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Faith Lutheran Church, Swanburg
10973 County Rd.1,
Pine River, MN 56474
Address Service Requested
2018
United we Stand
"We Serve God by Serving Others"
CHURCH in the WOODS Newsletter
Catch the Spirit, come worship with us!
Faith Lutheran Church, Swanburg
10973 Co, Rd, 1
Pine River MN 56474
Church (218) 543-4878
email: [email protected]
Web Site: www.faithswanburg.com
Pastor: Rev. Joan Gunderman
Web Master: Steve Braker
Editor: Janis Allen
For Prayer Chain call 218.543.6339
Layman’s Ten Commandments
1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out
when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that
directs the right path throughout the journey.
2] So why is a Car's WINDSHIELD so large & the
Rear View Mirror so small? Because our PAST is
not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead
and Move on.
3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes a few
minutes to burn, but it takes years to write.
4] All things in life are temporary. If going well,
enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong,
don't worry, they can't last long either.
5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are
Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the
Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always
need a Base of Gold!
6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the
end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax,
sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!
7] When GOD solves your problems, you have
faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve
your problems HE has faith in your abilities.
8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be
anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied:
"Yes, losing your vision!"
9] When you pray for others, God listens to you
and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are
safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed
for you.
10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's
TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak
kindly. Leave the rest to God.
Our new home
A preacher who had always feared death felt
powerless to comfort others who were facing it.
Toward the end of his life, he moved to another
house. When all the furniture had been packed, he
lingered in the home where he’d raised his children
and prepared many sermons. An assistant
interrupted those reflections by saying,
“Everything’s gone, sir, but the new house is better
than this one. Come away.”
The preacher never forgot this lesson. God has
prepared for his children a home infinitely better
than earth — “an eternal house in heaven, not built
by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1, NIV).
3
Please continue to pray for these persons who have
ongoing health problems: Pat Welf, Don Peterson,
David Satherlie, Brian Busby, Bub Moser, Carol
Carlson, Michael Edman, and Dave Bollie.
Tim Petschl had an incident with his wheel chair
and broke his leg. He had surgery to fix it. Please
keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy
recovery.
David Satherlie had complications from kidney
stone surgery and was sent back to the ER with a
fever and poor vital signs. He has pneumonia.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Dave Bollie found out that his cancer may have
spread to his lymph glands. Please keep him and
Donna in your thoughts and prayers.
Howard Peterson fell on the ice and broke his hip.
He had surgery and is now at the Good Samaritan
home for physical therapy. Please keep Howard in
your thoughts and prayers.
Blake Goldenstein was in St. Cloud hospital with
heart and kidney failure. He is no undergoing more
tests. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Anniversaries
February
06 – David & Anicia Peterson
22 – Bubby & Arlyn Carlson (69)
22 – Travis & Jaime Erickson
28 – Tom and Jo Swoverland
Treasurer’s Report: December 1-31 2017
General fund Income: $8,129.65
General fund Expenses: $4,436.06
$ 3,693.59
Birthdays
February
02—Dylan Raph
02 – Gary Raph
03 – Denise Carlson
03 – Meggan Satherlie
06 – Pam Anderson
08 – Duane Baker
10 – Ann Raph
15 – Judy Raph
17 – Nathan Shetka
20 – Jesse Anderson
21 – Blair Raph
21 – Scott Rubey
22 – Holly Kline
22 – Cynthia Raph
22 – Aaron Sheffield
26 – Jill Goldenstein Wisner
As February begins we can already notice the
longer daylight. Now, thankfully, it’s not quite so
dark when driving on choir nights.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 14th.
The choir is brushing up on some Lenten music and
choosing our Easter anthem. Lately, we’re down to
about five members. We’d really like to have a few
more singers. I’ll keep praying, ok?
See you in church!
In harmony,
JMB
When we share music we share a part of ourselves,
probably the best part.
