Thursday, November 16, 2023

Grounding in our Faith with Pastor Elizabeth:

And did you get what

you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.

Raymond Carter

Over the past few days I have been in conversation circles with beautiful souls. I officiated a wedding. I prepared for a funeral. I met with various small groups of committed disciples of Hennepin Ave UMC.

When engaging in all of the beauty of ministry I have been struck by the power of what it is we church folk get to do together.

We get to learn and live the ways of feeling ourselves beloved on the earth.

Any stewardship season ought to call us all to ask ourselves why we give to our church. What promises do we hope to learn, live, and share? What kind of world does our giving help us create?  

Giving to and through Hennepin provides a sheltering place in the middle of a jumbled world. We come to church - whether electronically or in the flesh - to remember who we are. We come to church to meet each other's eyes and learn each other's stories. We come to be fed by beauty through music, liturgy, and the art of this space. We come to remember that we are not alone.

We come to remember that we are, in fact, beloved of the Holy and of others.

As you pray over the giving form you received in the mail this week, please consider how your life is made more resonant because Hennepin Ave UMC is committed to creating beauty and justice in this beleaguered and beautiful world. Give thanks for being part of a movement that seeks to encourage all to know their belovedness in this world.

Bring your commitment form to church. We'll create a time to bring them forward during worship. Don't worry, if you forget yours at home we will have plenty on hand.

We stand on the promises of God. We are called by name. We are beloved.  

Together, we create powerful grace.

See you Sunday!!!!

Pastor Elizabeth  

It's that time of year when everything ramps up for the holidays. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of your email and click the link titled "VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE" to see the whole newsletter! We have all the information you could possibly need to plan in the newsletter or on the events page.

Check out the Events Calendar for information on these, and other, upcoming events, classes, and opportunities. You can even subscribe or add events to your own calendar to help keep yourself organized!

We have many music-related events coming up. You can view our Music Ministry booklet digitally HERE.

KEY SAVE THE DATES

November 2023

Nov 16 Virtual Book Club

Nov 18 Sound Healing with Marc Anderson

Nov 19 Commitment Sunday / Angel Tree Begins

Nov 20 Disciple Bible Study: Winter’s Journey Into Spring with Bill Tipping

Nov 21 Advent's Imagination with Climate Futures with Nancy Victorin-Vangerud

Nov 21-24 Dignity Center Closed for Thanksgiving

Nov 23-25 Church closed for Thanksgiving

Nov 23 Interfaith Thanksgiving at Plymouth Congregational

DECEMBER PREVIEW

Dec 2 Advent Festival!

Dec 3 Advent Begins with Lessons and Carols worship

Dec 17 Christmas on Copper Street

Dec 21 First Day of Winter / Monthly Virtual Book Club

Dec 24 Advent 4 @10am / Christmas Eve Worship @ 4, 8, and 11pm.

Poinsettia Delivery

Orders Due December 3

We will be delivering poinsettias to members and constituents who are unable to attend Sunday services to celebrate the season and show love and concern for all our community.

We deliver the plants on or after Sunday, December 3.

If you would like a poinsettia delivered or would like to help deliver the plants contact Rev. Lynn at (612) 871-5303 x190.

Standing on the Promises: Stewardship begins!

November 5-November 19, 2023

Hennepin Ave UMC is grounded in promise. We minister in 2023 because of the vision and generosity of generations who have gone before us.

At our baptisms, we are washed in God's grace. Through baptism, we are claimed as beloved and enlisted as co-creators of God's Shalom in this blessed world.

We do none of this living and loving alone.

The Standing on the Promises sermon series is a reminder of each of our identities as a part of a powerful whole. No matter who you are, you are welcome to remember and live the promise of living and loving in the way of Jesus.

Stewardship is here!

Estimate of Giving Form

Send in your estimated giving forms to support our vital ministry and keep up the exciting momentum we are building! What a way to begin Stewardship; celebrating our saints that have passed, hearing from our current saints, and listening to some good news about the state of our Church!

You can fill out the Estimate of Giving Form RIGHT HERE!

Once you do that you can take the next step and set up automatic giving so you can set it and forget it.

Or if you prefer, printed copies and envelopes are at reception or worship entrances. Just ask our lovely ushers or Brenda or Corrine at reception!

You can watch Anita Nerhus' giving testimony HERE.

This Sunday

Worship at 10am

John 21:1-18

Acts 4:32-35



This Sunday's Message

Standing on Promises: Living

Pastor Elizabeth Macaulay

This Sunday is commitment Sunday! If you are coming to worship, you can bring your Estimate of Giving forms and we invite you to put them in boxes in the front to celebrate our commitment to the church!

