Reach Out. Proclaim. Inspire.March 23, 2016
Opportunities to Serve

We have great opportunities to serve! You can make a difference in the community and in the city. Learn more. Contact Cindy Carlson.
  • Easter Food Baskets, March 26 at Messiah Lutheran in Minneapolis
  • Sharing & Caring Hands, April 2
  • Messiah Food Pantry, April 8
  • IOCP Food Shelf, April 13
  • Community Bridge luncheon, April 13
The Texts this Weekend
 
This weekend is the celebration of Easter, the Resurrection of Our Lord. The readings include 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 and Luke 24:1-12:

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
Easter Worship Schedule

Holy Week

Maundy Thursday, March 24
7 p.m. - Worship with Holy Communion and the Stripping of the Altar

Good Friday, March 25
5:30 p.m. - Children's Good Friday Worship
7 p.m. - Good Friday Worship


Easter

Saturday, March 26
5:30 p.m. - First Light of Easter, Candlelight Service with Holy Communion

Sunday, March 27
*8:15, 9:45 and *11:15 a.m. - Easter Worship with Holy Communion
*Please note time adjustments to our normal worship schedule

Monday, March 28
Easter Worship with Holy Communion

Find the Holy Week and Easter Worship Schedule online!
Holy Week Worship Assistants

As you look ahead to Holy Week, please consider helping at one of the worship services.  
 
Maundy Thursday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Usher, communion server
 
Good Friday, March 25
5:30 p.m., (volunteers filled)
7 p.m., Usher
               
First Light of Easter, Saturday, March 26 at 5:30 pm
Acolyte, candle lighter  
Worship Renewal

The response to our 2016 Worship Renewal project has been wonderful, and we extend a warm "Thank you!" to everyone who has given a gift to help replace worn out hymnals, choir robes and paraments. The new hymnals are being placed in the pews this week.

We are still receiving gifts, and you can still dedicate a hymnal in honor or memory of someone special. Let us know your dedication and it will be printed on a special bookplate on the inside cover of a hymnal.

Funds raised during the Worship Renewal 2016 appeal will also allow us to upgrade some technology in the Sanctuary, allowing us to make worship services available through on-demand web streaming.

You can mail in your gift in the green Worship Renewal envelope, or bring it to church for the offering plate. You can also support this effort with a special online gift.

Learn more about Worship Renewal at St. Philip the Deacon.
Faith Creek March Mission

During the month of March, the children of Faith Creek are collecting food items for the Messiah Food Pantry. Donations can be dropped off on the Lower Level Outreach Table, through March 31. Thank you for your generosity and assistance in helping the families of Messiah Lutheran Church!
Bedding Needed

A family of six that until recently was homeless has been able to secure stable housing. While they have been able to arrange for beds, there is a need for bedding. Donations of new or gently used items may be dropped off in Fellowship Hall by April 3. Each of the beds are in need of a mattress pad, sheets, blankets and pillows. Any pillows should be new. The family has:
  • Two Queen size beds
  • One Double size bed
  • Two Twin size beds
Exciting Easter Event - March 26

Join us for a fun family morning, as we celebrate the coming of Easter. We'll have a light breakfast, hear the Easter story, and join in a huge egg hunt! Saturday, March 26 at 10 a.m. There is no cost, but please register online by March 23.
Easter Food Baskets - March 26

We will be donating Easter Food Baskets to 500 families served by our sister congregation, Messiah Lutheran Church, located in the Phillips neighborhood. $50 is a suggested amount; however a gift of any size is greatly appreciated. Use a pew envelope and note Easter Baskets on both the envelope and the memo line of the check. You may also give a gift through on-line giving.

Help pack and distribute!

You can also help pack and distribute food baskets, and clean-up afterward, at Messiah from 9 a.m.-noon. Contact Connie Fust at conniefust@gmail.com.
Thrivent Choice Dollars

In 2016, gifts received from Thrivent members who select SPD as the recipient of their Choice Dollars will be supporting the Haiti Kids Project. The focus of the project is to serve children in the rural area of Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

St. Philip the Deacon members who have policies with Thrivent Financial are given the opportunity to designate Choice Dollars to Lutheran organizations, including St. Philip the Deacon. In past years, St Philip the Deacon has designated these gifts to World Hunger and the SPD Outdoor Ministry.

Remember to designate your 2015 Thrivent Choice Dollars by March 31! If you have questions visit the Thrivent Choice website at thrivent.com/choice.
DivorceCare for Women - April 5

We will have a short, six-week course of DivorceCare for women starting on Tuesday, April 5, from 6:30-8 p.m. The group will decide together the topics from the DivorceCare program, other issues, or guest speakers. All are welcome, whether you are new to DivorceCare or have attended a previous course. Facilitated by SPD member Heather Wright. Contact Pastor Strand Patterson if you would like to attend.
Men's Chorus - April 6, 9, 10

The SPD Men's Chorus will be singing for worship on Sunday, April 10 at the 8:30 and 9:45 a.m. services. There will be 2 rehearsals: Wednesday, April 6 from 7:00-7:45 p.m., and Saturday, April 9 from 10-11 a.m. We have a great time every year singing together, so come, sing and have a great time with the men of SPD! Contact Linda Armstrong at 763-475-7142 or larmstrong@spdlc.org.
Women's Retreat - April 8-10

Join us for our annual Women's Retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minn.

