2015
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’ New Year, New Chairs The year 2015 is a notable mile-marker for Family of Christ in that by Easter our congregation turns 35 years old. I want to take you down memory lane and describe for you the happenings of 1980.
A new invention called a VHS recorder/player sold for about $700 You could buy a home movie camera for $1500 The average cost of a modest American home was $80 to $100K A new Pontiac Firebird cost $6K Gas was $1.19 per gallon Milk was around $2 per gallon, You could buy a nice new shirt for $15 War broke out in the Middle East The USA boycotted the Olympics in Moscow Ronald Reagan was president Mt. St. Helens erupted The Pac Man arcade game was released John Lennon was killed “The Empire Strikes Back” came out in the theaters Queen had a hit with “Another One Bites the Dust” Yours truly was a sophomore in college (and I saw that movie on opening day, plus bought the Queen album) AND, over in the cozy little suburb of Chanhassen, an intrepid group of people pulled together to form a small worshiping congregation, holding their first service together on Easter of 1980. 212 were in attendance, meeting in old St. Hubert’s Catholic Church, led by a dashing 36-year-old minister named Nate Castens.
So, yes — happy new year, and happy 35th birthday to Family of Christ! Let’s plan on finding a couple of fun ways to celebrate this milestone in the coming year. One significant way will be to see the new sanctuary chairs delivered and fastened together for worship! You may have wondered whatever happened with all that fundraising we did last June. Well, the church council decided to replace not just some of the chairs, as first planned, but all 330 of them. We’ve had these chairs quite a while, and many are wobbly, with the metal connectors starting to give way. So an interior decorating committee was pulled together to study the issue. They’ve investigated a wide variety of church chairs, learning about & comparing costs, cushioned seats, fabric samples, durability, stack-a-bility, weight, and more. Plus, they posted our current chairs on Craig’s List and at least one buyer (St. John’s University) has stepped forward to give 100 of our chairs a new home in one of their chapels. Depending on the timing of when our old chairs are picked up & the new chairs can be delivered, we’ll soon see a very attractive update to our worship space. The same Gospel that has fed people for years will continue to be our nourishment during worship – but the difference this year is that you’ll be even more comfortable as you listen to a new batch of sermons! We thank the committee members for their steady work over these last six months: Jo Eiden, Dean Brown, Sue Gebauer, Barbara Kayati, Nancy Simpson, Valerie Stuhr, and Greg Provo. And we thank Pastor Kristie for helping take the lead in shepherding the whole chair-replacing process. Let’s enjoy our great anniversary year together!
~ Pr Josh 2
& Table of Contents
FAMILY OF CHRIST ANNUAL MEETING Sunday, January 25 12:00 PM
Finance & News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
We will call our congregation’s annual meeting to order on Sunday, January 25, soon after the final worship service of the morning concludes. We’ll receive reports from various parts of our overall ministry together as we celebrate the year past and pray for the year ahead. Our church council will have a budget proposal at this meeting, and we’ll have an election to fill three positions on that council. Confirmed members of our church are eligible to vote, and we need you to attend! A light lunch will be available as we gather to encourage our church family in active outreach and ministry.
J-Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
News & Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 How You Can Help . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Church Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Preschool & Children . . . . . . . . . . 7 Confirmation & Beyond . . . . . . . . 8 Meet the Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly To date, we have received 168 pledges made by Family of Christ households, which represents a pledge amount of $575,106. We thank the members and friends of this church for all their generosity and prayerful support, and we indeed celebrate all the many ways that people are able to give. If you have intended to turn in a pledge, please do so as soon as possible. If you need a pledge card, contact the church office. And let us begin our new year with a joyful coming together in service, worship, offerings, learning, prayers, and love. We thank the Lord for calling us to “DO, LOVE, AND WALK” for the sake of the world and to the glory of God.
General Fund Balance as of 1/01/14 $15,040
Income Through 11/30/14 ___ $706,326
Expenses Through ____11/30/14 ___ ($726,935)
General Fund Balance ___as of 11/30/14 ___ ($5,569)
Christmas Cookie Walk Update
THANK YOU AGAIN to everyone who baked for, helped at, and bought from our 23 rd annual cookie walk. $1800 was raised to help with unexpected church expenses in 2015! See our complete online calendar at http://tinyurl.com/kjy643f
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& Prayer Vigil The true church lives and moves and has its being in prayer. ~ Leonard Ravenhill Prayer is an intentional and purposeful way that every individual — regardless of age, race, or background — can deepen his or her personal relationship with God and connect in meaningful ways with other people. As one of Family of Christ’s central habits of faith, prayer is fostered in a multitude of ways in our congregation, including a strong prayer chain ministry and a vibrant prayer shawl ministry, both of which touch the lives of many people in our congregation and in the broader community. In a continuing effort to broaden and grow our ministry of prayer, we offer a prayer vigil ministry that seeks to offer regularly scheduled opportunities for a focused time of prayer in our church sanctuary. Our next Prayer Vigil is Tuesday, January 13. We invite everyone to come to the Family of Christ sanctuary that day, anytime from 8:00 AM7:00 PM, for a time of meditation and prayer. Quiet and reflective music will be played, our fountain will be running, candles will be available to light to honor specific prayer requests, and prayer resources will be provided.