If you participate from home, we invite you to watch via Facebook and you can add a heart in the comments during this section of worship! Let's make sure next year is amazing!

Unboxing Blessings with the Dignity Center: Amazon wish list gifts revealed!

Join us to watch our new series on social media with Rev. Margaret Kelly featuring special guests and the DC Angels. This week we hear from Margaret's child, Francis!

Click HERE to watch this week's "Unboxing Blessings" - The items off the wish list will be given to newly housed people! You can Support the Dignity Center through their Amazon Wish List HERE. You can sign up to provide the most needed supplies HERE

If you would like to help the DC Angels you can contact Margaret at margaret@haumc.org or just stop by Monday, Wednesday. and Friday from 9am-noon to see what all the action is about! *Please note holiday closures

Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

November 23, 10am

Plymouth Congregational Church (1900 Nicollet Ave S.)

Please join Downtown Minneapolis Congregations for the Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Community Service held this year at Plymouth Congregational Church of Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, at 10:00 am.

You can join online at plymouth.org/worship.

The Downtown Minneapolis Interfaith Senior Clergy will lead the worship service, featuring a powerful message by Senior Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman of Temple Israel of Minneapolis and readings and reflections from Jewish, Islamic, Christian, and Indigenous traditions. We unite in a posture of unity and gratitude to renew our commitment to peace, cooperation, and interfaith dialogue. Come worship with us, joining your voices in a communal service of gratitude and thanksgiving.

Participating congregations include Central Lutheran Church, Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), First Covenant Church, First Unitarian Society, First Universalist Church, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Islamic Community Center of Minnesota/Masjid Al-Amin, Masjid An-Nur, Plymouth Congregational Church, Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, St. Olaf Roman Catholic Church, Temple Israel, and Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Sound Healing with Marc Anderson

Sat., Nov 18 at 4pm in the Art Gallery

Suggested Donation: $10

Marc Anderson is a local musician and meditation teacher with a history at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church. He holds a staff position at Macalester College in the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. Marc has developed a transcendent sound healing experience, also known as a sound bath, which he has been offering at various churches, yoga centers, and community spaces for several years. This experience is known for its deeply relaxing, cleansing, and healing qualities; he is excited to bring this experience to our congregation!

Monthly Virtual Book Club

Thursday, November 16, 7pm

Zoom

Dear Jacob: A Mother's Journey of Hope by Patty Wetterling

With stunning detail, Patty Wetterling shares the untold story of the 27-year search for her son Jacob—and its astonishing conclusion.

If you enjoy reading, please join the Hennepin Avenue UMC community for an hour-long discussion via Zoom about this book!

The books can be read online through local libraries or inexpensive websites like thriftbooks.com.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89809837941?pwd=bEZZeXU3ZlR2TGNVUW9jUVBsUEZ0dz09

Meeting ID: 898 0983 7941

Passcode: 496102

To share this event with your friends and family, click here

Email Jane Mylrea if you are interested to get on the mailing list! (janecmylrea@yahoo.com).

Advent and Holiday Festival

December 2, 10am-12pm

Koinonia Hall

Join us for the annual Advent Festival to celebrate the holiday season with our neighbors from Emerson Elementary! We started developing our relationship with them early last year and it has been a wonderful way to celebrate and be present in our city!

Kids and grown-ups will decorate cookies, make Christmas cards, create crafts, and sing! Live music by Paul Damico-Carper and Sally Messner will play throughout the event and they will lead an all-ages sing-a-long starting at 10:45! We will share the sing-a-long with our online community.

Please bring children’s mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats for our Mitten Tree (not to be confused with The Angel Tree)! These items will be given to newly arrived immigrant and refugee students attending Emerson Elementary School.

You can sign up HERE to volunteer for this fun and festive day!

RSVP for the event HERE (Children aged 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult.)

Poetry, Prayers, and Practice: Wednesday Facebook Live Hosted by Hennepin Ave UMC Clergy

Wednesday 5pm on Facebook Live!

This week we hear from Pastor Elizabeth Macaulay!

You can see the video from last night on Facebook right HERE.

You can access the full playlist, at any time, on YouTube!

A Winter's Journey into Spring SIGN UP NOW!

Disciple I Bible Study with Bill Tipping

Monday Nights, 7-8:15pm,

Nov 20-May 6 on Zoom

24-week class to be taught on Zoom on Monday nights from 7-8:15, starting November 20 and ending the week of May 6.