Register online by March 31 at spdlc.churchcenteronline.com.

Please contact Pastor Valerie for more information at vstrand@spdlc.org.
Community Bridge Catering Event - April 13

Community Bridge is food service training program at Messiah Lutheran Church. The goal of the program is to help people gain food service skills to become more employable. SPD member and chef Connie Blanchard, has been serving as a mentor for this program.

Community Bridge was  awarded the bid to prepare and serve the Lutheran Social Services Legacy Donors lunch on Wednesday, April 13 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. They are asking for volunteers to help serve the lunch, thus increasing profits for Community Bridge, which will be used to provide additional training opportunities. Servers should plan to wear black pants with an all white or all black collared shirt. Contact Connie Blanchard at connie.blanchard@blanchardscatering.com.
Spring Progressive Dinner - April 16

The Spring Progressive Dinner is on Saturday, April 16 beginning at 6 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet others in the congregation.

There are three courses. You will be assigned a home for appetizers and then a different home for the main course, and then everyone will gather together at church for dessert and coffee. You can sign up to attend the dinner, serve as host, or provide an appetizer, salad, bred, main course or dessert.

Contact Cindy Carlson at 763-475-7115 or ccarlson@spdlc.org. The deadline to register is April 4.
Boars and Baseball - April 17

Before you know it, it'll be time to fire up the smoker! Come one come all to the 2nd Annual Boars and Baseball, hosted by the Men's Ministry of SPD. On Sunday, April 17 at 1 p.m., you can enjoy fun, faith, fellowship, baseball (Twins vs. Angles on the big screens), kid's activities (bounce houses) and mouth-watering food (Smoked Ribs and Pulled Pork courtesy of Pastor Mark and Erik Jacobson).

The cost is $12 for adults ($15 at the door), and $7($10 at the door) for children 10 and under. Please register in advance online or stop by the Hospitality Desk. Registration closes April 13. Register online today! Everyone's invited!

Proceeds from the 2nd Annual Boars and Baseball and meat raffle will go towards supporting Habitat for Humanity and our summer Habitat Build.
Book Club - April 19

Anne Lamott is one of the most insightful Christian writers of our time. Her 2014 book, Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace, offers a message of hope that celebrates the triumph of light over the darkness in our lives. The Book Club invites you to read this book and join in an engaging discussion led by Pastor Cheryl Mathison on Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome! Copies of this book are available at the information desk in the Atrium for $10.
In This Issue
Easter Worship Schedule
Holy Week Assistants
Worship Renewal 2016
Faith Creek March Mission
Bedding Needed
Exciting Easter Event
Easter Food Baskets
Thrivent Choice Dollars
DivorceCare for Women
Join the Men's Chorus
Women's Retreat
Community Bridge Event
Progressive Dinner
Boars and Baseball
Book Club
Faithful Parenting
Parish Nurse Health Tip
 
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O give thanks to the Lord

for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!

Let Israel say, 'His steadfast love endures for ever.'

The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:

'The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.'

I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.

The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

- Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
For Reflection
 
"Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude."
- John Chrysostom
 
See more thoughts like this at fb.com/spdlc.
  
Faithful Parenting
 
7 Peaceful, Powerful Ways to Connect with an Angry Child

Everyone would agree that loving our children is one of the most important things a parent can do. But sometimes expressing that love isn't as easy as it sounds. Sarafina wrote about a breakthrough she had in learning to connect with an extremely angry child...



The Wholeness Wheel
 
Human beings are very complex. Parish nurses are taught to view a person as a whole. The ELCA has developed the Wholeness Wheel which succinctly illustrates aspects of our whole person intimately surrounded by our spiritual well being with our baptism in Christ as the core of our wholeness. If we lived our lives focused on these two concepts alone, just imagine how abundantly we could live.

Martin Luther wrote: "This life, therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way." We can't be "whole" in this life, but we can become acquainted with the wholeness to come by striving to live well in key aspects of our lives. The Wholeness Wheel is a tool we use to understand whole-person health. I will introduce two concepts of the Wholeness Wheel below:

Social/Interpersonal well-being

We were created by God to be social beings, living in community and instructed to help and love each other. Make time to build and maintain social well-being through interaction, play and forgiveness. Take time to nurture your relationships with family, friends, congregation and co-workers.

Emotional well-being

Being emotionally well means feeling the full range of human emotions and expressing them appropriately. Self-awareness is the first step. Recognizing and honoring your own feelings and those of others -- stress, contentment, anger, love, sadness, joy, resentment -- will help you live life abundantly.

Blessings,
 
Susan Path
Parish Nurse

If you have questions about anything you've read here, or want to know more about St. Philip the Deacon and its ministries, please contact us at info@spdlc.org or 763-475-7100.