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The Fjeldberg Outreach

Pastor David Cline-Interim Brent Stanek, Youth Director

Cell Ph: 515-984-0210 Cell Ph: 712-320-5252

[email protected] [email protected]

Fjeldberg Lutheran Church

Phone: 515-597-2831

[email protected]

www.fjeldberglutheran.org

In This Issue

Pastor’s Thoughts ..............................2 Council Meeting Summary ................3 Important Dates .................................5 New Office Secretary ........................5 Snow Removal...................................5 President’s Corner .............................6 WELCA Events .................................7 Stanek’s Youth Events ......................8 Worship Volunteers ...........................9 Calendar ...........................................10 Birthdays..........................................12 Special Folks/Anniversaries ............13 Financial Reports ....................... 14-16 Food Pantry Holiday Projects ..........17 We are Stewards ..............................18 Prayers of the Church ......................19 Faith Sisters .....................................19

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2014

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Vol. XXXII No. 12 December 2014

2

"God with us"

It is a bold declaration, it is light in darkness, it is why

we gather to give thanks every week, and it is more

than a promise! "God with us" means that whatever

might be happening in our lives does not have the last word. It means that

even those things we have deemed as good, they pale in comparison to

what awaits us. No, this is not about December 25th and the date of

Christmas. Rather that date and that celebration call on us to hope, to

open our eyes, to journey, to hear angels sing, and to join in the proclama-

tion of good news that is for all people: "God with us!"

I want to encourage you in December to worship and to invite a

friend to worship. Each Sunday in December we will move through

the season of Advent, a time of expectant waiting. We will light Advent

candles, hear the words of prophets, and prepare our lives by wading

through the noise of the world so that we might hear the cry of a babe,

and the presence of the Spirit that is always with us. On December 14,

the children of the congregation will lead worship as they retell the

Christmas story reminding us that this world is waiting for a Savior. And

on Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. we will gather to celebrate

the coming of Jesus!

God is with us, and because of that reality get ready to be surprised. 2015

will be an exciting year at Fjeldberg as we call a new Pastor and come

together throughout the year in celebration of 150 years of ministry. But I

suspect there will be more grace filled surprises as in the new year we

remember, rejoice, and renew being a community of faith. In the coming

months your witness, your stewardship, and your faithfulness in worship

and service will be the joyful response to one fact that is at the core of

who we are: GOD WITH US!

See you in worship and read the inside of this newsletter for some good

news!

Pastor Cline

19

LIVING IN HOMES OF ASSISTED CARE:

Ballard Creek Assisted Living: Edna

Heggen, Daisy Fjelland, Margie Quick, Edna Hellekson, Arnold & Vivian Larson

Madrid Home: Marge Blair, Helen Stensland, Eunita Stensland, Arlene Lande Story County Long Term Care: Irvin Allen The Waterford of Ames: Freda DeWitt

Prayers of healing for: Marge Blair, Helen Stensland All our Members who are hospitalized or recuperating at home.

Our Missionaries: Tim & Paula Tjernagel, MaKayla, Nathaniel and Hannah.

Our Youth

If you or a loved one would like to be added to our prayer list, please contact the church office at 597-2831.

Faith Sisters

Join us for Faith Sisters on December 14 and December 28. On Decem-

ber 14 we will meet at the church around 4:15 and tour the homes on

Huxley's Tour of Homes and then meet at Dawn Mather's around 6:15

for our holiday cookie/treat and recipe exchange.

On December 28 we will be at the church beginning at 6:00pm for a hot

drink (apple cider, coffee, cocoa) bar and a movie.

18

WE ARE STEWARDS - - - THANKS!!

In November we had 28 visitors drop off stewardship information

to almost every household. If you were not visited please call the

office and we will gladly mail the information to you.

WE ARE THRILLED TO REPORT that our fir st goal of re-

ceiving special year end gifts that will fully fund the anticipated

expenses for the call process as well as the needed seed money for

the 150th anniversary may very well be met! (As of this writing

we are within a few hundred dollars and we have yet to hear about

last Sunday’s offerings!) THANK YOU! Any additional funds

given will primarily be used to pay back insurance proceeds that

we have used as cash flow during the last year. Being able to

begin to pay back that fund is helpful not only for future needs but

for current cash flow needs.

WE ARE STEWARDS CALLED TO MISSION and we

would continue to encourage every member to fill out an in-

tention card for 2015. Our hope is that folks would consider a

significant growth in giving so our current ministry may be fully

funded. Together we can do this. Simply place your intention in

the offering plate this Sunday or the next. If you need an intention

card you may call the church office and we will send one right

out.

