During worship on March 3, the last Sunday in the season after Epiphany, also known as Transfiguration Sunday, we will be taking part in an ancient practice of fasting or refraining from singing or speaking alleluia during Lent. I understand this is new here, so it is helpful to consider the whys, whens, and hows of this practice. Why bury the Alleluia? Based on the Hebrew word, hallelu yah, meaning “praise the Lord,” alleluia has been a word of great praise to God in the life of the church. Because of the penitential character of the Lenten season in the Western church, singing or saying the word alleluia has historically been suspended during Lent’s forty days. The omission of alleluia during Lent goes back at least to the fifth century in the Western church. The custom of actually bidding it farewell, however, developed in the Middle Ages. When do we bury the alleluia? Alleluia is appropriately bid farewell on the Sunday (March 3), preceding Ash Wednesday (March 6). This is the last Sunday when alleluia will be used until Easter Sunday. How do we make an alleluia to bury? Sunday school will be invited to construct Alleluia signs. This ritual practice can be especially delightful and meaningful for children. How do we bury the alleluia? At the end of the Sunday worship on March 3, we will sing “Alleluia, Song of Gladness” (Hymn # 318). This hymn contains a translation of an eleventh-century Latin text that compares an alleluia-less Lent to the exile of the Israelites in Babylon. The text then anticipates the joy of Easter when glad alleluias will return in all their heavenly splendor. During this hymn the children will help put Alleluia signs in a container that will remain covered during Lent. Remember no Alleluias will be sung in the season of Lent! When and how do we resurrect the alleluia? “Alleluia” will be resurrected on Easter Sunday morning, the children will take Alleluia signs out of the box and have a parade as we joyfully sing again the opening hymn “Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia!” (From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2019 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.)

Pastor Linda

V o l u m e 4 5 , I s s u e 3

“Farewell to Alleluia”

M a r c h 2 0 1 9

The Echo

A P u b l i c a t i o n o f G a l c h u t t - E m m a n u e l M i n i s t r y

Galchutt-Emmanuel Ministry Office: (701) 553-8546; Pastor Linda email: gem.pastor@rrt.net Administrative Assistant email: emmanuelgalchutt@gmail.com

GEM Website: http://galchuttemmanuel.weebly.com/

P a g e 2 V o l u m e 4 5 , I s s u e 3

EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS!

If you have an announcement for an event or photos from a baptism, wedding, or some other

special event regarding a member or former member of our parish, we would love to include the

information in an upcoming issue. Please email them to lalee@rrt.net.

Marvin Kensinger (left) was awarded a Quilt of Valor on February 16, 2019, by the local Red River

Quilters, Quilts of Valor Foundation group for his service to this country during World War II. Marvin

is a longtime member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church and a member of the American Legion Post 128-

Abercrombie. Thank you for your service to our country!!

Schedule for the Lenten season: March 6, Ash Wednesday - 7 PM Service at Emmanuel March 13 - Simple supper 6-6:45 PM at Galchutt followed by 7 PM Lenten service. March 20 - Simple supper 6-6:45 PM at Emmanuel followed by 7 PM Lenten service. March 27 - Simple supper starting 6-6:45 PM at Galchutt followed by 7 PM Lenten

service. April 3 - Simple supper 6-6:45 PM at Emmanuel followed by 7 PM Lenten service. Free will donations for suppers will go to defray Vacation Bible School expenses in 2019.

T h e E c h o P a g e 3

As you receive this newsletter, we are entering the season of Lent, the 40-day period (excluding Sundays) of repentance and preparation prior to Holy Week and Easter. Coincidentally (or maybe not), the number 40 has many Biblical references: • Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18);

• Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8); • God sent 40 days and nights of rain to Noah during the great flood (Genesis 7:4); • The Hebrews wandered 40 years in the desert (Numbers 14:33); • Jonah warned the people of Nineveh that they would be overthrown in 40 days if they did

not repent from their evil ways (Jonah 3:4); and • After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights in the Judaean

Desert. During this time, Satan appeared to Jesus and tried to tempt him but Jesus refused each temptation. Jesus eventually left and returned to Galilee to begin his ministry (Matthew 4:1–2, Mark 1:12–13, Luke 4:1–2).

