An ADULT Mission Trip

Here's an opportunity to serve and make a difference on the Rocky Boy's Reservation right here in Montana. It's a mission trip, but it's not for youth. It's for adults! Please read the letter below for information. And if you decide to go and serve, please let me know! (you can send me an email here: lindean@ctkbozeman.org)

A Letter from Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church – Box Elder, MT

July 21, 2015

Greetings!

One thing I have learned as the pastor at Our Saviour’s on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, don’t be shy about asking for what you need! With that in mind, I would like to invite you, as individuals and as congregations, to participate in a service opportunity at Our Saviour’s.
August 29^th-September 3^rd, we will be hosting an adult Servant Group from Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN. The main project they will be working on is roofing two of our four cabins. We will be changing from rolled asphalt roofing to metal roofing.
Here’s the deal. We could use your help! It would be wonderful if we had enough volunteers so that we could get all four of the cabin roofs completed before winter sets in.
There is also the need to re-roof two sections of the asphalt shingles on the Big Church. This building is used by our congregation and our community as gathering space for VBS, Servant and Immersion groups, larger church services like Christmas and Easter, wakes and funerals, and many other things.
Besides needing people on the roofs, people will be needed on the ground as well to clear away stuff, take stuff to the dump, and help with other projects on our site. We can always use people to be part of the meal prep and clean-up crews.
The Servant Group will be arriving on Saturday afternoon (August 29^th), but the actual work on the roofs will not start until Monday morning (August 31^st). If you are willing to come and help with these projects on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (for any or all of those days), coming the night before would help you have a great start in the morning. The Servant Group from Zumbro will leave on Thursday, but we could continue the work on Thursday and Friday (September 3^rd and 4^th), if there were people interested in working on those days, too.
I wish we were able to offer this opportunity to you at no cost, but we are not in the financial position to do that. So, what we are asking is that you help with the food costs by donating $20 per day and if you are able to make an additional donation to help with the cost of materials that would be wonderful (but we are not asking for a specific amount for that).
We have space in our cabins for about thirty people, space in the Mission House for about ten people, and room for four RVs to hook-up to water, electric and sewer connections. Sorry, we don’t have the space to have couples stay together. And, because of the particular type of work we will be doing, this is an adult-only event. Young people who are high school and/or middle school age could help out, but they will, most likely, be back in school by then.
If you are interested in being part of this project, please contact me (Pastor Linda E. Webster) for more details. We’d love to have you come and participate.

Blessings,

Pastor Linda E. Webster
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
499 Mission Taylor Rd.
Box Elder, MT 58521-8983
www.oslcrb.org
406-395-4307

Middle School Service Plunge 2015

Last week, 10 CtK youth, plus a couple of their friends and some fabulous adults, joined middle school youth from Hope Lutheran Church for a week of worship, learning and SERVICE here in the Gallatin Valley.
The theme verse for the week was Micah 6:8 - He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Monday morning the group weeded at God's Garden, which produces thousands upon thousands of pounds of food for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and the Community Café.
Tuesday morning was spent on trail maintenance with the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, at the Cherry Creek Fishing Access. It was hard work (there were blisters to be had!) but great to see the results of the effort, before and after.
Wednesday morning half the group went to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and packaged macaroni noodles into one-pound bags (finishing off a 1,000 pound box of noodles - that's a lot of pasta!). The other half of the group offered a free car wash, with donations accepted for the food bank.
On Thursday morning, the two groups switched places - half for a carwash, the other half to the Food Bank. This time, the Food Bank crew sorted eggs and repackaged unbroken eggs into cartons.
Friday morning, everyone headed to the Family Promise Day Center to help with cleaning, yard work and other projects.
Every afternoon included Bible study, lots of games, a crafty project, and worship.
It was a great week! Look for more photos in worship on a Sunday in the near future!

Middle School Service Plunge 2015 - the closest thing we got to a photo of the whole group.

Bishop Eaton's letter on the SCOTUS marriage ruling

ELCA presiding bishop offers letter on Supreme Court marriage ruling

6/30/2015 4:00:00 PM

            CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offered a pastoral letter June 30 to the 3.8 million members of the denomination in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples may now exercise the right to marry. The full text of the statement follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of the crucified and risen Christ.