It will be important as we move into the next year that each of us

are faithful in worship, invitational in reaching out to others to be

part of the community of faith, and consistent in giving a portion

of what God has first given us. If you are interested in being part

of the “simply giving” program, where your intention would be

automatically taken from your account and given to the church

each month, that would be very helpful in meeting day to day

ministry needs.

3

October Approved Council Meeting Summary

Present: Dan Eklund, Pres; Bill Norris, VP; Kathy Wilson, Sec; Blane Thompson, Treas; Pastor Cline; Brent Stanek; Lorraine Hoffman; Chad Lovig; Doug Allen; Jan Nyhus; Lynne Bickelhaupt. Not Present: Tim Er-ickson. Reports 1. Secretary—September Council Minutes. A motion to approve the Sep-

tember 2014 Council Minutes was made by Doug Allen. Seconded by Chad Lovig. Motion carried.

2. Treasurer – September financial update. A motion to approve Septem-ber 2014 financials was made by Jan Nyhus. Seconded by Lorraine Hoffman. Motion carried.

Old Business 1. 150th Celebration Task Force— Motion to adopt proposal made by the

150th taskforce for the Fjeldberg 150th anniversary as long as there are the human resources available and with a portion of the revenue from these activities to go to Riverside was made by Tim Erickson. Second by Doug Allen. Motion carried.

2. New church Secretary—Michelle Levy was hired and her hours are 9:00 am to Noon Monday through Friday

3. History Day—This event went well.

4. Discernment update—The First round of meetings was held the week of October 6th. The meetings were well attended and discussions were good. Second round of meetings will be held the week of October 26th.

5. Stewardship Campaign—Stewardship Committee has met with Pastor Cline. They will proceed with the Stewardship Drive and will coordinate screen door visits as part of the drive for distribution of letters for Fjeld-berg members inviting them to participate in renewed stewardship and commitment to Fjeldberg’s future The visits will start the week of No-vember 9th.

New Business 1. Call Committee —Per the church constitution, the congregation will ap-

prove the Call Committee. The constitution wording is as follows: C13.04. When there is a Pastoral vacancy, A Call Committee of seven voting members shall be elected by the congregation at a congregational meeting specifically called for that purpose. There shall be at least two persons of high school age and at least one person over the age of 65 elected to the Call Committee. Term of office will terminate at the installa-tion of the newly called Pastor.

Cont’d on pg. 4

4

October Approved Council Meeting Summary

2. Congregational Meeting –A motion stating “Fjeldberg Church Council calls a special meeting Sunday, November 16th immediately following 9:00 am wor-ship service for the purpose of confirming the call committee and duly elect the call committee of 7 Fjeldberg members” was made by Chad Lovig. Se-conded by Tim Erickson. Motion carried.

Staff & Committee Reports 1. Blaine Thompson-2015 Budget—A preliminary budget for 2015 was dis-

cussed. Adjournment: Doug Allen moved and Lorraine Hoffman seconded to adjourn the

meeting. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 10:26 pm The Lord’s Prayer Next All Committee Meeting: Monday, Nov 17 at 6:30 p.m. Church Council: 7:15 p.m. Church Council: Thursday November 6 at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments & Devotions: Chad Lovig

Addendum to Minutes: DE

This item was approved by consensus of the church council via email on 10/28/2014 and will be added as an explanation in the Stewardship Drive mailing. To state for the record in regards to the one-time end of the year gifts to fund the Fjeldberg 150th Anniversary budget request and the expenses to “Call a Pastor” that the Fjeldberg Church Council would inform the congregation of the following:

"Gifts in excess of our need for the one-time 2015 budget items will be directed to the repayment of property insurance proceeds, the Tjernagel World Team Mission, and Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp".

Change of Secretary

We are in transition at Fjeldberg in regards to our Secretary. Michelle

had to leave the position due to personal reasons. While she was only

here a short time, she jumped right into the work and we are sorry that

circumstances prevent her from staying with us. Thanks be to God that

we have a number of members who are stepping forward to help. We

anticipate having a new person in this position in the next few weeks that

will bring considerable experience and familiarity to the job. In the

meantime we will attempt to do the basic work and please know that in

case of emergency you may call Pastor Cline on his cell phone at 515-984

-0210.

