November 2008 Newsletter

In this issue:

• Our Logo: John Newton, Rector
• Reflections: Lori Goetz, Senior Warden
• Vestry Report: Ann Schwarz, Administrator
• 4th Monday Prayer
• Building and Grounds: Grant Fair
• Worship and Music: Jeff Kidder, Music Minister
• Nominations for Vestry and Diocesan Delegates
• On Holy Communion: Dave Langille, Priest Associate
• Flu Season and Your Good Health: Phyllis Bruce, Parish Health Committee
• Notices
• Upcoming Dates

Our Logo

John Newton, Rector

In the course of the past few weeks a number of people have asked me about the new logo they have been seeing on Messiah documents. Back in 2006 the vestry, on the initiative of the communication committee, agreed that we should look for a new logo. In the end the search took us to the Art & Graphic Design department of Northwestern College. Over the fall term a small class, led by their instructor John Printy, worked with us to develop a new design. Our vestry adopted the new logo, along with a complete "Identity Standards Guide", early in 2007. Please don't ask me why it has taken another year and a half to get it onto paper!

Two of the features that attracted me to the logo were its simplicity and its multiple symbolism. What stands out first for me is a human figure with arms uplifted in prayer and praise. The psalmist prayed, "Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place." Elsewhere we hear him exclaim, "I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." And the apostle Paul expressed his desire that Christians should pray "lifting up holy hands".

So it is that our logo displays Messiah as a community of prayer and of praise. Over my four years here I have heard many say how deeply moved they are by the worship that they find here, and that it was its vibrancy that brought them back. Part of what makes our worship as rich as it is, is that it is participatory. We come on Sunday mornings not as an audience, but actively seeking God's presence and power in our lives.

Less visible but equally important is the prayer that undergirds every facet of our life together. Every day of the week there are men and women who gather to pray for the worship and witness of the church, for healing for themselves and others, for families, for children and schools, for the wider community, and for our daily life and work.

Behind the praying figure is a symbol of the Trinity. Both our prayers and our praise are directed to the thriceholy God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We bow before him in worship and adoration. We bring our needs before him, and those of others, confident that he loves and hears us, and answers us often in ways more wonderful than we might ever have imagined. And we do all of this in the consciousness that it is this same glorious Trinitarian God who inspires and informs both our prayers and our praises in the first place.

It is possible to see the figure not only as ourselves in prayer, but also as our Lord with his arms outstretched on the cross. At the front of the church is a cross, and on it the figure of Christus Rex, our Lord Jesus Christ clad in kingly robes, put to death for our sins but now reigning in glory at the right hand of the Father. Referring to his impending crucifixion Jesus promised, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself." And so our logo depicts the crucified, risen and glorified Christ with arms open, drawing to himself people from every nation and every walk of life.

Finally, if you turn the logo upside down, you get a dove - the Holy Spirit descending on his people in power. May that same Spirit empower us to live out what is depicted in our logo!

Reflections

Lori Goetz, Senior Warden

Sometimes the task of communicating within the church resembles, in the words of the liturgy, "the vast expanse of interstellar space." There's a lot out there-how do we get at it? How do we best communicate the vast breadth of information which comprises the affairs of the church-relational, financial, theological, and institutional? Your rectors, staff, and vestry at Messiah have attempted to develop a repertoire of communication models to insure that you are informed. This is why we post a master calendar of church events, publish vestry meeting minutes and the church newsletter, maintain a church website, invite parishioners to attend vestry meetings as observers, and schedule state-of-the- parish meetings and annual meetings.

But our recent congregational-wide focus group discussions emphasized a second goal of communication which concerns church leadership-not only that parishioners are informed but that they are heard. Toward this end, your rector, John Newton, has made his "rector's forums" a regular feature of adult education. The vestry this year manned a table during coffee hour in order to speak to individual concerns (you may have utilized the "ask it basket"). Your junior warden, Charlie Clauss, has organized a parish-wide "Fourth Monday" prayer meeting for the purpose of engaging the congregation in the on-going task of spiritual discernment. And most recently, the Wednesday focus group discussions have allowed parishioners to reflect on recent developments in the Anglican Communion, proposed service-time changes, staff reductions, and ministry within and outside of Messiah.

