Welcome to Christ Lutheran e-news, a weekly electronic newsletter which highlights programs and activities of our congregation. Feel free to .
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This Sunday at 7:00 p.m.-shortly before sunset-we'll "dip a toe into the water" with in-person worship, with an outdoor service of Evening Prayer. Attendance will be limited to 25 worshipers, in addition to worship leaders, physical distancing will be observed, and hand sanitizer available. (We have a new, portable, touchless dispenser to inaugurate!)
While singing will be limited to the cantors, masked worshipers may hum along. Under the shadow of this pandemic, we yet give praise to Christ, the Light of the World.
Invitations are scheduled to go out later today, and RSVPs will be required.
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Tom Berryman, Music Director
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Five Minutes!
Have you ever signed in to Christ Lutheran's Daily Reflections, posted on our homepage christnatick.org Monday through Friday? These are short, daily readings from the appointed lessons, reflections and prayers with images and music in a video format, less than five minutes in length. Pastor Bourret prepares the reflections and prayers, Rolf Larson edits the images and I supply the "locally sourced" music. Give Daily Reflections a try this week.
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The Worship, Music and Visual Arts Committee announces our first live service at Christ Lutheran Church since March for this coming Sunday at 7 pm in our church parking lot. Evening Prayer traditionally features hymns, liturgical chants, readings and prayers. For August 16, the service will be led by singers Anders, Anna and Scott Carlson and instrumentalists Frank Miller (accordion), Gail Weston-Roberts (mandolin) and Joan Ellersick (viola). The congregation, limited to twenty-five people will be invited to hum, but not sing. Widely spaced chairs will be set up for the congregation. The singers will be located inside the church building. The players will be appropriately spaced along the sidewalk. All of the music will be live, but amplified.
Please make a reservation to attend Evening Prayer by responding to the e-mail invitation sent to our members and friends from the church office. Masks are required. Don't forget to bring your mask. |
Gail Weston-Roberts, Youth & Families Coordinator
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Hello from your CLC Youth & Family Coordinator!
What a long, strange trip we are on together. So many worthwhile, congregational doings have become impossible to enjoy in the ways that we used to, including the May rite of confirmation for seven youngsters of Christ Lutheran. We've missed a lot since March.
Yet we are adapting and have... a cunning plan! Pastor and I have conferred and would like to start presenting confirmands' Faith Statements during our online worship services. Since we all like to keep those services brief, we're proposing that your Statements be presented on separate, subsequent Sundays. Maybe two per week, so we finish in one month rather than in two? And then a distanced, tailgate celebration in the church parking lot!
At any rate, parents and youth, please expect emails, texts, calls and the like about a catch-up review of what we've studied for two-plus-years! Orange workbooks may show up on your doorsteps. Plus a Zoom meeting or two would be cool. And then you converse with Pastor Bourret-individually!-- about what on earth to say in your Statement.
I am looking forward to finally talking about Things That Matter again! Thank you for your patience and I continue to pray for your physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Peace be with you!-Gail W-R
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This month's selection is the novel March by Geraldine Brooks. Brooks takes the absent father of Little Women and follows him to the South where he serves Union troops as a chaplain during the Civil War. Through bloody battles and scenes of destruction, he retraces his youthful encounters with the women and men who inhabited the plantations of the antebellum South and wrestles with the cruel realities of slavery. His abolitionist views as chaplain clash harshly with his experiences among Union troops attempting to retain their advantage over Southern forces. March is also forced to re-examine his relationship to his wife and the life he left behind in Concord.
To read this book today within the context of a renewed awareness of the effects of racism is to bring a painful realization that we continue today to confront some of the same moral issues that March faces in this novel.
Available in public libraries and your local, independent bookstores. The group meets on Monday, August 24, 2020, 7:30 pm. If you would like to be added to the book group's email list, contact Marianne Swenson,[email protected] Netflix Series "Immigration Nation" is a six-part Netflix documentary series delving into the current state of U.S. immigration. Over a period of three years, from 2017-2020, investigators had unprecedented access to ICE operations and immigrants, culminating in six hour+-long episodes, each with a particular focus, titled "Installing Fear," Maintaining Vigilance, "Power of the Vote," "The New Normal," "The Right Way," and "Prevention Through Deterrence." Ringer.com calls it "a difficult, but necessary, viewing experience." Members and friends of CLC who have seen it agree. You're invited to watch, then gather biweekly (via Zoom, of course) for conversation, proposed for Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:00 p.m., beginning next week, August 19. Please contact Pr. Bourret for an invitation: [email protected]. See a trailer here:
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Last week a powerful explosion in Beirut, Lebanon killed at least 150 people, injured more than 5000, and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Also among the losses were three 40-foot shipping containers filled with more than 22,000 quilts, as well as personal care kits, school kits, and baby kits set for distribution by Lutheran World Relief, for refugees primarily from Syria and the Palestinian territories.
Our quilters have been hard at work-we'll get to see some of the fruits of their labors at Sunday's Evening Prayer service-and we're also readying for our LWR "Ingathering," the reception of quilts and kits for shipment to the agency's Baltimore headquarters, rescheduled for September 2. In light of this heartbreaking loss, we can step up to help replace the losses. While Lutheran World Relief offers emergency assistance and works to rebuild, please consider donating online, by phone, or by US Mail.
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"God's work, Our hands" is an annual day of service promoted by the ELCA. Even though we are physically distant, we can act together, serving our neighbors. Our goal is for every member to participate in some way. Donate money, make a health kit, write a letter, pray every day. These are just a few ideas and more details for projects will follow. While we will not be working shoulder to shoulder on this day, we will collectively celebrate all the ways we express our faith by doing God's work with our hands. Take a picture of yourself with a representation of your work or a sign that says "God's Work. Our Hands." We'll put them together in slide show to celebrate our strength in numbers! Watch for more details!
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READINGS FOR THIS WEEK - 11th Sunday after Pentecost
August 16, 2020
Throughout history, countless stories have portrayed the foreign woman as the primary source of trouble. In the gospel reading for this coming Sunday, a foreign woman argues her case before Jesus, but in the end she is blessed. Come to hear this interesting story, and join us for mercy at the Master's table.
First Reading Psalm Second Reading Gospel
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Sing For Joy
Enhance your understanding of the weekly scripture readings by listening to Sing For Joy from St. Olaf College. The Sing For Joy radio program, produced by St. Olaf College, has a simple mission: to explore the weekly themes of Christian worship by providing the best in sacred choral music and thoughtful commentary. The musical performances eloquently "do the talking," while the concise remarks from host Pastor Bruce Benson illuminate the meaning of the texts.
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