November 2018

All Saints’ Sunday

On Sunday, November 4, we will celebrate All Saints Sunday. A Sunday celebrated every calendar
year, this is a day on which we celebrate the victory won by Jesus Christ for all the faithful dead, but
we grieve for our beloved dead as well, knowing that God honors our tears. On this Sunday at Red
Oak Grove, we will remember those who have died in the past year by reading their names and
ringing the church bell in their memory.

John & Eileen Sheedy

Cheryl Kruckeberg
Bernice Thompson
LaVonne Cochran
Cecil Friesner
Shirley Jan
Curtis Goodmanson
Jeffrey Peterson
David Spinler
Raeburn Hanson
Todd Lewis

On this day, we also lift up and recognize the newly baptized saints from the past year:

Stella Skinner
Morgan Horan

While we honor and recognize those who have died and been baptized within our own church
community, you will have the opportunity to lift up those you remember and honor in your lives.
During our service of worship, everyone will have an opportunity to light a candle as you silently list
the names of saints on your heart.
Friends at Red Oak Grove,

Gratitude is one of my most favorite things. (Is that weird?)

Here are a few reasons why I say that:

I do my best to send thank you notes snail-mail-style and am tickled when I myself receive
one in the mail.

My friends once gifted me a gratitude wreath. It includes little foam leaves. On each leaf, they
wrote one thing that (they thought – and were right) I’m thankful for. They gave me this
wreath they created years ago. Every year, I pull it out of my fall décor box and hang it on a
door at the parsonage.

I love all of the gratitude/blessing craft ideas one can find online. I have Pinterest boards full
of creative efforts of thankfulness.

Because I love it so and November is THE month it often is our focus, that means I often invite you
along on some sort of gratitude expedition. This year will be no exception.

First, consider these verses:

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one
another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in
your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:15-17)

I believe that living with a heart full of gratitude is living in the Spirit. It’s naming the joy that is the
presence of God in our lives. It’s part of how we are called to live in the world.

Through the month of November, we are going to combine all of our blessings and thankful attitudes
and grateful hearts into a cooperative wreath project. (Who’s excited? I’m excited!) It will be in the
narthex and I invite everyone to participate. (We’ll leave it with a bit of mystery for now but check the
narthex soon for details.)

Even if you don’t make it to worship in November for whatever reason, I encourage you to engage
in your own gratitude expedition. Make a list of things you are thankful for, write a snail mail thank
you, or verbally tell someone you are grateful they are in your life.

May thankfulness rule in our hearts.

Pastor Lindsay

Pastoral Acts

Confirmation: Boone Carlson, Cole Christianson,

Grace Magnuson and Rachael Riley
 RED OAK GROVE LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 7, 2018
The meeting was called to order by President, Brent Ingvalson. Members in attendance included:
Brent Ingvalson, Diane Maxwell, Jenny Ingvalson, Marilyn Helleck, Tom Harber, Wendy Trihus,
Tammy Harber, Marilyn Ulland, Jamie Hanson, Pete Kleinschmidt, Karen Johnson, Pastor Lindsay
and Laura Tjomsland.

Opening devotions were led by Pastor Lindsay. Highs and Lows were shared.
Old Business: Lights in the narthex were fixed. Questions about using communion cards.
Discussion tabled.
New Business: Fall clean-up was discussed. Landscaping around the church needs to be trimmed,
leaves and sticks cleaned up from the yard, other inside projects will be completed. A television
purchase was discussed for presentation in Fellowship room and Youth room. A motion was made
by Diane and seconded by Marilyn U. to make this purchase. It was discussed to have the Memorial
Fund pay for this. The motion carried. Signs for the inside of the church were discussed. Brent has
explored some options, Laura will also do some checking, and Pete has volunteered to help with this
project. The AED machine was checked out, new pads will be ordered, and this needs to be checked
yearly.
Pastor’s Report was presented. The Cowboy service was a success. Spark Bibles and NRSV Bibles
were presented to the young children. Planning for Advent will need helpers and ideas. A Christmas
program for children and/or the entire congregation will be looked into by the Deacons. Confirmation
is the last Sunday of October, with four youth being confirmed. Two Prairie Manor services, four
regular ROG services, 16 visits, four with communion and one hospital. Two funerals, one wedding
and one baptism.
The Secretary’s Report was given. A motion by Marilyn U. and second by Pete to accept the report
as presented. The motion carried.
The Treasurer’s Report was given. A motion was made by Laura and seconded by Marilyn H. to
accept the report as presented. The motion carried. Highlights included; Opening balance was
$22,219.14, income for the month was $7,080.85. Expenses were $9,193.34, leaving a balance of
$20,106.92. The Youth Fund has a balance of $3,547.79 and the Improvement Fund has a balance
of $17,817.98. A list of projects completed and the cost for the projects is available from the
Treasurer. The Scholarship Fund has a balance of $230.05.
WELCA Report was presented. They had a very successful Guest Day. The St. Andrew’s Sisters
presented the program.
Deacon’s Report was given. GIFT began again for the year. The first one was a success. A motion
was made by Laura and seconded by Diane to accept the report as presented. The motion carried.
Trustee’s Report: Most of the items have been covered in old and new business. Looking forward to
the fall clean-up, making plans for bad weather alerts and setting up the snow plowing schedule.
They will set up a time to service the snow blower and turn on the heater in the well pit. A motion was
made by Tom and seconded to accept the report as presented. The motion carried.
Next meeting will be Sunday, November 11. Eucharist assistant for October is Jenny and for
November it will be Brent. The meeting adjourned and closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,
Laura Tjomsland, Council Secretary
The Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service will be held at Red Oak Grove on Sunday, November 18th at
7 p.m. This is a partnership between St. Columbanus, First Lutheran, and Red Oak Grove. Join the
community in worship as we host this yearly service, and stay after for dessert!

