Gather in Grace • Grow in Faith • Go Forth to Serve

A JOYOUS OCCASION

Stephen Ministers Commissioned This Sunday

-By Erin Pommeranz

We are happy to announce that TLC has completed training of nine Stephen Ministers. They will be commissioned to begin their work this Sunday, May 19 at the 9:30am service.

The Stephen Ministers have spent 50 hours of training that involves equipping them with essential caring and relating skills. Participants have learned how to listen to, care for, and walk with those going through difficult times in life.

After the Stephen Ministers are commissioned they will then be assigned to a care receiver. Care receivers are people, congregation members and others in the community, who are struggling through a difficult time in life. This can be due to experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or some other life crisis.

We are thankful for the support of members who generously donated to the Capital Campaign to make this ministry possible. We are also grateful for the Stephen Leaders and Stephen Ministers who have given their time and hearts (and many Saturday mornings) to this ministry.

Click above to find out more about Stephen Ministry Care Receivers.

Odd name, Bloomington Bird Lady,

or “My Life With Eight Feeders”

About 15 years ago now, my friend from choir said she had started counting birds for Cornell University's “Project Feeder Watch” and she was really enjoying noticing the birds, watching how many of each kind there were, and sending her data to Cornell on line. She thought I might enjoy it too. So, I signed up, paid a small fee, and got all the material... including a large bird calendar, and places to write all the varieties I might see in our area. I enjoyed actually saving my counts, and not sending them in on-line, only at the end of the counting season.

It's not as easy as it sounds. If you saw one robin, and then later saw two robins, you couldn't combine those numbers... What we counted was the largest number seen at one time, and never adding to that unless you cancelled that number and started fresh. It became easy to quickly count what I saw, and I still do that even though I stopped being in the Feeder Watch project.

Minnesota is great for bird watching. We live close to the MN River and Nine Mile

Creek, so we do get some plain, wet-area loving varieties. You can always tell

when spring arrives, as the red-winged blackbirds show up at the feeders. Later there will be cow birds, and flocks of starlings and blackbirds. Perhaps these undesirable types keep the lovely ones away at times. In winter we have chickadees all the time, and their metabolism keeps them having to eat constantly. Poor little things only take one seed at a time, fly to a nearby birch tree, eat that one seed, and fly back again and again... I always wonder about their little feet when it's below zero.  

We have many goldfinches, whose summer color has now returned. In winter they look very dull and kind of brownish. The mourning doves stayed around all winter, and so did the bluejays...They don't get along too well. Pecking order in birds?? Yes! One other bird we love to see is the pileated woodpecker. So large but easily scared away by any motion behind a window. I used to say pill-ee-ated, but the proper way is pie-lee-ated.  They look like I'd think Woody Woodpecker would look, and so big. The cardinals stay all year round, look so nice in winter and we have a lot of them especially at dusk, when they love to feed.

We heard a large “whomp” hit our window two days ago. Scared me until I looked out to see feathers flying and a sharp-shinned hawk, not too big, sitting on its prey, a sweet mourning dove: his noon lunch. I thought to open the door and scare away the hawk but he was not about to leave his picnic behind, and carried the dove away, still alive, too.

Peaceful birds have a hard life.

-Bloomington Bird Lady

TLC’s Activities Group for Seniors and Friends



June 12 @ 2pm

ALIVE & KICKIN (see promo below) AT THE SCHNEIDER THEATER IN THE BLOOMINGTON CIVIC PLAZA (City Hall). RESERVE TICKETS AT TLC ($26) BEFORE MAY 23.

July 10 @ 2pm

BIRTHDAY BASH! COME CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY, NO MATTER WHAT THE MONTH. WE'LL HAVE CAKE AND ICE CREAM AND SOME FUN THINGS TO DO AND TALK ABOUT. NO COST.

August 14

TLC'S NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY! COME FOR FOOD, MUSIC, FUN, CONVERSATION, AND EVEN SOME PRIZES.

Contact Renee Jefferson for further information:

952-884-2364 or [email protected]

SEND TO OTHERS

View past issues of the TLC Weekly.

[CLICK HERE] to visit the TLC web page where you can choose to read from the past eight months of weekly E-newsletters from Transfiguration Lutheran Church. This is also a great way to share TLC Weekly with those that don't receive it in email. Tell them to visit tlcmn.com/tlcweekly

[Click Here] For April Meeting Minutes

[Click Here] For April Finance Report

-PROGRESS REPORT-

COURTNEY CHASE RAISED $40,000

This past January, TLC welcomed guest speaker, Courtney Chase, to the worship services. Many will recall her story of being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Blood Cancer - at the age of four. She fought the battle and won, thanks, in part, to the support and prayers of TLC. The day of her presentation at TLC, Courtney had a goal: To raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thereby qualifying her as a LLS Student of the Year. Between worship services Courtney was at a table in the Narthex answering questions and accepting donations for her cause.

Courtney was in touch with TLC staff earlier this week to provide an update on her efforts.

She writes:

I ended up raising almost $40,000, and my biggest event was when I spoke at TLC, everyone was incredibly generous and I’m so grateful. I did not win the title of Student of the Year. However, I did receive an award called the Mission Integration award which means out of all the candidates, they felt I integrated the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission into my campaign the best. I feel so honored and blessed to have been able to be a part of this campaign and effort to find a cure for cancer. 