In the midst of the snow, we continue to grow ... Each January, we offer a variety of special-interest classes at Family of Christ for all ages to come together for fellowship, learning, and nurturing relationships and faith. There is something for everyone on a variety of topics, including fitness and yoga, knitting, wood whittling, essential oils, Pinterest crafts, pastor-led studies, college funding, parenting and more! New this year: a familyfriendly meal each week, along with several “Dinnertime Book Clubs” for different ages and interests. Check out the brochure and sign-up board in the narthex or on the Family of Christ website ( familyofchristonline.com ) for a complete list of classes and times. Questions? Contact Leann Thompson, Director of Faith Formation: leann@familyofchristonline.com
Pastor Jerry Wahl is Retiring! Bishop Ann Svenunngsen and the staff at the Minneapolis Area Synod invite the people of Family of Christ to greet Pastor Jerry at a party in his honor on Thursday, January 15, from 3:30-7:00 PM, at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church, 5760 Portland Ave S, Minneapolis. Pastor Jerry served as interim senior pastor at FoC before the congregation called Pastor Josh Nelson in 2013. Jerry and his wife, Karen, are members of FoC.
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Bountiful Basket Need: January — Boxed potatoes (A list of needed items is always posted on their website: bountifulbasketfoodshelf.org)
Tree House Service Opportunity On Tuesday, January 20, FoC provides a meal for at-risk youth who utilize Tree House, a Christian outreach program in Chaska. Volunteers are needed to provide food & to help serve. Youth and adults may help with this special meal. There is a sign-up sheet on the CIA bulletin board near the kitchen. Our next date to serve Tree House is Tuesday, March 17. Questions? Contact Dawn Peterson at tdnjkpeter@aol.com
Books for Africa In Africa, 47 million youth are illiterate. 21 million adolescents and 32 million primaryage children do not attend school. Those numbers combined are equivalent to the population of England. We, Cameron Olson, Maddie Foss, and Jeremy Mickesh, are all juniors attending Chanhassen High School and members of Family of Christ. We are working on a project designed to hopefully drastically decrease these numbers. We have begun to implement a program at our school in which we take all used and retired library books to ship to our partner, Books for Africa. Books for Africa is an organization that has donated 2.6 million books to 27 African countries in the last 12 months. Family of Christ has partnered with Books for Africa through our Christians in Action committee for a number of years. This organization has had a great impact in the lives of the people they have reached, but 2.6 million is only a drop in the bucket compared to the 47 million children in need of books. We are hoping to expand this to touch even more lives of underprivileged children in Africa. We are holding a book drive at Family of Christ in January and we hope you will consider donating your gently-used kids’ books, novels and textbooks to be shipped to students in Africa. Look for collection boxes in the church narthex. “Many hands make light work...” Not to sound motherly, but we could use a lot more hands helping out in our shared ministry group! We have a wonderful, dedicated bunch of volunteers currently working very hard to make everyone’s weekly worship experience enjoyable. Please consider helping out in this area. Whether you serve coffee, prepare communion, usher, or bravely step up to be an assisting minister, we would all benefit from your help! If you’re at all intrigued, contact Kim – kim@familyofchristonline.com
Can You Help? Each January, we honor during worship those baptized the previous year. Through generous financial gifts, we have been able to give each of those baptized a special Faith Chest to store mementos of significant milestones along their journeys of faith. These hand-made wooden chests are imprinted with the Family of Christ logo, and serve to remind these newest members that Family of Christ will continue to walk along with them on their journeys. If you would be interested in supporting this ongoing ministry with a financial donation, please contact Leann Thompson, Director of Faith Formation, at leann@familyofchristonline.com .
See our complete online calendar at http://tinyurl.com/kjy643f
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Tickets on Sale Soon! Performances for our next allchurch musical are February 27March 1. Watch for tickets to go on sale in the middle of January!
Downtown Lunch Bunch If you work in Minneapolis, join other FoC members & friends for lunch & fellowship. We meet at 11:45 AM on the second Monday of each month. In January, we’ll meet on Monday, Jan. 12, at a place TBD. Questions? Rod Bubke: rod.l.bubke@ampf.com New Member Happy Hour If you’ve joined Family of Christ in the past year, please plan to attend a new-member happy hour on Saturday, January 10, 4:00-6:00 PM, hosted by Pastor Kristie & Gene Hennig. Enjoy a glass of wine and light appetizers. The best part is…babysitting will be available for you at church, free of charge. (Pastor Kristie’s house is minutes away from church, so this will be very convenient.) We hope you can join us. If you did not receive this information as an evite, or if you have questions, please call or email Kim: 952-934-5659; kim@familyofchristonline.com Pr Kristie’s Book Club Tuesday, Jan. 20 • 7:00 PM Pr Kristie’s book club is reading Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor. They’ll gather at the Hennigs’ house on Jan. 20 to talk about it. Get your copy now and plan on coming for a rich conversation. Men and women, young and old are invited. Appropriate beverages will be available for all. Looking ahead, our next gathering is Thursday, March 12, & we’ll discuss Aleph by Paul Coelho.
