Partners in Ministry

Newsletter

One Lord, One Faith:

Partners in Mission and Ministry

March 2014

Rev. Stephanie Christoffels, Pastor

Parsonage - 507-639-4861

Church office – 507-639-7925

First Lutheran Church United Methodist Church

61 Apple St. E 111 Apple St. E.

Trimont, MN 56176 Trimont, MN 56176

507-639-7925 507-639-5711

Church email - flchurch@frontiernet.net

Facebook – www.facebook.com/partnersinministrytrimont

Website: www.partnersinministrytrimont.org

It is still white and cold outside, but I guess that is to be expected when we live in Minnesota. On Sunday during our UM worship service, a prayer request was made for patience during this long, cold winter. What a great reminder for all of us that though we might be suffering from snow-fatigue, there is still hope for spring in this frozen tundra we call home. And through the snowy, cold, long winter, we can still see the beauty of God’s creation.

We are now approaching the season of Lent – a season of repentance, self-reflection, fasting, and preparation for the death of Christ. From Ash Wednesday, when we will receive the ashes on our foreheads hearing the words “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return” to the lack of “alleluia” and “hallelujah” in our liturgies and hymns, we will have a constant reminder that we are sinners and cannot save ourselves. If we thought that the Sermon on the Mount was hard to hear, just wait – we are going to get hit with even more law as we approach Good Friday.

That isn’t to say that there is no gospel to be heard during this time. We still have hope, and God does not abandon us even when we are wandering in the desert. Jesus was not alone when He was tempted by the devil, and we are not either. Even through this cold weather, we are seeing glimpses of spring. The sun is shining a little brighter, a little warmer, and a little longer each day. The stores are starting to stock seeds, as well as those Cadbury Cream Eggs and the Whopper Robin’s Eggs that let us know April 20th is around the corner. There is hope; we just need a little patience.

Some say the darkest hour is just before dawn. The (theoretical) darkest part of winter is just before spring, when we are ready for warmth and green. It is in this time we begin Lent, and we need to dig deep into our own faith and the promise of forgiveness and eternal life we are given through Christ as we are confronted with our own shortcomings and mortality. Good Friday is coming, but so is Easter Sunday.

This month, please remember all those who suffer from mental illness, addiction, and those faced with false accusations and lies spread about them. Also remember their families, who are often forgotten and share the burden their loved ones carry.

God be with you all,

Pastor Stephanie

9:00 a.m. First Lutheran Church 11:00 a.m. United Methodist Church

Sunday School is at 10:00 a.m.

At First Lutheran

Jr, & Sr. High Bible Class each week 10:00 a.m. at First Lutheran

Lent Begins March 5th – Ash Wednesday

7:00 p.m. – at United Methodist Church The first 3 Wednesday services will be

At the Methodist Church the last 3 Lenten services will be At First Lutheran

Altar Committee /Stewards

Methodist –

Gail & Carol Suter First Lutheran – Linda Sandberg

LeeAnn Steen Alice Gray

Communion Assistants –

Methodist – Dawn Hanson

First Lutheran – Mark Sandberg

Ushers –

Methodist- Tom Hanson & Gary Lutmer First Lutheran – Donny Faber

Sunday, March 2nd United Methodist – Skylar Tumblelson First Lutheran – Evan Sinn

Sunday, March 9th United Methodist – Claire Clifford First Lutheran- Kooper Janssen

Sunday, March 16th United Methodist – Sierra Tumbleson First Lutheran Church – Derrek Russenberger

Sunday, March 23rd United Methodist – Skylar Tumbleson First Lutheran – Jade Miller Sunday, March 30th United Methodist – Claire Clifford First Lutheran – Kooper Janssen

Sunday, March 2nd

United Methodist – Paul Hanson

First Lutheran – Joanne Olson

Sunday, March 9th

United Methodist – Renee Grupe

First Lutheran - Youth

Sunday, March 16th

United Methodist – Scott Borntrager

First Lutheran – Linda Sandberg

Sunday, March 23rd

United Methodist – Allene Anderson

First Lutheran – Kent Janssen

Sunday, March 30th United Methodist - Creative First Lutheran – Marian Anderson

Joint Council Meeting

Wednesday, March 26th

after Lenten service

Annual Meeting was held on Feb. 2nd at 1:00

New board members are Cindy Sinn, Linda Sandberg &

Kent Janssen. Thank you! for putting your names on the

ballot.The Youth served a nice “Lasagna” dinner on this

Sunday also. Thanks to them and also to those who

came to enjoy the meal and fellowship.

Meals on Wheels for March –

First is to deliver them the weeks of the

10th and 17th . A sign-up sheet is posted

on the bulletin board. Please sign up if

you can help deliver these meals.

WELCA

Monthly meeting -- We will meet on Sunday

March 9th after the worship service.

Coming up on April 12th -- is our Salad

Luncheon. Note this is a change from the yearbook.

We will need workers, and salad makers. Watch for

the sign up sheet.

Thanks to Joanne Olson for cookies, Alice Gray

for bananas, Ardella McGee and Lila Cutler for

helping with BINGO on Feb. 14th.

Congratulations to Becca Steen upon receiving

the “Triple A” award at MCW.

Souper Bowl – We collected 172.6 pounds of

food from both churches; AFC 98.8#’s; NFC

73.8#’s At First we collected $ 47.00. All was given

to Heaven’s Table Food shelf. THANKS TO ALL

who gave!

Sermon manuscripts are posted online http://thelanternandthe

word.wordpress.com, if you are unable to make it to church.

NO fellowship night in March because of Lent.

Janitors: Allene, Dennis & Garla Anderson,

Thank you for volunteering to help us keep our church

clean.

