Our journey of faith leads us to build bridges of understanding and peace, to reach out

with compassion, and to share the hope of Jesus.

Zumbro Lutheran Church | A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

APRIL 2020

THE ZUMBROCurrent

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER WORSHIPWe will be observing Holy Week during our worship at Zumbro.

A lot fewer people will be leading our services, but many of the sights and sounds will be familiar.

And with a little help from technology, we hope to provide some music from Holy Weeks of the past.

TWO PARADES: WHICH WILL YOU JOIN

PALM SUNDAY, APR. 5 | 8:30am Pastor Vern ChristophersonAnthem, “Sing Hosanna,” recorded by the Choristers and Dolce Choir, 2015

THE ANOINTING AT BETHANYMAUNDY THURSDAY, APR. 9 | 7pmPastor Shelley Cunningham

WHO'S REALLY ON TRIAL HERE?

GOOD FRIDAY, APR. 10 | 7pm Pastor Jason Bryan-WegnerReading of the Passion story: Mark 14:53-15:39

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO FIND AT THE TOMB?

EASTER SUNDAY, APR. 12 | 8:30am Pastor Vern ChristophersonAnthem, "Hallelujah Chorus," recorded by the Zumbro Lutheran Choir, Easter 2019

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Pastor's NoteYou’ll be happy

to know that,

with some spatial

distancing and vigilant hygiene,

our construction crews continue

to work on the elevator project.

Even with Governor Walz’ recent

executive order, construction

crews are able to continue work

on commercial projects. They

are currently drilling the elevator

shaft and placing steel support

beams in place.

In the next week, we will have

bids from contractors for the

rest of the project. All things

being equal (which is hard to say

these days) construction on the

main floor would start in mid-

May. We will continue to monitor

and adhere to any changes in

policy to protect the workers

and the community during the

coronavirus pandemic.

In the past several weeks, we

have consulted with three

institutions for financing the

balance of costs not covered by

campaign gifts. We have secured

a very favorable financing

package with the ELCA Mission

Investment Fund. That being said,

your ongoing financial support

to the capital campaign is vital to

the success of this project and our

ongoing mission and ministry.

by Pastor Jason Bryan-Wegner

Thank you for ongoing

support and prayers

for the work God is

doing among us.

We are already putting the ten

percent of campaign funds for

mission to work. Some of those

funds have been sent to help

our partners at Iambi Lutheran

Hospital prepare an isolation

ward and stock their pharmacy

ahead of COVID-19 arriving

there. We also continue to plan

with Lutheran Social Services to

develop a homeless youth drop-in

center in our building.

We are taking steps in faith to

continue this building renovation

project, and trust that God

will bless our efforts to extend

hospitality, expand mission, and

enhance worship.

We’ll have a chance to figure

some things out and prepare

for the move later in the spring.

Currently, the plan is to worship in

the gym/fellowship hall through

the summer, and potentially into

early fall. All of this adventure

will surely lead to some new

memories in our church’s story

and will provide plenty of

anticipation for when the project

will be finished.

Pastor Vern is going to be leading a Zoom Bible Study on Monday-Saturday of Holy Week. We’ll be focusing

on Mark, the only gospel that has events for each of the days from Palm Sunday to Easter. We’ll “gather”

at 9am each day, and spend an hour digging deeper into the stories. Many of them will be familiar to you:

Jesus overturning the tables of the money-changers, the last supper with Jesus and his disciples, the agony

of Good Friday. Sign up on our website, and we’ll get you the link. And for you over-achievers out there, you

can read ahead by checking out Mark 11-16.

Holy Week Bible Study

This 28" drill stands approximately 6 feet tall. Workers expect that it will be able to drill down 5' per day.

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FROM JEN GRUENDLERWell,

friends,

we might

officially

name

2020

the year

“zooming”

became an

everyday

verb.

In Youth and Family Ministry,

we’re finding ways on a variety

of virtual platforms to check in,

share in some prayer, and build

community. There is nothing more

joyful than to see sweet faces

(sometimes even furry family

members) pop up on screens,

to hear about how everyone is

coping, to share in prayer for the

sad, scared and sick, and to look

forward and dream of the day

when we can be back together

again. Oh, what a glorious day

that will be! Until then, I am taking

the lead from the Gen Y and

Z-ers and learning to build faithful

connections and community

online in new ways-after all, these

“digital natives” were born to

lead us in this new way of being

church. Many virtual hugs, Jen

FROM CONNIE SAUNDERSWe recently

returned from

a vacation in

Florida. This

was taken

before social

distancing.