Common Thread Dinner Out Houlihan’s in Chan • Monday, January 26 • 6:00 PM If you are 50 or over, come for an evening of warm food and fellowship. No need to sign up, just show up. Direct questions to Ron Larson: lars710@mediacombb.net
Women’s Retreat April 17-19 • Luther Crest Bible Camp, Alexandria, MN Pastor Jeanne Aamot will lead this retreat on the theme “Created, Claimed, Called.” Cost for the retreat is $130. A sign-up poster is in the church narthex. Questions? Contact Leann Thompson, Director of Faith Formation: leann@familyofchristonline.com
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& Family of Christ Preschool Book Drive FoC Preschool is hosting a Books for Africa book drive during the month of January. Donations of new or gently-used children’s books are welcome in the drop box outside the preschool office. Thank you for your donations!
Important Dates: * Monday, Jan. 5 — Classes resume after Christmas break
Family of Christ Preschool FoC Preschool offers classes for 2-, 3-, 4-, & 5-year-olds, a Jump Start Kindergarten class, afternoon enrichment classes, and optional Lunch Bunch and Stay & Play for afternoon care. For more information or a tour, contact Susan Schmidt: preschool@familyofchristonline.com ; 952-380-9838.
Children’s Ministry Sunday School & Christos Sunday school classes resume Sunday, January 4 Christos classes resume Wednesday, January 7 January Curriculum All children, 2 years old through grade 5, will be studying the “I Am Lutheran” curriculum for the month of January. This is a fun, different way to learn about what it is to be a Lutheran. The focus material for each age group is listed below:
2s and 3s — Let Us Pray Pre-k — How does God want Us to Live? Kindergarten — My Book About Jesus Grade 1— The Lord’s Prayer Grade 2— Meet Martin Luther Grade 3— The 10 Commandments Grade 4— First communion training with the pastors Grade 5— Lutheran traditions and tough questions See our complete online calendar at http://tinyurl.com/kjy643f
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& Confirmation Confirmation resumes Wednesday, January 7, 6:30 PM Confirmation meets January 7, 14, 21, 28 9th grade confirmation students: A reminder that you meet offsite for the month of January. Please contact your Lifeguide for details. Also, watch your email later this month for a link to sign up for your Faith in Action project interview. Interviews will be conducted in February.
High School What Now? High school seniors, come and talk about your faith and life as you transition out of high school. Newcomers are always welcome! We meet at 10:15 in the youth room the first Sunday of each month: Jan. 4, Feb. 1, March 1, April 12 (the 5th is Easter), and May 3. Drive-thru Devotions! High school students are invited to stop by the youth room after confirmation on Wed., Jan. 14, to pick up a devotion & a treat! The devotion will be something simple & quick you can do in the midst of your daily life. The Drive-Thru devotional materials will also be available in the youth room on Sunday, January 18. Bagels and Bible Study Enjoy an Einstein Bros Bagel & a discussion about the day’s Gospel text. We meet at 10:15 AM in the youth room. Newcomers are always welcome! * High school: Jan. 11 & 25 * Middle school: Jan. 18
Mission Trips Mission Trip Participants: Watch your email later this month to sign up to help at the all-church musical, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” Feb. 27- Mar. 1. Mission Trip Payments A reminder that the next payments are due Feb. 1. After Feb. 1, payments increase by $25. Final payments are due April 1. Payment amounts: Soul Sisterhood: $150 Kansas City: $275 Detroit Youth Gathering: $525 El Salvador: $675 If you’re interested in going on a mission trip, please contact trip leaders to see if there is space available.
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Senior Pastor Josh Nelson 952-934-5659, ext. 13 josh@familyofchristonline.com
Pastor Kristie Hennig 952-934-5659, ext. 12 kristie@familyofchristonline.com
Leann Thompson Director of Faith Formation 952-934-5659, ext. 24 leann@familyofchristonline.com
Pastor Jeanne Aamot 952-934-5659, ext. 14 jeanne@familyofchristonline.com
Teri Burns Minister to Children & Families 952-934-5659, ext. 21 teri@familyofchristonline.com
Lindsey Ruhland Minister to Youth & Families 952-934-5659, ext. 30 lindsey@familyofchristonline.com
Mary Renz Director of Music Ministry 952-934-5659, ext. 23 mary@familyofchristonline.com
Susan Schmidt Family of Christ Preschool Director 952-380-9838 preschool@familyofchristonline.com
Kris Spangrud Finance 952-934-5659, ext. 18 kris@familyofchristonline.com
Jolene Satre Communications/Website 952-934-5659, ext. 11 jolene@familyofchristonline.com
Kim Schaeferle Connections Coordinator 952-934-5659, ext. 29 kim@familyofchristonline.com
Marilyn Syverson Church Administrator 952-934-5659, ext. 10 marilyn@familyofchristonline.com
Greg Provo Custodian 952-934-5659, ext. 26 greg@familyofchristonline.com
See our complete online calendar at http://tinyurl.com/kjy643f
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