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Thank you to everyone who showed up and helped out at our fall
clean-up day in October! We checked many tasks off the list and
made steps towards getting our property ready for winter. Many
thanks to window washers, caulkers, cleaning crews, lunch preparers,
task organizers and everyone who played a part!

Outreach
Opportunities
November Food Drive: We will be collecting boxes of macaroni & cheese and cans of beef stew
(or other hearty soups). We will collect these items through Sunday, November 25th. As the
months grow colder, the church council thought these would be great items to collect for local families
who are food insecure.

November Noisy Coin: On November 4, we will take our monthly Noisy Coin offering during worship.
This month, any money thrown in our bucket will go to the Blooming Prairie Ministerial Fund for
use in the annual Christmas Wish Tree distribution. You may or may not know that families in
Blooming are able to apply for assistance every Christmas. Through this generous effort in our
community, families are given gifts for their children and the Ministerium gives families gift certificates
to be used at the local grocery store. Any money in the bucket on November 4 will be given back to
our community and help families with groceries in the holiday season.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 12: We’ll be going caroling to many of our
homebound members this evening. Please join us! More details to follow.

Adopting the Blooming Prairie First Grade Classrooms: Many of you have heard that we
“adopted” the first-grade classrooms at Blooming Prairie Elementary for the year. So far this has
meant that we have kept them in prayer in the difficult start to the school year and a few of you have
spent time volunteering with the classrooms. Next: every December, the first-grade teachers love for
the children to receive a book for the holiday. Each book costs $3-4. Are you willing to buy a book for
a first grader? See the display in the narthex for donation information.
 What do slime, a scavenger hunt, pizza, and clothespins all

GIFT
have in common? They are a part of November GIFT (Growing
in Faith Together) at ROG! On Wednesday, November 7, we will
gather beginning at 5:30 to eat, play, and pray together. This
month – with the slime, scavenger hunt, pizza, clothespins, and
Growing In Faith Together
lots of other stuff – we’re also all about gratitude. Invite your family
and bring your friends. Come be a part of this fun night!

Save the Date!

Sunday, December 2 is the first Sunday of Advent. It’s also going to be a fun, engaging, delicious
kick off to the Christmas month. Join us in worship for a family-oriented service of hymns and story.
Stay after to roll and eat lefse, participate in crafts, and enjoy fellowship with people of all ages. More
details to follow!

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Bible Study Resources

Taking Faith Home: Taking Faith Home is a half sheet take home paper for each Sunday. It includes
readings for the week, prayers for the week, and other practical faith activities for individuals and
families. Each month these are available for you! Please take this resource home with you! This is
how other people and families use the resource:
• Adults tend to use the daily Bible readings (though few do it without fail. One day is better than
nothing and two is better than one)
• Parents and grandparents use the weekly blessings and mealtime prayers with their children.
Sometimes they even add the weekly prayer at bedtime.
• Children like to use the conversations and devotions to hear and discuss how God’s love is
with them always.
• People on the go (most of us!) grab a prayer, a Bible reading or something that connects them
with God’s living Word as part of their journey of faith.
• Couples, parents, and teen mentors are drawn to the Caring Conversations to bond
relationships in faith
• Most everyone can take a glance and wonder how to use something from Devotions during the
week
• Service ideas and Rituals and Traditions are great for families and youth groups alike

Third Thursday Coffee & Study: Every Third Thursday of the month, a group gathers in the church
library for fellowship and Bible study. Specifically, we study the upcoming Gospel texts that will be
read in worship for the next four or five weeks. We understand that not everyone is able to come on a
Thursday morning. This Bible study can also be emailed or mailed. If you are interested in a monthly
copy of the texts and reflection, please let Pastor Lindsay know.