4
Current for Curran
Dear Friends,
As you know the solar project at Phebe Hospital is
successfully generating power. In November, 11 of
us traveled to Phebe to celebration the formal
dedication of the system. It was an awesome event.
As part of the trip we traveled to Curran Hospital in
ZorZor, which is about 45 miles north of Phebe, but
takes about 3 hours to travel to. That gives you
some idea of the condition of the road. ZorZor is
about a 30 minute drive from the Guinea border so
many of the patients Curran treats come from there.
Curran will be the next recipient of a solar array
similar to the one at Phebe. The solar panels for the
array have been donated by First Solar, over
$40,000 has been received from Women of the
ELCA through the generous donations at the
Triennial events in Minneapolis and just this week a
donation of $2,000 was given that required a match
before it would be received. Generous folks came
forward and donated over $3,400.
We need to raise an additional $200,000 hopefully
by Easter (86 days) Below is a simple fundraising
idea I got when I gave a presentation for the East
Central Wisconsin Synod Women of the ELCA in
November. I hope you will consider using it in your
church or organization. Perhaps you can even find
donor(s) who will match a portion of the donations
collected.
Blessings on your day
Mary Jo Mettler
Fundraising Idea:
This idea came from the East Central Wisconsin
Synod women. The object is to "sell" each rectangle
for $20. A filled board generates $500. To generate
additional funds "sell" the rectangles more than
once and/or get someone to provide matching
dollars.
• Purchase a 20"x30" sheet of black poster
board.
• Use narrow gray duct tape to divide it into
25 rectangles and also wrap the edges with
the duct tape.
• Use a gray Sharpie pen to make the vertical
broken lines.
• Create a description sheet, a cute sun and
purchase some stickers of the sun. The
stickers can be used to show that a panel has
been purchased. If you have enough donors
to fill the board more than once just put
more stickers on each panel. Have fun with
it.
• Contact Mary Jo Mettler at
[email protected] and she will send
you an electronic copy of her description
and sun plus a vendor for stickers.
“What Do I Have?”
What do I have, Lord, that you would need me as a
servant?
Eyes, he said,
to see the beauty in all that I’ve made —
and my children as they travel life’s highway.
Hands, he said,
to reach out and touch hurting souls,
to give a hug or encouraging pat on the back.
Feet, he said,
to lead my children through this world of strife
and to help them run from sin and follow me.
Mouth, he said,
to lift up your voice and sing praises to me
so others may hear the joy in your heart.
Ears, he said,
to listen to my still, small voice of love
and to hear my children when they cry for help.
Heart, he said,
so you may know the full love of my Spirit
and love my children as I have loved you.
—Thomas Butler
Kindness when given away, keeps coming back.
5
QUESTIONS?
Can you cry under water?
How important does a person have to be before they
are considered assassinated instead of just
murdered?
Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but
it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that
extra penny going to?
Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the
clothes you were buried in for eternity?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
What disease did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we
figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on
luggage?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby"
when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a
hearing?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then
put money in binoculars to look at things on the
ground?
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the
toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human
being would eat?
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there
a stupid song about him?
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool
lane?
If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a
radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a
boat?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on
all fours? They're both dogs!
If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that
ACME stuff, why didn't he just buy dinner?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is
made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality
come from morons?
Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little
Star have the same tune?
Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's
face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for
a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
Meeting needs
“My neighbor’s material needs are my spiritual
needs,” said 19th-century theologian Israel Salanter.
In other words, when someone else suffers hunger
and poverty, when people endure a natural disaster
and lack shelter, when another human being is sick
or injured — in all such cases, God calls us to
action. And God knows that whatever we do to
meet those material needs will meet our spiritual
needs at the same time.
It might be our spiritual need to expand our
horizons into neighborhoods, cultures or situations
where we’re uncomfortable. We might need to grow
in love for people different from us. By serving
others, we might find our own sagging spirits
nurtured with a sense of well-being or even joy.
And as we reach out to help, surely we’ll notice
others doing the same thing, and our spiritual need
for renewed faith will be met.