Sympathy and prayers to the families of

Gene Nordstrom upon his death, his funeral was

on February 6th.

Margaret Sinn upon her death, her funeral was

held on Feb 9th .

United Methodist Women

March 14th – 9:30 - UMW plays BINGO at the

Trimont Health Center.

March 21st – 8:30 a.m. – Trimont UMW will

host the Spring Southern Prairie District

meeting of UMW. Our day will begin at 8:30

with our Emma Norton Coffee with

the session starting at 9:15. Our

guest speaker will be Pastor Jean

Sidner with our focus on “Social

Justice for All People”. We are all

created in God’s image, a part of the family of

mankind. The Officer team of the UM Church

wants to THANK all of our church family for

helping in various ways to make this a very

special day in the life of the church.

March 31st – 9 dozen cookies are needed to

take to Lakeview. Talk to Lorelie or Bev is you

can furnish. THANK YOU!

Coming !!! Rummage Sale & Bake Sale –

April 4th & 5th. April 4th – 4-7:00 and Sat. 5th 9-

noon.Work week will begin on Monday March

31st.

Keep these people in your prayers for Health and Healing: Richard Olson, Stephanie Tumbleson, Mable Anderson, Ruth Gray, Irene Sandberg, Silas Borntrager, Wanda Bloomquist, Les Peterson, Arden Zielske, Lois Schulte, Larry & Pat Schmoldt, Linda Fett, Birdella Allen

Pray for the

missionaries whom we support. First – Philip Knutson United Methodist – Terry Henderson & Muriel; Delbert & Sandy Graves Pray that the Holy Spirit will be with our “Partners in Ministry” congregations as we join in worship, and fellowship Pray for our church leaders: Superintendent Rev. Phil Strom, Bishop Ough, and Bishop Jon Anderson & Bishop Eaton as they lead our respective churches.

They always enjoy visits, cards or phone calls

THCC: Richard Olson, Ruth Gray, Irene Sandberg

In their Home Mable Anderson, Gladys Johnson, Lou Moen

Lutz Wing – Fairmont Hospital Les Peterson

Goldfinch – Fairmont Lois Schulte, Carolyn Nordstrom

Pine Medical Center Lorraine Johnson

You may give one of these people a call to start

the prayer chain in each church.

United Methodist

Floraine Delaney – 639-5176

Allene Anderson - 639-4051

Doris Marquardt – 728-8671

First Lutheran

Joanne Olson – 639-2326

Nina Faber – 639-9451

Bev Anthony – 639-2151

The Greatest Story – Jesus Bible Study on Sunday mornings

10:00 a.m. at the Methodist

Church Lead by Pastor Stephanie

All are invited to come!

LENT Begins

Wednesday, March 5th

With Ash Wednesday,

7:00 p.m. at

United Methodist

The youth will serve soup and

sandwiches beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Operation Christmas Child

Mission Trip Melissa & Taryn are excited to share from Samaritan’s

Purse their 2014 trip to Gyana! They will spend the

week giving out shoeboxes and doing some possible

cultural activities. This would be the same kind of trip

that Taryn took. The dates are July 19-25.

Samaritan’s Purse is very selective. You must be 16-20

years old. If you have the passion

and a love for OCC, and have a

strong relationship with Jesus and

want to continue to grow spiritually,

contact Taryn or Melissa to find out more information

about the trip or application forms.

The shoe box item for March is: hats & mittens.

Confirmation

We will also be going to Shetek Bible Camp on March 21-22 for a retreat. We will leave from Trimont around 4:30 on Friday and get back to Trimont around 7:30 on Saturday night. Faith statements from 8th graders are due at this time, as well as the three questions fro our 7th graders. Last day of class is April 2nd. Women and Wellness – Walking/Running

Group -- In May we will begin a walking and running group on weekends. Watch for more info as the snow melts!

Sunday

March 16th

2:00 p.m. “Women and the

Word”

Bible study. This is

open to all women, especially those who work, are

raising a family and have schedules that look like a

personal assistant is needed to keep it all straight.

Our goal is to meet once a month, on either a

Saturday or Sunday afternoon for 2-3 hours. We

will have fun and fellowship, followed by our Bible

study Real Women, Real Faith. Each month we

will look at a different woman of the Bible and

learn about her story off struggles and triumphs.

Our first time will be at Stephanie Tumbleson’s.

Come ready to pamper yourself, because we are

starting with a Mary Kay party! Afterwards we will

learn about Mary.

You can RSVP on Facebook, or contact Pastor

Stephanie, Kristie Swenson, Melissa Tumbleson or

Stephanie Tumbleson. We hope to see you there!

Youth

Reminder - we will again serve soup and

sandwiches after Lenten services.

We will serve at the Methodist Church on

March 5th

& 12th

. At First Lutheran we will serve

on April 2nd

& 9th

. Adult leaders for the suppers are

LeeAnn Steen & Nicole Sands.

Easter leaders are Kris Scheff and Dawn Hanson

Sunday School

The SS children have had 4 weeks of classes on the theme “Love is…” from 1 Corinthians 13. We experimented with lemon juice, made love quilt square, decorated kindness cookies and watched a video.

Teachers – Thank you to Glenda Bloomquist, Rita Matejka and Wendi Russenberger for leading classes in February. Contact Rita at rmatejka@frontiernet.net or 507- 236-9613 if you are willing to help at any time.

Students who attended 3 times or more for the month: Sam & Sydney Borntrager; Ethan Lee; Ty Tumbleson; Ben, Kari, Nicholas & Emily Matejka; Karson Janssen Thanks to Ardella McGee for the cookies and fabric