Still, communication remains a vast challenge. When I am in a position of leadership in the home context, tempted to relax smugly in the knowledge that I've tied-up any communication glitches, I'm reminded that things are not always so straight-forward- despite my best intentions. I may have thought that both my communication plan and its execution were flawless. Yet, how many times have I shored up positive evidence of having said thus and such to my seventeen year daughter only to be met with "You didn't tell me to be home at six!" Conversely, how many times have I been mystified in learning that I had missed something from her-something she "quite clearly" told me?

There is, in communication, the possibility that efforts at shaping a plan have not been effective. There is also the possibility that despite best efforts and intentions to execute a comprehensive plan, things may go awry-particularly because it is often hard to achieve both clarity and graciousness. At Messiah, I think we all have worked hard these last years on shaping an effective plan and overseeing its gracious execution. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. But let's keep working in love and truth. The task of communication within the church, in both its mundane and profound dimensions, demands nothing less of us.

Vestry Report

Ann Schwarz, Administrator

At its regular October meeting, Messiah's Vestry agreed to refinance the present building mortgage (balance $899,716 as of 9/30/08) with the terms offered by Highland Bank (7.25% for five years). In addition, it agreed to use 60 percent of the Bishop Robert Wolterstorff bequest ($104,000) for the Building Fund, allowing up to $52,000 for principal pay down and keeping the remainder for monthly mortgage payments. The Vestry agreed to offer the congregation the opportunity to participate in this principal paydown. The Finance Committee (Rachael Arnott, Mary Lou Wiley, Grant Fair, Dan Glienke, and Ann Schwarz) has been authorized to make final arrangements with the bank. Imad Libbus of the Capital Campaign will direct congregational solicitation for the paydown.

The Vestry engaged in a lengthy discussion about Bishop Jim Jelinek's upcoming visit and what might be expected. Rector John Newton said he would be engaging the Bishop on the nature of our relationship and strains to it. Rector and Wardens met with the Bishop the following day to prepare for the Bishop's regular parochial visit the following Sunday and for his time with the Vestry on October 20.

At the special Vestry meeting with the Bishop on October 20, about 10 parishioners joined Vestry, Rector, Wardens and some staff members. At the Bishop's request three Vestry members (Charlie Clauss, Kristen Kidder, and Fred Jew) related their own very moving stories of Christian faith, of how the Lord worked and continues to work in their lives. Rector John Newton directed a few questions to the Bishop who answered them at length. The Bishop talked about the Lambeth Conference and its impact on him and his response to the Windsor process.

• He said he won't do incursions (crossing into another bishop's territory for Episcopal action).
• He said he is now much more aware of the consequences of his actions in consecrating a partnered homosexual bishop and that he thinks it would be better to wait for the mind of the communion.
• He said he has not authorized same-sex blessings but he doesn't stop individual priests from doing them.

The Bishop talked about his assumption that there would be some kind of covenant adopted as a glue for the Anglican Communion but that would take a long time. He gave his observations on why he thought some bishops had not come to Lambeth and he offered his perspective on voting to depose Bishop Robert Duncan.

Following the meetings close the Bishop answered some questions and those there gathered to pray for him.

Complete monthly meeting minutes and financial statements are available in the work room off the reception area and may be obtained by email from a.schwarz@messiahepiscopal.org. Parishioners are always welcome to attend Vestry meetings as observers and at other times are encouraged to bring questions and concerns to the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry members.

4th Monday Prayer

All are invited to prayer at Messiah the 4th Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m. These times of worship and prayer will concentrate on listening to God, asking him what we should pray for and seeking to receive from him the things we need. No prior experience necessary!

Building and Grounds

Grant Fair

Steadily, oh so steadily, the landscape appearance around the church building has improved over the last few seasons. The corner garden as well as the garden areas near the front doors started out as a vision of William McCully's and the engineering firm that employed him. It was a fabulous idea - use the rain water off the roof; distribute it through a sloping pipe system; and nourish a striking but hardy selection of plants and grasses. All this to maintain, we are hoping, a pleasing church entrance that requires minimum care.

