LOTILink

Children's Ministry October 2026

October 4th

10:45 AM

Our annual Blessing of the Animals event in honor of St Francis will be held outdoors near the front steps after worship. This event is for all ages! You can bring your live animals and/or your most favorite stuffed/plush animals for a special blessing by Pastor Haug. If the weather is rainy, we will take turns under the cloister. 

Sunday School Calendar Notes

October 18th

No Sunday School (MEA break)

Winter Gear Drive Begins

October 25th

Please consider donating gently used or new winter gear to help those less fortunate stay warm this winter. We need winter coats, boots, snow pants, hats, gloves, scarves and socks for ALL AGES. There will be collection bins at both entrances to the Sanctuary. Our drive will end on November 15th. Donations will go to Project for Pride in Living.

Donations Needed

The most needed items include sugar, salt, cooking oils (16–24 oz containers), canned fruit, canned vegetables, rice, mac & cheese, canned soups, canned chicken/tuna, Ramen (not in cups), toilet paper, soap, shampoo & conditioner. They accept all non-expired shelf stable foods. 

All donations make a huge difference. Donations are collected on the wooden cart in Fellowship Hall. Volunteers deliver them to the food shelf on Friday mornings.

joyceuptownfoodshelf.org

Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church provides a meal on the second Saturday of each month. Our monthly meals are provided by donation. The shelter orders & serves the meal. 

Thanks to MaryBrooke Maher for September.

Please contact the church office if you would like to sponsor a meal in 2027.

2026–2027 SCHEDULE

October 10

November 14

December 12

January 9

February 13

March 13

April 10

May 8

June 12

July10

August14

September 11

October 9

November 13

December 11

Leslie & Steve Hite

Mary Sabatke, in memory of Bruce Sabatke

Michael & Jana Kavoukjian

Tom Connors & Lynn Wehrman

Jim & Pat Bausell

Available

Available

Available

Available

Available

Available

Available

Available

Mary Sabatke, in memory of Bruce Sabatke

Available

LOTI Choir Rehearsals

Wednesdays

7:00–8:30 PM

Choir Room

Regular choir rehearsals are in session, preparing for weekly anthems and our special Reformation & All Saints Sunday services. Please contact Kristina Rizzotto if you are interested in joining the choir.

Women's Bible Study

Thursday, October 1st

7:00 PM

Christy Room

We are studying Kindred, a thoughtfully crafted Bible study by The Navigators—a seven session study provides a biblical foundation for understanding how people from diverse backgrounds are woven together into the family of God and how every tribe, tongue, and nation plays a vital role in His mission. Join us!

LOTI Groups

Join us

Saturday, October 3rd

9:30 AM

Christy Room

for a time of camaraderie!

There is no membership requirement or time commitment.

Just come to enjoy the fellowship, for a few minutes, or a couple of hours!

(No knitting skills required)

The Feast of Creation in Christ

Sunday, October 4th

9:30 AM

Earlier this year, the Roman Catholic Church along with the Lutheran Church World introduced a new liturgical feast called Creation in Christ. It is designated to be celebrated on the first Sunday of September, or subsequent Sunday until October 4th, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. Although new to Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches today, it has ancient roots in the Eastern Orthodox Church where September 1st is celebrated as the first day of creation. The Feast of Christian in Christ is a day to praise the Triune God as Creator and commemorate the great mystery that everything was created through Christ.

Our service at Lake of the Isles on October 4th, will continue our tradition of focusing on St. Francis of Assisi and the stewardship of all creation. Immediately following worship, we will gather on the front steps for the Blessing of Animals. 

Young Adult Gathering

Sunday, October 4th

6:00–8:00 PM

Patio

All young professionals (college age—thirty somethings) are invited to join us for a fireside evening of sips and snacks on the church patio. This will be a casual evening to meet and mingle with other young professionals and to learn more about our community at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church. Guests, co-workers, and friends are welcome! Contact Miranda Stadem-Ward for more details and to RSVP.

Growlers & Theology

Thursday, October 8th

7:00–8:30 PM

Parsonage/Zoom

The informal study of theology and adult beverages follows the model of Luther in his home in Wittenberg, Germany. Pastor Haug will lead this monthly gathering.

Working Speaker Series

Sunday, October 11th

10:50 AM

Choir Room/Library

Working is the theme of an upcoming LOTI speaker series in which people associated with our congregation talk about what they do all day and how they feel about the work they do.

The first session in this series will be Sunday, October 11th. The guest speakers will be LOTI members Elizabeth Shaffer, Minneapolis City Council Member representing Ward 7 and Marty Carlson, who serves as her senior aide.

Elizabeth and Marty’s talk will take place after a brief refreshment break following the Sunday morning service. Those who are interested will be invited to take their beverages into the Choir Room at 10:50 AM for about 45 minutes. The first 20-25 minutes will be an informal talk by Elizabeth and Marty, leaving the time remaining for questions from those in attendance.

If you are interested in sharing your Working story, contact Janna Haug during coffee hour or via the church office.

Service of Healing

Sunday, October 18th

9:30 AM

Sanctuary

The Sunday nearest to October 22nd, the Festival Day for Saint Luke is often marked as a day for special services for healing. Saint Luke is often referred to in scripture as the Great Physician and in medieval times he was the patron saint of doctors and surgeons. According to the Book of Acts he travelled with St. Paul on his missionary journeys and may have attended to his medical needs. You’ll find Saint Luke’s image in the balcony window with his traditional symbol of the ox. Numerous hospitals across the United States are named after Saint Luke.

The Service for Prayer and Healing will be a part of the Prayers of the Church and anointing of oil will occur during Holy Communion.

