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Public Gatherings are Suspended Until Further Notice. To stay up-to-date on Worship Service please follow us on Facebook or check

on the website: AtonementLutheran.org. Watch your email for updates.

Building Use As restrictions begin to lift the staff, clean team and property committee will

be working on guidelines to follow that will enable small groups to utilize the

building. We will be following the Minnesota Health Department and CDC

guidelines. This is for the protection of our staff and all people who frequent

the building. Stay tuned for further developments!

Atonement Newsletter 2020

Seeking Blood Donors This is a BIG request for Atonement members

to donate blood to the Red Cross Bloodmobile

on May 5th from 1:00 - 8:00 pm at Atonement.

Just one generous gift of blood can help save

several lives in this time of need. Call Red

Cross at 1-800­-RED CROSS (1-800­-733-2767)

for an appointment. No Walk-ins

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The story and picture that Pastor Tim shared with us in online

worship just a short time ago, of three disciples’ encounter

with Jesus on the road to and during dinner at Emmaus, has

become something of a theme story for Atonement. Mark

shares a pared-down version of that encounter in 16:12, but the well known version is Luke’s, 24:13-35. There is a lot to

love about that story, but the dynamic that underlines the

whole thing is the appearance of Jesus in the disciples’ lives

in the midst of their hopes seeming to be dashed. Walking and talking with Jesus, unaware

of who he is, the disciples try to explain the crucifixion story to Jesus himself: the ministry, the

power, the death, and the reports of his return. And their take on the whole thing? “We had

hoped…”

Not “We still hope” or “Nevertheless, we believe”. No, these disciples had hoped that Jesus

was the one who would redeem Israel, but even in light of the reports from some who had

seen him alive, they hoped no more. The disappointment and dissonance from what they

wanted and expected was too great for their hope to overcome.

We’ve had a lot of hopes dashed at Atonement in years past and now again,

acutely, in this pandemic:

We had hoped to hear a full slate of testimonies to how God comes near during our

Lenten series.

We had hoped to celebrate first communion with a group of our children on Maundy

Thursday and share a meal with our family, friends, and neighbors along with a

beautiful Easter worship.

We had hoped to finish our year of adult, youth, and children’s faith formation on a

high note and have time to reflect on which experiments worked and which needed

to be adjusted for next program year.

We had hoped to send our 12th graders out from high school into the next stage of

their lives with a blessing and gift in worship.

We had hoped to build on last year’s awesome VBS and camp connections.

We had hoped to send a group of our youth and adults to Branson to serve others

and grow in faith.

We had hoped to say thank you and Godspeed to our Celebration service and to

our Preschool at their endings after many years of faithful service to this congregation

and our neighbors.

We had hoped to keep serving and loving God and neighbor and each other in the

way have become quite good at and love to do.

And then we couldn’t.

Now, if that were the end of the story, it would be a pretty bleak Easter season. Just as it

would have been a pretty bleak walk to Emmaus if the three disciples had been walking

with someone who heard all that and said, ‘Ufda’.

Continued on Next Page

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But bleakness is not what the disciples met on the road to Emmaus, nor is it what we have

met here and now. Instead, Jesus walks alongside us and continues to be present with us.

We have seen great generosity, patience, and creativity from you and from people in our

community:

Our Church Council (especially our executive team of Dennis Plahn, Denise Boock,

Jennifer Lamberg, and Paulette Nathe, with help from stewardship chair Jason

Anhorn) has moved quickly to make decisions and take steps for our ministry that

are not based in fear, but in love of neighbor and trust that God will care give us

what we need.

Adult bible studies (as well as some of the youth and children’s ministry) are shifting to

Zoom and some are even growing.

Parents from our youth board met via Zoom with Youth Chair Chuck Lingl to talk not

just about not sending their kids to Branson, but how to make next year’s trip to the

ELCA National Youth Gathering exciting and attractive to kids who haven’t been

engaged in youth ministry since their confirmation.

Our partners in the Catholic parishes are exploring with us how we can reschedule (if

possible) Vacation Bible School to a different time rather than cancel this valuable

partnership and community service.

Members of our Missions and Worship boards, led by their chairs Lucy Thomas and

Chris Wills, are thinking creatively about how we can continue to help our neighbors

whose needs are greater than ours and how we can resume worship without

unnecessary risk when it is safe to do so.

Special ministries (like the quilters and card ministries) are looking for ways to serve

without gathering in the ways they used to do.

A team of members have stepped up to make calls to homebound folks who were

already lonely before the stay at home orders and are now even more isolated.