Some adjustments in the system as well as the choice of plants have been necessary to get the plan underway. But throughout the last two growing seasons Laurie Koechlein has not given up. She and her faithful supporters, Susan Heil, the McCully family, Gretchen Winter, and Debbie Webster have led the campaign to establish an attractive border around the church building. And it is happening, right before our eyes! Only a fervent love for the Lord would keep them so determined to show off a "home quality" image for His house as though it were their own.

Last month a complementary addition to the garden was provided by a group of men and women known as the Messiah Sodbusters. This group brought in their own heavy equipment (or hired it) and purchased sod on their own to transform the boulevard along the length of Messiah property fronting Ford Parkway. No church funds were used in the making of this tranquil scene.

But getting there was not so tranquil. The city of Saint Paul did a fine job of identifying and removing two diseased trees in the boulevard. But they figured that no one would mind if the "stump" remains lingered for another year or two until city lumberjacks got around to the job of removing them (take-a-number - you've seen these numbers on the trees). However the general appearance of this strip threatened to change the Messiah corner from a look of "nestled in the forest" (our old set-back image) to "abandoned building".

The ad hoc group of sodbusters couldn't stand for that. The stumps were ground out; and the old sod removed so the entire boulevard could be leveled. The best Minnesota sod was delivered and carefully laid by a coordinated team of men on September 26. The effort spilled over into a re-leveling and fill-in of the side yard in the process. This side area will probably need to be seeded. (Any seed experimenters in the company?)

The essential daily watering of the new sod has been maintained these last four weeks by a special team including the Good Lord himself. For all this effort we owe thanksgiving to committee chair Fred Jew and his trusty side-kick bobCat; John Desharnais, Doug Goetz, Jim Olive, Grant, Sue, and Mike Fair, Dick Guiton, Larry Woods, John Horton, Sharon Armstrong, Dave Wiley, and as mentioned above Laurie Koechlein and Susan Heil. Thanks to them all.

Worship and Music

Jeff Kidder, Music Minister

Post-Sabbatical message from Jeff Kidder

I am glad to be back at Messiah after a wonderful Sabbatical time and appreciate the welcome I have received from so many of you. I am deeply grateful for the gift of this time and the opportunities these last four months have afforded me. I thank the vestry for granting me this opportunity and each one of you for your support and prayers.

I am particularly grateful to Paul Johnson, who ably took on the mantle of leadership in my absence and also to the Music Ministry Council who offered support and assistance to Paul.

I have written some reflections on my time away that I will make available for those who are interested.

A big thanks to all those who participated in our annual All Saints Festival on November 1st . We had a wonderful group of performers/participants again this year.

Festival Choir has started!

Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 - 8:00 (through Dec.17th). We'll sing on many of the Sundays during the remainder of November through the Advent season at the 9:00 and 11:00 services, also for the 11:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service and the 1st Sunday after Christmas - 10 a.m. Lessons and Carols - Service (Dec. 28th). We'd love to have more singers, so please consider joining us for this brief & special opportunity. Contact Jeff Kidder or just come to the Wednesday rehearsals at 6:30 p.m. in the choir loft. (If you are reluctant to join us because there is a particular rehearsal, Sunday or service for which you are not available to sing, just let Jeff know-we can work around that-but please don't let that keep you from participating).

Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist

Worship Committee is instituting a shift for the annual Thanksgiving Service this year. Due, in part, to addressing some declining attendance over the last number of years, and the desire to enable families to both participate in worship and celebrate Thanksgiving with their families & friends, we will have our Thanksgiving worship service on Wednesday, November 26th at 7:00 p.m. This service incorporates a special Messiah tradition of encouraging anyone present to stand and briefly give thanks to God for the blessings of the year past. It is a unique and inspiring service.

Advent is Coming!

Advent begins on Sunday, November 30th. Look for devotional materials in the bulletin & or Narthex on that Sunday to aid you in entering into this special season.

Worship Band

Instrumentalists & Vocalists accompany / lead music at the Sunday 9 & 11 worship services. Rehearsals are on Thursdays, 4:30-6:00.