Beginning March 30, I’ll be in the

office 8am-12pm.

FROM KRISTY GIEREIn my role as Music Minister I

would normally be preparing for

Holy Week and Easter worship

along with an end of the year

handbell concert. Now my work

centers around making personal

connections with musicians,

Zoom meetings, and being a

part of our livestream worship

ministry. Definitely not business

as usual, but, through livestream

services, we are connecting in

a virtual personal way with our

Zumbro family. This photo shows

my new spacious workspace

complete with a view of my

backyard! Like many of you, I am

sheltering.

Notes from Zumbro StaffFROM RUTH MONSON

Like many of you, I am sheltering

at home, but continue my

ZLC work through email and

telephone, Zoom, and other

online connections. I wish to

thank those dedicated folks who

are making phone calls, sending

cards and emails, and who are

working to connect with others

in our Zumbro family! You are a

blessing every time you reach out.

Our Pen Pal ministry has started!

If you want to participate, sign

up on Realm or reach out to me,

Janette, or Jen through email or a

phone call. I pray that God blesses

each of you these days with hope

and peace and that you, too, will

be a blessing to others this day.

Kids, youth, adults, families of any ages and stages get paired with an older adult or older adult couple

who is particularly isolated in this COVID-19 season. Write them a card, color them a picture, shoot

them an email, send a picture of your family-let’s shower our faith community with love and make some

connections when all of us are feeling a little more isolated. Questions? Contact Janette Reeves or Jen

Gruendler by calling the office or email JanetteReeves@ZumbroLutheran.org orJenniferGruendler@ZumbroLutheran.org

Pen Pal Registration

www.zumbrolutheran.org | (507) 288-2649

Newsletter DeadlinePlease submit items for the May issue of The Zumbro Current by

April 10, to Margaret Dillard at margaretdillard@zumbrolutheran.org

A Light in the DarknessOpen Table Still Servesby Sarah Lichty

With courageous, faith-filled

hearts Open Table Leadership

agreed to continue our normal

Thursday service in SE Rochester

and here at Zumbro during this

COVID-19 experience. We are

taking it week by week. We are

considered an essential service

and are an exception to the

Governor’s Shelter at Home order.

We’ve changed our process

by reducing the number of

volunteers, and we are asking

for volunteers to adhere to our

temporary age and health related

restrictions. Burritos are rolled

in the kitchen and packed into

paper bags with a fruit cup, two

cookies, and a granola bar. Our

first week was a bit chaotic in

the kitchen as we tried to create

an efficient system that still

allowed for social distancing.

Two volunteers hand guests bags

from the truck containing either

two or four burritos. This reduces

contact while our driver and lead

volunteer help guests maintain

their six-feet of distance.

We are blessed to have dedicated

volunteers from around the

community, including an amazing

team of NICU nurses, who have

made Open Table a regular way

to volunteer together. The

leadership of Kirsten Lincoln, Jan

Vetter, and Ruth Stoeckel has

been invaluable in helping us to

devise a system to keep everyone

safe, while also maintaining our

commitment to feed the members

of our community who have come

to depend on us for a weekly

meal. We are so grateful for all

those who continue to support

this ministry with donations of

food, financial gifts and ongoing

prayers. Robert, Zumbro's

facilities manager has even

provided us with a new outdoor

donation bin outside the west

doors.

March 19: Open Table went out

in the rain and served over 200

burritos in SE Rochester. Olmsted

County asked us to make 30

burritos that they would deliver

to residents at Francis House and

to some of our most vulnerable

experiencing homelessness. We

were able to give an enthusiastic

yes!

March 26: Our system worked like

a charm. The county requested

40 burritos this week. We rolled

over 250 burritos. Some old

friends were delighted to discover

that we were still serving from

Zumbro. Every last burrito was

handed out, and no one went

home empty-handed.

Zumbro Member, and Open Table

Driver Todd Christianson said,

“This is the only thing that feels

normal.” We all agree.

• Expect an invitation to our online application that will allow us to connect more effectively. Sign up now by clicking the button at the top of our website at www.zumbrolutheran.org

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