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision announcing the right of same-gender couples to have equal access to marriage. For many members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this decision is a welcome sign of hope and a time for celebration. Other members of this church do not agree with the court's decision and remain deeply concerned because of their understanding of Scripture.

This decision affects each of us, some profoundly, and we are not of one mind. Let us continue to accompany one another with prayer, love and mutual respect as we reflect on this new reality and remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians about the enduring power of God's love.

The ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" (2009) neither endorses nor forbids same-gender marriages and recognizes that we have differing understandings and convictions on this matter. In its decision, the court stated that "the First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths."

According to this church's social statement on human sexuality, all decisions about recognizing, supporting and holding publicly accountable same-gender relationships are entrusted to congregations.  Recognizing that the church is not of one mind on this subject, our 2009 actions provide that congregations and clergy should discern together whether to recognize such relationships and to what degree.

Pastors are to engage in conversation, discernment and partnership with the congregations who have called them prior to solemnizing or presiding over a same-gender marriage. On the other hand, no pastor is obligated to solemnize the marriage of any couple, same-gender or different-gender, whom the pastor cannot in good conscience marry.

As Lutheran Christians, we continue to be a church that engages in conversation and discernment in all aspects of our faith and life. Creating space for respectful conversation and dialogue continues to be an important part of our life together. A helpful resource for engaging in difficult conversations is "Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues."

In addition, the ELCA Ministry to and with Same-Gender Couples and their Families Working Group remains in the process of completing its work. A report of the group's findings and possible recommendations will be presented to the ELCA Church Council at its November meeting.

We seek to see our differences as a gift to be celebrated as we live out that which unites us: the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ who leads us into mission and ministry in the world. In the midst of this change, we are first and foremost church – a church that proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. May God bless, guide and strengthen you each day as you go in peace and serve the Lord.


The statement is available on the ELCA website at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Letter_on_Supreme_Court_Decision.pdf,
the ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" at http://www.elca.org/en/Faith/Faith-and-Society/Social-Statements/Human-Sexuality?_ga=1.109044290.1780749877.1352499724
and "Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues" at  http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Talking_Together_Social.pdf.

- - -

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
Associate director, ELCA Publications and Public Relations
773-380-2956 or Melissa.RamirezCooper@elca.org
ELCA News: www.ELCA.org/news
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lutherans
Living Lutheran: www.livinglutheran.com

- See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7759#sthash.Zmf381HM.dpuf

Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's Statement on the Shooting in Charleston

Bishop Eaton’s statement on the shooting in Charleston

 

June 18, 2015

It has been a long season of disquiet in our country. From Ferguson to Baltimore, simmering racial tensions have boiled over into violence. But this … the fatal shooting of nine African Americans in a church is a stark, raw manifestation of the sin that is racism. The church was desecrated. The people of that congregation were desecrated.
The aspiration voiced in the Pledge of Allegiance that we are “one nation under God” was desecrated.

Mother Emanuel AME’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, was a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, as was the Rev. Daniel Simmons, associate pastor at Mother Emanuel. The suspected shooter is a member of an ELCA congregation. All of a sudden and for all of us, this is an intensely personal tragedy. One of our own is alleged to have shot and killed two who adopted us as their own.

We might say that this was an isolated act by a deeply disturbed man. But we know that is not the whole truth. It is not an isolated event. And even if the shooter was unstable, the framework upon which he built his vision of race is not. Racism is a fact in American culture. Denial and avoidance of this fact are deadly. The Rev. Mr. Pinckney leaves a wife and children. The other eight victims leave grieving families. The family of the suspected killer and two congregations are broken. When will this end?

The nine dead in Charleston are not the first innocent victims killed by violence. Our only hope rests in the innocent One, who was violently executed on Good Friday. Emmanuel, God with us, carried our grief and sorrow – the grief and sorrow of Mother Emanuel AME church – and he was wounded for our transgressions – the deadly sin of racism.

I urge all of us to spend a day in repentance and mourning. And then we need to get to work. Each of us and all of us need to examine ourselves, our church and our communities. We need to be honest about the reality of racism within us and around us. We need to talk and we need to listen, but we also need to act. No stereotype or racial slur is justified. Speak out against inequity. Look with newly opened eyes at the many subtle and overt ways that we and our communities see people of color as being of less worth. Above all pray – for insight, for forgiveness, for courage.

Kyrie Eleison.





