May 2023 - Zion Lutheran Church

“See, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5 NRSV

05/30/2023

“Making all things new.” Take note of the verb tense. Making. In the Greek, that active voice of the verb is emphasized even more than our English language can portray. God is “ongoing-ly” making all things new. It’s not translated, “I made all things new,” but rather, “…I am making all things new.” The trajectory is clear—God is still working. God is still creating, still redeeming, and still blessing our world. For our God, it is not just a one-time

Call Committee Update 2023.05

05/30/2023

I am happy to officially announce the Council has selected the members of the Call Committee for the Associate Pastor. I want to personally thank and recognize the congregants who have volunteered to be part of this important next step for Zion. The members are a good mix of individuals, with varied backgrounds, and are eager to initiate the call. Zion’s constitution outlines the parameters for our Call Committees. We will have seven voting members and two alternates serving on

A Sunday to Celebrate!

05/30/2023

Giving thanks to God for the work of our Sr. Pastor Call Committee, Zion welcomed Pastor John Hulden, Assistant to the Bishop in the Minneapolis Area Synod to preach the sermon and install our Senior Pastor. It was a day of celebrating a long-awaited new chapter in the life of our congregation. The fourth Sunday in Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday. It couldn’t have been a better day for an Installation! Every year, the same Gospel text is read from the

Financial Report 2023.04

05/30/2023

The Finance Committee would like to share the following information about Zion’s finances as of the end of April 2023. Our General Fund income/offering for the month of April was about $81,000 which is almost 3% lower than what was received in April of 2022. For the first four months of this year, our average weekly income/offering is $15,214 which is up about 1% over this time last year. Expenses for the General Fund for the year to date are up

Wednesday morning workers break time at the cemetery

Wednesday Morning Workers 2023.05

05/30/2023

Zion’s Wednesday morning workers have been meeting for about three years. Just as the name implies, every Wednesday morning in the spring and fall, the group gets together to do whatever jobs are needed around Zion and Zion’s properties. Bob Quady organizes the projects and lets everyone know where to meet and what tools might be needed for any given week. Past projects have included cutting trees at the Zion cemetery, clearing old equipment from the woods, cutting and killing

Harvest of Hands 2023.06

05/30/2023

Though the grass is getting greener, and the dandelions are growing taller every day and summer is just around the corner, Harvest of Hands is looking toward its November 4th Christmas Market event and planning for it. Does your family have a very favorite Christmas cookie? And are you willing to share the recipe? Harvest of Hands is thinking of compiling a small collection of special recipes into a “ZION Families Favorite Christmas Cookies” booklet. Each recipe would have the donating

SERVE Weekend

05/30/2023

Thank you to all those who took part in SERVE Weekend 2023. What a happy and productive weekend. It was delightful to see your smiling faces as we served together. We successfully met each of the goals that we set for serving this year. Here are a few examples: 20 teens fed -Timber Bay Meal 18 Kits completed and more started- Days for Girls 651 Thank you cards written for school staff 13 Fleece blankets for Camp Noah 13 Fleece

Ukrainian Families Adjusting Well

05/30/2023

Thanks to Zion members and the surrounding community for the tremendous support you have given to the Ukrainian families that have been displaced by the war. Over $15,000 has been collected from individuals, Zion Foundation, St. Francis Xavier, Rotary, Thrivent, and the Easter Egg fundraiser. Viktoria, the young woman who we had intended to sponsor, has elected to stay in Ukraine. Her boyfriend, who she thought had died in the war, was seen in a POW camp, and was recently

High-top tables throughout the space provide additional areas to gather and enjoy your coffee and conversations.

Narthex Refresh

05/30/2023

As part of Zion’s mission to help people experience the JOY of Christ by Celebrating on Sundays, Living God’s Call and Connecting with Care, Zion’s Council and Pastor Bahe created a new task force in the fall of 2022 called Refresh to Welcome. The overall goal of the task force is to create more updated and welcoming spaces throughout the building. Because we want to create a joyful, welcoming experience as soon as you walk in the doors, the task

New Roles, New Adventures

05/30/2023

And Many, Many Thanks For 16 years, Angela Bengtson has served as Zion’s Communications Coordinator. In that time, she has led Zion into a new era of communication mission, vision, and implementation. Angela has not only been key in sharing Zion’s mission, but she is also seen as a leader in church communications circles throughout our Synod and beyond. Her development of Zion’s newsletter was often lifted up as the example of “how to do a newsletter well”. Of course,