Another team (special thanks to Mike Engels, Adam Bauer, Marcus Anderson, Kris

Boyle, Sally Reichert, and Mata Carlson) has organized the copying and delivery of

our online worship services on DVD for those members who have no or limited

internet access.

And, that’s not half of what your pastors have seen the Holy Spirit leading us to do together!

We have a lot left to do and a long way to go before we get to the end of the road with

this pandemic. We don’t know how long it will take, or how far we will have to go into the

wild before we approach something that looks like normal. But we do know this. Jesus will

be walking beside us, opening our hearts and our ears and our eyes to the truth and power

of His love, and the peace, hope, and joy that are ours through the Holy Spirit no matter

what comes.

So stay safe. Say your prayers and wash your hands. We want everyone to be there when

we get together at the end of all this.

In Christ,

Your pastors

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Branson Youth Trip Addendum We are sad that the youth and adult chaperones won’t be going to Branson for their mission trip this summer. The kids worked hard on the planning and did a good job fundraising (thanks again to everyone who has given to the youth mission trip fund!), but this is the responsible choice at this time.

If you haven’t seen it, please read the article in this issue from our youth and parent leaders about steps they are already taking to use raised funds for future youth ministry mission trips - possibly this summer if health department directives allow and/or in conjunction with the National Youth Gathering next summer! In the meantime, families who need a refund of deposits paid toward the Branson trip may contact the church office.

Children’s Ministry Update — Sunday/Wednesday School

As we remain on stay at home orders, we will be unable to hold in-person Sunday or Wednesday school for the remainder of the year. We hope and do expect to resume Sunday/Wednesday programming in the fall and will take our cue from the local school district per our usual policy. In the meantime, check out the variety of resources on the Atonement webpage. In addition, children and their families are invited to join a weekly Zoom with one of the pastors. Based on parent feedback, these meetings will be at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. We will have check in time and a very short lesson, aiming to be done in 30 minutes of less. If participation makes this time too short, or creates need for additional sessions, we’ll call that one of our ‘Good Problems’ , and make necessary changes.

VBS We remain in conversation with Lisa Neu, the head of faith formation for the local Roman Catholic congregations, regarding VBS in 2020. We have consulted our volunteers, congregation leadership, educators, and medical professionals. In light of those conversations and the current instructions from the MN Dept of Health, we have decided that we will not hold a VBS in June of this year, but we will

continue to look for ways to safely hold VBS in August. We cannot commit to this plan until we have a better idea of what will be possible to do safely later this summer. If you have questions about or are interested in helping to plan and carry out a possible August 2020 VBS, please contact pr john.

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COVID-19 – YOU CAN HELP St. Cloud’s homeless population has increased during the

COVID-19 pandemic. We often wonder how we can safely

help these individuals. There are ways! Personal care kits

can be assembled and dropped each weekday from 2-5

p.m. at Lake George (you may need to drive around till you

find a gathering). You can hand out items from your car window, minimizing

risk. Personal care kits should include light-weight perishables, like granola or

protein bars, jerky, dried fruit, hand sanitizer, soap and sample-size items,

toothbrush and toothpaste, gift cards to fast-food and take-out restaurants,

peanut butter, snacks, and money. These items may be placed in a plastic

grocery bag. Separately, also, there is a need for pants, sweatpants and

shorts (for men or women), card games, adult coloring books with pens,

games, puzzles, and crossword books. Thanks for your contributions!

Remember to wear your rubber gloves and masks!

E-giving Our new online church community offers new and easy ways to give financially to support our ministries. Whether you want to set up a recurring gift or split your donation among different funds, Realm makes it safe and secure

to give online. We invite you to browse through the guide located on the Welcome Stand as you walk in to learn how to use giving in Realm. Below are instructions to download the Realm Connect App and manage your giving through the app. We hope you take advantage of this convenience. If you have any questions, please contact the office.

1. Download the Realm Connect app from your Android or iOS store

2. Sign in with your Realm login. Don’t have an account? Contact the

church office.

3. Tap Giving, and tap Make a Gift

4. Give any amount to the fund of your choosing

Text – To -Give Instructions

Text Atonement (any amount you wish to donate, Example Atonement50 to

give $50) to 73256 to give to General Fund using your text

messaging. Standard text message rates do apply.

QR Code For Egiving:

Scan the QR code and it will bring you automatically to the e-

giving form to donate.