Nominations for Vestry and Diocesan Delegates

Messiah's Vestry is seeking nominations for 6 Vestry positions and one warden position. Messiah's Vestry is the decision- making body of the church. There are 12 members (3 vacancies at present) who serve three-year staggered terms plus three wardens. Vestry nominees must be members in good standing of Messiah for at least one year and warden nominees need to have served on Vestry for one year. If you have a suggestion for Vestry member, warden, or diocesan delegate (see below) please submit the name and rationale and put it in the offering plate, submit it to Rector or Wardens (Lori Goetz, Charlie Clauss, and Mary Lou Wiley) or email it to a.schwarz@messiahepiscopal.org. A Vestry Nominations Committee consisting of outgoing Vestry members (Judy DesHarnais, Doug Henneman, and Gayle Miels), Wardens, and Rector will select a slate of nominees to present to Vestry and then to the parish at Messiah's Annual Meeting to be held on Monday, January 26, at 7 p.m.

The Nominating Committee will also be considering nominations for four positions as delegates to Minnesota's Episcopal Diocese to be elected at the church's Annual Meeting. This year's delegates will have the responsibility of voting on the next Bishop of Minnesota. Criteria for selection as diocesan delegate include having a life centered on Christ and a demonstrated commitment to the Messiah community.

On Holy Communion

Dave Langille, Priest Associate

What follows is the text of the teaching on World Communion Sunday as requested by a number of parishioners. What follows is the text of the teaching on World What follows is the text of the teaching on World Communion Sunday as requested by a number of parishioners.
Dave

They devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
Acts 2: 42-27

The "breaking of bread" was the practice of the earliest Christians. The term describes a specific and particular meal. The times, styles of worship and meeting places have changed, but the bread and the wine remain. The fist Christians had a living memory of Jesus in their midst, and they would share these stories and a love feast that included Holy Communion in their homes. By the second and third generations, the order or shape of the Lord's Supper had taken shape. The meaning of Holy Communion had become blurred by the Middle Ages, but was recovered by the English Reformers as they reached behind the excesses of the Medieval church to grasp hold of the practices of the universal, primitive and biblical church. That is why we as Anglicans consider ourselves to be Reformed Catholics.

In the Eucharist, we actively recall what began at Christ's last Passover. Jesus said, "Take eat this is my body, broken for you...This is my blood, shed for you, drink it to remember me." This is the Lord's Supper. Jesus initiated this meal and meets us, mysteriously, in Holy Communion. Eucharist means," to give thanks"; in this meal we remember Jesus and give thanks. Holy Communion is a service of thanksgiving for the unmerited, gracious and long-suffering love of the Holy Trinity for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The term Holy Communion comes to us from the Greek word Koinonia, "to have in common", to share with Christ and with each other. This meal, the bread and wine, are the bedrock of our common life. As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a sharing (koinonia) in the blood of Christ and is not the bread that we break a sharing a (koinonia) in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are on e body, for all partake of the one loaf (1 Cor 10:16-17.) And this is what Christians have done from that time to today, and what we do with Christians worldwide in our day.

We begin

We come to the Lord's Supper prepared to meet Jesus. It is a profound event. Throughout Anglican history - from the early Reformers, through the Wesley's, the 19th century Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics of the Episcopal Church-the day preceding a service of Holy Communion was a time of preparation and reflection. These believers's knew they would meet Jesus. As we begin our service we bind up our hopes, and focus our attention, in the ancient words of a prayer once reserved only for priests but moved into the service by the Reformer Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer: the Collect for Purity. Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Why Liturgy?

When entering an Episcopal Church there should be a sign that greets us saying, "People at Work". Liturgy means: the work (ergon) of the people (laos). Our service is a work of the people. It requires participation by and for all. It is not a performance by the altar party (priests, deacons, acolytes and crucifer) for an audience in the pews, with the occasional critic sprinkled in for good measure. There was a time, during the long era of medieval extremes, when the liturgical action occurred behind a screen that separated the ordained from the laity. On a feast day, if the people were fortunate, a priest would open a small door in the screen and allow the congregation to glimpse the host.