 

I knew that I wanted to continue to be involved in Students Of the Year, so when i was asked to join the Students Of the Year leadership team, I jumped at the opportunity. I met with Jennifer Anderson, the wonderful woman who runs Students Of the Year, a few weeks ago when she asked me to be the Honored Hero for the Students Of the Year 2020 campaign. I was so honored to have been asked to do this as I had previously had the opportunity to do this for the Man and Woman Of the Year campaign in 2018 and it was an amazing experience. What this entails is doing several speeches, going to candidates events, supporting and encouraging candidates, and many other things. 

~ ~ ~

If you know of a high school student that would be interested in this life changing opportunity, please email  [email protected]  and [email protected]  for more information.”

TAKING FAITH HOME

WEEK OF MAY 19, 2019



Use this friendly tool to enrich your family times with conversation, rituals, prayer, blessings, and service ideas. [Click Here] for this week's edition. See below for all the great things you can read and do!

Please join us for a Potluck lunch following worship on

Sunday, June 2, 11:00am – 1:00pm. 

We will enjoy food, fun and fellowship as we celebrate

TLC’s high school and college graduates!

SPEAKERS NEEDED ON JUNE 9

Pentecost Sunday Speakers Needed. We're looking for people willing and able to translate and read a bible verse in a language other than English for our Pentecost Sunday worship services June 9. Please email your interest to Rob Reid, Music Director: [email protected]

BOOK 'EM DONATION SITE AT TLC

Help Support Crime Prevention Activities

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS

Youth Quiz

1) What did Jesus say is the most important of all God's commandments?

2) What did Jesus say is the second most important commandment?

3) Who is your neighbor?

4) What did the "Good Samaritan" do that was so good?

Answers in the last/bottom section of this issue.

COMING SOON!

Vacation Bible School

JUNE 17 - JUNE 21

Information brochures with registration forms

now available in the church Narthex.

TLC ELC Families – We Need Your Help!

Summer is quickly approaching, and TLC Early Learning Center has several openings. As you know, having a full center is critical to our financial health. A full center is also a straightforward way to ensure we maintain our budget.

 

How can you help?

Referrals are one of the best and easiest ways to fill openings. Talk to your co-workers, friends, family and neighbors; it would be great if you could share this information on social media or any other way you think you can help promote our nationally accredited Christian childcare and preschool program. Also, please share our web address:  www.tlcelc.com

If your referral joins TLC-ELC you earn a $200 bonus toward tuition!

 

Summer Openings

-Chipmunks (born in 2016): 2 openings

- Aardvarks (3-4 years old, born in 2015): 3 openings

- TAC (school-age Kindergarten thru 5th grade): Full-time only

 

For more information, call TLC-ELC at 952.884.7955

Email at [email protected]

Website: www.tlcelc.com

 

Thanks for helping TLC-ELC by getting the word out!

ALTAR FLOWERS

ONLINE ORDERING

The TLC website has a new and easier online form to order Chancel/Altar Flowers for any Sunday in 2019.

[Click Here] to access the form now, or visit www.tlcmn.com later and look for the "Purchase Altar Flowers" button at the bottom of any page.

ANSWERS FROM QUIZ EARLIER IN THIS ISSUE

1) What did Jesus say is the most important of all God's commandments?

Answer #2: Love God with all your heart, soul and mind. In Matthew 22:34-40, someone asked Jesus which of those Commandments is most important. Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

True happiness comes from being one of God's children; not from having a lot of money, fancy clothes, or other material things; not from being powerful or respected. The Commandments are as important today as they were 3000 years ago.

2) What did Jesus say is the second most important commandment?

Answer #1: Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. In Matthew 22:39, Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." In other words, don't be selfish; care as much about other people as you care about yourself !

"Love God and love all God's people" is the message that all the Commandments, all the prophets, and Jesus have tried to make us understand.

3) Who is your neighbor?

Answer #3: Everybody in the world. Jesus had a different meaning of "neighbor" than we often do. When He said, "Love your neighbor," he meant everyone in the world. That means mother, father, sister, brother, friends, classmates, teachers, even people we don't like and even people who are mean to us! We should never tease, make fun or be unkind to anyone, for any reason. When people are unkind to us it is often because they are unhappy and feel worthless. We should just forgive them and never try to get even.

4) What did the "Good Samaritan" do that was so good?

Answer #1: He helped a man who was hurt, even though he was an enemy. The Samaritans and Jesus' people, the Jews, had been enemies for hundreds of years. In Jesus' story of the "Good Samaritan," in Luke 10:30-37, a Jewish man had been beaten by robbers and left bleeding beside the road. Two different religious leaders passed by, but did nothing to help the man. Finally, a Samaritan man came by and took pity on the injured man, even though he was an enemy. He gave him water, patched up his wounds, put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could rest and recover.

Jesus said we should be like the Samaritan man; we should care about and be kind to anyone in need, even our enemies!

Transfiguration Lutheran Church

A Reconciling in Christ Congregation

~~LINKS~~