
                         Dinner Following?
December 30   1st Sunday after Christmas 10:30 Worship with Steve Egland


    

August 30

These glorious days of summer make thankfulness rise like cream in the old fashioned whole milk jars.  We have so much for which to be grateful.  Here is a brief overview:

Dorry Pierce has made hats to be sold to support the ministry of the Food Bank or Lutheran World Relief.  Look for Dorry's hats in the social area of the church and buy one for $5.00 and you will keep more than one person warm in body and soul more ways than one!  Thank you Dorry for giving these hats to help!

The Baskets for Lutheran World Relief overflowed!  The things have been sorted out for school and care kits and there is room for more.  We are very close to having enough of everything for 9 school kits but not so many care kits.  Please keep bringing items through September 23rd.  THERE IS ROOM IN THE BASKETS AGAIN!  Here are the lists again of the items needed:

NOTEBOOKS OF COLLEGE RULE PAPER WITH EXACTLY 70 PAGES

12 INCH RULERS

NEW #2 PENCILS WITH ERASERS

NEW BALLPOINT PENS

 2 and 1/2 inch ERASERS 

BLUNT SCISSORS  

CRAYONS (BOXES OF 16 OR 24)

Supplies for Personal Care Kits

LIGHT OR MEDIUM WEIGHT BATH TOWELS (dark colors)

BATH SIZE SOAP BARS (4 to 5 oz in original packing)

STURDY COMBS

METAL NAIL CLIPPERS WITH FILE ATTACHED

 

The Lutheran World Relief Quilting gathering on Wednesday the 29th got us going again for sure!  There were seven of us there, a good holy number,  and much was gained in our time together.   We will be quilting again weekly and will  meet this Wednesday, September 5.  We have one quilt almost completed and another ready to assemble, with two finished tops ready also.   Thank you to those who have been working at home as well as at church to provide quilt tops.  What gorgeous work we are seeing!  

 

While the quilters were at church we had visitors sent to us by the school.  We were able to provide some school supplies for three little girls who will be arriving this week and who need to be outfitted for school.  More supplies will be brought on Sunday.  The Food Bank is providing some clothing and we have the sizes of the children for clothes and shoes if anyone else would like to donate.  They are coming from the south by bus and have no warm clothing and will arrive with just two sets of clothes apiece.  We are excited to meet them and happy to be able to help.  

We also were able this past week to help some other members of our community who called us in need of help and the Food Bank was offered their generous assistance as always.  What a great asset we have in our Food Bank.  

 

We begin to have to bid "Godspeed" to our summer residents as Labor Day week end brings their summer stay near to the end.  God has blessed us through the presence of each person who has worshiped with us at the lake.  So many gifts of the Spirit flow richly in our time together.  May those of you who are preparing to leave know that our prayers go with you and that we are so grateful that you have been here! God bless! 

 

Last of all the garden is shining with reddening tomatoes,  surely the dahlias will bloom soon,  and I saw ripe raspberries on the bushes (why weren't they eaten?????)  Our first harvest continues!!     

 

As the liturgy puts it  "it is truly meet, right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks."  What a perfect time and place this is to do just that!