17

Holiday Projects from the Food Pantry

Share your Blessings

The Fjeldberg Social Concerns

Committee will be sponsoring holiday food baskets at

the Food Pantry as well as the Mitten Tree for chil-

dren’s gifts. If you would like to participate but prefer

not to shop, you may sponsor a holiday food bas-

ket. The basket of envelopes is at the back of the sanc-

tuary. Make checks payable to Huxley Food Pantry

and note “holiday baskets” on the memo line. The Mit-

ten Tree will be up on November 23. Each child will

list wishes and needs on a mitten. Make your selection

from the list of wants and needs provided. Please rec-

ord the number of the mitten that you have selected

along with your contact information. Attach the num-

bered mitten to the gift. Gifts can be left at the Food

Pantry or dropped off inside the north door of the

church. Gifts should not be wrapped, but if you wish to

provide wrapping paper and tape, please feel free to do

so. The gifts are due by December 8.

Thank you for sharing your gifts and spreading the

hope and joy of Christmas with those

less fortunate. Direct any questions to

Jackie Fjelland (685-3422) or Jackie

Rasmussen (597-3105).

16 5

Church Office Help Needed

We are looking for volunteers in

the church office Mon-Friday. If

you can help please contact Pastor Cline.

If you know of anyone that can fill the vacancy per-

manently, please have them send a resume to

[email protected].

Snow Removal

Volunteers Needed

In light of our current budget

constraints, the property

committee is requesting

members to consider volun-

teering for snow removal

this winter. If you have

snow removal equipment

and would be able to re-

move snow from either the

sidewalks around the

church, or the parking lots,

please contact any member

of the property committee:

Scott Hermann, Don Ri-

mathe, Steve Quick, Mark

Hokel, Joel Preston, and

Glen Bradfield.

The Call Committee was elect-

ed at a special meeting on Nov.

16th. Please keep the call com-

mittee in your prayers:

Sue Lande (Chair)

Heather Bristow

Don Rimathe (Co-Chair)

Thelma Ness

Clayton Poots

Dawn Mather

John Wilson

Christmas Eve

Worship Times

Wednesday, December 24th

4:00pm

10:00pm (candlelight service)

Please join us on

Christmas eve for

worship!

6

Today, Sunday November 23, 2014 is the last Sunday of the church calendar. It also coin-

cides with my last month of serving as president of the congregation.

As I look back over the past 24 months, I had to learn a lot to be president of Fjeldberg

Lutheran Church. I expected some change along the way. Some. We have had several

changes at Fjeldberg this year. And from the discernment process report it shows that we

are on the right track.

What I learned the most about being Lutheran the past 24 months, as Pastor Cline so

eloquently stated at the “class about the ELCA sexuality statement”, is that being Lutheran

means that we can “Agree to Disagree” and That is Okay! We are all human. We all make

mistakes, but what makes us Lutherans is our ability to accept each other as we are and

move on.

Our personal challenge is well stated in the Book of James in the New Testament. Chapter

One challenges our Faith and Wisdom, Chapter Two is a Warning against Partiality, Chap-

ter Three discusses Taming the Tongue. Chapter Four is about Taming the World and a

warning against judging one another. The final Chapter, Five, is about Patience in Suffer-

ing and the Prayer of Faith.

James 5: 7-8 “Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits

for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the

late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is

near.”

Pastor Cline had a great story about Faith in “The After-Service Fellowship Class” today in

the story of Abraham and his faith in God. Abraham was called by God to serve. We are

“called” to serve. We are “called” to serve and make a Joyful noise. We are “called” to

serve and to share our talents. We are “called” to serve our common man who is less

fortunate.

November 30 starts the Advent season. The start of the church calendar. Please use this

time to renew your faith. Thank God for all the good things that have come to you. We

have a wonderful Fjeldberg Family to be thankful for and supportive to one another. There

lies a great mission ahead for Fjeldberg. We have a wonderful milestone to celebrate next

year as a congregation in our 150th Anniversary.

I ask you to pray for the Call Committee as they seek our new pastor. I ask you to pray for

our church leadership team as they prepare to receive our new pastor. I ask you to pray for

our stewardship, as we continue the mission of the Fjeldberg Family. I humbly thank you

for your support and prayers this past two years.

In His Service

Dan Eklund

President’s Corner by Dan Eklund

15

14

December FJELDBERG

7

December WELCA Events

Thursday, Dec 4, 2014

9:30 a.m. All Groups meet in the Fire-

side Room. Pastor Cline will lead the

study.

(Bring cookies or Christmas Treats to

share during our coffee.) Short Business

Mtg.