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of these 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. As we enter this Lenten season, we note a change in the colors of the paraments in our churches, with some slight variations depending on the available paraments in each church. According to the ELCA resource on liturgical colors: • Ash Wednesday: Black is the preferred color, since it is the color of the ashes to which we

will all return. Purple is the alternate color for this first day of Lent. • Lent: Purple is typically associated with Lent, suggesting repentance and solemnity. The colors serve to adorn the worship space and to call attention to the nature of the season or festival being celebrated. As we worship during these coming weeks, may the colors remind us of Jesus’ fasting in preparation for the ultimate sacrifice he offered on behalf of all of us. LouAnn Lee

Thank you to the following

for their recent donations:

Emmanuel General Fund: • Jacqueline Brissey (Thrivent dollars) • Melanie Jensen (Thrivent dollars) • Robert Skamfer (Thrivent dollars) • Susan Bjorke Rothwell

In memory of Rolfe Bjorke

March 24th Noisy Offering - Our donations will be

doubled!!

Our Noisy Offering on March 24th will go to the Richland-Wilkin Food Pantry where donations are being matched. As stated on the RW Food Pantry Facebook page: “The 2019 MN FoodShare March Campaign is quickly approaching. This year the campaign will run from Monday, February 25 through Sunday, April 7. For every Dollar and Pound of food raised during this period, the Richland-Wilkin Food Pantry will receive a proportionate matching dollar amount from MN FoodShare. If you would like additional information, please feel free to contact Lois via Facebook or at WFoodPantry@outlook.com or call/text her at 701-403-0230.”

T h e E c h o P a g e 4

As we approach the Lenten season it is good to ponder what the word repentance means. Webster's dictionary defines it as being penitent, feeling sorrow, compunction, contrition, remorse. As a Christian it means a sincere turning away, in both mind and heart, from self to God. Eerdmans Bible dictionary defines repentance in its fullest sense as “a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and a deliberate redirection to the future.” Repentance can be shallow, as in Cain fearing punishment, or it can be deep, such as realizing how much our sin cost Jesus Christ. When we turn away from a sin-ruled life to a life characterized by obedience to God, we are repenting. The Holy Spirt can lead us in whatever direction God wants us to go to do His will. This is the last newsletter article as your R(Richland)OS(Our Saviors)E(Emmanuel) G(Galchutt) group faith community nurse. All four presidents met with the pastors at the end of December and voted to discontinue this project. I trust that God will lead all the churches to find their own way in assisting those around us to be whole and well. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive of this group. Thank you to the many on our ROSE Group council who have been devoted to keeping this important work going since its inception. Thank you to those who have served but moved on to other endeavors. Thank you to the people who have been faithful in financial support with direct giving and memorials. And thanks to those who have kept this work in their prayers. I don't know all your names but I know your generosity has allowed us to touch the lives of many people in our area. I am happy that our four congregations had an opportunity to reach out together and make this happen for our community. Good work will continue in the congregations. Ask God to lead each of you to use your God-given talents to do His work. Marsha Hendrickson, FCN

“ROSE Group” Faith Community Nursing Contact numbers for Marsha Hendrickson RN, FCN (701) 372-3675 (H) (701) 640-0242 (cell) mjh617@yahoo.com

Help Others This Lenten Season

When families have to flee from their homes due to war or natural disaster, they rarely have time to collect the necessities needed to survive. Through Lutheran World Relief, we can help these people out by providing a few simple items. During each week of Lent let us focus on collecting a particular item for personal care kits with the hope that we will have accumulated so many items by the end of April that we will need to call on our older Sunday school students to help assemble them all! • March 10-Nail clippers • March 17-Toothbrushes • March 24-Bath towels (light-weight towels in dark colors

preferred) • April 7-Soap • April 14-Donations to buy heavy combs Throughout Lent, let us all strive to give so that the lives of others are a little easier. Linda Kuruc

Thank you! Thank you to all who donated to Three Rivers Crisis Center. You will recall that they recently had a fire and had to move out of their location on Dakota Avenue in Wahpeton. Through your generosity, a large box of needed items and nearly $400 were collected through our noisy offerings and will be delivered to them to be used in assisting victims of domestic abuse. When contacted, they expressed their gratitude and indicated that they are looking forward to moving back into their old location this spring.

