Living Faith Weekly News (Week of July 7, 2024)

Kay Michaelson
Jul 8, 2024
6 min read

Updated: Jul 10, 2024

ree — Happy 4th of July from Living Faith!

Last Week

Living Faith celebrated the 4th of July with an entry in the rainless parade! That's right! For the first time ever, we walked in a parade that had no precipitation! Thanks to all the generous candy donors at Living Faith, we emptied the last of the candy buckets right at the end of the route! We also handed out flyers advertising our upcoming Outdoor Worship service on July 21!

Thank you to Judd and Kari Kopperud who volunteered the use of their pickup and to Kari for rounding up all the decorations used on the pickup! Walkers in the parade were Kari, Jordan and Jess Kopperud, Tim Kass, Mark and Angela Catton, and Kay Michaelson. Yvonne Law, Sharon Utesch, Karen Schroeder and Gail Kass rode along with Judd! We also appreciated everyone along the parade route who took pictures of our Living Faith entry!

July 7th worship in the Chapel was made possible by the efforts of Pastor David Halaas, Gail Kass, Tim Kass, Peg McAllister, Karen Schroeder, and Angela Catton. Thank you to all!

Pastor Halaas' message centered on the Gospel reading of the day: Mark 6: 1 - 13.

He ended his message with a benediction from the Brazilian theologian, Claudio Carvalhaes, Professor of Worship at Union Theological Seminary in New York, NY, who wrote this from the prospective of an immigrant:

"As you shake off the dust, move forward in the midst of resistance.

Above all things, guard your hearts.

God has given you fullness!

In whatever situation, be grateful to the earth, to God and to the universe.

Trust in yourself.

Nobody, nothing can take away the dignity of your own life because you are a child of God, made in God's own image!

Ask for healing oil when you can, pray for their transformation and your own healing.

Try to keep your sanity.

Life is over only when God takes you to eternity -

before that life is a struggle! Always!

Get used to tough experiences, to the horrendous stories you might hear and

keep on going!

Never go alone!

Gather together, keep company with someone!

Love as much as you can!

Pray all the time.

Worship without ceasing and above all, don't give up.

Know that I love you and I will always be with you.

Love,

God"

This Week

We will be in the Chapel of the PUCC (858 7th Ave. SE) at 11:00 for our Sunday worship with Pastor David Halaas presiding! Gail Kass will accompany us on the piano and Debbie Gibson will read Scripture. If you would like to assist with Communion or greet worshipers at the door, please let Kay know.

At this service, we will commission Conor Rathke as he takes leave for the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans next week! We wish you safe travels, Conor, and a week of wonderful experiences with youth from all over the United States! Living Faith will be keeping you in our prayers!

Thank you to Kari Kopperud who is putting together treat bags from Living Faith for the bus ride for the youth from this area!

We had a lot of catching up to do last week at Faith + Fellowship! Thank you to Sharon Utesch for bringing fruit to share and Tim Kass for brewing the coffee!

We will be in Room 103 again this Sunday at 10:00 and hope you can join us!

July 14 is the deadline to bring your donations of flood bucket supplies to Living Faith. If you are not able to be at church on the 14th, you can bring your donations to Kay Michaelson's home at 1501 2nd Ave. SE this week. Just text at 712-540-5368 to arrange a time.

At 4:00 on July 14th, we will gather with friends from other area Lutheran churches at Christ Lutheran Church, Grant Township to put the flood buckets together for distribution to those in need in northwest Iowa. The location for this project will be emailed to you this week when known.

Here is a shopping list for you. Remember, you can purchase whatever you wish from this list below in whatever quantity you like.

One five-gallon bucket with resealable lid
Four scouring pads
One scrub brush
Five dust masks
Seven sponges, assorted sizes (at least one fairly hefty for washing mold)
18 cleaning towels (reusable, like Easy Wipes)
12 oz. bottle of liquid concentrated household cleaner (like Lysol)
25 oz. bottle liquid disinfectant dish soap (like Dawn)
50 oz. or two 25 oz. bottle of liquid laundry detergent
Package of 48 - 50 clothespins
Clothesline, two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.
Two pairs of latex gloves (long heavy duty, like Playtex dishwashing gloves, not the thin ones sold for painting etc.)
Pair of work gloves
28-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags (35-40 gallon)
One 6-9 oz bottle of insect repellant (pump, drops or lotion, not aerosol)

Bomgaars in Le Mars is offering 20% off vouchers for items purchased in the month of July for flood relief. You may pick up one of these vouchers from Kay Michaelson at 1501 2nd Ave. SE if you have yet to do your flood bucket shopping!

A $250 Thrivent grant has been secured to purchase items that may be needed if flood buckets are short some of the things once buckets are put together on Sunday.

Our summer outdoor worship service will be at O'Toole Park on Sunday, July 21st at 11:00! Pastor David Halaas will be presiding and Dave Grosenheider and Rich Ziettlow will lead music for the service. Holy Communion will be celebrated as well.

Please bring lawn chairs or a blanket for seating during the service. The mosquitos have been challenging lately so you might want to protect yourself with bug spray that morning!

Following worship, we will have a potluck lunch at the park. Main dish and bottled water will be provided.

Please bring table service for yourself and your family and a side dish or dessert to share!

Help is needed with preparing the stage that Mark and Cheryl Juhl have for this service. The stage needs to be opened (which requires a bit of muscle!) and cleaned prior to the service. Then the stage needs to be hooked up to Mark's pickup. We plan to do this on Saturday, July 20th - place and time to be determined. We will also need help the morning of the 21st to open up the stage once it is put in place at O'Toole Park. Let any member of the Leadership Team know if you would be able to help on the 20th and/or the 21st.

Godspell is coming to Lamb Theater at the Klinger Neal Theater on the campus of Morningside University and it's Lutheran Night on Thursday, July 25th at 7:30! Sign up to attend this musical based on the Gospel of Matthew by July 14th on the sheet that's on the sign up table. We may qualify for group rates so the admission cost will be determined once we know how many are planning to attend!

Living Faith's July 28th service will be at the Plymouth County Fair's Ecumenical worship service at 10:00 in Century Hall! Wear your Living Faith t-shirt and join in on this service!

Living Faith's Leadership Team will have an item for you to pass out to fair goers this day!

Living Faith's Meals on Wheels service project begins on July 22 and runs through August 2. Sign up will be outside the chapel after our worship service this coming Sunday. There will be information sheets about this project's details and responsibilities on the sign up table as well. 4 people are needed each week day of those two weeks.

If you would like to help but are not available on those dates, the PUCC has the following 2 weeks in August and you can sign up to help in one of their slots!

Here are some additional photos of the fun we had on June 30th!