1:30 p.m. Mary Group meets at

Ballard Creek Community

Transforming Life and Faith

Always Changing

Theme Verse for the Year

Romans 12:2b "...be transformed by the

renewing of your minds, so that you may

discern what is the will of God--what is

good and acceptable and perfect."

Session 4-Faith in the Family

Theme Verse: Acts 16:15

"When she and her household were bap-

tized, she urged us, saying, 'If you have

judged me to be faithful to the Lord,

come and stay at my home.' And she

prevailed upon us."

Main Texts: Deuteronomy 6:20-25

Acts 16:11-15

Acts 8:7-11

1 Corinthians 16:19-24

This month we will study about how

faith is formed in our families. This is a

great time for families to do special

things during the Advent season as we

wait those weeks for the birth of Jesus,

our Lord and Savior. Do you have Ad-

vent Candles? Do you read special Bible

verses as you light each one on each of

the Sundays? Do you talk about the

names and the meaning of the colors of

the candles? Another focal learning

point for families is a Nativity Scene.

Can you help your children or grandchil-

dren find the verses that go with the

shepherds, what the angels sang and

most special of all the verses telling of

Mary and Joseph finding the stable?

There are so many ways that we can

model and teach about faith in the spe-

cial church seasons of Advent and Lent.

What do you do? What more could you

do? Grandparents, aunts, and uncles

often have profound impact on children

in the most positive ways. There is a

great article about Martin Luther on p.

26. Aren't we glad that Martin Luther

became very upset about parents not

teaching their children and so wrote the

Catechism for teaching the children?

The parents were responsible and the

home was to be a center for study of the

Bible & the Christian Catechism. Back

in the 1600's in Sweden the pastor had to

keep a record of the progress that a fami-

ly was making in teaching the faith not

only to their children, but also farm help-

ers & housemaids. They had a Swedish

Household Exam. Wow! How well

would we do?

We will be sharing about those who

were teaching us and building faith for-

mation in our youth.

Pray for faith building in our own

families and in our Fjeldberg family.

Good things are happening. More

good things COULD BE happening.

8

Confirmation Craziness & Youth Activities

November was a crazy fun time for us as young people in the church.

With the confirmation students and leaders initiating a care package pro-

ject, helping with a very successful 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off, High

School students and adults taking in the wisdom of Aaron Thomas, the

Autumn Youth Service Auction, and the Sunday Schools preparations

for an awesome Christmas Worship experience. Our youth have been

incredible while engaging in our community. If you see them make sure

you thank them and encourage them to carry on and continue the great

work in our church, community, and schools!

Youth Christmas Worship

Sunday, December 14, will be a fun and exciting worship experience! I

hope you consider joining us as our Sunday School students share with

us the meaning of Christmas as we travel around the globe exploring the

traditions of different cultures. Directly following the worship service a

brunch will be served down in the fellowship hall. It will be an exciting

Christmas Around the World Tour that I hope you don’t miss out on!

Des Moines Care Packages for the Homeless Project

For the month of November our Confirmation students and leaders have

been gathering supplies to put into care packages that will be delivered

on December 14 at 1pm to people in need within the Des Moines Area.

If you are interested in assisting us in distributing or donating some of

the items we could use please contact Stanek. Some of the items we are

accepting: Wool Socks, Blankets, Ponchos, Snack Food, Hand Warm-

ers, Flashlights, Hats, Gloves, Scarves, Small Sewing Kits, Duct Tape, or

Gift Cards.

13

Special Folks 80 years old or older and couples

who have been married for 50 years or more

Clyde & Lois Hill will celebrate their 64nd

anniversary on 12/24.

Alice Sharpnack will celebrate her 83rd birthday on 12/21.

Harold Sharpnack will celebrate his 87th birthday on 12/2.

Helen Stensland will celebrate her 92nd birthday on 12/31.

Owen Kalsem will celebrate his 83rd birthday on 12/15.

December Anniversaries

6 — Jeff & Emily (Horan) O’Brien

9 — Arthur & Sharon (Weiss) Hitz

18 — Tim & Erica (Linn) Thorson

24 — Clyde & Lois Hill

31 — Kent & Elaine (Heimdal) Dory

If you wish to have your name added to the birthday list or your birth-

day is listed incorrectly, please contact the church office at 597-

2831.

