November was a fun month for the OWLs. We began with Friday Night at the Movies. A fun-loving group of 22 headed to the local cinema for viewing the action thriller “Inferno”. We followed this with a wonderful fish fry dinner. A great time was had by all. Based on feedback from the group we will have another movie outing in the new year.

How much time do you waste in worry? It’s one thing to be concerned with something. To care so much about something or someone that you engage yourself out of concern seems Christ-like to me. But worry is something different. Concern breeds engagement. Worry breeds anxiety and fear.

As I was in Office Depot this past summer, I just needed some time to look and think about a project I was working on. Unfortunately, the people working were very helpful and almost every aisle I went down someone asked me if I needed help. Usually I like being asked if I need help because I usually do need help, but not this time. This time I just wanted to be by myself to think and work things out in my mind without interruptions. This may be what it is like for our visitors; they may not want a bunch of information or handouts. Sometimes all they want is one or two of their questions answered.

October was an enjoyable month for the OWLs. After a foggy ride to Sugar Creek to attend Yesterday’s Youth, we had a nice program and a great lunch. The ride back along the river was beautiful. Our potluck was well attended with a very interesting presentation from Skip Temte on his cruise ship experiences and his most recent trip to Alaska.

This fall there will be several opportunities for you to join a small group. The kids start school in September, and October brings the opportunity for adults at First to learn something new too. These 2 new groups, Bible 101 and Half Truths, will start in October and be finished by Thanksgiving.  

By popular request are rescheduling the canceled August outing to the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Our evening will start with a beautiful ride along the Root River, dinner in one of Lanesboro’s fine establishments and some fantastic Theatre at the Commonweal. This fabulous evening out is scheduled for Thursday, September 15. After a delicious dinner we will see they play Pride’s Crossing. Proclaimed the Best American Play of 1997 by the N.Y. Drama Critics Circle. A thoughtful and enticing play about the life of the first woman to swim the English Channel. The NY Post declared it “ a play you will remember and cherish forever”. We will leave the church at 4pm on Thursday, September 15. Cost of the Theatre is $35, ($30 if we get 15 or more) and dinner is on your own. Please email (owls@firstlu.org) by Tuesday, September 13th if you are planning on attending. You can pay for the tickets the night of the outing.

Every August my family starts making choices about time. Schedules for the upcoming school year get formed based on school, work and social calendars. When will the Spring recital be? On what day of the week does Christmas Eve fall this year? How do I keep from working more than 3 nights a week? As parents, Carla and I begin by sorting through the necessities of our work schedules; and continuing education dates; and special retreats or family/work celebrations at which one of us needs to be present. Then, we sit the kids down and ask them to prioritize their desired activities. Dance, football, swimming, karate, volleyball and gymnastics will begin the conversation that will lead to band, choir, orchestra, basketball, soccer, baseball and other clubs they may want to do. As we sort through their greatest desires for activities, we will ask questions like, “How will you get to this or that activity? How much does it cost? Can we make this happen for you and you and you?” But will we remember the Sabbath? Will we honor God’s desire for us to rest?

I have often marveled at what a small group of dedicated, prayerful people can do for the life of a faith community. The congregation where I grew up had a prayer chain, of how many people I don’t know, but the people I knew that dedicated time each day to pray for the concerns of our church and people were all people that I have sought to emulate as I walk the path of a follower of Jesus. I consider Jane, who was nearly 100 years old when she died. Jane was one of the first people I knew to be on Facebook and Twitter, which she used to keep up with all the people she prayed for. She continually inquired about my life as I made my way through college and seminary and then first call, and I KNEW that everything I told her about would be lifted in prayer daily. She was the first prayer warrior I knew, and I always have her in mind when I talk about prayer.

I loved my grandparents’ junk drawer; it had an old pair of scissors, rubber bands that usually were so old they broke, bread ties galore, plus a small hammer among other things. Every house has a junk drawer, usually in the kitchen. Ours is, but maybe yours is in the laundry room, or mud room. It’s filled with things you don’t use very often, like bag ties, screwdriver, both flat head and phillips, a hammer, nails, screws, which my husband has in baby food jars, koozies, rubber bands, an odd button, a broken part of a toy, among others things. We are very fortunate to live where we have a surplus and our needs are easily supplied. We know that others are not so fortunate and live in places where daily needs are not met and where sending your child to school, can’t be done without the supplies needed.

Thank you for the overwhelming response to the call for Sunday School teachers! We have all the teachers spots filled! Yahoo! If you are interested in being on the sub list, let us know! We are still looking for some extra help in the musical opening for K-5th. If you are interested in getting the kiddos excited and organized to worship through music contact us!

The OWLs took the month of July off but finished June with a picnic and rousing game of Kubb at the Narveson’ s. Kubb is a fun Scandinavian lawn game of opposing teams throwing sticks to knock the opposing team’s pieces down. Very basic, but much harder than you think. 

August will begin with our monthly potluck on Wednesday, August 10 at noon in the narthex. This is one week earlier than usual, so please mark your calendars. 

The weather does not feel like it’s anywhere near Thanksgiving Day, but at First Lutheran, we celebrate Thanksgiving every Wednesday and Sunday at the altar table. Giving God thanks for becoming one of us, saving us and equipping us to be a blessing to others is our ‘duty and delight.’ But God is not the only one worthy of thanks.

As many of you know, in April I became a MBTI Certified Practitioner. I have had such fun working with teams these last 6 weeks become stronger and more effective as they learn to appreciate their differences and use them to the benefit of the team and organization they work with. Starting in July I will begin work toward becoming a Master Practitioner. This requires two things from me: to take an additional 40 hours of classes and to work with individuals and groups for a total of 40 hours. This is where you come in! 

In spite of overcast skies, the OWLs had a fun and informative trip to Sugar Creek Bible camp in April. We saw several eagles on the trip down and enjoyed a wonderful program by Dick Campbell, who helped us “Remember the USS Indianapolis and Her Crew.” Everyone agreed we learned a great deal about the famous ship and its crew.

Back in February, our annual potluck led to our annual meeting where we had a robust discussion about a number of topics. One issue was whether our congregation should seek to purchase the ‘other’ house across Irvin Street. In 2011, we took advantage of an opportunity to purchase the house at 203 4th Ave South which has become a great location for small groups as well as providing space for the First Teen Clothes Closet that serves as our greatest outreach arm into the community. When 416 Irvin was listed for sale, many staff, leaders and neighbors wondered whether we were interested. As important as the result of our discussion was the process we followed in order to come to a decision.

While visits to the First Teen Clothes Closet were down in the first few weeks of the year, by the end of January, our requests were back to normal, with 4 guests in the last week of January and 20 guests during the month of February.

pring is one of my favorite times of the year. I love seeing people getting outside to walk, run and bike. I love being outside as the weather turns warm. I enjoy giving my attention to the growing plants—cleaning up around them, transplanting overgrown ones or trimming them back, knowing they will flourish better once the work is done. I know that as I put the work into my garden, it’s worth the effort and time, as I see the plants growing and blooming.

ince September, we have been considering, as a congregation, what it means that God welcomes us to “the table.” Our Lenten theme is centered upon this truth as well. We come to the table to be fed, for fellowship, to be known, to be included, to remember Sabbath, to celebrate… and there’s so much more. But these things, obviously don’t just happen at the church’s Altar Table. They also happen in our homes, at our dinner tables. God shows up in our feasts and our weeknights, over meatloaf and prime rib. These are the first two points we want to make about the table: that God shows up both at church and in your home.