Living Faith Weekly News (Week of February 1, 2026)
- Kay Michaelson
- Feb 2
- 6 min read
Pastor Paige shared a message of the Beatitudes on the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me." Matthew 5: 3 - 11.
Pastor Paige has given several sermons on the Beatitudes, but yesterday's message was driven by something new - the current day's happenings to the immigrants of our nation. Therefore, Pastor Paige shared a new view of the Beatitudes:
"Blessed are the immigrants,
for they will find safety and belonging.
Blessed are people of color,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are the fearful,
for they will be given unstoppable bravery.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
not the peacekeepers whose silence only keeps their own comfort,
but the peacemakers, for they will receive an everlasting, gentle rest.
Blessed are the protesters, observers, and witnesses,
for they will receive justice and wisdom.
Blessed are those being arrested and executed
for doing justice, loving kindness, and marching humbling in righteousness,
for they will be set free.
Blessed are those who mourn
the events in Minnesota and the state of this country,
for they will be comforted.
God will comfort you.
God is with you.
And God is not finished flipping the wisdom of the world upside down.
Amen."
Our service concluded with Pastor Paige and the young people of Living Faith giving the benediction.
Thank you to Pastor Paige for her leadership in worship, to Gail Kass for providing music for our service, to Angela Catton for live-streaming our service, to Debbie Gibson for reading scripture, Sandy Heeren for assisting with Holy Communion and Tim Kass for ushering and running the sound board.
Living Faith 2025 Celebration Meal
Living Faith gathered in the PUCC Fellowship Hall to celebrate 2025 with a catered meal. Thank you to all who helped to get the meal ready and clean up afterwards.
After our meal, we met in the PUCC sanctuary for our Annual Meeting. Minutes of this meeting were emailed out to members but if you would like a hard copy, please let Kay Michaelson know. Highlights from the meeting included Pastor Paige's priorities for 2026 which are to deepen relationships within Living Faith and to hold retreat-style meetings in 2026 to vision what Living Faith's future can look like now that we are a more established congregation. We heard a report from the RIC Committee,elected Todd Lang to the Church Council and approved the 2026 budget with amendments to increase the Youth line item as well as the accompanist line item.
All are invited to worship on Sunday as Living Faith welcomes Bishop Scott Dalen to our church. Come hear a message from the Bishop and meet him! Living Faith worships at 11:00 AM each Sunday in the sanctuary of the Presbyterian United Church of Christ at 858 7th Ave. SE. Pastor Paige will lead worship, Gail Kass will play the piano, Nathan Summerside will read scripture and Mark Catton will assist with Holy Communion.
You are invited to Bible Study at 9:30 AM in Room 105 on Sunday mornings as we dig deeper into the second reading of the day!
After Bible Study, head into the Fellowship Hall at 10:30 to enjoy coffee and conversation prior to worship!
Confirmation Classes will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, February 4 at Christ Lutheran Church, rural Brunsville. All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are welcome!
Lutheran Men in Mission will meet Sunday, February 8th at 2:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall of the PUCC. Bishop Scott Dalen will be attending this meeting. All men are invited to come see what this ELCA organization is planning!
Living Faith and the PUCC are scheduling delivery of Meals on Wheels for the weeks of February 17 - March 13th. There are 2 routes of delivery (north and south) in Le Mars with meals needing to be picked up at 10:30 at the Le Mars Senior Center and it takes an estimated 30 minutes to make deliveries. In total, during those weeks, Living Faith is responsible for covering 4 weeks of a route. Brian and Kay Michaelson will deliver meals on the north route for February 17 - February 20th. Kay Michaelson and Yvonne Law will deliver meals on the south route for the week of February 23 - 27. We need 4 more volunteers to help out with one of the routes for two more weeks. Please see the bulletin board in the narthex of the PUCC by the PUCC table to sign up!
There will be a Sleep in Heavenly Peace bed build in Le Mars on Saturday, March 28 at Le Mars Chevy & GMC in the body shop. There are 2 shifts: 9 - 11 and 1 - 3. You must register to participate. Here is the link: https://shpbeds.org/chapter/ia-sioux-city/. Scroll down on this page to find the March 28 date and click on the link to the shift you'd like.
Living Faith will also be collecting items for SHP during the season of Lent. More on this soon.
Sign Up to Read or Help Serve Communion
Please check out the worship volunteer sheet on the Living Faith table in the narthex to help out with reading scripture or serving communion!
Summer program registration is open and registrations are being taken now! Here is the link to the camp weeks: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KOChWCnGmFtEthxLHYUX6oIiVYUHDzGj/view
Here is the link if you wish to register: https://lutheranlakeside.campbrainregistration.com/?queueittoken=e_globalthrottle~ts_1770062707~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_bbc55fc6f2efbe93f7a900c77f9f15cf85be1025a0ee3f23a102985d5c912efb
There is an early bird discount and the deadline for getting that discount is February 28. Living Faith offers camp scholarships of $100. Contact Pastor Paige or any council member about a scholarship if your student would like to attend camp.
Brochures about camp are available on the Living Faith table in the narthex.
Lenten devotional booklets are now available for pick up and can be found in the basket on the Living Faith table.
Here is the schedule for Lent at Living Faith. Please note times and locations:
Ash Wednesday, February 18 - 5:00 PM - Sanctuary of PUCC
Wednesday meal, February 25 - 6:00 PM - Fellowship Hall of the PUCC; Menu: Potluck
Wednesday Lenten service, February 25 - 7:00 PM - Sanctuary of PUCC
Wednesday meal, March 4 - 6:00 PM - Fellowship Hall of the PUCC; Menu: Soup and sandwiches
Wednesday Lenten service, March 4 - 7:00 PM - Sanctuary of the PUCC
Wednesday meal, March 11 - 6:00 PM - Fellowship Hall of the PUCC; Menu: Lasagna
Wednesday Lenten service, March 11 - 7:00 PM - Sanctuary of the PUCC
Wednesday meal, March 18 - 6:00 PM - Fellowship Hall of the PUCC; Menu: Taverns
Wednesday Lenten service, March 18 - 7:00 PM - Sanctuary of the PUCC
Wednesday meal, March 25 - 6:00 PM - Fellowship Hall of the PUCC; Menu: Pizza
Wednesday Lenten service, March 25 - 7:00 PM - Sanctuary of the PUCC
Wednesday, February 4 - Confirmation at 7:00 at Christ Lutheran
Sunday, February 8 - Bible Study at 9:30 AM in Room 105
Sunday, February 8 - Worship with Bishop Dalen at 11:00 AM
Sunday, February 8 - Lutheran Men in Mission at 2:00 in the PUCC Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, February 17 - Church Council meeting at 6:30 in Room 105
Wednesday, February 18 - Ash Wednesday service at 5:00 in the PUCC Sanctuary
Please pray for:
Kevin Richards
John, Peg and Katie McAllister
Travis Balt and the students and families of MOC-FV
The family of Kristy Pecks
The Ruhrer Family
Rod Hallberg
Sherry Jo Wittkop and her family
Mitch Lang, Derek and the Iowa National Guard
Pastor Jan
Amy Beveridge
The Ostermyer Family
The Matthew Kenny Family
The Remsen St. Mary's accident victims
Marilynn
Ali
Marie
Pastor Paige
Living Faith
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