Who are the performers in our liturgy? All the people. Who is the audience? God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now participation of this kind is work, what cradle Episcopalian Robin Williams has called "pew aerobics". There is physical participation for we: sit, kneel, bow, stand, raise our hands, lay on hands, dance, walk, make peace, eat, drink and make the ancient baptismal sign of the cross. Our participation also includes verbal response, for there is much to say. We recite prayers, collects, creeds, responses and amens. And we sing: hymns, psalms, choruses, spirituals, anthems and all in a variety of languages, even with heavenly tongues as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance.
Liturgy is worship and far more than just rote, mindless repetition or simply going through the motions. Like many from non-liturgical backgrounds, growing up where and when I did I had those very suspicions about my Anglican neighbours. Did they really mean what they said every Sunday? I want to say that yes, we at Messiah mean all that we say. May it be so! Because Holy Communion engages the senses we can say what the eyewitnesses of Jesus said about his presence with them: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. 1 John 1.1. Let us so encounter Jesus in this holy liturgy and blessed sacrament.

The Place Between Liturgies

There is a space in our liturgy between two liturgies, Word and Sacrament, the Evangelical and Catholic. We hold them together in the same service as a unity. We began with the "Word of God" and move to "Holy Communion." The order of our liturgy has remained the same since ancient times. The earliest Christians borrowed the Liturgy of the Word from their own Jewish tradition, patterning their service on the lectionary-based worship of temple and synagogue. So, we too listen to scripture and hear it proclaimed in preaching. To the latter we respond with the recitation of the Creed (Nicene or Apostle's), the historic summary of our faith. Many ask why the Creed falls where it does in the liturgy. The Creed provides both preacher and congregation a boundary. It's placement after the sermon asks, "Does what was just preached align within the historic and biblical understanding of the church?" In our prayers and intercessions we pray for the Universal Church and the Anglican Communion, for the Mission of our church and its members, for the Nation and those in authority over us, for the welfare of our global community, concerns of the local community, for those who are troubled or suffer, for the dearly departed and, in silence or aloud, we name before God those on our hearts.

And We Confess

Confession is the bridge between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Table. We respond to the Word in Creedal preaching with a heightened selfawareness. Therefore, we "wash our hands and hearts" before we eat recommitting ourselves to lives of holiness. Sanctification, healing and transformation come through the honest acknowledgement of sin and the paying attention to our lives. The heart, knowing its constant need for grace, cries out to God. Believer's still sin. It affects the church and our neighbor too. Knowing that we are not alone, that we are in spiritual relations with each other reminds us of whom it is against we sin. It also reminds us of the common bonds of affection between us. Moreover, as my wife teaches her second graders, "we sink or swim in this together I need your forgiveness is I', going to change. I must forgive you if you are going to make it as well. That is why we pass the peace each Sunday, after confession and before we experience the presence of Christ in the breaking of bread. This mutual confession provides a common identity to the whole pilgrim people, the church, moving onward in mutual brokenness and renovation to thee day of peace. In Confession and Absolution God offers us vertical reconciliation with himself; in passing the peace we receive horizontal reconciliation with each other. The Peace is not so much a time of fellowship as an act of obedience. As Jesus reminds us in Mt 5:23-24, if we remember we have something against another believer, we are to settle the issue before we can return to the altar. The Offertory is also an act of worship, as the Bread and Wine are processed from the people and presented at the altar. With the gifts of our substance, we acknowledge our need of Almighty God, and respond to His grace.