Reformation Sunday

October 25th

9:30 AM

Sanctuary

Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word;

Curb those who by deceit or sword

Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son

And bring to naught all He has done.

     ELW #517 vs. 1

Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word is one of Martin Luther’s most well-known hymns. It was also one of his last. The original text was written in 1541 at a time when the Ottoman Turkish Empire was positioned outside of the gates of Vienna to take the city and conquer the Holy Roman Empire. Luther’s 1541 text clearly identified the Ottoman Empire as the threat to Christianity. Translations of the hymn into English since then have rebranded it as a general plea to the triune God to defend the Church from all her enemies, both physical and spiritual. Surprisingly, as early as 1544, the hymn was considered a children’s hymn to sing against the two archenemies of Christ and His holy Church.

On Reformation Sunday, the LOTI choir, together with strings and brass will perform music for Reformation Day including Dietrich Buxtehude’s cantata BuxWV 27 based on Luther’s hymn, Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word. Of course, A Mighty Fortress, the Battle Hymn of the Reformation will be performed as well. 

LOTI Nooks & Crannies Fundraiser

Refurbishing the Seldom Seen Spaces

Sunday, October 25th

5:00–7:00 PM

Mary Tyler Moore House

There are spaces and places in the church which have not seen new flooring or a coat of paint in decades. Have you ever visited the freezer in Maxine’s Closet or searched the church’s original blue prints in the storage room beyond the Sacristy? These are a few of the seldom seen places that need tender care and our funds. That is the goal of the 2026 fundraiser.

Join us for beverages, dinner, & silent auction.

Suggested contribution is $25 per person, cash or check at the door.

by Sunday. October 18th.

Also consider donations for the silent auction. Contact Susanne Haas or Diane LaMere by October 18th, with details of your donation, including monetary value.

Looking Ahead at LOTI…

All Saints Sunday

November 1st

9:30 AM
Sanctuary

All Saints Sunday is a time in the church year to remember those we have loved who have become a part of the church triumphant. It is an occasion to reflect on the shining promise of Christ’s everlasting life against the background of nearing winter darkness.

Isles Ensemble Concert

Sunday, November 1st

2:00 PM

QUINCY PORTER Little Trio

MANEL PONCE Petite Suite dans le Style Ancien

CAROLINE SHAW Plan and Elevation

JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34

Guest Musicians: Yi Zhao, violin; Casey Rafn, piano

Take a journey through time and space as composers reckon with their musical lineage and legacy. 20th-century composers Quincy Porter and Manuel Ponce experiment with the neo-Baroque in form and instrumentation; Caroline Shaw pays musical tribute to the architecture of the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington DC—a venue that proved equally inspiring to Igor Stravinsky. The program concludes with an undoubted masterwork of the chamber music repertoire, Brahms’ piano quintet, featuring guest musicians Yi Zhao and Casey Rafn. 

Saint Martinsfest Dinner

Saturday, November 7th

5:00-7:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Please join us for this special Oktoberfest style, family friendly German festival. Don Holzschuh will prepare the meal and music will be provided by accordionist Mark Stillman. All are invited to participate in the annual Saint Martin’s parade of lanterns. Saint Martinsfest is the culmination of our winter clothes drive for Project for Pride in Living

Suggested contribution…

Adults—$20, Children Free of Charge

CASH or CHECK at the door.

RSVP by Wednesday, November 4th

Women's Book Club

Friday, November 13th

5:00 PM

Home of Deb Gilroy

We are reading Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks this month. 
Join us! Bring a snack to share if you like …

LOTI Groups

Calling All Singers!

Tuesdays

1:00–2:15 PM

Holy Cross Lutheran Church

720 E Minnehaha Pkwy

Do you have a love for singing and service? Holy Cross Lutheran Church is launching a funeral choir that will rehearse weekly and be available to sing for funerals and memorial services across the South Minneapolis area and beyond. For more information contact Mark Fideldy, Holy Cross Music Director. admin@holycrossmpls.org

Prayer Ministry

All are welcome to join!

We meet on Mondays at 7:00 PM via Zoom.

Janna Haug, Debra Gilroy, Linda Nelson, Diane Stensrud & Carolyn Hagford

All are welcome to come and join our Wednesday morning Bible study!

Pastor Haug leads the morning Bible study group in the Christy Room & via Zoom on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM.

Spain & Morocco

March 29—April 11, 2027

When I was a freshman at St. Olaf College 50 years ago, I played the role of Sancho Panza, the comic sidekick of the legendary character Don Quixote, who fought windmills in the musical Man of La Mancha. The play brought us the beloved song, The Impossible Dream and is set in a prison in Seville in southern Spain during the time of the Inquisition when Jews and Muslim Moors were persecuted and forced to convert to Christianity. I didn’t know the background of the story at the time, but over the next 50 years, I recognized it was the place I wanted to visit for its beauty, its history, its architecture and art and its inspiration.

For centuries, Spain and Morocco were places where the world religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, lived, worked, prayed, and sometimes struggled alongside one another. On this tour we will walk through the Cathedral of Seville, once the site of a great mosque, and stroll through the Santa Cruz Quarter, Seville's thriving Jewish quarter before the expulsion of 1492. We will stand beneath the horseshoe arches of the Alhambra in Granada, built by Moorish caliphs and later claimed by Catholic kings, and we will gaze upon the towering minaret of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, one of the largest houses of worship in the world.

Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque, Winston Churchill, 1943

Come join us and explore Spain & Morocco in 2027. It doesn’t have to be an impossible dream.

Arden & Janna Haug  

Peace, Pastor Arden Haug

Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church 

2020 W Lake of the Isles Pkwy

Minneapolis, MN 55405

(612) 377-5095

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