—Heidi Mann
Every day is a gift! That is why they call it the
“present”!
6
Faith Lutheran Church
Council Meeting
Minutes of December 10, 2017
Pastor Joan led the opening prayer. An addition to
the agenda was added regarding a change in the
colors of our Christmas tree lights.
The minutes were presented for approval. Bonnie
Geiger made a motion to accept them, seconded by
Bill Korman. The motion carried by all. Bob
Bergman offered a financial report. Two offerings
were taken during this service—one for our church
and one for Teen Challenge. Tracy Raph moved to
accept the financial report, seconded by Art
Feierabend. The motion carried by all.
Pastor Joan gave an upbeat report on all the
activities coming up. She also reported that the lay
communion went well, that a baptism is coming up
on the 7th. She advised the board that funerals will
still be available to members for six months to a
year, as well as Communion Sundays until the time
of her move. The Bishop will be at our next service.
He has suggestions for finding pastoral services
from community churches, in particular, Outing. He
also stated that lay persons should not preside over
the sacrament of communion, and supplied a list of
denominations that would be acceptable. All
positions are covered for January and February, but
a third person is still needed for communion and at
the rail. Bob Bergman will be deacon for January.
Old Business: A model of the constitution is on our
website. Loni will get a copy for all to read and
provide input as we will need to vote on it. Tracy
Raph reported that he has found a source where he
can obtain our light bulbs for a 20% discount.
Bonnie Schlapkohl reported that the website for the
Circle can be found at www.faithswanburg.com
(under faith and worship).
New Business: Loni reported that the ELCA came
out with a social statement on women and justice.
She has read it and urges all of us to make a point to
read it. The ELCA is looking for feedback and
wants to know our reactions to it. Loni will print it
out and have it available.
After the Lord’s Prayer, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Bunny Geiger, Secretary
10 biblical ways to love 1. Listen without interrupting. “To answer before
listening — that is folly and shame” (Proverbs
18:13).
2. Speak without accusing. “Be quick to listen, slow
to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).
3. Give without selfishness. “The righteous give
without sparing” (Proverbs 21:26).
4. Pray without ceasing. “We have not stopped
praying for you” (Colossians 1:9).
5. Answer without arguing. “Better a dry crust with
peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with
strife” (Proverbs 17:1).
6. Share without pretending. “Speaking the truth in
love, we will grow to become in every respect the
mature body of … Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
7. Enjoy without complaining. “Do everything
without grumbling or arguing” (Philippians 2:14).
8. Trust without wavering. “[Love] always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1
Corinthians 13:7).
9. Forgive without punishing. “Forgive as the Lord
forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
10. Promise without forgetting. “A longing fulfilled
is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
7
Be More Satisfied with Your Life
1. Get out in nature. You probably seriously
underestimate how important this is. (Actually,
there’s research that says you do.) being in nature
reduces stress, makes you more creative, improves
your memory and may even make you a better
person.
2. Exercise. We all know how important this is,
but few people do it consistently. Other than health
benefits too numerous to mention, exercise makes
you smarter, happier, improves sleep, increases
libido and makes you feel better about your body. A
Harvard study that has tracked a group of men more
than 70 years identified it as one of the secrets to a
good life.
3. Spend time with friends and family. Harvard
happiness expert Daniel Gilbert identified this as
one of the biggest sources of happiness in our lives.
Relationships are worth more than you think
(approximately an extra $131,232 a year.) Not
feeling socially connected can make you more
stupid and kill you. Loneliness can lead to heart
attack, stroke and diabetes. The longest lived people
on the planet all place a strong emphasis on social
engagement and that good relationships are more
important to a long life than even exercise. Friends
are key to improving your life. Share good news
and enthusiastically respond when others share
good news with you to improve your relationships.
Want to instantly be happier? Do something kind
for them.
4. Express gratitude. It will make you happier. It
will improve your relationships. It can make you a
better person. It can make life better for everyone
around you.