Based on the curriculum outlined in Disciple I textbook; this an opportunity to explore the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in a small group covenant community setting, learning from and inspiring each other. This class has been completed by close to 70 members of the Hennepin community already, and, after the interlude of the pandemic, is now available again.

Zoom will make it accessible and comfortable to all, especially through the winter evenings.

Books can be purchased through Cokesbury and you can sign up HERE!

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/98490980500?pwd=ckhnU1BSYmRXbXhnWHBXc1RXS2JMdz09

Meeting ID: 984 9098 0500

Passcode: 264355

Join by phone: 312 626 6799

Scroll to the bottom of your email and click the link titled "VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE" to see the whole newsletter

Advent's Imagination with Climate Futures

Tuesdays, 10-11:30am,

Nov 21-Dec 19th in the Harrison Room

Led by Rev. Nancy Victorin-Vangerud, retired chaplain and urban gardener

The season of Advent invites us to a ‘thin edge of time’ in which we yearn and dream of futures bearing life’s abundance. Advent sparks faith’s imagination, continuing hope for creation where the arc of justice bends and green shoots emerge from adversity. This season, Advent aligns with the United Nations’ Convention of Parties (COP28), Nov. 30–Dec. 12th, in Dubai, where advocates from all nations will gather, yearning for paths beyond Earth’s climate emergency.

Join Nancy Victorin-Vangerud in a 5-week exploration of Andrew Dana Hudson's "cli-fi” book, Our Shared Storm: A Novel of Five Climate Futures (2022).

Hudson tells five short stories, each based on a different UN climate scenario (from sustainable to catastrophic) set in 2054 at a COP60 in Buenos Aires.

Through the shifting entanglements of four main characters, the stories help us learn about the COP process, climate modeling, and potential steps we can intentionally work towards (note–hopeful ending!). Register HERE and the book will be freely provided at the church office.

For more information, feel free to email Nancy, vicvang@gmail.com.

Hope for Creation in a Climate-Changed World

Nov 19th is the last session of the fall season

Sundays at 11:15am

Art Gallery

Wouldn't it be amazing to be a hub, incubator, center of thought, heart, and faith to address Climate Change?

After a successful and fulfilling Fall Session, Hope for Creation will be going on break over Advent and Christmas following this week's class.

The Winter sessions will be from January 7-March 10

The fall sessions asked the question, How did we get here?

The winter sessions ask, What are we to believe?

You can sign up for the newsletter/discussion updates HERE:

The class itself will be "drop-in" friendly so stop by anytime!

All are welcome to attend as often or as little as you're able. No prior knowledge is needed. You can follow along with the material or just drop in.

You can sign up for the newsletter/discussion updates HERE:

It is the best way to stay up to date with the class and have the Zoom link and materials.

Check out the EVENTS page for more information about the upcoming sessions!

Reflection

11:15am after worship, Sundays

Harrison Room

Reflection is an opportunity to set aside some time for deepening personal faith and to learn about the faith experiences of others.  What started as an experiment initiated by George Rodgers Adams ("Rodge") in June has become a wonderful new way to explore faith at HAUMC!

Each week we will pose a question for an informal, open-forum discussion. Anyone is welcome to join at any time. No former knowledge is needed, just bring your curiosity and an inquiring mind.

You can email Rodge Adams at rodgea@comcast.net for more information.

It is a standing gathering so feel free to drop by on a Sunday as your schedule allows.

Thursday Morning Bible Study

Thursdays, 11am-12pm

Hybrid, Longfellow Room and Zoom



“Thursday Morning Bible Study Class has begun their second study of the fall with the book “The Lord’s Prayer” from the Rose Visual Bible Studies.

Each of the six lessons will focus on one particular phrase from the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:8-13, combined with a passage from Jesus’ experiences and teachings from the Gospels. New members are welcome. Class leaders are Mary Mensheha and Juanita Reed-Boniface.”

Join Zoom Meeting by Video Here 

or

Join by phone

Dial: +1 929-205-6099

Meeting ID: 864 1531 0144

Passcode: 437485

Daily Prayer Fellowship: Coffee Time

8–8:30am Monday–Friday Mornings

Zoom



Morning Coffee is a chance to check in, engage in a lively discussion about a short scripture passage or topic, and then pray our way into the day. All are welcome!

Join Zoom Meeting by Video Here or

Join by phone

‪Dial: 312-626-6799



Meeting ID: 842 8341 6140

Passcode: 975868

Daily Prayer Fellowship: Closings

8–8:30pm Mon, Tues, & Thurs Evenings

Zoom



Are you looking for a warm way to end your day? Drop into Closings and share a conversation with friends. This open, lay-led group is a place for conversation, connection, and community.