Holy Eucharist

In ancient times the newly converted believers would leave the service at this point in the liturgy. These Catechumens left for instruction for Baptism and First Communion at the Easter Vigil. In Cranmer's England communicants gathered around the Altar Table, on their knees. We, as a congregation, move spiritually. We are called to, "Lift up our hearts to the Lord." We move out of time into eternity as, "we join our voices with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven", the whole Communion of Saints. In the Eucharistic Prayer and the Great Thanksgiving we recall salvation history in Christ's Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Here the Words of Institution are recited, perhaps the earliest words of Jesus recorded for the church. As Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 11:23-26: For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup. Saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me: For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

The Eucharistic prayer closes with asking the Holy Spirit to make inward these outward and visible signs. That we feed inwardly on the Bread of Life. Cranmer wrote in his first Prayer Book (1552): For...the benefit is great, if with a true and penitent heart and living faith we receive the Holy Sacrament; (for when we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood; then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us; we are one with Christ and Christ with us)...And to the end that we should always remember the exceeding great love of our Master, and only Savior Jesus Christ, this dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by his precious bloodshedding he hath obtained to us; he hath instituted and ordained holy mysteries, as pledges of his love, and for a continual remembrance of his death, to our great and endless comfort.

Holy Communion is a profound event.

This is our altar call; we come and surrender our lives to Jesus.

With him it is Holy Thursday, at his Last Passover.

With Him it is Good Friday, beneath the cross of Christ.

With Him it is Easter morning, with the living Christ.

With Him it is a foretaste of His return, with the Lord at the marriage Supper of the Lamb.

All those who hunger, all those who thirst, come to Jesus!

Go into the World in Peace

At the conclusion of the service of Holy Communion we know that we have been with Jesus. We have prepared ourselves, we have participated and finally we part. Some, knowing how the liturgical game ends (or in the case of football fans, wanting to see how the Vikings game ends) leave early to beat the traffic. But parting as a community is the last liturgical act. We go out together verbally, visually and vocationally. Called to take out into the world what we have experienced, we part to go into the world living these words: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

In what strength do we go? That very power we have been graced with in Holy Communion. Amen!

Flu Season and Your Good Health

Phyllis Bruce, Parish Health Committee

I hope you have been enjoying this beautiful fall as I have. As the leaves fall faster, the temperatures drop lower and the wind chills get colder, it is time to get that yearly flu shot. It would be great if we could just get one and have it last for many years, but those nasty viruses are constantly changing. It is typical for new strains of viruses to appear each year. The flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. The vaccine can protect you from getting sick from these three viruses or it can make your illness milder if you get a different flu virus. Influenza is a serious illness and it spreads rapidly, so to protect yourself, your family and those whom you come in contact with, you do need a flu shot. This year, it is reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the supply of vaccine will be available with an all-time high supply making it possible for more people than ever to seek protection from the flu. If you are between the ages of 6 months to 100+, you should get a flu shot.

Flu season usually peaks in February but influenza viruses can continue to cause illness into the spring. If you miss the fall shots, it is still good to receive the influenza vaccine in December or January. Because we don't live in bubble, you have to take the responsibility to protect yourself. Yes, shaking hands can spread the virus, but so can using a door knob, holding a dinner menu, grabbing a hand rail, or anything else you touch! So here's the reminder to wash those hands frequently, keep antibacterial cleanser in your purse or pocket, eat those 5-9 fruits and veges a day and get some exercise.

The Centers for Disease Control have a web site - www.cdc.gov/flu/2008-09, where you can find great information about this years flu shots, prevention, and recognizing symptoms of flu vs. a cold.

May you know that the Lord is always with you, therefore your hearts can be glad, your souls can rejoice and your bodies can rest secure. (my paraphrase of Psalm 16:8-9)

Be well and rejoice!!

Notices

In Memoriam Thanks

Thank you to donors who gave gifts to Messiah this past quarter in memory of: John Mueller, Sr. and J. Fredric Wiebusch.

Souls4Souls Thanks

Thank you to all who gave shoes for the Diocesan shoe drive. Messiah contributed 1,800 pairs of shoes at the Diocesan convention.

Haiti Scholarship and Food Program Thanks

Thank you to all who contributed to the Haiti scholarship and food program. Messiah collected $14,025 to provide tuition, school supplies and lunch for students in the St Croix Parish Leogane area.

Work Day Thanks

Thank you to all who contributed time, energy and skills on October 4 to paint, clean and make repairs to our building.

Upcoming Dates

Friday, November 14th: Ice Skating at the Roseville Oval at 7:45pm.

Wednesday, November 26th: Thanksgiving Eve service at 7:00pm.

Sunday, November 28th: First Sunday in Advent