12

1 — Kyle Chambers; Travis Jungst

2 — MaryLou Berhow; Timothy Linn; Harold Sharpnack,

Blane Thompson

3 — Nickolas Fjelland; Jacob Torkelson; Sharon Twedt

4 — Leonard Foley

7 — Mary Lande

8 — Glen Bradfield; Cythnia Egemo

9 — Aslynne Carriere

10 — Mary Hennick; Jacob Ihle; Janice Nyhus

11 — Blake Hughes; Charles Till

12 — Steven Lewis

13 — Melanie Hermann

15 — Owen Kalsem; Cedric Rigler

16 — Janice Vetter

17 — Angelia Holland

21 — Britany Cunningham; Samantha Holland;

Alice Sharpnack

23 — Sue Lande

24 — Elliot Dalton; Jackie Rasmussen

26 — Daphne Anderson; John Lande

27 — Chad Quick

28 — Dean Anderson; Candace Stensland

29 — Nancy Lilland

30 — Verda Tesdall

31 — Helen Stensland

December Birthdays

9

Altar Guild: Verda Tesdall

Hosts: Dec 7 Dec 14 Mark & Patty Hokel Dec 21 TJ & Rachel Bangs Dec 24 4pm 10pm Dec 28

Liturgists: Dec 7 Dec 21 Dec 24 4pm 10pm

Communion Assistants: Dec 7 a.) Jan Nyhus b.) c.) Dec 21 a.) Tami Manfull b.) c.)

Lectors (read scripture): Dec 7 Nate Briggs Dec 14 Lorraine Hoffman Dec 21 Cale Bangs Dec 24 4pm 10pm Dec 28

Power Point: Dec 7 Kathleen Wilson Dec 14 Dec 21 Dec 24 Dec 28

Acolytes: Dec 7 Jake Smith/Logan Volkmann Dec 14 Reilly Haworth/Allison Vetter Dec 21 Blaine Hermann/Allison Vetter Dec 24 4pm Jake Smith 10pm Blaine Hermann/Jocelyn Wilson Dec 28 Blaine Hermann/Allison Vetter

Nursery Volunteers: Nov 2 Reilly Hayworth/Abby Blomgren Dec 14 Dec 21 Dec 24 4pm 10pm Dec 28

Sound: Mel Vetter / Bill Hotchkiss

If you can help during Worship in December, please contact

the church office.

10

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

1

2 10:00am Staff Mtg.

1:00pm Sewing

Circle

3

5:30pm KIS meal

6:15pm Joyful Bells

6:30pm Confirmation

7:30pm Sr. Choir

7 9:00am Worship/Comm.

10:00am Coffee Fellowship

10:15am Sunday School (All

Ages)

10:15am Rebekah Group

8


1:00pm Sewing

Circle

10

5:30pm KIS meal

6:15pm Joyful Bells

6:30pm Confirma-

tion—Service Night

7:30pm Sr. Choir

14

9:00am Youth Lead Christ-

mas Service

10:15am Christmas Brunch

1:00pm Care Package deliv-

ery

4:15pm Faith Sisters (Tour

of Homes/Cookie

Exchange)

15 6:30pm All

Committee Mtg.

7:15pm Church

Council

Committee year-

end reports Due


1:00pm Sewing

Circle

17 5:30pm KIS meal

6:15pm Joyful Bells

6:30pm Confirmation

7:30pm Sr. Choir

21

9:00am Worship


22


1:00pm Sewing

Circle

24 4:00pmWorship

10:00pm Worship

No Confirmation or

KIS meal

28 9:00am Worship


10:15am Sunday School (All

Ages)

6:00pm Faith Sisters

29

Please bring year

end gifts to the

office by Wednes-

day.

30 31

No Confirmation or

KIS meal

Have a great New

Year!

December 2014

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

5:30pm KIS meal

6:15pm Joyful Bells

6:30pm Confirmation

Sr. Choir

4 1:30pm Bible Study

@ Ballard

Creek

5 Pastor’s Day Off

Stanek’s Day Off

6 7:00am Women’s Bible

Study-Jan

5:30pm KIS meal

6:15pm Joyful Bells

Confirma-

Service Night

Sr. Choir


@ Ballard

Creek


Stanek’s Day Off

13 7:00 am Women’s Bible

Study-Jan

5:30pm KIS meal

6:15pm Joyful Bells

Confirmation

Sr. Choir


@ Ballard

Creek


Stanek’s Day Off


Study-Jan

4:00pmWorship

10:00pm Worship

No Confirmation or

KIS meal

25

OFFICE CLOSED


Stanek’s Day Off


Study-Jan

No Confirmation or

KIS meal

Have a great New

December 2014

11

The Fjeldberg Outreach€¦ · 2015 will be an exciting year at Fjeldberg as we call a new Pastor...

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