The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

NEW book for Friday Morning Small Group - Join the Discussion!

The Friday morning Small Group finished reading and discussing The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James Cone, this past Friday morning. Just a day and a half after the horrific attack on Bible Study participants at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, we wondered together what to do, as white Christians in America, where clearly racism is alive and well. That will be an ongoing conversation, but includes continuing to learn about American history as experienced by people of color, to listen to perspectives different from our own, to speak up against racial slurs and stereotypes when we hear them, to pray, to examine and repent of our own racist thoughts and behaviors, to work for justice and reconciliation...

One of the quotes at the beginning of the book's Conclusion especially struck me:
"Perhaps nothing about the history of mob violence in the United States is more surprising than how quickly an understanding of the full horror of lynching has receded from the nation's collective historical memory." - W. Fitzhugh Brundage

Yes, the shooter on Wednesday night appears to have acted on his own, though he certainly did not live and form his opinions and beliefs in isolation. Yet, the history of lynching in the US is something most of us in the Friday small group didn't know much about. And it's not ancient history. As hard as reading The Cross and the Lynching Tree was, we're all glad we read it. And I think I can safely say each member of the group would encourage you to read it, too.

The group's next book is Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, by Imaculee  Ilibagiza. The discussion of the first chapter begins on Friday, July 3rd, at Clark's Fork at 7am. All are welcome!

It's a Party!!

It may be hard to believe, but this month marks TEN YEARS since CtK's first service of worship in our current building. There were a lot of prayer, planning, work and faith that went in to making the move from the corner of 3rd and Kagy to the corner of Durston and Flanders Mill.
THIS SUNDAY, June 28th, there will be a celebration of CtK's life in this place, with cake, treats and a special slide show during fellowship time after worship.
A "wish list" has been put together, for those who'd like to include giving a gift as part of the celebration. The list includes:
Toilet Paper
Paper Towels
Postage Stamps (First Class, "Forever" stamps)
Postcard Stamps
New Crayons
Garbage Bags
Copy Paper (letter size: white, pastel, brights)
Copy Paper (legal size, white)
Copy Paper (ledger size, buff/ivory)
Coffee (regular, decaf)
Flat Screen TVs (2, 30"-40")
White Board Markers

And,  CtK's fabulous nursery attendant, "Miss Liz," has shared a list of things that need updating/replacing after 10+ years of wear and tear in the nursery:

Step 2 Kitchen (prefer Modern Cook Kitchen, Heart of the Home Kitchen, or Lifestyle Dream Kitchen)
Plastic Play Food & Dishes
Small Cars (Hot Wheels size up to smart phone size)
Car Garage (2, prefer Wader Quality Toys or Fisher Price)
Plastic Animals (prefer Learning Resources)
Baby dolls with clothes and blankets (at least 2 dolls are needed)
Baby doll High Chair
Plastic tool bench and tools (prefer American Plastic Toys or Step 2)
Books (for ages 1-4, prefer Christian books/Bible stories, classics, Dr. Seuss)
Puzzles (ages 1-4)
Cloth Storage Cubes to go with the shelving in the nursery

Thanks so much for joining the celebration!

Lutheran Campus Ministry Raffle - Deadline to Purchase Tickets is THIS SUNDAY!

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS RESORT RAFFLE -  WEEK OF JULY 10-17

 

Support YOUR Lutheran Campus Ministry at MSU-Bozeman by purchasing a raffle ticket for a week at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, July 10^th-17^th, 2015. (The Montana Folk Festival in Butte is July 10^th-12^th, and Fairmont is only a short drive away!) Tickets are $50 each and only 100 will be sold! The Raffle Drawing will be June 5^th, need not be present to win.

The prize package includes:
-- accommodation in a one-bedroom Vacation Club unit which sleeps four adults (one bed, one sofa-bed) and has a maximum occupancy of six

-- 5 passes good for 24-hour entry to the pools

Additional Resort Amenities (not included in the raffle prize, but available for purchase at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort):- 350’ Enclosed Waterslide

- Massage and Spa Services

- 18-hole Golf Course

- Miniature Golf Course

- 2 Restaurants and Whiskey Joes Lounge

- Casual and Fine Dining

 

Purchase Raffle Tickets from Mike Beehler, Melanie Schell, John Sheppard, or Pastor Lindean, or call the church office to reserve a ticket to pick up.