Reach Out. Proclaim. Inspire.

May 6, 2015

Faith Creek wraps up this weekend for the school year. Summer Faith Creek begins on May 31, 9:45 a.m.

Opportunities to Serve! Contact Pastor Valerie Strand Patterson, vstrand@spdlc.org
Find more service opportunities on our website.

May 7-9 - Families Moving Forward, serving dinner and children's activities.
May 13 - Serve at the IOCP food shelf and resale store.
May 16 - Shop at the IOCP Plant Sale!

The Texts this Weekend

This weekend is the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Readings include 1 John 5:1-6 and John 15:9-17:

"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."

Families Moving Forward - May 3-10

St. Philip the Deacon is serving as host for the Families Moving Forward program this week, May 3-10. Families Moving Forward is an interfaith network of churches that provide hope to families with children who are experiencing homelessness.

We still have opportunities for you to serve! Provide dinner or be a dinner host on Saturday evening; or provide games or crafts for the children any evening, especially Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Learn more!

Contact Sandy Dockter at sandymdoc@gmail.com, or Pastor Valerie Strand Patterson at vstrand@spdlc.org or 763-475-7126.

Planning a Funeral - May 7

Our pastoral care intern, Rebecca Hinz, is teaching a class on how to plan a funeral. The dates are Thursdays, May 7, 14, 21 and 28. A morning class meets at 10 a.m., and an evening class at 7 p.m. We will cover wills, trust and power of attorney documents, and discuss the information needed for the funeral home and for planning the service itself with the pastor. For more information contact Rebecca Hinz at rhinz@spdlc.org.

The Conversation - May 12

Whether you're retired, semi-retired or just find yourself free the afternoon of Tuesday, May 12, please join us from 1-2:30 p.m. for The Conversation. Our presenter will be Lynn Vettel of Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners. We will hear about the work of IOCP and the difference they are making in our community. Of course, there will be refreshments, conversation and laughter. Reservations are not needed.

IOCP Plant Sale - May 16

IOCP is hosting their annual plant sale in our lower (east) parking lot on Saturday, May 16, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Shop a fantastic selection of perennials, annuals and heirloom veggies, and a garden bazaar with an assortment of quality garden items, all while supporting our mission partners!

Interested in volunteering? Contact Jackie Archbold (612-280-8873, jiversarch@comcast.net) or Joan Floren (952-475-0914, jbfloren@gmail.com). Do you have some healthy plants to donate? Please contact Jackie or Joan before May 9 for more information.

SPD Choirs in Concert - May 17

On Sunday, May 17 at the 11 a.m. worship time, all the choirs of St. Philip the Deacon will give praise to God in a special spring concert. Sanctuary Choir, Dynamic Deacons, SPD Singers, Kinderchor and the SPD Quartet will share special anthems and lead the hymns.

Soul Sisterhood Fifth Anniversary - May 17

2015 marks the five-year anniversary of the creation of The Soul Sisterhood -- a ministry of St. Philip the Deacon -- which provides opportunities for young women to engage ever more deeply in relationship with God, make new friends, and gain confidence as they explore their gifts of creativity. We will comission the Soul Sisterhood's new camper van, "Ruthie," for mission and ministry as we expand our outreach for Summer 2015 with Little Sister and Wayfarer Day Camps. Join the celebration Sunday, May 17 at 2 p.m. Everyone is welcome!

Book Club - May 19

Book Club meet on Tuesday, May 19 at 7 p.m. to discuss the book "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker. "7" is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They spent thirty days on each topic. Please join us for what promises to be a lively dicussion. Books are available at local bookstores and on Amazon.

Since this is our last book club of the season, please come with the title of a book or two you would like to see on the list for next year. For more information contact Pastor Mathison at cmathison@spdlc.org.

Yoga Devotion - Saturdays Now through May

There are three opportunities to participate in Yoga Devotion, a Christian- based yoga class that gives you time to focus on peace as well as health. Join us Saturday mornings at 10 a.m., May 16, 23 and 30. (The class will not meet May 9.) Cost is $10 per class. Take time to stretch and pray!

Encounter: Mission Partners Field Trip - May 27

On Wednesday, May 27 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. we'll take a field trip to visit our mission partners in the city. Stops will include Messiah Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Social Services' Center for Changing Lives, Families Moving Forward, and Redeemer Lutheran Church in north Minneapolis. The cost is $15 and includes lunch. Register online at stphilip.smartevents.com, stop by the hospitality desk in the atrium at church, or contact Cindy Carlson at ccarlson@spdlc.org or 763-475-7115.

Bike Hike to the Twins Game - May 30

Join us for our Bike Club outing to the Minnesota Twins game on Saturday, May 30 at 10 a.m. We'll meet at The Depot Coffee Shop in Hopkins (Excelsior Blvd. and Hwy. 169) for devotions, and then set off on the 10-mile, flat, paved bike trail to Target Field. Bicyclists of all abilities are welcome! Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Register online.

Tickets are $34 per person. The deadline to register is this May 8. If you decide not to bike but still want to attend the game and meet up with the group at Target Field, contact Cindy Carlson at ccarlson@spdlc.org or 763-475-7115 to reserve your tickets.

Faith Creek Says "Thank You!"

A big Thank You! to the teachers, buddies, helpers and Hospitality Desk volunteers that participated in Faith Creek this past session! Over 80 volunteers shared their gifts and talents by greeting guests, teaching in classrooms, being a youth helper or being a buddy to our children who have special needs. Their dedication over the past months has helped to shape the lives of children in our faith community. God bless these volunteers and the children whose lives have been touched by them.

In This Issue

This Weekend

Families Moving Forward

Planning a Funeral

The Conversation

IOCP Plant Sale

SPD Choirs in Concert

Soul Sisterhood Anniversary

Book Club

Yoga Devotion

Encounter: Mission Partners

Bike Hike Twins Game

Faith Creek Thank You

O sing to the Lord a new song,

For he has done marvelous things.

His right hand and his holy arm have gained him victory.

The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.

Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy

At the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 98

For Reflection

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy."

- Thomas Merton

See more thoughts like this at fb.com/spdlc.

Faithful Parenting

Three Signs of Unhelpful Consequences... and How to Fix Them!

Consequences are an important teaching component for our kids. When parents learn to wield consequences well, kids tend to grow in wisdom about how their words and actions (or inaction!) impact others. They teach kids that they are responsible for their actions and their lives.