Join Zoom Meeting by Video Here

or

Join by phone

‪Dial: 312-626-6799

Meeting ID: 892 5043 5902

Passcode: 113680

Last week Bob Scott revealed his long-term faithful support of Hennepin in such a beautiful way. You can watch his message HERE.

You can watch last week's worship in full HERE.

We also heard all the exciting plans and good news in the state of the church. You can watch the recording of it HERE.

You can get a PDF of the sermon HERE to print or read for yourself.

Church Conference Update:

Both votes were passed: Clergy Compensation and the Sale of the Bruce Ario Estate property. Refer back to the previous HH for more information.

Pardon our Plywood

Click the picture to play a timelapse!

Our lantern above the Sanctuary and below the Steeple requires window work due to broken glass and deformation due to old age. For the next several months, three of the eight window sections will be removed, and plywood will be temporarily installed in their place (The other five sections were completed in years past).

Early in the new year, the refinished windows will be re-installed. Workers will also install unobtrusive storm windows on all eight sections to help prevent bird-strike damage and help keep moisture out of the lantern. During this project, we will adjust our steeple lighting to mask the plywood as much as possible.

We are excited to complete this decades-spanning effort in the coming months. These repairs should last 75+ years.

Volunteers Needed!

Sundays

11am-noon

Koinonia Hall

**$10 per person/$20 per family

Brunch is back and we have Bryan Carter, Kristy Barnes, Marla Tipping, and Lynne Carroll to thank for it! It has been a smashing success thanks to them and now is the time to let Lynne know you are ready to step up and step in to keep it going - just ONE hour (give or take) ONCE a month is all they need! The three of them have put their brains together so the process is easy and fun those who serve as well as those who are served.

CALL FOR BRUNCH HELPERS:

There are 3 shifts - you can let Lynne know if you have a preference

Set up: 9:30-10am

Serving: 10:45am-12pm

Clean up: 12-1pm

Sign up HERE for your slot now!

Memorial Flowers

Sign-ups available

Remembering the beloveds that came before us is one of the precious gifts of being in a beloved community together. If you would like to donate sanctuary flowers in memory of or in honor of a loved one or in honor of a special event, we have created a new process to do this. Click the link below and fill out the information for your desired date.

If you are unable to sign-up digitally, you may also ask for a form at the reception desk.

Sign up HERE.

Now On View

Transition: Works from the private collections of the Fine Arts Team

Carlson Hall

October-November 29 2023

The exhibition includes works of art from the personal collections of the current Fine Arts team with additional loans from alumni collections. Each contributor was asked to pick a work related to the theme of transition and write a small text about why they chose to share this particular work from their home.

We really believe in the spiritual power of art. The church and our world are going through great transition. Individuals go through transitions at various points in their lives. The word holds resonance in a variety of ways for different people.

The exhibition reflects how art can speak and what it means to those who live with it. It is an opportunity to get to know the team through the objects through a form of expression that they love! The works span a diversity of media and we invite you to take the time to see how each piece might speak to you.

And be sure to leaf through the book art by Emily Dahm, the touch and feel of the book are integral to the experience.

The submissions include works by Fine Arts Team Alum and previous directors: Tom Tyler, Tom Arneson and Margaret Osborne among others.

Image artwork: Beaming Suns, (detail) 2023. (c) Ella Adlen Pope, courtesy of the artist.

Old School by Steeple People (OSSP)

Store hours: Wednesday through Sunday 11am–6pm

Have you see OSSP Must Haves with Morgan and Tammi? What a fun duo and what a great partnership this continues to be for us!

If you haven't seen them already in the store displays, you can follow them on Facebook or Instagram to see their trendy and thrifty looks for fall! And of course it is all for good causes and community!

Donations are accepted 11am–4pm, and by appointment

• Must be in bags or closed boxes and labeled “clothes”, “books”, or “hard goods”
• If donating clothing: clean and in-season only, please
• Maximum 3 bags/ boxes as we have limited storage
• No electronics, please



Best of Minneapolis Award in the Thrift Store 2022

Sustainable Jungle 2022

#1 in “Gettin’ Twin Cities Thrifty“ 2022

City Pages “Best Thrift Store” 2019

Old School by Steeple People, a 501c3 nonprofit, serves the community by selling donated quality used clothing and household goods at affordable prices and donating profits to worthy charitable causes.