Living Faith Weekly News (Week of June 29, 2025)
- Kay Michaelson
- Jun 30
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 4
Sunday Morning Worship
Living Faith celebrated Welcome Sunday with new members joining our church and the sponsors who will walk with our new members as they become more acquainted within the church! New members are Dave Curry and sponsor Dave Grosenheider, Bailey Quanbeck and sponsor Peg McAllister, Pastor Trish Underberg and sponsor Yvonne Law, Deacon Eric, Rhonda, Ella and Tucker Haitz and sponsors Judd, Kari, Kortney, Jordan and Jess Kopperud. Thank you to all who volunteered to sponsor our new members! The sponsors introduced the new members and Pastor Paige and all welcomed them into our midst!
We were blessed with the music from Dave Grosenheider and Rich Ziettlow during our worship service. Their partnership in instrument and song enhanced our worship for sure!
Pastor Paige delivered a message on following Jesus for this third Sunday after Pentecost:
Our worship service was wrapped with concern for all who suffered damage from the storm during the early morning hours. Thank you to Gail Kass who filled in for Travis Balt as he was dealing with flooding in his apartment from the rain that accompanied the strong winds. Thank you to Pastor Paige for leading us in worship, Karen Schroeder for reading scripture, Peg McAllister for assisting with Holy Communion, Tim Kass for ushering and running the sound board, John and Peg McAllister for providing the bread for communion and setting it up, Angela Catton for live streaming our service, Dave and Rich for their offerings of music, Yvonne Law for counting the plate offerings and Sharon Utesch and all who cleaned up after worship!
Click on the arrow on the right hand side within the photo to view the slideshow.
Welcome Sunday Potluck!
Living Faith celebrated our new members with a potluck lunch - and Living Faith's potluck skills were on full display! Thank you to all who contributed to our meal and helped to get our table set up and cleaned up afterwards!
Click on the arrow on the right to see a slideshow of our potluck luncheon!
Living Faith in Action!
Following our meal, Living Faith members discussed how we could help our neighbors in need from the storm. Everyone in attendance who needed clean up help had things in hand, but Travis Balt was needing assistance at his apartment in Orange City. Living Faith organized a group to go up north with pick ups to help Travis move personal items into a storage unit. Thank you to Mark Catton, Jim and Sandy Heeren, Rose Curry, Tim Kass, Brian Michaelson and Kari Kopperud who were able to help out!
Click on the arrow to the right within the photo to view the slideshow.
Meanwhile, back at the church, the Painting Party began in Pastor Paige's office and the Living Faith meeting room! Thank you to Rich Ziettlow, Clayton and Janice Kooiker, Kay Allen, Pastor Paige, Angela Catton and Kay Michaelson for beginning the process of transformation with Accessible Beige and Smoky Blue!
Thank you to everyone who put Living Faith in action on this full day of gathering together as the people of God!
Next Sunday!
Cap off your 4th of July weekend with 11:00 worship at Living Faith Lutheran Church! We are located at 858 7th Ave. SE within the walls of the Presbyterian United Church of Christ. All are welcome! Pastor Paige will be sharing a message on the fourth Sunday of Pentecost, Gail Kass will accompany us on the piano, and Yvonne Law will read scripture. If you would like to assist with Holy Communion, please let Kay know.
Wednesday, July 2 - Church Council Meeting at 6:30 in the PUCC Fellowship Hall.
Sunday, July 13 - Sunday Morning VBS from 9:00 - 10:45 at the PUCC. Registration forms are on the Living Faith table in the narthex for 4 year olds - 5th graders! Please let Pastor Paige know if you can help supervise!
Sunday, July 13 - Outdoor worship at 11:00 on the front lawn of the PUCC. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. Pastor Paige will preside and Holy Communion will be celebrated. Dave Grosenheider will provide special music.
Sunday, July 13 - Picnic lunch following worship the PUCC Fellowship Hall. Bring a side dish or dessert to share as well as your table service. Pulled pork, hot dogs and beverages will be provided by the Church Council.
Thank you to the Women of the PUCC for organizing a day of sewing for a hospital's maternity ward in Honduras! Many baby blankets and baby hats were constructed in the hours we spent together on Thursday! Those helping from Living Faith were Kay Allen, Yvonne Law, Kari Kopperud and Kay Michaelson.
Click the arrow on the right inside the photo to view the slideshow.
Birthdays
Nate Rathke - July 2
Karen Schroeder - July 7
John McAllister - July 16
Janice Kooiker - July 22
Robin Grosenheider - July 28
Travis Balt - July 29
Jenni Mack - July 30
Baptismal Birthdays
Jordan Kopperud - July 4
Pastor Trish Underberg - July 5
Kari Kopperud - July 13
Karen Schroeder - July 27
Anniston Van Otterloo - July 29
Anniversaries
Brian & Kay Michaelson - July 14
Living Faith Letter from the Pastor
June 23, 2025
Dear Living Faith,
As you know, I was honored to receive a nomination for bishop at our most recent Synod Assembly. I was even more humbled and surprised to find myself on the fourth and final ballot. The whole process was such an affirmation of my call. I would not have been eligible for bishop or able to experience this election process without being ordained and rostered as a pastor in the ELCA. You were a huge part of the Holy Spirit moving and calling me to address the assembly during their discernment. As vital influencers of my discernment, I want to share with you a portion of my five-minute introductory speech as one of the top seven bishop candidates:
...The Western Iowa Synod is my home. Western Iowa raised me. I grew up in Sergeant Bluff, a member of St. Mark for my entire childhood... then, Western Iowa fostered my call. Lutheran Lakeside Camp became both the place where I first experienced full-time ministry and the place where I discerned my call to ordained ministry. Western Iowa supported my seminary journey... Western Iowa ordained me as a pastor through the gracious welcome of Living Faith. The Western Iowa Synod has shaped who I am. Western Iowa is my home, and I will always treat it and the people who live and do ministry here with love.
And that is also how I do ministry... I lead with love. I am capable of doing so because... God has loved me abundantly. My vision for the Western Iowa Synod is filled with radical love, inclusion, and as much new life as you all can tolerate... As bishop, I would strive to begin by building relationships that form trust and inspire growth – growth not necessarily in numbers, but growth in faith, in relationship, growth in thinking innovatively, growth through opening our hearts to a Spirit of change, growth in how we engage with our neighbors and God’s creation, growth in how we include and advocate for the marginalized, in how we fulfill Jesus’ commandment to love one another – like Jesus loves – fully, unconditionally, and abundantly...
Frankly, I’m not sure what the Holy Spirit [was] up to [in this election]. However, there are two things that are incredibly clear to me: 1) Every time I have resisted the Holy Spirit in the past, she has proven to be more stubborn than I am... 2) ...The Holy Spirit... placed a 30-year-old, newly ordained, queer woman in the running for bishop. What does that tell you about the church? I hope it moves you – in some way, in the direction of God’s vision of Christ’s Church across the world and here in Western Iowa – my home.
With immense gratitude,
Pastor Paige
Please pray for:
Kay Allen
The Gibson Family
Pastor Trish Underberg
Travis Balt
Joe Catton
Kristy Pecks
Karin
Ali
Marilynn
Pastor Paige
Living Faith
The Living Faith brother or sister you are praying for
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