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 4 5 , I s s u e 3

The Galchutt Lutheran Church council met on January 26, 2019, at 11 AM. The members present were Brice Bellmore, Larry Wold, Doug Johnson, Jeff Miller, Pamela Krump, Kendra Dockter, Marissa Moxness and Pastor Linda. The meeting was called to order by President Brice. New Business: • Pamela nominated Brice for President. A motion that nomination cease and cast a

unanimous ballot for Brice was made by Larry, with a second by Jeff. Motion carried. • Pamela nominated Larry for Vice President. A motion that nomination cease and cast a

unanimous ballot for Brice was made by Pamela, with a second by Kendra. Motion carried. • Kendra nominated Pamela for Secretary. A motion that nomination cease and cast a

unanimous ballot for Pamela was made by Kendra, with a second by Jeff. Motion carried. • Brice nominated Kendra for Treasurer. A motion that nomination cease and cast a

unanimous ballot for Kendra was made by Brice, with a second by Jeff. Motion carried. Next meeting will be February 19, 2019, at 6 PM. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Pamela, with a second by Larry. Motion carried. Secretary Pamela Krump

Galchutt Lutheran Council Highlights - January 26, 2019

Emmanuel Lutheran Council Highlights - February 7, 2019

The Emmanuel Lutheran Church council met on February 7, 2019, with the following members present: Austin Heyen, Mardee Besette, Fred Tol, Kevin Paczkowski, Lesley Hulne, and Jessica Kappes; Absent: Deb Syvertsen. Call to Order: President Kevin Paczkowski called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Secretary’s Report: We did not have the minutes from the annual meeting. Treasurer’s Report: A new vacuum was purchased for the church. Pastor recorded 864 miles which totaled $184. Motion to approve was made, seconded and passed. Pastor’s Report: 2 baptisms, 3 new members, and she’s working on Lent. Committee Assignments for 2019: Education Committee: Mardee and Jessica; Worship Committee: Lesley and Deb; Property Committee: Austin and Fred; Stewardship Committee: Kevin, Austin, Mardee. Old Business: Property committee to walk through parsonage to check items Pastor Linda mentioned. Fred and Austin will complete this after the meeting. New Business: Property committee to check on VOC test which will test for chemicals, gases, H2F, a new radon test, air quality tests. Property committee to also get and install CO2 testers for parsonage and church. Motion was made, seconded & approved to purchase a new thermostat for behind the altar. We will have a “thank you” coffee after church before March 31st to thank Marsha for all her work with the ROSE Group. Ash Wednesday service will be at Emmanuel and then rotate every other Wednesday between Emmanuel and Galchutt. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday TBD. Easter services will be at normal times. Closing: A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Secretary Mardee Besette

T h e E c h o P a g e 6

Thank you for all the support we have had for the Echo. If you are interested in

sponsoring an issue, please fill out the below form. Sponsorships for May 2019 and

forward are available.

Checks can be sent to Galchutt Church, c/o Kendra Dockter, 16860 70th St SE, Colfax,

ND 58018.

Name: _____________________________________

_____ $50 (half month sponsor)

_____ $100 (full month sponsor) This Echo is sponsored by:

____________________________________________

(in loving memory) OR (in honor of)

____________________________________________.

ECHO SPONSORSHIP FORM Looking ahead to the newsletter themes for the next three months, we know some of you have memories related to our themes for the coming months. Please jot

them down, share them with us, or just give a call to LouAnn to tell us about them so an article can be put together. Here are the themes coming up: April - Holy Week or Remembrances of Holy Week and/or Easter from years past; May - Important biblical women/mothers or any tributes to mothers or mother figures who impacted your life; June - Important biblical men/fathers or any tributes to fathers or father figures who impacted your life. Maybe you have read a poem or reading that touched you in any of these areas. Please share them with us & our readers.

