Join us for Gethsemane's 154th annual meeting and potluck on Sunday January 31st following the 10a.m. service. There will also hold a dedication and blessing for the newly remodeled Gathering Room.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Shelf of Hope raffle at
this year's Diocesan Convention in Minneapolis. We are happy to say
that we raised nearly $300!
Without further ado, the raffle winners were Mary Lou Wiley and Kathleen Fischer.
Congratulations to both of you and to everyone for supporting such an important cause. We enjoyed talking with all of you about the Shelf of Hope and look forward to your continued support. Once again, thank you!
Without further ado, the raffle winners were Mary Lou Wiley and Kathleen Fischer.
Congratulations to both of you and to everyone for supporting such an important cause. We enjoyed talking with all of you about the Shelf of Hope and look forward to your continued support. Once again, thank you!
Hey Everyone! It's been a long time since this blog has been updated, but hopefully we'll be getting to that a bit more in the future. If you have a story you'd like to share, let me know!
There has been some serious work on the gathering room over the weekend. A number of volunteers (thanks Dale, Chris, Dave, Bob, Beth, Roger, Aron, Sonja, Christine, Charlie, Ben and more!) have been working tirelessly to strip and sand the floors in the gathering room.
It looks wonderful, and we can't wait for everyone to see it! We're not quite finished, but we're going to do some final sanding tomorrow before applying a few coats of polyurethane.
I snapped a couple pictures of the room in progress:
(ongoing list started by) Elaine Madigan
If 25 people show up on a Wednesday night to talk about stewardship....You just might be seeing God at work.
If a homeless man slips into the church on a cold winter day to warm up, and a year later he's starting a new church program...You just might be seeing God at work.
If a homeless shelter opens next door and needs three really big things you're not sure you can give them, and nobody blinks....You just might be seeing God at work
If a group of young people take over the Stewardship drive from the old folks...You just might be seeing God at work
If a passerby you don't even know shows up at the door with a beautiful framed picture of your church...You just might be seeing God at work.
If your mission committee decides to get people talking to each other after the service, and they are still talking 45 minutes later...You just might be seeing God at work.
If the lector schedule is so full that you don't read again for two months...You just might be seeing God at work.
If you don't know half the new people who have been showing up at church lately...You just might be seeing God at work.
If the best sermon you ever heard about love is given by a 27 year old who has never even been to seminary...You just might be seeing God at work.
If a church has gone for years without Bible study because there is no one to lead it, and suddenly not one, but two people, volunteer to do that...You just might be seeing God at work.
If people say they want to have a healing service, and the priest says he won't give his permission - because as members of the body of Christ, we don't need permission...You might just be seeing God at work.
If more people add to this list...You just might be seeing God at work!...
Heather Hunt has done amazing things for our music program and choir in the almost two years she has been employed at Gethsemane. I recently sat down with her to talk about our 151st or is it our 152nd Palm Sunday concert. She has a great desire to do something exciting and fun, something than maintains the tradition of quality, but reflects the reality of the community and ministry of the present. We got to talking about the extraordinarily skilled people in the Garden and begin to imagine a grand concert. She is currently working on the details, but we came up with three pieces that we believe were essential for its success.
First, the music, she would like to engage the congregation's skills and talents in that creative arena, of which we have many talented singers, musicians and artists. Let's make a concert that is made up of us, she said, made up of us. She gets it, we do not need to depend on experts or other peoples skills and talents because everything we need we have right here in our community. Second we thought it would be good to have a little reception following the concert, a time to be together, bask in the glow of something done well and celebrate the many years of tradition that has been maintained. Finally, the third piece is a marketing, getting the word out, so to speak, so people will come.
We estimated this would cost us $1500. That is it, $1000 for music, guests and other music related expenses, $200 for the reception, with some volunteer help of course, and $300 for advertising. Will you help us make the Palm Sunday concert, our annual celebration of Gethsemane, our "Patronal Feast Day", a success? If you can, please consider making a contribution to the Church, with Palm Sunday Concert in the memo line.
God is at work in our midst, and let's take this chance to celebrate the gifts of the congregation, and celebrate them together on this great festival day.
Be well,
Aron
First, the music, she would like to engage the congregation's skills and talents in that creative arena, of which we have many talented singers, musicians and artists. Let's make a concert that is made up of us, she said, made up of us. She gets it, we do not need to depend on experts or other peoples skills and talents because everything we need we have right here in our community. Second we thought it would be good to have a little reception following the concert, a time to be together, bask in the glow of something done well and celebrate the many years of tradition that has been maintained. Finally, the third piece is a marketing, getting the word out, so to speak, so people will come.
We estimated this would cost us $1500. That is it, $1000 for music, guests and other music related expenses, $200 for the reception, with some volunteer help of course, and $300 for advertising. Will you help us make the Palm Sunday concert, our annual celebration of Gethsemane, our "Patronal Feast Day", a success? If you can, please consider making a contribution to the Church, with Palm Sunday Concert in the memo line.
God is at work in our midst, and let's take this chance to celebrate the gifts of the congregation, and celebrate them together on this great festival day.
Be well,
Aron
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