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News for Amazon Customers: Atonement is on AmazonSmile

Atonement has recently registered with the AmazonSmile

program. When you designate Atonement as your charity of

choice, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchases at

smile.amazon.com to Atonement. To select Atonement as

your AmazonSmile Charitable Organization follow this

link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/41-6121873. If you are

already an Amazon customer, you can select Atonement,

while logged in to your customer account at

smile.amazon.com by searching for Atonement Lutheran Church in Saint

Cloud, MN. Please note that there are many Atonement Lutheran Churches

registered from other states.

Note from the Treasurer Denise Boock:

Many may have heard about the Coronavirus Aid,

Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES

Act”). One of the programs created by the CARES

Act was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This

program provides cash-flow assistance to employers

who maintain their payroll during the COVID-19

crisis. Unlike past Small Business Administration (SBA)

programs, the PPP was also made available to non-

profits and the loans have the ability to be fully

forgiven when used for payroll costs, interest on

mortgages, rent, and utilities.

Our giving at Atonement has declined in the last month since we haven't be

gathering together for worship. If you can give, please visit the Atonement

webpage and use one of the methods described there. Given the

uncertainty we face with giving, on April 2nd the Atonement council voted

unanimously to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program. Our loan

application was submitted, approved and funded on April 9th for $50,300. We

are confident we will meet the requirements in order for the loan to be

forgiven. However, our ministry continues to be dependent on you're

generous giving. Please take a moment now to consider your plan for

financial support of the ministry at Atonement and check into the many ways

you can give on the Atonement website. Thanks for your support!

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May Ministry of the Month

Central Minnesota Habitat for

Humanity (CMHFH) is a non-profit Christian organization that gathers

communities to transform lives through affordable homeownership. Habitat for

Humanity sells homes to qualified low-income families, with a mortgage they

can afford. Each partner family completes homeownership education classes

and 200 hours of sweat equity before they purchase their Habitat home.

CMHFH serves families in Benton, Stearns, Sherburne and Wright counties.

CMHFH was founded in 1989. In the last 30 years, CMHFH has built or

renovated 97 homes, impacting the lives of more than 470 people; 2/3 of

whom are children! CMHFH has also touched the lives of families in other

countries. CMHFH’s tithing program has helped build 99 homes in Costa Rica,

Paraguay, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

In the last 30 years, CMHFH has built or renovated 100 homes locally and more

than 100 homes in Central America!

This summer, CMHFH hopes to complete two projects: Veterans Build and Tiger

Build (partnership with Tech High School); and begin Faith Builds, sponsored in

part by Thrivent Financial. Volunteers will be needed for all three construction

sites (no experience necessary) or to provide lunch.

Atonement has been a faithful & generous partner to Habitat for Humanity for

many years! Your gifts continue to change the lives of Habitat homeowners

forever, by giving them strength, stability, and self-reliance. Thank you!

Youth Summer 2020 Trip Update

Members of Atonement,

As you know, many of the Atonement Youth

were planning on going to Branson this July.

Due to the unknown future regarding

COVID-19, we are cancelling our trip.

Because many congregation members

have donated to our trip, we will using those

funds to help pay for the youth to go to the

2021 ELCA Youth Gathering. Thank you all so much for your support of the

Atonement Youth as we preparing for this trip. Logan Eck

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Non-Profit Organization

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Permit No. 382

Atonement Lutheran Church 1144 29th Avenue North St. Cloud, MN 56303

1144 29th Avenue North, St. Cloud, MN 56303 Church Office: (320)-252-6203

Office Hours Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 3:30 pm

www.atonementlutheran.org

Atonement Lutheran Executive Committee & Staff

Office Hours Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Call the church office (320-252-6203) to reach the pastor on-call or (320-310-0822)

President Dennis Plahn daplahn@charter.net

Vice President Jennifer Lamberg jenlamberg26@gmail.com

Secretary Paulette Nathe pynathe@hotmail.com

Treasurer Denise Boock dbck089@gmail.com

Pastor John Gabrielson johng@atonementlutheran.org Phone Ext. 114

Pastor Tim Lindhorst TimL@atonementlutheran.org Phone Ext. 112

Office Administrator Celia Young office@atonementlutheran.org Phone Ext. 110

Adult Choir Director Eric Vollen Eric.vollen@gmail.com

Director of Music/Organist Marcia Handahl mhandahl@atonementlutheran.org

Celebration Worship Diane Wisniewski-Grzybowski geewiz11kids@gmail.com

Handbell Choir Director Al Marquardt abmarquardt756@gmail.com

Preschool Director Kathy Young atonementpreschool@gmail.com Phone Ext. 120