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN SERVICE DAY held February 2nd Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I could not be more proud of our Emmanuel and Galchutt packing teams! The two churches sent 15 volunteers to pack meals! During our packing shift on Saturday, February 2nd from 8 AM- 10 AM, those present packed 1,260 food boxes which equates to 272,160 meals. The entire Saturday morning shift packed enough food to feed 745 children for an entire year! Thank you for being the hands and feet of Christ in our world! Thank you for blessing others as we have been so blessed!! Our Noisy Offering on Feb 24th goes toward funding for these meals. Each meal costs 22 cents. For less than a quarter you can help feed a family! Pastor Linda

LWR NEWS: Have you wondered how you can use your interest and talents to benefit LWR? We have a new opportunity for you to develop your

interest in sewing by completing a quilt top kit. We have made up easy kits for those between the ages of 10 and 90 who are new or returning tosewing and quilting or just want to bless someone with warmth and shelter in this world God made. The kits come with directions that may allow for you to use your creativity or just sew the pieces together following the suggestions given. The kits will be located as you enter thechurch and returned there upon completion when you are ready to start your second kit. If you still have questions, I will be happy to answer them knowing that you will do great work in providing warmth to someone around the world. Our small quilting group continues to make quilts on March 19 from 9 AM to 4 PM if you wantto join us. We are working to complete 30-40 quilts for blessing and shipment in May. Ellen Rittenhouse, phone (218) 557-8882.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Coffee with Kids at RHS

2

3 Galchutt 9:00 Worship 10:00 S.S. Emmanuel 10:30 Worship “Bethany dinner”

4 5 6

Ash Wednesday service @ Emmanuel 7 PM

7

6:30 PM Emmanuel Council Mtg

8 9

10 Galchutt 9:00 Worship Emmanuel 9:45 S.S. 10:30 Worship

11 12

6 PM Galchutt Council Mtg

13 Lenten service @ Galchutt 7 PM Supper 6-6:45 7 PM AA Mtg @ Emmanuel

14 15 16

17 Galchutt 9:00 Worship Emmanuel 10:30 Worship “Legion dinner”

18

Quilts of Valor meets at Emmanuel

19

Quilting at Emmanuel

9AM - 4PM

20

Lenten service @ Emmanuel 7 PM Supper 6-6:45

21

Wahpeton Conf Pastors Mtg @ Milnor 12:30PM

22 23

24 “NOISY OFF.” Galchutt 9:00 Worship 10:00 S.S. Emmanuel 9:45 S.S. 10:30 Worship

25 26 27 Lenten service @ Galchutt 7 PM Supper 6-6:45 7 PM AA Mtg @ Emmanuel

28 29 RHS Community Supper (see page 2)

30

31 Galchutt 9:00 Worship Emmanuel 10:30 Worship

“S.S.” is Sunday School

Emmanuel Altar Guild for March is Deb Syvertsen

Pastor Linda cell (701) 205-6803; Pastor Linda email: gem.pastor@rrt.net Administrative Assistant email: emmanuelgalchutt@gmail.com; GEM Office: (701) 553-8546

GEM Website: http://galchuttemmanuel.weebly.com/

Galchutt-Emmanuel Ministry Emmanuel Lutheran Church Galchutt Lutheran Church

P. O. Box 119 105 Galchutt Avenue

Abercrombie, ND 58001 Galchutt, ND 58075

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT # 101 ABERCROMBIE, ND 58001 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

The Echo

2019 CHURCH COUNCILS

Denotes Congregation President * Denotes non-council committee member

This month’s issue of The Echo

is sponsored by

Agnes Leer –

In loving memory of

Clarence Leer

GALCHUTT

Brice Bellmore Larry Wold Kendra Dockter Jeff Miller Pamela Krump Doug Johnson Marissa Moxness

EMMANUEL

Kevin Paczkowski Deb Syvertsen Mardee Besette Austin Heyen Fred Tol Lesley Hulne Jessica Kappes