5. Meditate. Meditation can increase happiness,
meaning in life, social support and attention span
while reducing anger, anxiety, depression and
fatigue. Along similar lines, prayer can make you
feel better—even if you’re not religious.
6. Get enough sleep. You can’t cheat yourself on
sleep and not have it affect you. Being tired actually
makes it harder to be happy. Lack of sleep equals
more likely to get sick. “Sleeping on it” does
improve decision making. Lack of sleep can make
you more likely to behave unethically. There is such
a thing as beauty sleep. Naps are great too. Naps
increase alertness and performance on the job,
enhance learning ability and purge negative
emotions while enhancing positive ones. (Perhaps
the Minnesota Vikings didn’t get enough sleep!)
7. Challenge yourself. Learning another language
can keep your mind sharp. Music lessons increase
intelligence. Challenging your beliefs strengthens
your mind. Increasing will power just takes a little
effort each day and it’s more responsible for your
success than IQ. Not getting an education or taking
advantage of opportunities are two of the things
people look back on their lives and regret the most.
8. Laugh. People who use humor to cope with
stress have better immune systems, reduced risk of
heart attack and stroke, experience less pain during
dental work and live longer. Laughter should be like
a daily vitamin. Just reminiscing about funny
moments can improve your relationships. Humor
has many benefits.
9. Touch someone. Touching can reduce stress,
improve team performance, and help you be
persuasive. Hugs make you happier. Touching may
help prevent heart attacks and cancer, improve your
immune system and extend your life.
10. Be optimistic. Optimism can make you
healthier, happier and extend your life. The Army
teaches it in order to increase mental toughness in
soldiers. Being overconfident improves
performance.
8
Do You Remember?
The perfect age is somewhere between old enough
to know better and too young to care? How about a
double dog dare?
Candy cigarettes, wax coke-shaped bottles with
colored sugar water inside, soda pop machines that
dispensed glass bottles, coffee shops with tableside
jukeboxes?
Blackjack, Clove, Juicy Fruit, and Teaberry
chewing gum. Home milk delivery in glass bottles
with cardboard stoppers, newsreels before the
movie?
P.F. Fliers, Telephone numbers with a word
prefix…(Raymond 4-601), Party lines, peashooters,
Howdy Dowdy, 45 rpm records, green stamps, Hi-
Fi’s?
Metal ice cube trays with levers, mimeograph
paper, Beanie and Cecil, roller-skate keys, cork pop
guns, drive ins, Studebakers, washtub wringers, the
fuller Brush man?
Reel-to-reel tape recorders, Tinkertoys, erector sets,
the Fort Apache play set, Lincoln logs, 15 cent
McDonald hamburgers, 5 cent packs of baseball
cards – with that awful pink slab of bubble gum,
penny candy, 35 cent a gallon gasoline, Jiffy pop
popcorn?
Do you remember a time when…decisions were
made by going eeny-meeny-miney-moe? Mistakes
were corrected by simply exclaiming, “do over!”?
“Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the
fastest?
Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire
evening? It wasn’t odd to have two or three “Best
Friends”? Having a weapon in school meant being
caught with a slingshot?
A foot of snow was a dream come true? Saturday
morning cartoons weren’t 30-minute commercials
for action figures? “Oly-oly-oxen-free” made
perfect sense? Spinning around, getting dizzy, and
falling down was cause for giggles?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for
a team? War was a car game? Baseball cards in the
spokes transformed any bike into a motocycle?
Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable
aspirin? Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?
If you can remember most or all of these, then you
have lived! Now I double-dog-dare you to share this
with your friends and family.
Why we Love children
1) NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one
warm summer evening when a woman in the
convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She
was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I
heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat,
'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'
2) OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his
teacher a note from his mother. The note read, 'The
opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily
those of his parents.'
3) KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of
the bottle. During her struggle the phone rang so she
asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone.
'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you
right now. She's hitting the bottle.'
4) MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself
in the women's locker room. When he was spotted,
the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing
towels and running for cover. The little boy
watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the
matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'
5) POLICE # 1
While taking a routine vandalism report at an
elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl
about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my
uniform, she asked, 'Are you a cop? Yes,' I
answered and continued writing the report. My
mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the
9
police. Is that right?' 'Yes, that's right,' I told her.
'Well, then,' she said as she extended her foot
toward me, 'would you please tie my shoe?'
6) POLICE # 2
It was the end of the day when I parked my police
van in front of the station. As I gathered my
equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and
I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you
got back there?' he asked. 'It sure is,' I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the
back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'
7) ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers
lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-
year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was
unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of
old age, particularly the canes, walkers and
wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of
false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for
the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely
turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never
believe this!'
8) DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a
party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo,
she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.'
'And why not, darling?' 'You know that it always
gives you a headache the next morning.'
9) DEATH
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his
church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer
that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-
year-old son and his playmates had found a dead
robin. Feeling that proper burial should be
performed, they had secured a small box and cotton
batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the
disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was
chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with
sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he
thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the
Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he
goooes.' (I want this line used at my funeral!)
10) SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of
school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her
mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let
me talk!'
11) BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was
fascinated as he fingered through the old pages.
Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible He picked
up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an
old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out.
'What have you got there, dear?' With astonishment
in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's
Adam 's underwear!'
Worried Boss
The boss wondered why one of his most valued
employees was absent but had not phoned in sick.
So he dialed the employee's home phone number
and was greeted with a child's whisper. 'Hello? ' Is
your daddy home?' 'Yes, he's out in the garden,'
whispered the small voice. 'May I talk with him?'
The child whispered, 'No.'
So the boss asked, 'Well, is your Mommy there?'
'Yes, she's out in the garden too '. The boss asked;
'May I talk with her?' Again the small voice
whispered, 'No.' Hoping there was somebody with
whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, 'Is
anybody else there?' 'Yes,' whispered the child, 'a
policeman.. '
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his
employee's home, the boss asked, 'May I speak with
the policeman?' 'No, he's busy, ' whispered the child.
'Busy doing what?' 'Talking to Daddy and Mommy
and the police dog men. ' Growing more worried as
he heard a loud noise in the background, the boss
asked, 'What is that noise?' 'It's a helicopter '
answered the whispering voice.
'What is going on there?' demanded the boss, now
truly apprehensive. "The search team just landed a
helicopter."
'A search team?' said the boss. 'What are they
searching for?' Still whispering, the young voice
replied with a muffled giggle.... "ME!"
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1.
2 3
4 Rev Amy
Odgren Bishops
assistant
Worship Schedule
9:30 Worship
Holy Communion
5 A.A.,Alanon 7 pm
Crosslake Lutheran
Church, Crosslake
6 7 Choir 5:00 p.m.
8 9 10
11 Worship Schedule
9:30 Worship
Coffee Time
Naomi Nelson
LSS
12 A.A.,Alanon 7 pm
Crosslake Lutheran
Church, Crosslake
13 14 Choir 4:45 p.m.
Ash Wednesday
Service 6:00 p.m.
15 16 17
18 Worship Schedule
9:30 Worship
Intinc. Communion
Pastor Jon Yarger
19 A.A.,Alanon 7 pm
Crosslake Lutheran
Church, Crosslake
20 SCC meets 2:00
p.m. Julie Bergman
Hostess
21 Choir 5:00 p.m.
22 Senior Foot Care
10:30-1:30 at The
Warehouse in Pine
River. Cost is $25
23 24
Newsletter
Deadline!!
25 Worship Schedule
9:30 Worship
Rev Joan
Gunderman
26 A.A.,Alanon 7 pm
Crosslake Lutheran
Church, Crosslake
27 28 2:00 Newsletter
Assembly
Choir 5:00 p.m.
2018
February
Deacon: Bob Bergman Altar: Julie Bergman
Ushers: Bob & Julie Bergman Coffee Time: Bob & Julie Bergman
Birthday/Anniversary Cakes 1st Sunday: Donna Bollie
